From: 95lnm@williams.edu (Lisa Masterman)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: "Aeia" epilogue and repost (2)
Date: 6 Jan 1993 01:50:06 GMT
Organization: Williams College, Williamstown, MA
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: welsh.cs.williams.edu

"Aeia"

PART TWO

Lieutenant Commander Data approached the medical team.  "Doctor, if I may 
make a suggestion."

"Yes, Data?"

"If we could exploit the piezoelectric effect, we could cause the crystal to 
oscillate to the point of disintegration."

"That's right!" said Geordi enthusiastically.  Noting the blank looks of the 
CMO, Counselor Troi, and his commanding officer, he explained: "Each crystal 
has a resonant frequency.  If you impose a voltage across the crystal which 
is varying at its resonant frequency, the internal structure of the crystal will 
start to vibrate.  If the amplitude of the vibrations is sufficient, the structure 
will disintegrate."

"Can we do this without harming the girl?" asked Dr. Crusher.

"I cannot say," responded the android.

"If it  will work, it is worth a try," said Counselor Troi.  "It may be her only 
chance."

Dr. Crusher nodded grimly.  She could see no other viable alternative.

Riker turned to the other members of his away team.  "Data, Geordi, can you 
do it with the equipment we have here?"

"Affirmative, Commander," said Data.

"Then do it."

"If the equipment still works," added Geordi as he bent over the form.  He 
and Data worked quickly, placing the instruments on the crystal.  Data 
calculated the proper frequency and turned the voltage on.  There was a 
brief hum, and suddenly the crystal collapsed.

All moved forward at once to clear the shards from the girl.  "Pick her up, 
Data," commanded Dr. Crusher.  The android reached forward and lifted the 
slender form from the shattered remains of the crystal and held her while 
Dr. Crusher scanned her body with a lightning pass of her instruments.  
"Damn this crystal," she muttered under her breath.  Shoving the 
instruments back into her pocket, she pressed her fingers against the neck; 
only a couple of seconds were required before a weak yet familiar pressure 
passed beneath her fingertips.  "She's got a pulse," she announced, "but she 
won't have it for long.  Let's get her out of here."

"Data," ordered Riker, "carry her to the entrance.  We'll follow."

The android walked in brisk steps towards the entrance with Dr. Crusher and 
her two assistants on his heels.  "Enterprise," shouted Dr. Crusher's voice once 
she'd disappeared.  "Enterprise!"  Finally there must have been a response, 
for her voice continued: "Five to beam to Sick Bay; Medical Emergency."  And 
with the familiar sound of the transporter beam, she was gone.

Troi lingered for a moment over the stone mount where the crystal had 
been.  "Look at this, Will."

Riker and Geordi approached the mount from the other side.  Troi kneeled 
down by the end where the girl's feet had been.  Loose rock and stone were 
piled up against the side of the stone mount; behind them, the rock was 
cracked.  Troi pushed against the cracked area, causing the thin stone panel 
to fall in.

"I thought I saw something through the crack," she explained.  She pulled out 
a long crystal shard, about one foot long and three inches in diameter.  She 
handed it to Geordi, who turned it over and over in his hands as he 
examined it.

"Strange," observed Riker.  He shone his light through the shard.  Unlike the 
other crystals, which were mostly transparent, this one had a milky color 
and was opaque.

"More than strange," answered the Chief Engineer.  "This doesn't look like it 
follows a cell structure at all.  The molecular patterns are all over the place."

"Bring it back to the Enterprise," directed Riker.  He turned and walked out 
of the cavern, followed by Troi.  Geordi cradled the crystal in his palm and 
strode after them.

-----------------------------------------------------

Dr. Crusher leaned across the conference table.  "She's alive, but in some sort 
of coma," she said with a tired voice that revealed how hard she'd been 
fighting for the girl's life.  "She's suffering from massive cell damage in 
almost all areas of her body, most severely along the right leg.  I'm not sure 
I'm going to be able to save it."

"That was where the crack in the crystal was," observed Geordi.  Dr. Crusher 
nodded in return.

"Can you tell us anything about her?" asked Picard.

