Big Doors
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. This is an AU story.
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Burdens of Command
"Will, we need to talk. Now."
"Since when are you the senior officer?" he asked testily.
"Oh, screw ranks for a minute. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I don't -"
"And don't give me that. You know damned well what I'm talking about. You've been acting funny ever since Pressman came on board, and now this business with the mutiny -"
"How do you know about that?"
"I'm in charge of Security, Will. Do you really think the Captain wouldn't share something like this with me?"
"Look, I can't tell you, okay?"
"Why not?"
"Orders."
Tasha sighed and took a breath. "Will, do you remember the incident we had with those little robots? The ones Data was sure were sentient?"
"Now that you mention it, I do. But what does that have to do with this?"
"I deliberately disobeyed your orders."
"I remember that."
"And later, when I apologized, you told me it's better to be insubordinate for the right reasons than loyal for the wrong ones. Whatever Pressman's up to, whatever he was covering up all those years ago, you know it's wrong or you wouldn't be so torn up over it. What is it, Will?"
He wavered a little. "Tasha, if I tell you, I'll be putting you in the same position I'm in. You'll be trapped between orders and what your mind tells you. If, knowing that, you still want me to tell you -"
"I do."
"The Pegasus was testing an experimental prototype for a Federation interphasic cloaking device."
"What?"
"Yeah, you heard right. The crew mutinied to try and shut it down, and if I hadn't been so naive I'd have joined them. He's going to go continue this cover-up, maybe even try to keep working on the device, in which case the Enterprise could go the same way as the Pegasus."
"My God."
"Yeah."
"Will, what are we going to do?"
"I suppose I was hoping you could tell me.
"Me?"
"Tactical's your area of expertise, Tasha, not mine. You're the one trained to solve these kinds of problems. Besides, I think Pressman likes you."
"What?"
"He sees in you what I used to be - an officer with total loyalty."
"He doesn't know me very well."
"No." Will smiled. "That's just your surface image. But if he thinks you're on his side, if he thinks he can trust you -"
"He might let something slip. You're right. Right now, it's your word against Pressman's. I happen to believe you, and I think the Captain would too, but we have no evidence, and that's what we need if we're going to take action."
"Action?"
"I think it's time we staged a mutiny of our own."
"You're not serious?"
"Dead serious, Will. Although this will probably be the only mutiny in history where the Captain is on the side of the mutineers."
Will nodded. "Okay, first thing we need is a couple more conspirators. I don't want to mix the Captain up in this right away. Not until we've got a firmer support base.
"Agreed. It's Tuesday."
Will looked put off for a moment before he realized what she was saying. "Poker night."
"In other words, you, me, Worf, Beverly, Data, Geordi, and Deanna all in the same place, and it's not suspicious at all."
Will grinned. "Great. Anyone else we should fill in right off the bat?"
"I'll talk to Jenna D'Sora tomorrow - she's pretty much my unofficial my third-in-command in Security. She and Worf can decide who in Security needs to know what. If Beverly or Geordi want to tell members of their staff, that's fine, but for the most part information will be passed out on a need-to-know basis, preferably without telling more people than absolutely necessary. I'd like people to be prepared, but I don't necessarily want them to know that we're planning a massive rule violation. If nothing else, that way they can honestly say they didn't know what they were participating in."
"Understood."
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Amidst good-natured groans by those who had decided to call Data's bluff only to find he wasn't bluffing at all, the group gathered the cards up and passed them to Tasha, whose turn it was to deal. She moved to shuffle, but then Will caught her eye and gave her a meaningful look. She nodded in understanding and set the deck down.
"That's not the traditional shuffling method," Geordi said, laughing.
"Yeah, I know. But there's something I - actually, Will and I - need to discuss with you guys."
"What's this about?" Deanna hardly needed her empathic abilities to tell it was bad. The tension could have been cut with a knife. The laughter stopped instantly.
"Before I start," Will prefaced, "I should warn all of you that what I'm about to say is classified, and I'm not supposed to be sharing it. By listening to this, you will become involved against the wishes of Starfleet. If you don't want to be a part of this, this is your chance to leave."
He waited a long moment. No one moved.
"Okay, you've warned us," Geordi said finally. "Now get on with it."
