Author: Kitlee
Title: The Days the Galaxy Stood Still
Series: TNG/DS9/Voy/New Frontier
Codes: Crossover, aliens
Rating: PG
Summary: Our heroes and heroines have stumbled upon a massive galactic war between two superior alien races. Can they uncover the truth, rescue themselves, and save the Federation in time?
Disclaimer: All recognizable things are from Star Trek and are property of whoever owns Star Trek (I think Paramount). They are obviously not mine.
Author's Notes: This is the first chapter of my little Star Trek epic. For TNG, the time is sometime after Nemesis but before Crusher leaves the ship. For DS9, it is just sometime after the series ends. Ditto for Voyager. For New Frontier, it takes place after the book Dark Allies (#8), since I haven't been keeping up with the series.
Oh yes, and if you have any suggestions (esp. for a new title), I would love to hear them.
Feedback: Review, or to kitlee@diary-x.com
*****
Day One
0115, Shuttlecraft Atlantis
Dr. Beverly Crusher allowed herself a short nap on the shuttlecraft home. It had been a long medical conference, interesting but tiring. Now she was just ready to go back to normal life as Chief Medical Officer aboard the Starship Enterprise E.
The edge of her mouth quirked upward in a small smile. She never thought that she would reach the point where life on the Enterprise was "normal." After all the adventures she had seen, she no longer knew what the word meant. How could she have suspected that accepting the post would lead to such experiences?
Thinking about the start of her career made her mind wander over to Wesley, a memory that still brought an ache to her chest. Wesley, her son, her little boy. True, he wasn't very little by this point. He was a grown man, and even if he hadn't gone off with the Traveler, he would have long since gone off to live his own life. But then there would be letters, messages, not this horrible empty void between them. After Jack had died, years ago, all she'd had left was their son. And now he was gone too. Not dead, but the result was almost the same.
Beverly sighed deeply in the emptiness of the shuttle. Why were all of these feelings returning? Yes Jack was gone, and yes Wesley was gone, but those two losses had occurred ages ago. She had assumed that she had coped with both. Maybe it was because she had also recently lost her dear friends, Will Riker and Deanna Troi. Finally (to quote Elizabeth Shellby) he had accepted his own command, and as his new wife, Deanna had gone with him.
Slowly, Beverly fell into an uneasy sleep. She was set to rendevous with the Enterprise in five hours, and she was looking forward to the reunion. Little did she know that her journey would take much, much longer.
*****
0135, Deep Space Nine
Lieutenant Ezri Dax felt something. Over the lifetimes the Dax symbiont had lived, it had developed a sixth sense about danger. That sense was now overwhelming Ezri, manifesting itself as nerves.
She lay still in bed, trying to force herself asleep. She was almost afraid to, though. She didn't know what she would dream in such a state. Frustrated, she rolled over and bumped into a sleeping Dr. Julien Bashir.
Julien, her boyfriend and the love of her life, slept on. Julien was one of those people who never did anything halfway. Whatever he did, whether it was throwing darts or performing surgery, he focused every bit of himself. The same was when he slept.
Ezri forced herself to hold still, to stop tossing and turning and shaking, and to lie with her eyes closed. Hopefully sleep would come to her that way. She forced her heart to slow and her breathing to slow, meeting Julien's slow and even rhythm.
In...out...in...out.
Slowly, Ezri slipped into unconsciousness, the last good night's sleep she would have for days.
*****
0427, Shuttlecraft Atlantis
Alarm klaxons jerked Beverly out of her restless sleep seconds too late. From years of Starfleet and parenting, she snapped to immediate wakefulness. An enormous ship hung abover her, surrounding the small shuttlecraft in nearly every direction. She awoke just in time to see a large pulse of lemon-yellow energy engulf her ship, neutralizing ever control on the ship. Desperately she tried punching buttons and controls, but the pulse had removed any chance she had for escape.
Without options, Beverly refused to give up. She lunged for a panel to grab a phaser, only to find that they too had been neutralized.
The shuttle jolted under her, and she glanced out the window. The giant ship had grabbed onto her with a tractor beam. Running out of time, Beverly grabbed the only weapon she had -- Wesley's old pocket knife from his disasterous attempt at the Adventure Scouts. She grabbed it out of her pocket and flipped the blade open...
...And suddenly she found herself standing in an alien ship. She saw beings, no taller than four feet, in a control room staring at her. The room was likewise smaller than she was used to. She could barely stand upright without banging her head against the ceiling. Suddenly the door spun open, and a familiar (and similarly tall) figure appeared.
"Mom!"
The rush of adrenaline failed her, and Beverly passed out.
*****
0601, Deep Space Nine
She was right. Nightmares bombarded her.
Normally when she slept, Ezri's dreams were a jumbled collection of memories from previous lives of the Dax symbiont, her own childhood, and whatever she had seen and done recently. Tonight, though, it was different.
She sat in a small spaceship hurtling through space. Oddly though, this sight did not fill her with the usual dread. In fact, she was overjoyed to be hurtling through the vacuum with only the tiny craft to protect her. A unfamiliar planet beckoned for exploration from the corner of the viewscreen, and Ezri manuvered the craft artfully, flying at breakneck speeds towards the surface.
Suddenly the ship jolted to a halt. Alarms cried out, and Ezri screamed with them. The ship was badly damaged; a glance at the controls confirmed this. Life support failing, hull integrity failing, and worse, the ship was stuck. It was as if every nightmare Ezri had ever had about space travel had come to life. Frantically she punched every button imaginable but nothing worked. She was dead in the water, as the old saying goes. Only one thruster worked, frozen in a single direction, but whenever she fired it, it only pushed the ship harder and firmer against the invisible barrier that she had crashed into.
The ship exploded around her, and the bulkheads began to fall away. Ezri screamed in terror, too frightened to remember to activate emergency forcefields. She was going to die, out in space, where no one would find her. The ship virtually disintegrated from under her, leaving nothing to protect her from the harsh vacuum of space. She felt herself plummetting towards the planet that only moments before had seemed so inviting. She was falling...falling...
Ezri Dax hit the floor with a loud thud and screamed.
*****
0800, Starship Excalibur
It began as normal a day as was possible in Sector 221G. But Lieutenant Robin Lefter, Operations officer onboard the Starship Excalibur, knew better than to expect the day to continue normally. Since taking this post, she had encountered the mythical Promethians, the deadly Redeemers, the Great Bird of the Galaxy and its offspring, and a number of similarly weird occurences. So for them to have a normal day was downright ... weird.
