Chapter 43
2367 On the USS Aldrin Over Occupied Earth
"Attention crew, this is Captain Riker. We will be entering Earth orbit in approximately five minutes. The fighting above Earth is especially heavy, but remember that this is our home, and we will do what we must. It has been a pleasure serving with you all."
Riker cut the intercom and glanced over at his second in command. "We are about to have our hands full here, Commander."
Obi nodded. "Yes sir, our tactical intelligence on the Malkatans puts their ships years beyond our own as far as weaponry goes."
"How can that be, when they simply used the Stargazer's technology from twelve years ago? The Stargazer wasn't state of the art even back then," said Riker.
He glanced up as Doctor Mayer strode onto the bridge and sat down next to Obi. She fixed Riker with a thin smile. Riker's return gaze was like a laser, but Obi was still speaking.
"Yes sir, but it's the Singularity technology Bok sold them that has so increased their development since 2355. The good news is we still know how to operate our own technology better than they do."
"That's not good news, commander, that's wishful thinking," Riker replied, not taking his gaze from Doctor Mayer. "Now, kindly explain what the hell she is doing out of the brig and on my bridge?"
Obi cleared his throat. "Doctor Mayer was instrumental in working with Data and LaForge to re-wire and re-program CASU into an advanced weapon, Captain. She also gave us great insight into her father's motivations, helping us to formulate a plan to find him."
"And you're saying she couldn't have done any of that from the brig?"
"A plan which went out the window when young Mr. Crusher took it upon himself to play the hero," Doctor Mayer offered.
Riker leaned over to her incensed. "If you say another word about Wesley, trust me, you will be back in the brig in no time." But she was right about Wesley, and so he added, "Thank you for your service."
Beside him, Commander Obi smiled.
2355 Maxia
"Mayer, you… you are responsible for all of this...everything," said Picard as he stood up from the helm.
Mayer laughed. He pointed at the right side of his face. "You allowed your lap dog Vigo to shoot my ear off, Captain. There was a time when I would have thought your reputation as a reasonable man would have resulted in more humane behavior. I had to learn the truth the hard way."
"You are accusing me of being inhumane? When you have just ensured that millions of human beings and other innocent cultures will be murdered twelve years from now. Not least of all my crew, down on the moon below," he shouted pointing at the deck.
"And yet Vigo still lives, I would guess," said Mayer mildly, ignoring the accusation.
"Only physically," said Picard. "Vigo will never recover from this experience. But don't try and convince me this is all about revenge against me and Vigo Lieutenant," he said emphasizing Mayer's rank. "You shall return with me to Earth to face prosecution."
"Five minutes until warp core ejection," said the computer.
Mayer looked around the bridge with mild curiosity, as though intrigued by the unfamiliarity of what should have been familiar to him. He studiously ignored Picard. Closing the odd spinning singularity in his fist he placed his hands behind his back, and then walked around the bridge. Eventually he halted and faced the Captain. "I stopped taking orders from you Picard—and more importantly—I stopped fearing you the day you caused me to flee your ship. That is the day I became free."
"You have conveniently erased from your own memory your responsibility in all of this, Mayer. No one made you kill your wife and son, and no one forced you to harm your own daughter—"
"No one ever asked me my side of it!" Mayer shouted, abruptly releasing violent emotions, and slamming his palm into his chest. Just as quickly he returned to his unnaturally serene demeanor.
"Now listen here…I don't care how you feel about it, and I certainly do not care to hear your side of the story," Picard said with quiet anger. "But you will return to Earth." Picard pulled his phaser then, pointing it at the intruder.
Mayer smiled now that his eerie calm had returned. "Will I? Everyone wants to blame me for this, Captain," Mayer said, stepping down from tactical. "You...and even young Wesley Crusher."
Wesley? Picard grabbed the back of his chair to steady himself, still pointing the phaser. "What?"
"Oh… are you surprised? That little boy you knew once is now a teenager. Although I highly doubt he will live to see eighteen years of age. Not if he continues to try and thwart my progress."
