***The Hills of Time***
***by George Pollock, Jr.***

***Chapter 16***
***Foreign Exchanges**

   The androids showed up first.
   Ironic, Crusher thought: the two who least needed a doctor. 
   Data and Catty came into sickbay together the morning after the Enterprise 
departed the Wastes. Crusher had asked to speak with the Solnoids about her 
medical examinations of them. There really wasn't a schedule; just a request 
to speak with the chief medical officer when possible.
   Data told how he met Catty in a corridor on his way to discuss the 
stellar-cartography findings with Crusher. Catty said she had stayed up most 
of the night, reviewing as much from the Enterprise's library computer as she 
could in one sitting. Then she had dozed off for a while.
   "I needed a break. I was tired," she told the doctor.
   Crusher eyed her curiously. "You're an android -- and you get tired?"
   Images of her final hours on the Star Leaf flashed through Catty's mind. 
"Oh, yes ..." She focused again and continued. "After I woke up, I went into 
the corridor to walk around and stretch. My organic components need the 
stimulation. That's when I met the commander."
   "The sort of rest you took is called a 'cat nap,' " Data noted. "But in 
this instance, I suppose one would call it a 'Catty nap.' "
   Crusher groaned loudly, covered her face with a hand, shook her head and 
chuckled. "Oh, DATA ..."
   The male android glanced at Catty. She swore she saw the smallest hint of 
a grin on his face.
   But she wasn't sure.
   Still, in silent satisfaction, she smiled. 
   At that, the sickbay doors parted, and Eluza entered. She saw the trio by 
one of the diagnostic beds. "I'm sorry," she said, "I don't want to 
interrupt. Just reporting as ordered, Doctor."
   Crusher recovered her composure. "No order, Captain. Only a request. But 
thank you for coming. You're not interrupting."
   Catty straightened slightly as Eluza approached. The female captain nodded 
at Data. "Good morning, Commander." Then at Catty. "Lieutenant."
   "Good morning, ma'am," Catty replied. "Did you sleep well?"
   "Yes, I did ..." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "The most peaceful I 
have ... in a long time ..." 
   "Time was what we were discussing earlier," the doctor said. She turned to 
Data and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Data. I still can't accept your 
findings."
   Data frowned slightly. "Why is that, Doctor?"
   "Because I find it medically difficult to believe that humanoids could 
physically survive nearly two and a half million years just because they were 
frozen."
   "The elapsed-time calculation from stellar cartography has been confirmed."
   Crusher sighed. "I don't doubt your methods, Commander. All I know is 
physically, it's nearly impossible to survive being completely frozen for 
anywhere near that a long time. There's a reason it's called 'freezing to 
death.' "
   Eluza shivered. 
   Crusher noticed. "Is it too cold in here for you, Captain? I can have the 
computer raise the temperature, if you like."
   The Solnoid shook her head. "No," she said quietly. "I'm fine ... Thank 
you ..."
   "What," Data said, "are the factors in your judgment, Doctor?"
   "Well," Crusher replied, "at the most basic, when someone freezes, the 
fluids in their body start to solidify. The solidifying liquids rupture cells 
-- and the frozen fluids impede biochemical processes. Systems begin to fail. 
When their core body temperature falls below a certain point, the heart can't 
function anymore. Circulation fails, leading to tissue death and brain death."
   The male android cocked his head quizzically. "But what about the former 
practice of cryogenics? Terminally ill humanoids were placed in lowered 
temperatures in hopes of revival in the future, when a cure for their 
illnesses might be found."
  "But they weren't frozen through, per se. Only kept at a lower temperature. 
And they were monitored, either by someone or a computer. And," Crusher 
stressed, pointing at him, "their bodies were usually prepared chemically, so 
their biological processes could continue -- slowly -- at that lower 
temperature. As far as I know, that didn't happen with the Solnoids."
   She turned to Catty and Eluza. "Did it?"
   Slowly,  the younger women turned toward each other.
   "Lieutenant ...," Eluza said, "... I seem to recall ... you injecting me 
with something ... on the bridge ... Then I passed out ..." 
   She studied Catty's gold-colored eyes. "What was it ...?"
   The female android met her captain's gaze for a moment, her eyes brimming 
with what struck Eluza as sadness. Silently, she turned to Data, then to 
Crusher, who awaited her answer.
   Finally, she sighed.
   And rolled up her left sleeve.
   As the others watched, she tapped the underside of her forearm.
   A panel sprang open.
   Eluza gasped. The two Starfleet officers didn't react. Crusher had worked 
on Data so often, a humanoid arm with an access door wasn't surprising to 
either.
   But what happened next was.
   She reached into her arm and withdrew a dull-metal tube with a nozzle and 
reservoir.
   Catty studied it for a moment, as if trying to remember what the device 
was. That was an illusion: She hadn't forgotten what to do with it.
  She could never forget what she had done with it.
   "This," she said at last, "is a hypospray. It contains a compound called 
Infinizene 248."
   Her captain's jaw dropped slightly. "Mother in heaven ...," Eluza 
whispered. "You ... little 'bot ..."
   Crusher took the hypospray that Catty offered, which she and Data 
examined. "What does it do, Lieutenant?" the doctor asked.
   Catty closed the panel and rolled down her sleeve. "It does all the things 
you noted for biochemical survival at extremely low temperatures. It lowers 
bodily processes to ultimate minimums. Among other components, it contains a 
muscle relaxant and a blood thinner. And, for lack of a better word, it has a 
type of ..." She searched for the phrase. "... antifreeze."
   "Antifreeze?" Crusher repeated. 
   "Infinizene is antifreeze?" Eluza asked in disbelief.
   Catty nodded. "Among other things, Captain."
   "Logical," Data noted.
   Eluza looked dazed. "You shot me up with antifreeze?"
   "I injected all the crew members who were still alive, ma'am. It was my 
duty." Catty said.
   The captain squinted slightly. "What duty?"
   "The duty given to me by my mother." Her subordinant straightened slightly 
again. "I am Catty. I am programmed to preserve life."
   Eluza paused. A memory grew gently, like a sprouting plant. 
   "I've heard that before ...," she said. "On the ... bridge ... Before ... 
I ... passed out ..."
   Catty nodded. "It is still true, ma'am."
   "May I keep this?" Crusher asked, indicating the hypospray. "For analysis?"
   Catty glanced at Eluza for an answer. Her commander nodded.
   Data studied Catty in momentary confusion. "Your ... 'mother'?"
   "Long story," the female android replied. "Some other time."
   Data nodded. "I see." Then he thought. "I am puzzled, though. In reviewing 
the data in your ship's auxiliary central processing unit, I came across that 
Group Leader Lufy Campbell froze for 10 years in a 'Struggle Suit,' I believe 
it was called."
   "That's right," Eluza said.
   "Was this compound available to her in that instance?"
   "Indirectly," Catty explained. "The Struggle Suit had an emergency system 
called the 'dead-witch switch.' It automatically injected the wearer with 
Infinizene just before life-support systems failed."
   "Must have worked," Eluza observed. "Lufy's here ..."
   Crusher was puzzled. "Why was it called a 'dead-witch switch'?"
   "In Solnoid society," Eluza explained, " 'witch' was slang for a woman of 
great knowledge, power, prestige and mystery -- one who commanded great 
respect."
   "I think I'd like your society," the doctor said, smiling.
   "The 'dead-witch switch' referred to the idea that the Struggle Suit 
wearer didn't have to do anything," Catty said. "The system was automatic. No 
conscious effort was needed."
   Data considered the information. "May I ask whether your stasis coffins 
contained a similar system?"
   Eluza was abrupt: "Why would they? The occupants were already dead."
   The male android arched an eyebrow. "That is true. Yet, I also read that 
you, Captain, were revived after 10 years in a stasis coffin. Were you 
injected with Infinizene beforehand?"
   Eluza smiled. "You mean, before I died? No, Commander, I wasn't aware that 
was going to happen." Her smile blossomed into a grin. "Actually, I was kinda 
busy being engulfed by a gelatinous creature created by our enemy." 
   She noticed the Starfleet officers' confusion at that. "It was part of a 
genetic experiment. Another long story."
   The doctor's expression picked up. "Genetic experiment? Could that be why 
you were able to survive in the stasis coffin in open space, Captain?"
   Silence.
   "You mean ...," Eluza said at last, "just being in contact with the 
creature ... might have affected  me ... genetically ... ?"
   Crusher shrugged. "It's a possibility."
   "But ... Patty -- Lieutenant Commander Wellington -- was attacked by the 
creature, too. I didn't start to mutate ... like ... Patty did  ..." She 
shook her head. "It didn't affect me like that ..."
   "Maybe not," the doctor said, "but maybe it changed you in some other way."
   More silence.
   Eluza noticed that the three others were beginning to look at her ...
   ... differently ...
   "I never thought of that ...," she whispered.

