The Fire Eternal (Confederation Reborn Book 6) Page 7

  Doone's hands balled into fists and he said, "What…did you say…Captain?"

  "I said, I have trouble believing that you feel so strongly about saving your precious ship."

  Doone stiffened, "Sir, let me in that room for five minutes, and I'll show you who feels strongly. Super powered bastard or no. Five minutes. That's all I ask."

  Kirn finally smiled and said, "I knew I could count on you, Doone." He leaned forward and put his hand on the Chief Engineer's shoulder, "I'm not going to ask you to go in that room, Doone. I'm going to ask you to do something a lot more difficult."

  Doone leaned forward as the Captain put his mouth close to his ear and began whispering instructions. Several times, Doone shook his head and said, "You can't be serious!" but the Captain only pulled him closer and spoke more emphatically. "And who exactly is going to pull the switch inside the Engine Room?" As Kirn continued speaking, Doone shook his head and said, "Absolutely not. If someone has to go in there, I'll go. Send someone else."

  Kirn smiled reassuringly at him and said, "Mr. Doone, you have my word. I'm the only one who can do this, and I will be absolutely fine."

  The Chief Engineer looked sideways at him, "If you are sure that's what you want, Captain."

  Kirn nodded and said, "Don't let me down, Doone." He cocked his head back toward the engine room and said, "Or her."

  "I won't, sir," Doone said, before turning around and racing down the corridor, running as fast as he could.

  Saris raised an eyebrow as the Chief Engineer disappeared down the hall and looked back at Kirn, "I take it you have a plan, Captain."

  "We humans do not always have plans, Mr. Saris," Kirn said. "Sometimes, we just wing it."

  "Wing it? That is not a concept I am familiar with."

  "Someday, you will know all about it. Trust me." Kirn turned and looked slightly at Bryant, who was still standing in the center of the Engineering room, watching them. The Captain covered his mouth and turned back to Saris, "I am going to go talk to our friend and convince him to surrender. When I give you the signal, I want you to notify Doone to carry out his instructions."

  "What, exactly, are his instructions?" Saris said.

  Kirn clapped him on the shoulder and said, "It's a surprise." He looked at the Valkar for a moment, unable to find the words he wanted to say. It was impossible to know where to begin. Finally, he turned to leave and said, "Remember, when I give the sign."

  "Wait, Captain," Saris said, reaching out to stop him. "I sense something is amiss with you. I have sensed it for quite some time." He looked past Kirn at the Engineering room and the briefest flicker of emotion flashed in his eyes, before he said, "Whatever you are planning inside that room, I believe we can find an alternative."

  "It will be fine, Saris," Kirn said. "Trust me."

  "Bill…" Saris' voice cracked momentarily, a tiny inflection of emotion that spoke volumes about the raging emotion buried deep beneath the Valkar's forced calm. He swallowed hard and collected himself, saying, "I will go instead. Stay with your ship. It is where you belong."

  Kirn pulled down on his tunic, straightening it, and said, "You're more right than you know, old friend. Remember, when I give the signal."

  He turned toward the Engine Room, seeing Walt Bryant behind the glass doors, watching him with a wide grin. As he approached, the doors opened, and Bryant said, "Are you sure you want to come in here, Bill?"

  "Of course I do, Walt," Kirn said. He stopped, regarding Bryant carefully and said, "Should I still call you Walt? Wouldn't the other being who's taken you over prefer I address it by name?"

  Bryant laughed slightly, "What would you know of such things?"

  "More than you can imagine," Kirn said. He circled around Bryant, making his way toward the engineering consoles. "You see, I'm not who you think I am."

  Anger flashed momentarily in Bryant's eyes as he turned, "I knew it. The Priests! What have they done?"

  Kirn smiled, running his hand along the console's surface. "I came a long way to have this conversation with you. Over fifty years, if you want to be precise."

  "Impossible," Bryant sneered.

  "Do you want to know what happened to the real Walt Bryant?" Kirn said, looking over his shoulder as he flicked the first switch on the console. "He transferred to another ship when he realized I wasn't going to make him First Officer. We tried to stay in touch, but he continued his childish ways and eventually got drummed out of Confederation. Last I'd heard, he was killed in a barroom brawl, fighting over a Rothian slave girl."

