Chapter 22

"The situation with Captain Picard is troubling," said Sub-Commander Saris.

Tomalak was contemplative as he drank his tea. "How so?" he questioned.

Saris fell silent because she knew he did not truly desire an answer. Instead she knew he intended to continue speaking, which he did. "It is yet another weakness to exploit Saris, and if we are careful and cunning, it may be far more than that."

"Commander do you intend to extend an offer to Picard then?" She asked, somewhat surprised.

Tomalak flicked his teacup with his finger. "The conditions appear to be right," he said slowly. He looked up at her with a disturbing smile. "Tomorrow I will decide. Meanwhile you are scheduled to observe the Starfleet engineer's presentation tomorrow, and I expect you to perform to my expectations. Your cousin Bochra failed to impress...and look where it got him."

Saris tilted her head towards him. "Is that a threat?"

"Oh yes."

Pritchard had disappeared for about an hour and when he returned down a path back in to town he looked somewhat fresher, even though his clothes were still dusty. "Nothing like a bath in the cool morning," he declared.

"Bath?" she asked.

"There's a stream back yonder," he said gesturing back where he'd come from.

"For those of us that need washing," he added with sly glance. He adjusted his hat. "Now Guinan, if you talk to Ulysses again, be sure to tell him he don't exactly smell like roses either."

"Ulysses is your horse?

"Yep," he said distractedly, looking toward a patch of greenery on a hill nearby. He surveyed it silently and then smiled to himself practically skipping toward the hill. "The other horse is his sister Peaches."

Guinan had no translation for "Peaches". "I will be sure to let Ulysses know then," she said.

Guinan now watched the man as he stooped on a dusty hillside. He was not particularly tall, but was broad shouldered and sturdy. At his feet were patches of flora of various colors. Humming to himself he carefully picked himself an assortment of flowers until he had a raggedy looking bunch in his hand.

As Guinan watched him she noted that the sun was growing very hot and it was nearly mid-day. Her stomach growled with hunger. She also began to think that she too needed a bath. "What are you doing?" she asked, wondering when they would leave town.

He scrambled deftly back down the hill toward her. He held out the handful of flowers for her to inspect. "They're for a lady," he said with a smile, putting the emphasis on the word 'lady'. "Well, you're a gal…what do you think? Are they pretty?"

She furrowed her brow. "Yes…but they were prettier while growing on the hillside. Now they are on their way to being dead. What do you need them for anyway?"

Pritchard laughed and began to walk away. "If you saw her, you'd know," he said.

She followed him through town mainly because she didn't have anything better to do, and of course she didn't want him to leave town without her. He kept walking, whistling happily until he reached a large white building. She heard laughter and shouting inside and wondered if they were serving food in there. Leaning against a tree in the shade Guinan watched Pritchard march up to the door flowers in hand. He knocked on the door.

A large woman answered the door, opening it only part-way. She seemed quite familiar with Mr. Pritchard. "Listen John, she doesn't want to see you." Her eyes dropped to the flowers in his grasp. "Pretty…did you finally drink all of your money away, or are you trying to prove somethin' with those flowers?"

He tried to move his boot into the doorway, but she yanked the doorknob closing the door on his foot. "Ow! Cassie, I need to see her," he exclaimed. "I'm going out of town and I won't be back for a while…."

"We all know what you need, Pritchard," Cassie laughed. "And any girl can give you the same thing. Come on and just pick another girl—pick ten other girls, you've got the cash."

"I don't want another girl, I want Sandy," he insisted.

"Why?" the Madame asked in a sing-song voice.

"You know why," he said in a low voice.

"Yeah and Sandy knows too. Maybe she don't want to be compared to your dead wife anymore, you ever think of that?"

He banged the flowers against his leg angrily, and petals exploded into the air. "She's not dead…I told you, she ran off."

"So all you need is a red-headed whore who don't care about you, and you forget all about her? Only you could turn plain sex into somethin' creepy, Pritchard. You're starting to scare my girls, especially Sandy."

"I love her," he said resolutely.

You don't love Sandy, John Pritchard; you love your dead wife."

He shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose, stepping backward. The bouquet of flowers dropped from his grasp onto the dusty ground. Slowly he turned and walked away as the door slammed shut again.

"Commander, this is the second time in less than twenty-four hours that you have contacted me without permission from Captain Picard", Nechayev pointed oTellTell me, is the chain of command broken on board your ship?" I

"No sir," said Riker tightly. "But these are highly unusual circumstances, and I am concerned about Captain Picard." He explained what had happened that evening at dinner.

Nechayev's eyes narrowed. "Is this...affliction of Captain Picard's interfering with the negotiations?"

Riker paused. "Not yet, Admiral. But it is only a matter of time before it does."

