Chapter Seven
Starfleet Headquarters
San Francisco, California, USA, Earth, United Federation of Planets
February 4, 2185 1600 UTC
The DeLorean appeared abruptly in the skies over the three hundred and thirty five year old city. And although Jim was currently in control, the DeLorean automatically took over momentarily to avoid a head on collision with an oncoming shuttle craft that the time travelers had the misfortune of appearing in the path of. The Russos and Harper screamed at the near collision but Jim remained calm, cool, and collected. "The operator of the shuttle craft, however, had no idea that an almost near collision between the craft and an invisible car of the past just occurred.
"Collision averted."
"Thanks." said Jim as he was given complete control once more.
"What almost happened?" asked Alex as she was calming down from her shock and taking deep breaths.
"That happens sometimes whenever I travel into the future." replied Jim. "I arrive right into the path of oncoming traffic."
""What was that we almost hit?" asked Harper.
"Just some random shuttle craft, I suppose." said Jim.
"That was a shuttle transport heading for the USS Essex currently in drydock orbiting Earth."
"The USS Essex." said Jim. "That's a Daedalus class starship that's currently in service during this time period. One of the first warp-7's."
"Correct."
"Warp seven?" asked Justin.
"Warp drive is how starships travel through space." replied Jim. "Warp seven is three hundred and forty three times the speed of light."
Justin let out a low slow whistle of impress.
"That is pretty damn fast." said Jim.
"So who are you gonna contact to help us with Mason and Juliet?" asked Alex.
"Well, since we need to speak to a Denobulan," began Jim, "I'm gonna get in contact with the only one that I know."
"The doctor Phlox you spoke of back in the past?" asked Justin.
"The one and only." replied Jim. "Now y'all be quiet please while I contact Starfleet to get some information on Phlox and don't mentioned anything about us being time travelers or that we're from the past."
"Why not?" asked Max.
"Starfleet is like one big, gigantic 'Big Brother'." replied Jim "They monitor and record all communications. But Doctor Phlox is the only one in this time period who knows who and what I really am. If Starfleet knew the truth, I don't even want to imagine what they would do to me."
"What would they do............." Harper tried to asked but Jim interrupted her by repeating himself.
"Uh uh uh. Don't want to imagine." he said before dictating to the DeLorean.
"Alter the voice transmission and connect me through to Starfleet Information." he said.
"Voice transmission altered. Establishing communications with Starfleet information."
The heads up display popped up the video screen and the image of a young woman with pointed ears and a blank expression on her face appeared. She spoke in a monotone-like voice.
"You've reached Starfleet Information. My name is T'Bek. How may I assist you?"
"Good morning T'Bek." Jim greeted. "My name is Prentiss Lee and I'm searching for a Denobulan Starfleet Medical Officer by the name of Phlox."
The image of T'Bek checked the monitor on the desk she sat at and found what Jim had requested. She then looked back toward the travelers.
"Starfleet records show that former medical officer Phlox is currently on his homeworld." said T'Bek "Shall I send you his contact information?"
"Please. If you don't mind." replied Jim.
T'Bek looked back to her monitor and typed on its touchscreen.
"Contact information received."
"I'm sorry, did you say something Mr. Lee?" asked T'Bek.
"Uh.......Contact information received." Jim said.
"I heard a second voice from your end of the............."
"Thank you for your assistance." Jim interrupted her before reaching up to tap the X to close out the view image and end the connection.
"Connection terminated."
Jim noticed Alex giving him a strange look.
"What?" he asked.
"'Prentiss Lee'?" she asked.
"Well I couldn't give my real name." Jim said. "Or allow my real voice to heard. My name and voice pattern are in the records, after all, from when I was on Enterprise."
"But she saw your face." said Justin.
"I doubt she even knows who I am." said Jim. "Besides, it would be illogical to her to think that I would still look the same today as I did twenty five years ago."
"She looked like an emo." said Harper.
"I know." said Alex with a slight smile on her face. "That hairstyle, no emotion in her voice, and did you check out her ears?"
"I know." said Harper. "The future is weird. What kind of person would alter their ears like that?"
"She's a Vulcan." said Jim. "And her ears aren't altered. She was born that way. She comes from a planet about sixteen light years from here."
"Vulcan?" asked Justin.
"Yeah." replied Jim. "Vulcan Is one of the founding members of the Federation along with Earth and two other planets."
"Well let's get in contact with doctor Phlox." said Alex.
