Chapter 10

2354 Starfleet Medical

The "Scientist" as Beverly had decided to secretly call him, had been temporarily using the bio labs near her ER for month now. He was tall with dark hair and boyish good looks. He seemed shy and withdrawn, but totally in command of his work-whatever it was that he had been doing. He had no other staff with him, which was odd, because it seemed he was working on something important. And she confirmed it was important work when she looked up the research database and found that whatever research was being performed in Bio Lab 6 was classified, as was the name of the scientist performing the work, so she had hit a dead end.

But even so, something about the scientist seemed familiar and she felt compelled to find out more about him. Then one day, she made up a reason to go into the lab, to grab something from the supply closet. Seeing him up close she finally realized why he had seemed familiar to her. She had seen him at the funeral. He had passed through the crowd of people, paid his respects and then left.

She had noticed, because she had been near Jean-Luc at the time, and his face had changed when the man had entered their view. The man had nodded briefly to both of them, and then departed. Picard had stiffened, but said nothing. She hadn't asked who he was, because at the time, she hadn't cared. She hadn't cared about anything but missing Jack. And Jean Luc had said very little, so much so that he seemed hardly present. He was under investigation for Jack's death, and the court martial had already begun.

She knew he felt guilty but she had no desire to discuss the issue of guilt with him. He hadn't told her the full story of what had happened to her husband, so if he thought she was going to tell him not to feel bad, not to feel guilty, he was mistaken. Until she knew the truth of what had happened to Jack, she would blame Picard; the only person who knew how Jack had spent his final moments, and kept it selfishly hidden from her. Mostly they had stood together in uncomfortable silence, but that was fine, for at least he had been there.

Now, months later, both Jean-Luc and Jack were gone. Jack had been tragically killed, but Jean-Luc was absent by choice. She wiped all thought of him out of her mind, mainly because she imagined he had done the same with thoughts of her. She paused, watching the scientist brooding over some multi-colored vials he was staring at on one if the lab tables. He was so intent on them, that it appeared he thought they might move. It was as though he was completely unaware of her presence.

Getting up the nerve, she took a step forward and was alarmed at the loud sound of her own boot. "Hello," she called out across the lab. The scientist jumped, clearly startled, and she immediately felt badly. But she was no shrinking violet and pressed on.

"I'm Beverly. Beverly Crusher. My husband was Jack Crusher...I think you knew him?"

The man's jaw dropped open, and he straightened. "Yes. Yes, I did. I'm Allen. Allen Harrow. Jack and I knew each other from back at the Academy."

Beverly smiled. "Oh yes...the recluse."

Allen looked confused. "Recluse?"

Beverly shrugged. "Jack said you were a genius. He always talked about you from your days in school, but he always wondered what you were doing. He said you made some kind of a major discovery while at the Academy...disappeared for months."

Harrow smiled good naturedly. "And when I returned I had become a recluse?"

"Well, Jack was worried about you...he was a very loyal friend."

"Yes, he was," agreed Harrow. "No one ever accepted me for who I was; no one except Jack."

Beverly smiled, but talking about Jack would only make her sad. "I hope I didn't startle you," she said, trying to change the subject.

"No. I've seen you around but didn't know what to say. I never seem to know quite what to say...especially to women like you."

Beverly was both embarrassed and amused at the same time. "Women like me?"

Allen stuttered nervously. "S—sophisticated…beautiful women," he finally got out, managing to look and sound even more awkward.

Beverly blushed, because he was so sincere, that it was easy to overlook his odd delivery. "Well...that is lovely of you to say Doctor Harrow-I'm right that it's doctor?"

He nodded. "Yes, but please call me Allen", he said.

Beverly smiled. "Alright...well, I am a doctor as well, but call me Beverly. So Allen…I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious about the work you're doing."

He smiled but looked uncomfortable. "I am working on the perfection of an adaptable gene." He looked down at his shoes, suddenly appearing self-conscious. "I've been working on this project for years, in fact. It's very far from completion, I am afraid."

Beverly was sympathetic, knowing first-hand how much trial and error, and patience serious research required. "So, are you developing more resilient vaccines, or…."

"No," he said quickly. "I am researching the question of…whether one being can ever really change itself into something fundamentally different."

"There are many shape-shifting species, if that's what you mean," Beverly said with a shrug. Observing his wounded reaction, she immediately regretted her casual response to something which had obviously preoccupied Allen for so many years.

