The Adventures of Jean-Luc Picard
The Adventure of the Signus Array
by Jasjit Singh
(jasjit@uranium.dashmail.net)

The Adventure of the Signus Array

Commander Jean-Luc Picard awoke with a start. It was dark in his quarters. All around him, he could hear the subtle hum and vibration of the Stargazer as it traveled through Space at warp speed. He threw back the covers of his bed and climbed out. Sleep was going to come slowly now, if at all.

Picard shuffled to the sink and washed his face with the cool, almost chilly water in the dim light of the mirror lamps. He stood looking at his own face in the mirror for several heartbeats, and then began to turn away.

But just as he did so, an image brought him wheeling back to face the mirror. There was someone in the room with him, standing behind him! Picard swung round to face the intruder. But he stopped short when he saw who it was.

Standing in the center of the room, bathed in an eerie luminescent glow, was the image of Jean-Luc Picard, wearing a command uniform, with four collar pips - the rank of Starship Captain. He stood uncertainly, his image flickering and wavering like some ancient ghost of the past.

Picard blinked and rubbed his eyes, thinking that the image may be an hallucination. But it was not a hallucination. Finally the apparition opened its mouth, as if to speak. He seemed to be in great pain. He raised an arm and pointed to Picard. When his voice came, it was like the lost voice of the dead. "Jean-Luc," the apparition said in an echo of Picards own voice, "you must listen..."

Picard sought to understand what was being communicated. He took a step towards his image. "Listen to what?" he demanded. But the ghost was already fading away, his light growing dim, and his voice trailing off into silent whispers.

Picard hurried to his bedside and tapped the communications console. "Engineering," he said, "this is Picard. Did you detect any anomalous readings in my quarters just now?"

Khalids voice came over the comm. "Checking sir," he said, and then, after a moment, "No sir. There were no anomalous readings. Is there anything you need to report?"

"I am not sure. I thought I saw an image."

"An image, sir?"

"It's . . . it's nothing, nevermind. Sorry to have bothered you."

"No bother at all. Have a good night."

Picard sat on his bed with a sigh and looked towards the center of the room. He had seen an image, and it was an image of himself. But in Captain's rank? He always knew he was going to get his own command one day - that had been one of his major objectives since joining Starfleet academy. But why would he see this sort of image now? He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and lay back on his bed, trying unsuccessfully to woo sleep again.

The next morning, Picard made a report of the incident to Captain Walker Keel, who sat in his ready room reading the padd with grunts and sighs. When he was done reading, Keel set the padd down on the table in front of him and looked up at Picard. "I'll order engineering to perform a complete scan of your quarters. If anything was amiss, they will find it."

"Thank you sir," said Picard, relieved. Still, he thought as he headed out the door, Keel had not mentioned anything about the strangeness of this incident. It was curious.

Engineering performed their scans and diagnostics. It took over four hours. And when they had completed their work, they had a report over twenty-five pages long to submit to the Captain. The report showed that everything checked out in Picards quarters. Nothing was amiss.

"It was probably just a random energy surge," said Khalid with a shrug, and returned to engineering with his crew.

Picard sighed and sat down heavily in the command chair. Beside him, Jack Crusher grinned. "I wouldn't worry myself too much about it, Jean-Luc," he commented nonchalantly.

"Oh, hallucinations are one thing," replied Picard resignedly, "but when they call you by name and demand you listen to them. Well, that's when I start to take notice."

"Maybe you should take some time off?" he offered.

Picard shook his head. "I'll be fine."

And he was. For the next eight hours, at least. It was when his shift was over, and he was returning to his quarters, that it began again. He was studying a padd and walking along the hallways towards his quarters. As he turned a sharp corner, he stepped into a narrow passageway that was strangely devoid of all light, except for the luminescent figure standing in the center of the corridor. It was the same apparition that Picard had seen the night before. This time, the ghost-like image raised its hand and pointed directly at him, opening its mouth and letting out a low wail. The padd that Picard had been studying dropped from his hands, and landed with a clatter on the floor.

Picard approached the image of himself cautiously. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The apparition moaned out his own name, in a long, drawn out wail that spoke of immense pain. Picard shook his head, trying to keep his thoughts coherent.

"*I* am Jean-Luc Picard," he said emphatically, stepping closer to the image.

"You must listen," wailed his ghost, imploring him with both arms raised.

"Listen to whom? Do you have a message for me?" asked Picard curtly, "Where are you from?"

"The now, the later," moaned his ghost, "I am from after."

"You are not making any sense," said Picard, "What do you mean?"

