Time for a Change
By Les Bonser
This is a work of non-commercial fan fiction. The characters used in this story remain the trademarked property of their respective owners. No trademark infringement is intended and no profits are made by the author for writing or distribution of this work.
No permission is given to anyone other than the author to archive this on any website. No permission is given to anyone other than the author to repost this on any newsgroup.
Chapter 10
Aboard the Enterprise, near Bajor
The Enterprise arrived at Deep Space Nine ahead of schedule. Riker attributed it to the efficient operation of the ship; Engineering kept the engines finely tuned and the crew manning the Helm plotted courses that took advantage of gravity assists around stellar objects. Well, and the war has thinned out the travel lanes a bit, he had to admit to himself.
It was Beta shift when the starship dropped out of warp and slid into parking orbit around the giant starbase. Riker was in the center seat. As first officer, he almost always had command of the ship during Beta shift.
He was just about to signal that they had arrived when he heard the turbolift open. Riker glanced over his shoulder to see Captain Picard coming on to the bridge. "Captain on the bridge," he announced as he stood and moved from the chair.
Picard took the center chair as Riker moved to the chair to the right of the Captain. Picard was unusually quiet, the first officer noted. It's never easy seeing Sisko, Riker thought. And this is the first time we've been to DS9 since Worf's wife died. This would be tough on all of us.
He thought about Deanna. She and Worf had a brief romance before Worf was transferred to DS9. Riker wondered how she'd handle their reunion. Granted, she was a ship's councilor, and her entire career was built around helping people cope. But how would she handle this when it was someone so close to her.
Space Station Deep Space Nine
Captain Benjamin Sisko was in his office overlooking Ops when the call came in. It was Major Kira's voice. No, Sisko reminded himself, Colonel Kira. She'd been promoted during the time he'd been away.
"Captain," Kira said over the intercom.
"Yes," Sisko responded in his deep resonant voice. "The Enterprise is here. I have Captain Picard hailing us."
"Put it through," Sisko commanded. He swung the desktop computer display unit around so the video pickup would center him in its field of view.
The Federation banner flicked off the display and Picard's face appeared. "Captain Sisko," Picard said.
"Captain Picard," Sisko responded. "Welcome to Deep Space Nine. Would your crew like a little shore leave. We're not exactly Risa, but we might be able to find something for them to do."
"Thank you, Captain," Picard said. "I'm sure you've seen the same orders I have. We need to head into the Beta Quadrant as soon as possible."
"Yes," Sisko agreed. "The Defiant is ready. Commander Worf will be in charge on this mission."
Picard nodded. "Good choice. But I was hoping you'd command the Defiant, Benjamin. You've had more experience with the Mirror Universe than Worf has. That might come in handy on this mission if I can believe what Starfleet and my science officer are telling me."
"Very well," Sisko said. "Things have been slow here since the war ended. I think I can leave for awhile."
"I'd like you and your senior officers to beam over so we can have a joint briefing."
Sisko looked at the time icon in the corner of the computer display. It was currently 16:24. "I think I can have everyone assembled and beamed over by 17 hundred."
"Good," Picard said. "We'll have a bite to eat and start the briefing at 18 hundred. Picard out."
Sisko watched Picard's image fade from the computer display. The Federation banner once again filled the display. Sisko stared at the dark blue background and the Federation emblem with its star field surrounded by two olive branches. He wondered, not for the first time, if the emblem wasn't intentionally designed to convey a feeling of peace and tranquility.
"Colonel Kira," he said. The computer system automatically picked up his voice, interrupted it as a command and connected his terminal with hers. Her image appeared on the display.
"Yes, Captain," the Bajoran officer said. Her earring moved as she turned her head to look directly into her computer display. It caught the overhead lights of the Operations area as it swung gently.
"Colonel, please have the senior staff report to Ops by 16:50. We'll be beaming over to the Enterprise at 17 hundred."
"Yes, sir."
Riker and Picard were in transporter room two when Sisko and the crew from DS9 beamed aboard. They recognized Worf and O'Brien instantly; both had served on the Enterprise-D. And both Riker and Picard had met Kira, Dr. Bashir, and Odo during previous visits to Deep Space Nine.
