Chapter 15

"We thought you might like to see this," was what Admiral Jefferies had said when he sent
Jean-Luc Picard the video footage. The footage, taken from the Guardian of Forever,
showed Vicki Ann being shot in the chest with some kind of energy beam. But,
unfortunately, it was a slow death, the energy beam crackling and sizzling as it tore apart
every molecule of its target. She made no sound, though her mouth was open in horror as
if she was trying to scream and couldn't. The senior officers of the U.S.S. Enterprise
cringed as they saw their comrade and friend die.

Commander William T. Riker started to feel nauseous. He and Vicki Ann were still close,
despite the fact that they had ended their romantic relationship and Riker had gotten back
together with Deanna. Vicki Ann was his best friend and besides, she was Deanna's sister.
He couldn't bear to see either of them hurt, especially Vicki Ann, whom he had promised
himself he would protect after Tom assaulted her. He glanced over at Vicki Ann and saw
that she was doing some kind of emotional control exercise. She had her eyes closed and
was repeating something to herself over and over. She must have felt his eyes upon her
and probably his thoughts too, because she opened her eyes and smiled at him. Riker saw
right through it. She was playing the carefully controlled doctor again, allowing no one to
see the pain she felt inside.

Vicki Ann was smiling, but she was shaking inside. She had so many questions running
through her head. Was this really her death? When would this happen? Who was going to
kill her, or was it an accident? Suddenly, she heard the ringing of chimes in her head.
"Something's wrong," she whispered.

"No kidding," Riker muttered under his breath.

Vicki Ann heard him. She looked over at him and said, "No, I heard the chimes and that
means that something is wrong and the Q are protecting me."

"You heard the chimes?" Riker asked.

She nodded.

"Well, then why don't you ask Q to tell you what the hell is going on here!" Riker snapped.

Vicki Ann glared at him and said, "I will." She closed her eyes and concentrated, reaching
out with mind, trying to give Q the slightest indication that she needed him. She couldn't
tell him outright because they were separated by too vast of a distance. When she felt his
reply, she opened her eyes and said matter of factly to Riker, "He's coming."

Riker blushed ever so slightly.

There was a flash of light and Q appeared. "You called, mademoiselle?" He was sitting on
the table beside Vicki Ann.

She gave him a look. "This isn't a time for jokes, Q. The chimes rang."

Q's face became serious. "They did?"

She nodded. "And we received this footage from Admiral Jefferies." She motioned to Data,
who replayed the footage.

Q watched, horrified. Then, when he saw the quick flash of the next image, he swallowed.
He figured that Data was the only one who saw anything in the image, which Q was
grateful for. The image was of a young man with dark hair talking to interesting black
woman. Q didn't want anyone to find out the secret behind that image.

"Well, do you know anything about this?" Vicki Ann asked.

"About what?" Q asked, momentarily shaken.

"About the footage of my death from the Guardian!" Vicki Ann replied, exasperated. She
studied him closely. "Are you all right?"

Q's shaken expression became a more stable one. "Of course. This cannot be allowed to
happen. We must go to the Guardian and stop it." He looked at Picard. "I know what
you're going to say, Jean-Luc, so please don't give me one of your brilliant speeches about
not polluting the timeline or violating Starfleet regulations. This is beyond you, beyond
Starfleet, and beyond even me. The prophecy must be fulfilled or it could have
catastrophic consequences."

"What exactly is this prophecy?" Picard asked.

Q shook his head. "I don't know and even if I did, I couldn't tell you. I will tell you this,
Picard. The Prophets felt that the prophecy was important enough to save Vicki Ann's
life."

"How?" Picard asked, confused.

Q looked at Vicki Ann. "You didn't tell them?"

"How did you find out?"

"We communicate with the Prophets often. Why didn't you tell them?"

"I didn't feel it was necessary." Vicki Ann stared at the table for a minute, collecting her
strength. "While I was in the shrine on DS9, I gave myself twenty cc's of cyarethaline."

Beverly gasped. "Vicki Ann, that was enough to kill you!"

"Exactly what she wanted," Riker replied, glancing at Vicki Ann.

She nodded slowly. "Everything was a mess. I couldn't deal with all of it. I felt that no
matter how hard I tried, I screwed up everyone else's lives. I thought that you all would
be better off without me."

"That's the furthest from the truth," Q said, smiling.

Everyone looked at him in shock.

"I mean, I'm sure that little q would miss the chocolates from his Auntie Vicki Ann," Q
replied.

Vicki Ann smiled. "I'm sure he would."

Riker looked at Vicki Ann. "You do understand that Q is right, don't you? We'd be lost
without you."

She nodded, smiling.

"Captain, we are now approaching the planet," Vicki Ann told Picard.

"Standard orbit," Picard replied.

"Aye, sir," Vicki Ann replied.

"Captain, we are being hailed," Lieutenant Stirland replied.

"On screen." Picard straightened his uniform shirt. This ought to be fun, he thought to
himself.

One of the scientists assigned to the planet appeared on the screen. "Captain, I must ask
you to leave. The planet is under strict quarantine, as you well know. The Council has
been rather tough with security ever since the incident with the alternate Riker a few
years ago."

Picard nodded. "I know. But, this is a matter of life and death."

The scientist nodded. "I understand, captain, but the Federation Counsel has-."

