Cailum notified Narek that Ni'ael was contacting him aboard the Gi'halidril. He didn't want to leave Enid, but could offer no effective protest so he excused himself leaving Enid to Yumuen.

"You better tend to that wound," he said as he left. Yumuen looked at his leg. He had not been hit seriously and thankfully it had stopped bleeding. He was also thankful that his uniform was black. His red blood was hidden. Alone now, except for the sleeping Enid, he removed his sleeve from around his thigh and applied a dermal generator to the area. He would need to clean his hands though. He stood, shoved his hands in his pockets and asked one of the sisters where he could clean up. She directed him to a station behind the convent. There was a pump and water filled a bowl. Primitive, he thought. Why would the federation not provide more convenient facilities? His hands left the water stained red so he drained the bowl in the grass nearby. That had been close.

He returned to Enid's side and ran his medical device over her again. Whatever she had done back there, left her exhausted. He studied the cumulative readings he had been collecting over the previous ten months. The mind melds had left significant damage to areas of her brain but it extended far beyond that. Her entire nervous system had been effected and the deleterious effects apparently did not end when the abuse ended. At least that was one hypothesis. There was evidence of cellular decay which predated Enid's relationship with Narek. Evidence that dispelled his second theory. That somehow the constant contact with Narek's mind caused her decline. This was the theory that originally dominated his research but he had disproved it to his satisfaction. Enid was not in danger from Narek. In fact, he suspected that Enid was alive only because of Narek. He willed her to live, whether her body cooperated or not.

When he first met Enid, she could wear a few bright colors, never black, but she could go as deep as charcoal without discomfort. Now she could only tolerate the softest most pastel hues against her skin. Even pink could chafe. Anaphylactic responses to new stimulus was the rule now since her encounter with the algae on Aia. No. Every system in her body was affected. How long they could keep this up was only a guess. A few more months? Perhaps years if they were careful? That seemed unlikely. Zani was right, Enid was surrounded by trouble.

He had not relayed this to his superiors yet although he thought he should find a way. He had heard that Dr. Bashir, on Earth, had done some promising research into neural regeneration. They may be able to coax the couple to leave Surruk in favor of the Federation if they could offer them a solution to the inevitable. He shook his head. No. Enid would believe that he had done something to sabotage her health. Narek might be reasoned with, he supposed.

On the path to the convent, Elnor and Picard examined the area of battle. Missy tagged along ignoring the evidence that she was not welcome.

"This blood is red," she said, pointing to spatter on some rocks. Picard bent down and touched a drop with his finger and studied it. She was right. It was red.

"Enid is the only Romulan I know that bleeds red," he said. "She wasn't injured was she?"

"No. Yumuen was hit during the battle," Elnor said.

"Then Yumuen is not what he seems," Missy said. "We should let Enid know."

"I think we should find out more, before we do anything," Picard said. He wondered how an imposter would make it past the telepathic couple.

"Oh those two have clouded vision," a familiar voice said from behind him. The three turned.

"Q! Did you have anything to do with this?" Picard asked. Q sat on a fence, eating something out of a red and white striped cardboard box.

"Is that popcorn?" Missy asked. She walked closer and reached out and snatched a piece.

"Cheeky!" Q dismounted the fence and put his arm around Picard's shoulder. "We have a mystery here, don't we."

"What do you know about this?" Picard shrugged Q's arm off his shoulder.

"We know everything. Everything they have done and everything they will do."

"But," Missy said. Q turned to regard her as if she were a bothersome bug.

"But?" He asked.

"That sounded like there was a but..." Missy looked from Picard to Elnor. "Didn't that sound like there should be a but?" Picard shrugged. He didn't think Missy was wrong.

"Is there a but?" Picard asked.

"She's an astute little girls sometimes," Q said. He took a bite of popcorn then said, "There is indeed a but. We can see what comes before and what comes after with perfect clarity. It's the now is quite clouded."

