Disclaimer: Star Trek belongs to Gene and Majel Roddenberry.
Total Apocalypse
Chapter Nine
"Thank you, Lieutenant Vernon," Picard said, glancing up. "Please wait outside." Vernon inclined his head and exited, leaving Darby alone, just inside the doorway.
Darby looked at his face and was struck by the intensity on it. He looked like he was under a great deal of stress, and had had very little sleep. Either he would believe her and possibly even help her...or... he wouldn't, and things would get much worse. She didn't move and waited for him to say something, anything.
"Nurse Ogawa tells me that you and your companion appeared in Sickbay. Through a hole." Picard folded his hands on his desk and leaned forward slightly.
Darby nodded. "We did." She wasn't sure how much the captain knew about the situation, nor how he would react.
"She also reported your strange instruments and archaic weapons, along with your expectations of freely being allowed access to this ship." His words were crisp and sharp.
Wincing slightly at his tone, Darby spoke slowly, "The sword was a gift from a friend, the instruments are part of our job, and as for free access to the ship, that was always up for interpretation. May I start from the beginning, sir?"
The crease between Picard's eyebrows eased slightly. "Take a seat," he said, indicating the two chairs in front of the desk.
"Thank you." Darby nearly collapsed into a chair, surprised at how comfortable it was. "How far back should I go? My name is Darby McGill. I was pulled from the library where I was working on my thesis, only to find myself in a room with nine other people. To shorten a long story, we had been recruited to help save the universe.
"I know, I know." Darby smiled slightly at Picard's raised eyebrow. "It sounds melodramatic, but that was what we were told. It turns out, because of all the fictional stories written about different worlds, the barricades between the worlds have collapsed, people are disappearing and reappearing in the wrong places, and everything is out of whack.
"We were given something like a tricorder to discern which people are native to a world and which are imposters. We can also cure people who aren't acting like themselves, or neutralize the phonies. If you're wondering about the sword, it was given to me by a race of people long, long extinct in your universe, because I had no means of defending myself. To be honest, I'm still not sure I'll be able to use it properly." She paused for breath, and to see what he would say.
Picard sat back, then abruptly stood and walked to the replicator. "Tea, Earl Grey, hot." He removed the cup and saucer from the slot and took a sip before glancing over at Darby. "Would you like something?"
"The same, but with milk and sugar, please," Darby smiled. Real tea.
The captain's eyebrows drew together again, but he said only, "Tea, Earl Grey, hot. Milk and sugar." Picard handed the cup to Darby before resuming his seat. He drank some more, apparently pondering what Darby had said.
"You are not like the others who have come to bewitch my crew?" he asked suddenly.
Darby held the warm mug in her hands and inhaled the steam before answering. "No, I'm not," she said simply. She sipped her tea and glanced up, surprised. "This is good!"
Picard's mouth twitched with what might have been the ghost of a smile, but it was obvious his guard was not down when he asked, "What guarantee do I have that you are telling the truth?"
Using the tea as an excuse to pause, Darby thought hard. "You don't, really," she had to admit. "The similarities between our teams of rescue and the intruders are astounding. We chose forms to blend in to the worlds we would be working in. I'm not a Trill, and apparently, I'm half Betazoid, but I haven't figured that part out yet. The intruders try to blend in, to do whatever it is they have in mind. I have a means of traveling through realities; so do they. I guess. If you wanted, I could take you to another world, but that's probably against the rules." She thought again, sipping her tea.
She had an idea. "If you'll be so kind as to lower the lights. I have something that might convince…?" She wasn't so sure it would work. "And, failing that, I could try to cure someone who isn't acting like himself...with a full security escort, of course," she hastened to add.
He appeared to think for a long moment, ignoring his tea as it cooled. "Computer, lower lights," he said. The lighting dimmed to near-nothing.
Darby pulled her hood back off her forehead and waited for his reaction.
"Are those…your spots?" came the captain's voice from the darkness.
She couldn't stop the grin. "Aren't they great? I thought they might come in handy for situations such as this." After a pause where he didn't answer, Darby felt compelled to ask quietly, "Are you convinced?"
"Computer, lights," Picard said. "I am convinced that you are not a normal creature; you have been altered by your own choice. You are like a team of two others who came here. They had different forms as well, but they were on our side. They told us they were trying to help save our universe. Their instruments were much the same."
Darby smiled. "I wasn't sure if you knew about the advance teams. Your universe is so large that they might never have come across your section." She drained her tea. "Thank you for the tea, sir, it was very calming. Might I be permitted to see my partner now?"
As if on cue, a chime sounded. "Come," Picard said, straightening in his chair. The doors of the ready room parted to reveal Ensign Crawford accompanied by Lor, who was padding around on all fours again. She wove slightly, narrowly missing Crawford by a few inches as she entered the room.