"It's about Pressman." Will quickly filled the group in on what he'd told Tasha earlier that day, to a chorus of dropped jaws. Even Data looked taken aback.
"Who else knows?" Beverly asked.
"No one, except whoever Pressman's got in his pocket among the higher-ups."
"You haven't told the Captain?" Geordi asked incredulously.
"Not yet."
"What are you planning?" Worf asked.
"At the moment, not much," Tasha admitted. "We know we need to take this ship back from Pressman, but as to how, that's open to debate."
"I think it's time we let the Captain in on this little revolt," Beverly said firmly. "It isn't fair to him or us to keep this going on behind his back."
"All right, I'll talk to him," Will agreed. "I got us into this mess."
"I'll go with you," Tasha insisted. "This conspiracy was my idea. Computer, locate Captain Picard."
"Captain Picard is in his ready room."
"Location of Admiral Pressman."
"Admiral Pressman is in his quarters."
Tasha and Will exchanged a glance and nodded. "We'll go. The rest of you sit tight."
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Tasha stepped into the turbolift, taking note of Will Riker already standing in it. No words were spoken between them; none were needed. They both knew where they were, where the ship was. They knew this was it.
The last few days had been spent making plans as well as they could be made. The Captain had jumped on board as soon as he'd been told what Pressman was up to, and Jenna D'Sora hadn't even waited for Tasha to finish telling her before asking to be counted in. The Lieutenant had proved most helpful, making some discreet inquiries - in this case, her lack of an official leadership position had proved useful - and coming up with a list of eighteen security officers who could be trusted absolutely. From there, Tasha had organized the officers, telling them everything they needed to know but not adding extraneous detail, informing them that there was a threat but not telling them what that threat was or who was trying to bring it aboard. They were already in place. Tasha herself had spent the past few days trying to slip under Pressman's guard, and while he hadn't let slip the hoped-for morsels, he certainly didn't suspect involvement from her.
"You ready?" she whispered.
"As ready as I'll ever be," he whispered back. They gripped hands briefly, then stepped apart. By the time they arrived on the bridge, they were completely nonchalant, unruffled. At least outwardly.
They responded to the situation at first like good, obedient officers, waiting for precisely the right moment. At one point, when the Admiral's back was turned, she tapped a text message out on her comm panel, nodding in satisfaction when a message was sent in return.
The Admiral announced his intention to go over to the other ship with Will, insisting over Picard's objections that only the two of them go down there. They strode into the turbolift. The second they were gone, the bridge became a flurry of activity.
"They are progressing towards Transporter Room One," Data reported.
"Yar to Lieutenant D'Sora. Begin operation, Transporter Room One. I'll meet you there."
"Acknowledged."
"I'm going with you." Picard stood hurriedly. "You have the bridge, Mr. Data." The two of them stepped into the lift.
"Natasha," Picard began slowly, "I can take this from here."
"Captain?"
"You've been an invaluable help these past few days, but I can't ask you to risk your career over this. I can arrest the Admiral without your help. I'll order your security team to help so they have a reason."
"What about your career?"
"Natasha, I have friends in high places. People who would be willing to listen to my side of the story. You don't, and I can't guarantee that my protection would extend to you."
"I don't need it, Captain. I don't have time to explain, but I know with absolute certainty that at least one admiral will listen to what I have to say."
"Natasha -"
"Trust me. I'll explain later."
They stepped out of the turbolift and hurried towards the transporter room.
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"Starfleet is hailing," Tasha reported quietly. They all knew what kind of trouble they were in.
They had sent Starfleet a report as soon as they'd had Pressman locked down safely, leaving out nothing. After a long, drawn-out debate amongst the main conspirators, it had been agreed that a group of three would be the first to speak to Starfleet - Picard as the ranking officer involved, Riker because of his involvement in the original incident and because in all likelihood the focus would end up on him anyway, and Tasha as the original mastermind of the operation. What happened with that trio would determine whether the rest of the crew would be brought up on charges.
"On screen."
"Captain Picard." The stern face of Admiral Blackwell came into view. "We've recieved your report."
"Yes, Admiral."
"I'd like you and your, ah, core compliment to beam over immediately."
"Yes, Admiral." He didn't bother to call Tasha or Will - they were already standing next to the turbolift.
