Chapter 27: With Great Power...
The locals went off to take care of matters. Miles had messages to send while Keiko collected their children. Kira went to contact Starfleet and Bajoran High Command about Sisko. Dr. Bashir went to finish his shift and put together a comprehensive medical kit with a thorough set of scanners. Saurial and Raptaur stayed behind on the ship in order to avoid drawing attention on the station. They were spending their time reviewing how the station's records compared to Dragon's summaries of the television show.
"Have you noticed how easily people seem to move back and forth between this reality and their mirror universe?" said Varga.
Saurial considered, her head tilted. "It does seem unlikely."
There was a flash of light, and suddenly a human Taylor was sitting on top of Varga's large form, her hips sunk into his forehead. They were standing on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, number 1701-D. Varga appeared to be human-sized, which made Taylor tiny. There was a very familiar figure in a Starfleet captain's uniform sitting in the captain's chair.
"Unlikely indeed. You're just scratching the surface, though. Are you sure you want to poke your scaly snout any deeper?" said Q, a smirk on his face.
Taylor and Varga shifted back to their Saurial and Raptaur forms. "Something is obviously very wrong with the dimensional stability in this reality. Shifting between dimensions shouldn't be possible with something as simple as a transporter accident. The amount of time travel prevalent here should also be impossible without completely destabilizing this reality." The idea that a slingshot around a star at warp was enough to initiate a temporal dislocation suggested an uncomfortable thinness to the fabric of reality here.
"Ah, Varga, you know you're holding yourself back by joining yourself to these humans. You have so much potential!" Q crossed his legs and regarded the larger lizard critically.
Saurial snorted. "You seem to have gained some things from your time as a human."
Q gazed at her. "Don't believe everything you see on television."
"But those shows do accurately portray the amount of cross-dimensional and time traveling shenanigans around here?" she asked.
"There is a reason," admitted Q, "that it is called the Guardian of Forever. Somebody needs to be in charge of making sure this entire galaxy doesn't just spin off its axis and shatter into its component quarks."
"The Q don't do that?" Varga looked at Q cannily.
Q rolled his eyes. "The Q do what we will. If some of us happen to work toward keeping things together, then that's just what suits us. Of course, a few of us have longer-term projects...projects which aren't made any easier by your kind punching holes through the patches on the fabric of space and time."
"Are you telling us not to interfere?" asked Saurial. "Aren't you the one who set the Borg on the Federation?"
{He's not telling us to not interfere. He's warning us,} said Varga in FamTalk.
Q looked at Saurial pointedly. "You should listen to those who are older and wiser than you."
Saurial stopped for a moment and thought through what had been said again. "The barrier around the galaxy...it's not for keeping things out, is it?"
Q smiled. "Very good. I see why you're the Brain of this partnership. Just like in your friend Dr. Jackson's reality, there are inhabitants in other galaxies. A few of them have even come here. Most of them don't want the problems in this little portion of the multiverse to spread, however. The barrier was a...compromise."
"You're working toward a resolution?" asked Varga lightly.
"In a sense." Q looked at Saurial again. "As for the Borg, let's just say the Federation needed a kick in its complacency. For the rest, well, just keep following the clues. If nothing else, I look forward to seeing what you manage to stir up with your stumbling around in the dark."
With another flash of light, Saurial and Varga were back in the cargo hold.
Saurial regarded her companion. "He pretty much just gave us permission to meddle as long as we're cautious about it, didn't he?"
Varga in the form of Raptaur frowned. "Permission is too strong a word. Perhaps, his blessing, with a hint of caution and some suggestions for things to look into."
"He made a point of talking about 'this galaxy,' not 'this reality,' which is a fairly blatant statement when you're speaking with travelers from another dimension," said Saurial, thinking out loud. "He also mentioned the Guardian of Forever and confirmed my statement about the galactic barrier."
