STB-600 Closing Circles
Ships were rolling in from all over.
The Space around Renaissance Station was getting happily crowded.
The Dolphin and Amani class ships were being parked in a formation that suggested a school of manta rays.
One of the big cruisers caught Li’ira’s eye. The USS Indefatigable. Him.
It was only the second time she’d have most of her sisters here. Except T’ari and Mi’ira.
That made now the best time to grab the bull by the horns.
-*-
USS Indefatigable Amani class, at Renaissance station.
John Flagg looked at the big strategic map. The USS Abraham Dannon was there. The USS Crystal City was there—everyone who could get back to base quickly. Everyone could see the two other Amani class ships approaching at warp six, along with an entourage of smaller ships.
The scuttlebutt was all over the place.
A message appeared on Flagg’s console. A message from…
Flagg felt his heart seize up. Oh, this was going to be difficult.
He looked at Varupucha, his Andorian XO. She’d been with him since the Harrier. He expected her to get poached for a command of her own any day now.
She immediately saw something in his face “What is it, John?”
“Damn,” he thought, “My poker face used to be better.”
He took a deep breath “She wants to meet with me.”
Varupucha’s eyes narrowed “I don’t think you should. She’s been ghosting you for two years.”
Flagg nodded slowly “You know I can’t do that.”
Varupucha’s face hardened “I’ll go with you.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Sure,” Varupucha turned “T’aaps,”
The large Vulcan woman nodded gently “I have the bridge. We’ll proceed with shore leave as planned.”
“Thank you.”
“You are both welcome.”
Flagg saw something he’d been missing about his First Officer and his Ops officer.
“We’ll discuss this afterward.”
He got up and headed for the turbolift with Varupucha.
-*-
Flagg and Varupucha walked into the Conference room to find Li’ira. And Li’ira. And Li’ira. And Li’ira. Four Li’ira’s. One had short hair, racing stripes, and commander’s pips. That would be Li’ira 3 from the USS Omoikane. There was a sleek, obsidian black Aneilog woman with them. Admiral Gensilan.
Flagg's eyes alit on the oldest Li’ira. Admirals pips and just barely starting to show signs of age.
His head spun, and emotions welled up.
Varupucha stepped in front of him, “What in the hell are you DOING!?” She snarled at the collection of Li’iras.
Every Li’ira looked at her. And processed.
“I don’t know,” one of the Li’iras with Captain's pips said. “Admirals?”
“You’re defending him,” The eldest Li’ira said to Varupucha “From us.”
“Do you know what you’re doing to him?”
“I can speak for myself, Harksa,” Flagg said.
“I’ve never seen one of ours that worked up.” One of the Li’ira’s said
The Eldest Li’ira stood up “Harksa, he does it to us, too. That’s what this meeting is about.”
“What?” Flagg said.
“Please, have a seat. Let’s talk.”
Varupucha drew an angry breath.
**Stand down, Commander,** Gensilan thought gently **I’m not about to let one of my Captains get damaged.**
Varupucha took a deep breath and realized where she was and who she was talking to. Her face flushed a deeper blue “I just yelled at two Admirals, three Captains, and a Commander.”
Three of the four Li’ira’s grinned.
“I like what that says about you. And him.” Li’ira Six said.
Li’ira One gestured, “Please sit and talk to us.”
Flagg and Varupucha sat
“There’s someone who’s not here, but her presence dominates this room,” L1 said “John. Tell us about our sister. Tell us about Your Li’ira.”
Flagg sat still and breathed deeply. His breathing felt funny, and he realized tears were flowing. “Well, I met her at the Academy. I was teaching the Advanced Tactics course. A spook named Riker was about to try to hijack her for the Intel program…”
-*-
It was a long meeting. They talked, laughed, and cried about the Li’ira they’d never meet. Gensilan drew an image of her from John’s memories.
They discussed her favorite music her favorite foods. Varupucha added some perspective from angles John never got to see.
Flagg could see some of the questions they asked were more about him than his Li’ira, but he went with it.
He talked about what he considered the good old days aboard his USS Harrier. And some of what happened on his subsequent ships that he thought his Li’ira would have enjoyed seeing.
-*-
Walking back to the transporter, Flagg detoured. From an observation bay, he looked at the museum ships at Renaissance Station. The Galaxy class USS Discovery. Next to her was the Constellation class USS Harrier.
“She’s not our Harrier,” Varupucha said, “But I bet she’s pretty similar.”
Flagg stared for a long while and then said, “Yeah, let’s go see.”
