Star Trek: Constellations
Westfall/Star Trek TNG Crossover Fanfiction #1
Scene 15
The shuttle bay was reduced to silence. Gemini had climbed back to her hands and knees, but did not move further. Hudson’s eyes were half-open as he strained in the second man’s grasp, too fearful to attempt moving or fighting back with a phaser at his jaw. Worf had bared his teeth, but also remained still as he debated his next action. The security officer at his back did the same.
The imposter’s eyes flashed at Gemini. “Get in the shuttle,” he ordered.
She did not move.
Hudson grunted as the phaser pressed deeper into his neck.
“Get in the shuttle!!” The order was repeated.
Gemini frowned and returned to her feet.
Worf’s brows lost their anger as his eyes followed her. “Gemini—”
“Don’t move, Klingon!” The man shot, only to return his attention to Gemini. “Go on, Aravasti. Do what I say and I’ll release the human unharmed. You don’t want anything to happen to him, do you?”
Gemini gnashed her teeth against his jeer and obeyed. She stepped up to the open door, glancing over her shoulder as she met Hudson’s eyes. She huffed a breath and stepped inside.
Footsteps echoed down the hall, and moments later, Data and Commander Riker came into view.
“Don’t come in here or he dies!!” The imposter shouted.
Data, however, was focused on the woman in the shuttle. “Gemini: stop!” He called.
“Don’t listen to—”
“It’s all right, Gemini,” Data stepped into the room, garnering glances from all within it. “Hudson will not be harmed—but you will be, if you enter the shuttlepod.”
“What—why?” Gemini immediately removed her hands from the pod’s doorframe.
“That shuttlepod is out of commission due to a malfunction of its life support systems.”
“No—don’t listen to him!” The man drug a struggling Hudson backward as he turned towards her. “I will shoot him!!”
Data stepped up beside Worf. “You will not shoot him, or you will not be able to collect your bounty.”
At last, the second Hudson’s grip began to loosen.
“Bounty??” Worf’s face twisted in disgust.
Data’s yellow eyes were focused on the imposter. “This being is a member of the Roshak: an elite group of bounty hunters, aided in their missions by their natural ability to shape-shift. And he has been given orders to kill Gemini.”
The woman clamped a hand across her lips.
“But the Roshak are strict: in order to receive the bounty, he would have to ensure no one else is harmed in the process. Therefore, shooting the real Hudson would nullify his contract.” Data casually raised his arm, aiming his own phaser at the Roshak. “You may release him.”
The Roshak’s face held such shocked rage that he no longer resembled Hudson. In one swift movement, he removed the phaser from the mechanic’s chin and fired at Gemini.
She dove to the ground without a moment to spare, and the phaser instead struck the shuttlebay’s command panel.
In the cover of a flurry of sparks, the Roshak darted across the room while the others dove away to avoid the explosion. Hudson was dropped in the process, and Gemini launched herself toward him. They hit the floor together, holding each other with all their might.
“Commander...” Worf growled to Will.
Gemini lifted her head cautiously to find the source of Worf’s indignation.
There was Data—standing beside a second Data.
Worf growled and held out his phaser. “No more games!!”
“Wait!” Gemini called to him, remaining crouched at Hudson’s side. “I can find the real one.”
The Klingon stood down, watching Commander Riker nod in confirmation.
“Gemini!” The first said, holding out a hand.
“Gemini, it is me!” The second did the same.
“She knows it is me,” the first Data looked at the second before turning back to Gemini. “You know me very well.”
“She knows Data well, and you are not Data,” the second stiffened.
“No, she knows the truth. I do not need to persuade her.”
They both turned back to Gemini with the same befuddled expression, watching her as she got to her feet. They both glanced behind her as Worf repositioned himself beside Hudson. The Klingon’s eyes narrowed as his lips curled with a snarl.
Gemini, however, remained calm as she stepped up to the two Datas. She extended the fingers of her right hand as they began to collect with white light. “Computer, turn off the fire suppression system in shuttle bay two.”
“What?” The first Data spoke, catching her eye.
“Please state Authorization Code.” The computer responded.
“Riker-Omega-three,” Will answered, looking to Gemini curiously.
“Authorization acknowledged. Fire suppression system disabled in shuttle bay two.” The computer responded.
Gemini drew her hand up as her eyes filled with light.
“Wait!” The first again reached out his hand. “Do not risk burning us both!”
“Gemini.”
Her now-glowing eyes turned to the second Data.
“You may use your fire,” he said calmly. “I know you cannot harm me.”
The first Data’s eyes slid to the second before his head could jerkily turn in his direction.
A smirk found Gemini’s face.
The Aravasti scooped her hand in front of her and shot fire at both Datas.
The first cried out, unable to run away before the flames caught on his yellow and black uniformed shirt.
The second stood still, smiling lightly as the flames passed him by without harm.
“Put it out!!” The creature that had once assumed Data’s form was rolling back and forth on the floor madly, beating his arms against his body in an attempt to put out the flames. His voice was gruff and broken. “Please—put it out!!”
Gemini closed the fingers of her hand, dousing the light that once pulsed through her veins—along with the fire on the imposter’s clothes.