  "Lies!"

  Kirn laughed, flipping another switch behind his back, "Aren't you powerful enough yet to search my mind and see if I'm telling the truth?" He waited, seeing Bryant's eyes focus on him in concentration, knowing he was trying to read his mind. Kirn flicked the final switch as he continued to walk past Bryant and said, "That is how weak Walt Bryant really is. When he didn't get his way, he turned and ran like the coward he always was."

  Bryant's face calmed suddenly, and he said, "That timeline no longer exists, Kirn. In this timeline, I will rise to power and you will be nothing more than my slave. I will chain you to the Bridge of this ship and make you watch as I use the Endeavor to enslave the entire quadrant! I am her Captain now!"

  Kirn looked past Bryant and nodded slightly at Saris. The Valkar did not move. Kirn eyed him, nodding again more pointedly, waiting until Saris walked over to the corridor's intercom and pressed the button. He looked back at Bryant and said, "I've learned a few things over the years. One is that some flames never go out. If they are true enough, and bright enough, they will burn forever. The other is that no matter what, no matter when, there is only one Captain of the ICSS Endeavor, and you are looking at him."

  He felt his uniform tunic ripple with static as the massive power cells inside the Engine Room began to overload. Kirn turned and faced the members of his crew, all of them staring in horror through the glass doors. He looked at Saris last, then closed his eyes.

  Tesha told me I could stay for as long as I chose.

  I choose forever.

  Kirn smiled just as the power cells surrounding the Engine Room erupted in a bright flash of incendiary radiation.

  6.

  Captain William Kirn woke in his bed, bleary eyed, his mind a thick fog. He looked over at the clock and his eyes widened. He'd overslept by hours. Kirn sat up and groaned, unable to recall anything after coming into his room. He looked around the cabin, trying to focus, and saw the folded clothes on his table, slowly realizing that Sara must have left them there. There was time enough to worry about that later. There was a madman loose on the ship, and here he was lying around while everyone else was in mortal danger. "Incompetent," Kirn muttered as he swung his legs off the bed, "Lazy and unforgiveable."

  "Computer," he called out. "What is the present security status of the ship?"

  The computer beeped several times as it calculated its response, "The security status of the ship was recently downgraded from red alert to yellow."

  Kirn looked up in surprise that the ship had been at red alert and no one came to get him. He was even more surprised someone had downgraded it without his permission. "Who ordered the ship to yellow alert?"

  "Commander Saris."

  "What is Saris's present location?"

  "Commander Saris is in Engineering."

  Kirn walked over to the intercom and smacked the button, "Kirn to Bridge, report."

  There was a long delay, and someone finally said, "H-hello?"

  "Who the hell is this?" Kirn snapped.

  "E-Ensign Kuryakin, sir. Is this…Captain Kirn?"

  Kirn was losing his patience. "Where is your commanding officer? Who is in charge of my Bridge?"

  "Captain, everyone is down in Engineering. They left me alone. I-I think you need to get down there right away."

  "What in the hell is going on around here?" Kirn said aloud, whipping around to find his boots. "I fall asleep for a few hours and everything falls to pi
eces."

  He rounded the corner toward Engineering, seeing it was packed with crewmen of all sorts. There were divisions from every part of the ship, even from the furthest decks, crowded into the halls. "Make way," Kirn snapped, angered to be delayed. "I have to get through."

  Slowly, the nearest crewmen turned and looked at him, their mouths falling open. They tapped the others on the shoulder, telling them to turn around and look.

  "Are you all just going to stand there gawking at me, or can I pass through to see what's happened to my ship?" Kirn said.

  They slowly backed away from him, none of them able to take their eyes from him, none of them speaking. Kirn was too distracted to notice. Ahead of the crowd, he could see his senior command staff standing outside of the Engineering Room. Through the glass doors, Kirn could see the entire compartment was filled with bright yellow gas.

