STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
"Aquiel"
Hi everyone! So I finished the two part episodes and now going to finish the one part. Which in my opinion I'm doing a pretty good at. So enjoy this episode!
"Captain's Log, Stardate 46461.3. The Enterprise has entered the Ipai Sector, where we are scheduled to deliver supplies to a remote communication relay station near the Klingon border." Picard said.
Picard, Riker, Worf and N.D.'S were at the main bridge. Worf reacts to his console.
"Station forty-seven is still not responding to our hails, Captain." Worf said.
Riker glanced at his armchair console.
"Should be two people aboard. Lieutenants Aquiel Uhnari... and Keith Rocha." he said.
"Life signs?" Picard said.
"It is difficult to scan through the concentrated subspace signals." Worf said.
Picard sent a look to Riker.
"Mister Worf..." Riker said on the move.
Then Worf and Riker headed for the Turbolift.
Riker, Worf, Geordi and Beverly materialized in the relay station, which was crowded with various consoles and communications equipment. The sound of unattended subspace massages could be heard playing - a cacophony of voices and signals and static weird and disorienting. They reacted to the noise.
"What is that noise?" Worf asked.
"They must've left the audio monitoring system on! We're hearing a few thousand subspace messages! I'll try to shut it off!" Geordi said over the din.
Geordi moved to a nearby console and started to work. Riker and Worf began to look around the room, while Beverly scanned with a tricorder. There were no people in sight.
Worf stopped at a door. He touched a control on the wall and the doors slid open and he entered the unseen room.
Geordi continued to work the console. Finally, the subspace messages stopped playing. He breathed a sigh of relief, turned to join the others then hesitated, hearing something. He listened intently. There was a faint thumping sound coming from somewhere nearby.
"Commander..." Geordi said to Riker.
Riker walked over and Geordi motioned toward the direction of the sound. They followed the thumping noise across the room down along a wall and toward a service duct opening near the floor.
"It's coming from inside this service duct... could be a loose cover plate..." Geordi said.
Riker knelt down beside the small entrance. The thumping grew louder. Riker and Geordi exchanged a mystified look.
Riker carefully looked into the service duct.
A medium-sized female dog was sitting in the shaft, her tail wagging, thumping against the metal.
The dog came out of the duct and licked Riker's face.
"Here's your loose cover plate..." Riker said to Geordi then knelt down to pet the dog. "Hey there, pooch..."
Worf returned from the quarters.
"The shuttlecraft is gone. There is no one aboard." he said.
Beverly called to them.
"Commander..." she started.
They moved to join her
She was kneeling in a remote corner of the room, scanning a section of the floor with her tricorder. There were smears of blood on a nearby console. Several pieces of equipment were overturned. Evidence of a struggle. They reacted as they saw that something's happened here.
Beverly indicated an area of the floor she was scanning - a three foot square section which had been melted and was surrounded by nasty-looking scorch marks. Blood and a dark, hardened fluid could be seen mixed in with the twisted metal.
"What is it?" Riker asked.
"Cellular residue... I think it's the remains of one of our Lieutenants." Beverly said.
Worf and an N.D. were at the Relay station working near the damaged section of floor. Worf was using a phaser to cut out the section of deckplate which had been melted.
Riker and Beverly were standing at the scene of the struggle. Geordi was working at a console in the background.
"All of the blood traces I found match Lieutenant Aquiel Uhnari." Beverly said indicating the section of melted deckplate. "For now I'll assume these are her remains... but I'll need to take the deckplate back to Sickbay to make sure."
"It would take a powerful weapon to do this..." Riker said.
"I'll have a better idea after I've analyzed the deckplate."
Riker looked at the deckplate a moment.
"If that is Lieutenant Uhnari... Where's Rocha?" he asked.
"The station's shuttle is gone. Maybe he took it."
"Before Uhnari died... or after?"
They considered this mystery for a moment.
Worf finished cutting with the phaser. He and the N.D. picked up the melted section of deckplate and set it aside.
"We're ready, Commander." he said to Riker.
Riker nodded and moved to Geordi. The dog was sitting at Geordi's feet.
"Any luck downloading the station logs?" Riker said.
"Not yet. I can't get past the security lock-outs." Geordi said. "But I think I know why..."
"All encrypted subspace messages are sent through this channel. Look at the signal notation..." Geordi said indicating a monitor.
Riker looked for a moment.
"It's out of sequence." he said.
Geordi nodded.
"I'd say somebody tried to by-pass the access protocol and break into the coded messages. It caused the security lock-outs to freeze up."
"Are there any messages missing?"
"I won't know until I can get into the files."
Geordi moved to pick up his equipment case and the dog followed him.
"I'm going to try accessing the logs from another console." he said.
Riker nodded and eyed the dog.
"Looks like you've made a friend." he said.
"Yeah..."
Geordi smiled, gave the dog a friendly pat.
"We're going back to the ship. Let me know as soon as you have something." Riker said.
"Aye sir."
Riker joined Beverly. Worf and the N.D. were holding the section of deckplate.
Then he tapped his combadge.
"Riker to Enterprise. Four to beam back."
Geordi turned to the dog.
"Come on, girl..." he said.
Then he grabbed a couple of tools and walked across the room, toward a set of doors still carrying the computer module. He tapped a button and the doors slid open.
Geordi entered Aquiel's quarters with the dog. The room was decorated with exotic artwork... various personal items could be seen... the bed is unmade. The place is cramped, but it has a comfortable, "lived in" look. There was a desk with a workstation. He sat down and activated the monitor showing static.
Then he opened a Mees panel on the wall, began to adjust the inner-workings with one of his tools.
"All right... what do you say we try repolarizing the interface..." he said.
A minute. Then there was a burst of garbled voices and static. Geordi glanced at the monitor He plugged the computer module into a corresponding slot on this terminal.
