CHAPTER SEVEN

Captain Picard entered his quarters and stopped dead. He had thought he had heard something, no maybe it was just him he had had a long day after all and he did need to rest. He had to admit to himself that he was slightly nervous of the prospect that the other Enterprise might be out there. After the defeat and the humiliation that he had experienced the last time under no circumstances did he wish to repeat his failure again. Picard was determined not to underestimate the crew of the other Enterprise this time however.
He walked slowly over to his bathroom and stopped outside of the door; something definitely did not feel right. He turned around and moved across to the other side of his room to his replicator. "Tea, Earl Grey. Hot." He said and after a few seconds a steaming hot cup of tea appeared before him, he took a sip and set it down on his desk.
Picard turned as he heard a shuffling noise coming from the bathroom- maybe Beverly had come back earlier than expected from her shift, he thought. He wandered back across his quarters and stepped into the bathroom- just incase it wasn't her, and was immediately over powered by two intruders. Dr. Crusher pulled out a hypospray and gave him a good strong dose of tricordrazine while Picard was held steady by her captain.
"You again." Picard slurred as the drugs rapidly began to get to work. "You won't get away with it this..." He fell unconscious. Picard set his counterpart down on the floor and turned to Beverly.
"At least we didn't have to wait that long for him. Did you give him as good a dose as you gave Wesley?" Picard asked, hoping that she had.
"Better. He won't wake up for at least fifteen hours. That gives us enough time doesn't it?" She asked, hoping that they wouldn't be stuck here for too long. It was unnerving to see another Picard and she wondered how she would react to seeing her counterpart.
"Plenty of time. I never thought I would be looking at that face again so soon." Picard said as he stepped out of the bathroom and entered the main quarters. Dr. Crusher followed him and the bathroom door slid shut. "We can just leave him in there all we need to do is secure the door, after Dr. Crusher is taken out of action no-one else should come in here." Picard told the computer to secure the bathroom door and it complied.
"What now?" Crusher inquired.
"I suggest that I go and ask the guard out there to bring Dr. Crusher here, so we can take her out of action and get you into the picture. Then we go and find Data." Picard offered.
"How do we know that my counterpart is still alive?" Crusher asked; they had not seen any evidence of a Beverly Crusher being on this Enterprise after all, and Wesley had not been conscious long enough to mention anything either.
"Well," Picard looked around the quarters and noticed a door that wasn't in his own quarters, on his Enterprise. He went over and nearly walked into it when it didn't open.
"What's in there?" Beverly asked, following Picard over to the door.
"Your quarters, you do sleep in here, rather your counterpart sleeps in here but when they have an argument she sleeps on her side of the quarters- through there." Crusher stood next to Picard and looked at the door.
"The door will only open for me, it's got a security panel by the side of it." Crusher tapped a few buttons and the doors flew open, they both went in. Looking around Crusher was surprised at what she saw. "Just like my quarters though, no other room for Wesley. He must have his own quarters somewhere else. Everything is exactly the same, all of the books, ornaments, paintings, furniture... it's quite eerie." She didn't touch anything but examined everything that she could see.
"Everything appears the same until you start to really look at it. This universe has a great deal of subtle differences." Picard told her. "Anyway, at least we know she is still alive." They went back out into Picard's room. "I suggest we go with my plan."
"Agreed, I can't think of anything better. I'll step over here so the guard can't see me." Crusher moved out of the field of vision from anyone who might be walking past outside of the main door. Picard moved closer to the door wondering who his bodyguard would be this time. The door opened, "Mr. em... Mr. Detaith." Picard stammered trying to remember the name. The guard saluted and Picard returned the familiar, irritating gesture.
"Sir, I thought you were going to lie down?" Detaith said a little puzzled.
"I just changed that's all." Picard said thinking that he and his counterpart had two different uniforms on. "I need to speak with Dr. Crusher. Will you get her for me straight away?"
"Yes but I thought it was Counsellor Troi you wanted to see?" Detaith said a little puzzled.
"Mm. We can forget about the counsellor for now, just tell Dr. Crusher I want to see her." Picard told him, the counsellor was the last person he wanted to see right now.
