The Return of Mudd

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From: acolling@lawson.appcomp.utas.edu.au (Adam David Collings)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: TNG 2ERA “The Return of Mudd”
Date: 2 Sep 1996 04:09:47 GMT
Organization: University of Tasmania
Lines: 67
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <50dmmb$nm3@braddon.its.utas.edu.au>
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Star Trek: The Next Generation

TITE: The Return of Mudd (TNG 2ERA)
AUTHOR: Adam Collings (acolling@lawson.appcomp.utas.edu.au)
Parts: 5 plus intro (this file)
Summery: Harry Mudd travels into the twenty-fourth century to sell
Federation secrets to the Dominion. Picard must stop him.

NOTE: Star Trek is copyrighted by Paramount. All the main characters
alien races, starships etc… are the property of Paramount.
The storyline itself was written by Adam Collings based on episodes of
The Original Series, The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.

I have tried to make sure I have not contradicted anything that has
happeden in “real” Star Trek. If you notice any places where I may
have failed to do this then please feel free to let me know at:
acolling@lawson.appcomp.utas.edu.au

Feel free to copy this story if you wish, it is absolutly free, but
please don’t change anything.

BLURB
—–

One of Captain James T. Kirk’s most devious oponents was Harcord Fenton
Mudd (nicknamed Harry). Harry Mudd captured the USS Enterprise twice. Now
Kirk has finally caught Mudd and is sending him to Earth to face trial. One
the way Harry is attack by a Romulan Warbird and presumed dead.
Now a century later Captain Jean-Luc Picard is called to investigate
a traitor selling Federation Secrets to the Dominion. Soon Picard and the
crew of the Enterprise will face Harry Mudd. They will also come up against
a deadly Jem’ Hadar warship.

A Note
– —-

Although this story contains characters from the original series and from
Deep Space Nine I consider it to be a Next Generation story. When reading
this story it would be helpful to have seen the TOS episodes that feature
Harry Mudd or to have played Star Trek: 25th Anniversary CD-ROM but this is
not essential.

The long range shuttle mentioned in the prologue is the same type of ship as
Spock’s shuttle in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

*************************************************************************

/——-
| o o | Adam Collings
| | | Bachelor of Applied Computing
— / University of Tasmania
——-

“Are you sure you won’t change your mind?”
“Is there something wrong with the one I have?”
Star Trek IV : The Voyage Home

************************************************************************

Star Trek: The Next Generation
“The Return of Mudd”

By Adam Collings July 1996

NOTE: Star Trek is copyrighted by Paramount. All the main characters
alien races, starships etc… are the property of Paramount.
The storyline itself was written by Adam Collings based on episodes of
The Original Series, The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.

I have tried to make sure I have not contradicted anything that has
happeden in “real” Star Trek. If you notice any places where I may
have failed to do this then please feel free to let me know at:
acolling@lawson.appcomp.utas.edu.au

Feel free to copy this story if you wish, it is absolutly free, but
please don’t change anything.

Prologue

Stardate: 3920.3
The Quarnis Sector

The Starship Enterprise hung motionless in space. Fluttering
around it were small shuttlecraft. Some circled the Enterprise while
others came and went. In the distance stars twinkled. Stars that the
Enterprise would soon be flying past.
Harry Mudd was miserable. He hated all prisons but this was one
of the worst. He was inside the brig of a very familiar Starship. There
was nothing really wrong with this brig. It was comfortable and warm.
Harry had seen much worse. The thing that he hated about this prison
was its location. Harry was a captive on the Enterprise. This meant
that he had once again been defeated by his old “friend”, James T.
Kirk.
Personally, Harry had nothing against Jim Kirk. He thought that
Kirk was a very good captain and in other circumstances the two of
them could have been great friends. Unfortunately this wasn’t
possible. Harry Mudd was a criminal and Kirk did not like criminals,
to put it mildly. Harry was a cheat and a liar. He was an excellent
conn artist.
This time Kirk had caught him trying to sell Starfleet secrets to the
Klingons. Kirk had been sent to investigate and had nearly failed. If it
hadn’t been for that pointy-eared freak, Spock, Harry would have got
away with it. Sadly, Spock’s logic had solved the case and caused
Mudd to be sitting in the brig.
Harry jumped as the door slip open. Kirk and Spock entered.
“Well Harry, it looks like I’ve finally got you where I want you.”
“So you have Kirk.”
“What would your wife Stella think Harry?”
“Don’t mention that name Kirk. I can’t believe that you did that to
me!”
“Did what?”
“Left me on that planet with all of those android replicas of my
annoying wife.”
Kirk remembered the incident well. It seemed a lifetime ago but it
was in fact less than a year since the incident.
Just then a red-shirted security officer entered the room. Kirk
turned to speak to him.
“Ensign, please escort Mr. Mudd to the shuttle.”
“Aye sir.”
The young officer pulled out a phaser and turned off the energy field
at the entrance to the brig. Harry stepped out.
“This way please Mr. Mu…” began the officer.
“It’s all right Ensign. I know the way.” Harry strolled out into the
corridor. He was escorted through the ship to the shuttle bay at the
back of the secondary hull. Harry felt humiliated. He entered the bay
and saw his transport to Earth. The long range shuttle had a warp
engine. These were fairly new.”
Harry stepped into the shuttle where he was led into a small brig.
At the front of the shuttle a Starfleet officer sat ready at the controls.
“Are you ready to leave Lieutenant Grey?” asked Kirk who had just
stuck his head inside the doorway.
“Yes sir.”
“All right then. Be careful. Mudd may be a pain but he can
sometimes be dangerous.”
“Yes sir.”
Kirk stepped out of the shuttle bay and watched through the window
as the room decompressed and the bay doors opened. The shuttle
slowly lifted off the floor and moved forward, out into space.
Once it was clear of the Enterprise, the shuttle shot off like a bullet
leaving a rainbow trail behind it. It was in warp speed.

On the bridge of the Enterprise Kirk watched the stars twinkle.
Knowing that Harcord Fenton Mudd was now on his way to prison.
He would probably end up in the rehabilitation facility in Aukland,
New Zealand.
He turned to Spock who was sitting at his science station.
“Well Spock, do you think we have finally seen the end of Harry
Mudd?” Spock considered this.
“Judging from his past record I would seriously doubt it Captain.”
Ensign Checkov, who was seated at the navigation station turned
around to speak.
“I sincerely hope you are wrong Mr. Spock.”
“So do I,” replied the Vulcan.

Harry Mudd was bored. They had been travelling for half an hour
and the pilot was not very talkative.
“Wouldn’t you like to put some music on Lieutenant?” he asked in an
annoyed voice.
“Sorry Mr Mudd. It will not improve the efficiency of my piloting
so I see no reason to do so.” Harry let out an exasperated sigh. This
guy was worse than a Vulcan! Then again, maybe Lt. Grey was a
Vulcan. Harry couldn’t see the man’s ears from this angle.
All of a sudden there was a loud beep.
“What was that?” demanded Mudd.
“Oh dear,” came the reply.
“What is it?” Mudd demanded again.
Before the pilot could reply Harry got his answer. On the
viewscreen he saw a Romulan Warbird decloak. The ship was large
and menacing and its weapons were armed. Immediately the Romulan
began firing its disruptors. The shuttle shook violently. Lieutenant
Grey fought at the controls, trying to stabilise the ship. Their shields
were no match for the Romulan’s weapons. He glanced at his controls
and readouts, looking for an alternative. There was one planet in this
system and they were nearly in transporter range. The shields were
down to 10%.
“I’m taking us near this planet. We’re going to have to use the
emergency transporter.
“For goodness sake, let me out of here!” shouted Mudd.
Lieutenant Grey was now standing at the transporter controls.
“There is a lot of magnetic interference but I think we can beam
through it.” The Lieutenant ran to the brig controls and released Harry.
“Go and stand on the transporter pad. Hurry!”
Harry did as he was told. The Lieutenant activated the transporter
delay and ran to the pad. They were both engulfed in bright light and
just as the hull of the shuttle began to tear apart.

