This story is one that I wrote over several years.  I started it in 1995, and finished it in 2007. Obviously, with the finishing date, I wrote this before "Star Trek Discovery" brought back the Talosians. This story is just short of being a novel, and while it is tempting to type enough in the author’s note here to take it over 40,000 words, that would be cheating, so we will call it a novella. This is non transgender.  It is simply a piece of fanfiction that I wrote several years ago.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

This story also appears on a couple of sites away from BigCloset, under my "day to day" name.

Now, the normal disclaimers. I do not own Star Trek or any of it's characters. I'm just a fan who has loved the franchise since the '70s.

Introduction

Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the U.S.S Enterprise, was relaxing. He was a man who rarely got the opportunity to do so, but he was making time now. He was in his quarters, listening to a composition of his own making, and playing his flute along with it. He still wasn't entirely satisfied with the way it was coming out. The feeling just wasn't quite right. He was trying to get the dynamics right in this one phrase, and it just wouldn't be done!

He shook his head and muttered, then put his flute back up to his lips. As he did so, his quarters wavered around him, as if someone had changed a holodeck program. He looked up, and saw that he was no longer in his quarters. He was on the surface of a planet. The air was hot around him and there seemed to be almost no moisture in the air at all. He looked at the flute in his hands. It was still there, and he was still dressed in his red and black uniform, but that was about the only thing that seemed to be the same. He was seated on a rock, and was not in the least comfortable. He stood, and looked around. In front of him was a small hill. There was a path leading up to an opening of some kind. It almost seemed like the top of the hill had been blown away sometime in the past. He started to walk towards the hill, and stopped. He cocked his head and listened.

There was a kind of musical sound faintly being carried on the very soft breeze that had just stirred up. He turned around and went to investigate.

Around a bend in a path, he saw a plant. It's leaves were vibrating, and he walked over to it. Very gingerly, he touched one of the leaves, as if it might bite him. Part of the sound stopped. "Interesting," he thought. "However, I need to find out where I am." He turned again, and could see the hill, and there seemed to be some activity in the opening he had noticed before. Some person was rising up inside it, as if by a lift. Picard started towards the hill again, and then the person stepped out.

The person he saw was short and was wearing a flowing robe of some sort of metallic fabric. He (at least Picard assumed that it was a he. The facial features were quite soft and almost feminine) had a very large, bald head, and Picard could see pulsing veins underneath the skin covering the cranium.

The person started down the path which lead down the hill, and when he reached the bottom, he held Picard in a long, searching gaze. He seemed to be sizing him up, and Picard was distinctly uncomfortable.

Finally the person spoke.

"Welcome to Talos IV, Captain Picard. What you see around you is an illusion transmitted to you from my thoughts. I am the Keeper, and I am the last of my race. Would you please convey a message to Ambassador Spock for me?"

"Ambassador Spock?" Picard finally managed to get out. Talos IV? He couldn't believe what he was hearing!

"Yes," the Keeper affirmed. "Please tell him that Captain Pike is dead."

With that, the image of the planet dissolved around Picard, and he found himself standing in his quarters. He very gently put down his flute and started toward sickbay. He needed to find Beverly Crusher. He needed to know he was sane before he called a briefing on this!

        

Chapter 1

Captain Picard sat at the head of the crescent shaped table. Seated around it were some of his closest friends. Commander Riker, who had been his trusted first officer throughout his captaincy on board the Enterprise D, and was now filling the same spot with consumate skill on this new Enterprise. Worf, back from his stay on Deep Space 9 under Captain Sisko. Dr. Crusher, who had been more than just a doctor on the Enterprise for many years. Geordie LaForge, who was arguably the best engineer in Starfleet. Commander Data, who had proved his skill, and humanity, throughout his serving on the Enterprise time and time again. Lastly, Deanna Troi, who had been invaluable in her time on the Enterprise as well. She had guided him in many difficult decisions, and he had learned to trust her empathic skills implicitly.

Two hours before, he had hurried to sickbay after experiencing the illusion of a Talosian. Dr. Crusher had put him through a battery of tests and came to the conclusion that he had not been imagining things. As soon as he was certain that he was fine, he called a briefing. Now, he had finished filling his command crew in on the details of his "illusion."

They seemed stunned, but to their credit, they recovered very quickly. "Who is... or was... Captain Pike?" Crusher asked. Everyone looked at Data for the answer, and they were not disappointed.

"Captain Christopher Pike was the commander of the original USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, before Captain Kirk assumed command."

"Is there any reason to suspect that he might have traveled to Talos IV?" Riker wanted to know.

"Negative, Sir. In fact, there is no record of any Starfleet vessel ever going there, and to do so, is the only law in Starfleet requiring the death penalty. That has been the consequence for almost ninety years."

"Almost ninety years," mused Picard. "That would have been around the time that Christopher Pike was in command of the Constitution class Enterprise."

"That would definitely be around the right time," Riker said. "It would be nice to know why Starfleet invoked the death penalty for visiting Talos IV."

"It certainly would be nice," Geordie agreed, "and I'd also like to know how the Talosian was able to send that message to you, this far away from Talos? Was it in real time, Sir?"

“We were able to communicate back and forth, as easily as you and I are talking right now, Mr. LaForge,” Picard stated.

"It is conceivable that the Talosian race has... or rather had, this power as a whole,” Data hypothesized. “That would make them formidable enemies. Perhaps Starfleet was afraid of this power and wanted them isolated, so they instituted the no contact order.”

Picard wasn't so sure, however. "That assumes that Starfleet knew about this power. As far as the records are concerned, they couldn't have, because there has never been any contact with Talos. Not even any mention of it, except that to travel there invites the death penalty. If there was a threat, I should think that we would have heard from them in the intervening ninety years."

"How could they be a threat, Captain?" Riker asked. "The Talosian you saw said he was the last of his race. A dying race can hardly be considered a threat!"

"With this power of illusion, they might, Commander," Data countered. "If their minds were powerful enough to reach the captain's mind this far away from Talos, I would expect that they could do much more as well. The captain said that the illusion was complete, down to temperature and smells. An illusion so complete could disguise a ships controls as anything. A person might inadvertently press any button on any control panel, thereby damaging their own ship."

A low growl issued from Worf's throat at this suggestion. "A cowardly way to fight," he muttered.

"I agree with you, Mr. Worf. However, we need to keep in mind that this is all speculation at the moment," said Picard, mildly. "What I would like to know, is why would the Talosian tell me that Captain Pike was dead?"

"According to our records, Sir, Captain Christopher Pike died over eighty years ago on Earth. He's buried at his ranch in California," Deanna offered.

"That's what the Starfleet records say," ventured Riker. "I wonder if we should take that with a grain of salt. They don't seem to have been very forthcoming with their information in this instance, so..." His voice trailed off and a strange expression covered his newly shaved face. "Could Captain Pike have been on Talos instead of buried in California?"

Picard thought for a moment. "And he has been alive for the last eighty years? That would make him nearly a hundred and twenty. That is not beyond the realm of possibility, and if he has only now died, it would explain why the Talosian wanted me to relay news of his death to Ambassador Spock. I'll admit Number One; the thought had crossed my mind as well, but it seems rather unlikely. Why use such an elaborate ruse as this? I remember in my history classes reading about Captain Pike's heroic rescue of some children on a transport. He selflessly went into the cloud of coolant and pulled them out. In the process, he was horribly scarred and confined to a wheelchair. He wasn't even able to talk anymore."

Geordie shook his head knowingly. "It's a horrible way to go. At least with the coolant we have now, you're gone in an instant. With those old warp engines, it could take years to die. You were pretty much turned into a vegetable. I've seen pictures of some of the injuries people sustained from that stuff, including some of Captain Pike. It was horrible."

"I hate to bring this up, but are we sure the Talosian was referring to the same Captain Pike that we are?" Deanna ventured. All he said was 'Captain Pike is dead.' Do we really know that he was referring to Christopher Pike?"

Data answered smoothly. "I have run several crosschecks. I find no other mention of a significant 'Captain Pike' in Starfleet records. Furthermore, I have found that Ambassador Spock was on the Enterprise during Captain Pike's command."

Riker looked surprised about that. "I thought Spock only served on the Enterprise under Captain Kirk."

Data shook his head. "No sir. In fact, there is something else very strange that I found in my research. About two months after Captain Pike was injured in that transport accident, the Enterprise, commanded by James T. Kirk diverted to Starbase Twelve where Captain Pike was receiving medical treatment. Why it diverted is not mentioned in the logs of the starbase, or of the Enterprise. The Enterprise picked up Captain Pike and took him to Earth. While en route, he died, and he was buried when they arrived at Earth. While researching this, I found details about his death and funeral sadly lacking. For such a decorated captain as Pike, I would have expected there to be video clips of the funeral at least. There were none. Also, there were only printed logs of the trip to Earth. Not audio, and when I searched further, the computer signature of the logs clearly showed that they had been tampered with."

Picard's eyebrows raised. "So there is definitely some question as to whether or not Captain Pike was actually taken to Earth and buried there. But why would no-one have noticed this before, Data?"

"I suspect, Captain, that people were 'discouraged' from probing too deeply into the records regarding these facts."

"Curiouser and curiouser, Mr Data," Picard mused. He looked at each of the people seated at the table in turn. "I think we need to talk to Starfleet about this. We may not get any answers. There may be no one who knows the answers at Starfleet. But I think we need to try."

"Ambassador Spock knows." Worf's statement was filled with a mixture of surprise, venom, and admiration. "It does not seem like Vulcan behavior to hide something like this."

"No, Mr. Worf. It doesn't. But if we are correct, I suspect that the ambassador had his reasons. We will certainly find out." He stood up then and smoothed down his uniform. "Carry on, people," he said, then left the briefing room.

On the bridge, he instructed Worf to contact Kathryn Janeway at Starfleet Command. It took the Klingon only a short time to make the connection, partly because of his own skill, and partly because a call from the flagship of the Federation was handled with high priority. Picard went into his ready room to speak privately. He suspected that anything she might be able to tell him would require secrecy.

“Admiral,” Picard said when he saw the woman's face on the screen, “nice to see you again. How are you faring?”

“I'm doing well, Captain. And you?”

“What do you know of the Talos star group, Admiral?”

The question was enough to make Janeway pause. “I suppose I know as much as anyone. Starfleet Command has seen fit to enact the death penalty in this one instance. I don't know why. I'm assuming that you have a reason for asking.”

“Yes, I do,” he stated. “But first, one more question if I may. What do you know about Captain Christopher Pike?”

“I know he was the first commander of the Constitution class Enterprise, before James Kirk took over. He was horribly injured rescuing some cadets from a coolant leak aboard a training vessel. He died shortly afterward. It's what's recorded in the history books.”

“What if I told you,” Picard asked, “that the history books might not be accurate?”

“I would have to ask you what the basis of your claim was?” she answered smoothly.

He had known she would ask, but all the same, he hated having to explain. One could make the case that by virtue of his mind being touched by the Talosian, he was somehow compromised. Starfleet had made intimated the same thing in regards to the Borg, when they tried to keep Enterprise out of the battle. If anyone at fleet headquarters knew about the Talosians, he could be heading for some very shaky ground indeed. He decided, however, to let the chips fall where they may. He had faith that, since he had not initiated the contact, he could not be held liable for it.

It took several minutes to fill Janeway in on the illusion, and their suppositions in the briefing room. Halfway through, the admiral asked to see Beverly's findings from her examination of Picard.

Once he was done explaining, she sat for some time, digesting the information. Finally, she said, “That's quite a story, Jean-Luc.”

“I'm aware of that, Admiral.”

She looked again at the transcript of the briefing they had conducted. “I agree with Mr. Worf. Ambassador Spock surely knows what is going on. I suspect that I we need to have a chat with him.”

“I agree. You'll keep me posted?”

“If I get the information I'm looking for, I'll do better than that. I'll bring you here to talk to the ambassador yourself.”

He smiled but shook his head. “I assure you, Admiral, that will not be necessary.”

“Actually,” she countered, “it probably will be. You're going to want to know what it was you saw. I know I would, and since this has to do with Talos IV, I can't transmit it through subspace.”

He thought for a moment, then gave one nod. “Very well. You'll let us know when and if we need to head in?”

“Actually, why don't you do it now. The Enterprise crew is overdue for some shore leave. Why don't you take it at home? We'll get to the bottom of this while you're here.”

                          

Chapter 2

It was hot. Kathryn Janeway, recently returned from the Delta Quadrant of the Galaxy, and recently promoted to Admiral, was hot. She was wearing her fleet uniform, but over that was a hooded robe, to keep the hot wind from driving her completely crazy. She was on Vulcan, home of her former chief of security, Tuvok. However, she wasn't here to see him. Her business was at the Vulcan Science Academy. She walked into the building, and was grateful for the immediate drop in temperature that she felt when she entered. The building had no air conditioning, but was cooled naturally. It was still warm, but was cool enough to allow her to remove the robe and fold it over her arm as she went to the young Vulcan woman sitting at the receptionist's desk. As she approached, the woman looked up, and stood.

"Admiral Janeway. My name is T'Vanna. The Ambassador's class ends in 15.236 minutes. If you would like to wait here, he will meet with you as soon as it has ended."

"Thank you, T'Vanna. I'll do that."

The Vulcan woman came around her desk and stood in front of the Starfleet Admiral. "It is an honor to meet you, Ma'am. Tuvok is a distant relative of mine. We are grateful that Voyager was able to return from the Delta Quadrant. I have read what I could about your travels, and am..." She stopped abruptly and turned her eyes down, looking somewhat embarrassed about her outburst.

Janeway allowed a small smile at that. This woman was obviously quite young, and while not gushing about meeting a celebrity in the human fashion, it was clear that she was indulging in a small amount of hero worship. Especially for a Vulcan. "Our return home was due in no small part to your distant relative, Tuvok. He is a remarkable man, and friend," she said by way of easing the young woman's discomfort. "Is there a place I can get some water, T'Vanna?"

T'Vanna looked up, seemed to return from her embarrassed state and gestered to the corner of the reception area. "There is water and cups there, Admiral," she said as she hurried to get some for Janeway. She handed over a cup of ice cold water.

"Thank you, T'Vanna. I'll just sit here and wait for the Ambassador."

T'Vanna gave a small nod, said in the human fashion, "You're welcome," and hurried back to her desk.

Janeway sat down and mentally composed herself for meeting someone whom to her, was a hero.

She closed her eyes and started to think about what she knew of the man she would soon be meeting for the first time. She wasn't sure if she had dozed off, but suddenly a soft, but deep voice sounded. "Admiral Janeway."

She snapped her eyes open, and rose quickly to her feet. There he was, standing in front of her - in the flesh. "Ambassador Spock," she managed to get out. Unlike T'Vanna, she had no Vulcan training to fall back on to cover her awe. "It's an honor, sir."

"For me also, Admiral," he said as he raised an eyebrow. Janeway had the distinct impression that Spock would have smiled had he not been Vulcan. Not only that, but there almost seemed a palpable curiosity emanating from the man about why she was there and had requested this meeting with him. She instinctively liked him. She knew that for someone who had done the things he had done, bringing the Romulan Empire as close to unification with the Vulcans as he had, he must be a powerful personality, but that knowledge gave no hint of the sheer likeability of the man. He seemed friendly! Yes, she was friends with Tuvok, but Tuvok carried around himself an aloofness that seemed impenetrable to people who didn't know him. She had earned that friendship over a long association with Tuvok. This man in front of her simply seemed to emanate calmness, and there was a friendliness about him that drew people to him. It seemed strange, but she wasn't going to call attention to it and possibly embarrass him.

"Ambassador. Is there some place we can go to talk privately?"

His eyebrow rose even higher at the request, but he responded, "Certainly Admiral. If you will come with me, please." He turned and gestured off down a hallway, indicating that she should accompany him. As they started walking, Spock said to her, "My congratulations on your remarkable journey, Admiral. You and your shipmates are to be commended on a most difficult time."

"Thank you, Ambassador." She gave a small smile again, and said, "Coming from you, Ambassador, that's high praise."

"Indeed," Spock said as they entered an office, and he closed the door behind them. Janeway could have sworn that she saw a small smile play across his mouth as he said, "Now that the mutual admiration is out of the way, shall we discuss what you are here to discuss?"

Janeway wasn't sure that she had seen the smile at first, so his statement took her off guard. Then, she saw it play across his mouth again, and relaxed. The man had a sense of humor. No doubt about it! He was teasing her. Perhaps with time, Tuvok would unwind enough to show his humor, she thought.

"Very well, Ambassador. 3 days ago, we received a call from Picard on the Enterprise. He had a very strange story to tell. He claimed to have been contacted by a Talosian."

The slight smile completely disappeared from Spock's face. His only reaction other than that was to sit up even straighter in his chair than he had already been. "I see." was all he said.

"This Talosian said he was the keeper, and claimed to be the last of his race."

"Go on, Admiral"

"He asked Picard to tell you that Captain Pike was dead."

At that, Spock's eyes closed and for a moment, his head bowed. None of this was lost on Janeway.

"I take it you know what the 'Keeper' was referring to. Ambassador, I did some checking and found after some very detailed research, that a Federation vessel did at one time go to Talos IV. It was the Enterprise, under the command of Captain Christopher Pike. You were the science officer on board at the time. What happened?"

"Admiral. Surely, with the research you did, you understand that I cannot divulge anything that happened during that trip. To do so, would be to risk the death penalty. Both for you and I."

"To quote an old earth saying, 'I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you.' Is that it, Ambassador?"

Spock raised an eyebrow at that. "If I understand the reference, that is essentially the case, although I would be up against the same penalty, so it would hardly just be me killing you."

Janeway reached into the folds of her robe and pulled out a blue starfleet envelope wrapped around with a string. She handed it to Spock saying, "I anticipated your reluctance to tell me, Sir, so I brought this with me. In it you'll find that for the duration, information about Talos IV is on a need to know basis, and I am listed as needing to know. Further, I am authorized to give the 'need to know' status to anyone I deem necessary."

Spock opened the envelope and scanned it quickly. He then looked up at Janeway and seemed to consider for a moment. "Very well, Admiral. I shall tell you the story." He then reached out on his desk and touched a button "T'Mar, Would you please do me a favor and handle my afternoon Multitronic Circuitry class?" "Certainly, Ambassador Spock," came the quick reply over the intercom.

Spock looked back at Janeway, then stood up, and came around the desk to the chair sitting opposite her. He eased himself down into it and placed his elbows on the arm of the chair. He put his hands together and steepled his fingers. He gazed at his hands for a bit then said, still looking at his fingers, "There is a very good reason why Talos has been off limits for all these years Admiral. And also, a very good reason why the Keeper would be telling us that Captain Pike is dead."

He paused for a moment and Janway took the opportunity to say, "Captain Pike was not buried in Arizona, was he? Did he ever come back from Talos?"

"After the Enterprise visited there under him, yes. Captain Pike came back."

"Visited there under him. You imply that it visited there again? Under someone else?"

"Yes Admiral. The Enterprise went to Talos IV not once, but twice. Once under Captain Pike, and once under Captain James Kirk."

Janeway almost laughed at that. "Why am I not surprised to hear of Captain Kirk being involved in this? No disrespect, Ambassador, of course."

Spock stopped staring at his fingers and looked at Janeway. "I understand, Admiral. James Kirk did seem to be a magnet for adventure." The hint of the smile was back as he talked about his old friend. "And, of course, the ability to cheat death." His eyes seemed to hood for a moment, but then it was past, and he started speaking again. "Admiral, I must tell you that this will sound fantastic. But you must hear me. Years ago, I told Jim that he wouldn't believe me unless he saw for himself what had happened. The Talosians accomodated me then. Unfortunately, we don't have them to do that now. If the Keeper is dying, I fear that the strain of sending the illusions this far could in fact, finish that process. Therefore, I will have to ask you to simply trust me, and believe what I have to tell you."

Janeway nodded her head at that. "Ambassador. After the last 8 years, I find myself willing to believe just about anything."

Spock nodded. "Indeed, Admiral. I can well imagine. However, after all that I've seen, I still find this on the limit of believability."

Spock lowered his arms, and folded his hands into his lap and began. "While Captain Pike was in command of the Enterprise, we received a distress call from the Talos star group. It said that the SS Columbia was going to crash. We were on our way to a rescue situation at the Vega colony, and Captain Pike was reluctant to divert as this was a radio signal, and the crash had apparently happened 18 years before. Understandably, he didn't divert the Enterprise until we received a follow up message saying that people had survived the crash. Once we received the second message, we warped to Talos. We found several human people there. However, we quickly found that this was an illusion. There was only one human survivor from the Columbia. Her name was Vina, and she had been 'put back together' by the Talosians. We met her in the survivor camp, and she appeared to be a very young woman. Later we found that this was not the case. She was actually quite old, and scarred from the crash. The Talosians did a remarkable job putting her back together, but they had never seen a human before. They had no guide in putting her back together. Her actual appearance was quite deformed.

"The Talosians had destroyed their world with war, and when the surface became uninhabitable, they had moved underground. They devoted themselves to their power of illusion, and had literally forgotten how to repair the machinery left by their ancestors. They needed a race to do this work for them. So they needed slaves. To this end, they abducted Captain Pike and took him below the surface to their menagerie. In it they had many creatures from across the galaxy that they had tried to build a race of slaves with. None had shown the promise of humans.

"During his captivity, Captain Pike was subjected to many different illusions. The Talosians showed how he could create his own illusions to live out the rest of his life. Thus, his captivity wouldn't even appear to be such."

Janeway broke in: "A bird in a guilded cage"

Spock nodded in agreement. "but a cage nonetheless. Exactly, Admiral. Once the Talosians read our records on the Enterprise, they realized that nothing they would do would make the Captain accept this situation. He would rather die. Then, they let him go."

