Chapter Four
Picard pressed the door chime to Counsellor Troi's office, he had wanted to come by and speak to her about Beverly. "Come in please," she said and the door swooshed open revealing the counsellor sitting on her couch, reading a pad. Picard stepped in and the door closed behind him. "Captain, this is a nice surprise. You've just caught me at a good time actually, Ensign Rollins has just left." She smiled at him but could see that he was weighed down heavily with the burden he was carrying.
"I wanted to speak with you, Counsellor." Picard said moving over to a chair and taking a seat opposite her.
"If you had told me I would have come to you, you didn't need to come all the way down here, Captain." She was always trying to put herself out for others and since she knew how busy the captain usually was, she was only too happy to see him in his ready room or elsewhere. "I had sensed that you were deeply troubled though, but I respect your privacy," she continued.
"Yes, thank you for that, Counsellor. And I really don't mind coming to your office for a change. It's a change of scenery." He chuckled softly. Picard sat down on the couch opposite Troi and paused for a second before speaking. "I wanted to speak to you about Beverly."
"Yes I know. Dr. Selar informed me that you might be coming down."
"Did she? Well... there is nothing that the doctor can do for Beverly, there is no known way to bring a patient out of a coma. Dr. Selar thinks that Dr. Bashir may be able to help us but we have no way to contact him while we are in this area of space, and I believe as does the doctor, that she needs help now.
"Beverly isn't in a normal type of coma, apparently her brain wave patterns aren't what they should be, so time is of the essence with regards to her treatment. I however can not take the Enterprise out of this vicinity until we have found the Washington. So what am I to do?" He paused and then answered his own question. "Well I can only think of one option and that is to ask you if you can contact her somehow... telepathically or by other means." Troi listened intently before answering his suggestion.
"Yes, I understand what you are saying, Captain. It's certainly worth a try but I feel I should remind you that my telepathy is not very strong since I am only half Betazoid."
"I realise that, Counsellor but you are one of our last hopes. Data's scans haven't found anything that might be causing this. I have Jones and La Forge working on a way to alter our scanners to pick up anything that we wouldn't normally, and I am considering ordering Commander Riker to take a shuttle to Deep Space Nine and to bring Dr. Bashir here personally."
"Haven't the away teams been having trouble with piloting the shuttles in the nebula though?" Troi asked, sensing that the captain thought that that was a bad idea.
"Yes they have, and that is why I'm holding off until you have tried to get through to her. There has already been one shuttle crash and we certainly don't need another."
"Okay I'll give it a try straight away but I would recommend that you get in contact with Dr. Bashir as soon as possible." Picard nodded and sighed, there was a long silence and the counsellor looked at Picard concerned. "Captain, there's something else isn't there?"
"Yes. I just feel that it's all my fault somehow, that she is lying there and I can't do anything for her."
"Captain, you're doing all you can, you can't blame yourself for any of this." She paused for a moment and then added out of the blue, and dredging up something that Picard had never really come to terms with. "This... guilt that your feeling has something to do with Jack Crusher's death, doesn't it?" He looked squarely at her and he slowly began to nod his head, amazed again at how well she could read him.
"I suppose it does really. If anything happens to her..." He shook his head not knowing how to say what he had always avoided telling himself.
"You feel that it is your duty to look after her? Look out for her?" Troi pushed.
"Yes, after Jack died I vowed that I wouldn't let anything happen to her or Wesley."
"Nothing will happen to her, Captain. I'm sure everything will work out fine. We just need to get through to her and then I'm certain I or the doctors will be able to help." Troi said placing a hand on his and squeezing it in a sympathetic gesture.
"Yes I'm sure your right, Counsellor." He stood up and turned to leave. "Will you accompany me to sickbay, Counsellor?" She nodded, got up and they both left her office.
Several minutes later they both entered sickbay. Picard and Troi paused at the door to Dr. Crusher's office before going in to speak to Dr. Selar; who was now the acting CMO, and had temporarily taken over the office. Selar rose to her feet at the sight of her two visitors. "Captain, Counsellor." She greeted each with a slight nod of her head. "How can I help you both?"
"How is Beverly?" Picard asked without hesitation.
"Dr. Crusher is quite stable now, we had a few minor problems earlier when her brain wave patterns changed, it seemed as though she received a flood of memories all at once and couldn't cope with them. There is no explanation for these changes and her readings deteriorated slightly this time as well. I suggest that we contact Dr. Bashir as soon as possible or she may not survive."
"I will send Commander Riker immediately but for now, Counsellor Troi said she will see if she can contact her somehow." Picard said looking more grave by the second.
