Chapter 30

Geordi kicked his legs frantically, but his legs were pinned down securely. The strange gravelly voice spoke into his ear. Sometimes he could understand it, although he had learned already, that when he could understand the words, his situation grew worse.

"What happened to your eyes? Were you born this way?"

LaForge turned his face away from the voice and shut his eyes tightly.

"Shutting your eyes will not save them from my curiosity, human."

He felt the restraints tighten, and a surge of desperate energy made him thrash around wildly. "Let me go!"

"Ah, finally we have speech from this one." When the voice spoke again it sounded farther away. "Give him a reward."

Almost immediately, LaForge felt a pleasantly warm sensation flooding through his veins. Presently, he couldn't feel the restraints anymore, and when he heard the voice order the next procedure, his body was too relaxed to object. "Prepare the water chamber," the voice said.

When Beverly walked in to the captain's quarters part of her expected to see the entire group of Tranans wandering around, but of course, it was just Rolani and Li. And they weren't wandering, they were sleeping curled up on the floor of the dining area. Plates of food which the captain had apparently replicated for them sat on the table, untouched.

Rolani was the first to wake up, and for the first time since Beverly had met her, she didn't seem startled or afraid. Instead she stretched leisurely as she uncurled from her sleeping position and blinked at Beverly a few times before seeming to recognize her. Then surprisingly, she smiled.

Beverly spotted her med kit and tricorder nearby and picked them up, holding them in her lap as she sat down carefully at the table, still aware that the Tranans were easily intimidated by sudden movements. But oddly enough, there was a new confidence in Rolani's gaze. Beverly wasn't entirely sure how to interpret it.

"Hello," said Beverly, making sure her translator was on. She noted that Jean -Luc had affixed communicators to the tattered clothes of both Tranans to aid with translation.

Rolani stayed down on the floor, but moved into a cross-legged sitting position. "Our god has left us."

"He'll be...I mean, Captain Picard will be back. This is his living space."

"You also live here?"

"No...I live down the hall."

"Hall? "

Beverly hesitated. "Um...never mind." There were basic concepts she took for granted which the Tranans would not comprehend, especially with no previous exposure to Federation technologies. She knew that Jean-Luc's simple decision to remove these two Tranans from the holodeck was seen with great skepticism by Command, and she had no intention of making things more difficult for him in that regard, by trying to educate them about their culture. He had made the decision with much thought, she could tell, and she supported him in that. Something in her grew still at the memory of how he had appeared during the meeting with Admiral Forrester; completely calm, yet determined to do the right thing. It was something she felt she could take comfort in. She had accused him of not taking action, when in reality he had wanted her to get out of the way so he could do just that. He had been trying to ensure that the decision remained his own, and thereby keeping the repercussions for himself as well. As much as she didn't want to see him reprimanded, she admired what he had done.

So she decided to try and focus on the reason she had come to his quarters, which was to give medical attention to Li. She could see that the cuts on his face were not serious, but the question remained: how had he gotten them in the first place? Because his wounds didn't seem serious, she decided to let him sleep.

Instead, she picked up her tricorder and opened it. The results from Li's DNA test were still on the screen. She smiled to herself at the way the captain had chosen to use the tricorder, which hadn't exactly been in keeping with medical protocols. He'd been in a hurry, and not entirely sure of what he was doing; that much was clear. However, he had been successful in confirming a match with the blood from the scene of Fon's death. She frowned, reviewing the results more closely. Or had he? There was a slight variation in the sample she had obtained from the soil on Trana, the sample from the crime scene, and this new sample from Li. She quickly ran her own tests, and found her curiosity growing. What she could tell now, is that all three samples had similarly cloned DNA, but there were also many variations between clones, suggesting sophisticated genetic engineering at work. She shut her tricorder, resolving to conduct a more complete test once she arrived at her lab.

She looked over at Li, who was now waking up and rubbing his eyes. Without speaking, he got up and snatched a bowl of grapes from the table and began eating them as though he had never eaten before. He watched Beverly wordlessly, as he shoveled the fruit into his mouth.

