Prologue
They had placed him in restraints, dragging him along like he was so much baggage; as though they wished to humiliate him after all the things that he had done to them and their worlds. Though their trickery had been successful at ousting him from his domination of them, it was only a matter of time before he would be free once more and then all of them were going to pay for this indignity.
"You have been charged with a list of crimes that is so long, if I were to read it all we would be here for the rest of our lives. After a review of the evidence, you have been found guilty. Do you have anything further to say?" the judge inquired, gazing coldly down on him. "I'll give you one more chance to beg for my forgiveness," he retorted, smiling thinly.
The judge sighed before continuing, "Given the unusual circumstances of your case, this court finds that no ordinary sentence would be sufficient punishment. It has been therefore decided that you will be permanently exiled in a way where it shall be impossible for you to return and plague us once more."
"Don't have in it you to try and kill me, do you? You'll live to regret that," he shot back. The judge gestured to the guards, who began leading him from the chamber once more. Despite his brave face, part of him wondered what exactly they had in mind.
Do they intend to strand me or some barren rock and hope that no one ever finds me or that I fail to escape? he thought. In any case, it didn't matter. No prison could hold someone determined to get out forever. And after all, he had all the time in the world…
Chapter I
Captains Log: Stardate 48102.5
After a well-earned period of shore leave at Starbase 31, we have resumed our regular duties and are currently en route to an uncharted sector of space. I am looking forward to this, since it is a region noted by Professor Galen to be among the rumored locations for a Tkon outpost which has been previously undiscovered. If true, this would a remarkable archaeological find and a chance for me to contribute to the work that my mentor did in his lifetime.
The chime on the door to his ready room sounded and Captain Jean-Luc Picard looked up from his perusal of the screen on his desk and said, "Come!" The door opened and the familiar figure of Lieutenant Commander Data appeared, striding to stand at attention even as Picard continued reading the material before him.
"Something interesting, sir?" the android inquired after a minute or two had passed in silence. "I was just going over Professor Galen's notes on the sector that we're about to enter. There are a remarkable amount of legends relating to it," he replied. "I was under the impression that no Starfleet vessel had visited this area before," Data observed.
"They haven't, but that doesn't stop other people from traveling about in it. And when stories like these start to spread, they tend to take on a life of their own," the Captain explained. "I see. I suppose that we will be endeavoring to ascertain whether there is any truth to them?" the Lieutenant Commander guessed.
"Finding out the facts is part of our job, Data. Now, what was it that you wanted to see me about?" he asked. "I would like to requisition additional personnel to help me with the work on the Stellar Cartography Lab," Data stated. "How many more people do you need?" Picard replied. "I am not sure at present. The amount of time that will be required to complete my work is directly proportional to the number of assistants that I have. I was hoping to finish my endeavors before we reached out destination," the android proclaimed.
"That would greatly expedite our efforts. I'll ask Commander La Forge how many people he can spare for the job. Be sure to provide him with a list of your current staff so that you don't get too many people with similar specialties," he advised. "Thank you, sir," the Lieutenant Commander said, turning to go. However, he wasn't even out the door before the deck shook beneath them.
Picard slapped his comm badge and called out, "Report!" "We've just detected an immense wave of temporal distortion along our path, Captain. The warp field was temporarily destabilized," Riker answered. "I'm on my way," the Captain told him, shutting down his console before following Data onto the bridge.
"Have you located the source of that shockwave?" he asked, moving to the rear console where Sonya Gomez was stationed. "Not yet, sir," she replied as the android took a seat beside her and began manipulating the controls.
"I am detecting multiple ongoing fluctuations in the space-time continuum along our course, Captain. They appear to have materialized at the same time as the distortion. Remaining at warp speed could prove highly dangerous," the Lieutenant Commander informed him. "Helm, take us out of warp," Picard commanded.
The starlines visible on the screen shrank back to their normal appearance as the Enterprise returned left subspace and began floating serenely at the edge of the invisible dangers which lurked ahead of them. "Is there any threat to the ship if we remain at our current location?" he asked. "I do not believe so, sir. However, the situation could change at any moment," Gomez reported. "Captain, if I may?" Data interjected.
"Yes, Commander?" Jean-Luc responded. "The sensors in the Stellar Cartography Lab might be better able to pinpoint the source of the disruption and the locations of the anomalies that have appeared, allowing us to either continue to maneuver or find its source," the android told him. "Bridge to Commander La Forge," Picard called out. A moment later, the ship's chief engineer's voice came over the intercom, "La Forge here."
