Out of Time - 1. Chapter 1

Out of Time

 

 

Prologue

 

 

Little drops of sweat kept inching their itchy way down hot human skin. Even covered up against the Iranian sun, they were sweating. Temperatures had soared during the long desert day but were now coming down again as the shimmering air darkened. Gavin breathed in and out through his nose, battling against the dryness that just wouldn't let up. He reflexively checked his weapon. It had its safety on, just as the last time he'd checked. The unit was waiting, facing him, at parade rest. Small whorls of sand blew accross everybodies faces, clogging every single minute slit or gap.

 

Bounding footsteps heralded the arrival of the last and now severely late member of Bravo Team. Gavin secured his M16A1 and glared at his men. "A-ten.. HUT!" They all snapped to attention. Acceptable.

 

"Listen up, shit bricks. Today's enemy is called Heydar Toshkaspi. You all have a pic uploaded to your comms. This guy is the local warlord and arms dealer. We're not dealing with some sand rat here, this guy is dangerous. The compound we're visiting tonight has about fifteen guards, armed with Khaybar KH2002's. Basically a Chinese M16 clone. Old as fuck but accurate. Small arms, mostly AK-47s and RPK machine guns, mortars. Bound to have grenades and lots of other stuff to play with. Word has it they have a Misagh2 surface-to-air missile. We're therefore approaching on LPC's."

 

Some of the men groaned, but only slightly. Gavin gave them a death glare. "Shut up. Red one, red two, you will arrange cover fire on the gates, at least try to take out some guards this time. Red three, red four, red five, you're with me. We grab Toshkaspi. I want him with a heart beat so no fuckups. Red six, red seven, you're on the perimeter. I know we've just been on our feet for 36 hours but I expect perfection. Nothing less. Do you copy?"

 

"SIRYESSIR!"

 

"Alright. Red three, if you are late again, so help me, I'll bust you right down to recruit! You're on GI party today. And tomorrow! You can consider yourself lucky." The private did.

 

"Get some food into you and grab some shuteye. Moveout at oh-two-hundred. Dismissed."

 

Oh no. Gavin could see his personal nemesis swooping in from four o'clock. The man stumbled over some loose gravel. His gaunt, frowning face dripped with sweat. "Yes, mister Walker?", Gavin groused. The rather noticeable stress on the word 'mister' wasn't lost on the embedded journalist.

 

"Lieutenant Barnett. A question, please?" Walker didn't wait a second. He knew that if he gave the marine now towering over him even a sliver of a reason to brush him off, he would. "What are LPC's and why don’t the men like those?" Lt. Barnett grunted. Walker tentatively classified this as a #3 (you again?).

 

"LPC's are Leather Personnel Carriers." The skinny civillian looked confused. When didn't that sap look confused? "Boots, moron. Boots. We're gonna be walking tonight." He grinned nastily. "That means you too. Before you talk my ears off, again, a GI Party is cleaning duty. Now go away."

 

"And what is a Jeep? I thought it was a, you know, sturdy car but the way the men we're talking about it, I thought-"

 

Grunt #21 (please kill me now!) cut off his rambling. "JEEP. Joint Emergency Evacuation Plan. Why don't you just read the fuckin dictionary, numbnuts?"

 

"Sorry sir. I was rambling again, eh? I tend to do that when I'm a bit nervous, like.." Walker watched the lieutenant stalk off.

 

---

 

"Lieutenant?"

 

Gavin looked up from his paperwork. Private Gonzalez, at 18 years the team's Benjamin, came to attention, almost painfully straight. He liked the scrawny kid. Bit too enthusiastic but hey, that's how he’d started out too. Most of them did in fact, especially the ones who didn’t stay alife for very long. "Yes, private?"

 

"Message for you, sir. Personal and private. Life feed."

 

"Life feed? For fuck's sake, you can call it a phone call, Private.” He glared at the private. “Well, where is it?"

 

Gonzalez took a crappy mobile phone out of one of the pockets in his BDU's. "I've eh.. taken the liberty to switch it through to a handheld set, sir."

 

Gavin snatched the phone from the nervous private's hand and walked off. "Barnett, not secure."

 

"Son? It's me."

 

"Mom!" For some reason, the sweat on his back turned cold.

 

"Are you alright, out there?"

 

"I'm fine, mom. How are you?"

 

---

 

He moodily chewed a bit of pound cake. Fuckin' hell, was he getting soft? It used to be so simple. The Corps had been his first real home, at least the first place he really felt at home. Mom and dad.. sure, he loved them. Meh, they'd done what they could. Not better, not worse. Once signed up, he'd had stability, orders to follow, something to do with his life. It had also helped that he was so damn good at it all. A born soldier. Point him at a target, he'd take it out. No stupid complicated social crap like at school anymore. No bullies anymore, no more pop quizzes and, best of all, no stupid school counsellor. Once a marine recruit, he suddenly found himself calculating ballistics in his head, could assemble and disassemble an M4 Carbine in under six minutes and knew the Guidebook for Marines by heart. Soon enough, he'd decided to be a lifer. He felt alive, brimming with energy and capable of anything.

 

That was four years ago. Since then, he'd seen more carnage than he'd seen in all the action movies he ever watched. Combined. He never really gotten used to the smell of gore, ripped open bodies, especially if they were kids. You dealt with it. Simple as that. It wasn't that. He'd simply lost sight of his goal. What was his goal anyway? Hang out in jungles, deserts and savannahs with a constantly changing bunch of jarheads and shoot people? To boldly go where no one has gone before, to meet new life and new civilisations and kill them?

 

"You okay, Gav?"

 

He looked up from his musings. Lt. Akari. He was a good friend. Usually, he'd be happy to see him. Not so now. "I'll be fine."

 

"Come on, Charger, talk to me."

 

Gavin sighed. "My brother died yesterday."

 

"I heard you got a personal call.. uh hey, I'm sorry for your loss, man."

 

Akari stuck out a grubby hand and Gavin shook it.

 

"Gimme some of that geedunk, will ya? I just got back."

 

Gavin shoved over some pound cakes. He couldn't really face the thought of food anyway. "Shit storm tonight. Not in the mood for talking."

 

"Too right. But you never talk, do you?" Akari grinned. "You alright for the mission?"

 

"We are marines, " Gavin intoned. "This is what we do."

 

Lieutenant Akari shook his head and bit down on his snack.

 

---

 

The world exploded in sound and blinding light, debris zipping around everywhere. They'd evidently been found out. Gavin felt no fear, he felt absolutely nothing. He dropped down, totally deaf. Sand was fountaining up in strange patterns. It took him a couple of seconds before he realised it was machine gun fire running over the ground. Occasional sparks and some tracer rounds made it crystal clear. He unslung his M16 and opened up in the general direction of the enemy, not really caring for the moment whether he hit anyone or not. He had to get his men back together. Luckily, his hearing was coming back. The szft szft of the bullets was clearly audible now.

 

He looked around cautiously and noticed his men firing their own weapons. Signs seemed to say everyone was okay but it was hard to see with all the dust. He thumbed the comm grafted into his arm for confirmation and got six. One short. Which one? Red 7. Mickey. Where was the guy?

Damn the bastards! He needed more firepower. Just emptying clips into an enemy that was doing exactly the same wouldn't get them anywhere. He crawled over to Red three and four and shouted to be heard over the din.

 

"Break 'em up in there, mortars, then grenades. We'll cover. GO!"

 

The two men crawled off. Gavin got up and ran over to the rest of his men, upper body bent down as much as possible. He tripped and got a mouth full of sand into the bargain. Cursing, he tried to get up again but his gunsling had hooked itself around something. It was a dark, wet mess that he barely recognised as Mickey. Yuck. Stone dead, from the look of it. Poor bastard. Mickey did have a 40mm grenade launcher mounted underneath the barrel of his M16. Gavin took it. He shouldered it and fed the enemy some grenades. Mourning could be done later.

 

The blasts and the shrapnel from the grenades were doing some real damage to the enemy position. OO-RAH. Private Johnson turned up, holding a bloodied K-BAR. He grinned wrily, put the knife away and offered his lieutenant a canteen. Gavin accepted it gratefully, trying to think of what to do next. Simple. Drink. He noticed Johnson's BDU's were soaked.

 

"You're wounded, Private."

 

"Ah, nothing much. Just some shrapnel. Bleeds like a bitch, though."

 

"I'll get you some b-". Gavin froze in place. 'I'm hit', flashed through his mind. Time slowed to a crawl. There was surprisingly little pain. The ground coming up knocked the air out of his lungs.

 

---

 

On opening his eyes, Gavin decided he was blind. There was only white. Whiteness against a white background. He closed his eyes again and remembered he'd been killed. 'Fuck!'

 

Just as he was foggily trying to figure out how he could be dead and - barely - conscious, a voice boomed out of the whiteness. It was low, authoritative and carried awesome power.

 

"Gavin Barnett. Your life is at an end. Stand to meet your doom." It even reverberated though Gav couldn't see anything any sound could reverberate against.

