Chapter 20

Excelsior

The table shook again, nearly sending the tall glass and its precious contents onto the plush carpet on the deck below. Seth reached under the table and patted Marca on the head. She was so big that the table was lifting off of the deck. "Lay down, girl," he said softly. He heard the dog sigh and then she slowly slid to the floor.

The dog had been nervous ever since their return to Earth from deep space, and now they were re-entering deep space yet again. Seth could tell somewhat how she was feeling, and she was just as unsettled as he was. She's probably lonely, just like me.

He'd come down to what the crew had affectionately named "The Club", a restaurant within an even larger area called Entertainment City. The Club seemed like Ten Forward, only about ten times larger. There was something about the Excelsior that was almost too big.

He glanced around him at the growing crowds of civilians and Starfleet crew members. He slurped through his straw and then slumped back in his chair. "This place is trying way too hard," he said out loud.

"I know," said a voice nearby. He turned to find Guinan standing nearby. She was wearing a lush purple robe and large-brimmed hat and was carrying another large icy glass in her hand. "Hello, nephew."

She placed the glass down on the table and slid it toward Seth with a subtle flick of her wrist. She smiled at him and pulled up a chair. "It sure is no Ten Forward."

He smiled but didn't ask how she had known he wanted another root beer float. Jean-Luc's favorite drink. Seth's eyes drifted down to the table. So many things had happened lately. Marco's death had been a shock and yet somehow also inevitable. Marco had been chasing something, some kind of self-redemption that had been more important to him than anything else. Seth hoped that he had found some kind of peace in the end. And yet, there was only one person now who dominated his thoughts.

Guinan's eyes shone with empathy, sadness, and something else. "I can't stop thinking about him either," she said softly.

Seth didn't notice that tears had been running down his face until they began to land in his ice cream soda. "Beverly doesn't want to talk about him."

"Do you?"

The young teen nodded and wiped his face with the back of his hand. "I feel like...like if we stop talking about him, he won't exist anymore."

Beneath the table, the dog shifted her chin to rest on his knee.

"Doctor Howard doesn't think he's dead," said Guinan. "And neither do we. So the question is, what are we going to do about it?"

Seth frowned. "What do you mean?"

Guinan reached out and lightly touched his elbow. "You and I have a strong connection with Picard. Have you ever considered that we might be able to still connect with him?"

"But no one knows where he is! They all think he's dead. It seems impossible."

"Maybe so. But there are some things that will always be worth trying."

"Six more systems have gone missing since yesterday," said Admiral Nechayev. She looked at Jack Crusher across the table, finding him pensive and quiet. "No comment, Jack?"

He took a deep breath in, arching his eyebrows at her. "Things are bleak, Admiral. What else is there to say?"

"We need a strategy, Captain. Do you happen to have one?"

"We're waiting for Gilda Stern to arrive. Frankly, ever since you announced she was coming aboard, I've been hoping she will have something helpful to say."

"About Jean-Luc?"

"Chancellor Makon and Starfleet Intelligence seem to believe there is a connection between Jean-Luc, the Q, and the disappearing sections of our galaxy. As far as finding out anything about our friend, I don't think any of us can afford to be cautiously optimistic right now, Alynna. His death was already announced. I'm doing my best not to dwell on it."

Nechayev got up from her chair and walked to the viewport. As much as she and Jack were old professionals, neither of them could be objective where it came to Jean-Luc, and they both knew it. She blinked in irritation as her communicator beeped. "Go ahead," she snapped.

Admiral, we are receiving a request for docking by an unmarked Starfleet shuttle.

She glanced over at Jack, who nodded grimly.

"Allow them entry," ordered Nechayev. "Send a security team to escort our...visitors to the observation deck."

Aye, sir.

"Well," said Nechayev to Jack. "Care to join me, Captain?"

Jack got to his feet, suddenly determined to find some answers. "I wouldn't miss it."