"But there are very few of those species that can do more than simulate the appearance of another object or being. And for each of them there is a default appearance they return to when not shape shifting. What if you could change yourself into something completely different, for a day or even for a period of years? What if you could be anything…or even everything?"

She shook her head slightly. "Not for me…I'm too boring, I guess. Besides, it would be just a fantasy for a human being, wouldn't it? Humans don't have that kind of ability."

Allen looked at Beverly as though he wanted to correct her, but he didn't. "You're not boring at all. Um…are you interested in having dinner with me some time? I would love to just—just talk with you."

Beverly stared at him with a degree of shock. He was asking her out on a date? She hadn't anticipated it. It was too soon, and she could tell because Jack's death was still like an open wound in her chest. She felt guilty even considering going on a date with someone. And yet she was still interested. "I'm flattered by the invitation, Allen. I think I would enjoy talking with you too…but I'm not sure."

Allen nodded and she could tell he was feeling guilty for asking out his estranged friend's widow. "You're right, that was in bad taste. See what I mean about talking to beautiful women?"

She shook her head. "It wasn't in bad taste, it was really nice. But you're right, it is too soon. But," she added. "I'll see you around?"

Allen nodded and watched as she turned to leave.

Enterprise

It was a long way up to the bridge for Doctor Crusher and Captain Picard. The transporters were now unreliable due to the power drain aboard ship, and because the environmental controls were down, the temperature continued to plummet. The turbo lift on the main sick bay level was inoperative, or at least the doors were frozen shut, and so they had taken the Jeffries tube. Just as they had started their ascent to a safer level above Deck 12, they had received a call from Riker, who had announced the appearance of the missing research ship.

And so, instead of climbing up a few levels, they were climbing all the way to the bridge. At Picard's insistence, Beverly climbed first. After making a few salty remarks under her breath, Beverly had agreed to go first. She had wondered several times whether he was taking advantage of the angle to check her out, but she had never actually mentioned this out loud. Instead, she tried to concentrate on getting a good grip on each rung as she moved slowly upward.

Apparently she hated heights, which was something Picard had been unaware of until the moment he had told her they would indeed be climbing. He alternated between looking at his hands and feet as he placed them on the icy rungs, and glancing up at Beverly as she climbed. Her grace and agility was admirable, and as he could not help but notice, so were many of her other features. It was very cold and very treacherous. Twice she had slipped, nearly falling off of the slippery utility ladder. At first they tried to make light conversation, but the frozen rungs of the ladder challenged their focus.

When Beverly slipped, he reached up quickly, and had the unfortunate or depending on how you looked at it, fortunate experience of catching her tightly around the waist. Her entire weight had fallen into him, and surprisingly she was quite light. But despite the emergency situation, he could not help feeling as though he had just done something wrong. He had gripped her around the waist from behind with one arm but his other hand had somehow inexplicably come to rest on her chest. Events happened so quickly that before he could remove his hand, she had grasped it tightly, which he knew was just a reflex.

She cried out as her other hand clung desperately to the rung above her. Breathing heavily, he kicked the wall in back of him until they were pressed up against the ladder, and she was able to once again get a grip again with both her feet and hands. He ignored the physical sensations caused by being so near to her, and carefully extracted himself from her grip, holding on tightly to the ladder. "Sorry," he murmured.

Beginning her climb again, and refusing to look back at him, Beverly said merely, "thank you," sounding more than a little bit mortified by the ordeal. As the minutes rolled by they climbed on in silence, with their labored breathing taking the place of conversation.

"You should give him a chance you know," she said finally, glancing back at him, as though they had been deep in conversation the entire time.

He considered asking her who she was referring to, but of course he knew, and he wasn't in the mood to evade. "Why?" He asked gruffly. "Harrow lied to me. Why should I give him a chance?"

She laughed and he saw the resulting puff of air above him. "Because you're a very fair man, Jean-Luc. You give everyone a chance...in your way."

"In my way? What on earth is that supposed to mean?"

She fell silent as she pulled herself upward a few more rungs before speaking again. "Well, you have this difficult exterior...and you can be a bit hard on people."

He snorted derisively. "Nonsense. Perhaps people are just too sensitive. Besides, it's my job to be hard on people," he insisted. "It motivates them."

"Terrifies them at least," she murmured.

"What?" He asked.

"I said I hope were getting close to the bridge," she lied, speaking louder. "But really Jean-Luc. You are at heart someone who cares deeply about people, just as you care about right and wrong."

