Chapter 5
You never want to fight against the river law
Nobody rules the waves
Dire Straits, Single Handed Sailor
Outside, Daniels was waiting as promised. Pushing his embarrassment and self-contempt about the good-bye scene aside, Malcolm was just opening his mouth to ask what they were going to do now when Daniels turned and headed down the street, setting a killer pace. Rolling his eyes, Malcolm hurried to catch up.
"Where are we going now?"
Daniels shot him a glance. "We have to get to a meeting point where a friend of mine will be waiting to bring us back to the 22nd century."
"You can't do this yourself?"
"It's not that easy, Lieutenant." Daniels said.
"Okay," Malcolm said, sighing silently. "Where's that meeting point?"
"It's in this city," Daniels answered. "I don't know exactly where it is, but it's this way."
"Well, while we're walking you could finally answer my questions why I'm here."
Daniels suddenly stopped, eyes downcast. He looked up as Reed came up beside him, a questioning look on his face, and said:
"I'd rather not, Lieutenant."
"What?" Malcolm blinked. "Why not?"
"I can't tell you that. You have to tru-"
"Okay!" Malcolm interrupted him furiously. "You came to Enterprise to fulfill some mysterious mission, you messed with the Suliban and I was sent back to the 20th century and now that you found out that I don't remember anything of what happened, you don't want to tell me and say that I should bloody trust you! Do you know what I think? It is not too far fetched, I'd say, that you might plan something that's not absolutely legalized by your mysterious time-protection-organization. Or that you already did something like that. And now you want me to trust you? I mean, I know people say I'm paranoid, but in this case even Trip would get suspicious!"
Daniels, who had listened to the outburst with a stern expression on his face, sighed.
"I know this must seem very suspicious, but I can't tell you. It would destroy any sight chance we might have to bring you home safely."
"Could you just stop talking in riddles? Either tell me or tell me why you can't, but stop giving me these hints, they're driving me crazy!"
"Hints is everything I can give you and- " he held up a hand as he saw Reed taking another deep breath," -*and* if we don't start walking again soon, we can give up right here anyway. Lieutenant, you *have* to trust me. Please. I know it's hard in this situation, and I know it's harder for you than for anybody else, but it's the only possibility. Please, Lieutenant. Trust someone. Just once."
Reed crossed his arms, frowning, and considered what Daniels had said. In the end, it really came down to that: it was the only possibility. He could stay, and he could go, and if there was the slightest chance that he could return to Enterprise staying wasn't really an option. Reluctantly, he nodded.
"Very well. I'll trust you on this one. But when this is over, I want a complete explanation, with emphasis on complete. No riddles and no hints."
"Sure, Lieutenant. No riddles, no hints. A complete explanation; gold framed." The smile appeared again on Daniels' face as they turned and started walking again.
-###-
'I knew it,' Malcolm thought, dismayed. 'With my luck in the past few weeks, how could it be else.'
They were standing next to a broad river that ran through the middle of the city. Malcolm knew that its name was Danube, Petra had told him on one of their very few tours through the city. He had seen that there were big steam boats for tourists, but he had had no intention of going on one of them. They had looked very old-fashioned and not at all save. They in fact still looked like that, but to Daniels that obviously didn't matter. Smiling happily, Daniels was just lining up for tickets for a cruise on one of the boats, and Malcolm followed him reluctantly. Daniels had told him that they were supposed to meet the other person on the four pm cruise, and although Malcolm wondered why Daniels had chosen a steam boat, of all places, he was keeping his promise and trusting Daniels.
"There you go, Lieutenant," Daniels said cheerfully and handed him his ticket. Taking it, he looked at it doubtfully and then shoved it into his pocket. He followed Daniels who was walking towards a group of tourists who were also waiting for the gate to open so they could board the steamer.
"Are you alright, Lieutenant? " Daniels asked him when he came up beside him. "You look like something is causing you discomfort."
Malcolm forced a smile. "I'm fine, thank you. It's just that...you know, I don't really like being on a ship or boat. I prefer dry land."
"Oh really? I didn't know that. Well, I'm sorry, but it is necessary. If I'd known it, we could have met somewhere else but..."
"It's alright," Malcolm interupted him. "As long as we really stay *on* the boat..."
-###-
"Where is he?" Daniels muttered and scanned the nearly-empty room thoroughly. They were on the middle deck where Daniels had said they should meet the person who could bring them back.
"He's not here?" Malcolm asked. He had been nervous from the minute they had boarded the boat and now, looking at Daniels' tense expression, his unease deepened.
"No. He should be, he told me he'd meet me at 0415 hours. And now it's already 0423."
Malcolm swallowed. "Maybe he was delayed by something."
"No. This is first priority, he wouldn't just come late." Suddenly Daniels turned and looked at Reed. "How's your head, Lieutenant?"
"What?" Malcolm asked, confused by the sudden change of subject.
"Your head. You told me you're having 'headache attacks'. Do you feel anything right now?"
"No" Reed answered, frowning. "Well, I do have a bit of a headache, but nothing like these attacks I told you about." 'Considering where I am it's no wonder that I feel a little queasy', he added in thought.
"Do you have that often since you're here?" Daniels asked.
"Why? Is there something I should know about time travel effects?"
"I'm sorry Lieutenant, but..."
"...you can't tell me." Malcolm finished dryly, and Daniels smiled apologetically.
"I would if I could Lieutenant, but the risk is just too high."
"It's quite alright. I just hope your friend will turn up soon."
Once again Daniels scanned the room with his eyes.
"He's not here. Maybe he's on one of the other decks. Come on, let's..."
A beeping interupted him. Daniels dug a small silver object from his pocket and pressed a button.
"What's that?" Malcolm asked.
"That's a scanner," Daniels said, watching a small display appear on the smooth surface of the object. He stared at it for a second, then his eyes widened and he leapt to his feet.
"We have to get out of here! There's a Suliban on the ship!"
Malcolm scrambled to his feet when suddenly two phaser shots were fired at the couple that were the only other people in the room. Malcolm looked for the source and saw a Suliban materialize in front of a wall. He saw the alien turn and aim, and, grabbing Daniels by the sleeve, he dragged him under one of the tables. A second later a phaser blast hit the spot where they had been standing.
