Chapter 6

"Guinan, please elaborate," Riker said sharply. "Now is not the time for vague statements about how 'something's not right'".

Guinan shook her head slowly. "It may already be too late," she said gravely.

"If I may support Commander Riker's argument; that too was a vague statement" offered Data.

Guinan nodded. "That may be so." She walked carefully over to stand as close to Picard as the quarantine barrier would allow. "So long ago," she murmured and then glanced over at Riker. "If I'm right, it's too late to move the ship. There was a reason why Captain Picard came down to Engineering," she said. "It's admirable that you have been so focused on helping the Captain but you have ignored his interface with the ship's computer," she said pointing to where Picard's index finger touched the engineering wall panel.

Riker swore under his breath.

"We haven't ignored it," Geordi spoke up defensively. "We just have no idea what he's doing."

Riker swore again, and hit his communicator. "Helm, ahead full impulse power, any coordinates."

There was a moment's silence before Wesley Crusher's voice replied. "Sir, the helm is unresponsive."

Riker glanced at Guinan. "Try again, Ensign. Emergency override."

"Sorry sir...no response."

Riker had to restrain himself from shouting. "Data, LaForge...you're up," he said. Riker watched them glide quickly out of the engineering bay to consider the puzzle of the stalled starship. "What the hell is going on, Guinan?" He demanded.

"It was a long time ago...one of our first adventures together, Commander. We were separated for a time," she said. "I should have known they would have done something to him. Someone, or something must have wiped his memory in all the right places," she added. "I should have known," she said again.

Katherine Pulaski walked over to a chair and plopped down tiredly. "Well, it looks like we're not going anywhere anytime soon. Why don't you start from the beginning?"

2339 Earth

"What do you mean I have to steal Soran's weapon? Are you insane?" Guinan stared up at Q in disbelief.

"Insanity would require that I possess something resembling a brain...which I do not. Unless I want to of course."

"Unless you want to...this is all a game to you, isn't it?"

Q's approximation of humanoid eyes glittered with a dangerous challenge. "Would it really matter if it was a game, El Aurian?"

"Yes! Because I can certainly choose not to play."

Q raised himself to his considerable height, leaning down dramatically over Guinan. "Can you, now? But if there is a game underway here, you are clearly already playing along. You chose to return to Earth exactly when I told you to when when we last spoke forty-six Earth years ago." His eyes narrowed. "You may find it is not so easy to undo the choices you have already made."

Guinan turned her head, raising her chin slightly. "And that young human over there; is he part of the game, Q?"

Q merely smiled at her.

"I can't say I am very impressed with your choice of players, Q. You do realize you are playing on the grief and anger of two pathetically beaten down El-Aurians in order to carry out your game?"

"Who said it was my game, mortal?"

"Well, you are the omnipotent one, right? Why wouldn't it be your game to control?" She tilted her head upward and smiled. "Or are you not in control? Is that what you're telling me, Q?"

Q's eyes narrowed again and the being's eyes seemed to stare through her. The sunny day grew immediately dimmer and she felt a cold feeling sprout in her chest in slow fine tendrils, like an evil hand grasping for her heart. It was an uncomfortable reminder that one must be careful not to anger an omnipotent being.

Instead of backing down, to her own surprise, she pressed on. "What exactly is this gift you plan on giving me?"

Q's eyes grew less cloudy, and the discomfort left her chest, but he still glared down at her. "The knowledge to do what must be done," he said, a quiet danger still in his eyes and tone. His mouth curled into a sly smile. "You do want to save your people, don't you, Guinan?"

She decided for now to change the subject. Guinan tossed her small backpack on over her shoulder, trying to remain casual about the whole matter. "Does Soran have any idea that you exist?"

"No," said Q. She focused in on his eyes, but had no idea if he was telling the truth. In fact, the more she stared into his eyes, the more she was convinced that only emptiness lay behind them. His very appearance was a sham, a disguise. What, she wondered, was his true form?

"And if I decide to forget about all of this, and walk away, what then, Q?"

Q simply opened his palms and shrugged. "Perhaps you would like to take the chance that a genius scientist bent on revenge will be unable to use his own weapon? And that by doing so he may irreversibly alter history for the worse..."

Her voice sounded small to her own ears. "Who says I would be able to do better than Soran in stopping the Borg?"

Q smiled. "Do you want to take that chance, Guinan?"

Taking his point to heart, she glanced over at the human reading in the shade. She watched as he ducked to the side as the game ball when careening past him. "Sorry man!" One of the players jogged over to him as he tossed the ball back in open irritation. Guinan turned back to Q. "I have no idea what these humans are saying," she said.

Q squinted down at her. "You've traveled to Earth in the past...despite your feigned ignorance about this planet. What is your excuse for not learning their languages?"

"I used a universal translator. Besides, I traveled here during a less developed stage in their history. Consequently I didn't stay for too long..."

