"The transmission has changed," Jean Luc said.
He stood in the open doorway of my quarters holding a bottle of wine.
"Then there is someone alive down there."584Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCKnQ2sUGP
Jean-Luc shrugged, then stepped into the first of my two rooms. "Share a bottle with me," he said.
"All right." I stood up and got glasses; then we sat in the two chairs at my small table, bottle and glasses between us. Jean-Luc looked awful. His skin was pale and drawn; the dark crescents under his eyes were deeper and seemed to be permanent. I could smell alcohol and knew he had already been drinking, but his hands were steady as he opened the bottle and poured a glass for each of us. The wine was dry and good, far better than what was usually available, even in the upper levels. The Picard-Archer clan had a private vineyard downside, and their own personal master vintner.584Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzoSuqzfjm
"I don't know, Pavel." He glanced up at the overhead lights, squinting. "How about bringing them down a bit?"
I dimmed the lights to half-normal, and he nodded his thanks.
"I don't know," he said again. "It changed frequency, and the duration shortened, but the damn thing is now as steady and unyielding as it was before. I have a feeling the change doesn't mean a thing." He was staring into his glass, tipping it slightly from side to side. "We've been sending our own transmissions, everything Communications can think of, but we don't get any acknowledgment." He slowly shook his head. "I don't think anyone's down there."
"They might be scared," I suggested. "Scared and in hiding."
That seemed to pique his interest, and he looked up from his wine. "That's a possibility. But if that's true, why is there any transmission?"584Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOybfLC83eR
"Good question. Maybe it's meant as a warning. Or----maybe nobody knows about the transmission." There was a third possibility which had just occurred to me, but I was reluctant to bring it up. I hesitated, then said, "Bait."
"Bait?"
"To lure a ship like ours into some kind of trap."
Jean-Luc stared long and hard at me, then drank the remainder of his wine and refilled his glass. He turned his face to the dimmed light globes above us. "Traps," he said. "Traps everywhere." I wondered if he was thinking about the bishop and what trap the bishop might be laying for hm.
He stood up, a little unsteady now, and took his glass with him as he wandered about the room, drinking, looking at everything but me. I gradually became unnerved, but I couldn't figure out why.
"We've known each other a lot of years," Jean-Luc said.
"Yes. Since I can remember, really." When we were children, he befriended me when nobody else would. Something I would never forget.
He finally turned to me. "I don't know what to hope for down there," he said. "It's all or nothing now----I can feel it----and too damn much can go wrong."
"You said you have a plan to deal with the bishop. Tell me what it is, Jean-Luc. Let me help you."
"I can't, Pavel. Not yet." He returned to the table and sat, his eyes locked on mine. "I'm counting on you, Pavel. Whatever happens down there, I'm counting on you to tell me what's really going on, what's really there, to make the correct decisions, to give me the best advice." He drained his glass again, refilled it and refilled mine. "I'm counting on you."
Sulu found me in the cathedral the day before we went into orbit around Antioch. We had no meeting scheduled; in fact, we hadn't spoken in several days. I was in the cathedral hoping to find Father O'Heron alone, hoping to speak with her again before we made landfall. But there was nobody there. I sat on one of the pews to wait; Sulu's approach was so quiet that I was startled when he slid in beside me. More disturbing was that he knew where to look for me---I had never been known to frequent that place.584Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCXTHtMgsa
"We'll be there soon," he said.
I nodded. "Tomorrow."
"Have you thought about what I asked you?"
"Yes, I've thought about it."
"Well?"
"Well, nothing. I'm still thinking about it."
"Pavel, Pavel....." Then he coughed out a kind of laugh. "You're on the away team."
"Yes."
"It would be best if you made a decision before you left."
I didn't like being pressured. The mutiny seemed a reckless and foolhardy undertaking. Although I understood his arguments for my participation, I refused to be rushed into a decision, for there were too many possible outcomes, and almost all of them were bad.
I finally gave him a shrug for an answer, which didn't please him.
"Deanna Troi is on the landfall team," he said.
"I know."
"If you haven't decided before you leave, let her know your decision when you manage to summon enough courage to make a commitment." He stood and flashed a sly grin at me. "Say hello to the priest for me the next time you see her." Then he turned and walked away before I could reply.584Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUf53fekWH
But what would I have said? The dwarf knew far too much.
The next day we went into geosynch orbit around Antioch, directly above the source of the transmission. Satellite probes were launched; final preparations were made. All or nothing, Jean-Luc had said. He was right, and I was ready.584Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzH0Lcy7tF
