Star Trek: Outwardly Mobile

Episode 26: New Neighbors.

(Stardate 48719)

By

Jay P. Hailey

And

Dennnis Washburn

 

Abor was a pretty planet. The starship Discovery was there pressing the flesh and telling them how much we appreciated their tax payments and general support.

 

I had no real idea who the Aborians were. They were a beautiful people, tall with refined features. They had an interesting sense of style. They were reserved and didn't say much about themselves. It was like going to a party where you didn't know anyone.

I went down to Abor and addressed the Parliament. It was a generic speech about how much we of the Federation appreciated them. They listened with polite interest. I listened to weird Aborian Opera. I swear I heard the guitar riff from "Johnny B. Goode" in it but I was probably imagining it.

We held the standard tour and reception aboard the Discovery. The Emperor Mikal Thail Petron IV came to see. He was tall, athletic looking and had a magnetic personality. I could see how he succeeded as an Emperor. He seemed genuinely interested in the Discovery and our mission.

During the reception in the lounge, The Emperor and his ministers mixed with the crew and generally sparkled wittily. They dressed in a weird sort of modern baroque style. Lots of filigree and threads woven into the clothing. Small hand held computer terminals and personal weapons were carefully designed to fit in pockets without disturbing the lines of the clothes. The effect was quite strange.

I noticed, during a lull, that one of the Ministers had drifted over to a replicator. He was an odd duck. He looked about a million years old, but he moved well. Almost as if he wasn't as old underneath. His dress was not as ornate or weird as the rest of the Aborian Nobles.

"Can I help you, Sir?" I asked.

He turned and looked at me sharply. "Aren't you the Captain?"

"Yes, Sir. I'm Captain Hailey."

"Well, pleased to meetcha." He held out a hand. "Ralt."

I shook his hand, mystified. One thing the Aborians were certain and forthcoming about was rank and station. It was important to them.

"You're from Earth, aren't you?" He peered at my face.

"Yes, Sir." I said.

"That's the one with spacious skies and purple mountain majesties?"

"Yes, Sir. That's the one."

"Never been there." He grumped. "Have you ever heard of a Cheeseburger?"

"Yes, Sir. I might have heard of those at one time." I allowed. I liked classic American cuisine, but then, that was my home land.

His eyes lit up. "French fries?"

"I might have nibbled on one of those at one time." I said.

His mouth was watering. "Milk shakes?"

"Yes, Sir."

He sighed. "It's been such a long time since I've decent fast food..."

I turned to the replicator. "Computer, give me a cheeseburger, large fries and a milkshake," I turned towards Ralt "Any special conditions, just let the computer know."

"Computer," He said quickly, "The flavor on that shake is chocolate, the cheeseburger is loaded."

The replicator beeped and materialized the food. The old man took the burger and stuffed a huge bite into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed happily.

After a few moments he was able to say. "Thank you. This is wonderful."

I sighed and said sadly. "The replicated stuff isn't quite as good as the real thing. There's this place in Los Angeles, my home town, where..."

"You're from L.A.?" He asked. Then he slurped from his milk shake.

"Yes, Sir."

"Heh! Small world."

"Have you ever been there?" I asked.

"It was a long, long time ago."

"Ah, well. It hasn't changed much in the last two hundred years. I'm pretty sure you'd still feel comfortable there." I reassured him.

"I doubt that." He said. "Hey! Do you have any blue jeans on this ship?" He started to feel about in his robes and cape. "I'd have to send someone down to Abor for some money..."

"No need." I said turning to the computer. "Computer, blue jeans. Tell it your size and the style you want."

Ralt whooped "Really? What else do you have in there?"

"We have extensive records. There's not much you can't get out of a replicator. I have to warn you though, most people find replicated items inferior to the authentic article."

He looked sharply at the cheeseburger and fries on his plate. "Like these?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Hee hee, computer, give me a Mickey Mouse T-shirt. Size, large."

That one took a while. The computer had to search deeply into the archives to identify what a Mickey Mouse T-shirt was. I had no idea.

Soon the article appeared in the replicator.

"This is great!" Ralt shouted.

"See the screen over the terminal?" I said. "You can view what you order before it gets produced for you."

"Wow! This is seriously cool!" The old man chortled.

"Uncle?" I turned to see the Emperor with an uncertain look on his face.

Ralt turned to the Emperor of Abor. "Mike, you should see this stuff! It's old home week!" He turned and then realized that they weren't in private "Er, I mean, uh, Your Majesty."

"Uncle, we've had replicators in the palace for years." The Emperor quietly said. "I don't know if we have the same records as this ship does, but if not, they should be easily acquired."

The old man turned with a stunned look. Then I saw the click in his face. He got it. "Is that what those things are?!"

"Yes, Uncle."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

The Emperor looked embarrassed. He looked around that rest of his nobles, who were watching the exchange from a safe distance. "I...I don't know. I guess we all figured you knew and chose not to use them for your own reasons."

Ralt turned to me. "Let that be a lesson to you. I'm the court mystic with the secrets of our ancient ancestors in my head." He pointed to his scalp. "So they figure I know all about the technical upgrades at the old palace."

