Phoenix Rising: Chapter 4
"I did say he was dangerous," Riker was saying to LaForge as they worked on a phaser control panel. "He took Worf apart today. He could have killed him at least eight times that I saw. I hope he never invites me to train with him. I don't think my ego could stand the blow."
"He's really that good?" Geordie asked as he locked down a coil.
"The only one of us who would have a chance of surviving an attack from him would be Data and I'm not too sure of that. If he's looked into Data's records, and I'm sure he has, he would know how to beat him."
"He has not accessed my file as far as I am aware," Data said.
"That doesn't mean much," Geordie said. "He has intelligence credentials. He can delete any mention of his presence from the computer logs." He closed the panel with a click. "That one's done."
Data stepped up to it, entered a code and the lights flashed on. Then with a sizzle and crack, immediately went back off. Smoke poured from the ailing panel.
"Damn," Geordie swore. "I'm going to have to rewire the entire thing." He pulled open the panel and waved the smoke away so he could look inside.
"Don't you think it's a little odd?" Riker asked Geordie as he sat down to get a better look inside the panel. "He's centuries old. He probably owns property on Earth and a dozen other planets. Why does he still fight? Why doesn't he retire and do what ever he wants?"
"Dr. Crusher has the answer to that," Data told him. "Mutants are not members of the Federation and every time they have petitioned for membership, the counsel has turned them down. Mutants cannot be citizens of the Federation even if they were born on Earth. The Federation Charter considers them non human terrorists and refuses to allow them even the most basic rights as living beings. On several planets, it is legal to own mutants as slaves and the Federation condones this. There is a passage in the Charter that is similar to the Dread-Scott decision of the 19th century. Any runaway mutant slave is to be returned to the owner immediately."
LaForge and Riker were looking up at him with growing horror. "You have got to be kidding," Geordie whispered. "That can't be going on now."
"I admit, I'm not the familiar with the basic charter but I have trouble believing that a law like that exists today," Riker said.
"Article two, paragraph thirteen C of the Federation Charter," Data confirmed. "Mutants are specifically excluded from citizenship forever."
"I know what I'm going to be doing with my free time," Geordie said with growing anger. "Doing my best to get that law repealed."
"Are you willing to sacrifice your career for them?" Riker asked.
"Aren't you?" Geordie demanded as he slammed the tool he was working with down. "I can't let this pass. My own family history was a struggle for the most basic of human rights and I can't stand by and let it happen again." Geordie jumped up and stomped over to the supply closet, still very angry.
"I'm not sure I can risk it," Riker said to Data. "No one has been able to challenge the basic charter without destroying their career."
"Then I would suggest you not assist Geordie and myself," Data told him. "Reluctant help is worst than no help."
"You're going to get involved?" Riker was aghast.
"I am," Data confirmed. "It was not that long ago that my own rights as a living being were challenged. We were able to prove that I am self aware and have the right to decide for myself what happens to my person. Mutants do not have that right."
"I'll think about it," Riker promised.
"Bridge to Mr. Riker," the comm officers voice came over his badge.
"Riker here."
"Sir, we are receiving a distress signal from a Ferengi merchant ship five light years from our position."
"On my way." He left engineering still thinking about what Data had told them.
"They had a core breach and had to jettison the warp core. They report that life support is out and they have two hours of breathable air left." Worf reported.
"What is the crew compliment of the ship?" Riker asked.
"Five crew and the Daemon," Worf said. "Sensors also report two humans on board. The Ferengi deny this."
"Assemble a rescue party," he instructed Worf. "Ask Logan if he wants to go along."
"Yes sir," Worf exited the Bridge and went to assemble the boarding party.
Logan was always on guard when beaming into a strange ship but he was more alert than ever this time. The Ferengi were notoriously tricky to deal with and would take any opportunity to screw you over royally. He hated dealing with them. The only one he found to be slightly trustworthy was Quark and Logan trusted him as long as he kept his hand on his wallet. He took a deep sniff of the air as they materialized on the transporter platform of the Ferengi ship.
"Two humans," he told Worf. "One will be dead before we get there. The other..." He stopped. The scent was familiar. "Oh God!" he whispered. He was off the platform and out of the door before anyone else could move.
"Where is he going?" one of the guards asked.
"I don't know," Worf said. "I will follow him. The rest of you gather the survivors." He ran after Logan without acknowledgment of his orders.
"Worf to Enterprise," he said, tapping his comm badge. "Logan is acting strangely. I am following him." He saw the feral mutant disappear down an access tube ahead of him. Worf followed. He could hear the man growling fiercely. 'What is going on?' he thought.
He followed Logan through the corridors of the merchant ship with ease. The mutant was not trying to loose him. He heard the man mutter occasionally but the only thing he heard clearly was "If she's dead, these sonovabitches will die with her." Worf was becoming very nervous. If Logan were to slip into a killing rage, there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Logan stopped several times to sniff the air, backtracking twice, all the while leading Worf deeper into the bowels of the ship. By the time they came to a time locked security door in the cargo area, Worf was hopelessly lost.
