First Contact
A Tinker Bell / Star Trek: The Next Generation
Crossover Short Story

Tinker Bell and all related characters and content are the property of The Walt Disney Company. The character of Tinker Bell originated by J. M. Barrie.

Star Trek: The Next Generation and all related characters and content are the property of Paramount Pictures. Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation created by Gene Roddenberry.

This fan fiction is not for monetary gain and is only intended for the amusement of its audience.

1

The Enterprise-E had returned to Earth on a special assignment. The vessel was to be outfitted with a new prototype sensor array. It had the ability to detect energy and radiation signatures never before recorded. Some of these signatures had been theorized while others were completely unkown. The starship and its complement of shuttles were fitted with the new sensors while all new tricorders which could detect the energy signatures had been brought on board issued to the crew.

Captain Picard took a little time to visit relatives in France once the refit had been completed. Upon his return he brought with him several bottles of Chateau Picard from the family vineyards to celebrate the occasion. On the Enterprise shuttlecraft USS Jonathan Griffiths, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, engineer Commander Geordi La Forge and the resurrected Commander Data were returning to the orbiting dry dock where the Enterprise had been moored during the installation of the sensor array.

Data, who had been destroyed during the incursion of the Picard clone Shinzon several years earlier, had uploaded his entire body of knowledge, personality and identity into his "brother" the early model named B4 that had been found abandoned shortly before the arrival of Picard's clone. Over time Data's implant overtook B4's neural pathways and the lower intelligence personality all but disappeared, stored in a small part of the android's long term memory. Once the revived Data was declared fit for duty he was installed as the new First Officer of the Enterprise-E. Commander Worf willingly stepped aside and took the role of Second Officer and head of security. When the Enterprise returned for the refit, Worf accepted a transfer to the U.S.S. Titan as Will Riker's First Officer.

"These new sensors are going to open whole new frontiers for us, Captain," Geordi said.

"So you've told me," Picard answered with a smile.

"Geordi," Data interrupted, "you have made this observation eight times to Captain Picard since our arrival on Earth."

"Thank you, Data," Captain Picard said, diplomatically telling his android office to shut up. It felt good to have Data back to his old self.

Captain Picard was no longer a young man. He took the captaincy of the Enterprise later in life than many of his peers might have. He had been considering retirement and toyed with the idea of becoming an archeologist exploring ancient ruins on distant planets. The announcement of the new sensors reinvigorated him and he chose to remain in Starfleet for another deployment on the Enterprise-E. The mission was to test the new sensors in field conditions at select locations throughout the Alpha Quadrant. Once completed, the information gathered on how the new systems performed would be used to make improvements after which they would become standard equipment on all Federation Starships in operation.

Despite his age, Jean-Luc felt young again, as he did when he first set foot on the Enterprise-D as its new commanding officer. It was a heady feeling.

Geordi expertly piloted the shuttle higher into the Earth's atmosphere. As the craft ascended higher above the French countryside, Picard looked out the front window and saw the stars in the sky come into view against a blue sky that continued to turn darker and darker as the atmosphere thinned.

"What does that remind you of, Geordi," Picard asked with a smile and a glint in his eye.

"I see stars, planets...," Geordi responded, unsure as to what the captain was referring.

"There," Picard said pointing. "Those two stars, to the Starboard. Do you see them?"

Geordi searched the star field for a moment. "You mean over there? One star brighter than the other."

"Yes. What does it remind you of?" the captain asked again.

The engineer was briefly silent. "I don't..., I can't think of anything."

"Didn't you ever read Peter Pan when you were a child?"

"Oh, of course. 'Second star to the right and straight on till morning.' Just like in the book."

"Yes, indeed."

"What a strange coincidence," the engineer commented.

"Perhaps not, Geordi," Data suggested. "It is possible that author J. M. Barrie saw the star pattern in the sky and incorporated it into his narrative."

"I didn't think about that," Geordi responded. "All of these years it has been right before our eyes and no one noticed."

Picard turned to his first officer and said, "An apt description of our new sensors, wouldn't you say, Mr. Data?"

After due consideration Data replied, "Indeed."

Captain Picard and Commander LaForge looked at each other and shared a sly grin.

The engineer had been very eager to test the new sensors and with the captain's permission activated them onboard the shuttle. They weren't expecting anything unique other than the background radiation previous, planet bound prototypes had already found. A moment later the computer chirped.

"Curious," Data said as he observed the readings on his screen. "The new array has located an anomaly in Earth's atmosphere. It has never been recorded before."

