Untitled Xf/STNG Crossover
A field outside of Bourbon, Missouri
March 3, 1997
11:21 p.m.
"Stop the car, Scully!" Fox Mulder yelled at his partner while rolling down his car window. He thought he saw something over the hill. He craned his neck out and peered out into the cool spring night. Then he saw it. In the sky, a dark, rectangular object hovering over a field just beyond the one they pulled by. "Shit, I don't believe it," he muttered as he swung the car door open.
"What Mulder?" Dana Scully asked. "What do you see?" she swung her car door open and quickly followed her partner.
"Over there!" he said. "Come on, let's go!" he yelled, barely containing his excitement. He grabbed her arm and started running towards the object.
She didn't move. "Mulder!"
A flash of anger rushed through him. "I'm not leaving you and I'm not staying here! Come on!" He yelled, squeezing her hand tightly.
Her eyes flashed, changing into a cold blue. She's pissed, he thought absently. But he didn't care. There was no way he was going to leave her in the car. Flashes of Duane Barry ran through his mind and pierced his heart. He wanted her with him so he could protect her.
If at all possible.
"Too bad, Scully. No arguments." He tugged on her hand again.
"Oh Mulder. If only just to watch your butt," she said. He felt a tinge of guilt in hearing the resignation in her voice. Despite what she believed, Mulder didn't feel good when she acquiesced.
No matter, he thought as they ran. Later, he promised himself, we'll deal with it later.
Within five minutes, they had reached the outer rim of the field. Nearly twenty-five feet above them, the object hovered above them.
It did not move.
It did not make a noise.
Mulder heard Scully gasp. "Aircraft can't do that, Mulder," she whispered. "It's not a helicopter--it's too big."
"Maybe one that's of Earth's origin can't-but this one can."
After a minute or so, Scully broke the silence. "Mulder, can you hear that?"
"What?"
"That hum," she stopped, tilting her head and watching the ship. "It's getting louder."
Then he heard it. He grabbed her other arm and was about to turn when a bright light shone on top of them. Somehow he managed to yank her into his arms.
They froze like that--like two rabbit's caught in a car light. Tharn, he thought. We've gone tharn...
Somewhere he heard a squeak and gasp and realized it was Scully.
Even though he knew she was in his arms, he couldn't feel her. God, he wanted to feel her. He wanted to tell her...
The light flashed even brighter.
And Mulder thought no more.
Whereabouts: Unknown
Time: Unknown
"He's conscious, doctor!" a voice shouted somewhere above Fox Mulder. He heard it--but didn't recognize it. God, not another hospital! he thought, groaning.
What did I do this time? Scully's going to kill me. He tried opening his eyes, but they wouldn't obey.
A hospital? Am I hurt? he asked.
Then it occurred to him, the noises he was hearing weren't normal hospital sounds. God knows, Mulder knew those sounds intimately--he couldn't even count the amount of times he'd been in the emergency room or ICU in the last five years. Since Scully. I get a doctor as a partner and I get shot more. Nothing like calling attention to myself.
"Scully...?" he whispered hoarsely as he tried opening his eyes again.
This time they complied.
"Hi there," a woman greeted. Not Scully, he thought as his eyes focused. A red head though, with shoulder length hair and fair skin and deep blue eyes. "How are you feeling?"
How did he feel? He tried turning his head, but it seemed frozen and stiff. He couldn't see much past the doctor. "Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz," he quipped as he tried sitting up.
The doctor frowned. "Dorothy?" She looked puzzled. "Data? Do you know what the Wizard of Oz is?"
"Yes Doctor Crusher," a male voice answered, then stepping into Mulder's view. "The Wizard of Oz was written by an early twentieth century children's fantasy author, Frank L. Baum. The story is about a young girl who was picked up by a tornado and is dropped off into another place--called Oz. The girl, Dorothy.."
"Ok, Data," the doctor interrupted. "I get it." She turned back to Mulder. His eyes darted back to her, but found he couldn't help but stare at the man--if that's what he was. He had yellowish--nearly metallic skin--dark hair and yellow eyes.
Yellow eyes?
"What are you?" Mulder asked.
"A synthetic life form, sir. An android. My name is Lt. Commander Data."
Mulder nodded and shook his head. "Some dream this is turning out to be. Scully'll get a kick out of this one," he muttered as he closed his eyes, wishing for sleep.
But once again, it was elusive. He glanced up and saw the doctor staring down at him. "What happened?" he finally asked, dreading the answer.
Another man, who carried an aura of authority stepped into his view, this one was wearing a red uniform instead of the doctor's blue or the android's yellow.
"Mr. Mulder?" Mulder nodded. "My name is Captain Jean Luc Picard. We found you in stasis on a abandoned ship of unknown origins."
The agent nodded again. "And?"
"Well," the captain tugged on his shirt. "It's created quite a mystery."
"What do you mean?" Mulder asked, pulling himself up.
The captain sighed loudly. "Mr. Mulder, what year is it?"
"1997," he said quickly without thought, remembering the dated report he had held in his hand earlier that day--he could see it with his eidetic memory, but somehow he knew inside something was very wrong.
He sat up, his heart racing as his eyes scanned the room he was in more thoroughly. He noticed everything. It all looked so different yet so familiar at the same time.
"What year is it, Captain Picard?"
"2371 AD by Earth's calendar. Mid twenty-fourth century." Picard answered tersely as he leaned on his heels. Suddenly the man hit a medallion or pin on his chest. "Counsellor Troi. Report to the sick bay at once."
A woman's voice answered seemingly from nowhere. "On my way, sir."
Mulder fell back against the bed, closing his eyes. What happened? The last thing he remembered was a field in Missouri with Scully. They had a lead on his sister and he was supposed to meet someone there. Then the ship and a bright light. Scully!
"Were there any other humans on there with me, Captain?" Mulder
Picard took a deep breath. "No."
"Nothing? No one? Alive or dead?"
He shook his head.
"Captain, what kind of ship was it?"
Picard jumped, seemingly preoccupied. "As I said before, Mr. Mulder--we never saw anything like it before."
"What does it look like? Can I see it?" Mulder's mind began to race. He sat up and swung his legs around and tried standing. His knees buckled.
The android caught him in a tight clasp and suddenly the doctor was right there beside him.
"Mr. Mulder! Most of my patients wait until I say they can leave," she said teasingly as she gently pushed him back down.
Mulder chuckled despite himself. He didn't know if it was the red hair or what, but this woman reminded him of his partner.
Then the pain came. Where was Scully? He closed his eyes, fighting the tears that threatened to spill. Oh, Mulder, what have you done? He asked himself over and over again, shutting himself off from everyone.
Someone shot him with something and he slipped back into unconsciousness. This time he welcomed the darkness.
Fifteen minutes later, the senior staff was meeting in the officer's conference room. By the head of the table, stood Picard as he stared out the window into space. A million questions were running through his mind. Who was this Mr. Mulder? All they had was a four hundred year old ID and badge and gun to identify the man. And who had been visiting Earth before man had warp drive? In all his years of Starfleet, he had never heard of such a thing. Nothing in Earth's history or Vulcan history to substantiate what he saw. But yet, in sickbay, was a man-a human-who believed he came from the 20th century on a never-before-seen alien ship.
He heard the familiar swish of the doors and turned around to see Data enter the room and take his usual spot on the table.
"Sorry I'm late, sir. It took some digging, but I found some information on Mr. Mulder."
Picard sat down and nodded. "That's alright. First things first, how is our Mr. Mulder?" he asked as his eyes landed on Dr. Crusher.
"Physically, he's stable and should be up and about in about six hours. As far as emotionally, I think that's where Counselor Troi comes in," said Crusher looking over to Deanna Troi.
"From what I can sense from Mr. Mulder, he has some emotional problems. But they seem to be from the time before he was put in stasis. Even though he was unconscious when I saw him, I could pick up a lot of fear, anger and guilt. He also seemed to be experiencing some nightmares," she paused and looked at the captain. "Interesting enough, he seems not to have many adjustment problems for waking up 400 years later than he should have."
Picard nodded. "You will see him after he awakens?"
"Yes sir, I will."
The captain looked at the android. "Well, Data. What do you have for us?"
