Chapter 6

Acting Captain's log; stardate 61538.9: The anomaly's reaction has stabilized, as has the Captain's condition. All the more evidence that the two situations are related. Now I have been informed that we may have new information due to the unorthodox actions of our science officer.

Ser'rek Thrim entered sickbay with Ens. Rikka Samae. Lt. Cmdr. Lect Nixx was trailing after them. Laying on her biobed was Capt. Lander with Dr. Crusher and a nurse attending. On another biobed was Lt. Cmdr. T'Sel. Dr. Bashir was attending to her. Henry Hickensen stood next to his wife but had his eyes on T'Sel.

Ser'rek walked first to Dr. Crusher. "What's the Captain's status?"

"She's stable. I won't know for sure if there has been any permanent damage to her brain until she is awake again, but I think she is alright…for now. Another episode like that, and we may have permanent damage." Dr. Crusher turned her head to the other biobed. "Cmdr. T'Sel wishes to speak to you. She is refusing medical care until then. Please go to her. She needs her rest."

"Yes, Doctor." Thrim turned to the other biobed and spoke to Dr. Bashir. "How is she?"

"She has received neurological damage," said Dr. Bashir. "She took the brunt of the mind meld, intentionally I believe. She should recover, but she needs rest."

"The doctor is right on all accounts," spoke T'Sel weakly. "But I have to pass on what I've learned."

"Speak efficiently," said Ser'rek. "Then you will rest."

"The Captain, she is or at least her mind is temporally displaced. She is in her body about seven years younger, serving on the original Orion, NCC…"

"The hull number is not necessary," said Thrim.

"Of course, Ser'rek." T'Sel never used Thrim's first name, but Capt. Lander did. T'Sel must have picked up some of the Captain's mannerisms in the mind meld. T'Sel continued. "They are studying the same anomaly, which appears to exist in both time periods."

"Really?" said Ens. Rikka with interest. "Then perhaps the Mercury is from the past as well."

"That is an interesting thought," chimed in Cmdr. Nixx.

T'Sel reached for Rikka. "You were right. The anomaly is a living entity. And it is telepathic. I and Capt. Lander believe it is responsible for her temporal displacement." T'Sel strained. "You must continue your research, Ensign."

"Of course, Commander."

"You should rest now," said Dr. Bashir.

"No, one more…" T'Sel strained again. She had to force the words out. "Captain…entered the…anomaly."

"Entered?" asked Henry approaching at that moment. "How?"

"Shuttlecraft," said T'Sel. "Look for her signal." T'Sel was fading.

"Commander, she can't take any more," said Dr. Bashir.

Thrim looked down at the Vulcan woman. "You need to rest now, Commander. That's an order."

"Yes, Commander." T'Sel laid back on her biobed.

Then all her vital readings dropped to dangerously low levels. "Doctor?!" Thrim called in alarm.

"Don't worry," said Dr. Bashir. "This is normal in Vulcans."

"Normal?"

"Yes, Vulcans have learned to take conscious control of much of their bodies. In time of injury, Vulcans can shut down many bodily functions in order to concentrate on the injured organ. In this case I would presume that T'Sel is focusing on providing all necessary bodily resources to her brain."

"You mean like a self-induced coma?" asked Henry.

"I suppose you could call it that," said Dr. Bashir. "But medically speaking this and a coma are quite different realities. I will monitor T'Sel's condition and have someone standing by when the time comes to awaken her."

"She will need assistance coming out of her coma?" asked Thrim.

"Oh yes. She will need to be awakened from her unconscious state at the last possible moment," said Bashir.

"How?" asked Thrim.

"Pain is the most effective way," said Bashir. "They used strike Vulcans extremely hard until they woke. I will ready a hypospray that will induce pain in a less barbaric way."

Lt. Cmdr. Nixx asked the next question. "Cmdr. T'Sel spoke of a signal from the Captain. What do you suppose that will be?"

"I don't know," said Thrim. "Any ideas? Henry?"

"I'm not sure how Lindsey will try to communicate. She might not even know herself," answered Henry.

"We will look for any signs," said Thrim. "You are her husband. We may have to call on you."

"Of course," said Henry.

"Cmdr. Thrim," came the voice of Lt. Selina Chaput-Mikkelsen over Thrim's commbadge. "Cmdrs. Grant and O'Hara-Grant have arrived. They want to speak with you as soon as possible."

"Understood. Have them meet me at the bridge," said Thrim. He turned to the doctors. "Let me know of any changes in either of our patients." Thrim received nods from both doctors. He turned to Henry before leaving. Henry gave him look of appreciation. Then he, Lt. Cmdr. Nixx, and Ens. Rikka left for the bridge.

Lindsey had to pilot the shuttlecraft manually into the shuttle bay of the Mercury. Apparently, the guidance tractor beams were not functioning. It had been a long time since Lindsey had to land a shuttle on manual control. She set down the shuttle with a solid thud. It made her wonder what other systems were down on the Mercury.

Lindsey crawled out the side door. There to meet her was a young Ktarian woman. She wore the alternative Starfleet uniform with her blue section color on her shoulders and black for the rest. And she had one gold pip on her color indicating her rank of ensign. She looked like she was asleep on her feet. Nevertheless, she responded promptly. "Lieutenant, welcome on board the Mercury. I'm Ens. Walmanta Kolm."

"I am Lt. Lindsey Lander of the Orion." It took an effort for Lindsey not to introduce herself as a captain. "Can you take me to your captain?"

"Please follow me to the bridge." Lindsey noted that the young woman did not say they were going to the captain. Lindsey followed the woman. They met no one in the corridors. The emptiness disturbed Lindsey. Eventually they reached a turbolift. As they entered the ensign called out their destination. "Bridge." Lindsey felt the lift moving.

