A Star Trek Next Generation based fan fiction novel

Reginald Barclay discovers that space is not the final frontier

Where No Man has Gone Before

Chapter 7: Chances Are

Deanna decided to walk with me as I returned to engineering to begin my day. We made small talk along the way, and had a
pleasant time sharing company with each other. Over the years, I had been obsessed with Deanna, which had led to many
lonely hours in the holodeck living out some foolish romantic fantasy. Then, as time passed, I became friends with Deanna,
and that was all I would ever have been, because of her great love for Will Riker. And that was something I could fully
appreciate now, thanks to who I have become. All due to a tiny pink crystalline rose.

If I ever found out who was responsible for that wonderful piece of magic or science, or whatever you want to call it, I
would like to thank them if were at all possible. Chances are, we would never know, but I could always hope with all my
heart. Know how Data was any problem, I was fairly certain we would have an answer.

As we walked into engineering, Geordi was just finishing giving out the day's assignments to the other engineers. When he
saw me, his face lit up, like I was the sun in his solar system. I made my heart skip a beat to see him act that way.

Deanna smiled at Geordi and said, "I was going to say for you to go easy on 'our' Regina, but I can see clearly she is
already yours. I'm very glad you are both so happy."

Geordi said, "I will go any way she will allow me to with her. I'm a very patient man councilor."

We said goodbye to Deanna, and then set into our day of working. A realignment of the warp core, Geordi wanted to see if
we could get another .075 percent improvement in efficiency. It was going to be a very long day.

******************************

By the end of our work day, I was tired and dirty. The only thing I wanted was to climb into a nice hot bath and soak.
Well, it would be nice to cuddle with Geordi, but I felt too dirty for that, really!

Geordi was just checking the final results for all of our hard toiling. Letting out a whoop of joy, "We did it, even
better than I had hoped, a .07995 percent improvement. Great work everyone, you really earn your pay today!" He started to
grab me into a hug, even in front of our crew mates and fellow workers. They just turned away and ignored us, they just
accepted us as a couple now. Just amazing.

I pushed him away, saying, "Don't, I must smell as dirty as I feel." Realizing that I also accepted the way the crew saw
us as being together. I made me feel even closer to them than before now, if that was possible.

Geordi smiled, "You smell like a rose, a soft pink rose. How do you do that? You worked harder than anyone here, sweated
the least, and still smell like you just got out of the bath." Shaking his head.

Thinking to myself, feeling like I was about to melt, 'Oh god, do you have any idea how weak you make me when you say
things like that?' Out loud, I said, "That's very kind of you Geordi, but I am still going to take a bath before I do
anything else today. Got that?"

Laughing, he said, "Yes Ma'am! I need to get cleaned up too." That made me smile as well. "Can I escort my Lady to her
quarters?"

I laughed as I said, "You may kind sir."

******************************

I had just finished dressing after a luxurious and indulgent bath. I chose an older style black dress with a shorter
length than my work skirts, what used to be called a LBD, back in the 20th century. I did my hair in curly ringlets, and
makeup done very subtly. I thought I did a good job for my lack of experience. When the door chimed.

I knew it had to be Geordi, "Enter."

Geordi stepped in wearing casual clothes, and his jaw just about hit the floor. I guess I did a good job. He said, "My
god, you look amazing." Then he said, "Now I feel under dressed, I shoud change."

I grabbed his arm before he could fly out the door, "Oh no you don't, you look just fine. I just wanted to try dressing up
a little. Do you like it?" Flirting by posing a bit for him. Considering that he was practically drooling, I think I had
my answer.

Geordi looked me deep in the eyes, "I said it before, I don't know what I did to deserve someone like you. And if I ever
get a chance to meet the person or people responsible for this, I want to let them know how eternally grateful I am to
have you in my life."

I waved my hand at my face to hold back the tears of joy I felt. Then taking his arm, we headed out to dinner.

******************************

We got to Ten Forward, and we're looking for a table by the window. I saw Guinan smiling at me, so I went to say hi while
Geordi looked for the perfect table. I gave Guinan a hug, after which she said, "My, don't you look all dressed up, you
look very good in that dress Regina."

"Thanks Guinan, I feel good in it too. And, well, Geordi seems to like it too. So, I'm not going to complain at all."

Geordi calls out from a table, where Deanna and Will are sitting. I thanked Guinan again and headed over to join the
others. Geordi says, "Commander Riker and the Counselor would like us to join them, if you don't mind?"

I just said, "Why would I mind, Deanna is like a sister to me. As long as you don't mind that is?"

Will says, "That's quite the dress you're wearing Regina, you look very lovely in it. Geordi's a lucky man," teasingly, he
adds, "I only wish that Deanna would wear something like that for me once in a while."

