Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: Wed, 19 May 2004 08:19:23 GMT In: alt.startrek.creative From: billfl@hiwaay.net (Bill Livingston) Title: What's Forever For? Author: Bill Livingston (billfl@hiwaay.net) Series: DS9 Rating: [PG] Codes: S, B, O'B; Jungle Kitty's "Series Shuft" Challenge Summary: How does Benjamin Sisko handle the knowledge that someone he's come Note: This is in response to JK's "Series Shift" challenge (take an episode, plot or scene from one series and rewrite it for another), and is the third of four stories, all based on a single (*the* single, some might say) episode of TOS. Archive: OK anywhere, as long as title and authorship remain unchanged. Any MSTers welcome, just let me know. 8-] Disclaimer: "Star Trek" and all related characters and situations are trademarks of and © Desilu/Paramount/Viacom. All rights are reserved. Feedback in ASC and by email is welcome. If you liked it, please let me know. If not, please let me know. In either case, please let me know *why*. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT'S FOREVER FOR? By Bill Livingston After a frantic search, punctuated by frustration on one side and panicked delirium on the other, the three of them had been re-united. It was a happy occasion, but one as full of questions as it was relief: "How did you get here?" "How did *I* get here?" "Have all the effects worn off?" "How long have you been looking for me?" "Do you remember anything you did?" Then the captain turned - and saw doom approaching. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Edith!" Sisko whispered, almost choking on the word. She had no idea of the danger she was in, of the unseen terror about to snuff out her life. He started forward, every instinct telling him to save her. "Captain!" O'Brien's voice brought him back to agonizing reality. If Edith lived, the consequences were unthinkable - this fearless and loving lady who was dedicated to the same principles as he, would inadvertently doom billions. But he loved her - he loved her so much, it hurt! Then he felt Bashir begin to surge past him, and he knew there was no time left at all. He had to act. Acting without hesitation, Sisko grabbed Julian, clamping a hand of iron over his mouth and spinning him around. He felt the doctor protest his actions, but still he held tight. He didn't need to see what happened next - none of them did. There was an ear-splitting roar, accompanied by a flash that lit the night, and Sisko felt himself and Bashir tossed to the ground. Almost idly, he watched as O'Brien staggered, thrown backwards into a storefront by the force of the blast. With a heavy heart, Ben Sisko raised his head and saw what he feared to see, what he hoped against hope that would not see. The front of the church, only half a block away, had exploded out into the surrounding street. The rubble littered the landscape as far as he could see. It had been a miracle that no one had been in the church that night. A board meeting scheduled for that night in the sanctuary had been cancelled at the last minute, otherwise dozens would have been wiped out. As it was, only one person had died - an innocent bystander, who happened to be walking down the wrong street at the wrong time. A woman who ran a downtown rescue mission nearby, a woman named Edith Keeler. Sisko was unhurt, but his heart ached so that he could barely move. Next to him, Bashir was trembling, more from outrage than fear. "Sir!" he whispered. "I could have warned her! *Saved* her! Why - why did you stop me?" Sisko said nothing. "WHY did you stop me?" Bashir demanded. "He didn't want to," Miles said as he pulled Bashir to his feet. "He had to." Bashir's face shifted from anger to confusion. "But - but why?" Sisko climbed to his feet, remembering what the tricorder had shown. In one reality, Edith had died here, the lone victim of a senseless act of hate whose perpatrators would not be brought to justice for over 30 years. In the other, she had lived, had become a tireless worker for justice and civil rights, and had actually succeeded where many others had failed, or only succeeded after a much longer time, by bringing a stronger and lasting harmony between the races. Still she kept working. And finally, in her idealism, she helped raise up a leader, one who otherwise would have toiled in obscurity. A leader who was charismatic and compelling, but tragically, fatally unequal to the task of running his nation. A leader who was no leader at all. A leader who had allowed tyranny and totalitarianism to finally, sadly triumph. To keep that leader from ever leading, to protect the timeline and all who lived in it, to ensure the safety of generations unborn - Benajmin Sisko had had to let Edith Keeler die. To Bashir, though, all he said was, "I did it to save the Federation, Doctor." In the distance, sirens began to wail. "We better head back to the present, Captain." Sisko nodded gravely. "Let's get the hell out of this time and place, gentlemen." With what felt like a stone in his heart, Sisko turned and walked away, leaving the body of Edith Keeler buried under the debris. -- Forwarded to ASCL by: Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ ASCL is a stories-only list, no discussion. Comments and feedback should be directed to alt.startrek.creative or directly to the author. Yahoo! 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