by Shards
Deanna's legs collapsed beneath her, and she fell to the floor. She may have passed out, because the next thing she saw was Luc squatting beside her as her mind started to clear the din.
"You never told me that would happen," Luc admonished Kestra with a level of anger the previously serene man had never revealed before.
"I didn't know for sure," Kestra said with a shrug. "It was a possibility. Deanna was never taught how to focus her powers. She couldn't even manage to keep Mother out of her thoughts. It took me years of practice to hone my abilities."
"What is that thing?" Deanna asked. Her eyes were locked on the slender device that Luc was slipping back into hiding. "Something that plants images and emotions in my mind?"
"Just the opposite," Kestra said. "It allows you to tap into what has always been there."
Deanna didn't respond.
"After I escaped on that Romulan shuttle," Kestra said, "I slipped off at the next port, where I had arranged to meet one of Dad's old friends. He'd lost contact with our father, but he was able to tell me what he knew about us. That Mother had been suppressing our powers since birth. As soon as we'd shown a predisposition to the Betazoid gift, she had a neural suppressor implanted in each of us to conceal those abilities."
"Why?"
"To protect us? To control us? Who knows?" Kestra said. "The point is, she's been lying to us our entire lives. I had the device removed and taught myself how to tap into my abilities. How to use them. It took years, because I'd started so late. After I got the hang of it, I started using my powers to help out where I could. During one of my missions, I stumbled across Jean-Luc. He'd recently turned against the Alliance himself."
Deanna looked to Luc, who merely shrugged. Even with the neural suppressor functioning again, she knew that there was deep sadness behind his controlled response.
"We teamed up," Kestra said. "And found a scientist who possessed the technology to tap into the neural suppressor. It was then that I knew it was time to reestablish contact. To see if you'd be willing to help us."
"You're asking a lot, considering most of it is based on lies," Deanna said.
"I know," Kestra said. "But all I'm truly asking is for you to look into Mother's files. Then you can make your decision based on what you find."
Before Deanna could respond, a klaxon sounded on the bridge of the ship. Kestra maintained her cool, but Deanna could see concern in her sister's eyes.
"Looks like we've got company," she said as the shadows behind her moved more frantically. "Jean-Luc, talk to her. I've got to go."
"What's happening?" Deanna asked.
"I love you, Deanna," Kestra said as she cut off communication.
The viewscreen went suddenly blank, leaving Deanna in silence. Her sister was alive. Her sister was alive, and her mother had been lying to her since birth, if Kestra was to be believed. And now Deanna was expected to help this virtual stranger betray their mother. All in all, it was not the morning she had expected.
"It's a lot to take in," Luc said. "But you can trust your sister. And you can trust me."
"I know," Deanna said. "I saw it in the flood of information. I could make out a few things. Kestra has grown very fond of you."
"We make a good team," he said.
"It's more than that," Deanna said. "The emotions...they're similar to how she feels when she thinks of our father. I suspect I was feeling some of that myself."
"I never did have any children of my own," Luc said. "Though I've often wondered what became of my nephew. It might be nice to have a family again."
"I'm not so sure that you'd want to be a part of this one." Deanna surprised herself with the joke, considering all that was going on inside her own head at the moment. She had felt something else in the rush of emotions. Something much darker that she couldn't quite access yet. Luc's emotions were still there, in the back of her mind, along with another secret he never intended to reveal.
"Deanna, I know this must be difficult," Luc said. "But I also know a thing or two about going along with the status quo simply because it is the easier way. I allowed myself to be oppressed by my Cardassian patron so long that I convinced myself that I was actually a free man. Is that really so different from your relationship with your mother?"
"How is it you're keeping your thoughts from her?" Deanna asked.
"Your mother's not the only one who knows how to whip up a neural suppressor," Luc said. "The one I've got just works in reverse."
Deanna nodded, wanting to keep him engaged while her mind worked through the confusion to remember what it was she had seen. She was so focused on both tasks that she almost failed to notice the door opening.
"Now, this is an interesting surprise," Lwaxana said coldly, as she entered the communications chamber.
For once in her life, Deanna was not cowed by the woman's attitude. "Mother, we need to talk."
"Yes," Lwaxana said, eyeing both her and Luc suspiciously. "Yes, we do. But now is not the time. We have some very high-profile guests on their descent. We must prepare."
Deanna was about to protest, but when she caught the eager look in Luc's eyes, everything fell into place. Her mind had finally pieced together his true mission. This kind, fatherly figure had somehow become an assassin.
