Picard
Thoughts = ‘I’m thinking in Italic.’
Normal Text = Normal Text
Speaking = “I’m talking in Quotation Marks.”
Sound Effects = BOOM!
"Five-card stud, nothing wild… and the sky's the limit." Picard said then froze and seemed to get a dazed look on his face. Everyone around the table looked at him with concern.
“Are you alright, Captain?” Deanna asked him. He blinked and looked at her, the dazed look now gone.
“Yes, Counselor. Just feeling a sense of deja vu. Nothing to be concerned about.” He told her, smiling almost in an inside joke sort of way. “Shall we continue?”
Everyone nodded and returned to the game deciding to let it be for now. All throughout the game Picard had two thoughts on his mind. ‘It worked. Soon I will be able to save René and Robert then once Voyager is able to use the MIDAS array I…can introduce them to my...my daughter. I wonder if I will be able to tell them about this. I’ll try to speak with Q, Jr. when I am alone. Until then, I will wait and perhaps help Data learn how to bluff.’
*Later that evening*
Picard entered his quarters and noticed a letter sitting neatly upon his desk. He moved over to his desk and sat in his chair. He picked up the letter, opened it, and then began to read it.
Dear Picard,
I heard your thoughts earlier, sorry for eavesdropping, and to answer your question. Yes, you will be able to tell them. On a side note, I know it had yet to occur to you with everything that was learned and said but you should know that one of the ripples I just found is the events with Soren won’t happen. Also, your friend, Guinan, knows about what’s going on. Including Seven.
- Q, Jr.
P.S. I’m keeping an eye on Seven so try not to worry too much about her. Also, you may want to try to locate Raffi and her husband then get close to them to encourage them to join Voyager when the time comes or at the very least make a few quiet arrangements.
Picard was relieved by the time he finished the letter. He could tell his family about everything, including his new found daughter. He was glad the Soren Events weren’t going to happen again. In truth, it had slipped his mind that he would have been faced with it again. The part about Guinan honestly didn’t surprise him after knowing her for so long. At least he had someone he didn’t have to hide things from to talk to. Guinan was a good listener and gave good advice.
With his questions answered, Picard decided to call it a night. After all, he needed to work out a plan to save his nephew and brother and get Raffi on board Voyager.
*One Year Later*
It had been a year since Picard awoke in the past. In that time, he had managed to find Raffi and her Husband and quietly arranged for them to be stationed on Voyager before her maiden launch which occurred not long ago.
He now found himself at a loss as to how to convince his family to leave the family estate in a week. His brother was the main problem. He, like all Picards, was stubborn. He suddenly chuckled, recalling one Picard in particular. ‘She truly is my daughter and Janeway’s from what I remember and have heard of her. I’m going to need help and not just with my family. I have two years to build a subtle plan to save the Maquis.’
It was time to tell his Senior Staff about the time travelling. With a heavy sigh, Picard called for the Senior Staff to gather. This did of course spark some curiosity in said staff as they had been worried about him lately. Once everyone was seated, Picard began what was going to be a long meeting.
“Thank you all for gathering. I’m sorry to have called you away from your duties and rest time. However, there are matters of great importance that I must discuss with you.” He said to them.
“Is everything alright, Captain?” Deanna asked, sensing his anxiety. Picard smiled at the concern on all of their faces. ‘I should have told them a little sooner. I hadn’t realized how much I had worried them.’
“In time, it hopefully will be.” He replied and then began to tell them about the time travelling and the mission, although he left out the details of why it happened. They were definitely shocked not just at the fact that he had time traveled but that a Q was involved and not to cause trouble. Commander Riker was the first to speak.
“Are you sure we can trust this Q, Captain?” Picard was expecting that question especially given their previous dealing with the Qs. He knew though that this Q was very different and had a very strong reason to see this through.
“Yes, this Q is different from the ones we have encountered. He has a very good reason for doing this. One which I understand all too well.” He answered with a grim expression having come to the realization that the people Q wanted to save the most were in fact his grandchildren. Everyone looked at each other with even more worry than when they had walked in.
“Were things really that bad?” asked Doctor Crusher.
“Unfortunately, it was worse than we had previously known but we have the chance to change it.”
“What about the Temporal Prime Directive?” Tasha Yar inquired.
“In this case, it will be upheld to a certain degree in that there are events that cannot be interfered with and that I cannot tell you about.” Picard said with a note of resignation. Deanna looked at him curiously. She could sense a deep regret and pain.
“There is more than just that bothering you, isn’t there?” She asked the Captain. He sighed and nodded his head.
“Before we were sent back, Q revealed a secret that had been hidden from myself and two others. Although, only one of the other two was informed.” They remained silent to give him time. “I have a daughter.”
