Standard disclaimer applies. Paramount owns any TNG characters that are mentioned in this story including an annoying letter of the alphabet. I make no money on this exercise. Oh, if I could (picture your author dreaming on a cloud)…
Chapter 1: the invitation
The only one thing that Q would admit to at the moment was, he was bored. Of late he hadn't found much that appealed to him. There hadn't been much for him to do since he had let the interminable Jean Luc Picard save humanity, for the second time. Since then he had been left to his own devices. Oh, he had fathered a child since then but other than that he had a serious lack of activity. He thought of seeing Janeway again but that would mean that he would have to deal with all of the idiots that ran the inane (in his opinion) bureaucracy known as Starfleet. Jean Luc was out since he had decided to take a little time away to, get this, father a child. As much as he enjoyed harassing them, it just wasn't the same as when he also had their crew to play with. That only left him one option that appealed to him, it was either that or he would have to just sit on his thumbs all day. He would play with his second most favorite human, Will Riker. With that dalliance in mind, Q vanished from the continuum.
"Mr. Shanar, what part of 'get them off our tails' don't you understand?" Captain Riker was not a happy man at the moment. To punctuate the feeling of anger, he felt the ship lurched again. This time fortunately Lt. Marks, the man currently flying the ship, had managed to persuade the Titan into an arc that avoided most of the blast. For almost twenty minutes now he had been trading punches with a Galor-class Cardassian ship. The two of them were equally matched and it did not seem likely that they would end this anytime soon. On the downside, they couldn't just leave. The Fleet had sent them out here to find several Maquis that were still trying to return to the Federation, now that most of the Cardassian government was in ruins. They had never recovered from the Dominion War and now many of the colonists that had risen up against them were tired. Without even the little that the Cardassians had ensured to the colonists many of them did not even have what they needed for basic survival. It had taken nearly ten years but the Federation had finally sent out a message that if they were willing to return to undisputed Federation space they would be allowed to do so without any fear of having any sort of criminal charge levied on them. Although an amnesty had been declared when Voyager had returned to the Alpha Quadrant several years ago, the announcement had never been widely dispersed. Unfortunately what was left of the Cardassian military did not like the idea. That was why it was the Titan out here and not a non-Fleet ship. They had retrieved ten people. Command had told them that there had been eleven this time but never elaborated beyond that. That left just one person, and no one knew if they were still alive to be rescued.
"Sir, I am trying. If it weren't for the fact that we are so even with them I might be able to do something. As it is I am trying to figure out if there is even one spot on their shields that can't take another punch from us." Lt. Comdr. Shanar N'Ian had been serving as the weapons officer since Riker had assumed command. He was well aware that the Captain had been simply trying to coax him into trying something that might give them a chance to find the last shuttle and then get out of there. Not that it really helped him in this particular situation but at least the two of them could trade banter when there wasn't much else that could help.
"Captain, I think I've got the shuttle." This was from his ops chief, Lt. Lesman. "There is a Federation impulse signature bearing 216 mark 24, right behind the Cardassians. She is wounded and I can only pick up one life sign, very faint. I think that it is human but I could be wrong."
"Marks, get us around those idiots and pick up that shuttle passenger. As soon as we get him get us out of here. I think it is time for us to take our ball and go home kids." That remark got a stare from his Number One. Commander LeBeau had kept quiet throughout most of the firefight, opting only to give suggestions that were so far out in left field that they actually had worked. Will knew her well enough to know that the look was the equivalent of asking him if he thought that would be an easy order to follow. Instead of answering her unspoken question he simply continued with the set of orders that he had decided on. "Transporter room. We are trying to intercept a Federation shuttle. As soon as you can get a lock on the passenger, beam him directly to sickbay." Then to the Commander he added. "Would you go down there and assess the person's condition. If he is conscious find out who he is so that we can tell the Fleet." She nodded and left the bridge. This was followed by another blast. "Report." Will was getting tired of that word at the moment.
