"So, tell me, why is it so important that you find this man?" "We had business dealings." "He owes me money." "If we had business dealings, I can tell you I wouldn't disappear." "Maybe we can discuss that possibility." "But first, I have to find him, collect the money I'm owed." "I'll be closing in a few hours." "Perhaps we could discuss this more privately." "If I don't find him, I'm going to have to move on." "Are you sure you haven't seen him?" "Human, about two metres tall, smooth-headed." "No." "I don't remember anyone like that." " You're lying." " And you're a Betazoid." "I thought so." "Listen." "People that come in here, they count on a certain amount of anonymity." "And if I were to start answering questions about them, even to a very beautiful woman, well, I wouldn't be in business very long." "And being a businesswoman, I'm sure you understand." "Great story." "I'll remember it next time I'm in a knife fight." " Any luck?" " I think that one knows something." "He would not admit to having seen the Captain, but he said anyone who visited the ruins would come here eventually." " I suspect he knows more." " Let's go." "Commander, I told..." "I'm told you know about the man we want." "The only reason I'm talking to you is that I have a sister, too." "I explained that we are looking for a man who impregnated your sister." " You can see what this means to me." " Family honour is important." "If someone had defiled my sister, I would do or pay anything" " To find the one responsible." " How much is "anything"?" "As much as five bars of gold-pressed latinum." "I think you've had too much to drink." "You'd better leave." "On your way, Yranac." "I'm sorry, but I think he wants to stay." "Sit down." "That's my sister." "She's angry." "Vicious temper." "I wouldn't cross her." "You say one word and you're a dead man." "Perhaps there's an element of risk that I did not appreciate." "And how much more latinum will it take to offset this risk?" "This isn't about latinum." "As a man with a sister, one with a temper," "I can sympathise, but how did you come here?" " Do you have a ship in orbit?" " Yes." "Take me with you." "Drop me anywhere." "Agreed." "Now, talk." "The man you want was here several weeks ago, questioning some aliens." "Who were these aliens?" "I don't know." "They looked dangerous." "They attacked him." "He incapacitated three of them before they got him." "He was thrown against that wall, and fell there." "I'm getting Starfleet fibre traces and human-cell debris." " Can you get a DNA reading?" " There's something strange." "The cell structures are distorted, as if by a high-energy field." " A weapon discharge?" " It could be." "I've got traces of microcrystalline damage in the floor." "But I'm not familiar with this pattern." "Who are you people?" " You didn't mention a weapon." " I hadn't finished." "You'll like this." "The man got what was coming to him." "When they knocked him down, one of them took out a weapon and fired." "He was vaporised." "He's telling the truth." "Space, the final frontier." "These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise." "Its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds to seek out new life and new civilisations to boldly go where no one has gone before." "Acting Captain's log, stardate 47135.2." "Dr Crusher has identified Capt Picard's DNA." "There is no doubt now that he is dead." "Come." " How are you doing?" " I'm alright." "The crew's pretty shaken up." "I'm arranging a memorial." "I think you should deliver the eulogy." "I think you'd be better at that." "Or Beverly." "She knew him the longest." "I know it's not going to be easy, but we must face what's happened." "You're in command now." "The crew needs guidance from you." "I can't give the eulogy because I won't be at the service." "A memorial service gives everyone a sense of completion, helps begin healing." " Exactly." "I don't want to heal." " Will..." "I have an open wound here." "It hurts like hell." "I don't want it to get better and I don't want to pretend everything's alright." " I know you're angry." " You're damn right!" "I intend to stay angry until I find whoever's responsible for the Captain's death." "That's pretty selfish of you." "Do you think you're the only one in pain?" "Do you think that you have the monopoly on loss?" "Well, let me tell you something." "We're all hurting." "We're all angry." "And, like it or not, you have a responsibility to this crew." "You can't just indulge your personal desire for revenge." "That is enough, Counsellor." "Deanna." "I'm sorry." "This is not about revenge." "This is about justice." "The Captain died in a bar fight for nothing." "Somebody has to answer for that." "Then I can mourn." "Commander, a transmission from Admiral Chekote at Starbase 227." " I'll take it in the ready room." " Aye, sir." "Sir?" "I read your report, Commander." "My condolences to you and your crew." "Capt Picard's