Observation Deck-main conference room

The view outside, beyond the transparent walls, was stunning, even overwhelming for an experienced spacer like Jack. But right now, the only view that mattered to him was of the entrance to the conference room, which he had been watching vigilantly for the past ten minutes. Next to him were Alynna Nechayev and his assistant, Ensign Alison Igby. The young woman was clutching her datapad to her abdomen and despite her diplomatic credentials was visibly tense, no doubt due to the presence of Admiral Nechayev, who wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy.

Nechayev gave a sideways glance to Igby. "Ensign, I trust you plan on recording everything that is said here."

Alison's mouth dropped open. "Uh...Admiral, is that legal?"

Nechayev continued to glare at her sharply until Igby switched on her datapad and set it up as ordered. "Aye, sir," she managed to squeak out.

Jack was not sure what he expected to see, perhaps a contingent of Starfleet Intelligence officers escorting Gilda Stern in handcuffs. But that was not who showed up. Nechayev's security "team" consisted of a single officer trailing uncertainly behind a floating anti-gravity chair. In the chair was the slim figure of a woman who sat almost frozen in place. A purple stasis field of some kind surrounded her entire body.

Stern floated up to the conference table without a word, never taking her eyes off of the admiral. While her facial muscles seemed to work, the rest of her body appeared paralyzed.

Nechayev glanced at the security officer. "Leave us," she said tightly.

As the man shuffled out of the room, Jack and Nechayev sat down across from their visitor.

Stern's expression was eerily placid. "Thank you for allowing me to come on board."

"What the hell happened to you?" Jack blurted out unceremoniously.

Stern fixed him with her intelligent gaze. "That is what I am here to tell you."

Nechayev tapped the tabletop impatiently. "First things first. How did you obtain an unmarked shuttle with Starfleet security credentials, and does Intel know you're here?"

"How I obtained it is complicated. No...Intel is not aware of my presence on board this ship, and if I were you, I would not alert them."

"Why?"

"Because the Federation has been infiltrated by corruption at the highest levels, and Starfleet Intelligence is just one of many compromised parts of the whole."

Nechayev sighed and sat back in her chair with a glance at Igby, who sat anxiously nearby with her trusty datapad. "By all means, please tell us what the hell happened to you."

"Months ago, I conspired with Jean-Luc Picard to restore a balance to the galaxy that had been faltering since the Q and the entire galaxy came under the brief, but destructive control of Tasha Yar. When Caine killed Yar's reincarnated soul on the homeworld, the balance was destroyed to the extent that the Q decided to abandon this galaxy in the spirit of...self-preservation."

"Leaving you behind."

"Yes."

"Did you also conspire with Picard to regain the power of Q that you claimed to have lost?"

Stern watched Nechayev with the expression of a scientist studying a bug. "That is correct."

"Good, just so everyone here is clear that you are not entirely selfless."

"On the contrary, I am perhaps an entirely selfish being, interested only in the welfare of the Q."

"Are the Q one person?"

"The Q are neither one nor many. And we are most certainly not people." There was no derision in the comment, just a statement of fact. "Perhaps we should focus on why I am here, rather than on subjects your species lacks the capacity to comprehend."

Alison Igby stole a glance at Admiral Nechayev, and wondered if she had ever truly been insulted before that moment. To her credit, Nechayev kept her cool. "Go on."

"Picard and I traveled to Federation Detention Facility 2HX...in which we understood Christopher Caine was imprisoned for the rest of his natural life."

Jack and Alison looked at each other with alarm. The missing prison.

Jack leaped to his feet. "My friend is in that prison? Is that what you are telling us? How dare you-"

"Sit down, Captain," Nechayev interrupted coolly. Despite his growing rage, Jack obeyed, sitting back down slowly. The Admiral's eyes narrowed as she watched the Q entity. "Stern, are you aware that Facility 2HX disappeared from normal space six months ago?"

Stern's facial muscles twitched; her most emotive expression thus far. "I was not aware." She paused a moment more and appeared to contemplate something before continuing. "We planned to arrive in orbit around the facility and cause a scene to allow us to be placed in at least temporary custody. Our plan was relatively simple: find and kill Caine. What we found, however, was that Caine had complete control of the guards, the prisoners, and the entire prison. Everyone was at his command. It was unclear how long it had been that way, and frankly, we did not have time to question anything. Picard and I were placed in separate cells. Caine was...delighted to see Picard. He and his associates tried many coercive methods to extract information from him."

