Possession - J.M. Dillard [111]
“Oh,” Deanna said mildly, “I wouldn’t call it boring, exactly …”
As Guinan left them, Tarmud and Crusher remained at his booth, talking, while the rest of the group continued to interact with one another. Picard took the opportunity to follow Skel to his display on forcefield technology, which was set apart from the others. He’d had no chance to address Skel in private.
Now that they were, in effect, alone, Picard wasn’t even sure what he wanted to say to the Vulcan. I’m sorry about what happened to you. It was criminal, and should’ve never been inflicted on anyone, least of all a child.
Finally, as he stood beside the Vulcan—both of them gazing silently up at the display—he murmured, “Skel, I am sorry about your mother. She touched my mind, spoke to me in my own mother’s guise; it made me feel I knew her. She was an amazing woman. I wanted to tell you—I grieve with thee.”
Skel turned to him, his expression relaxed, his air that of one who had resolved many problems. “It is not logical to grieve for my mother, Captain.”
Picard felt awkward. “Perhaps not, but we humans—”
Skel held up his hand. “My mother’s katra was not loosed upon the winds, as I had so long thought. Believing that, I had grieved for her all of my life. Now I know her katra reposes in the Hall of Ancient Thought. I can consult with her whenever I feel the need, and she can communicate with the katra of my father, and bring him peace. My mother is aware that her years of struggle were successful. In many ways, she was responsible for saving all of our people from being revisited by this dread infestation—indeed, all of the Federation. Even in death, she succeeded. So there is truly no reason to grieve, Captain.”
Picard smiled slightly. “No, I suppose there isn’t. Especially when I remember that the entities have been completely annihilated, that there is no possibility they can ever harm anyone again.”
The faintest hint of shadow crossed the Vulcan’s face and was gone. “Is that what you think, Captain? I thought you were aware—”
“Aware of what?” Picard demanded, a sudden knot of fear coiling in his stomach.
“The two artifacts in my possession,” the Vulcan replied. “They were but a sample, recovered by a Vulcan archaeological expedition from an uninhabited planet in the Hydrilla sector. Thousands of artifacts remain there still… .”
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue