This one is for the enjoyment of EMXC members and was 
completed April 30, 1997.  Please forward on to the X-file 
mailing list as well.

Synopsis:  Everyone is not what they seem and Mulder and 
Skinner find themselves falling through the looking glass.  
Sorry if I say any more I'll give away a major plot twist. 
<BG>

E-mail me at 72620.3447@compuserve.com   Be sure to 
indicate the story or author in the subject line as there are 
several others using this addy as well.
Eowyn

Disclaimer stuff.  I don't own Mulder, Scully, Skinner or 
the others which I'm not at liberty to reveal just now. ;-)  
I'm just borrowing them to play.  Chris Carter is one of the 
people who I borrowed them from and I promise to give 
them back when I'm done. 


CHANGELING
By Eowyn Evenstar
Part 3


Fox Mulder and Walter Skinner heard a high-pitched whine 
and then felt a tingling sensation all over their bodies.  The 
next thing they knew they were in an entirely different 
room surrounded by consoles and machines like none that 
they had ever seen.  Dana Scully stepped down off the 
platform that they were on and greeted a curly-haired 
strawberry blond man behind a waist-high table.  "Good to 
see you again Chief O'Brien.  It's been a long time."

"Commander.  Longer for you than for me, from the looks 
of things."

"I wanted to thank you for that remarkable job you did of 
transporting me.  You managed to hit the only flat surface 
in that whole ten-square-meter area.  Very impressive.  
You'll have to show me how you did it when we get back."

"Anytime.  And now if you'll excuse me I need to do some 
more work in the engine room to prepare for our time 
jump.  Coming in to that close a proximity to the sun is 
always puts a strain on the warp core."  He nodded and left 
the room.

"Sir, Mulder, if you'll follow me I'll see if what I'm about to 
show you will change your mind."

They proceeded into what appeared to be some sort of 
elevator.  As Scully entered she said, "Bridge."

"Where are we?"  Mulder asked.

"We're on our ship.  The one we used to travel in time."

"I thought you said that you used a machine?"  Skinner 
asked, finally getting his voice back.  He was beginning to 
feel like he'd fallen down a rabbit hole.

"No, the Dominion used a stationary planetside machine.  
Its negative effects on tissue make it inadvisable to use.  
The science is quite complicated and  I don't understand 
most of it.  Data and O'Brien are our resident experts in 
temporal mechanics; but let's just say that time travel is 
easier in space than on a planet."  The lift stopped and the 
doors opened.

/Wish they could get elevator doors in the Hoover Building 
to work that fast./  Skinner thought to himself.

They stepped out into a room like none they had ever seen.  
It reminded Skinner of the bridge of a few navy ships that 
he had been on but the equipment certainly wasn't the 
same.  A impressive black man sitting in the center chair 
stood up and approached their party.  Skinner recognized 
that look.  It was one that he often had with Scully and 
Mulder when they had done something that was against the 
rules and he had found out about it.

The man spoke, "Lieutenant Commander T'Kay, would you 
please explain the presence of two individuals from this 
time period on the ship?"

"Commander..."  T'Kay seemed to spot something and 
corrected herself.  "Captain Sisko, I need to convince these 
men of the reality of my claims in order to acquire their 
aid.  Only part of my mission has been completed.  We 
have stopped the release of the proof of the existence of 
life on other planets but we need to stop the human 
experimentation to complete the mission.  I am unable to 
remain on the Earth of this time period any longer so that 
the job of stopping the experiments must fall to Director 
Skinner here.  This was the best way, given my limited 
time frame that I could think to convince him of the reality 
of my claims.  I would like to take them to the observation 
lounge and have the ship make a trip around the solar 
system.  Hopefully that will convince them."

"Very well, Commander, but we will discuss this later."  

T'Kay nodded.  "Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce Captain 
Benjamin Sisko.  Captain Sisko, may I present Assistant 
Director Walter Skinner of the FBI and Special Agent Fox 
Mulder."  The men shook hands. 

A voice from behind them rumbled, "Sir, I have plotted a 
course around the solar system that will take twenty-five 
minutes.  That should leave us fifteen minutes to prepare 
for the time jump."

As Mulder and Skinner turned to look at the speaker, they 
both realized that this was definitely not a human.  Not 
even close.  Fighting the urge to stare both men returned 
their attention back to the Captian.  "Thank you, Mr. Worf.  
Proceed at three-quarter impulse."

"The view screen is accurate but it won't give you quite the 
same effect as direct sight.  T'Kay, if you will show them 
into the observation lounge, we will try to present an 
impressive show.  Gentlemen."  Captain Sisko nodded to 
them as they left to follow Scully.

