Chapter 21
Picard stood up angrily. "Lt. LaForge, where the hell have you been…and why do you have Mr. Crusher with you?" He trailed off, both puzzled and angry now.
Geordi stood at attention, and Wesley adopted a similar stance, attempting to avoid the penetrating gaze of his mother. "Sorry I'm late sir," breathed LaForge. "It's Ra'Val, Captain. I think he and T'Pel have locked themselves in one of the lounges on the observation deck."
The other officers were standing now. "Captain," said Yar, moving to his side. "I recommend we move fast and send my teams down to capture Ra'Val." Riker and Walker Keel began talking at the same time.
Picard held up his hand as if telling everyone to hold on for a moment. "We already know Ra'Val is capable of killing with a thought. Right now, T'Pel is our best hope. And I know it sounds strange, but she will at least buy us some time."
"Captain, aren't you gambling with her life?" Counselor Troi stared at him with barely contained astonishment. This was one of his oldest friends after all. Yar shot her an unfriendly look.
"For the record," said Walker. "She's risked her own life to confront him anyway, and she has her own plan. I highly doubt she would want our help now."
"Walker how on earth can you say a thing like that?" said Beverly with disgust. "We've got to go and help her."
"Sir, we have no idea why she's there," said Riker. "They are siblings, and she did keep that very important piece of information a secret from you—"
"I agree with Riker," said Walker. "I know you have a long history with her, Jean-Luc, but we don't know enough about her activities during the last ten years. Her loyalty—"
"Walker, I'm not going to play a guessing game with you about what T'Pel is thinking," snapped Picard. He didn't see in the least how his history with T'Pel was relevant to their current problem.
Keel shrugged. "Fine. Let's begin evacuation procedures onto my ship."
"Walker, you can't absorb more than a third of my crew safely. I need ideas about how to capture Ra'Val without losing the lives of this crew," he said.
LaForge spoke up. "Wes has an idea." The whole room fell silent and turned to stare at Wesley, who stood holding his homemade science project.
Picard sat with Data, LaForge and Wesley Crusher in his ready room. He had ordered the other senior officers back to the bridge for the time being. All civilians had been ordered back to their quarters and were told to engage their personal security systems.
"What exactly is this device capable of doing that a simple force field is not?" Picard asked.
"First of all we think we can modify it so that it can be emitted from a phaser," said LaForge. "So the odds of us catching Ra'Val off guard can only improve if more of the crew has the ability to catch him."
"Well, we've taken as many measures as I can think of to catch someone who is as elusive as a ghost. Now that we know where is we have a chance to detain or at least slow him. My concern is that when he's confronted will he kill before we are able to capture him?"
"Based on his recent actions, that is highly likely, sir," said Data.
Laforge shot Data a look. "That's true sir, but I still think Wesley's idea is worth a try."
Picard's brow furrowed. "You are right of course. We haven't any better ideas at this point. And we've reached a crucial point at which there is no escaping that we are all in grave danger. "He sighed. "I want to thank you for bringing this to my attention and you, in particular, Mr. Crusher for formulating the idea in the first place. I will rely on the expertise of Mr. Data and Mr. LaForge to use the resources in Engineering to complete the final construction of this device. But…I am afraid I cannot risk putting you in danger by allowing you to assist these two officers, Mr. Crusher."
Wesley reddened, looking as though he wanted to protest, but did not.
"Wesley," said Picard firmly but gently. "You will stay on the bridge with me." Wesley's eyes grew wider. "You may sit at one of the science stations and communicate with Mr. Data and Mr. LaForge from there as to the progress." "Dismissed."
Wesley Crusher stepped proudly out of the ready room to find his mother waiting for him, her hands shoved into the pockets of her lab coat. "Why the hell aren't you in school?" Beverly Crusher demanded as Wesley walked out of the ready room ahead of Data and LaForge. "Your job is to be in school, not throwing yourself in the middle of each new crisis."
"The Captain said…" Wesley began to mutter.
Crusher let out a sharp laugh. "Oh, I see. Listen, young man, you answer to me first, and I hope that you are not forgetting that. This has nothing to do with Captain Picard; this has to do with your failure to take responsibility for your actions. Now, you are to go back to your class right now, and explain to the teacher why you are an hour late."
"Mom, school got out early, remember? Captain Picard just ordered all civilians to their quarters," Wesley reminded his mother, trying to not sound too self-satisfied. Still, he could tell his mother was not impressed. In fact, at the mention of Captain Picard's name she seemed to grow even more annoyed.
Seeing a pause in the drama, LaForge tried to duck around the Doctor, but Crusher put up her hands. "Wait a minute, Lieutenant. You brought my son to a senior staff meeting, so I would like to know what role you played in making sure he didn't get to class this morning," she said.