Tension filled the salon of the Sacred Chalice along with the Klingon music Luc provided with his Ressikan flute. Had there been time to find a replacement musician, he would surely have been exiled from the planet, simply for being in a room where he was not permitted. That, coupled with his mind still being closed to Lwaxana, was more than enough for Deanna to worry for his very life. But that was not the main concern at the moment. Deanna was certain of Luc's plan to assassinate their approaching guests.
Half of the staff were lined up in the main hall to receive their special guests. It was like this every time they visited. Their tastes changed on a whim, which only the varied talents of the Chalice pleasure providers could quench. Lwaxana had even abruptly shown several of the overnight guests of lesser position the door to avoid any unpleasantness. This was one of the few arrivals that could have pushed back the discussion Deanna and her mother were destined to have.
When Lwaxana finished addressing the staff in the hall, she came into the salon, where Deanna was sure to keep as much room between herself and Luc as physically possible. A wave of Lwaxana's hand silenced Luc's playing. "I assume you know some Terran music?" she asked.
"I may have picked up a song or two," Luc said, throwing a smile in Deanna's direction. She looked away quickly. If he got the idea that it would be funny to play her father's lullaby, it was likely that her mother would kill him on the spot.
"Do not trifle with me this morning. It will not improve your situation any," Lwaxana said. "When they heard we had a Terran musician, they requested music from your homeworld. Something slow and mournful is more to their tastes."
Luc made a show of thinking about the request. "I guess I could try-"
"I do not care what you play," Lwaxana said. "Just play."
As Luc began the first notes of a suitably morose tune, Lwaxana returned to the main hall to greet the new arrivals. He tried to make light of the situation by screwing up his face and throwing a glance in Deanna's direction. She was in even less of a mood for that than her mother and ignored him. She was too busy trying to figure out a way to stop the inevitable. It would not be the first assassination attempt to take place at the Chalice, but it would be unique in that it involved an employee. That would not be good for business.
Deanna silently cursed her sister for setting this situation in motion and then hovering in orbit while it played itself out. Now that she and Luc were alone, Deanna considered speaking to him about it, but voices from the grand hall put that plan to a halt. Their guests had arrived.
After an initial review of the selection of pleasure providers, Lwaxana led her guests into the salon to rest from their travels and settle on their tastes for the visit. The Klingon women of the
House of Duras, Lursa and B'Etor, were known for being difficult to satisfy. They put much thought into their pleasure and rarely chose their partners without due consideration. The debate between the two women was considered part of the foreplay. Many times, Deanna had been torn between embarrassment and horror as she listened to the women plan their activities for the day. Having some musical accompaniment to drown them out was much appreciated.
"Do tell me that this fine specimen is available to us as well," Lursa said as she entered the room and set her eyes upon Luc.
"Sadly, no," Lwaxana said, quickly adding a lie to keep them from being offended. "All musicians at the Chalice are eunuchs. It ensures that they focus on their jobs and not the guests."
"A grand idea," Lursa said, with a pointed look to her guard as if she were considering adapting the concept for her own needs. "But it is a pity," she added, with a lingering glance at Luc.
Deanna watched Luc watch the women as they settled onto the couch to discuss their options. She couldn't help but notice that he was positioned with his back against the wall, standing equidistant from the two exit points of the room. Lwaxana was hovering over their guests the entire time. If only Deanna had seen what Luc was planning, she might be able to stop it. But the abilities that revealed themselves were more empathic than telepathic. She was just glad that she'd gotten a glimpse into his intentions. All she could do was be vigilant.
"We are in need of something special," B'Etor said to Lwaxana, "as this may be our last visit to your establishment."
Lwaxana looked horrified by the suggestion. "Is there something here that displeases you?"
"Security issues," Lursa explained. "A known rebellion ship was orbiting your planet. A ship flying under the name Stargazer. Naturally, we blew it out of orbit, but who knows what might come in its place?"
Deanna's mind went immediately to her sister. She refused to think it possible that she could have lost Kestra again, so soon after being reunited. These two Klingons were so blase about it that it would be easy to let herself believe it didn't happen. Luc, however, did not seem to have any doubt. His body tensed, visibly, which did not go unnoticed by Lwaxana.
Before Deanna could take control of the situation, she lost control of herself entirely. Maybe it was an unintentional shifting of Luc's foot or the movement of his heel, but the technology that tapped into Deanna's neural suppressor suddenly powered up at the worst time. Once again, she felt the onslaught of mixed emotions, none more powerful than the rage Luc felt toward the Klingon women. It was now mixing with her own.
The murderous intent took over Deanna's body, and she flew across the salon, attacking the source of her pain. Deanna tore at Luc's clothes, pummeling him, fueled by his own rage. He raised his arms to defend himself but refused to fight back. The Klingon guards snapped to attention, watching the bizarre scene. Lwaxana was screaming at her daughter to calm herself.
