Alternate Realities by Rachel Loss-Cutler *It was cold. No: make that cold and dark. No, make that nothing. That is exactly what it was like! Cold dark empty nothingness. Then through it all I heard a voice saying something about a power failure and two lights switched on from nowhere making the nothingness nothing with light. I was sitting down in a machine. That is all that I can say. No other words of description fit. There was an eyepiece that I seemed to be looking through, and I could see that I was inside a glass dome. I heard a voice speaking; "Well,. we can't just leave the creature without anything to do! " Straining my hearing I could hear another voice heavy with relief. "We've got the power back on-line, with any luck it will just think that this was all just a...what is the word we made up?... oh yes, a dream." I could Feel everything that I had ever known refusing to come back to me. Did I just wake up, or did I just go back to sleep? Reality was a blur. I did not know who, what, or even where I was. Suddenly around Lwaxanna bright lights flashed and she woke up to the clapping, cheering, and emotional approval of aquaitences and friends. Then, from the expression on her face you could tell that the young Betazoid was remembering, Or if you, too, were a Betazoid, you would only have to read her thoughts (or emotions) to know the confusion, and then the relief, when memories and self-being came pouring in, along with knowing that she had passed the Betazoid Rite of Initiation, of facing her worst fears and confronting them.(In her case being controlled by another and of having her whole world be a dream.).......* Lwaxanna woke up and saw a woman with blond hair standing before her. The woman asked, "Are you Deanna's mother?" Only half awake Lwaxanna nodded yes. The woman replied "Oh good, I'm finally on the right track. Mother, you just go back to sleep." "Oh Kestra dear, I love you." "I know." In her half asleep state, Lwaxanna paid no heed other then that to the fact that she was talking to her dead daughter. Thinking that at least parts of this dream were new, she turned over and went back to sleep. ________________________________________________ Deanna Troi, ship's counselor rolled off her bed and awoke sitting on the floor in the shuttlecraft 'Rift', calmly thinking (Even though in the physical reality she was out of breath) Where am I? Where am I going? Then the answers to her questions came steadily through the still foggy part of her brain. Where am I? I am in a shuttlecraft. What am I going? I am on shore leave to Betazed to visit my mother. Then even though she wanted to stop it a fourth thought came creeping in: if I wanted to relax why am I going to visit my mother : Lwaxanna Troi: a daughter of the fifth house, holder of the Chalice of Riix and Keeper of the Holy Rings of Betazed? ( Translation: Holder of a dusty clay pot that she doesn't even take out to dust and a couple of clay rings who's only use was for my teething: quite a few were broken that way.) I am going, Deanna gentle chided herself, because my mother who loves me is lonely and misses me. Then the thought that she'd been trying to avoid all along rose to the surface: My mother who almost certainly will spend half to three fourths of our time together subtly or not subtly, hinting or outright saying that I should marry someone (anyone) and settle down, and that grandchildren would not be unappreciated. Sighing with the thought of the exasperation to come, Deanna went back to sleep. ____________________________________________ On board the Enterprise, Dr. Beverley Crusher sighed. Five emotional crises and four near breakdowns of Deanna's patients all in the two days that the counselor had been gone. "Sometimes", she said absently to Guinan, "I don't know how we get on without her! You know instead of both of you to rely on we only have one! It COULD be much worse, but still we shouldn't be so dependent on Deanna that she can't be away for shore leave three days before we're crying for mommy!" Keeping the wise face the hostess of Ten-Forward was known for, she replied "It's not that we're crying for mommy, it's just that we're emotionally dependent on the counselor, maybe a little to much, but that's normal. The patients have built up their water blockades, with her being gravity. It won't always be like this, just be glad that she was there for them to be attached to in the first place!" Over in a corner of the room, Worf sat in a stupor just staring at his drink. Beverley heard a hint of a whisper in her ear: "Speaking of Emotional Dependence" then with a swish of her robes and that odd smile, Guinan went over to Worf. The doctor heard Worf muttering something about Alexander and then wisely turned her attention to something other than the growling Klingon. Looking around the lounge, she didn't find any better candidates. Ensign Ro Laren looked ready to throw