After three months of patiently waiting for an update, patience is a virtue. I'm back! I am Sorry for the long wait, but I was really busy . . .
Read on!
Chapter 10
Don't kill the messenger
"Con permiso, Captain.
The hall is rented, the orchestra engaged.
It's now time to see if you can dance."
Q, Q Who?
24 hours later . . . . .
Riker was enjoying his shore leave. It was often his luck to fnd and meet the most interesting women. She was from Alpha Beta II, and was a quantum chemist.
"Well then I said ' I am only a Commander, I don't control universe!" Riker joked and Sofia laughed. Her olive skin shined and her brown eyes sparkled. Sofia was from the Mediterranean, more specifically Spain. This date was going swell. Hopefully this shore leave would continued to great. Boy did he need shore leave. Riker thought to himself.
Riker continued. "Well . . .I could have controlled the universe if . . ." But he was cut off by a starfleet lieutenant in a yellow uniform.
"Are you Commander William T. Riker?" The lieutenant said.
Riker looked up to see the lieutenant. He had short blond hair and blue eyes and his skin had been kissed by the sun, he almost looked like a surfer from Hawaii or California.
"Yes," and then Riker said. "Don't you see I am busy here? If this has to do with Starfleet, it can wait until after shore leave." Riker turned back to his conversation. "Well there was this entity named . . ."
"Commander this can't wait!" The lieutenant shouted. Riker sighed and looked down and then snapped his head back up to look at the lieutenant. He was really becoming annoying. "What do you mean by 'this can't wait? If this is about me getting my own command. You can tell them I am not taking it and now leave me alone."
"Well sir, it isn't about that. It is about the Enterprise, sir." The lieutenant said nervously.
This caught Riker's attention, and he got up from the booth and straightened out his shirt.
"Hold on, this is about the Enterprise?" Riker questioned using his commanding voice.
The lieutenant gulped and said. "Well you see, the Enterprise has finished with its upgrades. Captain Picard has taken a mission and he wants all of his senior officers to report to the Enterprise immediately.." The lieutenant paused for a moment, "I also want to inform you that shore leave has been canceled." He informed.
Riker's eyes widened. His hands curled into fists until his knuckles turned white. He was going to have a little chat with Jean Luc Picard and quite possibly kill him,
He sighed heavily. "Sofia, I will be back once I get this sorted out." He pulled out his wallet and gave a couple dollars to the lieutenant..
"Buy yourself a drink Lieutenant." He patted the lieutenant's shoulder and walked out of the bar.
Enterprise
Riker beamed on to the Enterprise in a shimmering wave of blue light. He was in red uniform and was carrying his luggage. Riker looked up, surprised to see O'Brien at the controls of the transporter. Riker stepped off the pad and smiled at the Transporter Chief..
"Welcome back Commander!" O'Brien smiled. "It is good to be back, but do you know anything about this mission?" He asked.
"No, sir., all I know sir is to prepare to leave drydock.".
"Thanks." Riker headed toward Picard's ready room. The halls were crowded with crew men going from one place to another trying to get things done before departure. He hadn't seen the Enterprise this busy since Farpoint.
He went into a turbolift. "Bridge." The bridge was busily with activity There was only one senior officer on duty at the time, Lt. Commander Worf, Data and Deanna were not on the Bridge.
Riker nodded to Worf and he went down the slope into Picard's ready room. He pressed the door chime.
"Come in."
Riker walked in to see Picard sipping on his tea and reading reports. Picard looked up from his reports and smiled. "Ah, Will it is good to see you." He sense that Riker that was mad at him and his smile fell.
"You are wondering why I canceled shore leave."Riker nodded. Picard got up from his desk gave the PADD to Riker to look over. Riker started to look over the mission.
"The U.S.S Goodall has gone missing in Adad galaxy. The Goodall was studying Zeta Iota VII, when she disappeared. Our mission is to bring the Goodall back to Starbase 75."
Riker just rolled his eyes. "Captain, why did you take this mission? Aren't there other ships that are just as qualified to take this mission sir?"
"Well let's say that fate had other ideas . . ." Picard replied. Riker didn't understand what Picard was referring to. But it was still not an answer, and Riker couldn't help but feel that he was missing some vital information. had this gut feeling that something was off about Picard. He felt that Picard wasn't fully committed to the mission and he knew that Picard didn't pick this mission to rescue the Goodall, but to find or do something else - which worried him.
"Well 'Fate' kind of ruined my date, captain, but can you tell me why you took this mission, truthfully?" Picard evaded the question by saying:
"Oh pish posh Commander there are plenty of fish in the sea. Now Lt. Commander Data and Counselor Troi are going to be boarding in a couple of hours and I want you, once they are on board, to inform them of our mission and then call a conference after we leave station McKinley." To Riker this was a door slamming in his face. The red alert klaxon in his mind was screaming a warning.
Riker reluctantly said. "Yes, Captain." And turned to leave. Picard was already sitting back at his desk and about to take a slip of tea.