"We can't get through the door," Worf gasped, trying to catch his breath. "We did not bring munitions."
Logan popped all of his claws and began to tear into the Titanium door, slicing it with ease. He tore a hole large enough for them to enter the room without cutting themselves. He stopped just inside the door and sniffed again. Turning right, he ran down a corridor of locked rooms until he came to a door hidden in the shadows. The door fell to his claws quickly and he rushed into the room.
There were two humans lying naked on a cold floor that was covered with excrement and rotten food. The boy, no older than fifteen was obviously dead, his skin was waxy and pale. The girl was alive but just barely. Logan had gathered her into his arms and was crying softly, rocking her back and forth. Worf had no idea who the girl was but she needed medical attention quickly or she would also die. He tapped his comm badge.
"Beam Logan and the girl directly to sick bay," he barked. The pair disappeared in a twinkle of lights. "The body of the boy is two meters directly in front of me. Beam him to stasis."
"What is going on there?" Riker demanded. The body vanished.
"I don't know sir," Worf answered. "But if the Ferengi are responsible for this, they have much to answer for."
"The survivors are on board. Are you ready to beam back?"
"I wish to stay and investigate this," Worf requested.
"One hour," Riker told him. "Air is getting thin over there. When you reach CO2 saturation, you have to beam back."
"Understood," he said. "Worf out."
When Logan appeared in sick bay in a shower of lights, Beverly gasped in surprise. No one had informed her of any injuries. The feral mutant lifted his cargo carefully into a bio bed as Crusher rushed over to evaluate her patient.
"What happened to her?" Beverly asked him.
"I don't know," he replied not taking his eyes off the still body. "I found her in a cargo cell."
"Who is she?" Regina asked.
"Jubilee," he growled.
Regina's head popped up in surprise. "I thought you said..."
"We never found a body," he told her. "Is she going to be all right?"
"She's malnourished and dehydrated. There is evidence of severe beatings. She has several fractures that were improperly set and internal injuries," Beverly told him.
"She's withdrawn," Regina said as she slipped out of the girls mind.
"What?" Beverly asked.
"She's hiding in a small corner of her mind," Regina explained. "When a person is abused severely over a period of time, they withdraw into their minds. I will need to draw her back out. Logan, she doesn't know me. I don't think I'm going to be able to coax her out."
"Take me with you," he begged. "I think I can get her to come out."
"Dr. Crusher?" Regina looked at her commander.
"Let me finish my examination before you do anything." She ran a scanner over the girl. "I need to stop the internal bleeding first. She's dangerously anemic. I'll need to give her a transfusion."
"Jubes and I have the same blood type," Logan said. "I can be yer doner. My healing factor won't hurt her, either." She ran a scanner over Logans body.
"You're right," she said surprised. "How did you know?"
"Jubilee was my only partner," he told her. "I've given her blood before."
"Okay," she agreed. "I'll set up for the transfusion. You can do the mind probe while the blood is being infused."
Five hours later, Jubilee was stable enough to attempt the mind probe. He was sitting in a chair beside Jubilee's bed watching two units of his blood drip into her arm. Regina was sitting in front of him preparing to escort him into Jubilee's mind.
"This may not be pleasant," she warned him. "We will be passing by some of her memories. I've read some of the reports of the things she went through. They were not happy stories. She was tremendously abused as a child."
"I know some of them," he said. "Jubilee would always talk ta me before talkin' to anyone else."
"I don't think you understand. We will be going by her memories of Bastion and the Church of Humanity. Are you prepared to relive those memories?"
"If it'll save Jubilee, I'll walk through hell."
"Okay," she agreed. "Drop your outer shields so I can enter your mind."
He parted his outer shields and felt Regina's deft touch as she entered his mind. 'Let's go,' he told her.
Deanna entered the sick bay ten minutes after Regina and Logan went in search of Jubilee's conscious mind.
"What are they doing?" she asked Beverly.
"Regina and Logan are attempting to draw her out. She evidently has retreated into her mind."
"Regina I can understand but why Logan? He's not a telepath."
"He knows the girl. He said her name was Jubilee."
Deanna visibly started. "What?" Beverly asked.
"Jubilee was his partner," Deanna said. "She's from the 21st century."
"Oh crap," Beverly swore. She hit her comm badge. "Crusher to Picard."
"Picard here," came the reply.
"I think you'd better come down here. I have a time displaced patient."
"On my way," he replied.
"How could she still be alive?" Deanna asked. "She disappeared on her twenty-fifth birthday. It devastated Logan. He searched for her for ten years but never could find a trace. He said it was if she were a figment of his imagination."
They watched as the mutants worked, Logans color leaching out of his face repeatedly. Beverly was concerned enough about his physical condition to grab a scanner and run it over him. His body showed signs of severe stress. His heart rate was dangerously high. She was not happy. He had just lost six units of blood in an effort to stabilize his friend.
"I'm sure he has recovered," Deanna told her as she pulled Beverly away from the group.
"I don't see how," Beverly said. The door swished open to admit Captain Picard. "I took almost half his blood volume not more than two hours ago."