"I'm sorry, Uncle." Mikal Thail Petron said. I could tell that he was mortified. I could also see him holding back laughter.

"I'm just lucky you didn't upgrade the damned plumbing or I would have been in trouble." Ralt grumped.

"Why don't I download our archives to you. Then anything you might get on the Discovery will be in your records." I suggested.

"Please do, Captain." The Emperor said. "It might help mollify my Uncle."

"Computer, give me a candy bar! A Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Almonds!" Ralt ordered. The lights on the replicator slowed way down as it translated the old man's request.

-*-

The reception was a success. A few new things were learned about Abor and the relationship between the Federation and Abor was threatening to grow. Pretty good for a public relations tour. I enjoyed it. The main job of the Discovery was exploring the unknown, but it felt good to help strengthen the ties between the worlds of the Federation. I was happy doing it.

-*-

"Message coming in, Captain." Lt. Commander Anderson reported.

"On screen." I said.

The screen lit up to show Admiral Leyton, the Commander In Chief. He was the highest ranking Admiral in Starfleet. He reported directly to the President and the Federation Council. He was a tall human with curly brown hair and a salt and pepper beard. He had the highest rank possible in Starfleet. Period. The only higher office to aspire to was that of the President. It was rumored that that was his next goal. I resisted the urge to stand up.

Leyton spoke. "This is Starfleet Command. This is a quadrant wide yellow alert. All Starfleet ships and units are directed to go to yellow alert and stand by for further orders. Specific orders to follow."

I was shocked. The only excuse for a quadrant wide yellow alert would be a mass invasion by the Romulans or wild rampages by the Q or the Organians. The last quadrant wide alert was Wolf 359 when the Borg invaded the Federation.

"Captain, we're getting a data message attached to Admiral Leyton's message." Anderson quietly reported.

"On my screen." I said. The control panel next to my captain's chair lit up and began showing me orders. The Discovery was ordered to run for the Klingon border at maximum possible warp. We were given the order to burn the engines if necessary in order to get there soonest. That meant that we were not to worry about if the Discovery could actually move or fight at the border, we were just to get there and damned quick.

"Helm, what's the nearest starbase between us and the Klingon border?" I asked.

Lt. Spaat looked it up. "Starbase 223 is only a short deviation off a direct course."

"Set course for Starbase 223." I called Engineering, "Mr. Miatsu, we have orders to burn the engines for speed. I'll need you to let me know when the Engineering section is secure for it."

"Aye, Sir." I could hear the unhappiness in Miatsu's voice. I understood it. He had worked hard to get the engines just so and our orders required damaging, possibly destroying them.

"Mr. Spaat, go to warp eight and hold until Mr. Miatsu gives the signal."

"Aye, Sir." The Discovery leapt towards the Klingon border.

-*-

As we passed Starbase 223 we performed an extremely risky maneuver. We did a near warp separation of the Saucer Section of the Discovery. The Saucer Section was filled with colonists and civilians. What ever trouble there was at the border would probably involve shooting, if I knew the Klingons. I didn't want to take the civilians into it with us.

-*-

The Discovery roared into the target area at Warp 9.7. Our engines were glowing with heat, and were about to melt.

There was a huge fleet there to greet us. Half of Starfleet was there. So was about half of the Klingon fleet. All were at yellow alert. No shields were raised, no weapons were armed. Some Klingon and Federation ships were on the wrong sides of the border, formed up into mixed groups with each other.

As we went sublight and began to fly into the target zone on full impulse we lost the main engines. The Discovery would need a tow back to base. We had set a time and speed endurance record in the Federation. However, for a long time, the Discovery wasn't going anywhere very fast.

I received greetings from many of the Captains of the Starfleet vessels. There was Riker and the Enterprise-E, there was Captain Mitchell of the Endeavor. We passed the starship Constitution under the renowned Captain Ra'Fing. There was the London with Captain Dawson. It was a who's who in Starfleet.

The Klingon side was no less well represented.

All the ships and people were centered around a small area in space. A few kilometers across. Our target zone was right smack in the middle of the zone, but no other starship was inside that area.

As we entered the circle. All eyes turned to us and small ball of light that was floating in the middle of the zone.

"What the hell is that?" I asked.

"Unknown, Captain, Scans are bouncing right off of it." Kamaline reported.

"Uh-oh." Stephanie said.

I turned to my Security Chief. "What do you mean, Uh-oh?"

"Remember the Harmon?" She said.

"Uh-oh!" I said. The Harmon were a race of being who had evolved great powers of mind. They had grown past the need for physical bodies. They played with impossible stellar phenomenon for amusement. They found a group like the Federation, called the Kurr Association. They declared it ethically underdeveloped and had englobed the Kurr in a force field a hundred light years wide and several kilometers thick.

While lost in space aboard the USS Harrier, I had sought out the Harmon to ask for help. They communicated with me. I understood that the Harmon quest for perfection had wandered down a dangerous cul-de-sac. They were nearly psychotic and had withdrawn from the galaxy before they could do anyone harm.