Picard interrupted. "This is beyond the Council." Picard motioned to the man who was
standing beside Deanna. "I apologize, but as I said, this is a matter of life and death. Our
life and death."

The man sitting beside Deanna and snapped his fingers and at the exact same time, the
scientist on the plant froze in mid- protest. "The coast is clear, mon capitaine."

Picard nodded. "Q, please take the away team to the planet."

"As you wish."

Now

Vicki Ann, Riker, and Q arrived on the planet. All was quiet. Vicki Ann glanced at the
Guardian and was immediately mesmerized. "Oh, my God." She deactivated the forcefield
surrounding the Guardian and walked closer to it.

"Be careful!" Riker shouted at her.

She waved her arm in reply as she continued walking.

Q noticed a man come out form behind one of the buildings. "Stop," he yelled to the man.

The man continued to walk toward the Guardian and Vicki Ann.

Q snapped his fingers to freeze the man, but it had no effect.

Riker had noticed the man, too. "Q, do something!"

"I can't!"

The man turned to Q. "I can't let you do this! I cannot allow you to interfere with what
must be done."

Vicki Ann looked up, just as the man shot her in the chest with an energy beam. She flew
into the Guardian from the impact.

Q shook his head. Vicki Ann had gone into the timeline he didn't want anyone to know
about. Oh well, at least with my younger self there, she's got a fighting chance of staying
alive.

"What happened, Q?" Picard asked, his face grim.

"I believe we were mistaken. It is unlikely that Vicki Ann will die as a result of her injuries.
My younger self is in the timeline she has entered and therefore, I believe that she was
meant to enter the Guardian."

Then

A dark skinned woman walked the streets of San Francisco. She had come back here to
try and forget the pain she'd been through recently. She'd ended a rather bad relationship
with a very controlling and jealous man and she needed some time to clear her head. Or at
least forget about it. Something up ahead caught her eye. It was a woman, in some sort
of uniform, lying unconscious on the ground. The dark woman ran to the other to assist
her. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to forget after all.

Vicki Ann awoke in some sort of hospital. It looked faintly familiar, like she'd seen a picture
of it somewhere. She sat up and glanced around. The equipment seemed archaic
compared to what she was used to on the Enterprise. That explained why she was in pain
and had bandages on her. Doctors rushed by in the doorway, most of them dressed in
white coats. She had a feeling of deja-vu, as if she'd seen this place before. Then, she
remembered. She'd seen pictures in the history books at the Academy. She was in a
hospital. By the looks of it, before the founding of the Federation, since there was no sign
of any insignia or symbols anywhere. She had gone back in time, through the Guardian,
over two hundred years. A doctor entered the room. "Hello. How are you feeling today?"

Vicki Ann smled back. "I'm fine, except for some soreness."

The doctor nodded. "That's to be expected, with the extent of your injuries. You should
be fine in a few days. Do you remember what happened to you?"

Vicki Ann shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, but I don't."

"We found you on the street. You clothes were torn and you were unconscious. You had
multiple cuts and bruises. Your also had a few broken ribs and it seems you were hit by
some sort of an energy blast. You're positive you don't remember what happened to you?"

Vicki Ann thought about it. She couldn't tell him anything because it would pollute the
timeline. "No, I'm sorry, but I can't remember anything."

"Given the evidence, I'd say you were attacked. I've notified the police and they will be
coming in to speak to you and the woman who found you."

"The woman who found me?"

"Yes, I believe her name is Guinan."

Guinan?

"I'm sorry, but I have other patients to check on."

The doctor nodded at Vicki Ann and then left. A few moments later, a woman entered. It
was a younger looking Guinan. "Hello," she said, smiling. "Are you feeling better?"

Vicki Ann nodded. "Much better. The doctor says I should be fine in a few days. I'm lucky
that you found me."

"Yes, you are." She eyed the other woman carefully. "Now, why don't you tell me what
you're doing here."

"Pardon?"

"I know you're from the future. Mr. Data's time, I believe. The insignia on your uniform
resembled his."

Vicki Ann smiled. "I should have know better than to try and fool you."

"Then we are acquainted?"

"Yes. You're on the Enterprise."

"What is your job there?"

"Well, I'm a doctor, but I'm also a pilot. Most of the time, I'm the helmsman."

"Then you know Mr. Data and the others as well?"

"Yes, Deanna, the counselor, is my sister. As for your question, I don't know why I'm here.
You see, it was an accident. We came across some disturbing footage of me in the
Guardian of Forever on Time Planet and went to investigate. Someone attacked me and I
was thrown into the Guardian and ended up here."

"Sounds like quite an adventure."

"My whole life is an adventure." A thought occured to her. "What happened to my things?"

"Your uniform was taken as evidence. Your badge and other things were given to me. I
have them here." Guinan handed them to Vicki Ann. In her hand was a silver bracelet, Vicki
Ann's comm badge, and a picture of a man in a similar uniform. "Is that your boyfriend?"

Vicki Ann nodded and took the picture, smiling. "Yes. His name is Julian. He's a doctor,
too."

"I'll bet you miss him."

"Only a little more than usual. He's the CMO of a station and with me traveling all the time,
I don't see him all that much. What makes it worse this time, is that there's two hundred
years between us, that and the fear that I might never get home."

"I'm sure your friends are looking for you."

"I hope so."