Chapter 3
"Just breathe normally," Beardy said as she exited the shuttle, her voice faint, resonating metallically as the exo-armor's communications system transmitted her voice to the speakers in his helmet. "Slowly and evenly, until the dehumidification processors adjust to the moisture level in your breath. Otherwise you'll fog up your visor."
He nodded, trying to calm his rapid breathing as he adjusted to wearing the gear. "I had forgotten how tight these suits are," he admitted.
It had been years – decades – since Jean-Luc had worn exo-armor, but nothing in his memory suggested the gear he had worn had been this constricting. He felt as though he was fighting for every breath – which, he reminded himself, he was.
"They've been modified for use in lower atmospheric pressure," she explained. "The compression helps keep your blood circulating, and it will lessen a bit once we're inside the planetoid – but breathing is still going to take effort. You're going to get tired quickly," she advised. "There are stims in the suit's medkit. Don't hesitate to use them; we can't afford to get tired."
Jean-Luc nodded, then, drawing a deep breath, stepped onto the dusty surface of the planetoid.
Beardy glanced at her scanner, then pointed toward a small mound of rocks. "Over there," she said – then moving with the half-stepping, half-jumping technique that had been used since humans first walked on Earth's moon, the two started toward the airlock hatch.
"Scanners won't work once we're inside," she reminded him as they reached the rocks she had indicated. "Kemocite in the rock masks the bio-signatures."
"Understood. How accurate is your map of the interior?" he asked.
"Accurate enough – unless the research team has been digging new tunnels by hand," she said with a chuckle.
Hunching over the access panel's control pad, he brushed a thin coating of dust from the access panel, then opened it to reveal the keypad. "The code?" he murmured.
He entered the numbers as she read them off, the thick material of his gloves making it difficult to press the buttons. As he entered the final digit, however, he was rewarded with a puff of escaping air that instantly turned into a shimmer of diamonds. Pulling the cover open, the two entered the lock, then Beardy resealed the door behind them.
"Lights on," he murmured, touching the control on his helmet, watching as she followed suit.
Two streams of light filled the small room, allowing Picard to enter a second code into the interior control pad. Air flooded in and the second door lock was released – but neither moved.
"Protocol review," she said sharply. "Unknown conditions. Weapons out and hot. Phasers at full power," she added as she drew her weapon from a holster on her suit and adjusted the controls. "Lower settings won't kill the parasites - or their victims," she added. "We shoot to kill."
He drew his own weapon, but shook his head at the command. "Commander, I have no intention of killing any of the researchers, even if they are infected – not unless it's absolutely unavoidable."
"Jean-Luc, the reports indicate no presence of a hive mother," she reminded him. "Without that sentient presence, the parasites are probably acting instinctively. Anyone they infect will likely be reduced to that same level – and there's no known way to remove the bugs, except by killing the hive mother. They won't be a person anymore; they'll be an insect. You'll be doing them no favors by letting them live that way."
"I refuse to believe that," he said resolutely. "There's no evidence to support that supposition – and even if it is true, the researchers may have found a way to remove the parasites or to treat the infection. If we do encounter anyone who's infected, we have to proceed on the basis that there is a chance to help them."
She frowned – then pulled her weapon back, tabbing the control. "All right; phasers on stun," she conceded disapprovingly, before drawing a padd from a pocket. "We'll start with the lab," she said, gesturing at the doorway. "Let's go."
He nodded, then followed her out the door and into the maze of tunnels.
"These walls have clearly been excavated by machine," he said as he studied walls they were passing. "The parasites didn't originate here."
"No," she agreed."We assumed this is a staging location, or maybe a colony of some sort, but it's not their home world. This place is, however, where your Commander Remmick – or rather the creature that inhabited him – sent a message just before you killed him. The Federation was able to track the signal, but as for what the message was, we may never know.
"However, given that this place was all but deserted when the first security team got here," she continued, "we can assume it was to alert them about the failure of the mission. Everything was gone except for a few parasites.
"It was those parasites that the research team came to study," she added.
"With what results?" he asked.
"Nothing significant – at least, not as of their last check in," she replied – then sighed.
"Commander?" he asked.
"I was just thinking that we'll get to the lab – and find out that it was something like an equipment failure – the comm unit broke, or the power supply failed, and we did all this for nothing. And then... then I think that maybe they've all been infected," she added grimly. "If they have, we may never find them. These tunnels run for kilometers."
"We'll find them," he assured her.
She glanced at him, grinning, then turned down the tunnel.
