They remained in orbit another day, until even Reynar had to admit that they would find no sign of life. Finally, with the Commander in his temporary quarters, they prepared to leave the planet of Arcadia behind.

"Ensign, set a course for Starbase 47," Picard said from his chair.

"Course laid in, sir."

"Engage."

Instead of the familiar sight of starlines through the view screen, the ship gave a shudder and stayed where it was.

"Ensign?"

"I don't understand, sir. The engines are responding, we're just…not moving."

"Riker to LaForge."

"LaForge here."

"What's going on down there, Geordi?"

"Not sure what you mean, sir, everything's fine down here."

"Lieutenant, are we experiencing engine trouble?" Picard asked.

"No, sir, everything is running fine."

"Ensign, try again."

Wesley pushed a few buttons on the conn and the ship gave another shudder.

"Captain, I don't know what's going on, but we're pushing the engines to the max," Geordi said over the com. "Recommend you shut them down."

"Make it so," Picard commanded. The ship stopped shaking.

"Sir, I am reading a massive energy field from the planet," Data said from the Ops console. "It's surrounded the ship."

"Source, Mister Data?"

"It is being generated from a large ruin on the planet," Data said as his read from the console. "There appears to be an underground generator that has captured the Enterprise in its field."

"And there are still no life signs?" Riker asked.

"That is correct, sir. The planet is not populated."

"What the devil is going on?" Picard demanded. He stood and turned to Worf.

"Would a photon torpedo be able to destroy the generator?"

"Negative, it is too deep underground. The phasers may be able to reach it."

"Make it so."

Bright red phaser fire came lancing from the ship and down to the planet.

"Report, Lieutenant."

"The phasers are having no effect, sir," Worf said.

"The energy shield has increased in power by twenty percent," Data said. "Twenty-five percent."

"Shut down the phaser."

The firing stopped. Picard turned to Riker.

"It seems that someone is trying to keep us here."

"And doing a damn good job of it," the First Officer said.

"Lieutenant, have Commander Reynar brought to the bridge," Picard ordered. "He may have some answers for us."

Reynar was pale when he appeared on the bridge. He glanced at the viewscreen and then turned to Picard.

"We seem to be trapped here," Picard said. "There's an energy field from the planet that's surrounded the ship. Do you know anything about this?"

Reynar frowned. "An energy field?"

"Originating from the Northern Hemisphere," Data supplied.

"That's my country. Where exactly is it coming from?"

"Put it on viewer," Picard ordered and the viewscreen zoomed in to the ruins of a city.

"That's an old military base," Reynar said. "It's been abandoned for years. I didn't think there was any equipment there, let alone a generator powerful enough to hold your ship." He shivered suddenly and rubbed his arms.

"Perhaps it was installed in the one hundred years after your departure," Data said.

"It would have to have been."

"But why?" Riker asked. "Defense?"

"We were able to enter orbit and beam down," Worf said from behind them. "It would make a poor defense system."

"They don't want anyone to leave," Picard said softly.

Reynar went pale. "There was talk," he started, "of preventing the plague from spreading. Before my ship was launched. I was a last-ditch effort. We hoped that whoever had the technology to find me would be able to cure the virus. But they were worried about it spreading off world in case that didn't happen."

"So they built a safety net."

"So we're trapped here?" Wesley asked.

"Not for long, Mister Crusher. Data, get down to Engineering. Work with Mister LaForge to analyze the energy field and find a way to disable it."

"Yes, sir."

"Reynar, go with them. See if you can help."

The two men disappeared into the turbolift.

"Trapped by a plague that disappeared four centuries ago," Worf muttered as they left.

"They were so concerned with preventing it from spreading that they didn't consider that it might disappear on its own," Picard mused.

"A plague is not an honorable way to die," Worf said, crossing his arms.

"Maybe not, but they found a way to prevent anyone else from dying from it. There is some honor in that."

"Do you think they knew they would go extinct?" Riker asked, settling back into his seat.

"By the time they set up the field? Most likely. Reynar said the virus almost always proved fatal. It's ironic that we're trapped here long after they died off."

"I could do without the irony, Captain," Riker said. He crossed his legs and leaned back in the chair. "Just this once."

In Engineering, Geordi and Data were gathered around a console.

"That's all I know about how our energy systems work," Reynar concluded. "I wasn't an engineer so I don't know much."

"No, what you gave us is great," Geordi assured him. He pulled up a model of the bunker that they had retrieved from the ship's scans. "The deflector for the energy field is huge. I just can't find an energy source."

"It must be large to generate enough power to hold the Enterprise," Data said.

"Exactly. So maybe we're looking in the wrong place."

Their voices droned on as Reynar shivered. The Enterprise was colder than he had realized. Fatigue was catching up with him after the experiences of the last day. He grudgingly thought that it was emotional fatigue as much as physical and maybe that Counselor had been right and he needed rest.

"Is there anything else you need from me?" he asked.

"We should be good here," LaForge told him. "I'll call you if we need anything."

As Reynar left, Data turned to his companion.

