Chapter 6
"Oh God no." Reg exclaimed as he returned to their quarters. She wasn't there. He put down the bowls, spoons and a flask of soup he was carrying and dashed back out into the corridor to see her emerge from a shower room wearing a kaftan at the end of the corridor with her mask in her hand. He ran to meet her. "I thought you were going to wait for me to have a shower?" he snapped.
"I needed to pee anyway and it took a lot out of me to get here. I didn't think I could do the walk again. I remembered my o2." she told him as they walked together slowly.
"It's further than we are from sickbay." he said apologetically. "If it's too much tell me and I'll ask to swap quarters." He stopped with her as she paused to use the mask. "Hold on." he said and picked her up, carrying her the rest of the way as she gasped into the mask. He deposited her on the bed and knelt beside her looking concerned. "Shall I call The Doctor?"
She shook her head, "It's passing. I'm fine." She smiled at him, her breathing more relaxed but still holding the mask to her face.
He rubbed his face distractedly and she rubbed his upper arm. "I'm worried sick about you." he admitted and she pulled him into her arms. "This…well he was a temporal agent from the future apparently. He talked about my destiny and the kids but he said you…" his breath hitched, "and he said I was going to have another child and…" he sobbed into her shoulder. "I'm not, not without you. I'm just not." he held her tight.
She dropped the mask and turned his face to look at her, wiping his tears away with her finger tenderly. "Fuck him. He doesn't make the rules for us. I'm not planning on turning my toes up any time soon but if the worst happens… It kills me to think of you with anyone else but I don't want you to be alone. If you find someone who makes you happy and loves our children then it's okay, more than okay. The last thing I'd want is for you to feel guilty or bad about it."
"No, it'll never be okay with me." he whispered. "Although if I go first and you meet someone… I wouldn't want you to be alone, you deserve to be loved."
"Honestly, I can't imagine loving anyone but you either." She pressed her forehead to his.
He sighed and kissed her forehead. "Let's have some soup."
After they'd eaten he lay beside her as she curled up and drifted off to sleep, stroking her hair. He let his hand fall to her neck and gently felt her pulse.
"It's not going to stop." she whispered. "This heart is beating like a train in my chest, even if it's a slow train. The worst that can happen is I'll pass out if I overdo it and God knows we've been there before."
"I worried that you wouldn't love me anymore if they took out your heart." he whispered. "And then you tried to molest me as soon as you came round and assuaged me of that idea." He smiled and kissed her neck.
"I'd love you if I was a brain in a jar." she said sleepily, "I'd love you if you were a brain in a jar but I'd miss your fluffy chest."
"I'd miss your boobs." he told her, "and your behind."
"I'd miss your behind too." she mumbled and nestled against him. "I'm very fond of your thighs as well. But I'd still love you, just the same." She yawned.
"You wouldn't miss Commodore Barclay?" he asked softly with a frown.
"He has his moments I suppose." She giggled.
"Don't remind me." Reg winced. He hated the thought that he'd failed to satisfy her.
"It wasn't your fault. I don't think my heart rate or lack of it helped. And it's not like the ship didn't move anyway. As your Professor I won't mark you down, your GPA is intact." She caressed his arm that draped over her. "Why didn't you tell me you felt like that?"
"Like what?" he frowned, "Oh you mean… Well I've always felt sort of…" he struggled to find the words to describe the complex emotion he felt at the point of climax.
"Naked, exposed, vulnerable, helpless and defenceless?" Taryn suggested.
"Yes, well, whenever I'm with someone anyway." he explained.
"Do holograms make you feel that way?" she asked.
He paused, now that was a loaded question. If he said they did it implied making love to her was no different to sex on the holodeck and if he said they didn't it implied he didn't suspend disbelief with his photonic playmates and knew they weren't real deep down. In fact, the truth fell somewhere in between on a sliding scale. "Do I have to answer that?" he frowned.
"No, I was just interested, it's not important." she replied with another yawn.
"It's not like I don't enjoy it you know, I just feel like I'm giving all of myself." he whispered. "Especially with you. I feel like I'm giving you my soul."
