“Ensign, stay on them.” Riker said as the Enterprise took a tilting turn in pursuit of the ship in front of them.

“I knew I should have helped installing the new stabilizers last week. The ship feels a bit sluggish.” Calvin said and righted the ship. “Worf? Any luck locking on?”

“They have a slight dispersion field covering the rear of their ship.” Worf said.

“I think it is more likely that their warp core is out of alignment.” Data said and ran several scans. “Yes, their port nacelle is causing a 6% distortion in their shields from the imbalanced power.”

“That explains why they aren't firing back.” Calvin said and flew down on a slight angle. Thanks to the inertial dampeners, no one on the ship noticed. “They might manage to shoot themselves with their own shields acting like a reflector.”

“I'm making note of the readings.” Geordi said from the back of the bridge. “We could make a mistake like that work for us at some point.”

“It also explains why they are not trying to jump to warp. They cannot form a stable warp bubble.” Data said. “A deeper scan would tell us how long their repairs will take.”

“I would get closer if our shields wouldn't interact and probably blow out the emitters.” Calvin said.

“Can we evade into another pattern and then come at the ship from another angle?” Riker asked.

“Data? Any readings on the flight path?” Calvin asked. “I haven't seen anything predictable yet.”

Data's console beeped. “No pattern. In fact, it seems the ship we are chasing is intentionally not flying logically.”

“Great. We're the lucky ones to find intelligent Ferengi to have first contact with.” Calvin said with laugh and then coughed. “I'm just joking. There's no evidence of that.”

A few people laughed softly.

“Cal.” Deanna warned.

“Yes, I'm sorry.” Calvin said in a serious voice and started typing on commands. “I'm going to try something to get their attention. Data, increase power to the inertial dampeners in ten seconds.”

Data prepped the command and nodded.

Calvin waited for the enemy's ship to curve up and to the right before he hit execute and turned the ship to the left. The impulse engines went to full power and not the recommended 80% of regulations. Data powered the inertial dampeners at the same time and everyone only felt a slight backwards push as the Enterprise jumped forward in a very similar way to a particular captain's famous move.

When the Enterprise came to a dead stop, the Ferengi ship immediately changed course towards them and opened fire. It barely rocked the ship.

“Mr. Worf, if you would.” Riker said with a satisfied smile.

“With pleasure, sir.” Worf said with a bit of a growl and then a barrage of heavy phaser fire tore through the Ferengi ship's shields and hit their weapons array, their power distribution network, and their impulse engines.

“I thought the official reports were that their technology was on par with the Federation?” Tasha asked.

“It is.” Geordi said with a chuckle and pointed at Calvin. “It's us that's not.”

“Oh.” Tasha said and smiled. “When did you upgrade the weapons array?”

“Worf and I did it during the backshift on the weekend.” Calvin said as he brought the Enterprise around to move them closer towards their disabled prey. “We sent the request forms to Commander Riker this morning.”

Geordi huffed and then laughed.

“You really have to stop doing that.” Riker said with a chuckle.

“We want to be known as miracle workers.” Calvin said and then everything lost power and the ship slowed to a stop. “Nothing's working.”

Data tried several backup procedures and nothing happened. “Rerouting backup secondary batteries.”

Calvin nodded. “Okay, we have console controls.”

Data checked several things. “Limited database access. Power from the main engine is down.”

“Checking the dilithium chamber.” Geordi said and then he frowned. “There's nothing wrong.”

“It's either a major dampening field or something has us on an electronic tether and is sucking up all of the ship's main power.” Calvin said as Captain Picard entered the bridge from his ready room.

“Report.” Picard said and sat down and he was quickly filled in. “Then it's not the Ferengi.”

“Data? How are the sensors?” Riker asked.

Data checked and nodded. “Fully functional, Commander.”

“Run a scan and see if you can determine where this energy drain is coming from.”

“Yes, sir.” Data said and we all waited while he worked. “It seems there's a nearby uninhabited planet that is the source.”

“Any reason why?” Picard asked.

“It would only be speculation at this point.” Data said and turned to look at him. “They did not like us fighting in their front yard.”

Calvin chuckled. “Eloquently put, my friend.”

Picard smiled and looked at Riker. “Commander? Do you feel like knocking on their front door?”

Data's console beeped at him. “Sir, there are some energy fluctuations around the planet that are focused around a solitary object.”

“It's probably our own energy.” Calvin said and hit several buttons on his console. “It's not really in a set pattern and matches some of our energy patterns. The transporters should work to get an away team through it.”

Picard thought about that and hit his comm badge. “Captain to Chief O'Brien.”

“O'Brian here.” Miles' voice responded.

Picard nodded to Data and he sent the information to the transporter room. “We need your opinion about transporting through that.”

“Checking the information now, sir.” Miles said and was quiet for a few moments. “I can get four people through; but, they might not land in the same spot.”

“How wide of an area?” Picard asked.

“Perhaps fifty to a hundred feet if they are beamed at once. I can send them down individually and cut that down to ten feet with a slight recalibration.”

Picard looked at Riker, who nodded. “The four will be there in a few minutes for you to use the second option.”

“Yes, captain. I'll be ready. O'Brian out.” Miles said and clicked off.

“Tasha, I know you don't want to miss something like this.” Riker said and she smiled. “Anyone else on the bridge?”

“I would like to go.” Data said and stood. “I have one of Calvin's Kay Scanners as well.”

“No one is ever going to call them by their registered name, are they?” Calvin asked.

“No.” Geordi, Data, and Deanna said at the same time, which made everyone smile, even Picard.

Calvin sighed. “Fine. I'll send in the name change.”

“We can pick up a security guard on the way to the main transporter room.” Riker said and then he, Data, and Tasha went to the turbo lift.

“Geordi, any luck with the backup reactor?” Calvin asked.

“It's registering as dead, even though we know both it and the warp core are producing power.” Geordi said with a shake of his head. “We also can't mirror the signal, whatever it is, because it might send all that energy back into the ship's power grid.”

“Installing shunts from several shuttles won't work, either.” Calvin said. “Once it's connected to the grid, it would be drained as well.”

“Oh, damn! The advanced labs!” Geordi exclaimed and shot to his feet. “Captain! I request Calvin's expertise to help me save the lab's current experiments that required access to the main power grid.”

“Granted.” Picard said.

Calvin hopped out of his seat and ran over to Geordi. “If we can't get the portable generators to take the load, we can boost the labs with Kay One and Kay Two if necessary, as long as we pull the labs off of the main grid.”

“That's a great idea!” Geordi said and they ran to the turbolift. “Call them to meet us there.” He said and they entered. “Ship's storage.”

*

The being known as Portal 63 was confused. He had witnessed the battle in space and the brilliant tactical move that brought the enemy to the winner, then nothing happened. They only disabled the enemy ship and didn't do anything else. He had fully expected them to use their weapons to kill their enemies and they clearly hadn't done that. He disabled both ships, just out of curiosity.

He was startled when a being appeared not far from his construct. He had thought the dispersion field would have sent them off some ways away to give him time to observe them. Then to his utter shock, another person appeared beside the first. Then another and another. How had they done it? It should have been impossible to penetrate the Tkon Empire's protections so easily.

The four beings took up defensive positions, as they should, then they approached him. He wasn't surprised by this, as any being with intelligence would seek out the greater intelligence... and then the paler one took out a strange device and pointed it at him. It didn't look like a weapon; but, he couldn't take that chance. He sent out a beam to disable it and the beam was deflected. He felt the device's scan flow over him and he shivered at the strong energy signature.

“Commander, this object is just over 600,000 years old.” The paler one said. “The scans say it is an artificial intelligence called Portal 63 from the Tkon Empire.”

