CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Captain Picard stopped pacing in engineering, his legs becoming tired. Commander Data had been in control of the ship for nearly an hour now, and it seemed that there was no way of getting him off the bridge any time soon. "Mr. La Forge, report please." Picard asked for the umpteenth time.
"No change, Captain. I don't see anyway to get the controls back on line at this time. Data has localized all command functions to the bridge, they won't be accepted from anywhere else on the ship."
"Alright, Mr. La Forge. You and Worf get back to work designing a new weapon to defeat that ship. When we do get control back, I want to be able to use it. How far are we away from the rift now?"
"We are five hundred meters away from it." Riker said moving over to the access terminal.
"I'm going to my quarters, call me if I'm needed or if there's any change in the present situation." Picard left engineering totally discontented and angry.

Counsellor Deanna Troi was in her quarters; she looked up and asked what the location of Captain Picard was. "Captain Picard is in section fourteen-B, deck eight." Troi left her quarters and went to see him. She walked a little way down the corridor and saw Picard coming towards her.
"Counsellor, I was just going to my quarters. Did you want to speak with me?" Picard asked, noticing her.
"Yes, Captain. I was just coming to find you actually." They walked slowly along the corridor. "Our counterpart Wesley Crusher is expecting to see me, and I think I should go and talk to him. The problem is that he will probably want to know whether he will be taken back to his own ship or not. I don't know what to tell him." Troi explained.
"This is a bit of a problem since we're going to try to destroy his ship. I don't think that it would be wise for him to be granted asylum though. Ask him what he wants to do, if he wants to stay in this universe he can be taken to a starbase or something."
"Right, Captain. I'll go and talk to him now." Troi said.
"If he wants to stay, come and tell me. Watch yourself, Deanna. You don't know what he's capable of, he's a lot different to our Wesley." Picard warned.
"Aye, sir." Troi turned and went off to see the counterpart Wesley Crusher.
She got to his quarters; the two security guards were still positioned outside. She approached the guards and asked to be let in. "Would you like one of us to accompany you, Counsellor?" One of the guards asked.
"No thank you, I'm sure I'll be fine." She paused in the doorway and then entered the quarters. "Lights," she said and the quarters became fully lit. She saw him sitting on the bed in the room, and went over to speak with him. A wash of hatred blasted out of Wesley and came over her, she had forgotten how intense it could be, and was slightly caught off guard. Troi moved closer when she had become slightly accustomed to it. "Mr. Crusher, I'm sure you know who I am."
"How could I forget, Counsellor?" He looked daggers at her but she was determined not to be put off by it- that would show weakness and put her at a distinct disadvantage.
"I'm here to see if I can help you with anything. I didn't think it would be much fun for you stuck in here, all alone. If you need to talk..."
"Talk? That's rich coming from you, isn't it? I don't usually get a chance to talk, you're usually already in my mind, rummaging for whatever suits your purpose." He looked at her in the eye accusingly and unsure of how to proceed with the situation.
"You do realize that you're aboard a different Enterprise, don't you? I'm very different from the counsellor that you're used to." She informed him.
"You're still a counsellor. What more needs to be said?"
"Yes but I'm not the type of counsellor that you're used to. I'm here to help you. I'm here to talk to you if you want. I don't go around killing people for the fun of it or punishing them for that matter. Brainwashing isn't my cup of tea." She tried to talk to him, trying to make him understand the differences between her and her counterpart. "You're safe here and until you realize it, you're the only one who's punishing yourself." Crusher looked at her and she felt a sort of relief come from him.
"What are you going to do with me?" He asked, resigned.
"Well that is for the captain to decide but, you can either go back to your own ship or stay here in this universe."
"If I go back, I'll be killed. I do want to see the look on the counsellor's face though, when she realizes that she failed to kill me." He thought for a second before continuing. "I need to get out of here, I can't stand being locked up."
"You are allowed to leave, Wesley but you have to be accompanied by a guard, which I think is reasonable under the circumstances."
"Huh, so I have a bodyguard now. Just like the senior officers on my ship." He stood up off the bed and swayed slightly.
"Are you alright?"
"Concern? Not something I'm used to, even from my mother. I'm fine, just a little dizzy that's all." Wesley said holding a hand up to his right temple and the other hand out to the bulkhead to steady himself.
"Even so, your first stop is to sickbay, we'll get you checked out." Troi moved over to the exit and the doors opened. She spoke to one of the guards. "Lieutenant, Mr. Crusher is allowed to leave the quarters under guard. Will you take him to sickbay first though, get him checked out, he's feeling dizzy."
"Of course, Counsellor. Has the captain given permission?" The guard asked.
"Yes. If anything happens I want to know first."
"Aye." The lieutenant moved to help Wesley to walk out of the quarters and then took him off to sickbay.
They entered sickbay and Dr. Crusher looked up. "What's happened now?" She asked in disbelief at the fact that Wesley was back in sickbay.
"This is the other Wesley, Doctor. He's feeling dizzy." The guard explained, although it was obvious from the way that he was still dressed.
"Put him in there on the bed, I'll be in in a moment. Stay with him." The guard led him to the bed. Dr. Crusher took a deep breath and then followed them in. "When did you start to feel dizzy?" She asked him as he lay down.
"About ten minutes ago when I stood up." He stared at the doctor. "You known you're just like my mother."
"Well I'm not so don't try to manipulate me. Actually I've met your mother and I can't see many similarities, apart from the obvious physical appearance that is. Hold still." She scanned him with a medical tricorder and went off to review the information she had collected. Crusher came back a few moments later with the results. "It seems that the tricordrazine is having an affect on your nervous system. Have you had any treatment in the agony booth? Stupid question really."
"Yes, everyone on my ship has, apart from the counsellor and captain. The counsellor won't leave you alone until you've done something wrong, then she punishes you." Wesley was deadly serious and Crusher shuddered at the thought.
"That explains that then. Your myelin sheath coatings around your nervous tissue have degenerated slightly, that is why you feel dizzy. I'm surprised that your mother hasn't repaired it."
"It's against the rules and she won't even bend them for me, that's how much she cares."
"Well, I'm not as cold hearted as her, I told you there were more differences than similarities between us." She smiled sincerely at him. "The treatment will not take long, I'll put you under a re-generation field for half an hour and you should be fit and healthy again in no time." Dr. Crusher got to work, he really wasn't that bad after all she thought.

