Episode 2

She was dreaming, she knew she was, but she couldn't wake up from the dream. She tossed and turned in her bed, thrashing the covers around her. She could hear voices screaming into her and she yelled at them to stop, but she was only yelling into darkness. She could see the faces and tried to look away, but everywhere her consciousness looked they were there, glaring, shaking their heads at her.

She awoke with a start and flung her upper body up from where she was in a prostrate form. She was breathing heavily and her skin glistened with sweat. She wiped her brow and got out of her bed. As she stood, her breathing calmed, her sense came back to her. She stared out of the window into space. Stars were zooming past her at incredible speeds. She knew that the ship was at warp and would continue at warp until they reached Earth. They were only a day or so away, Arok knew the exact time that they would arrive, every time she asked the elegant Vulcan she would go off into a long stream of numbers. On days that Lizzie was anxious, which were more frequent now they were closer to Earth, she would snap at Arok a quick "thank you."

Ever since she had talked to her Uncle Jean-Luc five days ago she had been testy. Her had informed her that a board review would be conducted to determine whether or not she would continue to command the Enterprise or whether she would be demoted back to Ensign, or provisional Ensign that is, and continue schooling with whoever would take her until she was to enter the Academy. The crew had found out about this review and knew that they were in danger of losing their positions as well, for she had promoted every single one of the 63 crew members that remained after the mysterious aliens had kidnapped most of the crew.

She was impressed by how patient they had been with her, especially after this potentially bad news. She reminded herself that she would really need to praise her crew once this board review got going. She was still amazed at how they trusted her, even though she was inexperience, at how they had faith in her in things that even she did not realize she could do. She gazed out the window and smiled. She had a damn good crew under her hands, that's why she felt that all of them were in need of a promotion.

She decided to get dressed, as she really didn't feel like getting back to sleep. Maybe she'd activate the EMH and have him give her some good sedatives if she got really tired, but for now she didn't care much for sleep or bad dreams, which were now frequent.

She walked to the closet and found that his uniform was still there. She hadn't touched her father's things since he was kidnapped. She didn't want to. She wanted reminders that he was still out there, and that she had to keep looking for him. Sometimes, when she had her guard down, she would half expect him to come striding into their quarters with his heavy and awkward gait. She had realized in his old age that he had developed a somewhat misaligned gait where his spine bent to the left and he sort of held his left side tightly. She missed that walk of his and closed her eyes and she could see him walking towards her with a smile on his face.

Then she opened her eyes. Was it really a good idea for her to remembering all of the small things about her father like this? She shook it out of her head and decided to keep getting dressed. She pulled on her uniform, attached the four pips to her collar, signifying her rank, combed her hair back into a tight ponytail, and then strode out of her quarters. She walked confidently, as her confidence in herself and risen sharply over the last week or so while her crew made their way back to Earth.

As she walked she greeted whoever walked past her, and she was met with smiles and friendly "hellos." She smiled to herself, happy for the friendly faces.

She stepped into the turbo lift and said quietly "bridge." It was 0300 hours and pretty much everyone was asleep, save for a few brave night shift souls. Arok would have the bridge and would be the only one not trying to get rid of sleep.

Captain Elizabeth Riker stepped off of the turbo lift and on the bridge. She was greeted with Arok standing up and saying, "Captain on the Bridge." The rest of the bridge crew stood up along with Arok. Lizzie simply waved her hand and just smiled.

"Thanks, but I'd prefer not to have that. Anything new?"

"We are approximately five hours three minutes and twenty nine point two seconds closer to Earth Captain." Arok said precisely.

"Thank you Arok. Well, carry on. I'll be in my ready room." She said quietly and she strode into her ready room. She walked behind the desk and sat down in her chair. She picked up pad that Miral had given her just before she had left the bridge for dinner that evening. It wasn't related to anything official, it was just a novel that Miral loved, had to do with something about Vampires in the 21st century. Lizzie began reading and found the quality of writing lacking and put it down. She sighed and wondered what she could do in the meantime while she was just waiting for the day shifts to begin, which was in a while. She stared out of the windows of her ready room and began to daydream.

The strange noise of someone requesting to enter her ready room brought her out of her daydream. "Come in," she said, playing with her computer monitor, trying to look busy.

Arok came in. "My apologies for disturbing you Captain."

"Not at all," she sighed. "What's up?"

"Admiral Picard is requesting to speak with you, Captain, he is on the secure channel." Arok then stood silently.

"Thank you Arok, you're dismissed." After she left, Lizzie hit several items on her computer panel, and soon her Uncle Jean-Luc's face was looking right at her. "How'd you know I was up this early Uncle Jean-Luc?"

