ASDB Headquarters,  San Francisco-

Vice Admiral Rebecca Talon looked up from her computer terminal as a Vulcan officer entered the office with his hands clasped behind him.  “Admiral," Vorath greeted. “I have some potentially disturbing news.” Rebecca's former helm officer, now with the four pips of a captain was now attached to Starfleet operations.

Standing Rebecca gave the Vulcan her undivided attention. “What is it?”

“Admiral,” Vorath swallowed, an uncharacteristic slip of emotion for the man, “Commander Talon's ship is missing in action.”

“What do you mean by ‘missing’?”

“I mean precisely that. The Zebulon Pike has dropped off sensors along with the Heracles.”

Rebecca sized Vorath up, and with a sigh, “And who is in charge of this mess?”

“Admiral Derki Korlin.”

Starfleet Command,  San Francisco-

Rebecca stormed into Admiral Korlin's office with a protesting Lieutenant in tow.  “Ma'am! Ma'am! The Admiral has given orders to not be disturbed.”

“Lieutenant do you want to play rank poker? I assure you, you will lose.” Rebecca asked as she pushed past the stunned officer and into the spacious office of Admiral Korlin.  “So, when we're you planning of telling me that my daughter and step-son are missing in action Derki?"

Derki looked up at the person that had stormed into his office. He saw the terrified look on the Lieutenant behind the Vice Admiral that was barking at him. Lifting a hand he waved the Lieutenant off.

“Frankly Rebecca I wasn't going to,” he stated as he stood up and leveled his eyes with her. “And my reasoning is that it is classified under the intelligence-gathering policies that were given to me by you the moment you made me the Commanding Officer of Starfleet's Command and Control Monitoring department for the Fourth Fleet," he stated as he kept his ground.

“That's utter and complete bull crap and you know it,” Rebecca retorted.  “A missing ship especially one with my family on it is not something you keep from me.  What are the Romulans or whoever going to do with that information? Who do you have searching for them?”

Korlin, stood up to his full six foot five inches and looked down at Rebecca. “You of all people know that my family is also on board not only the Pike but also the Heracles,” he stated as he continued to look at her. “I am also aware that your former Operations Officer, Captain Peter Crawford, has a daughter that is aboard the Pike. So I can only deduct that you will be calling him shortly,” he stated boldly as a sigh left his lips realizing that she would be going for the Pike instead of the closer of the two. He couldn't blame her, but at the same time, he was astounded that she would like her personal feelings to overtake her judgment call on the probability of success; which lay in getting to her Heracles.

Sitting back down in his chair he looked at Rebecca once more, this time with sobering eyes.

Rebecca extended her five-foot ten-inch stature, to her fullest and looked down on the now seated Korlin. “You would be correct.  Unlike you, I don't hide things like that.  Especially those whom I consider nearly family.   It shouldn't have taken another officer to come to me to tell me this.  You send your rescue ship. I will get mine.  Unlike you, I stand by my people and they reciprocate.”

“You wouldn't understand Admiral. My daughter is on the Heracles, along with all of her pilot brothers and sisters,” he stated as he tapped a pedestal that projected a holographic image of Sukitha.

Rebecca crossed her arms, and the venom in her voice subsided a bit, “It's personal too. I get that, but you should have still told me.  If our positions were reversed I would have done it for you.  Now, if you will excuse me, I have some favors to call in.”

As Kolin watched Rebecca leave he spoke into the now empty room, “It's not just personal, it's a vow to reunite with a daughter that doesn't know her father,” his voice broke as he spoke about Sukitha.

Later-

Rebecca was back in her office sitting behind her computer.   On the screen was a Captain Peter Crawford of the USS Watership, an Olympic-class medical frigate. 

“Hey Pete,” Rebecca started.  “I wish this was a social call, but the Pike is MIA.”

Peter Crawford sat back in the command chair, the image of his old CO on the screen.  He frowned.  The Pike had been his daughter's recent assignment as Chief Combat Engineer.  Rebecca was now a Vice Admiral.  She was right.  It wasn't a social call.  He gave her a nod, “I'm guessing you haven't any idea where they've gone.”  He gestured to his science chief and the woman stepped closer to listen, “We're a medical ship primarily but we operate as a science vessel in tandem with a few other fleets.  We can lend a hand wherever you need.”

“I was hoping you would say that.  Command has dispatched the  Inverness but I think their priority is the Heracles which is missing as well.  I'm catching a ride with the Leeds to Starbase 23. Do you think you can pick me up? I'm going to contact Cheon as well.  His daughter's on the Pike too.”

Crawford nodded as he spoke to the officer at the front of the bridge, “Helm, alert all hands to departure stations.  Plot a course to Starbase 23, maximum warp.”  He returned his attention to Talon, “We'll be underway in moments, Rebecca.  What else do you need?”  The overhead speakers on the bridge and ship-wide rang with a gentle klaxon alerting the crew to the impending departure.  The officers on the bridge quietly shifted stations as the lights dimmed to a blue hue.

“Get there, and be ready. We both have family on that ship.”

Peter stood from the center chair, “Consider it done.  I'll alert Starbase 23 to ensure they'll get us a contingent or two of security teams, just in case.”

“Hopefully that won't be necessary, but that's a good call. Thank you, Peter. I'll see you in a few days."

The channel closed and Crawford turned to the bridge, “We've got some old friends and family to find.  Thank you for being flexible.  Let's get out there and lend our hands and feet.  Helm, get us on our way.”  The USS Watership leaped forward in space as the crew readied for whatever lay ahead.

Kyo Residence – Chiba, Japan

The sunrise was gorgeous on the balcony of the Kyo Residence and both Cheon and Seong sat together as the morning for them slowly began. Cheon rested his head back as a shuttle flew over the area. A sigh left his lips as memories of his time in Starfleet floated to the surface for a moment. A gentle hand came to rest on his and he looked at Seong. 

“She will call, husband,” Seong stated as they waited for their daughter to check in with them.

“I know she will, but she is overdue and this worries me that Starfleet is once more holding something from us.”

The shuttle landed on the street outside the Kyo’s home looking strange amongst the bikes and other less sophisticated modes of transportation.   A few pedestrians gave it dirty looks, but no one said anything with the logo of Starfleet Command painted on the outer hull.  

The hatch lowered and two officers stepped out.  A Vulcan with four pips on his right shoulder and a woman well into her sixth decade.   Her hair was white as snow and wore an admiral’s uniform.  There was an inaudible conversation between her and the Vulcan before the Admiral peeled away from the shuttle and approached the Kyo’s door and pressed the door buzzer.

Seong and Cheon looked at each other and shook their heads. They had heard the shuttle as it has landed out front of their home. Cheon stood up and went to the door. Pressing his thumb on the console next to the door it slid to the side.

When the door opened and Cheon stood there in the doorway Rebecca smiled slightly,  bowed to him in proper Japanese tradition, “Kon’nichiwa Cheon-san.”

Cheon stifled a chuckle as he looked at his old Captain, now a Vice Admiral. “Your accent still needs improvement Rebecca,” he stated as he placed a hand on her shoulder before pulling her in for a hug. As he let her go and ushered her into his home he said, “It has been far too long, Captain,” he stated in a teasing manner knowing full too well that she was not a Captain anymore.

Rebecca nodded, “It has.  Look, this isn’t a social call. The Pike is missing in action.”

Seong looked over at Rebecca, “Jolie, Ethan…,” she paused as a hand went out to her husband.

Cheon took his wife in his arms, “When do you we leave?” is all that he asked as he looked down at his wife.

“Now,” Rebecca said seriously.   “The Leeds is waiting on me.”

Rebecca stood at the back of the bridge of the USS Leeds flanked by Cheon and Seong on her left side and her husband Milo on her right.  She was trying hard not be a disruption to this crew as the mere presence of an Admiral often did, but she was anxious to get to the Watership and get to looking for the Pike. It was true Aimee was her daughter and Ethan her step-son, but she had had a hand in raising Jolie and she had some motherly instincts for the girl despite not being her own biologically.

“Approaching Starbase 23 Captain,” the helmsman called out.

“Slow to impulse Lieutenant,” the captain ordered.

“Aye, slowing to impulse,” Helm repeated back.

“Captain we are being hailed by the Watership,” operations announced.

That was quick. Peter must be as anxious as I feel, Rebecca thought.

“On screen,” the captain ordered standing up.  As he moved towards the center of the bridge he tugged at his uniform jacket pulling it down.

USS Watership – Captain’s Quarters – 0900

“Captain’s log, supplemental.  My daughter newly assigned to a ship has gone missing with the ship, and her crew.  It is the worst kind of thing for a father to worry about – my greatest fear is always that she would fall in the line of duty young.  Her love of the world beyond the blue and green is partly my fault…but she wouldn’t blame me. She’d blame the evil in the galaxy that tries to destroy the good…the thing that needs fighting and stopping.”  He sat back on the couch in his office, sipping on the apple cider carefully.  “I will find her.  I will bring them home.  End log.”  He stood, and headed back to the bridge.  The time was nearing when they would arrive.

USS Watership – Bridge – 1000

They had arrived at Starbase 23 and immediately begun the process of getting the attachment of officers they had requested.  A small number of officers were coming off and coming back on in anticipation of what they were searching for in the darkness of space.  Peter had long held the belief of making sure he had strong chief officers in charge to train up strong assistants and below.  It had worked out well for him on the Watership and he’d only needed to move a few chess pieces around to get the mix of knowledge and talent he needed.  He’d even scored some mild science equipment upgrades under the guise of a search and rescue mission.  The Starbase 23 crew had just finished installing and testing it when the USS Dauntless arrived, bringing Crawford a sense of relief in the midst of the chaos.  His daughter was missing.  He was thankful he had a starship to command and the leeway within the fleet to be assigned as needed.

“Hail the Leeds.”  He moved to stand in front of the center chair.  The communications officer tapped at her console.

“They are responding.  Onscreen.”  The viewscreen snapped to the vision of the Leeds bridge.  He could see Talon and company in the background.

“Captain Peter Crawford, USS Watership.  I’ve been tasked with picking up your passengers, Captain.”

The captain looked over his should and back at the viewscreen,  “They look like they are ready to get going.”

He gave a nod, “We’ve completed our transfer and offloading needs.  Our transporter room is ready to receive them.”

“Understood.   I don’t know what the emergency is, but God speed Captain Crawford.”

Crawford gave his thanks and closed the channel, turning to his operations officer, “Meet our guests in transported room 1 and bring them to my ready room.”

USS Watership – Captain’s Quarters – 1015

Crawford looked up from his desk as old friends and new walked in.  He stood and gestured to the seats he’d arranged.  “Welcome aboard the USS Watership.”  He looked at Talon, “So, where are we going?”

Rebecca was out of uniform and into civilian clothes now.  From this point on she did not want to disrupt the chain of command aboard the Watership. Right now she wasn’t here on official Starfleet business.   She was just a worried mother.  

Cheon stood behind and to the left of Rebecca a familiar stance that he had done when we had been her “number one”, and it still felt right, even after he had taken over the Denver after she had left he never forgot that it was her ship after all. Now here on the Watership it felt like old times, minus of course the continuous threat of the Dominion.

Rebecca indicated she wanted to use Peter’s computer terminal she spun it around entered her access codes and brought up the last known position of the Pike.  “Here, near the Paulson Nebula.”

Peter leaned in, “Helluva place.  It’ll task our sensors, but we’re game.”  He tapped his in-desk console, “Captain Crawford to the bridge, plot a course to this location I’m sending.  Engage maximum warp immediately.  Sound departure stations.”  The officer on the conn affirmed and the gentle klaxon of the departure alarms sounded.  A moment later the stars outside the window accelerated and they were on their way.  He returned his attention to Talon, “You can only tell me so much, Rebecca.  Do we know what they were doing out there?  Both the Pike and the Heracles?”

“I am uncertain about the  Heracles,” Rebecca admitted. “I honestly wasn’t worried about reading up on their mission profile.   But, the Pike was sent to collect data and possibly close some rifts detected from that massive ion storm that was going on in the area. The Fourth Fleet must have been desperate to send that ship since they have inadequate sensor suites and no science officer.”

“Luckily for you Rebecca, I did my homework,” Cheon pipped in as he moved over next to the console. “If I may?”

Rebecca nodded and stepped aside.

Bringing up the profile of the Heracles he entered in his still-active Captains codes. The insignia of Forth Fleet appeared and then as it spun to its reverse side the insignia shifted to that of Task Force 72. The images both then faded away to show the Argonuant class ship USS Heracles. He then flicked his wrist up and the mission profile was shown. Tapping on the icon he once more entered his code and the mission was displayed: The Heracles is called upon to help the fleet with closing subspace rifts fueling the storm in the Paulson Nebula.

“From what I have gathered it appeared that sector of the nebula held the most dangerous rifts as well as some critical areas that if the rifts had opened would have caused a catastrophic explosion which would have caused the ion storm to expand further,” he stated as he showed the simulations that had accompanied the “Rift closers” device.

Crawford looked closer, “A chain reaction.  There’s a lot of research out there on rifts, wormholes, and all things temporal.  Some of the folks on board are a part of a task force assigned the duty of exploring quantum and temporal scenarios.”  He tapped the console and pulled the service jackets of the group.  “I’ll talk with their chief.”  Peter leaned back in his chair, concern playing across his face.  “On another subject, I suspect you ran roughshod over Korlin to get here.”  He chuckled at what that must have looked like with Rebecca Talon on a tear, “I think he probably deserved a shakeup or two in his schedule.”

