The characters, ships, and jargon belong to Paramount. "Welcome" belongs to Phil Collins and Disney. Only the story line belongs to me.

Special thanks to Karen Page for allowing me to use her story, "There's Something I've Been Meaning To Tell You," to help me finish up mine.

DAY 1

Kayleen Lampson sat in her office remembering a day when a baby girl was enrolled in this school in this same office. It was a fine morning in 2354 and she had already made preparations for her arrival. A young woman entered her office with the newborn in her arms. All she could remember about her was that she had blue eyes and stood taller than most women she'd seen.

"You must be ...." she had said but she couldn't remember her name anymore.

"Yes," she answered.

"This must be our new student." She said looking at the little girl in her arms.

"Take a seat. I just need to ask you some questions. Did you bring her medical records?"

"Yes, I did." and she handed her a PADD

"Good. I just need to finish her enrollment. Her last name?"

"Picard," the woman had answered and held the baby a little tighter than she had been as she spoke the word.

She began putting this information into the computer at this desk.

"First name?"

"Beverly"

"Does she have a middle name?"

"Yes, Cheryl."

"Her date of birth?"

"February 8, 2354."

"You do realize that once you sign her custody away to us you cannot get her back unless you go through a formal adoption, right?"

"Yes."

"You can also do a temporary custody transfer, if you'd like. That way you could come back and take her any time you choose."

"No, I think this way is best."

She had inputted some more information and then stood.

"OK. She has been officially enrolled now. Please come with me and I will escort you to the nursery. There are currently 5 infants under 6 months in there. It is run by a family and she will remain there until she is 6 months old when she will be transferred to a nursery with older children. At age 2 we begin more formal education…"

"That's alright. I'm sure it is perfect, but I must get going."

"I understand"

She looked down at the little baby and a tear came down each cheek. "This is the best place in the quadrant" she told the baby and held her close one last time before reluctantly handing her over to Kayleen.

That was 16 years ago and that baby had grown up there her whole life without any problems. That same little girl, now 16 years old, was on some Starfleet vessel with a severe head injury as well as other injuries. She waited in her office for Albert Stevens who was in charge of the investigation.

"Ms. Lampson, I have interviewed all the witnesses and have pieced together what happened."

Kayleen was pulled out of her thought. "Albert, I didn't hear you come in. Have a seat and tell me what you have found."

Albert sat down and began, "Erin Peters, a representative from External Affairs, was giving 7 representatives from Starfleet a tour of the facilities."

"What were they doing here?" Kayleen asked.

"Starfleet has been interested for some time in having our planet join the Federation. They claim they are impressed that we turned our whole planet into a school while having a powerful military surrounding our planet to guard us from any hostilities. They are interested in having our school become part of their Academy. Of course that will never happen, but External Affairs has decided to humor them for a little while. It seems that if they do every couple of years that they stop bothering for a while. Anyway, Starfleet sent it's flagship, The Enterprise, to meet with us and Erin was showing their, umm…" looks at his PADD, "senior officers around."

"Ah, yes. I was able to get out of going to the dinner tonight."

"Several students at the Dance Center, where the incident occurred, reported to have seen them being escorted by Erin through the buildings which Erin said was to get them to the Science Center quicker since going around the Dance Center would take at least an hour. She says she thought that if she highlighted the arts departments that they would "soon realize it wasn't wise to move in." as she put it. The Grand Ballroom was their second stop in the facilities and that is where Miss. Bevy was rehearsing alone while a few others stretched. Erin was explaining the types of things done in the ballroom when the incident occurred."

"Just like that, they were in the room and suddenly it just happened??" she said with a bit of frustration as she stood from behind her desk and placed her hands at her hips, towering over the desk and Albert in an intimidating manner.

"Well, not that simply," answered Albert, not at all fazed by her demanding body language. He understood how she felt, and it was not the first time she had reached frustration in front of him. "According to Counselor Troi, who is also a telepath, she noticed something strange with Dr. Crusher, the attacker. She began to intently look at Miss. Bevy and then," starts reading, "'had a serge of conflicting emotions from anger to fear to sadness and happiness and joy as if she didn't know how to feel' and then ran over towards Miss. Bevy. Their captain, Mr. Picard, shouted 'Beverly!' which caught Miss. Bevy's attention. The attacker threw her back onto the floor where her head hit a wooden block that was on the floor and commenced to shaking her which we believe resulted in multiple hits on the head against the block. At this point a Mr. Worf, their chief of security, the Klingon, ran over and separated the doctor and restrained her. Everyone present in the ballroom gave a very similar story."

