Chapter Text
“That is far enough!” Riker shouted, pointing his phaser right at the rouge cardassian. He glanced at Worf, giving him a subtle nod to proceed. The klingon acknowledged his signal and deployed the force field around the perimeter. Ash and soot fell down from above them, the cave they resided in, barely holding itself together. “Tell your leader to turn the device off! These grounds can’t withhold another round of its emissions!” The cardassian ignored him and frantically looked around, seemingly searching for another way out.
“Commander?” A familiar voice rang out from another section of the cave system. “Riker? Are you all alright?”
“Yes captain! We’ve been trying to contact the Enterprise, but there is too much interference coming from their device!” Riker shouted, his voice echoing through the tunnels.
“Troi and I came down here as soon as we heard the cave collapse. Another away team will arrive shortly, are you sure no one is injured?”
Riker looked at Worf who shook his head, reassuring him. “No, no one here is injured.”
“Alright, the team will escort the citizens out and then they’ll get down there as soon as possible.”
“No worries here captain!” He looked back at the terrified cardassian. “Now, go turn that device off, unless you want to join us under rubble!”
“Don’t you think I’ve tried!? Saril won’t deactivate it!”
“Saril? That’s your leaders name? Tell Saril that he will soon become ash himself if he doesn’t stop!”
“Fine! Just don’t point that thing at me.” The cardassian’s eyes were wide and bloodshot. He lead the way into a deeper part of the cave, that looked to have been carved into an underground facility. They carefully approached a door at the end of the tunnel and waited for the cardassian to continue. “If I were you I’d rather keep that phaser down, Saril wont cooperate if he feels he’s in danger.”
“Noted.” Riker aimed his phaser slightly lower and signaled for Worf to do the same.
The cardassian unlocked the door, revealing a sterile laboratory. White tiled walls reflected a red light coming from the device at the end of the room. Two other cardassians and a romulan could be seen working on the machine. One of them looked up and noticed the officers, alerting the other two instantly. “Don’t do anything rash now! We aren’t here to harm any of you.” Riker spoke up before anyone could react.
“Sorry, I had to do this.” The man who had escorted them locked the door and aimed his weapon at the two officers.
“You tricked us!?” Worf shouted.
“There is no point in fighting right now, these walls will completely collapse on us if you wont stop whatever the hell it is you’re doing here!” Riker felt like a parrot, having to repeat himself over and over again.
“We’ll take that chance.” The romulan said, stepping forward.
“You’re Saril I take it?”
“Perhaps, but it doesn’t matter.” He paused and eyed the officers. “What is Starfleet doing here?”
“We were on a humanitarian mission, the surface has been experiencing earthquakes as a result of your experiments.” Riker lost count of how many people he pulled out of debris over the last couple of hours. They only found out what had been causing the problems an hour ago, when Geordi picked up electromagnetic waves on a planet wide scan.
“It’s a small price to pay for advancements that will benefit society at large.” Saril stated.
“To hell with your advancements!!”
“I see I’m not coming through to you…” Saril walked over to the device once again and powered it up for yet another round.
“If you do this, you wont make it out alive!”
“We’ll see about that.” And he activated the machine.
A slew of colors emitted from the very top of the device, blinking in and out in a disorderly fashion. Every other light in the laboratory started flickering and a low rumbling sound grew louder until they were all forced to cover their ears. The colors suddenly stopped and settled on a cold blue. Everything went still, not a single sound could be heard. Then in a fraction of a second, waves of paralyzing vibrations shook the entire cave system and everyone in it. The walls formed cracks everywhere, unable to hold up the pressure from above. Worf and Riker ran towards shelter, hiding beneath a thick metal table while the cardassian ran as fast as he could towards the other three. Debris fell from the ceiling where a massive fracture expanded from the middle.
Crack
The ceiling caved in, giant rocks impacted the ground ferociously. Broken structures from the surface fell into bits and pieces. Worf winced as he witnessed the cardassian get crushed by the rubble, leaving his body broken and beyond saving. After what seemed like forever, the cave settled. Dust and ash was the only thing in the atmosphere. The metal table had simultaneously saved them from getting mushed by the ceiling and managed to pin them down into an abysmal position.
Worf growled as he tried to push the table off of them. “Commander?” He looked to his side and saw Riker lying unresponsive.
In the distance the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching them. Worf grabbed a broken pipe and held it at the ready. “Commander? Lieutenant Worf?” The captain called out.
“Here captain!” The klingon let out a sigh of relief and tossed the pipe away.
