Title: Star Trek-Infinity: Shattered Illusions [PG] (MISC)

Author: Charles Rando (trando@worldnet.att.net)

Series: MISC

Rating: [PG]

Part: NEW 2/3

Disclaimer: Paramount owns the whole Star Trek franchise and Peter David
owns the Selelvian race (see his book, "Strike Zone"). I'd like to think
that the characters I've invented and the story are mine. :-)

Summary: Commander Witherell and Counselor Kassal must uncover a dark secret
in Captain Rando's past before it kills him!

CHAPTER FOUR

"I must admit I am slightly in awe, Counselor," Neddek said. "To my
knowledge, no Vulcan has ever attempted to meld with two people at once."

"I've read of other telepathic races that have accomplished a simultaneous
melding... although Betazoids and Selelvians are not among them," Kassal
replied. "I wonder what the chances are of this actually working?"

The two officers were waiting in Doctor Calabretta's office for the arrival
of Commander Witherell. After informing the Doctor of their plan, they had
been whisked into the office by Doctor McDonald, who insisted that
Calabretta would need space to prepare the Captain and sickbay. From what
they could hear outside, McDonald had been absolutely correct.

"It may indeed be safer for Commander Witherell to attempt the connection
himself," Neddek pointed out. Kassal shook her head. "You are still willing
to risk yourself in this venture?" Neddek asked.

"I am," Kassal replied. She sat down in the chair behind Calabretta's desk.
"I have to, for Charlie's sake."

Neddek simply nodded. "I understand," he replied. "It is very... difficult
when someone close to you is in danger. Years ago, I was to be mated with a
young Vulcan female, S'rel. However, she was killed on a scientific
exploration mission."

"S'rel?" Kassal asked. "That name sounds familiar. Was she on the Mahler ?"

"Indeed," Neddek replied. "It was on a mission to Kyrus IV that she was
killed. That was eight years ago."

Kassal nodded. "It was my first posting after the academy. I remember that
mission to Kyrus IV as well."

"Your voice seems to indicate that you lost someone as well," Neddek
prodded.

"Actually two people," Kassal said, "They were my friends, and I had known
them since the Academy...."

"So here's where you two are," Witherell said. "I've been looking all over
for you. Ready?"

"Could you not detect our thoughts, Commander?" Neddek asked.

"I'm saving myself for this bonding, so I'm not making any unnecessary
probes," Witherell said. "I think Doctor Calabretta is ready for us,
though."

Kassal stood up from the Doctor's chair. "I'm ready," she said.

"I hope so," Witherell said, "this'll be the first time I've ever tried
anything like this."

The three officers walked out of the Doctor's office to where Calabretta and
McDonald stood, monitoring Captain Rando in a secluded room.

"His life signs are all within acceptable parameters, except for the fact
he's in a coma," Calabretta reported, giving a short glance at Neddek that
seemed to indicate he would be speaking with the engineer later on. "I'll be
monitoring from outside, but if something goes wrong, I'll break the link in
a second, understand?"

Witherell and Kassal nodded.

"Very good," Calabretta replied, obviously nervous about this attempted
link. "Come on, Nanci. Let's let them do what they have to do."

As soon as the two doctors were gone, Neddek began speaking. "I would
suggest that the link between the two of you be formed first, and then once
that is established, the link between Commander Witherell and the Captain
can be made."

"That way we'll enter the Captain's mind together," Witherell agreed as he
and Kassal sat down next to the Captain. Witherell's chair was next to the
Captain's bed, while Kassal's chair was next to Witherell's. "Good
thinking."

Neddek placed his right hand against the left side of his face and spread
his fingers across it perfectly. "Arrange your fingers on the Counselor's
face like so, Commander. This will provide the easiest access to her mind."
After Witherell had done so, Neddek said, "Now both of you must open your
minds fully, and you, Commander, must reach out with your mind to find hers.
And Counselor, you must accept the Commander's mind fully."

