Chapter 25
After the unsettling doctor Petral had left the room, Reth looked down at Picard. "You do not intend to arrest her then?" He nodded toward Hatha with disdain.
Outraged, Picard pointed up at Reth. "This young woman has just suffered an immense tragedy. What actual evidence do you have to support your preposterous claim that she killed her own father?"
Reth sneered. "I will conduct my own investigation."
Del moved to put his arm around Hatha, gently helping the girl to her feet. "I will be your guardian, my dear. At least for now. I already have twenty-two children—what is one more? If you agree?"
Hatha looked at Wesley, who tried to give her an encouraging smile. Slowly she let go of Wesley's hand and stood up with Del.
"Thank you," she said, turning back to Wesley. "For trying to help me. And you too, Doctor," she said turning to smile at Beverly. "For coming to my rescue."
Hatha turned her sharp gaze to Reth, who was watching her with a strange smile.
Riker watched as Yar crawled backwards out of a Jeffries tube. She nodded at Will and Data when she turned around to face them. "Sirs..."
"Well?" Riker asked tiredly. "Anything?"
She shook her head solemnly and handed him her tricorder. "I'm sorry...nothing yet. It's been hours since we started looking for him."
He noted she had the same blank look in her eyes that he knew was in his. She was tired, but still focused on finding LaForge.
"Come on," Riker said, glancing at Data. "We're not finished yet."
A few hours later...
"Going to bed early, Reth? I would have thought you'd be a little more upset about the death of Premier Fon."
Riker and Yar stood on either side of the door to his guest quarters.
"How long have you been waiting for me?" Reth asked, more curious than suspicious.
Riker grinned but what fueled it was not delight, but a slow simmering anger. "Not long…you see we've been busy all day long looking for our friend. And he's still missing. So we didn't mind waiting a few more minutes for you to arrive if that means we'll get some answers."
"We'll wait as long as it takes," Yar added darkly.
"What makes you two suspect that I have the answers you seek?"
"Where's your sidekick?" Riker asked easily, as Reth stopped in front of them.
The big man's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Where is your hunting companion?" Yar questioned. "You know, that giant bug you love so much."
"If you must know, she is…deceased."
"Really? When did that happen?"
"Last night."
"No, I mean exactly what time last night, Reth?"
"I cannot say for certain."
"What did you do with its body?" Yar demanded.
"Her body is still in my quarters. I have not yet disposed of it."
Riker glanced at Yar tensely. "We need to enter your quarters…now," he demanded.
To his surprise, Reth smiled. "Of course," he said, standing aside. Yar punched in a security code, and they stepped inside cautiously. Reth walked past them casually and pointed at a table in the center of the room. There on the tabletop was the motionless black shell of the giant beetle, legs curled inward.
"So tragic." Reth turned back to them with a genuine note of sadness. "They live such short lives…."
Dr. Petral was closing his case of belongings when Reth entered the room. The scientist didn't bother to turn around, though he knew the much larger man loomed over him. He had no reason to be concerned for his own safety, and certainly he was not.
Reth was accustomed to this kind of treatment and wasn't easily bothered. "Leaving so soon, Doctor? I thought Captain Picard had you trapped here with the rest of us with his ridiculous security protocols."
Petral turned and walked past Fon's former Chief of Arms, again hardly acknowledging his presence. "Picard was wise to try and do so, but he lacks the authority to keep any of us here, and he knows it. His tactics worked only to stall our departure."
"We're leaving then?"
"I am leaving. Picard's superiors have ordered him to allow me to return to our ship. He interrogated me personally, which of course was fruitless. There is absolutely no evidence to connect any of us to the death of our dear leader. The concession from our government was that Del will remain on board to continue the negotiations with the Federation. Of course, the politicians on Ciapathia are only minimally distraught at Fon's death. Del is stupider than Fon was, and easily confused, which means he can be manipulated."
"But Fon knew about the Ascenscion, and Del does not. He's of no use to our plans."
"My plan is to save the Ciapathian people, Reth. Del serves the purpose of causing a distraction. I have no desire to see the negotiations successful, and do not worry, they won't be. Before you know it, we will be at war with the Federation."
"They have formidable technologies, Petral. Are you still certain this is the best course of action?"
"We are at the very least just as formidable, and superior to the humans in every way. This is the only way to ensure the survival of our race."
"I want to leave the Enterprise with you, Mithra deserves a proper burial," said Reth. "The Starfleet officers ran their scans over her body. Of course they found nothing of use to them..."
Petral lifted his gaze finally, his ruby red visor glinting. "Good. But if you think I mourn for your giant insect, you are mistaken. Besides, Mithra died for a good cause... I think we can both agree to that."
Reth grunted. "Yes."
"Don't despair, Reth. I will take your beloved beetle back to the ship with me and have her properly disposed of."