The lift opened in the rear of the bridge. Lindsey had only been on the bridge of an Intrepid class starship a time or two. It was just a bit smaller than the Orion-A. It had three levels. Lindsey on was on the top rearmost level. On her right was the tactical station. On her level were various other stations with operations on the far side. On the middle second level was the command chairs for the captain and the first officer. In the center of the lowest and frontmost level was the helm. Unlike both the Orion and the Orion-A there was no navigator's position. Most captains had merged the role of navigator into helm and operations decades ago. Lindsey and Capt. Taylor were old fashioned.

Lindsey looked at the people. There were four crewmen. One at the helm, one at tactical, and one at operations. Lindsey noted that those three all bore enlisted ranks. The last member of the bridge crew stood up from the captain's chair. He wore a yellow uniform with the two solid pips of a lieutenant senior grade. "Welcome on board the Mercury," he said. "I am Lt. Ahmad Madani. I am in temporary command of this ship."

"I am Lt. Lindsey Lander from the Orion," responded Lindsey. "Where is your captain?"

"Sickbay with most of the senior staff," replied Lt. Madani. "Many more members of our crew are in a cargo bay which we have set up as an auxiliary medical center."

"How bad are the injuries?" asked Lindsey.

"Injuries? No, not injuries," replied Madani. "They are all comatose. Something with this anomaly is messing with their brains."

"You are monitoring them, right?"

"Yes, Lieutenant," said Madani. "Everyone with the slightest bit of medical training is assisting. Our EMH is running sickbay."

Lindsey paused for a moment. "How many crewmembers are comatose?"

"Almost 80% of the crew is comatose, including the captain, first officer, chief engineer, and chief medical officer. We have almost no officers. Lt. Mirgal and I are the same rank. She's an engineer and is needed in Engineering more than here. We suffered massive power failures when the anomaly formed around us, but she has the critical systems online. I'm an operations officer, therefore more suited to the bridge. Ens. Kolm is also a bridge officer, in training."

Lindsey took it in. The Mercury's situation was even worse than the original Orion when Lindsey had to take command. At least Lt. Madani's crew was still alive. As she ran Lt. Madani's words back through her mind, something else caught her attention. "You said the anomaly formed around the ship?"

"Yes, it knocked us out of warp, our systems crashed, and it formed around us. We sent out a distress signal. Your presence tells me that the signal must have gotten out before the anomaly cut off our transmissions. I am glad Starfleet responded."

"We were in the area," said Lindsey.

"So, which ship are you from?"

"I told you, the Orion."

"And which one is the Orion? The Ambassador or the Galaxy class?"

"What?" asked Lindsey.

"There are two ships out there, Lieutenant," said Madani.

"There are? There wasn't when I left the Orion."

Madani seemed confused. "Chief, power up the viewscreen," ordered Madani to the helmsman. "Look and see for yourself. There are two ships here, they've both been here since this began." Lindsey looked at the main viewer and gasped.

Before Lindsey was indeed two starships, the Orion and the Orion-A!

"So, which one is yours?"

Before Lindsey could stop herself, she said, "Both."

"Confirmed, the shuttle is inside the anomaly," said Lt. Okimoto. "It seems to have had a difficult time passing through the barrier, but now it is inside."

"Can you tell where it is?" asked Capt. Taylor.

"No," replied the science officer. "For a while we could see it, or at least what we thought was the shuttle. The sensors are unable to get a clear image. But whatever we saw is gone now."

"Gone?" asked Taylor in alarm. "What do you mean?"

"We can't pick up the object with our sensors anymore."

"You mean it was destroyed?" asked Luis.

"Possibly, but it is equally possible that the shuttle entered the Intrepid ship's hanger bay."

Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. It was hard to image Lindsey Lander just being gone so suddenly. She turned to the engineering console. "Was there any damage to our modified shuttle?"

"No, Ma'am," said one of the engineers. "The shuttle returned to the shuttle bay after the collision for inspection, but Lt. Cmdr. MacDonald reports only superficial damage. A couple of dents that shouldn't affect the mission or the crew as well as some damage to the paint job."

"How soon can the shuttle be ready for deployment?"

The engineer replied. "Ten minutes."

"Make it so. And ready the probe," ordered Taylor.

"You're going to proceed with the probe?" whispered Luis to her.

Taylor leaned closer to her first officer. "Yes, Lindsey's move was foolish, but it doesn't change anything. We need to communicate with that ship. In fact, I bet Lindsey is counting on it."

"You're allowing her to call the shots, Captain," noted Luis.

"Yes, she is forcing my hand, and I'm not happy about it. But we have to play the game now." Taylor allowed a bit of irony to humor her. "Besides, technically she and I are the same rank."

Thrim, Nixx, and Rikka exited the turbolift at the rear of the bridge. As Thrim walked forward he noticed new people on the bridge. "Cmdrs. Grant and O'Hara-Grant, I am glad to have you back." The married couple who included both the Orion's Chief of Security and Chief Engineer nodded their response. Thrim then asked the bridge crew in a command tone. "Any changes?"

"Yes, Sir," reported Sensor Chief Shelton. "We detected an additional object inside the anomaly. Our sensors were able to identify it as a Starfleet shuttlecraft. It piloted its way to the shuttle bay of the Mercury. But we did not launch any shuttlecraft, and I can't believe a ship cloaked or otherwise could have entered the area without us knowing."

"I agree with Chief Shelton," said O'Hara-Grant.

"Unless the shuttle came from another time," said Grant. "Launched from a starship in the past."

"What makes you say that?" asked Thrim. Thrim already knew about the shuttle from T'Sel's mind meld with the Captain, but he was curious how Grant knew.