"According to Starfleet data banks, Fox William Mulder was born on October 13, 1961 in Chilawak, Mass. That's all we have. Nothing other than a copy of his birth certificate. That's official channels. I took the liberty of searching through other information data banks and came up with some interesting facts."
"What kind of data banks?" Commander Riker asked as he leaned forward in interest.
"Well, sir. As many writers, authors and historians have said, history is usually written by the victors. Unfortunately, that fact still stands. After I did a standard search for Mr. Mulder's name, I also ran his name through various media and subversive publications and found that his name did pop up quite a lot." Data stood up and walked up to the large computer display. "Computer, display all articles and videos pertaining to Fox William Mulder, circa late 20th century."
"Working."
The first item to pop up was the cover of a magazine, called the Lone Gunman.
"As a self-proclaimed government watchdog organization, this magazine ran at least a dozen articles on Fox Mulder and his disappearance."
"Disappearance?" Beverly Crusher asked.
"Correct. The last time anyone saw Special Agents Fox Mulder and his partner, Dr. Dana Scully was on March 3, 1997 in the town of Bourbon, Missouri, located on the North American continent. Their automobile was found abandoned off of rural highway C, approximately five miles from the city limits on March 4, 1997."
"Data, special agent to what?" asked Geordi.
"The Federal Bureau of Investigations or FBI. The FBI was a federal law enforcement agency in the United States for most of the 20th century through the Unification government. Its most famous director, a Edgar J. Hoover, was considered one of the most powerful men in the U.S. for over 40 years.
"According to this publication, Agents Mulder and Scully were assigned to a division in the FBI called the X-Files. The X-Files was a controversial and mostly top-secret division of the Violent Crimes division in the FBI. Agent Mulder also had a reputation for being a top profiler for the Criminal Behaviors section."
"What did he do there?" Troi asked.
"He profiled serial murderers and rapists. Agent Mulder has a doctorate in psychology. But, it wasn't the work he was doing for Violent Crimes that seemed to get him in so much trouble with his employers; it was the X-Files."
"Data, what exactly was the X-Files?" Picard asked, leaning back in his chair. "And what does that have anything to do with why he's here now?"
"Sir, I think it has everything to do with it," Data said. "The X-Files investigated the unsolvable crimes and the paranormal. Agent Mulder had a personal fascination was with alien abductions."
"Alien abductions! That's impossible!" Riker said, shifting uneasily in his chair. "Data, you know as well as we all do, that hardly no one had contact with Earth until the Vulcan's came in the 22nd century!(check into time Vulcans met with Earth!)"
"Sir, you are mistaken. Remember the Preservers? And our own little adventure into the 19th century Earth."
"Okay," Riker nodded. "But then who are these aliens and where are they now?"
"I do not know sir. Nothing comes up with the search."
"Was there any proof of alien visitations?" Lt. Commander Worf asked.
"Very little 'official' proof, sir. According to the Lone Gunman magazine, the US government was adamant about covering up any truths concerning alien abduction. Which, incidentally, put Agents Mulder and Scully frequently at odds with their own employer because of Agent Mulder's demand for the truth. This magazine also believed a shadow government was in charge of all dealings with the aliens." Data stopped and looked at the captain. "There's some interesting parallels about this shadow government. From what we know, it was the US government that funded supergene project, which in turn led the Eugenics Wars in the early 21st century. Various sources also believe this same shadow government funded the clone projects which resulted in the Clone Wars as well. So, there may be some validity in this claim."
"What else can you tell us about Agent Mulder?" Picard asked.
"His father worked for the US State Department in the 1960's through the 1980's--maybe even unofficially through to his death in 1995. Mr. Mulder's sister, a Samantha Mulder was abducted in 1974 and according to Agent Mulder, she was abducted by aliens. His search for his sister led to his search for the truth."
"So, Data, what is your hypothesis?"
"From what Geordi has told me about the alien ship as well as from what I researched, I believe Mr. Mulder was indeed abducted by aliens of unknown origin. We ran the configuration of this ship through our database and there are no known records of it anywhere in the Alpha Quadrant. Or, at least, an official record. As for anything else, I think we need to talk to Agent Mulder."
Picard took a deep breath and turned back to the view of space. Aliens of unknown origin. No records anywhere. Something's wrong with this picture, he thought to himself. He turned back to Riker. "Number One, I want you to do a long range scan of the area, and look for any ships that resemble the one we have. If what Data is saying is true, then there may be more humans in stasis floating around in this area. Geordi, can we get that ship into our docking bay or cargo bay?"
"We can beam it aboard sir. It won't fit through the cargo doors, but it will fit inside."
"Make it so. Once you have secured the ship, I want you and Data to go over it with a fine tooth comb. I want you to learn everything you can about it and where it could possibly come from." He turned to Dr. Crusher. "I want you to call me as soon as Agent Mulder wakes and sees the Counselor. I need to talk to him. If half of what Data says is true, there's a whole section of Earth history that's been buried and it doesn't seem to be a pretty chapter either. As for me, I've got a call to make. Dismissed."
Picard said nothing for a second, then turned to Riker.
"Number One, I need to see you privately."
"Of course, sir."
"Do we have any experts on 20th century Earth history and more importantly, US history?"
"Other than my love of jazz and the blues, not that I'm aware of sir."
"Yes, and my love of detective novels," the captain added sarcastically. "I don't think either is going to help us here, Number One. I can't help but think that Agent Mulder's ship didn't just appear out of nowhere. This section of the galaxy was explored over 75 years ago and nothing's ever been noted. If there had been a threat to Earth's soveriety 400 years ago, why haven't we heard of it before now? Weren't the Vulcan's watching us by then? Why weren't we been told once we signed the treaty with them and started the Federation?
"And the biggest question, why do I feel that Starfleet is hiding something?"
Riker shook his head. "I know. So do I."
"Well, if you remember anyone, send them to me. Dismissed."
"Aye, captain." Riker turned and left Picard alone in the ready room. He sat down in front of the small viewing screen and decided it was time to call headquarters.
He was alone in the dark. He was searching for someone, but he couldn't remember who, but they were important to him-important to his sanity and wholeness. Then he heard a voice. "Fox! Help me!"
Someone was calling out to him. He ran towards the voice.
He then realized who it was: his sister, Samantha.
"Sam! I'm here!" he yelled back running, but feeling as if he wasn't going anywhere...
Suddenly there were bodies everywhere-aliens, no-hybrids, because they had smallpox vaccine scars-dumped unceremoniously in a room no larger than his bedroom.
The boxcar.
"Mulder!"
Another voice.
Ohmygod, its Scully.
"Scully!"
He screamed in the darkness.
"Agent Mulder! It's just a dream!"
His eyes shot open and he sat up, momentarily forgetting the stiffness.
His heart was racing. Where was she? Where's Scully? She was in my arms-it seemed like just hours ago.
I can't go on without Scully, he thought wanting to cry against the hopelessness that seemed to settle into his soul.
"Agent Mulder, are you okay?"
He blinked his eyes, forcing them to focus. He realized that the other red-haired doctor, Dr. Crusher was looking down at him, concerned. He felt someone standing on the other side of the bed and turned to see a woman, with long dark hair and black eyes smiling sedately at him.
"My name is Deanna Troi. I'm the ship's counselor," she told him.
He nodded and turned back to Dr. Crusher. "I'm alright. Just a nightmare. I've had them all my life," he told her. "It breaks up the monotony of sleep."
"Are you sure?"
"Honest. Boy scouts honor," he said, saluting, but lying nonetheless.
She smiled.
"So, can I get out of here, Doc?" he asked her as he sat up and swung his legs around.
She shook her head and smiled. "Do you know, Mr. Mulder, the only other person on board this ship that has as many scars as you do is Lt. Worf and he's a Klingon."
"I take it Klingons like to hurt themselves then?" he said as he pushed himself carefully off the bed.
"No, Klingons are a warrior race and consider scars badges of honor."
"I guess I would make a good Klingon then," he quipped. He stood and smiled. His legs were much sturdier than he thought they would be. "You do good work, Doc. I didn't think I'd be able to stand."
She smiled. "We've come a long way in 400 years, Agent Mulder."
"Just call me Mulder, since I assume the FBI is no longer in existence." He took a step and found his legs were indeed working quite well. "And I can't stand my first name, Fox." He stretched his long body and flexed his hands. "Everything seems to be in working order, Doc. Any instructions?"
