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Sailor Trek: The Next Generation



Chapter 7 - Recovery

     The entity looked idly about the nexus, in his own way admiring 

the flow of time around him.  Still, he was anything but pleased as he 

turned to his companion.  "I still think I should just send them back 

right now," Q said, sounding a bit petulant.  The figure next to him 

shook her head, stirring her long, green tinged hair.

     "That would not be a good idea.  Sailor Moon needs time to 

adequately recover from her recent ordeal... which you bear some 

responsibility for, by the way."  Q snorted disbelievingly.  "Besides, 

they've earned a brief respite with all they've been through the previous 

two years."

     Q glowered at her and stifled the urge to transform her into a 

cartoonish dog.  He had tried that once with her before, only to learn 

just how powerful she was in this domain.  Of course, the fact that she 

had other friends within the Q Continuum didn't help matters either.  It 

had been that incident that had led to his brief existence as a human.  

"Very well, Pluto.  We'll do it your way."



     "Captain's Log, Stardate 45239.8: The Enterprise remains in the 

Scout's universe, albeit one hundred years in their future, and has 

limped into orbit around the Jovian moon Europa while Commander LaForge 

completes repairs to the ship.  He estimates that it will be at least one 

week before repairs are complete enough for the ship to travel at warp 

speeds."



     "Counselor's Personal Log, Stardate 45239.9: Beverly has completed 

an examination of Serena and has told me that she found that all Borg 

implants in her were purged by the Silver Crystal, and that she has 

completely recovered... at least physically.

     "However, I am afraid that other aspects of her recovery will take 

much longer."



     "I just don't know what to do," Darien said.

     Troi watched the young man pace in her office.  Even if he hadn't 

had a worried expression on his face, she could have been able to tell 

he was troubled, for it was radiating from him like a supernova.  It had 

nearly been a full day since they had managed to extract Serena from the 

Borg ship.  At first she had seemed fine, but since then she had become 

withdrawn, nearly locking herself in her quarters.  

     Still, his pacing was starting to get on her nerves, and a 

counselor couldn't afford that.  "Darien, sit down."   After he hesitated 

a moment, she added an emphatic "Please!"

     He finally took a seat opposite from her.  "Sorry.  It's just 

that..."

     Deanna nodded.  "I understand.  You love her very much."

     "Yes," he replied shakily.  "She's everything to me."

     "And yet, not long ago you broke up with her."

     He looked at her sharply.  "You know about that?"

     "Yes," the counselor affirmed.  "I've been talking with both Raye 

and Luna.  I needed to know about her past if I was going to help her 

deal with what she's gone through."  She gave him a moment to digest 

this information.  "Why did you break up with her?"

     "Didn't Raye or Luna tell you?"

     "Yes," she acknowledged.  "But I'd like to hear it from you."

     He took a deep breath.  "OK.  In a nutshell, I was having these 

dreams, night after night.  They kept telling me that unless I stayed 

away from her, Serena would be hurt... maybe even killed."

     "And so you broke up with her based on a dream?" Troi asked 

skeptically.

     He got up and began pacing again, much to her displeasure.  "You 

don't understand.  I couldn't take the chance that she'd die.  I'd do 

anything to prevent that.  Even if it meant losing her."

     "Don't you think she feels the same?"

     Darien stopped his pacing.  "What do you mean?"

     She got up and face him.  "Think about it, Darien.  Over the past 

few days, she was captured and assimilated by the Borg.  Then she was 

forced by Rubeus, through the Borg, to try to destroy this ship, along 

with her friends, the other Scouts.  Finally she was used by Rubeus to 

try to kill you.  And given the love the two of you feel for each other, 

that has to have a devastating effect on her emotionally."

     "But it was Rubeus that was trying to kill me, not..." he objected.

     "I know," Troi interrupted him.  "And on an intellectual level, so 

does she.  But it's going to take some time for her to accept that on an 

emotional level."   She paused for a moment to let him think this over.  

"Don't try to force the issue, Darien.  When she's ready, she'll come to 

you."



     The sound of the Ten Forward doors opening attracted Guinan's 

attention.  This was one of those 'dead hours' in the lounge, in the 

middle of the night shift, and it was nearly deserted.  The vast majority 

of crew not on duty at this hour were in their quarters, sleeping.  Of 

course, there were those in the crew that swore that she was always on 

duty, but that was utter nonsense.  

