Chapter 36

As soon as he had learned that Seth might be captured and on board the Reman ship, Wesley began to work on a plan. With his mother in sickbay and his father up on the bridge, he knew he had to act soon. The Remans had dropped their shields...why? It didn't matter...he had a short window of opportunity. Tossing one more transponder into his small pack, he ran out the door of his family's quarters.

Worf tossed a disruptor pistol to Krala, and she tucked it inside her protective vest. She rested her wide elbow on the handle of a short curved sword attached to her waist. "I need to re-sharpen my blade," she growled.

Word growled back. "The problem is not whether we are well armed, my wife. The problem is how to get off of this ship."

"As I have said before, we must steal one of their craft."

"I refuse to bring any further dishonor upon us. Not before we have exacted our revenge."

"Your sense of honor will leave us perpetually waiting, Worf. I must avenge my family name!"

"The Remans will pay for the deaths of our fellow citizens. This I promise you." Worf grabbed another disruptor and marched to the door. "I am going to confront Picard about this. He will understand."

Her eyes shot open, reinforcing that she was still alive. And honestly, she felt ambivalent about that fact. She hadn't fallen to her death down an immense waterfall. She turned her head and found it was resting on something soft but firm. She craned her neck back to find T'Sara looking down at her.

"What happened?" She felt lightheaded and decided to stay put, for now, noting that things could be much worse than to be resting in T'Sara's lap.

Apparently, the counselor had a different opinion, because she quickly but gently released the back of Tasha's head, lowering it to the floor. "You fainted. You are in my quarters."

Yar closed her eyes with a smile. "I finally made it here..."

"You continue to say things for my amusement, despite the fact that I continue to be unamused."

Yar opened her eyes and sat up slowly, rubbing her forehead. "How did I get in here?"

T'Sara remained calmly seated in a cross-legged position. "I carried you."

Yar leaned away from T'Sara, still looking at her. "You did?"

"Yes. Vulcans possess greater physical strength than humans." She folded her hands in her lap, continuing to sit with perfect posture on the floor. "And you weighed less than I had surmised," she added.

Yar smiled slightly and scratched her temple. "You've been guessing at my weight...now that's just weird. And maybe a little sexy."

"Are you going to explain your increasingly irrational conduct, or continue to make jokes? Just minutes ago, I asked you a question about Captain Picard and you fainted."

Yar shook her head. "I passed out."

"There is no difference, but words. You do not wish to appear weak, that much is clear..."

Yar got to her feet and then reached down, offering her hand.

T'Sara looked up at Yar somewhat suspiciously before grasping her hand and getting to her feet.

"You didn't need to take my hand, but you did," Yar remarked. "Why?"

T'Sara's eyes flashed, but she said nothing for a moment. When she spoke again, it was very deliberate. "I use logic, not emotions as my guide."

"That doesn't explain why you took my hand, or why you're still holding it," Tasha said, closing the distance between them.

T'Sara pulled her hand free and took a step backward. "Perhaps if I had your assurance that you would remain on board the Enterprise, I would answer your question."

Yar took her own step backward. "Well, I guess we'll just never know because I'm not staying here," she said resolutely. "I'm leaving."

"Again, you allow a setback in your emotional relationship with Captain Picard to drive you away from your career and the people who care for you. That is irrational, Tasha."

"No one on this ship gives a damn about me," Yar suddenly shouted. T'Sara blinked but stood firmly in place.

Yar put her palms up to her cover her eyes for a moment and then turned around to walk away. When she had composed herself she turned back around. "You think I'm acting irrationally, T'Sara...well I'm not. For the first time, in fact, I am using my head to figure out my next steps."

"Tell me why you believe that you would be a detriment to the away team mission."

Yar bit her lip and glanced over at the dented metal box she had brought to T'Sara for safekeeping. Her expression grew hard. "When you give Captain Picard that box, you can ask him that question. Ask him to tell you who I really am. He knows the answer to that question much better than I do right now."

