Riker finished his report. The conference room aboard the Enterprise was silent in the aftermath of his story. He folded his hands on the table, unable to meet their eyes.

Picard stood. "I will inform her next of kin. Dismissed."

The rest of the officers stood, and left silently. Riker remained seated, swallowing.

Deanna Troi hesitated beside him. "Will?" She asked quietly.

"They wouldn't let me take her body. I couldn't get to – I tried, but they – "

"Will, there's nothing you could have done."

"I should have known!" He slapped the table and stood. "I should have known when that lunatic broke into her room and tried to stab her. That's how you become King on Lohrammain, you kill the Queen. I never should have let her out of my sight." He gazed out the observation window. They were still in orbit around Lohrammain, until their request to join the Federation was formally denied.

Commander…

Riker looked back at Troi. "Give me a minute, Deanna, I want to join the Captain on that call." He took a deep, steadying breath.

Deanna nodded, kissed his cheek, and left.

Riker couldn't sleep. He'd lost men before. Hell, he'd lost ensigns before. In all likelihood, Katlin wouldn't even be the last one.

Katlin. Damn it. He ran his hands over his face. What bothered him the most was that she was still down there somewhere, cold and unmoving, white as snow. The damn savages probably had her on display.

That last thought sickened him. He kicked aside his blankets and stood at the window, looking down at the planet spinning sedately below.

Commander…

Some echo of her voice tugged at him. Some part of her was still down there. Riker set his lips in a line. He was going to bring her back. Her family deserved that much, deserved a body to bury.

He dressed.

This late at night, the Enterprise was mostly empty, but Riker took the lesser-used corridors to the shuttle bay. He wasn't strictly disobeying orders, and as long as there were no witnesses…

The doors to the shuttle bay slid open, and just when he was congratulating himself on the luck of finding it abandoned, Chief O'Brien stepped from behind a shuttle, tricorder in hand. "Commander Riker. What brings you here this late?"

Riker ground his teeth. "Just head out, O'Brien."

"I know what you're trying to do, Commander. I'm afraid I can't let you have a shuttle. It's against regulations!" Chief O'Brien said the last sentence unnaturally loud. He glanced meaningfully at the security camera. His gaze returned to Riker. "Punchmeintheface," he said softly, through his teeth.

"What?"

"If you want! A! Shuttle!" O'Brien said. "You'll have to! Go! Through! Me!" He took a breath and closed his eyes.

Riker balled his fist. "Sorry, O'Brien." The punch landed squarely, with a resounding thwack.

O'Brien went down theatrically. "Oh," he moaned loudly. "I am completely incapacitated, unable to even raise the alarm."

Riker shut himself in the nearest shuttle, and took off for the planet below.

Infiltrating the palace was easier than he expected. Riker had thought to bring a hooded cloak, and he melded easily into the shadows as the guards went past at regular intervals. In the distance, he could hear the roar of music, and shouts of laughter. It seemed like the thousand year celebration was in full swing.

It wasn't hard to find her body. Rows of candles seemed to lead him, mockingly, to the crypt. Away from the celebration, the tomb was quiet, empty, lit with flickering lights.

She was posed like a fairy-tale, in a glass coffin. Her hair curled easily over her shoulders. Her hands folded around a bouquet of flowers, the foliage obscuring where the dagger wound would be. She was pale, yes, but she could have been sleeping.

Riker approached the dias, pulling his hood from his face. He stood looking down at the coffin and swallowed. "I'm sorry Katlin."

He placed a hand against the glass. "I'm going to get you out of –" He stopped. Had he imagined it? A faint mist had appeared on the glass, above her bloodless lips. He pulled his hand back, and watched, holding his own breath.

Had he imagined it? No! There it was again. Riker froze, and listened – really listened, the way Deanna had taught him.

Commander!

There! The flicker of consciousness, the murmur of thought, the sudden realization that she was – she was alive! Riker felt along the coffin for a seam, or a catch – there! The glass top hinged open with a hiss. A fog of acrid, yellow smoke spooled out from the casket, and Riker waved a hand, coughing, willing it to disperse.

"Katlin?" He felt for a pulse. "Katlin, wake up." She remained unmoving. Riker interlocked his fingers, stiffened his arms, and gave her several quick CPR compressions. "Wake up." The fog from the coffin was dispersing, but it stung at Riker's eyes. Was that how they were keeping her asleep, the smoke? He took a deep, full breath, pinched her nose, and bent to cover her mouth with his own. He exhaled.

Katlin coughed. Yellow smoke spilled from her nose, her lips. Riker pulled back in time to see her open her eyes, and cough again. She gasped, wheezed, and reached for him. "They're trying to kill me!" she sputtered.

"I noticed!" Riker said, pulled her to a seated position. "Do you think you can walk?"

"Yes." She wrapped her arms around his neck. He put an arm beneath her legs and lifted her out of her coffin. "Oh, Commander, I am so glad to see you."

"Me too, kiddo." He kissed her forehead as he set her on her feet.

"Two to beam out!"

Riker unclasped his cloak and buckled it around her shoulders. "I'm not exactly on company time here. I left my badge behind."

"A shuttle then?"

"Just outside the garden. Come on." Riker peered through the doorway to make sure the coast was clear. They crept through the abandoned corridors. The raucous party continued faintly, in the distance. As they stepped into the moonlit garden, Katlin breathed a sigh of relief. Not much further.

"And where do you think you're going?" The prince asked.

Katlin and Riker turned. Riker took Katlin's arm in a grip. The prince – no, the King – stood in the dark garden, a quiver of arrows at his back, a bow held loosely at his side. He selected an arrow slowly, and put it to the string. "It wasn't enough for you, was it, Katlin? This entire world and your fingertips and it wasn't enough." He fingered the arrow lightly, nocking it in to place. "You would have had everything. You would have had me." He drew the bow, fixed it at Katlin. "I would have let you out of that tomb, eventually."

"Ew," Katlin said, flatly. Riker suppressed a sudden bark of laughter.

The prince's arm trembled. He lowered the bow. "Go." He said. "Go, and never return."

They scrambled. Riker threw open the door to the shuttle and Katlin jumped inside, buckling herself into the passanger seat. "Go go go gogogo!" she slapped at the dashboard. Riker threw the shuttle into flight, and Katlin craned her neck to see the prince grow smaller and smaller, and then indistinguishable.

She sighed and flopped backwards into the seat, closing her eyes.

Riker glanced over. "Ensign Pierce, you realize we are going to have a very serious discussion about the Prime Directive."

Katlin's eyes fluttered open fearfully. "Yes sir."

"Furthermore, you are suspended from all away missions until you've proved you can follow orders."

"Yes sir," her lip trembled.

"And the next time someone offers you an entire planet?"

Katlin cleared her throat. "I'll make sure he isn't a psychotic murdering sociopath first."

"That's my girl." Riker grinned at her, and then turned his attention back to the stars.

The End.