Lost Souls
by: Vergil1989 the Crossover King and Archer83
Summary: During the early months on their ongoing mission, the crew of the Enterprise D are the first to respond to a nearby distress signal. They arrive to find a battle scarred derelict ship and her surviving crew. A discovery that will have far reaching repercussions for both crews, and the entire galaxy.
Disclaimer: The authors do not own anything related to Star Trek: The Next Generation or Mass Effect, except for any original ideas, characters, or settings contained herein.
Authors' notes: Vergil1989; I am seriously sueing Archer for this one. He got me addicted to all things Star Trek and this is the result. I was an unrepentant Star Wars fan until a couple months ago, and he's gone and made me a traitor. Bastard lol.
Archer83; The moment Vergil brought this idea to me, I knew we were going to make a story out of it. As a die hard Trekkie and Mass Effect fan, I, as an author, could not ask for a better playground to work in. I hope the result is as satisfying to read as it was for us to create!
Vergil1989; I still say you're a bastard for making me a traitor lol. In all seriousness, when the idea appeared in my head, resistance as they say was futile. At any rate, hopefully we'll do these two universes the justice they deserve.
Archer83; Is. Resistance IS futile... He's a work in progress folks, but I'm damned and determined to make him a full blown Trekkie yet!
Vergil1989; Yep, he's a nerd. But at least he knows what he's talking about whenever I ask him something Star Trek related. Besides, he's a good friend, and I'm just glad he puts up with me fumbling in the dark lol.
Archer83; Don't forget Stargate, Farscape, Star Wars, The Marvel Universe, Firefly... Wow. I am a nerd. And you're welcome buddy.
Vergil1989; I know my fair share about Star Wars, Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis, as well as Firefly, Serenity, Babylon 5, they're also not outside the scope of my nerdy kingdom lol. Don't underestimate my nerdgom! I'm good now.
Chapter 1: Once More Unto the Breach
Captain Jean-Luc Picard once again found himself pondering the very nature of life itself as his vessel departed from the Starbase 147. Their departing passengers, a shaken group of terraforming scientists from Velara III had been safely delivered, but Picard still found himself questioning what they had discovered. An inorganic lifeform, such a term didn't seem possible, and yet the crystal like creature had been just that. Internally, Picard had to admit he had been as just disappointed by leaving behind these new beings as his Second Officer, Lieutenant Commander Data. It was their mission to seek out such extraordinary new life, and an inorganic lifeform was as extraordinary as one could hope, but they had made a mess of the situation. Rather, the terraformers had done that before his ship had arrived to assist their efforts, only to discover the alien beings that called the salt water beneath the sands of Velara III their home.
Discovering life where none was supposed to exist had only been the second strangest thing Picard had seen yet in the first year of his captaincy of the Enterprise. The arrival of Q on his bridge had been the first, but his last appearance had been several months ago now. Picard had wondered privately more than once if he would have been able to give up the powers his XO, William Riker, had been bestowed on him by the omnipotent being in a devil's bargain to tempt him away from the crew of the Enterprise, and to prove a point regarding how easily people could be corrupted. Thankfully, Riker, with a little help from the crew, had turned Q's offer down. If the captain had anything to say about it, today would be another quiet exercise in routine.
So far, it was just another day for Picard as his crew picked up a faint distress call, dangerously close to the Romulan Neutral Zone. While he found it suspicious, given the signal's proximity to the Neutral Zone, he had an obligation to investigate it. The fact that it could be a clever ruse by the Romulans to trick them into an ambush was the first thing that occurred to him, but Picard thought it very unlikely. No one had seen a Romulan vessel for the better part of three decades, and there was no indication to say they had returned. Besides, vessels became stranded all the time for any number of reasons, ranging from simple mechanical issues to far more serious problems brought on by attacks by enemy vessels or impacts by stray asteroids or pieces of debris.
The distress call itself had been audio only. There had been some strange interference that hadn't allowed more than the a extremely distorted audio message itself with no video feed to accompany it. Despite attempts to clear up the message, nothing the crew attempted seemed to work, and the message remained unchanged in its obvious desperate call for help.
Lieutenant Commander Data, an android created by a brilliant genius by the name of Soong, glanced up from his ops console, quick to provide the information he knew Picard would be asking for any moment now. "Sir, at warp eight we should be able to reach the vessel in one hour, forty-seven minutes and twelve-"
"They might not have that long. Their distress call seemed rather desperate." Counselor Troi stated as she turned to Picard. "Judging by the tone of the speaker's voice, I sense a great deal of tension, worry, concern, and fear, which would fit if their situation was as dire as it sounded."
"Helm, lay in a course for the Neutral Zone, maximum warp." Picard gave an all too familiar gesture to the bridge crew. "Engage!"
Twenty-Seven minutes later...
The entire bridge crew could only stare at the gravely wounded ship that their scanners had detected once they dropped out of warp. "Look at her, she must have been a beautiful ship. Before someone beat the hell out of her. " La Forge said, the amazement in his voice easily heard as he swept his VISOR over the main view screen. Born blind, his VISOR, was a device that allowed him an unique view of the world, showing him all manner of infrared, ultraviolet, electronic and radiation bandwidths which his mind processed as different shades of light wave emissions ranging across the spectrum of visible color, sometimes in pulses of light, sometimes as simple luminescence. "I'm detecting extensive battle damage, whoever hit them hit them hard. Hull breaches, high-energy plasma weapon scarring, although it's a type I'm not familiar with. Her engines are offline, and she seems to be hemorrhaging fuel. I wouldn't be surprised if their remaining life support is under extreme strain as well. If we plan to mount a rescue, we'll need to go in full EVA gear."
Data turned to face his Captain, with a look that could almost be called puzzlement. "Sir, the unknown energy signature that was interfering with our ability to receive their distress call is far stronger here. It seems to be originating from their engineering deck. Perhaps, their warp core is the cause of the interference." Turning back to his console, the pale skinned, golden eyed android raised a curious eyebrow. "Strange, I am not detecting any anti-matter or other signs of warp capability. If these readings are correct, I would strongly advise against attempting to transport to the vessel while we are within range of their core's energy field Captain. Our current information on this phenomenon is insufficient to determine what would happen if we were to attempt to beam aboard. We will have to make use of a shuttlecraft to rescue any survivors."
"Hull markings are in Earth standard Captain." Lieutenant Natasha Yar, Tactical Officer and Security Chief of the Enterprise, stated as she looked away from her station. "It's hard to make out with all the damage but I'm enhancing now. SSV Normandy, SR-1. Most of their systems are offline or damaged beyond repair. Scans suggest they seem to favor laser based defensive measures, old nuclear equivalent missiles, and if I'm reading this right, I believe their primitive shields and armor were designed to defend against kinetic energy only. No phaser or EM shielding of any kind."
"It would take great courage to place one's life in the hands of such inferior technology." Wolf quietly muttered to himself from his science station behind Tactical, earning a reproachful glance from Yar.
"I don't know Worf. The fact they achieved a version of FTL without an anti-matter core seems remarkable to me." Geordi replied before confirming Yar's earlier scans. "She's right Captain. I don't know how or why, but that's what my VISOR's telling me. That explains the strange interference we've been picking up. What do you think Data?"
"My scans also suggest the same Geordi. They seem to have followed a different technological path to achieve faster than light travel. Truly ingenious design. I would hypothesize that their technology works on a mass effecting principle, but further analysis is needed to determine if that is the case. If it is, we could learn a great deal from them."