"Scully?  Who, or what or what race was that..."  

Dana smiled.  Up til Worf the differences of the various 
species were not too great.  Klingons were not as easily 
ignored.  "That was Mr. Worf.  He's a Klingon.  That's a 
race that we fought with until more recently--in fact, it 
seems we are fighting with them again thanks to Dominion 
interference.  That has been resolved for now but we'll have 
to see."

"Klingon?  They are very different.  You said you were 
Vulcan...how are you...I mean do you normally look...?"  
Mulder found himself getting tangled up trying to find out 
more and to avoid offending Scully.

"My major differences that are observable are that my ears 
are pointed and my eyebrows slant upwards.  
Physiologically there are also several differences but 
nothing too drastic."  She didn't not want to go into details 
about Pon Far just yet.


The next twenty minutes for the two men were 
spell-binding.  They watched through a window of what 
T'Kay told them was transparent aluminum.  They passed 
Mars, Jupiter, and several of its moons.  They then flew 
through the rings of Saturn, the passage of the ship through 
them created a light show that surpassed anything the 
Northern Lights could ever possibly do.  Proceeding to the 
outer planets they passed so closely that detailed shapes 
could be seen.  The eruption of a methane volcano on 
Neptune left all three of them speechless.  Filled with awe, 
Mulder turned to talk to Scully.  Tears were running down 
her cheeks.

"Dana, what's wrong."  His anger of an hour ago forgotten 
he went over and put his arm around her shoulders.

"I'd forgotten how beautiful it was to see the stars without 
the filter of an atmosphere.  Until this assignment I'd 
always taken space travel for granted.  The beauty of the 
stars was something I saw everyday.  But when I was 
confined to Earth...even though I loved the planet... I 
missed the stars.  When I lay in that bed in my healing 
trance I dreamed of the stars."

"Healing trance?"  Mulder asked.

"It's a self-induced state that concentrates all the body's 
resources in repairing damage done.  I wanted to thank you, 
Mulder, for saving my life.  Normally you have to be 
brought out of the trance by a mind meld or by being hit so 
hard that it breaks your concentration.  I was slipping 
deeper into the coma and wasn't going to come out until 
you sat by my bed holding my hand all through that night 
calling to me with your mind.  You brought me back."  

She drew in a deep breath and concluded,  "I cherish thee.  
Please come back with me."  She brushed the side of his 
face with her hand and then leaned up to kiss him on the 
lips.  "I'll leave you gentlemen to talk for a few minutes.  
Think about it, Mulder."  With that last plea she left.

Mulder turned and looked out into space.  "Can we believe 
any of this, Sir?"

"I don't know, Mulder.  I'm having a hard time with it but 
the evidence of our eyes and senses is hard to doubt.  Are 
you going to return with her?  I can tell that you love her."

Mulder looked at him with a look of chagrin on his face.  
"Most of me is so excited at the prospect of exploring the 
galaxy that I can't tell you. Before they took Samantha you 
know what my goal in life was."  His boss shook his head.  
"I wanted to be an astronaut.  I lived, breathed, ate and 
slept astronaut.  Then they took Sam and I gave up that 
dream.  I love Dana, I want to be with her but what about 
Sam?"

"Mulder, I'm not sure if I believe or not but I do know that 
the human experimentation that has been going on has got 
to stop.  And I'm going to dedicate my life to stopping it.  If 
I find any word of your sister, I will pursue it relentlessly 
and if she's found I will be sure she is taken care of.  You 
have my word.  You have spent the last twenty years of 
your life in that quest and the truth you have found has 
been remarkable but you've given enough.  Go with Scully.  
Be happy."

"I can't help feeling that I should stay and help you."

"You can't help me, Mulder.  Your presence can only hurt.  
You are at the center of a firestorm and I need to be able to 
work quietly behind the scenes to stop all of the 
experimentation.  Your presence will only draw attention to 
my work."

Mulder nodded and turned to look back out at the stars.  A 
few minutes later Dana Scully returned.  "We will be back 
at Earth within two minutes.  I need to know your decisions 
now."

Skinner turned to talk to her.  "Thank you for the tour.  It 
was impressive.  I will do my best to stop the experiments.  
What do I need to do?"