Deanna looks at him, "Will, stop that! You're going to embarrass her. And I would wear something like that if I had
Regina's figure." Looking at me, "I really love what you did to your hair, it looks fantastic on you. Where did you get
the idea from for that style?"

I said, thinking, "When I was working at Command on the Pathfinder project, something Lt. Paris from Voyager, said some
things about old 20th century TV shows. Well, I found an old detective series called 'Charlies Angels', one of the
actresses wore her hair similar to this and I always liked it. So..."

Will said, "I agree with Deanna, it really looks good on you. You look more mature. With that pony tail thing, you look
like you should be in high school. Or dating Wesley Crusher instead of Geordi." Laughing at Geordi, "At least now, you
don't look like you're robbing the cradle."

Looking sternly at the commander, "Just because I look like I'm younger than a twenty year old, doesn't mean that I am.
Chronologically, my body age is around twenty-four, and in actuality I'm 38. So, either way you look at it, Geordi and I
are of the appropriate age to be together."

Looking contrite, Will said, "I apologize for that, I'm sorry. Can you forgive me Regina?"

"Of course I forgive you." Laughing, "You're only a man after all."

The rest of them laughed as well.

We placed our dinner orders and chatted while we waited. All through the meal, was just a warm feeling of friendship
between the four of us. Just two couples having a pleasant time together.

******************************

After dinner was over and we were having some nice cheesecake for dessert with our after meal, drinks, Data entered the
room looking for us. Well, me actually. He said, "Good evening friends. Regina, I have found some interesting things about
that charm you found, that seems to have caused your gender change..."

Just then Beverley, enters, with Captain Picard, I waved Beverley over to join us. When they were seated, I explained,
"Data was just about to tell us about that tink pink rose charm that changed me. I thought you'd want to hear this too."
They both wanted to know what Data had learned, but for different reasons.

Data began, "What I have learned, stretches the realm of the imagination, and you may find hard to believe. However, what
I have learned seems to fit the facts at hand, and can not seem to be refuted." Looking around the table, we urge him to
continue. "Well, it seems that the charm was created by a young woman for her aunt as a Christmas gift, back in the year
2015 on Earth."

Beverley says, "When you say 'created', you mean made, right?"

"No doctor, I mean it was created, by, what can only be described as magical. And there is proof that it was not done by
any of the 'Q'. The young lady, named Katherine McClintock, or Katie as it were. As I said, Katie made the charm for her
aunt Freya Lawrence Blake. Freya at the time was pregnant with twins at the time and the charm was intended to be for her
unborn cousin Kira Nerys Blake."

Data paused to let that settle in, then continued. "If that last name sounds familiar, it should. Kira Nerys is a major in
the Bejoran government serving on DS9 with Captain Sisko."

We looked at each other stunned.

The captain said, "Please continue Mr Data."

"Well, Major Kira is not the same Kira Blake, but an odd coincidence. But back to the creation of the charm, or rather,
charms, as there seems to have been five of them or so. Katie had the help of her maternal grandmother in the creation of
the charms. And this is where it goes into deeper uncharted waters. It seems that the grandmother was actually a member of
the Asgard, a race believed by early Earth humans to be gods."

Going on, "The Asgard has since seemed to have vanished without a trace sometime in the early 22nd century. The Asgard was
often fighting amongst themselves, and this is where Katie's aunt and family in general, the story begins. The goddess
Freya was living among the humans and had two children by one of them. Another god, who was known for playing cruel tricks
on people throughout all of their history, chose to change the Freya's first child to a male, while still in uterus."

"Their lives went on as normal, Freya, or as she was known by the humans, then, Valgerður, eventually passed and returned
to the Asgard. Meanwhile, her son, Michael lived a rather unfulfilled life until he died while playing a video game
online. Though the death seemed to only happen to transform into a woman, Katie's aunt Freya."

Geordi says, "Absolutely fascinating. But, now I'll never get the chance to say thank you to Katie or her aunt Freya."

Data said, "Do not be so fast to say that Geordi. The aunt Freya was said to have been created using her then in game
persona, as legend has it, an elf, known for their extreme long lives, bearing an uncanny similarity to Vulcans. The names
of Freya and her family have been lost through time, but the last know sitting of her was late in the 23rd century. So
there is a possibility she is still around."

******************************

This was all very confusing for me now. The charm that made my new life possible was created by a goddess and her
granddaughter, for a cousin, that shared names with a woman born four hundred years later. And made, by magic, or
something that was advanced, as to be considered magic. And all because of one god, playing a cruel joke on another.

Regardless of the reasons, I was a woman now, and very happy about it too. I had a man, that I loved and adored, who also
loved and adored me. My life was as perfect as could be, or so I thought at the time.

That night I had an amazing dream...

End of Chapter 7