Chapter 63- Fight the Future
Jim sat tensely in his chair, watching the darkness of the outlying starfield stretch before him to infinity as the pinpoints of light slowly passed. The ship was barely functional, his crew was in imminent danger, and he knew it. He would have asked Chekov for yet another scan to be sure the space surrounding them was unoccupied, but he just asked for one not more than three minutes ago and he didn't want to seem paranoid. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling deep in the pit of his stomach that something was wrong. He had no proof, but he knew it just the same.
Although his instinct was to go full bore in a race to the imaginary line that signified Federation airspace, he knew that slow and steady would have to be the order of the day. Scotty and his crew had worked furiously to get the ship in something of a working order and they continued to work, rerouting power to the photon banks and shields that gave them some sense of protection although should they come under attack they would likely fail quickly. "Uhura, any replies to the distress signal?"
"Yes, captain. The Billings and the Olympia have responded, but they are out of position. They are redirecting now. Approximate ETA 1 hour."
"Great." Jim sighed heavily as he sat back in his chair. There was no way he could go faster and he knew that they were moving as fast as they could, but he wasn't convinced they would arrive in time. He deliberated a moment longer before deciding that he would rather risk his crew thinking he was hypervigilant than not reacting and being blown to bits. Bones was right: an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure. "Chekov- round up our guests and bring them up here. We're going to have to conscript them one last time."
"Yes, Captain." He nodded before dashing off to the lift.
He saw the brief look of resignation that crossed the faces of his crew. It was as good as him waving the white flag and admitting they were done for. Hopefully, the evolved humans could get them all out of this one last jam and then…and then what? Yet another difficulty to overcome ad infinitum and the superhumans wouldn't always be there to lend a hand. He didn't give a damn if it made him look weak- he would rather sacrifice his reputation if it meant saving his crew. What good would it do to be stubbornly macho if they all were lost? They would become a footnote in history and yet another memorial on the Starfleet campus. That just wasn't his idea of a satisfactory outcome.
"You wanted to see us?" Noah asked in a slightly knowing tone.
Jim turned to see the whole crew standing behind their leader, if they had one. The closer he looked, he realized Chekov hadn't completely done his job. "Where's Peter and Hiro?" He asked slightly irritated. "Or Sylar?"
"They left the ship." Matt explained. "Well, Peter and Hiro anyway. Chekov is still trying to track down Sylar."
"Who the hell said they could leave?" Jim barked. He immediately realized his error and sighed. "I'm sorry. I guess they don't need my permission to take leave. It just would have been nice to have them here."
"What's going on?" Mohinder asked looking at the blank screen and seeing no impending danger. "How may we be of assistance?"
Jim stood from his chair and placed his hands on his hips with a hardness to his features that none of them had quite seen before. "I know you have done a lot to help us since you came aboard. The truth is, I can't offer you adequate protection anymore. The ship is nearly disabled and we won't be safe until we reach Federation airspace. If we come under attack, there is a good chance we won't make it."
Nathan looked at the crew and noted the grim yet fatalistic expressions and he knew that look: it was the knowledge that you were heading into a suicide mission, but you had too much honor to back down. "We can't leave you like that." He stated emphatically. "An officer never leaves his men no matter what. Consider us reinforcements." Jim smirked at the man who's professional record he had wrongly questioned before.
"How can we help?" Claire asked holding her head high. "Tell us where to go."
"Well, it's unfortunate that both teleporters are gone and Sylar is MIA." Jim lamented with a sigh.
"Sorry, Sir!" Chekov apologized as Sylar warily trailed him off the lift. "It took me longer than I expected to find him." Sylar glanced stonily at the young Russian. It wasn't like he was hiding in a hatch or something.
"Glad you could join us." Jim jokingly chided. "In the absence of Peter, you will be the ace in the hole."
"What?" He almost hissed. "Where's Peter?" He was starting to resent being put upon and he really hated being thought of as a substitute boy scout.
"He went back." Matt restated in a bored tone. "With Hiro."
"Ando, I can probably use you down in engineering to power the photon banks if needed." Jim paced thoughtfully. "Claire, you might be most useful in helping the medical team evacuate the injured from areas of the ship that are hit. It's a dangerous job, but your ability would come in handy. Noah, the security team could use your skills to hunt and capture anyone who tries to board the ship."
"Sounds fair," He smirked, "if I get to use my own gun."
Jim noted the huge sidearm at his waist and shrugged. "If it makes you happy. Just be careful with that thing. Matt, I know you can't use your powers across video feed but you were a policeman so you can help security too. Nathan…" he paused while he considered what job he could be best at. "Hang out up here for now. I have a few ideas for you. Sylar- you too. As the jack of all trades, we'll have to take it as it comes. Mohinder, I think it's obvious you belong in sickbay."
