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X

The Future…Why Not?

Will Riker was worried as he followed the raucous sounds of the strange music booming throughout the community village. The villagers didn't seem perturbed by it despite the volume, they'd probably heard it many times before.

Like everyone else, Enterprise's first officer was horrified when the Borg had made their journey back into the past, he had been worried by the unusual changes in the Phoenix, and he was worried about where the legendary warp ship's pilot and engineer was because no-one had found him. He was worried about the presence of the Borg and he was just as worried Captain Picard had refused to let them return with them to the Enterprise.

Riker had fought the Borg before; both from the bridge of the Enterprise D before the Duras sisters destroyed the ship, and on the surface of Oniharka 3 when Lore had taken control of a group of Borg thanks to that emotion chip, but he was even more concerned about his captain.

He was angry with Starfleet for dismissing Picard's experience with the Borg, especially since the Enterprise-E's presence had given Starfleet the means to blow that Cube to pieces before they chased the Borg sphere back in time, but now he was worried about Picard's mental wellbeing to say nothing of where Cochrane might be.

First Contact had to happen, and as he looked around the village for the elusive scientist and Deanna, who had gone missing herself since most of the Starfleet presence had been sent to protect and repair the Phoenix (and give Geordi the time he needed to study the warp ship to explain the weird systems inside; he couldn't understand why the Phoenix was so different although he wondered if Cochrane had been experimenting with a new technology that wasn't included in the original schematics; it seemed illogical, but it was the only explanation he was able to muster right now), and now he was looking for her.

Riker wasn't worried the people in the village might have tried something, although it had crossed his mind; Deanna was capable of defending herself and she was armed, like everyone else on the away team, but Riker doubted anyone would go that far; with the damage and the dead bodies lying around, it would make more sense if the people here attended to their own matters without killing some stranger. The music that was booming through the air was incongruous and he followed it like a moth to the flame.

Riker was surprised when he saw Deanna slumped at a table in a rundown bar that looked like it had been made from prefabricated scrap and furnished with whatever the locals could scavenge. She wasn't alone; at the same table was a woman who looked familiar in some way, but he couldn't place her.

The loud music - Riker had a feeling it was called rock n roll - was coming from here. Deanna was so close to it he was amazed she was even conscious.

"Deanna!," Riker called, but his voice was drowned out by the noise called music. "...Deanna! Deanna!"

Frustrated Riker went to the device playing the music. He ripped out the power lead.

Deanna and the woman, unseen by Riker at the time, had both been turning when they heard his voice. The woman's eyes widened in horror. "NO! Don't touch that-!"

At the same time, Deanna also yelled out, "No! No, don't turn it off that…"

But they were both too late. Riker had succeeded in yanking out the cable….and a glass bottle smashed, shattering into little sharp pieces, making Riker jump back in shock…. Only to see a tall man wearing a cap on backwards.

Riker frowned, recognising him.

"Who is this jerk? And who told him he could turn off my music?" The man demanded with a slurred voice.

Deanna smirked. "Will Riker. ...Zefram Cochrane."

Cochrane looked Riker up and down even as Riker was surprised this man was Zefram Cochrane. "Is he a friend of yours?"

Deanna nodded, "Yes."

"Husband?"

Cochrane leered down at her. "Good!"

"No, Zef, you are not marrying her and I don't think she's even remotely interested that way in you," the woman sitting next to Deanna spoke up, gazing seriously at the scientist.

"Aw, c'mon, Lea."

"What, Zef? You can't deny you're not a ladies' man, right?" The woman, Lea, smirked back at him.

Cochrane snorted before he turned back to Deanna and picked up another bottle. "Now this, Deena…," he began in a less flirty manner than before; clearly the woman's retort had gotten to him and made him back off.

"Deanna," Deanna sighed with exasperation.

Cochrane ignored her as he poured them a shot, and he even gave the woman some. "This ...is the good stuff."

The woman looked into her glass. "Are you sure this is the good stuff, Zef?"

"Yeah, of course. Why d'you ask?"

"Because you are pissed!"

Riker decided it was time to get some control over the conversation. "Doctor Cochrane…," he began but Cochrane stilled him with a glare while he poured the shots.

The woman turned to Riker in surprise. "Doctor Cochrane? Wow, it has been a while since anyone's called Zef that, and I mean a while!"

Cochrane held up his glass in a toast. "To the Phoenix. ...May she rest in peace."

"Oh, don't be so negative, Zef," the woman chided while she followed Cochrane and Deanna in raising their glasses and knocking them back…. Making Deanna the woman choke while Cochrane pumped his arms to get rid of the feeling

The scientist picked up the bottle and squinted at the label. "Okay, that wasn't so good." He threw the bottle over his shoulder and didn't flinch as it shattered like the last one.

