The Vulcans had amassed volumes on the order that they shared with Enid and Narek separate for the crew of La Serina. Most of it they suspected or already knew. Rynar had intended to have Enid committed and keep her drugged so he could use her for his gain. It was surprising how many were involved in this order, though. There were thousands of followers. The Vulcan's outlined the steps they were taking to rehabilitate the members and assured Enid that the order was no longer a threat to her. They went one step further and presented Enid with three of the original compositions that S'ril had sold. Enid's hands shook as she unrolled the documents. She spread them flat to examine them.

"I trust they are authentic?" The Vulcan diplomat asked. Enid nodded. There was no way to pass a forgery of her own compositions by Enid. Each stroke stood for a memory. When she discovered her music missing it had felt like someone cut a limb from her body. That no one seemed to care as much as she did stung as well. S'ril and A'den knew better. They just didn't care. Enid struggled. She didn't want to cry in front of the Vulcans but the weight of what had been done threatened her composure.

Help. Keep me from crying, she asked Narek telepathically. Enid was seated at a table across from the Vulcan diplomat. Narek stood behind her with his hands resting on her shoulders.

You got this, he told her. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Enid didn't realize it but Narek couldn't control her tears. They shared a consciousness but neither could control what the other did. He could encourage her and bolster her resolve though and right now that was enough. Enid smiled. The crisis had passed.

"Thank you. They are mine," Enid said. She rolled up the compositions. The Vulcan next led Enid and Narek to a room. The room had a clinical feel and even though it was not a sick bay, Enid was uneasy. If that wasn't bad enough, Soji was there with Picard. Enid stood with her arms crossed. Her right hand made a fist which she hid under her left elbow. They were shown a young Romulan. His neck had been broken and he'd been jettisoned into space post mortem.

"I'd like our doctor to examine him," Narek said.

"Of course," the diplomat said. Narek contacted Yumuen who transported to the site. Enid let Narek and Yumuen handle the examination while she sulked and watched. She didn't understand how Narek could be so calm around the synths. Soji was also examining the body, comparing notes with a Vulcan doctor.

I know they won't hurt me, Narek told her.

But you slept with Soji, Enid said.

I tried to kill Soji. Narek hated that he had given Soji his real name. He did it only to put her at ease so she'd think he was on her side. That he was helping her. He didn't have to give Enid the name of his true self. They saw each other in ways that Narek could not understand before Enid. Still, he didn't feel he could formally give Enid his name or accept hers. Not while Soji was alive.

Sure, but you cried. Enid knew that Narek didn't love Soji. His tears had been pity. He told himself that he felt pity for Soji but Enid knew that Narek was also feeling sorry for himself as well at the time. He thought he could love Soji if she had been real. It wasn't that Enid felt threatened by Soji, she was just an easy outlet since she didn't understand what she was feeling. Lately she had just been angry. There was no telling what would set her off. Narek, who had bent over the body, straightened up and put his hands on his hips. He turned to Yumuen and whispered something in his ear. Yumuen nodded. Narek took Enid by the elbow and guided her out of the room.

"You don't need to be here for this," he said after the door closed. Enid opened her mouth to protest but changed her mind. She didn't really want to look at a dead body anyway.

"I want to go home." Enid leaned against the wall. Her sinuses tingled, letting her know that she was starting to lose her battle with the tears.

"We need to find out what happened to Rynar." Narek took Enid by the shoulders. "We need to make sure you're safe from him."

"He's dead," Enid said. She shook off his hands.

"We don't know that. Is there any way to tell if Rynar occupied that body?" Narek focused on engaging her in the issue at hand since she didn't seem ready to return to the ship.

"I can't read dead." Enid thought she'd take Narek's advice and return to the Gi'halidrl so they exchanged a quick peck on the lips before she set off for the facilities transporter room. Narek knew why Enid was so angry the last few weeks but he hid it from her. At first he had been surprised that he could but she kept so many secrets from herself that it was easy to slip things past. It also helped that she trusted him. He rubbed his neck before rejoining Yumuen in examining the body.

"Siruz told Rios that he thought Rynar entered one of the Romulan crew members," Picard said. He supposed that Enid was emotional from the recovery of her music. He remembered her music was not only a record of her memories but somehow allowed her to return to the moment. Were all her compositions capable of transporting her through time or just some? He had so many questions! He hoped to spend some time with Enid before they left.