Both Riker and Picard knew about Lieutenant Jadzia Dax's death. But they didn't know about Ezri Dax's posting on DS9.
"Permission to come aboard?" Sisko asked.
"Permission granted," Picard said. It was an old custom.
Sisko stepped down from the transporter pad and introduced his crew. "Captain, Commander, you both know Commander Worf, Dr. Bashir, Chief O'Brien, and my security chief, Odo. And my second, *Colonel* Kira, of course."
"Good to see you again Worf. And you too, Chief," Picard said. "Doctor, Odo" he nodded to Bashir and the Changeling. "Congratulations on your promotion, Colonel."
"Thank you, Captain," Kira said.
"And this is our station's new councilor, Lieutenant Ezri Dax," Sisko introduced the Trill.
Picard felt a little uneasy. Was it possible there was more than one symbiont named Dax?
Sisko saw the confusion in Picard and Riker's faces. "Yes, Captain. Ezri is the latest host for the Dax symbiont."
Riker shook off his confusion first. "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant," he said, smiling at the young officer.
The young woman looked up at the second officer of the Enterprise and smiled back. "Thank you, Commander. I've heard a lot about you. You're supposed to be almost as good a poker player as Jadzia. I have most of her memories, you know. If we have time, we should get up a game."
Riker was taken aback. The little lady had more spunk than her appearance would suggest.
Picard laughed. "Welcome aboard everyone. Riker will direct the rest of you to Ten Forward. You can all get reacquainted and compare notes. We'll begin the formal briefing at 18 hundred in the Executive Briefing Room. Captain, if you could come with me."
Picard and Sisko left the room. The transporter room still felt small with so many people standing around.
"If you'll all follow me," Riker said, and walked out of the room. The rest followed him.
Ten Forward was the room forward most on Deck 10. It was by Starfleet custom a recreation lounge. This gave off-duty crew and visitors the best forward view the ship had to offer. Picard had a buffet table arranged in the lounge and hoped that the time before the meeting would allow the two crews to reacquaint themselves.
Before heading to Ten Forward, he and Sisko spent several minutes in his office. Picard wanted to brief Sisko privately about Q's possible involvement in this mission. It wasn't that Q was any big secret; Sisko had encountered the omnipotent alien on DS9. It was also a way for Picard to gauge Sisko. The war with the Dominion had taken a lot out of Benjamin; Picard wanted to make sure that his fellow captain was ready to tackle this mission.
Picard also wanted to gauge Sisko's attitude toward him. Nearly 8 years ago, Picard had been captured by the Borg. Sisko had lost command of his previous ship and lost his wife due to Picard's actions as Locutus. The two men had come to grips with those actions respectively, but Picard was concerned that Sisko's recent pressures might have reawakened old wounds.
Satisfied that everything was well, Picard escorted his guest to Ten Forward. The remainder of the two command crews were already assembled there. A few other off-duty Enterprise crew were also in the large lounge.
Picard looked out the forward windows. He noticed that Data had placed the Enterprise on a nose-forward attitude. Deep Space Nine appeared to hang suspended amidst the stars directly in front of the Enterprise. Off to one side, a small ship moved away from DS9. Picard thought it was a Vulcan survey ship. A moment later, a bright light flared apparently from nothing as the ship plunged into the Bajoran wormhole on its way to the Gamma Quadrant.
"It's a beautiful station, Benjamin," Picard said.
"If you like Cardassian architecture," Sisko joked. Deep Space Nine had started out as the Cardassian ore processing plant Terek Nor. After the liberation of Bajor from Cardassian occupation, the newly formed Bajoran provincial government had given the station to Starfleet as a base.
The two captains joined their officers.
Riker was at the bar. He missed the old Ten Forward. This lounge was nice, but it was just a tad too big. The Ten Forward on the Enterprise-D had been just the right size. Large enough for a crowd, but small enough to be, well, intimate. About the same size as a smoky Kansas City jazz joint, he thought.
Speaking of intimate, Riker noticed that the young Lt. Dax was staying very close to Dr. Bashir. He wondered if the two were an item. Dax was a bit on the short side for Riker, but there was just something about her that attracted him. Was it that fact that she was carrying a symbiont and the combined memories of nine lifetimes? Riker himself had been the temporary host for the Odan symbiont. The experience had left him with vague memories of previous lives. He wondered if Ezri had as much trouble sorting through all those memories as he had in his short experience as a host.
