Chapter 21

Guinan gazed with growing concern at the Eve, which was currently attached to the hull outside Ten Forward. The observation windows had been repaired, as had the fissures in the hull by tiny repair robots. But efforts to actually remove the Eve from the Enterprise hull had been unsuccessful so far. Guinan doubted if anyone had actually tried that hard, since without a ship, Claudia and her venomous monster would be trapped on board the Enterprise. And did anyone really want that to happen?

Her eyes narrowed as she watched. For the last twenty minutes or so, the Eve seemed to be glowing a reddish hue. She walked to the window and peered out. At the point where the two ships had collided, she could no longer distinguish between the hulls of each ship. It was as though the Eve was incorporating the hull of the Enterprise into its own. She had to warn Captain Picard.

She backed away from the window, and then turned around to find an unexpected visitor standing in the otherwise empty Ten Forward. The Orion walked to the bar and leaned his large frame against it, fixing his one eye on her with a slightly dangerous expression. "Do you serve any Orion drinks here?" he asked, sounding somewhat hopeful in contrast to his rough appearance.

Wesley was in fact awake. He turned as they entered Beverly's quarters. "Mom, you okay? Oh…hi Captain," he said slightly surprised.

Picard nodded. "Hello, Wesley," he said quietly. He cleared his throat. "You look well," he observed.

"Um, yes sir," said Wesley. "Please excuse the pajamas, sir, but I was just waiting for Mom to get home before I turned in." Picard shrugged and nodded. He seemed highly uncomfortable, as he glanced around their living space. Wesley wasn't used to the Captain appearing inside his quarters, but somehow he imagined he was actually less nervous than the Captain was at that moment.

Beverly finally spoke. "Thank you for waiting up for me, Wes. We were…Captain Picard just wanted to make sure you were alright, given everything that has happened." She smiled at him.

Wesley looked from his mother to Captain Picard and back again. Something was going on, that much was clear. He knew that the creature from the Eve was on board the Enterprise, so maybe the Captain and his mother were just freaked out about that. He had no plans to leave his quarters until he was scheduled for duty tomorrow anyway. "Thanks…but I'm okay."

His mother smiled tiredly and took off her lab coat, hanging it carefully on a hook on the wall. Wesley raised his eyebrows. His mother usually just carelessly tossed her coat over a chair when she came home, especially when it was late. Something was definitely up. Captain Picard continued to stand quietly.

"Well," said Wesley slowly. "I have some reading to do for class before I go to bed, so…."

"Wesley there's no school tomorrow," said Beverly. "You can read all day. And I don't want you leaving our quarters without you telling me," she added.

Wesley stared at her with a growing sense of dread. Didn't she see he was trying to let them all off of the hook by going to bed and leaving them alone? "Oh…well there's this holo-vid that I have really been wanting to watch. It's about the recent advances in warp propulsion introduced at the last Daystrom exhibition. I was going to watch it in my room, but if you two want to see it—"

"No!" Picard protested a little too stridently. "I mean, perhaps some other time, Mr. Crusher," he said more gently.

Beverly looked at Wesley. "Would you mind watching it in your room?"

"Oh no. Of course not," he said hurrying out of the room. "Good night," he called over his shoulder.

"Good night," they replied in unison.

Beverly sighed. She looked at Picard who was staring at a painting on the wall. He murmured something, then turned to look at her. "I love water color paintings," he said. "Well, some at least…this is quite delicate," he said looking at it again.

Beverly laughed, walking toward him. "I don't know how you can even see it in this light."

He turned to face her. "I can't really…I was trying to think of something to say," he confessed, breaking into a smile.

She laughed again. "Well, my grandmother painted it. And it is quite good. Although I am probably biased." She walked closer to him and touched his arm. "It was lovely of you to walk me back here."

He shrugged not knowing what to say.

"I really was worried about Wesley," she said. "I hope you don't think it was just an excuse to invite you in so I could cajole you into talking about what happened between us earlier in sick bay."

He froze, actually surprised that she had raised what he feared might be a forbidden subject. Instead, she had decided to approach it with humor. What a relief. "Of course you were worried about him, as was I. And I hope you didn't think I came in to stare at you awkwardly in silence when you attempted to talk about what happened earlier," he said.

