First Contact
Chapter 7


By late evening, Tinker Bell had not yet returned to the coast line. Dr. Griffiths asked to be excused so she could return to her home and rest for the evening. After remembering what had happened to her father she was most unwilling to speak very much.

"Doctor," Picard addressed Elizabeth, "please understand, it was not my intention to offend. We are scientists and explorers. We learn by…"

"By doing research and asking questions," she finished. "Yes I know. I am a scientist and explorer as well, Captain. You have not offended me. I had hoped that the memories of losing my father had lost their sting. They had not. I will return in the morning. Will you be returning to your ship? The Enterprise?"

"We will remain here this evening, Doctor," Picard answered.

"Will you need anything?"

"No, but thank you for your hospitality," Captain Picard replied.

Doctor Elizabeth Griffiths walked down the beach and into the trees. Geordi tracked her using the ship's sensors. After more than thirty minutes, the movement of her life signs stopped. There they remained a good distance from the energy signature that seemed to be the heart of the island.

"Is that her home?" Beverly asked.

A further survey recorded a structure there. "It sure seems that way," Geordi replied.

Captain Picard took a deep breath and then let it out. "Well, it would appear that our good doctor does indeed live on the island."

Picard and his senior staff members discussed what they had heard from Doctor Griffiths. Her description of a "summer camp" for fairies seemed ludicrous at best. However, her recollection of the nuclear first strike on London was consistent with known survivor accounts. Because of the escalation of the conventional war into a nuclear conflict, very little information from that time period remained intact. Much of what was in schoolbooks and historical texts came from accounts of the survivors. They wrote down the vivid images they remembered, and those recollections became part of the narrative that historians used to reconstruct the past.

Geordi admitted to sizing her up with his ocular implants. His implants had the ability to detect changes in body temperature, heart rate and other physical changes that he learned to interpret and correlate to human responses. "As far as I could tell, she wasn't lying, Captain. Those memories are as real to her as meeting Zefram Cochrane in Montana are to you and me."

"You mean she really did suffer that horrible trauma?" Beverly asked. "Oh that poor girl. And it would explain the slight readings of radiation I found in her cellular structure. She survived a nuclear blast and escaped."

The correlation was there, but not all of what she was telling them made sense to Picard or his crew. The notion that she escaped nuclear devastation by flying away with pixie dust to Never Land to live with Tinker Bell seemed too incredible to believe. Now more than ever Picard was certain that the heart of this island was indeed some unknown being that was creating an illusion, creating a child's world to ease the trauma this woman had suffered. If that were indeed the case, then at least he knew this being had compassion. A heartless or emotionless intellect would not go to such great lengths to protect an innocent person from her own heartbreaking memories.

"I don't think we should ask too many more personal questions, Captain," Beverly told him. "Dr. Griffiths seemed highly traumatized."

"On the contrary, Doctor," Picard answered, "if my supposition is correct, then whatever is at the heart of this island that is protecting her from the past is only preventing her from dealing with that trauma. She must be freed from that horror and allowed to live like any normal human. Whatever that being is doing to her, it is unhealthy. She needs to face her past and move on."

"Captain, we must also consider that there could be symbiotic relationship between Doctor Griffiths and this being, should it exist," Data added.

"Data, what do you mean?" Beverly asked the android.

"If this being feels compassion, it may have taken pity on her," he answered. "I have often found that such pity can lead to romantic feelings."

"It could be in love with her?" Geordi asked.

"It is a possibility, providing that such an entity does indeed exist and meets all necessary parameters," the android replied.

"Indeed, however, so far we only have speculation," Picard reminded them. "Once this 'Tinker Bell' receives permission we will learn more."

"Permission from what? Or whom?" Crusher asked.

"That, Dr. Crusher, is what I intend to find out," Picard answered her.

Data then informed the other three that during their brief encounter with Tinker Bell, he had recorded her "language" and had been using the shuttle's computer to analyze it.

Picard demanded to know what he had found.

"The language library found no corresponding databases to use as a pattern. I then instructed the computer to analyze all tonal based languages to attempt to construct a likely model. Unfortunately, that also failed as there is no correlation between known tonal languages and the jingling sounds Tinker Bell makes when speaking."

"Get to the point, Mr. Data," Picard ordered, exasperated by his lengthy explanation.

"Yes, Captain. Applying what Doctor Griffiths told us as translator and applying pattern recognition algorithms I have constructed a base model."

"Data, are you saying that her jingling is an actual language?" Geordi asked.