Janeway asked, "Just like that?"

Spock again nodded. "Just like that. However, when Captain Pike was injured beyond the scope of our science to handle, they contacted me. Apparently, they had monitored Captain Pike over the intervening years. They had kept up with him and offered to take him back, not as breeding stock, but perhaps as a way of apology. Perhaps as a feeling of affection. They offered for Captain Pike to spend the rest of his life unfettered by his physical body. And Vina was there. A woman that he DID have feelings for.

"So the Enterprise took him back to Talos?" Janeway asked. "But why all the secrecy about Talos?"

"That was actually the Talosians idea. Captain Pike offered mutual trade, but they declined. They did not want us learning their power of illusion and ruining our civilization. They used it as a narcotic, and their whole society was addicted to this particular narcotic. They simply could not get free of it. They didn't want that happening to anyone else."

"So starfleet instituted the death penalty for going to Talos IV." Janeway shook her head. "It seems to incredible."

"Consider, Admiral. If one unscrupulous person had learned this power of illusion, what could have happened to the Federation. Such a person could make himself Emperor almost overnight. Garth of Izar was sent to a mental institute because he had learned cellular metamorphosis, and could assume any shape. He was mentally unhinged by his ability. This power of illusion would not only allow the person to appear as anything they wanted to, but to make others think and do anything. What would that do to the Federation?

"Yes, Ambassador. I see what you mean. It could have ended our society." Janeway paused for a moment, and then went on. "So Captain Pike has been on Talos ever since Captain Kirk took him back. And now, according to the Keeper, he is dead."

"Yes, Admiral."

"What do you recommend doing, Ambassador Spock?"

                          

Chapter 3

The shuttle touched down at Starfleet Academy. It had been a long time since Spock had been there, and he wasn't sure what he thought about going there now. One of the problems with being a long lived species meant outliving many of his friends. There were a lot of ghosts at Starfleet Academy that only he would see. Kirk and Pike were only two of them. There were Hikaru Sulu, Pavel Chekov, Nyota Uhura, Kevin Riley. Spock would be reminded of all of them, and much as he tried to hide his emotions, they would visit him while he was here. The simple fact was, he missed them, and the knowledge that he would not see them again was hard to take. Leonard McCoy was still alive, although he was not here. The old doctor had finally retired, although he still made occasional appearances at the Academy. Enterprise's chief engineer was also alive in this time, although Spock had no idea where he was. Last known, Scotty was at Risa. Spock wished that he could see McCoy and Scott. He would love to talk to them about the current task he found himself embroiled in. But with all his heart, he wished Jim were here to offer his suggestions.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it, Mr. Spock."

Spock snapped out of his reverie, and looked at the woman beside him. "Indeed it has, Admiral."

Admiral Janeway had quickly gotten the go ahead from Starfleet Command to go and get Captain Pike's body. Much of Starfleet's decision was based on his saying there would be no danger from the Talosians. Once she had the word, she had contacted him, and they had quickly caught the next Federation ship heading from Vulcan to Earth. They needed to get the rest of their team and a ship. Starfleet had refused to let a ship as conspicuous as Enterprise to go to Talos, no matter how much Spock assured them that there was no danger. "Just in case," they had said, and Spock had to admit that he understood their reasoning... to a point. Therefore, they were going to use another ship. Spock sincerely wished it were the Enterprise. Somehow it would feel better if they did, but that was not to be. He turned to Janeway. "Do you know which ship will transport us, Admiral?"

"I have an idea, Mr. Spock. I wish it could be Enterprise, but Starfleet wants us to use a different ship. They feel that while the danger from Talos is negligable, it wouldn't be prudent to advertise that we have an interest in the system by sending it there."

"I understand, Admiral."

At his tone, she looked up at him. She could detect no emotion in his face, and because of that more than any reason said, "But you don't agree."

They had been walking towards the administration buildings, but at her statement, Spock stopped and turned towards her. How to explain to her what he was feeling. He had seen that she had great insight, and that she was trustworthy, but would she understand what he was feeling? "It is not that I disagree Admiral. It would simply ‘feel better' if it were the Enterprise."

To his surprise, she smiled. "I understand, Mr. Spock. Enterprise was his ship, and even though that Enterprise is long gone, it would be fitting for the current Enterprise - The Flagship of the Federation - to bring him home. Is that what you're feeling?"

Spock's eyebrow shot up, and he nodded. As they turned and started walking towards the buildings again, Spock said, "It is gratifying to know that you do understand my position, Admiral."

She glanced at him momentarily and said, "It's a matter of honor, Spock."

"Indeed it is, Admiral."

Seated around the table were the command crew of the USS Enterprise. They were talking animatedly when the door opened. At the appearance of Spock and Janeway, they all stood to their feet. "As you were," said Janeway with a wave of her hand as she quickly strode into the room. She walked to the chair at the head of the table but instead of sitting down, she put her hands on the back of the chair and acknowleged each of the people seated with a glance. "We have three more people who aren't here yet. As soon as they arrive, we can get started."

"While we're waiting, Admiral, I wonder if you could satisfy our curiosity," Picard said. "We're wondering why we're meeting here rather than at Starfleet Headquarters."

"Certainly, Captain. Starfleet security. Once again, it seems that the Romulan Empire has been receiving information that they really don't need to have. Since it is graduation time here, it was decided that, due to the sensitive nature of this briefing, it should be conducted here. Noone should say much about you all being here for Starfleet Academy's graduation ceremonies. Most of you will be asked to speak, so it shouldn't raise any eyebrows at all for you to be here."

Spock was seated across from Dr. Crusher, and in agreement, he nodded his head, and in fact, raised an eyebrow. There was a muffled snort from Dr. Crusher at that, and she quickly turned her head and made it into a cough. Spock merely raised his other eyebrow while Data looked around quizzically.

Crusher was saved having to explain by the door sliding open, and three people entering the room. Captain Chakotay of Voyager, his first officer, Tom Paris, and Voyager's chief engineer, B'Elanna Torres.

"Chakotay, B'Elanna, Tom!" Janeway exclaimed. "Welcome! I think you know the crew from the Enterprise."

"It's good to see you again, Admiral," said Chakotay as he sat down in one of the remaining seats. He then acknowledged the Enterprise contingent, and looked back at Janeway. "What's this all about?"

Janeway sat down in her chair finally, and looked to Picard. "Go ahead and explain what you saw, Captain."

Picard cleared his throat and then told his story. To their credit, none of Voyager's people seemed skeptical, although when he was done explaining, Tom Paris asked, "With all due respect, Captain, is there a chance you were ... uh... "

Crusher jumped in. "I ran every conceivable test on Captain Picard, and could find no indications of hallucinations, mental illnesses, or anything else that could explain this other than the fact that he had actually seen it."

"The illusion is consistent with what we know of the Talosians and their abilities. Furthermore, what Captain Picard describes about the planet's surface and of the Keeper. It all agrees with what I remember of the planet," Spock said matter of factly.

Chakotay looked from Picard to Janeway, then to Spock. "I take it there's much more to this briefing."

"Much," Janeway said.

"Would you mind filling me in then, Ambassador."

Spock nodded and then told his story. Janeway was the only one who had heard it, but he told it in much greater detail as it came back to him. Everyone at the table listened intently; not interrupting. When he was finally finished, everyone simply sat there, too stunned to even speak. Finally, Chakotay looked at Janeway and asked. "So what are we going to do?"

Janeway looked at each one at the table in turn. "We're going to bring Captain Pike home."

                          

Chapter 4

The plan was elegant in it's simplicity. Spock would go to Talos, of course, since he was the one person alive who had been on the planet's surface. Picard would go, as he was the one contacted by the Talosian, and since he was the commander of the Enterprise. They may not be able to take the Enterprise there, but it was thought that the commander of the current USS Enterprise should be there as a tribute to the commander of the former USS Enterprise. Doctor Crusher would also go as they would need a medical officer. Admiral Janeway, true to her word, was going so as "not to miss out on all the fun." Of course, the official reason was that it was her project, and she was in command.

Because of the sensitive nature of Talos, Starfleet was limiting the crew that went to seven. They would take the Delta Flyer. The little powerhouse of a ship was the brain child of B'Elanna Torres, and Tom Paris. They had built the ship on board Voyager while in the Delta Quadrant, and they would both come along as engineer and pilot, respectively.

While Spock had assured Janeway that there was no danger from the Keeper, she had still insisted that they bring a security contingent. The person she had in mind wasn't really a contigent, but he had the strength of such. Worf would accompany them.

Voyager and Enterprise were to be stationed nearby. Both ships were assigned a couple of star systems away from Talos on either side, so they could get there in a hurry if needed.

"Because of the Romulan threat, we don't want to take either ship to Talos. Given what we know of Talos, we really don't want or need the Romulans snooping around there, so we would prefer not to attract any attention there. The Flyer has a few tricks up her sleeve as far as armaments and weapons. Hopefully we won't need them, but if we do, we'll be ready. And with Enterprise and Voyager standing by, we should be ok," Janeway had said as she outlined the plan.

Onboard the Delta Flyer, Tom Paris sat at the controls. He was a bit surprised to find himself going to Talos. He remembered from the Academy wondering why going to Talos held the death penalty. Now he knew, and he wasn't sure he could believe it. Seated beside him, at the co-pilots position was his wife, B'Elanna. She was helping him go through the pre-flight checklist. Both were extremely competent, and meticulous in their work, but with this load of passengers, neither one of them wanted any problems, so they were being just that much more careful. Despite their extra care, they finished right on time. Tom signaled Chakotay to that effect.

"Ok, Tom. We'll be in position in just a few moments. Stand by. Take care."

"No problem, Chakotay. We'll be back in time for dinner," Paris joked.

"Sounds good, Tom. I'll save you a steak."

"Make mine rare!"

Just then Harry Kim broke in. "Launch on my mark, Tom. In five, four, three, two, mark!"

This particular launch was quite tricky. Voyager was still in warp space, but if anyone could do it, it was Tom Paris. As Harry was counting down, Paris was revving the little ship up, as he put it. Keeping one foot on the brake, so to speak. As soon as Kim said "mark", Tom released the fields holding them in place, and the ship shot out of the bay, it's warp field established the moment it left Voyager's. For the launch, Spock, Picard, and Janeway had been standing in the connecting door of the Flyer's 2 compartments.

"Fascinating," Spock said as he watched Paris perform the difficult lauch with supreme ease.

"I told you he was good," Janeway remarked with pride to the two men.

"Indeed," Picard said as he turned and walked back to his seat.

It was hoped that such a warp speed launch would be undetectable for anyone curious enough to see what Voyager was doing. In fact, the momentary burst of power that Paris used to move the ship out of the bay was shut down as quick as it had been applied. The Flyer maintained a warp field, but no thrust was applied. That warp field would keep the ship moving at faster than light velocities, but it would be coasting towards Talos. Hopefully with no ion trail from the ship, the warp field would be mistaken as a subspace anomaly put out by a momentary fluctuation in Voyager's own warp field. In fact, Harry Kim had written a program that would simulate such fluctuations aboard Voyager. They would happen randomly, and would lessen in intensity as time went on, as though the engineering staff aboard Voyager were making a repair. Of course, if things had actually been that way in her engine room, B'Elanna would have beaten a few heads together. There was no way she would have tolerated such a thing, but for the sake of the current mission, she had grudgingly acquiesced to Harry's program. At least it was only a simulated problem. Not the real thing.

"We are on course for Talos IV," Paris said nonchalantly, as he glanced back to Janeway. "Should be there in a couple of hours, Admiral."

"Thanks Tom," Janeway said. "Excellent job."

"Thank you, Admiral."

B'Elanna looked up from her board and glanced back. "Passive scans read the fluctuations from Voyager," she said. "We should have looked just the same as we launched."

"B'Elanna. You have to fix those engines," quipped Paris. "Those emissions look terrible!"

B'Elanna gave him a dirty look, then said,"Would you just get back to your flying."

Paris turned to look at Worf who was seated right behind him and grinned. "Women... Engineers... Such a temper either way."

Worf growled, and then in a low voice said. "She is Klingon!"

Paris turned back around opened his eyes wide, and mouthed an exaggerated "O.K."

Crusher, who was seated on the other side of the cockpit from Worf, saw it, and could barely suppress a laugh. With the dynamics of Commander Paris' sense of humor and two Klingons in the cockpit, this should be an interesting trip. She was going to simply sit back, observe, and enjoy.

Chapter 5

The three in the rear compartment of the ship were speaking quietly not to exclude the others, but so as not to disturb Paris as he flew the small craft in a way it was never designed to fly.

"Ambassador, " Picard said, "Can you please tell us all you can remember about the Talosians? "

"Certainly, Captain. But you must realize that while they scanned our records, we were not afforded the same luxury. We know very little about them. And what we do know is limited observation and guesswork."

"Yet you assured Starfleet that there was no danger. Or at least negligible danger," objected Janeway.

"That is true, Admiral. The danger from the Keeper is negligible."

"How can you say that, if we have so little in the way of facts about them?"

"Admiral. While we have little facts regarding the Talosians, once they determined to not use Captain Pike and Vina as breeding stock, their attitude towards both of them was extremely compassionate. It seemed as though by living out Captain Pike's dreams with him, they had gained a deep affinity towards him," Spock explained.

Picard nodded his head. "That would make sense," he said softly.

Spock nodded. "When one has a psychic bond with another, it is almost unavoidable. I would speculate that if the Keeper has been in such a deep bond with Captain Pike for almost 90 years, he has absorbed much of Captain Pike's personality."

Beverly, from her seat in the forward cabin ventured, "Couldn't that have worked the opposite way, Ambassador? "

Spock seemed to have thought about this, though. "Certainly it could have. However consider one of the things we do know about the Talosians. Their society broke down because they used illusions as a narcotic. While I do not have experience with narcotics, don't people who use them go for the 'ride? "

"'Trip", Beverly said. "And yes, you're right. in this case, the entertainment value would probably be in observing and absorbing the emotions generated by the illusion. Even an illusion that generated intense fear in the Captain would probably be stimulating to those observing. "

"So you don't think the Talosians were looking for the challenge of control and domination," Janeway said.

Spock looked at the admiral gravely before replying. "Admiral. In my life I have had several occasions to link telepathically with non telepathic minds. One might think at the outset that melding wth a non-telepathic mind would be easier for the telepathic mind. Such is not the case, however. The non telepathic mind has no control or natural barriers. Nor does it have any ability to facilitate a meld. This means that the telepathic mind has to do all the work of shielding and melding for both minds. Melding is not such a problem, but it is much easier when both participants can add to the meld. The shielding is where the problems arise. Having to shield yourself from the onslaught of emotions from an untrained mind is taxing. Over time it can become exhausting, and will physically wear a person down. Add this to having to initiate the meld entirely on one's own, and you have a situation which can quickly drain an individual."

"Were the Talosians able to pool their resources?" Picard wanted to know.

"Unknown," Spock replied. "Captain Kirk, Doctor McCoy, and I came across a group of telekinetic people who had developed their powers after exposure to certain elements in the food supply of their adopted planet. They referred to themselves as Platonians and they espoused a deep respect for, and a desire to live by, the teachings or Earth's Plato. Given the fact they believed whoever was the strongest had the right to rule, we were surprised that none of them had pooled their powers and overthrown Parman, their current ruler. They reported that they had tried to pool them. They were not able to.

"I do not know whether the Talosians would have that limitation, however, as they were true telepaths. The Platonians were not. Telepathy infers an ability to join another mind without physical contact. This requires the minds to be in sync with each other. Such a state would be necessary for pooling powers, but the Platonians could not accomplish this even to communicate, let alone overcoming another mind. They were able to project emotions into another mind, but this was accomplished by brute force." The ambassador's whole demeanor had taken on a dark aspect. No one asked for any elaboration on that particular part of the tale.

"With regard to your question, however, Captain. The Talosians were not Platonians. I do not think they would pool their powers to overcome another mind, nor do I think it would be necessary. There are infinitely more ways of overcoming a mind subtly. "

With that statement the participants of the conversation became quiet. Spock seemed to draw into himself. The admiral looked at the planet slowly growing in the front viewport. Picard studied the floor intently. Crusher looked at the three for a long moment, then slowly turned to the front where things were starting to happen as Paris prepared the ship for atmospheric entry then landing.

                          

Chapter 6

The land was hot and dry. The breeze blowing didn't really cool; it just moved the hot around. And, it dried things even more. The only nice thing about the breeze was the shimmering music it carried on it. That was the only sound in the otherwise silent land. Nothing moves or stirred in what amounted to a desert. For a moment, the music dwindled. It lost a note in the continuous chord, then another. The wind was slowing. Then the sky was split by a huge crack, as the Delta Flyer shot overhead, rapidly slowing, but still moving at supersonic speeds. The ship came almost to a stop, then started moving more vertically as it set down in a small clearing. The noise from its atmospheric engines subsided then the door opened, and Ambassador Spock looked out on a world he had not seen in over 80 years.

Spock looked at the pad in his hand and then at the pilot. "You are to be commended, Mr. Paris. You and Mr. Kim. Your course brought us to exactly the location that I requested." Tom Paris nodded acknowledgement of Spock's compliment, then as he finished shutting down his ship, he looked at Spock.

"Thank you, sir. That's very much appreciated." The admiral smiled at this. Tom Paris was very sure about his piloting, as well he should be. He was good. Actually, there were few people who could pilot like him. Picard's officer, Data was one, but to be fair, he was an android. About the only other was one that the ambassador had served with, Hikaru Sulu, and in retrospect, maybe that's why the praise from the ambassador seemed to affect him so much. Paris would, of course know of Spock's association with Sulu and would know that such praise would not come cheaply.

As the seven left the craft, the wind picked up again and the music sounded again. Otherwise, all was still. Spock directed them to the knoll where Picard had seen the Keeper rise up in a lift. They climbed up the hill on a small footpath and came to where Pike's Number One had,so many years ago, directed the Enterprise power, and blown the top of the hill off without even knowing it. There, they found the lift waiting, it seemed, for them. Worf growled at that. It seemed suspicious to him. Of course, as a security officer, it was his job to be suspicious. "We're expected, Mr. Worf," Paris said.

"Why would the Keeper expect us? How would he know we would come?" Worf challenged.

Janeway paused. Worf had a point. Spock answered, however. "The Keeper had been in touch with Captain Picard. Indeed, once I was near the captain, the Keeper would have known, and could easily have ascertained our intentions."

Crusher was doing a slow pivot with her medical tricorder scanning. "I'm picking up a faint life form reading about 50 yards in that direction" she said, pointing straight out from the side of the hill.

"Just the one? " Picard asked, surprise in his voice.

"Yes, Captain, " she said, her voice quiet now. "Very faint. Metabolic rate very slow. Could be a person in a coma."

Picard looked at Janeway and she spoke. "Mr. Worf. Please accompany the doctor as she checks this out. The rest of us will hold back in case it's not someone friendly. I realize that there's probably only us and the Keeper alive on this planet, but that's only an assumption that I'd rather not test."

Spock nodded at that. "Logical" was his only comment.

Worf took the lead back down the hill, then he and Crusher split off from the rest of the group. They came to where the Doctor had pointed and stopped. Lying on the ground, under the bush whose leaves were vibrating and producing a musical chord, was a man with a large cranium, soft features, and metallic robes. It was obviously the Keeper. His breathing was very shallow, and a rasping sound came from his throat.

Beverly shouted to the others: "It's the Keeper!" As soon as they heard this, the others came running. Spock looked at her with a concerned expression. "His respiratory system is shutting down, Ambassador. If we can get him to the ship, I might be able to do something. "

Without waiting for word from Janeway, Spock effortlessly picked up the small being and swiftly carried him to the Flyer.

                          

Chapter 7

The Keeper was laid on the diagnostic bed in the back of the Delta Flyer. Crusher had followed Spock back to the ship, and set up the bed before the ambassador had, with infinite gentleness, laid the small form on it. Then he had stood by while the doctor had scanned him. "There is nothing wrong except that the aveoli in the lungs are simply plugged. He is slowly suffocating"

Spock blinked at her in surprise. "What could cause such a condition, Doctor? "

"I don't know, Ambassador. Atmospheric pollutants, I suppose. You did say they live underground and that they couldn't repair the machinery left by their ancestors. It would take many years for this buildup, however."

"How many years, Doctor? This individual was the keeper of the menagerie when I was here 90 years ago. He doesn't look significantly older than he did then. Indeed. I would say that the changes that are present have to do with sickness. Not age. He could well be immensely old. "

Crusher nodded and made another scan. " You're right, Ambassador. My tests show him as being over 300 years old. I wonder how old these people would live naturally? " She double checked a scan, grabbed a hypo from her kit and prepared an injection. "I'm going to give him some triox. That should help stabilize him for now. "

Spock nodded as the hypospray hissed against the Keeper's shoulder. Within thirty seconds, the Keeper's eyelids started fluttering. Spock looked at Crusher. But she shook her head. "He's too weak for any stimulant, and I don't know enough about his anatomy anyway. I wouldn't dare risk anything right now. "

"Understood, " Spock said. The Keeper's eyes snapped open at the sound of Spock's voice. He tried to speak, but only managed a weak cough.

Crusher shushed him, and said, "Don't try to speak. You haven't got the lung capacity for that. "

Suddenly, both Spock and the doctor heard quite clearly, the voice of the Keeper. "Captain Picard got my message to you, Ambassador Spock. Excellent." The small mouth formed a smile. Crusher did a doubletake at the "sound", but it didn't even phase Spock.

"Yes, Keeper. I came as soon as I could. I would like to take Captain Pike back to Earth. "

"Certainly. I expected as much. I assumed you would like to take his wife as well."

