Chapter Two: Man of Mystery
Captain Jean-Luc Picard sat behind his desk in the Ready Room. Wearing a fresh uniform after coming out of the decontamination shower, he was turning the disabled Sig hand gun around in his hands. He contemplated its design.
Commander William Riker was sitting on the sofa, holding a PalmPad, reading the available information that Star Fleet Intelligence had on the rouge type 6A transporter signal and required protocol if one was ever encountered. Will was noticing that a lot of the information was very old. Lifted right out of the logs of Captain James T. Kirk!
The captain wanted to bring his first officer up to speed quickly on this. There was going to be a lot of questions to answer from Star Fleet Command.
Will looked up from the PalmPad and said "Well, I don't think we did anything wrong in our procedure". He was also wearing a freshly laundered uniform. Nothing like a good radiation decontamination shower to wake you up!
"Yes, I agree Number One. I think we're covered".
Jean-Luc held the Sig up for Will to see "You know, I've seen lots of these in museum displays, but this is the first time I've actually held a real one in my hands. The system is completely mechanical. An amazing piece of engineering" he said in wonderment.
Will smiled "A lot of folks up in Alaska still have 'em, similar to that one. Dad had one. Handled it a lot growing up".
Jean-Luc smiled "Amazing"!
In the Enterprise's Sickbay, Lt Commander Data stood quietly, gazing into the small window of the stasis chamber at the man laying unconscious within. He stood there like that for a long time.
George had been stripped of all of his clothing, scrubbed and washed clean. His injured left hand had been successfully treated and would soon rejuvenate. In the meantime, he would be in the stasis chamber to recover from the radiation injuries. But it would take time for the automatic functions of the stasis chamber to cleanse his body of the contamination and heal the damage that had been done.
Dr. Crusher walked up from behind Data. "Well, are you finished with your research into our mystery man"?
"For the moment, I am satisfied that I have collected all relevant information". Data turned to Dr. Crusher and asked "Were you able to use the DNA Identification Marker I retrieved from the ancient military records data base"?
"Yes. The digital data from the marker was usable. And, it matches our mystery man 100% with zero variation". She smirked a grin when she continued "Even that ancient dental x-ray print that you found matches him. So, I guess that's him". She looked Data in the eyes "So… who is he"?
Data looked back into the stasis chamber window at the sleeping man. "His name is George. George Pierce".
Beverly looked in the stasis chamber window and said in her calm soothing voice "Well hello George Pierce. Pleased to meet you".
George continued to sleep, unaware of what was happening.
"So Data, are we ready to go see the Captain and brief him"?
Data nodded his head once in the affirmative, turned and then walked to the exit. Beverly looked in the stasis chamber window one more time at the sleeping man, then turned away and hurried after Data.
Back in the Captains Ready Room, Captain Picard and Commander Riker were still discussing the events and trying to decide what to do. The initial report to Star Fleet Command had been sent, but the quick reply had been unexpected. When the door chime sounded, Picard called "Come".
The door whooshed open, Data and Dr. Crusher walked in and stood in the room center, facing the Captain at his desk.
Picard looked at them both, then said "Dr. Crusher, what is the condition of our mysterious guest"?
"Initially, not good. But he will make a complete recovery. In time. Presently he's in an induced coma inside a stasis chamber. His hand injury has been mended and is healing nicely. Externally, he has been washed and the radiation decontamination process is complete. It's his internal injuries that I'm watching and worrying about".
Picard raised an eye brow at this. "Explain"?
"Captain, the man has a blazing case of leukemia type blood cancer".
Picard was shocked by this news. Riker was likewise unsettled at this revelation and sat forward on the edge of the sofa cushion.
"Leukemia!" they both said together.
"Apparently from massive plutonium-239 contamination…"
"Plutonium!" they both said together in surprise.
"…which he apparently breathed into to his lungs. His blood system becoming contaminated from there" Beverly finished.
Riker stood to his feet, his right hand running over the top of his head as he tried to think of possibilities. "Plutonium? Where in hell did he come into contact with that"!
"Where in hell indeed Number One" Picard answered. "You're sure of this Doctor"?