After a few seconds, Witherell replied. "I can feel it. I can feel her
mind."

"So can I," Kassal added. Then, to clear up any confusion, she added, "I can
feel your mind too."

"The link has been established. Now, Commander, arrange the fingers of your
left hand on the Captain's face in the same way. This link will be more
difficult to create because the Captain's mind will not be ready for you,
but you will eventually break in," Neddek replied.

Witherell placed his hand on Rando's face. "I can feel his mind. I'm just
not sure how to get in."

"Continue to search," Neddek replied. "There is always a backdoor
somewhere."

As Witherell concentrated and searched for a crack in the Captain's
defenses, part of his mind registered Neddek standing in front of him. Then
his awareness began to blur. Then, suddenly, Neddek and the sickbay room
were gone...

******************************************************

"Counselor? Are you there?" he heard himself ask. He wasn't really sure if
he was there himself.

He heard a disembodied voice reply, "I think so, Commander, although I'm not
sure where here is."

As if on cue, a vast garden appeared before them. Both of them recognized it
instantly.

"This is Starfleet Academy," Kassal said. "Charlie's taken us back to
Starfleet Academy."

"Do you have any idea why?" Witherell asked. "Did anything traumatic happen
back here?"

"I don't know," Kassal said. "I'm not even sure when exactly this is."

"We could ask someone," Witherell replied. He noticed an old man a little
ways away. "Look, there's Boothby, tending the flowers just like always."

Kassal shook her head. "Neddek told me that we would only be able to observe
Charlie's memories. We won't be able to interact with anyone here, except
for him."

"Then I guess we'd better find Cadet Rando, eh? Do you know where he might
be?"

"I would guess that he's somewhere nearby," Kassal responded. "I can't think
of any other reason why we would be right here, in the middle of the
gardens. Although I do remember...."

"Hey you damn kids! Get off my grass!" they heard someone yell. Turning,
they saw it was Boothby, the Academy's head gardener. A man who had tended
the grounds of the Academy for over seventy years. The focus of the
gardener's tirade was two young cadets. One was a blonde girl, no older than
fifteen. The other was a young man, and both of them looked very familiar.

"Oh Boothby, we weren't doing anything wrong!" protested the girl. "We just
like lying on the grass and getting back to nature! It helps us feel our
roots!"

"I'm sure you two were feeling something else than your roots," Boothby
answered.

The girl's face became red with anger. Witherell sensed that the girl was
very offended by the mere suggestion that she was engaging in any sort of
intimate act. It reminded him very much of someone he knew. "Boothby! You
know that..."

Boothby cut her off. "You're right, Ms. Kassal," he replied softly. "I know
you two wouldn't do that in public. I doubt you two do that in private
either. You're both good kids, but if I let you do it, then everyone else
will... and you know what will happen then."

The young Kassal turned away, obviously still stung by the gardener's
remarks. For the next few seconds afterwards, Witherell scanned the
surrounding area for a cat. Counselor Kassal smiled at his confusion.

"This was about ten years ago, when Charlie was in his senior year at the
Academy," Kassal remarked.

"It looks like the two of you were close then," Witherell commented.

"We were," Kassal agreed, "but in the end, we decided that what we really
wanted most out of each other was a good friend."

"Look, Boothby," the young Rando was saying. "Sonja's had a really tough
day, and you know how being with nature helps calm her down. Selelvians
thrive on being out in nature, even if it's not their own. You told me that
you two were like kindred spirits, so I'm sure you understand. Can you tell
us where we can go without getting into trouble?"

Boothby smiled and took a card out of his pocket. He did indeed know the
calming effects of nature on a troubled soul. "You can use my arboretum," he
said. "It's very private there, just you and nature, and I know you two
won't take advantage of that."

The young man took the card. "Thanks Boothby. I owe you one." He took the
young girl by the hand and they ran off, leaving Boothby chuckling after
them.

"Looks like you were right, Counselor," Witherell said. "We'd better follow
them... unless you two DID take advantage of the privacy?"