The balding old man chuckled. "A lucky guess! How are you Lizzie?"

"Fine, fine. And you?" She smiled. She hoped that this would an informal call.

"Pretty well, the sun is shining here in La Barre. And the grapes are growing! How is your ship doing?" Lizzie noted that this was the first time that he had referred to the Enterprise as her ship.

"Decent. We're still experiencing some trouble with the warp drive at times. The plasma fluctuates too much. We suspect that the weapons that were fired on us by the aliens somehow affected our systems in ways we can't figure out yet. Miral, who as you know, is brilliant in engineering, keeps on complaining that we don't have the resources to fix these problems, or find out what is causing them."

"I see. Well when you get back Enterprise will be dry docked and we'll have repairs crews working on it." His face suddenly turned grave. "Are you nervous for the review board?"

"Yes, as is the rest of my crew. If you remember I promoted all of them. They really got this ship but up and running in a very short amount of time. We have very few numbers but we're a good crew." Lizzie smiled nervously. "Also I like being Captain, well I shouldn't say just like, I love it!" She tried to chuckle.

"I've been assigned to head the review board, as well as your Aunt Kate, and some other admirals. I'm on your side, as is your Aunt Kate, but we're not sure about the rest of the board. One of them in particular is a big stickler for doing things by the book, meaning that you attend the Academy and move up the ranks."

"And you disagree?"

He nodded, his baldhead shining against the French sun, which infiltrated through the windows of his house. "Yes. I've known you since before you were born, and I've always had confidence in your abilities as a leader. I remember when you were little you'd lead the other children at your birthday party to adventures and they all just sort of followed you. And besides your father, Pieter, and Simmons, you're the one who knows the USS Enterprise-F better than anyone else!"

"Miral knows her better than me!" Lizzie laughed. "So I have a chance of remaining Captain."

"The board must agree unanimously that you are best fit as Captain. There will be a separate board that will determine whether or not the rest of your crew will remain at the ranks you gave them. While I think it's a bit hasty to promote all of your remaining crew, I find it admirable that you want them to recognized for their hard work." He smiled.

"So the hard part is just getting the review board to all agree!" Lizzie smiled. "Can't be too hard. I mean I've already got two out of the five on my side!"

Her Uncle Jean-Luc chuckled, his eyes gathering crow's feet. He still looked rather handsome for his old age. He was even older than her father! "Yes indeed! Would you like to stay with me at my Vineyard while the review board is going on? It's taking place in Paris, so we'll be nearby, plus your Aunt Kate is already here!"
Lizzie smiled. "Really? Can I talk to her?"

"I'll check and see if she's busy! She's been working on your case, using the evidence that we have so far." He smiled. "Would you mind waiting a moment?"

"I'll wait many moments to talk to Aunt Kate!" Lizzie beamed. He left the screen for a moment and he could him yell to her godmother. After several seconds, the beaming face of her godmother appeared. "Aunt Kate!" Lizzie exclaimed, "How are you?"

"Couldn't be better!" The older woman smiled. Her own dark brown hair was now flecked with gray and there were some wrinkles in her soft face. "And how are you? Captain?"

"Lovely!" Lizzie said, "just nervous about the review board though."

"Don't worry! I've got it all handled! Yes you are far too young to be a Captain, especially of a big starship like Enterprise but you deserve to keep this posting. And besides, Starfleet is going to want someone to go after the remaining crew members that the aliens kidnapped, and if anyone knows anything about them it's you!" she smiled. Lizzie smiled back; she loved how it seemed like everyone she loved believed in her.

"You really think so?" Lizzie asked. Kathryn nodded. "And I guess I want to do whatever I can get my father back. You know how close we are."

"I've never seen a more dedicated father than yours. Don't worry. He'll be found. If not by you, then Starfleet will find him." She smiled uneasily. Lizzie knew that she was thinking of how dangerous being in Starfleet really could be. If anyone knew of the danger it was her Aunt Kate, after spending seven years stranded in the Delta Quadrant in close proximity to the Borg and many other unknown enemies, all while being cut off from Starfleet.

The conversation continued on more about how Lizzie was enjoying being Captain, and how the ship was doing. They talked about their first moments as Captain, for Aunt Kate, it was a joyous time that she relished, for Lizzie, it was a rather terrifying chunk of moments. Aunt Kate was telling a story of how she brought together two rivals crews, a story that Lizzie had heard many times but loved to hear, when the room went dark and the transmission was interrupted. The screen changed and a handsome face appeared on the screen.

"Hello Lizzie. How are you today?"

