Captain William T. Riker of the starship Titan rubbed his eyes tiredly and laid down the book he was reading. He had come off duty only an hour ago and had looked forward to cracking open this antique hand bound volume, a gift from a former Captain, but now his mind was unable to focus on the text. Master and Commander indeed, he thought. He stood, restless, tugging his uniform tunic at the waist, and paced his darkened quarters. During his years on Enterprise, Riker had served as its temporary captain more times than he could count, and thought himself well-acquainted with the burdens of command. But now, over a year since he became master of the Titan, Riker realized how little he grasped the depths of fear and doubt which could beset a starship captain. It was one thing, after all, to take custodianship of another man's vessel - Enterprise would be Jean-Luc's ship forever as far as Will was concerned - but when the ship was really, truly his, the perils of command were brought into a sharper focus.

He sighed, rubbing his beard as he watched the stars through the port. Was it preferable, he wondered, to be Jack Aubrey on a wooden sailing vessel with nothing but wind and sea and wit and courage at your disposal? He bit his lip slightly. At times like this, it definitely was.

The doors to the Captain's Quarters slid open, and the Ship's Counselor entered. She smiled at him in a deeply knowing fashion, as someone who could - and indeed did - read his moods with expert precision. "Well! I see we're enjoying our off-duty time with as much vigor as usual," she said, a coy smile on her lips. Riker grinned sheepishly.

"It was easier when I was a First Officer," he replied. "Captains, I've discovered, are never off duty."

The Counselor smiled. "This one is." She slipped into his arms and kissed him, and Riker felt the tension sweep from his body in an instant. He held his wife closely to him, seeking and finding warmth and comfort in her embrace.

"Deanna," he breathed, breaking the kiss. He gently pushed the hair from her forehead and planted his lips there for a long moment.

"You've got to relax, Will," she said, gazing up at him with love and concern. "I know there is a lot at stake here, but we've been through far more perilous missions than this one and pulled through just fine. More than just fine, in fact."

Riker nodded and slid his hands up and down her arms. "I know. I know, and I keep telling myself that, but this is Titan's first major assignment. I can't help but ask myself: how will the crew hold up? How will I hold up? Have I thought of everything? Is there something I've forgotten, some small detail I missed, something that could jeopardize everything?"

Deanna hugged him to her, rocking their bodies gently from side to side, smiling. "I think you know better than that, Will. I think you've been through enough to know yourself. Trust yourself. Starfleet certainly wouldn't have given you this mission without knowing what they were doing."

Riker eased gently from her embrace, patting her arm. He walked over to the bar and held up two glasses, raising his eyebrows in invitation. Deanna nodded and joined him as he poured brandy into each glass. "It's funny - I keep seeing Picard's grim face, hearing his voice. 'Have you checked the crew assignments, Number One?' 'Are the shifts scheduled properly? What about the engine efficiency reports?'" Deanna giggled at her husband's dead-on imitation of their former captain.

"I haven't shaken him yet, I guess," Riker said, downing a sip of brandy.

"That could be a good thing or a bad one, depending on how you look at it," Deanna replied. "The part of you who still wants to be Captain Picard needs to be balanced with who Captain Riker is, but it also needs to be silenced from time to time."

Riker looked at her for a moment. Then he grinned. "You're right, as usual. And as Captain Riker, I believe I would like to take advantage of a privilege Captain Picard never had - namely, to properly show my ship's Counselor how much I appreciate her efforts." They both laughed embraced again, their kisses becoming deeper and more passionate. Deanna moaned quietly and slid her arms around his neck, pulling Will to her.

"Bridge to Captain."

Riker squeezed his eyes shut and didn't move for a moment. Then he slid from Deanna's embrace and tapped his combadge. "Riker here."

"Sorry to disturb you, sir, but I think you might want to come take a look at this."

Riker frowned, his eyes raking up and down his wife's body with a longing gaze. "Can it wait, Geordi, whatever it is?"

"Afraid not, Captain. I think this requires more than a First Officer's assessment."

"Very well. Riker out." He glanced at Troi, who clutched her brandy glass tightly. Her brow was furrowed with deep concern.

"Geordi's worried," she said. "Very much so." Riker stared at her for a long moment, then nodded quickly.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." He turned on his heel and left their quarters, his carriage ramrod straight, the fearless Captain once again. Deanna sighed and downed her brandy. She decided to take a shower and head to the bridge, despite the twelve hour shift she had just put in. She might be needed, and anyway it was most likely the only way she would see her husband over the next few days.