They were of course shocked even more than before. He told them about what the Hansens had done, who the mother was, and what had become of his daughter. They sat there for a moment afterwards processing everything. Picard got up to give them some time and replicate a cup of Earl Grey. When he came back, they had all seemed to have come to a decision which was confirmed by Data who had yet to speak.
“How can we help, Captain?”
“I need your help with two very important tasks I was given. Save my brother and nephew from dying and save as many of the Maquis as possible from a massacre.” He informed them.
“What about your daughter? You said that she is in the Collective. Aren’t we going to do something?” asked Doctor Crusher.
“Her current situation is one of the moments where we cannot interfere with that I mentioned. She won’t be with the Collective for too much longer.” He replied.
“What do you mean, Captain?” Tasha Yar questioned.
“You have of course heard of the USS Voyager and her crew missing?” He began. They nodded after all who hadn’t. “They are not in fact missing. They are currently stranded in the Delta Quadrant. In three years, they will encounter the Borg and events will happen which result in my daughter being freed. She will awaken not long after. Also to ensure she would not be left without help, I quietly made arrangements to place one of the others who were sent back on board Voyager. She will awaken shortly before my daughter.”
“You know Captain, you have yet to tell us her name?” Deanna spoke. Picard chuckled, having remembered the conversation regarding his daughter’s name before they knew the truth.
“She prefers the shorter version of her Borg designation,” He said with a smile.
“Which is?” Asked La Forge.
“Seven of Nine. Her full designation is Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One.” They froze at that, recalling the events of their Captain’s own time with the Borg.
“She was the drone that assimilated you.” Deanna stated with horror.
“Yes, evidently the Queen has a terrible sense of irony and amusement.” Picard remarked.
After that revelation, they were all silent for a short while as they handled that particular bit of information. It was Deanna who finally broke the silence.
“You mentioned needing a way to get your brother and nephew away from your family estate. What about your sister-in-law, Marie? You said she wasn’t in the house at the time. Where was she?”
“She was at the market at the time.” He replied. “She was picking up groceries for supper. She mentioned they were planning on restocking the food stores the next day because Robert and René were working in the wine cellar.”
“What if you visited around that time?” Riker suggested. Picard thought for a moment. Aside from the Soren events, there weren’t any missions that prevented them from paying a visit to Earth. He could also take the chance to tell them about Seven and such.
“That is an excellent idea, Number One. I have already been informed that the events which kept us away previously will not be taking place as a result of the Temporal Ripples caused by my time travel.” Picard answered. They did look at him curiously at the mention of events but did not ask.
“With you planning to visit around that time, Marie will push the grocery trip for that day instead with Robert and René going along to help.” Deanna stated. Everyone smiled. They couldn’t save the captain’s daughter but they could at least save the rest of his family.
“We will take a short break for some lunch then reconvene for the next task. During that time, I will contact Marie and let her know of my visit. As well as that I have some important news to tell them.” Picard informed them. “Before you ask, I have already been given clearance to inform them of things.”
They all agreed and left for a quick lunch in the mess hall while Picard went to his ready room to message Marie.
*A Short Time Later*
Everyone had gathered in the staff room once again and were now waiting on the captain to return. A few minutes later, Picard returned to the staff room with a smile on his face and sat down.
“How did it go, Captain?” Deanna asked.
“It went very well. I gave the time frame of my arrival and Marie made the plan to do the grocery trip the day of the fire. They are very curious about the news I have and they did seem to notice something different about me.” Picard answered.
“So, now we need to figure out your other task. What is it?” Tasha Yar spoke.
“To save the Maquis from a massacre at the hands of the Dominion/Cardassian Alliance.” He stated. They were all shocked by his answer.
“A massacre? When does it happen?” Crusher asked.
“Two years from now, they will be ambushed at their base with no escape and no survivors. It is imperative that as many of them survive as possible for the sake of future events and the Maquis on board Voyager.” Picard informed them.
“I take it you have a few thoughts on how we go about doing that.” Riker said.
“Yes, we already have a location to evacuate them to and a general plan. The plan is to send anonymous warnings to the Maquis and quietly reach out to the Klingon Empire to help them escape to Vasquez Rock. It has to be done close to the time it is meant to happen to minimize the temporal ripples. The problem is how to send the warnings and quietly contact the Empire.” Picard explained.
“Guinan.” stated La Forge. Everyone looked at him. “Guinan still keeps in contact with Ro Lauren. We could ask her to send the warnings to Ro Lauren to give to the rest of the Maquis. It’s the best chance we have since there really isn’t any other way to contact them.”
“Good work, Mr. La Forge.” Picard responded.
“I can send word through to the Empire when the time comes, Captain.” Worf spoke. “Ro Lauren is still a part of this crew and there are members of the Maquis who have helped many Klingon prisoners escape. It seems only right to return the favor in their time of need.”
“It would seem we have a full plan, Captain.” Data stated.