The dog whined. Surprised, Geordi turned to look, the dog was sitting nearby, staring up at a shelf. Geordi stood, moved to the shelf.
"This doesn't look like yours..." Geordi said.
Then he looked on the shelf again and saw a dog's bone. Geordi picked up the bone.
"Is this what you're looking for?" he asked.
He tossed the bone to the dog, who took it happily. Geordi looked at the headband for another minute then he replaced it on the shelf and eyed a few other items on the shelf.
Geordi returned to the wall panel and made a final adjustment to the circuitry, then tapped a control on the monitor.
"Computer, run station logs in sequence."
A burst of static then there was the voice of Aquiel Uhnari. The log picked her up in mid-sentence.
"- Log, Stardate 46458.3. Today we configured the relay controller grid. It was the last primary system we had to overhaul. We are scheduled to recalibrate and align the antennae systems in the next three days." Aquiel said.
The log stopped. Geordi took a minute.
"Computer, access visual output." Geordi said.
Then he tapped the desktop control still no picture. Static, then Aquiel's voice again. She sounded irritable.
"... sent in my third request for a message delay buffer. Until it arrives, Lieutenant Rocha and I have rigged a memory module to compensate. It'd better work... or about a half million subspace messages are going to end up drifting through space." Aquiel said. "Computer, open Uhnari correspondence file."
A burst of static, then silence.
"Computer... access correspondence files... Lieutenant Aquiel Uhnari." Geordi said.
A brief silence, then static. Geordi worked the controls.
"Hello, Shianna. Sorry I haven't talked to you in a while... but I've been dealing with the new Lieutenant, Rocha. So far he's been rude, arrogant, and condescending - and he's only been here two days. This might be a long year..." Aquiel said.
More static... Geordi worked the controls.
"Come on, Lieutenant... stick with me..." he said.
Aquiel's voice came in clearly again, mid-log. There was a strained quality to her voice this time she was upset about something.
"- I had the dream again. Mother is calling out my name... she's somewhere in the house... I get to the top of the hill all right... but then the house is slanted... I'm still walking uphill. I can't find her... doors everywhere and they all look the same..."
The log ended. A minute as Geordi absorbed what he's heard. He started to work at the wall panel circuitry.
The section of deckplate at sickbay was sitting on a table in the center of the room. The donut had been placed over the deckplate. From beneath the donut could be seen small beamed which were scanning the leading edge of the metal. Thin wisped of smoke were coming up from where the beams touched it.
Beverly and a medical N.D. were monitoring the armature as Picard and Riker looked on.
"The cellular residue is completely fused with the metal of the deckplate." she said. "We're trying to micro-vaporize the metal... so I can get a clean DNA sample."
They moved away from the table.
"Do you have any idea what killed her?" Picard said.
"Well... this is just a guess, but from the molecular deposition on the plating I'd say it was a highlevel phaser blast."
"Could it have been a Klingon disruptor?"
"Possibly."
Picard looked at Riker.
"Geordi found evidence that the encrypted messages might have been tampered with." Riker said. "We're pretty close to Klingon space..." he said with import.
This was a serious matter. Picard thought for a moment.
"There hasn't been a Klingon raid against the Federation in over seven years." he said. "I don't want to risk a diplomatic incident until we have more evidence."
"And there's still the question of what happened to Lieutenant Rocha..."
Picard nodded.
"Get Rocha's personnel file from Starfleet Command. And ask Starbase Two-Twelve to help search for that shuttle." he said to Riker.
"Aye sir."
"Keep me apprised." he said to Beverly.
Beverly nodded as he and Riker headed for the door.
Geordi was still at Aquiel's quarters at the relay station at the wall panel, working to access more logs. The dog was lying on the floor, asleep. Geordi made a final adjustment to the panel, then glanced at the monitor screen.
"Alright... let's try this again..." he said.
Then he made another adjustment, looked at the screen static.
"The phase inducers are aligned... this should be working..." he said. "Come on, Lieutenant... I know you're in there somewhere..." he said and took a hard look at the screen and got an idea.
"Computer - run a subsystem diagnostic, with a frequency range of ten to one hundred megahertz." he said to the computer.
"Diagnostic cycle will be complete in twenty seconds." computer said,
The circuitry started to blink. Geordi stood and crossed to a replicator slot.
"Iced coffee." he said to the replicator.
Then there was a glass of iced coffee materialized. Geordi took a sip of the coffee.
The dog barked and Geordi reacted, startled.
"What is it, girl?"
He moved back into the room. The dog was now awake, sitting in front of the desk with one paw up on the desktop, staring at the computer screen then she barked at the screen.
Geordi walked to the desk to look at the screen.
The static was gone in its place the freeze-framed image of Aquiel Uhnari.
A few minutes later Geordi was in the ready room at the desk, fiddling with the computer module, the image of Aquiel was still on the monitor. After a minute, the image came to life and she began to speak. She was in her quarters.
"Hello, Shianna. By the time you get this... the Batarael will be over. This is the first year I haven't been there... I've been wondering who's singing the Horath in my place..." she said.
Aquiel was silent a moment then she began to sing a soft and beautiful alien melody. Geordi sat back and listened, entranced by the singing.
""Jomiael hahnalia ma marou nitalia Rumael tavariel fatra di va Jomiael Batarael..."" she sang.
Over this, Geordi stood and began to eye various personal items on the shelf. He stopped at a nightstand. An open book was lying face down on the table, along with a half empty glass of liquid. He noted the title of the book: "THE FATAL REVENGE." There was something else on the nightstand, an alien perfume bottle. He carefully picked it up then removed the stopper... reacted to the pleasing fragrance.
""continues to sing song - TBD"" she sang.
Geordi turned and glanced around the room. His eye fell on an intricate glass and crystal prism was sitting on a stand by itself. Light sparkles were on his face as he picked it up.