"Chief Shelton and Lt. Vibee have been telling us about how this anomaly has temporal qualities," answered O'Hara-Grant.

"And," began Grant. "I'm fairly certain I've seen this anomaly before."

"Where and, more importantly, when?" asked Thrim.

"Here, near Betazed. Seven years ago on the old Orion," said Grant.

"You did?!" asked Ens. Rikka in excitement. "What can you remember about it? What was its temporal variance? Was it projecting the same energy field?"

"I don't know," said Grant. "I was only a junior officer in security at the time."

"What do you remember?" insisted Rikka.

"Not much, I was never briefed," said Grant.

"Was the Captain on board the Orion at that time?" asked Thrim.

"Yes, she was." Grant paused for a minute. "I believe she and I would be the only overlapping crew between the Orion at that time and the Orion-A now. Ah, besides Chef."

"Was there anything odd or unusual in her behavior during the time of the anomaly?" asked Thrim.

"Yes. She passed out on the bridge as we approached. She was disorientated afterwards. I had to help her to her quarters one night when she got lost. Then she did something completely unlike her. She stole a shuttlecraft and flew it into the anomaly. I believe Lindsey Lander is on that shuttle which we saw enter the anomaly."

"I see," said Thrim in a level voice.

Grant eyed him suspiciously. "You're not as surprised as I thought you would be. What do you know that I don't?"

"T'Sel mind melded with the Captain in sickbay," said Thrim. "She told us that the Captain's mind is stuck in her younger body about seven years ago when the original Orion was studying this same anomaly. She also said that she took a shuttlecraft into the anomaly. You are confirming her story." Thrim then asked. "What happened next?"

"I don't know," answered Grant. "I tried to stop her from stealing the shuttle, but she shot me."

"The Captain shot you?!" asked his wife, Cmdr. O'Hara-Grant.

"The phaser was on a stun setting," replied Grant as if that made it better. "I spend the next part of the day in sickbay. Then Capt. Taylor ordered me not to speak about it to anyone, and that the Captain, or rather Lt. Lindsey Lander was acting out of illness."

"What kind of illness?" asked Thrim.

"Ah… Beta-meningitis."

Thrim nodded his head in understanding. "I believe that Capt. Taylor lied to you, Frank. That wasn't Lt. Lindsey Lander that shot you and stole that shuttle. It was our Capt. Lindsey Lander."

"That's quite the theory," said O'Hara-Grant.

"No, actually that makes a lot of sense to me," said Grant. "The Lt. Lindsey Lander I knew back then would not have taken such a rash action. But the Capt. Lander I've come to know would."

"Really?" challenged O'Hara-Grant to her husband.

Grant gave his wife a sarcastic look. "I've seen Lindsey ram a Romulan warbird with her starship, take on a ship full of Borg drones by herself, and illicitly have a romantic relationship with her first officer right underneath Starfleet's nose."

"Good point," admitted O'Hara-Grant.

Thrim drew the bridge's attention to himself. "Everyone, we know that a time displaced Capt. Lander is inside this anomaly. She told T'Sel during the mind meld to watch for her signal. I want all avail sensors to be watching the anomaly. Report any new or differing activity from it. Cmdr. Grant, you know the Captain as well as anyone on board this ship, excluding her husband. I want your eyes on this."

"Yes, Sir," replied Grant.

"With your permission, Sir," spoke O'Hara-Grant. "I would like to return to duty and work with Miss. Vibee."

"Permission granted," agreed Thrim. "And I need an addition science officer to pick up from where T'Sel left."

"Commander," spoke Ens. Rikka boldly. "I know there are other science officers on this ship with a higher rank and more experience than I, but I've been working on this study alongside Cmdr. T'Sel from the beginning. And you heard her say that I was on the right track. I believe that I am the science officer you are looking for."

Thrim sized up the young Bajoran woman. He hadn't seen her assert herself like this before. But he could tell the confidence she was displaying was genuine. "Alright, Ensign. The study is yours. Let me know if you discover anything."

"Thank you, Sir." Ens. Rikka returned promptly to her science station. Thrim could tell that she had ideas already in her head. It was against his better judgment to entrust the life of the Captain and the fate of the Mercury to such a young officer, but some instinct told Thrim otherwise.

As he was returning to the captain's chair, he overheard O'Hara-Grant whisper to her husband. "Our little girl is growing up."

Thrim smiled. The Grant's had taken Ens. Rikka under their wing after the death of her older sister. Perhaps she was growing into a better officer. And if she performed well today, perhaps it was time to acknowledge that growth.

"What do you mean both are your ship?"

"It's complicated," said Lindsey in reply to Lt. Madani.

"This whole situation is complicated. I need the information, Lieutenant."

Lindsey put her hand on the young man's shoulder and pulled him to the side of the bridge where none of the others could hear her whisper. "This anomaly that we're caught in is a temporal anomaly. Those two ships that you see are both here, but not at the same time. One of them is from your time and the other is from your future. They are likely not even aware of each other's presence."

"How could you know that? And how are both your ship?" asked Madani.

"The ship on the right is the USS Orion, Ambassador class. It is from your contemporary time period. The ship on the left is…well, I can't tell you its name, but it is from the future."

"How far into the future? And why can't you tell me its name?"

"I cannot tell you its name nor anything about it, including what time period it is from, because of Starfleet's Temporal Displacement Policy."

"The Temporal Prime Directive," said Madani with understanding. "But how is it that you have knowledge of this future ship."