Sure enough, not long after the morning shift went on duty, they received an urgent message from the Starship Enterprise-E.
"Put it on screen," Captain Mackenzie Calhoun directed. Commander Elizabeth Shelby leaned forward in apprehension. To tell the truth, the past couple days had been rather dull, and everyone was anxious for the start of their next great adventure.
"Captain Picard, to what do we owe this?" Calhoun asked.
"Terrible circumstances, I am afraid. Our chief medical officer, Dr. Beverly Crusher, is missing. She was supposed to rendevouz with us several hours ago, and she has not arrived. Furthermore, we cannot detect her shuttlecraft on long-range scanners."
"Are you sure she's missing? Maybe she just left late from the conference."
"No, she would not have done that without contacting us first. Besides, we received a message from her that she was only six hours away. That was eight hours ago."
"So where was this conference?" Shelby asked.
"Not far from where you are. I'm having my helmsman send you the coordinates now."
Calhoun noted a level of concern in Picard's voice greater than what a captain normally felt for his CMO. He repressed the urge to smirk or smile at Picard's "Captainly concern" for his crewmember and instead said, "Sure Picard, we'll find for your missing doctor."
Picard nodded. "Thank you Captain. Picard out."
"Well," Calhoun said, turning to his crew, "it's not exactly rescuing a planet from the Redeemers, but it's a mission. McHenry, lay in the doctor's last known coordinants and engage."
*****
0910, Delta Flyer
"You know B'Elanna, we've been through a lot together. All of those adventures in the Delta Quadrant," Tom said.
"Mmm-hmm."
"We faced down the Borg, the Kazon, imprisonment, and about a million other problems. We designed a brand-new kind of spacecraft -- the Delta flyer. We..."
"Tom, what's your point?"
"Well, my point is that we've done all that, so why are we doing these boring assignments? Why aren't we out there like, like the Enterprise or the Excalibur?"
"Tom, testing out the Delta flyer is an important mission, as is working with Starfleet engineering, command, and everything else we've done since our arrival back on Earth. Besides, what about our daughter?"
At this, Tom's face softened. "Yeah. I guess I wouldn't be good to be off galavanting with her on a ship, at least not until she can handle herself. At least four or five, when I teach her to pilot and ..."
"Tom!"
"Right. Sorry."
He focused back on piloting the Delta Flyer through unexplored space. Truthfully, although it was exciting putting the Flyer through a number of tests, it lacked the thrill of real emergency. At least home would be if not exciting than at least rewarding in its own right. Little Katie was an adorable child -- cute, bright, and mischevious.
Suddenly the ship shook.
"What was that?" B'Elanna exclaimed, punching buttons to get information from the computers.
"Some kind of disturbance...there's...oh God!" An enormous ship decloaked around the Flyer, surrounding them completely, leaving only a small exit point. It was that point, Paris aimed for.
Throwing the Flyer in a spin in full throttle, he zoomed through the too-small opening, scraping parts of the hull against the alien ship in the process. He didn't care. Let Starfleet repair that. He just had to get out of this and back home. More spins and dodges helped him avoid the enormous and unmanuverable ship. This was flying; this was what Tom loved. Flying a spaceship was fine, especially if it was Voyager, but the Flyer was infinitely more responsive and manuverable, enabling him to perform more than just the standard evasive manuvers and attack patterns.
He had just gotten to a position where he could jump to warp speed when a sharp blast struck them.
"Tom! We've lost aft shields, and our warp drive is gone."
"In one shot?! All right then..." Tom managed a tight 180 degree turn and shot away, past the alien ship and back for the Lexington. With any luck, they would fly into the shuttlecraft bay and get the ship to warp before that monstrocity could get there.
The ship began firing more small pulses, but Tom was able to avoid most of them in the Flyer. Soon the space was riddled with them.
"Tom! You're going to get us both killed!" B'Elanna yelled.
"I know what I'm doing!" he yelled back.
He dove perpendicular to their last position and zoomed in that direction for a while before suddly swooping back up and behind the large ship in hopes of confusing it. No luck. Another pulse clipped the primary impulse engine.
"Switching to secondary," B'Elanna said, before Tom could tell her to do that. He allowed a brief smile at her before dropping the ship and zooming mere meters from the surface of the ship.
"Okay B'Elanna. This has got to work," Tom said. "There's no way they could get us here."
How wrong he was, again. A sharp beam shot out from the ship and began pulling the Delta Flyer in.
B'Elanna turned to her husband. "I'm going to kill you."
*****
0945, Starship Excalibur
It didn't take long for the Exalibur to reach Dr. Crusher's last known location, the place from which she had sent her last message. Calhoun had to hand it to Picard. The man certainly was thorough. Once the whole thing was over, and Calhoun didn't expect it to take long, he would enjoy mocking the usually unflappable captain about his dear doctor.
"Scan the area Lieutenant Lefler; see if we can find an trace of the shuttlecraft."
"Scanning, sir." Lefler bent over her controls to start a sensor sweep of the area. In a moment, she looked up. "Sir. I've found the shuttle's warp signature. It ends right here. And from the look of it, the ship did not go back."
"How can you tell?"
"Well sir, the trail decomposes as it moves towards the planet and is freshest here."
"And signs of the craft?" Shelby asked.
"One second Commander." Lefler examined the readings further. "I am finding some debris in the area; however, it is not enough to comprose a complete shuttlecraft."
"All right. Transport it into the cargo bay and have Engineering take a look at it. I want to know what happened to that shuttle and its passenger. Shuttlecrafts don't just disappear into space."
*****
1016, Unknown
"When we get out of this, I'm going to kill you Tom," B'Elanna said for the millionth time.
"Are you ever going to tire of saying that?" he asked rhetorically.
"No." She glared at him.
Tom sighed. "I know, I know. It's all my fault. Tell you what, if we get out of this, you have my permission to kill me."
"Not if, when. Because I'm not letting our daughter grow up without us -- not as long as I can."
"Well, look on the bright side. Starfleet is bound to have realized that we've gone missing by now. We were due back...well, I don't know exactly, but it was a while ago. And someone will come looking for us."
"I hope you're right Tom. But in the meantime, we've got to find a way off this ship ourselves. We can't just wait for someone else to rescue us."
Tom nodded. "So what's the plan?"