In the melee, Luc's pocket ripped away, and a small round device rolled out onto the floor. Seeing things more clearly than she had before, Deanna lunged for the device, scooping it into her hands.
She stood and faced the women who had killed her sister. Her father. No. Not her father. He was not dead. Just her sister. The sister who raised her when her mother failed to. The sister who came back to her. Who found her a new father to protect her. To use her.
The Klingon women stood across the room in a state of shock and confusion. Their guards' pistols were raised. Her mother was trying to calm them.
Her mother. Who had abandoned her own child. Suppressed Deanna.
Before she realized what she was doing, Deanna pressed a button on the round device and flung it at the trio of women. The guards fired on Deanna, but Luc threw her to the ground a split second before the shots hit their target.
A split second before the explosion struck.
Deanna took what she assumed was to be the last look at her home planet from the emergency escape shuttle she shared with Luc Picard. It was the first time she'd ever seen Betazed from space. Oddly, it looked smaller than she'd always imagined it. Her entire life had been contained in the Sacred Chalice, which led her to dream that the world outside its walls was so much larger than it actually was.
The universe, however, was a different matter. As they headed off to meet with Luc's contacts, Deanna wondered what her future held. The Klingons would see to it that the path her mother had laid out for her since birth was no longer possible.
The explosion had killed her mother instantly. Deanna hadn't even had a farewell moment with Lwaxana. The woman's motivations remained a mystery to Deanna, who apparently had a chip in her brain as her legacy.
Luc had apologized repeatedly, to the point that it was becoming rote. He claimed that he hadn't meant to press down on the heel of his shoe and activate the device when he learned of his crew's death. His body had simply reacted without heed of the consequences. She wasn't so sure that she believed him. Her breakdown would have made for an aptly timed distraction. As it was, she had fulfilled his mission on her own, by killing the Duras sisters.
Deanna found it hard to forgive Luc, but she knew that she had to for her own good. He was her only connection to the universe at large. She needed him now that they'd abandoned the Chalice.
Lursa and B'Etor's ship hung in orbit on the other side of Betazed. Knowing it could take out the Chalice in a single shot, Deanna was forced to follow Lwaxana's emergency escape plan and have her people flee the planet in the ships hidden for just such an emergency. Once it was discovered that the Duras sisters were dead, there would be a price on the head of everyone associated with the Chalice.
Once again, the Betazoid race was going to be hunted for something over which they had no control. Deanna wanted nothing more than to pawn off this problem on Jean-Luc Picard and his friends, who had successfully destroyed her life and the lives of all of the people in the shuttles that were following hers. She couldn't even mourn for her sister. Deanna was on her own for the first time in her life. At the same time, she held the lives of the last of the Betazoid race in her hands, just as Lwaxana had always promised she would.
The only saving grace came from the files Deanna had taken from her mother's computer. It was all there, as Kestra said it would be, the secret thoughts of some of the most powerful minds in the Alliance. It was a commodity she would use to find her people a new sanctuary. And maybe her father as well.
As Deanna flew off into the unknown with Picard, she felt the despair of those people wash over her as they were being forced, once again, to abandon their home. It was an emotion that she feared was going to become familiar.
Bitter Fruit
Susan Wright
HISTORIAN'S NOTE: This tale is set in late 2371, several months after the events of The Mirror-Scaled Serpent from Star Trek Mirror Universe: Obsidian Alliances.
Susan Wright's latest fantasy novels were published by Penguin/ Roc: To Serve and Submit (2007) and A Pound of Flesh (2008). Her forthcoming novels, urban fantasies set in New York City, are called Confessions of a Demon and Demon Revelation, with Confessions scheduled to be published in November 2009 by Penguin Group. Susan has written nine Star Trek novels: Dark Passions (Vols. 1 & 2), Gateways: One Small Step, Sins of Commission, The Best and the Brightest, The Badlands ( Vols. 1 & 2), The Tempest, and Violations. Susan has also written a number of nonfiction books on art and popular culture, as well as Slave Trade, her first science fiction trilogy, published by Pocket Books (2003-2005). The uncut version of Slave Trade book 1 is now available in free chapter downloads on Book View Cafe at www.bookviewcafe.com. Susan founded the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom in 1997, and currently serves as spokesperson. Her website and a link to her blog are at www.susanwright.info.
Kes perched on a rock, slippery from mist at the base of the waterfall. The droplets fell on her face and uplifted hands, filling her with hope. In the Alpha Quadrant, water was like space itself-there was more than enough for everyone. This waterfall was eve
n more remarkable because it had been created along with the underground oasis by the Genesis Project nearly a hundred years ago as part of the far-reaching plan of a man long dead.