"If there"s anything there, we"ll find it, sir."
Picard nodded again and moved away up the ramp toward the aft turbolift doors. "Sir?" Riker persisted. "If he"s not open to evidence in our favor, where will you go from there?"
Picard paused at the top of the ramp and turned to look back at Riker. "I"ll be attending to my duties."
"To the bitter end."
The captain tilted his head, thinking about it. Then his mouth tilted in a half smile. "I see nothing so bitter in that." Riker nodded soberly, and then he offered a thumbs-up sign to Picard. The captain strode to the turbolift doors, which obligingly parted before him. "Sickbay," he said curtly, and the doors closed on him.
Riker decided he liked this man very much-and if they managed to get out of this, he thought he was going to enjoy shipping out under Captain Jean-Luc Picard"s command.
Beverly Crusher had been busy running routine checks on the new personnel signing aboard, correlating their last recorded medical status with current readings. Lieutenant LaForge lay quietly on the examining table before her now. His full range scan showed him to be in excellent health, as his records stated. She was as interested in the visual prosthesis which lay beside him on the table as she was in his medical readouts. His blind eyes stared unblinkingly straight up into the overhead lighting; and she found the flat gray irises with no pupil somewhat disturbing. As she finished the scan of his eyes with her hand instruments, she said, "Naturally, I"ve read up on your case. You are able to compensate extremely well with the VISOR appliance-"
"Yes, a remarkable piece of bioelectronic engineering by which I "see" much of the EM spectrum ranging from simple heat and infrared through radio waves, et cetera, et cetera," Geordi chanted in a bored lilt. "Forgive me if I"ve said it and listened to it a thousand times before."
"Your records indicate you"ve been blind all your life."
Geordi sat up at her tap on his shoulder and swung his feet over the side of the examining table.
"Born this way," he replied flatly. It was a fact, one he lived with. Period. As he accepted the VISOR that gave him vision, he also accepted the fact that nature had seen fit not to allow him to see as other people did. Beverly lifted the device and placed it in his hands.
"And you"ve felt pain all the years you"ve used this?"
Geordi nodded philosophically. "They say it"s because it uses my natural sensors in different ways."
Beverly hesitated thoughtfully. She could think of options but surely other people had proposed them too. The young lieutenant seemed resigned to the situation. Still, it was worth venturing them to him. "I see two choices. The first is painkillers...."
"Which would affect how this works," Geordi interrupted. He slipped on the VISOR and looked at her directly. "No."
The doors to sickbay slid open, and Picard stepped in. Beverly shot a glance past Geordi and stiffened slightly when she saw the captain enter, then her attention was drawn back to LaForge"s question. "Choice number two?"
"Exploratory surgery, desensitize the brain area troubling you."
Geordi slipped off the examination table and shook his head. That was one he had heard before, too; but he managed a smile at her. "Same difference. No thank you."
Beverly smiled back at him, understandingly. "Just thought I"d remind you the options are there. And I"m sure there will be others in the future."
"I"ll keep an open mind, Doctor."
Picard stepped forward from the doorway, glancing between Beverly and the young lieutenant. "Any problems, Doctor? Lieutenant?"
"No, sir. Absolutely none at all," Geordi replied. He nodded to Beverly and moved toward the door.
Picard watched him out and then turned to Beverly as she spoke. "Can I help you, Captain?"
He was uncomfortable, but he was also a man who didn"t like to leave things left unsaid to fester in silence. Better to state what was on his mind and have everything clear. "Just some unfinished business. I didn"t want to have you thinking I was a cold-blooded b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
Beverly"s right eyebrow arched, and she managed to conceal a smile; but the humor trickled into her voice anyway. "Now why would I ever think that?"