"It's all good, but do I have to wear the red jumpsuit?" Matt asked apprehensively. "Really, I look ridiculous. Attack of the killer tomato."
Peter and Hiro sat across from each other at a small, cozy, non-descript eatery in Greenwich Village. Peter stared into his cup of black coffee while Hiro happily tore into a plate of waffles with a huge smile on his face. It wasn't that he wasn't hungry: his time in the prison combined with his avoidance of replicated food had nearly wasted him away to nothing, but he felt as though he was wasting his precious time at the diner when they were sent on a recon mission. Feeling as though he should be doing something, he picked up a newspaper that had been abandoned on the table next to him and began leafing through it for any clues as to the current state of affairs.
"When are we?" Hiro asked with his mouth full.
Peter ignored the poor manners and answered, "About a week or so after we left- assuming this is today's paper."
"What's news in New York?" His partner inquired.
Peter scanned the headlines as he flipped the pages. "There's a punk rock music festival going on in the Red Hook, a man was arrested in Times Square for running around naked screaming he was the king of the marshmallows. Macy's is having a huge semi-annual sale. Um…a building permit has been denied for another gaudy highrise in SoHo, and Linday Lohan has been arrested again for flashing her boobs at a crowd in a mall."
Hiro shook his head sadly. "That girl should grow up. It brings shame to her family."
"I don't think she cares about that." Peter hummed lightly as he continued to browse. "But, the good news is I don't see anything that is important to us."
"No flying man?"
Peter's mouth twisted into a lopsided smile. "He does have a name, you know."
"Hai. But how will we know for sure everything is OK?" He asked worried.
"We will have to find someone safe to ask." Peter replied darkly. "And as everyone else in this timeframe is gone, that leaves only one person." He tossed a few bills on the table and in the blink of an eye whisked them away.
Hiro stood looking up at the unusually large mansion as though it were haunted. "I thought you said safe." He almost whispered.
"I'm not thrilled about this either, Hiro, but it's our best bet." Peter grumbled as he hesitantly rang the doorbell.
The door opened slowly and the owner peered down at the guests as if they were as welcome as insurance salesmen. "Ma." Peter nodded bravely.
"Peter, so nice to see you." Angela cooed in her curt business like voice that always sounded so cold. "I knew you would come, I just didn't think it would be so soon." With that she abruptly turned and walked away leaving them on the stoop to let themselves in. "I know why you are here, but I don't know where you have been." She turned to face them again, the very definition of poise and power etched into the hardened features of her face. "Why don't you come into the library and tell me about the future you have averted."
"You didn't see it?" He asked incredulously.
"I always see things, Peter, but you know how it is. All I know is that things are not as they should be and I assume you had something to do with this."
"You say it like it's a bad thing." He huffed indignantly. "He was going to succeed, Ma! I had to stop him before he killed us all!"
"I assume you mean your brother." She stated matter of factly. "It is no secret that Nathan's failures or successes are not entirely of his own doing, you know this."
"Yeah," he scoffed, "like using him in your and Linderman's plot to blow up the city. Except it was me, Ma!" His voice was tense with the stress and anger he still felt over being used.
"An unforeseen consequence." She casually dismissed as though it were some small detail. "My point is, when you pull the strings of fate, you often end up getting bound by them. Whatever disaster you think you may have undone, you might have unleashed a far greater misery."
"I can't imagine a fate worse than the extinction of all of us at his hands. Hiro and I were in the future, Ma, we saw it firsthand. I don't care if you believe what I did was right or justified. All I care about is our safety. Is it safe for us to come back?"
Angela held her head high and regarded her youngest son with a sense of determination and sadness. Then quietly she replied, "As safe as it ever can be."
Peter pursed his lips in frustration. Even in this moment when he needed a straight answer on something so important, she was going to deny him the assurance and play games by giving him a cryptic answer. He wanted to scream, but he knew this was as good as it was going to get. No amount of pleading or logic would move her. This is the way it has always been.
He turned to storm out of his former home but not before his mother's voice reached his ears. "Peter, I wish that your actions were correct, but the future is not as you hoped it would be. I have seen the future too."
Peter said nothing as he walked briskly down the street in no particular direction so long as it was away from his mother. Hiro jogged to keep up, also relieved to be released from the dragon's lair. Suddenly Sylar didn't seem so scary in comparison- at least he was usually honest about what he was going to do to you and said so in no uncertain terms.
"What did she mean?" Hiro asked.
"How the hell should I know?" He growled. "She wouldn't give you a straight answer if you held a gun to her head."
"But the future…"
Peter stopped dead in his tracks. "The future is constantly being remade every moment. I don't know what she saw, but our actions here and now determine what the future will be. I for one am not willing to just lay down and accept a world where we don't exist. Now what do you say we go and get the others to bring them back and start rebuilding the future we want?"
Hiro smiled and nodded in agreement and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he and Peter were back on the ship in the middle of sheer chaos.