Chapter 20

"Wes, come on and eat. I've got a staff meeting in 30 minutes."

Wesley Crusher sat in his bedroom at his desk, trying to fine-tune his latest project. But he kept coming up against a wall. If he didn't finish it soon, there would be no point to it really. "Okay, Mom, I'm coming," he called out.

Moments later he sat across from his mother at the breakfast table. He fiddled with his spoon and slid his cereal bowl back and forth absentmindedly. All he could think about was finishing his project.

"Eat," ordered his mother. "You need fuel for that diabolical brain of yours, Wesley."

Reluctantly, he turned at least part of his attention to his corn flakes.

Beverly Crusher bit into an apple and stirred her coffee as she watched her son. She couldn't believe that less than 48 hours ago he had pulled off the impossible in the shuttle bay. And now here he was, unable to train his brain to eat his cereal.

She frowned, looking at him more closely. He was wearing a light jacket, under which he appeared to be wearing some kind of shiny pin on his tunic. It was partially covered. "What is that you're wearing?" she asked gesturing somewhat accusingly with her apple.

"Uh—it's a communicator," he said trying to be serious, but the corners of his mouth twitched into what she had to admit was a cute smile.

"Where did you get it?" Now she did not bother to soften her accusing tone.

Wesley took a deep breath. "Captain Picard," he said sounding very proud of himself.

Crusher was thoroughly surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, he had Mr. Data make it for me. The Captain said I should use it to communicate with Commander Riker the next time I have a good idea. But I think he really gave it to me to keep track of me in emergencies."

Beverly pulled at a croissant. "Really," she said again. A small smile played across her lips. "What a good idea," she said taking a sip of her coffee. She grew thoughtful for a moment. "So, did you have a good talk then?" She ventured carefully.

"Kind of," he said slowly. "We talked about what kinds of projects I've worked on and how Captain Picard and Dad used to go running, and even how much it rained the day of Dad's funeral."

Beverly put her coffee cup down, and realized her hand was shaking slightly. "You talked about all of that?"

"Well…actually I did most of the talking," said Wesley. "He mostly listened."

"Oh." She picked up her cup again. "Well that sounds about right," she murmured.

"Oh and he did ask me to go running with him," Wesley added. His mother's jaw dropped again.

"Well wonders never cease," she said laughing. "He's never asked me to go running with him, that's for sure." She stopped laughing abruptly. "But he's right; he and Jack did go running together. They were both very athletic, I think Jack only went running to be with Jean-Luc. He didn't care whether he won or not. They really looked out for each other," she said somewhat distantly. She smiled at her son, with a sudden sadness in her eyes. "I don't mean to ramble."

"It's okay, Mom."

She stood up. "We've both got things to do, right?" Wesley nodded and picked up his bowl and brought it over to the replicator, switching on its disposal function. He picked up the rest of the dishes and did the same. Suddenly he turned around to look at his mother. "Mom, can I ask you a personal question?"

Beverly hesitated while putting her lab coat on. "Okay," she said, not sure what to expect after that breakfast.

"Did you ever date anyone after Dad died?"

Beverly opened and shut her mouth without a sound. "Um, yes, at times…but nothing serious," she added. It was true, but she had no idea if it was what he wanted to hear. "Why?" she asked him.

Wesley was clearly now embarrassed by his own question. "Uh, nothing…it's just that if you ever wanted to date anyone, I mean in a…serious or not so serious way, I hope you wouldn't worry about what I think. I just want you to be happy."

The doors to the conference room swished open, and Beverly Crusher found the room empty, save for one occupant hunched over his computer terminal. She hesitated before entering the room because she hadn't meant to be early. Judging by the Captain's posture, and the way he was leaning his forehead into the palm of his hand, and tapping the table with the index finger of his other hand, he was too engrossed in what he was doing to even notice her arrival.

She could not help but feel that she was intruding on his personal space. She was used to being the last one to show up at staff meetings because normally she had to practically be dragged to them. But this was a new job, and she was trying to break old habits. At least the bad ones. She waited quietly, watching him for a moment.

Finally, he looked up at her from his computer screen, and the tension and worry in his features related to whatever he had been reading seemed to lessen, only to be replaced by another kind of tension. Perhaps the same kind she too was experiencing. "Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry, Doctor, I didn't mean to leave you standing there."

"It's good to see you up and around, sir" she said walking toward him. Picard stood up and walked around the table to meet her. "Thank you," he said. "You are a bit early, Doctor. I was just catching up on the latest reports from Vulcan. I admit that I have some misgivings about dragging my new and relativity untested crew into a potential war."

She knew that she was likely the only person in board who he would admit that to. She could see that he did not yet trust Troi enough to confide his fears to her, which was unfortunate in Beverly's opinion. She could see how much Troi wanted to be of value to the Captain. And she doubted he would admit anything close to fear to his new first officer although she could already see a relationship of trust growing between the two men.