"His wife? Vina. I should have expected that. Where are they? "

"They are both in stasis. One of the few remaining working pieces of machinery. " The Keeper's small body shook in a soundless cough. "The hypospray helps, but my breathing is almost useless. "

"Your body is trying to get rid of the foreign matter in your lungs. You can’t cough it out, though because you can't get enough air to do it," Crusher told him.

The Keeper nodded, then said into her mind. "I understand. Our disease removing equipment stopped working several years ago. I have depended on filters to keep the air clean in the menagerie for many years. Unfortunately, I have had to venture into the unfiltered areas on occasion. And the fire in the computer labs certainly didn't help either."

"Disease removing equipment? " Spock asked. The Keeper nodded, and Spock asked, "do you know how it removed disease? It may be repairable. "

The Keeper shook his head again, "No, Spock. I can only tell you that it was supposed to convert anything not matching the biological signature of the sick individual into energy and remove it from the body."

Spock turned to the door and found the rest of the party either in the front part of the ship, or standing outside. B'elanna said to him as he met her eye, "That sounds suspiciously like a transporter. "

Spock nodded, "Indeed it does, Commander. "

Picard asked, "Could we accomplish the same thing with the transporter here on the Flyer? "

Janeway shook her head. "While the Flyer's transporter is capable of transporting a person, the controls aren't sophisticated enough to fine tune the process that much. "

Torres nodded. "Harry could possibly make the computer do it, but he's on voyager. "

Spock raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to one side. "I might be able to program the computer for such an operation," he said to her.

Torres flushed. "Of course you can, Ambassador. My apologies. "

Spock nodded and looked at Janeway. She gave him the go ahead and he sat down at the computer console. He deftly worked his way through levels of programming until he was in the base code for the transporter. He transferred the genetic code of the Talosians into the computer and ordered the transporter subroutines to remove anything not resulting from talosian DNA from inside his body. "It is crude, but it should work," he informed the others when he had finished.

Janeway and Torres looked through the code that Spock had written, then Janeway told Torres to go ahead and run the program. Torres activation d the transporter, and there was the smallest sparkle around the Keeper. Then it was finished. Crusher scanned the Talosian and pronounced his lungs empty of foreign matter. The Keeper took an experimental breath and almost swooned. "Be careful, " Crusher told him. You're not used to such capacity in your lungs. "

"Thank you," the Keeper said in his own voice rather than telepathically. Then, simply because it was easier, "I will endeavor to be careful Doctor. I would rather not pass out. " He smiled and then very carefully tried to sit up.

"You just lie there. You have to let your body adjust. It has been sick for awhile, " Crusher ordered.

"Doctor. If I don't go to the menagerie, the creatures there will die. They have been without food and water for quite some time now. I must check on them. "

Worf straightened. "I'll go. Tell me how to get there."

The Keeper looked at Worf for a moment, then nodded. Suddenly, there was a second Keeper, standing beside Worf. "This is much easier than telling you. I'll show you." The Keeper lying on the diagnostic bed gave his little enigmatic smile, while the standing one smiled and nodded.

"This is going to take getting used to, " Paris quipped.

"Agreed, " Janeway nodded. "However, we'll all go. Except Worf, the doctor, and the Keeper. "

The standing Keeper smiled and said, "I assure you, Admiral, that security is quite unnecessary. I am no threat. "

The Admiral nodded, but maintained her position. "I believe you... do we call you Keeper, or do you have a name? However, the security is not for you. "

Crusher started to protest the Keeper guiding the others, even as an illusion, but the the standing Keeper raised his hand to stop her. "I see in your thoughts, Doctor that you would like me to sleep rather than guide your friends. I assure you I am capable of doing both. As for my name, Keeper is adequate. " The last was directed at Janeway.

There came a startled, "Oh! " from Crusher. The others looked at her. "He's asleep," she said, indicating the prone Keeper.

Janeway looked at the standing one who was still smiling and observing the others. She looked back at the prone form by the doctor, and back to the standing one. She smiled, then said to the Talosian. "Lead the way. "

Worf started to protest, but at a look from Janeway, stopped. He looked to Picard who shook his head. "Look after Doctor Crusher, Mister Worf. "

"Aye Sir, " the big Klingon muttered, then the others were gone. Crusher smiled at him and said, "Sit down, Worf. We can play twenty questions. "

Worf just growled.

                                    

Chapter 8

The rock tumbled end over end through space. Millennia before, it had been set on a course that allowed it to circle the planet endlessly . It's creators had known that one day, its enemies would once more be in a position of power, and it would be necessary for it's ultimate programming to come alive.

The creators and the enemies had fought each other ruthlessly for many years, neither side getting the technological upper hand, until the creators discovered a type of energy.

There was nothing terribly unusual about the energy, except that it was psychic in nature. It was generated and used by almost all minds. It was this that the enemies manipulated to their own ends. They realized that if they could figure out how to manipulate this energy with technology, they might be able to stop their enemies.

To this end, they dedicated all their resources. And one day, they did it. They discovered how to block it, and by extension, how to manipulate it in other ways. They could now end the millennia long war they had fought with the enemies.

This, they did. However, the creators were not brutal. They ended the war as quickly as they could. The enemies were driven permanently underground on the planet below the rock. And the rock was set to guard against their eventual reappearance. If they reappeared and had technology that they knew how to use, then, and only then, would the rock activate. It would stop them in their tracks. Quite literally.

Below...

As they walked toward the hill, Spock and the Keeper started a dialogue.

"Keeper. The creatures in your menagerie. What will happen to them if you die? "

Janeway started at that, but the diminutive native said to her, "I see in your mind, Admiral that the Ambassador's question bothers you. Do not concern yourself with it, however. I assure you that I have asked myself the same question many times." He looked around himself at the stark landscape. "You found me on the surface because I was 'researching' the problem. I had just about decided that I must release them to the surface. At least here, they would have open space if little else. Certainly at present they have the illusion of space, but when I'm gone, that too will be gone. "

"Keeper. " Picard said with an incredulous look on his face. "Are you saying that you are maintaining several illusions at once?" Picard instinctively knew that the Keeper was being truthful, but it seemed incredible that his mind was so powerful. "How many creatures are left below?"

The Keeper let out an enormous sigh and he stopped walking for a moment. The others stopped as well and looked at him. The Keeper seemed to stare into space and his voice grew soft. "Once we had thousands in the menagerie. My people would participate in the illusions en mass. We became scientists studying different life forms. We studied our... pets. These were all animals. We treated them as pets. We absorbed the emotions from them and learned. We gave them a life like they wanted. We read their thoughts and gave them habitats. Families. Food. Shelters. Anything they could ever need or even want." He sat down wearily on a rock. "But then, we could no longer repair our ships that we collected animals with. So instead of collecting animals, we drew in people. Now there were only hundreds of animals. And thousands of people. The people proved to be much more interesting to observe than animals. At this time. Our downfall started in earnest. We were a race working on fulfilling our own destruction. Now, there were not just primitive emotions to feel. There was what we in our own superiority and... ignorance... called 'primitive thought '. We foolishly considered these people little more than the animals we had experimented with, and treated them much the same. They became our NEW pets." The Keeper stood and walked a few paces away from the Starfleet contingent. He stayed there looking across the destroyed planet in front of him for a long while. Finally, as though coming to a decision, he turned and faced them. This time, he spoke as they did. "As much as we tried to hide the reality of their existence from them, some did manage to find out. They rebelled." Abruptly he started walking towards the hill. "The rebellion lasted for millennia . We fought to keep our pets." The Keeper looked down at this and there seemed to be a look of infinite sadness that crossed his face at the recollection. One could almost think he had been there. "It was not our best moment in history. Those that rebelled eventually beat us back. We retreated into the interior of the planet. What became of them, our history does not know. "

Spock raised any eyebrow at the Keeper's words, then when he finished speaking, asked, "Why were you surprised when humans were unfit as slaves if you had encountered the same condition before? Surely you recognized the hatred of captivity in other intelligent beings."

They had arrived at the top of the hill and were preparing to go down into the planet. "We didn't recognize it because we were no longer looking to our history as a place to learn. Our illusions were so important that reality had become secondary to them. What had been done in the past was eventually forgotten. "

With these words, the Talosian disappeared and the five Starfleet people started down on the lift.

Above...

The rock observed. It watched and waited. It watched the strangers climb out of their ship. It observed as they found the enemy on the surface, then, if it had had a heart, it would have felt it sink when they strangers repaired the damage to the enemy. It searched its memory banks for something pertaining to the current situation. The strangers did not fit the genetic profile of the enemies, but they were helping them. Then, they went into the planet with the illusion of the enemy. This would certainly bear consideration.

                  

Chapter 9

As soon as the Starfleet personnel arrived at the bottom of the lift, the Keeper reappeared. "This way, please," he said and gestured for them to follow.

They went down corridor after corridor of dead rooms. It was eerie how silent the labyrinthine corridors were. There was no sound anywhere. Not even the soft sound of ventilation.

Then they heard a sound. There was a mechanical hum coming from somewhere ahead. As they drew closer, there was a sound of biological origin as well. They came to a door and it slid open at their approach. A breeze came from inside this hall and a smell was carried on that breeze. It had the undertones of a zoo, but there were alien smells blended into the expected smells.

the sounds too, were a mixture of the familiar and alien. They heard a sound of flapping, like a huge bird. They heard screeching from somewhere down the corridor. Off to the right, Paris was sure he heard the lowing of a Terran cow.

The sheer number of creatures was mind numbing. Picard turned to face the keeper. "You supplied continuing illusions to all of these creatures? "

"Yes, Captain. However the sheer number of them have overwhelmed me since I am alone. I can no longer supply the illusions to all of them. Some have died. The ones left were able to cope somewhat with their abruptly changed situation. Those that couldn't cope... I felt each of their lives slip away. I felt them all die." The Talosians voice became utterly flat. And again, the great weariness seemed to flood over him.

Picard glanced sharply at the keeper. " You mean that some of these creatures died because you could no longer supply a continuing illusion for them? How can that be?"

"We supplied the illusion that they were still home, Captain. They never knew they had left their place of origin. Some of them, when suddenly confronted with a markedly different reality, could not understand that reality and perished. Some of them needed continuing mental connection with their own kind. When I was unable to continue the link with their own kind stopped, and these perished. There were mercifully few of these."

Janeway came to a decision. "Keeper. We need to get these creatures to their homes. Since you can no longer care for them, we will help you take them home."

At her words, a bit of the weariness disappeared from his face and a flicker of hope replaced it. "Admiral Janeway. That is a wonderful gesture, but it is not your problem. "

Janeway studied the diminutive zoo keeper for a bit and then asked, "how can you have been in such close mental contact with one of us for so many years and yet not realized that we will help anyone in need? "

"it is true that Captain Pike expressed such sentiments to me through our link over the years, but those feelings might not have been shared by his race. "

"I assure you that by and large, it is."

"That is most gratifying. How would you transport the creatures? "

"I have an idea, but I'll need to talk to Voyager. "

"That is easily arranged, " said the Talosian, and suddenly, without any warning, she and the Talosian were standing beside Chakotay on the bridge of Voyager.

"Wha...?" Began Harry Kim. Chakotay turned towards Harry, and in doing so, saw the two from Talos. " Admiral! " he exclaimed. " how did you get here?".

" I'm pretty sure that we're not here, Chakotay.". Turning to the keeper, she asked, " is that correct?"

The keeper nodded his head and said, " we are actually still in the menagerie, but we are perceiving Voyager and they on the ship are perceiving you. Everything you say and do, they will see. And the reverse is also true. You can communicate directly with them."

Chakotay nodded his head in approval. " pretty slick," he said to Janeway and the keeper. "I take it you needed to talk to me quickly?".

Janeway nodded and gestured towards the ready room. Chakotay gave the bridge to Kim and followed her.

In the ready room, the Keeper stood near the door while Janeway sat in a chair facing Chakotay. "This is the Keeper, " she said indicating the small alien. "We need help from Voyager."

" I'm assuming you're not really here. This is an illusion?" Chakotay asked.

"Unless the Talosians have an instantaneous transporter system of unprecedented power, we're on the planet... Or more to the point, in the planet. We're in the Talosian menagerie." She paused for him to absorb this information. He nodded slowly. The Talosian illusions were complete. He had known that they were, from Picard, but the absolute perfection of the illusion took him by surprise - he could even smell the scent of the admiral's hair!

"What kind of help do you need?" Chakotay finally asked.

"There are several animals... " She glanced at the keeper and asked: " Are any of the creatures sentient?" The keeper shook his head and she said again, "There are several animals in the menagerie that need taken home. We need Voyager to come and help us catalog them and then transport them to their individual homes."

"How many animals are we talking about?" Chakotay asked.

For the first time, the keeper spoke. " there are seven hundred ninety six left alive."

Chakotay looked at Janeway incredulously. " you want us to transport ... Eight hundred animals? No disrespect intended, admiral, but where do you propose we put them?"

A slight smile played across Janeway's lips as she said," not eight hundred. Seven hundred ninety six." Chakotay did not smile. "I know this is not what you were expecting to do over the next... Let's face it several months, probably, but they are going to die if we don't help."

At that, Chakotay's face softened and his voice was quiet as he said," I understand."

"The animals have, up till recently, been experiencing a continuous illusion courtesy of the Keeper. however, he can't keep it up by himself, and this has stopped. It is my thought that we can program the holodecks on Voyager to simulate the individual habitats. I'm assuming that the Keeper will help in that area. It will take time, but we should be able to do it."

Chakotay nodded. " you're right about the time. But we can certainly do it. My main concern, however... You're not really here. This is an illusion. How do I know this is really you? The fact is, you could go to starfleet and have them order me to do this, but I wouldn't know for sure that it was real." He shook his head and sighed.

They talked for several minutes, and ended with Chakotay deciding that he would have to act on his own here. No matter what, he would not be sure that he was not in an enormous illusion. Therefore, he would act according to his conscience. He had done that before and joined the Maquis. He might be about to make a similar decision that would affect the entire crew of Voyager adversely, but at least his conscience would be clear. He was not going to let almost eight hundred animals die when he had the power to prevent it. It was a Kobyashi Maru scenario. He had no idea if it was a real emergency, and he might sacrifice his ship by going to Talos with it, but starfleet trusted him to make these kinds of decisions.

Janeway and the Keeper went to starfleet to inform them off what they intended. Command was understandably hesitant to approve her plan, but they were also appalled at the idea of eight hundred animals dying needlessly. They did insist on Voyager landing on Talos rather than orbit the planet in " plain sight".

Chakotay remained inwardly unimpressed by the fact that the admiral contacted starfleet. He was committed to the plan, but also recognized that everything he perceived could well be an illusion.

Finally it was time to take Voyager to the planet. Seven and Kim used a modified version of the flight plan Tom had used to take the Delta Flyer there. They entered orbit of the planet coasting, and set the orbit to decay after three revolutions, then air braked on decent. It was only the last five kilometers that Voyager used thrusters. Chakotay, from his position in the command chair had given the order to execute the programmed course, then had sat back and watched his ship take over. Actually, the ship had very little to do with the flight either. It was split second timing that was responsible for the entire flight until Voyager's thrusters kicked in at the last moment. Once the engines came on and gave Voyager it's initial push, they were committed. They landed just one hundred meters from the Flyer.

Chapter 10

The rock watched the strange ship coast into orbit. It scanned the ship and saw that the small ship that had landed earlier and this new, larger ship had much in common. In the organic regions of the rock's " mind " it was becoming uneasy. Who were these newcomers? Were they the enemy? The rock searched it's databases for the configuration of the ships. Nothing was found. The organic beings on the ships were probed, both physically and psychically. Nothing was found resembling them there either. They were an enigma. The rock was definitely alerted now. It was faced with a decision to make. There was one enemy below. If they helped him again, the rock's decision would be made.

Below...

Beverly and Worf were sitting in the Flyer, chatting amiably... Well as amiably as one could chat with Worf. They had been talking about the situation Ambassador Spock had outlined for them. Worf was of the idea that it was cowardly to hide behind illusions rather than openly confronting one's enemies. Beverly wasn't so sure. The Talosians were not physically imposing. She could see why they would use their obvious strengths to their advantage.

Suddenly they were startled by an incredibly loud noise from outside. Worf drew his phaser and told her to stay put while he exited the craft. Suddenly, she heard him shout. " Dr. Crusher! Come out here!" She quickly stood and looked outside where a rare sight awaited her. Voyager was coming in for a landing!

"I understand, Admiral. It is an impressive sight." It was the keeper, but not from behind her. From beside. She looked to her right and Janeway and the keeper were standing there. The admiral watched as Voyager finished touching down. Then she turned to the doctor.

"Beverly. Coordinate with The Doctor on Voyager and get the Keeper aboard. Mr Worf. Please coordinate with Tuvok as well. Get some of his personnel and place them on guard duty. We just highlighted this planet for all to see."

Beverly acknowledged her and went back into the flyer. Worf taped his communicator and asked to speak to Tuvok on Voyager. very quickly for security personnel were double timing it towards the Flyer. Worf set one guarding the lift to the subterranean city and the other the were put on patrol around the knoll.

Two medical personnel from Voyager came hurrying over as well. One was an orderly as expected. The other, however, was the Doctor utilizing his mobile emitter.

"Doctor," Beverly said to him. "I didn't expect you to come yourself!".

"I understand, Dr Crusher, but the chance to examine a telepathic species as powerful as this patient is unprecedented! This species from all appearances is even more powerful, telepathically, than the Ocampa! There is no way I can pass this opportunity up." He calmed his voice a bit then said rather matter of factly, " not to mention the satisfaction of being one of the only people who can say they've set foot on Talos."

Beverly laughed at that, and together they prepared the keeper for transfer to Voyager's sickbay.

Underground, Janeway no longer saw herself as being on the surface. She seemed to appear in the corridor beside Picard. He started at her appearance. Apparently, she had been invisible to the others while she perceived herself on Voyager and the surface.

"Admiral," Picard said to her. "if I may ask, where have you been?"

"I brought Voyager here." She replied. " we can use the holodecks to transport these animals. The habitats we can set up won't be as good as what the Keeper can do, but they should suffice for getting them home."

"Agreed," Picard said nodding his head.

And then, everything changed, and Picard was no longer in the city.

Above...

The rock came to a decision. It watched the ship land. It could tolerate that. It watched people start to guard the lift and patrol the area around the knoll. That was no problem. Then however, they took the enemy on board the larger ship and started to examine him. And they treated him for disease. He was getting better. These newcomers were aiding the enemy. The rock couldn't tolerate that at all. It acted.

On Voyager...

Beverly and the Doctor had just given the Talosian a vitamin infusion and completed another round with the much finer ships transporters in removing the pollutants from the Keeper's lungs.

The Doctor was setting up a brain scan. He asked Beverly to position the scanner a bit higher. He received no response. Turning, he saw Beverly standing immobile.

" Beverly? Dr Crusher?". No response. He waved his hand in front of her face. Again, no response. He scanned her. She was fine, but she seemed to be unable to perceive anything outside of her mind. He grabbed a medical tricorder and scanned her with that. There was the normal amount of brain activity for someone responding to her surroundings. She was obviously seeing things. She was moving somewhat, but she wasn't. He could see her brain tell her body to move, and he could see her brain receive the information that she had in fact moved. But physically, she hadn't. It seemed that her brain was off in it's own little world. The Doctor pressed the intercom switch and called his orderly to help him move Beverly to a diagnostic bed. No response. He tried his nurse. Again, no response. This was getting disturbing. He tried the bridge. There, at least someone acknowledged his call, but no voice came through the intercom. He got Beverly onto a diagnostic bed, then headed for the bridge.

The corridors were a strange sight. Voyager's crew was there... But they weren't. Physically they were there, but every one of them was motionless. He boarded the turbolift for the bridge. Captain Chakotay was there, motionless and unblinking. The Doctor ran his scanner over the captain, and found the same readings he had found with Beverly Crusher. His mind was active, but he was unresponsive. When the lift reached the bridge, the Doctor stepped off and gazed around. Harry Kim was there at ops, looking for all the world like a mannequin. He was looking at the ops board, and his hands were hovering over the board, frozen as they were moving to press buttons. At the helm, Seven was seated. She too, was frozen, her hand on the open intercom. The Doctor made a slow circuit of the bridge, examining the crew. All had the same readings. He came back to Seven. Her hand still on the intercom. And the switch was open. She had acknowledged his call. So she was still somewhat responsive. She had to be! He shook her be the shoulder. She blinked and slowly turned her head to look at him.

"Doctor," she said very slowly. "I am attempting to segregate the illusions from reality. I should have it done in a few moments. Please stand by."  She went unresponsive again.

Segregate the illusions from reality? Was the Talosian doing this? Did their scans trigger something? Maybe the scans were perceived as a threat. But that didn't make sense. They should know what the scans were. And the scans he had used so far were all passive.

Suddenly, Seven blinked and stood. She gazed around the bridge, taking in each of her colleagues. They were all immobile and she understood why. She turned to the doctor. "Doctor. I am experiencing an illusion. Even now I perceive that I am in a desert, with nothing to see except sand all around me. And I am kneeling down and my feet and hands are pulled behind me where they are chained to a post. In the illusion, I am unable to move. To segregate the illusion from reality, I have had to tie directly into my implants for perception."

"I see," the Doctor said. "I think it would be safe to assume that the rest of the crew sees something similar."

Seven looked curiously at the Doctor. " why would that be a safe assumption? Each persons mind is different. Some might not be affected at all.". She hit the shipwide intercom. " all hands. Report to the bridge, immediately." She turned to the Doctor. "Obviously, those that are nonresponsive won't, but there might be some that answer." She tapped her communicator and called the Flyer and those on the surface. Again, no response.

