Path: inforamp.net!news.nstn.ca!news.dal.ca!torn!howland.reston.ans.net!news-e2a.gnn.com!newstf01.news.aol.com!newsbf02.news.aol.com!not-for-mail
From: captain973@aol.com (Captain973)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: REPOST: "Pictures Of Eternity" (1/4, P/C)
Date: 28 Feb 1996 23:01:55 -0500
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Lines: 255
Sender: root@newsbf02.news.aol.com
Message-ID: <4h38fj$ce5@newsbf02.news.aol.com>
Reply-To: captain973@aol.com (Captain973)
NNTP-Posting-Host: newsbf02.mail.aol.com
Status: N

	Standard disclaimer: Paramount owns the Universe. 'Nuff said.

	This story is for your amusement and mine, so please feel free to
pass it on, but do not
separate my name or this message from it.

	Author's note: This story takes place approximately two years
after the events witnessed
in "Star Trek: Generations".

Pictures of Eternity
by
Melissa Zander

*  *  *  *  *  *  *
	"Captain's Log, stardate 50206.7. The _Enterprise_ has been
ordered to the Tarquenian
system to mediate a trade dispute between the two nation-states of
Tarquenia, Veriia and
Soquania."

	Captain Jean-Luc Picard studied the viewscreen thoughtfully,
carefully reviewing in his
mind the situation on Tarquenia. Their trade dispute had only come about
over the last few
years, but their diplomats had reached an impasse. As a last-ditch effort
they had called on the
Federation for assistance before the nation-states went to war.

	Sighing quietly, he rose from his command chair. It had been a
long day, full of briefings
and last-minute messages from Starfleet. He nodded to Lieutenant Commander
Data, who had
just come on duty for the night watch. "You have the bridge, Commander."
Data acknowledged
with a tilt of his head and wordlessly took the center seat.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

	Picard entered his quarters and stopped dead in his tracks. He
studied the sleeping form
sprawled out on the couch, a padd lying forgotten on her stomach, then
smiled. Taking in her
pose with amusement, he walked over to the couch and bent slightly,
kissing her on the
forehead. There was a muffled groan as she stirred.

	Dr. Beverly Picard opened her eyes sleepily, then smiled up at her
husband. "Well, hi
there, Jean-Luc." He sat down on the edge of the couch and took her hand
in his, squeezing it
affectionately. She started to sit up, but he motioned for her to stay
where she was. He looked
around the room for something, then glanced at his wife questioningly.
"Where's Beth?"  he
asked, although belatedly realized how late it was. A tired look crossed
Beverly's face. "She's in
her room, hopefully asleep. If she isn't asleep, I don't want to know
about it." Jean-Luc chuckled.
"She was a bit... rambunctious... today, hmm?" Beverly's facial expression
confirmed that, and
he smiled. He stood and headed for a small bedroom off the living room.
Beverly looked
alarmed. "You're not going to wake her up, are you?" She received a
mischievous grin in
response.

	Jean-Luc disappeared, and returned a minute later with a sleepy,
chocolate-brown haired
one-year-old on his arm. Elizabeth Marie Picard rubbed an eye with a
small, tightly curled fist,
then blinked, regarding her father with big hazel eyes. He dropped a kiss
on the top of her head
and grinned at her. "I heard you got into trouble today, Miss Elizabeth."
Beth, obviously not
caring if she was in trouble or not, burrowed into her father's shoulder
and fell asleep again. He
readjusted his hold on her and sat down on the couch again. Beverly
smoothed her daughter's
rumpled hair, then watched her sleep for a moment. "What happened today?"
Jean-Luc asked
quietly. She smiled affectionately at Beth. "According to her primary care
teacher, she was a holy
terror. Absolutely off the wall. There was mention of finger paints being
thrown on the ceiling,
blocks in the fish tank, and the class hamster getting painted purple." A
surprised grin crossed
his face. "Beth? Our sweet, quiet Beth?" Then he thought a minute, as
Beverly fixed him with an
accusing stare. "All right, all right. I shouldn't have let her drink my
coffee this morning. But she
didn't seem bothered by it." A smile from Beverly. "Yes, because 20
minutes after you gave it to
her, you were safely on the bridge, away from Hurricane Elizabeth." She
took Beth from him, and
they both walked into her room and put their daughter back to bed. Then
they stood there,
watching her sleep.

	Jean-Luc wrapped his arms around Beverly's waist, and she covered
his hands with
hers. "She's something, isn't she?" Beverly murmured. "Yes. So are you."
She turned her head
and glanced at him. He smiled. "Have I told you lately how much I love
you, Beverly Picard?"
She turned fully now, and slid her arms around him. "And have I told you
how much I love you,
Jean-Luc Picard?" He hugged her close, then laid a gentle kiss on her
lips. She leaned in and
returned it, and a few ardent minutes later, she whispered, "How about we
let Beth sleep in
peace, and continue this elsewhere?" He gazed into the fiery blue eyes he
loved so much, then
swept her off her feet and into his arms. "Sounds like a good idea to me,"
he whispered back, as
he carried her off to their bedroom, both of them grinning widely.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

	"Captain, we are approaching Tarquenia." Commander Riker's voice
sounded through
the ready room. Picard looked up automatically from the document he was
reading on the
viewscreen. He touched his comm badge. "Acknowledged, Number One." A quick
glance out his
window confirmed the fact of their approach, and he studied the the
blue-green and beige planet
thoughtfully for a moment. Finally, he rose and took a final glance at his
desk. As an
afterthought, he turned his viewscreen off. It was then that his gaze fell
on a framed picture just
to the side of the desk. It was a photograph taken a few months after Beth
had been born, of the
three of them: Jean-Luc, Beverly, and Beth. Now that Beth was a year old,
they planned to have
another one taken, and every year after that.

