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'Captain Kirk,' Picard said, standing up as the door to his Ready Room hissed closed. 'Welcome to the Enterprise-E...'

'Thank you,' Captain Kirk said, indicating the slender Ensign in the yellow tunic behind him. 'This is Ensign Chekov, my Navigator. With your permission, I'll ask him to wait outside...'

'Of course,' Picard said, Kirk nodding at Chekov.

'Thank you, Chekov.'

'Aye, Keptin,' Chekov said, turning on his heel and marching out, the door hissing shut behind them.

'Please,' Picard said, gesturing to the seat in front of his desk. 'I'm sure that you have...a lot of questions, but I need to show you something...'

He handed him a PADD, Kirk hesitating for a second before taking it.

'Starfleet service history for Kirk, James T. (Captain). Born 2233, Iowa, Earth. Died...2371, Veridian III...'

Putting down the PADD, he stood up and crossed to the viewport, staring out into space.

'Okay, okay,' Kirk said, picking up the PADD again, scrolling through it. 'This isn't right. My father died onboard the Kelvin when Nero...oh...'

'What is it?' Picard asked.

'I...have an idea. Can you search your computer records for a Romulan named Nero...?'

'...of course. Computer, search library files for Romulan citizens named Nero...'

'There are 33,7650 entries relating to that name. Please restate inquiry...'

'Computer, search library files for Nero and the Romulan Mining vessel Narada...,' Kirk said.

'Working. One entry found. Captain Nero, commander of the Romulan Mining Narada. Retired from service in 2387...'

'Thank you,' Kirk said, sitting back. '...alternate timeline. Dammit...'

'Excuse me?' Picard said.

'I know it sounds crazy,' Kirk said. 'But, I have some experience with this. When...where...I come from, Nero came from the future and destroyed the USS Kelvin, setting off a chain of events that created an alternate timeline. At least that was the theory. We never had any concrete proof until now...'

'Would you consent to a medical examination?' Picard asked. 'It may shed some light on this mystery...'

'...very well...'

###################

'I've run a full range of medical scans,' Dr Crusher said, closing her tricorder. 'His DNA is very close to what we have on file, apart from some minor differences. Medically, I cannot dispute the fact that he may be from an alternate reality...'

'Thank you, Doctor,' Picard said, turning back to Kirk. 'Let's say that I believe you. What happened before you encountered us...?'

'We were returning from a diplomatic mission from Asa 9,' Kirk said, when we detected some sort of spatial distortion. I we can find it, it might help to prove our theory...'

'Very well,' Picard said and Kirk pulled out his communicator, flipping it open.

'Kirk to Enterprise...'

'Sulu here...'

'Mr Sulu, send over the co-ordinates of that distortion we recorded...'

'Aye, Captain...'

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any reviews, comments or constructive criticisms are very welcome.