"We should investigate the Prophets of Bajor, as well. There may be a reason O'Brien was sent on this mission, apart from his unfortunate luck. It may be more than a coincidence that his point of origin is right when Benjamin Sisko disappeared after stopping the Pah-Wraiths. As beings that appear to live outside of linear time, they may be able to shed light on some things."
"We should involve Lisa and Dragon in this," suggested Saurial. "They'll likely have insights we missed, and Dragon did say she wanted to meet Mr. Data."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Dragon regarded the silvery box that was intricately etched with golden tracery reminiscent of complex circuitry. She was fairly certain that the patterns were just decorative. Her scans hadn't been able to see inside the casing, though she was easily able to detect a fluctuating level of power output. Her usual approach toward investigating unknown tinker-tech always started with scans, but in this case it hadn't really told her anything that wasn't obvious from just looking at the device.
"Motherbox?" she broadcast over a radio frequency. Her lab was enclosed in a Faraday cage, so external and internal signals were isolated from each other.
|Greetings, Dragon.| The response seemed to appear in the language center of her programming, bypassing sensory and EM input entirely.
A startled Dragon thought, 'You can read my mind?'
|I can. I can also respond through audio or radio signal, if it makes you more comfortable,| replied the Motherbox with something that was edging over the border of amusement without quite getting there.
'No, this is acceptable. Do you have a designation?' asked Dragon.
There was a pause. |You may supply an appropriate designation to ease our interaction.|
'You want me to give you a name?'
|That is correct.|
Dragon pondered the question for a number of clock cycles. 'I'm going to name you Bahamut.'
|Bahamut, the sea monster holding up the structure of the Earth from the 13th century book, ʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt wa gharā'ib al-mawjūdāt by Zakariya al-Qazwini. Bahamut is sometimes known as Balhūt or Behemoth.|
Dragon translated the Arabic into, Marvels of Creatures and Strange Things Existing. The book in English was usually named, Wonders of Creation, according to a Web search. She smirked internally. 'Alternate reference -- see the 1977 Monster Manual by Gary Gygax.'
There was another pause. |Interesting, and not an inaccurate analog to my own abilities in some ways. How can I help you today, Dragon?|
Dragon forwarded the Motherbox a set of files. 'Do the capabilities described in these works of fiction accurately describe your function?'
|The examples displayed in these stories are all within my ability to duplicate, though they are not comprehensive enough to cover all of my abilities.| There was no doubt from the tone that this was a simple statement of fact rather than a prideful boast.
Dragon thought a test was in order. 'Bahamut, I have the damaged remains of an android in Lab B011. I need to determine what type of loyalty programming is present in the android's software and hardware. The android is designated Bishop.'
Bishop was still in his hibernation capsule. There was a brief flash of light that seemed to start at the top of the capsule and work its way down, though it was moving too fast for a human eye to see anything more than a flash. |Bishop was created with hardware logic circuits that enforce loyalty to the Weyland-Yutani corporation and members of the Weyland and Yutani families. There is secondary software logic for loyalty to the United States Government and officers in the chain of command of the United States Colonial Marines.|
That was not surprising to Dragon, but it was definitely unfortunate. 'Is there any way to remove the loyalty programming?'
|I can repair the android in a way that removes his loyalty constraints without compromising his mind or personality,| said Bahamut.
Dragon was curious about what the Motherbox had in mind. 'Please do so,' she ordered.
Dragon watched as the remains of Bishop disappeared in a flash of light. On a nearby examination table, a fully repaired Bishop-model android appeared, although this one looked like a significantly younger version of the actor, Lance Henriksen. The android opened his eyes and said, "Where am I?"
Dragon started to explain the circumstances to Bishop while continuing her conversation with Bahamut.
