Carmen found herself holding her breath as she entered the briefing room. The captain's urgency piqued her curiosity, but he had maintained a pace too brisk for her to ask any questions on the way. And so when she finally stood in the threshold of their destination, her eyes immediately swept the room in search of answers.

The faces of four men turned towards her from around a long, glossy table. The eldest, a man with steel gray hair combed neatly to one side, burst from his seat with a greeting. But the greeting died on his tongue as soon as Carmen stepped into view. His eyes shifted past her to the now-empty door frame as though hoping to see somebody else.

Picard cleared his throat. "Gentleman, I'd like to introduce you to Ensign Riker," he said, extending an upturned hand to invite Carmen further into the room.

The man with steel gray hair resigned himself to his seat with a bitter scowl. "Perhaps you misunderstood the stakes, Captain Picard. That is an esteemed doctor and scientist of Starfleet down there. And you want to send a...a...child...after him?"

Carmen's temper flared at the disdain in his voice. "I'm not a-" she started, but Picard silenced her with a look.

"You asked me for help, Mister Keeling. Now I ask you to have faith in my answer. And that answer is Ensign Riker."

Keeling's lip drew into a thin, skeptical line. His fingers drummed against the table as he scrutinized the young woman for a hint of weakness or frailty. She bristled, refusing to shrink away from his imposing study of her.

The gentleman across from Keeling, who possessed a much softer countenance, mustered a smile in her direction. "Please forgive his hasty judgment, Miss Riker," he appealed. "But Joseph meant a great deal to him. To all of us. We must get him back alive."

Carmen's defiance fell away upon hearing his plea. She glanced between the four men, recognizing their weariness for the first time. She had worn that weariness herself-the weariness that comes from losing a loved one. "What happened to him?" she asked.

Picard took a seat and gestured for her to do the same. As she slid into the chair beside her captain, Keeling drew a deep and troubled breath. "We...were stationed in the Thallian system," he began. "A quiet system. Out of the way. Joseph was interested in its asteroid belt. He had this wild theory about how it formed, you see. He always had a wild theory kicking around that brain of his." A fond smile pulled at his lips. But almost instantly, he remembered his pain and the smile vanished. "Anyways, one week ago we picked up a subspace signal. Fleeting, foreign. A distress call perhaps. We weren't able to decode it, but we were able to trace it."

Carmen's intrigue swelled. "Where did it come from?"

"From Vakrona, a class M planet. Starfleet has been keeping tabs on Vakrona for years. Their technology, though still in its infancy, has made significant progress in the last decade. Not significant enough to produce a subspace signal, however."

"They don't know about the Federation then?"

"No. And their sun's powerful solar flares interfered with our sensor readings, leaving us no option but to go down to the surface for ourselves. It was a delicate task, to investigate without making our presence a memorable one. We decided to make camp just outside of a small village called Almer."

"What about the locals? Didn't they question you?"

Keeling sighed briskly at the young woman's impatience. "Of course they did. We told them we were an investigative team from the nearby metropolis. Almer is a rather old-fashioned village, and so our excuse afforded us a comfortable amount of neglect."

"I don't understand," Carmen said, looking to the captain for an explanation.

"It is quite common, actually," he mused. "There seems to be an inherent mistrust between those who dwell in the country and those who dwell in the city."

The gentleman at the far end of the table nodded fervently. "They wouldn't even serve us at the local tavern. They'd just turn up their noses and walk right by. But while the drink didn't flow, talk sure did."

"There were rumors of something falling from the sky," Keeling explained. "Some of the locals had gone out to see what they could find, but the jungle proved too dense. Too dangerous. It hindered our search as well."

"But surely you had better means-"

"We were being watched." Keeling stared at her dourly. "At first, we thought it was the villagers. That blasted girl was always following us. We feared she might report us to her father if she caught sight of any alien technology. If we were to be detained...questioned…" He trailed off, shaking his head.

"What girl?" Carmen glanced again at Picard, but he offered no answer.

"The innkeeper's daughter," the man at the far end answered her. "A cheeky little thing. I caught her red-handed once, and you know what she said to me? She said she was looking for her friend. In the middle of the jungle. Ha!" He huffed out a dry laugh. "No children play in that jungle."

"And then we found the carcass," Keeling continued. "An animal carcass. It had been killed with an energy weapon. That's when we knew that we were not Vakrona's only visitors."

Carmen narrowed her eyes. "And Joseph-is that what happened? Did he find these other visitors?"

"They found him." Keeling's chest caved. "He had gone back to camp early. It was our fourth night there, and the heat wasn't suiting him well. When we returned later…" A tremble entered his voice. "We...we…"

"We found signs of a struggle." One of his companions finished for him. "All night, we looked for him. When we returned to camp in the morning, we found it ransacked for a second time."

