Thank you for the reveiws. I replaced this chapter as I realised that I had not spell checked it, otherwise it stays the same.

Chapter Two

Five years had passed since the Enterprise had lost her Captain and gained a new one. To his surprise, Starfleet had named him the new Captain of the Enterprise on its arrival at Star Base 21. He had accepted the assignment and although he missed his Commanding Officer and grieved his death, he also celebrated the greatest moment in his career. The crew of the Enterprise remained almost the same as it was with a few minor exceptions; none of the Bridge Crew had changed although young Wesley Crusher had returned from Starfleet Academy a fully fledged Commissioned Ensign. Riker was proud of his crew, they were considered the best in the fleet and his ship, although now thought of as old was the one that Starfleet turned too when they were in dire trouble. Nobody aboard the Enterprise had forgotten her erstwhile Captain and every year they commemorated him in a memorial service. Picard was honoured as a hero of the Federation and yet nobody knew how and why he had come to die.

One person who never gave up on finding out how Picard had met his fate was Wesley Crusher. He had thought of Picard as a father and knew that his mother was deeply in love with the Captain, even if she had never admitted it. Wesley had never stopped trying to find out what had happened to Picard, but to no avail as yet. He started with the Treaty between the Cardassian Empire and the Federation. It had been assumed that Picard had been a party to the negotiations and that this was the secret mission he had been on when he had died. But Wesley was not finding it easy, even though he was using some questionable ways of trying to get the information; it seemed to him that there had been a watertight cover put on the life and death of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. This however just inspired Wesley more and at the moment he was making some ground on a computer programme he had created which was busy infiltrating Federation High Command logs and the personal logs of the officers involved in the signing of the Cardassian Treaty. If he was caught doing this he knew he would be in serious trouble but he had to find out what had happened to his Captain.

Two weeks later Wesley almost regretting what he had done. His programme had unearthed a secret almost too horrible to contemplate. Captain Picard had not been killed in the line of duty; he had been sacrificed in the name of peace. Wesley did not know how to deal with the information he was getting out of the personal logs of one of the most respected Admirals in the Federation. Who did he tell, how did he tell them and more importantly how were they going to use the information, was Picard still alive… it had been five years since he had been given to the Cardassians as part of a deal which had led to the Treaty being signed. Wesley decided that he would tell Riker of what he had found and then it would be up to his new Captain to determine what would happen next.

Wesley approached Riker in his ready room shortly afterwards. Riker welcomed the young man in; Wesley had been part of the crew for many years as a non commissioned officer under the Captaincy of Picard so he was always willing to have a chat with him. The moment Wesley walked into the room he could tell that this was not an ordinary visit, Wesley was nervous even scared.

"Captain, I…I have some information that I think you…you should know about." Wesley stammered as the door shut on the ready room.

'Wesley…" Riker said as he stood from behind his desk and walked towards the young Ensign. "Sit down." Riker instructed as he led Wesley to the couch. "Now what is going on?" He asked as they sat.

"Ok." Wesley said taking a deep breath. "I have been investigating what happened to Captain Picard…"

"You've being doing what?" Riker interrupted. "Why and how?"

"I'm sorry Captain, I don't know why, I just needed to know. I mean...I needed to understand…" Wesley said trying to explain himself.

"Ok, ok Wesley…so what did you find out?" Riker asked not knowing what was coming but obviously Wes had found something that upset him and Riker knew it was not going to be good. The knot he had felt in the pit of his stomach five years ago returned with new vigour.

"He didn't die…I mean…I mean he wasn't killed. He was…he was…oh God…" Wesley stumbled to a halt.

"He was what Wes?" Riker said encouragingly as the knot tightened.

"He was sacrificed sir, he was given to the Cardassians as a…a type of gift to seal the Treaty." Wesley said; the disgust at what he had just said and the realization that in verbalizing it; it had brought him to realize that the Federation that he served and honoured had committed an unforgivable sin. They had thrown Jean-Luc Picard to the wolfs or in this case the Cardassians to an almost certain terrible fate.