Dr. Crusher sighed.  "Physically, she appears to be human, about eighteen or 
nineteen years of age."

"Physically?" prompted Commander Riker.

The CMO nodded.  "Everything about her seems perfectly normal, except for 
her neural activity.  Even though she's unconscious, her brain functions keep 
bouncing off the normal human scale.  Further examination of her brain 
showed significant differences in the organization and function of her neural 
pathways."  She drew in a long breath, leaning back in her chair.  "That's all 
the information I have right now."

"Understood," said Picard.  "Keep us informed of any change in her 
condition."  He turned to his Chief Engineer.  "Mr. LaForge, have you anything 
to report on the crystal you brought back from the chamber?"

"Yes, sir."  Geordi leaned forward and touched the panel in front of him, 
bringing up a visual on the display at the end of the conference table.  A 
diagram of the crystal rotated on the screen.  "When I first looked at the 
shard, I was confused by the apparent disorder of its molecular structure.  
On a hunch, though, I compared it to the data I managed to collect on the 
crystal in the caves, and I made an interesting discovery."  The view on the 
crystal zoomed in to show the individual molecular patterns.  "Using the 
ship's computer, I was able to examine the structure of the shard and 
compare it to the 'raw' crystal of the cavern.  What I found was that the 
lattice structure of this crystal has been modified into certain repeating 
patterns."

"You mean someone changed it on purpose?" asked Troi.

"That would be my guess."

"Implications?" asked the Captain.

"I think it's a form of writing," answered LaForge.   "The cell structure of this 
crystal is uniquely suited to this purpose.  The cell structure is so complex 
yet so regular that it lends itself very well to this kind of three-dimensional 
binary code."

"Is there any way we can read it?" asked Commander Riker.

Geordi shook his head.  "Without a key to get us started, no."

"What we need," said Picard, "is the Rosetta Stone, or rather an appropriate 
parallel."

"Yeah," admitted the Chief Engineer.  "Hopefully our friend can help us out 
when she wakes up."

The Captain stood up.  "In the meantime, continue our observations of the 
planet, and let's hope that our guest revives from her coma soon.  Dismissed."

---------------------------------------------------

"Doctor," summoned the young ensign.

Dr. Crusher moved over to the bed where the girl lay.  The ensign explained: 
"She's coming around - I think."  Crusher smiled at the youth, knowing his 
uncertainly was merited in the case of this particular patient, since her 
neural readouts were so unfamiliar.  The CMO got a brief smile in response 
before the ensign moved out of her way.

The girl on the bed let out a barely discernable moan.  "Well," said Dr. 
Crusher, "looks like Sleeping Beauty is finally going to join us."  She leaned 
down over her patient and pressed a hypo into her neck, waiting with a 
smile for her to wake.  She was delighted to see her patient passing from the 
dangerous stage in her recovery, and though she harbored an inner concern 
that that there might be lasting brain damage, she pushed that thought into 
the back of her mind and tried, like she did with all of her patients, to hope 
for the best.

Dr. Crusher was caught completely off guard when this previously motionless 
and quiet form let out an ear-splitting shriek of grief and pain upon her first 
moment of consciousness.

-------------------------------------------------------

"Deanna," called Riker as he bent over the crumpled form of the Ship's 
Counselor.

"Will," she responded feebly.  "The grief...  The emptiness..."  She allowed the 
Commander to prop her into a sitting position, where she sat rubbing her 
temple with one hand while she covered her eyes with the other.  "I don't 
think I've ever felt anything like that," she said in a voice made sharp by the 
threat of tears.

"It'll be all right," said Riker as he helped Troi to her feet.  Leaning against 
him, she managed to smile at the concerned faces around her, who relaxed 
and returned to their duties.

The bridge communicator chirped.  "Crusher to the bridge."

"Riker here."

"Our guest is awake.  You can talk to her now."

Riker looked at Troi, who nodded in confirmation of his unspoken question.  
It was the girl's cry she'd felt.  "We'll be right there.  I'll inform the Captain.  
Riker out."  He and Troi headed for the turbolift.

