A Shimmer of Heaven
A story by Nick Varnau
Based on “Star Trek” created by
Gene Roddenberry
They say time is the fire in
which we burn…
-Tolian
Soran
STARDATE 9810.6
He felt the nauseating sensation of spinning,
nearly out of control. For a moment, he had forgotten who he was. His name, his
race; everything had been forgotten. Only the constant feel
of being in rotation.
At once, he grasped for the first name that came
into his head… Soran… Tolian
Soran. Then he remembered, that was
his name! The spinning began to subside.
There was an ambient noise clamoring at his ears.
High-pitched yells and a constant, loud clatter. The last he had remembered, he
was on board the Sulaco, fleeing through an uncharted
stretch of space in hopes that those monsters, those cybernetic murderers would
never find them.
Then he remembered something else about his
identity. Something that made his heart cry out, and suddenly he felt weak. The
spinning came to an abrupt stop and he immediately crashed to the floor, to the
collective gasps of what must have been hundreds of people.
Tolian Soran realized he was
standing on a stage, a spotlight transfixed on him. And rather than the nasty
black rags he had been wearing on the Sulaco, he was
now nicely attired in a traditional El-Aurian gala
robe. But not any robe, this robe was given to him by his grandfather, Dr. Minak Soran, who had been the
first of his race to discover the way to travel faster than light. While the
late doctor had never seen the first official El-Aurian
spaceship in action – he was killed by the cybernetic monsters – he would’ve
been proud with the results.
Dr. Tolian had been
studying the effects on the compound trilithium on
certain gamma rays before the evil had invaded his planet. Grandpa Minak had told him that his findings could be a
revolutionary find. When Minak had discovered light
speed, he was awarded the Tydoon Peace Award. Tolian realized that he was now wearing the very same
ceremonial robe his grandfather had worn.
He looked out into the crowd of people, all
waiting, eager to listen, for Tolian knew that was
what they would do best. He and his fellow El-Aurians
had always been great listeners and enjoyed many stories and speeches from any
race. And they always listened with intense interest. Even the young doctor,
now entering his third century, had always taken great pleasure in hearing the
thoughts, feelings, and stories of others.
Tolian Soran got back to his
knees and struggled to get up, finding his balance very hard to coordinate due
to the effects of the rotating sensation. The feeling of a gentle, female hand
came under his arm and helped him to his feet. Tolian
turned to see who his helper was.
He was shocked to see that he was staring in the
emerald-green eyes of the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He soon realized
that this was what his heart had cried out for, for it
was the woman he had fallen in love with so many decades ago, and later had
married.
“Delera!” he said, once
he had caught his breath. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. His own
wife brought back from the brutal evisceration of the cybernetic beasts that
had destroyed everything he loved… his precious Delera
was here, giving him support for clearly an important event.
But what event could this be, thought Soran. Just
two minutes ago I was sitting in the cargo bay of the Sulaco!
We were tossing about and being thrown in every direction, trying to get clear
of this strange energy ribbon, and then… this?
Whatever had happened, Soran
began to excuse it. Delera was here, smiling and
applauding, and now Soran could see his three young
daughters in the front row, all wearing beautiful gowns.
“Well honey,” said Delera
with her soft, elegant voice. “Give your speech.”
As if he had actually previously known the reason
he was there, he raised his eyebrows and exclaimed, “Yes! Of course! My speech!”
With a smile and a bow, he walked over to the
center podium on the stage. Immediately he began to wonder what to say, or even
how to say it. How could he give a speech at an event he’d had no prior
knowledge of?
Almost on cue, he felt something in his right
pocket. A folded piece of paper. Soran
took it out and studied it for a moment, then, pressured to begin, he started
his speech.
“I am honored to be among such talented and
distinguished scientists here today as I accept this… ‘Nexus
Peace Prize for Trilithium Design.’ In
beginning my project and studies on trilithium, I
first had to consider the writings of Ferop Mokran, the man who practically invented the complex polymer…”
Soran noticed that not one person in the crowd seemed
uninterested in what he had to say. Everyone’s eyes were glued on him, hanging
on every word, including his rebellious daughters, who looked years younger
than when he had last seen them. Perhaps it was the amazing gowns they wore.
Soran continued for almost half-an-hour before ending
his acceptance speech. The entire time, everyone was glued to his stories of
hardships in bringing the success of his work to fruition as well as the
anecdotes he wished to share about his family life. As an El-Aurian acceptance speech, it was rather short, but Soran had found very little to say about receiving an award
which he had previously never heard of.
As he walked down the ramp and was met by his
family, he embraced his beloved wife, then gave loving hugs to each daughter,
all of whom he had presumed dead at the hands of the cyborgs.
“Was it all just a dream?” he asked Delera. She smiled and he noticed the dimples in her cheeks
still made her face glow like a thousand suns.
“No,” she said, “but now you can make your own
destiny.”
She took his hand and he put it up to his cheek.
It had been weeks since he had felt a woman’s touch. It was the single happiest
moment of Dr. Tolian Soran’s
life.
And suddenly, without warning, he felt himself
losing his grip on his wife’s hand. He opened his eyes and saw that they
appeared to be floating away from him into a blank, white nothingness, all the
while smiling and waving, as if he were leaving somewhere.
No! he thought. This can’t be happening! Where did they go?
Soran felt as if he were a scrap of metal under the
pressure of a gargantuan magnet. He felt his insides come out from under him,
his legs completely disappearing. Now up to his torso, Soran
was frantic to get back to his wife and daughters.
With a flash, the doctor was whole again, now in a
cargo bay similar to the one he had just been in, and inhabited by the very
people he had just been with. However, this was clearly a different ship.
He looked up at a panel on the far wall and read,
“U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-B.” A Federation ship! So the Federation had done this!
He looked around for someone to help him, but felt
something warm on his face. He brought his hand up and saw he was bleeding
profusely.
This wouldn’t have happened if the Federation
would’ve stayed out of it,
thought Soran. Coming toward him was an elderly
Starfleet officer who spoke in a strange accent.
“Everyt’ing is alright…
you are safe now!” said the human.
Safe! How could they be safe?! Soran
was safe with his family, not on some Federation rescue boat that thought it
acceptable to rip him from his happiness.
“Why?” said Soran to the
human. “Why?”
“It’s alright, you are safe now,” said the human.
“No!” said Soran, his
heart suddenly filled with rage. “I must go back! Send me back! I have to go
back!” The Starfleet officer pushed him onto a table while another put
something to his neck. Soran immediately went
catatonic, his eyes glazed over. However, he vowed one thing at that moment… he
would get back to that moment, and no one would stop him. Finally, before his
body succumbed to the drug, Soran whispered silently
to himself… “I will go back…”
About the Author
Nick Varnau’s previous
science-fiction works include the short stories “E.S.P.,” and “Bloodlust” as
well as the series “Promised Land.” Outside of the genre, he has written
several short stories, including “Celebrity,” “At The Bottom
Of Everything,” and the “Amazon Jihad” series. He was also producer and
co-director of the “Star Wars” fan-film “Rise of Romeo.” This is the first of
what Nick hopes to be many “Star Trek” fan fics. He
lives in