*******

   "Computer, gimme shampoo and soap."
   "Please specify types required."
   Lufy sighed. This computer could be annoying.
   Even its voice: an older Solnoid's voice that reminded the Attacker of a 
teacher she had back in flight school. A voice that implied it knew more than 
you did -- and always would. Even its patient tone seemed just like the 
teacher's -- sweetly condescending: "You really don't know what you're 
talking about, do you, Cadet Campbell ...?"
   "Well," Lufy replied, "what type of shampoo ya got?"
   "The replicator can provide shampoo to moisturize, add body, reverse 
hair-end damage, combat dandruff, untangle knots ..."
   "Whoa! Just gimme shampoo to clean my hair."
   "Define 'clean' as it applies in this context."
   "What?! CLEAN! As in, remove the dirt!!"
   "Specify type of dirt to be removed."
   "AAAAHHH!!!"
   "Please restate definition."
   Lufy let out a slow snarl. She took a deep breath and continued. "My hair 
is oily ... matted ... and greasy ..." Then she spoke each word slowly, 
through gritted teeth: "Please ... give ... me ... some ... shampoo ... for 
... that ..."
   "Processing." After a pause, the computer spoke again. "Formulation 
completed. Please specify fragrance."
   The blonde was stunned. "What ...?" she whispered in disbelief.
   "Fragrances available are herbal, fruit, floral, musk ..."
   "NEVER MIND!!"
   For a moment afterward, the room was filled only with Lufy's frustrated 
breathing. "I suppose," she finally asked facetiously, "it wouldn't do any 
good to ask ya for some soap at this point, would it?"
   "Please specify type of soap required."
   Bowing her head, Lufy smirked in defeat. "Never mind ..."
   Damn, she thought ...
   Thought this was gonna be easy.
   I'm no good with computers ...
   But gimme a fighter, now ...
   Their computers listened to me ...
   She sighed.
   Rabby ...
   There's a gal who can work these things ...
   Her head picked up quickly, and her brown eyes flashed.
   Swabby!
   Hey ...
   I'll ask her to get the stuff!
   And I'll ask her to show me how to work this damned thing!
   Yeah ...
   The Attacker smiled. "Computer," she said, "show me how to get to Rabby 
Ciera's quarters from here."
   A silent second later, the answer came. "Please follow the flashing red 
bars in the corridor to guest Rabby Ciera's quarters."
   "Thanks ... teach' ..."
   "Have a good day."
   The Solnoid wheeled about and headed for the door.
   All this just to take a damned shower, she huffed to herself ...
   The door slid open, and Lufy Campbell stepped into the corridor.
   One garment away from her shower.