All right, she was laughing at him. Picard relaxed a little, realizing she was going to let him have his say. He had thought she might be rigid or hostile after their two confrontations; but she was proving to be not at all what he antic.i.p.ated. That was interesting ... He immediately stopped that line of thought and turned to what he had come for. "I didn"t exactly welcome you aboard in the best personal or professional manner. I yelled at your son, who, as you pointed out, was quite correct in his a.s.sessment of the bridge situation. He does seem to have a good grasp of starship operations. I apologize for shouting at him. I ... ah, don"t have a great deal of experience with children."
Beverly smiled at him then, accepting the apology. "I can understand that, Captain. I a.s.sure you neither of us were permanently damaged by the encounter."
Picard considered the statement a moment and finally extended his hand to her. "Then, welcome aboard, Doctor. I hope we can be friends."
She allowed a quick and perfunctory handshake. "Thank you." Equally as quickly, she withdrew her hand and her smile. Picard studied her, faced the fact he had no other choice but to withdraw, nodded and left. Beverly drew a deep breath. For a while, she had wondered whether her plain speech had offended him so deeply that he would not accept her as his chief medical officer. Apparently, everything Jack had said about him, and everything she had ever heard about him, was correct. He was hard, but fair.
He accepted the fact he could be wrong and acknowledged it when he was. Maybe, just maybe, she would come to like him as much as Jack had. A vaguely disturbing thought drifted through her mind and was gone again in an instant. Maybe she could come to like him more.
Riker"s away team filed toward the transporter platform, quickly and efficiently checking their equipment as they moved. He had chosen Lieutenant Yar, Troi and Lieutenant Commander Data for individual strengths and traits, but also because they had worked well on the brief mission to the surface before the ship attack. He had justified the inclusion of Troi for her sensitivities to other life forms, sensitivities which they would undoubtedly need aboard the alien vessel. The android had also proven valuable in his ability to a.n.a.lyze information and present a conclusion-even if he was a little persistent in his queries about any references that were not literal facts. "Set phasers on stun," Riker ordered. As the team quickly made the last check and settled on the transporter pads, he looked at the chief. "Ready."
The transporter chief rechecked his console carefully. "I"m locked on coordinates that should put you in the middle of that ship, sir, but our sensors can"t get through whatever screens they have up. I don"t know what I"m beaming you into, except it isn"t their engines. Those we can read by the high intensity energy they put out." Riker nodded. "Understood. Energize." The transporter beam materialized them in what appeared to be a tunnel. Riker instantly recognized the symetrical shapes and unearthly soft glow. Data scanned his tricorder around, checking its readouts. "Most interesting, sir. Light, but no apparent light source. Construction of the walls-unknown. The tricorder cannot a.n.a.lyze it."
"It"s the same construction as the tunnel under Farpoint Station," Tasha interjected.
Data looked up, quickly. "As I was about to comment," he said. Riker could have sworn the android sounded slightly miffed. "But you will notice, there is no sound of power or other ship sounds. No equipment."
"How does this ship run?"
Riker nodded to indicate a way down the tunnel. "Let"s find out."
Tasha immediately took the point and led off in the direction he had signaled. Data kept up a constant tricorder scan of their surroundings, but shook his head at Riker to say the readings were useless.
Troi staggered, as if she"d been hit. Riker was at her side in two quick steps.
"Troi, what is it? Is it the same as you felt on the planet?"
"No, this is ... different." She carefully lowered the mental shields she had snapped up when the empathic feeling had hit. A delicate probing a.n.a.lyzed it, and she looked up at Riker with a frown.
"It feels much more powerful... full of anger... hate.
"Toward us?"
"No. It"s directed down toward the old Bandi city."
Data moved forward eagerly. "Most intriguing again. The place that this vessel was firing upon wasn"t the Farpoint Starbase but the home of those who constructed-" He abruptly stopped, glancing at Riker in something akin to embarra.s.sment. "Sorry, sir. I seem to be commenting on everything."
Riker stifled a smile. "Don"t stop. Your comments are valuable ... and welcome."