Chapter 1

Approximately 100 years later…
Stardate 48355.6
Earth

Captain Jean-Luc Picard was restless. He had been waiting for
several hours now. He considered going back to the holodeck for a
horse ride or perhaps a game of golf when his communicator badge
beeped.
“Captain Picard, please come into my office.”
Jean-Luc gave a sigh of relief and stood up. He disliked meetings
with admirals. He hesitated for a second and then walked through the
door. The office was similar to his own. There was a desk at one end
and a food replicator close and handy. Across from the desk was a
window overlooking the city skyline of San Fransico. Jean-Luc
preferred the view from his own window. He enjoyed watching the
stars float by.
“Please take a seat captain,” said Admiral Jeremy Vome.
Captain Picard sat down opposite the admiral.
“I have called you hear to discuss a very important mission Jean-
Luc,” The admiral began. He stood up and walked over the replicator.
“Would you like something?”
Jean-Luc hesitated. It was always a bad sign when an admiral
offered you refreshments before telling you about an important mission.
“Tea, Earl Grey.” The admiral nodded.
“Computer, one hot strong black coffee and one hot Earl Grey tea.”
The replicator made a whirring sound and two cups materialised.
Admiral Vome took them and handed one to Jean-Luc.
“This mission involves Federation Security so we are very
concerned. We believe that a body of some type is stealing Starfleet
tactical secrets and selling them to the Dominion.”
A look of concern came over Jean-Luc’s face. “The Dominion?”
The Dominion was a force that operated in the Gamma Quadrant.
They had been discovered late last year, about the same time that Jean-
Luc had the unusual experience of travelling between three different
time periods due to a superbeing named Q. The Domion was founded
by a group of shapeshifting aliens and they liked to get their own way.
They forced order with the use of a military group known as the Jem’
Hadar.
“As you can see we have a real problem here. The Dominion have
certainly not shown themselves to be trustworthy. We still haven’t
decided how big a threat they represent.”
“From what I understand, they represent an extremely large threat,”
replied Captain Picard.
“That’s right Jean-Luc. That’s why we chose you.”
“I see,” replied Picard.
“We want you to investigate this and find out who is behind the plot.
This mission must be very secret. We cannot allow it to become public
knowledge that the security of the Federation may have been
compromised. Only you, your first officer, your security chief, and any
other trusted members of you senior staff may know the real reason of
your mission.”
Picard nodded and sipped his tea which was too weak.
“Your investigation will probably take you many places, perhaps
even into the Gamma Quadrant, so you have clearance to travel through
the wormhole. We will inform Commander Sisko.”
Picard nodded again. Something made him think that this would be
a long afternoon.

Data looked around. Everything was quiet. Everything was dark.
Occasionally the hoot of an owl would pierce the silence. The moon
was almost completely covered by black clouds. Data was on the
holodeck of the Enterprise running a simulation. He was standing in a
thick forest.
A small rodent came scurrying out of the scrub, ran past him and
then disappeared again. Data crept forward through the dense
vegetation. He knew it would be coming soon but he had no idea
when. They were out here somewhere. Klingon Braghks. Very
vicious creatures. They killed with their long fangs. They were
particularly deadly because of their ability to silently approach their
prey and attack when it is least suspected.
Data was in no real danger of course. The holodeck safety program
was active but he tried to forget about that. An almost impossible task
for an android. He couldn’t just forget something. It was all stored in
his posotronic network.
Suddenly there was a deafening roar. Data swung around to see the
menacing creature behind him ready to strike. The created leapt into
the air and pushed Data to the ground. It then began to maul at Data’s
throat. Immediately time stopped. Data heard the computer voice
interrupt.
“Program halted due to holodeck safety program.” Data sighed in
despair. He hadn’t been frightened. He hadn’t experienced terror. He
climbed to his feet.
Ever since Data had been reading horror stories he had tried to
experience the emotion of fear. He believed it would help him to
appreciate the story more. He had been very unsuccessful. Fear was
an emotion and Data was incapable of all emotion.
“Computer, increase the size of the Braghks by 20% and restart
program.”
“Warning, unrealistic parameters have been specified. Do you wish
to continue?” inquired the computer.
“Yes,” Data replied. Instantly the animal vanished and Data found
himself standing alone in the forest again. He was hopeful that this
time he would get a positive response to his test but logically he knew
that he would not.
Suddenly his Comm. badge beeped. He tapped it.
“Data here.”
“Data, this is Riker. Please report to the bridge.”
“Aye sir. Computer, exit program.”
Immediately the forest disappeared and was replaced by the striped
walls of the holodeck. The large doors slid open and Data stepped out
onto the corridor.

Harry Mudd woke with a start and realised that he had been
dreaming. It was a dream that he had regularly. It was of a time in his
past. Almost a year ago. It was the time when he had experienced “the
change” as he called it. It was the time when he had travelled forward
through time and had escaped imprisonment.
Harry’s dream always started on the shuttle. He saw the Romulan
Warbird decloak and begin firing its disruptors. The shuttle shook
violently. He stepped onto the transporter pad and beamed down just
before the shuttle exploded. He remembered the strange contrast that
he had felt just as he beamed down. He felt the incredible heat of the
exploding ship and then the icy air of the planet below. The first thing
he had seen was the strange faces of the yellow skinned aliens. A race
he came to know as Cardassians a short time later.
The Cardassians took him prisoner. They accused him of crossing
the de-militarised zone, whatever that meant. At this time, Harry did
not realise that he had arrived in the future. He assumed it was still the
twenty third century. He had never really worked out how it happened.
Harry always assumed that the magnetic interference had caused a rift
in time and that he and Lieutenant Grey had beamed through it. Sadly,
he never got to ask the lieutenant about his theory because he died
shortly after in a Cardassian concentration camp.
Mudd had been treated less severely because he was a civilian. He
had been taken to a prison where he lived for about a month. Things
had not looked good. He had escaped the comfortable prison on Earth
only to end up in a nightmare that the Cardassians called a luxury cell.
After one month the prison had been raided by a group known as the
Maquis. They had come to rescue some of their captured members but
they took Harry since he was human. He talked them into letting him
join their organisation with his usual skill. It turned out that the
Maquis were renegade Federation citizens who were now living in
Cardassian space but were not prepared to accept Cardassian law. It
was during his time with the Maquis that Mudd learned he was now in
the twenty-fourth century.
Harry Mudd had not been expecting to work in the Maquis for very
long. He was only using them to get to freedom. It worked. He went
with one of them on a mission into Federation space. Before leaving,
he sabotaged the ship. Then when they were dead in space he
blackmailed the Maquis officer into letting him go. This hadn’t
worked the way he wanted it to. He ended up having to kill the man
with a phaser. Harry didn’t particularly like killing. He was not a
murderer. A cheat, a liar, a thief, and a traitor maybe, but not a
murderer. After a short time he had ended up making contact with a
race known as the Ferengi. He like these people. They reminded him
of himself. They lived for one reason alone, to gain as much profit as
possible. That was Harry’s dream.
Now Harry was wide awake. He was still working with the
Ferengi. He climbed out of bed and ordered breakfast at the replicator.
He had to get moving. He had a job to do.

Star Trek The Next Generation: “The Return Of Mudd” By Adam Collings
End of Part 1/5

Star Trek The Next Generation
“The Return of Mudd”
Part 2/5

Chapter 2

Picard had just finished explaining the situation to his senior
officers. He was in the conference lounge. With him was Commander
Riker, his first officer, Lieutenant Worf, his chief of security, Lieutenant
Commander Data and Counsellor Troi.
“As you can see we have a very deadly situation. We all need to
work hard. Commander Riker and I will divide the problem up into
tasks which will be assigned to each of you. Dismissed.”
Everybody stood up to leave. Data strolled over to counsellor Troi
who was heading for the back entrance.
“Counsellor, could I please speak to you?”
“Of course Data, what is it?”
“I have been running a series of experiments in the holodeck.
Attempting to experience fear. I have used many different simulations
but I cannot seem to understand the concept of being frightened. Troi
considered this for a moment.
“This is not an easy task that you have chosen Data. Fear is an
emotion. An emotion that you are physically not designed to
experience.” Data sighed.
“Yes counsellor. That is my biggest problem. I have experienced
fear in the past, when my brother Lore transmitted feelings from his
emotion chip into my posotronic matrix. I know that I had the
experience but I cannot remember the feeling itself. I have forgotten
what it is to be scared.”
“You still have Lore’s emotion chip don’t you?”
“Yes counsellor. I have been hesitant to use it because of how I
acted when Lore was feeding me with his emotions. I do not want to
put my friendship with Geordi at risk.”
“I seriously doubt that will happen Data. You were confused and
addicted when that happened. You were being controlled by Lore.
They were his emotions, not yours.” Data was silent for a moment.
“I also believe that the emotion chip may overload my posotronic
network.”
“Well that’s a technical problem outside my area of expertise.”
“Yes, well I believe the use of the emotion chip is not an option at
the moment. I am simply not ready. But I would still like to
experience fear. I am wondering if it is possible without the emotion
chip.”
“Maybe your going about it the wrong way Data. You are treating
this like a scientific experiment. Fear can’t be treated analytically.
You just have to feel it. Let me help you.”
“How?”
“Trust me Data.” and with that she strolled out of the room.
Data made a confused noise and then walked out onto the bridge.

