Chapter 4

Beverly stood in the middle of Jean-Luc's living room. There were multiple data pads and as many dusty old fashioned, even alien looking books lying on tables chairs and the floor. And the room seemed deadly quiet, and darker than normal. Something akin to a whisp of fear moved through her mind, and then dissipated. Still she hesitated for some reason to announce her presence by calling out his name.

Her gaze caught on a large white sheet of oddly textured material, which covered the entire kitchen table. She walked over and touched a corner of it carefully. "Paper," she whispered, wrinkling the ancient medium between her fingertips. Gradually she noticed some was written, or rather drawn on the paper. An odd looking writing implement was resting nearby. She leaned down to look more closely at the drawing and recognized it immediately. It was a reproduction of the artifact he'd found on Risa. "He's been preoccupied alright," she said quietly. "With this thing."

The front door hissed open and he walked in, wearing shorts and obviously fresh from the gym. Again, she felt the whisp of fear and then guilt at having felt it. She crossed her arms, aware that her posture seemed defensive already. Would he object to her little investigation?

But to her relief he brightened when he saw her. "Hello," he called out, walking straight to the replicator, slightly out of breath. "Water." The glass of water swirled into his waiting hand and he gulped it down. Then he smiled, walking closer to her.

"Have a nice run?"

"Yes, in fact, it was wonderful," he admitted, still smiling.

"It's good seeing you so relaxed," she said, returning his smile. "Really good."

He shrugged. "Exercise has always been a refuge for me. Besides, it's good to keep conditioned. You never know when you might be running for your life." Something about the way he said it left her cold, even though he appeared relaxed and calm. He turned and walked back to the replicator, ordering more water.

She followed him. "Wait...was that supposed to be a joke?"

He sipped at his water, turning back to face her. "Starfleet security paid me a visit earlier today. Beamed over here from Space Dock."

"Why?"

He shrugged again and placed the glass down on the counter with a loud click. She could tell that despite his casual demeanor, he was angry. "More questions...or rather the same questions asked by someone new."

"About Risa? What do they want from you? You told me the Risans seemed satisfied that you hadn't witnessed anything..."

He took her hand. "They can ask me as many questions as they wish. As long as you understand that I didn't do anything, Beverly. You know me, and it's not who I am."

Just what are they accusing him of? She frowned and looked down at his hand, feeling suddenly uneasy. "Of course I know you, I just need to know what's going on so that I can protect you. I need you to be honest with me Jean-Luc."

"I will, of course. Thank you. It means the world to me to have your support. " He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze before letting it go. "Now, let me go and shower. Then we can talk further if you have time."

"Okay." He kissed her quickly on the cheek as he passed by. "Don't you have to be on duty soon?" She called after him, but he had already disappeared into the bathroom.

She made some tea while waiting for him, and then sat down. When he reentered the living room he had changed into off duty attire. As he passed by her he dropped his hand onto her shoulder briefly, and she noted that he smelled warm and very nice. She watched him, determined not to become too distracted. "I haven't seen you in a few days...how are your new recruits?" He said, sitting down across from her. Two steaming cups of tea sat on the small table between them.

"Oh," she said, not expecting this question and still preoccupied with their earlier conversation. "Too early to tell. But this mission will certainly test them in every possible way."

"Well...they couldn't have been assigned a better teacher," he said leaning forward.

She put down her tea cup and looked at him. "Jean-Luc...you're still dressed in civilian clothes. I expected you to be rushing out of here to the bridge-"

"As I normally would?" He finished for her quietly, sipping his tea.

"Yes...as you normally would. So are you going to tell me what's going on?"

He slid a data pad over to her and she picked it up reading with a frown.

"As of ten minutes ago I have been approved for a temporary leave of absence."

"A leave of absence?" She stood up quickly. "You're leaving and you didn't even tell me?"

"No, no, its not like that at all...I'm not leaving the ship. I just need some time off."

Words I never thought I would hear escape from his mouth. "Why? Is this about what happened on Risa? Because you never really told me about what happened down there. You told me you fell."

He put his tea down and lifted his chin to look up at her. "I did fall," he insisted quietly.

She crossed her arms, feeling her anger spreading within. "Somebody hurt you, didn't they? I saw your hands, Jean-Luc. Something more happened than you're telling me. Why do you need time off?"

"Beverly...for years you have been telling me to take time from work. Now you've changed your mind?"

"You've covered your quarters with books researching some weird artifact you found, you're taking a sudden unexplained and unprecedented leave of absence after being questioned by security, and I'm supposed to pretend that this is normal? Is that what you think?"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No...but I can't comprehend why you are so upset."

