Dauriam V
2385, 9 months ago

Doril tried to hide the pain especially on this day. It was the anniversary of Leata's death and he refused to take the day off. One of the Counseling staff suggested that he take a personal day but strangely enough Commander Fernandez supported his decision to work ending any further discussion of the matter. After all, his assistance was needed in quantum dating an archeological site on a nearby planet.

That was why he was in a dusty religious shrine of a once thriving species called the Dauriam.

From what they could tell from quantum dating and the writings on wall the Dauriam were a species that went extinct about 2,000 years ago. It seems they had very little technologically but were very religious focusing on the pursuit of personal enlightenment. That was when they discovered at the center of the shrine the artifact or device. It was a machine whose purpose was unknown but Linguist Henare believed from the descriptions on the walls that the artifact was something called 'The Healer's Knowledge.'

From his hunch the young officer believed it might be an archive of ancient medical knowledge that might prove useful. Doril nodded, withdrawn from the current situation. He felt numb and just as old and devoid of life as the room was when they first discovered it. Maybe he should have taken the Counselor up on the day off but he wasn't about to admit it. Not yet anyway.

"We should get the artifact into a more controlled environment. That way an engineering team can take a look at it. Let's
see if we can transport enhancers down here..."

USS King George
Deck 7, Science Lab 2

The interface consisted of various cables linked to the device. Some were for data while others were for power. A forcefield had been erected around the device as a safety precaution.

The alien artifact glowed momentarily as the engineers charged its power cells in the Lab. Then with a sweep of light Doril lie unconscious on the floor…

***
Startled Doril jolted awake covered in sweat. A blond haired Trill woman groggily sat up beside him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked putting her hand on his shoulder

The Bolian’s gaze locked onto her eyes searching her face in disbelief. It was his fiancée Leata.

“Not possible. You…” he said his voice wavering as he held her face in his hands ”died…seven years ago…”

***

USS King George
Deck 5, Sickbay
10 minutes into REM

There had been a power spike and the device had shorted out. No one was sure if it was the interface or the age of the technology but for now the device was out of commission and so was Doril. The medical staff had determined he was locked in some kind of REM cycle and no one dared to try and wake him until they knew more about what happened. And so it became a problem for the Science department but not exclusively so. While dozens of minds on the ship worked to come up with a treatment for the Science Officer's condition Doril himself was trying work out what was going on within his own mind...

***

"Don't be silly." Leata said kissing his lips "I'm very much alive."

"No..." Doril said shaking his head tears welling up in eyes, "Not real...not real."

Leata held him close as he wept cradling him as one might a child. She felt real and his face was wet from crying. He kissed the spots on her neck and she giggled pushing him away playfully.

"Not now, we've got Alpha Shift in an hour." Leata grinned.

Doril was having none of it. He showered her with kisses making Leata shout out a girlish shriek of surprise.
A groggy young voice interrupted their foreplay.

"Mommy" the mixed species toddler said stretching his arms over his head.

"Nelabon!" Leata said with her arms outstretched, "Come to momma!"

The boy staggered across the room yawning. The child had a Bolian ridge with Trill spots on his face, definately a hybrid. Nelabon? Doril knew that word to mean New Year in Bolian.

"I have a son..." Doril said touching the boy's head.

"Two sons," Leata said patting her belly "And I don't care what the medical texts say about gender this early. We both know you want another son and I'm giving you one. Besides, there's a pool going around and the odds are for a boy. You want in?"

"I...I don't know..." Doril said wiping his tears away.

***

USS King George
Deck 5, Sickbay
1 hour into REM

Translation on the rest of the text was coming slowly but it was believed that the Duariam were telepathic so a medical team had just returned from the surface of the planet from their investigation of what they believed could be Daurian remains. If they had been, the doctors might have been able to determine how the device worked on their physiology and create an remedy for Doril's condition. However, they were not. In fact no humanoid remains had been found. But scans of the surface had found a downed satellite of some kind...

***

Doril straightened his uniform and looked at the pips on his collar in the mirror. He saw that he was a Lieutenant and in the mirror's reflection he looked at his quarters. He wasn't on the Callisto so he hadn't gone back in time. Leata was alive he had a son and another child on the way...so was in the future? A parallel universe? An alien mind game? A holodeck simulation? But the more important question for him at that moment was-did he care?

"See you later handsome," Leata said giving him a kiss on the cheek placing his com-badge in his hand before she exited his quarters.

"Don't leave, daddy" Nelabon clung to his leg.

"I don't want to..." Doril said glancing down at his son dispassionately.

***

USS King George
Deck 7, Science Lab 3
2 hours into REM

The crashed satellite's construction was definitely not Dauriam technology but from analysis of the data core it was discovered that it was part of a defense network of satellites that had been set up around the planet by a neighboring species about 2,000 years ago. Each satellite released a metagenic payload designed to destroy all within life certain kilometer radius. It appeared that Dauriam were able to turn the network on itself causing most of the satellites to crash into one another the one they found being one that hadn't burned up in the atmosphere. However, the damage was already done and all life was wiped out soon there after. The medical department had hit a dead end...

***

Doril exited the turbolift onto the bridge and looked around the place like a Starfleet Shipyard Engineer who was doing an inspection. He stared at the ship plaque on the wall. It informed him that the ship was the USS Discovery, a class of ship he'd never heard of, commissioned in 2381. He found his station and accessed the sensors. The coordinates put the ship in the Delta Quadrant traveling at high warp toward an M-class system. Up until that point he gone through the motions of this new life in a daze, wanting very much to believe it to be true. But being stationed on a ship in the Delta Quadrant was pushing it. He checked the stardate and it matched the seventh anniversary of Leata's death. Was this some kind of cosmic joke?

"Happy anniversary Doril." a human officer said handing him a gift box.

"I don't know what to say..." Doril paused to take the gift and look at the pips on the officer's collar "...Captain."

"Thank you is usually, customary. As is a smile. You look like somebody died..."

***

USS King George
Deck 7, Science Lab 1
2 hours into REM

While engineers were investigating the satellite, Linguist Henare was having a temper tantrum. He slammed his fist on the bulk head injuring himself. He cursed and cradled his hand. Bertowski ran to his side to find out if he was ok and he waved her away. Whatever it was he was angry about he didn't want any sympathy. Thankfully though he did reveal what was wrong since unlike the Dauriam no one in the room was a telepathic.

"My translation was wrong. I thought that the description of the device in the shrine meant 'The Healer's Knowledge'. I mistranslated it. It read the 'The Healer's Mind'. It must be some kind of telepathic healing device."

"Counselor in a box?" Bertowski grinned.

"It's not funny! You don't get it! I'm responsible for Doril's being in Sickbay! It was my fault!"

"It's not your fault!" she shook him, "Doril wanted it brought aboard so we could study it. He made the call not you. The best we can do now is figure out how to fix this so pull yourself together and get those translations done. It might be the key to everything..."