Star Trek®: Strange New Worlds 10

by Dean Wesley Smith

  As light enveloped him, Picard couldn’t help but tear up, knowing his beloved Enterprise crew was about to be destroyed.

  Janeway shifted in her captain’s chair and turned to her first officer, Chakotay. “At the risk of jinxing our recent good fortune,” she said, “I have to say the past few uneventful days have felt like vacation.”

  “I know what you—” Chakotay began when a brilliant white light erupted over the bridge.

  Janeway was about to sound a red alert when she saw Q and a Starfleet captain, who seemed vaguely familiar, standing before her. Q moaned and slouched, but the other man held him up.

  “Captain Janeway?” the mystery captain asked.

  Janeway stood. “What is the meaning of this?” Q had been an unwelcome visitor before, and she didn’t want him around again. As she studied the captain, recognition came over her. “You’re Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise. Why—”

  “We’ve very little time,” Picard said as Chakotay stepped forward and helped support Q. “A horrible event has occurred that threatens the entire cosmos. We just came from the Alpha Quadrant, which is literally being destroyed.”

  Janeway stared open-mouthed at the newcomers. From behind Picard, Paris stood from his station. “I do believe,” Paris said, “that you officially jinxed our ‘vacation.’”

  Just as Picard was about to continue, the ship shuddered, as if an energy wave had struck them. Picard turned to Q in alarm. “The Pah-wraiths already?”

  “Soon,” Q said. “That was an initial shockwave from their awesome power now devouring space-time. There will be more before the actual wave reaches us.”

  “Red alert! Shields up!” Janeway walked around Picard. The viewscreen only revealed silent stars as they journeyed at warp speed. “Now what exactly are the Pah-wraiths?”

  “Fearsome aliens,” Picard said. “Almost godlike in their abilities. They’ve escaped their prison and are on a rampage to destroy all of space-time.” Picard cocked his head toward Q. “Even the Continuum has been neutralized by their onslaught. I saw their path of annihilation myself.”

  “What can we do to help?” Janeway asked.

  Picard stepped closer. “We need to scan the entire Delta Quadrant to seek a certain entity. Once we find him, we need to bring him to us. Do you know of a way?”

  After a few seconds of stunned silence, Janeway shook her head. “I’m sorry, but what you request is incredible.” She looked to her science officer. “Tuvok, the only thing I can think of is the Caretaker’s Array.”

  Before the stalwart Vulcan could reply, Picard interjected. “Then take us to—”

  “It is not a question of capability,” Tuvok interrupted. “But of existence. It brought us here to the Delta Quadrant, but was destroyed. And even so, it would need to be reconfigured by myself and our Chief Engineer, B’Elanna Torres.”

  Picard wiped sweat from his brow. Janeway tried to think of an alternative, but nothing came to mind.

  “I told you, Jean-Luc,” Q said, standing on his own. “I can take us anywhere across space and time.” Another energy wave hit them. The viewscreen stars wavered as it passed. “In fact, I’d highly recommend we change our place in time, which will take the Pah-wraiths longer to reach.”

  “Very well, then,” Picard said. “Take me, Janeway, Tuvok, and B’Elanna to this Array in the past.”

  “If I may make a suggestion,” Janeway quickly added, “place us at a time when the Caretaker alien isn’t present. He’s quite formidable, and I can’t imagine he’d assist us.”

  With a nod, Q closed his eyes and they vanished.

  Upon their arrival at the Array, Picard and Janeway acted more like ensigns by obeying whatever requests Tuvok and B’Elanna gave them. Over the next few days, they worked hard while Q recovered from the teleport strain.

  Picard squatted at a console near the Array’s core, which had been shut down while Tuvok and B’Elanna reprogrammed it. Under the console, B’Elanna lay on her back, her feet sticking out the bottom. On the opposite side of the core, Tuvok and Janeway worked while Q paced.

  “Blasted alien technology,” B’Elanna muttered. She stuck her hand out of the opening. “Coilspanner.”

