Chapter 34
"Captain the fighting is getting closer," said Riker, as Picard walked onto the bridge. "No sign of any let up, sir."
Picard nodded and sat down in the command chair fluidly. "Move us to within 15,000 meters of the Ishran," he said. "It is time to put a stop to this foolishness. If we can, he thought. Ahead full impulse power, shields up."
"Shields up sir," confirmed Yar.
"ETA in five, four, three, two, one Captain," said LaForge. "Fifteen thousand meters, Captain."
"All stop," said Picard.
"Aye sir," said LaForge, as the ship slowed to a stop.
Riker eyed Picard. "What now, sir?"
"Hail the Andorians."
"They're ignoring our hails sir", said Yar.
Picard stood up and walked forward toward the view screen. "Send a message to Commander Zatha: 'The time has come to listen to your conscience'."
"Yes sir, transmitting" said Yar, trying to keep the puzzled tone from her voice.
The flurry of phaser fire continued without interruption. A group of Vulcan fighters made a run at one of the lead cruisers only to be incinerated in multiple flashes of light, save for one tiny ship which was caught on one wing by a searing beam. Instead of exploding, the fighter spun away and came careening crazily toward the Enterprise.
"He's about to be toasted by our shields, Captain," called out LaForge.
"Does that little fighter have any shields?" shouted Riker.
"None active, sir," replied Yar quickly.
"Transporter room, stand by to beam the Vulcan pilot directly to the main sickbay," ordered Picard calmly. "Doctor Crusher. You have an incoming casualty," warned Picard.
"We'll be ready, Captain," her voice sounded.
"Captain, he's now in transporter range," said Worf.
"O'Brien do you have a lock on him?" shouted Riker.
"As good as it's gonna be, Commander," pronounced O'Brien's voice from the intercom.
"Energize," said Picard. A moment later, the fighter slammed into the shields and was destroyed instantly. There was no need to ask for a damage report; any harm to the shields would have been negligible. For a few moments everyone held their breath until Picard finally spoke. "Do we have him?"
Crusher's angry and horrified voice on the other end of the communications link made the situation clear. "We have what is left of him, Captain... Crusher out…"
"Hail them again," Picard said quietly, his expression now solemn. Damn them.
Without warning, the battle displayed on the view screen was replaced abruptly by the interior of an Andorian ship, the Ishran to be exact. But the officer who appeared on screen was completely unfamiliar to Picard. "Captain Picard," sneered the Andorian. "I am Commander Hakka. To whose conscience are you trying to appeal with your cryptic transmissions?"
"Where is Commander Zatha?" Picard demanded.
"She is…no longer available."
Picard carefully kept his expression neutral, but his mind had been racing since he first noticed that Zatha was nowhere to be seen. "The message was meant for her, but as I see you are now in command, I appeal to you to use some sense."
"Your appeals are of no use to me," said Hakka.
"Hasn't this gone on long enough? What is it you intend to accomplish?"
"That is not your concern."
"If you intend to destroy the foundation of the Federation, it certainly is my concern," snapped Picard. "And just like me you have sworn to uphold the principles of the Federation, which include non-aggression, Commander. Where are those principles now?"
"I am an Andorian first, and a member of the Federation second. We must protect our home world."
Picard shook his head. It was impossible to argue against such a warped view of what constituted protecting one's homeland. Instead he tried a different approach. "Commander Hakka, I invite you to meet aboard my ship to discuss these matters. Let me reach out to the Vulcans, and perhaps we can arrange a cease fire."
Hakka frowned. "I do not have the authority to arrange such a meeting. You must speak to the General."
Picard nodded. "Then can you speak to General Thran and have him call me on a secure channel in two hours?"
Hakka's antennae swiveled back and forth. "I can make no guarantees, but I will pass along your message," he said coldly, before his image disappeared.
Picard shifted in his chair. "Mr. LaForge please bring us to within transporter range of Vulcan, but keep the Enterprise as far away from the fight as possible."
"Aye sir," said Geordi.
Picard got up and swiftly strode toward the turbo lift. Riker stood and watched him. "Number One, you have the bridge," he said as the doors slid shut.
Crusher glanced up from her conversation when she saw Picard enter sickbay. She put a hand on the nurse's shoulder. "Thank you, Alyssa, please carry on," she said softly. The nurse nodded and then walked quickly away. She straightened slightly as Picard approached.
"Captain," she greeted him with a brief smile, which faded when she remembered why he had come. He was here to view the body of the Vulcan pilot who had arrived minutes ago. She could hardly believe she was seeing him again under such trying circumstances, so soon after being with him in his ready room during those exhilarating few moments. But the mood had turned and now been substituted for one of solemnity. He nodded grimly at her, but said nothing. Realizing there was nothing to say, she gestured for him to follow her.