“I didn’t have to,” Rebecca smirked.   “The benefits of rank, but I gave him a piece of my mind for trying to go classify this and hide it.”

Cheon looked away from the console as he closed the Heracles’ profile. A heavy tone left his lips as he swore, “Meinu no ano musuko” Something that Cheon never did. Even when Jolie had broken a family heirloom. He looked at Rebecca with apologetic eyes.

Peter sat forward, “This is hard for all of us, and I don’t think it’s going to get easier the closer we get.  If you need to take a station – all you have to do is ask.  My crew is yours should you need anything. You’ve all been assigned quarters near each other.”  He pulled the console to face him and tapped out a few commands, “Looks like six hours to the Paulson Nebula.  I’ll get our science teams on our long-range sensor work.” He glanced at his chrono, “You have full run of the ship as needed.  There’s a workout facility, a pool, and a library onboard should you need a place to be besides quarters.  We’ll reconvene on the bridge around 1700?”

“We should coordinate with the Inverness as they search for the Herecles.  But, I think this ship has the advantage.  The Watership has the most advanced sensors of the two, and it’s personal for us.Crawford stood, “My next stop is the bridge to coordinate with Ops and Comms.”

“Very well,” Rebecca replied.

They departed out the door, leaving Peter Crawford alone to contemplate.  All these years later they were coming back together to find friends and family.  As big as Starfleet was, and as wide as the galaxy could be – family made it all just a little smaller.

USS Watership – Bridge – 1645

“Captain, we are approaching the Paulson Nebula.”

Peter Crawford sat forward in the center chair on the Olympic class starship, his heart beating a little faster than usual.  “Confirm that, helm.  Ops, go to yellow alert.”  The soft klaxon for yellow alert signaled throughout the ship as the lights on the bridge clicked over to a soft yellow and officers rotated to alert specific duty stations.  He turned in his chair to science, “Updates?”

The woman at science gave a nod as she consulted her console, “Readings are increasing with proximity, sir.  The band of both quantum fields and temporal traces are present.  There’s much more there, and our teams are working on the data as it comes in.”  She tapped her earpiece to confirm receipt with whoever had just reported to her, “The nebula remains unusually unstable, Captain.  Recommend keeping our distance until we are able to discern this data better.”

Peter stood, “Helm, drop us out of warp and bring us to a full stop.”  The stars on the screen suddenly slowed as the ship leaped from warm and slowed to a stop.  The soft yellow light filled the bridge, and Crawford had grown to appreciate the mood it created with the crew.  ‘Always be prepared’ had been a lifelong motto for him.

Rebecca had been sitting at the back of the bridge.  Moving to Peter’s side she stood silently staring into the abyss.   After a moment Rebecca said softly to him.  “I spoke with Ethan’s wife last night.   They are having a girl.” She let the silence fall between them for a moment,  and then she spoke again this time speaking of her husband,  “Milo will likely need something to do.  Something to keep his mind off of things.  I could use my authority to temporarily recommission him into Starfleet so he can head those security forces you brought on at Starbase 23.”

Peter felt the silence.  New life was always a blessing, and it was now a curse given that Ethan and his crew were missing.  He didn’t want to think about the possibility of not finding them.  The consequences of that loss would break much of the former USS Denver crew, and the grief would leave wounds that would never heal, no matter the time.  He considered the Vice Admiral’s suggestion and turned to her, “I’m not opposed to it, Vice Admiral.  We could use a strong leader on that team, just in case.”

“It will help keep his mind off of things. I know Milo. He has to be doing something.  Especially at times like this.”

Cheon leaned in as he looked at the nebula, “I have a bad feeling about this Rebecca. A feeling that I think we should have considered reassignment of the Denver,” he stated in a tone just low even for her to hear.

They could not see the head of this monster that stood silently before them. Nor its many mouths that had taken their friends and family.

Peter followed the stare of his former FO to the screen.  There was a certain amount of unsettling feeling coming from the nebula, and enough of it that he couldn’t quantify.  He stood and turned to his science chief, Lieutenant Keira Mitsak, “Mitsak, what’s our initial read?”

The young Korean woman swung in her chair, “Plenty.  Our science teams downstairs are having a field day.”  She tapped at her console and the main viewscreen displayed the initial readings and details, “The nebula is notoriously unstable on a good day, but you see here,” she tapped and the wild readings were applied over the historical readings, “We’re past unstable and good days.  The temporal waves are on a rollercoaster and the quantum lines are snapping around pretty wildly.”  She tapped another button on her console, “If you’re feeling uncomfortable, that’s happening across the ship.  Nothing serious, yet…but we’ve got a growing list of nausea, mild headaches, light anxiety, and just an all-around unsettling feeling.  Doctor Keynstona is mapping out the parts of the ship currently impacted and dispatching our medical and science teams for further inspection.”  She shook her head, “That’s not even counting the rifts that we are detecting deep inside the nebula. They are open and closing at a mad rate – likely a symptom along with the other readings.  I recommend launching passive probes and keeping our distance unless absolutely necessary.  The effect of the nebula at high doses is an unknown variable.”

Crawford let out a breath he had been holding, “Thank you, Mitsak.  Keep at it.”  He turned to the gathered group of old friends, “Thoughts?”

Cheon looked at Seong for a moment and then back at Peter. “This nebula reminds me of a very old, very ancient story from early earth, from a Greek author called Homer.” he then looked back at the nebula, “The Odyssey, and more importantly Charybdis. A monstrous whirlpool that swallowed ships whole and then spat out their remains.”

“I agree,” Rebecca responded.   “These rifts need to be closed,  but maybe we can take a peek inside before we do. Hopefully, we will find our wayward ships.”

Captain Crawford nodded, “I agree.  Lieutenant Mitsak, ready two passive probes and two active probes.  Target each for an area of the nebula with rifts.  See if you can get them through a rift or two.”  He stood and moved to the center of the bridge, “Put the feeds on the viewscreen…launch when ready.”  Mitsak gave a curt nod and tapped at her console quickly and launched the four probes.

“Telemetry data tracking now.  Strong signals.”  She put the data from each on the viewscreen.  Crawford frowned at the data and video being relayed back.  Mitsak spoke again, “Probes 1, 2, and 4 are entering the rifts.  Probe 3 is in the nebula only.”

The CO of the Watership pointed at the screen, “Talon…what do you make of…that?”  

“Too little data to tell,” Rebecca replied.   “These rifts have completely unknown properties and a visual observation is next to useless.”

“Lieutenant, can you retrieve probes 1 and 4 and send them with 3 into the rift that 2 is in?” Cheon asked as he leaned over and tapped on the feedback from the number two probe on her console. He then expanded it to take over the viewscreen.

The feed was the worst of the four probes but what had caught Cheon’s attention was a single Federation ship hovering over a Negh’Var warship. It was grainy at best but it was something. He tried to clear the image but it made it visually worse.

Mitsak frowned at the worsening, “Hold on a moment, sir.”  She gently tapped at the console, “Captain, I’m going to use the deflector strip to focus the signal connection.”  Crawford gave her a nod and she went to work, slowly bringing up the deflector strip’s power while creating a thin connection to the probe.  The ship shuddered for a moment and she warned them, ”It’s going to be a bit bumpy with the deflector assisting in the connection.  Mr. Cheon, it should be clearing up for you now.”  The ship rumbled a little bit more, “I’m going to increase the power to the deflector incrementally.  Hold on to something.”

Crawford hit the ship-wide channel, “All hands, brace for multiple impacts.”  He turned to Cheon and Talon as he closed the channel, “We’ll hold the connection as long as we can, but Olympic class wasn’t built for moving and shaking for long periods.  Mitsak, activate our damage control teams.”  She nodded as the connection with the probes strengthened and the ship shuddered further.

Talon spoke quickly,  “Open a channel. Hail that ship.  It looks like an Argonaut-class.  It might be the Heracles.”

Peter stood from his chair and turned to his chief communications officer, Lieutenant Rodney Garrett. “Mr. Garrett, do as she says. Boost that signal.”  He turned to face the screen, his heart beating a little faster than before.  The ship continued to shudder and klaxons rang throughout the ship.  He could see out of the corner of his eye Lieutenant Mitsak with an earpiece directing damage control teams in tandem with their Chief Engineer in engineering.

Crawford stepped forward, “Captain Peter Crawford, USS Watership.”  He gestured to the others, “Vice Admiral Talon and crew.  We’re looking for some friends of ours.”  The ship shuddered hard and nearly sent Crawford to the ground but he held his balance.  “Time isn’t on our side.”

Vausees was suddenly full of mixed emotions as she looked at another Captain wearing the same uniform, that had taken over the main viewscreen. That is until she heard what the other Captain had said. “Peter I understand that you and the Admiral are looking for your friends but if you do not cut this transmission you will be pulled into the rift and your Olympic Class ship will be torn to pieces. I can not and will not allow that to happen. Captain, trust me if I see someone from our side over here I will do my best to get them home,” she stated as the signal started to become grainy again. “One more thing,” she said, “Who are you looking for if it wasn’t me?”

“The USS Zebulon Pike. My daughter and step-son are on that ship,” Rebecca replied. 

Rebecca took up a nearby unmanned science station. “The gravimetric and tachyon instability is increasing.  The rift is destabilizing. The quantum signature is fluctuating. Communications, adjust the frequency to match,” she shouted. Suddenly a gravitational eddy lashed out from the rift and slammed into the Watership with such force that the hull and deck plating groaned and popped under the strain.  Master caution alarms filled the engineering panel.  “The instability is increasing. Ionic particles are interfering with the shields.” 

Crawford threw himself into the chair as the bridge didn’t just shudder, it shook with a force it hadn’t ever done in the past. The helm officer picked herself up off the floor and gave him a wave that she was ok, just shaken up.  The deck below them was now vibrating as the inertial dampeners were put to the test.  Other officers held onto their stations.  His operations chief and first officer Alexandra Hoyt shouted from her station at the back of the bridge, “Engineering reports the energizer and power systems are being pushed to the max, Captain.”  The bridge shook again, but everyone managed to hold on this time.  There was a sense that things had suddenly become dangerous for all of them.

“Ionic particles and gravitational forces are increasing.  We got just a few seconds maybe a minute before shields fail. We have to disengage the deflector,” Rebecca reported as she worked the Science station frantically trying to make sense of the data that was flowing in.  The console buzzed, “Another rift is opening up 800 kilometers off our port bow 012 mark 88.”

Cheon looked at Peter, “Rebecca, kill the feed,” he stated and then looked down at the helms officer, “Get us out of here, and place us 4 thousand kilometers out of the path of this ion storm. I don’t care how you do it, just do it.” He then looked back at Peter and Rebecca before he started to move toward the conference room. Before he entered, “Captain, Admiral, we need to talk. Lieutenant Mitsak please join us with all of the data that you have gathered.” With that having been said, he entered the conference room.

The helm officer gave a side look at Crawford who nodded as the ship’s shaking continued to worsen.  The captain turned Mitsak, “Cut the feed, disengage the deflector.”  She scrambled quickly as the helm officer threw the Olympic class USS Watership into full impulse and 90 degree hard turn. The strained inertial dampeners nearly shorted out as the massive bulk of the ship turned on a dime and began to make its escape.  The shaking of the deck slowed until it had faded.  Steam poured from a vent over a turbolift while some stations flickered.  The gathered crew turned to face their captain, who was now standing in front of the command chair.  “Admiral, I’ll meet you in the conference room in a moment.”

“Of course Pete. I’ll be right there. I have a lot of sensor data I want to look over,” Rebecca responded.

As she entered the conference room he turned his attention to his first officer and operations chief, “Damage report, Hoyt.”

She tossed him a PADD she’d been working on at her console, “We have damage to the hull on ten decks and engineering is assessing a temporary fix.  Four of our decks have buckled, but engineering is reporting they’ll be able to stabilize them within four hours.  Our shield generators are half functional – damage control teams are assessing the situation but we’re going to need some time to restore them.”  Crawford continued to read as she spoke, “Doctor Keynstona reports one hundred injuries across the ship, thirty of them critical and ten are stable in intensive care.”  She paused and collected herself.  It was the first time onboard the Watership she’d had to give this kind of report, “The good news is no fatalities.”

Crawford gave a quiet nod, “Thank you Hoyt.”  He turned to the bridge crew, “Thank you.  You did some of the best work I’ve seen on a starship.  I wish I could say it was over, but I think you know we’ve got friends and fellow officers we’ve got to get home.  Stand down to yellow alert…and let’s see what we can do to help.”  The assembled bridge crew gave a nod and slowly moved back to their stations.  Peter walked back to the command chair and sat down roughly.  He’d been through plenty of hell in his life in service to Starfleet…but this had been the first time he’d been responsible for the souls onboard his ship.  He felt relief at lives preserved.  He stood, “Hoyt you have the CONN.  Find me with anything you need.  Mitsak, let’s go.”  The science chief nodded and followed him in.

USS Watership – Conference Room – 1715

Cheon sat in silence as his wife sat next to him. She looked at him with worry on her face. She had never seen her husband so worried about something like this. She had done research on theoretical uses for rifts when she was at the academy. However, it had been only a theory at the time and she had never thought anything more about it; until today.