She broke into a slow smile, which then faded. She looked down. "I'm glad you came in, Jean-Luc. Wesley looks up to you. And it means a lot to me that you care for him too."

He nodded. "I do—perhaps I could work harder to show it."

She shook her head. "What you do already is enough. He admires your every move."

He looked at her, unsure of what to say, and then said, "I should go."

Something in her expression changed almost imperceptibly—was it disappointment? But then she smiled. "Sure," she said softly.

He turned to leave, but then turned back just before he triggered the door opening. "Beverly…."

"Yes?"

"I don't want to leave you—I mean I don't want to leave you and Wesley alone here," he corrected himself quickly. "Not with Claudia loose—not with what just happened to Doctor Selar. I just—perhaps I should stay here."

"Here?" Her eyebrows raised, but a clear look of relief crossed her face. "Okay…." She hooked her thumb toward the couch. "I'll um…get you a blanket and pillow." Suddenly seeming nervous again she hurried into the other room, and not knowing what else to do, he sat down on the couch clasping and unclasping his hands together. He honestly hoped that he had made the right decision.

Guinan walked slowly toward the Orion. She was familiar with his type, and the most important thing was to show you weren't scared. He had just asked her whether she served Orion drinks. "We serve all kinds of drinks here," she replied calmly. "What I don't serve…is drinks to people who are supposed to be locked up in the Brig."

The big pirate laughed. "I am used to taking what I want, so if I want I will take a drink—later. But for now I am here for business," he said, stomping past her, up to the observation windows.

"And what business would that be?" she asked.

He pointed out the view port. "There!" There was the ship, the ship that carried the bodies of his brethren. As he considered the situation, he remembered he had wanted vengeance against the creature. Well, where was it? Regarding the ship, he considered that it would make an excellent vessel. But stealing it did not appear to be an option. He would need to defeat the creature first.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" asked Guinan from behind him. "Most people think twice after losing an eye. Most of us so-called humanoids only get two, you know," she reminded him.

Captain Bardi ignored her. "Where are you, beast?" he shouted suddenly. "Show yourself!"

He squinted his single eye as a distortion appeared in the wall, and suddenly a nude human woman stepped out of it. Normally, such a spectacle would not have phased Bardi, as he had seen plenty of naked women during his colorful life. But upon seeing him, she began to laugh, and it sent a chill through him.

"You find me humorous?" Asked Bardi. "You won't be laughing when you see the beast that lurks inside that ship," he assured her.

She stopped laughing abruptly. "I think you are right," she replied. He stepped back in shock as she let out a screech and transformed before his eyes into the fearsome creature he had faced just days ago.

Bardi grabbed the phaser he had confiscated from the guard, as the beast stalked toward him. It flicked its long forked tongue out as if testing the air. Then it let out a thunderous roar directly into Bardi's face.

Guinan had wisely retreated behind the bar, and pressed a button underneath it. "Guinan to Worf."

"Worf here," came the puzzled reply.

"Weren't you supposed to be hunting an Orion?"

"How did you know—?"

"Never mind that," said Guinan. "Just get down here—quickly."

"Is the Orion there?"

"Yes, Mr. Worf. And he has company—it's Claudia. Oh, and bring back-up," she added.

"I do not need back-up," Worf growled.

"Yes, you do," she said, and then cut the connection.

She emerged from her bedroom just minutes after disappearing. She was carrying a blanket and pillow. And she was wearing a nightgown. Oh dear.

How had she changed so quickly? He stood up quickly and took the blanket from her, hugging it to his chest. Oh…the blanket smelled just like her. How wonderful and problematic at the same time. Thank you," he said simply.

She watched him closely. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He swallowed, and kept his eyes fixed on hers. She looked down at her plain grey nightgown. "Jean-Luc," she said laughing as she shoved the pillow at him. "This is just a standard issue nightgown. You would think I was wearing the most revealing—"

He put his hands up, interrupting her before it became worse. "It's alright," he said. "I'm just not accustomed to seeing you this way. I'm sorry," he added, and sat down on the couch heavily. Now at eye level with her legs, legs he had not seen bare in years—legs he dreamed about—he deliberately closed his eyes. The only possible antidote to this moment would have been Wesley Crusher's boring holo-vid—the one he was pretending to watch in his room. What a clever young man, he thought.

