CHAPTER 21

Picard eyed Tasha. He wanted to tell her that they would grow to know and trust each other. He wanted to say that, one day, she would be willing to lay down her life for him.

But he couldn't. He had to tread a thin line here, and apprising his officers of what was in store for them was outside that line.

For now, all he could do was appeal to his officers' pride and integrity... their sense of justice and discipline. And then hope that that would be enough.

"Lieutenant, you are coming close to mutiny," he warned her. "Dangerously close."

Worf stepped forward. He was younger and more hotheaded than the Worf the captain was now used to.

"It would not be mutiny," the Klingon reminded them, "if the ship's counselor certified you unfit to command."

All eyes fell on Troi. But she didn't react—at least, not yet.

Abruptly, O'Brien stood. "Here, now," he said. "There's no cause for all this. it's not our place to question the captain's orders."

Obviously, Tasha felt otherwise. She looked at the counselor. "Deanna?"

Troi frowned as she felt the burden of her task. It was all up to her now.

She looked at Picard—seeking information not only with her eyes, but with her Betazoid talents. "Captain," she asked, "do you intend to obey the order from Star fleet?"

There were a number of ways he could have handled the situation, a number of ways he could have answered her. But the counselor would detect any attempt at subterfuge.

In the end, he opted for the simple truth. "No," he replied. "I do not."

There were gasps and murmurs all around the bridge. Apparently, his officers hadn't expected to hear him say that.

"I'm sure," he went on, "that makes me sound quite irrational to you all."

"Irrational may not be the correct word," observed Data. "Your course of action so far does not imply a lack of reason, but a lack of explanation. You seem to have a hidden agenda that you are unwilling to share with the rest of us." A beat. "If were to describe you, I would say you are being... surreptitious, secretive, reticent, clandestine—"

Picard cut him off. "Thank you, Commander. I get the point." Nonetheless, he knew that the android had spoken for his crewmates. From their point of view, he was being secretive and surreptitious. It was time to clear the air.

As the captain spoke, he moved around the bridge, addressing every member of the crew with a glance.

After all, if he was going to get them on his side, he had to make them feel like he was one of them.

"So," he said, "you all want an explanation... and I could give you one. I could tell you that an omnipotent being from another space-time continuum has been shifting me through three time periods... that he has threatened the destruction of mankind... and that it is up to me to save humanity. But you would probably call me insane."

"Insane may not be the appropriate term..." Data began.

Troi stilled him with a sharp look. "Please," she told him. "Not now." The android stopped, unoffended. How naive he had been during those earliest days, Picard reflected. How artless.

"However," he continued, "since I can't give you a logical, rational explanation for what I'm doing..." He turned to Troi. "It all falls on your shoulders, Deanna. Have I really demonstrated a lack of mental competence... or evil intent? Or am I simply following my own conscience... trying to do what I believe is best for the ship, and for the Federation?"

He waited while she probed and reprobed his consciousness, scanning for signs of malice or duplicity. She wouldn't find any, of course.

Still, there were things he was holding back. The counselor would discover that, if she hadn't already. And having discovered it, she might interpret it as a reason not to trust him.

A moment later, she announced her verdict. "You're right," she told the captain. "I don't sense any mental instability or malicious intent. Therefore, I can see no grounds to find you unfit for command." She paused. "But I am extremely worried about the actions you are taking... and I would strongly urge you to reconsider."

Picard nodded. "Your concerns are noted." Then, turning to Tasha, he said, "You can still attempt to relieve me, if you wish."

The security chief shook her head. "No, sir," she responded. "I may be many things, but I'm not a mutineer. If Troi says you are fit for command, then I'll do my duty."

It was clear that she still had misgivings about him. However, for Tasha, her duty to her captain came first.

Picard was grateful for that.

"Very well, then, Lieutenant. Contact the lead Terellian ship. Tell them we'll be evacuating all civilians and nonessential personnel from the Enterprise to their vessels. Once we've completed the evacuation, they are to leave the Neutral Zone."