“Beloved,” she said as she looked at her husband.

Cheon turned his head and looked at her. 

“Tell me what is worrying you?” she asked as she reached over and took his hand into hers.

“I don’t know how to approach this. I feel like my feet are weighed down. I have never heard of rifts being able to transport ships to other places,” he confessed as he looked at her.

“I am sure that you will figure this out just like everything else that you have in the past,” she stated in a calming tone.

He knew she was right about that. He had never failed to crack any challenge that had been set before him. He smiled to let her know that she was right. As quickly as it had appeared the smile left. “Let’s just hope that we can crack this one,” he said as he lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed the top of it.

“We got a lot of data from that. I’m not sure what to make of it, but the tachyons are off the charts.  It’s also emitting a quantum signature very close to our own, but off by point-zero-seven percent.   I don’t know what that means. Yet.”

A moment later…

Crawford stepped into the conference room with Lieutenant Keira Mitsak in tow.  Talon, Cheon, and Seong were seated and discussing the situation.  Peter and his science chief took seats next to each other as Crawford looked to each of the others, “First of all, thank you both for your efforts in keeping my ship and crew in one piece.”  He tapped the in-table LCARS and the display screen at the front of the room flicked on, “Here’s our current damage report.  We’ll be able to field fully-functional shields in the better part of three hours…less if my Chief does what he does best.  Our damage control teams are stabilizing the buckled decks, but we’re evacuating them and relocating what we can just in case.”  He pointed at the marks on the hull, “Chief Kelley tells me the hull damage sounds worse than it is…but we’re taking precautions in the affected areas.  We’ve also got operations and engineering working together on the energizer and power systems to shore them up and get creative with ensuring when we have to do that again, the old girl will be ready.”  He clicked off the display, “As they say, your turn.” He nodded to his old friends and colleagues.

“Sorry about dragging you into this Pete,” Rebecca said with a sigh. “The rift has fully collapsed but sensors are still reading temporal instability at the location.”

Crawford gave her a nod of thanks, “The Watership’s a strong lady, and her crew’s well trained.  We’ll push, pull, or drag this to whatever end is needed.”  He tapped the LCARS on the table again and the Nebula appeared on the screen with the current readings displayed.  “There is a considerable amount of tachyon readings coming off that thing.”  He tapped the console and a chart showing the rise and fall of the readings he was referencing appeared.

Mitsak, the science chief spoke up, “Our teams downstairs have been pouring over the data.  A few think we”ve found a rift to another time, but the presence of the USS Heracles and the other imagery we saw suggests otherwise.”  She took control of the table console and the images from the probes were overlaid with the images from the transmission as she continued, “The captain of the Heracles is our captain, as far as we can tell.  She said, ‘Captain, trust me if I see someone from our side over here I will do my best to get them home’ which suggests they have not yet seen the Zebulon Pike.”  She tapped at the table LCARS once more as various readings played across the screen, “I believe Admiral Talon flagged this specific data point”, she zoomed in, “…a quantum signature off by point-zero-seven percent when compared to our own.”  She sat back in her chair, “Admiral, Captain…our teams are hypothesizing that the rifts in the Nebula are operating like wormholes to another reality…or universe if you will.”  Another image, “There have been significant incursions into and from what we know as The Mirror Universe over the years.  It is not outside of theoretical science that these rifts are connected to another reality very close to our own…but different enough to move the meter on the sensors.”

Crawford frowned, “The captain of the Heracles is right.  We can’t take the Watership into the nebula.”  He paused, “We do have a supply of shuttles and flyers that with reinforced shields and hulls…along with some science calculations…there’s a chance they could make it through.”  He returned his attention to his CSO, “I’m going to regret asking this but what are the odds?”

She spoke bluntly, “We ran various scenarios through the simulator.  Best chance was a 80% with everything and the kitchen sink thrown into the mix.  Worst was 25% with nothing.”  A pause, “We don’t have enough information to know the state of any of the political players over there.  The Heracles looked to be in the middle of something.”

“Time travel gives me a headache…” Rebecca said with a sigh. “Mirror universes are worse, but that seems like the best explanation.   Before we start sending shuttles and flyers through rifts we better know exactly what we are dealing with.” Suddenly an idea occurred to her, “You said wormhole.  Perhaps we can do something to establish communications through the rift. Obviously, the same method can’t be used as they did for the Bajoran Wormhole. However, we have over twenty-five years of better understanding of the workings of wormholes.”

The Watership’s Chief Science Officer leaned forward, “Admiral Talon makes a good point.”  She tapped at the console on the table, bringing up missions reports from USS Voyager, “There was an occasion where this occurred.  Trying to remember from my academy days…,” she applied the search function until the report appeared on the screen, “There.  Early on in the USS Voyager’s journey, it found a very small wormhole that they were able to send messages through.  The portal eventually closed but it proved that it could be done.”

“If I recall correctly they were able to even get a transporter signal through to beam in a Romulan officer to Voyager and back,” Rebecca added.

Crawford nodded, “You’re right…I remember how that changed how we looked at wormholes.”  He leaned back in his chair, “I think we can punch through with a communications channel without too much danger to the Watership.  Involving the transporters…that’s an entirely different story.  If we send anyone in…I doubt we’d be able to bring them back.  They’d have to find their way back.”

Talon intoned, “Let’s learn more about what we’re dealing with.  We don’t need more officers lost in the ether.”

Peter turned to his science chief, “Recommendations?”

Lieutenant Mitsak turned to face the others in the room, “I think Admiral Talon’s communication suggestion is our best bet at the moment.  We know the Heracles is in there somewhere.  Given the short amount of time we had to talk with her, this might help us get a better idea of what’s happening over there…and how they got there.  We need as much information as we can get to figure out how to resolve this situation.”

Rebecca stood, ready to act.  She wasn’t one to wait once a plan was set into motion, “Then I say we get to work.”

Captain Crawford stood, “We have our assignments.  Let’s get to work.”

USS Watership – Bridge – 1800

Mitsak sat at her station, staring at the screen as her hands worked the console.  She glanced at her Captain, thankful he’d promoted her in January.  She’d been thinking of leaving the Watership when her CO had retired.  Her years as assistant chief had begun to feel like she’d stalled out in her climb up the mountain. When Crawford had sat in the chair, he’d begun a bottom to the top review of the command and control structure of the ship.  It had been an open secret that the previous CO hadn’t been at the top of his game for the last year.  He’d neglected to instill a sense of worth in the senior staff and most of the ship had become indifferent to the ongoing mission of the Olympic class ship.

Peter Crawford had changed that.  It took thirty days, but the less then steller officers were quickly motivated to transfer. The hungry and hopeful were promoted, assigned a mentor, and given chances to make a difference on the ship.  When Mitsak had told her family of her promotion and senior staff position, they’d not stopped smiling since.  She had watched both nervously and in awe of her new CO as he’d worked his way through the ship and the command staff.  The month of February had been non-stop and brutal training and retraining for every crew member.  There had been tears, there had been fears, and there had been some who had realized the CO wasn’t going away and wasn’t taking the foot off the pedal.  Some had left while many more stayed.  The ship’s culture had begun to shift, and there were more smiles amongst officers and crew alike.  Communities started forming across departments, and the power of connection was rediscovered.  By the time the month of March had started, the Watership was a new ship with a refreshed and renewed crew.

“Kiera.”  

She turned at the voice of the FO, Lieutenant Commander Alexandra Hoyt.  She smiled at the tall and broad-shouldered operations chief, “Evening, Ali.  Still trying to figure out how to punch through the rifts to reach the Heracles.”

Hoyt gave her a nod and leaned down to examine the data on the screen, “There’s a lot of interference…lot more than we usually see.”  She pointed at a point in the nebula, “You see that?”

Mitsak frowned and watched the area of the screen her first officer had noted.  A minute passed as her eyes caught the pattern, “You’re right…there’s a pattern to the interference in that segment of the nebula.”  Her fingers tapped on the console as she refined the sensor’s focus to examine and evaluate the type of patterns Hoyt had identified.  The computer beeped a few times and the display changed.  Kiera gave her FO a pat on the shoulder, “Ali, you see this?  There’s an underlying pattern in some of the interference…enough that we could circumvent the overall patterns to get a reinforced communications signal through the rifts.”  She tapped at the console a moment longer, “There are small enough rifts that are staying open that this could work.”

The FO smiled quietly.  The young Korean woman’s energy was infectious – her innate desire to learn and try new things outside the box had been part of the reason she’d been promoted to Chief of Science.  She turned towards Crawford, “Captain, Chief Mitsak has a solution to our communications need.”  

The CO stepped from his chair, walked to the bridge’s rear, and looked expectantly at Mitsak, “What do you got?”  The lieutenant showed him what they had discovered and how they intended to keep the channel open.  Peter listened carefully and asked questions as his science chief went point by point on how they’d work through the process.  He nodded as she finished, “Solid work, Mitsak.  Coordinate with your team and have engineering keep you in the loop on repairs.  When they’ve given us the all-clear, I’m ready for us to get back in it.  Loop in Admiral Talon and the others on your work so they’re aware of our progress.”

She gave a nod as he returned to his center chair.  There was a sense of accomplishment she had felt since the culture of the ship had taken on a shift.  That she was making a difference in the galaxy.  That she was doing something for the good of human and alien kind.  She swung her chair back to her station and continued to fine-tune her work.  They needed to bring these people home.

USS Watership – Bridge – 0700

“It is very strange.” Lieutenant Keira Mitsak was sitting at her station at the rear of the bridge.  Next to her was her first officer, Lieutenant Commander Alexandra Hoyt.  They had spent much of yesterday trying to reach the Heracles through the various points in the nebula had identified.  There had been no response on any frequency, channel, or anything.  Mitsak had run the gamut of reactions as the day wore on and her frustration had become palpable enough that her CO had told her to take last night off.  She slept fitfully and was back at her console trying for an answer.

Hoyt shook her head, “They might have left the sector for something or someone.  You said so yourself, the signal is getting through the rifts.  It’s just not getting received and connected.”  She sat back in her chair, “You know you did it right the first time, Keira.”

The Science Chief scrunched up her nose in a quasi grimace at her attempt to remind her of her talents, “So much is riding on this, Alex.”  She hunched over her console, tapping through scans, reports, and details regarding the repeated attempts to reach the USS Heracles.  She gave her FO a side glance, “The captain’s daughter is over there somewhere…Admiral Talon’s son…it’s hard not to second guess yourself with all that going on.”

Hoyt put her hand on Mitsak’s shoulder, “You’re doing just fine, Keira.  Keep working your magic and we’ll find them.”  Alex returned to the center chair, accepting the cup of steaming coffee from the yeoman as she sat down.

USS Watership – Engineering – 0715

“The shield generators are nearly repaired and recharged.  They took a heavier hit than we thought, Captain.  We should have them at 100% within the hour.”   The tall and lanky figure of Chief Engineer Lieutenant Lawrence Kelley stood at a console with Captain Peter Crawford pointing out the various items on the punch list.  “The hull repairs are coming along – we’ll still need time in a Starbase to get a permanent fix but with the extra time we’ve got waiting for them to pick up, we’ll be able to get the Watership in better shape,” he spoke, his voice deep and soulful.  He handed the PADD back to his CO, “We’ve identified some improvements on the power conduits and energizers that could help us if we have to do more fancy footwork.”

Crawford gave the man a nod of thanks, “Chief, you and your crew have done an incredible job.  I’m not going to promise a smooth ride when we get back into it.”

Kelley shrugged, “Bumpy rides are what make this job, sir.  You learn with the bumps.  I’d not trade those moments for anything.”  Crawford shook his hand and headed to his next stop.

USS Watership – Main Sickbay– 0730

He stepped into sickbay and walked among the remaining patients from the adventure a few days prior checking with them and seeing how they were doing.  Crawford made sure to speak to the ones who were awake and spend time at each bed.  The injured remained at 25, and several of those were coming out of intensive care later today.  A moment later he stepped inside his XO’s office, “Good morning, Doctor Keystone.”

The grey-haired woman glanced up from her desk where PADDs littered the surface and a few books splayed across as well.  She stood, all 5’6 of her, and greeted him, “Good morning Captain Crawford.  You’ve seen those that remain.”  She gestured to the chair and continued as he sat, “We were very lucky this time, Crawford.  Thanks to some good old-fashioned prep work and excellently trained response teams we didn’t lose anyone.”  She leaned forward at her desk, “You know what I’m going to say.”

Peter put up his hands in mock surrender, “You’re my squeakiest wheel, XO, and I wouldn’t trade you for anyone.  I know, I’m not a doctor or medical or anything.  The risk I’m taking here flies in the face of reasonable thought.”

She smiled thinly, “Reasonable thought goes out the window when your child’s life is threatened, Captain.  Your risk is very understandable…but I am only here to remind you of the care and craft you must show to this ship and her crew.  We are not a battleship or some cruiser ready to put down the enemy.  We’re the ones who end up healing all that blood and burn.”

Peter felt her kind words, brash as they were, wash over him.  She was cantankerous, but she cared.  “Your advice is heard and always encouraged, Lieutenant Commander.”

She gave him a nod, “As are your visits, Captain.”

Crawford thanked her and headed for the bridge.  It felt like they were running out of time, but the clock didn’t make sense. 

