Chapter 31

Beverly finished attending to the Tranans, and in the process had even convinced them to take sonic showers, a process they seemed strangely delighted by. She felt certain the captain would have to admit that the benefits gained by having the two visitors smelling better, outweighed the few moments of exposure to modern technology. She found herself smiling, as though in silent conversation with him, but her smile faded when she rounded the corner and saw someone standing outside of her quarters. Someone large. Then she recognized him: the Ciapathian Chief of Arms, who had tried to kidnap Fon's teenage daughter Hatha for some kind of arranged marriage to the disgusting Dr. Petral. She halted, feeling an immediate chill of unexplained terror, but then quickly coming to her senses, she walked forward confidently.

"Excuse me," she said, walking up to the very tall, fuschia-skinned alien.

He turned immediately to smile down at her. It was not a friendly smile. "Hello, Doctor Crusher. Can I help you?"

She crossed her arms and returned his fake smile. "Why don't I throw that question right back at you, Reth? After all, you're the one stalking outside of my quarters."

"Stalking?" he laughed, and exposed a row of very shiny teeth. "Hunting is one of my hobbies. Strange... you must have instinctively sensed that about me. No wonder Doctor Petral finds you so...intriguing."

"What are you doing here?"

He tapped the end of a long metallic staff twice on the deck. "I was just leaving," he said, beginning to walk away.

"You didn't answer my question," she called after him.

He glanced back over his shoulder at her. "Oh don't worry, I have a feeling we shall see one another again soon. Ask me then."

She watched him finish his journey down the corridor before she allowed herself to breathe fully.

Riker activated his data pad, once he and Picard stepped outside in the corridor. "Captain, here's the list of the new missing crew members." He paused, feeling visceral disgust welling in his throat. "Doctor Selar...Research assistant Lau Wu, astrophysics teacher Marta Sedgewick, Senior Technician Terrence Davis, and Mineralogist ...Dr. Francis."

Picard smoothed the front of his uniform, in a subconscious effort to still the turmoil threatening his outward calm, as he took the pad from Riker. "This cannot continue," he murmured, confirming for himself the disturbing information on the screen. At least one civilian gone. This is why he'd never agreed with Starfleet's need to create a class of starship that carried civilian passengers...and yet here he was commanding one. Few things bothered him more than the thought of endangered innocent lives on board his own ship. He handed the pad back to Riker.

"Sir, I recommend-"

"Thank you, Commander, I'll handle this issue until further notice."

What? "Captain, with all due respect, I was handling this investigation."

Picard was unmoved. "Commander, you took it upon yourself to usurp my diplomatic duties without informing me, when you paid a surprise visit to Representative Del. And when I decided to bring you along to meet with him, you began the conversation by suggesting to Del that Reth murdered his Premier-"

"Captain, you have to admit it's crossed your mind too-"

"Commander Riker, do you think I advanced so swiftly to the rank of Captain by saying everything that happened to cross my mind?"

Will clasped the data pad in front of him, conscious that his body language was defensive, but sometimes arguing with Picard was sort of like defending against a kick in the balls. "No sir," he replied tightly.

"However sir," he added, apparently a glutton for punishment. "This is technically a personnel issue...the people who've gone missing."

"Technically, perhaps. But under these circumstances, it is more appropriately part of the investigation which I have now taken over."

Picard looked like he was about to turn and make one of his signature departures, so Will tried to prolong the conversation with the aim of ending on a better note. "Sir, there's something else that's bothering me. I don't know if you noticed, but when we entered, Del and his wife were talking about Wesley Crusher, and his girlfriend-"

"Hatha...yes, I did notice." Suddenly something seemed to occur to Picard, and he brightened considerably. "Now there's a personnel issue I need you to handle, Riker! Keep that boy out of trouble and out of my negotiations. He's caused far too many problems already, and I need him out of matters he has no business in."

"Sir, I was more concerned about Hatha. I think she's at risk."

"You may be correct," Picard admitted. "It appears that she was promised to Petral in some kind of...arranged marriage. But according to Del, he intends to protect her from Petral, and seems sincere in this regard."

Will nodded in agreement. "I'll keep an extra eye on her. But sir...back to Mr. Crusher. Wesley's just a kid."

Picard continued to watch him with a slightly disturbed expression, as though Riker had just grown a pair of antennae on top of his head.

"I think he's just infatuated-well, you know how it is being a teenage boy..." Or maybe you don't...maybe instead you sprung from the stars a fully grown star ship captain, reconsidered Riker silently.

Picard's face remained unreadable, but Will thought he detected a glimmer of understanding and perhaps mild amusement in the captain's cool eyes. But then Picard's head snapped around at the sound of giggling down the hall behind them. Riker followed the captain's gaze and sighed out loud, rubbing his brow.

"Hatha! Hatha, give it back, I'm serious!"

The Ciapathian teen was sprinting down the hall towards them, with Wesley right on her heels. Seeing the two Starfleet officers made her skid to a stop, and Wesley had a chance to quickly retrieve the combadge she had clasped in her palm. Out of breath, Wesley shoved the communicator in his pocket and addressed the Captain. "Captain! Captain, I have something really important to tell you..."

To Wesley's shock, the captain ignored him and addressed his first officer. "Handle this, Mr. Riker." Will worked his jaw and watched as Picard walked briskly away. Presently he turned back to the anxious teen. "You were saying?"

Picard handed Yar a data pad, and slumped back in the chair behind his desk. A few minutes earlier, he had just notified the relatives of the missing crew members about their tragic disappearance, reassuring them that he was doing everything in his power to find them. Dealing with distraught family members had never been his strong suit, and yet out of unfortunate necessity he was well-practiced at it. But the news continued to move from bad to worse. "Lieutenant, are you honestly telling me you have found no evidence to explain the disappearance of our crew members?"

"Unfortunately...yes sir. No residue from a power surge, no evidence of transport, and no evidence of foul play. They're just...gone, sir."

Damn. Damn. Damn. "Continue to work with Mr. Data on this, Lieutenant. Every avenue must be explored if we are to solve this mystery and recover our people."

"Aye sir."

He watched her exit his ready room, and then brought some information up on his personal view screen. It was Crusher's analysis from her examination of Li. The more he read, the more his heart sank. He had promised Del he would reveal information which might reveal Fon's killer. Now faced with evidence that placed Li at the crime scene, he would have to think and act quickly. He re-read Beverly's recitation of the DNA results once more, and realized that she had found something significant. There was additional blood at the scene, which could not absolutely be identified as Li's. What did it mean? The man Rolani had punished had gone missing as well. Perhaps he had been involved in this bloody scene as well. It became clearer than ever that he would never reach the answers he needed without Li's cooperation. And he couldn't do it alone. He hesitated, before reaching for the communications link again.

"Counselor Troi, please report to my ready room."

Hi, thanks again for your continuing interest in this story. I will try and post again very soon. -PP