Geordi LaForge was exasperated. He couldn’t get the equations to
compute. If he could just make this work then the Enterprise’s engines
would run at 10% extra efficiency. He was nearly there. Just then
Geordi was saved from exploding. Data walked in.
“Ah, just the artificial lifeform I wanted to see,” he said cheerfully,
glad to see his friend. “I am in serious need of you assistance.”
“Certainly,” replied Data. “What is the problem?”
“Well I’ve got these equations which in theory will improve the
engines a lot, but in practice they just won’t work.”
“All right. I’ll take a look at it.” Data stepped up to a terminal and
began touching the screen.
“So what went up there in the conference lounge anyway? Have we
got a mission?”
“Unfortunately I am not permitted to discuss this with you Geordi.”
Geordi thought about this.
“Oh. Okay. Must be something pretty important.” He went back to
his equations.
Geordi felt uneasy about the idea of secret missions. He was a
senior officer on this ship. It was very rarely that the Enterprise went
on a mission that Geordi knew nothing about. He was slightly relaxed
by the understanding that whatever it was, Captain Picard and the
others would handle it. Geordi had complete confidence in every
crew member of this ship. If the Captain asked for his services he
would gladly give them, otherwise he would keep clear of the situation
and give the others room to move.

They were all seated in the conference lounge again. Picard began
to speak.
“Commander Riker and I have divided up the individual tasks. Mr
Data, you will analyse the computers for signs of tampering. Mr Worf,
you will investigate any security breaches or intrusions at Starfleet.
Counsellor, I want you to look into the people who have access to the
information being stolen. See if any of then have a reason to betray
Starfleet.”
Picard stopped and looked around to room, giving his officers a
chance to ask questions.
“Captain,” Worf began, “Where do you wish me to concentrate my
search?”
“Starfleet central and possibly Starbase 1. They seem to be the
most obvious places.”
“Aye sir.” The Captain waited but nobody else spoke up.
“All right. If there are no other questions or suggestions, you are
dismissed, and good luck.”

Harry Mudd entered the room. Sitting at the desk was an aging
Ferengi. He looked up.
“You’re late, Harry.”
“Forget that, let’s get down to business.”
The Ferengi nodded and pulled out a portable computer terminal.
Harry handed him a small isolinear rod which he placed into the
terminal. The two of them looked at the screen as line after line of text
scrolled past.
“Most of this is useless,” commented the Ferengi. Harry nodded
silently in agreement. Then all of a sudden the Ferengi let out a high
pitched squeal. Harry jumped back in surprise.
“Look at this Harry!” Harry stepped back up and looked at the
screen.
“This is very important! I’m sure that the Ferengi government and
many others would be interested in purchasing this information as
well.”
“But our main customer is still the Dominion?”
“Of course Mr Mudd. We are going to be rolling in latinum from
this deal!”

Data sat at a computer terminal in an unused computer lab. He was
scanning various computer designs and looking at Starfleet’s system in
detail. There was not much of use. Nothing that indicated an area
where security could be breached. The entire system seemed perfectly
secure.
Unlike a human, Data could do this work for hours and not get
frustrated. He though of it as a fortunate gift. He continued on
scrolling through screen after screen. Suddenly he heard a voice behind
him.
“Stop right there.” Data turned to see a Cardassian Gul holding a
large phaser. The phaser was pointing directly at Data.
“I am going to kill you Lieutenant Commander,” informed the
smiling creature, and then it disappeared. The Cardassian simply
vanished. Data was confused. Then he saw Counsellor Troi walk
around the corner holding a holographic projector.
“Hello Data.”
“Counsellor, am I to understand that you caused that image of a
Cardassian?”
“That’s right. Were you scared?” Data considered this.
“No. But I was surprised.”
“Oh,” Troi said, slightly disappointed.
“I thought if I caught you off guard I might have some success. It
appears that you are simply incapable of fear.”
“That is most unfortunate.” Troi watched Data’s face change. It
almost showed signs of disappointment.
“You are disappointed aren’t you Data?”
“You forget Counsellor. I am not capable of emotion.”
“I know that, but I also know how important it is for you to fit in,
you want to become more human, to experience emotion.”
“Yes.”
“So, have you found anything?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Nothing useful. I believe the only way that this breach of security
could have occurred is if a physical data capture device was attached
somewhere in the isolinear connections.”
“Well keep working. Good luck.”

Worf was walking through the corridors of Starfleet headquarters.
He was talking to a local security guard about several recent
intrusions.
“We still can’t figure it out sir. They seem to be able to get through
all of our security. We have some rooms that are on bioscan access
only. The computer scans their DNA as they approach the doorway
and they can’t get in unless their biological pattern has been
registered,” explained the officer.
“What about transporters?” asked Worf.
“The rooms are surrounded by an advanced magnetic shield. There
is no way any type of matter/energy transporter could get through it.”
“And yet there were definitely intruders?”
“Yes. Several isolinear rods containing vital information have been
stolen. We actually have a visual log of one of the intrusions into the
security briefing room. Bus all of this is nothing compared to what we
think they are really after.”
“And what is that?”
“Vital Starfleet information. The exact technical makeup of our best
ships, Starfleet tactical information, frequency algorithms used in our
shields and other information that is classified beyond my level.”
Worf let out a sigh. This certainly was serious. If there was even a
chance that this information was falling into the hands of the Jem’
Hadar then they had to do all they could to prevent it.
“I would like to view the visual log of the intrusion,” declared
Worf.
“Aye sir, we can do that in my office.”
They walked through a doorway into an office. The security officer
turned the computer terminal on the desk around so they could both see
it.
“Computer, display visual log deck 35 section 4 room 54B on
Stardate 48294.6,” he commanded. The computer loaded the log and a
video image appear on the screen.
Worf watched closely. He could see an empty room. Suddenly a
humanoid walked into the room from outside the range of the screen.
The man walked up to a cabinet, opened it and took out an isolinear
rod. He then walked back off the screen.”
“Computer, end,” commanded the security officer. He turned to
Worf.
“Where did that man come from?”
“I don’t know sir. That security recording covers the entire room.
It’s as if the guy walked straight through a wall.”
“All right. I’ve seen enough. I’ll copy this recording onto the
Enterprise’s computer. Let’s keep moving.” The two of them left the
room.
They came around a corner just as a man in Starfleet uniform
walked out of a high security computer room.
“That’s him!” shouted the security guard. “That’s one of the
intruders.”
The man began to run. Worf drew his phaser and aimed.
“Stop, Starfleet security!”
The man pulled out a hypospray and plunged it against his arm.
Instantly he fell to the ground. Worf ran up to him and felt for a pulse.
He turned slowly to the security officer.
“He is dead.”

Dr Beverly Crusher stood near a biobed holding a tricorder and a
data padd. She was examining a medical report.
On the bed was the body of the intruder. Dr Crusher did not know
what this was about but she didn’t care. Her job was to find out what
had caused the death of this man and that was it.
“Well?” asked Captain Picard, who was standing nearby.
“He died from an injection of Cromonine, a fast working suicide
drug. It is about ten times faster working than cyanide. He had a data
chip hidden in his shirt. You may want Data to have a look at it.”
“Yes thankyou,” Picard took the chip. “This man was obviously
following orders but whose? Who would give him such fear that he
would inject himself with Cromonine?”
“I don’t know Jean-Luc. That isn’t my area of expertise.”
“Thankyou Doctor.” Picard walked out of Sickbay.

