by Kevin Ryan
Walking back to the landing site, McCoy asked, “You like that boy Adon, don’t you, Jim?”
“Yes, he’s a lot like his father, but much too young for the job he’s been given,” Kirk said.
“Seems like his people are happy to have him.”
“They’re lucky, but I wonder, just what have we brought to these people, Bones?”
“We didn’t bring anything to them, the Klingons did. These people are still here because of what we did.”
“And now we’ll give them more powerful weapons,” Kirk said.
“And modern medicine, and a dozen other things. It’s their choice, Jim. Maybe they were better off before anyone knew they were there, but the galaxy got in. All we can do is help them now the best we can.”
“The Klingons offered them help as well.”
“And they didn’t mean a word of it. You know that, just like you know there is a difference between us and the people who built that mine. I know you do.”
The doctor was right, of course. There was a difference. Kirk believed in what the Federation stood for, in what Starfleet stood for, but he was also a pragmatist—his job demanded it. At the moment, Starfleet was the only thing that stood between the Klingons who’d built the mine and the rest of the galaxy. The problem was that he would not deceive himself; the empire had better captains and crews than the ones the Enterprise had faced on the D’k Tahg today. At their best, a battle cruiser and a starship were evenly matched. When the war came and the battle was begun, all of their fine ideals would matter little against Klingon weapons.
A single truth kept coming back in Kirk’s mind: We will fight with everything we have …
… but we might lose.
Epilogue
U.S.S. ENTERPRISE
FEDERATION SPACE
LIEUTENANT COMMANDER GIOTTO had come by, and then Fuller’s squad had come. However, they had come together and Fuller hadn’t had a chance to talk privately with Parmet as he had hoped to do. Well, that could wait. They would be in orbit for at least a few more days. There was work to be done in the mine. Repairs and other assistance.
Starfleet had pressing business for the Enterprise, but it would not abandon Adon and his people. And the fact was, the precious dilithium that they had provided would be a real help if it came to war.
When it comes to war, he thought.
He was surprised that it was Parrish who came to get him. “Lieutenant, how are you feeling?”
“Fine, and you?” he asked. She was starting to show just slightly under her uniform.
“A little sick, but Doctor McCoy says that’s normal. I think he’ll feel better when I’m in the hands of an expert.”
“When is your transport?”
“Two days. I’ll be on Earth by the end of the week.” Something passed over her face. “I can’t help feeling that I’m running out on the ship.”
“Nonsense, we all have our jobs to do. We’ll handle things here, but your work is important too. And you’re doing something I could never do, Leslie.”
It was true. And he knew there was more to it than she had told him. Fuller had heard that there were going to be some complications with her pregnancy. There was even a danger to Parrish, yet she was going through with it. That pleased Fuller somehow. Plenty of people could do what he would do in the next weeks, months, and years, but if the Federation was going to survive, they would need people like Parrish as well.
They left sickbay together and he felt Parrish’s eyes on him. “Are you ready for this, sir?”
“I am,” he said, and found that he meant it. “I wasn’t before, but I am now.”
She nodded as if she understood, and Fuller thought that he might want to check on her if he made it back to Earth. To his surprise, he found himself thinking about what he would do when he got back. He would also check in on Sam’s mother, Alison, whom he hadn’t spoken to in years, excluding the conversation they had had when he’d told her about Sam’s death.
There was a reunion of the survivors of Donatu V every year at a San Francisco bar. Fuller had never gone, but he thought he might like to try it. And there had been that woman in his building’s gym. They had shared nothing but polite smiles, but he thought that maybe it was time to move beyond that.
The future was unimaginably far away, but he could feel it out there just the same.
Fuller didn’t hesitate when they reached the dining room; he simply stepped through the door. Inside, he got a genuine surprise: more than twenty people were waiting and they were applauding him, looking at him in something of the way Sam had done when he was growing up.
It was not what he had expected. A handful of people had served with Sam and known him well. Parrish, Jawer, Clark, and a few others. A few days ago they had wanted to tell him about their experiences with his son. But Parmet was here, the rest of Fuller’s squad, and other people from engineering, the sciences, every department on the ship—and three of the civilians from the Harmony.
“I think I stepped into the wrong party,” he said.
Ensign Parmet stepped forward. “We all wanted to do something for you.”
“But I don’t know most of you.”
“But we all know you.” Parmet stopped for a moment and gathered himself. “When I was ten years old, our colony on Lynwood Four was attacked by Nausicaan raiders. They held us for a week until your team came in.” Tears formed on Parmet’s face. “My parents fought them and were killed. They were going to kill the children next, and then you …”
He didn’t need to finish. Fuller remembered Lynwood IV well. There had been children, he recalled. Had one of them really been Parmet? Was it possible? Suddenly, quite a few things made sense: the ensign’s behavior around him, his familiarity with Fuller’s career, even his punching the Anti-Federation League man a moment before Fuller did so himself.
Parmet stopped speaking, tears streaming down his face. Fuller felt them welling in his own eyes. He knew better than to fight a battle he could not win and let them come. He put a hand on Parmet’s shoulder, then the young man threw his arms around him.
A few seconds later, Parmet stood back. “I owe you my life, sir. And there are more of us.”
There had been more: My grandfather served with you on the Endeavour …
My mother was on the Republic …
I grew up on …
They all had stories that they needed to tell and Fuller knew he needed to hear. In each tale, he heard something he had long ago given up hope of ever seeing in his career or in his life …
A legacy.
About the Author
Kevin Ryan is the author of ten books, including the best-selling Star Trek: Errand of Vengeance trilogy. He wrote the USA Today bestselling novelization of Van Helsing, as well as two books for the Roswell series. In addition, Ryan has published a number of comic books and written for television. He lives in New York and can be reached at [email protected].