"That one took down our shield by eight per cent. They are still stable. At this rate it would take about another hour and a half of this to pose a serious threat. You would think that they would have something else to throw at us besides what they have been?" Lesman had inadvertently echoed the Captain's thoughts. While not exactly a telepath, she had a habit of picking up on loud thoughts. Will had been thinking the same thing for nearly ten minutes now.
"Captain, I can get us around them, but I have to advise that in order to do so, I will have to break a few rules about how to fly this bird." On Marks face was an impish grin that told Will all he needed to know.
"I don't know which rule you are talking about Lieutenant?" With that Will sat back to watch the young man perform what could only be described as a dance. Within two minutes the Titan had managed to get around the Cardassian ship and into the farthest ranges of the transporter. As soon as Will thought they could do it he barked the order to the transporter room. "As soon as you can, get the passenger to sickbay."
"I have a lock on them now sir. As soon as we drop shields I need ten seconds."
"Shanar, drop shields. As soon as we have them Marks, get us back into Federation secure space."
"He is aboard sir." As soon as Shanar made the statement the Titan was heading towards their home.
Will did not manage have two minutes of quiet time before LeBeau paged him. "Sir I think you and the Counselor should come down here." He did not like the tone in her voice, or the fact that he felt her bewildered state of mind.
"On my way."
Deanna was not on the bridge during the attack. She had been on her rotation as night watch commander and was in their quarters. Their daughter had been staying with Suzie Ogawa during the afternoons after class and was in the Doctor's apartment. As soon as the attack began Deanna had awakened. Truthfully, she was actually rather glad that she had not been ordered to the bridge. Although she was worried about what was going on she had managed to keep herself calm and refrained from intruding. The only really overt sign that anyone would have noticed, if they could have heard was her telepathically reassuring her daughter that everything was ok. When the engagement had lasted more than a couple of minutes she had joined the two children in Dr. Ogawa's quarters. With her with them she was more reassured than if she had been on the bridge. Unfortunately she had to excuse herself when she had gotten the summons from Will to join him in Sickbay.
She had apparently beaten him there, she did not see him, nor did she feel him nearby. He apparently had needed to complete job assignments before he left the bridge and she felt that he would be there in less than a minute. She entered the outer room of Sickbay and gasped. She did not see any reason for that sound to come from her, yet she knew. There was definitely a familiar presence in the area. Only knowing the mind that she encountered had kept her from being overwhelmed. The last time she had felt him had been almost fifteen years ago, just after the crash of the D. Taking a breath to steel herself for what she was about to see, she entered the triage area.
Alyssa Ogawa was tending to the patient. She looked more concerned about his condition than who he was; but then again she had met the man when he was aboard the Enterprise nearly twenty years ago. Tina on the other hand, looked too stunned to speak. As for Deanna, she couldn't believe what she saw. Of all the people for them to rescue in the Cardassian Neutral zone it had to be him. That wasn't the worst of it, at the moment all she could think about was the condition of the man. He was burned over a large portion of his body and there were several cuts and bruises. From the state she determined his mind he was in deep shock, probably from internal injuries. She did not say anything before she turned to meet Will in the entry.
"Will, I need to tell you who they picked up before you go in there."
He looked at his wife. She was worried and a little frightened. He also noted the tone of voice and the mind touch allowing him to grasp without words what he was about to face. I understand Imzadi. I won't do anything rash. Besides, he might have a different personality than me now but he still actually is a good man, even if his way of showing it is strange. But you and I are going to have to come up with a new code just in case.
We won't need to. Your mind is different than his now. I would know which of you is which, without it. It even took me less than a minute to figure it out when he was on Betazed. She steeled herself again and reentered the room.
"Doctor, how is he?" Will looked at him as he asked.
"Well he is as hardy as a certain Captain that I know. He will be ok in a couple of days. Burns and shock mostly. I can wake him safely anytime you are ready." At about this time he realized that his Number One hadn't spoken or even acknowledged his presence since he came in. "Number One?"
"Sorry Captain. I don't know what to make of it. He's you." The normally confident Commander had a bewildered look on her face, which accompanied the sweeping of her arm in the general direction of the biobed.