-*-
Li’ira One stared at the table top and cried. It squeezed out of her.
Li’ira Three, lagging behind, grabbed her shoulder.
“He’s…. He’s the man Flagg always wanted to be.” Li’ira One said, “He’s the man Flagg saw himself as, and couldn’t manage because he was too broken.”
“This Flagg would have punched our Flagg right in the mouth,” Li’ira Three said.
It’s hard to laugh and cry at the same time, but Li’ira One managed it. “He did. He rescued her. He rescued his Li’ira and whisked her off on a starship.”
“You’re not thinking…”
Li’ira One wiped her eyes “Oh Gods, no. That really might hurt him. We’re all his sisters-in-law. I wanted to establish our absent sister as a presence we all have in common.”
“I admit, I was dubious when he came through the door. Maybe we can swing this guy as our older brother Flagg.”
Li’ira One smiled “Something like that.”
-*-
The Constellation Class USS Harrier was restored to her condition in 2367. Mostly. As a museum ship, everything that could explode or be used to cause trouble was replaced by look-alike dummy displays. Her warp core hummed, thrummed, and swirled with light - all a holographic recreation of her equipment overlaying an aluminum form.
The Bridge was mostly functional but didn’t connect to anything. Dummies that matched the appearance of 2367 photon torpedoes rested in racks in the weapons bays. They had the tactical potential of falling on somebody if someone worked at loosening them from their displays. Old phaser cannon pointed outward, their main power couplings replaced by dummies rigged for light and sound but no fury. Deep in the bowels of the ship, old anti-matter bottles sat, empty.
On the bridge, Varupucha sat in front of the console on the right side and entered her codes. The system then logged her in.
She looked at Flagg “They included us in the display.”
Flagg sat in the Captain’s chair. He flashed back to his days commanding a Harrier. He’d been given an old beater cruiser and a secondhand crew to hunt down evidence of a conspiracy inside Starfleet Command.
Flagg looked at the displays and the Engineering station and remembered how outgunned they were. They had to greet every new insanity with a clever gambit because they just didn’t have enough of anything else.
“Captain, Commander,”
Flagg turned. “Admiral Hailey.”
H1 grinned “Your ship, sir. I’m just observing.”
Varupucha tilted her head. “You didn’t experience any temporal displacement, did you? It’s been thirty-seven years for you.”
H1 nodded “Yup. So John. Who was my analog in your story?”
“Hailey was my Chief Engineer,” Flag said “He was starstruck by Admiral Picard. So he sabotaged us and ratted us out to Picard, thinking he was doing the right thing.”
H1 sat at the Engineering station and began a level one diagnostic. It was simulated; the systems were no longer connected. “I hope he didn’t cause you too much trouble.”
“He almost got us killed a number of times. Something broke in him when we finally found out what Picard had planned. He stopped believing. He trashed androids with the best of us, but he stopped believing in a better way.”
H1 looked at Flagg “Your Admiral Picard tried to take over the Federation with an army of Androids?”
Flagg nodded. “He ranted about how inefficient the Federation was and how once he’d instituted rational rule, things would get done.”
H1 shook his head “Wow.”
“Yeah. Really a different guy than your Admiral Picard.”
H1 grinned “You think you know somebody.”
Flagg shook his head “Yeah. After it was done, my Hailey professed his love for my Li’ira and then fled. Last I heard he was a beach bum in Santa Monica with a string of failed punk bands behind him. He was drinking a lot.”
H1 nodded “Yeah, I can see that.”
“But you’re not him. Your collection of Li’iras aren’t my Li’ira.”
“To be fair, I have a collection of Haileys. Thomas Blairs, too. Not to mention more Jacks and Vika’s than we know what to do with.”
Flagg grinned and looked at the deck “She’d have liked it here.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet her,” H1 said.
“Why did you include us in your Museum display?” Varupucha asked.
H1 said, “I’d have done it because I’m a softy. But I’m not in charge of the museum ship displays. The Ane want you to feel included. Like you belong here. I agree with the sentiment. That means we remember your time on your Harrier as fondly as the other Harriers.”
“Thanks,” Flagg said
“If not for you, we’d all be speaking Android right now,” H1 said. He sobered, “John, you and your crew are providing us with great service. Space is big and deep. It’s getting deeper all the time. Because you’re out there, when a distress call comes in, or an anomaly appears on sensors, I know I have a good crew and a good Captain to take care of it. You’re making this time and this space better. Your Li’ira made things better by getting you to us.”
