Harry Potter and the Fountain of Possibilities

Chapter 2:

"Investigation"

Harry watched as the remains of the original Enterprise tumbled through the vacuum thousands of kilometers away from the Enterprise-A. Hermione turned away from her console.

"Identity confirmed, Captain," Hermione reported. "Those are the remains of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701." "But, that's impossible," Kirk said. "I stood on Genesis' surface and watched it burn up in the atmosphere."

"If I may, Captain?" Draco said. "Go ahead, Mr. Malfoy," Kirk said. "I did some research based on the readings Commander Sulu made on Genesis after your arrival. Based on what limited knowledge we have on protomatter, the substance your son put in the Genesis matrix, it is possible that the Enterprise remains simply bounced off of Genesis' atmosphere-like a stone skips over a river if thrown right," Draco said.

Kirk nodded. "Mrs. Malfoy," he said, turning to Cho at the Communications console. "Inform Starfleet Command of our findings." "Aye, sir," Cho said before turning back to her console. "Starfleet Command, this is USS Enterprise-A. Respond, please."

Aboard USS Voyager NCC-74656

Landed at Starfleet Headquarters

San Francisco, North America, Earth

Admiral Kathryn Janeway sat in her old Ready Room and watched the readings from the Enterprise-A in stunned silence. "And they said that these are the actual remains of the original Enterprise?" Janeway asked. "Yes, Admiral," the officer on her screen said.

"Mr. Thalian, put me through to the Enterprise-A," Janeway said. "Yes, ma'am," the Andorian Commander Thalian said.

Back on the Enterprise-A, Cho turned to Kirk. "Sir, Admiral Janeway is on the horn," she said. "On screen," Kirk said.

Janeway's visage replace the Fountain on the screen. "Admiral, I assume you looked over the findings we sent you," Kirk said. "I did indeed, Jim," Janeway said. "It's unbelievable!" Harry stepped forward. "Kathryn, what do you plan on doing?" he asked.

"Well, Harry, what do you think we should do?" Janeway asked. "Well, Starfleet has much better facilities for investigating these remains than we can provide out here," Harry said. "And we're due at Earth for the start of the next Federation Council session. So, how about this: we send a couple of science ships out here to further investigate the Fountain so we can tractor the Enterprise remains back to Earth in time for the Council session?"

Janeway nodded. "Not a bad idea, Ambassador," she said. "I'll send the Miyazaki and the Jacqueline Dorsey to investigate the Fountain. See you at Earth, Ambassador. Janeway, out."

Aboard USS Jacqueline Dorsey NCC-65200

Docked at Earth Station McKinley

William H.J. Raymer, captain of the Jacqueline Dorsey, sat behind his Ready Room desk as Admiral Janeway's visage appeared on screen. "Admiral," Raymer said in acknowledgment. "Captain, as soon as your refit is complete, you are to report to the Mutara Sector to rendezvous with the USS Miyazaki," Janeway said.

"May I ask why, Admiral?" Raymer asked after taking a sip of green tea from his teacup. "Due to pressing matters on Earth requiring the presence of the passengers aboard Enterprise-A, the Jacqueline Dorsey and the Miyazaki will investigate a spatial anomaly that the Fukui Institute has named the 'Fountain of Possibilities,'" Janeway said.

"Admiral, is there something else?" Raymer asked. "Yes, there is," Janeway said. "The Enterprise-A has apparently uncovered one of the Fountain's abilities: the ability to send things backwards or forwards in time."

"What do you mean by that, Admiral?" Raymer asked. Janeway's image dissolved into the sensor readings from the Enterprise-A-or more specifically, the image of the original Enterprise remains. "What you are looking at," Janeway's voice continued, "are the remains of the first Federation starship Enterprise. These remains have been confirmed as authentic by Captain Kirk and the Enterprise-A's acting chief tactical officer, Lieutenant Commander Hermione Granger."

"Say no more, ma'am," Raymer said. "We're on our way. Raymer, out." Janeway's image faded from his monitor. "Raymer to Bridge."

"Oliver here, sir," the voice of his first officer said. "As soon as pre-flight is complete, hail the dockmaster. Once we are clear of McKinley Station, set course for the Mutara sector, Warp 4," Raymer commanded. "Aye, sir. Oliver, out," Oliver said.

Hours later, the Enterprise-A came out of warp, its precious cargo safely ensconced in the tractor beam. After docking at McKinley Station, the Enterprise-A released its tractor beam, allowing a pair of shuttlecraft to take up the task of taking the original Enterprise remains to another drydock.