"That's nice." she mumbled as she drifted back to sleep.
…
"We're going to be here a while, she'll be fine if you need to go and do something else Reg." The Doctor told him the next morning in Sickbay.
"I can stay." he replied as he rubbed her back gently.
"Go and play, I'll feel bad with you loitering about looking bored." she told him.
"You'll call me when you're done?" he asked and she nodded. He kissed her softly and headed for Main Engineering.
His 'gang' were gathered in a quiet corner pouring through schematics when he arrived.
"Hey Boss." Dan said brightly. "How is she?"
"She seems quite bright this morning but she's weak and tired." he stated as he drew up a seat and joined them, "Any luck?"
"Maybe." David stated distractedly as he read a padd. "The build isn't so much the issue as finding alternative components. Some are from other systems or don't exist in this century and are unreplicateable."
"Like what?" Reg asked.
"Aldebaran quartz for starters." David replied.
"Well, what quality is it being used for? It's refractive qualities? It's hardness? It's lack of reactivity?" Reg asked.
"It's used as a focusing lens." David stated.
"So it's a refractive lens, natural diamonds are pretty close on the refractive index." Reg replied.
"Pretty close won't cut it." Dan advised him. "Not if you want a viable, genetically compatible organ."
"We could make a crystal with the same qualities artificially." Barsha suggested.
"How?" Dan asked.
"Orion traders have been forging gems for centuries, some of them fool even the most expert jewellers and geologists." she reasoned. "I know a few techniques we could try."
"I'm hoping the Orb of Time will send us back before this becomes crucial." Reg stated. "I don't want you to feel you've wasted your time if we don't need it." he picked up a padd and looked at it.
"We won't feel that way." Dan stated. "This is for Taryn, if we don't need it for positive reasons then good. Not that there will be any negative reasons before you start fretting Reg."
Reg knew it was already too late for that, he'd started fretting the moment he saw her dying in Guinan's orangery and knew it wouldn't stop until she was healthy again.
…
"I've been looking for you everywhere Shrimp." Geoff stated before he registered she was sitting on the floor in the corridor against the wall. "Christ!" he exclaimed and ran to her, still dressed as a Victorian gentleman. "You look rough mate. I'll get you to Sickbay."
"No I was just there. I was trying to get to Engineering." she told him holding the mask to her face. "I'm okay, I just need to catch my breath."
"Catch your breath? You look like death warmed over." he said as he lifted her up.
"Reg is in Engineering, you can ask him. I don't have to go to Sickbay." she protested weakly.
"I'm blaming you if he kicks off." Geoff stated as he carried her.
"Why were you looking for me?" she asked, clearly feeling better and not needing the mask anymore.
"We were wondering if you had any ideas how we could locate Data and the Matthews'."
"Put a personal ad in the Times." she suggested. "It's what Sherlock Holmes would do. I expect he's reading it daily."
"Why didn't I think of that?" he smiled at his sister.
"I don't know. You're the Temporal Agent." She smirked. "Not a surprise by the way."
"How long have you known?" he asked her with a grin.
"Ages. No way were you recruited as an aide with your training and skillset." she told him. "I did wonder if you were Section 31 for a while."
"No way would I work for those pricks. They're a law unto themselves and a menace. There's no place in Starfleet for officers who are above the law. Besides, Dad would kick my arse if I joined them and rightly so. I'm fairly sure he's always known what I do, and Emlyn of course. No one keeps secrets from him."
"Maya hasn't worked it out?" Taryn asked.
"If she has she knows better than to ask." he replied as he entered Main Engineering. "Have you lost something?" he asked Reg as he turned around in alarm.
"You said you'd call me." Reg said as he grabbed a seat and Geoff deposited her on it.
"I found her in a heap in the corridor." Geoff told him.
"Don't exaggerate. I was just having a rest." she argued.
"A rest is exactly what you should be having. In our quarters." Reg chided.
"I'm not going to hide away and shrivel up in the dark like a cut flower. My hands and brain still work, there's no reason why I can't be useful." she snapped indignantly. "What are you up to? I want to help."
