Chapter 34

Counselor Troi carefully slid a cup of hot chocolate across Beverly's desk. Rolani reached out tentatively to wrap her fingers around the beverage, watching the steam with both trepidation and curiosity. "It is boiling."

"Go ahead and try it," Deanna said. "It shouldn't be too hot for you."

Rolani cautiously sipped the drink and after a few seconds broke into a beaming smile. "I have never tasted anything so wonderful."

Beverly stood in the doorway of her office, arms crossed, leaning against the wall for support. She wondered if anything could make her feel better in that moment. Too many disturbing events had happened recently. Geordi had gone missing, and then returned after a violent altercation, leaving more questions than answers about Ciapathian Premier Fon's death. The Federation and the Ciapathian Empire appeared on the verge of war, and now her fifteen year old son was talking about getting married. More than anything she was tired, but she knew she could keep going for many hours more if necessary. So here she stood, ready to question Rolani, leader of the Tranan people until the early morning hours. "Rolani we need to speak with you about some...some recent events that have been happening. We need your help."

Rolani noisily slurped the chocolate, before wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. "Does God will it?"

Beverly glanced at Troi, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She was done fighting with Rolani over her perception that Picard was a deity. "Yes...Captain Picard ordered us to question you."

The young woman nodded earnestly. "Please...I want to help."

"When you were down on the surface of Trana IV, there was a man you disagreed with. You fought with him."

"Oni."

Troi smiled gently. "Yes. That's him. Where is Oni?"

"The punishment did not work... he was deceitful, and disappeared."

"Yes, I remember that you punished him...why?"

Rolani's innocent face grew hard. "Oni questioned God. He did not want to leave Trana, like we did."

Beverly couldn't keep the judgement from her tone. "So you punished him because he disagreed with you."

"Yes."

"How? How did you punish him, Rolani?"

She thrust her hands over her eyes. "I swore to God in the caves that I would not do it anymore! I must not even speak of it."

Beverly moved to sit down next to Troi. Captain Picard hadn't told his officers the whole story, it appeared. "What happened in the caves?"

Rolani slowly dropped her hands into her lap. Her dark eyes were wide and anxious. "God discovered what I did to Li and he was furious with me! He took the bindings off of Li and told me he would send us all back to Trana if I did not agree to stop the punishments."

"The bindings?"

Rolani froze. "If I tell you, God may strike me down."

Beverly rubbed her eyes tiredly. "He'll do no such thing," she said.

"But you cannot speak for him-"

"Captain Picard ordered us to speak with you, Rolani...I am sure he would permit you to discuss this subject with us," Troi said evenly.

She hesitated, watching the women guardedly. But it seemed she wanted to say some things out loud, which she had never been allowed to utter before. "When the Brethren come we must stay very still to make the sacrifice. Many years ago before I came to be, the ones who came before were given a set of bindings. We learn use them to keep order when necessary."

Troi looked at Beverly. "Doctor, might I have a word with you outside for a moment?"

Beverly was the first to speak, once they had stepped away from Rolani. "Why didn't the captain tell us about what he saw in the holodeck caves?"

"Possibly because he was aware that he violated the Prime Directive...more than once. He already admitted that he had taken blood from Li."

"But the Tranans are human beings. So there is no violation."

"But he didn't know it at the time," countered Troi. "And Admiral Forrester did not seem convinced that Rolani and the others are human."

"Forrester is a bureaucrat who is clearly hiding something. He isn't interested in hearing the truth," Beverly said, recalling the man's condescension and attempts to humiliate the captain, which led her to recall their conversation in the lab that late night. The night they had both felt a connection, interrupted by horrible events...the night that Geordi disappeared and Fon was murdered. Her theory had been correct, Tranan DNA was essentially Human DNA, and yet, how could humans have traveled to this area of space, without the event being recorded? Suddenly her mind shifted to Hatha announcing her marriage proposal to Wesley right in the middle of the ready room. The whole situation was insane.

Deanna pursed her lips. "You're worried about Captain Picard. And you're concerned that Wesley is going to run off and marry the Ciapathian girl-"

"Troi I can't think about Wesley and that girl right now! This whole marriage thing is driving me crazy."

"Sorry-sometimes I can't help but be a counselor."

Beverly managed to look both annoyed and amused. "If we're going to be friends..."

"I'm going to have to stop reading your mind? Beverly...I cannot read people's minds anymore than you can cure a patient with a wave of your hand. But...I can sense what they are feeling, and often I can learn a person's intent. Other times, emotions are right on the surface, and empathic abilities are unnecessary."

"Like with me?"

Troi smiled. "So despite Captain Picard's suspicion that I am constantly reading his mind-"

"Ha! Of course he thinks that. He is the most closed off person I have ever known."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I can imagine he is terrified for someone to get inside that head of his."

"Have you ever wanted to get inside his head?"