"What's he doing here?" Reed hissed.
"He wants to keep you from returning to the 22nd century."
"But- " he ducked as another shot hit the table. " -why?"
"Can't tell you." said Daniels as he pulled two small rectangular objects from his pocket. One he tossed to Malcolm.
"What's that?"
"Phaser." Daniels answered and immediately fired a shot at the advancing Suliban, who recoiled and also dived under one of the tables.
"A phaser?" Malcolm asked unbelieving, aiming with the small device and pushing the button. A blast hit the table under which the Suliban was hiding.
"When I yell we try to run to the door. Keep firing." Daniels whispered. He fired another shot and then shouted: "Now!"
They got out from under the table and immediately were surrounded by phaser blasts. Shoving Daniels towards the door, Reed ducked to avoid the shots and fired at the Suliban, hitting him in the chest. Staggering backwards, the Suliban dropped his weapon and vanished. Reed stared at the small weapon in his handand the looked at Daniels who was standing next to the door.
"This thing was set to kill?"
"Yes, indeed." Daniels said with an apologetical smile on his face. "You can't stun a Suliban. At least not one of the Cabal."
"So you just kill them." Malcolm stated.
"Well, yes, of course. If we don't they kill us."
"*His* phaser," he said, pointing to the weapon laying on the floor, "was set on stun. He wouldn't have killed us."
"Well, he would have taken us onto his ship and done something even more unpleasant. Come on, we have to get out of here, there are apt to be more Suliban on the boat."
"And where do you want to go? You're forgetting that we're on a river. You can't just walk out the front door."
"You can swim, can't you, Lieutenant? Now come on, we wasted enough time already." He turned and walked out, and Reed whose eyes had widened at Daniels' last sentence hurried to catch up.
"What do you mean? Do you just want to jump into the river and hope the Suliban won't fire at us while we're in the water?"
"They won't. They don't want to disturb the time-line, and firing at us while we're in the water would be noticed by the people on the ship. Why do you think the Suliban in there stunned the couple first? He didn't want them to see anything."
"But...you're crazy! We can't just jump from the boat!"
"What's the matter, Lieutenant?" Daniels tilted his head to one side."If I didn't know better I'd say you're scared."
'Yes, I am scared,' Malcolm thought, 'but you wouldn't give a shit if I told you.' Forcing a smile, he followed Daniels to the narrow staircase leading to the lower decks. He felt cold sweat on his back and his mouth was dry. 'I don't think I can't do this', he thought.
Suddenly the scanner beeped again. Daniels looked at the display.
"Another two Suliban are coming this way," he said. "Quick, we have to get somewhere where there're people."
They ran down the stairs and came into a small passage that lead to the board restaurant. Just as they wanted to enter, a Suliban appeared before them. Malcolm whirled around and faced another one.
"There you are, Daniels." one of them said. "Now you can't hide anymore. A pity that I have order to kill you, though. I'd rather just send you back to face your superiors. That would be much more fun."
"What did you do to Johnson?" Daniels asked the one that had spoken.
"He won't bother anybody anymore. Now move aside. Important business first."
He shoved Daniels towards the other Suliban and turned to look at Reed.
"You are much more trouble than you look like." he said. Malcolm raised an eyebrow.
"Am I supposed to remember you?" he asked.
The Suliban laughed. "No. But I thought you would since you seem to be able to remember anything else so well." At Reed's puzzled look he smiled and added: "What, can it really be that you don't remember me? I'm offended, Lieutenant, I really am. After all, you were a guest on my ship for, let's see...about twenty minutes. But, considering it, I don't think you enjoyed your stay. What, still no memory of me?"
Reed stared at the Suliban. He had no idea what the man was talking about. Obviously the alien had something to do with his visit to a Suliban ship Daniels had mentioned, but his mind refused stubbornly to release the information. Trying harder, he searched for the lost memory, and suddenly a name popped up.
"You're Kiles!" he exclaimed. Then he cried out as pain exploded behind his eyes. Staggering backwards, he felt hands grabbing his arm and he heard someone saying something, then everything went black.
-###-
He heard someone calling his name and felt a hand laying on his shoulder. Groaning, he opened his eyes and looked into the blurred face of Crewman Daniels.
"Ah, Lieutenant."
"What happened?" he asked and tried to sit up. Daniels pushed him back down.
"Relax. We're in no hurry."
"But...what about the Suliban?"
"They're gone. I don't know where they are, but I don't think they're still on the boat."
"And we are?"
"Yes, indeed."
Malcolm sighed. "Would you please tell me what happened?"
"You cried out before you passed out. That alerted some people in the board restaurant and they came to see if everything was alright. And since the Suliban are obviously very keen on protecting this time line they couldn't let themselves be seen and disappeared. The people from the board restaurant helped me get you here into the backroom of the boat's kitchen. Right now there are at least five people in front of the door, so the Suliban would have no chance to attack us." He lifted his eyebrows. "And you, Lieutenant? What happened with you?"
"I'm not sure," Reed answered, sitting up. "Suddenly it felt like my head was going to explode, and then I passed out."
Daniels sighed. "I thought so. Well, I'm afraid it'll happen more often until we can get you back to the 22nd century."
"Why? Do you know the cause of it?"
"I think so. But I can't tell you."
Malcolm opened his mouth, considered, and closed it again, giving Daniels an exasperated look.
"This is getting old, Daniels."
"Sorry, I really can't tell you. At least not until I know more." He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "We should land in about five minutes, then we'll be able to get off this boat and think about what we do next. Do you think you can get up?"
"Sure," Malcolm said and got to his feet.
"You're sure you're alright?"
"I'm perfectly fine, thank you."
"Well, then let's go. I think we're already there."
"Okay. The sooner we get off this boat the better."
-###-
"You still didn't get him, Kiles?"
"The human from the future protects him."
"But the human from the future is on his own, you eliminated the other human so he can't return and he can't get help from his organisation. He should not be a problem."
"He could get help from their agent."
"Well, that would make it very easy, wouldn't it. Then we do not need the human you captured. Just follow the other one. He will lead you. But don't eliminate the one with the implant. You can observe the other one through him."