He noticed that like always sought out like; Dax and Troi were comparing notes, along with Dr. Crusher and Dr. Bashir. Geordi was chatting with O'Brien, about something technical not doubt. Engineers! he thought. And Data and Worf were standing off to one side; looking like outcasts amongst the humans in the room. And the two captains were standing by the window, admiring the station.
Thinking that he should follow the pattern, he looked around for Sisko's second in command, Colonel Kira. His eyes scanned the room and found her and the Changeling Odo near the buffet table. They were leaning close and sharing a private conversation. Damn, Riker thought, it's just not my night. Looks like the Colonel is pretty close to the Constable.
Picard had put him in charge of the briefing. He tapped his communicator and asked the ship's computer what time it was. The polite female voice of the computer interface system informed him that it was 17:51. He decided that it was about time to begin herding everyone to the briefing room.
"If I could have everyone's attention..." he said as he stepped forward.
The two crews adjourned formally in the Executive Briefing Room. It was on Deck Three, below the bridge. It was not as convenient to the bridge as the conference room at the rear of the bridge was, but it was large enough for both crews. It was actually a small auditorium.
Riker took his place at the podium. Everyone was seated and he wanted to get this over. Even after all his years in Starfleet, every mission briefing gave him butterflies. Everything would be fine as soon as they laid in a course and began the mission, but at this point, he was fighting the flutters in his stomach.
"Captain Picard asked me to chair this briefing," Riker began. "I know you've all reviewed the data packet that we received from Starfleet Command." Several in the crowd before him nodded in agreement with his statement. They were all top grade officers; he knew they wouldn't be assigned to their posts if they weren't that good.
Riker continued, "A number of science stations throughout the Federation have been recording temporal anomalies. These anomalies seem to be centered from a point in the Beta Quadrant about thirty light years from here. Luckily, the point is in a sector of space that is unclaimed by the Klingons, Romulans, and Tholians. We will have to travel through the Klingon Empire to reach this point. We've received the appropriate approvals from the Klingons to do so. We estimate a travel time of about three days. Starfleet Command has given us authority to exceed warp restrictions if necessary."
He paused. No one had any questions. Yet.
"Our two crews were selected because of our unique experiences. The anomalies are temporal in nature, and both of these crews have multiple experiences with time travel. Additionally, a faction within the Vulcan Science Academy is of the opinion that the anomaly may be related to another universe somehow intersecting with ours. As you all know, the crew from Deep Space Nine have experience with the Mirror Universe."
"Strategic analysts at Starfleet Command are concerned that this might be either an after-effect of the recent Borg attempt to take over twentieth century Earth or perhaps another attempt to disrupt the Federation by means of time travel. They also suggest the possibility that the Dominion could be attempting something similar."
Geordi raised his hand to get Riker's attention. "Yes, La Forge?"
"It's been several days now since we encountered Q. Does Fleet Command have any analysis suggesting his relationship to this?"
Riker shrugged. He didn't know anything; as far as he had heard, no one at Starfleet Command had issued any opinions. Q was simply too unpredictable. "Captain?"
"Nothing has come out of Starfleet Command regarding Q," Picard said. "But I think we need to be ever mindful that this could just be one of his little games."
"What exactly did he say?" Kira wondered.
Picard said, "His exact words were 'think outside the box'."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Odo wondered.
"We have no idea," Picard said. "Knowing Q, it could mean nearly anything..."
"Uh, Captain Picard, if I may," Bashir interrupted. Bashir was a bit of a amateur historian and was fascinated by the 19th and 20th centuries. He and O'Brien spent months creating a holodeck recreations of various key points in 19th and 20th century history as well as from novels of the era. So far, over the years, they'd recreated, and relived, the Battle of the Alamo, the Battle of Britian, a Las Vegas casino, the world of Cold War espionage, and others. "It was a colloquialism sometimes used in the military or in aviation. It meant basically to stretch beyond your limits,...think outside your experience."
"Ah," Data said, "Similar to the phrase, 'push the envelope,'"
"Yes," Bashir agreed. "I believe so."
