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Dust floated through the air, thick enough that it was difficult to see more than a few feet. A flickering light illuminated the dust from a nearly vertical angle, far removed from the top of the hallway it had adorned only minutes before.
Rough stone and metal scattered in chunks above and below obstructed the light further, but between the shadows, enough light reached the shapes of a human’s hand between the rubble.
His hand was coated in the gray of the dust, same as the sleeve that stretched along his left arm and up across much of his chest, including the once-shiny combadge on the left. Similarly, the dust settled upon the slack bearded face of Commander William T. Riker, obscuring the liveliness of his rosy cheeks.
For a moment, a disturbing calm reigned over the scene. Then, the rubble near the flickering light appeared to shift on its own accord.
Several feet away, Riker stirred, his face quickly twisting into discomfort. His head turned slightly, his left hand splayed out, his back arched against the strange angle he found himself in, and he fell into a short coughing fit, followed by a groan.
Riker’s tongue gently peeled open his lips and his teeth before he opened his mouth wider to mouth a word, although nothing escaped. His eyes opened a crack. Riker closed his mouth and swallowed before attempting again.
“-ta… Data, are you there?” Riker croaked.
His chest rose and fell in an unsteady pattern, no doubt exacerbated by the compression alongside the right side of his chest and his shoulder, or perhaps by the overwhelming feeling of pressure that seemed to dominate any sensations emerging from below his navel.
Riker’s eyes widened and he quickly lifted his head and squinted through the dust and flickering light. There was debris of varying sizes scattered across him, ranging from the pebbles that fell from his beard to the two largest chunks of stone and concrete that almost entirely obscured and immobilized Will’s lower body, especially his hips and right leg.
And oh, it hurt, but Riker wasn’t the one he’d been most concerned about.
“Wesley? Wes, are you there?” An urgency had entered Riker’s voice as he attempted to see through the dust. Riker instinctively moved to lift his torso and rise further, but a hiss escaped his lips and his head and left shoulder dropped down. The rubble trapping his right shoulder shifted slightly, but Will’s attempt to move his trapped right shoulder mostly caused himself pain.
“Wesley? Data?” He called out again. His left hand reached up and found his combadge. “Riker to Enterprise, do you read me?”
Silence.
Riker screwed his eyes shut against the waves of pain from his injuries crashing into each other, but he quickly opened his eyes again when the rubble near the light again shifted.
“Data, Wesley,” said Riker, “is that you?”
Large and small chunks of steel and concrete tumbled away from a pile that, on close inspection, seemed to glimmer as the light penetrated the cracks. Dust billowed about.
Will’s upper body curled left as he coughed again. He twisted inwards as best he could without pulling against his injuries, but even the act of tensing his abdominals sent starbursts of pain through his back and lower body.
As the fit faded, he realized breathing hurt, too - broken ribs, in all likelihood - but Riker quickly shoved that information aside. Other information took precedence at the moment.
A figure, haloed by the flickering light, had emerged in the dust. Riker blinked rapidly, as if the dust would settle faster the more he blinked.
“Data!” A tight smile broke across Riker’s face. “Are you hurt?”
Data stepped closer to Riker, and he no longer blocked the light. Riker examined the android for any visible damage, and he noted a handful of tears in Data’s uniform and skin. Data’s combadge looked undamaged, though.
“I am performing diagnostics to detect the extent of the damage, but I am malfunctioning, Commander,” said Data. “I have lost approximately two minutes and 43 seconds in my memory files. My internal clock is also indicating damage.”
Data’s head turned as he examined Riker from his head to where his toes were buried under the rubble.
“You are injured, most likely severely,” said Data.
Sometimes, Riker found it entertaining when Data stated the obvious. The current situation ruined much of the humor. Instead, he lifted his head as much as he could for a better look at Data and their surroundings.
“Tell me something I don’t know. Can you determine if Ensign Crusher is nearby or hurt?”
Data looked puzzled in that way he often did upon hearing a joke he didn’t understand.
“Commander, Ensign Crusher has been on the shuttle since we landed. The open field we landed on was stable ground, and the tectonic shifts are unlikely to have led to any severe damage.”
Will sighed in relief and dropped his head back onto the stone below him, but he winced at even the slight movements.
He thought for a moment to reorganize his scattered thoughts about the mission.
Matta IX was the location of a Federation science colony, but it had once been home to a now extinct advanced civilization that they were investigating. An ancient planetary shield had activated and prevented any transporter functioning to or from the planet, which also prevented anybody in the colony from leaving without a shuttle. so Riker had led a small away team to deactivate the shield before archaeologists could follow.
It seemed the perfect opportunity for Wesley to gain some experience, and it was meant to be relatively safe.
