First Place Winner Stardate 20209.14

Through the Looking Glass - By Cmdr Raymond Gage

© 2002 by Federation Space and the author pen named Raymond Gage

May 28, 2002, Petaluma, California
The alarm began its steady beeping and I snaked my hand out to slap at the snooze button. I cracked my eyes open to confirm what I already knew, it was 5:15 and another day had arrived. I reluctantly eased into a sitting position, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, my feet fumbling for my slippers. While my body was no longer asleep my mind was a little slower on the uptake this morning. Like a robot following its programming, I headed down the hall to the front of the house, through the front door and outside to retrieve my newspaper. The sky was still dark and I glanced up to see the dotting of stars. Good, no fog this morning, I thought, as I headed back inside to the smell of coffee brewing. Thank God for automatic coffee brewers. I poured myself a cup and glanced through the headlines, scanning articles of interest. As the coffee worked its power on me my mind began to awaken and focus on the days events ahead of me. I continued to run through my day, picturing what had to be done and how I would complete it, as I finished the remainder of my morning routines. Forty-five minutes later, after a quick workout, showering, dressing and pouring another cup of coffee, I stopped in each of my daughter’s rooms and kissed each of them on the cheek careful not to disturb them. I then placed a card and a single red rose on my pillow next to wife. Today was her birthday. I went to the garage, started my car and pulled out, heading for the freeway and my day ahead. A day I felt fully prepared and ready for. How wrong I was.

Stardate 20205.28 San Francisco Orbital Shipyards
Captain Raymond Gage fastened the last tab on the collar of his dress uniform silently cursing the constraining feeling it gave him. Why is it that dress uniforms have to be so uncomfortable? He thought as he checked his appearance one last time in the mirror. He just attached his comm badge to the tunic when his communications panel chimed. He continued to affix it as he activated the panel. It swung up and revealed the smiling face of Major Melissa Vandaren. “Hi there sweetie”, she said with a smile. “Nice monkey suit.”
“Don’t remind me,” Ray growled, a smile still on his face. “So what honor do I have for this call?”
“I should be arriving around eleven hundred your time. Will you be back from the ceremony by then?”
“I’ll make sure I am. Lunch?”
“In your quarters?” She smiled mischievously.
“It’s a date. I missed you Melissa.”
“I missed you too Ray. I’ll see you soon.” She blew a kiss at the screen as it went dark, closing the channel.
Ray turned and looked out the large window at he shipyards where the Philadelphia was berthed for some system upgrades and minor repairs. There was a bustle of activity as the teams continued building new ships and repairing those damaged in fights with the Romulans. The war had been at a near deadlock for weeks now, both sides unable to gain a foothold on the other. Just then a familiar figure floated up the side of the ship. Ray could tell who it was from the color and markings on the EVA suit. “Gage to Stolis.”
[What can I do ya for Cap’n.]? Stolis’ southern drawl hid his sharp and quick engineering expertise.
“Just want to make sure you don’t scratch the hull of my ship,” Ray said with a laugh.
[Well Cap’n I wouldn’t have to be out here doin’ this if you would stop takin’ on Romulans.] Stolis held in his hand a stencil of a Romulan scout class ship. It would be the ninth one to brandish the hull of the Philly.
“Not my fault Master Chief, the Romulans keep hitting the convoys I’m escorting. I’m just obliging them.”
Stolis laughed over the channel, [Pardon my sayin’ so sir, but your manners are none too polite to them there Roms. I’m runnin’ out of room out here. And if’n you bag another Warbird I’m surely gonna have to start on a different level. It’s gonna mess up my symmetry.]
Ray laughed. “Keep up the good work Chief, I have faith you’ll make her look right. Gage out”
It felt good at the moment to laugh but the fact was each and every stencil on the hull of his ship had cost him and the ship. He felt himself slipping into a dark mood, a mood he didn’t want to venture into. Melissa was coming back and, for now, the ship and his crew were safe. As he reached the door and it was just about to open, it chimed. He continued forward so the door sensor would detect him and let the door open revealing his first officer. Commander Ysiadina Lanael had started in the medical services but had grown to become a dependable and top-notch first officer. It probably wouldn’t be too long until one of those new ships being built in the yards would have her in its center seat. “Nice monkey suit,” she said with a chuckle.
“Melissa just said the same thing,” he replied.
“The Colonel coming for a visit?”
She hoped such was the case. Her Captain needed something to keep his mind off the burdens of the war. He was a good CO but every man had his limits. They walked towards the lift and entered it. “Transporter room one.” Ray ordered the lift. “As a matter of fact yes she is. When I return from the ceremony I wont be here.” He said with a wink.
“Read you loud and clear sir.” She smiled in return. “I’ll hold the fort. Although sitting in a repair dock, engines powered down, two-thirds the crew on leave…well you get my meaning.”
“I do, but there’s plenty to get done. I want the after thrust nozzles checked and the…”
Yssy held up a hand, cutting him off. “Sir, I know fully what needs to be done. Go to the ceremony and enjoy your time later with Melissa. Even Captain’s need some time off.”
As the door opened and the walked towards the transporter room Ray gave a mock salute, “Aye aye.”
He stepped onto the platform and addressed PO2 Powers who stood behind the console. “Coordinates set?”
Powers nodded, “Aye sir.”
“Energize.”
As the blue and white transporter effect took over him he started to relax. The ceremony for the naming of a new ship would be relaxing. He’d see a few old friends and then head back up for some time with Melissa. Maybe today won’t turn out so badly after all. How wrong he would be.