Picard was separated from the other two, much as they had expected. What Tasha hadn't expected was exactly who was conducting their investigation.
"Commander Riker, I presume?" If the older man had noticed his companion, he didn't say anything.
"Yes, sir. And this is our Chief of Security, Lieutenant Commander Tasha Yar."
He started slightly, telling Tasha as clearly as if he'd spoken aloud that he hadn't seen her, but he gave no other indication that he'd ever met her.
"All right, let's start from the beginning. Your Captain's report says that you two were the original instigators of this incident, at least you were the ones to inform him. Is that so?"
"Yes, sir," Will answered.
"It was more me than him, Admiral," Tasha interjected hurriedly. "He was a major participant, but this whole thing was my idea."
For the first time, he got a look in his eye that hinted at the fact that he did, after all, know her. "Very well, then you tell me what happened."
"Well, it really starts with Pressman coming aboard..." Tasha told him how the Admiral had conducted himself with extreme secrecy from the first, Will chiming in occasionally to fill in the pieces Tasha hadn't been privy to. She told him how she'd badgered Will to tell her the Admiral's secret, and how he'd finally given in.
"Just a moment," Paris broke in, "but what exactly was this secret?"
Tasha and Picard had agreed not to make any mention of the cloaking device on their subspace report in case the Romulans - or anyone else - were eavesdropping on the line. They had referred only to a threat the Admiral sought to bring aboard. Now the two glanced at each other, silently trying to work out who would tell. Finally, Will spoke up.
"A prototype interphasic cloaking device."
"Please tell me you're joking."
"Believe me, I wish I were."
"And that's why you arrested Pressman."
"Yes, sir."
Paris sat silent for a few long moments. "I'd like to believe you, really. But you have to realize how far-fetched this sounds."
"We do have proof, Admiral," Tasha said softly.
"What sort of proof? According to your report, the Pegasus was destroyed and nothing was removed from the ship and brought aboard the Enterprise.
"Uh, not exactly, sir." Tasha indicated the report. "Read it again."
"Several people beamed back and forth between the ships, however no items were transferred aboard the Enterprise. The Enterprise then fired a full spread of photon torpedoes. The Pegasus appeared completely destroyed." He looked up. "So?"
"Appeared destroyed, sir. Not was destroyed. Appeared destroyed."
Paris sighed and shook his head, though Tasha swore she saw a glimmer of a smile. "All right, why don't you tell me what you've got up your sleeve now?"
"Well, Admiral, we were there, beside the asteroid the ship was buried in. We knew the Romulans were coming, and we couldn't let them get their hands on this technology."
The senior staff assembled in the observation lounge all looked at each other nervously. No one knew what to say.
"We should destroy it," Worf said firmly.
"Normally I'd agree," Tasha said softly. "But that's all the evidence we have."
"Evidence?" Picard frowned.
"Evidence of why we did what we did, and evidence of what happened to the people on that ship. They deserve to have the world know how they died."
"What exactly do you recommend?" Picard frowned. "We can't leave it here for the Romulans to find."
"I have a thought, but it's a little out there."
"Let's hear it." Will was eager for a third option.
"Well, how did it get lost in the first place?"
"It cloaked," Will replied automatically. "At the same time, something exploded. It was presumed destroyed."
"Will, do you think that with the help of an Engineering team you could get the cloak operational again?"
"Probably. What are you getting at?"
"Remember that war drill we had in the Braslota System?"
"It seems like a lifetime ago," Will sighed. "Yeah, I remember."
"Here's what I propose. We tie the Pegasus' helm into the Enterprise so we can operate it remotely, and we hook the cloak up to a remote control system too. Once we're set, we fire a spread at the Pegasus. Using the same sort of timing we did in the war drill, we cloak the ship. The asteroid will shatter, and it'll look like the Pegasus was destroyed. Then we steer it along with us until we're out of this immediate area. After that - Will, is there a way to modify the device to bring the ship back into normal space without dropping the cloak?"
"I think so," Will replied, starting to get excited.
"Then before we go to warp, we phase the Pegasus back into normal space, lock on a tractor beam -"
"And tow her back to Earth," Picard finished. "Can it be done?"
"I think Data will need to operate the cloak's controls, with timing this precise. But if we do that, then I'd say yes sir."
"Then let's make it so."
