Chapter 51
"Why don't they just kill the bastard themselves?" Walker questioned, trying not to trip as they began to climb a steep incline. His hands were free, but all around them were armed Remans. Caine was a ways behind them, hands bound and being driven up the mountainside by merciless Remans.
Picard dug one hand into the muddy hillside and grabbed for a vine to pull himself up with the other. "It's that damn prophecy," he answered, beginning to grow short of breath. "As you know...as part of that prophecy, the virus expects Caine to die at the hands of Yar. It would appear that they are relying on that occurrence."
"Well...that's not going to happen," murmured Walker.
Picard looked up ahead on the hill. T'Sara was getting up the landscape much more quickly than they were and hadn't said more than two words since Yar's death. "Let's not talk any further on this subject, Walker." He'd been filled with dread since Tasha's death. He had wondered many times how he might be affected by her death, given that Q was obsessed with it, and his overwhelming ambivalence about Yar in general. The fact was that he viewed this most recent incarnation of Yar to be different entirely from her predecessor, and it wasn't until her violent death just a day ago, that he truly realized this fact. With this realization came sadness, and an even greater feeling of guilt. Gone were his chances to make things right.
"Fine. Let's...let's talk about your plan, Jean-Luc. How are we getting the hell out of this situation?" Walker winced and rested his forehead briefly against the damp earth. Yar's parting shot to his knee had left his leg aching and stiff. "I'm getting too old for this mess," he grumbled.
"They're taking us to a waterfall, this so-called Eternity," Jean-Luc was saying. "My guess is that we will find something resembling the power of the Q there."
"That's your plan? Just hope there's a glowing orb of power floating inside of a waterfall that you can co-opt?"
"Got anything better?"
"As much as I'd like to kill him with my bare hands, we need to try to keep Caine alive, so that the viruses' dreams don't come true," said Walker. "So my plan is to wait and see."
"Sounds as good as any," Picard said, pausing to catch his breath again, allowing Walker to catch up.
"How the hell is she doing that?" Walker questioned, watching T'Sara continue her climb far ahead of them, apparently tireless.
"She's a Vulcan," Picard said. "She's physically and psychologically stronger than we are...and she's obviously beyond discussion of any kind. I'm certainly not going to bring up the subject of Tasha."
"Well...that was a gruesome thing to witness back there," Walker admitted. "Even for someone like me who didn't give a damn about her." He put a muddy hand on Jean-Luc's shoulder. "I'm sorry, my friend."
Picard looked at Walker. He knew Keel wasn't actually sorry that Tasha was dead. But he was sorry that Jean-Luc had to experience more sadness related to her. "Thank you," he responded simply. They continued climbing, followed fairly closely by the Reman guards. Finally, as he reached the top, a slender arm reached down to offer a hand. Grasping it, he was pulled up easily, his helper exerting little effort, if any, to bring him to his destination. Beverly Crusher smiled and clutched both of his hands in hers. She patiently waited as Walker cleared the plateau and futilely attempted to brush himself off.
"Come on," Beverly urged them playfully. "We're here!"
"Where?" Walker questioned.
"Eternity, silly! We've reached Eternity."
Someone was screaming. That was the first thing she noted. The screams stopped abruptly and she realized it was she who had been screaming. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, but then gradually, the pain subsided. She was lying face down, and slowly lifted her head, taking in a gasping breath. She blinked several times, taking in the starkness of the landscape around her. Was she in some kind of afterlife? She had been killed in a fight with Caine.
T'Sara had been there, and for the first time, she had seen into T'Sara's mind. It was a beautiful way to end her life. But was her life over? She shakily rose to her feet and looked down at her body. Still clothed in black, she was intact. She felt her neck, which had been pierced by Caine's knife, and found it to be untouched. She took a deep breath. I can't die.
