Chapter 5

Picard, Jack, T'Pel, and the medical team materialized amidst a grey fog that swirled around their bodies. They wore environmental suits, although the atmosphere was breathable. Picard took the lead and walked forward with his phaser drawn. He could hardly see his boots, and halted, gesturing to his second officer.

"T'Pel, can you get a sensor read through all this? Seems to be a mix of smoke and fog..."

"Affirmative. There is an object dead ahead one-quarter klick, Captain. It's likely to be the wreckage from the enemy ship."

Picard made a signal for them to spread out. He didn't want to be such an easy target if an ambush was a possibility. "We have to assume there are survivors, so proceed with caution. Phasers on stun."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jack move away from him to his right.

"There it is," shouted Jack after another few moments. The smog substance started to dissipate and a large smoking hull of a ship was now visible up ahead. The bridge of the ship appeared to be on fire, and the nose of the ship was buried in the rubble. Loud popping sounds echoed from the wreckage.

"Radiation readings are rising quickly," said T'Pel from his left, several meters away. "Hull is giving way at several junctures."

"Life signs?"

"Faint."

"The propulsion systems are still activated and failing rapidly," Jack confirmed excitedly. "Captain, they've got a warp core containment problem."

"It is inadvisable to stay here much longer, Captain," said T'Pel. "Life signs are weak, but our tricorder sensors may only be minimally effective, given the conditions."

"If anyone is alive on that ship, we need to get them out of there," said Picard.

Suddenly T'Pel pointed to her left. "Captain, there is someone wounded over there."

Picard waved the small medical team forward. "Let's go...we'll stand guard while you administer aid."

The three medics rushed forward to attend to the wounded Klingon. As Picard grew closer he could see that the Klingon wore the uniform of a low-level sentry. His eyes were closed and he remained still. "Klingons don't leave their wounded," he murmured to himself. Anxious, he and the others stood watchfully as the medics barked information and instructions at one another.

"No visible wounds, sir," said one medic. "Radiation levels in his blood are harmful but not fatal. Administering hyronalin to counter the effects of the radiation sickness."

Picard glanced down to nod at the medic, and that is when the screams shattered the otherwise silent landscape.

"Sir!"

A group of Klingons rushed the away team, weapons drawn. The medic's patient let out a low growl and shoved his fist up into the medic's helmet, knocking the man over.

Jack quickly fired his phaser, stunning the soldier before they were descended upon by the other Klingons. Except, now as they approached he noted with shock that some of the attackers appeared to be human. A tall female wearing armor, knocked his communicator out of his hand, and punched him in the faceplate of his helmet. He backpedaled and raised his phaser, but she smashed it out of his hand, before kicking him in the chest. Falling backwards, he grabbed her foot on the way down and twisted, sending her tumbling over his head. She jumped to her feet and head-butted his faceplate violently, this time cracking it. Grabbing his helmet with both hands she tossed him to the ground again. Her face was remarkably human, but her strength was alarmingly alien.

"Murderer!" she screamed in Klingon, pulling a knife. From the side, he saw T'Pel and Jack also battling a mix of Klingon and Human attackers. If he called for a beam up, they'd bring the attackers with them.

"Get free," he shouted into his microphone. "Get free from them so that we can transport safely." He grunted as the woman rained down punches on his upper torso and head. He defended himself well, but she was stronger than expected, and each punch took his breath away. Struggling to gain any type of advantage, he took hold of her forearm and elbow, and moved from the ground to his knees, pulling her into a joint lock.

She screamed in rage and possibly pain and he bore down, gritting his teeth. "I'm Captain Picard of Starfleet. Who are you?" he demanded.

"We are the future of the Empire," she growled. "And you are a weak human!"

"Weak or not, I have the upper hand," he shot back, trying to maintain his lock on her arm and keep her as close to the ground as possible. She threw the elbow of her other arm backward, catching him in the groin. He didn't let go, but his grip loosened as he grunted and tried to catch his breath through the pain.

Using her advantage, she flipped him over onto his back on the ground and held her knife at his throat. "You see I am well-acquainted with human anatomy. You are weak!" The sharp point threatened to pierce the material of his spacesuit, and his own ragged breathing drowned out most other sounds. Faintly he could hear Jack shouting his name.

"You called me a murderer," he rasped. "We were defending ourselves from your attack. Why would you attack one of your own ships?"

She grabbed him by the helmet, pinning his head down. "You killed my mate...now you must die."