     She was simply there when she was needed.

     She looked over to see who was entering at this time of night, but 

saw no one there.  After a moment, the doors closed, as if on their own 

accord.  She frowned, puzzled by the door's mysterious behavior.

     A glimpse of movement along the floor of the darkened lounge caught 

her eye.  Looking in that direction, she spotted Luna moving towards the 

large windows lining the lounge.  She nodded to herself, satisfied she 

had an explanation for the door opening.

     Luna jumped up onto the sill, and sat down, gazing silently at 

Europa spinning below the ship.  Guinan watched her for several minutes, 

then moved over to join her.  "Hello, Luna."

     The cat started when she spoke.  "Oh.  Good evening, Guinan."

     "Actually, it's very early in the morning."

     She looked startled. "Is it?  I must have lost track of the 

time."

     "Being lost in your own thoughts will do that," the bartender 

answered.  "Can I get you something?  Some milk, perhaps?"

     "No, thank you."  The cat returned her gaze outside, watching 

Europa spin slowly five hundred kilometers below them.  Jupiter was 

just now rising above the horizon.  It was a spectacular sight.  The Red 

Spot was just over the terminator in daylight, and there where hundreds 

of storms below giving off lightning on the night side, as well as the 

auroras glowing in the upper layers.  In short, a sight any astronomer 

would die for.

     Guinan ignored this and regarded the feline thoughtfully.  

"You're worried about Serena."

     The cat was silent for a time, but eventually nodded.  "Yes.  I've 

seen her go through a lot in the last two years, but I've never seen her 

like this."  Luna was silent for a moment.  "It's as if she's trying to 

distance herself as far from the rest of us as she can."

     "In a way, she is," Guinan acknowledged.  "Part of her blames 

herself for what she did while she was assimilated by the Borg."

     Luna snorted.  "Ridiculous!  She had absolutely no control over 

that!"

     "You're right.  She couldn't control it.  And that will be the 

hardest thing for her to accept."

     Luna sighed.  "We had an argument earlier," she admitted.  "She 

accused me of not understanding what she's gone through, before she 

tossed me out of the room.  And she's right.  Much as I want to, I can't 

really understand what she's going through.  I don't believe anyone 

really can."

     "Actually," Guinan observed ruefully, "There is someone who can."



     Locutus of Borg walked down the corridor of the Borg ship, then 

turned to face the communications monitor.  At a mental command the 

screen flickered, showing the several of the commanding officers of the 

starships confronting the Borg.  "Resistance is futile.  You will 

deactivate your weapons and escort us to sector zero zero one.  If you 

attempt to intervene... we will destroy you."

     "All ships, attack pattern alpha.  Commence fire," ordered 

commanding officer of the fleet, Admiral Hansen.  Locutus idly noted 

that he was known to Picard, who considered him a close friend.  It 

didn't matter one way or another to Locutus.  Friendship was irrelevant.

     Several starships raced in at maximum impulse and fired off volleys 

of phasers and photon torpedoes.  Locutus directed the weapons at the 

nearest, the USS Melbourne. In a matter of seconds, it's shields were 

drained and the forward half of the primary hull had evaporated.  

Powerless, the hulk of the once proud starship drifted dead in space, 

it's crew dead or trying desperately to escape in lifepods.

     Ignoring the dead ship, Locutus turned his attention to the other 

ships in the fleet.

     And destroyed ship...

     ...after ship...

     ...after ship...



     "NOO!!"

     Picard bolted upright in his bed, sweat streaming down his face.  

He glanced around quickly before ascertaining that he was still in his 

quarters... still on the Enterprise.  "A nightmare."  And one about Wolf 

359 at that.  He hadn't had one of those in quite some time.  Still, one 

didn't have to be a trained psychologist like Counselor Troi to realize 

what had triggered it.  Recent events had come a little to close to home 

for his taste. Especially when the voice from the collective had echoed 

in his mind.  He still wasn't sure how that had happened.  Was he still 

connected in some way to the collective?  Could they use that against 

him?  Or could he turn the tables and use this link against them?

     Those were questions for a later time.  "Computer," he said, his 

voice raspy, "what is the time?"

     "Oh four twenty seven hours."