"Yes, well anything is worth a try at this point, Captain." The Vulcan doctor responded with total composure- for a Vulcan nothing else would do. She turned to Troi, "Counsellor, Dr. Crusher is ready whenever you are." Troi nodded and they all went out into the room where Beverly Crusher lay.
She looked comfortable lying on the bio-bed with various medical technicians busy taking readings and doing more tests on her. They stopped what they were doing and moved away from the bed as the three of them approached. Troi picked up Crusher's hand and looked down at her best friend, it was as hard for her as it was for Picard. Picard moved over to speak with Troi before she began.
"Counsellor, I'll leave you in peace but call me if there are any changes at all, no matter how minor. I'm sending Commander Riker to get Dr. Bashir. While he's there he can inform Wesley at the Academy via sub space." Troi nodded and he turned and exited sickbay. Dr. Selar turned also adding that she would monitor from the console at the back of sickbay.
Troi picked up a seat and brought it over to the bio-bed, she sat down and held Crusher's hand again. She closed her eyes and then reached out with her mind towards the distant faint image of what was once her best friend. When she usually tried to scan someone's brain she felt a lot more power from the subject. A power surrounded by a type of force field, and surface images of what the subject was thinking at the time. To her the surface images were more like half-thoughts since she was an empath and not a true telepath. She had the ability to transfer these images into the emotions that the subject was feeling. It had taken all of her life so far to perfect this technique, and she was happy to help her friend using it, if she could. Unfortunately Beverly's "force field" was very weak and there were no half-thoughts for her to get any readings at all from.
She opened her eyes and turned towards Dr. Selar. "Doctor, it will be necessary for me to have something that will enhance my telepathic abilities. I can't help Beverly if I don't." Selar looked up from the console.
"I can give you twenty five milligrams of silosinen, it's the neuro transmitter involved in telepathy." She told her.
Troi nodded her head. "Yes I know of it."
"I can't risk giving you anymore though because it will weaken you quite quickly, with you not being used to that level of perception." Troi nodded again as the doctor got up to get the hypospray. "If you start to feel ill I want you stop immediately, Counsellor. I will link you up to a cortical stimulator and run a sub-neural scan while you try to contact her," then she added just to make sure the counsellor understood. "If you push yourself too far your brain will shut itself down and you will end up in a coma as well, and I don't need two comatose patients to deal with right now." Troi nodded again.
"I understand, Doctor," she said as Selar administered the drug. Troi immediately felt the effects, it was like her whole being had been lifted and her mind had been suddenly slapped awake and flooded with unwanted images from the people around her. She quickly erected a shield to protect her mind, and wondered how strong telepaths like her mother could cope with it all. She waited a few minutes for the drugs to work properly and thought that she better begin straight away. She nodded to Selar who placed the cortical stimulator on Troi's forehead and started the sub-neural scan.
Picard exited from the turbolift and stepped out onto the bridge, Riker immediately vacated the center seat as Picard walked down to the command area. The captain paused and looked at Riker, "Commander. Can I see you in my ready room, please."
"Certainly, sir." Riker said as he followed Picard into his office. The doors closed and Picard turned to face his first officer.
"Commander. I want you to go to Deep Space Nine in a shuttle and bring Dr. Bashir here." Riker looked puzzled.
"Dr. Bashir?"
"Yes, Commander. Dr. Selar believes he has been working on a way to bring a patient out of a coma, and right about now he is the only hope we have for Beverly. She is rapidly deteriorating, Will, and we haven't got a lot of time. Counsellor Troi is with her now trying to contact her but as she said, she is only half Betazoid and doesn't feel confident with succeeding."
Will nodded and sighed slightly.
"Look, Will. I know that it is difficult to pilot a shuttle through that soup out there but we don't have any other choices and you're one of the best pilots we have. I can't risk taking the Enterprise out of the nebula, and risk losing any trail we have leading to the recovery of the Washington. I have to think about the four hundred and seventy four people on that other ship, and while Beverly is one of us, unfortunately she has to come second at the moment. She would be the first to agree if she were here."
"Yes I know she would, sir. The shuttle will have to be refitted with extra shielding to enable me to exit the nebula safely. The radiation in this area of space is building up and I might not make it otherwise. I'll probably have to stop for repairs at DS9 but should be back within... say eleven hours." Riker said, thinking about his mission.
"That's fine, Commander, make it so. I'll draw up some orders to relieve Dr. Bashir from duty on the station for the time that we need him. I'll have them ready for your departure. I want you underway within the hour, Commander."
"Yes, sir. I'll get a team from engineering to refit the shuttle." Picard nodded his head in agreement.
"Dismissed," he said. Riker turned and exited the ready room.
