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Blind Chess	By : madradena Category: Star Trek > The Next Generation Views: 1334 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own ST:TNG, nor the characters. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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After dinner, the Captain, Bev and Juliana sat down in the entrance lounge to socialize and relax after the long day. The Captain sat in the enormous armchair which almost devoured his petite form, while the two ladies sat next to one another, on the couch, to his side. Beverly propped her chin up on her fist, her elbow resting on the armrest of the couch and looked at Picard curiously.
"So, Jean-Luc?"
Picard raised his eye-brows "So, Beverly?"
"What are your impressions?" she asked pushing him with a small intrigued smile.
The Captain sighed thoughtfully musing "Well, the accommodation is first-class, especially compared to the standards of the 21st century, the food is superb, the wine is exceptional, the negotiations couldn't go any smoother and the Premier is more than cooperative." he counted down all the impressions they were given in the last seven hours, during their time on the planet.
Beverly frowned and straightened her back "Is that it?" she asked, and her disappointment was palpable.
"Yes." he nodded raising his eyebrows seeming surprised by her question. Then after gazing into her incredulous eyes for a moment longer, he leaned forward, taking something out of his pocket. Propping his elbows on his knees, he fumbled with the small object, which Beverly came to recognize as being his combadge. She squinted and tilted her head curiously as he tipped a tiny switch at it's side, and then put the badge down on the table in front of them.
He steepled his finger rather smugly and smiled raising an eye-brow "I just thought we could use some privacy before discussing this topic." he motioned to the combadge "A personal favour from Commander La Forge. I asked him to dig himself into all the 21st century methods of surveillance and to come up with something to counteract them... in a discrete way, of course. This is what I got from him just before we left the Enterprise. The small addition to the combadge emits a signal that interferes with all frequencies that any 21st century bug could use for eavesdropping." he shrugged almost unnoticeably "Of course, the explanation about its operating principles was a lot more thorough, but I wouldn't be able to recite more of it, even if were to die." he chuckled.
"Brilliant!" Beverly smiled with sparkling eyes "Why don't we all have such badges?" she asked puzzled.
"I tried to suggest something like this to the Admiral, however it seemed he was a lot less fond of the idea than you are, Beverly. Though I'm not entirely certain why." he added, and his previous smile was replaced by a troubled frown.
"Quite strange, I'd say..." Bev winced not really wanting to think about what the Admiral's reasons could be for such a decision - because all that popped in mind was not appealing at all...
Picard turned his palms up for a moment "To answer your question, I've never been more convinced that something is out of place, then during this meeting we just had."
Beverly gazed at him in mock-relief, she leaned forward too "You got me worried there for a second, a moment ago, Jean-Luc."
He shook his head and looked at the ladies with a serious expression "It's all too well set-up. All through the five hours of the negotiations, I couldn't shake off the feeling that we're here only to provide a settings for a play already written and well-rehearsed."
"Me too." Beverly nodded, and Juliana nodded her wordless assent too.
The Captain went on "Premier Jones' manners are so unblemished in such a stressful situation as changing a regime that I really come to admire his nerves. In the dawn of a new era, wouldn't you feel a little nervous, Beverly?"
"I certainly would, Jean-Luc." Bev smiled conspiringly.
"But then where's the catch in all this?" Juliana spoke up finally as puzzled as the others.
Picard shook his head "I don't know, but I suspect, Doctor Tainer, that once we get our answer, we won't like it one bit."
Beverly grimaced musing on "It's just too big a sacrifice to give up all the power he has. And it's all for what? For the benefit of the people? It seems that WE have all the aces in the stack: he wants OUR help, and WE get the dilithium. In a democratic system, he might even lose the elections. It seems, he gains nothing on this whole."
Picard nodded with a hint of excitement "And this is exactly why he seems so honest! There's no pay-off. At least none that the naked eye can see. However... if I think back to my conversation with Lieutenant Jones about this man..." he looked at Beverly who seemed now really troubled "She described all the dealings with her husband as a game of blind chess. If we can believe her," he held up a hand before Beverly could protest "and I want to believe that it is so, we might be missing something."
They looked at each other uneasily and let these thoughts sink into their minds as they leaned back in their comfortable seats.
After a good few minutes, Juliana spoke up again on her silent, calm voice. "There's but one thing Premier Jones might gain on this." The others listened to her intently as she went on "If it's true that they don't use technology beyond the 21st century, they are sitting on a treasure chest they cannot unlock."
"Explain, Doctor. Please." Picard asked in tense attention.