"Here are the disks containing the records.  There are two 
full sets.  I suggest you make several copies and hide them 
in various locations.  Then read the data and formulate your 
plan of attack.  Sir, I have a personal favor to ask of you, 
actually two.  Would you notify my mom, I mean Dana's 
mom, that because of my work I've had to go into hiding 
and take on a new identity.  I don't want her to think that I 
died only that I left to protect my family.  Tell her that you 
doubt that I will be able to make contact again for a long 
time if ever because the knowledge I have could lead to the 
deaths of anyone who comes into contact with me.  The 
next thing is going to be more difficult.  When Dana 
Scully's body is found, I'll give you the location, could you 
arrange for a temporary burial until her mother dies and 
then have it buried next to the family plot with the right 
name.  She shouldn't have to lie in an unmarked grave 
because I took her identity."

Skinner nodded his assent but before he could speak 
Mulder interrupted.  He continued looking out the window 
into space.  "Would you tell Mrs. Scully and my mother 
that we left together and that we wanted to live a normal 
life.  I wish I had time to go back to my apartment and 
collect a few items but I guess I can live without them."

Dana took his hand and held it briefly.  "That isn't any 
problem, Fox.  We can transport you down but you'll only 
have five minutes to collect anything that you want.  Don't 
go out of the apartment though, okay.  It would be difficult 
to explain how you managed to get from Chicago to DC in 
half an hour."  Scully spoke into the air.  "Major Kira, 
could you escort Mr. Mulder to the transporter room and 
beam him down to the address that he gives you then beam 
him back within five minutes."

A petite woman with ridges on her nose entered.  "Mr. 
Mulder, if you will follow me."

"I'll be with you by the time you get back, Mulder.  I need 
to brief Skinner on the work he has cut out for him."  
Mulder and Major Kira left.

"So how come his departure won't change the timeline, 
Scully?"

"I think you've figured that out, haven't you?"

"The only way I could see is if he was going to die within 
the next few hours."

T'Kay nodded.  "Tonight at eleven thirty-five he is killed in 
a fiery car crash.  At least in my timeline.  I don't know if 
it's an accident or not but as far as we can tell nothing he 
does within the next eight hours will change history."

"Well since you've studied the timeline perhaps you can tell 
me if I ever find his sister, Samantha.  I promised to look."

"No you'll never find her."  At the sad look on his face she 
squeezed his arm.  "Don't worry, Sir, he finds her."  At his 
puzzled look she went on to explain.  "When I left one of 
the reasons an investigation had started was that a woman 
claiming to be from the twentieth century was found 
wondering the streets of San Francisco.  When I was sent 
back we didn't have an ID on her.  We do now.  Her name 
is Samantha Mulder.  She was apparently being kept very 
close by the Dominion's agents so that they could use her to 
get Mulder to cooperate.  Somehow, I don't have the 
details, she accidently got into the time field and was 
transported into my time.  By the time her memories were 
restored and they really did believe she was from the 
twentieth century, she had seen too much of our world and 
had too many memories of it to send back to her own time.  
When we get back, she is the first person I'll take Fox to 
see."

"I'm glad to know that.  Is there any way to contact you if I 
run into trouble?"

"Yes.  It would have to be major for them to allow us to 
return but run an ad in the personals of the _Washington 
Post_.  It should say 'Amanda T. Kay and William 
problems have arisen'.  Then write a memo with as much 
detail as possible and classify it as top secret and store it in 
your personal papers.  We'll read through them and see if 
we need to come back.  Whatever you do, don't mention the 
Guardian."

At his nod she said, "Good.  I'll escort you to the transporter 
room and return you to Earth.  Cancerman won't remember 
anything after the noon meeting so your involvement won't 
be recognized.  Thank you."

They arrived at the transporter in time to see Mulder beam 
in.  The shock was starting to wear off and be replaced by 
excitement.  "Wow!  What a way to travel, Skinner.  This is 
great.  Chicago to DC in seconds."

"Actually we are in orbit outside the orbit of the moon, 
Mulder.  So you've traveled a little farther than DC to 
Chicago."  Scully smiled at him.

She gave her boss a hug, Mulder did as well.  "Goodbye, 
Sir, and thanks for everything."  Mulder said.

"Mulder, Scully, I am sure going to miss you two.  Have a 
good life."  He nodded and stepped on to the transporter 
platform.  A whine proceeded the tingling sensation and he 
found himself in his hotel room in Chicago, the disks in his 
hand the only proof he had of the remarkable last four 
hours.

THE END

Yes there is a sequel in the planning stages--more an 
epilogue really--but time may or may not allow me to write 
it.  If I get enough requests I might break down and give it a 
try.  By the way, yes of course it's a cross over but I couldn't 
very well tell you that at the beginning--now could I-- it 
would spoil all the fun.

Eowyn