Star Trekkies #2: Yel'Hal-tor



Prologue


“Personal Log, Stardate...oh, to hell with these stardates! Why I even bother...”

“Get on with it already, Ael!”

“Ahem. As I was saying...

It’s been years since we entered this century. We’re all pretty much used to it now. This recording begins fifteen years after our journey from 2001...”



Chapter One - Status Report


A Vulcan woman with commander’s stripes walked down the hallway at StarFleet HQ. Just back from a long mission on the U.S.S. Excalibur, she was reporting to Admiral Davis for debriefing.

Stepping into his office, she took a seat across from the large desk as the doors swooshed quietly shut behind her.

“You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Welcome back to Earth, Commander Danks. I trust your mission was successful?”

“Completely, Admiral.”

“Very good.” Admiral Davis smiled knowingly. “I think it’s about time we got rid of that rank of yours.”

The Vulcan woman was taken off guard. “Sir?”

The admiral reached under his desk and pulled out a brand-new style of uniform: red cloth, white flap on the front...

And with Captain’s insignia.

Her voice was hushed as she touched the uniform. “This...is this...mine?”

“Of course it is, Captain Danks.”

“Thank you, sir!” She could hardly stop staring at the gold braids. Captain!

“There’s more, Captain. I’d like you to take command of the U.S.S. Yel’Hal-tor, our newest starship. I hear she’s based somewhat off of some ideas of yours. And of course you’ll want to handpick your main staff...”

“Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!”

“Enough with the ‘sir’s. Go get your crew.”

The side of her mouth quirked up into a smile. “Yes, sir!” she said purposefully as she stood up, and as the doors slid shut behind her she heard the admiral break out laughing.

~~~~~~~

A young Klingon woman muttered to herself as she plunked down in a chair. What a boring day! Nothing but patrol and drill, patrol and drill...being a Security officer was really useless when there were no security leaks or intruders. Not even an alarm...

At that very moment, her comm unit whistled. Irritated, she got to her feet and pressed a button. “Yes?”

“You aren’t busy at the moment, are you?” a familiar voice asked.

“Not really. Why?”

“Well, I just got promoted and put in charge of a starship, so I figured you might want to tag along...”

“Ael, don’t you DARE leave Spacedock without me!”

A laugh came from the comm speaker. “I wouldn’t dream of it! Be at Docking Ring 81 at 0945 tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll be there,” she promised.

“Remember, Jess. If you’re late, I WILL leave without you.”

Jessie snorted, unamused. “Whatever. Seeya tomorrow.”

~~~~~~~

The other time-travelers got pretty much the same message. At 0945 the next day, all of them met at Docking Ring 81. Allison was nowhere to be seen. Until...

“Alright peoples, let’s get crackin’!”

The tall Vulcan captain appeared practically out of nowhere and grinned at the six friends. “Shall we go on, ladies and gentlemen?” She gestured towards the inspection pod that was docked at that specific station.

All of them looked at each other and followed her into the pod. Allison gestured towards the pilot’s seat. “May, would you care to do the honors?”

“Sure!” May agreed cheerfully and slid into the seat. “Everybody got your seatbelts buckled?”

Chuckles echoed through the pod. “Can we just go already?” Steve asked.

“Oh, fine. May, take us out,” Allison ordered.

“Yes sir.”

The pod launched without a hitch, and it turned towards the floating shipyard where the refit or newly-built ships would be. Allison told May where to fly, and she complied quickly and easily. One specific port caught their attention, as Allison knew it would. All they could see was endless silver-white metal behind the black support struts.

And then the pod moved around to the end, and it seemed as though time itself had stopped.

The ship was beautiful. It had a flat saucer for the main section, with the gracefully curving engineering section below. The warp nacelles were folded down level with the lower section, and all of the ship seemed to be encased in smooth, gracefully flowing silver. The familiar StarFleet insignia was emblazoned on the side, and Allison directed May to fly the pod over the bridge. As they did so, all of them looked down at the name that was so proudly displayed on the ship’s hull.

NCC-2001. The U.S.S. Yel’Hal-tor.

“What does it mean?” Lia asked curiously, in awe of the mighty starship.

Allison made a grand dramatic gesture. “My friends, welcome to your new home: the U.S.S. Star Trek.


Chapter Two - Getting Started


The ship was almost as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside. Everything was new, and it smelled like it, too. Light, powder-gray walls, brilliant lights, and perfectly programmed computers. The turbolifts worked smoother than the ones on the old Enterprise ever did.

The seven time-travelers rode the aforementioned turbolift up onto the bridge. No one else was up there, except a few ensigns. When they saw who it was, they immediately leaped out of their seats and stood at attention.

Allison waved a hand. “At ease.”

The ensigns glanced at each other and slowly relaxed. One stepped forward. “Welcome aboard, sir.”

“Thank you, Ensign Felsinger,” she acknowledged. Then she smiled, and continued. “Ensign, despite Starfleet protocol, I don't like being addressed as 'sir'.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“Ma’am will do in a crunch, but I prefer ‘Captain’.” There were quite a few chuckles as the other time-travelers recognized the exchange.

Allison turned to her friends. “Well, shall we take our stations?”

Lia and May both looked at the helm/nav console with excited looks on their faces, and the two Lieutenant-Commanders took their places: Lia as Navigator, May as Helmswoman. Kristian took his place on the right side of the bridge, at the Science station. Jessie stood next to the newly-added Security console, where she could keep track of almost anything on the entire ship. Michael gave everyone a look, then stepped back in the turbolift to pay a visit to Engineering, where he belonged. Steve looked confused as to what he should do, until Allison smiled and said, “Just pretend you’re McCoy.” He grinned in sudden understanding and stood next to the captain’s chair.

Allison approached the chair slowly, studying it thoroughly. It was primarily silver, with thick black padding and a headrest. The armrests could fold down, and they were adorned with buttons and switches of various types. She grinned and sat down, marveling at the comfort the seat allowed.

“Crew report,” Allison called out to whoever. One of the ensigns scrambled to give her the answer.

“Transporter room reports that the last crewpersons are beaming aboard now,” he said.

Allison nodded and examined the right-hand panel on her chair. Finding the button she wanted, she pushed it. “Engineering.”

“Lieutenant-Commander Michael here.”

“How’d your engines check out?”

“They’re perfect, Captain. Just give the word and we’ll be ready to leave.”

“Thank you, Michael. Captain out.” She hit the button again, closing the channel. She turned to the ensign at the Communication’s station, who happened to be Felsinger. “Open a channel to Spacedock Control.” He hurriedly opened it and sent it up to the comm in her chair. “Spacedock, Yel’Hal-tor requests permission to get underway.”

“Spacedock Control acknowledges, Yel’Hal-tor. Permission granted.”

“Many thanks, Spacedock Control.” She had Felsinger close the channel, and then leaned forward. “Release docking clamps.”

“Docking clamps released.”

Allison had a michevious glint in her eyes and a smile tugging at her lips. “One-quarter impulse power.”

The ensigns looked at her, startled, and one of them started to remind her about the regulation that stated only maneuvering thrusters were to be used in Spacedock, but a glare from Jessie and a giggle from the captain effectively silenced him. Confused, he turned back to his station.

~~~~~~~

Back in Spacedock Control, Admiral Fitzpatrick watched the brand-new ship leap out of Spacedock at a speed they should not have been using. He growled, and clenched his fists to his sides.

“She’s a Kirk, all right.”

~~~~~~~

“You had to do it, didn’t you?” Jessie asked as she walked over to stand behind Allison’s chair.

Allison smiled an innocent smile. “Who, me?”

The Klingon Lieutenant-Commander snorted. “Just because you’re related to the guy doesn’t mean you have to ACT like him.”

“Says who?”

Jessie sighed and went back to her station.

Lia swiveled around in her chair. “So, Captain, where to?”

Allison considered that. “Let’s take the Scenic Tour.” The Scenic Tour was common for maiden voyages of starships. It was a flight path that took the ship past all the outer planets of the Sol system before finally clearing the orbit of Pluto.

“Laying in course for the Scenic Tour, aye,” Lia said.

“Bring speed up to full.”

“Full impulse power, Captain,” May acknowledged.

Allison grinned. “My momma would be so proud,” she remarked dryly to Steve, and he laughed. “Look ma, no hands!”

~~~~~~~

Steve eventually left to check out his Sickbay (being the Chief Medical Officer, it was his duty, after all). The ride was going smoothly, nothing had gone wrong, and everyone was happy.

Only a few hours into the trip, the ensign at the Communications console straightened and turned around. “Captain? I’m recieving a priority one signal, addressed to you.”

Allison swiveled around in her chair, a frown already forming on her face. “Origin of signal?”

Felsinger tapped a few keys and then turned around again. “It’s coming from the Enterprise.”

Allison sighed loudly. “Never catch a break, do they? Put it up on the main viewscreen.”

The viewscreen made a beeping noise, and suddenly Kirk was on the screen. Allison stood up respectfully. “Greetings, Admiral,” she said, her face Vulcan-calm.

“Likewise, Captain,” he said, glancing at her rank insignia. “I wish I could contact you under less stressful circumstances...”

“What’s wrong, Jim?”

“Khan.”

All the time-travelers on the bridge froze and did a mental calculation. Sure enough, it was time for Khan to show up.

“Damn,” Allison swore. “Do you need assistance?”

“Possibly. You should know better than I do.” He gave her a knowing look, and she nodded her head.

“I’ll advise StarFleet Command,” she said.

“Thank you, Captain Danks.”

“You’re welcome, Admiral Kirk. Yel’Hal-tor out.” Kirk’s image disappeared from the viewscreen, and Allison immediately turned to the poor confused Ensign Felsinger. “Get me StarFleet Command.”