"Well, I wasn't going to tell you until we had more of an idea if it's feasible." Reg said guiltily with his team gathered behind him with expressions to match his. "I had a thought that maybe we could build a genitronic replicator. We're sort of redundant here until they need us for something so we have time on our hands."
She looked touched and grasped his hand. "That's very sweet of you. All of you." she told them.
"We're not sure it'll work though." Dan stated. "We have a lot of hurdles to jump."
"Let's get some lunch and I'll bring you up to speed." Reg stated. "I'm sure you'll come up with some new ideas."
"Okay." She smiled up at him.
"Mother?" Bastion asked. "Sorry to interrupt."
"You aren't interrupting Bastion, how can I help you?" Taryn replied.
"I was thinking more about how I can help you." A large object materialised in the middle of the room with a large red bow tied on it. "I hope you aren't insulted but I noticed how difficult you have found getting around."
"Oh Bastion, I'm not insulted. It's very thoughtful of you." She smiled as she stood and admired the anti-grav chair. "You even put the controls on the left side for me." she remarked as she pulled off the bow and sat down. "I love it. Thank you."
"Thank you from me too." Reg said. "I won't worry so much about her roaming around. It has built in o2." he noted, showing her the mask.
"I endeavoured to find a model suited to your particular needs."
"It's wonderful Bastion." She flashed Reg an impish smile. "Race you to the Mess Room?" She shot away giggling at top speed.
"Perhaps with hindsight I should have limited the velocity?" Bastion commented.
"She'd only have modified it." Reg sighed.
"Perhaps I could fabricate you a bicycle Reg, or some roller skates?"
"I'll bear it in mind." Reg replied with a smirk and followed her.
"She looks bad." David stated after he left.
"Now I know why The Doctor seemed so thoughtful last night." Barsha stated. "He thinks we're going to lose her."
"You need to make this thing work." Geoff told them. "I'm not letting my sister die. Not from some stupid infection that's been extinct for centuries."
"We know." Dan replied sympathetically. "We won't let her down."
…
"The only thing The Doctor found was increased activity in an area of my brain that was dormant on my previous neural scans. But he doesn't know why." She paused as she ate a mouthful of noodles. "He speculated that it could have been caused by the scarlet fever."
"Does he think it will be a problem?" Reg looked concerned as he pushed his salad around his plate.
"No, he didn't seem worried." she replied. "My hormone levels were nothing unexpected either so that's so far so good. But he changed my coagulant. I have a mysterious bruise. Look?" she pulled up the sleeve of the top she was wearing and showed him a deep bruise above her elbow on the back of her arm. "He treated it but it came straight back up."
"How did you do that?" he asked looking alarmed.
"I don't recall doing it at all." she pulled her sleeve back down and continued eating.
"It wasn't me was it? While we were…"
"Perhaps, but you weren't at all rough with me." She smiled at him and grasped his hand across the table. "He said it's nothing unexpected or to worry about. It's normal to make a few tweaks to the protocol in the early stages of hedroxal failure." she assured him.
"Taryn…" he said as he moved his thumb and saw a growing bruise on the back of her hand. "W…we need to get you to Sickbay…"
…
"On the broader scale of things this complication is minor Reg." The Doctor assured him. "You spotted it quickly and she's responding well to an alternative coagulant therapy."
"I barely touched her and she started to haemorrhage Doctor. What if she'd had a fall or….?" Reg ranted as he paced, ringing his hands.
"She didn't." Dr Bashir stated. "Would you feel better if she stayed here in Sickbay? You could spend as much time with her as you wish…"
"No, she'll hate it. She needs to keep busy. We're working on building a genitronic replicator and she has some great ideas."
"I'd be more than happy to assist with that endeavour." The Doctor told him.
"As would I." Dr Bashir added. "But as far as your wife's care goes we're monitoring her carefully and you're being vigilant. While her prognosis is uncertain due to her physiology we have plenty of options available to manage her condition. It's just a matter of keeping things on an even keel."