Kassal glared at him for a second before turning and walking away after the
two young cadets. Commander Witherell paused for a few seconds, wondering
just where that darn cat was hiding.

CHAPTER FOUR

"Commander? Can I have a word with you?"

Neddek looked up as Doctor Calabretta approached him. "Yes, Doctor. What may
I do for you?"

"I want to know why you didn't add more memory to the portable emitter to
store Nanci's personality protocols."

The Romulan raised an eyebrow. "I did not believe they were as important as
her having access to her medical database, and size was also a
consideration. Adding enough memory to allow the Doctor's personality
protocols to operate would have required a device twice as large as this
one. It did not seem necessary."

"Commander, I have a woman in there who is scared out of her mind to go back
in that portable emitter of yours because she's afraid of what she'll become
while she's inside it!"

"Doctor, that is illogical. First off, if duty calls, a member of Starfleet
would not allow their emotions to interfere. Secondly, Doctor McDonald is a
computer program. Any emotional reactions you see it produce are simply part
of its programming."

Calabretta raised his arms in protest. "And you're telling me that the
subconscious reactions humanoids develop over the course of their existences
is not similar to that programming?"

"I do not deny that, Doctor. What I am attempting to point out is that
Doctor McDonald is a computer program. It is a medical tool, designed to
help you. It is nothing more than that."

"This same old debate," Calabretta muttered under his breath. "The last time
we had it... almost a year ago while we were crawling through Jeffries
tubes, trying to get back to a civilized section of the ship, I thought I
had convinced you of Nanci's potential."

"You had, Doctor," Neddek replied calmly. "The A.M.H. program has excellent
potential. However, it is still only a program, and it still has
limitations."

Doctor Calabretta studied the chief engineer closely. He shrugged. "Yeah, I
guess you're right. I mean, in the course of my lifetime, and believe me,
it's almost as long as yours, I've never seen anyone become more than what
people expected. I've never seen anyone move past what they are to what they
could be." He turned to walk out of the room, and as he was leaving, said,
"Which, I guess, means I've never seen you, Commander, become more than just
another Romulan."

Neddek simply raised an eyebrow.

******************************************************

"They've been in there for quite a while," Doctor McDonald noted. "But it
doesn't seem like they're having any problems."

"So far," Calabretta replied.

"We've rendez-voused with the Explorer," McDonald told the Merlin doctor.
"Our new chief of stellar cartography should be checking in soon."

"Life continues on as usual," Calabretta noted. "It always does."

"Commander Witherell left specific orders for Lieutenant Williams that the
current mission continue as if nothing were wrong," McDonald said.

Calabretta sighed. He knew that Nanci wouldn't stop making small talk until
he responded. It was an annoying yet... endearing quality she had developed.
"Putting the chief science officer in command of the ship during a medical
crisis just doesn't seem smart. Not that I have anything against Phil, mind
you, but isn't he going to be biased towards the mission?"

"I think that is precisely why Commander Witherell chose him," McDonald
said.

There conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a blonde woman in
Starfleet gold helping a man in Starfleet gold walk into sickbay.
"Lieutenant Monty, chief of stellar cartography, sirs. I asked the
transporter chief where I should go to report to duty, and he said to come
here. That was before he decided to kick his console. I thought I should
bring him with me."

"It went on the fritz," Lieutenant Johnson explained. "I had over twenty
million points on my pinball game."

"Good thinking, Lieutenant," Calabretta said with a laugh. "That was
directed at you, Ms. Monty. Nanci, can you take care of Lieutenant Johnson?"

"Of course," McDonald said. Monty watched in amazement as the tiny doctor
picked up the transporter chief without effort and carried him into the next
room.

Calabretta picked up a nearby PADD. "I see you're to be our new head of
Stellar Cartography. I received your medical records from Doctor Mullin a
short while ago, but things have been so busy here I haven't had a chance to
look over them yet. If you'll give me a minute...."