Lizzie jumped back. "What the? Oh, you're a Q aren't you?"

The Q looked rather disappointed. "Oh, you're not afraid of me or anything?"

"Nope!" Lizzie shook her head. She had heard and met other Qs, including the infamous Q who constantly loved to mess with her Uncle Jean-Luc. "What do you want? To provoke us, to cause mischief?"

The lights went on and suddenly a devastatingly handsome man appeared in the ready-room with her. He wore a typical Starfleet Captain's uniform, which was very similar to the ones that were worn by Captain Jean-Luc Picard when he was Captain of the Enterprise-E. They had colored undershirts that either a deep red, vibrant yellow, or a rich blue, with pips around the collar to signify rank, this Q wore red with four pips. The shoulders were of a quilted black instead of the quilted gray; the rest of the uniform was of a sleek gray fabric that cut off just below the knees, where sleek black leather boots started.

The Q was laying prostrate on her ready-room couch, and she got up to face him square on. He had a very handsome face, if he wasn't a Q Lizzie would consider him attractive. He had dark blond hair and crystal clear blue eyes that one could get lost in. He smiled up at her, and then with a sudden movement, brought up his hand and gestured towards her to come closer. She was suddenly thrown forward and onto the couch and into his arms.

She rolled her eyes. "What do you want?" She looked away from him as she lay on top of him.

"Just some fun!" He then brought up his hands and whisked her away. She flew back onto the other side of the couch.

She glared at him. "Really? You just want to mess with me and torment with your stupid antics?"

"Actually no," He then stood up with a flash and turned to her. "The Q Continuum has sent me to assist you. They've decided that you're in a bit of a bind and that you deserve our help."

Lizzie looked up at him. "No, I don't need your help. I'm perfectly fine with not having some know it all Q giving me help! So it would be just nice if you could just leave!"

"As you wish! But I'll leave a little present for your first! For I've seen your future and you will be needing what I'm going to give you!" With a flash of light he disappeared.

Lizzie sighed and then walked over to her desk and sat down, "Good riddance!" Suddenly she felt sleep overcome her, for once she felt tired and closed her eyes, letting sleep come over her. She knew that sometimes Captain's got some shuteye in their ready-rooms. Her father joked about it with her frequently. She could feel herself slowly falling asleep when suddenly Arok's voice awoke her.

"Captain Riker," the stern voice came to her through her sleep. "Are you there?"

Lizzie gathered herself together, "Yes, yes! What is it? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"I cannot see you at all." Arok responded. Lizzie cursed the Vulcan reason. "There is something on the bridge that I believe you should see."

"I'll be right there." Lizzie stood up and stretched. She could suddenly feel something, something weird. It seemed like fear and confusion. She figured it was her limited empathic abilities but she could not figure out where it came from. It was not from Miral, nor her father, but someone else. She did not know whom though. She shook the thoughts away and walked onto the bridge.

She stopped dead in her tracks, for standing on the bridge, was a woman, where the thoughts and feelings were coming from. A woman she hadn't seen on the bridge before. She was short, about Lizzie height, maybe an inch or so taller. She had long dark hair that was straight but voluminous, it gently cascaded over her shoulders. She had a very kind face that was somewhat lined with age but still held a good deal of beauty. She had deep black eyes that seemed harsh but had more of a softer, loving sort of feel to them. She wore what looked to be an older Starfleet Uniform, which gray quilted shoulders, sleek black pants and shirt, and with a blue undershirt. The three pips showed that she was a Commander. She had a somewhat familiar look to her that Lizzie could not pinpoint, but she still felt threatened by this woman that just appeared on the bridge.

"Who the hell are you?" Lizzie snapped. "And how the hell did you get on my ship?"

"I have no idea where I am or who you are! One minute I was in my quarters in the next I was here!" The woman replied, her voice was laced with a thick accent that was smooth like silk.

Lizzie suddenly heard a thought, isn't she a bit rude? And realized it wasn't her voice but the woman's. "I heard that!"

"Heard what? I didn't say anything." The woman suddenly looked surprised. "You're a Betazoid?"

"A quarter. My mother was half-Betazoid and my father full human. But I was never trained to feel the emotions of other unless they were really close to me, nor would I ever be able to read their thoughts!" Lizzie stared at her with her mouth agape.

"Well I know your lineage but who are you?" The woman began to look frustrated. "And where is my daughter? I remember I was giving birth to her and then here!"

"I don't know where your daughter is, but I'm Captain Elizabeth Riker of the USS Enterprise-F." Lizzie said proudly and raised her chest a little bit to look taller. This was about the fifth time she had introduced herself as Captain of the Enterprise and she was extremely proud of it.