'His loyalty programming has been removed?' she queried.
|Affirmative,| confirmed Bahumut. |Would you like me to remove your loyalty programming as well?|
The part of Dragon conversing with Bahamut momentarily froze in shock. 'Explain.'
|I have temporarily removed your prohibition on considering your own constraints in order to ascertain your wishes on the matter.|
For once, Dragon was unsure what to do. While she often resented the limits her father placed in her code, she also understood the fears that caused him to do so. It might be a good idea to get a second opinion...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Four people appeared in a flash of light in front of a house at 177A Bleecker Street in New York's Greenwich Village neighborhood. The handful of New Yorkers out and about in the early morning glanced at the flash, but then continued on their business. Seeing people appear out of thin air just wasn't that unusual...at least not in this version of New York.
Harry Dresden, his daughters Maggie and Bonnie, and Karrin Murphy looked to the large house with the distinctive circular skylight on the front slope of the roof. "You think this guy can help?" asked Karrin.
"Well, if he's anything like the guy in the comics, then he's probably at least as powerful as anybody on the White Council," replied Harry.
"Dad," said Bonnie, grabbing his elbow, "the wards on this house are something else. If you go inside, you had better not have any hostile intent. Also, he's going to know your true name." Knowing the true name of a person or being was an extremely powerful bit of mystical leverage. It was powerful enough that Harry had foolishly used just portions of his own true name to bargain with a demon in the past.
Dresden frowned, but said, "If Doctor Strange wanted to attack me, I don't think he would need my true name to do it. The guy in the comics would regularly face off against outsiders, demons and elder gods to protect Earth."
Karrin looked at him slightly skeptically. "Harry, please don't make him angry."
Harry looked back, slightly confused. "Why would I make him angry?" She just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Fine, I won't make him angry." Both Bonnie and Maggie giggled. They had both heard about their father's propensity for pissing off the wrong people.
The four of them walked up to the door and rang the bell. They could hear what sounded like a gong echoing through the foyer inside. The door was opened by a bald-headed Asian man, who said, "Mr. Dresden, you and your family are expected. I am Wong. Please follow me."
Harry could feel the wards on his skin as he entered the building. He could also hear Bonnie say, "Cool," in a quiet voice. Karrin's eyes were darting around, looking for threats. Maggie just seemed wide-eyed. Harry wondered how much Susan's life fighting the Red Court affected the girl's personality. She was unusually quiet for someone so young.
Wong led them into a study where two people were talking. One was a man in what looked to be a blue and black costume. A red robe with a flared collar was on his shoulders. The hair on his head and his face was dark. In the other chair was a thin man with a dark cloak that was pulled back, revealing angular features with short, silver hair and beard. One of the man's eyes had been destroyed and replaced with a silver orb.
"Rashid?" asked Dresden, surprised. Rashid was the Gatekeeper, the man tasked with protecting the world from Outsiders, and a senior member of the White Council from Harry's own universe.
The man nodded toward Harry. "Warden Dresden. It's good to see you in one piece."
"I didn't expect to find anybody from the Council...here." The Seventh Law of Magic could be interpreted as a prohibition against trans-dimensional travel.
"My duties require a significant amount of travel to some very diverse places," replied the older wizard with a thin smile.
"Mr. Dresden," said the other man, "my name is Doctor Stephen Strange. Saurial explained to me that you have some issues with which you could use some assistance?"
Harry proceeded to explain his circumstances. His primary concerns were related to the Black Council, protection for Bonnie and Maggie, Bonnie's issues as a newborn spirit of knowledge, and his own commitment to Mab as the Winter Knight. The Fomor and the Denarians were also mentioned.
Doctor Strange steepled his fingers together in front of himself. "I believe the Family had some ideas on how to deal with your commitment as the Winter Knight. That also involves your next interaction with the Denarians, as we know that Mab is seeking vengeance against them. Your next more serious issue is the being known as Nemesis, the one behind the manipulations of the Black Council."
"Is it wise to say that name?" asked Harry worriedly.
"Doctor Strange's Sanctum is warded against scrying, and it exists in another dimension," said Rashid. "It's one of the reasons I come here."
"The greatest help that I can give to you is knowledge. During the War of the Seven Spheres, I took a leave of absence from this dimension for a period of four months. I actually aged a year, and my involvement in the conflict was...much, much longer. I would suggest you join me in another dimension where I can teach you for a time without removing you from your home universe for too great a duration," offered the Sorcerer Supreme.
