It was very rare for the captain to ask for this sort of duty, but it had been requested in the correct manner. Captain Jean-Luc Picard sat in the command chair of the USS Enterprise NCC 1701-D, and watched as the stars moved on the main viewscreen due to another course change. Not many people asked to be given the Romulan Neutral Zone patrol duty, but Picard had asked for and received it.
"Captain?" it was his Operations officer, the android Data.
"Yes, Mr Data?" asked Picard.
"I am tracking a small vessel which has just dropped out of warp. It wishes to talk with you" Data said, consulting his panel.
"What is the name of the ship?" Picard asked.
"It is called 'Red Arrow'. The Captain has asked to speak with you in private" Data said, reading new text on his screen.
"Put it through to my Ready Room" Picard ordered, "You have the bridge, Number One" this last was directed at William T Riker – Picard's First Officer.
"Aye sir" and Picard entered his Ready Room. Riker was puzzled in that Picard had not ordered Yellow Alert when the ship came out of warp, and that meant that Picard was expecting it. Was it some secret courier with dispatches that couldn't be transmitted by subspace? Whatever it was, the Captain was in the Ready Room for half an hour before he came back again.
"Ensign Ro. Set course for Earth. Maximum Warp" and the Bajoran at the helm tapped at her controls.
"Course laid in, sir" she reported.
"Engage" Picard said, making a shooting motion with his fingers. The Enterprise turned round and headed for Sector 001 – Earth. Once underway, Picard ordered that all of the senior crew met in the conference room and Beverley Crusher was the last to enter – having treated a few people in sickbay.
"Sorry I'm late" she said to Picard. Picard waited until she was seated to begin talking.
"The reason I have called you all here is because I have been given information about a Starfleet officer who has been captured by Romulans. The officer was captured in an ambush by Romulan forces" the captain said.
"There have been no known attacks by the Romulans" Data said automatically.
"No" the Picard said, "Not recently. This took place twenty years ago aboard an Ambassador class starship" and predictably, Riker was the first to speak.
"The only known ship attacked by Romulans twenty years ago was…" he paused as the commander's mind suddenly filled in the gap. "The Enterprise-C and people stared at their captain with puzzlement on their faces. Even Worf looked surprised as he believed that Romulans did not take many prisoners.
"Who is the officer?" the Klingon's deep voice rumbled.
"Her name" Picard said hesitating for several moments "Is Lt Natasha Yar" and every one of the senior staff's jaws dropped – except Data of course.
"But how?" Troi asked, delicate features crossing with confusion.
"During the Klingon Civil War" Picard explained, "Sela came aboard and informed me that she was the daughter of Lt Yar. It involves a temporal anomaly which Guinean can explain and confirm" and there was silence. "Sela told me that her mother was killed whilst trying to escape, but I have made many contacts during my years of service. The ship we encountered brought me the final confirmation I needed. The Red Arrow transmitted data that could not be transmitted to Starfleet command for fear of interception by Romulan agents" he finished.
"Why are we heading to Earth?" asked Geordi, frowning behind his VISOR.
"I intend to present this information to Starfleet HQ, and ask them to request Lt Yar's return to the Federation" Picard said. Silence reigned as they thought about their colleague and Geordi was the first to speak once more.
"I think that I might be able to make the warp drive go a few more points" he said, and headed to the door.
"Bless you, Geordi" Picard whispered. "I expect that there will be a lot of haggling and dealing over Lt Yar, so we must go over the data and make our best case" Picard looked at his first officer. "Number one, you and Data will go over what I receive and make the best possible case" and a few moments later the meeting broke up and Picard was left to look at the stars and hope for the best.
A/N:
A new fic to add to my collection. This fic is dedicated to another user on here:- budrick1701-e. A fellow Star Trek fan.
I hope that the rest of you like it as well. In the next chapter, Picard… does a Admiral Kirk… (think ST III)
Regards:
Pixel