Rone opened the door, placed his hand on the small of Enid's back and guided her into the pub. Enid wore an oversized pink sweater that fell off one shoulder. She had denim leggings and high heel brown boots. Enid rarely wore form fitting clothing except when coaching. Then of course she wore a unitard under her team jacket. He had walked her to the gym after she finished the cake. Enid loved working with the younger children.
Narek had been glumly following the couple since late afternoon. He caught up with them at the gym where Enid coached the junior gymnastics team. After watching her warm up on the uneven bars, he realized that this was something that Enid was indeed an expert at. Unlike her music, which was an inRone ability, this was something Enid had learned successfully and could teach others to do. This must be quite satisfying for the girl he concluded.
Narek's little worm had worked its way to Rone's PCD and Narek activated it so he could hear any conversation but the pair seemed to communicate solely using telepathy. Undeterred, Narek decided this would be a good opportunity to practice and hone his ability to read body language. Finally, he concluded that that spying on telepaths was just plain boring. Ill-tempered, he sat in a booth at the back of the pub eyeing the couple. He fiddled with a puzzle in one hand under the table.
The pub was bustling from the extra foot traffic brought as media outlets and interested parties on each side of the synth issue arrived for the scheduled protests and counter protests. The couple had been greeted warmly by the pub's regular customers and staff. They danced to Irish folk music. The pair even sang a few well loved songs. Enid's clear, strong singing voice surprised Narek, who had only heard her croak out a few awkward words. Her voice was as Tom described and Narek found his mind conjured images of wee folk dancing in a glade. In his distraction, Narek dropped his puzzle. He chided himself as he reached under the table to retrieve it but then he noticed a familiar form that appeared to be following the couple all day. He was a Vulcan or perhaps a Romulan but Ni'ael had confirmed he wasn't theirs. Narek tried to contain his excitement. It would make the evening more fun, he mused, if he could spy on the spy that was spying on Enid while spying on Enid. He smirked, that would put the evening back on track.
"No, No!" Rone was refusing to perform another song. "Food's here!" The young man pointed to his booth as proof. The waitress, (another O'Dare), was placing their order on the table. The couple ate in silence except for the occasional laugh, giggle or kiss.
"An inside joke," Narek grumbled to himself. When the couple left, Narek watched the Vulcan. Would he follow? Narek hoped for the affirmative and delighted when the other spy slipped out after the couple.
They walked leisurely for a few blocks before turning down a side street. Rone led Enid through an alley to a small blue house and entered through the gate on the side. There was a large bonfire in the yard and Narek guessed that most of the young people around were about Rones age. The young medic shook hands with several of the men and Enid received multiple hugs before they settled on a bench close to the fire. The music that blasted from speakers on the porch was not the traditional Irish songs that dominated the pub but music that was popular among the young people of the settlement. Narek recognized some of the lyrics as Romulan pop music. A horgl made its way around the gathering. Enid took a couple hits and passed it. Narek frowned, there were no Romulan rehab centers for a reason, the use of intoxicants beyond alcohol was strictly prohibited. Hopefully the girl was not dependent on the use of the plant as that would be something else to be managed. To Narek's relief the couple excused themselves after about an hour. It was warm near the fire but the late winter's night was still rather chilly.
Enid and Rone took a leisurely route which Narek knew would lead to Enid's empty house. Once they had passed the edge of town, Enid skipped ahead on the path, "Hey watch!" She yelled grabbing a rock from along the path and tossing it underhand into the air. When the stone reached its apex, it exploded into a display of sparks which faded as they reached the ground.
"Enid!" Rone closed the distance between himself and the girl, "You shouldn't do that in public." He tried to hurry her along.
"You sound like Papa!" Enid scowled, "We're not in public."
"I think we are being followed," Rone insisted.
"That's just the snakeleaf," her eyes glistened.
"Can't you feel a presence?" Rone asked.
"All quiet!" Enid twirled around with her arm out, "Gloriously, blissfully silent!" She grabbed Rone by the shoulders dramatically shaking him, "Do you know what that's like?"