*******

   The hypospray's reservoir slowly filled with light blue.
   "Just about done," Crusher observed.
   And with a slight hiss, the hypospray proved her right.
   She smiled. "There. All done. That didn't hurt, now, did it?"
   Dawn looked at the light-blue tendril he had extruded from his shell's 
right hand, which rested on a diagnostic bed. Then he faced the doctor.
   "Actually," he said, "it sort of tickled ..."
   Odo, next to him, rolled his eyes. "Oh, please ..."
   "Thank you for the sample, Commander," Crusher said. "I'll start analyzing 
it right away."
   The Paranoid bowed slightly. "My pleasure, Doctor."
   The redheaded woman nodded with a small smile, then headed to a computer 
station across the room.
   Odo turned to Dawn. "Regular ladies' man, aren't you?" he asked wryly.
   Dawn withdrew his matrix back within his shell. "Brother?"
   The constable sighed. "Never mind. Just seems like you're more gallant 
than called for around females. They're just people, you know."
   " 'Fee-males'? Oh ... Solnoids ..." Dawn shrugged. "Well ... I've always 
found them ... most interesting, Brother ..."
   Memories of a redhaired Bajoran wisped through Odo's mind. "Hmm ... I have 
found one, in particular, very intriguing ..." He rested a hand on his chin 
and smiled slightly.
   Dawn envisioned purple eyes. "So have I ..."
   There was a noticeable silence. 
   Odo snapped back from his reverie. "Anyway ..." He studied the metal robot 
in its gold-colored robes. "Isn't that device rather cumbersome, Commander?"
   "Not at all. It's my home. My ... other self. All Paranoids become quite 
accustomed to their shells. We can manipulate the controls rather 
dexterously. Becomes second nature after a time."
   "But why go through all the trouble? Why not just assume the form you 
desire? Seems much easier than ..." Odo indicated the shell with a sweep of 
his hand. "... this."
   Dawn thought. "I'm not quite sure ... what you mean ..."
   "Can't you morph?"
   Another noticeable silence.
   " 'Morph'... " Dawn repeated quietly, as if trying to figure out the 
word's meaning by hearing it again. 
" 'Morph' ..." Then he looked back at Odo. To the extent that his shell 
allowed for such things, he appeared baffled.
   "It's how you must have created your face, Commander ..." Odo looked 
around. "Hold on," he said, reaching for a medical tricorder on a nearby 
tray. He placed it on the diagnostic bed they stood by.
   "This," Odo explained, "is morphing."
   Dawn watched as Odo set a hand next to the tricorder. An instant later, 
the hand melted. Became a shimmering, undulating dark-brown mass.
   In the next instant, it resolidified.
   And at the end of Odo's arm, another tricorder lay next to the original.
   Dawn bent over slowly to examine the items. He looked up at Odo. "You 
amaze me, Brother ...," he said softly.
   Odo's "tricorder" quickly resolved and became a hand once more. "Can you 
do that?" he asked the Paranoid.
   Dawn's oversized red eyes widened. They peered at the real tricorder on 
the bed. After a pause, he replied, "I don't know ..." He placed his left 
hand next to the device, then glanced back at the constable.
   "Let's find out," he said.
   Quickly, a mass of light-blue gelatinous material oozed from his hand.
   Dawn closed his eyes.
   Odo watched the light blue.
   For a moment, nothing happened.
   Then the changeling noticed ...
   ... ever so slightly ...
   ... that Dawn's arm was trembling.
   The shaking grew.
   The gold robes started to flutter.
   And Dawn started to groan.
   Restrained at first. Then slightly louder.
   And the light blue ...
   ... barely started to wrinkle ...
   ... fold a little ...
   Dawn grunted. Loudly.
   The light blue ...
   ... started to change ...
   ... lose its blue ...
   ... turn a light yellow ...
   Dawn bellowed.
   A dark yellow ...
   Then, for an instant ...
   Light brown.
   Dawn screamed. "AAAAAHHHH!!!"
   Immediately, the mass regained its light-blue color and whipped audibly 
back into Dawn's hand. The Paranoid withdrew his arm and grabbed it with his 
other, as if in pain.
   "MAKER!!" Dawn yelled. "GOOD MAKER ABOVE!!" He doubled over, cradling his 
arm in his midriff.
   Odo stared in shock at Dawn's broad back before him. "Commander ...," he 
began, deeply concerned.
   "Damn ...," Dawn's bent back replied.
   "Commander," Odo repeated softly. "I'm very sorry ... I didn't know ..."
   Another noticeable silence.
   Finally, Dawn's voice rumbled from below. "There is no fault ... of yours 
... Brother ...," he said. "I chose ... this ..."
   Gently, slowly, Dawn straightened again. He studied Odo for a second, then 
sighed. "It appears ... that I cannot ..." He paused. "... 'morph' ... 
Brother ..."
   A female voice answered. "I should say ... not ..."
   The polymorphs turned toward it.
   Crusher stood wide-eyed at the computer station. She fought to get her 
words out. "Are you ... all right ... Commander?"
   Dawn massaged his left arm. It was an illusion: His whole matrix ached. "I 
am ... fine, Doctor. Thank you ... for asking ..."
   She watched him. "You can't morph like Odo, can you?"
   The Paranoid shook his head. "Not ... to his degree ... apparently ..."
   The doctor took a deep breath to compose herself. "I think ... I know why 
... Would you both join me here ... please?"
   Dawn and Odo walked over to see two models of chemical strands on the 
computer screen. "The top one," Crusher began, "is Constable Odo's 
morphagenic matrix from the sample I took from him earlier."
   "I remember that," Odo said, then absent-mindedly rubbed his shoulder.
   "The lower chain is from the commander," Crusher continued. "I had the 
computer do a molecular comparison of the two. The results were just posted 
when you ..." She turned to Dawn. "... um, cried out, Commander ..."
   "My apologies for startling you, Doctor," the Paranoid said.
   She nodded distractedly. "Of course ..."
   Odo studied the screen. "What were the computer's findings, Doctor?"
   Crusher regarded the changeling first, then the commander. 
