AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've had this story in the back of my mind for a couple of weeks, now. But when I woke up this morning and heard the news about the Space Shuttle Columbia, I knew I had to take the time to write it. It's dedicated to the Columbia astronauts, their families, the people of NASA and all those around the world affected by this tragedy. I hope my story helps and doesn't hurt.

PROLOGUE

The attacking ship had never identified itself. It had ignored all of Stargazer's hails. It had just appeared there, suddenly, looming in front of the starship.

The captain had never seen a vessel of its type before. Its deck plates were a brownish-golden hue, and it somewhat resembled a croissant roll. In spite of himself, the captain's mouth turned up at that.

And then, two quick bursts of energy came from it. At point-blank range the weapons disabled the Stargazer's shields completely.

The bridge burst into flames. The captain could barely see his navigator and operations officer over the smoke. The sickening smell of burning metal and flesh hung in the air. He turned his head to see where his first officer had moved off to. Lieutenant Mahajerin was sprawled out beside his chair. Her delicate neck was twisted at an odd angle.

The captain swallowed hard. It had barely been a year since his former first officer had… But he couldn't think about that right now. The lives of everyone else on board depended on his concentration in the here and now.

He called out an order to the ensigns up front. They answered back over the roar of the fires. But, at least they were alive. The ship still had weapons' control.

The unidentified ship had fallen back.

The captain didn't have any idea what they were waiting for. Why don't you finish us off it that's what you mean to do? he wanted to shout. But at the same time, his mind was racing. Nine million kilometers away…breathing room…what could the Stargazer do to fend off another attack?

Suddenly, an idea came to him. He had no idea if it would work, of course. It all depended on the speed of the other ship's sensors… But… maybe…

He ordered the Stargazer into warp, and then, in effect, slammed on the brakes right in front of the other ship.

If their sensors only had light-speed capabilities, the other ship would not realize the Stargazer had gone to warp. It would take 30 seconds for the light to reach their ship. And in the meantime, the Stargazer was hanging off their bow, and they were seeing two images of her.

"Fire!" the captain ordered.

The ruse had worked. The other ship didn't stand a chance with the confusion. It exploded in a blaze of light, rocking the already damaged Stargazer.

With the immediate danger gone, the captain turned his attention back to the state of his own ship. The fires seemed only to get larger and brighter. Those still alive on the bridge were coughing and sputtering.

He called to sickbay and engineering for reports and heard no reply. Alarms started to sound. They were losing life support. It seemed the other ship might be getting the last laugh after all.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard adjusted his uniform and let his mind wander past the chaos of the present. He thought of Jack Crusher, and then a face popped unbidden before his eyes.

In what Picard took to be the last moments of his life, he saw a redheaded woman with intense blue eyes… the woman he loved.