"You might as well open your eyes," she said, "because I am still standing here."

He did as she said, and made sure his gaze was high enough to rest on her face. He smiled at her and then put the pillow and blanket on the couch.

"Are you going to be comfortable enough? How are your ribs?"

"Alright. Not too bad," he said. "How is your head? You took a nasty hit."

"Just fine...you could replicate yourself some pajamas, you know," she said as she watched him get under the blanket uncomfortably.

"Oh no," he said with a tight smile. "I'll be fine," he said pulling the blanket up to his chest.

They stared at each other for a few moments. "I'm not tired," Beverly said. "I should be, but I'm not."

Picard nodded. "Me neither," he admitted.

She twisted the fabric of her nightgown in her hand and he actually contemplated ducking his head under the covers.

"We could talk," she suggested.

He pulled himself up to a sitting position, making room for her on the couch. She sat down slowly beside him, and then folded her legs up next to her, adjusting her nightgown over them carefully.

They sat like that for minutes, but they never actually talked. Strangely, the longer they went without talking, the more comfortable they became. Eventually, Beverly reached over to brush her fingers against his hand, and he intertwined his fingers with hers. She leaned her head back against the couch and closed her eyes. He tried not to stare at her expression which was very relaxed; almost content, even after such a dangerous day. She fell asleep first, still gripping his hand. And shortly after he told the computer to turn the lights out, he was asleep too.

Captain Bardi was worried. This was an unusual state of mind for him. Perhaps it was the disconcerting and painful problem of having recently lost sight in one eye. Or perhaps it was the size and unwavering confidence of his foe, as the giant lizard circled him with flashing eyes. Some kind of foamy substance dripped from either side of its powerful jaws. He had been shocked to see the woman transform into this creature. And yet as strange as her transformation had been he realized that he had always thought of the creature as female even before seeing her human form. If he got out of this battle alive, he might seriously consider revising his view of females in general.

The creature hissed at him, as the Orion feinted toward it with a broken wine bottle. It didn't matter that Picard had confiscated his weapons. Of course he would improvise. He remembered that when he had escaped from the Eve, he had done so by stunning the creature by accident on the back of its neck. He doubted that the creature would allow him to jump easily onto its back while he searched for the correct weak spot to hit. So again he would have to improvise.

Just then it sprung at him, and he moved out of the way as it passed, striking out with the broken wine bottle. He grazed its hard armor, and was too slow as it whipped its tail into his legs causing his knees to buckle, sending him to the floor. To a human this might have been enough to cripple him, but Bardi was much larger and tougher than the average human. It still hurt a great deal.

He pushed himself up and onto his feet just as it swiped at him with a large clawed hand. He jumped backwards just out of the way but it pursued him. Unexpectedly it pounced on him and he fell flat on his back, trying to wrestle the thing into submission. It was much too strong. He hit it between the eyes with his heavy forearm before feeling its razor sharp teeth sink into his flesh. He screamed as it gulped attempting to take his entire arm into its mouth. One of its glowing eyes was now staring directly into his own. Screaming again, he dropped the wine bottle, and un-holstered the phaser he had stolen from the guard and shot the creature in the eye that was closest to him. An eye for an eye, he thought, just before it severed his arm, clamping its jaws down viciously, and then rolled into a ball, clawing desperately at its burning eye.

Bardi could take no satisfaction in what he done, because the pain was so overwhelming. Dimly he heard footsteps, coming from the doorway. He was so fearful that someone would ruin his chance to have his revenge that he tried to sit up using his remaining arm. Then without warning he felt pressure on his shoulder and someone was dragging him backward. He struggled to get free.

"Do not resist, or I will shoot you," deep voice assured him.

Bardi twisted his head up to see the face of an angry Klingon. On a Federation ship? A Klingon dragging him to who-knows-where could never be a good sign. Ignoring the warning, he struggled harder, kicking his legs.

He heard the Klingon shout, and then Bardi felt his body thud against the deck, and heard the sound of a phaser firing, before the room went black.