Again, she was struck by the nearly barren hill, which was such a contrast to the lush jungle she had been traveling for days now. A dense fog covered the crest of the hill up ahead. Hesitating, she looked around her, and the fog began to dissipate, almost in concert with her shifting gaze. She could now make out figures all around her on the hillside. There were dozens of shadowy pairs of figures, grappling and fighting, yet frozen in place. Statues. She walked closer to one statue and found that it was life-size. The proportions were perfect. Turning slowly in place she was horrified at the realization of what she was viewing. It was her face, her body, captured in various stages of hand-to-hand combat with Captain Picard, his own likeness replicated perfectly in stone many times over. The fog had lifted completely by this point, and she could see up the small mountain. She was near the top now, and at the summit was something directly from her dreams. A large stone temple loomed up ahead, and a voice rang inside her skull.
Welcome home, Tasha.
As Jean-Luc took in the scene in front of him, soothing sunlight fell upon his face. The clearing was partially shaded by immense trees that opened into an expansive, sunny area. Picard turned to Beverly, who had left his side, and was standing with Jack and Wesley. They all had dazed, but pleased expressions on their faces. His gaze shifted to a large group of infected people, and he began to walk toward them. Most were facing away from him, and they blocked his view of whatever it was they were enraptured by.
"Picard!"
There was a murmur in the crowd, and it parted as Marco, TuVol and Riker approached him. Marco gestured grandly and looked almost giddy with this new development. In front of them Picard could now see the most beautiful natural sight he had seen in some time. Suddenly the rush of the most stunning waterfall he'd ever seen was all that he could hear. It flowed down for thousands of feet, and the body of water at it's feet was not visible through the rushing waters. Drawn forward he walked all the way to the edge of the field. The waterfall lay directly across a chasm that was at least 500 meters wide. About ten meters down, his eyes fell on a narrow footbridge, apparently made of dirt or stone, that jutted out of the side of the canyon they were standing on and spanned the chasm. A chill instantly cooled the sweat on his skin. Why was it there? Had the old Yar created the bridge in anticipation of this series of events?
A heavy hand fell on his shoulder and he turned to look into the eyes of what used to be his good friend. "Better get out of the way, Picard," Riker said with an overly congenial smile. "Pretty soon, we're going to make that leap. I figured you wouldn't want to join us...but maybe I was wrong." He smiled down at his friend with a genuinely Will Riker-like smile, except that if there was anything left of Will's psyche, it was well hidden.
"What the hell do you mean?" Picard snapped.
"He means that soon we'll have to do away with these host bodies," said Marco. "We're ready to evolve, and no offense, but your species is not."
"Why choose us to carry you here then?" Walker questioned.
"We chose the Humans, Orions, and others for their desire for adventure and ability to travel long distances on beautiful vessels. We chose the Ferengi for his greed."
Val, who had been sitting on the grass looking sullen and disappointed at the missing mounds of latinum, sneered. "I'm not infected, you fool!"
"Nevertheless," said Marco, "You're here, aren't you? Your greed has taken you across the galaxy."
""We chose the Remans for their relentless nature and physical strength," Marco continued. "Now such desirable traits are no longer needed."
"Are you saying, that you are planning on discarding all of these beings?" T'Sara asked. "That you will kill them?"
"Well, that sounds pretty harsh the way you put it," said Riker. "But...yeah."
Picard turned to Beverly, who was still standing hand in hand with Wesley and Jack. He surveyed his family, sickened by what was beginning to transpire. The viral entities had at time seemed a mild threat, if not innocuous. Now they had made clear that those who had been infected were disposable. "Beverly, Jack, Wesley...you must come to your senses. Please..."
Beverly shook her head. "Jean-Luc, you're the one who's lost your mind. You should want to be with your family in Eternity. Don't you love us?"
Picard turned on Marco. "Let them stay with me. Allow them to live."
"It's not that simple. But the three of you will live. At least for now."
"Marco," pleaded Walker. "Son... don't destroy yourself over this. We never had the time to...we never had the time to be family."
"Who's fault was that?" Marco turned and gestured for TuVol, who moved to his side obediently. Apparently the viral leader had jumped bodies once more. It was unclear however, if it was Marco or Riker who was calling the shots. "Bring him here," called Marco, and the Reman guards pushed Caine to his knees.
Riker laughed up at the sky. "Now...we wait for Tasha Yar to return."