"Aye, sir." Detaith stepped over to the computer access panel and summoned for the doctor. "She will be here on the double, sir."
"Right. Give me a warning before she comes in." Picard told him; Beverly would need to hide again, he remembered.
"Yes, sir. Always." Picard stepped back into the quarters and spoke to Beverly.
"She's coming," he told her simply.

Back aboard the Enterprise- NCC 1701-D Riker sat in the command chair on the bridge. He was worried about his captain and doctor and hoped that he wouldn't have to seal the rift before they were back home; being stuck in that other universe would be a nightmare for both of them, if they managed to survive the mission.
He had been sitting there for quite some time and he was due for a shift change. He stood up and told the computer to change from alpha shift to beta shift, the computer chirped as it informed the crew throughout the ship of the rotation. Crew personnel got up from their stations and others took their places. Riker sat back down beside Counsellor Troi and waited for the bridge crew to finish changing over, he decided to stay on the bridge until the captain came back but he realized that the rest of the bridge crew at least needed a break. He brought the new bridge crew up to speed on the mission so far.
Wesley Crusher stepped into the turbolift and instructed it to proceed to deck eight, his quarters. He had been working very hard the past week on the diagnostics that the captain had ordered, and he had decided that he needed a bit of a break from everything, for a few hours at least. Besides, with his mother in danger on the mission, he needed to take his mind off things. He rushed into his quarters as he was due on the holodeck in ten minutes, and didn't want to miss any of the time he might have there.
Ten minutes later Wesley was on the holodeck dressed like an Eskimo in thick fur boots and fur coat. His new holodeck program was based in the Wilds of Alaska on Earth and involved him climbing up mountains to do battle with evil monsters. He was very excited since he had never had the time to use the program since he had received it, and all his friends had tried it out previously and had highly recommended it.
Wesley began climbing up a slippery slope, very quickly completely immersed in the environment that the program had created; it was so life like. Everywhere he looked was covered with snow and hard packed ice, it was howling a gale of frosty air that whipped about his face and made his body chill to the core. The lighting was quite dark since the program was supposed to represent the middle of the Alaskan winter, and so he decided to tread a bit more carefully.
He got about thirty meters up the slope and heard the howl of one of the monsters. Looking up in response turned out to be a bad idea because he slipped, lost his footing, and didn't have time to grab onto the next outcropping of rock before he slid down the mountain, and went plummeting to the ground below.
Wesley felt a searing pain run through his body and fell unconscious with the impact. The computer registered that something was wrong immediately after monitoring life signs, and asked the occupant of the holodeck if he needed medical assistance. With no reply it asked again and then summoned for medical aid.
Within minutes a team of medics and Dr. Selar came rushing in. The computer had already terminated the program and the medical team got to work straight away.
"Doctor, Mr. Crusher seems to have multiple fractures to his ribs and his leg is broken in two places." A medical technician told Selar as he assessed Wesley with his tricorder.
"Put him onto the anti-grav unit. We'll have to get him to sickbay straight away. Dr. Crusher said to keep her son away from the other Wesley but she obviously did not anticipate that this would occur."
The team moved Wesley straight away and it wasn't long before he was being 'wheeled' into sickbay and the doctors and medical team got to work to stabilize his condition.
Selar informed Riker of what had happened when they had finished.
"How is he, Doctor?" Troi asked concerned over the intercom from the bridge.
"He is stable now but should be kept in sickbay for a day or so. He is asleep at the moment which is the best possible form of recovery for him."
"Very well. How is the other Wesley?" Riker asked, from the bridge, over the comm link.
"He is still asleep. With the amount of tricordrazine Dr. Crusher gave him he won't need to sleep for a month after this."
"Okay, Doctor. Keep us posted. Riker out." The comm channel closed.

Dr. Crusher and Picard waited patiently for the counterpart Beverly Crusher to arrive. A signal came to the door; it was Detaith to inform the captain that Dr. Crusher was waiting outside. The Beverly Crusher on the inside of the room moved out of the way of the field of view again and Picard told Detaith to send her in. The doors slid apart and in walked Dr. Crusher.
