Further Developments

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

05/28/98:

I sat alone at a small outdoor restaurant in the city around
the Marble Hall. I was chewing on a sandwich while hunched
over a PADD and writing down a few important points in a
notebook I had brought with me.

An hour before I had been in a meeting with a small company
that needed a small starship for defense reasons. There
local part of the multi-verse was having problems with
raiders and his business was being effect.

So he called me up and wanted to strike a deal. He
originally had wanted to rent me and _The Falcon_ out as a
escort for his other ships, but I didn't have the time, nor
the inclination for such a thing. We were though able to
strike up deal.

He was going to pay me to make a second ship of the _Red
October_ class for his use. With some modifications to the
basic plans. The major one being to convert the space used
by the ballast tanks to a pair of small cargo holds.

Right now I was going over his plans for use he had
originally supplied and making notes on what parts would
require changes in the basic plans for the ship. I was going
to drop them off to Malia to see if she could make the
actual changes.

So it was because of that preoccupation of my mind that I
didn't even bother to look up when I heard someone clear
there throat on the other side of the table from me.

"Take the chair if you want." I comment, waving my hand in
the general direction.

I didn't pay much more attention then that as the chair was
pulled away from the table. Though my attention was focused
on my visitor when they sat down at the table.

Lifting my eyes up I looked over the top of my glasses at my
guest. Through blurred I could still make out the familiar
face. Dropping my pen on to the table I sat up in the chair.

"What the hell do you want Burke?" I demanded to the young
human.

He chuckled, resting his arms on the table and leaning
forward to me. "What I've always wanted, to help you." He
answered with a smile.

I shook my head, looking him over. He was once again dressed
in the same clothing, a coal black suit but with no tie. The
only color came from a pair of lapel pins, a pair of blue
stars outline with a thin gold border.

"From what I understand you apparently saved my life." I
commented, bending back over the PADD, though not taking my
eyes of the man.

He nods. "It was what I had to do."

"If you wanted to help me," I commented, scribbling some
letters in the notebook, "you would not have let me die."

He frowned. "What exactly do you mean? How could I have let
you die, you're hear now."

"Rhea's mind totally replaced my own for a week, I died." I
answered him.

"What?" He gasped out.

I looked back up, he look to be in shock. His face was slack
and his mouth was slightly open. After maybe a minute like
this he finally spoke. "I never knew. I was told that you
beat her back, not that you died then. Why wasn't I told?"

I shrugged. "Your employer doesn't seem to be as all knowing
as you seem to think."

He shot me an angry look and start to say something,
snapping himself forward. He cut himself off before he could
get more then a syllable out. His look of anger becoming
that of frustration.

"Almost said something you shouldn't." I observed, trying to
sound as dry as possible.

He nodded. "I'm sorry, it just came as such a shock to me.
It's just hard to comprehend that idea of you having died."

"Well, more of the death of personality." I commented,
"Either way, gives me something to talk to Spock and
Sheridan about." Then picking my sandwich back up I took a
large bite out of one side and sat back chewing.

Burke shook his head, smiling like he knew something I
didn't. "On a related note, I like your eyes."

I smiled back to him. "Thanks, it works quite well to
unsettle people when I want to."

He nodded. "I would imagine."

I shook my head. "Does this visit have a point or did you
come here just for the small talk?"

He shrugged. "Everything has a point, mostly I came to tell
you something. All on my own too, though I suspect my boss
might not care to much about this side trip when I get back
home."

I leaned forward a bit. "What is so important that you had
to come and see me unofficially?"

Burke leaned closer as well, smiling a bit. "Did you ever
once think your morals run so deep that they may hide your
own feelings from you?"

I blinked, this wasn't what I had expected. "What do you
mean?"

He shrugged. "I mean that some where, deep inside your self,
you feel things that you hide from even yourself to prevent
others pain?"

I shook my head. "What are you jabbering about?"

He chuckled, sitting back upright in his chair. "you'll see
in a few weeks. Listen though there's one other thing you
need to know."

I sighed. "What?"

"How long has it been sense you went through a mirror?" He
asked with a smile.

I pondered that question for a few seconds before finally
understanding. "Before my exile, why?"

He chuckled. "Because soon enough you're going to start
meeting your reflections, not just the reflection. There is
more then one of you in the multi-verse Fox, and it's not an
accident."

I tried to understand that but could only make the vaguest
of sense from it all. "What are you talking about?"

"Future history." He answered and then was gone, air now
where he had just been.

I sighed, leaning back in my chair. If that man wasn't
annoying as hell I didn't know what was. Still though it
left me wondering. I knew there were at least a few Earth
Parallel universe out there, but I didn't think I existed on
any of them.