From the Harmon perspective, the huge fleet at the border probably looked like a swarm of pathetic mutant bees.

"All stop." I ordered. Spaat brought the Discovery to a halt.

"Hail the object." I said.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Mendez asked me.

"No. If it's the Harmon, it's not good." I said.

"Hailing frequencies open." Lt. Commander Anderson said.

"This is Captain Jay P. Hailey of the Federation starship Discovery. We wish friendly contact. Will you communicate with us?"

"The sphere's heading for us." Lucas McCoy said. He was my third in command and the Chief Operations Officer.

"Raise shields." Mendez said. "Prepare for evasive maneuvers." He sounded very calm.

"Don't bother." I said. "Commander, Our engines, shields and weapons are not going to be relevant here."

"What should we do?" He asked. I could see that his shoulders were tense. There was a sheen of sweat on his forehead.

I noticed my own hands were sweating. "We should find out what they want."

"Impact in ten seconds." Kamaline informed us.

Ten seconds later, a large face appeared floating in mid air on the Bridge. I recognized the mask that the Harmon liked to use to try and communicate with us.

I stood and said "Greetings. Are you the Harmon?"

The face smiled.

"Are you here to englobe the Federation?" I asked. It was a frightening possibility.

The face frowned.

"Why are you here?" I asked. "Do you mean harm to the Federation?"

The face frowned again, and then looked thoughtful.

"Can we do something for you?" I asked.

The face smiled.

Knowing that I was only going to get expressions from the face I switched tactics.

"Animal, vegetable or mineral?" I asked.

The face looked annoyed and then the eyes flashed.

-*-

I was a Harmon again. I was floating in the air of the Discovery's bridge, while I watched my own body crumple to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

It was awful. I could see every minute flaw in the Discovery. She was an aesthetic nightmare. All the angles were subtly wrong. All the colors were just slightly off, and the effect was horrid.

As I watched my body crumple to the floor I noticed that it was really not a great design. There were so many ways to do the things that my body did, only better.

As form followed function, I realized that aesthetically the poor functioning of my body made it pretty sad from an artistic point of view too.

Worse the same basic flaws were repeated with a certain amount of variety by every ship and every living being in the fleet around us.

As my mind encompassed each being in the fleet his every minuscule imperfection stood out to me, and it was very irritating.

I saw the ships in the fleet as whole and they were pretty sad. The whole basic concept of matter/anti-matter annihilation leading to plasma energy transfer was flawed, but even if I was willing to accept the idea for the sake of argument, we simply hadn't put the whole thing together very well.

Then my mind turn turned to society of the Federation, and what a botched up mess we had made of things there. I was half tempted to shut the whole thing away before it hurt anyone else with its inept fumbling.

Then I realized that I was mad. It was a painful realization, but I immediately came to understand the inherent flaw in me. As a Harmon I had given thousands of years to the pursuit of perfection. The act of perfecting myself had given me vast powers and perceptions. However, my own obsession with perfection led me to critically analyze everything in the minutest detail.

Imperfection annoyed me. To perceive an imperfection was to admit that such a thing was possible, even in me. I saw the entire galaxy as an imperfect thing that I needed to correct piece by individual piece.

I knew that this was madness. Even with my perfected powers and perceptions I couldn't change the entire galaxy enough to make it perfect. Worse, the more I fought with it the more it would seem to deteriorate. My own perceptions would magnify the imperfect areas out of proportion. I had to review myself. I could not make the Galaxy perfect, therefore I had to make myself perfectly suited to the galaxy as it was. Or, imperfect.

This was big step and I was afraid. I needed to hide, I needed to be alone. I needed to be quite inside and let my perfect spirit grapple with these problems.

Choosing a place that wasn't quite perfect, I set myself to contemplate the nature of perfection and imperfection. I was continuously interrupted.

Bugs in little starships came to me calling for my attention. Bugs shouldn't build starships. They don't really know how. In leaky, crappy death traps they came by the hordes. I set warning signs and traps to send them away, but they were thicker than mosquitoes on a river. I could kill them out right with my perfected powers, but my perfected ethics restrained me. To do so would make me the exact opposite of perfect.

Some bugs were even less perfect than others, and these, the Kliges'chee actually tried to eat me. With exasperation I turned their swarm aside again and again until they got the point and left.

Even so, the bugs and their aggressive imperfection continued to intrude. The bugs were friendly or angry or fearful or awed and worshipful. Their little imperfect emotions didn't matter. Each one was about as annoying as any other.

My meditations were interrupted time and again. They were important. I must end my own madness and adjust myself to be harmonious with an imperfect world. If my madness grew, then bugs and bigger animals and maybe even other people might be in danger of being hurt. The thought pained me. I needed to heal myself.

The bugs kept coming. One bug actually expressed sympathy and desire to help. I knew, with my perfected perceptions the origin of the feeling. The bug was from a social species. His instincts were to help members of his nest, and even the odd stranger if they didn't seem threatening. His instincts in the matter were flawed and imperfect. Since there were no comparable competitor bugs on his world, his instinct was a little vague on what was and was not a proper bug. Any creature could trigger his helpful instincts if they gave the proper signals. Even if they were not from his planet to begin with.