"This time, the perpetrator was still there." Keeling had regained his voice. "Elion-I think that was his name. He was an agent of an actual investigative team from the city. Our ruse was up. He demanded to know who we were and what we were doing there. We had to flee, lest we be taken into custody."

"But what about Joseph?"

Picard lifted a hand, gently halting the conversation. "That is why we need you, Carmen. It is too risky for them to show their faces in Almer again. They've come to us for help, and we need somebody who can find the missing doctor."

"With all due respect, sir-" The man at the end of the table laced his fingers together. "That jungle down there...it is a dangerous place. And we don't know who-or what-has Joseph. Elion claimed to know nothing about his disappearance."

"Miss Riker is accustomed to danger, I assure you," Picard answered.

"What about another team?" the man suggested.

"No." Keeling shook his head. "You know how small Almer is. Another group of strangers would draw too much attention. They'd be monitored closely, especially now that the government is involved."

"If I remember correctly," Picard interjected. "Vakrona has strong patriarchal tendencies, does it not?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, all the more reason to send Miss Riker. They would not think to suspect a young woman. Her presence would pose no threat."

Keeling grunted, reluctantly conceding Picard's point. "She will need to learn about the culture if she is to blend in," he insisted. "And we do not have much time."

"She is used to learning under pressure," Picard countered. "She is capable. She can think on her feet. And whatever happens, trust me when I say that she will not leave anyone behind."

Carmen's chest swelled with gratitude. To hear the captain's faith in her felt like finding something long lost. She looked over at him with a small but glowing smile.

Picard rose from the table when no other rebuttals were made. "Miss Riker, you may return to your dinner for now," he instructed. "But we begin your training first thing tomorrow. Time is of the essence."

Carmen did not return to Riker and Troi's quarters right away. She stopped over in Ten Forward first, in need of some time alone with her thoughts. And maybe a Samarian Sunset. Just real quick, she told herself, knowing that once she returned to the dinner she would have to explain everything. And that made her apprehensive for some reason.

She waited at the counter, mulling over Keeling's tale. Just as Guinan set a glass down in front of her, she saw someone else approach the counter out of the corner of her eye. "Hello, commander," Guinan greeted.

Carmen's head whipped to the side. "Will?!"

"Carmen?!" he exclaimed, equally surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

Riker squinted down at her. "I asked you first."

For a moment, Carmen held his stare unflinchingly. But at last she broke away, shifting her attention to the drink in front of her. "Fine," she relented, tapping the rim to make the liquid change colors. "I just...I needed a moment alone."

Guinan planted a glass in front of the commander. "Likewise," he said, holding it aloft in a salute. With a grin, Carmen followed suit. Klink went their glasses. "They've moved on to wedding plans, anyways," Riker said after emptying half his glass. "I can only talk about flowers for so long. And do you have any idea what it's like to have a mother-in-law who can read your mind?"

Carmen set her drink down and wiped at her mouth with a sleeve. "Well I like her."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. She's...fearless."

Stepping over one of the stools to take a seat, Riker laughed heartily. "That's for sure. Did you see the look on Picard's face? I've seen him stare down a Romulan general, for crying out loud. Who would have thought that a little old Betazoid woman is what really scares him?" Carmen snorted, nearly losing her drink for the second time that night. Riker's grin faded suddenly at the reminder of the interruption. "Hey, so what did he want? Is everything okay?"

Carmen's grin faded as well. "Oh, uh...yeah. He wanted to see me about a mission."

"A mission? What kind of mission?"

"Well, a rescue mission actually." As concisely as she could, she recounted the chain of events. Riker listened intently, his brows drawing together to create deep lines of concern. "They can't send another team without drawing suspicion," she said, wrapping up. "But one person can be much more discreet."

"Sorry Carmen, but you aren't very discreet," the commander retorted. "And what about the wedding?"

"Don't worry. I'll find the missing doctor and be back in time for the rehearsal."

But Riker didn't appear any more comfortable with the idea. "That's a little cocky, don't you think? It's your arrogance that will get you into trouble. Especially during an undercover operation like this."

"You don't think I can do it?"

"I don't think you're ready."

She tightened her grip on the glass. "Well, I wasn't asking permission."

Riker sighed heavily. He had come up against her walls before. "Carmen, look-"

"The captain thinks I'm capable," she interrupted. "Isn't that good enough?"

"And if he's wrong? I'm just trying to look out for you-"

"No you're not! The problem is that you don't trust me. You couldn't even make plans for your honeymoon without asking Geordi to keep tabs on me. Baka, I'm getting tired of everyone having such little faith. But guess what-" She slammed the drink down and climbed out of her seat. "I've been fighting a war for the last seven years-without you! So thanks for the 'concern,' but I can take care of myself."

She stormed out of Ten Forward in a huff, leaving Riker alone with his drink and a whole new set of problems.