As they walked wordlessly together down a short brightly-lit corridor adjacent to sick bay, she could not help but recall being in a similar hallway with him ten years ago. She wondered if he often thought of that day and how Jack had looked pale, cold and alone in the star base morgue. She hoped that he did not still think about it. She rarely did. What a cruel day it had been for all of them.
Crusher stopped and quickly typed a code into the wall, and the door to the morgue slid open. Picard shivered involuntarily, and stepped inside. He stood still as Beverly walked to a metal examining table and then turned back to regard him before lifting the white sheet. "Captain, I know you have seen this kind of thing before, but…"
"I've never grown used to it," he said in a muted voice, as he moved to stand next to her. She pulled the sheet back to reveal the pilot as reverently as possible, but the sight was almost unrecognizable as a former person. Bile immediately rose in his throat and he tried not to gag. He placed his palm on the table, just to steady himself and immediately felt Beverly's hand on the small of his back, attempting to soothe him. He straightened, embarrassed.
"His body was soaked in radiation, Captain. We had to put it through decontamination just to make it safe for observation. But as you can see, Jean-Luc, his body was nearly liquefied. Strangely, it also contained large amounts of trilithium ore, which accounts for the high levels of radiation."
"Damn it!" Picard suddenly felt a rage well up within him, and he looked around for something inanimate to strike. Nothing appeared safe to hit, however, and Beverly was still watching him cautiously. He exhaled raggedly, working to get his emotions in check. "I've seen enough," he said in a low voice. She nodded and replaced the sheet.
They exited the morgue together and then stood talking quietly in the hall. Picard stared blankly at a spot just over Crusher's shoulder. "I apologize for my reaction in there, Beverly."
Beverly smiled compassionately and ran her hand lightly down the outside of his arm. "Jean-Luc, if you had no reaction at all to such a horrific thing, I might be a bit concerned about you. Besides, your secret is safe with me," she added, laughing. He caught her hand as it reached his fingers, and he held on to it tightly, not sure what to do next. She held his gaze intensely for a few moments.
"I think we should talk," he said hesitantly, Troi's words irritatingly fresh in his mind.
She looked down at her hand in his and then smiled at him. "Alright," she said, and then stepped a bit closer to him. "When?" She asked, looking into his eyes. He sighed. He simply could not think properly when she was this close to him.
"Soon," he said, feeling slightly disoriented by her nearness. "There are some things that I have been meaning to—to tell you…."
Beverly was still floored by the revelation that he apparently wanted to talk. She tried to hide her shock and growing amusement. "Oh…well, I am looking forward to this conversation Jean-Luc—"
"Lt. Yar, to Captain Picard," Yar's clipped tones sounded through his communicator.
Picard and Crusher looked at each other with mutual aggravation. They were quickly learning that there was to be no privacy on this ship. "Go ahead," said Picard.
"You are receiving a private message on a secure channel, Captain. It keeps repeating in a loop, sir."
"Understood," he said. "I'll view it in my quarters. Thank you, Lieutenant." He looked apologetically at the Doctor.
She shrugged, and they walked back into the main sickbay together before parting ways.
Once in the privacy of his quarters, Picard stood at his personal desk and frowned at the simple sentence displayed across his computer screen. He read the message several times. "Thran is operating without authority from the High Command." The origin of the message was listed as "unknown". It was not coming from any official channel, and he could only assume that at the very least it meant Zatha was still alive, although based on Hakka's words she was hardly safe. He smiled, because it also meant she was still on his side.
An hour later Picard had somehow convinced a Vulcan council member to come aboard to discuss a possible cease fire. They now sat together in one of the smaller conference rooms. "Delegate Stahl, I want to thank you for agreeing to beam aboard." Stahl nodded almost imperceptibly but said nothing. "I would like to see representatives from Vulcan and Andoria sit down and discuss the possibility of peace," he continued. Stahl said nothing. Picard sat forward, palms flat on the table. "It would seem that a conversation about this subject is overdue," he said. Still his words were met with silence. "So…perhaps if you would tell me your terms—"
"Our terms are of course, simple, Captain. The Andorians will cease their aggression, leave our territory and we will in turn cease any further relations with them."
"While I understand the reasoning behind your terms, sir, the concept of no contact between two of the founding cultures of the Federation is nearly unthinkable."
"No, Captain. What is unthinkable is that the Andorians could launch such a savage attack on my people. It is highly illogical that we would simply agree to resume relations as normal."