"This is it isn't it? What Andrews talked about?" Reg rubbed the back of his neck as he continued to pace. "We're going to lose her. She's so weak and frail…"
"Reg, she's not giving up and neither are we." The Doctor assured him. "Worst case scenario. Her motor neurons start to degrade and we put her in stasis."
"Stasis? That's a viable option?" Reg stopped pacing and rubbed his face.
"It's always an option in these circumstances." Dr Bashir confirmed. "She could remain in stasis until our business here is concluded to the satisfaction of the Orb and we can replace her damaged organs when we return."
"But that's not going to be necessary, because we're optimistic aren't we?" Taryn said from the doorway with Six beside her.
"Are you okay? Why aren't you in your chair? Is it alright to hug her?" he asked Six.
"Yes I'm okay. I'm not going to use the chair all the time, I don't want to get weaker and it had better be alright because here I come." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held him tight with him tentatively touching her back. "I'm not going to break you prat." she assured him and he held her tighter. "I'm not going anywhere." She cupped his cheek in her hand and gazed into his eyes. "I need to get better so we can start work on that baby."
"Okay." Reg smiled and took her hand, tenderly kissing her wrist.
"You've reconsidered fertility treatment?" The Doctor asked and Reg nodded. "In that case we need to get this genitronic replicator built." The Doctor smiled.
"The Doctor and Julian would like to help." Reg told her.
"Hey, don't forget me?" Six added with a smile.
"I also have some ideas. I believe Barsha's suggestion of forging the crystals holds merit and I hold the latest research in sub-atomic resequencing in my memory. It may be possible to alter materials to make them closer to those we require." Bastion stated.
Taryn smiled shyly. "I don't know what to say…" she whispered and Reg kissed her temple. "I'm…I think I should have a nap maybe…" she told him.
"It's a side effect of the new coagulant I'm afraid. It can cause extreme fatigue." The Doctor explained.
"Better that than bleeding everywhere." Taryn said brightly and whistled. "J'hordak, heel." she ordered and her chair followed her obediently as she walked into the corridor holding hands with Reg. "I installed a program upgrade while I was waiting for the coagulant to work. He'll never be able to command a starship or even pilot one but he can follow me around and be there when I need to sit down."
"J'hordak, that means shadow in Orion right?" Reg smiled. "Heel?" he nodded. "You aren't a cat lover or a horse lover…your sentient hologram is a wolf? Dear God, I married a dog person didn't I?"
"I told you, I love all animals…but I do like dogs." she admitted.
Reg snorted. "I suppose I'm like that too. I love all animals but I do like cats."
"Does that make us bi-bestial?" she asked with a sneer.
"Probably," he laughed. "Gala would love a puppy."
"Gala would love her own zoo." Taryn stated. "She asked for a pet snake the other day."
"I hope you said no." Reg responded. "You did say no?"
"I said we'd discuss it." Taryn explained. "That way we're a united front and no one has to be the villain of the piece."
"That's good." he agreed. "I don't want a snake in the house."
"I gathered that from your reaction. So we discussed it and the answer is no. She'll have to make do with her hamster, the tribbles, the goldfish, two degus and three guinea pigs."
"Is she still doing all the looking after herself?" Reg asked.
"Yes, I've been checking up on her. They all get fed and petted and cleaned out regularly. She doesn't feed the tribbles or pet the fish obviously."
"She's going to be a vet, I can see it coming." Reg smirked.
"That or an animal hoarder." Taryn added. "J'hordak?" she called and sat down.
"You're learning to pace yourself better." Reg said when she refused her oxygen mask.
"I want to keep as active as I can. I hate being so feeble." She frowned as they resumed the journey to their quarters.
…
She was still snuggled against him when he woke, held in his arms and sleeping sweetly. They had made great progress the day before after her nap. Everyone made valuable contributions and he was beginning to think their latest project may actually work. The door chimed and it woke her.
"Who's that?" she murmured.
"Someone must have heard how sexy you look in my pyjama top." he kissed her temple softly and sat up. "Who is it?"
"It's Julian."
Reg peered under the covers to check he was still wearing pyjama pants. "We're relatively decent. Come in." Reg replied and scratched his bare chest as Taryn sat up sleepily beside him and wrapped her arms around her knees.