	*"Beth, give Papa a smile. Show Papa your pretty smile," Beverly
cajoled. Beth stared at
her mother, blinked, then squirmed a little. She did not smile. Her gaze
refocused on her father,
who came looming into view. "Elizabeth Marie Picard, I order you to
smile." Beverly stifled a
laugh. "Jean-Luc, she's not one of your officers. She could care less what
you order her to do."

	Jean-Luc clapped a hand over Beverly's mouth. "Shhh!" he
whispered. "She doesn't
know that yet!" Then he flashed her one of his rare, full smiles. Beth,
suddenly ignored by her
parents, decided to turn the spotlight back on. She flailed her arms
slightly in that universal baby
body language that says 'Pick me up and hold me now or I'm going to start
crying really loud until
you do.' Jean-Luc turned and reached down, scooping his daughter up. He
was rewarded with a
hard-won smile. Beverly abruptly yanked them over to where the picture was
going to be taken
before the smile disappeared.

	When the camera clicked, they were all smiling.*

	The captain pulled his mind and his gaze away from the picture and
exited his ready
room for the bridge.

	He took his place in the center seat as the _Enterprise_ slipped
gracefully into orbit
around Tarquenia. His head turned and he fixed Commander Riker with a
questioning look.
"Have the Prime Ministers signaled yet?" Will shook his head. "No, sir. We
transmitted our
greetings a few moments ago, but still have not received a response."
Picard nodded. "Very well,
Number One. Re-transmit in five minutes if they still have not answered.
In the meantime, I and
the rest of the Away Team will wait in Transporter Room 3." With that, he
rose from the chair and
headed into the forward turbolift. Just as the doors slid open, he turned
and said, "You have the
bridge, Commander." Riker smiled. "Yes, sir. And, Captain, good luck." The
turbolift doors closed
on Picard's slight smile.

	Counselor Troi met up with Beverly on the way to the transporter
room. She immediately
grew concerned at the stunned expression on Beverly's face. She placed a
hand on her friend's
arm. "Beverly, what is it?" Beverly quickly shook herself out of her
reverie and managed a small
smile. "I'll tell you later. It can wait." Deanna opened her mouth to
object, but then the doors of
the transporter room were in front of her, and the opportunity for
questions passed.

	They entered the room to find Captain Picard already there. He
smiled at his wife and
Deanna. "You're just in time. The Prime Ministers just signaled, and are
awaiting our arrival." He
gestured to the transporter pad. "Shall we?" The trio took their places on
the pad and Picard
nodded to the transporter chief. "Energize."

	The Picards and Counselor Troi materialized in a large, opulent
hall inside the
Tarquenian Congressional Building. The sheer size of the building was
staggering, as it boasted
40-foot ceilings, the surface of which was covered in rich, colorful
tapestries, and wide, ornate
marble floors. It seemed as though their very breathing was echoed in the
expansive hall.
Suddenly, they heard the loud, resonant sound of footsteps approaching.
The Prime Ministers of
the Tarquenian nation-states, Veriia and Soquania, appeared.

	As they stood before the delegation from the _Enterprise_, they
bowed slightly. "Captain
Picard, allow us to formally introduce ourselves. This is Prime Minister
Aimyea Jerdes of Veriia,"
A tall, stately woman bowed once more. "And I am Prime Minister Herdec
Kislac of Soquania.
We welcome you to our world." Captain Picard nodded to each one of them,
then turned and
motioned to Beverly and Deanna. "Allow me to introduce two of my senior
officers, Dr. Beverly
Picard and Counselor Deanna Troi." Minister Jerdes' mouth upturned at one
corner in a slight
grin of amusement. She looked at the captain and doctor. "Two Picards?
We've heard legendary
tales of the formidable Captain Picard, and now there are two?" Her smile
grew as she trained it
on her fellow minister. "We had better tread carefully, Kislac, before the
*two* Picards and their
counselor get warmed up negotiating, and we agree to actually *like* one
another as well as not
go to war." Her *enemy* laughed heartily. "And here I thought you *did*
like me, Jerdes. After
three years of constant negotiations, you seem like my best friend!" Both
the Prime Ministers
chuckled at that, and Jean-Luc's trepidation about this mission lessened
slightly. Things didn't
appear to be as tense as Starfleet made them out to be. But then,
Starfleet was notorious for
making mountains out of molehills.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

****^****^****^****^****^****^****

"All of us have violent instincts. We have evolved from predators.
....Well, not me, of course. I've just been programmed by you predators."

---The Holographic Doctor

****^****^****^****^****^****^****