"Geordi, I want you to coordinate efforts with Mister Data and get to work bringing the Stellar Cartography Lab online as soon as possible. Requisition any personnel from other departments that you feel may be necessary, but get it done," the Captain directed. "Understood, sir," the chief engineer declared. Data stood and moved to the turbolift with Lieutenant Gomez following him immediately.
"Number One, contact Starfleet Command and inform them of the situation. Mister Worf, are there any other vessels in this region?" Jean-Luc inquired. "None that are within the range of our sensors. However, that doesn't mean there may not be a ship out there which is traveling under cloak," the Klingon answered. "You think someone caused this deliberately," Riker commented.
"I just find it rather odd that the moment we're about to enter this sector, something so dangerous and unusual happened. Don't you?" Picard noted, taking his seat. At his side, Counselor Troi looked troubled and he asked, "Do you sense anything, Deanna?" "Nothing except the minds of everyone on the Enterprise. They're definitely worried, sir," the Betazoid explained. "That's to be expected," he remarked, stifling a yawn.
"It's almost the end of your shift, sir. You should get some rest. We'll notify you if anything happens," Will suggested. "You're correct as usual, Number One. I'll see you if a few hours," the Captain proclaimed, rising and heading to the turbolift himself. "Deck 8," he called out once inside, prompting the transport to move within the confines of the ship.
After a few minutes, it reached his destination and Picard wearily strode towards his quarters. I hadn't realized that I was so tired, he reflected, tapping the panel beside his door and stepping inside. He had only taken the first step through when something in the darkened room caught his eye and he stopped in his tracks. There was a familiar artifact sitting on his bed, a gift he'd received from Professor Galen before his untimely death.
"Lights," he called out, which the computer obeyed at once. There were no other signs that anything had been disturbed in his room, but Jean-Luc still couldn't figure out how anyone had gotten inside without his permission. "Picard to Worf," he called out. "Worf here," the security chief responded. "Lieutenant, I'd like to request a favor. Can you do a scan of a region of the ship and tell me if you detect any anomalous readings?" the Captain requested.
"Of course… where would you like for me to look?" the Klingon asked. "My quarters," Picard replied. There was a short pause, then Worf said, "I am ready to begin." "Make it so," he ordered, then waited for the process to finish. "I am detecting one unusual reading, sir. A signal, barely detectable; operating on a frequency that hasn't been used by Starfleet in decades. It appears to be emanating from your room," the security chief told him at last.
"Can you interpret it?" Jean-Luc wondered. "I am running it through our systems now. It is a message. 'Leave while you still can,'" the Klingon told him. "Is that all?" he inquired. "Yes, sir. May I ask, what is going on?" Worf replied. "I'm not certain. I want you to lock onto the signal from my comm badge and beam the object at its location to a secure lab when I instruct you to," the Captain said, taking off the device and tossing it so it landed next to the artifact.
Hitting the intercom switch on the wall, he directed, "Now, Mister Worf." The transporter's energies enveloped the relic at once, yet for some reason they seemed to be unable to get a firm grip on it; as though it resisted the process somehow.
"Sir, there is an energy build-up in your area! You should evacuate at once!" Worf abruptly called out. Without hesitation, Picard dashed into the corridor even as the red alert klaxons went off and he saw a forcefield appear in front of his door as he moved away. Tensely, he waited for the inevitable detonation; but after a time he began to wonder if it had all been a false alarm.
"Jean-Luc?" a familiar voice called out and he turned to see Beverly Crusher approaching. "It isn't safe here right now, Doctor. We should move a bit farther away," he told her. "What's going on?" she asked. "Someone left me an unwelcome gift. Worf is attempting to deal with the situation," Picard explained, leading the way to her quarters. Once inside, he went to the replicator and had the device produce another comm badge.
Tapping it, the Captain said, "Mister Worf, what is the situation?" "I was able to shut down the transporter beam, sir. The energy build-up ceased at the same time," the Klingon told him. "Send a security detail to my quarters at once, then. And have an engineering team go along as well. Maybe Geordi can figure out what happened," Jean-Luc suggested.
"There truly is never a dull night on this ship, eh?" Crusher observed. "Suddenly, I'm not quite so tired anymore. I'm not sure how long it will take for them to find out what happened here, but in the meantime… I could do with a visit to Ten Forward. Care to join me?" Picard asked. She smiled faintly, then answered, "I'd be delighted."
As they left her room, his mind couldn't help but wonder whether this incident was related to the disruption that they'd encountered and if so; what any of this meant.