Riker briefly tugged on his uniform top to make sure it was straight, a habit he had picked up during his time on the Enterprise. The turbolift hum decreased in pitch slightly, indicating that it was almost at its destination. A short few seconds later, the doors opened with a barely audible hiss, revealing the bridge. His bridge, he thought with a flicker of a smile, something he'd waited, no, something he'd chosen to wait for, for many years.

He wasn't sure what to expect, but whatever it was, it must be serious. Geordi LaForge was an extremely competent First Officer, though his first love was still engineering. Indeed, the Titan's Chief Engineer, Commander Whiteford, often jokingly complained that he was superfluous to requirements considering the amount of time that LaForge spent in Engineering.

Will left the turbolift, hearing the doors hiss close again behind him. Geordi, who had been bent over the comms station, caught the movement and turned around.

"What's the situation, Commander?" Riker asked, feeling ever so slightly pensive.

"We've just gotten word that the cease-fire has been broken. And of course both sides are claiming that it was the other that violated it."

"You've informed Starfleet Command of the situation?"

"Yeah. The negotiators should be up here any minute now. I've sent off messages to both the Ruanthians and the Doram asking them to stop before it gets too out of hand, but..."

"Like asking a Ferengi for a refund. Still, it was worth a shot."

Riker turned, facing the main viewscreen. After a moment's thought, he said "We're still at warp seven, right?"

"Yessir," the young ensign at the helm position answered.

"Take us up to warp nine point nine. We might still get there in time to make a difference."

The turbolift doors again opened, admitting the two Federation negotiators that were supposed to have settled this conflict once and for all. The pair, a middle aged Bolian and a surprisingly young looking human woman, both wore concerned expressions on their faces.

"You've been informed of what's happened?" asked Riker.

They both nodded slightly.

"Good. If you'll wait in my ready room I'll be with you in a second."

Riker again focused his attention on Geordi. "Tell Commander KatyJane when she gets up here to have an armed security detachment ready in the event we need to beam down. You have the bridge, Number One."

"What do we know?" asked the Bolian, Shatna, as Riker seated himself behind his desk.

"At the moment, not a whole lot. All we do know for certain right now is that they've started shooting at each other again."

"There has to have been something - some trigger that has re-ignited this conflict," said the other negotiator, Imzadi. "The cease-fire was stable, at least according to the Federation monitors. Do we know how they are by the way?"

Riker shook his head. "We've had no word from them since the original message. One of our priorities is to pick them up as soon as possible. Listen, do you think it's possible to get both side to agree to a peace treaty if we can stop them fighting?"

"It's going to be a lot harder," Shatna said. "I can't even guarantee that we can put a halt to the hostilities. We will do our utmost though."

Riker leaned forward. "I never doubted that. We'll be arriving in approximately three and a half hours, so I suggest that you use that time to try and calm things down with both sides."

"Of course, captain. There's only so much we can do via viewscreen though."

The two stood up, and with a brief "Captain" from both of them, left the ready room. Riker sighed and rubbed his temples. This was going to be a long mission, he could tell.

"LaForge to Commander KatyJane."

The woman sighed, halting in midstep just as she was about to enter Holodeck Four. It seemed her simulation of the Wisconsin Dells would have to wait yet again.

“KatyJane here. What can I do for you, Commander?”

“Looks like the house of cards collapsed again. Better assemble your security team, just in case.”

KatyJane frowned. “How bad?”

LaForge paused. “Bad enough.”

“Understood, KatyJane out.” With a brisk turn of her heel, the Titan’s Security Chief made her way down the corridor. The troubles between Ruan and Doram had been brewing for months, but she hadn’t paid much attention, as their squabble seemed just another petty fight between immature worlds. But the Federation had put a stamp of urgency on the situation in recent weeks; why they did was anyone’s guess, but it was up to people like KatyJane to make sure nothing disastrous occurred.

She scratched her forehead idly as she made her way through the ship, feeling the sudden pressure of command fall upon her shoulders. As she turned a corner, a man came around at the same time, nearly slamming into her.

“Whoops!” said the man, a Bolian. “Sorry about that!”

“Not a problem,” KatyJane replied, smiling quickly. She knew this man – one of the Federation negotiators, though she couldn’t place his name at the moment. That would teach her to merely skim her security reports.

“Can I help you with anything, Mister, ah….”

“Shatna. And no, Commander, I’m fine, just a bit excited as you can imagine, what with the ceasefire being broken and all…”

KatyJane nodded absently. There was something wrong here. Mr. Shatna was indeed nervous, but his manner told her it was more than mere political jitters. His blue head was shiny with perspiration, and he smiled too widely. There was no mistaking the near-panic in his eyes, nor their propensity to dart past her own line of sight, as if he was wishing her away. She could be mistaken, but KatyJane was too well-trained to ignore her instincts.