Dr. Crusher sighed. "Well, considering the sedative I gave you was suppose to put you out for six hours, and you only lasted three, just take it easy. Sleep a lot, relax and eat."
His stomach growled loudly. "I think food is first on the agenda."
"Well, Mulder, that's where I come in," Deanna Troi said as she stepped over and stood next to him. "I'll take you to Ten-Forward and you can eat, drink and we can talk. I'll fill you in on the last 400 years."
Mulder nodded, pushing away the feeling of awe that was running through him. Four hundred years of catching up.
"It must be pretty disconcerting, waking up after 400 years," she said as she began walking to the door leading out of the sickbay. It swished open, reminding him of Star Wars and their doors.
He nodded and turned around to watch the door close again. "Incredible," he whispered and noticed the counselor was watching him. "The last doors I saw had knobs," he said, feeling a need to explain.
She smiled knowingly and said nothing about the doors. Instead she began explaining that he was on a starship that could travel up to 10 times the speed of light and had warp drives and that the Enterprise was the flag ship of the United Federation of Planets--founded in 2161 by Humans and Vulcans and was soon joined by thousands of other races. That there were many different types of alien races aboard and not to be startled. And that she was half Betazoid (a telepathic humanoid race) and half human.
By the time they reached Ten Forward, Mulder had a million questions. But his stomach had a different agenda.
It growled again.
"Do they serve hamburgers here?"
She led him to a console with sliding doors. "Just tell the computer what you want to eat and we'll see what it can do."
"Do I have to push anything?"
"No, just say what you want."
He nodded and leaned over towards the console. "I'll have a hamburger, medium, French fries and a large ice tea. No lemon or sugar."
A low hum rang out and then the computer beeped. Out of nowhere, a plate appeared with his hamburger and fries. Beside it stood an ice tea.
He lifted the bun and noticed that it was dry.
"Can I have a side of ketchup and mustard. Also a couple slices of onions and pickles as well."
The hum rang out again and another plate, this time smaller appeared. On it were a couple slices of onions and a half dozen pickles and two smaller containers holding ketchup and mustard consecutively.
He turned and smiled at Troi.
"Unbelievable. I hope it tastes as good as it looks." He said as they began walking towards an open table.
"So, Counselor, are you here to pick my brains--feel out my emotional stability? Or what?"
She chuckled. "Or what sounds a little more appropriate. I'm not a telepath--just an empath with a doctorate in psychology as well."
He took another bite and nodded for her to continue.
"An empath can pick out what people feel. They can't read minds."
He swallowed. "It makes a good shrink, though."
"Shrink?"
He grinned. "A 20th century slang word for psychologist or psychiatrist." He sipped on his tea. "So, tell me, what do you feel about me."
Her smile slowly disappeared as a flash of pain crossed her face. Mulder flinched instinctively.
"Never mind, I'm a shrink too. I already know." He ate a French fry. Although the food didn't taste authentic, he realized he didn't care because it had been too long since he had eaten. When was it? That morning before we left St. Louis? He shivered.
"Too much pain, Mulder. That's what I feel. And worry. Guilt. Anger. Fear," she said, ignoring his request. "And loss," she added quietly.
He shuddered hearing her words. Too close to home, he thought.
"But, on the bright side, you seem to be adjusting to this," she said, waving her hand around her, "pretty well. Why?"
He took a deep breath and thought of the light. "Because I remember and it fits--although I would've never expected it." He took a deep breath. "Fill me in on what you know of Earth history while I eat. Don't worry about overwhelming me with facts and such. I have an eidetic memory. I need to be up to speed on things."
She nodded. "After we're done here, the captain wants to see you. Your surprise appearance in this part of the quadrant has raised many more questions than answers."
He laughed. "I seem to do that a lot." He then bit into his hamburger and listened to Deanna Troi's take on Earth history and the beginnings of the Federation.
Picard leaned back in his chair and studied the man sitting across his desk. He was tall, dark-haired and had incredibly intelligent hazel eyes. He looked like a man who didn't miss a thing and seemed always on guard for the unexpected. From what he had learned of Mulder, his presence lived up to his reputation.
Shaking his head, he thought of his conversation with Admiral Lerner at Starfleet Intelligence. Apparently, he didn't even need to call Starfleet because Fox Mulder had been red-flagged and Lerner was just settling down to call Picard. From Admiral Lerner, Picard got a history lesson that he wished he never had privy too.
"Sometimes, Agent Mulder, ignorance is bliss," Picard said, breaking the silence. "Before we found your ship, I believed my history books. They weren't too nice about the late 20th century and early 21st century. I thought I knew all about my planet's dirty laundry."
"And now, Captain?" Mulder asked.
"And now, I'm feeling a bit unnerved. Did you know that your name and your partner's name was red-flagged at Starfleet Headquarters?" Picard asked watching the man carefully.
Mulder surprised him. He laughed.
"I'm not surprised. I didn't make too many friends with the government when I was working."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. Apparently, a US President, a Matheson held you in the highest regards and used your disappearance as rallying call within the US and all the industrialized countries to finally fight the alien threat head-on."
Picard watched Mulder's jaw drop.
"All hush-hush of course. No one knew why the US government funded the Eugenics or clone projects--but they did. The reason they kept these under wraps was because of the human experimentation involved. From what I hear, it was horrifying."
"I saw some of their 'mistakes' once," Mulder said, trying to shake the chill that threatened to settle into his bones. The boxcar in New Mexico...
"No one actually knows why the aliens left but common consensus was because Earth as a unit, proved to be a worthy opponent."
"I don't understand," Mulder frowned. "They had weapons beyond our capabilities, the ability to travel space. To abduct people, basically unseen, from their homes in the middle of towns and huge metropolitan areas. They were able to erase memories, perform experiments on the human reproduction system. I always believed they could fool around with time as well." Mulder stood up. "You mean to tell me, they just disappeared?"
Picard nodded. "Without a trace. That's why your name has a red-flag on it. Someone, back then as well as now, believed that if you appeared, the aliens wouldn't be far behind."
The tall man began to pace in front of Picard's desk.
"I don't understand. No one knew we were abducted by aliens accept us! For all anyone knew, we could've been murdered by the Consortium, an escaped convict--someone with a grudge. Captain, I put away at least a dozen serial killers--just by writing profiles. I helped catch a liver-eating mutant that only came out of hybrynation every 30 years to get his 5 human livers. Scully and I arrested a man who could start fires with a thought. Not to mention all the people I pissed off daily.
"Someone set us up! I know that!"
"What do you mean? What happened that day you were abducted?"
Mulder flung himself into the chair and sighed. "I had gotten a fax from anonymous source who told me that my sister was going to be dropped off in Bourbon, Missouri. They even sent me a map. I wanted to go alone, but Scully found out about it. She got so tired of me running off, she had begun to spy on me--so she would know what I was getting myself into. I had a tendency to get myself hurt when I ran off on my own. She confronted me and pushed enough emotional buttons that I agreed she could come. She didn't trust my source." He shook his head, feeling the guilt rise up once again. "And I didn't listen. We walked head on into a trap. We were on the road, I saw the ship in the air and told her to stop the car. We got out, I grabbed her hand and drug her to the field where the ship was hovering. We stood there and watched it--like a couple of idiots until the light flashed. I pulled her into my arms--thinking that I could keep her safe--and that's it. "
He stood up again. "The next thing I know, I'm waking up 400 years later, minus my partner and best friend and looking up at Dr. Crusher." He began walking around the room. "But can't you see, aliens don't usually contact people through normal means of communication-such as fax machines. They just abduct. Someone knew about that. That's why my name was flagged."
Picard nodded and tried to assimilate what the man told him into what he had just found out through proper channels. "Then something about you reappearing must mean something to someone."
"But to who?" Mulder asked. "From what I've learned, Starfleet is nothing like the government I used to deal with. Hell, half of it isn't even run by humans." He stopped pacing. "What about Earth's government? It is separate from Starfleet, isn't it?"
"Earth's government handles all social and economic areas. Starfleet does everything else. Starfleet headquarters is in San Francisco as well as the academy. If there was anything to know about Earth's secrets, Starfleet would be the first to know."
"Then captain," Mulder started as he sat down again. "It looks as if someone isn't being totally honest with you."