"I told him I would shoot him," Worf said in a low voice as he stared down at the stunned Orion. One of his officers bandaged the pirate's shoulder, where his arm had been grotesquely chewed. Worf stared at the cluttered surroundings, but the arm was nowhere to be seen, so he concluded the creature must have swallowed it.

Guinan watched from behind the bar. "Watch out, Worf, she's getting up again!"

At one point Picard awoke to find that Beverly was now leaning against him, and somehow his arm had wound its way around her shoulder. He rubbed his eyes with his free hand. It was very dark, and the only light was from the stars streaming from outside the window, and a nearby clock which read 1:30 am. He could tell by the sound of her breathing that she was asleep. With all that had been occurring, how could she sleep so deeply, he wondered? His hand was resting on something soft. He tried to shift his arm, but it was almost completely numb. Mortified, he realized that he was cupping Beverly's breast in his hand. His attempts to further wrest his arm from behind her shoulder had the unintended effect of waking her, but only for a moment, as she grabbed his numb arm and placed it back where it had been, holding on to it tightly, while she mumbled something unintelligible. Within moments she had fallen back into a deep sleep.

Now unable to go back to sleep and preoccupied by where his hand was, he tried to think about anything else, including the holo vid Wesley Crusher had suggested he watch. He could imagine it was fascinating, even exciting…to an engineer.

Resigned to his predicament, because he was unwilling to wake Beverly up, he tried to relax again. Because her hair was so close to his face he told himself it was only natural that he should lay his cheek against the top of her head, gently of course, so as not to wake her. She smelled so wonderful. He began to drift off again. Suddenly his communicator chirped and his head jerked up in alarm. Reflexively he slapped his palm to his chest, finding nothing but the material of his uniform. He glanced around, recalling that he had taken it off and put in on a nearby table. He looked over at it, just out of reach.

"Beverly," he whispered. "Beverly…." She stirred, and then twisted around to look up at him. For a passing moment she appeared surprised to see him, but then smiled drowsily, apparently remembering why he was there. Her eyes dropped to his hand resting on her chest, and she turned to look at him again with a raised eyebrow. "Well, this is awkward," she said, letting go of his arm.

He froze, and for a moment could not tell if she was offended, or just giving him a hard time. He decided it was the latter, as she sat up yawning, and moved off of him at a somewhat leisurely pace. He shook his numb hand as he watched her get up and walk away.

She turned as the communicator chirped again. "Jean-Luc, what are you waiting for?" she asked. Maybe you were too busy copping a feel, she thought with some amusement. "You need to answer that," she said out loud.

He nodded, and moved his stiff body off of the couch, grabbing the communicator. "Picard here."

"Captain," came Data's voice. "We have changed course sir."

Picard glanced at Beverly, and smoothed his hand over his head. "Why? Get us back on course," he said.

"The course change was not intentional," Data said. "The ship's navigational systems have been, for lack of a better word, corrupted."

Damn it, was there to be no end to this madness? "You mean a computer virus of some sort…or perhaps some left over Nanites, that didn't want to leave the ship and are now wreaking havoc?"

"Unknown at this time, sir. But our course has been laid in, and I am unable to alter it sir."

"Cut impulse power then."

"We are unable to alter course or speed, Captain. We are proceeding at full impulse power toward the Alteiri System on the edge of the Far Rim, Captain."

"What is our estimated time of arrival in that system?"

"Sixty-two hours, 33 minutes, Captain."

"Data, please wake up Mr. LaForge. I need both of you to work on bringing navigation back under our control. And get me a report on the Alteiri System."

"Aye sir," was the reply.

"I will be on the Bridge shortly. Picard out." He looked around to find that Beverly had exited the living room while he was speaking to Data. A moment after he realized she was gone, she emerged from her bedroom holding a red and black uniform. She was now wearing a bathrobe over her sleepwear.

"Here, I replicated you a new uniform. You can wash up and change in the bathroom. You've been wearing the same thing for hours now. If you must be awake, at least make yourself more comfortable. The latest dilemma can wait a few more minutes, Captain."

He took the uniform from her. "Thank you, it's very thoughtful of you." He paused. "But how did you know my size?"

"Captain, I am your physician," she said in a completely serious tone. "And as such, I am completely familiar with your physical dimensions."