something. LaForge looked incredibly depressed, like he had looked during the incident with the Sli. Data looked thoughtful and blank as usual. Riker looked like he was thinking of himself as pond scum and drinking alcohol instead of synthihol (No surprise there), and the biggest surprise of all: Capt. Jean-Luc Picard was actually there, looking..... angry? At himself? Why, Beverley thought to herself, why did we all pick the time that the counselor was away to have our emotional crises? And most of all, why did I have the stupidity to tell Deanna that no time would be a good one, but at least we had just completed our mission to deliver supplies for the recently acquired station, Deep Space Nine? Honestly, she smiled, how can a Betazoid not know her own mind? ________________________________________________ Sitting in the shuttlecraft, Deanna was wondering about just that. But coming up to Betazed, all the wonder of the planet jumped up and took her by the throat- and just left no room for those childish concerns of her self- knowledge; just in staring at the beauty around her. Even from space, when all planets looked awe inspiring, Betazed was special. Seeing the blue-green planet again brought back memories of a bright classroom with white walls, a lovely light brown wood floor, perfect for sock- skating on, and wide windows where the sun was always free to shine in. The smells were as bright as the room, and just as clean. Mostly, a warm wood and sunshine smell. Her favorite lessons were always the ones that were about her, or her world. She heard the calm, smooth voice of her teacher, and the chuckle of her best friend, listening to something that she knew by heart. Staring at her friend's hair, brown and sparkling in the sunlight, was almost as entertaining as listening to what her teacher was saying. Still, she was never tired of hearing her teacher speak about their world. "Betazed", she heard Taniya say, "is the fifth world in a eight planet system. It orbits a medium-sized star known as Beta Veldonna. Betazed is the only world in this system capable of supporting carbon based life, and the only one with a moon. The traders' nickname for our planet is "Jewel of the Outer Crown". Even the Ferangi (whose meaning of beauty is gold pressed latinum) conclude that this planet is extraordinary (even, in their words, if only for tourists)." (Deanna choked back a giggle, seeing her friend put both hands over her ears and puff out her stomach in an exaggerated imitation of a fat Ferangi) "Natural wilderness covers most of Betazed. High mountains with crystal peaks catch the sun, acting as a natural prism and coloring the ground below with streaks of color. The soil contains crystals of a green hue, called Versina, which give the whole planet---" With a start, Deanna was pulled out of her daydream by a bright flash. Something was coming straight up at her from the planet! Suddenly she was enveloped in white. She could see nothing and nothing could see her. She heard a beeping, and wished for the confusionless environment of her childhood. She could see again. Before her was a little boy. She had NO idea who he was, or how on earth he had boarded her shuttle. Deanna gazed at the little boy in shock, hardly even hearing what he said. "Aunt, even though you joined the colony a couple of years ago, you should remember to keep the .04 phase adjuster on! After all, that is our standard greeting. You agreed on it yourself!" Deanna just stared at him in shock, not comprehending the fact that this little boy had just called her "Aunt"! _______________________________________________ On the Enterprise, Riker was sad, angry, depressed... just about every negative emotion (There might not be negative or positive emotions but if there were, he would not be experiencing the positive) possible. This, he thought to himself, is absolutely BORING. Why can't we DO something instead of sitting like a fly in pond scum; calmly oblivious to the hungry frog as he prepares to end our useful life forever? (Gulp) (...Why, Will, that's almost poetic!... Thank you, Riker...) When you think of all the things that we could be doing instead of sitting around in a stupor, it's amazing that all we're doing is drills and diagnostics. At least we'll be the best running ship in the fleet, even if we're the one with the most of nothing to do........ ________________________________________ In the Medical Diagnostics Room Dr. Crusher sighed, while an impatient Barclay sat looking around the room fearfully. His eyes locked on the med tables as if they might stand up and attack him any minute if he didn't stare at them. "Are you SURE that I don't have Callum's Syndrome? I have been feeling rather dizzy and coughing alot; my mouth is dry and......" Barclay just trailed off and left Crusher staring impatiently at him. Just as she opened her mouth, he nervously continued, "....And the headaches! I forgot to tell you about the headaches! You see it almost feels like--" "REDGE", Crusher almost screamed, "you have just been working too hard!" Then, getting her temper under control, she continued more quietly, "I spoke to Geordie, and he said that not only have you worked three shifts in a row, but you have been making emergencies yourself and then running to fix them. Now, I am prescribing ten hours of uninterrupted sleep!" While he was walking sheepishly out of sickbay she called at his back, "And STAY AWAY from Medical Database!" "Finally!", Crusher sighed, extremely happy that she had managed to remove Barclay from her Sickbay. Then she turned to Miles who had been waiting patiently through it all. "How was Shore Leave, and what seems to be the trouble?" "Well," he said in that sunny-accented (Or whiny,depending on the occasion) voice, "Shore Leave was wonderful but I seem to have caught a bit of flu, I've been coughing quite a bit. But that's all." She circled the Med Scanner over him and turned to the computer. "Just have this prescription replicated and if anything changes in the next 48 hours let me know." "All right", he called as he left sickbay. Such a pleasure to work with someone cooperative, she thought to herself. I seem to be doing quite alot of sighing these days. She sighed and went back to work. _______________________________________________ After entering his quarters, Miles O'Brian lay on his bed. That didn't help the dizzy feeling at all. He needed to tell the Doctor about the new development in his condition. He got up and started walking toward the door. Suddenly he felt terribly dizzy, his quarters spun... Stumbling to the ground, he knocked his head on the sharp angular corner of the table, and hit the deck, unconscious. Just before he blacked out he managed to shout, "O'Brian to sickba..." In the Darkness the computer said in it's cheery voice: "This command is not understood." ______________________________________________ Aboard the shuttlecraft, Deanna was puzzled. She couldn't sense his emotions, but the child apparently believed that he was her nephew! She noticed that his nose was slightly mashed, his face had a rubbery look to it and his hair was slick. Finally, she got tired of sitting there with her mouth open and asked: "What colony are you talking about? Why did you call me Aunt? And why do you look like me?" Deanna instantly regretted her words. If she was really his aunt, their similar appearance made sense! But her sister had died when Deanna was still a baby, so how could that be? But at the question "What is the colony?", the boy turned into something gelatinous and then changed into a woman with dark hair, with a face that was all angles where the boy's had been smooth. The woman bore a remarkable resemblance (Where have I heard this before?) to... "Ardra", Deanna whispered. But then, "Oh no, you little Goody-Goody" hissed the Morph (Deanna wondered if Morph was the right word) and slapped her twice on her cheeks, the way that you would slap someone who had fainted. "Oh no! I'm not Ardra, just a friend of hers. In case you were wondering, I am a shapeshifter, like Odo on DS9. That is why, you pitiful Betazoid, you can't read my emotions! I'm-- WAS-- a friend of the one that you call Ardra. You call her that because you forgot her real name; didn't even give her THAT courtesy, did you? She was my only Friend; the only one who bothered to help the poor helpless misfit. That's why I can do her face fairly well, and why I'm going to have my revenge!" "But," Deanna replied, confused, (the woman's manner had hurt her deeply) "I haven't yet been to DS9, and I don't know why you need revenge!" "BECAUSE" the Morph said, as if educating a child, "After your Wonderful CAPTAIN put her in rehabilitation, she was never the same. She killed herself, you know, after they let her into the garden! Hah! I've heard of better gardens on Rural Pente! She killed herself with SOMETHING. No one knows what, because no one bothered to find out! The doctors (HAH! what doctors) had long since given up on her; said she was a hopeless case; just clucked their tongues- And that was that! But no, Oh no..." the Morph was now just crooning to her self, "Couldn't have that." Then she stared at Deanna. The intensity of the look felt to Deanna as if holes were burning through her head. "You and your precious captain, will both PAY!" "But," Deanna said, her voice taking on a new strength, "She wasn't PUT in Rehabilitation! The judges decided that it wasn't necessary." "Don't lie to me! I know you're LYING! You HAVE to be!" In her rage, the Morph pushed Deanna against a wall. Deanna's phaser jarred loose. The Morph grabbed it, aimed, and pulled the trigger .. __________________________________________________ When O'Brian didn't return to duty, no one thought anything of it. He had said that he was a little sick and LaForge had excused him from duty until the time that he was fully recovered. Deanna's shuttlecraft had just effected an emergency landing. A mysterious transmission from the craft, a few hours before, had indicated that Deanna had been suddenly disabled and remained uncounscious. The shuttle's autopilot had engaged at once, sent out a distress call, and plotted a course for Shuttlebay 2. Once within range, the tractorbeam had finished the job. A message was sent to Mrs. Troi on Betazed. What a pity, she thought, Mr. Holm had made her a special Chocolate Sundae. The real thing that wasn't replicated. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to eat it, myself ", she thought to no one in particular. In the hurry to stabilize Deanna no one paid any attention to the mess in the shuttle that was evidence that a fight had occurred. There was also no thought of Deanna's bag on the shuttle, though if someone had checked, it would have been found to be quite heavy and quite empty. When no one was looking a pool of clear yellow gelatinous goo came oozing out of it. From looking at the shuttle's database, the Morph had decided that Miles would have to be disabled. Imagine It's surprise when he already was. All that night, the Morph studied Miles' voice print, personal logs and duty logs, to be prepared to return Mr. O'Brian to duty. _________________________________________________ The next day Miles stopped by to tell Beverley he had gotten over the cold. She was astonished at the amount of time required and accepted his gratitude with thanks. As soon as he returned to duty he requested a private meeting with the Captain. The door chimed to the Captain's Ready Room. "Yes, Come in Mr. O'Brian." "Thank you sir. I assume that you are a little surprised about my request." "A little doesn't quite sound right. Astonished would be more like it." "Well you see sir, I have discovered a harsh chemical that could have hurt Counsellor Troi aboard the shuttle, and I need your permission to go in and verify it, so that she can be given the right treatment." "This, ah, chemical isn't life threatening is it, O'Brian?" "Well, it is if you aren't wearing protective clothing. We have about three days before treatment will no longer help,... Sir." "Mr. O'Brian, make it so! Oh, and could you move over a little? You're crowding me a bit. " "Yes sir. O'Brian to Shuttle. Two to beam back." The Captain's protests were lost in the transporter beam. ____________________________________________ In sickbay Beverley had just stabilized Deanna's condition, and found out what her condition was. "Thank you nurse, in an hour she should be fully recovered. I'd just like to know why she was exposed to a stun beam for 40 seconds. That is almost life threatening!" "I don't know Doctor, but is she supposed to be in a transporter beam right now?" " No, she isn't! Damn! Crusher to Data." "Yes, Doctor?" "Where was the transporter just being activated?" "There were exactly 98 transporters in the known galaxy activating at that moment, could you be more specific?" "DATA I mean ON THIS SHIP!" "Thank you Doctor, a transporter was just shown activating from Shuttlecraft Rift, in Shuttle Bay 2. The shuttlecraft has just beamed three personnel aboard, and is scheduled for departure. As a matter of fact, it is leaving right now." "Data, this is IMPORTANT! Can you beam the three crew members back to the Enterprise? "No Doctor, the shuttle has its shields up, and any attempt on our part to lower them might result in serious damage to those inside." " Thank you, Data. Crusher out." Disheartened at hearing that last piece of news, Crusher turned on her view screen and watched as the shuttle moved out of sight. Then something occurred to her. Muttering "Hindsight is always perfect" She called, "Crusher to Data" "Yes, Doctor..." (Was that impatience in his voice?) "Did you find out what life forms were on the shuttle?" "Yes, Doctor, I did. The Lifeforms registered as Miles O'Brian, Deanna Troi, Captain Picard, and one unknown life form." "The CAPTAIN is on that shuttle? With an UNKNOWN LIFE FORM?" "That is what I said, Doctor? " Now Beverley wasn't depressed, she was steaming mad. _________________________________________________ Aboard the shuttle there were three people, and one Morph. Unfortunately the Morph was the one in control of the situation. The humans in the shuttle were just learning what the situation was. The Morph had just assumed human shape. Picard exclaimed "So THAT'S why O'Brian transported me over here, he wasn't himself!" Meanwhile the real O'Brian wasn't in shape to agree or disagree, Crusher had given him someone else's medication by mistake: Barclay's. The medication was a strong tranquillizer to insure that he could sleep and heal himself while sleeping. Crusher had long ago learned that whenever Barclay is frightened (Whenever he is sick) he stays up all night worrying. Who knows WHY the mix-up