FINAL NOTES: Thanks to everyone who has taken time out of their busy schedule to read this story, and a particular extra special hat's off to Le'letha, a GREAT Trek fan from who has made certain I get a thorough review each and every week since very early on in this story! Also many thanks to Commander Thire, my pal and administrator of the new "ColonialOne dot com" fan fiction website. I personally hope that the Trek universe comes back to life in some way, shape or form down the road a bit, but if it doesn't then we've had one heckuva run! That being said, here is the conclusion to "Absolution"…
DISCLAIMER: The following is fan fiction utilizing events and characters from all five "Star Trek" television series along with bits and pieces from the feature films. It is fan fiction only… there is no intent here to collect income or infringe on the trademarks, copyrights, or patented work of others. Please DO NOT use this material for anything other than pure reading enjoyment. If you have been missing at least occasional new "Star Trek" episodes in your life, this is the place to come.
Star Trek: Absolution
I have not kept up with the "Star Trek" novels the past few years, but this storyline takes place shortly before the events in the "Star Trek: Nemesis" feature film. Since many of the book plots have at times varied from what we see on screen anyway, what you will read is based upon the stories that we viewed at home on TV and while munching popcorn in the movie theatres.
Chapter XX: The Most Important Thing…
Captain's Log, Supplemental. I am extremely pleased to report that the Enterprise refit has been completed on schedule. All of the exterior armor enhancements to our shielding and our industry-sized replicators have been efficiently removed from the ship's hull by Commander Hazelton's work crews. We are preparing to leave Deep Space Nine for our next exploratory assignment after I meet with Bajor's new Ambassador Le'letha one last time.
Admiral Janeway has already said her good byes to the crew. Less than an hour ago she boarded the U.S.S. Serenity en route to Breen where she will promptly roll up her sleeves and continue to address the latest ongoing crisis there. Having plenty of diplomatic experience of my own, I don't envy her the task ahead. Our mutual friend Admiral Nechayev has spent her entire career working closely with the Cardassians, and that tree planted so long ago is just now beginning to finally bear fruit. The Breen problem appears as though it will take at least as long. However, having fully witnessed Kathryn Janeway in action these past few weeks I have no doubt that her formidable leadership skills will work just as effectively here at home as they did while her ship and crew were stranded in the delta quadrant.
I continue to receive applications from many of the humanoid and arboreal Xindi. Now that their involvement with the Federation continues to grow, many of them have toured our starships while docked at DS9 and have expressed continued interest in officially joining Starfleet. Since the three Xindi species allied with us have followed Bajor's lead and also applied for joint Federation membership, I am optimistically looking forward to attending additional peace celebrations in our near future. They are a wonderful people to know, and my hope is that their many positive contributions throughout our recent crisis will finally allow the remaining critics back on Earth to finally forgive them for the centuries old attack on Earth.
Tasha stepped cautiously into the Captain's ready room with a bit of anxiety on her face, unsure what to expect. She had been told only that the Rhode Island's Captain had made contact with Picard – the details of their conversation were unknown to her. Picard was seated at his desk and he smiled at her as she entered and motioned for her to sit down.
"Captain Kim's crew has been sorting through the remains of the shuttle that you escaped in to see if they can find anything useful in the debris," the Captain told her. "As they were doing so their engineering crew made an unexpected discovery – one that I think you will be very interested in hearing more about."
"What do you mean?" Tasha wondered. "The vessel I stole was a prison warden's personal cruiser. I doubt that there was anything of military value aboard…"
The Captain leaned intently forward across his desk and she fell silent. "Tell me," he said. "While you were escaping from the Neutral Zone, do you remember receiving any subspace messages?" His half smile puzzled her. "Do you remember being hailed by anybody?"
"Of course," she decided. "I ran into enemy ships several times along the way – and some of them were able to detect my cloak. It's not as efficient a design as the ones on the larger warbirds, but it served its purpose well enough for my journey." She tried as hard as she could to remember the chain of events. "I was contacted several times before they began firing at me and I simply ignored them. I was busy trying to fly that thing all by myself… not exactly in the mood to hear them repeatedly promise me that I would live if I surrendered quietly."