Picard rounded the corner with Deanna behind him. When they came into view, the captain knelt down and checked Riker’s pulse. “Riker?” He nudged at his head, trying to wake him up to no avail.
“Is he alright?” Deanna asked in a worried tone.
“He has a strong pulse, but we should get him to the Enterprise quickly.” Jean-Luc reassured her.
“Captain, there are two armed cardassians and a romulan here, I have not seen them yet, they might also be under rubble.” Worf didn’t bother mentioning the fourth cardassian that was currently six feet under.
“I’ll keep an eye out. Counselor, give me a hand with this will you?” They barely managed to lift the rock up and cast it to the side. Worf immediately got up and pulled Riker out from under the table. They all stood there for a moment, catching their breaths.
“I wouldn't rest right now.” Saril and the other two emerged from the dust, all three of them pointing their weapons at them. “Throw your phasers towards me and keep your hands out and exposed.”
Without another word, they pulled out their phasers and handed them over. “Riker needs medical attention, we have to get him up to the surface.” Picard said urgently.
“Don’t worry, we’ll revive him shortly if you’ll follow us.” Saril said calmly. He lead them towards the machine and had them kneeling on the ground before it. The two cardassians went over to Riker and injected him with some sort of serum, waking him up in an instant. He looked around confused, unable to focus properly. Without much care, they dragged him towards the others and plopped him next the Deanna.
“There, as promised.”
“Would you care to explain what you’ve been doing down here and why the surface of this planet has to suffer as a result?” Picard asked calmly.
“Your team gave me the impression that you all already knew.” Saril gave Riker a nasty look before continuing. “But to put it shortly, we are making history.” He said rather dramatically.
“Is that so?”
“Oh yes captain, you have no idea. This machine craves a lot of energy for a good purpose, it distributes as much as it consumes.” Saril moved towards the machine. Picard's eyes narrowed as he studied the piece of technology. It almost looked like an electric chair, except with a more modern design and less medieval looking. The blue-ish chair in the middle had several black smoke marks, probably from being hit by stray electric charges. What stood out the most, however, was what Picard guessed to be the headgear. It had hundreds of wires connecting to the rest of the machinery. All different colors, messy and tangled, a stark contrast to the rest of the device’s sleek and polished design.
Saril approached the female cardassian and gave her an odd but stern look. “Have you…gotten rid of the previous tool?”
“I have.” She sounded almost regretful and it gave Jean-Luc the distinct impression that they were not talking about an object.
“Bring in the other group.” He ordered, she gave him a nod in response and went away into a different part of the laboratory.
“You have other people down here?” Picard asked in a natural tone.
“We do, we did not harm them for your information. Some of them were already injured prior to getting down here.”
“Injuries they sustained from the earthquakes you caused no doubt.” The captain remarked.
“Our business here is worth the trouble it may cause.”
“I’m sure it is.” Jean-Luc said sarcastically.
“Yes, you understand.” Saril smiled at him, the sarcasm flying right over his head. “In fact it could change our way of life for the better.”
“I would appreciate it if you could perhaps elaborate on that.”
“What do you want to know?”
“I simply wish to know what is so important that it has you disregarding innocent life to this degree.”
“Believe me captain, life is why I have made this machine. You have to make certain sacrifices if you want to improve society.”
“Sacrifices you have no business making. You can’t appoint yourself as the judge and executioner.”
“I’m not personally killing them now, am I?”
“You don’t need to. You are responsible no matter how their deaths occur.”
“How many times have your kind tortured and slaughtered your own for scientific purposes?”
A straw man argument, how typical, Jean-Luc thought. “Too many, but just because we did this before doesn’t mean it was right.”
“You consider it wrong now, but back then people saw it as progress.”
“You are very much wrong about that, people weren’t too happy about finding out how that progress came to be. People died in the pursuit of taking down those organizations.“
“After what is done is done, no one will complain. They’ll see the value it’ll bring in the end.”
“A value tainted by death and unnecessary suffering.”
“Such is life.” The romulan shrugged. Everything from his demeanor to the way he spoke seemed much too nonchalant for Picard’s taste. Some people make justifying their sins look so easy.
The female cardassian came back with four other people following her, their hands tied behind their backs. One of them was a human female while the other three were male vulcan’s. They all looked sickly with cuts and bruises all over their bodies.
“Bring the girl.” Saril reached his hand out to the captive. She carefully approached him and stood still, avoiding eye contact. He took out a scanner and used it on her. Once the results came up he frowned and waved her away. Saril then proceeded to do the same with Riker, Picard and Deanna.