His species had exploded away from their planet in little leaky, crappy death trap ships and were wandering around bonding with every other type of bugs they could. Madness. Coincidentally it was a step towards a more perfect ethic, but the bugs only had the dimmest possible view of the matter.

So this overly friendly bug had gotten lost from his nest and was running loose exercising his friendly little instincts on who ever was handy and asking for help to find his way home. He didn't mean any harm and although he disrupted my necessary meditations, how could he be expected to know?

So I shooed him out of my space and sent him on his friendly little way. Then I discovered what his problem was. Much less friendly bugs were swarming like mad right on his tail. As I helped the little bug in his way, my space was swarmed with bugs. They were angry bugs. They were unreasonable bugs. They were stubborn bugs. I could defend myself from their depredations easily, but they just wouldn't stop! I couldn't meditate or get back to my desperately necessary task. The swarm of angry bugs was just too pervasive.

So I left. I knew that I could easily out distance the bugs.

Then where would I set up my home? With my perfect perceptions, I could see that there was no place that was quite perfect. Now I had even been run out of my first choice for imperfect places to call home.

Then an idea occurred to me. It was not perfect. I could see many problems with the execution. However, perfection was not a perfect goal. I had to adjust to an imperfect universe. Maybe this was a first step in that direction?

I would set the friendly little bugs up as a buffer. If I sent the right signals they might accept me into their nest. They did have adequate defense mechanisms despite their immediate friendliness. They would be little friends to me. They would keep other, less friendly bugs away.

If I could set it up just right. Not perfectly, but just right, then I could get the time I needed to heal myself. Then people, animals and bugs all over could rest easy. I wouldn't be in danger of hurting them anymore.

To explain it more clearly I displayed to the bugs in their own primitive communication approximately what I had in mind.

-*-

I fell to the deck. I was no longer a Harmon. I hurt and couldn't think straight. I opened my mouth to speak and threw up all over the bridge. I rolled over and lost control of my arms and legs. I had almost forgotten how to live in a physical body.

I began to drift away. As things went gray I could hear my own voice coming over the screen.

"This is Captain Hailey. We apologize for the unwarranted intrusion. We meant no harm. If there is ever a way for us to help you, please let us know. Until then, The Harrier will leave your territory immediately.

-*-

I was lying on a bed in sickbay.

"Are you all right, Captain?" Dr. Burlington asked me.

"You tell me." I croaked.

"You've just had a major increase in neuro-transmitter activity in your brain. The results could be hallucinations or seizures. I have given you a sedative to lessen the effects for the short term. In a few hours your brain should have sorted itself out. Afterwards we can begin testing to determine if there are any lasting effects." Doctor Burlington reported. "Did you understand all that?"

"Uh, mostly." I admitted.

"Then you're fine. Sit down and be quiet for a few hours and everything should be fine." She said, grinning.

The Discovery went to red alert.

I scrambled off the sickbay bed and down the hall towards the turbo lift.

-*-

"Report." I said as I got to the Bridge. I could hear comm traffic. The fleet was getting set to move out. Captain Riker was in command and he was setting up battle groups. The sphere was nowhere to be seen.

"The sphere re-appeared soon after the recording of you on the Harrier was played." Mendez said. "It took off for Earth at high speed."

"The fleet's going to pursue it?" I asked.

"Yes, Sir. I doubt they can catch it, but hopefully we can get to Earth in time to stop it."

"Hail the Enterprise." I said.

Anderson opened a channel to the flag ship.

"Captain Hailey, do you have any idea what's going on?" Captain Riker asked quickly.

"Yes, Sir." I said uncertainly. "I believe that the Harmon have just asked for sanctuary."

Riker looked at me for a moment. "The Harmon?" He said.

"Yes, Sir."

"Have asked US for sanctuary?" He sounded stunned. I didn't blame him. It was like the Organians or the Q asking for rescue.

"Yes, Sir."

"Are their intentions hostile at all?" Riker asked.

"No, Sir. They are mentally unstable, though. They need time to themselves. Please ask the fleet to lay back if possible. If the Harmon lose it, we're all in deep trouble."

"Captain Hailey, what the status of the Discovery's engines?"

I looked at Mendez. He shook his head sadly. The Discovery would have to have her whole warp drive assembly replaced.

"We're not going anywhere for a while, Commodore." I said.

"Commodore?" He grinned. I had given him a promotion.

"Well, you're in charge of the fleet." I shrugged.

"Captain, I want you to join me on the Enterprise. We'll try to catch up with the Harmon." He said.

"Aye Sir." I said. Did I need anything? "Whenever you're ready."

The Enterprise beamed me aboard.

-*-

I was briefing the Command crew of the Enterprise. I was tired, and I'm afraid it showed.

"The Harmon felt insane to you?" Commander Troi asked. She was a nice lady and I almost immediately felt comfortable in her presence. She was asking extremely detailed questions about the mental state of the Harmon. I wasn't certain exactly where she was going with it.