"Indeed Commander. It seems we have visitors to our happy little quadrant of the galaxy." Picard nodded his head towards the view screen, not all that surprised by what he had heard. It seemed rather fitting, given the ship on their view screens. Something about it seemed strange, alien, even by their standards. Investigating it the old fashion way seemed to his mind, the only way to truly learn about them, after his people had saved any surviving crew of course. "Alright. Number One, prepare an away team as quickly as you can. It would seem time is not on our side."
"Is it ever sir?" Wry grin on his lips, Riker didn't wait for a reply as he turned to the rest of the bridge. "Alright, Data, Worf, La Forge, you're with me." Striding towards the upper level, the Commander tapped at his combadge while the three men quickly joined him in the turbolift. "Riker to Doctor Crusher, meet us in shuttle bay three. We've received a distress call-"
"I'm on my way Commander." Beverly stated immediately, and Riker had to smile at the woman's unwavering devotion to her duty. She didn't ask questions unless they were related to her patients' well being.
"Acknowledged." The turbolift quickly reached its destination and Riker led the way to the shuttle bay, joined by a slightly disheveled Crusher as he entered the massive hangar. Data was quick to retrieve four phasers and tricorders from a nearby emergency locker, Beverly having brought her own medical tricorder. Data knew better than to offer her a phaser. From previous experience, he was eighty-two point nine five percent positive that she would most likely throw it back at him with excessive force.
"We can't use the transporters?" Beverly asked with a concerned frown, even as Riker and Worf pulled out rarely used EVA suits from the standby shuttle's emergency compartment. She didn't question the decision as she put down her equipment and donned the protective suit as quickly as possible.
La Forge shook his head as he donned his own EVA suit. "Unfortunately no, Doc. The ship we're preparing to board is emitting an unusual form of energy that is having an adverse effect on our transport capabilities."
"I say it's some form of anti beaming energy shield against unwanted visitors." Worf grumbled, even as he pulled the suit's helmet over his head before climbing into the co-pilot's chair. "A wise tactic to prevent boarders from taking the ship."
Taking the pilot's seat Riker narrowed his eyes as he concentrated on finishing the preflight checklist as rapidly as possible. Donning the EVA suits had taken too much time as it was. "I don't care what it is Mr. Worf, all I know is that it's keeping us from getting those people the hell out of there."
Data calmly sat opposite Crusher, not bothering to don one of the air tight suits since, as an artificial lifeform, he didn't need to breathe. Still, Data did make it a point to strap himself down, just in case they crashed. While unlikely, it was better to err on the side of caution.
Making sure Beverly and her gear were secure, La Forge strapped himself in next to Data before turning to the cockpit and gave Riker a thumbs up. "We're good to go Commander."
"Riker to bridge, departing shuttle bay three now." With a quick nod to the shuttle bay flight controller, Riker gently lifted the shuttle off the deck and moments later they were clearing the bay along with the Enterprise's massive warp nacelles.
"Acknowledged. Be careful out there Number One, this is an unusual situation, even for us. Picard out." With that, Riker and his away team were left to tend to the ship and her crew on their own. He hoped all went well, but something told Picard today was going to be the start of something far bigger.
"They fought with honor, it must have been a glorious battle..." Worf muttered, mostly to himself, as the shuttle neared what looked to be a ripped open hangar bay on the underside of the ship. At the puzzled looks from a few of his colleagues, Worf went into further detail. "Scoring patterns on the hull would suggest they fought to the last. They gave it their all, even if it was a fight they probably knew they'd lose. I would not be surprised if we found the remains of whatever enemy attacked them aboard."
"Let's hope not Mr. Worf, I don't want to waste time getting shot at that we can use to save survivors." The disappointed frown on the Klingon officer's face said it all as Riker kept a wary eye on the rapidly approaching derelict. "And you're right Geordi, she was a beautiful ship, once." Riker said as his eyes fell on a darting shadow in the open hangar bay. "Movement on the deck, could be friendly, could be hostile. Set phasers to stun once we dock, just in case."
With a soft thud, the shuttle made contact with the deck. Riker activated its magnetic clamps securing it against the damaged hangar floor. "We are secure sir. Opening rear shuttle hatch now." Data said, the only one of the group not wearing an EVA suit since he didn't require oxygen like the rest of his crewmates. The shuttle ramp silently descended in the near vacuum of the hangar as the four men pulled out their phasers and adjusted the settings accordingly.
"Okay, Georgi, Data, search this deck for survivors. Worf, Doctor, you're with-" Will stopped dead when he realized too late they had walked into a trap. The various weapons in their faces made that all to clear. "-me... I don't suppose telling you we come in peace would help, would it?" His charming smile disappeared when a particularly menacing heavy pistol found its way under his chin. "Guess not."
"Weapons on the deck. Now." Riker knew arguing with the armored, and heavily armed, woman who had been the first to board the shuttle could only lead to disaster. The look in her focused emerald eyes, which he spotted through a narrow transparent slit in her mostly matte black helmet, spoke of a strength he saw anytime he looked into Picard's. She was a warrior first and foremost, a different kind perhaps, but the resemblance was uncanny. The woman's armor was just as black, except for a red stripe down her right arm and an emblem on her chest. A white N7, a symbol he wasn't familiar with, but she wasn't the only one that had one. The similarly dressed man on her right also had a similar red stripe and emblem on his mostly blue armor.
The other members of the woman's crew were a motley assortment, coming in all different shapes and sizes. Riker could identify at least three different alien species he hadn't encountered before just from their armor's physical contours and characteristics. To make it all the more interesting, he was pretty sure one of the helmeted women had blue skin from the little he could see of it. But, to be fair, he was more taken by her deep blue eyes.
Clearing his throat in an effort to center his thoughts on the problem at hand, Riker nodded towards the rest of his team even as he slowly lowered his phaser and dropped it to the deck. "We aren't here to cause any trouble. We picked up your distress call, and we're here to render aid." At his subtle nod Data, Worf and La Forge carefully dropped their phasers as well. He knew that with their help Data could probably disable all eight of the armored figures he'd counted, but with his team's lives on the line, probably wasn't good enough. Besides, he wasn't familiar with the weaponry they were wielding, and with the scan results they had seen so far, he didn't want to take any chances. It was safe to assume that their weapons also didn't operate on energy they were familiar with if their ship didn't.
All of that passed through Riker's mind at warp speed while the woman jabbed her pistol under his chin with more force. She cocked her head to the side as the other armored figures poured into the shuttle. "Last time I checked, rescue teams weren't armed. Put your hands on your head."
"We don't have time for this!" Geordi yelled in exasperation, drawing everyone's gaze towards him. "According to our last scans, the structural integrity of your ship's hull is dangerously low. She could break apart any second now!"
"Good thing you nice folks are here to give us a lift then." The woman seemed to eye the shuttle consoles for a moment as the rest of her group finished crowding into the shuttle behind her. You, babyface, you the pilot?"
Riker just cocked an eyebrow at the nickname and nodded as he watched the others being restrained with some form of glowing handcuffs that seemed to appear from devices on their wrists that also glowed in a similar manner. He managed to keep his expression neutral as he noticed a subtle nod from La Forge, who lightly brushed against a console panel before being forcefully deposited next to Data on one of the rear benches. Leave it to Geordi to be the first to think on his feet. While he couldn't blame these people for their caution after their obvious recent confrontation, Will's patience was wearing thin. "We came here to help. Not be threatened at gunpoint and taken hostage. Some people might just call that being rude."
