Chapter 1
It had been a busy year since the wedding and they were all still adjusting to what had happened afterwards. As Jean-Luc looked at the picture on his screen he realised how much his 'family' had changed.
They all missed Data, but knowing that part of him lived on in his brother B4 had made the loss slightly more bearable. B4 had grown up a lot since the memories Data transferred had settled into his positronic net. Whilst he had his own distinct personality, there was no denying the similarity to Data that went beyond the physical design of the androids. He had joined Starfleet Academy and was hoping to return to the Enterprise after graduation.
Deanna and Will were greatly missed but kept in regular contact, particularly with Jean-Luc and Beverley. Their regular messages and conversations were the topic of many shared breakfasts between the Captain and the CMO. Will had become a respected Captain in his own right and was thriving in command of the TITAN. Whilst Deanna had settled into her new roles both professionally and as a wife on the TITAN she had been the one who struggled with leaving the Enterprise. After all the times Will had put off having his own command everyone had expected him to take a while to adjust, but he had slipped into it so naturally and quickly it was almost as if he was born on the TITAN. Deanna though had finally admitted that it was the first time she really understood what it meant to be homesick.
Worf had been promoted and Starfleet had granted Picard's request to assign him as the Enterprise's first officer. The Klingon had been proud to accept, but had taken some time to adjust to once again taking the role of a friend and colleague who had been killed.
Geordi had worked on developing several enhancements in engineering and was co-authoring several technical papers with Dr. Leah Brahms. They had become much closer friends since her time on the Enterprise and kept in regular contact.
Beverley and Jean-Luc remained best friends but she had been a little nervous when she came to him 6 months ago and told him she was dating his 2nd officer Lieutenant Commander Paul Marsh. Whilst Jean-Luc cared deeply for Beverley he was glad she had finally find happiness with someone, although that didn't stop him warning Paul what he'd do to him if he hurt Beverley.
Jean-Luc had continued to find what time he could for archaeology and had even had an enjoyable excursion with Vash and Q to a planet far into the Gamma Quadrant. Whilst Q was far from a reformed character, his fondness for Jean-Luc as well as Vash's was enough to make it their most pleasurable encounter. Q was almost well behaved and Vash tried not to be too mischievous too.
In addition to Lt. Commander Marsh the family of the Enterprise senior staff had two other new members. Lieutenant Thomas Dunbar was the new Security Chief and Lieutenant Commander T'vek was the new ship's counsellor. The new staff had joined whilst the Enterprise E underwent major repairs in spacedock following the encounter with Shinzon. They were all still getting used to each other but they were family none the less. After all it is the Enterprise.
Jean-Luc was still looking at the picture when a message came through for him. He had it put through to his ready room and was delighted to see Admiral Kathryn Janeway appear on his screen.
"Admiral. What a pleasure. What can I do for you?"
"Hello Jean-Luc. I'm afraid this isn't a courtesy call. I'm on Voyager enroute to your position. We will rendezvous with you in 2 hours. Please have your senior staff ready for my briefing." Janeway looked concerned as she said this and it gave Jean-Luc a bad feeling.
"Can you tell me what this is about Kathryn?"
"I'm sorry Jean-Luc, I'd rather not. This is not something you want to hear over sub-space. It's better if I tell you all in person. I'll see you in 2 hours. Janeway out." With that she was gone.
Jean-Luc had a bad feeling. Kathryn Janeway wasn't known for being overly dramatic but she was considered particularly caring by Admiralty standards. Her time with her crew on Voyager trapped in the Delta quadrant had given her a unique perspective. If she felt the news needed to broken in person then it must be bad. No not just bad, most likely dire.
Two hours later Jean-Luc was sat in the conference room with the senior staff except Worf who was to accompany Admiral Janeway from the transporter room. As they entered Jean-Luc stood up to greet her. They shook hands and then she spoke.
"Jean-Luc, please be seated." She looked around and sighed. "There's no easy way to tell you this but I thought it important that I told you four," she indicated Picard, Crusher, Worf and LaForge "together, and the rest of your senior staff should know what's going on so they can support you. The TITAN was visiting Deep Space 9. Whilst there Will Riker and Deanna Troi went to stay on Bajor for a few days shore leave. They met up with Kyle Riker, Lwaxana Troi and her son Barin. There was an explosion."
There was a collective gasp around the table, but no one dared to speak. Janeway continued "I'm sorry to tell you, but Deanna was the only one to survive." Everyone was stunned and tears had started to form in Beverley's eyes. "I'm afraid there's more. We have reason to believe the explosion was a deliberate assassination attempt following the TITAN's work with the Romulan's. We have two members of the TITAN's own crew in custody. This is obviously upsetting news for you but I need your help. Deanna may be the only person who can tell us exactly what happened, but right now she isn't telling us anything."
At this point Jean-Luc interrupted "What do you mean she isn't telling you anything? She'll want to see them brought to justice."
"Jean-Luc I know. Right now though she can't tell us anything. She is in a catatonic state completely shut down. She has shut herself off telepathically and has only spoken one word since she was found 'Enterprise'. I know how close you all are and given the security breaches on the TITAN I've ordered her transferred to the Enterprise and to be put under the care of Doctor Crusher. Starfleet need to know what she saw, what happened, but Deanna needs help. She has lost her entire family and to make matters worse, I discovered she also find out 2 days before the explosion that she's pregnant."
At this point Beverley was sobbing. Paul reached out and pulled her close. Geordi looked stunned and even Worf didn't seem to know how to respond.
"Now I understand why you wouldn't tell me over subspace. Thank you Kathryn, I know you understand our type of family after your time on Voyager. We'll make the arrangements to have her transferred over. Who's dealing with the investigation?"
"That's the other thing I wanted to discuss. I'm leading the investigation with the team from Voyager. I want the Enterprise and your team to assist. You investigate the site, we'll deal with the TITAN."
"That sounds good to me. The sooner we get answers the better." Jean-Luc looked around to see all the others nodding in agreement.
