Chapter 13
2355 Inside the Singularity Net
"Let's try it again," Picard called to Commander Zev. He sat at ops, while she stood at science station one. Vigo stood silently at tactical, shooting a furtive, distrustful glance toward the Captain every now and then. "Calibrate at 150% this time. I've boosted the extra power from weapons."
"Leaving us nearly defenseless," Vigo murmured, staring at Picard hatefully.
"That's not true, Vigo," Picard said without turning around. "Our weapons systems are fine."
Zev nodded. "Ready, sir. It was a smoother fit than we could have anticipated. Whatever this technology is, it recognizes the gravitons that comprise our tractor beam. The computer is reading a solid link now between the neutralizer and the emitter. We should be able to use it to push a hole through the net."
Picard tapped his code into the ops station. "Initializing…now…switching helm controls to my command," he said. "On main viewer."
Vigo switched on the front view screen and the three crew members watched as a white repulsing beam emitted from the front of the Stargazer. Slowly it began to eat its way into the invisible fabric of the singularity net.
"Sir, it's working!"
Picard's breath came quickly as he kept his focus on the controls. "Ahead, one quarter impulse power…steady, steady," he said to himself. As an expanse of starlight flooded the view screen they all knew they were free. But instead of the elation they should have felt, they could not help but think that perhaps their troubles were not yet over.
The Aldrin
"Are you going to help us travel back in time again to save him?" Wesley watched the Traveler expectantly.
"No Wesley. I have been forbidden to do so," said the Traveler. "The others of my kind are punishing me," he said.
"Why?"
"Because of my carelessness. Because I loosened the singularity net so many years ago during my early travels. And now the Ferengi have cursed the universe by providing its power to the Malkatans."
The Traveler continued. "The others of my kind allowed me to travel two more times across time and space in order to investigate the meaning and effect of my transgression. First I traveled into the past, where I witnessed the creators of the singularity net."
"What exactly is this singularity net everyone has been talking about?" Commander Obi asked.
The Traveler turned to him. "The singularity net was for lack of a better word, a prison or series of prisons, created by an ancient race to capture and punish the criminals of its society. Inside one of these nets there was no escape except through advanced technological means created by the same race. The forces within the net used a sort of…warping of time and space, which served to confuse and disorient the prisoner to the point of hallucination...and later insanity. The net was reserved for only the most vicious and unredeemable criminals, because of the very real risk that the prisoners might kill themselves or each other due to the very realistic hallucinations they experienced. It was nearly escape-proof."
Beverly's fear and feelings of guilt swiftly returned. She had left him behind. "Are you saying there is no real escape?"
"No. Actually, the neutralizer you brought Picard in the past should work quite well to effectuate the escape of the Stargazer," said the Traveler. "The neutralizer is derived from the same technology as the net. In fact it was used by the jailors of that ancient race to neutralize the effect the singularity net had on all who encountered it. In simple terms it is a complex key to unlock an even more complex prison cell."
"So then the Captain will be able to escape," Geordi said. "I mean…in the past."
The Traveler nodded. "It is likely that he will have found a way. But there is more. This prison system was discontinued after a thousand years, and the net itself was abandoned."
"Why?" asked Troi. "It sounds horrible and cruel…but effective."
The Traveler smiled faintly. "It was too effective. So effective that the warp fields created inside the net on the home planet of this race eventually broke loose and caused chaos within the ancients' society. Regular people turned on one another influenced by the effect of the Net."
"And this ancient technology…this is what the Malkatans have now used to create the graviton weaponry that is now destroying the great cities of Earth…and Starfleet?" Riker felt an artery beating in his neck as the blood drained from his face.
"Yes. I believe that they have used this in combination with the Ferengi and Starfleet technologies they encountered as a result of Bok's capture of Captain Picard in the net in 2355."
"And now he's not satisfied with that," Beverly blurted out. "I'm not going to stand here and listen to this anymore! We have to travel back into the past and stop Bok from carrying out his plan. He won't stop-" She grabbed Riker's arm and looked into his eyes. "Will…don't you understand? He won't stop until he kills Jean-Luc. And if Jean-Luc dies in the past, he'll be gone forever. I didn't tell Jean-Luc about Bok. He has no idea, and won't be able to defend himself or his crew."