They moved forward carefully, noting the sameness of the construction, the apparently endless tunnel.
There were some branches off in other directions, but at Riker"s instruction, Tasha kept bearing right.
"These corridors don"t seem to lead anywhere-they just go on," Riker observed. "How do we get to other levels?"
"Speculation," Data said. "The aliens are able to pa.s.s through walls, perhaps through dimensions."
Tasha glanced at him with a frown. "Then why build walls at all?" she asked, always practical. Data nodded thoughtfully; she had made a nice point. Abruptly Riker"s communicator sounded, and Pi-card"s crisp voice crackled in transmission.
"Picard to Riker. Report."
"Riker here. This is turning out to be a very long tunnel or corridor that we"ve beamed into, sir. No ship"s crew in sight; no sign of mechanisms or circuitry ..."
"Keep reporting in, Commander. Picard out."
Riker glanced around at the others. "Our captain seems a little impatient."
"Oh, no sir," Data said brightly. "He just dislikes breaking in new officers."
"Thank you for telling me that, Data."
"You"re welcome, sir."
Data would have gone on, at length, if Troi hadn"t suddenly interrupted sharply. "Groppler Zorn, sir ... in great fear." She pointed down the tunnel toward an intersection. "Just ahead." They hurried forward, Troi in the lead. She waved a hand at Riker to indicate something else. He stopped beside her as she paused to a.n.a.lyze it. "There"s a different feeling to the corridor here, sir. Very different-"
Zorn"s voice split the air, quivering with pain. "No, please! No more!"
The team ran around the curved wall of the intersection and skidded to a halt, staring ahead. Zorn was held suspended off the deck in the center of a cylindrical forcefield. They could see its edges glittering softly, outlining it. The forcefield sparkled, and they heard an ominous click. Zorn writhed and twitched, shrieking in pain.
"No! Please! No more! Please, no more!" Riker and Tasha moved toward him and were brought up sharply by the leading edge of the forcefield. "Data. Check the extent of the forcefield." Data nodded, but he had begun scanning with his tricorder the moment they had seen the barrier. Zorn moaned in pain again, and Riker turned his attention to the unfortunate Bandi administrator. "Zorn. Can you hear me?"
Zorn slowly managed to lift his head and look toward them. Riker was shocked by the alien"s pain-filled face, his features twisted into a grimace of intense agony. "Please. I can"t talk to it. Make it stop the pain. Please ..."
"Has the alien communicated-?" Troi broke off, spinning to face Riker as realization shot through her mind. "That"s it, sir! It"s just one alien I"m sensing here."
Zorn groaned again and twitched as something in the forcefield shot agony through his bones. "Please!
I don"t understand what it wants."
Troi glanced at Riker and shook her head. "Not true. He does know-and he"s afraid."
Data completed his scan of the forcefield and moved to hold out the tricorder for Riker to see. "The forcefield is one meter in diameter, but it goes from ceiling to floor. I cannot pinpoint a source.
But see this, sir-" He pointed to a specific reading on the tricorder, and Riker"s eyebrows lifted in surprise. Riker pulled his phaser from its place and readjusted the setting.
"Heavy stun," he ordered. "Concentrate your fire on mine." He and Data raised the weapons and aimed directly at Zorn.
"No, no! Please don"t!" Zorn screamed.
The phaser fire hit the forcefield, and a brilliantly colored glow spread over the entire face of it.
Suddenly, it winked out, and Zorn"s body flopped to the floor free of restraint. Tasha and Data ran forward to help him. Riker turned away to activate his communicator. "Riker to Enterprise."
Troi felt the now-familiar touch of the alien mind in her own, and it troubled her. There was still the anger, but she sensed it was directed almost solely at Zorn. And there was questioning...
Suddenly, Troi jerked alert. A strange, writhing tendril of plasma had extended itself from the wall and was swaying toward Riker. Imzadi! her mind screamed.