"He's fine Beverly," Picard told her. "I witnessed his healing powers this morning. A deep cut that healed in less than two minutes. Is she the displaced patient?"
"Her name is Jubilation Lee," Troy told him. "She was Logans' partner with the X-Men. She disappeared in 2008." A wave of anger and grief flashed across the sick bay as Logan howled suddenly. Deanna stumbled, trying to get to them before he exploded in rage. She reached out and touched his shoulder and was somewhere else.
She found herself in a barren landscape. Dry wind lashed her face. She looked around in despair. What could have happened to this poor girl to cause such devastation? Nothing will grow here. The only thing she could see was pain. Walking further into the landscape, she found no shield to prevent psychic intrusion. Logan had been trained to shield his mind. He couldn't have neglected to teach Jubilee to shield hers. What happen to the girls shields? Why had she not rebuilt them after they were torn down the first time? What kind of a monster did this to her?
She continued to walk. It seemed like hours later, she found Regina and Logan in what looked like an oasis. Jubilee was sitting by the water, ignoring them. Deanna could hear Logan pleading with her to come back but she wasn't answering him.
Deanna had dealt with minds like this before. She stepped up beside Jubilee and began to project love, acceptance and security. Speaking quietly to the crouching girl, she told her that there were people waiting to meet the famous X-Man.
"I understand your fear, Jubilee," she said quietly. "I can't change what has happened to you. I can only say the I won't let it happen again."
"Are you my mistress?" Jubilee asked in a small voice. Logan's heart clenched in agony.
"No," Deanna told her as she wrapped her arm around the trembling form. "I am a friend of Logan's."
"Wolvie?" she said hopefully.
"I'm here darlin'," he said as he crouched beside her.
"You came?" she whispered.
"I'm late," he said, his voice rough with emotion, "But I'm here now."
"I waited and waited," she said here eyes loosing their focus. "You never came."
"They took ya away from me," he choked out. "I looked fer ten years but they took ya too far fer me ta track."
"They took you off Earth, Jubilee," Regina told her. "Wolverine can't track in space."
"I tried, darlin'," he cried. "I tried so hard ta find ya but I failed."
"Logan," Deanna said. "It's time for you to leave. Beverly is concerned about the blood loss and Regina and I need to help Jubilee rebuild her mind. It's best that you aren't here."
He looked rebellious for a moment. "I want ta stay." he growled.
"You may jeopardize her chances of recovering," Regina warned. "She will need to work hard to rebuild all of this. You will be in the way."
"Please Logan," Deanna begged. "She needs our help to rebuild."
"I will make sure to show her your shield building technique," promised Regina.
He sighed in defeat. "Okay, I'll leave." He felt his mind return to his body with a thud.
Beverly watched as Logan opened his eyes, his body swaying in the chair. She rushed over to him and helped him to the bio bed next to Jubilee. His blood pressure was too low and his heart rate too high.
"How is she?" he asked.
"Her vital signs are much improved," Beverly told him. "How is her mind?"
"It was horrible," he said. "Her astral landscape is a devastated desert. Her memories are scattered and confused. Pieces of old memories are mixed up with newer ones. Nothin' is complete."
"Did she know you? She asked.
"Yeah," he choked out. "She knew me." His eyes closed in grief. "She's right. This is my fault. I shoulda been with her."
"What could you have done?" Picard asked.
"I coulda protected her better," he snarled. "I coulda kept her from being taken. I coulda looked fer her sooner."
"It was four hundred years ago," Beverly protested. "Your memories could be faulty."
"I remember that day like it was yesterday," he growled. "I see it every night in my dreams."
"How did she get here?" asked Picard. "She is from the 21th century. Does she have a healing factor that kept her alive this long?"
"Jubes don't have no healin factor," Logan said. "She was probably taken forward in time."
"By whom?" Picard asked.
"I don't know." Logan said, his arm thrown over his eyes. 'What happened ta ya, darlin'?' he thought.
Logan sighed. "I'm gonna sleep. Don't try ta wake me up unless ya want nine inches of adamantium in yer gut."
"Will you be able to sleep here?" Picard asked. "I can have someone escort you back to your quarters."
"I'll be in a coma before long," he told them. "I need it ta heal. I want ta stay here fer Jubilee."
"A coma," Beverly gasped. "Do you do that every time?"
"Only with severe injuries and blood loss," he looked at her shocked face from under his arm. "Don't worry. I'll wake up on my own."
"What about Counselor Troy and Lt Williams?" Picard asked.
"They'll be at it fer a few hours," Logan said in a very sad voice. "She's hurt bad."
He closed his eyes and tuned out everything except Jubilee's breathing and heart beat. He still was having problems believing that she was here. Who did this and where has she been? From her behavior in the astral plane, she has been a slave somewhere but her injuries say that she rebelled constantly. Her injuries were a mix of old and new. If the Ferengi crew was responsible for any of the injuries, he would give them a world of hurt. Lethargy swept over him as he slipped into a coma. He sighed deeply and let go of consciousness.