“Who do you want?” His conspirator asked.
“Bring me Picard-“
“Have you lost your mind!? He’s a starfleet captain for god’s sakes! We can’t afford to have the federation after us.”
“He happens to be the only one here in optimal health.”
“Why not try it on the girl?”
“The scan showed that she’s pregnant.”
“Okay then, what about her?” She asked, pointing at Deanna.
“She’s half betazoid apparently, it won’t work on her either.” He rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed.
“Saril, please consider delaying this for another day-“
“No we will not! We haven’t come all the way here just to go back empty handed! Now, either step away or get him strapped to the chair.” He said coldly. She stared at him with a look of anguish before exhaling in defeat. She walked towards Picard and pulled him up, guiding him towards the chair.
“What do you plan on doing?” Jean-Luc asked as they bound him to the uncomfortable seat. His wrists, ankles, waist and head pinned by metal bars.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little bald head about it.” Saril said mockingly.
”I think my bald head deserves to know what will happen to it, don’t you?” Picard played along.
“You will experience some confusion, dizziness, mild discomfort and pain. This isn’t deadly…unless you are injured, which you’re not so you have nothing to worry about.” The female cardassian explained.
”I want to take the captain’s place.” Worf interjected.
“Only humans can be tested by this device. Every being has their own brainwaves, yours do not hold the sequences we require.” Saril huffed. “Why do you think we only scanned those who looked human? You klingons are so dense.”
Worf only growled in response. He thought about going up to him before Deanna reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder, calming him down. “Is this really necessary?” Troi asked the romulan.
“I thought I made myself clear.”
“I only ask you if there is something we could do to prevent this?” She asked sincerely.
“No, my mind is made up and I’m sure you know that already.” Saril walked around Picard and stood by the console connected to the machine. He pulled a lever down and a big monitor emerged from the wall behind them. It displayed a some sort image of what seemed to be Jean-Luc’s mind, showing the parts of his brain that were active. “All you need to know is that this machine is supposed to extract and display your memories. Now, are you ready?”
Picard didn’t bother giving him an answer, he only stared at him.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” The romulan smiled as he started typing on the console. From Jean-Luc’s perspective it looked as if though he was typing some sort of mathematical formula. Once Saril finished typing, three red lights appeared on the monitor. A moment later they turned white, awaiting input. He turned to look at the captain once again and simply said. “Brace yourself.” He pushed the button and the colors turned blue.
Absolutely nothing could’ve prepared Picard for what he was about to feel. Electric charges flew all over the room as his body shook from the machine’s emissions. He felt…everything, absolutely everything. It was as if his entire nervous system was set on fire, buzzing with all sorts of senses. He felt euphoric, enraged, pain, content, hungry, full, sleepy, alert and relaxed all at the same time. It made him grip the arm rest with a force he didn’t know he possessed. Deanna, Worf and a confused Riker could only watch as their captain violently jolted against the cold bars holding him in place. Picard closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying to hold on to what little control he had left over his body. He bit the inside of his cheek to the point of drawing blood. The red liquid slowly trickled down his lips.
“Please stop it! You’re hurting him!” Deanna yelled at them with tears gushing down her cheeks. “It’s too much, this could do irreparable damage!” The emotions she felt from him were too intense for her to block out.
Saril and his team couldn’t even answer her as they stared at the monitor in awe at the brain activity. “Incredible…” He whispered as he once again pushed the button and deactivated the device.
Picard’s body went limp, he was still conscious, his muscles twitching from the previous forceful strain. He slowly opened his eyes and immediately became overwhelmed by everything around him. The sounds, the colors, the bright lights.
“Captain?” Saril walked toward Picard and placed his hand on his shoulder. “How are you feeling?” He asked out of obligation and waited in anticipation for the display to load the memories.
“I…I don’t-“
“It’s alright, take your time.” The romulan was more so telling that to the monitor than the man he just tortured.
Multiple images flashed on the screen until it settled on one, the visuals were distorted but there was no doubt about what it was showing. It depicted a memory from a couple hours ago where Picard was debriefing the crew about their current mission. Worf and Deanna stared at each other and back at the monitor. “This isn’t right” Troi said, her voice raspy.
“This device is too dangerous, we need to do something.” Worf looked around the room in search of anything he could use to escape. “We could lure one of the cardassians and take their weapon.”