"Because you're not telling me the truth, and it's pissing me off!"

His only response was to sit back in his seat and close his eyes. She took that as an opportunity to walk away and calm herself down". After a few more seconds passed, she walked back to him. "Look...all I am saying is that I want to help you if I can. So just tell me what this is all about.

He inclined his head toward the memo from Admiral Ramos, but she shook her head.

"I don't want to read it, I want you to tell me. As much as I have advocated for you to take vacations in the past, this is uncharacteristic of you." She sat down next to him.

He sniffed in, and clasped his hands between his knees looking down at the floor. He still seemed impossibly calm to her, despite her own histrionics and it made her feel as though she had overreacted just now. He glanced at her. "It may be difficult for you to understand, but recently I've been considering a career change. And so I am taking some time off to consider my options."

She put her hand on his arm and leaned in staring at the same spot on the floor that seemed to be captivating him. "Are you considering a career change because of what happened on Risa?"

"Partially yes..." He looked at her. "But truthfully, I don't really know..."

She turned her head towards him, and as she looked into his eyes she could see doubt and confusion behind his placid facade. Something was going on inside of him that he couldn't explain to her.

Commander Riker rubbed his chin, lost in thought, almost unconsciously rewinding the holo vid again, and replaying it from the same spot. This particular vid was one forwarded to him by Starfleet Intelligence, at Admiral Ramos' command, just before they had departed Space Dock for the Neutral Zone. The Captain had been interrogated by intel earlier that day, and security had questioned him for over an hour about the incident. They were of course more aggressive than the Risans had been.

"Did the Risans tell you how the man died?"

"No."

"His neck was broken in three different places." The intelligence officer traced his finger down the side of his neck, keeping his gaze on Picard's.

Picard shook his head. "Tragic."

"What is your hand to hand combat experience?"

Picard smiled slightly as if amused by the question. "I'm an explorer...a negotiator. Are you suggesting I broke that poor man's neck with my bare hands?"

"Answer the question," came the clipped reply.

"I've had the standard hand-to-hand combat training required by Starfleet."

"So, doesn't that make you capable of breaking a man's neck?"

"It's all academic though really, because I did not murder anybody."

"The Risans think you did."

Picard lifted his hands up before dropping them on his knees in exasperation. "Well... I didn't."

"You were a wrestling champion at the Academy, weren't you?"

"Yes...at the Academy. That was more than a few years ago."

"Pretty known for being calm and cool-headed, aren't you? A skilled negotiator."

"I don't put too much stock in what others think of me."

"Well...that's your reputation," the officer said with a smile. "But you've snapped before, haven't you?"

"You tell me...what the hell does that even mean?"

"You jumped a bunch of Nausiccans, lost your heart-and not to a woman. They stabbed it right through, didn't they?"

"You've obviously studied my medical records, but to confirm-yes, I lost my heart that day. At the age of nineteen, over a foolish episode I was certainly never proud of."

"Computer pause." Riker sat back in his chair, and tapped his fingers on the table in front of him.

"Computer, go forward ten seconds."

"Why did you lie about meeting someone out on your midnight walk?"

"I didn't lie. I don't recall meeting anyone."

"Not even him?" The intel officer held up a small data pad, and Picard blinked.

"Computer pause". Riker studied the frozen face of his commanding officer. He flinched in that moment. There was no guilt in his expression. But there was something there.

"Resume."

"Looks like you recognized him...so again, why lie?"

Picard ran a hand over his head. "This is absurd."

"Why didn't you contact your girlfriend when she called you that night? Trouble in paradise?"

Picard worked his jaw angrily. "I didn't hear Beverly calling me."

"Why?"

"I told you, I had placed my communicator in a small satchel, and for some reason, didn't notice it was transmitting."

"How are your hands? We noticed in the Risan records they were pretty banged up."

"I fell," Picard said flatly.

"That's a violent fall, Captain. Did someone push you?"

"Of course not. Because I wasn't with anyone," he maintained.

"The Risans took dirt samples from your hands. You'd taken a shower after the incident, but even Risan technology isn't that weak. There was plently left for them to analyze. It's almost like you didn't even try to cover anything up."

"I had no reason to because I didn't see anyone, didn't witness anything, and I certainly did not murder that man."

"They took samples from the scene of the crime too. Wanna know what they found?"

Picard stared the man down. "What?"

The officer leaned in. "You were there. Your DNA is all over that alley."

"I don't believe you. Because I wasn't there."

"I believe you fell. And it was in that alley. During the struggle you fell, but it didn't stop you from getting up to break his neck, did it?"