First Contact


The tiny female figure stopped in Elizabeth's hand. She stood, revealing herself to humans for the first time in nearly four hundred years. Tinker Bell looked over the four who were themselves looking her over. She noticed that one was African, another was older and bald, the female had blazing red hair like Rosetta and the fourth had a strange, almost pasty look to his face to go along with his equally strange yellow eyes. The four stared at her with wonder and amazement. Disbelief was also part of their reactions. She had encountered this reaction before when Tink first met with Lizzy, or Dr. Elizabeth Griffiths as she was being addressed by these human visitors. The redheaded woman asked to use something that Tinker Bell did not understand. She turned to look at her friend Dr. Griffiths for assurance.

"It's okay," Lizzy told her. "It won't hurt. They used it on me and I never felt a thing."

Tinker Bell turned back to the redheaded woman and gave a grudging nod of approval.

~O~

Picard was beside himself, as the other must have been, as well. As a boy, he had read the story of Peter Pan, which included the pixie known as Tinker Bell. The book was a flight of fancy that captured his imagination all those years ago. However, his mind was a more scientific one and he knew from an early age that fairies did not exist. Peter Pan, like so many other ancient children's stories were fairy tales. Most had a deeper meaning or moral to their story. These morals and lessons, however, were lost to the passage of time.

The story of the Corpse Bride, for instance, was a story of Russian – Jewish origin intended to reassure the people that the dead had no claim on the living. In the twenty-fourth century, no one was afraid of such a thing, but in older times many believed it to be true. Little Red Riding Hood began as a story retold in the oral tradition. It centered on a young girl who falls prey to a hungry wolf. Some versions have the girl escape through by her wits. Charles Perrault rewrote the story as an object lesson for the court of King Louis XIV. Later, the Brothers Grimm as a moral appropriate for their time altered the story yet again.

Picard, today, still did not believe in fairies despite the presence of the tiny humanoid Dr. Griffiths had identified as Tinker Bell. He began to suspect that an alien entity was indeed at work, but instead may have culled information from Doctor Griffiths' mind and used it to create an illusion for her benefit. It may have even kept her alive and young for all this time. If there was a purpose for such a thing, he suspected that it was for the same reasons that he and his away team searched the galaxy: to learn and study about other societies and civilizations. Yet kidnapping, even with consent, was not the most ideal way to study a subject. Picard thus set about trying to determine who or what this entity was and how best to reason with it.

"Captain, if you please," Doctor Crusher said moving in closer to the small humanoid creature with wings. She detached the mobile scanner from its holster in the Medical Tricorder. Crusher held it out a few inches away from the being Lizzy called "Tinker Bell" and waved it around slowly. After only a few seconds, she stopped and announced that there were no readings. As far as the tricorder was concerned, it wasn't there.

"She's not an 'it' she's a real person," Dr. Giffiths protested.

"My apologies, Doctor Griffiths," Crusher replied.

"Perhaps I may be of service," Data said approaching. The android removed his scientific tricorder and held out the portable scanner. Tinker Bell shrunk from him. She turned away, but Lizzy reassured her. Once again, however, the tricorder could not detect any signs of life or that anything was even present.

Tinker Bell spoke, but the four Starfleet officers could only hear the sound of jingling bells.

"What did she say," Captain Picard asked.

"Now, Tinker Bell, let's have none of that," Lizzy said with a displeased tone of voice. Doctor Griffiths then addressed Picard. "She asked if you were using your tri-things correctly."

Doctor Crusher looked insulted. "Tell her I know what I'm doing," she said with a huff.

Tinker Bell leapt from Lizzy's palm, flittering and jingling angrily, a yellowish glow surrounding her.

Data's tricorder chirped to life. The readings showed the same energy signals the shuttlecraft detected while in orbit and led them here. The android pressed a button, then another and determined that the entity known as "Tinker Bell" was the source of the energy readings.