May 28, 2002, 0830 hours, Vista Point, Marin Headlands overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge
Everything was going according to plan. I hung up my cell phone just as the last truckload of graphics arrived. Today was the 65th anniversary of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge to vehicle traffic. The Golden Gate Bridge district was holding its annual event to commemorate the day. The company I work for had been awarded the contract to manage the event and all the items that made it up. For the last two weeks I had arranged tents and chairs, oversaw the construction of special kiosks and display stands. Finally it was all arriving and coming into place.
My crew worked diligently on setting up the last of display stands for the specially enlarged and mounted photos that marked the opening of the bridge. I coordinated the forklift into place to get the last crates of graphics off so they could be placed. A small breeze blew and I looked skyward. The forecast was for partly cloudy conditions with the chance of an isolated thundershower, not uncommon for this region and time of year. I said a silent prayer that the rain would stay away for the next few hours. As if in answer I heard a small rumble in the distance. Not wanting to jinx myself I wrote it off as a big truck heading for the bridge on the nearby highway. As the first people began arriving my cell phone rang for the fifteenth time that morning. I walked around behind the restroom area attempting to get a clearer signal when I felt a drop of rain. Then it started to rain harder. I ended my call and turned to head back to the event to make sure the tents were secure and that none of the displays would get wet. My phone rang again and as I swung it up off my belt, the last thing I remember was seeing a flash.

Stardate 20205.28, 0900 hours, Marin Headlands overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge
Ray smiled and took a drink from his cup of orange juice. He held a plate with a pastry in his other hand. He surveyed the crowd, trying to spot anyone he knew. There had been a pretty good turnout by those officers assigned to ships currently in orbit. There’s still a lot of missing faces. Ray thought. The war had taken its toll on ships and commanders. He spied Bill Donaldson, a classmate from the academy, and made his way over. “Hey there Bill.”
“Ray Gage, good to see you.” Bill extended a hand, which Ray shook.
“Good to see you too. How you holding up?” Bill had command of one of the older Intrepid class ships, the Starbow.
“As good as can be expected. The Roms hit us hard a few weeks back. Jumped us with a warbird and two scouts as we were delivering medical supplies to Rhendar VI. Ship took a pounding but we bagged the scouts and gave as good as we got on the warbird. Managed to do a short warp jump before the core went offline. Spent four days on repairs and still limped home at factor four.” His eyes got a faraway look, a look that Ray was all too familiar with. “Lost my second officer and twelve others. All good people.”
“I hear you Bill. Things have been tough. I’ve lost crew every time I’ve gone out. I still see their faces.”
Just then a cloud passed over and it started to rain. Both men looked up, surprised by the sudden downpour. Earth had been under weather control for over one hundred years now. The Meteorological Bureau sent out notices whenever they needed to set up a storm. A young yeoman came up to them. “Apologies from the Bureau sirs. There’s a brush fire in the hills just east of Pt. Reyes. They need the storm to help put it out.”
The roll of thunder punctuated this statement. “Well that does it for me then, no sense in getting soaked. Take care Bill.”
“You too Ray. Watch yourself out there.”
The two men shared a silent nod and Ray stepped off to the side. Tapping his comm. badge he called his ship. “Philadelphia, one to beam up.” Just as he felt the start of the transporter process a flash of light crossed his eyes and thunder clapped.