death is a loss to the entire Federation." "You want to postpone your mission to the Argus sector." "For what reason?" "I have a request." "I would like to investigate Capt Picard's death." "It's the Dessicans'jurisdiction." "I know, sir." "Frankly, I don't have much confidence in them." " I believe they're corrupt." " I suspect you're right." "But are you the one to pursue this?" "The Captain's death hit me hard and I may not be completely objective." "But no one is more determined to find out who is responsible." "Alright, Commander." "I'm placing the Enterprise on detached duty." "Your mission is at your discretion." " Good luck." " Thank you, sir." "Cmdr Riker." "I've been meaning to speak to you." "I'd like to move to better quarters." "I don't care much for the decor here." "These are our best quarters." "I was hoping that you might have remembered details of the aliens you saw, things you may have forgotten." "Sorry, my memory isn't what it used to be." "They murdered a man in full sight of everyone, and you remember nothing about them?" "Now that you mention it, I remember one thing." "They said they'd kill anyone who talked about it." "Where did they go?" "So you know who they are, and where I can find them." "Perhaps I do." " What do you want?" " Not a great deal, Commander." "Just a shuttlecraft." "I'd like to travel, see more of the galaxy." "A shuttlecraft?" "Well, here's my offer." "Instead of the ship, I'll give you some time." "Time?" "With luck, five years in prison, instead of 20." "You have 12 outstanding arrest warrants in the Klingon Empire." "Tell me what you know, and I'll pull some strings." "Maybe they'll reduce your sentence." "You must promise not to give me to the Klingons." "I'll think about it." "Could I be sent to a Federation rehabilitation colony?" " Talk." " The aliens were a mercenary group." "They've been operating in the sector for six months." "Where do we find them?" "They mentioned the Barradas system." "I think they were headed there." " You think?" " That's all I know." " Riker to Data." " Data here." "Take us out of orbit, set course for the Barradas system." " Warp six." " Aye, sir." "Barradas III is a Class-M planet, and is listed as unpopulated." "But sensors have detected energy signals on its surface." "What's the source?" "It's hard to tell, but possibly from a power converter." "Indicating a base or a ship." "What else do we know?" "The planet was a Debrune outpost 2,000 years ago." "The Federation's archaeological survey has catalogued numerous ruins on the surface." "Mr Worf, we need a security detail with the away team." "I'll lead." "Geordi, you're with me." "Mr Data, you have the bridge." "Commander, as acting First Officer, I question your decision to accompany the away team." " If the Captain were here..." " He's not." "No, but if he were, and he wanted to lead an away team, you would say the Captain's place..." "Is on the bridge." "Not this time." " Ensign, take that area." " Yes, sir." "Geordi?" "It's hard to get accurate readings." "There's a lot of interference." "From what?" "I'm not sure." "It's very unlocalised." "It could be atmospheric." "What do you make of these?" "Well, these ruins are pretty ancient, but this indentation looks recent." "Could be the site of some battle." "This doesn't look like a blast point." "The shape is too perfect." "Commander, there's microcrystalline damage everywhere." "The same pattern Dr Crusher picked up on the floor of that bar." "Commander!" "I found something." "Someone could have just dropped them." "Enterprise, we are under attack." "We are under attack..." "We've lost contact with the away team." " Is there a malfunction?" " No, we're being jammed." " What is the source?" " Somewhere on the surface." "Bridge to transporter room two." "Can you get a lock on them?" "Negative." "There's too much interference." "If I can get to those trees, we might be able to set up a crossfire." "Data to away team, please respond." "Data, we've been attacked." "One casualty, and Cmdr Riker has been captured." "The mercenaries beamed away." "They must have a base or ship nearby." "Anything on the sensors?" "We're picking up a vessel leaving orbit." " Why was it not detected earlier?" " They used the planet as a shield." "They're powering up their weapons." "Raise shields." "Red alert." "Damage report." "Minor hit on the port deflector." "No damage." "They're running." "They're at warp 8.7." "I think they're at maximum." "Go to warp nine and pursue." "Lock phasers on target." "Sir, we should be within phaser range in 23 seconds." "Switching to long-range scanners." "The sensor image of that ship is extremely weak." "It's fading." "The ship doesn't register on the long-range sensors." "I'm sorry, sir." "We've lost them." "Increase the sensor field." "Patch in lateral sensor arrays." "It's no good, the signal's gone." "It just disappeared." "Take us back to Barradas III." "Notify the away