Almost from the beginning, he knew it was one of those dreams.

Apollo Racer, captain of the USS Highlander, was no longer aboard his ship. Oh, he was still aboard a Starfleet ship, but not one that he recognized. Studying how the corridor curved, he tried to judge the size of the ship. But lighting was dim, maybe one-half normal, and the Red Alert tracer lights were blinking. He had to figure that out someday... whenever he dreamed he was on a ship; it was always at Red Alert. Just once, why can't I be somewhere without a conflict? He snorted at his own thought, knowing that if that happened, there would be no purpose to his dream.

He came to an intersection and suddenly the tracer lights winked out. He looked back, wondering if they went off Red Alert, or if the dream was simply responding to his thoughts. Knowing the latter couldn't be true, he turned around; as soon as he took one step back, the tracer lights came back on. His eyebrow rose. Fascinating. He turned back around and walked again... the lights went out. He returned to his original location... the lights came back. Is it telling me I have to go that way, or that I should avoid that direction?

After a moment's contemplation Apollo decided the Red Alert was his guide. He walked along the corridors, a couple of times having to turn back and head down a different path. At one point, the lights stopped, but he wasn't at an intersection. I guess I need to go in here. He stepped in front of a set of doors and they opened for him.

The room was open to space. A brilliant nebula was displayed outside. He gazed in wonder at the room... the edges of the walls weren't jagged, so he assumed this was natural. A laboratory open to space? Then movement caught his attention. A Borg separated from the wall and came towards him. "You do not belong here," it droned, extending a nasty mechanical appendage toward him. He took a moment studying the Borg... it was once female, and had some kind of conical structure for an eyepiece, yet it also had... blond hair?

Apollo decided not to tangle with the Borg. He could have, but he had a strong feeling that he had no quarrel with this one. So he turned around and walked out of the room. The tracers had started up again, so he allowed them to lead him once more. As he walked through the corridor, people started walking past him, each one giving him a suspicious stare... a female Klingon in full battle armor; a Vulcan dressed in an old style red tunic with the Enterprise's Support insignia; a blond, punkish human male dressed like a street brawler... he seemed interesting in that he was being chased by an admiral in a current uniform; a being from a race he had never seen before, wearing a white apron and a big, poofy hat.

He didn't recall taking a turbolift, but the lights led him onto an unfamiliar bridge. Ops was in a small alcove next to the door, manned by an officer who looked fresh from the Academy. One woman turned to face him... she had been sitting in the captain's chair, her glare a cold fire that burned through him. Standing next to another female at Conn was an EMH... but the hologram wasn't dressed right. In fact, none of the officers on the bridge were. They all wore old uniforms dated from when he had first graduated from the Academy. Even stranger, a wolf was obediently sitting in the seat to the captain's left.

The hologram tipped over and straightened, like something in the back of Apollo's mind. He searched for the image and came up with a weighted toy bird that perpetually tipped into a glass of water. When the EMH bent over, he administered a hypospray into the pilot's arm. The pilot kept trying futilely to push him away, but only succeeded in straightening him up for him to tip over and hypo her again.

Before he could fully make out the person sitting at the helm, Q suddenly appeared in front of him, looking quite menacing. "Here now," he said, "we can't have you traipsing around doing things you don't yet understand." Strangely, he looked around nervously, as though afraid someone was watching him. Then he turned back to Apollo, filled with malice once again. His hand closed over Apollo's face, and everything faded to black.

He awoke with a start, gasping for breath. Almost instantly, Sam was sitting next to him, her arm wrapped around his shoulders. "You okay?" she asked.

He looked at her and was assured from her face softly reflecting the glow from his eyes that he had, in fact, been dreaming. Taking mental stock for a moment, all he could say was, "I don't know. I just had this strange and remarkably detailed dream."

She smirked at him. As he grew more and more experienced with his abilities, Apollo had found his precognitive dreams getting more and more detailed, but still just confusing enough that they needed interpretation. Kissing the side of his head, she said, "Well, it's too late for us to go back to sleep, so we might as well get up and start our day."

He smiled at her, raising an eyebrow. "I have a better idea." He rolled toward her and as she grinned at him he pulled the covers over them.

Personal Log: Lieutenant Junior Grade Allucia A. Banks, April 13, 2376:

I've been on Voyager almost three years now. All has been quiet lately, and to be blunt, I'm getting a bit bored. Although I probably shouldn't say that out loud, or I may regret it.

