USS ENTERPRISE-E

The being who had once been Francis Mulcahy said hello to two of his oldest and dearest friends, now the Chief Medical Officers aboard Starfleet's Flagship.

"Oh, I wish I'd visited you sooner. I didn't even know that Beverly had resigned."

Margaret nodded her head, still uneasy about the subject.

"Well, she didn't take what happened on Veridian III terribly well. Not that I blame her."

Hawkeye seconded his wife.

"To lose someone like that? If I lost Margaret---a thousand Sidney Freedmans with a galaxy full of mental glue couldn't put me together again."

For a moment, thoughts turned to the Immortal psychiatrist, who lost his head in 1994 to Horton and his band of renegade Watchers. But Margaret quickly turned to lighten the mood.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, you old goat. Remember, we've shrugged off weapons fire from planetary emplacements!"

Hawkeye raised a glass.

"Its good to be young and invulnerable."

As the chat continued, The Captain Of The Enterprise-E made an appearance.

"We-hell, Father Mulcahy. Is this a visit or a visitation?"

At that moment, Mulcahy was haunted again by his early time-travel mistakes. Surely the identity of the Captain was one such consequence.

"Oh, no. Just a hello and fly-by....Captain Kirk."

The Chief Of Security entered as well.

"Uh, Captain? All rifles are once again accounted for. Oh, hi Father. Did you know that Hawkeye reccommended me for this position?"

Mulcahy smiled at Nog and hid well his fears for the future.

"A job you well earned, Nog."

(This storyline will be continued in 'Starting Over', 'Father Time', and 'The 1701st', among others)

Q'onos - The Offices Of Ambassador Worf

"Sir, who are you and why are you sitting in my chair?"

The human in the chair morphed and shifted in appearance, from a scraggly overtall man with black hair to an older balding man with stature and bearing not unlike that of Captain Picard's. Finally, his hair became a brownish blond and revealed the cocky smile of ---

"Trapper John McIntyre at your service, Worf. Heard you made good, figured you could use a good scam artist to back you up. Pierce's ego aside, I'm the best."

Worf nodded yes to this. His job had been most trying, and Martok was rapidly becoming a true politician. Since Trapper was Alexander and Keh'lyr's ancestor, this alliance was a good omen.

"I am glad to have you, Trapper. But why does your form shift like that?"

Trapper shrugged in every form he had.

"It all has to do with a Gunslinger named Roland and a place called The Dark Tower. I--kind of bounce between realities, in one way or another. Like the war in Korea, it can be fun---but mostly, it stinks."

Worf, of course, sympathized.

"Do not seek to get me started, Trapper."

('Trapper and The Tower' is a bit down the road)

Earth, Japan

Captain Walter Macleod, once Walter O'Reilly, was on the shores of Japan to visit an old friend. A VERY old friend. The water crackled and churned, and became lit with blue and orange lights. Up from the depths, sixty stories high, a grey-green leviathan arose. Fierce and awesomely powerful, it regarded the little speck before it, and bellowed.

"Yeah, its good to see yez too. Now, look, they got me and The Essex on Romulan duty, now that those Dominion bums are all beat back. So, I won't be able to see yez for awhile, now. Just go and get ready. Ya know that HE's back, doncha?"

The creature screeched.

"Yeah, me too! I mean, ELEVEN of you guys went and pounded on him, and everything. Its hardly fair, is what it is. You seein' anyone?"

The creature fell silent and appeared to shake its head in disbelief, as it sank back to the depths. Walter felt a little dumb.

"Geez, some Gojiras have no sense of humor about junk."

Earth--Korea

From an adjacent dimension appeared Peg and BJ Hunnicutt, along with their daughter Erin, wife and CMO to Walter Macleod. Together, they laid flowers at the grave of Endora, Peg's mother. BJ almost missed arguing with her.

"Peg, did she ever get around to liking me?"

"Oh, BJ, she liked you. She just never got past her snobbery about non-witches. Add to that Darrin's decision, and she just hid her feelings well. She had to protect her heart."