   "They're almost identical," she said.
   "Really?" Dawn asked.
   " 'Almost'?" Odo asked after him.
   Crusher tapped some keypads. The two chains advanced across the screen 
until a flashing area appeared. "For about 98 percent of your matrices, the 
strands are the same. Down to the atomic locations." She tapped the flashing 
area, and it magnified. The strands clearly differed.
   "But at this point," she said, "the sequences diverge. There appear to be 
the same molecules in both -- for a polymer, by the way. But in the 
commander's case, they're attached linearly. If it were a pure polymer, it 
would be rigid -- almost brittle."
   Odo thought. "And in my case, Doctor?"
   Crusher pointed at the top chain. "See for yourself."
   The polymorphs peered at the chemical model. In the highlighted area, the 
molecules were loosely grouped, attached by only a few shared atoms.
   "If that were a pure polymer," the doctor observed, "it would be smooth, 
flexible, malleable ..." She gazed at Constable Odo. "Easily shaped ...
   "But for that," she said quietly, "you two are the same being ..."
   Dawn and Odo were silent.
   Slowly, they looked at each other ...
   ... as if for the first time.
   At last, the Paranoid nodded. "It is as I thought," he said to Odo. "You 
and I are family, Brother ..."
   The changeling sighed heavily. "Well ..," he finally said, " 'cousin,' 
anyway ..."

*******

   "Here you go."
   Lufy accepted the soap and shampoo from Rabby. "Thanks, Swabby. You're a 
lifesaver."
   The redhead smiled. "No problem. And do you see that you'll have to be 
very specific with this computer?" Her tone turned teasing. "And very 
patient?"
   The Attacker also smiled, then nodded resignedly. "Yeah, yeah ... Promise 
I won't punch it out."
   "Good girl."
   "You ... sleep well last night?"
   Rabby nodded. "Yeah. You'd think I wouldn't be so tired after sleeping two 
and a half million years, but I checked out as soon as my head went 
horizontal. What about you?"
   For a moment, Lufy's eyes were downcast. "Well ...," she began quietly, 
"not so good ..."
   "What's wrong?"
   Her blond friend looked back up at Rabby's blue eyes. "I ... was ..." She 
glanced away for a moment. Then, grudgingly, she finished. "... lonely ..."
   Rabby chuckled. "Oh ... first night we were apart in two million years? Is 
that it?"
   Lufy nodded sheepishly. "Somethin' like that ... And I never sleep well 
... the first night in a new place ... anyway ..." She sighed. "And this 
place -- this ship -- it's so ... strange. I'm not totally comfortable here. 
Can't really explain it."
   "It's not our world, Lufy, but we all have to live in it -- for now."
   "I know, but ... well, like those males. The way they look at us Solnoids 
-- even at the ones that were here on this ship already." She huffed 
minutely. "Still feel like I'm in some damned zoo, the way they look at us."
   "Well ... I think ... that's what the Mother ... wants most of them to do."
   "Huh?"
   Rabby reached over and took Lufy's free hand. "Lufy," she said softly, 
"you weren't affected by the Paranoid creature that attacked the original 
Star Leaf. But I was. I truly believe that. Even before I saw Patty's child 
-- my first male -- I knew they were something different. I felt it in a 
dream on the Blossom. That they were our destiny ... for some of us, anyway 
..." She thought. "... Maybe for me ..."
   She sighed. "And I think I want to know more about them. I don't think I'm 
a fool, and I will protect myself ... but I don't fear them, Lufy. I don't 
think you should, either ..."
   Lufy squeezed the redhead's hand. "OK ... If ya say so ... but ... if any 
of them ever hurt ya, get in touch with me right away, ya hear? I'll 
straighten 'em out."
   Rabby grinned. " Don't you dare start any trouble! But ... thanks ... I 
can't imagine my life without you in it again ... and I don't ever want to."
   For a moment, they stood hand in hand, looking at each other. Then, 
slowly, Rabby raised her free arm and wrapped it around Lufy's waist.
   Sliently, she drew the Attacker next to her body. Lufy tenderly returned 
the embrace, and their faces drew closer.
   Their lips touched. Then they nuzzled their faces in each other's shoulder.
   Rabby's voice was softly muffled by her friend's shoulder. "Lufy ... I 
thank the Mother you didn't die ..."
   Lufy rubbed Rabby's back affectionately. "Couldn't ...," she answered in a 
whisper. "Had to find ya again ..." She drew back slightly and smiled. 
"Doncha know that?"
   Rabby returned the smile. "Thank you ..." Then she inhaled loudly, 
facetiously. "Oh, girl! You do need a shower!" She pushed the Attacker away 
playfully. "Get outta here before I gag!"
   Lufy, grinning, let Rabby push her toward the door. "OK! OK! I'm goin'! 
I'm goin'!" At the door, Lufy turned around. "Hey," she said, "I just hope I 
don't get ya in trouble for using your computer for me."
   Rabby was puzzled. "Why would I?"
   Lufy squinted, trying to phrase her thoughts. "Well ... ya remember when I 
showed up here to ask for the stuff, and when ya opened the door, there were 
people outside -- lookin' at us?"
   "Yeah ... that was strange ..."
   "They musta heard me ask to use your computer. Wonder if that's not 
allowed here."
   "Can't see why not. What's the harm?"
   "Maybe their replicator energy is limited, and people can't afford to 
share it."
   "But there seems to be so much of everything on this ship."
   Lufy nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought ..."
   Rabby thought. "So why would they look so ... shocked?"
   "I dunno ..." Then, as Rabby watched, a yawn overcame Lufy. She fought it 
-- and lost. The Attacker raised an arm to cover her mouth, and the move 
turned into a long, luxurious stretch of her trim, toned body. "OH!" she 
cried, recovering from the stretch. "Gotta get into that shower, Swabby! 
Can't wake up without one." She stepped toward the door, which slid open. 
"See ya 'round!"
   Rabby nodded. "Later!"
   The door slid shut as Lufy Campbell started down the corridor.
   One garment away from her shower.

