(A/N: My apologies for taking so long to get this to you. After I posted ch 18, real life conspired to prevent me from having Friday to work on this. OTOH, it does allow me to say Happy Memorial day for those in the US, and if you served (or are serving) in our military, then take a special gold star from me!
This will wrap up the story. Please don't forget that events that happen in DS9, Voyager, Picard, or even the TNG movies [so anything coming after the TNG TV shows] are not really taken into consideration and are only used if I find it useful.)
Chapter 19 - Where No Wizard Has Gone Before
Harry and Zhade arrived in a very unusual looking room. The floor, ceiling, and most of the walls were an ivory with a hint of pink. The surfaces also weren't totally smooth, just mostly with some very slight ripples. There was something like a display case of images of various "people", all of slightly different species. Finally, there was the person sitting in something like the recliner Harry had had on the Enterprise. He was bald and his skin looked leathery with a tinge of green, but he was humanoid … a slightly reptilian looking humanoid.
"Hello, make yourself a seat if you like," said the person in the language that Zhade used. The voice sounded old, raspy on the harder consonants. "I am Sreeth. I am sure you were not expecting me, but you were wanting K'agrb."
"Hello young ones," said a deep yet soft female sounding voice in their minds.
Harry and Zhade both looked around but saw no one else.
"Come look," Sreeth said and his reclining chair hovered over to the display case and he pointed. "On the right, a picture of me and my Sreelath when we were in our prime."
The holographic picture showed a younger couple with a much younger version of Sreeth along with a woman of the same species. Humanoid, a green tinged skin that looked fairly normal. Both had short hair on their heads with ears that were slightly pointed, sort of between what Zhade had and Harry's non-pointed ears. Sreelath had breasts as Earth mammals did. It looked like they had short tails, maybe half a meter long at most, probably a little shorter.
"We've had a wonderful time sailing the galaxy with K'agrb. You can see a picture of her that was taken once." He pointed to the left. There was The Great Dragon in flight, which Harry had seen once on the main viewscreen on the Enterprise.
Harry looked at Sreeth and back to the picture and finally understood. "You and K…" he couldn't say the name like the older man could.
"You may call me Cynthia" they heard.
"Err, thank you; that is easier to say," Harry spoke out. "So, you and your mate sailed with Cynthia … or really you sailed in Cynthia, didn't you?"
Sreeth grinned with lots of sharp teeth. "Excellent deduction, young Harry."
Harry blushed slightly, feeling a little weird to be called "young" when he was over 300 years old. On the other hand, he wondered how old the man really was.
"Yes, Cynthia is a very unique individual," Sreeth stated. "You would say she is ascended as am I and Sreelath was; but as you will find out, not all ascensions are equal. She does not have the power of a Q, yet she is very powerful in her own way, enough to be respected by even the Q, or what's left of them - which we'll discuss in a few minutes.
"Despite how powerful she is, she needs companions and not just anyone will do. No, there is a very strict 'code', I suppose you might say. It is not easy to find a powerful individual who is ascending and yet has a good 'moral code' and is willing to share their life this way. You see, most who ascend lose themselves somewhere along the way, generally to hedonism; but general moral corruption is just as common. So despite the power, neither an apathetic nor a despot is a good companion."
"However, you are a good person, Harry Potter," was heard from Cynthia.
"Indeed," Sreeth agreed. "You should know that we have searched the galaxy and found no one else available at the moment. Perhaps such a person would have been found here eventually, but not in the time I have left and Cynthia can not be alone for long, perhaps a century at best. So someone had to be found-"
"You!" Harry pointed at the old man angrily. "You brought me here to this dimension!"
"Guilty that I had a hand in it," Sreeth said calmly. "If you must know, my mate, Sreelath had decided that she had lived long enough and was ready to move on. Her heart was set on it and we could not talk her out of it, even knowing that when she went I would go soon after and Cynthia would be left alone. So we started hunting for a replacement many years ago but could find none.
"So Cynthia reached out further. Yes, Harry, there is an equivalent Great Dragon in your home dimension. Let's call her … Cindy. Cynthia and Cindy talked and as you have probably already guessed, Cindy knew of you because of your prophecy. Cindy knew you would make a good companion and you would pick a good mate. She would have selected you for her companion but her companions were quite young so she had no need and suggested you to come here because Cindy also knew that long term, you would not be happy where you were."
"I would have too," Harry protested with a hint of whine.
"Cindy pointed out that you like adventure a little too much. Also, the Wizarding culture you lived in truly held you back. Here, you have thrived and have been challenged. While your last couple of centuries have had only mild adventures, they have continued. Back where you were born they would not have continued as such. You would have lived to an old age there, which would have been less than half of your present age.
"No, Cindy assured us it would be better for you to come here. So Cindy and Cynthia cooperated, along with my mate and myself, along with our counterparts in your dimension. All six of us brought you here, and Sreelath gave her life to fully power the magic to bring you here.
"If you didn't notice, there have been others helping this out, such as two of the Q. In addition, most other ascended beings are aware of your presence and have nudged events in various directions, most of which you've been unaware of."
"I can see how Aunt Q would have been involved, but others too?" Harry was surprised to hear this.
"Yes," the old man confirmed. "Did you forget 'Aunt Q' telling you that it is part of the unwritten code to help pre-ascendant rise in subtle and simple ways in a positive manner, at least for those that are on a good path?"
"I guess I had forgotten." Harry considered the tale and this new information. He was not so angry now, but he was also still not so accepting and forgiving either. "What if I don't want to take your place? And Zhade, what if she doesn't?" He looked at his wife. "Do you?" He also noticed she looked slightly different but couldn't quite place why.
Zhade smiled at him. "No, Harry, I do not. I understand Sreelath; there is a time for us all and I'm near my end. I can feel it as she must have."
"There," Harry said a bit smugly and really a little belligerently, "what if we don't take your place?"
Cynthia kept quiet and Sreeth did not get upset. "Then you do not as it is your choice and the position must be freely taken. Cynthia will restart her search for a replacement. If one is found, then she will rejoice. If one is not, then she will find the best planet she can and claim it, letting her magic go to create one more magical world and it will be the last in this galaxy … instead of one of many more if she had companions."
"So you're trying to guilt me into it?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Not at all, Harry. You asked a question and I answered." Sreeth did something like a sigh. "Harry, while I truly hope you will take my place, if you do not, it will not matter to me because I shall be dead soon. In fact, I should already be dead except that I've been kept alive a little while longer by Cynthia just as you've kept Zhade alive longer than her normal live span. However, even with Cynthia's help, I will not live much longer because I am losing the will to live; I am also losing the power to live as well since I used so much to help bring you here. I have a year at most if you leave today and nothing else happens, although I think six months is more probable. If you take up the task to rid the galaxy of the Borg, helping you will take most of my remaining strength and I will have a week if I am lucky."
Harry pondered that. "Even if I did say yes, I would have no mate … or at least not for long if I can't change Zhade's mind about staying with me," he pointed out.
"You are losing your current mate," Sreeth agreed, "but you have seven willing to take her place. Harry, stop trying to find excuses and decide."
"It doesn't sound like something one just does for the fun of it," Harry replied a little hotly.
"Indeed not, for it is a grave responsibility." Sreeth gave that toothy grin again. "But it is also a lot of fun and a worthwhile thing to do. In a sense, you have started doing part of it on your own already."
Harry blinked, confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"Your children from each woman you were seriously involved with-"
"What do you know about them?" Harry asked angrily. "Did you make them happen and then not tell me?!" He was shouting by the end. He didn't see Zhade looking at him in surprise.
Sreeth looked sad and shook his head. "No, Harry. Neither I nor Cynthia would even think of doing something like that to you. If you must know, that was your magic trying to spread magic where it could. When you formed an attachment to any woman, even if it was a small one such as with Urani, then when you realized you were going to leave, your magic reached out to the woman to cause her to conceive, even when it wouldn't have normally been possible biologically. That was all you. It was also why it was so easy for you to have children with Zhade.
Harry just stared for a long moment. "Are you saying I had more than I knew about?"
"Yes, Harry. If you must know, there were four from early in your life: two Klingon, one Vulcan, and one Human. In each case, magic would have passed itself down. At present, Cynthia says there are only eight magical Klingons; all the rest have been lost fighting the Borg," Sreeth told him. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but that is the truth."
Harry looked down. "What happened with T'sho?"
"She was surprised and chose not to keep the child. If it helps, Cynthia says she later regretted the decision. Since I know you'll ask, Paige was very happy to have a child with you and was looking forward to telling you. However, I suppose you could say that fate, or simply the dangers of space if you prefer, prevented that. Again, neither Cynthia nor I nor anyone else that we're aware of were involved with her loss. You must also learn that even ascended beings don't get everything their way and can be surprised, just as we also will die given enough time," the old man confessed.
Sreeth sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, but we must move to weightier matters; even my request for you to take my place will have to wait as we discuss the urgent problem before us all."
Harry did his own deep sigh and did his best to push these other things from his history to the side for the moment. "Yes, the plague of the galaxy," he said morosely.