Erin concurred.

"When Uncle Darrin decided to let the liver cancer take him, it broke everybody's heart. 'Live and die a mortal', he said. Aunt Sam still won't talk about it. But did you know that Grandma begged him to accept their help? She loved him, after all those years, and then hated him when he refused. Hey, you okay, Dad?"

The 'cheesy moustache' only accentuated BJ's grin.

"Yeah, kiddo. I'm fine. Its just--staying in the 'Witch Dimension' may keep me young, but this air smells so much realer. Heh. Now, I sound like Darrin."

Peg hugged her husband as he sat.

"We don't have to go back for twenty years, BJ. What If I told you that Hawkeye and Margaret are letting us stay here?"

"I'd say---we have to stay! Back in Korea--the ultimate practical joke."

Then, all three saw a burning disk appear on the horizon. It was huge, and on top of it stood 'Radar'. He disembarked by his wife, whom he kissed hello. He turned back to the disk.

"Hey, uh, Gamera? Thanks loads for the lift."

The great turtle made for the skies again. All stared at Walter.

"What? What?!"

Deep Space Nine

Waiting in Vic's for Julian Bashir and Ezri Dax was the last person they ever expected to see. Julian spoke first.

"Uncle Charles?"

"Indeed. Julian, Mizzzz Dax. I propose an adventure. A grand, decidedly non-holo adventure for the both of you. There is a tournament, and fighters are needed. People of skill and strength. You will be in constant peril of your lives and souls every step of the way."

Ezri nodded.

"AND---Loving It."

Bashir nodded to his kin as well. With Kira now the Bajoran Ambassador to Garak's Cardassian government, and Quark accepting financial advisor status to his brother after all, the station was clear of their friends.

"But Uncle? How is it you yet live? And what is the name of this tournament?"

Charles smiled, feeling the Winchester spirit across the generations.

"The answer to both questions, Julian---is Mortal Kombat."

A portal opened, and two adventurous lovers found a cause beyond their wildest dreams. Charles looked back at DS9.

"Do Cardassians recognize a color besides basic Grey?"

(To Be Continued in 'The Princess Corpsman')

Earth-Toledo once again

Miles O'Brien looked at The Priest.

"So you're saying it was no accident that I slipped through time like that so often?"

Mulcahy nodded.

"You see, my form was stillborn, so the part of me that was a Prophet entered it to assuage the Mulcahy's grief--I had no concept of it, then. But when Katherine, my sister, was also stillborn--the entity who would one day be called Sarah Sisko entered her, and lived her life."

Keiko was no longer silent.

"So--if the 'Sarah' entity was Miles' ancestor, and Captain Sisko's mother, then Miles, Jake, Molly---we're all related in some way."

Francis pointed to little Molly, asleep in Soon-Lee's arms.

"Molly is the key. She and your son are both descendants of all of us at the 4077th--even the Immortals. That's a long story--but she has a destiny to fulfill. When the time comes---trust in the Prophets. Trust--in your family."

Miles grinned and kissed Keiko.

"The whole wide wacky bunch of them, Francis."

As Francis left to return to the Celestial Temple, he found his 'sister's' son, Ben Sisko, waiting.

"I'm anxious to begin my training, Father."

"Good, Ben, good. But first--a number!"

Sisko puzzled at this.

"A--number?"

"Yes, Ben! Its in your blood. All Prophets are musical--The Music Of The Spheres."

Across eternity, all the scattered staff and family of the 4077th and Deep Space Nine started singing without knowing why. The universe shook with the bouncy harmony.

"Someday, When I'm Feeling Blue, All I'll Have To Do Is Think About You--Just The Way You Look Tonight."

Hearing this, Vic's holosuite program activated. He listened to it for a moment, then offered his considered opinion.

"Its Been Done!!!"

(Writer's Note: When I finally conclude my MASH-fanfic cycle, this story will serve as kind of a Chapter Zero. Dedicated to seven years of good Trek. Deep Space Nine: 1991-1999)


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