This time Picard sighed. "That's what I was afraid of." He took a deep breath. "I want you to come down to the Cargo Bay 5 and check out the ship with me. Also, I would like you to give Data a detailed description of both the aliens and all the ships you remember seeing and hearing of. There's got to be some mention of them somewhere."
Picard stood up and Mulder followed. Before leaving, Picard turned around and looked at the man. "If Starfleet can't be on the up and up, maybe the Vulcan government can. I'll get to the bottom of this, Agent Mulder. I promise you."
Picard watched the man and noted he didn't seem too convinced. He hoped the agent was wrong.
They left for Cargo Bay 5.
Two hours later
Mulder's Quarters
It wasn't until the door closed behind Captain Picard, did Mulder's emotional shields drop.
He fell into bed, still fully clothed in his 20th century suit, when the shakes hit him. He lasted nearly two minutes before his chest heaved and the sob he had been holding back broke out, ringing loudly into the otherwise silent room.
Scully.
Samantha.
Mom.
Mrs. Scully.
The women in his life. His only family. His mind flashed on each person, picturing them with an eerie precision that only came with an eidetic memory...
Mrs. Scully, two weeks ago in Mulder's mind, at the Scully house, where she served him dinner and they talked and joked. Each enjoying one another's company; Mulder reveling in the fact that this strong, capable loving woman had taken him in and treated him like one of her own and Mrs. Scully, beaming back at him her love and understanding--wishing he really was in her family.
His mother, opening up and beginning to enjoy life once again. She'd begun calling him since her miraculous recovery from her stroke nearly a year before. It seemed to give her a new lease on life...
Samantha. His thoughts of his sister were always of Stratego and a bright light and her screams. It wasn't until he really pushed himself could he see the good memories that went beyond the night she was abducted...
And Scully.
"Damn me," he moaned into the empty room.
He had drug her into the field, arrogantly believing that he could keep her safe with him...
...that his arms could've actually provided the buffer against the evil of their world as well as others'.
How wrong he was.
Once the tears started, there was no way he could stop them. Somehow, being 70 light years away from Earth as well as 400 years from what his mind saw as yesterday, gave him the permission to feel and express the pain that he had spend most of his life holding back. He needed to feel it.
He needed to cry.
How could he fight the blackness that engulfed his heart when he saw what he did while inspecting the ship?
At one time, all ten stasis units had been in use. He knew that because someone, some human or at least someone who had known English had marked each container, with his being the exception, with a name, birthdate and containment date.
Dr. Dana Katherine Scully, born: 2-23-64; contained: 3-3-97.
Her container had been right to the left of his.
For 400 years, the two partner's had drifted in space, side by side, unaware that any time had passed.
To only be ripped apart once again by forces beyond their comprehension a few days ago.
Only a few days ago, according to the readings that Data took, did their captors separate them.
It was almost as if someone was playing a game with him, Earth and now Starfleet. His opponent had taken a time-out and relaxed, regrouped or whatever, which was all well and good, but now They were ready to begin again. To start afresh.
The games afoot, my dear Watson, Mulder thought.
But who were They?
Was she dead?
Didn't they know enough about him to realize that without Scully, Mulder had no real will to play anymore? Especially in a world and time that wasn't his?
Didn't they know this?
Did they care?
Or did they believe his presence would be enough to rally the troops, in this case, Picard and company, to pick up the trail where Mulder and Scully had left off nearly four centuries before?
Another round of tears assaulted him.
He just couldn't do this anymore...he didn't have the will.
Troi stood outside Mulder's quarters and rang the bell again. She felt her body tense, in response to his anguish. As his fear and pain savaged his heart, it attacked hers as well.
Just minutes before, she had been resting peacefully in her quarters when she felt his cry.
Although earlier she had glimpsed at his pain, she found herself surprised. Mulder had done such a good job of shoving it aside, to a corner of his mind, that she was almost fooled into believing he would be all right. His outside demeanor was so normal. He laughed and joked. He seemed to accept his situation with an incredible ease, that in retrospect, only confirmed her fear that this man had been faced with the impossible too many times to be taken aback from it.
But obviously, it had all been an act--driven only by his need to know and the hope that his partner was still alive.
Although he hadn't said anything, she felt how strongly he loved his partner and Troi knew instinctively that this man would lose all his will to survive if he believed she were dead.
She took a deep breath and entered his quarters unbidden.
She heard him before she saw him. The sobs echoed hauntingly in the room. She followed the cries and found herself standing beside his bed.
He was curled tightly in a ball, hugging himself so hard she could almost see the whites in his fingers as they clasped his arms with a despair of a drowning man.
Wave after wave of pain plunged into her as she clumsily sat down on the floor beside him.
Unaware of the tears now streaming her own face, she took a deep breath trying to find her center--put up her walls. After a few agonizing minutes, she found it--feeling a bit more at peace.
She reached over and touched his arm. "Mulder?"
She felt him flinch instinctively wanting to pull away--to feel his pain alone, but she kept her hand there--as a reminder that he wasn't alone and he could be a part of something...
She heard the tears subside as he lifted his red, despair-stricken face to meet hers.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. She didn't hear recriminations or anger. He surprised her again. She heard humor.
Troi decided to follow her instincts.
"It's hard to get a good night sleep when you're projecting so loudly," she answered with a small smile.
He sat up, pulling his long legs against his chest and nodded for her to sit on the bed.
She stood up and gracefully sat down at the bottom of his bed. "You know, you could've talked to me and instead of sending me this kind of distress call."
He started biting his bottom lip as he studied her. After a minute he nodded in concession. "You have to forgive me, Counselor Troi. When you said you were an empath, I had no idea of how sensitive you were. I'm kind of new at this."
She nodded. "If the emotion is strong enough, I can feel it even if I'm not in the same room with the other person," she said. She took a deep breath and decided to say it all. "And you were--you are in a lot of pain. I haven't felt this from a human in a long time."
Mulder laughed. "I guess emotional instability is a thing of the past, eh? No dysfunctional families? Alcoholics? Child abusers? Wife beaters? Sociopaths? Psychopaths? Are all those things, just horrid memories of a time long ago?" When she said nothing, he shrugged. "I guess that means I'm out of a job."
He shook his head and continued. "All those things were an everyday occurrence in my time. If you came from a healthy family, you were in a definite minority. I honestly didn't believe there was such thing as a normal family. I guess I'd seen too much," he added quietly.
She smiled as she shook her head. "Your digressing, Dr. Mulder. I'm here to talk about you. What are you feeling?"
"'Seconds from a clean getaway,'"he said, snapping his fingers. He sighed in resignation. "Everything you said earlier. Loss, guilt, anger, fear...loneliness. I didn't come from a time where these feelings were unusual. But, I have to admit, my crosses, at least the ones that I bare emotionally and psychologically, are a bit heavier and cumbersome than most."
"And?"
He took a deep breath. "And, I was thinking about how I hate feeling as if I'm a puppet and have no idea whose pulling the strings--who the puppet masters are. That I'm tired of my life being at the mercy of someone or something else's whim. I never found out what happened to my sister. My partner," he stopped and pursed his lips. "No, I'll be honest, the woman I love, is gone and to find out that we had spent nearly four hundred years--side by side--only to have her taken away from me again a few days before I wake--is just unconceivable.
"And I'm tired, Counselor Troi, of fighting a battle in which I never seem to win, and that my losses seem so devastating compared to my opponents," he said, as his eyes clouded with tears again. "Scully, she was my anchor. My hope. My strength." He looked up at her, his voice suddenly strong and with conviction. "I can't do this without her. I don't want to do this alone."
And she felt his pain come up from where ever he had pushed it away. It hit both of them with such force, that it left Troi breathless.
His sobs rang loudly in her ears as scooted closer to him and pulled him into her arms.
This time he allowed the contact as she felt his walls begin to crumble. Maybe, she thought idly, they'll stay down this time and he can build himself a life.
They stayed there, sitting on his bed, her cradling is head in her arms into the tears began to subside. Only minutes later, she felt him fall into a restless slumber.
She carefully stood and laid him down gently, covering him with a blanket that had gotten kicked off the bed. She tiptoed to the bathroom and closed the door behind her and hit her combadge.
"Troi to sickbay," she called out.
"Crusher here. What's up, Deanna?"