“That's not normal, is it?” The tallest one asked. “Hold on a moment. If it's intelligent, why hasn't it said anything?”

“Perhaps we should ask it.” The paler one said. “Portal 63, are you fully active? Can you speak?”

Portal 63 was stunned by this request for exactly 1.68 seconds. Most primitive beings expected him to generate a construct to interact. “I am functional.”

The paler one nodded. “Excellent. It is nice to meet a fellow AI.”

“A fellow... AI?” Portal 63 asked.

“Artificial intelligence.” The paler one said. “My name is Data. I am an android with the rank of Lieutenant in Starfleet, which is sanctioned by an interplanetary governing body called the United Federation of Planets that spans hundreds of worlds.”

“I am Portal 63, the outer rim outpost for the Tkon Empire that also spans hundreds of worlds. My job is to screen potential visitors to my creator's worlds and welcome them, if they are not deemed as savages.”

“We are explorers.” The tallest one said.

“You seem to be warriors to me after the battle near my planet.” Portal 63 said.

“Data was right? You didn't like us playing in your front yard?” The female asked.

“Please explain the reference.” Portal 63 said and Data did so.

Portal 63 was once again stunned for another 1.68 seconds. He did not know that a conflict could be so easily summed up. It even had the right connotations for his superiority over these younger races of beings, because they had been 'playing' in his 'yard' without his permission.

“I believe I would like to get to know you more.” Portal 63 said. “I welcome you to visit the Tkon Empire.”

“Our ship...” The tall one started to ask.

“I will release it and no damage will be done.” Portal 63 said and then decided on one last test. “About your enemy's ship...”

“Please leave them without power for a while. They stole a very important energy converter from one of our outposts and we were trying to get it back when you disciplined us.” The tall one said with a smile.

“You don't want them destroyed?” Portal 63 asked, quite blatantly. He was sure that would provoke the beings into a reaction. He didn't get the one he thought he would, however. The tall one and the female chuckled and the other male laughed. Data only smiled a little, as if trying too hard to do so.

“They would never learn anything as a species if they were killed after every mistake.” The tall one said, quite wisely.

If Portal 63 could smile, he would have. He now understood the reason for Data's smile attempt.

“Can we invite a shuttle down here?” Data asked. “I'm sure that my friend Calvin would like to meet you.”

“You have a friend?” Portal 63 asked, surprised.

The female laughed. “They're best friends. They act like little kids when they play together.”

“Tasha.” Riker said and she shrugged.

“It's true.” Tasha said. “Data, what did you and Cal do last night?”

“We reconfigured the null-ball court so Calvin and Counsellor Troi can dance in zero-G tonight.”

Tasha laughed and motioned to him. “See Commander? That's what they do for fun!”

Riker looked thoughtful. “Actually, that's a pretty good idea.”

“I booked it for next week.” The third man said. “Everyone wants to go there for a date.”

“The rest of the crew knows?” Tasha asked, surprised.

“Just about.” The man said. “Good luck getting a decent time.”

Tasha sighed. “I'm not even going to try.”

The man chuckled.

“I approve of a shuttle.” Portal 63 said. If this Calvin was half as entertaining as these four, he would be interesting to meet.

The AI had no idea what to do with itself after he finally met the force of nature called Calvin Crusher.

*

“I'm telling you that we can do it.” Calvin said to data as they walked into Ten Forward. “It's not that difficult to clear the programming from your basic systems.”

“Cal, there is no precedent to what you propose.” Data responded.

“I know. The difficult part will be your positronic brain.” Calvin said and sat at the bar. “Hi, gorgeous.”

Guinan laughed. “You better behave, young man.”

“You and that age thing.” Calvin said and shook his head.

“Deanna would skin you alive if you even thought about trying for me.” Guinan said. “I've got a new blend you really want to try.”

“Nice dodge there.” Calvin chuckled. “Okay, hit me with it.”

Guinan reached across the bar and smacked his shoulder.

“I meant the drink!” Calvin said with a laugh.

“I know.” Guinan said with a smile and bent down to grab the fancy bottle with what looked like liquid fire inside.

“Ooo.” Calvin said in admiration. “If it burns my throat half as well as it looks, I'll take a case of it.”

Guinan laughed and poured him a small glass of it. “Try it before offering to pay my salary for the next year.”

“That cheap?” Calvin asked and she smacked his shoulder again. “Bottom's up!” He said and drank it in a single gulp.

You could see the liquid flow down his throat from the inside and Data, Guinan, and a few others watched in fascination as it seemed to fade going down into his stomach.

Calvin was actually sweating and breathing a little heavy. “That was... wow.”

Guinan smiled. “You approve?”

“Forget the case. I'll buy the recipe... or the distillery... or the planet it's on.” Calvin offered.

Guinan shook her head and put the bottle down beside him. “I made it.”

“You're hired.” Calvin said and reached into his pocket. “How much for you to make that for me forever?”

Guinan laughed and even Data looked amused.

“Cal, you're overreacting again.” Guinan said and pat his hand. “Relax. Breathe. Think.”

Calvin sighed and then closed his eyes. He took several deep breaths and then calmed down. He opened his eyes and looked at his friend. “Tell me what you want.”

Guinan smiled. “I want you to keep coming here to drink it.”

Calvin opened his mouth to agree, then realized what she meant. “Damn, you won't sell it to me.”

“That's right. I don't want you taking this back to your quarters and losing yourself in the sensations. You need to practice moderation before you can indulge like you want to.” Guinan advised him.

“You're right. Deanna would be upset if I do this all the time.” Calvin said and sat up straight. “Thanks, Guinan.”

Guinan nodded and poured another glass for him. “Sip that and stop pretending to be a fish.”

Calvin chuckled and took a sip. He let it flow over his tongue and had to admit that the flavors he had missed by downing it, were quite tasty. He swallowed the sip and it didn't burn like before; but, it did lightly sear his throat on the way down and it felt like a slow burn all the way down into his stomach.

“There, you see? Wasn't that so much better?” Guinan asked.

Calvin reached over the bar and took her hand. “Thank you for all of your hard work.”

“You're my friend, Cal.” Guinan said and squeezed his hand. “I also wanted to see you squirm.”

Calvin laughed. “You definitely managed that!”

Guinan let his hand go and looked at Data. “What were you discussing about your head?”

“Kay One and Kay Two can take my parts and make copies of them, all the way up to my head, since they are only parts and can be successfully constructed with time, resources, and skill.” Data said. “My head contains my brain. Even though I have been successfully transported 1,653 times, that was with my entire body intact.”

“He's nervous that removing just his head for this experiment to see if his intact neural net can be blanked and then another consciousness added to it, will either invalidate his existence or cause a revolution in android technology.” Calvin said.

“What brought on this line of thinking?” Guinan asked.

“I've had it for a while. The discovery of Portal 63 just brought it to the forefront.” Calvin said. “I won't do any experiments without Data's permission, though. He's the only one of his kind. If he doesn't want to risk it, I won't ask him to.”

Guinan stood there and observed both of the enigmas in her existence. An AI trying so hard to be human and an alien trying to not be an alien, were so odd that she couldn't help but consider them friends.

“Would the copy look like Data?” Guinan asked.

“Well, it was just an experiment, so...” Calvin started to say and then he smiled. “Oh, you are brilliant!”

“What is it?” Data asked as he saw his best friend half hop onto the bar and kiss Guinan's cheek.

“Guinan just solved our problems, my friend!” Calvin said and slid back into his seat. “We have a lot of work to do!”

“I do not understand.” Data said.

“You will.” Calvin said and stood, then he downed what was left in the glass of fiery liquid. “Hoooo! That's the stuff! Bye, Guinan!”

