STAR TREK/THE REIGN: HIVE MIND

Fan fiction Crossover by Lance Berry

EPILOGUE 2: THESE ARE THE VOYAGES…

"And so, by focusing a concentration of EM pulses through the Enterprise's deflector dish, in conjunction with the gravimetric tunneling beam the Horizon employs, at this point right here," Geordi La Forge was saying as he pointed to the LaGrange Point between Earth and its moon, which was displayed on the viewscreen in the conference room, "the vibrational frequency of the micro-pulsations will match that of the Horizon's universe, and Captain Rand will be able to take his crew home."

The senior staffs of both the Horizon and Enterprise were situated around the conference table aboard the Federation flagship, as extra chairs had been brought in for their guests. Captain Picard sat forward at the head of the table, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He pointed at the viewscreen. "But what about the time-shift? If the Horizon goes through, won't they be entering the 24th Century of their universe? They'll be displaced out of their own time."

"We've thought about that, Captain Picard," Jamie Hughes said, as she stood on the other side of the screen, opposite Geordi. "We can program in the time-stamp from our own computer's smartware system into the Enterprise's computer. With that knowledge, the micro-pulsation frequencies will be adjusted properly to not only allow us to return to our own universe, but our own time as well." She looked at Captain Rand, seated immediately to Picard's left. "Heck, we should be able to get back to our own time perhaps less than a few hours after Q started messing with everything."

Travis Rand nodded approvingly. "Well done, Jamie. You too, Mr. La Forge."

"Thank you, Captain," Geordi replied, then looked to Picard. "And Captain…we'd like Data to assist in the technical linkup between the two ships' computers. It'll go faster with him involved."

"Make it so," Picard affirmed. "In the meantime, Captain Rand…once our officers get this task completed, I'd like to extend an invitation to you and your senior staff to enjoy a state dinner with us before you go. I think we have some fascinating notes to compare."

"We look forward to it, Captain," Rand answered and offered his hand, which Picard accepted. Once the meeting ended, various members of the senior staffs broke up into small groups and the Horizon's was given a partial tour of the Enterprise as the Federation flagship and her other-universal counterpart made their way at sublight speed toward the La Grange Point. Riker and Troi took Mara to Ten-Forward, where Guinan served drinks while the three officers compared notes on their disparate realities. Tholin and Worf discussed the various battles they had been involved in, and each came to have more respect for the other…particularly when they discussed the difficulties in working with humans.

Jamie and Geordi worked an uplink to the Horizon's computer from engineering, while Data worked at the engineering station at the bridge's rear, programming in all the variables that needed to be accounted for if their plan was to succeed. Beverly took Ben Williams on a tour of sickbay, and was secretly pleased that the man was impressed with Starfleet Medical's accomplishments. She had dealt so often with colleagues in her profession, it was nice to be able to just "talk shop" with someone who could appreciate all the hard work that went into the development of various vaccines and other medicines that saved lives.

Captains Picard and Rand stayed in the ready room, where the former served hot Earl Grey to his guest, and the two men compared notes about their lives in command. "I hope you don't mind, Captain, but I did ask Commander Christenson a bit about your history with the United Earth Force. I was very impressed. In a historical context, you remind me somewhat of a young James T. Kirk. He was captain of the first Enterprise, and a revered figure in Federation history."

"I appreciate the compliment, Captain," Rand said humbly. "I was nosy about you too, when we first came aboard this ship. You remind me of David Christenson. He had a quiet dignity about him, which people didn't appreciate enough until he was gone, in my opinion. And it's Travis, to my friends."

"Appreciated, Travis. And it's Jean-Luc."

Travis nodded. "I gotta tell you, this ship is very impressive. I was actually very disappointed to find out this wasn't our future my crew and I had arrived in."

Picard took a small sip of his tea. "Who knows, Captain? It very well may be, one day. History takes time to be forged properly. From what Commander Christenson said, you and your crew seem to have the hammer and anvil poised already."

It only took a couple of hours for the preparations to be checked and rechecked. Once Geordi, Jamie and Data were done, Captain Picard and his crew hosted a state dinner in full dress uniform for the Horizon's senior staff. There were various Earth delicacies served, as well as some Klingon ones which Worf insisted that Tholin try. Although Calvorian stomachs didn't carry the proper enzymes which allowed them to eat cooked food, Tholin took a special liking to the live gagh.

Finally, Picard and his officers led the command crew of the Horizon to the transporter room, where Chief O'Brien stood by, anxious to finally get his first view of humans from another universe. He wasn't as impressed as he thought he would be…although he had to admit, the Calvorian was one of the most intimidating lionoids he had ever seen in his life.

Picard and Riker instructed Rand and his crew where to properly stand on the transporter pads, the former telling them, "You'll feel a brief tingling sensation, and perhaps a moment's disorientation at best when you reappear on your ship's bridge. Transporting is almost always an unnerving experience the first time."

"No worries, Jean-Luc. Thanks for everything," Rand said easily.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Captain." Picard thought about it, then raised his hand in the Vulcan salute. "May you and your crew live long and prosper."