"No. They felt... unhappy. Miserable. As if you were being forced to live with a miserable and intolerable situation. More like anguished." I explained.

"They were anguished because the universe is not perfect?" She asked.

"No. Look at it this way. You wake up one morning and life is just hateful. It's been that way for a while and you've been trying to rise above it with a good attitude. Then you realize that all the unhappiness and pain isn't anything the universe is doing. It's you. You're the problem. The Harmon have realized that their idea of perfection wasn't, well, perfect."

"Do you think that they can recover from this?" She asked.

"I guess they feel like they can, if given the quiet that they need." I said.

Captain Riker said "Deanna, do you think you could help them?"

"I don't know Will. I received no empathic impressions from them while they were at the border. I couldn't even feel anything while they were contacting Captain Hailey. I think I might understand Captain Hailey's description of their problem, but I have no feel for what they are really going through." She said.

"Believe me," I said. "You don't want to." My head still hurt and I was still queasy.

"Really." Captain Riker said. "Maybe Commander Troi is more qualified to have contact with them than you."

"No offense, Commander, but I don't think so."

"What makes you say that?" She was speaking oddly for a starship officer. She sounded more like a counselor.

"Okay, here's another analogy. You've got a delicate task. It demands full concentration. Now a lady bug gets in your face and demands your attention so that it can generate reassuring pheromones at you, or rub it's legs together at you or something." I said.

"You're comparing me to a lady bug?" Commander Troi asked. The thought seemed to amuse her.

"The point is that even if the lady bug has your best interests in mind, you're just as liable to swat it out of the way so you can concentrate on your task. The analogy isn't perfect, but we're the bugs."

"Are you saying that there's nothing we can really do to help the Harmon?" Captain Riker asked.

"I'm not certain our ideas of help or aid are meaningful at that scale." I said. "If we're going to grant them asylum, then probably the best thing we could do would be to make absolutely sure that they were left alone."

"I have to agree with Captain Hailey's opinion, Will. If we can't understand them or help to treat them, then the best thing to do would be to trust that they know what they are talking about." Commander Troi said.

"We have just heard reports that the Harmon have entered the inner Federation area. Nothing has been able to keep up with them. They have avoided contact with any ship sent to intercept them." Lt. Hawke said.

"I'll make my report back to Starfleet Command." Captain Riker said. "I'll let you know what they say."

The briefing was adjourned. I stood up unsteadily. The Enterprise's Chief Medical Officer came around the table to examine me.

"Are you all right?" Dr. Pulaski asked.

"Ooooh. My Chief Medical Officer says that I have had an overload of neuro-transmitters." I said. The room seemed to be spinning.

"He should really get some rest." Dr. Pulaski told Troi.

"I'll get him into some quarters right away." Troi said.

Asking if I could walk, Commander Troi gently helped me away from the briefing room. I could walk, but it was slow and if I didn't pay attention, it was random.

"You have a really lovely bedside manor." I told Commander Troi. "You should have been in medicine."

"I think Counselor Troi has a nice ring to it." She said.

"So what are you doing in the First Officer's chair?" I asked.

"Captain Riker needed help with the Enterprise-E." She said. "Admiral Picard took his favorite candidate with him. Worf had another assignment at Deep Space Nine. I volunteered to fill the position until he could find a more suitable replacement." She said.

"There must be thousands of officers ready to beat down Captain Riker's door to get a shot at the post. You don't want it?" I asked.

"Will doesn't know any of them. He does know me. He just hasn't found anyone else he's comfortable with." She said.

"And what do you want to do?" I expected her to speak of getting a command of her own.

"I already said. Counselor Troi has a nice ring."

I must have been dreaming. The Second in Command of the Federation flagship wanted to be a Counselor when she grew up. I almost told her to go see a counselor about it, but I figured it would just encourage her. I started to giggle and then I knew I was gone. I tried to explain the joke, but I wasn't very coherent. Commander Troi was very understanding and firmly in control. Then I was face down on a standard Starfleet bunk. I tried to take my boots off, but they evaded my grasp. I took a deep breath to relax and try again...

-*-

I woke up with a much sharper headache and a bad taste in my mouth. I got up gently and went to the sink to try and rinse out my mouth. I was moderately successful.

I was in standard officer's quarters on the Enterprise. I remembered getting giddy and giggling at Commander Troi. I rinsed my face off and carefully didn't think of how embarrassing it was.

I was about to go down to Sickbay and ask them to do something about my headache when time and space warped around me. It was a sick sort of shifting to the side motion. I just stretched out to my left a little bit and then the feeling stopped. That was all there was to it.

I waited for a moment. Nothing else happened. I went down to sickbay.

While I was there, getting my headache looked at by a Vulcan lady named Dr. Selar, Dr. Pulaski came in. She looked like she had been quickly woken up, dressed in a hurry and was now ready to wrestle bears. It was quite an effect.

"Did anyone feel a sort of sliding to the side feeling?" Dr. Pulaski asked.

I looked around the Sickbay. Every agreed that they had felt it. We all compared notes. The feeling was definite and remarkable. It was also brief and apparently had no lasting effects.