"The implant doesn't work the way we planned it to."
"Are you able to receive anything?"
"Just glimpses."
"That is enough. Do as I told you, and you will be successful."
"I will."
"Good. You can go."
-###-
"I'm not moving one more step if you don't finally tell me what's going on!"
Reed, his arms crossed over his chest, was glaring at Daniels, who had a rather desperate look on his face.
"Please, Lieutenant. I *can't* tell you, if I could I would have done so long ago."
"But why can't you tell me, for God's sake? Since I met you, all I hear is 'I can't tell you that'. If another bunch of Suliban attacks us, I at least want to know why!"
Daniels looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath.
"Lieutenant, you said you'd trust me. If you don't want to, fine, but then I can't help you." He turned to go, then stopped and looked back at Reed. "Maybe it'll help if I tell you that I'm here against direct orders of my superiors."
"What?" Reed's eyes widened. "Why..."
"That mission during which you were sent back here was a catastrophe." Daniels said while he started walking again. Reed hurried to catch up. "I did achieve my goal, but the fact that you were removed from the 22nd century made my achievement useless. Your disappearance altered the time line in a way that wasn't desastrous but put us into disadvantage against the Cabal. I volunteered to get you back, but my superiors decided that would be too risky since we didn't know anything about the situation - where you were and if you weren't dead already anyway. Well, me and a bunch of other people didn't want to accept that, first of all because then the work of years would have been wasted, and second-" he turned and looked at Reed "-because we could imagine that you're not too happy wherever you might be. So we decided that in this case we'll put our own judgement over that of our superiors and get you back anyway." He lowered his gaze. "The guy we should have met on the boat, Johnson, lost his life for that. I think you could be at least a little bit grateful."
Reed stared at the other man, lost for words. He swallowed and cleared his throat.
"I...I didn't know that. If I would've I'd never..."
"Well, now you know. So maybe you could stop bugging me about things I won't tell you anyway."
Malcolm nodded, looking at the other man thoughtfully. Since he had met Daniels, he had made the impression of a young, wet-behind-the-ears and slightly arrogant man. Now Reed thought that he might have to reconsider. Daniels had screwed up on a mission and had seen that his superiors denied him the possibility of straightening out his mistake, so he had ignored them and taken on the responsibility. Reed wasn't sure if he approved of that but he knew that one needed a lot of courage to do something like that. And Daniels seemed like he knew what consequences his actions would have.
'Maybe I was the one who was being arrogant,' he thought ruefully. 'Wouldn't have been the first time.'
-###-
"Here we are." Daniels said ten minutes later. They were standing in front of an apartment building in an old and seedy part of town. Looking around, Malcolm was remembered of his first encounter with Germany 1985: garbage cans and broken glass everywhere. He turned to Daniels.
"Okay, what do we want here?"
"Meet someone who'll be able to help us." Daniels answered and pushed the door open. Reed followed him into the building.
After they had climbed the stairs to the fifth floor Daniels finally stopped in front of one of the doors and knocked. The two men waited, and just as Reed opened his mouth to suggest that maybe no one was home they heared a key being turned in the lock, and the the door opened, releasing the view on a man in his late thirties. Reed's eys widened.
"Oh my God, *you*!" he cried in surprise, gaping at the apartment's inhabitant. "How..." He turned and stared at Daniels who looked equally surprised, but for another reason.
"You know him?" he asked. Reed turned back to the man who was still standing in the doorway.
"Yes I do. I met him shortly after I got here. His name's Frank."
-###-
"So you found you memory." Frank said after he had led them into the apartment's small living room.
"Yes. Actually, it happened just after our conversation." Reed answered. He still couldn't quite believe that this was happening.
"How interesting. Well, when I met you I thought that you, like me, were an agent from some organisation, and I didn't know if I could trust you, so I preferred to play the native German of 1985 instead of blowing my cover and finding out who you really are. I tried to find you after you disappeared, though, but couldn't. You did a good hiding job."
"You're an agent? What kind?"
"I do what most agents do. I work undercover and try to find out if the enemy plans anything. I belong to the organisation Daniels is a member of, too, and our 'enemy' are the Cabal. Some time ago, they were pretty busy sending people back into this decade, so we decided an agent wouldn't be a bad idea. And here I am, spying on the Suliban, although I can tell you in the two years I'm living here I didn't find out much. Well, Daniels," he said and turned to the other man, "why did you come here?"
"I need your help. Lieutenant Reed's not supposed to be here, and I have no possibility to send him back. Or let's say, the Suliban eliminated my possibility."
"They didn't get your temporal resequencer, did they? Please tell me they didn't."
"No, they didn't get my temporal resequencer because I didn't have one from the beginning. My mission here is...not really authorized."
"What are you saying?"
"That I'm here against my orders. I came here from the 31st century through the time gate - without permission - and wanted to use the Guardian to get back. But they got Johnson."
"What guardian?" asked Malcolm.
"Doesn't matter," Frank said and immediately turned back to Daniels. "The Guardian? Good plan, Daniels, you're just forgetting that it was destroyed."
"Yes, I know, but that was 2974, I think. We could have gone to the 22nd century. That's why Johnson was in on the whole thing. You know, Johnson, the guy who was in command over the station on the Guardian's planet."
"Oh, you planned to just jump into the 22nd century? And how would you've gotten back home?"
"I would have let my people from the 31st catch me. But that doesn't matter now since we can't use the Guardidan."
"So you want me to send you back?"
"If you would?" Daniels gave him a pleading look. "Please, the metaphase deflectors aren't worth a dime if Lieutenant Reed doesn't develop EM force field technology in the 22nd century."
"What metaphase deflectors?"
"You didn't read the message we sent you?" Daniels asked, sitting up in his chair.
"Well, come on. If I'd read every message that comes in I would be busy all day." Frank said indignantly.
"Oh my God! And I thought you were just being stubborn and ignoring us! But you never even read it! I can't believe it!"
"What did it say, your oh-so-important message?"