"Can you come up to Agent Mulder's quarters and give him something to help him sleep?" She sighed. "Beverly, his emotional state is very fragile. I felt him all the way in my quarters," she added, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"I'll be right there. Crusher out."
Troi stepped out of the bathroom and quietly stood by the door.
Minutes later, Crusher entered and Troi led her to his bed. The doctor scanned him and sighed. She pulled out a hypospray and injected him.
He didn't even stir.
Seconds later, they were both in the hallway. Troi looked up at her friend and tried smiling.
"That bad, huh?"
Trio nodded. "Can you come to my quarters with me and share a hot cocoa. I need someone to talk to."
Beverly smiled and they walked together towards Troi's quarters.
Seven hours later
Mulder's quarters
"Captain Picard to Agent Mulder," a voice rang out of nowhere. Mulder sat up in bed, disorientated, wondering where the voice was coming from.
"Picard to Mulder," Picard's voice called out again.
Mulder looked down on the lapel of his suit and saw the combadge and remembered. He hit the badge, hoping he was doing this right.
"Mulder here."
"Can you get to the bridge as soon as possible? I think we found something."
"Sure thing. Can you give me a few? I was asleep."
"At your earliest convenience, Agent Mulder."
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Mulder out."
Mulder stood up in the dark room. Light switch...where was it? Oh yeah, I have to tell the computer.
"Lights," he called out in the empty room.
Suddenly the room brightened.
He turned around and smiled, despite his depression. Incredible, he thought. He walked over to what looked like a closet and saw something hanging up. He pulled it out and studied it. The material was something he didn't recognize but somehow it made him think of polyester and the '70's and he shuddered.
"God, the clothes suck," he muttered in the air. He then searched the drawers and found some underwear.
He then remembered the replicators.
"Computer, if I wanted to replicate a pair of Levi jeans, circa 1990's and a button down black shirt, could the replicator do that?"
"Affirmative."
Pursing his lips, he walked towards the replicator and gave his order. Within seconds the clothes appeared.
"And a pair of black, silk boxers?"
Good, now he had his underwear.
"A large cup of coffee with caffeine. Black."
A cup appeared.
With his items, he headed to the shower and hurried to make it to the bridge in time.
Seventeen minutes later, Mulder stepped out into the bridge from the turbo lift. He could feel his chest beating loudly. This is real, a childlike part of himself chanted. Then his eyes landed on a tall, dark humanoid in a yellow uniform and Mulder found himself gaping. The humanoid seemed angry and war-like with a ridges running down his forehead. Suddenly, Mulder flashed back to the conversation he had with the doctor earlier and smiled. He must be a Klingon.
Shaking his head in awe, Mulder thought of how long and hard he had searched for proof of aliens and suddenly to know he had met two in the last 12 hours-as casually as we would meet a stranger in line at a McDonald's.
It was awe-inspiring.
And unnerving.
Realizing he was staring, he looked down and saw Captain Picard watching him.
The captain offered a small smile and indicated to Mulder to come down and sit next to him.
"It must be pretty strange, meeting aliens after all this time."
Mulder laughed sarcastically. "Strange, but somehow right. Besides, the aliens I've met here look nothing like those that I remember from before."
A dark-haired man, seated on the other side of Picard, leaned forward. "I saw your pictures. We've never encountered anything like that before," the man's deep voice seemed to ring of wariness. "I'm Commander William Riker, second-in-command."
"Commander Riker," Mulder nodded. "Just call me Mulder. There's no agency for me to be an agent for anymore." He told the man and turned to Picard. "So, what's happened?"
"We picked up another ship on our long-range sensors that seems to match the one we found you on," Picard said, turning in his seat. "Lt. Worf, can get visual yet?"
"The unidentified vessel will be in range in less than a minute, sir." The Klingons voice was deep and emotionless.
"Display it when ready."
"Aye sir."
Mulder watched the exchange and had to keep from pinching himself.
Incredible, he thought again.
His eyes fell back to the display and felt an anxiousness build inside him. This could be Scully! his mind sang. Pleaseohpleaseletscullybethere.....
"On screen, sir."
The ship appeared in front of them. Rectangular, like the one he had seen in the field and the one he had been found on. Like so many others that had been seen on Earth so long ago...
Mulder swallowed. "Captain, did you find anything on the ship to indicate who these aliens are?"
"No, Mulder. We even ran the language through the computer and had our linguistics department go over the symbols. Nothing."
"Lt. Worf, scan for life forms." Riker ordered.
A second later, Worf's voice seemed to boom into the silence. "Sir, sensor indicate that there's one life form--a human--aboard. Life signs are stable, but seem to indicate the human is in stasis, as was Mr. Mulder."
Mulder's heart leaped.
"How long until we are in transporter range?"
"Two minutes, sir."
Mulder stood up and began pacing. "Can I-be-there?"
"Of course, Mr. Mulder. Number One, I want you to lead an away team to the ship--along with Mr. Mulder," the captain ordered.
"Aye sir. Data, Worf, your with us." Riker stood and hit his combadge. "Dr. Crusher, report to Transporter 4." He turned to Mulder. "Follow me, Mr. Mulder."
Mulder nodded, feeling his stomach turn. As the four entered into the turbolift, he turned to Riker. "What exactly is a transporter?"
Riker grinned. "You're going to love this."
Five minutes later, the five members materialized in a large chamber that was reminiscent of the alien ship Mulder had been in. Pushing aware the dizziness he felt (he had been told that it was a side affect of the transporter), his eyes scanned the room. Like the ship he had been found in, there were also ten stasis chambers. And just like before, only one of them was in use.
Mulder ran over wiped the front of the glass, ignoring the roaring in his ears and the thumping of his heart.
Somehow, even before he saw her face, he knew it was her.
Scully.
Dr. Crusher kneeled down beside it and ran her scanner over the body. "She's alive and seems to have suffered no more than you, Mulder."
He grinned like a fool.
"So, is this your partner?"
He nodded.
"Data, can you open this so I can get her back to the ship?"
"Certainly, Doctor." Data walked over to the computer pad and began the process.
"Mulder," Riker called from another room. "Can you come here for a second?"
"Yes." He turned to the doctor. "I'll be right back."
"Don't worry, Mulder. We'll take good care of her," she said as she looked up at him and smiled.
Mulder nodded.
He turned and left the chamber to find himself in a hallway. "Where are you?" he called out, hearing his voice echo off the metal walls.
At his left, down the hallway, he saw the Klingon's head pop out of a doorway. "Here, Mr. Mulder!"
Mulder broke into a jog and seconds later he found himself in a control room of sorts. In the front there were two seats in front of a viewer screen and lighted panels displaying symbols that seemed eerily familiar, but alien at the same time.
Where had he seen these? he asked himself. For a moment he stood there, staring, trying to force himself to remember, but alas, no memories came.
Which was almost as unnerving as the symbols themselves. Mulder was a stranger to memory loss. One of the curses of an eidetic memory.
"Mulder, take a look at this," Riker called, interrupting Mulder's revere. The commander was standing next to a table across the room.
He walked over to Riker and followed the man's finger. He was pointing to a computer. It looked like a laptop computer.
Mulder felt his stomach drop.
Stranger yet, it looked like Scully's.
Calm down, old boy, there were millions of these around when you were abducted, he told himself.
But he knew, just as he knew that she would be here, that this was her computer as well.
"It's Scully's," he croaked.
"Is it a computer?" asked Riker.
Mulder nodded, not trusting his voice. What the hell is going on here? he screamed silently.
He opened it, and turned it on, the noise taking him four hundred years into the past. Suddenly they were in his office, it was morning and Scully had just gotten in. The first thing she did after her pouring herself a cup of coffee was turn the blasted thing on. He could see her standing, waiting for the thing to boot up as she shrugged out of her coat...
"-Mulder!" Riker said, nudging him. "Who are these people?"
The consortium? Aliens? Humans?
"I don't know. But they seem to know me," he answered quietly. He checked the directory and two files caught his attention.
One was dated the day after his abduction.
The other displayed a stardate.
He felt his stomach turn.
He opened the file dated March 4, 1997 and read.
March 4, 1997
Dear Agents Mulder and Scully,
One day you both may understand why it was necessary for us to do this to you. I know you believed that once your contact, X was murdered, that there had been no one else, but you were wrong. You both had your guardian angels, in the Consortium as well as above, that kept an eye out on you.