Down on Earth, the transporter beam deposited Kirk and Harry on the pad near the Presidential Office. Commander Thalian met them. "Captain Kirk, Ambassador Potter, I am Commander Thalian, Starfleet Chief Liaison Officer to President Bacco," he said in greeting. "You know, your discovery has turned things upside down here."

"How so, Commander?" Kirk asked. "Some in the Council and on the President's staff are demanding for the Fountain to be 'turned off,' as it were," Thalian said. "If the Fountain does have the ability to send things back and forward in time, some renegade Klingon warlord or Romulan centurion can use it to prevent the Federation from being formed or make things happen that shouldn't happen."

"Commander," Harry said. "We should investigate the Fountain in order to see if the benefits outweigh the risks." "I hope the President shares your outlook, Ambassador," Thalian said. "Now, to your accommodations. Until the actual embassy building is complete, you can stay at Starfleet Academy. Superintendent Admiral Diondra has agreed to set aside a suite in the staff residential block for yours and your wife's use until the Hogwarts Embassy is completed. Your personal effects are being sent there as we speak."

Starfleet Academy Superintendent's Office

San Francisco, North America

Harry resolved on the transporter pad near the Academy's staff residential block. A cadet was waiting. "Ambassador Harold Potter?' the cadet asked. "Yes?" Harry said. "Cadet Second Class Naomi Wildman, sir," the cadet said. "I am to escort you to Admiral Diondra's office."

"Lead on, Cadet Wildman," Harry said. As Wildman led Harry down a corridor, Harry looked at his guide. "Cadet Wildman, may I ask you a question?" he asked. "Yes, sir," Wildman said.

"You were born on Voyager, were you not?" Harry asked. "Yes, sir. In actuality," Wildman said, "I am not from this universe." Harry raised his eyebrow in a gesture he had seen Spock use many times. Wildman took the gesture as a signal to continue.

"I was told this by both my mother, Commander Samantha Wildman of the Miyazaki, and Admiral Janeway. The Naomi Wildman from this dimension died shortly after her birth. The version of myself you are talking to now and the version of Lieutenant Harry Kim serving on the Valley Forge come from a dimension in which I lived through the emergency delivery and the concurrent battle with the Viidians," Wildman said.

"I see, Cadet," Harry said. "Please, call me Naomi," Wildman said. "Okay, Naomi," Harry said. "Congratulations on your wedding," Wildman said. "Is your wife here?" Before Harry could answer, a voice came on the comm. "Attention, all hands, this is Admiral Diondra," the voice said. "Please turn to your nearest communications monitor for a special broadcast from the Federation News Service."

Harry and Cadet Wildman turned to a nearby comm panel and watched as the logo of the Federation News Service and the epigram "Breaking News" appeared. The image then dissolved into the image of a brunette-haired Terran woman.

"Welcome back to Terra Tonight here on FNS. I am Marta Jensen from the Federation News Service headquarters here in San Francisco," the woman began. "We begin this segment with breaking news from the Mutara Sector, where a long-lost piece of Federation history was found less than twelve hours ago. The remains of the first Federation starship Enterprise, registry number NCC-1701, were discovered near a spatial anomaly nicknamed the 'Fountain of Possibilities.'"

The picture widened to reveal two additional figures seated at the desk with the reporter. "Joining me are three individuals who have unique perspectives on this historic find. First, here in studio to my left, is Annika Hansen, who prefers to be known as Seven of Nine. She is the former Borg drone who was found and liberated by the crew of the USS Voyager. She now works at the Fukui Astronomical Institute, who originally discovered the Fountain,"Jensen said. "Welcome to the show, Seven.""Thank you for having me," Seven said.

Jensen then turned in her chair. "Next, to my right, is Captain Montgomery Scott, the legendary Starfleet officer who served as the original Enterprise's chief engineer from 2260 to her destruction 25 years later. Almost a decade ago, 'Scotty,' as he prefers to be called, helped save the USS Hood from right here in the FNS studios. Scotty, thanks for coming back," Jensen said. "Aye, lass. Thanks for inviting me back," Scott said.

The image then switched to Hermione, on the Enterprise-A. "And joining us on remote from the USS Enterprise-A at McKinley Station is Lieutenant Commander Hermione Granger, who helped discover the remains. Commander Granger, welcome to Terra Tonight," Jensen said.

"You're welcome, Ms. Jensen," Hermione said. The picture then switched to a split screen with Jensen on the left of the image and Hermione on the right. "So, Commander Granger, please tell us how you came across the remains," Jensen said.