USS Watership – Bridge – 1500

“…those are the latest reports, Lieutenant.” The science officer handed her the PADD and retreated back to the turbolift. Lieutenant Keira Mitsak glanced over the newest pieces of information and felt a frown form. The sensors had had plenty of time to be tuned up, supercharged, tinkered with, and expanded in every way they knew possible. Something had changed from the readings they were getting back from the nebula and the rifts in the last hour or so. Something had shifted, but the science teams were at a loss as to theorize what had changed to bring about the readings. She puzzled over them, for a moment, before returning to her project of sending a hailing frequency at the points they had identified several days ago as stable and small rifts. The communications team had taken over much of the repeated hailing procedure. Still, she continued to monitor anything that came from the nebula or activated in the nebula as a reaction to their hailing frequencies.

“Lieutenant Mitsak, we are getting telemetry data from our hailing frequency!” The communications chief Lieutenant Garrett spun in his chair as he alerted her, “Someone is picking up the channel and engaging with it!”

FO Hoyt had left the center chair and was now standing behind Keira as the science chief worked to confirm. She tapped the console one last time and turned to Alex, “Confirmed. We’ve got someone on the other end.” 

Hoyt tapped her communications badge, “Captain Crawford to the bridge. Operations, sound yellow alert. Let our guests know they are needed on the bridge.” The klaxons rang throughout the ship as the lighting shifted to a soft yellow glow. The CO entered the bridge seconds later as the FO stepped away from the center chair.

Crawford took a few slow breaths. They had been waiting for this moment, a chance to speak to the Heracles. They might get some answers. He turned at the sound of the turbolift, and his old crew stepped onto the bridge.

Rebecca stepped off the turbolift with her husband Milo at her side. She didn’t demand a report knowing the others would want to know, and it seemed silly to make Peter repeat himself when she could simply wait.

Mitsak spotted the Vice-Admiral entering the bridge. She quickly snagged a PADD, uploaded the current situation report, and handed it to her, “Admiral – here’s where we’re. That PADD also has a live link to the sensors so you can see what they’re reading.” She gave the woman a nod and returned to her station, hands working the console.

Rebecca barely looked over it before handing it to Milo and moving to Stand behind the science station to read the data as it came in. 

Cheon and Seong had followed Rebecca and Milo onto the bridge when the ship had shifted from standard running lights to ‘yellow alert’. They knew something was going on and needed answers, even if the answers were not the ones they wanted.

…on the Heracles

Cody sat in the center seat while Vausees’ was down in the brig with the crew of the Pike.

“Commander, I am detecting another anomaly forming,” the operations officer, Jonton, stated. Just then, the main viewscreen shifted from the Klingon Armada to Crawford and the bridge crew of the Watership.

“This is Commander Bettencourt, First Officer of the Federation ship Heracles. Captain Crawford, how have you established a connection to us?” 

Peter stood from his chair. The screen opened to reveal the bridge of the USS Heracles, “Our science chief worked out a way to avoid opening rifts by transmitting through a range of stable and smaller rifts.” He nearly frowned at the absence of the Heracles captain but held his poke face for the moment. “We’ve been trying to reach you for the last few days since our last conversation.” He then allowed the frown to cross his face, “Where is your captain?”

“I am not at liberty to say, for the moment, Captain,” Cody said as he saw the expression change on Peter’s face. “All I can say is that a situation required her attention.”

Peter didn’t react to his evasion but made a mental note. There were still plenty of questions to be asked. “How did you end up on the other side, Commander Bettencourt? The rifts in the nebula are to blame, but it’s still unsettling that you ended up on that side and trapped as you are.” He didn’t mention the Pike for the moment. The Heracles was aware of who they were looking for. Still, the Heracles was also one of theirs, apparently, and needed to come home.

Rebecca stepped away from the science station and stood next to Peter. “Commander Bettencourt, I am Admiral Rebecca Talon, authorization code: Delta-931-blue. I cannot promise how long this connection will remain. It may be seconds, hours, days, or even permanent. As such, I am ordering you to fulfill Captain Crawford’s request and produce Captain Vausees.” She was still out of uniform, not wanting to mess up the chain of command on this ship. And the truth was, she was on her way out the door. Regulated to flying a desk in a support role, she was no longer making the crucial decisions. She just signed off on requisitions and plans to make starships more efficient. She was an administrator, and if she was being candid with herself, a pretty poor one as well, but rank did have its privileges. One of them was being able to order around surly or uncooperative junior officers.

Cody remained undeterred by the order, “Sorry, Admiral Talon, but the Captain and I; have orders. From Admiral Korlin to no deviate from our mission parameters. Unfortunately, since we were sucked into this timeline, those orders changed,” Cody stated as he off-screen tapped out a message to the brig, ‘requesting Captain Vax to the bridge.’. “Now, as for why we are stuck. Well, we have not seen any rifts on this side of the one that pulled us in. But we have determined that if we create one on this side of the rift. There is a 98% chance that this timeline and our own timeline will cease to exist.” He stated in an as-of-matter-of-fact tone, knowing that the percentages were incomplete but showed a 98% chance of failure with what information they had. Both from what they had gathered and what J’telas had given them after she was exiled.

Crawford wondered what kind of insanity Korlin had dreamed of that somehow caused the Heracles to end up in another reality and unable to come home. He had known the man from a distance and had resisted every good-natured bone in his body that urged him to try and get to know the Admiral. The man made him want to walk out of whatever room he was in, and for Crawford, that was something. He liked everybody, generally. At the moment, he was starting to dislike the first officer of the Heracles. There was something running underneath every encounter with the Heracles – a tension he couldn’t identify. Something was up, and they had been less than candid, considering they were trapped in another reality. Had he been in Talon’s shoes, he might have cut the channel and let them stew for a while. He glanced up, his thoughts broken by the return of the CO of the Heracles.

A hiss could be heard as a very irritated Vausees appeared on the bridge. “Why in the hell was I pulled from my interrogation?” she asked before noticing Captain Crawford on the screen.

“Us,” Rebecca said tartly. “I don’t know what kind of insubordinate command you are running there, Captain, but I’m tempted to bring you all up on charges.”

“Are you really going to say that you wouldn’t be doing what I am doing if the roles were reversed? We are trying to make sure that no Romulan Agents make it back to our timeline by disobeying an order. Come now, Admiral, I have read your dossier. You disobeyed quite a few orders during your time as a Captain. You were told quite a few times not to do something, and you did it anyway,” Vausees stated as she tried to buy some time for Zazzrac to perform the tests on the entire crew of the Pike.

Crawford shook his head to himself. These two women seemed to hate each other no matter what was happening. He deferred to Admiral Talon as she was still the ranking officer on board the Watership, even out of uniform.

Rebecca sighed, not taking the bait, “Very well. Transmit your sensor logs on the anomaly, and we’ll get our science teams to develop a way for you to come home. In the meantime, have you been able to locate the Zebulon Pike?”

“Raven Class with a skeleton crew, built by Ethan and Trinity. Of course. It’s in my main hanger, and as the regulations state, certain procedures are to occur when a ship’s log is red-flagged as dangerous. Luckily, I didn’t have to research the procedure up as one of their own crew gave it to me,” Vausees stated in a tone that meant she was serious.

“Dangerous how?” Rebecca asked suspiciously.

“I think you had better see for yourself. I’ll transmit the logs to you,” Vausees stated and turned to Jonton. “Seems that the Romulans here have almost perfected the art of disguise.”

Mitsak frowned and turned in her station. The Heracles captain suggested it was not impossible. Still, the latest research had shown issues with efficacy over a more extended time. That constant dosing was required to ensure any kind of disguise functioned without too much DNA or genome fracturing. She yielded to the Vice Admiral.

“Understood. Is this a threat to us in this timeline?” Rebecca asked. “The Prime Directive still applies.”

“It would violate our timeline and since the Romulans have chaos going on within their own territories I think that if one agent made it back to our timeline it could become a catalase for something far more dangerous than the Tal’Shiar,” Vausees said before she turned to her ops officers again. “Commander Jonton, give them what they want,” she ordered her ops officer. In the background, you see a nod from a man, and moments later, a soft chime comes in.

Crawford nodded wordlessly and stepped back behind Talon so she could ask further regarding the Pike and the status of their friends.

“Please, Admiral, let me know what you find on your end,” Vausees stated as she nodded to someone off-screen and the connection closed.

The viewscreen switched back to the nebula with Rebecca and Peter standing side-by-side. At that moment, it was like old times. “That could have gone better,” she said evenly.

Crawford chuckled with a muttered, “That’s going to be the motto for this mission.” He glanced at her, “You know this Captain Vausees?”

“No, I have never met her before in my life. That Bettencourt did rub me the wrong way, though. We’re trying to help them, and they are ignoring direct orders. From an Admiral, no less. I really should bring them up on charges, but I won’t. I don’t have the energy or desire to go beyond a bluff; a court-martial isn’t my style. I’ve got one foot out the door, and I’m retiring on Milo’s ranch. I’ll spend the rest of my days enjoying sunsets and feeding hungry cowboys. Liv and Aimee can have the family hacienda in Santa Fe. I think nearly fifty years in Starfleet is long enough.”

Cheon walked back onto the bridge with a smile on his face. “Actually, you have,” he paused as he breathed, “when we first met. She was one of the passengers that were sent away before Wolf-359. She and her parents were on board heading to earth.” He stated as he walked over to Lieutenant Mitsak and handed her a PADD. “These might help our friends and loved ones.” 

Peter gave her a look, “I had a bet going on with some of our old friends how long it’d take before you threw that desk out the window, Rebecca.” He gestured to the chair, “Taking over this ship in January was like a shot of adrenaline to me…I can’t imagine my life not being out here in the stars in that chair.” Crawford kicked at the ground, “You were meant for a starship, Rebecca. Have you ever read James T. Kirk’s memoirs?”

Rebecca shook her head, “Non-fiction isn’t really my thing. Meant for a starship or not, I am at the twilight of my career. I have no intention of being like my grandmother and serving into my 90s. She finally left Starfleet to help raise me when my mom was killed aboard the USS Montana during the Cardassian Border Wars. I think she, grandma, regretted not taking more time for family. I raised my girls and helped Milo raise Ethan the best I could, but I know that I put Starfleet ahead of them at times. It’s why I took the promotion to Admiral in the first place. I don’t regret giving up the center seat, but I miss it.”

Cheon stood with them and was reminiscing on their time together when he heard the comment from Rebecca. “As much as I love the seat myself. If you ever want to take the Denver for a cruise or mission, all you need to do is give me a call.”

Peter gave her a knowing nod, “I often struggled with being out of the command chair. I hated it,” he stated. Peter paused and then looked her in the eyes, “…it reminded me of the crew of the Denver. All those adventures…all those missions together. There’s something about what happens to us out here…we find the brightness in the darkness of space.” He shrugged, “Kirk was an admiral. He found his way back to the chair. My advice, Rebecca? Find your way back to a chair.” He smiled wryly, “Just so we’re clear…as long as it’s not my chair.”

“I don’t want your chair, Pete,” she said; with a smile. “And that would have been good advice ten years ago. Now, I’m ready for some sun and waking up next to Milo every morning. I want to play with the grandkids. Bake cookies and celebrate holidays. Though, I don’t think Liv or Aimee are ever going to give me them. I guess Ethan’s kiddos will have to do,” she said; with a smirk. “You know I left Starfleet once before. Right after Wolf-359. I couldn’t take all the death… and then; the Dominion came along. Caused a war with the Klingons, and Starfleet pulled me back in.” She shrugged, “Never say never.”

Carolyn was pissed.  She’d given as good as she’d got but they’d overwhelmed engineering with an unfair amount of security officers.  She’d cleaned two of their clocks before someone thought it wise to take the combat engineer out of the fight.  She’d cursed them in every language she knew and a couple she made up as they had bound her and then eventually gagged her mouth.  Her father hadn’t had much of a temper, so she figured she got it from her unnamed mother, wherever she was.  Now Crawford was under guard with the other crew.  She glanced at her CO and watched him carefully.  The man was enigmatic, she had to give him that.  He also knew his way around anything, which gave her some confidence she’d make it back home without too much scarring.

Ethan looked around the cargo bay.  There were two guards holding the crew of the Pike but, they were giving them very little observation.  Obviously, they thought Ethan and his crew were adequately detained. Turning his back on the guards he slid the thumb and forefinger of his right hand under the cuff of his left hand.  Without any signs of effort, he pulled the metal cuff apart and it fell free. He then stepped on the now dangling and destroyed cuff and pulled it completely off his right hand which tore the skin there exposing the mechanical components within.   There was some blood from the damaged dermis,  but nothing like what you would expect from a normal limb.

He looked at the other’s shocked expressions. “Lost this arm and both legs during Operation Gatecrasher,” he explained. He worked the fingers and frowned. That little stunt had damaged the limb beyond the superficial damage to the skin.  He had pushed the limb beyond its limits, but it could be repaired later.

Crawford gave him a look of mock outrage and whispered, “I just tuned the damn thing up, Ethan.  Job security, I guess.”  She took a glance at the hand.  It wouldn’t take much to fix it up, but they had bigger problems.  She nodded to Talon, “What you wanna do? You wanna flapjack them? You wanna short-bus them? You wanna special attention them?”

Carolyn shrugged, “I’m mostly making crap up.  Coping mechanism.  I’m sarcastic when I’m nervous.  And punchy.  Like fist punchy.”  She smiled quietly, “It works out well for a combat engineer.”