Clearly, something had gone wrong.
“Of course,” Riker’s brow furrowed, but he smiled wryly. “Missing memories must be a trend on this planet… Can you contact the Enterprise? My com isn’t working.”
Data gave it a try, but he also received no response. “The stone above us is likely to interfere with the signal.”
“Alright, well, can you at least free me from this rubble?”
“The damage to my system does not affect my strength. I will remove the debris over your shoulder, but the stability of the pocket we shelter in may be compromised if I attempt to move the debris on your lower body.”
Riker winced. It seemed more and more that if he was going to get out of this, the transporter might be his only chance. If the shield was still up, though… Well, the odds were slim, but Data could have more luck. If there was a path outside, somehow, he might be able to get out and get to the shuttle.
Riker decided not to dwell on the possibilities. He was usually good at that - compartmentalizing.
“Did we manage to take down the planetary shield?” he asked, his neck cricked so he could stare in the direction of his crushed lower body. Will let his head fall again and half closed his eyes. Every moment he looked at or thought or felt his hips, his legs, the sensation of pressure and numbness seemed to transform more and more into fire.
Disturbed by the lack of response after many seconds, Riker jerked his head up to look at Data. The android had stopped moving or speaking. Something swirled in Will’s stomach; was it unease, nausea, or both?
“Data?”
Data remained unmoving. His gaze was fixed on where Riker’s right shoulder was buried.
“Commander Data, report!” Will snapped as loud as he could, an act that left him feeling like he’d just ran in a 100-meter dash.
No response. Riker let his eyes drift towards the ceiling and swore as he tried to catch his breath. Data had said he was malfunctioning.
In the silence, the intertwining throbbing pain and numbness seemed to intensify. Tendrils of discomfort wrapped around his legs and hip and shoulder, climbing up to embrace Riker’s whole body, and a pounding in the back of Will’s head announced its presence.
That would explain the memory loss, he thought, wincing. Likely a concussion.
A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Riker’s forehead. Hopefully it was only a short malfunction. He couldn’t do much on his own.
Still, he reached back up and tried his combadge, trying to contact the Enterprise, or the shuttle, or… anyone. When he failed, Riker turned his focus back onto his friend.
Riker clenched his jaw and stretched, trying to reach Data’s leg with his left arm and do something that might knock the android into awareness.
“C’mon…” Riker’s brow furrowed in concentration and against the pain that began to spike as he stretched.
Riker touched Data’s ankle, and then something shifted. The weight of the debris that had already been crushing him had moved. Will’s right shoulder and ribs felt almost as if they exploded, but the tiny part of his brain that could still somehow think logically knew that it was far more like an implosion.
And he couldn’t breathe.
“-Yes. The tectonic event began as we entered this structure, but we deactivated the planetary shield,” Data said. A moment of confusion on Data’s face went unnoticed as Will gasped, desperately relieved at hearing Data finally speak again.
Data knelt and placed a hand on Will’s shoulder as he coughed several times, his face contorted in pain.
“Commander, are you having trouble breathing?” Asked Data urgently.
“Some,” Riker forced out. “It’s this,” his left arm helplessly pressed against the piece of rubble, “this stupid rock -“
Data’s hand moved from Riker’s shoulder, and the weight lifted away, freeing Riker’s shoulder and chest. Riker cried out in overwhelming pain and relief.
He wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and wait until the pain subsided, but neither of those possibilities were likely anytime soon. Instead, Riker settled for screwing his eyes shut and taking slightly deeper and less painful breaths.
Will’s head was swimming, and his surroundings were the waves. He was aware of the sounds and sensations of Data moving about, trying his combadge again, and removing pebbles of debris that were scattered around and on top of Riker’s torso.
Still, Riker focused on steadying his breathing, even amid discomfort and pain. It was reminiscent of meditation sessions he had joined a handful of crewmates in before.
He almost flinched when he felt one of Data’s hands on his left shoulder.
“Commander Riker?”
Riker opened his eyes to Data’s face hovering a foot and a half above his own. Data’s striking eyes always caught Riker’s attention, and he swore he could see concern and care in that yellow.
“…Yes, Mr. Data?” Will almost reflexively went for a reassuring smile, but his mouth was tight. The muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched as his lower body continued to send painful reminders that it did not appreciate the situation.
“May I elevate your upper body into a semi-Fowler’s position? It is common in human medical environments to elevate the head and shoulders to a fifteen to thirty degree angle to improve lung expansion and respiration,” Data explained.
Riker’s head seemed to begin pounding at the idea of even slightly sitting up. He nodded anyway.
