Star Trek/Battle Star Galactica

The Long Way Home

Chapter 25

Beacon

August 29, 2018

Late that night Marie got up quietly grabbed a plush bath robe and wrapped it around herself covering her tank top and sleeping shorts. She walked out of the bed room taking care not to wake James she shut the door with a soft click then walked down the hallway without any lights knowing her keen eyesight would keep her where she needed to be to traverse the dark hallway silently. She walked outside and looked up at the stars with a large sigh. This mission had turned into one huge mess after another.

"Couldn't sleep?" Savol asked softly several feet away sitting in the shadow of the house where he had been meditating.

"Apparently." Marie said dryly as she looked over at him her irritation at his behavior still showing through hours later.

"Would you like to talk?" Savol asked curiously as he looked over at her, their mind meld having shared some of her memories and feelings about him had given him a better appreciation of the young woman. Now in this time she had been, like most humans, an irritation at best.

"Keep your hands to yourself." Marie said as she walked over to him then returned her attention back to the stars above.

"I shall not do another mind meld. You miss being on a star ship?" Savol asked curiously human behavior was still a mystery to him but her he seemed to be able to read like a book an effect of the mind meld he assumed.

"Yes I do, at least there these people wouldn't be my sole responsibility. Their life or death wouldn't be because of my decisions." Marie said softly as she crossed her arms shivering slightly in the cool night air.

"You dread that responsibility?" Savol asked not really believing that was what was bothering her.

"No, I've dealt with it before. This mission has turned into one huge catastrophe after another. How much more can they handle, can I expect of them, I've always had a clear goal in mind and finish line so's to say. But now I don't know how we will ever get home or if we've ruined the future, if we have a home to go back too, there are so many questions unanswered." Marie said honestly it felt good to be able to air that and to be able to talk to her old mentor again.

"Then you fear the future. That is normal for Humans." Savol said as he stood up and walked over to stand beside her and gaze up at the stars.

"That's not entirely accurate." Marie said as she noticed his glance over at her and she looked at him. "What have I done to destroy our future? That is what keeps me awake at night how have my decisions on this mission ruined all our lives and those lives that have yet been." She said as she looked back up at the stars sadly she hadn't even told James these things these were her inner most thoughts weighing heavily on ever decision she makes.

"Your actions could have no effect on the future, they could have a small effect on the future or they could completely change the future. Burdening yourself with such questions will not give you any answers so logically you should stop dwelling on them for they are no use to you in the now." Savol said logically as he watched her closely for her reaction.

"Logical as always Savol." Marie said with a small smile.

"How are you dealing with your long life?" Savol asked curiously as he sat down on one of the chairs on the side of the house.

Marie sighed as she looked back at him then sat down in the chair beside him wondering how many of her memories he had got from her during that mind meld. "I survive like always." She said cryptically as she leaned back in the chair to stare up at the moon about half way through its arc.

"You've been faced with two near death scenarios during this mission. Your own and your husbands." Savol said softly as he folded his hand in front of him on his lap.

"James' affected me more than my own Savol." Marie said as she glanced over at him to see he was staring up at the moon too. "He would have died from a figment of my past and that would have torn me up that I was the cause of his death." She said sadly as she sat up and looked down at the ground resting her arms on her legs.

"He was hit with a phaser on a non-lethal setting was he not?" Savol asked curiously as he looked over at her.

"At close range non-lethal is subject." Marie said sadly as she felt tears build in her eyes and she folded her fingers together thinking back on her husbands situation over a month ago now.

"And what of your own mortality your reckless endeavor would have caused. What of his reaction to your death after such a long life?" Savol asked curiously as he continued to watch her.

"You don't understand, I've pulled through so much in my life I don't even think about death in situations anymore I just react the best way I know to get what I need done accomplished." Marie said after a long sigh.

"Long life, obstacles in your path, events in your life mean nothing if one doesn't consider death a possibility and think on how said death would affect those around." Savol said looking back up at the sky noticing the moon had slid across the sky another hour or so and it would go down completely.

"My body could give out at any time after the effects of this conditions overwhelms it, I could live forever, or I could die suddenly in an accident I have no idea, so I don't dwell on death I've seen so much of it in my life. I've prayed for it on more than one occasion Savol, I've begged to be back with my family, I've dragged myself out of ideas of committing suicide so excuse me if I choose to not think about death when I have a good life and a loving husband." Marie said as she looked over at him slightly annoyed.