Picard picked up a data pad and reviewed the information on it. "Captain Kim's report indicates that you were hailed… a number of times as it turns out. The Romulans made several attempts to contact you and give you the option to surrender, and even though you personally chose to ignore those messages the main computer on the Romulan ship you stole recorded each and every one of them."
"So?" Tasha said politely. "I still don't see what that has to do with anything."
Picard's response was to swivel the monitor of his work station toward her. He activated the imaging system and she watched a burst of static appear on the screen. "Captain Kim found a second message piggy-backed along with one of those transmissions," he pointed out to her. "I've been involved with several covert operations involving the Romulan home world, and this is one of the methods we've used several times before to communicate back and forth with our agents there. Usually we use active subspace transmissions at prescheduled intervals but the sender obviously knew that this one would automatically be archived by your ship's computer."
The monitor's image cleared up and she could see what appeared to be the small, ramshackle living quarters typical of one of the poorer neighborhoods on Romulus. In the foreground stood an elderly gentleman who – at first glance appeared to be Romulan – but quickly confirmed to her that he was not.
"Greetings Tasha Yar," the man said with bold confidence. "I am Ambassador Spock of Vulcan. Years ago I journeyed to Romulus in an attempt to begin working with the Romulan underground. It is composed of many people – those who are quite weary of the elitist class system in place here that allows a privileged few to live a life of luxury while the majority of the people dwell in poverty. In addition to establishing a more equitable government for everyone in the Empire, the underground also seeks to someday reestablish contact with their Vulcan ancestors in the Federation. During the time I have spent here my life has been in constant danger… but the results of my long-term efforts during those years have so far been just as equally satisfying. I first learned of your story from a low-ranking staff member who works for a Romulan Senator. He is part of the underground and told me your story… the one about the human woman who was brave enough to cross time itself in order to save the Federation from a brutal war. He also informed me that you were no threat to Romulan security but that your freedom had been taken away simply because certain Senators in authority wanted to make certain Starfleet never discovered your presence. Needless to say, we discussed the situation and decided to do something about that…"
Picard reached out and briefly paused the recording as he smiled at Tasha. "You told Counselor Troi that you never expected to have a second opportunity to try and escape. Well… I guess sometimes there is more going on around us than we may at first glance realize." He tapped the work station and resumed the playback of Spock's message.
"Our underground movement has operatives everywhere, particularly in the Empire's prison system. Periodically our comrades are discovered and captured, then sentenced to life in prison. Many of them are held captive on the penal colonies – just like the one where you were imprisoned. The warden who governs the territory containing your colony is a brutal man with no tolerance for new ideas. Thus he is extremely antagonistic toward our dissident friends who have the misfortune to be discovered and captured. We therefore set in motion a plan to not only discredit him, but also to give you the chance you needed to escape from your confinement and safely reach the Federation. The women he was consorting with during your escape attempt are also dissidents working for our organization. Romulan ale is a powerful beverage by itself, but combined with a mild sedative it works even more wonders on people who indulge too much. If you receive this message, it is because you have safely made your way back into Starfleet's hands and thereby earned yourself a new chance at true freedom. I wish I could say the outlook was as positive here, but both the resentment of the class system and the rebellious nature of the underground are rapidly growing beyond our ability to control. Things are going to get much worse here before they get better, simply because many of the lower labor classes in this star system have access to some of the Empire's most sophisticated weaponry. It is quite possible that the Romulan Empire will decay into civil war. If that happens, I will be forced to retreat farther into hiding and this is quite possibly my last chance to communicate with Starfleet for some time. Change will not come easily to Romulus but it will come – the benefits of long-term peace and logic are blatantly obvious to all but the most stubborn. However, those who are currently in charge will seek to remain in charge and that does not bode well for us. The time is coming when they will more actively seek to destroy us, and we will have no choice but to resist in whatever manner possible." Spock paused for a moment to spread the fingers of his right hand in the traditional Vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper in your new home Tasha Yar, and please pass along that message to my friends with whom I served so many years in Starfleet."
She watched the screen go blank with astonishment. "They helped me to escape?"