For some reason he was fascinated by her face, which he now saw was a mix of Klingon and Human. She was beautiful in a rough kind of way, but that was the least of his concerns. He brought his knees up, trying to create some space between them, and force her off, but she held fast. He shoved his elbow up into her chin with all of his might. "I'm sorry for your loss, but we must talk-"

"YiVum!" [Revenge] She moved the knife from his neck, and thrust it into his mid-section.

He let out a scream as she pulled the knife out and licked his blood off of the blade, still staring into his eyes.

His vision was already growing hazy, and he tried to curl protectively into a ball.

She lept off of him, as the other members of the away team ran to his aid.

He saw Jack fall from a disruptor blast and called out to him in vain.

When he awoke, the away team was gone and so were the Klingon-Human attackers. He reached down and found his suit below his chest to be covered in a sticky, partly congealed substance. He lifted a shaky hand within view and it was covered in dark blood. "Picard to Crusher," he whispered inside his helmet. There was no answer, as the communications relay was dead. He needed to find his communicator which he dimly recalled was somewhere on the ground near where he had fallen. Where was the away team, and why had they left him to die? He struggled to roll from his back to his stomach before realizing that it was a grave mistake to do so. He felt something pop in his abdomen, and there was a rush of blood. His vision was blurry and he knew that he would die. He shivered. He was cold and needed to find warmth. Suddenly his faltering gaze caught on a rocky area not far away. There was a cave entrance low to the ground. Inside the entrance, hovered a bright light. Slowly, but with purpose, he dragged himself toward it.

I must have blacked out again. Where am I?

Slowly he opened his eyes. He was inside a small dark cave. The floor was a soft clay, and he had to grab one of the craggy rocks behind him to gain some leverage. His body was stiff from the knife wound, and he was weak, but somehow he was still alive. It felt like he was at risk of sinking into the cave floor. Frightened, he was unable to take his eyes off of the bright light, hovering several meters in front of him.

What an interesting question. You happen to be on the same planet you were on just a few of your minutes ago.

"Who are you?" he demanded of the light, now speaking out loud. His voice was raw and didn't sound like his own. Suddenly, it occurred to him that he might not be alive at all. "Wait...is this...am I dead?"

Not yet.

"But-"

The pain suddenly increased substantially.

Of course, you are alive, otherwise, you would not feel pain as you do.

"What do you want with me? Where is my crew?"

Your crew is back on board the traveling container of radiation you call a 'starship'. They are safe.

"How do you know these things?"

There is very little that I do not know. And if there were something I did not know, I certainly would not ask you for the answers.

"Who are you?" he repeated.

We have been watching you, Picard. You have potential.

"I don't understand. I just want to return to my ship. If you have that power..."

The light grew extremely bright for just a moment, illuminating the entire cave.

Of course, I have that power, Picard. But first I must have your agreement that you will not speak of this to anyone. Of course, I can ensure that you do not tell anyone, but it would be nice to know that we can trust you.

"How can I trust an entity that has told me nothing about itself?"

Without us, you would be dead, Picard. Consider what it would be like to be powerful enough to save a life with just one thought. To stop a war before it occurs, without the need to sacrifice countless lives. Consider what it would be like to be one of us.

"I still do not know who you are."

I am Q.

The shouting on the bridge had become a clamor of various people trying to talk over each other. Zev paced furiously around the command area. "Enough! How could you just lose the Captain? His signal is nowhere to be found!"

Jack Crusher sat at ops as a medic tended to his wounded leg. He'd been shot by a disruptor and the heavy painkillers would have put him to sleep had he not been so angry. The wound was painful, but would heal. His internal pain was much worse. "I can't believe he's gone," he whispered, wiping a tear from below his eye.

"Did anyone actually see the captain leave the area?" Zev questioned the stunned officers.

"No, Commander," said T'Pel. "Every single away team member including Captain Picard, was engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Klingon crew."

"Some of them were human," Jack said dully. "At least they looked human."

"One of the attackers stabbed the captain with a knife," continued T'Pel. "Mr. Crusher and I were able to break free and we went to his aid. However...he disappeared in a white flash of energy."

"The next thing we knew, we were here," added one of the medics.

Zev crossed her arms. "All five of you showed up on the bridge in a simultaneous flash of light. What was the cause?"

"We do not know," said T'Pel.

Jack tried to push himself to his feet. "We have to go back for him. That thing-that thing got him!"

Suddenly Vigo turned from the helm excitedly. "I'm picking up Captain Picard's signature down on the planet surface!"

Zev slammed her hand down onto the helm. "Lock on to him and beam him directly to sickbay."