Back to Rachel's Home PagePicard goes undercover as an archaeologist on a mercenary ship that is stealing Romulan artifacts. He is assigned the task of scanning the artifacts for any that match set specifications. When he finds the first match, he notes that the artifact appears to be ancient Vulcan, not Romulan, based on the ancient Vulcan symbols on the artifact. As the mission continues, he is confronted by a Romulan crewmember who does not believe his cover story. He admits his true identity, and the Romulan reveals herself to be a member of the Vulcan secret service (name?) on a mission to stop the mercenaries from collecting the artifacts, which are three components of an ancient Vulcan psionic weapon. The weapon was dismantled after Surak brought peace to Vulcan, and the components were lost over time. Picard identifies the symbols for war and death on the two components they already have.
To get the last piece, they must rendezvous with agents on Vulcan. When they make the rendezvous in a cave below the surface, the Vulcan agent turns out to be a radical separatist, not a secret service agent, who is determined to use the weapon to seize power. She destroys the mercenary crew with the weapon and then turns it on Picard. But Picard has discovered its secret. On the third piece is the symbol for peace, which lies between the symbols of war and death. The psionic weapon kills by turning aggression and hatred back on the target. Someone who is calm and peaceful cannot be harmed. That is why it was dismantled and lost - it was ineffective against a peaceful people. Picard is able to escape the weapon's effects, and the weapon and the criminals are captured by Vulcan authorities.
Back to the Vulcan Resource Center
Rachel M. Thurston
surak@infinet.com