"Geordi, I have been thinking."

"About what, Data?"

"Death."

"Again?"

"I have found that many people seem to take comfort in the idea that their memory will 'live on.' It seems to be a motivator in having children who will carry on the family line and the memory of those who have died. But in the case of the Arcadians, there are no survivors."

"I know, Data. It's tragic. An entire planet, just gone."

"I believe that this places a burden on Commander Reynar, as the sole survivor. He is tasked with carrying the memory of an entire planet."

"I guess I didn't think of it like that. I'm sure this has been hard on him, but that makes it harder."

"I believe that this has given me new insight into the concept of death," Data continued. "Death is more bearable when one knows that one's experiences will be remembered and repeated. When there is no one left to continue traditions, it becomes more…tragic."

"I doubt Reynar wants to hear that right now, Data."

"You do not think so?"

"No, I don't. Now help me look at this scan. There's got to be a power source."

Reynar was intending to return to his quarters but instead he found himself wandering the corridors. The Captain had apparently deemed him to not be a security threat, as he had been relieved of his escort. He could not say that he was sad to lose the company. But somehow, he didn't feel like being alone. He had had the last day to think about things, alone in his quarters, and he did not think he could bear the solitude for one more minute. Instead, he found himself pacing from deck to deck, letting his feet carry him where they would.

"Are you lost?"

He turned to find a young woman in a yellow uniform watching him.

"No, I'm…" he paused. "I'm looking for Counselor Troi's office."

"You're on the wrong deck. You need to go to Deck 5, Section B."

"Thank you."

Reynar was not sure why he had asked for directions but soon he found himself outside the woman's office. He didn't trust her. He had learned not to trust telepaths during his time at the Task Force academy. And besides, she was too nice. It was unsettling. Something about her dark eyes made him feel like she could gaze into his soul, even without the empathic powers.

As he was staring at the door, it opened.

"Do you want to come in?"

He found himself staring down at the woman. She was wearing purple again. He hated purple.

"No," he blurted out.

"Are you sure?"

"Do you sense that I'm lying?"

She tilted her head to one side. "What do you think?"

She stepped aside and let him enter the office. He surveyed it. It was comfortable, in shades of grey and purple. There were tables and chairs and a long couch. He slowly sat down on one of the chairs and Troi took another.

"I hear the Enterprise is trapped," she said mildly.

"Your engineers are working to free us."

"I have faith in them."

Reynar looked around the room. "This is where you work?"

"Yes, this is where I meet for my sessions."

"Am I interrupting one?"

"No, I'm done for the day. Would you like something to drink?"

Without waiting for an answer, she stood up and went to the replicator.

"Two hot chocolates."

"More chocolate."

"It's a guilty pleasure," she told him as she handed him a steaming mug.

Reynar took a sip of the hot liquid. Deanna sat across from him and took a drink from her own mug.

"It's very sweet," he said.

"Yes."

"I'm not used to it."

"What do you eat on Arcadia?"

"Simple food. I am…I was a Commander in the Arcadian Task Force so we had to keep in good shape."

"What did you do?"

"I lead covert ops against other countries."

"Your planet didn't have a unified government."

"No. Once the plague hit, we started working together, though." He swallowed. "I imagine they kept doing that."

"Were you married?"

"That's a change of the subject."

Troi smiled and Reynar tried to see beyond it, but he couldn't read her. He had spent his life reading people.

"I wasn't. I…didn't have time for relationships."

"I can sympathize with that," Troi said. She smiled again and took another drink of her chocolate. Reynar had forgotten about his and he raised it to his lips again. He barely tasted the sweet liquid.

"I visited my parents sometimes," he continued, not sure why he was telling her this. "My father, he was proud when I made Commander. And then when I was chosen for the mission. He thought I might have a chance to survive."

"I'm sure they were very proud of you," Troi said.

Reynar nodded. He was ashamed to feel tears prickling at his eyes and he blinked them away, hoping that the Counselor would not notice.

"Is it cold in here?" Reynar asked.

"It might be," Troi said, not commenting on the change of subject. "Computer, raise the temperature by three degrees."

"Your technology is impressive."

"Sometimes I think we forget how lucky we are," Troi said, "to live on a ship like this."

"I don't know how you live in space."

"What do you mean?"

"I would miss the woods. I didn't get much time, but I would go hiking with my nephew." Reynar broke off and now he could definitely feel the tears in his eyes. He stood up. "I should go."

"You don't have to."

He hesitated. There was something about this woman, something kind. It tore at parts of him that he was trying desperately to push down and forget about.

"You must miss them."

He nodded and swallowed hard. "I do." Then he turned and strode through the door.

"Commander."

He stopped.

"You're welcome back anytime."

"I don't need to bare my soul to you to get comfort," he said, his voice harsh. "I'm not your pet project."

He left her alone in her office and strode the halls blindly before he eventually found his quarters again.

They were dead. All of them, dead. He would never know whether they had lived out their lives or whether the plague had taken him. He would never know if his nephew had reached adulthood before he had succumbed to the virus. He would never see them again.