Subtly, she blocked his path to the corridor, her hands behind her back, addressing him with professional concern.

“You’re certain everything is all right otherwise, sir?” she asked.

“Y-yes!” Mr. Shatna stammered. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must return to my quarters. I have an urgent message for, ah, Admiral Janeway, at Starfleet!”

KatyJane nodded again, but for a long moment she didn’t move. She knew her continued proximity was making the Bolian extremely nervous, and she wanted to know why. Of course, it wasn’t as if she could just haul him off for interrogation strictly on the basis of his nervous behavior, so nothing could be done but to let him continue on his way. She stepped aside swiftly.

“Carry on, sir,” she said. “If there’s any way I can be of service, please let me know.”

Mr. Shatna’s head bobbed up and down rapidly. “I certainly will, young lady! Thank you, thank you very much, I do appreciate your offer greatly, I really do…” Saying all this, he kept bowing to her even as she shuffled past her, and once free of her personal space he quickened his pace down the corridor. KatyJane watched him disappear around a corner, her eyes narrowing. She reached up and taped her combadge.

“Lieutenant NAH, meet up with me in Hazard Ops, will you?”

“Sure. Everything all right?”

“I’ll explain. KatyJane out.” Frowning, she took one last look at the hallway where she’d last seen the nervous negotiator, suppressing the urge to follow him and see what he did. Instead, she stepped into the turbolift. “Deck Four, Hazard Ops.”

Mr. Shatna swiftly made his way to his quarters. Gods, that was a close one! If there was one thing he had learned since infiltrating the Federation diplomatic corps, it was never to get mixed up with security or military types. They had a sixth sense about things, it seemed, and now here he had literally run into exactly the type one should avoid. Shaking his head, he entered his lush quarters, glancing behind over his shoulder one last time. All clear.

“Lights.” Instantly, the room was illuminated, and Mr. Shatna hurried over to the vast bed, upon which sat a sleek black carrying case. He passed his blue hand over its detector, and with a click, the bag opened. Mr. Shatna seated himself on the bed and flipped the case open, revealing a red, orb-like object. Impatiently, his nervous fingers slid over its surface until they found a panel of controls, and sweat began to flow down the sides of his face as he worked them. He had one chance at this, only one, and should even the smallest thing go wrong…

“Are the pieces on the board?”

Mr. Shatna jumped slightly. He was still not quite used to the booming voice that emanated from the orb.

“They are indeed,” he replied. “Both sides blame the other for the treaty violations, just as you predicted.”

“Very good,” said the voice. “You have done well. When the paths are redrawn, you shall have a place of honor.”

Shatna nodded with satisfaction. “You have my thanks. That will be payment enough.”

The voice laughed, a low, quiet chuckle that raised the hackles on Mr. Shatna’s neck.

“Humans have a saying,” the voice said. “Be careful what you wish for.”

Riker stepped out onto the Bridge. He had been meeting via subspace communications with delegates, Federation politicians and Starfleet Admirals for the past two and-a-half hours. He needed to feel like the Captain of a starship once more, rather than a pawn in some political game.

“Status, Number One?” He made his way to the command chair, which was being quickly vacated by LaForge, who then took up station standing next to the chair.

“Approaching Ruan, Captain.”

“Very good. Helm, decrease speed to Warp Factor three. Let’s not come howling in like we’re out for blood.”

“Aye, sir.”

Just then, the turbolift doors slid open, depositing the ship’s counselor. Deanna nodded briefly to her husband and took her station at an observation console. She was about to set to work inspecting star maps of the system when she felt it. Fear. Satisfaction. Gleeful, malicious triumph.

She turned to address Will, but was interrupted by a young, slightly nervous voice.

“Captain Riker?”

Will turned in his chair towards the owner of the voice, as did LaForge. It belonged to Ensign Foxie, one of the youngest members of the crew and a junior science officer.

“What is it, Ensign?”

“Don’t mean to be a bother, sir, but I’m detecting some unusual energy readings.”

LaForge furrowed his brow. “Source?”

Foxie turned back to her console, then faced the First Officer with a look of doubt on her face.

“It’s… it appears to be coming from us, sir. Deck Eight, to be exact. Section Four.” Foxie’s young face grew more bewildered, almost fearful.

In two swift strides Geordi was at her station, leaning over her shoulder. He studied the readings carefully, then glanced worriedly over his shoulder at Riker.

“I can’t be sure, Captain, but these power levels closely resemble those of a cobalt bomb.”

Riker snapped to, pressing the comm button on his chair. “Riker to Security! Send a Hazard Ops Team to Deck eight, Section four. Possible cobalt explosive, use extreme caution.”

