By Invitation Only

by Eve Robinson

The Enterprise goes to the aid of a planet suffering from a hallucination-causing plague. Identifying the cause is not too difficult, but curing it is harder - and just as the happy ending is in sight, the locals turn nasty. A Season Two story.

2. Part Two

By Invitation Only

Part Two

"That's why we didn't catch the plague," Marlen said bleakly, as she and Data got back into the groundcar to begin a circumnavigation of the lake. "We have an artesian well in the grounds at home, and never use the city's own water supply. It tastes different, you see."

"A fortunate circumstance," the android said.

"I suppose. And I guess the same thing protected you—you haven't drunk any water from the Tantene, have you? Still, it was wise of your captain to risk only one of his people. If we'd had to quarantine the planet—mother was thinking it might come to that, you know—he'd have been able to leave you behind."

For a moment, Data looked startled. "I do not believe Captain Picard would abandon any member of his crew," he said firmly. "I have seen him take grave risks in order to secure the safety of a single individual in the past."

"Really? But—you mean, he might put the whole ship at risk for the sake of one person?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Data looked puzzled. "I am not entirely certain. I believe it is one of the many facets of human nature which I am not equipped to understand."

"Oh. Well, I can't say I understand it either. We Bradari would say that the minority must be sacrificed to save the majority, if necessary. That's only sensible."

"It is the logical response, I agree. Yet..." Data tilted his head in thought, "there is something curiously appropriate about the human response. Halt here, please. I will take another sample."

The light was fading from the sky when Data announced that the current sample held twice the standard concentration of the three substances he had discovered earlier. "I surmise," he said, "that we are close to the precise source of the contamination."

So they walked cautiously along the shore, carefully sampling the clear water every fifty metres. Data attempted to configure his tricorder to locate the most powerful concentration, but the inconclusive result indicated merely that the point they were seeking was some way from the shore. And the sun was setting, leaving yellow and green streaks in the sky.

"I believe we must postpone our search until tomorrow. We must return with some kind of water craft."

"No! No, we can't stop now!"

"Marlen, it will soon be impossible for you to see what we are doing. We can leave the groundcar here, if you wish, and ask the Enterprise to transport us back to Valmar—"

"Oh, no, no, I couldn't go through one of those things!" She shuddered. "Being taken apart, molecule by molecule—no, I can't."

"Then we must return by groundcar at once, before the light fades. The terrain is difficult—"

"But we don't have to go back at all. We can use the sleeper." At his look of bewilderment, Marlen marched back to the groundcar and opened a hatch at the rear. It took her only 57.2 seconds to erect a small structure of some durable material, using the groundcar's extendable rear posts for support at one end. "There are three sleeping cloths, and I brought something to eat and drink. Let's stay here, Data, please? It would waste so much time if we have to come back in the morning. We've almost cracked it."

"Cracked what?"

"Uh, solved it. You know, found the answer. What do you think? It's perfectly comfortable, really! There's an inflatable floor, it only takes a few seconds."

Data opened his mouth to remonstrate, but decided there was little sense in doing so. It would not inconvenience anyone if they remained by the lake. Accordingly, Marlen contacted her home, and Data the Enterprise, to inform them of the arrangements. Data was pleased to learn that the occurrence rate of new 'plague' victims had been reduced by thirty-nine percent since their discovery of the water contamination, and that the rate was continuing to fall.

After inflating the shelter floor and setting the waffled thermal blankets inside, Marlen unpacked several shiny containers from a drawer in the groundcar, laid the food and drink on a small cloth, and fell to with gusto. Out of politeness, Data nibbled at the evening meal, sitting cross-legged on the rough grass as the bright sunset faded and the sky turned to diamond-flecked black.

"The stars are so beautiful," Marlen murmured. "You can't see them so clearly from the city, with all the night illuminations bright. But here..." She shivered a little, and rummaged in the inflatable. "Do you want your blanket too?"

"I do not feel cold," Data replied.

"In that case," she said, snuggling up to him and wrapping the blanket round them, "you can keep me warm. I don't want to go to sleep yet, I rarely get to see the stars on a night like this. Look, that's the Thistle, and the Anglefish, and the Pentagon." She pointed out the constellations. Data was puzzled at some of the images supposedly presented by the sky, although he admitted that the Pentagon was a reasonable description.