"I had an idea, but I can not do it all myself, so I reached out to one of your old friends who you know as Q…"
"Wait!" Harry stopped him. "They said he was dead. Or was he just not responding?"
"He was not responding," Sreeth told him, "because he was in the middle of a civil war and trying to survive. Answering Humans, even you, would have given himself away and gotten himself killed. However, Cynthia and I were able to get a message to him and get a reply back. I will show you a memory of the reply."
A spotlight appeared in the middle of the room and a perfect looking mallard duck appeared and gave a single quack before it disappeared.
Harry looked at the old man. "A single quack isn't much of a message." He looked at his wife who only shrugged.
"Let me slow the message down," Sreeth told him and waved his hand. The duck returned and the animal's bill opened slowly as a familiar voice was heard.
"I agree, something must be done about them. I wished I had purged them when it was possible, but that can't happen now or else the other side will win.
I will tell you now so that you, someone, will know the story of the downfall of the Q.
Our rise was glorious, the final step of ascension heady, yet we didn't lose our heads, for which the universe was glad I'm sure. For many millennia we have reigned, yet we started to forget our origin and in some ways our place. While there are a few neutrals, some of us remembered - finally - and looked back to those who were beneath us, trying to help them in small ways, reminding them of their place to make them better if nothing else. Others though, they stayed in their own minds, in the Continuum, and said such work as ours was wrong. It was debated for an eon … until it wasn't.
Very recently by our reckoning, a civil war broke out. At the last moment before it was truly bad, we found a solution and hostilities were halted when we gave birth to a new Q. Alas, it was only temporary. Civil war has returned and now it's ugly, my friend.
My reply comes to you in this form because it will be unlooked for, and if my belief about your replacement is true, he - Potter - will recognize this form … the lovely miscreant.
But back to the ugly war. The other side struck first and at one of our youngest. The one known in Picard's time as Amanda Rodgers was naive and they took her down without a fight. My son was next as he too had little understanding of what could be done - horrible it was. The one Potter called Aunt Q was next, but she was good as she'd laid a trap for them and took out five of the bastards with her. I loved that woman as much as he did, maybe more. Her loss hurt. Since then it has been back and forth and even a few of the neutrals were lost when they tried to stop things.
Now, there are three neutrals left, along with myself on the 'rebel' side and two left on the 'isolationist' side … only six of us left.
Back to your question. Yes, I will help and I think I know how to do it and take out the last two. However, all of my energy and focus will be on making that happen and you must bring the Borg together and hold them there as I destroy them. How you do that is up to you, but I believe Potter to be the key.
The Q will be gone soon, a few millennia at most but probably less is all the time that is left before we are gone and a place will exist for someone to become the R, perhaps Potter is the first, I don't know. I do hope you will remember this story and pass it on so that the R may not be so foolish, but perhaps that's the way of those who think of themselves as gods of the galaxy, where hubris is our downfall. After all, it must be so or we wouldn't be the Q but the A.
Live long my friend. If you want my help, you know how to contact me, or that should work once. It will be like the saying from Picard's ancestors. Pull the pin and count to five before you get something you shouldn't be near.
A bit of a squeal was heard and then silence.
"What was that at the end?" Harry asked quietly as he tried to absorb the history lesson and divine the plan in general.
"A lot of hyper-spacial math," Sreeth said quietly.
"Harry," the old man looked at him seriously, "this will be your biggest and most important adventure ever, as the fate of the galaxy will depend on you more than anyone … no pressure." The toothy grin was back.
"Thanks," Harry replied sarcastically. "So what is the plan?"
"In simple terms, you use a little ship from your friends and take your wife and seven companions over to the main Borg ship where the current Borg queen is. Your friends have two types of special weapons, use one of each. Then after you have summoned as many of them as possible and when the time is right, you head back to me. Cynthia will contain the Borg, Q will destroy them, and your friends will protect you and me should any strays follow you back before Cynthia can contain them."
Harry looked at him incredulously. "Err, we'll never get close enough before we're dead!"
"Oh, I forgot to mention, I'll hide them and you from Borg sensors. I'll create something like a pocket dimension to hide you in, Cynthia will do the same for your friends. Of course, Cynthia might have to drop theirs while she contains the Borg, but by that time it probably won't matter. So?" Sreeth looked at him, obviously waiting for an answer.
"Fine, I understand this. I need to think about the other offer a little, but I should have time while the other is readied and we travel to the Borg home system," Harry replied.
"That will take about an hour as Cynthia will move us all to the place known as Unicomplex, or what they now call home. Thank you for agreeing to do this," the old man told him.
"It needs to be done to protect everyone and that's sort of what I do," Harry admitted, somewhat hating his 'people saving thing' right now, while also realizing he couldn't deny what or really who he was. "Can you tell me more on what I need to do to win?"
"Do you know how prophecies happen?" Sreeth asked back.
"No."
"The future is not set in stone as that would violate free will to choose," Sreeth told him. "However, with enough power you can see possibilities. As more and more possibilities converge so that it appears that a certain event will take place, a prophecy can be made. But there is still free will and not all possibilities will converge to one answer, hence why prophecies are made in vague and fuzzy terms.
"Harry, the possibilities are almost evenly split on if you will win or … be lost. It will be your choices, for good and bad, that will determine the outcome. Although I can tell you that if you do win, you and I will have another conversation about you taking my place. I don't know the outcome to that either, but the conversation is all but certain if you live."
Shrugging and feeling uncomfortable about it, Harry finally replied, "Sure, if I live, we'll talk again."
"Before you return, Cynthia wants to give you some things to help." A pile of items appeared on the floor in front of Harry and Zhade.
Harry picked up the first large item and then grabbed the other large item and held them up one in each hand. Each was translucent almost like a very large pearl had been beaten like metal. He finally recognized what they must be. One was also a little smaller and had a small bulge on one side while the other didn't; he handed the one with the bulge to Zhade as he noticed how light each item was.
"What do I do with it?" she asked.
"I'll help you in a moment," he told her as he pulled his open like a clam shell and put it around his body. When it closed it sealed so a seam wasn't even visible.
"Oh," she said in awe as he opened hers and helped her into her armor.
"While it is not indestructible, it will be very hard to damage it," Sreeth explained.
Harry held his hand out and the eight medallions with a throng on the floor leapt up into his hand. "Why don't the girls get armor too?" He put a medallion on.
Sreeth said, "Because I'm sure you're noticing that it is harder for you to move now, especially bending. The girls must be able to move freely."
Harry wasn't happy about that answer, but he had nothing to argue against it.
"Return to your friends and make arrangements. Cynthia will start the travels in fifteen of your minutes, and the trip will take about an hour. Please assure them that none of us will be detectable when we arrive. I will send you a message just before we leave and just before we arrive.
"One last thing, Harry, and it is very important," Sreeth told him looking very serious. "To leave and return from your little ship, the little ship can not be in the pocket dimension. I will have to pull you back into normal space so you can Apparate out. I can hide the ship again while you are inside, but it will have to come back out when you Apparate back to the little ship … making it very vulnerable during each of those times, unless you can think of a way around that to protect the ship and the remaining pilot."
"I'll figure something out," Harry replied.
"Think your messages at Cynthia and she will hear you, whether that's before your mission starts or when you need me to hide or unhide your ship. She'll hear and tell me. Good luck." Sreeth nodded.
Harry was about to take Zhade back when his wife stiffened for a moment and he held her tightly so she didn't fall. "What?" he asked her, but she didn't answer. He looked at the old man. "What did you do?"
Sreeth shook his head. "Cynthia, not me. I hope to see you soon." He waved his hand and Harry felt themselves be Apparated and they landed on the bridge of the Enterprise.
Harry growled in his frustration, but looked his wife over carefully, happy not to see any injuries. "Are you all right, my dearest?"
Zhade gave him a smile that lit his heart. "I am fine now, my Harry. We should talk in private for a few minutes soon. Remember, we're traveling soon."
"Oh right." Harry pasted a smile on his face and turned to the Starfleet personnel. "I have more information and a plan that should work with some luck. Perhaps a quick conversation in the conference room? We have fifteen minutes before we go."
The captain sputtered, but Riker said, "Of course, Captain Dennum and I are eager to hear. Commander Littleton, perhaps you should be present too," he said to the first officer. He started moving and the two joined him. Harry waved his entire group to follow him, wondering what all of the girls were whispering about to each other.
There were only enough seats because Harry conjured four extras for the girls.
"Extremely briefly for the moment, The Dragon has communicated with the being we know as Q, who was unable to answer other calls. Both Q and The Dragon have agreed to help us, but we'll be leaving in less than fifteen minutes for the Borg home system, also called Unicomplex-" Harry was cut off.
"What?!" Captain Dennum shouted and jumped to his feet. Still in his raised voice, he went on. "You will not be taking my ship to the Borg home system to destroy us all!"
Harry waved his hand and while the captain continued to make the motions of shouting, nothing was heard. "I don't have time to listen to your objections, Captain." He turned to Riker, who seemed to be equally shocked at Dennum's actions and Harry's action.
