Chapter 13

2367 Starfleet Science Division

Jean-Luc Picard stood inside a laboratory containment pod specifically made for him. It was just his size, with very little room to spare for any substantial movements. The pod, the Starfleet scientists had explained, helped them to study the effects of the power of the Q in a controlled setting. During his first few weeks with Project Quantum, he had stayed primarily in the pod. He was allowed to leave in the evening, to go back to his apartment and contemplate what a general mess his life had become. He was starting to feel a sort of anxiety he hadn't felt before, and could not explain, even to himself, why. He had spoken about this with Deanna Troi, who had agreed to counsel him periodically when he needed her. She had helped him to painfully unpack some of the memories he had experienced throughout his life both before, during, and after his residence in the Q Continuum. She had also recommended that he join the project, sponsored by Alynna Nechayev.

Project Quantum was essentially an attempt by Starfleet to determine how the power of Q worked. The problem was, the power had been fading slowly from his control for several years now following the events at the waterfall on the Q homeworld. He wasn't exactly sure why, and although he had not admitted it to anyone, his primary motivation for agreeing to be experimented on was to regain the power. The fact was, there was little else left for him in his estimation. He had ruined his relationship with Beverly, Wesley, and Jack by using his power to try and change their shared history. He had returned to the past in an attempt to erase his relationship with Beverly, but it hadn't worked. He had confessed to her his failed attempt, in part because of guilt, and in part because he was so angry at her. She and Jack had been sleeping with each other, he knew. He also knew that it was very possible that it was beyond their control. Contact with an alien virus had changed them, and in some ways had drawn them closer. Even Wesley was different. There was no doubt in Jean-Luc's mind that he had been seeking some kind of revenge, but he also had legitimate reasons, few of which could easily be explained.

Of all the bad decisions he had made, this had perhaps been the worst. And for Beverly, it was the last straw. His decision to join Project Quantum only solidified her decision to call things off with him. "This is what you want. Clearly, nothing else matters to you anymore, other than being a Q. So go ahead and leave. Get out of my house, and don't come back."

Despite still possessing the power, he had never felt so powerless, driving away anyone he had ever cared about. For months he had ranted that Seth had been stolen away by Marco, but eventually, the hard reality that Seth had gone with Marco willingly began to sink in. Walker was in a coma, and the rest of his friends were scattered across the galaxy, disconnected, perhaps indefinitely. Wesley now hated him. And on top of it all, an umbrella of guilt followed him everywhere because he could not forget his part in the life and death of Tasha Yar.

Now he sat in a laboratory; a living experiment with very little to offer even science.

The woman was tall, with short black, greying hair, and she carried an unmistakable air of superiority. She dismissed the two remaining scientists from the lab and locked the door behind them. She walked to Picard, who was still inside the containment field. She hit a few controls on the panel next to him and the containment field hummed, and instead of snapping off, appeared to strengthen.

"Typically this is the time of day when they release me from this box and let me go home to a relaxing evening of root beer floats and mind-altering substances," he said, following her with his eyes. "But apparently you have other ideas."

She stopped and looked directly at him. "Do you know who I am?"

"You are Gilda Stern, Head of Starfleet Intelligence... and project manager for this experiment," Picard answered impassively.

Her eyes glinted. "Surely, you know who I really am. It is time for both of us to stop pretending."

Picard shifted his gaze, fixating on her with new intensity. "Alright, let's try again...You are a member of the distinguished Q Continuum."

"And you hate me."

"Does it matter? What matters is that I know who you are, and how you groomed Tasha Yar to grow up to be just like your human self...only to let her die at the hands of Caine."

"And you bear no responsibility for her death?"

Picard could feel the air inside the containment field start to crackle. "Of course I do. But you are not innocent in this. No...I've learned a lot since I was down on that planet, and so much has become clearer. You are the one who abducted Caine from Earth for study in the first place, and you should have been the one to end him. Instead, you left that task to your adopted daughter, and she paid the price with her very life."

With surprising passion, Stern punched through the containment field and her hand closed around his throat. "Don't you dare talk about Tasha. She died under your watch! She trusted you, Picard."

He closed his eyes, blinded by the star-like glow bursting from her hand. But then suddenly she let go and she dropped her hand to her side, looking in shock at her palm as the glow gradually dissipated.

Picard stepped forward now that the containment field was no more. "You're losing your powers as well, aren't you? I thought it was just me. Well then. It's only a matter of time until Nechayev realizes just who you are. So why don't you leave now, before your powers completely disappear? What is your game this time?"

"Game?" The desperation etched into Stern's face was eerie in the strange light of the lab. "Self-preservation, Picard. Just like you. If the Continuum doesn't want me anymore, I can live with that. But I can't live without my powers. And I know you have similar feelings."

"What about Q? Has he been affected as well?"

"Let's leave him out of this. Let's just say that the Continuum doesn't want any part of humanity any longer. And since both Q and I have been...associated with humanity for some time, we are no longer desirable or trusted. What's more, the Q have come to fear Caine in much the same way they feared Tasha's first incarnation."

"Caine is in prison," said Jean-Luc, watching her searchingly.

"There are many kinds of prisons, Picard. None so far have been adequate to hold Caine. As long as he lives, he presents a grave danger to the very fabric of this galaxy."

"So you're saying that you intend to kill him?"

"Look into the future with what power you have left, and you may see things almost too horrible to imagine, and all because no one stopped him."

"You've had chance after chance to stop Caine...why finally do something now?"

"Because the stakes are higher now. Because Caine is now aware of his history and of his capabilities," said Stern.