"That bright cluster, about thirty degrees above the finger rock, that's Sheren's Chair," Marlen went on. "It used to be called just The Chair, but was renamed in honour of Sheren when she brought peace to our people. She was a Speaker for one of the archipelagos on the home world, and she ended a war by Naming the leader of the enemy as the father of the child she was carrying. Since he had to take vows and cohabit with her for five years, he couldn't very well conduct a war at the same time."

"I do not understand. Surely the male would have known whether or not he was the child's father?"

"No, no, that isn't the point. The mother has the right to Name her child's father. Some say we developed the custom during the long wars, when a female might mate with several males. She was entitled to choose for herself who would have the honour of being father to her child."

"But..." Data thought better of his objections. Who was he to gainsay Bradari custom? Perhaps their genetic science was insufficiently developed to give definitive answers. "What if he had refused to... to acknowledge the child?"

Marlen stared at him, amazed. "Why would any male refuse a child?" She considered. "I suppose it may be different for you, but for us, every child is very precious, and rearing a child the most important task of an adult's life. I never met a Bradari who did not wish to be a parent. Though I sometimes wonder," she wriggled closer to Data and tugged the blanket around her, "whether Sheren's child wouldn't have been better off with a different father. Still, what she did brought about thirty years of peace, which was unprecedented on the home world. That's where our home planet is," she pointed eastward, "the middle star of those three that form a vertical line. It's only an insignificant star in the night sky, but it's where we came from. Most of our people still live there."

"The Bradari do not seem likely to destroy themselves," Data observed.

"The establishers who came here were from a small sect," Marlen explained. "That's why we called our new world Bra-Dar, which means Home of Plenty. The home world, Braf, was mostly water and the people were crowded and fought for land. They say it was all wars and flying metal and golems. In those days, thirty years of peace was a huge achievement. Imagine living on a world where war is the norm! Anyway, some of the people wished to leave, and managed to construct a colony ship and come to this system, to form our own government here. On Bradar, there is plenty of room for all, and we don't have to fight for territory as they did. Of course, we haven't been here many generations, but when the planet is full, some will leave to establish another world."

"Many planets experience a warlike phase during their history. Earth was one such, and might have destroyed itself."

"Which is Earth's star?"

This was a tall order, even for Data, but he pointed out a faint speck, low on the horizon, as Sol.

"That's good," murmured Marlen. "I s'pose... time to go to sleep." She sagged against Data's shoulder, so he carefully gathered her and the blanket into his arms and laid them both in the inflatable shelter for the night.

* * *

Aboard the Enterprise, Wesley Crusher could not sleep. He'd spent too many hours yesterday staring at the jobethyloselecybinamide molecule, and now it was dancing in his head, splitting itself into pieces and joining up again as if choreographed by a cackling lunatic. He tried changing the mental subject—composing a letter to his mother, figuring out math problems, replaying his recent conversations with the fascinating but unattainable Salia... but those molecules kept performing their kaleidoscopic patterns, taking themselves apart, reforming, splitting again, reforming—

He sat up, heart thundering, leapt from his bed and into the nearest clothes he could find, and summoned up the details on his computer. JBE... mendelevium, belactol, selenium trifluoride, jolium... it wasn't all there, but the pieces were so nearly complete... and the selenium trifluoride they had found in the water was an unusual compound, less stable than—it would reform with—what was missing? His thoughts whirlwinded.

"Crusher to LaForge: sir, about the molecular filter, I don't think it will work."

What? Wes, you should be asleep. What... what time is it?

"Sir, I'm sorry to wake you, but it's urgent. I think the JBE forms downstream of the processing plant. We have to devise a better filter."

There was a groan from the Chief Engineer. All right, I'll see you in Engineering.

Now that Wesley had supplied the clue, Geordi couldn't understand why neither he nor anyone else had spotted it before. With the assistance of a sleepy biochemical specialist, they confirmed a most interesting factor in the JBE equation: the molecules had been split. Instead of the long, complex chains that normally constituted this hallucinogen, each molecule had been snipped into several component parts, each of which was small enough to slip through the defensive water filters with ease. Traces of jolium were naturally present, and usually quite harmless; selenium trifluoride, belactol and mendelevium had been found in the Tantene reservoir. A few more oxygen and hydrogen molecules were necessary to the whole, but there was no shortage of those in the H2O. The remainder, a few crucial molecules, were absent from the processed water supply which flowed from the Tantene. How, and where, did the missing elements get into the water to recombine with the other elements to form jobethyloselecybinamide?