Carefully following the path on the map, they passed countless openings that branched off in all directions, their regular spacing clear evidence of the intentional excavation of the small world – but the faint crunching of something organic beneath their feet evidence of a more primitive form of life as well.
"Po'tha," Beardy commented.
"Pardon?" he asked.
"Po'tha," she repeated, reaching for a strand of the paper-like material that clung to the floor, walls and ceiling of the tunnel. "Flying bugs back on Romulus. They secrete material to build their nests. It looks something like this."
As she touched it, it crumbled into dust, the particles slowly fluttering to the floor of the tunnel.
"They've covered everything with this... stuff," she said, wiping off the dust on her armor. "Maybe it's some sort of insulation – it's cold in here - or maybe it facilitates climbing," she mused.
"Whatever the function, it appears nothing – human or insect - has been this way in some time."
She gave him a questioning glance, wondering what he had noticed.
He looked down, his helmet lights illuminating the ground where faded bootprints could just be seen beneath dust and the occasional trails of the parasites.
"Hmmm. At least we know they didn't make a run for the air lock," she murmured.
"There'd be no point to it, Commander," he replied. "Even with EV suits, they'd only be able to survive on the surface for a few hours unless there was a ship waiting."
"That's logical reasoning, Jean-Luc – but they may have panicked, and panic makes people do strange things," she countered.
"Beverly doesn't panic," he said, the hint of pride in his tone surprising her – and himself.
Beardy considered for a moment, then nodded."Perhaps not," she said after a moment. "At least we'll be able to follow our own tracks out if we lose the map," she said looking at the fresh footprints they were leaving behind. "Turn right at the next downward tunnel."
He nodded, following her as she led the way.
They walked in silence for a time, then Beardy spoke. "Jean-Luc, I wanted you for this mission because Starfleet's records showed Dr. Crusher was last assigned to your ship, so I assumed you knew her fairly well - but you speak as though she was more than just another officer," she said. "Were you two lovers?"
He started at the intimate question, unused to such casual familiarity – then shook his head. "No. Nothing like that. Beverly was married to my best friend, and we, in turn, became friends as well. We spent time together, shared leaves... I helped her move to their new apartment when Wesley was an infant, and Jack – her husband - was on an assignment..."
"And...?" she pressed.
"Then Jack died," he said quietly.
"Oh."
"We were on a mission... and I was his commanding officer," he continued. "Beverly never forgave me..."
"Ah."
They walked on, the silence only interrupted by Beardy's occasional calls to change directions as they reached certain intersections.
"You Starfleeters are an odd sort," she said at last.
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean... you unquestioningly followed your orders to come on this mission, even without knowing anything about it – and Dr. Crusher did the same, following her orders to serve on the Enterprise with a man you say she hated," she said.
He was quiet for several moments, then murmured, "Actually, Beverly requested the assignment."
"Despite the fact you would be her commanding officer and she hadn't forgiven you for what happened to her husband?" Beardy asked skeptically.
He frowned. "Commander, being the CMO of the Enterprise is a prestigious position – and Beverly's qualifications were exceptional. Indeed, we were fortunate to have her aboard."
Beardy pursed her lips. "Even so, it must have been difficult for you two to have to work together," she insisted.
"A bit," he conceded, hastily adding, "at first. But we are both professionals..."
And, he added, we were friends.
Whatever else we were, we were friends.
And, he added, toward the end, it had started to become something... more.
Nothing romantic, of course – not with Jack's wife! - but there was... something... growing between them, he conceded.
She had become his oasis, the place he could find a moment of calm, his sounding board when he needed to hear a rational and intelligent argument to help him see all sides of an issue... and, he admitted, he was her refuge, her confidant, her devil's advocate.
He shook his head, trying to chase off the memories of how her abrupt departure had stung him. There had been no warning, no discussion about her being unhappy on the Enterprise... We were planning a dinner together on their return to Earth, he reminded himself - and then she was gone.
They had spoken only rarely after that – mostly to arrange the details of Wesley's stay on the Enterprise – but even that minimal contact quickly faded into nothingness.
"It's just ahead on the left," Beardy murmured, interrupting his thoughts.
Picard raised his head, glancing at the rock wall – but seeing nothing else.
"Low level hologram shielding the entrance," she explained.
"How secure is that projection?" Picard asked. "Could the parasites have gotten in somehow?"
"No. It was impenetrable except when opened by key code," she said firmly then hesitated. "Even so...let me go in first. Just in case."