A/N: Please review. Thanks
Picard pressed the door chime to Counsellor Troi's office, he had wanted to come by and speak to her about Beverly. "Come in please," she said and the door swooshed open revealing the counsellor sitting on her couch, reading a pad. Picard stepped in and the door closed behind him. "Captain, this is a nice surprise. You've just caught me at a good time actually, Ensign Rollins has just left." She smiled at him but could see that he was weighed down heavily with the burden he was carrying.
"I wanted to speak with you, Counsellor." Picard said moving over to a chair and taking a seat opposite her.
"If you had told me I would have come to you, you didn't need to come all the way down here, Captain." She was always trying to put herself out for others and since she knew how busy the captain usually was, she was only too happy to see him in his ready room or elsewhere. "I had sensed that you were deeply troubled though, but I respect your privacy," she continued.
"Yes, thank you for that, Counsellor. And I really don't mind coming to your office for a change. It's a change of scenery." He chuckled softly. Picard sat down on the couch opposite Troi and paused for a second before speaking. "I wanted to speak to you about Beverly."
"Yes I know. Dr. Selar informed me that you might be coming down."
"Did she? Well... there is nothing that the doctor can do for Beverly, there is no known way to bring a patient out of a coma. Dr. Selar thinks that Dr. Bashir may be able to help us but we have no way to contact him while we are in this area of space, and I believe as does the doctor, that she needs help now.
"Beverly isn't in a normal type of coma, apparently her brain wave patterns aren't what they should be, so time is of the essence with regards to her treatment. I however can not take the Enterprise out of this vicinity until we have found the Washington. So what am I to do?" He paused and then answered his own question. "Well I can only think of one option and that is to ask you if you can contact her somehow... telepathically or by other means." Troi listened intently before answering his suggestion.
"Yes, I understand what you are saying, Captain. It's certainly worth a try but I feel I should remind you that my telepathy is not very strong since I am only half Betazoid."
"I realise that, Counsellor but you are one of our last hopes. Data's scans haven't found anything that might be causing this. I have Jones and La Forge working on a way to alter our scanners to pick up anything that we wouldn't normally, and I am considering ordering Commander Riker to take a shuttle to Deep Space Nine and to bring Dr. Bashir here personally."
"Haven't the away teams been having trouble with piloting the shuttles in the nebula though?" Troi asked, sensing that the captain thought that that was a bad idea.
"Yes they have, and that is why I'm holding off until you have tried to get through to her. There has already been one shuttle crash and we certainly don't need another."
"Okay I'll give it a try straight away but I would recommend that you get in contact with Dr. Bashir as soon as possible." Picard nodded and sighed, there was a long silence and the counsellor looked at Picard concerned. "Captain, there's something else isn't there?"
"Yes. I just feel that it's all my fault somehow, that she is lying there and I can't do anything for her."
"Captain, you're doing all you can, you can't blame yourself for any of this." She paused for a moment and then added out of the blue, and dredging up something that Picard had never really come to terms with. "This... guilt that your feeling has something to do with Jack Crusher's death, doesn't it?" He looked squarely at her and he slowly began to nod his head, amazed again at how well she could read him.
"I suppose it does really. If anything happens to her..." He shook his head not knowing how to say what he had always avoided telling himself.
"You feel that it is your duty to look after her? Look out for her?" Troi pushed.
"Yes, after Jack died I vowed that I wouldn't let anything happen to her or Wesley."
"Nothing will happen to her, Captain. I'm sure everything will work out fine. We just need to get through to her and then I'm certain I or the doctors will be able to help." Troi said placing a hand on his and squeezing it in a sympathetic gesture.
"Yes I'm sure your right, Counsellor." He stood up and turned to leave. "Will you accompany me to sickbay, Counsellor?" She nodded, got up and they both left her office.
Several minutes later they both entered sickbay. Picard and Troi paused at the door to Dr. Crusher's office before going in to speak to Dr. Selar; who was now the acting CMO, and had temporarily taken over the office. Selar rose to her feet at the sight of her two visitors. "Captain, Counsellor." She greeted each with a slight nod of her head. "How can I help you both?"
"How is Beverly?" Picard asked without hesitation.
"Dr. Crusher is quite stable now, we had a few minor problems earlier when her brain wave patterns changed, it seemed as though she received a flood of memories all at once and couldn't cope with them. There is no explanation for these changes and her readings deteriorated slightly this time as well. I suggest that we contact Dr. Bashir as soon as possible or she may not survive."
"I will send Commander Riker immediately but for now, Counsellor Troi said she will see if she can contact her somehow." Picard said looking more grave by the second.
