Prologue
Jean-Luc is dead. Such was the never-ending subject occupying Lt. Commander Jagged McLeod's thoughts as he stood at his station, observing the rest of the bridge crew. In particular, he watched Commander Reagan Knowles in his chair on the bridge, not daring to sit in the very seat that, just hours earlier, their captain had sat, reviewing reports and executing duties as any captain. Now, here they all were the fledgling NCC 2400 USS Gateway and her crew, sailing among the stars, on their way back to earth, without their beloved captain.
Jag was numb, like he wasn't even there. If only that was the case; that would mean that he and the commander hadn't witnessed their captain's death and weren't faced with task of informing Starfleet and the captain's family that this captain was never coming back. However, it wasn't. The stark, chilling feeling that saturated the entire ship convinced the lt. commander of that he still had the morbid duty of informing concerning parties that, during an otherwise successful rescue of the NCC 1701 USS Enterprise F's crew from attacking Cardassian war ships, Captain Jean-Luc Troi-Riker had perished as her transporter signal was lost along with the Enterprise F.
Now the Gateway sailed, so full of people, but so empty; her captain's chair, unfilled.