"I've had something on my mind that I…need to get off my chest." Julian stated as he entered the room. He smiled. "Ezri and I, we used to sleep on the floor of the Defiant like that." he noted. "We sometimes share my pyjamas too."
"Have a seat, please?" Taryn offered.
"I…Seven years ago I was approached by a man named Luther Sloan who wanted to recruit me as an operative for Section 31. I refused but I discovered they aren't an organisation that handles rejection well. A year later I was embroiled in and misled in a plot to discredit a Romulan Senator so a seat she was in line for on the Continuing Committee went to a Federation spy instead." He swallowed guiltily. "After that Chief O'Brien and I discovered Section 31 had infected Odo in order to spread a virus to the Founders. We tricked Sloan into visiting Deep Space 9, knowing they would have developed a cure. To cut a long story short Sloan activated a suicide device in his brain but we interfaced with him and found the cure in his mind before he died." He paused as Taryn and Reg exchanged glances. "I know that given your history with Section 31 my association with them may be a problem. I know I should have disclosed this sooner…"
"Are you working for them now?" Taryn asked.
He shook his head. "They haven't contacted me since Sloan died."
"Julian, I worked for Section 31 for three years, although I didn't know it at the time. I'm in no position to be judgemental." Taryn admitted.
"If my mother had got her way I could have ended up working for them too." Reg added. "This isn't a problem, clearly your heart wasn't in it."
"It wasn't. I have to admit the intrigue was alluring. I've always been a fan of spy thrillers but it was hardly compatible with the Hippocratic oath." He exhaled deeply.
"Feel better now?" Taryn asked with a smile.
"Yes, much." Julian smiled. "Although I have another confession to make to The Doctor."
"You mean..?" Reg began and Julian nodded. "He'll be okay about it." Reg assured him.
"Thank you, both of you. I'll see you later." He smiled as he stood up and headed for the door.
"What's that about?" Taryn asked Reg and stroked his back.
"Julian was the original candidate for the EMH Mark 1 template." Reg explained and she emitted a low chuckle in response. "It came out he was an augment and got really messy politically so Dr Z used his own image."
"So you met Julian before?" Taryn asked.
"No, I was back at the lab recoding the medical database while Dr Z went on his jaunt to Deep Space 9. He came back a wreck. Got his heart broken." Reg recalled and scratched his ear.
"Really?"
"Leeta a Dabo girl who worked for Quark. A proper Dabo girl not a Dabo girl like Leosa was a Dabo girl I should add. She's currently the wife of the Ferengi Grand Nagus, but before that Dr Z was smitten with her and had her lined up to run the canteen at Jupiter station. Before that Julian dated her."
"Oh my God, it's like a soap opera." Taryn laughed. "What was she like?"
Reg looked at her and smirked. "I never met her, but did you wonder why the latest EMH has Bajoran nose ridges?"
"Oh my… Poor Julian." she said with her hand over her mouth.
"From what he told me while I was waiting for you to wake up after surgery they had an amicable split. They even went on holiday together to celebrate their parting or something. It was a bit of a shock though. I thought he was going to drop your new heart when he first saw Six. Do Orions do that sort of thing? Celebrate the end of a relationship?"
"If they haven't stabbed each other it's usually quite civilised." she replied. "I've never heard of anyone spending the scrilla on an awaybreak with an ex though. Orions are too tight with money for that."
"You seem upbeat this morning. Did you sleep well?" He put his arm around her.
"I did. I'm really hungry though."
"You must be getting your appetite back." he smiled and kissed her.
"I never lost my appetite for you." she whispered and gently touched his jaw as she returned his chaste kiss hungrily.
"We're grounded remember? Doctor's orders." he whispered as she kissed his neck. She waved her portable oxygen mask in front of his face. "Oh okay. I won't tell if you won't." he replied brightly and took her in his arms.
…
"Are you okay?" she sniggered.
Reg inhaled deeply from her oxygen mask and nodded with a smirk. "It was a little kinky with this mask on your face." he said with his voice muffled.