LaForge glanced at Wesley, hoping he remembered their agreement about not having to explain Wesley's absence: "…and especially not to your mother," drifted through the helmsman's skull. By getting into the lift with LaForge, Wesley had implicitly agreed to allow LaForge to keep his mouth shut, should any questions be asked later on. But Wesley was just staring down at the deck sheepishly and provided no assistance. "Uh…I held the turbo lift door," Geordi admitted reluctantly.
"If I may interject," said Data. "Captain Picard just ordered Lt. LaForge and I to go to engineering, and therefore—"
Crusher turned to him abruptly. "Oh, are you involved in this too?"
Data's head swiveled back and forth rapidly looking from person to person. "No, Doctor, I—"
Just then, the Captain stepped out of his ready room with an irritated expression on his face. "Commander Data and Lt. LaForge you are dismissed. I need you both in engineering. Mr. Crusher, please report to science station 2." He turned on his heel and walked back into his office without another word.
Crusher, now highly irritated, stepped in behind him before the doors closed. As they shut behind them, Picard turned and was clearly surprised to see her standing there.
"Yes?" was all he could manage.
"Captain, when were you planning to inform me that you've recruited my son into Starfleet?"
"Recruited?" Picard was incredulous.
"You ordered him to report to 'science station 2'. Is he part of your crew now?"
"No, of course not. But he did volunteer—"
"He's fourteen years old, Jean-Luc. Do you really think he should be volunteering for Starfleet assignments without my consent?"
Picard took a deep breath. "The device we are building to capture Ra'Val was Wesley's idea, Doctor. It would have been wrong of me to prevent him from being involved."
"Don't try to turn this into a moral issue, so that you can be the one who is right, Jean-Luc."
His jaw tightened at the obvious slight. He knew there was no way to win this argument. "Beverly, I considered confining him to quarters like the other civilians, but I simply thought he would be safer here on the bridge."
"As he is my son, I'm not sure it was your decision to make. The fact is, Jean-Luc, he would do anything you asked him to do, and that scares me." She immediately regretted saying what she had been thinking. She could tell by the slightly wounded look in his eyes that her words had hit their mark.
He folded his arms over his chest defensively, but his voice remained controlled. "Of course, given our history, Beverly, I can see how you would feel that way. I shouldn't be surprised that you don't trust me to make decisions involving your son's welfare."
"What do you mean 'our history'?"
He remained silent, but gradually she realized what he meant, and now it was she who became defensive. "This isn't about Jack," she insisted.
He looked at her. "I never said it was," he said quietly.
"Yes, well I'm learning you convey a great deal without saying what you think," she said pointedly. She felt her eyes begin to burn with tears, but she blinked them away.
They stared at each other a few more moments in uncomfortable silence. Whatever closeness they had experienced just an hour ago when they had been alone, seemed to have escaped the room. "Then perhaps you should return to sickbay and attend to your duties there," said Picard quietly.
Crusher inhaled sharply and turned to leave.
"Wow," said Riker under his breath as Crusher exited the Captain's ready room with a full head of steam and headed over to Wesley Crusher who was seated at the science station. She stooped over her son; hand on his shoulder, speaking quietly to him for a few moments before leaving on the turbo lift. Riker couldn't help but notice again that she was a very attractive woman, and somehow her obvious anger did something to enhance this quality. He also felt for the Captain, who he knew had nerves of steel, but still…. "She is something…" he smiled in admiration, but became serious again when he saw Troi was looking at him with a look that said, "oh grow up Will".
Riker stood up quickly as Picard left his ready room and approached the command center. "Report," he said. If he was disturbed by his heated conversation with Doctor Crusher he certainly didn't appear so to Riker.
"Captain Keel has beamed back to the Horatio. He says he stands ready to assist, should we need it, Captain. In addition, Admiral Imhoff has ordered the USS Columbia to join us at Vulcan. Your orders, sir?" said Riker.
Picard nodded. "We'll continue to proceed to Vulcan as planned. Commander, I would like you to ensure that our evacuation procedures are ready, should we need them. And we need to expect casualties should we engage in battle over Vulcan. Please coordinate with Doctor Crusher as needed."
"Aye sir," said Riker and headed for the lift.
Picard sat down in his command chair stiffly, and Troi was nearly pushed over by the haze of turmoil within his mind. He was outwardly calm, but inwardly he was struggling to maintain control of his anger and to stifle something else. Longing…and guilt; yes, it was clear as day to her.
"Captain," said Troi. "I am concerned that the Vulcan children are at-risk."
"All of the children on this ship are at-risk now, Counselor," Picard said gruffly, as he studied the command panel on the arm of his chair. "This is what happens when Starfleet allows children aboard a Starship. Nothing but damn trouble." he thought crossly.
