But if they had a contest between the three women at the table as to who was the most insecure, it might have been a dead heat. The girl felt so badly about herself that she had given into hopelessness. The woman who loved her felt overshadowed by a woman whose only fault was that her husband had built her up into a hero of mythical proportion, even in death. And the woman sitting across from them witnessed the love between the two, feeling entirely unworthy and inauthentic; as if being herself was some mere phase of life rather than the huge struggle she had endured with much success.

A stereotypical nerd and big Star Trek fan is having major problems fitting in, let alone getting treated as a real person. Then, at an SF convention, he discovers an alien box, and it transforms his life, and the lives of many of his acquaintences.

(NOTE: I know that the preferred term is Trekker. I am one. This title sounded better to me, okay?

Another note: This started as a short little piece about one character. But sometimes, stories have minds of their own. It just mushroomed, and refused to be so confined. And it was much more fun to write this way.)

This was posted years ago at another website. I figured it was time to take a short BB break (while I'm in writer's block) and share some of the oldies. I hope you enjoy it.

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Tarja 11

Author's Note: Sorry it's been a while between chapters. This tale takes place during the American Civil War at a time when things have begun to go badly for the South, which started drafting boys as young as 13 to fight in the war effort. ~Torey.