C8 FS 'First Steps'

A/N: After thinking for a time about how to go forward, I thought it best to go forward in the words of Picard, "Boldly go where no man has gone before."

Aboard the Zabre

Leila watched what was going on with Picard more intently as she sat in Q's made up beach world. She may not have been able to help Picard or Shinzon, but she could wait for a chance to when Q came back to her.

After leaving the Briar Patch with the latest in reports, they set off onboard the Reman Zabre.

That morning, they were guided to the Strategic Center just next to the observation lounge that gave a lovely display of the stars. There Kunak briefed them on the progress of their other ship that had been sent out with the beacon Picard gave them that linked to Vernaka's medallion. The ship had apparently been intercepted by other large ships then vanished. After a description of what the larger ships looked like, Picard assured them they were the ancient Remans he had seen long ago with the help of Leila.

Shinzon was pleased with the new turn of events, but he could not let the picture of his love Allisa in harms way escape his every waking and sleeping moment. "Now that is settled, I would like to bring up everything we know about the kidnappings. Has there been any new information we were not apprised of at the Briar Patch?"

Picard reviewed from a terminal as Kunak did the same thing. Sergio was with a Reman called Keatol he was assigned to work with concerning energy signatures to mayhap catch a glimpse of a course to follow. Worf on the other hand was assigned to Gokile where they were granted the task of planning advanced strategies and defenses.

Hours later, they converged and divulged all they had found just after taking a break for nourishments.

Picard began, "I have a report of a Ferengi vessel that was not accounted for. It is not around the planet, and there is no record of it having left the Briar Patch. We must assume it has left the Briar Patch."

Kunak leaned forward on a pattern buffer unit, "Agreed, It was also suspicious that only one male Star Fleet officer went missing. He worked on the Enterprise in Engineering the report states. What do you know about Breck Gold that might apply to this?"

Picard grimaced, "He is an engineer that always completes tasks on time and for the most part keeps to himself. There isn't anything extraordinary about him in fact."

Worf grit his teeth then spoke, "That alone speaks for itself. He may have been working with the abductors. It is hard to believe they took an engineer who does not have the gene alterations just for fun." It was obvious to everyone that Worf was moments away from another destructive explosion.

Picard straightened his shirt, "Worf, Gokile, it is imperative that you discover where the Ferengi vessel was going as it left the Briar Patch."

Shinzon who was sitting still as a statue, "Yes, let's find these greedy gremlins and see what they might know."

Kunak joined Worf and Gokile after he spoke, "Yes, Praetor, it will be done."

Picard was about to go back to the files when Sergio started laughing.

Shinzon glared at him believing Sergio had finally given into the fear that Paulera was gone forever and was loosing his mind, "What is your problem?"

Sergio looked at Worf who was glaring at him. Sergio spoke as if in a trance, "The day we went for the walk. The day…"

Picard walked over to Sergio and placed his hand on his shoulder. Picard then spoke, in round pear shaped tones, "Tell us about the day."

Sergio sat down at a panel relay. "Worf, do you remember a long time ago when you joined me and Paulera at a meal? You were with Geordi. You ordered prune juice while Geordi and I were talking about funny things in engineering."

Worf peered up at the ceiling for a moment then opened his eyes wide as he spoke, "I remember it was the first time I heard voices and that high pitch noise from the alien device."

Shinzon could not resist, "A high pitched noise. Was it a dog whistle?"

Worf growled at Shinzon then remembered their talk on the holodeck when they fought then made friends. That day, Shinzon had insinuated during battle that Worf and the other Klingons were puppet dogs for the Federation. "No such luck. It would seem in the end there were no pets, just warriors on an honorable quest."

Shinzon and Kunak smiled, if that was possible, Leila thought as she watched that interactions.

Sergio then smiled himself, "So you remember at least part of that day. One of the things we laughed about was the fact that Gold had torn his pants while working in engineering. When they tore, his under shorts were exposed for all to see."

Worf shook his head, "It was told that his under garments had swords and pink dragons on it. It was a source of humor and amusement."

