Chapter 4 - Your Own Special Dreams
"What in the holy hell were you thinking?!" demanded Larissa James as she glared at Mei-Wan who stood firmly at attention. Some two hours since the device had darkened the chamber, the floor was in place again and the lights were back on, but with them burned Captain James anger.
"Captain, I believed..." Mei-Wan began, but wasn't allowed to finish.
"You believed?! You know what I believe about a certain archaeologist?" Larissa James had all the fire Mei-Wan had come to expect from what Jack had mentioned of her... and then some.
"Captain," Todd jumped in. "Lieutenant Lau was certain the device was an information storage system of some kind."
Larissa shifted targets. "Mr. Nakano, you are my operations officer. While Mei-Wan has a history of flying off less than half-cocked, I would have expected you to retain some measure of control over the situation and most especially, her."
"Captain, I resent you referring to me as someone who needs to be controlled." Mei-Wan was angry now, alternate reality or not. "I am a Starfleet officer and expect to be treated as such."
"Then act like one." Larissa was giving no ground as she stared at Mei-Wan. "Starfleet officers do not endanger entire worlds, and they do not endanger my ship!"
"The ship?" Mei-Wan had assumed the effect was only local.
"Yes, the Chamberlain is just now restoring auxiliary power. Fortunately the impulse drive was easy enough to get functional again, but the computer system is still dead."
"I wasn't aware..."
"You obviously weren't aware of a lot of things, Lieutenant." Larissa turned as Lak Negev stepped up to her with a PADD and handed it over. "And it appears from this that power was knocked out worldwide. Fortunately, the Dalvani aren't big fans of computer control, or this could have been much worse."
Mei-Wan took in a large breath. "I am sorry, Captain."
Captain James' expression softened a bit, but her blue eyes were just as intense. "So what was it that was so damned important that an Oceana class starship and a whole planet had to be thrown into chaos?"
Duncan Zachary who had been speaking to his daughter on the other side of the chamber strolled over to the captain and the target of her anger.
Mei-Wan didn't like him being there, but he was the science officer in this reality. "This place was built five billion years ago."
"Billion?" Zachary asked wide eyed and grinning. "With a 'B'?"
Mei-Wan continued. "The display became visible when I projected an ultraviolet light on it and..." She walked over to the panel.
"Wait just a second!" James shouted.
"This part is only a recording," Mei-Wan told her. "If I may?"
James looked at Zachary who only shrugged his shoulders.
"Only the recording," James ordered.
A few seconds later, all of them turned as the center section raised again and the recording played.
"Oh my god." Captain Larissa James murmured. "Please tell me this isn't what I think it is."
Mei-Wan gave her a curious glance, wondering why she'd be upset by the figure they watched. "The Ancient Progenitors... the beings discovered by Professor Richard Galen."
All of them listened to the alien voice echoing endless eons from the past. While being humanoid in form, the female figure had no hair and her ears were substantially smaller than the norm for humans or most other species the Ancient Progenitors had spawned.
"Mr. Zachary, what do you think? Is this one of the Ancient Progenitors?" Larissa asked.
"Captain, I personally have never bought into this theory of some species seeding the Galaxy," Zachary said in a dry tone. He glanced over at Mei-Wan. "But if Lieutenant Lau says that's what this is, I'll take her word for it until someone gives me strong evidence to the contrary."
Mei-Wan gave him a surprised stare. Much more of this and she might actually like Duncan Zachary.
"Damn it." Captain James tapped her comm badge. "Mr. Evans, would you please meet me at the site and have Mr. Okugawa send some of his engineering staff down here. It looks like we're going to be here for a while."
"Aye, Captain," Hank's voice answered from the badge. "You want me to bring the Dalvani Premier and your father along?"
"No, I'll speak to them myself. James out." She tapped her badge again and turned sternly to Mei-Wan. "I have standing orders that any discoveries dealing with the Ancient Progenitors must be investigated to the exclusion of all other missions except in time of war. Now, I have to find a way to explain to the Fashod Emperor why we'll be unable to take him to Earth." She shot a glance to Negev. "Contact Admiral Derlas on Kel-j'na and ask if we can be exempt from those orders in this case, considering our current mission."
Negev nodded as James walked past Mei-Wan. "You can add the derailment of a treaty signing to your accomplishments today, Lieutenant Lau." She stopped a moment and shot a stern glance to Mei-Wan. "And I want you back on the Chamberlain within the hour. You are not to set foot back on this planet until further notice."
Mei-Wan watched their captain leave. Despite what had happened she was glad her actions apparently hadn't stepped outside of what they expected from Mei-Wan Lau. However, at this moment she wasn't certain if that was a good or a bad thing.
"You always have to take things to the limit and then some, don't you, Mei?" Negev asked with a grin as he followed the captain.
She wasn't sure what to make of his statement until she looked at Todd who frowned in the general direction of their Andorian executive officer. Evidently there was some sort of history between the three of them.