Guinan only nodded and watched the alien and the android walk out of the bar at a fast pace. She could still feel Calvin's kiss on her cheek, which surprised her. For the first time in her very long life, she felt a slight stirring deep down inside.

*

“Captain Picard, I must refuse.” Sarah McDougall said inside the command crew's meeting room. “These equations are... if you will forgive my brashness... trivial nonsense.”

“The team comes highly recommended. Their efficiency tests with several federation ships have shown significant improvements.” Picard reminded them.

“With all due respect sir, they are older ships and any tinkering and upgrades would increase their efficiency.” Riker said. “Ensign Crusher's manifold technology has more than doubled whatever these frauds claim they've done.”

Picard sighed. “I've been ordered to accommodate them and we will accommodate them.”

Light conversation among the command crew started and Picard let it go on. He just hoped that whatever they say, wouldn't be damning to him on the ship's recorders.

“Captain.” Calvin said and interrupted everyone. “I have an idea.”

“Please, enlighten us.” Picard said.

“Geordi, Sarah and I have been playing around in the main holodeck with the shipyards at Utopia Planetia...” Calvin started to say.

“Ha!” Geordi barked and then blushed, which was really weird to see on a black man. “Sorry, captain.”

“Please continue, Ensign.” Picard said with a slight smile, which everyone noticed.

“Well, inside that simulation is a full scale and fully functional Galaxy Class starship.” Calvin said. “It is specifically designed to simulate warp engine configurations and allow designers to play around with the dilithium matrix and even the plasma flow.”

Everyone fell silent as they thought about that.

“Do you really think that would work?” Tasha asked.

“I think it will, as long as the people we have in the simulation are real and not generated. A few crewmen, the engineering crew for the tests, a couple of the command crew for the greeting...” Calvin said with a smile. “They should never know that they are transporting into the transporter room of a holodeck simulation.”

“We would have to shut the other two smaller holodecks down for the duration of the visit, in case they use the holodeck inside the holodeck.” Sarah suggested.

“Good point. We can allocate a few extra computer resources for the simulation as well.” Riker said. “Even if they do discover it's a simulation, we can claim our own test of their tests.”

Picard looked around at everyone's agreeing faces and nodded approval. “Make it so.”

“Yes, captain.” Everyone else said and stood, nodded back, and left to complete their tasks. Only Deanna and Picard remained in the room.

“Your thoughts on this latest event, Counsellor?” Picard asked.

“In all honesty, the crew are all in support of the deception. They know that the Enterprise is the flagship of the federation and its systems are well above that of every other ship, even the experimental ones.” Deanna said.

Picard nodded for her to continue.

“You heard that Cal, Geordi, and Sarah are playing around at the shipyards. What Cal didn't say was that they are playing with such advanced engine designs that even the scientists they've been in contact with, don't understand what they are talking about.”

Picard raised his eyebrows at her.

“I suspect that Kay One and Kay Two will be suddenly unavailable to the engineering department when they decide on actually implementing what they are envisioning.” Deanna cautioned him. “However, they would never endanger the ship. They wouldn't find that an appealing trade-off for a faster or more efficient engine.”

“What are you saying?” Picard asked.

“Whatever they do, it will become a secondary power reactor core, warp core, or whatever they actually come up with. It should be a completely independent system that can be easily switched with the actual warp core.”

Picard sat back in his chair. “This is about that Portal AI knocking out our main power.”

Deanna nodded. “Calvin did not like that a simple beam pierced through the ship's defenses so easily and then disabled the ship so much. It didn't cause too much havoc with things, not after they saved the advanced labs with their quick thinking.” She said and then laughed softly. “I believe they are still getting offers for free drinks when they go to Ten Forward.”

Picard smiled. “Will you be monitoring Mr. Kosinski and his assistant?”

“I will try to see if they are hostile or are intentionally misleading us.” Deanna said, “I can't do much more than that.”

“I don't expect you to be their constant companion, so perhaps just the initial greeting and a visit to engineering with Ensign Crusher later.”

“I can manage that without a problem, sir.” Deanna agreed.

“Thank you, Counsellor. Dismissed.” Picard said and waited for Deanna to leave before he folded his hands under his chin and contemplated how his crew was already coming together against what were considered 'outside' forces.

He couldn't have been more pleased.

*

“Welcome aboard.” Riker said when Mr. Kosinski and his alien assistant appeared on the transporter pads.

“Thank you, Commander.” Kosinski said.

“We have quarters set aside for you and...”

“There won't be a need for that. You can escort us right to Main Engineering.” Kosinski said and his assistant twitched a little.

Deanna felt all of their emotions and Kosinski was so arrogant and full of his own self importance that it hurt her head a little. The alien was... odd. He was both there and not. She couldn't describe it in words. She also felt his resignation of the situation and acceptance of Kosinski's attitude.

“If that's what you want, then please, right this way.” Riker said and waved at the door to leave.

“We know the way. Thank you.” Kosinski said and strode out of the transporter room like he owned the place. His assistant picked up the case from the middle transport pad and followed.

Riker gave Deanna a significant look and she nodded. He nodded back and left the room.

Deanna turned to the left and walked over to the wall. “Exit.”

The holodeck doors opened and she stepped out to go and report what she felt to the captain. Calvin already knew, thanks to their mental connection. He wasn't happy about the man's attitude and would need to stay out of the man's way, even while observing him and his assistant working.

*

“This place is a bit more advanced than I was informed.” Kosinski said as he checked over the engineering computer systems.

“We're the flagship of the federation. We work very hard to be at the top of the top of starship performance.” Sarah McDougall said. She had forced herself to not cross her arms and tap her foot at the arrogant man, knowing full well that the captain was ordered to entertain the testing team. She didn't like it and no one else in engineering did, either.

The Enterprise was their ship and having some unknown fraud mucking about with her computers unchecked, just rubbed them the wrong way. The man's attitude didn't help in that regard and he wasn't endearing himself to the crew at all, and he should have been. Working with people and cooperating was the best way to get things done.

“That won't matter to our efficiency tests.” Kosinski said and looked at his assistant. “Start entering the preliminary equations and I'll set up the parameters for the first warp test.”

“You're taking us to warp without testing the math first or the interactions with the system?” Sarah asked before she could stop herself.

Kosinski smiled an arrogant smile and didn't look up from the engineering console. “I don't expect your limited understanding of warp theory would let you comprehend what we're trying to do here.”

Sarah gasped and her anger at the insult went right to her face as she tried to take a step forward. She suddenly met the back of the man that had let them advance the systems of the ship to what it currently was. She blushed as she caught herself and hugged him slightly, then she blushed harder when she realized he had probably just saved her from a terrible mistake and probably her career.

“You'll find the interface on the other side of the main engineering table display will be more responsive to your experiment parameters.” Calvin said. “It's where we model all of the warp theory problems that Starfleet sends us or we encounter on our own and send to them.”

Kosinski looked up from the console on the side of the room and saw a tall muscular man where the chief engineer used to be, not realizing that she was completely hidden behind the man.

“I assume you kept a record of these tests?” Kosinski asked.

“Of course. The logs are in the main directory under 'Warp Potential Capabilities'. It's right next to the theoretical Slipstream drive experiments.” Calvin said.

The assistant perked up and looked over to him. “You've looked at them?”

“Looked at and discarded. It's a dead end technology.” Calvin said and the assistant's eyes widened.

“What... makes you think...”

“It's the power consumption and engine wear.” Calvin said. “By the time two to three jumps are completed, the dilithium chamber has to be completely cleaned out and rebuilt. Unless another source that's more durable can be found or manufactured, no warp core can sustain the slipstream drive with humans on board.”

The assistant nodded. “That is my reasoning as well. No human can survive its use without more stringent protocols and engineering technology that doesn't exist.”