Other tendrils were reaching out from the walls toward Data and Tasha as they crouched over Zorn"s body. Troi was grabbed from behind, a slim tentacle whipping around her waist and holding her in place. Riker was still calling into the communicator, "Enterprise, come in! Beam us-" Another tentacle slipped around his neck, beginning to throttle him.
On the Enterprise, Picard could hear the m.u.f.fled sound of Riker"s voice as it came over the communicator. He leaned toward his own communications panel anxiously and snapped, "Transporter Chief, yank them back! Now!"
Worf, manning the Ops station, suddenly turned to Picard, pointing at the viewscreen. "Captain!"
Picard glanced up and paused, staring at the amazing image now captured on the huge screen. The mighty vessel was beginning to change, its firm, hard edges seeming to melt into something softer, something unexplainable. "What in heaven ... ?"
A blinding flash of light flooded the bridge, announcing Q"s return. This time, the alien wore the uniform of a Starfleet captain, complete to the four gold disks of rank. Picard glowered, resenting Q"s elevation to his own command level.
"Your time is up, Captain," Q intoned.
Picard ignored him and snapped into his command panel, "Transporter Chief, do you have their coordinates?" He waited a second, expecting the quick response. When it didn"t come, he leaned forward anxiously. "Transporter Chief!"
Q casually stepped to the side of the command chair, smiling pleasantly. "He can"t hear you, Captain."
Picard touched his own insignia communicator to activate it. "Transporter Chief, come in!" Dead air.
Q"s smile widened. Picard turned to him angrily. "Q, I have people ... in trouble over there ... !"
Q lowered himself into the command chair, lazing in it with his booted feet outstretched. Picard held up a hand as other bridge personnel started forward angrily. "Everyone, at ease! That"s an order."
The others backed off, still angry, but obeying. Picard hated having to appeal to the alien, but he had to do something about the away team. "My people are in trouble, Q. Let me help them." He paused, took the final plunge. "I"ll do whatever you say."
The alien gave him a strangely sweet smile and dropped his hand downward, his fingers flicking outward in a fan. Almost instantly, there was a peculiar sound that Picard could not identify. It was vaguely like a transporter beam, but not one of Starfleet"s. An odd shimmering appeared in the air between the command chair and the forward stations. It resolved itself into five distinct shapes and, to Picard"s relief, finally materialized as Riker, Data, Troi, Tasha, and Zorn-all whole and healthy.
"You"ll do whatever I say?" Q asked smoothly.
Picard hesitated and finally nodded. He was a man of his word; he had given it. He wouldn"t take it back, even if what the alien wanted was something Picard didn"t want to give-and he had a feeling that would be exactly what Q wanted. "It seems I did make that bargain if you would return the team safely."
"The agreement isn"t valid, then, sir," Troi said. "It wasn"t Q who saved us."
Picard shot a glance at her, but Q was on his feet, interjecting quickly. "Save yourselves!" He pointed at the viewer. "It may attack you now."
The captain turned toward the main viewscreen and realized that the mystery vessel, in its changed form, was drifting closer to the Enterprise. "What is that thing?"
"That"s what sent us back, Captain," Riker said.
"How do you know that?"
Troi moved forward again, earnestly. "I can feel it. It is not merely a vessel, sir. Somehow it is alive."
"She lies!" Q shouted. "Destroy it while you can." He rushed toward Tasha, standing at the Weapons and Tactical Station. "Make phasers and photon torpedoes ready!"
"No! Do nothing he demands," Picard ordered. He turned to Q angrily. "You seem to have the idea that wearing that uniform gives you the right to give orders to my crew. It doesn"t."
Zorn moved forward, weary and still weak from his painful ordeal. "But that thing was killing my people, Captain ..."
"True, and the question is why? Was there a reason?"
Zorn lowered his eyes and shook his head. Q pushed in again, pressing Picard. "It is an unknown, Captain. Isn"t that reason enough?"