""finishes song - TBD"" she sang.
Then she stopped singing, overcome by emotion. She looked down for a moment, then back up.
"I had the dream again... the one where Mother is screaming... I climb the hill to our house... but I can't get to her..." she said. "Shianna, this time I ran away. I was so scared I ran back down the hill..."
There was a pause as Aquiel looked down trying to come to grips with her feelings.
"I think I know why I've been having dreams about danger... it's because of what's been happening with that Klingon."
Geordi sat up at the mention of a Klingon.
"He's getting more aggressive all the time." she said.
Geordi worked the control for a quick minute. The log played her last couple of sentences again.
"... it's because of what's been happening with that Klingon. He's getting more aggressive all the time. Not just the usual threats... Morag actually locked his disruptors on the station this time." she said. "I don't really think there'll be any trouble... it just gives me those panic feelings... wanting to run, wanting to get away from danger." she continued. "Shianna, I couldn't say this to anyone but you... but... the panic... is the same thing I used to feel when Father got angry... when I knew he was going to punish me..." she said. "Only now I'm out here in space and there's no place to run."
Geordi stared at the screen, feeling an intruder in this person's private life... and yet knowing he had heard something that might lead to her killer. He touched a button and ends the playback.
Geordi was in the ready room reporting to Picard.
"There are at least three references to a Commander Morag - a Klingon officer who patrols this section of the border. Apparently he would pass the station every few days and harass them." Geordi said.
"Perhaps Morag was the one interested in obtaining the encrypted messages." Picard said.
"Could be. She didn't say." Geordi said. "I still have several days worth of logs left to watch. Maybe I'll learn more."
"Very well. In the meantime, I'll talk to the Klingon Governor about Commander Morag."
Then they all left.
The dog in Geordi's quarters was lying on the floor. Geordi was at his console, connecting the computer module to the desk terminal. He made a final adjustment.
"Computer - access Aquiel Uhnari's personal logs." Geordi said to the computer. "Begin playback."
There was a minute. Then Aquiel's face appeared but this time she was wearing an elaborate wig. She looked ridiculous and seemed to know it.
"Shianna, you always said I'd look great with a wig. So here it is." Aquier said and leaned closer. "What do you think?"
Geordi responded as if she were really asking him the question.
"Definitely not you." he said.
She laughed and pulled off the wig.
"Okay... maybe I'm getting a little crazy... you would, too, if you were on a relay station in the middle of nowhere with no one for company except an egomaniac like Keith Rocha."
Geordi listened carefully.
"I took a big risk today... countermanded an order he gave... I agreed to handle the com traffic of Relay Station one-nine-four while they shut down for maintenance. Rocha said we couldn't handle the additional signal load... but I think he's wrong." she said and leaned toward him. "When he finds out... he'll be furious."
Then she sat back, a little calmer after venting a bit.
"It's days like this that I wish I was home. You know what I miss?" she said. "Muskan seed punch." she continued. "Real Muskan seed punch. I can get it from the replicator... but it's not the same. I'd give anything for some of the punch Mother used to make... with chunks of the seeds still in it..."
There was a pause as Aquiel reflected on the past. Her mood darkened.
"I had the dream again."
On the computer, there was a strange sound. Aquiel looked sharply off to her side.
"Keith? Is that you?"
A brief pause and then the computer screen went to static. Geordi stared at it, pensive. The dog nuzzled his hand, and Geordi pet him in silence.
Worf was at the relay station kneeling down in the corner of the station where the murder occurred. He scanned with a tricorder as Riker looked on.
"Commander... there are DNA traces here. They are Klingon." Worf said.
Riker reacted.
"So Klingons did board the station..." Riker said.
"I have only found DNA from one Klingon so far. I will continue to scan."
Riker nodded. Worf went back to scanning with his tricorder.
Geordi was sitting in Aquiel's quarters at the Relay Station desk, reading the book seen earlier on the nightstand "The Fatal Revenge." A device with an optical conduit was hooked up to the computer terminal, the device was flashing and beeping softly. Geordi turned a page in the book... he reacted to something and shudders slightly.
"How could she read this stuff...?" Geordi said to himself.
Riker entered from Ops.
"How's it going?" he asked.
Geordi put the book down.
"I've managed to access all of Lieutenant Uhnari's logs. I'm looking for Rocha's now. Whatever happened to the encrypted messages had a cascade effect on the whole storage system, and I can't find any of his files."
"Maybe Rocha didn't make the official logs... Uhnari might have been responsible for them."
"I don't think so. Aquiel was the junior officer."
Riker took note of Geordi's casual familiarity with the dead woman.
""Aquiel"?" he said.
Geordi looked at him, realized... was a little embarrassed.
"Lieutenant Uhnari." he said. "I was up all night watching her personal logs... I guess I'm starting to feel like I know her."
"What was she like?"
Geordi thought for a moment, smiled at the thought of her.
"Well... she was Hahliian... she had one sister, named Shianna... she drank muskan seed punch... she had a sense of humor that I could only describe as... "unique."" he said. "She loved to sing... and read..." he continued. "... books of questionable taste."
"Enterprise to Commander Riker." Picard said on com.
"Riker here." Riker said.
"The Klingon ship Qu'Vat has arrived with Governor Torak. Please report to the Observation Lounge."
"On my way, sir."
Picard, Riker, Beverly and Geordi were at the Observation lounge seated at the table.
"Torak claims to be bringing evidence that the Klingons had no involvement in the murder of Lieutenant Uhnari." Picard said.
"Really. We just found evidence that there was at least one Klingon at the scene of the murder." Riker said.
Picard reacted.
"This should be an interesting meeting." he said.
The doors slid open and Worf entered with Torak right behind him. Worf looked disturbed about something.