“Aye, Captain, a team is on its way.”

Riker nodded, then shot out of his command chair, heading to Foxie’s Science station. “Ensign, as soon as the Ops Team is in place, flood the section with hyronolin gas. That will help contain any radiation, should the bomb go off. Geordi, evacuate that section and slap force fields around all access areas, including the Jeffries Tubes.”

Geordi nodded. “You got it, Captain.”

Riker nodded grimly, then stepped back to his chair, sinking reluctantly into the seat. His instinct in the face of this danger was to run like hell to Deck eight and see for himself what kind of being had the utter gall to plant an explosive on his ship. But it as important that the Bridge crew see him as calm and unruffled, especially Deanna. He knew she was feeling his anger, as well as his wrenching gut, and this was not the time to seek her comfort. He glanced up at her. She was standing, gripping her chair, trying to decide how to tell him the sensations she had detected, and what she thought they meant.

It was at that moment that the bomb went off.

Phaser rifle drawn, Commander KatyJane led her Ops Team of five officers swiftly down the hallway. Deck Eight, Section Four. That was very near the area where she had encountered the panicky Bolian, who was indeed quartered in 8F47. She shook her head in disgust. I knew it, she thought. I knew I should have collared that blue being and tossed him in the brig.

The entire Section had been evacuated, and all was silent and still as KatyJane and her HO team neared the Bolian’s quarters. Already, a team of heavily-armored munitions experts were gathered around the door waiting expectantly. KatyJane nodded to them, satisfied by their promptness, and they stepped aside as she approached the door, flipping open her tricorder and scanning the entrance.

“Cobalt readings, all right,” she muttered. “Not like any I’ve ever seen, though. What in hell does he have in there?” She stepped forward, but the doors remained closed. KatyJane didn’t waste a second.

“Computer, override lock on D8S47. Authorization KJ 101A.” After a painfully long moment, the computer responded.

“Access granted.”

The doors slid open, and KatyJane staggered backwards, blinded by a sudden, purple light.

Shielding her eyes, she squinted inside the Bolian’s quarters. He stood in front of his bed, turning towards her slowly, a crazed smile on her face. KatyJane was startled by his appearance. Bathed in a glowing light, looking as if he were melting from the force of some kind of radiation, the Bolian staggered forward. KatyJane raised her rifle.

“Don’t move!” She jerked her head at her second in command. “NAH, take him into custody. Munitions, get that thing defused. The rest of you, stand back.” She held her rifle point on Shatna as her team swiftly obeyed her orders. The Bolian ignored the bomb team, dragging himself forward stiffly, as if drunk or dying.

“Too late!” he whispered, his voice a hideous, pain-wracked rasp. “It’s done.”

KatyJane frowned, raising her rifle so it pointed directly at his chest.

“Don’t move,” she ordered.

Shatna nodded. “I won’t.”

One of the munitions team members had been examining the strange orb on the bed, which was emitting the source of purple light. “Sir!” he called out. “I don’t know anything about this device! It looks as if it’s…”

A blinding purple light filled the room, and everything that had come before was changed, as if it had never been.

Captain’s Log, Stardate 3143.9. En route to diplomatic mission on planet Ruan. We have completed settling Khan Noonien Singh and the remainder of his fellow criminals on planet Ceti Alpha V, where I have little doubt that their genetically engineered brains and physique will enable them to colonize and eventually master even that hostile world. Mr. Spock feels some trepidation at my decision to leave Khan and his people to their own devices, but as I asked him: what possible damage could Khan do now, with just the barest technology at his command?

I’m disappointed to say that my argument didn’t quite pass Mr. Spock’s strict logic test, but then my arguments rarely do.

“Steady as she goes, Mr. Sulu.” James T. Kirk rose, handing his log recorder to his yeoman, who nodded slightly and made his way toward the turbolift. Kirk stifled a yawn and gazed with satisfaction around the Bridge. His crew was as efficient as ever, and now that they had regained control of the Enterprise after the Khan incident, they seemed eager to double their good efforts, as if wanting to make up for being taken off guard before.

Kirk clasped his hands behind his back and stepped up to Mr. Spock’s station, standing behind the First Officer’s chair.

“Well, Mister Spock, it seems the bridge is in good hands for the moment. Care to join me for a game of chess?”

Spock turned in his chair, his eyebrow raised, his eyes narrowed. Kirk suddenly became less relaxed. He knew that look.

“Trouble, Spock?”

The Vulcan shook his head slightly. “Some unusual readings, Captain. I cannot determine their source, but they appear to be… cobalt based.”

