Chapter XII

Chapter XII

First Officer's Log: Stardate 51587.8 – We have arrived at the Tantalus V base from our position near the Neutral Zone, bearing the remains of our honoured dead. Commander Hedly's wounds were not life-threatening once treated, but there are deeper wounds that have afflicted us all, wounds which may never heal for the rest of our lives.

Troi stared at the body on the bio-bed, feeling the familiar sting of tears that pricked her eyes. She had thought that she no longer had any tears to shed, but she was proving herself wrong every day since the tragic events of a week before.

Beverly Crusher stood beside her silently, gazing down on the serene, beautiful features of Lieutenant Thames. No words needed to be said, no words could be said after the last week.

'I don't want to do this,' said the doctor finally. 'A post-mortem.' She snorted with disgust.

Troi nodded slowly, not taking her gaze away. 'Starfleet expects a full report –'

'Starfleet does not deserve anything. They allowed this to happen!' The snarl in the doctor's tone surprised Troi, but she could not find it in herself to disagree with the doctor's analysis of the situation.

The intercom bleeped and Hedly's voice came through. 'Bridge to Counsellor Troi.'

'Troi here,' said the Counsellor.

'Counsellor, Admiral Kelner is on subspace. He wishes to speak with you.'

Troi glanced at Crusher. 'Can I use –'

Crusher nodded, and Troi stepped through to the medical office. 'Put it through down here, Ghia,' she said.

Troi sat at the desk as Admiral Kelner's face appeared on screen. 'Counsellor Troi,' he said. Troi spotted immediately the strain in his eyes.

'Admiral.'

Kelner stared at her for a moment. 'I have received Commander Riker's report of what happened on the Enterprise. Admiral Nechayev is dead?'

Troi nodded. 'Captain Picard killed her,' she said shortly.

Kelner nodded again, as if struggling for something. 'Counsellor,' he said at last, 'I want to apologise on the behalf of the Admiralty. It is our fault, and our fault alone for the utter devastation of the last few weeks. We failed to spot Admiral Nechayev's odd behaviour, allowed her to escape from captivity on Starbase 629, which led to this –' He fought for a word, and savagely, bitterly, said, '- fiasco!'

Troi agreed completely, although she couldn't say so to a superior officer. Kelner saw her expression though. 'I know that you, and Riker and the others all blame me for what has happened, and I don't intend to dissuade you of your beliefs. It may please you to know that I have handed in my resignation from the service.'

That surprised Troi, and she leant closer to the screen. 'There is no need for that Admiral. We do not blame you personally, merely the mistakes that led to Admiral Nechayev being freed. That was a circumstance of factors that would not be possible to predict and that we will never know.'

Kelner nodded sadly. 'Thank you, Counsellor, but my decision still stands. Please, what is Captain Picard's condition?'

Troi's expression became devastated. 'Unchanged. The carers believe that there is nothing that can be done for him.'

Kelner's eyes widened in shock. 'Dear god, with the level of psychological treatments now –'

Troi cut in. 'I know, sir, but exactly what he is suffering is clear. Depression, psychosis, definitely, but there is an extra element that cannot be defined.'

Kelner nodded slowly. His expression was saddened. 'I cannot express in words how horrified and sad I am at that news. Jean-Luc and I were close friends.'

Troi nodded, her expression softening slightly. 'I am sorry, Admiral. I do not believe that there is anything which can be done for him.'

'Bridge to Counsellor Troi!' Hedly's voice disturbed Troi from her concern, and she smiled at Kelner tiredly.

'No rest for the weary. I must go.'

Kelner nodded. 'Thank you, Counsellor.' He cut the channel and Troi leaned back and tapped her badge.

'Troi here.'

'Counsellor!' Troi detected the note of near-panic in Hedly's voice. 'We have a warp shuttle coming alongside. The passenger wishes to speak with you.'

Troi frowned. 'Who is it?'

'He won't say,' replied Hedly. 'Shall I put him through?'

Troi considered, and then nodded. 'Very well.' Anger filled her mind, and she prepared herself to force her feelings back for another well-wisher who wished to speak with Picard.

Prepared, that is, for anyone except who appeared on her screen.

Troi strode through the corridors of the hospital, followed by her dark companion from the shuttle.

Tantalus V had been a secure mental prison at one time, but under the management of Dr. Simon Van Gelder, it had become a full mental hospital to care for the few insane people across the quadrant, who could not be treated by conventional means.

One of those was now Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Troi stopped when she approached the security barrier and saw the intern behind the screen. 'No visitors,' said the young man.

Troi indicated the person behind her, and the intern's face paled. He suddenly scrambled to the barrier and deactivated the forcefield. Troi and her companion stepped through and faced the intern, who gazed, trembling, into the face of Ambassador Spock of Vulcan. He still managed to say, 'What is your business with Captain Picard?'

'Ambassador Spock has come all of this way to see the captain,' said Troi, trying to keep excitement out of her voice, and forcing indignation into its place. 'And you would deny him?'

'Well – no –'

'Good.' Troi turned and walked down the corridor, followed closely by Spock.