Beverly shook her head yes and then turned to nod at Data, his cue that the ball was now in his court.
Picard also nodded at Data. "What can you tell us about him Data"?
Data stepped forward and placed two objects on the captains desk, then stepped back and spoke.
"The man in question is one George Winslow Pierce. He holds the rank of Major, in the Army of the United States, and is currently listed as MIA (Missing In Action). His date of birth is 9 July, 2008. He was born in South Dakota, near the town of Hecla. He is the youngest son of Frank and Ruth Pierce. His military records indicate that he is an elite…"
"Whoa! Stop! Hold it right there Data". Picard was shaking his head no, no, no. His hand held up in the STOP motion. This was getting weird again.
"Data", Riker said "There hasn't been a US Army for well over 300 years"!
"Are you trying to tell us Mr. Data" Picard broke in "That this man…" Picard picked up the metal 'dog tags' that Data had placed on his desk and glanced at the name stamped into them "George Pierce… has been encapsulated inside a rouge transporter signal for the last three centuries"?
"Captain, initial indications do confirm that".
"And" Beverly broke in "It does offer a plausible explanation for the plutonium poisoning".
Picard thought about that while he rubbed his lower jaw absent mindedly. He looked at everyone in the room one at a time before he asked Beverly "Dr. Crusher, what age do you estimate this man to be presently"? He suddenly shook his head and hands back and forth in slight confusion "I mean physical age"?
She answered quickly "I'd estimate about 35 years of age, at the youngest. Maybe 38 at the oldest. But definitely under 40."
While the three humans quickly did the math in their heads, Data spoke right up. "That would place his tele-transport at approximately the end of the Third World War."
Which was just what the others were concluding too.
Riker sat down and leaned all the way back into the sofa, wondering out load "How can that be"?
Picard was momentarily lost in his thoughts, but finally asked Dr. Crusher "He will recover"?
"Yes Captain. Another 48 hours in the stasis chamber should clean him out, heal the damage and force his body into a permanent remission of the cancer. After that, They can start waking him up for increasing periods of time to check up on his condition, but forcing him to rest. About one week and they'll have him back on his feet again".
Picard looked directly at Dr. Crusher "They, Doctor?" he asked.
"Well, yes sir. I assumed since we'll be getting underway soon, that we would be shuttling him in the stasis chamber down to the surface and handing him over to Star Fleet Medical at their Maryland facility".
Riker sat very still, with his lips tightly closed.
Picard slowly shook his head no. "Star Fleet has given us, somewhat unexpectedly, orders to take him with us. In fact…" he was now looking annoyed, "they want him as far away from Earth as possible".
Dr Crusher was stumped, and she responded "I don't understand Captain".
"It's all relative to this rouge type 6A transporter signal and our past experience with it. Further more" the Captain spoke in a tone of authority, "this entire incident has been deemed to be highly classified".
Picard stopped there for a moment and took a breath. His annoyance with this situation being forced upon him and his ship showed plainly in his present manner.
"Therefore," the Captain continued, "for the time being, and the foreseeable future, Major Pierce is your patient Doctor. Please take good care of him".
"Very well Captain." Beverly responded, "I'll keep you posted on his progress".
"Good!" the Captain smiled finally. "Finally", he spoke to everyone now "we have to clamp down on information about this. No news about this individual or how he was retrieved can get off this ship. On board, at least for the time being, everything is on a need to know basis".
"Then I request" Dr Crusher asked "that Consoler Troi be brought into this 'need-to-know' circle. Her help with the patients orientation and recovery will be essential".
"Very well Doctor". Picard turned to his first officer "Number One, brief Consoler Troi in on this matter".
"Yes sir" Riker replied.
Picard picked up the second item that Data had left on his desk. It was a plastic embossed identification card. In the center of the card was a photo that clearly showed a slightly younger (and cleaner) George Pierce. It was definitely the man who was now in Dr Crushers sickbay.
"Data, how sure are you of this mans identification"?
"Captain" Data began, "I was able to access ancient military data bases that survived the war and the chaotic period that followed until 'First Contact'. The data that I was able to retrieve contained ancient dental x-rays and even a digitized DNA identification marker. There were even official fingerprint records. All of these were used by Dr Crusher and myself and matched to the individual in question with a 100% certainty".