"You are confused. You need assistance."

"I need distance. That's all. And so do you...all of you will be safer and a hell of a lot happier once I am gone."

"You propose to know what is best for me and the rest of this crew even as you admit you cannot even speak frankly about your own needs?"

Yar gritted her teeth in frustration. She wasn't even close to being good at speeches. "Of all the people on board this ship, you deserve to know the truth, T'Sara. Just in the slim chance that we ever meet again. But I'm not capable of telling you any of that right now. Anyway, I know I haven't always been the best person to be around...but thank you for at least challenging me to be better."

T'Sara watched as Yar walked quickly to the door. "I wish you peace, Tasha Yar," T'Sara called after her.

Tasha turned back briefly but found she could not speak as the doors shut between them.

Beverly burst out of the turbo lift, and immediately found some difficulty adjusting her eyesight to the dimly lit conditions on the bridge, which was bathed in the light of a red alert. Data was seated calmly in the command center, with Will Riker seated next to him. On Data's left sat Jack, who was mumbling something to himself while staring at the view screen. Beverly's eyes scanned the bridge. Where was Jean-Luc?

"We're within transporter range, Captain," reported Ashley Howell from the tactical station. Recently promoted to acting Chief of Security, she seemed less like an anxious young girl, although the anxiety was still present and with good reason. "Remans have dropped their shields."

"Careful, Data," warned Riker. "It's got to be a trap."

"Use Seth's stored transporter profile to scan for him on the Reman ship," Data ordered.

"Aye, sir. Scanning...Sir! The Reman ship is firing!"

"Shields are holding."

"Nothing on Seth either," Riker looked down at his personal view screen. The sensors hadn't shown a trace of the little boy. "Where are you kid?" he murmured.

"I can't figure out what's going on with the Eureka," Walker Keel shouted as the deck shook from a heavy blast. He had been at a science station, staring into a monitor, and watching the mass exodus of small craft leaving the Eureka. "I can't detect any lifeforms left on that ship, but-" His head suddenly swiveled to look at Data. "I'm reading a massive power surge in the Eureka's propulsion area."

"Where is he? Where the hell is Captain Picard?" Beverly approached Jack, beginning to suspect the worst. Had Jean-Luc gone on one of his Q trips off-ship again? Had he gone to rescue Seth?

Data looked up at her, and she could have sworn he exuded genuine irritation. If she hadn't been so irritated herself, she might have paused, had Data not interrupted her anyway. "Doctor, Captain Picard is in conference room one. He has refused to come out."

"So let's go in and get him."

Riker shook his head distractedly. "He's locked himself in again."

Beverly turned to her ex-husband. "Again? Jack? Is this true, what the hell is going on?"

Jack waved his hand. "How the hell should I know? He put a Q spell on the door or something."
Beverly marched over and grabbed Jack by the arm, yanking him up out of his seat. "Come on...you're his best friend, and you are going to help me talk some sense into him!"

Sweat rolled down over his forehead and onto the carpet. Eyes closed, he was on his hands and knees as though poised to throw himself through the floor below. The power wouldn't let him teleport to the Reman ship to save Seth, and for the first time in his career, he had no clever conventional tactic at hand to defeat his opponent. But he found that if he concentrated, he could follow Seth and use the power to shield him in a cloak of darkness, allowing the boy to move with freedom on board the enemy ship. But his hold on the power was too weak now, and he struggled to wield it. He knew that his ability to protect Seth this way was slipping from his grasp. Fighting against the sensors of his own ship which were constantly searching for Seth, was wearing on him. He felt helpless and betrayed. All he could do now, it seemed, was beg and plead.

Why won't you help me? You have abandoned me now when I need you most!

That is untrue, Jean-Luc. We have not abandoned you. But there are certain rules of the planet you currently orbit that must be adhered to. Your use of the power is ebbing. Once you enter the planet's atmosphere, it will be virtually gone.

