One – Night Vision

"We'll draw straws to decide."

Will's proposal met with laughter from Geordi and Tasha and a puzzled look from Data. The four officers exited the turbolift and walked towards shuttlebay three.

"Straws, sir?" Data asked.

"We'll just order some up from the replicator," Geordi said.

"Don't be ridiculous," Tasha replied. "We'll split up the duties evenly. I'll pilot the shuttle there."

"I will take ops for the duration of our journey to the planet," offered Data. "What is the significance of drawing straws?"

"I'll pilot back," Will said.

"That leaves me with shotgun on the way home," Geordi finished. "There, easy peasy." They reached the shuttlebay and nodded to the crewman at the control console.

"I fail to understand how depicting straws could have had bearing on our decision," Data said.

"Not 'depicting' straws," Will corrected. "Drawing straws."

"Hey, look, we can take shuttlecraft 13," Geordi offered, pointing to the vehicle waiting nearby.

"Very funny. I'd like to come back in one piece, thank you," Tasha said. "I can't believe we even have a 13."

"I do not understand," Data said.

"It's superstition. 13 is an unlucky number for humans," Will explained.

"And shuttle 13 is already bearing it out. The replicator malfunctioned on her maiden voyage," Geordi went on.

"And then the gravity generators went out last month during an escort trip," Tasha added. "The pilot and the Zakdorn ambassador had to strap themselves down for twelve straight hours. I bet they lost some bone mass."

"I am aware of those malfunctions, but they could happen to any shuttlecraft. I see no reason why the number 13 should signify," Data said. He tapped his access code into the keypad of shuttlecraft 1 and the doors rose open. He gestured for Tasha to precede him. "Superstition is a human fallacy."

Tasha climbed aboard. "Maybe so. I'm still glad we're taking the Sakharov."

The lights outside the shuttle blinked intermittent blue beams into the cockpit. After an hour, no one noticed it any longer. Data and Tasha sat in the pilots' seats. Geordi and Will sat in the passenger area in the rear.

"Would you recap the main points of the mission study for us, Mr. Data?" Will asked.

"Was my briefing less than thorough this morning, Commander?" Data queried.

"Of course not," Tasha replied.

"Just give us the highlights," Will said. "It'll help us pass the time."

"Bored already, Commander?" asked Geordi.

"It'll be more interesting than listening to the sound of the engines," Will replied.

"The Vareshk have made overtures to ally with the Federation ever since the successful establishment of their first off-world colony on Vega Mar III," Data began. "They wish to expand their planetary holdings, but fear they will attract the attention of a belligerent species, such as the Romulans or Cardassians, if they encroach close to disputed territory. The Vareshk governing council has asked the Federation to assess the defensibility of an outpost at Vega Mar VI."

"They haven't begun to build yet, right?" Tasha asked.

"That is correct. Their survey team has been gathering information and performing tests for six months, and will present the schematics for the proposed station in person," Data replied.

"They don't trust subspace communications," Geordi said.

"Yes. The Vareshk are developing plans for a new defense system that are too sensitive to be disseminated by any means."

"According to them," Tasha pointed out. "We don't have any intel about vulnerabilities in our subspace transmissions."

"But it affords us the opportunity to see the new technology firsthand. The first Federation team to inspect the site three months ago was not given access to the defense system schematics," Data went on.

"The team from the Ajax," Will added.

"Yes. The Vareshk have been very cautious," Data finished.

"That's just a nice way to say paranoid," Geordi commented.

They landed without incident two hours later, despite a violent weather system that had developed at the destination coordinates. A snowstorm was raging on the surface. The shuttle doors opened to a shrieking wind. Tasha emerged first. The ice crystals whipping through the air stung the exposed skin on her face and hands. She took out a tricorder. The other three alighted and stood beside her.

"Almost no visibility!" Tasha shouted above the wind. "Geordi, can you see anything out here?"

"Yes! The survey station is only a half kilometer away, but we'll have to beam over there – I don't recommend we walk through this storm!" Geordi shouted back.

"Understood! Let's get back onboard!" Will ordered.

They all complied with alacrity. Back in the warmth and quiet of the shuttle, they made their plans.

"One of us will have to remain behind to beam us there and back," Will said.

"I can stay behind," Geordi volunteered. "You need Tasha's tactical analysis and Data's expertise more than you need mine."

