The End of an Era

Posted on Thu Dec 30th, 2021 @ 6:35am by Captain Alistar McKeon

1,465 words; about a 7 minute read

The two days that Circe had given the crew of the Endeavour to think on her offer had gone by too quickly it seemed. Alistar had spent the time visiting and speaking with various crew members, but it had been an easy decision for him to make and his mind had been made up minutes after Circe had left the ship. The rest of the crew however had clearly needed the time to think. Roughly half of the Endeavour’s crew were from the ship’s original timeline, and most wanted to return, but the rest weren’t so eager to leave their home behind. It had been a tensely debated topic ship wide, but in the end it was left up to the individuals themselves to decide. Now, as he waited for Circe to return, Alistar sat in his ready room and wondered if he had indeed made the right decisions.

A flash of light announced the arrival of the Q, and Alistar simply looked up, not bothering to stand. The attractive being smiled and moved to sit down in a chair.

“I take it you wanted to talk to me before your crew announced their choices,” Circe said.

“I already know the majority of the crew’s choices, but there is the matter of a few loose ends that need to be dealt with,” Alistar said.

“Oh? Well, let’s hear about these loose ends,” Circe said as she leaned back in her seat.

“The crew that doesn’t want to stay here, you’re sure you can return us to our original timeline?” Alistar asked. In truth, it was the foremost concern of the entire matter.

“I can return you and your crew to the timeline that you originally came from. However, there may be a bit of a gap, in as you may not arrive at exactly the same time you left. That would of course cause a time paradox in where multiple versions of you exists in the same timeline at the same time. So you will arrive a little bit later in the linear timeline that when you left,” Circe answered. “I certainly hope that your limited mind can comprehend the complexity of that.”

“I’m pretty sure I understood the basics of what you said,” Alistar said as he closed his eyes briefly to avoid rolling them outright at what he hoped was just a jest full insult. From what he had heard and read about the Q, they were a superior bunch.

“There is a small matter I need to mention. I can only take your crew. Your ship will have to remain here or be destroyed,” Circe said.

Alistar paused, clearly surprised by the tiny small detail that she had just sidelined him with. He had assumed that the Endeavour would be returning with him and his crew, as the ship had originally come from his timeline as well, but clearly that wasn’t going to be possible now. “I see. It would have been nice if that detail had been mentioned before now,” he growled.

“I’m sorry. I’m actually more limited in my abilities to do this, as I’m not as strong as others of my species,” Circe said. “People are easy, but a starship is a little more of a strain on my abilities. My suggestion is to destroy the ship. If it remains here intact, it would be out of balance and the further it goes from its origin point in time and space the greater the possibilities that it could be the focal point of a catalyst.”

“Destroy my ship?” Alistar managed. He fell back into his seat and looked about his ready room. He finally turned his gaze back to Circe and nodded slowly. “And the crew who choose to remain here in this timeline?” he asked.

“I can transport them to a safe location of your choosing,” Circe said.

“Inti colony,” Alistar said. “Some of them are actually from there anyway.”

“Very good,” Circe said with a smile that quickly disappeared. “And the ship?”

Alistar sighed. “Endeavour has a self destruct sequence that can be activated. I’ll enact a ten minute countdown and had the shields raised after the crew who remain here are transported to Inti. Then you’ll take the rest of us home. After we’re gone, the Endeavour will be completely destroyed and there shouldn’t be anything left to cause a timeline catalyst event or whatever the hell you were talking about.”

“That should do then,” Circe said with a nod. Standing, she offered a small smile. “It’s time then, now that all of the details are taken care of.”

Alistar nodded and tapped his commbadge. “All crew are to assemble in cargo bay four on deck eight,” he said. Standing, he silently headed out of his ready room and towards the cargo bay. His mind raced during the brief trip, as he knew that there was a division among the crew over what to do. Some of the crew’s decisions were disheartening, but he respected their choices and could only wish them the best. That didn’t mean he liked it.

Walking into the cargo bay with Circe in tow, Alistar nodded to the assembled crew. Coming to a stop before the gathered officers, he paused before speaking. “I know the choice before us isn’t an easy one for some, maybe even many of you, and while I don’t pretend to understand or like the choices that some of you have made, I respect you and your decision. Circe will transport those who are remaining here in this timeline to Inti, the rest of us will then be taken home. The Endeavour will remain here and self destruct.” A muted rustle of voices drifted through the gathering at that, but he had expected it. “To all of us, I wish good fortune and the best of luck. It has been my honor to be your captain.”

Offering a final nod of departure, Alistar turned towards the computer station in the cargo bay wall and tapped in a preloaded command. The screen flashed red with a silent rolling ten minute countdown. Turning towards Circe, he nodded. “Your turn,” Alistar said.

Circe nodded and turned towards the crew who would be heading to Inti. After a moment, they all vanished in a flash of light. Closing her eyes, the Q then seemed to concentrate even harder before Alistar and the remaining officers were taken from the ship in a similar manner. Minutes later, the empty starship Endeavour exploded, her shields containing the majority of the blast and ensuring that the starship was completely destroyed.

--- Elsewhere ---

Alistar opened his eyes and blinked against the harsh midday sunlight that beat down on him. Turning, he noticed that he and his remaining crew were standing on a beach, with the skyline of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. Glancing around, he recognized the location as Kirby Beach. Along with his crew, there were a number of civilians and even a few uniformed Starfleet personnel, who looked very nervous at the sudden appearance of the group of officers.

“Well, a promise is a promise,” a familiar voice said from behind. Turning, Alistar blinked as he saw Circe standing before him wearing a very revealing bikini. She grinned at him. “Balance has been restored and there is nothing left in place that can cause a catalyst event on either timeline.”

“This wasn’t just about returning my crew to our home timeline, was it?” Alistar asked.

“Not entirely. Your presence out of time and place on an alternant timeline could have eventually caused a catalyst, a focal point where time and space could have been broken. The possibility of such an event is rare for the span of time that you crossed, but the threat was still there. Helping you return home was merely an added bonus,” Circe said.

“That was the balance you spoke of,” Alistar said as he noticed Starfleet security officers beaming in near the group of Starfleet personnel. Turning towards Circe, he raised his eyebrows. “Guess it’s too much to ask when we are, huh?” he said.

Circe, for her part, simply smiled and struck a pose. “I have to leave something for you to figure out on your own, now don’t I?” she said. “I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Captain McKeon. But for now, I think I need to let you and your crew settle back into your timeline.”

With a flash, she was gone, and Alistar sighed as he turned towards the security officers approaching with drawn phasers. “This is going to be fun,” he muttered.

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