Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: 02 Apr 2004 06:47:44 GMT In: alt.startrek.creative From: sericali1@aol.com (SEricAli1) =/\= INFO =/\= Title: A COMMAND DECISION Author: Ali Contact: SEricAli1@aol.com Series: TNG (Crew) Part: 1/1 Rating: [PG?] Summary: The captain and his lady face the grim anniversary of the Borg's first The usual "not done for profit, these folks ain't mine so let's skip a court date," disclaimers apply and Paramount, for better or worse, owns everyone involved… The muse has decided to boldly go once again in answer to a "surprise me" challenge from a friend of mine who likes Trek, keep this up and I'll have to start writing this stuff regularly… It also gave me an excuse to play with an idea I've toyed with for a long time when I thought about doing Trek fiction a while back... As is my custom, I'll ask that you be honest and constructive with the criticism. "It sucks" is allowable only if it's followed with a lucid well reasoned critique to explain said sucking… While this fic is set in the TNG era some ten plus years after the events in "The Best of Both Worlds". (For those of you checking the calendar, sometime after Insurrection, but before the period of time that Nemesis plays out) To reveal anything else would REALLY spoil things… So without further ado, I take you somewhere in the 24th century and submit the following for your approval… ------------------------------------------------------------------- The realization that the harsh lights of the laboratory made everyone in the room look like haggard caricatures of themselves briefly passed through his mind. The people gathered here were his crew – his friends, each one weighing the choice they had ahead of them. All of them trying to remain brave and professional in the face of one of the hardest decisions any of them could be asked to make. They all stared at him, a short silence where another realization stuck him, was silence so uncomfortable to him before the Borg came into their lives? "There's no way to know what the destruction of the Borg ship will do to him." He heard the tremor of desperation in Beverly Crusher's voice, noted the pleading look in her tired eyes and understood exactly what she felt was at stake. She knew her skill could undo the alterations of the Borg, but the danger to Earth and the Federation were also in the balance. Data added "We should also consider the advantages of further examination of the Borg and their vessel, sir." Despite the fact that Data was an android unaffected by emotion and more than a little interested in studying the mysteries of the Borg, there was also the remote possibility that his judgement was affected by the same desire his comrades shared to save this one life in particular. The Borg had destroyed a fleet of ships at Wolf 359 – they had decimated the Mars Defense Perimeter and were stopped a mere heartbeat away from Earth orbit. He felt as if he weren't really involved with the scene playing out before him; he seemed to be a spectator locked in place. Everything seemed to be filtering into his consciousness through some sort of hazy buffer. He understood the situation and what was at stake. The Borg had been stopped but their cube was suffering a major systems failure and its self-destruction was imminent. Time was the one commodity he knew none of them had. The room was suddenly silent again, no voices sifting their way through his thoughts, no one in the room daring to condemn or condone whatever was going to happen as they waited for destiny to play the next card. As he stood there in that brief moment, he realized suddenly that he felt utterly and truly alone for the first time since the Borg invaded Federation space. It was a short pause in time – a beat with everyone frozen in place, looking at him. All of them were holding their breath waiting for the agonizing moment of truth came to a head. He took a moment to look at these people he had known for so long and realized for the first time they had no way to understand what he had gone through. They had gone from trusted friends who he felt knew him well, to something alien and uncertain. He wasn't even sure that if he were free to express any feeling at this moment that he could ever find the right words to do so. He felt another small piece of his soul die in his small epiphany and mourned the loss silently. "I don't think so. Data, separate yourself from Captain Picard." He heard the order issued as if it came over a cold distance through a tunnel – the authoritative tone struggling to hide the pain and regret behind the decision being made. "Away Team, get yourselves home. Mister Crusher, upon their return, move us to a safe position." The reaction of the crew was immediate and happened without comment. Each person carried out the order, their personal feelings subtly revealing themselves as they moved. Doctor Beverly Crusher, her