"Hailey to the Bridge." I called.

"Riker, here. What can we help you with, Sir?"

Quickly, I relayed the experience to him. He replied. "You weren't the only ones. We felt it, too. We're investigating."

"Thank you, Captain. Sorry to bother you. Hailey out." I said.

Dr. Selar waved a medical instrument over my head and the pain immediately vanished. I enjoyed the feeling.

"Thank you." I grinned.

"You're welcome." She gravely said.

-*-

I went to the bridge of the Enterprise. I didn't really want to. The Enterprise was not my ship. I had no business on her bridge. I tried to avoid other people's bridges when possible, but I was also quite curious. I told myself that I would just stay out of the way.

The bridge of the Enterprise-E was done in grays and subdued tones. Like any bridge, it was centered around the Captain's chair. The focus was to present information to the Captain and then act on his decisions.

The Captain's chair was flanked on either side by an officer's station of some sort. I didn't recognize the function right off the bat. To the front there were the usual Ops station and Flight Control or Helm station. They were blocky and shaped like an L. They sort of faced each other and so the officers sat side by side but had a slight separation between the stations.

The Engineering station was to the rear of the Bridge. It was a large station with a wraparound work panel and a big display along the back wall.

The tactical station was equally well equipped.

On the main view screen I saw a simulated view of space as we streaked along. The Enterprise and her fleet was nearing Earth, now. On side panels I could see the tactical view of the fleet. We were strung out in small groups of three to five ships.

On other panels I could see a representation of Earth. The planetary defenses were on alert but nothing was happening.

The bridge of the Enterprise was bustling and there was a lot of chatter. I could hear communications channels crowded with messages. Most of them were a variation on "What was that?" or "Do you have any more ideas on what that was?"

Captain Riker was pacing the bridge. His eyes were focused distantly and he seemed deep in thought.

Commander Troi was in her seat. I couldn't see what her panel was saying, but she seemed very busy with it.

The other officer's station was empty. I took it. I sat down, gave it my combination and started playing with the controls. It was a standard computer interface. The control panel was the kind that you could configure to any station, if necessary.

I monitored what the other officers were doing. The Ops Officer, Lt. Hawke was taking in reports from around the fleet. The general sense seemed to be that they were fine, but mystified. Commander Troi was taking in reports from the crew. They seemed fine but mystified.

The Tactical Officer was taking in reports from Earth. The Earth Defense people seemed fine, but mystified.

I activated the communications system and started contacting nearby planets. The Enterprise had plenty of power. The more powerful your subspace radio signal, the faster it travels. With booster stations all over the inner Federation, instantaneous contact was possible with several dozen planets.

I talked to a few planetary traffic control officers and the result was the same. They had all felt the strange slipping to the side motion, but no one had noticed any ill effects. Planets all over the inner Federation were fine, but mystified.

"Captain?" Geordi la Forge said. I had been the Captain so long that I looked up when he said it. He was reporting to Captain Riker. That was why I didn't like to be on someone else's bridge. Riker went over to speak with his Chief Engineer.

I called up Geordi's panel on my station and watched as he reported to Riker.

"The Enterprise reported internal sensor faults and navigational system errors about the same time as the phenomenon we felt. I timed the events carefully. and this is what I saw." He hit a button and the outline of the Enterprise-E was overlaid by red dots that appeared towards the nose and then moved in a wave across the ship to the rear.

"This is slowed down a lot. Each represents a reported failure." La Forge reported.

"Like we passed through a wave." Riker said.

"Exactly. Like a wave of spatial distortion."

"Wouldn't that have adversely effected our warp drive?" Riker said.

"It should have. I don't know why it didn't."

I went back to my task. Riker turned to Lt. Hawke. "Lieutenant, report Geordi's findings to the fleet ask them to compare their own internal sensor readings to his. maybe we can find the shape of the wave from the different places where it hit."

"Aye, Sir." Lt. Hawke said.

"Captain." I said.

"Yes, uh, Mr. Hailey?" Riker stumbled over my name and form of address. I was actually senior to Riker having been promoted a couple of years sooner. However we were on his ship, on his bridge and I was voluntarily throwing my efforts in with his crew. There was no real reference for it in Starfleet rules.

"I have been talking to nearby planets. They've all felt it. I don't know if anyone timed it well enough to plot it in the wave, but it seems as though worlds all over this sector have felt the effect."

"Thank you. Keep asking. See how many places felt the distortion wave." Riker said.

"Aye, Sir." I said. I went back to my task.

-*-

After a few hours we knew that the distortion wave had been felt as far away as the Klingon border and Cardassian space. It was stronger closer to the center of the Federation, but it was felt as far away as we could ask.

After a few hours a young Lieutenant had come and relieved me of my station. I let her have it gratefully. It was a little uncomfortable to be playing junior officer, when everyone was conscious that I had too high a rank to do it.

I walked into the quarters I had been assigned and was just thinking about dinner when a bright flash occurred in my room. There was no sound or heat or motion, just a flash.

I turned to see a thin old man with short, balding hair and a goatee. He was wearing soft brown robes.