"We seem to be the only ones who are unaffected," the Doctor commented.

"I am hardly unaffected," Seven replied. "However, I am functioning."

Underground...

Spock knelt on the ground. He was on a plain, with yellow sand stretching away as far as the eye could see. His feet and hands were tied behind him. He moved his hands experimentally. They wouldn't come free. Intellectually, he knew that he was still in the menagerie, probably still standing, looking at the animal he had been studying. But that didn't help. He couldn't shake this illusion. There was no way to get it out of his perception. He decided to simply wait. There didn't seem to be anything else he could do. He wondered if the Keeper had betrayed him. Considering the current situation he found himself in, that was a distinct possibility.

Jean-Luc Picard knelt on the ground. Feet and hands fastened behind him. He was hot. He was on an endless plain of sand. What happened he wondered. Did the Talosian turn against us? Did he have some hidden agenda? Picard couldn't figure it out. It didn't feel right. He didn't think they had been betrayed by the Talosian. But under the current circumstances, what other alternative was there?

Janeway knelt on a wide plain of endless yellow sand. Her legs and feet were bound behind her. She had been talking to the Keeper And then suddenly she was here. she tried to think if there was any indication that this was going to happen. They had been talking about the needs of the animals for their journey. Why would the Keeper suddenly turn on them? They were helping him! Unless all they had been told was a lie. That was certainly a possibility.

The Magistrate knelt on the plain, hands and feet bound behind him. Never before had he been scared. Even when Chris had held a laser on him years ago, before they became friends... Before the magistrate had even known the meaning of the word friend. At that point he wasn't scared. He simply figured if he died, his purpose was served. Now he was unable to break the illusion he was currently experiencing. That meant that he was under the influence of a mind more powerful than his own. That scared him. He knew how powerful his mind was. If there was one more powerful... He was very scared.

Chapter 11

The Doctor displayed a look of horror on his face. These people were all friends of his. How could he pull them out of these illusions. If they were perceiving the same illusion that Seven was, would they even be able to eat? What about sleep? He would have to figure out a way to disconnect them from whatever was influencing their minds. Seven had walked over to the communications console. The doctor realized that he had been ignoring something. There was an insistent beeping from the board. A call was coming in! But from another ship, not from anyone on Talos.

Seven turned on the overhead speakers. "... calling Voyager. Come in Voyager. Repeat: This is USS Enterprise calling Voyager. We lost your signal. Please respond! Enterprise calling Voyager. come in Voyager!"

Seven pressed the transmit button. "This is Seven of Nine, on board USS Voyager. We have had an incident on board. Please let me speak to Commander Riker." She looked at the Doctor who had joined her at the communications board. "At least they'll know what has happened. And they may very well have some ideas."

The Doctor nodded but before he could say anything, the ships speakers came to life with the voice of Commander William Riker whose image appeared on the main viewer. "Riker here. What's going on there Seven? We had agreed on hourly reports, and the first one was being made when it just stopped."

"That is understandable, Commander. All personnel other than myself and the Doctor appear to be under the influence of an illusion. The organic parts of my mind are receiving an illusion, but I am able to filter it out of my perception. I think it is likely that the illusion I perceive is the same as the rest of the crew."

"I take it that Captain Picard and the rest of the Flyer's crew are similarly effected?"

"Dr Crusher is aboard Voyager, Commander," the Doctor said. "She was the first one I saw succumb. We haven't been able to raise the others."

"I see." Riker's voice was ice. "Is the Talosian causing this?"

"Commander. Someone is approaching in the illusion." Seven's voice sounded a long way off as she tuned into the illusion. "It looks like the Keeper, but it is not him. He is dressed similarly, and certainly looks like he's of the same race. He's saying something now. 'We have watched you. You are helping the enemy. Therefore we have stopped you.'" She raised her voice and asked the being as it turned away, "Who is the enemy? Who are you? We were told that there were no more Talosians! He isn't responding at all, Commander. He is walking away. He's gone now. He just faded as he was walking away."

"'We have watched you. You are helping the enemy. Therefore we have stopped you.' That's all he said?" Riker asked.

"Yes sir. That is all he said."

"Who is the enemy?" Riker asked to no one in particular. He looked around at the bridge personnel on Voyager, each one totally oblivious to everything happening in reality. "Seven, find out if anyone is unaffected on the planet. Doctor, see if you can find out how these illusions work. See if you can disrupt them in any way. Both of you, send the data that you collect to our Mr. Data. I'm placing him on this problem exclusively." Riker paused a moment and fixed both of them with a look. "Let's figure this out and get our friends freed."

Seven inclined her head, and the Doctor replied gravely, "Yes, Sir". Both of them turned away as Riker severed the connection.

On board Voyager...

Seven started toward the turbolift as the connection with Enterprise ended. "I am assuming that you are going to see if anyone else is unaffected," the Doctor said to her. "I'm going to need to run some scans on you before very long, so please hurry back."

Seven paused before entering the turbolift. She glanced at the Doctor, then nodded her head slightly. "I will hurry, Doctor. Before I return, however, I would suggest that you run some scans on as many of the crew as you can. It might be prudent to get some baseline readings on as many different species as possible."

The Doctor nodded. "I agree. However, it will eventually be necessary to see how your implants are allowing you to move the illusions out of your immediate perception"

Seven nodded once more, then left the bridge. The Doctor turned to Harry Kim, and started taking detailed scans.

Underground...

Seven stepped out of the lift and shone her light at the floor. There were barely perceptible tracks leading to the left. Logically, she followed them. There was no sound except the echo of her footsteps. Had Seven been fully human, she would have had an emotional response to the emptiness. Actually, she was outwardly even more unemotional than she would normally be. Because her biological components were susceptible to the illusion being transmitted to her, that part of her was essentially being suppressed. The part that was active, was the computerized part. That part could ignore the illusions. Her human brain was just as good a receiver of illusion as anyone else's. She was having to give a very large part of her consciousness under the control of her implants. She doubted that the Doctor would be able to find a way to free the others through studying her. They didn't have the technological distinctions that she had.

Finally, after walking close to two kilometers, she started to hear the whisper of air filtration equipment. On the moving air, came smells as well. She could sense a large number of different creatures through their smells. She sensed that her organic part considered some of the smells unpleasant. However, this was the least of her organic self's worries. Then she realized something of importance. Her organic self WAS aware of the smells. She paused and devoted more of her processing power to perceiving the illusion. The smells were not a part of the illusion. Nor were they being incorporated into the illusion. If she placed enough of her attention on the illusion, the smells appeared to be gone. But she could detect the odors with both her implants and her olfactory system. That would be something to tell the Doctor. Apparently, her sensory organs were unaffected. As well, part of her brain sensed reality still. She decided to see if vision were affected the same way and was rewarded with an affirmative. She started walking again, but devoted part of her consciousness to examining her senses and how much of the brain was actually being affected by the illusion.

By tapping into her organic systems in different locations, Seven discovered that her organic consciousness was where the illusion was happening. This did nothing to help her overcome the problem, but it was interesting to note. She allowed as much of her organic systems as possible to handle their own sensory input, and then shunted the input into her inorganic systems for final integration into her consciousness. She found that this allowed as much of her personality as possible to remain in the forefront, but her inorganic consciousness was the main component controlling her now. The result was a Seven of Nine who was, if possible, more aloof than she normally was. She wasn't going to win any friends this way, and she recognized that fact, although dimly. But, until the Doctor, Data, and she, managed to stop the illusions in some way, there weren't any people with whom friends could be made. So, it didn't much matter. "Good," she thought. And then, she realized something else. Her psyche was being split, not unlike a schizophrenic person's would be. It was almost as if there was a section of her consciousness that was compartmentalized, away from the rest, and this was the section of her mind that was being controlled by the illusion. To bypass the illusion, she had separated her consciousness into two parts. One, the organic, had what amounted to virtual sensory input and output. The inorganic had its input and output as her actual body. She wondered if it would be possible to, in effect, separate her organic consciousness into a virtual machine and a physical. The virtual machine would be the part that had the illusion as its sensory input and output. She thought she might be able to split off an organic consciousness that was rooted in reality. It might take some time, but it would be worth it.

She rounded a corner, and came upon the party from the Delta Flyer standing in front of a cage. In it, was a creature that looked like a Terran kangaroo, but it had definite Saurian features. It, like the humanoids, was completely motionless. It stood unblinking, gazing at the Vulcan Ambassador. It was eerie, the way they stood, apparently captivated by each other's eyes. And the others stood by, as if looking at some incredible happening. They might have been a waxworks display, standing unmoving. But each displayed it's life by breathing. Seven scanned each one, and found that life signs were normal, aside from an elevated level of dopamine in their brains.

She hated leaving the party here, but saw little choice in it. She eased each one off their feet and made them as comfortable as she could, but in the end could do little to help them. The diminutive keeper was the last one she lowered to the floor. She gazed for a moment into his eyes. The fact that he too was apparently lost in illusion seemed to indicate that he was not at fault for this situation. As she hurried towards the surface, she considered the possibility that they were up against a mental power that was able to overcome the considerable mental prowess of the Talosians. That was a very disturbing thought. Very disturbing indeed.

                          

Chapter 12

Ambassador Spock sat. He looked across the plain. The Talosian had come and gone. It was definitely of the same species as the Keeper, but he had never before seen this one. This strange Talosian had said they were aiding the enemy. What did that mean? Was this new Talosian enemies with the creatures of the Menagerie? Was he an enemy of the Talosians that he was familiar with? He reached out to the Keeper with his mind. He didn’t know if he could find him, but he tried. He felt Picard, Janeway, Paris, B’ Elanna… They all seemed to be in the same situation he was in. Curious.

As he explored his companions’ consciousnesses, he found that they too, were immobile. He couldn’t find the Keeper, however. Then he realized…. He would have to stretch his mind farther if he was to reach the familiar mind. The Keeper wasn’t really beside Spock. Just an illusion of him. He reached farther, and found him onboard Voyager, in sickbay. He was there, his mind as active as ever. Spock touched it gingerly. He wasn’t sure what he would find, but he suspected that the Keeper was not at fault for what was happening. None of it made sense, unless the Keeper had lied. Spock admitted that, given the power of the Talosian mind, this was possible. He certainly could have deceived Spock, but it would have taken an incredible amount of effort.

Spock touched the Talosian mind and requested a full link. The Keeper agreed, and their minds merged. Suddenly, Spock knew Captain Pike in a way he never had. He saw, through Pike’s eyes, a young as a lieutenant, newly assigned to Enterprise, and still struggling to control his emotions. Had he really smiled like that? He hadn’t realized, but then, perhaps Pike had read more emotion in than Spock had really shown. ‘No, Spock. You really DID smile that much.’ The thought came from the Keeper’s mind, but it was definitely Captain Pike’s amused voice.

“Interesting,” Spock thought. “The Keeper must have absorbed an enormous amount of Captain Pike’s personality over the years. It’s almost as if the Captain is still here, talking to me.”

“Yes, Spock. I did absorb much of Chris’ personality over the years. But that is not the only reason why you hear his voice.” That was in the Keeper’s own voice.

“Indeed,” Spock projected to the Keeper. “What other reason is there?” Spock knew that there were more pressing things to discuss with the Keeper, but his curiosity, never far from the surface, was asserting itself once again.

“Later, Spock. For right now, we must figure out what is happening to us. I have probed the minds on this ship, and have discovered that each is being affected by the same illusion that I perceive.”

“Fascinating.” Spock considered for a moment. Then, “How are we separate individuals in the meld? In my experience, a meld this deep involves a merging of consciousness.”

“Not for a Talosian. We have a way of compartmentalizing our minds. You are joined to my mind, but that section of my mind is only being used right now for a connection to you. It does not contain my consciousness. I do not wish to overwhelm you with my thoughts, so I considered that this might be the best way of communication between us.”

“Indeed.” Spock was mildly perturbed that the Talosian was condescending to him, but given the obvious power of his mind, he was undoubtedly correct that his thoughts could very well be overwhelming. “I would assume that those of us who are underground are all being affected in the same way too. I saw a Talosian earlier. He said that we were aiding the enemy. Who is the enemy?”

The Magistrate considered before he answered. There was the possibility that he was wrong, but he doubted it. Spock must know the truth. Chris had known, and he didn’t think less of the Talosian for it, so it was doubtful that Spock would either. “That will take some time to explain, Spock. Many years ago, Talos was at war. You know this, but what you don’t yet know is that we were at war with ourselves. The ‘pets’ that beat us back… They were not just pets. They were not just intelligent creatures. They were us. There were those of us who did not have the ability to project illusions into the minds of others. They were looked down on, and treated as ‘less than’ the rest of us. At first, this prejudice was not the case, but as time went on experiments were performed on these people. These experiments were intended with the purest of scientific motives. We wished to learn why some of us had the ability and others didn’t. But as time went on, these people became less than people… They became test subjects only. Then, horribly, they became the property of the laboratories that were performing the experiments. We fooled ourselves into thinking we were purely scientists by making life as comfortable for these people as we possibly could. What we didn’t realize, however, is that some of them were born immune to our abilities. We couldn’t project into their minds. These people went into hiding, and they started experimenting on us! They quickly learned how to shield against our projections, so we couldn’t do anything to stop them. They developed a purely artificial means of projecting what we did naturally. And not only did they give themselves the ability artificially, but it was more powerful than our own. With the turn of a dial, they could amplify their abilities enormously.”

The Keeper paused for a moment and Spock could feel the emotions raging through him. Finally, he resumed in his narrative. “In the first strike, they decimated our population. We lost many good people in that attack. Years ago, we expressed to Chris, surprise that human beings were so horrified at being kept in a cage. We had seen this horror before, however. We had seen it in ourselves. What we didn’t know is that others shared this resistance.” The Keeper stopped talking and simply looked at Spock for a long while, as if daring Spock to judge him.

Spock, for his part, was unwilling to judge. His own history was so violent, that he refused to say anything. The Keeper finally broke his silence. “This must seem horrifying to you - that any race could do this to itself.”

“No, Magistrate. If you look into my mind deeper, you will see that Vulcans have a particularly long and bloody history. It is not my place to judge your race when mine was so badly behaved before we discovered logic to temper us.”

Suddenly, both Spock and The Keeper sensed a new mind tentatively reaching out to touch them. It was fleeting at first, but the touch became more and more substantial. The Keeper recoiled in horror at the first sensing of this mind, but intellectually, he knew that this mind was safe to touch. Very carefully, the Keeper drew the mind in. Part of him kept screaming, ‘artificial!’ But it was the artificial aspects of Seven that allowed the joining he now found himself a part of.

“You were right, Doctor,” the Keeper heard in his mind, but also with his ears. “Apparently, that was the correct frequency to use. I am accessing thoughts from the Keeper and the Ambassador.”

                          

Chapter 13

“Seven of Nine,” Spock thought to her. “It will be interesting to learn how you have managed to enter this meld.”

“Once the Doctor discovered the frequency of the Keeper’s thoughts, it was not hard, she thought back. What is your status, Ambassador?”

“We are undamaged, however, we are unable to connect mentally with our physical bodies. This will prove to be a problem when our bodies need physical sustenance.”

“Agreed,” Seven said. “How long will it be before sustenance is required?”

“That would depend on how long we have been unresponsive,” Spock replied, sounding slightly amused.

“You mock me?” Seven asked.

“Hardly,” Spock replied. “I simply find it gratifying that you have found your… niche, is what a human would call it. Yet you remain Borg. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination.”

“I see. Do I take it that you find it ironic that the ship that destroyed the Borg still carries a Borg as a crewmember?”

“I would not have put it that way, Seven, but I think that would be an accurate assessment. You have truly grown beyond the sum of your parts. You have become an individual in a way no other Borg ever has. You are unique.”

“Thank you Ambassador. Now, however, I think it would be prudent to see what can be done for our shipmates.”

“Of course. How are you separating yourself from the illusion? Is there any way in which we could use your technique to help the others?” Spock was immediately focused on the problem at hand.

Seven considered. “I am certain others could not use my technique. I am separating my consciousness through my Borg implants. I have split my consciousness into two sections. I am using my artificial consciousness to connect my senses to my mind. My organic systems are aware of sensory input, but the part that senses things has been ‘disconnected’. It is as if my sense of self is in a box. Were it not for my implants, I would not be able to function outside this box. It would completely overrun my perception.”

“I see,” said Spock, thoughtfully. And right now, you are able to confer with Voyager’s Doctor?”

“Yes. I am.”

“Fascinating. And you are in Voyager’s Sickbay?”

“Yes. What do you have in mind, Ambassador?”

“Is that a joke, Seven? I have you in my mind.”

“Ambassador,”  Seven’s tone was positively exasperated now. “I assure you that I am not joking.”

“No. I suppose you are not. Were I human, however, I might have found your statement amus…”

“Ambassador, please. We have other things to focus on right now.”

“I assure you, Seven. I am working on a theory right now.”

“Is it possible, Seven, for you to patch me into Voyager’s computer so I could interface with the holographic systems?”

Seven considered. “It might be possible to patch you in so you could ‘speak’ through the ship’s intercoms. That seems like a lot of work for a little gain, however. I can allow you to communicate directly with the doctor through me.”

“That is not what I had in mind, Seven. I am wondering if you could act as a conduit so that I could place my mind, or a copy of it at least into the ship’s computer. This could then control a holographic body, as the ship’s doctor does.”

“I am not sure. Let me confer with the doctor.”  For a few moments, things were quiet.

“Spock,” came the thought from the Keeper. “If I understand things correctly, you are planning on controlling a photonic body with a copy of your mind which would reside in the vessel’s computer?”

“Yes, Keeper. That is essentially correct.”

“I might be able to help somewhat also. With Seven of Nine’s help, I should be able to separate my consciousness much as she has been able to. I do not have the benefit of an artificial consciousness, however, the Talosian mind is capable of segregating different sections of itself, and running what you would call ‘Virtual Consciousnesses’. By building one of these virtual minds, I can connect my sensory organs to it, and transfer control of my body from my main consciousness to it. I should then be able to function. If I can succeed in this, it will show me that I am able to completely segregate that part of my mind receiving the illusion, and I should then be able to help by projecting many of the crew of Voyager through my mind. You would be able to interact with them in a way that seems perfectly normal to you.”

“But that mind residing in the computer would not be able to perceive your illusions any more than they can receive the other Talosian’s illusions.”

“No,” said the Keeper, “but if Seven can maintain a connection to the computer from your biological mind, we should be able to allow your doppleganger to see what is happening in my illusion.”

Spock considered, then asked Seven, “Did you hear what the Keeper proposes?”

“No, but the thought did appear in my head,” Seven thought back at Spock in response to his earlier humor. “I would say that his plan does appear to have a high probability of success. I would recommend that we try to revive Mr. Kim in the same way we intend on reviving you. Mr. Kim is an ‘artist’ when it comes to holodecks. He should be able to recreate any other person we need. The bridge has holo-emitters, as do most areas of the ship, but certain areas don’t. The doctor insisted that he be able to make ‘housecalls’ for those people who weren’t critically ill, so even crew quarters have emitters now.”

Seven explained in detail what she had done to split her consciousness to the Keeper, who performed analogous operations in his own mind. With that accomplished, he was able to tune out the illusion and focus on reality. He sat up in sickbay, much to the surprise of the Doctor. Then Seven and the Keeper set up the necessary conduit for Spock to control a photonic body. The doctor demanded that Spock’s physical body be present in sickbay for observation when they activated the conduit. He and Seven made several trips to the underground city and retrieved their shipmates and the Enterprise crew. The Doctor made them all as comfortable as possible in their quarters. Those from the Enterprise, he put in empty quarters.

Finally, things were ready to go. The photonic body was constructed for the Ambassador, and the conduit was in place. Seven made the proper connections, and the photonic Spock sat up on the examination table where it had been constructed. One eyebrow went up, and Spock said, “Fascinating.”

                          

Chapter 14

“How are you feeling, Ambassador?” The Doctor asked.

“Quite normal, Doctor. Apparently Seven is able to interface my mind into the computer system of Voyager quite effectively. A remarkable experience.”

Seven of Nine was standing at the foot of Spock’s bed. “I am connecting your mind completely with the computer. I should be able to handle two more people completely. However, any more than that, and I will have to turn down the resolution of the connection. My Borg implants are capable of integrating thoughts from several million people, however, pain from other people was never intended to be something integrated. On the contrary; it was intended to be filtered out. The Borg considered it superfluous. As were any emotions. Motor control, however should be no problem, as the collective is designed to be able to control any drone’s body. Consequently, the pathways for that exist, and can be used to link many people to photonic bodies. I will simply serve as a hub, for lack of a better term.”

“There should be no need to transfer emotions to a photonic body anyway,” The Doctor remarked. “Emotions are completely internal in the brain.”

“That is true, Doctor, however the physiological effects of emotions are not,” Seven replied. “But I agree that it is unnecessary to transfer all of the emotions or even the physiological effects to the photonic body.”

“I'm glad we agree,” The Doctor said. “Now we need to set up a photonic body for Mr. Kim.”

“No, Magistrate. I'm not certain that they can, however we need to try,” Spock suddenly said as he was swinging his legs off the bed and sitting up.

“I'm assuming that the Keeper is communicating telepathically with you,” The Doctor said sardonically. “One of the drawbacks of being a hologram. I can't hear that type of communication. I would appreciate it if you would speak, Magistrate, so I'm not left out of what's going on.”

“My apologies, Doctor. I was simply asking Spock if he thought Mr. Kim, or humans in general for that matter, would be able to control a photonic body. I am not sure if the human mind is powerful enough.”

