AUTHOR's NOTE: This short story is set toward the end of season 1. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated and gratefully accepted.

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE
In the Eyes of the Beholder

Captain Jonathan Archer picked his way carefully across the tunnel floor. Fragments of stone littered the area, some in crooked piles, others haphazardly strewn here and there over the stone floor. It was the latter that were the more dangerous in the semi-darkness, with only the single light to guide his way.

Going alone had been dangerous and perhaps even foolish. T'Pol, his Vulcan science officer, had advised against it, saying it wasn't "logical"; Tactical Officer Malcolm Reed had strenuously objected, arguing it wasn't safe and the captain was too valuable to be putting himself in such danger, and even his normally adventurous Chief Engineer and long time friend, Trip Tucker, had advised against it. Yet here he was alone in a dark tunnel with only a small light to guide his way to a meeting with a mysterious alien.

The argument in his ready room seemed as if it had happened years ago, the details slipping away unless he really focused on them. Why had he thought this was a good idea? Oh, yes, the mysterious alien had insisted on it. And why had he agreed to something that could so easily be a trap? That answer took a little longer to come back to him. Because the alien had seemed sincere in its desire to establish friendly communications and learn more about humans. And for some reason that remained stubbornly out of reach of his memory, he had believed it.

Without warning he found himself on his knees. The few seconds of concentration involved in exploring those memories had distracted him just enough so he'd missed one of the rock fragments, its color and texture so like the surrounding stone, he hadn't even realized it wasn't part of the tunnel floor until it was too late. Uttering a disgusted curse, he pulled himself to his feet and examined his legs. The left had taken the brunt of the fall and a small trickle of blood oozed down his bare leg. Why was his leg bare . . .he rubbed his eyes and looked back down -- at a 4" tear in his uniform leg and the blood that had trickled down across the exposed skin to stain the blue material around it.

There was something about this place that made him feel disoriented and unsure of himself. The possibility that his crew had been right about not coming here alone -- that he had made a very big mistake in judgment -- tickled at the back of his mind. Those doubts fled as he looked ahead and saw the end of the tunnel bathed by light. Fascinated, he forgot about his injury and moved forward toward the light.

Archer passed through the tunnel exit and could only gape in awe at the incredibly tall and impossibly wide cavern where it ended. The cavern walls were made of a stone that was naturally reflective, seeming to catch the light in the room and amplify it tenfold before sending it back. And the light was not simply white, it was shot through with beautiful colors that made it seem as though it was passing through stained glass.

His wondering eyes finally reached the center of the room and he couldn't contain the gasp of awe. Hovering above a pool of water in the center of the cavern was a creature that his mind could only comprehend as a fairy. It had large almond shaped blue eyes that were so clear, Archer felt like he could fall into them. There was long blond hair that came down past its shoulders but Archer didn't notice how far it fell because his eyes were locked on the incredibly beautiful wings that held the creature aloft. As they fluttered, they seemed to ripple with color and a distant part of his mind registered that they had to be the source of the stained glass effect in the air.

"Captain Archer," the creature -- he couldn't resist thinking of it as a fairy -- said gently, "it was very kind of you to come. I realize my request that you come alone was quite . . . unusual . . . and may have been unsettling, but, as you can see, I am quite alone here and, therefore, must be cautious."

Archer frowned at the words. "I didn't realize you were alone here. I thought you wanted to establish relations between our two peoples."

"We could not be certain of your intentions, so we thought it best that I meet you on neutral ground. That way if you turned out to be . . . unfriendly . . . you would not know the location of our homeworld to be able to harm our people. If discussions between us go well, then we can discuss my taking you to meet the rest of my people."

Archer struggled against that feeling of distance, as if his mind was bogged down in molasses. "But our sensors detected over a thousand life signs here."

The creature looked at him quizzically. "Are you sure?"

And suddenly Archer wasn't sure, he wasn't sure about much of anything. "Yes, I'm sure," he said, struggling against a new wave of disconnect and uncertainty. "That's why we contacted you -- why I agreed to come. To learn about your civilization. Our mission is to go out among the stars and meet the people who live there -- and hopefully to make friends with them, and to exchange knowledge when it's appropriate."

As Archer spoke those truths with great conviction, he felt the sense of heaviness and uncertainty leave him. For the first time since landing on this planet he felt fully himself and fully "there." He found himself looking around the cave again, but this time the light did not seem as dazzling and there were more shadows. Looking at the "fairy" he could almost see a shape behind it -- large and wide, with strange contours.

The "fairy" frowned and Archer felt the sense of heaviness and disconnection pressing at him again. But this time he was prepared for it, because now he realized it was not the planet that was doing it. He concentrated harder on the creature and could make out more details in the shadow behind it. The fairy seemed to fade and he could barely see what looked like a giant slug with legs like an elephant and a head like a snake. What he saw unsettled him and he felt disgust rising as the image became more focused.