Flagg grinned “You’re better at inspirational speeches than punk rock lyrics.”
“Now, that’s just wildly unfair. On the other hand, they have a beach here that just can’t be beat.”
They left the Harrier bridge. After a while, the screens switched from simulation mode to display mode, and images of the crew and the Harrier's missions flickered across each screen at a leisurely pace.
-*-
The final ships approached. Nine ships of various sizes were led by two of the big fish, the Ane-Built heavy cruisers. The Dolphin and the Amani class looked like giant Manta Rays. They were as long as a Galaxy Class starship but over three times as wide in a graceful manta ray shape.
Box number three of sixteen was cleared out, ready for the ships of the combined task forces to enter and dock. The two exceptions were the freighters that were docked externally along the outside of the box.
Crowds formed at the windows to watch the ships come in. It was the end of an epic voyage.
As the ships reached their slips and docked, people hurried to one bay outside the USS Sigma Seven, named for one of the early spacecraft of the space age.
Security controlled the crowds. Only an authorized group of people were allowed in the room. An unknown number of people watched through a video feed. It was being recorded for history.
Flagg and Varupucha, in dress uniforms with full medals, presented themselves at the door. “That way, Sirs. Places are marked on the stands. There will be a brief ceremony, and then everyone will be released.”
Flagg and Varupucha entered and found a crowd of admirals, captains, and commanders. People were talking excitedly, networking, and gossiping.
On the other side, Flagg saw Admiral Picard and a redhead who could only be Admiral Janeway. Wow.
A Li’ira caught Flagg’s eye. She waved him over. Captain Li’ira2, commanding the USS Crystal City with Admiral Hailey2 aboard. She pointed. The bay was set up as an auditorium. Stands rose in ranks along the sides. People could stand on the elevated levels and still see. Flagg and Varupucha were in the second rank, next to H2 and L2. Holographic foot prints and names indicated where they should put their feet. They were next to Captain Blair and Commander Mbugua from the USS Alillarfalan.
Flagg blinked “Like the Captain of the USS Defiant in 2267?”
Blair nodded “You know your history, Captain.”
Flagg said, “I thought the Defiant crew was killed in a dimensional interphase?”
Blair shrugged “So the records indicate. But we ended up here. Admiral Hailey made a moving speech about how space was deep and how we could make things better.”
Flagg said, “Huh,” He was an expert body and face reader. H1 really believed it when he said it.
“Are all the Captains and crews here from temporal distortions?” Flagg looked around.
L2 leaned over and said, “No. But we try not to let any captain and crew that does show up escape.”
Blair said, “Best not to think about it too much. The only good answer seems to be that this universe likes us and wants us here. That raises a host of uncomfortable philosophical questions.”
H1, in his full dress uniform, approached a podium in the middle of the Auditorium “May I have your attention?” His amplified voice was audible all over the bay. People quieted down.
“In a few moments, there will be a brief arrival ceremony. The people coming through that lock just took the group of ships we saw and traveled about twenty-five hundred light years away, made contact with a lost Vulcan colony, and then returned. Along the way, they got a whole box full of first-contact medals and other awards. They’ve expanded the Federation and the bounds of known space by leaps and bounds. This is an epic case of the Bonaventure medal and will be in the history books. When you see who they are, it’ll make sense.
They’ve set a high bar for us to live up to. Again. Now let's get ready.”
A Holographic countdown started over the lock. When it reached zero the big lock door rolled back.
James T. Kirk and Hikaru Sulu led the way down the ramp from the lock to the floor next to H1. Behind them, seven other people. Flagg didn’t know them. He would book up on them by the end of the day.
Kirk and Sulu looked like they always looked in the history books, just in modern uniforms.
Flagg looked at L2, stunned. She said, “I told you. We don’t let competent Captains get away once a temporal anomaly gives them to us.”
The audience started clapping. The applause drowned out voices.
H1 turned and shook Kirk's hand, then Sulu’s, and then each of the other captains in turn, except for the Ane Captain. H1 grinned at the Ane Captain, who very daintily licked his nose. They exchanged words, but Flagg couldn’t hear a thing.
Then Kirk stepped up to the podium. The clapping died down. He said, “I don’t want to be mythologized into some sort of modern-day Ulysses. I’m lucky. I have the best crew in the fleet, those Hikaru didn’t steal,” That got a laugh “These people behind us and their crews are remarkable in their talents and dedication to the mission.
“I’m not some comic book hero. I am the luckiest man in the galaxy. And I have the best job in the multiverse. Thank you.”