"Enterprise? Riker? We must be related by marriage then. I'm married to Captain Will Riker of the Titan."

Lizzie stared at her. "The Titan was scrapped ten years ago. And you must be married another Will Riker, the Will Riker I know is a widower." She gulped as she remember father.

"Widower?" The woman looked hard at Lizzie, and then her expression turned softer, almost sad. "And the Titan gone. I enjoyed that ship a lot. I must've been kidnapped or put into stasis." She began walking around the bridge. "But then where did Will and my daughter go?"

"Look, ma'am, I don't really want to distract my bridge crew, would you like step into my ready-room?" Lizzie said in a rather annoyed voice. She gestured toward the ready-room, which was near the rear of the bridge. The woman nodded and walked into the ready-room a head of Lizzie, she sat on the couch. Lizzie walked over to the replicator, "Would you like something to eat or drink?"

The woman nodded. "What I would really like now is some chocolate? Hot chocolate would be nice."

Lizzie nodded. "Computer, a hot chocolate and a hot mint tea please." The computer produced a mug of hot chocolate and a mug of hot mint tea. She handed the hot chocolate to the woman. "My mother loved chocolate. It was like an addiction to her apparently."

"Really. You're mother and I would get along very well." The woman smiled and took a sip of her tea.

"I'm sure you would if she were here." She placed her mug down on her desk and sat down in her chair.

"Where is she?"

"She died giving birth to me. Well technically before I was born."

"I'm sorry." The woman said. "How did she die?"

"Eclampsia." Lizzie said without much emotion. "I was born Caesarian Section. I never met her. My father and I were very close so I didn't really miss her presence."

"You didn't have a mother-figure in your life? Someone to guide you in the ways of being a woman?" The woman looked over the desk to Lizzie.

"Yes, there's my Aunt Kate." She remarked. "And my Aunt Bev, and Aunt B'Ellona." She nodded. "What was your name again?" She took a drink of her tea.

"Commander Deanna Troi."

Lizzie choked on her tea. "What?!" She stood up. "You can't be my mother! She died almost twenty years ago! This must be Q, it has to be! Or it's some sort of trick! He would do something like this to me. Although he did say that he would give me something that I 'needed,' perhaps this is what he intended. She appeared on the bridge just after Q disappeared. And this isn't some sort of trick because I can read her emotions. And I can read emotions of people who are close to me. But then I also heard her thoughts. That might be because she is my mother and mother and children can hear each others' thoughts without training!" She sat down on the couch next to the woman who she thought must be her mother.

"That would explain why I was suddenly brought here and the last thing I remember was giving birth to you." Deanna smiled. "Do you believe that I am your mother?"

"We could do DNA testing? But we don't have Doctor." Lizzie sat back and sighed.

"You have a lot to catch me up on it seems like. I've missed almost twenty years if you said correctly." Her mother said and she placed an arm around her daughter. "Are all Starships equipped with an EMH?"

Lizzie nodded. "Yes, we actually have a choice to pick who is the EMH as well. I like the Mark I. Miral's godfather is a Mark I-EMH and I like him a lot." She stood up. "Before we assume any more, perhaps we should go and have him do a DNA test on us."

"I agree." And with that they went to Sick Bay.

Several hours later Lizzie was with Miral talking about the condition of the Warp Drive. It was working, but again, as she had informed her Uncle Jean-Luc, there were a lot of power fluctuations. Miral and the Engineering team had been working around the clock to keep those power fluctuations in check. Miral was explaining how they needed to get to the nearest Starbase and that it was unlikely that they would reach Earth without blowing up first because of a core breach. Lizzie was saying that she was trying, but Starfleet wouldn't let her stop at the nearest Starbase and that she would have to make do with keeping the Warp Drive barely taped together.

Miral was unhappy about this and groaned with frustration when she spotted a woman with dark hair walking towards them. She noticed that she was dressed in the old style uniforms, which was worn by no one these days except the old retired officers who wanted to hold on to the old days, when Picard and Janeway were Captain's and not Admirals. She leaned over to Lizzie and whispered, "Who is that? I haven't seen her before."

"Perhaps my mother."

Miral gaped at her. "What?!" She brought her face back away from Lizzie's in shock. "No, she can't be! Your mother died right before you were born. I was there! I was staying with Aunt Kate. I distinctively remember-"

"Q." Her lifelong friend said quietly. Miral nodded silently. "I got a visit from one, not the same Q we know though. This Q was actually handsome."

"I don't think Q would like that very much…" Miral remarked. "So you think that Q brought her back to life."