"Of course, I do not mean to drag you back into a bad place of your psyche but to ignore death completely is folly for yourself and all those around you. If you keep this path you may just well cause your own death and the deaths of those in your care. That trick with your shuttle is a key example of your recklessness." Savol said worried for her safety he knew that in the near future he would have her in his care on Vulcan but that would be way too early for this version on herself.

"I saved those people. What was I supposed to do let them die?" Marie said as she sat up at looked at him shocked by his attitude though she shouldn't be in this era Vulcans thought of themselves first and foremost thinking of strangers first just wasn't what they did.

"You intervened in a war that was not your own. Surely there could have been a safer maneuver you could have done. I know you Humans have a love for sticking your noses where they do not belong but perhaps doing so in a safer manner would be the best alternative." Savol said unfazed by her irritation.

"Of course, you are right I was thinking of the hundreds of lives compared to our four… wait what's that old Vulcan saying? The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Seems pertinent in this conversation don't you think." Marie said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes looking away from Savol. He had struck a nerve though her actions had been on a gut feeling not actual planning she had thought long and hard many nights lying awake thinking about her crew and the danger she had put them in. She wouldn't have done it any different with the same amount of time to decide but it still bothered her that she made such a reckless decision on the fly. That would have flown in Kirk's time, but she was sure Picard wouldn't be happy.

"As you say logically you can prove any point you want with the right arguments." Savol said as he stood up took a few steps forward. "If you shall excuse me I shall retire for the evening." He said with a slight bow of his head to her before walking by her to get to the door.

"Savol." Marie said as she looked up at him quickly and when he stopped and looked at her she smiled. "It's been nice talking to you out here, I do miss our… arguments." She said with a smile on her lips. She watched him bow his head to her slightly then disappear into the house. She glanced up at the moon almost through its arc now and she sighed the sun would be up soon she needed to get some rest, so she stood up and walked back into the house as well.

James was still asleep laying on the far side of the bed on his side when she returned to the bedroom she smiled softly as she took off her robe then slid back into bed behind him. "I love you." She whispered just barely audible as she curled up against his back weaving her arm under his gently, so she could hold him as she fell asleep.

~*~*~*~ Later that Morning ~*~*~*~

"Thank you for your hospitality Marie, I look forward to seeing you again." Savol said as he stood at the transporter site, having watched the Vulcan ship above transporting down the last of its cargo. Food supplies and technology for the federation crew along with food for the colonial people.

"If all goes well you will never see this version of me again Savol. Live long and prosper my friend." Marie said with a small smile on her lips as she held up the traditional hand sign of greeting and farewell to the Vulcan people.

"Peace and long life Marie." Savol said returning the salute before dematerializing and vanishing from the surface.

"Are you sure that was the best thing Marie?" James asked curiously at her side looking over at her worried.

"No need to worry Savol is as tight lipped of a Vulcan as I've ever seen. He understands the consequences if he divulges the info he got out of that mind meld." Marie said as she turned to face him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Now let's get started on that temporal beacon." She said as she led him towards the house, surely by now Richard had some of the equipment set up and ready to go.

"I'm going to be of no help in that area Marie." James said with a small shrug being a security officer hadn't really required any quantum mechanics or any of the other major sciences.

"Your mere support my dear is good enough. Let's get back to the 24th century, shall we?" Marie said with a huge smile on her face as she looked up at him. She was eager to get back to the Enterprise it was her home after all. The only Enterprise she hadn't served on was C, which had been destroyed with all hands during a Romulan attack on a Klingon colony.

They spent the next several days setting up the equipment so they could get started on their calculations to build a temporal beacon to attract help from the future. "Alright Max and Richard this is up to us. James and Karen, you are in charge of the daily running of our little area." Marie said once they all gotten up from a good night's rest.

James locked eyes with Richard to determine if he was safe to leave with his wife then nodded to his wife understanding that he himself probably needed her protection more than she needed his. "Right, get us home." He said before turning and walking out of the room with Karen, so they could get out of the way.

"First things first Richard we need to download the data from the shuttle to these computers considering our shuttle has 24th century knowledge." Marie said turning to her small team.

"On it." Richard said as he left the room too, so he could get the transfer started.

"Alright Max we need to figure out a way to get our beacon to reach the 29th century quickly." Marie said turning to her young ensign.