~~~~~~~

The orders were short and to the point. Yel’Hal-tor was to proceed to the Mutara sector and assist Enterprise as quickly as possible.

Allison ordered a course change, and the ship was put on Yellow Alert. Allison called down to Engineering and briefed Michael on what was going on, and he promised Warp 9 or better if she needed it. Sickbay was called, and Steve began to prepare for any injuries.

The ship swiftly jumped to warp within minutes, and evened out at about Warp 6.

All the humor from the bridge was gone. This was deadly serious. Allison leaned back in her chair, willing the fight to wait until Yel’Hal-tor arrived. She didn’t care if it screwed the timeline.

And abruptly the ship dropped out of warp, engines whining in protest. Red Alert was activated, and Allison had to raise her voice to be heard above the klaxons. “Report!”

“Unidentified ship off the port bow!” Lia shouted back.

“Turn off the damn alarms!” The alarms on the bridge fell silent, but the red lights remained. “Alien ship onscreen.”

The ship looked strangely like the Millennium Falcon; a mish-mash of parts held together by sheer stubborness. It was a flat disk, with a bubble on the top center. The whole thing was a dark gray color, with blinking green lights around the edges.

“HOLY HELL!” The call was nearly unanimous. The time-travelers recognized the ship.

It belonged to those who had abducted them.


Chapter Three - Introductions At Last


“The alien ship is hailing us,” Felsinger reported.

“Onscreen!” Allison snapped, no longer in even a remotely good mood.

The viewscreen activated, and she found herself looking into the face of one of the abductors. He had a Ferengi-like head with large ears and a ridged nose, but a Klingon ridge on his forehead. One of his eyes had been replaced by a black and green lens; the other eye was a clear sky-blue. Various tubes came out of his back and into his skull from behind.

“We are the T’MrijisuL K’JnN,” he said in fairly passable English. “You will surrender to us immediately.”

“I don’t think so,” Allison responded. “I’ve met your kind before.” She signaled to Felsinger to cut audio for a few seconds, and turned to Lia. “Arm phasers. Aim for his engines. I only want them to be disabled, not destroyed.”

“Aye, Captain.”

“Resistance is useless,” the T’MrijisuL K’JnN captain continued. “You will lower your shields or be destroyed.”

“Fire.”

Two red bolts of phaser fire struck the engines of the ship, and it rocked under the impact. With a puff of expanding shrapnel, the large engine drifted away from the rest of the ship. A second round, and the smaller impulse engine was nothing but space dust.

The alien on the screen let loose an inhuman screech/howl. “How dare you defy us?!”

“Easily!” Allison yelled, her anger easily a match for his. “Provoke a starship, that’s what you get. Felsinger, close this channel and have Lieutenant-Commander Steve report to Transporter Room 2. Ship status back on Yellow Alert. Jessie, you’re with me. Commander Kristian, you have the conn. Let’s go, people!”

~~~~~~~

Allison, Jessie, and Steve materialized on the bridge of the alien ship. There were three of the T’MrijisuL K’JnN present. All three leveled phasers at them. “Escape is impossible,” the lead alien said. “You will surrender.”

Allison barely spared Jessie a glance, but it was enough. The half-Klingon Lieutenant-Commander howled in a Klingon battle cry, startling the aliens just enough for Allison to nerve-pinch the leader. Before the other ones could fire, Jessie slapped the first one’s rifle aside and kicked the other alien in the head. The second one went down. Allison grabbed the wrists of the remaining alien and twisted them behind his back.

“Tell us what you’re doing back here,” she growled, “or I’ll break both your arms.”

“Stop!” he cried. “I will tell you what you wish to know.”

“Then start talking.”

“My name is R’IljiN,” he said. “We were using standard procedure on a second batch of human children from the 21st century of the planet Terra...”

All three time-travelers paused for a brief instant. Allison released R’IljiN, and he gratefully sat down in a nearby chair. “R’Iljin,” Allison said, “were you with the T’MrijisuL K’JnN when they experimented on their first ‘batch’?”

He nodded. “I was opposed to it, but I had to follow orders.” He looked nervously upward.

“Do you recognize us?” she asked gently.

The alien studied the three closely, and his remaining eye widened dramatically. “You are the results of the first experiment!” He seemed almost...apolgetic.

“You said you were opposed to the mutations they imposed upon us. Will you assist us?”

R’IljiN nodded, suddenly almost excited. “I will show you to the brig! Come!”

The three glanced at each other. Allison shrugged. “Let’s do as the guy says.”

~~~~~~~

True to his word, R’IljiN led the three officers to the brig, which they recognized. Allison looked over at the two empty cells, noting that the metal wall between them was still gone. She turned away from the reminder of their last visit, and glanced into the first cell.

The cell contained two women who looked to be half-Romulan. R’IljiN turned off the forcefield, and Allison called to them, “We’re the good guys, and we’ve come to rescue you. I’m Captain Allison Danks of-”

“Allison?!” the younger woman exclaimed.

“You know me?” Allison asked cautiously, trying to match up the woman’s appearance without the pointed ears and eyebrows. She was fairly tall, with light brown hair and an oddly familiar face.

“Of course I know you! It’s me, Sam! You know, your cousin?”

Allison’s jaw dropped. “SAM?!”

The second woman had long, straight blondish hair. She looked slightly uncomfortable. “Uhh...I’m Karin,” she lamely introduced herself. “I’m also called Empressleia...”

Allison turned back to her. “Hey, I remember you!”

“Hey, can we get some help over here?” a male voice called from the next cell over.

Allison stepped over and looked in, with the two half-Romulan ladies behind her. This cell had two half-Vulcan ladies and a half-Andorian male teenager in them. The Andorian had light brown hair and dark brown eyes, with the trademark blue skin and antennae of an Andorian.

Allison immediately recognized the boy. “Nick? Well, well, well, this is just one surprise after another.”

Nick looked up. “Allison?!”

Allison shrugged. “Yep. Guess you’re stuck with me again, little brother.” She looked at the two Vulcans. “You might as well give me your internet names as well as your real ones, because chances are I’ll know who you are better that way.”

“Cheryl, a.k.a. Tavia,” the first one said, shrugging. She had longish light brown hair as well, and pale skin.

“Haven’t used it in almost ten years, but...I’m Monica, i.e. mLyn,” the other replied. She had short brown hair and hazel eyes. She also wore a pair of glasses.

R’IljiN deactivated the forcefield, and Allison waved. “Say hello to Charmega, or Lugia42 as you might know me.”

Their responses were similar to those of Sam and Karin. After the initial shock wore off, Allison noticed that there was one more forcefield activated. “Hey, I wonder who’s in here.”

The forcefield was deactivated, and almost immediately a Vulcan man fell out and into the main chamber. He was fairly tall, even for a Vulcan, and had tell-tale red hair. He looked up at Allison and managed to raise a hand to point at her. “You! I should’ve known you had something to do with this,” he declared, shivering. And then he fainted.

“Is he gonna be okay?” a soft voice asked.

Allison looked past the Vulcan man and saw a woman with wavy brown hair and glasses sitting against the far wall. Allison frowned as she tried to place the species she had been merged with, and triumphantly found that the lady was half-Minaran, or half-Empath.

“I think so, yes,” Allison answered. “I went through pretty much the same thing when they did this to me. I’m Allison ‘Charmega’.”

The Minaran looked over at her. “Really?”

“Really.”

She stood up and walked to the front of the cell. “I’m Kat. Umm...Dark Jedi Princess, that is.”

Allison smiled. “Great!” She pointed to the unconscious Vulcan. “Did he tell you his name?” She had a sneaking suspicion about him...

“Uh...he said something about Demos or Daimen or something like that.”

Allison looked down at him and, very slowly, raised an eyebrow. “Okay, that works well enough. Steve, would you come over and treat this guy for exposure to cold? You know the treatment.” Steve immediately complied, using the same treatment on him that McCoy had used on Allison when she had first become a Vulcan.

Allison pulled out her communicator. “Captain Danks to Yel’Hal-tor, come in please.”

Yel’Hal-tor here, Captain.” The voice was Kristian’s.

“Tell the transporter room to prepare for beam-up. We’ve got company.”

“Aye Captain. Anything else?”

“Yes. Have a few nurses run a stretcher to the transporter room. We’ve got one unconscious. And as soon as we’re beamed up, resume course for the Mutara sector. Can’t keep Enterprise waiting.”

“Aye, Captain. Yel’Hal-tor out.”

Allison turned to R’IljiN. “Will you be coming with us?”

R’IljiN looked stricken. “Where would I go?” he whispered.

Allison shrugged. “Your choice. You can go wherever you want. And I think it’d be preferable to staying here for when your companions wake up. You could be so much help to us...”