"How do you know? What is Counselor Troi's opinion?"

"She says he is doing his best to resist, but his ability to do so may be weakening. We don't want to lose him, Admiral."

She nodded and for a moment she seemed genuinely concerned as well. "Would it be possible for Counselor Troi to somehow strengthen his mental faculties, or perhaps to block the influence of this alien artifact?"

"I will ask her if it's possible," agreed Riker. "But it could be risky...for both of them."

"Desperate times have always called for desperate measures, Commander Riker."

"Aye sir."

"And in the future if you have concerns about Captain Picard's health I suggest you mention them to the ship's chief medical officer."

Pritchard picked up the flowers and walked silently away from the brothel scuffing his feet in the dirt. As he passed by Guinan he handed her the flowers without slowing his pace. "Hey!" She yelled trotting after him. "Where are you going?" She wanted to get going, and here he was heading off on another tangent. "If I can't get laid then I am sure as hell going to get drunk," he said over his shoulder. "Is this how you handle all of your problems, Pritchard?" She shouted after him as he continued to wander away.

"Only the big ones," he yelled back.

"What would your wife think of you doing this to yourself, drinking your life away..." He spun on his heel and pointed at her. He was livid. "I swear if you mention my wife again our deal is off!"

She shrugged. "Fine. But when are we leaving? I have business, Pritchard."

"Business," he growled. He looked like he wanted to say something more but instead just kicked the dirt and turned to resume his march through the streets. "Just give me three hours," he promised her grumpily. She threw up her hands, but really what was she to do?

Riker sat with his head in his hands. He knew that eventually he might have to take command, if he couldn't help the Captain pull free from this object that was controlling him. If only he could just think it all through. His communicator beeped and he sat up straighter. "Riker here," he said tiredly.

"Commander…we have a situation in the brig," Worf reported. "There is something very wrong with Ensign Barnes."

Riker sighed. Now what? "I'm on my way," he said.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Ensign Barnes writhed and flailed his arms, as Worf and Ensign Choi attempted to restrain him. They had already stunned him…twice, and he was still fighting them.

"What the hell is going on here?" Riker demanded striding in to the cell block. "Barnes, get yourself under control!"

"Traitors!" Barnes shrieked. "Traitors! Captain Picard will have your heads! He will kill you himself, mark my words."

"Barnes!" Riker walked up to the cell. The young man seemed to stare through him as his body shuddered with exertion. Riker nodded to Worf and Choi. "Let him go and step out here. He can sit in the cell until he cools down."

Worf glanced at Riker once they were standing side by side. "Sir, we stunned him twice because he was repeatedly throwing himself against the force field barrier."

Riker nodded. "You did the right thing, Lieutenant. We don't want him to harm himself further."

"But the stun setting had no effect, sir," Ensign Choi informed him.

Riker looked down at her. "You were next to him at dinner. What happened?"

She ran a hand through her short hair. Riker noticed she had a bruise over her right eye from the brawl on Kronos. "I-I don't know, sir. He just…went off on the Romulan."

"Did the Romulan officer do anything to provoke him?"

Choi shook her head. "The Romulan was giving us dirty looks all night sir, but that's nothing new…Romulans always do that. I don't know sir."

Riker turned his attention back to Barnes. The man stood inside the cell breathing heavily and glaring at them.

"Let me out of here," he demanded. "Captain Picard needs me!"

Riker walked forward. "Why?"

"He—he needs me. He needs all of us," he said looking up at Riker accusingly. "We have to help him get to the fortress. If we don't, the Borg will win."

"Have you been fighting the Borg, Ensign Barnes? With Captain Picard?"

Barnes suddenly struck the force field, and then staggered backwards. "You wouldn't have to ask me that if you had been there! Traitors!"

"Why will the Borg win?" Worf asked, unaffected by the screaming man.

"The Old King is much too weak now to challenge the Borg. He must be dealt with. And only Captain Picard can kill him." His breathing became faster and he paced around his cell furiously.

"Who is he?" asked Riker. "Who is the Old King?"

Barnes didn't seem to hear him. His face was nearly purple he was so enraged. "Let me out!" he screamed.

Pritchard kept walking through town, so she followed him. Guinan figured he would return to the bar…while he was drinking himself into a stupor she would go and take a bath in the stream, and then in a few hours they would finally leave town. But things didn't turn out the way she planned. It seemed that lately, things almost never did.

Out of nowhere rode six men on horseback kicking up a great cloud of dust. One horse was pulling a cart on which a man sat holding the reigns- various wooden crates and other items were packed inside the cart. The other five men trotted around Pritchard encircling him. They were heavily armed. "Oh shit," she heard him say under his breath. Guinan stepped back, remembering all too well the horror she had felt when she had been attacked by the white hooded riders just a few weeks earlier.

