Thanks to anon TNG fangirl, Jiro, Graham Gilligan and Kaytee33 for their reviews. You're so good to me. Here's where the "Angst" part of the story comes in. I watered it down as much as I could to keep it within the Teen rating. If you feel the rating should be raised, please tell me. I hope you don't hate me for this; I'm not a cruel person. Disclaimer: I'm not Gene Roddenberry, therefore I do not own TNG.

Chapter 3: The Memory and the Choice

Savannah looked at the man confused. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Oh you don't remember me huh?" observed the man. "That's understandable; it has been 6 years after all."

"Who are you and what business do you have at my starbase?" Admiral Gardner demanded.

"I am Eric Ziegler," Savannah's heart stopped. "I'm a trader partnered with my good friend. I've come to retrieve something he lost."

'Data to the Captain.'

"Go ahead Data."

'Sir, a scan of the carrier ship shows weaponry and engine parts from both the Federation and Romulans.'

"What are you doing with such weaponry?" demanded Riker.

"It's part of my friend's trade. He's a Galian you see and will trade with anyone."

Savannah turned pale as she stepped backward. Wesley took her left arm and looked at her concerned. "What's wrong?"

She looked at Wesley for a second and then back to the man.

'Noooo!'

"Dock your ship immediately," growled Gardner.

'AHHH!'

Ziegler grinned. "With pleasure Admiral. There's more where this came from."

At this point Savannah could barely stand.

"Mr. La Forge," began Gardner. "Will you accompany my security and engineering crew to take an inventory of the ship? If anything illegal is in that ship, I want him taken to the brig."

"Of course Admiral." Geordie replied as he left for the docking bay.

'Daddy, help me!'

A single tear escaped Savannah's eyes and she fell to her knees.

"Savannah!" cried Wesley.

All attention became focused on her. She began to cry freely as a very painful memory unwillingly came to her…

'Sure I'll help you,' grinned a man. 'But it will come at a price.'

'Name it,' said another man.

'I want her,' the man said pointing to a 10 year old Savannah.

'She still belongs to me. You can't have her unless she agrees to marry you.'

'I don't want her to be my wife. Well… maybe when she grows up. I just want her for tonight.'

…

'Nooo!' screamed a struggling Savannah.

'Daddy, help me!'

Savannah tried to get away, but the man kept a firm grip on her arms. 'He's hurting me!'

'Nooo!'

"Nooo!"

Savannah sobbed as the memory ended. Wesley was on the floor next to her with one arm around her waist and the other on her shoulder. Admiral Gardner looked solemn. Dr. Crusher examined her, worried that Ziegler did something to her while on his ship. If he could transport a being without being seen, it's very possible he could hurt her from the ship as well.

"It's not that kind of pain Dr. Crusher," Gardner said in a low voice. "At least not anymore."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Gardner knelt next to the still sobbing Savannah. "Savannah, why don't you go lie down in your room?"

Not looking up, she gave a small nod and attempted to stand. Wesley helped her up.

"Sir? May I go with her?" Wesley pleaded. He had no idea what was wrong, but he hated the idea of leaving her alone in this state.

Gardner nodded to Captain Picard who then spoke, "Yes, of course. But do not speak to anyone of this along the way."

Wesley nodded as he led Savannah out of the room. (She led the way after they left because he didn't know the way.)

Riker broke the silence after the two teens left. "With all due respect Admiral, I think you owe us an explanation."

"There's something about that man that frightened her to death." observed Dr. Crusher.

Picard looked questioningly at Gardner who sighed. "I think it would be better if you all sat down." They did so and Gardner spoke again.

"After Savannah's mother died, her father lost his mind with grief and lost all love for his daughter. It makes me wonder if he ever loved her at all. For a year he took her and traveled around galaxies looking for the best parts for his ship, using Savannah as an interpreter. Weapons, engines, you name it."

"Why?" inquired Picard.

"It's very rare for a Galian to die due to illness. Her father was powerless to help her. He blindly wants the most powerful ship to fill the void. Savannah was nothing but a tool to him."

"Is this how all Galians are?" asked a concerned Riker.

"Not that I know of. Savannah certainly isn't. Her father wants to rule Stell 4 by taking it over. That way he will have 'complete control'."

"He plans to do this with only one ship?" asked a bewildered Dr. Crusher.

"He hadn't lost it that much. He knew he would need help, and that's where Ziegler comes in. Savannah and her father traveled to Earth and met with him. Ziegler liked the idea of helping to rule a planet and agreed to join him, but he wanted something in return."

"Savannah…" whispered Picard.

