Chapter V
"Captain Picard to the bridge please…" the message rang out as he awoke and he turned to one side to make certain he hadn't startled Beverly. But she had already arisen, so he quickly got out of bed and changed into his uniform. In a few moments, Jean-Luc had arrived at the bridge. "What seems to be the problem, Number One?" he asked as he sat in his chair. The Klingon placed his hands behind his back and explained, "We have received a distress beacon from a Starfleet vessel. They seem to have run into a group of marauders and cannot make it to the closest outpost." "How far away are we from them?" Picard asked. His science officer, Miranda Kadohota; shook her head and replied, "I don't think it would be in our best interest to investigate, sir. With the Romulan Empire on the verge of civil war, we must avoid unnecessary conflict." "I appreciate your concern, but we were given a mission and I intend to fulfill it," the Captain replied. "With all due respect, sir; that assignment was to help rebuild following the attack by the Borg," Miranda pointed out. "Thank you, your opinion has been noted. Now back to my previous question, how far are we from them?" Picard asked.
"I have already moved us closer and we've scanned the region for any sign of hostile activity," Worf explained. "Then are why are we not assisting them?" Jean-Luc wondered. "That is the reason we called you, Captain. I have attempted to hail them many times… yet no one has replied. I was wondering if you thought sending over an away team might be wise," Worf answered. "Good thinking, Number One; I'm glad I have you around," he said with a nod. As the starship came on screen, the Captain noted that it was a fairly large craft and while the design was unfamiliar; it reminded him of the Nebula-Class vessels. "I'll lead the away team," Picard decided and before their security chief could object, he added, "I just have a feeling about this…" "Permission to accompany you, sir," Kadohota requested. "Granted… and signal Mister La Forge as well. They may be in need of immediate repairs," Jean-Luc directed as they entered the turbolift. The transport began to descend and Picard stated, "Any ideas about why a ship of that size would be this far out?" "My thoughts exactly… the Federation usually notifies us of starship movements. Perhaps they were displaced during the recent battle?" Miranda suggested.
"Well, I guess we can find out first hand," he reasoned. As they reached the transporter room, several other security officers were there waiting for them and he frowned before saying, "Why do I get the impression that Mister Worf had a hand in this." "It could be a trap," Geordi commented as he entered. Picard nodded silently and realized that most of these individuals were fairly young and inexperienced. If push came to shove, they will probably start firing, he realized. Hopefully, that won't happen, he decided. One in particular caught his eye though from where he stood behind La Forge. The dark haired young man was in his mid twenties had a strange gleam in his hazel eyes which Picard felt certain he had seen before somewhere. "Shall we?" Miranda asked, pointing to the transporter pads. Returning his thoughts to the present, the Captain nodded and in a few short moments they were onboard the other vessel. The security officers pulled out their weapons and formed a perimeter except for the youth who'd attracted his attention, who looked at him in surprise and replied, "Shoot first and ask questions later, I suppose?" Picard nodded in agreement with him and realized that most of his colleagues were probably a little trigger-happy. "Why are you here?" a voice said from behind them and Jean-Luc turned to see a child standing there who was only slightly younger than any of his officers. "We were responding to a plea for help from this ship," Miranda explained.
"I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard… what can we do for you?" he asked. "Picard; that's a name I've heard before somewhere… ah yes, I think I know you. He spoke about you. Warned us of your silver tongue with which you would lead us astray. Your time is up, your days are gone. Dust you are… to it you will return," the young man said with a nod and then turned to the security officers and asked, "How can you be willing to help a traitor to the Federation? Don't you realize that assisting him will do no good? He allied himself with the Borg once! Don't let his deception fool you! They will rise again from the shadows into which they have crept and slay you all unless we act!" The men looked at each other uncertainly, except for the dark-haired youth; who stood beside Picard and said, "He is not! My father speaks very highly of him." The stranger had a strange glimmer in his eye and glared at this challenger, seeming ready to strike his companion; but instead calmed down and replied, "He thought he smelled something foul in the air… come to ruin the game again, have we?"
"I'm afraid that I don't know what you're talking about," the security officer said, but then added, "You're the one who reeks of a vile odor." "This… Captain of yours is a fossil. Your government needs new direction and I can help you find it. Who needs the guidance of such ancient ones anyways?" the young man asked. "That's enough," Miranda growled. "Who's going to stop me? You? I have too much work to do to meddle with the likes of you. He has returned and we have a lot of catching up to do," the stranger asserted. "And who is this?" Picard asked. "Oh… it's a surprise," the young man said with a wink and then replied, "But you'll find out soon enough…" "Captain, as far as I can tell, he is the only person onboard this vessel," Miranda commented. "Dead and gone," the young man said without a shrug. "You're… a monster," the dark haired youth proclaimed. "And you… you don't belong here! Why do we continue this charade if you're not afraid of fighting me?" the stranger asked. "What is this all about?" Picard asked, wishing that someone would enlighten him to it. "You want that? Fine," the dark haired officer said and then raised his hand and a shining white light burst forth and hit the stranger. But instead of staggering and falling to the floor, the young man simply vanished and in his place was something otherworldly. The creature had no body to speak of exactly; in fact he didn't even seem to be fully there. Instead, the humanoid being appear to shimmer in and out of existence as he stood there; his image blurred somewhat not by the officer's attack but by the sheer fact that he didn't seem to belong while his face was both kindly and foreboding.
Immediately, Picard realized they needed to depart from here. The angelic demeanor of the being and his long silver mane immediately brought to mind who this was and the security officer quickly confirmed his theory by saying, "You cannot hide yourself, Gorgan. I know your tricks better than you do." Miranda was about to pull out her phaser, but Picard gestured for her not to. Whoever our young friend is, he obviously has enough strength to face this super-being, he thought. "You… are newer than me and yet old at the same time. I find that… interesting," Gorgan said, his voice seeming to reverberate throughout the room. It sounded artificial, as though echoing back through the ages and forward into infinity. "Why defend these pitiful beings when you know that The End is coming?" the super-being asked. Picard glanced at the security officer and recalled his discussion with Q. Is this one of his companions? Jean-Luc wondered. "Because they do not deserve to be destroyed by petty conflicts like this. I'm warning you, leave now or I will be forced to seal you away for so long that you'll wish you hadn't even made it to this era," the officer stated. "I have all the time in the universe to deal with you," Gorgan said and then seemed to be distracted by something.
His visage became lined with hate as he growled, "A clever trick… I shall have to find a way around this. Your time will come, little one. Never fear… He will take care of you all, permanently." Then the mysterious entity dissipated and was gone. The hazel-eyed youth faced them, sighing theatrically as he commented, "I was beginning to think I would have to talk him to death." "From your conversation, I assume that you hale from the Q Continuum," Picard remarked. The youth nodded, then struck a pose and extended his hand as he replied, "Just call me Quaid if that makes it easier to distinguish me from my brethren." However, Jean-Luc decided not to indulge in this creature's fancies and turned to Kadohota and asked, "Do you detect anyone else onboard now?" "No sir… that other entity must have altered my readings earlier," she replied. "Gorgan is a master of deception, but he did learn from one of the wiliest entities to roam the multi-verse," Quaid put in. "I think it would be better to finish this discussion onboard the Enterprise," he suggested. "Of course, but first we must wait for the arrival of my ace-in-the-hole," the super-being declared. "Another visitor from the Continuum?" Geordi guessed. "Not exactly…" the youth told him, glancing towards the entrance of the bridge. The others looked in that direction as well and Picard felt a jolt of recognition at the sight of the familiar figure who was standing there. "Hello, Geordi," Data said.