The Galileoâs hull burned hot as the shuttlecraft entered the atmosphere. Ace instinctively gripped the arms of his chair as the small craft bounced and drifted upon entry. Gemini, however, showed no sign of worry as she maneuvered the small craft toward the planetâs rust-colored surface.
âThis is Ground Control; please identify yourself.â A static-filled voice called out from the console.
Gemini flipped a switch on the console. âThis is the Galileo; we are delivering entrant Ace Gallagher to compete in the competition.â
There was a pause as the shuttle continued its descent. The two Aravasti glanced at each other, with bothâs expressions wavering on concern.
âRoger that, Galileo; I see Mr. Gallagher on our list. Proceed to landing pad seven.â
âSeven,â Ace smirked as Gemini turned off their communication link.
âFeeling lucky yet?â She grinned, âOr do you want to go over the mission one more time?â
âI know the mission,â Ace watched the orange glow across the windows fade. âI go in, play the best I can to stay as close to Mickey D as I can, then leave gracefully when I lose.â
âAnd youâre not from Starfleet on this mission.â
âRight; thatâs why we wiped the Starfleet insignias from the shuttle before we left.â
âYep. Weâre from⊠what planet were you from?â
âTal E,â Ace looked out the window as the planetâs surface came into focus. âKind of funny; we always called our world the Tallelands; I wonder if somehow, someone knewâŠâ
âItâs possible.â
Another layer of clouds peeled away, and in an instant, a great stone mansion was revealed in the evening light, seated in a vast circle of green with high walls separating it from the dull, desert-like landscape around it. A massive arched gate separated the mansion from the long driveway lined with warm lights, and the drive led down to a large circle of landing pads.
âWoah,â both awed in unison.

Gemini turned the shuttle down toward the launchpads, easily finding the one marked with a seven on its surface. âThereâs our stop.â
âThis is insane,â Ace was nearly pressed against the glass. âIs this his house?â
âI wouldnât be surprised, if he really has all the money they say he has,â Gemini took turns looking at the approaching scenery and the landing pad until she had the shuttle steadily landed on its surface. As the shipâs engines whirred to a stop, she turned in her chair to face the gambler. âYou certainly arenât overdressed, now,â she said with a smirk.
The gambler stood from his chair in a full suit and black slacks. A red tie was tucked under his white shirt collar, and a matching red cloth was folded in his lapel pocket. His hair was neatly parted above a black headband pressed against his hairline. This, and the black fingerless gloves on his hands, were indispensable clothing items to ensure his âgood luck.â
âYou clean up pretty good,â Gemini admitted. âAlthough, youâre not going to be able to get in with that,â she pointed to the communication badge still pinned to his tuxedo.
âOops!â He popped off the magnetic badge and handed it to her.
She shifted the placement of the phaser in her waistband in order to slip the badge into her pocket.
âWell,â Ace took a deep breath, âI guess this is it.â
Gemini held out a fist. âGood luck. Win all the games.â
Ace grinned and bumped it. âI intend to.â
With that, Gemini turned back to the console and opened the shuttle door behind him.
The gambler stepped out of the shuttle, his black dress shoe crunching on the sandy platform. He brought his fingerless gloves up to his neck to adjust his tie, then slicked a strand of white hair back behind his ear. He cocked an eyebrow over his green eyes and grinned the whole way down the road to Mickey Dâs mansion.
Gemini waited for Ace to blend into the darkness of the road in the evening light before closing the shuttle door and standing up. âAnd now, the waiting game.â She spoke aloud.
âI thought heâd never leave.â
Her head whipped around toward the back of the shuttle.
A man in a red Starfleet uniform was sitting on one of the padded benches.
The Aravasti instantly sunk into a defensive stance, fire sparking at her palms as blue light shot up her arms.
âHold it!â The man raised his hands.
âWho are you and how did you get in my shuttle??â The fire burned brighter.
âOh, turn that off, would you??â
Geminiâs power was snuffed out in an instant. She gasped, as if losing the breath in her lungs along with it. She could only watch, stunned, as the man rose and approached her, raking his hand through his short brown hair. She was backed into the shuttleâs console before the man stopped inches before her face.
His lips, at last, tugged to a smile.
âHello, Gemini.â
Â
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Commercial Break
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Scene Notes
- Here he is...
- Fun fact about this particular crossover: I had the idea of having a Q/Gemini episode while I was finishing up the last TNG crossover; but every good TNG episode has a concurrent plot, and I couldn't figure that out. Fast forward to the random idea of Ace being in Starfleet and I got the Ace/Poker Tournament idea... and then I wondered if those could be the concurrent plots. Lo and behold, it somehow worked out :D