Picard and Worf turned to see two ghosts.
"Logan? Ms. Lee?" Picard gasped.
"I am please to see you again." Worf said calmly.
Picard glanced at his security chief. "You knew they would be here." he stated in a flat voice.
"Yes, sir."
"Worf came ta me and offered us protection and sanctuary in the Klingon Empire." Logan told him. "I accepted as long as ya wasn't involved."
"Why?"
"Yer a powerful advocate for mutants. They need ya where yer at, not in a brig on Earth. Me and Jubes needed ta get outta the Federation so we can live our lives in peace."
"I am still officially a slave, Captain." Jubilee told him. "By your own laws, you must return me to the Ferengi. Logan has been a slave to the Federation for two centuries. Our only chance at freedom is the Klingon Empire. With them, we can be free, productive members of their society. We can have a family without interference and raise our children as we see fit."
"Let us have dinner and discuss this." Gowron said. "This kind of talk goes better on a full stomach."
Dinner was a small affair with Gowron, Picard, Worf, Logan and Jubilee. In deference to their tastes, many human dishes were served. Jubilee stayed with what was familiar but the others ate from both cultures.
"I don't understand how you got off that ship." Picard told Logan. "We saw it explode and I know Gowron wasn't anywhere near."
"I was three sectors away." Gowron confirmed.
"Then how did you get off the ship?"
"That was our doing." a woman said. Picard looked up to see a white clad figure float down from the ceiling.
"Lt. Williams?" he gasped.
"Actually, it's just Regina. You have declared Lt. Williams dead."
Logan looked at her as she settled to the floor. He had not seen her since she accepted Phoenix and the change was significant. Where she had worn green and gold, now she was wearing white with a gold Phoenix emblem across her breasts. The only time he saw this uniform was when Jean had convinced Phoenix to return to the 'white hot room'. Phoenix colors were green and gold and Dark Phoenix, red and orange. What was the significance of these new colors?
"Integration?" he hazard a guess.
"We are one." she confirmed. "Regina is the dominate personality. Phoenix is the power. We are stronger now than we have ever been before."
"And in better control?" Jubilee asked.
"Regina is stronger to begin with." Regina/Phoenix told her. "She will not allow Phoenix to run amok. We will do what we were created for."
"And that is...?" Picard asked.
"We were created to maintain the balance in this universe. What is not working is destroyed to make room for what will work. When stars grow old and begin to falter, they become a danger to the stars around them. We destroy them to allow their star matter to reform."
"Regina is human." Jubilee warned her. "She won't have your lifespan. How will you find another host?"
"We can sustain this vessel for as long as necessary." Phoenix told her. "Logan knows we can bring the dead back to life."
"She reformed me from the cells out." he said. "I don't think she's gonna have any trouble keepin' Gina alive as long as she needs ta."
"With complete integration, aging stops. There will come a time when the human part of us will become tired of the work and we will need to separate. The separation will be temporary. We will let you know when that happens, Logan. You will still be alive."
"What of the child?" Picard asked. "I noticed she was here."
"The child is the last of a great line of very strong women." Phoenix told him. "She is barren."
"How did you convince Q not to kill her?"
"The Q have been neutralized. The child will remain with Logan and Jubilee. They will raise her as their own along with the child Jubilee now carries."
"I'm pregnant?" Jubilee squeaked.
"Not possible." Logan growled. Jubilee had been surgically sterilized when she was sold for the first time and Star Fleet chemists continually come up with new drugs to keep him from reproducing.
"He was conceived two nights ago. Did you think we wouldn't reverse what was done to you both?"
Logan leaned back in his chair, a look of shock and pride on his face. "A son?" he asked in an awed whisper. "We're havin' a son?" This was new for him. All of his other children and most of his descendants were female.
"Every man needs sons to send into battle and bring glory to his house." Gowron told him, pounding his back in congratulations. "Yours will be strong. May you have many more."
"Wolvie?" Jubilee asked in a small voice.
He pulled her from her chair and sat her on his lap. "Don't worry, Jubes. I'm glad yer gonna have my kid." He was smiling hugely at her. He hugged her tightly and whispered into her ear. "Later, I'll show ya just how happy I am."
"My property on the home world is yours to do with as you please." Worf told them. "All I ask is that you make my son welcome when he visits."
"It seem that you have everything arranged." Picard commented. "Why did you want me to know?"
"Jubes and me felt that you deserved ta know the whole story." Logan told him. "It didn't feel right ta lie ta ya."
"All we ask is that you not alter your log and let Star Fleet know Logan is still alive." Jubilee said. "He still has family on Earth and they would be in danger if Star Fleet intelligence knew about us."
"That's how they were controllin' me. They had two of my descendants as hostages and threatened ta kill the rest. If they think I'm dead, they'll leave them alone."
"We will protect your family, Logan." Phoenix told him.
"That's okay, darlin'. I don't think Wetzel can deal with ya. He's a bit of a wuss."
"Well, we guess that's true." she mussed. "We suppose our appearance on Earth would send the X-Men into a tizzy."
"The X-Men are still active?" Jubilee asked.
"They call themselves X-Men but they ain't the same thing. It's more like a trainin' team than a fightin' team. They're no match fer any of the enemies we went up against."
"We must go." Phoenix announced. "We must take care of that white dwarf Q was going to trap us with."
"Ya knew about that?"
"Very little gets by us" she said wryly. "We will visit from time to time. Take care of the Gray child. She is our child, after all." She rose and flew through the top of the ship.
"Very strange entity." Picard said, looking at the ceiling.
"One of a kind." Logan agreed. "Do ya agree not ta mention us in yer logs?"
"I see no reason to change my logs but keep in touch with me. I think things will be changing for mutants in the near future and if you ever wish to come home, I would be honored to take you."
Picard returned to his ship full and happy with the way things had worked out. He and Worf had agreed that they would not mention the mutants again. At least not until the laws had been changed and it was safe for them to come home.
And he believed that change would come about soon. Humans were not tolerant of suppression in any form. The fact that an entire section of humans were being held in slavery would go against the grain for the majority of the population. And those who thought their mutant family members were being trained by Star Fleet would be extremely angry when they found out where they really were. The social upheaval would bring down the present administration and usher in a new one. He hoped the change would be for the better for everyone, not just for mutants.
There was the chance that these changes would bring civil war but Picard had faith in his people. He thought they would take the change with dignity and grace but only time would tell. The next few years would be interesting.
Fin