*******

   The burned flesh slowly fused under the red glow.
   "How exactly did you do this, Commander?" Nurse Ogawa never took her eyes 
off LaForge's right hand as she spoke. She focused on slowly drawing the 
dermal regenerator across the burn.
   "Well," the chief engineer sighed, "there's been a plasma leak in 
engineering since we started this little trip."
   "Uh-huh ..."
   "And I found it."
   Ogawa turned off the regenerator for a moment and looked directly into his 
blue eyes. "You stuck your hand into a plasma leak?"
   LaForge grinned in embarrassment. "I couldn't get a tricorder ... and my 
hand ... into that part of the injector. So I figured that if I put at least 
my fingers in -- and if they got a little singed ..." He shrugged. "Bingo. 
Plasma leak."
   She regarded him coolly. "That how they taught you to do it at the 
academy, Commander ...?"
   "No, learned that from the chief engineer on my first ship. Commander 
Bastaan. A Bolian. Behind his back, we called him 'Lefty.' "
   Ogawa examined the remaining burn on his right hand. "Gee," she said 
dryly, starting up the regenerator, "I wonder why ..."
   Any answer that LaForge might have given was lost to the sound of the 
sickbay door opening. 
   In walked a young woman in a strange red,white and black uniform. She had 
thick, dark hair that was boyishly short. And the biggest, brownest eyes 
LaForge and Ogawa had ever seen.
   She stopped when she saw the pair at a diagnostic bed. The brown eyes 
studied the human pair. LaForge thought she was watching them with unusually 
deep curiosity.
   But he wasn't sure.
   The woman looked around tentatively. "Hello ..," she finally said to them.
   "Hi," Ogawa replied, continuing to work on LaForge's hand. "Can I help 
you?"
   "Um ... I'm Lieutenant Commander Patty Wellington. From ..." She thought 
how to phrase it. "... the other ship ... The doctor asked me and my friends 
... from that ship ... to see her when we could." She scanned the room again. 
"Is she here? Doctor Beverly, I mean?"
   The nurse smiled. "Yes, Doctor Beverly Crusher is here. She's talking to 
some people in her office right now. Would you care to wait for her? She 
shouldn't be too much longer."
   Patty nodded. "Thank you." In silence, she began to watch the other woman 
tend to the male.
   Soon ...
   ... slowly ...
   ... both Ogawa and the engineer began to sense ...
   ... that the young woman was examining them. 
   Intently.
   Studying their faces deeply.
   Their eyes.
   Their skin.
   Them.
   "Excuse me," Patty said to LaForge after a while, "I don't mean to be 
rude, but ... how did your skin ... get that way ...?"
   The man chuckled. "Well, I found a plasma leak in our engine the hard way."
   "No, no," Patty said quickly. "I mean, how did your skin get that ... 
color?"
   Ogawa and LaForge traded swift glances in silence. "Well ...," the 
engineer replied after a long pause, "I inherited it from my parents ... who 
both have this skin color ... more or less."
   Patty cocked her head, unsure. " 'Parents'?"
   "Yes. My mother and father ..."
   " 'Father' ...?"
   Ogawa leaned over to LaForge's ear and whispered quickly. "Geordi, the 
doctor and the captain think these women might be clones. She might not have 
a clue what you're talking about."
   LaForge nodded. "Oh ..." He turned back to Patty. "Um ... let's say that I 
got this color from my predecessors in my species."
   "Oh ..." Patty looked at the nurse. "Is that how you got the shape of your 
eye openings? From your predecessors?"
   Ogawa looked taken aback at LaForge. "Touche," he said playfully.
   The nurse recovered. "Um ... yes. My predecessors have eye openings ... 
like mine. They passed them along genetically to me." She pondered a simple 
explanation. "In our species ... males and females ... contribute ... to 
create live young. Physical traits ... and some mental ones ... are passed 
along to the offspring."
   Patty looked at the two quietly for a moment. LaForge thought she was 
trying to make sense of what she had heard. 
   At last, as if piecing together a puzzle, Patty said, "So ... if you two 
... had offspring ... they could have ..." She pointed at LaForge. "... your 
skin color ..." Then at Ogawa. "... and your eye openings ... Is that right?"
   "Most likely," LaForge answered.
   "I think my husband would have something to say about that ...," the nurse 
deadpanned.
   Patty squinted at her. " 'Husband' ...?"
   "Good luck," LaForge teased Ogawa.
   "My husband ..,"  the Terran woman explained, "is the male ... with whom I 
have made a formal commitment to share my life. He has made a similar 
commitment to me. Part of that commitment is ... exclusive mating with each 
other ... with the possibility of creating offspring. 'Children,' we call 
them."
   "I know what 'children' are," Patty replied. "Young ones from a birthing 
center." Then she considered another word the nurse had used.  She looked 
straight into Ogawa's almond-shaped eyes. 
   "But what is ... 'mating' ...?"
   After a moment, she noticed that the male and female in front of her 
seemed at a complete, total, utter loss for words.
   A void filled by the sound -- again -- of a door sliding open.
   "Hello, Geordi. Commander Wellington."
   The three looked quickly toward the voice. Crusher was coming out of her 
office. Patty saw Commander Dawn and "Oh-do" following her.
   "Oh, thank GOD!" Ogawa whispered loudly to LaForge. "Saved by the bell ..."
   Dawn nodded at Patty. "Commander."
   Odo nodded at Patty and LaForge. "Commanders."
   Patty nodded at Dawn. "Commander."
   "Third base!" Ogawa chimed in.
   Crusher looked at her nurse in confusion. "Alyssa?"
   Ogawa smiled. "Old joke my father used to tell me, Doctor. Long story."
   "Did you sleep well, Commander?" Dawn asked.
   "Yes," Patty and LaForge replied together -- then looked at each other in 
surprise.
   The Paranoid paused, taken aback by the response. Then he sighed and faced 
LaForge. "I am gratified to hear that, sir." He turned to Patty. "And you, 
madam?"
   The Solnoid shrugged. "Well enough ..." Then, for reasons she didn't quite 
understand, she smiled. "Thank you ..."
   "I'm glad you're here, Commander Wellington," Crusher said. "If you can 
wait just a little bit longer, I'll get your medical records up." When Patty 
nodded, the doctor addressed the polymorphs. "Thank you again for the sample, 
Commander. I hope you found the results interesting."
   Dawn nodded. "Very much so, Doctor. I was aware I could manipulate my 
matrix somewhat -- as I do for my face. But now I know why that ability is 
limited. Not to mention your theory on why I was able to withstand the cold 
of space outside my shell."
   "The electromagnetic signature of your species' ..." She searched for the 
word Dawn had used. "... 'neutralizer' ... wasn't apparent to me. I'm glad 
you recognized it. I don't know how exactly, but it seems to have somehow 
increased your tolerance to extreme cold."
   "Not completely," he noted. "I still froze up on the Star Leaf." He 
glanced at Patty. "The ship that Commander Wellington and her comrades were 
on, I mean."
   "But you survived," Crusher noted.
   Dawn nodded thoughtfully. "True."
   "And from what you've told me about the 'neutralizer,' " Odo said, "it 
seems that fact makes being hit by the weapon worth the pain."
   Then the changeling caught himself.
   Because for the first time since they met, Dawn was looking at Odo with a 
hint of disdain. 
   And of deep pain.
   "No, Brother ...," Dawn finally rumbled, "it does not ..."
   After an uncomfortable silence, the constable nodded in acknowledgement.
   As Crusher returned to her office, Patty studied LaForge's skin again. 
"I'm sorry if I seemed rude before," she told him. "It's just that I've never 
seen even a ... male ... with this color skin before."
   "Are there different races of your species?" the engineer asked. "Ours 
likely resulted from environmental factors in our evolution."
   "No ... everyone pretty much looks like this," she replied, touching a 
gloved finger to her pink cheek. For an instant, the finger stayed there 
while Patty thought. 
   "Well ... not everyone," she finally said quietly. "I had a friend ... a 
long time ago ... Her name was ... Pony ..." The finger pointed at Ogawa. 
"Her skin was darker than yours ..." Patty said, then pointed at LaForge. 
"... but a little bit lighter than yours ..."
  Her eyes fell. "Everyone else looked like ... me ... They thought Pony was 
... a ... freak ..." 
   Her voice became a whisper. "But she wasn't ... She was brave ..."
   Silence. Then, "She was the only person with dark skin I ever knew ..." 
She looked up. "... until now ..."
   More silence. 
   Until the rumbling ended it.
   "Actually, Commander, there was a reason for that."
   Patty glanced at Dawn. To the extent that his shell allowed for such 
things, he seemed uncomfortable.
   "What is it?" Patty asked.
   The Paranoid started to respond but halted. He turned slightly toward 
LaForge and the nurse. He studied the male with the dark-brown skin and the 
Solnoid with almond-shaped eyes for a moment. They were visibly interested 
and awaiting his answer. He faced Patty again.
   "Commander," he said, "I think ... that is a subject better left for ... 
another time ... And you might want to get ... your captain's permission ... 
for me to discuss it with you. In fact, I'd be willing to discuss it with all 
your comrades." He glanced back at the human pair. "Some ... other time ..."
   Patty didn't know what to say, so she just nodded. What about Solnoid 
history couldn't be discussed in front of a pair of ...
   ... aliens ...?
   She couldn't imagine ...
   She wondered ...
   Dr. Beverly Crusher's voice ended her musing.
   "Commander Wellington?" 
   Patty saw the redhaired female in the doorway to her office. The older 
woman smiled. "I'm ready for you now, Patty."