Picard's confusion quickly turned to rage which bubbled up and spilled over, as he allowed the pull of the Singularity Net take him under. "Mayer, your quarrel is with me, not the boy. Leave him be!"
Mayer smiled again and reactivated the singularity weapon in his hand. It hummed as he held it up for Picard to see. "You show no fear of this device—but you will. You see it can only be controlled by those who both fear and understand its power, Picard."
"And you control it," said Picard. "Or at least you are under the illusion that you do." He glanced at the view screen. The ship had begun its descent and he only had minutes to get to the shuttle. Was it worth it to stun Mayer and drag him along to the shuttle and back to Earth?
"Oh, it is no illusion, Picard. I alone am capable of wielding this technology! And I intend to impress upon you the full impact of its power."
"You're insane," Picard declared.
Mayer laughed with perverse delight. "When I first encountered the Singularity Net in my shuttle, I was mortally wounded, Picard…having escaped your twisted notion of justice…. The singularity itself was surrounded by a fog of radiation." He smiled. "The radiation made me weak as a baby—too weak to care for the wounds your crew had inflicted upon me. First my hair fell out…then my teeth. I believed I was as good as dead." He held out the singularity device. "Sometimes I wonder if I did die, Picard. My memory of that time is very murky. But most importantly I came back, stronger than ever."
Picard walked closer. "If you think that I am afraid of you and that deadly toy of yours you are mistaken, Mayer. I have already been subjected to the most heinous forms of torture and humiliation, and all because of you."
"And now what? You intend to bring me back to Earth?" He held out the singularity device which was spinning more quickly now. "But how do you intend to do that when you have set your ship to crash into the Malkatan base below?"
Picard stared at him speechless, as the ship's computer continued its countdown in the background.
Mayer began to laugh. "You are wondering how I can possibly know what you've planned, Picard? The answer is this wondrous thing," he held out the spinning device in his palm. "With this device I can be at any place and time—sometimes all at once. Yes, I have seen your future, Picard. And you will be interested to know that your plan worked. Your warp core detonated within the Singularity Net just after the Stargazer destroyed itself and the Malkatan base. But I am here to prevent that future and create a new one, Picard. One where you fail…and then die."
Picard's eyes narrowed. "Even if that is so, I have a…belief that I will go on living in another time and place. But you on the other hand, will not." He fired the phaser, but Mayer was lightning quick and held up the singularity globe and the beam of energy disappeared inside it. A moment later, it re-emerged and shot directly at Picard. He dove out of the way and rolled to the deck, firing again, but Mayer again re-directed the phaser fire back at him.
He crouched behind the helm. Behind him he knew the planet below was fast approaching on the view screen, and the deck shifted violently. His ship was not meant for sharp descent into a planet's atmosphere. Thankfully, the moon had little to speak of, but he had planned to escape his ship before it crashed into the base. Now his prospects were growing bleaker by the minute.
"Three minutes until warp core ejection," the computer reported as if reading his mind.
Picard wiped angrily at the sweat that ran into his eyes and he leaned out to glance at Mayer, before returning to his cover. But Mayer was gone. Alarmed, he stood up, holding his phaser uselessly at his side.
"Warp core ejection procedure aborted," announced the computer suddenly.
"What?!"
"Danger…anti-matter containment has been fatally compromised. The warp core must be ejected, or the ship will be destroyed."
Mayer re-appeared then. "Hello again, Picard."
"What have you done?"
"You heard the ship's computer, Captain. I have aborted the ejection of the warp core, at the same time creating a coolant leak. Matter-anti-matter containment will soon fail. You will have your wish and this ship will be destroyed within minutes; just not in the way you envisioned. Sometimes in this experiment we call life, it takes many attempts to reach perfection."
Picard ran at him and knocked him to the deck. He grabbed Mayer around his neck and attempted to choke him into unconsciousness.
Mayer's mouth opened in a soundless laugh, and then he was gone again. Picard felt an almost immediate blow on the back of his neck. Somehow he retained consciousness and crawled forward, but his vision remained cloudy.