R’IljiN glanced at the corridor that led to the bridge area. “I’m coming with you.”

Allison smiled. “Thank you.” She flipped open her communicator. “Danks to Transporter Room. Eleven to beam up.”

“Eleven, Captain?” The transporter chief sounded mystified.

“Yes, eleven,” she repeated.

“Aye, Captain. Beaming up eleven.”

~~~~~~~

The transporter room of the Yel’Hal-tor was quite large. In addition to the ship having foldable nacelles, a saucer seperation program, a holodeck, and various other new features that weren’t currently available on any other ship, the transporter room had been expanded to twice its size, allowing twelve to beam into it at once.

The eleven humanoids materialized in the large room, and Allison sighed happily. “Ah, I love this ship.”

Steve and the two nurses picked up the unconscious Vulcan and put him on a stretcher, then headed down to Sickbay. Allison turned to Jessie. “Escort R’IljiN to guest quarters. Make sure he has whatever he needs.”

“Aye, Captain.” She made a gesture towards the door. “If you would come with me, please...”

R’IljiN looked at Allison, shrugged, and then followed the intimidating Klingon out into the corridor.

Allison turned and looked at the remaining six former humans, all of which looked equally baffled. “I’ll take you to Sickbay, and have Steve look you over,” she said. “Just to make sure nothing went wrong during the transformation.”

She headed for the door, and then noticed that all of them were staring at her, and none had made a move off the transporter pads. “What?”

“Nothing,” Sam said as she shot a glance towards the others. This snapped them out of whatever funk they were in, and they obediently followed the captain out into the corridor.


Chapter Four - Explanations


Allison left the six people in Sickbay, much as Scotty had escorted a few of the first time-travelers fifteen years before. And then she was jogging down the corridor, catching the nearest turbolift and riding quickly up to the bridge.

The ride was almost too short, and she stepped down to take the conn. Kristian got out of her chair and headed back up to his station as she sat down. “Status report,” she ordered.

It was Kristian who reported this time. “Shortly after your beam-out and our jump to warp, the alien ship exploded due to self-destruct. We are now on course for the Mutara sector. Estimated time of arrival: forty-nine minutes.”

“Thank you, Commander.” She hit the intercom to Sickbay. “Steve, how’re those people doing down there?”

“Well, the Vulcan guy will be okay. Just a simple case of exposure to cold. The others are all perfectly fine. I guess they found a better way to transforming them, because they’re almost in perfect condition.”

“Thanks. Let me know when the Vulcan man begins to regain consciousness.”

“Yes, Captain. Sickbay out.”

~~~~~~~

“This is impossible, you know,” Nick finally said.

Sam looked over at him. “Why’s that, little cousin?”

“Because Star Trek’s fiction.”

“Hate to disappoint you, but it isn’t,” Steve interrupted the young Andorian. “This is all quite real.”

“Okay then...” Karin said. “Then where are we?”

“You’re on board the U.S.S. Yel’Hal-tor. Roughly translated from Golic Vulcan, that means ‘star trek’. I’m sure you can see the irony.”

Nick blinked. “Ooookay...so this ship exists. But there’s no Enterprise, right?”

“Wrong again. In fact, we’re on course to intercept the Enterprise in the Mutara sector. Sound familiar, anybody?”

“The Wrath Of Khan!” Cheryl said quickly, like she was in a contest.

“Exactly,” Steve said. “From what you know as Star Trek, we are about halfway through The Wrath Of Khan. We’ve lived this ever since halfway through the Enterprise’s first five-year mission. In fact, we served on the Enterprise with Captain Kirk for almost three years.”

“Captain Kirk’s real, too?” Kat asked. She didn’t know much about Star Trek - at least not as much as some of the others - but even she knew about Kirk.

Steve smiled. “Actually, he’s an Admiral now, but yes. He’s very real.”

“Cool,” Monica said. “And I’m guessing Spock and McCoy and all them are real, too?”

“You got it,” Steve affirmed. “Actually, McCoy taught me almost all of my medical knowledge. Each of us was taught by at least one of the Enterprise’s senior officers. For example, Allison learned a majority of her skills, both in technical areas and other areas, from Spock.”

“Spock? Spock as in the half-Vulcan Spock, son of Sarek and Amanda?” Karin said disbelievingly.

Steve grinned. “Yes, THAT Spock. But I’ll leave the explaining to the captain, if you don’t mind. Allison has such as way with people, you know.”

~~~~~~~

When the Yel’Hal-tor finally arrived in the Mutara sector, Allison already knew they were too late. A battle-marked Enterprise drifted in space near a small, Earth-like planet. The nebula that should have been there was nowhere to be found.

Upon their arrival, they were hailed by the Enterprise. Allison reluctantly put the transmission onscreen. A stone-faced Admiral Kirk greeted her. “I’m sorry we’re late, Jim,” Allison said softly.

“I am too,” he said. “I take it you know what’s happened?”

Allison nodded. “I’m truly sorry, JT.”

Kirk sighed heavily, sounding incredibly weary. “You did your best. Enterprise out.” His image blinked off the screen.

“What happened here, Captain?” one of the ensigns asked, confused and frightened by the sudden air of sadness in the air.

“Captain Spock gave his life in the line of duty today, ensign,” Kristian said.

All the time-travelers on the bridge glanced at each other and shared a nearly-unnoticeable smile. They alone knew what was coming next.

The silence was broken by the sound of the intercom. “Sickbay to Captain.”

Allison hit the button. “Captain here, go ahead Steve.”

“You wanted to know when the Vulcan man woke up? Well, he’s getting there.”

“I’ll be done shortly. Captain out.” She closed the channel and headed for the turbolift. “Kristian, you have the conn.”

“Aye, Captain.”

~~~~~~~

Allison was at the Vulcan’s bedside before he even completely regained consciousness. When he did, he blinked open his eyes and looked up at her. His reaction was instantaneous.

“What the hell?! You...you’re dead!”

She grinned. “Nice to see you, too.”

“Uh...indeed.” His gaze seemed to be fixed on her ears. “Uh...why are your ears...”

“Pointed?” she supplied.

“Yeah...”

“Check your own,” she directed gently.

His hands immediately flew up to his own ears, and he felt the points on them. There was silence from him for a minute. “Why are OUR ears, then?”

“You remember that little show called Star Trek...?” she said.

“...Oh, SO not amused.”

“No, I'm being serious.”

He looked up at her. “I know. Still not amused.”

She finally decided to throw all pretense of caution aside. “You're being illogical, Damian.”

“...No, just unamused, I think, Allison.” He gave her a wry grin.

She smiled. “It wasn’t really meant to be funny, you know.” She was glad that he recognized her. It spared her a lot of explaining.

“Good to hear,” Damian said. “Now, I'm assuming that sooner or later I'm going to get an explaination, amusing or not.”

Allison shook her head, smiling. “Well, I think the first order of the day is getting you cleared from Sickbay. Then we'll talk. Hey, Steve!”

Damian blinked. “Steve, Steve... I know that name... He was one of the others who disappeared, wasn't he?”

While he was pondering, Steve came in from the next room. “You rang, Captain?”

Allison grinned. “Damian, meet Super Hurricane. Steve, this is Damos.”

Damian’s eyes lit up in recognition. “SH! Ah, yes, that's right... couldn't remember, it's been so long since everyone vanished and the board went down...”

Allison raised an eyebrow sharply in surprise. “Board went down...? My boy, I think YOU have some explaining to do as well.”

Steve jumped into the conversation again. “Well, I'm assuming you want him out of Sickbay, right?”

“Yeah. Since he's conscious, can he leave?”

“I see no reason why not...”

“Good. Come on Damian, let's go for a walk.” She got up and waited for him to get up as well.

“Works for me,” Damian said, then sat up and got to his feet. He almost fell over. “Whoa...that’s weird...”

Allison slapped her forehead. “Oh yeah, I forgot...you’ll probably be slightly disoriented at first. After all, you just got about 15 kilograms lighter and four times stronger than your usual self. Sorry.”

Damian glared at her. “Thanks for telling me BEFOREHAND.”

~~~~~~~

It only took Damian a few minutes to get reoriented, then he and Allison set off to walk down the corridors. More than once, Allison caught Damian staring at the alien crewpersons that they were passing by. A Sulamid here, an Andorian there, a few Tellarites every now and then, and three kinds of Denebians wandering the halls. Allison looked over at him as they passed near one of the Horta crewmembers, and saw him staring at it disbelievingly.

“What’re you staring at? You’d think you’d never seen a Horta before,” Allison said, amused.

“Remember what I was saying earlier about not being amused?” he groaned.

“Hard to forget, nowadays,” she answered immediately.

“Good day, Captain,” it said, its Horta ‘voice’ running through a boxy translator set deeply into its silicon-based back. The translator had a Lieutenant’s insignia emblazoned on it. It ruffled his fringes a little in its version of a wave.

“And a good day to you as well, Lieutenant Sarahn. Carry on.”

“Yes, Captain.” The Horta shuffled down the corridor, making grinding noises as he went.

Damian watched him until he was far down the hall, then looked over at Allison. “Would you mind telling me exactly WHY rocks can talk and move on this ship?”

Allison grinned. “Don’t worry, everything will be clear. Come on, let’s go to the Observation Deck.”