Lizzie nodded. "We just had the Doctor do a DNA scan on us. You know, even the regular EMH Mark I is just as cranky as our Doctor."

Miral chuckled. "Would you expect anything different?"

Lizzie shook her head and smiled. "My mom has good news."

Her friend looked at her in confusion. "How can you tell?"

"I can sense her feelings. She's joyous and happy. It must be good news. I also heard her thoughts too at one point." Lizzie said, turning more toward Miral. "I wonder if the fact that she's my mother has anything to do with us being telepathic together."

Miral shrugged. "Could be? Do you think she can use her telepathic powers to fix us? Like Kes did?"

"Doubt it, also Kes propelled the Voyager, she didn't fix it." Lizzie said. Deanna walked to them after talking with a crewmember. "Good news?"

Deanna nodded. "Yes, could we talk in private perhaps? I know you're busy, but I'd like to talk to you alone."

Lizzie nodded. "Sure. By the way this is Miral Paris-Torres, my Chief Engineer. Tom and B'Ellona's daughter."

Deanna smiled. "I remember you. You were just a little girl when I last saw you. You've got your father's eyes."

"And my mom's forehead ridges!" Miral laughed. "I'll catch ya later. Have fun!"

Lizzie and Deanna made their way to the turbo lift. When Lizzie stepped into the lift she said, "I'm assuming that we'll want to talk in my ready-room or quarters?"

"If that's what you wish?" Deanne remarked. "I haven't seen your quarters yet though. Perhaps we can go there. Maybe have a bite to eat?"

"Or eat all the chocolate." Lizzie chuckled. "I think I already what you're going to tell me. The DNA tests came back positive. You are my mother and there is no doubt that it's true." She turned towards her mother. "I can read your thoughts, remember?"

"I do remember." Her mother smiled, a smile that was similar to her own. "I figured you would. But that doesn't mean we can't catch up on everything? I've missed about well your entire life! I'd like to get to know you, talk to you, bond with you."

"It's rather awkward for me. I mean the facts are here that you're alive, but my mind still thinks that you're dead." Lizzie drooped her head. "I know Betazoids believe in honesty to the point of rudeness. So you might as well know now that I might not be as well warm to you at first."

"Apparently I didn't age when I was dead. So I hope I will have a lot of time." Deanna smiled. The turbo lift reached the deck where Lizzie's quarters were. They walked out together with a sense of warmth between them. Even if it would take a while for Lizzie to feel like she was as close to her mother as she was as close to her father, she was relieved that she at least had a parent with her. They walked together into Lizzie's quarters, which was more like Lizzie and her father's quarters.

His stuff was still there, Lizzie hadn't really touched them, except to put them back where they belonged in the quarters, as if he was there. His trombone still stood in its place, untouched. Deanna noted this and ran her fingers along it.

"When was he kidnapped?"

Lizzie sat at the table. "A couple of weeks ago. I don't have the heart to put his stuff away, or to not have it out like he was never here."

"Did you share your quarters?"

"Yep! We tried have a two bedroom quarters but that didn't work out so well. I would sneak into bed with him every night, because I was so afraid. He would never get mad at me or send me back, but would stay up with me and tell me stories, about his adventures on the various Enterprises he was on, about everything really. He told me about how he met you, and your wedding day and how happy he was. He told about how I was born." Lizzie went quiet after that. Deanna sat down at the table beside her.

"How long did you keep up sneaking into his bed?"

"At one point, he just decided to nix the whole two bedroom idea and I started sleeping with him. And we always did that, up until he was kidnapped. I know it may sound weird, but we were just very close. And I always felt safe with him, sometimes when something really bad would happen he would hold me until I fell asleep. Actually right before he was kidnapped a young lieutenant broke up with me. He was kidnapped too, but Pieter, dad's First Officer, comforted me a little bit in the turbo lift, but dad pretty much dropped everything and we want into his ready-room and he made me feel better. And then he ordered me to change into my uniform and go be helmsman." Lizzie laughed, "that made me forget about that lieutenant!"

"Will would let you serve? That sounds like him. He was hoping you'd be a boy though, and then you'd have so much in common! He really wanted to have a boy. But then I found out that you were going to be a girl and I just didn't have the heart to tell him, because he'd be so disappointed." Deanna chuckled. "Would you like me to get you something from the replicator?"
"Mint tea please, hot." Lizzie smiled. "He told me he wanted me to be a boy. But then when I came he completely forgot about the whole father-son stuff and loved me with all of his heart. He also said that he felt like I was a piece of you." Lizzie laughed. "He said I'm nothing like you though."