"You wanted to see me Jean-Luc? Is this it then? Are you about to get the last person on your hit list? Me?" She stood waiting for an answer then turned around and got the shock of her life. She was staring at herself, though there was no mirror there.
"Beverly." Picard said to the counterpart Crusher. "We need to take your place for a while, if that makes any sense to you?"
"Actually it does. Why?" She asked the captain but still looking at the other Crusher with interest.
"We can't say but it is imperative that we do." Picard told her, he was sure that she would co-operate and if not, his Beverly was ready to make a move.
"That'll be right. I can't get a straight answer out of this Picard either. Well I should really do what is best for the good of the Empire and scream, but I don't think I will. I don't believe what the real captain of this ship is doing is right, so, do what you have to do. My life isn't worth living now anyway." The counterpart Crusher said with a resigned attitude.
"What is the captain doing?" The real Dr. Crusher asked.
"Now I can't tell you that, I'm no traitor. I just turn my back every now and then. So you'll just have to figure it out for yourselves, sorry."
"Why is your life not worth living?" Picard asked with a good idea of what she was going to say but he needed to know anyway; to make sure that his Crusher would be safe while she was here.
"My beloved Jean-Luc ordered Troi to kill my son. All he told me was that he died in an accident but I don't believe that. He wants me dead next so, Doctor, watch your back." She said turning to look Crusher in the eye and warning her.
"Your son is aboard my ship critically ill, Doctor. He was hit with a level five phaser blast at point blank range." The counterpart Crusher looked shocked and overwhelmed with joy at the same time, as Picard told her the news.
"I'm pleased, though I don't expect he can come back home with the captain after both of us. If you've taken his place though, will you approve a transfer for me and get me off this ship?" She said now looking at Picard, her face mellowed slightly as she pleaded.
"I will do my best." The captain gave her a shot of tricordrazine and put her in the bathroom with the other captain. "She will regain consciousness first so she can get away from the captain in there. Are you alright, Beverly?" Picard asked her.
"Yes. I'm just a little shocked, she's nothing like me." Picard secured the bathroom door again and he and Beverly got ready to leave.

Back aboard the Enterprise with Riker in command, Wesley stirred in sickbay. He felt groggy and sore after his fall on the holodeck but the doctors and nurses had managed to patch him back up efficiently. He got up out of his bed and stood, Dr. Selar was no-where to be seen. Wesley left the room he had been put in and stepped out into the main section of sickbay. A few other patients were there with various injuries and complaints but other than that, it was relatively quiet for a change. Two medical personnel passed and asked if he was all right. "Yes, I'm just stretching my legs," he replied and the crewmembers carried on with what they were doing.
Wesley walked past his mother's office, it was unoccupied and he remembered that she was on an away mission. He stopped for an instant and leaned up against the bulkhead for support. He felt a little dizzy, which wasn't surprising since his body was still full of the pain relief drugs. His leg was hurting badly but he pulled himself back to a standing position. Just as he was turning to go back to bed he noticed something, or rather he noticed someone- someone very familiar. He stumbled over to the bio-bed where the person was lying. The person didn't seem to be breathing so he was either in a deep sleep or dead. Utter shock came over Wesley's face as he realized that it was him. "My God. I'm dead and this is one of those out of body experiences." He let out a cry and Dr. Selar came rushing into the room that both Wesley Crusher's now occupied, to see Crusher as he collapsed to the floor through sheer terror.
"It's alright. You're safe." Selar said trying to calm the boy down. Wesley stopped screaming as he realized that the doctor was talking to him, so he obviously wasn't dead. The doctor and two nurses carried Crusher back to his bed and sent him back to sleep with another hypo.
Dr. Selar stepped out into the main part of sickbay and tapped her communicator badge. "Selar to Commander Riker." She said, opening the channel.
"Riker here. Go ahead, Doctor." Came the reply.
"Commander, I'm afraid that our rather inquisitive Mr. Crusher has just come in contact with his counterpart from the other ship. He was in hysterics when I got to him and I had to calm him down with a hypospray. He's asleep now but he will remember when he wakes up. Could you get security to take the counterpart to the brig or some quarters; he isn't needed in sickbay, all he's doing is sleeping off the drugs Dr. Crusher gave him. When our Wesley wakes up again I don't want him disturbed."
