11
Captain's Log Stardate: 2861.65: I have received a Your Eyes Only set of orders from Starfleet Command regarding the cold-sleep counterparts stranded from the mirror universe. These orders clearly indicate what is to happen to the counterparts who are awake as well.
"Will, how are you coming along with your old medical issue?"
Riker was puzzled. "Captain?"
"You told me once you were susceptible to selective amnesia, Number One. Do you still have that problem?" At Riker's nod, Picard waved him to a seat and showed him his sealed orders.
Riker read quickly. "Section 31. It has to be. I hate it when Section 31 sticks their noses in. Captain, sometimes we are too like the mirror Empire."
"Do you remember T'rena's class lectures regarding insubordination at the Academy?" He didn't wait for an answer. "She taught that Starfleet Oaths were illogical if they were to demand an officer's blind loyalty. That there would be situations where you had more information to hand that your superior didn't, a clearer firsthand view, no time, and acted accordingly. To question and do the right thing, regardless of regulations, and sometimes not do what you had been ordered to. The question is, is this one of those times?"
"I wish T'rena were here now." Riker stood formally. "Captain, compliance with these orders will create a serious future danger to everything the Federation stands for. Tyranny is raising its ugly head once more." He thought a moment longer. "Yes sir. This is one of those times."
"Then we agree. This decision has to be on my head alone, Will. Brace yourself for a relapse. Dismissed." Picard sat back and thought about his chateau and vineyards in France. He had the feeling he would be seeing them again soon. As in, forced retirement.
"Picard to Troi." There was no response. "Picard to either Troi. Respond please." He waited. "Computer. Locate Deanna Troi."
"Two Deanna Trois located. Both are in Detention Area Five."
Picard felt cold. "Computer, locate Dr. Crusher. Locate Guinan."
"Two Dr. Crushers located. One is in Sickbay. One is in Detention Area Five." Pause. "Guinan located in Detention Area —"
"Five." Security would be no help. He would have been already notified if otherwise. He strongly doubted Lwaxana Troi would ever be in a position of value to Section 31 now.
Picard turned his attention to the cold-sleep capsules. It was an hour before he realized he should have been elsewhere.
"Very funny, my daughters. Very funny indeed." Lwaxana finally turned and faced all of them. Her body blocked the small eating alcove, and her face was red. "Breakfast." She flung a plate with an untouched bar of soap at them. It hit the forcefield and flew in two different directions. "Lunch." Another plate and bar of soap went the same way. "Dinner." Another crash. "Lower the field intensity just a teeny-tiny bit and I'll clean you up. All of you."
"I'm sorry, Mother. You're just upset I forgot your desert." Her voice was rich with false contriteness. There was the flicker of the transporter and a tray with soap, steaming water and Lwaxana's favourite ring materialized inside the cell.
Deanna said: "You should have this back. We are both your daughters. Were you really going to kill one of us?"
Lwaxana didn't answer.
Guinan said: "What you had asked for." She touched controls. A screen lit inside the cell. Mr. Hom appeared. He stood in the transporter room breathing hard. They heard Guinan's voice whispering softly. "Only a little further now, my boy." Mr. Hom fought with himself as he lurched ever closer to the transporter controls. He managed to grind to a halt. Then his face twisted and whitened. He hit himself hard a few times and continued forward. "There, there; I know that hurt." Her voice was soothing. "Why don't you just hit yourself hard a few more times. Maybe you'll get used to it." He did it. "Good boy. To the console now if you please …..That's it. No, don't set the controls for a beam-in from Detention Area Five. She'll have stay where she is because you'd much rather set the controls for a beam-out into vacuum, with wide dispersal materialization at the other end." He pressed keys. "Nice. Now set the time delay…..and up you go now."
Mr. Hom turned and walked up onto the pad. There was a hum as he transported himself into empty space.
Guinan looked back at Lwaxana. "Well, Lwaxana? Does it meet your approval? Do I still have it?" Her eyes were small bags. She didn't wait for an answer. "Four of us and one of you. Get ready."
One Deanna stood to either side of Guinan. Both were wearing the same antici-patory expressions that any of their victims over the long years would have recognized. "One moment," Deanna said. She sniffed. "Mmmm, I can smell your fear. You've become soft, Mother." Her nostrils flared. "Smells good. You, Little Sister?"
The other Deanna smiled too. "Dee, I can smell it; I could bathe in ."
"Usually I prefer to work with protoplasers." Crusher had joined in. "But sometimes scalpels are best." She chuckled.
It was the same sadistic game that Lwaxana had played a hundred times. It didn't bother her. "Lesson-time, children." There was a hissing sound; she snapped her head around and fell. "Sewd em va Kelohian!" They waited to be sure she was out and then dropped the forcefield. Deanna eyed the soap. "Sauhit -lpum; Ta`A."
"Bon Appetit." Lwaxana translated. Her eyes had snapped open and a small cold smile played about her lips. Then she struck. An instant later Lwaxana's hands were around the counsellor's throat. Deanna gasped for air and sank to her knees.
Lwaxana gazed directly into her daughter's eyes and squeezed mercilessly.
~~ The soap now filled all her mouth. It coated her tongue, and the cloying taste made her gag. And that action dislodged the slivers of soap stuck between her teeth. They wriggled like living things and eagerly made their way down her throat into her lungs. She was drowning in suds ~~
Deanna flailed wildly knocking Guinan and Dee off balance. Her hands gripped Lwaxana's and then slid off like fluttering wings. A moment later she was on her back. Her heels began drumming out a death tattoo on the deck. A long scream mirrored the one echoing in her mind. The terrible pressure disappeared. Deanna whooped for breath as she sat up. The buzzing that she'd thought was in her head continued alongside her counterpart's thought. 'It was so good of you to bring our agonizer across with you.'