"Ah, hello." I said.

"I am Ayleborne." He said. He had a gently understanding smile on his face.

"Mr. Ayleborne, how did you come to be in my quarters?" I asked him.

"That would be very complex to explain, I'm afraid." He said. he seemed faintly sad to have to say it.

I had heard the name before. "How can I help you Mr. Ayleborne?" I asked. He seemed harmless enough, but I wasn't really happy with him appearing in a flash in my quarters.

"I have come to speak with you on the subject of the people you call the Harmon." He said.

"Oh, okay. What about the Harmon?" I asked. I was still trying to place the name Ayleborne.

"Do you know what their intentions are?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Somewhat." I answered. I didn't want to say too much. What might the reaction be to super evolved aliens with emotional problems seeking refuge in the Federation? Might tourists want to go see them and then not understand why they weren't welcome? Would terrorists and criminals try to take advantage of the Harmon? Might the Klingons or the Romulans see them as a strategic threat?

"Would you care to speak of it?" Ayleborne asked.

"Well, no. You see it's really a very sensitive matter and while Starfleet has the matter well under control, I wouldn't want interference, even well meaning interference from third parties, Sir."

"Ah. I see you still don't understand." He said quietly and gently. "I am Ayleborne of Organia."

I took a step back and I could feel my face grow pale. "Organia!?" I squeaked. The Organians had at one time immobilized the entire fleets of the Federations and the Klingon Empire. They insisted on a cease-fire and they got it. There was no saying "No" to the Organians. They could insist.

No one had heard very much from them in the hundred years since they had made their presence known. Often ships moving towards Organia would grow minds of their own and head back away from the planet, despite what their owners wanted.

I had heard rumors that people had landed on Organia and had actually spoken with them. I had never met one. Messing with the Organians was a big crime in the Federation. In the beginning there were people who approached Organia with weapons and bombs in their ships and violence on their minds. Their ships had turned around and called Starfleet or the Klingon Empire.

Starfleet arrested them and sent them to prison. The Klingons blew them up. No one messed with the Organians if they could help it. Who knows what the Organians might do if the lesser races really antagonized them?

"You are distressed." Ayleborne said. I had backed across the room. "I apologize."

"Yes, Sir." I said. "Quite all right. What was the question again?"

"The Harmon, you see."

"Ah, yes. They aren't doing too well. They have come to the Federation to ask for asylum. They want to use us as a buffer state. They don't want to be bugged..." I choked.

"Please relax." Ayleborne said. "I mean you no harm."

I took a deep breath. "Can I get you anything, Sir?" I went over to the replicator.

"No, thank you. I have everything I need." Ayleborne said pleasantly.

"Please have a seat, Sir." I said.

He went and sat down in a chair. He sat with a very relaxed, open posture. I ordered a Raktajino. I sat down with my hot beverage and then got lost.

"I hardly know where to begin." I told him.

"That's all right. Start at the beginning." He said.

I began to tell him of my previous encounter with the Harmon. About halfway through my story, I had an idea. "Why don't you ask the Harmon yourself, Sir? I'm sure you are much closer to their idea of people than I am."

"True. However, we have had problems communicating with the Harmon." He said.

"Really?" I was shocked.

"Let me see if I can demonstrate by analogy." Ayleborne said. "It is as if we Organians had evolved from one form, like a primate, while the Harmon had evolved from another form, such as, oh a feline."

"Really? The Harmon are predators?" I asked. It didn't seem quite right, but it was a very scary thought.

"No. It was not a good analogy." Ayleborne looked sad.

"You mean you two are different branches of evolution?" I asked.

"In a manner of speaking." Ayleborne admitted.

"And that obstructs your ability to communicate?" I asked. I was surprised. The Federation had universal translators. Why didn't the Organians or the Harmon?

"Exactly. The Harmon thought process is well removed from our own. It will take some work for us to understand each other." Ayleborne seemed happier now. I was getting it.

"Can I help? You speak our language quite well. Can you start out with English and work your way up?" I asked.

"Thank you. Please continue your account." Ayleborne said. I told him the rest of the story.

"Hmm. Interesting." Ayleborne looked thoughtful.

"I have so many questions, Sir. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. Sadly my time is short." Ayleborne said.

What had I always wanted to ask the Organians? I blanked. I had never seriously considered that I would meet an Organian and so I had never prepared any questions.

I flailed and came up with "Do you know Trelane?"

"Yes. I know of Trelane." Ayleborne answered.

"Are you Q?" I asked.

"I am Q. You are Q. We are all Q." Ayleborne said mildly.

"Koo-koo-ka-joob." I said.

He grinned. "Yes, exactly," and disappeared in a flash of light.

"Wait!" I called. It was too late. He was gone. The Organians listened to the Beatles? Now my head hurt again.

-*-

I reported my conversation with Ayleborne to Captain Riker. He especially liked the ultra-powerful being's reference to the Beatles.

We were sitting in his office just off the bridge.

"Cute." He said. "I wonder what the official reaction will be to our report?"

"Ow." I said. The thought made my head hurt some more.

"Do you have insight into what might actually be going on?" Riker asked.

