Chapter 11

"Captain, I know there's something wrong with Arin Greene," Deanna Troi said confidently. Picard noticed the sound of conviction in her voice, her straight back, her raised chin. "I wasn't sure before, but now I know there's more to her than a girl scarred from a tragic experience."

Picard shifted in his seat behind his polished ready room desk. He did not like the sound of this.

"How do you know for sure, Counselor? What evidence do you have?"

"For one, sir, she seemed more than a little disturbed at the counseling session we had today. It got to the point where she couldn't hide her emotions behind her mental barrier anymore, so she needed to create a physical barrier. She ran out of the room before I could make any more progress. She was scared of something."

"And she wasn't just responding to a fear of disclosing her difficult past?" Picard asked. Deanna Troi was not only part Betazoid, but also had a degree in psychology. Picard knew there was something more that made Deanna this upset.

"No, Captain. While that was a thought on my mind, I went over every word I said to her and no patient I have ever spoken with who has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has been this distracted and this…different." At Picard's questioning expression, she said, "I'm sorry Captain, I have no other word for it."

"Tell me everything, Deanna," Picard said, softly. He knew she had more to say and she was struggling to keep it brief for the sake of the impromptu meeting.

Deanna nodded and started. "At the beginning of the session, she was fifteen minutes late and I noticed her door was locked. While I know these are no reasons to accuse someone, it made me start to wonder. She has no reason to lock her doors and where could she have been on the ship so early in her time aboard?

"When we entered the room, I noticed she wasn't wearing her combadge. I sensed strong emotions of disgust from her when I mentioned it. This made me think that maybe she was lying when she said she thought the Romulans killed her parents. Maybe she was convinced they were killed on an away mission and Starfleet was, therefore, responsible. While at the time I had sensed no lies coming from Arin, I now know she has some serious discipline allowing her to block her emotions, and that discipline is starting to break down. Throughout the counseling session, Arin was showing strong body language that described her as distracted and anxious. I felt strong floods of emotions, and then a sudden calm. It was almost disorienting for me." Deanna paused for a moment, then continued. "Suddenly, her emotions broke through, stronger than ever—disgust, hatred, rage—and she left the room. I haven't seen her since." Deanna's hands clenched on the chair in front of her. This whole situation was making her feel that there was a need for action, but she didn't know what.

Right at that moment the door chime sounded. Picard eyes shifted toward Deanna, then toward the door. "Come," he said to the person on the other side of the door, almost reluctantly. He didn't want to be diverted right now.

In walked Geordi La Forge, his dark right hand lifted as if he needed to say something urgently. "Captain—," he said, then broke off when he noticed Deanna's heat signature through his VISOR. "Counselor," he greeted, and nodded toward her.

Deanna nodded back, wavy locks swaying with the motion.

"Yes, Mr. La Forge?" Picard asked, wondering what seemed so urgent.

Deanna stepped aside so Geordi could come up next to her. "I know this might be nothing, Captain, but I would like you to know that on my way to the bridge I found Arin Greene running down the hallway. I tried to ask her what was wrong, but she pulled away. Also, I found her in Engineering earlier today, wandering around. How she found a way to get there, I couldn't tell you, but something's up with her." Geordi waited for a response, hoping he hadn't just filled the room with moot words. He knew it had been a risk for him to confront the captain about something that he felt was wrong. But it had been gnawing at him all day, and Arin running down the corridor like she was being chased by a Klingon targ was the straw that broke the camel's back.

To Geordi's surprise, Deanna was the one who spoke next. "That's exactly what I'm here for, Geordi! Arin Greene is not who she seems."

It only took Picard a second to come to a conclusion. Two of his most respected officers were coming to him about a concern over Arin Greene, and, not only that, Picard himself had had some suspicions.

Right as Picard was about to speak, the door chimed again. "Come," Picard said, and Data walked in.

Data extended greetings to everyone in the room, a slightly surprised expression on his face, as if he hadn't expected to see such a crowd. But, maybe it was just the lighting that made him look that way.

"Sir, if I may. Due to the strange occurrence in Engineering of our guest, Arin Greene, and the fact that I have noticed her actions, lately, are not of the human norm, I have extended my research of Arin Greene and have found something of note."Data paused, and Picard wondered if anyone had been teaching him how to pause for dramatic effect. If so, he preferred to do without the added suspense.

"On Stardate 42896.3, she was rescued from the Romulans in much the same manner as yesterday, this time aboard the U.S.S. Prometheus NCC-58377."

"The Prometheus…" Picard muttered. "Wasn't she destroyed?"

"Yes, sir," Data replied. "Shortly after their rescue of Arin Greene. Records indicate a shuttlecraft's unauthorized departure from the shuttlebay 11.6 minutes before the destruction. Those records had not been completely destroyed and were retrieved in the ship's debris on Stardate 42957.3. The conclusion was that the destruction of the U.S.S Prometheus was done by sabotage."

As Data said these last two words, Deanna Troi, Geordi La Forge, and Captain Picard looked at each other in stunned silence. Quickly, Picard shook off the feeling of shock, as he had been taught to do so long ago, and tilted his head up.

"Computer," he said. "Where is the location of Arin Greene?"

"Arin Greene is nowhere on the ship," was the Computer's response.

"When was she first considered missing?" Picard asked, a sinking feeling entering his gut.

"Arin Greene's combadge signal was terminated 26.7 minutes ago."

"Computer, where was she last located?"

"Arin Greene was last located in Cargo Bay 2."

At this, Picard tapped his combadge. But, drowning out the following chirp, the whooping sound of Red Alert penetrated the silence in the ready room.