"It worked though. I didn't pass out on you." she rubbed his chest and kissed his shoulder tenderly. "You won't get high on that no matter how much you fiddle with the settings." she advised him. "It's lack of oxygen that gets you high."
"So if I turn this right down…Ow!" he yelped as she pulled the mask and let it hit him in the face.
"That's a dangerous game and nothing to joke about. Edara's older sister died in an stranglewank accident."
"Seriously?" he asked as he took off the mask and returned the settings to the ones The Doctor prescribed. "I don't know what's worse, that your great-aunt died or the phrase 'stranglewank accident'."
"We need to get up." she said as she sat up and checked the chronometer. "Care to join me in the shower?"
"Join you or…join you?" he asked with a raised brow.
"I was just planning to wash. I'm not sure I can manage it standing up." she replied and stroked his face as he sat up beside her.
"Okay, either way I get to see you naked." he smirked.
"That's hardly a treat at the moment, I'm so scrawny." she frowned.
"You're beautiful." he kissed her softly. "I wouldn't take just anyone to bed, shower with them then take them out to breakfast." He frowned as she started to cry. "What's the matter?"
"I miss the kids." she sniffed. "I lost my milk ages ago, that was bad enough…"
"Hey, we talked about weaning the twins now they're teething and starting solids anyway. You have quarts of milk stored up and artificial feeds won't hurt them." he pulled her into his arms. "You need to be brave and remember that it may have been months for you but it hasn't been that long for them. Gala will be busy with her menagerie and they all adore their grandparents. They'll be having a great time." She nodded and forced a smile as he cupped her cheek. "I miss them too and it's only been a couple of days. I can't imagine how hard this has been for you. I'm so sorry, this is all my fault..." he choked up and turned away.
"I'm the one who ran in like Flynn to save the day and…it never occurred to anyone the wormholes could intersect. All the experts reviewed your proposal." She grasped his shoulder and turned him back to face her. "This is no one's fault Reg, least of all yours."
"I thought at first that you got blown into space." he sobbed and pulled her close. "I thought I killed you."
"Oh sweetie." she whispered and cradled his head against her shoulder. "All this time I've been apart from you I never blamed you for a second. None of us did."
…
"So she's going to be alright?" Guinan asked earnestly.
"She's still pretty sick but she's tough." Geordi assured her. "She's getting the best possible care. You can beam up and see her if you like?"
"I'm not sure it's a good idea to meet too many people who know me that I haven't met yet. It's too disturbing, but send her my love." she stated and accepted a cup of tea from the Countess. "I still can't get over the fact you're her brothers."
"Only Emlyn is her full brother, her twin in fact." Geoffrey stated indicating the Vulcan looking young man beside him.
"There's another brother on the Bastion and one more back in the 23rd century with our two little sisters." Haydn stated.
"We all share a common father but three different biological mothers." Emlyn said at the same moment as drinking his tea. Something that unnerved Geordi for some reason.
"She said she was from a big family. I had no idea it was such a handsome one." Guinan smiled. "Any word from Data yet?"
"No, James has gone to place another advertisement in case he missed it for some reason." the Countess explained.
"The important thing we need to remember is if we can't find him nor can the Jem'Hadar." Geoff reminded them. "They're conspicuous by their absence in orbit too, aside from when we arrived and nearly collided with them."
"Any idea of their overall plan?" Guinan asked. "We were too busy dealing with each crisis as it came along to get to the bottom of it."
"As far as we can tell they're staking out certain areas of London, we assume they're looking for Data and the Matthews. Other than that." Geoff shook his head.
"Can I have a word Prior?" Andrews said as he materialised in the room.
"Finally." Geoff stated. "It's about time you turned up. Care to enlighten us as to what all this is about?"
"That's rich with you all sat here drinking tea… What the hell is she doing here?" he pointed to Guinan. "You're fraternising with a civilian from this century? No wonder they shut down the Office of Temporal Investigations if this is how you all behave."
"I don't know who you are but show some respect." Geordi told the agent in no uncertain terms. "We'd have lost the Matthews ten times over if it weren't for Guinan."
"They aren't the only targets. They got frustrated and selected more." Andrews stated.