"Admiral," Harry said and pulled the man's attention back to him, "we're leaving shortly and The Dragon will take us all and she will hide us in what she calls a 'pocket dimension', which I understand to mean that we won't be totally here, and therefore the Borg won't be able to detect us."
Riker looked relieved. Dennum still looked upset, but at least he was sitting again.
"Once there," Harry continued, "The Dragon will continue to hide your fleet and I and my group will take a shuttle to the ship of the Borg queen and do our best to get their attention so all ships come back with one of your special weapons. Then with your other special weapon, we will start the destruction, hopefully leaving just before the big boom. The Dragon will contain them and Q will destroy them. Oh, and if any Borg escape containment, you have the responsibility to destroy them, but hopefully that won't happen."
"How sure are they about this plan?" Riker had to ask with a hint of concern beyond him obviously controlling his reaction.
"Apparently, sure enough to do it." Harry didn't mention the part about whether he - or any of his group - would return alive.
"Also," Harry said, "I'm told the trip will take about an hour. You might want to tell Starfleet command we are about to stage this assault and if they have any extra ships which can be there in about an hour or so, to send them this way. All right, not to us, but to some place nearby that the Borg won't find but can get to us quickly if you have to call them."
Riker nodded. "A sound precaution, assuming they believe me and have any ships available as those are in very short supply and stationed at strategic locations and are unlikely to be let go."
"Hopefully they won't be needed," Harry said and fervently meaning it. "Send your message quickly as I don't think you'll be able to after we start. We're heading to our quarters to prepare and then we'll head to the shuttle bay." He rose and heard a message in his mind. "The Dragon says five minutes before we leave."
"Uh, Ambassador?" Riker motioned to the captain. "He is a good officer when he can keep his emotions in check."
The captain looked down at the rebuke.
Harry waved his hand. "Captain, be glad it's me and not my Aunt Q. She did the same to the Admiral's grandmother and left it on for a week." He smiled. "Admiral, do come to the shuttle bay a few minutes early. I have a story or three for you about William T Riker and Deanna Troi, plus one about a Klingon that you might enjoy."
Riker smiled as he rose. "I look forward to it. Can I record them?"
"Sure. Oh, and send the Chief Engineer to the shuttle bay along with your Weapons Officer. I think we may need a modification to the shuttle craft," Harry said before he turned and motioned for the women with him to follow.
— — —
As they reached their room, Harry could feel things change and knew The Dragon had started their journey. "Listen, we must be quick." He saw he had everyone's attention. "Pack quickly and return to this room. Use magic if you need to, a packing spell shouldn't hurt anything.
"We will be the ones to go to the ship of those known as the Borg. They are half person and half machine like this." Harry waved his hand and two illusions appeared, remembered from his encounter with them centuries ago. Everyone else gasped. "I show this to you now so you are not surprised later. Magic worked very well on them when I fought them 300 years ago; however, they've also had time to adapt and have fought other magical people before, so don't be too surprised if you have to be creative with your magic."
He looked them over and came to a decision. "We must stay there long enough for them to call as many other ships in as possible before we leave and start their destruction. Lerri will stay on the small boat to help get us away quickly. Ninela, you are quick with things, so a task will be given to you; I'll explain it more shortly. Nidu, you have been good in defense and you will guard her." Each of the three nodded at him in agreement. "The rest of you will guard Zhade and help her. Be prepared to move around a lot; standing still is not a good thing. Questions?"
"Why does the mistress look younger?" Nidu asked.
Harry blinked and really looked at Zhade, who blushed a little for the first time in years. "You're right, she is." He gave her a questioning look.
"Cynthia told me she de-aged me a little to help me in the upcoming battle," his wife answered.
"But if she can do that-" Harry started.
"She could do more, but I refused to let her," Zhade told him softly and stepped closer to put a hand on his cheek. "I am old and tired, my love. I will go with you on this last adventure because I know you need me and my magic, but it will definitely be my last. Enough talk here, we have work to do."
So Harry told them, "Go pack and use the bathroom now if you need to, although there will be a bathroom near where we have to wait too. Bring everything back in here; we will not be returning."
The married couple went to their room. Harry pulled out his crate and enlarged it. With a few waves of his hand they were totally packed. He watched Zhade silence the door and gave her a questioning look.
"Cynthia told me something just before we left that you must know." Zhade walked over to him and put her hands around his waist in a loose hug. "Sreeth said this is your biggest and most dangerous adventure, Cynthia said it will also be your biggest test. If you fail, we will die … all nine of us; the only exception is if you do something that saves only yourself."
"I will not abandon you or the girls!" Harry protested.
"I said that was if you fail. If you succeed, then you and others will live. She did not tell me how many, maybe it's only a few, maybe it's all." Zhade looked him in the eyes and didn't look away. "While she did not say, I think the answer is only a few because she also told me that four is a special number, although I was not told what it applied to. That could apply to a lot of things, like we only stay there for four minutes, or maybe you have four things to do, but I fear it means there will be only four survivors."
"So you, me, and two others?" Harry asked aghast.
"I don't know, but there is a way to figure it out. You must survive because the test is for you. Lerri will be separate, so I think she's number two. That means that only two others will make it. Harry, that means that if the rest of us are lost, you must take the last two and return to Lerri and leave to join The Dragon."
"But-"
"No!" she told him sharply. "I am done, this is it for me."
"I love you; you're everything to me," he told her, his voice hitching.
"As I love you and you are my world," she returned as she put a hand to his cheek and looked lovingly into his eyes. "However, my time is done. I have not seen it with my sight, but I can feel it in my bones. It will be Lerri and two other of the girls."
"Zhade…" He pulled her to him, their armor giving a small thunk as he held her tightly, weeping a little. "No, I want you."
Through her own tears she told him, "Thank you, my husband, but now you must let go. I will do my best for you and watch your back as I have since I first met you and before we were even married." She pushed back and suddenly had a small cloth which she used to dry his tears and then her own. "Put on a good face for the girls and protect them as best you can."
She waved her hand at the door. "It is time to go and you need to talk to people before we go into battle." Turning, she left for the other room as the door opened for her.
Harry heard her but he was bound to find a way to save her. With a wave of his own hand, his crate followed him out into the living area where all of the girls were waiting. He let them put their small trunks inside his crate while he turned the door he'd made back into a normal looking wall as he'd promised the chief engineer.
He probably wouldn't need it, but just in case he reached inside his crate and pulled out his bat'leth, shrank it down, then stuck it to his armor over his stomach. His crate was shrank and he put the strap of the bag over his shoulder and headed out of the door with the rest following. He was silent as he mulled over Zhade's declaration of this being her last time with him, wondering how he could change that. The rest could sense the tension and were silent also.
As the lift deposited them near the shuttle bay, Zhade looked at him. "Harry, you must remember that you can offer a gift but the other person has the choice not to accept." She walked towards the shuttle bay they had visited before; Harry came last, still unhappy.
Everyone was waiting for them it seemed, so he pushed his feelings aside for a few moments and headed for the chief engineer.
"Commander," Harry greeted him, "I need a modification to the shuttle if at all possible. I need the back end to detach upon command and it must be able to hold the special torpedo you're giving us plus eight of us. It also needs to seal both sides. The original space with the pilot must be permanently sealed, while the part that detaches needs to hold air for only about half a minute. If you can't do the last part, I will make something work with magic, but the part for the pilot must hold until we return back."
"Let me think about that for a few minutes," the man said slowly, already trying to work out a way.
Harry turned and found the weapons specialist standing nearby with a couple of devices in his hands. Zhade waved Ninela over. Lerri followed slowly too.
"I'm Lieutenant Hon," the man shorter than Zhade said. "This device," he held up a device about the size of a fist, "is what you can use to hack into their computer system. All you have to do is find a terminal which should look something like this," he handed over a color picture on paper, "stick it on the terminal, then push the red button. It will do everything else after that. With luck, it will infiltrate their system, cause some panic, and if we're really lucky it will draw all ships from nearby systems to come back to the main Borg hive. As you can guess, it's never been tested, but we have high hopes."
Harry took the device and the photo and gave them both to Ninela along with the description of what she had to do. There were no questions on that. Ninela left to find Nidu so they could both study the picture.
Hon looked at Harry and very carefully held out what looked like a small remote control. "Please be very, very, and I mean very careful with this, sir." He pointed at a crate that was being unloaded by four people. It was the size of four of the old photon torpedoes.
"That is only one of two multi-phasic quantum torpedoes in all of the Federation; it's that new. We're not even sure how many Borg ships it will take out, but I can guarantee you the number is more than one."
"This," Hon held up the remote lying flat in the palm of his hand, "is the detonator. On this side is the primer." He showed a yellow button under a clear cover, which he lifted a few millimeters and then let it go back down. "You press that to get it ready, which will take maybe a quarter of a second."
He turned it over. "On this side is the button that starts the non-stoppable timer." There was another clear cover over a red button. "Once that's pressed, you have five seconds to get at least 100 kilometers away, and considering you're in the vacuum of space, I'd suggest 1000 kilometers. That means, get in your shuttle and go fast or just stay there and commit suicide, which you'll never feel."
"If we're in a hurry," Harry asked, "can we press both buttons at once?"