She adjusted her position on the couch to be able to look at them more comfortably "Data has discovered that they've traded dilithium earlier, along with a myriad of different ores and minerals. However, when we examined his results again paying attention only to the exchange of dilithium, and ignoring all the rest, it became very clear that they stopped trading it a few months ago."
Beverly and Picard exchanged glances "Why would you stop trading the biggest treasure of the alpha-quadrant?" Bev asked the obvious.
Juliana went on "You might have run out of it altogether - well, we cannot verify this because of the kelbonite covering most of the planet, shielding everything underneath from the scanners. However, since the Premier promised the Federation huge deposits of dilithium, it's hardly an option. I'm also almost completely sure this is not the case. Because of scientific reasons."
"Please elaborate, Doctor." Picard asked intrigued and Juliana went on.
"Dilithium normally can be found in great deposits deep within a planet's crust, below twelve-thousand meters. This is also the reason why it can cause tectonic stress. In rare occasions, however, it is found nearer to the surface, between five hundred and two thousand meters. But these deposits are scarce and small. If we believe the premise that the Epsilon Four colony uses only technology of the 21st century, those smaller deposits are the only ones available for them to mine. If they still have dilithium to offer to the Federation, even though they stopped trading it themselves, I'd rather suspect that they've run out of dilithium available for mining with their technology. And they need some help from the 'future' to get to the rest!"
Picard and Beverly watched her stunned. Then the Captain nodded faintly as he remembered "I vaguely remember, you already mentioned something like this on the first briefing, Doctor Tainer."
Juliana smiled forgivingly "I don't blame you, if my previous explanation didn't leave a memorable impression in your mind, Captain. That briefing was quite eventful."
"That might be an understatement." he agreed returning her friendly smile.
Beverly held up her finger in explanation as she put together the pieces of the jigsaw that they had so far "So Jones wants the technology to mine the dilithium, and tries to turn the regime around, so that the technology required would not be banned. So he could do the mining legally too."
Picard nodded "Makes more sense to me than the eloquent words 'for the benefit of the people'."
Bev snorted "Knowing Ed, I'd definitely agree."
The Captain looked at her suddenly curious as he realized they'd never talked about this before "How do you know him, Beverly? Through Lieutenant Jones?"
Beverly shook her head "Not exactly. By the time he became Emma's husband, I've already known him for quite a while. Suffice it to say, I was never really happy leaving Emma here with him. I..." she trailed off as she saw the Admiral approaching, and as the Captain noticed him as well, he quickly hid his combadge in his pocket once again.
"Admiral." he raised his head catching his gaze.
"Picard. Ladies." the old man nodded to them politely "May I join you?"
"Please!" the Captain motioned to the armchair opposite the couchb and the Admiral sat down. He seemed tired but quite satisfied.
"Well, I suppose we can venture to say that we are on the very best way to have a successful mission. Don't you think?"
Beverly and Picard exchanged glances, but then the Captain nodded to the Admiral "The negotiations certainly go exceptionally smoothly. As a matter of fact, we were discussing our impressions. I'd be really interested in your insight, Sir."
"All our previous concerns seem to be groundless. The Federation will gain a great ally and a reliable source of dilithium! At the times we're living, it is worth all the effort! If only all of our team could understand that!" he added grimacing, and all three of them understood at once whom he meant.
"Surely, we all do, Admiral. Otherwise we wouldn't be here." Picard answered him patiently.
"Yes, but being here and being cooperative for the sake of the mission is two separate things. It's a wonder the Premier doesn't hold a grudge over Lieutenant Jones' extremely rude behaviour."
"If I may remind you, Admiral," Beverly smiled at him coldly "Emma never wanted to come. If Premier Jones required her to be here, he should put up with her 'extremely rude behaviour' as well."
The old man shrugged frowning "I'm not talking about the Premier's point of view here, Doctor Crusher. I'm talking about Lieutenant Jones. Even if she has marital problems with her husband, she's still a Starfleet officer, whose objective is to focus on the mission and not on personal issues. I hope she'll cause us no trouble." he grimaced again.
Beverly was about to reply, when all of a sudden Emma ran through the hall without even a glance at them, and they heard Data calling after her to stop. They all stood alarmed, and the Admiral made a futile effort to stop her by calling after her too, but she was already outside the building - Data rushing after her.
They looked at each other worried and perplexed, and the Admiral's frown deepened "It seems I've jinxed it!"