"What did you say?" Riker asked not sure that he had heard what Wesley had said, not sure he wanted to believe what Wesley had just said. "Did you just accuse the Federation of giving the Captain away like a piece of property to seal a Treaty, is that what you are saying?" Anger coming through as he spoke and the realization of what Wesley was implying registering in his brain.

"I'm not implying anything sir, I am stating facts." Wesley Crusher said with a tinge of fear and a lot of anger in his voice.

"I hope you have proof of this young man; that is quite an accusation to make." Riker said quietly.

"I have sir, I have…" Wesley said sadly.

Riker sat back in the chair. Could this really be true, could the Federation have done what Wesley is saying they did and if that is what has happened who was in on it and why. Riker looked over at Wesley. "Alright, we will have to see this evidence. I will get the senior staff together in one hour in the briefing room, Wesley, this is…" Riker sighed heavily before continuing. "Ok Wes, go get the goods."

Wesley stood up and nodded to Riker, he left the ready room and made his way to his quarters to collect the evidence he had collected. He knew that this was going to change everything, he had not even thought of what this was going to do to his mother or the other people on the ship who were the Captains friends for longer than he had even known him. He was sure he was doing the right thing but at the same time he was full of other emotions fear, anger and regret. He knew that he could not have changed what had happened and that nobody on the ship could have done anything, but he was sure they would all feel the same way when he revealed what he had found out, how his mother was going to take it he was not sure, but it would not be good of that he was completely convinced. What they could do about the situation he also did not know. Picard was probably dead now, killed by the Cardassians, if he wasn't though, where was he and what had the Cardassians done to him in the last five years. The logs showed that only one man was involved on the Federation side, he doubted that the Federation High Council had any knowledge of what had happened. On the Cardassian side he also had only one name, Zaveer, he was the chief negotiator on the side of the Cardassians and Wesley knew from his investigations, he hated Picard for killing his Father a year earlier during a battle. The other thing weighing on his mind, albeit only slightly was the fact that he would also have explain how he got the evidence, that was going to be secondary he hoped. He quickly packed up his things and headed for the briefing room.

An hour later all the senior staff were gathered, Riker had not told them what the meeting was about. Gathered around the table was Commander Worf, the Klingon security chief of the Enterprise, Commander Data, First Officer of the Enterprise, Counsellor Deanna Troi, ships counsellor and wife of the Captain. Doctor Beverly Crusher, Chief Medical Officer; Geordie LaForge Chief Engineering Officer and last but not least Captain William Riker. Standing before the senior officers of the Enterprise was Wesley Crusher.

"I have brought you all here to hear what Wesley has found out about what happened to Captain Picard. This is going to be hard for all of you to hear but you need to listen to the end before we make any comments. Right Wesley let's start."

"Ok, Captain Picard was asked to join the negotiations; that was the mission he was sent on. When he got to the planet he had been sent to by Admiral Vance he found that the negotiations were not taking place on that planet. He was led into a trap and captured by the Cardassians. This was orchestrated by Admiral Vance and a Cardassian named Zaveer it was in essence part of the deal before the Treaty could be signed. I am not sure who else besides these two were involved on either side."

"You must be joking, this is a joke right?" Geordie said incredulously.

"No, I have proof; I got this from the personal log of the Admiral. Obviously there is no visual however I believe that the Admiral taped this meeting for some reason, perhaps to cover himself in future, to be able to implicate Zaveer in the plot if it ever came out. There is no visual but there is a recording of the proceedings. Computer play segment 4398." Suddenly the voice of an unknown Cardassian filled the room:

"You have what we agreed on?" The Cardassian asked.

"He will be arriving in a few minutes. This seals the deal; you will make sure the Treaty is signed?" The human voice responded, all of the people around the table immediately recognised it as the voice of the respected Admiral George Vance, the man who had conveyed the news of Picard's' death to them.