*******
   
   Practically Terran women. Two and a half million years old. Who didn't 
know what men were.
   A changeling -- that wasn't -- in a robot.
   Found in the enemy's space.
   An enemy that likely knew all about our little side trip already.
   In the hum of the turbolift, Picard sighed.
   It's days like this that I wish I'd never left the family's winery ...
   No two-and-a-half-million-year-old young women.
   No changelings -- that weren't -- in robots.
   No quadrant-threatening enemies.
   Just the grapes.
   And the blessed quietness of the wine aging in the barrels ...
   He sighed again.
   The hum died down as the turbolift came to a halt. But not at the bridge, 
he noted. I'm still in the residence decks.
   Well ...
   Time to look like I have all the answers ...
   Again ...
   He straightened slightly and pulled down his gray command jacket to smooth 
it.
   The lift halted. The doors opened.
   To reveal that everyone in the corridor outside was staring in his 
direction.
   He followed their stares quickly back to the source:
   The young woman standing in front of him.
   Big brown eyes filled with enormous self-confidence.
   Blonde hair with a shock of green in front.
   The young woman wearing standard-issue female briefs.
   A smile.
   And nothing else.
   "Hi, Captain!" she said cheerily.
   At which, she stepped into the turbolift.
   As the doors closed behind her, Picard couldn't help but notice the crew 
members in the corridor. Upon seeing Picard in the lift, their stares had 
turned into expressions of shock. They spun around and walked off in every 
direction.
   Quickly.
   "Deck Seven," Lufy told the computer. The turbolift began to move again. 
The Solnoid turned to the older male. "How ya doin', Captain?"
   Picard paused to collect himself. Instinctively, he turned toward her to 
address her.
   In that instant, he caught a glimpse of two exquisite reasons why he 
shouldn't.
   His head immediately faced the turbolift doors, which he began to examine 
in detail. "I am ... well ... Miss ..." He thought. "... 'Campbell,' isn't it 
...?"
   "Call me 'Lufy.' Everybody does."
   Picard just nodded. "And how are you today ...?"
   "I'm OK. Thanks." It finally registered on her that the male was studying 
the doors intently. After a pause, she leaned forward and squinted at the 
smooth, featureless surfaces. Then she looked at Picard again. "Whacha 
lookin' at?"
   Picard took a breath. "Um ... nothing, actually. I just have ... a couple 
of things ... on my mind ..."
   Lufy nodded. "Oh ..." She didn't quite understand the answer. Another 
curious thing about these males, she thought: It was like they were speaking 
a different language, sometimes.
   Weird ...
   After a silence, she realized she had an opportunity. "Captain," she 
finally said, "can I ask ya a question about your society?"
   Picard kept studying the doors. "Yes, of course."
   "Well," the Attacker began, holding up two items in her hand, "I'll be the 
first to admit that I borrowed this soap and shampoo from my friend Rabby. 
She's the tall redhead."
   The starship captain had never truly appreciated the subtle hues in the 
turbolift doors before. "Commander Ciera, I believe ..."
   "That's my Swabby -- um, that's my nickname for her. Anyway, I couldn't 
figure out your replicators, so I borrowed the stuff from her. I just wanna 
know somethin': Is that all right?"
   Picard had started assessing the doors' trim. "Is what all right?"
   Lufy huffed slightly. "Borrowin' stuff from other people. Is that OK to do 
here?"
   "Usually, yes. Did you ask for the items before you took them?"
   " 'Course."
   "And your friend said it was all right?"
   "Uh-huh ..."
   "Do you intend to return any items that you borrow to their owners?"
   Lufy studied the items in her hand. "Yeah ... if she wants the shampoo and 
soap that's left ..."
   "Then, yes, borrowing items in that way is acceptable in our society."
   She looked up at the man's profile. He still wouldn't look at her, she 
noted. Was that a male thing when they're alone with Solnoids?
   These males are so damned strange ...
   She sighed. "But when I was outside Rabby's quarters, the people in the 
corridor kept lookin' at me. Like I was a thief or criminal, for Mother's 
sake. I thought I was doin' something wrong. The way they kept starin' at me 
..."
   Picard tipped his head in realization. "Ohhh ..."
   "I don't wanna do anything wrong here, Captain. I don't wanna get in 
trouble ..."
   At last, the man turned toward the young female. "Miss Campbell  ..."
   "I promised Swabby I'd stay outta trouble ..."
   "Lufy ...," Picard said comfortingly. At her name, the blonde's 
self-absorption ended, and she marveled that he was finally facing her.
   He smiled gently. "They're weren't looking at you because they thought you 
were a thief. I assure you."
   She still looked lost. "Then why ...?"
   He sighed deeply. "That ... would take more time to explain ... than I 
have right now. But for now, I'd like you to do me some favors. Is that all 
right with you?"
   "Sure."
   "Very well. First ...," he said, taking off his command jacket, "I want 
you to put this on. Please."
   Lufy looked at the garment. "Why?"
   "Again ... that's a long story."
   She took the jacket. "OK ..." The Attacker slipped it on, then looked at 
it and smiled. "Oooo ... it's still warm ..."
   Picard couldn't resist a smile.
   She grasped the open halves in front of her and tried to fit the jacket 
around her body. The halves didn't meet, Picard noted. In the space between 
them, he saw suggestions of why they didn't.
   Rather attractive suggestions, he allowed himself. 
   He was only human.
   "Heyyyy ...," Lufy said as she tugged at the jacket, "the lining is so 
smooth ... What is it?"
   "It's a material called 'synthesilk,' " he explained.
   Lufy crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes. A huge smile 
spread across her face. "Feels gooood ..."
   "Um ... yes ... Miss Campbell, about those favors ..."
   She opened her eyes quickly and faced him. "Oh, yeah! What can I do for 
ya, Captain?"
   "Well ... I assume you were going to bathe now ..."
   "Shower. Helps wake me up."
   "Then I'd like you to go to your quarters and take your shower. Then 
please get dressed fully and go to sickbay. Do you remember where that is? 
You can ask the crew or computer to guide you."
   Lufy nodded. "Think I remember ..."
   "Please bring my jacket to sickbay with you. Then give it to Doctor 
Crusher. Tell her about how you were dressed when you visited your friend."
   "OK."
   "Again, tell her how you were dressed then. How everyone looked at you. 
How you met me in the turbolift -- and that I gave you my jacket. And that I 
told you to talk to Doctor Crusher about all this. She'll explain why the 
people were looking at you the way they were. Can you remember all this?"
   The blonde nodded. "No problem, Captain: Shower, dress, take the jacket to 
sickbay and talk to the doc. Got it."
   Picard smiled. "Very good." The turbolift's hum started to fade again. The 
Starfleet officer admired Lufy a final time. "One last thing, Miss Campbell?"
   "Sure, Captain."
   He studied her in his open jacket. "From now on, promise me that you'll 
leave your quarters only when you're fully dressed ..."
   Before she could answer, the lift stopped, and the doors opened. 
   Riker was standing there. His eyebrows rose when he saw Lufy.
   The Solnoid stepped out of the lift, then looked back at Picard. 
"Captain," she said, "I will keep that promise to ya."
   With a final smile, she wheeled around and headed down the corridor.
   For a silent moment, Riker watched her depart. Just as quietly, he stepped 
into the lift. "Bridge," he told the computer. As the turbolift started up 
again, he glanced at Picard inquisitively. "Captain ...," he said 
professionally.
   Picard kept studying the turbolift doors. "Number One ...," he replied 
just as professionally.
   Until at last, a knowing smile spread across his face.
   "You know, Will," he finally said, turning to his first officer, "it's 
days like this that I'm glad I left the family winery ..."

*******

   Patty put the PADD down on Crusher's desk. She had been studying the 
diagram of the large, hollow vestigial organ that every Solnoid had in her 
abdomen.
   "We call that 'discharge time' -- 'D-time,' for short," she noted. 
"Happens pretty regularly. Can be a nasty surprise if you've forgotten when 
the last time was."
   The doctor nodded. "We call it 'menstruation.' Terran females experience 
it, too, up until a certain point in their physiological lives. Then it 
stops. There are various absorbent items available to catch the ... um, 
discharge ..."
   Patty's brown eyes widened. "There are?"
   Crusher was surprised by the younger woman's intensity. "Yes ..."
   At that, Patty's expression turned something like ... pleading, the doctor 
thought. The Solnoid leaned forward and whispered. "Do you have any?"
   "I can show you various types on the computer. They can be replicated." 
She squinted at Patty. "Why ...?"
   The dark-haired woman thought. "Well ...," she began, then searched for 
the words. "When I ... woke up this morning ..." Her hands started to roll, 
as if to bring Crusher in on her meaning. "... I noticed ... that since last 
night ... I had ... " 
   Her eyes took on a begging quality. 
   Her hands started to roll faster.
   Anxiously.
   "OH!" Crusher cried. She grabbed a medical tricorder on the desk and 
scanned Patty.  Nodding at the results, she closed the tricorder. "Yep," she 
conceded. "It's started." She studied the young female across the desk from 
her. "After two and a half million years ...," the doctor said softly, 
somewhat in awe. 
   She sat back in her chair and smiled wryly. "Well ... better late than 
never ..."
   Suddenly, she straightened again and tapped some keypads on her computer 
terminal. " 'Late'!" she said urgently. "That reminds me ... That's why I was 
discussing your internal anatomy ..."
   Patty watched the woman's fingers fly over the keyboard. They stopped with 
a final beep from the terminal. Crusher looked at the Solnoid again.
   "Commander ...," she started. Then her expression seemed to soften. "Patty 
...," she continued, "I'd like to ask you ..." She paused and smiled. 
   "Have you ever been ... pregnant ...?"
   Patty didn't react at first. Then slowly, her eyes narrowed as she tried 
to comprehend. " 'Preg-nant' ...?"
   Crusher took a small breath and attempted to clarify. "Have you ever ... 
carried ... live ... um ... offspring ... inside your body ...?"
   Patty's face went blank.
   For a moment.
   It seemed to Crusher that the young woman's deep brown eyes were seeing 
something far away.
   Very far away.
   Until they lit up brightly.
   Just as her face lit up with realization. She exploded in a smile.
   "OH!!" she cried, pointing at the doctor. "Mission 21!"
   Crusher blinked. "Well ...," she finally said, almost to herself, "that's 
the first time I've ever heard it called that ..."

