Chapter 45

El Auria 2266

Just twelve cycles old, Demetrius felt like a very old man. He knelt down in the rocky soil, grasping handfuls of dust in his palms. It was dead silent around him, and the landscape was now desolate. It was no longer a hillside full of life as it had been so long ago when he had stood here and selfishly wished his best friend Hara would disappear because of his childish desire to have a toy for himself. Strange how his guilt over the event, which had plagued him even after the deaths of his own parents and sister, was only now fading as he sat here at the top of the hill. Dr. Soran's taunting voice rang through his ears, challenging him to find another way to avenge the people of El Auria—to avenge his parents. Could there be another way? He admitted to himself that he had climbed the hill because he believed that there was a power which could answer that question. The same power that had caused his beautiful friend to disappear.

At that moment a glittering pool appeared in front of him. Gasping in surprise, Demetrius jerked backwards, nearly falling onto the ground. But he stayed upright, and watched in muted terror as a shimmering mirror rose out of the pool before him. Instead of his own reflection he saw inside a bright and sunny hillside covered in red flowers—it was this hillside as it had appeared just two years ago before the Borg had destroyed the life on this world. Instinctively he longed to touch the flowers and feel the warm breeze again.

Within the mirror a tall hooded figure walked toward him. He could see no face, no features beneath the hood. When the figure spoke, it seemed to send a strange vibration through Demetrius' body and soul. "You long for your world as it once was…you long for your parents."

"Yes," said Demetrius. "But I cannot see them any longer. They're dead."

"Are they? You are just a child…how do you know of such things?"

"I saw it happen," said Demetrius. "They are dead. Just like so many others…."

"But you are here for a reason, Demetrius. You wish to see them avenged, even if you cannot bring them back to life."

"Yes."

The figure let out a deep frightening laugh and reached its three- fingered hand toward the boy. "There is a way to avenge them Demetrius. And if you are successful, perhaps you will see your family again."

Demetrius stood to his feet. "What must I do?"

Suddenly the figure emerged from the mirror, arm outstretched. It gripped Demetrius by the arm. He doubted he could get away if he wanted to. But for some reason he wished to remain with the strange figure.

"You must kill a Borg soldier. Only one…and once you do, your dreams will be fulfilled. You will see your family again. You have only to agree."

Demetrius felt tears run down his cheeks and fall to the parched ground. "Yes, I do agree."

The piercing eyes of the creature now shone brightly. Surrounding the eyes where a face should have been was only blackness, like the night sky. But as he stared mesmerized, Demetrius could see that underneath the hood the features of a face were slowly emerging. The face smiled, and he saw that it was mirror image of his own features; it was his face but much older. Now filled with a paralyzing horror, he was unable to stop himself from being drawn into the mirror.

Beverly got up from the table. "What do you mean I should revisit my jealousy, Q? Orla has been telling us all along that the only way to resolve this situation is through love."

Q laughed. "Of course she has…."

"Are you saying that Orla has been lying?"

Q shrugged. "To a point she is clearly telling the truth, as the Other seems to weaken, or at least he reacts badly when faced with these…paltry emotions."

"Then I would say that makes love a very powerful emotion, Q. Certainly not a paltry one."

Q made a face, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. "Yes, but too much of anything, Doctor can be bad for one's health…even love."

She frowned. "Bad for whose health? Jean-Luc's?"

Q appeared as though he was contemplating something and again ignored her question. "So perhaps Orla is right that love will conquer the Other," said Q. "But is the Other really the only problem here?"

Beverly threw up her hands. "Q, why are you asking me? I'm just a mere mortal, and you're the omnipotent one. Doesn't that mean you're omniscient too? You have certainly always behaved as though you know everything—until now."

Q scratched his chin, and actually appeared somewhat worried. "The fact is, Crusher, it isn't possible to know everything there is to know. Orla is a very powerful being. I am accustomed to reading lesser beings minds, anticipating their thoughts and petty motivations."