 

A man dressed in flowing white robes somehow managed to be visible against the whiteness. The apparition strided over to him. His face was lined with age but the dark brown eyes sparkled with brilliance, energy and something.. sly, wily. His face and dark hair were the only colour Gavin could see besides all the white. He had the immediate feeling that this man was very, very dangerous to know. His ears and chin prickled with sudden fear.

 

Not knowing what else to do, Gavin rose to his feet. The big blood stain on his chest was still visible but seemed to have stopped spreading. The pain had also vanished. Gavin found himself fumbling for something to close the wound with when he realised there was no blood on his skin. Also no wound. Just the torn hole in the uniform fabric where he had taken the hit. 'Hot diggity, what's going o-'

 

"Is this how you greet your God?", the white Gandalf lookalike demanded. Gavin fought the urge to snap to attention.

 

"This is me not knowing what the fuck's just happened."

 

"Well, you're dead, jarhead. And I am God."

 

Gavin felt his frustration growing. This was too much. "Sure. I don't believe in any god. For all I know you're some crap thrown up by my dying brain," he spat.

 

A hint of amusement flickered in the eyes of the self-proclaimed deity. The whiteclad apparition had apparently lost interest in looking wise. The pale face, close up now, showed a far less comforting emotion. Snarkiness.

 

"I know that one." The white man smiled, taking on a dramatic posture. "You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you..." He laughed. "Lots of fun I had with that fellow, zipping back and f-"

 

"Say what?", Gavin blurted. "What are you going on about?"

 

The white man bent over him, their faces too close for comfort. "Puny. A puny mind in a puny body. What do you know of the universe, tiny mammal?"

 

Gavin unconsciously balled his fists. Warmth coloured his neck and face. "More than you. You're a figment of my imagination!"

 

"Oh dear, oh dear. And here I was, thinking you had actual potential," the white man said, not intimidated in the least. He leisurely leaned back against a bit of whiteness. "I didn't save you from that pathetic little brawl for nothing. You had the chance to finally reach beyond those boundaries you humans love so much... to broaden your minuscule mind!"

 

"Potential for what? No, don't, fuck... why didn't I take that bullet to the brain? That way I wouldn't have to listen to all this crap." Gavin grew more angry by the second. "If you really are some sort of god you can leave well enough alone! Lemme go!"

 

The white man whirled. "Is that what you want? Fine!" He snapped his fingers theatrically.

 

---

 

'Fuck, I'm hit!'

 

The burning pain of a bullet to the chest flashed through his body as he fell once again, hitting the ground hard. His hands reached up to touch warm blood. Soft... Lying on his face, Gavin felt carpet under him. He clenched his teeth against the agony threatening to blot out his consciousness. 'Carpet?'

 

A female voice called out. "What is tha- doctor, I need help in here!" "What is it, Alyssa?" another answered.

 

Doctor Crusher walked out of her office to the sight of a profusely bleeding military man on the floor of her sickbay.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 1

 

Captain Jean-Luc Picard stepped out of the turbolift and walked over to Sickbay. There was the Aresian ambassador to welcome aboard at 0400, a banquet to set up, a level 3 diagnostic on the ODN conduits portside, performance reviews with the main engineer and, as always, loads of paperwork. Musing, he almost missed the entrance to Sickbay but he managed a sharp turn and walked in, face set firmly to his command persona.

 

"Doctor."

 

"Captain Picard." They nodded to eachother, a bit stiffly. Although they now enjoyed a far more relaxed relationship with eachother than two or three years before, Jack Crusher’s death under Picard’s command still coloured their interactions.

 

"Status update on your patient?"

 

Doctor Crusher took the captain over to a biobed on which rested the prone form of a man in a very ancient military uniform. Lieutenant-Commander Data, the ship’s second officer, stood beside the biobed, studying the patient. The military man was long, hard with muscle but not bulky. The numerous scars on his face and his exposed chest betrayed a probably bloody past. His hair was very short, only showing a shadow of black hair on his head. Overall, he was pretty sunburned. His face was very pale but the captain decided that was probably caused by the ordeal he had obviously just been through.

 

"He is basically okay. I took this," she picked up two small metal cilinders from a kidney dish, "out of his left pectoral and knitted him up. We gave him two units of blood. He's a strong man, even wounded he took twohundred milligrams of isodigoxin before he went under."

 

Picard nodded gravely, effortlessly skipping over the medical minutiae. "Can you wake him up?"

 

"I can but I'd rather not. This guy is off-the-grid medically, full of a cocktail of the most insane substances. It's better if he wakes up on his own."

 

"Very well, doctor. Do you know who he is, where he comes from?”

 

The doctor looked to her companion, who took over. He rolled his eyes up slightly for a second because he knew Humans did that when thinking or preparing what to say. "The uniform alone tells us many things. He is a Lieutenant first class in the United States Marine Corps, a branch of the navy of the then still existing United States of America, from 2002, when that particular uniform debuted, at the earliest or 2016 at the latest, when it was fully-" He caught Doctor Crusher's glance. "He is 21 years old."

 

"Data, you know his age from his uniform?" Picard marveled.

 

"No sir, I found that on his identification."

 

“Well, keep me posted, doctor.” The captain turned and walked off, slapping his communicator. "Picard to LaForge."

 

Doctor Crusher watched him walk away, shaking her head. Data filed the entire scene in his positronic brain, flagging it as yet another human interaction to analyze.

 

---

 

"LaForge here."

 

"Geordi, we've had a rather strange intrusion in sickbay. A wounded.. soldier turned up out of the blue. I want a full scan of the surrounding cubic parsec, especially for temporal disturbances. And I want to know why the intruder alarm didn't go off."

 

"Yessir. Will do. Prio 1, I guess?" It spoke for Geordi's professionalism that his voice only slightly betrayed his curiosity.

 

"Priority 1. Picard out."

 

---

 

'Carpet'? Gavin tried to shake his head to dislodge the cobwebs clouding his mind but his head wouldn't move. Strange. He frowned. That he could feel. The skin over his nose and forehead clearly moved. Setting the confusing thoughts about carpet to the side, he began taking stock of his own body. He really didn't feel that much, actually. No burning pain in his chest. Good. Maybe this time around he had kicked the bucket. Some kind of afterlife? He hoped it wouldn't be all white. He was breathing but he didn't know if that continued in an afterlife or not.

 

A dry sob welled up in his chest. Poor Mickey. At least he’d gone down in battle. So had he in fact. It was hard to picture himself being dead, especially since he was still there.. well, somewhere anyway. No more tramping around in an unfriendly desert with death lurking behind each rock. Also no more buddies.. Scotty, Professor, House, Smokey, none of those leathernecks he’d ever see again, drink with, laugh off the things they’d seen. And done. No more.

 

The air was ridiculously cool for Iran. It was about what you'd expect at home, indoors. It did smell wrong. It didn't really smell of anything. He noticed a continuous stream of soft chirps and beeps from all around. His back and legs told him he was lying on a sturdy but supporting surface. Gavin wiggled his toes a bit and raised his fingers one by one. Good, that worked. He cautiously opened one eye a crack and closed it again. Far too bright. Opening both eyes, a few seconds later, he found himself looking up at a blue and pinkish blob. The blob wavered a bit. Gavin closed his eyes and tried again. Better. The blob slowly resolved in some form of head over a blue-clad pair of shoulders. It was talking.

 

"- arnett, can you hear me? Mr. Barnett?"

 

Gavin grimaced. His throat felt all wrong but he managed to croak "Lieu-tnt." The red-haired lady - it was a woman, yes - smiled warmly. She looked as if she expected him to say more but he didn't know what to say. He simply stared. She was a pretty lady. Looked as if she was real friendly too. He realised he was lying on a bed. Was she a doctor?

 

"Sorry, Lieutenant. Can you understand me?" She let him drink some water from a cup.

 

Gavin tried to nod but, again, his head wouldn't move. "Yes. Where’m I?"

 

The woman flashed him another of her warm smiles. "You are safe. You are aboard the Enterprise."

 

"Enter-prise? What are you lot doing here? Aren't you docked at Norfolk, Virginia?" Then the decor finally sank in. The machinery not so much but the computerized walls weren't like anything he'd ever seen. This was no aircraft carrier.

 

"What? When?"

 

"Are you okay? How do you feel?"

 

How did he feel? Well, no pain. That was something. "Okay I guess, seeing as I just took a couple of slugs to the chest. How long was I out?"

 

The doctor fiddled with his bed, producing more beeps and chirps. She glanced away for a second, then smiled at him again. "About three hours from the time you got here."

 

Another voice spoke. “Two hours, fifty-eight minutes, fourty sec-“

 

“Hush, Data.”

 

Three hours? That wasn't possible. Not with the damage he'd taken. Even doped up. Then again, it was a strange medical facility, especially for a ship. Gavin frowned again. It didn't add up. There was no other Enterprise after the CVN-65. Certainly nothing this high tech.

 

"Doctor..?"

 

"Doctor Crusher. I am the Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise. Are you sure you are okay?" She moved a gadget up and down his body and over his head. It whirred and gave a couple of beeps. "Your vitals are fine. You're a strong man, Lieutenant."

 

"What kinda ship is this?"