Rone slipped his arms under hers lifting her and spinning her around several times, "Tell me love," he said as he set her down. She stumbled but Rone caught her. They both laughed as Enid pulled him off balance.
"It's soooooo quiet!" She said and exploded into giggles.
Rone kissed her. He liked it when Enid was pleased with herself. Her self esteem could be so fragile at times. Enid launched another rock. "How did you figure that out?" Enid's mood was contagious, he had been silly, they were alone.
"Something to do with moving molecules." She lowered her voice, "You know there were scientists who died in the supernova." She became serious.
"Enid," Rone furrowed his brow, "Can you distinguish identities?" She so infrequently talked about her experience with the supernova. Were these people living inside her mind?
"It's not people," she said, "Just memories." She seemed to think for a moment, "Or are we just a collection of memories?" She tossed another rock. "What makes a being sentient?"
"I think there is something more," Rone said. The two walked without talking for some time.
"I wonder who I'd be without the supernova?" Enid finally broke the silence.
"Someone who sleeps better for sure," Rone offered.
Snakeleaf allowed the girl to talk but deadened her telepathic abilities. A double edged sword for sure. Narek could at least listen through his earpiece. This allowed him to follow at a greater distance which afforded him the opportunity to spot the three Vulcans, (or Romulans) he reminded himself, who joined the original tail. He positioned himself to listen to the men.
"What do we do with the boy?" one asked.
"We can implant a memory," the tail stated, "One that would implicate the Romulans."
So Vulcans, but who were they? Vulcan's didn't typically abduct Federation citizens. Was that their plan? Take Enid while S'ril was off world. Did the men have a hand in S'ril's illness? he wondered. Narek fell back so he could report this new development. He didn't underestimate Vulcans, they were as strong as Romulans and disciplined. It was better to bring in Ni'ael.
Ni'ael brought four agents with him, evidently he didn't underestimate Vulcans either. The Vulcans had taken positions around the house. Ni'ael wanted to take at least one alive for questioning. Narek took two agents to the west side of the house and Ni'ael the east. Ni'ael would have enjoyed a good brawl but he knew that the teams needed to work quietly to dispatch the Vulcans. Hopefully, he'd get one or two for fun later. They split up flanking the house, dispatching the Vulcans without rousing the occupants.
"Take him," Ni'ael pointed, indicating the surviving but unconscious Vulcan. Two agents transported out with their prisoner. Ni'ael poured molecular solvent on the other three.
The light had gone on in the solarium. It was a long room, heavily planted with a pool in the center. There was a concrete platform at one end of the pool which S'ril used for meditation but Enid used it to dive into the reflection pool which S'ril had made deep enough for this purpose. Enid and Rone had shed their clothing. The four remaining men watched as Rone chased a laughing Enid through the foliage. Running to the platform, Enid did an armstand dive into the pool.
"Nice form," one of the agents stated. Narek and Ni'ael looked at the man. He was a tall solid Northerner with dark skin. "The dive," the man clarified.
"What's your name?" Ni'ael asked.
"Fank," the man replied, still studying the albino and her paramour. Rone dove in after and caught her at the shallow edge of the pool. He circled her in his arms and kissed her hard. She then slid up the edge of the pool. Rone kissed her knee and worked his way up her inner thigh. She rested on her arms, throwing her head back with pleasure.
"We need more men on Enid's tail." Ni'ael commented. Fank snickered.
"You keep Fank here," Ni'ael smiled, "I have an interrogation to conduct."
"Patrol the perimeter," Narek ordered after Ni'ael left. He wanted to get a look inside if he could. He saw the man still staring at the young couple. "The outside of the house," Narek slapped him in the chest hard.
