Doppelganger

The plan Mr. Scott had formulated had been successful and they had made it safely back home. With their return, their doppelgangers had likewise returned to their own dimension.

During their mission debriefing, as she'd listened to Kirk describe his encounter with the Captain's Woman on the other Enterprise, Uhura had made the decision to keep her encounter with the Mirror Rand to herself. After all, unlike Kirk's personal interaction with Lieutenant Moreau, it really didn't have any bearing on what had happened while they were there.

Still, as her dreams attested, the memory of that encounter was still uppermost in her mind. In a way, despite the lives they lived, Nyota envied that Janice and her counterpart. If nothing else, at least they had each other.

Slipping out of bed, she walked across the room and opened the small security drawer where she kept her most prized possessions. From within, Uhura withdrew a small gold locket carved in the shape of a unicorn's head. In place of an eye sat a sparkling diamond.

Opening the locket, she looked down at the picture inside, an image of a young blond haired girl with an awful beehive hairdo. It was a portrait she hadn't looked at in a very long time.

The chronometer on the wall ticked off the minutes as she silently stood there, absorbed in her thoughts. Then, closing her hand around the locket and holding it tight, Nyota stepped over to her desktop computer console.

"Computer," she said in a soft voice as she sat down on the adjacent chair.

"Working," the equally soft artificial voice replied.

"I want to send a letter to Lieutenant Janice Rand on the USS Crockett," she said.

"Ready," the computer replied.

"Dear Janice," Nyota began as she opened her hand and looked down at the locket. "I miss you so ..."

END