"Why was there a brick on the floor?"

"According to several students she often puts wooden blocks on the floor to outline the exact size of the stage she will be performing on. The ballroom is quite big and it is easy for her to loose track of the size."

"What is the name of the attacker?"

"Her name is Dr. Beverly Crusher."

"That name sounds familiar. Too familiar. Where is she now?"

"In detention but our disciplinary committee are confused. They have never dealt with such a crime. The most severe case in our history was the food fight that occurred 25 years ago which caused someone to slip and suffer minor bruises. Nothing as severe as this. They are at a lost on how this should be handled."

"I understand, I will speak with them this afternoon. Now, how did Bevy end up onboard their starship?"

"Our medical staff has never dealt with such injuries. Usually injuries occur as a result of accidents and they are minor. The most severe head injuries are minor concussions from falls. She had bleeding in the brain. The medic that arrived said they were going to do the best they could but it wasn't promising. Mr. Picard said that they could treat her on his ship. The medic gave the release of custody to them."

"And why has their ship left?"

"I spoke with the captain myself. He says that their laws state that they must obey local law and that we can put her on trial and administer punishment which is why she is staying with us. However, he said they had a time sensitive matter to attend to and that they would be back in a week. He asked that we delay until their return. They will provide legal counsel to the accused but it will wait until they return. As a result I cannot question the accused until their return. They assured me Miss Bevy was in good care."

"I want all the data you gathered from your investigation for my own review before I speak to the disciplinary committee. I will also speak with Starfleet to see what information I can gather about Dr. Crusher."

"I wish you luck in your investigation now that I have done all I can do," and Albert gave her his PADD with information. He was glad the case was off his hands now. While he understood the enormity of what had happened, he didn't understand why there seemed to be so much drama over the incident. It seemed like the perfect excuse to dismiss Starfleet for good, or at least for a very long time, which is what they wanted to do anyway. Bevy was ok, the starship doctors would be able to treat her. Simply hold the attacker until Bevy is returned, make the exchange and send the Enterprise on their way with a final 'No thank you.'

"You can go, get some rest."

"Thank you. And I suggest you do the same yourself." Albert stood up and left the office.

* * * * * * * * * *

[earlier that day]

The senior staff of the starship Enterprise sat around the glass table waiting to be briefed on their next assignment, talking amongst themselves as they waited. Commander Riker, Counselor Troi, and Data had been told to pull up all information concerning Clairmont Academy and inform the senior staff that there would be a briefing at 0900. Captain Picard entered the briefing room and the room fell silent. Taking a slight breath the captain began, "We have been told to go to Clairmont Academy, the fifth planet in the Zorcor system, to open talks with them in the hopes that we can convince them to join The Federation. What do we know about them?"

Dr. Crusher's heart literally stopped at hearing the captain's question. She felt all the blood rush from all over her body to her head and was sure her face was bright red. Counselor Troi felt a rush of panic from her friend across the table and looked at her but the doctor would not make eye contact.

"It is a relatively small planet and the only M class planet in that system," responded Data to the captain's inquiry. "It was colonized 2163, two years after the United Federation Of Planets was established. It was colonized by roughly 400 humans that opposed the Federation claiming the Federation was simply a larger version of the United Nations from Earth which had become corrupt and only benefited the wealthy and largely ignored those less fortunate. Their leader was a man called George Clairmont. He asked for him and his followers to be transported to their current location. At the time that solar system had no inhabitants and was far beyond the Federation border. They were left there and the Federation has kept constant contact since. The closest Federation planet to Clairmont Academy is Betazed."

Commander Riker continued, "They quickly began using the planets resources to build colonies and soon expanded to a large city in the southern continent. They had a very loose government lead by Clairmont. He established schools and jobs for the people and made away with currency. He implemented a sort of point system which would be used for acquiring non-necessity goods such as candy and entertainment. The government supplied all the necessities so that no one would ever go hungry or without shelter but there also was no wealthy class. Since the followers where from all over Earth and held different beliefs and traditions, soon there was a call for a way of expressing those things. Clairmont combined the schools to prevent parents from segregating the children from other children based on beliefs and had the citizens vote on which values would unite the new generation. He turned his school into a boarding school calling it Clairmont Academy in which all children were required to attend and they were all taught the same things."

The captain turned to Counselor Troi and she began, "The school kept expanding even after Clairmont's death and the citizens, the schools first occupants, decided it was very important to keep the school running and expanding. The government has been changed and is completely run by the students of the school. The adults' jobs are much like those in any society. They are doctors, farmers, architects, engineers, psychologists, cooks, etc. But they are also all instructors at the academy. There are no laws requiring this but it is something they believe is very important. In essence, the students pursue their careers and teach what they have learned. A never ending cycle."