Calvin successfully stopped himself from commenting that he already had several pieces of technology that didn't technically exist, except as registered patents as Kryptonian Technology. No one else in the federation could make them without his expertise and tools.

Kosinski moved across the room to the table display that he had initially dismissed as a toy for the use of the normal crew, then he stood beside it and started to play with it. He bent over and stared at the much more advanced visual display integrated into the tabletop and then he felt a chair pushed into the back of his knees. He sat automatically and then he browsed through the files he had access to.

Everyone in engineering appreciated Calvin getting the man to shut up and whispered promises that he wouldn't be paying for drinks in Ten Forward for the next few weeks.

Two hours later, everything was set up and Riker answered the call to the bridge.

“Bring the ship to warp one. It doesn't matter about the destination.” Kosinski said.

“Acknowledged.” Riker said and the simulation gave engineering the proper data of the ship entering warp.

Kosinski nodded to his assistant and they started entering what was essentially nonsense into the computers. If they had done so on the real consoles, they could have corrupted a lot of the files and main computer calculations with it. Calvin had stayed off to the side to observe and watched them working... and then he saw the assistant stop typing and rested his hands on the console he was using.

The alien started to flicker and several sparks came from the holodeck's walls. Calvin quickly scanned it with his scanning device and then pulled out a phaser and shot the alien just as part of the wall tore apart near him. It was some kind of spacial distortion and Calvin scanned it as well with his device. It had the same signature as the alien's flickering.

“HEY! What are you doing?!?” Kosinski exclaimed and shot to his feet.

“Saving the ship from this alien's abilities.” Calvin said and nodded to two of the engineering crew.

They were actually security guards and restrained the alien with cuffs and then took Kosinski into custody as well.

“Keep the assistant unconscious. We don't know what he will do if he wakes up.” Calvin looked at the damaged holodeck wall and the fading distortion. “I need to report this to the captain.” He said and tapped his comm badge. “Ensign Crusher to Captain Picard.”

*

“You will explain what was happening, Mr. Kosinski.” Picard ordered.

“I don't even know what's going on!” Kosinski said with a wave of his hand at Calvin. “I saw that man shoot my assistant for no reason and then we were taken into custody!”

Picard nodded at Calvin. “If you would, Ensign.”

“Yes, captain.” Calvin said and stood up in the meeting room and went to the wall display. “Here's the holodeck recording, focused on just the assistant as he worked.”

Everyone watched as the alien stopped typing and then seemed to brace himself before flickering slightly. It was then the wall in front of him essentially tore itself into shreds.

“Good god.” Sarah whispered. “If that had been in main engineering...”

“A plasma conduit is right behind that bulkhead.” Calvin clarified for everyone else. “The holodeck has already been repaired.”

“What happened?” Riker asked.

“A spacial distortion was created by the alien.” Calvin said and brought up the scan he did on the assistant. “I immediately scanned him when he started to phase.”

“Phase?” Picard asked.

“Out of existence.” Calvin said and several people took in sharp breaths. “The spacial distortion he created actually moved and didn't move the wall near him at the same time. The shear created by him trying to move something faster than he thought it was already moving, tore the wall apart.”

“He was transitioning a warp field?” Geordi asked.

Calvin smiled. “That is exactly what he was doing, Geordi. He believed he was adjusting an existing warp field to accept a higher output without adding additional energy from the warp core.”

“He was adding the extra energy.” Sarah said in understanding. “So all of his people have this ability to enhance and manipulate warp fields?”

Riker took that answer. “He is from Tau Alpha C. We've had very limited contact with both the planet and the people. As far as I know, he's the only traveller from there that we've officially encountered.”

Picard sat back in his chair. “Traveller. That seems an appropriate name for him, considering he won't give us his real one.”

“He hasn't tried to escape.” Tasha said. “I've had rotating guards on him since Dr. Polaski woke him up on your orders, captain.”

“He is also not answering any questions.” Worf said and glanced at Calvin. “He continues to ask for your presence.”

Calvin shook his head. “I don't want to talk to him, even if he had the secrets of the universe to impart to me. I'm not a coward...”

Sarah barked a laugh and then coughed, because Calvin's exploits proved that he was anything but a coward. “Excuse me. Please continue.”

“If the Traveller can do what he did to a tritanium bulkhead in only a split second, I refuse to put my singular existence anywhere near him.” Calvin said and then smiled. “My mother worked too hard to raise me right for me to disappoint her by dying so young or so stupidly.”

Deanna laughed softly and Tasha smirked at him. Sarah nodded, as did a few other people.

“I have to agree.” Picard said. “We will transfer both Mr. Kosinski and the Traveller to another ship to be taken back to Startfleet. Perhaps they can discover the reasons why the Traveller has been doing whatever he has been doing in the federation.”

'You can't do this! I'm a respected scientist and warp field specialist...” Kosinski protested.

“I didn't say you were under arrest, Mr. Kosinski. I just want you off of my ship before any more damage can be attributed to you and your assistant.” Picard said and the man quieted down. “Ensign, send everything to Starfleet and a copy to R&D. Perhaps they have recordings of similar events on the other ships Mr. Kosinski's team worked on.”

“Of course, captain. I'll have the proper reports done up and then sent off as soon as the meeting is over.” Calvin said.

Picard smiled slightly at the easy opening he was given. “You are all dismissed.”

A light chuckle came from a few people and the room quickly emptied.

Picard sat back in the chair and smiled once more. Yes, he was quite pleased with his crew.

*

The next mission that the Enterprise were sent on was as a taxi service for delegates from warring planets in the Beta Renner system, a reptilian race and a canine race. They were to journey to a neutral planet called 'Parliament' to negotiate peace.

The ship suddenly passed through a seemingly energetic cloud of something... and nothing happened. Thanks to Calvin's and Geordi's efforts to modify the ship's defensive systems and the shields after the encounter with Portal 63, anything trying to get through to harm the ship or the crew, was going to have a very difficult time.

In fact, they had managed to safely recreate the dispersion field the Ferengi's engine misalignment had caused and integrated it as a safety feature if anything tried to attack. As the ship moved through the cloud, it was easily disrupted as it sparked against the ship's shields and then it dispersed into nothing. The automatic logs recorded it as a small interstellar dust cloud and no one noticed.

*

After the long mission of ferrying warring factions across several star systems for negotiations that ended up successful, the crew was granted shore leave at a newly discovered resort-like planet named Rubicun III. Almost as soon as they approached the planet, Data's upgraded sensors detected the hidden ship in orbit.

Picard attempted to hail the ship, as was Starfleet's custom and standing orders, then a ball of light shot out from the other ship towards the Enterprise.

“Open fire, captain?” Worf asked.

“No, it might not be hostile.” Picard said, even if they all suspected it was going to be.

The ship shook slightly as the ball hit the modified shields.

Calvin checked the readings. “Something is trying to get into the ship, captain. The defenses are holding for now.”

“Mr. LaForge, divert power from the reserves.” Picard said and Geordi did so. “Data, hail the ship again.”

Data did so. “No response, captain.”

“Options?” Picard asked.

“We are clearly being attacked.” Riker said. “If we backed off, perhaps they will relent.”

“Disable the other ship.” Worf suggested.

“An away team would be too dangerous.” Tasha said.

“Counsellor? Any feelings about this?” Picard asked.

“Not really, sir.” Deanna said. “There's a feeling of... protectiveness? It's difficult to pinpoint.”

“Ensign, back us off to a safe distance.” Picard said and Calvin flew the ship backwards several ship lengths.

“No effect.” Data said.

“Mr. Worf, a warning shot, please.” Picard said.

“Phaser or photon, sir?” Worf asked, eagerly.