Mei-Wan turned to watch the message as it continued. No matter how many times she watched these beings responsible for humanoid life, it was hard not to be excited. Rarely did an archaeologist even in the twenty-fourth century get to listen to words spoken so long ago.
"Amazing," Zachary said, standing next to her. "I hope you'll be able to translate some of what she's saying, Mei."
"I hope the captain gives me a chance to."
Zachary smiled. "You know Larissa. Give her some time and she'll calm down. You did incapacitate her ship; she's not the type to brush that away without a few words. You'll probably end up with another disciplinary entry on your service record."
Mei-Wan considered another captain she knew and what his likely reaction might be under similar circumstances.
"I'll talk to her." Zachary watched his daughter who stood mesmerized by the recording. "At least Cindy's having a good time."
Mei-Wan couldn't help smiling. "Not bad for one day's worth of site seeing."
"Thanks again for letting her come along, Mei. I'm glad she got to see this." He looked at Mei-Wan. "She'll remember this for the rest of her life."
"I just hope Starfleet Command has a shorter memory." Todd stepped up to the two of them. "Otherwise Mei and I are likely to be assigned to a freighter."
Zachary became serious. "Did you run a scan of everyone who was here when that thing went off?"
"A quick one." Mei-Wan wondered what he was concerned about, but then she looked at Cindy and knew. "We didn't appear to be affected by whatever kind of signal it transmitted."
"You better have Preston look the three of you over just to be safe." He grinned at Mei-Wan. "Best to make sure Captain James doesn't have something else to yell at you about."
Mei-Wan rolled her eyes as Zachary walked over to Cindy.
"Of course, if this is a really big find, maybe we'll get assigned to a science vessel," Todd said. He smiled wide at her. "I'm sure there's one which could use an up and coming command track officer like myself."
"Do you always find the overly bright side to everything or is this just to cheer me up?"
"Nothing wrong with either is there?"
Mei-Wan was about to say something when she noticed a group of engineers enter the chamber. One in particular made her heart race.
She had the same green eyes, vibrant smile, and dark brown hair, though now shorter, Mei-Wan remembered. She hadn't even considered looking through the crew manifest of the Chamberlain to see if one of the most painful days in her life had been avoided.
"Hey, Mei. I hear you're the cause of all the hell... again." Robin Nelson set her equipment down on the floor of the chamber and looked about the large space.
Mei-Wan tried to speak, but all she could manage was to stare at the woman she had watched die in another reality.
"Looks like the kind of place you'd love: old and musty." Robin turned and when she saw Mei-Wan's expression, frowned. "What?"
"Robin..."
"Yeah? What? My hair a mess or something?" She folded her arms and gave Mei-Wan a curious look. "Or has Li-Na told you to stay away from me too."
"Li-Na?" Mei-Wan finally got her voice working again. "Uh, no. Not you."
"I know she's your sister, but she's really turning into a major bitch. Do you know she screamed at me during lunch today about you and Todd?"
Mei-Wan inhaled and told herself this wasn't the Robin she knew. Her friend was dead. "I've been down here on the surface since morning."
"You're lucky." Robin picked up her gear. "Well, I should probably get to work. What are you doing for dinner?"
"I don't know yet. I have to go back up to get checked out by Preston."
"You had her all night, Todd. How about letting me see my best friend once in a while, huh?" Robin asked Todd with a grin.
He chuckled. "Oh, I suppose one night would be okay. I'm likely to be tied up with the captain and Negev most of the evening."
Mei-Wan turned to him. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this, Todd."
"It's okay, Mei. I did let you activate the thing. I'm willing to accept my responsibility for what happened here." He leaned toward her and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you later tonight."
Mei-Wan nodded absently as he walked away. She was getting used to the affection he showed her.
Robin stood grinning. "The biggest mistake of my life was letting you have the first shot at him." She looked at Mei-Wan. "But I'm glad he makes you happy. After seeing the hell you've gotten from your family, you deserve some joy in your life."
Mei-Wan glanced at her. She wondered if this Robin was the one person here she could tell the truth to.
"I gotta go. See you tonight, Mei."
Mei-Wan watched Robin's willowy form pad across the chamber to where the other engineers were working. She'd have to be very careful in how she approached her engineer friend about who she really was, but Robin Nelson had always been someone Mei-Wan had trusted.
"I thought the plan was to keep a low profile, Mei."
She spun around and found Evans standing a few feet away. "Please don't sneak up on me, Hank. I'm having a bad enough day as it is."
"Sorry." He gave her a quick frown. "Oh, and I probably should have mentioned it before, but your counterpart and the captain have had a whole slew of nasty run ins."
Mei-Wan let out a short sigh. "I kind of got that impression."
"But Larissa must like you. There are enough disciplinary entries on Mei-Wan Lau's service record to get anyone else court-martialed." He looked over at the engineers. "I see you found out about your friend."
"I'm supposed to have dinner with her." Mei-Wan switched her gaze to Hank. "I was considering telling her the truth."
Hank took another step toward her and lowered his voice. "Bad idea. All you'll do is put us at risk."