"The Harmon and the Organians seem to be on approximately the same evolutionary plane." I guessed. "The Harmon have just moved into the neighborhood and the Organians are curious about their new neighbors."

"They aren't the only ones. There's already talk of this in the Federation Council. They want the Harmon to send an ambassador." Riker said.

"What's he gonna do, wiggle his butt at us?" I said acidly.

"What?" Riker asked, mystified.

"Bees. They dance in the hive and transmit navigational data to each other. They tell each other where to go and find good food sources. It involves the bee's orientation in the hive and how quickly he's wiggling his butt and about a dozen other things. They account for the position of the sun and how it will have moved over time. It's really remarkable, and only of interest to bees and entomologists. To the Harmon the Federation Council would look like a hive of bees wiggling their butts." I explained.

"What a lovely picture!" Riker exclaimed. "Anyway, what am I supposed to tell Admiral Leyton?"

"We have got to give those guys space." I said. "Just imagine someone who's having emotional troubles. He could be pushed over the edge and attack someone. Now picture the Harmon trying to attack the Organians. Right now their battlefield would range between the Rigellian Sector and Sector Zero-Zero-One and might include everything in between."

Riker hissed as he pictured it. That was the heart of the Federation. "So your recommendation is that we sit tight and hope the Harmon get over it."

"I can't imagine anything else to do, except to ask them to leave." I said.

"That's a possibility." Riker said.

"They've asked for asylum." I said.

"I know it." Riker said. "But this is the whole Federation we're talking about."

"Yeah, I know. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. `Give me your tired, your hungry, your down trodden, yearning to be free,' unless they threaten us or scare us."

"Or if we don't understand them..." Riker continued.

"Or if they're the wrong color or smell funny..."

"Or if they vote the wrong way..."

"I'm beginning to see a pattern here." I said.

"Are we the Equal-Rights-For-Super-Human-Entities lobby, now?" Riker asked.

"If not us, who?" I asked.

"Good point." Riker said. "I'll talk to Admiral Leyton."

"Better you than me." I said.

-*-

We found out what the distortion wave was. The borders of the Federation had moved outward approximately an inch on all sides. The Klingons noticed it first and speculated about going to war over it. The Romulans failed to comment. The Cardassians carefully applied the letter of the treaty to it. Other races considered an inch too small a distance to worry about, really.

Inside the Federation about three light years away from Earth, a new thing appeared. It was a globe of space that was completely black as far as subspace sensors were concerned. No subspace signals would penetrate it. The Enterprise and her fleet turned to go investigate the bubble.

-*-

"So what do I tell the Harmon, Sir?" I asked.

"The President and I are working on it. Your reports helped, a lot. Tell them that we'll grant them asylum." Admiral Leyton said.

"I really, really recommend that they be left completely alone, Sir." I said.

"Noted, Captain. Good luck. Leyton out."

-*-

The Enterprise hung outside of the new bubble. It looked black, but that was because light had no time to cross it, yet. In a year or so, It would appear almost invisible.

The Enterprise fired probes into the new bubble but the subspace blackout affected their telemetry and they were lost. Probes modified with radio wave communicators reported normal space, except that there was no dust or light inside of it, yet.

The probes, moving at sublight speeds would take decades to reach the center of the globe of new space, and even then the radio waves would take six months to return.

It was a good, but not perfect defense.

The Enterprise hailed the Harmon. A glowing sphere appeared at the edge of the bubble and moved up to the starship.

The giant mask appeared. It reminded me of the statues on Easter Island.

"The Federation has agreed to your request for asylum." I said.

The mask grinned.

"You understand that we may not be able to guarantee total isolation." I said.

The Mask frowned slightly and then grinned. The word "Try" appeared on the big view screen behind the mask.

"Yes. We'll try." I said.

The mask grinned.

There was a bright flash. Ayleborne appeared.

"Uh, may I introduce Ayleborne of Organia?" I said.

Everyone stood back to give Ayleborne and the Mask room.

"Greetings." Ayleborne said.

The mask grinned.

Then together, they both flashed in a burst of light exactly the same color and disappeared.

Later, words began to appear on the main view screen again. The Harmon requested that we establish buoys around their space to warn off the curious and that Starfleet keep an eye out for people trying to violate the Harmon Bubble. We agreed and the Harmon have only been heard from one time since.

-*-

I was called to Earth to explain myself and the whole event in front of the Federation Council. It consisted mostly of testimony in front of a committee of politicians and representatives, and became a media circus.

Several weeks later the controversy died down. It had taken enough time so that the Discovery had almost finished being fit with her new warp drive assembly by the time I returned to her and our mission got back under way.

Most people were pretty good about giving the Harmon their privacy. There were a few idiots and nut cases but starships passing through had standing orders to keep people out of the Harmon Bubble and they were pretty successful. Most tourists were discouraged when the warp drives on their ships failed inside the bubble. Nothing based on subspace technology would work there.

The Enterprise ferried me back out to the Starbase 24 and the Discovery. I had a good time on the Enterprise but it was good to get back home.

-end-

Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this story for me.