Crusher quickly examined Deanna and then eyed Lwaxana's convulsing body approvingly. "May I start the interrogation first, everyone? Please?"
It was much later when Crusher asked: "Do we have it all?" Nods all around. "Good." She peeled away her bloody gloves and touched off the recorder. "She's all yours now. Have fun."
The venerable diplomat Lwaxana Troi wasn't permitted to utter a sound aloud throughout, and it was a long time before she was permitted to die.
Picard was waiting in the corridor when they came out of Detention. The four were chatting easily amongst themselves as if nothing had happened. The effect was rather spoiled by the Betazoid blood spattered all over Crusher's smock. They stopped short when they saw him.
"I'm sorry, Captain." Deanna said. "Did you need us?" She glanced at Crusher. "Bev-Bev needs to clean up, but I think the rest of us are free."
"Not for long." Picard's face was hard. "You've all overstepped your bounds. I can't condone what's happened here. You're all in custody as of this moment. Unless, that is, you intend to use your, um, exotic talents on me."
"Captain," It was the other Deanna. "We would never do that to you. Lwaxana was resourceful and dangerous, and I was able to determine just beforehand that she had an imminent escape worked out. Otherwise, we would have waited. Now we know everything that the Empire and Lwaxana has learned, done, and planned regarding us - their mirror universe. We are fortunate that she was most greedy; it will all be in my report. Alongside will be appended everything that we forced out of the other prison-ers." She thought a moment. Best to remind him even further I can never be quite the same Deanna he once knew. "Please understand that there are no apologies being offered by anyone, sir. Lwaxana deserved everything we did to her, and more. Everything. Now, what was it that you told Will? With your permission, of course." No sarcasm showed.
She probed privately and then hurriedly created strong mental barriers around a certain piece of sensitive information in the surface of his mind. Picard relaxed. "Ah, yes. To question and do the right thing, regardless of regulations, and sometimes not do what you had been ordered to." She smiled at the others. "The question is, is this one of those times?"
"The answer to that is that this is a very slippery slope and we do not make even a small habit of it. There will be a reprimand placed on your record, Counsellor." He studied them carefully. "Um, that is on whichever one of you who is my ship's counsellor ….. …"
They looked back at him innocently with heads tilted exactly the same way and identical small mischievous smiles.
It was hopeless, and Picard gave up trying. "Do I make myself clear, everyone?"
"Quite clear, Captain." Deanna watched him leave and then turned to her counterpart. "Little Sister, is there any of that lovely soap left we used on Mother?" She was smiling. "You've been naughty again. You went and told the captain a great big fib about Mother being about to escape."
"I'll help hold her!" Crusher said enthusiastically.
"Don't you dare! –"
Guinan rescued her. "Break it off, you two. Beverly is the only one who needs to clean up here." She looked at them. "Deanna was right. I caught our Mr. Hom already loose in the corridors and on his way to spring her. He was almost at the transporter room before I finally found him."
Picard gazed out into cold space. He thought about his doctored log entry re-garding the deaths of all the mirror counterparts. 'We don't make habits of this.' He knew he was right when an image of the two lovely Betazoid counsellors popped into his mind. As in, confronting him with sudsy bars of soap. He swallowed convulsively.
He was in his old position studying the aquarium when Guinan entered. "How are your fish today, Captain?" Picard gave her a small smile and moved to the replicator. He waited a beat.
"Yes, please." She sat without being told to.
"Two teas. Earl Grey; hot." He gave her one and sat. "And the answer to your question is yes. I forgive you, and still trust you implicitly. My sanity will just have to cope with it."
Guinan smiled warmly. "As Worf would say, you have honoured me. You are the best, Jean-Luc. Thank you for trusting your deadliest lionfish."
They had spent a long time catching up in Ten-Forward. Now they were in a turbolift heading for Riker's quarters. Riker's mouth was too busy kissing Deanna to speak. He decided on mind-touch instead, knowing it would be received. 'Welcome home, Imzadi.'
"Mmmm." She didn't stop the kissing. 'I've missed this so, so much, my Imzadi.'
She finally broke away as they reached his quarters. They entered, each thinking their separate thoughts of what would come next.
Riker stopped short. "Excuse me?'
"Will, have I ever told you the best thing about being twins?" She grinned mischievously. "They share ….. everything."
"Amen to that, Little Sister."
Epilogue
"My, goodness! It actually moves." She looked at the young Q standing before her. "What could possibly happen to bring you out of your room?" As if she didn't already have a pretty good idea. "Come on, 'fess up." Her tone and stance indicated good-natured teasing.
Q'ute had spent the better part of the last few days sulking in her own space since being released from Detention. "In one universe," She began: "I'm supposed to bring back the dead. And then I'm supposed to return those others to their own universe." Her tone was pleading. "First I'm penalized by the Continuum for meddling, and then I'm told to meddle some more. Barclay has moved on, and the others want to stay where they are. I do not understand any of this."
"Sounds like a pretty tall order to me." She spoke noncommittally. "What do you think you should do about it?"
Q'ute tried to bring some kind of confrontation back into it. "And what about everything else that's messed up in those two universes?" She asked belligerently. "Am I suppose get all the gory details and change that for them as well? It doesn't seem very fair or even moral!"
"Well, since all possible combinations are postulated to exist somewhere, it's just possible you already have. Why don't we just leave it at that." She glanced around shiftily and then gave Q'ute a conspiratorial look. "I won't tell if you don't."
'Lesson learned,' she thought with satisfaction.
THE END