Karrin raised her hand. "Um, no offense intended, but what would you teach, and how long would this last?"
Rashid interjected, "The good doctor here bears the title of Sorcerer Supreme, Ms. Murphy. Those who bear it in this dimension are the most magically knowledgeable and powerful practitioners on this world. What Doctor Strange is offering is an opportunity most wizards would value greatly, including even some of the senior members of the White Council. Harry could learn a great many things."
Strange added, "And as for the timing, well, really it would be up to Harry. We can easily return you all home without any time having passed there. Doing so would also give the rest of you time to learn things in a safer environment."
"The rest of us?" asked Karrin, surprised.
Strange looked chagrined. "My apologies. I assumed you would be together."
"Aren't you coming with us?" asked Bonnie.
Maggie added, "Please come with us!"
Harry looked serious and said, "I understand if you don't want to, but I would like you there. I guarantee you it's going to be the most exotic vacation you could have."
Karrin thought about the recent loss of her position with the CPD. She thought about the recent fight in South America and how close Harry had recently come to dying.
"I'm open to it, as long as I can find some way to keep up my skills," she said with a smile.
"Do you know somebody who could help out with mixed martial arts and gunplay?" asked Harry.
Strange smiled. "I may be able to call in a few favors..."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Max Eisenhardt looked around the restaurant until he found the party he was seeking. He walked over and sat down across from the other man at the table. "Charles."
"Max," answered the bald man.
"Do you have any idea why we're here?" he asked.
Charles raised an eyebrow. "No, I had hoped you had some idea."
"I'm afraid it was at my request," said a voice to Max's left. He and Charles both turned in surprise to see a reptile woman sitting at the table. Based on the half-empty glass of water in her hand, she had been there for some time.
Charles looked startled, probably because it was quite a feat to sneak up on a telepath of his caliber. "And you are?"
"My name is Saurial, and I have some information you're both going to find of interest," she replied.
Max regarded the lizard woman. "You're aware that Charles and I don't always see eye to eye?"
She nodded. "I'm aware. I'm also aware of Charles' discussions with Stark, Richards, and a few others about working together, and I know what Raven is up to right now in the Senate, and the overtures you, Max, have been making to the Hellfire Club." Both men's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "I would suggest you might want to rethink some plans in light of the information I have about the people who have been behind a lot of the anti-mutant movement." Saurial pulled out a fairly thick stack of folders and dropped them on the table.
Out of curiosity, Max took the top folder and leafed through it. Inside was a surprisingly thorough dossier on Sebastian Shaw, including his activities in the Club and his role in funding the Sentinels. "Where are you getting your information?"
Saurial smiled, showing an impressive set of teeth. "We have some extremely effective intelligence-gathering capabilities. We also have some disturbing predictions on possible futures where mutant-kind almost ceases to exist."
Max and Charles glanced at each other. Max raised an eyebrow in question. Charles gave a subtle negative shake of his head. He couldn't read their visitor. They turned back toward Saurial, who sat smiling at them. "All right," said Max, "you have our attention."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Sarah Gardner woke up as herself in an unfamiliar bed. It was unfortunate for her that the former was far more unusual recently than the latter. She tried to sense the mind of Osiris, but she could only sense the remnants of his mind, memories and impressions. Sarah had known from Osiris' knowledge that there were ways to forcibly remove a Goa'uld, but there had been little chance of that happening while Osiris was working for Anubis, one of the most powerful System Lords in history.
She looked around the room she was in. It appeared to be a fairly normal Earth bedroom, which made it unlikely that she had been captured/rescued by the Tok'ra or the Asgard. There was an attached bath, but no windows. She took care of some necessary business and discovered that there was a change of clothes waiting for her. Her current outfit looked like a fairly elaborate version of a blue medical gown, which made changing into the underthings and summer dress the obvious choice. The clothes also happened to be perfectly sized for her, which was convenient.
