Lwaxana bustled back over to Sulel and Picard. “They promise to keep silent,” she said. “Traditional modes of communication only.”
“Very good.” Sulel nodded. “Captain, are you ready?”
“I am.” Picard had to admit he was fairly impressed that Lwaxana had managed to corral the House leaders. It occurred to him he’d never paid attention to her skills as an ambassador.
She was very good.
Sulel tapped the combadge she wore. “We’re ready. Please forward the transmission to the balcony conference room viewscreen.”
“Ambassador Sulel.” An older Romulan, his eyes still heavy with sleep, filled the screen. “Why did you wake me up so early in the morning?”
“My apologies,” Sulel said. “It is very early here as well.”
Ambassador Hakruth squinted down, and from their perspective it appeared as if he was squinting down in judgment of them. “It says here you’re on Betazed?” He looked up. “I suppose that explains the presence of Ambassador Troi as well. A pity Ambassador Sbrana couldn’t join us.”
Lwaxana smiled at him, cocking her head to the side. “It is always a pleasure to see you, Hakruth.” Somehow she made the word pleasure sound like poison.
Hakruth sniffed. “The Romulan Star Empire has no interest in Betazed. Stop wasting my time.”
“I would not deign to waste your time,” Sulel said smoothly. “I’ve asked to speak to you because of the kidnapping of one of the Betazed House leaders, Aviana Virox.”
“Never heard of her,” Hakruth said.
Sulel raised an eyebrow. “Of course not. Why would an ambassador be appraised of a kidnapping?”
“What are you saying?” Hakruth shot back. “That the Romulan Empire has kidnapped a Betazoid House leader?”
Lwaxana stiffened, and Picard strongly suspected she was reminding the other Betazoids of the need for silent communication.
“I would sincerely hope that is not the case,” Sulel said. “But Aviana Virox has been recovered. And she has claimed that her kidnapper was a Romulan woman.”
Hakruth rolled his eyes. “Do you think we control every Romulan in the galaxy?”
“You certainly try,” Lwaxana said sweetly.
Hakruth smiled. “As much as the Tal Shiar would like to believe it, that simply isn’t the case. If Aviana Virox has been recovered, I don’t understand why you’re contacting.”
Sulel kept her expression neutral. “Aviana Virox was not kidnapped for a ransom. Her kidnapping was to aid in the theft of three significant Betazed cultural artifacts.”
Hakruth snorted with laughter. “So the Betazoid fell victim to a treasure hunter.”
“Are you certain?” Lwaxana’s voice strained at the edges.
“The Romulan Empire has no interest in Betazed cultural items. Surely, Ambassador Sulel, you can see that there’s nothing logical about the insinuation you are making.”
Sulel said, “I am looking to rule out possibilities.”
“You can rule out official Romulan involvement,” Hakruth snapped. “Now, if that’s all, I would very much like to go back to bed.”
“Thank you, Mister Ambassador.” Sulel settled back in her chair.
When the viewscreen switched off, all hell broke loose.
“It’s the Romulans!” cried Jarkko Sentis. “No interest in Betazed cultural items? Nonsense.”
“I agree,” said one of the other leaders. “He was trying to get rid of us!”
Shouts of approval from the remaining leaders. Picard waited.
“Captain Picard,” Sulel said, turning to him, “what are your thoughts?”
Picard tugged his uniform tunic down and tuned out the House leaders clamoring beside him. “Aviana Virox and her ship were found in an abandoned warehouse, once controlled by a Ferengi crime syndicate.”
“Ferengi!” moaned one of the leaders. Picard couldn’t actually tell which one; their voices were blending together into a symphony of righteous rage. “Are the Ferengi involved?”
“That’s not what I—” Picard began.
“The Ferengi and the Romulans are conspiring against Betazed!”
“This matter must be—”
“Quiet, all of you!” Lwaxana snapped. “Let Jean-Luc speak.” She turned her smile on him. “Go ahead, Jean-Luc.”