Data shifted his crouch and a hand appeared behind Riker’s back. Another reached up his neck to support his back, pausing when the fingers touched a sensitive spot and Riker gasped.
“You are bleeding,” Data said.
Riker nodded again, and then he froze, closed his eyes, and let out a slow breath as a wave of nausea descended.
He opened his eyes and half-watched as Data began to sit behind Riker.
“What… are you doing?” Riker asked, still trying to catch his breath.
“This is the most effective and comfortable way to support your head and shoulders,” Data explained as he maneuvered Will into his lap. “And physical touch is beneficial for humans experiencing any type of distress.”
Riker winced when his right shoulder settled on Data’s knee.
“You should look… for a way out,” said Riker. But he did feel that he was breathing easier, if only a little, and Data’s lap was far more comfortable than Riker expected.
Out of the upper corners of his eyes, Riker saw Data fidgeting with his uniform for a moment. The fabric audibly ripped. Data used one hand to press it against the tender cut on the back of Riker’s head.
“I have already evaluated all possibilities of escape within this pocket of rubble. There is one passageway that air appears to be flowing through, but the opening is not large enough to fit through.”
Data’s other hand settled into the top of Will’s hair.
“And I would not leave you, Commander.”
Data had frozen again. He’d frozen a few times, actually, and the time he was nonfunctioning seemed to increase exponentially, if Data’s reports based on his chronological functions were correct. They might not be, Will knew, but he had been struggling to keep track of time since Data’s second freeze.
Riker couldn’t be sure how long it had been, but it was getting more and more challenging to raise his left arm to try his combadge again every minute or so. And the pain became more and more unbearable without the distraction of speaking with Data.
Data had told Riker many, many times that he did not feel human emotions, and at first Riker had thought that meant he didn’t feel anything like emotions. It was possible that Will was simply anthropomorphizing Data, attributing emotions to behaviors as his mind attempted to apply the patterns of others to Data.
Still, that felt like an unfair interpretation of Data’s experiences. Over the past few years of living and working closely together, Riker had become convinced that Data did feel emotions, even if they weren’t detectable by Deanna or directly analogous to human emotions.
Will wondered if Data had been feeling anything similar to fear. Fear over the malfunctions in his positronic systems, fear over being out of contact with the Enterprise… fear over either of them ‘ceasing to function’, as Data would put it.
Will felt fear. The most frustrating part of the fear was how challenging it was to box it up when it was so closely entwined with the pain. How could he begin to describe the pain, or even think about it directly? He would almost prefer the parasite again. Right now wasn’t too different; it’s not like he could move much now or back then, but at least with the nearly painless parasite, it felt easier to face death with dignity.
Facing it now as he fought the nausea and pain, wracking his brain for something, anything he could do… It wasn’t so easy.
He continued to try the Enterprise. Riker suspected that it wouldn’t be good if help didn’t arrive soon.
“Riker… to Enterprise,” he mumbled.
Picard’s voice appeared, staticky and a bit quiet, but he was there. “Number One! It’s good to hear from you. What’s your status?”
For a moment, Riker blinked dumbly. He’d almost forgotten that he’d been trying to get a response.
“Wes… is Wesley alright?”
“Oh - Ensign Crusher was on the shuttle when the tectonic activity began. He’s fine,” said Picard.
There was something in his voice that Riker should be able to recognize. Maybe he would, if he could think clearly through this fog.
Troi’s voice emerged from the com. “It’s you and Data we’re concerned about right now, Will.”
Riker swallowed and pressed his eyes closed. He couldn’t quite tell how much of the pit building in his stomach was Deanna’s feelings seeping through the bond, his own, or the nausea that had been steadily building for several minutes.
Muffled over the com, he heard Deanna speak, her voice quiet and tight. “Captain…”
“Will, a second away team is close to your location. Is Data with you?”
“Yes, but… there’s something wrong with him.” Riker nodded and then promptly regretted it, as it intensified the nausea. “He’s freezing up, sir.”
“And your status?”
The unspoken question: how bad? Riker shook his head. Bad, he knew. Data would probably be fine, though. Riker had seen Geordi fix far more severe damage.
“Commander Riker, report on your status!” Picard said, louder.
Right. He had to say something out loud.
“Sorry, captain,” Will began, grasping desperately onto his focus as the pain and the drifting of his thoughts threatened to tear him away. “My status is… not good. I’m stuck under some rubble. You might want to… consult with Dr. Crusher...”
There was a response, but Will found himself distracted, only barely hearing the sounds of his crewmates speaking over the coms. The flickering light near where Data had emerged from the rubble seemed to be dancing, now.