"Yes, sir!" Fank snapped to attention. Narek liked the sound of that. He moved to the front entrance. They didn't even lock the door! Narek shook his head and entered the residence. He found his way through the residence to what he judged from the decor was Enid's room. Even with the lights out he could see it was an explosion of pink. He closed the blinds. Above the bed was a life sized poster of a Romulan pop singer. Narek didn't know his name but thought the band's name was Supernova. Medals for gymnastics hung in display cases on the walls. He checked the computer workstation but there was nothing of interest. Where does a girl who doesn't write or speak keep her secrets? He wondered to himself. She had volumes of sheet music in large notebooks and more notebooks of drawings. These might be useful but it would take hours to scan them all. It would probably take years of analysis to understand. A ledge ran the length of the room. Enid had various equine statues, some had wings, some had horns, some had wings and horns. Nervously he tapped the ledge. He listened. It was hollow. He tapped the wall softly almost absentmindedly, it too was hollow. Something caught his eye under the workstation. He crawled under the desk. There was a small hole in the corner.
He pulled at the hole with his finger and a panel opened. Paper fell out, folded paper. He craned his neck to see into the cramped space and shined a light. The wall was filled with folded paper. There were hundreds of drawings, folded up and placed in a wall never to see the light of day. He thought about the courier who had shot himself. What sort of horrors was Enid hiding here? Narek sank back on his heels to think. He couldn't take all the drawings that night so he closed the panel. He didn't know if Enid looked at her horde and didn't want to tip her off if she did. He left making sure to open the blinds again before easing his way out of the room and down the hall. He could hear Enid and Rone diving and swimming and laughing unaware of his presence.
The rest of the house was decorated in typical Vucan style. Minimalist but pleasant. Narek noticed holo emitters in each room and the hallways then remembered that Heiko had said that S'ril utilized a medical holo as Enid's primary care physician. S'ril never signed release forms allowing the school to collect medical information on Enid, not even vision and hearing screenings. S'ril supplied that information certified by a Vulcan doctor named S'lar. Narek opened drawers in the desk and looked through the closet. Nothing. The laughter grew louder and Narek froze. The couple was evidently done with their swim.
"You're naughty," He heard Rone tease. "I don't think… I mean in your dad's bed?"
Shit, shit, shit! thought Narek. He tried the window. No luck. Damn, Damn, he could hear them getting closer. Closet it is, he decided just in time. The couple burst into the room. He could hear his targets flop on the mattress. This was not how he wanted to spend the rest of his night but there was nothing to do about it. He remained crouched in the closet until the two lovers finished. He couldn't use a personal transport. There would be a flash that might attract the lover's attention.
"I love you," Rone moaned as Enid snuggled into the crook of his arm.
"Love you too," Enid said, the snakeleaf had not completely worn off yet. "Let's just go," she said sleepily.
"Where?" Rone stroked her hair.
"Away," she said, "There are lots of transports, we could just stow away."
"And how would we live?"
"We'd get by," Enid said, "We need to leave here." She shivered and Rone pulled the sheet over them.
"You think something bad is going to happen." Rone commented.
"Very," Enid's voice shook, "I don't know what, but soon."
"Now who's affected by snakeleaf?" Rone kissed her on the back of the head. He reached around and touched cupped her breast, his finger and thumb playing with her nipple. Rone was young and his Cardassian heritage gave him a boost of virility. Narek rolled his eyes and inwardly groaned. The closet was getting uncomfortable and he had research to do. He was relieved when they finally fell asleep. Stealing a quick look at the intertwined bodies on his way out he admitted to himself that the girl was well proportioned.
Fank greeted him with a smirk outside. "Impressive stamina don't you think?" he commented. Narek wordlessly left Fank to guard the girl.
Back in his quarters, he decided he was making progress. He still didn't know how to deal with Rone, but they had foiled the Vulcan plan. He wondered about Enid's feeling of foreboding. Was it a side effect of the snakeleaf?
Picard was looking forward to this trip. He was listening to one of Enid's compositions. The prodigy had fascinated scholars for more than a decade and now he was meeting her. What a mystery! A born telepath? Would she be like Tam? He hoped not. He knew he could download every bit of information and research on born telepaths but understood that it would not prepare him for his encounter. Data had explained the difference between the theoretical and experiential in his endeavor to learn the game of poker. He decided to ring his old friend, Deanna Troi.
"Jean Luc!" Deanna greeted him warmly, "What a pleasant surprise!"