"You have my sympathies," he offered a sarcastic tilt of his head, before growing serious again. "You wanted to know the truth of what you have to do stop the Borg, and perhaps it is not worth my time to wait any longer to enlighten you." He then waved his hand casually in her direction. "There you are...everything you need to know about everything you need to know. Including how to communicate with these aliens. You will find now that with some concentration you will understand them, and should find in most other respects, that you will fit right in. But as for that human over there...do not approach him until tomorrow. Or you may regret it." With a wink, he was gone.

Guinan felt her limbs grow heavy, and she collapsed onto the ground in a loose sitting position. The weight of the information Q had instantly bestowed upon her was so overwhelming that all she could do was let it flood through her brain. She now knew what she had to do; how she must travel to the past and what she must do when she arrived, in order to prevent the Borg from destroying her home world. And yet something was telling her that to follow through with this plan could be the worst decision she could ever make.

Beverly Crusher leaned back into the seat and clasped her hands in her lap. John Emmett sat one seat ahead of her at the shuttle ontrols. He'd been silent nearly the entire trip, and now with just a few hours until they reached the Enterprise, she had reached her limit. "You said I would have to play by your rules, Mr. Emmett. Now, what are they, exactly?"

"You'll see," said Emmet, not bothering to turn away from what he was doing.

Beverly snapped off her safety harness and got up quickly.

Emmet did turn this time. "What are you doing?"

She moved forward and sat down in the co-pilot's seat next to him. "I'll see? Listen, who are you? Should I be addressing you as 'sir'? You certainly are behaving like someone who is used to being in charge."

He smiled slyly at her. "My official title is Admiral. But I'm not one who usually needs to pull rank, doctor."

Was he threatening her? "Admiral, I have so little information, I can't possibly be of help to the Enterprise crew-"

"Just what information do you think you have, Doctor?"

"You heard my entire conversation with Deanna Troi, didn't you?" She accused. He kept his eyes forward on the view screen. "Well that's all I know," she insisted. "How can I help the Captain if I'm at such a disadvantage? I need to talk to Kate Pulaski. Would you open a channel?

"Doctor Pulaski is not currently involved in Captain Picard's care," he said in a low voice.

"What? Why not?"

"She may be infected, but we can't know for sure yet."

Crusher felt a clammy film form over her skin. Her heart fluttered with anxiety, now thinking about her son and his safety. "What...Deanna never said anything about any kind of disease. She said some kind of energy field has incapacitated the Captain. Why would she lie?"

"She wasn't lying, Doctor, she was telling you what she believed to be the truth. However, the story counselor Troi told you was just that...a story Command created to mask the truth.

The son of a bitch is lying to me. Should I believe anything he says?

"The being which has inhabited Captain Picard's body is a highly advanced life form. But for lack of a better word, it is a parasite; albeit unlike anything you will have previously seen. It has a fourteen day gestation period, after which it is completely vulnerable while searching for a new host. Keeping captain Picard isolated from the rest of the crew during that period, will minimize risk to others and keep him stable. That will be your job, Doctor Crusher."

Beverly held back an overwhelming sense of revulsion. "And on the fourteenth day?"

"On the fourteenth day it should be possible to destroy the parasite, saving Captain Picard in the process."

"Should be possible?"

"There are no perfect odds with this sort of thing, doctor. You should know that."

"So you said it is also a virus? How is it contracted?"

Emmett hesitated. "Through touch."

"What is the average time frame for infection?"

"Based on what we have seen previously...several days."

"So you've seen this parasite before? What is it called?" She picked up her data pad.

"You won't find this life form in any official record, doctor."

"Why?"

"It's classified."

"Then once again, I am at a disadvantage, Admiral. What exactly are you expecting from me?"

"Just as I said, I expect you to monitor Picard's vital signs until the parasite has reached its mature stage."

With every word from Emmet, Crusher's outrage grew. He has no compunction about allowing a parasitic being to grow inside Jean-Luc. "Admiral, even if I wasn't a long time friend and colleague of Captain Picard, I am still an ethical person...and a physician. What you are asking of me..."

"If Captain Picard dies and you did nothing to stop it, what will your ethical position be then, I wonder?"

Beverly got up from her seat and walked away from Emmet. What am I doing here? Why is Emett traveling all the way into deep space to kill a parasite? Does he intend to capture the being for his own ends? I can't possibly go along with this insane plan. I have to try and remove the parasite. "What if I remove the parasite?" she asked out loud.

"You will kill Picard." He let that sink in for a moment before saying, "Doctor, it is crucial that you do not repeat anything I just told you to the Enterprise crew. This is coming from Starfleet command. Any breach will result in your immediate removal from any contact with Captain Picard."

"I see," she said shortly, hugging herself. Whether real or imagined, she was unable to stop the growing chill inside the small craft.

Emmet turned around in his seat and fixed her with an unwavering stare. "I must have your complete confidence and cooperation, doctor."

"I see," she said again.

"You say that, but I don't have an answer from you as to whether you intend to cooperate."

She stared down at the deck. You've come this far, Beverly, she told herself. Abruptly she looked up. "I'll do it."