"Why didn't you detect it previously, Mr. Data?" Picard asked his officer.

"The energy signature was not present," Data responded flatly, as he always did.

Tinker Bell returned to Lizzy's hand and stopped beating her wings. The faint glow, which surrounded her, disappeared along with the energy signature the tricorder detected.

"Fascinating," Data said. "Miss Tinker Bell, would you please take flight once more?"

Tinker Bell fluttered her wings and lifted from Lizzy's hand. A yellow glow enveloped her. At the same moment, Data's tricorder resumed its chirping.

"Captain, the energy signature is detected by the tricorder whenever Tinker Bell takes flight," Data announced.

"That would explain why it was intermittent," Geordi said. "Our sensors only picked it up when she was glowing like that."

"I wonder if that is why my medical tricorder couldn't read her presence," Dr. Crusher theorized.

"Data, is she the primary source of these energy signatures?" Picard asked.

"No, Captain, it is still reading as near the center of the island," Data answered.

"Pixie dust," Picard suddenly announced. He didn't know he put those two together. His mind was still trying to work out how to gain access to the entity he believed was creating this illusion. "When she takes flight, Tinker Bell is using pixie dust. That is what our tricorders are detecting."

"Intriguing," Data answered. "If your theory is correct, then the source of the energy readings at the center of this island would also be… pixie dust."

"Yes, Data," Geordi answered, "but why are we only detecting it when she is in flight?"

"Combustion?" Dr. Crusher suggested.

"I beg your pardon, Doctor?" Picard asked.

"Pixie dust alone may not react to our tricorders, but when it is in use it may give off a unique energy signature that our technology can record," she said. "Not unlike how an ancient automobile generated heat when it's internal combustion engine was operating."

"Yes, and when Tinker Bell is flying, she consumes pixie dust thus creating an energy signature we can detect. That would mean there is a very large store of this dust at the center of the island" Picard finished. He turned to Dr. Griffiths. "Where is this store of dust?" he asked her.

"Tinker Bell?" Lizzy asked the tiny pixie. The little creature seemed to be thinking it over. Then she spoke, jingling before flitting off.

"What did she say?" Crusher asked.

"She will ask for permission," Dr. Griffiths answered.

"From whom?" Picard asked.

"The queen," she answered.

"You mean there are others?" Crusher asked, almost disbelieving.

"Yes, Doctor, many others," Dr. Griffiths replied.

However, there seemed to be something she was not saying. Picard wanted to know what she was withholding, but decided to wait anticipating he would find out soon enough. Instead, he employed some old fashioned diplomacy. "Doctor Griffiths, would you like some tea?"

"Oh yes, Captain, I would love some," she said. "But where will you get tea out here? From your ship?"

"Yes, would you like to join us inside?" he asked, motioning to the shuttlecraft.

"Why thank you, Captain Picard," she answered politely.

Captain Picard led her and his small crew back to the shuttle. The side door opened and Lizzy was allowed to see the inside for the first time. It was rather small and cramped for her taste. Picard apologized for the tight accommodations, but explained that this vessel was intended for short trips only. Lizzy was invited to sit in a comfortable chair. She was surrounded by so many buttons and lights that blinked at her that she was visibly overwhelmed.

Though her last visit to the mainland had been in the mid twenty first century and she was therefore familiar with technology of that time period, the shuttle and its onboard computer was quantum leaps ahead of what she knew. Instead of transistors and copper wiring, the shuttle was based on Transtator technology and relied on bio-neural gel packs which could think not unlike an organic brain, utilizing "fuzzy logic" and offering best guess answers when a firm conclusion could not be achieved. Information storage, which was once measured in terabytes, was now measured in gigaquads.

"Where is your cooker?" she asked Picard. Picard smiled, in fact he almost laughed despite himself.

"We don't need one," he answered her. Captain Picard asked Lizzy to watch as he stood in front of a console. "Computer, tea. Earl Grey. Hot."

