Future's Children

Dr. Crusher sighed, a wry smile on her face when Lt. Commander La Forge poked his head into Sick-bay for the second time that morning. He seemed somewhat dejected that her patient was still asleep and was not to be disturbed. He seemed to have developed the same fascination he had with Zephram Cochran. Although he would not mean it, Beverly didn't want to traumatize the young woman anymore than she already had been. And so, she had turned away the Chief Engineer.

Just as he left Counselor Troi strode in, catching the tail end of Gordie's disappointment. She seemed to chuckle as the doors to the Sick-bay closed her eyes coming to Beverly. She shared a soft laugh with the CMO, covering her mouth so as not to make too much noise. “How many times does that make?”

“Twice, just this morning. Six times if you count the day before,” Dr. Crusher shook her head. “Honestly, the last thing Bobbi needs is someone treating her like she has her picture in every class room at the Academy.” Of course Dr. Crusher would not tell her patient that she had her picture under Zephram Cochran's in nearly every engineering class room and book used. Considering her reaction to the Captain's information she might not take it too well.

Deanna chuckled looking over to the door to the private recovery room that had become a temporary home to the ship's guest. “She's still asleep,” Deanna asked, motioning toward the door? “Could she be awakened? I am sure she needs someone to talk to right now.”

“Be prepared,” Dr. Crusher cautioned, giving the Counselor a dubious look. “She already treats me like I am three steps from psychotic. She might not react to empathy too well.”

Beverly opened the door to the private recovery room, letting Deanna in before closing the door. The Doctor watched as Deanna took a seat next to the bed and waited for Bobbi to become aware of them. She didn't have to wait long before Bobbi's eyes fluttered open, her first sight being the ship's Counselor. “Good morning, Bobbi. I am sure you have many questions. My name is Deanna Troi, I am the Enterprise's ship's Counselor.”

Deanna raised one eyebrow at the withering glance she got in response. Dr. Crusher gave her an 'I told you so' look, smiling. “She won't believe anyone until she sees it for herself, I suppose.” Beverly sighed, shrugging slightly at Deanna.

“Let's get you something decent to wear,” Dr. Crusher turned to the cabinet behind her and pulled out a few gray suits that looked to be the same in design to the one that the doctor was wearing under her white lab coat. “Let's see...” she she trailed off, holding up one of the suits as though to judge if it would be a good fit. “This should be about right,” she handed to Bobbi with an expectant look.

“Um...I feel a little exposed here,” Bobbi said, glancing between the two women. Dr. Crusher nodded once and turned her back the Counselor doing the same after a pleading look from Bobbi. She sighed and slid down from the bed, sliding the paper gown off her shoulders and stepping into the gray suit. It was a little too snug in certain places, making her grimace as she figured out how to close the front. Bobbi wasn't in the best shape and it showed with how the suit made her thighs look. At least to their credit the two women didn't say anything if she was as out of shape as she felt.

The Doctor opened the door, motioning for Bobbi to follow. The lights in the main Sick-bay were brighter than the room she had been in and she squinted her eyes. The main area was quite large and was filled with simpler versions of the bed Bobbi had recovered on in the infirmary. Along the right side of the main infirmary, was a row of heavy shudders that were tightly closed, which is where Dr. Crusher led her.

Deanna didn't particularly agree with what Beverly was going to do but there was no gentle way to go about this, so she kept her objections to herself and stayed right behind Bobbi in case she were to pass out. Standing up, Bobbi must have been no more than a meter-and-a-half tall, several centimeters shorter than Deanna who was one of the more petite women aboard the Enterprise.

Beverly tapped a few keys on a small console near the shudders and they slowly opened. Bobbi expected to see either a remote landscape or even a rudimentary attempt at creating a star field out of either construction paper or black trash bags. She had expected almost anything other than what greeted her. She gasped at the sight. She was staring out at Earth, turning leisurely below. Smaller vessels zipped past her field of vision, concerned with nothing more than their business at hand.