     Picard sighed.  It was only another hour before it was time for him 

to get up.  Deciding that he might as well get a head start on the day, 

he got out of bed, intending to head for the shower.  But first... "Tea, 

Earl Grey, Hot."



     In another part of the Enterprise, someone else had also just 

woken up from a nightmare.  Serena sat up in the bed shivering, not from 

cold, but from sheer terror.  It was several moments before she realized 

just where she was and her pulse soon slow down to a more normal pace.

     She got out of bed and moved to the window, staring morosely out 

into space.  The magnificent sight of Jupiter through the window did 

nothing to lighten her mood.  Indeed, she wasn't really looking at the 

large gas giant at all.  Instead, her thoughts were firmly rooted in 

recent events.  'I should have been able to stop them,' she thought.  

'I should have kept them from using the Silver Crystal as a weapon, from 

making me try to kill...'  The memory overcame her and she began crying 

softly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

     "I hate this place."



     A few hours later, the door opened and to admit someone into the 

room.  Mina peered through the darkened room, 'Now, how do you turn on 

the lights around here?'  After a moment it came to her.  "Computer, 

lights on."  Obediently, the computer turn the room lights to full 

illumination.  She smiled and mentally congratulated herself on figuring 

that out.

     "Huh?"  Seated by the room window, Serena blinked at the sudden 

change in the light level.

     Mina smiled and crossed over to her.  "Serena, what are you doing 

sitting in the dark?"

     She shrugged and returned her gaze outside the window.  "Nothing.  

Just thinking?"

     "Are you serious?  Come on, girlfriend, this isn't the time for 

serious thinking.  We just beat Rubeus and the Borg!  This is a time to 

celebrate.  And there's a big, wide starship to do it in out there."  

When she didn't reply Mina continued, "Come on, Serena.  We're going to 

check out that holodeck thing and see what it can really do!  Why don't 

you come with us?"

     Her reply was muffled.  "You guys go ahead without me."

     "Serena..."

     "I said no!" she suddenly shouted, startling Mina with the 

vehemence of her reply.  "Just go away and leave me alone!!"

     For the first time in a long while, Mina found herself at a loss 

for words.  Finally  she just nodded and left the room.

     The others met Mina outside.  "Any luck?" Lita asked.  Mina shook 

her head in response.

     They were silent for a moment.  Finally Amy said, "I don't like 

this.  The only time I can remember seeing her this bad was when Darien 

was kidnapped by the Negaverse."

     "You got that right," Raye murmured absently.  Then in a louder 

tone, "Why don't you guys go on ahead.  I'll catch up with you later."

     "Where are you going?" Mina inquired.

     "To talk to Deanna.  Maybe she can give us some advice about how 

to handle Serena."  With that Raye headed down the corridor.

     "Come on you two," Lita urged.  She started for the turbolift.  

"I don't know about you, but I've got a sudden craving to bust something 

up."

     "Like what?" Mina asked.

     "I don't know.  Maybe we'll just run that Borg scenario, but this 

time put Rubeus' face on all the Borg."

     The three girls continued the rest of the way in silence, only 

pausing long enough for the doors to the holodeck to open sufficiently.  

They all stopped shortly after entering.  They had expected to see the 

normal grid associated with a deactivated holodeck.  But this scene was 

vastly different, telling them that the area was in use.

     The three girls looked around in confusion.  "What's going on?" 

Lita asked.  The scene before them was of a swampland and the air had a 

humid feel, with a low mist hanging.  "I thought we had the holodeck 

reserved!"

     A look of consternation crossed Mina's face.  "Ooops..."

     Lita turned to the blonde.  "Mina, don't tell me you forgot?!?"

     "Er... Um..." she stammered.  "Sorry..."

     "I'm sure there are other holodecks we could use," Amy suggested.  

"After all, it is still early in the day."

     "Yeah, you're right, Amy," Lita acquiesced, though she still 

sounded annoyed.

     Before any of them could move or call for the exit, a loud cry 

echoed through the area and a large form burst from the nearby bushes.  

It plowed right into Mina and Amy, knocking the two of them into a 

nearby pond.

     Lita instinctively readied herself as the creature charged at her.  

The tall girl deftly blocked it's attack, and she retaliated quickly, 

striking two quick blows to it's head before dealing it a sharp spin 

kick.  The creature fell to the ground and didn't move.  She was just 

starting to relax when a sound from behind her caused her to spin around.  

