Chapter 12

Beverly

The sick lay in rows on the ground and for a second Beverly was overwhelmed by the amount of people. She froze, not knowing where to begin. The faces of the sick blurred and became the faces of her friends crying out to her to help them. Everyone she knew was dying. Had died. She shook her head, clearing it of her memories. She couldn't help anyone on Arvada III, but she could help these people.

Beverly turned to the man who had escorted her here. "Bring me to the patients who fell ill first."

The man nodded and gestured forward with his arms. "Follow me."

She followed him past rows of sick patients, several of them calling out for her to help them.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they stopped in front of an elderly man. He lay still, so sick he wasn't even moving in his sleep any more and his skin looked yellowish.

Beverly immediately lay down her medical case, opening it to reveal the lines of purple liquid. Hoping she had enough for all these patients, she took a deep breath and grabbed the first vial. Her hand's shook the tiniest bit as she injected it into his abdomen.

"We should wait and see if he has a response to the drug before we administer it to the other patients," Beverly said to the man, her voice shaking slightly as she spoke.

"No time!" The man yelled. "Can't you see that these people have nothing left to lose?"

Beverly flinched. His voice brought back memories from when she was on the planet with Jean Luc. Her hands started shaking again.

Exhaling loudly, Beverly grasped the medical case again, gripping it tightly to try to keep her hands from shaking. "Alright. Who's next?"

It was about 5 patients later when the first man cried out.

Beverly rushed over. As soon as she was by him, he grabbed her hand, his grip tight on her wrist. "Lucille?!" The man smiled, his face twitching with the effort. "Lucille, you came!"

"I'm not-" Beverly tried to correct him, but he interrupted her.

"I love you Lucille. Always have." His voice was raspy and he paused after ever word.

Tears welled in Beverly's eyes. "Lucille loves you too."

The man smiled again and for one second, his eyes displayed clarity.

"I know." He said, closing his eyes.

Beverly sat forward, checking his pulse.

"He's – He's dead." She said, her words catching in her throat.

She turned to the man who had followed her here. "Who-" Beverly sniffed and cleared her throat before continuing. "Who is Lucille?"

"His wife." The man said, his eyes focused on the dead man. "She died last week from the disease. They were married for 49 years, never had any children."

Beverly blinked back tears. These people. They were dying too. And she hadn't helped them. It was just like before. She couldn't help them.

She hung her head between her knees, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Get up."

"No," Beverly said. "It's no use. It didn't work."

The man pushed her shoulders back, forcing her to look up at him. "Are you telling me that that little girl over there doesn't deserve a chance of survival?"

"I killed this man!"

"No, you didn't. This disease did. You were trying to help."

Beverly shook her head and looked away.

"Listen to me! Do you know how most people die from this?"

Yes, Beverly thought, she knew all too well how they died.

"All those people died in their sleep, but this man woke up! Beverly, your cure works, this man died because it was too late."

She looked up again, glancing at the dead body of the man. He was right. Beverly didn't like him, but he was right. And, she realized, he truly cared about his people.

"Please, Beverly, don't make it too late for everyone else." His voice was softer then she had ever heard before. "Don't give up."

Beverly slowly stood up, reaching again for her medical case. Wordlessly, she walked over to the little girl lying on the floor. She reached for another vial and injected her abdomen. Beverly brushed away the rest of her tears. She was going to do everything she could to save this little girl.

Jean Luc

This was it. He was in a shuttle about to enter the atmosphere of this alien planet. Beverly was somewhere on this planet. The planet they had been hurt on. He couldn't even remember what had happened, but he had seen the aftermath on Beverly's body.

"Enterprise to Captain Picard."

"Captain Picard here." He replied.

"Captain, this is Deanna. Remember what we agreed on. Green flare, we come in to get you and Beverly by force, involving Starfleet. Purple flare, you have retrieved Beverly and are coming back as soon as possible."

"Yes, Deanna. I am entering the atmosphere now. Communications should shut down momentarily. I hope to see you all again soon."

"Yes Sir!"

Jean Luc smiled as he turned off his comms. They were more like family then friends now, him and his crew. He hoped they already knew this. Because he didn't know if he would ever get the chance to tell them.