Sergio turned to Picard and Shinzon, "During that meal, Paulera talked about her life as a Trill and the different hosts her symbiont was in. That was the first time I found Paulera truly captivating. Maiden came over to the table and talked about Stupinshin trying to get rid of Clintor the new Chief of Astronomics. Geordi said something about him being as tricky as a Ferengi. He also said that made Stupinshin as happy as a Klingon at a Betazoid wedding."

Worf remembered the jokes that were made after everyone knew that he did not want to go the wedding naked, as was tradition. He had not cared that it was a way of displaying one's true self with no subterfuge in the joy of the married couple. "It was not amusing then and it is not amusing now."

His statement caused Picard, Shinzon, and Sergio to laugh. They were on an urgent mission, and it was good to relax in a moment of humor even for the briefest of moments.

Sergio stopped laughing, "I remember how upset and steaming Gold was that he was being talked about. He isolated himself even more after that. I also remember him asking about Stupinshin a few times. He asked me not to mention it to anyone."

Shinzon clawed at the panel of the computer as he typed in a few things, "Gold did not want attention, but asked about Stupinshin. Stupinshin got into trouble with all his trickery and ended up court-marshaled. Gold is now the only man missing along with the three ladies. I want to find the Ferengi vessel, Gold and Stupinshin."

Picard leaned forward, "I can tell you where one of them is right now."

Worf and Gokile braced themselves to plot in a course when Picard spoke the destination. They also wanted to find who was in the area along with hundreds of details.

Picard looked at the floor then back up at the group who were intensely watching him, "I know that Stupinshin was on the way to the court-martial when there was an accident, and he was killed. His wife then left Star Fleet, and we have no idea where she is."

Keatol broke his silence to speak in a slow hissing like manner, "Very convenient."

Shinzon felt a pulse of energy within, "Track the Ferengi, find me information about Stupinshin and his woman, and I also want information on that Break Gold. This may not be as difficult as I first surmised. I have some things of my own to look into. Notify me if you find anything else of interest."

Shinzon left the room and headed for his own quarters. He retrieved the scanning device that Troi has given him that could locate the gene alterations of the missing women. The range was not that far, but he was about to see if he could use the power of his medallion, that Adije gave him to amplify its effects. Shinzon gripped the device and activated it, nothing happened. He clasped the device with one hand and his medallion with the other and concentrated on Allisa.

The intensity of his concentration caused his body to shake under the strain. His mind was flooded with images of the past where his love had looked deeply into his eyes. Within moments, he started to feel her presence. As his strength weakened, the device blinked a location. Shinzon was consumed with the rage that he could not contact her telepathically and collapsed to the floor. In the last moment before his strength failed him, he thought he might have looked into her mind for the flash of a second and spoke her name. His strength had faltered after the immense strain using the combined abilities and the device sucked from his mind and body. Shinzon was unconscious on the floor.

Picard and Kunak were on the bridge an hour later checking some of the scans that Sergio and Keatol had done. Kunak tried to contact Shinzon with no success and tried again.

The communications channel opened as they heard Shinzon whisper, "What?"

Kunak could feel that Shinzon was having problems. "Are you alright Praetor?" He looked at Picard and was concerned his illness had returned then seen in Picard's reply the answer that the time Shinzon spend in the Briar Patch had heeled him fully.

Shinzon's voice reached out over the com-channel like an eagle talon catching its prey, "Full Stop!"

His command was carried out. "I will be there in a moment." Shinzon's com-channel closed, and they were left to wonder what was going on.

Shinzon entered the bridge looking tired. No one commented on it as his eyes were filled with fire and wrath. "Take this and have them do a scan of this area that is lit up. It is a vast area, but maybe they can detect the Ferengi vessel if they focus on this area alone."

Kunak took the device and had it taken to Sergio and Keatol.

Worf and Gokile arrived on the bridge and hour later appearing hungry for the chase. Gokile walked up to Shinzon, "Praetor, here is the area your device suggested." He had the display appear on the main screen, "Sergio was able to use an interferon based transporter buffer to filter the scans of the area to distinguish the pulse conduits of the new Ferengi warp-core engine."