 

For a moment the doctor was silent. She touched his shoulder with her hand. Her flaming red hair smelled faintly of lavender. He tried to stop himself from frowning as a long tress stickled his nose. "You are aboard the starship USS Enterprise. It is the flagship of the United Federation of Planets."

 

Gavin closed his eyes. It was a lot to take in. A spaceship? Well, that would explain the futuristic decor.

 

"Fucking hell, a spaceship?" He tried to sit up and again was unable to move. He felt himself panicking a bit. Prickly sweat erupted on his forehead. The doctor fiddled with his bed again. A few beeps and the force that held him down disappeared. Why did everything these people did have to bleep? He sat up and put his legs over the edge of the bed. He took a couple of deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. It also helped stopping the room from spinning slowly.

 

"A spaceship, eh?" Gavin looked around, his head still reeling. The sickbay was almost empty, apperently

there weren’t a lot of wounded. Or sick. People in blue labcoats were milling around or working at one of a series of scifi workstations. Again, he noticed the ultraclean, scrubbed smell of the air. He scratched his nose. Still nothing. Weird.

 

“Lieutenant Barnett, are you alright?” Doctor.. (what was her name again?) had apparently been talking. Gavin wondered why she didn’t wear a name tag.

 

“Lieutenant Barnett. I realise this must be a lot to take in. Are you alright?”

 

He nodded and smiled. “Copacetic.”

 

Doctor Crusher (that’s it!) frowned a bit but apparently decided to forge right ahead. “We don’t know at present how you got here. We are trying to find out.”

 

Gavin wasn’t listening. "Whoa! Who is THAT?!"

 

Dr. Crusher followed the slightly trembling arm. "Oh, that's Mr. Mott. I think he's in for a checkup."

 

"Damn. You sure he is not anemic?"

 

"Why? Oh, no no no. He is a Bolian, they're always blue."

 

"Not as in Bolivia, right?" Gavin couldn't help himself and started walking over to the azure creature. 'An alien... an actual alien..'

 

"How do I talk to him?", Gavin mumbled, transfixed. Mott turned around and stuck out his hand.

 

"Opening and shutting your mouth usually does the trick. Hi, I'm Mott, you're new here, aren't you? Well, sir, may I compliment you on that razor sharp haircut? It is bad news for an honest barber, such as myself, but I cannot say but that it looks good on you. Well, what's the matter? Targ got your tongue?"

 

"N-nice to meet you." Gavin shook the proffered hand and marveled at the warmth. "I'm Gavin Barnett."

 

"I'm sorry, Mott. We have much to talk about." Dr. Crusher steered her charge away from the alien and steered him back to the raised bed he’d been lying on only moments before. “As I was saying, we are trying to find out how you got here and how we can send you back to your own time. In the mean time, the captain wants to speak to you..” She studied yet another readout. “Are you up for it?”

 

Gavin gave himself a lookover. He was still in his dirty, bloodied uniform. The big rip in the chest area with the black blotches round didn’t do a lot for his appearance. Well, it’d have to do.

 

A soft hiss and several turned heads heralded the entrance of someone. It turned out to be a small but fit man, about sixty years old, in a red and black formhugging uniform. Judging from his fierce glare and palpable aura of command, Gavin decided this would be the captain. He squared his shoulders in an attempt to at least look somewhat respectable and saluted.

 

“Doctor.” The grey-haired officer nodded curtly in their direction. “Ah, I see our guest is awake.”

 

“Sir, Lieutenant First class Gavin Barnett, sir!”, Gavin called out.

 

Picard cringed, but only slightly. “Well spotted, Lieutenant. My name is Jean-Luc Picard, I am captain of this vessel. Do you feel alright?”

 

The captain wanted to know how he felt? Well, sure. “Fine, sir. Thank you, sir.”

 

“Welcome to the Enterprise, Lieutenant. It seems you’re stuck here for the moment. In the mean time, I’ll have guest quarters set up for you and assign a liaison. But you’re not to leave here until Doctor Crusher lets you go.”

 

He had no idea what to say as the words washed over him. He was impressed by this spaceship captain. The man radiated power. He opted for thanking the captain again. “Thank you, sir.”

 

“Alright. Report to me when you release mr. Barnett, doctor.” After that, the captain turned on his heels and walked out.

 

Doctor Crusher watched him go, then returned her attention to her new patient, who was patiently waiting on the biobed.

 

“Let’s talk in my office. Half the ship will be here soon enough now that you’re awake.”

 

Gavin put his bare feet to the deck and hesitantly put his weight on them. To his surprise, he could stand no problem. The doctor must be a genius. Still in a bit of a daze, he allowed himself to be led to an a closed off section of the ward. Just outside was a big painting with what looked like internal organs against the backdrop of space and what could only be space ships. He lingered, trying to see. 'Odd combo.'

 

The doctor motioned him to a chair and started waving a little metal gadget over his body once he sat down. It was yet another of these hitech thingamajigs that couldn’t do their job silently. She looked at a big chunky remote in her hand and smiled. Apparently she was pleased by what the chirping machinery told her. He looked around while she was busy with whatever she was doing. He still couldn’t believe it. The future! Cthulhu knew which century.

 

“Lieutenant?” The doctor called his attention back to the present, whenever it was. “You check out fine. All vitals look good but I still want you to be careful the next 48 hours. No exercise beyond walking around. No running, no lifting. Is that clear?”

 

“Yes’m.”

 

“Your liaison is on his way. He’ll show you to your quarters and generally stay around you while you adjust to.. well, us, where you are, when. I’ll ask the Counsellor to set up an appointment with you as soon as possible.”

 

“When exactly are, doc? And where?”

 

“The where is easy, we’re en route from Mars to Aldebaran III, only a couple of hours away. The when..” She tapped something into a .. well, something, then looked up. “By your calendar, it’s the third of July, 2367.”

 

Damn… more than three hundred fifty years out. A SNAFU if you ever saw one. No wonder these people were knee-deep in cool gadgets. And in space! Gavin had no idea where Aldebaran III was but it sounded like a planet and he’d never heard of it. Must be seriously far away.

 

He started to blurt out something about wanting to go back but was saved the trouble by the doors to the office hissing open. A shrill alarm sounded and cut off again.

 

---

 

Chapter 2

 

 

Captain’s ready room

 

“Number One, what do you think?” Picard sat back in his chair and used a thumb and forefinger to rub his weary eyes.

 

“I don’t know what to think. This man suddenly pops into existence in sickbay. Good move if you ask me because he was bleeding badly from multiple wounds sustained from some kind of projectile weapon.”

 

“I know all that, Number One. How did he get here?”

 

Anyone else wouldn’t have noticed anything on Picard’s face but total equanimy but Riker learned to read the small signs. Something was weighing on his captain’s mind. Whatever it was, it had unsettled the captain greatly and it probably wasn’t this man Barnett. Weird phenomena were par for the course on the Enterprise. “No idea. Geordi reported a clean scan for the surrounding four parsecs. We might as well get underway again, the trail is stone cold. This whole business makes me feel uncomfortable. It’s almost magic.”

 

The captain suddenly sat up straight. “What if it is magic?” His first officer frowned, not understanding. “Could it be Q?”

 

An intense burst of light made both men raise their hands to shade their eyes. It quickly faded and resolved into a Human male, decked out in seven hundred year old servants’ dress.

 

"You rang, m'lud?", the well-known fiend drawled.

 

"Q! Get off my ship! No, reverse whatever you did, then get off my ship!"

 

Another flash of light and, to Picard's considerable annoyance, Q had changed his clothes to a Starfleet admiral's uniform. "Temper temper, mon capitain." Q advanced on the trembling captain. "You wouldn't want that poor boy to die, would you?"

 

Picard bristled. He stood up and rounded on the entity, forcing him to take a step backwards. "No, not as such. But I can tell you I am royally fed up with your antics. Explain what you've done this time."

Q leaned in, very close to Picard. His face reflected a gamut of emotions, containing disgust, anger, condescension and.. could it be amusement? "It is very simple, my favourite troglodyte. You get yet another chance to prove yourself and in extenso your pathetic child race to be worthy."

 

"Worthy of space travel? That again?" Picard demanded of his nemesis, standing up. He noticed that he had balled his face and made a conscious effort to relax.

 

"Worthy of existence, my pet!"

 

Another huge flash of light. Q vanished in his usual needlessly theatrical manner.

 

"Well, at least that's the intruder alarm sorted." Riker sat back down again and studied his nails. Picard walked over to the window and stared out at the immobile starfield.

 

"At least we know he's behind it, Number One. No need to stay here, looking for clues. I suppose we can still reach Aldebaran III on time?"

 

"If we want to meet the beginning of the window we'll have to cruise at... one second." Commander Riker tapped some buttons. "Warp 7.84. Make it warp 8 and we save on energy expenditure."

 

"Make it so, Number One. Has that man... " Picard consulted a PADD, "Barnett been interviewed?"

 

Will checked a PADD of his own. "Not yet, sir. Medical is just transferring him to guest quarters. Shall I ask Deanna to talk to him?”

 

"At your discretion, Number One. Just keep him out of my hair."