team to prepare for transport." "Starfleet Intelligence confirms that a ship of this configuration is linked to raids on nearby planets." "While it was within visual range, we took sensor readings of the vessel." "It seems to be encased in an energy-absorbing material." "We can see the ship, but this energy sheath renders it virtually undetectable to our long-range sensors." " There must be a way to track it." " Data, it's a long shot, but if I remodulate the long-range sensor array, it might be sensitive enough to detect the ship." "Without analysing the energy sheath, chances of a correct remodulation are remote." "Sir, they have taken Cmdr Riker." "We cannot just sit here." "On the contrary, Lieutenant, that is precisely what we must do." "There is no alternative." "We will return to the surface and try to determine why the mercenaries are here." "An investigation might reveal their purpose." "Notify me when you have assembled your search teams." "Dismissed." " What's the problem?" " I said not to push the engine." "It's on the verge of collapse." "We'll be lucky to maintain warp six." " How long till it's fixed?" " I can try to realign the warp core." "It'll take 11 hours, but I'll have to shut the engines down completely." "We're not stopping." "We can't sit helpless in space." "I want warp eight in five hours." "I don't want to hear your excuses." "What were you doing on Barradas III?" "William T Riker, Commander, SC, 231-427." "Really?" "Well, I am Arctus Baran, and I don't have a number." "Now, what were you doing on Barradas III?" "We were studying the ruins." "It was a scientific expedition." "Don't patronise me." "Those ruins have been studied for centuries." " There's nothing new to learn." " Then why were you there?" "Don't bother." "You can't remove it." "It's connected to your nervous system." "It lets me control precisely how much pain you feel." "This setting is usually sufficient." "However, if necessary, it can go much higher." "These devices were my predecessor's idea." "It's a convenient way of enforcing discipline." " What happened to him?" " He failed to enforce it with me." "This is a waste of time, Baran." "Get rid of him now." "You should be more patient, Vekor." "It might be rewarding." "We will wait." "Let the memory of pain argue with him for a while." "It might change his attitude." "Vekor is right." "We should get rid of him." "It's dangerous having a Starfleet man on board." "Dangerous?" "It might be profitable." "A Starfleet commander is a valuable hostage." "Starfleet won't negotiate." "They'll pursue us." "This discussion is over." "Get back to your post." "They're right, Baran, and you know it." "I say kill him." "Now." "If he has nothing to give us, we should kill him now." "Everybody recognises that except you." "I don't need a consensus to run this ship." "What's going on?" "I'm bypassing the aft plasma couplings." "The power loss should only last for a few seconds." "You should learn not to limit your options." "Riker could be very useful." "He may not be that useful, if this is the same Riker that I've heard about." "What Riker might that be?" "Commander of the Enterprise, formerly assigned to the USS Hood." " That's right." " Then you're the William T Riker with a history of insubordination." "He was even once relieved of duty during the Cardassian incident at Minos Korva." "How do you know all this?" "I've smuggled artefacts from Federation sites for years." "You end up developing a familiarity with certain Starfleet personnel." "If we hadn't caught him, he'd probably have been court-martialled." "I've gotten out of them before." "Look, he's no use to us." "Finish him now." "Let me do it for you." "Watch him." "We're accelerating." " What have you done?" " It's nothing to do with my repairs." "It's a malfunction in the intermix chamber." " Plasma pressure is rising." " Where's the malfunction?" "It could be one of 30 subsystems." "It'll take time to locate." "You won't have a chance." "Pressure is critical." "Seal off the intermix chamber." "I can't." "Override won't engage." "The antimatter flow regulator is locked open." "Subsystems still not responding." " Get out of the way." " Pressure is beyond maximum." "Eight percent above critical." " Jettison the core." " No, we'll be stranded." " The flow regulator is frozen." " Let me do it." "I've had a lot of experience." "Maybe I can do something." "11 percent above critical." "The containment fields will degrade." " Go." " The regulator is not responding." "Containment fields won't hold much longer." "Looks like a logic lockout in the regulator subsystem." "We'll run a bypass through the plasma flow converter." "Run phase-lock feedback through that regulator." " I want a six-second delay." " What?" "I don't take orders from you." " Do as he says." " 14 percent above critical." "If you fail..." "We'll all be dead anyway." "Just a few more seconds." "Plasma pressure is