He gave her a smirk and a sidelong glance, before helping the others out of their cuffs. Why they used the old style he had no idea,  but it had worked in their favor.  Once everyone was free they closed ranks. “The first thing we need to do is take out the guards before they can raise alarm.  The Pike is in their main shuttlebay so we make our way there and make our escape.  Audren you think you can adjust the cloak to make it harder to detect?”

The Hylon woman nodded, “I’ll see what I can do. I have a few tricks I can use. Especially if we run in reduced power mode.”

Ethan glanced at Carolyn,  “That will be your job.  I don’t care if we have to fly on impulse for two weeks we have to disappear.   We are no match for this ship.”

“You got that right,” came a voice over the intercom. Zyvia looked at the captured crew as she stepped into the brig.

Then the sound of someone clearing their throat was heard and Zyvia looked back to see Debrah with an irritated look on her face and right behind her was her captain; Vausees. Zyvia grinned as she stepped aside. Both Vausees and Debrah walked over to the cell and looked at each one of the members of the Pike. 

“Commander Ethan Talon, make yourself known,” Vausees said as she looked at them.

She already knew which one was Ethan but she had read the report from Debrah about the away team’s capture of the Pike, and wanted to see firsthand just how loyal the crew was to each other.

“Listen here, Ethan. You and your crew are only in this position because you failed to listen to a direct order from a superior officer,” she stated as she looked directed at Ethan as she spoke and then gazed over the rest of them. “Now if you want to know the reasoning behind that order do as I have just asked and make yourself known.” Her tone was level and calm as she spoke to them all.

Ethan stepped forward and scowled at Vausees,  “I don’t recognize the authority of pirates and cutthroats. Even if you are Starfleet,  you aren’t from my Starfleet. In the off-hand chance, you were from our universe; I operate outside of your command structure and under our own authority.  Your orders do not apply to us.”

Debrah glared at Ethan and was about to say something when Vausees raised a hand. She knew her fiance’s temper all too well and replied to Ethan’s remark calmly. “I Commander Talon am on a mission from the same Admiral that sent you, even if it was an indirect order. So to say that you are not under Starfleet’s command structure is to say that you are a ‘pirate’ yourself. Or worse a marquis,” she stated as she leaned in closer to him. “I will tell you this much Ethan. If you want to keep your record as perfect as it currently is I would suggest that you and I come to at least an agree to disagree situation. After all, I am not asking you to join my crew. I am asking you to help all of us get back to our own timeline,” she leaned in a little further and in a lowered voice, “Oh, and just so you know I knew who you were before I found you since your stepmother and her old crew are looking for you.”

Ethan watched Vausees walk away with suspicion. He was beginning to think that this was not the same Vausees that he has encountered on earth. But was it possible that the Heracles ended up in the same alternate reality as them?  She had said something about the same Admiral that had sent them out.

She then turned and walked away from the cell. Debrah glared at Ethan a moment more before she too turned and walked away. Zyvia, on the other hand, stayed right where she was as she was in charge of making sure that nothing happened to them. She looked at Carolyn, “You know you remind me of someone,” she said as she leaned back in the chair she was in.

Crawford was slowly starting to figure out who was what and how was who as the conversation had gone on between the two.  She had winced at the pissing match between Vausees and Talon and did not find the look Zyvia was giving her.  For a first mission things had gone terrible, awful, and no good – and probably in that particular order as well.  Carolyn stepped forward a little.  Captain Vausees had made it clear she knew who each of them was, and that Talon’s stepmother and her old crew were looking for them which meant her father was certainly in the mix.  She felt a little courage return to her heart and estimated their chances of living to see another day had climbed dramatically.  The crew of the USS Denver was on their case.  And if her father’s stories turned out to be even half true, there was a reckoning coming.  The combat engineer chief leveled her gaze at Zyvia as she decided to see what the woman’s point was, “I get that sometimes,” she shrugged, “…who do I remind you of?  Old friend?  Old enemy?  Or just old someone?”

Zyvia looked at Carolyn, “Old would be a disgraceful comment, but I could see how you would see your old man as old. To me, he was a great friend.”

Crawford narrowed her eyes at the woman but said nothing.  They were playing a verbal game of testing the waters seeing who could nudge the knife closer to skin.  She decided to yield for the moment.  She was a combat engineer, but she wanted to avoid upsetting the numerous apple carts that filled the room.

Ethan maneuvered next to his sister,  “If these people are from our own reality how could we prove it?”

Aimee gave a suspicious look around at their captors,  “A quantum scan.  Every reality has its own quantum signature right down to the atoms that make up our molecules.  It’s a simple scan if I were in sickbay.”

“Can you use a tricorder?”

“Not sensitive enough.   It doesn’t have to be sickbay it could be the sensor suite in a bio-lab,” Aimee replied. 

“Okay good enough,” Ethan replied.  “Thanks.” He turned and approached the Andorian woman with his open palms in what he hoped was an unthreatening manner.  “I think we can alleviate all this mistrust.  Our doctor says a quantum scan will prove or disprove we are from different universes. If we are the same you let us go, because we are all Starfleet officers and we work together to get out of this hell… If not you keep us jailed, but know we will be planning an escape. Does that sound like a fair deal?”

Zyvia looked at Ethan cautiously as she thought about what he had said. He did make some sense to her as she knew that all officers had their DNA stored in the archives at Starfleet Medical HQ. Reaching up she tapped her ComBadge. “Mister Zazzrac, can I get you to join me in the brig at cell three, and would you be so kind as to bring whatever machine you need to do a quantum scan,” she said 

Zazzrac replied that he was on his way and would be there in a moment. Zyvia looked at Ethan, “We shall see if we are one and the same.” She then tapped her ComBadge again, “Captain can you join me in the brig.”

“What’s going on Zyvia?” she asked as she stood next to the CIC table.

“Mister Ethan has informed me of a way to gain some trust back. His exact words were, ‘I think we can alleviate all this mistrust.  Our doctor says a quantum scan will prove or disprove we are from different universes. If we are the same you let us go, because we are all Starfleet officers and we work together to get out of this hell… If not you keep us jailed, but know we will be planning an escape. Does that sound like a fair deal?’. Now I have called Commander Zazzrac to bring what equipment he will need to perform this test. I thought it best to inform you and have you here for the test.”

Vausees thought for a moment and the air was silent as Zyvia waited for a reply.

“I am on my way,” Vausees stated as the connection was closed.

Zyvia looked back at Ethan and nodded. “Looks like we’re all going to find out the truth.”

“Sooner the better,” Ethan replied. He crossed his arms thoroughly done with this mission and this universe as a whole.

Zyvia shook her head and waited for both the doc and the captain. 

“I am uncertain if portable sensor equipment would be sensitive enough, ” Aimee said to Zyvia. “But, we can try it your way. I want to witness the scan and results.”

“Consider is independent fact-checking,” Ethan added. “If both doctors agree how can I disagree?”

“Easy,” came a gruff voice as Zazzrac stepped into the brig with nothing in his hands. “You can disagree because you’ll not witness the test.”

Zyvia looked at Zazzrac with a confused look on her face. 

“I ran into the Captain and First Officer on the way here,” he explained as he looked at Aimee. “You are the doctor yes?”

Aimee raised an eyebrow,  “I am.  Doctor Zazzrac? You gave that lecture on Casperia Prime a year or so ago.”

“That I did. On the possibilities of duality within a sentient organism,” Zazzrac stated with a nod.

“You will be coming with me and the test will be performed on you,” Zazzrac stated as he looked at Zyvia.

“I don’t think so,” Ethan interjected.  “You will test me. Leave her out of this,” he said. Ethan was always protective of his little sister. He also hated it when people called her his “half-sister”.  She was his sister that was all there was to it.  But, it is more than being family.  He was protective of his team… his crew.  They were family too. He had balled his hands into fists without even realizing it.

Zazzrac shook his head at the fists that Ethan had balled up. “Is that all you can think of? Bashing your way out of a situation because it doesn’t go your way? I see now why you were passed up for promotion Mister Talon,” he stated in an all to knowing tone of voice, “But alas the choice was not mine. You see Ethan, your sister, was chosen because unlike you, your first officer, and most of your crew, your sister is the least to become violent. Not to mention she is the only scientist on your crew and therefore the only one that might understand the why’s and what’s of the procedure.”

He stared down at his fists and relaxed them flexing his fingers. “I wasn’t going to bash anything.” His voice was calm but he was wound up tighter than a three-dollar watch.  He wasn’t much different from a wild animal in a cage he concluded.  “You don’t get promoted as a covert operative, and after all these years operating outside of the fleet, I don’t think I go back to the confined nature of the fleet.  Rank matters little to me. Always has. Go ahead and smirk, but you know nothing about me or anyone else on this team.  I gave my word, and we will all die before breaking our word. You are safe from us.  Neither I or anyone else under my command will lay a hand on you or anyone else that’s a part of this ship. That is until it is time for us to escape.  With that said, I made a promise to these people.  I will sacrifice my life before asking them to sacrifice theirs.  Yeah, a scan is no threat to their person, but there’s a threat to their privacy.  You will test me, and Aimee will supervise.”

Crawford looked from Talon to Zazzrac, and then to Zyvia, “Where in the hell is the captain?”  She looked to Talon and Zyvia, “She said she was on her way.  And you…you ran into her in the hallway?  Why isn’t she here giving the orders?”  She sighed, “This is the dumbest pissing contest I’ve ever witnessed.  Look, they taught us to read people, to watch how people stand, and all that other crap to figure out who is who and what is what.”  She gestured to Zyvia, “That woman would put every single one of us on the ground before we even tried to get out the door.  Never mind the security teams that she trained that are probably just seconds away.”  She threw her hands up, “What is so bad about having us witness the test?  What are you afraid of?”  She sighed with a look of apology to her CO, “I’m just tired of standing here going nowhere.”

A sigh left Zazzrac’s lips, and without taking his eyes off of Ethan, “Captain.”

The door hissed open and Vausees stood there with a small contingency of armed security guards; most of them held pulse phaser rifles. She looked back at Debrah and then entered the brig. As the door closed behind her she stepped over to the cell that housed the Pike crew. “Ethan I am sure that you find all of this a tad bit out of the ordinary, however, when your ship was brought on board and locked down in my hangar the computer red-flagged a log on your ship’s computer. Romulan’s occupying Earth. Now that by itself wouldn’t have caused the red flag. It was the message that a single high-ranked Romulan officer said just before we showed up,” she then paused and retrieved a wrist-sling. “Modified, but nonetheless this device, which was on your first officer, gave the computer all it needed for the red flag.” Vausees placed the device on the desk and looked back at Ethan. “Do you want to know what it was that your first officer detected? Hmm?”

Ethan was just as annoyed as Carolyn, and probably far more agitated.  He hated being held in confined spaces, yet here he was. “How should I know? What does this have to do with you either acting like pirates or you treating us like common criminals?”

Jolie looked at the device and then at Crawford, “Isn’t that the device that I had you modify so that it could scan passively while I was trying to rescue Ethan,” she said in a lower voice to Carolyn.

Carolyn gave a nod, mildly annoyed that her creation was in view for all.  “It is.  Which means they are not as stupid as we think they are.”

“Ethan that sling was modified on my orders, we haven’t had time to check what was scanned. All I do know is that there was one hell of a Battle Group, of hidden Romulans, on Earth and inside of Starfleet HQ,” Jolie stated as she looked at the side of Ethan’s face while she stood there. “I for one am very curious as to what it found while I was on Earth?”

He wasn’t interested in the slightest, “Well, go on Captain Blackbeard.  Please dispense with the drama and get to the point.”

“As you wish,” Vausees said as she turned to look at a monitor on the wall, “Computer, display the readings from the Pike scan logs and the wrist-sling scan logs and overlay them. Then display the finds to the monitor in the brig.”

A soft beep sounded and a moment later a woman that looked very much like Vausees appeared on the display. Vausees turned and looked back at Ethan. “Would it surprise you to know that this look-alike is in fact a Romulan agent in disguise?” she stated as she looked back at the image. “Not a bad replica if I say so myself,” she stated. “Computer next image please.” 

A soft beep sound and the image changed to that of Jonas. “This one is a Romulan as well.”

Vausees turned back to Ethan. “Almost half of the population on Earth have been replaced by Romulan Agents that look like someone from an important position in this timeline. Oh and not just humans, as I have been informed by my new best friend J’telas. So if you will dispense with the tough guy act and let me do what I need to then we can all get back to figuring out how to get home. That is unless you still want to try and escape. If that is the case then I’ll just place you back in your Raven and send you on your way.” Vausees states as she looks Ethan dead in the eyes, “But before you answer that, I will have you know that your stepmother asked me to keep an eye out for you and since I have found you. It would be a shame to just let you go at it on your own since I did tell her that I would help anyone from our time get home.”

Vausees stood there in silence as she waited for Ethan to make up his mind.

“Look, I don’t give a damn about this reality.  I could care less if Romulans are replacing people on that Earth.  It’s a nightmare.   Maybe it’s a good thing.  Put them out of their misery.   What do you want from me?  I honestly just want to cross back over and live my life again.”

Vausees shook her head, “I am trying to make you understand Commander that if these tests are not performed we all are not going to go anywhere.”

“Then get to it,” Ethan replied. “What’s the hold-up? Waiting on Hell to freeze over?”