"And Will." Riker turned. "My reasons for taking this mission are none of your concerns, do I make myself clear?" Riker couldn't help but feel as if he couldn't trust his captain as he sensed the building tension between them. Riker knew that he had to know what was wrong with his Captain and the only person who could tell him that was Troi.
"Crystal."
Hallway a couple hours later. . . .
Troi and Data walked through the hall in their uniforms. "Data how was your leave?" Troi asked her friend.
"To be truthful Counselor . . .very uneventful. I did not have the time that I wanted to practice my sarcasm." Troi patted Data's shoulder and he continued. "But what intrigues me, is why Captain Picard cut our leave short by three days."
Troi thought for a moment, but she felt the crew's anger and confusion about their shore leave being cut short. She herself was a little more than surprised when the Starfleet messenger said that shore leave was canceled.
"Well I can answer that!" Someone said from behind, both Troi and Data stopped and turned to see Riker jogging toward them smiling. Once Riker caught up to them, they continued to walk.
"To answer your question Data. Picard has accepted a mission to rescue the U.S.S Goodall. Which was last reported in Adad Galaxy. I am also supposed to tell you that we will be having a conference at 1500 hours to discuss the mission after we leave McKinley."
"By the sound of your voice Commander I can assume that you are not happy with the mission?" Data stated then he continued. "May I ask why, sir?"
"Well first off, why in the world did the Enterprise have to take this mission in the first place? Surely there are more than enough ships closer to the Adad galaxy than the Enterprise. We are two weeks away from the area at warp factor seven." Riker was cut off by Data who corrected him.
"Actually sir we are one week, six days, and seventeen hours and . . ."
Riker cut him off. "Thank you Data. But what concerns me the most is Picard. I don't know, but something seems off about him. He didn't give an explanation as to why we took the mission and I can't shake the feeling of wariness about him. Whatever is troubling him he is not telling me, which tells me that I am not doing my job right." He said with concern.
Deanna sensed Riker's concern for Picard and for the crew, which was precedence. But it was only two days after Wesley's anniversary since his death. So that must be the thing that was concerning Picard and Riker just didn't see that.
"Will I think your concern is precedence, but maybe you are overlooking the fact that it has been two days since Wesley's anniversary so that must be the thing that is concerning Picard. You know how much Wes meant to Picard, he was the son that he never had." Troi said voicing her concern to Will.
"No, Deanna isn't that. Something just seems off about him that I can't place." Riker pressed on his view. Deanna knew that she couldn't change Will's mind, but to help him with his growing concern she said.
"Will if it will make you feel better I will open my mind during the conference and then after I will tell you what I feel." Deanna still sense that Will was still concern about Picard. Riker sighed and continued to walk. His thoughts still dwelled on what was concerning Picard and why Picard didn't want to talk about. Maybe Deanna was right, maybe he was just overreacting, but it was still good to keep an eye on Picard
Beverly was finishing up brushing her carrot red hair and just getting herself ready for Alpha shift in general. Her blue tunic was still partially unzipped and her teal medical jacket was still hanging up. She spent the better part of yesterday getting Sickbay ready for the next mission. Beverly didn't do much on shore leave, only that she visited Jack's and Wesley's grave on the first day and then returned to the ship.
Beverly sprayed on her wildflower perfume, zipped up her blue uniform tunic and pulled on her teal medical jacket and started to head toward the door. Passing Wesley's room, Beverly stopped in front of his door. Beverly felt that something wanted her to go into his her best efforts Beverly went in.
The room was still dusty and the air smelt of musk. Everything was as it was, not a thing was out of place since Wesley's death. Her eyes started to water, not because of the dust in the air, but the memories that the room brought back. Her body shuddered as sounds of memories and images were brought back to her being. Beverly even heard her son's laugh from behind her. She whipped her head around to see if Wes was behind her. But Wesley wasn't there, only phantoms of the past.
She went up to Wesley's desk, where there were parts of equipment that he took apart and other electronic pieces. But what caught her eye was a dusty dark hardwood box. She swept the dust off the top of the box. Her hand was coated in a thin layer dust bunnies. It was quite a pretty box, Beverly thought to herself and she started to slide the box off of Wes's work space. As she was sliding the wooden box off of the table, a card fluttered down to the ground and hit Beverly's boot. She looked down at her boot, to find a yellowing paper card and the corners were starting curl up, she picked up the card and flipped it over. The old ink was starting to smear, but the curve was still legible and Beverly recognized the hand writing as Wes's.
"To Captain Picard, hmmm. . ." Beverly said out loud to herself. "This must be a present to Jean-Luc, Wesley must have been meaning to give this to Jean-Luc how sweet of him." She thought out loud. Beverly started to open the lid, but before she could open the lid all the way, she realized that she was going to be late to the bridge. Frantically Beverly ran out of Wesley's room, heading toward the Bridge. I guess I will give Wesley's gift to Jean-Luc later . . .Beverly thought.