Her eyes shot to Dr. Crusher to her right who nodded in response to the silent question that she dared not ask. This was no Loony Bin or some such thing. This was an actual star ship and its technology was far greater than any thing she had ever witnessed. The artificial gravity testified to that fact alone. To her left, out side the view ports was what looked like what she might have imagined a station might look like. What she thought of as doors opened horizontally on the wide top of the base and an enormous ship passed by them and a few minutes later, floated easily into the doors with enough room on either side to accommodate another ship its size.

Bobbi's mouth opened, closed, then opened again. All she was able to get out was, “How?”

“Because of you,” the new voice startled Bobbi and she whirled around. She was greeted with Captain Picard's smile. There was a new man beside him that kept a respectful two or three steps back. He was handsome, his eyes mirthful and his beard giving him an almost disarming appearance. They both wore the same red and black suits that mirrored her own in design.

Bobbi found her voice again. “Me? But...” she trailed off, watching a ship half again as big as the one that entered, exit through the doors of the space dock, giving her pause yet again. She looked closely at the overall design of the ship, her eyes widening. “The nacelles,” she whispered in awe, watching the ship pull away from the space dock and disappear in a burst of light.

“The Nacelles were only a fraction of the systems on this ship that would not have existed if it were not for your designs over five-hundred years ago," the Captain continued, stepping up until he was a mere foot in front of Bobbi. "The Warp Core and the Matter/Antimatter reaction chambers are all based on your theoreticals,"

All watched with a combination of amusement and scrutiny as Bobbi took it all in, trying her best not to pass out. "But," she started, loosing her words halfway through, then finding them again. "My professors said that my theorems were impossible," she nearly exclaimed, trying to believe what she was seeing and hearing. "How big is this ship," she asked, her eyes suddenly wide with the realization that she had a hole new world, no galaxy to discover.

"The U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701-E, is a Sovereign class Multi-purpose Explorer Type II. It is 674 meters in length, the saucer section is 240 meters wide and 88 meters high," Captain Picard smiled, watching as Bobbi expressed genuine interest, soaking up every word. "There are 24 decks. You are currently are on Deck 8, in the saucer section of the ship. At the front, per se.

"The Enterprise houses 92 officers, 658 crew members. All together, the maximum capacity is 4,000 individuals, along with all the supplies and fuel needed to be on missions for literal decades."

Bobbi took a deep breath, looking around as though she could assess the size of the ship with her eyes. "You said earlier that the Enterprise is sometimes used as a 'gun-ship'," she stated, suddenly not quite sure of her position, whether she was a guest or a high level prisoner.

Riker stood behind Picard, smiling at Bobbi's somewhat tempered enthusiasm. He watched as her eyes darted from one part of the room to another, suddenly actively taking in every sight as though she would see a big red button labeled 'Fire'. He could not in his wildest dreams, understand what was going through her mind. He imagined that seeing your wild theorems suddenly being given form was something of a twisted dream come true. Certainly it was wonderful to know that her ideas were real after all, however given that those dreams are being used for militaristic goals that she could not divine must be frightening.

To his credit, Picard brought up the diplomatic personae he used on those very same militaristic missions. "We have been called in several times as protection for peoples being attacked or evacuation of people from accidents or wars. Most recently we were called upon to lend the Enterprise's firepower in the Dominion war and again against the Borg. I am sure you can read much more on those events in the database than I could ever divulge here."

This seemed to satisfy Bobbi for the moment but Picard knew that there would be a lot of activity in the database once they settled their guest into her new quarters later in the day.

XXX

Captain Picard had stepped back as Bobbi's head inclined all the way up in awe. This was Lt. Commander La Forge's domain and he would give her as much or as little access as he desired. Right now, however he was having too much fun showing her around the Engineering levels.

Bobbi was reaching out with tentative hands to touch the area around the Warp Core supports, almost not believing what she was seeing. "I still can't believe it's stable. I was starting to think, well that I should have just thrown the designs away rather than publish them at school," she confessed, getting a flabbergasted look from Geordie. "I had honestly thought that I was insane for even thinking the things up," Bobbi laughed, watching as the other engineers and ensigns went about their business seemingly oblivious to her presence.