After the Delta Flyer had been pulled into the alien hangar, the Flyer had filled with a mysterious gas that had rendered Tom and B'Elanna unconscious. When they came to, they were in an elliptical room with no obvious way in or out. The only aperture in the smooth surface was a small air vent in the top, and the opening at least was too small for either of them to crawl through. Even if they could have made it through there, it wouldn't have been of any help because at the moment they were strapped in an elaborate harness and suspended from the ceiling with at least two feet of space above and below them. The harness kept their arms and legs cemented to their bodies, and the only thing they could move effectively was their mouths. No guard or crewmember of the ship had shown himself. For all they knew, the entire ship was run by computer.
A small tear tricked down B'Elanna's cheek at the thought of never seeing their daughter again. "I don't know."
*****
1200, Deep Space Nine
Ezri Dax couldn't shake the disconcerting feeling all morning. Her dream haunted her that day, penetrating her wakefulness until that began to feel dreamlike while the dream felt real. She wondered if she was perhaps going insane, or possessed, or...
"Hi Ezri."
She jumped a foot in the air. "Oh, hi Jake."
"Mind if Nog and I sit here?"
It took a moment before Ezri took in the familiar surroundings and recognized her location as the replimat. "Oh...sure Jake. Of course."
"Thanks." The two young men plopped their trays down. "I'm starving," Jake commented. Seeing the odd look on Ezri's face, Jake asked, "Are you okay Ezri? You seem kind of odd." No response. "Ezri? Ezri?"
"What? Oh, um, yeah Jake. I'm fine." Hesitantly she began to poke at her lunch and then to eat it.
"Come on Ezri, I know something's bothering you. What is it?" Still no answer. "Ezri? Do you want me to get Kira or Bashir. I mean, you know them better than I do...Ezri? Ezri?"
She jumped up from the table with a look unlike one Jake had ever seen on her or Jadzia before. "Quit calling me that! Just shut up, kid!" Suddenly the normal Ezri returned, and she blushed red. "I...I...excuse me." With that she hurried off leaving Jake and Nog to stare at each other in confusion.
Ezri ran through the corridors, dodging people until she came to an empty airlock. She leaned against the bulkhead, panting from exertion and shock. She could feel him, deep within her...within Dax...struggling to get out.
"No!" she shouted at herself. She grabbed her head in her hands and bent down. "No, no, no!" A terrible tearing...ripping...twisting sensation filled her body, nothing physical but still powerful and painful. She fought it as best she could, down on her knees and crying.
Then suddenly, it was over.
Dax stood and walked swiftly and calmly to Ezri's quarters. Packing a small bag with clothes, pads, a tricorder, and every other electronic device within easy reach, it hurried down the corridor to the nearest Runabout location. With any luck, it would be able to take the runabout for the completion of its mission.
Unfortunately, luck was not on Dax's side.
"Hello Lieutenant. Going somewhere?" Nog asked. Nog, a lieutenant also, sat in the pilot's chair. The other chair swivled around to reveal Jake Sisko, budding writer.
Dax decided that it was best to let the one they expected do the talking for them. Hopefully Ezri would have realized by then the importance of completing the mission.
"Jake, Nog, I need your help," Ezri said, once she regained control of her body.
The stared expectantly at her.
"The other lives of Dax and I are going to find a lost planet. We have to find it. They're coming closer, and unless we do..."
"Wait, wait, slow down," Jake said, holding up his hand. "What're you talking about?"
Ezri took a deep breath. "Many years ago, back when Torias was Dax's host, he found something, some planet. I don't know what because whatever it was someone erased it from his memories. But they had never dealt with a Trill before, and the symbiont still had part of the memory locked away. It's begun to resurface. We guess that they're coming closer." Outside there was a sudden loud noise as if a technician had dropped some tools. Ezri, however, reacted as if being shot at. It took a while for her to realize the lack of any real danger. Then she continued. "We've got to find them again and figure out what is going on."
"What we?" Nog asked.
"The other lives of Dax and I. Their memories are coming back, becoming real and..." She held up a phaser and pointed it at Nog. "They want me to stun you and drag you out of here." She continued shakily. Jake noticed beads of sweat sticking out on her forehead. "But...but I know that you can help us. That you will help us. So, will you?"
Nog could tell that she was losing it, and he knew better than to argue with a crazy person. He nodded. "Sure."
Jake nodded too. "We're with you Ezri."
*****
1230, Starship Enterprise
Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise-E, the sixth ship to bear the name, drummed his fingers nervously on the arm of his chair on the bridge. Beverly was missing, and there was still no word from the Excalibur. Picard wished that his was the ship investigating. It wasn't as if he didn't trust Calhoun's abilities to do the job...it's just that he trusted himself more.
His reverie was broken by Lieutenant Young, the new Security officer.
"Captain, we are receiving a message from the Starship Excalibur."
"Put it on screen," he directed, trying to mask his excitement and the acceleration of his pulse.
"Captain Picard. We've had some interesting findings looking for your doctor."
"Interesting? How so?"
"We traced her last known position to the end of the warp trail. We found the remains of a Federation shuttlecraft -- the complete remains of a shuttlecraft."
Picard felt himself go weak.
"However," Calhoun continued, "there was so sign of a human among the wreckage -- not even the appropriate atoms. It's the opinion of my crew, and I agree with them, that somehow she was not aboard when the shuttlecraft was destroyed."
"How?" Picard demanded.
"We don't know for sure yet. We'll keep you posted. Our officers here are doing their best to figure out this puzzle."
Picard felt anger bubble up inside him. "Well dammit, then their best isn't good enough!"
Silence descended on the bridges of both ships at the sound of the usually unflappable Picard losing his temper. Finally Calhoun was the one to break it.
"We're the ones out here Picard. And right now, my crew is working their asses off to find your missing doctor. And if our best isn't good enough for you, Sir, then with all due respect you can shove your complaint up your ass." Every word was cold and piercing. Calhoun straightened. "We will keep you appraised on our progress Enterprise. Calhoun out."
Picard tried to cover up his inappropriate outburst. He knew it was wrong to take out his frustration on Calhoun or anyone else, but he couldn't help it. He was helpless and powerless -- two things that Jean-Luc Picard hated.
"I'll be in my Ready Room. Commander," he said to his new first officer, Commander Andrew Ford, "you have the bridge."
Picard marched to his Ready Room and replicated a cup of Earl Gray tea. A few sips managed to shake the remnants of anger that had exploded at Calhoun. Already he was regretting it, although part of him wondered idly if Ford would have the guts to come in and yell at his captain. Every bit of information in his record indicated otherwise. Commander Andrew Ford was an intelligent, hard-working, and reserved man who had risen quickly to the top with nothing but good reports from his superiors who praised him for being level-headed and thoughtful. It was inspite of these things that Picard hired the twenty-six year old officer.
The door chime sounded.