'We have agreed; I will make sure the deal is made. Don't look so sad, you know this Treaty must be signed and the sacrifice of one officer is better than all out war between us, and besides you need the Cardassians on your side what with the Dominion and the Borg waiting in the wings to attack, never mind the Farengi the Romulans and the many other groups that would like nothing more that to see the Federation die."

"Yes but this is…"

"Necessary!" The Cardassian finished for him.

"What are you going to do with Picard?" Vance asked.

"That has nothing to do with you, however I will make sure that his fate is never known, you too will have to fulfil that part of the bargain this deal will remain between our two parties agreed."

"Agreed; here he comes now, he thinks he is coming to a secret meeting of the two negotiating parties. I have instructed him to enter the caves over there. Our deal is done."

"You are not staying for the main event?" The Cardassian said in a sarcastic voice.

"You have what you want. I don't think I need to be any more involved. Remember if this gets out there will be heavy repercussions for both of us."

"Do not worry this will be the last you hear or see of the great Jean-Luc Picard. Killed in the line of duty is a good way to die don't you think?" The Cardassian laughed. "Farewell, I will see you at the negotiating table."

"Just make sure…just make sure the Treaty is signed." Vance replied.

After that they heard the Cardassian ordering his men to capture Picard and then the recording stopped.

A heavy silence settled on the room. They could not believe what they had just heard. Picard had not been killed but 'given' to the Cardassians to seal a Treaty. Worf growled angrily as he digested the information. Deanna sat stunned at her husbands' side unable to comprehend what she had just heard. Beverly stared at her son tears brimming in her eyes. While Riker sat with his head back and eyes closed an unspeakable anger building inside him. Of all the people in the room only Data showed no emotion, he had determined that turning off his emotion chip for this meeting would be advisable, actually Riker had suggested that he do so. Data was the first of the group to speak.

"How did you obtain this recording Wesley?"

"I wrote a programme to invade the database of the Federation." Seeing the disapproval on the face of his mother he quickly continued. "I had to find out what happened to Picard and when I could find no information on the open channels, I decided that I had to dig further. If what they had told us was true there should have been some record on the logs, even if it was just a reference but there was nothing. That was not right and I knew that I had to find out." Wes continued defending his actions.

"Ok, well it does not matter now how you got the information, the fact is you got it and what are we going to do about it?" Riker said more to the group than to Wesley.

"They let us believe he was dead…they told us he was dead, that he died…God knows what they did to him…what he has gone through…what…" Beverly Crusher choked, her thoughts spilling out as she fought back the tears.

Deanna walked over to her and put her arms around her. Of all the people in the room Deanna knew best of all what Beverly felt for Jean-Luc, how she loved him with all her heart, and the fact that she had always regretted not telling him before it was too late.

"We are going to find him Beverly, and we are going to find out who did this too him." Deanna said holding back her own emotions and trying to block out the other emotions in the room that were trying to break through her defences. The anger from Worf, Geordie and Will was so strong along with the guilt and fear.

It had been a long time since he had been brought to this place; the Cardassian Overseer Zaveer had had enough of tormenting him and so sent him to his death here on this God forsaken planet. He was dropped off into a deep chasm at the heart of the planet. There was nothing here. Picard had spent many hours exploring the chasm to find nothing…no life at all. When finally, near starvation and severely dehydrated he found a way out of the chasm he came across an underground lake. Water, and with water came other life forms, not all of them friendly. But he had found water and food, as he grew stronger he made himself makeshift tools and a place he could call home. As the months passed Picard explored more of the cavern he had found and stumbled upon an exit to the surface. He found this most inhospitable. The burning sun scorched all in its path followed by icy winds which carried the night quickly on the heels of the sunset. Picard noted that the sun rose and set every six hours or so, this gave him a small window during which he could brave the surface area. During one of his excursions he discovered that, remarkably, this planet had been inhabited by intelligent beings. He found ruins of great cities destroyed by the heat of the sun and the cold of the night. Picard assumed that something catastrophic had happened forcing the planet out of its natural orbit and closer to its sun, changing the climate of the planet and wrecking havoc. Eventually this had led to the extinction of the peoples of the planet and only the hardiest of animals that had made their homes underground and mutated as the years passed to fit into their new habitats. Over time Picard salvaged much of what he found, transport, weapons, tools and technology, computers, music and books, and in time he had created for himself a comfortable home. He had built himself a compound underground near the lake he had found. Setting up fences and boundaries and securing a perimeter that kept his compound reasonably safe from the more dangerous animals that he shared his domain with. Picard had long ago stopped thinking of his life before he had been captured by the Cardassians, tortured by Zaveer and finally being placed on this planet to die. He no longer made up stories to keep up the memories alive, sometimes he dreamed of what he had once known one person always haunting his dreams, a beautiful red headed woman a doctor on his beloved Enterprise, Doctor Beverly Crusher. But he told himself these were just dreams and he would never see her again or his ship or any other human beings. This he accepted as his truth so he focused on his new life, here on this planet.