happened, maybe Barclay had Dr. Crusher so frazzled that she just wasn't thinking. The Morph was just explaining what was happening: "I am taking you to the planet of the Guardian of Forever. Want to know why? So that you can see what happened to Ardra. After you are convicted for your crimes --by Me-- I will take you to a special Rehab Colony that doesn't ask questions like 'Who are you?', where you can live out the rest of your days as Ardra did: in misery." Just as the Morph finished talking they landed on the planet's surface. After walking a short distance, the Morph presented them to the Guardian of Forever. The captives made no attempt to escape as they were curious as to what the Guardian would show them. Mr. O'Brian was still incapacitated in the shuttle and would probably remain so for quite a while. The Morph stood in front of the Guardian and requested, tricorder in hand, "Show me what has happened to the woman who called herself Ardra in the Rehab Colony, in this timeline." In front of the witnesses the events played faster and faster as the Guardian searched for the moment in Her Story that would show who was correct. Finally the Guardian boomed "The moment mentioned has not happened in this timeline." The confusion showed on the Morph's face. Just as he was about to speak, a woman appeared in front of Deanna and the Morph. (The Captain was looking at the Guardian) She was calm and radiant, but at the same time she was excited and had a look about her that said she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. She was smiling openly at Deanna's confusion. Finally Troi stammered out, "Sister?" "You are right, Sister. I am sorry that it took me so long to come here, it took us a while to find Karenia in all the alternate timelines. You see (she now addressed the Morph) all that you witnessed when you checked up on your friend was in an alternate reality other than this one. When these ones did not know Odo yet, that should have tipped you off." Troi spoke "All this dimensional shifting is getting to me, Kestra. How are you here?" "Did Karenia mention a colony?" When Deanna nodded affirmative, her sister continued, "In another timeline I survived the accident. A year or two after I was twenty, I left Betazed to find a planet to colonize with a group of highly talented people; the best suited to the task that Betazed had to offer. After a long while of searching we came to a Temporal Distortion. Not knowing what it was, we went into it and in the middle we found a planet ideal for colonization. Then we discovered the nature of the distortion: It is a 'Node', if you will, a place where all realities come together, and where there are none alone. It IS a bit confusing. When we found out we decided not to leave. The planet was wonderful and we had searched long enough not to want to give up a potential home. We are sorry about the mix- up about Karenia's friend, we will try to smooth things out before going. Karenia, we know that you are tired of the life that we have been living, we are going to erase your knowledge of us and place you in a Timeline where the 'Ardra' mix-up never happened. And as for you, Deanna, Picard, and the transporter operator in the shuttle: We'll put this in a easier form to understand." "Goodbye, Sister." __________________________________________________ EPILOGUE In Ten-Forward, Deanna was telling Guinan "That was the STRANGEST Holodeck simulation that I have ever participated in. Do you know, the shuttle 'Rift' has completely disappeared?" __________________________________________________ In 'Ardra's' ship she and Karenia were deciding what to do next, when they heard of a planet who had a 'Ardra' problem. It sounded boring so they flew right by it. It just wasn't their kind of escapade, it didn't have a sure profit. Besides, the Ferangi were still looking for them over a little 'misunderstanding....' __________________________________________________ Happy in the knowledge that she had seen her sister who had died in birth, Kestra (Deanna's sister) went back to a world of infinite possibilities. __________________________________________________ THE MIDDLE (They aren't dead yet, so why should it be The End?) ********** Copyright 1995 Rachel Loss-Cutler You may copy this story as many times as you want as long as my name stays on it and so does this notice. If you want to sell it make me an offer (I'd be flattered) otherwise don't even THINK about it! The information about Betazed can be found in the book 'Worlds of the Federation', except for the information about the Betazoid rite of Initiation. If you want to know more about 'Ardra' get information about the TNG episode called 'Devil's Due'. Kestra is Deanna's sister who died in an accedent, she fell into a pond and dround trying to catch a dog. That is covered in the TNG episode 'Dark Page'. (Warning: If you don't feel like being sad, don't watch 'Dark Page')