The captain blinked, the angry faces of the House leaders staring at him. “As I was saying,” he continued, “I understand the urge to assign blame for this robbery to the Romulans. But it is much more likely that it was a petty criminal, a Romulan acting independently.”
“Boo!” called out one of the House leaders.
An actual boo, Picard thought.
“Calm down, Onora,” Lwaxana said. “I agree with him.”
Picard glanced over at her. “You do?”
“Of course.” Lwaxana waved her hand dismissively toward the viewscreen. “Ambassador Hakruth is dreadfully rude, but for a Romulan, he’s honest.” She patted the side of her hair. “If the Romulan government was involved, he would have been far more polite. Accommodating, even. They think unexpected politeness will throw us. It usually does.” Lwaxana dropped her hand to the table. “But I’ve dealt with him before. He was telling the truth.”
“My reason for waking him up was to put him on the wrong foot,” Sulel said. “Hakruth’s willingness to offer that the items were stolen by a treasure hunter was not, based on my previous interactions with him, an insult. He was effectively washing his government’s hands of this crime. I suspect he might know who the perpetrator is and hopes the Federation will handle the problem.”
“Exactly,” Lwaxana said.
Lwaxana smiled knowingly at the Vulcan. Picard realized they made quite a formidable team.
“If you think Hakruth knows her identity,” one of the House leaders said, “why don’t you make him tell you?”
“He’s a Romulan,” Picard said. “They don’t give up information easily. And the ambassadors have clearly learned to read this particular Romulan. They are doing their jobs quite effectively.”
Lwaxana beamed at him. “Why, Jean-Luc, what a lovely compliment!”
Picard sat very still, his spine stiffening. The House leaders were grumbling among themselves, but the captain suspected there were even more fervent conversations happening between them telepathically.
“Ambassadors, with your permission.” Picard stood up, tugging on his uniform. “I will recall the Enterprise and find Aviana Virox’s kidnapper. By now my crew should have found traces of her ship.”
“Excellent,” Sulel said. “The Enterprise will take up the search.”
Picard felt a flood of relief. He realized that he had been waiting the entire meeting for just that. He looked over at the House leaders, their faces red and their eyes wild as they muttered telepathically among themselves. He understood, even if this wasn’t a Romulan plot to sow discord on Betazed. Their cultural identity was tied up in those objects. The House leaders would do anything to get them back.
“If you will excuse me, I’ll be rejoining my ship.”
“No, Captain, you will not.” Sulel’s tone was low. “You will remain here on Betazed and assist in my efforts to uncover the Romulan’s identity.”
“Madam Ambassador, I…”
“Starfleet Command has already agreed to my request that you remain on Betazed.”
21
The door to the common room flew open, letting in the wind and a triangle of light. Malisson stomped inside.
“What’s the problem?” Solanko asked.
Malisson’s shoulders slumped as she raked a hand through her hair. Commander Riker stepped in through the still-open door and pushed it shut.
“The generator is stating the mission is complete,” Riker said.
“How’s that even possible?” Solanko frowned. “You, as commanding officer, would have to enter those commands into the computer.”
“That’s how it’s supposed to work.” Malisson leaned up agains
t the wall. “I can’t find anything actually wrong in the structure, so it has to be in the comp—”
A loud, shuddering whump rolled through the room, and the overhead lights started blinking. Crusher watched the lights. A clotted artery. If and when the system shuddered back to life, it wouldn’t mean they were in the clear.
Riker asked, “Computer, what just happened?”
“Kota is an uninhabited Class-M planet located in the Nilko system,” the computer said. “Kota is an uninhabited—uninhabited—uninhabited Class-M planet located in the Nilko system. Circumference is—”
“That’s not what I asked you,” Riker told the computer.
“Repeat, repeat your request?” said the computer.
“Why did power cut out?”
“The power system has a total of ten backup systems in the event of damage or other unforeseen catastrophe.” The computer’s voice rippled through the room. “All systems are currently functioning normally.”