"Well, it explained for example that a starfleet officer from the 22nd century got lost in time and that it`s possible that he's somewhere in your decade. And it said that he disappeared during a mission where I successfully tried to steal the metaphase deflector specs from the Suliban but that these specs are useless if Lieutenant Reed doesn't develop EM field technology which is the very basis for metaphase technology. *And* it said..." and Daniels shot Frank a very dirty look "...that if you could by any chance find out where the lost starfleet officer was you should please send him back so that we wouldn't have to disobey direct orders and come back here to find him ourselves!"
"Ahem..." Frank cleared his throat. "Did *you* send that message?"
"No, Lenning did, why?"
"Well..." Frank said uncomfortably, "normally I just throw out the messages Lenning sends me without reading them. Might have happened with that one, too."
Daniels took a deep breat and let it out in an exasperated sigh. "You're such an ignorant pig, Frank, sometimes I wonder why Command gave you that job here."
"They obviously thought I'm the right one to do it." Frank said defensively.
Malcolm looked from one man to the other. He only had a slight hunch what they were talking about, but he didn't think they should waste time fighting about that message, although he could perfectly sypathize with Daniels. He didn't know what he would have done in Daniels' position, but he doubted he would have left it at the 'ignorant pig'-comment.
"Excuse me, " he said. The two men looked at him, surprised either because they had forgotten that he was there or because he had decided to say something. "I don't want to interrupt you, but maybe we should think about the Suliban. I'm sure they're still looking for us, and I don't think this place is that hard to find."
"You're right, Lieutenant. Well," Daniels said and turned to Frank "will you help us?"
"After overlooking your message, I don't really have a choice, do I?"
"No, you don't."
-###-
"We located them."
"Very good. Where are they?"
"Still in the 20th century. It seems like they're really trying to get help from their spy. Should we attack immediately?"
"I'll leave the choice of time up to you, Kiles. But don't wait too long, we don't want them to get away, do we. Can you receive anything from the implant?"
"No, we are out of range."
"Try to make use of it as much as possible. It was too much trouble to install it to just waste the chance now. But like I said, don't wait too long."
"I won't. Do you want prisoners?"
"Why should I? They'd be just more trouble."
-###-
"Here it is," Frank said and pulled a small gadget from a save that had been hidden behind a picture. He dusted it off and handed it to Daniels who immediately pushed a button. The display came to live.
"What's that?" Malcolm asked. It was getting a little annoying that he was never able to understand what was going on. A few times he had felt the urge to just shake the information out of Daniels - or Frank for that matter - but until now he had been able to control himself.
"That is a temporal resequencer. It's a device our organisation uses for time traveling." Daniels answered, pushing some more buttons. Malcolm gasped as suddenly the room disappeared and they were surrounded by something that looked like three-D star charts. He looked around wide-eyed, and then turned to Daniels and Frank who were looking at a red line that run from the floor in a slight angle up to the height of Daniels elbow. At that point it parted, one line continuing ascending and the other one descending again.
"We are here," Daniels said to Reed, pointing to the descending line. "And we want to get there." And he pointed at the ascending line. Malcolm followed his finger and stared at the tiny red line. Daniels pushed another button and the sector of the chart zoomed in. Now you could make out small models of planets and stars along the red thread. Malcolm looked closer and discovered a miniature of the nebula they had been cartographing when he still had been on Enterprise. It was right next to the parting point of the line.
'This is better than any log entry ever could be,' he thought, amazed. 'You just take this thing and it records everything you do, and you can go back to any point during your mission any time you want. I bet if he zoomed in just a little bit more, I could make out the Suliban ship that...'
Be fore he could finish the thought a sharp pain cut through his head and he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut. Not noticing Frank's and Daniels' concerned questions, he could suddenly hear voices. And he could see something...no, someone in the dark shadows behind his eyelids. A man, bent over and looking at something another man was holding in his hand.
//are you receiving anything\\
//no, only shawdows and glimpses like before\\
//increase the input\\
The man holding the device pushed some buttons, and suddenly the pain in his head doubled, making him groan. Reed sank to his knees, his hands holding his head.
"No..." he whispered, "no, please, stop..."
The shapes behind is eyelids moved.
//nothing...I think he's blocking it somehow\\
//that can't be, he's only human\\
//this is a waste of time, let's go\\
//maybe you're right\\
The man put the device away, and immediately the pictures disappeared. Gasping, Malcolm opened his eyes and blinked at Daniels and Frank who were staring at him.
"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" Daniels asked, kneeling down beside him.
"They're coming." Reed said breathlessly. "The Suliban. I saw them."
"You saw them?" Daniels asked. "How...?"
"Doesn't matter." Reed shook his head but stopped at the pain it caused. "They're coming! They know where we are!"
"Oh hell!" Daniels leapt to his feet. "Frank! Give me the temporal..."
A phaser blast interupted him, emerging from seemingly thin air and hitting Frank square in the chest. Frank was slung backward and hit the floor, the temporal resequencer flying from his fingers. Reed tried to watch its course but was distracted violently as a phaser shot hit the floor right beside him, burning his hand. He yelped and hurried to seek shelter behind one of the armchairs. A quick look around told him all he wanted to know. Three Suliban had appeared in the room, all armed with the same kind of weapon the Suliban on the boat had used. Frank was laying on the floor, either unconscious or dead. Daniels was cowering behind the other armchair and was firing his own phaser at the intruders. As Malcolm looked, Daniels hit one of them and the Suliban dissolved. Noticing Reed, he yelled:
"Get the resequencer!" and immediately fired at a Suliban who had tried to advance on Reed's position. Scanning the room frantically, Malcolm could finally see something silver flicker behind the curtains. Glancing back and seeing that the two Suliban were still distracted by Daniels he ignored the flaring pain in his head and leapt for the small device. He could barely avoid another blast, then he grabbed the resequencer.
"Hit the red button!" Daniels yelled from across the room, and then cried out as a shot hit the chair, taking away the top half of the backrest.
Looking down, Malcolm saw a small red button next to the display and was about to hit it as he saw one of the Suliban aiming at him. He ducked and the shot hit the wall behind him, burning a hole into it. He didn't wait any longer and pushed the button. Immediately a glowing gate of light appeared in front of him. Clutching the resequencer tightly to his chest, he shoved himself forward and disappeared through the gate.