USS Philadelphia, Transporter Room 1
I felt an odd sensation of dislocation, a feeling as if my body was in two places at once. I blinked my eyes a few times and a well-lit room came into focus. Across the room from me was some sort of console behind which stood a red haired woman wearing some type of black jumpsuit. I blinked again trying to fight off a wave of nausea that seemed to come over me. I put my hand to my collar as it felt tight. I hadn’t remembered tying my tie that tight this morning. Instead of the smooth collar of my dress shirt I felt a stiff one-piece collar that had some type of metal adorning it. The woman across the room spoke. “Captain, are you all right?”
Captain? Who’s she talking to. I glanced side to side and behind me, looking for this “Captain.” No one else was on the raised portion of floor that I stood on. The other seven discs of light on the floor were unoccupied. Another wave of nausea flooded over me. This has got to be a dream. It’s all just a dream. Just then, to my right, a set of doors opened with a swish and an attractive woman wearing a tight fitting, black jumpsuit came into the room. She wore a smile on her face. The eerie thing is she looked an awful lot like my wife. She stepped up onto the platform and gave me a hug that I barely returned. She stepped back, “Ray you look pale as a ghost. Is something wrong?”
My mouth was dry and I doubted very much I could get a word out right now. It suddenly was feeling all too real and not a dream. The woman behind the console spoke again, “Colonel should I contact sickbay?”
The woman next to me addressed her, “There should be no need. We’ll just go there now.”
My voice finally worked, “No. Uhmm, just take me to my quarters?”
I managed to say, winging it. Not really sure of where I was but starting to have a real good idea. The “colonel” put her arms around me and on wobbly knees I stepped from the platform and she guided me towards the doors which swooshed open. We stepped into a well-lit hallway. The walls sloped slightly and were covered in some sort of thick plastic and metal work. The floor was carpeted and I had to think to actually lift my feet and walk. We entered some sort of elevator car that, after the colonel had pushed a button, moved upwards rapidly. Two seconds later the doors parted to reveal another hallway very similar to the one we were just in. We walked a few steps and reached a door that read “Captain Raymond Gage.”
What the hell is going on here? This has got to be some twisted nightmare. As the door opened and we stepped in it became apparent to me that this was all very real. I surveyed the contents of the room and they were placed right where I had always put them, right down to the model of the frigate Philadelphia, showing her in all her glory, sails full, before she was captured by the Tripoli pirates and later burned. Welcome to wonderland Alice. The woman next to me, Lieutenant Colonel Melissa Vandaren looked at me with a quizzical smile. “You know Ray you didn’t have to feign illness to spend time alone with me.”
She stepped closer leaning in to kiss me. I backed off. “Uhmm, this is not quite what you think it is,” I stammered.
She wore a hurt expression, “What’s going on Ray?”
I backed up and with a sigh flopped down onto the couch, my knees suddenly not feeling all to stable. “I wish I knew. But first things first, I’m not Ray Gage. My name is Dave and I’m from the 21st century. All of this, all of you can’t be real. This must be some kind of dream.”
Melissa changed and became suddenly serious. “If you’re not Ray, where is he?” She stepped closer, anger flashing on her face. “I don’t know what kind of stunt this is but if you don’t come clean in a few seconds you are going to find out what it feels like to get hurt in a dream.”
I put my hands up, “Hey, relax. Why don’t you scan me with a tricorder. That should clear this up and verify my story.”
She went over to the desk and picked up a tricorder and waved it in front of me. “This says you’re a human male, same age, weight and other physical proportions as Ray.”
I looked puzzled but tried another tactic. “Access the program that Chrissy Connor created during the Pulsar Incident. It should cross-reference my DNA to what is on file in the ships medical database.”
Melissa looked at me skeptically. “If you’re not Ray, then how do you know that? That is a classified program.”
“Just trust me that I do. Run it and after the readings come in I’ll explain. You may not believe me but I hope you listen.”
Melissa punched a few codes on the tricorder and ran another scan. She frowned. “This says that you are Ray Gage. Right down to the DNA coding.” She lowered the tricorder, “You better have a good explanation for all of this.”
I waved my hand around the room, becoming slightly agitated. “This is all not real. It’s part of a game. You, Ray, this ship, are all creations of my imagination.” She stepped forward and kicked my leg. Hard. “OW! What the hell was that for?”
She wore a devilish grin, “Not real huh? I’m sure that kick sure felt like the real thing.”
I rubbed my shin and gave her a dirty look. “Yes it did. I’m only telling you what I know. I know who I am and who I am not is Ray Gage. I can’t explain what happened.”
The tricorder she still held beeped. “What’s that all about?” I asked.
She looked at the data it brought up and then at me. “It confirms your story or at least part of it. The tricorder picked up chroniton particles and the oxygen content in your blood is mixed in with pollutants that have not been found in Earth’s atmosphere for hundreds of years.”
It all hit me then, when she had said hundreds of years. I was in the future. Somehow, someway, I ended up in a future that I thought was all part of imagination. I slumped visibly on the couch, “So what does that mean for me? Can I get home?”
My voice was barely audible. Melissa could see the concern in my face, “I wish I could tell you good news but I don’t have it. According to Star Fleet policy anyone brought forward into the future, whether by accident or intentionally, cannot return to the past.”
I looked up, hurt and pain in my eyes. “You mean I can’t go back? I have a family, children, and a whole life ahead of me. And what about Ray Gage? What happens to him?”
She sensed my pain and sat next to me, “There are counselors and support groups to help you. I am truly sorry. As for Ray, well he knows the procedure if he is ever caught in the past.”