The sensation of pain seemed to be dancing, too, although that was a more nebulous experience. How could he describe the pain he felt? Will’s body was not enough to contain the pain, and “pain” felt like such a trivial word in the face of this.
He wondered if being cut in half would have hurt more or less.
The hand in Will’s hair shifted.
“Commander, there has been a sixteen minute and nine second gap in my memory,” said Data.
Riker opened his eyes. He didn’t remember closing them. His left hand was still resting on his combadge. Data’s eyebrows knit together, and Will wondered not for the first time what thinking was like for the android.
Another voice came over the combadge.
“Data, thank goodness, we’re almost there. Give me all the information you can on Commander Riker’s condition,” asked Beverly.
“Commander Riker is suffering from the following injuries and symptoms: a head laceration, memory loss, confusion, crush injuries to his right shoulder and upper arm, multiple broken ribs…” Will stopped listening as Data continued down the list.
It had been a while since the list had been that long, he thought.
“His decreasing level of alertness is also cause for concern,” Data added.
Will couldn’t process whatever the response was. There was silence for a moment.
Rumbling emerged from the corner of the pocket of rubble, near the light.
“You’re worried,” Riker bit out, teasing. His smile faded quickly as he watched Data’s face. “‘M sorry. You’ve done… everything you could.”
“No, Commander, I am sorry. I,” Data paused, “must have missed something in my diagnostics. I have not been operating entirely logically.”
“Data, you’re a good friend…”
Data blinked. He seemed to be frowning.
“Commander, I am aware that humans tend to express unspoken sentiments when they are afraid of death, but Dr. Crusher is almost here. You will be fine.”
“Y’re a good man, too,” Will mumbled. He noticed, again, Data’s fingers still gently resting against his scalp.
Data’s mouth opened for a second and then closed for another before he actually spoke.
“The same applies to you… Will.”
The pocket of rubble wasn’t exactly warm, but Will suddenly couldn’t feel any cold. And despite the fearful, crushing weight that bore down on him, both literally and figuratively, Will was sure that Data was correct.
He would be fine.
The rumbling noise he had heard before erupted, paired with a light far brighter than the dimming one in the corner. Will screwed his eyes shut against the sensory input and the reminder of his pain as voices and movement washed over him.
“Data, I - oh, shit!”
“We’ve got them, Jean-Luc.”
“I am glad you are here. Commander Riker needs urgent medical attention.”
“Transporter amplifier in place, can you get a lock on us?”
“Transporter room, prepare to beam the away team directly to sickbay on my mark, not before.”
“Should we move it?”
“No, I need to try and prepare him for the shock of the returning bloodflow first. Will, can you look at me? Will?”
Beverly’s voice was a comfort, and the prick in his neck that quickly began distancing the pain was even more of a comfort.
Riker pried his eyes open and searched for several seconds before he could find her face hovering near his. More noise was in the background. Another prick to his neck.
“Good. That’s good, Will.” He felt a warm hand pressing into his left hand. “Can you squeeze my hand?”
Riker looked away from Beverly, returning his gaze to the comforting yellow of Data’s eyes.
The hand moved, and he felt another prick.
From a distance, Riker heard Beverly speak again.
“Get us to sickbay. Now.”
“Data, have you ever been afraid?” Riker slurred.
The transporter activated.
When they arrived in sickbay, Commander Riker had begun crying out, despite the painkillers that had been previously administered back on the planet. It was a sound Data was sure would be distressing to the surrounding humans who, unlike Data, could feel distressed.
The commander was quickly moved from Data’s lap, and Data stood and stepped off into a corner to avoid being in the way of the bustling medical personnel. Data had known the injuries to Riker’s lower body were severe, but for some reason it still surprised him to see it. There were multiple evident breaks in Commander Riker’s left leg, but the most surprising was Riker’s right leg. It would not be an overstatement to describe it as… flattened.
There was something odd happening in Data’s positronic networks.
He watched for a few moments as Commander Riker convulsed in pain, and although it was incredibly unlikely that Riker was aware enough to hear him, Data found a response to the commander’s question escaping his lips anyways.
“I do not know.”
“What was that, Data?”
Geordi was standing next to Data and reached his hand over to his shoulder. He glanced sideways toward Commander Riker
Geordi, his friend, was there. Data could not feel comfort, but often when Geordi was there, Data’s thoughts and calculations were calmer. That was not true right now. They remained urgent, illogical, despite Data’s knowledge that there was nothing more he could do than accept Geordi’s help in repairs.
Data looked away from Riker.
“Geordi, I believe I am damaged.”
Geordi glanced back at Commander Riker, and then back to Data.
“Yeah,” Geordi sighed. “Come on, let’s get you fixed up.”