You never want to fight against the river law
Nobody rules the waves
Dire Straits, Single Handed Sailor
Outside, Daniels was waiting as promised. Pushing his embarrassment and self-contempt about the good-bye scene aside, Malcolm was just opening his mouth to ask what they were going to do now when Daniels turned and headed down the street, setting a killer pace. Rolling his eyes, Malcolm hurried to catch up.
"Where are we going now?"
Daniels shot him a glance. "We have to get to a meeting point where a friend of mine will be waiting to bring us back to the 22nd century."
"You can't do this yourself?"
"It's not that easy, Lieutenant." Daniels said.
"Okay," Malcolm said, sighing silently. "Where's that meeting point?"
"It's in this city," Daniels answered. "I don't know exactly where it is, but it's this way."
"Well, while we're walking you could finally answer my questions why I'm here."
Daniels suddenly stopped, eyes downcast. He looked up as Reed came up beside him, a questioning look on his face, and said:
"I'd rather not, Lieutenant."
"What?" Malcolm blinked. "Why not?"
"I can't tell you that. You have to tru-"
"Okay!" Malcolm interrupted him furiously. "You came to Enterprise to fulfill some mysterious mission, you messed with the Suliban and I was sent back to the 20th century and now that you found out that I don't remember anything of what happened, you don't want to tell me and say that I should bloody trust you! Do you know what I think? It is not too far fetched, I'd say, that you might plan something that's not absolutely legalized by your mysterious time-protection-organization. Or that you already did something like that. And now you want me to trust you? I mean, I know people say I'm paranoid, but in this case even Trip would get suspicious!"
Daniels, who had listened to the outburst with a stern expression on his face, sighed.
"I know this must seem very suspicious, but I can't tell you. It would destroy any sight chance we might have to bring you home safely."
"Could you just stop talking in riddles? Either tell me or tell me why you can't, but stop giving me these hints, they're driving me crazy!"
"Hints is everything I can give you and- " he held up a hand as he saw Reed taking another deep breath," -*and* if we don't start walking again soon, we can give up right here anyway. Lieutenant, you *have* to trust me. Please. I know it's hard in this situation, and I know it's harder for you than for anybody else, but it's the only possibility. Please, Lieutenant. Trust someone. Just once."
Reed crossed his arms, frowning, and considered what Daniels had said. In the end, it really came down to that: it was the only possibility. He could stay, and he could go, and if there was the slightest chance that he could return to Enterprise staying wasn't really an option. Reluctantly, he nodded.
"Very well. I'll trust you on this one. But when this is over, I want a complete explanation, with emphasis on complete. No riddles and no hints."
"Sure, Lieutenant. No riddles, no hints. A complete explanation; gold framed." The smile appeared again on Daniels' face as they turned and started walking again.
-###-
'I knew it,' Malcolm thought, dismayed. 'With my luck in the past few weeks, how could it be else.'
They were standing next to a broad river that ran through the middle of the city. Malcolm knew that its name was Danube, Petra had told him on one of their very few tours through the city. He had seen that there were big steam boats for tourists, but he had had no intention of going on one of them. They had looked very old-fashioned and not at all save. They in fact still looked like that, but to Daniels that obviously didn't matter. Smiling happily, Daniels was just lining up for tickets for a cruise on one of the boats, and Malcolm followed him reluctantly. Daniels had told him that they were supposed to meet the other person on the four pm cruise, and although Malcolm wondered why Daniels had chosen a steam boat, of all places, he was keeping his promise and trusting Daniels.
"There you go, Lieutenant," Daniels said cheerfully and handed him his ticket. Taking it, he looked at it doubtfully and then shoved it into his pocket. He followed Daniels who was walking towards a group of tourists who were also waiting for the gate to open so they could board the steamer.
"Are you alright, Lieutenant? " Daniels asked him when he came up beside him. "You look like something is causing you discomfort."
Malcolm forced a smile. "I'm fine, thank you. It's just that...you know, I don't really like being on a ship or boat. I prefer dry land."
"Oh really? I didn't know that. Well, I'm sorry, but it is necessary. If I'd known it, we could have met somewhere else but..."
"It's alright," Malcolm interupted him. "As long as we really stay *on* the boat..."
-###-
"Where is he?" Daniels muttered and scanned the nearly-empty room thoroughly. They were on the middle deck where Daniels had said they should meet the person who could bring them back.
"He's not here?" Malcolm asked. He had been nervous from the minute they had boarded the boat and now, looking at Daniels' tense expression, his unease deepened.
"No. He should be, he told me he'd meet me at 0415 hours. And now it's already 0423."
Malcolm swallowed. "Maybe he was delayed by something."
"No. This is first priority, he wouldn't just come late." Suddenly Daniels turned and looked at Reed. "How's your head, Lieutenant?"
"What?" Malcolm asked, confused by the sudden change of subject.
"Your head. You told me you're having 'headache attacks'. Do you feel anything right now?"
"No" Reed answered, frowning. "Well, I do have a bit of a headache, but nothing like these attacks I told you about." 'Considering where I am it's no wonder that I feel a little queasy', he added in thought.
"Do you have that often since you're here?" Daniels asked.
"Why? Is there something I should know about time travel effects?"
"I'm sorry Lieutenant, but..."
"...you can't tell me." Malcolm finished dryly, and Daniels smiled apologetically.
"I would if I could Lieutenant, but the risk is just too high."
"It's quite alright. I just hope your friend will turn up soon."
Once again Daniels scanned the room with his eyes.
"He's not here. Maybe he's on one of the other decks. Come on, let's..."
A beeping interupted him. Daniels dug a small silver object from his pocket and pressed a button.
"What's that?" Malcolm asked.
"That's a scanner," Daniels said, watching a small display appear on the smooth surface of the object. He stared at it for a second, then his eyes widened and he leapt to his feet.
"We have to get out of here! There's a Suliban on the ship!"
Malcolm scrambled to his feet when suddenly two phaser shots were fired at the couple that were the only other people in the room. Malcolm looked for the source and saw a Suliban materialize in front of a wall. He saw the alien turn and aim, and, grabbing Daniels by the sleeve, he dragged him under one of the tables. A second later a phaser blast hit the spot where they had been standing.