"But Orla isn't a lesser being…."

"More importantly," said Q, "she doesn't have a mind for me to read."

She put her hands on her hips and glared at Q. "So you don't have clue how any of this will end…."

Q fell silent, glaring back at her.

Unsettled, Beverly broke his gaze and walked away, leaning back against a wall. The stone was cold and she hugged herself, shivering. She wondered whether Jean-Luc was alright, and then stamped the thoughts from her mind. "Q, I still don't understand why Orla is doing what she's doing. If she really wanted to split Jean-Luc and I up, she wouldn't have—well she wouldn't have…."

"Improved your sex life to supernatural proportions?"

"Q!"

Q shrugged. "You brought up the subject. You want to know why she would re-emphasize your physical connection to Picard—"

"It wasn't just the physical," she objected. "It was something more…something I don't want to go away," she admitted.

"You may not have a choice, Doctor."

"But I still don't understand why…."

"To make you happy and unsuspecting of course her motives...especially you. Simply think of yourself as yet another means to an end," answered Q lightly.

"I can't say I have ever thought of myself in that way," she shot back indignantly. "And I'm not about to start. Q...why should I trust you over Orla? She's protected us while you have done nothing. You haven't even helped me to escape from this damn room!"

Q's face darkened momentarily. "I see you need further convincing. Perhaps it would help if I were dressed for the part," he said, his expression suddenly brightening. There was a white flash and he was now clad in robes like one of Beverly's old professors from the Academy.

Beverly's eyes widened. "Q...what are you doing?"

Q pointed to the antique slate black board that had just appeared next to him. "I am preparing to explain this to you in the kind of tedious manner that you humans respond so well to," he said seriously.

Beverly sat back down, despite her reluctance to listen to anything Q had to say. "Well is the floppy hat really necessary?"

"Yes. Now let's go over this carefully." A pointer appeared in his hand and he tapped at the blackboard. A three dimensional planet, dark green and brown in color was immediately projected in front of the blackboard. "Behold the lowly planet El Auria, where approximately two million of your years ago a confrontation between Orla and her dark matter creation the Other took place. Somehow, though means which we Q have never quite understood, Orla defeated the Other. When she did, the Other's corporeal body splintered into multiple pieces."

The surface of the rotating planet was magnified significantly and he pointed to a spinning object. Beverly instantly recognized the object as resembling the stone Picard had found which she assumed was now currently in Guinan's possession, awaiting delivery to Orla. Q pointed swiftly at the object. "This particular object was the only piece to remain on El Auria following the battle and was presumed to be the most powerful of the splintered pieces."

"That is the piece that Guinan's grandmother told her would be neutralized if the others were safely returned to her care," added Crusher.

"Yes," said Q. "And Guinan did, over my completely reasoned objections return three pieces to Orla's care. In fact she risked her life many times to do so. And based on the edicts of her ancient religion, Guinan believed that she had cleverly averted disaster."

"So she didn't know about the piece Jean-Luc later found while we were on vacation on Risa?"

Q smiled. "No. And the existence of that very piece is the reason why Demetrius was taken by the Other into his world following the Borg attack on El Auria. Once Demetrius accepted the Other's terms, the piece disappeared from El Auria, but in fact it had become a new world between dimensions. And knowing that the final piece of his body was still out there somewhere-it turns out it was on Risa-the Other waited patiently for someone to find it, after which he would be able to have the strength to kill Orla and take her place."

"So his power was never neutralized, because there was a fifth piece…the piece Jean-Luc found," said Crusher slowly.

"That is correct. And you see the problem here, now?"

Beverly buried her face in her hands momentarily. She was tired and not thinking as clearly as she would have liked. But then she raised her head slowly to focus on Q. The blackboard and academic paraphernalia were gone and he sat across from her again at the table watching her expectantly. "She never told Guinan that there was one more piece for her to find—she never told Guinan that her religion was wrong," said Q. "Now why do you think she would omit such crucial information?"