Beverly brought her hand up, as if defending against a blow. "That's not what I meant."

Deanna nodded apologetically. "I apologize, Beverly. Perhaps I overstepped."

Beverly looked down at the floor a moment more before regaining her professional calm. "So...why did you want to talk out here?"

Deanna clasped her hands in front of her and rocked back on her heels. "Oh. Yes...well I think we're wasting our time with Rolani."

"You don't think she knows whether Li was somehow involved in Fon's death?"

"I think we'll have more success simply talking with Li himself. Rolani's focus is on what she knows; the horrific conditions imposed by the Brethren. But she doesn't know anything about Fon's murder." Just then her communicator buzzed. "Picard to Troi."

Crusher could see Troi tense immediately. I see he has that effect on everyone.

"Troi here."

The voice on the other end was clipped and irritated. "Have you gotten anything useful from the Tranan boy yet?"

Deanna glanced at Beverly. "No sir, we haven't interviewed Li yet. We thought we would start with Rolani."

There was a long pause, but the response was unforgiving. "I want your report on my desk in one hour, Counselor."

"But sir, it could take some time to-"

"Hop to it, Counselor. Picard out."

Beverly watched Deanna Troi's complexion turn pale, but couldn't help but be slightly amused. "Did he just tell you to 'hop to it'?"

Deanna merely gave her new friend a look before walking back into the office.

Will Riker marched toward Picard's ready room with renewed energy and sense of purpose. He'd done things the captain's way, done some research, and in the process discovered something, that might allow him to uncover evidence that would prove that Reth was involved in Fon's murder. The Ciapathian Chief of Arms was still wandering the Enterprise, presumably spying for Doctor Petral, but serving no good purpose, that was for sure. Reth had initially accused Fon's teenage daughter Hatha of the murder, but hadn't done a thing that Riker was aware of to carry out the investigation he had threatened to undertake. He tucked the data pad under his arm before hitting the chime.

"Come."

Riker stepped inside the captain's office, and was surprised to find that he was not alone. Geordi LaForge sat on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, apparently deep in thought. Picard was just getting up from behind his desk, and he walked over to put a surprisingly sympathetic hand on LaForge's shoulder. "Go and get some rest, Lieutenant. You're dismissed."

"Okay...thank you sir." Geordi got up from the couch looking disoriented, and headed for the door.

Picard watched him go before turning to Riker. "He believes whatever he's telling us."

"But you don't believe his story..."

Picard looked up at Riker sharply. "No. Do you?"

"No, sir. But I agree that Geordi seems convinced about what happened."

Picard crossed his arms. "Admiral Forrester demanded a meeting with LaForge...we ended a few minutes before you arrived."

"Oh." Riker felt a note of surprise that Picard was sharing this with him. "So he questioned LaForge himself..."

Picard nodded and briskly smoothed the material at his waist. What Riker had previously seen as an oddly amusing gesture, he now recognized was a signature sign that Picard was thinking deeply. "And I think he shares our concerns that Mr. LaForge's story does not quite add up, and is missing many important details...and yet he was willing to accept Geordi's version of events."

"Because it supports that Li tried to kill Fon? He's looking for someone to pin this on."

Picard rubbed his chin, and looked past Riker. "That's correct. And I'm afraid that Geordi's lack of detail could land him as a suspect as well. So far he's the only known witness to Fon's murder."

"You still have time sir-we still have time. Even if Li wrestled with Premier Fon on deck 3, and tried to stab him with a knife as Geordi describes, he sure as hell didn't poison Fon. Someone else must have done that."

Picard shrugged. "I am still awaiting Counselor Troi's report. I'm inclined to interrogate the boy myself, but I am trying to allow her to do her job."

Riker felt himself flush slightly at the jab at Troi. "Captain, Deanna's very capable...she won't let you down, sir."

Picard frowned, and then gave Riker a complex look. "We shall see." He walked over to the replicator to order himself some tea. "Now," he said, gingerly sipping the tea. "Why are you here, Commander? And thank you for coming alone this time."

He's still angry about that? "Sorry about the intrusion earlier, Captain. I didn't expect Wesley and his girlfriend to just show up-"

"I've already had several run ins with that boy, and we've only been on board several weeks, Riker," Picard said quickly. "The truth is, the less time I spend around children, the better."

"With all due respect sir...the Enterprise has many families with children aboard. They're part of our crew."

Picard looked displeased, putting his tea down on the table with a clatter. "You still haven't answered my question." He nodded at the data pad still tucked under Riker's arm.

Riker pulled the pad out and pulled up the document he had wanted to show Picard. Picard took the data pad and began to study it, scrolling through the document, reading aloud at times. "Alarmis Beetle...a rare, large armored beetle native to the beta quadrant, capable of growing up to two meters in length...highly intelligent and adept hunters...yet prone to domestication in small numbers." Picard looked up at Riker. "This article is fifty pages long. How about a summary, Commander?"

