VII

The La Sirena made it safely to Vulcan, which meant that quite an astounding array of talent was present on Tuvok's home world. He had even mentioned to T'Pel that rarely had he been in the presence of so many great people, high praise from a Vulcan.

Picard joined the growing sentiment, as he, Will, Janeway, and Tuvok discussed the matter, while the others were enjoying a leisurely day together.

"That still leaves us with the dilemma of confirming any of this", Picard said evenly. "What are the chances that this is him. How do we find out. But I agree, we should run down leads on this-but we can't forget that this might have to take a back seat once Shelby starts moving toward Fenris."

"We've got a little time, insofar as that goes", Will assured him. "They're slated to shove off in about nine days."

"I suppose it can't hurt to show this to my crew, can it?"

Janeway shook her head. "Why not? It's not like any of us Brass know who this guy is? Maybe they know something."

"I'm impressed with the ships, and the list of Captains that Jellico has been able to persuade to work with us. From what I see, there's a lot of great ships, and even better people to come to our assistance."

"He hasn't told us", Riker added, "but I suspect Ed is wanting to be the C-in-C of the task force, if it's needed. I have no problem with that, unless anyone else objects."

"He's active Starfleet", Janeway noted. "Patterson might out-rank him, but Mike hasn't held down the bridge of a ship in a long time. Jellico is a lot more seasoned in that regard."

"Agreed, and I'm too old to rejoin and take the heat", Picard said wryly, making the two humans chuckle.

"I must agree with the Admiral", Tuvok said, nodding at Picard, "this is an impressive list of ships and Captains. I assume Admiral Jellico is working to enlarge this list?"

Riker nodded. "He is, Mr. Tuvok. I'm sure we'll have quite a few more ships after things start shaking out."

They discussed a few other subjects, and Tuvok persuaded Picard to have his crew remain for dinner before departing.

The dinner was quite lively, everyone taking time to relax, laugh, and enjoy a great meal and good conversation. Even Tuvok and T'Pel were relaxed and seemed to enjoy the get-together.

They all knew that the time for such merriment would not last much longer.

After the dinner, the crews of the La Sirena and the Phantom prepared to depart. Picard had not decided where he wanted to take Rios' ship, while Kathryn and Seven would return Will and Deanna to New Sausilito, where the couple would then hitch a ride back to Earth, the Phantom then returning to Vulcan afterward.

First thing he did after the festivities was to show the video and still images of the mystery man to his crew.

"He looks like any ordinary guy", Agnes Jurati said, unimpressed, "but then again, I guess I shouldn't expect anything else."

"JL", Raffi added, "come on, what are the chances that this guy, in that photo, could be the one guy we're looking for? I'm not saying there's no chance, but..."

"I'm sure if he were still around, Mr. Data would tell me the exact odds", Picard said with a sad smile, still remembering his last moments with Data. "And I agree, Raffi, but Will's right, not any one gets that close to Necheyav, even during a public gathering."

Raffi thought about it. "I wouldn't want to get close to that bitch", she spat. "She's pure evil."

Rios was listening, but he caught a glimpse of Elnor out of the corner of his eyes. The young man was staring at the image, as if in awe of it. He knew Elnor was an impressionable young man, but the intensity of the boy's face startled Cristobal.

He nudged Raffi with his elbow, Raffi looking at him in annoyance. "What was that for, Rios?"

Rios silently nodded his head toward Elnor. Raffi got it.

"JL", she said quietly, mimicking the same nod to Picard. Picard looked at Elnor with interest. Picard got up and moved next to the young man.

"Elnor?"

Elnor acted as if coming out of a trance. "Yes, sir?"

"You seem awfully interested in these images. What is it?"

"I don't know, Admiral", he said, as if still thinking things through. "Something familiar about that face."

"Take your time, Elnor", Raffi encouraged the young man that she had come to adore very quickly.

"Sir", he turned toward Picard. "How soon could we get this picture to Zani?"

That startled Picard. "To Zani? On Vashti?"

"Yes, sir."

Picard looked over at the ship's captain. "Rios?"

Rios worked his virtual display. "We could be there in five days, at warp 7." He too, wondered what was up.