  Lt. Uthando was weeping into the open arms of the ship's navigator, Cho. Chief Engineer Doone was slumped against one of the walls, taking long swigs from a metal flask. He stopped drinking and held the flask up toward Engineering and said, "A good man. A fine, fine man, indeed."

  Dr. Kelley came up beside Doone and took the flask from his hand, then knocked it back himself and took a long drink. He raised the flask up as well and tried to speak, but could only manage a few small grunts. He wiped his eyes and handed the flask to Doone.

  Kirn stopped behind the group and barked, "What in the hell are you all doing? What the hell happened to Engineering? Who in the hell left an Ensign in charge of the Bridge? I want answers, people, and I want them now!"

  One-by-one, each member of senior command turned around and saw him. Kirn threw his hands up in exasperation, about to start barking again, when they fell on him, filling the corridor with shouts of joy.

  Kirn listened to Saris repeat his version of events one more time, forcing himself to listen to every single detail. As Saris reached the part where he described watching Kirn blow up inside the Engineering Room, Kirn shook his head and said, "I cannot accept that, Mr. Saris. It simply did not happen. There must be some kind of mass delusion affecting the crew, yourself included."

  "On the contrary, Captain," Saris said. "It was an event witnessed by multiple crewmembers, and there are ship's records to back up those details. For instance, you claim not to remember overriding the replication of hypothesia in Sickbay, and yet, we have proof it happened."

  Kirn smacked his fist against the conference table, "None of what you're saying makes sense, Saris. I never authorized any hypothesia, and I certainly didn't die in any explosion."

  "And yet, Commander Walter Bryant is gone, and the ship is no longer in danger," Saris said calmly. He tilted his head and said, "Captain, your acceptance of the facts does not make them true or false. Facts exist regardless of our capacity to believe in them. That is the basis of scientific understanding."

  Kirn took a deep breath, trying to breathe. "Fine. Then what are some plausible scenarios that might explain any of this?"

  "Given the vastness of the galaxy and all of the strange beings we have encountered, there are any number of possible explanations. But they would all be wild speculation at this point. We need more data in order to form a more informed opinion."

  Kirn leaned forward, "And what do you think happened, Mister Saris? Forget all the data. What does your gut tell you?"

  Saris raised an eyebrow at him. "You are asking me to…wing it…sir?"

  Kirn smiled briefly, surprised Saris was familiar with the concept. "Yes, I am."

  Saris folded his hands on the table, carefully regarding the man sitting across from him, and said, "As you know, the Valkar have highly-attuned senses. We are, on some levels, what those of a more primitive time would call empaths. I know what I saw, and I know the man I watched die, Captain. That was you. And yet." Saris paused, his brows knitted together in thought.

  "And yet, what? Speak freely, Saris. I trust your insight."

  Saris nodded slowly and said, "There was an undeniable difference. The other you was, in some ways, more defined. You are a young man, Captain, and there is much about you that has yet to be determined. Only time and experience will provide the answers to those questions. The choices you make will tally up over the years, and you will wear their sum as visibly as you wear that uniform. The man I watched die felt as if he'd already answered all of those questions. Some, I fear, were not to his liking."

  Kirn took all of that in, tracing his finger in small circles on the table as he tried to make sense of what Saris was saying. "Regardless of whoever he was, he saved my ship."

  Saris nodded, "His love for the Endeavor, and the people aboard it, was one of the strongest similarities you both share."

  Kirn got up from the table, needing to be alone for the time being. He would walk the corridors and inspect the operating systems. To enjoy a few moments of relative calm where the crew could focus on their duties for once, and not just some violent attack or career-ending mission. They'd only been together a brief time, but he wanted them to know, needed them to know, that he was their Captain, and always would be.

  He stopped at the doorway and looked back at Saris. "Was he a good man? Even with all those answers he'd found out about himself that were not to his liking?"

  "I would suggest that the unexamined life is a far simpler one. Those who live it have less nobility than the ones who must make the difficult choices, Captain, and answer the difficult questions."

  "I can't say I ever pictured myself as noble, Mr. Saris," Kirn said.

