Well, guys, it's been fun, thank you for all the lovely reviews and I hope you've all enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. So without further ado, here we are, the very last chapter!
Catspaw
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Earth spun slowly across his window, green and blue and white. Lovely, thought Picard, simply lovely. He loved the stars, loved to watch them blur and streak as the ship went to warp, but there was nothing quite like the sight of your own home, making its lonely way across the black curtain of space.
He started slightly as the comm beeped on his chest. "Bridge to Captain Picard," came through his badge, and absently he tapped it in response.
"Picard here," he replied, still gazing at the shifting patterns of the clouds on the planet below. "Go ahead, ensign."
"A package has just been beamed up from the surface for you," the ensign replied. "Shall I bring it up, sir?"
"Yes, of course," Picard said, curious. He could think of no one who would be sending him anything from Earth. Some of his crew were on shore leave, true, but anything they got on Earth would be brought back with the crew member.
"Here you go, sir," said the ensign as the door hissed open a few moments later. Picard nodded and smiled at the young man and relieved him of the heavy gray box. His name was written in neat black letters under an opaque plastic flap, which appeared to have been recently unsealed. A communique from Starfleet Archives, stuck to the outside, caught his eye.
"To Captain Jean-Luc Picard: This was placed in the archives shortly after the completion of the original Enterprise mission, with instructions to unseal the top nameplate on April 1st, 2374. Your name is clearly displayed as the intended recipient. We suspect that the capsule may be a forgery or that the records are incorrect as to the date of submission. However, since it is addressed to you, under Federation law you are entitled to open it. Sincerely, Lieutenant Patrick Hayman, Head Archivist," read the tag.
Now doubly intrigued, the Captain dug further into the box, pulling out crumbling packing material which certainly looked as though it were two hundred years old. He found another box and a pile of laminated papers tied to it. These also displayed his name, as well as the words, "For his eyes ONLY" written several times in red ink. Nothing else remained in the case, once he had sifted through all the packing material.
"Dear Jean-Luc," he read out loud, "I very much doubt that you know who I am, although you will surely be familiar with my surroundings and possibly some of my colleagues. My name is Malcolm Reed; at present, I am a lieutenant, serving as Armoury officer aboard the Enterprise NX-01 under Captain Jonathon Archer."
PIcard, knowing precisely who Archer was if not Malcolm Reed, read on, his eyes widening at the tale which unfolded in the letter. An archaeologist who specialized in Suliban settlements and technology? A galaxy terrorized by the Cabal? A son? His hands shook tremulously, and he stopped reading.
"Computer, scan documents and estimate age," he said, holding them out in front of him. The computer replied, "Scan complete, approximate age two hundred and twenty years."
"Within the included box is the Suliban device which I recovered from Cadis
and managed to take back through time when I returned to Enterprise. When
I left, Jean-Luc, you set the device for me. The settings remain. Only one
button need be pushed to send you back through time to the same moment.
I offer you this, Jean-Luc: stop me from preventing Enterprise's destruction
and save your son. It was my fault that he died; you should not be made to
suffer for the mistakes of one man. I believe your choice to help me was
made without your sound judgement. Decide now what you want; the device is
there if you choose to use it," read Picard out loud. He set the letter down
on his desk and opened the second box. A gray, flat machine sat ominously
within; as he touched it it came alive, lights blinking.
Only one paragraph remained, and with his eyes darting back towards the machine at every other word, he read, "I offer only one bit of advice. Destroy the machine after you are finished with it. A great temptation will be to look at the futures, possible futures I should say, of your friends and family. Do not do this, I warn you now. It will drive you mad."
And that was precisely what you did, thought Picard sadly. How hard that must be, to know when your friends will die, and knowing not what your actions might do to change it. He could sense Reed's character from reading the letter; the man would never have told anyone what he knew, condemning himself to a life of certainty. If you know what will happen, the future is as unbreakable as the past, Picard thought to himself.
Picard touched the machine again, setting down the stiff laminated letter, and looked out at the stars and Earth spinning in front of them, beautiful as always. He whispered, "Henri Picard," and snatched the device from its box. Quickly he strode from his ready room and into the turbolift, down, down, all the way down to the bottom decks. He looked at the button which would activate the portal as he entered the weapons storage room. He'd need a weapon, he thought, and snatched a phaser from the shelf.
Then carefully he went through the halls again, to the very bottom of the ship, and into the airlock at the bow of the engine section. He put the device on the floor and gripped the bar at the side.
The button gleamed in the dim light, reflected back up from the planet below. PIcard bent down, brushed it with his fingers and looked through the window at Earth below.
"Computer, open airlock," he said.
With a swoosh the airlock decompressed. Picard held onto the device for a moment, and his fingers crept closer and closer to the shining button.
"Henri," he said, gasping as the air disappated from the lock, and let go.
The device flew out into space. Picard took aim with the phaser and growled, "Repressurize airlock," as it exploded in a glowing ball of sparks and metal.
He sank to his knees and inhaled deeply. Earth spun below him. The stars shone in the black velvet firmament.
The debris from the explosion dimmed, and spread, and finally was no more.
THE END.
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Well, that's all, folks! I'm starting a new story, and it wil start being posted in a few weeks. Hope you enjoyed my first foray into fanfiction!!