The Doctor assumed his teaching attitude. “I understand your concern, however I'm often surprised at what I find the human mind is capable of doing. And considering that this is Mr. Kim that we're talking about... Well let's just say he's extremely resourceful for a human.”

Spock raised an eyebrow and nodded his head slightly. “Illogical, Doctor, but I learned many years ago from another doctor that illogical ideas frequently have merit.”

The Doctor smiled as though pleased with himself. “Ah Yes! That would be Doctor Leonard McCoy. His experiences are part of my programming. Not his memories, mind you. Just his experiences. I think it would be interesting to see a Horta. I would love the chance to exam...”

“Doctor, we have things to do,” Seven interrupted.

“You’re right, of course, Seven,” The Doctor said. He turned to Spock. “I would very much like to continue this conversation when we are done with this current crisis. If we DO get done with it,” he added wryly.

The next step in the plan was to revive Harry Kim. The Keeper and Ambassador Spock went deep into the meld and reached out. Seven of Nine remained on the fringes of the meld, waiting. She knew Harry Kim, and he trusted her. Harry had only met Spock once, and only fleetingly. The Keeper, he had never met at all, but he would recognize the fact that he was of the same species as the person who had entrapped him. Therefore, it was necessary to keep Seven ready to reassure him that this Talosian was benevolent.

Finding Harry was simple. Once Spock and the Keeper were tapped into the mental link created by the illusion being generated by the other Talosian, Seven reached through it to the minds being held captive within their own imaginations. She found several of her friends, and their emotions assaulted her. She found it difficult to concentrate, so was forced to shut out the people that she knew and cared for, to search for the one mind that she needed most now. Finally, she found the mind that she wanted. Mr. Kim! She said. Can you hear me?

“Seven? Where are you?” It was Harry’s voice coming to her in her mind. ”I can’t see you!”

“I am here, Mr. Kim. Do you appear to be in a desert?”

“Yes! How did I get here? I was on the bridge, then it seemed like I was on a holodeck. Everything changed and I was here.”

“Everything is under control, Harry. You’re in your quarters now. You are experiencing an illusion created by a Talosian mind. It seems as though there is another Talosian that is not as benevolent as the one designated ‘the Keeper’.”

“How are you talking to me, Seven? From what I’ve read of Ambassador Spock’s reports on Talos, you shouldn’t be able to break through the Talosian illusions,” Harry thought to her.

“Ambassador Spock and the Keeper are helping me. Because of my Borg implants, I am able to compartmentalize my mind and escape the illusion. I can help you do the same thing, but only to a point. I should be able to help you break out in your mind, but I cannot separate your awareness from it’s false sensory input. We have constructed a holobody for Ambassador Spock, and we think I can act as a conduit for you to control one as well, if this is agreeable to you. With your help, we should be able to get several holographic bodies online for the command crew of Voyager.”

Harry’s mental voice sounded skeptical and relieved at the same time. “Believe me, Seven; I’d like nothing more than to be out of this desert. I’m not sure how I’ll like being in a photonic body as opposed to my own, but… I’ll give it a try.”

Another voice, deep and soothing came to Harry out of the meld. “The doctor is ready,” Spock said.

“Mr. Kim,” Seven said. “If you’ll follow me…”

Harry wasn’t sure how he did it. He simply wasn’t in the desert anymore. He opened his eyes, and he was on a table looking up at the Doctor’s concerned face. “Hey, Doc,” he said. “How am I doing?”

The Doctor smiled grimly at him. “You’re doing fine, but remember walking down the gangplank is….. walking the plank. It won’t kill you, but you’ll find your brains a bit scrambled and you’ll be back in the desert. You’re a hologram now, so don’t go poking around in any Jeffries tubes not equipped with holo emitters.”

Harry nodded his head. “Got it.”

A couple of hours later, Harry had designed a program that would scan any person on board Voyager and create a photonic body for them. Then it was simply a matter of the Keeper and Seven going into the meld to retrieve their consciousness to animate the bodies.

Spock contacted Enterprise and informed Commander Riker what was happening, then they created bodies for the command crew of Voyager, followed by the Delta Flyer contingent. Shortly after revival, the group met in Voyager’s briefing room.

                          

Chapter 15

In the briefing room, Admiral Janeway sat at the head of the table. Captains Chakotay and Picard sat on either side of her. Beverly and Worf were seated to Picard’s right, and Seven of Nine and the Doctor were seated beyond them. Beside Chakotay were Tom Paris, Torres, Kim, and Tuvok, head of Voyager’s security. The Keeper was beside Kim, and Spock sat at the end of the table. On the viewscreen at the end of the room was Riker and Data. They were seated in the briefing room on board the Enterprise.

“This is an interesting situation we find ourselves in,” Janeway was saying. “I’ve got to say, it’s interesting knowing that I can’t just walk down the gangplank onto the surface. If I try, I’ll disappear.”

“Welcome to my world,” The Doctor said. “Well, my world before I got my mobile emitter anyway. It offers a wonderful sense of freedom.”

“So, Keeper,” Janeway decided to ignore the Doctor for the moment. “Who is this new Talosian that we’ve all seen.”

The Doctor started to say something, presumably that HE hadn’t seen the new Talosian, but Data beat him to it. “My apologies, Admiral, but we on Enterprise have not seen him.”

Chakotay saw his former Captain’s face, and tried as hard as he could to keep from laughing. He made a valiant effort, anyway, but the stress of the last few hours was too much, and he knew if he tried any more he’d hurt himself. Paris didn’t even try to suppress it.

Janeway grinned at the Doctor. “You’ve got competition, Doctor.” Data, for his part, looked quizzically at the laughing humans, then from Janeway to the Doctor. He finally just shook his head and said nothing more.

“Thank you, Mr. Data. I stand corrected. But the question remains: Who is he and why are we being held captive by him?”

The Keeper looked miserable as he told the story to the group. “It started on our planet millennia ago…”

As the Keeper progressed through his story, no one said a word. The two doctors at the table looked sickened, but refrained from comment. Finally the Talosian finished. “I regret that you have been drug into our war. It is not yours. You should not have to defend yourselves against this person.”

“But I thought your war had ended. At least that’s the impression I had,” Torres said.

“There was never actually a peace treaty forged. There was just an eventual cessation of hostilities. But we too had thought it was over. We were wrong.”

Picard spoke up. “Keeper. What can we do? What is the range of these illusions?”

The Keeper looked sadly at Picard. “Captain. You remember how far I was able to send an illusion to you from. The artificial ability is about three times as powerful as the natural one.”

Picard looked stunned. Spock raised an eyebrow and offered. “Then there is hardly any place to run to. Even if we could outdistance this Talosian’s power, we would be incapacitated long before we could get anywhere near the distance necessary. Our physical bodies would starve.”

Chakotay looked at Spock, then at the Keeper. “Perhaps a show of good faith? Leave the planet? I know he can reach us no matter how far we run, but maybe if we leave, he’ll think we’ve given up.”

Spock shook his head, “I am not sure that would work, Captain. Unless there is another group of Talosians on the planet, and have been for thousands of years, that the Keeper’s people were unaware of, this is a computer manipulating the same apparatus that the Keeper’s adversaries used eons ago to break out of their subjugation. I feel that the latter is much more likely.”

“I do too, Spock,” Janeway agreed. “That would explain why there has been no more communication, as well as no reaction to what we’ve been doing.”

“But if it’s a computer, wouldn’t there be some contingency for release of prisoners?” Beverly speculated.

Spock nodded. “One would assume that there would be some such contingency, but I feel I must point out that the Keeper’s adversaries might have simply programmed their computer to let any prisoners expire from hunger and thirst.”

“I didn’t feel any pain from the bonds in my illusion,” Harry Kim said. “And from the way I was kneeling there, there should have been.”

Tuvok had been sitting with his fingers steepled since the Keeper started his story. He now seemed to come out of a reverie and stated, almost matter of factly, “One need not feel pain to die, Mr. Kim.”

The Keeper nodded at the Vulcan’s words. “That is true, Mr. Tuvok. By simply dampening the pain and hunger receptors in the brain, a person would simply die from starvation, and never know he were hungry.”

“Keeper; I’m sorry to phrase this question as I do, but… Did your adversaries show the same… disregard for your people as their captors did for them?” Picard was clearly uncomfortable with his question, but it was a valid one, and the Keeper knew it.

“Once they established a method of blocking my people, the fighting stopped very quickly. It seemed to us that after the first strike, the adversary did not wish to kill unless absolutely necessary.”

Data was surprised. “I fail to understand why they would decimate your population, then decide that they didn’t wish to kill.”

Spock came to the android’s aid. “By giving themselves artificial telepathy, they would be unprepared for the onslaught of emotions from people that they were killing. One might kill a thousand people, but the emotions from those people would need to be dealt with. And these emotions would be absorbed in their entirety. It would be difficult to deal with, to say the least.”

Data nodded from the screen but seemed to still be confused. “So by using telepathy as a weapon, it backfired on them?”

“Correct, Mr. Data. One might say they ended up shooting themselves in the foot.”

“Hoist by their own petard,” Picard commented wryly. “Do you think it possible that they would have programmed that reluctance to kill into their machines?”

Tuvok looked at Picard and shook his head. “Unlikely. However programming the reluctance to kill and simply not programming to kill are two entirely different things. I surmise that the machines have not been programmed to kill.”

Spock shook his head. “Your reasoning is sound, Mr. Tuvok. However, as has been pointed out by the Keeper, holding a prisoner past his starvation point is no different than killing intentionally.”

Throughout the discussion, Janeway had been sitting, listening intently to each person, and injecting a bit to stimulate the conversation whenever necessary. Now, she looked at Picard and Chakotay in turn. “Gentlemen, I would like your opinion as to our options.”

Picard thought about it for a moment, then said, “I think Captain Chakotay’s idea of leaving the planet has merit. It seemed to be the act of bringing Voyager to the planet and landing that provoked things. Perhaps there is virtue in retreat.”

Chakotay agreed. “I think we should rendezvous with Enterprise.”

Janeway considered. “I don’t like the idea of leaving those creatures in the menagerie,” she stated. “Can we beam them aboard and place them in stasis?”

The two doctors conferred for a few moments. “We’ll make it work. We don’t have as much room here as on Enterprise, but we might not be able to return. I won’t leave those creatures to death,” Beverly said. The doctor just nodded his confirmation.

“That’s what I thought as well,” Janeway said. “Seven and the Doctor. Go get the Delta Flyer and bring it aboard Voyager. Tom, B’Elanna, and Tuvok. Consult with the doctors and see what we need in hardware to house some animals. Harry, use whatever holographic facilities you can to house as many of the creatures as we can. Chakotay, prepare Voyager for departure as soon as we have everyone on board.”

“Agreed, Admiral.”

“Admiral.” It was Picard. “What about the Keeper?”

She stopped and looked at the diminutive native of the planet. “We can’t force you to come with us, Magistrate, but you’re welcome to. I think it’s probably in your best interest.”

The Talosian inclined his head. “Your hospitality is most welcome, Admiral. May I request that before we depart from the planet, we retrieve the bodies of Captain Pike and his wife?”

Janeway nodded gravely. “Certainly. If you can give Captain Picard and Ambassador Spock the coordinates of the bodies, we will make arrangements for their retrieval.”

She turned to the group. “Alright, people. We’re all we’ve got at the moment. Let’s get to it.” With that she stood and headed for the door. She paused as it opened. “Dismissed.”

                          

Chapter 16

The Rock watched as the strangers got their small ship and took it into their large ship. It was uncertain how the strangers were managing to move, but they were. If they were leaving the planet, that was fine. The creators had not specified what to do with strangers, but as long as they stopped helping the enemy, the Rock would let them go. It perceived the creatures in the menagerie, where so long ago its creators had started their battle against the enemy, disappear. Then it realized they had reappeared aboard the larger ship. It watched while the remains of two of the strangers who had spent time with the enemy in the city until they died, were transferred in the same manner aboard the larger ship as well. Then the ship lifted itself into the air and left the planet. The rock kept its attention on the ship as it sped through space, then accelerated to a speed in excess of light itself. The rock had never tried watching something moving this fast, but found it could with very little effort. It watched as the ship slowed to a stop beside another ship. This one was much larger and had almost ten times as many people on board. Were they going to return to the planet? Perhaps the enemy was mustering an army! The rock made a quick decision and froze the people on the new ship as well.

On Enterprise

Data turned to look at him, the instant Riker stopped talking. It was odd. He had never seen Riker stop talking mid-sentence like this. The commander had been telling him to prepare to beam aboard Voyager, when he had stopped. Data looked around the bridge of the Enterprise and observed the crew. They were all frozen in mid-movement at whatever they had been doing. Data looked at the bridge viewscreen where Admiral Janeway and Captain Picard, or anyway the photonic versions of them, stood on the image of Voyager’s bridge.

“Commander Riker?” It was Janeway. She watched as Data touched, then gently shook the Commander as he stood staring at where the android had been sitting beside him. There was no response. She watched as every person on the bridge of the Enterprise seemed frozen in time except for the 2nd officer as he strode towards the screen. Her heart sank.

“It appears, Admiral,” the Android said, “That each crew member is non-responsive. Is this how it happened on Voyager?”

Glumly, Janeway nodded. Picard spoke up. “Mr. Data. It appears that the crew may be non-responsive for some time.” He looked at Janeway, who nodded affirmative as he continued giving his 2nd officer orders. “We will send over the doctor and Seven of Nine to help you as they are the only people who are physically able to board Enterprise other than the Keeper. We need to get the crew lying down where they will be more comfortable. Then I need you to come over here. We’re going to need your help.”

“Aye, Sir,” Data said, then gently lowered one of Riker’s arms that had been partially raised. He carefully picked the commander up and set him in the command seat. Then went to the helm and secured it. “I am setting Enterprise at station keeping relative to Voyager as I will be beaming over there after I finish with the crew.” Then, Data took the helm officer, lifted her effortlessly to his shoulder in what was still referred to as a fireman’s carry, turned to the screen, excused himself, and left the bridge.

On Voyager

Janeway, Picard, and Chakotay were in the briefing room once again. But this time, their meeting was private. “I wanted this discussion to be between the three of us, no rank involved. Just three commanding officers. We need ideas.”

Picard thought for a bit. “We need to find out where this illusion is coming from and turn it off at the source. We will probably find that source somewhere at Talos.”

Chakotay said, “You’ll get no argument from me on that, but where is it? In the city the Keeper showed you, or a different city? We don’t have a lot to go on.”

“No,” agreed Janeway. “But energy, even mental energy, has to be carried somehow if it can be transmitted or received. And it has to be carried in a way that is faster than light. Remember, Ambassador Spock said that the Talosians transmitted images of Captain Pike’s visit to Talos to the Enterprise under Captain Kirk’s command. That being the case, the Talosians have to be able to transmit through subspace.”

“That’s true!” Chakotay exclaimed. “Our own experience with the illusory power of the Talosians show that. We can verify with Seven, but she should have said something if the illusions changed at all when we went to warp.”

“We need to find the subspace frequency they transmit on,” Janeway said.

Picard remarked. “It would have to be quite high for it to not be affected by Doppler shift while we were at warp.”

Janeway contacted the Doctor. “Doctor, we need to find the subspace frequency the Talosian telepathy transmits and receives on.”

“Subspace frequency?” the Doctor asked. “I’m a doctor, not a warp field specialist,” he said. “All right. I’ll see what I can come up with as soon as I return to Voyager.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“Admiral,” Picard began.

“No rank here, Jean-Luc.”

Picard sighed, but smiled. “Alright. Katherine then. If we take Voyager back to Talos, I need to protect Enterprise somehow. The crew is defenseless.”

Janeway nodded. Chakotay turned to Picard. “We could slave Enterprise to Voyager’s controls, but I don’t think that would be the best move.”

Picard agreed. “I think we should not take all of Voyager back to Talos. Perhaps it would be best if Data took the Delta Flyer alone.”

“If we could find the frequency the Talosians broadcast on, we might be able to build a hub that would do what Seven is doing. Harry could install some holo-emitters in key areas of Enterprise,” Janeway suggested.

“If we can find the frequency, I agree, that is probably the best move. We can revive my command crew. I can transfer to Enterprise and command her. If you need us at Talos, we will come to your aid.”

Suddenly, they heard the door chime. “Come in,” Janeway said. Ambassador Spock entered the conference room.

“My apologies, Admiral. I know this meeting was private, but I must speak with you about our course of action.”

“Not a problem, Spock. I should have included you in this meeting anyway. It’s for Captains and above. If I’m not mistaken, you carried the rank of Captain yourself.”

“Affirmative, Admiral, but that was many years ago.”

“Mr. Spock. We’re not standing on ceremony here. Please call me Katherine.”

Spock nodded gravely. “Certainly, Katherine. Am I to assume that you are planning on taking Voyager back to Talos?”

“We were just discussing it,” Janeway acknowledged. “Why?”

“I have detected a bit of… I hesitate to call it emotion. More curiosity. It seems to be attached to the illusion. The Keeper and I have both detected it. Before I stated that I thought we were dealing with a computer.”

“Do you think it’s not a computer now?” Chakotay asked.

“No Captain. It is a computer, but it is somehow different than a normal one. This computer is more than mere AI. I surmise that for a computer to utilize telepathic powers, however artificial, there would have to be a large understanding of the mind. Perhaps the Talosians that programmed it gave it a self awareness of some kind. However it has been done, there is a curiosity that is coming through the link to my mind.”

Picard considered. “Can you identify what it is curious about?”

“What we will do next. I surmise that if this computer possesses curiosity, it is intelligent, at least to a point. If we leave here with the same complement of people we arrived with, and then return to Talos, It may weaken its hold on Enterprise. It will not know if Enterprise is in league with us or not.”

Picard thought about what Spock had said. “That isn’t logical at all, Mr. Spock.”

“No, Captain. It is not. But it is frequently the way emotional beings think.”

“True,” Chakotay said. “But you said this wasn’t emotion that you were feeling. Why are you basing this on something that emotional beings do?”

“Because it is the closest analogy I can come up with. Dr. McCoy used to tell me that curiosity was an emotion. I don’t quite agree. But it is very similar.”

Janeway smiled at that. “I would love to meet your Dr. McCoy. Some of Voyager’s Doctor’s personality was based on him. I read up on him when we were in the Delta Quadrant and we only had an EMH as our doctor. I wanted to understand him better. Of all the doctors they based him on, Leonard McCoy seemed like the most interesting.”

“He and Jim Kirk were my best friends. I..” He stopped, then realized there was not any shame in admitting the truth. These people would understand. “Being onboard a Starfleet Vessel has brought much back to me.” His voice was very quiet, almost beyond their ability to hear, but there was no misunderstanding what Spock had said.

Janeway nodded, realizing the depth of the emotion this man was feeling. She understood that whatever he was showing on the surface was nowhere near what he was feeling inside. She understood what it meant to be friends with a Vulcan, and how deep their friendships lay. There must have been an incredible bond between these three men. The loss of Kirk must have been like losing a brother. She could well imagine what he felt with Enterprise so close. Even though it wasn’t his Enterprise.

“Mr. Spock. This curiosity you’re sensing. No disrespect intended, but…” Before Janeway could finish her thought, she saw the faintest glimmer of a smile on the Vulcan’s face.

“I understand, Katherine. You don’t really know me, and you wonder how much you can trust me. I assure you that the sense is real. Mr. Tuvok might be able to sense it as well, but the logic, or illogic that I have followed to my conclusions is my own. I do not think he would understand.”

Chakotay caught Janeway’s eye. “Quite a conundrum.”

“Yes, it is,” Janeway said as she stood. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen. I need to think about this. Good evening.” With that, Janeway left the briefing room.

“Quite the conundrum, indeed,” Picard said to no one in particular.

                  

Chapter 17

Once Data, the Doctor and Seven of Nine finished taking the crew of the Enterprise to their quarters, the Doctor set up a monitor on each of them, that would call him immediately in case there was any problem. They then beamed back to Voyager. When they arrived at Voyager, the three plus Harry started working on the frequency problem.

Harry stood at his console on the bridge and started a sensor sweep of frequencies on either side of the range used by the Talosian. He was frustrated for several hours when he had found nothing, then he realized something. He fine-tuned his instruments, and then he had it. It wasn’t a different frequency at all. It was the same one, but the signal from the other Talosian had been masked because of the large number of transmissions Seven and the Keeper were constantly keeping up linking them to the command crew’s real bodies. Those links were powerful, but there were also links that could be traced between each organic being on board Voyager and Enterprise and each being also had a line that stretched out into space towards Talos. On his screen, he could see the lines now that he knew what he was looking for.

He reported to Chakotay. Once he had the report, Chakotay called a briefing, and once again, everyone found themselves in the briefing room onboard Voyager.

“So what do we have now, Chakotay?” Janeway asked as she strode into the briefing room and sat down.

“We think Harry has found what we’re looking for,” Chakotay told everyone.

At that, Picard and Janeway both leaned forward. Picard looked at Janeway, who caught his look. She raised a hand a bit, and took in everyone seated around the table. “Look, everyone. We have been through quite a bit here. Those of you I don’t know personally, I know by reputation. I’m not going to stand on ceremony in these briefings. You are all the best of the best. If you want to say something, please do.”

Picard nodded his head as everyone looked to him. “Thank you, Admiral.” He looked at Chakotay, then at Harry. “Mr. Kim. I take it you’ve found the frequency?”

“Yes, Captain. I have. It’s actually the same frequency used by the Keeper, and I can trace it back to its source if we can get close enough.”

“Is it emanating from Talos IV?” Tuvok asked.