When Troi walked into Sick Bay, her eyes immediately found the young girl.  
She looked very different from the girl they had lifted from the crystal; a 
small amount of color had returned to the pale face, and an indescribable 
aura surrounded her that seemed to affirm the hold she had regained on life.  
Looking down on the face, Troi noted the delicate features framed by tousled 
brown curls.  Tears had escaped from the closed eyes, leaving wet paths 
across her temples and onto the pillow.  Then the lids lifted, and pure blue 
pools fixed on Troi.  The wet depths asked a silent apology for the pain her 
mental cry had caused.  She smiled reassuringly back, instantly forgiving 
her.

The young girl broke eye contact the moment Captain Picard entered.  She 
fixed her eyes on the authoritative figure as he approached her bed gave the 
front of his uniform a brisk tug into place in preparation to speak.  "Hello.  I 
am Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise, and these are 
some of my senior officers.  They found you on the planet's surface and 
brought you on board this ship for medical care."

She was very slow in responding, first drawing in a long, careful breath, and 
then speaking slowly and softly, conserving her energy: "I am Aeia.  I thank 
you...  for saving my life."  Her eyes moved to find Dr. Crusher, who nodded 
in acknowledgement of the gratitude.

"Do you know anything about where you were, or what happened to the 
inhabitants of the planet?" asked Riker.

Aeia's reply was again deliberate and soft: "My people are... gone."  She 
paused for a minute, for her grief had put an edge on her voice.  Again in 
control, she added, "They encased me in crystal to save me because they 
knew something must remain."

"What happened?" asked Troi softly.

Aeia looked straight at Picard before answering.  "The BORG," she replied.  
She waited for a moment and watched the responses of those assembled 
around her with keen observation.  "You are familiar with them."

"Yes," replied Picard grimly.

"Then...  no further explanation... is needed."  Aeia was beginning to show 
signs of the strain this conversation was putting on her.  She closed her eyes 
for several seconds, and then finally said, this time with more breath than 
voice: "But I... will give you one.  First...  I will need to go down to the planet."

"Nonsense," said Dr. Crusher.  "You're not strong enough to sit up."

Aeia closed her eyes again.  "Yes.  Then I will need to send an emissary.  I 
need to find the final records of my people."

Suddenly, Troi spoke up.  "I found a crystal shard in the stone mount you 
were lying on.  About this long."  She gestured with her hands.

Aeia nodded.  "That... would be very useful."

Riker tapped his badge.  "Riker to Engineering."

"LaForge here."

"Geordi, can you bring the crystal shard to Sick Bay?"

"On my way."

Geordi appeared moments later with the shard cradled in his arm.  As he 
approached the group, Aeia's arm lifted from her bed.  The movement was 
very deliberate and controlled, but her entire body shook with the strain of 
the effort.  Geordi placed the crystal gently in her hand, and helped her 
lower her arm slowly back onto the bed.

She closed her eyes.  Her breaths were deep and slow, preparing to speak 
again.  "Yes," she said, "this is... a record... of the... last..."  Her voice failed her.

Picard put his hand on her shoulder.  "Don't speak any more.  We will meet 
again when you are stronger."  He turned and left Sick Bay, followed by the 
others.  Troi lingered for a moment, but Dr. Crusher shooed her away.

The doctor was very surprised to find Aeia still awake when she returned to 
her bedside.  "Sleep," she urged the young girl.

Aeia's grip on the shard tightened.  *First, I must read.*

Dr. Crusher frowned.  She hadn't seen Aeia's lips move.

*I am telepathic,* explained Aeia.  *My body is weak, but my mind is 
stronger.  I will explain more later.  First I must read.*

The mental voice fell silent.  Dr. Crusher glanced at the neural readouts, 
which had settled into low patterns, which she judged to be some sort of 
meditation.  She leaned back against the bed behind her, watching Aeia's 
chest rise and fall more and more slowly.  The girl had left them with more 
questions than answers, but no mysteries were going to be solved today.  
She moved away to check up on other patients.

Behind her, silent tears filled the closed eyes and moistened the brown hair 
against her temples, but this time her grief was silent and went unnoticed.


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