“It's a warning, not a declaration.” Picard said with a slight smile.

“Yes, sir. Firing a phaser.” Worf grinned and aimed the shot to cross the ship's bow.

“No reaction.” Data said.

Picard sighed. “Test the ship's defenses, Mr. Worf.”

The first phaser shot hit a shield and nothing happened. The second hit off to the right and the shield flickered. The third shot removed the shield and impacted on the hull.

“Whatever was attacking us has retreated, captain.” Data said.

“Try hailing them again.” Picard said.

“No response... wait a moment.” Data said. “Sir, I detect a weapons array charging up.”

“Take us out of here, Ensign.” Picard said and the ship whipped around and left orbit at its best impulse speed.

“The weapons have powered down.” Data said. “I can no longer detect the ship.”

“When we are far enough out, drop a warning beacon with a message about the protective ship in orbit.” Picard said. “I'll send a report to Starfleet about this.”

“Perhaps we should warn the nearby colony, too.” Riker said.

“Excellent point, Number One.” Picard said.

“The last thing we need is another incident like this one.” Riker said. “It seems to happen more often than not.”

“It's a part of the price we pay for being out here.” Picard said and smiled briefly. “Mr. Data, relay the message to them as well as the sensor data.”

“Yes, captain.” Data said and did as ordered.

*

Deanna was woken up when her comm terminal chimed. She groaned when she rolled over and looked at the time. She sat up and rubbed her face to try and get the sleep fog out of her head.

“If it's not important, I'm crushing that terminal in the morning.” Calvin whispered, which made her huff and laugh a little.

“Not everything can be solved like that, my love.” Deanna said and leaned down to kiss him.

“Maybe not; but, it sure makes things easier to deal with.” Calvin said.

Deanna gave him two more quick kisses before she climbed out of bed and slipped on a robe. She walked over to her desk and sat to accept the call. “This is Counsellor Troi, what is so important that you woke me up at... mother!”

“It's nice to see you as well, daughter of mine.” Lwaxana said in her haughty voice from the terminal.

“Mother, you know how to tell the current ship's time. Why did you call me now?” Deanna asked.

“I called precisely because of the time, dear. This needed to be private and I didn't want anyone else listening in.” Lwaxana said.

Deanna successfully managed to not look over at the man in her bed.

“They've found me.” Lwaxana said in a sad voice.

“Who?” Deanna asked, now fully awake.

“The Millers.” Lwaxana said and Deanna was confused. “You might not remember them. You were only a few years old then.”

“I wouldn't expect to...” Deanna stopped talking when a flood of her own memories were poured into her head, jarring the originals into being. She remembered the nice couple and their son that was close to her age at the time. “Actually, I do remember Steven, Victoria, and Wyatt.”

Lwaxana looked surprised. “How can you possibly... no, that doesn't matter. What matters is that they've found me and took my joke seriously.”

“I don't understand.” Deanna said.

“We were drinking with your father and the conversation turned to our children. Since you were only a half-Betazed and didn't have a lot of friends because we moved around so much...”

“What did you do?” Deanna asked.

“I may have... promised you to marry their son.” Lwaxana said.

“MOTHER!” Deanna yelled.

“I know, I know! I'm sorry.” Lwaxana said. “I need you to come to Haven and explain things to them.”

“You can't?” Deanna asked, perturbed.

“I tried. They think I'm just getting senile and their son is a prominent doctor that will make a wonderful husband for you.” Lwaxana said. “They also expect you to live together.”

“Mother, ignoring the fact I have both a bonded and a betrothed, there's a lot of paperwork to get approval for a civilian to stay on the ship without...”

“No, you misunderstand. You will be required to quit Starfleet and become his wife.” Lwaxana said. “It's part of the agreement.”

“Mother, I am going to have some serious words with you about this when I see you!” Deanna spat.

Lwaxana sighed. “I know. I just need you to come here and tell them you can't do it. They don't believe that you're really bonded by our laws.”

Deanna sighed as well and rubbed her face again. “I'm bringing Calvin.”

Lwaxana opened her mouth to protest.

“If you tell me he will only make things worse by being there, you should know he has a tendency to physically crush the things that annoy him.” Deanna said in a deadly voice.

Lwaxana looked a little sick as her daughter's words sunk in. “I will... warn them.”

Deanna nodded and quickly checked the ship's schedule. “I've submitted a formal request from the Betazed Ambassador to have her picked up from Haven.”

Lwaxana nodded. “I'll await your call about the destination time.”

“Goodnight, Mother.” Deanna said.

“Goodnight, Little One.” Lwaxana said and hung up.

Calvin walked behind Deanna and bent over to hug her in the chair. “You know, we could drop an asteroid from high orbit and solve all our problems.”

Deanna snorted and then laughed. “If only that were true!”

Calvin let her go and stepped beside the chair and knelt. “I promise to not crush the idiot's skull for thinking he deserves to own the woman he's supposed to marry.”

Deanna sighed. “I'm sorry that you're caught up in this.”

“I'm not.” Calvin said. “I love you and you are all I care about... besides taking over the universe and conquering all the known races.”

Deanna laughed and wrapped her arms around him to kiss him passionately. “How can you always make me laugh, even when I should be crying?”

“My undeniable charm and completely inappropriate sense of humor.” Calvin said. “Do you want to try and go back to sleep or go have a bit of fun?”

“What do you have in mind?” Deanna asked and lightly kissed him.

“Well... you can do more than just dance in zero-G.” Calvin said with a huge smile on his face.

Deanna laughed and kissed him again. “Go grab the appropriate protective gear.”

Two hours later, Deanna lazily admitted that having sex while floating around and unrestrained, was something she really enjoyed. She would later admit that sleeping like that was also the best sleep she had in a long while.

Over the next three days, Calvin and his two Kay extruders rebuilt her bedroom into a miniature null-ball court and then put her bedroom back inside of it. He did such a good job that if he hadn't told her he did it and didn't show her the anti-gravity controls, Deanna wouldn't have known it was there at all.

*

“Hail the Ambassador.” Picard said to Data and waited for the viewscreen to activate. “Greetings, Ambassador Troi.”

“I offer you greetings in return, Captain Picard.” Lwaxana said, oddly formally.

Deanna glanced at the captain and nodded.

“We have come to escort you back to your homeworld for the marriage ceremony between Counsellor Deanna Troi and her bonded mate.”

A woman in the background on the screen spoke up. “I knew they must have bonded, even if they haven't spent any time together since that day!”

“Hush, Victoria.” A man said from beside her. “Wyatt, step forward.”

“Where's Deanna?” Wyatt asked and that surprised a few people, including Deanna and Lwaxana.

“I'm right here.” Deanna said and she saw the man on the screen look surprised.

“You... don't look like I thought you would.” Wyatt said, his voice full of disappointment.

“We would like to transport up to get this matter settled.” Lwaxana said. “My things are at these coordinates.”

Data received the transmission and relayed it to the transporter room. “Chief O'Brian, six suitcases and one servant to be transported.”

“Yes, sir. Energizing.” Miles said. “Transport complete.”

“We will be ready for you and your guests in a few minutes, Ambassador.” Picard said.

“Thank you, captain. I await your signal.” Lwaxana said and ended the call.

“Formal greeting party.” Picard said and Riker, Deanna, and Tasha formed up and went to the turbolift.

When it was gone, Calvin sighed.

“Warriors do not worry before a battle.” Worf commented.

“Will my bat'leth dull when I split his skull? Will my knife strike true through his armor? Can my fingers gouge out both of his eyes before he shoots?” Calvin said with a smile.

Worf chuckled. “Those aren't worries. Those are opinions.”

Calvin laughed and turned slightly to nod at him.