~~~~~~~

The Observation Deck of the Yel’Hal-tor was much more impressive than the one on the Enterprise. An entire wall was made of transparisteel, giving an excellent view of the stars in front of the ship. The room was curved, so there was a side view as well. Off to the starboard, the two Vulcans could see the battle-scarred Enterprise, and the beautiful Genesis planet.

“Nice view, but you expect this to surprise me?” Damian asked. “After what I’ve seen in the last twenty minutes...”

“Just had to make sure you believed me. You can never tell these days, what with being in the 23rd century and all...crazier things have happened.”

“Oh really. What kind of things?” he wondered out loud.

“Do you really want to know?”

“Not particularly.”

“Well, anyway...” She waved her hand around a little. “This is my ship, the Yel’Hal-tor.” She winked. “Roughly translated from Golic Vulcan, it means ‘star trek’.” Damian groaned at the pun. “Go ahead, be that way. But this is the best ship in the 'Fleet. Even better than the Enterprise. We've got foldable warp nacelles, saucer-and-stardrive seperation...”

He raised an eyebrow, clearly not knowing what she was talking about. He motioned for her to make it simpler.

“Moveable engines and detachable parts of the ship.”

“Ah. Why didn't you just say so?”

“It's no fun!” she teased him.

“Well, I must say, it's nice to finally meet you, Allison... even though I didn't expect it to ever happen after you vanished for ten years, and as a...”

“Vulcan?” she said.

“That's the one,” he confirmed.

“You'd better get to know what being a Vulcan is like. I get the feeling you're going to be one for quite some time.”

“Oh joy. Don't think I'm being perfectly calm about this, by the way, I'm just that far into a state of shock that I've come out the other side and it's trying to catch up.”

“I know. We all went through that 15 years ago.”

“...15 years? You don't look any older than me, and I’m 26!”

She raised an eyebrow. “Well, THANKS. But I just so happen to be 30.”

He stared at her in disbelief, and she sighed. “Guess I’d better start explaining in detail...”

“Yes, that’d be a good idea.”

“Well...it all started way back in 2001, at a Star Trek convention...”


Chapter Five - New Additions


Allison told Damian everything that he wanted to know about their past fifteen years. In turn, Damian told her of what had happened in the ten years she had been gone.

With a Moderator and three major boardees gone, the Creative Coalition was eventually abandoned one-by-one until there was no one left, and the board shut down. World War Three escalated not long afterwards, and millions of people died. The war was dying down when the T’MrijisuL K’JnN had kidnapped the seven newcomers.

By the time they were done discussing recent events, the intercom went off. “Captain, R’IljiN requests a meeting with you at your earliest convenience,” Jessie said.

“On my way,” Allison called back. It was a new model of intercom, in which starship personnel no longer needed to push any buttons to answer a commcall. Quite convenient.

“Well, shall we go?” Allison asked.

“Where exactly are we going?” he asked as he followed her out into the corridor.

“Briefing Room. It’s not too far.” She stopped at the turbolift doors, and they obediently opened for her. She stepped inside. “You coming?”

“Are you kidding? On a ship this big, I’d get lost if I didn’t.” He walked over next to her, and the doors slid shut.

“Deck Nine,” Allison called, and the turbolift whirred into action.

~~~~~~~

The turbolift deposited the two Vulcans on Deck 9, and Allison led Damian to the Briefing Room. It was a large room with a round table, so that everyone sitting in the chairs could see each other. The room was primarily a powder gray color, with a darker gray material for the table and chairs.

R’IljiN and Jessie were already there, waiting. R’IljiN was sitting in one of the chairs, while the intimidating half-Klingon Security Chief stood behind him. Steve and Kristian occupied two of the other chairs. Both made a move to stand, but Allison motioned for them to remain seating.

She took a seat across from R’IljiN, and Damian sat in the chair that was to the right of her. “Okay R’IljiN, are you ready to explain the behavior of the T’MrijisuL K’JnN?” she asked.

“I am prepared.”

“Good. Please begin.”

“My people were created by what you call the Preservers,” R’IljiN began. “From your own studies, you know that the Preservers rescue primitive cultures, or place certain beings with specific abilities in the position where they could help in a situation. My species was created to be the most brilliant genetic engineers in the galaxy.”

“Created?” Steve asked, surprised. “Genetically twisted clones?”

“In a manner of speaking,” R’IljiN answered in a slightly miffed tone of voice.

“Please, continue,” Kristian asked him, being careful not to offend this new ally.

R’IljiN nodded. “Recently, those you call the Preservers commanded us to collect specimens from the 21st century of your planet Terra.”

“Why?” Allison asked, a tad confused.

“The Preservers can see the future, and can make it however they wish. There is an event that will happen in the future that must not happen the way it would without our intervention. For this, the Preservers needed fourteen beings who could know what will happen in the future, but each had to have special powers that they were not born with. You were selected because all of you were, in the past, somehow involved in what you have dubbed ‘Star Trek’.”

“Okay, I understand that. But why are all thirteen of the others, in some way, in contact with me in the past? Don’t tell me it was a coincidence,” Allison said.

“You are the Destined,” R’IljiN said, pointed at her. “You are directly related to the incident. You work well with others that you know, and it was felt that the transition would be easier on the other subjects as well if someone they were familiar with was present. You have the right mental characteristics that is needed. You, specifically, are the last of your kind. The only one who remains that can accurately see the future as it is. The human called Gene Roddenbery also had this power, but he did not survive long enough to serve us. The human called Berman took over this ‘Star Trek,’ but he could not clearly see the future after a certain amount of time had passed. You are the only one who can truly know what will happen.”

“Then what does all this have to do with me?” Damian suddenly demanded. Allison glared at him for interrupting, but he ignored her temporarily. “Why was I dragged out of my home, twisted into an alien form, and brought 200 years into the future? Was this all some source of amusement for you to pick me?”

R’IljiN looked honestly surprised by his shouts. “My kind has recieved no amusement from your abduction, Damian. Allison is the Destined, but you are the Protector. Without you, the great mission can not be carried out.”

Damian sat back, stunned. “What do you mean?”

“You are her Anchor. You are to hold her in check until the time arrives. You are to protect her from those who would seek to harm her. You, and only you, can serve as her Balance. None other in all of your planet’s history could ever replace you. Not even the Azure or the Crystal could come close to your position.”

“The Azure or the Crystal?” Kristian asked curiously. “Who or what are you talking about?”

R’IljiN shook his head. “I will tell you no more, for you are not yet ready. In time, you will understand.”

~~~~~~~

Quite some time later, the Briefing Room doors opened and the occupants walked out. Jessie headed off with R’IljiN to see the alien to his quarters, while Kristian headed for the bridge and Steve went back to Sickbay. Allison and Damian walked down the corridor, past Centaurians and Deirr, not really having a destination in mind.

Both were silent. Neither had been prepared for the double shock of finding that they were all-important keys to the future. R’IljiN had spoken mysteriously, and neither knew exactly what he was talking about. But to both, though unvoiced, his words brought a sense of uneasiness and anticipation at the same time. It caused both of them considerable confusion.

Finally, when they passed by the doorway to Engineering, Damian spoke up. “What do you think he meant back there, about Anchors and Destined and stuff?”

Allison shook her head. “I’m not sure. But he’s right, no matter what he said. This isn’t just random choosing. Something important is going to happen, and we are going to be smack-dab in the middle of it all.”

Damian stared at her. “Wonderful,” he grumbled. “I hate it when life throws a curveball.”

The statement was so ludicrous, Allison began to laugh. Damian looked over at her and found himself laughing as well. With smiles on their faces, they made their way to a turbolift.

“Deck Three,” Allison called, and the turbolift obediently hummed into action. “It’s good to have you around, Damian.”

“Glad to be of assistance.”

~~~~~~~

Deck Three of the Yel’Hal-tor was where the senior crew’s quarters were located. Allison’s cabin was close to the turbolift they exited, and thus it wasn’t a very far walk. She entered her quarters, which were still quite sparsely decorated, and sat down at her desk. She looked up at Damian. “So, now’s the time to fix this little problem of you new people not being in StarFleet...”

“Now?”

“Why not?” She shrugged. “Computer, begin recording new personnel file, basic.”

“Recording. Name of being?”

She gestured to Damian that he should speak. “Damian Beresford,” he said.

“Gender?”

“Male.”

“Species and degree?”

“Vulcan, full.”

“Rank at time of entry into StarFleet?”

“Lieutenant,” Allison told it.

The computer made a beeping noise. “Basic personnel file created and filed.”

Damian raised an eyebrow. “And that’s all you have to do?”

Allison grinned. “You got that right, Lieutenant Beresford. Welcome to the team.”

~~~~~~~

During the next few hours, Allison had each new time-traveler report to her quarters for recording of their personnel files. All were immediately given Lieutenant ranking, rather than Ensign. A few of them were unhappy with even a Lieutenant’s position, but Allison quickly made them forget about it.

“We original seven started off as Ensigns and had to work our way up the hard way,” she told them. “Be glad I’m bending the rules to give you such a high starting rank. If Command had their way, you’d all be Ensigns right about now.”