 

The captain remained at the window, watching the starfield elongate as the Enterprise went to warp.

 

---

 

Sickbay

 

Gavin looked up when the doors opened. An Asian woman in a blue labcoat looked around the corner. “I have the innoculations set up, Doctor.”

 

Doctor Crusher looked up from a PADD she was reading. “Thank you Alyssa.”

 

“Are you alright, Doctor? You look very pale.”

 

“It’s nothing Alyssa but thank you.” The doctor put the PADD down and sighed. “At least we have a partial answer now. You were brought here by Q.”

 

“Q!”

 

Both turned their head. Gavin looked up and straight into a pair of eyes he could only pull his attention away from with some difficulty. The new visitor turned out to be an attractive guy about his own age with black spiky hair and a permanent smile. Gavin noticed the red-black uniform and a couple of shiny gold circles on the right of the neckline. He wondered if he should salute. Then again, when in doubt salute. His wits back about him, he jumped from his chair and saluted the newcomer.

 

"At ease, military boy," the man laughed. "No need for all that here." He stuck out his hand. "I am Reese Harper. I was assigned to act as your liaison on board, at least until you learn to get around."

 

Finally feeling on firm ground, Gavin shook hands with him. "LFC Barnett, sir. Nice to meet you."

 

"Likewise. Call me Reese."

 

Doctor Crusher had the distinct feeling she wasn't getting everything that was going on. She made a mental note to talk to Deanna as soon as possible and addressed Lieutenant Harper.

 

"Mr. Barnett has been transported to us by Q from somewhere in the 21st century."

 

“I heard. Maybe you’d better explain to Lieutenant Barnett here. He has no idea.”

 

"Q is someone I could only describe as an 'entity'," the doctor said, sounding exasperated. "He can appear looking like anything he wants, turn up everywhere and has, as far as we know, unlimited powers."

 

Gavin closed his gaping mouth. "So he is like a god?"

 

Beverly bit her lip and put an errant strand of hair in its place. "The capricious kind, maybe. He's taken an interest in our captain, for some benighted reason.”

 

When Lieutenant Barnett arrived, he was injured but that was easily taken care of." She looked at Gavin, who smiled obligingly and nodded, and returned her attention to Lieutenant Harper.

 

"You are to install him in some nice guest quarters and show him how to well, basically everything. Get him a commbadge and set up an appointment with the Counsellor. Also an appointment with the history department but later. They've been champing at the bit ever since they found out what happened. You can confer with Commander T’Sirk. Finally, you're to report directly to Commander Riker. He's cleared your schedule with Commander Berfield."

 

"Understood, Doctor. Anything else?"

 

"Not right away. I will want to see him," Beverly gestured with a medtricorder, "in two days for a check-up."

 

"Alright. Follow me then." Harper smiled at Gavin again, who felt slightly giddy.

 

Gavin jumped up and followed the friendly Lieutenant into the space ship.

 

---

 

Chapter 3

 

 

Engineering

 

 

Geordi LaForge walked up to a raven-haired young lady with an air that projected nervous determination. "Sonya, never mind the intruder alarm."

 

"Oh, hi! Commander. I'm sorry but I'm really doing the best I can here and-" She reached out to LaForge, as if in supplication.

 

"It's not that, Sonya. You wouldn't have found anything no matter how long you searched. It's Q." He awkwardly patted the Ensign on the shoulder. On receiving only a questioning look in reply, he added "Q? The entity who likes the captain so much and put us all on trial once?"

 

"Oh him! That explains it, I guess. You know, it was so strange. The sensors actually did pick up the new life form and sent out the alarm correctly, the subroutine worked okay and then... the information simply vanished, mid-bus, from all three cores simultaneously. You'd be a hell of a hacker if you could pull that off."

 

"Thank you, Sonya." LaForge thanked his lucky stars he got a word in edgewise. "Can you finish the level 3 diagnostic on the ODN conduits? After that, have a look at the articulation frame. I’ve got a bad feeling about it."

 

"Yes, Commander. No problem."

 

As Sonya watched the Lieutenant-Commander walk away, she couldn't shake the feeling her normal anxiety had just found a better reason to exist by far.

 

 

---

 

Deck 12, hallway

 

The spaceship was enormous. They walked through a couple of light-brown hallways wider than any Gav had ever seen on any ship. They passed a couple of pretty weird aliens, which he just shrugged off as something to deal with later. It was all so much! Lieutenant Harper - Reese - had told him they'd be going four decks up but the expected ladder well didn't materialize. Instead, there was a lift that went up and then sideways!

 

"This is deck eight. The captain, the first officer, Doctor Crusher and the counsellor have their quarters here too. If you want to come back here it would be best to tell a turbolift 'deck eight, guest quarters' and it will take you here."

 

Gavin tried to keep up and made a mental note. Deck eight, guest quarters. "How big is this ship?"

 

"The Enterprise is a bit over 642 meters long, 463 meters wide, 137 meters high, weighs about 4.5 million metric tons and carries just over a thousand people."

 

"That's almost twice the size of the Enterprise I know."

 

Reese Harper looked at his charge in sympathy. It really must be a lot to take in. He admired how the guy was holding up. Not bad-looking either.

 

"How many people? I mean, on your Enterprise? Also about half?"

 

"Hell no. Three times as much, easily! I never served on her, though."

 

They came up to a door marked as 08-0413. There was a little panel to the side with an array of multi-coloured icons. "Here were are, your guest quarters." Reese tapped a couple of the icons, which beeped obligingly. "State your name."

 

"Uh.. Lieutenant First Class Gavin Barnett."

 

A mellifluous female voice called out of thin air: "Voiceprint saved. Quarters now assigned to Gavin Barnett."

 

"Who's that?", Gavin demanded, off-balance. To his shame, he realised it was just a computer voice. Any game console could do this. Sounded a whole lot better, though.

 

"That is the ship's computer. Come on, have a look inside."

 

The two men walked in as the doors slid aside. The room was humongous, more like a suite or a penthouse. It was bigger than Gav's own apartment. It had a couch, several cosy chairs, a table with four chairs, nondescript artwork on the walls and a desk. Looking to the lef the noticed a seperate room, probably a bathroom.. Then he saw the windows. Outside he could make out long whitish stripes zooming through utter blackness.

 

"What's that? Are those windows?"

 

"Yep." Reese walked over to the slanting bulkhead and rapped it with the knuckles of his left hand. "This is the hull. Well, the inner part. It goes on for a couple of meters."

 

"But what are those then? The moving stripes."

 

"Stars. The light from the stars gets elongated as it passes the multiple layers of the warp field."

 

Gavin sat down heavily in a nearby chair. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

 

"I guess. Sorry." There wasn't a lot Lieutenant Harper could do about that. Looking at the dejected figure sitting a couple of yards away, his heart went out again to the involuntary time traveler. As a kid, he'd had a hard time wrapping his head around the concepts of interstellar distances and subspace. It still felt counterintuitive at times. And he was a child of the 24th century. He sat down next to his new friend and put a hand on his shoulder.

 

"It's okay, Gavin. We'll take this one step at a time."

 

Gavin looked up. "So how fast are we going?"

 

"Warp factor 8. In your terms what would be 1024 times the speed of light." He got an incredulous look in reply. "Uhm.. a bit more than 300 million kilometers per second or from Earth to the nearest star in just over 36 hours." More incredulity.

 

Gavin shrugged. "Lieutenant.. you don't have to explain, I get it. It's just .. so much. Faster than light travel... that's supposed to be impossible!"

 

Reese patted Gavin on the knee in the hopes of making him feel more comfortable. "Not anymore. By the way, my name is Reese. We’re not that formal here, usually."

 

"Uh, okay. My name is Gavin but my mates call me Charger. Called me, that is. They're long dead, I guess."

 

"I'm sorry. We can find out about them later if you want. First let me show you how to get cleaned up and how everything works."

 

---

 

Captain's ready room

 

Picard sipped his cooling tea and flipped open his desktop monitor. For the umpteenth time, he tried to focus on the diplomatic assignment, forcing his weariness back by sheer ironclad will.

 

Genovia - Class M (marginal) planet in the Elen Sigma system. Homeworld of the Genovians. No moons. Gravity: 112% Earth normal. Mean temperature: 33 degrees Celsius (large seasonal variation) Atmosphere contains considerable traces of argon. Principal interstellar export: Genovian Pear. Genovia's culture and economy have been focused on the war with Gultarra for approximately four centuries. Although the original conflict-

 

The intercom chirped. Again. 'Guinan to Captain Picard.'

 

He allowed himself a second's worth of composure and tapped his communicator. "Picard here."

 

"You need a drink, Jean-Luc." A few seconds passed. "I mean now." Guinan's voice was as warm as ever but a note of danger stood out clear in her timbre.

 

"Alright. Come up here to my ready room." After he'd signed off, Picard wasn't exactly amazed when his door signaled not a minute later. She must've known. Then again, she always did. "Come."

 

Guinan walked in. 'Sacre bleu! She looks almost grey! This must be really bad.' Picard faked a warm smile. "What I can do for you, Guinan?"

