| Marco stared out the window at Station 51 recalling the past days events. He was unsure why they happened but they did. As Mike was getting himself a cup of coffee, he decided to pour Marco one as well. |
| Joining him at the window, Mike handed him the cup saying, "It will get easier, Marco." |
| The Hispanic fireman sighed saying, "I know, Mike, but it still hurts." |
| The quiet engineer smiled saying, "I know, Marco, but you have to remember that you are not alone and there were others involved as well." |
| Marco stared at his friend and fellow fire fighter. Finally, after a few silent moments, he asked, "What is that saying about this being a small universe?" |
| "I'm certain we will all be together again, Marco, either in this universe or another one." |
| "I wish I could back, "Marco's voice trailed off into another world. |
| Marco just returned to the ship after a peaceful mission scouting ahead for other life forms. He was meeting with Capt. Kirk and Commander Spock reporting his findings when Scotty's voice could be heard over the intercom right before the alarm sounding. |
| "Red alert!" Scotty's voice echoed throughout the Enterprise. |
| Kirk immediately went to the intercom and punched it. "What is it, Mr. Scott?" |
| "We're picking up a hostile tractor beam. So far, the shields are holding." |
| Kirk glanced at Marco saying, "I thought you said there were no life forms in the area, Lt. Lopez!" |
| "My instruments indicated there were none, sir!" Momentarily, Marco seemed lost to a fleeting thought which caused him to shudder. |
| It was Spock who sensed his feelings. "Lt. Lopez, I sense there is something you are denying." |
| This caught Kirk's attention which prompted him to state, "Was there anything unusual in your trip, Mr. Lopez?" |
| Sheepishly, Marco stammered out the words, "I thought I saw a ghost. But it disappeared as fast as it appeared so I passed it off as my imagination." |
| About that time, Mike Stoker rushed in the room to state, "Captain! The ship is being invaded!" |
| Just as he managed to get his words out, the room was filled with what appeared to be a vaporless transparent cloud. It encircled Marco as the others looked on puzzled. At first, Marco looked terrified but once it covered him entirely, there was a look of peace about him. |
| Spock raised an eyebrow saying, "Interesting." |
| It was Kirk who brought it to everyone's attention, "Excuse me, Gentlemen, we have been just invaded…" |
| Spock told him, "No Captain, this life form is familiar to all of us. We know who this is." |
| Puzzled, Kirk asked, "We do?" |
| Mike suddenly realized he knew the life form as well, blurting out, "Susan!" |
| The ship's alert status was suddenly lowered to green with the all clear. A familiar voice to everyone echoed throughout the ship. "We have no intentions of harming anyone. We are here on a peaceful mission." |
| Kirk blurted out, "Admiral Harriman Nelson! Last I knew you were on Seaview in the 20th century!" |
| Nelson's voice seemed to emit throughout the ship but speaking only to those within the room, "Yes, Captain Kirk, I was but duty called both of us to time travel business which we must fulfill before our return to Seaview." The voice then spoke to Susan, "Francesca, I know you are delighted to see Marco, but you must remember why we are here. Besides, your husband would not be pleased." |
| "Husband?" inquired Mike. |
| As the transparent being moved away from Marco, it became a solid life form of a young woman wearing a 20th century Navy uniform with the rank of Lt. Commander. |
| Kirk asked, "When did you become a Lt. Commander? When you were part of my crew, you were just a lieutenant." |
| Before she answered, Nelson made his appearance stating, "She actually carries the rank of admiral but wishes to deny it." |
| "Father," she scolded. |
| Marco finally spoke up saying, "It's great to see both of you." |
| Mike then asked, "What is this about a husband?" |
| It was Marco who answered, "On Seaview, she is married to Chip Morton." |
| It was Kirk's turn to be puzzled, "How do you know this?" |
| "I'm a time traveler myself serving on Seaview as well." |
| Kirk asked, "Is this why you appeared several weeks ago stating you were on an important mission?" |
| "Yes sir," answered the Hispanic scout. "But I had no idea anyone else would be traveling with me." |
