Paramount Global owns the Star Trek franchise. This is a piece of fan fiction based on Star Trek the Next Generation.
The wedding
Picard was sitting at his desk, when his door chimed. “Come.” It was Counselor Troi; she was carrying a picture and a recorder.
“I have asked Data to join us.”
“Very well.” The door chimed again. “Come.” Data entered. “Report.”
They sat down. “Data found this picture on the Jormungand.” She handed the picture to Picard. “It is of a Betazoid wedding.”
“What relevance does this hold?” Picard asked.
Data spoke, “I have been unable to determine a reason behind the hesitance I feel around Counselor Troi. From my personal experience, I have no reason not to trust her. Sher does not appreciate the presence of a Betazoid.”
“Is that where the ‘Beta leak’ comment stems from?” Picard asked.
“I can only hypothesize.”
“Data gave me the picture to see if I could find out who was in it. This is amazing. If I am right, that picture is 300 years old. The groom in the picture is Ambassador HiTzola. He was known as the greatest ambassador of his time. He settled the bitter war between Sar and the Hun, a war that had lasted 150 years. The Hun home world was ravaged. Both populations were decimated. At the height of this war there was 100,000 Huns and 98,897 Sars. Ambassador HiTzola was hailed as a hero for bringing an end to the destruction. The bride is Lady Corbon. Thought to be the luckiest lady of her time because she married the Ambassador. The story goes that they met during her stay on Sar. It never says where she is from. The stories say that her beauty was compared only with her intelligence. That she was the backbone of his triumph. After five years of marriage, she became pregnant. He was furious (at first) with the thought of her having a child. Again, the story doesn’t say why.”
“At first.” Picard asked.
“Deeper into the pregnancy, he fell into a deep depression. She lived with her friends in Erra, a small village on the opposite side of the planet from him. I have never heard of this city. It never says where he lived. It does say that if anyone would come around him, he would go into fits of hysteria until they left.”
Data interrupted her, “does it ever say who the friends are?”
“No, this story is full of holes. The theory that the story sticks with as to why he went mad was that he lost his telepathic abilities when she became pregnant.”
“I wonder if the union was forbidden?” Data asked.
“It never says. After the baby was born, Corbon dies. There is no reason why. It doesn’t say if the baby lives or not. It does go on to say that the day the baby was born HiTzola dies. The story says that when the baby drew its first breath, he drew his last.”
There was silence for a moment.
Picard leaned back in his chair, “that’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“In a Beta wedding, when the party lines up to take a picture, do they line up the same as in an Earth wedding?” Picard asked.
“You mean the bride, the maid of honor, then the brides maids?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.” Deanna answered.
“Data, who is standing next to Corbon?” Picard handed the picture to him.
“Sher.”
“Do you think it is possible for Sher to have been one of the friends in Erra?”
“Anything is possible sir.”
“Other telepaths can read your thoughts can’t they?” Picard asked Deanna.
“If they want to.”
“Interesting.” Picard scratched his head. “This needs further investigation.”
“Agreed,” Deanna exclaimed. “This story needs to be completed.”
“Are we sure?” Data asked.
“What do you mean?”
“In order to answer one question, that’s important now. Do we uncover a piece of the past that should remain uncovered?”
“I would like to know why someone have never met would feel animosity toward me. And why this person has extended that animosity to someone I thought was my friend.”
Data never said a word. He just stared at her. “I do not harbor animosity towards you.”
“Maybe not to the extent she does.”
“Search on.” Picard ordered.
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