The immense ballroom was ablaze not only with light but with laughter and gaiety. The woman were beautiful in their evening gowns, moving among the black tuxedoed men like so many multicolored swans, their elegance complimenting the dashing debonair demeanor of the men.

    The full orchestra on the raised podium played a slowed down swing version of “You’re Nobody ‘Till Somebody Loves You” and a respectable number of couples were dancing as waiters moved smoothly in and out of the throng with oversized trays of various alcoholic beverages held high in their hands. The ten massive crystal chandeliers slowly rotated, delicately held in anti-gravity beams.

    Commander Denys Fotheran dipped his wife Courtney Fotheran and brought her back upright with a grace that would have wrung gasps of envy from professional Terran ballroom dancers. Courtney grinned up at her husband in amused surprise.

    “You must have practiced like a madman! We haven’t danced like this in years!”

    Fotheran grinned back, pleased at his wife’s surprise. “All last week. At least two hours a day in a holosuite with a hologram of Ginger Rogers.”

    “Who was she?”

    “A 20th Century entertainer. Regarded as one of the best dancers of all time. She put me through some paces, let me tell you.”

    “I think all this is simply wonderful,” Courtney sighed. Her azure v-neck evening gown shimmered with an iridescent sheen as she twirled around, showing off the low criss-cross back to it’s best advantage. “Whose idea was this?”

    “JoAnn actually. She thought that for the reception we should do something really different and…what was her expression? ‘whoop it up’.”

    “And this is supposed to be…?”

    “The Anderson Ballroom in The Wrigley Hotel. Mars, 2129. I’ve heard of it. If it was anything like this holographic recreation it must’ve been one helluva joint.”

    The orchestra stopped playing and the conductor, a tall, bespectacled black man with hyperthyroid eyes and a dedicated goofy grin turned to take a bow and sweep out a hand toward the orchestra. The dancers applauded as the musicians all stood up to take a quick bow themselves.

    “Where is JoAnn, anyway? And Eve? I haven’t seen either of them since we’ve been here.”

    “Knowing JoAnn she’s either at the bar or wherever the greatest number of men can be found. Eve’s probably somewhere with the diplomats.”

    “Shouldn’t you be with her? The First Officer of Gamma Space One is a mighty important position these days I hear.” Courtney gave Fotheran a kiss, her eyes shining with pride.

    “Always was.” The voice of Lt. Walter Lockridge said from behind the Fotherans. They turned to greet Lockridge. At his side was the petite Lt. Felicia Goodluck. Fotheran and Lockridge shook hands warmly. Over the years the two men had built a firm friendship. Most Starfleet officers frowned on Fotheran’s casual familiarity with his junior officers. But then again, Fotheran wasn’t your traditional Starfleet officer.

    “You enjoying the party, Goodluck?” Fotheran asked.

    “I think it’s great!” Felicia giggled, looking more than ever like a high school girl in her pink strapless gown. She in no way looked like the Chief Communications Officer of the premier Starfleet base in The Gamma Quadrant. “We never get a chance to dress up like this!”

    “We have our favorite counselor to thank for that,” Lockridge grumbled, tugging at the collar of his tuxedo. “This is worse than my formal uniform.”

    “You stop that!” Felicia slapped his hand away. “You look smashing and I won’t have you ruining the way you look!”

    “Speaking of looks, it’s about that time. You want to join me in the ladies room, Felicia?” Courtney asked.

    “Sure!”

    “I’ll get us drinks and meet you back at the table,” Fotheran said as the two women moved through the crowd. Fotheran and Lockridge turned and headed back toward the special table set aside for the GS1 senior staff. Fotheran gave the younger man a friendly nudge with an elbow. “Goodluck’s acting more and more like a wife every day, Wally.”

    Lockridge’s freckled face was a mixture of amusement, resignation and alarm. “Don’t I know it. I think she must have been studying some sort of Vulcan mind meld techniques as well because I’ve decided to ask her to marry me.”

