Chapter 32

Wesley craned his neck up at Riker for a good 10 seconds before uttering another word. He had been on his way to visit the captain, and Hatha had been teasing him a bit. But their mutual aim had actually been serious. They had been rushing to the bridge to reach Captain Picard to ask him to find out about Hatha's mother, when they ran unexpectedly into Picard and Riker. Hatha's mother who had already been ill, had suffered a stroke and then fallen into a coma upon learning of her husband, Premier Fon's sudden violent death. Hatha was convinced that her mother was in danger, and not just from her serious illness.

Finally he found his voice again. "I'm sorry, sir. I needed to ask Captain Picard something, but he's obviously-"

"Busy?" Riker raised a half-amused eyebrow. He's busy with real work and I get to handle multi-species teenage angst.

"Yes sir, he seemed really busy. The problem is...um..." Wesley trailed off and looked at Hatha uncertainly.

"My mother is in danger! Dr. Petral is poisoning her, I just know it," the young Ciapathian suddenly blurted out. "You have to do something!"

Riker grew serious. "How do you know he's poisoning your mother? I'm truly sorry that your mother is so ill, Hatha...but you can't be sure-"

"I am," she insisted, her confidence growing. "Petral is sadistic, Commander. He killed my father because my father didn't want me to marry Petral, and now he's taking my mother from me too. Once she's dead Petral will come for me." She covered her eyes with her hands, and Riker was struck by how human the gesture seemed. "You have to do something. Please..."

"Hatha...Wesley, I'll let the Captain know, and I appreciate you bringing this to my attention."

"But can't we talk to the Captain? What if what is happening to Hatha's mother is connected to the Ascension, Commander?" Wesley pressed. "Wouldn't the Captain want to know?"

Riker sighed. "We don't even know what the Ascension is. Do we?" he asked, turning back to Hatha.

"The Ascension is...it's central to my society. You see, we are dying as a species...at least that is what I have always been taught. And the Ascension will save us."

"But...what exactly is it?" Wesley asked.

"I don't know really," she admitted. "Maybe that's why Dr. Petral has so much power; because only he knows the key to saving us all. But that was all before I came on board and met Del. According to Del, he's never heard of the Ascension, and he's a very powerful person."

"I agree, this is all very strange, but I still don't see the connection with your mother, Hatha," Riker said gently. "I'm not certain Captain Picard will have time to meet with you right now, but I'll let him know everything you just told me." He put a brief hand on Wesley's shoulder before turning and walking away in the other direction.

Wesley and Hatha turned at the sound of footsteps behind them.

"Wesley!" said Beverly Crusher, gesturing at him in a no-nonsense manner. "Come with me, you're not leaving my side until we find out what the hell is going on around here."

"What are you talking about?"

"People are disappearing around us. First Geordi, now Doctor Selar and four other people, just vanished into thin air."

"Is that why they let us out of school early?"

"Probably." She looked at Hatha. "Shouldn't you be with Del? Neither of you should be roaming the halls right now."

Hatha looked at Wesley, and with his mother still watching him, he suddenly felt more scrutinized than ever before. "Um...we were on our way to see Captain Picard."

Beverly crossed her arms. "Why?"

Wesley straightened bravely. "Hatha's mother is in danger, and we were hoping the Captain could help her." They attempted to explain what they had told Riker, although Wesley left out the fact that they had already explained all of this to Riker.

Beverly remained deadly serious while listening. The odd feeling came back to her; the one she experienced while in the presence of both Petral and Reth. Suddenly she snapped out of it. "I think Petral is behind this-all of this, and I'm going to meet with the Captain right now." She began to march toward a turbo lift, before halting to look back at them. "Come on, you're both coming with me."

Without hesitation, Wesley grabbed Hatha's hand and rushed after his mother.

"I need your assistance, Counselor," Picard said more gruffly than he intended, tossing the data pad he was reading down on his desk with a clatter.

Troi sat down carefully, but was unable to keep the look of honest surprise from her expression. "Sir?"

"Well, Counselor, you needn't look so damn shocked. After all, you've been offering your assistance to me for three weeks straight now...eventually I had to give in." He cleared his throat and gave her a small smile, as one emerged in her own features.