He shook his head, not following her meaning. "And?" He prompted.

"And...if Allen did lie to you, maybe he had a good reason for doing so."

He sighed, but as he was really exerting himself now, it sounded more like he was choking. "I realize you think you know Harrow, Beverly, but he's been out here almost ten years, engaged in who knows what kind of classified research. A lot can change in that amount of time."

"Did you?" She asked after a pause.

"Did I what?"

"Change...did you change? You know, from all those years ago when we knew each other."

Picard grunted as his boot slipped on the ice underneath. She is determined to make me lose my concentration, he thought. "I thought we were talking about Harrow, not me," he protested, regaining his balance.

She sniffed in the cold air. "Maybe I prefer talking about you," she said, sounding almost as though she were teasing him. "Besides, it's an easier transition than you might know. You and Allen aren't that different. At least not to me," she added.

Picard suddenly found himself highly insulted and kind of confused. He said nothing as she continued to speak, but he noted a sly edge creeping into her voice.

"You're both intelligent, and withholding...traits I find attractive..."

"Jack wasn't the least bit withholding," he said, trying to ignore that she had just implied that she found him attractive. His eyes rested briefly on her legs again as they moved gracefully above him. He averted his eyes and looked down at his feet, trying to concentrate on keeping his balance rather than the shape of her calves beneath her pant legs.

"Jean Luc, do you honestly think Jack is the only man I've ever found attractive?"

He wiped ice crystals from his brow. "Well, you did say you were in a relationship with Harrow, so I suppose the answer is 'no'. But I suppose it is really none of my business."

"Isn't it?" She asked now sounding a little annoyed.

His boot slipped again. "Dammit," he said angrily, his voice echoing throughout the tube. He hooked the crook of his elbow over the rung and glared up at Beverly as though she had planned the whole thing. "This conversation is distracting," he breathed. "Could we talk about something else?"

"How about nothing at all?" she suggested instead from above, and her tone was suddenly almost as icy as their surroundings.

They climbed on in silence until they finally reached the bridge. The auxiliary entryway was covered in ice, and they labored to clear it off. When they had finally cracked the hatch open to reveal the scene on the bridge, Picard and Crusher saw that Allen Harrow stood next to Riker, and that both men were staring at the view screen.

Picard did not have to demand a report from his first officer, who turned around at the sound of the auxiliary hatch clicking open. "Captain, we are unable to raise shields...the power is too low."

The bridge was now bathed in a blue light, a reminder that the ship's life support systems continued to falter.
Picard helped Beverly climb quickly through the hatch and then straightened turning around.

Harrow stared at him with a frightened expression and pointed at the view screen, which showed a sleek white ship about one third the size of the Enterprise. "We have to leave...I told you, Picard," Harrow said.

"What you told me, Doctor Harrow, was that the ship you were on was destroyed. Now I can see with my own eyes that it is quite intact. I need an explanation from you now."

"Run a scan of its systems," Riker ordered. "Find out if it fired on us."

"Scans are inconclusive, sir," reported Worf. He paused. "Incoming message, Captain." He paused again. "The message says...'where is Allen Harrow? You must not harm him.' End of message."

Picard walked a half circle around Harrow who was now frozen staring at the motionless ship on the view screen. He stepped closer to Harrow and spoke with quiet warning. "What is the meaning of this, doctor? You told me the ship was destroyed. Why? What are you hiding?"

Harrow glanced at him briefly then turned back to the screen without a word. Picard tightened his jaw reflexively.

"If you don't tell us what we're working with Doctor Harrow, we may not be able to keep you safe," said Riker. Harrow didn't even acknowledge the man's words.

"Message repeating itself, Captain," announced Worf. "'Where is Allen Harrow?'"

"I am waiting, Doctor Harrow," Picard said in a louder voice indicating his patience was wearing thin. He glared at the motionless scientist a few more moments and then turned away. "Fine," he said quietly.

He addressed the view screen. "Unidentified ship, this is Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the U.S.S Enterprise. You are in Federation territory. Please state your business. Are you in need of assistance?" The silence on the bridge was almost eerie, as they waited for an answer from the hovering ship.

Worf shifted above them at tactical. "Sir," he said in a puzzled voice. "The message in answer is a single word: 'Picard'."

Picard stepped forward. "Unidentified ship; if you know who I am, then you must know we offer only assistance to you. We are... currently troubled by the difficulties involved in navigating this area of space. Perhaps if we work together we can-"

"Captain Picard we are concerned for the safety of our crew member, Doctor Allen Harrow. It is imperative that he be returned to us safely."