Beverly nodded. "The situation is frightening. Have you talked with T'Pel? I can't imagine how she is feeling. First, her brother murders a whole group of people and disappears and now a potential war is brewing because of his actions. She must feel incredibly guilty about all of this."

Picard looked quizzical. "Guilty? What for?"

"Well wouldn't you be if you were in her situation, Jean-Luc? It's her brother."

"One should not feel responsible for the sins of one's blood relatives, Doctor" he said earnestly. "Besides," he added, "T'Pel is Vulcan."

Beverly laughed in disbelief. "Jean-Luc, what is that supposed to mean? That she doesn't have feelings?"

He appeared mildly offended. "Beverly, I am well aware that T'Pel is capable of having feelings," he said in a low, slightly embarrassed voice, as though he were afraid someone else was listening.

She blushed. "Oh, of course, I didn't mean to suggest…I mean I know you probably know her better than anyone," she finished awkwardly. He glanced away from her and a strange feeling, like an old uninvited acquaintance was now in the room with them. They stood in silence for a few moments.

"Jean-Luc, how are you feeling?" Beverly asked rather abruptly. "You know I have the authority to re-admit you to sickbay, if you are still not well," she said teasingly.

"I am well," he said leaning back against the obsidian table. "I promise," he added with a small smile. The truth was, he was still rather fatigued, and his right leg had become stiff and sore since his discharge from sickbay earlier that morning. A slow burning sensation periodically came and went along the length of the scar.

"What about this?" she reached up and lightly touched the healing cut above his eyebrow. It didn't hurt, but he flinched slightly at the touch of her hand, which he hoped she did not take offense to. "It's fine," he insisted quietly.

She smiled slightly at his reaction, but instead of taking her hand away, she moved her palm to rest on his cheekbone and held it there. "The wound healing process has been slowed by your bout of poisoning, but you'll feel more like yourself in a few days or so," she said softly.

"No doubt," said Picard. "Of course I have you to thank for that," he added. He reached up to touch her wrist with the intent of moving her hand, but her skin was so unexpectedly soft and smelled so wonderful that he ended up just holding her wrist lightly. Suddenly he was at a loss of what to do next.

His mind and body were now communicating in a frantic series of conflicting warnings and possibilities. She nodded and said "Uh huh," to whatever it was he had just said—he could no longer remember just what- and then she had moved closer to him, and her hand had dropped to touch his chest. Her lips parted slightly as he felt his breath catch in his lungs.

The interfering hiss of the conference room door startled them and they moved away from each other quickly. Beverly, smoothed out her lab coat and, wrapped it around her protectively. Counselor Troi stood in the doorway bearing a very neutral expression. "Good morning, Captain, Doctor," she said, moving gracefully in to the room.

"Good morning," they said at the same time, in the same self-conscious rushed tone. Picard winced slightly and moved back to his seat. Troi sat down and carefully began to examine her fingernails with interest.

T'Pel stood on the observation deck face to face with what appeared to be Thar, one of the young Vulcan survivors from the Andorian moon. But she now knew that this appearance was a mere disguise. If she had not been Vulcan, she would have felt immense fear and revulsion toward who or what stood before her, but for now, her emotional control held fast.

"You should never have tried to hunt me down, sister."

"I still do not understand...Ra'Val, how are you being hidden inside this child?"

"The child died down on the Andorian moon. With the others," he added. "But you still see him because it is what I wish you to perceive. If I want to make you see me as I was years ago when we were brother and sister on Vulcan, I can do that just as simply." Suddenly, as he had promised, he appeared as a young teenager, just as he looked when he left her parents' home. He had left at the age of fourteen, just before their father had finally decided to drive him away. Just as instantly, Ra'Val appeared again as an adult, now much taller than her and dressed in grey robes.

"Even powerful minds such as yours can be manipulated, T'Pel," he said.

"To what end would you manipulate my mind, Ra'Val? Are we not still brother and sister? "countered T'Pel.

Ra'Val's eyes narrowed. "Do you not see? I am more than what I was. Much more."

"Perhaps you are less than you once were. Why did you kill all of those people? Why did you destroy even your own followers? Your behavior is highly illogical, highly destructive."

Her brother merely smiled. "And so now you have been sent to destroy me, is that the case? Tell me, are you prepared to kill your flesh and blood?"

She ignored his question. "Why did you leave Vulcan?"

"I outgrew Vulcan, just as I outgrew our home when we were children. My mind was stifled by the order of Vulcan society and has now been freed by the wonderful disorder of emotion. Because you are blinded by the teachings of Surak, you do not understand that your mind was meant to be free from logic," said Ra'Val.

"So you wished to join our distant cousins on Romulus, then? To be free from logic?"

"Even the Romulans have much to learn from me," he said with plain arrogance. "Had our ship not been disabled by the Andorians and crashed on that moon our small freighter would have been able to survive long enough for us to gain proper passage to Romulus. But something happened to me on that Andorian moon. The Andorians attacked me, and I had but to think…and they were gone. I have evolved. Once I felt the need to travel far away to join others who would understand my ways. But now I am happy to return to my people. By bringing me back home, you have unwittingly allowed me to re-join with Vulcan people. Perhaps it is my destiny."