After the meeting, Riker sought isolation in his ready room. He sat as his desk, remembering his Captain. His anger and his shame growing. He knew he would spend the rest of his time trying to find where Picard had been taken, and if he were dead, to give his remains a decent burial, he would also find a way to bring Vance to justice for the unspeakable acts he had committed. But what if they found Picard alive how would he receive them, did he blame them for his predicament, would he forgive them for not finding him earlier, for believing the story they were told. Riker felt guilty which was irrational or so his wife told him, but he did. He had taken over Picard's ship, he had lived his life the life Picard was suppose to have the last five years, he had benefited from Picard's suffering. How could he face his former Captain; how could he even start to make up for what Picard had lost and suffered. What if they did find him alive; how was this going to change the face of the Federation? All that had been done would come to light; the Treaty would be under threat, the Treaty that Picard had in essence given his life for.

"Will…" Deanna said as she entered the room to find her husband slumped on his couch with his head in his hands.

'Deanna…I…what if we do find him alive? What if we don't? I just…"

"Will, don't do this to yourself, you did not do anything to Picard, you did not take his ship, and you did not take his freedom that was not you.'

'I know but…"

"No buts William Riker. You would have given your life for Jean-Luc Picard and he knows that and if he is still alive and when we do find him he will not blame you for any of this…Will please don't do this to yourself."

"It's not just that, it's what happens when and if we do find him alive, the repercussions to the Federation, the Cardassian Empire, the Treaty to us here on the Enterprise and to Jean-Luc himself…"

"We'll deal with that when it happens. You are not doing yourself, this ship or Picard any good by playing the 'what if' game." Deanna said kissing her husband gently on the forehead.

"Captain Riker to the bridge." Data's voice echoed from the computer console.

"On my way…" Riker said as he rose from the couch giving his wife a hug and kiss before striding onto the bridge of the Enterprise.

"Mr Data?" Riker asked as he sat down in his chair.

"Sir, I believe we have found a possible location in the records. It appears that Zaveer volunteered for a position as Overseer; apparently this is a highly respected position in Cardassian society. He was installed as the Overseer on the Glacier Prison Asteroid of Delta One."

"Is he still there Data?" Riker asked intently.

"No sir, it is reported that Zaveer died a year ago from an undisclosed illness. Since then a certain Porgula has taken charge of the prison." Data reported.

"Dead..." Riker ran his hand through his hair his mind racing through the many possibilities of what could have happened to Picard on Zaveers' death. "Is there any records that you have been able to obtain from the prison facility?" Riker asked Data hoping that Data would have been able to garner at least some information.

"No sir, the records are quite securely held. I have requested that Wesley employ his...his programme to assist in trying to get some details from the prison." Data said, not knowing how his Captain would react to his requesting Wesley to use his illegal and highly invasive computer programme to again infiltrate confidential logs.

Data need not have worried; Riker had no qualms using any means necessary now to find out what had become of Picard. If he was dead then so be it and he could finally lay his Captain to rest knowing his true fate. If he was not... That, thought Riker they would deal with when it came to be.