"It would appear so," said Picard with a self-satisfied grin. "Who knows how many people on those prison colonies are secretly working for Spock's dissident movement. I would imagine that a great many of the guards and other employees stationed there probably resent the assignment and may secretly be sympathetic to his cause. I have had some experience with Ambassador Spock and I can tell you he is as logically efficient as our own Mr. Data. If he felt the time was right to discredit that warden, I'm certain it was because he was fully confident that a suitable replacement with sympathies toward his underground was already in place and the most likely appointee."
"All this time I've been thinking that they were so stupid and I was so clever," Tasha said with a shake of her head. "This underground must cover its tracks very well – I was privy to much of the prison gossip and I have never even heard of this secret society."
"They have no choice but to proceed slowly and cautiously," Picard told her as they both stood up and he firmly shook her hand one last time. "I thought that you would like to know the truth before beaming down to Bajor and starting your new life."
"Thank you Captain," she said, smiling warmly at him before turning and heading back out toward the bridge. "I will keep in touch – you haven't heard the last of me."
"On that particular issue, no one believes you more than I do…" Picard whispered softly.
Commander Data was running the evening shift when she emerged from the ready room and he quickly stood up from his position in the Captain's seat and assigned the on-duty tactical officer to take over. "I will escort you to the transporter room," he told her.
They stepped into a turbolift and the doors closed behind them. "Thanks for coming after me on that planet Data – and for all of the help that you've given me," Tasha told him. "It's nice to know that you're still the most efficient android in Starfleet."
"You are most welcome," Data said with a smirk. "I am also the richest android in Starfleet. I made a killing last night at Quark's."
"I know," Tasha said with a hearty laugh. "I was there… and that Dabo wheel didn't stand a chance against your formidable positronic mind." She gazed wondrously at his gold skin and into his yellow eyes. "I think I liked you better as a human," she commented. "Tell me, was I a good friend of yours in this timeline too… before I died?"
"Yes you were," the android told her. "The Enterprise-D was never the same without you. We still accomplished our missions quite effectively, but it would have been much more comfortable for all of us who knew you if you had stayed around for awhile longer."
"That's great to hear Data," she decided. "I came from a very ugly place."
"Then you should be extremely happy," he told her, "Because you are going to a very beautiful place. I have had the opportunity to visit Bajor on several occasions and it is one of the most beautiful M-Class planets we have on record."
She chuckled a little bit as the turbolift slowed to a stop.
"Perhaps if you visit Bajor again you will take some time to stop by and check in on me," she prompted him.
"Nothing would make me happier," he said, "Although I will have to find someone to look after Spot while I am away."
"Spot?"
"Spot is my cat," Data said proudly. "I told you we were all a bit lonely after your death." He shrugged. "We all cope in different ways I guess."
Tasha didn't stop laughing until they reached the transporter room.
Jake Sisko sat on the rocky edge of the small stream that trickled near his mother's house and continued to patiently hold the fishing pole in his hands as steady as possible. There was a stiff breeze blowing through the trees behind him, and he was most definitely not a happy camper on windy days where fishing was concerned. Not only was it impossible to keep the line motionless, but the extra current in the shallow areas tended to stir up too much mud – making it more difficult for the fish to see the lure on the end of his line.
He heard a branch snap behind him and turned to see his young sister standing there. "Momma says lunch is ready," Laura told him sternly. "You're supposed to come in and eat something before the food gets cold."
"Yeah, I'll be right there little sis," Jake decided as he began to reel in the line. This was the first day he had come up empty while fishing in the small stream, and he was fully prepared to blame his failure on the wind if Kasidy noticed and decided to point it out to him.
Over the past week alone he had pulled in a surprising number of the tasty fish that swam in the shallow river. Since Kasidy loved the taste of them she had been cleaning and frying up most of it fresh, but he had noticed her freezing some of the delicious fillets for the coming winter season. Along with some of the potato-like vegetables that grew in her garden the three of them had enjoyed many a pan-fried fish fry together during his short visit to Bajor.
Again he heard someone moving in the woods behind him. "I'll be right there Laura," he repeated, casting his line for one last try. "I'm not going home empty-handed if I don't have to."
"I promise I won't tell anyone."
