"Is this so?" Jean-Luc asked, sitting at the briefing table with the complete senior staff, "I really have been sleeping for almost twenty-four hours?"
"Yes Captain, you have, and a good thing too, we'll need you completely awake out there," Beverly replied.
"How are repairs going?" Picard asked.
"We have maximum shields, and our engines are almost up to what they normally are," Geordi replied.
"We have all of our weapons ready to go. However we do need to replenish out supply of torpedoes, we used the last of them before we left Earth," Worf replied. Picard nodded.
"What about that device Data briefed me on?" Picard asked. Riker stood up, and explained everything about how the device was a cloaking device and was destructive to the area surrounding.
"Yes, Data did well, not surprising," Picard said smiling and looking towards the android, "Can you figure out how to reproduce it Geordi?"
"All ready have, but I don't understand why you would want something like that," Geordi replied.
"All in due time," Jean-Luc replied, "Dismissed." Everyone stood up, Deanna headed back for the transporter room to continue help at the planet, and the rest headed for their stations, except the doctor and Commander Riker.
"Permission to speak frank sir?" Riker asked.
"Permission granted," Picard allowed.
"May I ask why you are doing this, sir?" Riker asked.
"It is the only hope to reclaim Earth as our own. Would you rather just stay here and ignore it?" Picard countered.
"No, but we're about to rush into battle, and either you don't have a plan or you are keeping us in the dark," Riker fiercely complained. Beverly remained seated, quietly hoping not to be brought into this argument, but waiting for something.
"You will have to be patient Will, trust me," Jean-Luc replied.
"I do trust you, but I also don't like being kept in the dark sir," Riker countered standing up.
"I know you don't Will, but please, calm down, and be patient. I know the Borg better than anyone else," Jean-Luc said remaining calm and seated.
"Fine, you are the Captain. Please don't do anything stupid, sir, I want this as much as you do," Will said walking towards the door. Picard looked back, and right before Riker left he stopped at the door.
"I won't Will," Picard said turning back around. At that the commander walked out of the room, leaving him and Beverly alone.
"Jean-Luc, I want to know if you're all right," Beverly sighed.
"Yes I am feeling just fine, why?" Picard snapped.
"Because of just that, you seem so tense lately," Beverly replied.
"And you aren't? We just left our world to be assimilated by the Borg. By now, we are the last non-assimilated humans left. They destroyed each outpost after assimilating as many as they could, each and every outpost. The Vulcans are most likely next, then other species. If we don't stop them, no one will be able to. The Borg won't stop until every species is Borg," Jean-Luc spoke. He had history with the Borg and knew them well. A little too well.
"I know Jean-Luc, but that doesn't mean we should jump into battle. We left Earth to give hope that someday we could reclaim Earth. Someday, Jean-Luc, but that doesn't have to be today," Beverly said getting up and walking behind his chair, "You know it's true." That last part Beverly had bent down and whispered into his ear before exiting the room.
"I know it is not true…" Picard called, but the doctor was gone out of the room and no one was around to hear him.
That night, when Jean-Luc was sleeping, his dreams taunted him. He was on the Borg ship, hearing the voice of the Queen, he was not alone in his head any longer. There were millions of thoughts, all being processed easily at once.
"We are coming Locutus, we are coming. Come to us, and we will not follow, come Locutus. Come…" the voices rang all at once. It was enough to wake a person up, but Jean-Luc could not. He stared out of a regenerator that he had once used when he had been assimilated. The voices kept saying come over and over, like it was some kind of chant. Picard jolted up out of his sleep finally. He was breathing heavily, and sweating all over.
He hurried down the halls to sickbay. He quickly entered to find Alyssa Ogwana and Beverly Crusher in her office talking. Through her window, Beverly saw Picard charge in and was suddenly scared. She dismissed Ogwana and went over to Jean-Luc.
"What's wrong?" Beverly said.
"B-Borg… I heard them, in my head," Picard breathed. Beverly's eyes widened.
"You heard them? When?" Beverly asked quickly, ushering him onto a table and scanning his head.
"Just now… They… They want me to come," Picard breathed.
"Do you know why?" Beverly said still scanning him.
"No they just kept saying for me… to come to them, and … if not they would… they would follow us," Jean-Luc breathed.
"There's nothing here," Beverly said finished scanning him, "Either you are going senile, just had a nightmare, or there is something I can't detect. There is not much we know about the Borg's telepathic link. I would think it was just a nightmare, and you are just fine, come on you still need rest." Picard remained sitting on the table.
"It wasn't a dream, and I'm not senile. It felt so real, like I was really there," Picard insisted.
"Some dreams can be so vivid they are like that. There are rare cases, when they actually die in their sleep because of it," Beverly sighed.
"No! It wasn't a dream, I just know it," Picard insisted.
"Then let's worry about it later, it's late, and I need to get some sleep, and so do you Jean-Luc," Beverly said shaking her head, "If you still think it tomorrow then I'll take another look at you, ok?" Picard nodded, and stood up. He was a sucker when it came to her. At least she was humoring him, Riker wouldn't have believed him, nor anyone besides Beverly and perhaps Deanna.
"Fine, just make sure you get enough rest doctor," Picard said as he stopped at the door turning around.
"Is that an order?" Beverly said a grin growing.
"No, just a friendly suggestion, sleep well doctor," Picard said turning around and walking out of the sickbay. There wasn't something right about all of this, but Picard left that for later, since he was exhausted even after the long sleep he had earlier.