“Worf,” Will directed the Klingon toward the now-extinguished Roshak—and now reverted back to his usual appearance.
The Chief of Security pulled the shape-shifter’s true form from the floor by the collar of his turtle-necked jumper with his teeth bared. “If you would have killed her,” he growled through his teeth, “you would have answered to me.”
The Roshak’s blue-gray face twisted with a wince, and wrinkles tugged at the formless nose above thin lips. “And you’ll be answering to her before long! The Aravasti are dangerous! She’ll kill you when you least expect it—they should have all been destroyed!!”
“So, let me guess,” Gemini slipped closer, “you were ordered to take me out since I didn’t die on Aravast?”
The Roshak bore his pointed teeth and hissed at her, only to choke when Worf repositioned his grip.
“Take him to the brig; we’ll figure out what needs to happen from there.” The first officer ordered, and soon, Worf and his officer removed the grumbling Roshak from the shuttle bay.
With the threat removed, Gemini turned to look back at Hudson with relief filling her eyes.
Westfall’s former mechanic was already watching her in rapt attention, and with his lips pressed into a grateful smile and he held out his hands for her.
Gemini ducked her head, rushed toward him, and dove into his arms. He lifted her from the ground and held her tightly against his chest.
“Oh, Gem,” he breathed into her hair. “I’m not gonna lie; that was real fright’nin’.” He returned her feet to the floor and cupped her face in his hand. “I thought I might lose you.”
“Me? I thought I would lose you!” She whispered in reply.
“I am glad you are both still alive.” Data offered as he stepped up to them.
Gemini released Hudson long enough to give Data a hug of gratitude. The android accepted it, repositioning his arms to hug her in return—albeit somewhat stiffly.
“All right, Data,” Will approached the trio. “Explain how you figured all this out.”
“You see, Commander,” Data released Gemini and answered matter-of-factly, “since leaving Braecia’s orbit, I have been cataloging various reports of crewmembers and visitors being in places where they are not intended or authorized to be. This, paired with a discrepancy in Chief O’Brien’s transport log, led me to the conclusion that we had unknowingly brought a shape-shifter aboard the Enterprise along with the Westfall refugees.”
“A twentieth life form,” Gemini whispered in realization.
“I was able to scan for potential races that have this ability, and I discovered the Roshak in the process. Little is known of their society aside from a very strict bounty hunting code. In fact, it is unknown how many victims the Roshak have claimed due to the fact that almost every incident is made to appear as if the victim died from an accident.”
“Like getting into a shuttlecraft without life support,” Gemini shuddered.
“When Gemini called for security here in the shuttle bay, I recalled Ensign Evoras was present when Geordi and I had decommissioned it. Cross-referencing this with other incidents, I deduced that the Ensign Evoras who witnessed the declaration was not the real Ensign Evoras.”
“So, the Roshak, instead, got to hear that, and he kept that in mind as a potential way to take her out—when the moment was right.” Will concluded, shaking his head.
Hudson frowned, his expression bordering on disgust. “If he’s been here since we got here, he sure waited a long time to find that moment.”
Data almost seemed to frown as well. “I believe the Roshak made a number of attempts before this one; I can site errors in the programming of the holodeck and unexplained fires from your food replicator as potential threats.”
“Oh my gosh,” she cringed, butting up against Hudson. “Those times had to have been him!” She shook her head and glanced up at the tall mechanic. “He almost fooled me with this one, but I know you well enough to know he wasn’t you,” she brought a hand to his face, “especially when he called me ‘Gemmie.’“
“‘Gemmie?’ You had said not to call you that.”
Gemini’s eyes lost their focus. “But after we passed ‘Geordi’ outside the holodeck, he never heard that part.”
“So, it wasn’t Geordi!” Hudson also concluded. “Gosh; how many people did we talk to that could’ve been him?”
“After gathering information from the crew, I catalogued over forty-five instances within six weeks, two days, and five hours.” Data announced.
Will sucked in a deep breath and clapped his hands on Data and Hudson’s shoulders. “Well, hopefully this means Hudson’s last day on the Enterprise will be a much calmer one.”
Hudson deflated somewhat, though he was disarmed by Gemini’s growing smile. Even Will had to cock his head, and Data appeared confused.
“I never got to tell the ‘real you,’” Gemini said, scooting closer to Hudson. “The captain said you could stay!”
Hudson immediately lit up. “I can??”
“You’re staying with us?” Will’s goatee widened with an even wider smile.
“If you’ll have me,” he smiled.
“I petitioned to Captain Picard on his behalf—a lot like someone else I know,” she looked to Data.
The android tilted up his chin. “Then, I am looking forward to serving alongside you, Mr. Rowlett.”
“Thanks; I’m real excited to be a part of this crew!” He acknowledged both Lieutenant Commander Data and Commander Riker before his eyes landed on Lieutenant Inova. “And I’m especially glad I’m able to keep my promise to you.”
Gemini could have burst with relief and joy as she again dove into Hudson’s arms. “I love this promise!” She laughed.
Scene Notes
- It's so satisfying to have something you hinted at in the first chapter come back and save the day :D
- The Roshak are something I made up because I needed something very specific.