    Fotheran stopped dead in his tracks. “You’re serious? When?”

    Lockridge reached into the inside breast pocket of his tuxedo jacket and pulled forth a small velvet box and opened it. Inside was an engagement ring with a heart shaped Denobian diamond. “Tonight, before I lose my nerve and change my mind.”

    “Good Lord, that looks big enough to choke on.”

    Lockridge grinned as he put it away. “I hope it’s big enough for her to say yes.”

    “Are you kidding? Goodluck’s been crazy about you since Day One. Congratulations, Wally.” They had gotten back to the table by this time and Fotheran reached out to hug the younger man. “I couldn’t be any happier for you and Goodluck.”

    “You’re going to have to get used to calling her ‘Mrs. Lockridge’, y’know.”

    “Never. She’ll always be Goodluck to me.”

    “You must’ve heard the good news.” Lt. Ronald Boutin said from his seat next to Chief Engineer Mike Vollmer. “You could have knocked me over with a strong breeze when Wally told me.”

    Vollmer was nodding in approval. “Wally’s doing the right thing. Marriage is good for a man. Makes him puts down roots and plan for a future. And Felicia’s a helluva woman. Wally’d be crazy to let her get away.” Vollmer spoke from experience. It wasn’t his fault he had outlived two wives. After his second wife passed away he’d asked to be transferred to GS1. he wanted as far away from The Alpha Quadrant as possible.

    “Let’s whistle up a couple bottles of Altairian Grand Premier and celebrate this right,” Fotheran said, looking around for a waiter. “I’ll have him put a couple of bottles on ice until you’ve had your big moment.”

    The orchestra was getting ready to play again and the conductor stepped up to the microphone and tapped his baton gently on it to get the attention of the crowd. “Ladies, gentlemen, distinguished guests, honored sentients. It is my pleasure to be playing tonight for more than one reason and one of those reasons is about to sing for you. He’s achieved fame and recognition throughout the stars for his astounding vocal styling. He was a legend on the equally famous Deep Space Nine and we can be thankful that his program was saved after the untimely and horrifying destruction of that fabled space station.

    “He spent considerable time on Earth, performing and assisting scientists in research as he is currently still one of only two holograms that are self-aware and indeed have evolved far past their original programming to be considered life-forms in their own right.

    “But that’s enough from me. Here he is, folks, fresh from his eleven year “Come Fly With Me” concert tour of The Alpha Quadrant! By special request! I give you the one…the only…VIC FONTAINE!”

    It was impossible to believe that the extraordinarily handsome man that bounded up onto the stage was a hologram. His tanned skin, the devilish twinkle in his eye, the engaging grin were all so human that he immediately captivated the room with his debonair charm. He embraced the conductor and turned to accept the thunderous applause that greeting him. He blew gentle kisses to the left and right sides of the room and deeply bowed to the center.

    “Thank you. Thank you all so much!” Vic Fontaine removed the microphone from the stand and flicked the long black cord out the way with the practiced ease of an entertainer who was positively at home on the stage. “Y’know, hearing applause like that makes you believe that in this crazy coo-coo universe anything is possible, am I right?”

    Wild applause showed that the crowd did indeed agree with his sentiment. Vic Fontaine flashed a smile that had a brightness of it’s own that had nothing to do with light and continued as the conductor went to work and the orchestra started to play.

    “I mean, when a humble hologram can exceed the parameters of his programming and go on to have the pleasure of entertaining sentient beings all over the galaxy…well, hey, to me that means that there’s just gotta be something a lot bigger than all of us runnin’ things. And I think whatever it is; it’s doing a helluva job. You agree with me, dontcha, folks?”

    Again the applause threatened to shake the walls.

