Engage
USS Van Gogh
2412
Admiral Clarisa Saunders looked around the bridge of the ship that had been her home for more then fifteen years. First as its science officer. Then its first officer. And finally its Captain. Standing next to her were the two people she was closest to. Her husband, Lucius Perell, and her former Captain.
Geordi LaForge stared longingly at the seat that was placed atop the raised dais in the centre of the bridge. He had sat in that seat for a long time. A long time. He had only left it when Tomalok had passed away and he'd been named Fleet Admiral of the Alliance. The Alliance. No longer was it the Federation. No longer the Klingon or Romulan Empires. But the Alliance. He looked to his two friends and smiled.
"We went through a lot right here didn't we" he said quietly so as not to disturb the crew working at there stations. The crew doing what they should always have been doing.
Exploring.
It had taken Clarisa Saunders over twenty long years since receiving her Admirals stars to convince high command that Starfleet should be about more then war. The Romulans. The Klingons. The Tholians. They had fleets enough to protect the main quadrants from threats. And Starfleet would always be ready if needed to defend the Alliance. But she argued that both the starfleets she had served had been founded on the same principle. To boldly go where no one had gone before. And eventually people started listening.
The war against the Dominon/Kazon Union had ended over thirty years ago. And they had known a time of peace that was unprecedented in recent history. War was all the Alliance had known for almost two hundred years. War against the Kzinthi, the Borg, the Union. And yet here he was. An old soldier with no war left to fight. And he was content. Happy. He had left the fleet over a decade ago and gone back to his first love. His true love. Engineering. He would never have children. But he would still leave a legacy behind.
His expertise had gone into starting up a company and then turning it into a technological leader. And his legacy, his greatest achievement, was sat in the engine room of this very ship. There were still secrets in this galaxy to discover but the real adventure lay out there. Beyond the milky way. And his slipstream drive would make those journeys possible. But for now. For now, just a little jaunt across seventy thousand light years to visit the planet Talax in the Delta Quadrant. Seven down in Astrometrics, even though she would never admit it, was excited to go visit an old friend.
He looked at Clarisa and noticed she had a gleam in her eyes.
"Geordi. Would you care to give the order" she asked
He was taken aback. This was her dream. Her legacy.
"I couldn't..." He began but she interrupted him
"Of course you can. We did it. We made it. Starfleet is finally about to start back on the path to the ideals it was founded on. I'm happy with that. But it would be an honour if you were to give the order. Captain"
Geordi saw that Lucius was beaming behind his wife and knew that he would never win this so instead he simply smiled softly and turned to the conn.
"Helmsman...engage"
End