Worf stood there with Darien beside him, each holding a large curved 

weapon and looking as if they had been fighting creatures of this type 

for some time.  "What are you doing here?" the Klingon demanded.

     "Sorry," Lita said.  "We didn't know the holodeck was in use."

     "You should have checked the indicators before you entered," Worf 

said in an accusing tone.

     "Well, excuse us!" Mina groused as she and Amy tried futilely to 

wring their clothes out.  "What kind of program do you call this anyway?"

     "According to Worf, this is his idea of morning calisthenics," 

Darien answered her.

     "Calisthenics?!?" Amy said in a shocked voice.  Mina stared at 

the security chief while Lita began looking around the room thoughtfully.

     Worf's ever present frowned deepened.  He had known he was going to 

regret doing Deanna a favor and inviting Darien to join him this morning.  

Very few humans could appreciate a Klingon exercise program.  Before he 

could say anything though Lita spoke up, "I don't know.  I kinda like 

it."

     Worf instantly regarded the tall girl in a new light.  If he didn't 

know better, he'd have said she had some Klingon blood in her.



     Deanna was looking over her schedule when the door chime sounded.  

*Come in, Raye.*

     In answer to her silent call, the door opened to admit the raven 

haired Sailor Scout.  "How did you know..."  Her voice trailed off as 

Troi looked up at her.  "Never mind.  I can guess how."

     Deanna smiled.  "What's on your mind, Raye?"

     "Serena."

     "I had a feeling you wanted to talk about that," the counselor 

replied, her smile fading.  "Have a seat."  As Raye was doing so she 

continued, "I had a similar conversation with Darien last night.  

Afterwards I had an impromptu session with Serena."

     "And?"

     "She's erected a rather formidable emotional wall around herself.  

She feels a great sense of guilt over what she was forced to do by the 

Collective."

     "That sounds like the meatballhead," Raye muttered.  "Feeling 

guilty over what she couldn't control."

     "Yes, but it's understandable," Troi replied.  "She loves Darien 

intensely, and she feels similarly about the rest of the Sailor Scouts... 

and especially about you, Raye."

     "Give me a break, Deanna!" she retorted.  "All we ever do is fight 

with each other!"

     "Raye, after talking to both of you, I've found you to be the 

closest thing to sisters without being blood relatives," Deanna said 

gently.

     "The only thing that matters right now is trying to get her of this 

shell she's put herself in," Raye replied, trying to avoid the issue.  

"Any ideas?"

     "I've got a couple," she answered.  "First and foremost I think we 

should get her to talk with Captain Picard."

     "Huh?  Why?"

     "About a year ago, he went through a similar experience," Troi 

explained.  "He was captured by the Borg, and assimilated into the 

collective.  Eventually we were able to recover him..."  She paused.  

"But not before the Borg used him to destroy a fleet of Federation 

starships."

     "Wow."  Raye pondered this information.  "OK, so when's this gonna 

happen?"

     "Soon, I hope."  Seeing Raye's expression she elaborated, "Captain 

Picard is a very private man.  He's not one to open up to people... 

especially about this."

     "I don't care!" Raye exclaimed, suddenly standing up.  "If his 

talking with Serena is going to help her, then he's going to do it.  

I'll go right up to the bridge and convince him myself if I have to!"

     Deanna sat back and regarded her thoughtfully.  "Perhaps you 

should..."



     "As far as we can tell, Earth has no idea we're here," Riker said.

     Picard nodded as he sat down and looked over the desk at his first 

officer.  "But the Earth here is in it's late twenty first century, and 

hasn't had it's technological development halted by a devastating World 

War as ours was.  They must have some idea that something went on."

     "I don't see how they could miss it," Riker admitted.  "There was a 

lot of fire being exchanged, not to mention the explosion of Rubeus' 

ship.  Fortunately their bases on the Moon and Mars were out of position 

to effectively witness the battle, so that would leave ground or 

satellite based observations.  With luck all they caught was a glimpse 

of us."

     "Well, the best thing for now would be to remain out of sight until 

Commander LaForge can get us ready to return home," Picard said.  "Earth 

or no, the Prime Directive is in full effect here."

     "Agreed," Riker replied.  "But I still would like to recommend..."

     His recommendation was interrupted by the ready room doors opening 

and Raye marching in.  "I'd like to talk to you, Captain."  She fixed a 

steely gaze on Riker, "Alone."