Kirk looked puzzled. “Cobalt?”

Spock nodded. “The normal radiation in this area is suffused with it, sir; such an occurrence cannot be organic.”

“What are we dealing with, then?”

“Impossible to say at the moment, Captain. I need a few more moments for analysis.”

Lieutenant Sulu looked over at Kirk. “Sir?”

The Captain approached his helmsman, waiting expectantly. Sulu glanced at his board as if to assure himself of what he’d thought he’d seen.

“What is it, Mr. Sulu?” Kirk could barely keep the impatience out of his voice.

“A ship, sir,” Sulu said quickly. “It appears to be… Federation, but…”

“Yes? But what?”

Sulu shook his head. “It’s like no ship in the fleet I’m aware of, Captain. Like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

“Captain.”

Kirk turned again to his Science Officer.

“That ship,” Spock said carefully, as if to be sure Kirk understood him properly, “is the source of the cobalt radiation.”

Kirk stared at Spock for a moment, then stepped briskly to his command chair and fell hard into the seat. “Visual,” he ordered.

The viewscreen shifted, and a large spacecraft filled its frames. Kirk sat forward, his jaw dropping slowly.

“My… god…” Sulu whispered.

Directly ahead of them, on a collision course, was the U.S.S. Titan.

Riker blinked several times, and the purplish haze in front of his eyes receded. He stood up, ignoring the slight feelings of nausea that he was now experiencing.

"Can somebody tell me what the hell just happened?"

"I...don't know, captain. I can't even begin to guess," said Foxie, rubbing her eyes with one hand and tapping at the science station console with the other.

"Sensors indicate that no damage has been done, captain" said Lieutenant Ice from the Ops position.

"Captain, we're on a collision course with another ship!" said the rather excitable-looking ensign at the helm. "Veering off now sir!"

"Another ship? Bu that doesn't make any sense at all," exclaimed Geordi, going over to an unoccupied console position.

"At the moment, not much does. What's our status, Lieutenant Jedi?" Riker asked the man at the comms position.

The young lieutenant wilted slightly under his gaze. "Most of the ship is reporting mild nausea and slight dizziness. The security team that went to the source are all unconscious, and the Bolian Shatna...is in a bad way, sir."

"Captain, you should take a look at this," said Geordi. "That other ship is a Constitution class."

"That's not possible. The only two surviving examples are both in Starfleet museums."

"It's a Constitution all right. Oh, you're really not going to believe this..."

The main viewscreen zoomed in on other ship, showing the front of the saucer. The name and registry were clearly visible to all: USS Enterprise, NCC-1701.

"It's veering off, sir," said Sulu, breaking the silence.

"Spock? What can you tell me?" said Kirk, turning towards his friend, who was unsurprisingly already hunched over the scanner eyepiece.

"The vessel is undeniably of a Starfleet design, but technologically it seems to be far in advance of any ship that Starfleet currently possesses. The only logical deduction I can make is that it has come from the future."

Doctor McCoy, walking onto the bridge at that moment, caught the last bit of what Spock had said. He glanced at the main viewscreen and the ship that it showed. "I don't think you need to be a Vulcan to guess that, Spock. Now, I heard something about cobalt radiation?"

"There was a massive burst of it when that ship arrived. Are we in any danger, Bones?"

"Oh, we'll all be just fine. It's the people on that ship that I'm worried about. If they were exposed for too long..."

"The current levels of radiation have dropped to well within acceptable levels," Spock interjected. "I suggest, captain, that we try to make contact with them."

"Good idea. Uhura, try hailing them."

There was a pause of several seconds while Uhura pushed several buttons on the console in front of her, then listened, hand on earpiece.

"No response, sir. Shall I keep trying?"

"Yes," said Kirk. "Let's hope that whenever they come from, they can still hear subspace transmissions."

"Uh...captain?" said Jedi, sounding slightly awed. Riker couldn't blame him.

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

"The Enterprise is broadcasting a signal on the subspace C-band. I think they're trying to hail us."

Of course, Riker knew that he was going to have to speak to the legendary Captain Kirk at some point, but he still found himself slightly nervous. He briefly smiled at Deanna, then stood up from his chair. "Put them on, lieutenant."

Geordi held a hand up to Jedi, who froze at his station. "Captain... are you sure that's such a good idea?" LaForge asked.

Riker gave his First a quick look. "No," he said. "But they're bound to try taking some sort of action if we don't at least make contact, and we can't afford to risk altering the timeline. We've no idea yet of our full damage, and I'd bet my last pip that Kirk would attempt to board us if he could." He nodded at Jedi, who immediately completed the hail.