"So where is she now?" Paris asked.
"Right under the Enterprise's saucer section," Tasha replied with just a hint of smugness. "It worked exactly like we planned."
"If you can show that to us, I think that would be sufficient to get the charges dropped against Picard, yourselves, and your crew, and to bring significant charges against Pressman."
"If you go aboard the Enterprise, Data can decloak it for you. We left all the codes with him so no one else can get them. I don't even know them."
"Thank you, Commander. And I must say, it was a bit of ingenuity on your part to pull off that little stunt." There was no doubt about it, he was definitely smiling now. "Dismissed."
"Admiral, may I say something else?"
He gave her a nod. "Go ahead."
"Sir, your recent actions have shown us that you have a strong dislike, almost a hatred, of people who cover up the truth - at least I hope that's what they've shown us. I would hope that this extends to everyone, including Pressman."
"That's hitting below the belt."
"Is it?" she let the question hanging in the air for a long moment before continuing. "You always said you didn't play favorites. If that's true, it ought to work both ways." Then she left.
"What was that all about?" Will asked.
"Admiral Paris recently got a bit of attention for disowning his own son over a cover-up incident."
"You're not serious?"
"I wish I weren't. It wasn't really as bad as all that, just a mistake. The Admiral made it out to be a lot worse than it was - he was always really hard on Tom. I just pointed out that he couldn't come down that hard on Tom and then let Pressman off for a worse offense without coming off as a hypocrite."
"You were walking a fine line there, you know. He is an Admiral."
"I wasn't worried."
"How could you not be worried? You really did hit below the belt a bit there."
"Will, can I let you in on a little secret?"
"Yeah, sure"
"We're related. The Admiral and I. He was my mother's cousin."
Whatever Will had been expecting, it wasn't that. His jaw nearly hit the floor. "You're joking." He got another look at her face. "You're not joking."
"Nope."
"How long have you known?"
"A few years, actually. Found out when we were on Earth after Wolf 359. Tom and I were friends from our Academy days, and I knew his family. He dragged me up to visit them, and this older woman starts going crazy, throwing a fit about me looking like her daughter. So I asked, and he told me what happened to the woman's daughter. It was just too similar to be a coincidence. DNA testing proved it."
"You never said anything."
"It never came up, and I didn't want to go around announcing it. It might have been different if it hadn't been an Admiral's family, but I felt like to go around broadcasting that would give the impression that I was asking for special treatment. And then it just sort of - was. It wasn't new and flashy anymore, something to announce. Like I said, it never came up. It doesn't bother you, does it?"
"Bother me? I think it's great!" He grinned. "I mean, not just that it's an Admiral's family and all, but also that it's your family. I know that's what you've wanted for a long time. But are you seriously telling me no one knows?"
"Admiral Paris, his wife, Tom and his sisters, my grandmother, my old mentor and his daughter, my oldest friend."
"No one else? Data?"
"Like I said, it never came up."
"I have a hard time believing that. Listen, nothing about being related to the Admiral changes what you've managed to accomplish in your past."
"What?"
"That's what you're worried about, isn't it? That being from a Starfleet family diminishes the amazing thing you've managed to accomplish. Tasha, it can't diminish it if you didn't even know about it at the time."
"No, I - I don't know."
"I don't know for sure either. But I do know you, and that's enough to make an educated guess. And here's another educated guess for you: no one will care. To us, you'll still be the same person you were yesterday."
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The news was in within six hours. Upon discovery and inspection of the cloaking device, it had been determined that the crew of the Enterprise had acted in accordance with the laws of the Federation and in the best interest of the ship and her compliment, and if their methods were unorthodox, their result was sound. They were cleared of all charges, and on top of that, Pressman was being held pending a trial of his own. Not that anyone had really expected anything different.
Tasha's news had been a bit more of a bombshell, but once they'd gotten over their shock, they'd responded much as Will had predicted they would. Worf had actually been quite impressed, and Tasha assumed she should have anticipated that - to a Klingon, family was second in importance only to honor. It didn't cause them to treat her any differently. Everything was well once again.
Unfortunately, it couldn't stay that way.
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"Was there any actual organic matter in the wreckage?" Tasha asked firmly.
"No," Picard admitted, "but a blast of that power might not leave any."
"Or it could be a decoy."