"Do you have names?" Geoff asked.
"No, but the Jem'Hadar on the surface are trying to acquire the new targets. The good news is we have until nightfall to prevent the attacks." Andrews stated.
"Excuse me, I need to…use the…crapper." Haydn stated and headed for the bathroom.
"Water closet." the Countess reminded him. He looked back at her and smiled and bumped into Andrews.
"Watch it pal." Andrews glared.
"Sorry mate." Haydn said and disappeared into the bathroom.
"Idiot." Andrews muttered under his breath. "I've got to go, I'll be back when I have more to say." Andrews vanished.
The Countess rose as there was a knock at the door. A boy in a uniform handed her a note.
"It's a telegram for James." she opened it. "'Professor, The chase is afoot stop 51°15'12.45"N 0°46'48.00"W stop How are Watson the Madame and the Lady Verte? stop' from an SH." she handed it to Geordi.
"Sherlock Holmes." Geordi chuckled.
Geoff touched his communicator with a smile. "Bastion, can you check the following coordinates for a beam in. My guess it's somewhere in Hampshire."
…
"Well, what do you think?" Haydn asked Reg in a quiet corner of the mess room.
"I think you're in serious trouble," Reg said as he turned the elliptical device over in his hands, "but I have no idea what it is. It looks like a tricorder of some sort, but the scanners are all wrong." he frowned as he scanned the device with his tricorder. "It has holographic outputs similar to The Doctor's mobile emitter. Any ideas Bastion?"
"It matches the description of a Temporal Observatory reported by Captain Archer of the Enterprise NX-01." Bastion replied.
They both gasped as Reg activated it and they found themselves in a swirling holographic universe of timelines and events. "Wow." Haydn exclaimed as he looked around.
Taryn appeared through the image and joined them. "Holy shit Haydn. What did you steal this time?" she said as she looked around in amazement. "Nick Fury's Toolbox?"
"Looks like it. I bumped into a 31st century Temporal Agent and this fell out of his pocket." Haydn grinned.
"Fell?" she asked sternly.
"I may have helped it a little." he admitted.
"The question is what do we do with it?" Reg asked.
"Well, I'll leave it in your capable hands, I'm supposed to be planetside." Haydn told them.
…
Geordi hugged Data like a long lost brother within seconds of them materialising. "It's good to see you Data." Geordi grinned.
"It is good to see you too, and you Commander Prior." Data smiled. "It had occurred to me the personal ad might be a rouse by the Jem'Hadar, but I doubted they would grasp the nuance of your Holmesian reference in anagrammatical form."
"It took the Professor quite a while to come up with it. He'll be glad you appreciated it. Where's the happy couple?" Geordi asked.
"We have rented a house in the next town. There will be an omnibus we can catch in seven minutes."
"My Dad used to bring us to see this statue." Geoff mused as he looked up. "It wasn't in this good nick though. Did you know it was made from the melted bronze of French cannons captured at Waterloo? I thought it was still at Marble Arch at this point?"
"It was relocated and given to Aldershot in 1885." Data advised him. "It is a statue of Sir Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington seated on his horse…" Data explained to Geordi.
"Copenhagen." Geoffrey replied as he admired the statue. "But they didn't know what Copenhagen looked like because he died before they made the statue. They modelled him on another stuffed horse and a lot of the old Waterloo veterans said it looked nothing like him." Geoffrey stated as they walked towards the road. "There's a horse graveyard for famous army horses around here too isn't there?"
"Okay, timeout on the history society guys." Geordi stated. "And thanks for telling me it was the Duke of Wellington Data, because the word 'Wellington' in huge letters on the side of the plinth wasn't enough of a clue." He said acidly. "And to think I thought it was a horse graveyard for famous army cats Geoff."
"Alright, keep your wig on La Forge." Geoff replied.
"I just want to make sure the Matthews are okay." Geordi stated. "Besides, the statues alright but I prefer the Cochrane Memorial."
"It's not your fault Taryn got sick." Geoff reminded him, interpreting his short temper for something on his mind. "She's going to be fine."