The woman's pistol was shoved in Riker's face yet again, forcing him to take a step back. "This is me being excessively nice babyface, you wouldn't like me when I'm rude. And I'm not about to take a chance, especially after we just got our asses handed to us." She took a breath, and Riker was slightly reassured by the woman's softer tone of voice when she spoke again. "I understand your frustration, but I won't put my own people at risk. We'll just all get comfy until the Alliance gets here." The woman replied, and turned her head when one of her beforementioned people groaned and grabbed at his side
"Great plan Shepard, the whole suffocating to death thing. Just great." Even with his voice muffled by his helmet, it wasn't hard to hear the pain and sarcasm in the man's voice.
Beverly instinctively leaned forward and was about to ask what was wrong with him when a blue armored alien, going solely by the odd body shape, of a kind she had never seen before, gently but firmly pushed her back into her seat. "I can help him."
Their leader sighed as she roughly pulled her ally away from Crusher. "Garrus, she's their CMO, I'd bet my last credit on it. Get Joker strapped down for now, if they really are here to help us, she can look him over once we're on their ship." An odd dual flanging sound was his only curt reply.
"Don't worry about me Shepard, I'm sure this gaping hole in my arm will take care of itself." The man Beverly had tried to help grimly muttered with a quiet sigh.
"Joker, quit your bitching. Kaidan, do what you can for him. Is that everyone Liara?"
"Yes Commander, everyone is accounted for." The blue skinned humanoid female replied solemnly in standard as she motioned for one of the Enterprise crew to shut the shuttle doors once the last of her compatriots had been secured.
"On it Shepard." Another of Shepard's crew stated while Riker took control of their shuttle. All the while, he eyed the gun pointed at his face with annoyance as he piloted out of the hangar bay and back into open space.
Suited in dark red armor, one of the largest aliens any of the five Enterprise crew members had ever seen, grumbled something in an yet another unintelligible language. "Seriously Wrex?" The alien grunted something to the relatively tiny human woman standing next to him. "No, you can't eat them Wrex, no matter how politely you ask."
"You're kidding right?" Riker asked, and wasn't reassured by the nervous chuckle the woman let out. Staring into a set of visored silvery eyes, somehow Riker found the soft melodic tones from a smaller female alien, along with a gentle pat on his shoulder, calming. "I take it she said I had nothing to worry about 'Shepard'?"
"That's Commander Shepard to you babyface, but you're right. Wrex talks big but he's not a cannibal. Well. whatever eating another sentient race is called anyway." When the distinctly suited and visored woman started to protest, the woman in charge held up a hand and looked to her friend with an audible smile in her voice. "Tali, not another word, and yes, Wrex has a terrible sense of humor."
"That's reassuring Commander." Beverly was quick to say, making it clear she wasn't as comfortable with the situation as she pretended to be.
"Oh don't let them frighten you my dear." Crusher was surprised when one of the armored women sat down next to her. The warmth in her voice was too easy to detect, making the Enterprise medical officer wonder if she was talking to a fellow doctor. "Doctor Karin Chakwas. My apologies for my crewmates' general lack of trust. For the record, I suggested a more peaceful solution."
"Doctor Beverly Crusher." She replied, and would have offered the older woman her hand, but was very aware that they were restrained behind her back. "I'm sure we can get this sorted out quickly. How many wounded do you have? Our sickbay could be prepped in advance and-"
"Nice try. No comms." Shepard said patting her pistol against the side of Riker's arm as he reached towards the console. "I'm having a bad day, so don't test me."
Riker managed not to react as he noticed that the main comm line had already been opened. The slightest nod from La Forge answered his unspoken question. "You've lost people today." It wasn't a question, and Riker returned the small nod from Shepard before speaking again. "There's no need for you to lose any more. I promise you, we don't intend to harm any of you. When we land in the shuttle bay, if you'd be willing to hand over your weapons and-"
"Over my dead body. As you just said, I've lost good people, and I don't plan to put the few I have left at risk in an unknown ship, surrounded by potential enemies."
"This one is a true warrior. She must have Klingon blood in her veins." Worf nodded with approval, even as he attempted to find some way to release himself from his restraints, just like La Forge and an already successful Data. An EMP from the android's internal energy distribution system had been enough for him to short out his glowing energy restraints.
"I take it you are from a warrior centric species in this part of the galaxy?" The blue skinned woman asked, and Worf raised an eyebrow but nodded his head at her keen observation. "I thought as much. You carry yourself with the same strength and purpose as the krogan, of which Wrex is a member."
"Oh boy, here we go. Liara is at it again. I might die of boringitis before we even land." Everyone, except Worf, and the massive 'Wrex', winced as Shepard walked over and lightly whacked 'Joker' on the back of his helmet.
"Huh. Deja vu." The one she had called Kaidan quietly chuckled to himself. "That might have been a little extreme Comm-"
"Kaidan. Shut up."
"Aye aye Commander." 'Kaidan' quickly replied before lowering his head.
Riker, already having slowed his approach as much as possible to give security more lead time to prepare a response, eyed the rapidly nearing shuttle bay. "Can I at least contact our shuttle bay? We use a series of tractor beams to-"
"If I was born yesterday, I might actually believe that boyscout level ruse. I already figured out that one of your people activated the comms while we were busy boarding and restraining your friends. I'm sure your crewmates are waiting for us in the shuttlebay, weapons ready and aimed at our shuttle the moment we land." At Riker's slightly stunned look, Shepard merely shrugged. "It's what I'd do, so you get my respect for your resourcefulness. You're also going to get a complimentary bullet if you don't nicely ask your buddies to clear out before we land. Then I want to speak with whoever's in charge. Alone. No escort. You mess with me, I might just decide to use your crew for target practice." This last part seemed to be more for anyone listening on the other end than for Riker himself.
"You have my attention, Commander Shepard. This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise. Am I to assume that you're the captain of the derelict vessel we came to assist?"
Shepard looked to the comms and raised an eyebrow before motioning for Riker to do whatever he needed to do so she could talk to the Captain herself. When he switched control of the comms to the cockpit, she nodded her thanks before speaking into the panel Riker indicated. "I'm sorry for the necessity of taking some your crew hostage Captain, but I'm hoping to get my people out of this mess in one piece. For that, I need leverage."
"I sympathize with your plight Commander, and I too hope we can resolve this matter peacefully. There is no need for further violence. I understand you have wounded aboard. I can assure you, our medical facilities are more than up to the task of dealing with any injuries your people may have sustained, and we are quite willing to help you in any way that we can."
"Okay, let's dispense with the pleasantries and get to brass tacks shall we? Look at it from my perspective. I'm on an unknown ship, surrounded by a possibly hostile force. I just survived the near total destruction of my vessel, and lost a lot of good people. And there is no way in Hell you can prove that I can trust you without risking the rest of my crew." Shepard seemed to pause for effect as Riker glanced up at her, only to have her pistol barrel roughly nudge his gaze back towards the vacant shuttle bay as they gently landed on the deck. "I'm sure you can see my little dilemma here sir."
"There is one way Commander. I will take the place of your hostages." Everyone aboard the shuttle looked to the comm link as if the Captain had started speaking gibberish.
"Captain, I strongly advise against-" Riker's annoyed warning was cut short by the barrel of Shepard's pistol jamming into his chin once again. He was getting very tired of it, but he saw no way to disarm her, at the moment.
"The grown ups are talking babyface." Shepard muttered and turned back to the console in front of her before pausing and glancing back at Riker with renewed interest. "You're the XO aren't you? I know the type, used to be one. First rule is always keep the Captain from doing something incredibly stupid right?" Will's deep sigh was apparently all the confirmation the she needed. "Doesn't usually work. Yeah, I've been there."