"You are correct, of course," said Picard quietly. "While the Andorians were perfectly right to seek justice for their murdered colonists, I have seen no evidence to connect Ra'Val's actions to the Vulcan government or people."
"You have seen no such evidence, because there is none," said Stahl.
Picard tapped the tabletop absently. "What if I were to tell you that General Thran and the other Andorian ships in orbit around Vulcan are not here with permission of the Andorian government?"
Stahl looked at him as though he had two heads. "I would ask you where you obtained such information," said Stahl.
"I have a reliable source inside the Andorian fleet. Thran is on silent running right now, which means his superiors may not know that he has launched an attack on Vulcan."
"And you believe that if they did know they would call off the attack," said Stahl. Picard nodded and then told him what he knew about Delta Vega. When he was finished, Stahl brought his fingertips together and stared out the viewport. "The draw of trilithium ore on the planet Delta Vega is why the High Council ordered it sealed it off all those years ago. It is no surprise that thieves and arms dealers would continue to be interested. It is another example of how uncontrolled emotion continues to threaten peace in this sector."
Picard said nothing. "One such as myself can appreciate a human who seems to understand the problems this lack of controlled emotion causes," Stahl added, fixing Picard with an exacting stare. A Vulcan compliment, thought Picard dryly. What would Counselor Troi say to that, I wonder? Stahl pulled out a tiny tablet and began to type. "I am transmitting this information to the other members if the Council, Captain. We will contact the Andorian government at once."
Picard looked at him. "General Thran commands the lead ship, the Striker. What if you were to send a few ships to Delta Vega?" he suggested. "You might distract General Thran to leave orbit in order to protect what he really came here for, and in so doing, weaken the assault on your home world."
"A curious idea, Picard," said Stahl. "But we cannot leave Vulcan with minimal defenses. We have already seen an unnecessary loss of life." Stahl looked at him closely. "You retrieved one of our pilots recently?"
Picard lowered his head. "Yes, Delegate Stahl, but I am afraid he did not survive."
Stahl did not seem surprised. "Were there signs that he was exposed to high levels of radiation?"
Picard nodded. "My chief medical officer confirmed that his body held lethal traces of trilithium."
Stahl's face was completely impassive. "We have seen the same in our dead and wounded. Those wounded by the modified phaser beams do not survive long. Clearly General Thran has decided to test some of his illegal trilithium weaponry on the Vulcan people. "
Even though Stahl displayed no outward emotion, Picard suddenly felt a great sense of sadness for the Vulcan people. "I pledge to you that I will do whatever needs to be done to defend Vulcan," said Picard resolutely.
Stahl stood up smoothly. "It gratifies me to hear you speak those words, Captain." He paused. "Now I have something else to ask of you, Captain Picard, and it is imperative that you agree to my wishes."
Picard's brow furrowed. "I'm listening," he said.
"I must see the criminal before I return to Vulcan…where is Ra'Val?"
"Jean-Luc we were given clear orders not to take sides," warned Walker Keel, after Picard explained his idea of traveling to Delta Vega to try and draw General Thran's away from Vulcan.
"That was before we learned Thran is completely operating on his own, Walker. He must have found a way to keep his superiors in the dark. That means there is only one side to take; that of defending Vulcan."
Walker seemed to consider his words briefly and then nodded. "So…Zatha is out of power but still calling some shots. Impressive. She reminds me of you a little bit, Jean-Luc…slightly better looking than you of course," added Walker.
"Of course," echoed Picard drolly. "Now Walker, let's be serious here…"
"It's simple," said Walker. "I will take the Horatio to Delta Vega and carry out your plan, while you stay here with the Enterprise and defend Vulcan."
Picard nodded and a slow smile spread across his face. "Always a pleasure working with you, Captain Keel."
"Jean-Luc, you are ever the sweet talker. I'll see you on the other side."
When Picard stepped out into the hallway, Delegate Stahl was waiting for him. Something made him hesitate, before tapping his communicator. "T'Pel, Doctor Crusher, and Commander Data, please meet me in cargo bay 4 in ten minutes." He turned to Stahl, and his trepidation only seemed to grow. "Let's go," he said.
Data, Doctor Crusher, and T'Pel stood waiting outside cargo bay 4. Apart from Beverly shifting from foot to foot occasionally with her med kit, they stood in silence. As she had been when Data and Crusher had arrived a few minutes earlier, T'Pel stood with her head down and her hands clasped in front of her. She appeared to be meditating and wore her hood pulled down over her eyes. She had recently been fitted with a new cybernetic arm, and for some reason had chosen not to finish it with synthetic skin. The result was a dangerous looking robotic metal forearm and hand protruding from a simple brown Vulcan cloak. It was an arresting sight.