 

"It's more a matter of what I can do for you, Jean-Luc, and sadly that is very little." Guinan sat down on the couch and adjusted her flowing robe around her. "I can give you that drink I promised." The tension on her face relaxed somewhat as she stood up.

 

Picard signaled with his empty mug.

 

"Oh no, not that." She walked over to the replicator and came back, moments later, with a delicate flute-like glass filled with a dusky pink liquid.

 

"Bourgogne Aligoté with a dash of crème de cassis," Guinan explained as Picard sniffed the glass curiously. "That is exactly what you need."

 

'A kir.' Picard sipped and relaxed. He felt as if a breeze straight from his happy youth in the vineyards of his family estate freshened the room. Thus mollified he looked at Guinan again, eager for her to finally come to the point.

 

"It's synthehol, obviously. You need to be sharp, especially now. I'm talking about our guest, Gavin Barnett. He is far more important than he looks. Jean-Luc," she fixed the captain with her stare, "you will make a decision about him in the very near future. That decision will decide… I can't say. More than you would care to hear."

 

"Can't say or won't say?"

 

Guinan ignored him completely. "The boy doesn't know himself but he is central. In some way he will decide the future of the entire Federation. Maybe more."

 

Picard set his glass down and felt himself growing cold. "Are you saying that we should help him? Oppose him?"

 

"None of those things, Jean-Luc. Only that you must decide wisely." She gathered her flowing robes about her and swept out.

 

---

 

Lt. Reese Harper walked through the corridors of deck eight, feeling strangely light. He tossed the new communicator he'd picked up at Stores in the air and caught it again. It sparkled, turning over and over. He walked into Gavin's new quarters and found the owner, stark naked, dripping water all over the carpet.

 

Gavin swiveled around on hearing the door. "Oh hey! Don't they have any towels here?"

Reese couldn't help himself and laughed out loud at the sight of the marine looking so hapless.

"Just step back into the shower and select the sonic option. There are only two, you can't miss it."

 

A grumbling Gavin returned a minute later, mercifully dry and started to put on the civilian clothes they'd replicated earlier. He wasn't shy about his body at all. Reese didn't know where to look. He felt curiously relieved when his friend at least had his slacks on.

 

"What is that… drawing on your shoulder?"

 

"That, my friend," Gav said with pride, "is the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. The emblem of the Marine Corps." He posed, trying to show off his shoulder. "I've got more. 'Semper Fi' on my back, " - another turn - "and a devil dog". He flexed his right bicep for the last one.

 

"Uhm… impressive? You burned that into your skin?!"

 

Gavin laughed. "No, man! It's a tat, a tattoo."

 

"Oh right, ink. Looks good on you, though." Reese blushed slightly and decided to talk about something else. "This is a commbadge." He handed it over. "It's already set to you so when anyone wants to call you they can reach you through that."

 

Gavin turned the shiny badge over in his hand and tried to find an on/off-switch. He almost dropped it when the badge suddenly chirped and a voice rang out. "Picard to Gavin Barnett."

 

He looked at the thing, not knowing what to do with it.

 

"That's the captain. Quick, tap it. No, on the other side." The thing chirped again and went silent. Reese motioned frantically.

 

"Hello?"

 

"This is Captain Picard. Please report to my ready room at your earliest convenience."

 

At least he knew what to do with an order, even if it was couched in terms so wimpy that it would sound dangerous in the voice of his own commander. "Siryessir!"

 

"Picard out."

 

Gavin exhaled, then smiled. He'd just completed his first space phone call. Oorah. 'I better get kitted up doubletime.'

 

He put on his shirt and eventually had Reese help him with the unfamiliar clasps. After a quick check in the bathroom - 'a mirror you can switch off, what the fuck?' - he was ready to go.

 

Reese noticed him squirming. "What's wrong?"

 

"These clothes are far too loose.. sloppy." Gavin looked himself over. "I'll just have to get used to it."

 

"A soldier through and through, eh? I suppose we could replicate another uniform?"

 

"Nah, wouldn't be the same. And that's 'marine', thank you. Anyway, have to go, can't leave the cap waiting."

 

"I'll take you." They walked out but then Reese suddenly stopped. "Here, I'll show you a trick." He tapped the black wall lining that Gavin had written off as futuristic decor before.

 

"Computer, show me the way to the captain's ready room."

 

Quick as you please, the black wall panel lit up and displayed a schematic. A big arrow started blinking next to it, pointing in the same way as they had been walking.

 

"Fuckin' A! That helps!" The two men walked, took a ride in one of those fancy elevators again and arrived on the bridge. It was huge. Gav had been to parties hosted in something smaller. There were two forward-looking positions, a big horseshoe-shaped wall with more chairs and the bulkheads were simply covered in impressive diagrams and controls. The gigantic viewscreen showed more of those lines he knew were stars.

 

A slight nudge from Reese started him walking again. The door must've seen them coming as it chirped when they arrived.

 

"Come."

 

"That means go in. Go."

 

Gavin walked into the room and found a the captain in front of him.. Even seated behind a desk the captain projected a tangible air of command. Basically, the man was his own motivation. There was only one possibility. He came to attention and ripped off a salute.

 

"Sir, reporting as ordered, sir!", Gavin barked.

 

The captain sighed and tried to stop himself from touching his ears. "At ease. Sit down."

 

"Yessir."

 

Picard tried to find the right words. "Listen, Mr. Barnett. There is no need for this…vocal discipline. You will address me as sir or captain but more than once a sentence seems a bit overdone. I also have no auditory problems at all - that means I can hear."

 

"Sir, no excuse, sir!" Gavin felt uncomfortable sitting in the presence of a superior of such rank and kept expecting to be disciplined. As far as possible, he stared over the captain's head and almost pulled off sitting-at-attention.

 

Well... welcome again to the Enterprise. As far as I understand there is no way we can send you back so you will be with us for a while. Are your quarters acceptable?"

 

"Sir. They are more than acceptable, sir. They're bigger than my entire apartment!" Gavin fidgeted.

 

"Lieutenant Harper is doing a good job of showing you around?", Picard asked, vaguely unsettled by the marine sitting in front of him. The boy exhibited exactly that kill-crazy military conduct that he believed his own age had outgrown.

 

"Yessir, he's a big help."

 

"Very well. Tell me everything you remember about getting here."

 

Gavin launched into his story. He told the captain about taking a hit in battle. He described the carnage in graphic detail. Picard had stop himself from visibly cringing once or twice. Gavin related waking up in the white space, talking to the so-called god and then hitting the deck on the Enterprise, wounded again.

 

"That hurt like fu- sorry sir, that hurt a lot but the next thing I remember is waking up all healed by that doctor…"

 

"Doctor Crusher?"

 

"Yessir. Doctor Crusher. And that's basically it."

 

"Very well. If you remember anything more, kindly contact Commander Riker. Dismissed."

 

After the enthusiastic young man had left after saluting again and barking something again, Picard leaned back in his chair. 'C'est le bordel! The man really is an anachronism. Bloodlust and aggressive gung-ho attitude all the way. Guinan thinks he's important but oh la la, what an unlikely person to play such a grand role’.

 

---

 

Enterprise bridge

 

Unaware of the impression he'd left, Gavin sauntered onto the bridge proper and didn't see his escort. After a quick look around, he noticed a likely door and walked over. An insanely pale man with combed back hair turned around and greeted him. Gavin had learned his lesson and decided the yellowy man was just another alien. He decided not to remark on it so he wouldn't sound like a total hick.

 

"Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Barnett."

 

Gavin shook hands. 'Do they all know me?!'

 

"Likewise, sir." He had no idea as to the man's rank but people here didn’t salute for some reason. He kept his arm at his side.

 

"I am Commander Data, the second officer. Perhaps, when we meet in Ten Forward, we can socialize."

 

"I guess," Gavin grinned helplessly.

 

"Have a good day, Lieutenant." With that, he was sent on his way again. As the lift doors closed behind him, he told the air 'Deck eight, guest quarters' and finally let go of the breath he'd been holding. Back in his quarters, he told Reese.

 

"Have I just been hit on or does that guy always sound like that?"

 

"That's Commander Data, no wonder you look so perplexed. He is an android and he really tries too hard to sound human."

 

"An android? That's a robot?"

 

"Almost. A living one. Actually, he's the only one. He's very special to us too."

 

"Must be. Where were you anyway? When I came out of the captain's office, you weren't there.”

 

"Yeah, sorry for that. I was called away by Astrophysics. Critical experiment."

 

Gavin wasn't really listening. He looked at his guide. Reese looked like a person but what if he wasn’t? Gavin had no idea how to deal with an alien. “I dunno if you mind but.. are you Human?"

 

Reese grinned. "Yes. Full-blooded, Earth-raised Human. Does that make a difference?"

 

"No diff, just wanted to know."

 

"You look like you could use a drink. Want to come to Ten Forward? We're in orbit around Aldebaran III, bound to be a great view."

 

"Beer-thirty? Sure, man. Let's go!"

 

---

 

The enormous windows of the Enterprise's main lounge offered a spectacular view of a warm blue ocean planet.

