Chapter 34

Obey pt. 3

Kirk snapped upright in his bed, his body soaked with sweat as he panted and felt his veins throb at the run-away pace of his heart. Slowly, he relaxed, and he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and he laid his face down in his palms. It was just a dream, he thought, just a bad dream. "Lights." he said as he pushed away the wet sheets and stood, while the computer obediently raised the illumination levels in his cabin. With a sigh, he saw the time display: 0350 hours. He had had another vision of that woman again, but at least he knew her name now. It was Janeway and she was begging him to turn from the path he was now on.

She had made him relive a lot of his old missions where he had saved tons of people and reminded him what being a Starfleet officer was all about. He had shaken off that feeling that being in Starfleet gave him, but what he couldn't shake off were all those faces of the people that he had helped save. People that had went on to have generations of other beings that wouldn't be here if he wasn't in Starfleet. Either way, he was awake and he knew that he would not be going back to sleep any time soon. The Captain of USS Voyager made his way into the small adjourning bath-room, relieved himself, and left his shorts on the deck as he stepped into the shower, where the hot water helped him come fully awake.

He shut down the water flow and toweled off before stepping in front of his mirror, wiping away the steam and then mixing up a mug full of shaving cream. He quickly lathered up and then deftly cut away the emerging tips of his nightly whiskers. Washing off the last of the lather and cut hair, he dropped the towel and then his shorts in the soiled clothing receptacle and heard the hum as they were broken down into their constituent elements, and then replicated clean and fresh into the dispenser. Marveling at that, Kirk picked them up and he stored the towel, then walked back into his cabin and began to pull on his uniform. Once fully dressed, he paused long enough to open a drawer and extracted a phaser which he carefully checked to ensure it was indeed charged and locked on stun; then he headed for the door and exited into the corridors of his ship, the lights behind him automatically dimming in his absence.

Voyager was in night-mode, with her lights cut by a third from the normal day-shift illumination; but the powerful ship never truly slept. A full quarter of her crew were going about their nightly duties, manning stations and performing all of the various task required for the ship to continue functioning. Still, the corridors were mostly empty at this time of the night and Kirk encountered no one as he walked to the turbolift. As he did, he felt the slight shiver of the hull as the warp drive disengaged, and he nodded. Scotty has everything running right on schedule, he thought to himself. The doors slid aside at his approach and he stepped within. "Bridge." he commanded, and the turbolift obeyed. They were headed to a planet with over a hundred million alien on it. A hundred million people who had potential to be converted or destroyed by his hand. With a smile he thought... It was time to get the day started.

Storage Unit B

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency." the Doctor said as he shimmered into existence, as B'Elanna put her finishing touches on the mini-holodeck she had created.

"Shhh..." Isis begged as she put her fingers together to shush him. "We have to stay quiet."

"What's going on?" the Doctor demanded to know, albeit in a hushed tone. "My program must be malfunctioning. The last thing I remember was being deactivated by a man that looked just like Doctor Leonard McCoy."

"Believe me when I say that your program isn't malfunctioning." Isis assured him. " And forgive the pun but you were looking at the real McCoy." As she said that, she explained to him about Bray Wyatt and how he had his thrall over the crew and had somehow resurrected the old Enterprise command crew.

"Hmm, I won't be able to do much from here." the Doctor concluded as he started to pace around the tiny room. "In order for me to do a thorough scan, I have to be in Sickbay."

"That's the same thing that I deduced as well, Doctor." a familiar voice said behind them. Turning they saw that it was Spock and the Shield with their phasers at the ready. "Logic dictated that the three of you would try to form a plan and when I saw that the Doctor here was activated, I knew you three were up to something. Don't try to move... Miss Torres." he warned as the Klingon woman tried to run forward. "Or I will be forced to have my associates stun you and throw you into the brig. Now come... I will take you to the Captain so we can hear his judgement." As the Shield started to march the three women out of the room, Spock coolly turned and regarded the hologram. "Good day, Doctor." before he could say anything Spock pushed a few buttons on a terminal and the Doctor disappeared.

The Bridge

Isis, Samantha Wildman, and B'Elanna were met with death glares from the bridge crew as they were marched onto the bridge by Commander Spock, Dr. McCoy, and the Shield. With a frown, Kirk crossed his legs in his command chair as he regarded Isis, even though B'Elanna was the senior officer.

"Counselor, not so long ago you were given a choice." Kirk started, as he stared deeply into her eyes. "A choice to serve under Bray Wyatt... a choice to serve under me. You were supposed to be the voice of reason to bridge a gap between us and the non-believers. But what you three women did today leaves me no choice. As the hand of Bray Wyatt, I sentence the three of you to die."

"No..." Samantha wailed as she broke out crying and started to rub at her stomach. Surprisingly it was B'Elanna who pulled her into a hug. Looking up at the Klingon woman, Samantha buried her head into the other woman's shoulder.