Lindsey took a breath. She had told Capt. Taylor because as ship's captain she deserved to know. Madani might only be a lieutenant, but he was in command of the Mercury. It was logical to inform him too. "In this time period, I am a lieutenant on board the Orion. In the future, I am the captain of the other ship. Somehow, my future mind has been placed into my past body. I have all the future knowledge and memory of myself as a captain." Madani looked at her with disbelief. "You do not believe me?"

"I don't know what to believe, Miss. Lander. Am I to take your word for it?"

"I suppose that would not be logical," replied Lindsey.

"It would help me believe if you could use your future knowledge to tell me how we got out of this mess," suggested Madani.

"I do not how to get us out of this situation," said Lindsey.

"I thought you had future memories. Wouldn't that include this very situation?"

"I have no memory of this incident," said Lindsey. "Two logical explanations are perhaps that this anomaly is a temporal incursion, and it is already changing my timeline. Alternatively with my future self in control of my past body, my past self may not be conscious enough to record memories. Either way, I don't remember these days."

"That's inconvenient."

"Indeed." Lindsey looked out at the viewscreen at the two Orion's. "But I am convinced that this anomaly is the cause of my temporal displacement. And I will do everything I can to get you and your crew out of this situation and to get me back to my own time."

"This isn't my crew," said Madani. "I'm just in temporary command."

Lindsey looked at the young man. "Temporary or not, Captain, this is your crew."

"Don't call me captain."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but your captain and command staff are medically unfit for duty. You are now the acting captain of the Mercury," said Lindsey. "The title goes with the job, Captain."

"It just makes me nervous," said Madani. He sighed heavily and hung his head.

"When's the last time you slept, Captain?" asked Lindsey.

"I don't know, over sixty hours. The rest of the crew has been getting some intermittent sleep, but I've been awake since this catastrophe began."

"You are burning the candle at both ends," said Lindsey.

"I have to, for the sake of my crew," said Madani. "I can't sleep on the job."

"That's illogical," said Lindsey. "A captain has to be functional for his crew. If you are sleep deprived, then you are not helping them."

Madani turned to Lindsey. "You have no idea, Lieutenant, no idea what it is like to suddenly have the responsibility of an entire crew depending on you."

"You're wrong, Captain," said Lindsey. "I know exactly what it is like."

"What do you mean?" asked Madani.

"I can't tell you," said Lindsey. "But I can help you. The Orion was about to attempt a means of communication when I left to come here. Until they do, I suggest you go to the ready room and take a nap. Ens. Kolm and I will cover the bridge. And I promise to wake you as soon as something happens." Lindsey then added, "It is the logical choice."

Madani released another exhausted sigh. "You're right." He paused in thought. "Lieutenant, have you ever done studies on Vulcan?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Because you talk an awful lot like a Vulcan."

"I do?" Lindsey thought about it for a moment. She did just experience a Vulcan mind meld. She must have picked up some of T'Sel's mannerisms.

"Yes, you do." Capt. Madani yawned. "But you can explain it later. He turned to the only other officer on the bridge. "Ens. Kolm, you have the bridge. Lt. Lander will assist you in any way you need. I'm taking a nap. Wake me after twenty minutes or if anything happens."

"Yes, Sir," said the young female officer. Madani turned and exited the bridge's starboard side for the captain's ready room. Lindsey walked up to the young ensign. She turned to Lindsey and with clear concern for her commanding officer said to Lindsey, "Thank you."

Samae stared at the data until her eyes were sore, hoping to find something new. Finally, she turned away from the console and stared at the stars through the bridge's skylight.

"Stumped?" said Melinda Vibee.

"I feel like I'm so close," responded Samae. "I told Cmdr. Thrim I was the scientist for the job. Now I'm afraid of disappointing him."

"I'm sure that won't happen," said Alivia. Frank and Alivia had become Samae's close friends ever since the death of her sister Rikka Nolean. Alivia had stayed on the bridge and was being brought up to speed. Frank had gone into the captain's ready room with Cmdr. Thrim. As acting captain, Thrim was trying to learn all he could from Frank's last encounter with the anomaly.

"Time for a mind reset," proposed Melinda.

"A what?"

"A mind reset," repeated Melinda. "It's something we do in Engineering when we are stumped by a malfunction."

"Yeah," said Chief Shelton as he joined the conversation in the rear of the bridge. "When we are really stumped, we drop all our lines of thought and restart from the beginning, listing what we know."

"It's very helpful," added Alivia. "And it could help me get up to speed."

"So, what do we know?" asked Melinda.

Shelton started, "We know this anomaly is a temporal one."

"Yes," said Alivia. "Existing in at least two different times if Frank is correct about seven years ago."

"There is also Cmdr. T'Sel's testimony from her mind meld with Capt. Lander," added Samae.

"And that raises the connection with the Captain," said Melinda. "There is an energy field connecting this anomaly with the Captain's body in sickbay. And, apparently, it has a temporal power to it; transporting the Captain's mind back seven years."

"That would have to be a telepathic power," said Samae. "This anomaly doesn't appear to be any form of technology, and it is hard to imagine a merely natural phenomenon having such a specific effect on a human mind."

"Which implies that this anomaly is actually a living entity," said Melinda.

"And if it is a living entity, then we would need to find out what it wants or needs," said Samae.

"That would imply that we try to communicate with it," said Alivia.

"Only if it is intelligent," countered Samae. "Then it might be able to communicate its wants and or needs. But if it is not, then it will be operating on instinct."

"An instinct for food? Or nourishment?" asked Melinda.

"Or safety or defense," said Samae. "Maybe even companionship."

"Like a puppy," said Alivia. "A stray who follows a kind stranger. Maybe the Captain is the one it has become attached to."

"Why the Captain?" asked Melinda.

"Because she's the only one who was present in both time periods," proposed Samae.