"How is it all controlled? How big of a computer dictates the mixing levels," she asked, tilting her head at Gordie's grin.

"You want to see it," he asked, motioning over to the nearest lift. Bobbi didn't need to answer, her enthusiastic nod was all that was needed. She stepped into the tube like room with Gordie. "Engineering level control," he instructed and the lift responded without a delay. It was a short ride, the Engineering control was on Deck 15, one deck above the Main Engineering level.

They both exited the tube into a room filled with controls and diagnostic diagrams. "This is the real breath taker," Geordie led Bobbi over to a transparasteel window that viewed what looked like a long tube down into nothingness. "This is just one of two computers aboard the Enterprise," he started, noting her slack jawed awe. "The other one is in the saucer section. If the two sections, the Saucer and Stardrive need to separate for any reason, this computer takes control of the Engineering half of the Enterprise," Bobbi nodded that she was listening while taking everything in.

"There is an auxiliary bridge here for the bridge crew to use, while the families escape in the saucer section if the fighting gets too hairy. It's happened a few times. Or if the Warp Core was breached by attack and we needed to evacuate. That's happened before as well, especially during the Dominion war." Bobbie looked back at Geordie, signaling him to go on. "Several vessels were destroyed out right by the Dominion with all hands aboard. That's when it really started for us," she nodded, understanding.

"Like in World War I. We, er, the United States didn't get involved until one of our own ships was attacked by a U-boat and sank," she compared, beginning to understand the meaning of Battleship as to how it pertained to Captain Picard. "To secure peace is to prepare for war."

"Who said that," Geordie asked, furrowing his brow.

"George Washington," she answered, getting a big nod of understanding. That statement was truer than she really knew, especially with the Romulans and Klingons engaging in an arms race of their own. The animosity was thick enough to cut with a knife and whether she knew it or not, Bobbi was part of that stockpile.


By the end of the 'day', Bobbi's head was near spinning off of her shoulders. There was so much to see, that she felt like a child running around this place trying to take it all in. At the moment she was being led along a corridor on Deck 2 that housed the Officers and VIP quarters. She followed along, watching as orange double doors passed by, noticing that each had a mark denoting who they belonged to.

Further down and along a hall that branched to the left, were where what Picard had told here were the Ambassadorial suites. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it but when the door opened, she gasped. It was amazing, it was huge. "It's too much," she protested, turning to look at the Captain. "I can't stay here! I haven't done anything."

"Have not done anything," the Captain asked, looking as though he did not understand. "You are a guest aboard a ship that would not be if you had not been brave enough to publish your findings. I would say it is we who could not do enough."

Bobbi furrowed her brow, trying to find some way to refuse without insulting them. "It's bigger than the house I grew up in," she whispered, her eyes falling on the large windows that looked out on the Earth turning below. "I don't feel like I deserve it," the Counselor inclined her head. This seemed to be the root of her protests. Perhaps the jeers of her contemporaries had made her sense of entitlement shrink if she thought this was too much.

"Think of yourself as an Ambassador of your time," Deanna offered, smiling softly at Bobbi. "You represent a past world for humans and as such we wish to treat you with respect," Bobbi sighed, nodding. That did make it a bit easier to take but she still felt guilty for accepting something she felt she had no right to take.

"Captain," Picard stopped as he exited, standing in the doorway. "I...I'm sorry. For what I said yesterday. I apologize for calling you crazy,"

The Captain chuckled, shaking his head. "No harm done. At least my Number One had a good laugh," he smiled, closing the doors and leaving Bobbi alone with herself. She slowly walked to the couch that sat with it's back to the window. She sat down, watching the Earth spin and other ships going about their business.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and watched. She knew she should get to sleep soon but the sight before her was too beautiful to tear her eyes away from. Finely, her head lolled to the side the lights switching off, leaving only the glow of the Earth to light her face.