"Captain," a gentle voice broke through his concentration and he was staring at the fairy again, "is something wrong? You look ill."

"N...no, nothing's wrong," Archer stammered, shaken by the vision he thought he'd seen. He searched the shadows for it again, but it was gone.

"Perhaps it is not yet time for us to become friends," the fairy said sadly. "I don't think you're ready yet."

"Ready? Ready in what way?"

"The universe is an amazing place, Captain, full of worlds and creatures beyond your imagination. There is so much out there for you to see and experience. But you and your people are still limited by your lack of experience. You are not yet ready to let go of all of your misconceptions and prejudices."

Archer's back went up at the words because they reminded him too much of the Vulcan propaganda he'd been forced to listen to for years. But it was worse because his experiences of the past year had taught him that there might be a kernel of truth in the words. "We're certainly not perfect, but we are trying. And how do you know we're not ready to let go of the prejudices and misconceptions if you won't give us a chance."

"Perhaps you should go back to your ship now, Captain, and we can talk another time. It is too soon for this conversation."

Archer found himself turning back toward the tunnel. A small voice in his mind whispered, 'What are you doing? Don't just give up! Convince it to talk to you.' Archer forced himself to turn back toward the alien, although he had to fight through that molasses feeling to do it. He wasn't sure what he was going to say and was surprised at the words that came out of his own mouth. But as soon as he said them, he knew they were right. "I'm not seeing you in your true form, am I. That shadow I keep glimpsing, that's your true form, isn't it."

The alien looked stunned, and then delighted. It bobbed up and down as its wings fluttered excitedly. "I knew you were more perceptive than they believed," it responded excitedly. "You can actually see my true form? How delightful! How absolutely delightful!"

"Why didn't you just appear to me in your true form," Archer asked heatedly. "Why the subterfuge?"

The wings slowed as the creature in front of him sobered. "What was your reaction to what you could see of my true form, Captain? Wasn't it revulsion? And you could not even see all of me at that point. No, you are not ready to see me in my true form. It would frighten and disgust you, and a nice, genial conversation like the one we've been having would have been impossible. I took this form from your mind, as something familiar and trusted, although 'alien' in its own way, so we could speak without fear and distrust."

"Yet, how can I trust you when I now know you've lied to me and may be manipulating my mind so that I see things differently than they really are? How can I know what is true and what is not in dealing with you?"

"A difficult question indeed, Captain, and one I cannot answer right now. I believe it is best for you to return to your ship now and we can speak again another time."

Archer started to protest, but felt a rush of wind around him and had to struggle against the sudden feeling of panic that engulfed him when the light that had been the fairy creature simply disappeared. He thrashed out against the wind and pressed his eyes closed against the onslaught against his face. Just as suddenly as the wind had appeared, it disappeared and he found himself sitting in his bunk aboard Enterprise, dressed only in shorts with the sheets tangled around him. Porthos gave a concerned 'yip' from his bed across the room and shot Archer a sleepy look, before settling back down.

Archer felt himself shivering. It had only been a dream. Of course, it had to be a dream. He never would have gone down to a strange planet alone. That was why so many things had seemed unreal or just plain wrong with the experience. It had been a dream. He took several cleansing breaths as he untangled himself from the sheets, then stopped when he saw his left leg. There was a cut on it, with dried blood around it. He stared at the injury for a long time trying to remember where and when it could have happened other than in a tunnel leading to a brightly lit cavern in a dream.

"Wasn't it delightful," Aadleo said excitedly, moving his aged body awkwardly across the cavern floor. "He saw beyond the illusion! That's never happened with a humanoid before. Never!"

"It was a fluke," Daoleo responded mildly, secretly happy to see his friend and mentor so excited. "He won't remember any of it when he wakes up."

"A fluke? A fluke! How can you even say that? Do you realize the amount of mental control required to see beyond one of our illusions. These Earthlings must be observed in greater detail. What a fascinating study it will be. And you'll be able to say you were here from the very beginning. You'll be famous."

"I thought you intended to retire," Daoleo responded. "You said this assignment was an insult and that the others were only trying to get you out of the way while they waited for you to die."

Aadleo sneered at the memory, then laughed. "Fools! They'll just have to wait a little longer for me to die! They thought they were sending me on an acolyte's errand. Little did they know how important a find this would be. Come, we must make arrangements. These humans are going to make the galaxy a very interesting place to be. You just wait and see. We must be prepared. Hurry, hurry, there is so much to do."

Daoleo smiled fondly as he lumbered after his friend toward the device that would instantly transport them halfway across the galaxy to their home world. He silently hoped the humans would make the galaxy an interesting place -- and thereby continue to give his friend something to live for. If they did, he would owe them a great debt. One he would be very happy to someday repay.

THE END