Prologue

2332

Starfleet Academy

The light hovered in the corner of his room. It no longer frightened him, but he had come to regard it as a figment of his imagination. It had been months since he had first realized that it was there. Watching him. Still, at sixteen years old he was more focused than a career-driven adult, and if he was going crazy, he wasn't about to admit it to anyone. Therefore, he never said a word to anyone about the light. The light only appeared when he was alone, it had no warmth, no other dimension except for a blinding intensity that did not encourage one to stare at it. His roommates had never seen it, because, of course, it was all part of Jean-Luc's imagination. Perhaps it was a particular state of mind he experienced when he was alone that caused this apparition.

Before entering Starfleet Academy one year before, he hadn't been aware of the light at all. Or had he? Dimly, he recalled a rushing stream from years before, when as a child he had encountered something frightening, losing a friend in the process. No...he didn't want to remember such things, so he simply prevented himself from doing so. Someday he would develop the discipline to properly control his mind to shut out unwanted thoughts. For now, the light was a reminder of weakness.

2344

The Planet Narana -Refugee Camps

"We thank you for your swift assistance, Captain..."

He resisted the urge to wave at the smoke from the campfires that filled his nostrils. "Picard," he said tightly. "Jean-Luc Picard. And you are very welcome, Prefect Deel. The food and medical supplies you requested have already been beamed down to the location you indicated."

"My people have suffered greatly at the hands of the Shor. Their military power is unrivaled in this sector."

Picard brought a hand up to his mouth and finally coughed through the haze. "Excuse me, Prefect," he said hoarsely. "I am accustomed to traveling aboard a starship with a much more...controlled environment."

"Walk with me, Captain Picard." As they fell into step side by side, walking away from the camps, the thin humanoid peered at him through narrow eyes. "Your supplies are much appreciated, Captain..."

Picard put his hands behind his back and focused his gaze on the rocky path, somewhat irritated that he already anticipated the Prefect's next statement.

"But what we really need, is weapons."

Picard straightened and looked squarely at Deel. "I thought you were aware, Prefect Deel, that this mission was strictly to provide necessary aid to your people; not to interfere in an armed conflict."

The willowy figure stopped suddenly and grabbed Picard's hand. "Weapons are necessary for our survival," he hissed. "And you have unlimited power onboard your ship. Why just a crate full of your phasers can provide us with the kind of protection-"

"Prefect," Picard said firmly. "I must stop you there. While I sympathize with what you must be experiencing, as a Starfleet officer, I cannot by any means do as you ask."

Prefect Deel gradually let go of Picard's hand. "Then you will leave us to die," he said coldly. He turned and scrambled back down the path.

Picard stood there for a few minutes, taking in some air and finding that at this higher elevation, it was much easier to breathe. He turned to look up the path in the direction he and Prefect Deel had been walking, and felt himself immediately frozen with fear. A light hung against the grey sky, and it wasn't the planet's sun. It hovered the way it always had, and he had the sensation that one thousand eyes were staring at him. Questioning him. He leaned forward with his palms on his knees and gasped, as the dizziness overtook him. Forcing himself to look up again just a minute later, he saw that the light had disappeared. His skin was covered in a cold sweat, and his mouth felt dry and sandy.

Gathering himself he headed back down into the refugee camp area. He noticed groups of people milling about, some wounded, all looking sickly. He noticed but was careful not to look too closely and not to feel too much one way or the other. Still feeling dizzy, he realized he did not want to beam back up to the ship in this condition. "Water," he whispered to himself, and looked around for a bit until he found what appeared to be one of the freshwater stations his crew had beamed down. He bent over it, not quite sure how to obtain the water. It clearly employed replicator technology but wasn't quite a replicator. Finally he managed to find the correct touch pad and splashed some water on his face quickly.

"I was wondering when the cavalry was going to arrive."

The voice was clear and beautiful, and somehow still laced with sarcasm.

He straightened quickly and turned toward the speaker. A young woman stood there. She was tall and stunning and wore a Starfleet Medical patch on her sleeve.

He had suddenly lost confidence in his ability to utter a coherent sentence. "Cavalry?" He echoed.

She smiled with such sincerity that something in his heart softened.

"Starfleet," she said as though that clarified everything.

He frowned. "You're wearing Starfleet clothing...I suppose I assumed-"

"Well yes, I'm in the medical core...but we're just patching these people up. What they really need is protection from the military."

He blinked. "I am not in the military. I'm an explorer," he felt the need to clarify. However, it sounded defensive and clumsy when he said it.

"Wow. Really? Everything about you just says military." She swept her auburn hair away from her face and crossed her arms. A small smile played across her lips and he again felt completely thrown. He also felt annoyed.

"Appearances can be deceiving."

"Oh I don't know...my first impressions of people are usually dead on."

He took his communicator from his pocket and looked at it absently. "You know," he said looking back up at her. "The Prefect said something similar. He wants Starfleet to intervene, to supply him with weapons."

"But let me guess... you told him 'no way'." Her expression had gone from one of playful banter to a determination he found both engaging and unsettling.

His mouth tightened uncomfortably. "Correct."

"And if it would save lives to provide them with weapons? Your answer would still be no?"

He tried to take a deep breath, but his chest felt impossibly tight. "I'm not here to argue, Doctor," he said quickly. The re-emergence of her beautiful smile let him know that he had possibly misjudged. She was too young to be a doctor, wasn't she? But the confidence and authority were there already.

She continued to smile and her expression grew softer. She suddenly grew serious again. "Well, if you really want to help these people you'll help them with some suitable shelter. We can't properly treat people and they can't rest and recover without a proper place to sleep.

He nodded curtly and flipped open his communicator. "Zev?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Contact Starbase 37 and alert them that we need an engineering contingent at our coordinates within the next twelve hours. These people need shelter that can withstand phase weaponry."

He felt the young woman now staring openly at him and averted his gaze.

"Right away, sir."

He put away his communicator and looked at her. "Now, I really must be going. Good luck with your work," he said, walking away as quickly as possible. And even though his heart screamed at him to turn back around to look at her just one more time, he kept on walking with his eyes straight ahead.

So much crazy shit is going down in the world right now, that I was questioning (not for the first time) whether to continue to post on this site. The jury is still out, because what little free time I have, would perhaps be better spent, and maybe will be. For those interested, thanks for following all of my stories, many of which are ongoing (some apparently neverending). You may wonder why I am writing a prequel while also writing a sequel for the same universe, well, so do I! I hope that people can stay safe and well and find some refuge and peace in 2020. -PP