  Picard handed her the tool from several on the floor. His eyes were heavy after so little sleep; he and Janeway required more rest than the Vulcan and half-Klingon. During their time together, Picard had come to know his fellow Starfleet officers, yet still lamented the loss of his own crew.

  Picard called out to Q. “Do you have any idea how much time we have?”

  Q scowled. “How many times can I say I don’t know? I’m sure the Pah-wraiths have begun marching into the past, but such a process is time-consuming…no pun intended.”

  Before Picard could ask another question, the Array core sprung to life. Various consoles and lights now blinked on it in an assortment of colors.

  “That was it!” B’Elanna shouted while backing out. Janeway ran around from the other side, her hair frazzled. “I’ve kick-started the initialization process,” B’Elanna continued, “which should now interface with our new configuration. Speaking of which…” She looked at Tuvok.

  “From Q’s input,” Tuvok said while operating a console, “we should now be able to synchronize the Array to scan for non-corporeal entities outside of space-time, which is apparently where Captain Sisko now exists.”

  “Thereby allowing us,” Q said, his eyes dancing, “to not only pinpoint his location—regardless that he was shot into this quadrant years ago in the future—but to draw him to us like a giant magnet.”

  With a grin, Janeway sidled alongside Picard, squeezed his arm, and whispered, “Did you understand any of that?”

  Picard chuckled for the first time since this odyssey had begun. While Tuvok, B’Elanna, and Q talked amongst themselves and operated various instruments, Picard patted Janeway’s hand and whispered back, “I never do.”

  “I think that’s him!” B’Elanna pointed at a display, until her excitement faded to doubt. “But how do we know for sure?”

  Q pushed a series of buttons. “Only one way to find out.” Lights flickered all over the monolith of alien technology. The entire structure whined, growing in intensity.

  A flash of light erupted nearby, leaving a man curled up on the floor. When the newcomer groaned, Picard stepped closer and offered a hand. “Though the situation leaves much to be desired,” Picard said, “it’s good to see you again, Captain.” As Sisko blinked and took his hand, Picard noticed a golden glow radiating about Sisko. “Or should I say, Emissary of the Prophets?”

  “What…,” Sisko began. “Where…”

  In a flurry of words, Q described the situation, often in terms Picard didn’t understand in regards to nonlinear time, Prophets, space-time, and Pah-wraiths. Yet throughout the monologue, Sisko simply nodded.

  “I see,” Sisko finally said. He rubbed his goatee in a thoughtful manner. “I remember tackling Dukat and tumbling over the precipice into the fire caves. After that, I found myself surrounded by infinite whiteness. At first I thought I had died, but then realized I’d entered the Celestial Temple.”

  “Celestial Temple?” Janeway asked.

  Sisko began to pace. “Known to humans and most other races as the stable wormhole near Bajor.”

  “You make it sound as if you’re no longer human,” B’Elanna said.

  Sisko paused and studied the glow about his body.

  “He’s not,” Q muttered. “And I doubt he even knows what he’s become.”

  Sisko acted as if he hadn’t heard them as he gazed off into the distance. With a heavy sigh, he spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. “They’re coming.”

  “We know that,” Q spouted. “It’s only a matter of—”

  “I mean here. Specifically.” Sisko studied them. “Returning to my corporeal self has alerted them to my location. Now they’ll come quickly by ignoring the rest of space-time. Because to them, I’m the last possible hurdle in their plans
.”

  “What exactly can you do?” Tuvok asked.

  Sisko shrugged. “I’ve no idea.”

  “You’ve no idea?” Q strode about with arms waving. “Great. Just great! We take what little resources and time we have, throw it all in a gamble that finding you might save life as we know it, and you’re saying there’s nothing you can do?”

  Janeway stepped closer to Sisko. “Think carefully, Captain. Why did the Prophets send you this way?”

  “No reason. They just sent me away to keep me safe, hoping I could alter events.” Sisko pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “I’m trying to understand my abilities…trying to piece together all the threads….”

  “Could it have anything to do with your final moments with Dukat?” Picard asked, desperate to find an answer. “Something you maybe could have done differently. Or something you didn’t—”

  “The book!” Sisko gasped, his eyes wide. “That’s what the Prophets tried to tell me, just before sending me away. I was supposed to destroy the book as well.”