He watched her cautiously, not yet willing to admit that he was interested in what she had to say. "What are you proposing?"

"I have a plan to solve everyone's problems. But you need to be willing to leave your entire life behind."

"That won't be a problem. My life is mostly over already."

2369--Present Day

USS Enterprise--Cardassian space

"No, no, no! Shut it all down. Now!" The tricorder slammed into the engineering wall panel just above the technician's head.

The technician walked away, muttering angrily to himself. Was a career in Starfleet worth this kind of abuse? They had been working all morning to make changes to the warp core assembly, and Wesley Crusher seemed to have no problem asking the impossible of his crew. And when the crew didn't deliver, Crusher became impossible to deal with.

"What the hell is going on?" Geordi LaForge demanded from across the engineering bay. He could see that Wesley, who had just thrown a tricorder at the head of his assistant, was now hunched over a central control panel, trying once again to do it all himself. Geordi hadn't had a chance to talk with the young man for a few days, aside from quick status check-ins. He had come to learn in just a few days of returning to the Enterprise with its skeleton crew of engineers and scientists that Wesley was indeed in charge. Where he was getting his orders from was not clear. What was clear is that if things didn't go exactly as Crusher wished, he often lost his temper. But aside from the fact that Wesley now seemed to be a highly volatile young man, Geordi could sense that something else had happened to him recently. Something big.

LaForge calmed his own nerves. If he couldn't calm himself, he wouldn't be able to deescalate the situation. He approached and put a hand on Wesley's shoulder. "Hey, Wes..." The young man immediately tensed up and Geordi dropped his hand. "Wes...what seemed to be the problem?"

Wesley's hands flew over the control panel at an almost dizzying speed. Geordi frowned, trying to make sense of what the kid was doing.

"Just need to expand the matrix," Wesley whispered, totally engrossed in what he was doing.

Geordi crossed his arms and looked on with concern. "We've been trying to make the changes to the warp assembly that you asked us to, Wes. But completely changing the warp matrix is not only near impossible, but it's very risky--even dangerous if we don't do it properly."

"That's why I'm trying to do it myself," Wesley snapped. "Since no one around here seems to understand my instructions."

"Wes, I know I was skeptical about your idea...but I agree it could work. We just have to be patient and work together. This has never been done before. Maybe if the planning was better organized--"

Wesley whirled from his station, his eyes cloudy and his skin looked clammy as though he had a fever. He pointed his index finger at his own head. "The plans are all in my head. I just need to make sense of them."

Geordi paused and then nodded slowly. "Is this because you had the power of the Q over on that Reman ship, or..or because of what we all went through on that planet? Look, Wes, you don't have to do this alone. If we work together--"

"No! You don't have the vision to see it, Geordi but I do. Everything, all the information we need is in my mind."

To Geordi's frustration, Wesley turned back to what he had been doing. His hand was hovering over the touchpad when one of his assistants came running through engineering towards him.

The man was out of breath when he handed the datapad over to Wesley. "Intel said you need to see this immediately, sir. It's for your eyes only."

Wesley tossed the datapad onto his bed with shaky hands and then walked away. He didn't want to face what was coming. Turning back around, he waved his palm over the device. "Encrypted holos unlocked," said the computer. He sunk down slowly in a chair and watched the holographic images rotate through. The blue-tinged holos showed a man's naked torso and head. The man's face was bearded, and the picture grainy, but the features were recognizable as Jean-Luc Picard. The camera panned over him, and he lay very still. Lifeless.

2369 Earth, Paris

"What do you mean he's disappeared? He's been under guard for days now."

"Chancellor, an investigation is underway to find him--"

"Damn, Q," shouted Chancellor Makon. "He was supposed to testify today!"

"Q left this note in his hotel room, sir." Makon's assistant held out a piece of synthetic paper on which was scrawled two handwritten sentences: "Find Picard. Then we'll talk."

Makon looked up, an inner fury beginning to crack his cold expression.

"Sir, there is something else," said his assistant, handing him a datapad. "It's been all over the news channels this afternoon."

Makon read quickly and then handed the pad back with a resigned expression. "Well, I suppose there is no reason to continue the hearings, now that we have confirmation. Have Talbot inform the other witnesses that they are no longer needed."

"Including Vice-Chancellor Crusher?"

"Yes. Especially him."

When Guinan stepped out of the hearing room, she found Jack and Beverly standing there. They looked uncomfortable, angry, and very sad, standing there waiting to be called to testify about their missing friend.

She shared some of their feelings but thankfully was a little further removed from the situation. She had just testified, but the questions had been odd. Talbot had been distracted and gave the impression of not truly listening to what she said. So, she watched him carefully and began to believe that not only did Talbot know where Picard was, but that he may have been the only one who really did. This was a problem for many reasons including because he was the one asking the questions. She had ended the hearing by asking her own question. "This whole thing is a sham, isn't it?" There had been no direct answer, except that the hearing had been shut down early after some kind of news had been transmitted to Chancellor Makon.

She was about to try and say something to ease the moment when quick footsteps could be heard down the hall. He stopped in front of them, focusing on Jack and Beverly. His cold eyes held no warmth and compassion when he began to speak. "I've been asked to let you know that your testimony is no longer needed," he said.

Jack frowned. Inside he was relieved but didn't trust Talbot for one second. "Why not?"

Talbot tilted his head oddly. "Haven't you seen the news reports today? Jean-Luc Picard is dead."

To those of you still reading this and all of my other stories, thanks for your continued reading and reviews. Stay safe and well out there. Best, --PP