Chapter 8


Walker stepped into the interrogation room after Riker and Shelby, with Yar lagging behind. Riker nodded at the man sitting behind a desk. Walker could honestly not believe he was seeing Picard in the flesh again. But…it definitely looked like him. He had always had a definite physical presence about him to complement his intelligence, but there was something almost primal about him right now. Maybe it was just the fact that he gave the appearance of not quite fitting into his surroundings. He was human, but somehow didn't belong here. Not yet, at least.

Picard continued to stare at his hands on the tabletop. His right hand was swollen and discolored. He remembered Riker's words about not accepting medical treatment, but rather than the characteristic stubbornness, Picard seemed almost to be fascinated by his injury, as though it were part of his re-education process into human-ness.

Walker sat down slowly across from Picard. "Jean-Luc, it's me…Walker. I can't express to you how happy I am to see you alive after all these years."

Picard raised his eyes to meet Walker's then dropped them again. "Yes, I recognize you," he said without emotion. Of course, he told himself, Walker had always been affiliated with Starfleet Intelligence. They've sent him to question me because he knows me, or used to. But what do they want?

Walker tried not to be hurt by his friend's seeming indifference. "I have to say, I kind of expected you to be bald by now. But you look the same-"

"Did you come in here to comment on my hairstyle, or do you have anything of substance to say?" The tone had gone from disinterested to harsh and condescending in an instant.

"Jean-Luc," Walker said softly. "Tell us about your experience. Were you with the Q?"

Observing from the corner, Riker's brow creased in confusion. He'd never heard of the "Q". He and Shelby exchanged troubled glances.

"Why do you want to know?" asked Picard.

Walker stared at him. "Jean-Luc, we thought you were dead. What really happened?"

"It's none of your concern, human," said Picard dismissively, and stood up. "I need to leave this ship. Why do you people persist in caging me here?"

Yar stepped forward, and to everyone's surprise moved in close, standing almost nose to nose with Picard. "What were you doing on Delvora?" she questioned him.

"I don't know," he responded. Walker believed him.

Yar sat down on the edge of the desk, looking up at him where he continued to stand very still. She purposely placed herself in a vulnerable position, just to show Picard, and perhaps everyone in the room, that she was entirely unafraid. Picard looked down at her with something resembling amused condescension.

"You can kill me with a thought, can't you?" Yar asked with a cold smile.

"Faster than you can kill me with that piece of metal strapped to your hip."

"Would you be willing to demonstrate this power you say you have?"

Picard laughed. "Are you asking me to kill you? I won't perform for your amusement, even if it means I could rid myself of your inane questions."

Yar looked at him skeptically. "Are you even still a Q? I'm not convinced that you are," said Yar.

"Small minds can be difficult to convince of simple truths," observed Picard, sitting back down and getting out of her line of sight.

Yar remained standing, having gained the high ground momentarily. "If you have the knowledge of the Q, why don't you know why you were on Delvora?"

Picard's overconfident smile faded from his face, and his expression grew dark. "They took some of my power," he admitted in a low voice.

Yar leaned in, and ran her index finger along the neckline of his t-shirt. He didn't move, just watched her. "They don't want you anymore do they? They've finished their experiments on you…you must be so humiliated."

Walker shifted angrily behind her. Let him try and interrupt me, if he has a problem with my method, she thought.

Picard stared through her but said nothing for a few moments. Then he raised his gaze to hers. "If you want to know about the Borg…why don't you just ask me, instead of playing these childish games?" he suggested with quiet superiority.


Beverly Crusher walked up next to Felix Farmer as he was finishing unpacking some of the specialized instruments and research materials they had shipped from their lab in Starfleet Medical. She put a box down next to him on the shelf. "We'll have everything just as we need it in a few days," said Felix confidently, moving to a nearby computer terminal, to finish cataloging.

"Yes," said Crusher, checking her inventory list on her data pad. "We've actually made a lot of headway this afternoon. I just never like setting up, unpacking. It's always so tedious."

He glanced at Beverly, whose back was turned to him and tried to keep the nervousness out of his voice. "Beverly, I know you are still getting settled in but would you like to have dinner with me one evening soon?" He hoped he hadn't spoken too quickly.

She turned to look at him slowly with a half-smile on her face. "Dinner. Hmm. Do you mean colleague dinner… or dinner-dinner?"

He licked his lips nervously. "Uh, dinner-dinner," he ventured awkwardly, realizing it wasn't going quite the way he had intended.

"Felix, I'm married," said Beverly, putting her data pad down on the shelf. "I thought that was clear."

Felix put his hands in his pockets. "I guess I thought there was some chemistry there...and well, you and Captain Crusher had separated..."

Beverly smiled, and picked the data pad back up, putting it in her pocket absently. "Felix, in addition to you being a great doctor and colleague, I'll admit to some chemistry between us."