Aboard the alternate ship, Geordi La Forge had been taken to sickbay. Dr. Crusher was mending all of his wounds and bruises as best as she could. "I guess we're in the same boat now, Doctor. The captain wants us both dead."
"Well you're here, maybe he's giving you another chance. I however have just sealed my death sentence. If Picard doesn't do it, the counsellor certainly will." She finished what she was doing. "There you go, that's as much as I can do for you. You just need to sleep and regain the rest of your strength."
"I doubt I'll get the chance but thanks, Doctor." Geordi got up and left sickbay. He walked along the corridor slowly, back up to the bridge. The captain had instructed him to go back up and see him, once the doctor had finished with her ministrations.
He thought about what would happen to him next, interrogation- that was not a savory thought but it was what usually happened before you were allowed to die. Interrogations were broadcast over the ship's intercom system, much to Geordi's chagrin. You always thought that there was no way that you would drop your guard and scream out publicly, if you found yourself being interrogated. But no one actually knew what the interrogators did to you since none of their victims ever returned. Instead the memory of you was left in the hearts and minds of the ship's personnel, and that memory was of the way you betrayed them and died without honour.
"Why can't I just have the punishment Commander Riker had?" He thought to himself as he continued on walking towards his pending doom. "I would rather just try my luck at hand to hand combat with the captain, I might even be in with a slight chance then, Commander Riker almost succeeded and if it wasn't for Picard's body guards he surely would have been captain by now." He felt a bit better when he realized that he wouldn't be permitted to live for much longer. He wasn't so much afraid of death so much as the means in which he could and would die. Geordi entered the turbolift at the end of the corridor. "Bridge," he instructed and it proceeded towards his impending doom.
The lift halted on the bridge level and the doors swooshed open, he got out and went to face the captain. "Captain Picard. Lieutenant Commander La Forge reporting as ordered, sir." He said saluting and standing to attention as best he could; he was still in a lot of pain.
"Mr. La Forge. You are looking much better. Dr. Crusher works wonders does she not? I may not kill her yet." Geordi stood in front of the command chair and Picard stood up.
Troi looked up at him while sorting through his thoughts once more for anything that suited her purpose. She spoke. "Mr. La Forge seems to already know what is to be done with him, Captain."
"He thinks he does, Counsellor. We have something else in store for you though, La Forge. Since everyone knows why you are being punished, it is not necessary for us to tell them again, is it?"
"No, sir. It isn't." Geordi gulped. Picard moved closer to him.
"Captain, he wants the same punishment Commander Riker had." The counsellor spoke up again.
"Well, Mr...."
"Yes, Captain. Please." Geordi blurted almost hysterical.
"Do not interrupt me again, La Forge." Picard said reacting instantly as he clenched his fist and belted Geordi in the face. He went down but quickly got to his feet again, his nose started to bleed. "I have been thinking of what type of punishment I can give you. Being a senior officer it was quite difficult to come up with something, every other crewman is subjected to what Counsellor Troi gives out, but you, you are worthy of my attention." He paused and turned around facing Troi and then turning back to Geordi. "I have a few suggestions, I'll tell you what they are, and then you can pick your favourite. Now isn't that kind of me?" Geordi nodded his head reluctantly. The turbolift doors opened and interrupted Picard. Commander Data strolled onto the bridge and was saluted by most of the bridge crew as he approached the captain.
"Everything is under control now, Captain." He looked over at La Forge interested.
"Mr. Data, our little talk about discipline earlier?"
"Yes, Counsellor? What about it?" He asked quite intrigued.
"Well, the captain will show you what to do. I believe you have missed the best part but we shall see." Data sat down in the seat to the left of the command chair, and watched.
"Give me some credit, Counsellor. I still have a few good ideas. Mr. Data, I was just going to let La Forge decide what his next punishment should be.
"So, Mr. La Forge. I have selected a few punishments that used to be carried out in the mid-eighteenth century; they have been proven to be very effective in the past. Here are my suggestions." Picard began to walk around the back of Geordi in a slow circle. "Number one, you can have your interrogation, and you know what they're like- very unpleasant indeed. Two, you can be stretched and left in view of everyone until I personally decide to take you down- and that could be a while. Three, I will personally beat you up as it were- I like that one. Anyway number four is not from the eighteenth century; I made this one up myself. We use the transporter and beam you out into space, and then, wait for it, we beam you back all deformed- now I really like that one and the beauty of it is that I haven't decided how I would beam you back. Five, and this is the last one, public flogging with a whip." Picard stopped circling him and stood in front of Geordi again. "Well, Mr. La Forge, you have five minutes to make your decision." Picard sat back down and watched La Forge intently.
"Well done, Captain. You have yet again surprised me. This is wonderful." Troi looked excited as they waited for La Forge's decision. He gulped again as he thought about what would be the least painful.
Five minutes passed and Picard looked up at him. "Time's up. What have you decided?"