The security officer was already at work, even before the captain could complete his instructions. "Aye, sir," she answered.

"And, Lieutenant..." he continued.

She looked up at him.

"Don't take no for an answer," he told her.

Tasha nodded. "I won't, sir." Turning to his conn and ops officers, Picard said, "Data... O'Brien... you're with me." As they followed his order, other personnel took their places.

Waiting just a moment for them to fall in behind him, he led the way to the turbolift.

Several minutes later, down in engineering, Picard was peering at Data and O'Brien across the master systems display console.

The android seemed just the slightest bit frustrated. "Captain, I do not see any way to dissipate the anomaly," he said.

O'Brien swore softly. Being human, his emotions ran a good deal higher.

"Sir," he said, "the anomaly's output is greater than the combined energy of our entire fleet. It's just too big for us to handle."

Picard thought for a moment. "Let's concentrate on how this anomaly was initially formed. Speculation?"

Data was the first to respond. "Temporal ruptures in the space-time continuum are rarely a naturally occurring phenomenon. It is therefore most likely that this anomaly was caused by an outside catalyst."

"Like a warp-core explosion," O'Brien suggested.

"I think I can rule out a warp-core explosion," said the captain.

The android thought some more. "Our tachyon pulse has been unable to completely penetrate the anomaly. If we had information about the center of the phenomenon, we might have a basis for speculation."

"Can you find a way to scan the interior?"

"I've tried everything I know of," O'Brien said quickly. "There's just too much interference. There's nothing on board that'll do the job."

Picard thought quickly. "Do you know what would?"

There was a tense moment, then Data answered. "In theory, a tomographic imaging scanner capable of multiphasic resolution would be able to penetrate this much interference." He paused. "Sir, the Daystrom Institute has been working on such a device, although it is still only theoretical."

Information, Picard thought, we need to know what's going on inside that thing. The question is—

--how to get that information. Abruptly, he realized that he'd shifted again. He was no longer in the past, in engineering. Now he was back in the present, at the aft science station on the Enterprise's bridge.

Data was still with him. But instead of O'Brien, he now had Geordi.

More important, there was an opportunity here, if he could only seize it. In the past, they'd determined a way to get more information about the anomaly's internal workings—but they'd lacked the technology to do so.

"Mr. Data," he said. "Do we have a tomographic imaging scanner on board?"

"Yes, sir," the android replied.

"Can you use it to scan the center of the anomaly?"

The android turned to him. "Possibly." He moved to do so. "Sir, there is a great deal of interference... but I am getting some readings." Picard waited impatiently while Data pushed buttons on his console. "This is very unusual," Data said, with just a hint of the inflection Picard remembered from Data's future self.

"What is it?" Picard asked. At last he felt they were closing in on the core of the problem.

"It appears that our tachyon pulse is converging with two other tachyon pulses at the center of the anomaly. The other two pulses have the exact same amplitude modulation as our own pulse. It is as if all three originated from the Enterprise."

Picard considered that. "Three pulses... from three time periods... all converging at one point in space.... "It had to be more than a coincidence.

"Captain." Data asked, "what are you suggesting?"

 Picard massaged his jaw. "Just that..."

"... that..."

Damn. He'd shifted again, hadn't he? Picard was lying on a bed in some sort of guest quarters. He was wearing a set of loose-fitting blue nightclothes. And he was old again, so this had to be the future.

How had he gotten here? He scratched at his bearded chin. The last thing he remembered in this era was.,.

Oh, yes. Back on the bridge. Beverly had used a hypospray on him. And he was only now waking up.

Sitting up, he swiveled his legs over and got out of bed. Noting a familiar-looking control on a nearby table, he tapped it.

"Computer," he said, "where's Admiral Riker?"

"Admiral Riker is in Ten-Forward," came the response.

Picard harrumphed and headed for the door. In the other two time periods, he was moving toward a solution to the problem posed by the anomaly. He was determined that, no matter what it took, this time period would be no different.