**Briefing**
Captain Picard sighed. He turned to a taller and younger man who had been standing at his right and said, "Well, number one, it must have been too quiet. Now we have another Q adventure to deal with."
Dani stood on the bridge looking at the empty spot that the strange 'Q' fellow had just occupied. "Where are we?" she asked the captain quietly. Logan grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a hug.
The tall man chuckled at the captain's comment and turned to their new guests. "We are currently in orbit around the gas planet of Seti-alpha 7," he said.
Captain Picard raised a hand to interrupt his first officer. "Let us start with more proper introductions," he said. "The officers will join us in my ready room for a briefing, it's this way." He led Logan and Dani to a room that was just off to the right of the main bridge.
A door automatically slid open for them to enter, and Logan kept Dani close. He didn't trust these strangers, and he made sure he was prepared for anything. He surveyed the room which seemed to be a conference room. The far wall was lined with windows that looked out at the stars, and the view was spectacular. There was a long table with a dozen chairs around it, and the captain walked to the chair at the end.
The captain offered them seats at the table, and the other officers shuffled in and took seats as well. When the captain sat down, Dani's eyes started searching the faces of the officers. She knew one of them was a telepath, and she was going to confront them for prying. She spotted the culprit. It was an exotic looking dark haired woman.
Where I come from, people ask permission before they look around in my head, Dani said to her telepathically.
"I did not mean to intrude," the woman said to Dani out loud, drawing everyone's attention. "I am Commander Deanna Troy, the ship's counselor."
Captain Picard cleared his throat loudly to regain everyone's attention. "Let's continue with the introductions, and then you can explain your situation. This is my first officer, Commander William Riker. Beside him is the ship's doctor, Dr. Beverly Crusher. Counselor Deanna Troy is seated across from Lt. Commander Worf, our head of security. Lt. Geordi LaForge, our head of engineering, and Commander Data, are to his right."
Everyone nodded in acknowledgement of their names, and the captain paused a moment to wait for their guests to speak.
Logan leaned back in his chair and looked them over. Their uniforms were all black, except for a red, gold, or blue design on their shirts. They all had a gold pin on their left breast in the shape of an upturned arrow on a circle. A space ship. That's just damned terrific. Logan frowned at the whole ridiculous state of affairs and asked, "Where are you from?"
"This is a starship from the United Federation of Planets which is based on the planet Earth," Picard said.
Dani sat up and immediately asked, "What year?"
"The current star date is…" Data started to say, but was immediately interrupted.
"What year is it on Earth?" Logan asked quickly.
"It is 2369," Data said.
Logan turned to Dani and whispered, "This is completely wrong. There's no way Earth could be building ships like this only one hundred years in the future."
"What year are you from?" Commander Riker asked.
"2259," Logan said.
"Perhaps if you explained your situation," Picard said as he raised an eyebrow at Logan's comment.
Logan gave Dani's hand a squeeze and said, "Go ahead, baby, you tell them."
Everyone looked at Dani expectantly. "Logan and I are from Earth," she began. "We are Mutants." She waited for comments.
"What do you mean mutants?" Dr. Crusher asked.
"Humans that are born with various natural evolutionary advancements," Dani tried to explain. "I'm not very good at explaining the technical side of it," she said under her breath. Dani turned to Logan, "I wish Jean or the professor were here."
Logan gave her hand a squeeze.
"There are no records of Mutants in Earths history," Data said firmly.
"That's what I was afraid of," Logan said angrily. "Someone has been toying with time again."
"I thought you said you dismantled the portal after that whole Odium fiasco," Dani said to Logan.
"Do continue with the story," Captain Picard interrupted, trying to get his guests back on track.
"Yes, of course," Dani said, and then continued. "All mutants have special gifts of some sort, as you may have noticed, but we have not always been accepted."
"We've never been accepted, Dani," Logan interrupted. "In every century, from the twentieth, when mutants first emerged, to the present, mutants have been hated, feared, persecuted and hunted."
"And experimented on," Dani added under her breath.
The officers all stared at them in shock and horror at the story.
Logan continued, "I met Dani in 2002, when I rescued her from a lab that experimented on mutants. She had been locked up in a cage, and forced to use her powers in a painful and unnatural way. We married and had a daughter, about two and a half centuries ago."
"Then your mutation gives you immortality?" Dr. Crusher asked.
"Only him," Dani said with a smirk, "I was tossed around in time for a while."
Logan growled at that comment and added, "You were stolen!"
"I'm home now," Dani said reassuringly as she put her hand on his arm. "The point is that our grandkids, Jesse, his wife and daughter were kidnapped by a…what was it that Q guy call him?"
"Ferenghi," Logan said. "What the hell is a Ferenghi, and what does he want with our kids?"
"You said that mutants have 'gifts,'" Dr. Crusher said. "Perhaps he was interested in them because of that. What sort of gifts do your grandchildren have?"
"Jesse can control water, Nikki can alter elements at the molecular level, and little Dani is too young to manifest her powers yet," Logan said.
"And what about you," Worf said suspiciously.
Logan growled at the man's obvious challenge and Dani answered for him, "Logan has uncharted healing ability, which is why he is so old. His skeleton is reinforced with adamantium, and he has retractable adamantium claws."
"And that's natural?" Geordi exclaimed.
"No," Dani said flatly. "He was experimented on, against his will."
"My God!" Dr. Crusher said.
"He has an anger management problem as well," Dani said with a smirk.
"And you are a telepath?" Deanna asked Dani.
"Not really, my telepathic ability is limited to other telepaths, or Logan," she said.
"Then what is your ability?" Commander Riker asked her.