*

“You can't be serious about cancelling.” Victoria said in a stern tone. “My Wyatt has been having visions of Deanna since he was a child!”

“Mother, please calm down.” Wyatt sighed. He didn't want her to know that Deanna was not the one he had been seeing and feeling in his head.

“Does the word of the Daughter of the Fifth House, Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed, mean nothing?” Victoria spat.

Both Lwaxana and Deanna gasped.

“How DARE you imply... you... you...” Lwaxana sputtered, her anger too consuming for a moment to let her speak properly.

“Honey, that was uncalled for.” Steve admonished his wife.

“She promised her daughter's hand to my son and she will be handing her over.” Victoria said.

“The kids were three! We were drunk! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO IMPINGE UPON MY HONOR!” Lwaxana managed to say, now that she wasn't trying to keep her voice down or remain calm.

Victoria looked smug, now that she had made the calm and carefree Betazoid yell in anger.

“I should let Calvin crush your skulls and erase this whole situation!” Lwaxana spat.

“Mother!” Deanna gasped.

“I'm sorry that I share his thoughts on this, my daughter.” Lwaxana said. “This infuriating woman deserves to feel the physical pain that her atrocious thoughts give to me!”

That surprised everyone, especially Deanna.

“Her old and antiquated beliefs stain my mind and I would be rid of them... and her... in the quickest way possible.” Lwaxana said. “Men do not OWN women, you ugly old hag!”

Wyatt winced and Steve sighed.

“You agreed to this in good faith and have never contested it in all the years since. You cannot back out now that the contract has come due.” Victoria said with a smile.

“I thought we were joking!” Lwaxana exclaimed.

“That doesn't matter, especially if you forgot about it until we found you.” Victoria said, victory in her voice. “That she's bonded to someone else doesn't mean a thing. She must marry my son and provide the next holder for the Sacred Chalice of Rixx.”

“THAT is NOT how that WORKS!” Lwaxana yelled.

The door of the private meeting room opened and a slightly oppressive feeling entered. It made everyone shiver for a second.

“I believe that is enough discussion for now.” Calvin said and stepped into the room. He wore his casual clothes and it showed off his powerful form to full effect.

Steve looked pale, Victoria looked scared, and Wyatt backed up to stand by the wall as far away from him as possible.

Lwaxana on the other hand, caught her breath. “Oh... oh, my... by the blessings of the Holy Rings...”

“Mother, I formally introduce you to my fully bonded mate, Calvin Crusher.” Deanna said.

Calvin walked over to the older woman and he could feel her rolling emotions through Deanna's empathic ability. His timely intervention had stopped her from smashing the Victoria woman's mind with her own.

“Lady Lwaxana, Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, and Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed.” Calvin said and then knelt on one knee to take her hand. “I am Kal-El, First and Only Son of the House of El, Heir to the Kryptonian Civilization and Sole Ruler of my People.”

Lwaxana was in a euphoric state so strong that she almost had an orgasm as Calvin kissed her hand with the utmost respect. The power and authority that he had just thrown into these pretender's faces made her fall in love with him completely.

She had been skeptical when her daughter had first messaged her and told her that she had found someone worthy to bond with. Instead of rushing right out to met him like Deanna thought she would, she had put it off to let her daughter sweat a little and worry about when she would show up to test the man. She now knew how wrong she was to do that.

“Please rise, Son of El.” Lwaxana said and he stood. She admired his handsome features and the wonderful body that his clothing specifically highlighted, made her blood boil in a good way. “I greet you on behalf of my planet, that you have helped immensely with both the Advanced Medical Research facility and the production facilities in orbit.”

Calvin nodded when she pulled on his hand slightly and reached up to lightly touch his cheek. He accepted the signal and leaned down to give her a kiss, right on the lips. The only observer not shocked by this, was Deanna. She knew her planet's customs since she was a child. As long as her mother didn't try to use her tongue, she wouldn't be slapped later.

Calvin broke the kiss and stepped back, then bent to kiss her hand. “I humbly accept your greeting, fellow Heir. Thank you.”

Lwaxana beamed a smile at him. “Daughter, let us retire to my rooms. We will let the Millers reconsider their harsh words and attitudes for the night and we can resume these... talks... in the morning.”

“Of course, Mother.” Deanna said and looked at the stunned Millers. “A crewman will show you to your rooms. Good evening.”

Calvin, Lwaxana, and Deanna left them there in the meeting room and went to Lwaxana's assigned Ambassador's quarters. As soon as the door shut behind them, Lwaxana let out a loud laugh and hugged her daughter. She held on for several moments as her laughter died out, then it changed to sobs and crying. Deanna soon was crying as well.

Calvin stepped over to their right side and hugged the both of them. He knew this was a huge mess and he hoped his little show, and a lot of exaggeration, would shock the Millers into letting the arranged marriage go.

After a few moments, a very tall man with bluish colored skin stepped over to them and hugged them from the left side, with his hands resting on Calvin's upper arms. He was that tall. No one objected in the least.

*

“He's going to argue that he's a prominent medical doctor.” Lwaxana said as they sat to eat a late meal.

“Cal is a doctor, an engineer, and on the command crew.” Deanna said.

Lwaxana blinked her eyes. “No, he... how did he... he's so young!”

Deanna laughed softly. “He doesn't sleep very much.”

“He doesn't...” Lwaxana's eyes widened. “Oh.”

Deanna laughed a little more. “He pulls double shifts most days, Mother.”

“Double shifts?” Lwaxana asked. “How can he stay with you and also work two shifts?”

“I always take the graveyard shift for engineering and occasionally for sickbay. I even take over in sickbay when Dr. Polaski wants a few days off while we're not busy flying around.” Calvin said. “When you called the first time, Deanna and I had just fallen asleep.”

Lwaxana had the courtesy to blush a little. “No wonder she was so upset.” She said and looked at her daughter. “I'm sorry for that. Trying to be discreet after they showed up and shocked me with their demands, made me ignore decency.”

“It's all right, Mother.” Deanna said. “Now that I've met the woman, I completely understand.”

Lwaxana looked at her daughter. I tried to avoid this. I really did. I even called in a few favors. The council said that unless I can get them to cancel as well, as the party to gain the most benefit from the union, their view of the agreement takes precedent.

Mother, Calvin can hear you through me. Deanna reminded her.

What? How? Lwaxana asked, surprised. Thought you were lying to make me like him.

We are fully bonded. Calvin said into her mind through Deanna.

Are you following her signal, or... what is that human word? Lwaxana asked. She successfully stopped her physical shiver from hearing his rich deep voice in her mind.

Piggy-backing. Calvin offered.

Yes, that. Lwaxana said and then laughed out loud. “It sounds so silly for such an important revelation.”

“I suppose it does.” Deanna said and then smiled warmly at Calvin. “I wouldn't trade it for anything.”

“Neither would I.” Calvin said. “I love you deeply, even more than should be humanly possible.”

“That's because neither of you are really human! Ha ha!” Lwaxana said and took a drink of wine. “Ohhh, that's a very nice vintage.”

“Calvin programmed it.” Deanna said and took a sip herself. “I'm restricted to one glass with food and that's it.”

Lwaxana had a very knowing smile on her face. “That sounds so familiar.”

Both of them laughed and a light chuckle came from the side of the room.

“It seems Mr. Homn likes your wine as well, Cal.” Lwaxana said.

Calvin walked over to the replicator and slipped an isolinear chip into a receptacle. He hit a few buttons and then pulled the chip out to hand to Mr. Homn. “Here's one thousand prepaid daily replicator rations for bottles of wine.”

The very tall man looked stunned.

“I know how important it is to find something that you like.” Calvin said and pat the man's arm. “Keep them, sell them, drink them, have a nice party after saving them up for a week. Just enjoy them.”