"Governor Torak, sir." he said.
Picard and the others stood.
"Governor. Welcome aboard..."
Torak looked smug.
"Do not bore me with your human pleasantries. I told you we did not kill the woman. Now I will prove it to you..." Torak said then called out the door. "ghoS!" (Come!)
An N.D. Klingon entered, escorting a very alive Lieutenant Aquiel Uhnari into the room.
"This is Lieutenant Aquiel Uhnari."
Aquiel broke free of the Klingon's grip, hot-tempered. Everyone was shocked.
A few moments later everyone had taken a seat at the table in the Observation lounge. Aquiel was talking to the group trying to make a report, but the past couple of days had been a strain on her.
"We were running a level two diagnostic of the message buffer... nothing special. Rocha had been on edge all morning, but he'd been irritable ever since he got there, so I didn't think anything of it..." Aquiel said. "We were mid-way through the procedure... and suddenly... he attacked me..."
She paused then tried to maintain her composure.
"He grabbed me... and threw me against the port bulkhead... I yelled at him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. He took me by the throat... I broke free and tried to get to the weapons locker..." she continued. "I'm not sure what happened next... but somehow I got aboard the shuttle and left..."
There was a grim minute as they took in the story.
"We found her on our side of the border heading toward Sector Two Five Two Zero. She is lucky my patrol ship did not destroy her vessel on sight." Torak said.
Aquiel shot an agitated look at the Klingon. Picard tried to ease the tension.
"Lieutenant... why didn't you contact Starfleet and report what happened aboard the Station?" Picard asked.
"I... don't know, sir. Maybe I passed out. I'm not even sure how long I was in the shuttle before the Klingons picked me up." Aquiel said.
"Forty-six hours." Geordi said.
She looked at him.
"You've been gone forty-six hours." he said.
She nodded.
"We assumed you were dead. Your blood stains were found at the murder scene." Beverly said.
Aquiel touched the wound on her head.
"I think I cut my head when he threw me against the bulkhead." she said.
"Then the remains we found must be Lieutenant Rocha." Worf said.
"I can't confirm that." Beverly said. "Until we can separate the cellular residue from the deckplate, I won't be able to get a clear DNA scan."
Riker had to ask the obvious question, but his tone is non-accusatory.
"You said you tried to get to the weapons locker... is it possible that you did?" he asked Aquiel.
She threw him a look.
"No, I... I didn't."
But Riker caught her hesitation.
"You're sure?"
"I don't... exactly remember everything after he attacked me..."
A minute as she struggled to remember. She looked up, concerned.
"I'm sorry. It's as if my memories were... drained right out of me..."
A quiet minute as they weigh the situation. Nobody was sure what to think of her story. But for now, they gave her the benefit of the doubt.
"Your logs said that a Commander Morag had been harassing you... did you ever let him or any other Klingon aboard the station?" Geordi said.
"Absolutely not."
"If that is true, then Morag or some other Klingon boarded the station after she left." Worf said to Picard. "We found Klingon DNA traces aboard the station." he said to Torak.
"You still try to blame us!" Torak said.
"Have the courage to admit your mistakes. Or are you a lo'Be Vos?"
"At least I do not wear the uniform of a P'tak!" Torak said furious.
"Governor Torak... we are merely exploring all the possibilities. Lieutenant Uhnari's logs said Commander Morag was harassing the station -" Picard said.
"He was doing his job!"
"If he was only doing his job, then I'm sure you won't mind if we speak with him."
Torak fumed for a moment, then rose.
"Very well. In the interests of diplomacy, I will allow you to speak to Morag... but my patience has limits." he said.
Torak left with the other Klingon. Once they were gone, then tension level in the room dropped. Geordi turned to Aquiel.
"Lieutenant... I know a friend of yours who's very eager to see you." he said.
She looked at him in curiosity.
"Who?"
"Come on..."
And they left.
When they got to Geordi's quarters the dog started bounding across the room into Aquiel's arms, nearly knocking her over in her enthusiasm. Aquiel was surprised and pleased to see her.
She knelt to pet dog.
"Maura! I was worried about you... good girl..."
"Maura... so that's her name."
"Yes, it's from "Cold Moon Over Blackwater." Have you read it?"
"No... I'm not much for gothic fiction."
"Most people aren't nowadays."
Aquiel noticed a chewed-up boot laying nearby. She realized what happened and gave Geordi an apologetic look.
"Yeah... Maura got a little... restless."
"Maura, shame on you. This isn't like you..." she said to the dog.
"It's alright..." he said and bent down to pick up a second boot. "At least she's chewing them up in pairs.
Aquiel stood and gave him a genuine smile. Geordi smiled back. There is an awkward moment.
"I'll arrange quarters for you. I'm sure you'd like some time alone..." he said.
"Actually... I've been stuck on that station for over nine months... I wouldn't mind going someplace with some activity."
"I know just the place."
Geordi and Aquiel were at Ten Forward sitting at a table near the windows. Aquiel looked around the room, starting to relax a little and her natural charm and allure is starting to surface. Geordi was clearly attracted to her but tried to maintain a cordial distance.
Then a bartender has just set two drinks in front of them.
"Have you ever tried Muskan seed punch?" she asked.
"Yeah... it nearly made me sick."
"You have to be raised on it. It's very nutritious... and the taste grows on you."
"Batar al nalia." Geordi said in Haliian.
(But not on me)
Aquiel was surprised.
"You speak Hahliian?"
He shrugged.
"Nelo, nelo..."
(a little, a little)
"Your accent is wonderful... almost flawless."
"Thanks... I've always had a knack for languages... probably because my folks moved around so much..."
"We never travelled. My family has lived in the same house for five generations."
"The one on the hill?"
She stared at him. Geordi realized he's made a revelation.
"How did you know about that...?" she asked.