Monty was surprised once again to see Doctor McDonald suddenly appear next
to Calabretta. "I have already accessed the Lieutenant's records, Doctor.
She is in perfect health, and is ready to report to duty."

"How did you do that?" Monty asked.

"I am an auxiliary medical holographic program," McDonald replied. "I would
be happy to demonstrate more of my abilities to you, but we are in the
middle of a crisis. If you will excuse me, I must attend to Chris now." This
time she disappeared into the other room.

"What's wrong?" Monty asked curiously. "It's not serious, is it?"

"No, not at the moment. We're having some... medical problems with the
command staff, but unfortunately we're too busy to fill you in right now on
what's happening. I'm sure someone else can fill you in," Calabretta
replied. "I'm sorry to be rude, but...."

Monty shook her head. "I understand completely, Doctor."

******************************************************

"How should we do this?" Kassal asked. "It might be too much of a shock for
him to see two of me at the same time."

"I'll go approach him," Witherell said. "You stay back here. With any luck,
he'll remember who I am... somehow."

Cadet Rando had just removed Boothby's keycard from its slot and opened the
door to Boothby's arboretum for Cadet Kassal. He allowed Kassal to enter
first, and was about to follow when he heard a voice call, "Captain!"

Rando turned to see an officer, about thirty years older than he was,
wearing the rank of a Commander. But on second glance, this man looked
familiar. "Commander Witherell?" he asked.

"You do recognize me, thank the Holy Rings!" Witherell exclaimed, invoking a
Betazoid ritual. "We need to talk to you."

"We?" Rando asked. "Who else is here?"

"Sonja," Witherell replied.

Rando nodded. "Yes, she's in the arboretum."

Witherell almost laughed. "No, Counselor Kassal is here. We need to talk to
you, sir. Can you pull yourself away from Sonja so you can come talk to
Sonja?"

Rando caught the joke and laughed. "I'll be right there." He entered the
arboretum and then returned a minute later. "I told Sonja I had a few things
to take care of, and she didn't mind. She likes relaxing alone as much as
she likes relaxing with me. So where's the Counselor?"

Witherell made a gesture with his hand and Kassal stepped out from behind a
tree. "Communing with nature, where else?" Witherell replied.

"Charlie, are you all right?" Kassal asked.

"I'm fine, Sonja," Rando replied, "but I don't see why you're so concerned.
And I don't see what you two are doing here."

"We've come here to help you," Kassal said. "We think you're repressing a
memory, a very powerful and uncomfortable memory, and we're trying to help
you find out what it is."

Rando shook his head. "I don't remember talking about any repressed
memories."

"That's because we only came up with that theory an hour and a half ago,
Captain," Witherell said He took a breath. "You've been in a coma for over
two hours now."

CHAPTER SIX

"A coma?" Rando asked. "Are you sure? I don't feel like I'm in a coma."

"You'd never know, Captain. At least not from in here," Witherell replied.
"But in the real world, you're definitely in a coma."

"And you think this is because I'm repressing a memory?" Rando asked.

"Something very painful. Something you're hiding from yourself. Maybe even
something that was triggered by recent events?" Kassal asked.

Suddenly, the scenery changed and the three of them found themselves
surrounded by students in dress uniforms, Rando among them. "What happened?"
he asked.

"That wasn't me," Witherell replied. The two men turned towards Kassal.

"I was thinking about your graduation, Charlie," she said. "Maybe I somehow
brought us here."

"Charlie!" the young Sonja exclaimed as she ran over to him. "That was a
great speech!"

"Totally cool beans!" replied the girl beside her. "But that's why you were
our class president, right?"

Another new face, one Witherell did not recognize, took his place next to
the second girl. "I've always thought about running for the presidency of
our class," he said.

Kassal looked perplexed again, "I don't remember anything horrible happening
here," she stated.

"Neither do I," Rando agreed. His response drew some strange reactions from
the people around him.

