Subj: Reflections Pt.3
Date: 12/16/98 6:08:59 PM Central Standard Time
From: marcos1

Clearly visible from Ten-Forward, the Borg cube hovered near the Enterprise. Security Officer Tasha Yar sat sipping a glass of synthehol. Her eyes never left the Borg ship.

“Worried?” Guinan asked. “You should be. They almost killed all of my people. They are beyond cruel, totally amoral.” The lovely black bartender was from an ancient race of people, who lived closer to the Borg empire.

“I grew up on a planet where a person had to fight,” Tasha said. “The gangs would rape and kill a helpless female.” She narrowed her eyes. “Fighting is all I know. I can fight...but it’s the waiting that drives me crazy.”

“But that’s all we can do,” Guinan said, softly, “wait for the Borg to assimilate us. And they will. They are much stronger than we are, and have a faster ship.”

“Certainties, there is nothing I’m so sure about anymore,” Tasha said. “You have to remember that I was killed once and somehow returned to life. Brought back to the Enterprise by the Traveler, who found me stuck in some kind of vortex.”

“All bridge personnel report to the meeting room,” boomed the voice over the intercom. It was Commander Riker. There was the sound of urgency in his voice.

Riker stood up and stared at his executive officers. He stroked his neatly trimmed beard. “What I’m about to reveal to you, shouldn’t leave this room. Of course, it’ll be just a matter of time before the entire crew knows.” His eyes widened. “We have searched all possible communication bands and come to a conclusion that is unequivocal. The Federation as we know it...is gone. Everything in this realm of space is Borg.”

Beverly Crusher spoke first. “How is this possible? Does it have something to do with the disappearance of Jean-Luc?” The Chief Medical Officer’s eyes were red. She had spent the last few days, worried about the missing captain. She was in love with him.

Mr. Data asked, “May I explain to them, Commander?”

“Of course, Mr.Data,” Riker replied.

Mr.Data stood-up and walked near Riker. All eyes in the room were focused on him. “All time is now, past, present and future. At every nanosecond, reality branches into an infinite number of past, present, and futures, based upon choice at every level, even down to the subatomic. This is not science fiction but science fact well established by the year 2110.”

Geordi La Forge asked, “Excuse me, Data, but what does this have to do with our present situation?”

“Someone changed time,” answered Riker. “And someone very close to the Enterprise, because we weren’t affected. Time has been changed and the Borg now rule this part of the universe.”

~~~~

Jean Luc moved down the beach in Martinique. He combed back his thick brown hair. He was thirteen years old again. He saw the other two children playing, Angelique and Nicholas Blair. He waved to Angelique and she waved back. He was going to explain everything to her, about the glorious future ahead of mankind. There was never any need to succumb to evil. He would make her understand.

To be continued—