Rand looked at the way Picard's fingers were splayed, and then emulated it perfectly. "Thanks. The same to you and yours," he replied. Picard nodded and looked at O'Brien. "Energize."

Rand observed as the curly-haired officer at the controls worked his console with easy familiarity. He'd obviously done this dozens of times before. Rand squinted in some surprise as the lights seemed to play tricks with his eyes, and as he was caught up in the transportation matrix, it felt as if his entire body was being pricked lightly yet painlessly all over. The light show ceased, and all of a sudden, he was back on the Horizon's bridge.

"Wow," someone said behind him. He turned and saw Lieutenant Johnson, one of the junior officers hand-picked to replace members of the senior staff at a moment's notice, slowly rising from the center seat as he looked at the captain and senior staff in awe.

Rand couldn't help it; he patted himself down, giving a cursory once-over to his condition, then looked back at Johnson. "I share the sentiment, Lieutenant." He looked at Mara and his other officers. "Alright…let's get outta here."

"The Horizon is signaling that they're ready to begin, Captain," Worf said from his security console. Picard, now back in his rightful chair, sat back and cleared his throat lightly. "Signal Captain Rand that we stand ready as well. Bridge to engineering. Mister La Forge, begin EM pulses."

"Aye, sir," Geordi replied over the ODN. Down in engineering, he began working the master control console, sending out the heightened EM pulses toward the predetermined point in space. As he worked, he glanced around briefly at the other crewmen at their stations. He shook his head, amazed at the thought that only hours earlier, the Enterprise had been completely assimilated by the Borg. He didn't like the thought of that. But with Q finally revealing himself to both crews, with a snap of his fingers, the mercurial being returned both ships to normal all at once. As he always did in their dealings with Q, Geordi couldn't help but wonder how someone with such amazing abilities could treat the lives of others with such capricious disdain.

On the bridge, Captain Picard watched as the invisible pulses from the Enterprise's deflector dish collided with the unseen gravimetric beam from the Horizon's own deflectors, to slowly form a unique tear in space. The tear grew rapidly, yet it appeared that the stars visible through the tear were simply the same familiar ones Picard would have seen had the tear not been there at all. "Data, is this working?"

At the helm console, Data quickly rechecked his readings. "It is working as expected, Captain. Reading micro-pulsations unique to that of the universe where the Horizon hails from. The stars that are visible within the breach are the stars in that universe. They simply happen to occupy the exact same position as our stars, only on a different vibrational level."

"I see," Picard replied, trusting to place his faith in the usually infallible android. A beep issued from the navigational console, and Wesley announced, "Captain, the Horizon has begun moving toward the breach." Only seconds after Wesley's statement, the Horizon came into view on the screen, quickly moving forward toward the widening tear.

"Picard to engineering. Geordi, the Horizon is entering the portal. Be certain to keep the EM pulses flowing."

"I'm on it, Captain," the engineer's confident response came back via the ODN. On the viewscreen, the Horizon had begun entering the breach. It pressed forward, diving in fully, and then without the Heavy Cruiser's deflectors to match the Enterprise's output, the breach rapidly closed behind the UEF ship, disappearing entirely.

"Good luck to you, Captain," Picard said under his breath. He sensed movement to his left, and turned to see Q in full Starfleet regalia, crouched beside him. "Did I miss anything?" he said impishly.

Picard, Riker and Troi were on their feet immediately. "Q! Where the devil have you been, and why are you back?"

"I'd answer both questions for you, Jean-Luc, but I don't want to overload your tiny little primate brain," Q said as he got to his feet, but the jibe was only half-hearted. He glanced around the bridge, looking at Picard, Riker, Data and the others…even Worf…and was beginning to see them in a slightly new light. Picard picked up on this and said cautiously, "What is it, Q? It didn't seem like you left us voluntarily before. Was it the other members of the Q Continuum? Are they upset at you? What happened?"

Picard was puzzled to find Q looking at him so oddly, almost as if he had missed him. But then the being straightened his back and declared, "I told you, Picard: only one question at a time. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly predisposed to tell you what happened…only what's going to happen."

Picard looked at him warily. "What's going to happen? What are you up to now?"

"I made a promise to someone recently, and as I'm bound by my word, I intend to keep it. Unfortunately for you, that means I can't let you remember anything that's happened in the past day or so. I also have to place you back to exactly where you were, which means you're about to experience one of the more traumatic things that will happen to you in your life." He paused, then added almost as a guilty afterthought, "I'm sorry."

Picard was all prepared to chew him out for toying with the lives of himself and his crew—yet again—but the unexpected apology froze him in place a moment, unable to say anything. He and Riker exchanged looks of bafflement, but Picard quickly regained from the shock. "Now look here, Q…you simply cannot continue to come into our lives and—"

But Q snapped his fingers, and the familiar bright flash of light overwhelmed Picard and everyone else on the bridge. When the flash subsided, he was sitting in his chair as usual, but looked around in puzzlement. Everything on the bridge was normal: Data and Wesley Crusher were at helm and navigation respectively. Counselor Troi sat on his left, Will Riker to his right. He turned and looked behind him, only to see Worf at the tactical console as he should have been.