Rolani had been contemplating something seriously while Crusher was fiddling with her tricorder, and now spoke again. "Captain Picard is his name..."

"Yes," Beverly confirmed, brightly, hoping this meant some kind of progress.

"Captain Picard is our god."

Beverly shook her head vehemently. "No... he's not."

"Why do you deceive us? He is the one who took us from Trana, saving us from the Brethren. He tells others what to do and they obey."

Beverly lifted her eyebrows, aware she could not argue with those last two statements. "But that doesn't make him a god."

"Why not?"

Beverly again found herself at a loss for words. "He would be the first person to tell you that he's not a god," she said finally.

"Only the true god would deny his power."

Beverly began to find herself annoyed by the completely circular argument.

"You are also a god, but pretend not to be," Rolani was saying. "A deceitful god. But it is not for me to question why."

"No, Rolani, I am not a god. I'm a human being."

Rolani didn't seem surprised by such a revelation. "Where is your home?"

"We're from Earth...originally."

"What is Earth?"

Beverly sighed. Does she understand the concept that Trana is a planet? "Earth is a place with trees..."

Rolani nodded, seeming to understand.

"And oceans..."

Rolani tilted her head at that.

"And animals, and many, many people...like you and me," Beverly finished, gesturing at Rolani. "Similar in a way to Trana, the place where we found you. Your home."

Rolani, who had seemed to be following along, suddenly shook her head violently; apparently a gesture they had in common. "Trana is not our home."

Beverly shifted her position a little to get a better look at Rolani's expression. "What do you mean? We found your village..."

"We were not on Trana for very long. All go there before they are no more."

Beverly felt a distinct chill, remembering that the Brethren were the shadow hanging over the entire reason the Enterprise crew had found the Tranans hiding in those dark caves. "I don't understand...will you tell me more?"

"We all go there when we are ready to be Chosen."

"What does it mean? That word...Chosen."

"No one knows because no one survives to tell. But when we can give no more to the Brethren, to be Chosen is our fate. But all of that has changed now that Captain Picard, our god has saved us."

Beverly closed her eyes, trying to be patient. It was clear Rolani was completely sincere in her beliefs. And she persisted. "I think you are also a god...but I will believe whatever you say, even if you lie to me. Because you are god."

Beverly reached out to touch the woman, trying to implore her understanding. "No, no...I'm not a god. I'm a human being." She took in a sharp breath. "And so are you." She added, but immediately regretted saying it, and wondered if the captain would be irritated to know she'd done such a thing.

But Rolani once again didn't seem to find the term "human" strange at all, even applied to her. She just kept talking.

"But you have the ability to heal," said Rolani. "I have seen and felt it for myself."

"Yes. Here...in our culture we have certain jobs."

Rolani wrinkled her forehead in confusion.

"We have duties...or roles. My role is to help people heal from wounds and diseases, or to prevent those diseases if I can."

Rolani stared at her blankly. "You are here now to help Li."

Beverly nodded with a smile. "Yes. But I'll wait until he is done eating."

Rolani suddenly stood up and clapped her hands loudly at Li, who dropped the grapes he was devouring and sat down on the floor obediently.

Beverly had an instinctively negative reaction, but decided not to interfere with the Tranans' relationship.

She knelt down and began to attend to Li's wounds, preserving tiny tissue samples for later examination. She ran the tricorder over his skin, hair and clothes, capturing the same organic data that would hopefully reveal where Li had been during the time he'd been injured. She wasn't sure if she should be relieved or dismayed that she found no DNA from Geordi on Li or his clothing. But what she did find, was that there was some slight variation in the blood on the young man's skin and clothes. She wasn't quite sure how to approach this information at the moment without further study. And, to her growing alarm she found DNA which matched Premier Fon's, putting Li squarely at the crime scene. She knew that this information was going to make life even more difficult for Jean-Luc, so she checked it again. It was still a match.