Jake spun around in surprise at the familiar voice, convinced that he was imagining things. The fishing rod fell to the ground as he stared at the man in the Captain's Starfleet uniform standing before him and a surge of emotion poured through his soul.
"Dad!" he shouted gleefully, running toward his father and hugging him with all of his might. Benjamin Sisko embraced his son with the firm squeeze of a father who had gone too long without holding his child. Taking a step back, he glanced up at the tall form of his son and was truly convinced that he had been away for much longer than was reasonable. He could not believe how mature Jake looked – the growing, fresh young man he had left behind was now a bona-fide adult.
"You have no idea how much I've missed you son…"
"I know – me too Dad, me too!" Jake gasped, tears running from his eyes. "I know I'm supposed to be old enough to control my emotions, but it was terrible for Kasidy and me – we didn't know if we would ever see you again."
Gripped by unchecked emotion, Ben pulled his son close to him again and hugged him for a second time. "I know an apology will never do, but that's all I have for you and Kasidy," he said. "There were a lot of things still wrong with the alpha quadrant when I left, but so much has changed since then you would not believe it."
"I don't care," Jake said, a little bit too angrily. "How could you do that to me? To Kasidy?" He turned his back on his Dad for a moment and let the anger flow through him, then spun back to face him. "Do you even know you have a daughter… that her name is Laura?"
The Captain's expression became grim. "Jake, there are some things that you need to understand about the situation…"
"Why?" Jake demanded. "What could be more important than your own family?"
"Nothing, dammit! Nothing is more important than my family!" Sisko thundered, causing his son to grow momentarily quiet. "But there was a great deal of pure evil happening on Bajor when I left Deep Space Nine on that last day. I willingly accepted the role of their emissary and had an obligation to try and stop it so I did. But in the process of doing so I fell off a cliff face and into a deep chasm. I would be dead now if it weren't for the Prophets – they saved me."
"The Prophets!" Jake said furiously. "You and I both know they're just wormhole aliens Dad. They're not gods."
"Yes they are," Sisko insisted, placing a firm hand on Jake's shoulder. "To the people of Bajor they are. Jake – I want you to calm down while I explain a few things. Those wormhole aliens look after Bajor… they care for this planet and its people as well as they possibly can. To the people of this planet they are gods – that is the religion these people choose to practice and believe in." He stood next to his son and waved a hand at the sunny blue sky, trees and the rapidly flowing stream. "Just as Earth has its own God and faith-based belief systems, these people worship the Prophets. It is not for us to judge what is right or wrong in the universe – we each have our own personal beliefs and the Bajorans also have theirs."
Jake stood silently for a moment, considering the points his father had made. He continued to fight back waves of surging emotion. "Why did they make you stay Dad?"
"It was an exchange son. They saved my life and in return they asked me to stay and help them learn more about linear time. They needed to know more about how we live our lives and the manner in which our actions have consequences – both negative and positive. I knew it would be difficult and that it would take time – that's why I contacted Kasidy and let her know I was going to be gone for awhile."
Jake picked up his fishing rod and looked up at the sky with an expression of anger. "Somehow I think the wormhole aliens were planning all along for your stay with them to be a permanent one."
"You are correct… they were. But not any longer," the Captain told him. "Not after they really started to catch on to how life in this universe works. As we live our lives and watch the people around us, we learn from them and our own experiences. The longer we live the more enlightened we grow. That is the biggest point I tried to get across to them… that long-term observation of our species and patience is all that is needed in order for them to understand more about us. No matter how hard they try, they can't find a way to speed up that process. Even with all of their abilities, it simply doesn't work."
The younger Sisko placed his fishing rod over one shoulder and thought about his father's comments for a moment. "Isn't that what they've been doing all these years… observing Bajor?"
"No," Ben said, shaking his head negatively. "Prior to their first contact with us, the Prophets had no clear concept of linear time. It was completely alien to them, and all they saw when they viewed this universe was everything happening all at once." He remembered vividly the memories that they had shared with him. "Alternate timelines, other universes, years and years of experiences all packed together into a single burst of information – everything they perceived about us was completely incomprehensible to them. Until Dax and I entered the wormhole for the first time their efforts at communicating with Bajor were considered to be failures. They tried different methods for centuries… bringing others into the wormhole, sending the orbs to interact with the Bajorans – none of that worked well enough to satisfy their need for accurate information."
