What the two didn't know was the Captain had been summoned when the lights in the chamber he was working in shut down. He had watched Barclay and Ro work together to remove the crystal from the conduit and then the treatment of Ensign Ro. Of the two people he could pick out of his crew that would be polar opposites it would be these two. He had experienced a twinge of apprehension when Barclay had first beamed down but the so far the man had been exceptional and not only that he was able handle Ro. Picard thought about the explosive Bajoran, she had such raw talent but that was fused with her temper. He remembered the first few months she was onboard there were a few broken noses and blackened eyes not all of it was Ro's doing. Some former members of his crew had driven the Bajoran into injuring them. Picard took particular pleasure in dumping them off at a Starbase. With a pedantic engineer and a volatile Ensign stuck together on for a week he was sure that the shuttlecraft would have been turned into a brig by now. Yet the two were not only working together but working well. Ro did not like physical contact yet she was tolerant of Barclays handling of her. Also Barclay wasn't shying away from Ro's bluntness.
"Everything all right?" He asked.
"Captain, I was just going to find you. We need to replace another crystal other than that everything is fine." Ro informed.
"Carry on" Picard stated.
The two junior officers made their way back to camp while the senior officers stayed in the chambers. Ro began working on forming new crystals while Barclay watched. As he saw her pile dwindling he grabbed his equipment.
"Where are you going?" Ro asked.
"To get you more material."
"Do you have your phasor?"
"Yes." He nodded.
Ro felt like a nervous Vedek sending off a Prylar, she was responsible for the security of the group. She had seen Barclay's records with his phasor training it wasn't impressive but at least he could hit something point blank if something were to happen. Her fears were assuaged when he came back later unharmed.
The next few days passed almost mundanely, the Captain and Moval continued their progress aided by the lighting system Barclay had repaired. Ro was aiding the engineer in fixing other system. So far they had downloaded some sort of information. The Enterprise would be in orbit in less than a day for a more detailed analysis. On this particular morning Barclay had activated some system which emitted a signal he quickly deactivated it since the shrill whistle annoyed everyone especially Moval. In the morning Barclay awoke early and decided to get more ore from the vein. So far Ro had only worked on making replacement crystals instead of the project she wished to work on. He thought that if he could get her more material she could etch on board. Remembering her advice he took his phasor.
While the three others were splitting rations Ro heard alert from the shuttle, she went to it and Moval and Picard followed. "What is it Ensign?"
"Proximity alert, ship in orbit." Her fingers flew over the panel trying to assess the threat.
"The Enterprise?" Moval asked from his position.
"No."
"Contact Mr. Barclay" Picard ordered.
Ro opened the communication channel, she was about to inform Barclay of the situation when Moval stated, "Captain." They turned and saw four armed Humanoids.
"I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise, we mean no harm."
"You're trespassing on our world."
"We thought this planet was uninhabited we are explorers."
"You have violated our ancestral world we were alerted to your presence through by the beacon."
Ro spoke softly, "What was activated this morning."
The Captain noted that she was keeping Barclay's name out of the conversation.
At the ore deposit Barclay stood in horror as his communicator was relaying the conversation in the shuttle. The Captain and Ro were secretly conveying information through the communication circuits. He had learned that there were four aliens and that they were well armed. He looked at his phasor there was no way he could hit four in succession. He knew that he could widen the dispersal field but that would alter the strength in varying degrees, which is why the wide dispersal wasn't used, and he couldn't risk hitting a fellow crewmember. An exclamation of pain transmitted through the communicator someone had been struck by a weapon. He heard Ro's voice, "Captain are you all right?"
"Fine Ensign" Came the weak response.
"Can I have a medical kit?" Ro asked.
"He's fine" Barked a rough voice.
Barclay decided that he had to use the wide dispersal on the phasor, he choose the strongest stun setting and head out.
Picard was cradling his head; the leader of the group of aliens had phasor-whipped him. A noise outside the shuttle drew the attention of three of the guards. Something had landed near the shuttle suddenly the three were enveloped in blinding light. With the leader startled with his men down Moval quickly dispatched him with a nerve pinch Ro collected the weapons and checked on the aliens outside. Two were still breathing and one was not.
Barclay was chanting, "It was on stun."
Ro saw that he was shaking and took his hand and led him to the shuttle. She quickly spoke to Moval and the Vulcan nodded. The unconscious alien was deftly picked up and moved outside. Ro made Barclay sit in the co-pilots seat the Captain was in the Pilots.
"Captain" She said
He took a measured breath before whispering, "My head rings and I feel sick."
She scanned him with a tricorder, "Concussion I suggest you sit still, I have no idea what to give you."
"Lexorin is still standard in medkits, a dose should ease his symptoms." Barclay informed from his seat still staring ahead. Ro opened the medkit and showed it Barclay who pointed to a green vial. No doubt this was the Lexorin. Seconds after the drugs entered Picards system he looked markedly better. Ro was wondering what to give Barclay when the comm. beeped.
Riker to away team we've detected a ship in orbit that isn't answering our hails. What is your status?
Moval was standing guard over the unconscious aliens while Ro told Riker the situation. This was going to be a diplomatic nightmare to sort out. Moval had himself and the other aliens beamed to Enterpise the Captain as well was transported directly to Sickbay. Riker beamed down with a security teams to secure the area and document the scene.