"Come in," Picard said.
Ford nodded. "Captain. Permission to speak freely sir."
"Granted." Picard wanted to hear what the man would say.
"Sir, you were completely out of line just now. There was no reason to speak so rudely to Captain Calhoun. I understand that you and Doctor Crusher are close friends and have been for years, but that does not excuse your behavior."
"Thank you for your input Commander. Is there anything else?"
Commander Ford looked surprised. "Sir? I mean, no sir." He turned to leave.
"Commander." The officer turned around. "I realize that I was out of line with Captain Calhoun," Picard began, "and I thank you for your candor."
Ford nodded and left.
"What a touching scene," a familiar voice remarked. Picard looked up in surprise.
"Q," he said, "what are you doing here?"
"Oh, Jean-Luc, I thought you would be happy to see me my old friend?"
"We're not friends."
"You wound me, Mon Capitan. But I didn't come here to exchange pleasantries."
"Oh, so why did you come?"
"To see if I could help you of course."
"Help me? You've never helped me Q. Why would I trust you now?"
"Because," Q leaned over right in Picard's face and whispered, "I know where your dear doctor is."
"You do? Where?" Picard demanded.
"How touching! Your great concern for her impresses me."
"I would be just as concerned if any member of my crew were missing Q, and you know that."
"No, no I don't think so. Your concern for Doctor Crusher is downright personal." Q held up his hand.
"Dr. Crusher and I are just friends Q, and we have been just friends for a long time."
"But not for lack of want on either side."
Picard sighed. "Q, just tell me where the Beverly is."
Q waggled his finger at him. "Now Jean-Luc, that wouldn't be fair. I can't just give you all the answers every time you ask. Besides," he said, lying casually on the couch, "your missing doctor is only the start of your problems."
"What?" Picard demanded.
"You have much bigger problems, Jean-Luc." He tilted his head as if listening to something. "Why, even now the starship Excalibur has fallen prey to one of those forces."
"What force, Q? What...?" he began, but Q cut him off.
"Time's a wasting Captain," he said, and then he disappeared.
*****
1300, The Runabout
As Ezri Dax slept restlessly, Jake Sisko and Nog assessed their situation.
They were flying through space in a stolen Runabout headed for an unknown planet in an unknown area of space with only an mentally disturbed Trill to guide them.
"We're dead," Jake whispered to Nog, quietly so as not to wake the sleeping Trill.
"No we're not Jake. I've been trying to figure out plans to escape and head us back for Deep Space Nine without Dax realizing our change of course."
"And?"
"I have a plan, but it will need a few modifications."
"But Nog, what if...what if Dax's right and there is something out there?" asked Jake, allowing himself to voice his deepest fears.
Nog shook his head. "That's impossible. If there was something that powerful, Starfleet would have discovered it by now."
"But Nog..." Jake began, but Ezri awoke.
"Status," she demanded.
"We're still on course, ETA 14 hours" Jake said.
"Why so long?" Dax demanded. "I thought this ship was fast."
"It is, ma'am, but it's not a starship. The engines weren't designed to travel high speeds for long distances," Nog replied.
"You, kid," Dax said to Jake, "any communications from the station?"
"Nothing specific. They're looking for us, but they can't find us."
"Good. Start monitoring Federation communications. Look for anything unusual."
"Yes sir," Jake said.
"And you," Dax said to Nog, "keep scanning the area for enemy vessels. And keep our shields up and weapons powered." She clenched her fists. "They're not going to get me again."
And so the rag-tag crew flew on, unknowingly headed for the homeworld of one of the most powerful federations in the galaxy.
*****
1325, Deep Space Nine
"Still no response to our hails Colonel," the Starfleet lieutenant working at Ops reported.
Colonel Kira Nerys, head of the space station Deep Space Nine in orbit above her native Bajor, was angry. Lieutenant Ezri Dax, station counsellor, had stolen a runabout and was headed for places unknown with only Jake Sisko and Nog to assist her. "Damn it," she muttered. It didn't help that Deep Space Nine had lost so many of its fine officers that had helped make the station what it was. Jadzia Dax, Captain Benjamin Sisko, Chief Miles O'Brien, Constable Odo, and Lieutenant Commander Worf had all left for places far from the wormhole. Without a crew she had full confidence in, she had no choice but to leave the pursuit to other hands.
"Lieutenant, hail Starfleet command. Inform them...inform them of the theft and request assistance."
"You can't do that! Ezri needs out help. We can take the Defiant and catch up to her. We have to do something."
"I would like to help as much as you, but what can we do? If we take the Defiant with our best officers, the station will be weakened. Besides, we don't even know where she's going. Ezri managed to completely mask her warp signature."
Bashir looked like he was about to argue, but then thought better of it. She was right of course. A starship would be better prepared to find Ezri. But the waiting part was hard, so hard. After the Dominion War, life on the station was relatively peaceful, and without a medical emergency, Julian had nothing to do but worry. Sighing, he left the Ops station and headed for Quark's. *A nice battle of the Alamo,* Julian thought, *that's what I need. Let a starship bring Ezri home safely.*
*****
1335, Starship Enterprise-E
The Excalibur had disappeared without a trace.
"Any response to our hails?" Ford asked.
"Nothing Commander. It's as if they just disappeared," Lieutenant Commander Gardiner replied.
"How far away are they?" Picard asked.
"At maximum warp," Lieutenant Houston said, "it will take us approximately twelve and a half hours to reach the Excalibur's last known location."
Picard thought. They had already almost reached Arlexia IV to pick up scientific samples necessary on Deep Space Four. However, his gut was telling him that this was more important. "Contact Starfleet Mr. Gardiner and tell them that we must delay our mission to Arlexia IV, or else ask them to reassign the mission. Mr. Houston, set course and engage."
*****
2345, Starship Enterprise-E
Sleep eluded Captain Picard that night. No matter how he tossed and turned, he felt on edge and unable to relax enough to get the hours of rest he knew were necessary. Thoughts and memories bombarded his mind. He recalled every moment of his acquaintence and then friendship with Beverly Crusher. He recalled his triumphs on the Enterprise with his familiar crew and wished for their presence and aid during the crisis. Idly, he opened his eyes to stare out at the peaceful stars that usually were so effective at calming him.
A face stared back at him.
A computer console glowed in the darkness, shedding its dim light on the room. In the light, he could just make out the shape of a face staring back at him in wonder. A child's face...a human face.
The child looked startled. Picard opened his mouth to speak.
A suddenly sharp blow fell on his head. Lights exploded in the back of his vision, and unconsciousness claimed him.
