The older and the younger captain stared at each other for a moment in silence. Finally, Ramsar put his hand down by his side, figuring that Jim was in no mood for a quick handshake.
Jim stood up slowly, standing eye to eye with the other man who was about twenty five years older. "With all due respect, there's no point shaking hands. I'll show you why."
Jim demonstrated by walking through a wall. "See?"
"I'm not surprised."
"Oh. How can you-"
"Look, listen to me James. You need to know something."
"How can you see me and not the others?"
Ramsar shrugged.
"You know, if you really are Ramsar, prove it."
Ramsar sighed. He knew that this wasn't going to be easy.
"My name is Bolger Ramsar, captain of Federation cargo vessel Alliance for the last eleven years. About ninety-six hours ago, we were on the way to our next stop in Colony Three. We were in a tight schedule and had been expected to reach there earlier but there was a slight mishap with our engine that had delayed us for a few hours."
"The cargo that we carried for Colony Three was needed quite urgently so we tried to contact them about the unavoidable delay. Regrettably, another problem arose. Our subspace transmission failed to reach them."
"One of my officer informed me that the Enterprise was nearby so I decided to contact your ship to relay my message."
Ramsar continued," Your communicating officer, Lt. Uhura informed us that she managed to send a subspace transmission to Colony Three on behalf of us."
Jim nodded. He remembered that piece of information, given to him by Uhura a few minutes before he finished his gamma shift.
Ramsar knew he had to keep going. He had not much time left.
"You must wonder how and why I am here with you."
Another nod from Jim.
Ramsar moved towards the bed where the body of a comatose James T. Kirk laid. He looked at the sickly man, lying motionless on the soft sheet and then turned to face the other one who was standing tall with folded arms, blue eyes staring back at him, dead serious.
"Approximately two minutes after our contact with your ship, there was a flash of light in our bridge . A bright, floating entity emerged, circling it. For a moment I thought, it was harmless. Suddenly, it twirled madly and started knocking down my crew with some kind of unknown force. Some of them fell unconscious. One of my officers who weren't hurt started transmitting an emergency signal to your ship but it was blocked. The entity then headed straight towards me and in a blink of an eye, it took me away from my vessel."
"When I opened my eyes, I had to shut them quickly as it was too bright, you now, like when you have three, huge spotlights shining straight at you." Ramsar explained with his hands moving animatedly.
"Everything around me was white. I was standing alone in a very wide-open space with nothing but whiteness and a bright light. It was also cold. I thought I was dead." Ramsar swallowed.
"Suddenly, a soft voice started whispering to me. Telling me that I'm there for a reason. To be helped. The voice started to grow louder and louder, explaining my personal history, where I'm born, my childhood and adulthood, everything. I don't know how it knew all that. I tried to block my mind to protect any extraction of Federation's sensitive information but it was still capable to read my mind. There's no logical explanation to it at all. It just…it just didn't make sense!"
Ramsar gave a nervous laugh. He started to look around him anxiously. His calmness when he first met Jim slowly dissipated.
"Oh, God! He's coming for me," he said agitatedly. His demeanor changed suddenly.
"Who is coming for you, Ramsar?" Jim asked.
"Who is he?" he reiterated, this time with a stern voice.
"I've made a deal with the devil, James." Ramsar said in distress.
"I, I just wanted to see my wife and kids again. They'd died in a tragic accident years ago and I had missed them so much. I think about them everyday. The light brought me to see this thing, a creature that looked like a man. He spoke to me kindly and showed me a strong empathy. He promised me a chance to see my family again, Jim."
"The last two days were the best days of my life. I spent every single minute with my wife, Martha and my kids, Randy and Jean. Unfortunately, I was tricked. It wasn't a permanent deal. The man was not a saint. I was tricked by the damn devil! He had wanted something from me all along, my crews' soul. He feeds on them to live. I disagreed so he took my wife and kids away. I lost my family again. It was so painful." Ramsar's clenched the bed's railing until his knuckles were white. He was distraught.
