Chapter 4


If anyone had told Riker that after an interrupted yet restful sleep he would have landed on a totally devastated world stripped of its land and inhabitants and then suddenly attacked by a naked and apparently homicidal man, he would have laughed it off. But this was apparently his reality now. Maybe it was in the third year of captaining a starship that everything crazy began to happen.

After reporting to sickbay to repair the injuries from his recent experience, he considered getting Deanna's opinion first before heading to see his new guest, but decided against it for now. He felt pressure to move quickly. He had let Command know already about the circumstances down on Delvora, and that the unidentified man was now aboard the Hood. He knew he had started waves in motion which he could not stop now even if he had wanted to. Those political and military waves would roll right over him and through his little ship if he wasn't careful. And before he knew it, the man he found down on Delvora would disappear again, perhaps to some unknown facility for questioning.

He wanted to know for sure if his instinct had been right. So when he returned to the Hood he had pulled the holo pictures available of Picard around the time of his disappearance and there was no doubt that this person looked identical to those holos. But those images had been taken years ago. It appeared that the man had not physically aged in the slightest. This, among other things was a mystery.

Because of the odd circumstances, soon Starfleet intelligence would be involved and would crowd him out of the picture as much as they could. But this was his ship after all and if he wanted to personally question the man who had nearly caused him to lose his tongue, well he would. But he knew there was more to it than that.

He had studied Jean-Luc Picard's career and his battle tactics at the Academy; had known about him before he had even decided that he wanted to enter Starfleet and quite simply had idolized him like everyone else his age, until suddenly while Riker was still at the Academy, Picard disappeared and was presumed killed during an away mission. Picard was young when he earned his first command the Stargazer, and that had resonated with many young people just waiting to start their careers in Starfleet. And so when he was killed, career still on the upswing, many cadets, including Riker were devastated. So if this was the Captain Picard, Riker wanted to know.


He stepped into the brig and gave the guard on duty a nod indicating he wanted him to leave. The guard complied but only after giving Riker a look that suggested he didn't think that was such a good idea. Riker glared after him for moment before turning his attention to the temporary prison cell.

Mercifully, the man inside was now wearing clothes, having been given simple pants and the standard white t-shirt. Riker leaned against the doorway to the cell, careful to avoid the force field between them.

He stared at his prisoner, who was sitting on a bench facing away from him. Riker noticed the man was gingerly cradling his swollen right hand.

"Don't you want us to treat your hand? It's probably broken, judging by how my face feels," he said, trying not to sound too generous. No answer. The man continued to sit facing away from Riker, silently staring at the floor.

Riker hesitated and then took the plunge. "You pack quite a punch… Captain." The man slowly raised his head at that but remained silent. "It's almost as though you missed doing that sort of thing…I have to say though, that I wish you hadn't tested it out on my face."

A slow deep chuckle emanated from the man's throat. He was a man…the tricorder scans had confirmed that he was human, and yet, he was more than odd.

Riker pressed on. "That's who you are, right? You're Captain Picard. Of the USS Stargazer?"

The man's laughing stopped abruptly.

Slowly he turned half way around to face Riker. "That was who I used to be," he said coldly. His hazel eyes appeared hard and resentful as he regarded Riker, and then he turned away again.

"What do you mean? Are you Jean-Luc Picard, or not?"

"I told you the truth," the man said slowly, looking down at his swollen hand with an odd look of morbid fascination. "I used to be him…and now I am not him."

"Where have you been all these years, and why haven't you aged?"

To his surprise and consternation, the man who used to be Picard began to laugh again. It was a deep, condescending laugh, and it literally sent chills through Riker. "Why are you laughing?" Riker demanded. "There have been people mourning your loss for years, and you're laughing about it?"

"I am laughing, because you know so little...and because you are so very small minded."

Riker slapped the wall with his palm. "So tell me more, so I can learn, Captain."

Picard stood up and walked toward the cell barrier looking up into Riker's eyes and speaking with clear, quiet contempt. "I have nothing to teach you, human…but take note that as soon as I want to, I will leave this place. And when I do, you will never see me again. I don't belong here, can't you tell? So don't bother to try to learn about me or where I have been, because you do not even have the capacity to understand…."


