Author's Note: Ahhh! Thank you all so much! I was a wee bit nervous about dropping something this silly – but I'm glad it was well received.
This will be the conclusion of this practical joke storyline – complete with plenty of hijinks and innuendo. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled fluff/angst/action balance in the next chapter!
I've got plans for a few more chapters along the same vein of humour that will be peppered in throughout the series to balance some of the heavy material. I think you guys are really going to enjoy The B Squad, The Toddler Taco Replicator Fiasco, and Coach T & Worf.
-X-
"Data," Tasha said, relieved that he was alright.
Captain Picard set Data down on the table.
Tasha wanted to reach out and grab him, but she knew it wasn't the time.
"Sir, Worf is missing," Tasha reported.
"Mr Worf is currently on a shuttlecraft that's being towed by our inertia," Picard informed them in a terse voice.
They were traversing across a safe part of space and deep within Federation territory. There was no serious risk to Worf in theory – but they all knew that on this ship anything was possible.
"I hate to think what might have happened had we encountered a quantum filament or a Romulan warship!" Picard barked.
"Is Worf alright?" Geordi asked, concerned.
"I am fine," Worf grumbled as he stepped into the room.
Without another word, Worf slipped into his customary seat around the table.
"For the last two weeks I have tolerated these practical jokes," Captain Picard began.
On the whole, Captain Picard thought this kind of harmless fun was good for morale. But the behaviour was escalating and being woken up so rudely, Jean-Luc had reached his limit.
"But blasting music through the ship's communication system is a step too far!" Picard fumed. "While you lot may find this all funny, we have families! A nursery! People working in their labs right now!"
Everyone dropped their eyes to the surface of the table as they took their verbal lashing.
It was certainly deserved.
"Sir, I believe whoever did this used some kind of field to target just us," Geordi said. "When I left my quarters, the sound wasn't piping through the corridor. It was just in my quarters."
"Same here," Miles chimed in.
The Captain relaxed a little and sat down in his chair.
"Well, it's certainly relieving to know that not everyone was subjected to this rude awakening," Picard said. "Regardless, I'm still not pleased."
The team remained silent.
"I do not recall asking to be a part of whatever charade is going on here," Picard remarked.
"None of us did," Beverly said as her eyes narrowed in on Riker.
"Well I didn't ask to be a part of this either!" Riker insisted.
Beverly glared.
"Don't you think this has gone far enough?" Deanna asked aloud.
"I'm not the joker," Riker asserted. "Doctor, look at me! Do you think I would do this to myself?"
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The Complication
Fanfiction"Am I the 'complication'?" Data asked. Following the events on Ligon II, Data struggles to reconcile the discrepancies between Tasha's verbal and nonverbal communication. Furthermore, his attempts to better understand what's happening lead to him fr...