| Spock looked at Mike who then said, "I'm here working for Starfleet, nothing else." |
| Spock told him, "I am aware of that and your connection to Starfleet as well as your connection to Lt. Lopez and this woman; however, I am still puzzled there is nothing more." |
| Nelson told the group, "Mr. Stoker's role will reveal itself in time. He is not a time traveler." |
| Susan looked puzzled and softly said, "Father….there is something on this ship." |
| Nelson studied his daughter for a moment, glanced at the puzzled captain asking, "Anything unusual happen lately?" |
| "Only the arrival of those in this room," was the response. "What are you sensing, Susan?" |
| She shuddered as if to deny its presence. She whispered to her father, "I cannot grasp what it is. I only sense something and that worries me." |
| "I am not sensing anything," he told her, 'however, that does not mean you must deny what you feel." |
| Kirk then said, "Whatever it is, you are the ones here to take care of it. I have a ship to run. Mr. Spock, let's return to the bridge. Mr. Stoker, Mr. Lopez, return to your stations." |
| Both Marco and Mike obeyed with a "Yes, sir!" |
| After the room was cleared out, Nelson stared at his daughter as if to scold her. Sheepishly, she told him, "I was happy to see him, dad." |
| "You have another husband," he reminded her. |
| "Yes, Chip." |
| "Before Chip Morton, there were others. Do you remember the one I speak of?" |
| She was puzzled for a moment. "I keep seeing him in my sleep yet I cannot remember his name. He is not Legolas, is he?" |
| "No he is not," was the answer. |
| Meanwhile, Kirk and Spock returned to the bridge where Scotty had everything under control. Before returning to Engineering, Scotty asked, "Captain, what happened to the red alert?" |
| "We have friendly visitors," he answered. "In fact someone you are related to." |
| This gained the Scotsman's attention. "Really? Who, sir?" |
| "A relative from your past-Admiral Nelson." |
| Scotty's eyes widened with surprise. "Then that means trouble cannot be far behind." |
| "Yes," answered the captain, "his daughter is also here." |
| Scotty muttered out the words, "I better go lock down Engineering." He rushed to the elevator and disappeared behind the door. |
| Spock raised an eyebrow saying, "His reaction was most human and illogical. As I recall, the young woman only brings trouble with her if there are seven others with her and the only other one part of that group is Lt. Lopez." |
| Kirk muttered, "That is more enough than for me, Mr. Spock. I feel a headache coming on if she remains too long." |
| Spock made the comment, "I believe the others are safely in another time and dimension, sir." |
| Kirk muttered out the words, "If someone manages to summon Katrina then we are doomed." |
| "She is under control and if she happens to appear, then all we must remember is to summon Suneva. Susan will allow her alter ego to prevail." |
| Kirk muttered under his breath only audible to Spock, "But Katrina is her evil alter ego and I fear for the safety of the ship." |
| Spock reminded him, "Suneva is her male alter ego and will come to the ships aid if she is to emerge." |
| Kirk muttered, "I will be happy when they accomplish their mission, Mr. Spock, and are out of here." |
| Spock raised an eyebrow before returning to his station. He knew his captain well and what he dreaded. |
| Down in Environmental Control, Marco and Mike were both working away. Every once in a while, Mike would notice Marco pause for a moment while going off into space. Finally, Mike asked, "What did you feel after seeing her all these years?" |
| "I was delighted," he answered, "but I sense something wrong." |
| "From when she was encasing you or before?" |
| "She is troubled," he answered. "This time I cannot help her." |
| Mike made the comment, "It was her choice to leave her people, Marco. You had nothing to do with that." |
| Marco knew what his friend was trying to tell him which was to leave well enough alone. He muttered something in Spanish which left Mike puzzled. |
| The two of them continued working on the controls until Kirk summoned Marco to the conference room. |
| There, he found Kirk talking with Nelson. No one else was present, not even Spock. Marco spoke after entering, "You wanted to see me, sir?" |