"But although it may be complicated between me and Jack right now... we are still married. I'm sorry if I gave you mixed-signals, but… that's all I can say for right now," she said apologetically. "I hope this isn't going to make things too awkward between us, Felix, because we have so much work to get done."

Felix seemed to force a smile, but nodded. "No, Beverly, I promise you it won't affect my work. And thank you for understanding."


Later that evening, Walker had beamed back to the Enterprise and asked for a meeting with Jack and Beverly. He knew it was the only proper way to do this. Walker led Jack and Beverly into the conference room next to the bridge.

"I need to tell you both something...something very unexpected. It's shocking, really."

"Out with it, Walker," said Beverly, sitting down at the table.

"Yes," agreed Jack, doing the same. "Enough with the secrecy."

Okay here goes, thought Walker, taking a deep breath. "Jean-Luc is alive."

Silence. The looks on his friends' faces reflected the accumulation of over a decade of anguish and sorrow. Beverly murmured something neither Jack nor Walker could hear and shut her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered once and then she fainted forward onto the table.

"Shit," said Jack and Walker at the same time, and they both rushed to her side. A few moments later, she had been revived, and leaned forward with her face in her hands. She felt Jack's palm resting on her back. He was attempting to comfort her she knew. But she felt as though she was going to be sick. Was this a dream? She took in slow deep breaths.

How could he still be alive after all this time? Where had he been? Had he been tortured? All of these thoughts and more raced through her mind as she listened to Walker speaking. She did not trust herself to look at either Jack or Walker so she just listened with her hands over her eyes.

"A couple of days ago," he began, "the Hood found a lone survivor on a planet in the Neutral Zone called Delvora. The planet had recently been attacked by a force or forces unknown. The only living thing left on the planet was Jean-Luc."

Beverly let out a shuddering sigh but said nothing and continued to stare at the table.

"How did he get there?" Jack demanded. "More importantly, where has he been?"

"He has only given us pieces of his story so far. But we think he was captured by a very powerful race of beings eleven years ago and has been with them ever since," said Walker. "We think they might have abandoned him on that planet."

"Why have they let him go now?" Jack asked.

"Unclear," said Walker. "And even less clear is his attitude about it all."

Jack shook his head in confusion. Walker took another deep breath. "I know it sounds strange, but he thinks he's one of them. Claims he has special powers, but we haven't seen any evidence that he is anything but human. At least physically he hasn't changed."

"But you think mentally he's not the same person?" said Jack, trying to come to terms with it all. "How so?"

"Goddammit, I don't want to hear any more of this," declared Beverly, standing up and placing her palms on the table. "I just want to see him," she said in a low voice.

"Beverly, Walker said he's not himself yet—"

"I want to see him, Jack; with my own eyes." She turned to Walker. "Let's go."


"Beverly, I want to warn you…I can't tell you what he will do. He's hostile and…well he's not the Jean-Luc we used to know."

"Walker how can you keep saying that? We don't even know what he's been through. We don't have the right to judge him before we know more, and before he's had time to heal." She clutched her med kit with sweaty palms. She had no idea what to expect.

Walker sighed. "Alright, whatever you say. Let's do this." He hit the door lock, and the door swished open.

Beverly stepped carefully into the room with Walker by her side. Nothing could have adequately prepared her for the sight of him after so many years. Aside from appearing slightly disheveled in a wrinkled t-shirt, he was as he had appeared all those years ago. Whatever he had been through, he had in fact survived.

"My God, you are beautiful," she whispered and walked toward him as if she were drawn by an unseen force.

Picard immediately stood up and moved in back of his chair, almost using it as a shield. "No."

"Don't worry," she said, holding her hands out in as non-threatening a away as she could. "No one is going to hurt you anymore. I won't allow it."

He flattened himself against the wall, and did not take his eyes off her as she continued to walk slowly toward him. His mind began to race and memories began to rush back to him. He was trying to remain in control, but his mind and body were suddenly in chaos. Suddenly, he crossed his arms over his chest, as though hugging himself and shut his eyes, biting his bottom lip.

"Jean-Luc, it's me…Beverly." She glanced at Walker, who clearly did not know what to say. "Please say you remember who I am," she said her voice almost a whisper. "I always knew you were alive. Somehow, I just knew it."

He remained in the same odd position, hugging himself as though he were trying to physically hold his body together.

She glanced at his right hand. "Jean-Luc, I know you have an injury that hasn't been treated for two days. Why don't you let me help you before it gets worse?" She moved toward him again with her med-kit.

"No," he whispered, eyes still shut tightly. "Please, just stay over there…."

"Jean-Luc, she's going to help you." said Walker. He was amazed at the change in Picard's demeanor from his earlier tense interaction with Natasha Yar. Now he was almost like a frightened child, shrinking back into a corner. It was difficult to watch.

"I'm your friend," she said, reaching out to touch him. "I know you must remember that."

"No," Picard said in a louder voice. And then suddenly there was a flash of blinding light and he was gone.