May 28, 2002, 0833 hours, Vista Point, Marin Headlands overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge
Captain Raymond Gage felt the rematerialization process finish and almost immediately knew something was wrong. He was still on the Marin Headlands and not in the transporter room of his ship. He reached for his comm badge only to find it not there and him wearing strange clothes. What the hell happened? He thought. A sound made him turn around. It was a Golden Gate Transit bus heading up the road. Automobiles? What the hell is going on? He repeated in his mind. He looked out over the Bay and saw ships there. Berthed at piers and transiting the waters under the Bridge were marine vessels that had not been in existence for hundreds of years. The skyline of San Francisco he was so familiar with was replaced with one out of old holos. He quickly gathered his bearings. Somehow I’ve ended up in the past. It must have been something to do with the transport during that storm. He heard footsteps and quickly ducked inside of the building he was standing next to. Immediately he wrinkled his nose at the smell that assaulted him. Well now I know what the past smells like.
He crouched behind the wall listening to the approaching voices. “Have you seen Dave? There are a few things left to do.” “Last I saw was him talking on his cell over here,” the other voice replied.
Ray knew fully well that he was to avoid contact at all costs, at least until he had managed to fade into the background of this time. Finally the voices faded away. Star Fleet’s office of temporal investigations had briefed all command staff on what they are to do in this eventuality. He stood quietly, counting the minutes and somehow hoping that he could be retrieved, working out his plan to reach San Francisco and access the secret deposit box that contained the materiel he needed to “disappear.”

USS Philadelphia, Transporter Room 1
PO2 Katherine Powers was concerned with how the Captain was feeling after beaming back from the planet. She began a diagnostic on the system to check for any problems. The console beeped after running a few minutes. There was a high level of chroniton particles in the pattern buffer. The computer system recognized the presence of these particles and immediately sent an alert to the office of temporal investigations. This protocol was put into place to prevent anyone from illegally using the transporter to either travel in time or to another dimension such as the mirror universe.

USS Philadelphia, Bridge
Commander Laneal had her head and shoulders into the environmental system panel, double checking the work the yard crews had done on the system controls. As a former CMO she had the qualifications for the procedure. The comm system beeped. She continued her work, as she was nearly complete. It beeped again. The Ensign manning the ops console spoke up. “Uhmm Commander there is a priority one message coming in from Star Fleet.”
“Priority one? In space dock?” Laneal’s voice could be heard coming from the panel. “Give me a second and put it on screen.”
The ensign accepted the message as Yssy struggled out of the panel. When she stood up and straightened her uniform she nodded and the screen was filled with a stoic Vulcan wearing a uniform adorned with four pips. “What can I do for you sir?” Yssy asked.
“Commander, this office has detected residual chroniton particles present in your transporter system.”
“Sir? The only transporter activity we have registered is the captain beaming down to Earth and back again. There was nothing unusual in those transports.”
“Is Captain Gage available?”
Yssy thought for a minute. She had promised the captain time alone with Melissa. This was something she could handle but... “Yes sir. He is on board, I’ll have him paged.” She nodded to the ensign who activated a page on his board.
The captain nodded, “Very well, I will be there shortly.” The channel closed.
Yssy looked to the Ensign, “That was quick. I guess we’re having visitors.”