Seeing no point in lying to the highly dangerous woman, Riker nodded. "Commander William Riker, First Officer of the Enterprise. Trust me, I'm all the leverage you need. Why don't you just let the others go?" Shepard looked to her friends, her family he suspected, and seemed to think it over. That was when Riker noticed Picard confidently entering the shuttle bay and proceeded to slam his fist against the console in frustration. "Dammit."
Shepard's tone instantly turned to one of camaraderie as she gave Riker a slap on the shoulder. "That's all the incentive I need. Let the rest go once their Captain boards." Her team immediately moved to free the shuttle's crew, and found half of them had already freed themselves. When she noticed, Shepard chuckled and nodded her head in approval. "Not bad. Resourceful and clever."
Data stared at Shepard for a moment before responding. "Thank you Commander Shepard. Please be advised that you are charged with five counts of kidnapping, one count of stealing Starfleet property-"
It was then, just as the rear ramp opened, that Picard himself put a hand on the android's shoulder as soon as he boarded. "Data, please. I think we can forgive the Commander and her team their caution after what they've endured." Data only nodded his head, but Jean-Luc had since moved on as he held out his hand to the heavily armed woman. "Commander Shepard I presume? I implore you Commander, release my people and hand over your weapons and all of this will only be a mildly unpleasant memory."
"No harm no foul huh? I want to believe you Captain Picard, but I can't take that risk." Shepard replied as she grasped the man's hand and firmly shook it. Picard could tell that she was honestly surprised, but pleasantly so, that he had come down to greet them personally as he had promised he would. "I'm impressed, most captains and well, leaders in general, wouldn't have agreed to this. I'll keep my word since you did, most of your crew are free to go. Babyface though, stays with you."
"I see. Still, thank you for returning my people unharmed Commander." Picard held out his wrists with a wry grin.
"My pleasure." Shepard waved him off, merely pointing towards one of the shuttle benches instead of bringing out another pair of glowing cuffs. "I try not to make a habit of restraining superior officers sir."
"I believe you. Might I see your face Commander? I would like to know who I am dealing with, and since we are both honorable people, I think we can safely agree a face to face meeting is preferable." Picard sat comfortably on the bench and gestured towards the rear hatch. "Please, by all means seal the shuttle if you like. I wouldn't blame you for thinking my crew might attempt to subdue you with some type of incapacitating agent."
"Seal the damn hatch now! They're probably already pumping the stuff in!" Shepard shouted towards the blue armored alien before sighing as it THUNKED shut.
"What is he doing?! Captain!" Worf shouted, but was held back Natasha Yar. "The Captain is in danger Lieutenant!"
"The Captain knows exactly what he's doing Worf. Trust me." Tasha replied in an effort to calm the klingon officer.
"Alone at last." Riker chuckled lightly, even as the one they called Wrex growled something intelligible at him.
"Um, Shepard, I'm down to like two- make that one percent air here...starting to get a little stuffy in this helmet." Joker said, worry clear in his voice.
"Relax Joker. Everybody, pop your helmets. I'm betting we've got plenty of air." Shepard sighed as the smaller alien woman pointed at her visor and said something in her melodic language that even Picard could tell had to be sarcasm. "Ha ha Tali, hilarious."
"Two months worth actually. I'd be more worried over energy reserves for replicating water and ration bars."
"Is there a problem Commander?" Picard asked, ignoring Riker's comment as he gazed at Tali. He was genuinely curious about the strangers he and Riker found themselves surrounded by.
Shepard shrugged, and seemed to see no harm in sharing a bit of information with him. Picard had willingly thrown himself to the lions for the sake of his crew, and that spoke volumes of the man himself. "Well, it depends on your definition. Tali can't remove her helmet because she has no immune system to speak of. Long story."
"Ah, that is most regretful, Tali is it? I'm sure our medical staff might be able to assist you." The alien girl blinked in surprise and Picard knew that she had understood him. He leaned back and gave her a reassuring smile before turning his attention to Riker. "You have the most disarming new friends Number One."
Riker nodded before sighing ever so slightly. "That I do sir." Before anyone could so much as blink Will had slammed into Shepard, drawing the attention of her crewmates, who instantly tried to subdue him. Shepard seemed more concerned about them not injuring Riker too badly as opposed to any harm the man could actually do to her.
"Thank you Number One." While Riker was tackled and pulled off Shepard by half of the group, Picard calmly removed the heels of his boots and pressed a small button on each before tossing them at the pile of twisting limbs and those watching the scuffle. A bright orange flash enveloped the entire compartment a split second later.
The least affected person, the helmeted alien woman, quietly grumbled to herself as she tried to shake off the effects of the stun grenades that had gone off in her face. Her visor had absorbed some of the energy from the grenade, but it still made her sluggish and slow. But it was more than enough to ensure their defeat as the rear ramp was lowered remotely, and the shuttle was soon swarmed by the rest of the Enterprise security team. A single stun beam was enough to have her sprawled out on the deck.
Only the massive armored alien seemed able to put up a fight, but by the time he got to his feet, Worf, Yar, Data had fired their phasers on heavy stun. He went down like a ton of bricks, muttering curses the whole way.
Sick Bay
Three hours later...
The first thing Picard noticed as he regained consciousness was his slightly blurred vision. But the reassuring presence of Beverly Crusher, her smiling face coming into his line of sight helped the Captain relax. Even if he absolutely hated being confined to medical for any reason, Jean-Luc was more than a little glad that she seemed alright, if a little worse for wear after her recent ordeal.
Nor was he all that surprised when Beverly pushed him back onto his bed when he tried to sit up. "Not just yet Captain. You're still suffering the side effects of having two low yield stun grenades go off in your face. I can't believe Tasha talked you into that insane plan."
"Walking around with those grenades in my boots wasn't exactly my idea of relaxation Doctor." Picard said with a light chuckle, his eyes gleaming, ignoring the small scowl on Beverly's face. "Tasha is certainly full of surprises. So, what's my prognosis?"
"You'll live. Despite being insanely reckless." Crusher replied simply as she waved one of her many scanning devices over his face.
Picard merely smirked at the halfway decent compliment she had thrown back. "Is that your professional opinion Doctor?"
"Geez, get a room you two." A voice to his left interrupted any further light hearted banter between the doctor and her patient. Turning to the source, Picard recognized the younger bearded man as one of the crew they had saved from the derelict. A passing look and a few quick words thrown to another of his companions had been the length of their interaction, but Jean-Luc still remembered the sarcastic fellow well enough. A scowling Yar stood nearby, causing the man's grin to vanish. "Would ya mind telling your friend here I'm not gonna hobble anywhere fast? I gotta take a piss like you wouldn't believe. Just throw me a bottle if you don't trust me, sheesh."
A quick look to Tasha told Picard she was finding it hard not to knock the sarcastic man out cold again. "Hold it."
"You can't be serious!" Yar's only reply was to cross her arms and smirk at the man. "Crap. You're serious."
"Try me." That was a mistake, as she was about to find out.
"Try you how? Because I can think of a couple- not the face!" The man's eyes widened as Tasha lunged at him, only to be blocked by a frowning Beverly.
"Lt., please escort the patient to a lavatory." When Yar balked at Crusher's request, the doctor flicked her eyes toward Picard. "I could ask the Captain to order you to. Your choice." Picard looked decidedly unpleased at the prospect of being verbally thrown into the middle of the arguing women.
The man's grin, Joker, Picard quickly recalled, instantly reappeared as Yar sighed in defeat and gently helped him off the biobed, not about to let him use the old fashioned crutches they had found in the shuttle. "Go pout, I win."
Beverly made it a point to thoroughly deflate Joker's ego when she rounded on him next. "Mr. Moreau, I would strongly advise that you don't antagonize Lieutenant Yar. She has a black belt in aikido, and is quite proficient in its use."