"That is correct," was his succinct reply. "However, the sample size is too small. I will require additional source material to properly analyze and deconstruct the language for use in the universal translator."

This information gave Picard some reason to pause. It would be easy enough to fool him or the other two people on this small away team, but Commander Data is an android and is generally resistant to mental interference. If he says that the jingling sounds are an actual language that can be analyzed and translated into English or other languages then Picard's earlier presumption could be incorrect. This Tinker Bell creature might in fact be exactly who she claims to be.

However, this also meant believing in fairies, Peter Pan and Captain Hook. It meant believing in the very nature of Never Land. A magical realm where no one ever aged.

There had to be another explanation.


During the dinner hour, Commander Data contacted the Enterprise to upload all new information the Away Team had gathered. It was compared to existing history texts. The language which Data had been analyzing was sent to Starfleet for further analysis.

Captain Picard checked in with his bridge officers. Lt. Commander Franklin reported that they were making progress with the sensors. "We have a general fix on your communicator signals, Captain," he explained. "However, we are still having problems locating your life signs or scanning for anything on the island."

"Mr. Franklin, make sure Starfleet Command gets a copy of all of our data," Picard ordered.

"Aye, Captain," Franklin replied.

After dinner, Picard and his officers retired for the evening. The shuttle's chairs were poor substitutes for their comfortable beds aboard the Enterprise. However, each had been in far worse situations and made due without complaint.


Before the sun had fully risen the next morning, the shuttlecraft received a communication signal from Starfleet Command. Admiral Armistead was calling to speak directly to the captain.

"Picard, please tell me you're joking," the admiral began. "Never Land? Tinker Bell? You can't possibly be serious."

"I'm quite serious admiral," Picard answered. "Yesterday I was face to face with something that looked just like the Tinker Bell character right out of the J.M. Barrie novel."

"Your report suggests that something may be at the center of this island projecting images, or creating realistic depictions for this Elizabeth Griffiths."

"Yes, that is my working assumption at this moment, admiral," Picard answered. "However, tricorder readings and sensor analysis have not provided us with reason to doubt Dr. Griffiths' claims."

"Are you sure she is even real?" Armistead posed. "She could be just a figment created by this thing for your benefit."

"That is a distinct possibility," Picard answered. "However, admiral, Commander Data has corroborated all of our findings. And the shuttle's computer and sensors have been tested for and cleared of all possible malfunctions."

Picard then described the list which they had accumulated, which included historical background, the excruciating details of the nuclear holocaust Dr. Griffiths witnessed over London and the radiation in her cells. Dr. Crusher's medical scan had even noted minor, but non-life threating cell degradation caused by the radiation.

"Yes, but her description of fairies who live in a tree on the mainland is more than suspect," the admiral countered.

Picard reminded the admiral that the tree was just a summer camp. According to Dr. Griffiths, the fairy creatures lived on the island. The captain went on further detailing the unique nature of the pocket universe, the strange energy readings which were only first discovered by the new sensor array and finally that the location of the pocket universe was exactly where Never Land was supposedly located in Barrie's book.

"What I am suggesting, Admiral Armistead is that what we know is far too incomplete to make a proper determination," Picard answered. "However, we should keep an open mind."

"What do you mean?"

"Admiral, as much as I find it impossible to believe, we must not ignore the possibility that all of this could in fact be very real," Picard said.

"Do you think it's real?" Armistead asked him.

"I find it highly unlikely," Picard answered. "Too often we have discovered that appearances are deceiving. However, we should not dismiss one possible explanation because we don't like it."

Armistead sighed. He seemed to be grappling with the idea that his best starship commander had lost his marbles. "Very well, continue to investigate, Picard. Armistead out."

"That could have gone better," Picard commented after the communication screen went dark.


Less than an hour later a knock was heard on the door of the shuttlecraft. When Picard opened it, Dr. Griffiths stood before him. To her left was Tinker Bell. Directly in front of her was another fairy creature. This particular fairy was dressed in a colorful and regal manner, unlike Tinker Bell who was in a simple green dress.

"Hello, who is this?" Picard asked with a bit of a smile.

"Captain Picard, this Viola, the Queen's personal summoner," Elizabeth Griffiths replied.

Viola blew a horn and spoke, though all Picard and his officers heard was more jingling. Picard turned to Dr. Griffiths for a translation.

Elizabeth looked at the four outsiders and announced, "Captain Picard, you and your officers are hereby summoned to the presence of Queen Clarion, ruler of the Never Fairies."


Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy this new chapter. Please leave a review.