     Displeasure at this intrusion showed on the captain's face, but all 

he said was, "That will be all, Number One."  The commander nodded and 

left the room.  His voice deceptively calm, Picard said, "Now, Miss 

Hino, please have a seat and tell me what's on your mind."

     "I can answer that in one word:  Serena."

     Picard's expression shifted to puzzlement.  "I don't believe I 

understand."

     "I think you do.  She's just been through hell, and you owe it to 

her to help her."

     "I see,"  Picard replied.  "I'm sure Counselor Troi will do 

everything she can to aide in her recovery, but I..."

     "No, *you* owe her," Raye snapped.  She leaned over the desk and 

leveled a finger at him.  "If it wasn't for her, you'd be doing another 

tour of duty as Locutus!"

     The captain blanched slightly, telling Raye that her remark had hit 

home.  Still, his voice remained even.  "What would you suggest?"

     "Talk to her.  You went through something similar.  You should be 

able to help her get through this."

     "Very well, Miss Hino.  I'll speak with her later this afternoon..."

     "*Now,*" Raye insisted.

     Picard had a feeling that he was being neatly maneuvered.  "You're 

not going to leave here until I agree, are you?"

     She shook her head.  "Nope."

     They stared determinedly at each other for several moment.  

Finally, "Very well, Miss Hino.  I will contact Counselor Troi and have 

her bring Serena up as soon as possible."  Immediately, the door slid 

open to admit Deanna and Serena into the ready room.  Picard's eyes 

flicked from Raye to Troi as he belatedly realized that the two of them 

had conspired in this.

     Raye shrugged unabashedly.  "Thanks, Captain.  If you'll excuse me, 

I've got an appointment on Holodeck Three."  She turned to exit, pausing 

to say, "Hi, Serena."

     "Hi, Raye," she murmured, not bringing her eyes up to look at her.  

Raye looked like she was going to say something else for a moment, but 

she simply looked back to Picard, her eyes taking on a pleading look.

     Sensing that the only thing she wanted was to help her friend, 

Picard's expression softened and he gave a slight nod to her.  "Thank 

you, Counselor.  That will be all."  Raye and Deanna left, leaving the 

two of them together.

     Unsure were to begin, Picard cleared his throat uncomfortably and 

walked over to the replicator.  "Would you like something to drink?  

Tea, perhaps?"

     She shrugged, not really caring one way or another.  "Sure."

     "Tea, Earl Grey, hot.  For two."  The replicator hummed and the 

requested mugs materialized in short order.  Picard handed one to Serena, 

and motioned her to a seat.  "Please, sit down."  The blonde girl sat 

down, and stared expressionlessly out the window.  Picard returned to his 

seat and considered her for a moment, trying to determine the best way to 

proceed.  "As hard as it is to believe, I know what you're going through, 

Serena."

     She looked sharply at him, showing real emotion for the first time 

since she entered.  Rage.  "Everyone keeps saying that!  Well, how could 

you?  How could anyone?!?  I was the one they took over!"  Tears welled 

up in her eyes, but she continued.  "I almost killed the best friends 

I've ever had, the man I love!  They..."

     She stopped her tirade, but Picard picked up where she left off. 

"They took all that you are; your powers, abilities and memories."  He 

paused, memories flooding back of his time as a Borg.  "They used you to 

kill, to destroy.  You fought them as hard as you could, but you couldn't 

stop them.  And yet, you feel you should have been able to stop them, 

somehow."

     She stared at him, some of the anger fading from her face.  "How 

could you know..." she began, then her voice trailed off.  She paused, 

suddenly remembering something from during her time as Sailor Borg.  A 

memory from the Borg collective consciousness.

     A face.

     Picard's face.

     No, not him, precisely, but with cybernetic implants, like she had.  

A name surfaced to go along with it.  "Locutus," she whispered.

     Picard nodded.  "Yes.  I was Locutus."

     "Then the same thing happened to you..."

