After Picard finally gave his keynote speech, the summit proceeded without any further interruptions, and Elle got to present her updated findings on Tagus Three at the end of the summit, leaving everybody muttering. Picard and Elle watched them discuss, and shared a secret grin.

All the archaeologists and professors were dropped off at the nearest starbase a day or so later, and the Enterprise picked up instead a Klingon exobiologist on cultural exchange.

"Elle, this is Lt. J'dan. J'dan, Elle Wilcott, one of our bright young interns," Riker said.

Elle nodded. "Lt. J'dan. Welcome to the Enterprise."

He nodded curtly, and Riker took him along to meet a few other people in Ten-Forward.

Elle watched him go. "I don't like him," she decided.

Guinan snorted. "You can't judge a book by its, admittedly growly, cover."

"Can too," Elle said. "Don't like him." She bit her sandwich pointedly.

"Well, good thing you don't have to work with him," Guinan said.

"Yup." Elle finished her sandwich and went to school.

Life continued as normal, and Elle continued helping her friends get ready to go to university. The twins were leaving in a month, and Satel was leaving in two months. "I don't know what I'm gonna do without you guys," Elle said, leaning against Jetta's shoulder. "I'm gonna have to make friends with the ensigns."

Jetta laughed. "Those poor ensigns. They don't know what they're in for."

Nicole reached over and hugged Elle. "You'll have to comm us every week, tell us all the crazy stuff that's been happening, what you've been doing."

"I will," Elle said. "I'm gonna have to trade in so many favors to get that much subspace time. Why are you two going to two different colleges?"

"Establishing independence," the twins chorused, and gave each other dirty looks.

Elle laughed.

-/\-

"Hmm."

Elle looked up, wary. "What?"

"What?" Riker asked.

"That's your 'something's hinky' hmm," Elle said, putting down her PADD. "What happened?"

Riker handed her the PADD. "Report from security. Possible breach."

"Hmm."

"Right?" He took the PADD back. "Do you remember anything about this?"

She grimaced. "This is too vague. Sorry."

"No worries," he said. He stood up. "I'm going to go talk to Worf about this. Can you ask Deanna if she's free for dinner later?"

"What am I, your messenger?" Elle asked, but got up. Who was she to stand in the way of true love and date night?

Twelve hours later, at 0300, the Red Alert began to whoop. Elle sat up in bed immediately alert. "What's going on? Alexa?"

"An explosion in engineering near the warp core," Alexa said. "Our warp engine has been damaged."

"Critical?" Elle asked, pulling on pants.

"Serious, but not critical. Engineering requests all available hands for repairs."

"Awesome. On my way." Elle stomped into her boots and headed for engineering. It was organized chaos, alarms blaring.

"Elle!" Geordi shoved a maintenance pack into her hands. "Take this, Jefferies Tube G-14, assist Lt. Reynolds."

"Sir." Elle hurried off and crawled into the Jefferies Tube. "Lt. Reynolds?"

"Up here!"

Elle went up.

"We need to reseal the vents and make sure the plasma manifolds have a clean line," Reynolds said. "You know how to do that?"

"Yup."

"Good. You start at that end. Holler if you find an issue."

-/\-

By the time she crawled out of the Jefferies Tubes, the crisis was over, and Lt. J'dan had been arrested for espionage and sabotage. "I knew I didn't like him," she grumbled.

"Yes, yes, you're very smart, eat your soup," Guinan said.

It was very good soup. Elle focused on eating it.

-/\-

"Elle, do you remember the conspiracy at Star Fleet Command?" Picard asked.

Elle almost choked. "The aliens eating the worms things?" she asked.

"That's the one," Picard said.

Beverly gave him a Look. "Really, Jean-Luc? During dinner?"

"Sorry. Anyways, Admiral Norah Satie, retired, is coming onboard to question Lt. J'dan and help us with the investigation. After all, we don't know if there could be a spy on the Enterprise."

Elle frowned. "Admiral Satie? Will there be a trial?"

"Yes, there will be," Picard said.

"This is The Drumhead," Elle realized. "There's no conspiracy. It was just him. But Admiral Satie, she's gone paranoid. She's gonna start treating this like a witch hunt."

"She wouldn't," Picard started.

"She would," Elle said firmly.

Picard sighed. "Well, she is coming here. We shall have to hope that reason and evidence prevail."

"They will," Elle said. "You'll make sure of it."

He nodded.

"I'll do what Spock showed me and meditate on this episode," Elle said, "maybe I can remember something else about this whole deal."

"That would be much appreciated," Picard said.

"Cool. I'm gonna go stare at a candle then."

"Don't singe your eyebrows," Crusher called after her.

Elle blushed. "That was one time..."

-/\-

Admiral Norah Satie was... an interesting person. Full of flair, if the long, red robes were anything to go by. She swept onto the Enterprise as if she owned it, and walked right past Elle without acknowledging her.

"Rude," Elle muttered.

Riker patted her on the head warningly as he walked past with Admiral Satie's two aides.

