Starting Over
Part 1
by Rob Morris; rob4654@webtv.net
Starting Over 1 - Long Live The Captain
The last thing the once-decent but now quite twisted man called Soran ever
saw was that the docking clamps were still engaged. His missle detonated, but
not in a star. He rejoined his family-but not in the manner he intended. In
more ways than one, the fire had claimed him. Above in space, the Red Backbone
Of Night, the temporal anomaly called the Nexus, went on its way, uncaring of
the affairs of men or the lives of stars.
Equally uncaring of anything beyond basic victory was the Captain Of The
Enterprise. This victory over Soran had been a costly one, as duly marked on
the other side of the planet by the wreckage of the Enterprise-D, and on this
side by a shattered human body, a casualty of the effort to bring Soran low.
The Captain looked down at his new friend. He was barely alive. The one Captain
looked up at the other.
"Did We-Did We Do It? Did we--HAAACK!--make a difference?"
"Please, just hang on, and everything will be..."
"None of that...It..was..Fun."
"You saved my life."
"Least I could do for THE Captain Of..."
With that, he was gone. One of StarFleet's greatest legends, survivor of
countless unknowable situations, done in by some jagged metal and a hard
impact. He had only just met him, but the one Captain determined he would carry
his friend until he found anyone who could give him a proper burial. Luckily,
it was not too long before they were sighted by a transport.
"Sir, I just want to say, what an honor it is..."
"Ensign, stop gawking at me, and stop gawking at him, and get us to the
wrecksite."
He could hardly blame the Greenie, though. When he told who his shuttle had
carried, living and dead, he himself would be something of a legend. But
exhaustion had eaten his patience, and he did not relish what he would see at
the wreck site.
As The Captain who carried The Captain disembarked, he spotted Will Riker in
the distance. When Riker spotted him, though, as well as his sad burden, the
First Officer started to shake his head, and then his body, indicating
disbelief.
Next to him was Deanna Troi. Tears were now flowing from her eyes. She let
out a few audible sobs, punctuated by a simple "No."
She then ran to sedate Doctor Beverly Crusher, who was shrieking out loud. To
face a disaster like this twice in one lifetime might break even her strong
spirit.
Geordi's reaction was the most subdued-for now. He merely studied the still
form, using his VISOR to check for even the faintest sign of life. Finding
none, he shook his head and walked away.
At first, Data wondered why Spot was yelping as she was. It was only after
repeated scratchings that he realized that he was close to smothering the poor
cat. His hands shook and actually felt arthritic, while he was experiencing
another new, equally unwanted emotion--grief. It was something he felt he could
have done without, since suddenly the successive losses of Tasha, Lal, Dr.
Soong, and even
Lore caught up with him in waves.
Will Riker still stared disbelieving at the body in The Captain's arms. His
denial was shattered by the harsh, beautiful sound of Worf and Alexander,
Mourning in the Klingon Tradition. Their loud cries, though, could still not
wake the dead.
"Forgive me, but is he really..."
"Dead? I'm afraid so, Commander."
"Are You Really..."
"Tired? More than you could imagine."
"No disrespect, sir, but THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! NOW, EITHER YOU TELL
ME...."
"I'm sorry...Will. But the sad truth is this : Your Captain Is Dead.
Jean-Luc Picard gave his life to stop Soran's plans. He was a good man who
deserved a lot better than this!"
Just as James T. Kirk handed his sacred burden to Worf, his protests of
exhaustion were confirmed by his sudden collapse. He was alive, but very much
asleep. Without meaning to, he left Will Riker and the rest of Picard's crew
with a million questions that would simply have to wait.
For now, they all grieved for their Captain and Friend of seven good, hard
years. Somewhere in Eternity's gaze, two reunited Brothers argued joyfully over
the virtues of technology, while a young boy sat and listened in rapt
attention. There, at least, was peace.
ONE YEAR LATER - SPACE STATION DEEP SPACE NINE
Sisko smiled, and not for the first time. It was making Jadzia ill.
"I'm glad you're coming out this way, Captain. As I said before, Gowron's
behavior is nothing short of inexplicable."
