Resistance Is Futile - pt 53

Deanna Troi joined Picard and Guinan on the edge of the activity in Sick Bay. "How is she?"

"Doctor Crusher is still working on her," Picard replied. "She hasn't told us anything yet."

The three stood in silence.

"She's in so much pain," Deanna whispered. "But it's deeper than the physical pain. She's lost in a sea of...Borg."

"But they were destroyed," Picard said. "We saw the explosions."

"I don't know how else to describe it, Captain. Whatever is left of them...is in her..."

Crusher approached them then. "That would explain why I can't revive her."

"Can't revive her?" Picard asked sharply.

"No. She's been extracted from their machinery, and it will take some time before we can do the grafts that were begun for her...but her mind is...rebelling. I've never seen anything like it."

Deanna sighed in frustration. "Where is Q? She was trusting him to show up."

Guinan raised a hand, halting further conversation.

"Guinan?" Picard asked.

"They're watching."

"Who?" asked Crusher.

"She is no doubt referring to the Oryon Council," came a measured voice.

The four turned in the direction of the voice and beheld two men. Q they knew, but the man holding him by the shoulder wasn't as familiar. He was taller than Q, with darker hair and a darker complexion.

"Their eyes are riveted to this moment," continued Ambassador Raven-Cloud.

Picard left his crew and walked up to Q. "Please...you have to heal her...I know you can...either one of you."

"It's not that simple," Q replied, his own eyes were riveted to Virginia's prone form.

"But you love her!" argued Picard. "What simpler reason could you have for healing her? And she loves you."

"I know," whispered Q.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Picard turned to the ambassador, a man he'd only ever seen in news releases. "Please, you must let go of him. She's destined to be your ruler...you can't just let her die."

"What do you know of her destiny?" questioned Raven-Cloud, truly curious.

"I know the prophecy that surrounds her. 'Born of Sol and Gandraleay, bloods mixed to form a new Star. She shall rise from the ashes of death, heralding the dawning of a new age for Gandraleay. As a pebble ripples water, so shall she bring change to her people both near and far.' There are more. You can't just let her die because the change she brings frightens you."

Sick bay was silent save for the sounds of the medical equipment.

"Our prophecies are not common knowledge," Raven-Cloud commented, not offended but troubled.

"I shared them with him," said Guinan, coming to the captain's side.

"And how do you know them?" Raven-Cloud asked.

"Virginia told me."

Raven-Cloud sighed. "That is one of the very reasons why the Council distrusts her. If she cannot keep something confidential..."

"They distrust her because she brings change," argued Picard. "She threatens the way you've always done things. And that...is why they want her dead." He looked at Q, made sure he had the others attention. "And that is why they're keeping you from healing her."

Q looked at Raven-Cloud, whose face was as shocked as his own.

Raven-Cloud let go of Q. "Go to her."

Q wasted no time with questions, but moved quickly across the room to the woman his heart beat for.

"How did you know?" Raven-Cloud asked Picard.

The Enterprise captain shrugged. "Do you deny it?"

"Of course he doesn't," answered a strong feminine voice. "He and Ian have been working for centuries to uncover this plot."

Picard, usually ruffled at unexpected and sudden visitors, turned calmly at the new voice. The family resemblance was uncanny, but he asked anyway, "And you are?"

The tall woman smiled, "Why, my dear captain, I am Rixa Champlagne, Empress of the Gandraleayian Empire and more importantly, Virginia's grandmother."