"Well, we had just arrived at the Fountain's coordinates. Captain Kirk had me and Ambassador Spock scan the Fountain to assess any threat the Fountain might possibly pose to the rest of the Quadrant," Hermione said. "So, we were scanning the anomaly, when we detected a metallic mass."

"The remains," Jensen said. "The remains," Hermione echoed in confirmation. "We informed Admiral Janeway of our findings, then she granted us permission to tractor the remains to McKinley Station. In fact..."

Hermione tapped a few keys. The camera image on her side of the screen zoomed in on another drydock structure near where the Enterprise-A was docked herself. "...look upon them for yourself," Hermione finished.

Jensen whistled as she saw the remains. "Amazing, Commander," Jensen said. "Let's now take a look at the only available footage of the final moments of the original Enterprise," Jensen said. "This footage, sent to the Federation by an unknown source within the Klingon Empire, was entered into evidence in an extradition hearing against Captain-then Admiral-James Kirk in June 2285."

The images of Jensen and Hermione dissolved into footage of a Klingon boarding party striding onto the Bridge of the Enterprise. Klingon "time code" filled the bottom portion of the screen. A female computer voice was counting down. "10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1..." The image was obscured by a huge explosion.

The image then cut to the outside of the ship. A Klingon bird-of-prey swooped away as fire began to consume the Enterprise saucer. Finally, the entire ship was consumed by a huge fireball. When the smoke began to clear, the remains that were now docked at McKinley Station flew past the "camera," then appeared to fall into the deteriorating atmosphere of the Genesis planet.

"Scotty, we just witnessed the remains of the original Enterprise fall into Genesis' atmosphere. You were actually there when it happened. Then, how can we explain the remains which Commander Granger has just shown us?" Jensen said. "Commander Granger sent some pretty detailed notes on the remains as she found them to the Corps of Engineers and Admiral Janeway. In those notes was an analysis of the remains by Draco Malfoy, acting mission ops officer of the Enterprise-A. He hypothesizes that with Genesis self-destructing at about the same time the Enterprise herself was buying it, then the remains simply bounced off the atmosphere of Genesis like a stone thrown over a river," Scott said. "Mr. Malfoy's hypothesis is sound because of the limited knowledge we have of protomatter and its properties."

"We should point out," Jensen said, "that it is well-known within the scientific community that the Genesis Project was deemed a failure due to the inclusion of protomatter, a highly-unstable substance, in the Genesis matrix by Dr. David Marcus, a member of the project staff who was killed on Genesis during those harrowing events nearly a hundred years ago. We'll bring you more on these events as information becomes available. Seven of Nine, Scotty, Commander Granger, thank you for being on the show tonight."

The display shut off. Wildman turned to Harry. "Can you believe it, Ambassador?" she asked. "I was on Enterprise-A when we found the remains, Naomi," Harry said.

Finally, Harry and Wildman stood at the door to Admiral Diondra's office. Wildman pressed the door chime. "Come," the voice from the other side said. The door slid open, revealing an Efrosian female. "Ambassador Potter, sir," Wildman said. "Very well, Mr. Wildman. Dismissed," Diondra said.

Wildman nodded, then left the office. Diondra smiled, then extended her hand. "Ambassador Potter, it is an honour to have someone of your status living here at the Academy for a while," Diondra said. "Thank you for setting aside quarters for me and Ginny, Admiral," Harry said.

"Admiral Diondra, this is McKinley Station transporter control. Mrs. Ambassador Potter is requesting permission to beam directly to your office," a voice said. "Diondra to McKinley Control. Send her on down," she said.

Ginny resolved from a transporter beam and smiled. "Admiral Diondra, this is my wife Ginerva. Ginny, this is Admiral Diondra, superintendent of Starfleet Academy. We will be living here until the Hogwarts Embassy building in San Francisco is complete six months from now," Harry said in introduction.

"Mrs. Potter, it is my pleasure to host you here," Diondra said. "Thank you, Admiral, for saying that," Ginny said. "Correct me if I am wrong, Admiral, but you're an Efrosian, same as the late Federation President Ra-ghoratreii."

Diondra nodded. "He helped Chancellor Azetbur shepherd the Khitomer Accords. His name will forever be spoken of with honour amongst my people," Diondra said. "Thank you, Ginerva, for knowing."

"Ginny, did you bring those books I asked for?" Harry asked. Ginny pulled two books from her utility pack, then handed them to Harry. "Admiral Diondra, on behalf of the people of Hogwarts, may I present you with two of the many textbooks used by the students of Hogwarts School: the fifty-second printing of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander and Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilwortthy Whisp," Harry said before handing the books to Diondra.