"The Alarmis Beetle is known to secrete a toxin if it believes its life is in danger. The ironic part of that defense is that secretion of the toxin is not only deadly for the attacker, but for the beetle itself."

"Has this toxin ever been analyzed?"

"Not that I could find," Riker said. "But I would bet that if we searched Reth's quarters again, we might find a trace of something."

"And you think a toxin from Reth's beetle killed Fon?"

"We saw it dead in his quarters, captain. The body's gone, but there could still be a trace of the toxin."

"Fine. If you obtain a sample, transmit it immediately to Doctor Crusher for analysis."

Riker moved swiftly to exit, when Picard cleared his throat. Riker stopped in mid-step. "Sir?"

"Be careful Commander. And bring Worf with you."

"Worf is a bridge officer, sir."

"Worf is a Klingon. Bring him along and use extreme caution."

Tasha Yar crouched down, slowly waving the instrument back and forth below a window. It seemed she was forever examining one thing or another. with a tricorder Normally she would have found such a repetitive task tedious, but she was trying to solve a mystery. A few days ago, Doctor Selar and several other crew members had gone missing shortly after the disappearance of Geordi LaForge. Now LaForge had returned, leaving additional questions about where he'd been and what he had actually witnessed the night of Premier Fon's death. But the others were still missing, and after hours of questioning LaForge, there were still no answers to the important questions. Now she found herself searching Doctor Selar's quarters for any trace of the physician. And she was looking for traces of andurine, a sought after mineral with stealth properties. Captain Picard suspected that someone had kidnapped the officers including LaForge using advanced transporter technology. With un-explainable traces of andurine found around the ship, along with strange power surges, that theory had seemed the best one; that is, until LaForge had returned with a story about having hid inside a utility tunnel following Fon's murder. Still she and her security teams had been monitoring the living quarters of each of the remaining missing crew members,

Suddenly her tricorder screen showed a message: power surge. Scrambling to her feet, she glanced around wildly, only to find herself face to face with Dr. Selar. The impassive Vulcan was dressed normally in her blue and black medical uniform, and raised a single eyebrow at Yar, who had immediately started scanning the doctor. "A trace of something," she murmured. "Can't confirm that it's andurine though..."

"What are you doing in my quarters?" Doctor Selar demanded.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," said Yar. "You've been missing for two days...where have you been?"

Selar looked convincingly puzzled, and gestured over her shoulder. "I have been in the bathroom."

"For two days? I don't think so...we searched your quarters and found nothing." She waved the tricorder over the doctor and then concluded, "You seem completely fine. Do you remember anything that happened to you?"

"Your presence here is illogical, as are your questions."

Yar nodded. "Everything is illogical right now," she agreed, walking past the woman, still staring at her tricorder. She picked up the pace, hurrying into the bathroom. The tricorder confirmed a fading power surge had occurred here just minutes ago, but from what? "Yar to Commander Data."

"Data here."

"Sir, I'm here in Doctor Selar's quarters. She's reappeared and doesn't seem aware that she has been missing for two days."

"Is she unharmed?"

"Appears so, sir."

"Lieutenant...Doctor Francis, researcher Lau Wu, teacher Marta Sedgewick, and Terrence Davis, a engineering technician have all reappeared as well within the last half hour. They are currently in sickbay."

"Why wasn't I informed?" Yar snapped irritably. "Sorry sir," she corrected. "I'm a little overtired."

"Noted, Lieutenant. In related matters, I have identified the location of the power surges that have accompanied the reappearance of each of the missing crew members."

Yar felt her heart begin to race. "What is it sir?"

"The exact source remains elusive, however it's origin is from inside Reth's quarters."

"I'm on my way," said Yar hurrying from the bathroom and sprinting past Doctor Selar. She halted in the doorway as an afterthought. "Oh...and you should report to sickbay right away."

"Indeed."

"All of the captured crew have now been returned. I have finished my examinations." The shadowy figure remained very still on the view screen, and yet Reth could tell that Doctor Petral was smiling.

"They'll know you tampered with them eventually."

"But not for sometime. Their brains have been washed, for lack of a better word, of any memory of their experience here."

"The transport hub malfunctioned," complained Reth. "I had to shut it down, but they are likely to have detected it. They will be coming for me now."

"You know what to do."

"You can transport me back to your ship, Petral. It doesn't have to be this way."

"And have them trace the andurine transporter back to me? I think not."

"You are disgusting!"

"So many sacrifices must be made for the good of our people. First Fon, then your beloved bug...and now you."

Despite his large frame, Reth began to tremble with fear. "When I reach the golden afterlife, I know I will not see you there, Petral. You are evil."

"And you have served me, so what does that make you? If you were to return to Ciapathia, you would eventually be executed for the murder of our former dear leader, if the truth were discovered."

"The truth! You arranged it all!"

"You know what to do, Reth. Leave no trace."