"You must listen," said the ghost with an renewed sense of urgency. "You must . . ."

And then, as before, it simply vanished.

The hallway was lit normally now, and the faint hum and throb of the warp core could be felt again. Everything was back to normal. Picard took a look around at the walls and ceiling of the hallway, and then bent down to pick up the padd that he had dropped. With a frown on his face, he continued to his quarters, studying the padd again.

It was either late, or very early, depending on who you asked. The first officer of the Stargazer, Commander Jean-Luc Picard, sat in his quarters, at his computer, deep in thought. He had not slept a wink all night. He had been studying the Starfleet database for any references to ghost-like images having appeared on Federation Starships. He had scanned over four thousand records, and had hit upon seventeen cases of unexplained images appearing randomly on Federation vessels. But none seemed to exactly match his experience. For example, none of the officers reported having seen images of themselves. And out of the seventeen, only four encountered images that spoke to them. And none of those four described images that knew their names. Picard sat back with a sigh and rubbed his eyes. It was beginning to appear that he was in a unique situation.

He turned in his chair and looked back at the center of the room, where the first image had appeared. It seemed a very ordinary space, except for the fact that it was empty of any furniture or obstruction; as had been the space in the hallway.

A beep from the door broke Picard's train of thought. He blinked, and then looked towards the door. It was an unusual hour for a visit. "Come," he said, rising from his seat and stretching.

The door opened and Beverly Crusher peered in from the well-lit hallway. Picard was surprised to see her. "I thought you might like a late-night snack?" she asked, holding up a tray she had brought with her. The contents of the tray were covered with a lid, so Picard could not tell what they were.

"Please, come in," he said, attempting a confused smile. He pulled up the side table and allowed Beverly to set the tray down on it. "What, er, what is it?" he asked, distracted by her presence.

She smiled. "Belgian scones," she announced proudly. "I replicated them myself. With a recipe I got while I was on starbase. They're really quite good."

"Ah, very good then. And, um, Jack?" Picard rubbed his hands together, his mind not quite understanding what Beverly was doing here at this hour, and why.

"Oh, he's off duty. He's asleep. Had a long day," she replied casually. She noticed the active computer screen and the desk littered with padds and walked over to it. "Is this what you've been working on all night?"

"Um, yes, I've been building a cross-referenced index to the Starfleet database, really quite tedious work. Shall we?" he indicated the tray.

"Yes indeed," she smiled and turned her attention away from the computer. While she set out the scones, Picard replicated some tea.

The next time it happened was in the turbolift. Picard had stepped inside and gave the destination as the bridge. While he was alone when he entered the turbolift, he was not alone for long. After a few silent seconds, he saw the ghost image floating in the air above him. "Computer," he said immediately, "halt turbolift."

The tubolift came to a swift stop. Picard looked up at the image before him. "What do you need me to listen to?" he asked brusquely.

"The future," moaned the image, as it floated down to stand on the turbolift floor.

"Fine," said Picard, nodding his head. "But first, I have some questions for you. If you are really me, how? How is it possible? And where did you come from?"

"I came from the after now," the ghost responded, "or, the future. I am you in the future. You will gain a Captain's rank. You will command a starship named Enterprise. You will go where no other man has gone before."

Picard's mouth dropped open. "How can you be here?" he asked, astonished. "The Heisenberg uncertainty principle--"

The ghost cut him off. "There is not much time," it said, "we found a way to circumvent the problems. But I can only maintain this link for a short time. You must listen. Your future and the future of Starfleet is at risk. At your present course, you will encounter a structure in Space known as the Signus array. It belongs to a species known as the Durad. You must not let the Durad use the Signus array while you are in proximity of it."

"Why not? What does it do?" asked Picard, sensing the urgency in the others message. The image began to flicker.

"Time runs short," said the ghost, looking around as if the lights were suddenly dimmed. "The Durad will not listen to reason. The only option is to destroy the Signus array. Use your photon torpedoes, as soon as you are in range."

"The Prime Directive forbids any such action with an unknown species. We have not determined them to be a threat," said Picard.

"On board the Enterprise," replied the ghost, "you will encounter Species that may wipe out the entire human species. You do not know the danger, until it is too late. That is why we chose to open a subspace tunnel for communication. This is our only way of defeating the Durad. We cannot allow them to use their Signus array. If they use it, all is lost."

Picard pondered. Seconds stretched out into minutes. The ghost's image began to fade. He was almost gone when Picard looked up and said: "Very well. What is to be done?"