Title: The Days the Galaxy Stood Still
Series: TNG/DS9/Voy/New Frontier
Codes: Crossover, aliens
Rating: PG
Summary: Our heroes and heroines have stumbled upon a massive galactic war between two superior alien races. Can they uncover the truth, rescue themselves, and save the Federation in time?
Disclaimer: All recognizable things are from Star Trek and are property of whoever owns Star Trek (I think Paramount). They are obviously not mine.
Author's Notes: This is the first chapter of my little Star Trek epic. For TNG, the time is sometime after Nemesis but before Crusher leaves the ship. For DS9, it is just sometime after the series ends. Ditto for Voyager. For New Frontier, it takes place after the book Dark Allies (#8), since I haven't been keeping up with the series.
Oh yes, and if you have any suggestions (esp. for a new title), I would love to hear them.
Feedback: Review, or to kitlee@diary-x.com
*****
Day One
0115, Shuttlecraft Atlantis
Dr. Beverly Crusher allowed herself a short nap on the shuttlecraft home. It had been a long medical conference, interesting but tiring. Now she was just ready to go back to normal life as Chief Medical Officer aboard the Starship Enterprise E.
The edge of her mouth quirked upward in a small smile. She never thought that she would reach the point where life on the Enterprise was "normal." After all the adventures she had seen, she no longer knew what the word meant. How could she have suspected that accepting the post would lead to such experiences?
Thinking about the start of her career made her mind wander over to Wesley, a memory that still brought an ache to her chest. Wesley, her son, her little boy. True, he wasn't very little by this point. He was a grown man, and even if he hadn't gone off with the Traveler, he would have long since gone off to live his own life. But then there would be letters, messages, not this horrible empty void between them. After Jack had died, years ago, all she'd had left was their son. And now he was gone too. Not dead, but the result was almost the same.
Beverly sighed deeply in the emptiness of the shuttle. Why were all of these feelings returning? Yes Jack was gone, and yes Wesley was gone, but those two losses had occurred ages ago. She had assumed that she had coped with both. Maybe it was because she had also recently lost her dear friends, Will Riker and Deanna Troi. Finally (to quote Elizabeth Shellby) he had accepted his own command, and as his new wife, Deanna had gone with him.
Slowly, Beverly fell into an uneasy sleep. She was set to rendevous with the Enterprise in five hours, and she was looking forward to the reunion. Little did she know that her journey would take much, much longer.
*****
0135, Deep Space Nine
Lieutenant Ezri Dax felt something. Over the lifetimes the Dax symbiont had lived, it had developed a sixth sense about danger. That sense was now overwhelming Ezri, manifesting itself as nerves.
She lay still in bed, trying to force herself asleep. She was almost afraid to, though. She didn't know what she would dream in such a state. Frustrated, she rolled over and bumped into a sleeping Dr. Julien Bashir.
Julien, her boyfriend and the love of her life, slept on. Julien was one of those people who never did anything halfway. Whatever he did, whether it was throwing darts or performing surgery, he focused every bit of himself. The same was when he slept.
Ezri forced herself to hold still, to stop tossing and turning and shaking, and to lie with her eyes closed. Hopefully sleep would come to her that way. She forced her heart to slow and her breathing to slow, meeting Julien's slow and even rhythm.
In...out...in...out.
Slowly, Ezri slipped into unconsciousness, the last good night's sleep she would have for days.
*****
0427, Shuttlecraft Atlantis
Alarm klaxons jerked Beverly out of her restless sleep seconds too late. From years of Starfleet and parenting, she snapped to immediate wakefulness. An enormous ship hung abover her, surrounding the small shuttlecraft in nearly every direction. She awoke just in time to see a large pulse of lemon-yellow energy engulf her ship, neutralizing ever control on the ship. Desperately she tried punching buttons and controls, but the pulse had removed any chance she had for escape.
Without options, Beverly refused to give up. She lunged for a panel to grab a phaser, only to find that they too had been neutralized.
The shuttle jolted under her, and she glanced out the window. The giant ship had grabbed onto her with a tractor beam. Running out of time, Beverly grabbed the only weapon she had -- Wesley's old pocket knife from his disasterous attempt at the Adventure Scouts. She grabbed it out of her pocket and flipped the blade open...
...And suddenly she found herself standing in an alien ship. She saw beings, no taller than four feet, in a control room staring at her. The room was likewise smaller than she was used to. She could barely stand upright without banging her head against the ceiling. Suddenly the door spun open, and a familiar (and similarly tall) figure appeared.
"Mom!"
The rush of adrenaline failed her, and Beverly passed out.
*****
0601, Deep Space Nine
She was right. Nightmares bombarded her.
Normally when she slept, Ezri's dreams were a jumbled collection of memories from previous lives of the Dax symbiont, her own childhood, and whatever she had seen and done recently. Tonight, though, it was different.
She sat in a small spaceship hurtling through space. Oddly though, this sight did not fill her with the usual dread. In fact, she was overjoyed to be hurtling through the vacuum with only the tiny craft to protect her. A unfamiliar planet beckoned for exploration from the corner of the viewscreen, and Ezri manuvered the craft artfully, flying at breakneck speeds towards the surface.
Suddenly the ship jolted to a halt. Alarms cried out, and Ezri screamed with them. The ship was badly damaged; a glance at the controls confirmed this. Life support failing, hull integrity failing, and worse, the ship was stuck. It was as if every nightmare Ezri had ever had about space travel had come to life. Frantically she punched every button imaginable but nothing worked. She was dead in the water, as the old saying goes. Only one thruster worked, frozen in a single direction, but whenever she fired it, it only pushed the ship harder and firmer against the invisible barrier that she had crashed into.
The ship exploded around her, and the bulkheads began to fall away. Ezri screamed in terror, too frightened to remember to activate emergency forcefields. She was going to die, out in space, where no one would find her. The ship virtually disintegrated from under her, leaving nothing to protect her from the harsh vacuum of space. She felt herself plummetting towards the planet that only moments before had seemed so inviting. She was falling...falling...
Ezri Dax hit the floor with a loud thud and screamed.
*****
0800, Starship Excalibur
It began as normal a day as was possible in Sector 221G. But Lieutenant Robin Lefter, Operations officer onboard the Starship Excalibur, knew better than to expect the day to continue normally. Since taking this post, she had encountered the mythical Promethians, the deadly Redeemers, the Great Bird of the Galaxy and its offspring, and a number of similarly weird occurences. So for them to have a normal day was downright ... weird.