"What do you mean?" Elnor asked. His limited exposure to Q left told him that he didn't want Q involved with Enid.

"Enid has quite a great deal of power." Q took another bite of pop corn.

"And your here to put an end to it," Elnor said. How to fight a Q?

"No, no, no," Q said. He rolled his eyes then patted the young man on the cheek. When Elnor swatted his hand away, Q reappeared on the other side of Picard. "At least not if we don't have to. This pair has been messing with timelines, always looking for happily ever after."

"Timelines?" Missy asked. Picard wished the young woman had not shown up. He'd rather have this conversation privately with Q but the omnipotent being obviously had other plans. Q smiled at the question and continued.

"Yes, they have constructed quite a web. All strings leading to different outcomes. The continuum can see the results of each."

"But you can't see the now?" Picard pressed, "What do you mean by that?"

"Like I said, admiral," Q emphasized the world admiral, "We can see the results of their little experiments. We just don't know which thread they are going to take at any given time."

"The now," Picard said.

"Of course," Q threw a piece of popcorn in the air and caught it in his mouth, "It's positively titillating." Picard wrinkled his nose in derision. Q using the word titillating was anything but.

"If she can manipulate time, that must be threatening to the Q," Missy said.

"I assure you we could end her anytime we wished. However, many of the outcomes, please us."

"And some don't," Missy said.

"And some don't." Q walked a circle around Missy. "Interesting isn't it?"

"You're talking about Enid's life as if it didn't matter," Elnor said.

"It matters very much. That's why I'm here." Q pulled Picard aside and whispered in his ear. "Enid and her lover are looking for a happily ever after. The universe doesn't just grant those sorts of endings, at least not to individuals as broken as those two. There will be a cost. A devastating cost. If they achieve this, though, it is good news for everyone."

"So how do we help?" Picard didn't know what Q's game was but thought it might help to play along for more information.

"Always the Starfleet Officer," he said. "Ready to risk life and limb for people you barely know. I can tell you though, that this particular thread they are on is short. Very short. If they don't choose another course soon, they will run out of thread." Q vanished.

Picard was used to Q's cryptic games. He took in what said but tried not to dwell on it. If Q were involved, he would dole out clues as he pleased. In the meantime, he would take whatever opportunity he could to help Enid. All her life she'd been a pawn of other's ambitions. First there was the order. Plutarch would definitely make use of his powerful daughter. The Q certainly didn't need to use her, he din't think. What about Narek? What sort of cost would the couple have to pay? And how long was this thread that Q spoke of.

On board the Gi'halidril, Narek faced off with the hologram of Ni'ael.

"Enid, can't kill," he said. "Plutarch knows this."

"Of course he does," Ni'ael said. "We have operatives that will take care of the rest of this now that his enemies have been exposed."

"Then we are free to leave Vashti?" Nothing would make Narek happier at this time.

"The business with Rynar," Ni'ael said. "We need that thread snipped for good."

Narek couldn't argue with that so he nodded. "The Enterprise is bring the equipment from Coppelius. They should be here tomorrow."

"Good," Ni'ael said. "Once this mission is complete, I suggest you cloak and pursue the traps in Federation space." Plutarch had not accurately relayed the number and location of the Federation traps. The locations he had given were ones that had already been sprung according to the information in Enid's castle. He didn't trust the Federation to spring the traps. Not when they relied so heavily on Synth labor.

"Enid wants..."

"I know what Enid wants. My girls want the same thing." Ni'ael ran his hand through his hair and exhaled. "There will be plenty of time for a reunion. Plenty of time. Just not now. I strongly suggest that you take my advice."

Narek considered what Ni'ael said and more importantly what he left unsaid. Ni'ael didn't want Enid on Surruk and wasn't going to elaborate. Narek was pretty sure he hadn't run his advice past Plutarch. Did he trust Ni'ael? There was that word again. Trust. How much could they, as Romulans, expect to trust?