“Data, can you do a level-3 diagnostic of the computer?”
“Yepperoni,” Data said.
Every absurd piece of slang Data used reminded Crusher that she still had not found out what was affecting the beach team.
“Are you well enough to work?” Riker said.
“Of course, Commander. I do not—” He stopped. “I did it again.”
“Yes,” Riker said. “Doctor?”
What could she say? She had no answers. She hated this feeling, this hopelessness.
“The slang is—odd. But I don’t think it will affect his work.”
“I feel fine.”
I feel fine.
An odd thing for Data to say. He was continually reminding her whenever she treated him like another patient that he had no feelings.
“That’s it,” Riker said. “We can’t push our luck. I’m calling for extraction. We’re getting out of here.”
“No, sir. You…” Rikkilä jumped up—then immediately grew bright red, realizing what she had done.
Riker offered her a faint smile. “Go ahead, Ensign, you have my permission to speak freely.”
“Thank you, sir. We still don’t know what caused the attacks. What’s causing our dreams. We shouldn’t risk infecting anyone.”
“We don’t even know if it’s a virus!” said Muñoz. “Or if it’s an infection, or something endemic to the planet. And why Doctor Crusher and you aren’t affected.”
Crusher stepped forward. “I appreciate your concerns, but we can be quarantined. I’d like to have access to sickbay; with my equipment, I know I could get to the bottom of this.”
“Agreed,” Riker said. “If we stay here and the power fails along with the computer, it will only be a matter of hours before the station disintegrates. We’ll no longer have access to shelter. We need to request an extraction.” Riker glanced at Crusher. “The ceremony will still be going on, but the Enterprise won’t be gone for long.”
The Enterprise senior officers made their way to the sleeping quarters, where the comm station was located. Crusher sank down on her bed, watching as Riker hailed the ship.
“Commander Riker.” Ensign Rivera’s face materialized on the screen. “How can I help you?”
“Could you connect me to Captain Picard?” Riker said.
“Stand by, Commander Riker. I’m connecting you now.” The screen flickered. A few seconds later, Ensign Rivera reappeared.
“Apologies, Commander Riker. Captain Picard is currently with the Federation ambassador. Stand by.”
“Will, is something wrong?” Crusher stood up from the bed and walked over to Riker’s side. His expression was serious.
“If the captain is with Sural,” he said, “it’s not good.”
Crusher let out a laugh of disbelief. “Looks like none of us had the shore leave we were hoping for.”
“No. But the captain…” he muttered.
“Will, don’t be unkind.”
“I didn’t say anything unkind!” Riker looked at her with innocent eyes. “Lwaxana Troi is a remarkable woman. But she and the captain—”
A Betazoid aide answered the transmission. “Is this Enterprise? Have you captured the Romulan yet?”
What is going on over there? Crusher thought. The poor aide seemed frazzled.
“Romulan?” Riker said. But before he could ask anything, the United Federation of Planets seal appeared on the screen. Riker looked over at Crusher. “Romulans?”
“Picard here.” The captain looked like he hadn’t gotten any sleep. His usual crisp uniform was slightly rumpled. He smiled. “I can’t deny it’s good to see some familiar faces.”
“Captain, what’s happening on Betazed?” Crusher asked.
“The treasures were stolen. Enterprise has discovered that a Romulan—”
Picard’s voice garbled, and his image distorted, overlaid with other faces of all different species, most in Starfleet uniforms. Their mouths moved but Picard’s voice came out: “—denies involvement. But we have a situation on our hands.”
Crusher put her arm on Riker’s shoulder. “We need to do this fast. Before the comm station cuts out completely.”
“Captain, we didn’t get that,” Riker said. “Can you repeat?”
For a moment Picard’s face flashed on the screen, looking concerned. Then it was replaced by an Andorian officer, his lips moving silently. Picard’s voice crackled out of the speakers. “What’s—tell me what—something wrong?”
“Captain, I hope you hear this,” Riker said. “We need immediate extraction from Kota. We have been exposed to an unknown infection. It affects life-forms and technology, including Data.”