"Mr. Crusher, steady as she goes," Captain Walker Keel rose from his chair and headed towards the turbolift. His watch was over, and now he was going to catch up on some much needed sleep. He almost bumped into Picard as he entered the turbolift. "Ah, Picard," he said in satisfaction, "the bridge is yours."

Picard nodded and walked to the command chair. After Keel had left, Picard turned to Crusher. "Mr. Crusher, scans on full," he said.

"Aye sir, scans on full," replied Jack.

"Do we have anything?"

"The usual, star clusters, some trade ships, M-class planets--"

"Do we have any structures, anything like an array?"

"Checking."

The few seconds it took to check seemed to stretch out into eternity. Picard grasped the arm of his chair and squeezed it. Finally, Jack reported: "Yes sir, about four hundred and fifty million kilometers off the port bow. A vast structure at the edge of a solar system."

"Change course. Take us to it," said Picard immediately.

Jack swung around in his chair to face Picard. "Sir, that will take us off course," he said.

"I am aware of that lieutenant," replied Picard, "Make it so."

"Aye sir."

A few moments later, Picard queried: "Is it close enough for visual?"

"No sir."

"Increase to warp nine," Picard seemed oblivious to the curious looks from the bridge crew.

"Aye sir, increasing to warp velocity nine."

The slightest tremor indicated that the ship was now moving at a much greater warp velocity. Picard fidgeted in the command chair. Finally, he turned to face Michiko Hatta, who was at the operations station. "Bring weapons on line," he ordered. Hatta nodded and brought the phasors and photon torpedoes on line. She wondered why they needed weapons against what appeared to be a communications array. But she did not voice her concerns.

There was a tense silence aboard the bridge as the Stargazer shot impatiently through Space towards the Signus array. Only when they were in visual range was the silence broken, by the report: "We are in visual range of the structure."

"Fine, on-screen, maximum magnification," said Picard, standing up and taking a few steps towards the main viewer.

The image of a vast array of networked spires and panels came onto the screen. The sheer size of the array was impressive. It must have stretched over twenty starship lengths. And at the center of it all rose a sharp, tall spire that pointed away into deep Space. This was the Signus array of the Durad civilization. It was breathtaking.

Picard eyed it warily.

"How long until we are in weapons range?" he asked.

"Twenty seven minutes," was the reply. Too long, he thought, but they were already cruising at warp nine. There was nothing to be done. Picard returned to his seat and sat down quietly, musing.

Ten minutes later, T'Pau reported an incoming transmission. Picard was not expecting this. "Who?" he asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"They claim to be a species known as 'Durad'. They wish to open communications with us."

Picard nodded, as if some unspoken suspicion had been confirmed. He said nothing. "Should I respond, sir?" asked T'Pau hesitantly.

"No," replied Picard.

It was then that Do'reth Sainor spoke. "First Contact with the Durad has not been made. It is a violation of Starfleet protocol to attack a species that has not shown itself to be of hostile intent."

Picard stood up and turned around to face Do'reth Sainor. "Your concerns are noted, Mr. Sainor," he said.

Seventeen minutes later, they were in weapons range. The condition of the ship went to Yellow alert with the arming of the weapons. "Arm photon torpedoes, full spread," ordered Picard.

"Sir, we are receiving multiple hails from the Durad. They demand to know why we are locking weapons."

"Ignore them. We cannot allow them a chance to stall us while they use their device."

"Aye sir."

Weapons station reported that the photon torpedoes had been armed and locked onto the station. "Slow to warp four," ordered Picard. He stood eyeing the structure on the main viewer uncertainly. He did not give the order to fire yet. Around him on the bridge, the crew was silent, tense, confused.

"Orders, sir?" someone asked.

Picard waved an impatient hand. "Maintain your stations," he said dismissively. His brow was crinkled. He seemed to be deep in thought, pondering some strange and elusive puzzle.

"Mr. Crusher," he said, "scan the array. Do any weapons register?"

"No sir."

"Any capability of generating zeta particles, or electromagnetic pulses?"

"None."

"Any anomalous readings at all?"

"None that our scanners can determine. As far as we can tell, the only function of the array is for long-range, deep Space communication."

Picard nodded slowly. "Zoom in on the planet behind the array and magnify," he said. The distant planet behind the array came into full view, with both it's moons in orbit. Picard suddenly realized, as did the rest of the crew, that the planet itself was not inhabited, but it's moons were. Even from this distance, the sparkling light and glow of civilization could be seem from both moons.

"Scans are showing that the mass of population is on the two moons," reported Jack, "Apparently the Durad use the planet for mining and other natural resources, while they live on the moon."