"Yes," Hon answered. "Also, you must be within 100 meters of the device to set it off. I don't think the Borg can block the signal, but who can really say. It transmits over a very wide spectrum of frequencies to make sure some signal reaches it. If the remote doesn't work, please do something to set it off so it doesn't get captured, although I can't tell you how to do that short of slamming it into the hull of a ship at a velocity of several hundreds of meters per second."
"So dropping it from the height of a few feet in one gravity won't set it off?" Harry asked.
Hon cringed. "Please don't do that sir. To answer you question, it probably won't go off, but you have to realize we can't test for things like that easily. We have literally lost entire large asteroids trying to develop it."
Harry considered how to secure the thing so the Borg didn't move it or beam it off of the ship. "So a soft cushioning charm underneath to soften the landing, then canceling that so it only falls a few inches, ending with a sticking charm to keep it in place. Right, we can do that." He held out his hand for the remote.
As Hon moved to give it to him, Zhade put her hand on top of Harry's and took the remote. "I will hold and use this," she told him.
Hon's eyes were going wide, fear very evident of what might happen between a couple "fighting" over the detonator switch to a device that would kill them all with no stopping it.
Zhade held it tightly. "Tell me how to use it, although I can guess from watching him."
Unbeknownst to Harry, Lerri was there and said to Zhade, "Lift the covers to use the buttons. You press the yellow one to ready it and the red one to make it go. He said you can also press both at once and you must be close to it to make it work. The Protector will have only to the count of five to get everyone away and back to the little boat that will take us. I will have an escape planned so we only have to press a button to leave quickly."
Harry kept his expression neutral while berating himself for teaching the girl Basic so he couldn't keep that information to himself and control the situation.
"I can do this," Zhade said and slipped it into her pocket, making the weapons officer relax now that the remote wasn't being fought over.
Harry looked over and saw equipment being taken into the shuttle, so the chief engineer must have figured out something.
With nothing to do, Harry looked around and saw the Admiral standing nearby and talking to the first officer, so he walked over.
"Admiral, Commander, has the head engineer given either of you an ETA on the shuttle modification?" Harry asked.
The commander answered, "He needs about another half hour, which is about fifteen minutes after we arrive. Is that going to be a problem?"
"Let me ask…"
Harry concentrated. "Cynthia, we won't be ready to go until fifteen or twenty minutes after we arrive. Will that be a problem?"
"No, Harry, I can hide everyone that long easily."
"Cynthia, why did you not de-age Zhade completely so she could stay?"
"I did not have long enough and she didn't want it. I can not give her what she is unwilling to take. You should know this but your heart is not listening to your head."
"My heart is correct!" he argued back mentally.
"Each are correct at different times. Today, listen to your head. Go finish getting ready."
Harry could feel the connection be dropped by The Dragon and sighed before he addressed the two in front of him. "The few extra minutes won't be a problem." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm being told something I think is wrong and it bothers me."
The admiral nodded for a moment thoughtfully. "There is much I don't know, but is it possible what you're being told isn't wrong? Perhaps you're missing some information to better understand," he offered, trying to be helpful.
Harry shook his head quickly. "No, I think someone is not considering other possibilities, but this is a personal issue. Would you like to hear a few stories?"
Riker brightened. "I would." He handed a small device that looked a little like the old datapads to the commander. "Would you record this please?"
When the commander indicated he was ready, Riker smiled. "This is William Joshua Riker. I have with me the infamous and original Harry Potter. As told in the other family stories, he was born in another dimension in 1981, then came to our dimension in 2367. He has agreed to share a few stories. Harry?"
Harry smiled and for a moment was mentally in happier times. He told a few stories of William T Riker and Deanna Troi, including when Deanna was silenced for a week. He also mentioned when he gave them their gifts before he left.
Riker pulled out the knife to show. "This is of course the knife. The book is the one in the family library that's marked as Grandmother Deanna's that looks blank to everyone."
"I have one more," Harry said. "Did he ever tell the one about when I went to the Klingon ship and had to fight the first officer?"
"Yes he did," Riker confirmed.
"Well, about a year later I met that same K'ranog again when I took a trip to the Klingon home world…" Harry told that story of the drunk Klingon and got a laugh out of each of the two men.
Harry also felt them come out of their travel. "We're here. I'm afraid that will be all, I need to go see what we're up against."
"Thank you for the stories, Mr Potter," the admiral said graciously. "Let's go look over here." He took the datapad back and slipped it into a pocket as the three walked over to a console.
The commander harrumphed. "It's hard to see what's out there and the sensors aren't any better because of our protection, but I'll take that over being found by those vermin."
"Cynthia?" Harry thought hard.
"Do not worry, Harry. Sreeth will guide you so you can send the little ship to where it needs to go. This is where you must jump when you get there.
Harry received a mental image of a room that looked similar to the one he jumped to 300 years ago.
"Sreeth will protect you and understands your plan. The shuttle will stay protected as your little part detaches. When it returns to normal space, that means you must jump onto the Borg ship immediately before they destroy the part you are in."
The chief engineer called out to him, so Harry went over and asked, "What do you have for us?"
The man took him inside to where a couple of technicians were finishing up and four others were moving the large torpedo into the back. "Sir, because of the short time, this is the best we could do. There is a big red button over there on that side and there is a line around the whole inside."
"Yes, Commander, I see them," Harry said.
"When you're ready to separate, get everyone in the back and behind the line and hit the button. That will cause a force field to come up and protect the main cabin before it detaches the back part and pushes it away a little. To really separate them, the shuttle will have to change course while this back part continues on as it was, which means you must do this at sub-light speeds. It also means that, as you said you could, you are providing the atmosphere for everyone in the back. I'm sorry, but I'd need at least six if not eight hours to do it all right."
Harry clapped him on the shoulder. "You did a good job, Chief. We can make this work."
"I think they need a couple of more minutes to secure the torpedo and then you can leave whenever you want," the man said.
"Thanks!" Harry stepped out and called out, "Lerri!" She hurried over and Harry pulled her in and up to the front. They laid in a course and discussed a few contingency plans.
Soon, Zhade and the girls were called over and brought onboard. The Admiral wished them luck before the hatch was closed and they were given the clearance to leave.
Harry piloted the shuttle out the Enterprise and headed for the Borg. Harry could tell when control switched from Cynthia to Sreeth; the magic felt different. Their vision cleared somewhat too. There was a mass of ships in front of them, over half in the solar plane for some reason. The star for the system was a blue-white and the size of the end of his thumb from this distance; he didn't even try for sensor readings as he was sure their protective bubble would block that.
Their path was fairly straight under the ships and if the readings for velocity was correct, they were going at about the old warp two. When they came to the first Borg ships, they slowed down considerably below the speed of light, going on Impulse power. The Borg ships did nothing to them; the shuttle's cover was holding. As they approached the center of the ships, they were still safe. It was errie seeing so many Borg ships around them.
Soon they saw a large spherical ship about in the center of the other ships. "I think we'll take the round one and hope it has the Borg queen. If it doesn't, it'll just have to do anyway."
Harry brought them to between the spherical ship and the one next to it, which put them about 100 kilometers away from their target. They were still underneath all of the ships in the area.
"All right, Lerri," Harry told her, "when I tell you, I want you to take us straight up slowly. When you reach about a quarter of the way above the bottom of the ship, tell me and I'll separate us then. You immediately reverse course and head back to be near the bottom of the ship and wait there. Plot the course of a small drop then heading back as fast as we can go. Questions?"
"No, Protector." She blinked her large eyes at him. "I've seen that you will have trouble, so please be careful."
"That's my plan," he told her with a smile that was only a little forced.
Harry stood and looked at the others. "These … things are not really people any more, so use any spell you want. They will try to kill you, so do not hesitate to cast Blasting curses or anything else. Transfiguration may be a good strategy too; I plan to use it. Do not hold back. Everyone not named Lerri to the back area. Lerri, watch the screen for when we are separated because you won't be able to hear or see us."
He was the last to the back area. He conjured a rope around the torpedo, length-wise and width-wise like the ribbon on a big present. "Everyone grab the rope. When we arrive, Ninela and Nidu find the terminal quickly before you come back and help, everyone else to the end where Zhade is; I will be at the other end." He grabbed his staff from his back and touched it to the rope and it glowed bluish for a second. "Lerri, start us moving up."
The hippogriffs were dancing in Harry's stomach and he didn't like it, but there was nothing to be done for that. "Steady everyone, at the end when it's time to come back, all you have to do is get to and grab an arm or even my clothes and I'll Apparate us back here. We can do this." He added the last part because he could tell he wasn't the only one who looked nervous. In fact, Zhade may have been the only one who looked calm because only she smiled at him.
"Protector, we're almost there," Lerri called back.
"All right, get ready to reverse course; watch your screen," he told her before he conjured a solid wall on the other side of where the force field was supposed to be for extra protection. Then he conjured a solid wall on his side of the separation line or seam. "Here we go."
"Cynthia, now!" Harry shouted mentally as he hit the big red button and felt a shudder before their flight was perfectly smooth. His staff was all but touching the rope.
"Go!" the Dragon sent back after about two seconds.