His mirror comment though, that I understood well enough.
Last time I was there they whole mirror was involved in a
war that had lasted for years. I didn't know how, or even
if, my reflection there was involved, but I doubted the pair
of us would ever meet.

Finally I looked back down at the PADD and tried to get back
to work, but with not very much luck. Closing my notebook I
paid for my lunch and starting back home.

The last part of the plans I had today was to close up the
(now old) house and start to settle down at the new place.
Checking the time I figured Oria probably had the last load
of boxes and furniture sent over. All I had to do was lock
the doors and set the alarms.

Still though, I would miss the place. It had been my home
now for over a year and a half, and my part time residence
sense July of '94. I never did thank Ted properly for
letting me use it, not that I've seen him sense then.

Trudging through the corridors of the Hall I smiled to
myself. It's been a strange life I've lead, but on the whole
I've enjoyed it. Even if I don't run around the multi-verse
trying to be the doctor anymore I still enjoy what I do
manage to do.

Anyway, the occasional adventure has always been enough to
hold me over to the next one. Even if most of them turn out
far different then what I first hoped when I started them.

Going through the t-port curtain I entered the house. I
wanted to give it a once over to make sure we had
everything, and no one was left when I shut down the
curtain.

I was surprised to find Oria waiting for me on the couch.
She didn't look to well though she was shaking slightly
while she laid accost the cushions. Other then the couch the
rest of the room was bare. The couch itself was staying with
the house so it's present wasn't something to wonder about.

Setting the PADD and notebook on the floor I walked over to
her. She turned to look at me, smiling as I approached.
"Hello Fox." She said.

I stopped next to her. "What's wrong?" I asked.

She sighed, pulling her legs up and motioning for me to sit
on the couch. I took the seat as she spoke. "The Guild
called me, they're concerned that I have never looked over
the open assignments."

I nodded. "I see, and I though my day was bad."

She perked her ears up. "What happened? Start a war or
something?"

I smiled. "Nothing to serious, ran into Burke over lunch."

She let her ears fall. "Probably demanding thanks for saving
you."

I shook my head. "No, in fact he didn't even know that I had
died."

She frowned, leaning closer to me. "It's not public
knowledge Fox, not even in what ever his time is."

I shrugged, closing my eyes. "I guess."

One of her paws came to rest on my shoulder. "How about your
meeting, how did that go?"

I gave her a quick explanation of what had transpired.

"How much are you going to be paid to build this ship?" She
asked, her other paw landing on my other shoulder. She
started to work over my muscles softly with the pads of her
fingers as she waited for my answer.

"Cost of time and materials, an advance of fifty-thousand
credits and a thousand credit bonus for each day ahead of
schedule." I explained.

She chuckled, pulling me back towards her. "No wonder your
so tense." She said, pulling me back far enough so that my
head was resting on her neck. She increased the pressure of
her rubbing as she did so.

We stayed that way for a few minutes, neither one of us
saying anything. Finally Oriana broke the silence with a
quavering sigh. "What are we going to do with the Guild, I'm
not sure I can take another assignment."

I shook my head. "I don't know." I answered her.

She sighed again, not saying anything more. She keep working
on my shoulders as we sat there against each other. Some how
this all felt familiar.

After another minute she spoke again. "Fox," She whispered
into my ear. "You're purring."

I jumped in a flash, sliding off the couch and onto my feet,
scanning around the room with my eyes.

"Does that scare you?" Oria asked from the couch, sounding
worried.

I shook my head. "No... I just remember this already." I
said, sitting back down on the couch.

"I don't understand."

I nodded. "I know, I wouldn't either. About eight months ago
I had a dream that was more of a flashback. But it wasn't,
it was a flash forward, to what just happened."

She puzzled that over for a few moments then light donned on
her face. "How can that happen? I thought a natural could
only flash back on events that had already happened?"

I shrugged. "I don't know and frankly I'm not sure if I
really care."

She nodded. "Yes, you have to worry about enough problems in
your life right now then your mind being any more mess up."

I chuckled, standing back up. "I guess we should get going
to the new place now." I looked back to her. "You get
everything?"

She rolled her eyes at me and smiled. "Yes, I also have
already locked all the other doors."

I walked over to the door, picking up the PADD and the
notebook. "Thanks."

Oriana walked over to the front door and opened it for me. I
smiled to her and steeped into the small alcove. Bending
down I punched in the code that shut down the house's
controls for the t-port curtain.

Standing back up I motioned for Oria to go through to the
other side. She did so without a work. Locking the front
door to the house I followed her through.

Once there I shut down the controls on that side in the same
way as before. This time though the curtain faded out of
existence, leaving only a small closet side room.

Close the door to that I locked it as well then we both
started walking to our new home.

-----

This story is (c) 1998 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one a person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.