* * *

Viridescent streaks of dawn were brightening to the turquoise of the Bradari sky as Marlen stuffed the last crumbs of breakfast into her mouth and leaped to her feet. It took a mere two minutes to repack the shelter and its contents into the groundcar, and shortly after that, Data and his Bradari companion were hurtling along the shore to the next sample point.

They had worked their way a further 3.6 kilometres round the perimeter when Data's communicator sounded. Picard conveyed the good news of Pulaski's cure, which even now was being implemented in the Valmarene Infirmary—Marlen's delight and gratitude were no less obvious, though less coherently expressed, than her mother's had been.

Picard informed them that LaForge and the Bradari techs had devised a JBE filter and had fitted it into the water processing plant. He went on to explain that the matter was not so simple as had been thought, and Lieutenant Worf's security teams were now conducting a city-wide search for the source of the missing portion of the hallucinogen.

They have not found the contamination as yet. However, Mr LaForge assures me that if the mendelevium, belactol and selenium trifluoride can be eliminated from the water supply, the remaining elements will not constitute a danger. He is liaising with the Bradari technicians to develop more specific filters.

"Understood, Captain. In this case, the sources of mendelevium, belactol and selenium trifluoride in the reservoir are certainly artificial."

Quite so, Mr Data. Find them if you can, and remove them. No doubt Speaker Deljardo would be very pleased to learn that the reservoir is clean once more.

"Understood, sir. We will continue our search."

Do you require assistance? Most of the crew are currently helping Commander Riker or Dr Pulaski in the city, or working on the refined filters with Lt LaForge , but I can release another Away Team if you wish.

Data considered for a moment. "Sir, I believe there is no need to remove anyone from their current duties. The plague victims must take priority, and the water will need to be filtered, even if the sources of contamination are removed. Our examination of the perimeter will be complete within two hours and thirty-two minutes."

Very well, Mr Data. Keep me informed of your progress. Picard out.

The shelter's inflatable floor, it transpired, did double service as a cumbersome but serviceable boat. A folded propeller, attached to a compact power supply, was augmented by two sturdy paddles, and so by mid-morning, Data and Marlen were afloat, he in the bow with tricorder at the ready, she steering from the broad stern.

"Stop!"

The boat progressed a little further on its course before Marlen could halt the propeller in response to Data's command, but with a little backing and paddling, they managed to achieve the position required.

"There is a very strong localised source of belactol immediately below us," Data reported, frowning at his tricorder. He recalibrated the instrument to scan for other substances. "None of the other constituents of JBE is so concentrated. I believe we have found only part of the pollutant." He scanned the water again. "There appears to be a container, constructed of ceramic material. Fortunately, the water is no more than three point two four metres deep at this point."

Marlen peered over the side. "I'm not sure what a metre is, but it doesn't look like a difficult dive for a competent swimmer. Getting back into the boat won't be easy, though."

"I am unable to swim. However, I believe I can retrieve the container and walk to the shore."

Marlen gaped at him. "That's crazy! I'll get it. Unless—unless the water will give me the plague?"

He considered. "I do not believe JBE can be absorbed through the skin. It will only cause the 'plague' if swallowed. Nonetheless I do not believe you should make the attempt. The water will have no adverse effect on me—"

He stopped, as the discourse had become pointless. A spatter of lake water patterned his uniform in the wake of Marlen's capable dive. Moments later, her brown head broke the surface and she held up a pearl-pale sphere in one hand, as with the other she grasped the side of the boat. Data relieved her of the sphere and hoisted her easily over the side, noting with interest that her ear frills had completely covered her aural cavities, and were now retracting to their customary size. "Don't think I swallowed any," she panted, and spat carefully into the lake. "But by Sheren, that's cold!"

In moments Data had steered them back to the shore. Marlen hopped quickly out to find herself a blanket, and while she peeled off her dripping garments and dried herself, Data communicated his find to the Enterprise.