Harry touched his staff to the rope Portkey and they left the small box they'd been in … and arrived in the room on the ship that Cynthia had shown him. He realized he'd forgotten the cushioning charm, but he cast the sticking charm so the torpedo wasn't going anywhere.
In the couple of seconds they had after landing, Harry looked around and saw several drones turning to him. "Go girls!" he shouted as he swung his staff in a circle over his head sending out a Transfiguration spell causing the three, no four, drones he could see to turn into lions, which he sent bounding off to find other drones to maul or otherwise keep busy.
The two girls on a special assignment leapt to the side where two of the drones had been, hurrying over with picture and device in hand.
Meanwhile, Zhade had the girls around her casting spells at things she thought were important, explosions happening for every spell cast.
Harry saw movement from above and managed a quick shield to protect them all, some beam hitting his shield and bouncing to the side. A Blasting curse from his off hand took out the weapon. This was going too easy he thought as he blasted a few more things and openings.
"I found it!" Ninela shouted.
Harry looked over and saw her push the button on the device. Everything changed suddenly.
Drones seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere, which Harry stopped by swinging his staff above his head so he'd miss the girls and sent out a Stunning spell, which dropped most of the Drones. Something still hit him in the back, but his armor protected him. Nidu was now very busy, her silver pony tail flying around as she cast spell after spell; Ninela was doing her best to shield her friend.
A click sounded from somewhere as Harry saw more movement from two levels above him. He shot straight up to that height and blasted some sort of canon into tiny pieces. A drone was turned into an enraged gorilla, which started to attack a few other drones, who didn't know what to do with a rampaging gorilla.
He let himself drop gently towards the torpedo, still firing various curses. As he landed on top of the torpedo, a very loud click sounded and the girls near him screamed. Harry turned to see some sort of arms, like barbed spears, had shot up from the floor.
"What now, magic user?" a smug voice said in Basic.
Harry turned and saw the Borg Queen; this one as ugly as the other he'd killed. Another scream came as a barbed metal piece shot up and went through Vaninis head, turning her lovely dark blue hair a wet dark red. Zhade screamed too as another spear bounced off her armor but pierced her lower down. His anger went uncontrolled and his staff whipped around. He didn't care that the Borg Queen had some sort of shield in front of her. "Fiendfyre!" he snarled. An elephant sized dragon came out of his staff. It flew towards the queen, going right through her shield and then grabbed her and carried her off as it set all of her on fire and her metal parts to become instantly red hot - causing her to scream.
Letting the fiery dragon go on its own, Harry whipped his staff around again and let his power flow. Everywhere the staff pointed, a wide path of energy turned whatever it touched from whatever it was into molten lead which started to drip down and coat everything, almost sealing the area except for a few small holes.
Ninela and Nidu realized their peril and ran for the torpedo, leaping up on top of it and landing next to him, although crouched down to be below Harry's aim. It didn't matter for long because he jumped down and ran to his wife, his other hand turning the floor into solid iron so that nothing else could come up from there.
Lillou and Vanou were already dead as well, a spear through each of their chests. Golden haired Neli was barely holding on, the spear only through her stomach. Zhade had a spear through a leg and one through a hip. She was obviously in great pain.
"Zhade!" he cried as he reached her, transfiguring the spears to water. He caught his wife as she collapsed. Neli fell to the floor, her hand on her stomach groaning and crying.
The woman shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled the remote out before she looked at him. "I was right," she managed, panting each phrase. "It's four survivors. Take them … and go, my husband. I will do, what must be done."
"Zhade, we can fix you!" he cried.
Neli went quiet, her hands falling to the floor.
"No, Harry, you must go. I will stay … and do this … duty. Go!" she ordered him.
"No!" he refused and tried to pick her up.
She pulled up her other hand and he went flying back a couple of meters. "Ni and Ni, grab him!" She lifted the covers on the remote, both sides and held it up.
The girls jumped down and each grabbed an arm. "Protector, you are the only one who can save us!" Nidu shouted at him.
"You promised!" Ninela shouted at him too with a pleading look.
"You promised to protect them and I say you must keep that promise," Zhade told him before she smiled. "You have until five." She pressed both buttons. "I've always loved you. One!"
Harry couldn't believe it, "Zhade!"
"Two!" she shouted as the girls cried, "Protector!"
Harry closed his eyes and cried out gutturally.
"Three! Harry go!"
It took all of his will, but Harry let out "Cynthia!" in an anguished wail and Apparated. The three landed back in the shuttle.
"Go now!" Ninela shouted at Lerri, who pounded a button with her fist.
The three flew up towards the ceiling as the inertial dampeners here were small and the little ship accelerated quickly. Ninela had the presence of mind to cast a Sticking charm over the area so they stuck to the ceiling and didn't go flying around again.
Lerri was belted in her chair. She wanted to look back to check on the others, but felt she had to watch where they were going. The little shuttle leapt forward at five times the speed of light, quickly leaving all of the Borg ships behind as the torpedo exploded and obliterated four other ships that had been too close.
Lerri started to relax a few moments later as she slowed the shuttle down to only twice the speed of light with the Borg far behind them and they were approaching The Dragon's position quickly.
Then from what seemed like out of nowhere a really big Borg cube came racing from the side towards her. It must not have been with the others, she thought. She also thought they were going to die because she knew she had no weapons.
She didn't even try to speed back up as she was nearing where The Dragon was. All she could hope was that The Dragon could help her in some way … but the other ship was so huge!
From out of nowhere, five beams of energy raced past her, coating the center of the big cube. From below her a stream of points of light came racing up towards the center of the cube. The first few hit the shield where all of the beams of energy (phasers she thought they were called) hit the shield. Then the shield gave way in a colorful flash and the rest of the points of light hit the cube. Each exploded and seemed to create a deeper and deeper pit. The last point of light moved a little slower, but it too raced towards the cube.
Lerri lost sight of the cube as the last and smallest ship came from below and put itself between the cube and her shuttle. After a moment, the larger ship moved passed them, but she couldn't find the big cube. It was gone; only a few flashing lights from explosions from debris were visible.
One of her consoles came to life. "Shuttle, this is the Enterprise. We must leave this area and we will take you with us."
Before she could answer, she felt herself be pulled. When she could see again, she was in this very strange looking room that was ivory with a hint of pink and her staff, which had been beside her but hadn't been held, was now lying next to her.
Turning at hearing a gasp of surprise, she saw Ninela and Nidu holding onto the Protector, who was curled in a ball. His bag and their staffs were also near them.
"Welcome," said a weak sounding voice.
The three girls turned and looked, all agape at the very old looking man in a chair.
"I am Sreeth. We are all safe with The Dragon, as you know her. Go through that door and you will find a bedroom. Make Harry comfortable and let him sleep for awhile; someone should always be with him. I need to sleep too." The old man closed his eyes and waved his hand before going still and appearing to be asleep.
The girls looked at each other before shrugging and then standing. Ninela used her staff to levitate Harry. Lerri grabbed his bag while leaving his staff - she'd learned the hard way long ago not to touch the Protector's staff. Nidu led the group, stopping at the open door and cautiously peering through it with the end of her staff going first. When the lights came on she gasped.
"What?" Ninela asked.
"It's amazing," Nidu replied as she walked forward with the others following.
There was a large bed on the left and ready to use, neatly made. Two more smaller beds were beyond. On the right was a small pool of water with a waterfall feeding it just above head height. A few ferns and greenery surrounded the area with more greenery beyond. The lights on the wall were muted so they weren't hurtful to look at, but they also managed to light everything well enough to see. The room continued onward into darkness, the lights not going back far enough to find the back wall of the very large room.
Lerri set Harry's bag down near the second bed and was surprised when the bag expanded on it's own into a crate and opened up.
"That was helpful," Ninela said. "Now we can get to our things. Help me with him."
Nidu and Lerri managed to get the armor off with some magic, telling it to open. They stripped him down to his underwear and put him into the bed.
They looked around and over near the pool and waterfall they found a small ledge with a pot of warm thick liquid that smelled very good plus some cups. They tried the soup and found it delicious and filling.
On the far side of the thick greenery was a path that led to a toilet.
Nidu held her hand out to the waterfall. "It's warm, a very nice temperature."
"For bathing," Ninela said nodding. "We have everything we need to live here, at least for a while."
Lerri retrieved her trunk from Harry's crate and changed into a long gown as the others watched. "I will stay with him first." She crawled into the bed and snuggled up behind their mentor, trainer, and Protector. With an arm over him, she felt comfortable and fell into her own sleep.
"I will take first watch, even if there is not much to do," Nidu said.
Ninela agreed and headed into the crate to pull out her trunk as well as see what all was in there because she'd wondered about it ever since she'd first seen it.
— — —
(not long before)
"Does waiting ever get easier, Admiral," Captain Dennum said.
"It does not," the Admiral said as he sat in the extra seat on the bridge for the Admiral. This had been a flagship ever since Picard's days, even if it was no longer the lead flagship as it had been for Picard.