USS Philadelphia, Captains Quarters
The commbadge on my chest beeped and a voice that I recognized as the computer’s spoke from it. [Captain Gage to the bridge.] Then it was silent. I stared at Melissa, “There’s no way I’m going to the bridge. While I may be able to write about this future there is no way I can act out in it.”
“You may be right on that point, but eventually other people are going to have to know what happened. There’s no time like the present.”
I frowned at her use of words but rose and followed her out of the room.

USS Philadelphia, Bridge
The doors of the lift parted and I was standing on the bridge of a starship. It was an awe-inspiring view. I took in all the sights and sounds. Even with what appeared to be consoles dark and shut down the bridge still hummed with activity. I was living my fantasy and scared out of my wits by it.
A dark haired woman in a slightly disheveled uniform rose from the chair in the center of the bridge, a chair I realized was that of the commanding officers. “Captain, we just received a priority one message from the office of Temporal Investigations, apparently chroniton levels were detected in your recent transport. A Captain from that office will be arriving on board shortly to investigate.”
I tried to look like a captain should look but I really had no idea. I cleared my voice and looked over to the ensign on duty at what I surmised was ops. “Ensign you are relieved. The commander and I can handle the bridge.”
“Aye sir.” He nodded, hit a few keys, then stepped into the turbolift and left. Commander Laneal eyed me suspiciously. “Sir that is against regs.”
I spoke, “I’m not the Captain.”
Her look of befuddlement didn’t surprise me, I think I was getting used to it. “I know. I look just like him, sound just like him, but I’m not. I’m from the 21st century. There must have been some kind of transporter accident.” My voice trailed off as she looked to Melissa.
“It’s true Yssy. I scanned him and he just got done telling me the same story.”
“Did you?” Yssy’s voice held a hint of suggestion.
“Yes she scanned me with the program to detect if I’m a changeling.”
“How the hell does he know about that?”
Melissa spoke up, a wry smile on her face, “You wont believe it if I tell you.”
I then spoke quickly, “Because all of this is part of a game, an online game that I play with a group of other people over the Internet. I created Captain Gage. That’s probably why I appear to be him because he is a reflection of me.”
Yssy held up a hand, “Wait a minute mister, I’m not some figment of someone’s imagination. I’m very real, as is the colonel.”
I sighed. “I realize that and I can’t explain it, but I’m telling you what I know to be true.” I slumped against the railing, exhausted both mentally and physically. “What I really want is to just go home.”
Yssy’s eyes darted to Melissa’s, who then confirmed what their look said. “I told him.”
“Yeah she did,” I blurted out. “Told me that I have to stay trapped here, never to see my family again. You know its ironic, I’ve always dreamed of what the future would be like and now that I’m trapped here, and forced to give up my life. I’m not all that thrilled by it.”
Commander Laneal then confirmed that even further. “With the Office of Temporal Investigations involved that will be the case. You’ll have to live out the rest of your life in this time. You can’t go back for fear of contaminating the timeline.”
“What about Gage? He’s back there in my time he very well may do that same thing.” The anger in my voice was evident.
As I spoke the doors to the turbolift opened and what appeared to be a Vulcan stepped out and spoke. “That is highly unlikely as Captain Gage is fully trained in such an eventuality. He will fade into the shadows of the past and live out his life anonymously. I am sorry sir but that is how it must be.” It was apparent that he had somehow overheard the end of our conversation.
Maybe it was the finality in the emotionless voice, or the fact that I had just met my second alien in a span of a few minutes added to the stress of missing my family forever, I exploded. “That is not right! I had a life! I didn’t ask for this! How can you people call yourself righteous when you allow this to happen? What’s wrong with trying to get me home?”
The Vulcan seemingly ignored my outburst and continued on, addressing the room as if I didn’t exist, conferring with data on his tricorder. “It is as I surmised. A temporal event did occur. My initial scans led me to believe that at just the right moment the fabric of two separate timelines tore slightly and touched, the act of using the transporter, coupled with some other type of energy surge created the passing of two identities through the rip. The truly fascinating part is that the two identities are identical in every way. The chances of this occurring were one point six billion to one.”
My anger had not subsided, especially after being practically ignored. “Well pal, you just hit the lotto because I seem to be the one point six billion chance.”
Melissa then spoke, “Captain?”
“Yes?” Both the Vulcan and I spoke at the same time, he looking back at me with a raised eyebrow and Melissa’s stare saying not you. I guess I was getting used to that captain thing.
She continued with her question. “As this was a pure accident, is there a possibility that it can be reversed? That we can send this man back to his time and retrieve Captain Gage?”
The Vulcan seemed to ruminate on this question for a moment, his face impassive. I could now see why they drove so many humans nuts, their calm stoicism made you feel inferior in some way and the tone in which they spoke added to it. Finally he did speak. “I have begun to formulate the equations for just that eventuality. However, it will be difficult to pinpoint the precise moment of the transfer. Also, I have yet to identify the energy source that influenced the transfers occurrence.”
“That’s easy,” I spoke up, “lightning.”
“As in the discharge of electricity through a cloud mass?”
“Yes as in an electrical storm. There was one happening just as I picked up my cell phone to take a call. The next thing I knew I was on the transporter here.”
The Vulcan again seemed to think about what I said. For a race supposedly superior to humans this guy spent a lot of time thinking about what was said. “It is possible that the mega-joules of energy discharged in such an event would effect the small tear in time/space.”
I was already onto the next point, “So can you duplicate it?” My voice didn’t hide my eagerness for a positive answer.
“By using the engines of the ship and channeling the energy into the transporter system it may be possible. The odds for success would be approximately seven hundred sixty three thousand to one.”
I smiled, feeling a bit more at ease especially at the prospect of actually going home. “ “Approximately? Well I already beat the odds once today. I’m all for a repeat performance.”
The Vulcan appeared to grind his jaws together at my outburst of emotions and needling him. “I suggest we begin immediately.”