face a grim mask, kept her tricorder running to record whatever would happen in the laboratory when the Borg cube was destroyed. Counselor Deanna Troi held her ground, her posture betraying her conflict between the desire to help and her duty as an officer. He watched Data unplug himself and effectively shut down his access link. If Data were human, he'd have thought that the artificial man's eyes betrayed a hint of sorrow. He heard the pitch of the engine's steady thrum change and felt the deck of the Enterprise shift slightly under his feet as it began its maneuver establish to a new position away from the cube. Though he knew it wasn't possible, he also thought he felt the first wave of the building shockwave diffuse against the ship's shields – a rough goodbye kiss from those who exacted a terrible price for this victory. They were committed and he could do nothing more now except stand and wait in stark, cold silence with the rest. He felt a second shutter through the deck. This one was the actual full force shockwave of the cube's destruction rippling through the immediate area. It ran through his body from the balls of his feet traveling upwards along the length of his spine. As it passed through his shoulders, those horrible spasms and convulsions began... He snapped awake and sat bolt upright in his bed, his sleep disturbed for the fourth time in as many days. His breathing was labored and his heart thundered a savage devil's tattoo in his chest that threatened to burst free of its own volition. He'd had the nightmare since the he had received new orders for the Enterprise's latest mission. The ship was on a journey to a destination he had hoped to never see again. His rational mind knew he was having a literal nightmare – a crystal clear memory that he had banished from his waking mind. His rational mind told him one thing but his conscience was not so forgiving. His conscience knew the truth behind the dreams. His conscience knew this was a ghost who returned to haunt him with his greatest terror and remind him of his greatest failure. He waited for his body to calm down and adjust to the waking world before he looked over to the woman who had been sharing his bed with him in recent months. She seemed to be undisturbed by his sudden return to wakefulness, and he resisted the urge to speak aloud or better still, run his finger along the curve of her naked hip just to feel the warmth of her skin. He regarded her for a moment – a smile creeping across his face as he remembered the years they had spent together their relationship developing from a long running friendship to eventually drift into a more intimate realm as lovers. He rose taking some of her warmth with him as he strode from the bedroom into the main cabin towards the replicator. He paused at the viewport and looked out at the swirling mass of colorful gases that made up the Paulson Nebula. "Everything changed here," he said quietly. "I never realized how much our lives were changed when we had to run and hide here." He turned away and continued his short walk to the replicator. "Tea --" His request was interrupted, "Computer, cancel request." Before he could say something else, "Warm milk with a dash of nutmeg." He turned to find her standing behind him wearing one of his robes. She had a second robe draped over her arm. "That for you?" he asked as she stepped past him to retrieve the mug of steaming liquid that had materialized. "Tea will isn't going to help you sleep," she said placing the mug in his hand, "this will." She draped his robe over his shoulders and waited for his inevitable protest. "I wanted the tea." There were moments when she'd take charge and insist he do something or another for his own good. Initially he bristled at her directness in that regard and had to remind her who was the captain of the ship. But she wasn't an officer under his command at this moment, she was a woman who loved and him and was concerned about him. "You'll like this better," she smiled and placed a light kiss on his lips. "Trust me and drink it down, doctor's orders." "So now you're my personal physician too?" he said with a conciliatory sip from the mug. He let the first taste of milk and nutmeg roll across tongue before nodding his approval on her choice of beverage. "Given the amount of exertion you've engaged in this evening," she flashed him a wicked smile and ordered a mug for herself, "you've already passed the physical as far as I'm concerned." "I appreciate that," he said turning a chair towards the spectacle outside the viewport. She stood behind the chair and placed her mug on the dining table near one of their hastily discarded uniform tunics. She leaned forward and began to massage his shoulders slowly. "And I apologize for waking you. I don't understand why I'm having so much trouble with this." "I was there with you remember?" "I know," he sighed heavily as he watched