Sure enough, not long after the morning shift went on duty, they received an urgent message from the Starship Enterprise-E.
"Put it on screen," Captain Mackenzie Calhoun directed. Commander Elizabeth Shelby leaned forward in apprehension. To tell the truth, the past couple days had been rather dull, and everyone was anxious for the start of their next great adventure.
"Captain Picard, to what do we owe this?" Calhoun asked.
"Terrible circumstances, I am afraid. Our chief medical officer, Dr. Beverly Crusher, is missing. She was supposed to rendevouz with us several hours ago, and she has not arrived. Furthermore, we cannot detect her shuttlecraft on long-range scanners."
"Are you sure she's missing? Maybe she just left late from the conference."
"No, she would not have done that without contacting us first. Besides, we received a message from her that she was only six hours away. That was eight hours ago."
"So where was this conference?" Shelby asked.
"Not far from where you are. I'm having my helmsman send you the coordinates now."
Calhoun noted a level of concern in Picard's voice greater than what a captain normally felt for his CMO. He repressed the urge to smirk or smile at Picard's "Captainly concern" for his crewmember and instead said, "Sure Picard, we'll find for your missing doctor."
Picard nodded. "Thank you Captain. Picard out."
"Well," Calhoun said, turning to his crew, "it's not exactly rescuing a planet from the Redeemers, but it's a mission. McHenry, lay in the doctor's last known coordinants and engage."
*****
0910, Delta Flyer
"You know B'Elanna, we've been through a lot together. All of those adventures in the Delta Quadrant," Tom said.
"Mmm-hmm."
"We faced down the Borg, the Kazon, imprisonment, and about a million other problems. We designed a brand-new kind of spacecraft -- the Delta flyer. We..."
"Tom, what's your point?"
"Well, my point is that we've done all that, so why are we doing these boring assignments? Why aren't we out there like, like the Enterprise or the Excalibur?"
"Tom, testing out the Delta flyer is an important mission, as is working with Starfleet engineering, command, and everything else we've done since our arrival back on Earth. Besides, what about our daughter?"
At this, Tom's face softened. "Yeah. I guess I wouldn't be good to be off galavanting with her on a ship, at least not until she can handle herself. At least four or five, when I teach her to pilot and ..."
"Tom!"
"Right. Sorry."
He focused back on piloting the Delta Flyer through unexplored space. Truthfully, although it was exciting putting the Flyer through a number of tests, it lacked the thrill of real emergency. At least home would be if not exciting than at least rewarding in its own right. Little Katie was an adorable child -- cute, bright, and mischevious.
Suddenly the ship shook.
"What was that?" B'Elanna exclaimed, punching buttons to get information from the computers.
"Some kind of disturbance...there's...oh God!" An enormous ship decloaked around the Flyer, surrounding them completely, leaving only a small exit point. It was that point, Paris aimed for.
Throwing the Flyer in a spin in full throttle, he zoomed through the too-small opening, scraping parts of the hull against the alien ship in the process. He didn't care. Let Starfleet repair that. He just had to get out of this and back home. More spins and dodges helped him avoid the enormous and unmanuverable ship. This was flying; this was what Tom loved. Flying a spaceship was fine, especially if it was Voyager, but the Flyer was infinitely more responsive and manuverable, enabling him to perform more than just the standard evasive manuvers and attack patterns.
He had just gotten to a position where he could jump to warp speed when a sharp blast struck them.
"Tom! We've lost aft shields, and our warp drive is gone."
"In one shot?! All right then..." Tom managed a tight 180 degree turn and shot away, past the alien ship and back for the Lexington. With any luck, they would fly into the shuttlecraft bay and get the ship to warp before that monstrocity could get there.
The ship began firing more small pulses, but Tom was able to avoid most of them in the Flyer. Soon the space was riddled with them.
"Tom! You're going to get us both killed!" B'Elanna yelled.
"I know what I'm doing!" he yelled back.
He dove perpendicular to their last position and zoomed in that direction for a while before suddly swooping back up and behind the large ship in hopes of confusing it. No luck. Another pulse clipped the primary impulse engine.
"Switching to secondary," B'Elanna said, before Tom could tell her to do that. He allowed a brief smile at her before dropping the ship and zooming mere meters from the surface of the ship.
"Okay B'Elanna. This has got to work," Tom said. "There's no way they could get us here."
How wrong he was, again. A sharp beam shot out from the ship and began pulling the Delta Flyer in.
B'Elanna turned to her husband. "I'm going to kill you."
*****
0945, Starship Excalibur
It didn't take long for the Exalibur to reach Dr. Crusher's last known location, the place from which she had sent her last message. Calhoun had to hand it to Picard. The man certainly was thorough. Once the whole thing was over, and Calhoun didn't expect it to take long, he would enjoy mocking the usually unflappable captain about his dear doctor.
"Scan the area Lieutenant Lefler; see if we can find an trace of the shuttlecraft."
"Scanning, sir." Lefler bent over her controls to start a sensor sweep of the area. In a moment, she looked up. "Sir. I've found the shuttle's warp signature. It ends right here. And from the look of it, the ship did not go back."
"How can you tell?"
"Well sir, the trail decomposes as it moves towards the planet and is freshest here."
"And signs of the craft?" Shelby asked.
"One second Commander." Lefler examined the readings further. "I am finding some debris in the area; however, it is not enough to comprose a complete shuttlecraft."
"All right. Transport it into the cargo bay and have Engineering take a look at it. I want to know what happened to that shuttle and its passenger. Shuttlecrafts don't just disappear into space."
*****
1016, Unknown
"When we get out of this, I'm going to kill you Tom," B'Elanna said for the millionth time.
"Are you ever going to tire of saying that?" he asked rhetorically.
"No." She glared at him.
Tom sighed. "I know, I know. It's all my fault. Tell you what, if we get out of this, you have my permission to kill me."
"Not if, when. Because I'm not letting our daughter grow up without us -- not as long as I can."
"Well, look on the bright side. Starfleet is bound to have realized that we've gone missing by now. We were due back...well, I don't know exactly, but it was a while ago. And someone will come looking for us."
"I hope you're right Tom. But in the meantime, we've got to find a way off this ship ourselves. We can't just wait for someone else to rescue us."
Tom nodded. "So what's the plan?"