  “The book?” B’Elanna asked.

  Sisko continued, but more to himself than anyone else. “The Kosst Amojan that Kai Winn and Dukat used in the fire caves was the key. It wasn’t enough that I stopped Dukat, since the door remained unlocked. But if I had also destroyed the key…” He shook his head. “I’m getting ahead of myself. All I know is if we can destroy the universe on our own terms, it would halt the Pah-wraiths’ advance and obliterate them.”

  Janeway cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “I don’t pretend to know a fraction of what you’re talking about, but I know enough to say that’d be a bit counterintuitive.”

  Sisko raised a finger. “Not necessarily. I’m still learning what I’m capable of, but I think…” His gaze drifted. “Yes. Yes, I can do it. But I can’t wipe the existing slate clean.”

  Q flailed his arms. “Not even I could have done that!”

  “But you can transport us anywhere into the past,” Sisko said. “So we’d better think of someone who can do it and get to them before—” The Array shuddered from an energy shockwave. “Before they get any closer.”

  “Jean-Luc,” Q said, “you’ve taken us this far. Where to now? Who in the past could do such a thing?”

  “I don’t know,” Picard said. “But I can send us to someone who might. Someone much further back in time.”

  With a sigh, Janeway muttered, “James T. Kirk.” After Picard nodded, she continued. “I doubt there’s a single ship and crew in the entire fleet—past, present, or future—which saw more sights and experienced more bizarre scenarios.”

  “The trick will be convincing him,” Sisko said. “And though I already met him once, he won’t remember me.” Everyone stared in confusion at Sisko, but he just shook his head. “It’s a long story that got me into a lot of…trouble…with the Department of Temporal Investigations. Let’s just hope Kirk knows something. The only question is when?”

  “Just before his ship was decommissioned for the last time,” Picard said. “That’d be after most of his career, giving Kirk his entire life experience to draw upon.”

  “Very well,” Q said. The Array shook violently for several seconds. “But that far back, I can only send one person on alone. After that, I’ll be spent.”

  “Then the choice is obvious.” Picard stepped up to Sisko and shook his hand. “Consider the baton passed. It’s up to you.”

  After a flash of light, Sisko vanished. Immediately after, Q collapsed and faded. Picard was surprised at finding himself saddened by the sight. He studied the three remaining Starfleet officers, thinking he should say something, but nothing came to mind. Shortly afterward, he realized it didn’t matter, when a final wave struck.

  Chekov turned in his chair. “Course heading, Keptin?”

  Kirk sat straighter and studied the viewscreen. “Second star to the right. And straight on ’til morn—” A bright light erupted in the room. Kirk raised a hand, shielding his vision. When it had faded, it revealed a man with a golden hue about him. Kirk slowly stood. “Who are you? What—”

  “I am the Sisko, from the future.” The man spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. “A Starfleet captain, like yourself. Or at least, I used to be. What I’m about to tell you is incredible, but I’ve only a few minutes. They’re on their way.”

  Kirk could only stare as Sisko spoke, going into selective details in a few minutes. When Sisko reached the end and said he needed to find a way to destroy the universe in order to preserve it, Kirk’s eyebrows shot up. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m afraid so. Or everything will be lost. By doing it ourselves, I’ll have the chance to rectify everything.”

  Kirk glanced at his crew who appeared just as shocked and doubtful. “For all I know,” Kirk said, “you could be insane. I can’t think of any reason we should believe or trust you.”

  “Except that everything will be lost if you don’t.”

  A rumble rippled throughout the ship.

  “Vhat vas that?” Chekov asked.

  “That’s them,” Sisko said. “Shockwaves pushing their way on ahead through time. I was quite serious when I said we only have a few minutes.”

  “Fascinating,” Spock said while studying his instruments. “We just felt a displacement of space-time as it temporarily merged with unreality.”

  “That is not possible!” Scotty exclaimed.