Harry Mudd was still delighted at his good fortune. He found it
hard to believe that he had stumbled upon something so significant.
The Jem’ Hadar would pay anything for this. As would many others.
It was the complete plans for the USS Defiant, as well as the set of
algorithms and equations used to continually modify the shield
frequency of all Starfleet vessels. The Defiant was the most powerful
ship in the fleet. These plans showed everything. How the weapons
worked. How power was allocated through the warp systems. The
exact configuration of the ship’s computer and all of the ship’s
weaknesses. The Jem’ Hadar had captured the Defiant once but there
was still a lot of information they didn’t have, plus with these
equations they could fire through the shields of almost any Starfleet
vessel.
Suddenly Harry felt a tinge of guilt. What he was doing was treason
to Earth and the entire Federation. How many people would die
because of his actions. He quickly threw off these feelings. He had
never really worried about that type of thing. When people made
money others sometimes got hurt. Nothing could change that. Feeling
guilt over this was foolish. It was no different than selling Federation
secrets to the Klingons back in the twenty-third century where he had
come from. Things had turned out well from that. The Federation was
now at peace with the Klingons.
Harry felt slightly annoyed that the one who had initiated the peace
with Chancellor Gorkon of the Klingon High Council was his old
friend Spock. It was as if Spock was teasing him, saying “you may
have made a little money selling to the Klingons but it just got you
killed and it didn’t do the Klingons any good either.” This was crazy
of course. Harry wasn’t dead. He was just as alive as he was the day
he got caught by Captain James T. Kirk.
Then another thought popped into Harry’s mind. What if the Jem’
Hadar defeat the Federation and enslave its people. What if you get
killed because of this! This was a very troubling thought. Harry
suddenly wished that he had never started thinking about it. It was a
serious threat. Then he looked at the screen. He saw the plans of the
Defiant and began to think once again about how much money he would
get out of it. He comforted himself by saying, “Its worth a little risk for
all this money.”

Star Trek The Next Generation: “The Return of Mudd” By Adam Collings
End of Part 2/5

Star Trek The Next Generation
“The Return of Mudd”
Part 3/5

Chapter 3

“Captain’s Log. Stardate 48355.7. Recorded under security lock.
We are in orbit of Earth, working on our investigation of the stolen
Starfleet secrets. So far we have found some mysterious information
but no solid evidence about what is going on. We will continue to
search.”

Several members of the senior crew were sitting in the conference
lounge, Picard, Riker, Troi, Data and Worf. They were reviewing
progress on their mission. Picard began the talking.
“Mister Data, have you had a chance to examine the data chip that
the intruder was carrying?”
“Yes sir. There is a lot of information about Starfleet tactics but
nothing that would be valuable for trade. This information is not
heavily classified and most of our enemies would already know
everything on it.”
“So it was useless to him.”
“Apparently so Captain.”
“So somebody has such control over people that they will commit
suicide over a chip they haven’t properly examined, that may be
useless to them anyway,” began Counsellor Troi.
“Yes Counsellor. There have been many people in history who have
had extreme control over people, Gvot of the Romulan Empire, Hitler
of Earth, Kromon of the Klingons, Frell of the Quarnians…”
“Yes, thankyou Data, I think we get the picture,” interrupted Picard.
“The question is who is it that has control over these people, how are
they getting through our security and where are they now?”
“Captain,” said Worf, “I have run a security check on the intruder.
He was a trader called James Pool. Known as a criminal by many
species in the alpha quadrant but never convicted of anything.
Certainly not the person who would try to commit such an enormous
crime.”
“Unless he was offered a lot of money by somebody,” put in Riker.
“Yes Commander. He was obviously hired by somebody else.”
“Mister Worf, What have you found out about the visual log of the
intruder?” asked Picard.
“I have run a security check on him as well, his name is Brian Scott.
I found the same, a slightly corrupted trader who would not have the
ability or the courage to plan something like this. I still don’t know
how he got into the building.”
“So we have somebody hiring all of the traders with a bad name
trying to get as much information about Starfleet as possible.”
Picard sat and thought about what had been found so far.
“Are there any other questions or comments?”
Picard was answered by silence.
“All right then, keep working. Dismissed.”

The Ferengi ship travelled smoothly through space. The stars
whooshing past at such speed on the viewscreen reminded Harry Mudd
of the Enterprise. The ship he had captured twice, once to sell wives
to miners on a distant planet, and once to offer the crew to a race of
androids in exchange for his freedom. Finally the ship came out of
warp and Harry saw the most unusual Federation Starbase he’d ever
seen. It had a central spiral which was surrounded by a large
habitation ring. At three equally spaced positions around the ring were
tall pylons. Harry walked over to one of the Ferengi at the helm.
“This is a strange looking Federation Starbase.”
“This is Deep Space Nine. It isn’t really a Federation base. It
belongs to the Bajorans. The Federation just run it.”
“These Bajorans have a strange sense of architecture.”
“Actually it was built by the Cardassians.”
The name sent a slight shiver up Harry’s spine. His previous
experience with the Cardassians had not been a pleasant one. He
looked once more at Deep Space Nine. Now that it had been
mentioned, he could see a distinct Cardassian Style in the station.
Before he had thought it looked strange but pleasant. Now that he
knew who built it he simply thought it was ugly.
“We are preparing to dock now, I suggest you proceed to the air
lock Mr. Mudd.”
Harry nodded. It was his mission to secure transport to the Gamma
Quadrant. The wormhole was not available for general use at the
moment due to the threat from the Dominion. The crew of Deep Space
Nine had been taking the USS Defiant into the Gamma Quadrant for
exploration missions but a Ferengi Trader would never be cleared. It
was not going to be an easy task but Harry was a skilful man.
Harry Mudd proceeded through the hallways of the ship and into the
airlock room. When the ship was safely docked a beep emanated from
the intercom. Harry entered the airlock and then stepped out into Deep
Space Nine.
A man in a brown uniform walked over to Harry. He had a very
unusual nose and no eyebrows. The man began to speak.
“Hello, I am Odo, chief of security on DS9. What is the purpose of
your visit here?”
“My name is Harry Mudd. I am conducting business in this fine
station.”
“Business. That is why you are travelling with Ferengi is it?”
“Yes. I don’t particularly like them. They are prepared to break the
law just for profit. They do however provide very reasonable
transport.”
“I see. Well make sure you business here is legal and you will not
have any trouble.” With that Odo turned around and walked away.
Harry silently wondered whether it had been a mistake to give his
name. He quickly decided that it didn’t matter. He was living almost
one hundred years in the future. Nobody would have heard of him or
of his reputation. He proceeded onto the promenade to look for the
location of his first contact. A bar named Quark’s.

The Enterprise shook violently. Geordi raced to the controls near
the Warp Core. They were being attacked by a Jem’ Hadar warfleet.
The ship was constantly being hit by torpedos. The intercom beeped
and the voice of Jean-Luc Picard came over.
“Mr LaForge, we need more power to the shields. What can you
give us?”
Geordi looked over his controls in desperation. Searching for an
alternative. Data came rushing over to assist him.
“Captain, I think we can re-route a little power from the lower
decks and divert it into the shields. But we’re not going to be able to
hold out for much longer.”
“Do your best Geordi.”
Geordi and Data worked quickly at the controls. They brought up a
schematic of the ship and began to re-route the power. The ship was
suddenly shook by an enormous torpedo blast. Sirens began blaring in
engineering. Geordi raced over to another panel and began pressing
the controls on the touch screens.
“Data, the main power relays are down. The power grid is
becoming fragmented. We must realign it or the entire ship will be
powerless.” Geordi slapped his Comm badge.
“Engineering to bridge. I am diverting all power to shields except
minimum life support.”
“What about weapons Geordi?” came the voice of Picard.
“In our present state they’re going to be useless anyway Captain.”
Suddenly there was a large explosion and a cloud of white gas
erupted from the warp core. The computer began to speak.
“Warning, warp core breach. Evacuate ship.”
The voice of Jean-Luc Picard came over the entire ship through the
intercom.
“This is the Captain, evacuate the ship immediately.”
Suddenly the engineering room was filled with light as ten Jem’
Hadar soldiers beamed aboard holding huge weapons. They began
shooting at people. One of them said,
“You are not getting off this ship. We will all die together. Geordi
shouted back at the man
“You fool, you are going to die!” The Jem’ Hadar simply smiled.
“Exactly!”
Geordi just stood there. He was powerless to stop it. After several
seconds it began.
The entire ship began to shake, and then it exploded. They all got a
wonderful view. They saw the hull of the Enterprise shatter around
them only to be replaced by the emptiness of space.
“Computer, end program,” commanded Geordi.
Immediately the stars were replaced by the walls of the holodeck.
Geordi smiled.
“If this doesn’t scare Data then nothing will.”