dropping." "We're back into safe levels." "If you don't want that to happen again, reinitiate your regulator sub-compressors, and do a full diagnostic of the intermix chamber." "Do it." "Put him in quarters for now." "You still wish you'd killed me?" "The search teams have found several archaeological sites." "Each one has been looted." "It's possible that the microcrystalline damage is caused by a high-energy transporter beam." "But I still don't understand." "Nothing here is very valuable." "Why would anyone want to steal anything?" " Perhaps the Romulans value them." " The Romulans?" "These structures were built by the Debrune." "That race is an ancient offshoot of the Romulans." "The ruins on the planet where the Captain died were also Romulan." "The leader of our attackers was Romulan." "Perhaps they control the mercenaries." "The question remains, why are they stealing the artefacts?" "There are several sites in this sector with ruins of Romulan origin." "These were attacked by the mercenaries." "They did a thorough job." "The only sites not attacked were Calder II, Yadalla Prime and Draken IV." "Yadalla and Draken are at the end of the sector." "Calder II is less than a day away at maximum warp." "That would be their next likely target." "There's a Federation outpost there." "A small science station with limited defence capabilities." "I doubt it could withstand an attack from the mercenaries." "Mr Worf, contact the Federation outpost on Calder II." "Advise them that if a ship similar to the mercenary vessel approaches, they should delay it until our arrival." "Ensign, take us out of orbit." "Set a course for the Calder system." " Warp nine." " Aye, sir." "We don't have much time." "It's good to see you." "I didn't expect to meet you here." "I was looking for the people who killed you." "A witness saw you vaporised." "The mercenaries use weapons that activate their transporter." "It gives them the opportunity to beam things away quickly by firing at them." "That's what they did to me." "I don't understand." "Who are they?" "Why are you involved with them?" "The site I wanted to study had been raided." "A lot of the artefacts stolen." "The site was practically destroyed." "I wanted to know who was responsible." "I tracked them to that bar on Dessica II." "I must have asked too many questions." "They captured me to find out how much I knew about them." "Then you joined their crew?" "I convinced them I was a smuggler and that my name was Galen." "I offered to appraise the artefacts they had stolen." "Will, these are not common thieves." "They are stealing Romulan artefacts from sites throughout this sector." "Baran has me analysing each one for a particular particle signature." "They are looking for a specific artefact." " Why?" " That's what we have to find out." "Baran is the key." "He knows the most about what we're after." "Get close to him." "Get his confidence." "You set up the engine failure because you knew I could fix it." "And he believes you're a less than perfect Starfleet officer." "Play into that role." "Baran and I..." "Well, he doesn't care much for me, but he has to tolerate me, because he needs my help with these artefacts." "But if you and I become enemies, then there's a better chance of you and he becoming friends." "Alright." "I'll do what I can." "What are you doing here?" "Getting some answers, because you can't get him to talk." "No one conducts an interrogation on this ship without my permission." "Is that understood?" "Our next objective should prove an interesting challenge." "We're headed for the Sakethan burial mounds on Calder II." "What?" "Calder II isn't just another archaeological site." " It's a Federation outpost." " That's not a problem." "It's defended by Starfleet." "They're not just going to stand by and let us take what we want." "I'm familiar with the tactical situation." " What are their defences?" " Nothing to worry about." "A type-four deflector shield around the outpost and ruins." "They also have a minimum of two phaser banks and possibly photon torpedoes." "Is that enough to worry about?" "How do you know so much about this outpost?" "I tried to smuggle a Sakethan glyph stone out of there nearly two years ago." "I barely got away in one piece." "Our weapons are more than a match for their defences." "We should be able to destroy the outpost within 15 minutes." "Then we'll send a landing party to secure the relics." "Why don't we use Riker?" "He's a Starfleet commander." "He could talk us past Security without raising suspicions." "With their shields down, we can beam the artefacts up from here." "Why would Riker help?" "Being out of favour with Starfleet doesn't mean he'll betray them." "If he doesn't help, we'll destroy the outpost and kill people." "He's still a Starfleet officer." "He won't want to take innocent lives if he can prevent it." "The last time we engaged Starfleet, we lost a man." "No more casualties." "If we