"Alright." said Jim before speaking to the DeLorean again. "Connect with subspace communications and open up a secure channel to the contact information T'Bek gave us."
"Establishing communications with the contact I received."
The view screen popped back up on the heads up display and after a few moments the image of a humanoid male appeared. He had a noticeable crease running down his forehead, an upside-down ridged v-shaped dimple In his chin, protruding bone ridges on the left and right sides of his face, and instead of normal ear lobes like a human, the bottoms of his were ridged and merged completely into his sideburn area. He had hair on the back-half side of his head only that was beginning to show signs of graying.
"Hello." he greeted with a cheerful tone in his voice. "You've reached doctor Phlox. How may I be of a service to you."
Jim smiled when he heard Phlox's familiar cheery attitude he was all too well known to possess.
"Doctor Phlox." he began. "This is crewman Alcorn. Enlisted personnel on the Enterprise from 2158 to 2168. Do you remember me, doctor?"
"Alcorn. Alcorn." Phlox repeated as he thought before realization came to his face. "Ah yes! Jim Alcorn! Of course I remember you young time traveler. How long has it been? Twenty four years?"
"Twenty three years and four months to be precise doctor." said Jim. "I left shortly after the signing of the Federation Charter."
"Ah yes." said Phlox. "My look at you! You haven't changed one bit since I last saw you."
"I wish I could say the same about you." said Jim. "You're starting to turn a little gray around the back."
Phlox reached up with his right hand and swept it from the top of his hair down to his neck.
"Well," he began in his defense, "I am almost one hundred years old. But I still feel as young and vigorous as I did when we were traveling through Romulan space."
"You look like you're in good health." said Jim.
"Oh I am. I am." said Phlox. "It wouldn't be ethical if a doctor let his his own health go downhill while he was still in practice. I workout and exercise regularly on occasions."
"Well you look great, doc." said Jim
"Thank you." said Phlox. "So who are your passengers I see you have with you?"
Jim introduced the Russos and Harper to Phlox and greeting formalities were exchanged all around.
"What brings you back to your future?" Phlox asked. "If you don't mind my asking."
"Not at all." said Jim. "I'm glad you asked. Listen, doc, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure. Ask away." replied Phlox. "You know you can ask me anything you want." I'll try to answer to the best of my knowledge if I can."
"Are you familiar with your species' DNA reconstruction methods?"
"Oh yes," began Phlox, "I've followed the Denobulan Scientific Community in DNA reconstruction off and on over the years but I've never actually participated in any of their practices. Why do you ask?"
Jim paused a moment to look at Alex before speaking again to Phlox.
"Doctor, you're familiar with the existence of magic and immortality on Earth" he said.
"Very familiar." replied Phlox. "Earth is one of the few planets in the known universe where magic exists. It was a highly keep secret from mortals for thousands of years in the past few millennia."
"Alex and her brothers are wizards." said Jim. "They live in New York City in the same time as my present."
"Oh is that right?" asked Phlox with enthusiasm in his voice. "I've enjoyed New York on quite a few occasions during my visits to Earth. But why are you inquiring about DNA reconstruction?"
"I have two potential patients that have had the misfortune of being the recipients of magical mishaps." Jim said. He's a former werewolf that's been turned into a wolf and she's a former vampire that's now a two thousand year old woman. I'm trying to help them become human and young again.
Jim told Phlox about Mason and Juliet and how they came to be in their current states. Phlox listened with utmost attention and responded by nodding his head quite often a few times.
"I see." he said when Jim concluded.
"Do you think you could recommend one of your scientists who could help them?" asked Jim.
"I could recommend quite a few Denobulans who would be happy to work with a pair of Earth DNA subjects." replied Phlox. "But seeing as how I have a twenty six year old favor I owe you, I would recommend myself."
"What favor are you referring to doc?" Jim asked.
Before Phlox could answer, Jim immediately recalled what he had done to be in the good doctor Phlox's debt.
"Oh that's right." he began. "I almost forgot. I saved you from almost being killed by that one Romulan who snuck on board Enterprise in 2159."
"I owe you my life Jim." said Phlox. "And I would be more than happy to help you with your vampire and wolf."
"Didn't you say you had no personal experience with DNA reconstruction?" Jim asked.
"No." replied Phlox "I said that I haven't participated in any practices of DNA reconstruction. I have, however, studied and researched the procedures involved on a professional level."
"So you have the knowledge to attempt a DNA reconstruct then?" asked Jim.
