Chapter 14

The initial meeting mainly involved introductions, and the setting of ground rules for the negotiations, interrupted only occasionally by the hissing of Reth's giant insect, which sat poised on its six segmented legs in the corner of the conference room. It became clear very quickly that the two Ciapathian leaders disliked each other—greatly. It also became clear that Fon was here to ensure entry into the Federation, and Del, as friendly as he had appeared initially, was determined to do whatever he could to prevent that from happening.

After the meeting, Riker showed the guests to their temporary quarters while Picard and Troi walked through the corridors of the ship. "Your thoughts, Counselor?"

Troi glanced up at the Captain as they walked side by side. "As you no doubt noticed, sir, Fon and Del are political enemies. They have been vying for control on their planet for years, and for the moment Fon has the upper hand."

"More than a mere moment, Counselor. It seems Fon's Ascendency party has been dominating leadership roles for the last ten years. Del's Core party on the other hand has been losing ground," said Picard.

"The distrust between them is nearly overwhelming," she agreed. "Del believes that Fon is hiding something of a very serious nature. Fon wants to keep Del from any chance at stealing his position as Premier, and there is something else…."

Picard frowned down at her seriously. "What?"

"Del has no feeling for us whatsoever, except that he is uninterested in joining the Federation. Fon, Reth and Dr. Petral on the other hand all seem to share a…common disdain for us. Fon as you have seen is polite enough, but underneath is a very visceral dislike of us."

Picard placed his hands behind his back. "Hmm. Well if that is the case, I will have to press that point. Diplomatically, of course," he added with a small smile, glancing over at her.

Deanna smiled back at him. "Of course, sir."

They walked along a little further in silence, and Troi felt his thoughts shift to another topic of concern. "Counselor, I need you to assist me with the Trana IV matter."

"You mean the survivors?" She watched him carefully, aware that it was a delicate subject for him. He nodded almost imperceptibly, but didn't reply. There was no question that he had made the right moral decision to bring the Trana people on board, but now the issue was complicated. No doubt, the captain was under orders to keep the Trana people out of the way while the Ciapathian petition was sorted out. And in order to avoid further violations of the Prime Directive, exposure to Starfleet technology would have to be minimized. If the survivors required any kind of medical care, this would be difficult.

"I've discussed this issue with Commander Riker," said Picard. "And at least for now I want the Trana people to interact only with those who were present down on the planet…and you. You see, Counselor, in order for me to determine the correct course of action with regard to these people I need to find out how best to help them without further violations of the Prime Directive, if possible. But, I would like to know who these Brethren people are. Any questions posed to the Trana people outside of that subject are to be avoided. Understood?"

She nodded. "Yes sir."

"Good. Doctor Crusher is waiting for us outside the holodeck. I realize that it is getting late, but I think it important that we at least try and make some headway tonight. And then there is the matter of my involvement."

Deanna had guessed this was coming. "You want to avoid meeting with the Trana people as much as possible because they believe you are a god. And this makes you highly uncomfortable," she said.

He looked at her sharply, apparently annoyed that she had read him so accurately. "Yes," he confirmed tightly.

"Captain I have to advise against staying away. The more you personally interact with the Trana people, the more likely you are to get the answers you seek from them. In addition, you may be able to convince them that you are not in fact a god by interacting with them in the same manner as myself and Doctor Crusher ."

"Hmm," was all he said in response. Picard remained silent the rest of the walk to the holodeck, and she could tell that he was rolling the entire day's events around in his mind.

So much had happened in just one day, and just thinking about it made her exhausted. Deanna brought her hand up to her mouth to cover a yawn, shutting her eyes just as a fresh blast of emotion from Captain Picard's mind slapped her awake. She opened her eyes and saw that Beverly Crusher was waiting outside the holodeck and had turned to look at them. Deanna smiled at her new friend, who was holding a med kit, but Troi noted she had left her trusty tricorder behind.

Beverly smiled back at Deanna, but when her gaze fell on the captain, Troi felt another uncomfortable wave of emotion. I don't think I am going to be able to handle the minds of these two together at this time of night, not to mention a group of distraught refugees. I really would prefer a nice hot chocolate and some rest.

"The meeting went later than expected, I see," Crusher remarked as they approached.

"Yes," Picard said stiffly. "And we've got a long road ahead of us unfortunately. At any rate, thank you for coming, Doctor."

You did order me to be here. "Of course sir," she said aloud.

"I have just explained to Counselor Troi the tentative plan for dealing with the Trana people. I want to ensure that they are well cared for, well fed, and I also need to find out who these Brethren are, they are so frightened of. In order to do that I plan on being as truthful with them as I can. Any medical care should be provided only to heal injuries they may have. No medical tests are to be done, whether they give consent or not."

Beverly nodded. 'Agreed." She gestured toward the door, obviously wanting to proceed.

After switching to their universal translators, they entered the holodeck, and found that the survivors were nowhere to be seen. As they stood there however, shouts could be heard, and then in the distance they spotted the group of fourteen people with the exception of the man who had struggled with Rolani. No doubt he had isolated himself from the others.

Rolani and her brother Li approached them first. They stared with interest at Troi before speaking. "We were taken by a fire that didn't burn, and when it was gone we were here," Rolani said, gesturing around her. "It seems like Trana…but it is not, is it?"

Picard stepped forward. "No," he said. Immediately Rolani, Li, and the rest of the group dropped to their knees in the dust averting their eyes. Troi and Crusher exchanged glances. Picard cleared his throat uncomfortably. "On Trana you said you saw our people come from the sky. Well we are now in the sky in a vessel that travels the stars. We took you away from Trana because we feared you would be killed. We want to offer you our assistance."

"I told the others you were god, and now they know this is true. You have created pictures of Trana for us to live in…it seems like Trana, but here we are safe from the Brethren."

Picard stepped back, and gestured to Doctor Crusher. "We offer you medical aid. This is Doctor Beverly Crusher."

Beverly stepped forward, looking at Li, who stared back at her placidly. He looked maybe five years older than Wesley, and innocent. It was hard to believe he had attacked her inside the caves of Trana IV. Beverly looked into the young man's face. His nose was swollen and there was bruising underneath his eyes. "Your nose is broken," she said to him and then turned to Rolani. "I can help him." Rolani whispered in Li's ear and he nodded and then sat down on a large rock. Beverly knelt down next to him. She reached into her med kit and Picard saw that she had brought nothing that looked especially advanced. Just bandages and basic medical tools along with some medicines. "Are you in pain?" she asked Li.

He just stared at her and then whispered, "God saved me from the Brethren." Next to her she heard Picard's boots shuffle on the holographic ground.

She smiled at Li and then reached out to wash his face with an antiseptic. He sat very still without objection. Then her gaze fell on the base of his neck and she saw small punctures tracking down beneath his clothing. They were healing, not completely scarred over, but certainly nothing that had happened within the last 24 hours. "What the-?" She turned and looked up at Rolani questioningly.

Rolani looked into her eyes and rolled up her own sleeve. There were hundreds of the same tiny punctures in her skin. "The Brethren take from us. And when we can give no more, we are Chosen to die."

Thanks everyone for reading, and take care. -PP