Nicky was almost immediately assigned to Transporter duty. The ensign in charge taught him the basics, which were pretty much: get the coordinates, push the buttons, and pray everything comes out okay. Advanced training only took a few more minutes.

Karin volunteered to help out in Sickbay, and it wasn’t long before Steve started teaching her all about being a medical officer. She learned quickly, and soon became one of his assistants.

Monica and Cheryl were assigned as relief Navigator and Helmswoman. They would take over the helm/nav station if anything were to happen to May and Lia. Sam and Kat chose the jobs of Biologist and Astrophysics Assistant.

Damian, trying to figure out a suitable job for himself, finally decided on Communications Officer. Upon hearing the name Felsinger, he looked startled, but he began taking lessons from the ensign. Within days, he was pretty good at working the console, and no longer needed help with everything. Occasionally, a signal would come in that he didn’t know about, but he picked up on it all fairly easily.

As for R’IljiN...he was dropped off at Starbase 23 and handed over to StarFleet security forces for questioning and possible awarding of Federation citizenship.

All in all, things were going along pretty well.

At least, that’s what they thought.


Chapter Six - Diplomats, Oi...


The new time-travelers had only been on the Yel’Hal-tor for about six months when the call came in. StarFleet was requesting Yel’Hal-tor to drop off two Vulcan representatives from their crew on the planet Embryian. A telepathic birdlike species called the Cerioa and another native species, non-telepath insectiods called the Kitrack, were in a dispute over land use. The Cerioa wanted the entire planet to use for growing trees and other delicate plants which required very stable soil. The Kitrack wanted the land to be used for building tunnels for mining the very minerals which made the Embryian trees grow so tall and thick. Naturally, this caused a problem.

The Kitrack had requested two Vulcans, known to be honorable touch-telepaths, as mediators of the dispute. They were taking no chances that the Cerioa would lie to them and take ‘their’ land unjustly. The Cerioa had agreed to this, but only to ease the fears of the Kitrack.

Allison read the report and snorted in disgust. It was obvious that two such species co-existing on a planet would argue over land usage.

It quickly became obvious to her that the Kitrack wouldn’t appreciate StarFleet sending any half-Vulcans. So, there were only two people she could possibly send on this mission.

She hit an intercom button. “Captain to Lieutenant Beresford, report to my quarters immediately.”

~~~~~~~

“I’m an Aussie, not a diplomat!”

Allison laughed at Damian’s remark. He glanced at her oddly, not knowing what he’d said that was so amusing. “Sorry, Damian. But you and I are the only full Vulcans on board. Hell, we’re the only full Vulcans in this entire sector. And...well...orders are orders.”

“Why can’t the Enterprise do it? They’ve got some Vulcans on board,” he argued.

Allison shook her head. “They’re busy with the Nimbus III hostage situation. Besides, I don’t think that ship is quite....together. They need everyone they can get. Plus, the ship just got sent into service last week. You really think they’d be ready for a challenge so soon?”

Damian held up his hands. “All right, I get the picture.”

“Good. Pack up anything you’ll need. We’re leaving tomorrow at 0850 in a shuttlecraft, and we may not be back for a while.”

“Why can’t we take the whole starship?” he wondered out loud.

“Because while we’ll be off with the birds and the bugs, the Yel’Hal-tor has to deliver some much-needed medical supplies on Faragos. That’s almost the exact opposite direction that Embryian is in, and the systems are too far away from each other for a simple drop-off.”

“....ah.”

~~~~~~~

The next morning, Allison and Damian were stepping into the shuttlecraft Igen’Zahelsu. Allison sat down in the pilot’s seat, which was on the left side of the craft. Damian sat on the right.

Allison triggered the comm. “Mega Shuttle Igen’Zahelsu requesting permission to disembark.”

“Permission granted. Have a nice trip,” Kristian responded from the bridge.

“Will do. See you in a few weeks.” She closed the channel and turned her attention to the controls. Moving with the ease of a born pilot, she launched the small ship out of the bay. Once the craft was cleared of the Yel’Hal-tor’s shields and warp field, the massive starship jumped into warp.

“Well, it looks like we’re on our own,” Allison remarked as she lined up the Igen’Zahelsu to point in the direction of Embryian. “You ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Allison punched up Warp Two and engaged the engines.

~~~~~~~

Kristian sat in the command chair, uncommonly quiet. Jessie noticed this and came over to stand next to him. “Something wrong?” she asked quietly.

He looked up at her, startled. “What? Oh...yeah. I dunno, I’ve just got a really weird feeling about those two going off to Embryian. It’s probably nothing.”

Jessie looked at him sideways. “Suuuuure. You know as well as I do that if there’s any trouble out there, they’ll be able to find it. At least, Ael will.”

Kristian reluctantly nodded. “Yeah. And that’s what bothers me.”

~~~~~~~

A few days later...

Allison sighed and put her head in her hands as the Cerioa representative once again began screeching his beak off at the Kitrack ambassador. This had been going on for several hours straight.

“You wish to kill our trees and maim our land!” the Cerioa was currently screaming. “How dare you dishonor the land in this manner?”

“Trees are of no use to us in times of turbulence!” the Kitrack clacked. “Our finances must be reinforced in case of another emergency! Does not the planet have enough trees already?”

“Do you not have enough marqs already? Marqs are just leaves pretending to be worth something! Trees will preserve our races for generations!”

“Do they do this often?” Damian mumbled to her, well below the range of the aliens’ hearing.

“Constantly.”

The Kitrack ambassador finally glanced over at the two Vulcans, who immediately made it look like they’d been listening to the entire fiasco. “What is your suggestion, Captain? And yours, Lieutenant?”

Allison glanced over at Damian with a look that clearly said “I’ll handle this.” He gladly let her. “Ambassador Sytrel, I believe that you have a very unique situation, and I can not give a solution until I have telepathically scanned you both. If you have no objections...?”

“I have none,” Ambassador Sytrel said quickly. He looked over at the enraged Cerioa.

“I will allow you to scan me,” the Cerioa finally said. He managed to look offended and compliant at the same time, somehow.

“Good.” Allison stood up and moved over to Sytrel. The insectiod did not even flinch as she placed a hand upon his clawed “hand” and probed his mind. His multifaceted eyes did not even look at her, but remained facing Representative Tchan.

Once Allison was done, she turned to Tchan. The birdlike creature twitched as if to move away from her, but allowed her to lay a hand across his golden crest. “Lower your barriers,” she ordered him before delving into the avian mind. He reluctantly did as he was told.

After several moments, she lowered her hand and opened her eyes. “I will consult with Lieutenant Beresford before I will give you my suggestions. This session is closed. I will meet you here tomorrow at the same time.”

Tchan nodded his birdlike head. “As you wish, Captain.” Then he spread his wings a little and walked out of the building.

“It was an honor to be with you, Captain,” Sytrel said respectfully before he too left, though he used a different door than the one Tchan had used. Interesting.

“Well, THAT got us absolutely nowhere,” Damian remarked.

“No kidding. I really don’t see a way out of this one yet.”

“I’m sure you’ll find one sooner or later.”

She glanced over at him. “Har har.”

~~~~~~~

Late that night, Allison stayed awake and looked up at those unfamiliar stars, wondering which one was her Earth. “I can’t do this alone,” she said softly, hoping that the Preservers were listening. “I can’t think of a solution. I thought you were supposed to manipulate things so that we could do this ‘great mission’ of yours.”

Her eyes scanned the stars as she spoke, and for some odd reason her gaze seemed to be attracted to one of the Embryian moons. It was the largest moon of the four, and it glowed a soft blue color. It was called Shardi.

Suddenly getting an idea from the mind-melds, she turned and walked toward where the Igen’Zahelsu was resting.


Chapter Seven - Problem Mostly Solved


“Damian, get up! I found the answer!”

He groaned and rolled over, squinting at the sudden bright light that appeared in his face. “What is it now?” he grumbled, finally making out a familiar face next to the light. “Don’t you realize some people actually SLEEP at night?”

“Oh, sleep. Who cares about sleep? Damian, you didn’t hear me. I found the answer.”

He blinked up at her sleepily. “Answer to what?”

“Oh, you-!” She slammed a pillow down on his head.

“Hey!” Now he was awake, and his brain finally caught up. “Oh yeah, THAT answer. Wonderful; tell those two people in the morning.” He grabbed the pillow she’d thrown and put it over his ears.

And quite abruptly, he found himself with his top half on the floor, his legs still on the narrow bunk of the shuttle. “Ouch!”

“Pay attention!” she scolded him.

“All right, all right, I’m listening!” The rest of him fell to the floor with a thud, and he sat up, rubbing his head. “What’s this all about?”

“What’s Shardi made of?”

Damian blinked at the sudden turn, and wondered what was up with the sudden trivia question. “It’s made up of mainly...iriduim and sulfius, I think. Why?”

“Use your brain! What’s the stuff that makes the Embryian trees grow, and that the Kitrack want to mine?”

He finally understood. “Iridium...what, you’re planning on reminding them of that?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“...Ael, it took you six days to remember that?!”

“Hey, no one else remembered! What does that say about those Cerioa and Kitrack, hmm?”

Damian sighed and dragged himself back up onto the bunk, not even bothering to lie down straight. “And you had to wake me up for THAT?”

“Of course.” Her voice had a slight hint of a teasing note.

“...Go to sleep, Ael.”