After the Delta Flyer had been pulled into the alien hangar, the Flyer had filled with a mysterious gas that had rendered Tom and B'Elanna unconscious. When they came to, they were in an elliptical room with no obvious way in or out. The only aperture in the smooth surface was a small air vent in the top, and the opening at least was too small for either of them to crawl through. Even if they could have made it through there, it wouldn't have been of any help because at the moment they were strapped in an elaborate harness and suspended from the ceiling with at least two feet of space above and below them. The harness kept their arms and legs cemented to their bodies, and the only thing they could move effectively was their mouths. No guard or crewmember of the ship had shown himself. For all they knew, the entire ship was run by computer.
A small tear tricked down B'Elanna's cheek at the thought of never seeing their daughter again. "I don't know."
*****
1200, Deep Space Nine
Ezri Dax couldn't shake the disconcerting feeling all morning. Her dream haunted her that day, penetrating her wakefulness until that began to feel dreamlike while the dream felt real. She wondered if she was perhaps going insane, or possessed, or...
"Hi Ezri."
She jumped a foot in the air. "Oh, hi Jake."
"Mind if Nog and I sit here?"
It took a moment before Ezri took in the familiar surroundings and recognized her location as the replimat. "Oh...sure Jake. Of course."
"Thanks." The two young men plopped their trays down. "I'm starving," Jake commented. Seeing the odd look on Ezri's face, Jake asked, "Are you okay Ezri? You seem kind of odd." No response. "Ezri? Ezri?"
"What? Oh, um, yeah Jake. I'm fine." Hesitantly she began to poke at her lunch and then to eat it.
"Come on Ezri, I know something's bothering you. What is it?" Still no answer. "Ezri? Do you want me to get Kira or Bashir. I mean, you know them better than I do...Ezri? Ezri?"
She jumped up from the table with a look unlike one Jake had ever seen on her or Jadzia before. "Quit calling me that! Just shut up, kid!" Suddenly the normal Ezri returned, and she blushed red. "I...I...excuse me." With that she hurried off leaving Jake and Nog to stare at each other in confusion.
Ezri ran through the corridors, dodging people until she came to an empty airlock. She leaned against the bulkhead, panting from exertion and shock. She could feel him, deep within her...within Dax...struggling to get out.
"No!" she shouted at herself. She grabbed her head in her hands and bent down. "No, no, no!" A terrible tearing...ripping...twisting sensation filled her body, nothing physical but still powerful and painful. She fought it as best she could, down on her knees and crying.
Then suddenly, it was over.
Dax stood and walked swiftly and calmly to Ezri's quarters. Packing a small bag with clothes, pads, a tricorder, and every other electronic device within easy reach, it hurried down the corridor to the nearest Runabout location. With any luck, it would be able to take the runabout for the completion of its mission.
Unfortunately, luck was not on Dax's side.
"Hello Lieutenant. Going somewhere?" Nog asked. Nog, a lieutenant also, sat in the pilot's chair. The other chair swivled around to reveal Jake Sisko, budding writer.
Dax decided that it was best to let the one they expected do the talking for them. Hopefully Ezri would have realized by then the importance of completing the mission.
"Jake, Nog, I need your help," Ezri said, once she regained control of her body.
The stared expectantly at her.
"The other lives of Dax and I are going to find a lost planet. We have to find it. They're coming closer, and unless we do..."
"Wait, wait, slow down," Jake said, holding up his hand. "What're you talking about?"
Ezri took a deep breath. "Many years ago, back when Torias was Dax's host, he found something, some planet. I don't know what because whatever it was someone erased it from his memories. But they had never dealt with a Trill before, and the symbiont still had part of the memory locked away. It's begun to resurface. We guess that they're coming closer." Outside there was a sudden loud noise as if a technician had dropped some tools. Ezri, however, reacted as if being shot at. It took a while for her to realize the lack of any real danger. Then she continued. "We've got to find them again and figure out what is going on."
"What we?" Nog asked.
"The other lives of Dax and I. Their memories are coming back, becoming real and..." She held up a phaser and pointed it at Nog. "They want me to stun you and drag you out of here." She continued shakily. Jake noticed beads of sweat sticking out on her forehead. "But...but I know that you can help us. That you will help us. So, will you?"
Nog could tell that she was losing it, and he knew better than to argue with a crazy person. He nodded. "Sure."
Jake nodded too. "We're with you Ezri."
*****
1230, Starship Enterprise
Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise-E, the sixth ship to bear the name, drummed his fingers nervously on the arm of his chair on the bridge. Beverly was missing, and there was still no word from the Excalibur. Picard wished that his was the ship investigating. It wasn't as if he didn't trust Calhoun's abilities to do the job...it's just that he trusted himself more.
His reverie was broken by Lieutenant Young, the new Security officer.
"Captain, we are receiving a message from the Starship Excalibur."
"Put it on screen," he directed, trying to mask his excitement and the acceleration of his pulse.
"Captain Picard. We've had some interesting findings looking for your doctor."
"Interesting? How so?"
"We traced her last known position to the end of the warp trail. We found the remains of a Federation shuttlecraft -- the complete remains of a shuttlecraft."
Picard felt himself go weak.
"However," Calhoun continued, "there was so sign of a human among the wreckage -- not even the appropriate atoms. It's the opinion of my crew, and I agree with them, that somehow she was not aboard when the shuttlecraft was destroyed."
"How?" Picard demanded.
"We don't know for sure yet. We'll keep you posted. Our officers here are doing their best to figure out this puzzle."
Picard felt anger bubble up inside him. "Well dammit, then their best isn't good enough!"
Silence descended on the bridges of both ships at the sound of the usually unflappable Picard losing his temper. Finally Calhoun was the one to break it.
"We're the ones out here Picard. And right now, my crew is working their asses off to find your missing doctor. And if our best isn't good enough for you, Sir, then with all due respect you can shove your complaint up your ass." Every word was cold and piercing. Calhoun straightened. "We will keep you appraised on our progress Enterprise. Calhoun out."
Picard tried to cover up his inappropriate outburst. He knew it was wrong to take out his frustration on Calhoun or anyone else, but he couldn't help it. He was helpless and powerless -- two things that Jean-Luc Picard hated.
"I'll be in my Ready Room. Commander," he said to his new first officer, Commander Andrew Ford, "you have the bridge."
Picard marched to his Ready Room and replicated a cup of Earl Gray tea. A few sips managed to shake the remnants of anger that had exploded at Calhoun. Already he was regretting it, although part of him wondered idly if Ford would have the guts to come in and yell at his captain. Every bit of information in his record indicated otherwise. Commander Andrew Ford was an intelligent, hard-working, and reserved man who had risen quickly to the top with nothing but good reports from his superiors who praised him for being level-headed and thoughtful. It was inspite of these things that Picard hired the twenty-six year old officer.
The door chime sounded.
"Come in," Picard said.