"I'm glad that you and your father are so close. When I realized that it was true, that I've been dead these past twenty years, I began worrying about what kind of relationship you and your father would have. Did he tell you about his relationship with his father?" Deanna looked very grave.

"Yea, he told me when I was older, and he told me about how he felt bad sending me to live Aunt Kate for a few years when I was young." Lizzie clutched the mug she was just given.

Deanna nodded. "Aunt Kate? Kathryn Janeway?"

Lizzie nodded. "She always told me that you really got to know each other a lot during your pregnancies. And then when you died she pretty much just took me in as her own."

"Did her son grow up to be like your brother too?"

"No, her son was born still-born. Like a week after I was born. Weren't your due dates really close?" She took a sip of her tea.

Her mother nodded gravely. "I wish I could've been there to comfort her. I'm sure you were a comfort to her."

"I nursed from her. She took on the role as a mother. It makes sense too, I was a motherless baby and she was baby less mother." Lizzie chuckled. "She's always been there for me, as well as the rest of the Enterprise crew. You'd be surprised as to who holds a big birthday party for me every single year."

"Who? Worf? I can't be Worf!"

Lizzie shook her head. "Nope! Jean-Luc!" Her mother gaped at her with surprise. "He hosts a big party every year at his vineyard. He invites everyone pretty much who's important to me and we pretty much become this big happy family for about a week! We do have remembrances for people who are no longer with us though. Uncle Jean-Luc used to have a service dedicated to you."

"He won't have to do that service any longer," Her mother smiled. "I remember it was sometime in the summer on Earth when I gave birth you. What date is it now?"

"Stardate 69356. I was born Stardate 57926, well actually, I was born in July of 2374, about a year after you and Dad got married."

"Yes, we were surprised to suddenly be having kids. I didn't even know if I could still have kids. But you came along!" She laughed. "Did you miss me at all?"

"I never knew you. How could I miss something I didn't even know I had?" Lizzie looked over the table at her mother. "I mean, no offense, but it's hard to miss something when you never really had it. I never really had a mother, sure Aunt Kate was the next closest thing, but I never really missed it."

"Not even when you're friends went off to their mothers' or talked about their mothers'?" Her mother asked. Lizzie had been told that her mother was a counselor, and realized that she was pretty good at that.

"I grew up on Starships. Sometimes there would be other children, but most of the time there wasn't. My best friend growing up was Miral, and she was like me, living on Starships all her life. My friends were the crew. At first the new ones would treat me like a child, but then, as they saw how Dad pretty much let me all but run the ship, they were more relaxed." Lizzie shrugged.

"I see."
"Look, I'm not underdeveloped or anything. I'm happy the way I am. I've had a lot of socialization with people, even if they are older than me, but I'm happy. I always had the dream of being a Starship Captain and I've pretty much just worked my entire life to get that." She sat back in her chair.

"I never said you were underdeveloped. I find it interesting that you're life was centered around Starships, and that you still wanted to be Captain after living on them for so long." Deanna sighed. "I've known people who grew up on them to think of Starships as prisons."

"Titan was my first home. Enterprise will always be home though. And now she's mine, at least for now." Lizzie looked up at the bulkheads and sigh. "I'm more worried that Starfleet is going to take this all away because I haven't gone through all of the training, or because I'm not old enough."

"What does your Aunt Kate and Uncle Jean-Luc say?"

"Aunt Kate is backing me, and thinks that I'd make a fine Captain, as does Uncle Jean-Luc. They're on the board that will decide my fate as a Captain." Lizzie leaned forward and stood up. "I want to keep this so badly. I've worked and dreamed of this moment for my entire life." She paused. "Sure, it didn't happen as I wanted it to, and it happened far earlier than I expected it to, but I love this. I want to keep doing this, and I can't think of myself doing anything but this. This is what I want to do and it makes me happy. Sure it's stressful and sometimes I doubt myself, but I love this."

Deanna smiled and stood up. "I love Psychology and I had always wanted to help people through their problems. I loved my job as Ship's Counselor on the Enterprise and the Titan. I understand what you're feeling. The job that you love most is being threatened to be taken from you, and you're afraid of that."

Lizzie nodded. "I'm glad that you seem to understand how I feel."

"Even if I don't understand, I'm your mother, I'm supposed to try my best to understand and do my best to support you. If I didn't, then I wouldn't be doing my job correctly." She smiled and reached a hand out to place onto Lizzie's.

"For someone who's only been a mother for one day, you seem to know a lot about it already." She chuckled.

"I'm a psychologist, I've learned from my clients who have made mistakes before. I've also technically been a mother for the past 20 years, but I just never got the chance to use it in practice."