Odo sat in his office. He had a bad feeling about the man that had
just arrived on the station. Anybody who travelled with Ferengi was
asking for trouble. He often paid visits on Quark both in person and on
his security viewscreens. He decided to test a suspicion.
“Computer, show me Quadrant 17, Quark’s”
An image of the bar appeared on Odo’s viewscreen. He saw Quark
serving customers. And then he saw what he expected. He saw Harry
Mudd enter.

Quark’s was quite full. There was a large group huddled around the
Dabo tables. A teenage Ferengi was controlling the game from one of
the tables. Harry Mudd scanned the area. He saw a Ferengi standing
behind the bar. He assumed that it was Quark. It was time to make
contact.
He sat down on a barstool and waited for the bartender to approach.
He did.
“Hello, my name is Hacord Fenton Mudd but all of my friends and
enemies call me Harry. I’m looking for Quark.”
“I am Quark.” replied the Ferengi bartender.
“Ah good. I am interested in purchasing some holosuite programs.
Famous tourist sites of the Gamma Quadrant and things like that. I was
told that you sell these.”
“Yes I do. Come with me and I’ll give you a demonstration of some
of the programs I have.” Quark turned to a Ferengi with a tall thin
face.
“Rom, take the Bar.”
Harry and Quark proceeded into one of the holosuites.
“All right, it’s safe to talk in here. Odo won’t be monitoring. What
do you need.”
“All I need from you is transport to the Gamma Quadrant.”
“Well that won’t be easy.”
“There will be a lot of latinum in it for you.”
“I’m all ears.”
Harry looked at the huge ears on Quark’s head.
“Yes, you are aren’t you.” Quark ignored the insult.
“I’ll go to work on the computer. I’ll give you a security rod and
then set up a program. I’ll call it Mudd One. Got it?”
“Yes, I’ve got it. The latinum will be beamed to you by my friends
once I am safety in the Gamma Quadrant.”

Geordi LaForge stood in the room scanning with his tricorder. He
was glad to be included in the investigation but he doubted that he
would be of much use. Starfleet security had already had this area
thoroughly scanned. They had found nothing unusual. He was in the
room at Starfleet Headquarters where the intruder had appeared.
Geordi had been concentrating his search on the wall beneath the
visual log recorder. The area where the intruder had appeared. He
had found nothing but a residual energy trace. Just like that left after a
transporter had beamed somebody into the area. This was nothing
new. He had already read about this in Starfleet’s report.
There were two strange things about this residual trace. One: it was
impossible that the intruder had beamed in. The sensors would have
shown it, plus the fact that the entire room was surrounded by a
magnetic shield making beaming impossible. Two: the residual trace
usually dissipates quite quickly, it certainly wouldn’t still be there after
several days. Geordi had no explanation for any of this.
Then Geordi tried something that Starfleet central hadn’t done, he
scanned the other walls of the building. Geordi always liked to be
thorough. He didn’t like to leave any stone unturned, and he certainly
didn’t like to be beaten by a problem. When the obvious course of
action failed to produce answers Geordi liked to try the unexpected
approach. Any other person would simply scan the wall that contained
the anomaly and not give a thought to the other walls. What would be
the point? But Geordi LaForge liked to test every possibility. He
wasn’t disappointed.
After scanning the other walls he noticed something significant. The
physical makeup of the other three walls was slightly different to the
one where the intruder appeared from. Their mineral content was very
slightly different. Why would that be? Of course walls around the
Federation would be different, the walls on the Enterprise would have
a slightly different makeup to those here on the base, but different
mineral contents in the same room? This was unusual. One thing was
certain, this required more than a quick glance over with a tricorder.
Geordi tapped his comm badge.
“LaForge to Engineering. Get ready to beam down a small team
with a full array of sensor equipment.”

Worf sat at the console. He was examining the records of the two
intruders that had been caught in Starfleet Headquarters. There were
several things that just didn’t make sense. They had been too careless.
The first few intrusions had been very professional. There had been no
sign of them ever being there. The second last intruder, James Pool,
had been captured on a visual log recorder. If he had gone to so much
trouble to get into the room almost magically then certainly he could
have shut off the log recorder. Why had he been so disorganised
compared to the previous intruders. And Brian Scott had been even
less professional. He had actually been caught in person, with an
isolinear chip in his possession. Why had these last two been so
sloppy? What was different about them. Worf had to find the
connection.
The door slid open and Commander Riker strolled in.
“How’s it going Worf?”
“Not good sir, I am unable to find what I am looking for.”
“What are you looking for?”
“A connection between the last two intruders, James Pool and Brian
Scott.
“Maybe you should take a break.” Worf turned, the look on his face
showed that he was genuinely insulted.
“You mean give up? Klingons do not give up.”
“No,” defended Riker, “I simply meant have a rest, drink a little
Klingon wine, go to the holodeck, and then try again later when your
head has had time to clear.”
“There is nothing wrong with my head Commander.”
Riker let out an exasperated sigh. Why was Worf being so difficult?
He looked very frustrated.
“Take a break, that’s an order Lieutenant,” commanded Riker. Worf
stood slowly and then strode out of the room without saying a word.
Riker sighed again. Maybe he had been too hard on Worf. He had
to admit that he was getting frustrated by this whole business as well.
He decided to take his own advice and head for Ten Forward.

The entire senior crew except Doctor Crusher were in the
conference lounge. Jean-Luc Picard hated having to exclude members
of his senior staff from important business but so far he had found no
reason to involve Beverly in this mission. Picard turned to begin the
meeting.
“Mr Worf, are there any developments?”
“Yes Captain, I have found a link between our two recent intruders.
It appears that both James Pool and Brian Scott have been hired
several times in the past by the same person, Daimon Burlt, a Ferengi.”
“Has he ever been convicted of any crimes?” inquired Picard.
“No sir, like his two employees there has never been enough
evidence linking him to any crimes.”
“What type of things has Burlt tried in the past?”
“Never anything this big Captain, but we believe he has smuggled
several Romulan spies into Federation Space.”
“Then he obviously doesn’t mind making money at the Federation’s
expense,” put in Riker. Picard now turned to the other side of the
table.
“Mr LaForge, have you found anything yet?”
“Yes captain I have. I’ve been examining those walls in the room
where the intruder appeared. I have found something very interesting.
The wall where he appeared has a different physical makeup to the
others. When I examined it more closely I discovered that it actually
had micro fragments of organic matter in it.”
“What type of organic matter?”
“Human skin mostly. That made me start investigating in a new
direction and I think I’ve come up with the answer. That man didn’t
beam into the room using a normal transporter, he simply walked in.”
Picard raised his eyebrow in confusion.
“Walked in?”
“Yes Captain, through the wall. Do you remember that damaged
Romulan ship we encountered several years ago? They were working
on an experimental cloaking device. One that not only made the ship
invisible but realigned its structure so that it could pass through matter,
it was a phasing device.” Picard remembered the incident well. They
had all thought that Geordi and Ensign Ro were dead, but in fact they
were just cloaked and phased.
“Yes Geordi, I remember.”
Riker’s face became a little red with embarrassment as he
remembered an incident when he had been an ensign on the USS
Pegasus and a similar device had been developed by his shipmates.
“Well Captain, I think that a similar thing has been used here. A
conventional transporter converts matter into energy, moves it to a new
place, and then converts it back into matter again. In this case a
transporter wouldn’t work because of the magnetic shield. I think that
the intruder used a phasing transporter. One that phased the matter of
his body so that it could pass through the wall and then converted back
into it’s natural state.”
Picard wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or depressed. They were
finally getting somewhere with the investigation but it looked like they
were up against some advanced technology.
“This would explain the long life of the residual trace and also the
human skin inside the wall. ”
“Yes,” added Data, “human skin is continually flaking off, it
constitutes much of what is commonly called dust. When the fragments
were un-phased they became lodged in the wall.”
“Thankyou Data.” said Picard. “Is there anything further?”
He was answered with silence and blank looks.
“All right then. I think it is time we went for a visit to see Daimon
Burlt.