~~~~~~~

The next day, Allison presented her findings to the Cerioa and the Kitrack. Tchan was impressed, but he still insisted on having the planet for Cerioa uses. Sytrel was slightly more excited that Tchan.

“This is amazing!” he exclaimed. “I cannot believe we did not see it earlier! There is so much potential in the moon. Imagine, mining from a MOON!”

Tchan idly examined his front talons. “So, you’re giving Shardi to the Kitrack and letting us Cerioa have Embryian? Very interesting strategy, Captain.”

“Yes, but it’s not enough...the iridium on Shardi will soon run dry!” Sytrel protested.

Tchan’s feathers ruffled, and he was in the midst of preparing a retort when Damian stepped in. “I don’t believe you’ve studied those figures closely, Ambassador Sytrel,” he smoothly cut in. “The moon is made up of nearly 86.3% iridium. You should have no problem mining for your minerals.”

Sytrel’s antennae jerked to the side in a surprised gesture, and he looked back at the padd. “Amazing! I cannot believe we never saw the mining potential on Shardi! Without your help, we most likely would not have seen this. You have my clan’s ultimate thanks, Captain Danks and Lieutenant Beresford.”

“My nesting is indebted to you,” Tchan said, gracefully opening his wings and bowing his head in a sign of respect. “Your wisdom is unmatched by any Cerioa.”

Allison inclined her head respectfully. “We are glad we have been of service to your respective species. If there are no further issues, Lieutenant Beresford and I will take our leave.”

“Of course,” Tchan said, rustling his feathers. “May the sun shine and strengthen you.” He snapped his “fingers” and vanished in a teleportation move.

Sytrel gave them a similar parting blessing, and exited the room through the same door as before. Allison looked over at Damian. “Well, that was an inconvenient headache,” he volunteered.

She snorted. “No kidding. Come on, let’s go back to the shuttle and get to the rendezvous point.”

~~~~~~~

As the Igen’Zahelsu lifted off, Damian looked over at the Vulcan woman next to him. He watched as she maneuvered the small ship out of the atmosphere of Embryian, slender hands dancing over the control panels as she programmed their course...

Damian shook his head. What the hell was he DOING? This was not like him to think in such a manner...and why were his hands shaking a little?

Allison noticed his sudden confusion. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” he quickly jumped to ease her worry, which intensified it slightly instead. “Nothing’s wrong. Umm...I think I’m gonna go get some sleep. Can you pilot this thing on your own?”

She frowned. “Damian, of course I can...”

But he was already at the back of the shuttle, lying down on the only bunk in the craft.

Allison stared in his direction for a few moments, then turned back to the panels. But even as she punched up Warp One, her mind was still on the Vulcan man behind her, and how familiar he had acted...

She frowned and sat back in the chair, closing her eyes in concentration. The ship was on an autoprogrammed course, so she didn’t need to currently maneuver the ship. So she dug way back in her mind, to her memories of the old Star Trek television show.

Abruptly, her eyes snapped open. No....it couldn’t be...could it?

She glanced over her shoulder, and bit her lip. “Damn. This is definitely a problem. He doesn’t know...how should I tell him? How do you tell ANYONE about this?”

‘It has to do with biology,’ Spock’s shaky voice said in her mind as she recalled the specific incident. ‘Vulcan males must endure it every seventh year of their adult life...’


Chapter Eight - Multiple Problems


Damian awoke to the whine of stressed engines, and Allison’s cursing. “Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

“Whassamatta?” he called, only half-awake.

“These engines have gone haywire! Get up here and help me find a planet to land us on!”

In a flash, he was fully awake and in the copilot’s seat. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, making his blood feel as if it were burning...he clenched his hands for a moment, then pulled up a chart of the sector. “Here, Ael! Got an unnamed planet at thirty-five mark fifteen. Think you can land us in a forest?”

Even in the midst of the crisis, she grinned. “I can land this bucket anywhere!” she declared. “Lay in a course, and I’ll see if I can get a few more klicks out of this baby.”

“Aye, Captain!”

~~~~~~~

The planet was peaceful, covered in lush green grass and unbelievably huge trees with wide gaps in between them. Several types of birds flew from branch to branch, and strange-looking reptilian creatures crawled through the bushes and over rocks. All was peaceful.

That is, until a large white, blocky object came hurtling out of the sky. Birds screeched in alarm and scattered, while other creatures fled on the ground.

The shuttle crashed into the forest floor, burying the “nose” several feet into the soil of a small clearing. Steam rolled off the shiny metal covering and escaped into the atmosphere. After a few moments, the back hatch clanged open and two humanoids staggered out, a small bit of smoke billowing out of the craft above their heads.

“Well,” Allison coughed. “THAT was certainly the most graceful crash-landing I’ve ever done.”

“Umm-hmm.”

Allison looked over at Damian. He was standing with his fists clenched, cheeks flushed a pale green, and he seemed to be shivering slightly. She winced, and finally decided on what she was going to do.

“Damian...have you felt odd lately?”

He blinked in surprise at the question. “Uhh...a little...why?”

She hesitated. “Well...I kind of forgot to tell you something about Vulcans.”

“Oh, wonderful. What?”

“Uhh...you see, it’s like this...every seven years...”

~~~~~~~

When she was finished explaining it to him, he looked over at her slightly sideways. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Sorry, but I’m not.”

He sighed. “Well, at least now I know what’s wrong with me...and how I’m gonna die.”

“No!”

Startled by her outburst, he merely stood completely still.

“I won’t allow you to die, Damian. I know you’ve only know me for a short time, but I won’t let you die from this.” She stared into his eyes, pleading with him. “ Dungi tu sahrafel ?”

He gazed back at her, and finally answered. “ Kal-tor palikau .”

Silent once more, Allison held up two fingers on her right hand. Across from her, Damian also held up two fingers and touched them to hers.

“Damian...parted from me and never parted, never and always touching and touched,” Allison said. “ Wuhkuh eh teretuhr .”

Damian somehow knew what to say. “Allison-kam ...parted from me and never parted, never and always touching and touched... ki’sarlah .”

With the bond formed, the two Vulcans stepped back into the shuttle, and the ancient Vulcan cycle of pon farr took over, as it had for countless centuries.

~~~~~~~

The next day, Allison and Damian ventured out of the Igen’Zahelsu to check on the engines. The two stayed close together, though they didn’t immediately realize it.

“The warp drive’s shot, and we’ll never make it out on impulse,” Allison finally concluded after several minutes worth of digging through the engines’ guts. “Looks like we hit some kind of meteor shower or something, and didn’t realize it. Navigational shields must have temporarily failed...damn, of all the lousy, rotten luck...”

“So what do we do?” Damian asked, putting a toolbox away.

“We call for the Yel’Hal-tor and wait for them to come pick us up,” she answered, heading for the back hatch.

And abruptly, both of them froze. “Do you hear that?” Damian whispered to her, knowing that his voice was well into the range of Vulcan hearing.

Allison nodded. “Come on, let’s check it out,” she said quietly.

They slowly, cautiously stepped out of the clearing and into the forest. The two Vulcans walked for several minutes without seeing anything, then Allison spotted something.

“Damian, look,” she whispered.

They were surrounded by very thick trees, with some kind of nest near the top of each. Strange sounds came from the nests: some kind of growling or humming, accompanied by a sound of something cracking.

“I have a bad feeling about this...” Allison said, and slowly began to back up.

The humming noise was quickly replaced by the sound of a thousand voices screeching, and both Vulcans turned to run.

Allison suddenly felt a massive weight on her back, accompanied by the sharp prick of claws digging into her back. Flipping over as she fell, she caught a sight of bronze skin and scales. She looked up into the face of a creature unlike she had ever seen before. It had a wedge-shaped head with glowing crystalline eyes, and behind each there was a tiny black spike. Its neck had a thick ridge of bronze skin, and the creature had many sharp teeth. Its still-wet wings were spread out, and its long tail was wrapped around next to Allison’s head.

From another tree, she caught another flash of bronze as a similar creature dropped on top of Damian. He yelped and tried to get away, but the other creature had a firm grip on him.

The creature on top of Allison looked down at her, and placed its three-fingered, humanlike “hands” against her head. She felt a mental push, but did not feel fear at being invaded in such a manner. It looked at her with something like a smile on its face, and then her mind was completely opened to the creature.


Chapter Nine - The Dream


Allison woke up slowly, as if from a dream state. The chirping of birds seemed unusually loud, accompanied by the winds in the trees and the sound of wings flapping. She opened her eyes, startled at the feel of fresh soil and leaves beneath her, and every sight seemed to jump out at her.

She sat up, blinking in surprise. There was a small camp of a sort set up next to her. A small campfire was burning a few feet away, with a boiling pot of tea of some kind over it. Several other items and a knapsack were neatly laid out against a nearby flat-topped boulder.

“What’s going on?” she wondered out loud, then heard the sound of feet on grass and the rustling of wings. Scolding herself for not noting that sound earlier, she turned around.