"Am I not to return with you?"
"No, you most certainly are not. You are to stay on this ship and finish what you started. Oh...and I expect regular reports from you about Doctor Beverly Crusher. Just to keep me inspired in my work."
Picard wasn't certain why he stopped by her quarters that evening, but something visceral compelled him to do so. Still he hesitated and then paced outside her door for several minutes, the day's events and Riker's most recent report were all careening around his consciousness. LaForge was still missing. And now, the chances of him coming back at the very least uninjured were distressingly slim. Now that the shock of LaForge's disappearance was wearing off, the crew was beginning to show their anger and outrage. How someone among them could have been harmed so violently right under their noses, and had now disappeared…well, it was unthinkable.
He realized then why he had come. Doctor Petral's last words to him…to Beverly. It had shaken him somehow, and he didn't understand why. All he knew was that he did not trust Petral. In fact, he suspected that Petral was responsible for Fon's death. But so far, he had no proof. And now Petral was leaving the Enterprise, making the possibility that any link would be discovered very unlikely.
"Hi…."
His head snapped up, and he had been so focused on his thoughts that he hadn't realized he was staring down at his boots. He hadn't heard the door swish open and now Beverly stood before him.
"Oh," he said with an edgy laugh. "I'm sorry, I was…I was just thinking."
"Does standing outside my quarters inspire you to think?"
Yes. "No, I just stopped by to—"
"Jean-Luc…I know why you're here," she said quietly. "It's alright. Wesley and I just finished dinner, so please come in."
"Are you quite sure?"
She laughed. "Yes, I am quite sure," she said waving him inside. She stood aside. "Come in."
He walked in, and for a moment just stood there.
"Can I get you anything? How about some tea?"
"Some tea would be wonderful," he admitted, suddenly realizing that he had not eaten all day. But in truth he wasn't hungry. He sat down and watched her walk to the replicator. When she turned around, he averted his gaze so as not to appear that he was staring. If she noticed that he had been watching her, she didn't seem to mind.
"Where's Wesley?" he asked as she handed him the cup. "Thank you."
She sighed. "He's upset about what happened this afternoon. I tried talking with him, but since it's about a girl he likes…basically he's not talking." She shrugged. "Maybe you'd like to try," she said with a smile.
He froze under her gaze, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with that prospect. Of course he recalled telling the boy not to get involved with Fon's daughter. But had he listened? Of course not. Well, eventually the boy would need to learn his lessons about relationships, and to avoid them wherever possible.
She reached out to tap him on the knee, and he came out of his fog. "Jean-Luc, I was just kidding." Sort of.
"You said you knew why I came to see you." He took a deep breath. "There was something about what Petral-"
"Please don't even say his name right now," she said quickly. "He makes my skin crawl."
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I just want you to know that he's leaving the Enterprise, and won't bother you any further."
"Why? What happened?"
"Starfleet Command intervened. Since he wasn't integral to the negotiations in the first place, and I couldn't present any evidence to tie him to Fon's death or Geordi's disappearance, they ordered me to release him."
She shook her head as if it didn't matter, and took a sip from her mug. She put it down with a click. "Well at least he's gone," she said quietly. She looked up at him. "I'm glad you're here, Jean-Luc. After everything that happened this morning and then spending all day searching for poor Geordi…." She looked at the wall and then back into his eyes. "I'm just happy to see you."
He chuckled. "And I spared you the matching bathrobe this time."
"If it helps you to relax you can wear mine," she laughed.
"Oh, I don't think that would be appropriate," he tried to say seriously, but ended up laughing instead. He reached out his hand to pick up his cup of tea, when she took his hand in hers, linking their fingers together. Finding her gaze again, they both grew very serious once more.
She finally let his hand go, and grabbed her cup of tea again. "I tested the poison and the most I could confirm was that it is organic. I don't know the source, and frankly the non-invasive autopsy scan showed nothing but the fact that Fon struggled with someone just before he was poisoned."
"Riker suspected Reth's involvement, but a scan of his quarters and his deceased hunting companion found nothing of value," he said.
"Meanwhile...where's Geordi?"
Picard's communicator chirped and he tapped it quickly. "Go ahead."
"Captain, Riker here...we've found something you should see."
Picard got to his feet. "What is it?"
"It's another small spatter of blood found in a corridor adjacent to the crime scene. It's been there roughly the same amount of time as the blood we identified as Geordi's, but the most we can tell at this point is that it's probably human- but not his. We were going to ask Doctor Crusher to run her tests-"
"We're together-in her quarters." Picard interrupted Riker tensely. He took a deep breath and looked at Beverly, who had a bemused smile on her face. "Doctor Crusher is with me," Picard repeated, his composure returning.
Riker didn't miss a beat. "Of course, Captain. We're on deck three."
"On our way."