Part 15 (1/2)

Or-and there was always an or when dealing with the sanct.i.ty of the timestream-was it possible that his intervention would somehow have the opposite effect? Would he throw history off course, despite his best efforts, in some way he hadn't considered-and thereby eliminate the timeline in which he and the Federation made peace with the Gorn?

There was no way to know for sure. All Picard had to go on was his instincts-and his instincts told him that he had to prevent the matter-antimatter source from going haywire. As ironic as it sounded, he had to save the outpost and its people-so that the Gorn could destroy them a short time later.

The captain took in his surroundings and sighed again. But you can't do anything, he told himself, as long as you're stuck here in the brig. So the first step is to get out of here.

The thought had barely formed in his mind when the doors to the larger room opened and Julia Santos walked in. Immediately, her eyes flicked in Picard's direction-but only for a moment. Then she was giving the guard her full attention.

”I'm sorry, ma'am,” the man was saying. ”He's not supposed to have any visitors.”

”I'm not just a visitor,” Julia replied. ”I'm a doctor. And despite whatever else may have happened, he is still my patient.”

The security officer frowned, Casting a glance in Picard's direction, he seemed to momentarily a.s.sess the prisoner's potential for violence. In the end, he nodded.

”All right,” he said. ”But make it as quick as possible, okay?”

Agreeing that she would do that, Julia approached the energy barrier. This time, when her eyes met the captain's, they did not let go.

”How are you feeling?” she asked.

Picard shrugged. ”I don't like being incarcerated. Other than that, not badly.”

The doctor turned to look back over her shoulder. ”I need to go inside,” she told the security officer.

The man made a sound of exasperation, but Julia stood firm. Obviously acquainted with her stubbornness, and knowing where any argument would eventually end, the reds.h.i.+rt covered the distance to the brig in four long strides.

Taking out his phaser, he made sure that it was set on stun. Then he touched the pressure-sensitive wall pad that governed the barrier. A moment later, it was gone, allowing the physician to step over the threshold.

As soon as she was inside, however, the security officer reactivated the energy field. When Julia looked at him, he shrugged. But this time, she didn't protest. After all, the man was only doing his job-just as she was.

There was a bench built into the wall in the back of the cell. The captain indicated it with a gesture that smacked of more gentile surroundings.

Normally, the doctor would have been amused by the incongruity. However, her expression didn't change as she accepted his offer and took a seat. Sitting down next to her, Picard watched her eyes as she ran her tricorder over him.

He would have to keep his voice low. He didn't want what he had to say to be overheard by his guard.

”Julia ...” he began.

She shook her head. ”No,” she corrected. ”Dr. Santos. Julia was the one who trusted you, remember? Me, I'm just your doctor.” With forced intensity, she studied her tricorder readings.

The captain nodded. ”All right. I deserved that. But despite what I've done and said, I need your help.”

The doctor chuckled dryly. ”Of course you do.”

”I mean it,” Picard insisted. ”I wasn't lying about that matter-antimatter core. It's going to experience a runaway reaction. And when it does, it will take the whole colony with it.”

Julia's expression changed ever so slightly, as if she was at least thinking about believing in him again. Then she turned away.

”Look, Mr. Hill, or whatever you're really called. I don't have time for your shenanigans anymore, so let's just drop it.”

”They're not shenanigans,” he told her. ”I can prevent the core from exploding. But to do that, I need your help. I need to get out of here.”

When the doctor allowed her eyes to meet his again, they were full of undisguised, red-rimmed hurt. The captain winced at the sight of them.

”I trusted you,” she said, her voice flat and accusing. ”And I got burned. Now you want me to trust you again? To ... to commit mutiny for you?” She grunted. ”You must be out of your head.”

Picard cursed inwardly. This was his one chance. He couldn't afford to let it get away-even if it meant risking everything on one roll of the dice.

He licked his lips. ”What if I told you I could prove I know what I'm talking about?”

That got her attention. ”Prove it?” she echoed warily.

”Yes. What then?”

Julia looked at him askance. ”I'm listening. Just for the entertainment value, mind you.”

The captain knew what kind of chance he was taking. But he was guided by the eerie knowledge that she wouldn't live to spread the story he was telling her; it was just a question of which disaster would claim her first.

”My name,” he told her, ”is Jean-Luc Picard. I command a Federation stars.h.i.+p called the Enterprise.” He paused, letting what he'd said so far begin to sink in. Then he hit her with the punchline. ”However, if you were to look up the captain of that vessel, you would find that his name is James T. Kirk. That is because my Enterprise exists in the twenty-fourth century.”

Julia blinked-once, twice. Then an expression of disappointment came over her. ”I thought you'd do better than that,” she responded. ”I mean, really.”

Of course, Picard had known this wouldn't be easy. ”Think, Julia. I have a bionic heart, engineered to imitate my cell structure. Have you ever heard of any race, Federation member or otherwise, capable of manufacturing such a device?”

The doctor recognized the question as rhetorical. ”Go on,” she instructed.

”As the commodore pointed out, I have no scar tissue to indicate that the procedure ever took place. In fact, I have no scar tissue at all. And I'm immune to the common cold. Why? Because in my era, medical science has made great strides in cell replication and immunology.”

Julia sighed. He had made it difficult for her to remain completely skeptical, but he still had a long way to go.

”Now you know why I didn't want to divulge my ident.i.ty,” the captain persisted. ”Because I didn't want to upset the flow of sequential time by my presence here-which, I a.s.sure you, is completely accidental. And now you also know how I can be so sure about the defect in your power source. In this time, matter-antimatter technology hasn't come far enough to detect such problems. But in mine, even a cadet knows how to look for them.”

The doctor's green eyes narrowed. 'I'll give you credit. It almost sounds convincing. But if you were truly concerned about messing up the flow of sequential time, you wouldn't be telling me all this-would you? You'd be keeping your mouth shut, no matter what.”

Picard shrugged. ”Not if I knew that this outpost isn't supposed to be destroyed by a matter-antimatter accident. Not if I suspected that my presence here was necessary to the prevention of that accident.”

Julia was wavering, but the captain still hadn't won her over. He could see it in the rather stubborn set of her jaw.

”Surely,” he said, ”you've heard rumors of time travel ... of a planet, perhaps, where something called The Guardian of Forever provides access to all the ages of the universe?”

At the mention of that name, her expression softened. ”Yes,” she replied, after a moment. ”I have heard rumors of people traveling through time. But ...” She paused. ”Until now, I thought they were just fantasies.”

Picard's heart pounded a little harder. ”Then you believe me?”

The doctor swallowed. ”Don't put words in my mouth. All I said was that I'd heard rumors.”

The captain decided to switch tacks. ”Not so long ago,” he reminded her, ”your physician's instincts told you I was a good man. What do they tell you now, Julia? That I'm an exquisitely apt liar, trying to obtain access to your power source for my own selfish ends? Or that I am who and what I say I am-and that if we don't act soon, you and all your colleagues will meet with catastrophe?”

Julia stared at him-and swore softly. ”There's something strange about you, all right. I said that from the beginning. But ... a man from the future? I don't know. I just don't know.”

”Because the stakes are too high if you're wrong?” Picard suggested.