"Yes, well anything is worth a try at this point, Captain." The Vulcan doctor responded with total composure- for a Vulcan nothing else would do. She turned to Troi, "Counsellor, Dr. Crusher is ready whenever you are." Troi nodded and they all went out into the room where Beverly Crusher lay.
She looked comfortable lying on the bio-bed with various medical technicians busy taking readings and doing more tests on her. They stopped what they were doing and moved away from the bed as the three of them approached. Troi picked up Crusher's hand and looked down at her best friend, it was as hard for her as it was for Picard. Picard moved over to speak with Troi before she began.
"Counsellor, I'll leave you in peace but call me if there are any changes at all, no matter how minor. I'm sending Commander Riker to get Dr. Bashir. While he's there he can inform Wesley at the Academy via sub space." Troi nodded and he turned and exited sickbay. Dr. Selar turned also adding that she would monitor from the console at the back of sickbay.
Troi picked up a seat and brought it over to the bio-bed, she sat down and held Crusher's hand again. She closed her eyes and then reached out with her mind towards the distant faint image of what was once her best friend. When she usually tried to scan someone's brain she felt a lot more power from the subject. A power surrounded by a type of force field, and surface images of what the subject was thinking at the time. To her the surface images were more like half-thoughts since she was an empath and not a true telepath. She had the ability to transfer these images into the emotions that the subject was feeling. It had taken all of her life so far to perfect this technique, and she was happy to help her friend using it, if she could. Unfortunately Beverly's "force field" was very weak and there were no half-thoughts for her to get any readings at all from.
She opened her eyes and turned towards Dr. Selar. "Doctor, it will be necessary for me to have something that will enhance my telepathic abilities. I can't help Beverly if I don't." Selar looked up from the console.
"I can give you twenty five milligrams of silosinen, it's the neuro transmitter involved in telepathy." She told her.
Troi nodded her head. "Yes I know of it."
"I can't risk giving you anymore though because it will weaken you quite quickly, with you not being used to that level of perception." Troi nodded again as the doctor got up to get the hypospray. "If you start to feel ill I want you stop immediately, Counsellor. I will link you up to a cortical stimulator and run a sub-neural scan while you try to contact her," then she added just to make sure the counsellor understood. "If you push yourself too far your brain will shut itself down and you will end up in a coma as well, and I don't need two comatose patients to deal with right now." Troi nodded again.
"I understand, Doctor," she said as Selar administered the drug. Troi immediately felt the effects, it was like her whole being had been lifted and her mind had been suddenly slapped awake and flooded with unwanted images from the people around her. She quickly erected a shield to protect her mind, and wondered how strong telepaths like her mother could cope with it all. She waited a few minutes for the drugs to work properly and thought that she better begin straight away. She nodded to Selar who placed the cortical stimulator on Troi's forehead and started the sub-neural scan.
Picard exited from the turbolift and stepped out onto the bridge, Riker immediately vacated the center seat as Picard walked down to the command area. The captain paused and looked at Riker, "Commander. Can I see you in my ready room, please."
"Certainly, sir." Riker said as he followed Picard into his office. The doors closed and Picard turned to face his first officer.
"Commander. I want you to go to Deep Space Nine in a shuttle and bring Dr. Bashir here." Riker looked puzzled.
"Dr. Bashir?"
"Yes, Commander. Dr. Selar believes he has been working on a way to bring a patient out of a coma, and right about now he is the only hope we have for Beverly. She is rapidly deteriorating, Will, and we haven't got a lot of time. Counsellor Troi is with her now trying to contact her but as she said, she is only half Betazoid and doesn't feel confident with succeeding."
Will nodded and sighed slightly.
"Look, Will. I know that it is difficult to pilot a shuttle through that soup out there but we don't have any other choices and you're one of the best pilots we have. I can't risk taking the Enterprise out of the nebula, and risk losing any trail we have leading to the recovery of the Washington. I have to think about the four hundred and seventy four people on that other ship, and while Beverly is one of us, unfortunately she has to come second at the moment. She would be the first to agree if she were here."
"Yes I know she would, sir. The shuttle will have to be refitted with extra shielding to enable me to exit the nebula safely. The radiation in this area of space is building up and I might not make it otherwise. I'll probably have to stop for repairs at DS9 but should be back within... say eleven hours." Riker said, thinking about his mission.
"That's fine, Commander, make it so. I'll draw up some orders to relieve Dr. Bashir from duty on the station for the time that we need him. I'll have them ready for your departure. I want you underway within the hour, Commander."
"Yes, sir. I'll get a team from engineering to refit the shuttle." Picard nodded his head in agreement.
"Dismissed," he said. Riker turned and exited the ready room.
A/N: Please review. Thanks