Chapter XIII
It had been an ordinary day so far as life on the flagship of the Federation went. There were times when he felt disappointed that they didn't run into some problem that no one had ever experienced before. This was not one of those times, Geordi thought as the doors opened onto the bridge. Doctor Crusher was already there, scanning the area without success.
La Forge glanced at the scene being displayed on the viewscreen and noted that Data was also gone. This must've been the work of Q, he decided. "One of the Federation vessels appears to be negotiating with the Klingon Bird of Prey," Crusher explained. Geordi nodded and said, "Is there any way I can contact them?"
"Have you noticed that there are several hundred Dominion vessels out there?" a new voice said and he turned around in surprise to see Q sitting there. He resisted the urge to pull a phaser on the interloper, since such an action could prove fatal if the entity wasn't feeling generous. "What have you done with Captain Picard?" Beverly asked.
"Calm yourself, damsel in distress; your charming knight is merely gallivanting in another time… courtesy of me; of course," Q replied. "As long as he is safe," La Forge said with a nod. "What's going on here?" Ambassador Lincoln asked as she arrived and then stared at Q and said, "Lieutenant, why is this nuisance allowed to roam the Enterprise freely?"
"I was about to ask the same thing," Q said with a smile.
"Ambassador, please calm yourself," the doctor advised. "Where is Captain Picard?" Lincoln asked, ignoring her. "Somewhere safe from you," Q replied. La Forge cocked an eyebrow in confusion, wondering why the being would choose those words. "You don't frighten me," Lincoln said angrily. Geordi stepped back as Q stood and glared at the woman before replying, "I should certainly hope not. Fear would be too dignified for one who is truly a meddler in other's affairs."
"Enough of this! Q, would you kindly explain what is going on?" Crusher asked angrily.
Q's expression suddenly lightened up and he nodded before saying, "Thanks to micro-brain and his party of misfits down there, your little quest for peace has shall we say; taken a detour?" "And I would assume you're going to claim you're not part of it?" La Forge asked.
"I've already pointed out to you simpleminded organisms that I have been placed on restriction by the Continuum. Didn't they teach you how to pay attention?" Q growled. "He's bluffing; don't you see he's done this just so he can toy with us? Some useless test to suit his ever-changing fancy, no doubt," Lincoln said.
"If only that were the case, I would be in a much better disposition…" Q muttered. "Then why are you here if you won't help us?" the doctor asked. "Just thought I might stop by and chat, or is that not good enough for you? No? Then, I'd suggest that you start preparing for battle. I think things are about to get ugly," the creature replied and disappeared in a flash of light. Geordi turned about, trying to see if there was any activity occurring outside the viewport; but unfortunately it didn't look like much was happening… yet.
"This is a complete waste of time, Lieutenant! We must find Captain Picard as soon as possible," Lincoln said urgently. "In due time, Ambassador… but right now our top concern is to learn what's happening out there," La Forge said, trying to ignore the diplomat. "Geordi, that Klingon Bird of Prey is hailing us," Crusher said in surprise.
"Put it through," the engineer said and sat down as the image of a middle-aged Cardassian appeared in front of him. "Attention Federation vessel, I am Gul Dukat; representative of the Dominion ships you see before you. I demand the following of you and your allies… stand down now," the alien warned. Geordi glanced at the other ships in the area, noting that one bore the signature of the Enterprise-D and then replied, "I'm sure that the situation you've been presented with is confusing, but I can assure you we were not responsible for what happened here."
"Once again with your useless banter? I tire of this charade! I will not negotiate with the likes of you; do you hear me? We have captured two of your crew and intend to dispose of them shortly… unless you comply," Dukat snarled. "Picard and Data," the doctor whispered. Geordi nodded slightly and then said, "Can we be given time to talk with our allies?"
"I don't wish to wait for your answers any longer. Surrender your vessel or the Captain will be slain first," the Cardassian said. "Gul Dukat, what about an exchange of prisoners?" Lincoln asked.
La Forge turned to her in confusion, wondering what the envoy was suggesting. Evidently, their enemy was equally intrigued and said, "Explain yourself." "Captain Picard would not be a valuable prize to your plans… I am. My name is Ambassador Roberta Lincoln and I have connections with all the Federation starships here… if you take me, I can arrange a settlement that we can both agree upon," she said. Dukat sat back and then asked, "How can I be sure that you're trustworthy?"