"Sir, this is the other one," the ensign reported. He nodded at the captain before exiting.
Lor managed to make her way to the other chair. She stood to her feet unsteadily before crossing her arms in a ritualistic gesture, unsheathing her claws and then deliberately resheathing them. "Captain Picard, I am Masked Lorcan to-Ennien."
Picard rose to his feet and imitated the gesture. "You are familiar with the rituals of your people," he said in surprise. "How did you come by your name?"
Lor's left ear flicked; she laughed slightly. "I have read the detailed report of your mission to Lorca several times, Captain. I was fascinated by the culture. So fascinated that I named myself by it."
"Please, be seated," Picard said, his expression favorable. "Miss McGill has been telling me about your mission."
Lor looked at the seat beside Darby, then at the configuration of her hind legs. "I'm quite afraid my legs don't bend that way anymore," she said, whiskers twitching in puzzlement. "However…" Lor settled herself on the chair, tucking her legs beneath her. She looked like a large stuffed animal waiting for a child to hug her.
"Now, to business," Lor said without preamble. "I couldn't help but notice that you've got high security conditions all over the ship. I presume this was to stop the invasion, which means you were immunized, as you haven't been affected."
Captain Picard nodded. "Yes, my entire crew was supposed to have been treated as well, but something happened to the others who came before you."
That was news to Darby and Lor. "What exactly, Captain?" Lor asked.
"They became very irrational, terrified of something. They spoke to a creature we could not see or detect, and in the end they were forced to flee the Enterprise in order to spare us from destruction."
Lor shot a we'll-discuss-this-later look at Darby. "Thank you for the information. Now, we'll get right to it. If you'll allow us to use one of the Sickbays for operations, we'll systematically go through your ship person by person and treat everyone that needs it. Also, we're specifically looking for a few people."
Picard nodded. "Our port Sickbay, Deck 12 will be cleared for use. I must ask you to treat the people in the brig first, among them my first officer."
"Of course," Lor agreed. She pulled out her CIAPD and flipped it open. "Now, we need to find…Wesley Crusher, Data, Deanna Troi, and a very lost elf named Elrohir."
"Elrohir is here," Picard said. "He is on the planet surface with Dr. Crusher, trying to cure an outbreak of some sort of fever. It's high-quarantine, so I am afraid I cannot permit you to beam down until a cure is found. The other three vanished without a trace some weeks ago. I will give you the details later."
"Agreed," Lor said. "If you'll lend us the use of Ensign Crawford and the other guard, we can begin right away. Oh, and before I forget…" she aimed her CIAPD at Picard and pressed a button. Bweep. 'Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of NCC-1701-D U.S.S. Enterprise. Star Trek: The Next Generation. In character.'
Picard touched his commbadge. "Picard to Vernon."
Darby's guard's voice spoke. "Vernon here, sir."
"You and Ensign Crawford are to assist Miss Darby McGill and Masked Lorcan to-Ennien. Issue them commbadges and phasers along with any other equipment they require. Then escort them to the secondary Sickbay. Another security team will relieve you at shift's end."
"Acknowledged, Captain."
"Picard out." Captain Picard stood as the two women did. "Please contact me if you have any problems. I will inform the security detail by the brig and they shall begin escorting affected crewmembers to you."
"Thank you, Captain." Lor stood to her full height and went to the door, followed by Darby. "Lead on, gentlemen," she said to the guards.
Darby hesitated, then turned to the captain and asked quietly, "May I be so bold as to ask a favor, Captain?"
Picard looked up from a PADD he was studying. "Yes?"
She smiled and asked hopefully, "Would you mind if I looked out your window, sir?"
If the captain thought the request odd, he didn't let it show. "Yes," he said, going back to his work. "The planet we are orbiting is Talos IX. The sight is rather beautiful."
Darby bit her bottom lip and approached the see-through panel beside his desk. Without her willing it, her left hand strayed behind her and began tugging on the end of her braid as she gazed at the horizonless sea of stars. The colors of the planet were a striking contrast to the blackness of space, punctuated only by speckles of starlight. Mesmerized, she just stared, forgetting her mission, the ship and her waiting partner.
Lor had paused in the doorway, the automatic sensor holding it open. She cleared her throat conspicuously. "Ahem. Darby?"
Blinking, Darby came back to herself, made an abortive motion to adjust the glasses she no longer needed, saying sheepishly, "Sorry, Lor." She then turned, half-embarrassed, to the captain. "Thank you, sir, it was breathtaking."
Picard nodded as Darby joined her partner outside the ready room. "All right," Lor said, taking command of the situation. "Communicators, phasers, Sickbay, quarters, in that order if you please, gentlemen."