"What is Quidditch?" Diondra asked. "It is the main sport played by the magical community on our planet, Admiral," Ginny said. "Here is a holodeck program about the sport, which Captain Riker and the crew of the Titan helped us make." Ginny handed Diondra an isolinear optical chip.

"Thank you, Ginerva," Diondra said. "Now, if there is nothing else, I'll have someone show you to your quarters." Diondra tapped a control on her desk. The door opened, revealing Cadet Wildman and another cadet with a ridged nose.

"Cadet Wildman, Cadet Icheb, please show Ambassador and Mrs. Potter around," Diondra said. "Aye, sir," Icheb said.

The tour had wound its way to a suite of quarters near the staff quarters. "This room," Cadet Icheb said, "is intended to serve as the operations center for Lt. Commander Granger and her security team to oversee your security and that of your guests."

"After all," Cadet Wildman said, "this area of the Academy grounds is an Embassy for a Federation member planet until such time as the Embassy proper is finished." "Thank you, Cadet Icheb, Cadet Wildman," Harry said.

"And these," Wildman said, "are your quarters. Door access, Cadet Second Class Naomi Wildman acting under authorization of Admiral Diondra, authorization Wildman-2-3-7-Alpha-Charlie." "Authorization accepted," the computer said.

The doors slid open, revealing a spacious room decorated with Hogwarts artifacts. "These quarters are even more amazing than our room on Enterprise-A," Ginny said. "Sort of puts the Gryffindor quarters back home to shame, eh, Ginny?" Harry said.

"'Gryffindor?' What is that?" Icheb asked. "Gryffindor is one of the four 'houses' that students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are sorted into," Naomi said. "The name comes from Godric Gryffindor, one of the original four co-founders of the school. The other three houses were also named after the other co-founders: Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin."

"Bravo, Naomi," Harry said. "You've studied up on our planet well." "Indeed, Cadet Wildman," Ginny said. "I've never seen a non-Hogwarts citizen sum up the founding of the school so well." "Thank you for the compliment, ma'am," Naomi said. "As soon as Minister Fudge signed the Articles of Federation, all Starfleet officers and cadets were sent information packets on Hogwarts and its history and culture."

"Now, Cadets, Ginerva and I will retire for the night. Dismissed," Harry said. Naomi and Icheb nodded, then exited the temporary ambassadorial quarters. "A first night under a foreign sky," Ginny said. "How romantic," Harry said before the two of them kissed.

Meanwhile, aboard the Jacqueline Dorsey, Captain Raymer was jolted awake by the intruder alert sirens. "Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Captain Raymer, acknowledge," First Officer Oliver called. "Raymer here. What is it, Kirsten?" William said.

"Captain, a Klingon appeared from out of nowhere and started wreaking havoc in Main Engineering. We were able to stun him and drag him to the Brig," Oliver's voice said. "He said his name was Kruge."

"I'll be down there in a moment, Commander. Raymer, out." William walked over to his computer monitor and tapped a key. "Computer, scan Federation and Klingon records for a Klingon military officer named Kruge."

"Scanning," the computer said. Then, an image appeared on his display. "Kruge, son of M'Kar. Rank: Commander, Klingon Defense Force. Born in the Earth year 2262 in the First City, Kronos. Reported killed, Terran equivalent date March 27th, 2285 on Genesis Planet, Mutara Sector."

"Raymer to Bridge," William said. "Winston here, Captain," a voice said. "Mr. Winston, send a priority-1 coded message to Admiral Janeway. Inform her that we have a Klingon prisoner aboard, who claims to be Commander Kruge of the Klingon Defense Force, circa Earth year 2285. The assumption is that just like the original Enterprise remains, Commander Kruge has been thrown forward in time."

:TBC:

A note on this chapter:

The character Marta Jensen was created for the story "Terra Tonight," which was written by Scott Pearson for the 2006 Pocket Books release Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 9. The reference to Scotty saving the USS Hood from the Federation News Service studios was a reference to the story's key plot point, in which Scotty guided a cadet named Ella Rose (named after the author's then-eight year old daughter) through a situation that threatened the Hood.

I have always used characters and storylines from Star Trek print media as long as the character or storyline fit my concept for its planned use. So, a tip of the hat to Scott Pearson of St. Paul, Minnesota, for writing a damn fine story.

As far as Captain William Raymer is concerned, I wrote him as a decendant of yours truly.

William Raymer

Yuma, Arizona USA

12 August 2008