"He threatened to kill my crew, all twenty of them. I said that I don't believe him and then he took me back to my ship and started killing them. I just stood there helpless. I've lost my entire crew and it's all my fault!" the hysteric Ramsar shook Jim's shoulders frantically.
"Ramsar, look at me. Hey, look at me." Jim pulled Ramsar's face in his hand to help him focus.
"Do you know anything about my ship, about my crew?" Jim couldn't forgive himself if anything happened to his loyal crew.
Ramsar shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Jim. I didn't mean for this thing to happen to you too. He must have known that your ship was within the vicinity. He told me that he's going to get a bigger catch."
"You still have time, Jim. Save yourself. Save your ship!" With that one final word, Ramsar's body was instantaneously pulled away from Jim's grasp by a force and pushed hard towards the glass window of the room.
Jim ducked behind the bed and covered himself, expecting the glass to break into large and tiny pieces with a loud clashing noise. But nothing happened. He peeked and saw that Captain Ramsar was gone without a trace. The only thing that he could hear was the beeping and hissing of the life support machine.
Jim couldn't wait in the room any longer. He walked through the door and then hastily strode along the hospital corridor, passing by a few nurses and doctors who worked the graveyard shift. Nobody paid attention to him as he was invisible to the naked eyes. His heart thumped loudly and fast and his palms were clammy. He needed to do something.
It didn't take him long to find Uhura, Winona and George sitting and waiting at the ICU's visitors lounge. He looked at them through the glass wall.
Uhura's eyes were puffy and her face glistened with freshly shed tears. She just sat there on a chair beside George, looking down solemnly. Winona still had tears pouring down her face, her eyes bloodshot and glassy. Her body jerked occasionally as she sobbed. George just looked ten times older, his eyes were also red and glassy and he held the two women close together.
The same oncologist that was with Jim previously approached them slowly, shaking their hands. Nurse Chapel was with him too, holding a small, brown envelope. The doctor start talking to the Kirks so Jim decided to walk through the glass door to listen.
"I know Dr. M'Benga had explained a few things about Jim just now but I'm here if you want to ask further questions."
"No, doctor. Thank you for your concern. We are clear about his current prognosis. We just wanted to see him. Can we see him, please?" Winona pleaded between sobs.
"Of, course. Right this way." Jim followed them.
They stayed with Jim for hours, waiting for any sign of a miracle. After a moment passed, George asked Winona to get him some coffee. As Winona left the room, Uhura got up too and followed her.
George pulled his chair nearer to Jim's bedside, his elbows on the bed, leaning. He stroke Jim's head gently and then held his lifeless hand to his fore head. Alone with his only son, George started to cry like a baby, his broad back shuddered.
Jim's eyes started to well up too; unable to hold his sadness looking at the man he wished to be his own real father displaying an intense emotional despair at his comatose son.
He put his hands on George's shoulder to comfort him but as he predicted, they just went through him.
George laid Jim's hand back on the bed gently. He took out a crumpled, sealed envelope from his side pocket. Inside the envelope was a letter, hand written by Jim when he was eighteen years old.
George opened the folded paper carefully and started reading it softly.
Dear Dad,
I figure that by the time you're reading this, I'm lying sick on a hospital bed again.
I'm sorry I kept this letter a secret with Christine. I hope she had given it to you discreetly because the last thing I want to do is to hurt mum's feeling and Sam's.
I'm grateful to God to be given a joyful life. My setback is nothing compare to a nation suffering from war or hunger.
I love you, mum and Sam very, very much. Thank you so much for loving me and taking care of me. I know I can be a bit of a pain in the a** sometimes so I'm truly sorry.
Tell Christine that I love her and I'll miss her. I hope she hasn't thrown away the plastic wedding ring that I gave her ten years ago!
Dad, I've been fighting this sickness for a while. This time, I think it's best to let me go. Let me sleep peacefully.
