Chapter 15

Beverly sat down beside Li on a holodeck generated rock and looked up at Rolani. "The Brethren did this to you both?" Beverly studied the injection marks on their attendants necks and then looked more carefully at the young woman and even younger man now that they were closer to her. Both dark haired and dark eyed with pale, sickly looking skin, they could have been brother and sister.

Rolani nodded. "What they have done to Li and myself, the Brethren have done to all of us. It has always been this way," she said. She waved to the other people who continued to kneel in the dust. "Come forward," she told them. "Come forward and show our god and his people what the Brethren have done to us."

Picard was about to protest, but Counselor Troi grabbed his arm and gave him a meaningful look. "Captain," she said in a low voice. "I know you don't appreciate the Tranan people's perception of you as being a god. But if that belief will allow them to be forthcoming with us, it could aid you in accomplishing your goal of finding out who these Brethren are...and the related question of what we are to do with the Tranan people you rescued."

Picard looked down at Troi, watching her closely. "Very well," he agreed quietly. "But I won't intentionally deceive these poor people."

Sheepishly the other Tranans walked forward, averting their eyes. They held out their arms and revealed their necks, which had similar marks and bruises. Beverly felt her neck and shoulders grow tense as they drew closer. They all bore a striking resemblance to one another. And all of them looked as though they had seldom seen any kind of sun, which seemed odd since they had probably resided in the rustic village she and Jean-Luc had walked through. She noted that the man who had fought with Rolani down on the planet's surface was still absent from the larger group.

Picard addressed Rolani. "Why have the Brethren treated you this way? Did they ever tell you why?"

Rolani bowed her head. "The ones who came before us...they always said that god would come...a god who resembles us in form. And he would take us away and destroy the Brethren, freeing us. And now we are safe with you, and the Brethren will feel your wrath."

"My wrath..." He muttered trailing off and glancing at Troi. Picard scratched his head. Rolani hadn't come close to answering his question, and he was unsure of how to respond to her statement. He could neither validate nor dismiss what Rolani was saying. It was her cultural belief after all; as outlandish and archaic as it seemed to him.

"Our god is not pleased," Rolani declared, taking in Picard's blank expression. "We must reveal ourselves to him to show our devotion." Immediately the entire group of Tranans began to strip off their meager clothing.

In less than a minute they stood naked, encircling Picard, Crusher and Troi.

The three Enterprise officers were speechless for a few moments.

Troi, who hadn't seen that many naked people together since her cousin's wedding, was the first to speak. "They appear very much human," she observed.

"Yes, they do," Beverly admitted. She looked over at the Captain. Instead of appearing embarrassed which is what she had expected, his expression was one of sadness. But only momentarily, and then his studied outer shell returned.

He held up his hand. "Please...all of this is not necessary for our benefit, Rolani. Please have them put their clothing back on."

"Do you wish the same for me?" She asked. Picard averted his eyes. There was an innocence to the way she spoke and seemed inherent in the Tranans' way of being.

"Yes," he said simply, still careful not to look at her. Clearly these were people who had been abused, and he did not want to be a reminder of the controlling or predatory behavior that they had come to expect from the Brethren.

Rolani bowed her head and then said something to the others which did not translate well, but they all began scrambling quickly to get back into their clothes, before kneeling down again.

"Does this please you more, god?" Rolani asked, looking up at him.

"Rolani, my name is Captain Picard," he said. "And I am not a god by any means, nor do I want to be."

"The ones who came before us said god would deny his identity to us at first, because we are unworthy. And so we must strive to gain his favor."

"Rolani," said Deanna, attempting to change the direction of the conversation. "The people who came before...do you mean your ancestors?"

Rolani frowned. "I do not understand."

Beverly smiled gently. "Your parents or other relatives. I had assumed that Li might be your younger brother. You appear so much alike."

Rolani shook her head in confusion. "I do not understand. The ones who came before us we knew only briefly before they were Chosen. When they became useless to the Brethren, they were Chosen."

"By 'chosen', you mean killed?" Beverly clarified.

Rolani nodded. "Yes. They are no more." Suddenly she began to cry and threw herself at Picard's feet, grasping at his pant legs. "Please, god," she whispered. "Don't let them take us."

"The Tranans' wounds are consistent with medical testing, Captain. If you'll allow me to examine them further, I may gain some clues about what the Brethren wanted with them." He just stared back at her stonily, which prompted her to add, "You have to let me do my job, Captain," in an attempt to give him less room to say no.

Deanna Troi was seated inside Beverly Crusher's office, hands clasped in her lap, silently watching the conversation between her two colleagues unfold. Both Captain Picard and Doctor Crusher continued to stand, as apparently neither officer seemed to want to give up any ground either physically or intellectually to the other.

"These people cannot possibly give anything resembling consent, Doctor. We shall have to find less invasive ways to learn just what happened to the Tranans."

"I'm not talking about conducting my own medical tests, Captain. These would be simple exams."

"And what exactly is the difference?" he shot back.