In a shimmer of light, a small glass filled with hot liquid suddenly appeared in a small shelf within the wall of the vessel. Picard removed it and instructed Lizzy to ask for what she wanted. "Just address the computer, ask for tea, what type and that you want it hot."

She was apprehensive, but did as she was told. "Computer? Tea. Orange Pekoe, Ceylon blend. Hot."

Just as before, a glass of hot tea shimmered into existence inside the small shelf. She marveled a second time. She took the glass by the saucer and held it to her nose. A whiff of the liquid revealed that it was indeed the drink she had requested.

"Amazing," she said. "What do you call this, Captain?"

"It's called a replicator," he told her. Jean-Luc attempted to explain how the device constituted atoms and molecules into the specific patterns to replicate foods, clothing or other objects.

"Fantastic," she said after momentary pause. "It's like 3-D printing, but so much faster and more efficient. I had not realized human technology had reached such a level. Perhaps I should visit the mainland again."

Picard nodded in agreement. "Tell me, Doctor, you said that Tinker Bell has gone to ask for permission. Permission from whom?"

"The queen," she answered.

"Fairies have a queen?" Geordi asked.

"Why yes," she said. "Didn't you know?"

"I believe it was mentioned in the book," Picard said. "Who is this queen?"

"Her name is Clarion," Lizzy told him. "She is the wise and beautiful queen of the Never Fairies. She has reigned for thousands of years over the other fairies of her domain. Queen Clarion will decide whether or not to grant an audience."

Picard wasn't sure what to make of this new information. No name had ever been given for a fairy queen in the book. Although names for fairy queens had been suggested in mythology and literature, "Clarion" was not one he could recall. If granted an audience then the need for diplomacy was much greater. Jean-Luc continued to proceed with the idea that an entity was creating an illusion, but some information was inconsistent with known facts and made him question the possibility. He had to entertain the likelihood that he was dealing with a previously unknown civilization.

"I don't wish to delve too deeply into your personal life, Doctor, but what happened exactly that led you to sequester yourself on this island for such a long time?"

Lizzy stared into her glass. She took a sip of her tea and was satisfied with the quality of the taste. After a few moments she finally spoke. Lizzy Griffiths detailed the events in vivid detail that made even Picard feel it in his heart.

~O~

She and her father had returned to the mainland with Tinker Bell and the other fairies in late April of the year 2053. They were returning to the summer camp tree that was found in the meadow across from her family summer home which was located a few miles outside of London. Their purpose was to clean and prepare the tree and the surrounding meadow for the fairies to use beginning in June. The house would not be occupied that year and she and her father wanted to take a vacation after such a long sabbatical on the island studying the fairies and their environment.

On the morning of May 1st of 2053, Doctor Martin Griffiths drove to London to pay his respects to fallen friends and check on descendants of his family. They had no idea he was related to them and Doctor Griffiths always presented himself as a friend of the family. The global war that was ravaging the world had been going on for many years with no end in sight. The conflict had taken its toll on the people of England and other countries. Everyone lived each day with apprehension and fear.

Then on this day one madman changed the entire nature of the conflict. Lizzy was in her summer house watching the telly when the alert was sounded. Someone had launched a barrage of nuclear warheads. London was one of the primary targets and the missiles would arrive in less than fifteen minutes. Lizzy could not initially believe such a thing was happening. The newscasters tracked the incoming missiles even as they began to break down and cry. They knew that it would be impossible for them to leave and find shelter in time. They were going to perish. So they bravely remained on the air as long as possible to relay information to the viewers.

The citizens of London were instructed to leave their homes and head to the nearest bomb shelter. Lizzy knew that it was a death sentence. The shelters were never intended to protect occupants from nuclear weapons or the ensuing fallout. She ran outside and yelled to the fairies in the meadow to gather their animals as quickly as possible and go back to Never Land right away. She tried to tell them what was happening, but not everyone understood what it meant. Tinker Bell, however, understood the fear in Lizzy's voice and hurried everyone to do as told.

