[snip]

Glen smiled at Daniel. “You’ve been accessing the Library Computer for records of Earth and Starfleet history,” Glen said. “When everyone has arrived you must tell us what you learnt.”

”..As you wish Captain..” Daniel replied.

William arrived with his nose deep practically buried into his PaDD as he typed away furiously. He was still writing down his thoughts on the matter and for the last two hours had been driving his staff mad with his inane mumbling and occasional yelling at inanimate objects. So far he only had theories but hopefully he would learn more from this Daniel the Captain seemed to know.

Kord entered the conference room nodding to Glen.

Kord was suspicious but he didn’t let it show. Their past interactions with the ancients had always been a harbinger to trouble.

Grunch had came in with everyone else and sat down to take in whatever craziness they all were about to get into

Hal finally made it to the conference room. He apologized. “Sorry,” he said. “I’ve been distracted early by some pressing security concerns of mine, that required my personal attention.”

Tinga walked in after Hal and just happened to take the seat across form someone she’d never met before.

Tipping her antennae slightly in greeting she settled in and prepared for the meeting.

After Tinga sat down, Glen decided they should begin. “I think everyone has arrived now, and so I’d like to make a start. First of all, if you recently joined the ship then you should sign the Starfleet unauthorized disclosure of information documents in front of you. Our discussion is certain to include details of our mission of two years ago when we met the race known as the Ancients. This involved travel both in time to the distant past and to the distant Andromeda Galaxy, and it was deemed to be classified by Starfleet Command after our return home.”

As everyone would sign the PADD work Daniel idly commented. “..I find it curious you need to silence your own people over matters you yourselves instigated or were involved in..” Daniel said.

“As Starfleet officers, we are subordinates of Starfleet Command decisions, and their rules and regulations,” replied Glen.

”..Of course I understand what you are saying Captain. What I was questioning is why your superiors feel such is a need. Among the Ancients all current events get shared collectively to our culture and people as a whole so we might all learn and grow. This allows us to study and learn for better or worse events that occur and how they might shape our future or ....in your case how they shaped our past..” He said.

With paperwork completed, Glen began the questioning. “Daniel,” he asked, “Before you came, a fully formed adult human, out of the ‘egg’ earlier today, do you have any memories?”

”..Memories among Ancients are.....complex. A normal Ancient starts life as an egg as you may recall. Much smaller then the one you met me in today. A normal Ancient egg is not much larger then your two fists put together. When one reaches maturity it hatches and seeks out one of the nursery caretakers for imprinting. Sometimes this is a ‘parent’ as you might understand but other times it is not. Memories from the parents are then imprinted upon the hatching which gives them all the basis of knowledge of Ancient culture and history to that point. While this is not to say the hatch-ling knows everything or can recall memories from long ago it provides a .....” Daniel paused seeming to consider the word to use. “......provides a foundation for the hatch-ling to evolve into their own person to support the greater whole of Ancient society. Once this hatch-ling matures the memories and formation of what they will become as their own person evolve into the Ancient collective mind, and are then merged among the organic ‘body farms’ as you might call them for further growth..” he explained.

”..As for my own first memories, Captain, they are of your own. Or rather the hatch-ling which found you on the nursery planet you visited and imprinted on you were given to me. Being this was the first imprinting of a non-Ancient among our culture your genetic profile interaction to an organic body that you see now was.....a quite complex process to ensure such an imprinting did not have unforeseen consequences. Ancient technology as you have seen is much more complex and advanced then your own. So to return to the point, my memories are essentially much of your own life and experiences up too that point. These imprints of your memories and your genetic code were then processed with another Ancient known as Nescatan to fully evolve who I would become and provide a grounding of experiences necessary for contributing to Ancient society. One particular memory of yours that sticks in my memories is you piloting what I believe is a shuttle for the first time near Earth, the sense of excitement and wonder among other things. There was also a smell of something......sour that sticks with me in that memory as well, though I can not find the proper word or wording for it.” He said.

Captain Glen had really not appreciated the full extent, or the implications and ramifications of the Ancient imprinting process until now. Caught totally unawares by what Daniel had just said, he was now a little lost for words… Despite a long list, John Glen paused his questioning while he considered all the many memories that Daniel must undoubtedly share with him… but then he clearly has not remembered everything, or else he would remember that Starfleet regulations must be obeyed, and that clothes must be worn in public. Maybe the imprinting process did not have quite as broad a spectrum as Daniel believes? he thought.

If they wished during the pause, someone else could take up the batten and make their own inquiries of Daniel.

William was marking down his thoughts on his PaDD as the conversation went on, with the captain pausing he saw an opportunity to butt in “Do your sensory experience match up with that of our Captain’s memories?” He asked “What I mean is that does your hybrid body adapt to human physiology or is it more aligned with how the Ancients experience things?” He asked with unusual enthusiasm.

Glen mindlessly crossed a question off his own list, he would have asked about physiology too later. Now he was still too consumed with what memories Daniel must share with him. Does he think like me too? Does he have similar thoughts? Does that make him a security risk? Am I a security risk? And then Glen realised that whatever Daniel knew about him, was from two years ago. Much had happened to him in those intervening years; much that had changed him. All of his security codes had been changed and, in any case, Starfleet’s whole security situation had changed too; with a cooling of relations between the Federation and the Klingons, Federation and the Romulans, even if not between themselves. There were new foes to deal with now like the Bolay. Glen felt that whatever Daniel thought that he knew about him, it would not be complete, and that any problems would be personal rather than professional.

-Glen, CO