Sandcastle (A Star Trek: The Next Generation Fan Fiction)

Chapter Six

The pilot dropped us off in the airfield outside of Wenton. We quickly made our way to where the Icarus had landed. I lead while Armstrong and Riker followed. I could almost feel Riker glaring angry holes into the back of my head but I tried to ignore him. I had apologized for shooting him, or at least I thought I had. What else did he want from me? I knew that there was nothing he could have done to rescue me but it still hurt that he hadn't even tried. And now he showed up a year later, rushing to my rescue and having the audacity to question why I was trying to save Sebastian's life? And why was he so focused on my friendship with Sebastian? I shook my head. Men.

We made it to the Icarus and I found it buttoned up tight. I typed in the access code and the ramp descended. When Armstrong looked at me curiously, I shrugged. "I spent a lot of time on this ship," I said by way of explanation.

We climbed aboard and made our way to engineering. Armstrong had told us that that was where the data module would be located. Lights switched on as we entered the engineering section. It was small, much smaller than the Enterprise's. Armstrong immediately went to a console and got to work. Riker and I awkwardly stood while he worked.

"I was worried about you," Riker said finally. I turned to look at him He was glaring at me.

"Is that my fault?" I asked. Then I sighed. I didn't want to keep fighting with the man. Despite my annoyance and fear at our current predicament, I was happy to see him. But I was still angry. "I'm sorry," I said quickly. "And I am sorry for shooting you. I really am. I just...didn't see another way out. The Sandorian captain wanted to take the Enterprise to the wormhole and I knew you wouldn't let them. And I knew you wouldn't let us use the ship to rescue the shapeshifters. The Prime Directive wouldn't let you. And I had to save them, Will. I had to."

He nodded. "I know. I..." he shook his head. "I didn't mean to get angry with you. But then...you're working for Sandor, Tasha."

"I don't have a choice," I said flatly. "I have to do what I can survive."

"Maybe I can understand that. I just wanted to talk you but then...how did I get wrapped up in this?"

"That's a good question," I said. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you, I came to rescue you. Well, to see if you needed rescuing. I thought this was as good a place to start as any. I scanned the capital city and there were only a few shapeshifter signatures and only one inside that dome."

"Capital Center," I supplied automatically. "Wait, you came here to rescue me? Is the Enterprise here?"

He shook his head. "Just me. I borrowed a shuttlecraft, parked in at a transfer point, and took civilian transport here. I didn't want to attract attention."

I stared at him. He was leaning back against the console, one leg propped up behind him. He was still wearing the grey of the Sandorian administrators. It looked strange on him. "Why did you come back for me?"

"Why do you think? You're my friend. I...I care about you." Riker paused and rolled his eyes. "All that stuff. I thought at first you had gone with the shapeshifters. We monitored their ship leaving orbit. But then you didn't try to contact us. I didn't hear anything. So I realized you might be in trouble. Or avoiding me."

"It's pretty easy to avoid someone out there," I said, almost laughing. Riker wasn't very good at the emotional stuff but somehow that made it all the more endearing. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed him.

"Is that what you were doing?"

"Of course not. I told you, I can't leave. I live in Capital Center unless they send me on a mission."