"Pritchard, you son of a bitch!" yelled one of the men with a long scraggly beard. He rode forward brandishing a gun, which he leveled at Pritchard's chest. "I come for what's mine, you thieving devil," he snarled.

"I'm no thief, Bill," retorted Pritchard. "It's you who takes what you got no right to."

The man cocked the gun. "One of these days, Pritchard I am going to shoot you…but right now I will give you one minute before I have my boys beat you senseless."

"Boss, he ain't got any sense no how," one of his sidekicks laughed.

"Shut up, Lenny," said Bill Loomey turning his attention back to Pritchard. "I want to know where the claim is you staked, and I want my share of gold you promised me. I thought you were an honorable man, Pritchard."

"Listen here Bill, you killed my partner…and then you tried to do me the same," said Pritchard. "Any promises I made you were strictly conditional on you not attempting to murder me—so there you have it—our deal is null and void."

Loomey nodded to two of his henchman, who climbed down from their horses. One of the men, identified as Lenny, held a short heavy club, and the other held a coiled whip in his hand. Lenny walked up to Pritchard, slapping the club into his meaty hand. He grinned and nodded over at Guinan. "Got yourself a new friend, huh?"

Pritchard took off his hat as though he was trying to be polite, and stepped closer to the grinning man. "Yeah," he said, before violently head-butting the man just above the eye. Lenny staggered backward and fell to one knee. The other man lashed out suddenly with the whip and caught Pritchard in the side of his neck with a stinging blow. Pritchard grunted and ran toward the man to close the distance as quickly as he could. Adjusting quickly, the man hit Pritchard in the temple with the thick handle of the whip. He fell to the ground, and the two men began kicking him repeatedly.

Guinan knelt down and pulled an object from her boot. She held it up. "Leave him alone!" she shouted.

Loomey sneered at her. "What's that a rock?" he laughed. "I don't think you know your place, you little—"

Guinan fired the disruptor at him, very careful not to hit the horse he was sitting on. It was a very heavy stun, the kind that made you wish the setting had been set to kill when you woke up vomiting and unable to walk straight for hours.

Pritchard slowly uncurled on the ground and struggled to his feet, punching Lenny in the face once and then twice. Guinan shot the man with the whip, and when the other men in the gang pulled out their guns, she shot them too, again on heavy stun. Pritchard coughed and wiped blood from his mouth, looking on the scene with a stunned expression. He watched Guinan with his jaw open as she casually placed the small disruptor back in her boot.

Suddenly coming out of his confused stupor he seemed to notice the horse drawn cart for the first time. Elated he scrambled up on to it and began rummaging through some of the crates. Upon seeing the contents he began to laugh enthusiastically. He grabbed two of the crates and jumped down. "Change of plans," he declared. He placed the two wooden boxes in Guinan's arms. "Can you take these over to the stream? I'll go and get the horses, and meet you over there as quick as I can."

Guinan nodded, backing away. "Your last business partner was killed?"

His eyes twinkled with amusement. "Don't worry; I'd say you already have better luck than he did."

He ran the back of his hand down her side to her waist and then moved it against her hip in a circular motion. She responded by pressing against him and biting his bottom lip softly as their kiss deepened. She brought her knee up along his thigh, until it rested against his lower ribs. "I missed you," she said softly between kisses. He moved his head to the side to kiss her neck and he heard her breath quicken. She moved her palm over his back and pressed her fingertips into his skin as he kissed her collarbone. Suddenly he froze. Beverly's hand tightened on his lower back. "What's wrong?" she whispered.

"I can't," he said quietly into her shoulder. His head had begun to ache, and his vision blurred around the edges.

She shifted underneath him and kissed the side of his head with a smile. "Of course you can…" she reassured him.

"No, it's not that. I'm dizzy," he said, resting his forehead against her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I just—"

She rolled him off of her gently and he grabbed his head. "It's alright," she said sitting up and putting her hand on his chest, rubbing it gently. His eyes were shut tightly. As she watched him the nasty cut on his face slowly reappeared and began to bleed slowly down the side of his face. She moved quickly to get out of bed and grabbed her med kit. Pulling out a pressure pad, she placed it on his face and it instantly tightened, meshing with his skin. At least for now, it seemed to staunch the flow of blood.

She pulled on his bathrobe and stood back watching him. "Why is it doing this, Jean-Luc? I thought having the stone nearby was supposed to prevent these wounds from returning."

He sat up slowly in bed and pulled the covers over his lap. "I don't know," he said in confusion. "I think he is angry at me…I have been outside of his world for too long and he wants me to return. Beverly," he said, looking up at her with a worried expression. "He's becoming stronger. It's as if…he's nearly here with us now. He is reaching into our world, and eventually no one will be safe."

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