"Well... to be honest... when we thought you were dead... I had to review your logs... and your personal correspondence... for any possible clues about what happened."
Aquiel took a minute.
"All of it?" she asked quietly.
"Most of it."
There was a brief, awkward beat. Geordi sensed her discomfort.
"You have to remember... we thought you'd been murdered. We needed information." he said.
She stared at him for a moment, struggling with the sense of intrusion.
"I'm sorry... it's just that... I say things to my sister that I wouldn't say to anyone else. I guess I'm feeling a little... exposed." she said.
"I'd feel the same way."
His understanding made her relax a little.
"Especially if I'd seen you in a wig..." she said.
Geordi couldn't help but laugh. And she smiled, too, relieved to have the tension eased a little.
"I'm curious... now that you've met me... am I what you expected?" she said.
Geordi regarded her, a bit surprised by the question. He tried to respond in kind.
"I'm not sure. The woman I saw on
those logs is very complicated." he said. "I think there's more to you than meets the eye, Lieutenant."
"In what way...?"
"Your relationship with Rocha, for example. He'd only been there five days... but there was already a lot of friction... and you almost seemed to delight in doing things that would upset him. Why would you take on extra com traffic... when you knew it would make him angry?"
She had begun scratching a fingernail on the table top, tracing little doodles.
"Is that a personal question? Or part of a murder investigation?" she asked.
"I don't know. Maybe both."
She looked up at him, holding his look with her strange alien eyes.
"Keith Rocha was obnoxious from the minute he reported for duty. He treated me as though I were beneath contempt." she said. "I dealt with him the best way I could. I felt like I had to battle him just to hold my own. But that doesn't mean I wanted him dead."
"Why do you think he attacked you?
"I don't know."
Riker was at the read room reporting to Picard. They were looking at a desktop monitor, which displayed the personnel file of Lieutenant Keith Rocha. His image could be seen on the screen.
"Rocha's file is spotless. Two decorations for valor... three outstanding evaluations from his previous commanders..." Riker said. "Doesn't sound like the same man Lieutenant Uhnari described."
"What have you found out about Uhnari?" Picard asked.
"I checked into her record, too." Riker said. "Her last posting was on Deriben Five. I spoke with her commanding officer there. He said she's argumentative... quick to take offense. He told me that he transferred Uhnari to this relay station because she was hampering their efforts." he continued. "To be honest, sir... I'm beginning to have doubts about her story."
"Why?"
"I had Worf check the weapons locker on the relay station... there's a phaser missing."
"You think she lied?"
"Lied... conveniently forgot... I'm not sure. I just think it's something we have to consider."
Picard considered this for a moment.
"As of now, we don't have sufficient evidence one way or the other... I want you to examine her shuttle... perhaps there's something there which will shed some light on her story." e said.
"Aye sir."
Geordi and Aquiel were walking along. There was a strained silence before they speak.
"How much longer do you think the investigation will take?" Aquiel asked.
"Hard to say. Maybe two or three more days..." Geordi said.
Another silence. They reached her quarters. She stopped, turned to face him directly.
"I know I'm a suspect in this murder. Let me ask you something..." she said. "You watched my logs... you know me better than anyone here..." she continued. "Do I seem like the kind of person who could kill someone?"
Her directness could be difficult at times.
Geordi looked at her.
"No." he said.
She took a breath, sheer relief.
"I don't think I realized how much I needed to hear that..."
"Aquiel... it's been a hard couple of days... I think you need some sleep."
Acknowledging the truth of what he said, she touched a control on the wall and the doors slid open. But she hesitated before entering. She turned back to him.
"You called me complicated... you're right. And I don't make friends easily..." she said.
Then she reached up a hand, gave Geordi's cheek a quick and gentle stroke.
"Oumriel."
She turned into her quarters and the doors slid shut. Geordi took a breath... stood there a moment, considering his feelings for her.
"Oumriel..." he said quietly then turned and continue down the corridor.
Beverly was at sickbay examining a tray filled with the gelatinous fluid which had finally been separated from the deckplate. She ran a tricorder over the fluid and checked the readings. The medical N.D. stood nearby, working. Picard was looking on.
"I've managed to isolate the cellular residue from the metal of the deckplate. We've begun a full spectrum tissue scan..." Beverly said. "But something destabilized the DNA to such an extent, that I can't get a clear scan of it."
"Could a high level phaser blast have caused this kind of DNA disruption?" Picard asked.
"Possibly. But it would take a continuous burst of thirty to forty seconds to cause this kind of damage." she said. "I'm going to try to reform the DNA with a resonance frequency burst... see if I can reconstruct it to get an accurate scan."
Picard nodded
At shuttlebay Aquiel's shuttlecraft was in the bay, its doors were open.
Riker and Worf were inside her shuttlecraft, searching for clues. Riker was looking in the back. Worf was at the main control panel, scanning the area. After a moment, he opened a compartment on the console, looked inside and reacted to what he found.
"Commander..." he started.
Riker joined him. Worf showed that he was holding a phaser.
"It is set to kill." he said.
Aquiel was at her quarters being questioned by Riker and Worf, as Geordi looked on. Riker's attitude was reasonable but firm.
"We found a type two phaser in your shuttlecraft. It was taken from the weapons locker on the station." Riker said to Aquiel.
Aquiel was surprised and a little defensive.
"I told you I don't remember what happened. Maybe I did get to the weapons locker..." she said.
"The phaser was set to level ten." he said. "Standard procedure requires that all phasers are set to level one when they're in storage."
"That means someone deliberately changed the setting." Worf said. "And there is the matter of your conflict with Lieutenant Rocha."
Aquiel reacted with shock at the implications.
"Rocha and I had our disagreements... but I would never kill him..."
"Have you been able to remember anything at all about what happened after he attacked you?" Riker asked.