The assembled admirals, captains, and commanders roared.
-*-
The party lasted a week. The crews of the various ships from the deep space mission mingled and partied.
The famous people generally stayed private, only joining the festivities occasionally.
-*-
Kirk shook Thomas Blair’s hand “Good to see you, Tom.”
“Jim,” Blair said.
“How’d you get to be here?” Kirk asked
“Well, there’s a nebula over there, called the Lavender Nebula. And it’s weird. The temporal science types are still wrangling the crazy math about it.”
Kirk looked in Blair’s face “I didn’t realize until just now, how nice it is to have someone from our time here.”
Blair nodded “No one here has ever heard of Reebo and Zooty.”
Kirk chuckled “Strange how you miss the little stuff.”
Blair looked around “As crazy as it all is, it’s fun in its way. All these kids are so excited to have us and to do the Starfleet thing with us.”
Kirk nodded “Yeah, that part’s fun.”
-*-
It had been a blur. Surfing and swimming. Then food, at an interesting local restaurant.
Now dancing. And some interesting beverages.
The music was palpable, and the beat strong. A Green woman slid up next to him. John tried to back away.
Varupucaha caught him, and stopped him “I have to go! It’s too warm in here!” she yelled in his ear.
“Okay,” Flagg turned. Varupucha stopped him “You stay!”
“No!”
“Stay! Dance! Drink! See what happens!”
“No!”
“Let yourself have fun for once!”
“Let go and have some fun!” The Green Woman said in his other ear.
It was the last thing Flagg wanted. But was it?
Varupucha nodded, “Go ahead!” She gave the green woman a thumbs-up. The Green woman returned the gesture.
-*-
Flagg woke with a start. In a bed. Naked. With a Green woman. Not the right Green woman.
He felt guilt. He also felt something else.
She gently touched him, “Speak your feelings, John.”
“I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t have.”
“Why not?”
“I..I…” Flagg remembered dancing and drinking with the woman. A lot. Then, someplace quiet that smelled nice. He talked about his Li’ira, and he cried.
And then, and then…
“You feel you have betrayed your Li’ira?”
He looked at the woman. “Did I get your name?”
“I am Lozzala. Dr Lozzala.”
“Doctor?”
“Yes. I feel certain your Li’ira would have hauled you to me and thrown you into my bed if she were able.”
Flagg squinted “No, they didn’t…”
“No. It was Varupucha. She said you were mopey, depressed, and needed… how did she say your docking ports cleaned out.”
Flagg was stunned. “A Doctor, you say?”
“Yes. We view sex differently than humans here. My diagnosis is that you have been stuck in a grieving state. You struggle to accept the loss of your Li’ira. Your recent meeting with her sisters helped begin the process, but there is much work yet to be done.”
“Huh,” Flagg considered this.
Lozzala picked up a tablet from beside the bed.
“You feel odd right now because of the endorphins, oxytocin, and other neurotransmitters encouraged by our sexual encounter. Your mind says one thing, and your body says another. Bodies are simplistic. Fill our bellies, touch us, and say we are lovable and our bodies are happy. That’s not all there is to the song. You are beginning to say goodbye to your Li’ira. This is not betrayal or giving up.”
“I also recommend you practice opening up emotionally with a counselor. I had to use strong intoxicants and dance for a long time before you began to open up to me. You’re used to staying bottled up and in control. Humans can do this for a period of time, but not forever.”
Flagg just looked at her “I’m not sure how I feel about this.”
“Excellent. Sit with that and let the feelings flow naturally when they come.”
Flagg said, “I feel like I want breakfast.”
“That’s a lovely idea.” Dr Lozzala’s smile was dazzling.
-*-
Flagg said, “Let’s not do something like that again without discussing it with me, first, okay?”
Varupucha shrugged “My reading suggested that humans need….”
Flagg said, “Boundaries.”
Varupucha said, “Yes, Sir.”
-*-
Sometime later
The USS Indefatigable was refueled, restocked, serviced, and ready to go.
Flagg looked at his crew, all fresh from shore leave and adventures on the planet Oz.
“Kirk was mistaken,” Flagg said “I have the best crew in the fleet.”
Varupucha said, “You’re going to outdo Kirk?”
“No,” Flagg said, “But somewhere out there is a star Kirk hasn’t gotten to yet. I think we can beat him to it if we hurry.”
Varupucha grinned “We’re clear of Renaissance Station and ready for warp.”
“Let’s go,” Flagg said.