******* 

   "So tell me about this dream."
   Rabby studied the woman who had joined her at the table. 
   "Guinan," she called herself.
   She had brought a meal to the Solnoid when it became obvious earlier that 
Rabby had no idea what she was hungry for. "What do the people eat here?" 
Rabby had asked.
   "Food, mostly," Guinan explained. 
   Then she shared the biggest grin the young woman had ever seen.
   Rabby had chuckled aloud. Someone after my own heart, she thought ...
  And there was something about her ...
   ... something comforting ...
   ... something I feel good around ...
   She had dark-brown skin, long black hair in braids and a smile that melted 
all over you in its warmth. She wore a flowing burgundy robe and a hat -- of 
the same color and material -- with a wide brim at the top of its crown.
   And she had wonderful, caring brown eyes.
   "Oh ...," Rabby replied, "the dream. Well ... it was really nothing. And I 
don't want to ... take you away from your duties ..."
   "My duties will still be there when we're done," Guinan said. "Ten Forward 
is my place. My duties are always here. But you are a new friend. So tell me 
about your dream, friend."
   "I don't know ... Sorry I brought it up. I shouldn't bore you with it ..."
   "I'm a bartender. I've been listening to people's stories since probably 
before you were born."
   Rabby grinned devilishly. "If what that Commander Data says is correct ... 
I was born ..." She paused for effect. " ... two and a half million years ago 
..."
   Guinan shrugged. 
   And she looked at the redhead with unblinking sincerity:
   "Like I said ..."
   And somehow ...
   ... why, Rabby didn't know exactly ...
   ... but ...
   ... she believed her.
   I don't think I should play games with this person, she thought.
   No, I don't think so at all ...
   "The dream ...," she sighed at last. "Well, I told you how my friends and 
I were attacked on our ship by a monster created by our enemy."
   "Enemy?" Guinan asked. "Was that the Commander Dawn you mentioned?"
   Rabby was silent. The idea challenged what she had been through recently. 
"He ... did send the monster to our ship ...," she conceded, looking down at 
her food, "but ... I don't think of him as ... an enemy ... now ..."
   "That's something," Guinan noted quietly.
   "Yeah ..."
   "The dream?"
   The Solnoid picked up her head quickly. "Oh ... After the attack and we 
buried Eluza ..." She paused. "It's so weird to say that when she's here now 
... Anyway ... our computer apparently engineered a main-engine overload to 
get us to abandon ship. In the escape vessel, I fell asleep ... and had the 
dream ... We all dreamed ... Me ... Patty ... Rumy ..."
   Guinan folded her arms on the table. "The same dream?"
   "No ... more like variations on a theme. I dreamed I was chasing a bright 
golden light across a waterfall back on Marsus ... my homeworld ..." She 
chuckled. "In my underwear, no less."
   The dark-skinned woman shrugged. "Hey, if you can't be comfortable in your 
dreams, where can you be?"
   Rabby smiled. "I guess ... So then, there was a scene of a hunting party 
bathing in a pond. The light hit  each of them, and they fell down." The 
smile disappeared. "I think that symbolized how the Paranoids' experiment had 
failed on other Solnoids. Before they fell, they looked so ..." She sought 
the right word. "... surprised ...
   "Then the light approached me again. It started to take the form of a 
Solnoid ... but ... different. Later, after seeing Patty's child, I realized 
the light was in the form of a male. It came right up to me ... and ..."
   Guinan waited.
   Rabby thought, her eyes downcast again.
   "And ...?" Guinan asked.
   Finally, the redhead blinked and faced her. "It ... became a part of me 
... Even after I woke up ... I felt it ... in my heart ... And later, I felt 
it again ... on Chaos ..."
   "The satellite of Terra."
   Rabby gasped. "How did you know that?"
   "Commander Data was in here earlier with your android friend -- Catty, 
right?" Rabby nodded. "They've been spending the morning analyzing the data 
from your ship. She mentioned the mission to Chaos while I was talking to 
them." Guinan smiled. "She was a small hit with the breakfast crowd, by the 
way. With her lavender hair. Not often you see that -- in the Alpha Quadrant, 
anyway."
   "Imagine 10,000 of them. That's how many there were, at one time." The 
Solnoid paused again. "She's ... the last ..."
   "Hmm ... So when you were on Chaos ...?"
   "Oh.  Well ... when I first saw Patty's child, I recalled how I felt in 
the dream ... how I was filled with such deep curiosity about ... what I 
realized were males ... And I couldn't shoot him ..."
   "Shoot him?"
   "I was going to kill him as an unknown and potentially dangerous alien."
   Guinan arched an eyebrow. "Bet you're fun on a first date."
   "A what?"
   "Never mind. Long story. I gather you didn't shoot your friend's son."
   " 'Sonh'?"
   "Male child."
   Rabby pondered the word. " 'Sonh' ... Patty's ... 'son' ... No. I didn't 
shoot her 'son.' "
   "Bet she's glad. Not to mention him."
  "She was ...," the younger woman replied quietly. "There was ... one other 
feeling I had ... at that moment ..."
   "What?"
   "I remember thinking ... how much I wished ... Lufy ... could have seen 
him, too. At the time, I thought she was ... dead ..."
   "That your blond friend with the green hair?" Again, Rabby nodded. "She's 
already made a name for herself here."
   "How?"
   "She didn't know there was a dress code on the ship. Story moved the 
fastest I've ever seen it do here."
   The Solnoid glanced at her own uniform. "Dress code?"
   "You're fine. Lufy was a little too ... casual ..."
   "Oh. Out of uniform -- is that it?"
   "You could say that. You know her well?"
   Rabby sighed. "I love her." After a pause, she continued. "Her memory kept 
me going later in my life, whenever I was scared or tired or lonely. That's 
something else I felt on Chaos: I wanted her there ... to share her ... 
intimacy ... her strength. And I fantasized that we could share ... getting 
to know about males ... intimately ... together ..."
   She looked at Guinan deeply. "There are times I want to hug Lufy forever. 
But ... now ... with all these males here ... there are times I want to 
explore what they're all about ... what they are ... to be with one and ... 
learn ... Just as much as I want to be close to Lufy ..."
   She stopped. "Am I making any sense?"
   After a silence, Guinan pointed playfully at Rabby. "Gonna say one word."
   "What?"
   "Bisexuality."
   The redhead squinted. "... You've ... lost me ..."
   "It means you're capable of finding satisfaction in the intimate company 
of either a male or a female."
   Rabby's eyes widened. "... Is that ... possible ...?"
   "Been known to happen."
   The younger woman looked aside, deep in thought. Finally, she glanced back 
at her companion. "Could I ... be ... 'bisexual' ...?"
    Guinan straightened in her chair. "Well ... I think the only person who 
can answer that is you. But my advice would be to talk to Counselor Troi or 
Doctor Crusher about it." Then she grinned. "I'm just a bartender ..."
   At that, two males and a female walked through the doors and headed toward 
the bar. "Speaking of which," Guinan said, standing up, "duty calls." She 
smiled at Rabby. "Good talking to you, friend." 
   She started to walk away, then turned around. "Oh, and whatever you learn 
about yourself, do me a favor?"
   "What?"
   Guinan's face glowed. "Try not to break too many hearts out there, Red."
   Rabby -- filled with a sudden, wonderful warmth -- smiled.