Aquiel struggled to recall.
"No... nothing..." she said. "I... suppose it's possible... maybe in self-defense I..."
Then she trailed off, unable to complete the awful thought. Riker took a minute.
"Doctor Crusher tells me that in order to inflict the kind of molecular damage found in Rocha's remains... it would take a sustained phaser discharge of at least thirty to forty seconds." he said. "That doesn't sound like "self-defense" to me."
Aquiel didn't know how to respond. Geordi was protective of Aquiel and wanted to believe her story.
"Wait a minute. We haven't even established this phaser as the murder weapon yet." Geordi said. "And even at level ten... I don't see how a phaser could do what the medical evidence says it did. A subspace disruptor like a Klingon weapon, maybe..."
"Look - we're not here to make accusations... Just to find out what happened." zriker said. "Commander Morag is due to arrive in two hours. We'll see what he has to say."
Aquiel nodded.
"I'd like to go back to the station... and try accessing Rocha's personal logs again." Geordi said.
"Good idea." Riker said.
They headed for the door. Geordi glanced at her, she's obviously unnerved by the situation. He offered her a reassuring look, then he left with Riker and Worf.
Riker, Worf and Geordi entered from Aquiel's quarters. Geordi headed one direction, while Worf headed another. Riker stopped Geordi.
"Geordi... wait a second."
Geordi stopped, looked at him. Riker's tone became quiet and intimate. He was concerned about his friend.
"This is off the record. I'm saying this as your friend, not your superior officer." he said. "It might be best if you weren't so... personally involved with Aquiel right now. There's a lot about her we don't know..."
"There's a lot about her that I do know..." Geordi said. "If she's innocent... I'd like to help her prove it."
"I think you're letting your personal feelings cloud your judgment."
Geordi didn't want to hear this.
"I'm not the one making judgments." he said hard then walked off.
Geordi was at the relay station working at an opened panel near a monitor, trying to access Rocha's logs. He's been at it awhile and was thinking about asking Wesley to come and help but knew he was at the bridge right now. He completed an adjustment, and the monitor came to life with a Starfleet logo. Geordi was pleased.
"Got it..." Geordi said. "Computer - display personal logs of Lieutenant Rocha. Stardates 46455 to 46461." he said to the computer.
The computer worked, then one by one, a listing of logs appeared on the monitor. Each log was identified by a stardate and additional information. He watched as the logs scroll by, then something caught his eye. The information by three consecutive stardates was absent, there was a gap in the entries. He stopped the logs and studied them a moment.
"Computer - what happened to the log entries for Stardate 46460?"
"The logs have been deleted."
Geordi reacted
"Who deleted them?"
"Unknown."
Geordi thought.
"Computer - access internal records for Station forty-seven. Authorization La Forge Theta Nine Nine Two." he said. "Perform a command function trace on the instructions to delete the log entries."
A Klingon bird of prey had joined the Enterprise and the relay station.
"Captain's Log: Supplemental. The Qu'Vat has arrived with Commander Morag. We are preparing to question him regarding his involvement in the murder of Lieutenant Rocha." Picard said.
Picard, Riker, Worf, Torak, Data, Deanna and commander Morag, a Klingon officer were at the observation lounge seated around the table. The Klingon N.D. was standing off to one side. Morag was outraged.
"I killed no one!" he said.
"We found your DNA on the consoles, and on the bulkheads... we know you were there." Riker said unruffled.
Morag glanced at Torak, looking for support but finding none.
"Answer their questions." Torak said.
Morag shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
"Yes..." he said uncertain. "Yes, I was there. My patrol route takes me near the station every six days. Three days ago I hailed them and there was no response. I was... concerned." he said bolder.
"Concerned...?" Deanna said.
"Yes. I went aboard to see what had happened. No one was there, so I left." Morag said bluffing.
"And that's all?" Riker asked.
"That's all."
Riker looked to Data.
"Commander Morag, we have discovered that the encrypted message bank on the station has been tampered with. Our analysis indicates that twenty-seven priority Starfleet messages are missing." Data said.
"What of it?"Morag asked.
"Your DNA was also found on the message control module."
Morag jumped to his feet, feigning outrage.
"This is outrageous! We will not tolerate these accusations!" he said.
Morag headed for the door, but the Klingon N.D. blocked his way. He looked back to Torak for support, but Torak was thinking about his own hide.
"This is a... diplomatic matter, Morag." Torak said. "Do not make me search your ship."
Morag looked from Torak to the grim-faced N.D. and suddenly realized that he was alone here. He returned to the table.
"Yes... I did take the messages..." Morag said grudgingly.
"Did you kill Lieutenant Rocha?" Picard asked.
"No. There was no one there. I saw blood... and signs of a struggle. I took the codes, but I killed no one."
"Governor, we would like Commander Morag to remain aboard the Enterprise until our investigation is complete."
"Take him." Torak said.
They all rose. Picard nodded to Worf who gestured to a crestfallen Morag.
"This way." Worf said.
Morag reluctantly went with Worf.
Geordi, Wesley and Aquiel were in the Relay stations ops standing near the console where Geordi was working. The monitor displayed the logs with the missing entries. The mood was tense. Midconversation.
"Last night, after I dropped you off at your quarters..." Geordi said. "you established a subspace link with this console..." he continued. "You deleted some of Rocha's personal file... didn't you?"
Aquiel hesitated, nervous... glanced at the monitor... saw the evidence in front of her and couldn't deny it.
"Yes... I did." she said.
"Why?" Wesley asked.
"I found... a letter Rocha was planning to send to Starfleet Command... about me." Aquiel said. "The letter said I had become belligerent... and insubordinate. He was going to ask for a formal hearing."
Geordi and Wesley were disturbed by the revelation.
"Geordi, Wesley, I know how this looks..." Aquiel said.