"So don't piss off the help, got it. Or she might break me with her pinky." Limping next to the irritated security officer, Joker took a moment to look her up and down. "Might even be worth it." He immediately regretted his choice of words when he felt something decidedly pointy and pinky shaped jab into his side none too gently. "Okay okay! Sense of humor non existent, gotcha!"
"I have an excellent sense of humor. You just aren't funny." Yar growled to the utter shock of her limping escort.
"Hey! Space-Rent-A-Cop, take that back. Right now. I'll have you know, I am freakin' hilarious..."
"Not really Joker." Another of the strange crew groaned as he came to. "Commander, permission to cold clock him when he gets back? Commander?" He came out of his sleepy daze in moments and began to struggle against an invisible barrier holding him completely still. "Why can't I move?! Where am I and what the Hell have you done to the Commander?!"
Crusher walked over to the newly conscious man and placed a hand on his shoulder. He tried to flinch away from her touch, only becoming more concerned at his inability to move. "It's only a force field restraint. It's normally used to keep patients from moving after extensive surgery, but our security chief thought it a good idea to restrain you and your friends in case you proved hostile. You're safe, just like the rest of your friends, I promise. Just relax."
"Yeah. Right. You aren't getting anything from me lady."
Picard watched as the man's struggles ceased almost immediately when the grey haired woman he had briefly seen aboard the shuttle stepped into Kaidan's line of sight, a similar gentle smile on her face laced with just a tinge of humor. "The Commander's well meaning paranoia seems to be contagious Kaidan."
"Doctor Chakwas? Are you alright? They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"Quite the contrary. The crew of this magnificent vessel have been quite accommodating. And if it wasn't for our dour faced chaperones, I might even be tempted to 'borrow' a few of their medical devices. Their dermal regenerator alone is an amazing piece of-"
Picard couldn't stop himself from smirking at the small chuckle that escaped the whiskey colored eyed man's lips. "I get it Doctor, you're a kid in a candy store. How are the others? Where's the Commander?"
"Everyone's here Kaidan. Except for Tali that is." Before Kaidan could so much as frown with worry, she quickly explained. "She managed to get on of their more technologically minded people to give her a short tour, with some extra supervision. As for the condition of the crew, all of them are either already awake or coming around as I speak. Other than being a little shaken up, we're all fine. Their medical technology is astounding, far more advanced than anything I've worked with before. The few relatively minor injuries we sustained have been attended to already, thanks to Beverly's assistance. Oh sorry, Doctor Crusher, you have her to thank for not waking up with yet another severe migraine. Honestly, I felt like I was back in medical school, working alongside her."
"Nice to see you're making friends Doc..." Beverly grinned despite herself as she watched the man waggle his eyebrows to get the older woman to step closer. If this 'Kaidan' thought he was fooling anyone as he quietly whispered to Karin, he was only fooling himself. "Chakwas...I need you to figure out how to release us..."
"There's really no need to worry. But if I recall correctly, it was actually you who helped to convince Shepard to take a few of our host's hostage. Seems rather ironic to me." Karin whispered back, much to Beverly and Picard's quiet amusement.
"Traitor." Kaidan grumbled, but there was an amused note to the whiskey colored man's voice. Even as he looked around for a way to escape despite his friend's reassurances to the contrary, Crusher tapped a console on the side of his bed, apparently worrying the armed security men and women watching them. Kaidan was surprised when the force field collapsed, and promptly sat up, freed from his makeshift prison by the good doctor's generosity. "Why?"
Crusher's answer was direct and to the point as she again reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, and this time, Kaidan didn't jerk away from her warm touch. "I'm willing to give a little trust if you are. You have kind eyes Major Alenko, and I'm good at reading patients."
"Did you have to tell her everything Doctor?" Kaidan grumbled as he none too subtly took in his surroundings, letting out a sigh of relief upon seeing the other remaining crew members. Most seemed to be just waking up, except for the blue armored alien,Garrus, who, still restrained in a biobed, was chatting up a nurse.
"Only the good parts, I assure you Kaidan." Karin replied with a soft chuckle as she stepped aside to allow another of Crusher's staff to move to the giant armored alien's bedside. Picard was the first to react when the being's red eyes snapped open and he started to glow a dark blue, but much like Alenko had, wasn't able to move a finger. The nurse that had been about to do another check on the alien's vital functions jumped backward in sheer surprise and shock. "Easy Wrex, you're safe."
Despite Crusher's withering glare, Picard sat up on the side of his biobed just as the red plated being rumbled out his complaint at being restrained. "Get me outta this bed Doc, and I promise I won't give the pyjaks that shot me a slow, painful death."
"Charming fellow." Picard muttered as he got to his feet, Beverly not being quite fast enough to reach him first. Picard waved Alenko over to him as he confidently walked over to the enraged alien. Well, as confidently as one could approach what looked to be a rather large, glowing, angry, humpbacked snapping turtle. "I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise. You are among friends."
"So, you're the man I have to kill if I want to get outta this mess? Fine, untie me and I'll make it nice and quick."
Kaidan gave an audible sigh at his friend's words. "Wrex, he's telling the truth. Relax."
"Shut up migraine boy." Wrex grumbled, but sighed before he looked towards Picard. "And you, if you've done anything to Tal- Nevermind."
Picard raised an eyebrow at the near slip up, and subtly glanced towards Kaidan, who merely nodded to show he had heard the same thing, before he turned his gaze back to Wrex. "If you give me your word of honor you will not harm anyone aboard this vessel, I will have you released."
"That's all huh?"
"That's all."
"Fine. I give you my word as a krogan of clan Urdnot, I won't cause any trouble….unless someone else starts it. Satisfied human?"
"Quite." With a reassuring glance, Picard nodded for a nurse to deactivate the force field, not blaming her in the least as the blonde haired woman made a beeline for another patient as Wrex sat up and rolled his massive shoulders.
Staring directly into the imposing alien's eyes, Picard knew instinctively that breaking eye contact with the red eyed creature was the last thing he wanted to do when Wrex lowered his head so they were unable to do anything else. The deep, rumbling voice also told the captain that there was an underlying threat of possible harm if he showed the slightest sign of weakness. "Thanks human. Now what's stopping me from snapping your neck like a wrinkly old twig?"
Picard remained calm, even as Alenko took a step back from the bio bed, and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Perhaps only the fact that an honorless coward would break their word?" Picard stated firmly, layering his voice with every bit of strength he could muster. After dealing with as many klingons and equally imposing aliens that had a similar mindset, he had perfected a tone that said he was far stronger than he looked.
With a huff, Wrex pushed himself off the bed, landing with a loud THUMP, his large beady red eyes glaring into Picard's equally steely hazel-green gaze for several moments. Everyone except for Picard, or those still restrained in their beds, jumped at the booming laughter that filled sickbay. "You gotta quad human! Sure you ain't related to Shepard? Hah, doesn't matter." With a hearty slap to his back, Wrex walked towards another of his companions, leaving Picard to rub at his sore shoulder. "Hey Garrus, bet your face plates are itching somethin' fierce right about now..."
Turning towards the pair, Picard raised an eyebrow again while Kaidan only shook his head in amusement. The captain had a feeling from the man's reaction that this was a regular occurrence between two very good friends. "Real funny Wrex...oh damn...they are starting to get a little itchy." The mandibled alien managed to look sheepish as his glance turned to the dark haired, grinning blue shirted human woman at his bedside. "Um, if it's not too much trouble, could I get a little scratch? I know I must seem all fearsome-"
"Trust me Mr. Vakarian, you are far from the strangest alien I've seen." With a laugh, the nurse gently scratched at his face plates, seemingly just as much out of curiosity as to 'alleviate' her patient's suffering. "Ever help a pregnant Horta deliver? You're quite ordinary in comparison."