"Did you tell Plutarch?" Narek asked. Picard indicated that he had. Narek frowned and played with the ring on his finger. That was just like Plutarch! Romulans were never forthcoming but Narek thought that given Enid's needs, honesty… His own thoughts stopped him in his tracks and Inwardly Narek cringed. He wasn't honest with Enid, either. He told himself that his situation was different. No one could possibly know how they lived. The intimacy was overwhelming. At times, he was afraid of losing himself. Of course he felt more than compensated for the fear he felt inside. Enid loved him, unreservedly and completely. That only increased his remorse. She gave so much and he repaid her with lies.

"Is there any evidence of a mind meld?" Yumen turned to the Vulcan doctor that presided over the examination. Her name was Chos.

"A single mind meld would leave no discernable trace post mortem," Chos said.

"I'd like to see a cross section of the orbitofrontal cortex," Yumuen moved closer to the panel above the biobed. Chos compiled and Yumuen studied the image finding no anomalies. He asked to see the hippocampus and also found nothing. This would have been a non consensual mind meld so he asked Chos to cycle through the areas of the brain that Yumuen knew were damaged within Enid's brain looking for anything to indicate injury. It paid off. He found microscopic evidence of damage in the subject's Fornix and again in the septal nuclei.

"Interesting," Dr. Chos said, "Those are not areas of the brain we generally associate with mind melds."

"I believe I have superior experience with the effects of non consensual mind melds." Yumuen didn't bother hiding his disgust at the Vulcan treatment of Enid. No one who had witnessed the young woman's continuing difficulties could, he thought. Narek gave her some stability but the cost was high. Yumuen knew that. Sometimes, Yumuen thought, it was too much for the Romulan. He looked at Narek to judge how the Romulan was processing this news but found nothing helpful. He wasn't sure if he had shared too much. Information about Enid's physiology was highly classified and the Vulcans would surely discern where Enid's brain was damaged through his questions. He needed to see if Rynar was still a threat. This was outside his mission parameters but he was a doctor before he became an operative for Section 31.

"Yumuen, is it your assertion that Rynar was in this young man's mind?" Picard asked in summary.

"Yes."

"So Rynar is dead," Narek said in summary. It was over then.

"Not necessarily," Soji spoke. She really didn't want to but knew of Arcana's supspions.

"What do you mean?" Narek's voice was icy.

"There have been recorded instances of a Vulcan melding with an artificial life form," Soji was glad for the subroutine that could control her physiological responses to emotion.

"Yes, but what you're implying is impossible," Chos said, "You're talking about a Vulcan occupying a Romulan, melding with Coppelian."

"It's extraordinary, but not impossible," Soji said, remaining firm. She had missed A'den's worm program on La Serina. She wasn't going to miss anything again.

"Is there a way to know for sure?" Narek wanted to check this off the list of threats to Enid. Soji noted that Narek was going out of his way not to make eye contact with her. Was he feeling remorse for what he'd done? Has his relationship with Enid changed him that much?

"Not without destroying Sutra," Soji said.

"And we let you take her," Narek smacked the table and turned away, crossing his arms over his chest. Plutarch could very easily have taken the Coppelian cruiser, the synth, and the Zeng He. Instead he risked Enid's safety for... For what? Political favor from the Federation?

"Wait," Picard said, "What about the mind mapping technique? The body seems to be well preserved."

"It's possible," Soji pulled out a tricorder and scanned the corpse again. The vacuum of space did preserve the body well. "It would have to be done soon."

"Yes." Narek turned. "The procedure was meant to be done on the dead." Not on living people like his aunt Ramdha.

"We have a plan then." Picard clapped his hands together and held them with fingers interlaced. "Narek, do we have permission to take the body to Coppelius for the procedure?"

"No." Narek shook his head. "No," he repeated before storming out of the room. Enid hadn't returned to the Gi'halidrl. She was talking with Elnor. He gave no explanation and went to find her.

"Maybe a break is in order," Yumuen said because everyone was looking at him. This would be a good time for him to file a report so he excused himself as well. On some level it amused him that his greatest threat for discovery was not from the powerful telepaths aboard the Gi'halidrl. They were too wrapped up in each other to notice much about his doings. No, he needed to watch out from Fank and Calium although that pair could also be wrapped up in each other. Romulans were an emotional buffet, he mused.