  Uhura operated her console. “The boards are lit up. Every space station, ship, and planet in the quadrant just experienced the same thing, all at once.” She stared at Sisko in wonder. “Which should likewise be impossible.”

  “Jim!” McCoy stepped down beside Kirk. “Destroying everything to save it? This man’s obviously deranged.”

  Kirk rubbed his jaw. “The problem is, Doctor, what if he’s not? However, if his claim about the future is true, there may be a way to prove it. Uhura, patch me through to Research Base 19. Emergency Channel.”

  Uhura frowned, until enlightenment came over her face. “Aye, sir.” As she operated her console, Kirk studied the newcomer, who gazed anxiously at the viewscreen. Finally, Uhura said, “I’ve got them.”

  The viewscreen changed from a field of stars to a frazzled admiral. “Kirk, you’ve caught us at a bad time. We’re dealing with a bit of an emergency that started a few minutes before the spatial distortion that everyone just experienced. So I don’t know how much time I can spare.”

  Kirk stood, as if he’d been shocked out of his chair. “You mean with the Guardian?”

  “Well, yes, actually. But what made you guess that” The admiral frowned. “It just went dormant. We’ve always monitored it day and night, and for the first time, it’s simply dead. No energy signature or anything.”

  “Spock?” Kirk asked, whirling about.

  The Vulcan nodded. “The removal of time from the future would have an immediate effect on the Guardian, which claimed to be both the beginning and the end. If indeed the ‘end’ has been obliterated, it stands to reason that it could no longer exist.”

  The admiral raised his voice. “You know what’s happening? Kirk, I demand to know—”

  A stronger, second wave rocked the Enterprise and research station. “I would, but there’s no time.” Kirk pressed a button on his chair, reverting the viewscreen to stars. He turned to Sisko. “If what you say is true, how will destroying everything help?”

  “As you said,” Sisko said, “there’s no time to explain.”

  “Jim!” McCoy cried. “You can’t take a gamble like this!”

  Kirk whirled on his friend. “In all the decades we’ve watched the Guardian, nothing like this has ever happened. I can’t dismiss that, or these seismic, reality-distorting waves. Doing nothing is just as much of a gamble.”

  “Even so,” McCoy began, “we’ve encountered things that could destroy entire solar systems, but a universe?” McCoy shook his head. “There’s no such object.”

  “Not so much an object,” K
irk said. “But a who.” He glanced at Spock. As if they were of the same mind, they both spoke a single word—

  “Lazarus.”

  “Who?” McCoy asked, until his eyes grew wide. “Oh, now wait a minute. That really would do the trick.”

  Sisko stepped closer. “Who is this Lazarus?”

  “A bomb!” Scotty exclaimed as he gripped the railing. “A man, trapped in a dimensional corridor with an identical madman at his throat from an antimatter universe. If both men ever met outside of it—thereby bridging the gap between both universes—well, you can guess what would happen.”

  Uhura stood. “But we made that impossible by sealing them off for eternity.” She placed a hand over her heart. “It was at Lazarus’s request, but it was horrible.”

  Sisko raised a hand to his temple as the magnitude of it all seemed to strike him. “So we could do this, if we had to. I just don’t know how else to stop the Pah-wraiths.”

  Kirk felt comforted that Sisko didn’t actually want to pull the trigger on doomsday. “Spock, the dimensional corridor could only be reached from Lazarus’s ship, but we vaporized it.”

  “More specifically,” Spock replied, “the ship generated a trans-spatial dimensional frequency. One we recorded and can duplicate, but cannot breach as it requires a catalyst outside of time and space.”

  “I may be able to access it,” Sisko said.

  Another energy wave hit, only stronger. “Chekov, shields up,” Kirk ordered. “Spock, start working on that frequency.” He approached Sisko. “If there’s anything you need to do beforehand, now’s the time.”

  “Actually, there is.” Sisko closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I’ll be back soon.” Yet all he did was cup his hands together and open his eyes. “I’m back.”

  “You…you never left,” Chekov muttered.

  “It’s because I can now exist outside linear time…but believe me, I’m trying to get used to it myself.” Sisko peered down at his folded hands at something he apparently held.