Order was restored to the courtroom as all participants prepared to return to the case. Harry called Riker over to the bench. "Is Colonel Hogan ready to begin his testimony?"

"Yes, he is, your honor. Bailiff? Could you please tell Colonel Hogan we're ready for him?"

Colonel Hogan entered the courtroom and strode confidently down the aisle. Gasps of amazement could be heard throughout the crowd. This was not the shell of the man they had seen earlier. No, this was the Colonel Hogan, the leader of the most successful sabotage and rescue operation in Nazi Germany.

The Colonel's posse was seated in the front row. There was no need of their assistance for the moment. Sergeant Wilson sat beside them and kept a wary eye on his commanding officer.

Hogan took a seat and patiently waited for the excitement to die down. Judge Harry was the first to speak.

"I see you're looking a little more chipper there, Colonel."

"Yes, I am," he replied, "Thanks to Commander Riker and his crew…'up there.'"

Harry stared at him in amazement, and then said what everyone else must have been thinking. "It's a miracle."

"Technically, no." Riker thought it best to explain. "It took a lot of effort to bring the Colonel back to us. He's essentially been de-fragged, scanned, and cleaned-up. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. Dr. Crusher was forced to perform a system restore."

"No!" Even Harry, with his lack of computer experience, knew that was drastic. "I hope he was backed up!"

"Yes, he was. Here are Dr. Crusher's notes and files. For the record." Riker handed the judge a data pad. Another one was also given to Perry Mason. "However, there is one thing I should mention; this may only be temporary. We never know when or if there may be another set-back."

"All righty, then. Let's get this thing moving. Riker, ask your questions." Harry picked up his gavel, struck the desk and then took out his Mr. Potato Head to keep his hands busy while he watched.

Riker gave the judge an amused look and then began his questioning. "Colonel, before you passed out, we were discussing your opinion of being trapped in a living hell. You claim you never know when it's going to happen, nor do you understand the reasons behind these actions."

"Somewhat true, Commander."

"What do you mean by that, Colonel?"

"Well, sometimes I have a premonition, a sixth sense that something bad is about to happen or will happen sometime in the story."

"From the description?" asked Riker.

"Oh, is that what it is? Geez, I thought I had ESP!" Hogan laughed. "But, seriously, once it starts, there's nothing, and I mean nothing I can do to prevent it. It just has to play out. And then one of us is in trouble, usually me." Hogan began to play with his crush cap, which he had set on his lap. The memories were clearly beginning to bother him. "I just don't get it. What did we ever do to them? I mean, we're the good guys! You'd think they would treat those nuts even worse." He pointed to the German contingent and gave Hochstetter a particularly nasty stare.

Riker regretted what he had to delve into next, but he knew it was necessary. "Colonel Hogan, you've clearly suffered through tremendous physical pain and mental anguish, but let's not forget the others that have also been hurt; the men under your command. They've all had their moments, their scenes of angst, haven't they? What has that been like for you?"

Hogan looked back at Riker with troubled eyes. "You're a commander. You should understand what that's like."

"Why don't you explain it to the court, Colonel?" Riker gently asked.

"There's nothing worse than seeing your men suffering. Nothing. They can inflict whatever they want to on me, but I wish they'd leave them alone. They could be their sons or brothers, you know. Why are they doing this?"

"Their sons or brothers, Colonel?" This comment struck Riker as rather odd. Should I ask him to explain that comment or drop it? Riker decided to run with it. It seemed to really bother Hogan. "Can you explain what you mean by that comment? How do you know some of these soldiers could be their sons or brothers?"

This question got everyone's attention. The spectators leaned forward so as not to miss the answer. Did the Colonel actually know something about the accused?

Hogan wasn't perturbed. For the first time in a while he felt somewhat healthy, so his mind was actually functioning at full cylinders. He was upset, yes, but still sharp. So he decided to be honest and answer the question. "Some of them dropped in."

You could have cut through the stunned silence with a knife. Harry dropped Mr. Potato Head, and Mason spit out the coffee he had been drinking. Riker, who was not a trained trial attorney, suddenly came to the realization that you never asked your witness a question that you didn't know the answer to. Carter, meanwhile, turned to Newkirk and said, "I was really hoping to forget that experience. Oh, brother."

Riker gulped. "Could you explain that?"

"Let's just say we had a visitation." Hogan had no idea how to explain the phenomenon of writers showing up in camp. All he knew was that it had happened, and yes, some of the writers appeared old enough to be the mothers, or at least the older sisters of some of his men. "Yes, I would call it a visitation. They all dropped in at separate times, and some of them were with us for several months. They didn't know each other personally, but knew each other from the net, or so they said. It was sheer torture for all of us to have them there, in a manner of speaking."