T'Pel, stared up at him, shoulders squared. "What is your intent, Ra'Val? You may be able to control my mind and even the minds of this crew, but you cannot enslave the minds of an entire planet."

An aura seemed to surround him, making his robes appear to shimmer. "I do not intend to enslave anyone, my sister. They will either willingly join me or be destroyed. I have no use for this crew, aside from you of course. I will return to Vulcan in triumph, with a starship under my command."

Tpel raised an eyebrow. "You will return to Vulcan in restraints," she responded calmly.

He smiled. "You have attained supremacy of logic through Kolinahr and yet you deny the reality of this situation. If I leave this room no one else on board this ship will be able to stop me."

"Then you will not leave this room," said T'Pel.

Geordi LaForge was late for a staff meeting, and Wesley, it appeared, was late for school. "Hey Wes, wait up," said Geordi, quickening his pace to catch up with the teenager in front of him in the corridor. "What is that you've got there?" he nodded at the globe-like object under Wesley's arm.

Wesley slowed and smiled at LaForge. "It's a prototype. A modification of the energy field generator I created in shuttle bay one. As soon as I can figure out how to create a portable energy source strong enough, we can set it up anywhere on the ship."

Geordi stared at him. "And why would 'we' want to do that?" asked LaForge, folding his arms over his chest skeptically.

"Well, Ra'Val is still on the loose," said Wesley. He shrugged. "What if we could spring a trap to catch him?"

"Assuming he shows up," said Geordi. "He hasn't shown himself yet, and pretty soon we'll be arriving at Vulcan. I for one am having a hard time believing that he's even here."

Wesley shrugged again. "I guess you're right…I just—"

Geordi patted him on the shoulder. "I know, you were trying to help. Listen, why don't you meet me and Commander Data later this afternoon and the three of us can discuss whether this could be modified further into something that is workable. If the three of us put our heads together, we might be able to pull something together faster. Okay?"

Wesley grinned. "Yeah, okay," he agreed. Geordi clapped him on the back and his smile faded as he considered whether Captain Picard would forgive his lateness. They continued walking together, and until Geordi slowed, and his head jerked upward.

"What is it?" Asked Wesley alarmed.

"Some kind of crazy energy surge one deck up. I'm going to go check it out," said LaForge running to the closest turbo lift.

"Can I come with you?" Wesley stood in the middle of the corridor looking dejected and still holding his school belongings.

Geordi sighed loudly and held the turbo lift door. "As long as we can agree, I'm not explaining this to your teacher and especially not to your mother," he said. Wesley grinned and hurried to join him in the lift.

When they arrived at the observation deck they were surprised to find the corridor lights flickering on and off. Geordi used his visor to locate the energy disturbance he had seen from the deck below. Wesley followed close behind him, but LaForge didn't seem to notice, he was so focused on what his visor was telling him. He halted outside one of the observation lounges. "There are two humanoids in here," said LaForge. "Two Vulcan adults!" He turned to look at Wesley and then walked into the door. It didn't budge. It had been sealed from the inside. How, he had no idea, as he could tell the locking system was not engaged. "Wow…" he said, touching his visor lightly. "Wes, they're floating in mid-air!"

"The Andorians and Vulcans have a stormy history, to say the least," said Captain Picard. "I have asked Lt. Commander Data to prepare an overview of that history, as we prepare to attempt to intervene in this impending conflict. Mr. Data?" Picard seriously hoped that Data could keep his summary to fifteen minutes or less, but given the android's track history so far, it was merely wishful thinking he knew.

All eyes shifted to rest on the android Data who nodded. "The Andorians and Vulcans were closely allied during the 20th and 21st centuries, with a few exceptions. It was not until the mid- 22nd century when the Andorians discovered that the Vulcan government had implemented an intricate surveillance program throughout Andorian society. What followed were a series of wars and a period of more subdued hostility characterized by propaganda and the stockpiling of armaments."

"A cold war," said Walker Keel. "But we're over two hundred years since these two societies were at war. Even when I was involved in more…covert activities, there was not even a whisper of the threat of war between the Vulcans and Andorians."

"It's not hard to believe that recent events would be enough to trigger a new war, though, Captain. The Andorians lost over one hundred colonists apparently at the hands of one Vulcan," said Riker.

"It's still so strange to think of a Vulcan harming anyone except in self-defense, or because it is…well logical I suppose," said Troi.

"It is hard for any of us here to see Vulcans as violent, given the way that Vulcans conduct themselves in recent memory, but as Data explained there is a documented history of violence," said Picard. "And prior to the unification of Vulcan society under Surak's teachings, the whole of Vulcan society was embroiled in civil war." He gestured to his second officer. "Data please continue with-"

Suddenly the conference room door burst open and Lt. LaForge and Wesley Crusher came running into the room, both of them out of breath.