"Admiral", Elnor continued, "years ago, Zani showed me a photo of a human male, that she said was raised on Romulus, and trained by the Tal Shiar. It was a number of years ago that I saw the image, but..." He turned to his mentor, "this man looks a lot like him, at least that I remember."

Agnes paled. "A human? Raised on Vulcan? Trained by the Tal Shiar? Is that even possible?"

"I don't know all the details, but I'm sure Zani knows a lot more." He walked up to the images that were displayed, suddenly turning back to Picard. "We need to show these to Zani."

"Whoa", Rios exclaimed, wait a second, kid." He turned full-force to Picard. "Admiral, this isn't exactly the time to gallivant of on a wild goose chase, especially with Shelby getting ready to sail into what could be a war."

Picard studied first Elnor, then the images again. He himself had never heard of such a tale, and Rios could be right. But something, deep in the back of his mind, told him they needed to pursue this.

He came to a decision.

"Captain Rios", he said, in his full command voice, Rios instinctively straightening up in his chair. "We need to get to Vashti post-haste. Make it so."

The Phantom had cleared Vulcan space a few hours before Picard talked to his crew and had made the decision to head into Romulan space. The three Humans, one Betazoid, and the Hologram were discussing their meeting on Vulcan, when a message came through from Jean-Luc.

They were all gathered in The Bridge when Seven, manning the helm, received the message. She scanned it, and turned to the others.

"This is from Picard. They have just left Vulcan, and are headed to Vashti, inside Romulan space."

"Vashti?"

"That's what the message says, Doctor", Seven replied evenly. "Vashti is a Romulan refugee planet, and it's also the base for the Qowat Milat. In fact, the young man Elnor that you met, he was raised and trained by the Qowat Milat."

"I thought the Qowat Milat was comprised of all women?" Kathryn hadn't heard much about the group, but they did have a fierce reputation.

"Yes, that is true, Kathryn", Seven confirmed. "Elnor is not one of them, but he was raised by one of them. Despite his rather...innocent demeanor, he's a lethal warrior, and he's completely loyal to Picard."

"I've heard about the training that group goes through", Riker added with a serious face. "I'd want them on my side in a fight."

"Seems to be they're allies of Jean-Luc", Kathryn noted. "Might come in handy some day."

"Did he say why he's headed to Vashti?" B'Elanna didn't see any connection to the current situation.

"He did not", Seven informed her friend. "He just said they had come upon some information, and to get some answers, they had to go to Vashti."

"Having known the man for almost four decades", Deanna said with a small smile, "I can tell you he doesn't go in for a wild goose chase. Whatever information he has, he must believe it has some credibility."

"Deanna's right", Janeway added. "Starfleet Captains and Admirals don't go for games. Something big is up."

"This seems to be the week for big", The Doctor snarked. "If it can prevent, or cut down on any possible war, I wish him luck."

"It depends on what a war would accomplish, Doctor", Janeway said, much to Seven's surprise.

"I didn't think you'd want any kind of war, Kathryn." Seven had no venom in her voice, but was merely curious.

"I certainly don't want a war, Seven, when you get right down to it, but if it's a choice between a war that keeps The Federation from turning into a monstrosity, or no war that helps Necheyav pervert an institution I hold dear, than I'll go to war. It's no contest."

"I've been programmed to do no harm", The Doctor added. "But I also have enough moral subroutines to understand and agree with what the Admiral said. I would imagine I'm kind of biased in one regard, that being that me and my doppelganger at Starfleet Medical might be de-compiled if Necheyav wins."

"Maybe not, Doctor", Seven said ominously.

"What do you mean, Seven?"

"Perhaps something worse?" She looked at the others. "If they win, and, if I may be so bold as to become biased myself for a moment, and if they get their hands on me, they may keep you around, erase your ethical subroutines, as Captain Ransom did on the Equinox, then having you pick me to pieces and study everything about my cortical node, without my cortical node being attached to me any longer."

Everyone understood what that meant. If The Doctor could have turned another shade of pale, he would have.

"If that looks like it will happen, Seven, Kathryn." He looked at his two dear friends. "Then destroy my matrix, and that of the other one, if at all possible. I'd rather die, in my own way, than to ever hurt Seven again."

Janeway and Seven could only nod their heads. Seven and The Doctor had just brought up the specter of what a win for Necheyav and Section 31 could mean.