Pt 11: Bureaucracy and Busybodies

Harry's Bajoran comm badge, which he had been assigned as part of the DS9 Constabulary, had been registered so that it worked on Earth. Harry had actually been fascinated at the process. Because of the sheer number of comm badges in use it was not as straightforward as it had been on DS9.

While the vast majority of people didn't have one, Starfleet Headquarters was on Earth and so there were badges in the thousands. It didn't help that Starfleet personnel could live literally anywhere and commute to work no matter where it was via transport. This meant that any badge could reach any other badge.

In order to simplify it, most badges were on subnetworks. Members of a single ships crew were on the network for their ship, allowing simplified hailing. People who worked in Federation Headquarters were on the subnetwork for that. Starfleet Academy had a network as did other discreet entities.

It was all managed by a interlinked series of satellites that were in low Earth orbit in order to prevent them from interfering with space traffic.

When Crewman Davis, a pretty young ensign assigned to teach him how to get around on Earth, had been explaining it, Harry had suddenly twigged. "You mean a GPS system!"

"GPS System?" she asked curiously.

Harry was surprised. GPS was well known in his time – it was something he had to learn about when he had started living mostly Muggle. "GPS. On Earth, in my time, it was a way for almost any receiver on Earth to tell you where you were. There were ground stations and satellites over the entire planet. Global Position System … Global Positioning System – one of those. Anyway, with our wireless phone system, you could also send your position to anything it was programmed for." He grinned. "It my time, you could use it to find the closest pizza place no matter where you were."

Maria considered that and then shrugged. "I guess it's like that. Wasn't that limited to Military use? From my studies of history, the early location satellites were all military."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "I know that Military level access was much more precise – you could locate latitude, longitude, and elevation down to an incredibly precise level, but the consumer devices were made more general or even slightly off on purpose – no one wanted to have criminals or terrorists or Jihadists using consumer GPS devices as targeting systems for bombs. But it was precise enough for most uses."

Maria asked curiously, "What's a Jihadist?"

Harry was surprised – it had become a common theme in Muggle media in his time.. "Religious extremists – Muslim. They were the worst – or perhaps the most literal and passionate – of the religious extremists. People who felt it was their duty to defend their beliefs by killing off those that disagreed with them. There were even extremist Christians who were pretty casual about killing non-believers. I think that the only religion which didn't have those who used that excuse were the Jews. Usually Jews who were extremists were just more open about the fact that any killing they did was less about religion and more about politics."

Maria was horrified. "That sounds awful! And the governments just let this happen?"

Harry considered it. "Some. Most governments tried to prevent it, but there were governments run by theists that were all for it, even if they tried to hide behind a civilized façade. Or there were reason which prevented the moderates from stopping it. Iran was like that. The average Iranian was actually a pretty decent person, and even much of their government was actually pretty reasonable. But there were religious leaders who had political power who advocated for strict adherence to 11th Century interpretation of Islamic beliefs. The word assassin actually comes from that sect which broke away. The whole concept of killing your enemies by programming young men into assassins is, in my opinion, a corruption of the basic religious texts. Islamic beliefs, just like Christian beliefs, were actually based on peace with oneself through submission to God's will. But politicians have never been averse to using any belief as a basis of conquest."

Maria paused thoughtfully and said, "It's strange that your Earth is so different from ours. I wonder why that is."

Harry shrugged. "Likely it was because the overwhelming source of conflict was between political entities. In my world, communism falling in Russia left a vacuum for reasons to fight. In your world, Communism fell because the Augments started taking over. The Augments were indoctrinated using political beliefs instead of religious ones. Khan, for example, was from a Sikh background. Sikhism is probably the most non-violent religion there is at its heart. 900 years ago, from this time, it taught that all were equal. That the concept of superiority of self was a fallacy in the view of the Supreme force which created us. And yet Khan took over Asia and the Middle East because, from his viewpoint, he and his fellow Augments were born to rule. Not a very Sikh view of the world."

Maria commented, "He was actually the least oppressive of the Augments, though he was a tyrant all the same."

Harry replied, "That may be true. But his takeover of the east led to World War III. I'm going to meet a King of the United Kingdom which doesn't exist as it did in my time; a King whose forebears had to live in exile for better than a hundred years because London, which used to be very much like my London, was blown up." Harry sighed and looked off in contemplation. "It will be painful to visit England and know that the nation I loved, the one I fought and died for, is a shallow mockery of what it used to be."

Maria looked at their passenger, and saw that he was truly filled with grief over what had happened centuries earlier (from her perspective). Than something he said twigged. "What do you mean fought and died for? You seem alive to me."