"Kirk you have no honor." B'Elanna said as she stared daggers at him. "You'd sentence a pregnant female to die and not give the rest of us a chance to fight."

"She's right, Jim." McCoy added. "That doesn't feel right."

Looking at B'Elanna, Kirk was the one who broke the staring contest. "Miss Wildman you will be given the chance to give birth to your child." he finally said, much to her relief. "But after which time you will meet the same fate as your friends."

"Don't do this Captain." Janeway begged as she appeared behind Isis. "It's still not too late to turn back from this dark path."

"Shut up, damn you!" Kirk spat out.

"Are you okay, Jim?" McCoy asked as he looked at his old friend and then to Isis. "She hasn't said anything."

"But she has." Kirk said as he turned to the doctor. "Can't you see her?"

"There's so much that none of us see." Bray Wyatt said with a smile as he appeared in the room. "It's time now Kirk. Time to rid yourself of these women and paint the Delta Quadrant in my image."

As Bray started to talk to Isis and then B'Elanna, Captain Janeway kept at it with Kirk and she watched as he sweated and shook, until finally black ink started to leak out of his eyes and that of the crew. "No!" Captain Kirk shouted as he stood to his feet.

"What did you say?" Bray asked as he turned around to see that his "hand" was no longer under his thrall.

"I said no." Kirk said again. "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed,or numbered. I am a free man. My life is my own"

While Kirk said that Bray stared into his eyes and saw someone else staring back at him, seemingly smiling. "Janeway." he mumbled to himself as Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise A surrounded him in a circle. As they put up their arms and touched each others fingertips, heavenly light poured out of their mouths, eyes, and bodies before going into Bray making him scream loud enough to shake the ship. As his body started to burn away, the blue flamed lantern he was holding disappeared.

New Earth

"You have a beautiful city." Harry commented to his host as they walked outside of the town hall building. Some of the taller buildings were left unfinished but Harry saw beyond that and what they were trying to do. "It really reminds me of being back on Earth."

"Our people tried hard to follow under the teachings of the 37's." Evansville replied. "And with those teachings we would like to extend a welcome to you and your shipmates to live with us in this city."

"Well..." Harry started as he looked back at his crew. "I think I speak for all of us when I say thank you and that we'll except your offer."

"Good, I'll see to it that..." before Evansville could complete his sentence, Lana fell to the ground convulsing.

"Lana!" Harry screamed as he and Tom were immediately by her side.

"I'll get our doctor." one of Evansville's colleagues said as he ran off.

"Lana." Harry whispered as he held her in his arms, tears forming in his eyes.

"What do you think is wrong with her?" Evansville asked no one in particular.

"She can't live without her other half." Tabrin simply deduced. As she wished that she could have her powers back to possibly save the dying woman, her lantern suddenly appeared in her hands and she felt a surge of energy course through her body. "Thanks for your offer to stay here, Mr. Evansville." she said with a smile. "But it's time for us to go home." as she said that the Voyager crew flashed away.

Voyager

Bridge

As Harry and the others materialized on Voyager, they saw Isis, Samantha, and B'Elanna hovering over Kirk and his crew as they laid on the floor, seemingly dying. As the Counselor looked up and made eye contact with Tom, she jumped up and ran into his arms.

Seeing Lana being held protectively in Harry's arms, B'Elanna walked over and took her. "What happened to her?"

"She's dying because the both of you were separated." Tabrin answered. "You're not being effected because your Klingon body can adapt to the part that's missing. She literally can't live without you."

As Lana's eyes fluttered open, she stared deeply into her sister's eyes and started to silently cry. Feeling sadness for her, B'Elanna looked back to Tabrin. "Is there a way to put us back together?" Not saying anything Tabrin raised up her lantern and made both women disappear from the bridge.

"What did you..."

"She's in Sickbay." Tabrin cut Harry off. "I've also reactivated the Doctor. I know you want to see her but right now, I think you need to deal with this."

Following her gaze, he saw Worf, Roman, and Tom helping Kirk and the others to their feet. The thrall of Bray Wyatt seemingly over. "What happened to them?"

"They gave up their life forces to stop Bray." the Bajoran Goddess whispered. "You don't have to worry about him anymore but they don't have much time here."

With that said Tabrin raised her lantern a little higher, making a swirling vortex open. Feeling that that's where they belonged the old crew of the USS Enterprise A turned and started to walk through it. Turning, Dr. McCoy gave his old friend and Captain a sad look as he glanced at Captain Kim.

Knowing how he must be feeling, he walked back over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. He too wanted to cling onto life but it was just their time. "It's time for us to go Jim." McCoy said as he cleared his throat. "We're just ghosts of the past. It's time for these kids to get back to work. It's their time now."

"You're right, Bones." Kirk replied as he turned to his old friend. Over the many years, he could always depend on his council, even though most of the time he ignored it. "Like always you're right."