“Yes, Mr. Tuvok. I’m not sure of the exact location on the planet from this distance. It’s a somewhat unfocused transmission, but it’s definitely there, and definitely coming through subspace. It’s on a very high frequency. Usually such transmissions are tightly focused, which is why I didn’t find this one until I was looking closely. It’s just not normal protocol to treat such a transmission as anything but subspace noise.”

Spock had his fingers steepled and gazed impassively at them. “Can you block the signal, Mr. Kim?” he asked without looking away from his fingers.

Harry shook his head. “I might be able to with time, but right now, I’d have to say no.”

Spock looked away from his fingers to the Keeper. “Magistrate,” he said, using the Keeper’s formal title, “When you told me of your past, you said that the others had developed a way of shielding their minds from your illusions. If they can shield against your illusions, and they use the same frequency that you use, presumably, they could offer a way to shield against their own illusions. I suspect that if we find the computer responsible for our paralysis, we will be able to draw such shielding technology from it’s own memory banks.”

Janeway smiled. What Spock said was drawn from information that they all had, and it was imminently logical, but somehow, only Spock had drawn that logical conclusion. Typical of a Vulcan. She glanced at Tuvok, and saw his eyebrow about to go through his hairline in surprise. Obviously, he had not come to the Ambassador’s conclusion either. Doubtless, he would have, given time. They ALL would have, but somehow, Spock had the ability to distill matters down to their component parts, and then work them through, all in the course of a few moments. She knew that he had been a teacher, commanding Enterprise NCC-1701. What must it have been like to serve under him.

“The Ambassador’s logic is flawless,” Tuvok said. He turned to the Keeper. “Would you be able to operate such a computer, Keeper?”

“I have no computer skills, Mr. Tuvok. While I would certainly be able to read a control panel on such a computer, I would be unable to retrieve any information contained therein.”

Data spoke up. “I suspect that the Ambassador or myself would be the best person for the job of deciphering the computer. Seven of Nine or Mr. Kim could also do it, but their expertise will undoubtedly be needed elsewhere.”

“Agreed,” Janeway said. “We will need to get holo-emitters and a hub to fill the same function that Seven of Nine is filling set up so the command crew of Enterprise can be revived in the same way we have been. Captain Picard has expressed concern over leaving his ship sitting here, defenseless, and I can’t say as I blame him.”

Chakotay turned to his crew. “Harry, I want you to work on blocking that signal. B’Elanna… get your crews over to Enterprise, with Captain Picard’s permission, and get the holo-emitters set up. Seven; You are probably the best person to work on the hub.”

Torres looked questioningly at Picard, who smiled and said, “By all means, Commander.” He turned to Data and said, “Mr. Data. I would like you to coordinate with Torres and Seven. give them whatever help you can to set up the holo-emitters and hub. As soon as we are able to, I would like to transfer to Enterprise.”

Spock shook his head. “I do not think transferring to Enterprise would be wise for you, Captain. I suspect that by returning to Talos IV with the same complement we left with, it will provoke the computer to loosen it’s hold on Enterprise.”

“Foolishness.” All eyes turned to Worf who looked up from where he had been glaring at the table. He looked startled to find the eyes of so many command officers looking at him, and not very happily.

“Explain, Mr. Worf.” This from Picard.

“We are talking about how to defeat this enemy, yet that same enemy is in our minds right now. As we strategize, it is able to detect all that we are saying and doing, and counter strategize.”

Crusher and the Doctor looked stricken. Tuvok looked uncomfortable, and Paris cleared his throat a bit and looked anywhere but at the commanding officers.

Picard nodded slowly, “A very good point, Mr. Worf. But I would think that if the computer was going to use it’s knowledge of us against us, it would have done so already. It could have finished us off before we left Talos. And yet it didn’t.”

“It does seem that it’s been reluctant to take action,” Paris said.

“Mr. Paris,” The Doctor said. I hardly think immobilizing our entire crew is showing reluctance to take action!”

Paris turned in his chair to face the Doctor squarely. “Doc. Answer me this. What were you doing when the crew was first immobilized?”

“I was using the transporters on Voyager to completely remove all the pollution from the Keeper’s lungs.”

“Right,” Paris said. “You were ‘helping the enemy’.” Paris turned and faced the end of the table where Janeway, Picard, and Chakotay sat. “What if this computer bears no malice towards us personally. Heck, it hardly seems that it could bear malice towards the Keeper. All it’s doing is what it’s programmed to do. But beyond stopping us from helping the Keeper, it’s done nothing.”

“Agreed, Mr. Paris,” said Tuvok from the other side of him. “However, I must point out, that stopping us was quite enough.”

“Sure it was. But it didn’t succeed. Or rather, it DID succeed, but only for a time. We found a way around it. Shouldn’t it have reacted to that? And what did it do to Enterprise? The same thing. It KNOWS we have a way around it now. Why’s it not doing more?”

Chakotay gazed at Paris for a long moment before he nodded. “You make a real good point there, Tom.” Then he looked at the Keeper. “Magistrate? Any ideas?”

But the Keeper was sitting, eyes closed, with an enigmatic smile on his face.

Spock looked to his right, where the Keeper was sitting. “Keeper?” There was no response, so he reached out and touched the Talosian’s shoulder. He gave it a slight shake.

The Keeper opened his eyes, and looked at Spock. “It’s ok, Spock. I was just… You might call it ‘communing’ with an old friend.” He turned towards Chakotay and smiled again. “I have said before, that the adversary did only what was necessary to win. They assured their victory, and that was the extent of their fighting. I surmise that Mr. Spock is correct. After their first strike, they were unprepared for the influx of emotions they received from their victims. There is something else.” Now the Keeper turned to look directly into Spock’s eyes as he spoke. “When someone dies while connected to another through a telepathic link, one of two things will inevitably happen. Either they both die, by the one dragging the other along for the ride, or if the other’s mind is powerful enough, the dying person’s... ‘katra’ I believe is the Vulcan word for it… is transferred into the other. The adversaries had given themselves extremely powerful minds, but they didn’t understand these simple principles. They were undoubtedly unprepared.”

Spock almost flinched at the Keepers choice of words, but as he spoke of katras, dawning arose in Spock’s mind -- an understanding of what the Keeper was really saying, and Spock came very close to smiling at him. He only stopped himself by nodding and saying, “I understand, Magistrate. Fully.”

At Spock’s statement, Janeway gave him a curious look, but the Vulcan mask was complete. Then she looked at Paris, who was pale. He gave a long shuddering breath, and put up a mask almost as good as the Vulcan one. “Are you ok, Tom?” she asked him.

“I’m fine, Captain. It’s hard enough seeing one person’s death through their own eyes. We’re talking about millions of people’s deaths.” He turned to the Talosian. “A similar thing happened to me several years ago. I was forced to relive over and over the last few moments of a man I was accused of murdering. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I knew I hadn’t done it, and the real murderer was out there, trying to frame me. I suspect that something similar kept these people going was the fact that they knew what they were doing was necessary, and they wanted to stop the -- I’m sorry, Magistrate but -- slavery of their future generations.”

The Keeper nodded and said to Paris, “Quite unnecessary to apologise, Mr. Paris. You are correct.”

B’Elanna gave an anxious look at her husband, then said to the group at large, “But if they absorbed the ‘katras’ of those they killed, wouldn’t the ‘katras’ stop them from fighting? They were the enemies?”

The Keeper shook his head. “No, Commander. That doesn’t necessarily follow. My race is an honest one. We can’t possibly be anything but. When you can read the thoughts of anyone else, honesty becomes a way of life. The only people we aren’t honest with is ourselves. We decieved ourselves about our adversaries until they forced us to see the truth. Those that were absorbed at their deaths would have seen the truth of our treatment of our adversaries and I suspect that they would have supported their actions since we were not stopping the fight. Seeing through another’s eyes goes both ways.”

Janeway nodded at that. Then she slapped both her palms down onto the tabletop. “What an incredible situation. Magistrate, do I take it that you feel your adversaries’ computer is hesitant to defeat us fully? We’ve discussed this before, but it seems we keep coming back to this point.”

The Keeper nodded as he said, “Yes, Admiral. At any time, it could have destroyed us, but it hasn’t. At this point, I don’t think it will.”

Janeway smiled at the Keeper. “But you won’t mind if I take a few precautions, will you?”

The Keeper smiled back. “That would be prudent, Admiral.”

        

Chapter 18

The Rock watched. There had been a flurry of activity in the last day. Energy signatures were disappearing from one ship and reappearing on the other, back and forth they went. Then, one ship started towards the world and the Rock. It didn’t know what to make of the situation, until it tapped into the minds of the people it held captive. Then the Rock realized that it’s captives had, in fact, not been captive, for quite some time! That was strange. How had they managed to get out from it’s control? It searched farther, and realized that one of the people held captive was both biological and artificial. Astounding!

The Rock’s creators had known that the computers they were capable of building, had their limitations. Therefore, they took a radical approach with the intelligence they set to the task of overseeing the Rock. The Rock was designed to be the last defense of its people. As well, it would re-populate its people’s planet when and if necessary. Thus, when they saw that the planet was becoming unlivable, they devised a plan. They would store themselves as digital patterns in the memory banks of the Rock. They knew that the planet would eventually become livable again, and at that time, the Rock would re-integrate the people of the planet. As well as the patterns of living people, they had stored the mental patterns of people that had been lost in the war, on both sides. Those mental patterns when confronted with the minds they had been transferred to, had changed the course of the entire war. No longer was it to liberate those Talosians who had been captive. Now the objective was to free the entire population! To free those who were physically captive, and to free those who were held captive by their own thoughts and ideologies.

Therefore, the creators of the Rock knew that they needed a computer capable of making judgements that were not based solely on a logical program. It needed to be able to use intuition and to make assumptions based on feelings. To that end, they launched a massive campaign to find the most stable person they could find. Not someone who was a war hero for having killed the most enemies. Not someone who was so sympathetic to the enemy that they would let them all go. They wanted someone who would make rational decisions, based on logic, but tempered by feeling. When they found him, they patterned him. Then they tapped the computer into his mental patterns. His mental patterns became the decision making portion of the computer.

Now, the Rock dug deep into the mental patterns at it’s disposal. Never before had it needed to try to deduce what someone would do. But now, there was no logical way to tell what these newcomers would do. As it dug deeper into the mental patterns, it realized that they really wouldn’t be able to help. The people weren’t of the same race as the creators, so they couldn’t be expected to act like anyone it could predict. The mental patterns told the Rock it would have to tap into the minds of these people and see what they thought -- what their motives were.

Tentatively, the Rock started probing the minds of the people. It started with the one that was partially artificial. This person was strange. The person was female, but unlike any other person the Rock had known, there were no emotions. At least in the artificial part. In the biological part, there were very strong feelings. Feelings for her shipmates, and one in particular. The Rock delved deeper, and found that this female felt that her shipmates were honorable. It found that she had once been the enemy, and that they had slowly developed trust for her. That once she had been willing to commit genocide, but that through the trust of one person, another female, she had seen the error of those ideas. The Rock was astonished at these thoughts. It wouldn’t have believed…. Then, to the Rock’s surprise, it realized that the female was aware of it’s scanning.

On Voyager

“Seven?” Chakotay reached out and touched her shoulder, giving her a little shake. “Seven? Are you alright?”

Her voice came as if from far away. “I am functional. But I’m being scanned.”

“What?” Chakotay was startled. “Who’s scanning you?”

Slowly, Seven turned her head to look at Chakotay. Her eyes were agonizingly slow in focusing on him, and when they did, Chakotay wasn’t sure what he saw there. “It is the Talosian in the illusion that is scanning me. My entire mind is being read by this being.” She paused for a moment, and then said to Chakotay, “I am going to try to read it. Please stand by.”

Chakotay and Seven were standing in the mess hall, near the door. Chakotay had long ago decided that the “Captain’s Mess” as it was labelled on the schematics of Voyager was going to be the ship’s mess hall. He liked the camaraderie of eating with the crew, and had left that as it was from the trip across the Delta Quadrant. Janeway, Picard, Paris and Spock were seated at a table across the room. There was another table that had been pulled up to theirs. Paris had seen them come into the mess hall, and motioned to the others as he saw the difficulty. Almost as one, all four of them started to rise, but B’Elanna had walked into the hall just as Seven stopped moving. She grabbed Seven’s arm opposite Chakotay and helped to guide her to the table. Picard, who had been sitting beside Paris, stood and offered his chair to B’Elanna. After being the gallant Frenchman that he was and seating her, he sat down opposite Chakotay who was sitting beside Seven, supporting her.

Seven was swaying slowly as she sat staring into space. Suddenly, she stopped, and her eyes focussed. She glanced around the room, as if taking it in for the first time. She finally caught sight of Janeway and said to her, “Admiral. We need to talk. Now.”

Janeway looked around at the nearly empty room and said to Seven. “No time like the present.”

Chakotay tapped his communicator. “Chakotay to Doctor. Report to the mess hall immediately.”

“What are you doing in the mess hall? You can’t eat right now. Nevermind. I’m on my way.”

When the Doctor arrived, he pulled out his scanner and read Seven’s vitals as she told her story. When she was done, Harry, Data, Tuvok, Beverly, the Keeper and Worf were summoned as well. Then she told the story to all of them again.

“As I was walking into the mess hall, I realized that something was scanning me. Because of my implants, I could sense it reading through my entire mind as if it were a computer record. Then, it focused on my feelings of loyalty to this ship and it’s crew. I wasn’t sure what it’s intent was, so I decided it would be prudent to try to read it.”

Worf broke in at that. “That is a serious security threat. You had no idea what it’s intent was, so you willingly intensified the connection between you and it?”

“At ease, Commander. I’ve already read her the riot act for that,” Janeway said mildly.

After a few more grumbles from Worf, and at least one from Tuvok in support of his fellow security chief, Seven continued. “What I found was… Fascinating hardly describes it.” She looked at the Keeper as she continued, explaining his own people to him. “Magistrate,” she said, using his formal title as the others had started doing. “Your adversaries were quite far-sighted in regards to this war. What we are dealing with is a computer, but one that draws on the engrams of a Talosian who has been patterned and is stored in what we would term a pattern buffer along with several million other Talosians. When your adversaries realized that the planet was becoming uninhabitable, they stored their people in these pattern buffers so they could be re-integrated when the planet became habitable again. Your race is not dead, Magistrate. It is in suspended animation.

“You were correct in your surmise that when your adversaries made their first strike, they absorbed the ‘mental patterns’ of those who were killed. In absorbing them, they did indeed see things from both sides. So did your own people who were killed. The fight for the adversaries became to, as the man whose engrams control the computer says, ‘save both sides from their captivity’. Those that were physically captive, and those who were captives of their own ideologies. The Rock, as the computer calls itself, has not only the physical and mental patterns of the remaining ‘creators’, but also the mental patterns of those from your side who were killed in battle.”

Tuvok looked stunned at this revelation. “It stored the katras of it’s enemies.”

Seven nodded. “Correct. However it does not see them as it’s enemies. And the only enemy it sees now is the Keeper.”

The Keeper had been looking down at his hands, and when he looked up at Seven, there were tears flowing freely from his eyes. The look of sadness on his face was almost enough to make Seven cry. Janeway was astonished when Seven’s voice took on a tone of compassion. Never had she heard the former Borg drone speak that way. “Magistrate,” Seven said. “It calls you an enemy because it does not know you. Through our link, I have seen who you really are. I’ve felt the two katras you yourself hold. I know your compassion and that you are enemy to no-one.”

B’Elanna was staring open-mouthed at the Keeper who was weeping now. “Two katras that he holds?”

Seven nodded, however it was Spock who answered. “I surmised this before when the Keeper spoke of the transfer of katras when someone dies. Vulcans have known this for quite some time, but I hadn’t considered that the Keeper might hold them. The Magistrate had a mental link with both Captain Pike and Vina when they died.”

Picard’s mouth opened in astonishment. “You mean…” his voice trailed off.

Seven confirmed. “Their entire minds are intact, and active in a partition of the Keeper’s mind.”

                          

Chapter 19

Before leaving Enterprise, Crusher had stood in her own sickbay, speaking to Dr. Selar, and Nurse Ogawa. She wasn’t really present in sickbay. None of them were. To facilitate the two in taking care of the crew, holo-emitters had been installed in two of Enterprise’ cargo decks. With the holo-emitters, a sickbay wing had been created. The holo-emitters would also allow Selar and Ogawa to be present and awake as they were in photonic bodies. Each of the crew had been moved to the temporary sickbay.

“Take care of my sickbay,” Crusher admonished as she was getting ready to leave. She hated leaving. Only the two medical people, Riker, Geordie, Deanna, and Reginald Barkley would be awake and running the ship. Data was going with Voyager, in the hopes that he would not be recognized as a life-form by whatever computer was controlling these illusions.

Now, she was standing in Voyager’s sickbay, working with an artificial doctor, checking out a woman who still had enough artificial pieces to qualify as a Borg Drone. Life could be strange.

Thankfully, the Doctor knew Seven’s vital signs enough to know if she had been hurt by her scan of the ‘Rock’ as she called it. Even though Seven had been born human, what was normal for her now, would not leave a non-Borg human well.

“You’re fine, Seven,” the Doctor said as he held out a hand to help her up.

“As I told you before we started this examination, Doctor,” she said. “But I thank you for the ‘clean bill of health’ regardless.”

“While I would hardly call that a normal ‘thank you,’” the Doctor replied, “I think a ‘you’re welcome’ is appropriate anyway.” He held out his hand, offering to let the women go out the door of Sickbay before him. “Shall we, ladies?”

They headed to the briefing room where Janeway and Picard were filling in the few people on board Enterprise who were mobile.

“I wish I had a way to revive a couple more people, but I realize we need to minimize the number of people awake to keep this ‘Rock’ off our back,” Riker said as they entered the room. “Still, it’s only Deanna and me on the bridge, and Geordie and Barkley in engineering. Hardly enough if an emergency came up.”

“Sorry we couldn’t give you more people, Number One. We were sort of limited on time.”

“No problem, Captain. We’ll manage. It’s just that I keep getting this tingling in my fingers and toes. Probably just a result of being in a photonic body.” He smiled at the screen, but he seemed weary.

“If I may, Commander,” Seven said as she stepped into range of the pickup. “Have Dr. Selar turn up the gain on your sensory inputs. It sounds like the signal may not be up high enough.”

Riker nodded his thanks, and signed off.

“Well, Admiral,” the Doctor beamed. “Seven of Nine is fine. Hmm.. That rhymes,” he said as he walked to the table to sit down.

“Don’t get too comfortable, Doctor. We’re about to enter orbit of Talos again. We were just getting ready to head onto the bridge,” Janeway told him as she got up and headed toward the door. “Glad to hear you’re alright, Seven,” she said as she passed the Borg woman.

---

Voyager slid gracefully into orbit around Talos IV again, only this time rather than heading towards the surface, it remained in orbit while Harry traced the signal he had discovered. They were still trying to be stealthy about being at Talos, but under the circumstances, the priority of stealth was considerably lower than it had been. Now, solving their current problems and preventing them from spreading was top priority.

“I’m tracing the signal to an asteroid, Captain. It’s orbiting the planet two hundred kilometers higher than we are. Currently, it’s on the far side of the planet,” Kim reported.

Chakotay stood from his command chair and looked to where Janeway, Picard, and Spock stood beside the lift door. Janeway made no move at all. She simply looked expectantly at Chakotay. He took a deep breath before speaking. What he was going to do was unexpected, but he had thought about this long and hard, and he was convinced that it was the least provocative way of approaching the situation. “Prepare for landing, Tom.”

Paris looked back at Chakotay, an expression of surprise on his face. He was at the helm right now, because he was the best pilot they had and their regular helm officer was immobile. He opened his mouth to say something, then turned back to his controls. He was the first officer on this ship, and he did have privileges that allowed him to ask Chakotay why. He would not embarrass his captain and friend by questioning him in front of other commanding officers. But he was certainly going to ask him about this later, in private.

Voyager glided through the atmosphere with barely a tremor. Not only was Tom the best pilot on board Voyager, the only officer in Starfleet with as high a proficiency rating at the helm was Commander Data, and he was an android. Standing beside Spock, by the lift doors, Picard heard the Vulcan whisper, barely audibly, “So like Sulu.” He saw that the ambassador was watching Paris, captivated by his movements at the helm. Picard knew that he wasn’t supposed to hear the comment, but he wanted to know more.

“Was he as good as Paris?”

Spock turned his head to face Picard in surprise. Clearly, he hadn’t intended to speak aloud. Then, he raised an eyebrow and nodded once. “I took the liberty of looking up the Commander’s proficiency rating after his demonstration with the Delta Flyer. Your second officer is the only person in Starfleet who can match Mr. Paris for piloting abilities. Historically, the only other person as skilled was my friend, Hikaru Sulu.”

Picard looked at Paris, then back at Spock. “I read that after he became president, Sulu insisted on flying his own shuttle. He had a private yacht that he refused to let anyone else fly as well.”

Spock nodded. “Sulu loved flying. I think that’s what made him so good at it.”

Picard considered Spock’s words. “I have noticed that those people who love their jobs are the best at them. My Chief Engineer, Geordie LaForge, is like that. He absolutely loves his job, and he’s one of the best around. I wouldn’t trade his expertise for anyone else.”

At Picard’s words, Spock thought of Mr. Scott. “Our Chief Engineer on board the original Enterprise and Enterprise A was the same. I believe you’ve met him. Captain Montgomery Scott.”