"Long overdue!" Picard realized that he didn't contact his old friends as much as he'd like. After asking about Will and Kestra he told his friend about his anticipated encounter with the albino composer he noticed his friend's face fall. "What is the matter?" he asked.
"I'm familiar with Enid," she said sadly, "I consulted on her case years ago."
"So what can you tell me?"
"Not much," she said, taking a deep breath. This was not going to be easy for her friend. He was used to people doing what he wanted, "This isn't like it was on the Enterprise. With Tam, I could share information with you because of the mission. Lives depended on my candor." she began.
"Say no more," Picard raised his hands, "You are bound by confidentiality." This was hard for him.
"I can tell you that the girl had a rather rough start to life," Deanna said slowly. Picard thought he understood. Vulcan-Betazoid hybrids were usually terminated in the early stages of pregnancy.
"Her parents must have really wanted her," he concluded, "It would have been a high risk pregnancy." Something about Deanna's expression told him he hadn't hit the mark.
"Let's just say," Deanna paused as if considering if this was a breach of confidentiality, "That her father wanted her." Deanna probably shouldn't have said that much she knew but it was so hard not to be helpful to Jean Luc Picard. Picard carefully considered the information his friend had said in addition to what she hadn't said.
"Can you tell me what the best way to talk to the girl is?" Picard shared that he had learned Federation Standard Sign in preparation.
"You can't force things with people like Enid," Deanna told him, "You have to meet a born telepath where they are." Take it slow Deanna had told him. Don't expect more than the girl could give. He was still looking forward to the encounter. He turned his attention to the ruins of Kiara Colony.
A'den settled into his quarters. S'ril had specifically instructed him to secure passage on La Sirena. His father thought that Picard would help in the event that his father's colleges did not allow A'den to continue his fathers work. In case of that unfortunate event, A'den didn't know where he could take his sister that would be safe. Several years ago, S'ril had sold the original sheet music from Enid's first symphony. A'den knew how important Enid's sheet music was to her, it was her personal journal, but it had fetched a considerable price. He would be able to use the money to hide Enid although he hoped it didn't become necessary. If it did, he hoped his father's faith in Picard was warranted. Raffi called him to dinner.
"Your sister is on the news!" Elnor offered A'den a tablet, "She's very beautiful."
A'den regarded the tablet and passed it back to Elnor. Enid was decorating a cake. The news service had picked up the clip as a background story on the colony. The tablet was passed around the table. Soji took a particular interest in the clip. She opened a larger screen and exported the image.
"I don't believe it," she said quietly, "What is he doing there?"
"Who?" Raffe asked leaning into the viewscreen.
"Narek!" Soji froze the screen and enhanced a corner. "Look, there!" She looked upset but A'den couldn't put a word to the emotion the synthetic woman was feeling. It was fascinating to see how life like her expressions were.
"Are you sure?" Rios rubbed his chin and examined the image. "I mean there must be a million dark haired, bearded Vulcans as well as Romulans."
"Believe me," Soji's voice shook, "I would recognize Narek."
"Who's Narek?" A'den asked. Why did Soji have such a reaction? Raffe stepped in to explain that Narek was a Tal Shiar agent that had used Soji then tried to kill her.
"What would Narek be doing on your world?" Soji demanded, "And why would he be watching your sister decorate a cake?"
"With regards to the first question," A'den began slowly, "There is a small community of Romulans on the planet. The Fisher's brought them in to work in the mine about four years ago. The Fishers are trying to replace them with a synthetic workforce now."
"That would attract the Tal Shiar!" Raffe exclaimed. "Wonder what his interest in your sister is?"
"I don't think you can assume he has a particular interest in my sister," A'den dissembled, "She's an artist, composer," he paused thinking, "she's also an accomplished gymnast."
"None of that would interest the Tal Shiar," Picard concluded, "It is more likely he is there because of the mine."
"So he was just out for a stroll on a nice day?" Raffe was skeptical.
"Curious," was all A'den could think to say. This was unexpected. Unexpected and unwelcome. Things were moving faster than he thought. The Tal Shiar was no doubt emboldened by his father's absence.