A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Though I know I am quite evil with my love of cliff hangers haha ;-). Here's the next chapter, and after this there are only two more left for this episode! But they are both on the longer side.
Elion prodded the doctor back towards camp urgently. He had a feeling that if Troi had woken up on her own, she would try to go after her family. Jora led the way, guiding them closer and closer to Shadow Ridge. As they mounted the final hill, which nestled into the foot of Shadow Ridge, a deep thrumming filled the sky. Elion halted in his tracks, reaching for Jora. They both watched, eyes wide in fear-tinged wonder, as a metallic green spacecraft lifted above the trees. It hovered over the jungle for a few moments, rain sliding down its sleek sides. Then, as its nose turned skyward, the whole craft shimmered like a ripple in a pond and disappeared.
"They're gone…" Gardener whispered. His knees buckled and he sank to the ground, overcome by the weight of his own treachery.
Gone?! Elion sprinted up the hill. "Deanna!" he cried. "Will? Anybody?"
"Over here!" someone answered. A boy appeared, the one Elion had helped rescue from the river. Clumsily, he held onto Troi in an effort to help her navigate the muddy ravine floor.
Elion rushed to her side, taking her weight off the boy. "Up there," she pleaded. "Please. I need to get up there."
When the agent merely stared at her blankly, Toleel pointed to a rocky embankment. "There is a cave at the top," he explained.
Shielding his eyes against the rain, Elion searched the side of Shadow Ridge. Sure enough, at the top of the embankment, he spied a dark opening half-covered in vines. Could there be others in that cave?
"I'll go," he offered. "You're in no shape for the climb-"
"They need me." Troi's fever ran rampant through her blood. He could see it in her eyes. But he could also see that stubborn devotion that had carried her this far, burning even stronger than the fever.
"Come on then," he sighed, guiding her to the bottom of the embankment. Hoisting her up by the legs, he waited for her to find a handhold.
"Got it!" she cried, and her arms shook as she tried to pull herself higher. Elion stayed beneath her, bracing her weight and pushing her onward. Slowly but surely, they made progress up the embankment.
The Drums began to fade into the distance. One last peal of thunder, like the tolling of a great bell, rang out as Troi reached the top. With one final heave, Elion pushed her up and over the ledge. He dragged himself over the top next, a gust of rain blowing into his eyes. After wiping his face on his tunic, he turned around to help Jora and Toleel. Once everyone had made it, he took a moment to collect his breath and look around. Only then did he realize he was standing in a pool of blood.
The blood trickled off like a trail, leading right into the mouth of the cave. Elion followed, a dreadful feeling sinking in the pit of his stomach. He spied someone sitting just inside the cave, leaning against the wall to take shelter from the wind and the rain. It was Commander Riker.
His head tilted to the side, eyes closed and beard caked in blood. He was either dead or nearly there. His daughter had tucked herself beneath his limp and heavy arm. She pressed one ear against his chest, eyes half-closed in concentration as though she were willing his heart to keep beating.
"Mom!" she cried, turning abruptly. Troi hobbled forward, into her daughter's arms, and the two embraced each other tearfully. Elion held their other companions back, giving the family some privacy. After mother and daughter exchanged a few words, broken and whispered, Troi reached for her husband's face. She said nothing to him, nothing aloud at least. But his eyelids gave a flutter. Once. Twice. Then, finally, they opened.
"Imzadi…" Troi smiled as she cupped his chin in both hands.
"What's this?" he rasped, touching the black rash on her cheek. "One of those...jungle facials?"
Her smile grew, despite the tears glistening from her eyes. "I wouldn't recommend it, though. Terribly itchy."
His chest heaved with a short laugh. Carmen sat up, removing a bloody cloth from his stomach and wringing it out. He winced slightly as she replaced it on top of the gruesome looking wound.
Troi's eyes flooded with concern. Her fingers trailed down from his face to the edges of the cloth. "Don't," Riker whispered, and pulled her to his side. Then he pulled Carmen back down to his other side, and the three of them huddled together in bittersweet resignation. Just before his eyes sank closed one last time, Riker hummed a few notes of something that made tears slip from his daughter's lashes.
"No, no more blues…"
"Mr. Elion?" Jora's small voice rose beside him with fear. "What's happening to me?"
When the agent looked down, he saw little shimmers of white that seemed to be floating over the girl. He reached out for her, only to find that his own arm now had the same affliction. The shimmers grew in intensity until his whole vision filled with a blinding light. Before Elion could even cry out, everything disappeared from view.
Next thing he knew, Elion was standing on a strange platform in a windowless room. A crowd of people filled this room, each one wearing a uniform of either red or gold or blue. One of them looked different in a frightening sort of way. He stood taller than the rest, with strange ridges that fanned out across his forehead. Dark brown eyes matched his dark brown skin, and a row of pointed teeth hid just behind his lips. He zeroed in on Toleel, who seemed to recognize him. Or at least his kind. The familiarity was not a fond one for either.
A lady with flame-colored hair began chirping out orders. A group of officers rallied around Will and Deanna, loading them onto stretchers and wheeling them hurriedly out of the room. Carmen watched them go, shoulders heaving with every breath.
"Your name is Elion, I take it?"
A man in a red uniform was speaking to him. His head was smooth and balding. His eyes looked kindly but somehow older than the rest of his face. He carried himself with a graceful dignity that effortlessly commanded the respect of those around him. This was a distinguished man, an honest man.
"Yes," Elion answered. "That is my name. But-who are you? Where am I?"
"I am Captain Jean Luc Picard," the man replied. "And you are aboard the Enterprise."