I reflect on these past years with a slightly more mature mind and an expanded vocabulary I rarely utilize, or a slightly different perspective. Heh. Three years ago I was just an ordinary... err, okay, a freakish 21st century girl. Then, using archaic cleaning devices, I get zapped to the future. Honestly, it sounds so ridiculous when I say it, like a plot to those retro 20th century pulp sci-fi serials Tom likes so much.

Sometimes I feel so lonely. I mean, I have friends on Voyager…some of which I consider family, like Tom and B'Elanna. And I swear Captain Janeway makes a lot of the same faces my mom used to at me, so sometimes I wonder about that. I guess they're almost like my replacement family, at least the fractured family I left a few hundred years back. I think about them a lot, however fragmented we were, at least I knew they were there. But they're dead now. Everyone else on the ship has family to miss in the Alpha Quadrant, but I don't.

I especially miss my big brother Apollo, even though I hadn't seen him in years before I left. Thanks to what used to be called the Internet, we were in constant contact. He joined the UEF, the United Earth Forces, to become a pilot. When my dad was his age, it was still called the Air Force but the name changed sometime before Apollo and I were born—some treaty was signed or something. Kinda makes sense I ended up bonding with Tom, being a pilot as well. I guess that's why I decided to pilot. It seems that ability runs in the family. I wonder what my dad would have thought of that.

And then there's Ryoga... God, I miss him so much it hurts. Who would have thought I would find love out here? That is a totally different type of lonely. If things had turned out different I would have stayed on Yamato. I'm pretty sure he's the only man I'll ever love but, who knows, maybe something will happen with someone.

Well, there is some good news. I got a promotion a few weeks ago, along with Harry. We're both junior grade lieutenants now. He was long overdue for one. Me, I just managed to accomplish as much as him in less time. Dunno what is so special about me though. Now because of that I'm going to take over as chief flight controller now that I outrank Tom who got busted down to ensign back in December. Something with that water planet we stopped at and him violating the Prime Directive. He won't even talk to me about it, and unfortunately since I was on gamma shift I pretty much missed everything. Whatever it was, it was serious enough for the Captain to throw him in the brig for thirty days. I pulled double shifts every single day he was locked up.

"End log." Allucia said with a sigh, then headed over to her coveted replicator. "Allucia's chocolate delight, selection number one," she told the computer. "Account Banks, delta-beta-omega." The requested half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate mousse appeared. She plopped down on her couch and reached for a non-existent media remote until she realized what she was doing and laughed out loud to herself, which turned into a sigh. Damn, did she miss streaming video broadcasts and absorbing an entire television series within the span of just a few days. How long have I been here and I still keep doing that?

"Ack!" she exclaimed. She was getting homesick again. She reflexively pushed the icky feeling into the pit of her stomach, and away, and checked the time.

It was quarter to eight in the evening. Her Suus Mahna class with Tuvok began in fifteen minutes. Allucia stuffed half the mousse in her mouth ungraciously, and put the other half in the recycler. Then she dressed in her workout uniform, a black keikogi, grabbed Ryoga's bandanna, and left the room. She wanted to get there early to warm up.

Fifty-five thousand light years away in the Alpha Quadrant, the commanding officer of the USS Highlander rubbed the base of his skull irritably. He was getting that feeling again. This was the third time today. It was getting to be a little annoying; aside from the irritating sensation itself, after it stopped he felt…he realized he had to stop and analyze it.

The sandy-haired commander seated next to him sensed something was wrong through their bond, and from the dour expression on his face. :Apollo, what's wrong?: Samantha Racer projected to her husband.

:My brain itches.:

The semi-mature tone that Sam picked up from the thought allowed her to realize that he wasn't being entirely serious. She made a face at him. Those in his bridge crew that saw this simply continued in their duties, knowing there was communication taking place between their CO and the First Officer. They did smirk, however.

Apollo smiled. :Seriously, I don't know. My "spider-sense" is tingling, but it's not trouble. I don't know what it is.: Suddenly he stood up. "I'll be in my ready room," he announced. Sam projected her desire to follow, but Apollo expressed his wishes to be alone. Samantha took the command chair, fuming. She hated when he got in these moods. And he bloody well knew it.

