Disclaimer: Star Trek is owned by Paramount Pictures, which is owned by Viacom. My use of the Star Trek universe is for entertainment only, thus I make no claims of ownership of their property.

Captains' Quest: Soul Searching

by

David Weathers

Begin Chapter One

Picard grasped two faux china cups filled with recently replicated tea - one, Earl Grey, hot and the other, herbal green, cold - and turned to face the visitor seated in his ready room. The distinguished looking elder Vulcan regarded him quietly as Picard crossed the small room and held out the herbal tea. His guest took the tea and sipped it. Picard set his own tea down on a small table and dropped into a chair opposite the Vulcan.

The space faring Frenchman smiled over at the other. "So, Spock, my friend, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

The elder man steepled his long fingers; his already serious face grew even more so. "I have come to ask a favor of you, Captain Picard."

"Jean-Luc."

"Very well. I require a favor from you, Jean-Luc."

The bald human's face mirrored his friend's graveness. He knew that Ambassador Spock would not interrupt his important work on Vulcan/Romulan reunification and travel across several sectors of deep space unless there was something important to be accomplished. "I am listening."

"May I be succinct?"

"By all means."

Spock gazed thoughtfully ahead, sipping his green tea, composing his words before he actually spoke. "Jean-Luc, a number of years ago, you buried the body of my friend and former captain, James Kirk, on Veridian III."

"A very sad duty," Picard recalled quietly.

The Vulcan nodded. "Indeed. The news of Jim's death has since weighed heavily upon me."

"Well, as you stated, you were friends and served together. I knew him only briefly, yet I certainly felt a keen sense of loss."

Ambassador Spock set his tea cup down on the table in front of him. He looked out the narrow window at the stars streaking by. "It's more than mourning. I believe that Kirk was not meant to die there."

Picard set his own cup down. "What do you mean?"

Spock returned his gaze to the captain. "You are familiar with the V'Ger incident." It was not a question.

"But of course. It is an historic event that every Federation school child learns about. The mission logs are required reading at Starfleet Academy. The Enterprise and her crew saved the earth from a colossal living machine, which turned out to be a hybrid of the ancient probe Voyager 6 returning home in search of its creator."

His famous guest nodded. "And if you studied the mission logs, then you would know that I achieved a brief mind meld with the awesome consciousness that V'Ger had evolved. The intensity of information that poured through that telepathic link was indescribable. The hybrid probe had ranged extensively throughout the universe and amassed vast knowledge.

"What V'Ger ultimately lacked, if you recall, was an emotional context with which to frame its intellect. It needed to go beyond sheer logic and data to be able to comprehend the existence of abstract concepts that it had acquired, but failed to comprehend."

Picard said, "Our own Mr. Data has struggled with such comprehension his entire life."

"I was raised on Vulcan, bred to logic. I, too, have had difficulty with less tangible ideas such as philosophy, religion, humor, and emotion. V'Ger had a million times the intellect of either myself or Lieutenant Commander Data, yet it had less than a billionth of our ability to comprehend the irrational or illogical."

The captain asked, "What does this have to do with the death of Jim Kirk on Veridian III, if you will excuse my impatience?"

"Two of the concepts that V'Ger had amassed a lot of information on, though little understanding of, were the future and the afterlife."

"The future and the afterlife?" Picard asked. He felt himself frowning. Just where was all of this leading?

"Correct. V'Ger tended to gather information by physically absorbing, or assimilating, objects and life forms that it encountered. Much like the Borg, the knowledge of whatever the probe hybrid assimilated became part of it. Some of those objects and life forms thus absorbed were capable of seeing into the future or onto other planes of existence."

"I see," Picard commented, though he wasn't entirely sure that he did.

Both of the elder Vulcan's brows rose. "I understand that you might have trouble accepting much of this at face value. Do not forget, Jean-Luc, I myself have been 'dead'. Had I not, as my former ship's surgeon so aptly put it, "really gone where no man has gone before", I would likely feel the same way that you do."