"What has happened?" Data asked looking concerned.
"She caught scarlet fever and now she has an artificial heart and hedroxal failure." Geordi stated. "I should have realised we wouldn't have antibodies and kept her away from sick kids."
"Geordi, it would not have occurred to me either." Data stated. "What is her prognosis?"
"The Doctor, Six and Dr Bashir are relatively optimistic that they can manage her condition until we return to our own time where more treatment options are available. In the meantime, the Barclay dream team are trying to build a genitronic replicator."
"Relatively optimistic?" Data queried with a frown.
"She's dying Data. We all know it but no one wants to admit it." Geordi said softly.
Geoff's lip twitched as Data looked to him. "She doesn't look good." he confirmed. "But no one is giving up on her and that's an order." He said as they climbed onto the bus.
"There are a lot of soldiers on board." Geordi whispered.
"This is a Garrison town Geordi." Data explained.
"Aldershot is the Home of the British Army." Geoff added.
"I reasoned there would be an advantage to staying in the vicinity of a large number of armed men." Data stated.
"But you're staying in Farnborough, are they flying there yet?" Geoff mouthed having realised the direction they were heading in.
"Flying?" Geordi asked with interest.
"Not yet." Data apologized as they stepped off the bus. "The Army School of Ballooning is still in Aldershot and won't establish the Balloon factory in Farnborough until 1904. Samuel Cody will work there with man lifting kites and will ultimately build, test and fly his heavier than air aircraft on the common in 1908. The first manned, powered flight in Britain."
"Yeah, but the Wright Brother's beat him to it." Geordi argued. "And correct me if I'm wrong but Cody was American, his brother was Buffalo Bill."
"That doesn't make it less of a big deal." Geoff disputed. "Cody is probably on tour with his Wild West show right now and has no idea of his destiny."
"Data, what if the Jem'Hadar stop it happening because you led them here?" Geordi asked.
"It doesn't exactly work like that." Geoff stated. "Certain events have to happen and can't be stopped. We call them Universal Constants." he explained. "If Cody doesn't fly, someone else will."
"So how come the Borg stopped First Contact?" Geordi argued.
"Theoretically, they colonized Earth, the attack on the silo at Bozeman could merely have been an attempt to prevent interference from the Vulcans." Data reasoned. "We assume the flight didn't go ahead but we do not know that for certain. Regardless of what the Borg Queen may have claimed."
"Exactly, that's what we believe at the office. The way to change the course of history is in little ways that seem of no consequence at the time historically."
"Like the death of a cheesemonger and his wife." Geordi stated.
"It's like going half a degree off course and ending up thousands of light years from where you're supposed to be." Geoff told them. "And if Andrews is right there are other targets at risk after dark tonight. Once the Matthews are safe at the Langham Hotel our next priority is to track down the Jem'Hadar."
"So do you know what impact their deaths will have?" Data asked.
"No but Andrews will. I expect he'll have a Temporal Observatory."
"Andrews?" Data asked.
"A 31st century temporal agent. He's supposed to be helping us but he's conspicuous by his absence as usual. He's a grade A prick." Geoff muttered darkly, then reacted as his pocket watch chimed.
"It is not on the hour?" Data frowned.
"No it's a signal from Bastion to call in." he turned over his lapel and tapped his communicator. "Prior to Bastion."
"The Jem'Hadar ship is returning in attack posture, they will be in range in forty-five seconds. Do you wish to return to the ship before we raise shields?"
"Standby Bastion. Geordi, you have a communicator right? You two fetch our Cheesemongers and I'll return to the ship. Call the Professor if you need back up. Bastion, one to beam up." he said and dematerialised.
"How far are we from your place Data?" Geordi asked then turned to see his friend sprinting down the street with his coat tails flying behind him.
"I'm getting too old for this shit." Geordi protested and ran after him.
Author's Note:
Nick Fury's Toolbox is a reference to Marvel's Agents of Shield and obviously Geordi quotes Lethal Weapon. I don't own either of these franchises.
Incidentally, the coordinates are correct if you want to see the statue on google Earth. I actually grew up in Farnborough and I know it well.