"To protect their planet," Riker added, "they have developed a large military which orbits the planted in 15 ships. There is nothing official known about their technology or armament but they have been rumored to have technology far more advanced than that of the Federation."

"In 2240 they announced that they would be accepting children from the federation into their academy," said Data, taking the floor again. "They only accept children under the age of 10 claiming it is too difficult to teach a child their values after that age."

"Why would someone send their children there?" asked LaForge.

Picard considered the question for a moment before responding. "With such protection for that small planet and being free from the Federation means that any attacks to the Federation would not include them and they can defend themselves. Starfleet officers who don't want to take their children from ship to ship and risk their lives would find that to be the perfect place."

"It also has a very intense curriculum," added Troi, "though their teaching methodologies are very different from that of Starfleet or any other institution affiliated with Starfleet. It has such a high standard and is so well known in the whole sector that on Betazed sending your children to Clairmont Academy is considered to be something only the elite do. My mother wanted to send me there when I was young. I did end up doing my internship there while I was studying at the University Of Betazed. Both institutions have academic agreements."

Dr. Crusher sat in her chair only half listening to what her colleagues where saying. She had long forgotten the name and place and truly had hoped to never hear it mentioned again. "Why are we going there?" she asked, trying to sound as normal as possible.

At the inquiry the captain turned to look directly at his CMO and noticed that her face was almost the same color as her hair and she seemed uneasy. He wondered what was bothering her and wanted to ask. It could be anything, he thought, and decided not ask her what was wrong and simply answered her question. "The Federation wants them to join but they are not interested. We are going to try to convince them."

"Starfleet has been trying to convince them to join the Federation for the past 113 years," Data added.

"Then why do we insist?" asked Riker. "It's not like Starfleet to try to convince people to join."

"You're right, Number One. However, Starfleet wants to build a training base for cadets in their final year on their western continent, which they do not occupy. It would mean they could be quickly deployed, if needed, to ships further away from Earth."

"And you are going to be meeting with their representatives?" asked Crusher.

"No. The whole senior staff is to meet their representatives. We will be taken on a tour of the facilities and dinner, where the proposal will be discussed. Starfleet feels that if we all go it would show true interest in them not just their planet."

"Are you sure that is wise, to leave the ship without any senior officers on board?"

The captain felt puzzled at the doctor's question. It wasn't like her to question a decision like this one, especially one directed by Starfleet Headquarters. Her objections were usually morally based, not command based. "These are very peaceful people with enough military protection to protect this whole sector. I am sure The Enterprise will be fine without its senior officers for several hours," he reassured her, becoming more worried at her growing anxiousness.

"How long will we be visiting?" asked Riker.

"Depends on how the negotiations go during dinner. We must pick up a delegate in a near by system and transport them to a neighboring system."

"Since when are we a transport service?"

The captain let out a soft sigh at the commander's inquiry. He always had the tough questions. "We are not simply transporting them. I am going to mediate a dispute. I haven't read through the details but it seems that every time they disagree they break out in war which causes chaos in the sector. I am to avoid that from happening. If talks proceed well at Clairmont then we will return to Clairmont after I have successfully avoided a war."

Beverly knew that Deanna would want to talk to her, as an empath, she was surely feeling all of Beverly's anxiety. She also knew Geordi would be heading off the bridge, probably to engineering, and would have to get on the turbo lift. She just had to make sure she was on the lift with him. Deanna would not ask her about her feelings if Geordi was there in the lift with them, but it would be much better if Deanna just didn't get on the lift at all. Beverly really didn't want to talk about it.

Picard noticed once again that his CMO was distracted. "I expect everyone on time and in dress uniforms at 1400 hours. Dismissed."

Just as Beverly had planned, as soon as she heard the word "Dismissed" she made a bee line to Geordi and followed him to the turbo lift. Will stopped Deanna to ask her a question, stopping her from following Beverly. As the doors swished closed, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Deck 8" she called. Luck was on her side. Usually, she would have attempted to start a conversation with Geordi but she had other things on her mind. She had evaded Deanna for now, but she was going to get to her and Beverly needed an explanation.

Dr. Crusher should have gone to sick bay for her shift but instead headed back to her quarters. She needed to concentrate on what she was going to do and all the possible outcomes. She called in to sick bay saying she would not be in because she needed to prepare for the mission. It wasn't a lie; she was preparing explanations for both Deanna and Captain Picard. He too had looked at her with concern. He needed an explanation most of all.

