Beta for Chapter Three: Gun Brooke
As expected, Beverly is late to the conference. Professor Epstein, in all his thunderous glory, is just getting started when she bursts through the door. It's standing room only and buzzing with an undercurrent of voices and excitement and she can tell she'll probably be extremely irritated by the end of this. Leave it to a bunch of doctors to ruin a good time.
Holding all her PADDs like they're a collection of her favorite childhood toys, Beverly practically stands on her toes to get a better view. That doesn't help her much in the way of getting a clear idea of what's on the screen behind him, but it unexpectedly gives the professor an excellent view of Beverly.
They've been communicating back and forth through subspace messages for a decade or more, but haven't seen each other in person in a year. He knows how important this is to Beverly and has always shown a special interest in her. The topic of combining cybernetics and regeneration is so complex. Too many people want to "put the cart before the horse" as he often says, and are not willing to put in the time to truly learn and understand the tried and failed technics of the past, in order to bring in the future.
Beverly, however, has always been willing to put in the time. Half her career has been dedicated to this.
Noticing her, Professor Epstein calls for an immediate break. There are objections from all over the room since he's only been speaking for probably thirty minutes but the professor waves them off. In a few short moments, everyone makes for the exit and the room is cleared.
"Beverly!" He calls her name, almost taking a tumble as he hurries over to her. "I expected you here early for a good seat!"
They hug; he nearly squeezes the oxygen right out of her. "I did want a good seat," Beverly is finally able to say. "But I forgot my notes and it was such a fuss to get off the ship. My case broke before I even made it to the transporter pad and I was just…crazy."
Conveniently, she leaves out the part about how Deanna Troi has invaded her life and about how she just told off Commander Riker less than an hour ago. She's still not over that and doesn't know whether she should have kept her mouth shut or made a few additions.
"Well," he gestures around the empty lecture hall, "You've got your pick."
"True," she smiles and heads toward that front row seat she wanted from the start and he sits beside her, barely fitting into the chair.
"One day," the professor chuckles, still trying to get comfortable, "I'm going to have to stop eating."
Beverly laughs with him but doesn't say a thing about his weight. She hasn't had much to eat since that ice-cream sundae in Sensor Maintenance almost a month ago. Nothing tastes good anymore, which serves her right for walking out on Deanna. That night, she was no better than Will.
"Beverly, are you listening?"
Apparently, she isn't.
"What?" She asks, thrown back into reality as if she is a ship that's come to a dead stop. "I'm sorry, Professor…I guess I'm still a little scattered from trying to get here and everything."
Shaking his head patiently and with a smile, he says, "Terence. It's Terence. Are we not friends? How often must I beg you?"
"Right. Okay…Terence it is."
"That's better." He pats her knee as if she were a child, then returns to whatever he'd been talking about while she was lost in thought. "I was talking about Magnus. I thought you would want to know."
Beverly nearly jumps out of her seat. Magnus…The Hansen's? Absolutely, she wants to know. It's always in the back of her mind and certainly in the forefront of his. He mentions it in nearly every letter, most likely because Beverly is one of the few left that will actually listen to him about it. Everyone else has moved on. But not Terence.
Shaking her head vigorously, she urges him to continue, then gets severely disappointed. When will she stop hoping for anything good to come of this?
"There is still no news," he sighs, his face is grim. "I'm in constant contact with freighters and transport ships, but nothing. It's been eleven years, Beverly."
"It seems like yesterday, doesn't it?" She replies, giving him a sad look.
Beverly herself was only out of the Academy three years when—based on rumor alone—Magnus and Erin Hansen, along with their daughter Annika went off in search of the Borg. The last anyone saw of them was at the Drexler Outpost in the Omega Sector. From there, they'd defied orders, crossed the Neutral Zone…and were gone.
"It does. Time flies, they say." The professor laughs but it's not the good-natured kind Beverly is used to hearing. This laugh is bitter and full of remorse. And he has plenty reason to be remorseful. "Sometimes," he continues, "I try to make myself forget. I should never have encouraged him. But Magnus was so captivated by the rumors. And I encouraged it! He used to say to me, 'Uncle, it's not as if an exobiologist can just sit around and wait for new alien life to find him.' What was I to do? He was—is—everything to me. Like a son, Beverly."
"I don't know what to say, Terence. Maybe they are just…out of range?"
"There is nothing to say. I'm a fool," he says briskly, wiping his forehead. "I apologize. You are here to share your research with me. Not to nurse my heart back to health."
