Unfinished Business

Chapter 19 : To Join with the Creator

March, 2273

Decker turned and walked toward the Ilia probe and the ancient construct on the small platform in the center of the pit they stood in. He went to the open panel, Kirk right behind him. But the probe reached out, and one of those blue lightning flashes went from her hand to Kirk, knocking him flat. McCoy and Spock helped him to his feet while Decker stood, his hands on the bottom edge of the opening on the side on the Voyager construct, and the probe watching everything that he did.

There were many more flashes of blue light around them as Decker took the frayed ends of the cable and brought them together, Kirk calling to him as he did.

"I'm going to key the final sequence through the ground-test computer."

McCoy yelled at him then. "Decker, you don't know what that'll do to you!"

"Yes, I do, Doctor!" And he looked at the probe, who was still staring at him with Ilia's eyes. He finished splicing the wires back together, and found the keypad and keyed in the numbers.

"Decker, don't!" Kirk lunged forward, but was restrained by McCoy and Spock.

He turned to look at the other men. "Yes. I want this. As much as you wanted the Enterprise, I want THIS."

The red light continued to shine about them, and there were more of those blue flashes, but the ominous sounding noises were gone. Decker stood there, looking at the probe, and Ilia looked back at him, shining forth from those eyes that were and were not hers. And then something began to happen. All around him, tiny points of bright white light appeared. The three other men stood and watched, not at all sure what was happening.

And then he was covered with the white lights, and from somewhere there was a wind, that blew his hair, and the lights swarmed about him, and Ilia approached him, standing so close. And then the lights coalesced, and completely hid them from view. McCoy turned and started up the steep slope towards the Enterprise, and Spock reached out, and tugged at Kirk before following after McCoy. Kirk followed, realizing that something unknown was about to happen.

The men hurried up the slope of components, while behind them the points of bright white light expanded to include the Voyager construct, and then the entire small platform upon which it stood. By the time they got to the top of the slope, the entire bottom of that pit was full of tall streamers of intense white light. And the noise was deafening. They hurried back across the bridge of hexagonal stones toward the Enterprise as flashes and blooms of brilliant light filled the area behind them. By the time they reached the hull, there was a tall column, made up of those brilliant spots of light, reaching far above them.

The column expanded into a globe, and then spread wide, into a glowing sheet of light, streaming in every direction, before pulling back into a point. And when it died away completely, the Enterprise hung in orbit over Earth, all alone. They had made it back inside just in time.

They exited the turbolift onto the bridge, Kirk's jacket slung over his arm while the other two still had theirs on, and people turned to see them, and some rose from their seats. Uhura was one of those, leaning forward against the railing to watch them exit from the turbolift, her eyes searching for injury. She took two steps toward them, stopping only when Kirk began to speak.

"Did we just witness the birth of a new lifeform?"

"Yes, Captain. We witnessed a birth. Possibly a next step in our evolution." Spock spoke calmly, but without that deadly flat harshness that he had had.

McCoy grinned. "Well, it's been a long time since I delivered a baby. I hope we got this one off to a good start." Spock looked at him, his eyebrows raised.

Kirk expounded on what they might have given the new lifeform, but then McCoy spoke, adding something far less serious. "And a lot of foolish Human emotions, right Mr Spock?"

Spock's face most definitely showed emotion now, his eyebrows raising, his head nodding. "Quite true, doctor. Unfortunately, it will have to deal with them as well." There was almost a smile on his face, if you knew how to look. And then he turned his head, as he heard Uhura's voice.

"Captain, we have a communication from StarFleet. They're requesting damage and injury reports and complete vessel status." She stood there, looking straight, not at the captain, but at Spock.

Kirk told her to report two casualties, and then changed his mind, and told her to report them as missing.

"Aye, sir."

"Vessel status fully operational."

"Aye, sir."

During all this interchange, Spock and McCoy had stood in almost exactly the same posture, bodies straight, hands behind their backs, still wearing the heavy jackets they had donned before leaving the ship. And now the turbolift doors on the other side of the bridge opened, and Dr Chapel and Commander Scott entered the bridge.

Kirk assumed the command chair while he spoke to Scotty. "Mr Scott, shall we give the Enterprise a proper shakedown?"

"I would say it's time for that, aye, sir." There was a smile on the Scotsman's face, and his eyes gleamed in anticipation. Then he turned to Spock, where he stood behind the captain. "We can have you back on Vulcan in four days, Mr Spock."

"Unnecessary, Mr Scott. My task on Vulcan is completed."

McCoy watched Spock carefully as he made this statement, and then turned his face toward the main viewscreen, calm and competent as he remembered him.

Kirk gave Sulu the command 'Warp One', and then deFalco asked for the heading. Kirk focused on the main viewscreen, his face a study in concentration. He waved his hand forward. "Out there. Thataway." And then he sat back, and smiled.

Behind him stood his two closest friends, and he was surrounded by competent officers, most of whom had served with him for years. He was back where he belonged, on the bridge of the Enterprise, and his world was content.

McCoy stood, pondering. He still wanted to know what had been going through that Vulcan's thick head. Somehow, he needed to get him to talk. It would take some doing, but it needed to be done.

Spock stood, almost at attention. He may have appeared calm, but he was far from it. Questions that had plagued him for years had been answered, and the answers were not what he had expected. It would take much meditation, much careful thought, to know where and how to proceed from this moment. And off to his left sat the one his thoughts centered about. She would require even more thought, even more care. Somehow he must make atonement. He did not know how he would do that, only that he must.

Uhura sat at her station, communicating with StarFleet Command, but her brain was full of other things. He looked so different now than he had when he came aboard. And sounded so much more like himself. What would happen next? Would he continue to avoid her? Or would he treat her as a professional coworker and pretend nothing had ever been between them? Or would he somehow attempt to explain what had happened? There was no way she could know. She would have to live each day as it came, and try not to anticipate, not to expect any particular action. Only time would tell what would happen between them now.