"Yes. It could."
"In which case she could still be alive."
"Yes."
"And a prisoner of the Cardassians." Tasha tried and failed to keep a slight tremor out of her voice. "We can't just leave her there!"
"What do you suggest we do?"
This brought her up short and made the point she knew he'd been trying to make: she was thinking with her heart, not her head.
"I don't like it any more than you do. But we cannot risk igniting conflict over one ensign, however special she may have been to all of us."
"Then what can we do?"
"Hope. It's all anyone can do."
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Control yourself, Tasha thought sharply. Stop acting so silly.
Nevertheless, that wasn't easy to do when the planet was swarming with Cardassians. It was irrational, she knew, but the only Cardassian she'd ever been able to relax around for even a second was Garak.
The Enterprise was caught up in one big mess. Their simple mission - evacuate Dorvan V, a former Federation planet ceded to the Cardassians in a recent truce - had been complicated by a random factor. The current inhabitants refused to leave. And as if that hadn't been bad enough, the Cardassians had shown up prior to their scheduled time, ruining any small steps Picard might have taken towards a compromise.
Personally, Tasha sided with the colonists. Though she had a great respect and admiration for most of what happened within the Federation, there were certain actions they took which baffled her. Unilaterally handing over inhabited planets in treaties and then ordering the occupants to leave was one of them. She was reminded of an incident four years ago - had it really been only four years? - where a group had created a beautiful colony, only to be ordered off when the planet had been ceded to another race, in that case the Sheliak. At least in that case, it hadn't been deliberate; the planet, when ceded, had been thought uninhabited. But this, this knowingly ceding an inhabited colony, was, to her, detestable. But she'd sworn to uphold Federation principles, and she knew that not to do so could cause serious problems not only on her record, but for her security team on the surface. She wouldn't risk lives on a feeling, especially because, loath though she was to admit it, she wasn't sure if her feelings towards the Cardassians were coloring her perspective.
She hadn't let them see her uneasiness. Databases from the war had said that Cardassians looking for a tactical advantage would use whatever weakness they could find. She certainly didn't want to offer them an opening.
Perhaps fortunately, she had another problem to occupy her mind. This problem came in the form of Wesley Crusher. She was positive something was bothering him, but she was getting nowhere in trying to get him to tell her what it was.
"Can I talk to you?"
Speak of the devil. Maybe now he'd be more forthcoming.
"Why did you decide to go into Starfleet? When did you know you wanted to be part of that?"
She wasn't exactly sure where this was going, but she decided to answer as thoroughly as possible. "It was a couple of weeks after I was rescued. Starfleet promised me something, something that was different than anything I'd ever known. Does that answer your question?"
"Yes, I guess it does. I just keep wondering - why did I decide to go into Starfleet?"
"What?"
"Strange, right? But I can't remember when I made that decision or why. I don't even know if I really did. It was just assumed that I would, when I was little but especially after Dad - I don't remember ever deciding that this was what I wanted. And now, I'm not so sure it is what I want."
"Then what do you want?"
"That's just it. I'm not sure. It was just - I went into the lodge there. And I had a vision - I saw my father. And he said not to follow him, and suddenly it all made sense. That's all I've been doing. I've been following him just to follow him. And I've never had a chance to think about what I want."
"Then you should think. And when you're ready to talk, you know where I'll be."
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This hadn't been what she was expecting. Not in the slightest. But if it made Wesley happy, made him feel like he had a path, then who was she to object?
He hugged her. "Thanks for being here for me when I needed you."
"Always." She took a step back and smiled. "Now you take care of yourself, you understand?"
"Yes, sir," he laughed.
"And Wesley?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"For what?"
She smiled a little. "The distraction." She didn't explain; he didn't need to know. He just needed to understand her gratitude.
Sorry this one took forever, but not only was I trying to get Perfectly Logical caught up, this chapter was particularly complex because it varies so much from the original storyline.
I know the "Lower Decks" and "Journey's End" bits were somewhat crammed in, but they're really not long enough for their own chapter.
Someone expressed a wish that I not kill off Sito. I've chosen to leave that open-ended for now so I can come back and finish it however I decide to.
Someone else noted the reference to "Pegasus" in an earlier chapter. Yes, that was deliberate and a set-up for this one.
Please review.