In case...? In case Beverly had been infected and was now reduced to the level of one of the parasites, he realized.
"No. I'll go," he said quietly.
"Are you sure, Jean-Luc? If she was infected..."
"I'll go."
He checked the phaser's power level – then nodded to Beardy to enter the door's code.
As the image of the door faded, the interior lights came on, revealing...
Nothing.
"It's empty!" Beardy said in surprise as she stared at the barren space. "Everything – everyone! - is gone."
"They must have moved to a different location – and recently," he realized after a moment. "Otherwise they would have said something in their last communication."
"So where did they go?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe they left some indication of where they went. You check the living spaces; I'll check the kitchen."
She nodded, adding, "Turn off your helmet lights; it will save suit power."
He reached for the control then moved into the eating area, starting to holster his phaser as he did so.
Beardy's sharp call stopped him in mid-action; weapon drawn, he ran into the bedroom area, and stopped.
A body – a woman's body, judging from the outline – lay on one of the beds, covered by a thin blanket, a stasis field enveloping it in a faint blue glow. He started toward it, only to be stopped by Beardy's hand.
"Let me," she said, turning off the stasis field then reaching for the cover, hesitating for a moment before pulling it back.
Picard stared for a moment, then let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
It wasn't Beverly.
"k'Tara Darot," Beardy said quietly, identifying the white-haired woman. "Romulan expert in arthropods."
Picard reached for the woman's head, gently turning it to one side; brushing her hair aside, he spied the thin blue gill protruding from the base of her neck. "She was infected," he said.
"No sign of a phaser wound," Beardy said as she looked over the body."They didn't shoot her. If anything, it looks as though they were trying to treat her," she said, gesturing at several dark spots on her arms and neck. "Bruises from a hypo," she added softly. "But... why leave the body here?"
"Judging from the orderly appearance of the lab," Jean-Luc mused, "they had probably moved to the new location before this happened. They probably decided to use this as a morgue, to keep her remains until they could be transported home." He studied the unmoving figure a moment longer, unable to shake the thought that it could have been Beverly lying there – then gently pulled the blanket back over the woman's body.
Beardy turned the control on the stasis unit, watching the faint blue glow return, then left the room, Picard following her.
"All right," she said when they reached the main room. "They're gone - but where? And why?"
He considered for a long time, then extended a hand to her. "May I see the padd?"
She handed it to him, watching as he studied the map. "Well?" she pressed.
"Moving all their equipment and supplies would have been challenging; they wouldn't have done so unless there was a good reason. As you observed, however, there are few parasites in this section; knowing Beverly, she may have thought they needed to be where they could study them more closely..."
"And so you think she moved them closer to the bugs?" Beardy exclaimed. "Is she crazy?"
"I would have said she was dedicated," Picard corrected. "And, given that the others went with her, I would think that her dedication was not unique."
"And look what that dedication got them! Darot is dead..."
"It was a risk they must have felt worth taking, Commander," he reminded her quietly.
She frowned at him then sighed. "All right. They're all heroes," she said. "How do we find them?"
He shook his head. "There's nothing here to indicate where they went. But the failure to report might still have been due to something that happened when they moved the equipment..."
"Or maybe Darot wasn't the only one infected," Beardy said grimly.
He nodded, then turned his attention to the padd, pushing the thought from his mind. "This seems to be a central hub," he said, pointing at a cavernous area on the map. "Most of the tunnels radiate out from that point. Let's start there; with luck, we may find some trace of their movements."
"If not, we'll go tunnel by tunnel," she replied.
He nodded, gesturing her toward the door, letting her take the lead, then gave one last glance around the empty room before turning on the hologram once again.
The simulated rock wall replaced the opening, and as it appeared, the light from the room faded.
Faded – but the light didn't disappear completely.
For a moment, he thought he had left his helmet light on, then realized that the light was emanating from the walls and ceiling of the corridor in shimmering strands.
"The secretion's bioluminescent," Beardy murmured, tentatively touching the material. "And this is newer. It's not falling apart. The parasites must have been living in this corridor more recently."
Picard considered for a moment. "If that's true – and if the researchers did move into an area of greater concentration of the parasites - we should be able to find them simply by following the material," he said.
"You mean we'll find our brightest researchers where it is, quite literally, the brightest?" she asked.
A faint turn at the corner of his mouth appeared.
"Lovely," she muttered. "The first smile I see from you – and it's as we're about to enter the heart of the hive." She gave a heavy sigh. "Well, come on, Jean-Luc; let's go find them," she sighed.
