"Delusions" is a "parallel story" taking place in the "Uncharted Future" iteration of the Star Trek universe; that is, it isn't about T'Ori or her comrades. Instead, it focuses on a Human woman who is a former Starfleet officer, and who is presently a single mom dealing with some challenging issues concerning her son. These challenges eventually cause a lot of trouble, and the story is centered around what happens when her son, Damon, meets his father, who happens to be a Cardassian, for the first time.
While on what was supposed to be a relaxation vacation with her young son Damon off-planet, Molly manages to lose him, and he's absolutely nowhere to be found. The resort staff haven't seen him for several days, none of the other guests who initially saw them arrive have seen him, and she can be almost certain that none of the locals have seen him, either... except someone at the shuttle dock did, leading her to discover that her son, at four years old, has stolen a shuttle, and Molly could tear her hair out. Only through the help of the dock staff and through the help of freighters does she manage to make her way to the distant station where he has apparently landed, taking weeks to get there. It's in a contested area of space, of course; he couldn't have picked anywhere more dangerous to go.
Even worse, upon arrival, Molly observes a large Cardassian warship docked at the station, the very image bringing unwanted memories to the surface. But she knows she must go ahead and search the station for her son, Cardassians be damned. And when she docks, the place is very near flooded with them. She makes a beeline for a member of the station's security team to inquire about a little boy named Damon, but is shocked to spot him coming out of a room with several other children of varying species. She is overjoyed to see him and cannot imagine what he has been doing here all by himself. But when he tells her that he has been staying with Daddy, Molly's fears skyrocket. It couldn't possibly be that the very warship docked at the station is commanded by...?
Their reunion is interrupted by the last person she wanted to see: Gul Remat, who seems surprised that she came looking for Damon. Apparently she did not want him, but Damon realizes he misunderstood her. Now, the little boy seems ever so pleased to have both of his parents with him. Molly is anything but pleased to have to spend time around Remat, but when her son expresses a desire to visit Cardassia, she realizes that there are some issues that need ironing out. And when Remat seems shocked she would disallow her son to go to his father's homeworld, Molly knows she needs to put her foot down and be assertive instead of listening to her fears. But what she doesn't realize is that a lot can happen in four years, and Remat is a changed man, but not for the better...
To read about the major characters, click one of their names below.
Molly is a Human, born on Earth, who at one point studied at Starfleet Academy and was eventually assigned to Memory Alpha, where she would have been perfectly happy for the rest of her days, but it was not to be so. After being reassigned and experiencing more adventure than she could ever ask for, she decided to resign and return to Earth... giving birth to her son about 8 months later. Since then she's struggled with the challenges of raising a hybrid child as a single mom. Although introverted, Molly can be a bit of a firecracker and a wiseass, and is intensely independent, having learned who her allies were after Damon was born. She's a bit of a mama bear for her son, and parents discourage their kids from teasing him if just to avoid a confrontation with Molly. She now does what she did at Memory Alpha for a small public library on Earth, and is happily teaching her son to read before he officially starts school. Damon is Molly's four-year-old son. Through his mother he is half Human, and through his father - who he has never met - he is half Cardassian. Despite all this, and despite his mother's fiery personality, Damon is a bit more subdued and a bit more sensitive, which really makes all the bullying he experiences very difficult for him. He's been called everything in the book, and he doesn't feel like he fits in, or ever will, with the other kids at his daycare. He manages to have fun with his mommy, who reads with him and plays with him and takes him on adventures, on hikes, and camping. But part of him really wants to know about the stars, because that's where his daddy is. And even if he and Mommy have done okay without a Daddy in the picture, he still wants to know what it's like to have one. Damon maybe be a bit more reserved than his mother, but ironically, he is more of an extrovert - a Cardassian trait - and loves to talk the ear off of anyone who will listen, especially the daycare coordinators. [em-EK ree-MOT] Gul Remat is an officer in the Cardassian military. At one point he had commanded a warship, but a mistake had him demoted to glinn for a while, and after great success as a security officer, he was promoted once more, reposted to the homeworld, and put in charge of the military police in the capital. Now he has friends in high places, a comfortable office, a fat paycheque, and women if he wants them. But there's a stain on his past that, try as he might, he hasn't quite been able to outrun it. Then, a doctor contacts him to inform him that he's paternal match to a little boy who's showed up at some station somewhere. Going to investigate, Remat finds a half Human child who calls himself Damon, and he realizes this is chance to correct his mistakes. But all is not well with Gul Remat, so how much good can he really do? Remat values loyalty and strength. At times he is a bit of a womanizer, but deep down he has a sensitive streak he will never admit to having. [koh-VOH-ree ter-AWD] Dr. Terrad is a Cardassian physician and surgeon, and an acquaintance of Remat's. He is one of the gul's "friends in high places", but having come from a more academic background than his friend, Terrad is gentlemanly and well-spoken most times, albeit a little tactless in a certain sense, which mostly serves to make women uncomfortable. Being both an intellectual and a Cardassian, he will speak at length about many topics, particularly in his areas of expertise - medical advancements, genetic engineering, and biology. Next to Remat, Terrad comes off as a bit of a geeky sidekick, but he is not to be underestimated. In fact, he could just be more dangerous than his friend the gul, if you just so happen to get on his bad side.
Molly Harrison
Damon Harrison
Emek Remat
Kovory Terrad