The tall man smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”

“Let me know if there's anything else you want.” Calvin said and went back to the table. “I'm sorry for the interruption. I didn't want to forget to do that later.”

Lwaxana and Deanna smiled warmly.

They ate their meal, sipped the wine, and talked about a lot of little things. The evening passed before they realized it and Calvin and Deanna had to leave to sleep.

“One last thing.” Lwaxana said and stopped them at the door to her quarters. “Are we really going to Betazed for a marriage ceremony? It isn't just part of the plan to get them to relent?”

“The invitations are sent and they all have the clothing optional statement right at the beginning.” Calvin said. “I wasn't going to invite anyone that wouldn't know what they were getting into.”

Lwaxana looked pleased, then she frowned. “What about the wedding party?”

“All nude, as per Betazed Law.” Calvin said. “We're uniting our two planets with this union. It will be the spectacle that an event of this size warrants.”

Lwaxana beamed a smile at him. “Deanna has chosen wisely.”

“So have you.” Calvin said and kissed her cheek. “Goodnight, Mother.”

Lwaxana blushed deeply. “Goodnight, Son.”

“Cal!” Deanna smacked his arm.

“You can feel that she wanted me to.” Calvin said as he pulled Deanna close and then kissed her.

Lwaxana was shocked when he shared his passion across Deanna's link to her and then both she and her daughter moaned together at the intensity and the love.

Calvin broke the kiss and looked at their happy faces. “See you both tomorrow.”

Both women nodded and watched him walk away.

The conquering Kryptonian. Lwaxana thought to her daughter and then laughed. If he wasn't a mental null, I would wish I could read his thoughts like you can.

Mother, he is blocking you. Deanna thought with a roll of her eyes. His mental acuity is beyond the skills of our strongest telepaths.

No, he... how...

He is just that powerful. Deanna thought to her. Goodnight, Mother.

Goodnight, Little One. Lwaxana thought back and watched her daughter walk away and then thought to herself before she closed the door and went to bed. You are very lucky, my darling daughter.

*

“Commander, our long range sensors have picked up a sub-light ship approaching this star system.” Data said.

“Did you say sub-light?” Riker asked, slightly surprised.

“Yes, sir. It is too far out to gain accurate readings on the type of ship or the species that owns it.”

“Launch a probe and see if the ship is hostile.” Riker said and hit is comm badge. “Riker to Picard.”

“Picard here.”

“Long range sensors have detected an unknown sub-light ship approaching this system. We've launched a probe to get better readings.”

“Understood. I'm on my way. Picard out.”

A few minutes later, Picard stepped out of the turbolift in an immaculate uniform.

“The probe is approaching the ship now.” Data said.

“Put it on the main viewscreen.” Picard said and sat down in his chair.

An image of an odd looking ship with a large glowing sphere in the center appeared on the screen.

“I haven't seen a ship like that in at least a decade.” Picard said.

“It has a central power core, no warp drive, and it...” Data stopped talking.

“What is it, Lieutenant?” Picard asked.

“Sir, if this sensor data is correct, we are looking at a Tarellian ship.”

Most of the bridge crew made surprised sounds.

“Data.” Calvin said and Data shunted a copy onto his console, which he read in a second. “Great Rao, it's true.”

Everyone looked at him and he smiled.

“I've been slowly decoding one of the memory crystals from my life pod. Rao was a prominent religious figure.” Calvin explained. “Data can run a comparison with the Enterprise's database for confirmation of the ship design. It's really them.”

“They all died years ago.” Tasha said.

“Or thought to.” Calvin said. “It's not like anyone was going to go near them, their ships, or their ruined planet with an instantly contagious virus that is 100% fatal to its victim.”

“Their entire star system was declared a biohazard.” Data said. “It is both amazing and worrying that this lone ship has arrived here.”

Calvin looked over at him with a smile while typing commands. “My friend, you have a terrible sense of when to give me a mathematical problem to solve.”

Data raised an eyebrow for him and Calvin chuckled.

“We can tackle it later.” Calvin said and stopped typing on his console. “Intercept course laid in.”

“You're right. We can't let this ship enter a populated system.” Picard said. “Put us in its way. At a safe distance.”

“Yes, sir. No allowing the ship to ram us.” Calvin said.

“Engage.” Picard said and the Enterprise spun like a top and then shot away from the planet as if it wasn't just in a gravity well.

“I really like the new inertial dampeners.” Calvin said as he brought the ship to a stop.

“New dampeners?” Riker asked.

“The paperwork is in your morning message queue, sir.” Data said.

“I seem to be lacking in approving paperwork lately.” Riker said with a light chuckle.

“Scan the probe near the infected ship. Does it have the virus?” Picard asked.

Data hit a few buttons and a quick beep sounded. “No, sir.”

A few people let out sighs of relief.

“Destroy it.” Picard said and Data sent the kill code. The little pop near the Tarellian ship barely registered on the viewscreen.

“Captain, we are being hailed.” Data said.

Picard smiled and stood up. “Put it through.”

“How dare you attack us before even talking to us!” The short man with huge ears exclaimed.

“That was a probe we used to determine who you were. We destroyed it after it returned the results.” Picard said. He did not say that he did it that way precisely to get their attention.

The man's anger fled and he sat back in his chair. “I should have known that you would be like all the rest.”

“I've never met anyone else that's met you, so you can't be accurate with that statement.” Picard said. “Not that I would ever meet anyone that's met you, as you very well know.”

The man sighed and nodded. “We've come a long way to get here, captain.”

“Why?”

“Because of me.” A very beautiful young woman said as she stood up behind the man's chair.

“Why did you come here?” Picard asked.

“I've had visions of someone I care deeply for, ever since I was a child.” The young woman said. “I wasn't sure where on Haven he would be, only that he would be there around now.”

“You packed up the last of your infected people into a small sub-light ship and launched towards a planet you've never been on, based on a vision.” Picard said.

“No, captain. Based on love. I love him and he loves me. He always has.” The young woman said.

“There are about fifty of us on this ship.” The short man said. “My family and a few other families decided that if we were going to die anyway, why not give our children a gift that none of us ever had?”

“Seeing another planet.” Calvin said.

“Exactly.” The man said with a smile. “That we also get to fulfill my little girl's dying wish as well, just gave us more motivation to come here.”

“You can't approach the planet.” Picard reminded him.

“We just want to see it from orbit.” The man said.

“No, it is too dangerous. You could launch life pods and...”

The man laughed. “We're nearly out of food stores, our reactor core is barely operational on what's left of the reactive materials, and our medical supplies are long gone. Even if this ship had a life pod, we wouldn't have the energy to spare to get it through the atmosphere.”

“Mr. Data.” Picard said.

Data nodded and got to work. He had run preliminary scans and they provided some details. Now with permission, he ran an in-depth scan of the Tarellian ship.

“While my science officer works on getting the details of your problems, perhaps you can give us a description of the young man you are looking for.” Picard said.

“He's kind, and caring, and he studied so hard to become a doctor, just so he could help us.” The young woman said, her devotion obvious to everyone.

“I meant a physical description.” Picard said in a soothing tone of voice.

The young woman blushed a little. “Of course, captain. He's about my height, short brown hair, a sharp chin, deep brown eyes that I can get lost in, and he's thin but strong.”

Calvin was pretty sure he knew who she was talking about and needed confirmation. “Excuse me.” He said and Picard and the young woman looked at him. “Do you know his name?”

“I've loved him for all my life, so yes, I do. His name is Wyatt. Wyatt Miller.”

*

“I absolutely forbid this!” Victoria spat as she followed her son and husband into a different meeting room. “You are to marry into the royal family of Betazoids and that's that!”