"That was quick," Geordi remarked.

"It seems that our new equipment has already suffered its first glitch," Picard muttered. A minute later Data announced that the sensors were functioning within normal operating parameters. No malfunction or "glitches" were found in the system.

Concerned, Picard viewed the readouts on his computer terminal. The anomaly was located over the English Channel, barely fifty kilometers from the coast of Great Britain. London was the closest major city, according to the map overlay on his screen. Further sensor readings determined that it was some sort of hole in the fabric of space-time. This hole was a thin, elongated slit that ran from the top of the troposphere to below the water's surface of the Channel.

Picard contacted the USS Enterprise and ordered them do a sensor sweep of the same area to ensure that the new sensors on the Shuttlecraft Griffiths were not faulty. A few minutes later the Enterprise confirmed what the shuttlecraft occupants had discovered.

After a moment of thought, Captain Picard ordered the shuttlecraft to change course. The new heading was for the anomaly. "Contact Starfleet," he said. "Inform them of our findings and that we are moving to investigate further."

The shuttlecraft descended back into the Earth's lower atmosphere and moved to a point ten kilometers from the slit, positioning itself between it and the island nation of Britain. From here, Picard and his two officers probed the rip in space-time using the new array. They determined that something was on the other side. Picard ordered a complete and deep scan of the rift.

Several hours later the results revealed some very interesting data. The returns found an earth like atmosphere, with components and gases the same as on earth and in the same precise ratios as on earth. There was saline water just like the oceans of earth. Plant and animal life were detected as well as several land masses.

"Islands," Data specified. The scans also revealed that the other side seemed to have boundaries, but of indeterminate points.

"Captain, I believe that what we have found is what is commonly referred to as a pocket universe."

"Yes, Mr. Data, but on a much larger scale," Picard amended.

"What do we do next?" Geordi asked.

Picard had already been pondering this exact question. There were so many variables. Was this a stable rift? How long had it been here? Minutes, days, months, years, millennia? How long would it remain? What was on the other side? Another civilization? Were they hostile or friendly?

Picard took in a deep breath, held it and then let it out with an audible sigh. He tapped the communications cluster and opened a channel. "Enterprise, have Dr. Crusher report to the shuttlecraft. Tell her she is to prepare for an away mission."

"Aye, sir," came the reply over the comm. channel.

"Captain, do you intend to enter the pocket universe?" Data asked.

"Yes, Mr. Data. I do."

"May I remind the captain that as your first officer it is my duty...,"

"Yes, Mr. Data, I am well aware of your duty to recommend that I remain aboard the Enterprise. It has been noted. I am going anyway."

"Yes, captain," Data acknowledged.

While the trio waited for Dr. Crusher to arrive Captain Picard was struck by another intriguing coincidence. The star which he had noticed earlier, the second to the right, from this angle was in the middle of the rift the sensors had detected.

Could it be possible? he asked himself. No of course not. To believe in Never Land would mean believing in Peter Pan, fairies and fairy dust. Absurd.

A shimmering of light brought the form of Dr. Beverly Crusher to the shuttlecraft.

"I'm ready," she said. "Where are we going?"

Data relayed to the doctor what they had learned so far. She sat down and readied herself for God knows what. Geordi's hands played across the piloting controls. The shuttlecraft placidly moved forward. Using sensors only he brought the small vessel through the hole in space-time.

To the naked eye nothing seemed to change. In fact, the captain had to ask when they had passed through the event horizon. Everything was as ordinary and earth-like as possible. The water was clear. The sky was blue. Seagulls winged there way through the air and fish swam in the waters below. The sun shown and illuminated everything in sight. Surprisingly, it was the very same one that the Earth orbited. The location trackers on the shuttlecraft said that they were still over the English Channel. The Enterprise-E was still present, as were the dry docks and the star-port that was in geosynchronous orbit above the European continent.

"Where are we?" Dr. Crusher asked.

Data postulated that this pocket universe may share the same space with the earth, but that it was only accessible through the rift in space-time. It shared the same atmosphere and environments yet was still a separate and confined space.

"Fascinating," Picard said, commenting on Data's analysis. "No pocket universe has ever shown such characteristics."

"So then where are we exactly?" Dr. Crusher asked again. This time, no one had an answer.

~O~

This story takes place within the Tinker Bell movie-verse. The concept of Data taking over B4's body was hinted at in the film Star Trek: Nemesis. The comic Star Trek: Countdown, an official prequel to the Star Trek reboot film also uses this concept to bring Data back into continuity.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this first chapter please let me know.