Two days before you were abducted, word came out of your death sentence.
If you had stayed in Missouri, you were to have been killed. Both of you.
The Consortium is losing their power base. They committed too many heinous crimes, against humans as well as aliens and the rumblings are being felt throughout our solar system.
Agents, our visitors may be leaving, but not forever...
And we may need you for future battles.
The letter was unsigned and left Mulder with a sinking feeling as to why he was found when he was. They were coming back.
"What does this mean?" Riker asked. Mulder turned around and realized that the commander had been reading over his shoulder.
"Maybe they’re coming back," Mulder suggested.
"What about the other letter?"
"Excuse me," Worf entered the room. "Dr. Crusher and Dr. Scully have beamed to the sickbay," Worf said, watching Mulder carefully. "I just thought you would want to know."
"Thanks," Mulder said and managed a small smile for the Klingon. We're going to have to talk, Lt. Worf, he thought.
Worf nodded and slipped out of the room.
Mulder turned back to the computer and opened the second later. "What's the date on this?"
"Two earth days ago, according to the stardate," Riker answered.
Stardate XXXXX
Dear Agents Mulder and Scully,
I apologize for keeping you two from your lives for so long, but once we had you safe, our stay at your planet was threatened.
My people, once slaves of the Others, rebelled. We're not sure if it was our exposure to your planet, its laws and ideals or was it humans, like your sister, Samantha, who opened her heart and mind and showed us how to be free. But we realized that we, the Grays, the ones you always believed to the drones, could no longer participate in the Colonization and Subjectation of Earth. The rebellion started in your solar system but it was felt as far away as the Delta quadrant of the galaxy. Our home.
Once we were able, we fled to our home, with the few humans were dared to bring with us and hid for four hundred years.
Six months ago, the Others came back, more powerful and more evil than ever before and once again, we found ourselves as slaves. A few of us managed to escape and we took the two of you and went back to Alpha Quadrant.
Wonders never cease. Humans, on their own, have become a reckoning force against the Others. But we know the danger. Once we were as powerful and as large as your Federation and now we are slaves. The Others have done this so many times before. In our part of the galaxy, they are more invasive than the Borg.
I don't know why they zeroed in on Earth so many hundreds of years ago. Maybe humans remind them of themselves. A force to be reckoned with.
But they're coming back and you may not recognize when they get here. They have the ability to cross the galaxy in a blink of an eye-to blow planets apart with a push of a button and destroy a human with a thought.
Once again, Mr. Mulder and Ms. Scully, we need your help. The Consortium, the humans you battled in your time, learned their tricks from the Others. Remember that.
Like the last letter, this one ended without a signature, leaving more questions than answers in Mulder's mind. He closed the file and turned the laptop off. "We can just take this with us, can't we?" he asked Riker as he picked up the computer.
Riker nodded as he stepped back and leaned against another table. "This is too weird, Mulder."
He nodded.
"Riker to away team. Have either of you found anything else."
"Negative, Commander," Mulder heard Data's voice speak through the combadge.
"This one's as clean as the last, sir," Worf said as he walked into the control room.
"Well then, let's get back to the Enterprise. Data, report to the control room."
A minute later the android entered the room.
They gathered in the center of the room as Riker hit his combadge. "Riker to Enterprise, four to beam over."
"Aye sir."
Once Mulder felt his body materialize back on the Enterprise, he turned to Riker. "Can you show me the way to sickbay?"
Riker nodded. "Can I have this?" he asked, pointing to the laptop still in Mulder's hand. "I want Data to go through it and see if he finds anything else that may be important."
Mulder handed the laptop to Data.
"Data, report to the captain and inform him that I'll be in sickbay."
Mulder followed the commander out.
Enterprise
Sickbay
"Hey sleepyhead," Mulder whispered as gently pushed back a piece of her beautiful auburn hair. He suddenly felt as if he was alone in a world with only her. He knew that Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi were standing across the room with Commander Riker, but he wasn't aware of them. He was only aware of Dana Scully.
His anchor. His lifeline.
"Mulder?" she whispered, trying to open her eyes. "Are you all right?"
The woman never failed to amaze him. She was worried about him and she was the one laying down. He chuckled. "Yeah," he said but he couldn't seem to hide the hesitance in his voice.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Before you open your eyes, remember that I'm here and that you're okay. All right?"
"Yeah?" she answered, her voice filled with trepidation.
"You trust me?"
"Always."
"Dana," he stopped, suddenly incredibly frustrated at his lack of words. How do I tell the ultimate skeptic that she was wrong and that we were now apart of that wrongness? "Dana, we were in stasis for a long time."
She sat up, her eyes frozen shut.
"Stasis? You mean like frozen?"
"Yeah, like frozen."
"Mulder, how long?"
He sat down next to her and pulled her small body into his. He took a deep breath. "When you open your eyes, I want you to look at me."
She nodded. God, she's beautiful, he thought. "Only look at me. Open them."
He watched her carefully as her eyes fluttered open. Oh, the beautiful blueness nearly blinded him. He watched her squint and focus. Their eyes locked.
"Four hundred years, Dana," he said as he cupped her cheek.
"Mulder, that's not possible," she said, shaking her head.
"Look around you. Does anything look familiar?"
He dropped his hand from her face and watched her eyes travel about the room. Her face turned white and he felt her begin to shake.
"Counselor Troi!" He watched the dark-haired woman half-jog across the room. Dr. Crusher wasn't too far behind.
"Scully!" he yelled, grabbing her forearms. "Listen to me. Take a deep breath and calm down." Their eyes met and she nodded. Closing them, she began to take deep breaths. Mulder could feel her heart rate drop a bit. Good, she's getting a hold of herself. "Okay. You all right?"
"Ah-uh." She whispered, her voice so quiet Mulder barely heard her.
"We'll try this another way. What's the last thing you remember?"
With her eyes still closed, he watched her brows furry in concentration as she began to think. She yawned.
They shot open. "We were in a field. We were watching this ship or aircraft above us. I kept thinking this isn't possible. 'Please don't let Mulder be right' and then a light shined on top of us. You pulled me into your arms. And," she paused. "that's it, isn't it?"
He nodded and said nothing.
"We were abducted." He could hear the anger and fear in her voice. God, he hated it when she was in pain. But he only nodded, his eyes never leaving hers.
She was shaking again and Mulder pulled her tighter in his arms. He prayed that they didn't experiment on her--like the last time. He hoped there were no gaps in her memories-gaps that masked hidden memories of untold horrors. He hoped with all his heart that she was in stasis the whole time--like him.
After a few minutes, she pulled herself together again and slowly backed away from Mulder. As much as he wished he could hold her like that always, he knew she needed the distance to balance herself.
But he kept his arm around her nonetheless as he began speaking again.
"Okay, now Scully, this is Dr. Crusher," he said, nodding to the other red-haired woman standing next to them. "She's the one that revived both of us. And this is Counselor Troi, she's the ship's shrink," he said, chuckling. Scully's eyes widened.
"Don't worry, I've already had my session," he told her, still laughing. "She's going to help you with any adjustment problems that may occur. She's done this before, with people from our time, so she knows what she's doing."
"This is real, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is."
"Hello Dr. Scully," Crusher began. "So, were you a practicing physician?"
Scully laughed, grinning at her partner. "Mulder was my only live patient."
Mulder blushed. "I swear they assigned her to me to keep the health insurance premiums down," he explained sheepishly as he looked up at Dr. Crusher.
Crusher laughed.
"I was really a forensic pathologist," said Scully, taking a deep breath.
She straightened her back even more as her professional demeanor fell into place. Before his eyes he saw her change from distraught Dana to Agent Scully. A familiar feeling of pride rushed through him.
My strong and willful Scully, he thought as he slipped off the bed to stand next to Crusher.
The doctor nodded as she pulled out a hypospray. "This," she began as she looked down at the instrument in her hand, "is like syringe from your time. It's called a hypospray. We can inject medication into the body without actually puncturing the skin. I'm going to give you something to calm you down. What Counselor Troi plans to talk to you about will probably be unnerving, and you need to stay calm. Is that okay?"
Scully eyed the instrument suspiciously.
"Don't worry, Scully, it doesn't hurt. I've already had a couple," Mulder told her, sensing her apprehension.