Troi interlaced her fingers. "That is true," she said in a measured tone, responding to his statement and ignoring his grumpy thoughts about children. "But I think that the Redeemer children will be targeted by Ra'Val if he is able to find them."
Picard continued to refuse to look up from his task, as he typed code into the panel. "How do you know this?"
Deanna raised an eyebrow. "I sense it, sir," she said with a slight edge. A wave of something from him—was it skepticism? "He still doesn't trust me," she thought to herself. "He is so afraid of his own feelings that he doubts anyone who makes it their work to know feelings and emotions." A realization struck her. "Is he afraid of my abilities?"
He finally turned to regard her with a piercing gaze. "And what do you recommend, Counselor? We cannot very well hide them from someone who is capable of reading everyone's mind on this ship."
"Perhaps we can, sir. Let me go to them, sir. I will try and convince them to quiet their minds so that they can hide."
His expression turned from disbelief to some semblance of understanding. He nodded. "Lt. Yar," he said into the communications link. "Please personally accompany Counselor Troi and the Vulcan children to a new location, and place a security team inside with them."
"Aye sir," came Yar's voice.
Picard looked at Deanna. "Please keep me aware of your progress, Counselor. No unnecessary risks. And once you have finished with the children, report back to the bridge. I may need you here," he said.
How could he leave one of his oldest friends in danger? No matter how many times Picard thought about the threat to the entire crew, he could not help but think of T'Pel, and the pain and suffering she was no doubt experiencing at the hands of her own brother. He still believed that she was their only hope of slowing Ra'Val down. Not only was she his sibling, which one hoped would make him less likely to want to harm her, at least fatally, but she was also an incredibly powerful telepath, and she had been trained to control her thoughts and emotions in ways few others were capable of. He reminded himself that T'Pel would never have been sentimental about the situation, nor would she have allowed emotions to cloud her judgment if she were in his position. Still, he dared not to think what he would do, if she was killed. He would not be surprised that if he really considered it, his heart would surely stop.
"And I never should have tried with the boy," thought Picard as he finished sending a status report to Admiral Imhoff. "I have no instinct for relating to children…or to their mothers it seems. What a fool," he thought bitterly. He sighed and got up, feeling stiff. He limped slightly as he walked up the ramp to approach the science station where Wesley Crusher was sitting. Wesley was studying a three dimensional sphere projected from the screen he was watching. The sphere turned, depending on which way the boy moved his hand. Watching him, Picard felt a pang of something, he wasn't sure what, but he buried it, and continued his approach. "Mr. Crusher, how is our progress?"
"Oh, hi Captain," said Wesley turning around with a smile. "Well, we're about 50 percent complete, but for the amount of energy it requires to operate, the device is still too large."
Picard nodded curtly. "Very well," he said. "Please patch me in to Mr. Data in engineering."
"Okay, I mean yes, sir." He watched as Wesley hesitated only slightly and then created the link to Engineering with the ease of someone who had been trained to do it. The feeling came back. "He's so like Jack," he thought, and then mentally brushed the thought aside.
"Commander Data," said Picard, leaning into the terminal. "Is it feasible to finish this within the next thirty minutes? I have no idea the exact amount of time we have, assuming that T'Pel is unable to stop Ra'Val and he runs loose on this ship."
"Yes, sir, I believe that it is possible to fashion this device to fit a phased weapon in the amount of time you indicated. However, the original plan of fitting multiple phasers with the device will take additional time, which as you suggested, we may not have."
"Does Lt. LaForge concur?"
"Yes, Captain," piped in LaForge. "Because of the amount of energy this thing is going to be packing, our best bet is to fit it with one of the phaser rifles, as opposed to the sidearm, sir."
"Understood," said Picard. He paused. "Data, perhaps this goes without saying, but considering the circumstances, I want you to keep the phaser in your possession. Ra'Val has no power over your mind, and you will be the least affected by him. However, if he is able to move objects, which no doubt he is, you will not be completely safe, despite your other abilities. We may need to place all of our hopes in you, Data," he said.
"Understood sir."
Picard stood back and turned to Worf, who was covering for Yar at tactical while she organized security teams all over the ship. "How long before we reach Vulcan, Mr. Worf?"
"Three hours and forty-two minutes, sir."
"Very good," he said curtly and turned back to Wesley.
"Captain? I'm sorry about what happened earlier…you know with my Mom."
Picard cleared his throat. There was no way he was going to get into this right now, or if he had his way—ever. "Please try and focus on the task at hand, Mr. Crusher," he said tiredly.
"Aye sir." He began typing figures into the console at an impressive rate. Picard struggled to keep up with the equations appearing one after another on the screen. "You know she has quite a temper sometimes sir, but she almost always calms down," said Wesley.
Picard shut his eyes, trying to exude patience. "Don't speak ill of your mother, young man," he said sternly. "She only has your best interests in mind."
"Yes sir."