“You imagined you could find a way around the Tholians’ ways.” The garbled voice of Doctor Galdrid Ahon scratched out from the speakers. “You’ll learn the totality of the futility of resisting them and their ways.” A rough round of coughing peaked the speakers before she continued. “I had little hope of you alleviating me of this sentence. There is a reason contact with them is to be avoided. Diplomacy with the Tholians…it is always to their benefit.”

Captain Wren Walton stood a few feet from the bed unit, her eyes watching the various equipment working to heal and unheal the maniacal doctor. She wondered what the last days of Ahon would be like in a few years. What would be the final thoughts of the woman as her body collapses around her? Would she be able to speak? Would she offer her final absolution or condemnation before the lights of her eyes faded to black?

Walton mused, “Lieutenant Eseri from the Nova was not wrong to suggest we try and do something for you, Doctor. Her belief in you, even after reading of your deeds…she still holds on to the idea of finding a way to relieve you of this torment. In the end, it is the aliens you choose to cross that prevent us from granting you relief.”

A liquid spattered cough rang out, and Ahon’s heavy breathing was the only sound for a few minutes, leaving Wren to wonder if the doctor would try to force her death somehow. Her strained voice returned. “It is an odd thing to be thankful for, but you have my gratitude, such as it is.” Another long pause, and Walton watched the woman’s eyes searching back and forth, as if hoping to find an answer. “We all receive our due in the end, Captain Walton. Some of us live forever, hoping to die. Others live just long enough to know the light of life before death claims us. It remains a mystery, a grand tale. I know how I will go.” Wren watched her eyes turn towards her, the woman’s head held in place. “The question you must answer, Captain Walton…is when will you?” A smile resembling a snarl crossed her lips, and Ahon fell asleep.

The doors to the bridge slid open, and Walton stepped onto the deck and stopped, her eyes glancing around the bridge. The last words of Ahon hung in her head. She had often wondered how her life would end. In command, old and retired, or even in a terrible accident. The haunting words from the woman were echoing around in her mind, giving her enough pause that the bridge crew turned to face her. Their eyes were a mix of curiosity and concern. Lieutenant Maddy spoke after the extended silence, “Orders, Captain?”

Walton slowly walked to the center chair, sitting with a long sigh. “If I were free to do what I willed, I would order the facility blown out of existence.” She shook her head, “Thankfully, that is not what we do.” A murmur of agreement swam the length of the bridge. “Set a course for our next colonial target, maximum warp. Inform Nova we’re moving on. Make a note regarding this location in the ship’s log. Code a messenger buoy with the details of the Tholian message and a warning with explicit context. I don’t want anyone to mistake what will happen should they upset the Tholians.  Get us underway when complete.”