Star Trek: The Ranger Part 1

Prologue

Prologue

Aboard The Starship La Sirena, The Prophus Sector

To say former Starfleet Admiral Jean-Luc Picard felt troubled was the understatement of the millennia. Just three days earlier, Picard had found out that Dajh Asha's twin sister, Soji, was currently onboard the The Artifact, which just happened to be in Roumlan space. He had finally found Bruce Maddox, only to have the famed cyberneticist die in the sick bay aboard the La Sirena.

His day was about to get worse.

As he was pouring over what little information he could find on The Artifact, his mind turned to Soji, wondering what exactly she doing onboard that mysterious vessel. Maddox had said that Soji was aboard The Artifact for the same reason Dajh had been sent to Earth: to find out the truth about the ban on synthetic life forms.

As he was taking a sip of the splendid Earl Gray he had replicated, he was approached by Raffi Musiker. Picard thought Raffi had departed for good at Freecloud, to find out about her son, but he had rejected Raffi out-of-hand. She returned to the La Sirena, locking herself away in her quarters for two days, before finally ending her seclusion, and rejoining Picard, Rios, and Jurati. She had been searching for information on the exact whereabouts of The Artifact.

While on station on The Bridge of the ship, some disturbing news had reached her from Freecloud. She entered Picard's quarters.

"JP", she said quietly, not wanting to startle Picard too badly.

The older man looked up at his associate. "Yes, what is it Raffi?"

Raffi took a seat next to Picard, and with a sad sigh, delivered her news. "I just received information from Freecloud. The authorities-such as they are on that place-have put out an APB on your friend Seven."

Picard fully came to attention. "An APB. What for?"

She sighed again. "She returned to Freecloud after leaving the ship, and she murdered Bjayzl, her two female attendants, and.....and about thirty of Bjayzl's security people. She then vanished. And, from what I can gather, The Federation is trying to track her down."

"Good Lord", Picard whispered, feeling both horrified, and, on a more personal level, betrayed by Annika Hansen. Picard had felt physically ill when Seven of Nine had recounted the death of her "son", Icheb, at the Seven Domes on Vergessen, almost a dozen years earlier. He understood Seven's fury, and the reason she wanted to kill Bjayzl. Yet Jean-Luc had parted with Seven, thinking that she had seen to reason.

Her question to him, before departing, if he had regained all of his humanity after the Enterprise-D had severed him from The Collective, haunted him. He should have seen the warning signs in Seven's question, and her response.

But it was too late to curse himself for missing that.

A few moments later, both of them walked out to the Bridge. Rios was dozing off, as the ship made its way toward Romulan space.

"Rios", Picard said with a command voice any former Starfleet member would recognize.

He immediately came to. "Yes, sir?" He answered as any Starfleet member would to the sound of that command voice.

"I need you and Raffi to work discreetly on contacting someone back on Earth."

Rios looked at the man as if he had lost his mind. "Earth? Picard, if we contact Earth, it could tip off The Federation where we're at and what we're doing."

Picard raised his eyebrows, and gave a small smirk. "Discreetly, Rios, was the pejorative word in that sentence."

Rios got it. "Ah, gotcha", he said with a sly grin. "Who do you want us to, uh, discreetly, try to contact?"