"Radiation levels are now critical. Immediate evacuation is required," said the computer.
Picard continued his slow crawl away, feeling the trickle of blood from the back of his head. Mayer must have kicked him. The ship lurched violently again and the deck shook violently. The deck was now almost vertical.
"Attention," droned the computer. "Due to rapid acceleration and gravitational disturbances on the moon below, inertial dampers have failed. The ship's current course and speed must be corrected."
He slid uncontrollably until his arm caught on the base of the ops station. Still flat on the deck, he blinked, trying to focus as Mayer continued to approach him. His eye caught on something around the man's ankle then. It was familiar somehow.
"The ship's atmospheric regulators are now saturated with radiation," said the computer helpfully.
Picard pulled himself to a sitting position, realizing then that he'd lost his phaser. The radiation sickness was beginning to overwhelm him. But then as he stared at Mayer's lower leg a sensation of sudden and complete awareness overcame his debilitating condition. He knew what it was. It was the item Beverly had given him on the Malkatan base; the same item he and Zev and Vigo had used to nullify the effects of the singularity net in order to effectuate the Stargazer's escape from orbit around the moon. The neutralizer. Despite his dire situation; despite everything, he began to laugh.
The Planet Glanau 2366
Wesley grabbed the pair of dusty goggles swinging from the handle bars of the stolen hover bike and slapped them over his head as best he could with one arm, as he steered the careening bike with the other. His mother would kill him if she saw him right now ...but then the thought of his mother alone in a hospital bed caused him to throttle the bike forward. He could see Bok's silver car coming into view up ahead. He grinned, elated that he was actually catching up to the Ferengi and was rewarded by a mouthful of sand and wind.
For the first time he allowed himself to turn around and look backward. He was satisfied to see Mayer's shadowy figure standing far behind in the dust. But as he turned his attention forward again, he nearly crashed the bike, and had to struggle to recover. Mayer was also in front of him on another speeding vehicle, and he was headed not away from Wesley, but instead was hurtling toward the teen on a collision course.
Wesley shouted and tried to swerve out of the way, but Mayer copied his movements. Unable to avoid Mayer's oncoming attack he threw himself off the bike, and hit the rocky soil hard, rolling in the dust. Something propelled him upward and he pulled his phaser, firing wildly in the direction of where Mayer's vehicle had been, but Mayer was no longer there. He watched stunned as the bike he'd been on crashed into the dirt just meters ahead.
"Looking for me?"
Wesley spun around to find Mayer towering over him holding the small singularity device in one hand. With the other he punched Wesley in the throat. Wes staggered back, choking, but brought the phaser up to fire again-but again Mayer had disappeared. The next blow came from the side, as Mayer struck him in the same temple Bok had. Wesley cried out in pain and dropped the phase, falling to one knee.
"I'm curious, young man...why did you follow me into the past?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Wesley choked, trying to steady his dizziness and buy himself some time. "I'm trying to stop you from killing everybody!"
Mayer knelt down beside him. "Usually a worthy goal! However...did you ever stop to consider that some things just aren't worth saving?"
Wesley glared at Mayer whose almost gentle tone contrasted with his disturbed sentiments.
"This is all a joke to you, isn't it?"
"On the contrary, young man. It is very serious-my life's work in fact. Do you realize that by harnessing this great power, a man can do anything he wishes?"
Wesley stared at the spinning ball in the crouching Mayer's hand, and then for some reason his gaze dropped to Mayer's ankle. There was some kind of metallic device fused around the lower part of the man's leg.
"You're wondering, young man how to take this power from me, are you not?"
"It's not yours, Mayer. You stole it-" He struggled to focus his vision and mind. Something about the item around Mayer's ankle was so familiar to him. His mind spun and threatened to completely leave him. But then he realized. It was the neutralizer. The key.
The Aldrin
Beverly moved a tiny shock of red hair away from the baby's forehead. She leaned against Troi, suddenly overcome with emotion. "My baby," she whispered.
"Yes," said Troi. "Now let's get her to safety." Just as she said that the ship shuddered. They were under attack.