I'll miss you all dearly.
Yours sincerely,
James T. Kirk
George put the letter down and looked at the life support machine surrounding his son. He then kissed the young man's forehead. Tears flowing rapidly, they trickled onto his son's face.
George stood slowly and brought a shaky hand towards a button controlling his son's respirator. He was hesitant.
"No, dad. No! I didn't write that letter. I only met you two days ago. Please!"
Jim shouted on top of his lungs. There was nothing that he could do. George couldn't hear him at all. He pressed the button and everything stopped.
"Nooooo!"
Jim felt that he was being pulled away, the image of the room became smaller and smaller, fading gradually. He sensed a feeling of weightlessness, floating, peace. His body immersed in a tunnel of light. He closed his eyes.
"Welcome, welcome James!" A male voice boomed.
Jim woke up. He was in a wide-open space of whiteness, just like what Ramsar had experienced. He was sitting on the white floor, cold and slippery like marble. The place was freezing and he shivered, realizing that he was still wearing his thin hospital gown.
The voice spoke again, "Ah, I'm terribly sorry. What an ungracious host I am. Here, help yourself. A gift from me."
Starfleet's golden colored duty uniform shirt together with a black undershirt, pants and boots magically appeared beside Jim.
"Go on, Jim. I won't look." The voice chuckled.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Jim enquired while trying as discreet as possible to change into the clothes. It was too cold not to accept.
The voice ignored Jim's question but instead asked, " So, what do you think of meeting your father again?"
"What kind of a sick joke you're playing?"
"Now, now. Don't be a rude guest."
"What have you done to Ramsar and his crew? What have you done to mine?"
The voice laughed loudly, the sound echoed throughout the space. Jim had to close his ears.
"Ramsar…oh, that desperate old man. He dared to visit you, didn't he, telling you all those little white lies about me. Well, I'm sorry to say that he is dead, kaput, gone."
"I'm still not sure what to do with you and your crew though. Hmm…"
"Coward! Show yourself. Where are you?" The voice was starting to annoy the hell out of Jim.
A tap on his back-
"Hi." Jim turned quickly. He was looking at George Kirk.
"What the-?"
"Oh, you don't like this. Okay, okay, I'll change."
"Tadaaa!"
Now it morphed into Winona.
"Stop playing games with me!" Jim exclaimed with fury.
"You're so picky, aren't you, James." It changed into it's true form, a glistening bright light in a shape of a man but taller than Jim. It had a long and a hollow face with a small nose and pointed ears.
Jim launched himself at it but he just went through it and fell face first to the floor.
"Didn't your mother tell you to watch before you leap, James?" it mocked.
"What do you want from me?" Jim growled, pushing himself up, breathing hard trying to suppress his anger.
"I'm here to collect, James. I gave you the chance to live your dreams with your father, that's a huge favor from me, so now you owe me one," it said, circling Jim playfully.
"I didn't ask you to give me any favor. You had kidnapped my lieutenant and me and killed Ramsar and his crew. Under Federation law-"
"I don't care about the Federations!" It roared, its features now turning into fiery red. Jim could feel the heat coming out from it. He moved back a few steps but it followed him on each.
"Have you heard the myth about an eerie being collecting souls from a travelling crew ship?"
"No." Jim answered truthfully.
"Well now you do." The fiery red now turned to soft white as its anger subsided. It chuckled.
"Leave my ship and my crew alone," Jim said slowly and sternly.
"What do you want in exchange?" Jim knew bargaining with this creature was dangerous but he had to take his chance.
It put its long, spidery fingers on its chin, pretending to think.
"Hmm. I'm feeling a bit bored today, James so why not we have a little game and if you win, your crew will be safe. Everything will be back to normal. If I win-"
"How will I know that you're telling the truth?"
"You don't seem to have other choice, James," it mocked him again.
Jim stared at the creature with full determination, his fists clenched tightly. "Let's do it."
Authors note : Reviews are welcome.