Where No One Has Gone Before Pt. 04

A few minutes later, he returned to the central part of the sick bay after donning his uniform and looked at us.

"How do you feel, Jim?" I asked.

"Great," Jim said. "Got a really nice nap. Some strange dreams, but otherwise okay. So, when will the results be ready?"

"Give it a few hours," Kyra said. "I need to go through all the results."

"Oh. Okay," Jim said, somewhat deflated. "So, can I go back to work now?" Jim asked Dr. Simmons.

"I see no reason why not," the doctor told him. "Do you, Commander?"

"No, not at all. I think Lt. Rios would be happy if you relieved him," I remarked. "I'll see you on the bridge, Jim."

"Thanks," Jim said before leaving. After Jim left, I sat next to Kyra as she collated the data.

"Hours? Seriously?" I asked my wife.

"Unfortunately," she said. "The program Dr. Molinas sent me had a few enhancements added to it. I'm looking through the results now."

"Enhancements? What kind of enhancements?"

"He claims to have developed a way to detect and isolate suppressed genetic memories," Kyra said. "The software he sent is designed to do that, and it appears it may have captured something."

"Genetic memories? You mean, of things Jim may not have even experienced personally?"

"Exactly," Kyra said. "It could also be remnants of old dreams, but I won't know until I've had a chance to go through everything. So it's going to take some time to put it all together. Don't worry, you'll be in on the reveal."

"Alright, alright. I get it. You don't want me hanging over your shoulder. Besides, I have work to do, believe it or not," I said. "Please ping me as soon as you have anything."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Kyra said with a mischievous look. I left, but not before giving my lovely wife a kiss.

I had quite a bit to do that day, as we were only a few days away from Earth. After I finished, I went to the gym for my daily workout. I had just completed my shower when my wrist communicator beeped. I looked and saw it was Kyra, so I activated the device and saw her smiling face peering back at me.

"Did you just get out of the shower?" she asked.

"Yeah, I got done with my other stuff, so I came to the gym for my workout," I told her.

"Maybe I should come join you," Kyra said with a glint in her eye. I smiled at the thought.

"I like that idea. What do you have for me?"

"I'd tell you, but I don't want to give Dr. Simmons a heart attack," my wife joked. "Actually, I just finished examining Jim's test results. Could you meet us here in the sick bay?"

"I'll be there as soon as I get dressed," I told her.

"Do you have to?" Kyra begged, her lower lip pouting.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Get dressed," Kyra teased.

"Heh heh. Yeah, I probably should," I told her with a

smile.

"You're no fun anymore," Kyra quipped.

"Just wait till tonight," I said.

"I'm holding you to that, spaceman," Kyra said before ending the call. I finished drying myself off, got back into my flight suit, and went to sick bay, where I met Leesa, Jim, and Kyra.

"Well, what do you have for us?" I asked Kyra.

"This," Kyra said triumphantly as she turned the monitor so we could see it. There, on the screen, was an image of a nude blonde woman. She was quite attractive - not what one might call a runway model, but more of a pretty girl-next-door type. Her hair fell to her shoulders, and she sported smallish breasts, perhaps a B-cup.

"This is what your subconscious sees as your ideal mate, Jim," Kyra said. "Do you recognize her?" Jim shook his head.

"No, I can't say that I've ever seen her before in my life. Not even in any programs."

"You've never seen this woman before? Not even in passing?" Kyra asked.

"Not that I can recall. And I have a very good memory," Jim said. "I never forget a face. Or a body."

"What do you think?" I asked him.

"Well, yeah, I admit, I find her extremely attractive. I just wished I could place her. But I can't."

"There's more," Kyra announced. "The software I received is supposedly able to detect and decode genetic memories - memories that are encoded in your genetic material and passed down from one generation to another. Keep in mind this is all quite experimental."

