Benton had returned to his cabin after being discharged from sickbay. At least his cabin was still where he expected it to be. Since his return to consciousness in sickbay, things had been slightly different. Details were changes around. Some of the things he had noticed were minor, while others were quite significant: Captain
Maruu, for example. Benton still hadn't gotten over the shock of seeing the Captain again! As far as Benton was aware, Stephen Maruu died fighting the Kirusans and Commander Lataro had succeeded him as the commanding officer of the Virgo.
But now Captain Maruu was back, and was talking to Commander Lataro on how to proceed regarding a nearby asteroid.
But now, Benton's attention was drawn back to his cabin. Its contents were a little unexpected. Benton looked around the room in shock. "Oh, for crying out loud. I was only gone for a day. Where's all my furniture?!?" he exclaimed.
All that was here was a bunk, a night stand, and a desk and chair. The desktop held only a computer terminal and a holopicture of a barren, Arctic landscape. But most curiously, there was a small cage sitting on the bed. Intrigued, Benton walked over to it and peered inside. It was empty. "And who's been leaving their animal cages in my room?" he wondered.
He walked over to the desk, pulled out the chair, sat and pondered for a moment. "This is not right," he said to no one. "Something must have happened while we were on the asteroid." Benton wrinkled his brow in concentration. "If only I could remember."
Suddenly, Benton was struck by a powerful flashback! It rocked him with such force he was actually knocked from his chair. As he lay on his back on the floor, he fought to grasp the fleeting memory, to keep it from slipping away again. He caught faint glimpses of dark laboratories, strange alien beings, experiments, and... and... something else. The memory faded; the last image was gone. He had almost had it.
Disappointed, Benton picked himself up off the floor. Something had happened in a dark lab that had started this confusion.
Maybe if he talked to Commander Lataro of Lieutenant Tomme, the other two members of the ill-fated landing party, he would be able to piece together what had happened. Maybe they remembered something.
He reseated himself at the desk and activated the computer terminal. "Computer, where is Commander Lataro?" he asked the machine.
<Commander Lataro is in the Captain's ready room.>
He's still talking to the Captain, thought Benton. "Locate Lieutenant Tomme."
<Lieutenant Tomme is in her quarters.>
Good. I'll go talk to her. Benton snapped off the terminal and headed for Lt. Tomme's quarters.
As Benton negotiated the ship's corridors towards Tomme's cabin, he happened to pass Lt. Loran. As they approached each other, Garek smiled. Benton smiled back and said, "Garek! How are things in engineering? Please say hello to Ek'Ra and Galen for me."
Loran froze in his tracks with his eyes wide and his mouth hung open in shock and horror. Anything he was about to say got stuck in his throat. But Benton didn't see the reaction or even comprehend the ghoulish inappropriateness of it, he was already past Loran and still headed single-mindedly to Tomme's cabin.
When he reached it, he pushed the buzzer and waited. There was no answer. He pressed the buzzer again. This time there was a bumping-around noise from inside. After a moment, a voice came back, "Who is it?"
"Lieutenant Tomme. It's Lt. Benton. Can I talk to you?"
"Now is not a good time, Benton," came the reply. Tomme's voice sounded stressed.
"It'll only take a minute," called Benton.
"Go away! Please!" implored Tomme.
Benton turned away from the door. What could he do now? None of the other landing party members were available. He thought about it for a second, then decided. He headed for the security section.
To Benton's relief, there was a familiar face manning the security office. He said, "Sitto, I need access to the items the landing party returned from the mission."
Lan looked up from the report he was writing. "Sure, Benny. That thing you brought back was pretty weird, so we have it locked up in the science section."
At the mention of the "thing", Benton again was overcome by a powerful wave of psionic energy: his memory trying to force its way back into his conscious mind. He staggered hard to the right and slammed into Lan.
Sitto grabbed Benton by the shoulders and steadied him. "Are you okay?"
Benton's mind was overloaded with sudden images. Again, he saw the dark lab, the aliens, and the "thing"! It was about the size of a PADD and he had found it in the alien lab. That must be the focal point of his dilemma! But then he was returned to reality by Sitto shaking him.
Benton regained his balance and said, "Yes, I'm fine."
Lan let go of him and headed for the exit. "Come on. Franny'll let us in."
At the mention of Ensign Milano's name, Benton suppressed an involuntary shudder, but he followed Sitto Lan nonetheless.
When Benton and Lan arrived in the science lab, they found it deserted. Sitto called, "Hello! Hey, Franny! You have customers!" There was no answer. Sitto snorted. "Humph. Typical. C'mon, Benny, the gizmo's in the secure lab."
Sitto led the way back through the science section to the secure lab. He opened the door. There was Ensign Milano standing next to a work table, holding the alien mirror, admiring her reflection!
"Franny!!!" shouted Sitto. "That thing could be dangerous!"
Startled, Francesca looked at the two new arrivals, then back at the mirror she was holding. She gasped, "Wha...?" and dropped the device on the tabletop and backed away from it until she was against the wall.
As the mirror hit the tabletop, all three cringed as if expecting it to blow up or something. It clattered to a rest on the table's surface, but it didn't explode.
Benton approached the mirror and looked at it. Memories were fighting to resurface; he was so close. He knew this single small object was the key to all his problems. He picked it up and examined it.
The back of the object was just featureless granite. There didn't appear to be any controls or access ports or a power supply. He turned it right-side-up again. The mirror on its front reflected his face perfectly, although there was a slight quasi-shimmer if he looked at its surface out of the corner of his eye. Behind the reflection of his own face, he could see Francesca watching him.
But then, the quasi-shimmer grew more distinct. What looked like a blue electrical wave washed across the surface of the mirror from lower right to upper left like a miniature wave across a miniature ocean. When it had passed, Benton was astonished to find that his reflection was gone! He could still see the reflection of Francesca, but he couldn't see himself. It was as if he were a ghost and the mirror was looking right through him! He knew he had seen this phenomenon before and he was instantly on his guard.
Somehow, Benton knew what he had to do. He looked at Sitto and Francesca one last time. Sitto looked like he was ready for anything. Francesca had a strange look in her eyes. He reached his free hand up to touch the mirror surface. As his fingertips touched the smooth, glass-like surface an enormous electrical shock shot up his arm and coursed through his body.
His muscles were locked in place by the bolt, so he couldn't withdraw his fingers or even drop the mirror. He tried to cry out, but those muscles were locked too. The scene before his eyes flashed momentarily brilliant white, then black as pitch, then it was all over.
Benton found himself lying on his back, sprawled on what looked like the deck of one of the Virgo's science labs. As his vision swam back into focus, the first thing he saw was the worried, familiar face of Francesca Milano. Sitto Lan stood close behind her.
Benton struggled prop himself up on an elbow. Francesca put an arm under his shoulder to help him. The ride the "mirror" had taken him on had not been as gentle this time. He had spasmodic aches all over, but he managed to grimace, "Ow."
After a second he managed to grimace a little more, "Where am I?"
Francesca answered, "The science labs, Benton."
Benton shook his head, momentarily unable to speak because of the twitching spasms. Finally, he managed to grind out, "What... ship...?"
Francesca looked at Sitto in confusion. She looked back at Benton and said plainly, "The Virgo!"
Benton nodded. The pain was subsiding. He tried to sit up a little straighter. "Then I made it back," he said with considerable relief.
He looked at Sitto, and said in his usual strong voice, "Get Captain Maruu. We have a really big problem."