* * * * * * * * * *

Deanna was concerned about what she had felt from her friend, and wanted to talk to her, but she was stopped by Commander Riker. "Great timing, Will" she thought as she saw Beverly vanish behind the turbo lift doors. She decided she would talk to her after their visit to Clairmont. She was likely heading to sick bay and would say she had a lot of work to do before the mission and could not talk. She was great at excuses.

* * * * * * * * * *

Beverly Crusher sat in the cell, thinking. Cell. This is a cell? she thought as she looked around. It was a small room but there was a small bed, a comfy chair, and a table with a computer, a pitcher with water, a glass and a bowl with 2 apples. "I guess you wouldn't throw a kid in the brig," she thought out loud.

What had happened? How did she end up in custody? She went through the afternoon in her head. They had beamed down to Clairmont Academy where they were met by Erin, a representative of theirs. She had eased her mind by thinking that what was the chance of her seeing the one person causing her anxiety. It was a big school and they were probably not going to be disrupting any students in their studies. And if she did see that person, she might not recognize them. She was definitely not going to be recognized. So she had gone through the tour more relaxed than she had anticipated that morning.

"We will be going through the Dance Center before we head to the Science Center." Erin had announced. This had interested Beverly since she had once been a dancer. They entered the main ballroom where there was music playing. There was a small group of students, maybe 6 or 7, stretching in one corner. Taking up the rest of the ballroom was a girl dancing to the music. She caught Beverly's full attention almost immediately. Beverly knew who that was. Sitting in her cell, she remembered wanting to run to her and hug her. But suddenly she was filled with all sorts of emotion she could not explain. "It felt like they were being thrown at me" she whispered. She shivered as she remembered running towards her and hitting her with something, wanting to stop but not being able to. "I need to write this down while it is still fresh in my mind," she said to herself and walked over to the computer. She turned it on and realized it looked nothing like what she was used to. She pulled the table towards he chair and began navigating the system. It took her several minutes to figure out how to find a writing pad. "Yes, this is what I need!" she exclaimed and was surprised to see what she had just said on the screen. Realizing she could simply speak she didn't bother to try to figure out how to erase what was already on there. She began with when they entered the ballroom and made sure not leave anything out. She began crying as she told her story to this computer.

There was a knock at the door and she stopped and looked up. The door opened and in walked in a man, in his 30's probably, with a tray of food. He gave her a small smile as he placed it on the table in front of her.

"Dinner" he said, "I'm sorry it's so late, but we weren't expecting to have someone in detention."

"Thanks" Beverly replied and the man turned to leave. "Wait" she said softly and the man turned back around. "Can you help me with something?"

He walked over to her and looked at the screen. "You got it going but don't know how to stop it?"

"Right."

He showed her how to use the program as well as other things she could do with the computer and left. She put the computer aside and pulled up the plate with food. She began eating and stopped to give a small laugh. "Detention." She said to herself. "I haven't heard that since high school. I don't think they will be able to contact my parents." As she took a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth she began feeling guilty. "Here I am, eating ice cream, when I've done something so horrible." She only ate a couple of spoonfuls and got back to the computer. She decided she wanted to write a letter to her victim, as well as Captain Picard and Starfleet. A couple of hours went by and there was another knock on the door. The same man came in to take the tray.

"I will return in a couple of minutes." He said and left. A few minutes later he returned. "Can you come with me?" He asked. She followed him out the door and down a short hall. "You've been here several hours and have eaten so I figured you'd probably want to use the restroom. And your uniform doesn't look comfortable enough to sleep in," he said as he approached a door and opened it. Beverly stepped inside the room. "I'll be waiting here, in case you need anything else."

The room was small, just enough room for what needed to be there; a shower stall, a toilet, a sink. There was a towel rack next to the sink with a small towel and some sort of lavender garment next to it. She pulled the garment off the rack and extended it in front of her. It was a night gown. It wasn't like those she owned. This one was made of cotton, much thicker than hers and it was muck longer too, with sleeves. She began undressing; thinking about her own night gowns on the Enterprise and how she would probably feel very uncomfortable walking around in one of them here. She finished getting dressed, used the facility, brushed her teeth with the tooth brush on the sink and washed her face. When she was done, she stepped out the room with her uniform folded in her arms. The man took her back to her room; that's really what it was, not a cell.

"I'll take that," he told her and took the uniform from her arms, "and store it until you need it again."

She stood inside and he followed her in. "If you need anything just press this button," and pointed to a small pad next to the door, "and someone will come. Try to rest." And with that he left.