After cleaning and starting the healing process for Li's injuries, she brought the tricorder over to an access panel and removed the tricorder's data chip, plugging it into the wall. She pressed a code, sending a copy of the information to Lieutenant Yar.

She turned at the sound of something being rearranged on the other side of the room. Rolani had picked up an object from a counter top and walked closer to Beverly, holding it while studying it in fascination. She held it up to the light and Beverly could see that it was an empty water glass. "This is like our home," she said gripping the glass, and holding it forward. "This is where we come from."

Del was not right at the door when Picard and Riker arrived at his quarters. Still the door opened, and they walked in. Del and his wife were speaking in a highly agitated chatter, as several of his young children marched around carrying various items. Open suitcases lay strewn about the place. Clearly, there was some kind of intent to leave the Enterprise, however unorganized.

"Where is she? She's coming with us. She needs our protection!"

"She's with that human boy again, I'll bet," said his wife. "Let her stay here. Have you considered if we bring her back to our ship she will be anything but protected?"

Riker cleared his throat, and felt Picard roll his disapproving gaze over him.

"We don't mean to interrupt," said Picard, "but as I indicated Representative Del, we do need to speak with you."

"I already denied your request for our transport records. Did your commanding officer not tell you this?"

"Yes, he told me," said Picard. "And Mr. Riker told me that you looked frightened when he mentioned Chief of Arms Reth. And I want to know why."

Del gave his wife a meaningful look before guiding the two humans toward a table nearby. "Come, let us sit down."

"Have you considered that Reth may have killed Fon?" Riker was the first to speak, and he could see that this annoyed the captain by the way the muscles in his jaw twitched. Still he kept his eyes patiently on Del.

"Reth worked for Fon and the ruling party," said Del. "Therefore he is not someone I am eager to trust... however that does not make him a murderer. Do you have evidence to support such an accusation?"

This time, Picard shot Riker a warning look.

Del continued. "Besides, if he was working for Premier Fon, Fon was his benefactor. In our society, you don't kill the man who is responsible for your political power. And in my society, political power is life."

Picard tapped his index finger on the table in front of him. "Del...I think we both know who Reth really works for. It is Dr. Petral you are truly frightened of...and for the short time I knew Premier Fon, he also appeared unsettled by Petral."

Del looked over at Picard, fully aware that Riker was sitting close by on the other side of the table glaring down at him. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I know only rumors about Petral. Meeting him in person has only solidified my opinion that he is a highly disturbed individual. But he is also extremely powerful and protected."

"You said you knew about rumors," ventured Riker.

"He marries...frequently. And his wives disappear, one by one, never to be seen again."

"And why isn't this man in custody?" Picard demanded, outraged. "Surely as a person with considerable political power you can do something?"

"The ruling party has held power for many years. And this means they have kept many secrets as well, that I as the leader of the opposition party have not had at my disposal. What I can tell you is that Fon was not the first Premier to stand in the shadow of Petral."

"And he won't be the last," said Riker. "Is that why you won't help us find the truth? Petral already has a handle on you, doesn't he?"

Del pounded his fist on the table. "He most certainly does not!"

"Then stay and help us find out what happened to Fon...and Lieutenant LaForge. You owe it to them and to your people," the captain said quietly.

"Security to Captain Picard."

The captain glanced at Riker as he tapped his chest. "Picard here."

"Captain in the last twenty minutes, I've received reports of five missing crew members. They've simply disappeared without a trace, sir."

Picard and Riker stood up almost at once. "Run an immediate ship-wide sweep, Lieutenant."

"I already have sir. I've got patrols roaming the ship, but so far...nothing."

"Yar, this is Riker. Send us the list of missing crew immediately."

"Aye sir. Also...Captain, Doctor Crusher sent me some samples sir...you'll need to see these right away."

Del stood up. "Sounds as if you have business to attend to. I trust that if you have any new evidence exposing the murderer, Captain, you will inform me?"

Picard nodded. "Of course. We have no reason to hide what we find."

Del waved to his wife. "We'll stay a bit longer, my dear." He turned back to Picard with a slight smile. "For the good of our people."