The woman glared at him as he walked off. "Next time look at the damn labels before you serve us petrol!" She leapt out of her seat and went off looking for another bottle presumably.

"Will," Deanna whispered hoarsely as she could still taste the alcohol and the burn in her throat. "I think we have to tell them both the truth."

Riker was instantly puzzled. "Hold on, what do you mean them? And we can't tell them the truth. If we tell the truth the timeline…"

"Timeline!" Deanna yelped in annoyance. "This is no time to argue about time. We don't have the time! ...What was I saying?" She asked, squinting at him.

Riker's eyes twinkled evilly and he grinned at her in surprise. "You're drunk."

Deanna gasped in surprise. "I am not."

"You are," Riker smirked.

"Look," Deanna ground out patiently. "He wouldn't even talk to me unless I had a drink with him. And then it took three shots of something called tequila just to find out he was the one we're looking for. And I've spent the last twenty minutes trying to keep his hands off me. So don't go criticising my counselling techniques." She started prodding him in the chest for emphasis.

"Sorry!" Riker snickered like a little schoolboy.

"It's a primitive culture. I'm just trying to blend in."

"You're blending all right," Riker replied.

"I've already told him our cover story. He didn't believe me, and neither did Lea."

"That woman? Yes…who is she?"

Deanna turned to him, looking seriously at him. "You are not going to believe this, Will. Her name is Azalea, Azalea Cochrane. She is Zefram Cochrane's sister and a fellow physicist. We were chatting in between the time her brother kept trying to put his hands on me!"

Riker stared at her in disbelief and almost didn't hear the last bit. "Cochrane's sister?" His mind whirled as he tried to remember if the scientist even had a sister. But it came up blank. "I don't remember Cochrane having a sister. In fact, I thought all of his relatives were dead by the end of the war."

"Yes, that's what I thought as well, but it is true, Will. I sensed the truth from her. She is definitely Zefram's sister. She helped him build the Phoenix, and she wants the launch to go through."

Riker processed the information thoughtfully. The discovery Cochrane had a sister working with him was a surprise, but why wasn't she mentioned in history? Quickly he shook that off for now as it was something that could be debated later. Right now they had more pressing concerns while Picard and the others were left fighting the Borg. "We're running out of time. Now if we tell them the truth do you think they can both be able to handle it?"

"Lea, perhaps; she wasn't as drunk as her brother, but Zefram himself….If you're looking for my professional opinion as ship's Counselor, ...he's nuts."

Riker sighed as his views of Zefram Cochrane were taking a battering as they were acquainted with the reality of the man. "I'll be sure to note that in my log."

Suddenly the jukebox sprung back into life; Cochrane had just plugged the lead back in and now he was dancing drunkenly to the music. Riker, flinching at the volume, nonetheless tried to dance his head to it…. Only for Deanna to pass out, making Riker facepalm in irritation while he tried to ignore the way Cochrane gyrated to the music. It was embarrassing - and more than a little disheartening - to see this hero of the Federation. He hoped it wasn't a sign of things to come.

The sound of a glass bottle being placed on the tabletop made him jump. Turning Riker saw the exasperated face of Azalea Cochrane. Now they were sitting at the table, he could see the resemblance to Zefram Cochrane.

Azalea sent her brother an exasperated look. "He's at it again? I dunno how anyone in their right mind would even like this music."

"No, it's not so bad," Riker lied and he watched her as she poured herself a shot. He noticed she didn't seem to be as big a drinker as her brother. Perhaps that would help them if they were going to have to tell the Cochranes the truth, he hoped one of them was at least sensible - not to mention sober.

But he was confused. Where did she come from?

Lea snorted. "Liar. I saw the way you flinched when he turned that godforsaken jukebox back on." She downed her shot.

"Are you really his brother?" The question was out of Riker's mouth before he could stop it, and he winced at how rude it was. But Lea nodded with a laugh, even as she sent Zefram a fond look.

"He sure is. But why do you care, and how come you called my brother 'Doctor Cochrane'?" Lea asked, her tone curious rather than defensive. "D'you know Zef or something?"

"Isn't that what he is?" Riker wasn't sure what the problem was, and he was unsure how best he should reply.

"He is. I mean, we're both physicists who got our doctorates years back, but it's just been a long time since we were referred to by those titles; even when Zef, Lily and I got into the silo, nobody called us doctors, they just asked if we were scientists who could defuse the ICBM in the silo," Lea explained.

"I see," Riker replied. "So how is it you two are drinking?"

"In my case, its easier to go with the flow than feel uncomfortable instead of just sitting bored," Lea said with a mirthless smile, but it disappeared as she turned to Zefram with a look of unhidden anguish and concern that took Riker by surprise. "Zefram, on the other hand…. I dunno if I should say; I mean, you're a stranger, and speaking of…. Where did you come from? I mean, I hope you don't think I'm being rude, but how is it you and Deanna are even here? I've never seen either of you before."