"Ouch. I think my ego needs a booster- hippo?"
Her almond eyes twinkling, the nurse laughed, not buying his feigned naivete. "That's hypo, and you know it."
"I might have heard you say so once or twice." He admitted, a teasing gleam in his gaze.
Wrex shook his massive head in annoyance. "I'm gonna be sick. All these raging hormones between you two are enough to choke a thresher maw."
"Way to kill the mood Wrex." Garrus countered under his breath.
With a quiet hiss of the Sick Bay doors a friendly conversation soon flowed into the room.
"Keelah! This ship is amazing! But ah, I don't suppose I could look at some of the design specs?"
"I'll ask Commander Riker for you. Be sure to let me know if you need anything else Tali."
"Thank you, I will, and I'm glad you joined us on the Lieutenant's tour Sarah."
"My pleasure ladies."
As he turned towards the conversation, Picard was mildly surprised to see Ensign Hernandez from security and La Forge walk in with the suited alien, Tali, clearly making inroads with the, whatever she was. Picard made a mental note to ask her what her species was called when he had a moment.
Geordi was all smiles as he walked beside the suited woman. "You'd be surprised what a few good conductor coils charged with anti-matter energy can do Ms. Zorah. Or is that Ms. Nar Rayya? I always get those mixed up."
"Please, just call me Tali. And it's alright Mr. La Forge, it took Kara-I mean Commander Shepard and some of the crew a while to figure it out too. Not a lot of people have worked with quarians before, at least, not willingly, but the Commander was welcoming from the start."
"Sounds like she's one heck of a woman, Tali. From what you've told me, it sounds like you got pretty lucky finding her when ya did."
"You have no idea." The quarian replied, her voice radiating pure adoration towards the woman in question.
His question already answered for him, Picard almost jumped when a soft, feminine voice called out from the other end of the infirmary. When he turned, his eyes fell upon the last of the crew, a blue skinned alien of rather stunning beauty in his humble opinion. "Hello Tali. Did you enjoy your tour?"
"Yes Liara! Lieutenant Commander La Forge is an excellent guide. And he's a genius."
"Aw shucks Tali, I'm not-" He never got a chance to finish as Joker and Tasha returned to the infirmary.
Jeff pointed an accusatory finger at Liara before turning his wide eyed stare toward Tali. "What the shit?! You get a friggin' datapad, Tali gets a tour, a tour, and Nurse Ratchet over here won't even let me take a piss without being in the same room?! How is that fair?!" Joker paused and gave his frowning escort a satisfied smirk. "Well, that last part was kinda nice actually. Sorta hard with you watching though. Under any other circumstances, I mighta enjoyed it."
Even Yar's icy glare wasn't enough to dampen the man's spirits. "Never going to happen Moreau."
"Keep tellin' yourself that Touchy." Joker replied and limped away as fast as his brittle legs could carry him when he slapped the blonde security chief on the back.
Yar contained herself to a muttered growl. "It's Tasha."
"You can stop pretending to be asleep Commander." Karin stated when she passed by Shepard's biobed with a badly disguised grin that encompassed her face. "Everyone's safe and accounted for. Also, everyone in the room can tell you're wide awake just by glancing at the biomonitors."
Picard had to mentally bite his tongue when the woman's emerald eyes snapped open and proceeded to playfully scowl at her ship's CMO. He had seen all that he needed to know that these people were just as tightly bound to each other as his own crew. "Betrayed by medical tech, why am I not surprised. On the bright side, at least you're enjoying having me at your mercy doc."
"You have no idea Kara. I honestly wish we had had this on the Normandy, it would have made keeping you confined to the infirmary far easier."
"I'm sure Tali would have hacked the force field by now if she wasn't giving her new nerdy soul mate googly eyes. In an odd way, I'm sort of proud of you. Although in an equally pissed off way, a little help wouldn't have hurt." The room at large heard Tali mutter a playful curse towards the woman, which elicited a small chuckle from Shepard.
Walking over to her bed, Picard fought the strong urge to straighten his uniform as Shepard eyed him critically a moment later. For some reason, she reminded him of a couple of his old Academy instructors that had had a tendency to find fault in the smallest things. "Hello Commander, I'm glad to see you and your crewmates suffered no ill effects from my Security Chief's improvisation." Turning to Chakwas with a knowing grin, he gestured to the biobed console. "Doctor, if you please?"
"I don't know Captain, I think I need to run another diagnostic on her amp before I release her." Karin replied, a subtle gleam in her gaze that earned her an annoyed scoff from Shepard for her delaying tactics. "Besides, I'm not quite sure as to how-" Karin gracefully tapped the simple sequence she had no doubt seen earlier into the display as an annoyed Shepard sat up and flexed her shoulders. "Oh, look at that. Beginners luck I suppose."
"I just know I'm going to dread coming here again if all of your infirmary beds can do that Captain." Shepard said as she hopped off the biobed and eyed the sophisticated piece of technology warily. Picard had to stifle his chuckles at the way the woman glared at the device, as if she expected it to bite her.
"I for one have no complaints Shepard!" Garrus quickly tossed out, almost looking sad as his nurse let out a quiet giggle and promptly deactivated his restraining field. "Honestly, I wouldn't have minded being your prisoner for a few more hours."
"Come to my private quarters later. I'm sure I can think of something."
The turian was slightly taken aback by her surprisingly forward offer. "O-kay... Don't mind if I do. Uh, just one question, where are your quarters and how would I go about getting there? Okay, to be fair, that's two questions." A frowning Yar was beaten to the punch by one of the man's own crewmates.
"By the goddess, Garrus, you're incorrigible." Liara groaned with a look of embarrassment for her turian friend.
"Took the words right out of my mouth Liara." Kadian replied.
"I don't suppose you got around to the bodily fluids talk yet, Garrus?" Shepard volunteered with a cocked eyebrow and a mischievous smirk on her face.
Garrus was appalled and shocked by Kara's statement as he rounded on her next. "Shepard!"
The nurse that had been hanging on his every word was quick to sooth his ego though, and grabbed at his long arm just above his elbow. "Yours isn't the first dextro amino species we've come across Mr. Vakarian. I think I can find an anti allergenic hypo easily enough…"
"Oh….well, in that case. Can I at least take you to dinner first, nurse..."
"Vanessa. I'm sure we have plenty of dextro amino meals programmed into the replicator." Shepard and Picard could only watch as a grinning Crusher nodded to Vanessa's unasked question before Garrus and his curious date left the infirmary in stunned silence with a sighing Ensign Hernandez hot on their heels. If Garrus was annoyed when two more security personnel joined them in the corridor, he didn't say anything.
"Did that really just happen?" Kara asked, surprise easily heard in her voice at how quickly Garrus had made a friend.
"We're a little more….accepting than you might be used to Commander. But even I'm impressed by your friend's speed in acquainting himself with my crew." Picard stated, having half expected to see a trail of smoke behind the pair that had left so suddenly.
"Wow. Lucky bastard." Joker stared open mouthed at the door before grinning over at Yar who was leaning against a far wall. "Whaddaya say we make it a double date?" Her only reply was to copy the odd, rude hand gesture he had given her when she had told him to speed things up in the lavatory. "I'll take that as a no. Sheesh."
"I'll tell you this much Captain, you don't need to worry about her around Garrus." Kara stated, and some of her crew nodded their heads in agreement or gave voice to the same sentiment.