With a nod, McCoy walked over to the vortex where Scotty and Spock were waiting. He found it strange that, that damn Vulcan was still alive somewhere and that the man he was looking at now was just some sort of imitation, because he annoyed him just like the original.

Kirk stared long and hard at Harry, seemingly trying to decide what to say to the other man, but ultimately he decided to keep it short and sweet. "Good luck, Captain Kim." Captain Kirk said as he shook the other man's hand. "Get your crew back home." with a nod, he let go of Harry's hand and walked over to his friends that were waiting on him. With a smile, he turned back around because there was one more thing he needed to say. "And just remember... if you ever get into trouble... think to yourself. What would Kirk do?"

"Don't tell him that Jim." McCoy admonished with raised eyebrows. "You're going to make another damned Captain just like you."

"Tell the lass to make sure to check on her engine's status." Scotty was saying as Kirk and McCoy started to pull him into the vortex. "You have a fine ship..."

With a smile on his lips, Harry's eyes flashed white for a second before he watched as the four friends disappeared, the vortex closing behind them. Turning around Tabrin nodded to Harry. "I'm sorry about all of the trouble Bray caused you." the Bajoran apologized. "I also had to put both B'Elanna's back together because Lana would have died without her other half."

"Thank you." Harry replied with a sigh of relief. "Since you have your power back now, can you send us home?"

"I have no idea how that'll effect this universe, Harry." Tabrin told him honestly. "Believe it or not but you're out here for a reason." seeing that the young man looked deflated, she continued. "But I will give you a chance to get back home sooner. I have no idea how things will play out in this universe now and there's no guarantee that this will work because this experience will test your true belief in Starfleet and it'll be on you if you can get back home."

"I'll take the risk." Harry told her making her smile.

"All right." Tabrin replied as she raised up her lantern, before suddenly thinking about something. "Two things before I go. Tell Chakotay I said hello and... as absurd as this might sound, if you ever meet a girl named Seven of Nine, be nice to her no matter how stubborn she is."

"Okay." Harry said in confusion.

"Good luck with your journey." Tabrin wished as she flashed away.

After a full minute of her being gone, Harry made an announcement over the comline that he and the others were back in command and that Bray wouldn't bother them again. After another minute passed, he looked around fully expecting something to happen. Seeing that nothing was going on, he held his head down in defeat, before looking to Tom, who was sitting in command next to Isis. Giving him a nod that all was forgiven, Harry nodded back before saying. "Tom you have the bridge. I'm going to check on B'Elan.."

"Sir, I'm detecting a power surge all around the ship." Lyssa reported as she silenced the beeping on her console. "I can't explain it."

As she said that Voyager was enveloped in a bright light and then vanished.

Vorik to bridge. The Vulcan's voice said over the comline from Engineering. The warp core just came online. Matter antimatter reaction at one hundred and Two percent. A hundred and ten percent? A hundred and twenty.

"This can't be right." Ahni said as she checked her readings at Helm. "Our speed is - it's impossible!"

"We're coming apart!" Lyssa yelled over the growing rumbling sound of the ship being hurdled. After a few seconds the ship started to slow down.

"We've just dropped out of whatever it was we were in." Ahni announced as she started to check her readings.

"Systems coming back online." Worf reported from Tactical.

"Put our position on screen." Harry ordered from his position at the science station. He barely had enough time to make it over there, before they were thrown into space. "Where are we?"

"We're well over four hundred and fifty light years from our last known location." Ahni reported as she turned around in her chair and regarded the Captain. "There's also a time discrepancy. Not only were we thrown a year closer to home but we have been thrown a year in the future."

"A year in..." running over to her console, Harry checked her findings and she was right. They were now a year in the future. It wasn't years off of their journey like he hoped but he'd take it. "Tom, I'll be in Sickbay. You have the bridge."

The Celestial Temple

Tabrin happily walked through the light filled room, holding her lantern at what she deemed a job well done. She was glad that the others were gone to fix what Bray might have damaged in the other realms that he visited, because she felt like being alone at the moment. She also took pleasure in knowing that she helped her sisters boyfriend in this universe by throwing him and his ship close to where Harry was. Soon she hoped that the two Captain's would discover each other again and help one another to get back home. Feeling a presence in the room, she frowned as the light suddenly dimmed.

"You seem to be happy with yourself?" Q asked as he materialized behind her.

"I am." she replied, her smile widening.

"Well you shouldn't be." Q replied, without a hint of amusement in is voice. "Your job was merely to destroy Bray Wyatt, not help these humans."

"Bray is gone and I helped my friends." Tabrin replied as she hunched up her shoulders. "What's the big deal?"

"Such arrogance." Q chided, with a shake of his head. "You were appointed as guardian over this physical human realm and nothing more. You are banned from helping them now but look and see what your... helping hand will do to the people you love."

Holding up her lantern, he made her stare into it's lights and she saw horrible and unspeakable things happen to the ones she loved because of what she had done. "No." Tabrin cried as tears quickly went down her cheeks. "No."