"Yeah - it looks pretty bad." Geordi said. "I find out you've erased a letter that contained a possible motivation for murder -"
"I didn't kill him." she said firm.
"Then explain this..." Geordi started.
A tense minute. Aquiel started to move around the room, feeling trapped, her impulse to run almost overwhelming her.
"I was afraid if they found the letter... I'd be blamed for the murder." she said. "I'm not a model officer, I realize that. Sometimes I act on impulse instead of thinking things through..."
"Aquiel... this really complicates things..." Wesley said. "And usually I figure things out easily."
Geordi snickered at that knowing he was right. Wesley hates it when he doesn't know something himself.
Aquiel turned away and intently headed for her quarters.
When she got there she grabbed a small suitcase and quickly started to throw some clothing into it. Geordi and Wesley entered and watched her for a minute.
"What are you doing?" Geordi asked.
"Getting out of here." she said.
Geordi moved close to her while Wesley sat down then Geordi took her gently by the arm. Wesley smirked at that. He and Robin had become a couple a few months ago and were doing fine.
"Aquiel... running away isn't going to prove your innocence... facing the situation will." he continued.
Aquiel stopped what she was doing, knowing he was right. Suddenly, she looked very lost and alone.
"I'm scared, Geordi..."
She turned to Geordi... then moved into his arms. Geordi held her tight.
"We'll get through this. I promise..." he said.
"We Promise." Wesley said smiling.
There was a minute as they held one another. Aquiel looked up at Geordi.
"Then... you two believe me?"
Geordi stared at her for a long minute.
"Yes. I do." he said and Wesley nodded.
"I do to." Wesley said.
Aquiel's features softened. She and Geordi were slowly drawn together and kissed. Wesley smiled
Beverly was at sickbay examining the tray filled with the dark, gelatinous fluid. She was holding a hand-held scanning instilment over the tray. The medical N.D. stood nearby.
"Alright. Initiate the resonance frequency burst..." she said.
The N.D. hit the controls on a console in response, Beverly's device activated, and she swept a thin laser over the fluid.
Then she reacted to the readings on the instrument.
"I'm starting to get a stable DNA scan... this is odd..." she said. "The nucleotide sequences are starting to fluctuate... the DNA is becoming motile."
She turned to the N.D., and as she did so her hand dropped casually down to the lip of the tray.
"Let's try another frequency burst - increase the resonance level by twenty percent -" she said.
The organic fluid on the tray suddenly came to life then it moved toward Beverly's hand and touched her.
Beverly jumped back from the touch. She looked down at the tray then her shock turned to amazement as she saw the fluid had now transformed itself into an exact replica of her hand.
She reacted to this strange and disturbing sight.
A couple of hours had gone by and Geordi was sitting on the edge of the bed and Wesley was on his break with Robin. Aquiel was lying next to him, her eyes closed, face peaceful. Geordi looked at her a moment then he stood and crossed to a nearby desk. Aquiel opened her eyes.
"What is it...?" she asked.
Geordi sat down at a computer terminal feeling restless and wants to get back to the task at hand.
"We've... got a lot of work to do..."
Aquiel was still feeling vulnerable... and didn't want this moment of intimacy to end. She watched him work a moment, then stood and moved to him.
"I haven't felt this close to someone in a long time... I don't want to let go of it..."
Geordi turned to her and spoke gently.
"Me neither..." he said. "But we've got over six hundred logs to go through..."
"Alright. But first... there's something I want to share with you. A way that we can become... more intimate."
Geordi looked at her, curious.
"My people are partially telepathic... we use something called the Canar to help us focus our thoughts." she explained.
Aquiel reached for the small table which held the crystal prism seen earlier. She carefully picked up the crystal and showed it to him.
"We also use the Canar to establish a stronger emotional link during... love." she said prim.
"I was wondering what that was..."
Aquiel looked up at him, and in her eyes there was an unspoken invitation.
"Do both of us have to be... telepathic for it to work?" he said softly.
"Let's find out."
Then she reached up for his visor and hesitated.
"Go ahead..." he said.
Aquiel carefully removed his visor and set it on the table. She gently guided his hand to the prism.
"Think of me..." she said.
Picard, Riker and Worf were at sickbay listening to Beverly. The replica of her hand was still sitting in the tray.
"It's a perfect reproduction of my hand - all the way down to the DNA structure." Beverly said.
They looked at the hand in amazement.
"You said it was formed from the organic matter found in the deckplate?" Picard asked.
"When I infused the matter with a resonance frequency burst, it activated the DNA. Then it touched my hand... and started to mimic my cellular structure..."
Picard eyed the hand.
"Doctor... what exactly is this?" he asked.
"It's going to sound pretty farfetched..." she said.
Then she formed her thoughts.
"Have you ever heard of coalescent organisms?" she asked.
"No..." Riker said.
"Rare microscopic lifeforms which must absorb other organisms in order to survive. Now, that's not so unusual... but coalescents become the organism they've absorbed - right down to the cellular level."
"Do you think that is what happened with your hand?" Worf asked.
"There have been reports that these organisms can exist on a larger scale. What happened to my hand seems to support that theory." Beverly said.
They considered the strange hypothesis.
"Are you saying that Lieutenant Rocha was killed by one of these - organisms?" Riker asked.
"It's possible it happened before he reported for duty on the relay station." Beverly said.
"I do not understand." Worf said.
"I've checked the records. Just before he was posted to the relay station, Rocha served on an outpost in the Triona System..." she said. "That's in a remote sector... maybe he was absorbed by a coalescent during that mission..."
"Then... what came aboard the station, was actually an organism that looked and acted like Rocha..." Riker said onto the idea.
They considered, grim-faced.
"How often must they change bodies?" Worf asked.
