Chapter 5
One of the researchers had given him dry clothes, while another had directed him to the sonic showers; an hour after arriving at the new research base, he found himself sitting in Beverly's cramped quarters, clean and dry, a welcome cup of hot tea in his hand.
"I'm sorry it's not Earl Grey," Beverly said, entering the room a few minutes later, her body armor replaced with generic coveralls, "but I wasn't expecting company, let alone you. Not that it isn't lovely to see you again – but honestly, Jean-Luc: a rescue mission?" she scoffed, shaking her head. "Why?"
"You missed your check-in," he said.
"Ah," she said softly. For a moment, she fell silent, retrieving a cup of tea for herself, then gestured for him to sit at the small work table that served as the room's main piece of furniture.
"How is Beardy doing?" he asked as she took a chair across from him.
Beverly smiled. "Beardy?" she asked, bemused.
"T'Beera Regal, former commander in the Imperial Romulan Navy – among her other... occupations," he said obliquely. "Known to her friends as Beardy – and no, I don't know how she got the nickname," he added.
"I see," Beverly replied. "Well, Beardy is responding well. The larvae can inject a potent neurotoxin when threatened – but it's a defensive mechanism. Unlike the mature creatures, however, the larvae do not invade the host, so there's no risk of invasion. One crawled into her boot and, when she put it on, stung her. Given some rest, Commander Regal should make a full recovery. I'd advise you to consider the same: sleep, food..."
"I will – but I need to make our report to Starfleet first," he interrupted.
"By all means. Let them know they sent you out here for nothing."
Jean-Luc shook his head. "Not 'nothing', Beverly. This is critical research – and you missed a scheduled communication time. When that happened, warning flags went up on Earth and Romulus, and we were sent to find the missing researchers... I didn't know you were one of them," he added quietly.
Beverly ignored the obvious accusation. "I'm sorry – but missing the communication time was unavoidable - and in any case, Starfleet overreacted."
"Beverly," he said, his voice growing stern, "those appointments serve as both information transfer times and a critical security check point..."
"No lectures, Jean-Luc," she admonished him, raising a hand to deflect his comment. "We all knew how important they were..."
"And yet you failed to check in," he reminded her.
"Yes, we did," she agreed, somewhat sharply. "We ignored the check-in. k'Tara was dying, Jean-Luc; we had to choose between trying to save her – and making a report. We chose k'Tara."
He drew a deep breath, then managed a soft, "Oh. I'm sorry, Beverly."
"Thank you," she replied. "I assume you found her body at first lab site?"
He nodded – then leaned forward, peering at her intently. "Beverly... how did it happen? It appeared that you'd addressed every potential route of infection – and yet..." he said gently, laying his hand over hers.
She glanced at the hand, then raised her eyes to him, shaking her head. "It wasn't like that, Jean-Luc; k'Tara wasn't infected here. She was on the original Romulan vessel that found the creatures – and she was the one who carried them to Romulus."
"But the breathing gill..." he began to point out.
Beverly nodded in comprehension. "For reasons we don't yet understand, the organism – they aren't technically parasites: they're more like a hive insect – didn't leave her body when the hive mother died – and the surgeons on Romulus couldn't remove it without causing permanent damage."
He frowned. "But couldn't that have put your mission at risk if you encountered a hive mother?"
"Unlikely," Beverly replied. "The creature was... inert, alive but not functioning. We didn't see it as an issue, and k'Tara insisted on participating. You see, not only had she carried the parasite to Romulus, but because the hive mother was able to relay her knowledge back to the masters, the invasion of Romulus almost succeeded."
"Masters?" he interrupted.
Momentarily distracted from her grief, Beverly nodded excitedly. "That's what we call them – the entities who coordinated all of this. Jean-Luc, we have learned so much since we arrived here! Not just about the insects and the hive mothers, but about the structure of their society," she added. "The insects are primitive creatures, incapable of planning an invasion," she explained. "Just from studying their anatomy we could see they couldn't possibly have built a place like this, let alone implement the technology needed for space travel.
"No; the insects were, for lack of a better word, usurped - by another species, maybe even another race! There's evidence of genetic manipulation from an outside source to repurpose them in order to make them capable in infecting a host," she said.
"The hive mothers acted as central processing units, relaying orders to the creatures – and through them, their hosts, as well as relaying the host's knowledge back to the masters," she explained.