Riker nodded his agreement. "Lt. Yar, hail the Vareshk station. Let's get some updated coordinates."

Tasha sat down at the conn and sent the hail. "No response, sir."

"Keep trying, Lieutenant. Could there be interference from the storm?" Will asked.

Data took a seat at ops and tapped at the console. "Communications systems are functioning normally, sir. Our sensors are picking up the station."

"I'm getting a transponder echo, but no response to the hail," Tasha added.

"Mr. Data, can our sensors detect the location of their receiver?" Will asked.

"Aye, sir. There is a communication center precisely .78 kilometers from our present location."

"Are there any life signs?" asked Will.

"Yes. But the readings on the number and location of life forms are inconclusive. There appears to be an area of the compound that our sensors cannot penetrate," Data replied.

Geordi looked over Data's shoulder. "It's a pretty sophisticated setup for a temporary station. It's arranged like a wheel, with the comm. center at the hub. It looks like the dead area forms the rim."

"Maybe that's where their secret defense system is housed," offered Tasha.

"Possible. But I still find it strange that they're not answering our hails. Lt. LaForge, find a safe place for us to transport, close to the communication center," ordered Will.

"Aye, sir." Geordi moved to the rear of the shuttle.

"Recommend we go armed," Tasha said.

"Agreed. Maybe it's just a malfunction with their communication system, but something doesn't smell right." Will said.

Data looked askance at him, but did not comment. He held a tricorder at the ready, while Will and Tasha set their phasers.

"Ready whenever you are, Commander," said Geordi.

The three officers stood in a triangle. "Energize," Will said.

They rematerialized in a dimly lit room with several computer workstations but no personnel. Data flipped open his tricorder and scanned the area, while Tasha searched the room with her phaser low in her hand. She examined the entrance of each hallway that led away from the cylindrical room. She circled back to the commander.

"We seem to be alone here," she reported.

"I find no life signs in the area," Data added. "All of the equipment is functioning, and seems to have been abandoned mid-operation, as if in haste."

"What about the dead area?" Will asked.

"It appears to encompass the whole rim of the station," Data replied.

"This place seems pretty well established for an outpost that the Vareshk haven't started to build," Tasha noted.

"Sir, I am picking up faint life signs –" Data shook his head. "They are gone again."

"We're going to have to make visual contact to meet with the survey team," Will decided. "Let's spread out and search these corridors." He tapped his communicator. "Riker to LaForge."

"LaForge here."

"Geordi, do you have a lock on our signals?"

"I'm picking you up now, Commander, but you're very close to that blackout area."

"Understood. Keep a lock on us for as long as you can. Riker out." Will turned to the other two officers. "It's obvious that the Vareshk were just in this room."

"Perhaps they have concealed themselves and are observing us before they proceed with the meeting," Data suggested. "The Vareshk have shown marked suspicion in all of our dealings thus far."

"Maybe it's a test," offered Tasha. "Maybe they don't trust us, or our credentials, and they want to see if we can jump through their hoops."

"Whatever it is, stay alert. Something about this doesn't feel right." Will indicated the corridors for each of them to take, and the three split up.

There were six spokes to the wheel of the outpost, each a long hallway with a curved ceiling. Tasha entered the northeast corridor and took out a tricorder. The were access panels on the walls at eye level, high up for her, but the Vareshk averaged two meters in height. The hallway was otherwise featureless, and made of a smooth grey metal that amplified the sound of Tasha's boot heels striking the floor. Small, semicircular bulbs gave off red-tinged light at infrequent intervals. There were areas of obscurity at the midpoints between them. Tasha moved forward cautiously. The end of the corridor was not lit, and her tricorder registered no reading on what lay ahead. She assumed that she had reached the outer rim of the station.

"Yar to LaForge." Tasha tapped her communicator and waited in vain for a response. She was just about to move forward into the darkness when an echo of a shout caught her ear, faint but audible in the silence. Tasha holstered her tricorder and ran back down the corridor the way she came, her footfalls clanging and echoing off of the walls. She burst into the control hub and ran for the north hallway where Riker had gone. It was a straight, flat view, and she could see that Data had responded ahead of her. He was close to the end of the hall, aiming a tricorder at Riker, who was on the floor, partially obscured by a gelatinous orange mass. Tasha wasn't sure that she was seeing what she was seeing – two arms were emerging from the mass, wearing Starfleet command red and reaching towards Will's face. Tasha raised her phaser and fired.