| It was Nelson who spoke, "I am sending you on a mission, Marco." |
| "Time travel?" he asked fearing the response. |
| "Space scouting," was Kirk's response. |
| Marco felt a sigh of relief leave his body which made Kirk chuckle. Nelson gave both men an icy stare as he continued, "There is a small uninhabited class M planet 20 light years away. I want you to take Mr. Stoker and explore it." |
| Any others," inquired the eager scout. |
| Only Mr. Stoker," was Kirk's response. "You must leave right away and only make contact with the Enterprise in emergencies." |
| Marco quickly left the room leaving Kirk to ask Nelson, "Do you honestly think both will be safe there?" |
| "Neither one is safe here, Captain. And your ship is not safe with both here." |
| "But you are not planning to fill either one in?" |
| "They do not need to know they are in danger here," was the admiral's response. |
| "What of your daughter?" |
| "She is the one who gave me the news of the danger, Jim. She must remain here with me in order to take care of the situation." |
| Kirk remained puzzled by the response but did not question the admiral further. |
| As Mike disembarked the shuttle with Marco, he asked, "What do you want to call this little piece of paradise, Marco?" |
| Glancing around, Marco noticed it was indeed a tropical paradise. He wondered aloud, "Wonder why it is uninhabited, Mike?" |
| His companion shrugged saying, "I don't know but we could get the tricorders out and take a few readings while we are here." |
| Marco watched in amazement as Mike removed his tricorder and started taking readings. After several silent minutes, Marco asked, "Well?" |
| "I could go for a beer and a girl," grinned Mike. |
| "What girl do you have in mind," was the obvious question. |
| Smiling, Mike responded, "Candy Pruitt." |
| Startled, Marco blurted out, "A ship full of beautiful women in the 23rd century and you are thinking about one from the 18th century???" |
| The blue eyed man responded, "Yeah, she is beautiful." |
| "I'll buy that," responded the brown eyed scout said, "but that is the 18th century and this is the 23rd century." |
| "Unfortunately, I know that, Marco." |
| About that time, something caught their attention in the brush ahead of them. Mike took some more readings on his tricorder. "According to these readings, we are the only ones here." |
| "Then, what was that moving over there?" |
| Mike moved closer to see what they were seeing with Marco close behind ready to draw his phaser. About that time, a rabbit hopped out of the brush, paused at their feet and sniffed at them. |
| "Cute bunny, "Marco smiled. |
| Mike looked worried, "But it is not registering as a life form." |
| Marco glanced at Mike's tricorder saying, "It must be broke. Let me get mine out." With that, he took readings and agreed with Mike's analyses that the bunny was not registering as a life form. |
| Mike told him, "Then there must be one answer, Marco, this bunny is not real." |
| "Then, neither is that one over there," Marco pointed out to the one emerging from the brush. |
| Mike reached down to touch the rabbit but a disembodied voice warned him not to touch the rabbit. |
| Both men glanced at each other puzzled. Marco muttered, "I thought this planet was uninhabited, Mike." |
| The sun seemed to be growing hotter as they stood there. Marco was first to feel the intense heat but it affected Mike more. As his head seemed to swim, Mike heard himself telling Marco he had to get back inside the shuttle immediately. |
| Marco helped him back to the shuttle where the intense heat let up. He gave his companion water to help with the onset of heat stroke. |
| Marco also tried contacting the Enterprise for assistance, only to find the instruments were out as well as communications. It seemed as though they were stranded on this planet. |
| Meanwhile, back at the Enterprise, Nelson made the comment to Kirk, "I fear for those two on that planet." |
| "I thought you said they would be safe there?" |
| Nelson told him, "Francesca senses danger and was unable to establish empathy with either one." |
| "Is that a problem?" |
| "She cannot sense them, Jim. It is as if they are not there. And I am unable to establish telepathy with their guardian." |