the swirling colors of the nebula roil across one another like water in a stream. "I just wish sometimes that things worked out differently." She leaned her chin into the curve of his shoulder and nuzzled his neck. "We could what if from now until the end of time and never be sure that what we did was right then." "You're sounding like Guinan, or Deanna, or even Anij," he replied softly. "One of those wise sounding old homilies meaning 'get over it and move on', but I still have my issues when it comes to the Borg." "Bringing up old girlfriends? You are distracted," she straightened up and resumed her massage. "If it weren't for old girlfriends, I don't think I'd have realized how important you actually were to me. I'm pretty sure you and I wouldn't be here like we are at this moment if we hadn't gone into the Briar Patch." He smiled and stroked her hand affectionately, "Besides Anij wasn't really a girlfriend, she more like a temporary infatuation." "You know what I mean. But if being around Anij helped us take this step," she straddled his lap facing him; "then I owe her one." "Are we about to resume the physical?" his eyes held a playfulness she had grown to know all too well. "Just getting comfortable," she said as he wrapped his arms around her. "I know you feel responsible for what happened then, but there's was no way you could've stopped the Borg from doing what they did before we won the battle. You can't continue to blame yourself for that." "Sure I can, Captain's prerogative." "I hope you're not going to be this grim when we get back to Earth for the wedding." "Not at all," he said kissing her neck. "After all I am the best man." She leaned back as his kisses softly traveled down the hollow of her neck and continued towards her cleavage gently parting the folds of her robe as they went. "Uuuuuuummmmmmmm, you get my vote." She placed both hands on his cheeks stopping his progress. "However you are not going to change the subject." "Didn't think I was that obvious." "Don't think I don't appreciate the effort," replied kissing him his forehead. "I just want to help you through this if I can." "Just be here with me right now." "I am and I will be for as long as you need me to be," she said. "Thanks," he said softly. "Just doing my job," she said leaning in to kiss him again. They sat that way for a while, locked in a long gentle kiss. Eventually she rose picked up her cup and took his hand and walked over to the loveseat that sat against the wall. They sat silently watching the nebula pass slowly by. "This isn't a memorial service we're going to you know," she sighed contentedly and leaned back onto his chest. "Jouret IV is a testimony to humanity's ability to heal and recover from setbacks and continue on despite any pain they've experienced in the past." He smiled and stroked her shoulder, "I am glad they've come back out here especially so soon after the war. They give me hope for humanity, it's just that we came incredibly close to losing it." "But we didn't," she countered. "In the end we came through it and have learned from our mistakes." "I suppose we have," he said. "I know we have, you have," she said. "You tend to be too hard on yourself for doing what you had to do then. The Borg were stopped in no small part by you." "In other words, 'get over it and move on'?" She nuzzled his chin and sighed, "Pretty much. You're a good man, a good captain and I can't imagine my life without you in it. I understand you carry the weight of every command decision you make, but there's only so much you can do." "I know you're right," his fingers played with the hair at the nape of her neck, "but it's hard when we're back here and I find myself stuck remembering what happened." "Which makes you such a good man, and which is why you'll continue to do the right thing even when it's painful." "Thanks, again," he said. "For what?" "For being you," his other hand found hers and their fingers intertwined. She closed her eyes and leaned back with a contented smile. "I love you, Will Riker." Captain William T. Riker, looked into the eyes of the woman who had served as his first officer since he took command of the Enterprise after Jean-Luc Picard's death, and realized how lucky he was. "Well since we're being so formal, I love you back, Elizabeth Shelby." They kissed gently once again and when they broke the kiss, Shelby looked up into Will's eyes her wicked smile slowly returning. "I think I'm ready for you to change the subject now, Will." -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Awards Tech Support http://www.trekiverse.us/ASCAwards/commenting/ No Tribbles were harmed in the running of these Awards ASCL is a stories-only list, no discussion. Comments and feedback should be directed to alt.startrek .creative or directly to the author. Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? 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