Crawford had made the realization when the terrifying fact that the Romulans of this time were replacing humans on Earth.  She looked to Vausees, Zazzrac, and then to Zyvia.  “Ethan…they’re worried that we’re Romulan replacements.  If they were able to replace humans on Earth…who’s to say the Romulans didn’t see us arrive and abduct us…and switch us out.  We’d be the perfect people to get onboard the Heracles…and take our mission home to our reality.  To continue the mission…”, she stopped and shook her head at the implications, “Given how much of a mess Romulan politics and government have been for years…there would be people who would listen to it…and start putting it into action.”  Crawford sighed, “This sucks.”

“All the more reason to get this damned scan over with so we can mover forward,” Ethan replied.  “Sitting in this cell isn’t getting us home, nor is it particularly productive.”

 “Finally something we can both agree on,” Vausees stated as she looked at the closed door. She then looked back at Ethan. “How about a compromise?” she offered. “You don’t want the test to be performed on your sister and I don’t want to test it on you. How about instead I test it on all of you at one time in sickbay?” she states as she looks into his eyes. “This way we all get what we want.”

He threw his hands up in defeat, “Whatever.  Let’s just get this over with.”

Vausees nodded, “Security.”

The door hissed open and Debrah, followed closely by Zyvia, walked in. Worry was on Debrah’s face until she say that her fiance was fine.

“Everything okay, Captain?” Debrah asked.

“We have finally come to a conclusion. Escort the entire crew to sickbay and have Zazzrac perform the test on the entire crew at one time.” Vausees said as she entered the security override code, to their cell.

“After you Commander,” she said as she held out her arm to the door.

Sickbay after the test

Zazzrac looked at the scans on the PADD and held them out to Aimee, “Looks like we’re all the same in this room.”

“I could have told you that, and had your captain acted reasonably mine would have made this a lot easier on all of us.” She was handling the situation much better than the others, but it didn’t mean her mood was any more improved.  After all, she had had a phaser held to her head and then summarily tossed into a cell.  That’s enough to make even the most amiable person testy.

Zazzrac nodded, “But I do now hope that you do understand why she did what she had to. After all, do you really want a Romulan Agent from this timeline to infiltrate any one of the Romulan factions in our timeline?”

“The goal was fine.  It was the execution that needs improvement,” Aimee said flatly.   “You have to see this from our point of view the last time we ran into a Vausees she was on Earth helping them there, and her motives were dubious at best. We’re a suspicious lot, to begin with, and here you are acting very suspicious. Whatever happened to not sticking phasers in people’s faces?”

Zyvia shook her head, “I didn’t stick it in your First Officer’s face,” she stated with a slight purr to her voice. Which then turned to a harsh tone, “I stuck it to the back of her head, because she was about to pull a phaser on my Chief of Security and Tactical Officer, not to mention the ship’s Second Officer,” she said as she looked at Aimee, “However,” her tone once more shifted to a calmer one, “I do see where you are coming from. And I do suppose a less tactical and aggressive action could have been used.

Vausees walked into sickbay and looked at Ethan, “I hope you can accept my apologizes,” she stated as she held out a hand, “From one Commanding Officer to another.”

Ethan grunted,  and even managed not to scowl. He shook her hand and looked her up and down.  “What’s with little Klingon task force you have going on?”

Vausees looked at Ethan, “Long story. However, if and when we get out of this, it will be in the debriefing log. You can read it then. Just be glad that it’s here. Oh and don’t go shooting all half-cocked either, because you are not seeing the big picture and I don’t want you to accidentally destroy something,” she said with an undertone of a hint to her voice. She then turned and made to step away when she stopped, “By the way, Ethan, this ”little” task force isn’t what it seems, and you might be eating your words when you see just how big it really is.”

Ethan turned to his team, “Return to the ship.  The captain and I have much to discuss.”

The two combined crews sat in the conference lounge of the USS Heracles, with Vausees sitting at the head of the table and Ethan sitting to her right. There was a juxtaposition of the buttoned-up Starfleet crew with the far more informal crew of the Zebulon Pike in their civilian attire. 

“Okay, Captain,” Ethan said with a sigh. “That’s been our adventure in this blasted reality.” He lifted his cup of coffee to his lips after recounting their encounter with Sukitha, the UEC, and their arrest on Earth. They were starting to be questioned by people they were starting to realize; in fact, actually, Romulan Agents looked like some of the very people sitting across from them.

Vausees sat silently as she digested the information that Ethan had given her. She nodded her head from time to time at the events he spoke about. Never once did Vausees interrupt him as he laid out the events that transpired before being taken aboard the Heracles. When he finished, she remained silent as she processed every detail. Her light blue eyes watched as he drank from the cup of coffee given to him before he began to speak about the events. 

“So this Romulan Commodore…” she paused for a second as she brought the name to the front of her mind. “Sukitha. Is still out there and, as of this moment, hunting you?” she asked Ethan as she leaned back in her seat.

“Gave the lassie a wee bloody nose, but aye, she’s out there,” Dougal said, “an’ it’s safe to say she’s a wee bit put off to be sure.”

“She underestimated us,” Ethan added.

Suddenly the door opened, and Captain Roberts walked in with a fighter pilot in tow, who wore a flight helmet. As soon as the door closed, the pilot stepped beside Roberts.

“Thank you, Captain, for joining us,” Vausees stated, “Please, the both of you take a seat.” Vausees looked over at Ethan. “Ethan, I would like you to meet Lieutenant Sukitha.”

Sukitha removed her helmet, and long raven black hair spilled out and over her half Romulan half Klingon forehead. As it flowed, it shimmered slightly with crimson. Her bright amber eyes looked at Ethan as she sat next to her CAG.

“I am sure that won’t happen again,” Sukitha said in a soothing tone. “Commander Talon. Because if I was her, and technically I am. I would ensure that your ship would never get that close again.”

“Crivvens!” Dougal blurted. “This makes me bloody head hurt.”

Ethan shook his head in sympathy, “Then we best not let her get the drop on us..”

Vausees nodded, “That is why she is here, Ethan. We think that our doppelgangers think alike, to a degree,” Vausees stated as she looked at the Commander. So I am going to take this theory and run with it,” she said as she turned her head to look at Sukitha. “The floor is yours, Lieutenant.”

Sukitha stood up and walked over to the monitor on the wall. “Since we have the combat logs from your ship Ethan,” Sukitha looked at Ethan as she spoke. “We’ve learned that you were able to destroy the cloaking technology they were utilizing, as well as numerous vital components in my counterpart’s fortifications,” she says as the combat logs play on the monitor. I would figure out if the cloak is salvageable and try my utmost to get it back up and running. I would also ensure that if there was any leverage, I would exploit it to its fullest.”

“That’s a bit of good news,” Ethan replied. “Now, I do not want to become this realities Superman or its police force. With her cloak disabled, she isn’t going to sneak up on us while we figure out how to get the hell out of here.”

Aimee approached the ready room door of the USS Heracles and pressed the door chime.  She glanced around the bridge feeling self-conscious like all eyes were on her. Though,  to be honest she did stick out.  She wasn’t part of that crew. 

Debrah looked at Aimee as she stood outside of the ready room door. She cocked her head to the side as she stepped away from the tactical console and walked over to her.

“Aimee, is it?” She asked as she looked the woman over. Her light emerald eyes held a slight curiousness to them as she looked.

She nodded, “It is.”

“Is there something that I can help you with?” She asks standing next to the tactical console. She was still curious about why someone not of her crew was standing outside her Captain’s ready room.

“Umm… I don’t think so. Unless you are a captain,” she replied. 

“No, well not on this ship anyway, but I am the Captain’s fiance, and currently the officer in charge, while the Captain and First Officer are busy with discussions of what to do next.”

Aimee shrugged,  “Very well, I’ll come back later.”  She turned and started for the turbo-lift. 

Debrah shrugged as she watched Aimee head for the turbo-lift. She made a mental note to inform Vausees of this when she was able to.

Zebulon Pike…

Aimee and Dougal sat next to each other in the aft crew lounge facing the picture windows looking to the stars beyond.  “So lass, did you get Vax to agree?” Dougal asked.

Aimee shook her head.  “Apperntly she was busy. I guess we can ask Ethan,  but it’s weird to have my brother perform the ceremony isn’t it?”

“Aye, I can see that to be sure,” he agreed looking meditatively into the void of space.  “You ken we can wait for us to return to our reality?”

Aimee considered it and finally shook her head, “No.  For one we don’t know if we will get home,  and secondly there’s no guarantee we will both survive to make it home.  No, this is the best course even if it’s a bit rushed.”

Dougal chuckled,  “I’ve heard of people who dated less time.  No, I love you and I ken this is the right decision.   Even if you are a sassanach.”

Aimee shook her head and smirked at what would normally be a term of derision,  but in this case seemed romantic… well as romantic as this Scottish lunk would likely be.

Rebecca sat alone in the mess hall of the Olympic class ship.  Her seat was facing one of the large picture windows with a cup of coffee cradled in her hands.  Somewhere out there was her son and daughter lost in an alternate reality.   It was frustrating to sit here and do nothing,  but this wasn’t her ship.  She was supposed to be back on Earth approving refit requests.  That thought, above all else, was a reminder that her heart was no longer in the job. It was time to walk away from the fleet.  Nearly fifty years is enough, she told herself.   She’d leave the job to the young bucks.

Sighing, she set down her now empty cup. She was getting old.  She felt it in her bones.  The thought of; a warm sun on Terra Alpha with Milo at her side made her smile despite the worry she had for the kids… not that they were kids.  Ethan was 39, and Aimee wasn’t a kid either. Nope, they would forever be kids, she thought to herself, grinning at the ridiculousness of the statement. 

Peter Crawford walked into the expansive mess hall and moved through the tables where his officers and crew sat, sharing small talk and catching up with them as he moved, a large steaming cup of coffee in his hands.  He took a sip as he went and eventually found himself facing Rebecca Talon, aka Director of Starship Development in San Francisco Fleet Yards.  Also, his former commanding officer on the USS Denver, a ship and a time far behind his current position on the Watership.  “Rebecca.”  He waved over one of the roaming mess hall officers and gestured to the vice admiral’s cup, and it was refilled quickly.  Crawford sat down, sipping at his own coffee, “You’re quite serious about this whole walking into the sunset thing?”  He shook his head, “I’ve been thinking about it since you first mentioned it.”  He qualified by saying, “I’m not here to try and talk you out of it…I just…it’s a weird thing thinking that my first commanding officer isn’t going to be out here in the Final Frontier anymore.”

“You aren’t a kid anymore Peter,” Rebecca replied, “And I’m not going to need out here forever. I’m just choosing to walk away when I still can. Spend time with family.   You’ll understand in another twenty-five years, and you’ll do just fine without me.”

Peter chuckled, “I’m sure I’ll find a way to get over it.”  He pulled a pad from his belt and set it on the table, “I’m here because my Chief Science Officer was up all night trying to figure out how to get our family and friends back home.”  He tapped at the PADD as it displayed what he then explained, “Lieutenant Mitsak is smart and driven – part of why she’s got a mandatory nap this morning by my orders.  She spent most of the night trying simulations where we used the navigational deflector with various settings to open a stable door to get everyone through. Every time….boom.  Then she tried working with phaser settings in every way she knew how…and didn’t – which is why Chief Engineer Lieutenant Kelley is also on mandatory nap duty since she literally pulled him out of bed.”

“Is everyone on this crew workaholics?”

Crawford shrugged, “With this crew, sometimes I just don’t ask.  They get the job done, quirks and all.  They moved onto the tractor beam of all things and tried everything both of them knew.  No luck.  They even tried gaming out with torpedoes modified every which way…but nothing.  At this point, they woke up the first officer, Chief of Ops Lieutenant Commander Hoyt.  And yes, he’s on nap duty too.  The point is,” he tapped the PADD once more and glanced up at Talon, “They found something that has a 95% chance of succeeding.”

“You have?” She asked skeptically, trying to measure her expectations,  expecting the other shoe to drop.

“Yes.  We’re going to have to simulate a pulsar while using a solar flare.  That’s the easy part.  Here’s the challenge.”  Another tap of the PADD.

“That’s the easy part?  What’s the hard part?” she coaxed.

‘The hard part is,’ Vausees said from the intercom, ‘that we have to be doing the same thing on this end, and as far as I can tell; I don’t know if the solar flare is going to be happening on this end. Sorry for the eavesdropping but I was able to connect my ship and yours and it’s very stable. Not entirely sure why it is at this time but it is.’

Crawford was annoyed at the intrusion.  He gave Rebecca a look and listened.

A second voice was heard over the intercom, ‘I can concur, Admiral,’ Cheon stated over the intercom. ‘Seong has run the numbers and stated that both ends have to be working at the same time, doing practically the same thing in damn near unison.’

The Watership captain nodded more for himself than anything, “Both of you are correct.  The pulsar simulation is just a matter of modifying phasers, torpedos, tractor beams, and modulating deflectors.  The solar flare is the harder thing…but our overnight crew thinks they’ve got a way to urge a nearby sun or star to do it.  It’ll take some work, but simulations have come back with a 90% chance of succeeding.  It’ll be bumpy, but it’ll create a functioning passage to get everyone home.  It won’t be easy, but nobody’s really done anything like this at this level before.”

“Risks?” Rebecca asked. “Captain Vax and Commander Talon and their crews need to know what they are in for.  I wouldn’t order them go do this even if I were in their chain of command.”