"What about Frank?" asked Alivia. "He was there on the old Orion."

"But he wasn't here," said Samae. "At least not when we first encountered the entity. Maybe it latched on to the first person it could find."

"Chef Matthews was also in both time periods," countered Alivia. "He seems unaffected."

"Maybe the Captain's history of neutral trauma made it easier for the entity to attached itself," suggested Melinda.

"Whatever the reason, we are no closer to finding out what this creature wants or needs," said Samae.

"Chief, you've been silent," noted Melinda.

"This is outside my wheelhouse," said Shelton. "You officers might cross the blue and yellow boundary, but I am just the sensor chief. I could tell you all about the chroniton particles out there, but I am no good at living entities."

"Chronitons!" exclaimed Samae.

"There it is again," said Melinda, pointing at Samae. "The look of inspiration. You have an idea, Rikka. Spill it."

"A possible idea, but I need access to more information," said Samae. "I need to make a subspace call."

"Use the conference room," said Alivia. As a senior officer Alivia had the authority to use or delegate the ship's resources.

"Thank you, Commander," replied Samae. She got up from her workstation and exited the bridge by the starboard side door. Once in the adjoining conference room she walked up to the main monitor. "Computer, priority subspace message to Deep Space Nine." The computer beeped its acknowledgement, and Samae waited for the response.

The image revealed a Trill woman in a red command uniform. "This is Lt. Cmdr. Dax of Deep Space Nine." The Trill woman's face lit up in a smile. "Ens. Rikka, what a surprise!"

"Hello, Cmdr. Dax."

"Please, it's just Dax," replied Dax. "Is Julian behaving himself?" Dax asked.

"Yes, Comman…Dax." Samae wasn't entirely comfortable referring to the first officer of Deep Space Nine simply by her name, but ever since Samae's recent mission to the Bajoran station, she has enjoyed some preferential treatment from the station's command staff. "Dr. Bashir has been a great help in a very complicated medical matter."

"That's when he's at his best," said Dax. "What can I do for you, Rikka?"

"For research purposes I would like access to all command, science, and engineering logs and data from stardates 50124.3; 51794.6; and 58188.2."

"That's an interesting selection," said Dax. "I remember each of them, the first two as Jadzia and the last one as Ezri. All of them deal with the Wormhole Aliens. Personal research, Rikka?"

"No, this is professional," said Samae.

"Alright. Transmitting now."

Samae waited for the confirmation from the computer. "Thank you, Commander."

"You will have to tell me all about it on your next visit to DS9. Remember, Jadzia was a scientist. I share many of her interests."

"I will do that, Dax," said Samae. "Orion out." The two women share a brief smile before the screen when blank. Ezri Dax always had you feeling good at the end of a conversation. It was probably a combination of the Ezri's counseling background and Dax's jovial personality.

Samae refocused on her work. "Computer, display available logs from stardate 50124.3." The computer beeped, and a list of log entries appeared. She paused on the log by Capt. Benjamin Sisko. As the Emissary, he would know more about the Wormhole Aliens, but Samae needed a scientist's or an engineer's take on matters. She found Chief O'Brien's log, but her eye caught a different log. "Computer, play technician's log."

On the screen appeared a Ferengi in the uniform of a Bajoran engineer, green with a grey covering over his shoulders. In an excessively formal manner, he announced. "Techincian's log, Diagnostic and Repair Technician Junior Grade Rom, ahhh…"

"The stardate, Rom," said a male voice with an Irish accent from off camera.

"Ah, right. I've never made a log entry before." The Ferengi straightened himself and again with excessive formality. "Stardate 50124.3. Ah, now what?"

"Just tell them what happened, Rom."

"Yes, Chief O'Brien, Sir."

"Don't call me, Sir."

"Yes, Chief." Samae shook her head in disbelief. The junior Ferengi engineer on this log entry was currently the Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance.

"Chief O'Brien had me working on the station's deflector grid. I discovered that I was changing the station into a massive chroniton array aimed directly at the Wormhole. I knew that the chronitons would be deadly to the Wormhole Aliens, so I brought the matter to Chief O'Brien's attention, ahh, after I got arrested. It turns out that the Chief's wife…"

"Rom, we can save that for my log entry," said Chief O'Brien from off camera. "Speak more about the chronitons and the Wormhole aliens."

"Ah, right. Chronitons are harmless to us corporeal creatures. But their temporal disruption would kill a Wormhole Alien immediately. It would disrupt their non-linear existence, thus ending their life. Chief O'Brien and I concluded that we were intermingled in a plot by the Pah'wraiths, I mean the Fire-Cave Aliens, to kill off the Wormhole Aliens and take over the Celestial Temple… ah, the Aliens dwelling place within the Wormhole." Finally with more excessive formality the Ferengi announced. "End log."

Samae went back to relisten to part of the log. "It would disrupt their non-linear existence."

"Disrupt their non-linear existence," repeated Samae. "Computer, display logs from stardate 51794.6." She scanned the list. "Play science officer's log."

The image displayed Jadzia Dax, the Trill host that preceded Ezri Dax, "Science Officer's log; Stardate 51794.6: Today two non-corporeal entities manifested themselves on the station. One was a Prophet akin to the Wormhole Aliens, the other was a Pah-wraith akin to those from the fire caves on Bajor. They chose corporeal vessels. The Prophet chose Major Kira Nerys. The Pah-wraith chose Jacob Sisko, the Captain's son." Samae shuttered at the very idea.