The XO of the Enterprise was anxious to debrief the Lieutenant but he saw the emotional strain the man was under and thought better of it. "I'm really not up to being transported right now, can I come back in the shuttle with Ensign Ro?" Barclay asked.
Riker agreed, "Of course, as soon as you dock I want both of you to go to sickbay—understood?"
"Aye Commander" Barclay stated softly.
Instead of taking the co-pilots seat Barclay sat himself on the bench. He watched as Ro began the preflight checks and soon the shuttle was leaving the atmosphere. Effortlessly the shuttle docked and the two went to Sickbay. Dr. Crusher treated Barclay with a gentle hand injecting him with a mild sedative and sending him to his quarters. Ro was also given orders to go to her quarters to rest.
Picard was worried, he had recovered from his concussion and was cloistered in his ready room with a steaming cup of tea. The incident with the Mytherans had been resolved albeit tersly. A science ship would not be dispatched to Darvos II and everything that Picard and Moval had collected was put back on the planet this included the crystal material Ro and Barclay had excavated. Their tents and other Starfleet material had been given back to them. The door chime caught Picard's attention.
"Come"
"You wanted to see me sir?" Riker asked.
"Yes Will have a seat." Riker collapsed his large body onto the small sofa near the door. Picard tossed him a PADD. "This is Barclay's report on the Mytheran incident notice anything?"
Riker busily devoured the report thumbing down the text before stating, "Damn…Has Deanna seen this?"
Picard nodded, "Yes and she has had two sessions but I don't think they are working."
"How's that?" The Commander asked.
"Geordi has informed me that Barclay is throwing himself into his work and it's obvious to everyone he's not sleeping. Guinan has reported that he stays in Ten-Forward."
Riker ran a hand through his hair; if Guinan was reporting to the Captain then it was serious. "What is the protocol for this? So far he hasn't done anything his performance is stable and he's keeping appointments."
"There is something I wanted your input on."
Riker knew by the Captain's tone that whatever he had in mind could either be a spectacular victory or a spectacular fail. "Let's hear it."
Picard picked up the PADD, "I want to give this report to Ro, I'm certain they formed a bond on the planet and I think she could get him to talk or at least get him to go to Troi."
"I can see your apprehension, Ro isn't known for subtlety and she could make it worse but I think it's a good idea." Riker added. "I'll take it to her."
Ro was surprised to see Commander Riker at her door, she was hoping for another visitor. Her hopes were half answered by the delivery of a PADD. Riker merely gave her the PADD and then left. Ro sat down and began reading.
She too found the area of text, which gave Picard and Riker pause
I threw a stone into the area of the shuttlecraft and three individuals came out. My phasor was on wide dispersal and the aliens were grouped close together. I fired my phasor and murdered one.
"Computer locate Lt. Barclay."
Lt. Barclay is in Ten-Forward
"Is he alone?"
Negative
"Who is with him?"
Guinan
With that she stuffed her feet into shoes and headed out.
Barclay stood by the window wishing the transparent aluminum wasn't there so he could fall into the stars. He had killed someone. The platitudes he had heard from counselor Troi were not helping. He didn't want to see the looks of pity on the crews faces he also made sure he stayed clear from sickbay. He didn't know what he needed but he was certain he would know what it was when he saw it.
The doors to Ten-Forward whispered open and the Bajoran made her way to the dimly lit bar. Guinan was in the shadows just watching, "How long has he been here?"
"A while" came the answer from the bartender.
Ro shook her head her eyes determined but sad, "I should have seen him sooner, this is my fault…Can I stay here a while to fix it?"
Guinan's lips curved upwards and she quickly exited the lounge leaving the two alone.
Slowly Ro made her way towards the window and stood next to Barclay. She just stood next to him not talking she just shared the space with him. Tentatively his hand reached out for hers and she grasped it but she never took her eyes off of the stars and neither did he. Time seemed to hang, they could almost see it draping around them as they stared out of the window. Still Ro wouldn't say a word; she wouldn't tell him that everything would be all right because it might not. She wasn't going make small talk she was simply going to be with him for that is what he needed. She didn't know how long they stayed like that but eventually he released her hand and spoke, "I'm going to bed."
"Good night…Reginald." She said sincerely.
"Good night, Laren."
The nights passed in this fashion the two sharing silence in front of the observation window. It took five nights for Barclay to actually speak, "I never thought I could kill someone."
"Neither did I" Ro replied.
Barclay was puzzled and his face showed it.
Ro scoffed, "Did you forget already? I disobeyed orders and eight people died because of me. At the time I thought I was doing the right thing that I would be saving lives but those people are still dead."
"I'm sorry" he said quietly "I knew the dispersal field had the potential to kill, the power in the phasor gets modulated differently in that wide pattern weaker in some areas lethal in another. The thing is, I would do it again. What about you, knowing what you do now would you have disobeyed orders?"
"I don't know" Came the Bajorans reply.
The two went back to looking out of the window. After this encounter the officers closest to Barclay noticed a change while he was still withdrawn he didn't have the haunted look about him. What no one realized was the problem had just gone underground.