Harry was pulled out of his introspection and looked back at her. "Oh. Yeah. Well – I got better." But that was all he would say of that.

Harry was on the observation deck as they traveled in from the outer edges of the Sol system. While they no longer under warp power, they were still moving at a very high rate of speed.

Harry asked Maria, who was with him on the Observation Deck, "Why are we passing so close to Saturn? While it's beautiful, isn't it out of the way?"

She smiled. "Tradition. Also, there are scanners on the moons throughout Sol which help Starfleet to correlate system traffic. If we were coming from the other direction, we would have passed Neptune instead."

Harry nodded. "Does anyone ever come in from the above or below the plane of rotation for the system?"

Maria considered that. "You know? I have never heard of anyone doing it that way. Because any other orbital path might intersect with something else, there are no real satellites or installations up or down, and so all traffic is pretty much on the plane."

Harry nodded, contemplating that. Suddenly, there was a beep. "Bridge to Davis."

Maria tapped her badge. "Davis here."

"Inform our guest that we will be at Mars in an hour. He will be transported down to Utopia Planetia and then be returned to the Sutherland before we then travel to Spacedock at Earth."

Maria answered. "Understood." She tapped her badge and looked at Harry. "Are you ready?"

Harry nodded. "Let's go get my elves. I'll need their help when we get there."

Harry and the two elves were greeted by a Lt. Commander Wilkinson. "Welcome, Sir Harry, Dobby and Winky, to Utopia Planetia."

"Thank you, Commander," Harry answered for all of them. "You have a cargo bay or other location for me to unload?"

He nodded. "Commander Sisko and Chief O'Brien gave me instruction on what was needed. Right this way."

Harry and the elves followed the man until they reached a set of doors. The man pushed a few buttons and they then entered a large bay. Harry looked around. "This will work." He said to the officer, "Give us some room?"

The man nodded and stepped back near the wall.

Harry took his bag off and reached in to pull out the shrunken trunk. He handed this to Dobby who set it down and then snapped his fingers, returning it to its proper size. He then opened the lid.

Harry watched as Winky went down into the trunk and passed items to Dobby and Harry who would either place them in a pile or put them in various locations. Shrunken items were returned to their original size. A few of them were quite large.

When they were done, the storage area had a collection of items spaced around it. He looked at Wilkinson when he was done. "You can take it from here I assume?"

Wilkonson, who had been told but had been skeptical, gathered himself. "Yes. This works out well. I'll start having my people go over these things starting today."

Harry nodded and, once the two elves stood near, tapped his badge. "This is Sir Harry to the Sutherland. We're done and ready."

"Standby for transport."

Harry and the elves were soon back on the Sutherland, on their way to Spacedock.

Harry was back in the observation lounge. He was actually awed to see the large structure hanging over Earth. "Woah. That thing is huge."

Crewman Maria Davis smirked. "Yes. It is also called Starbase 1 – though most Starfleet people call it Spacedock."

Harry looked at it and asked, "Where are the docking pylons or the docking ports? I don't see any place to park a ship here."

Maria just said, "Watch."

Harry did so. He was then shocked. Two absolutely huge sections of the object in front of them started sliding out of the way and Harry understood that they would be inside of the monstrosity. He looked at Maria, who was still smirking, and said, "Now thatis a space dock."

Maria nodded. Her badge chirped. "Ops to Crewman Davis."

"Go ahead."

"Please take our guests to the docking port. The Captain will see him off from there."

"Understood."

Although less formal, Captain Forester was quite definite about sending Harry off properly. "It has been an honor to have you aboard, Sir Harry."

"The honor has been mine, Captain. You have a fine ship." Captain Forester nodded. "Permission to disembark."

"Permission granted."

Harry was led out of the docking area to the large lounge which was commonly used for family or friends waiting for returning crew. Quite a number of Sutherland crew families had someone there waiting.

Maria, still on duty, looked around. "Over there."

Harry nodded and, ignoring those looking curiously at him or his elves, he followed her over to the man that had been described to her. "Lt. Henderson?"

The man, who looked fairly non-descript, gave a nod. "This is Sir Harry Potter. I was told that you would be the one who would direct him."

The man put on a friendly-looking smile and said, "Certainly." He looked at Harry and said, "Come with me, Mr. Potter."

Although he hid it fairly well, Henderson's smile reminded him far too much of people who worked at the Ministry under Fudge: The helpful-seeming worker who really wanted to kill or control you for their own gain.