"I see." the Captain responded. "These items were found directly on his person?" He held up the metal 'dog tags and the plastic ID card.
"That is correct Captain".
Picard handed the metal ID tags on their chain to the doctor. "Beverly, make sure the patient is wearing these when he wakes up".
"Yes, of course Captain".
"Well then" the Captain looked at everyone "Does anyone have anything else for me"?
They all remained quiet.
Picard then gave them a nod. "Very well. Dismissed"!
Beverly Crusher and Deanna Troi sat together in Deanna's office and were discussing the upcoming issues concerning their patient.
"Besides his physical injuries" Beverly was saying, "I fear he might have substantial mental issues. PTSD is almost a given".
"Yes, of course" Deanna spoke in her concerned voice "And not to mention the issues of being a time-displaced person. We've already seen before the disorientation problems that creates".
"Right". Beverly was shaking her head. "So lets get our action plan in order now. Let's be ready to confront his problems as soon as they come up".
Deanna agreed and they continued to discuss the issues and form a plan.
In one of the work shops in the lower engineering spaces of the ship, Commander Riker stood next to a work bench with Lt Commanders Data, LaForge, and Lt Worf. On the work bench were the two Sig hand guns, empty magazines and all the 9mm cartridges. The Major's M-18 assault rifle, several different combat knifes, and other artifacts were also laying on the bench.
"You've checked all this stuff out Jordi"? Riker asked.
"Yes sir. It's all 100% genuine and legitimate. The ship's computer actually has copies of original design schematics for these" he pointed to one of the Sig handguns, "…so it was easy to match them up and ID them". Jordi picked up one of the Sig handguns and examined it. "It's hard to believe people used to kill each other with implements like these."
Worf picked up the other Sig and also examined it. He ran his hand across the smooth steel finish of the barrel. "Primitive. But effective." He slid the action back and released it one time. "Interesting".
Jordi placed the Sig he was holding back on the work bench and said "So, we now have a real genuine World War 3 warrior among us. What are we going to do with him"?
"In the long term, that has yet to be determined." Riker answered to all present. "In the short term though, we need to carefully question him about his role (if any) with the people behind that rouge transporter signal. Whether he is involved with them, or just unwillingly got caught up in something out of his control, is something Star Fleet Intel wants to be very certain about".
"Who or what", Worf asked "are these people? What do we know about them, and what do they want from us"?
"That's real sketchy." Riker answered. "Our only encounter with them in the past centered around one very mysterious human male and a local New York City women".
Data added, "They were apparently involved in some activity meant to alter Earth history".
"Those details are very classified." Riker said with a worried look. "The paranoid mentality of people in Section 31 has put a bug in the ear of some Federation representatives and they have in turn pressured Star Fleet to keep our guest as far away from Earth as possible". Will Riker gave them all his 'all business' look and said "If he indeed has a mission there, the Federation and Earth Council want 'No Interference' from him".
Jordi and Worf shook their heads in agreement. Data was already up to speed on these details.
Wishing to change the subject now, Will Riker picked up the M-18 assault rifle and held it in mock firing position. "What did you find out about this one Jordi"?
"Data helped me identify it as a Smith Industries M-18A1 Assault Rifle" LaForge answered. "But its not really a rifle".
Data continued "The weapon is basically useless at this time, as Major Pierce was not carrying any of its ammunition with him. Also, the laser-sighting electronics have been damaged and no longer function".
Data pointed to the M-18 Riker held, as if he were an instructor. "Basically it is two different firearms in one package. The lower barrel is a pump-action 12-gauge shotgun. It can hold seven of the standard 12-gauge cartridges".
"Good for close-in urban combat" Riker remarked.
"The upper barrel" Data continued "is an automatic, high velocity fléchette launcher".
"Fléchette?" Worf queried. "That is the French word for a dart, is it not"?
"That is correct" Data answered. "In this case it is a 2.75mm steel body serrated dart fired as a discarding sabot".
"I don't know what that means" Riker said shaking his head with a serious look, "but it sounds very deadly".
Data shook his head in the affirmative.