Ford nodded. "Captain. Permission to speak freely sir."
"Granted." Picard wanted to hear what the man would say.
"Sir, you were completely out of line just now. There was no reason to speak so rudely to Captain Calhoun. I understand that you and Doctor Crusher are close friends and have been for years, but that does not excuse your behavior."
"Thank you for your input Commander. Is there anything else?"
Commander Ford looked surprised. "Sir? I mean, no sir." He turned to leave.
"Commander." The officer turned around. "I realize that I was out of line with Captain Calhoun," Picard began, "and I thank you for your candor."
Ford nodded and left.
"What a touching scene," a familiar voice remarked. Picard looked up in surprise.
"Q," he said, "what are you doing here?"
"Oh, Jean-Luc, I thought you would be happy to see me my old friend?"
"We're not friends."
"You wound me, Mon Capitan. But I didn't come here to exchange pleasantries."
"Oh, so why did you come?"
"To see if I could help you of course."
"Help me? You've never helped me Q. Why would I trust you now?"
"Because," Q leaned over right in Picard's face and whispered, "I know where your dear doctor is."
"You do? Where?" Picard demanded.
"How touching! Your great concern for her impresses me."
"I would be just as concerned if any member of my crew were missing Q, and you know that."
"No, no I don't think so. Your concern for Doctor Crusher is downright personal." Q held up his hand.
"Dr. Crusher and I are just friends Q, and we have been just friends for a long time."
"But not for lack of want on either side."
Picard sighed. "Q, just tell me where the Beverly is."
Q waggled his finger at him. "Now Jean-Luc, that wouldn't be fair. I can't just give you all the answers every time you ask. Besides," he said, lying casually on the couch, "your missing doctor is only the start of your problems."
"What?" Picard demanded.
"You have much bigger problems, Jean-Luc." He tilted his head as if listening to something. "Why, even now the starship Excalibur has fallen prey to one of those forces."
"What force, Q? What...?" he began, but Q cut him off.
"Time's a wasting Captain," he said, and then he disappeared.
*****
1300, The Runabout
As Ezri Dax slept restlessly, Jake Sisko and Nog assessed their situation.
They were flying through space in a stolen Runabout headed for an unknown planet in an unknown area of space with only an mentally disturbed Trill to guide them.
"We're dead," Jake whispered to Nog, quietly so as not to wake the sleeping Trill.
"No we're not Jake. I've been trying to figure out plans to escape and head us back for Deep Space Nine without Dax realizing our change of course."
"And?"
"I have a plan, but it will need a few modifications."
"But Nog, what if...what if Dax's right and there is something out there?" asked Jake, allowing himself to voice his deepest fears.
Nog shook his head. "That's impossible. If there was something that powerful, Starfleet would have discovered it by now."
"But Nog..." Jake began, but Ezri awoke.
"Status," she demanded.
"We're still on course, ETA 14 hours" Jake said.
"Why so long?" Dax demanded. "I thought this ship was fast."
"It is, ma'am, but it's not a starship. The engines weren't designed to travel high speeds for long distances," Nog replied.
"You, kid," Dax said to Jake, "any communications from the station?"
"Nothing specific. They're looking for us, but they can't find us."
"Good. Start monitoring Federation communications. Look for anything unusual."
"Yes sir," Jake said.
"And you," Dax said to Nog, "keep scanning the area for enemy vessels. And keep our shields up and weapons powered." She clenched her fists. "They're not going to get me again."
And so the rag-tag crew flew on, unknowingly headed for the homeworld of one of the most powerful federations in the galaxy.
*****
1325, Deep Space Nine
"Still no response to our hails Colonel," the Starfleet lieutenant working at Ops reported.
Colonel Kira Nerys, head of the space station Deep Space Nine in orbit above her native Bajor, was angry. Lieutenant Ezri Dax, station counsellor, had stolen a runabout and was headed for places unknown with only Jake Sisko and Nog to assist her. "Damn it," she muttered. It didn't help that Deep Space Nine had lost so many of its fine officers that had helped make the station what it was. Jadzia Dax, Captain Benjamin Sisko, Chief Miles O'Brien, Constable Odo, and Lieutenant Commander Worf had all left for places far from the wormhole. Without a crew she had full confidence in, she had no choice but to leave the pursuit to other hands.
"Lieutenant, hail Starfleet command. Inform them...inform them of the theft and request assistance."
"You can't do that! Ezri needs out help. We can take the Defiant and catch up to her. We have to do something."
"I would like to help as much as you, but what can we do? If we take the Defiant with our best officers, the station will be weakened. Besides, we don't even know where she's going. Ezri managed to completely mask her warp signature."
Bashir looked like he was about to argue, but then thought better of it. She was right of course. A starship would be better prepared to find Ezri. But the waiting part was hard, so hard. After the Dominion War, life on the station was relatively peaceful, and without a medical emergency, Julian had nothing to do but worry. Sighing, he left the Ops station and headed for Quark's. *A nice battle of the Alamo,* Julian thought, *that's what I need. Let a starship bring Ezri home safely.*
*****
1335, Starship Enterprise-E
The Excalibur had disappeared without a trace.
"Any response to our hails?" Ford asked.
"Nothing Commander. It's as if they just disappeared," Lieutenant Commander Gardiner replied.
"How far away are they?" Picard asked.
"At maximum warp," Lieutenant Houston said, "it will take us approximately twelve and a half hours to reach the Excalibur's last known location."
Picard thought. They had already almost reached Arlexia IV to pick up scientific samples necessary on Deep Space Four. However, his gut was telling him that this was more important. "Contact Starfleet Mr. Gardiner and tell them that we must delay our mission to Arlexia IV, or else ask them to reassign the mission. Mr. Houston, set course and engage."
*****
2345, Starship Enterprise-E
Sleep eluded Captain Picard that night. No matter how he tossed and turned, he felt on edge and unable to relax enough to get the hours of rest he knew were necessary. Thoughts and memories bombarded his mind. He recalled every moment of his acquaintence and then friendship with Beverly Crusher. He recalled his triumphs on the Enterprise with his familiar crew and wished for their presence and aid during the crisis. Idly, he opened his eyes to stare out at the peaceful stars that usually were so effective at calming him.
A face stared back at him.
A computer console glowed in the darkness, shedding its dim light on the room. In the light, he could just make out the shape of a face staring back at him in wonder. A child's face...a human face.
The child looked startled. Picard opened his mouth to speak.
A suddenly sharp blow fell on his head. Lights exploded in the back of his vision, and unconsciousness claimed him.