Harry turned to Maria and said, "Crewman Davis. I wish to commend you for your exemplary assistance during my first trip to this new Earth. Your assistance was invaluable and your bearing quite professional. Should we run into each other in the future, I hope that you will remember my kindly."

Maria, who had been feeling a bit put off because of the overly polite but dismissive nature of the man they had met, smiled in appreciation. "That will be very easy to do, Sir Harry. I hope that you enjoy your stay on Earth." Her nod to Henderson was far less friendly, though it was polite. She turned and walked back to the Sutherland's docking point.

Harry looked at Henderson and said, "I can certainly go with you. But there is someone who wished to meet me here." Looking for it, Harry noticed the extremely short burst of anger hidden in the man's expression, though he tried to look casual.

"And who is that, Sir Harry?" Henderson asked in a casual tone.

"That would be them, I believe." He pointed. Henderson looked and saw three men walking directly toward them, each of them dressed in more traditional clothing than most every other person who was visible.

The three men stopped in front of them. The one in the center said, "Sir Harry Potter?"

Harry nodded. "I am he."

The man smiled. "Good. I am William Windsor, here on behalf of my father."

Harry's eyes widened momentarily. He gave a deep bow, as did Dobby, even as Winky dropped into a passable curtsy (Harry had told them to act as any Human would when they met the Royal Family). "Your Royal Highness. I and my retainers are honored that you would personally come to greet us."

The man waved off the formality. "Please. My family might be hereditary Royalty, but our role is now far too ceremonial and removed from actual power for such obeisance."

Harry gave a small smile and said, "Be that as it may, Your Royal Highness, but respect for the Royal family is far too ingrained in me for me to entirely ignore your status." Harry noticed a distinct look of pleased approval in those that had come with the eldest son of Charles VIII, though they weren't trying to be obvious about it.

Prince William sighed and chuckled good naturedly. "Very well. But please don't bow and scrape too much. Formality can get quite tiring."

Harry chuckled himself and nodded in agreement. "I quite agree. Your Royal Highness. I am pleased to present to you my house elves and loyal retainers, Dobby and Winky." Harry motioned toward the two.

The elves repeated their gestures of respect and said in unison, "Your Royal Highness."

The man smiled and said, "Welcome, Dobby and Winky, to our Earth. You come with the recognition of our Royal father, Charles VIII, of your right to be recognized as loyal British subjects." Prince William had somehow guessed that recognition would mean more to the elves than it would to Harry himself.

Winky blushed and let Dobby answer for them both. Dobby's voice held a tone of awe as he said, "Your Royal Highness is a Great Prince. Winky and I thank you for being recognized, and we thank your father, the Great King."

William beamed at the small beings. Harry chuckled and said, "Congratulations. You've joined a very short list of people they recognize as Great."

The Prince nodded and asked, "And who is this?"

"This is Lt. Henderson. He was assigned to assist me, I believe. Or at least I was told he was my point of contact upon my arrival."

Prince William nodded. He nodded to Henderson, who had a blank look on his face, and them motioned toward those that come with him and said, "I'd introduce them but as they are technically my guards we're supposed to ignore them so that we don't distract them from their duties of keeping an eye out." He stage whispered. "They're a bit of sticky about it and it gets quite annoying at times." Harry noted that the men were suppressing their amusement as they kept watch around the group. William spoke to Henderson. "I can take responsibility for ensuring that Sir Harry gets familiar with how to do things if you wish to go back to whatever your normal duties are."

Henderson said, "I'm sorry, sir," Harry's face took on a look of offensive disapproval and Henderson changed that, "I mean, Your Royal Highness. But Mr. Potter," at that William's face showed disapproval, "Sir Harry, needs to go through a formal Security interview. It might take some time. So perhaps you might wish to withdraw and we can send him on his way when we are done."

Prince William Windsor was having none of that. "I do understand, given his history, but I have been tasked by my father to welcome him in his Royal Name and We," Harry instantly recognized the Royal We there, "will accompany him to ensure he is not unduly treated or inconvenienced. If necessary, We will act as his advocate and sponsor."

Henderson took a moment to think about that and finally nodded in acknowledgement. Harry thought he detected a slight attitude of resignation in that, as though this was an unexpected hindrance to whatever Henderson wanted. In that moment he was glad that it was a Royal and not some functionary sent to meet them.