"Why the 29th century we need to get to the 24th century." Max said confused.

"The 29th century is where the temporal jerks come from." Marie said with a small laugh as she walked over to a computer station just as Richard returned with a transfer box to connect the shuttles computer to the computer of this time period.

"Temporal jerks?" Max asked with a laugh as he walked over to stand beside her to see what she was planning on doing already.

"Oh yes, it's a long story suffice to say we've been dragged into their nonsense several times in this era. They had a temporal cold war and kept dragging the Enterprise into their petty squabbles. It was extremely irritating." Marie said with a shrug as she sat back and watched the shuttles computer being downloaded into the computer in front of her. "Once this is done we can get started. With my knowledge of how they operate in the future and the computers help we should be home at most in a matter of weeks." She said with a smile as she glanced over at Max who seemed happy about that information then glanced over at Richard who seemed less so but was still working diligently.

"What are we going to do with all this equipment when we leave?" Richard asked curiously looking up from his transfer monitor to commander Marshal.

'Perhaps that is what is bothering him and not going home to receive further punishment up to a court martial.' Marie thought with a small smile on her lips as she looked at him for a brief moment. "Well we will have to take it with us, wipe the memory, or destroy it we'll make that call when we know we've been heard by those who could take us home." She said switching her attention back to the computer in front of her.

Once everything was downloaded they worked all day and late into the night together trying to get the beacon online. Temporal mechanics was none of their specialty, so it took longer than it would have taken on the Enterprise but now it was done and they had a sense of pride in accomplishing something that normally they would have never been assigned to. "Turn it on." Marie said as she stood back and watched as Max reached over and turned the beacon on.

"Now all we can do is wait." Richard said as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Shouldn't be too long." Marie said as she looked outside to see it was dark. "Oops we missed dinner lets go eat before we starve to death." She said and laughed as she turned and walked out of the computer room.

"Shouldn't someone stand watch over the beacon?" Max asked curiously as he looked at her then back at the computer hopeful that it had already been heard.

"It takes time to ripple through time Max we have enough time to eat." Marie said with a small laugh. "Come along." She said then continued down the hall towards the kitchen that was open to the dinning room and living room.

"There was a lot of time in that…" Richard said as he shook his head at her then shrugged and followed he was hungry and wasn't about to pass up food. He noticed that Max seemed to reluctantly follow them he knew the boy was eager to return to their own time, they all were.

"So, what's the first thing you're going to do when we return home?" Marie asked curiously as she sat down at the table at her husbands urging.

"Finally start my career on the Enterprise." Max said as he sat down at the table be side her.

"They may not have our openings on the Enterprise anymore." Richard pointed out as he sat across from Max.

"That's true but Picard won't give up good people that were assigned to him for no reason." James said as he began bringing plates of food over to the table he had kept their food in the oven to keep it warm knowing when they got done they would be hungry.

"True." Marie said as she looked up at her husband with a smile on her lips as he placed her food in front of her. "Thank you." She said softly then pecked him on the cheek.

"My future is already written no point in dreaming about it." Richard said as he stared out the window across from the table sadly. It was his own doing and he accepted it but it still broke his heart to realize he had let his little brother down.

"Not necessarily. Picard is reasonable if you continue to perform at top efficiency he may deem your punishment as enough. It's a chance besides isn't there anything you would want to do while our files are downloaded to the Enterprise for Captain Picard and the senior staff to review?" Marie asked curiously there was no point in dwelling on the what may be in her mind.

"All I want to do is see my brother again, to talk to him, to hug him, and to laugh with him even if his jokes are extremely lame." Richard said with a sigh then began eating.

"I want to finish my doctor training, hopefully under Dr. Crusher but returning to the academy wouldn't be that bad I should have finished it there to begin with." Karen said as she sat down beside Max as always.

"And you James?" Marie asked curiously it was something they hadn't discussed yet they had gone from honeymoon to disaster to let's get home over nearly a year now. She was surprised that their anniversary was coming up in a few short months.

"Oh, I don't know…relax back into normal duty is the first order of business… then start a family perhaps…" James said timidly glancing at Marie several times returning his attention back to her plate just as quickly each time afraid to see her reaction.

Marie smiled at him she knew he would eventually want a family she had had several of her own in her long life but the here and now was always special to her. "Sounds nice." She said softly as she reached over and held his hand with a gentle squeeze.