"What's he doing here?" Reed hissed.
"He wants to keep you from returning to the 22nd century."
"But- " he ducked as another shot hit the table. " -why?"
"Can't tell you." said Daniels as he pulled two small rectangular objects from his pocket. One he tossed to Malcolm.
"What's that?"
"Phaser." Daniels answered and immediately fired a shot at the advancing Suliban, who recoiled and also dived under one of the tables.
"A phaser?" Malcolm asked unbelieving, aiming with the small device and pushing the button. A blast hit the table under which the Suliban was hiding.
"When I yell we try to run to the door. Keep firing." Daniels whispered. He fired another shot and then shouted: "Now!"
They got out from under the table and immediately were surrounded by phaser blasts. Shoving Daniels towards the door, Reed ducked to avoid the shots and fired at the Suliban, hitting him in the chest. Staggering backwards, the Suliban dropped his weapon and vanished. Reed stared at the small weapon in his handand the looked at Daniels who was standing next to the door.
"This thing was set to kill?"
"Yes, indeed." Daniels said with an apologetical smile on his face. "You can't stun a Suliban. At least not one of the Cabal."
"So you just kill them." Malcolm stated.
"Well, yes, of course. If we don't they kill us."
"*His* phaser," he said, pointing to the weapon laying on the floor, "was set on stun. He wouldn't have killed us."
"Well, he would have taken us onto his ship and done something even more unpleasant. Come on, we have to get out of here, there are apt to be more Suliban on the boat."
"And where do you want to go? You're forgetting that we're on a river. You can't just walk out the front door."
"You can swim, can't you, Lieutenant? Now come on, we wasted enough time already." He turned and walked out, and Reed whose eyes had widened at Daniels' last sentence hurried to catch up.
"What do you mean? Do you just want to jump into the river and hope the Suliban won't fire at us while we're in the water?"
"They won't. They don't want to disturb the time-line, and firing at us while we're in the water would be noticed by the people on the ship. Why do you think the Suliban in there stunned the couple first? He didn't want them to see anything."
"But...you're crazy! We can't just jump from the boat!"
"What's the matter, Lieutenant?" Daniels tilted his head to one side."If I didn't know better I'd say you're scared."
'Yes, I am scared,' Malcolm thought, 'but you wouldn't give a shit if I told you.' Forcing a smile, he followed Daniels to the narrow staircase leading to the lower decks. He felt cold sweat on his back and his mouth was dry. 'I don't think I can't do this', he thought.
Suddenly the scanner beeped again. Daniels looked at the display.
"Another two Suliban are coming this way," he said. "Quick, we have to get somewhere where there're people."
They ran down the stairs and came into a small passage that lead to the board restaurant. Just as they wanted to enter, a Suliban appeared before them. Malcolm whirled around and faced another one.
"There you are, Daniels." one of them said. "Now you can't hide anymore. A pity that I have order to kill you, though. I'd rather just send you back to face your superiors. That would be much more fun."
"What did you do to Johnson?" Daniels asked the one that had spoken.
"He won't bother anybody anymore. Now move aside. Important business first."
He shoved Daniels towards the other Suliban and turned to look at Reed.
"You are much more trouble than you look like." he said. Malcolm raised an eyebrow.
"Am I supposed to remember you?" he asked.
The Suliban laughed. "No. But I thought you would since you seem to be able to remember anything else so well." At Reed's puzzled look he smiled and added: "What, can it really be that you don't remember me? I'm offended, Lieutenant, I really am. After all, you were a guest on my ship for, let's see...about twenty minutes. But, considering it, I don't think you enjoyed your stay. What, still no memory of me?"
Reed stared at the Suliban. He had no idea what the man was talking about. Obviously the alien had something to do with his visit to a Suliban ship Daniels had mentioned, but his mind refused stubbornly to release the information. Trying harder, he searched for the lost memory, and suddenly a name popped up.
"You're Kiles!" he exclaimed. Then he cried out as pain exploded behind his eyes. Staggering backwards, he felt hands grabbing his arm and he heard someone saying something, then everything went black.
-###-
He heard someone calling his name and felt a hand laying on his shoulder. Groaning, he opened his eyes and looked into the blurred face of Crewman Daniels.
"Ah, Lieutenant."
"What happened?" he asked and tried to sit up. Daniels pushed him back down.
"Relax. We're in no hurry."
"But...what about the Suliban?"
"They're gone. I don't know where they are, but I don't think they're still on the boat."
"And we are?"
"Yes, indeed."
Malcolm sighed. "Would you please tell me what happened?"
"You cried out before you passed out. That alerted some people in the board restaurant and they came to see if everything was alright. And since the Suliban are obviously very keen on protecting this time line they couldn't let themselves be seen and disappeared. The people from the board restaurant helped me get you here into the backroom of the boat's kitchen. Right now there are at least five people in front of the door, so the Suliban would have no chance to attack us." He lifted his eyebrows. "And you, Lieutenant? What happened with you?"
"I'm not sure," Reed answered, sitting up. "Suddenly it felt like my head was going to explode, and then I passed out."
Daniels sighed. "I thought so. Well, I'm afraid it'll happen more often until we can get you back to the 22nd century."
"Why? Do you know the cause of it?"
"I think so. But I can't tell you."
Malcolm opened his mouth, considered, and closed it again, giving Daniels an exasperated look.
"This is getting old, Daniels."
"Sorry, I really can't tell you. At least not until I know more." He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "We should land in about five minutes, then we'll be able to get off this boat and think about what we do next. Do you think you can get up?"
"Sure," Malcolm said and got to his feet.
"You're sure you're alright?"
"I'm perfectly fine, thank you."
"Well, then let's go. I think we're already there."
"Okay. The sooner we get off this boat the better."
-###-
"You still didn't get him, Kiles?"
"The human from the future protects him."
"But the human from the future is on his own, you eliminated the other human so he can't return and he can't get help from his organisation. He should not be a problem."
"He could get help from their agent."
"Well, that would make it very easy, wouldn't it. Then we do not need the human you captured. Just follow the other one. He will lead you. But don't eliminate the one with the implant. You can observe the other one through him."