Beverly shakes her head and finally lays her PADDs on the floor. For the moment, her notes are not important. "We're friends. You just said so yourself. I know this weighs on you; let me help you."
"This is true, very true. And you do help me. No one else will listen to the senseless ramblings of an old man. But one day I fear I will have to face facts, and let go. My thoughts get away from me too often lately. Perhaps it comes from too much teaching and not enough doing, ah? Now!" he startles her, suddenly shouting, sounding excited once more. "Show me what you have brought. No more about me and my troubles. I want to hear about you. It looks as if you have been very busy. Too busy maybe?"
Too busy. Yes, there's no doubt about that. It is what it is, though, so she might as well show him all her hard work. It's clear he doesn't want to discuss his nephew anymore. It's also clear that he might be on his way to accepting what everyone else has been telling him since the day the young family crossed the Neutral Zone: they're dead, either by the hands of the Romulans, or something much worse. A worse that Beverly prays she never encounters—even if it is just a rumor.
"Commander Quinteros to Doctor Crusher."
Trained to react under any kind of pressure, Beverly freezes when her combadge goes off while she's gathering up her PADDs from the floor. Why is Commander Quinteros contacting her? He's supposed to be supervising the Bynars in their work. Not contacting her. And if there was a medical emergency, then the starbase…
"Beverly, answer him." Terence grabs her by the arm and shakes her roughly, sounding as worried as she feels. "He's called for you twice."
"Crusher, here." Beverly responds, a thread of fear winding its way up her spine.
"Doctor, I'd like you to report to the Command Center. We have a situation here."
"Situation?" Beverly asks.
"Yes. The Enterprise is being evacuated. They're having an unexplained failure in their antimatter containment field."
"My son…Where is my son?"
"He is beaming off the ship now. I've asked all senior staff from the Enter—"
"I'm on my way." She interrupts him, already running to the door. "Crusher, out."
It doesn't surprise Beverly that she's running. It's not the calmest way to proceed, but she won't be able to have an intelligible thought in her head until she lays eyes on Wesley. However, it does surprise her that Professor Epstein is beside her, his voice booming through the corridor to clear the way.
"Move!" he yells, shoving people as they head toward the nearest turbo lift. "Move now or you'll all be doing clinical rotations on Rura Penthe! Your children's children will be doing clinicals on Rura Penthe!"
If Beverly weren't scared out of her mind, she'd laugh. A Klingon prison planet… Well, right now, that sounds better than trying to survive an antimatter explosion. And that's just what they'll be dealing with if the containment field isn't repaired immediately or—if worse comes to worse—the ship isn't able to get out of the starbase and at a safe distance in time.
"I will keep your notes safe, Beverly." Terence pushes her into the turbo lift, pressing a card into her hand. "This scan card will activate the turbo lift to bypass all other stops. These starbases are so damned big. Use it."
"Come with me, Terence." Beverly begs, not even sure why.
There is nothing he could do to improve the situation but for some reason, she wants him with her. It'd be better than the alternative. And why is she getting so sentimental, just now noticing how much older he looks since she last saw him? His hair is a dull shade of gray, thinning out dramatically; there are dark circles under what used to be bright eyes filled with warmth and energy; his shoulders are slumped and back bowed, giving the impression that he is shorter. All of it—regardless of his weight—says that he is in poor health and Beverly can't bear to think about things ending like this.
Of course, the professor shakes his head. "No, no," Terence waves her off, irritated by the suggestion. "I must deal with these ingrates," he points behind them at the crowd, "and keep the conference going until I receive word to do otherwise. Find your son. We will discuss your research, Beverly. But later. Obviously. Now go! And keep the card. I don't even need the blasted thing!"
The door closes before she can say anything else and true to his word, that little card is an uninterrupted ticket to anywhere she wants to go. If only the turbo lift would go faster.
"Wesley Crusher to Doctor Crusher."
"Wesley? I'm on my way to you. I promise. I'll be right there."
"I know, Mom. I'm here with Commander Quinteros."
"Good. Good…" Beverly's knees almost give out on her. Her son is safe. For now. "Stay right there and do not move, Wesley. Do not move."
Then, the lift door opens and there he is. In the flesh. Wesley.
She'd like to tackle him but there is too much going on and too little time. Taking him by the hand, Beverly follows Wesley over to a workstation where Quinteros is.
"What's our status, Commander?"
"Our status?" He barely looks up at her. "Grave. The containment field is beyond help at this point. Data and La Forge should be along any second. The ship is set for automated departure."