Remembering how Deanna had told him how neither Cochrane had believed their cover story, Riker had problems thinking about what was plausible enough for this woman. As far as he knew, Azalea Cochrane did not exist in history, so what happened?

X

"Let me make sure that I understand you correctly …Commander," Zefram Cochrane chuckled a few hours later, a cynical chuckle leaving his mouth every few seconds as he paced slowly towards Riker. He and Azalea were no longer at the bar. They were out, right above the Phoenix silo, listening to the rather weird story given to them by their visitors. Cochrane found the story unbelievable and comedic, really and nothing to be taken seriously at all. "A group of cybernetic creatures from the future have travelled back through time to enslave the human race, and you're here to stop them."

Riker's open and bearded face wore a smile on it. "That's right."

Azalea laughed as hard as her brother did, but her eyes were full of disappointment. "You have to admit your story is original; I'm just disappointed you're not writing sci-fi right now."

"Sci-fi?"

"Science fiction," Azalea replied, her eyes crinkling at how these people didn't recognise the term. But any chance at saying anything else was drowned out by Zefram's cynical laugh. "Hot damn, you're heroic. Ha, ha, ha." Riker's smile faded a little bit. Getting Cochrane, either of them, to listen to their story had been a long, difficult task. First, they'd needed to give Cochrane a shot to clear up his drunkenness without his sister noticing anything, although she had been surprised by how quickly he had gotten over it, and then they'd had to explain everything in minute detail. The Cochrane sibling's reactions were mixed; where Azalea had listened with quiet scepticism to the tale, Zefram had laughed. Their reactions were hardly encouraging, but they had a secret weapon.

"We're gonna prove it to you. Geordi!" He turned and called to the engineer, who was crouched next to a primitive but effective telescope.

Geordi had a smile on his face even as he peered through the telescope lens - one of the advantages of his new ocular implants over the old VISOR was while they were capable of sorting out visual stimuli better than the VISOR, he could also take enjoyment in looking through a lens like this. It hadn't been difficult aligning the telescope to precisely pick out the Enterprise from above - with his tricorder, the job was simple, and there was something wonderful about using such a primitive instrument in this manner.

"There she is. She's beautiful," Geordi grinned before he turned to the Cochranes. "All right. Take a look."

As he stepped away both Azalea and Zefram stepped forwards.

"What did you do?" Azalea asked.

"Take a look," Geordi repeated with a smile, unwilling to spoil the surprise. Zefram meanwhile was chuckling to himself even though he was just as curious about what this man had been doing with his telescope. "Well, well, well. What have we got here? I love a good….. peep show," his voice trailed off as he looked into the lens and his eyes caught the sight of the great silver-white ship in orbit.

Cochrane's mouth parted in a gasp as he took in the ship's distant but extremely clear saucer and the secondary hull and the two warp nacelles.

"Zefram, what is it?" Azalea whispered, seeing his reaction.

"I….I," Cochrane stuttered before he pulled away, blinking at the telescope; it had to be an illusion, a mirage, some sort of trick.

"Zef, you're beginning to scare me. What is it? What is going on?"

"It's a trick. That's it, it's gotta be a trick!" Zefram snapped out of his delusion to look up, first at his sister and then towards the visitors. "Ha, ha, ha. That's a trick. Ha, ha, ha. How'd you do that?" He asked after examining the telescope and coming to a realisation. La Forge exchanged an amused glance at Riker. Azalea, already scared by her brother's silence, interpreted the amusement for mockery.

"What's so funny?" She demanded.

Sensing that she had become annoyed, La Forge backpedalled. "I wasn't laughing at him. And it's your telescope. Your brother is looking at our ship."

"That's our ship. The Enterprise." Deanna's voice was full of desperation to get them both to understand and accept their story.

The Cochrane siblings looked at one another in surprise - and they dashed back to take a peek through the telescope again. And they predictably got in the way of each other.

"No, get out of the way, Lea!" Zefram said.

"Me first. Zef," Lea said a moment later before she pulled back from the telescope, "that ship… its warp nacelles, they're identical to those on the Phoenix! Remember how we made a plan to study the warp field through different mediums. They might be right, they could be from the future," she sent an awestruck look at the Starfleet officers.

Cochrane had taken the opportunity to look through the telescope lens. "Yeah, you're right. Looks like nacelles might be the way to go after all," he muttered thoughtfully. He pulled away from the lens and looked up. "And Lily's up there right now?"

"That's right."

Azalea stood up and looked desperately at Riker and the others. "Can we talk to her?"

Riker sighed and shook his head. "No. We've lost contact with the Enterprise…. We think those cybernetic aliens are onboard the Enterprise right now."

"What, how did that happen?"