"Captain, I can't imagine you ever giving in... so to speak, but I certainly would like to be of help to you."

He folded his hands in front of him. "Good. I've been thinking, Counselor, and in order to get to the bottom of what happened to LaForge and Fon...we must get through to Li."

"The young Tranan?" she asked quietly.

He nodded. "Yes. As you heard from Admiral Forrester...Li's DNA was found in the hallway at the scene of Premier Fon's murder."

"But you don't believe he murdered Fon?"

"No. I don't. But I do believe he can tell us who did," he said gravely. "And if he knows what happened to Fon, then chances are just as good that he knows what happened to Geordi."

Deanna folded her hands, copying his posture. "I must admit, Captain. I have had some difficulty using my powers of empathy to discern the thoughts of the Tranans."

Picard frowned. "I didn't say I wanted you to read the young man's mind, Counselor. But I do want you to counsel him. And to the extent that meeting with Rolani is also helpful, I would like you to do so."

"Understood sir. If it is alright with you, Captain, I would like to enlist Beverly's help with this."

Picard shrugged noncommittally. "Whatever you believe will assist you, Counselor."

She was watching him closely. "The first thing we need to do is give them new quarters, Captain."

"They don't have any quarters at all, Counselor..."

"But you said they are staying with you, Captain."

He looked uncomfortable. "Of course, that arrangement was only meant to be temporary, Counselor-by necessity."

She smiled. "Of course, sir. But my point is...the Tranans still view you as a deity. So having them out from under your shadow, is also necessary, if we are to expect them to speak without fear."

He appeared mildly hurt at that. "I certainly have no intention of making them fear me, Troi."

She blinked. "Of course, it's not intentional, sir. But nevertheless, they are frightened of you."

Picard was about to say something in continued protest, when the door to his ready room swished open. His expression froze momentarily, as Beverly walked into the room, with Wesley and his Ciapathian girlfriend in tow.

"Is the door chime broken, Doctor? I happen to be in a meeting."

"This won't take long, Captain," said Beverly. "But we need to speak with you. It's important."

We? Picard looked over her shoulder and surveyed Wesley with a disapproving eye. What was the boy up to, now? So much for ordering Riker to run interference. "I see," he murmured.

Just then Riker stepped through the doors, stopped short, and looked like he wanted to retreat undetected back out of the door again. Picard held up his hand and silently beckoned his first officer into the room. "Well," said Picard, rolling his chair back so far that he nearly hit the wall. "Now that you've all invited yourselves into my office...what can I do for you?"

Riker pointed at Wesley. "Wesley, I explicitly told you I would handle this-"

"Handle what?" Picard and Beverly said at once.

Riker silently cursed his bad luck. "Mr. Crusher and Ms. Hatha provided me with some information, after you left, Captain. That's why I'm here. To report this information, but apparently Mr. Crusher took it upon himself to come up here personally-"

"My son is with me, Commander," Beverly said sharply. "Any problem you have with him should be discussed with me."

Riker leaned his tall frame against the wall and looked over at Beverly. "I don't have a problem with Wesley, but I do have a problem with the crew not following my orders-"

"Wesley isn't one of your officers-"

"But he is a member of this crew, and-"

"Enough," Picard shouted at them. Beverly visibly flinched, but didn't look away. "I didn't invite you into my office to bicker...in fact I didn't invite you in at all. So what are you doing here?" He glared from one officer to the other.

Beverly and Riker both turned to look at Wesley, who in turn looked to Hatha, who stared in wide eyed silence at Picard. He knew she had understood him, as she was wearing a translator.

"Ah," he said slowly. "I see. One person had something important to tell me, and so three more people decided to come along."

"Sir, I can explain what happened," Riker offered.

Picard was unmoved. "Commander, we've known each other less than one month, so I will let you know now...as a general practice I do not care to hear excuses. Understood?"

Riker stared straight ahead. "Yes, sir."