She tilted her head and cautiously nodded, giving the doctor her approval.
Crusher leaned over and gave her the injection. "See? Pretty painless."
Scully touched her hand on her arm where she was just injected and shook her head. "I can't believe it," she whispered as she rubbed her hand.
Crusher smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll leave you in the capable hands of Counselor Troi."
Mulder watched Crusher return to Commander Riker's side.
"Do you want me to leave you two alone," he asked, his eyes shifting between the two women.
"No," Scully said quickly, grabbing his hand. "Can you just sit with me and hold my hand? And not say anything?"
"I don't know Scully, that might pretty hard," he said, laughing.
Ignoring his quip, she thanked him as she squeezed his hand. Scully then turned to Troi and took a deep breath. "So, it’s the 24th century?"
Troi nodded. "2371 AD by Earth's calendar."
"Where are we?"
"We're about 70 light years from Earth on a Intrepid class starship call the Enterprise. The Enterprise is the flag ship of a group of worlds called the United Federation of Planets. The Federation was founded by the planets Earth and Vulcan in 2161 as a vehicle to not only explore and learn about our galaxy but as defensive measure as well." Troi looked over at Scully. "Any questions so far?"
"So I take it, I was wrong. Man can travel the stars and go past the speed of light," she said, glancing at Mulder. "Don't say it, Mulder," she warned. "I don't want to hear it!"
Mulder just grinned and nodded his head.
"That's correct. When you have a chance, you can look search our library and learn the basics," Troi told her.
"Okay, where did you find us and how did we manage to survive 400 years. Mulder said," she stopped and yawned for a second. "Mulder said we were in stasis? Like frozen but not? And was there anyone else on board with us?"
"We're still working on that," Troi said, taking a deep breath. "You weren't abducted by any known life forms in our quadrant. I wish I could help you on that. As far as how we found you? We found Agent Mulder yesterday on a different ship. Once he was awake, we searched for another ship like his and found you."
Troi smiled and patted Scully on the arm. "You look really tired. Why don't you get some sleep and we'll talk when you wake up."
Scully yawned again. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She turned to Mulder. "Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?"
"I'll leave you two alone," Troi said as she turned and joined Crusher and Riker.
"No problem, Scully. I don't think you could get rid of me," he said as he brushed her hair off her forehead. "I'm so so--."
"Don't say it, Mulder. It's not your fault," she stopped for a moment and shook her head in mock disgust. "Sometimes I think I should carry a tape recorder that carries all my standard replies to all your standard guilt trips.
"I chose to follow you-"
"Scully, I dragged you!"
"Yeah, but remember I dug my heels in initially. If I had really thrown a fit, I wouldn't have been in the field. No, I wanted to follow you. I always want to follow you," she added as she sunk back into bed. "No, Mulder, it looks like I finally followed you to the ends of the Earth and beyond--this time."
"Which I'm very, very grateful for," he said as he bent down and touched his lips to her forehead. "Goodnight, sleepyhead."
She yawned, still smiling. "Goodnight, Mulder."
Dr. Crusher walked over to give her another injection. "Hopefully, she'll sleep for at least seven hours on this--unlike you."
"Hey," Mulder said, putting his hands in the air, shaking his head. "Don't blame me. I suffer from chronic insomnia," he quipped as he slid off the bed and walked over to Riker and Troi. "Scully's going to have enough adjustment problems to make up for my lack thereof, Counselor," he told her as he walked towards the door. It slid open and Crusher joined them as the four left sickbay.
"On Earth, our partnership was perfect. She was the scientist and I was the believer. She kept me grounded when I would go off on a wild tangent and she then could fly too, while with me. Scully never thought that life or at least other carbon-based life forms could evolve outside Earth because the circumstance was so chaotic on our evolution. Even after she was abducted herself, she didn't believe. She couldn't believe. And me, I was always ready to believe.
"We are polar opposites," Mulder added quietly.
"Yet, you love her," Troi stated.
"With all that I am," he whispered.
Sickbay
The Enterprise
The second time Dana Scully woke, she was alone. No Mulder, no strange people hovering over her--evaluating her emotional and physical well-being. Just her and her thoughts.
Her thoughts.
She pushed away the panic as soon as it popped its ugly head up in her mind. Instead, she studied the ceiling and was surprised to find that it was completely different from any other ceiling she had ever seen.
No plaster, wood, stone, or drop-ceiling like foam. What was it, she asked herself.
Then she heard the beeps. They sounded oddly familiar and then she remembered her dream and smiled to herself. She always scolded Mulder about leaving the television on when he slept. She secretly believed that's where half of his nightmares came from. She did the same thing with the beeps.
She smiled despite herself as she slowly scooted herself into a sitting position. From there, her eyes scanned her surroundings. She found herself slightly relieved that she wasn't the only spending the evening in sickbay. The thought gave her a sense of security--a sense of normality to know that people in the 24th century got sick too.
The 24th century.
A wave of nausea swept over her.
Four hundred years--just gone. Poof. No more.
And everything she believed in had been left with her life--back in the 20th century. She could remember each time she told Mulder that she didn't believe in alien visitation; the ability to travel in space; why life was so extraordinary on earth and the high improbability of it occurring anywhere else...
The list went on and on.
And she was wrong each time.
She shut her eyes, feeling the tears threatening to squeeze out as a darkness seemed to descend on her soul.
What good was she now when she was so wrong before?
How could anyone trust her judgement when everything she had held dear--science--ended up proving what science had once told was impossible.
Four hundred years. Once she had a life, as miniscule as it had become with her work on the X-files, but a life nonetheless. Now, she had nothing. It was as if her life wasn't worth anything. Somehow losing it, losing that time, took away its importance--its validity.
"At least I still have Mulder," she said softly to herself. And that thought did give her comfort. More so than she would have ever admitted four hundred years ago. Her stomach curled in fear. Sighing, she decided to push that thought right out of her mind. She didn't feel ready to deal with that right now.
Then she heard footsteps coming towards her and she looked up to see Dr. Crusher walk into the room.
"Well hello, Dr. Scully," the woman greeted her with a small smile on her face.
In her hand she held a small tubular instrument that beeped or buzzed as the doctor ran it over Scully's body. Scully watched, finding herself both fascinated and terrified at the same time. So much to learn, she thought as she wondered how that one instrument could do all the things a battery of tests-some painful-did in her time.
Crusher frowned. "That's strange," she commented, running the scanner over her body again. She reached over and grabbed another instrument off the table beside Scully's bed. She turned it on, and more foreign sounds were emitted from it.
"What's wrong?" Scully asked, seeing the look of puzzlement flash over Crusher's face.
"If I didn't know better, I would say you had an extra branch in your DNA--but that's impossible," Crusher said as she fiddled with the buttons on her medical instrument.
For the first time since she had woken up, Dana felt relief. She knew something that these people didn't. She knew of something that wasn't impossible that this doctor, with 400 years of progress in the medical community thought was.
Dana found herself chuckling.
The doctors head shot up and looked at the agent questioningly.
"I do have an additional branch of DNA," Scully said as she swung her legs over to the side of the bed. "Did Mulder tell you of my missing time--my abduction?"
Crusher nodded. "He mentioned something," her voice trailed off.
"Well, once I was returned, I was in a coma. It was determined that the coma was brought on by this induction of the additional branch of DNA. We never found out about its origin or its long-term side effects. So far, it hasn't caused me any additional problems other than the coma."
Scully watched the doctor the woman pondered this latest information. "If you don't mind, I would like to run some more tests with this information. Maybe I can find out something."
Scully nodded and for a moment said nothing. She then looked up at Crusher as she bit her bottom lip. "It could be alien DNA."
"Well, maybe I can find out something," she said and then smiled. "Feel like company? I think we have a very anxious man waiting for you as well as Counselor Troi."
Scully grinned. "Has he been driving you nuts? Let me guess, a call every half hour?"
"I wish it was only a half hour. Try fifteen minutes."
"Yeah, I guess. Call them both. I'm ready."
Ten Forward
Enterprise
Deanna Troi sat across the newest addition to the Enterprise and studied her. Although the red-head was petite, she seemed to emulate strength and control. Troi could feel it come off the woman in waves.
Troi also felt Dana Scully's fear but was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't as distinct as it was earlier. Although this new development eased some of Troi's own fears, she still felt it was the right move in asking Mulder to give the Counselor a half hour before he joined them in Ten Forward.