As Sloan, using the fictitious though officially listed identity of Lt. George Henderson, led the dimensional travelers and their Royal escort, he almost cursed himself for posing as a lowly lieutenant rather than someone with more authority. He had wanted this arrival to be lulled into the sense that he would be facing normal treatment for any visitor. He also wondered how in the hell the British Royal family had become involved as he had not seen any communications which would account for it. Later investigation would find the involvement of Dr. Julian Bashir being instrumental in this as Bashir, being British as well, had communicated directly to the Royal Household about Harry's arrival and expected visit.

Harry went with the Lieutenant, the Prince and his men following. Walking in front of a Royal was a little offputting, but William's guards didn't want an unknown walking behind the man. Harry assumed that these had some briefing on his abilities and so would not want an unknown to be in a position to cause harm. Having noticed, and acknowledging the two guards with a nod, Harry didn't insist on giving a deferential position.

He was first led into a medical bay. Henderson turned. "First of all, with your arrival from an alternate universe, we wish to ensure that there are no diseases or pathogens which might be damaging or unknown here."

Harry considered that. He turned to the Doctor who was patiently waiting and said, "Hello, Doctor ….?"

"Dr. Smith," the man said in a friendly manner.

"Dr. Smith, have you received the medical report on myself and my retainers from Deep Space 9?"

The man went to his computer and called up the records. He looked briefly and said, "There is very little there in details. But most of the tests needed were done, according to those records."

Harry nodded. "And this is a standard medical exam, covered under Doctor/Patient confidentiality?"

Dr. Smith smiled and said, "Of course. Only of there is a threat covered under my oaths will any information be passed along. Details as to your physiology and any medical condition is considered sacrosanct." He turned and said, "Lt. Henderson is it?"

"Yes?" the man asked.

"Can you and the rest wait outside? He is entitled to medical privacy."

Hendersonlooked like he was about to protest. William cut him off. "I believe that is a capital idea. Medical ethics would dictate such to be the case. Let's go outside." William then waited next to the door for Henderson to exit before one of his guards followed, then William, then the final guard.

Harry looked at the door and said to himself, "That man is … I don't know."

Smith, who had heard, laughed. "He's the Security type. They always want to know everything." Harry nodded in response.

Smith did a few scans and asked a number of questions, none of which seemed out of place. He took blood and analyzed it and then allowed Harry to watch the remaining potions of the samples be destroyed.

Finally he said, "Well, you're clean. Dr. Bashir did a good job. You and your people are healthy and there seems to be nothing you are carrying. If you have problems, feel free to visit any medical center."

"Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate your assistance and discretion."

"Just doing my job, Mr. Potter." He turned to the two elves. "And you two, from what I can tell, are healthy. I appreciated the chance to examine a new species. I will say that your physiology is most similar to the physiologically of the El-Aurians, though they are not the same at all. As there is no special warnings for El-Aurians as regards possible diseases or immunities, I have nothing to add for you. But I should warn you that what might be innocuous to humans could be dangerous for you, or vise-versa. Please be cautious of ensuring that if you feel ill for any reason please see a doctor who is familiar with xenobiology if possible. I would not want to see such a wonderful new people to the Federation become ill."

Dobby and Winky cogitated for a moment and then Winky said, "Thank you, Doctor. We will be careful." Dobby nodded in agreement.

Dr. Smith smiled happily and then sent them out.

Henderson and William and the guards looked up when they came out. Harry said, "Clean bill of health – Dr. Bashir back on DS9 did a good job of immunizations and there were no surprises."

Henderson nodded. "Okay," he paused before he could say Mr. again, "Sir Harry. We have another matter to talk about." He motioned down the hall. "I would prefer we do this in a private area."

Harry shrugged and looked at Prince William, who looked interested. Harry and the rest followed the man to a conference room. Once they were inside, Henderson enacted a privacy mode. He asked, "Prince William? Are you familiar with Sir Harry's status as a Wizard?"

William replied, "I was briefed quite thoroughly, at Sir Harry's insistence, by the report from Commander Benjamin Sisko of Deep Space 9. The fact that he and his people are magical matters less to Me and My Royal father than the fact that they are British. We are also far more interested in the fact that Sir Harry is a decorated hero, recognized by the dimensional alternate to our own Royal ancestress, Queen Elizabeth the Second."

Hendersonnodded, though he seemed put out for some reason. "That is good then." He turned to Harry. "From the reports that Federation Security has received and passed on to the United Earth government, you have the ability to transport things without normal scanners being able to discern it. You have two choices really. You can remove what you need from your subspace bag and leave it locked up here until you plan to return to Deep Space 9 or you can bring out everything you have in the bag for inspection to ensure that there is nothing dangerous you are bringing to Earth."