can avoid a battle, we should." "Alright, we'll try it." "We'll be at Calder II in five hours." "You know your duties." "I want the ship prepared for battle, in case your plan doesn't work." "Computer, reset diagnostic for a new sample." "Lot number 478-B." "Access spectral analysis and begin scan, mode three." "Scan complete." "Particle-decay profile does not fall within specified range." "Probability of match, 0.04 percent." "Computer, reset diagnostic for new sample, lot number 369-B." "Access spectral analysis, mode two, begin scan." "Baran wants the analysis of the last lot." "He thinks you're too slow." "Tell him, if he wants the analysis done faster, he can do it." "If he wants it done correctly, he can wait." "Do you enjoy living dangerously?" "Baran can kill you instantly with his control device." "I doubt he'll do that." "I've increased the accuracy of identification by a factor of 10." "I'm the best person to analyse these artefacts, and he knows it." "He may need you now, but I know Baran." "And I can tell you, he won't back down forever." "You accomplish nothing by provoking him." "I don't like operating in the dark." "If I knew the point of this mission, why I was analysing these relics..." "If Baran felt the crew needed to be told, he would have." " Do you know what all this is about?" " What Baran knows, I know." "Then what's going on here?" "Why are we risking our lives for these artefacts?" "Who wants them?" "I see no reason to tell you anything." "But you can rest assured," "I don't necessarily share everything I know with Baran either." "This conversation, for example, will stay between us." "You can tell Baran every word I've said." "He knows I don't think much of him as a leader." "He's been in charge for a long time." "Baran wouldn't last five minutes without his control device." "The crew follow him because they have no choice." "Baran's power is based on fear and intimidation." "That sounds like a prelude to mutiny." "If someone challenged him, the crew would follow." "I was right." "You do like living dangerously." "I like you, Galen." "I can tolerate a lot from someone like you, but only to a point." "I intend to complete this mission and get what's been promised me." "If it looks like you're getting in the way, I'll deal with you myself." "Commander, no one is allowed on the surface without prior authorisation." "I'm aware of that, Lieutenant." "But your outpost is in danger of attack." "I want to station security personnel on the surface for your protection." "Now, I'm ordering you to drop your shields." "I'm sorry, sir, the regulations are very specific." "I can't do it." "You can stay in orbit until we contact the Science Council." "But we're experiencing communication difficulties..." "This isn't working." "They're delaying on purpose." "Someone has warned them." "Charge main disruptor array." "Destroy the outpost." "There's no time for that!" "Starfleet are on the way." " What are you doing?" " I'll fire a phase-resonant pulse." "If I hit their shield generator with the right frequency," "I can take it out with one shot." "Firing." "Shields are down." "The artefacts are in several small structures," " Arranged in staggered formations." " I'm scanning." " I think I've found them." " Start bringing them up." "There should be at least two more down there." " I've lost transporter lock." " Their shields are back up." "I need those artefacts." "Lock all disruptors on target." "This time, I want that outpost destroyed." "Direct hit on their aft deflectors, but no damage." "Ensign, scan for Starfleet combat signals." "Is Cmdr Riker on board?" "I can't tell." "Sensors unable to penetrate their hull." "Open a channel." "This is the Federation Starship Enterprise." "We order you to stand down." " Prepare to be boarded." " You sent them a message." " You told them where we are." " That's ridiculous." "How?" "This is set to kill." "Order your ship to disengage." "Activate visual." "Commander, are you alright?" "Tell him." "Mr Data, withdraw the Enterprise." "That's an order." "That is impossible, sir." "That ship has violated a Federation outpost." "It is my duty to stop it." "I'm your commanding officer." "That is a direct order, understood?" "Commander, if you could explain..." "I've never explained my orders before." "I'm not starting now." "I won't let him blow this ship into space." "If I can set up a low-level commlink," "I can use my personal codes to deactivate the shields." "Do it." "Sir, we are receiving some kind of signal from the mercenaries' ship." "Cmdr Riker's sending his codes to try to shut down our shields." "But he'll know we changed the codes as soon as he was captured." "That is correct, Counsellor." "He does know." "Mr Worf, prepare to drop shields." "Sir, we would be totally defenceless." " I am aware of that." " Sir, when they see..." "Mr Worf, that is an order." "Aye, sir." "It worked." "The shields are dropping." "Fire."