Kyra clicked some icons, and we saw a somewhat blurry image of a smiling blonde woman. Her nude body appeared to be wrapped in green tendrils, similar to those one might find on a plant. From what we could see, she seemed to be on the summit of a hill or a mountain. We could see a coastline in the distance and the deep blue of a large body of water, perhaps an ocean.

With the click of a mouse, we saw the same woman, this time with something long and green in her mouth. The image changed, and we gasped when we watched her take the green thing out of her mouth - it looked like a giant green penis.

"Is there anything else, Commander?" Leesa asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I was able to retrieve a very short video. It's rather... explicit."

"We're all adults here. Please, show it to us," Leesa said. Kyra moved her pointer and clicked on an icon. We saw the same blonde woman naked on what appeared to be a balcony overlooking a beautiful sandy beach. Her legs were spread wide, and we saw what looked like two of the large green "penises" buried inside her sex. Kyra started the video, and we saw the green penises pull out of the woman, causing a torrent of greenish liquid to seep out of her.

"Ah, Karl, that was magnificent," the woman moaned in a German accent. She smiled, and the video ended. I looked at Leesa and Jim and saw both of their faces were red, and Leesa recovered quickly and turned to Jim.

"Do you know this woman, Commander Decker?" she asked. Jim shook his head.

"No, Captain. I've never seen her before in my life."

"I believe I know who she is, Captain," Kyra said, pulling up another picture, this time an official-looking set of credentials that displayed the image of the United Nations logo.

"Who is she?" Leesa asked.

"Her name was Greta Schultz," Kyra said. "She was a diplomat with the United Nations. She died in 2024 after giving birth to her son." At this point, Kyra looked at Jim. "Her son was your grandfather, Kelsey Decker."

"What?" Jim asked.

"Yes, Jim. He was adopted by Greg and Samantha Decker after Greta passed away. I take it you didn't know this."

"No, I had no idea," Jim said. "So, who is this Karl person?"

"I don't know," Kyra said. "There's no record anywhere to indicate who he might have been. Remember, this happened nearly 90 years ago, before the Internet hack in the 2050s that wiped out a lot of data."

"And you say THIS was in my memories?"

"To be more precise, it was in your genetic material," Kyra said. "There may be more, but Dr. Molinas said it's a bit risky to go back in, at least for a while."

"Good work, Commander," Leesa told Kyra before looking at Jim. "It looks like you have a nice little mystery to keep you occupied, at least for a while, Commander."

"Yes, ma'am, it certainly does," Jim responded. "May I have a copy of what you found?" he asked Kyra.

"Of course," Kyra handed him a small memory device. "There's a 3-D model included for you as well. Enjoy..."

"Thank you. I think," Jim said nervously as he took the device.

"All right, we need to get back to it. We'll be at Starbase One soon enough," Leesa said.

"Yes, ma'am," I responded for all of us. "Good work, Kyra," I said after Leesa and Jim left. "You say all this was in Jim's genetic material without his knowledge?"

"That's what Dr. Molinas said. Of course, this is all experimental."

"So you said. What do you think those green... things... were?" I asked.

"They certainly looked like penises to me," Kyra said with a quirky smile and a glance at my crotch. "Rather large ones, in fact. Perhaps they were part of a sex toy or something. I don't know. One last thing, Bill."

"What's that?"

"Be careful with Jim. This is going to be hard for him to process."

"Gotcha," I said. "I think he'll be alright, but I'll let him know he can talk to you if need be. Anyway, my day is about over. You up for dinner in the galley?"

"Sure. Then maybe we can have dessert in our quarters..."

"Of course," I said, kissing my lovely bride before continuing my rounds.

Later that evening, just before we retired for a round of passionate lovemaking, we heard the chime go off at our hatch. We were used to being interrupted by minor problems, but it still irritated us. It was a bit like having children who came into the bedroom most inopportunely. Sighing, I got up, threw on a robe, and answered the chime to see Jim on the other side.

"It's Jim, dear," I said. "Might want to put something on." I opened the door to see my soon-to-be Number One in his robe.