"I suggested to Capt. Sisko that we flood the promenade with chroniton radiation." There were the chronitons again, thought Samae. "We could increase the rate of chronitons slowly, not enough to kill the non-corporeal creatures but enough to drive them off the station. I had all the arrangements set, but Capt. Sisko refused. However, Kai Winn thought otherwise and activated the chroniton generator while the station was being evacuated. The plan worked. Both entities left the station, and the 'Reckoning' was interrupted."

Samae paused the video and looked at Jadzia Dax. Only a few months later, she would be killed by a Pah-wraith. If the Reckoning hadn't been interrupted, perhaps she would have lived. Samae shook off her distraction and focused. "Chronitons, drove away the Aliens," mused Samae out loud. Chronitons were deadly to the Wormhole Aliens. In certain amounts it would hurt them, perhaps even wound them.

Samae didn't bother with the selection from the final stardate. She remembered it well herself. That was the day she, Alivia, Frank, and the Romulan Ta'Sem along with the crew of DS9 stopped a rogue changeling who was attempting to repeat what Rom and O'Brien had avoided in her first selection.

Samae looked at the data and compared it to the chronitons that Chief Shelton had detected on with the Orion's cloak busters. Samae paced about the conference room in thought. Her pacing took her to the viewport. She looked outside at the anomaly. It was bleeding chronitons. As Samae looked out she asked of it, "Are you wounded?"

"Capt. Taylor, the shuttle had been launched, and the probe is ready."

"Launch probe but stall its thruster until the hardline cable is connected to the shuttle," ordered Capt. Taylor. The viewscreen displayed a view of the launch tube. She saw the probe exit the tube. Normally it would fire its thruster a moment after it had cleared the tube, but instead it just coasted out. "Tractor beam now," said Taylor. The Orion's tractor beam, which was up and running again after Lindsey's sabotage, briefly grabbed the probe and stopped its forward inertia. Then the shuttle came. Taylor watched as a drone attached a cable to the probe and then to the shuttle, which was holding position parallel to the probe.

"Shuttle team reports they and the probe are ready."

"Execute," said Taylor. She watched as the probe's thruster and the shuttle's engines propelled them forward and out of the viewscreen's image. "Forward view on screen." The image changed to the view in front of the Orion. The shuttle and the probe appeared on the bottom of the screen and proceeded directly towards the anomaly. As they got closer, Taylor ordered, "Magnify." The viewscreen zoomed in. Just as they reached the edge of the anomaly, the shuttle halted its approach. The probe, on the other hand, drove right into the anomaly. Now Taylor had to wait and see.

There was a reaction in the anomaly just as Lindsey felt the pain in her head. She dropped to one knee behind the helm position. "Lieutenant, are you alright?" asked Ens. Kolm who was sitting in the captain's chair. "Should I call Lt. Madani?"

"No, I'm fine, I think. Give me a minute." All it took was a minute and the headache passed.

"Ensign, we have a new contact," said the helmsman.

"Another shuttlecraft?" asked Kolm.

"No, it looks like another probe, but this one has a wire hanging out of it," said the helmsman.

"A wire?" asked Kolm.

Lindsey explained. "This is the Orion's attempt to communicate. We couldn't get a signal through the anomaly, so we thought we'd try a hard wire. On the other end is a shuttle acting as a relay."

"We're being hailed," said the person running operations.

"Now, I think you should call Capt. Madani," said Lindsey.

"I agree," said Kolm. "Madani to the bridge."

The human acting captain came out of the ready room looking groggy but awake. "What is it?"

"The Orion is hailing us."

"Hailing us? How?"

"A probe with a hardline tether," said Lindsey.

"Answer. On screen," said Madani.

The viewscreen changed to a fuzzy image. The sound was also distorted. "It's not working," said Kolm.

"They might have to change the frequency or even the temporal variance," said Lindsey. "Just talk to them and give them a chance to figure it out."

Madani nodded. "This is the USS Mercury. Lt. Ahmad Madani in command. Can you hear me?"

Static filled the response. "…Orion…Theresa…attempting…variance."

"We read you Orion, but not clearly," said Madani. "This is the Mercury."

"Mercury…read you…We are…temporal …stand by."

"Orion, you are getting clearer."

"Mercury, do you read us?"

"Orion, we can hear you, but the image is still static," but even as Madani spoke the image began to clear. Lindsey could see Capt. Taylor and Cmdr. Gonzalez in the command chairs.

"Mercury, how about now?" asked Capt. Taylor.

"We can both hear and see you now, Orion," said Madani. "How about us?"

"You are coming in clear, Mercury. I am Capt. Theresa Taylor of the USS Orion."

"Captain, I am sure glad you were able to communicate with us. We've been alone in here. I am Lt. Ahmad Madani, currently in command of the Mercury. My captain and most of the ship's crew are incapacitated. We are operating below a skeleton crew."

"Any fatalities?" asked Capt. Taylor.

"Not yet," said Madani.

"Lt. Lander, I'm glad to see you're alright. But you have a lot to answer for," said Taylor.

"I know, Captain."

Madani turned towards Lindsey. "Your captain didn't order you here?"

"No, I didn't," answered Taylor for Lindsey. "Lt. Lander disobeyed orders to come to you. But now is not the time for punishment. Capt. Madani, I would like to speak to you and Lt. Lander in private."

"Sure, we will move to the captain's ready room," said Madani.

"There I will expect a full explanation, Miss. Lander." Lindsey nodded her head at the scolding captain.

"Contact inside the anomaly," said Sensor Chief Shelton.

"What kind?" asked Alivia.

"It looks like a probe, but there is something attached to it."

"Magnify," said Alivia. Cmdr. Thrim was not currently on the bridge. Although Lt. Cmdr. Nixx, the new applicant for first officer was there, as was Alivia's husband. Nixx opted not to take a command role since he was a visitor, and Frank, though the same rank as Alivia, yielded to her. That put Alivia in command. She looked at the image. "It looks like a tether."