| "Guardian?" Kirk blurted out in shock. "Now what are you telling me, Admiral?" |
| "Their guardian, or rather the time travel guardian travels with the person to make sure they arrive safely and properly do their job. It is the guardian who informs the Elders when the traveler is ready for another mission. Yet, the traveler never sees, communicates or is aware of their existence." |
| "And Marco has a guardian that you are unable to establish contact with?" |
| "Being one of the Elders, I must have contact with the guardian." |
| Kirk wanted to go back to the day before and forget what he was hearing. "You are telling me that you sent two of my crew members to doom?" |
| The admiral glared at him but did not answer. He did notice the temperature of the ship seemed to be getting rather hot. |
| Spock's voice came over the intercom saying, "Capt. Kirk, please turn to the bridge." |
| Both Kirk and Nelson arrived on the bridge to see a transparent being hovering. Kirk demanded to know, "Who are you and what is it you want?" |
| The being demanded in a menacing voice, "The ones called Stoker and Lopez." |
| Nelson told the being, "They are not here." |
| "You sent them away." |
| "I did." |
| "Did you remove the one called Francesca as well?" |
| "My daughter is still on the ship," Nelson admitted. |
| "Then I will deal with her." |
| With that, the being disappeared but instantly was a surge in power. "The war has begun," Nelson frowned. |
| With the ship in danger, power failing, lights dimming on and off, Kirk snarled, "Take this damn war off my ship, Admiral!" |
| As the ship shook violently, so did the shuttle on the planet. |
| Both men could see the shuttle was breaking apart and managed to escape it just in time before its collapse. |
| Now helpless against to forces on the planet, the duo wondered what to do in order to escape the burning sun, fierce winds and earth quaking. One of them was heard to shout, "We have to find shelter!" |
| As they managed to cling to one another to help them stand against the wind, a figure of a man appeared before them. The wind burned their eyes but they could tell this man was actually an Elf from Middle Earth. He stood about 6 feet tall, slender built with long blond hair and Kelly green eyes. He told them, "I am here to help you escape this doom." |
| Marco asked, "Who are you?" |
| "I am Valandil," he responded. |
| Mike caught the look of recognition from Marco. "You know him?" |
| "I know who he is," Marco responded. |
| "You do??" |
| Marco nodded trying to keep the elements from injuring him. |
| Valandil extended both arms saying, "There is very little time. I must help you." |
| Mike wanted to know, "How do you know each other?" |
| The Elf answered, "I am married to the one you call Susan. Yet she does not remember me." |
| Mike was even more puzzled. As he started asking more questions, Valandil raised both arms over the two men replacing their surroundings. |
| It was windy and hot yet the two men found themselves in Los Angeles fighting a house fire. As the firemen on duty managed to bring the fire under control, the captain on the scene spoke into a microphone on the engine, "This fire is under control. Return other units. Station 51 out 30 minutes." |
| Marco found himself drenched with sweat as he started packing up the hose. It was Chet who made the comment, "Marco, you looked like you were a million miles away there for awhile. You OK?" |
| All Marco could do was give him a puzzled look. |
| Back at the station, Marco managed to get Mike aside asking, "What happened?" |
| Mike told him, "I think we were rescued." |
| About that time, Cap called them into the office. He told them, "What I am about to say, stays in this room." |
| Both glanced at each other wondering as Cap continued, "I just had a phone call from Chief McConnike who said he talked to someone higher up who stated that you both must be told that everything and everyone are fine." |
| The pair exchanged glances. Cap asked, "Do you have any idea what that message means?" |
| Mike told him, "We do, Cap." |
| "Good because I haven't the foggiest idea what it means." |
| As the pair stared out the window, Marco asked, "Do you think she will ever remember him, Mike?" |
| "Only in time," was the response as the station was toned out on another fire. |