"They tortured him?" Jack clenched his fists on the table.

"They did torture him on a nearly constant basis for a time, but then they took things further and attempted to retrieve what was left of the Q power he had in his body."

"We're still waiting for the part where you tell us why you didn't just stop Caine with a wave of your hand."

"I remain a Q with all of the intellect and knowledge I can possess within this limited human brain. But beyond that, I now lack the powers I once held for a time that was immeasurable by human standards. Gradually my powers have disappeared, leaving only my chosen disguise in the form of this human body. To frame it in human terms, I was excommunicated from the Q Continuum."

"Why?"

"That is a subject I will not discuss...for now. As I mentioned, Picard and I wanted to regain the power of the Q. It had been slipping from us for months, years possibly, and we believed strongly that Caine was the reason for this. While the Q blame humanity for the general decay of the relationship the Q have had with the Power for so long, it is infinitely more complicated than that. Although not fully a Q himself, Picard understood this. And, Admiral, as the person who promoted Project Quantum, not much of this should come as a surprise to you."

Jack glared at Nechayev, who remained quiet with her usual pinched expression.

Jack finally slapped his hands on the table and stood up. "What did they do to Jean-Luc? Where is he?"

Stern blinked. "Caine seemed to not recognize who I was. I took advantage of this and integrated myself into the prison population for months. Caine, however, was well-protected. When I finally made my move, it was an imperfect assassination attempt, to say the least. I managed to get close enough to wound Caine, but he overcame me and broke my neck. Someone...someone must have moved me because I woke up on the same runabout we had traveled to 2HX in. A course had been laid in, and I was unable to move for a time. Eventually, I was picked up by a hospital ship and transferred to a Starfleet hospital. As you can see, my recovery has been...slow. I went for too long without medical care."

"Once again...what happened to Jean-Luc?"

"Caine was planning to leave the prison and take all of his followers with him. If Picard held any further interest for Caine, he may have brought him along."

"No one interests Caine for long," said Jack. "So what you might as well be saying, is that Caine murdered my friend."

"That is not what I am saying, Jack. I have no certainty about Picard's fate. But I can say that if the prison disappeared, as you say, this phenomenon is connected to the disappearing star systems. Sometimes when you think something has disappeared, the problem is with your eyes, not the thing itself. The object remains but has evolved to a level that exceeds the limits of your eyesight."

"Are you saying that someone has hidden entire star systems, and now this prison?"

"It is likely that Caine has somehow learned to harness the power of the Q. And if that is the case, it is imperative that he be stopped. But without the power of Q to aid us, it may be too late."

Beverly moved the scope closer to get a better view of the cornea. "Now hold still, don't blink...okay," she pulled back to look at her patient. "Walker, you seem well enough for someone who has been in a coma for almost five years."

Walker Keel smiled at his oldest friend and took her hand gently. "Not quite a clean bill of health, but I'll take it."

She retrieved her hand from him and hung the scope back on the wall nearby.

"Bev?"

She turned to look at him. "Hmm?"

"We need to talk."

She laughed. "That's an understatement, Walker. You've missed a lot. Although, that's not necessarily a bad thing."

He grew very still. "What happened to Jean-Luc?"

She exhaled loudly. "He left us about 18 months ago. Aside from that, no one knows."

"Not even you?"

"Do you think I'm lying to you?" she snapped, suddenly on the defensive.

He smiled strangely. "I listened to the news this morning. The report said he was found dead by Ferengi traders."

Her voice was chilly when she spoke again. "You'll have to judge for yourself what to believe, Walker. But I don't believe that he is dead, and I never will."

Walker's placid smile was starting to make her angry. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because I think that you're right. I think that Jean-Luc is alive somewhere and that he wants to come back to us, he just doesn't know it yet."

She clutched at her chest, feeling her skin crawl. "How do you know all of this?"

The look in Walker's eyes was eerie and at the same time hopeful. "I think I was put in that coma for a reason, Bev. And I also think I woke up just at the right time."