"She wanted Jean-Luc to find that piece, didn't she?" Beverly's voice was barely above a whisper.

Q nodded. "Apparently so much so that she allowed a boy to suffer for years being tortured in the Others' world perhaps with the wish that someone special would pick up that piece and bring it to her over one hundred years later. And now her wish has come true, because your ship, or what's left of it, is now carrying Picard to reunite with Orla."

Beverly stood up angrily. "Well what the hell does she want with him?"

Q sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Does it matter? Whatever she wants with him, she has no plans to allow him to escape, Beverly."

Beverly felt a shiver go through her again, and this time it had nothing to do with the temperature in the room. "So why do you care, Q?" she said, her voice hard.

"Perhaps I have plans for Picard which I don't want disrupted. Perhaps he's more important to the Q than I have previously let on. Don't tell him that, by the way," he added quickly.

"You have plans for him! Is that the best you can do Q?" Beverly shouted. "Gain my support so that I help you use the person that I love? My best friend?" She laughed harshly. "Well let me tell you something—"she pointed her index finger at him. "We are not allies!"

Q's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Very well…I was considering breaking you out of here, but…as you wish." He winked at her and snapped his fingers, disappearing in a flash.

When Picard was thrown down the stairs by Doulos he lost his calm, if only for a few moments. Falling down stairs was something unusual in space, unless you count falling down a utility ladder, which Picard couldn't recall having done either. Nevertheless the pain and odd humiliation of having been thrown anywhere was enough to shake him, but only slightly. He knew that this method Guinan taught him was the only way of rescuing Beverly. And so as he heard Doulos thundering down the stairs after him, he closed his eyes for a moment.

And so it was that Picard sat on the steps with his head resting against the wall, in an attempt to collect himself. Meanwhile, Doulos did not hold back. Two steps before Doulos reached Picard he swung his leg toward Picard's face, connecting with his forehead. The Captain's head should have been pummeled and his neck should have snapped, but instead he merely opened his eyes as if waking up from a much needed nap.

There was crackling sound and Doulos cried out, yanking his foot back as searing energy coursed through his skin. Before he could get free completely, Picard reached out and grabbed Doulos' ankle, pulling him further off balance and causing the larger man to tumble head over heels on the steps below. He screamed in rage as he tumbled past Picard, who gave him a solid kick in the back sending him flying out of control.

Doulos' head smacked against the stone steps and he slid a few more feet before he was able to stop his descent. Doulos raised his chin slowly and looked upward, just as Picard planted his boot under his chin and shoved. Doulos grabbed Picard's boot fiercely, straining not to let go despite the pain of touching the strange purple fog that surrounded Picard. Picard's face was completely calm. He bent down, and placed his hands on either side of Doulos' head and squeezed. Doulos screamed in pain, as the purple fog threatened to burn through both sides of his skull. Continuing to lift Doulos up by his head, Picard swung his knee with all his strength into Doulos' neck. His enemy fell backward, clutching his neck as he fell down the rest of the stairs to what used to be deck eleven.

Picard advanced on him, just as Ambassador K'Ehlyer rushed around the corner. "Captain!" she shouted surprised at Picard's appearance which was almost unsettling. He smiled at her, but didn't answer. His body glowed an eerie purple and he appeared completely unconcerned by the violence he was inflicting on this behemoth. She had so recently seen this formidable creature in the former shuttle bay, declaring himself overlord, and now he was feebly crawling on his hands and knees in an attempt to escape. Doulos was now trapped between Picard and the Klingon Ambassador and he looked in a daze from one to the other.

"Captain," Riker rushed down the steps toward him, with Worf following. They held phasers in their hands. "The weapons have been modified—we're ready."

As Picard turned his attention to Riker, there was a wave-like disturbance around Doulos, and he shimmered and then disappeared.

Picard gestured for K'Ehlyer to follow him back up the stairs. "Let's go," he said.