The Sands of Time (A Star Trek: The Next Generation Fan Fiction)

Chapter Fourteen

"You can't be serious. This ship is home to a thousand people, you can't seriously expect to hold it with, what half a dozen?" Picard stared me down.

"Eight," I told him, ignoring Otten's protests. "Us, and then three in engineering. And no, we don't. I expect we won't be able to hold off security for more than 10 more minutes. That's why we need your help."

"You obviously don't know anything about the Federation," Will snapped. "We're not..."

He trailed off as I sagged against Otten. "Damnit," I muttered. I was already feeling woozy. "I need to sit down," I gestured back to Riker's chair. "Keep your phaser on them." I took a few hobbling steps forward and glared at Will until he stepped to the side. Almost to the chair, I felt my leg buckle and I instinctively reached out for Will's arm as I fell. He caught me by the waist and I stared up at him as half held me up, not sure what he would do. I really didn't want him to punch me again. He stared back, his eyes mirroring my surprise and confusion.

"Tasha?" he asked.

"I think I need Beverly," I told him, my vision blurring a bit. I managed to stand under my own power but Will didn't let go. I looked over at Picard.

"Captain, I know you don't have any reason to trust me or even believe that I'm me. But I'm begging you to help us, just for now. I can explain later, but if we don't let those delegates over in the next few minutes, all the shapeshifters on Sandor could suffer."

Picard just looked at me for a second, his eyes hard. I didn't know exactly what we would do if he didn't agree. I hadn't lied when I told him we couldn't hold the ship on our own, not if I wasn't willing to hurt someone.

Picard reached up and tapped his badge. "Picard to all security personnel," he said. I felt Will's grip on my waist tighten. "Stand down from Engineering and the Bridge. The ship is in no danger. Beverly Crusher, please report to the bridge."

I backed away from Will and he let me sink into the chair, but stayed standing just a little too close.

"Thank you, Captain. Otten, it's your turn."

He nodded. Once again, the captain of the Fury appeared on the screen. I barely shifted back to Moira's form in time.

"We're ready for you to beam aboard," he said. A few seconds later, the captain and two of the other officers appeared in front of the captain's ready room. The captain stared down at Moira's prone form.

"She got my leg," I told him and he turned to where I was sitting, wearing Moira's face again. "You didn't tell me she was so dangerous."

"I'm sure Dominic will make sure your leg is seen to. What's the situation?"

"We have engineering and the bridge." Otten stepped forward. "I made sure the transporter's locked out. The ship's yours."

The captain looked pleased. "I have to say, you all made the right decision. Dominic will be very happy. You'll get your planet, as promised, once all this is over."

"I think we should go to the observation lounge." Otten pointed at the door. "We've had trouble holding security off, we can let Jaime and Dean take care of it so we won't be interrupted."

"Very good. I'll contact Dominic to let him know it's going smoothly."

The three of them followed Otten into the lounge without another word. I watched them go and heaved a sigh of relief after they had left.

"Explain."

I looked up to see Picard standing over me. I suddenly felt very small, surrounded by the captain and towering first officer. I swallowed.