Moments later she received a call on the cellular phone. It was her father. He was trying to leave the city, but the city had erupted into panic and was causing gridlock everywhere. Martin knew he wasn't going to make it out in time to escape.

"Lizzy, dear, get out of there," he told her firmly. "Leave the house and get the fairies back to Never Land this instant."

"What about you, Father?" she asked him. "Where are you?"

"I can't get to you time," he said. There was a distinct note of sadness in his voice. "You must promise me that you and the fairies will leave for Never Land right away."

"I promise, Father," she assured him. "But I can send Tinker Bell to get you. With pixie dust…"

"No, Lizzie! No, don't put her in harm's way. It's too late for me."

"No, Father, it's not too late. I can come get you, we'll leave for Never Land together." Lizzy was weeping at this point. Only shreds of hope remained in her heart. She knew he was right, that her father would never make it out alive. But she could not accept it.

He insisted that she leave.

"Lizzy, listen to me. I am so proud of you." Martin began to confess a deep secret. "When…, when your mother told me she was with child, my first thought was that we were going to have a son. I would teach him to be a scientist just like me. He would follow in my footsteps and we would work at the conservatory side by side. When you were born, I was…, well I was disappointed. I shouldn't have been. I thought that you would end up a housewife and a mother. I held out hope for another child who would be a son and would follow me into my world. Then your mother passed away and I thought my dream was no longer attainable."

Lizzy was crying now as he made this awful confession to her. Nothing hurts a child more than to hear that a parent is disappointed in them.

"I'm so sorry, my dear," he continued. "I should never have thought such horrible things. No matter what you would have done with your life, you would have made me proud. And you have. I never thought I would get my dream of having my child work side by side with me. But what you did made me so glad that I had a daughter. I have had the joy of making many discoveries, but the best moment of my life was having you as my little girl. I could never be disappointed by you. No father could ever be so proud of his little girl than I am today."

"I love you, Father," she said into the phone.

"I love you too, Lizzy," he replied. "Now go to Never Land. You will never see me again, but I'll always be watching you."

"I'll make you proud of me, Father. I promise," she told him.

"I know you wi-." The same instant the signal cut out there was a blinding flash of light in the distance. Moments later a giant mushroom cloud rose into the sky, darkening the world around it and devastating the city of London beneath it. Lizzy dropped the telephone receiver.

"FATHER!" she yelled. "….no…, please no."

She stood motionless, paralyzed by fear and immeasurable grief. The cloud rose higher and higher into the atmosphere.

Tinker Bell had to snap her out of the moment. "You're right, Tinker Bell, we have to leave."

With a dusting of pixie dust Lizzy lifted into the air. For several moments she had problems with flight. Pixie dust needed happy thoughts and right now she had none. Only deep sadness and fear. She had to fixate on the pleasant memories of her father. Then she could finally attain altitude and follow Tinker Bell and the other fairies back to Never Land.

When they were over the water Lizzie was nearly blinded by another flash of light. A second weapon had been detonated above the city. It was followed by a third shortly thereafter. London wasn't just being attacked, it was being bombed out of existence. From that moment onward, Lizzie vowed never to return to the Mainland.

~O~

Tears streamed down the cheeks of Doctor Elizabeth Griffiths. "I miss my father so much," she cried. Doctor Crusher wrapped her arm around the woman and held her, offering a comforting shoulder.

"I'm very sorry, Doctor Griffiths," Captain Picard said. "I had no idea."


Thank you for reading. Sorry for the long delay. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave a review.

I've altered the rating of this story from K-Plus to Teen because of this chapter.

The information about the third world war as it exists in the Star Trek universe comes from Memory Beta. Memory Alpha and Memory Beta are Star Trek Wiki's. Memory Alpha contains canon information from the TV shows and movies. Memory Beta contains non-canon information from works such as novels, video games, RPG's and other licensed sources .