Their sensors were useless while they were in the pocket dimension, which bothered everyone on the bridge. Still, they were all grateful to be hidden as they were because there was no doubt the entire fleet of six ships wouldn't survive ten minutes if they were found. Fortunately, The Dragon gave them a 3-D spatial map of the system, showing Borg ships and a small red dot that was the shuttle they couldn't see. That image was transmitted to the other five Starfleet ships.
The shuttle slowed and then stopped near the center. Riker leaned forward as if that would help him see better.
"I hope they make it," Riker said quietly. No one said anything even though all agreed.
Maybe a minute later, a few Borg ships started arriving. Then a few more, each group a second apart.
"I think they're doing it!" the weapons office said enthusiastically.
More ships continued to arrive.
Suddenly, the red dot moved and it was moving quickly.
A ghost like dragon appeared on the bridge and said, "The last one is yours. When you move you will again be in normal space." It disappeared.
Space around the Borg seemed to roil on the 3-D map. It appeared to be doing strange things on the view screen too. The system's star on the 3-D map suddenly expanded, rushing towards the Borg ships who were not leaving - really could not leave - the strange area of space.
"Sir, the star is going nova!" the science officer shouted. "I estimate we need to be out of here within thirty-four minutes."
"Sir," the weapons officer, "there's a super-cube coming after the shuttle. I think it was outside the system and came late."
"Communications," barked Riker, "inform the fleet we will do the omega maneuver on my mark. Shields to front and rotate as we turn. Tell the left flank to watch out and avoid the shuttle; the Enterprise will cover them."
"Omega torpedo loaded," the weapons officer said nervously.
"Use all of the torpedoes, Lieutenant," Riker said. "There's no use holding back."
The man gave a hesitant, "Aye aye, sir."
"Sir, is that wise?" the captain asked quietly.
Riker looked at the captain. "This is it. Potter has done his job now we have to do ours. We have five others to protect us while we make sure that cube of Borg technology doesn't escape."
"Helm," the captain nodded at the admiral, "when we come around to protect the shuttle, all shields to the bottom of the ship as we'll be close."
"Aye, sir," helm replied.
"You're on broadcast to all ships, admiral," the communications officer told him.
"Ready omega maneuver," Riker said, judging the positions of everyone and comparing to what he'd seen in the simulators. "Mark and go!"
The five bigger ships shot forward while the Enterprise dove a bit. All had their cloaking device on, which had given them some success in the past, at least from a distance. Phasers from the five battleships struck the center of the Borg cube, which was three times larger in every direction than the old cubes. A few had been seen in the past; none of those had been destroyed.
The battleships also fired a few quantum torpedoes before unleashing all of their phasers at a single point. The Enterprise started firing every photon torpedo it had as fast as it could at that point. It took the first four torpedos, in addition to all of the other fire power sent to the cube, to break the shield, such was the power of the cube. Then the remaining torpedoes sped onward and hit the cube in the center. Each torpedo created a deeper hole going into the cube. Meanwhile the other five ships were now firing phasers at every weapon they could identify while trying to shield against returning fire.
The last torpedo moved a little slower, but then it hadn't been fired from a torpedo tube either, but from a special rail and the photon torpedo casing it was attached to provided thrust as best it could.
"Turn!" Riker shouted in his adrenaline excitement. The Enterprise banked hard and shields where moved to protect the belly of the craft for extra protection, which it needed as the last torpedo slammed into the interior of the cube. Sensors recorded the event as the main view screen blacked out, or rather whited out from the explosion.
"Status!" the captain barked as he looked on his personal view screen.
"No major damage reported yet," the first officer said.
"The Borg ship has been destroyed!" the weapons officer said. "Yeah! Take that!" The rest of the bridge joined in the short celebration. The captain and the admiral smiled at each other and looked relieved.
"That's why we brought both of those torpedoes," Riker said, still smiling. "Looks like the rest of the Borg are having a bad day too." The 3-D map was showing more and more Borg ships winking out; only those farthest from the sun were still intact and they were being pulled towards the star.
"Damage to the fleet?" Riker asked.
"The Lexington reports major damage; the Fermet reports minor damage. The rest report no damage."
"What of the shuttle?" Riker asked.
"It's good, Admiral."
"Good," he said with relief. "Send them a message that we have to leave this area and we'll take them with us. Catch them in our tractor beam and reel them in."
A moment later, the 3-D map disappeared and in its place a set of five coordinates appeared as did the small ghost of a dragon again. The ghost said, "We have Harry Potter and those with him. Please follow us further from this place to more safety. We ask that at least one ship stay nearby for the next day or two. Zhade was lost and Harry Potter has been injured and will need that time to recover before he will be able to talk to you. The coordinates you see are places we are aware of that more Borg ships may be. Please check those places as soon as possible and destroy any you find." The ghost disappeared.
"Are those coordinates recorded?" the captain barked.
"Aye sir!"
The two senior officers looked at each other. "It's your call sir," the captain said.
"Have one of the others stay with us, perhaps the Lexington so she can do repairs. Send the other ships in pairs to check out the coordinates. Also send word to those ships that are backing us up that they are needed, assigning coordinates so all locations are checked as soon as possible." Riker stood. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
William J Riker went to the bathroom connected to the bridge and closed the door and leaned against it. They'd done it, they'd stopped the Borg. He splashed water on his face and dried it as he looked in the mirror. "But at what cost?" he asked the image in the mirror. Harry was injured, his wife killed, and undoubtedly some of his girls were too. The report of "no major damage" on the Enterprise didn't mean people here weren't hurt or killed and he knew some on other ships in his fleet that had been damaged had definitely died. War was terrible!
`We did it!` he told himself before he returned, relieved to have lived through that.
Lerri woke and looked around. Ninela was in a sleeping gown and on the bed on the other side of Harry; he had a hand over her. Nidu was still in her clothes, but no boots, on the other side of Ninela and looked to be asleep.
Getting up, Lerri took off her sleeping gown and headed for the waterfall. It was warm and felt good as she rinsed off. Looking back to the bed, she saw Nidu watching her. Nudity wasn't taboo, but it normally wasn't shown off either. Of course, Lerri thought, Nidu could show off as she was exceptionally good looking; even the redhead had to admit that. Finding a towel as she left the water to dry off and put her sleeping gown back on.
As Nidu rose, Ninela woke and headed for the toilet. Nidu joined Lerri at the place where the pot of soup had been earlier. A new pot that smelled of cheese was there now as was bread. The two served themselves and sat at a small table they hadn't seen before. Ninela joined them a moment later with her own meal.
A fourth person walked up and the girls all gasped at Zhade who looked to be about their age. "I thought this would be easier, but if you wish I can look like this." Zhade morphed into a small dragon. "Or this," the dragon said before morphing into an alien woman that looked like she would have matched Sreeth, for it was indeed Sreelath's likeness.
"That one please," Ninela said in awe and the others nodded their agreement.
"My real name is K'agrb, but Harry calls me Cynthia. You would know me as The Dragon," she said and sat in the fourth chair. "I thought we should talk a little before Harry wakes up. You need to know at least as much as Harry does because you will have a decision too - one that is as important as his."
"You're really The Great Dragon?" Nidu asked in awe.
"This form holds part of her essence, I suppose." Cynthia reached out and a cup appeared and she took a sip. "Would it surprise you to know you are actually inside me right now?" An image of nearby space appeared over the middle of the table where they could see the dragon and the two small looking Starfleet ships not too far away.
A red dot appeared just after the dragon's neck and just under her spine. "We're at the red dot, approximately," Cynthia told them. "A lot of me is hollow. I'm not really like an animal or yourself. The dragon shape really is just the shape I take and I could look like almost anything; but I like this and I like the size as I can also look like an asteroid that most will ignore."
"Can you do everything, anything you want?" Ninela asked in awe.
Cynthia took another sip and let the image of space dissipate. "Just about. I don't have unlimited power. There are a number of things I can't do in regards to time. But from your perspective, there's little I can't do." She sighed. "One of the things I can't do is live alone and we must talk about that." She shared the information Sreeth had shared with Harry and Zhade about needing a companion.
"So you see," Cynthia concluded, "I need Harry and that also means I need one or more of you too. Honestly, it would work better with all of you here, but I won't force anyone to stay … not even Harry."
"I would stay with Harry," Lerri said without hesitation.
Ninela looked at her 'sister'. "I would stay too. The opportunity to learn about the universe would be very interesting. Harry is nice looking too." She looked at Cynthia. "You are removing his age too? He looks younger to me."
"You could say that," Cynthia replied. "What I'm really doing is removing the damage from his body that age causes. I did that a little bit for Zhade to help her fight, but she would take no more. I've already done it to all of you as well as there was little to fix."
"So we can continue to always look like this?" Nidu asked, intrigued.
"Yes."
"And we will get as powerful as Harry over time?" Nidu continued.
"Maybe, that is hard to say," Cynthia told her, "but you will get much more powerful in time. It's almost certain you will be very powerful in a thousand years. Sreelath," she pointed at her form, "was more powerful than Harry when she died but was no more powerful than you when she started. So there is hope for you, but why do you want more power?" was asked intently.