Marlen, water-sleeked and wrapped in a blanket, vehemently declined to transport aboard the Enterprise and take advantage of the ship's facilities. Data therefore returned to the ship alone, and subjected the sphere to a quick computer scan. With the information already in the computer, it took only minutes for Chief O'Brien to pinpoint the location of two more spheres within the reservoir and transport them aboard.

* * *

Captain's Log, supplemental

Commander Data has returned to the planet with one of the spheres in order to accompany his companion Marlen Deljardo back to Valmar. At her suggestion, they are going to consult a forensic specialist on Bradar, who may be able to identify the technology involved in the mysterious objects from the reservoir, and so lead us to a better understanding of the saboteur's possible motives. The other spheres will be examined on board the Enterprise, although at present Lieutenant LaForge and his team are still working on the problem of the water filters.

Dr Pulaski has reported a steady improvement within the city of Valmar. As more of the patients are cured, more local physicians are able to assist in treating the victims. Cdr Riker continues to oversee the search for the missing JBE component; however, the Bradari have managed to set up an effective system of water supply and rationing to ensure that contaminated water is not consumed, and the number of new victims is reduced to almost none.

* * *

The journey back towards Valmar was more sedate than the frantic outward ride had been. Marlen gave directions from her blanket cocoon, and her wet clothes streamed out behind them like flags, drying rapidly. Convenient to their westerly position, the laboratory to which she navigated them was on the north-western side of the city, and even at Data's dignified pace the groundcar took them there in only 33.2 minutes.

News of their arrival had preceded them. Marlen had still been unable to reach her mother directly from the groundcar, but was not much worried by this: it meant that the Speaker was busy getting things done. The Enterprise obviously enjoyed a priority communication channel, and had conveyed word of the spheres to the Speaker's Bureau and to the laboratory, outside whose domes a sturdy, grey-bearded man was standing. Marlen leaped from the car and into a fierce embrace.

The hugging done, she introduced Data to her nunc' Kamva, the forensic specialist who would be dealing with their discoveries.

"Nunc' should have been Named my father, really," she teased. "We're so alike."

"Sheren preserve me from your mother! Besides, that would have been dishonest," the specialist said, wagging a finger at her. "Not proper behaviour for the Speaker of Bradar."

"Pardon me," said Data, "but—you prize honesty, yet the Speaker who lied about her child's parentage is regarded as one of your highest heroes. How is this possible?"

"I've been telling Data the story of Sheren and Yarga," Marlen explained. "The circumstances were exceptional."

"There's an exception for every rule," Kamva said at the same time. They looked at one another, and as they laughed, Data thought he could discern the resemblance between them, more a nuance of expression than of bone or feature.

Kamva's eyes grew grave, though, when he told his visitors that of all his staff, only he himself and one assistant remained unaffected by the plague.

"But the Voice brings good news from the city," he continued more cheerfully. "Your doctor," he bowed lightly to Data, "seems to have found the miracle we needed."

"The Voice?" Data was unfamiliar with the reference.

"Our communication network. Jaren—the Speaker—closed it down for several days, as there was no good news to be had and the bad news only made everyone more miserable. But it was up again last night to tell us of the progress in combating the plague, and that no-one was to drink water from the Tantene. We've had only encouraging bulletins since midday."

"I understand," said Data, but he appeared unsettled. "I am not certain it is wise to let the entire populace know that the plague is being treated. The spheres are proof that the outbreak was deliberately engineered. We have not yet discovered the purpose or the identity of the saboteur. Perhaps he or she will make another attempt."

"Hmm." Kamva was plainly disturbed by the thought. "Then we had better see what these devices can tell us about our saboteur. Let's have a look at this sphere, then."

* * *

"I see you've rotated some of your staff back to the ship," Riker observed, catching Dr Pulaski between patients.

"It does them good to get a change of environment once in a while. Now that we have the situation in hand, I can let my staff rest. The Bradari physicians are very competent."

"You know, Doctor, it really wouldn't hurt you to take a break yourself," Riker informed the CMO. "You can't help these people if you are exhausted."

"Nonsense," Pulaski asserted. "I had several hours' rest last night. I'm in no danger of falling asleep on the job, Commander. Speaking of which, how much sleep have you had?"