Star Trek The Next Generation: “The Return of Mudd”
End of Part 3/5

Star Trek The Next Generation
“The Return of Mudd”
Part 4/5

Chapter 4

“Captain’s Log supplemental. We are travelling at warp 9 toward
the Jeron sector where Daimon Burlt is conducting some business
with the local creatures. The trip will be a short one.”

Geordi walked along the corridor of the Enterprise. He whistled as
he progressed through the decks following the directions of the
computer.
“Lieutenant-Commander Data is in the corridor to your left,”
explained the computer in a business-like tone. Geordi walked around
the corner and saw Data walking towards him just as the computer had
said.
“Hey Data, I’ve got something to show you. You’ve gotta see it.”
“What is it Geordi?”
“A holodeck program. Come and see.”
Data followed Geordi along the passageway.
They passed several rooms before they came to a holodeck. Geordi
walked up to the panel near the door and keyed in several commands.
“Computer, load program LaForge-5.”
“Program complete, you may enter when ready.”
“Enter.”
The large mechanical doors slid open revealing a perfect replica of
engineering. Data followed Geordi in.
“Okay data, take your post.”
“Geordi, may I inquire what we are doing here, is this a training
exercise?”
“No Data, I’ve got a little surprise for you.”
The doors shut behind then and disappeared to be replaced by a
huge schematic diagram of the Enterprise.
The intercom beeped and the voice of Jean-Luc Picard came over.
“Picard to engineering, we are under attack, several Jem’ Hadar
warships have opened fire.”
Data immediately turn to leave.
“Data no, it’s part of the simulation. Now take your post.”
Data obeyed.
“Okay Data, prepare to be scared.”
Data looked at Geordi curiously. “Computer, pause program.”
Geordi looked over towards Data.
“What is it?”
“Geordi, have you created this simulation to try and help me to
experience fear?”
“Yeah Data, it’s good. Trust me.”
“I am sorry Geordi but it will not work. I have tried and failed to
experience fear but without the emotion chip it is simply impossible.”
Geordi looked slightly annoyed.
“Well couldn’t you at least try it?”
“I could but that time would be better spent preparing for our
encounter with Daimon Burlt. Geordi sighed.
“I spose you must be disappointed huh?”
“No Geordi, disappointment is an emotion as well. I am incapable
of that.” But Geordi wasn’t so sure.

The transporter chief looked up from his controls. He nodded to
Commander Riker who turned to face the rest of the team, Worf, Data
and two security guards.
“Phasers on stun, lets go.”
They all stepped onto the transporter pads and turned to face the
control panel.
“Energise.” The transporter chief slid his fingers across the panel
and the away team were engulfed in blue light. The strange looking
matter stream was quickly replaced by the dingy looking interior of the
Ferengi ship.
“All right lets split up. Worf you take you team that way, Data and I
will take the other direction.”
Worf nodded and motioned for the guards to follow him. They
proceeded through several corridors. They all looked the same. Then
they came to a dead end. There was a locked door to the right. Worf
aimed his phaser and fired, melting the lock. He then slid the door
open with his strong arms. He entered the room first, closely followed
by the other two.
The room was empty. There were unusual artefacts around the
room. A Vulcan ceremonial robe hung on a model. A carved African
mask. Worf scowled when he saw a Klingon Bat’leth leaning against
the wall rather than being hung up in the traditional ceremonious
fashion.
Suddenly a door at the other end of the room opened and a Ferengi
strolled in. He stopped when he saw Worf and the others.
“What are you doing in here?” he demanded as he pulled out his
phaser.
Worf aimed and fired. A blast of orange energy erupted from the
Klingon’s phaser and hit the Ferengi’s hand, knocking his weapon to
the floor.
“Daimon Burlt?”
“Yes that’s me, and you’re trespassing.”
“I am Lieutenant Worf from the Starship Enterprise and I would like
to ask you some questions.”
“about what?”
“About you stealing classified secrets from the Federation and
selling them to the Dominion.”
The Ferengi laughed. Worf’s comm badge beeped.
“Riker to Worf, we’ve found something.”

Worf looked down at the floor. A body was sprawled out in an un-
natural position. Worf turned to Burlt who had the look of innocence
on his face.
“I don’t know anything about that!”
“I’m sure,” said Worf.
He looked back at the body on the floor and then recognised who it
was, James Pool, the intruder that had phased into the room at Starfleet
Headquarters.

Harry Mudd looked around the shuttle bay. He was surprised at
how easy It had been so far. the runabout was just over the other side
of the bay. He strolled over toward it. He was reminded of the phaser
he had smuggled into the station and he hoped he wouldn’t have to use
it.
Harry reached the door of the runabout and spoke to the computer.
“Execute program Mudd One.” The program that Quark had
provided worked perfectly. The computer responded.
“Acknowledged. Shutting down security systems.”
The door to the runabout opened. Just as it did Harry heard a
slurping sound. He turned around and saw a river of red slime
emanating from a crack in the wall. Harry watched in terror as the
slime landed in a puddle on the floor and then started to rise and take
human form. Finally the morph was complete, it was Odo.
“Stop right there Mr Mudd,” demanded the shapeshifter. Harry
wasted no time in pulling out his phaser and firing. Odo ducked out of
the way of the beam. Harry fired in frustration. One of the beams hit
Odo by fluke alone and left the security chief stunned for several
seconds. Harry took his chance and entered the runabout. He closed
the door and took the helm.
Odo looked up and hit his comm badge. “Odo to security team 1,
get down to shuttle bay 3 immediately. Odo to O’Brien. Shut down the
shuttle bay doors and get ready to tractor any runabouts that escape.”
The voice of Chief O’Brien came over the system. “I can’t Odo,
somebody has interfered with the systems. I’ll try to override it.” The
runabout began to lift.
Harry Started to open the bay doors. It seemed to take an eternity.
He engaged the thrusters as they were halfway open and just managed
to slip through the partially opened doors.
“Computer, set a course for the wormhole.” The computer
immediately took over and the ship moved away from the station.
There was a bright flash as the wormhole opened in a huge spiral and
Harry zoomed out into the safety of the Gamma Quadrant.

Worf sat in the interrogation room facing Daimon Burlt. There was
a menacing look on the Klingon’s face and the Ferengi was clearly
intimidated. Worf was becoming impatient.
“So you still deny being involved in this,” growled the Klingon.
“Of course,” Burlt defended himself, “even if I was guilty I
wouldn’t admit to it.”
“But we have found the dead body of James Pool on your ship,
along with several isolinear chips containing stolen Federation secrets.
How can you deny it?”
“Because it is the truth,” the Ferengi screamed. Worf grimaced at
the high pitched sound. He turned to Counsellor Troi who was sitting
beside him. Her face showed no emotion.
“I think we should take a break now,” began Worf. “Ensign, take the
prisoner back to the brig,” he ordered a security officer. When Burlt
and the ensign had left Worf turned back to Troi.
“Worf, I must admit that I think he’s telling the truth. He seems to be
totally confused about all of this. I think he may be innocent.”
“I thought Betazoids couldn’t read Ferengi emotions.”
“That’s right but I still have that feeling.”
“Well, so do I. I don’t think this pathetic Ferengi has the ability to
do something like this. He may be being framed by somebody else.”
The intercom beeped.
“Picard to all senior staff, report to the conference lounge.”

Picard had just finished briefing Dr Crusher on the situation so far.
He had decided that she should be included in the mission now that
they were heading for hostile territory. When everybody was seated
Picard began.
“There has been a new development in this case. Starfleet
command just sent us an update, we are ordered to go to the Gamma
Quadrant. Several hours ago, a runabout was stolen from Deep Space
Nine. The man that took it went straight through the wormhole.”
“Do we know who this person is?” asked Riker.
“Yes. His name is Harcord Fenton Mudd, commonly referred to as
Harry. He was a particularly devious conn artist from the late twenty-
third century. He was thought to have been killed on Stardate 3920
when the ship transporting him to trial on Earth was shot by
Romulans.”
“Somebody from the twenty-third century? How can we be sure its
him? Maybe it’s his grandson or something.”
“Security chief Odo on DS9 performed a full biological scan. He
compared the man’s DNA with the criminal record from the twenty-
third century.”
“This is all very interesting but why were we called in?” asked
Worf.
“Well for a start it does seem a bit of a coincidence that this man
goes to the Gamma Quadrant when we are investigating the sale of
Federation secrets to the Dominion. But that isn’t all. Starfleet
believes that Mr. Mudd is closely involved in this.”
“Why?”
“When Harry Mudd was thought to be killed he was on his way to
Earth to stand trial. He had been caught selling Federation secrets to
the Klingons by Captain James T. Kirk. Starfleet believes that
somehow he must have found his way into this century. They have
record of him serving in the Maquis.”
“Just found his way into this century?” said Riker sceptically.
“Well Number One, this is not the first time something like that has
happened. What about Captain Montgommery Scott? He was the chief
engineer on Kirk’s Enterprise but he is now living in this century.”
“Yes captain, but it isn’t the sort of thing that happens every day.”
“No, but I don’t have any other explanations, do you?”
“No captain.”
“All right then, lets get busy.”

