NEW: TNG The Dichotomy of the Heart 24/? P/C

Title: The Dichotomy of the Heart

Author: Heather Smyth

Series: TNG

Part: 25/?

Rating: NC17

Code: P/C

Disclaimer and summary...see part one.







Tobias looked dubiously at the blackened limb. The cave
was filled with the smell of burning meat and, as he hooked the limb out of
the coals his nose wrinkled with distaste. Jean-Luc had been dozing
fitfully, the pain of his injuries precluding real sleep and his eyes opened
when the embers crackled. He watched silently as the boy rolled the meat
over the cave floor, closer to his father. Tobias looked up to see the man
awake.

"What do you think Papa?"

Summoning an encouraging smile, Jean-Luc nodded his head.

"It looks about right. When it cools a little we can taste it."

Silence descended while the two contemplated their meal. Jean-Luc shifted
slightly and winced, Tobias immediately at his side. The Captain gently
patted his son's leg and gave a lopsided smile.

"I'm all right."

Unconvinced, Tobias stared at the oozing wounds in his father's torso and
shook his head.

"I wish I could take them out Papa."

Jean-Luc squinted down at his body and snorted.

"So do I son, but while they're in me, they're stopping the bleeding."

Tobias grunted.

"Well.outside maybe, but what about inside Papa?"

Wishing to deflect this line of thought, Jean-Luc smiled and looked into his
son's eyes.

"You decided to call me Papa?"

The lad frowned.

"Do you mind?"

With a shake of his head, Jean-Luc ignored the pain to lift his hand to
reach for the boy.

"No not at all, in fact I quite like it. I used to call my father Papa."

Tobias looked down at their joined hands and sniffed quietly. In a small
voice he said,

"Sometimes.not often, but sometimes Maman would say "Your Papa" did this or
"Your Papa" did that.I never took much notice.I didn't want to know about my
father.it was just Maman and me and that was fine. But when I thought you
were dead I realised I wanted to call you Papa. It somehow felt.right."

Hearing these soft words in his native tongue made Jean-Luc see how
important this was to his son. The connection to France was tenuous but
undeniable and Jean-Luc decided then and there, that if he survived he would
do everything in his power to introduce his son to his heritage. He smiled
at the boy, tears making his eyes twinkle.

"Well I'm delighted.and very proud."

Tobias grinned at the man then looked down at the meat.

"I think it's cooled a bit."

Jean-Luc hid a grimace and tried to sound optimistic.

"Fine. Who goes first?"

Tobias grabbed one of the claws and pulled the lump closer. Using his
fingers he gingerly picked at the meat until a small strip peeled off. He
gave his father a look of deep suspicion and tipped his head up, opening his
mouth and guiding the meat inside. He closed his eyes and chewed
experimentally, his screwed up face telling Jean-Luc it wasn't exactly
tasty. With his father's encouragement, Tobias peeled off some more and held
it up to the man. The Captain took it into his mouth and chewed with
determination, ignoring the crunching of grit between his teeth. It was
tough and gamy but when he swallowed he did so with finality. If this was
what was needed to survive, then they would eat every bit of it.















Data guided the shuttle to a flawless landing and waited
patiently as the hatch opened. The group, comprising five in all, exited the
little craft and immediately deployed their tricorders. Data looked up from
his instrument and frowned.

"Captain Picard is not here."

M'Rak joined the android and looked about in confusion.

"Neither is his camp."

Data walked in a circle, his tricorder faithfully scanning. Bending down to
get a closer look at the ground, Data shook his head.

"I do not understand. There are no signs of a campsite ever being here."
He turned to the Vulcan Security Chief.

"Are you sure these are the right coordinates?"

M'Rak checked her tricorder and nodded.

"Yes Sir. I personally reconnoitred this area for the Captain.I recognise it
Sir."

Data's wanderings had led him to the sheared tree. He frowned down at the
stacked broken pieces of wood and tilted his head.

"This makes no sense. This tree has been harvested for wood, but the yield
has not been utilised.nor can I find evidence of a fire. In fact I cannot
find any trace that Captain Picard or his son were ever here."

M'Rak joined her superior and scanned the wood, her eyebrows raised.

"Sir there are minute traces of multiple phaser discharges here.the wood
retains the signature. Why would Captain Picard go to the trouble of getting
the wood then leave before he used any of it?"

Data turned to the Lieutenant and asked,

"Do you think the Captain has moved his camp?"

