Unknown
Will was left to wait, lying on the small table, with nothing to do and no way to move. His pain had slowly dissipated, leaving him with only a dull aching. Finally, after nearly an hour, someone came.
Riker looked up, his eyes catching sight of a Fruma approaching him. For just a moment, he considering that he must be dreaming for he had just seen two Cadda working with a Nilaain and now a Fruma.
The male Fruma, who didn't look at all different from the female diplomats, smiled at the Commander. Then he asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Not bad," Will managed to answer, working to keep his face void of expression.
"Good. I believe you will be happy to know your friends are also healthy," he added.
"Yeah, thanks. What do you want?"
"What do you mean?"
"Usually when you kidnap someone, you want something. So… what… do you… want?" Riker spelled out for him, dragging out his words in emphasis.
"It is more complicated than that. I need to confess to you, confess why we… 'kidnapped' you." The Fruma's voice was level and calm. He brought his hands before his chest, setting his finger tips together as he walked closer to the biobed.
Riker looked at him in confusion. He couldn't understand why this… strange group would kidnap him just to confess. But they were a strange group. "What?"
"Not that simple, Commander Riker," the Fruma answered with a know-it-all smile.
"It seems I'm at a disadvantage. You know my name… and you are?"
"My name is Imrah. I don't know if you know, but…" Imrah walked up next to Riker and pointed to his right temple. "There is a chip right here. Have you been having trouble sleeping, or getting headaches, or even strange dreams?"
"Yeah," he admitted, wondering why he was answering. "Not as often anymore but enough."
"As we thought. You see, we put that there." This got Riker's attention. Looking closely at the Fruma, he studied the man's face, testing to see if the man was lying or not.
"I bet you can't guess what it does." He stepped up close to Will's head, his voice higher and giddier. "I'll tell you. It makes the metal blocks in your mind stronger and maintains them."
He stopped for a moment before he stepped away and continued. "Only one problem. The chips… still experimental… not ready for implantation. Too many bugs… too many. Blocks not strong enough… started to degrade without chips."
Imrah's sudden behavioral change was peculiar. Riker's brows creased as he watched unfold in front of him. And, for a moment, he had trouble believing the man. And yet, it was all so perfect… all so perfectly right.
At that moment, the same two Cadda guards came back and unstrapped Riker, pulling him to his feet. It was easier to put weight on his foot, though it still hurt, and walked with them as they pulled him toward the door.
Will turned his head quickly, trying to stopped the Cadda briefly so that he could tell Imrah something…
But he was gone, as if he had never been there.
Sickbay
Crusher and Picard stood over Riegla as she awoke from the trauma she sustained. Her eyes opened slowly, blinking in the light. She starred forward a minute, surprised to see the blurred face of a smiling Dr. Crusher.
"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.
"Fine, thanks to your care," Riegla said with a sweet smile, trying to shift to better see her company.
"We need to ask you a few questions."
"Captain?"
"We found a ketic bomb in the area you were sitting in. We're told that it is a weapon used by the Ellasar. Do you know anything about it?" Picard questioned, studying the face of the young Fruma.
"No."
The two Starfleet officers looked at each other, both wearing a look full of distrust. "Commander Riker, Lieutenant Worf, and Ambassador Smith were abducted after the explosion."
"I don't know about that either."
But Picard didn't believe the innocence in her voice. "Then do you know about how the Fruma, the Nilaain, and the Cadda are the same species?"
Fakhr whipped her head around and showed her shock, nearly whispering, "No." Picard nodded, both he and Crusher turning away. Only a few seconds later, Riegla said, "We knew that," almost too low for them to hear. Both turned to look back at the Fruma.
"The Fruma?"
"No, the EGM."
"EGM?"
She looked away, hesitant to reveal to them more than she had. "It is created from the Ellasar, the Gomorrah, and the Monita joined forces. After running into each other, we discovered it in a very… complicated way which I do not feel like explaining."
"That's ok. Do you think that it was the EGM that kidnapped them?"
"Yes, we did. They will not be harmed, I know that… but I do not know why or where they were taken."
Unknown
When Will was returned to his cell, he found Worf pacing the room- a picture that reminded him of a lost puppy- while Ken remained in the same corner he had been in hours ago. Both looked relieved to see that he was alive but neither spoke until the guards left.
"What happened?" Worf immediately asked his commanding officer as he sat down to rest his leg.
"I'm not sure yet."
Ken looked baffled, and ready to inquire more, but Riker just sighed and looked away, clearly wishing not to be disturbed.
Will sighed once again, rubbing his eyes as he thought over the past month or so. He recalled that Geordie had told him about one of his dreams, one about a man talking about how 'they' couldn't remember… something.
And Imrah had just told him about some kind of mental blocks in their minds. That could certainly hide memories. He also recalled that 'they' had said that they didn't have 'their best'. Telepaths, maybe. Where they not strong enough to create lasting blocks?
But what did they see? Why were they not supposed to know what they did? And why was this facility run by Cadda, Nilaain, and Fruma? Working together no less. He was completely perplexed by these things.
What he needed, was information. And someone who would talk to him…
Observation Lounge
Beverly sat in the Observation Lounge, facing Teah, Scartin, and Derik. She had given herself the great task of talking to them. So there she was, trying to explain everything.
"Uh, while treating the other ambassadors, I discovered that… all of your species' DNA is very similar. So similar that it would suggest that you are… the same species."
