Chapter 8

The Enterprise

Picard felt his entire body tense up as it became painfully clear to him why Beverly had been acting so strangely. Of course, she had been managing the stress of preparing to meet Yar again; staring at holos of the woman's face off and on for weeks so as not to be shocked when she saw her again. And now faced with the actual Yar, Beverly had still reacted anxiously to say the least. And of course he hadn't had the time to change his damned uniform, which must have only increased her anxiety. He warmed at the thought of her concern for him. As a Q he had become so used to not caring about others, and believing that no one cared about him, that he still marveled at the fact that she really loved him. But right now, her face appeared more dangerous than loving.

Making a quick decision as to which woman to placate first, he glanced up at Yar. The young woman's expression appeared genuinely concerned and was now tense as she looked from Picard to Crusher and back again.

"It's alright, Lieutenant. I just had a slight mishap down on Betazed-"

"Mishap?" Beverly glared at Jean-Luc and then at Yar who was still standing over Picard. Yar watched her carefully while she waited for the Captain to finish.

"I am quite well I assure you," he continued in his most diplomatic voice. "And you as well, Doctor." He saw her forehead twitch in irritation and the effort of holding back what she really wanted to say. He was quite thankful that they were having this conversation in public. "I am fine," he insisted. "Please sit down, both of you."

"Yes sir," Yar said, complying right away. She looked at the faces around the table and she suddenly realized the source of the strange feeling she had been having. Not exactly deja vu, but something else. They were watching her, waiting for her to act a certain way. Somehow these strangers all seemed to think they knew her. She shrugged it off mentally. Maybe they knew she was from Turkana and were prejudiced. Who knows? If they expected her to be a hot head, she would simply behave in the opposite manner. She had faced these kinds of prejudices before and knew how to manage herself. Absently she placed her hand on her uniform, and felt the key that hung around her neck.

She was careful to keep her facial expression very measured, still aware of Doctor Crusher's eyes boring into the side of her head. She didn't entirely mind the drawing of boundaries. Gilda Stern had raised her to respect boundaries after years of not having any in her life. If the Doctor wanted to make it clear that she was the alpha female, well alright. Ultimately the doctor outranked her considerably. The problem was, Yar could read people, was familiar with the doctor's professional profile, and by all accounts Crusher was not the aggressive type; assertive, yes, but not by any means a loose cannon. Why she would be so upset with Yar, a stranger to her, was a little odd. She glanced away, because instead of the usual aggression she felt when someone confronted her, she again felt the same attraction to the angry woman she had noticed earlier in the corridor. So she chose to respectfully avert her gaze.

Beverly stood her ground, but once Yar had seated herself again, she realized that it served no purpose to press him with questions as to his health. Still, why had he returned from Betazed looking as though he had been injured? She didn't like to be kept in the dark; she wouldn't be disrespected by him whether he meant it or not. "I'd like you to report to sickbay later, Captain. Just to confirm that you're 'fine'," she said stiffly.

He nodded but said nothing.

She didn't care if she had looked a little crazy a moment ago. The rest of the crew would understand her reaction, even if Yar didn't. She hadn't intended to make a scene, but Yar had been so close to touching him, that she had simply reacted. She could see now that Yar hadn't meant any harm. She had just been protecting him, but she had to admit she hadn't trusted Yar around Jean-Luc before, and with good reason. Prior to revealing her intention to steal back the power of the Q, Yar had tried to seduce Jean-Luc on more than one occasion; and he hadn't exactly been resistant. This is not the same Yar, and he's come such a long way, she told herself, and not for the first time. But doubt still nagged at her mind.

Data leaned forward staring curiously at Mrs. Troi. "Ambassador Troi, are you alright?"

Lwaxana Troi was holding her hands over her ears in a very alarming and dramatic fashion. Her eyes were shut tightly.

Deanna, you failed to mention how much extra noise would be in this room. Everyone except for the android is sexually frustrated—well he may be, but I can't be expected to read positronic minds…even worse is the anger and fear they are just tossing into the air, all directed at that poor girl—

Mother! I asked you to come to the meeting to read Yar's mind not the rest of the crew's reaction to her. Of course they are angry, and of course they are afraid.

But of her? Well, she's just a gorgeous girl, and really clearly very complicated—

Oh yes, very. Now what is she thinking, Mother?

She's…she's a wall…why she's even more difficult to read than Captain Picard. She has a control that she is unwilling to drop for anyone. She has an innocence on one hand and on the other…too many dark secrets from her past. In fact, let's not dig too deep, Little One. Some minds are better left unexplored.


The Eureka

Riker's eyes fluttered open in the dark. He couldn't see a thing and he also couldn't remember how he had gotten here; not that he was really sure where 'here' was. He knew he was on the Eureka, Marco's immense ship, but he was in a new room, with no guards. The thing was he felt wonderful, more wonderful than he had felt in months in fact. He was lying on some kind of soft material that was cool yet comforting against his skin.

He shut his eyes again and dimly tried to remember the last thing he had experienced. He'd been on the shore of a deep blue lake. The woman had been laughing and singing in an unfamiliar language. "But wait until you see me dance," she had said seductively. "We are known best for our dancing."

"I'd like that," he had said, and she had reached out to take his hand. After that everything had been a blur.

Suddenly his heart sunk with the knowledge that something was very wrong. He had committed an awful transgression, but simply couldn't complete the thought. What had he done? He still felt good physically, but his mind was murky. "Why do I feel this way?" he said aloud in the darkness.

"The disorientation will pass," said a musical voice close to his ear. "And then you will come to understand." Will jumped out of bed, holding the sheet around himself, peering down at the intruder on the other side of the bed.

"Lights," said the voice calmly. The light in the room increased enough for him to see that the woman from the sunlit beach was here with him. It hadn't been a dream after all. She was Orion, which explained the memory of her dancing.

"Oh—oh no," he stammered, running his hand over his face and staring at her in shock. "Who are you? Where's Marco? What did we just do? Wait! Wait, don't tell me what we did," he added quickly. I'm married, I'm married with a baby on the way…what did I do?

"I am Samla," said the beautiful green-skinned woman. "And you are no longer Marco's prisoner. This is good, because I could tell he did not want to have to kill you. You don't want to be on his bad side."

"What are you talking about?" he asked still frantically looking around for his clothes.

"You are one of us now, Riker," said Samla confidently. "You have chosen to travel to Eternity with us, and there is no going back now."

He knew he should have been frightened by her words, but instead something inside him began to dance in celebration.


On Board the Death's Talon

"Time to intercept," demanded TuVol from his command throne.

His first officer, Klo whirled around. "Two hours, Commander."

Commander TuVol smiled. It had been his decision to cut through Klingon territory into the heart of the Beta Quadrant. He was certain that Marco had the Jewel of Power in his possession. And when he found Marco he would strangle him to death with one hand in order to get it. Humans were so weak, and Marco was no exception.

That Marco was a charismatic human was of no consequence to TuVol. For TuVol was a Reman, former enslaved member of a race subjugated by the ruling Romulans. But once he had the legendary Jewel in his possession, his people would rise up from the sunless dilithium mines of Remus, and slaughter the Romulan oppressors.

"The Klingons will oppose our entry into this sector, Commander."

"That is to be expected. But they will not stand in the way of our freedom. Soon we will have the Jewel, and Marco will be nothing but a memory."