  Saris folded his hands behind his back. "Perhaps, time will tell, sir."

  ERAS of CONFEDERATION

  Age of Exploration

  The earliest period of the Intergalactic Confederation. The power of Lucasian Crystals had been harnessed to produce untold power in newly-constructed starships and the creation of the hyperdrive engine. Confederation's first flagship, the ICSS Endeavor, led by Captain Scott Archway, went forth to make first contact with many of the alien races that would eventually become Confederation's greatest allies, and foes.

  Age of Renaissance

  Approximately one hundred and fifty years after the Age of Exploration, Confederation had established itself as a functional government around the cosmos, taking in a wide variety of alien cultures and civilizations. During this time, they were primarily concerned with incorporating as many unaligned races into their fold, in an ongoing quest for resources.

  This era was dominated by Captain William Kirn, and a new iteration of the ICSS Endeavor. During this time, Confederation faced two main rivals in the Korgon and Felidaen Empires, who made constant incursions into the Demilitarized Zone. Neither the Korgons nor Felidaens were able to maintain the arms and technology race against Confederation. Both of those empires would ultimately give up their pursuit of intergalactic domination in the face of Confederation superiority.

  Golden Era

  Approximately one hundred years after the Age of Renaissance, this period ushered in a time of great peace and advancement for Confederation. During this era, they were the only remaining superpower in the galaxy, equipped with the most advanced technology and largest fleet. Starships roamed the cosmos securing governmental interests and dispersing beneficence on the poor, unfortunate cultures that had yet to incorporate themselves into the union.

  The only possible threat to peace was encountered at Halley Farstation, when Lt. Raoul “Gustaf” Wallenberg discovered the presence of the Ovan. Due to the heroics of Captain Patric Auguste and the crew of the Confederation flagship, ICSS Endeavor, the Swarm were defeated and thought never to return.

  They were wrong.

  Reconstruction Era

  It has been twenty years since the Great Invasion, when the Ovan conducted a mass strike on Confederation systems and eliminated mass amounts of the female population. Since that time, Confederation has existed on the brink of collapse. The infrastructure is failing and they now lack the manpower and resources to support all of
the territories under their protection.

  The threat of the Ovan lingers over all races and species within the union, and newer, smaller governments and ruthless trade organizations are attempting to assert control throughout the galaxy. Confidence in Confederation, both as government and peacekeeper, is falling.

  This era lives in the shadow of men such as Captain Kirn and Captain Auguste, and desperately cries out for new heroes and adventurers. A call to the valiant and noble who would strive to see Confederation Reborn.

  Author's Note from Bernard Schaffer

  On February 27, 2015, I was sitting at lunch with friends, and I looked up at the television screen broadcasting the breaking news that Leonard Nimoy had passed. Like every other science fiction fan in the world, I stared at the screen in stunned silence. A famous actor had died, of course, but Nimoy is more than that. In his older years, he maintained a dignity and grace that inspired us. He was Spock, but more than that, he was our collective grandfather. We were proud to belong to him, and proud to have him belong to us.

  Much more so, than say…another famous actor we associate with the same show.

  Harlan Ellison, whom I have had the pleasure to work with and sometimes-pleasure to know over the past few years, is famously tough to get along with and even tougher to please. Ellison loved Nimoy. Now, I don't know about you, but I can think of no greater testament to a man than to say that he is loved by a cantankerous old coot like Unca Harlan.

  This story was the next one slated for release in the Confederation Reborn series, and the first I've had the opportunity to dedicate to Nimoy's honor. I realize that it may seem odd to dedicate such a Kirn-focused story to him, but it was not intentional. Confederation Reborn is meant to honor all of Star Trek, to remind people why we love it so much, as a whole. Leonard Nimoy is an inseparable part of that legacy, and always will be.

  I'm writing this on July 14, 2015, and watching the live feed on NASATV for the New Horizons Pluto mission. Soon, we'll all be seeing images of a planet in ways never thought possible before. History is being made, right before my eyes. A new discovery, a massive leap forward of scientific understanding, a victory for all of the adventurers who look toward space and see only possibilities.