"The implant doesn't work the way we planned it to."
"Are you able to receive anything?"
"Just glimpses."
"That is enough. Do as I told you, and you will be successful."
"I will."
"Good. You can go."
-###-
"I'm not moving one more step if you don't finally tell me what's going on!"
Reed, his arms crossed over his chest, was glaring at Daniels, who had a rather desperate look on his face.
"Please, Lieutenant. I *can't* tell you, if I could I would have done so long ago."
"But why can't you tell me, for God's sake? Since I met you, all I hear is 'I can't tell you that'. If another bunch of Suliban attacks us, I at least want to know why!"
Daniels looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath.
"Lieutenant, you said you'd trust me. If you don't want to, fine, but then I can't help you." He turned to go, then stopped and looked back at Reed. "Maybe it'll help if I tell you that I'm here against direct orders of my superiors."
"What?" Reed's eyes widened. "Why..."
"That mission during which you were sent back here was a catastrophe." Daniels said while he started walking again. Reed hurried to catch up. "I did achieve my goal, but the fact that you were removed from the 22nd century made my achievement useless. Your disappearance altered the time line in a way that wasn't desastrous but put us into disadvantage against the Cabal. I volunteered to get you back, but my superiors decided that would be too risky since we didn't know anything about the situation - where you were and if you weren't dead already anyway. Well, me and a bunch of other people didn't want to accept that, first of all because then the work of years would have been wasted, and second-" he turned and looked at Reed "-because we could imagine that you're not too happy wherever you might be. So we decided that in this case we'll put our own judgement over that of our superiors and get you back anyway." He lowered his gaze. "The guy we should have met on the boat, Johnson, lost his life for that. I think you could be at least a little bit grateful."
Reed stared at the other man, lost for words. He swallowed and cleared his throat.
"I...I didn't know that. If I would've I'd never..."
"Well, now you know. So maybe you could stop bugging me about things I won't tell you anyway."
Malcolm nodded, looking at the other man thoughtfully. Since he had met Daniels, he had made the impression of a young, wet-behind-the-ears and slightly arrogant man. Now Reed thought that he might have to reconsider. Daniels had screwed up on a mission and had seen that his superiors denied him the possibility of straightening out his mistake, so he had ignored them and taken on the responsibility. Reed wasn't sure if he approved of that but he knew that one needed a lot of courage to do something like that. And Daniels seemed like he knew what consequences his actions would have.
'Maybe I was the one who was being arrogant,' he thought ruefully. 'Wouldn't have been the first time.'
-###-
"Here we are." Daniels said ten minutes later. They were standing in front of an apartment building in an old and seedy part of town. Looking around, Malcolm was remembered of his first encounter with Germany 1985: garbage cans and broken glass everywhere. He turned to Daniels.
"Okay, what do we want here?"
"Meet someone who'll be able to help us." Daniels answered and pushed the door open. Reed followed him into the building.
After they had climbed the stairs to the fifth floor Daniels finally stopped in front of one of the doors and knocked. The two men waited, and just as Reed opened his mouth to suggest that maybe no one was home they heared a key being turned in the lock, and the the door opened, releasing the view on a man in his late thirties. Reed's eys widened.
"Oh my God, *you*!" he cried in surprise, gaping at the apartment's inhabitant. "How..." He turned and stared at Daniels who looked equally surprised, but for another reason.
"You know him?" he asked. Reed turned back to the man who was still standing in the doorway.
"Yes I do. I met him shortly after I got here. His name's Frank."
-###-
"So you found you memory." Frank said after he had led them into the apartment's small living room.
"Yes. Actually, it happened just after our conversation." Reed answered. He still couldn't quite believe that this was happening.
"How interesting. Well, when I met you I thought that you, like me, were an agent from some organisation, and I didn't know if I could trust you, so I preferred to play the native German of 1985 instead of blowing my cover and finding out who you really are. I tried to find you after you disappeared, though, but couldn't. You did a good hiding job."
"You're an agent? What kind?"
"I do what most agents do. I work undercover and try to find out if the enemy plans anything. I belong to the organisation Daniels is a member of, too, and our 'enemy' are the Cabal. Some time ago, they were pretty busy sending people back into this decade, so we decided an agent wouldn't be a bad idea. And here I am, spying on the Suliban, although I can tell you in the two years I'm living here I didn't find out much. Well, Daniels," he said and turned to the other man, "why did you come here?"
"I need your help. Lieutenant Reed's not supposed to be here, and I have no possibility to send him back. Or let's say, the Suliban eliminated my possibility."
"They didn't get your temporal resequencer, did they? Please tell me they didn't."
"No, they didn't get my temporal resequencer because I didn't have one from the beginning. My mission here is...not really authorized."
"What are you saying?"
"That I'm here against my orders. I came here from the 31st century through the time gate - without permission - and wanted to use the Guardian to get back. But they got Johnson."
"What guardian?" asked Malcolm.
"Doesn't matter," Frank said and immediately turned back to Daniels. "The Guardian? Good plan, Daniels, you're just forgetting that it was destroyed."
"Yes, I know, but that was 2974, I think. We could have gone to the 22nd century. That's why Johnson was in on the whole thing. You know, Johnson, the guy who was in command over the station on the Guardian's planet."
"Oh, you planned to just jump into the 22nd century? And how would you've gotten back home?"
"I would have let my people from the 31st catch me. But that doesn't matter now since we can't use the Guardidan."
"So you want me to send you back?"
"If you would?" Daniels gave him a pleading look. "Please, the metaphase deflectors aren't worth a dime if Lieutenant Reed doesn't develop EM force field technology in the 22nd century."
"What metaphase deflectors?"
"You didn't read the message we sent you?" Daniels asked, sitting up in his chair.
"Well, come on. If I'd read every message that comes in I would be busy all day." Frank said indignantly.
"Oh my God! And I thought you were just being stubborn and ignoring us! But you never even read it! I can't believe it!"
"What did it say, your oh-so-important message?"