“Yes. We found him on a ship that had crashed into a Dyson Sphere. He had used the most interesting method of recycling the transporter pattern buffer through the diagnostic loop to keep his pattern from degrading. He spent over 70 years in that transporter. A wholly remarkable idea. Geordie and Scotty worked well together once they got over a few hurdles. I understand they keep in touch regularly. Scotty came aboard Enterprise E when she was commissioned. He and Geordie spent two weeks tearing apart engineering and rebuilding it. I’ve never seen two happier men. I spent a couple of hours just observing them. One would come up with an idea, the other would build on it, and they would just go back and forth with ideas, all the while refining the original one. Then, like they were reading each others mind, they’d both head to where they needed to go and start working. It was as if they really were telepathic. I asked them about it, and Scotty said, ‘Thot’s just good engineerin, lad!’ For awhile, I thought Geordie would develop a Brogue.”

“Indeed,” Spock said. “Have you checked your engineering section for a still?”

Picard chuckled and answered, “I have heard rumors of a very high quality scotch being made in the Engineering area. As long as it’s of the same quality as everything else on board, I’m not worried. If the quality drops, however, I’ll have to do something about it.”

Spock almost smiled. “Captain Kirk had to shut down the still only once. Scotty had been on vacation, and when he came back he went around… I think he called it ‘knocking a few heads together’. The quality never dropped again.”

“Gentlemen,” Janeway said from the other side of Picard. “Distilling whiskey in Engineering? I’m shocked! On Voyager it was bloodwine!”

“The hazards of having a Klingon Chief Engineer, no doubt,” said Picard.

“Be forever glad of not having a Romulan Chief Engineer,” Spock commented.

Picard was certain Spock had smiled slightly as he said the last. “I certainly am,” he said solemnly.

---

Paris set the ship down right where it had been before. As he shut down the engines, he looked back at Chakotay. His captain gave him a small smile and said, “I know you’re wondering why we didn’t go see ‘the Rock’, Tom.”

As Paris turned back to the helm, he commented, “The question has crossed my mind.”

From beside the lift, Janeway said, “I was wondering too, Chakotay. What are you thinking?”

Chakotay chose his words carefully. “I was thinking that since the ‘Rock’ scanned Seven, we need to proceed with extreme caution now. It probably knows that we were planning on tracing the signal from it. It probably also knows that we have, so by landing rather than getting into firing distance, we might have an easier time convincing it that we mean it no harm. I propose that the Keeper try to contact the ‘Rock’ from here rather than at point blank range.

Picard looked from Chakotay to Janeway. “That sounds like a good idea, don’t you think, Admiral?”

Janeway nodded as she said, “I think it’s a very good idea. Proceed, Chakotay.”

The Keeper had quietly come onto the bridge as they were landing, and he now walked down the steps to a position right beside Chakotay. He looked down at Chakotay who nodded at him. The Keeper looked at the screen, out at his dead world. He sincerely hoped that it wouldn’t be this dead much longer. He closed his eyes and concentrated. After about 5 minutes, he turned back to Chakotay. “I know that it’s hearing me, but it’s not responding.”

“It’s ignoring you. Why do you think that is?”

“You represent power, and a large amount of it. You have weapons on the Delta Flyer more powerful than anything my people had ever invented. We had no need of them, but you have demonstrated that our most powerful weapons, our minds, are ineffective against you. I surmise that the ‘Rock’ is ‘nervous’. It doesn’t know what to make of you.”

Chakotay considered for a moment, then asked, “What do you suggest?”

The Talosian cocked his head at the Captain and said simply, “Abandon me.” Then he smiled his enigmatic smile.

                          

Chapter 20

Chakotay had risen out of his command chair at the Keepers suggestion of abandonment. “No!” he said emphatically.

“Captain Chakotay,” the Keeper said mildly, “I appreciate the sentiment you display in not desiring to leave me here, but I assure you that I shall be quite alright if you leave me.”

“Nevertheless Magistrate, I refuse to leave you here without protection,” Chakotay told him in no uncertain terms.'

Spock had stepped quietly forward while they were discussing things, and he stepped, not quite in between the two, facing Voyager's captain. “If I may, Captain,” he said thoughtfully. At Chakotay's nod, the Vulcan ambassador turned to the Talosian, and addressed him very carefully. “Magistrate. I believe I understand what you are doing, but I'm not certain it will work. We don't know if the intelligence in charge of the 'Rock' will see it as abandonment or not.”

The Keeper nodded at Spock and said. “This is true, Mr. Spock. However, if there is a chance it will allow you to go free if you give the appearance of abandoning me here, it is one we should take.” The Keeper now looked grave. “Besides, Mr. Spock. I am just one man, and I stand in the way of my race being revived. Seven said that the 'Rock' saw only me as an enemy. If it destroys me, my death is a small price to pay for the people patterned in it's memory to be revived. I would gladly die for my people. Even though they are the 'adversary' of my people, they are not my adversary.” He turned and walked towards the viewscreen. Normally, he carried himself very straight, almost with a regal bearing. Now, however, there was a noticeable slump to his shoulders, and his head hung instead of it's normal being held high. He stopped a few steps away from the viewscreen, and somehow he seemed very small and vulnerable as he looked up and gazed at the screen. It was focused on the mountains in the distance, and in the foreground was the spot where the illusion of a camp had been seen by the Enterprise landing party many years before. The Keeper had not been physically present at that time, but he could still see the excitement Tyler's face as he explained how the Enterprise could travel faster than light.

Now, the Keeper stood on a ship made by those same people, which was capable of making the Enterprise that Tyler was so excited about seem like a snail in comparison. These people would, in time, find a way of shielding against the thoughts of his people. Even the artificially augmented thoughts of his former adversaries were no match for what these people would be able to do. If they left here and the 'Rock' didn't let them go, they could blast it out of the heavens and free themselves, and they would be justified in so doing. He didn't want that to happen, but he wouldn't blame them if it did. No. He needed to somehow get through to the 'Rock' so it didn't consign itself to destruction.

In his mind, the Keeper heard a thought that wasn't his own. He tuned into that thought and understood it. Suddenly, his bearing changed. His head went up, and he was once more the keeper of the menagerie, proud and regal.

He turned and looked back at the two captains, the ambassador, and the admiral. “I must stay while you leave.”

Janeway shook her head. “No. We can't leave you here defenseless. I'm sorry, Magistrate.”

The Keeper shook his head. “You have no authority over me. However, this is my planet. You must leave now.”

Picard had been looking down, but at the Keeper's words, he snapped his head up. “Are you ordering us to leave your world?”

The keeper nodded his head. “Yes. I'm withdrawing my invitation for you to come here. As the only living Talosian, I am the head of this world. I order you to leave.”

Janeway's expression was one of stone and all she could manage was a nod at the Talosian's words. Chakotay, too, could say little. He did manage to direct the Seven of Nine to come to the bridge. When she arrived, he ordered her to escort the Keeper to the planet's surface. She started to argue, but something in his eyes told her it wouldn't be a productive argument, and she held her tongue. Barely.

When she arrived back on the bridge, the screen was focused on the last Talosian as he slowly walked away from Voyager. Tom carefully lifted the vessel off the surface, and the Keeper turned his head from where he had been admiring the musical leaves, to watch the ship hover for a moment, turn, and accelerate into the sky.

As Voyager disappeared, a thought came to him. It wasn't his own, but neither did it originate from one of the two Katra's held inside his mind. “You ordered them away. Why?”

The Keeper turned and stared at a spot in the sky. He knew that he was looking directly at the 'Rock' although there was no way he could see it. The thought was from it. He answered: “They needed to leave. They are no longer subject to our weapons, either yours or mine. I wanted them gone so you would let them go. They could destroy you easily. You need to release them so they are not forced to come back and destroy you. They have that ability.”

The Rock considered this. “Why would you care if they destroyed me? I am your adversary.”

The Keeper was shocked at this question. “You knew I ordered them away. So you were clearly reading my thoughts. You know that I don't consider you my adversary. You are the only hope for my people... Our People... to continue.”

A few moments passed before the Rock answered. “You have the ability to partition your mind in a way that allows you to function even though I am suppressing your wakefulness. How do I know that you don't have the ability to hide your true thoughts from me?”

The Keeper considered a moment, then he turned mentally to the two Katras. “Chris... Vina... I must allow it to come in fully. It is the only way to convince it. It will be invasive, but if you will allow it, it may save your people and mine.”

“Certainly,” came the instant reply from the two.

The Keeper looked back up at the spot he knew the Rock to be at in it's orbit around Talos IV. “This may not convince you, as if I have the ability you suggest, I could conceivably keep that from you even in a deep meld, but you may come in and look anywhere you wish. I will not resist you.”

There was a hesitation for a few moments, then there was a rush into his mind that nearly split his head in two. He felt the Rock search through every corner of his mind. It picked up every thought, turned them over, and examined every side. Then it went on to the next thought. Several times, it came back to areas it had left before, and searched them again. He sensed it hesitate for a moment before rushing in and giving Chris and Vina the same treatment. After what seemed to be hours, it left his mind and he could almost hear Pike and Vina gasping for breath.

Tentatively, he asked the two, “Are you alright?” They answered in the affirmative, but it was a moment before they did.

The Keeper looked up, and thought to the Rock. “Well? Have you decided if I'm telling the truth or not?”

There was no answer. The Talosian walked over to the spot that had played host to the 'survivor's camp' years before. He sat down on a rock and looked back to the spot where the Rock orbited. There was still no answer. He waited.

                  

Chapter 21

After a period of reflection, the Keeper took stock of his surroundings. He was surprised to see that the sun was getting low on the horizon. When he had sat down, it was late morning. Now it was getting toward evening. He had sat here for several hours, hoping that the Rock would answer him. Apparently, the Rock had been unconvinced by what it found in the Keeper's mind. Not that he really expected much else. As he had pointed out himself, if he had the power the Rock suspected he might have, he would have been able to hide much from it. So, there was really no way the Keeper could convince the Rock otherwise.

Slowly, the Keeper stood and started walking towards the lift that would take him into the underground city. As he got closer to the hill, he noticed a shadow on the ground, stretched out in front of him. The shadow was unnaturally long, and he couldn't really tell what was causing it, but the strange thing about it was, it was moving. There was something towards the sun that was moving. There shouldn't be, because he knew very well that he was the only person of his race left alive. He turned to his left, where the sun was positioned, and he could see a form walking towards him from that direction. Voyager must have returned, but he hadn't heard the ship set down. Neither Voyager nor the Delta Flyer. The only people they could have beamed down was Seven or the Doctor. Theoretically, they could have programmed anyone's photonic body into the Doctor's mobile emitter, but why? Why not just land the ship?

As the sun set lower, it ceased blocking his vision, and he could see that the figure approaching him was not wearing a Starfleet uniform. In fact, the figure was dressed in metallic fabric, similar to his own robes. The Talosian stopped about ten paces from the Keeper, and stood looking at him. His head was slightly cocked, and an enigmatic smile, not unlike the one the Keeper frequently used, played across his lips. The Keeper knew who he was. He was the same person he had seen in the illusion. He gasped, involuntarily. Was this another illusion? Had the 'Rock' somehow gotten through his shields? Perhaps he had been depending on Seven without realizing it. Maybe he was still sitting on the stone.

The Talosian standing before him watched him for quite some time, then he opened his mouth to speak. “I am the leader of my people. I have no ability to communicate with you telepathically. My equipment is not here.” He gazed around at the world that had been destroyed by the war he had helped fight. The smile disappeared, and he looked immeasurably sad. “Our world needs much to recover.” He looked at the Keeper, and asked? “Has it really been millenia that I've been asleep?”

At his words, the reality of the situation dawned on the Keeper. The Rock had rematerialized the leader of his former adversaries. He started to speak, faltered, then tried again. “It has, Leader. Am I to understand that the Rock is reviving our people?”

“You really consider them to be your people as well? A copy of my mind was used as the central intelligence of the Rock. Therefore, I have no direct knowledge of what has happened here in the last few days. The Rock connected to my mind after reviving me, and gave me knowledge of the events, but has also asked me to assess things myself.” They started walking aimlessly in the gathering dusk. As it was becoming night, the musical leaves had stopped, and all was silent except for the voices of the two Talosians, the one, speaking out of courtesy for the other.

They spoke for hours, each learning from the other. The Keeper felt somewhat hampered by the slow exchange of information, but he steadfastly refused to use thought transference in this situation. His new friend had no such ability, and even though it would be much less effort for him, the realization that this ability had caused the war that almost destroyed his race kept him from using it. They spoke about many things, and finally, about the Keeper's friends on the ships.

“From what the Rock tells me, they have the ability to destroy us.”

“That is true, Leader. They are no longer subject to the weapons we have. They can operate even while imprisoned by our thoughts. If the Rock doesn't free them, they will be forced to destroy it. That would destroy the others held in it's memory as well.”

The Leader nodded, and after a moment's pause said, “They are freed. The Rock monitors me, and contacted me when we spoke of it. I instructed it to free them on my authority. It has.” He looked around at the planet again, now shrouded in darkness. “Magistrate,” he said. “Our world needs much before our people can be revived.” Somewhere in the talk, the Leader had come to the conclusion that the Keeper truly was no-one's enemy.

The Keeper looked at him for a long while, trying to gauge without invading. He came to a decision and said, “Leader. It will be a long, hard struggle, but our people can rebuild with the help of the Federation. My feeling is that we should ask for help from them. They have experience in what they call 'terraforming'. Our world needs little compared to some they have worked with in the past.”

The Leader nodded, but looked somewhat skeptical. “Would they help us after the Rock has imprisoned them?”

The Keeper nodded and beamed. “I have found that these Federation people will not hold grudges. Especially over misunderstandings. They are made up of many different races from many different planets. I feel almost certain that they will help.”

The Leader nodded again, but this time, there was hope plainly visible on his face. Then, the enigmatic smile played across his lips again as he said. “I thank you for refusing to use your mental abilities in our conversation. While I have no abilities in that area, I do understand why you refused. Your efforts have paid off, Magistrate. I am convinced. Now, however, I ask you to use your ability to contact the Federation people again with our request. Meanwhile, if you have no objections to our people using the city underground, they can be revived, and we can fix the machinery.”

The Keeper shook his head. “I have no objections at all, Leader. It is good that the city will be repaired.” He paused for a moment, then said. “There is a gesture I learned from a human I have been friends with for many years.” He held out his hand and explained. “It is called shaking hands to seal an agreement.” He explained to the Leader how to shake hands, and they did, smiling.  

                          

Chapter 22

Chakotay and Spock stood near the musical leaves, looking at the Talosians who had recently been rematerialized. “It’s gratifying to see that this race is still alive,” Chakotay said to the Ambassador. “Have you made a decision regarding the ambassadorship here?”

“Indeed,” Spock said to the captain of Voyager. “It is very gratifying. It is also gratifying to know that the Federation will give aid in terraforming the planet back to a habitable state. As for the Ambassadorship, I have not decided yet. I must admit that the prospect is intriguing. However, I have duties on Vulcan at the Science Academy.” He had been watching a couple of Talosian children laughing and running, clearly having a good time, playing. For some reason, it hadn’t occurred to him that Talosian children would play like children any other place -- except on Vulcan, of course.

Chakotay was watching the children as well, a small smile playing across his lips. “You know, they had several more minds than they did bodies, stored in that computer. Remnants of people who had been killed in the war. The Talosians absorbed their Katras, I understand, exactly as you predicted. Exactly as Seven told us. They are still in the 'Rock's memory. Seven, Harry, and Data are working to build a holo-emitter here on the surface of the planet. My understanding is that Deep Space Nine came across a town that had been built entirely of holograms. They're going to do the same here. The people in the computer have been communicated with. Since they don't need to eat or drink, they can inhabit the town as photonic people. They are willing to help with the rebuilding of the planet. I guess they feel somewhat responsible.”

Spock nodded at what Chakotay was saying. “An equitable solution, Captain. It will be good to see a populated world here as well.”

Chakotay paused for a moment, thinking about the whirlwind of trips that had needed done. Enterprise had ferried animals throughout nearby space. The Talosians hadn't gone terribly far to collect their menagerie, it had turned out. While Enterprise had been gone doing that, Voyager made a quick trip to Earth and Janeway had gone before the Federation Council, pleading the case of the Talosians. There was much to do there, and Spock had appeared at length to tell his story of Talos IV and his two previous trips there. Once he and Janeway had plead their cases, they had been summarily dismissed from the proceedings. Janeway was called in a week later to hear their findings. Rumor had it that the President of the council's voice could be heard throughout the capitol clearly. Chakotay disagreed, however. He had been across town, and he couldn't understand the words. Anyway, that's how he told it on board Voyager that night before Janeway called him to beam her aboard. She met with Chakotay late that night and filled him in on what had been said and done. She told him how the President had gone up one side of Starfleet and down the other, but when all was said and done, all the ranting had accomplished was blowing off steam. All of the secrecy had been decided on years ago by people that weren't around to explain themselves. All except for Spock, and the President could see no alternative but to ask him to be ambassador to the Talosians. Grudgingly. What Janeway felt the President's real problem was, was that he hadn't been privy to Voyager's and Enterprise' missions there. Once more the fate of the Federation was being decided, and he had nothing to do with it. He had even been sore enough to leave it to her to extend his invitation to Spock. She felt that was petty, but politicians were a breed unto themselves.

Now Chakotay had a much happier invitation to extend to the Vulcan. “Harry and Seven have something they wish to consult with you on in the holodeck, if you don't mind, Mr. Spock.”

Spock turned to Chakotay suspiciously. What would Seven of Nine and Mr. Kim need to consult with him about? From what he could see, they were both incredibly gifted with the technology involved. Chakotay's face was unreadable, however, so Spock simply raised an eyebrow and said, “Indeed.” Then he gestured towards the ship, and followed as Chakotay started towards it.

When they arrived at the holodeck, Chakotay excused himself, and told Spock that he would find them inside, then he was off.

Spock opened the door and entered, and was surprised to find himself in a running program. It looked familiar, but he couldn't place it at first. Then he realized he was just outside Mojave, California. Or rather in a perfect representation of it. He recognized the skyline. He had been thinking about this scene recently because.... He stopped. He suddenly realized why he had been thinking about Mojave. It had been Pike's home. In fact, the trees he was standing under were where Pike and Vina had their picnic years before. He had seen this in the projection the Keeper had sent to the Enterprise.

Spock's keen ears picked up the sound of horses in the distance, and he turned, knowing what he would see, and wondering if he could compose himself in time.

Christopher Pike and Vina were approaching on horseback. Spock felt his eyes start to sting, and quickly exerted every bit of control he could muster. He had known that this meeting could and probably would happen. He had been prepared for it. He thought.

Pike stopped his horse a few paces from Spock, and Vina reigned in as well. Pike swung expertly out of the saddle in one fluid motion, like he had been doing this all his life, as Spock realized, he probably had. Vina slid down as well, and she took the reigns from Pike. “I'll just take the horses over here.” She clicked her tongue and the horses obediently followed. Spock heard her talking to 'Mary Lou' as she led them off. What was the name of the other horse? Oh yes. Tango.

Pike walked over to Spock and held out his hand. “Spock, I never got a chance to thank you for what you did for me. I mean, of course you knew I was grateful, but I never got a chance to tell you.”

“One does not thank logic, Captain,” Spock said.

“No Spock, one doesn't. But one does thank compassion. And one thanks a friend,” Pike said, matter-of-factly. It almost seemed that he was waiting for that response, as though he knew Spock would say that very thing.

Spock wasn't sure what to say. Finally, he just nodded. Pike grinned at him, and motioned for them to walk.

“It's tough, Spock. I'm grateful to you, Jim, and of course the Talosians. I'm no longer in his head, by the way. Neither is Vina. Your Seven-of-Nine helped the Magistrate deposit us in the computer here.” He was rambling, and Spock just let him talk, wondering about a universe that let him walk with and talk to a man who, ninety years before, had lost the ability to do either. “I'm not a man who shows gratitude very easily,” Pike was saying. “But I wish I could thank Jim. He risked a lot to get me to Talos.”

“The Magistrate told him, Captain. And he knew. I told him as well, if you remember. You, yourself agreed with me.”

“I know, Spock. But it's not the same as saying it myself. Whatever happened to Jim and Dr. McCoy?”

Spock sighed. He had known that he would have to tell Pike of Jim's death too. Thankfully, Dr. McCoy was still alive. That was one painful memory he didn't have to re-live. He told Pike of Kirk's death on Veridian III, while saving the people of the neighboring planet, and the crew of Enterprise D. Pike nodded solemnly, then said, “Fitting that he should go out saving the crew of the Enterprise.”

Spock fought back the lump in his throat as he said, “Indeed.”

Pike heard the break in his voice, and prudently changed the subject. “What can you tell me of our crew? Number One, Tyler, Boyce, Colt? Whatever happened to them?”

Spock told him what he know, and Pike motioned for Vina to join them. They continued to walk and talk for several hours after Pike told Spock that Chakotay had designated this holodeck for his and Vina's exclusive use for the duration. They would be transferred to the Talos surface holo-emitter when it was completed. But for now, they would get to see Earth again.

As Pike and Vina had no need for sleep, and Spock had little use for it, they found themselves talking into the morning. They had walked for some distance, and were heading back to the picnic sight under the trees. Vina was in awe of the technology that allowed such a perfect representation of their home on board a starship.

As they drew near to the trees, they saw that three people were waiting for them: Captain Chakotay, the Keeper, and Captain Picard.

“Captain Pike,” Chakotay said formally. “May I introduce Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise, NCC 1701-E.”

Pike shook Picard's hand warmly, a huge grin on his face. “Captain, it is a genuine pleasure to meet you.”

“As it is to meet you, Captain,” Picard told him. I would like to invite you and Mrs. Pike on a tour of the Enterprise, Sir.”

At his reference to her as Mrs. Pike, Vina blushed and smiled. Pike looked at her and squeezed her hand tightly. Then he turned to the Talosian. “I thought you couldn't influence us with your mind anymore.”