“We don’t have much choice otherwise.” Deanna agreed.
“We can use him as a distraction.” Worf referred to Riker, who was staring aimlessly at the ground, too dizzy to process anything.
“Alright let’s do it.” Deanna looked at one of the armed cardassians. “Excuse me!”
The henchman noticed her and walked towards her. “What do you want?
”I sense that our commander is in pain, please could you make sure that he’s still with us?” Tori said in the most convincingly desperate voice she could muster. Which wasn’t hard, they literally were desperate.
The cardassian looked at her skeptically before leaning down to Riker’s level. He took one hand off of his weapon and reached to feel the commander’s pulse. Once he got into a vulnerable position, Worf acted fast, grabbing both his wrists and yanked the weapon out of his hand. The Klingon then tackled the man and pinned him to the ground.
“Take the weapon!” Worf urged Troi. She quickly grabbed it and rose up, aiming it at Saril.
“Let the captain go, now!” She demanded.
The romulan laughed loud and insultingly. “What is little you going to do? You won’t hurt me.”
“Do you want to place that bet?” She challenged him.
“Sure, let me just-“ He bashed the button and duck down behind the console. The machine charged up and activated, shocking Jean-Luc once again.
“Damn you!” Deanna saw Saril in her line of sight and prepared to shoot. Much to their dismay, the man in Worf’s grasp freed himself and pushed her just as she pulled the trigger. The blast hit the device instead and overloaded its core, sending electricity everywhere. “No!” Troi cried out.
The headgear attached to Picard started smoking as a fire broke within the wires. His eyes flew open, the pain overwhelming his senses. No longer in control of his own body, strangled noises escaped his throat, noises that sent shivers down Deanna’s spine.
“What have you done!?” Saril shouted.
“We need to get out of here, it’s going to blow any minute!” The female cardassian grabbed his arm and ran towards the exit.
“Everyone, get out of here!” Worf implored the captives, they wasted no time and followed his orders. “Troi take Riker as far away as possible, I’ll get the captain out.” He said before running towards Picard, while Deanna dragged Riker out of range.
The lieutenant got up to the console and pushed the same button just for it to be locked into place, likely as a result of the blast. He pulled off the metal plates holding the console together, exposing its internal components. The layout looked far too foreign for him to decipher, so Worf did the next best thing, ripping everything out. Whatever did it, worked and the electrical charges ceased. However, that only made it safe for him to get the captain off the machine, its core was still overloaded and one step too slow could send them both into the neutral zone. He quickly undid the metal straps and carried Jean-Luc’s unconscious body over his shoulder. Worf secured his grip on him and gunned for the exit.
***
Deanna and Riker managed to get to surface when the cave crumbled in on itself. She scrambled to look around for Picard and Worf. The dust and sand in the air obscured her vision.
“Lieutenant Worf!?” Troi called out. She could hear nothing but the wind and the sound of rocks grinding against each other from below them. “Counselor Troi to enterprise.” She tapped her communicator.
“Data here.”
“Data, beam Riker straight to sickbay. I’ll explain everything as soon as I find Worf and the captain.”
“Understood, Riker will be beamed aboard shortly.” A moment later and the commander was safe and sound on the Enterprise.
Deanna continued searching as the wind intensified, blowing red sand everywhere. She followed the sight of a figure in the distance. As the counselor got closer, she saw who it was and frowned. “You!” Troi pointed her weapon at the cardassian who was supporting Saril on her shoulder.
“Don’t shoot!” She settled the unconscious romulan on the ground and held her hands in the air.
“Where is the captain!?”
“I don’t know, I barely made it out myself!”
“Rena?” Saril’s voice was barely above a whisper.
”I’m here, doctor.” She knelt down to support his neck. He was bleeding from a nasty looking wound on his arm. Rena stroked his hair soothingly as she whispered hopeful words to him. The display was quite strange to witness, seeing a cardassian be so tender with a romulan. Deanna would’ve found this rather endearing if it weren’t for their current circumstances.
“Counselor?” She heard Worf call out from behind them.
”Lieutenant, are you two alright?”
”I am without injury. It’s the captain I’m worried about.” He gently placed Picard on the ground and held his head to the side. “He’s bleeding from his ears.”
”Troi to Data.”
“Yes counselor?”
”Five to beam up, beam the captain straight to sickbay. A cardassian and romulan will be coming with us, have someone be there to take them to the brig.” Troi said while staring down at the two criminals.
”I’m sending additional security to transporter room five. Beaming you up now.”