"Well, it explained for example that a starfleet officer from the 22nd century got lost in time and that it`s possible that he's somewhere in your decade. And it said that he disappeared during a mission where I successfully tried to steal the metaphase deflector specs from the Suliban but that these specs are useless if Lieutenant Reed doesn't develop EM field technology which is the very basis for metaphase technology. *And* it said..." and Daniels shot Frank a very dirty look "...that if you could by any chance find out where the lost starfleet officer was you should please send him back so that we wouldn't have to disobey direct orders and come back here to find him ourselves!"
"Ahem..." Frank cleared his throat. "Did *you* send that message?"
"No, Lenning did, why?"
"Well..." Frank said uncomfortably, "normally I just throw out the messages Lenning sends me without reading them. Might have happened with that one, too."
Daniels took a deep breat and let it out in an exasperated sigh. "You're such an ignorant pig, Frank, sometimes I wonder why Command gave you that job here."
"They obviously thought I'm the right one to do it." Frank said defensively.
Malcolm looked from one man to the other. He only had a slight hunch what they were talking about, but he didn't think they should waste time fighting about that message, although he could perfectly sypathize with Daniels. He didn't know what he would have done in Daniels' position, but he doubted he would have left it at the 'ignorant pig'-comment.
"Excuse me, " he said. The two men looked at him, surprised either because they had forgotten that he was there or because he had decided to say something. "I don't want to interrupt you, but maybe we should think about the Suliban. I'm sure they're still looking for us, and I don't think this place is that hard to find."
"You're right, Lieutenant. Well," Daniels said and turned to Frank "will you help us?"
"After overlooking your message, I don't really have a choice, do I?"
"No, you don't."
-###-
"We located them."
"Very good. Where are they?"
"Still in the 20th century. It seems like they're really trying to get help from their spy. Should we attack immediately?"
"I'll leave the choice of time up to you, Kiles. But don't wait too long, we don't want them to get away, do we. Can you receive anything from the implant?"
"No, we are out of range."
"Try to make use of it as much as possible. It was too much trouble to install it to just waste the chance now. But like I said, don't wait too long."
"I won't. Do you want prisoners?"
"Why should I? They'd be just more trouble."
-###-
"Here it is," Frank said and pulled a small gadget from a save that had been hidden behind a picture. He dusted it off and handed it to Daniels who immediately pushed a button. The display came to live.
"What's that?" Malcolm asked. It was getting a little annoying that he was never able to understand what was going on. A few times he had felt the urge to just shake the information out of Daniels - or Frank for that matter - but until now he had been able to control himself.
"That is a temporal resequencer. It's a device our organisation uses for time traveling." Daniels answered, pushing some more buttons. Malcolm gasped as suddenly the room disappeared and they were surrounded by something that looked like three-D star charts. He looked around wide-eyed, and then turned to Daniels and Frank who were looking at a red line that run from the floor in a slight angle up to the height of Daniels elbow. At that point it parted, one line continuing ascending and the other one descending again.
"We are here," Daniels said to Reed, pointing to the descending line. "And we want to get there." And he pointed at the ascending line. Malcolm followed his finger and stared at the tiny red line. Daniels pushed another button and the sector of the chart zoomed in. Now you could make out small models of planets and stars along the red thread. Malcolm looked closer and discovered a miniature of the nebula they had been cartographing when he still had been on Enterprise. It was right next to the parting point of the line.
'This is better than any log entry ever could be,' he thought, amazed. 'You just take this thing and it records everything you do, and you can go back to any point during your mission any time you want. I bet if he zoomed in just a little bit more, I could make out the Suliban ship that...'
Be fore he could finish the thought a sharp pain cut through his head and he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut. Not noticing Frank's and Daniels' concerned questions, he could suddenly hear voices. And he could see something...no, someone in the dark shadows behind his eyelids. A man, bent over and looking at something another man was holding in his hand.
//are you receiving anything\\
//no, only shawdows and glimpses like before\\
//increase the input\\
The man holding the device pushed some buttons, and suddenly the pain in his head doubled, making him groan. Reed sank to his knees, his hands holding his head.
"No..." he whispered, "no, please, stop..."
The shapes behind is eyelids moved.
//nothing...I think he's blocking it somehow\\
//that can't be, he's only human\\
//this is a waste of time, let's go\\
//maybe you're right\\
The man put the device away, and immediately the pictures disappeared. Gasping, Malcolm opened his eyes and blinked at Daniels and Frank who were staring at him.
"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" Daniels asked, kneeling down beside him.
"They're coming." Reed said breathlessly. "The Suliban. I saw them."
"You saw them?" Daniels asked. "How...?"
"Doesn't matter." Reed shook his head but stopped at the pain it caused. "They're coming! They know where we are!"
"Oh hell!" Daniels leapt to his feet. "Frank! Give me the temporal..."
A phaser blast interupted him, emerging from seemingly thin air and hitting Frank square in the chest. Frank was slung backward and hit the floor, the temporal resequencer flying from his fingers. Reed tried to watch its course but was distracted violently as a phaser shot hit the floor right beside him, burning his hand. He yelped and hurried to seek shelter behind one of the armchairs. A quick look around told him all he wanted to know. Three Suliban had appeared in the room, all armed with the same kind of weapon the Suliban on the boat had used. Frank was laying on the floor, either unconscious or dead. Daniels was cowering behind the other armchair and was firing his own phaser at the intruders. As Malcolm looked, Daniels hit one of them and the Suliban dissolved. Noticing Reed, he yelled:
"Get the resequencer!" and immediately fired at a Suliban who had tried to advance on Reed's position. Scanning the room frantically, Malcolm could finally see something silver flicker behind the curtains. Glancing back and seeing that the two Suliban were still distracted by Daniels he ignored the flaring pain in his head and leapt for the small device. He could barely avoid another blast, then he grabbed the resequencer.
"Hit the red button!" Daniels yelled from across the room, and then cried out as a shot hit the chair, taking away the top half of the backrest.
Looking down, Malcolm saw a small red button next to the display and was about to hit it as he saw one of the Suliban aiming at him. He ducked and the shot hit the wall behind him, burning a hole into it. He didn't wait any longer and pushed the button. Immediately a glowing gate of light appeared in front of him. Clutching the resequencer tightly to his chest, he shoved himself forward and disappeared through the gate.