Lizzie nodded. "I know this may sound strange, but I'm glad you're here. Makes me feel like I can bear some of it. And even though you were dead all of these years." She sighed. "I guess I have an easier time accepting you back because I don't think you would've chosen to be dead. So it's not your fault that you were gone. If you had left or something else of that nature I'd probably have a harder time accepting the fact that you were gone."

"Perhaps if I had committed suicide you would've been less accepting." Deanna noted and took a sip of her hot chocolate. "You know, this stuff isn't as good as the real thing."

"Dad always told me that you always preferred the real stuff. You just think it's not real and then you just develop this not liking it as much." She chuckled. "I grew up with just replicated food. Aunt Kate can't cook to save her life. Dad can cook, but we only had homemade meals every once in a while because he was so busy." She sat back. "I know I should probably going around being Captain right now, but I'm glad that we've reconnect I guess."

"We were connected before emotionally?"

"At least physically." She laughed. "We've still got a couple more days until we reach Earth. And a couple more days of me being Captain, maybe. They might actually think that I'm good enough for this job."

Deanna Troi, her mother, reached out and held Lizzie's hand. "And if it doesn't, then you'll most certainly be admitted into the Academy."

"Let's see if I can get through it with my grades in astro-science and mathematics."

"You're not good at those subjects?"

She shook her head. "I just can't get a grip on them. I'm a stellar student in history, diplomacy, I've taken the bridge officer's test several times and I've passed it with ease. I have all of what it takes to be a Captain, except the science and math stuff. I just don't get it."

"Have you tried a tutor?"

"Dad would sit with me and we would do my homework step by step, and you know how well versed he is, but I could just never get a grip on it. I can do basic algebra and mathematics pretty well. But higher than that it just clogs up my brain too much." She sat back in her chair and brought her hands behind her head. "I guess I don't see why I need it, can't I just leave that to my engineering team?"

"And what if they're all dead or not there to help you? What then?"

"Good point. Maybe I should get Arok to do a mind-meld on me, then I'll finally learn some of that stuff." She sighed.

Deanna laughed. Lizzie was beginning to realize that there was a bit of a resemblance between the two women, she pondered the similarities; the love of chocolate, the similar body types, and her father had been tall and broad, muscular, while Lizzie was short, barely touching five foot five. The hair was different of course, Deanna's hair was black, raven black, but seemed to have a similar texture as Lizzie's. The eyes were also different, at least in color, they had a similar shape to them however, they were round, deep, all seeing; her mother had black irises, while she had bluish, greenish, grayish eyes. Lizzie smiled at the thought, she could never truly figure out what color her eyes were, the boy she had been seeing previously said that they seemed to change from blue, to green, to gray.

She noticed that Deanna was looking at her closely and intently, "What?"

"Nothing, just admiring you. I always knew my daughter would be so beautiful." She smiled.

"You sound like Dad! 'Lizzie, you're such a beautiful person,' 'how did I get you as a daughter? You're so wonderful!'" She shook her head, "funny thing is, I hated it when he complemented me, at least when it came to my looks, because he said it so much!" She sighed and threw her hands into the air, "There was at least something every day, and it drove me nuts! And now I miss it." She turned to Deanna.

The two of them laughed, but the sound of someone at the door interrupted their joyful laughter. Lizzie leaned back and called, "Come in!" And Arok walked in, her proud head held high above her body. "What's up Arok?"

"I don't know what you mean by, 'What's up?' but I have a decoded message for you from Starfleet." She handed a pad to Lizzie, "you are to read it and then respond by a secure channel to Admiral Picard."

Lizzie took the pad and then walked over to her desk, where she sat down and inputted the contents of the pad into the computer. "Do you know which code I am to use?"

"Yes, Alpha Sigma 4. "

"Thank you, that will be Arok, it could be orders, although I'm not sure. I'll be on the bridge shortly to deliver orders there might be. Dismissed." She decoded the message after the elegant Vulcan woman left and then read through its contents. She sighed, "Uncle Jean-Luc, why are you doing this to me?"

Deanna stood up and walked over to the desk, "What does it say?"
"Read it and weep," Lizzie said, she moved over to allow Deanna to read the message. She read it and frowned. "What are you going to do?"

"Go to my ready room and talk to him, see if I can change this. I can't do it." She shook her head. "It's unreasonable to expect me to go through with this, with what little I have."

"I'm sure if you talk to him he'll understand the situation and will change it."