"Who are you talking to, Charlie?" the young Sonja asked.

Before Rando could respond, another cadet came to join them. He looked about
twenty with dark, short hair, and was obviously connected somehow to Trina
because he took her hand in his. The other young cadet looked somewhat
disturbed by his arrival.

"Great speech, Charlie," the new arrival said. "I just hope our class
president does that good of a job."

Rando didn't reply. He didn't have to because a second later, the young
cadet was no longer there. The scene had changed again, but neither
Witherell nor Kassal could tell to where.

Suddenly, a red alert klaxon began to sound, causing both Witherell and
Kassal to jump in surprise.

"Great," thought Witherell. "So there's a cat on this ship, too."

******************************************************

Lieutenant Williams stepped through the door to stellar cartography. The
main working area consisted of a very plain and drab room with a few
computer consoles here and there, but Williams knew this department offered
more. He strolled through the room and through a set of doors that led to
the real stellar cartography.

This room consisted of a wrap around viewscreen that folded around a small
pathway like a starfield. At the end of the pathway was a console, the
console where the chief of stellar cartography sorted through and connected
all the information she received from her subordinates.

"Lieutenant Monty," Williams called as he approached. "How goes it?"

Monty stood up to greet the officer, who currently was in command of the
ship. "The mapping procedure is going along just fine, sir."

Williams smiled. "You don't have to call me sir, you know. I'm actually only
a junior grade lieutenant. You have a higher rank than I do," he said.

"But you're also a senior officer, and I'm not," Monty said. "I learned the
hard way to address all senior officers as sirs."

"Well, I can pretty much assure you that Lieutenants Remley and V'gel, and
myself, don't object to NOT being called sir," Williams said. "And besides,
what would you do with Ensign Libby?"

"I guess I'd call him 'sir' too," Monty replied. Now that she thought about
it, it did seem a little strange.

"Well, I just wanted to check up on you and see how everyone was treating
you. I'm sorry the Captain and Commander weren't able to greet you, but as
you know we've been having problems."

"Actually, I don't really know that much about what's been going on," Monty
said. "Could you fill me in on what's been happening?"

******************************************************

"I don't have time to talk to you!" Rando shouted over the loud sirens.
"We're under attack!"

Kassal and Witherell ran alongside the Captain as he made his way to
engineering. "Who's attacking us?" Kassal asked.

"How should I know?" Rando replied. "I'm just a lowly Ensign, and they don't
tell ensigns that much!" The three of them reached engineering and Rando ran
on ahead.

"This is the U.S.S. Clinton ," Witherell said, glancing at an engineering
screen. "According to the stardate, we're eight years in the past."

"This was Charlie's first assignment. He and Trina were posted here after he
graduated," Kassal said.

"Did you notice how the scenery changed so abruptly when that other cadet
came over?" Witherell asked.

"I couldn't help it," Kassal replied, "it was my memory after all. That was
Paul McCue, Trina's fianc�."

"Fianc�?" Witherell asked, astonished. "He looked a bit young."

"Paul and Trina had known each other for years before they arrived at the
Academy. Before she graduated, Paul asked if she would marry him when he
graduated. I guess he didn't want to lose her to a Lieutenant or something.
None of us really thought that anything would come on it, that it was just a
teenage fantasy, but they stuck with it. They had their wedding planned for
the end of the year."

Before Kassal could finish her story, the red alert klaxons shut off. A few
moments later, Rando rejoined them.

"It was all a drill," he said. "Can you believe that? They got me out of bed
for a drill! Well, maybe I can still get some sleep before my shift actually
begins."

Witherell and Kassal glanced at each other as Rando walked past and then
followed him to his quarters. The trip back was done in complete silence.

Rando was just about to enter his quarters when a young woman rushed up to
him in tears. "Charlie!" she cried. "Tell me it's not true! Why would he do
this to me?!"

"This could be interesting," Witherell noted as he watched the young Ensign
Rando lead a very emotional Ensign Monty down the corridor.