"I will come unarmed and the other ships will surrender themselves if Captain Picard is allowed back onboard the Enterprise." The Cardassian smiled and said, "Very well, then an exchange it will be." The channel closed and Geordi turned to her and said, "Are you mad?" "I know exactly what I'm doing," Lincoln said.
"I don't think you do, Ambassador. Don't you realize that we're caught up in a temporal anomaly? Those Cardassians could be from a completely different timeline than ours. We can't be making deals that we can't fulfill," La Forge warned. "You know as well as I do that none of the vessels surrounding us were involved in whatever occurred here. If I can convince Dukat of that, he might be willing to help us stop the anomaly. Do you understand, Lieutenant?" Lincoln asked sternly.
The engineer nodded slightly and then said, "Fine, but let it be noted that I don't agree with this plan at all." "You can tell Captain Picard about it once he's back onboard," the Ambassador replied. Geordi nodded and said, "Doctor, you'd best go to the transporter room with her; the Captain may need medical attention." Crusher nodded and then the two women left without another word. La Forge sighed, sitting down and rubbing his head before considering his next course of action.
"Engineering to Commander La Forge," a voice said over the intercom. Tapping his combadge he replied, "La Forge here; what is it, Reg?" "I- I don't mean to interrupt sir, but we have a situation down here," Barclay answered. "What is it?" he asked. "Our warp drive is completely offline and what's even worse; the dilithium crystals are practically useless," his subordinate said.
"I remember that we had some abnormal readings from them when we arrived at Cardassia Prime. Can you determine exactly what happened?" Geordi asked as he rose and went to the turbolift, signaling one of the other bridge officers to take charge until his return. "I've tried scanning them sir, but the chronometric readings are completely off the charts… it's almost as if another temporal anomaly has formed around the crystals," Barclay told.
"Okay Reg, you'd best stay clear and evacuate the rest of engineering for the time being," Geordi instructed and then added, "I'm heading that way now." Just what was going on here? First the dilithium crystals were not performing optimally and now they were they were forming another distortion? That just doesn't make sense, he thought.
The doors opened onto engineering and he saw his subordinate standing before the warp engines, examining them carefully as he called out, "Any change in the readouts?" The nervous engineer spun about, openly gaping at him as he stammered, "Geordi! I mean, Commander La Forge; you're alive!"
"Is there any reason why I shouldn't be?" he asked, wondering why his subordinate was acting so oddly.
"Perhaps I can shed some light on the situation," a gruff voice interjected and he noticed that Worf was there as well. "I regret to inform you that neither of us is onboard the ship we are familiar with," the Klingon went on.
"This has to have been caused by the anomaly Mister Barclay reported to me on our ship a few minutes ago," Geordi concluded. "I am not so certain. During my stay here, I have shifted to several alternate versions of this vessel despite the fact that there does not seem to be any reason for my abrupt moves into these apparently coexisting realities," the Ambassador told him.
"Well, at least Captain Picard is going to be released back into our custody. I just hope Ambassador Lincoln wasn't affected also during her trip to the Bird of Prey," he commented. "We should review the evidence currently available with the crew before something else happens. A course of action must be determined or the results will certainly be catastrophic," Worf replied.
"I guess I'll leave this to you, Reg. See you later," he said, waving farewell to his friend as they went to the elevator. "You might wish to know that in this universe, you were killed before Doctor Soran could attempt to use your VISOR to disable the Enterprise," his companion informed him as they rose towards the bridge.
"That would explain his reaction," he commented dryly as the doors opened before them. The people sitting around them were all familiar, which told him that this wasn't a significantly different universe. He frowned, realizing from the layout that the craft was in fact the ship which had been destroyed several years previously.
"Captain Picard, it would seem that we've experienced another temporal event; which has brought Lieutenant Commander La Forge to us," the Klingon intoned. "Geordi… it is good to see you again," Data said, his face bland. I wasn't here to help him install the emotion chip, he realized. "You'd better inform us of everything you know, Commander," the Captain ordered.
"I was on the Enterprise-E until a short time ago, sir. You were being returned to us, along with Data; while Ambassador Roberta Lincoln…" La Forge began, but the android interjected, "Are you certain that was her name?" He frowned and said, "Yes, why do you ask?" Data turned to Picard and proclaimed, "Captain, I believe I may know what is going on here."