"Captain Sisko, I'm glad to help. I only hope it will be help."
"Oh, I'm certain it will be, sir. As you requested, senior staff only at
your welcoming reception. Major Kira and Doctor Bashir have had a recent
experience that, if you'll pardon the expression, mirrors your own. They're
anxious to speak to you about it, as am I. Thank you, Captain. Sisko out."
The Ben Sisko sitting in his office was as close to giddy as Jadzia or any
Dax had ever seen him. It was a trifle unnerving.
"Benjamin, C'mon! It's hardly the Second Coming."
"Sez you, Old Man. Did Garak prepare the special uniforms?"
"Yes. But I don't see why we didn't just replicate them. Add to that, mine
didn't have much material to begin with. I swear, Uhura and Rand must have been
fighting pneumonia the whole 5 years!"
"Workmanship, Jadzia! Workmanship. Its those little touches that make life
worth living."
"If you say so, Ben. Listen, are you sure bringing him in is such a good
idea? Gowron seems tense enough as it stands."
"Its like Kurzon told me, Jadzia. If you want someone to handle Klingons, you
call in Captain James T. Kirk."
"Wait a Bajor minute. Benjamin, he never said that!"
Sisko just smiled.
"He would have."
THE SOVEREIGN CLASS CRUISER, NCC-1701-E, U.S.S. ENTERPRISE
"Before we get going, I have to ask again. Will, are you sure?"
"Sir, I served as First Officer under Jean-Luc Picard, a man who is
rightfully considered a legend. Shelby's taunts to the contrary, deferring a
promotion to Captain to serve again as First Officer under another legend
hardly seems a sacrifice. These next five years will go quickly, I think. The
past seven surely went faster than I would have liked."
"Just checking. Previous experience teaches me that having an angry First
Officer named Will can be bad for business. Mister Data, Mister La Forge, all
ahead, Warp Six."
"Aye, Captain."
It had been a rich, full year. In it, James Kirk had been debriefed and
retrained, followed by his retraining of the trainers. He had been reluctant at
first to resume this life. But an older Admiral, a woman who was one of Kirk's
closest friends, persuaded him to resume his first, best destiny.
"You know, Captain. I'd heard that Admiral Uhura once feared that extreme old
age would destroy her beauty. To me, that now seems quite a foolish fear."
"We all make mistakes, Will. Mine was corrected when she tricked me into
taking this chair back."
Will walked over to Deanna. Beverly's absence on the Bridge was notable. Her
histrionic, uncharacteristic accusation that Kirk had somehow done away with
Captain Picard would have had almost any other Captain putting her off the
ship. But the man seemed to understand grief, as well he might. Still, they
worried for their CMO and dear friend. Wesley, off learning about time and
space with the Traveller, was nowhere to be found.
"Will she be alright?"
"That's her decision. Right now, Beverly's grief rolls off her in waves. For
that, and for our friendship, I had to give her case to one of my assistants.
For one of a few times in my life, I'm actually grateful I'm not a full
telepath."
"What do you sense about him, Counselor?"
"Captain Kirk? Interesting times, Number One. Just like the old Terran
curse. But some curses have fringe benefits, it seems. You lose a dear old
friend, but before you're aware its happened, you've gained a new one."
They both saw the man in The Captain's Chair. It felt right to have him
there, even if Starfleet had to use the excuse of their many recent losses to
get him back where he belonged. The mere sight of their new/old Captain made
them feel as if they were ready for anything, come what may.
"Deanna, has he...tried anything with you?"
"Look at him, Will. Inspecting his bridge, chatting with his crew. Make a
pass at me? After 80 years, he's back with the only lady he's ever truly cared
about--The Enterprise."
For the sake of their friendship, and so as not to insert himself between
the recently-feuding Worf and Troi, Will did not pursue what he perceived to be
her vague disappointment that Kirk had not even propositioned her. Instead, he
looked to his Captain.
The loss of Jean-Luc Picard would never leave a single one of them. But new
frontiers lay ahead, and they would follow James Kirk as he led them once again
where no one had gone before.
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Next : We pick up our story on Deep Space Nine, and our new Captain finds
"There Will Be No Peace...."
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