On the Enterprise, Kirk stood slowly, staring cautiously at the face on the viewscreen. Human, older than he. The man's bearded face filled nearly the entire screen, carefully obscuring the bridge behind him.

"This is Captain William T. Riker of the Federation starship Titan," said the man. "We've... somehow been transported here, from the 24th century."

Kirk folded his arms and nodded, a dubious expression on his face. "I'm Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise. What is your condition? My ship's doctor is concerned with the health of your crew."

Riker smiled. "I know who you are, sir. My own CMO is on top of the medical situation, and we are in the process of clearing the cobalt radiation from all affected decks."

"You're certain you need no assistance, then?"

"No thank you, sir. I'd... rather not risk violating the timeline. You understand, I'm sure."

Kirk nodded thoughtfully, then placed his fists on his hips. "Any idea how you'll get back to your own century?"

Riker hesitated. "Haven't gotten that far yet, Captain. One thing at a time - if you'll pardon the pun."

Kirk smiled slightly. "I see. Well, then. Carry on, Captain Riker."

Riker nodded, grinning widely. "You too, sir. It's been an honor. Riker out."

Kirk stared at the star-filled screen for several moments, aware that three of his senior officers were slowly approaching him from all sides.

"Do you really believe that's a Starfleet vessel from the future, Jim?" asked McCoy.

Chief Engineer Scott chuckled with glee, shaking his head with admiration at the viewscreen. "Och, if it is, then my descendants have done me proud. What a beauty she is!"

Kirk glanced amusedly at him. "That she is, Scotty. And Bones, I really have no idea what to think. It's certainly possible. We've traveled through time ourselves."

Spock nodded slowly. "It is also possible that this is some kind of ruse."

McCoy cocked a skeptical eyebrow. "A ruse?"

"Our relationship with Ruan is quite precarious, as you know, Doctor. Their fear of technology, their reluctance to trust Starfleet... all of this would be quite efficiently undermined by the sudden appearance of what appears to be a Federation starship, especially one far more advanced than ours."

Kirk rubbed his chin, gazing at the Titan with an uneasy awe. "Are you're saying it's not a ship from the future, Spock?"

The Vulcan frowned slightly. "I am not, Captain. I merely suggest it as a possibility."

Kirk sat slowly in his command chair. "Let's go to Yellow Alert, just in case. I want to see what this ship does before head on to Ruan."

Riker watched the Starfleet legend disappear from Titan's viewscreen, then walked over to Geordi. "I have a feeling they're skeptical, and I don't blame them. Any idea how we got here?"

Geordi shook his head. "Obviously, our Bolian friend's cobalt device was more than a bomb. We've definitely traveled through time, but we're at the same exact coordinates as we were. Or will be. We're still in the Ruan system, only a hundred-plus years earlier."

Riker nodded briskly. "Geordi, I want a full damage and casualty report. Have that cobalt device examined thoroughly; you handle that personally. Deanna, I want you with me. Let's go see what our friend Mr. Shatna has to say for himself." He headed to the turbolift, followed by his wife. Once inside, she looked up at him with a mixture of concern and amusement.

"Deck Nine," Riker said.

"Quite a day," said Troi, after a moment. He chuckled softly.

"That it is. Never figured when I woke this morning that I would end it by meeting one of my personal heroes."

Deanna's smile faded. "Our friend Mr. Shatna knew. I sensed his thoughts, just before we were transported. However he got us here, he meant for us to encounter this era's Enterprise, and Kirk especially."

Will looked at her. "Did you get anymore than that?"

"No." Deanna shook her head. "Will, I feel we should proceed with extreme caution, even more than the situation may seem to require. I can't shake the feeling that there is a terrible purpose behind our being here."

The turbolift doors opened, and Riker nodded as they strode down the corridor towards sickbay. He knew by now not to take his wife's empathetic abilities for granted. "If we can get Titan underway quickly enough, we'll leave the system and work on the problem of getting home, as far away from Enterprise and Ruan as we can get. Hopefully, any damage to the timeline will be minimal."

"Sounds sensible," Deanna replied. "I just hope it's enough."

As soon as the sickbay doors opened, Riker went straight towards the Doctor. He immediately saw that he would be in the way, so he decided to wait in the Doctor’s office, knowing that the Doctor would come over as soon as he had finished working on Shatna.

As he watched the Doctor work, he could not help thinking how nervous he had been when Troi had suggested that he should make Voyagers former EMH his chief medical officer. Even after he had read Admiral Janeway’s report on him he was still unsure. But Troi, who had all ready met him, assured him that the Doc was as real has anybody else, and reminded him about Data, and how he came to think of Data not only as a loyal officer but as a friend as well. So Riker had decided to give him a chance. If he did not work out he would get rid of him after the shake down cruise. That was over 6 months ago; he now regarded the Doctor as a fine officer and was also thinking of him as a friend. Just then his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the doctor’s voice.