Bridge
Picard placed a hand on his chin, taking a moment to think about what Wesley wanted from him. He was plagued by the nightmares, and he hadn't slept in days. His thoughts then drifted to his empty right seat beside him, which was usually occupied by his Chief Medical Officer. He enjoyed Beverly's company on the bridge, but not having her beside him just felt off. Speaking of Beverly, where was she?
The turbolift's door open and Beverly walked out and she went down the slope. She then took her spot next the Captain's chair. Picard took a moment to look at Beverly and then turned his attention back the task at hand. Leaving drydock. He pressed a button connecting him to Main Engineering.
"LaForge here, Captain."
"Mr. LaForge are the engines ready?"
"Yes, sir." LaForge replied on the other end of the link. Picard terminated the link and turned his attention to OPS and Navigation. Where Data and Hawkins were waiting for his orders. Hawkins was good navigator but he would never be Wesley, for complex maneuvers it took him a long time to do the math, and he was always one or two degrees off on his calculations, which Data had to make up for. Quite frankly he did not like Hawkins at all, and Hawkins was the ninth navigator in the last two years that he had to find to replace Wesley. Picard was already looking for Hawkins replacement, because he was not working well with Data, he was like oil and water. Wesley on the other hand complemented Data quite well and kept up with Data's speed with ease. Wesley was one of the best navigators he ever had, even though he wasn't as experienced as his other navigator he caught on fast and knew had to handle situation well. How he missed Wesley.
"Mr. Data prepare to leave drydock." Picard ordered.
"Preparing to leave drydock, all decks reports that they are ready for departure. Disengaging docking beams, waiting for further instructions from Station McKinley." Data reported.
Leaving Station McKinley was much easier than entering it.
"This is Station McKinley Docking Manager, prepare for 1st set of docking claws to disengage."
The only difference from entering Station McKinley was that getting out of Station McKinley was everything was in reverse, but there were some minor like when disengage from the Enterprise they would go completely flat and let the ship leave.
Slowly the first two sets of claws let go of the Enterprise's nacelles, the claws didn't become completely flat until the final stage of the de-docking sequence. Then the moving beam returned to its horizontal position.
"Enterprise prepare for 2nd set of docking claws to disengage."
The second set left the Enterprise's saucer section, leaving the Enterprise with only one set of claws left in the fontal area of the saucer section. The crew of the Enterprise waited patiently for Station McKinley to finish their de-docking procedure.
"Prepare for 3rd set of docking claws to disengage."
Picard saw the 3rd set of docking claws being lifted from the Enterprise from the view screen. The Enterprise was just about to leave Station McKinley and start their mission into the stars.
"This Docking Manger prepare for last step of the de-docking process."
The docking claws went into their final position for the Enterprise to leave.
"Enterprise you are clear to leave." The Station McKinley's docking manger reported. Hearing Picard gave his orders to Data.
"Mr. Data take us out at half impulse." Slowly the Enterprise went out of Station McKinley.
"Captain we have now cleared drydock, sir." Data reported. Pressing a few buttons on his console while making his report.
"Mr. Hawkins set course for the Adad Galaxy 5.7 mark 6, warp factor eight. Engage." Picard ordered to his navigator.
The Enterprise's engines started to build energy and blue light was starting to emit from the nacelles, getting brighter and brighter until the Enterprise took off faster than light and with a boom! The Enterprise was gone in a flash of blue light, not gone but traveling faster than starlight that from the view screen the stars looked like strikes of light and every couple of seconds there would be flashes. It was truly a wonder of the galaxy.
Conference room
"The U.S.S Goodall last reported to be studying Zeta Iota VII in the Adad Galaxy. Where contact was terminated. Starfleet believes that an ion storm disabled the Goodall and is a drift. Our mission is to recuse and take the Goodall back to Starbase 75, where she will be repaired." Picard spoke to his senior staff about the mission. He was not entirely focus on what he was saying, but on other things that plagued his mind. Like his nightmares that kept him from sleeping, he still heard Wesley's scream in his head. He shook his head trying to get his thoughts back to the matter at hand.
"Captain may I suggest we go to yellow alert once we reach Adad Galaxy because we may encounter spatial turbulence from incoming storms." Data suggested.
"Hmmm. . ." Picard thought for a moment and then replied. "Mr. Data I think that is unnecessary. Until we know that there is a storm front coming, we should not go to yellow alert until it is absolutely necessary."
Deanna sensed that Picard's mind was not at the matter at hand, but somewhere else. The best way that she could describe it was the he was trying to look for answers. Which concerned her greatly. If the mission was not the reason for being out in this uncharted region of space, then what was? She felt like an idiot for not believing Riker in the first place. Deanna was immersed in her thoughts that she didn't realize that the conference was over. Seeing everyone getting up, she quickly got out of her seat and tried to find Commander Riker.
Riker was walking down the hall, Deanna raced to catch up to Will.
"Will, we need to talk. Alone."
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