"Dani is a …she can…awe hell, baby, just show them. Your list is too long," Logan said.
"Forget it," Dani said in annoyance. "It's not important, and we are wasting time. What does this Jervis want with our family?"
"Jervis is a known Ferenghi criminal who deals in the slave trade, and any other profitable illegal franchise," Captain Picard said.
"He is not overly intelligent, though, which suggests that he has a partner in this venture," Commander Riker said. "If he kidnapped your family from 2259, then there was time travel involved."
"Precisely," the captain agreed. "Commander Data, see of you can locate our elusive Captain Jervis."
Data nodded and left the room.
"So what are we supposed to do, stand around and wait for you to find him?" Logan asked angrily as he stood to his feet. He was fighting to keep control of his anger, but it was difficult. Dani took his hand and gave it a squeeze.
"We're not very good at waiting around," Dani said to the captain more calmly. "We have been ripped from our home, and apparently from history as well. It is a bit unnerving."
"That's understandable," the captain said. "I'm sure you could use some rest, and I will keep you informed of any new information. Consider yourselves our guests. Mr. LaForge, will you show our guests to their quarters on your way back to engineering?"
"Of course," Geordi said as he stood. "If you'll come with me." He said to Logan as he headed for the door.
Logan was not satisfied with the brush off, but Dani stood and grabbed his arm. "We appreciate your gracious welcome, captain," Dani said. "We arrived on your ship uninvited, and you accepted us at our word, thank you."
The captain nodded at her polite answer, and noticed how she had to nearly drag her husband from the room. When the door closed behind their guests, he opened the floor for discussion.
"All right," Picard sighed, "opinions?"
Deanna was the first to respond. "They do not trust us," she said. "They are, however, being completely honest with us. Logan is very angry and unpredictable. He wants to find his family, and he wants revenge. Dani is calmer, but she is very guarded. I cannot read much from her."
"I do not trust them," Worf said. "They should be under constant guard."
"I don't think they are a threat to us," Dr. Crusher said. "I would like to have a look at them in sickbay. The thought of natural mutations among humans has me intrigued."
Captain Picard listened to their comments and considered his own impression. "What do you think, number one?" he asked Riker.
"I want to know more about them," Riker said. "The uniforms they were wearing, for instance, what are they for? Why haven't we heard of mutants before?"
"Good point," Picard agreed. "Allow them the freedom of the ship, but keep an eye on them. I'll extend an invitation to dinner, and perhaps we can question them further in a less formal setting. In the mean time, everyone return to your posts."
*****
In the turbo lift, Logan was brooding. He stood with his arms crossed, and an angry expression. Dani ignored it and tried to make light conversation with their chaperone.
"What is that over your eyes?" Dani asked Geordi.
"It's a visor designed to read the full light spectrum and transmit directly to my brain. I am blind without it," he said.
"And does this device allow you to see normally?" Dani asked.
"No," Geordi said.
"I'm sorry to be so nosey," Dani said. "I shouldn't have asked."
"It's quite alright," Geordi said.
The turbo lift stopped and the door opened. Logan and Dani followed Geordi down the hall to their room, and he stepped aside for them to enter. It was a large suite, and Logan was impressed.
"The replicator is right here if you get hungry," Geordi said.
"The what?" Logan asked as he examined the strange device in the wall.
"Here, I'll show you," Geordi said. "What would you like to eat or drink?"
"Right now I could go for a whole bottle of Jack Daniels!" Logan said roughly.
"Uh, I'll take a Starbuck's triple venti mocha," Dani said.
"Excuse me?" Geordi said in confusion at both orders.
Logan sighed, "Coffee, one black and one with cream and sugar."
Geordi nodded at an order he could finally understand, "Computer," he said, and Logan and Dani could hear a faint beeping sound, "Two coffees, hot, one black, and one with cream and sugar."
Two cups of hot coffee appeared in the little cubbyhole in the wall, and Logan cautiously took his and sniffed it. Dani laughed at his expression and took her cup and tasted it.
"Not Starbuck's, but not bad," she said. "Thanks."
"Feel free to explore the ship, and if you get lost, don't hesitate to ask," Geordi said.
There was another strange beeping sound, and Geordi reached up and touched the pin on his uniform.
"This is LaForge," he said.
"Lieutenant, please invite our guests to dinner with the officers at 1900 hours…"
"Yes, Captain," Geordi said. "LaForge out."
"Handy," Logan said, pointing at his communicator.
"Well, you heard the captain, I hope you'll join us," Geordi said.
"Of course," Dani said. "We'd be honored, thank you."
Geordi nodded. "Someone will pick you up here a few minutes before 1900," he said and then left.
"Well, now what?" Dani asked Logan.
"I'd really like to get my claws into that Q!" Logan said angrily. "There's a lot more going on than just Jesse's family being kidnapped. We're in a completely different timeline or something."
"What if they weren't the only mutants kidnapped?" Dani speculated.
"I don't know," Logan said as he walked over to the window to look at the stars. "It is obvious that we do not belong here, and I don't trust these people."
"I think they're on the level," Dani said. "We're the ones who dropped in on them."
"I hope you're right," Logan said. "We're flying blind on this mission, and those are our kids that are missing. We should have been there Dani. We shouldn't have stayed away for so long."
"There was no way we could have known they were going to be kidnapped by aliens… Damn that sounds ridiculous! But it's no one's fault. It'll be fine," Dani said. "You'll see." Dani wasn't feeling very confident, but she was trying to comfort Logan. He didn't need to beat himself up over this.
Logan growled angrily. "I hate waiting; let's go have a look at the ship."
Dani set down her coffee, "Good idea, let's go."