Elle smoothed her hair down and walked after the captain, schooling her face into something that wasn't a scowl.

They got to engineering, and Admiral Satie spoke to La Forge and Data briefly about the explosion. Then Admiral Satie looked at Picard. "Why is this child still following us?"

Picard raised an eyebrow. "You mean Elle? She's our civilian mission consultant. She is, currently, doing her job."

Satie looked at Elle, finally. "Very well, then, consultant. What do you think about this whole thing?"

"Lt. J'dan was working alone and the explosion was an accident," Elle said, meeting the admiral's gaze. "I don't think, I know."

Satie sniffed. "What a naive viewpoint. I envy your innocence." She patted Elle on the shoulder and walked around her to leave engineering.

Picard shot her an apologetic look and hurried after the admiral.

Elle, inarticulate with irritation, looked at La Forge and Data, who were trying not to laugh. "This is the worst episode," she muttered.

Geordi snickered. "Be the bigger person," he advised.

She glared at him. "Not. Helpful."

-/\-

Admiral Satie continued her investigations. In the face of such determined paranoia, Elle went back to her classes. Before that, she went and found Worf, who was susceptible to conspiracy theories. "Hey, Worf. Listen to me. Don't drink the kool-aid, okay? No one on our crew is responsible for this."

He squinted at her. "You're certain?"

"A hundred percent."

He nodded. "Understood."

"Good. Thank you." Elle went to her math class.

-/\-

"You know it's a big kerfuffle when we get two admirals," Lt. Rubio said. "Watch that villager."

Elle moved her diamond pickaxe so she didn't accidentally smack a villager. "Yeah. Wait, two admirals?"

"I heard from the yeomen. Admiral Thomas Henry, requested by Admiral Satie. He's arriving by special courier ship tomorrow."

Elle grimaced. "Wonderful. It's almost over."

She went to the captain's quarters to talk to him about it. Admiral Satie was leaving as Elle was coming in. "Your captain is indisposed," Satie said.

Elle tilted her head. "What?"

"He will be questioned tomorrow and I won't have him coached in any way, consultant."

Elle bristled. "You're going to question Captain Picard? Under what suspicions?"

"The same suspicions I hold for everyone on this ship," Satie shot back. "Collusion with enemies of the Federation. Don't think I don't know about your little comm calls back and forth with Empress of the Romulan worlds, Miss Wilcott. If it weren't for your diplomatic immunity under Ambassador Spock, I'd have you in high-security lockup on Earth."

Elle gaped at her.

Satie glared at her. "Don't think you can get away with anything. I'm watching you closely, Miss Wilcott." She swept away.

Elle stood there, staring after her, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Could she really do that?

The door to the captain's quarters opened and he stuck his head out. "Elle?" he asked. "Were you going to knock?"

She turned to look at him, shaken. "She thinks I had something to do with it, she just threatened to put me in jail on Earth."

"What." He ushered her into his quarters and sat her down on the sofa. "She's gone too far," he muttered, rubbing his hands over her face. "She knows your position on the Enterprise. It's not for her to question."

"I don't think she cares," Elle said, wrapping her arms around herself. "What about the admiral that's coming? Is he stable?"

"Admiral Henry is a good man," Picard said.

"That's what you said about Admiral Satie," Elle said. "I just hope he's like he really is in the episode."

Picard kissed the top of her head. "It's going to be all right," he said. "Go get some rest."

She went.

-/\-

The open trial was a mistake on Admiral Satie's part, but Elle was certainly going to take advantage of it. She slid in and sat down next to Counselor Troi. The seats were packed with crew, and they looked both rapidly curious and ready to riot at the slightest provocation. Yikes.

"Captain, do you believe in the Prime Directive?" Satie, starting out strong.

"Of course."

"In fact, it's Starfleet General Order Number One, is it not?"

Picard looked irritated. "Your point, Admiral?"

"Would it surprise you to learn that you have violated the Prime Directive a total of nine times since you took command of the Enterprise? I must say, Captain, it surprised me."

As opposed to sixteen times that Kirk had violated the Prime Directive over ten years... ha. Picard's pick-a-fight gene was showing. Elle stifled a nervous laugh. Troi patted her hand comfortingly.

"My reports to Starfleet document the circumstances in each of those instances," Picard started stiffly.

"Yes, we're looking into those reports, Captain, very closely into those reports, after which I'm sure we'll have more questions for you about your so-called commitment to Starfleet's Prime Directive."

Satie's aide, Sabin started to ask questions. "Captain, could you tell us just what happened on Stardate 44390? Let me refresh your memory. You were transporting a Vulcan ambassador, T'Pel."

Picard nodded. "I was following orders to take this ambassador to a location near the Neutral Zone."

"Yes. In fact, she was not a Vulcan at all, was she? She was a Romulan spy."

Picard's poker face was very good. "That's correct."

"A spy whom you were delivering back into the hands of the enemy," Sabin stated.