"Truth be told I'm him as well. We are absolutely identical, even our DNA is a match. The only way to tell us apart is by telepathy, and possibly by any diseases and mutations that have occurred since he was created. That is if the Doctor agrees with that assessment." A small nod came from Alyssa.
"Forgive me for sounding like a your daughter, but how?"
"Transporter accident. The interference during transport caused Tom Riker to rematerialize on Nervala IV. He thought the Hood had abandoned him, when I actually had returned to the ship. He was later recovered, believe it or not, by the Enterprise and then continued a career in Starfleet. He joined the Maquis and at one point had even been hijacked by the Romulans from a Cardassian prison. I last saw him was just after I had been cleared by the Fleet on the crash of the D."
"Let me guess, this is the rest of the story you didn't tell me before the incident on Dentarus six years ago. When you had decided to hunt Deanna down because you had stuck your foot in your mouth. One of these days you are going to have to tell me the whole thing. Every time I turn around something from that escapade surfaces."
"That's the one." When it came to needing regs quoted or someone to be a stickler, Tina had been the perfect First officer, however her memory sometimes left him very much annoyed. "Well to end the story, we didn't know what happened to him. He disappeared after the plot to assassinate the Chancellor was uncovered. That was a little over fifteen years ago now. I wonder what he was doing out here?" Riker did not like the implications that he was drawing. The fleet had to have known what was going on; Jellico was the one that sent him out here in the first place. But then again, Jellico had made a habit of doing things to Will that bordered on sadism. Someone had to know that one of the expected pardoned was Tom Riker. Will did not get the chance to finish the thought since there was a burst of light that interrupted him.
A very familiar man was standing in front of the senior command staff of the Titan. As a matter of fact he was still wearing the same Captain's insignia that he had affected the day that Jean Luc Picard first had seen him all those years ago, although he had updated the uniform. Will had the pleasure of dealing with him several times since then. If seeing Tom Riker had startled him, this being totally caught him flat footed. Never in his life had he met a being that could encompass such an irritation in a single letter. "Q. Now is not a good time to bug me. So tell me what you want and get off my ship."
"Au contraire, Mon Capitan Riker. This is the perfect time to bug you. You are about to embark on a wonderful adventure. An adventure that even I cannot manufacture."
"What are you talking about, Q?"
"My, I would think that it is obvious. Why else would I be here?"
Will could only think of one reason that Q would choose this point to drive him to distraction, and that was his doppelganger on the biobed in the next room. "OK Q, I give. Why do you find Tom Riker showing up to be an adventure that even you couldn't contrive?"
Q didn't answer immediately. Instead he looked at the Counselor. "Commander Troi, you're the psychologist. You know how the human mind, as puny as it is, is supposed to work. What kind of scenario do you see unfolding?"
She actually took the time to consider the implications of what circumstances had arisen. It only took her a few seconds to find the obvious answers, and the ones that might have very well been correct when they still served on the Enterprise. "Q, if you think that there is going to be some kind of human male posturing between them or that I am going to fall for Tom and leave Will you are very mistaken. You have been annoying us for almost twenty-five years now. Granted I know that doesn't mean much to you, but by now you know how we work. Will is a Starfleet Captain and I am his Second Officer. I think we can handle a little thing like an ex on this ship."
"You know Counselor, I had almost forgotten how naïve you can be. You think that all I am talking about here is a romantic interlude? No, I think you will find that I think that there is much more than that here. Wouldn't you agree Commander?" For the first time Q acknowledged Will's First Officer.
"I believe I now know why Will avoided mentioning you before. With that ego, you would have to leave the room just to say that letter of the alphabet."
"Aren't we the feisty one? I guess you will just have to figure this one out for yourselves." No one else had a chance to make another comment as Q absented himself from the room.
"Well, I think he succeeded in distracting me. Alyssa would you be so kind as to wake Mr. Riker." Will watched the Doctor as she shook her head, but did as she was asked. Will was not sure whether it was because of Tom, Q or both.
Tina used that expression life on the Titan became very complicated. When you added Tom Riker weird entered the picture. The two of them would be enough for the Titan to be in a lot of trouble. When Q entered the mix, Alyssa was not sure that they would even survive the rest of the day.