His mouth dropped open slightly. "My dimensions?" He felt his face getting hot and was thankful for the low light in the room.

"Yes. Clinically… of course." She sounded innocent enough, but the corner of her mouth twitched as though she were about to break into laughter.

Suddenly there was the sound of raised voices in the hallway outside the door and they both turned. "I know he's in there. Look, I just need to see him for a few minutes. It's urgent," said a familiar voice.

Picard and Crusher looked at each other in puzzled alarm. He walked over to the door. "Guinan?" he called out.

"Yes, Captain, it's me."

The thought occurred to him that it could be actually be Claudia at Beverly's door posing as Guinan, but he took a chance, going with his gut, and hoped he would not regret it. As the doors swished open, he was further alarmed by the bartender's appearance. She was disheveled and much less composed than he was used to.

"Captain," she said, sounding relieved to see him. "Doctor," she nodded at Beverly, who stared at her with wide eyes.

Picard's expression was not much different. "How the hell did you…"

"How did I know you were here?" He nodded. "Maybe I should explain later," she said. "Right now all you need to know is that Claudia and Worf are in Ten Forward. The Orion is there as well, although he's been severely injured. And we're going to need to remodel Ten Forward...although that can probably wait."

The Captain tapped his communicator. "Picard to Worf." There was no answer. He walked to a computer terminal next to the replicator, and put his palm on it. "Attention, this is Captain Picard. Send three heavily armed security teams to Ten Forward immediately. Bring emergency medical supplies."

Beverly moved to his side and put his hand on her arm. "Jean-Luc, what are you planning? If you're going to Ten Forward, I should be going with you."

He looked at her. "Why, so we are both at risk of being killed?"

"Yes."

Worf fired at the creature from behind a table as it seemed to continue to regain its strength. The phaser blast hit the creature, and it shimmered red for a moment before the beam absorbed into its scaly armor. His security officers had spread out around the room. He'd only brought three with him, in order to obey the Captain's orders.

Behind a nearby chair he heard the Orion begin to groan. Worf cursed under his breath. He should have used a heavier stun setting. The pirate was now dragging himself over to Worf's hiding place.

"Why do you hide from that beast? I have never known a Klingon warrior to hide before," accused Captain Bardi, using a chair to pull himself to a sitting position next to Worf. He kept his one eye fixed steadily on the lizard as it began to unfurl its limbs and claw itself to its feet. It turned to face them now with a missing eye. "Perhaps you are not a warrior," Bardi taunted.

"Perhaps if you had been better at hiding, you would not have lost your arm," growled Worf.

Bardi growled back at him. "Shut up and give me a weapon," he demanded. Worf growled again, but handed him phaser. They watched as the creature seemed to shrink and change form before their eyes. Four legs were reduced to two, and the green hue and scaly texture of its skin changed to appear softer.

Suddenly Bardi began to shout in his native language. The creature had changed into what appeared to be a crouching Orion. The Orion's naked back was covered in elaborate tattoos. Worf stared at the newly formed Orion. He had seen those tattoos before…on the Eve. On one of the dead Orions.

"Vikram!" screamed Captain Bardi. It was his first officer. Nearly seven feet tall in life, Vikram, now missing his head, was somewhat shorter. The very real image of his dead comrade turned to face them. The hulking Orion stalked toward them slowly but steadily.

"That is not Vickram," clarified Worf, as he began to fire on it. "That is Claudia trying to confuse and frighten you." The phaser fire shot straight through the approaching Orion, creating a hole that began to close almost immediately. The Orion continued to stalk toward them, as all of the security officers opened fire.

"Claudia! Stop!" Allen Harrow had entered Ten Forward and was rushing toward the center of the room.

Slowly the headless Orion turned its body to face him.

"Claudia, it's me you want. Just tell me what to do and leave them alone."

The headless figure changed direction and walked toward him slowly. Harrow stepped closer. "Claudia, it's me, Allen. Are you in there somewhere?"

The headless Orion began to shake with rage. Worf saw Harrow's eyes widen in alarm, just before the large green figure picked Allen up in his arms and tossed him halfway across the room. The man landed with a thud against the wall and slid to the floor unconscious.