”All the security team are awake apart from Katy Jane, she banged her head when she fell. She will be ok, but it will be a few hours before she will wake up, and when she does, she will have a bit of a headache so you might want me to keep her sedated.”

Riker smiled. Everybody on board knew how pissed off she could get when she had a headache.

“As for Our friend Mr. Shatna, I have managed to stabilize him, but I can not find out why he is still unconscious.”

Riker could see that the doctor had said all he was going to say, so he asked the doctor to go to science lab two and help the science and security teams all ready down there to examine the device. “It might help you find away to wake our Bolian friend up.”

Then he smiled to the doctor and said “Let me know as soon has Katy Jane wakes up, even if she has a headache, because I will want to speak to her.”

The doctor smiled and said “Of course, but I must admit, you’re a braver man than me. I don’t even want to be on the same ship as her when she is in a bad mood, never mind the same room.” the both laughed then went there separate ways. They had a job to do, and there would be plenty of time later to joke around.

Riker walked in on NAHTMMM viciously whipping the very stuffing out of Shatna.

The Andorian already resembled the very definition of "beaten to a pulp", but the young security officer didn't seem to notice or care as he angrily and systematically kicked and punched the alien around the floor before reaching down to grab the man's collar to pull him to his feet just long enough for a roundhouse. The perpetrator flew through the air before crumpling to the ground with a bam.

Unable to keep his disturbed emotions in check any longer, Riker finally cleared his throat and asked, "Enjoying yourself, Lieutenant?"

Startled, NAHTMMM glanced over his shoulder as the Andorian moaned on the floor. "Yes, sir."

"I'm not sure you should be in here right now," Riker commented, trying to keep on an even keel. "What if the doors come back online just long enough to close and lock you in here?"

"Either I'll transport out or I'll take it out on the doors," NAHTMMM replied dismissively as he turned to face his target.

Now why did WE never think of that? Riker wondered.

"For right now, I'll just concentrate on taking it out on this stupid idjit worthless useless heap of civilianness," NAHTMMM grunted as he ran up to the Andorian and kicked at him as if he were starting a football game.

"Just remember, Lieutenant," Riker said sternly, grateful for a chance to show his disapproval, "the real one is not 'useless' to us by any stretch. I don't want to hear about you practicing your police brutality on him."

"Sir?" The younger officer was genuinely puzzled.

"Treat the real Shatna as you would any prisoner you were not irrationally angry with," Riker clarified.

"Oh, I do, sir. But...how could anger be rational?"

Riker couldn't think of anything to say to that. "You do realize Shatna is a Bolian, not an Andorian, right?"

NAHTMMM looked blank for a moment, then shrugged. "You're right, sir. But I'm not any good at programming Bolians."

Riker didn't know of anything he could say to that either. "You might want to stay away from Sickbay for a while."

At that NAHTMMM turned all the way around to face Riker, a concerned expression on his face. "Is, is...anything wrong with, anyon--"

"Everyone is in good shape, Lieutenant, with KatyJane being a partial exception." The answering wince made Riker wonder whether he could have better phrased that. Did he think she had to have a limb amputated or something? "She has a bad headache," he said in a significant tone.

NAHTMMM's arms dropped to his sides, his mouth dropped open, and his eyes went all big. "Oh, no. I see, sir. Thank you for the warning."

Troi was waiting for him outside the holodeck. Together they continued walking to Sickbay. She looked at him questioningly. "You were disturbed in there," she said.

Riker sighed. "That boy was hitting a holoversion of Shatna with everything but the kitchen sink. Working out his anger, he says. Sometimes I think the human race has grown out of all the meaningless, instinctual violence and hatred we've found natural over the millennia...and then something happens and I see how wrong I was. This is a Starfleet officer, Deanna, and he's displaying an urge to treat a prisoner as if we were all back in the days of the Inquisition."

"He's just working off the anger he feels," Deanna said in her devil's advocate tone of voice. "I could feel his emotions too. Will, he hates to have something like what happened today happen. He feels to blame that Shatna activated that, that device of his, and he's upset over it. It's perfectly natural in anyone."

"There are so many better ways to deal with it, though," Riker persisted. "Talk it out with a friend, analyze his performance and try to improve where he went wrong...even have a boxing match if he likes...Deanna, what if he's not satisfied with the holodeck next time? What if he takes it out on the real thing? That's no way to settle a problem."