 

A black woman noticed them and came over. 'Great hat, ' Gavin thought, 'she can receive Discovery Channel all the way from Earth.' He quickly turned his grin into a smile as the woman looked at him expectantly.

 

"Welcome to the Enterprise, Gavin. I'm Guinan."

 

Gavin noticed the tension behind her smile but dismissed it as not his business. "Hi. Nice to meet you. Can I have a beer?"

 

Reese, who'd decided he could use a stiff drink, ordered a Warp Core Breach. After their drinks arrived, they gazed out at the starfield and the planet rolling on behind the transparent aluminium windows. Eventually, the planet turned away. Gavin realised it was the ship turning and tried to get a last look at the first alien planet he'd ever seen. Then the starfield exploded briefly and settled down to the usual effect of colourful stripes. The men clinked their glasses and drank. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

 

A claxon sounded. "Yellow alert. Attention all decks, yellow alert. Yellow alert."

 

"What's going on?", Gavin asked, sitting up straight and looking about the room.

 

Reese shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm in astrophysics, remember? Probably just a precaution, though."

 

Guinan sailed by again and exchanged their glasses for full ones.

 

Gavin relaxed." So, you're an astrophysic-physicist. What's that then?"

 

"It basically means I know how stars work. You're a marine, right?" Reese found himself liking the cheerful man in front of him.

 

"Yep. It basically means I know how to kill people."

 

The clinked their glasses to that. As time passed, various people came by to greet their new guest. Many of them weren't Human. Gavin liked the Vulcans best, mostly because they looked as out of place as he imagined himself to be.

 

"Say, Gav.. want to see my place?"

 

---

 

Conference Lounge

 

Riker was worried. The captain looked ashen. His back was, as always, ramrod-straight and his face reflected nothing but strength and determination. Still, things would be bad.

 

"As you all know, the schedule provides for just four days to reach an initial agreement between the Genovians and the Gultarians. Offering them neutral ground at Aldebaran didn’t work. At all. We cannot afford now to make mistakes, we cannot afford the slightest breakdown of protocol."

 

The captain turned to his security officer. "We certainly cannot afford even the slightest scuffle."

 

Worf harrumphed at the perceived criticism. "The two parties are quartered on opposite sides of the saucer section. We keep tabs on all of them continuously. And, if need be," - he glowed with a fierce pride here - "my men can handle any.. contingency."

 

"I'm counting on it." Picard looked for the counsellor and didn't find her in her usual spot. He belatedly recalled she had left the Enterprise at Starbase 1 for a conference. "Dr. Crusher, have you prepared the cultural reports?"

 

"Yes, captain. Luckily, Deanna had it almost done before she left. They're posted to you all, flagged urgent."

 

"Thank you, Doctor. Number One, work with Worf, based on Doctor Crusher's information, on a plan for that blasted reception."

 

Riker's jaw dropped. "We're going ahead with that?"

 

"Both parties, I stress, positively insist on it."

 

Riker grinned. "Nothing like a good challenge.. I'll see to it, sir."

 

Picard grabbed a PADD from the table. "Now for Mr. Barnett. Opinions?"

 

Worf snarled. "He is a security risk. Confine him to quarters for now."

 

"That's ridiculous, Worf!" Beverly focused a glare on Worf that would have crisped a lesser creature. "We can't very well lock everyone in the brig who could even theoretically be a danger! There's nothing wrong with the boy. Plus, we have heard what Guinan told the captain." She motioned to Picard, who nodded curtly.

 

Riker spoke up. "That warning is so vague as to be consistent with almost anything. The captain's big decision may be to lock him up."

 

"Or to not lock him up," Data added. "Or to lock him up only for a short period of time, or to hold off locking-"

 

"Thank you, Data!", Picard snapped. "This is going nowhere. I need some information here. What could he possibly do to affect us so deeply, as Guinan described?"

 

---

 

Gavin awoke in a strange bed. It took him a second to realise he was in his 'quarters'. He pushed the strangely glittering covers away and padded over to the table. He’d left his clothes neatly folded on top of it. He wondered if he should clean them. And how. After sniffing the collar of his shirt he decided it would do for now. His back hurt. A few stretches cleared it up, though.

 

As he brushed his teeth in the bathroom – the brush had beeped at him and was doing very strange but vaguely pleasant things to his teeth – he realised what day it was. Today was Fourth of July. No partying for him, the USA probably didn’t even exist anymore. Also, he didn’t know anyone to party with in this place. This time.

 

Well, he had Reese. He hadn’t asked where the guy came from. Reese was friendly, easy on the eyes and fun to be with. Maybe the day could be salvaged yet.

 

"Computer?"

 

Chirp. "Working."

 

"Bring me to the gym, please?"

 

Moments later, a turbolift car opened on deck 12, as close as possible to the requested destination of a whistling marine in skivvies and sandals. He briskly walked into the Enterprise gymnasium and found an unoccupied spot. He dropped to the floor and started a series of press-ups and crunches. After searching for a handy bar, he did some pull-ups.

 

"You're not from around here, are you?"

 

Gavin released his hold and dropped. A woman with an insanely ridged forehead and long, brown hair around the sides of her head stood just a bit too close. She held an enormous, curved blade loosely in her right hand. Gavin wasn’t easily intimidated but this was a formidable creature. Out of instinct, he met the challenge head on.

 

"No. What do you want?"

 

"Aggressive, aren't you? A real warrior, for a Human then." She grinned, showing off horribly sharp-looking teeth. She punched him on the shoulder, painfully hard. "I am B'Marla, of the house of Marduk."

 

"I am Gavin Barnett. You.. having a good workout?"

 

"Sure." She flourished her curved sword, then balanced on her left leg, tilting her body provocatively. "You?"

 

"Good, good..” Gavin’s voice trailed off as he groped for something to say. “I just wish I could run here."

 

A sudden twinkle in her eyes made the alien woman look almost feral. "That is what the holodeck is for. Maybe we could go there once?" She ran a finger up poor Gavin's arm.

 

"Uh, yeah, yea-" Just as Gavin tried again to find something to say, the woman growled softly. Quick as lightning, she raked her nails over his right cheek, leaving three bloody trails. Eyes wide in shock, Gavin could only watch her saunter away.

 

There was a wall chronometer over the door. He looked at it and pretended to have realised he had an appointment. As he too walked to the exit, several young men slapped him on the shoulder. Some cat-called, another whistled.

 

---

 

Chapter 3

 

 

Enterprise bridge

- FLASH! -

 

"DIE, UNWORTHY SCUM! YOUR DIFFERENCE OFFENDS ME!"

 

A Borg had materialised near the centre viewscreen. It used a projectile weapon to shoot every surface it could see. The computer activated Red Alert status. The bridge crew dove for cover and was luckily ignored by the berserking Borg. They congregated behind Worf's station at tactical. The Borg was now alternating behind maniacal laughter and screaming in rage, all the while firing his gun continuously. Fragments of consoles, walls and seats flew accross as the bridge took more and more damage. Suddenly, everything was silent. The Borg threw his weapon at the viewscreen and looked around.

 

"Who are you?!", Riker shouted.

 

The Borg slowly turned. "How could you ever understand me?", it asked in a tone fairly dripping with arrogance. "The universe is not big enough for me and the likes of you!" Without furder ado, it vanished.

 

- FLASH! -

 

The considerable damage to the bridge vanished as well.

 

"Cancel Red Alert.", Picard ordered. "What the blazes was that?!"

 

---

 

Sickbay

 

Beverly had a hard time looking professional as she closed the slight wounds on the violently blushing marine. It was too funny. He'd blurted out his story as soon as he found her in sickbay. Although B'Marla certainly was not an easy woman to fascinate, this wasn't the first time she had to comfort a confused male. Luckily, Gavin hadn't had anything thrown at him. 'Yet', she added mentally. She regretted not taking any time out for this brave young. His go-getter attitude appealed to her on some basic level. She couldn't help comparing him to Wesley but quickly clamped down on that train of thought and forced herself back to the present.

 

"From what I hear, you're exploring the ship on your own now?"

 

Gavin smiled. His eyes lit up with genuine enthusiasm. "Yes, Doc. She's a fine ship, the Enterprise. I can't get enough of tramping all over." He winced as the doctor reknitted the deepest of the three gashes on his cheek. "Reese is back to his normal duties. He's a great guy."

 

"Are you interested in pursuing anything with your Klingon suitor?"

 

"No! No, absolutely not," Gavin blurted. "I mean, is that what she wanted?" It finally dawned on him why so many men had slapped his shoulders in the gym. He'd unwittingly been part of some kind of mating ritual. Perversely, he felt flattered.

 

"Don't worry, " Doctor Crusher said, grinning cheerfully. "B'Marla is a StarFleet officer. There's no risk she'll deck you for rejecting her."

 

"What do I do? Am I supposed to fight her?"

 

"That would be the dumbest thing to do. That would be saying yes. Actually, I don’t know that much of Klingon culture. Why don’t you talk to Worf? He looks grouchy but that is pretty much standard, he really is a nice guy under that frown.” The doctor patted his shoulder and suppressed a chuckle. “Alright, let's see. Can you lie down on the bed?"