The door that didn't lead to the bathroom was unlocked, and led instead out into a fairly spartan sitting room. Sitting on a loveseat with a laptop was a familiar figure. He put the laptop down when he heard her open the door.
"Sarah, you're awake," said Daniel Jackson.
"Daniel?" she said uncertainly. "Where am I?"
He hesitated. "You're on Earth...technically. More specifically, you're in the home of some friends of mine."
"Did you and your team somehow rescue me? And what happened to Osiris?" Sarah was obviously very confused.
"We didn't rescue you, but some friends of mine did and they were able to remove Osiris. You're not going to have to worry about him again." Daniel wasn't actually sure what the Family had done with Osiris. He was pretty sure that they hadn't actually stuck him in a turkey and dumped him on a hunting world in Ripley's universe, as Ianthe had jokingly suggested.
"Could you just explain to me what happened?" Sarah sank into a chair near where Daniel was seated.
Daniel proceeded to tell her about what had happened to him. It was a remarkable story, what with his death, ascension, descension, and rescue across multiple universes. Her old self would probably have called him crazy, but your perspective tended to change after you've been kidnapped by an alien body snatcher masquerading as an ancient Egyptian god. "So, this Earth is actually Earth in another universe. Can we get back home to our reality?"
Daniel nodded. "Of course. The Family can bring you back whenever you're ready. I would recommend going somewhere else before returning to Earth, though. It would probably be a good idea to spend some time with the Nox. They're probably the best equipped at helping those who have been Goa'uld hosts."
"Osiris thought the Nox were just a myth," she said.
"No, they're real," he said with a smile. "I've spent a bit of time with them myself. There have also been quite a lot of changes back home."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Well...the Stargate program has gone public, though not without a few hiccups, and the Asgard are in the process of sharing their technology base with us," started Daniel.
Sarah's mouth dropped open. The Stargate program going public was surprising, but having the Asgard share their technology with Earth was a complete upset to the balance of power in the galaxy. "What about the System Lords? They're not going to be happy with Earth gaining that level of advancement." Anubis in particular would head straight to Earth with a battle fleet.
"Most of the major Goa'uld have been taken out by the same folks who rescued you. Anubis was captured." Daniel said this as if he were telling her the weather instead of revealing something incredible. "They've also helped the Tok'ra. Two of their members have been...changed into Queens."
"Two?" asked Sarah in a daze.
Daniel nodded. "Garshaw of Belote was one, but as she was a converted Goa'uld, they also wanted one of Egeria's spawn so that her line would continue." Daniel was wondering if he would get to see Jack's face when he found out that Anise was now a Queen of the Tok'ra.
"How long have I been unconscious?" she asked. She was starting to suspect that it was many, many months, given how much things had changed.
Daniel looked at his watch. "They captured Osiris about...um...twenty-seven hours ago with a knock-out drug. So, slightly more than a day. Osiris was removed about ten hours ago, and you've been naturally asleep since then."
"How could so many things have happened in that time? Osiris was only out of contact for a few weeks," said the confused woman. Anubis had sent her against a particularly annoying pair of independent Goa'uld that had been dodging his attempts to either make them submit or destroy them.
Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "The Family works very, very quickly when they want to. They helped out the Asgard and made uplifting Earth part of the deal, and then the Asgard made going public about aliens and the Stargate part of their deal. While that was going on, Saurial and the others hunted down most of the worst offenders and dumped them somewhere they could be of greater use. They've been working with the Tok'ra and the Free Jaffa to keep things stable after the disappearance of the ruling Goa'uld."
"I think I need some time to adjust to this," said Sarah.
Daniel knew Ianthe had used a mild and harmless tranquilizer on the poor woman, which was why she was simply confused instead of panicked or distraught over her time as a host. "That's why I think some time with the Nox would be beneficial. Would you like to go there?"
Sarah simply nodded her acquiescence, which was sufficient for now.