“Mother.” Wyatt said as he turned to face her with his sketchbook in his hands.

“Yes, my wonderful boy.” Victoria said in a soft voice.

“Shut up and sit down.” Wyatt said and pointed to a chair at the back of the table.

“WHAT?” Victoria gasped.

“Be quiet. I am meeting this person, whoever she is.” Wyatt said. “I didn't feel anything when I met Deanna, so I need to know if this is the one I feel connected to.”

“That doesn't matter. Love can grow later!”

“Sit down, mother.” Wyatt said and she didn't move. He looked at his dad, who sighed, and took his wife's arm and sat her down and sat beside her. “Thanks, dad.”

Steve nodded and whispered to his wife to be quiet.

Geordi entered the room and checked the newly mounted viewscreen's connections before he nodded as he tapped his comm badge. “Geordi to Data. Transfer the signal through.”

“Yes, Geordi.” Data said and the viewscreen flickered. “Adjusting power from the feed. Nominal delay of five seconds for reconfiguration... two, one.”

The view from the Tarellian bridge appeared.

“Signal's good. Geordi out.” Geordi said as he tapped his comm badge and left the room, just as a young woman with bushy blonde hair stood up on the screen.

“It's you!” Wyatt gasped. “You were who I've been dreaming of!”

“Of course you have. I've been in your head since we were children.” The young woman said and picked up a sketchbook.

“I have one, too!” Wyatt said and opened his. He flipped through the pages and showed her the drawings he did that showed various pictures of her in different poses and hairstyles. He almost laughed when she opened hers to let him see that she had drawn him in different poses as well. “Please, tell me your name!”

“Ariana.” The young woman said with a bright smile. “It's so nice to finally see you in person.”

Wyatt did laugh at that. “It doesn't really count if it's over a viewscreen.”

Ariana sighed sadly. “I just wanted to see you before... well...”

“I know about the disease.” Wyatt said. “I've looked through everything Starfleet has on it.”

Ariana's smile returned. “You're really going to help us?”

“Of course I am. I love you.” Wyatt said and ignored the pained sound from his mother behind him.

“When can you start?” Ariana asked, her voice hopeful.

“Calvin and Dr. Polaski have promised to set an advanced lab aside for me. I can get started as soon as we finish this meeting.” Wyatt said.

“That's such good news!” Ariana said and felt a small hand on her arm. She smiled as she looked down. “Yes, go ahead and tell the others. Wyatt's going to keep his promise.”

“Okay, sis!” A boy's voice said and then the sound of his feet running away came from the screen.

Wyatt was an only child, so he smiled at the interaction. “Tell me about him.”

Ariana smiled as well and began to talk.

Neither of them noticed Wyatt's parents leaving the room.

*

“It's not working!” Wyatt exclaimed in frustration a week later.

“I agree. It's difficult to work out a solution for something that you can't have access to.” Calvin said. “The virus is too deadly, even for Starfleet's biohazard protocols.”

Wyatt sighed and rubbed his face. “What am I going to tell them?”

“That you're never giving up on them, of course.” Calvin said and Wyatt looked at him in surprise. “The last thing you ever want to tell someone you love, is that you're giving up on them.”

Wyatt took a very deep breath and let it out. “You're right. I can't let every set-back get to me. None of the greatest discoveries in history happened without trial and error.”

“That's the right attitude.” Calvin said and pat his shoulder. “We should produce a batch of the latest antiviral medication available and send it over with another shipment of food.”

Wyatt nodded and they got to work. When it was done, they packed it all up and brought it to the cargo bay and loaded it onto the large industrial transporter pad there.

“I can't thank you enough for all of this.” Wyatt said and waved at the large pallet of foodstuffs next to the medical supplies. “I'll pay you back somehow.”

Calvin chuckled and asked a question he knew the answer to. “What does a doctor make on a boarder planet these days, anyway?”

Wyatt chuckled as well. “Hey, don't rub my face in it.”

Calvin shook his head. “I only meant that I spent more than this by mistake during my first mission, so don't worry about it.”

Wyatt laughed. “I'd like to hear that story.” He said and looked down at the pile of medical supplies. “I forgot to add the datapad with the new isolation protocols.”

Calvin looked down to see that he actually did leave it in the lab. “All right, I'll be right back.”

Wyatt nodded and waited for the cargo bay door to shut, ran over to the console for the transporter, and hit the delay. He ran back over to the shipment and hugged it as the transport activated and the cargo bay door opened. The last thing he saw was an angry Calvin throw the datapad through the bulkhead.

*

“I'm sorry that I had to trick you, Calvin.” Wyatt said from the main viewscreen.

“We can't even prosecute you for stealing most of the advanced lab's equipment, because we can't take you into custody.” Calvin said with gritted teeth.

“I really am sorry. I promised that I would help as much as I could. I couldn't do that without having access to the virus.” Wyatt said.

“You intentionally infected yourself.” Deanna said, her voice full of surprise. “You planned this, ever since you saw her, didn't you?”

Wyatt nodded. “I wasn't going to sit by and watch the woman I love die, not when I know I can help.”

“You won't be welcomed anywhere, even if you do cure the virus.” Picard warned him.

“I know.” Wyatt said and smiled. “Tell my parents I love them and that I'm sorry.”

“We know.” Steve said from the meeting room and a woman's crying could be heard in the background.

“Don't worry, dad. When we have kids, I'll send you the pictures.” Wyatt promised.

“I... I love you too, son.” Steve said.

The viewscreen went black and then changed to show the Tarellian ship flying off at a slow pace.

Calvin's face lost the anger and he turned to look at Deanna. “That was a hard act to pull off.”

Deanna couldn't stop her laugh. “You mean you're not actually angry at being tricked?”

“Not even a little. Thanks to my bond to you, I felt how much he really loved her.” Calvin said. “I knew he was planning something, so I made sure to give him as many opportunities as possible to learn as much as possible about the current research on diseases.”

“And throwing a datapad through a bulkhead?” Riker asked.

Calvin smiled. “I wanted to know if it was possible.”

Geordi huffed. “At least you already had Kay-One on standby to catch the thing on the other side.”

“Plan ahead and leave as little as possible to chance.” Calvin said and looked at Picard. “Thank you for letting this play out, captain.”

Picard nodded. “You already replaced the equipment taken and paid for the lab time, so there was no reason to put a stop to this little play.”

“Wyatt really would have fought to get what they needed.” Deanna said. “His vehemence over Ariana's plight was clouding his judgment, especially by the week's end.”

“I hope his promise to his father wasn't an empty one.” Tasha commented.

“Oh, it wasn't.” Calvin said with a smile.

“What makes you say that?” Riker asked.

“I slipped one of my Kay Scanners into the last medical shipment and left instructions for him to isolate the virus. With that in his hands and his latest acquired knowledge, I can guarantee that he will make a successful antivirus within a couple of months.”

His words shocked nearly everyone.

Deanna stood up and walked over to him, then bent over slightly to give him a quick kiss on the lips. “You are a good man, Cal.”

“I try to be.” Calvin said and looked at Picard again. “Have you considered our request, captain?”

“I have given it a lot of thought.” Picard said. “If you wish to have me there to help officiate your wedding next month, I would be honored to accept.”

“Even with the stipulation?” Deanna asked with a slight smile.

“I have always look dapper and immaculate in my uniform... and out of it.” Picard said.

Complete silence filled the bridge for several seconds, then Tasha couldn't hold her laugh in anymore and it cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter. That set off several others and Calvin let his own chuckle out when he saw Picard's proud smile.

He actually made a joke! Calvin sent to Deanna. That's amazing!

You have been a good influence on us all, Imzadi. Deanna thought and let a light laugh escape as well.