"I want to be able to match Harry, or really to be a good match for him," Nidu answered. "To always be a … little girl to him wouldn't be good. If I never became better, I should go back home." She hung her head with her silvery hair drooping and covering her face.
Cynthia reached over and touched her arm. "You have nothing to worry about, my dear Nidu. In fact, none of you have anything to worry about. It is true that Harry was very hurt by the loss of Zhade. When he wakes up, I'm almost sure he won't be in a good mood. However, be yourselves and give him support and love and he'll be better. Given time, he will be husband to you all if you want. This is something you must discuss, and it will have to be discussed with Harry too. If you can not share, then it would be best to return home. I'll let you think and talk about it." She faded out as did her cup.
"This is difficult," Nidu said as she rose. She stripped off her clothes and headed for the bathing area, walking past the waterfall and disappearing behind the greenery.
Lerri sighed. "I wished I could look like that."
"It doesn't matter," Ninela told her. "I've watched Harry over time and he's watched all of us. Sure, he taught us things like Zhade did, but I've seen him look at each of us, all seven of us," she got out with a small hitch in her voice, "and look pleased."
"Still," Lerri complained.
"Would you share Harry?" Ninela asked boldly and bluntly. "We'd take turns sleeping with him, but would you share your time with him, your life? Would you have children with him and be happy?"
It took a moment, but Lerri said eventually, "Maybe. Probably."
Ninela took her sleeping gown off and put it on her chair. "Take yours off and let's go talk to Nidu and ask her that question."
"Would you do that?" Lerri asked the naked Ninela who just stood there.
"I'm giving it serious consideration."
"Why?" Lerri asked as she stood and took her gown off and followed the other girl.
"Because we'll have time to do whatever we want," Ninela answered as she stepped into the pool and continued to the deeper pool where Nidu was lounging in the warm water. "Have you considered that we could live thousands of years without aging, so that means sharing doesn't have to be hard. There will be a long time to explore what we want with Harry, with each other, and for ourselves."
"That does put a different look on the question," Nidu said quietly.
"But how do we convince Harry?" Lerri asked. "This feels very nice."
— — —
"You want me to do what?" Harry almost shouted at an old and dying Sreeth and a young Sreelath look-alike.
The three girls were standing just on the other side of the open door listening to an argument that did not sound like it was going well.
"Harry, it's not as bad as you're making it sound," Cynthia in Sreelath's form said.
"Oh?" Harry objected strenuously. "I thought you just said that I, who just lost his wife of 279 years, something I haven't really come to terms with yet, need to take up with not one but three girls. Also, no matter how nice they are, how pretty they are, how smart they are, and all of the other positives, they're barely old enough to get married. I'm like fifteen times older than they are."
The three girls looked at each other and perked up before they whispered. "Pretty?" "Smart?" "He likes us?" They were happier hearing that.
"No, Harry, I'm not asking you to do what you're probably thinking … and I'm not looking into your mind on purpose," Cynthia told him. "What I'm asking you to do is to stay here, be my companion with one or more girls, just like Sreeth and Sreelath were, and other couples before them. Images of eight other pairs appeared for a moment before disappearing.
"You have options, Harry. I'm just asking that you stay and let the girls stay as they wish. You can brood by yourself for the next year if that's what you want, although I would say that would make things worse for you. You can live with one at a time while the rest are in suspended animation. You can live with all three at once. You can and should be friends for a time before becoming lovers and then becoming parents."
"Wait, what?" Harry exclaimed.
"Which part?" she asked with patience, a patience honed over many millennia.
"All of it," Harry told her. "So have sex with them, with some being asleep, and having children who go where?"
"Harry," Sreeth said tiredly and looked at his faux-mate, who nodded and sat down in a chair that appeared just as she needed it.
"Look, Harry, I've been alive for about 500,000 years of your time. I've been asleep for most of it. When you're asleep or in suspended animation like that, you can still talk to Cynthia and she'll help you talk to your mate or mates too. Of course, you can ask her and she'll wake you up anytime you like to go do things, like if you have an idea you want to try out. But that suspended sleep is needed or you'll become truly bored out of your mind. She needs you, but you're not needed every minute of every day either.
"However, eventually she will detect a planet that looks good to sow magic, I guess you could say. She'll fix up the system if needed, start terraforming the planet magically, and then when it's all ready people are added to the planet. But where do the people come from? From you and your mate, of course.
"That happens because over time, you have children. You can have and raise them at any time, teaching right and wrong and about using magic. Once they are old enough, they are put into suspended animation until they are needed; that is, when a planet is ready for them. Then they are are changed slightly in appearance and put into a village to start civilization along with the basics needed to live, like seed, crops, and a staff or wand. We generally hang around for a century or two to make sure it's all going well, then we can leave and start looking for the next planet."
"You change them?" Harry queried.
"Of course," Sreeth answered. "Zhade and those on her planet are our descendants. If the Starfleet ship were to look at my DNA and theirs, they'd find I'm an ancestor. Cynthia changes some outward appearances on each planet so it looks like they evolved there and doesn't look like they were planted by some old race, even if that is what happened.
"So they have children with their brothers and sisters?" Harry asked aghast.
"It has to be that way because who else is there?" Cynthia took back over. "However, it's not the same for them as it was for you where you were born. Yes, we tell them not to do that, but we also have removed their memory that they are all brothers and sisters. It works genetically for the first dozen generations or so because they are all genetically perfect, just like you are now. With no genetic flaws, it's all right. By the time there are genetic flaws because of radiation from their sun, there are established families and they aren't marrying family - or they're not supposed to, just like you were taught not to do that."
Harry waved his hand and dropped into the chair that appeared. "That makes sense logically, but it makes my head hurt. And my mate, how many children does she have to have?"
"It's good to seed a planet with a minimum of 200 people," Cynthia answered and smiled at his horrified look and also knowing the girls had the same look. "Harry, it's not as bad as you're thinking. First, I can repair their bodies so there is no wear and tear on them, as the saying goes. Other than the discomfort of being pregnant, it's not a problem; I make it so they won't even feel pain in childbirth. Second, there are usually several tens of thousands of years between planets because I don't move quickly, so you have a long time for those children to be birthed and raised.
"This is also," Cynthia said pointedly, "where having three girls will help you out, in that each has to only have one-third of the children required. I'd have to really think about it to come up with the answer, but Sreelath had thousands of children and she did just fine."
"She looked as good as the day I met her not long after she gave birth to her last child," Sreeth added. "We found it better to raise a number of children at once rather than one at a time, but you can do whatever you think works best. You'll have time to do either, or even change and try something else. Harry, this is really important to magic; magic needs you, or if you want to make it personal, Cynthia needs you, but she is the source of magic in this universe."
"I don't know; it's asking a lot," Harry said after a moment.
"Harry," Cynthia looked at him steadily, "will you at least promise to try it. If you're really against this, at least promise to do it until I can find someone to take your place. At the very least, stay here with me and keep me company, you don't even have to father any children. Just stay and sleep and talk with me until your replacement is found. The girls can go back home with your friends in the ships.
"NO!" Lerri shouted and she burst through the doorway. "I want to stay. I will have children and I," she looked at Harry, "I will be your mate."
"I too will stay and be your mate," Ninela declared. "I am willing to share."
"I will share," Lerri agreed.
Nidu walked in and looked at Harry. "You promised to protect us and you did. If you will promise to treat us equally, then I will stay and share. I will give you children too and good times making children," she grinned for a moment before she paused and looked down, "even if you love the others more."
"He loves you more," Lerri told her.
"Stop!" Harry commanded them. "I don't love anyone more than the others. Each of you is very special." He looked at each. "You'd really stay and live with me even with the other girls being here?"
"Magic needs lots of babies," Lerri replied and looked shy suddenly, "and I'd like to have babies with you. To live with you. To learn magic with you too." She looked at the other two girls. "It would be nice to have others to talk to at times; boys don't understand sometimes." She giggled and the other two joined her.
Harry shook his head and looked at the girls again. "Are you really sure?"
Lerri nodded. "Yes, even when you're grumpy," she said with a smile and was joined by the other two with teasing looks, causing him to shake his head.
"All right," Harry said with resignation. "I'm going to need some time for me before I can get into a relationship, but that will give us time to get to know one another. However, at this time I'll promise to stay at least until someone else can be found, although by that time maybe I'll just keep doing this."
Sreelath walked over and gave him a gentle hug. "Thank you, Harry. If I may make a suggestion? Or really two?"
"Suggest," he encouraged her.
"Let me send a message back to your planet that none of you will be coming back. I won't mention any deaths so we don't cause them any extra grief." She gave him a questioning look.
"Sure, that seems reasonable," Harry agreed.
"Go see your friends on the ship and tell them good-bye. It might be best not to tell them what you'll be doing, just that I'm giving you a ride. That way they don't think they can call on you again," she told him.
"Won't they be able to find us based on our path?" he asked her. "That's how I found you."
Cynthia smiled at him indulgently and patted him on the shoulder. "Harry, I kept that path and a reasonably constant velocity so you could find me again. I have no such need in the future."
"Oh," he muttered sheepishly. "Err, yeah, all right. I'll pop over and say good-bye." He turned to the girls, "Back in a bit," before he Apparated away.
