The Ties That Bind

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.

To borrow a phrase: Star Trek: The Next Generation no mine...no money, no sue, please?

The seven members of the Enterprise's command crew found themselves in a dark room.

"Geordi, Worf, Data! What are you doing here?" the Captain asked as soon as his eyes had adjusted enough to see them.

"I don't know, sir" Geordi answered for them all, sounding very confused.

"If I might, sir, where exactly is here?" Data inquired.

"Good question" Will remarked.

"Don't you recognize it, Commander?" Q emerged from the darkness, "It's your sister's mind"

"How did I get here?" the Councilor asked. She was standing uneasily by Will who hadn't notice her until she spoke.

"Your mother thought I ought to bring you along" Q answered.

"If we're in Miranda's mind," Beverly now asked, "Where is Miranda?"

"I just got you in" Q told them, "You have to find your way around"

"Captain, the human psyche is very complex" Troi started, "We could wander around forever trying to find what we need"

"What we require is some sort of map" Worf said.

"Or a guide" Geordi quipped. The room was slowly growing lighter and they could now tell they were in a library. It was a well adorned library, with a comfy chairs and tables and rows of orderly shelves. There were plenty of books, but no maps. There was, however, a surprise crumpled up in a corner.

It was a small girl, seven or eight years old at the most. Her dark brown hair fell past her shoulders in dirty knots and there was a smudge of dirt on her nose. The smock she wore had at one time been decent, but was now ripped along the hem and looked as if it hadn't been washed in a long while. She stood cautiously, her small body tense and ready to fight.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, "You aren't supposed to be here, this is my place!" The library, which a moment ago had been grand, had now lost all it's luster. The curtains became patched and moldy. The furniture was now broken and much of it was strewn about. Half of the shelves were empty and heavy with dust, and those books that had been left were disintegrating. The Enterprise crew were shocked by the changed conditions.

"My name is Jean-Luc" the Captain told the girl, "I'm afraid we're lost" But the little girl didn't seem to hear him. Her piercing blue eyes were set on Will.

"Will" Deanna said quietly, "I think you're the only one she can see"

"Me?" Will repeated.

"Yes, you, stupid!" the little girl replied, "Who else would I be talking to"

"You're the only she would have known at that age. That girl is a younger self image of Miranda" Deanna went on, "This place must be somewhere she played as a child"

"That's Miranda?" Will could hardly believe it. She was filthy. She looked as if she hadn't eaten more than some bread crumbs for days and there were numerous little bruises and cuts all over her tiny body. He determined that as soon as they'd gotten out of this, he was going to sit down and make her tell him everything.

"Yes, I'm Miranda" she told him scathingly, "Did you expect a Princess?"
"Miranda, I'm looking for someone. Another girl. She's in a lot of pain" Will surged forward, afraid of losing time.

"Oh, her" the little Miranda rolled her eyes and picked at the thread bare chair next to her.

"Do you know where she is? Will you take me there?"

"Are you kidding? The monster will eat me!" the little Miranda cried and stepped backwards. The darkness seemed to engulf her and she was gone.

"Well wasn't she sweet?" Q muttered.

"Captain!" Worf cried, "A door!" And sure enough, just where the little waif had disappeared, there was a door.

"Q?" Jean-Luc inquired. The powerful being shrugged his shoulders.

"Councilor?"

"I don't think we'll come to any harm by going through, sir" Deanna answered, "And the fact that it appeared right where she disappeared may have significance"

"All right. Will, you lead the way" the Captain ordered. Will lifted the latch and they stepped through the door...onto a sunny little knoll. A small city lay below and past a small wooded area. There was a single tree growing on top of the hill to which the crew made their way.

"I recognize this" Beverly commented, looking around curiously.

"It is from one of Miranda's paintings" Data informed her, "She said she used to read here"

"Another hiding place" Geordi surmised. As they reached the tree, some form of a willow, Worf's eyes narrowed.