"Yes, no problem, Doctor. How long before our Wesley wakes up again?"
"Maybe two hours at the most. I didn't give him enough drugs to knock him out completely."
"Okay, Counsellor Troi will be down to talk to him when he wakes up. I'll have the other boy removed straight away, Mr. Worf will be down momentarily."
"Thank you. Selar out." The channel closed and Selar got back to attending to her patients. *****
Picard and Beverly left the quarters on the imperial starship having completed the first part of their plan successfully. Detaith saluted. "Where are we going, sir?" He asked as they all walked along the corridor.
"The bridge." Picard replied curtly.
Picard, Crusher and Detaith stepped onto the bridge; crew personnel saluted and they saluted back. Picard and Crusher walked down to Picard's ready room and Counsellor Troi rose from the center seat; Data had been sent to engineering to check on La Forge's progress.
Troi smiled at Picard and looked daggers at Crusher as they walked past her. Picard held up a hand for Troi to sit back down and she did so, while still staring at the doctor. The ready room doors opened and Picard and Crusher stepped through. Picard let out a loud sigh, looking around him and feeling the familiarity of the room. "Well that was unexpected. She didn't try to scan my mind with her powers."
"Did you see the look I got? Now I know what my copy was going on about. Troi definitely wants me out of the picture." Picard sat down behind his desk and Crusher sat in front of it.
"Computer. What is the location of Commander Riker?" Picard asked not expecting the response he was going to get.
"Commander Riker is in the morgue." Picard looked at Crusher a bit shocked.
"Display my last log entry."
"Retinal scan required." The computer replied coldly. Picard did what was required and the report came up on the screen. He read part of the log aloud so Crusher could hear.
"... Commander Riker has made yet another assassination attempt on my life, this time I was forced to put an end to his miserable existence...
"No prizes for guessing who the new first officer is then." Picard finished.
"Troi." Crusher said, "which means that I will have to be exceedingly careful." Crusher commented.
"She must have made the same offer to this Picard as she made to me the last time I was here, and it looks as if they are putting it into motion."
"What offer?" Crusher asked slightly confused.
"She and Picard are trying to rule the ship together, and to do that they have to get rid of you so that she can move in on him."
"Sounds nice." Beverly responded bluntly, Picard just looked at her nonchalant. There was a long silence in the room as they both tried to figure out what to do next.

In engineering Data was watching Reval work with the engineers on the other androids. He had been instructed by Troi to get a report ready on La Forge's progress for the captain. Data went to inform Reval that his departure for the other Enterprise had been delayed for another four hours because Troi hadn't finished the tracking device.
"That is acceptable." Reval replied and got on with what he was doing. Data moved around the bay in engineering so he could prepare an extensive report. As he walked over to the last android he noticed that the disobedient Ensign Grey was working there.
"Ensign I see that you are back to work." Data said icily, the ensign snapped to attention nervously. "Counsellor Troi gave me a lesson on discipline while you were in sickbay, after our last encounter. She believes that you should not be alive now, and that I should have found a suitable way to kill you. She gave me many suggestions on how I should have killed you. Never mind, there is always tomorrow to look forward to." The ensign almost cracked under the pressure as Data moved away smirking malevolently.
The android made his way over to Commander La Forge to see what he was working on. La Forge stepped aside from the console and Data looked at what the screen displayed. It was the specs of the androids. "Do we have a problem with the androids, La Forge?"
"No, sir. I was just uploading the information into the other computer cores, as a back up in the event that one of the main computers went down."
"Carry on then. The work on the androids is coming along very quickly, Mr. La Forge. I will have to mention it to the captain, if you would do something for me in return."
"What do you want, Commander?" Geordi asked a bit skeptically.
"I need you to program Reval with a mechanism for self destruct, in the event that he should fail in his mission. I have a grudge against my former friends, and I do not want them to have any advantage over us."
"Well that will be easy to do, sir. I'll organize something after I've finished here and get back to you." Data turned and went back out into main engineering to complete his report.

A/N: Please leave a review. Thanks