“So we do, Data, so we do.”
*One Week Later, The day after the fire*
Picard beamed down to the village near the Picard Estate and was met with the grim face of his brother, Robert, with his nephew, René, and Marie. He breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of them all being very much alive. They noticed and Robert immediately called him out.
“You knew, didn’t you?”
“That is part of what I have to talk to you all about. It’s also the reason for the sudden visit.” Picard informed him.
“You were making sure none of us were in or near the estate when the fire broke out.” Marie realized. Picard nodded then said.
“Perhaps we could go somewhere where we shall not be overheard. What I have to tell you is of a very secret and sensitive nature.”
“We can go to the house. Thankfully, we were able to put the fire out soon enough that there was minimal damage.” Robert said, for once not getting into a fight with his brother. Perhaps it was due to his brother saving him and his son. Or that he could tell something had changed in him. Or a combination of the two. Whatever the case, they went to the Picard estate.
Once they were close enough to the house, Picard could see some places that were being clean still bare the black marks from the fire but just as his brother had said the damage was minimal. ‘Thank god, the plan worked and they weren’t home.’
They went into the dining room and gathered around the table. Robert then looked at his brother and spoke up.
“What’s this all about, Jean-Luc?” Picard took a deep breath then processed to tell them about time traveling, the mission, and what had previously happened with the fire at the estate. When he took a moment for them to process the information, Marie made some tea and bought out some biscuits. Just as soon as everyone was settled again, it was René who broke the silence.
“There’s something more, isn’t there? Something other than the time traveling and mission.” Picard smiled at his nephew.
“Perspective as always, Uncle. Yes, there is. It is good news though.” Picard responded.
“Well, don’t hold us in suspense.” Marie said, excited to hear the news having never seen Picard so happy about something before.
“I have a daughter.” Picard started before proceeding to tell them about her and her story. He told them about the Hansens, about what they had done, who her mother was, what had happened to her, and what will happen to her. Picard sat back and watched as his family processed this particular bit of information. He wondered who would be the first to speak. He didn’t have long to wait. It was René who broke the silence again.
“What is she like?” Picard blinked for a moment. Of all the responses he had gotten and even expected that wasn’t one. ‘It shouldn’t surprise me. We Picards aren’t known for following the common path.’
He thought for a moment. “I sadly have had little time to truly get to know her. However, I can tell you what I do know. She is very smart, brave. For all that she has suffered, she still had a kind heart. She is fierce and strong. She is a fighter and fights for what she believes in no matter what others say. She is very much a Picard and a Janeway from what I have heard. She’s very witty at times too.”
He spent most of the evening telling them of some of the things Seven had done without going into details. He even told them of her comment when they reunited on the Artifact (“She really said that?” “Yes, with her hands on her hips much as her mother tends to do.”). He was very happy. His family was alive and he couldn’t wait to introduce them to his daughter.
*Two years later, Around the time of the Maquis Massacre*
Over the past two years after saving his brother and nephew, Picard made sure to stay in better contact with his family as well as visit more often and help with the vineyard. Not much happened during those two years leading up to the Maquis mission. Although, he took a bit of an initiative and gathered information on the loved ones of the Voyager crew. He did not make contact with any of them except for the Janeways and Miral Torres. Q Jr. had given him permission to debrief them but no one else.
Sigrun Janeway, Kathryn Janeway’s mother, and Phoebe Janeway, Kathryn’s younger sister, are definitely forces of nature. Both were shocked, furious, and happy after he told them of the Hansens. They were furious at what the Hansens had done but happy to have a new family member. Sigrun was especially happy to have a granddaughter though her eldest daughter and couldn’t wait to meet her. Both women were eager to learn as much as they could about Seven just like René. The Janeway women had also taken to getting to know his family and even helped out with the vineyard.
Miral Torres had proved to be a great help in quietly reaching out to the Klingon Empire for the Maquis evacuation plan. Her voice alongside Worf’s had been the extra boost they needed to convince the Empire of the validity of the ‘rumored’ attack on the Maquis. She had been relieved to know her daughter was still alive and very proud of her. As it turned out, B’Elanna had helped a great many of the Klingon Prisoners escape and had become a highly respected warrior in the eyes of the Klingon Empire.
Now Picard was sitting in his ready room, waiting anxiously for a message or report. There was a great deal riding on the success of this mission. He made all the arrangements he could and Guinan had contacted Ro Lauren. All that was left was to wait for word of how it went. That was the part everyone hated, waiting.
Picard had just gotten up to make some Earl Grey when he heard a ping from his console. The waiting was over. He quickly sat back down at his desk and opened the message. It was short but spoke volumes.
‘Vasquez Rock looks good this time of year.’
- Ro Lauren
They’d done it. ‘And now the show is yours, Seven, Raffi. Good Luck.’