“I cannot, since you are in the computer memory, but Captain Picard informs me that there is a way around the problem.”

Picard took up the explanation as Pike looked eagerly to him. “As it happens, Captain, we have recently found it necessary to put holo-emitters in all key areas of the ship. I can't show you the jeffries tubes, but I can certainly show you the rest of the ship. Including my cabin where I'd like to invite you to have dinner, present company included.”

Pike shook Picard's hand warmly again and said, “I don't need to eat now, but I'll sure happily accept your invitation, Captain. And please, call me Chris.”

“Thank you, Chris. Call me Jean-Luc.”

                          

Chapter 23

Captain Christopher Pike materialized in the transporter room of the USS Enterprise. This was not strictly necessary, but it was how visiting dignitaries were treated. Captain Picard had pulled out the stops for this visit. He met Pike and Vina in the transporter room in his full dress whites. Riker, Data, Worf, Crusher and Geordie were there to meet them as well. Pike had no idea that they would afford him this honor, but as soon as he and his wife materialized, Captain Picard announced, “Attention!”

Everyone in the room snapped to attention, until Pike, pleasantly surprised, remembered to say, “As you were.” Then, he said to Picard, “Permission to come aboard, Captain?”

Picard beamed from ear to ear as he said, “Permission granted, Captain.” Then he stepped forward, grasped Pike warmly by the hand and said, “Welcome aboard the Enterprise, Captain Pike.” He then introduced the officers standing around the transporter console.

Pike seemed somewhat taken aback by the fact that this new Enterprise had a Klingon Security Chief. He said nothing as he shook his hand, but he paled slightly.

Once he had introduced everyone else, he turned to Riker. “And this is my first officer, Commander William T. Riker. Commander Riker will be joining us on our tour.”

Pike held out his hand. “A pleasure, Commander.”

Riker shook his hand warmly. “The pleasure is all mine, Captain. I've read all the logs I could regarding your time as Captain of the Enterprise. I'd love the opportunity to hear your perspective on how things have changed since then.”

Pike looked around at the transporter room. “Your transporter room is bigger,” he said deadpan, “and your doctor is a sight prettier.”

All of the humans in the room started laughing. Data looked from one to the other of them, then commented to no one in particular, “Perhaps I should have turned on my emotion chip.” He paused for a moment as he stared into space, then commented. “Ah. Doctor Phillip Boyce. I understand now.” As he started laughing, Worf simply growled.

As they left the transporter room, Pike found that many of the crew had assembled themselves along the corridor from the transporter room to the turbolift for his inspection.

Pike made his way down the inspection line, performing the duties of a senior fleet captain, on an inspection tour. When they reached the lift, Pike turned to Picard. “You didn't have to go to this trouble, Captain.”

“Actually, Captain Pike, I did. If I hadn't, my crew would have mutineed and done it anyway.”

Pike chuckled at this, but stopped when the lift doors opened and they stepped onto the bridge of the Enterprise. Pike's mouth dropped open as he stepped, almost like a sleep-walker, onto the spacious bridge. “Not just your transporter room is bigger, Riker,” he said in an awed whisper.

“Welcome to the bridge, Captain,” Picard said.

The rest of the tour was one incredible sight for Pike after another. He had known the Enterprise E would be far superior to his Enterprise but he hadn't even conceived of anything like what he now saw. It was not just technologically superior, but it was beautiful. Picard had even arranged for an exterior tour in the captain's yacht, Cousteau. The lines of the ship were lovely and graceful. It had the same basic shape as his own ship had, primary hull, secondary hull and warp nacelles far away from the rest by single pylons, but there the similarities ended. This Enterprise was low slung, like an old earth sports car. It simply looked like it was built for speed, where his ship had been much more stately and regal. “So fast,” he murmured as he looked at the lines.

“Yes,” Picard said softly from beside him.

Pike glanced at Picard, then chuckled. “I didn't realize I spoke out loud,” he said.

Picard kept his eyes on his ship. “I don't get this view of her very often. When I do, it's hard to stop looking.” He sighed and met Pike's gaze. “My first ship was a Constellation Class ship. The Stargazer. She was nothing like this ship, but I still couldn't get enough of seeing her.”

Pike looked surprised. “The Constellation Class? Your first ship was a Constellation Class? I was on the committee that approved that class. It was basically an updated version of the Constitution Class. The engines were a new design, and we weren't sure how they would perform.”

Now it was Picard's turn to be surprised. “I didn't realize that it was an updated Constitution Class.”

“Yes. Matt Decker was the Captain of the Constellation. He took command about the time I gave up the Enterprise.” He sighed as he realized another good man and friend was probably gone. “That's one of the problems of living so long... And coming back after death. All your friends are gone.”

Picard gave a thin smile. He started to say something, but Vina beat him to it. “Not all your friends are gone, Chris. Spock is still here. The Magistrate is still here. And I'm still here.”

Pike turned and regarded his wife. “That's true. And from what Spock tells me, Leonard McCoy is still around complaining about transporters too.” He swung away from the port suddenly and sat down heavily. “I wish I could see Earth again. Oh sure. I can visit it in the holodeck, but it's not the same as actually going there.”

Picard sat down beside him. At the same time, Vina sat opposite. Picard glanced at her for confirmation. She nodded and he spoke: “Captain Pike. I swear to you. I will do whatever I have to to get you back to Earth. I can't begin to understand what you're going through right now, but I know how important home is. And friends. I lost my brother not long ago. My crew on this ship are my family.” He paused for a moment, the said as if just realizing it for the first time: “I can't even conceive of a life without them. I promise you. I will help get you back to Earth.”

Pike looked gratefully at Picard. “Thank you, Captain. But honestly. How could I see Earth? I have to have a holo-emitter to exist.”

“Dear, I understand that the Doctor on Voyager is a hologram, and he has a mobile emitter. Can't we use one of those?”

Picard was apologetic. “Unfortunately, no. The Doctor's mobile emitter is one of a kind. It's been scrutinized in every way, and we don't know how to copy it. However, there are emitters like the one Data is helping to set up on Talos. Not to mention, eventually we will be able to construct a mobile emitter like the Doctor has.”

“That's true,” Vina said. “If something exists, it had to be built. There's got to be a way to do it. There are always possibilities, Chris.”

Later, on board Enterprise, Picard contacted Data and asked him to look at the Doctor's mobile emitter if he possibly could, with an eye to figuring out how it worked. “Captain Pike would like to pay a visit to Earth, and a mobile emitter would certainly make it easier for him and Vina.”

“Actually, Captain, that is an alternative we have been considering for the Talosians. I am certain that given time, we will be able to build one.”

“Well, Mr. Data. With the three of you working on it, we may as well consider it done. Picard out.”

On the planet, Data opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it. He made one more abortive attempt at speech, then finally shrugged his shoulders slightly and manually closed the connection to his captain. He turned to Seven, who was quietly working beside him. “It seems as though we have another reason to work on the mobile emitter idea.”

She nodded and said sardonically, “You may add that to the several thousand reasons we already have.”

Once again, Data opened his mouth to speak, stopped, shook his head slightly, and closed his mouth. He decided that the wiser course of action was to simply continue working. Thus, he missed the ghost of a smile that flashed across Seven's features.

Harry Kim, however, saw it as he approached the two. Like Data, Harry chose not to comment. He simply asked if the processors were aligned so they could begin power up of the emitters. It was night, and as a result, very few people were around as they made the final touches on the free standing holo-emitter in the center of what would be the town square. They had decided on a similar approach to the town reported by Deep Space Nine. The town would, of course be based on Talosian architecture, and would be produced by a series of twelve emitters spaced evenly throughout the valley.

Several corporeal Talosians had taken an interest in what they were doing with the emitters, and were being trained by Data and Harry to maintain and even program the equipment. One of them had worked on the team that had constructed the Rock, and he had some ideas regarding a holographic memory module for the emitters. He had quickly turned his idea into a physical reality, then brought it to Data. Data had been awed by the module, and had showed it to Seven of Nine. She in turn had reacted not at all, as she announced that the module would speed memory access time by an order of magnitude, and started building an interface for it.

Now, the hardware was set up, and the last of the software was being coded by Seven and Data. Harry had worked round the clock to set things up. He and B'Elanna had spent several days designing the system they had now built, while Data, the Doctor and Seven of Nine had built the software. He was now ready for some serious sleep time. First, however, they needed to run a test. If things worked out, he would be able to sleep till morning when they turned on the system. If things didn't.... Well. He really didn't want to think about more sleepless hours, but that was what he would be facing.

Seven had spent the last day and a half transferring mental patterns to the emitter memory module with the help of the Talosians who were holding them. Harry had jokingly referred to the patterns as 'mental images' and the name had stuck as that's precisely what they were. An image of the mind of a Talosian.

Harry selected one of the mental images, and crossed his fingers. He touched a screen, and a couple of meters to his left, the air shimmered. Then, a form appeared. It was dressed in the metal fabric common to the Talosians. The form was motionless until Harry touched another spot on the same screen, and the form was suddenly animated. She started to breath, and her face suddenly became living. She looked around, then looked directly at Harry. She seemed puzzled, but then, haltingly she spoke using her mouth. “I understand. I am photonic now. I have no physical mind with which to project my thoughts. It will take time, but perhaps it is for the best.”

Harry smiled then addressed her. “I'm Harry Kim, of the Federation Starship, Voyager.” He hoped the translator built into the console was functioning both ways. “How do you feel?”

Apparently, the translator was working correctly. “That is an interesting question, Mr. Kim. Am I using your name correctly?” When he answered in the affirmative, she continued. “Theoretically, I should not feel anything, as I am not physically alive, however, I surmise that the best way I can answer your question is to say that I feel relatively good.” As she said this, her eyes sparkled, and Harry had the distinct impression that he was being teased.

“Are the sensations you are receiving from your body the way you remember them?” he asked.

She walked over to the console and ran her hand over it. Then she reached down and picked up a handful of dirt from the ground. She allowed the dirt to run through her fingers, then she took an experimental sniff of the air. She even touched the tip of her tongue to her fingers which still had a small trace of dust clinging to them.

“All senses seem to be present and accounted for, except for my mental abilities. I understand why you didn't include them, however.” Again, her eyes sparkled.

“And it hardly seems necessary to ask if your mind appears to be there completely.”

“No, if it wasn't all there, I probably wouldn't know what was missing, now would I?”

Harry paused and finally asked her, “What was your designation. I understand that Talosians don't use names as we do, but what do I call you?”

“I was one of the leaders in our government. However, my actual designation was a linguist. I'm finding it somewhat uncomfortable, not being able to use my mind to see into yours and decipher your language, however, I seem to have access to some translation algorithms built into this console. I've absorbed it and find it quite easy to understand what you're saying now. Am I using contractions properly now?”

Data had been watching the proceedings, and spoke up now. “I am Data, of the Enterprise. You are indeed using contractions properly.”

She focused on him and said, “Yet I perceive that you aren't using them.” She cocked her head quizzically and asked, “Are you an artificial life form?”

“I am indeed, Linguist. How did you know?”

“There is an air of perfection about your appearance and mannerisms which is not normally associated with an organic lifeform. As well, you know that I use contractions properly, but don't use them yourself. That indicates more a computer mind rather than an organic one.”

“That does not follow, logically,” Data remarked. “Since you asked if you were using contractions correctly, I may have been replying without them to facilitate your understanding.”

She laughed outright at that. “Why would you do that since you said yourself that I was using them correctly?”

Data had an answer for that, however. “Since you were unsure that you were using contractions correctly, I reasoned that it would be best not to use them. It may have confused you.”

Again, she laughed, only now, she didn't stop for quite some time. Data cocked his head for a moment and examined the situation. He had his emotion chip turned on, but for the world, he couldn't figure out what was funny. Finally, the Talosian woman stopped laughing. She walked up to him and hugged him tightly. The top of her bald head only came to his chest, but she hugged him tight. When she loosed her hold on him, she backed up and held him at arms length. “I am so sorry. I wasn't laughing at you, Data. I have been in a computer with only my own thoughts for millennia. The thrill of our debate was wonderful! I haven't had a conversation in so long and then, on my first day revived, to have such a thrill! To see, taste, smell.... All after so long, it is almost overwhelming!”

“I see. It is a combination of our conversation, your emotions, and senses all working together that....” He broke off, as she was laughing again. Seven looked at Data, and raised her left eyebrow, in a perfect parody of Spock. Harry Kim caught it, and doubled over. He was gone too.

                          

Chapter 24

Once more, Beverly Crusher and the Doctor found themselves working together, only this time in her sickbay rather than his. They had scanned several of the newly revived Talosians for genetic problems from the long storage in what amounted to a pattern buffer. Granted, it was a very sophisticated buffer, but a pattern buffer nonetheless. To date, there had been two hundred seventy three cases of madness among the revived Talosians. The two doctors were trying to figure out what could possibly be causing the madness, but they had found nothing.

Counselor Troi was working with some of the madness victims as well, but she was having limited success.

“Doctor,” Crusher said, puzzled. “Take a look at this.” She had been looking at the Keeper's genetic code. There was one gene that he had, which none of the revived Talosians had. She pointed it out to the Doctor. He was equally puzzled.

“That is truly interesting. And the Keeper is the only Talosian you have sequenced who has that gene?” The Doctor asked.

“It's in the middle of a stretch of repeat DNA. Every other piece of repeat DNA that I've seen has turned up in at least one other Talosian. Our Keeper is the only one I've studied who has this one gene.”

“While it is fascinating, Beverly, I don't see how it can help us. The Keeper obviously isn't affected by the madness.”

“I agree, Doctor. It's the only piece of information that I have that correlates to anything we know for sure. The one Talosian who wasn't patterned has this gene. Who knows. Perhaps it is a piece of genetic drift from the time of the Rock to now.” Crusher was frustrated, and it could be heard in her voice.

A small voice came from the door into sickbay. “Can I be of help, Doctors?” It was the Keeper.

“I'm not sure how, Magistrate. I just can't find any correlation with the madness. The only thing I'm sure of is that I'll go mad myself if something doesn't start to make sense!”

“Would it help, Dr. Crusher, if I were to bring you a Talosian Doctor?”

Crusher thought for a moment. “It might, but how could we be sure that any of your doctors didn't have the madness themselves?”

“To date, none of the photonic Talosians has had the madness. I shall bring one of them.”

Twenty minutes later, a Talosian materialized in the room. As soon as Counselor Troi joined them, he introduced himself as a specialist. “The Linguist tells me that in your language, my designation would most closely be 'Doctor', however that would be confusing. As I was a genetic specialist, that would probably be the best thing to call me. 'Specialist'.”

“Very well, Specialist,” The Doctor said swiftly. “You are, no doubt, aware of the difficulty.”

“Yes,” the Talosian said. “And I think I may know what causes the problem. However, I'm afraid my particular specialty won't be needed. The problem most likely does not lie in genetics.”

Crusher sat down heavily at that. She had spent the better part of a week trying to find a problem in the genes. “So what do you think it is, Specialist?”

The Talosian sat down opposite her. You understand, Dr. Crusher, that I am a photonic Talosian. I was one of the telepathic Talosians. I am here, because when I was killed, my katra was absorbed by the Talosian that telepathically killed me. The Magistrate has informed me how he managed to separate himself from the illusion forced on him by the Rock. Has he told you how this was managed?”

The Keeper stepped forward, and looked questioningly at the Specialist. “I do not see how this could be relevant.”

“If you will tell them, I will explain, Magistrate.”

The Keeper told how Seven of Nine had separated her consciousness into different partitions, effectively setting up a virtual machine on which she was able to run a secondary personality that was free from her primary one.

The Specialist then continued. “Any Talosian who had touched another mind, would have an imprint of that mind in theirs. That imprint is not the same as a Katra. It would have no consciousness of it's own, but that imprint naturally goes into a separate partition. It must, or it will tend to overwrite ones own consciousness.”

He paused for the others to think about this. When he continued, things became crystal clear, and the other three realized that he was probably correct in his theory. “In the Rock, the mental images were stored separately from the physical patterns. The mental images were stored in a photonic memory module. To preserve consciousness over the long wait, the mental images were left alert. They were all separate from each other. Those of us without a body were stored no differently. Because we were a complete consciousness, we were stored identically. And because we were a complete consciousness, we had the same imprints. Because these imprints were there, we were not alone throughout the millennia. Those who hadn't used the artificial telepathy machinery had no one to talk to throughout the long wait until they were re-integrated.”

The Doctor's mouth dropped open. “You realize what you're saying? Those people who never killed anyone are the ones who are going mad!”

The Keeper's head was hanging, and once again he was crying. He raised his head and said softly. “Punished because they didn't fight.”

Beverly Crusher looked decidedly sick.

Finally, the Specialist broke into the other's thoughts. “I have told you the most likely reason for the problem. I have no idea what to do to solve it.”

Troi turned to the Keeper. “Magistrate. If you were to join me in a meld, do you think we would be able to do more than I have been able to on my own?”

The Keeper thought for a few moments. “I have no psychological training, Counselor. If only the Specialist still had his abilities. I understand that he did have some.”

“That is true, Magistrate. However the ban on the artificial augmentation is the right thing to do. Theoretically those us who are photonic could use it, but the temptation. No. It mustn't be done.” He hesitated, clearly in turmoil. Then, he turned to the doctors. “However, those who are in physical bodies could have the ability turned on.”

The Keeper stared.

“How?” the Doctor asked, shocked.

The Specialist sighed. “I was in a genetics lab before we were attacked. We had found the gene that activated the telepathic ability. It was in the middle of a segment of repeating DNA.”

Dr. Crusher gasped. The Doctor turned to her. “I think we know the result of the gene that only the Keeper has, Beverly.”

Crusher stood and turned on the computer screen on her desk. She flipped it around and showed it to the Specialist. “Precisely, Doctor Crusher.”

The Doctor was worried, however. “You have deliberately not given the ability to those of you who are photonic. Aren't you concerned that if you start turning on this gene, you will have the same problems as before?”

The Keeper was shaking. The Specialist was hanging his head.

Troi gently spoke. “The difference now is that you have your past as a reference. Those who are doomed to repeat the past are those who refuse to learn from it. My people, while not as powerful telepathically as the Talosians, do have people who are telepathically null. As a matter of fact, approximately seven percent of all Betazoids are not telepathic. Vulcans also, while only touch telepaths, also have those who have very little ability. It is possible to have that part of a population that is different and not have war.”

“Sneetches,” said the Doctor simply.

“Pardon?” said Troi.

“An old Earth morality tale on prejudice. It was a children's story written by a Theodor Seuss Geisel, who was popularly known as Dr. Seuss. The story was about some fictitious creatures called the Sneetches. Some had stars on their bellies, and others had none. Those who had stars stupidly looked down on the ones who had 'no stars upon thars'. Of course those who didn't have the stars were just as bad, because they allowed themselves to be treated that way. Eventually they were shown how ridiculous they were by each group being made to strive to be the other.” He looked at the two Talosians. “Not that I'm comparing Talosians with Sneetches...” He trailed off. “I'm a doctor, not a literary critic!”

“'Stars upon thars?'” Beverly asked.

“Actually,” said the Specialist, “It is a very apt description. But now, we have a situation that I'm afraid can't be rectified by jealousy.”

“I must see if I can help a victim of the madness. If I can, we will have to place the problem before all of the people,” The Keeper said.

The next day, The Keeper and the Specialist went with the Leader before the people of Talos. The Specialist had been proved right, and with Seven's help, the Keeper had made contact with the sane mind of one of the victims, drawing her out of the madness. She was the Talosian version of a Counselor, and with coaching from the Keeper and Seven, as well as gene therapy, she was able to help others.

Not all of the Talosians received the gene therapy. Some were quite content to remain as they had been all of the lives, but with the knowledge that things had changed, they weren't worried about war. Troi had been right, and they acknowledged the fact.

Those who learned from their mistakes will not repeat them.

---

Before Enterprise left, Pike met with the Keeper in the cabin that had been assigned to him and Vina aboard ship. It was about four times the size of VIP quarters on his ship. It was definitely taking some getting used to, all the differences.

“So you will remain here?” Chris asked the Talosian.

“I have considered it. I am not the last of my race anymore, and it is wonderful to be with others like me. But they are not like me in other ways.” He sat heavily on one of the lounges in the center of the room. It is approximately five thousand years ago on the planet's surface. I am an anachronism now.”

Pike nodded. “You're the one who is actually in your own time, but you are an outcast because the rest are from a different time.” Vina came through the connecting door and stopped when she saw the Talosian. Pike waved her over to his side where she sat down. “The other day, I was feeling the same way, Magistrate,” he continued. “I'm ninety years out of time now. Vina is a hundred and ten out. But we've got each other to lean on.”

“I have no one,” the diminutive alien said. “I'm alone.”

“No,” Pike said definitively. “You're not. You have us, your friends.”

Vina nodded. “It's not just gratitude, Magistrate. We've gotten to know you. Your personality, your compassion. You didn't have to project an illusion of beauty to me for all those years.”

“Nor,” Pike continued, “did you have to invite me back to Talos. You are a true friend, Magistrate. We are going to Earth to see it again, but we are coming back. I've been appointed ambassador to Talos.” He grinned. “The posting is indefinite.”

“You've seen Earth many times in our dreams,” said Vina. “Now's your chance to see it in reality. Why don't you come with us?”

The Keeper sat thinking for a long while. Then he nodded. “I would like that very much,” he said. “Thank you for your friendship. Both of you.”

Vina reached out and embraced the Keeper. When she let him go, Pike pumped his arm, hard. Then he went to tell Picard that the Keeper was coming. Spock had told Picard to be prepared, as he thought it likely the Keeper would desire this. Once again, he was right. He usually was.

The End