"And this master species – whoever is controlling the insects - have you identified them yet?" Jean-Luc asked.
Beverly shook her head. "No. Examination of a surviving hive mother could tell us more, as well as allowing us to test the drugs we've developed to block communication between the infected host and the hive mother. If they work as well in practice as in our tests, we would disrupt the communication path – and maybe even force the parasite to leave the host..."
"Were you trying the drug on k'Tara?" he interrupted quietly. "We saw the bruises on her arms..."
She shook her head. "No. We couldn't test the drugs on her: she had a weak heart, the result of an infection she acquired earlier in her career as a researcher, and we couldn't risk it. That's what killed her: a massive heart attack on the day we were supposed to contact Starfleet. The bruises were from our attempts to save her, but..." She drew a deep breath and met his eyes. "We lost her, Jean-Luc. It wasn't until later than anyone thought about the check-in."
He tightened his hand over hers. "I am sorry for your loss, Beverly. I'm sure Beardy can make arrangements for the return of her body to Romulus..."
Beverly shook her head, stopping him in mid-sentence. "Thank you, but no. k'Tara was aware that she might die on this mission. She insisted that if that happened, we were to perform an autopsy and use her body in any way possible to defeat the parasite. She was determined to fight them, however she could." Beverly sighed softly. "And as gruesome as it may sound, Jean-Luc, we have made more progress in the last week than we had in the months before she died. She is the reason why your friend is going to recover.
"I don't think k'Tara is ready to return yet – not before her work – our work - is complete."
Jean-Luc nodded at her. "Which means you're staying?" he asked softly.
Beverly eyes widened in surprise. "Of course! Jean-Luc, this is the cutting edge of medical research! Not only will the work we're doing here help those who have been – or could be – infected by the insects, but our exploration into these creatures is like nothing else we've ever done before! Their physiology... we're just beginning to understand how they communicate with one another – if it's telepathy, it's like nothing we've seen before – and if it's something else... That's how we knew someone was here!" she added excitedly. "The creatures suddenly started acting differently than they ever had – and when we started to investigate, we found your footprints."
She shook her head, almost too overwhelmed at the potential before her. "Jean-Luc, It's so exciting, being here, being a part of something so important, so vital to medicine – to Starfleet, to the Romulans... maybe to more races, more people..."
Her voice trailed off, but the light in her eyes was unmistakable.
He saw that light – and felt a part of himself grow dark once again. "I thought that was why you transferred to the Enterprise," he finally managed.
Beverly drew a deep breath. "It was, but... Jean-Luc, practicing medicine on a starship is more than, well, just practicing medicine. It's working with her crew – and officers." She met his gaze. "My going to the Enterprise was a mistake."
He was silent for a long time, then spoke. "Because of me?"
She hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. And because of me. A ship's captain and the chief medical officer have to work more closely than any other two officers. I should have discussed it with you first, before applying, to see if you felt it would be possible for us to work together. My bullying my way into the posting without doing so was utter presumption on my part."
"It was hardly a matter of 'bullying'," he demurred. "You were undoubtedly the best candidate for the position... If anyone was in the wrong, it was me. I should have been more open to your being aboard... and I apologize that I wasn't." He fell silent for a moment. "I just felt that you and I, working together... I thought it might reopen old wounds. I didn't know if I could let go of the guilt I felt over Jack's death – and I didn't know if you could get past your resentment of me."
Beverly stared at him, then shook her head. "Jean-Luc," she said softly, "I never blamed you. You and Jack... you weren't just fellow officers, you were the best of friends. You wouldn't have sent him in harm's way, unless there was no other option – and even then... Even then," she added quietly, turning her hand so she could squeeze his, "I think you would have sacrificed yourself first."
He met her eyes, glistening in the flickering light of the overhead lamps – and nodded. "He had a wife and a son, a family that I should have protected, that I should have insisted that he protect... but he was, then and always, the most dedicated of officers. He knew what had to be done – and he went out and did it. I never gave that order, Beverly – and if I had known he was going out there..."
"You would have tried to stop him, until he explained that he was, after all, the best man for the job. And you would have to let him go, knowing that if anyone could save the ship, save the crew, it would be Jack," she said.
He nodded.