"I know," Jake replied, thinking carefully about the situation. "You used to tell me how difficult it was to communicate with them. They just couldn't grasp how things worked in our reality." He smiled a little. "I've been writing a biography of your life and that has been the toughest thing to explain so far… your perception of the wormhole aliens."
"I remember the first time that I encountered them," said Sisko thoughtfully. "They made the best effort they could at initial communication by letting my own memories cycle through my mind and then bringing them to life." He grinned. "I even tried to explain the game of baseball to them, rules and all."
"How long did that take?" wondered Jake. "Baseball is a complicated sport."
Sisko pointed at his son for emphasis. "That is exactly what I taught them these past few years… how long the learning curve about us really is. You and I both studied baseball by observing the games as children, then picking up the rules here and there on a gradual basis or by asking questions. Since we were involved in many games over the years, we continued to gradually gain additional experience and learned to play baseball better and better. The Prophets spent years trying to argue with me about that point, but they never could find a better way. For anyone who wants to know more about us, it is simply easier to do so by first grasping the concept of linear time and then observing events as they unfold. Their old method of viewing the past, present and future all at once quite simply never told them anything useful."
The concerned expression on Jake's face clearly showed how concerned he was. "Are they going to make you go back?" he asked. "Or do you get to stay with us?"
Benjamin Sisko hugged his son again and sighed with relief. "My debt to them has been paid son. They saved my life, and in return I taught them a better method of observing us and learning more about our life outside the wormhole. Their initial plan was to keep me on a permanent basis, but I made certain to demonstrate to them how limited our lifetimes are and that the most important thing in our lives here is our family. I think they've finally started to truly understand the sacrifice they were asking of me as each day I spent there passed." He looked Jake firmly in the eyes. "Your Dad is home son… this time to stay."
Jake sighed with relief and continued asking his father questions as they walked back toward the house. He found himself completely astonished at the vivid details and descriptions that Ben had witnessed during his time in the wormhole's Celestial Temple. His mind was racing at the countless new possibilities suddenly available to him for his biography now that his father was actually available for direct interviews. He was still reviewing all of those wondrous new options when Kasidy and Laura suddenly burst forth from a group of trees. Kasidy's eyes widened and she stared at the two of them with complete shock.
"Ben?" Kasidy continued to look astonished for a few seconds as she recognized him and then suddenly sprinted forward to embrace her husband. They kissed passionately for a moment and tears streamed from Kasidy's eyes as she tried to somehow hug away all the time that she had spent alone. "Oh thank goodness you've come back to us Benjamin! We've missed you… oh you have no idea how much we've missed you!"
Grinning, Ben glanced down at the little girl standing in the background. "Who have we got here?" he asked with a warm chuckle. "You must be Laura."
"And you're my Daddy!" she said, running over to him and hugging his leg.
Continuing to smile with delight, Ben picked the little girl up and looked into her soft brown eyes. "What a beautiful young lady you are," he said. "And you even know who I am."
"Momma has lots of pictures of you," Laura told him. "She shows them to me all the time. She said you were coming back… just didn't know when."
"How long?" Kasidy said with great trepidation. "How long do you get to stay before they take you from us again?"
"My role as emissary of the Prophets and my duties as a Starfleet officer have all been completed," Benjamin Sisko said proudly as he held young Laura in one arm. He wrapped his other arm around Jake and Kasidy and pulled everyone close to him. "I'm not going anywhere this time… I'm going to stay right here and live a happy life on Bajor with my family."
Together, they walked out of the sunlit grove and into the shadow-filled trees. They emerged on the far side of the tree line and slowly headed back toward the small but elegant house waiting for them in the distance.
"Jake got skunked fishing today," Ben cautiously whispered to Kasidy.
"You promised not to tell on me," grinned Jake, punching his father in the shoulder.
"Well there you go," the elder Sisko decided. "Next time catch some fish then… at least that way you won't make a liar out of your old man."
THE END!
Thanks again for reading everybody!