She was met with the sight of a small lizard-like creature, sitting on his - how she knew it was “his” was something she couldn’t figure out - haunches. Dull bronze scales covered his body. His wings were folded against his body, but even so Allison could tell that when opened, he would have a rather large wingspan. A long tail curved around him, and the tip tapped the ground. He had his hind feet tucked under him, and was holding up most of his weight with his three-fingered forepaws. He had a long, slender neck with a thick ridge of skin, and his head was wedge-shaped. His eyes were closed, and there was a small black horn behind each eye.

She looked at the creature, noticing that it looked so mythological, perhaps like a dragon.

He raised his head and opened large, crystal-like eyes...

Welcome to K’ti’ma and it’s lands,
We greet you with open hands.


Allison blinked in surprise. She knew that the creature’s mouth had not moved, yet she knew it was he who had spoken. “Who are you?”

I am the Azure, as you can see,
And all that makes that up is me.
I am the dragon of the Master Plan.
My name is Cobalt, assist you I can.


“Uh-huh.” She sat down on a nearby rock. “Umm...can I ask a question? Why are you rhyming?”

K’ti’ma is a land of song,
It is to right things that go wrong.
You learn some things anew,
And I will be here too.
You can set things right,
And drive back the Eternal Night.


She frowned. “What is the Eternal Night?”

It has been so long, and ages past,
Since we have served humankind last.
So long without help from dragonkind,
Your species remembers not in the mind.
The Eternal Night will come to be,
If you do not trust in me.
The Eternal Night is destruction and pain,
And there will be nothing to gain.
But you know not all that you need,
And you must go at a faster speed,
You are the one who will bring forth,
The dragons, hailing to the north.


“So, basically you’ve been alone but you’ve met humans before, and you’re here to teach me things I need for the future.” Cobalt nodded his bronze head. “Okay, is this in any way connected to the T’MrijisuL K’JnN?”

That is what they were made to do,
And that’s the reason I chose you.


Allison mostly understood him. “Why are you only now finding me?”

The time was chosen long ago,
Before your species began to grow.
Much had you to learn before,
And now you can learn even more.
Your unity with the Protector,
Has opened up the vital door.


The Protector was obviously Damian. She remembered that from what R’IljiN had told them a few months before. “So now that Damian and I are Bonded, I can learn more?” She was very surprised, having not expected this young dragon to know all the details of her life. Cobalt patiently nodded his head.

Come with me!
You will see!
It is now time for memory.


~~~~~~~

Damian had a similar experience in waking up. Except he woke up to a delicate-looking bronze dragon with a swooping neck ridge, who was standing on its hind legs in front of him.

I am the Crystal of the tale,
Making sure that all goes well.
I am the dragon of the Game,
Illumina is what is my name.


Damian felt a headache coming on. “Please, no rhymes.”

I’m sorry, but I cannot halt.
It really is not all my fault.
Rhyming is what I must do,
Even so, I stay with you.


He sighed, and decided that he had to put up with it. “Alright, what am I here for?”

You are here to learn new things,
And this is what my kind brings.
A gift to you, from all of us.
We’re sorry if we caused a fuss.
But you must start your learning now
Come this way, I’ll show you how!


~~~~~~~

Now here is someone you will know,
He will be different, though.
Talk to him and your knowledge will grow.


“Okay, who is it?” Allison asked as she and Cobalt entered a small clearing. In the clearing was a teenage boy, about fifteen years old. He had light blond hair and greenish-brown eyes, and he was dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt.

The boy turned to look at her. “Oh, hello!” he called. “Would you happen to know where we are?”

“All I know is that the area is called K’ti’ma. I’m not sure if that is the name of the planet or the forest,” she answered carefully, wondering what this was all about.

“Well, at least I’m not the only one lost around here,” he said, then offered her his hand. “My name’s Jimmy Kirk. What’s yours?”

Allison shot a glance at Cobalt, and raised an eyebrow.

I said you knew him, and it’s true.
I have not lied to you,
And you still have things to do.


“Whatever,” she muttered, and the young James Kirk looked over at her oddly. “He rhymes all the time. It gets really annoying after a while.”

“But he didn’t say anything...” Jimmy looked puzzled.

“Yes, he did. I think he’s telepathic.” She looked over at Cobalt. “Let him hear you, will you?”

Now that you have told me to,
This is something I can do.


Jimmy stared hard at Cobalt for a minute. Then he looked back up at Allison. “I never did get your name.”

“Sorry. I’m Allison Danks, and this is Cobalt.”

“Danks? My mother’s maiden name was Danks...you wouldn’t happen to have a relative named Winona, would you?” Jimmy asked, surprised.

“Actually, no,” she said, crossing her fingers behind her back and feeling guilty at lying to this young Kirk. “I don’t think we’re related, unless you’re part Vulcan.”

“That’s true.” He paused. “This may sound completely irrelevant, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but you really don’t act like a Vulcan. What’s your blood type?”

She blinked, mind racing. She only remembered hearing about one Vulcan blood type from the old Star Trek episode “Journey to Babel,” but she had never bothered to find out her own. “I’m actually not sure.” Then she remembered the knapsack. “There might be something in here to tell us,” she said, unfastening the straps.

Jimmy opened up the knapsack, and soon pulled out a small black box with a screen and a button on it. “Here, this should tell us.” He hit the button and held the box up near Allison’s arm, and it beeped.

He looked a little surprised. “You’re S-positive. That’s almost unheard of. What House do you come from?”

She looked over at him. “Uhh...I don’t come from a House, actually. I was raised on Earth.”

He glanced at her oddly. “I’ve never heard of a Vulcan living on Earth before...”

Look this way and be alert!
Something’s there and it could hurt!


Allison turned to the direction Cobalt was looking in, having picked up on the baby dragon’s worried tone. The sound of something sharp biting into wood, and she looked up to see a very large, adult version of Cobalt with long, curving black horns that went well past its nose, and scales of a deep red blood color. Its tail whipped around as if alive, making a bell-like sound. It snarled, and blue-colored liquid dripped from its fangs. The saliva landed on a bush and it began to sizzle, eating away at the plant. The large dragon began to growl deep in its throat.

“This can’t be good...” Allison muttered.

Cobalt was growling also, which faintly surprised her.

That one is no friend of ours!
He could defeat you with his powers.
Careful, or he will destroy you,
But fight Sanguine, you must do!


Jimmy whipped out a phaser that Allison hadn’t noticed, and aimed it at Sanguine’s head. The dragon suddenly roared, an ear-splitting awful shriek, and lunged at them both.

Allison leaped out of the way and reached for her own phaser, not expecting to find it at her side and was more than mildly surprised when it was.

Jimmy fired at Sanguine, intending to kill him quickly. The red blast struck the red scales at Sanguine’s neck with deadly force-

-and the dragon sat back, unharmed but apparently amused. It snarled in a parody of a grin, then jumped on top of Jimmy and bit down hard on his legs. Jimmy screamed, and Sanguine roared in triumph as he began to tear at the teenager. Allison fired at the dragon with her phaser, but he ignored her and continued ripping Jimmy apart. Cobalt sprang upon Sanguine’s back and arched his neck as a ripple moved across his scales toward his head. His head darted forward, spitting a glob of blue-tinted saliva onto Sanguine’s back. The older dragon screamed as acid melted scales and flesh and bone, and knocked Cobalt off before spreading his wings and flying away in a flash, taking Jimmy with him.

Allison stood in the clearing for a few minutes, staring at where Sanguine had flown. She heard Cobalt step up behind her. “This...this isn’t right. He didn’t die like this, at this age.”

I’m sorry I have to tell you this,
But things have seemed so amiss.
This isn’t really what it seems,
We dragons only call it the Dream.
The elders have been testing you,
And it’s supposed to help me, too.
That was only part of the test,
It will take time to find the rest.


She frowned. “So none of this is real?” Cobalt nodded his bronze head.

These lessons are to help you learn,
That which you have rightly earned.
But some of the lessons will be hard,
And some are like a wild card.
But they are only meant to help you,
And hurting is not what you are meant to do,
Even though you might be made to.


Allison stared into the dragon’s crystal eyes and reached out mentally, trying to see if he was telling the truth. Without effort, all of the baby dragon’s thoughts and feelings rushed into her in a split second. Cobalt made a sort of soft crooning noise, enjoying the mental touch, and Allison realized that all of her own mind was open to the dragon as well. She released the deep mental contact, and sat back. “This is going to take some getting used to.”


Chapter Ten - Here Be Dragons!


Damian and Allison, though unaware of each other's journeys, led similar experiences. Their lessons always took place in a new clearing and involved someone that they knew, but all of them required some deep thought to understand. Some of them still puzzled them, like Damian's encounter with a talking kangaroo or Allison's meeting with a jogging dolphin, but for the most part Cobalt and Illumina could try to explain, although they didn't know much more than their respective Vulcan did.

According to the Dream, the two Vulcans were a special case. Normally there would only be one dragon/padmiri team at a time, but for this event there were two needed. The telepathic bond between all four was also necessary, so the Mother Dragon was allowing it only this once.

And as the lessons went on, both dragons grew to be taller than the Vulcans when on their hind legs. Their scales stretched over well-honed muscle, and their black horns curved forward until they were almost at the end of their snouts. The neck, or dorsal, ridge also developed a way to move; raised when they were relaxed or sprinting, and lowered when angry or afraid.