"Enough," he replied, grinning, "besides, I want luck more than I want sleep. I've had people all over the city looking for the source of this compound Geordi has identified, and we're getting nowhere."

"What compound?"

"I don't think it has a name," said Riker, offering her the tricorder on which the chemical formula was displayed. "It's a component of JBE; it seems our saboteur is a very clever molecular chemist. The JBE is undetectable because it's been split into several parts. We've found the sources of the other elements, but this one is very well hidden."

Pulaski sniffed. "Look around you, Commander."

He was confused.

"I can tell you precisely where this compound is located. It's present in the blood of every one of these people. It's the Bradari equivalent of haemoglobin."

Riker bit his tongue on a colourful collection of oaths.

"It seems," Pulaski went on, "that your molecular wizard has more than a passing familiarity with Bradari physiology. I'd say that means we should be looking for a disgruntled biochemist or a rogue medic."

"Why do you think so?" asked Deanna, who had been sitting by the next bed and had obviously overheard the tail end of the conversation.

"I had to access the city's medical database in order to figure out the best way to flush the JBE out of these people's systems," Pulaski replied, "but it was only the nature of the problem that led me to investigate so precisely the actual chemical makeup of the cells. I had to determine whether the thorcosamine would do any damage while it pulled the JBE out of them. The knowledge required to produce this so-called plague is not something that would be widespread among the population. Actually, I'd say it's leading edge technology for the Bradari. There really can't be many people here who could have done it."

"Could the 'plague' have been generated by someone off-planet?" Riker asked.

Pulaski considered. "It would be possible for an offworlder to do a covert scan of these people to obtain the medical information—but there are plenty of far easier ways to contaminate a water supply. They'd have to have thought of the idea first, then obtained tissue and blood samples... Occam's Razor suggests that this was devised by someone who already knew the formulae involved."

"I'd better tell the captain. He'll want to pass this on to Speaker Deljardo."

* * *

"It seems so impossible," Speaker Deljardo said morosely, "that any Bradari could deliberately inflict such suffering on so many of our people. Are you certain that the devices were not put there by an offworlder?"

"It is possible, Speaker," Picard said to the image on his screen. "When we have analysed the spheres aboard the Enterprise we should be able to identify the source of the technology involved, assuming it comes from a culture we know. But you yourself told me that it was extremely unlikely any visiting trader had been outside the city. Are there any… dissidents on Bradar? A group with a grudge against the government, perhaps?"

She hunched a defensive shoulder, and frowned. "There are disagreements, of course. No-one can please all the people. If we all thought the same way, we'd have died out long ago, from boredom. But…"

Picard waited patiently for her to unfold her thoughts.

"Some people believe that we have grown soft and weak. Mostly out-dwellers, who choose not to be confined by the city's crowds. They would like us to build warships, at least to defend ourselves, and to keep an army. But most of us see no necessity for such things. Our lives have been so much improved in the last century, with no need to keep pushing resources into war—our medical technology, our buildings, our farming. So I suppose the disgruntled out-dwellers might have done this, feeling less kinship with the in-dwellers in the city."

"It seems an odd response, though. If these people want you to be more warlike, starting the plague…"

"You are quite right, Captain. It makes very little sense."

"Are there other disaffected groups?" he prompted.

"There are some who feel we should be doing more to help the home world," she began.

"The home world? Forgive me, Speaker, but I thought Bradar was your home world."

"Oh, no. Our native planet orbits another star. Our establishers came here with great difficulty some hundred and twenty orbits ago. The home planet was in turmoil, always. Too little land, too many people fighting for it. Some of my people believe we should communicate with Braf and show them that they need not be always at war, that there is room enough in the universe if they will go and find it. Most of us, however, believe that the Braf-yn should solve their own problems."

"And besides, it doesn't sound as though these people would have anything to gain by starting the plague."

"No. Although of course, members of this group would be better versed in the technology involved than the out-dwellers would. Out-dwellers mostly concentrate on farming. I suppose…" the Speaker halted.

"You've thought of a possibility."

"It seems unkind to name someone who might be quite innocent. It's just that one of the more vocal members of the Reunity group… well. I think we must wait until the spheres are analysed, Captain. If I am correct in what I suppose, my friend Kamva Enyiss will certainly be able to identify the saboteur."