She patted his hand. "I know. I've always known. And that's why I could never resent you for what you had done – or that you came back and he didn't.
"But I never told you," she said. "I'm sorry," she added quietly.
"I never asked," he replied. "I... I was afraid to hear that you hated me – and the thought of losing you as well as Jack..."
"And so we said nothing – and drifted apart," she said.
They stared at one another for a long moment then Beverly forced a smiled to her face, patting his hand once again. "But all's well that ends well," she said. "I'm where I should be, at the cutting edge of medicine – and you're where you should be, captain of the Enterprise - and with a competent and capable CMO in Katherine Pulaski..."
His face hardened, his expression becoming unreadable – and Beverly laughed softly. "She's not to your liking?" she asked.
He drew a deep breath. "As you said, a ship's captain and her CMO work at a more intimate level than the other officers. It's an intimacy that I cannot find with her. I respect her knowledge and skills – but not her attitude or behavior... With respect, I think she – not you - is better suited to working with insects."
Beverly gaped at him, unused to hearing him speaking about a fellow officer in such blunt terms – then chuckled. "Well, when this mission is over and this cover story can be done away with, she'll probably have my position – as head of Starfleet Medical, that is," she replied. "I want to spend some time with Wesley. It's so hard being here and not being able to be honest with him about what I'm doing," she sighed. "I try to keep my conversations with him directed around his activities, his studies – his work on the Enterprise. Jean-Luc..." she began, her eyes filled with questions.
He smiled at her, understanding. "Wesley's becoming a fine young man, Beverly – and a good officer. You can be proud of him – and I know, that if he knew what you were doing, he would be proud of his mother as well.
"I know I am."
She studied him for a long moment then leaned forward, kissing his cheek gently. "Thank you, Jean-Luc."
"And Beverly?"
She looked at him.
"When you're ready – and if you want it - there will be a place for you on the Enterprise – and, I assure you, this time you will be welcomed."
She met his eyes – then forced a smile to her face. "What?" she said. "And give up all this?" she asked, opening her hands to the cramped room, then looked at him once again. "But... perhaps one day," she added softly, smiling.
"Come on," she said a moment later, reaching for his hand. "I'll take you to Beardy, show you where our comm unit is. Play your cards right, my dear captain, and I'll even give you the grand tour."
She guided him through the corridors, the two walking in comfortable silence, then Beverly gestured at one of doors. "She's in here," she said.
"Not coming with me?" he asked in surprise.
Beverly shook her head. "No. You two will want to talk about your mission in private – and we can talk later. I believe I owe you a long overdue dinner," she added.
"I'm looking forward to it," he said, smiling at her - then opened the door.
The lab had been converted to an impromptu hospital, and one of the tables turned into an improvised bed where the sole occupant lay resting.
Resting – but not sleeping. Hearing his approach, she opened her eyes and gave him a wan smile.
"Jean-Luc," she said wearily.
"Beardy," he replied.
She managed a weak laugh. "Finally," she chuckled. "You finally called me Beardy – and all I had to do was almost die. I'll remember that the next time we work together," she said.
He smiled back."How are you feeling?"
"Terrible. My foot's on fire and I feel like someone used me for target practice. But your Dr. Crusher said the anti-toxin they created worked," she said – then coughed weakly. "She said I need to rest for a few days, so I guess I'm going to get that vacation on Risa after all," she murmured – then met his eyes. "You did good work," she said, adding, "for a human."
"High praise, given the source," he said.
"The reports..."
"I'll make them," he assured her. "Get some rest."
She nodded, and he turned to leave her.
"Jean-Luc?"
He paused.
"I was sincere – about you joining me. We could take jobs for the Federation, Romulus – even the Klingons... I'd even let you pilot the ship... once in a while," she added with a smile. "We'd be a good team."
He stood, silent and unmoving, silhouetted in the light of the hallway, then returned to her side.
"I appreciate the offer, Beardy, but I am a Starfleet officer - and a starship captain. And that's enough for me," he said.
She studied him for a long moment, then looked at the second figure standing in the hallway, and shook her head. "No," she said softly. "Not quite enough, I think."
Jean-Luc followed her gaze toward the door, where Beverly stood, waiting for him.
"Perhaps not," he said softly. "Perhaps not."
Beardy watched as he turned away, walking toward the figure in the doorway – then, smiling, closed her eyes.
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