"And did you ever bother to ask them why these horrible things kept happening to you and your men?"

Hogan chuckled. "No, and that's the weird part. When they were there, we didn't have any memory of any of these terrible things happening. So, of course, I didn't ask. But I remember them coming, and I remember afterwards thinking, how could these women write these things? That happened as soon as I found myself buried alive, I think."

"Ooh, that's unpleasant." Harry was riveted, as was everyone else.

Riker continued with the questioning. "And how did they get there, Colonel, and what happened to you and your operation while they were there?"

Hogan would go no further. "I'm sorry, Commander, but I can't answer that. It's classified."

"But, surely in this instance?"

"Commander, come on. It's classified." You'd never believe it anyway.

All of the Hogan's Heroes characters watching in the courtroom breathed a sigh of relief as Hogan steadfastly refused to answer.

It was at this point in the trial that Harry decided to call a recess; which seemed to be fine with everyone. Of course, the first thing the Judge, Mason, and the spectators did was head for a computer. They all wanted to find the story about the writers who somehow "dropped in" on Hogan. This left the courtroom empty except for Riker and the various inhabitants of Hogan's Heroes. Riker approached Hogan and in a tone of exasperation said, "It would have helped if you had told me about this earlier."

Hogan gave Riker his most innocent look. "I'm really sorry, Commander, but to tell you the truth, I forgot. It wasn't until I got…what did they call it? Rebooted or whatever, that I remembered. A lot of other stuff has happened since then, and frankly there's been a lot on my mind. Too much trauma at once, I guess."

Carter sprung to his defense. "He's right, boy. I mean if you only knew what's been going on…assassination attempts, gunshots, kidnapping…it's been insane!"

***********

Riker lost track of where he was for a moment. He knew he had to regain his momentum and create even more sympathy for his "client." The spectators and the judge had returned tothe courtroom and Hogan was now back on the stand. It appeared that, due to its length and innocent sounding description, The Mary Sue Experiments, as Hogan called it, had been overlooked during discovery by everyone involved. Upon seeing the amount of chapters, Harry, who was still in pain from the previous night's computer marathon, decided to bring court back in session and put the story on the back-burner.

I've got it! Riker thought back to Picard's experiences with the Borg. His Captain still suffered from nightmares, flashbacks, and other horrendous side-effects from being assimilated. Whenever that damn episode was repeated on television, Picard would suffer even more. Although Hogan's terrible experiences could not be seen visually, perhaps reading snippets of them out loud would maximize the impact and further remind the judge of the horror. And showing scenes of Hogan and his crew from before fan fiction would also remind the court of the consequences of overzealous writing.

"I would like to draw the court's attention to the screen in front of you." Riker placed a DVD in the player, hit play and stood back. Everyone watched as the opening scene of Hogan's show flashed on screen. Riker hit fast forward and stopped at several other scenes. Chuckles and titters and a few guffaws could be heard throughout the courtroom as Hogan and his crew once again outsmarted the Germans. The Allied soldiers in the audience were clearly enjoying themselves. The Germans, well…not so much! After a few more scenes, Riker removed the DVD. "That, ladies and gentlemen, is how we used to remember these fine characters. Now, I would like to read to you scenes from these fan fiction archives; scenes that, when piled up one by one, may ultimately destroy them."

"Good lord." Kinch was clearly upset.

"Mon dieu. We can't live through this again. I won't allow it." LeBeau stood up and started to head towards the front of the courtroom.

"Sit down!" Harry had spied the French corporal's movement.

LeBeau did not back down. "Monsieur, we can't allow this. It will upset the Colonel. Please."

"Louis, sit down. That's an order." Hogan's voice was enough to quiet LeBeau down. "Let Riker do his job. We can handle it."

Riker spent over an hour reading various scenes from selected fan fiction stories. His acting experience on the Enterprise enhanced his dramatic interpretation. This, of course, made his expressive readings more heart-wrenching, emotional, gut-wrenching, poignant and disturbing. By the time he finished, everyone in the courtroom was an emotional wreck. Schultz, in fact, did not last, and left long before Riker hit the tales published in 2007.

"And I would also like to point out to the court, that not only did these authors continue to publish these tales, but they also honored each other with awards. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. They nominated and voted, and thought it was so funny, that they gave out "Papa Bear Awards." What kind of sick individual would do this, I ask you?"

Klink turned to Burkhalter. "I got an award. Twice!" (1)

"It's sick, Klink. Sick."

"Yes, General. Sick."

"I'm done," said Riker. "The prosecution rests. Your witness, Mason."

(1) Werner Klemperer won two Emmys