Landing on the bridge of the Enterprise, Harry saw most of whom he was expecting, the Admiral being the obvious missing person.
Captain Dennum tapped his communicator. "Admiral to the bridge; our visitor has returned." The man looked at Harry for a brief moment before taking a deep breath.
"Ambassador Potter, I would like to offer my deepest apologies for my outbursts before the battle. In my defense, I will say you surprised me several times with what I thought was the impossible. Nevertheless, I could have handled it better and been more professional." Bravely, Dennum held his hand out hopefully.
Harry could tell he really meant it, probably from magic he considered but didn't really think about. He reached out and shook the man's hand. "Thank you, Captain. I'm sure that was difficult as much as some of my actions and requests were difficult. It seems like Starfleet is still turning out good officers."
"Thank you, Ambassador."
"Ah, that's good to see," Riker said as he strode over with a smile. "Ambassador, it's good to see you up again. From what I was told by the dragon, I offer you my condolences for the loss of your wife. I'm sure this is a very difficult time."
"Thank you, Admiral," Harry said gravely. "It is difficult for me, but I have people helping me come to terms with it and I'm trying to move forward. I don't know if you were told, but we also lost Vanou, Neli, Lillou, and Vainis. Fortunately, Nidu, Ninela, and Lerri survived.
"In fact, due to the losses, the four of us are going to stay with the Dragon for a while to heal. I don't know for how long or where we're going, but we'll figure it out as we go."
"I'm sorry for your losses there as well, Ambassador. I can certainly understand needing some time away," Riker told him.
"How was it for you? For all of your ships?" Harry asked.
"We only lost four here on the Enterprise. The hull remained intact, but two windows were destroyed and the four died from exposure to vacuum. On the Lexington, we lost 83. The Fermet lost another 12." Riker shook his head. "War is terrible, but a battle where we lose less than 100 is counted as a victory; it's been that bad for us over the years.
"To have the Borg defeated…" Riker had to stop for a moment and looked like he was choking up. "I'm sorry, I'm still coming to terms with the idea that we will not longer have to deal with them attacking us - something I've lived with all of my life. Now, we can start rebuilding in earnest. Perhaps what's left of various displaced people such as the Klingons and Vulcans can return to their planets. The price was hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of deaths and over a hundred destroyed worlds in the Federation alone."
"I'm sorry it came to that, but I too am glad it's over and that I was able to help," Harry told him.
"I'll assume this was your Dragon's doing, but the star here went nova, something which really shouldn't have been possible since it was not a binary star system. The remnant is a neutron star and we'd like to name it after you, if you don't mind," Riker half said, half asked.
"I'll assume it went nova because of what Q did. As I understand it, he lured the last two from the other side into the star and all three of them died together. Perhaps it would be better to name it after Q?" Harry suggested.
"Of course, I'll change the name before I submit the naming," Riker smiled.
"If it matters," Harry told him, "Cynthia told me that there are only three Q left alive, all are neutrals, so they'll leave you alone. Her prediction is they'll be gone in a few hundred to a thousand years." Harry shrugged.
"Thank you for letting me know." Riker stepped forward and held out his hand and the two shook. "Is there anything we can do for you before you go? Anything at all?"
Harry smiled and sent a request to Cynthia to get something from his crate.
"Thank you for asking and it's just two small things," Harry told him. "First, please protect what I consider my home world in the Omega Yayama system. In fact, if you could continue the warning beacons and also station a cruiser or something in the nearest system for quick response, I would greatly appreciate it."
"That is an easy thing to do considering what you did for us, for the galaxy," Riker told him with a smile. "Your people will live in peace."
He bespoke Cynthia to send his gift and a number of containers appeared on the floor around him. "Please take this to help my request. I am assuming latinum still acts as money and I have no need for it."
Riker counted quickly. "It is and you're giving me 22 liters of latinum?! That's multiple fortunes!"
Harry smiled. "I'm sure the buoys aren't cheap and, as I said, I have no use for it. If so, I'll make more."
"You made that and not mined and refined it?" Captain Dennum said, his voice comically rising in disbelief.
Harry conjured a liter container, then conjured the latinum to fill it, then finally a lid so it didn't spill and handed it to the captain. "Here, have a party for the ship, or really all of the ships that were with us, all on me," he said with a grin. The captain took it with shaking hands, never having held so much at once.
"Admiral, good-bye and good luck." Harry shook hands with him again before he looked around one last time. "It's a good ship." He Apparated back to the dragon.
Each of the girls gave him a light hug and welcomed him back. It was Lerri who said, "You need to talk to Sreeth now."
Harry could guess why as the girls left the room. He noticed Cynthia was not in bodily form any more, although she'd always be present. Walking over, he looked at the old man and smiled.
Sreeth gave him a toothy grin and waved a hand to beckon him closer. When Harry knelt on one knee beside the recliner, the old man said very softly, "Harry, thank you for doing this for K'agrb. I know things are hard on you right now, but it shows the kind of person you are that you'd stay here for her when you have every reason to walk away. You are kind, compassionate, loving … yet you are also tough and are willing to do what needs to be done. You are a rare person."
Harry just nodded at him.
"Don't be afraid to ask her questions and challenge her. Sure, she's almost always right, but there is that one question in a thousand where you will be right and that keeps her on her toes and makes her grow." Sreeth lifted a shaky hand and they gripped each other, palm to palm and thumbs wrapping each other; Harry had to hold the man's hand up.
"The Vulcans have it right. Live long and prosper, Harry. I've already told the girls good-bye." Sreeth relaxed his grip so Harry let go and put the old man's hand down. "It is time to go meet Sreelath again."
Harry stood and stepped back to watch Sreeth fade away, then his chair did too. He took a deep breath and sighed. Perhaps something to eat than a private place to cry for a bit.
"Harry?" Lerri called to him. "Why do you have a funny broom? Cynthia said to ask you and she gave us one too. But you can't sweep with them and we don't need to sweep here."
He looked at her holding his Firebolt in one hand with another in her other hand. "You fly on them, if you have a place to fly," he told her.
"Oh, well, Cynthia said she's mostly hollow and the room we're staying in keeps going back so far it's lost in darkness but Cynthia says she can give it light," the redhead told him as Nidu and Ninela walked up, each also holding a broom.
"Well, in that case, let me show you a little fun." Harry wondered if they could have Quidditch games when they had some children who were old enough. He'd go mourn for Zhade later.
— — —
Not long before Harry reached his 800th birthday, Cynthia told him the last of the Q had moved on. With her help, he went to the Continuum and installed a plaque that contained the history Q had given him of the Q's rise and fall, plus a little more Cynthia thought useful, hoping that the R would see it and heed it.
— — —
Shortly after Harry's 1,081st birthday and while he was in suspended animation, Cynthia told him she had found a potential candidate to replace him. He only considered the offer for a few seconds before he told her he was fine continuing on.
— — —
In Harry's 18,244th year, Cynthia woke them all up and showed them a newly terraformed planet at the edge of the Delta quadrant. It would be another two years before 323 children were sent to the planet in the most hospitable location. It was both a proud and sad moment for the four "humans". But not too sad as by the time they left the planet 125 years later, after ensuring the children had a good chance of surviving, the three girls already had another 21 children in suspended animation, ready for the next planet.
— — —
After 139,887 years, Harry wept bitterly over the death of Nidu. Sure, she had saved them by taking down an ascending being who had become corrupt with power, but she had done it on her own without waiting for him. He was sure he could have prevented her death if she had just waited a little longer, but Cynthia said that wasn't guaranteed. That episode also propelled Harry to achieve "ascension"; he was almost as powerful as Cynthia at the end. Ninela and Lerri weren't far behind.
— — —
Now 374,932 years after Harry was the Dragon's companion, Ninela ascended enough she was capable of traveling to wherever she wanted and was ready to leave. The Metrons had finally ascended as a race about 50,000 years earlier and had taken over the Continuum, so Ninela bid the other two and Cynthia good-bye and left to join the Metrons, who accepted her.
— — —
After 492,873 years, Cynthia announced she'd found a possible replacement candidate - the sixth possible one since Harry had started. Harry looked at his beautiful Lerri, the last one with him. She already knew the question.
"I'll go or stay with you, but I'm ready to do something else," she told him. She had ascended as well, almost as powerful as Cynthia now. Harry was almost at the level the Q had obtained, so about like a Metron.
"Cynthia, let's go find your new companions," Harry told her. "We love you but it's time for us to move on after this long and seeding seven planets."
It was nearly two years before they arrived at the planet the new companion and his wife lived on, plus to teach them what needed to be done so they were ready to take over, this being a more controlled turn over.
Harry and Lerri walked into the Continuum and found Ninela waiting for them and happy to see them.
The Metrons were a little cool at first, but soon warmed up to the new members of the R. They had also taken Harry's story on the Q to heart and were being subtle yet benevolent helpers to the universe ... at least for now.
(The end.)
(A/N: There's the end of it. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I think this is now my favorite story of all I've written.
I don't know what story I'll do next or when it'll come out, but that's what author alerts are for. - Kevin)