     "A little over a year ago," he acknowledged.  "A single Borg vessel 

invaded Federation space, and sought me out as their 'spokesman'.  I was 

kidnapped, and assimilated, much as you were."  His voice dropped to 

nearly a whisper as he recalled those brief, but horrible days.  "They 

took my knowledge of Starfleet tactics and defenses and used it to 

destroy thirty nine starships at Wolf 359, killing thousands of 

Starfleet personnel.  Some of them were friends that I had known for 

years."  He paused and looked intently at Serena.  "You did better than 

I did.  At the critical time, you were able to overcome the Borg 

collective in your mind and regain control of yourself.  The most I was 

able to do was give Data a one word message."

     "I was only able to do that because Rubeus was distracted by the 

Enterprise firing that energy weapon at the ship.  If it hadn't I would 

have killed..."  Her voice choked of at the memory of what she had almost 

been forced to do.

     "No," Picard insisted firmly. "Not you.  Rubeus did, through the 

Borg.  They used you..."  He paused for a moment.  "Used *us* to do those 

deeds.  The blame for those actions rests entirely with them.  It is 

something we both need to understand."  He smiled slightly.  "We both need 

to be able to forgive ourselves."

     Serena considered his words for several moments.  Finally she said, 

"How do you deal with it?"

     "It's a day to day thing," he admitted.  "The support of my family 

and friends is what helped me. It will also help you.  And, like all 

nightmares, it will fade with the passage of time."

     "I can't exactly tell my family about this.  They don't even know 

I'm a Sailor Scout."

     "True," he agreed.  "But there are others you can rely on.  Luna... 

the other Scouts...  and Darien."

     "Yeah."

     "They're concerned about you.  It may not be my place to suggest 

this, but I think you should go to them and talk with them.  Let them 

help you.  And if you'd like, I'd be happy to have further conversations 

with you."

     After a minute, "Do... do you know where Darien is?"

     "That should be easy enough to find out," he answered.  "Computer, 

location of Darien Chiba."

     "Darien Chiba is located on Holodeck Three," responded the computer.

     "Thanks," she said.  Then, "Hey, wait a minute... Raye said she was 

going there!  What's she doing down there with *my* Darien?!?"  Before 

Picard do so much as suggest that they weren't alone, she turned and 

headed for the door, then hesitated there. "Um, how do you get to 

Holodeck Three?"

     Picard smiled.  "I'll have someone escort you there."  He got up 

and walked onto the bridge.  "Number One, would you escort Serena to 

Holodeck Three?"

     "Of course, sir," responded the first officer.  "If you'll come 

this way?"

     Picard watched them enter the turbolift, then returned to his desk 

to go through the various repair reports.  'Yes, we must forgive 

ourselves,' he thought.  'But I will never forgive the Borg for their 

actions.  One day I will make them *pay* for what they've done.'



     As always, the door vanished behind them as they entered the 

holodeck.  Riker looked around the scene that had been created, 

apparently an urban area of some sort.  "I wonder what place this is 

supposed to be."

     "Juban," Serena answered.  "It's where we live, on the outskirts of 

Tokyo."

     "Hmmm... that's interesting.  I wonder why..."  Riker spotted a 

familiar figure nearby, and walked up to him.  "New program, Mr. 

Worf?"

     "No quite, Commander.  It's a variation of..."  He broke off as 

another figure approached the three of them.  Riker recognized him 

instantly, Lt. Reginald Barclay, a first rate diagnostic engineer and an 

even better holodeck programmer.

     "Th-the holomatrix seems to be stable this time, sir," he told Worf, 

then nodded to the first officer.  "Commander."  He looked uncertainly 

Serena.

     Riker quickly said, "Lt. Barclay, this is Serena."

     "Hi," she said, looking around the area.  "I thought the computer 

said Darien was here."

     "Oh, he is," Barclay responded and gestured behind him.  "He's 

somewhere over there."  He looked at her closely.  "You wouldn't happen 

to be Sailor Moon, would you?"

     She hesitated a moment before answering.  There wasn't much use 

trying to keep it a secret on this ship now.  "Yeah.  Why?"

     "Oh, good."  He began typing on the padd he was holding.  "I'd like 

to --"

    A crash from a nearby building interrupted him.  A nearby window 

shattered, and Tuxedo Mask came flying out.  He hit a nearby wall, and 

lay there stunned.  Another figure appeared in the shattered remains of 

the window and hovered there and shouted,"I'm going to get you, 

cape boy!"

     Serena gasped.  Zoisite!  But how...?  It didn't matter, she was 

getting ready to attack Darien, and he was still trying to gather his 

wits.  She had to act now!  "You're gonna be sorry you tangled with us 

again, Zoisite!" she shouted.  Barclay looked up at her in alarm.