Smiling slightly, Picard acceded, "Very well, I shall endeavor to keep an open mind, but you do have me at a slight disadvantage."

"Noted. I shall keep my exposition as brief as I can. The meld I had with V'Ger was very traumatic for me. Much of the information that I received through the meld, and I only gleaned an iota of V'Ger's titanic consciousness, had been blocked out by my subconscious. There is simply too much there for even a Vulcan brain to sift through. However, since Jim's death, certain images have persistently intruded upon my thoughts. It has taken literally years of meditation to begin to make sense of them."

"And these images from V'Ger that you had blocked out, they had something to do with Kirk's death on Veridian III?"

"Yes. I believe that some of those images were from what was then the future. Further, I believe that some of the glimpses I saw pertained to Jim's untimely death. There were also impressions of a place where I believe his katra, or soul, now exists and I believe that I know how to reach that place and I am certain that his essence can be returned to what we commonly refer to as the world of the living. I must at least try. After all, he did return my katra to Vulcan to be rejoined with my body, thus bringing me back from the dead."

Abruptly, Spock concluded speaking. Several minutes passed as the two regarded each other wordlessly. The faint humming of the aquarium containing a lone tiger fish was the only sound.

Finally, Picard cleared his throat and said gently, "Spock, please know that I have an enormous amount of respect for you. You have been, and still are, an admirable and heroic person. But this is all a bit... difficult to... accept. Is it possible that the trauma of that staggering mind meld so long ago distorted your perceptions of the images you recall?"

A trace of a smile appeared on Spock's gaunt features. "Am I delusional? I worried about that myself. After all, my father died of a neurological disease that is hereditary and that is characterized by delusion. However, I had myself thoroughly examined by several Romulan and Vulcan physicians. I have been given a clean bill of health, mentally and physically."

"Still..." Picard hesitated.

"Jean Luc, in all of our years of traversing the galaxy we have each encountered numerous oddities: the Q, the Talosians, subspace anomalies, living holograms, creatures straight from history and mythology and so forth. Are my memories of the hybrid probe's images any stranger?"

With a sigh, Picard reached for his cooling tea. "I suppose not, " he admitted - very reluctantly.

"May I ask why this has brought you to me?"

Spock leaned forward slightly. "I wish to mount a rescue mission."

"To the afterlife?"

"Essentially."

"To retrieve James T. Kirk?"

"Yes."

The current captain of the latest Starship Enterprise shook his head. He did most certainly wonder if the other man was crazy. "I just don't know, Spock. It all seems so fantastical."

"Once, so did warp drive and transporters. Today we accept them casually."

Picard was at a loss for words. Here sat a living Starfleet legend, a respected diplomat - and a Vulcan no less - who was asking him to buy into a bizarre fantasy. However, he could not deny that he had seen his share of enigmas. Suppose there was something to what he said? It would be a disservice to Jim Kirk to not even try if there was the slightest chance...but, how could there be? He found himself wishing Spock hadn't burdened him with this.

The Vulcan spoke up again. "Jean Luc, I require perhaps only seventy-two hours of your time."

"Seventy-two hours?"

"I believe that will be ample time to accomplish what will be needed to be accomplished."

After some moments' thought, Picard rose and strolled over to his desk. He reached over and tabbed the intercom key. "Number One?"

"Captain?" the voice of his First Officer asked.

"How long until we achieve Earth orbit?"

There was a minute pause. "Forty hours."

"Very good." Picard clicked off. He turned to Spock. "I can give you thirty six hours, no more, I'm afraid."

Spock stood up, bowing his head. "That will have to do."

Picard truly hoped he would not end up regretting this. It still felt like folly. "Now, shall we requisition a shuttle or perhaps the captain's yacht?"

The Vulcan shook his head. "Unnecessary."

"Don't we have to go someplace to begin this quest?"

"Indeed we do. There are a few others I would like to recruit for this expedition."

Picard felt his impatience welling up inside. "Where, then, where are we going?"

Ambassador Spock stepped towards the door. "To a section of your ship that I believe is known as Ten Forward."

End Chapter One