Crawford tapped at the PADD, “As the saying goes, ‘risk is our business’, and there’s plenty to be had here.  If the balance of our combined efforts between the two universes is upset, we run the risk of permanently sealing the rifts in this sector and having to go hunting for the next nebula or phenomenon.”  Another tap of the PADD, “If we don’t stay focused on keeping our requisite efforts on target, we run the risk of ripping either ship apart.”  He gestured to the PADD, “They ran every single possible endgame into the ground.  The truth is that we don’t have much of a choice.  This is the best chance we have at getting them back with us.”

Rebecca shrugged,  “Then let’s get on it. I don’t see any other way, and we can’t leave them there.” Crawford nodded and waited for the others to respond.

‘We’ll do our part on this side Admiral,’ Vausees said as she looked at her crew and the slightly cannibalized bridge.

They had linked the holodecks of the three ships together so that the three crews could interact in “person”.  Rebecca was in uniform now and Peter was at her side as the holodeck doors parted to reveal the conference lounge of a very familiar ship to her.

“Is this the Denver?” Rebecca asked amusement in her voice as she looked around the simulated lounge. 

Peter shrugged, “Given that it’s probably your last mission before you hang up your pips, seemed appropriate to go back to where it all started one last time.”  He stepped inside and walked around the room, “She was a good ship for us.  As shiny as the Watership is, sometimes I think about the old girl.”  He chuckled, “Every so often I take a walk on her decks in here when I’m getting wistful.”  Crawford gestured around, “I managed to get it mostly right.”

“It even smells like the Denver,” Rebecca said impressed.

Crawford chuckled, “I am an operations officer, after all.”  He stepped to the table and tapped at the console.  “Connecting the holodeck programs in 3…2…1.”  The computer beeped and slowly the others began to appear.

As the officers of the three ships started to appear in holographic form Rebecca took her seat at her old position at the head of the table.  It was almost like old times.   She had a fleeting thought that she would voluntarily demote herself back down to captain and take up starship command again, but that was a game for the young.

Ethan looked around the observation lounge and saw his stepmother.  The woman had been the only mother he knew and he smiled at the sight of her. Rebecca stood and the two hugged before finding their seats.

“I didn’t expect to see you onboard a starship again,” Ethan teased.

“Neither did I, but you had to come up lost so I had to get the old band back together.”

“Mom!” Aimee exclaimed and crossed the room tears in her eyes.  Another round of hugs and they settled into their seats.

“What’s this I hear about an engagement?” Rebecca asked Aimee. 

“To him,” Aimee grinned poking the large Scotsman in the belly. “This is Dougal MacDonald.”

“A pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Dougal said in his thick highland accent. 

Rebecca sized up Dougal and gave her daughter a knowing nod. “MacDonald eh? Well pleased to meet you.”

“Yes, of course, Admiral,” Dougal said nervously. 

Ethan was becoming aware of the others having appeared.  Feeling a little uncomfortable with the family reunion being on open display he cleared his throat,  “Perhaps this could wait.”

Rebecca looked around,  nodded, “Yes of course.   Pete, you want to get this briefing on the road?”

Crawford had remained standing and had quietly shifted over to hug his daughter, Carolyn.  They had exchanged quiet words of encouragement and she’d hugged him before stepping back where her crew stood.  He was heartened to see his daughter and to see her well.  Peter returned his attention to the group, “To the road we go.”  He tapped the console on the table, “We did the foundational work here on the Watership, and thanks to the combined efforts of the other two crews, we’ve managed to get a pretty solid plan in place.”  He tapped the table again and walked through the process they were about to undertake from process to piece and back again.  Each part of the process was thoroughly detailed and everyone on each command team had a job, sometimes even two.  He walked them through the backup plans for each ship, how fast things would move, and why they were only going to get one shot at this.  In turn, he looked to each member of the gathered crew, “This is not impossible…I have every confidence in every single one of us.  We must only believe in success…to imagine or even think of failure, in this case, will make this undertaking heavier than any of us can lift to the finish line.”

Ethan spoke, “If I’m putting the dots together here that means one of our ships has to remain in this reality.  Once the deflector is disengaged the rift closes and that’s it.”

“We dinnae want to leave a ship here for just anyone to find,” Dougal observed. 

Ethan sighed, “That’s solved using a self-destruct sequence set on say a fifteen-minute timer?”

“Trinity is going to kick your ass cowboy,” Jolie whispered after leaning into Ethan’s ear.

 “Yeah, it will have to be the Pike,” Ethan agreed, “It’s  the only real choice.”  There was a tinge of sadness in his voice as realization sank in.

Peter spoke up, “She’s done plenty of good in her life, Ethan.  I’m sorry she has to go this way…I can’t imagine being in your shoes.”

Ethan shrugged.   “Okay, what do we need to do?”

USS Zebulon Pike, Engineering: 13:00 Hours…

Sub-Commander Audren Swiftblade watched as the Narlin-style cloaking device was separated from the ship and loaded into a crate already sitting on an anti-grav sled by a pair of holographic engineers.   For five years and countless missions she had overseen the cloak’s operation on the ship and now that was coming to an end.

“Logically I knew this day would come,” Audren said to Carolyn who was standing next to her, “But I didn’t see it ending this way.  It… it seems wrong abandoning this ship.  This was our home away from home.”

Carolyn understood Swiftblade’s feelings.  She had only been a part of the PIke crew briefly but had come to love the old Raven class ship as her first assignment.  “I learned from my father that nothing lasts forever…nothing gold can stay gold…eventually it fades.”  She ran her hands across the console, “Leaving her alone…and in another universe feels as if we’re running away.”  The chief engineer chuckled, “I don’t think any of us want to stay here, mind you…maybe thinking about this as more of a sacrifice to save the rest of us helps?”

“No, of course not,” Audren replied.   “Just sudden and unexpected.  Now that my job is done, what can I do to help you?”

Crawford pulled out the PADD, “We need to make sure every single piece of Starfleet technology is nulled as much as possible.  Even though she’ll be torn apart, I don’t want to even chance the risk of something getting through.”  She looked around, “Some of it will obviously need to be functional until the end, but I’m not going to let my first Chief job be the one that gives someone access to something they shouldn’t.  Split the list in half?  The first one finished…,”  she looked to Audren, “What’s a drink that brings you an uncontrolled sense of joy?”

“I don’t believe I have such a drink,” the Hylon replied.  “However,  perhaps the closest is Spring Wine.  I make it on my estate on Talaria. It is quite good.”

USS Zebulon Pike, Bridge: 13:00 Hours…

Commander Ethan Talon stood at the dedication plaque.  He had hung it himself shortly after rescuing the ship.  At the time it had been named Meadowlark. He didn’t think it was a fitting name then, and now he was convinced it really wasn’t an appropriate name for the ship.  She had been a good ship.

He dug into his pocket and removed a pen knife.  Flipping open the blade he began to pry the plaque off the wall.  After a few pops from fasteners, the bronze rectangle came free into his hand.

Jolie walked onto the bridge with Vausees in tow, she nodded to Ethan as she looked a Vausees.

“Ethan, I am sorry that you will need to sac this ship. I can download its A.I and memory banks into a separate server on the Heracles if you want to save it,” Vausees said as she placed her hands on the back of the command chair as she watched him remove the plaque from the bulkhead.

He looked around and took a deep breath.  “Nah, it’s fine. I got my souvenir,” he said displaying the plaque in his hand.  “Who knows if I’ll get my own command again.  We’ll see how the fleet treats this.   I may just walk away to my ranch and raise my kids. A court-martial is almost guaranteed with losing a ship, but I’m certain I will be acquitted.   I don’t see any other option do you?”

Vausees shook her head, “You can’t be court-martialed. Remember this ship and her crew don’t technically exist in the eyes of the fleet.”

Vausees grinned as she stood there. “Besides, I’ll stake my pips on it if I need to to keep you out of the brig, and if you do decide that it is time to hang up the dusters and settle down, you had better let me know where in Montana you are,” she teased “Because I still need a best man for my wedding. Speaking of which; where is, your sister and this Dougal that I have been informed I need to speak with?”

Ethan laughed,  “My ranch is on Terra Alpha.   The Crawfords have a ranch in Montana. Best man?” He shrugged and let that go, “Yeah Aimee and Dougal have been hinting at tying the knot for a few days now.”

Vausees looked over her shoulder and shrugged at his comment, a sheepish grin on her lips. “See you on the other side Commander,” she stated as she exited out of the Pike’s bridge and headed for the Heracles.

Ethan’s palms were sweaty and the tension in the air was thick.  Today they would be heading home. Or at least to their own reality. He realized that Trinity and the baby had been due last week.  He was likely a father again.

“Okay people,  red alert.  Mikaela, move us into position. Jolie, maintain an open channel with the Watership and Heracles if you can. Carolyn, prepare to activate the deflector.”

“Aye sir, moving now. Full impulse onto position.” Mikaela’s hands moved deftly over the helm console as she punched in the orders.

Jolie nodded as she began to press on the Comm’s consoles many buttons, “Aye Cowboy,” she stated as the connection with the two ships was established. “Connection established, both Captain Vausees and Captain Crawford can hear us.”

Carolyn swallowed.  Hard.  The moment was at hand.  The reality of how challenging, how tight, and how unpredictable this was all going to be had been rumbling in the back of her mind.  Now it had roared to the front.  She needed to focus.  And get ready.  “Aye, prepping defector.”

Ethan stood and slid into the empty tactical station.  Usually, Jolie manned the operations and tactical stations on this tiny ship, but Ethan wanted her to fully focus on the operations panel.  This was going to be tricky.

Entering commands into the computer, their single modified torpedo was loaded into the launcher. “I have located the site of the solar instability,” he announced as he waited for whatever forces worked within the star to move the instability to the correct position. At precisely the time prescribed by the computer, Ethan pressed the fire button, and a single torpedo launched from the ship and sailed across space

There was a light explosion near the star’s surface thirty seconds after the launch, and for a moment, nothing happened then a massive flare erupted, sending burning plasma into space, and energy of unfathomable depth.

“Jolie, how does it look?  Are you ready to activate the deflector?”

Jolie looked back at Ethan for a moment before turning her attention to Carolyn. “Ready?”

Carolyn held her hand over the console, waiting and watching.  This was it.  The moment.  “Ready.”

USS Watership –

Rebecca sat in the observer’s seat on the bridge of the Watership as the modified deflector beam intersected with the solar flare.  As the artificial pulsar formed, a cloud of… something started to swirl.  Then in a brilliant flash, white light erupted like a volcano sending tendrils of red and orange energy into space.  

As the rift stabilized, it started to swirl like an angry whirlpool.   Someone… she didn’t know all of this crew well enough said reported, “The rift is opened, and I am getting sensor readings from the other side.  Confirmed.  I have the transponders of the Heracles and Zebulon Pike.  It isn’t stable and is shrinking at a rate of half a meter a second.”

“Come on!” Rebecca hissed through her teeth.  “What are you waiting on, Vax?”

Peter stood, unable to sit.  “Send an emergency message to the Heracles.  Get them moving!”

USS Zebulon Pike –

The last of the crew had beamed over to the Heracles leaving just Jolie and Ethan on the bridge. Ethan stood at the engineering panel, dumping the last of the ship’s energy reserves into the deflector array, but the rift was still collapsing. 

“That’s all we can do,” Ethan announced.  He moved over to the captain’s seat and pressed his right palm flat on the sensor panel. “Computer initiate self-destruct. Authorization Talon, E. commanding officer.  Voice code 411-Delta- Mike.”

“Voiceprint verified,” the computer responded.

Jolie placed her right left palm next to Ethan’s, “Computer, initiate self-destruct. Authorization Kyo, J. executive officer. Voice code 098-Romeo-Echo.”

Once more the computer verified the code and voice.  

“Set counter for a fifteen-minute timer,” Ethan said, “Enable.”

The red alert klaxon blared in response. “Warning: self-destruct sequence has been initiated in fourteen minutes and fifty-three seconds.”

Ethan gave his bridge one last look before slapping his combadge.  “Talon to Heracles.   Two to beam up.”

USS Heracles –

Vausees looked up from the console, which she was manning, as the crew from the Pike joined her crew on the Heracles. She had allowed the crew from the Pike to take over some of the secondary stations on board as well as assist her crew in the maneuvers that were going to be needed if this ship and both crews were going to make it back home, in nearly all one peice.

Carolyn’s hands ran across the engineering console on the bridge of the USS Heracles.  The clock was moving faster than they had anticipated.  Her former ship, the Pike, was doing its bid to save them.

Aimee stood over Carolyn’s shoulder, reading the information as it came in, “This is going to be close, isn’t it?”

Crawford swallowed her creeping terror.  There were always risks in Starfleet.  Some crews never made it home, or they paid the bill for victory with the blood of their fellow officers.  Nobody got to choose when their clock would run out.  She was starting to wonder if they’d pushed their luck too far at this moment – that they’d never see home…or that they would die trying to run into the arms of their friends and family.  She gritted her teeth as she worked the Heracles in every way she knew, and in some ways, she was just making up along the way, “My dad used to say close only counted in horseshoes and phaser grenades.”  She looked at Aimee, “I don’t know which one we are, but close is the understatement.”  She tapped the console further, “No second chances.  This is where we get off this ride.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Aimee quipped.  “Could we use the deflector of the Heracles to slow the collapse?”