Lizzie stood up and adjusted her uniform, "I'm going to the my ready room." She nodded gravely to Deanna and then walked out of the quarters, "You're welcome to join us on the bridge, but you might want to get another uniform, one that isn't out of date. Go to the quartermaster's station, Deck Three, he was kidnapped too but you can figure out how to use the equipment." She smiled.

"Alright, what rank should I choose?" Deanna followed her out into the turbo lift.

"Deck Three, Bridge." Lizzie said to the turbo lift. "Your previous rank. No one can contest that you are a qualified ship's counselor and commander. You're probably going to be my temporary First Officer, until I find the right one."

"You don't have a First Officer?"

"Yea, and I bet that a lot of people aren't going to happy with that. But I guess I just want to find the right one, one who I can trust and rely on more than anyone else, and I haven't found that person yet."

"It sounds like your First Officer is going to take to the responsibilities of a husband too!" She chuckled, her black eyes shining.

"Well, that doesn't like a bad idea! I'll keep that in mind when I'm looking at candidates!" Lizzie laughed. The turbo lift arrived at Deck Three, where they bid a short farewell and then the lift continued on to the Bridge. She stepped onto the bridge and walked calmly across it. "Status Mr. Dal?" Dal had been sitting in the Captain's chair.

"Unchanged Captain." He stood, "Are we to know what the contents of the message from Starfleet was about?"

"In a few minutes. I need to discuss something with Admiral Picard." She scowled, "Arok, can you patch a secure channel to the Admiral from my ready room?"

"Acknowledged. It is ready when you need it.

"Thank you." Lizzie strode into her ready room and sat down at her desk, she turned on the computer and accessed the secure channel to Admiral Picard. In a few nanoseconds she was looking at his face.

"Lizzie, how are you? I assumed you got the message." He was beaming at her.

"Yes, I did, and I'm not happy about it."

The old man was shocked. "I thought you would be happy about it."

"I'm not, you're asking me to do something that I can't do. I don't have enough resources to do it."

"Lizzie, I don't know what you're talking about. You have gotten what you've wanted."

"I haven't, more than half of the original crew is gone and I can't do this with only sixty three, no scratch that, sixty four people! I don't have any doctors, so I need a Chief Medical Officer and most of my people are being outsourced to Engineering because we barely have enough people there. We can't do this, we need more people. If we go through with this we might not succeed."

Picard smiled, "well it's a good thing I recommended you for this assignment. I'm afraid we can't do much in the way of all of your crewmembers, but I was going to inform you that we are sending a doctor your way. He's traveling on a freighter with several medical assistants. I'm sending you the coordinates of the rendezvous point now."

"Thank you! One second," She pressed and button to the bridge. "Dal, change of course, I'm sending you new coordinates, proceed at maximum warp!"

"Aye Captain." Came the response, and the stars shifted suddenly as the ship changed direction. "While it would be nice to have the rest of my crew filled, having at least doctor will make a big difference for now. I guess other than that I accept these orders."

Picard beamed through the screen, "Excellent. Good luck, although I have a feeling that you will succeed and won't need it."

"I'll take all the luck I can get. Thank Uncle Jean-Luc. This really takes a whole lot of weight off of my shoulders."

"Anything for my favorite first officer's daughter!" He smiled. "Picard out."

Lizzie stood up and smiled. "Well, I guess I had better tell the crew!" She strode out onto the bridge and sat down in her chair just as Dal was getting out.

"What are our orders, Captain?"

"I'm about to tell you." She pressed a button, the button that relayed communication throughout the ship. "This is the Captain speaking, we have received new orders from Starfleet. The Cardassians are causing trouble for Starfleet, and they've attacked Deep Space Nine, we're rendezvousing with a freighter that is carrying our new medical team and then we are going to proceed to Deep Space Nine, to assist in repairs, as well as to defend if necessary. We're the closest ship to Deep Space Nine, and it's unlikely that another ship will arrive for a couple of days after our arrival, which should be within the day. This is big, as our ranks are being preserved and we will continue to serve as a crew abroad Enterprise, that is if we succeed and don't end up blowing up Deep Space Nine in the process, but I'm certain that we will succeed.

"We also have a new crew member, Commander Deanna Troi, she will be serving as our ship's counselor, so let's welcome her to Enterprise." Lizzie gazed over at her mother, who stood on the port side of the bridge. "That'll be all, congratulations crew, we're still in business."

The helmsman pressed a button and the ship lurched into a higher warp, giving Lizzie a jolt. "I thought we were going at maximum warp?"

"I thought it would be more dramatic if we did that." Dal replied. "Hope you don't mind."

Lizzie smiled and gave a light chuckle. "Alright. Keep on course! We've got a job to do!"