A/N: We're here for episode 9 and I'm sure you all think I've added way too much into this fanfic for my own reasons, but I'm going to make it work. I promise.
Adley found Picard once he was out of his meeting with the original members of his crew from so many years ago. "Do we have a plan? Where's Troi?" she inquired as she felt his arms move around her waist.
"Deanna took Jack to the counselor's quarters to find out what darkness is following him," Picard answered after he placed a kiss on her forehead, "She's convinced that he is good but there is something bad surrounding him. We'll know more once they're through. How are you? All of this has been a lot for anyone and you are special compared to the rest of us," he added as he, once again, placed his hand on her small baby bump.
"I'm good," she replied, "I promise You'll be the first to know if anything feels off.. Do you have any idea what kind of darkness Deanna Troi saw around Jack? I can't imagine it could be anything worse than the things we've been facing," she replied as she looked at him, hoping for an encouraging thought.
Picard shrugged, "I wish I knew, but I honestly, have no idea. Why don't you go rest while we wait to find out what happens next for all of us," he suggested, his lips curving into a timid smile as he knew it was always better not to tell Adley what to do.
She wasn't tired but she nodded for him, "I could lay down for a little while. Frontier Day is mere hours away so I won't be gone for long. Wake me if anything important happens?" she requested before she placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.
"Of course," he agreed as he placed his lips to hers before she removed herself from his embrace and headed to their shared quarters on the Titan.
An hour later, Picard was standing in sickbay with Beverly, Kirk, and Reagan when Troi nearly sprinted through the sliding doors to find Picard and Beverly.
"What is it?" Beverly asked, her tone urgent when she saw the look on her friend's face.
Troi took a moment to catch her breath before she responded, "I am sorry to be the one to share this with you, but Jack is a part of the Borg collective. Somehow, a part of Locutus remained in Jean Luc after we saved him and it was transferred to Jack. I'm sure that same piece is why the Changelings stole his body," she shared, causing Kirk's ears to perk up as he released Reagan's hand and moved closer to the conversation.
Beverly was beside herself as Picard replied, "How can that be? You all ensured that there was no Borg technology left inside of me…"
"This could have been something different," Beverly finally spoke, "The Borg are smart and, clearly, they placed something in you that we were not able to uncover. Something that presented as Iromodic Syndrome later on. Jack isn't sick," she added as she placed her face into her hand.
Reagan got up from her bed after she heard what they were discussing, "We have to send him somewhere where they can't activate him. He's been exhibiting abilities given to him by the Borg anytime we've been in a situation that caused distress," she added as she felt Kirk wrap his arm around her waist to help stabilize her. She hadn't had enough time to recover from her concussion yet.
"I will handle this," Picard responded as he felt Beverly reach for him, "There are protocols that we have to follow in a situation like this," he added as he disappeared from sickbay leaving everyone wondering what the future held for each of them.
Thirty minutes after Picard left Sickbay to talk to Jack about sending him somewhere safe on Vulcan, Adley found him standing alone where Jack once stood awaiting the answers to his time with Deanna.
"What's going on?" she questioned as she saw him leaning against a table with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. She, immediately, moved to wrap herself around him, to comfort him in any way she could think to.
Picard wasn't sure how to voice what he'd learned about himself and his son over the past thirty minutes. He took a deep breath before he replied, "Jack doesn't have Irumodic Syndrome as we previously thought. He is plagued by something much worse."
"What could be worse than the disease that killed you? I was there when you 'died' and it was one of the worst moments of my life," she added as she waited for him to explain further.
Jean Luc closed his eyes briefly before he continued, "It turns out the Borg left something imprinted on my DNA which appeared to be Irumodic Syndrome, but it wasn't. Based on everything we know, at the moment, Jack belongs to the Borg and he's left here on a shuttle that we cannot trace to go to them," he added as he felt her arms wrap around his waist, pulling him against her body to offer the only comfort she knew how to give.
"We'll find a way to free him from the Borg," Adley stated, confidence emanating from her voice even though she had no right to feel it. She continued, "Your crew got you back even when you were designated to be their voice so we can get Jack back. I know it," she added as she leaned in closer to him until she placed her lips on his neck.
Picard took a deep breath as he felt her lips against his skin, so gently and soft it was as if she was afraid she would break him if she wasn't too careful. "You're right. Let's go reconvene with the others and figure out a plan. Wallowing in all that I've learned over the past two weeks won't help anyone so there's no need for it. Thank you," he glanced at her, his eyes conveying how genuinely he felt those words.
"What do we know?" Picard questioned as he and Adley stepped onto the bridge to find the others waiting on them.
Kirk let go of Reagan's hand as he stepped closer to Picard, "We know that Starfleet has added technology to all of their ships that link them together. What we need is a ship, or ships, that aren't tethered to the rest of the fleet. I suggest that we head to the Fleet Museum and steal a few ships that can't be detected. Once we have them, we can meet with the rest of the fleet at Frontier Day. This plan will give us, at least, a fighting chance," he added as he felt Reagan move back to his side, grasping his hand and giving it a squeeze.
"He's right," Reagan agreed, "The Titan can be detected even though we've dropped the transponder and added the cloaking device, but an old Starfleet ship would be undetectable. We have more than one capable Captain among us to help in this endeavor," she shared as he resisted the urge to steal a quick kiss from James T. Kirk.
Adley nodded as she moved closer to Picard's side, "The Changelings and the Borg are expecting us to show up in the Titan to take them all on," she began, giving his hand a confident squeeze before she continued, "But, if we were to show up in older ships that can't be traced then we can use the element of surprise to our advantage. And, if the Borg is behind all of this, then Jack will be there too, or at least on his way, so we can get him back too," she added with the same unearned confidence she'd displayed before.
Picard began to nod as he glanced around him at the rest of the crew, the members of the Titan, and the others from his own past who hadn't voiced their opinion yet. "What do the rest of you think? Is this plan a feasible option or is it just as insane as everything else we've tried?" he questioned as he looked around the bridge at all the crewmembers and non-crewmembers surrounding him.
Delaney spoke first, not really knowing where she fit into all of this since she'd just joined this crew and rekindled her romance with Shaw, "Based on what we know about the Changelings and the Borg, so far, this is the best plan. We have to take into account any element of surprise we have. I have a bad feeling that the Borg has found a way to assimilate Starfleet without their knowledge," she added, causing Beverly's mind to start turning as she grabbed her tablet and started comparing Jack's scans with what they'd recovered from the work being done on Picard's body on the Shrike.
Shaw let out a long sigh before he replied, grabbing onto Delaney's hand and giving it a squeeze, "As much as I'd like us to just head back to Earth and let someone else handle this situation, that's no longer an option. We have to face this crisis head-on, goddammit," he added as he looked down, causing Delaney to run her fingers along the hairs on the back of his neck, comfortingly. Shaw continued, as he addressed his crew, "Plot a course for the Fleet Museum because that plan is truly our best bet in this situation," he agreed before he let out a long exhale as he sat back up and wrapped his arm around Delaney's waist, pulling her against his upper body as he sat in the Captain's chair.