Harry was taken aback. "I will admit the idea of smuggling was not something I ever considered doing. Everything I have is something that I brought with me from my own Earth, except for some items that DS9 personnel asked me to deliver to Earth. Much of it is enchanted with stasis spells to ensure that it is useable when retrieved." He looked at William. "Your Royal Highness? Your thoughts?"

William considered for a long moment. "While the fact that you are a Knight of the Thistle and were awarded the George Cross means that you are entirely trustworthy as far as my family is concerned, we do not actually control the planet or really any part of it significantly outside of our Royal holdings returned to us after the United Earth government was formed. I honestly can see the need for caution in their eyes."

Harry nodded and turned again. "Dobby? Winky? Should I bring a portion or allow inspection of everything?"

Dobby said, "Winky and I will talk." Harry nodded and then watched as Dobby cast a spell. Everyone there saw them speaking but none heard what they were saying or could even read the lips of the two elves. Harry smirked at Henderson's perturbed look (very mild) and William's fascination.

Harry said, "It's a privacy spell." William nodded with interest.

The two elves stopped talking and Dobby snapped his fingers again. "Master Harry? We do not like the idea of things not being with us. You must allow the inspection as long as those looking are careful."

Harry sighed and said, "I guessed that would be your advice and, unfortunately, I agree. This is going to be a nightmare." He turned to Henderson. "Do you have a large, empty area?"

"How big?" he asked.

Harry sighed. "Consider that we packed enough for any eventuality in any type of society including food, drink, seeds, barter items, construction materials, bees, medicines, potions, ingredients, modes of transportation, books, records – it's a huge amount. And I will need to follow along and remove the stasis spells and then put them back after inspection as each separate stored item or group of items is scanned."

Henderson considered that for a long moment. "I will have to check to see if any cargo bays of sufficient size are free." He went to a computer panel in the room and entered his access code.

William looked at Harry and said, "It sounds like you were prepared for anything."

Harry shrugged. "I guessed that it was a one way trip when I jumped. My best friend liked making lists. And she was very concerned for me. I had money to spend and I spent it."

William asked curiously, "How much did you spend?"

Harry smiled and said, "Tens of Millions of Pounds Sterling. And I left my friends and family wealthy with what I left them."

William was taken aback. "You had that much money?"

Harry winced slightly. "Sort of. There was a loophole – it should have been closer to 12 and a half million but that was an artificially set value to the gold I actually spent. Originally my money was in a coin used in magical society called the Galleon. Although it had a significant amount of gold, the exchange rate was set by law at 5 Pounds to 1 Galleon. Her Majesty gave me special dispensation to ignore the rates set by the Magical portion of Her Government."

William was impressed. "If you spent that much, you must have a huge amount of items."

"Well, yes. But consider that I had a bit over a year to outfit myself. I paid a premium price for some things." He smiled. "I spent about 2 million on alcoholic drinks alone. Wines, spirits, liquors, beers. Many imported. Most bought by the caseload. It was a bit of a shocker that in this time most societies drink snythehol. I mean the whole reason to drink alcohol is for the buzz! I understand that such things were chiefly used to effectively sterilize water when you diluted it or to effectively store the product of your farming, but it stayed around because people liked to get drunk! The whole drinking for the taste thing? Highly overrated. Besides, snythehol just tastes wrong."

William seemed entirely amused as Harry's rant.

Henderson had come back from the computer. "We have a cargo bay that is often used for shipping large amounts of supplies. You can follow me."

Harry nodded and then said, "Do you have the proper specialists?"

Henderson asked, "What do you mean?"

"Biologists, medical people, entymologists – the people who actually deal with the things that I have brought. Someone who can scan seeds and say with certainty what they are."

Henderson sighed. "I will start gathering a group of people who are qualified."

Harry nodded. "I'll unload everything and then you can bring them in. While I'm not trying to advertise my abilities, I don't want anyone to claim that I was misleading anyone."

Henderson nodded.

In truth, Harry was concerned that no one take advantage of what he brought without his permission. Getting people who were specialists ensured that it was known far and wide enough that no one could "disappear" him, his elves, or what he had. That was one reason he given a Cardassian products of his own magic. No one could then could take him and claim that he never existed.

Garek was his non-Federation insurance that someone would notice him missing. The Cardassian was persistent enough to run it down and discreet enough to not get himself disappeared as well. Harry's quarters on DS9 was another insurance policy as no one could possibly explain an expanded suite if it were found and he was gone.

A/N: Does he actually show and how can he get out of it?