Gardner nodded slowly. "By Galian law, the children belong to their parents until they become engaged, in which time they move out and live on their own. Ziegler couldn't have her in that sense because Savannah wouldn't have agreed to marry him, especially at her age. This didn't bother him because he didn't want her to anyway. He…"

He couldn't finish; he didn't need to.

"What kind of a father is he?" shouted Dr. Crusher as she angrily stood up. "She was 10 years old. How could he allow this to happen to her!"

Picard stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders, also angry. "Why wasn't something done about this?"

"We couldn't find either of them. Savannah didn't want us looking for them either. She fled Earth and her father by taking her father's ship."

"She managed to pilot a ship at the age of 10?" asked Riker, stunned.

"Wes said Galians' brains mature twice as fast as humans'," answered Dr. Crusher. "It doesn't surprise me that she would have been able to do that. The thing that does surprise me is her being able to keep control of the ship despite the emotional trauma."

"She is a remarkably strong young woman." praised Picard. "But how did she get here?"

"We found her a couple of months after the…incident. She was very frightened of us, men mainly, because of what happened and she didn't want to be returned to her father. We set up a room for her here on the base and had a counselor talk to her every day. In time, the fear went away. She began to trust us and finally told us what happened. She was still a little uncomfortable so at the age of 11, I gave her a job to help keep her mind off of what happened to her."

"What kind of job?" asked Riker.

"The same one she has now, communications. It's not unusual to have different races passing through, even in the Neutral Zone. They may have to stay for a little bit while their ships are being repaired, decontaminated, and so on. They were very comfortable with Savannah because she elected to speak in their native tongues, giving them a sense of security. They liked her a lot and she liked them."

"She would be very helpful to us if we come across unknown beings," commented Riker.

"Agreed Number One. I would be honored to have her join my crew." Picard said.

"You wouldn't have brought us out here if Picard had the choice to take her or not," Dr. Crusher stated. "What haven't you told us yet?"

Admiral Gardner's face turned grave. "Savannah had broken her people's law by running away from her father."

"But they moved off Stell 4 when she was a child." Dr. Crusher was afraid of where this conversation was going.

"That doesn't matter to them. Galians are very strict when enforcing their laws and will do so no matter what the cost."

"They would kill her for running away from her 'father'?" asked Riker, surprised.

"No, they don't believe in capital punishment of their own people. However, they would make her return to her father, which in my opinion is worse than death. She's stronger now, but she still deserves to be happy."

Picard saw the whole picture. "You want her to come to my ship so she could stay away from her father."

Riker's eyes widened as he too understood. "Of course, the Enterprise travels all over the place. It would be very difficult for him to track her."

"Correct," Gardner acknowledged. "She joined the Academy at 13 and graduated a few months before her 16th birthday. She was protected there and her father never would have thought to look for her there. She came back here and returned to her duties. And when her skills weren't needed, she helped out in medical and engineering."

"So why ask for a transfer now?" inquired Picard. "What changed to make you believe her father was getting close to finding her?"

"When we suspected Romulans to be lingering around the base I feared they may be helping him find her."

"What would they have to gain?" asked Dr. Crusher.

"If he promised them Stell 4 going under their control, it wouldn't surprise me if they helped him."

"Not to mention the opportunity to spy on a research base." observed Riker.

'La Forge to Admiral Gardner.'

"Go ahead Mr. La Forge."

'There are all sorts of illegal weaponry and parts in this ship. There are also some things I've never seen before.'

"Commander Messina,"

'Yes Admiral?'

"Escort Mr. Ziegler to the brig and do not let him out."

'Yes sir.'

"Is there anything else Geordi?" Picard asked.

'Yes Captain. We checked the transmission log and there were quite a few sent recently. Most of them were to a Romulan ship. The others were sent to a Francis Kalim. He replied today saying he'll be here in three days.'

The four paled.

"Listen to me," Gardner urged. "The Galians will be willing to go to war if they find out that we hid Savannah from her father. We don't know how powerful they are but I know of quite a few of the Federation's enemies that may jump at the opportunity to help. However, if she goes with you, and he finds her there, the people on your ship could be in grave danger. The people on this base, including myself, were willing to risk our lives and careers."

"Which is why you're giving him the choice." Dr. Crusher observed.

"Yes."

"So the Captain has to choose," Riker said quietly. "Choose between taking her and the risks included or not taking her and returning her to Kalim."

So what did you think? I know it's cruel what happened to her, but it wouldn't have worked any other way. I guess this is what happens when I watch too much Law and Order: SVU. Review if you so desire and I will accept flames. Let me know what you would like to happen to Eric Ziegler too. I'm always open to suggestions. See you soon.