Apollo started pacing as soon as his Ready Room door swished closed behind him, stroking his goatee. He had allowed it to grow in about six months ago, and had grown to like it. Like his hair, it was dark with silver stripes on the corners of his chin. Sam was against the idea at first, as she had gotten a rash from the stubble, but once it grew out, she too grew to like it.

It had been almost two years since he had been reunited with Sam and Q had decided to leave him be after attempting to force a decision on him. An invitation to the Continuum was still open, though he had yet to take advantage of it. Although he could leave, and return to almost the same point in time from which he'd left, somehow it felt wrong to him to leave his ship and his wife.

Another possibility was the restrictions imposed on him by the Continuum. Although Q had told him, if he kept up the way he was, he wouldn't notice the limitations. Perhaps that was part of what was holding him back, he really had no desire to visit the Continuum. He thought about his dream the night before, and wondered if Q had really ended his dream, or he only dreamed Q was there as a natural prelude to waking up.

Apollo moved his hand from his chin to the base of his skull. This was really beginning to exasperate him. Then, just as suddenly as it started, the tingling stopped. He tried to analyze the feeling left behind…and felt nostalgic? No, that wasn't right. It was a sensation made him feel like he was in a different time...no, that wasn't right either. He attempted to study it further, only to find the sensation had passed.

"Oof!" went Allucia as she was smashed face first into a mat. Gerron Ral snickered above her, holding her arm at an angle with her elbow straight and so she couldn't move. "Gerron, let me up," she said, moving her head off the mat so she could speak clearly.

"Not until Commander Tuvok tells me to," the Bajoran replied, smirking. He was enjoying this. It wasn't often that he could defeat his sparring partner. In fact, it was next to never.

"That will be sufficient, Ensign Gerron." came the emotionless voice of their instructor. Ral nodded and released Allucia. His smirk remained. "Lieutenant, your ability exceeds the ensign's in this exercise." The Bajoran lost his smile. "Why did you allow him to pin you?"

Allucia stood up, quite flustered. "I-I don't know sir. I think I just lost my concentration for a moment." She couldn't even believe that Ral had ousted her, she was the one usually smashing his head into the mat.

Tuvok raised an eyebrow. Allucia was his best student, and the most disciplined, especially with the additional training she received on Yamato a year previous. It wasn't normal for her to lapse in attention like this. He hoped all was well with her. "Losing your concentration, even for an instant, can open an opportunity for your opponent to defeat you. Remember that, Lieutenant."

Allucia reined in her emotions and straightened, her face in emotion mirroring Tuvok's. "Yes sir," she said.

The tactical officer turned to Gerron. "And you, Ensign, would do well to remember that emotion has no place in this discipline, even pride." The Vulcan nodded to the rest of the students. "That is all for today. Class dismissed."

Allucia began to leave the holodeck alone when her sparring mate caught up with her. "Hey Lusha, do you want to go to Mess for dinner?"

"Sure," she responded automatically. She was staring into space, disturbed at how she had lost her concentration. Nearly two years of discipline and she never lost her concentration like she just did a few minutes ago.

"Gerron to Banks... come in Lusha..." Her friend was waving his hand in front of her face. "Come in please..."

"Huh?" she replied, snapping out of her daze. She shook her head, and put a hand to it. "I'm sorry Ral, but I'm going back to my quarters. My brain itches... I think I'm gonna meditate. Sorry." She jogged down the hall to the turbolift and entered it. Ral shrugged and wordlessly waited for the next lift.

"Deck Six," Allucia commanded once the turbolift doors had shut. She massaged her temples. Whatever just happened in the holodeck wasn't right, and she had an unsettling feeling about it.

The lift doors opened and Allucia sprinted to her quarters, grateful there was no one in the halls. Upon entering her quarters, the young lieutenant lit the Vulcan meditation lamp Tuvok had presented to all of his students for the mental aspect of their discipline. After what happened a year ago on Yamato, it was one of the few things that kept her going, and was a lot better for her than the holodeck. Not to say she stopped going to the holodeck for her frustrations. Regardless, she still had a lot to learn where meditation was concerned... primarily keeping her mind clear for long periods of time... but learning she was.

Allucia set the fire pot at the far end of the low table near her couch, then sat cross-legged on the floor facing it about two feet away. She began the breathing exercises that she had been taught and tried to clear her mind. With some effort, she was able to do so; once she had done so, something of great force and intensity, bombarded her with such strength that she lost consciousness.