"Sorry to disturb you, Bill. I was wondering if we could talk for a bit," Jim said.

"Sure, come on in," I said. "Have a seat. Care for something to drink? Water? Hot chocolate?"

"I'm always down for some of Kyra's hot chocolate," Jim said as he came in. Smiling, Kyra tightened the knot on her robe and went to make us each a fresh cup of her steamy hot chocolate.

"Everything alright, Jim?" I asked.

"Not really," he said. "Those images... that video... They've been in my head all day."

"I can understand that. Must've been quite a shock to know you've been carrying that around all your life," I told him.

"You can say that again," Jim said. Just then, Kyra returned with three cups of steaming hot chocolate. She handed one to me, then to Jim, before sitting down with her cup. Jim took a sip and looked at Kyra.

"This is delicious, Kyra. Thanks."

"You're welcome," my wife said. "Bill and I always enjoy a cup in the evenings."

"You'd better hang on to this woman, Bill," Jim said with a smile.

"I intend to," I replied, giving Kyra a smile and a wink.

"So, how are you dealing with what you learned today, Jim?" Kyra asked.

"To be honest, I'm having a bit of difficulty with it," Jim answered. "What do you know about this Greta Schultz?"

"Not much more than I already told you," Kyra said. "She was a diplomat with the United Nations on a classified mission to an undisclosed location. She was recalled back to New York when she was pregnant. Died shortly after giving birth to your grandfather.

"You have to remember, much of the records from that period were wiped out during the Internet hack of the 50s. I was lucky to find what I did," Kyra said. "What do you know of your grandfather?"

"I know he served in the Navy, retired after 30 years, around 2072 or thereabouts. He never said much about his service, but I know he received several commendations and a few medals," Jim said.

"Did you know he had been adopted as a baby?" I asked, and Jim shook his head.

"No, he never mentioned it."

"Perhaps that was because he was too young to remember his birth mother," Kyra interjected. "From the records I saw, he was only a couple of months old when he was adopted."

"That's possible, I suppose. I don't understand something, though," Jim said, looking at Kyra. "You say those were memories buried in my subconscious?"

"Not exactly," Kyra said. "According to Dr. Molinas, the researcher I worked with, those memories were actually embedded in your DNA, and passed down from generation to generation, starting with your birth mother. You wouldn't have even known they were there."

"If that's the case, wouldn't I have at least dreamed about some of it?" Jim asked.

"That's a reasonable question," Kyra replied. "I would think that could very easily have happened. And now that you know about these memories, perhaps more will start to surface. It seems reasonable to think they would appear to you as dreams." Jim seemed deep in thought as he considered Kyra's words.

"Maybe I should start keeping a journal of my dreams, then," he said quietly.

"I think that would be a very good idea," Kyra said.

"You say these are passed down from generation to generation, right?" Jim asked, the wheels in his head turning.

"Yes, that's the theory, anyway," Kyra acknowledged.

"If that's the case, then perhaps my dad and his siblings would have the same memories embedded in them," Jim mused.

"That would seem to be the case, from what I understand. Perhaps these memories would be even stronger in them, since they're your grandfather's direct descendants," Kyra said. "What are you thinking?"

"Would it be possible to run this same test on my dad, and maybe my aunts and uncles?"

"I don't see why not," Kyra said. "At least, that would confirm Dr. Molinas' theory that these are passed down from parent to child. If they consent, I'll be happy to run the tests."

"Thank you," Jim said.

"There is one other thing," Kyra said.

"Has anyone ever mentioned anything about your DNA?"

"I was told back in the Academy there were some anomalies in it, but nothing that would hinder my service. At the time, I was told it wasn't anything to be alarmed about. Why?"

"They never told you the nature of the anomalies?" Kyra asked.

"No, never," Jim said. "Again, why?"

