You are the reason

First Mission

Megan POV

Its been a few weeks since my meeting with the Captain. I've begun to settle into a routine of working on the bridge, helping crew members during counselling appointments and having fun with my friends. Today, I was assisting the Captain on an away mission. We had recently discovered a planet with a pre-warp civilisation that was sending out a distress call. We had beamed down to the planet and started looking around. There were houses, farms and a huge church- it really was beautiful. I took out my scanner and kept it out as we moved. I wasn't picking up anything unusual. I suddenly spotted someone in the distance. I put my scanner away and tapped the Captain on the arm.

"There's someone over there." I said.

"I see them. Lets go."

We walked over and once we were close enough, I coughed lightly, and they turned to face us.

"You're new." She said, smiling.

"We're from the South. I'm Christopher and this is Megan." He said.

"We are pleased to have you with us. Will you be staying long?" she asked, smiling.

"We'll be here a few days, just while we figure out the next stage of our journey." I said.

"Excellent. Let me show you to our guest lodgings."

We cautiously followed her and when we got to the room, we noticed there was only one bed. I turned to the door to find her gone. I sighed and dropped my bag on the floor and sat on the bed. I looked to the Captain and saw him looking at me.

"I'll take the couch." He said.

"You don't have to do that." I said.

"I do, and I won't take no for an answer." He said, smiling.

I sighed and smiled back.

"Should we have a look around now or wait until the morning?" I asked.

"We'll wait a few hours and then have a look around."

I nodded and pulled my book out of my bag. I opened it and barely started reading when it was taken out of my hands. I looked up at the Captain, feigning annoyance.

"That's the second time you've taken something of mine." I said, smiling.

He chuckled lightly and asked "Why do you always use books like this? They're centuries old."

"I like to stay connected with my ancestors and their way of life." I said.

He nodded and smiled before returning it to me.

---Several hours later---

It was finally time for us to explore the area. I picked up my bag and followed the Captain out the door.

"Captain, where..." I began.

"Megan, while we're here, we need to keep a low profile. You can call me Christopher, or Chris if you prefer." He said, looking down at me.

I nodded and replied "Alright... Chris. Where do we go first?"

"Let's head to the church."

I nodded and we started walking. On the way, I started to get the feeling that someone was watching us.

"Chris, I think we're being watched." I whispered.

"I know. I have that feeling too." He whispered back.

Without warning, I felt something hard hit the back of my head and everything went black.

-----

I slowly opened my eyes. My head was pounding, and I felt tightness around my chest and wrists. As my vision became less blurry, I could see I was in a basement and I was tied up. I looked around and saw the Captain tied up next to me. He was still unconscious, and blood was dripping from his left temple.

"Chris. Chris, can you hear me?" I asked.

He began to stir and eventually came back to consciousness. He looked round and locked eyes with me.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I think so, what about you?" I asked.

"I'm alright." He replied.

"You are now, but soon you won't be."

I looked forward and saw the woman who helped us looking at us menacingly.

"What's going on?" I asked.

She pulled out my phaser and scanner. My face fell- she must have taken our bags.

"What are these devices? Bombs to destroy our sanctuary? Guns to kill our citizens?" she asked, walking right up to me.

"No. I have no idea what they are. Someone must have planted them on us when we were knocked out." I said convincingly.

"I don't believe you." She said.

I watched her put my scanner down and set the phaser to stun. My heart began to beat quicker as she aimed it at me.

"What about you Christopher, do you know anything about these devices?"

"No. I've never seen them before in my life." He said calmly.

"Lies!"

My eyes went wide as she pulled the trigger. An intense shockwave of pain radiated through my shoulder as the energy bolt went straight through it. I screamed in pain as muscle, tissue and bone was ripped apart and shattered. The shockwave also sent my chair flying backwards and I felt my head snap against the floor.

"Leave her out of this!" the Captain yelled.

"Tell the truth and I will leave her alone!"

"Alright!"

I looked up at the Captain, silently begging him to not say anything. The woman then came over to me, pulled my chair up and placed the phaser on my temple.

"Any more lies and I will kill her."

"That weapon youre holding against my friend's temple is a phaser. We carry them for our own protection. Where we're from, we haven't achieved the peace you have."

"And the other device?"

"It's to scan the environment. We mainly use it to ensure the area is safe, especially after natural disasters or other incidents."

"You brought them here- you must be planning something. You are terrorists." She said; horror on her face.

"No. You've got it wrong. We came here because we believed something happened. We got word you needed help so we made the journey to offer assistance." I explained.

Suddenly, the hatch to where we were being held and 2 men came down.

"What is the verdict?" one of them asked.

She removed the phaser from my temple and walked over to them. I watched her, fear flowing through me.

"They are terrorists, sent here to cause panic and destruction. They will be sentenced to death."

My head snapped to the right and I looked at the Captain, fear evident in my eyes.

"Its ok." He mouthed to me.

"Take them upstairs."

The tallest man marched over to me, undid my restraints, forced me to stand up and dragged me upstairs. The first thing I saw was a table with the Captains scanner and phaser on; then I saw all the frightened people. A moment later, the Captain was beside me. As soon as the guards released their grip on us, he wrapped his arm around my waist and held me tightly.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We come here today to serve justice to those who try to disturb the peace in our land. These terrorists intended to use the devices you see before you to destroy everything we hold dear. For that, they must die!" the woman said.

Everyone began jeering and shouting at us. In the chaos, they failed to notice a small child pick the phaser up and activate it. Without thinking, I rushed forward, grabbed the phaser and flung myself to the floor. The last thing I heard before passing out was the Captain shouting my name.