"Captain?"

Picard turned forward in his seat, then looked to see Troi watching him with some concern. "Are you alright, sir?"

Picard considered the question a moment, but then nodded, although a bit uncertain. "I just feel as if there's something I forgot to do, Counselor. Something I should be remembering, but can't." He mulled it over a moment, then shrugged. "It couldn't have been that important."

Troi smiled. "Of course not, sir." As she turned forward, Picard glanced at the deep blue planet above which the Enterprise was pulling into orbit. There was something he did need to do, right now…he tabbed a panel on his chair's armrest. "Captain's Log, stardate 43989.1. The Enterprise has arrived at Jouret IV, in response to a distress signal from one of the Federation's outermost colonies."

He tabbed the panel again, shutting off the log. Picard exhaled lightly and looked to Riker. "Number One, assemble an Away Team. Take a look planetside, and be careful."

"Aye, sir," Riker said as he got to his feet. "Worf, Data, you're with me. Riker to engineering," he said as he headed up the ramp toward the lift, Data following closely behind him, "Geordi, meet me in transporter room one. We're heading down to the New Providence colony."

"Acknowledged, Commander," Geordi answered over the comm, as Riker and his two officers entered the turbolift, the doors closing behind them. Picard looked at the blue ball spinning serenely on the viewscreen. For reasons which he couldn't understand, he had to suppress a shudder…

The nondenominational chapel on deck 29 could hold up to 250 members of the Horizon's crew at any one time, but cleaning it was usually a one-person job. Devon Bova, the Diviner(priest) assigned to the UEF Heavy Cruiser, was in the process of wiping some dust off one of the faux stained glass windows when the doors at the far end opened and Travis Rand entered. Bova folded his rag neatly and moved to the center of the main aisle between the pews as Rand approached. "No guards, Captain? No shackles? It seems the only time you come here is when it's to toss me in the brig."

Rand came to a halt only a couple feet from the slightly older man, who had some light grey beginning to show in his dark hair and beard. "I just came to talk today, Diviner. I left the keys for the brig in my other pants."

Bova raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. He gestured to one of the pews, and the captain took a seat. Bova moved into the pew before his, but leaned against the railing instead. He was determined to show Rand that it was he who held the true power on this ground. "What can I do for you, Captain?"

Rand thought carefully for a moment, then said, "I'm not apologizing for throwing you in the brig. You interfered in what was a United Earth Force matter, far as I'm concerned. Conversely, I'm not expecting an apology from you either. You're a man of firm convictions, and I can respect that. I can understand why you did what you did, giving that boy sanctuary, even if I don't agree with it. So what I'm saying is, I guess we'll agree to disagree…this one time."

"This one time," Bova repeated.

Rand nodded. "Do it again, and the NCA is gonna have a lot of questions as to what happened to their missing Diviner." The tone was light, but Bova knew Rand wasn't altogether joking about it. He didn't think Rand would ever go so far as to space him, but the point was well made.

"Well, all veiled threats aside, Captain…what can I do for you?" Bova said again. Part of his training as a Diviner was in the field of clinical psychology. One had to understand people's motivations for their sins, in order to help them more assuredly. Bova knew how Rand felt about the aid he had given to the Calvorian youth, Thara, and the captain wasn't one to repeat himself. Bova was also aware the beginning of their discussion was a mere preamble to get to the real matter. Rand rested his arms on the back of the pew in front of him, clasping his fingers together as he leaned forward. "With everything that's happened over the past twenty-four hours…the revelation of another universe existing beside ours, the crew being assimilated by the Borg, and their 'salvation' through Q…well, I guess I just wanted to have a sort of philosophical chat with you."

Bova bowed his head slightly. "Yes. We've all seen the face of evil today, and even one who finally acted out of a type of benevolence wasn't much better." Bova glanced behind him, past the altar covered in white drapery, to the large silver infinity symbol which hung on the wall behind the altar. The symbol stood for the never-ending infinity of the All, and the universe in which this abiding power—referred to as God in so many Earth religions—resided in all of its mysterious providence.

Bova looked back at Rand. "Days like today do press even my faith to the brink, Captain. However, I manage to maintain it because of the proof I've seen within my own life, of the existence of something greater, someone looking out for us, especially in the times when we may think we don't need someone looking out for us. But what about you, Captain? I've always been curious as to why you don't believe…in God, Yahweh, Allah, Vishnu, what have you. Why don't you believe?"

Rand exhaled. "It's a long story, Diviner."

Bova chuckled lightly and smiled. "You're on my turf, Captain. I have all the time in the world to listen…"

Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: To explore strange, new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before!

–Captain Picard

This is the way the story began; with the end of a long war and the hope for a lasting peace. This was the year we made enemies into allies and set the stage for a new era of peace to begin. This is the tale of how the human race began to stake its claim among the stars. This is the tale of—The Reign.

–Travis Rand