"Well, for starters, I'm not the Brethren. I have these people's best interests in mind. And I'll be able to better assess their individual health status."

"The transporter's bio filter did its job and found no viruses or diseases," Picard said flatly.

"The fact that they aren't contagious, Captain, doesn't tell us what has been done to them-"

"It will have to suffice," he said shortly.

Troi covered a yawn. It was now officially past her bedtime. And yet, even as sleep beckoned, there was something fascinating about watching them argue. She had to get to know them of course; had to learn how best to relate to them both separately and together. Beverly Crusher, Troi had quickly learned was more comfortable with Troi alone than she was with the captain in the presence of someone else. She could only guess how they interacted in private, but if their current demeanor was any indication, they had a lot of work to do.

"Those people in there have been brutalized, Captain! We have a duty to help them," Crusher continued even more stridently.

"Of course I agree with you, Doctor."

"Really, Captain, is this your agreeable side?"

For a moment, Troi wondered if he was going to just turn around and walk out of Beverly's office. But he kept his feet firmly planted. "Doctor, if I didn't believe we had a duty to help the Tranan's, I surely would not have brought them on board my ship," he replied tightly.

"And now that they are here? Why did you stop talking with Rolani? She was trying to explain to us what happened to them."

Picard reached out his arm and leaned against the wall, looking at her. "I'll resume my conversation with Rolani tomorrow morning, Doctor. Frankly she was talking in circles, and making little sense."

"She was making sense to me. Maybe instead you mean to say that you were so uncomfortable with her constantly referring to you as a deity, that you couldn't bear to listen anymore."

He glared at her. "Doctor, I did not say...nor did I mean to say that I was at all uncomfortable with the situation. And I'll ask you not to put words in my mouth."

Beverly crossed her arms defiantly. "I'm sorry, Captain...was it inappropriate for me to suggest that something could possibly have an emotional effect on you?"

Picard sighed, rubbing his brow and then glanced over at Troi for support. He was angry, she could tell, but inside his mind she could also sense that he was insulted. That someone he so respected would compare him to an emotionless robot, had hurt him. And yet, instead of conveying his hurt, he buried it, to the extent that he almost proved Beverly's point, simply focusing his gaze on the counselor.

Deanna stood up and used her best diplomacy to bring the conversation back to less personal territory. "So much has happened to the Trana survivors in just one day. As you said Beverly, they have been brutalized by these so-called Brethren. The trauma of that experience, and perhaps other cultural and religious reasons has made it difficult for them to clearly explain what has happened to them. But...I do believe that they are grateful to be here, and for the present time at least, they feel out of danger."

Picard nodded. "Good, I am glad they feel safe. But we need to try harder to communicate with them." He paused. "Counselor, I appreciate your contributions earlier on the holodeck; however... it is important that we focus on finding out who these Brethren are. Questions about the Tranan's familial ties and their religion should be avoided."

Deanna nodded. "I understand your concerns, sir. But don't you think the more we learn about the Tranan people, the more we will learn about these so-called Brethren?"

He sighed. "Point taken, Counselor. Still it's hardly appropriate for us to assume that they share the same societal constructions that we do."

"Such as?" Beverly demanded.

He turned to her. "You assumed that Rolani and Li were brother and sister."

Beverly laughed and put her hands on her hips. "They look alike, for starters. And I don't have to be a physician to figure out that the Tranans probably reproduce like we do. Don't forget Captain," she said with a small smile. "They took their clothes off."

Picard simply glared at her, having no idea of a suitable response. Mercifully, his communicator beeped. "Picard here. Go ahead."

"Captain, Lieutenant Yar here."

"Go ahead, Lieutenant," he prompted impatiently.

"Sir, the Ciapathian Security Chief-"

"Reth's correct title is Chief of Arms, Lieutenant."

"Aye, sir. Well Reth has brought some kind of creature on board."

"Yes, I haven't forgotten, Lieutenant," he said, recalling the four foot long hissing insect-like creature.

"Sir, initially we believed it was here for security purposes, but Chief of Arms Reth has clarified that it is his personal 'hunting companion'."

"And?"

"Well...sir I don't see what purpose it serves being here, and it could be a security risk, Captain."

Picard could feel his patience ebbing. "Until it does anything dangerous, Yar, we'll allow it to remain on board. We are assuming it is some kind of dangerous beast, when in fact we don't know a thing about this being. Your concerns are duly noted. Proceed with caution."

"But sir-"

"Picard out."

He looked up to find Troi and Crusher watching him. Did he detect a bit of sympathy in Beverly's gaze? Not likely, he decided, still annoyed by her earlier comments. "Now, if you will both excuse me," he said, "I have some administrative work to catch up on in my quarters." With that, he turned and left sick bay.

"Well, that was enlightening," Beverly remarked, watching him go, before turning to Troi. "Can I interest you in some hot chocolate before bed?"

Troi broke into a smile. "Yes, that sounds wonderful," she agreed.