The Vulcan's face was calm, but he leant down slightly and said, 'Well done, Counsellor.'

Troi smiled slightly, but then she rounded the corner and saw what lay beyond, and felt a pain shudder through her being even as she gazed upon the pitiful wreck.

Picard lay there, dressed in a hospital smock. The room was well furnished, with a table, chairs, and a bed, but he lay, sprawled in one corner of the room, muttering quietly to himself, not even acknowledging them stood watching him. His body was emaciated – he refused to eat – and his eyes were shadowed by the darkness that covered his soul. Troi could not, even now, believe that this was the same vibrant man who had been glowing with pleasure on his wedding day, only two weeks ago. Now, she could not sense anything except despairing pain from him. All he wanted, she knew, apart from his wife, was death. Maybe he believed he would see Rosanna Thames there.

And all Troi had been able to see, until an hour ago, was death for her friend.

At that moment, a young woman approached them from behind. Troi recognised her as Picard's personal doctor, Dr. Joanne Lennara. She stared at Troi penetratingly for a moment through striking green eyes before saying, 'Who gave you permission to be down here?'

'Excuse me,' said Spock. 'I asked Counsellor Troi to take me to see Captain Picard.'

Lennara looked up at the solemn Vulcan for a moment, and then nodded. 'Why?'

Spock did not hide his intention. 'I can help him.'

The scorn in Lennara's eyes was clear as she stared at Spock. 'Oh, you can help him when the best analytical doctors in the entire Federation cannot even tell what's wrong with him?'

Spock nodded. Lennara turned away and stared sadly at the figure of her patient. 'Look at him. He doesn't even want help.'

Spock stepped forward to stand beside her. 'I know,' he said, in his deep voice. 'Nevertheless, he must be helped. Everything depends on it.' Troi frowned at Spock's back, surprised by the tone of his voice.

Lennara was also confused. 'Why?'

Spock ignored the question as if it had not been asked. Instead, he stared down at Lennara. 'Do you want to know how I can help him?'

Lennara nodded slowly. Spock turned to look at Picard's muttering face. 'Captain Picard, as you correctly diagnosed, does not want to be helped. He has lost everything that he holds dear in a very short space of time, and in a way, everything that helped him identify who he was. He and his wife shared a very special bond, one that was broken when she was killed so suddenly. That is what has driven him into this slow death. There is no real damage to his mind that cannot be treated easily by conventional means.'

Lennara turned her gaze onto Picard. 'How do you propose to help him?'

'By a mind-meld,' said Spock. 'By reaching into his mind and erasing the memories that are destroying him, we can restore him to us.'

Lennara frowned at Spock. 'Can it be done?'

'I have done it before,' said the Ambassador. 'But in this case, it will be tougher. He must forget everything that could lead him back to his madness. Everything that could remind him of what he has lost must be erased.'

'There are a great number of memories that must be erased, Ambassador,' said Troi. 'Captain Picard –'

Spock looked at her and nearly smiled. 'I know of those memories, Counsellor. They will have to go as well. Everything from the moment that Commander Thames came onboard the Enterprise.'

'Could we not get another to do the meld?' asked Lennara. 'To risk yourself, Ambassador –'

'I see you appreciate the dangers of the mind-meld,' said Spock. 'In answer, no, there is none other. I have melded with this one before. It must be I.'

Lennara glanced at Troi. 'Counsellor? What do you think?'

Troi gazed at the face of her friend, captain and mentor. There was only one answer. 'I leave it in your hands, Ambassador.'

Lennara looked into the solemn, deep, Vulcan eyes. She nodded. 'Very well. How long?'

'As long as necessary.'

'Will you need any help? Monitoring?'

'No,' replied Spock. 'I would appreciate solitude.'

Lennara nodded. 'When can you start?'

'Now.'

Lennara sighed, and deactivated the forcefield that closed off the room. Spock stepped through towards Picard as the doctor reactivated the field and turned to Troi. 'Come on, Counsellor. We can return when he calls us.'

Troi nodded, but could not resist a backward glance as the tall figure knelt before Picard's body. Then she turned the corner and didn't see them again.

Picard's face did not change as Spock knelt near him. 'Captain,' said the voice of the ambassador. Picard did not react at all.

There was a sigh, and a new voice spoke. 'Come on, Jean-Luc, don't do this to me now!'

Picard glanced up now at those words, stopped his muttering, recognised the voice, and the face that now adorned Spock's ambassadorial robes. 'Q.'

The being smiled at Picard. 'I'm here for you, mon capitaine. Here to help.'

'Rosanna?' asked Picard weakly as Q pressed his hands to Picard's face and began his work.

'Soon,' said Q quietly, 'Very soon.'

Counsellor's Log: Stardate 51784.1 – A miracle has happened. With the aid of Ambassador Spock of Vulcan, Captain Picard has regained his faculties at last. Even Doctor Lennara is staggered by the success of the operation, and believes that the captain will be ready for duty in a few days. Now, all that remains is the immense clear-up operation. Captain Picard does not remember anything after we left DS9 nearly three months ago. He has been told that he has been suffering from Altarian Encephalitis, which we managed to catch early, but he still received the long-term memory loss that comes with the disease. Now all we have to do is make sure he never finds out the truth.