Harry Mudd knew that the crew from Deep Space Nine would be
tracking him. He had to keep to indirect routes, flying through nebulas
as often as he could. If they brought the Defiant out after him they
would easily catch up. The runabout was not particularly fast.
He was scheduled to meet with the Jem’ Hadar warship in one hour.
The information on the isolinear rod had been coded using a very
advanced encryption algorithm. He would not give the code to the
Jam’ Hadar until they payed him. He was looking forward to when it
would be over.
He thought about what he was doing and again he felt a tinge of
guilt. He quickly threw it out of his mind. He would not allow his
guilt to get in the way of this job.
“Computer, load a random track from the computer library under
Earth music.” The computer picked a song and began to play it. Harry
relaxed and listened to the sound. It would take away those foolish
feelings of guilt.

“Captain’s Log. Supplemental. We have arrived in the Gamma
Quadrant and are proceeding toward the coordinates that Deep
Space Nine tracked Mr Mudd’s runabout to.”

The Enterprise glided effortlessly through the stars. Picard sat in
his ready room sipping his tea. He was prepared for a confrontation.
The Jem’ Hadar were not very easy to get along with. They could be
very unpredictable. They would soon be at their destination so Jean-
Luc had little time to get ready.
This didn’t really matter because there was not a lot that the captain
could do to prepare himself for the meeting with his enemy. Suddenly
the intercom sounded.
“Riker to Picard. Sir we are approaching a Jem’ Hadar warship.”
“Understood Number One, on my way.”
Captain Picard stood and strolled out onto the bridge.
“Onscreen.”
The viewscreen shifted to show a menacing looking vessel. It was
faced away from the enterprise.
“Drop out of warp. Raise shields.”
The Enterprise slowed down to impulse speed and Worf engaged
the shields.
“Hail the Jem’ Hadar Lieutenant.”
“Aye sir.”
Suddenly the ship on the viewscreen engaged its impulse engines
and began to turn towards the Enterprise.
“They are arming weapons,” exclaimed Worf, his Klingon Battle
instinct causing surges of adrenilin in his body.
“Red alert,” called Commander Riker.
“Arm our weapons Mr. Worf and lock on,” commanded the captain.
He turned to his first officer.
“It appears we caught them by surprise Number One.”
The Jem’ Hadar ship began to fire energy weapons at the
Enterprise. The bridge shook throwing Picard to the floor.
“Worf, patch me through to their ship and divert more power to the
shields.” Worf complied.
“This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship
Enterprise. We do not wish a hostile encounter with you. Please
disarm your weapons so we can talk peacefully.”
The other ship let off another round of blasts and the Enterprise
shook even more violently.
“Worf, fire torpedos.” Three torpedos erupted from the Enterprise
and sailed on towards the enemy ship.
“Minimal damage to Jem’ Hadar ship sir.”
The Jem’ Hadar fired a rapid burst of energy pulses at the
Enterprise. The front shields glowed bright blue at the impact.
“Forward shields down to 60% Captain.”
“Picard to engineering, we need more power to the shields.”
“Aye sir,” came the voice of Geordi LaForge over the intercom.
“Worf, lock phasers and fire, full strength.”
The Enterprise fired several long bursts of energy at the Jem’ Hadar
ship. It prepared to return fire once again.
“Evasive manoeuvres Ensign,” Picard said with urgency to the
helmsman. The Enterprise slid aside narrowly missing the Jem’
Hadar’s shot.”
“Fire phasers and torpedos.” The Enterprise fired again causing
damage to the enemy. Riker turned to Picard.
“We are damaging them slowly but we’re already in bad shape
ourselves. We’ll be lucky to beat this one.” Suddenly a second Jem’
Hadar ship came out of warp, its weapons immediately blazing.
Picard looked back at Riker, his face showing genuine concern. Worf
then spoke up.
“Captain, there is a ship decloaking.”
Picard immediately felt a slight shiver of fear run up his spine, if the
Jem’ Hadar had cloaking technology then they were in serious trouble.
“Captain,” said Worf, “It is the Defiant.” Picard was immediately
relieved.
The Defiant let a huge round of torpedos go at the first Jem’ Hadar
ship. It shook with serious damage. Picard looked at the second Jem’
Hadar vessel. With renewed confidence he said,
“This one is ours. Helm, prepare to initiate the Picard Manoeuvre.

The captain of the Jem’ Hadar ship looked on. He had arrived just
in time to help attack the Federation vessel. He ordered his weapon’s
officer to lock and fire with a smug voice. That ship was damaged, it
didn’t stand a chance.
Suddenly the Federation ship engaged its warp engines and split in
two. The captain was confused. There were now two Enterprises on
his screen, which was the real one, which should he attack?
While he was still trapped in his confused thoughts, the closest
Enterprise opened fire.

On the bridge of the Enterprise Picard held tightly to the sides of his
chair. When the debris had settled he said to no one in particular,
“report.”
“Sir, we have destroyed the Jem’ Hadar vessel. The Defiant has
disabled the first.”
“Convey our thanks to Commander Sisko Mr. Worf.”
“Take us down to yellow alert.”
Worf sent the message and the USS. Defiant turned in the direction
of the wormhole and left into warp speed.
“Captain, the Jem’ Hadar ship is hailing us.”
“Ah, so they finally want to talk. Onscreen.”
The screen changed to show a Jem Hadar. Beside him was Harry
Mudd.
“Captain Picard, the man you see here is our hostage. We will kill
him if you do not surrender immediately.” Picard smiled.
“I’m not that stupid Captain, I know that Mr. Mudd is working with
you. He is providing you with classified Federation Tactical files. I
would ask you to return them.”
“I do not think of you as stupid Picard, but don’t think of me that
way either. You are correct, Mr. Mudd has provided us with
information which we will be happy to use but we still don’t mind
killing him. You have one minute.”
The screen changed to show the outside of the Jem’ Hadar ship
again.

Star Trek The Next Generation: “The Return of Mudd”
End of Part 4/5
Star Trek The Next Generation
“The Return of Mudd”
Part 5/5

Chapter 5

Picard closed the connection with Starfleet Command. They had
sent a probe into the wormhole so they could temporarily communicate
with the Alpha Quadrant.
Picard had explained what had happened and had received orders.
They were to rescue Harry Mudd. He was a Federation Citizen so
Federation Law required them to help him, even if he was a criminal
and traitor. There was also the fact of information. Harry Mudd knew
a lot about the Federation, in particular about the Federation of the
Twenty-Third century. Starfleet could not allow the Jem’ Hadar to
have him as a hostage who would probably tell all without even being
tortured.
He strolled back onto the bridge.
“Status of their shields Mr. Worf.”
“The Jem’ Hadar Shields have failed.” Picard tapped his Comm
badge.
“Mr LaForge, can we beam in a away team undetected?”
“Yes sir, I can arrange that.”
“Number one, Worf. Proceed to transporter room 1.”
Riker nodded. The two of them left the bridge.

The Jem’ Hadar looked at the pitiful human seated in the cell.
“We have cracked that primitive encryption you put on the data Mr
Mudd. The Federation secrets are now ours so there is no reason to let
you live.”
“You’ll never get away with this. The crew of the Enterprise will
not allow it,” said Harry with very little determination.
“Don’t count on it human. This isn’t your old friend, James T.
Kirk.” Harry looked up in surprise.
“How do you know about Kirk? How do you know I knew him?”
The Jem’ Hadar smiled.
“There are a lot of things that the Dominion knows about the
Federation Harry.”

