Is This For Real

[DrDMatthews 0]

Confused was putting it mildly.

 

Once again, the haggard band of survivors from escape pod 612 were escorted out of a transporter room and into a long corridor....under guard. This time, they had company. All of the remnants of the Reaent's crew had been gathered together for this particular parade.

 

Debbie Matthews silently trudged along behind the lead guard. Merina was beside her. She glanced over her shoulder to find Ensign Tkar, her delicate Vulcan features reflecting a total lack of emotion. Beside Tkar was young Mr. DeFalco, the engineer who had taken the controls on pod 612. The others shuffled along behind them... exhausted....some injured.....and all of them thoroughly confused.

 

At least there was no brig awaiting them at the end of their march. They were on their way to Sickbay.... for complete physicals....not because their hosts were overly concerned about their health although that was part of it.....but because their hosts didn't really believe they were who they claimed to be. That was understandable. Deb was just as confused. She wasn't sure their hosts were who they claimed to be either.

 

She knew the Reaent had been destroyed. She saw it....felt it....she was absolutely certain of that much. But now she and the others were here....walking down a familiar corridor toward an even more familiar Sickbay....her Sickbay. They'd been rescued. But their saviors claimed they were now on the Reaent. How could that be? The Reaent was gone....blown to bits by the Romulans less than half an hour ago.

 

Deb tried to focus on the evidence as they approached the lift. While still on the escape pod, their sensors detected a wormhole opening. She didn't know all that much about wormholes other than they were temporal distortions. If stable, they could be used as a conduit from one area of space to another very distant location. She also knew the Romulans were fooling around with a wormhole. Reaent made her escape through it. That's how the ship ended up in the Gamma Quadrant.

 

It was also how they wound up back in Romulan space. Just a short distance out from Camelot Station, the Romulan wormhole suddenly reappeared. In the blink of an eye, Reaent was back where she started....badly damaged and staring down who knew how many Warbirds. Was the wormhole they detected while on the escape pod related to the one that brought Reaent back?

 

And the ship that came through that wormhole....it squawked as the Reaent.....an Ambassador Class Starship....the USS Reaent - NCC-3345-G. How could that be? Reaent was her ship and her ship was gone.

 

Then they appeared in the transporter room only to be greeted by Captain Michaels.....and Aidan. They looked like the Captain and her husband. Everything about them was the same. But how could that be? Michaels and Ridire were on the bridge when the Romulans destroyed the Reaent. They couldn't have survived. And if they did, why were they here, in this transporter room rather than in one of the escape pods.

 

She leaned against the cool metallic surface of the lift car as the portal closed with a soft whooshing sound. Was that Aidan? It looked like him. But how?. She glanced at her left hand, the one Aidan held for a few brief seconds. He was looking at her ring but his expression, though seemingly hopeful, was laced with doubt. She could only imagine the incertitude her own eyes betrayed.

 

Ensign DeFalco stood directly in front of her in the lift. "Ma'am, what's going on?" he whispered. "They don't believe us?"

 

Deb looked at him and smiled. "Are you certain this is the Reaent?"

 

The young engineer glanced away momentarily before again meeting her gaze. "Yes and no," he answered with a shrug. "I guess they feel the same way about us."

 

"I guess they do," replied Deb softly as she studied the haggard faces packed into the lift. "But don't worry, we'll settle this once and for all when we get to Sickbay." She reached over and patted his arm. "They'll figure out who we are....and we'll figure out who they are. Just remember....we're a lot better off now than we were ten minutes ago. Let's be grateful for that much and deal with everything else as it comes."

 

The lift doors chose that moment to open and DeFalco turned around to face forward. As the passengers filed out and down the hall toward Sickbay, Deb saw a couple of her staff standing just outside the medical facility's main doors. One was Lieutenant Grace Allen, the Chief Nurse, whom Deb was certain had been killed when half of Sickbay was blown away. The nurse was scanning the incoming crowd, searching for familiar faces. Their eyes met and Deb couldn't help smiling at Gracie. Nor could she ignore the look of shock and disbelief on her friend's face.

 

Grace came forward to meet Debbie while the tattered band of survivors were still in the corridor. "Is this for real? she asked hesitantly.

 

Debbie Matthews took her friend's arm and smiled as the two entered Sickbay. "I hope so, Gracie. I really hope so."

Edited April 24, 2009 by DrDMatthews