Minutes after Walker returned to his apartment after leaving Beverly's, a very unexpected call came in for him. To his dismay, it was one of his least favorite people. Nevertheless, he was all smiles. "Admiral Nechayev, what a wonderful surprise—"

"Save the BS, Keel. We have a situation."

Walker stared at her. "Admiral I'm Commandant of the Academy now, I'm not in service anymore—"

"You've been re-called to service under Security Protocol 423."

There's no such damn protocol, thought Walker sourly. I should know, I created most of the security protocols when I was with Intelligence. But he could tell she was going to spill everything, so he quieted himself and listened. And what she told him was the most amazing and frightening thing he had ever heard. When she finished, all he could think was that his friend had been found alive.

"I never said it was Jean-Luc Picard, Walker," said the Admiral. "I said it appears to be him."

"So you want me to go to the Hood and confirm it is him?"

She smiled tightly. "Yes, but there is something more. Have you ever heard of the Q, Walker?"

He nodded. "Only in name. As far as I know, there hasn't been a great deal of contact between the Q and human beings."

"That's right," she confirmed. "But now we know that it is very likely that it was Picard who made first contact with the race. Since his…disappearance eleven years ago, a number of other incidents involving other humanoid cultures have taken place to make us think that the Q were involved in his disappearance. Now we think his sudden reappearance will allow us to put some more of the pieces together. Their interest in us is at the very least concerning."

"So they abducted him." It made him sick to think of what his friend must have gone through over the years.

"We think so."

Walker sighed. He knew there was more to the story and the sudden need for him to return to Starfleet Intelligence. "What is so special about the Q?"

"Put simply, they are the equivalent of gods. As far as we can tell their powers and knowledge are unmatched by any of the other species we have encountered. You know what has been happening out in the Neutral Zone, don't you Walker?"

He clenched his jaw. "I still have my sources, so yes."

"So you must realize that if we had the knowledge to identify this threat which has devoured entire planets, we would be in a much better position than we are now to stop further incidents from happening."

"And you think Jean-Luc somehow has that knowledge?"

"Well, if he has been with the Q, there is that potential isn't there? And according to Captain Riker, his physical appearance now matches holos from eleven years ago, Walker. That would seem to be the work of beings of unlimited power."

Walker briefly attempted to imagine what Picard would look like now, and could not. "I'm not comfortable with the idea of my friend, who was stolen away from us eleven years ago-and who knows what he's been through-being used by Starfleet in this way."

"Unless you want to see the Earth become a dead planet…unless you want to see the human race erased from history, you had better come to terms with your discomfort, Walker, and quickly. If we are to defend ourselves, we must use whatever tools we have."

Walker glared at the view screen, but he knew it should be him, and not anyone else, to go to his friend, help him heal and bring him back to the world.

"Am I going alone?"

"No, we'll send along an operative with you." She paused.

"You'll also be taking the long-range shuttle off-planet tomorrow with Doctor Beverly Crusher."

Walker shook his head in confusion and shock. "Beverly Crusher is headed for the Enterprise." Nechayev stared at him impassively.

He shook his head again. "You can't mean…Admiral, I can't bring Jean-Luc onto the Enterprise!"

"And why not? You will be there, Jack and Beverly Crusher, and their son…what is his name again?"

"Wesley," Walker said with quiet anger.

"The Enterprise has already been ordered to rendezvous with the Hood tomorrow. If he is Picard, he needs to be reintegrated into the life he once knew."

"He was abducted eleven years ago, Alynna. A lot has changed. There are things he doesn't know."

She leaned forward, eyes bright. "Are there? Let's hope there are many things that he does know, Walker. It will be up to you to draw these things out of him, so that we can protect the people of this planet and the rest of the Federation. I will send the rest of the mission directives along with my operative."


Beverly had always traveled light. And now with the available technology to replicate nearly any material thing, she didn't need to bring anything but things that were very dear to her. As she hurried to the shuttle that day, with a small bag slung over her shoulder, her excitement at returning to the Enterprise had already been replaced by worry and uncertainty.