The doctor watched them closely as she spoke, her voice soft to keep from upsetting them too badly. For a moment, there was stunned silence. No one spoke or moved. Just watched her, as if she would shout out, 'Just kidding!' at any moment.
But, as soon as they saw this would not happen, their expressions changed. While Scartin remained more passive, he looked horribly shocked as he tried to process this. Derik, however, became furious, shouting:
"That is ridiculous! Just look at us and you can see that!"
"Yes," Beverly reasoned, hoping to calm them with her voice, "but the slight differences you can see are caused by the centuries you lived in different parts of your planet. Although, I admit, your evolution is far more rapid than most, it is possible. And far too likely with the evidence we have."
"You cannot be serious?" Teah asked, her voice quiet.
"I am. I believe you are all… distant relatives of each other."
"Picard to Crusher. Have you told them yet?" Captain Picard's voice startled Crusher, making her jump slightly when she hear his voice.
Tapping her comm. badge, "Yes, I… just told them."
"Well, we just got a confession from Riegla of being an Ellasar." Teah's head snapped up and looked sharply at Beverly. It seemed that she was not ready to believe her friend capable of such a thing. "And a little something else."
"What, Captain?"
"It seems that all of the rebellious sects are working together."
"What!?" came from one of the ambassadors, Crusher not paying attention to which.
"Yes, and they have been for quite a while."
Unknown
Riker, Ken, and Worf remained quiet, listening instead to the toneless silence of the room. They had nothing to say, no way of escape to propose, and nothing to do but sit and wait for whatever may come.
And this they did until the unknown door reopened to reveal a tall, skinny Nilaain in the door. He walked in with an air of importance, followed closely by a smaller individual, Riker recognizing the second as Imrah.
"Imrah?" Riker hissed, forcing himself to stand.
The tall Nilaain turned to him, his eyes small and intense as he glared at the commander. Then he turned away, looking down at the smaller man. "I thought I told you not to interact with them."
"I'm sorry. Could not help. He… there. I talk. Happened…" Imrah rambled on with a shake of his head, shrugging his shoulders some as he spoke.
"Very well. Commander Riker, please come with us. You two can stay here. I will have someone come to give you your night meal," the tall one announced, his voice polite yet indifferent.
The commander sighed, nodding toward Worf as he hobbled out of the room to follow Imrah and the Nilaain. "Can I at least know your name, since everyone seems so interested in me?" Riker asked as he limped behind them, sweating forming on his neck as he tried to keep up.
"I am Curz."
"Will you tell me why you want us?"
"We want only you and that will be explained shortly." Curz turned and entered a room, Riker almost missing it. "Take a seat, Commander. Your leg must still hurt."
"We can start there then," Riker stated as he took the chair. "What the hell was the purpose of having a needle slice through my leg?"
"That… needle contains certain drugs that destroy any infection and cleans the wound. It then increases the production of pallets in the area and heals the cut rapidly. Unfortunately, it leaves a scar, like the one you now have."
"Nice," he muttered, looking back up at Curz. "Did your… people plant the bomb?"
Curz smiled and sat down in a chair opposite of him. "Always full of questions, wanting to know everything and yet nothing. Interesting species you belong to."
"Answer the question."
"One of my operatives did, yes. Any more questions?"
"Is everything that Imrah tell me true?"
Curz looked over at Imrah and asked, "What did you tell him?"
"I told him about the implant. That the block… would not stay."
Curz grunted, nodding. "The chip in your mind. Ah, yes. The reason you're here. Yes, what he told you is true. And we must remove the chip."
"Why?"
"You want to remember don't you?"
He just starred at Curz for a moment. Of course he wanted the chip gone, of course he wanted to remember but… why put it there and then remove it? What was the catch? "Sure, but-"
"Then let us remove it. We can talk a little more after that."
/-/-/-/-/-/
It took little time for Curz to arrange the surgery and Riker was again strapped down to the medical table.
He watched from the corner of his eye as the doctors moved about him, gathering and preparing for the surgery. Riker barely knew what any of the instruments were or what they were for, and quite frankly he didn't want to know.
He sighed. The last time he was there, no one paid any attention to him. And he had been there to repair his leg. This time, he was about to have a microscopic chip removed from his brain… this would be fun.
Observation Lounge
An hour later, the three diplomats were ready to discuss everything that had been thrown at them in the past few days. And now it seemed they had something to say on their behave.
Which was why Picard, Troi, Crusher, Lwaxana, and T'Pic were sitting around the conference room table with Scartin, Teah, and Derik.
"Captain, Ambassadors, we have had a long discussion about the… data you found and believe we have come up with another way to deal with it," Scartin began.
Then Derik picked up, speaking in his deep, commanding voice, "We have decided that if we are indeed the same species, than we should tell our publics, allow them to accept this, and try to work everything out in our own way."
"Without our help?" T'Pic asked, his brow raising.
Teah glanced at him, taking a moment to decide if his words were a mere question or more egotistical in nature. "Yes," she finally answered, "we want to try this without outside intervention. Besides, is there not a rule stating that you cannot interfere too much with the way we live and evolve?"
"Yes, you're right," Picard nodded.
"This is something we need to work on and, as a human expression goes, 'the sooner, the better'," Scartin said with a smile. Picard nodded and the Ambassadors stood, while everyone else stood in respect. They then headed for the door, two security officers there to escort them to the transporter room.