"Yes." replied Phlox. "I have the utmost confidence that I could perform a successful DNA reconstruct and would love the opportunity to work with Earth subjects."
"Could you come to Earth, doctor?" asked Jim. "Or would it be more convenient for us to come to Denobula?"
"It doesn't make any difference with me." replied Phlox. "Either choice whatever you chose will the most convenient for us all."
"Well my passengers have never really been outside of our own solar system before." said Jim.
"I understand." said Phlox. "I'll make arrangements then to come to Earth."
Alex and Justin immediately had wide smiles on their faces.
"Thank you doctor." said Jim. "Uh....what about any technological equipment involved that you would need? Are they any such here on Earth?"
"Oh don't worry about that now, Jim." replied Phlox. "You just leave all that to me."
"Absolutely doc." said Jim. "So when do you think you'll be ready to come to Earth?"
"Well I am booked with patients of my own until the end of the Earth month of April." replied Phlox. "But after then I could take some free time off between May and August."
"I hate that you have to use your free time to do this for us doc." said Jim. "I'm really sorry but you're the only Denobulan that I know."
"Oh think nothing of it." said Phlox with a smile. "I've been waiting over two and a half decades to payback the debt I owe you."
Jim smiled.
"So when should we expect you?" he asked. "Where do you want to meet at?"
"How about the first day of June." replied Phlox. "Right on the grounds of Starfleet Headquarters should suffice."
"Then we'll meet you then and there." said Jim. "Oh and doc?"
Phlox was just about to end the connection when Jim caught his attention.
"Thank you." he simply said.
Phlox smiled one of his Denobulan smiles that took everyone except Jim by surprise. It was literally from ear to ear and made his face look like that somewhat similar to Japanese anime. Then Jim reached forward and tapped the X again to end the subspace transmission and the view image disappeared from the heads up display.
"Connection terminated."
"June!" Alex exclaimed with disappointment in her voice. "That's four whole months from now. I don't want to wait that long."
"Alex." said Jim as he held his hands up to indicate the DeLorean. "We're in a time machine. We don't have to wait that long."
"Oh yeah." said Alex with realization. 'I forgot that for a minute there."
"We're all lucky that we don't have to go to Denobula." said Jim.
"Why?" asked Max. "Couldn't we just jump there from here through space like we jump through time from the past to the future?"
"It doesn't work that way Max." replied Jim. "The DeLorean's a time machine, not a starship. His space travel capabilities are limited to Earth only."
"How long would it have taken us if we have had to go to Denobula?" asked Harper.
"Twenty years ago at warp five it would taken seventy one days." replied Jim.
"That's more than two months." said Justin, "What about at today's warp seven standard?"
"Twenty three days." Jim replied.
"Two months or two weeks, that's just too long for me." said Alex.
"You better learn to have some patience, Alex." said Jim. "Don't expect Phlox to be able to turn Mason and Juliet back to their former selves in less than a few hours. Just like the building of Rome, DNA reconstruction won't happen in one day."
"Well how long do you think it will take him to reconstruct Mason and Juliet's DNA?" asked Alex.
"No idea." said Jim. "It could take a week. A month. Possibly longer."
Alex's face suddenly sank into disappointment.
"But I'll tell you this." began Jim. "If it takes longer than the end of August, we'll have to jump ahead to when Phlox has completed the reconstruct and Juliet and Mason are young and human again."
"Why would we do that?" asked Justin.
"You guys have to keep this in mind." Jim began to explain. "Time travel doesn't halt the aging process. The longer we stay in the future, the more of a noticeable difference in y'alls appearances will be when we return to 2010."
"Why just us and not you?" asked Harper.
"Because of my biotechnological implant and the nanobots that are throughout my body." replied Jim. "My aging process has been dramatically reduced than to that of what's considered normal. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm still alive with a 2185 counterpart back in Mississippi."
"So can we just get going now?" asked Alex with an impatient attitude.
"Yeah, let's get going." Jim agreed before speaking to the DeLorean.
"Reset the destination time for June 1, 2185 9:00 a.m. Same location." he dictated.
"Destination time and location confirmed. June 1, 2185 9:00 a.m. San Francisco, California, USA"
Jim piloted the DeLorean toward the bay with increasing speed until the five time travelers disappeared into the near future.
Authors Notes:
Well the character from the TV show that I mentioned on the first page and in the before the last chapter has finally made an appearance. Rweasley500, you were right in your chapter six review when you guess the crossovers of "Star Trek" and "Back to the Future". But there is another sci fi TV show involved. Can you guess it?
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