Walker Keel had called her late the night before, and told her about a "sudden change of plans". His tone was markedly different than when he had been at her apartment earlier that evening, and he had indicated that he was actually coming with her to the Enterprise. As much as she enjoyed Walker's company, she knew from her past that he had worked for covert operations numerous times in the past, and she got the impression that once again, he was being called for some secretive mission. She was highly unsettled that such a mission might involve the Enterprise.

She smiled despite her uneasiness, when she saw her traveling companion and colleague, Dr. Farmer, waiting for her patiently in front of the shuttle. He smiled back at her warmly, and insisted on taking her bag, even though it was obviously not heavy. She tried to forget about what Walker had said the night before about Felix having a "crush" on her, but she could not deny that she felt an attraction to him, and it was possible he felt something similar. He took her bag, and his hand brushed hers in an innocent enough way, but she found that when it did, she liked the way his skin felt. She quickly put these thoughts out of her mind.

"Doctor," he said. "Are you ready for your latest adventure?" he said in a slight Jamaican accent. He was quite striking; his green eyes contrasting beautifully with his toffee skin tone. She had always liked green eyes. He was younger than her, but it didn't matter, and neither did the color of his eyes, as they were co-workers, and really he was her subordinate…and she was married.

"I hope so," she said with a slight smile. She looked over his shoulder as she saw Walker entering the shuttle bay. She raised an eyebrow at his companion, an athletic, attractive young woman dressed head to toe in black. This along with her very straight shoulder-length long blonde hair drawn back in a ponytail, gave her the appearance of being quite dangerous. She carried a very small black duffle bag in one hand, and what appeared to be a non-standard issue pistol was holstered at her hip.

Beverly decided immediately to find a seat on the shuttle as far away from the young woman as possible.

"Hi Bev… Doctor Farmer," said Walker, as he approached them. "This is my colleague, Natasha Yar."

The woman beside Walker gave him a derisive look, but nodded neutrally at Beverly and Felix. "Nice to meet you," was all she said, and draped her hands behind her back.

Walker rubbed his hands together and gestured toward the shuttle as though they were about to embark on a fun grade school field trip. "Shall we?"


Riker had finally left him alone in his cell, after learning nothing. He found that he relished the pain in his throbbing right hand. It had been years since he felt anything resembling discomfort or pleasure and he would be damned if he would allow the full experience of these new sensations to be taken from him as well. If he must settle for such base attributes of humanity, he was going to enjoy them, at least until he was accepted back into the Continuum.

He examined his knuckles, which were swollen, and as the human Riker had said, they were probably broken. What a feeble body. Still, he found that all of his sensations and emotions were stronger now, which gave him a sort of renewed energy.

He cursed himself and his human weaknesses. He was already becoming too comfortable in his new skin. If he was ever to return to the Continuum he would need to use his intellect. It was still vastly superior to any human. All of that knowledge gathered over the years had to be useful for something now, after all. Q told him he would not be able to see into the future, but that did not matter. He had a wealth of past knowledge to draw from. As soon as he figured out why the Q had rejected him in the first place, he would know when and how to use his powers, and he would return to his rightful place among them.

He considered the human he had punched in the face-twice. Riker had a ship, which could be of use to him in the future. He would leave that idea to sit for a while. There was plenty of time to use these humans, or not use them, however most benefited him.

His eyes narrowed as he recalled something Riker had said about people mourning his absence. Who? How unlikely! Those people who knew him so long ago had all moved on with their lives years ago. Sometimes he even struggled to remember how they had looked to him back then. He had refused to watch them from his place in the Continuum, when they had surely forgotten about him. He was dead, as far as they were concerned. While they went about fulfilling their carnal desires and chasing their meaningless careers, they gradually forgot about him.

All the while, he traveled through the universe at speeds immeasurable while they plodded through the same universe in bulky ships as slow as the crawl of time. They raised children, while he held a new planet in the palm of his hand, watching it evolve and grow life forms, sometimes intervening in their development, sometimes not.

Meanwhile these people had no doubt forgotten about him years ago. But now? A strange sensation passed through his body and mind, and he recognized it immediately from years ago. It was fear. What if they learned that he had returned? His mind began to race. He could not let that happen.


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