"She's an engineer; she'd know about warp and temporal fields. She might be able to help us get out of this mess."
Hank took a deep breath and considered it for several seconds. "No. It's too risky."
"I disagree. We're going to need some help before too long. Of everyone here, I'd trust Robin."
"This isn't up to you... Lieutenant."
Mei-Wan laughed heartily. "Oh come on! You of all people are pulling rank on me?!"
Hank was not amused. "I'll do whatever it takes to get us back where we belong, Mei."
She took a step away from him. There was an aspect to his voice she didn't like, a darkness to his tone which frightened her. "Should I take that as a threat?"
"Come on Mei, I would never threaten you." He forced a smile. "How about you get to know her a little better and then the two of us make that decision together?"
She didn't trust his pleasant expression. She'd seen a part of Hank she'd never noticed before. And Mei-Wan didn't like it. "I suppose that's the wiser course. If we make a mistake, we probably won't get a second chance."
"Believe me, Mei. Those bastards in Temporal Investigations are not the kind of people you want to get ensnared with. Once they get you, they never let go."
***
"How did Todd and Cindy's exams turn out?"
Doctor Preston ran a hand scanner over Mei-Wan while she rested on the bio-bed. The display above her head was dark and silent. "I'll have to wait for the computer to come back to life for a final answer, but they appear to be doing quite well."
She watched him as he adjusted the hand scanner. He was one of the few people, aside from Negev, who was where they were supposed to be. Everything about him, down to his mannerisms, was exactly the same as the Chief Medical Officer she knew.
He stopped. "Hmmm." He adjusted the device again and ran it over her. "Well, I guess things didn't take nearly as long as we thought they might." He stepped back and smiled at her. "You can get up, Mei. I'm done. Aside from an odd reading in the chroniton range, which I also got from Mr. Nakano, you're just fine... both of you."
Mei-Wan sat up and got off the bio-bed. "Chroniton radiation?"
"Probably nothing. I didn't exactly get a chance to recalibrate everything after the computer went down." He put the scanner down on a table. "If you come back tomorrow, I can run it again to make sure."
This was the first real proof she had been through a temporal event. The energy released by the machine on the planet would hold as an explanation for the doctor, but she would have to avoid being scanned by anyone else. But why would Todd have a chroniton signature? She debated it in her mind for several moments. Robin might know. Could that device on the surface be a time machine?
"Lieutenant?"
Shaken from her musings, Mei-Wan turned to Preston. "Sorry, Doctor. It's probably nothing. No reason to waste more of your time."
Preston nodded. "So, have you told Todd yet?"
"I'd have thought you would have when you examined him."
"I just found out myself." The doctor watched her a moment. "If you'd rather I be the one to tell him I suppose I could, but I considered you'd enjoy telling him."
She frowned at him. "Why would I enjoy telling him about some false reading of chroniton radiation, Doctor?"
"Not that." Preston smiled wide. "The baby."
There were many things Mei-Wan could have dealt with at that moment. If Preston had told her she was dying or was permanently injured by the machine on the surface she would have known how to deal with it. Those were within the range of things she had considered. But the two words she heard made so little sense her mind refused to accept they'd even been spoken.
"What was that?" she asked.
He tilted his head. "Then you don't know?"
"Know what?"
"You're pregnant, Mei-Wan."
Now her mind had no more place to hide. She reached for the bio-bed behind her, looking for any stability in a world gone mad. "I'm what?!"
"I'm frankly surprised it happened this quickly, but I did tell you once I reversed the contraceptive it could happen anytime." He ran a scanner across her abdomen. "I've just never seen it within three months."
"Oh..." was all she got out. This can't be happening! I haven't been with anyone but Jack and he and I haven't...
Preston put his hand on her shoulder. "Didn't you have at least some idea? I mean we did discuss what to look for."
Mei-Wan took several deep breaths. She had to get out of there. "How, how long? I mean, how far along?"
"According to what I can tell, probably about four weeks." He checked the readout on his medical scanner. "More like three and a half if I can believe this thing."
She closed her eyes. She needed something to explain her reaction. Obviously the Mei-Wan of this timeline had intended this to happen. And why not? She was in love with Todd Nakano.
Nakano. That was it. He had mentioned a party the night before. "I had some champagne last night at the New Year's party. Would that have affected the..." She couldn't say it.
Preston examined her again with his instrument. "Genetic scan seems just fine. Doesn't appear there was any harm. How much did you have?"
"One glass, I think." That at least was the truth as far as she knew.
"I doubt it was enough to be a problem, but you should avoid alcohol or any other drugs from here on out." He walked over to his desk and picked up a PADD, touching several of its controls. "Here, I've programmed this to access the computer with all the relevant information on what you should be doing, changes in lifestyle and things of that sort. Once the main system is up and running again be sure to read it and if you have any questions don't hesitate to come ask me."
The one question she did have was one the doctor couldn't answer. There was no one she could ask to discover how she was pregnant by a man she had never had sex with.
Mei-Wan had always dreamed of one day having a child, but this was a nightmare.