"There's no hope?"
"None that I see." Quinteros gestures wildly between the console and the window where the Enterprise can be seen backing its way toward the enormous doors of the starbase. "And if we can't—"
Whatever the commander was about to say, is put on hold. Data and Geordi appear in front of them, having beamed directly to the Command Center. Tasha and Worf arrive as well and it is pure pandemonium for a while.
Captain Picard and Commander Riker are nowhere to be found.
No one's seen the Bynars either.
The antimatter containment field is suddenly back online—unquestionably good news.
But the ship itself? Well, the ship is clear of the starbase and traveling at warp speed, most likely headed to Bynaus, the home planet of the Bynars. That's Data's theory, and when has Data ever been wrong?
And just like there is no explanation for the issue, that is no longer an issue, concerning the containment field, there is no explanation for the whereabouts, or lack thereof, of Jean Luc, Will and the Bynars. Even though the ship's computer denies it, it would seem they're all still aboard the Enterprise. But that just can't be. Jean Luc would—
Beverly's thoughts are broken by the discussion going on. Tasha and Worf are set on beaming back, but they are obviously out of time and there is no way to follow the Enterprise. All the other warp capable ships on the starbase are in the midst of repairs.
What's really broken through to Beverly, though, is the fact that Tasha and Quinteros are about to come to blows over the whole thing. Really, this is nothing new for Tasha. While excellent at her job, she tends to fly off the handle. But there's usually someone around to calm the situation and speak to reason: Deanna Troi.
And Deanna Troi…isn't here.
As if he can read her mind, Wesley pulls at her hand and whispers, "Mom, where's Counselor Troi?"
Beverly takes a deep breath to force herself to appear confident. "I'm sure she's on the starbase somewhere," she says lightly and puts an arm around his shoulder, more for her sake than his.
"Well, yeah, but where is she?" He persisted. "She should be here, right? All senior staff…"
"As I said, I'm sure she's around somewhere, Wesley." Beverly ends up using that tone that always lets know him the discussion is over.
Only this time, the discussion is not over.
"Didn't you guys check into the guest quarters together? If she wasn't going to the conference with you, then you should—"
"Wesley."
That shuts him up long enough for Beverly to run through the whole afternoon.
No, they hadn't checked into their guest quarters together. There really was no 'checking in' to be done. The starbase had already sent Beverly the suite number and the entrance code and like a coward, she simply forwarded the message on to Deanna. They hadn't even spoken or seen one another today, and Beverly obviously hadn't been to the room yet. Come to think of it, Beverly never even packed any clothes! Great…
But where is she? Deanna should be here.
Wasting no more time, Beverly taps her combadge. "Doctor Crusher to Counselor Troi."
Once. Twice. Three times. No response.
With each second of silence, that thread of fear reappears inside Beverly. They've never been out of contact. Not truly. Sure, she can avoid Deanna all she wants, but with the tap of a combadge, Deanna is within reach: in her quarters; in her office; on an away mission, always within reach. But not now, and Beverly can't stand it.
Letting go of Wesley, she moves over to an empty workstation, away from all the nonsense still going on between Tasha and Quinteros. Right now, Beverly couldn't care less if they really do come to blows. Let them fight. She has more important things to do. Like find the one person that has become the other half of her soul.
"Computer, what is the location of Counselor Deanna Troi?" Her voice is far from steady. All the training in the world can't help her now. Not when it comes to something like this. Especially, not when the computer tells Beverly that Deanna is in the suite they're supposed to be sharing for two days.
Yet, she won't answer a call to her combadge?
Where in the hell is she?
"Mom, go find her."
Wesley's crept up behind Beverly without her noticing—and of all people, Worf is with him. Even on a good day, Worf cannot stand Wesley.
"Doctor Crusher," he regards her with caution; it must be evident that she's about to lose it. "I will be responsible for the boy until you return."
She'll never know it but everyone in the Command Center watches as Beverly runs across the room and into the turbo lift. At that particular moment, it doesn't even register with her that she's just left her son and shipmates behind without a word. The only clear thought Beverly has is that she must find Deanna. What Beverly is going to do with her once she is found, is another story entirely.
Kill Deanna most likely, for scaring Beverly to death.
Maybe kiss her.
Possibly both.
To Be Continued
Note: Sometimes there is a debate on: is it comm badge, commbadge or combadge…and on and on. There are too many sources pointing toward combadge for me to ignore - so that is what I've chosen to go with.