"Remarkable," said Picard, lost in the image of the two moons in orbit of the planet.

"Should I answer their hails, Captain?" asked T'Pau.

"Oh," Picard seemed to be coming out of a daze, "of course. Stand down, all weapons."

There was almost an audible sigh of relief as he ordered the weapons to be disarmed. He was turning to return to his seat when the lights on the bridge dimmed, and the apparition appeared again. It appeared to be desperate. "Picard, Jean-Luc," it cried, "you must destroy the Signus array! Your future depends on it!"

Picard stopped in mid-step and swung around to face the ghost. All around the bridge were shocked gasps.

Just then the turbolift doors swished open and Keel came charging onto the bridge. "What the hell is going on here?" he demanded. And then, seeing the ghost, "Who the hell are you?"

"Jean-Luc," the ghost implored, "destroy the array. It is your only hope. We cannot win otherwise."

Picard suddenly perked up, like a bloodhound on the scent. "Win what?" he asked. "What do we need to win?"

"Destroy the array," implored the ghost. "For Starfleet and your future."

Picard shook his head. "No," he said, "I don't believe my future has been written yet. Those are innocent lives out there. I will not destroy them based on what you have told me they might do in the future. As of yet, they have displayed no hostile acts towards either this ship or the Federation. The array, that you seem to intent on destroying, appears to be a harmless communications device. I am sworn to uphold the principles of the United Federation of Planets, and I will not violate them!"

The ghost wavered slightly, and then clenched it's fists and screeched. It was enraged. The outer layer of the human image was torn apart, and an alien entity resided underneath. Picard and the bridge crew were shocked. The entity pointed an accusing finger at Picard. Then, it vanished.

Keel stepped forward. "Helm, back us off!" he roared. Then, turning to Picard, "you have a lot of explaining to do, Mr. Picard!"

Keel ordered weapons to be taken off-line. The Stargazer made a steady retreat until it was outside Durad Space. From that distance, the bridge crew of the Stargazer watched as ships were launched from each of the planets moons in an attack on each other.

The battle did not fare well for either of the sides, and what remained of the attack fleets of each moon returned in a stalemate to their respective homes.

It was only much later, when Do'reth Sainor had communicated with the Durad, did the crew of the Stargazer get a glimpse into what was happening on the planets moons.

"Apparently, the Durad is a species that had migrated from their historic home many light years away, and settled on one of the moons of this planet," explained Sainor during a senior staff briefing, "Another, more technologically primitive species lived on the other moon. The other species, known as Serath, were at war with the Durad, for control of the planet below. Whichever species controlled the mining resources on the planet below, controlled the moons. The Durad had built the Signus array and used it for communication with their homeworld. When the battle had become protracted, the Durad were attempting to contact their homeworld for reinforcements. The Serath knew that if the Durad obtained their reinforcements, they would lose the war. Hence they needed to destroy the Signus array. Their battleships, however, could not inflict enough of a energy discharge to destroy the array in one attempt, and a sustained attack was not possible, as the Durad would defend the array. Hence, the elaborate ruse to lure the Stargazer here to destroy the array for them."

Sainor continued: "The Serath possess certain skills. They are able to dissociate themselves from the linear timeline, as we perceive it. They can peer far into the future. It is only a temporary effect, however. The Durad believe that the Serath used this trick to look into the future of Commander Picard, and thus convince him of the necessity of destroying the Signus array for the safety of the Federation. The exact technique they used to transmit the image to the Stargazer is unknown. It is a technology foreign to our own transporters, so our sensors could not detect it."

"Have we had any communication with these, Serath?" asked Keel.

"No sir. All hails have gone unanswered. The Serath have not acknowledged our queries."

"Very well. Instruct helm to reacquire our course and speed."

"Aye sir."

Picard stood at attention in the Captains ready room. Keel had just told him that he would have to enter this matter into Picards permanent record. "Furthermore," Keel continued, "for the reckless endangerment of the ship and her crew, I have no choice, but to take this action. You are hereby demoted to Lieutenant, second grade."

Picard's face was a mask. "Yes sir," he said without emotion, and removed the pips from his collar.

"That is all," said Keel. As Picard turned to leave, Keel spoke again; this time, in a quieter, warmer voice, "Jean-Luc, I know how real it must have seemed. And how it felt like there was noone who understood. It could have happened to any one of us. You did what you did, for the safety of the Federation. If I was in your shoes, I might have done the same."

Lieutenant Picard nodded, and left the Captain's ready room.

The End

"The Adventure of the Signus Array"
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© Jasjit Singh, December 1999