Riker looked at her in surprise. He didn't know anything about Beverly traveling into the past. He studied her anguished expression. Something about her was different; but he couldn't quite place it. He carefully pried his arm from her steely grasp, but then took her hand in his. He looked at the Traveler. "You said you can't help us travel this time…so what the hell are we supposed to do? We can't just leave Picard to be killed."
"If Bok traveled from his ship into the past, then it is very likely he has the Pedestal of Time."
"Pedestal of Time?"
"Search Bok's ship and you will find it," said the Traveler. "You may use it to travel in time as he did. And it should take you to his last destination. But it can only be used to bring you back by others manipulating it from this dimension. "
"So if he has not informed his crew of his intentions, how does Bok intend to return to this dimension?" Data asked.
"I'll bet he told Kad everything," said Geordi. "There's no way Kad's not trying to get a cut of the action, as long as there's latinum to be made."
"No. Bok doesn't care if he returns to our time or not…" Beverly's expression was stony, determined. "His only thought is of hurting Jean-Luc. And that is why we have to stop him before he does."
The Traveler's chest began to glow, and he clutched at it with his hands, appearing to be in pain. "I must go," he said. "I am being summoned. But I promise that I will return."
"Wait," Wesley called after him. "You said that your people allowed you to travel twice more to understand the effect of what you had done. You told us about the past…."
The Traveler smiled. "Yes, Wesley. I have also seen the future. A future stolen by Bok and sold to the Malkatans for much too high a price." He shook his head, and his eyes were suddenly full of sorrow. "No…I do not believe you want to know."
"Do we look like people who can afford not to know?" Riker said angrily. "Tell us!"
The Traveler clutched at his heart again. "Nothing will survive…nothing…unless they are stopped." He cried out and then disappeared, shimmering away.
Riker clenched his jaw and turned to the others. "Who has the neutralizer?"
Beverly stepped out of her space suit and took the neutralizer out of the pocket of her blue lab coat. As she held it up, there was a commotion at the sickbay entrance.
"Out of my way!" A security officer backed steadily through the door to sickbay with his hands up. Beverly watched startled as an elegant but frantic looking blonde woman stepped through the doorway holding some kind of a disruptor.
"Johanna!" Commander Obi shouted, and held his hands out toward her. "What are you doing?"
Doctor Johanna Mayer's hand shook as she leveled the disruptor at Riker. "I heard it…I heard it all. You're planning on going back to save Picard."
"That's right," Riker said as calmly as possible. "Now, I need you to put the weapon down so we can talk, Doctor."
She shook her head, and the disruptor shook in her trembling hand, but she didn't lower it. With her free hand she wiped tears from her blurry eyes. "You know what I've been through? How I've built myself up…I did it on my own. My father tried to hold me back—threatened to kill me. But eventually he disappeared with the rest of the Stargazer crew. And now you want to bring the son of a bitch back. Well I'm not going to let you, Riker."
"Johanna," reasoned Obi. "This isn't the way…you don't want to hurt anyone, I know you don't. I think you're wrong, Johanna. I think you will survive even if the timeline is changed back to the correct one. You have to have faith."
"Faith in what? Some mystical time traveling being and some ancient technology we don't even understand? What's your plan? To save Picard? You people don't give a damn about anyone else!"
Riker stepped forward. "Don't do this, Doctor. Listen to Patrick."
Mayer sniffed in and looked from Obi to Riker. "Which one of you plans on returning to the past?" Her eyes fell on Beverly, and she swiveled the disruptor in her direction. Data stepped in front of Crusher quickly, and she fired in that same instant. Obi leapt forward to push Riker out of the way of the beam and both men fell to the floor hard. Data moved Crusher out of the way, and Mayer fired again. The neutralizer which had flown out of Beverly's grasp and into the air, disintegrated immediately.
"Get a doctor over here!" Riker screamed from underneath Obi's unconscious form. Simultaneously he saw the stun beam hit Doctor Mayer from behind and she fell to the deck.