That's not all...you're not telling me everything. I've come so far, and I don't intend to lose my son.

If you insist on pursuing your aggressive plan to re-capture Seth, you risk losing him, Jean-Luc.

He gasped in a breath, realizing that he had been holding it in for what seemed like hours. Shutting his eyes even tighter he could still see Seth clearly. The boy was still moving stealthily through the dark halls of the Reman ship. But he didn't even have the ability to teleport over, or to snatch the boy away from the enemy. Slowly Jean-Luc lowered his forehead to the deck and let out a sobbing cry. "Please...just let me help him."

We will not permit you to destroy the Remans as you clearly intend to do.

They are trying to capture my son, what would you have me do?

Allow Seth to be captured. Allow the transfer to occur.

I can't just allow the virus to jump into the Reman commander. That's exactly what they want to happen.

We know you would not want the virus to continue to inhabit Seth's body.

Of course not! But once I have him back, I can remove it somehow...

It is too late for such measures. The prophecy is well underway, Jean-Luc.

Yar's prophecy.

Yes.

If the Remans connect with the virus, we are doomed. I've seen the future now, and you can't convince me otherwise.

You have seen one version of the future. You are wise enough to know that there are still many possibilities. The end of this journey must take place on the planet below. Our home.

A few minutes earlier...

Tasha began to pick up momentum. She'd get down to one of the smaller shuttle bays and steal a runabout. There was no reason to sugar-coat it. She was stealing a ship, and eventually, she would have to answer that. But first, she would fly as far away from the Enterprise and this star system as she could before abandoning the shuttle somewhere where it could be discovered by authorities. By then she would be long gone, adjusting her identity as needed. She could locate some old contacts and get the necessary credentials to obtain a reliable ship, and then disappear.

The corridors were bustling with activity: personnel moving to battle stations, or civilians running to seek shelter in their quarters. Gradually as the people streamed past her, the crowds dispersed and she found herself alone in the corridor save for one person. Guinan walked placidly toward Yar, her hands stuffed inside of her over-sized sleeves. Yar halted, waiting for the woman to speak.

Guinan eyed Tasha's duffel bag. "I don't know if you remember, but you and I were talking a few nights ago..."

"Yeah..." Yar shook her head distractedly and attempted to push past the bartender. Guinan's quick hand landed softly on Yar's shoulder, calmly but firmly preventing her forward motion. Yar didn't question why such a light touch could have the effect of a solid wall. She had seen enough of Guinan to know that this person was different.

"You said you wanted answers, Tasha...if you run away now-"

Tasha laughed. "Run away?"

"If you run away now, you might not get those answers," Guinan continued smoothly.

Yar smiled coldly. "Since we last talked I got some answers alright. And right now I don't want any more. Okay? So please stand aside."

Guinan dropped her hand. "Fine. As long as you remember that you have the power to shape your own destiny. If you want to give up that power, that's your choice."

Yar held Guinan's gaze a few more moments before bowing her head and resuming her walk down the corridor.

She was determined now to carry through with her plans. Everyone had advice for her, but they didn't understand the pressure she was under now. They didn't understand the whispers in her head, of a voice that sounded like her own, urging her to travel to the planet below to carry out a so-called prophecy that was not hers. Or was it hers? She couldn't trust herself anymore to wait and see.

Presently, to her irritation, she saw three familiar figures at the junction up ahead. Her insides flipped over. It was the Klingon couple and Wesley Crusher engaged in a heated argument about something. Krala was pointing in Wesley's face and spouting off some nonsense, while as usual, Worf seemed to be trying unsuccessfully to calm her down. Tasha's instinct to go to Wesley's rescue was strong, but before she could act, some kind of transporter beam swirled next to her and she was staring into the faces of two large Remans. Her phaser was in her bag, and there was no time to grab for it, and so instead she spun and swung her bag into the face of the closest enemy, kicking backward into the other Reman. There was a thud on the back of neck and she saw through a red haze that the swirling transporter beam was now all around her.