Crawford scanned the console, “We can squeeze about 2% into the mix…it’ll give us a few more seconds in the long game…but seconds count just as much as minutes.”  She tapped the console, “We’ve got the extra time, short as it is.”

“It will be enough,” Ethan spoke suddenly.   “You are the best engineer in the fleet,” he boasted with pride.

Jolie stepped up next to him. “It will have to be,” she stated as she looked at Vausees. “Let’s get out of here.”

The Zebulon Pike crew was now bunched together around Carolyn as if they were protecting her. Ethan was proud of them.  Fleet may not always like what they did, and they usually pretended that they didn’t exist… until they needed someone to get their hands dirty.  But these people, without a question, were the best of the best.

It struck Ethan that this was probably the last time this whole crew would be together like this. Without a need to protect the cloak, Audren would return to Talaria and her estate.   Carolyn was definitely destined for bigger and better things.  Jolie was certain to get an XO’S position. She had a bit of a tarnished record, but it was impeccable since, and she had been a rising star.  The only question mark was Mikaela.  She certainly was an excellent officer,  but would she stay with Starfleet Intelligence, or would she return to the presidential detail?

Ethan checked the chronometer.  The Pike’s warp core should be going critical now.  He turned just in time to see the brilliant antimatter explosion as the… his ship was ripped apart, sending debris in all directions.   The energy surge from the explosion broke the final barrier between the realities.

Not waiting for Vax to give the order, he shouted, “Helm punch it!”

Trever looked back at Vausees for a split second before his hands instinctively knew that it was now or never. The pylons glowed as the nacelles activated pushing the ship toward the tear.

Crawford closed her eyes out of instinct.  This was that moment.  The deep breath before the jump. 

Suddenly klaxons rang throughout the ship as the deck shuddered, shook, and then bounced, sending some to the ground as the ship rumbled, then thundered through the rift.  The roar had begun quietly, but now, as the ship pushed from one reality to another, it became a rollicking sound blasting from all sides as the lights flickered, sparks flew from all consoles, and klaxons continued to shrilly trill through the sound-filled air.  An explosion blew out the helm console, sending a helmsman to the deck, and the sound did not abate.  There were shouts from officers reporting their progress and their status, but it was lost in the noise as the Heracles reached out its strong hands to pull them through the hole in space and time.  It felt as if it was forever as smoke, steam, and debris filled the air, and the bridge became a broiling collision of sound and fury.

And then, as if someone had simply turned off a switch, it was over.

The bridge was a mess.  A few fires burned in the various corners of the bridge, and a few bodies were struggling to stand.  Carolyn released the death grip she had held on the console and tapped at the flickering unit.  A moment of fear coursed through her body as the scanners adjusted themselves.  She quietly prepared for the worst.  Until a beep sounded out and she nearly shouted, “We’re home!  USS Watership is on sensors…and the rift is closing behind us.  Sickbay and engineering teams are on their way…we’re home.  We’re home.”  She said it a few times so it would be real to her.  She had lived.

“Comms, hail the Watership,” Vausees ordered

As the conversation slowed the screen flickered and Captain Peter Crawford filled the screen, his bridge looking worse for wear.  His uniform had ripped, and his face was full of sweat, but a smile soon filled his face, “Welcome home, Heracles…and crew of the Zebulon Pike.  You’re in the right place.”

“Captain, I believe an escort is in order to the nearest starbase for offload of the Pikes crew,” Vausees stated as she looked at the crew on her bridge. “As well as repairs to our ships.”

Crawford gave a nod, “A small fleet of Raven class ships arrived just as you came through.  We’re clear to Starbase Bravo.  The Watership and crew will get you home.  You’ve done well, Captain.”    He looked into the background, “You’ve all done well together to make it home.  We’ll take it from here.”  He gave a nod and kept his eyes on his daughter, who had the biggest smile of them all.  She was home.  And her dad was there.  The channel closed as the Watership and the Raven fleet moved to escort the Heracles.  The rift was shut, and the space around them slowly began to return to normal, as normal as a stormy section of space could be in the midst of a calamitous turn of events.  Moments later, the various ships jumped to warp to make the slow journey home.  The space they left stormed on as if nothing had changed.

Starbase Bravo – USS Heracles, USS Watership

Vausees stood at the umbilical that attached the Heracles to the starbase. With her stood both Commanding Officers, Ethan and Peter.

“We need to do this again sometime,” she stated in a sarcastic tone as she looked between the two officers.

Ethan sighed, “We did make a good team.  In the end at least.” He glanced at Peter and nodded, “Thanks for coming to the rescue.”

Crawford chuckled, “Watership is a search and rescue ship.  There’s talk of her getting put into refit and getting a new name in a few months.  They said they’ll find me a new ship or somewhere to be…I’m not ready to give up that center chair quite yet.”  He gave a nod to Vausees, “You did what you needed to do, Captain…space is more complex and complicated than any of us can begin to imagine…I’d like to think I’ll never have to face what you faced.”  He paused, “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”  He turned to Ethan, “I’m sorry about the Pike.  Losing a starship is never an easy thing to accept…or get over easily.”

“First time, but yeah this sucks.” Ethan took a deep breath and let it out, “But, I’m going home and spending time with my baby.  I got word from Trinity a little bit ago. It’s a girl. She named her Abbygale Lynn.”

Vausees could agree with that statement. She could not imagine losing a ship of her own, but she could imagine the pain it could cause. She then held out her hand to Ethan and Peter. “Until our paths cross, Captain’s,” she said as she shook their hands before they departed the umbilical.

The Heracles detached the umbilical from the starbase and pushed away. Moments later the ship streaked away in a flash of light; its destination, Earth.

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” -Winston Churchill

Ethan sat at the kitchen table sipping coffee.  The Terra Alpha sun was rising over the eastern mountains sending yellow tendrils of light over the crest of the mountains as the black of night faded.

Mrs. Ackers worked at the stove making breakfast.   Bacon for sure from the smell of things and probably pancakes considering the twins were up despite the early hour.  Diana had a coloring book of horses… or was it unicorns?  Yeah, definitely unicorns. Arthur was sitting at the table with his toy starships playing Starfleet and Romulans making phaser noises.

A stomp of boots at the back step announced the approach of David Sackett, Ethan’s cousin and ranch foreman. The door creaked open and David entered in is sock feet.

“Mornin’,” he greeted as he hung his hat on the peg on the wall.

“Mornin’,” Ethan repeated. “I got the horses in the barn fed and watered, but we’ll need to take some hay up to the cows on the north pasture.”

“I figured as much.  I heard you talking to Jake this morning.  I figured we’d need to start feeding them. Might want to move them off that pasture to keep them from over grazing.”

“I thought of that, but we need to start separating the steers for sell, and I would rather do that on two-hundred acres rather than a thousand. The home pasture is too small for that herd.”

David poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down across from Ethan next to Arthur.  “Howdy partner,” he said to the child as he ruffled his shock of dirty blonde hair. “What do you have going on there?”

“Hey Dave,” Arthur said without looking at him. “Playing.”

“I see that.  So, what’s for breakfast ma’am?”

Wynonna Ackers turned from her skillet, “Pancakes and bacon.  Are the boys going to eat?”

“Nah, Shorty’s cooking for them in bunk house.”

“Brave souls,” Ethan chuckled.   “I wouldn’t trust Shorty to boil water.”

“I better make extra,” Mrs. Ackers announced and returned to her work. Both Ethan and David laughed,  and she was probably right.

“So, since your court martial cleared you, what are you going to do?” David asked leaning back in his chair. “It’s not every day you blow up a ship and get cleared of all charges.”

Ethan looked up from his coffee and took a sip. “It’s not like I had much of a choice in the matter. It was either the Pike or the Heracles.  That crew wasn’t going to fit on the Pike.”

“Well, all the same. I’m glad you’re home.”

Ethan took another sip of coffee considering the future.  He had been doing a lot of thinking on the subject.   He figured standard fleet service wasn’t going to cut it for him any more.  Too rigid. Too stodgy.  “Well, I got to be honest, I’m not completely sure.  Figure I would stay here for a while until I figured it out.”

“I think I can help with that,” Trinity said entering the kitchen. She passed baby Abbygale off to her husband and kissed Ethan before accepting the coffee cup Mrs. Ackers offered her.

“You didn’t pour my coffee,” David complained.  

“I didn’t,” Mrs. Ackers replied, “you aren’t my boss. She is.”

“Yeah?” Ethan said cautiously ignoring the banter between his cousin and house keeper. Cradling the baby he stared down at his daughter and she looked back at him with those curious blue eyes of hers. “What’s that?”

“Ranch boss, and father,” Trinity replied sitting down at the table across from Ethan.  Mrs. Ackers started setting the table for the gathered family with plates piled high with bacon, scrambled eggs and pancakes.  She even topped David’s coffee cup off as she did.

“Diana! Come and eat,” Trinity shouted.

“Okay mom!” came a disembodied voice from somewhere within the house.

“Come and sit down Wynona,” Ethan announced as he shifted the baby to his other arm. “Leave Starfleet?” He asked directing his attention back to Trinity and her original proposal.

“Yeah, why not?”

Ethan thought about it for a moment before speaking.  With his free hand he helped his son with the syrup and cut the pancakes into bite size chunks while Trinity did the same for Diana’s breakfast just as the other twin crawled into her chair doll in hand.  

“Uh-uh!” Trinity scolded, “Annie does not belong at the table.”

“But, mom,” the little girl pouted, “she’s hungry too.”

“You’ll just have to feed Annie after breakfast,” her mother said patiently. 

Sighing Diana jumped off her chair and ran into the other room before running back empty handed. “Thank you dear.  Now eat.”

“Awful hard to have a decent conversation around here,” Ethan joked with a piece of bacon in his free left hand.

“It’s like this every morning,” Mrs. Ackers added having joined them at the table.

“Ethan, we need you home,” Trinity pleaded as she took Abby from Ethan in order to feed the baby that was now starting to fuss, and a full on wail was about to erupt.

“I’ll think about it,” He said finally.  “It sure is good to be home.”

“It’s good to have you home,” Trinity said. “Now eat.  We have cattle to raise.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a grin.

The vast ocean stretched off into the horizon with waves crashing along the shore.  The twin suns were low in the sky setting the sky ablaze in yellows and oranges.  Audren Swiftblade stood on the front stone veranda wind whipping at her loose white hair and tugging at her light dress.

In her hand was a horn of spring wine.  The very wine made not one-hundred meters from her door.  She was home, and for the first time for as long as she could remember her people were at peace.  Thanks to trade with the Federation and their replicators the famine was subsiding.  Her people were rebuilding their society and one day, hopefully sooner than later the Narlin Empire would take its place amongst the Federation.  Audren had said as much in her last report while they were heading for Starbase Bravo aboard the Heracles. 

Despite the hope, and promise of a better tomorrow  there was a sadness in her heart. The USS Zebulon Pike had been the place she had lived the longest.  Yeah, Uchelcastel Manor was her ancestral home, but had never lived her that long.  As child she went to boarding schools, and as an adult she went straight in to the military and shortly after married her late husband. 

Then there were the friends she had made. She probably wouldn’t see them again.  That was a whole new sadness as that realization crept in.  She hoped Jolie, Mikeala,  and Carolyn were doing fine.  Ethan had a family so he probably wasn’t even thinking of them at this moment. 

“My Lady, you have a visitor,”  her butler announced. 

She glanced at the aging Hylon who had been employed by the family for as long as she could remember.   “Direct them here.”

The butler bowed, “Very good my lady.”

After a few minutes a female voice spoke behind her, “Lady Audren,  my name is Livvy Sandoval.”

Audren turned to face the woman.  A human in a Starfleet uniform.  With red hair and familiar features she could only be Aimee Sandoval’s twin sister.  “It is a pleasure to meet you Lieutenant.  How is your sister?”

“Aimee?” Livvy asked surprised.  “She got a posting to the USS Mercy as the chief medical officer and her husband followed her.”

“Good, I liked Dougal and they were good together. What can I do for you?” Audren asked.

Livvy nodded, “I have been assigned to this planet as part of the Federation’s humanitarian relief program.   I am over seeing the soil reclamation teams.”

Audren nodded, “It is needed for Narlins to be truly independent again.”

Livvy nodded, “Yeah, well my brother wanted me to check up on you and see how you were doing and if you needed anything.”

Audren smirked, “Ethan’s still trying to take care of his crew. If he could just get in line with Starfleet he could have made captain by now and commanding a starship.”

“You know Ethan, he’s a cowby,” Livvy replied. 

“That he is,” Audren agreed.   “As for your quest. I  well here. The Emperor was plased with my service and I am comfortable here. I do not require anything. However,  you are welcome to stay here for as long as you wish.”

Livvy looked around,  “Yeah. I might just take you up on that offer. I have been billeted in base housing in the capital.”

Audren smiled, “I have stayed in them.  You will be far more comfortable here.   I will get you a room set up, and tonight over dinner we can discuss your mission.”

Livvy smiled,  “Thank you Lady Audren.”

“Any friends and family of Ethan Talon are my friends.  You may simply call me Audren.”

Livvy smiled, thanked her host and was lead into the house by the butler to get her settled into her accommodations.   Audren returned to her sunset, but now it was almost gone.  Only a thin line of orange on the far horizon giving way to the creeping night.  Audren knew she was finally home.