    “And I’m so proud to be here tonight I could just bust into a cloud of photonic energy but instead I think I’m just gonna sing. How’s that?” Vic started snapping long fingers in time with the music, swaying back and forth easily. “And I’m gonna start off this set by singing some songs that meant a lot to me and a bunch of good people who became my dearest friends. They’re not here tonight. But they are right here. Always.” Vic stopped snapping his fingers and laid his hand over his heart. “They were the first who treated me not as just a hologram but as a life form and more: as a person. They were some kinda crew, let me tell you. Frank, Sammy, Dean, Joey….they were cool, sure. But those cats on Deep Space Nine took cool to a whole new other dimensional realm. So this one is for them. HIT IT!”

    The music swelled and surged as Vic belted out the opening lyrics:

    “Out of the tree of life I just picked me a plum,
    You came along and everything started to hum
    Still it’s a real good bet the best is yet to come

    “The best is yet to come and won’t it be fine
    You think you’ve seen the sun, but you ain’t seen it shine…”

    “Are you sure he’s a hologram? He’s one of the best singers I’ve ever heard.”

    Everybody at the table immediately got to their feet as Captain Eve Mallory walked up and she waved them to sit back down. “Please, gentlemen, as you were. This is a party, not a formal reception.”

    “Not from the number of Starfleet brass and dignitaries we’ve got walking around here,” Fotheran grumbled. “You’d think that we were joining The Diplomatic Corps.”

    “The Oberon Initiative is perhaps the most sweeping space exploration program of the past 400 years, Denys. And it’s going to be launched from right here at GS1.” Eve chided him gently. “I would think you’d be pleased and proud to be part of history.”

    “He is, Captain. He just likes to pretend otherwise.” GS1’s Security Chief said as she joined the group. Patience was from a heavy gravity world and so was thickly muscled and one would have imagined that it would be somewhat difficult to find an evening gown that fitted her blocky frame. But she had.

    Eve smiled at Patience as she swept by to take a seat. Patience wasn’t giving anybody a chance to ask her to dance. At the last formal affair she attended she’d broken three toes of a Bolian Ambassador a year ago when she misstepped. The Bolian Ambassador had taken the mishap with great good humor but ever since then; Patience had been shy about dancing.

    Fotheran was looking at Eve strangely and she looked back at him just as strangely. “What are you staring at?” she finally asked.

    “You. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look quite this pretty.” And for once Fotheran wasn’t trying to be funny. Eve did look simply gorgeous in her knee length tunic style dress. Of gold and ivory it went very well with her green eyes and red hair, which for once she’d had styled instead of just letting hang straight down her back as was her custom.

    “You’ve seen me in plenty of formal wear over the years.”

    “Formal wear, yes. Those ugly Starfleet togs they make us all wear. This is a new look.”

    Eve made a slight curtsy. “Thank you. Took me two whole hours to get myself together.” Eve’s eyes swept the crowded ballroom as Vic Fontaine finished up his song:

    “Wait till you’re locked in my embrace
    Wait till I hold you near
    Wait till you see that sunshine place
    There ain’t nothin’ like it here

    “The best is yet to come and won’t that be fine
    The best is yet to come, come the day that you’re mine!”

    The bleeping of Lockridge’s commbadge was almost drowned out by the applause but Lockridge felt the slight vibration. He tapped it. “Lockridge here.”

    ||/\||Mr. Lockridge, this is Ensign Wyckoff in Ops. We’ve picked up a ship heading for GS1 at Warp 7. The configuration doesn’t match anything in our database but the warp signature does match. Sir…it’s Borg||/\||

    Lockridge’s eyes opened wide as he grabbed Fotheran by the elbow. “Denys, could you and Captain Mallory come with me, please?”

    One look at Lockridge’s face told Fotheran and Eve that he was serious. The three of them threaded their way through the mass of partygoers until they came to one of the wide stained glass doors that took them out into the hallway. Lockridge found a quiet corner for them to talk and tapped his commbadge again.