The Vulcan shrugged.

"Well I do not see any other explanation Sir. It is obvious he never set up
camp here.or we would be seeing evidence of it."

Data frowned at the readings of his tricorder and said softly.

"I am not so sure Lieutenant. Come with me please."

Leading the party into the bush, Data's instrument guided them unerringly to
the sand circles. Data dropped effortlessly to his knees and scanned
thoroughly. M'Rak watched silently, bent at the waist, her face a study of
expectation. When Data stood and snapped his tricorder closed, the Vulcan
straightened.

"What is it Sir?"

"I do not know. These readings are anomalous.the sand should not be here and
there is a faint energy residue emanating from an underground source."

M'Rak frowned deeply.

"But the Enterprise detected power readings Sir, emanating from a source
connected to conduits that radiate out from the origin. This area was
identified as being one of the portals.you yourself briefed me on it. Why
are you surprised by the readings?"

Data began to walk back to the shuttle.

"Because my readings indicate the portal was used.recently."

M'Rak stopped and reached for the android's arm.
"Are you suggesting the Captain and his son.somehow went down those sand
circles?"

Data's golden eyes never wavered.

"I am not suggesting anything of the sort Lieutenant, however Captain Picard
should be here and he is not. Until we locate him and his son, I will
entertain all hypotheses."

M'Rak nodded and they began to walk again.

"What do you intend to do?"

Not slowing his determined step, Data answered over his shoulder.

"For now I will activate our pattern enhancers and contact the Enterprise. I
believe I should discuss these developments with Commander Riker."

Moving with swift efficiency, M'Rak and two others deployed the enhancers
and activated them. Once the communication device was on line, the Vulcan
nodded to the Second Officer.

"Ready Sir."

Data stepped within the enhancers, nodding his acknowledgement.

"Thank you Lieutenant. Data to Enterprise."

"Enterprise here. Go ahead."

"Commander I am ready to make my report."

Will's voice was cheerfully optimistic.

"Great Data.how's the Captain?"

With his emotion chip functioning, Data felt the apprehension inherent when
he replied.

"Captain Picard is not here Sir."

Will maintained his cheerfulness.

"Oh.what.has he gone exploring or something?"

"No Sir. Neither Captain Picard or his son are anywhere within our scanning
area, nor is there any evidence they were ever here."

There was a momentary silence before a slightly exasperated Commander spoke
again.
"Are you saying he decided to camp elsewhere?"

Data found he needed to shrug and did so.

"Unknown Sir, but what I have found here suggests the Captain was here at
some stage."

Will's voice took on an angry edge.

"Wait a minute Data. You just told me there was no evidence to say he was
ever there.what's going on?"

"Sir we have detected evidence of multiple phaser blasts in the remains of a
dead tree. The energy signature is that of a Star Fleet phaser rifle. From
that evidence I deduced that the Captain wished to gain firewood and my
analysis tells me some of the wood is missing, but there is absolutely no
evidence of a fire or even a pit. If Captain Picard did this to the tree I
do not know what he did with the wood."

Data could hear frustration building in Will's voice.

"Well if he decided to make camp elsewhere he wouldn't take the wood with
him.that makes no sense, there's plenty of wood around. Is there any sign
that the tent was pitched?"

Data shook his head.

"None Sir. Apart from the decimated tree, this area is pristine; however the
nearby sand portals show recent activity. I cannot explain this phenomenon."

Will's voice rose a notch.

"Is there any evidence that Captain Picard and his son used the portals?"

"No Sir."

"Right! I'm sending down more personnel.I want the entire area gone over
with a fine toothed comb.over a radius of five kilometres. I want you to
coordinate the search and I want regular updates."

"Understood Commander. Data out."

On the Enterprise, Beverly stood and faced Will.

"I'm going down too."

Will raised a hand and shook his head.

"Beverly."

The red head shook her head vehemently.

"No Will.something's wrong. You know as well as I the Captain would never
have changed sites without informing the ship! And his very silence speaks
volumes! Please.let me go down.or I'll resign my commission and go anyway."

Out of the corner of his eye, Will caught a surreptitious nod from Deanna.
He lifted his chin and stared at his friend, seeing her absolute
determination. He let out a long breath and nodded.

"Very well.but you keep in contact with us.understand?"

Beverly's smile was fleeting, but warm.

"You got it!"

She left the Bridge in a whirl of blue.

