*******

   Patty studied the gestation charts on the PADD. Then she looked 
suspiciously at Crusher.
   "Females go through this voluntarily?" she asked.
   "Almost always," the doctor said. "Pregnancy isn't convenient for a woman, 
but almost always, it's consensual between a man and woman. The man usually 
intends to support the woman physically and emotionally through it."
   Then she thought a little. "But you and your friends should know this: Um 
... fertilizing a woman ... against her will ... is considered a very serious 
crime in our society."
   "Does that happen?"
   Crusher nodded. "Once in a very, very great while. Earlier in our planet's 
history, it was much more common. We're weren't as ... civilized ... as we 
hope we are now. I hope no man in our society would ever attempt that on you 
or your friends against your wills, but you should know about it. If you 
don't want to be ... fertilized ... a man should never force it on you."
   Patty studied the charts again. After a silence, she looked back up at the 
doctor. "Has 'pregnancy' ever happened ... to you ...?"
   Crusher smiled.  "Yes. I have a son. His name is Wesley."
   " 'Sonh'?"
   "A male child."
   Patty pondered the word. " 'Sonh' ... 'sonh' ... I guess ... I had a ... 
'son' ... too ... Is your son here?"
   "No, he's not, sadly."
   "Where is he?"
   Crusher sighed. "Honestly ... I have no idea ..."
   The Solnoid squinted in confusion. "Why is that?"
   The older woman shifted in her chair. "As far as I know, he's still with 
an alien tutor."
   "Tutor ...?"
   "Our ship twice encountered an alien called the Traveler. He discerned 
that Wesley could grasp concepts of time, space and dimension that were 
beyond normal human understanding. He offered to help develop Wesley's 
abilities. So they left to explore ..." 
   Crusher's hands started gesturing to illustrate her thoughts. At first, 
she wasn't sure what moves would demonstrate her meaning. Finally, she simply 
spread her hands out. 
   "... everything ..."
  "I'd ... be afraid for him," Patty said.
   "Part of me was," the doctor admitted. "But Wesley was old enough to make 
decisions like that for himself. I respected that."
   The younger woman nodded. "Did you get to say goodbye to him?"
   "Yes."
   A moment later, Crusher noticed that the dark-haired woman's eyes were 
starting to get dark.  
   Very dark.
   Patty looked down. "I never got to say ... goodbye ... to my son ..."
   "I'm sorry," Crusher said tenderly.
   The Solnoid sighed. "Two and a half million years ...," she eventually 
said. "It's not just that he's .... dead ... It's like he's ... an extinct 
animal ... Only the thought of him is left ..."
   Her head bowed.
   A little while later, the doctor heard a tiny sniffle.
   Then ...
   ... softly ...
   ... a sob.
   And then, as Crusher listened, there came a whisper she didn't understand:
   "Oh, Rumy ... I pray to the Mother ... you made him happy ..."

*******

   A young woman. With straight, short dark hair. Not smiling.
   But somehow, one got the feeling that she wasn't necessarily unhappy, 
either.
   Catty turned from the painting in Data's quarters toward the male android. 
"Who is she?"
   "That," Data said with a hint of pride -- and sadness -- "was my daughter, 
Lal."
   The female android glanced at the painting again, then back at him. "Your 
daughter?"
   "Yes. I built her."
   Catty nodded, impressed. "Where is she now?"
   Data's eyes seemed to look far away. "She ... expired," he noted simply.
   " 'Expired'? You mean she died?"
   "That is correct."
   Catty studied the painting one more time, then faced Data again. "I'm very 
sorry, Commander. May I ask ... what ... happened ...?"
   He sighed. "Her emotional matrix was ... apparently ... too good ... She 
proved ... incapable ... of handling the myriad feelings of normal life. Her 
... 'self' ... fell apart ..." His voice trailed off. "I ... was forced ... 
to help her ... drift into nonexistence ... After which, I ... disassembled 
her ..."
   She looked into his gold-colored eyes with hers. "She was a lovely young 
woman, Commander," she said softly.
   Data nodded. "Thank you ..."
   Catty noted that he then took 1.038 seconds to collect himself.
   "Now," he finally said, "would you like to look at my findings?"
   She nodded and smiled. "Yes, please."
   "I have found the entries involving the planets Terra and Chaos extremely 
interesting," he said as they crossed the room to his computer station, "The 
majority of this ship's crew is from Earth -- what you called Terra."
   "Captain Ortiz apprised us of that earlier," Catty noted, "and the eternal 
irony of being rescued by a ship from Terra wasn't lost ..."
   She stopped abruptly.
   And listened.
   "Do you ... hear that?" she asked.
   Data cocked his head slightly and listened. "Do I hear what, Lieutenant?"
   She raised a pointed finger and scanned the room. "A rythmic throbbing in 
a low-end frequency ..." She pivoted at the waist as her finger traced a line 
in the air. "Coming from ..." 
   She halted and extended her arm toward a doorway. "... that room ..."
   Data peered into the doorway, then moved toward it. He stopped when he got 
there and tilted his head again. After an instant, he looked in again.
   "Ah!" he exclaimed, then disappeared into the adjoining room. A moment 
later, he reappeared.
   Carrying something ...
   ... living .. 
   To Catty, it appeared to be a small orange-striped quadruped. It had a 
narrow tail almost as long as its body. The head had a fairly pointed snout 
and two large triangular ears at the top. Thin hairs, like feelers, sprouted 
from the face.
   Above and below two huge gold-trimmed dark eyes.
   The animal was making the rythmic throbbing.
   Data held the creature out toward Catty.
   "Cat," he said.
   She was slightly indignant. "Catty," she corrected.
   He looked confused. "I beg your pardon?"
   "My name," she replied, "is Catty."
   He still looked confused. "I am aware of that, Lieutenant."
   "Then why did you call me 'Cat'?"
   "I did not call you 'Cat' "
   "Yes, you did," she huffed.
   "I assure you I did not."
   "I heard you!"
   "When?"
   "Just now! I distinctly heard you say, 'Cat'!"
   Data's eyes glanced around, as if they were re-enacting the verbal volley. 
Suddenly, they lit up in understanding. "Oh! I see. There has been a mistake 
made."
   "Glad you realized it," she muttered.
   "It was yours, Lieutenant."
   "What?!"
   "I was using the common name of this species, which is kept as a pet by 
humans. It is called a 'cat.' "
   Catty was silent. The creature looked up at her, blinking its big eyes.
   "Oh," she concluded.
   The beast reacted to the outcome by shutting its eyes and -- as if in slow 
motion -- yawning hugely.
   And as if that weren't enough ...
   Catty swore she heard her data-search program snickering.
   SMOOTH MOVE, SPARKY ...
   Go away, Catty thought ...
   "My name for this animal is 'Spot,' " the male android explained. "It is a 
traditional Terran pet name." He cradled it in one arm and started stratching 
the top of its head. The cat kept its eyes closed and seemed to smile broadly.
   The Solnoid android watched for a moment, then cautiously reached toward 
the animal. "May I?" she asked Data. When he nodded, she finally touched the 
cat's body.
   "The hair is so soft ...," she whispered, starting to stroke its flanks. 
"And it's ... warm ..."
   "The pelt is called 'fur,' " he noted.
   She listened. "It's making that throbbing again ..."
   "That is called 'purring.' It is primarily instinctive communication used 
with its mother when the animal is young. In later life, it is interpreted as 
an indication of the animal's contentment."
   "I see. Is it trainable?"
   Data sighed. "Only to an extremely limited extent. Most are 
independent-minded beings, though not sentient. You might try to train a cat, 
but when you're done, it's likely to go off and do whatever it pleases."
   HEY! REMIND YA OF ANYONE WE KNOW? HUH? HUH?
   Catty scratched under the cat's chin, which caused the animal to purr even 
louder.
   "In that case," she said, "you should have named it 'Lufy' ..."

TO BE CONTINUED