"Oh, I don't know," Deanna answered lightly as they turned a corner. "I seem to remember it working pretty well for a certain first officer who had a problem with his father."

Riker blushed and fell silent.

”KatyJane to NAHTMMM.”

Lt. NAH paused in his tracks, “NAH here, what can I do for you Commander?”

”Meet me outside Sickbay in 5 minuets. I want you to fill me in before I meet with the captain.”

“I’ll be right there. NAHTMMM out” NAH winced slightly, “’Headache,’ great.”

KatyJane winced as she walked towards the sickbay door, dressed in a fresh uniform. Her head really hurt, “The Captain better have a really good reason for needing to seem me right away,” She muttered to no one unparticular. She touched her hand to her forehead as the sickbay doors opened.

In the corridor NAH was waiting for her. He smiled at her as she approached then winced when he saw her expression, “Um... shall we?”

Katy gritted her teeth as she nodded and together they started down the corridor, “Now, What the hell happened?”

NAH winced again, “Well, Shatna activated that, device...”

“Yes, I remember that part,” she rubbed her head and then she shouted, “I should have spaced that lousy Bolian when I had the chance. I knew he was up to no good!” NAH winced again and Katy turned on him, “Why the devil do you keep wincing like that!”

NAH swallowed hard then continued. “Well, it seems that the device was more than just a bomb...”

“Ok... out with it.”

“You see, it... it...” This was the part she really wasn’t going to like, “Well it seems to have transported us through time some how.”

“WHAT?!” Katy flailed her arms in disbelief, NAH ducked. “What do you mean, ‘transported through time’!!!”

“We’re in the 23rd century.”

“What?!”

“We...We’ve made contact with the original USS Enterprise.”

“What!?” Her arms flailed again and NAH winced. “Oh would you stop doing that already! It’s not like I’m actually going to hit you.”

“Well....”

Katy looked angry for a second then her expression changed, She smiled slightly then began to chuckle. NAH gave her an uneasy smile. “Come on lets get to the bridge.”

Katy headed off for the turbolift with NAH trailing close behind.

The senior crew of the NCC-1701 all sat around the briefing room table, for the most part still feeling slightly stunned by the appearance of the other ship, the Titan, that was supposedly from the future.

"You know, they never taught us how to deal with something like this at the Academy," said Kirk in a contemplative tone.

"It is something of a quandary," Spock said. "By delaying our journey to Ruan, we may be irrevocably altering the future. But if we continue on our way, there is no way of predicting how this ship may alter the events of the present that we may be able to somehow prevent."

"It's a catch twenty-two situation. Whatever we do, the future is altered somehow."

"I believe that is what I just said, Doctor."

"I take it that you do definitely believe this ship to be from the future, Spock?"

"It is the most likely explanation, Captain. After viewing all the available data, the likelihood that someone has gone to this amount of effort as part of some elaborate hoax is very small indeed."

Kirk looked thoughtful at this. "What do you think, Scotty?"

"I don't understand half of what Mister Spock's scans showed, but what I do recognize is Federation through and through. There's no race that we know of that could come up with something like this. What I wouldn't give to get a look inside that beauty's engine room..."

"I don't think that's going to happen somehow," Kirk said, smiling slightly at his chief engineer. "You've removed all the data from the scans from our computer banks I hope Spock?"

"Naturally. The only copy of the data resides on this data disk." Spock placed a square yellow disk on the table that had a small switch on the top edge. "Pressing that switch will wipe the disk clean instantly."

"Keep it very safe, Spock. If the Klingons or the Romulans were to get their hands on that..."

The Vulcan nodded his understanding.

"So, what do you plan to do?" asked Bones.

"I'm going to ask them to follow us to Ruan. That way we can keep tabs on them and complete our mission. After that, presuming they can find a way back, we are all going to have a lot of forgetting to do."

"The best choice in the circumstances, Captain." The rest of the senior crew nodded at Spock's words, knowing what a difficult position their Captain was in.

McCoy hung back as the rest of the crew left, then turned to the man that was both his captain and his friend. "It's at times like this that I don't envy your job. If you need to talk about anything..."

"I know, Bones. I know."

The Doctor turned and left, leaving Kirk alone. He stood for a moment, thinking about the enormity of the situation that had been thrust upon him, and about how the other captain, Riker, must be feeling. He brought to mind the words of one of his instructors at the Academy, a former starship captain himself, that seemed particularly appropriate at this moment: "As a captain you'll be not only responsible for your own fate but the fate of everyone on your ship every single day. And you can never forget that." Except this time it wasn't just his crew he was responsible for - it was an entire future. Kirk squared his shoulders, and left the room.

To Be Continued....Hopefully!