Picard shook his head, "Perhaps, but Q tends to be more literal than that."
"The universe."
"What was that, Lieutenant?" Picard asked.
It had been Dax that had spoken up. "What if the 'box' in this case is the universe. Our universe."
Sisko smiled. He knew Curzon and Jadzia were in there somewhere.
Ezri continued, inspired by her commander's smile. "Maybe the Vulcans are right. Maybe this anomaly is being caused by something outside our own universe."
"Give that little lady a cee-gar!" Riker said. Or rather, it was Q, wearing Riker's uniform and with Riker's beard, standing in Riker's spot at the podium.
"Oh, disgusting!" Ezri exclaimed, pulling a cigar from her mouth. She threw it to the floor and wiped her mouth.
"Hey," Q protested Ezri's action, "That was the best neo-Cuban latinum can buy."
"Q!" Picard and Sisko yelled, almost in unison.
"Q, explain yourself and then get off my ship," Picard ordered. From the corner of his eye, he could see Worf calling Security and trying to move to a more strategic position.
"I have nothing to explain," Q said. "Your doing quite well enough figuring it out yourself. Or rather, Sisko's crew is," he taunted.
"Q!" Picard yelled in exasperation.
"Temper, temper, mon captaine!" Q wagged his finger at Picard. "You're on the yellow brick road and the first person you'll meet is the Tin Man." And with that, Q and the cigar on the floor were gone.
Riker stood again at the podium with a puzzled look on his face. "Q," he said. "Again."
"Yes, Will," Picard said. "And he left us another riddle."
Just then, the security team burst into the Executive Briefing Room with phasers at the ready. Worf and Data dismissed them off to one side, while Riker and Picard conferred at the podium. Picard filled Riker in on what his doppelganger had told them.
Data finished with the security team and walked over to the podium. "Captain," he said, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "I believe Q's last statement was a reference to a children's book from the twentieth century. 'The Wizard of Oz,' if I am not mistaken."
"Yes," Dr. Crusher said. "It was one of Wesley's favorites when he was a boy."
Picard waited. Unlike Data, Crusher didn't have a habit of running on. "Please continue, Doctor," he prompted.
"Well, the Tin Man was a woodsman who replaced a different body part with a metal one every time he had an accident. Eventually, he became a man made entirely of metal. He wanted to visit the Wizard to get a heart."
"A man of metal," Sisko said. "That sounds like Data to me."
"But I have a heart," Commander Data pointed out. "It is artificial, of course, but I *do* have one."
"What about the organic spaceship we encountered?" Deanna Troi asked. "It was code named Tin Man. Suppose it has reentered this part of the galaxy?" Troi had known the Federation emissary, Tam Elbrun, who had eventually left with the Tin Man alien intelligence.
"No, Counselor," Picard said. "I think Data is right. I remember the story from my own youth, oh, so many years ago. Q used the 'yellow brick road' reference also. That clearly points us to the 'Wizard of Oz'. Let's ponder this more on the way to the anomaly. Q's second appearance makes me even more anxious to get there."
The crew from Deep Space Nine transferred to the Defiant and both ships left DS9 before 23:00. Sisko left the station in temporary command of Worf. This mission appeared to be purely scientific and although he hated leaving the Klingon behind, he felt a lot safer having the station in the hands of someone who could defend it.
Odo opted to stay behind as well. He was convinced that Quark was up to a scheme and didn't want to let the Ferengi have free rein of the station while they were gone.
Ezri had requested to stay on the station as well, but Sisko ordered her along. He knew that she was still having trouble adjusting to the thoughts of her previous hosts, but he wanted Jadzia's scientific knowledge and Curzon's strategic mind along on this mission.
The trip to the Beta Quadrant took almost exactly three days, standard Federation time. The trip was entirely uneventful. For that, Picard was thankful. He didn't relish another visit by Q.
The two ships, the larger Enterprise-E and the smaller, but equally as fast and powerful Defiant, ran alongside each other.
"One hundred thousand kilometers from the anomaly, Captain," Data announced.
"Drop from warp, Mister Data," Picard ordered. "Bring us to fifty thousand klicks and begin detailed scans."
"Aye, sir."