"I'm quite sure Nurse Melein can handle herself." Picard replied, a small smile appearing on his face despite the odd situation that had just developed. How he had gone from a temporary hostage one moment, to watching one of the very people he had stunned walk into the corridor with one of his medical staff the next was beyond him.
He wasn't all that surprised when Kara crossed her arms and glared at the passageway the two had used to leave the infirmary. For all of her earlier well meaning paranoia and good cheer, she didn't make it any secret about what she'd do if her friend did something to upset any of his people. "Yeah well, if he breaks her heart, I'm breaking something important to him. Preferably in him."
"Far be it for me to dictate how you discipline your people Commander." If the last few minutes had taught him anything, it was that despite the harsh and intimidating words she had used, Picard was certain Kara would never permanently injure any of her crew.
"Well this has been one hell of an interesting day. My ship's holed by some unknown enemy, three of the damn escape pods malfunctioned, and then you show up. If you don't mind me asking, just who the hell are you people anyway? You're not Alliance, I know that much. Oh, and sorry for the whole taking you hostage thing. It's pretty obvious now that wasn't necessary."
"It's quite alright Commander, and it was a perfectly natural reaction after what you've endured. As for who we are-"
"They are part of an exploration and peacekeeping force called Starfleet, which serves a union of over hundred and fifty worlds called The United Federation of Planets." Picard blinked, having almost forgotten the quiet blue skinned woman as she looked up from her datapad at last, and sat it down on the biobed before standing to her feet. "This particular vessel is a Galaxy class ship designed primarily for exploration, the USS Enterprise. NCC-1701-D. It is the fifth ship to carry that name. Every Enterprise before this one has been a legend in its own right if the records I've discovered are any indication, and this one is no different."
"I see you've been doing a bit of reading miss..."
"Doctor Liara T'Soni, Captain Jean-Luc Picard."
"A doctor? Of what if I might ask?"
"Xenoarchaeology, specifically into an extinct alien race called the protheans."
"Truly? It's a hobby of mine as well, though I would hardly call myself an expert in the field."
Liara's eyes lit up immediately, her curiosity overcoming her inherently shy nature. "It's so rare to meet anyone interested in my line of work, perhaps we could compare notes at a later time?"
"I'm not going to have to worry about you and the good Captain sneaking away on a dig, am I Liara?" Shepard asked, chuckling as the asari's cheeks turned a darker shade of blue for a moment.
Picard quickly found himself warming to both women as he gave Shepard his best charming smile before turning his attention back to Liara. "Only with your permission of course Commander, and I would be honored to speak with a true expert at length Dr T'Soni."
He found her modesty appealing as Liara rubbed the back of her neck at his praise. "Well, I would not go so far as to say I am an expert-"
"She's basically the only person in the galaxy you can talk to about an entire dead race. And believe me, she likes to talk about them. A lot. I think she even had a few long winded lectures on their architecture in her sleep once, although I can't be certain on that." Shepard chuckled again, but stopped Liara from protesting further as she walked over to the woman and wrapped her arms around her stomach in a backwards hug before turning to the good captain. "Let's just say our last mission had us investigating a lot of their destroyed cities and any active artifacts we could find."
"Didn't one scramble your brain Commander?" Kaidan asked, and seemed to pale visibly when Shepard cast him a withering glare. "Right, sorry."
Picard feigned ignorance at the way Shepard effectively silenced that line of thought in its tracks. "Incredible! Well, I for one believe that does indeed make you an expert Doctor." Picard couldn't contain his disappointment when a sudden thought struck him. "It is a tragedy that none of what you retrieved survived along with you."
Shepard casually waved off the man's concern. "Liara was religious about having us off load any artifacts that weren't nailed down every chance we got."
Liara raised her arm with an excited gleam in her blue eyes before hesitating. "Shepard, would it be permissible if I-"
Shepard nodded towards the woman's raised arm. "Wasn't exactly classified information in the first place Liara. Feel free."
Biting her lower lip with a knowing grin, Liara activated a glowing holographic device on her arm and brought up several images and three dimensional scans of some of the artifacts they had discovered.
Normally Picard would have been astounded by such a show of unknown advanced technology, but at the moment all of his attention was focused on the images and 3-D scans before him. "Amazing...if I'm reading the carbon dating graph correctly, these objects are tens of thousands of years old. Remarkable... I only wish I had had the chance to join one of your expeditions Doctor T'Soni."
"Not if it involved being trapped behind a prothean barrier curtain for three days." Liara countered with an embarrassed chuckle.
"Or being shot at by ruthless mercenaries." Wrex rumbled with amusement. "Good times."
"Or having hundreds of geth trying to kill us." Tali was quick to chime in.
"Or those godawful strobe lights and that horrible techno music in Flux." Kaidan paused as his crewmates stared at him. "What? Ask Chakwas, that place was hell for me to walk into."
"I have one, treating Kaidan's constant migraines-"
"Thanks Doc."
"And treating Tali's infections, Wrex's multiple knife, bullet, and bite wounds, Jeff's ongoing treatment, and just general patching up of anyone who came back through the airlock after one of the Commander's missions."
"Easy doc, it's not my fault we're getting shot at all the time." Kara was quick to say in her defense.
"You are sort of a human bullet magnet Commander. Oh! Don't forget the big ass insane houseplant." Joker quickly added with a just noticeable shudder. "Try getting rid of the smell when those mutated freaks exploded all over the hull. It reeked for weeks!"
"Almost getting melted in a volcano wasn't that great, but it was worth it to save you Liara." Shepard grinned down at the just slightly shorter asari next to her.
"I believe the phrase you'd use is 'don't kiss my posterior' Commander." If Picard had any doubts about their relationship, they were thoroughly silenced by the brief but intense look the two women shared with each other.
"Close enough. I really need to teach you how to swear better." Shepard grinned at the quiet gasp she got from Liara as she brush her lips against the asari's neck. "And Liara, don't give me any ideas."
That particularly loaded comment had Picard blushing slightly as he caught Beverly's amused gaze for a moment before managing to clear his throat. By some small miracle, he was able to keep his embarrassment from his voice. "I believe I'm needed on the bridge. Thank you for the enlightening conversation."
"One thing Captain." Kara quickly caught up with Picard and put a hand on his shoulder. Any trace of her earlier good cheer had quickly departed, and Picard knew what she was going to ask before she did. "What do you plan to do with us?"
Jean-Luc followed her example and answered her as clearly and seriously as befitting a man of his considerable station. Despite the change of tone to his voice, Picard's compassion and warmth still came through loud and clear. "This vessel is dedicated to discovering new life Commander, regardless of its form. We seek peaceful coexistence and a chance to learn from all those we encounter. As you've seen, some of our crew take those ideals more literally than others. For now, you'll be given guest quarters until we reach the nearest starbase. From there, you and your people will be free to go wherever you desire. To decide your own destiny as you see fit."
"Nice speech Captain. Well damn, here I was debating what tech I should share with you in trade for passage and the not so insignificant fact you saved the lives of my crew."
"Materialistic gains have been a thing of the past for some time Commander. Money has no value, crime is virtually nonexistent for us, and no one goes without. We've evolved as a society."
Kara had to stop Picard there as she looked at him with open astonishment. "Wait wait wait. Slow down. How in the hell did you pull that off?"
"The acquisition of wealth is, simply put, no longer the driving force in our lives Commander. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity, along with the various other races that comprise the Federation. I won't lie and say that we don't have our unpleasant issues from time to time, but overall, we've learned from our past and have done all we can to keep the darkest parts of our natures at bay." Shepard didn't miss how Jean-Luc looked to Natasha Yar, a fact he was glad to notice.