"We don't know. But their presence on the Enterprise makes it even more important you listen to us, both of you," Riker said, his gaze making it clear to the Cochranes he meant it.

"So, what is it you want us to do?" Zefram asked.

Azalea added, "And why is it so important? And why did you travel to this year, and this date?"

"The Borg travelled back to this point in history because of how important it is. And why is simple. Conduct your warp flight tomorrow morning just as you planned," Riker decided to answer those questions in sibling order for the moment. "Why tomorrow morning?" There was overwhelming suspicion in Cochrane's voice. Riker exchanged a glance with his officers. "Because at eleven o'clock an alien ship will begin passing through this solar system."

"Good guys," Deanna corrected. "They're on a survey mission. They have no interest in Earth. ...Too primitive."

"Oh!"

"And because they can tell we've been fighting a war, and the planet is ticking hot, they don't wanna go home and make their kids glow in the dark, right?" Azalea said cynically.

"True," Deanna nodded although she didn't know what that glow in the dark crack was. "Doctor, tomorrow morning when they detect the warp signature from your ship and realise that humans have discovered how to travel faster than light, they decide to alter their course and make first contact with Earth, right here," Riker gestured to the ground. Zefram looked at the ground he and his sister were standing on in surprise.

Azalea was no different from him. "Here?"

"Sir, it's actually over there," La Forge gestured with his head to a different spot. Azalea followed his gaze and where his head nodded towards, and she had to admit that it was a good place to land. These people really took their history seriously if they could tell you something like that so casually.

Passionately Riker began to explain, painting a picture of what was going to come, "It is one of the pivotal moments in human history, Doctor. You get to make first contact with an alien race, and after you do, everything begins to change."

La Forge added, "Your theories on warp drive allow fleets of starships to be built and mankind to start exploring the Galaxy."

"Exploring the galaxy?" Azalea Cochrane's voice was faint with shock, her eyes gleaming before she turned to her brother. "I knew our warp drive was good, but I assumed we wouldn't explore the galaxy for decades, not with Earth in its current state!"

Zefram was just shocked by what he was hearing and he was silent as he took it in. He didn't notice the suddenly worried glance his sister sent him. Azalea and Lily had spent months and months trying to get him out of his funk about the flight, how he believed it was a failure.

It had been a fight and a half to convince Zefram it would succeed, but he hadn't listened at first before logic had gotten through to him. But the attack from earlier had shattered that hope. Something told her this was not going to help. Not one bit. Deanna built up the vision of the future that was being created. Somehow Lea doubted it was going to do any good. "It unites humanity in a way no one ever thought possible when they realise they're not alone in the universe. Poverty, disease, war. They'll all be gone within the next fifty years."

"Fifty years?" Lea was impressed. "We get rid of all of that in a short time? How is that possible, especially with ECON out there, and all the other fanatics?"

"By this point, with so much of the world in ruins, many people want a new hope; ECON and people like them are a minority right now, but even in those countries, there are people who looking for something better," Deanna smiled.

Lea tried to smile back, to hope, but after a decade of seeing Earth recovering, and even before that, when the war was going on, it was hard to picture it. But she could see the logic behind the other woman's explanation. She guessed it made sense that despite their propaganda machine giving out hundreds of lies, ECON couldn't hold down the truth forever.

That was the problem with regimes like that. The more you tightened your grip, the harder it was to keep a tight lid on what everyone knew, and even in ECON there would be people that would be horrified by how far their leaders had taken the war, and it was likely there were hundreds of people over there rebuilding as best as they could while hoping there were survivors, and looking forward to the day where Earth would be rebuilt.

But was the Phoenix and this first contact strong enough to shake off their beliefs?

Azalea did not know. "But unless you make that warp flight tomorrow morning before eleven fifteen, none of it will happen," Riker whispered in Zefram's ear. Azalea stared at him, hoping that they weren't going to make things worse for Zefram in the meantime. She knew how her brother was, knew when he was passionate then nothing could keep him down, but when he was suffering from a bout of depression it was nearly impossible to get through to him.

Why did she get the horrible feeling that was going to happen now? Suddenly Azalea wished she and Lily had waited for Zefram to relax a little bit more and then conduct the warp test flight. "And you people, you're all astronauts, ... on some kind of star trek?" Zefram looked around; with a jolt, Azalea realised that while he hadn't been speaking, he had been taking in what they had been saying, but it was on a time delay; the full scope and the implications of what he was going to do probably would not hit him until later, and when that happened…?

God, she hoped it didn't make things worse. La Forge didn't see the danger, yet. "Look, Doc, I know this is a lot for you to take in, but we're running out of time here We need your help."

"What do you say?" Riker asked.

Zefram stood up and looked into nothingness for a moment. "Why not?" He whispered, but Azalea looked worriedly at her brother.