    “Ensign Wyckoff, I’m with Captain Mallory and Commander Fotheran. Repeat what you just said, please.”

    ||/\||We’ve definitely got a long range sensor lock on a ship heading directly for GS1 at Warp 7. It’s a Borg ship||/\||

    Fotheran leaned his head closer to speak into the commbadge; “Mr. Wyckoff this is Commander Fotheran. You better be damn sure about this because if I come up to Ops myself to verify this and you’ve made a mistake I’m going to skin you.”

    ||/\||Sir, I checked four times before contacting Mr. Lockridge. The configuration isn’t like any Borg ship in our database but the warp signature is a 100% match. It’s The Borg, sir. And they’re heading right for us. If they maintain their present speed they’ll be here in around 40 hours||/\||

    Fotheran turned to look at Eve. “THIS we definitely don’t need right now.”

    “Ensign Wyckoff is a competent officer, Denys. I know you give him a rough time on occasion but he knows what he’s doing.” Eve replied. “Although this is one time I wish he didn’t. I pray to God he’s wrong.”

    “Wrong about what?” Courtney and Felicia emerged into the hallway. The two women immediately picked up on the tension on the faces of Fotheran, Eve and Lockridge. Courtney frowned slightly and said; “Denys? Eve? What’s going on here?”

    “We’re trying to find out now.” Fotheran turned to Lockridge. “You and I are going up to Ops right now and verify this for ourselves.”

    “Wally’s going. You’re staying at the party with the rest of us, Denys.”

    “Eve, this is something I ought to-“

    “Wally’s more than capable of verifying this. That’s his job. Your job is to get back in there with me and make sure the roomful of Starfleet and Federation dignitaries we’ve got on our hands don’t get so much as a hint that there’s potential danger until we get a 100% verification.” Eve’s voice was firm as she continued. “We’ve already been out here too long. Somebody’s going to wonder why the Captain of GS1 and three of her senior officers have suddenly gone missing.”

    Fotheran grudgingly nodded. “Okay. I see your point.” He turned on Lockridge and said urgently. “Wally, you make damn sure of what that ship is. Then you call me and Captain Mallory on our commbadges. Use our private secure channels and let us know. We’ll take it from there.” Fotheran looked to Eve for confirmation and she nodded in agreement.

    Eve motioned for Felicia and Courtney to follow her back to the ballroom but Fotheran touched Courtney on the elbow. “Let me talk to you for a minute.”

    Eve cocked an eye at Fotheran. “Denys…”

    “Give me a minute, Eve. This is important.”

    “I’ll give you two. And then I want you back inside mingling. That’s an order, Mr. Fotheran.”

    “Aye, Captain.” Fotheran waited until Eve and Felicia were back in the ballroom before turning back to Courtney.

    “Denys, what the hell is going on?”

    Fotheran placed his hands gently on her shoulders and said softly. “We’ve picked up what appears to be a Borg ship. It’s heading right for us and it’ll be here in less than two days.”

    “Oh dear God. What-“

    “Hush. I want you to leave right now. Get Ariel, pack only the essentials and get to The Platinum Hook. You get aboard her and get through the wormhole. You can hold up on Bajor until I know for sure what’s going on.”

    Courtney nodded. She didn’t waste time with stirring declarations that she would not leave her husband. Before Fotheran had ‘joined’ Starfleet they’d spent many dangerous years as smugglers, many times only one parsec ahead of certain death. Courtney knew that Fotheran would be able to deal with the situation much better if he didn’t have to worry about the safety of his wife and child. The best way to ensure that he would survive whatever was to come was to get herself and their child clear.

    The Platinum Hook was the starship Fotheran had used during his smuggling days. He still kept the ship docked at GS1. There had been several adventures where he and Eve Mallory had found it advantageous to go undercover in a non-Starfleet ship and The Platinum Hook had come in handy. Despite many offers from former ‘business associates’ who dearly wanted to purchase the ship, Fotheran had held onto it, claiming it wasn’t just a ship but a family member.

    “Denys, what if it is The Borg? Won’t you and Eve have to stay here and hold them off?”

    Fotheran said nothing. The look in his eyes and the way he held his wife said it all.

C H A P T E R   T H R E E