"You got her out of a bad situation huh?" Kara asked quietly.
"I wasn't personally involved, but you could call it that. But I don't feel comfortable discussing it any further. The matter is between the Lieutenant and whomever she chooses to share it with."
"Of course sir. The same goes for some of what we've all gone through together." Kara replied simply in turn, her gaze lingering over her crewmates, as Picard nodded to her before leaving sick bay, glad to know that she understood his desire for discretion when it came to certain aspects of his crew's personal lives.
Noticing his departure, Beverly chose that moment to distract the Commander from her thoughts. "Well Commander, Doctor Chakwas and I are happy to tell you that, aside from some mended broken bones, bruises and cuts, your current crew is completely healthy. Jeffrey needed some-"
"Hey! What the hell Doc? Is Doctor-Patient Confidentiality dead in the 24th century or what?"
Beverly had to roll her eyes at Jeff's outburst. "I'm sorry, I meant Flight Lieutenant Moreau...needed several osteo regenerator treatments and I'm adding a series of bone strengthening hypo injections to my colleague's current treatment plan. If all goes well, his Vrolik's Syndrome should be a distant irritation at best in a few weeks. It won't be a cure persay, but it should greatly alleviate the worst of his symptoms."
"Thhhaaank you! You're awesome Doc, have I told you that in the last half hour or so?"
"Yes. Repeatedly." Beverly managed not to roll her eyes this time, instead giving the smirking pilot a satisfied grin. "I'll need to run some tests, consult with a few of my associates, and see if a permanent solution can't be synthesized at a later date, but for the moment, you're more than welcome Joker."
"You heard it here first Commander, you might get to see me dance without snapping shinbones after all!"
"Normally I'd run the other way Joker, but I'm glad to hear it. I'll be the first in line to show you some of my dance moves..." Shepard's face went blank for a moment as she replayed Joker's words in her mind. "Wait. Joker. Did you say 24th century?"
"Ah, no offense Shepard, but what dance moves?" Jeff grinned and slapped his forehead. "Oh right, you were pretending to be asleep. We're in the future Shepard. Don't worry, no Skynet or Agent Smiths running around, already checked."
"Damn..." As if grasping at the only a bit of normalcy in the midst of the insane mess that was her crew's current predicament, Shepard forced herself to focus on Joker's insult for the time being. "And I dance just fine Joker."
"If you call having a seizure dancing." Joker muttered just loud enough to be heard by most of the room.
"Here Shepard, look at this." With a knowing gaze, Liara handed Shepard her borrowed datapad, which just so happened to have a convenient timeline of events in this apparently alternate reality. "According to my reading Kara….it is a little more than that. While we are indeed roughly one hundred and sixty-one years in the future, we're….somehow in a whole other reality. As far as I can tell, mass effect technology was never created, and the Reapers never existed. Along with...many other aspects of our galaxy's history."
"What?" It was the only thing that Kara could manage to say as she looked away from the datapad in her hands.
"I've highlighted certain events for you. Humanity's first contact with alien life is a particularly fascinating subject, as well it's major role in the initial formation of the Federation itself." At Kara's decidedly glazed look, Liara blushed and nodded her head, a sheepish look appearing on her young face. She couldn't blame Shepard for being more interested in their immediate future than the distant past. "Right, sorry Shepard. While none of us, nor our hosts, seem to know how we got here, I only know that all that I've read and seen for myself offers me no other conclusions. We are not where we are supposed to be."
"Where we're supposed to be is floating dead in space, I guess being stuck in another reality isn't such a bad thing in comparison." Kara managed to say, before Wrex walked over and slapped her on the shoulder.
"Buck up Shepard. Doesn't do any good to go around looking like some homesick whelp. I'm going to find something to kill. I'm starving." At Shepard's raised eyebrow Wrex held up his hands. "I know, not the bald human's squishy crew. There's gotta be some pets on this tub though. Don't remember promising anything about them."
"Wrex..." Shepard stressed the krogan's name, making the giant alien stop in his tracks.
"Shepard?" Wrex asked, turning his head to look over one giant shoulder.
"You honestly think I'm going to let you eat someone's puppy?"
"Hmm. How do you feel about cats?"
"Wrex..."
"Fine! I'll just sit here wasting away then." Wrex plopped down none to gently on the closest empty bed, which gave an ominous creek, his arms crossed over his chest.
Joker was quick to pounce as he glanced at the krogan across the room. "I don't know, Jabba-the-Merc over there could stand to lose a few pounds."
Shepard quickly snapped her fingers to get the attention of the room at large. "Nobody explain that reference to Wrex or Joker is dead." It was about that moment that another of the doors to sickbay opened, and she noticed a gold shirted, pale skinned, gold eyed man enter the room.
Cocking a curious eyebrow, Data immediately walked over to a wary looking Jeff. "Quarry, does said reference pertain to a fictional crime lord whose species is reminiscent of giant slugs?"
"Ah shit. Figures that George Lucas just had to exist in this weird ass galaxy too. Thanks a lot golden eyes."
Joker knew he was in trouble when Wrex hopped off of the bed and grinned towards Data. "Hey, sickly looking human, want to join me on a human hunt? Won't be a long one mind you, even if I give him a generous five minute head start. Which I'm not going to."
Data minutely cocked his head to the side before speaking again. "I feel compelled to warn you sir, that hunting sentient species, or another variety for that matter, while onboard is against Starfleet regulations and therefore strictly prohibited."
"Guess I finally found someone with a bigger stick shoved up his ass than Garrus." Wrex grumbled in annoyance.
"I assure you, I have no flora based materials internally lodged inside my person. My form is comprised mostly of polyalloys, specifically cortinide, and duranium."
"Your point? I could break you in half with one hand." Wrex countered as he was once again surrounded from head to toe by a dark blue glow, far darker than before.
"I do not believe so sir. My artificial spinal column can easily withstand far more pressure than you could apply."
"You're a robot?" Shepard's eyebrows popped up, instantly concerned about what a certain quarain might do when she found out an advanced AI was walking around sickbay. It turned out she didn't have to wait long.
"I am an android." Data helpfully told her with a nod of his head, mildly curious as to why the woman had attempted to put her hand over his mouth.
Tali turned away from Geordi about the same time and openly gawked at the synthetic in unmistakable horror. "Oh keelah...nonono! You crazy bosh'tets are going to get us all killed!" The orange holographic display on the quarian's raised arm crackled with electrical energy as she took aim at Data.
Endnotes: Archer83; That didn't end quite as well as I would have hoped...but then again, the universe is not a perfect place.
Vergil1989; Querry. By didn't end well, do you mean that we look to be about ready to fry Data's positronic brain beyond repair?
Archer83; Now you're getting it! I think that makes you an official Trekkie, or Trekker if you prefer.
Vergil1989; Don't get used to it lol. My first love and my loyalties will always belong to Star Wars. I'm simply skirting the line now is all, no thanks to you jerk. :P In all seriousness folks, this has been far more entertaining than I thought it'd be, even if the initial idea popped into my sleep deprived brain late one evening lol. At any rate, if this chapter is anything to go by, then I can only assume the ones that come after will only improve from here. Adios for now guys and gals!
Archer83; Oh, and before anyone starts calling this ST; TNG wank, I can assure you that Shepard and her people are going to help come up with plenty of new toys for the Enterprise crew, along with new ways of thinking. They just haven't had the chance to show off yet is all. Be sure to fave, follow, and review! Oh, and be sure to live long and prosper too!