Picard smirked, "A design flaw?"

Worf growled his approval, "Most certainly, the defect was fixed in the newer ships. The first ones to be constructed were sold as if they were the newer ones for more profit. There is no honor in their practices, but it could bring us to victory."

Shinzon hissed, "Yes, that is the Ferengi way. The Rules of Acquisition the Nagus uses can create profit and losses as quick as a flip of a coin. To do business with the Ferengi is to gamble. I guess it is a good thing they cheat each other, for we can use that to our advantage once again. If the Ferengi have harmed Allisa, they will die."

Picard desperately wanted to get the women back, but feared Shinzon was slipping back to his former self. "Let's just concentrate on finding them first."

Shinzon turned with a wicked smile, "Set in a course to take us into the path of the Ferengi vessel."

When they arrived and the Ferengi vessel slowed, Picard had them open communications. Before he was able to talk, Shinzon moved to the set of controls behind him and punched in commands for an attack.

Picard and the other Starfleet crew members were shocked at his actions and that the Ferengi's vessel was so easily harmed.

Shinzon glared at Picard. "I made a few alterations to your weapons."

Picard tried to remain calm. "You attacked them without provocation." He stopped speaking while the three women were beamed to sickbay. "We will talk about this later."

"We can talk now. Provocation? They took Allisa. They should be glad I didn't…" Shinzon nodded. "Now target the vessel and fire. Destroy it."

"Belay that order." Picard took his arm. "Don't do this. Don't give in to the hate."

"What do you suggest I do instead?" Shinzon was on the edge and he could fall either way at this point.

"You need to get a hold of yourself. Then we need to check on the women. Allisa is probably scared and needs you to reassure her things are alright now." Picard hoped the mention of Allisa needing him would stop him from going on a deadly rampage.

Shinzon thought about Allisa. "Yes, I know. Alright."

Leila turned to Q. "You need to fix this. You need to do it now."

"Everything is fine." Q shook his head and folded his arms.

Lelia peered into the viewer. "No it's not. Allisa is dying. Save her."

"No." Q took a sip of a drink. "She will die and Shinzon will go on a rampage as Picard calls it. I think that is more interesting after all."

Lelia took his drink and threw it at him. "Fix it now." Her menacing words reverberated in the air with a force of power that sent Q sliding back.

He blinked at her not knowing how she was able to tap into more power. "Very well." He waved a hand and Allisa's eye opened just as Shinzon made it to sickbay.

Shinzon practically knocked things out of his way getting to her. He took her face in his hands inspecting her for wounds. "Are you alright?"

Her eyes filled up with tears. "Yes." Her voice broke and he held her to his chest.

Shinzon felt his anger subside as he felt her knowing that she was alive and safe. "It's ok. I have you."

After she calmed, she spoke. "How did you find us?"

"There's a lot to tell you, but for now you need to rest and get something to eat."

Lelia watched as the women were taken care of by the medical staff.

Later that day, she watched Shinzon make dinner for Allisa and listened to their plans for the future. It seemed that things were going to be complicated and that all of the issues had not been resolved, but for now everything was alright.

"Alright, Q. Now I want to go back to Picard. Zap me over there."

Q looked down his nose at her. "Do it yourself."

"What? I can't."

"Yes you can." He was gone in a flash.

It took her hours to figure out how to get to the ship. It took her another day finding out how to make herself visible.

She materialized in Picard's room and saw him lying on his bed asleep.

She smiled and took off her dress. She pulled back the sheet and climbed in beside him. "I'm back."

She pressed a hand to his chest and felt him jerk awake.

"Lelia?" Picard took her arm and blinked looking into her eyes.

"Yes. I know. There's a lot to tell." She remembered what Shinzon had said. "But for now…" She ran her hand up his chest. "Be with me."

He pulled her forward pressing her lips to his. He thought that was a very good idea.

A/N: The end. Well, Shinzon might be back after all. How goes it in Nemesis Land? Smile at your own Nemesis and be glad it isn't Shinzon of Remus.