USS Philadelphia, Transporter Room 1, two hours later
I paced the floor of the transporter room while the Vulcan Captain worked on, in and around the transporter console. After what seemed like my hundredth time across the room a hand reached out to stop me. “Relax. I know you want to get back but pacing is not going to solve it.”
I smiled at Melissa, “I know but I am nervous.”
“Tell me about your family.” She inquired.
I bit back tears as I spoke about my two daughters and the things they did and said. Life without them would be impossible. And I smiled and blushed as I spoke of my wife because she looked and acted so much like Melissa. The Vulcan interrupted our conversation. “We are ready. Please step onto the transporter.”
Melissa smiled and hugged me. “Good luck,” she said.
“Thanks,” I said as I hugged her back.
Commander Laneal held something in her hand. “This will erase your memories of this ever happening. According to the captain you will never recall being here.”
She pressed it to my neck and with a small hiss and pinch I felt a chill rush over me. I climbed up on the transporter and nodded. Lights danced before my eyes and...

Marin Headlands, California
Ten minutes had passed since his arrival in the past. Captain Gage was steeling himself for what lie ahead. He knew that it would be difficult living in this century but it would be better to be alive in the past than dead. He peered around the corner of the building he was in and felt a slight tingling. It was a transporter effect. As it swept over him he could swear he was looking into a mirror, seeing himself. That was something he never had experienced during transport before.

USS Philadelphia, Transporter Room 1
The transporter hummed and a spark shot out of the console. The Vulcan captain worked the controls, moving his face away from the spark. Finally after a brief moment a figure started to appear on the pad. Then the process finished and someone was there. Melissa stepped forward. “Ray?”
Captain Gage stepped off the pad and swept her into his arms. “It’s good to be back. He looked over Melissa’s shoulder to Commander Laneal, “Everything in order while I was gone?” The commander nodded.
The Vulcan stepped down from the console. “Captain, I will be expecting a brief from you regarding your time in the past.”
Ray stepped back from Melissa, “You have my word on that captain, but right now I need a drink and to get out of this uniform.”
He and Melissa left the transporter room arm in arm. She could be heard saying, “You need a hand?” as the doors closed.

Marin General Hospital, San Rafael, California
I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the face of my wife. “Where am I?” I asked.
“Marin General Hospital, honey. You were struck by lightning.” She replied, concern and warmth in her voice.
My head felt woozy, “The kids?”
She moved away and my youngest tried to climb up on the bed. I smiled. My older daughter leaned against the rail. I lifted my arms and hugged them all, wondering if it all had been a dream.