"A hardline comm?" suggested Shelton. "Perhaps an attempt of communication from outside the anomaly."

"From the old Orion?" asked Alivia.

"That would be my guess."

"Have we tried anything similar?" asked Alivia.

"Yes, but we haven't been able to penetrate the anomaly with any of our probes," said Vibee.

"How can they do it if we can't?" asked Alivia.

Vibee and Shelton both shrugged their shoulders, but Samae answered as she entered the bridge from the conference room. "Because the old Orion and the Mercury are contemporaneous. The temporal variance between the inside of the entity and the old Orion would be less."

"You know that how?" asked Lt. Cmdr. Nixx.

"At the risk of sounding like my boss, it is logical," said Samae. "The entity was wounded in the time of the Mercury and the old Orion. It reached out through time to find some anchor. It found the same person in the same place at two different times."

"The Captain?" suggested Alivia.

"Yes," answered Samae. "Think of it like getting two handholds: one in the presence, one in the future; both of them Lindsey Lander."

"You said the entity was wounded?" asked Vibee.

"Yes, the chronitons are the evidence. Chronitons are deadly to non-linear creatures. There have been three attempts alone on Deep Space Nine to use chronitons to kill or hurt the Wormhole Aliens." Alivia was aware of one such attempt which was foiled when she, her husband, and Samae were on board the Bajoran station.

"Are you saying that creature out there is a Prophet?" asked Alivia's husband Frank.

"No," replied Samae. "But I do believe it is a non-linear creature like the Prophets, I mean the Wormhole Aliens. This creature likely does not experience linear time the way we do. The Prophets can interact with our time through the unique properties of the Wormhole they constructed. This entity is interacting with our time because it is wounded."

"You believe that it's woundedness causes it to appear in our time?" asked Lt. Cmdr. Nixx.

"Yes," said Samae. "Its incursion into our time is both a symptom and the cause of its wound. Linear time hurts it." Alivia's head was starting to hurt with all the science talk.

"Then what do we do?" asked Frank.

Samae answered. "We need to heal the wound, or more accurately get rid of the cause."

"How do we 'get rid' of time?" asked Shelton.

"By getting rid of the chronitons," said Samae.

"And how do we do that?" asked Vibee.

"I haven't figured that out yet," said Samae. "In one of the attempts to kill the Wormhole Aliens, Deep Space Nine's shield grid was reconfigured into a chroniton array. Is there a way that we could use the Orion to do the opposite, to draw in chronitons?"

Finally, something Alivia could understand. "We could configure the shields with a type of temporal polarity. We could draw the chronitons to the deflector dish and then direct them through the aft shields harmlessly into space."

Vibee agreed, "That could be done. It would take about forty minutes."

"It could be done in twenty," said Alivia. As an engineer herself, she knew the conservative nature of an engineer giving an estimate. But right now, time was important.

"Yes, Ma'am," said Vibee reluctantly.

"Begin the preparations," ordered Alivia. "Ens Rikka and I will propose the plan to Cmdr. Thrim."

"No, Captain," said Acting Captain Madani. "We have conducted a few scans, but most of our energies have been directed towards keeping this ship operational. With all the anomaly's interference and our lack of a support staff, that has been challenge enough."

Capt. Taylor nodded her head. "As acting captain of your ship, Lieutenant, your first priority is to your crew." Lindsey noted that Capt. Taylor had gone to her ready room. Cmdr. Gonzalez was with her, but no one else was. Lindsey and Capt. Madani had also been ordered to the Mercury's ready room. Capt. Taylor clearly didn't want an audience.

"Capt. Madani, how much has Miss. Lander told you about her unique perspective?" asked Capt. Taylor.

Madani looked at Lindsey. She gave him a nod of permission. "She's told me about her temporal displacement. How she has the mind of her future self, and how her present self serves on board your ship, but her future self commands the other ship in the area."

"What other ship?" asked Capt. Taylor.

Madani looked at Lindsey again. This time Lindsey answered. "My future ship is also studying this anomaly, only from a different point in time. The unique temporal properties inside the anomaly allow us from the Mercury's perspective to see both ships."

"I can confirm that, Captain," said Madani. "We can indeed see two starships, yours and one other."

"Has the other ship attempted communication?" asked Cmdr. Gonzalez.

"No, Sir," said Madani.

"That seems like a priority to me," stated Gonzalez.

"Any ideas how you would be able to do that?" asked Capt. Taylor.

"No, Sir," said Madani.

But Lindsey answered differently. "Actually Ma'am, communication with the future ship has already occurred."

"How?" asked Taylor.

"Yes, how?" added Madani. "This is the first I've heard of this."

Lindsey took a breath. "I've come to learn that my future body is lying comatose in my ship's sickbay. When I passed through the anomaly's barrier it caused a great deal of mental stress, of which I experienced both on the shuttle and apparently in my future body. In order to augment the capacity of my synaptic pathways, a Vulcan science officer from my ship performed a mind meld. Her thoughts and my thoughts were one."

"A mind meld over time?" asked Gonzalez.

"Yes," said Lindsey.

"What did you learn?" asked Capt. Taylor.

"Not much," said Lindsey. "The mind meld was brief, and I believe the Vulcan was injured in the attempt. It would be illogical for her to attempt a second meld. However, I believe the…" Lindsey stopped herself. She had almost revealed the name of her future ship. If Capt. Taylor learned that she was in command of the Orion-A it would raise too many questions about the future. "I believe the knowledge that the crew of the future ship gained from me will be more valuable. I agree with Cmdr. Gonzalez. The next logical step would be to establish communication with the future ship."