"Pardon me," interjected Troi smoothly, "but we've all been through a very stressful few days, and tempers tend to flare when-"

"Not now, Counselor," Picard snapped dismissively. Deanna felt Beverly staring at her, and smiled slightly. It was clear that the Captain was irritated by the influx of people into his office, but had stopped short of throwing everyone out, mainly because he did value what they had to say, even if he was not ready to admit it. Underneath his open irritation was a real fear that he would not recover the missing members of his crew, along with the looming possibility of war with the Ciapathians. She found that he was taking too much of the burden on himself, and that he did not yet trust Will Riker or his abilities as a first officer enough to share the heavy weight of command. And it was clear to her that Will was extremely hurt by this treatment from the Captain, and even more so was anxious to prove the Captain wrong. Beverly was also hurt, but for different reasons that Troi felt might take too long to analyze in that instance. Meanwhile, Wesley was so intimidated by the Captain that he was nearly frozen in place. But Hatha, she found was determined to express her concerns. As fearful as she was of her current predicament, she was deathly afraid of Dr. Petral, to the point of desperation. And that concerned her.

Picard gestured for Hatha to step forward and attempted to soften his tone somewhat, although he was unpracticed at doing so. "Hatha...please sit down and tell me why you've come to see me." He smiled as warmly as possible, but was somewhat taken aback when Hatha grabbed Wesley Crusher's hand in hers and dragged him forward to sit down next to her.

"It's about my mother," she said after a moment to collect her thoughts. She straightened. "I believe that Dr. Petral is poisoning her. And...I ask that you stop him."

Without intending to, the captain's voice grew gentle. "Hatha, why do you think Dr. Petral is harming your mother? Why would he have access to your mother?"

"He's been treating her for the sickness."

"What sickness?"

"It is the disease that will destroy our race. The Ascension is the only cure, and Petral is always working toward the Ascension. Everyone must contribute as they are meant to. Sacrifices must be made." She looked down at Wesley's hand in hers.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," said Picard. "What kind of sacrifices?"

The girl glanced at Wesley. "They say it's an honor to be the wife of Dr. Petral. He marries often...but his wives all disappear. It is said...it is said they are sacrificed for the Ascension. My mother was one who Petral always pursued, but she married my father instead. Then one day, she became ill with the sickness, and Petral began treating her. But now, I think that he's poisoning her. My father tried to stop him from marrying me, and now my father is dead," she said flatly. Gradually she raised her eyes to the captain. "And once my mother is out of the way, Petral will have no barriers to marrying me."

Beverly walked forward and put a hand on Hatha's shoulder. "We won't let that happen, Hatha."

Picard glanced up at her sharply, but said nothing for a few more moments. "I will speak to Del about your mother, Hatha, and try and convince him to intervene. As long as he is on board, I may have some influence over him."

"Thank you, Captain. I wish I could go to my mother, but I fear...I fear I will be trapped by Petral."

"Hatha, I am sorry, but...I don't know that I can prevent your marriage to Dr. Petral."

"Jean-Luc," Beverly began stridently. She broke off, when again he looked up at her, and his expression did not invoke the familiarity they had recently begun to experience when alone.

"I know," said Hatha, taking Wesley's arm in hers. "And that is why I must do what I must do...that is why Wesley Crusher and I will be married."

"What?" Wesley and Beverly said at the same time. Picard and Riker exchanged looks as Wesley tried to yank his arm away from Hatha, but she held fast.

"We've already shared the bonding time together," said Hatha seriously.

"Wesley!"

The boy looked up at his mother, quickly shaking his head. "It's not what it sounds like, Mom. I-I don't know what she's talking about."

Picard got up from his desk, now thoroughly considering ejecting everyone from his ready room. But it was easier just to eject himself. "Young lady, I will do what I can to help your mother," he assured Hatha. "But I have other business to attend to now."

Beverly glared at him outraged. "You heard what she said! You can't just stop the conversation there, Captain."

"Oh...I can, and I will," he said simply, stepping around her and walking out the door.

Almost as soon as he set foot on the bridge, his communicator beeped. "Picard here," he said, slapping at his chest.

"Captain, this is Lieutenant Yar. You'd better come down to sick bay, sir." Even over the link the young woman sounded stunned.

"Why? What's happened?"

"Lieutenant LaForge is back."