"The microscopic organisms have a cycle of no more than five to ten seconds. We can only assume a larger, more complex coalescent would have a cycle of at least days... or weeks." Beverly said.
The implications sunk in.
"If what you're saying is true... Rocha attacked Uhnari because he needed a new body..." Picard started.
"Right."
But that means... Uhnari's now a coalescent." Riker said.
"There was another person on the station - Morag. It is possible he was the one who was... absorbed." Worf said.
"Computer - locate Commander Morag and Lieutenant Uhnari." Picard said.
"Commander Morag is in his quarters. Lieutenant Uhnari is not aboard the Enterprise." computer said.
"Where did she go?" Worf asked compute.
"Lieutenant Uhnari transported to Relay Station Forty-Seven at eighteen thirty hours."
"You get Morag. I'm going to the station." Riker said to Worf.
Then they were out the door.
Back at Aquiel's quarter Geordi and Aquiel were holding the prism, which was now alive with light radiating vibrant colors onto their faces. Aquiel opened her eyes and looked at Geordi.
"Geordi...?" Aquiel said.
There is a minute. Geordi's eyes remained closed, but his face changed, an expression of wonderment came over his features.
"I can see you..." he said then took in a sharp breath.
"And I can... feel you..."
Aquiel smiled.
The Klingon Commander Morag was in his quarters pacing the floor, obviously pent-up and frustrated at being confined. Suddenly the doors slid open and Worf and a Security N.D. entered, phasers pointed.
"Do not move." Worf said.
"What is this - ?" Morag asked.
"Come with us."
Confused, Morag had no choice. He walked warily out of the room, followed by the others.
At Aquiel's quarters Aquiel set the prism back onto the table. She took Geordi's face into her hands then rested her cheek against his.
"You've never been as close to someone as you're about to be... think of me..." she whispered.
Geordi concentrated, their mental and emotional connection built.
They reacted to the sound of someone materializing in the other room.
Then Riker and security N.D. were in the room. Geordi quickly put on his visor as Riker pointed his phaser at Aquiel.
"Step away from him, Lieutenant... slowly." Riker said to Aquiel.
"What is it, Commander?" Geordi asked.
"That might not be Lieutenant Uhnari..."
"What?"
"What are you saying?" Aquiel asked.
"Step away. Now." Riker said.
Aquiel backed away, eyes wide.
"Chief Medical Officer's Log, supplemental. Commander Morag and Lieutenant Uhnari are being kept under close observation. So far, no sign of coalescent behavior has surfaced." Beverly said.
Riker was at Geordi's quarters talking to Geordi, who was sitting in a chair, absently petting the dog, Maura.
"Uhnari and Morag will be transferred to a secure medical facility at Starbase Two-twelve. Maybe we'll know more by the time we get there." Riker said.
Geordi was subdued. The events of the past few days had taken him on an emotional roller coaster.
"Yeah... maybe..." he said.
"It might be Morag... there's no way to tell..." Riker said.
"Right..." Geordi said not believing it.
There was an awkward silence.
"Get some rest. This has been a tough couple of days..." Riker said.
"Thanks..."
Then Riker left. Geordi sat there a moment, thoughtful, then he moved to his desk and sat down at a computer terminal.
"Computer - display the Engineering duty roster for the next three days." Geordi said to the computer.
There was a minute then he began to quietly work at the terminal.
The dog stepped up behind him and looked at him, wagging its tail. Geordi didn't notice the dog and kept working.
The dog moved to Geordi's feet and bit at his boot. Geordi gently kicked the dog away.
Then the dog bit at his boot again. Geordi glanced down.
"Come on now... stop it..." he said to the dog.
He nudged her away and continued to work. The dog stood back and stared at him a moment, then it began to quietly growl in an eerie way.
Geordi kept working, oblivious to the dog. Then he finally heard the growling, turned toward the dog and saw it growling and stood, alarmed.
"Maura...?" he said.
Without warning, the dog transformed into a dark, terrifying, fluid-looking creature which reared up and moved at Geordi.
Geordi reacted, shocked, and leapt out of the way. The creature went after him, roaring.
He scrambled out of the way as the creature made several frightening lunges toward him. He ran into a table and almost fell but managed to stay on his feet, only to find himself being backed into a corner as the creature moved inexorably closer.
The creature made a final lunge. Geordi jumped toward a nearby desk and opened a drawer then grabbed out a phaser. He aimed at the creature and fired
The creature was jolted back but quickly recovered and moved to attack again, roaring, furious.
Geordi rapidly tapped the phaser, adjusting the force setting to level fourteen.
Geordi aimed and fired at the creature with an intense, sustained burst. The creature disintegrated in a flash of light. Gone.
Geordi and Aquiel were at Ten Forward sitting at one of the tables. Aquiel was trying to make sense of everything that had happened.
"Maybe the reason you don't remember what happened after Rocha attacked you... is that the coalescing process had begun... remember you felt like the memories had been drained right out of you? That's probably just what happened..." Geordi said.
"Then... maybe I did take the phaser..." Aquiel said.
"Whatever happened, at least you got away."
"So he turned on Maura."
There was a small silence as they sip their drinks, not quite knowing where to take the conversation.
"Well. What now?" Geordi asked.
"I guess I'll be going to Starbase Two-Twelve for re-assignment."
Another silence.
"You know... I had a talk with Chief Pendleton in Communications. There's an opening for a level two specialist." Geordi said trying to be casual.
She stared at him, surprised.
"Really?" she said. I'm sure there's a waiting list so long I'd be grey before I got here."
"I could put in a good word." Geordi said off hand.
She eyed him... understanding what he's saying, and appreciating it... but needing to stay her own person.
"It's an appealing offer..." she said. "But I think I'd rather get here on my own merits." she continued then smiled. "Don't be surprised if you see my name at the end of that list."
They shared a look that held a promise for the future.