"Ahha!" said Madani.

Lindsey turned to him. "You don't believe me."

"On the contrary, Lieutenant-Captain, a mind meld would explain why you are talking like a Vulcan."

"What do you mean?" asked Capt. Taylor.

"Miss Lander here has used some variant of the word logic at least five times in the few conversations we've have since she has come on board," said the Mercury's acting captain.

Lindsey looked at Capt. Taylor on the viewscreen. The captain shrugged her shoulders. "She definitely does sound different from the Lt. Lander I know."

Lindsey smiled. "Then I better put my newly acquired logic to good use before the effects of the mind meld wear off."

"Do you have an idea for communicating with your future ship?" asked Capt. Taylor.

"Not yet," said Lindsey. "But that is my crew on that ship. I know them, and they know me."

"Deflector dish has been modified to create a temporal polarity," said Lt. Vibee. "It will act like a magnet for those chronitons."

"Commander," said Alivia to Thrim. "The Orion is ready. We can begin chroniton draw at your command."

Frank watched as Cmdr. Thrim and his wife, Alivia, coordinated the operation. Vibee and Rikka were also working. With Cmdr. Henry Hickensen, the Orion's tactical officer, off duty while he attended to his wife, which left Frank as chief of security as the next in line to run tactical. But he opted to let Sensor Chief Shelton take the station, since his expertise was more valuable at the moment. Instead, Frank was sitting in the first officer's chair.

Cmdr. Thrim, sitting next to Frank in the captain's chair, issued the order. "Begin chroniton draw, engage."

"Beginning chroniton draw," said Vibee. Frank could see the chronitons being drawn out of the anomaly through the special cloak-busting sensors displayed on the bridge's main viewscreen. "The deflector dish is doing its job. Chronitons are being gathered and harmlessly deflected into space behind us."

As Frank continued watching, the anomaly began to change.

The medical console began beeping. Dr. Bashir looked up from his position near the Vulcan T'Sel and saw Capt. Lander's vital signs jump. "Not again! Dr. Crusher!"

Both doctors jumped to the Captain's side.

"Perhaps you could send out a probe like we did," suggested the Orion's first officer, Cmdr. Gonzalez.

"No," answered Madani. "We've tried that…"

Lindsey Lander suddenly doubled over and grabbed her head. "Lieutenant!" shouted Madani. Lindsey Lander was leaning against the ready room desk, gripping her head as if in pain.

Capt. Taylor spoke, "Miss. Lander is somehow connected with this anomaly. Get her to the bridge, and we can see what we can do."

"Yes, Sir," said Madani. The image of Capt. Taylor blurred then disappeared as the connection was broken. Madani slipped his shoulder under Lander's arm. "Come on, Lander. We are going to walk." Together they got out onto the bridge.

"Lieutenant!" shouted Walmanta Kol. "The Galaxy class ship is doing something to the anomaly."

"What is it doing?" asked Madani. Walmanta gave up the captain's chair to Madani, but he set Lander in the chair instead.

"I don't know. Our sensors can't determine." Walmanta looked down at Lander. "What's wrong with her?"

"Grab a medical tricorder and find out," said Madani. "She is somehow connected to the anomaly."

Walmanta was handed a tricorder from the bridge's medical kit by one of the other bridge crewmen. She began her scanning.

Madani looked up at the future ship. Its deflector dish was glowing. "We have to convince them to stop," he said out loud. He ran over to the tactical station and pushed the crewman there out of his way. He pulled up the controls for the Mercury's exterior lights, and rapidly turned them on and off.

"This isn't working," said Samae.

"What do you mean?" asked Vibee. "The deflector dish is doing its job."

"We are indeed drawing off chronitons," said Shelton. "But the levels of chronitons are increasing within the anomaly."

"How is that possible?" asked Thrim.

Samae gave the answer. "We are drawing off the chronitons, but we are not healing the wound. Our efforts are changing the temporal variance. We are causing further injury to the entity."

Frank suddenly stood up. "Look there! The Mercury! It's flashing its exterior lights."

"Sickbay to bridge," came Dr. Crusher's voice. "You have to stop whatever you are doing. It's hurting the Captain."

"Disengage deflector dish," ordered Thrim.

"Disengaging," responded Vibee. Samae watched her science monitor as the deflector dish shut down. "Deflector dish disengaged," said Vibee.

Samae looked up at the Mercury and saw its lights stop blinking. She looked back at her monitor. Where did it go wrong?

Lindsey sat up and waited for the dizziness to fade. When it did, she saw Capt. Madani and Ens. Kolm looking down at her. It was then that she realized that she was in the captain's chair. She tried to lift herself out.

"Stay right there," said Madani.

"This is your command chair."

"Right now, it is just a chair, and you need to sit," said Madani. "You have just experienced extremely high neural activity. Sit here until Walmanta completes her tricorder scan."

Lindsey obeyed and waited for the young ensign to complete her scan. "Neural activity is back to normal levels," she finally said. Madani then sent Walmanta to assist the operations crewman, giving him and Lindsey a bit of privacy.

Lindsey tried to stand up again, but Madani stopped her again. So, she asked, "What happened?"

"Your ship from the future did something to the anomaly, and you reacted," answered Madani. "I think we convinced them to stop whatever they were doing."

"Good, I'm glad. I am growing tired of…" Lindsey stopped and thought about what Madani said. "What do you mean you convinced them? How?"

Madani shrugged his shoulders. "I panicked, and I flashed the exterior lights."

"The exterior lights of the Mercury?"

"Yes."

Lindsey took another moment to think. "That means my ship can see us."

"I suppose," said Madani.

Lindsey was suddenly excited. "If they can see us, then I can communicate with them!"