"Sir" he growled quietly, "We are being watched" Before Jean-Luc had the chance to ask for more information, a figure dropped to the ground in front of them....or rather in front of Will.

"Miranda?" Will was just as surprised as he had been by her previous appearance. She was no longer dirty or unusually thin, though she would always be lithe, but her hair had been shorn off by some incapable hand and her clothes were that of a boy. She had a hard look on her face and had a long stick in her hand. In fact, if they hadn't known any better, they all would have thought she was a street boy.

"Do I look like a girl to you, buster?" the 13 or 14 year old asked, trying hard to mask her voice. Will straightened up, assuming his commanding side.

"You look like my sister, Miranda" he told her. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'm Miranda. How'd you find me, and what do you want?"

"You led me here, and I want to help you" Will replied.

"Yeah, you and what army?" Q, who had thus far been very composed, laughed.

"Well, she is delightful, isn't she?" Miranda's knees bent and she lifted the stick up in a defensive position. (Worf practically glowed with pride) She was starring right at Q.

"Q! Where'd you come from?" she demanded, relaxing just a hair. There was a confused look on Will's face.

"You can see him?" he asked.

"Of course I can see him. You think I'm blind or something?"

"Councilor?" the Captain asked.

"She must've met him by the this time" she answered.

"This is all your fault" Miranda snarled at Q, "If you hadn't shown up, he never would have"

"Yes" Q almost sounded sincere, "Sorry about that" Will rounded on him.

"You mean this is all your fault?"

"Of course not" Q answered automatically, then took a second glance at Miranda, "Well, maybe a little" he amended. Rage boiled in Will's chest, but there was precious little time and he couldn't spend it throttling Q. Even now there were signs something was happening. The sun had lost it's brilliance, the tree seemed to be dying and the city below was now nothing but empty buildings. He turned back to Miranda, thankful she hadn't run off.

"We need to find him"

"Uh-uh!" she replied, stepping back hastily, "I'm not going back to that city. You can just forget it" And with that she did run off.

"Park must be in the city then" Geordi said.

"Brilliant deduction" Q muttered. The Enterprise crew ignored him as they began the trek down hill. It didn't take them as long as it should have to get into the city, but then they had no idea where to go.

"Sir" Data nodded to his left. A figure with shoulder length dark hair was just turning a corner. They ran to follow her. Every street they turned down, she was just disappearing from. She seemed to be growing taller and her hair longer, aging as they hurried through the streets she had grown up in. The buildings gave way from shacks to mansions slowly the farther in they moved. They turned a final corner and came to a crashing halt. Miranda was no where to be seen. They stood in the middle of an intersection of four roads.

"Look!" Beverly suddenly pointed to a small corner building. A sign hanging above the door read, "Antiques and Rare Items: Lang Wu"

"Mr. Wu's shop" Jean-Luc said, "Miranda said she lived nearby"

"Its possible they're at her old apartment" Deanna suggested.

"I thought you said Miranda liked her apartment" Geordi objected.

"I did" the Councilor confirmed.

"Why would Park take her somewhere she liked to be tortured?" Data asked.

"Because she felt safe there" Beverly guessed, "It's the natural place for her to retreat to"

"And that's where Park could do the most damage" Q added.

"All right" Will said, "So which way?" They looked down all four converging streets. There were no obvious signs. Most of the buildings were sores with apartments above them. They were all rather drab. It would be nearly impossible to determine...

"Windows" Will suddenly said, pointing to his right. There was sunlight glinting off a large set of windows on the top level of a building not too far away.

"Miranda loves windows" It was the only thing she'd really ever told him about herself, how she loved big windows to let he sunlight and the fresh air in. That building was the only one with large windows.

The group hurried. The inside of the building was as drab as the outside. The stairwell spilled them into a hallway with one door marked "M1." It was a plain wooden door with only one unusual characteristic.

It had no opening device.