Where No Witch Has Gone Before

Chapter Four

Captain's log, star date 6480.3. Ensign Llewellyn, from Engineering, has presented me with quite the dilemma. She's managed to capture the person responsible for the acts of sabotage that have plagued the Excalibur practically since she left Earth orbit. And as I understand it, she managed to do it single-handedly, which would ordinarily garner her a commendation.

However, the nature of the saboteur makes it verra difficult to prosecute him for these crimes, or to imprison him if convicted. I do not see a clear-cut solution to this problem. I will continue meeting with Lieutenant Pushkin, Commander Edmundsson, and Ensign Llewellyn. Hopefully we can reach a decision before we reach Starbase 15 in a few days.

Llewellyn felt like she had been pulled through a garden hose for years. she was able to grab the wizard as he Apparated away, so she knew she wasn't alone in that hose.

She fell to her hands and knees, gasping for air. "I'd forgotten how much I hate that," she said to herself.

She heard ragged gasps to one side of her, and suddenly realized that she wasn't alone in the room. As she looked around, she saw that she was in an officer's cabin, lit only by dozens of candles. Face down on the floor, barely an arm's length away, the wizard she had hitched an Apparition with was convulsing.

Llewellyn rolled him over, then grabbed her wand and cast a Lumos Maxima to light up the room. A bright ball of light floated up from the tip of her wand, spreading from wall to wall when it reached the ceiling to drive every last shadow away.

A quick examination confirmed her suspicion that the wizard had Splinched himself badly. Blood was soaking both boots. Llewellyn knew that she had to act fast. She cast a quick spell to make the boots disappear from his feet and reappear several feet away.

She looked around the room. "Accio Essence of Dittany!" she yelled. Nothing happened. Llewellyn swore briefly under her breath before she tried a few healing charms.

After she cast the spells, she saw that the bleeding had slowed somewhat, but hadn't stopped completely, and the wizard's convulsions had settled down to intense shivering.

Llewellyn stood up and, keeping an eye on the wizard, sidled over to the intercom and jabbed the button. "Llewellyn to Sickbay," she said. She waited a couple of seconds for a response, but got nothing. She jabbed the button and tried again, with the same result.

"Of course," she muttered.

"Don't go anywhere," she told the wizard, then cast a Full Body-Bind jinx on him, just to be on the safe side. She started to turn away, but turned back and Summoned his wand, slipping it up her sleeve for safe-keeping.

A flick of her wand caused the doors to slide open, and Llewellyn found the nearest intercom, on the opposite wall. "Llewellyn to Sick Bay."

"Sick Bay, Wilson here."

"I need a medical team to..." Llewellyn took a second to find the door label. "Deck 8, Room D132. We have the saboteur, but he's badly injured."

"On our way."

Llewellyn toggled the intercom again. "Llewellyn to Pushkin."

"Pushkin. Where did you go, Ensign? What's happening?"

"It's a long story, Lieutenant."

"Well, come back down to the shuttle bay and clean up your mess, ved'ma."

"What mess? Oh, right. I've got a medical team on the way to get the wizard. Oh, by the way, do you see part of a foot and a couple of toes down there?"

Pushkin glanced over to where the body parts still lay on the floor. "Yes, they're still here. They haven't disappeared into thin air, yet."

"I don't think they will. But don't let them go anywhere. Doctor Wilson may want them if she's going to try to put him back together again. Llewellyn out."