Satie interjected. "Tell me, Captain, when the deception was revealed and she stood proudly on the bridge of a Romulan ship, did you make any effort to retrieve her?"

"No," Picard said.

Satie looked triumphant. "No. Even though you knew she carried Federation secrets that she'd been accumulating for years?"

Elle suppressed her urge to interrupt.

"We were told to let it happen," Picard said grimly. "That the Federation secrets were misinformation."

"And who told you that?" Satie asked. "Your civilian mission consultant?" She turned to look at Elle with full-on crazy eyes. "Eleanor Wilcott, a known Romulan sympathizer."

Elle choked on her own spit. "Now hold on," she protested.

"This hearing calls Eleanor Wilcott to the stand," Sabin intoned.

Riker stood up. "She's a minor and she's not in Star Fleet, you can't call her to the stand without permission."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Satie said.

"It's not desperate times, it's one spy who's already been caught!" Elle retorted, getting to her feet. "You're seeing conspiracies where there aren't any-"

"If you want to say something to this tribunal you'll get on the stand," Satie said.

Admiral Henry stood up. "Enough," he said. "Commander Riker is correct. Move on."

Satie glared at Elle but turned back to look at Picard.

Troi tugged at Elle's arm until she sat back down. Elle sat and clenched her fists in her lap. Deep breaths, deep breaths, come on, the captain has it handled. She took a deep, slow breath and tried not to vibrate out of her skin.

"Don't you think it's questionable judgment, Captain, to have a security officer whose father was a Romulan collaborator?" Sabin asked.

It was Worf's turn to bristle.

"Lieutenant," Picard warned, and Worf backed off.

Satie circled him like a shark circling a fat seal. "And there is of course your mission consultant, whom you've allowed unrestricted access to the Enterprise and to encrypted comm channels. Don't you wonder what this civilian gets up to?"

"I do not," Picard said firmly. "Her post aboard this ship entitles her to those things."

"Hmph. Frankly, Captain, I question your actions. I question your choices. I question your loyalty," Satie spat. She was really getting into it.

Picard, on the other hand, was composed, the perfect mien of an orator. "You know, there some words I've known since I was a school boy. With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably. Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie as wisdom and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today-"

Admiral Satie lost it. "How dare you! You who consort with Romulans invoke my father's name to support your traitorous arguments. It is an offence to everything I hold dear. And to hear those words used to subvert the United Federation of Planets. My father was a great man. His name stands for integrity and principle. You dirty his name when you speak it. He loved the Federation, but you, Captain, corrupt it. You undermine our very way of life. I will expose you for what you are. I've brought down bigger men than you, Picard!"

Admiral Henry stood and walked out, shaking his head.

Satie stood there, heaving for breath, crazy eyes on full bore, looking mad enough to spit.

"Perhaps a recess," Sabin said, and stopped the recording.

Everyone flooded out, murmuring excitedly, as Sabin lead Admiral Satie out the back door.

Troi tugged on Elle's arm and led her over to where the captain, Riker, and Worf were huddled. "Admiral Henry was not pleased," Troi said. "I think it's over."

"I agree," Picard said. He was actually angry. "I will not have any more witch hunts on my ship." He strode from the room.

Riker put an arm around Elle's shoulders. "You okay?" he asked.

"Besides fearing for my life? Yeah."

-/\-

That evening, Elle found herself in one of the smaller observation decks, trying to wind down enough to sleep. Admiral Satie was crazy, but she still had a lot of influence. If she felt like it, she could make Elle's life really difficult.

The doors whooshed open and Admiral Henry walked through. He came over to her. "Miss Wilcott," he said.

"Admiral."

He sat down across from her. "You were right all along, weren't you? A single Romulan sympathizer, and an unlucky accident."

"Yes, sir," Elle said. "Occam's Razor, especially with Geordi's investigation into that hairline crack."

"Hm. Yes. But you knew that before he even found it, didn't you?"

She bit her lip. "Yes, I did. Do I need to get Commander Riker for this conversation?"

"No, no, my dear. You misunderstand." He gave her a knowing look. "I've read your full file. It's quite a story."

Elle sagged in relief. "Yes, it is," she said. "Does Admiral Satie know?"

"No. She doesn't have access to your full file." He shook his head. "Did you know she was going to lose her reason?"

Elle nodded. "I tried to warn the captain but he couldn't do anything. She's dangerous."

"She was brilliant," Admiral Henry said. "That's the trouble with us old coots. Too much time spent chasing shadows and conspiracies, soon enough that's all we see. It's just a matter of time before we can't see anything else."

"Sorry."

He shook his head. "Just keep doing your job, Miss Wilcott. Star Fleet is indebted to your efforts over the years. And don't worry. Star Fleet HQ doesn't want their little Brass Cleaner at HQ anymore than you want to be there. Goodnight."

Elle blushed to the tops of her ears, and stared at him, mute, as he left the room, snickering to himself. "Q?" she called into the empty room. "Is there any way to strike that nickname from recorded history?"

No one answered. Guess not.