 

Doctor Crusher busied herself with her scanners as Gavin stared at the overhead sensor array and tried to think of a way to explain the imposing alien woman he didn't want a relationship without her feeling spurned. It was a daunting prospect. She closed the surgical enclosure on him to get a good look at his innards and drew some blood. Twenty minutes of Gavin waiting patiently later the test results were in.

 

"Well, your heart rate is elevated a bit but I think we can ignore that right now." Beverly smiled, biting her lip. "Those weird toxins are also disappearing from your blood. If I’d remembered to save a vial from your first tests, some aspiring doctor could write a thesis on that alone.”

 

Gavin frowned. “Toxins?”

 

“Poisons, basically. You were carrying a whole lot of dioxines, cadmium and lead-based chemicals and so forth. Still are by the way but most of them are disappearing slowly. We’ll have to see in a week or two what we can do with the rest.”

 

She dismissed Gavin’s worries with a wave of her hand. “For the rest, you are generally in perfect health. A minor case of dermatofibroma, two seperate strains of malaria and traces of Trichophyton. You might want to watch your feet for a bit. " Two hyposprays and a quick swab later, the malaria and athlete's foot were in the past.

 

"What is dermotofi-?"

 

Beverly pointed to Gav's right index finger. "Dermatofibroma. The rounded bump here. It's disordered collagen, probably laid down because of an insect sting or some other minor injury. It doesn't really do anything. If it becomes itchy or tender, come back in."

 

"Sure, Doc. So uh.." Gavin blushed again. "What do I do here about.. social diseases?"

 

---

 

The conference was going badly. Picard rapidly neared the point where he simply couldn't take in any more aggression. He appealed for calm yet again. The massive Genovian ambassador rumbled to his feet, never a good sign during negotiations. His Gultarian counterpart followed suit, unfolding his upper pair of wings threateningly.

 

"I will not stand for this! Even sharing a table with .. that!.. is an insult!" He motioned to the spindly insectoid in front of him with disgust he wasn’t even trying to suppress.

 

"It is we who are insulted by these bottom feeders!"

 

"Gentlebeings!", Picard said before matters could escalate even further. "I appeal to your reason. Aren't we here to broker a lasting peace between your planets and your people? How many more must die? How many more nests destroyed? How can the Federation help you if you insist to destroy yourselves first?!"

 

The Genovian made a gesture that only Genovians recognised as insulting. The meaning did come accross, though. "Yes KTharr, listen to reason. If you can."

 

"Reason for you means only that people give in to your demands!"

 

With that, the meeting degenerated into uproar. Only visible to the StarFleet delegation, Q stood in a corner, silently laughing his head off.

 

---

 

Gavin walked back from Sickbay, intent on a bit of rest and reading up on Klingon culture. On realising he had didn’t look forward to verbal sparring with the literal-minded computer, he decided to take Doctor Crusher’s advice and go find Worf. He tapped the black wall pannelling.

 

“Computer, uh.. Tell me.. where Worf is.”

 

Chirp. Beep. “Lieutenant-Commander Worf is in Ten Forward.”

 

A few minutes and a lift ride later he found himself looking through the throng in the Enterprise’s main lounge without having any idea what Worf looked like. He or she was probably a.. looked like that woman in the gym. He hoped he wouldn’t run into her, at least not before he had a chance to talk to this Worf person.

 

“Hey Gavin!”

 

He turned around and found himself face to face with Reese Harper. “Reese! Hi.. uh, how are ya?”

 

“Fine, fine. You sure you are alright on your own now?”

 

Gavin noticed the hand lying on his shoulder. It stayed there. “What? You take me for a booter?” He barked a laugh. “Sure I’m alright, man. Too easy!” He looked over the other. “What’s your poison?”

 

“Poison? Oh, this? That’s a Warp Core Breach. No idea what’s in it but it’s good and Guinan makes the best.” Reese waved over a waiter and asked for two more. The two men found a table close to the bulkhead so Gavin could look at the stars. He never could get enough of them.

 

“So, what’s a warp, what is a core and how can it breach?”

 

Reese chortled. “Got a couple of hours? Ha ha. Well, we’ll have to set up some kind of study program for you so you can get up to speed. In the mean time, don’t worry.”

 

The waiter arrived with two sparkling blue drinks in high glasses, about pint sized. Little red currents streamed through the effervescent blue. Gavin had never seen anything like this in his life. However, he’d eaten snakes’ heads and whole locusts so this shouldn’t be a problem. He took a tentative sip.

 

“Damn! Nasty little fucker. Takes ya by surprise.” He coughed. “Pretty good!”

 

“Yeah, it’s strong stuff. That’s why they serve it in glass now. It kept dissolving the cups.”

 

Gavin’s mouth dropped open. What was this stuff?!

 

Lt. Harper slapped the table and roared with laughter. “Hahahaha!! You should’ve seen your face. Priceless!”

 

Gavin blushed. He finished his drink in one gulp and stamped his foot. “Good stuff!” When he thought he’d mastered himself again, he turned his attention back to Reese. “Bastard. I walked right into that.”

 

Reese gave a crooked grin. “You count yourself lucky you don't get hazed Academy-style here, marine. How’s the pain and aches?” He motioned to a waiter for a refill.

 

“Dunno what the doc puts in that grunt candy but I’m A-Okay. Feel fine!”

 

“Wait, what? Grunt Candy?”

 

“Motrin. It’s a magical pill that dicksmiths think cures absolutely everything, including shot off limbs and sucking chest wounds.”

 

“And dicksmith? Oh wait, a doctor?”

 

Gavin grinned. “Sorta. Cthulhu, I’m totally in left field, right? Anyway, no problems here.” He touched his shoulders and chest with both hands for emphasis. “Totally cured.” He picked up his fresh drink and klinked with Reese. “We didn’t do a lot of hazing uh.. in my time, the brass had cracked down on it hard. It used to get pretty bloody, maybe that’s why. If you really wanna know, google bloodwinging.”

 

"Sounds nasty. What is googling?"

 

Gavin softly thumped his forehead against the tabletop.

 

“You sound like you miss the old days, jarhead.” Reese hoped like hell he’d gotten the term right. While waiting for his last batch of measurements to be analysed by the computer, he’d looked up some slang. The anachronism now in front of him fascinated him and he figured it’d also make the guy feel at home a bit more.

 

Gavin sat up straight. “Hm? Well, yes, maybe. I mean, if you can’t handle hazing, don’t join the Corps, right? What do you think boot camp is? It’s basically one long three month haze.” He slapped his forehead. “Before I forget, I had planned on speaking to Worf.”

 

Reese did a doubletake. “Commander Worf, the security chief? Uh, sure. He’s right over there.”

 

Gavin looked over and spotted a large brown man with the same big build and ridged forehead as the woman in the gym had. Without further ado, he set out to introduce himself.

 

---

 

Counsellor’s Quarters

 

 

Deanna sat down on her meditation mat and tried to clear her head. Usually, the sparse environment of her own quarters was enough of a safe haven for her to shuck the pressures of the thousand plus minds around her. She'd lit the two thin El'narian candles she habitually kept on a side table. Their sweet fragrance remembered her of home. Picturing the pink wisps of cloud drifting over the lake, she tried to center herself. It took several minutes but then she was ready to start the tedious task of seperating her own inner emotions from the vibrating complex web of feeling filling the ship, lightly severing link after link that did not belong. There was much going on on the Enterprise. That she would've known even without having been briefed as one the senior officers aboard. She'd been feeling apprehension and stress strengthening for hours.

 

---

 

Ten Forward

 

 

"Commander."

 

Worf looked around to the sight of a young Human male saluting him. Incorrectly. He almost snapped at the guy but caught himself in time. This was the Human warrior they'd gotten shoved in their hands by that most honourless of gods, Q. He looked the guy over. Reasonably muscled, especially for a Human. Good bearing.

 

"Yes?"

 

Gavin was doing his level best not to shrink back from the formidable creature in front of him. If he guessed right, Worf was a warrior through and through. Back in his own time, he'd have given his right hand for a squad of men like this. You simply didn't back down from a man like that, he'd take you out in a flash. Fear rising in his throat, he took a step forward and looked the enormous officer straight in the eyes.

 

"Commander, with your permission.. I'd like a word."

 

Worf actually snarled but only a little. "What about?"

 

"It eh..," Gavin stammered, realising he hadn't prepared what he wanted to say. "It is a personal matter.. regarding another like you."

 

"Another Klingon?"

 

"Yes, a lady in fact." He coloured violently.

 

Worf had seen enough. He did not understand why Humans were such wimps regarding romance and coupling but they were. He grabbed the Human's shoulder and steered him a more or less secluded corner of the lounge.

 

"Speak."

 

"In the gym I was.. well, I think I was hit on."

 

Worf grumbled softly, trying to edge the guy on.

 

"This lady, name of B'Marla, spoke to me uh... and invited me to someplace called the holodeck. Then she raked her nails over my cheek." His face was now glowing red with embarrassment. The huge Klingon made a rasping sound he hoped was amusement.