Commander Geordi La Forge and Worf were in engineering trying to figure out a new weapon that would be effective in destroying the other Enterprise. By now their ship was already going through the rift and getting closer and closer to the other ship. "What about a phased energy disturbance? I could retune the forward phaser banks, and still get them back to the other frequency in time to seal the rift." Worf suggested.
"I don't think that'll be enough. We need something very powerful indeed. We could retune the forward phaser cannons to withstand more energy, get the other ship to fire on us and then use their energy against them- it's the same principal we used the last time except that the energy will be used for something else."
Worf shook his head at Geordi's idea. "If we do that there is no way I will be able to recalibrate the phasers to emit a nucleonic beam and seal the rift afterwards."
"So that idea's out of the question then." Geordi said, sighing.
Ensign Wesley Crusher walked into engineering again. "Hi Geordi, Worf. What are you doing?"
"We are trying to come up with a new weapon that will enable us to destroy or severely disable that other ship." Worf explained.
"Can I help?"
"Sure, Wes. A fresh pair of eyes may be just what we need to look at this problem. So, any suggestions?" Geordi looked at Wes as he tried to come up with some valid ideas.
"What about... separating the ship and using all of the shuttles as well, then we'll have multiple targets and more weapons. We'll have the saucer section, engineering section, captain's yacht and a whole lot of shuttles as well."
"Doesn't work out like that though, Wes. The shields on the shuttles won't be strong enough to withstand even one shot from their phasers. And it would take too long to separate everything and we don't have control over the ship as yet."
"What about using the energy from their phasers against them then?"
"Commander La Forge has already suggested that idea and it won't work either." Worf told him.
"We could use a concentrated burst of energy..."
"The phaser banks wouldn't hold the amount of energy required." Geordi interrupted before he could finish his suggestion.
"Not the phasers, the navigational deflector dish. We can use it the same way we did when the Borg attacked." Wesley said and it suddenly dawned on La Forge and Worf that what Wesley was suggesting, would work. All three went off to see the captain to tell him what they were proposing to do.

Reval sat on the bridge in the command chair. He had already sent a message to his captain on his Enterprise and was waiting for a reply. He kept the ship on the same course at half-impulse power as he waited.
The ship was travelling through the rift now and Reval could see it on the view screen, it was like a massive cloud of swirling colours with a black star lit center. "Computer. What is the last known location of the mirror universe' Enterprise?"
"Last known location was four thousand kilometers through the spatial rift at bearing three-two-four mark one-nine."
"Use the forward sensor array to determine the ship's present location."
"The sensors are unable to function adequately enough to determine the ship's present location." The computer responded.
"Explain."
"The sensors are being obscured by the interference from the anomaly." Reval sat back and waited a bit longer. If his captain was trying to send a message, that too was most likely being obscured as well.

A/N: Please leave a review. Thank you