     Riker tried to stop her.  "Wait a minute, Serena, it's just..."

     Too late.  "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  This was the first time the 

three Starfleet officers had seen any of the Scouts transform and they 

stood transfixed by the sight.  Before anyone could react, she leapt 

forward, landing in front of Tuxedo Mask, Moon Scepter at the ready.  

"Tangling with us before wasn't lesson enough for you Zoisite?  In case 

you've forgotten, I'm the champion of love and justice Sailor Moon!  

I right wrongs and triumph over evil!  And that most definitely means 

you!"

     The hovering blonde laughed evilly.  "Well, if it isn't the moon 

brat.  Is that your rattle?"

     Sailor Moon gritted her teeth.  "I'll rattle you!"

     "Wait!  Stop!" Barclay cried.

     Too late as it turned out.  "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"  The white 

energy beam lanced out and struck Zoisite.  The Negaverse General 

flickered for a second, then froze.  "Huh?"

     "Program error," announced the computer.

     "Well, so much for the stability of the holomatrix," Barclay sighed.

     Sailor Moon didn't seem to hear him.  "Program error?  What does 

that mean?!?"

     Malachite appeared in the window.  His expression tightened into 

one of rage when he saw Zoisite frozen in front of Sailor Moon.  "You'll 

pay for that, Sailor Moon!"

     Sailor Moon gaped at him.  "First Rubeus, then Zoisite, and now you!  

What is this, return of the dead guys week?"

     "Computer, freeze program," Worf said.  Malachite froze in middle 

of hurling an energy blast at Sailor Moon.

     Luna came out of the building and looked at Worf.  "What happened?"

     "Sailor Moon," Worf responded.  "We hadn't put the parameters in 

her attack into the computer.  It was unable to accurately process it 

into the program, and caused an error."

     "I was just about to do that, so fortunately the scanners were 

operating at maximum," Barclay put in.  "They probably got enough 

information on her attack that we can run a computer analysis on it and 

reset the program to handle it.  Computer: arch."  The arch control 

panel appeared nearby and the engineer began working on the controls.

     "You mean this is one big computer game?" asked Sailor Moon, 

looking around.  "Cool!"

     "This is not a game!" Worf responded sharply.  Serena instinctively 

flinched from his tone of voice.  "This is a training simulation."  

After in inquiring look from Riker, he continued in a calmer tone.  

"Luna asked me to devise a program to help the Scouts in their training.  

Since our security needs in this universe are minimal, I agreed.  

Commander LaForge recommended that we make use of Mr. Barclay's... 

expertise in this area."

     Sailor Moon had stopped listening to them, as she had gone over to 

Tuxedo Mask and was helping him to his feet.  "Are you OK?" she asked.

     Before he replied, Darien glanced over at Riker, who caught the 

hint and nodded.  After a quiet word to Worf and Barclay, the three 

officers left the holodeck.  "I think I should be asking you that."

     Serena averted his gaze, and turned away.  "I... I'm surprised you 

even want to talk with me."

     "Serena..."

     "I tried to kill you!"  The tears began to flow once more.

     "Serena," he said again.  Gently, he placed his hand beneath her 

chin and tuned her to face him.  With his free hand, he removed the 

mask from his face and gazed into her eyes.  "Rubeus tried to kill me.  

Not you.  You stopped him in the end.  You saved me... You saved all of 

us.  THAT is what matters."  They gazed at each other for a silent 

moment, then, as if by mutual agreement, they tightly embraced each 

other.  "I love you, Serena.  I always have, and always will.  No matter 

what."

     Luna was watching this with a sense of satisfaction when she sensed 

someone behind her.  She turned and saw the other Scouts standing 

silently, the smiles of happiness on their faces telling her that they 

were equally delighted by this turn of events.

     The cat returned her gaze forward and nodded to herself.  It would 

be a long hard road ahead, but she was certain that Serena was well on the 

way to a complete recovery.



Next time:  You are cordially invited to a farewell party for the Sailor 

Scouts in Ten Forward.  Q is not invited, but will likely show up anyway.





Note: Picard's dream is based upon the Wolf 359 sequence shown in the 

beginning of "Emissary", the premiere episode of "Star Trek - Deep 

Space 9".