Sometime in the afternoon Jean-Luc opened his eyes to find
Tobias's head resting on his thigh. The boy was sleeping, but his twitching
and occasional moans told the Captain it was not a restful sleep. The man's
eyes travelled over his son's body, now clad in his trousers, and noted the
livid bruising on one side of his chest as well as the angry red cuts and
scrapes on his hands and elbows. When the lad suddenly convulsed in
agonising coughing, Jean-Luc was dismayed to see blood dribble from the boy's
mouth. Such was his exhaustion, as soon as the coughing fit passed, Tobias
slipped back to sleep. Jean-Luc rested his pounding head on the rock wall
behind him and closed his blurry eyes wishing, not for the first time, that
he had a communication device. He sighed shallowly and tried valiantly to
ignore the persistent agony of his injuries.

"Come on Beverly.where are you? I haven't contacted you in days.you know
something's wrong! Do something! Find us before it's too late!"

He tried to take a deep breath but it caused him to cough, a deep, wet
hacking that made him heave. He turned his head as he vomited, the bloody
bile and meat remnants anointing his arm. Weak and in terrible pain he
groaned softly and allowed tears to overflow his eyes. His whisper was soft
in the dimness.

"Mon Dieu.aidez-nous, par pitie.aidez-nous."





Beverly stepped from the shuttle, surrounded by a coterie
of personnel. She could hear the sounds of many scanning tricorders and,
after a quick reconnoitre, sought out M'Rak, the security leader. Her's had
been the third shuttle to land and she knew there might already be valuable
information. To that end she approached the Vulcan.

"Report."

The slender woman inclined her elegant head.

"There has been not a great deal more to find as yet Doctor, however we have
detected DNA at the base of a tree."

Beverly frowned.

"DNA? Who's"

"We are still checking Sir, but by the sample I would hazard a guess that it
does not belong to Captain Picard."

That sharpened Beverly's curiosity.

"Why?"

M'Rak offered her tricorder.

"Because it is a urine sample Doctor. The donor urinated against the tree
and I am assuming Captain Picard would be reluctant to do that, considering
he brought down a sanitary unit. It is my understanding the Captain would
wish to preserve the integrity of the site as much as possible."

Beverly allowed a faint smile.

"That is true M'Rak. So it is from his son. Anything else?"

"Not as yet Doctor."

"Very well, keep at it."

As Beverly surveyed her surroundings she knew she had to be patient. There
were twenty well trained people searching for traces of her lover.something
would turn up.she hoped.



















Lieutenant Commander Farrel Stevin knelt at the
base of a plinth and squinted through an old-fashioned magnifying glass.
With most of his technological equipment inoperable, he had resorted to the
tried and true methods of investigation, utilising any means at his
disposal. The pictograms tickled something deep in his brain but, try as he
might, he couldn't make the required information surface. Sighing, he
climbed stiffly to his feet and dusted off his pants. A soft voice behind
him made him turn, the light from his cap making his companion shield his
eyes.

"Sorry."

"That's okay Commander. Could you come topside Sir? There's something I want
to show you."

With a brusque nod, Stevin followed his colleague to the surface and blinked
his tearing eyes rapidly in the bright sunlight. He was led to an upright
stone slab, the entire surface of which was covered with minute pictograms.
Lieutenant McAveny pointed to the slab and snorted.

"You're probably going to think I'm off my rocker Sir, but there are a
series of pictograms that I think resemble early Acamarian picture
language."

It was as if a light had been turned on in Stevin's head.

"Yes!"

He ran over to the shuttle and powered up. To his astonished companion he
shouted,

"I'll be back in a minute!"

Once the little ship had left the atmosphere, Stevin opened a channel to the
Enterprise.

"Riker here Commander."

"Sir may I have permission to bring some artefacts aboard? I need the
Enterprise's computers to do an in depth analysis."

There was a brief hesitation before Will replied.

"Well it's not what we intended Commander. Captain Picard was adamant about
not disturbing the ruins."

"I understand Sir, but we've discovered something that really needs clearing
up and I can't do it down here."

Stevin heard Will's sigh.

"Okay then but make it's as small as possible and make sure whatever you
take is returned unharmed and exactly as it was."

Stevin's grin transformed his cadaverous face.

"Understood Commander, thank you Sir."

He piloted the shuttle back to the ruins and exited, calling to his staff.

"Come on you slackers.we've got work to do!"
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