 

"B'Marla should not have initiated a mating ritual with a visitor. It is unseemly." Worf fixed Gavin with a stare. "Do you reciprocate?"

 

"Do I what? Uh, oh no. Absolutely not. I mean, I'm kinda flattered to be honest, she is a fine-looking woman."

 

Worf ignored the man's babbling. "Then deny her."

 

---

 

Counsellor's Quarters

 

 

The candles had burned low, their flames flickering slightly in the breeze of the air scrubbers. Deanna folded her meditation mat carefully, focusing on the movements of her hands, her arms and the cloth. The still rising levels of fear, apprehension and anger on the ship worried her not a little but at least she could look at the situation neutrally now. Very little people understood what it was like for even a half-Betazoid to have to keep mental barriers raised all the time against the outpourings of hundreds and hundreds of untrained minds.

 

She walked over to the replicator and thought, softly biting her lip. She had been working her way through the computer's entire selection of chocolate dishes for months now, allowing herself to indulge twice a week. It wouldn't do to get out of shape of course. Maybe she should try out Worf's calisthenics program and burn some extra calories that way.

 

"Computer, a dish of chocolate-pistachio apricots."

 

The machine powered up. Deanna looked around, suddenly shivering. The walls seemed to close in on her. She shook her head and looked around. Her quarters weren't different than a moment before, nothing out of the ordinary. Quickly inspecting the bond with her imzadi, she found nothing wrong with Will. He was on the bridge, probably pacing around. That brought a slight smile to her lips.

 

The El'narian candles were still burning on their little table. She walked over, intending to snuff them. As her thumb and forefinger brushed the first small flame, pain shot through her. Grabbing at her head, she cried out. Deanna collapsed over the table, toppling the still burning candles. She barely noticed her body hitting the floor and rolling off fragments of broken wood.

 

The ship's computer quickly set up a small forcefield over the exposed flame, now eating its way into the carpet, shutting off its oxygen supply. "A fire hazard was detected in this room. Do you require assistence?", it intoned in pleasant yet somehow flat tones.

 

Deanna spiralled inward, desperately fighting off the waves of anger threatening to drown her. Inside the replicator, a dish of apricots stood forgotten.

 

---

 

Main Conference Lounge

 

 

"Your eminences," Picard thundered. "Please! Sit down." He glared angrily at Q, having the time of his life next to the windows, hoping the diplomats couldn't see the entity. Q pointed behind him and Picard turned on instinct. He was just in time to see the Gultarian start swinging back his arm. He managed to dodge the opened claw and grabbed the ambassador by his wrist. The security team near the door was already moving.

 

"You eminences! Sit down NOW or I'll have both you in chains!" Luckily he could hand off the Gultarian ambassador to two security ensigns. Two others walked around to the Genovian and made it clear by their stance that they wouldn't allow any further nonsense.

 

July'Ahn was the first to gather his wits about him. "Genovia will not stand for this, Picard-captain! This farce is OVER."

 

"Right, " countered KTharr, "this means WAR."

 

Both ambassadors stalked off, angrily jostling the others as the security ensigns did their best to contrain them.

 

---

 

Ten Forward

 

 

"bIrchoH SuvwI' 'Iw, " Worf said, "it means the blood of the warrior runs cold."

 

Gavin grinned hopefully. "Birchow shoovwy - ew?"

 

Worf shuddered inwardly. Not even Barclay had ever mutilated the Klingon language so badly. "No. bIrchoH ends on the same sound as eh.. your composer Bach. bIrchoH SuvwI' 'Iw."

 

"bIchoH shuvwI' 'eew."

 

"Better, " Worf allowed and dove for the ground. A black claw sailed through the air where his neck had just been. "Security! Disturbance in Ten Forward!" he growled into his communicator and looked around, scanning the lounge. The two diplomatic missions had suddenly layed into eachother. He grabbed the claw as it came in again and forcibly bent the wrist almost double. He forced his attacker down to his knees and looked around, trying to assess the situation.

 

A couple of yards away, Gavin was grappling with a Genovian, ducking and weaving around the massive fists. His lanky frame allowed him and advantage over the bulky Genovian but the guy weighed what felt like a ton. There was no budging him. He flipped and aimed a kick at the guy's face. As he landed, he briefly saw Worf firing some kind of weapon, then had to jump up to avoid a Gultarian who was sweeping his larger claw in a vicious arc at knee-height. The alien had to stand up again and Gavin was ready for him. He drove his elbow into his attacker at chest height. Twice. He heard a satisfying crunch. Turning, he grabbed one of the flailing claws in a lock and kicked hard at one of the legs. The alien went down but forced Gavin to release his lock as they fell together. Gav rammed his knee up blindly and heard another crunch. Around him, he could hear at least two other fights going on.

 

"Stop it! NOW!" Eight or nine security personnel came running up out of the corridor and trained their phasers on the entire group. Breathing hard, Gavin looked around. Most everyone was picking up themselves from the floor. The ship's crew had gathered near the windows in a group, staying out of the way of the security teams. The entire group of fourteen aliens was cuffed and thrown in the brig on orders of Commander Riker, who'd turned up just in time to see the last seconds of the fight. Almost incandescent with rage, the first officer went to report to the captain. In short order, the Genovian and Gultarian delegates were beamed back to their respective ships and told to stay in relative position.

 

"Lieutenant Barnett."

 

Gavin swivelled around, already dropping to a fighting crouch when he recognised Worf.

 

"You fought with honour, Lieutenant.

 

---

 

Counsellor's Quarters

 

 

"Open door, medical override Selar Alpha Kappa three nine four."

 

The doors hissed open and Doctor Selar stepped inside the room. Her sensitive hearing picked up Deanna's heartbeat. Medical tricorder in hand, she stepped over to the prone body of the counsellor. Vital signs were fine, although cortisol and adrenaline levels were through the roof. Then again, she new that the emotional races showed impressives peaks in those levels on an almost habitual basis. Only if they didn't restore themselves to normal was it a worrying situation, if Selar had ever allowed herself to worry. She reset the tricorder and scanned again. Selar raised an eyebrow. She lightly brushed two long, tapered fingers over Troi's forehead.

 

As soon as Selar had recovered from the wave of anger and hate that had shot through her in the space of an eye-blink, she tapped her communicator. "Selar to sickbay, direct beam-out for two, medical emergency."

 

---

 

Captain's ready room

 

 

"Explain." Picard had opted to keep standing next to his usual chair. He clenched his jaw and bored flaming holes into his security chief with his eyes.

 

"I have failed, captain. There was a team stationed in Ten Forward but I had not foreseen a sudden massive fight."

 

The captain nodded gravely but before he could speak, LaForge interrupted. "It was so sudden, sir! Before anyone really noticed anything, the Gultarians and Genovians went from talking to eachother on opposite sides of the table to fighting. I don't think even Worf could've stopped them had he known."

 

"Very well, Commander." Picard sighed. "We're in this mess now anyway. What will you do about it?" He looked over to Worf again.

 

"Security around their quarters and all movements has been doubled, sir. All phasers on heavy stun, from now on. I also recommend you postpone the reception."

 

Picard sat down. "Impossible. We have less than eighty hours left to resolve this matter. Also, both diplomatic parties insist that the reception take place as scheduled."

 

"Madness! They'll eat eachother soon as the food!"

 

"That would be unlikely, Doctor. Neither species has the biochemical makeup suited to digesting the flesh of the other. In fact, the main building protein of the Gultarian musculature, alpha-gulglutaminasis, acts as a precursor to alpha-gulglutanine which attaches readily to the K7 port of the Genovian tropamine-receptor, blocking neuronal transmission in.. I'm babbling, aren't I?"

 

"Yes, Data. There is more. Both parties have demanded Lieutenant Barnett's presence at the reception. They claim he fought like a true warrior."

 

"That much is true," rumbled Worf, looking satisfied.

 

---

 

Ten Forward

 

 

"Reese?"

 

"Hm?"

 

"I really need another drink."

 

The chairs and tables had been set up straight again. The wreckage of the unfortunate seats that didn't make it to the fight had been taken away. Once again, peace albeit no quiet had descended of the main lounge. It was a lot emptier than before, though. Reese and Gavin sat at the shiny, curved bar, furtively stealing looks at eachother. Guinan turned up and set two glasses on the bar.

 

"Try this, gentlemen. What do you think?"

 

Gavin looked at his glass. A white foam-layer on top smoked continuously, filling his nostrils with sour-sweetness. "It's green."

 

Guinan laughed. "That it is. It is a Saurian brandy. I thought you could use a pickmeup. The real stuff too, no synthehol."

 

He knocked back his glass and watched in amazement at Reese trying to stifle a cough. It was pretty good stuff, weird taste but nice and it sent happiness into his head.

 

"'nother?"

 

"I don't think so, mr. Barnett. This is strong stuff."

 

"One more. Today is the Fourth of July. Even if no one else even remembers what it is, I want to celebrate it a bit."

 

"Oh, I know what the reason for the Fourth of July is, mr. Barnett. I was there." Here eyes twinkled with amusement.

 

---

 

Sickbay