Troi still felt that this FBI agent was going to have more adjustment problems than her counterpart.
"So, how are you feeling, Dr. Scully?" Counselor Troi asked as she looked over her hot fudge sundae to the red-haired woman sitting across from her.
"Better," Scully answered as she sipped on her ice tea. "Dr. Crusher was a bit flustered over my DNA and for some odd reason that made me feel a lot better."
"Umm."
"I guess, I needed to see some fallibility in this future which is now my life. I used to be the one who dealt with strange anomalies on a regular basis--confronted with things that didn't converge with science," she paused, as if searching for the right words. "I was constantly being tested and pushed into accepting things that I didn't dare want to believe in. For some strange reason, seeing Crusher faced with something that I had faced continously, put things into perspective."
Troi nodded. "From what Mulder told me, you two confronted a lot oddities that even to us, four hundred years later, would have a hard time dealing with--especially in the context of a singular race of beings--on one planet."
Scully smiled. "Thanks, I think I needed to hear that."
"Well, if it any help to you, in your quarters you will have access to all of Starfleet's database. You can catch up on your history, read Efram Cochran's theory on the warp drive and do some reading on the latest medical advances."
"Yeah, that's only 400 years worth of reading," Scully said shaking her head. "It's incredible. I can remember standing in that field, praying with all my heart that it was just a helicopter above us--some new fangled military weapon--and not aliens. God, I didn't want it to be aliens. I needed it not to be aliens. Because if it was, then everything that I had believed in--science--my religion at the time--would've been proven wrong.
"And now, here I am, 400 years later, in a future in which 20th century mainstream science would've never predicted, talking to a woman who, although humanoid, is only half human-and I'm drinking ice tea with her. I keep pinching myself--making sure that I'm not dreaming."
"Dana, maybe I can make this easier for you."
"How?"
Troi pursed her lips and frowned as she thought of the right way to say what she wanted. "Imagine yourself in the late 1800's--Earth. No electricity, telephones or automobiles to speak of--let's say 1870's and someone said to you that in 100 years, human beings would not only have the power and technology to travel the globe in a day, but go to the moon or watch a box that showed pictures of things happening in Paris when you lived in North America, what would you think of them? You'd think they were nuts."
Scully nodded in agreement.
"It's the same thing now. As far as science and technology goes, once you read how these things were achieved and what steps were taken, it'll be easier for you to understand and its effect on humanity. After a couple of talks with Mulder, I did some reading. I didn't realize how upside down the world was in 20th century. I knew of it--like you know of the Civil War in US, but I didn't understand it until I read some articles and checked out some headlines. You guys come from a time when social and psychological change was so frequent and ongoing, it's a wonder that humans survived the 20th century. In a way, to coin a phrase of that time, you were all experiencing multitudes of paradign shifts in how you view the world, yourselves and one another. And with paradign shifts, at least in the beginning, comes instability and confustion.
"What I worry about, with you and Mulder, is how you will adjust to the social changes. That's a leap of faith--not some formula or theory that's been proven and followed."
"I don't get you."
Troi sighed as she pushed her sundae aside. She looked around the room and mentally noted all the different type of humanoids in the room. Off the top of her head, she saw four different types.
"Inter-racial racism is non-existent. Sexism is non-existent. Poverty is non-existent--at least on Earth or any other Federation member. Crime is still around--but serial killers and rapists--almost zilche. Most mental illness is caught at birth and corrected with either medication or genetically. We still have a need for people like me, psychologists or shrinks, as Mulder puts it, but it's more for mental and psychological adjustments or stress--not because someone is hearing voices.
"The dysfuntion that you and Mulder had to deal with on a daily, on-going basis is so rare on functioning planets where there's no war, that it's barely worth mentioning."
Scully sipped her drink and leaned back in her chair. Troi could feel the woman's understanding as well as confusion. It made Troi pause as well. How well could she have handled that much change? One day, the world was a crazy, dark place filled with conspiracies and betrayal at all levels, and the next day, to wake up in a place that resembled Eden in comparison. It would make for a boring world, thought Troi hiding her smirk. Suddenly she felt an incredible admiration for this woman, who in her time had fought sexism and prejudice, to become what she was. Not only to be a doctor but an agent as well? It would take a lot inner strength and courage. No wonder she held her emotions in check so well. She would make a Vulcan proud, thought Troi.
Scully cleared her thought. "I guess, when you put it that way, you're right. But this world--this time--is incredible. Socially, I think it will be a helluva easier to get by, than if you dropped in on the 20th century and had to learn and live by the rules. It's better here. This time yells, 'been there, done that!' to coin a phrase from my time and I can almost feel the wisdom of those experiences here."
Scully suddenly laughed. "Well, Counselor, I've been there and I've done it and I'm grateful for at least that part of my life to be history," she said as her smile disappeared. "What I want to know, is what happened to my family? I left a mother and two brothers and one nephew behind. And I never got a chance to say goodbye."
Troi heard the tremor in the woman's voice and felt for her. How would she feel feel if she were in Dana Scully's shoes? "I don't know if this will help, but we can try and do a genealogical search and see if there are any Scully's left. Who know, there maybe one in Starfleet right now."
"I'd like that," Scully said, nodding thoughtfully.
Troi heard the door open across the room and saw Mulder walking in. A big grin appeared on his face when he spotted Dana Scully and Troi swore she saw a bounce in his step. He was right, somehow, this woman kept him grounded. The change in his emotional state was incredible.
Troi smiled at him. "We have company, Dana."
"Mulder?" she asked as she turned to see her partner walking towards them. Troi then noticed the smile that was plastered across the usually reserved woman.
Troi stood up, smiling, and quietly left the two to their reunion.
Scully's Quarters
1 hour later
Mulder watched his partner as she walked around her quarters in awe. "This place is nearly as big as your apartment," she said as she sat down on the bed. Mulder stood in the doorway and grinned.
"Yep, they are."
"And yours is just next door?"
He nodded again. "No connecting door though."
She chuckled. "Oh well, we can't win them all."
He nervously shifted on his other foot. His heart suddenly felt heavy with guilt and anger. How could he have dragged her into this? She lost everything because of him. Her family. Her job. Her station in life.
She still has you...a part of him whispered.
He ignored it and instead looked down at his feet, fearing her gaze.
"Mulder?"
He jumped when he felt her hand on his cheek. How did she sneek up on him? he thought to himself as he felt his face turn hot. He could feel her looking at him-wanting him to look at her.
He couldn't and cursed his cowardness.
Sensing his self-incrimination, she sighed as she dropped her hand from his face and grabbed his hand instead. He found himself unable to resist her as she pulled him to the bed and sat down. He sighed heavily as he flopped down next to her.
Her hand still grasping his, he felt his heart race. He ran his thumb over her hand and forced himself to look into her eyes.
What he saw in those huge pools of blue surprised him.
Acceptance. Love. Fear. Forgiveness. And maybe a hint of desire as well.
His mouth went dry.
"Scully, I'm sorry," he whispered. Pulling his hand out of hers, he stood up and began to pace in front of her. "If I had any idea that this would've been the outcome, I'd-"
"You'd what, Mulder? Not go? I don't think so," said Scully. "It was your sister," she added quietly. "Besides, its better than being dead. And it's a lot better than being experimented on. I have to admit, Mulder, this was the best outcome, shy of us just having a Missing Time episode."
He stopped and stared at her. "You mean that?"
"Yes, I do," she said.
He felt himself grinning as he sat back down beside her. He turned towards her and pulled her into his arms.
At first he was afraid she would pull away-like she always did before, but she didn't. Instead he felt her small arms wrap themselves around his neck as she tucked her head under his chin. He took a deep breath, inhaling her scent, her being, feeling incredibly grateful that she was here with him. He knew he wouldn't be able to face this new life without her. He needed her.
He always had needed her.
"I'm so glad you here," he said as he pulled back to look at her face.
Her eyes were bright with tears as she nodded. "Me too."
The End
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I'm not sure if this is really finished...or what...I've just looked over it
after a couple of years and I just don't have inside of me to finish it. But,
if you would like to, let me know and
I'll hand it on over, 'kay?
Crossovers X-Files Startrek Fanfiction Page
©1996 Lisa Y. Drexel