Out if the corner of his eye, Picard saw Allen shaking his head. Interesting. For as frightened as Harrow appeared to be, he wasn't frightened enough to provide Picard with any useful information.

Picard began to feel as though he had the upper hand. He had someone they wanted. Apparently Harrow was more valuable than he had given him credit for. He rubbed his jaw and began to pace in front of the view screen.

"By admitting that Dr. Harrow is your crew member, you have identified yourselves as the crew of the vessel we have been charged with finding and bringing back to Star

Base 14." Silence. "In fact, you are the crew of the research ship involved in what is known as the Eve Project, aren't you?"

"The transmission is answering 'yes' in the affirmative, Captain," reported Worf. He paused. "'Yes, our ship is called Eve.'"

"And who might I be speaking with?" asked Picard. Another long pause.

The view screen suddenly flashed on. The image appeared of a young dark skinned man in a science officer's uniform. "I am Commander Robinson", said the man. He smiled with a set of perfect teeth. "I see that Doctor Harrow is there with you. That makes us very glad," said Robinson.

"Robinson," Harrow said under his breath. He seemed quite surprised. For what reason, Picard could only guess.

"Yes, hello, Allen. Welcome home." Robinson grinned again.

Allen gripped Picard by the arm tightly. "I won't go back there. No one is making me go back there," he said.

Beverly stepped forward and touched Harrow on the shoulder, trying to calm him as Picard looked on sternly.

"Allen, it's alright. Let go of the Captain. No one is going to make you go anywhere you don't want to," she reassured him. On the view screen, Robinson's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly before the smile returned.

Picard glared at Harrow who still gripped his arm. "Doctor Harrow…I recommend you take Doctor Crusher's advice and let go of me. If I have to remove your hand myself, I can assure you, you will require far more assistance than mere advice."

Doctor Crusher looked at the Captain with a look of shock, but Harrow let go of him and stepped away.

Picard folded his arms over his chest, ignoring them and returning his gaze to the screen. "It seems, Commander

Robinson that Doctor Harrow is not as happy to see you, as you are to see him."

Robinson's smile faded slightly, but then returned. "We've been out here so long, Captain that we're almost like a family. But sometimes even families don't always get along as well as they should."

"Where is the rest of your crew?" asked Picard. "Familial

problems aside, Commander, I should like to make sure they are safe and well," he added.

Robinson's laugh held little humor. "Just deliver Doctor Harrow to us, and we will be on our way, Captain."

"I am afraid I can't accede to your wishes Commander. I have been given very specific orders, to bring your crew and ship back to Star Base 14."

"We are not traveling out if this system yet, Captain," said Robinson. "The time is not right. We still have work to do, as Allen knows well."

"Are you refusing to come with us then, Commander? I do outrank you. Please don't make me have to resort to engage in military posturing. I really do detest those kinds of displays," said Picard.

Suddenly an emergency signal blared across the bridge. "Warning: Life support levels will go critical in 75 minutes," reported the computer.

On screen Robinson was smiling again. Picard silently wished the man were here so that he could knock the smile off of his face. "Captain Picard, it seems that you are in a difficult position. If you would agree to send Doctor Harrow back to us, we might be able to help you exit this system."

Picard walked away from the screen. His ship was all but dead in space and his crew was slowly freezing to death. He adjusted his winter hat and looked around at his crew. They were waiting for him to act. Turning around slowly he faced the view screen again. "Commander, did you fire on my ship?"

"Captain, there are many strange occurrences out in this area of space. There are also bloodthirsty Orions just waiting to kill and plunder. We have been out here a long time. Perhaps we erred in mistaking you for an enemy. But now, we see you are friendly. There's no need to argue any longer."

"So…you are admitting you fired on another Federation ship. You do realize that this could be problematic for you and your work, Commander, if I report to Starfleet what you have done."

"You need us to escape this area of space, Captain. Your crew will be dead in just over an hour."

Picard walked over to his command chair and sat down slowly. He needed Robinson's help, but Robinson seemed to need Harrow returned to his ship just as much.

"Fine," said the Captain. "Then Allen Harrow will die here with us."

Robinson's face contorted with fury, and he shouted through the screen at them. Simultaneously there was a flash of white and Picard was hurled along with the rest of his crew forward and onto the deck as the bridge suddenly tilted at an extreme angle and the ship was tossed forward at a high velocity.