“Extractioooooon?” The word was drawn out in a lilting, melodic wail.
“He can’t hear us,” Riker said softly.
“Yes, I can hear you.” Picard’s face came back on-screen, but now the background was a beach, waves crashing high against tall, jagged rocks. His voice was lost in the constant, roaring susurration of the waves, the howl of wind.
The sky was lavender, the water a dark purple. Kota? Was it the beach where the team got infected?
Riker tried to bring the captain up to speed on their situation. “Even the comm station is threatening to stop working as we speak.” He gestured at it. “It shows you on a beach.”
“The Enterprise is in pursuit. How long can you last in the event of system failure?” Picard asked.
Riker shook his head. “I’m not sure. A couple of days. But we would be without any equipment—”
Picard was speaking to someone outside the pickup. “There are no other ships…”
The waves erupting behind Picard suddenly washed over him, filling the screen with an image of murky, violet-tinged water. It sloshed back and forth, a rhythmic, haunting sound.
“Captain?” Riker said. “Can you hear me?”
The water sloshed back and forth, back and forth. The captain was gone.
“Damn,” Crusher said.
Voices babbled out of the comm station, bleeding together into what could only be described as music. The words became images crowding each other out in a pattern that superseded any individual words. The voices became a hum that turned into a melody and then grew louder, straining the systems.
“Computer, end transmission!” Riker ordered.
The sound increased.
“Manual deactivation!” Crusher said.
“On it.” Riker programed in the command. “That should… It’s not working!”
“I’ll get a tool kit.” Crusher headed for the lab and ran into Data.
“Data,” she breathed. “Thank goodness you’re here. We can’t get the comm station to shut off.”
He opened his mouth to speak—
The song from the comm station, a riotous layer of noise, came out of his mouth.
His brows went up in an expression of confusion. His mouth moved, and the noise rippled in time. Stopped. Tilted his head. Did it again.
“Data,” Crusher whispered. �
��You’re—”
Data looked past her, at the comm station. He pushed Riker aside, who let out a shout of surprise. Data bent down in front of the comm station.
Crusher asked calmly, “Data, do you know what you are doing? Do you think you can fix it?”
He plugged his index finger into the port, and his eyes brightened. Immediately, the comm went silent.
Crusher waited.
Opening his mouth to speak, Data unleashed a torrent of binary code. He spoke so quickly that the ones and zeros bled together into a loud, whining hum.
“Data,” Riker said, “can you hear me?”
Data kept unspooling binary, unmoving, his gaze boring into them.
“Computer,” Crusher asked, “can you translate?”
“Kota is an uninhabited Class-M planet located in the Nilko system,” the computer offered. “Circumference is 160,000 kilometers, with a distance of—”
“Computer, stop,” Crusher said with disgust.
The doctor sat down beside her friend. “Data, can you hear me?”
No reaction.
“I’m going to get Malisson,” Riker said. “She’s the closest thing to an engineer we have here.”
Crusher nodded, still focused on Data. There was something she could do, but she had promised him that she would only do it in an emergency.
“Data,” Crusher murmured. “I’m going to deactivate you. Please, give me some sign if you don’t want me to proceed.”
Data kept reciting binary code. There was something so flat about his aspect. As if Data weren’t there.
Crusher took a deep breath. “I’m going to do it.”
He made no move to stop her. No attempt to protest.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She felt for the deactivation switch on his back, then pressed it.
Immediately Data’s head fell forward. The silence was deep and reverberating.
“Is everything all right?”
Riker came in with Malisson. Both looked at Data in horror.
“I promised to only use it as his doctor. It was the one thing I could do.” Crusher took Data’s head and lowered his body, then gently set his arms by his sides.
Malisson knelt beside Crusher and studied Data closely. “I’m not sure I could have done anything,” she said. “Artificial intelligence was never my strong suit.” She twisted around toward the communication station. “How are we receiving a transmission from Bluster Beach?”
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