Emma sat in the cab still burying her face in her hands. She was stupid. It'd have been enough to give him that note - but at least it was quite authentic how he ran after her. If he had seen the note before, it'd have taken some more explanation for him to play along for her façade. And the one thing they couldn't do was talking in that goddamn bugged room.
"That guy is pretty hell-bent, doll!" the driver remarked after a minute with some munching on his chewing gum.
Emma raised her head confused snapping out of her reverie "Wha?"
"A car's followin' us." he nodded toward the mirror, where the lights of the car behind them shone blindingly bright.
She turned back again and saw the car that'd almost hit Data "Step on it, cabby!" she told him on a low voice full of tension.
"Are you owing him, doll? Or wha?" the driver asked with a lopsided grin.
"A lot..." Emma breathed watching the car getting closer "But that's not him."
The young guy chuckled as the cab accelerated, and the other car seemed to lag behind "Other thugs to collect their dough? You sure as hell seem popular, doll. Hey, will you have the money for the ride at all? I accept payment in nature, if you're in trouble, darling!"
Emma turned back and squinted annoyed "You'd have to haul my ass around in the city for the rest of your life to get even, so don't even dream of it, pally." she smirked.
The guy turned one of his palms up taking his hand off the wheel for a second "Hey, just trying to be nice here! You seem to need all the help you can get." She glanced back and saw that the car was gaining on them again. The driver then spoke on a tensed voice after another few seconds "I don't wanna shatter your illusions, doll, but this old girl's not gonna be enough to outrun them." he said referring to his old cab and then shrugged with a frown "Besides, I don't wanna get into any dirty business, not even for the gratitude of someone like you, honey!"
Emma looked out to check the buildings around them to get her bearings. They were still quite far from where she was going to go. And she knew there would be no point in trying to lose them with this car. She looked at him with a smirk snorting "You're one hell of a smooth-talker. Chicken!" She nodded toward the tram-tracks running next to the road; a long tram passed on it not far ahead of them quite slowly "Just take over that one. Maybe that will not be such a big challenge, now will it?"
"They'll surely catch you in THAT, doll! But you know what you're doing..." the driver told him raising his eye-brows.
"Say a silent prayer for my precious little ass before bed, will you sweetheart?" Emma taunted as they overtook the tram, which was about to roll into its stop. The cab slowed down, and Emma hastily pushed some money into his hand "Keep the change!" and she was out, running to catch the tram almost before the cab stopped completely.
The tram was about to start, when Emma jumped up the stairs and pushed herself through the closing doors. She steadied herself by grabbing a handle as the tram started with a jerk, and she looked out of the window into the darkness. The car following her slowed to the pace of the tram, and kept on steadily going after her. She took a long, deep breath, and turning, she took a few wobbly steps in the gently rocking vehicle to find a seat for herself.
The tram was quite deserted - just as the streets. There were only a few passengers, most of them seemed dirty enough to be homeless people. She collapsed into a lone seat at the middle of the car and gazed out of the window. Her reflection was tired, and she sighed. Just find that note Deadpan, she kept on repeating in her mind as she watched the city run by next to her.
The tram line passed close to the biggest river of Ethel city. A small smile crawled instinctively on her features as she watched the beautiful bridges over the water lit by a myriad of lights passing by one after the other as the tram bumped along its spectacular line. She tried to hate herself for it, but being here again, seeing the city that was her home for ten years, in this timeless, unique moment, she felt more homesick she ever before had on the Enterprise.
It was not true that Epsilon Four took everything from her. It gave her a lot too. It gave her an opportunity to be herself more than ever before or after. She found her true calling. And those years were the happiest of her life. And the most free! She sighed - You're fooling yourself! While you were free and careless, people were fighting for their freedom, and YOU helped in breaking them! YOU helped the propaganda with your silly, little films and stupid scandals taking all the attention from the real important things! And you stood by and watched as an entire colony of people got fanaticized into such utter listlessness, mindlessness and blindness that the regime could easily convince them that being oppressed is just the best thing that could ever happen to them! You collaborated just as Ed did. You with your silence...
'Among the guilty, an accomplice who is mute!' she repeated the one quote that always drummed on in her mind ever since she realized what exactly had happened to the colony she once called her home. And now she was back home again. She let out a long breath. She felt she had no choice now, but to follow the one path she saw so clearly paved out in front of her as if it was a tram-track next to the river bank lit by tall lights.
A/N: the quote is from Babits Mihály, a Hungarian poet, from the poem "Book of Jonah". He wrote it in 1938. The translation of the line is mine.
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Blind Chess