"Dr. Molinas did a heritage scan of your DNA and found there's about eight percent that can't be traced to any nationality or ethnicity," Kyra said. "It may be nothing, but I think it might be worth looking into a little deeper. If possible, I'd like to investigate your parents DNA, see if I can spot any similarities there."

"I certainly intend to discuss all of this with them. I'll ask them and see if they're open to it," Jim said.

"I'd appreciate that," Kyra said.

"No problem," Jim said. "Thank you for taking time to discuss this with me. I'd better get back to my quarters."

"No problem, Jim," I said. "Any time." Nothing more was said about Jim's heritage or the test for the rest of the voyage, and I kept an eye on the man to see how he reacted to this. I was impressed to see that he remained as efficient as ever.

...

I was on duty the day we entered Earth's orbit. Leesa had turned the bridge over to me before retiring to her ready room. I looked out the front portal and saw the tiny blue-green ball of Earth hanging in space almost as if on a string. As per our protocol, I pinged Leesa to let her know.

"Thank you, Number One," she said. "I'll be right there." A few minutes later, she stepped onto the bridge and walked to her seat. I got up and waited for her to sit down.

"Hard to believe that little ball is home to nine billion people, isn't it?" I asked rhetorically. Leesa chuckled.

"Yes, it is," she said quietly. The communication device on her chair's console pinged, and she pressed a button.

"Enterprise, this is Houston. We have you on our screen. Stand by for vector to Starbase One," a male voice said.

"Roger that, Houston," Leesa replied. "Showtime," she added, giving me a glance. Lt. Smith, the navigator on duty, looked back at Leesa.

"Vector to Starbase One received and encoded," the female lieutenant said.

"Thank you, Lt. Smith," Leesa said before punching another button on her console. "All hands, this is the Captain. We are approaching Starbase One. Prepare for docking procedure," her voice boomed over the ship.

I sat and watched the blue-green ball get larger. I knew Starbase One was in a polar orbit 25,000 miles above the planet. Looking above the North Pole, I saw light reflecting off of... something substantial and knew that was our destination. I had seen photos of the base and knew it was supposedly the largest man-made object in space.

I knew that we would be docking within a few hours, so I set about preparing all the sections of the vessel while Leesa attended to the actual docking procedure. Before I knew it, we made our final approach to Starbase One.

Looking out the front portal, I gasped in shock when I first laid eyes on the giant base. Six large docking bays were positioned midway between the base's top and bottom. One bay was open, and I knew that was where we were headed.

The helmsman gently guided the vessel inside, and I saw two observation decks on either side of the ship, filled with onlookers. As I watched, they applauded as Enterprise slowly entered the bay. I felt the ship stop, and the helmsman announced, "thrusters at station-keeping."

"Very well, Helmsman," Leesa acknowledged. We heard the docking clamps latch onto the vessel and saw the lights flicker. From this point on, we were under station power. Leesa pressed a button on her console.

"Starbase One, this is Enterprise. We have completed docking and are on station power," she announced.

"Roger that," a female voice replied. "Welcome home, Enterprise." After five years of traveling faster than light, it felt somewhat strange to be standing still. Leesa punched another button on her console.

"All hands, this is the Captain. Stand down all stations. Prepare to disembark. Ship's formation in one hour." She turned to me with a wistful look on her face. "Well, Bill, I guess this is it."

"Yes, ma'am, I guess so."

"It's been a pleasure serving with you. And an honor," Leesa said, giving me another sisterly hug, and I returned her hug.

"The pleasure, and the honor, are mine, Captain," I told her. She looked around the bridge one last time and sighed.

"I'm going to miss this ship, Bill. It's been my home for more than ten years. Take good care of her for me, please."

"I will, Leesa. I promise," I told her. After bringing our stations down and securing the bridge, I made one final check to ensure everything was ready, then headed for the hatch to join the crew in our final formation of the voyage.

...

To be continued...

Note: Greta Schultz first appeared in "The Plant 06: Ambassador."