Riker and Worf rematerialised in an empty room on the Jem’ Hadar
ship. Riker opened his tricorder and began scanning for human life
signs. Worf kept guard with his phaser set ready to strike.
“He’s this way. Let’s go Worf.”
The two of them began to move but then they both froze. There was
no explanation for it. They were frozen with fear.
Riker couldn’t scream although he wanted to. His entire body was
paralysed with fear. He tried to reach for his Comm badge but he
couldn’t.

Picard sat in his seat. Counsellor Troi was beside him. He tapped
his Comm badge.
“Picard to Riker, report Number One.”
Suddenly Troi gasped. She felt overwhelmed by emotion. It was
fear. He let out a terrified scream. Picard turned.
“Captain. bring them out of there. The fear will kill them.”
Picard had no idea what Troi meant but he had learnt to trust the
ship’s counsellor.
“Picard to transporter room 1. Bring the away team back.”

The transporter beam faded and they were back on the Enterprise.
Worf felt more ashamed than he had ever been. He was a Klingon
warrior. Fear had no meaning to him. And yet he had been so
frightened he could not even move.
Picard and Troi rushed into the transporter room.
“Are you all right?” they both asked together.
“Riker nodded.”
“What happened down there Number One?”
“I don’t know sir. We were just frozen with intense fear.”
The intercom sounded.
“Data to Picard. Captain I believe I know what has happened. I
scanned the Jem’ Hadar ship and found an unusual device. I believe it
is a weapon. It sends out special waves that are interpreted by the
brain. It seems to induce fear.”
“That could cause serious problems. Is there any way to neutralise
it?”
“No Captain, but I do have a suggestion.”
“What is it?”
“I wish to conduct the rescue alone.”
“No Data, it’s too risky.”
“Captain, I am incapable of experiencing fear. My recent attempts
in the holodeck have proved that. The device will have no effect on
me.”
Picard considered this. He didn’t like it but he knew it was logical.
“All right Mr. Data. Come down here.”

Data appeared in the same empty room. He scanned with his
tricorder as Riker had done and then proceeded in the direction that it
indicated.
He got about two thirds of the way before he encountered the first
Jem’ Hadar. Before he could alert more guards with his communicator
Data aimed and fired. The phaser beam hit the Jem’ Hadar who
collapsed on the floor.
Data continued. Suddenly a voice behind him shouted, “Over
there!”
Data spun with incredible speed and fired. His reflexes and
coordination were much better that any humanoid. He hit his target and
sent the guard to the floor. He fired again and stunned two more
guards.
Another three guards came around the corner weapons blazing.
Several beams hit Data. Sparks flew from Data’s arm but he was still
able to function. He returned fire and stunned the group of guards.
Data began to run toward his destination. Mudd’s signal was now
moving through one of the corridors. Data came around a corner and
saw Harry Mudd surrounded by three soldiers.
He wasted no time in opening fire with his phaser. The soldiers
crumpled to the ground. More guards came around the corridor firing
wildly. Data grabbed hold of Harry Mudd, tapped his Comm badge
and shouted, “ENERGISE.”

The Jem’ Hadar captain appeared once more on the viewscreen of
the Enterprise.
“Your time is up Picard. Will you surrender?”
Picard looked back sternly.
“No. I will not.”
Then screen changed to show the enemy ship.
“They are powering up their remaining weapons,” informed Worf.
The intercom beeped.
“Data to Picard, we are bac….”
“Fire torpedos,” bellowed Picard.
The Enterprise fired and the Jem’ Hadar ship erupted into a ball of
fire.

Picard and Worf faced Harry Mudd in the interrogation room. Worf
had not recovered from the shame he had felt on the enemy ship and he
was taking it out on Harry Mudd. Picard had decided not to stop the
Klingon unless he started to get violent.
“Tell us who helped you betray your own people you dishonourable
lump of slime!” Harry no longer cared about protecting his business
partners or his fortune. He had finally realised the seriousness of what
he had been doing.
“I have been working with a Ferengi named Lurlop.” Picard turned
to Worf.
“Not Burlt.”
“Burlt?” echoed Harry, “we framed him to keep you off our track. It
obviously didn’t work.”
“Even with the help of the Ferengi, you could not have got your
hands on this information without inside help.”
“Well, we did have an ex-Starfleet engineer working with us. He
helped us develop a phasing transporter. His name is Gavok.” Picard
spoke up.
“But you must have had some inside help. Somebody in the upper
ranks.”
Harry Mudd sighed. He had been caught. There was no use
stopping now, he may as well tell everything he knew.
“Our employer was Admiral Jeremy Vome.”
Picard looked back in stunned silence. Jeremy Vome, the very man
who had given Picard the mission. He was certainly the last person
that the captain suspected. He looked over to Counsellor Troi for
confirmation. She nodded.
The captain tapped his Comm badge.
“Picard to Enterprise, set a course for Earth and engage at warp 9.”

Jeremy Vome sat in his office. He stared out the window watching
vessels fly around the city. Over the river he could see Starfleet
Academy. He had good memories of his times at the academy. He had
been young and ready for action. He had wanted to learn to be a
warrior. The academy had different ideas however. They wanted to
train him to be a diplomat.
Jeremy Vome had risen through the ranks because of his great skills.
He had been a very competent captain during the Cardassian war. As
his rank changed he saw Starfleet change as well. The fleet had grown
soft. It was supposed to be the organisation that protected the
Federation from invasion but they seemed frightened of war. They
would do anything to prevent a fight. Jeremy Vome saw this as
weakness. He identified more with the Klingons than the people that
ran Starfleet.
Eventually he decided that Starfleet was not what he really wanted,
so he felt no guilt at betraying it. He thought that he was helping the
Federation by giving information to the Dominion. By creating a
powerful enemy he was forcing Starfleet to fight for itself.
He smiled. The best thing was that nobody had any idea what he
was up to. Not even that fool Picard. Suddenly his door chimed.
“Come in,” he called out cheerily, taking his seat.
The door opened and in walked Jean-Luc Picard followed by
Commander William Riker.
“Ah Captain, have you come to give me a progress report on the
investigation?”
“Yes sir. I have good news. We have identified the traitor.”
“Wonderful Jean-Luc.”
“Admiral Jeremy Vome, you are under arrest for treason.”
Vome looked back and laughed.
“Is this some king of joke Picard?”
“No sir. Please come with us peacefully.”
Jeremy Vome considered his options and decided that there was
only one choice available to him, he ran. Jeremy Vome disappeared
through the back door of his office. Several seconds later he returned
backwards with his hands up. He was followed by Worf, phaser in
hand.”
Jeremy Vome looked back at Picard. A vicious scowl on his face.

Picard sat in his ready room sipping a cup of tea. His door chimed.
“Come.”
The door opened and Riker entered.
“Sir, we have been cleared to leave orbit.”
“Good. Take a seat Number One.” Riker sat down opposite the
captain.
“Mr Mudd has been sentenced to spend twenty years at the Criminal
Rehabilitation Centre in Aukland.”
“Quite a generous sentence considering his action sir, since the
Klingons typically give traitors a dishonourable death sentence.”
“Yes, and the Romulans also give a death sentence but they at least
allow a little more honour to the traitor.”
“What about Admiral Vome?”
“Well he is in a high security prison. I don’t think we will be seeing
him for a while.”
“I have been reading Harry Mudd’s file. James T. Kirk wrote quite
a lot about him. Do you think he will cause any more trouble?”
“I honestly don’t think so Number One. I have also been reading.
Last Century, Ambassador Spock said that he didn’t believe Harry
Mudd would ever change. He said that judging from his past it would
illogical to assume he could ever be kept honest but I’m not so sure. I
think this latest experience has really made Harry think twice about his
life. I think if Spock saw him now he would say that Harry was a
changed man.”
“It will be interesting to see what sort of a person he turns out to be
once he is released.”
“It certainly will Number One.”
Riker strolled out onto the bridge and Picard stood to follow him.
He hesitated for a moment.
He wondered if he had indeed seen the last of Harcord Fenton
Mudd.

Star Trek The Next Generation: “The Return of Mudd”
End of Part 5/5

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/——-
| o o | Adam Collings
| | | Bachelor of Applied Computing
— / University of Tasmania
——-

“Are you sure you won’t change your mind?”
“Is there something wrong with the one I have?”
Star Trek IV : The Voyage Home

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