And then came the day on which the lessons were over.

~~~~~~~

Allison opened her eyes, noting the sounds of the birds in the trees, as well as the faint calls of faraway dragons. She slowly sat up, looking around her and finally spotting Cobalt. He was about six or seven feet tall now and, to her surprise, his eyes were completely black.

"Good morning," Cobalt said, dropping his jaw into a close imitation of a smile. His voice sounded like a male version of Allison's voice, with a slight catlike purr or growl under it.

She blinked. "Did you just speak out loud?"

He nodded. "Now that you are no longer in the Dream, I don't have to talk telepathically all the time. I don't have to rhyme, either," he said with a rumbling laugh.

"Well, THAT is a relief," another male voice came from nearby. Allison turned and saw Damian sitting next to another bronze dragon with black eyes. Damian's dragon, Illumina, was very similar to Cobalt, with only the shape of her neck ridge and more delicate-looking legs to distinguish her. Cobalt's neck ridge was like sharp inverted curves, while Illumina's dorsal ridge was more wavy.

"No kidding," Illumina said out loud in a higher-pitched, feminine version of Damian's voice. She, too, had a slight rumble to her tone, as well as an Australian accent that matched Damian's perfectly.

Allison stood up. "How long have we been here?" she wondered out loud.

"Nearly one month," Cobalt answered.

"One month?!" Damian and Allison exclaimed.

"We were supposed to meet up with the Yel'Hal-tor weeks ago!" Allison said. "I wonder if they're looking for us..."

"Well, you WERE about to make a comm call," Illumina pointed out. "I think we should head back and see if the comm system even still works."

"Good idea," Allison said. "Let's go."

The foursome stepped back into the forest, in the direction of the downed shuttle.

~~~~~~~

The Yel'Hal-tor glided through space, and for all appearances it seemed like everything was normal. But inside the massive ship, there were a lot of very worried crewpersons.

"They can't have just disappeared," Kristian said for the umpteenth time. "The Cerioa and the Kitrack said that they did indeed leave Embryian, but we know that they didn't make it to the rendezvous point. No comm calls, no distress calls, no nothing! Where can they be?"

"Could something have happened to them?" Jessie asked.

The two were on the bridge, keeping their voices low enough that it was a private conversation. The other members of the bridge crew worked furiously, trying to come up with a likely place for the two missing officers to be.

"I think that's very likely," Kristian started to say, but suddenly Ensign Felsinger yelped in surprise.

"Sir, I'm getting a signal from the Igen'Zahelsu! Audio only."

"Put it on speakers, ensign!"

The speakers clicked on. "Danks to Yel'Hal-tor, please come in..." the Captain's familiar voice said.

"Yel'Hal-tor here, Captain. Where in the galaxy ARE you?" Kristian answered, overwhelmed with relief. The other crewpersons audibly sighed, thrilled that the Captain was finally found.

"We're on a previously unnamed planet in the Damark sector. It's a binary star system, with a yellow star and a red giant star. This is the only inhabitable planet, which the natives call K'ti'ma V. We crash-landed a month ago."

"'We'? Does that mean Damian is with you?" Kristian asked.

There was a pause, and several voices chuckled before Damian's voice finally came through the speaker. "Yeah, I'm here too."

"Can you come and pick us up?" Allison's voice said. "We kind of wrecked the shuttle. The comm's all that works, and that took a bit of jury-rigging."

"We're already on our way," Kristian answered. "Yel'Hal-tor out."

~~~~~~~

The Yel'Hal-tor pulled into orbit around K'ti'ma V a few hours after the call, and they immediately established contact with the two officers.

"Patch me in to the transporter room," Allison said, and Ensign Felsinger redirected her frequency down to Nick's panel.

"Lieutenant Danks here."

"Nick, lock the transporter onto us. We're slightly north of the shuttle. Four to beam up."

"Pardon? Four?"

"Yes, four. Two Vulcans, two non. That's an order, mister."

"Yes, Captain." Nick sounded puzzled, but he followed orders. "Energizing four."

Allison, Damian, Cobalt, and Illumina materialized in Transporter Room 2. Both dragons immediately ducked their heads slightly at the appearance of the roof, but they recovered quickly and turned to Nick.

"Hello, Nick," Cobalt offered to the stunned half-Andorian boy behind the console.

He stared at them, open-mouthed. "You've got....dragons?"

Cobalt extended a bronze paw and shook Nick's hand. "I am Cobalt of K'ti'ma," he said, scales chiming slightly at the motion. "Pleased to finally meet you."

Illumina also shook Nick's hand. "I am Illumina of K'ti'ma," she introduced herself, making the same musical noise as her scales shifted.

Just then, the doors swooshed open, and Jessie, Karin, and Steve quickly stepped into the room. All three froze at the sight of Allison and Damian with two large bronze dragons behind them.

Allison grinned and waved. "Hi."

Damian looked over at Allison. "I think we've got some explaining to do..."

~~~~~~~

Over the next two hours, Allison called together the other nine time-travelers, and the fourteen officers gathered in the Briefing Room. Cobalt and Illumina sat on their haunches near the table, and watched as each officer entered. They would receive the expected double-take from whatever person it happened to be, then the person would slowly sit down and watch the dragons out of the corner of their eyes.

Once all of the officers were present, Allison stood up. "First thing's first. It feels really good to be back home." She glanced over at Damian and he shook his head a little. She nodded back. "And now, down to business. I'm sure you're all dying to know where we went and why exactly there are two dragons sitting right here." She sat down, and Illumina and Cobalt stood up and moved closer to the table.

"I am Cobalt," Cobalt introduced himself. "This is Illumina. We are both dragons of K'ti'ma. The dragons of K'ti'ma were created by what you used to call the Force , and have been around for many millennia. When one of us is born with the right mix of mental and physical characteristics, we may be chosen to mentally bond with someone strong in the Force. We who are chosen will have black eyes, which is an easy way of telling us apart from the other, crystalline-eyed dragons. Our kind has been in contact with the human race before, but over the last few thousand years we have lost contact. Over time, your kind has dismissed such tales as fantasy, but your ancestors who colonized Earth knew this to be true."

Illumina picked up on the narrative. "Your planet Earth was colonized by a race of humans from another galaxy. Our planet and its system, K'ti'ma, were also moved via the Force to this 'Milky Way' galaxy when the humans also moved. Your planet was hit by an ice age, which erased the knowledge of the dragons of K'ti'ma, as well as all the technology your kind had invented. Since then, our kind has waited for someone to rediscover our planet and take their place as a padmiri of a chosen dragon. Cobalt and I are honored to have Allison and Damian as our padmiris. We know all that they know, and vice versa. It is our way."

Jessie raised a hand like she was in school. "Wait a second. R'IljiN said that Allison was the only one who could still see the future, so how does Star Wars exist? George Lucas should have that gift, too."

"No, not exactly," Cobalt said. "There still are several humans, young and old, in the 21st century who can see the PAST. George Lucas is one of them. But Allison sees the FUTURE. See the difference?"

Jessie acknowledged that yes, there was a considerable difference, and that she understood.

By this time, Cobalt and Illumina had circled the entire Briefing Room table once, and then they returned to where they were before they had begun speaking.

Allison began again. "The entire month that Damian and I were missing, the dragons of K'ti'ma put us in a dream-like state in order to teach us certain things. Apparently, this is also to prepare us for the event that R'IljiN told us about. He also mentioned the Azure and the Crystal." She waved her hand in the direction of the two dragons. "The Azure and the Crystal are Cobalt and Illumina. But I can definitely understand why they have to be with us. I had Steve scan them and compile a medical report." She nodded at the Chief Medical Officer, and he pulled out a padd.

"Both of the dragons have the same basic physiology," he began. "They have thick skulls, and a strong spine connected right at the base of their skull that would allow them to ram through almost anything without being hurt at all. Their claws and horns have some kind of titanium in them, and they have a second layer of scales which is practically indestructible, aside from exposure to extremely acidic compounds or the full power of a starship's phasers on overload. They both have the ability to produce their own acid, which can injure or kill one of their own kind if their body chemistry is even slightly different." He put the padd down and looked up, a slight smile tugging at the side of his mouth. "It's a good thing they're on OUR side, because I'd hate to have to patch you all up!" he said, and everyone laughed.

Cobalt immediately took it upon himself to say, "I am dragon, hear me roar!" and beat on his chest like Tarzan.

After that, the tension in the room decreased quite a bit, and the other officers felt mostly comfortable around the dragons. However, Karin and Cheryl were a bit annoyed that the two dragons couldn't pronounce their names right. They had already started calling Karin "Karn", and now Cheryl was being called "Chell." Damian seemed to think it was because they had the letter "r" in the middle of their names, and those names seemed to be rather hard for the dragons to get their tongues around.

However, after a few hours had passed, the ship simply had to resume normal functions. Damian and Allison, accompanied by their respective dragons, went to their quarters to change into their uniforms, while the other twelve time-travelers resumed their normal duties.

While in her quarters, Allison set up a place for Cobalt to sleep and recorded her account of the detour to K'ti'ma, and then sent the recording off to StarFleet Command with a request for shoreleave. The answer came back almost immediately. Shoreleave was granted, on any planet of the Captain's choosing.

Grinning to herself, Allison sent up a message to the bridge, ordering a course change.




To Be Continued...