Troi stared at Admiral Drayton, the C-in-C of Starfleet. 'You're sure, Admiral?'

Drayton, an affable dark-faced man, smiled slightly. 'Sure I'm sure. We have an Intelligence team scouring the archives for mentions of anybody involved in the mission whose death we can't explain away.'

'Take me through the entire operation,' said Troi calmly. 'We can't take any risks.'

Drayton nodded and picked up a padd from off-screen. 'At the top, any mention of Lieutenant Rosanna Thames has been erased from the archives. Her class details have been altered, her service record removed, and her family sworn to secrecy. Her classmates have been sworn to the same, but with no reason disclosed. Fortunately, depending on how you look at it, her two closest friends have been killed, Michael Regitz and Leanne Sturgess. Her body has been interred in the family estate in England in an unmarked grave. It's highly unlikely that Picard has even heard of the family outside of his marriage.'

Troi nodded. 'Good. What about Admiral Nechayev?'

'That didn't need much work,' said Drayton. 'Alynna's service record now shows that she died in the line of duty shortly after Picard contracted his illness. Her body has been destroyed, as per your instructions, and the entire Admiralty is sworn to secrecy on pain of instant dismissal.' Drayton saw Troi's surprised expression. 'Captain Picard is extremely important to us. We even went to the lengths of renaming Emeralle II just in case.'

'Good,' said Troi. 'Anything else?'

'We've recovered every scrap of evidence regarding the wedding before it was released. Fortunately, there was some form of copyright wrangle between the Federation news press and the private reporters. The material was never used. Again, all those present at the wedding have been sworn to secrecy.'

'How about foreign governments?'

Drayton smiled faintly. 'We have an operative in the Romulan Embassy. The only foreign enemy there was the Romulan Ambassador. At 0800 yesterday, an undetectable poison was slipped into his drink by our operative. They thought it was a heart attack.'

Troi felt sick. 'You certainly have all bases covered, Admiral,' she managed.

Drayton regarded her with a pitying look, but said nothing. Troi recovered her composure and said, 'And you're still checking if we've missed anything?'

Drayton nodded. 'As I said, Starfleet Intelligence has totally erased the last few months from history. I just wish it hadn't been necessary.'

Troi gave him a cold look. 'No more than we do, Admiral.'

Troi smiled as Spock prepared to board his shuttle. He turned, and gave her the Vulcan salute, which she returned quietly. Spock looked at her for a moment. 'You are still worried about him?'

At Troi's nod, Spock said, 'Don't be. He is freed from his anger and his pain at last. He cannot even remember them. As you knew yourself, Captain Picard was a changed man when he returned from the alternate reality. He has lost that now – he is the same man he was after you defeated the Borg.'

Troi nodded slowly. 'It is a pity. The man whom we have come to know combined what is best of Captain Picard and a happiness that we had never before seen in him. And now he has lost the source of that happiness.'

Spock came a little closer to her, forcing Troi to look up at his face. 'He has not lost it,' said Spock. 'He has merely had to forget it for a time. Farewell, Counsellor.'

With that last mysterious statement, Ambassador Spock turned and vanished into the shuttle's darkness.

The bridge crew of the Enterprise, from Truper to Riker, was present in the transporter room. A bo'sun held a whistle in his hands, and he glanced nervously at Riker as the commander turned to the transporter chief. 'Energise.'

The transporter glowed with power, and a single figure took shape and solidified on the pad. The blue energy died away, and the bo'sun piped Captain Jean-Luc Picard aboard his ship.

Riker stepped forward, a pleased grin on his face and he and Picard shook hands. 'Nice to have you back, sir,' said the first officer, feeling euphoria take hold of him.

'It's good to be back, Number One,' said Picard, smiling just as broadly. He turned and was greeted by the rest of his crew. Truper shook his hand, Hedly did the same, whilst Crusher and Troi both hugged him excitedly. Data and Geordi both managed to restrain themselves, but both wore broad smiles as they welcomed him.

Picard drew free of the ecstatic embraces, surprised at the fervour of his friends. 'You'd think I'd come back from the dead or something,' he muttered.

He looked at Riker. 'We'd better get underway, Number One,' he said. 'What's our destination?'

'Patrol duty on the Neutral Zone,' said Riker. 'We're ready to go when you are.'

Picard smiled. 'No time like the present.'

The bridge was as quietly noisy as he remembered it the last time he had stepped aboard. He felt that feeling of control that he had lost whilst down on the surface. He took his seat, and turned to look at Ensign Truper. 'Ensign, plot in a course for the Romulan Neutral Zone. Warp six.'

'Aye, sir,' said Truper, laying in the course. 'Warp engines at your command.'

Picard smiled, pleased to be underway on an even keel again. 'Engage.'

The Enterprise gathered herself and leapt into warp speed, away from the past and into the future.