The Enterprise dropped out of warp drive and drifted forward for a moment before the impulse drive engaged. The Defiant executed the exact same maneuver a split second after the Enterprise did. The two ships moved forward in standard Starfleet formation.
"Will, establish a link with the Defiant."
"Aye, Captain."
The remainder of the command crew arrived via the turbolift. The computer had automatically summoned them when the ship had arrived at its destination. This was standard Starfleet procedure. La Forge assumed his station at the Engineering console at the back of the bridge. Troi and Crusher took their seats at the side of the bridge.
"Captain?" It was Data.
"Yes, Data?"
"There is a considerable amount of interference coming from the anomaly and the surrounding space. Our scan is practically useless."
"Is the Defiant online?" Picard asked Riker.
"Yes," Riker said. "Captain Sisko is waiting."
"Computer, split screen on the main viewer," Picard ordered.
The main viewer at the front of the bridge continued to show a view of the space directly in front of the ship, but in a split window, Sisko's image appeared. The image from the Defiant had the smallest amount of static; the interference was affecting communications between the two ships even though they were barely a kilometer apart.
"Picard, we're getting a lot of static over here. Our sensors aren't penetrating the anomaly," Sisko reported.
"We have the same problem," Picard confirmed.
Sisko said, "Can we slave the sensors from both ships together? Make them act with a wider bandwidth than they would singly," he explained. "Might penetrate the interference that way."
"Yes," Picard smiled, "Leave it to O'Brien to come up with a solution to this problem."
"Actually, Captain, it was Dax's idea. Apparently it's an old Klingon trip that Curzon picked up nearly 50 years ago," Sisko explained.
Picard had underestimated the young lieutenant. He forget that she carried inside her a symbiont with over three hundred years of experience, including many years in Starfleet. Embarrassed, Picard said, "Well, yes...Please give my regards to the Councilor for her idea. It might just do the trick," he told Sisko. "Data, coordinate our sensors with those of the Defiant. La Forge, see if you can help."
"Yes, sir," Data said, his hands already flying across the console faster than the human eye could register.
"Yes, sir," La Forge said. "Even without the interference, slaving the two sensors together would allow us to do a quicker scan. Might be a good idea to add to the SOP." SOP meant Standard Operating Procedures.
"That's a good idea, Geordi," Riker said. "Consider it noted."
A moment later, Data announced, "The sensors are now working. We should have a preliminary scan of the anomaly in three point six minutes."
Riker sat in the command chair beside Picard and watched the status report from the combined sensor scan scroll by on the command terminal built into the arm of the chair. He didn't have the depth of knowledge about temporal mechanics that Data did, but for the life of him, he thought the anomaly looked like a doughnut. Literally, a hole in space.
"Sensor scan is complete, Captain," Data finally announced. "There is considerable temporal flex around the anomaly, but the center of the event appears to be somewhat stable. Time is progressing at a much retarded rate at the center of the anomaly and our sensors indicate there's some sort of object resting at the center."
"An object, Data?" Riker voiced the question everyone had.
"Yes, I am continuing to process the sensor information, but it appears to be a man. In some sort of armored suit."
"A man! Data are you sure?" Riker asked.
"One moment, Commander. The computer is still analyzing the sensor readings. Trying to filter out the interference," Data responded.
Riker and Picard, and the rest of the command crew on both the Enterprise and the Defiant waited. The Defiant was a tough little ship, but it was designed to be a blockade runner and strike fighter. It had the standard amount of computer power for a ship of its class. The Enterprise, on the other hand, was designed for long range missions, both defensive and scientific. It had special function processors integrated into its computer systems for just this sort of thing. There was nothing the two crews could do but wait.
Data's fingers continued to flash across his console. He was monitoring portions of the sensor analysis faster than any human could have. "Getting a refined reading now, Captain," he said. "Transferring visual to main viewer."
The combined crews both stared at their respective main viewers. The visual slowly cleared as the computer analyzed and eliminated the interference from the anomaly.
Right in the middle of the "doughnut" was a figure. One head, two arms, two legs, obviously humanoid.
"Definitely human," Data announced. "Wearing some sort of advanced armored pressure suit."
"Is he alive?" Crusher asked.
"Yes. Life signs are weak, but steady," Data said.
"Well," Sisko snorted, "There's our 'Tin Man'."