To The Journey

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. This is an AU story.

Chapter Five: End of the Road

Geordi bolted awake in a panic, gasping. Soran's voice still rang in his ears. You have information and I need it - I've attached it to your left ventricle - did you know that you can stop the human heart for up to six minutes before the onset of brain damage? - It is very important that you tell me exactly what Captain Picard knows.

Half-remembering where he was, he fumbled blindly for his VISOR, only to suddenly feel it collide with his hand. He was stunned, but he was too grateful for this miracle to question it. He clicked it into place, and color - his version of color - flooded his formerly black world. As the images took shape, he realized what - or rather who - had been responsible for his VISOR appearing in midair.

"Data!"

"Are you all right?" The android's hand rested, comfortingly, on his arm. "You appear frightened."

He sighed. "It's going to take awhile to shake the memories of Soran, I'll give him that much."

"I am sorry I let you down. I have not been behaving like myself lately."

"No Data, you haven't." He smiled. "You've been behaving like a human."

Data smiled back.

"Seriously, I'm glad you were here."

"Tasha suggested that it might be prudent for me to be here in case you experienced an unfavorable reaction to your ordeal."

"Remind me to thank her later."

"I will."

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Tasha couldn't help laughing, albeit silently, when Data began a little chant about scanning for lifeforms. But her laughter evaporated in an instant when the Klingon ship fired, and was replaced with pure shock when their shields failed to repel the attack. The torpedo shook the whole ship and the conn officer fell to the deck. Deanna ran to him, but one look at her face told everyone on the bridge that he would never get up again.

"What happened?" Will asked.

They have found a way to penetrate our shields!" Tasha said shortly, her attention focused on a counterattack.

"Lock phasers and return fire!" Will ordered. "Deanna, take the helm. Get us out of orbit."

"Hull breach on decks thirty-one through thirty-five," Data reported. "Emergency force fields are holding."

"Mr. Worf, what do we know about that old Klingon ship?" Will asked. "Are there any weaknesses?"

"It is a Class D-twelve Bird of Prey. They were retired from service because of defective plasma coils."

"Plasma coils?" Will was thinking hard now. "Any way we can use that to our advantage?"

"I do not see how," Worf answered reluctantly. "The plasma coil is part of their cloaking device."

But Will was a step ahead of him. "Data, would a defective plasma coil be susceptible to some sort of ionic pulse?"

"Perhaps." Tasha could see the shift in Data as he became excited. "Yes! Yes, if we sent a low-level ionic pulse, it might reset the coil and trigger the cloaking device. Excellent idea, sir!"

"As their cloak begins to engage, their shields will drop." Tasha was instantly on the same wavelength as the other two.

"Well that's two seconds they'll be vulnerable," Will said in a voice that suggested he didn't particularly like that margin but didn't see another choice. "Mr. Data, lock on to their plasma coils."

"No problem," he all but sang, and despite the gravity of the situation Tasha only just refrained from laughing out loud.

Will turned to the tactical station. "Tasha, prepare a spread of photon torpedoes. We'll have to hit them the instant they begin to cloak."

"Acknowledged."

"We're getting one shot at this." Will only confirmed what Tasha already knew. "Target their primary reactor."

"I have accessed their coil frequency," Data reported. "Initiating ionic pulse."

"Make it quick!" Will yelled. As if on cue, something exploded.

"Now!" Data shouted, and Tasha launched a torpedo. Just as the ship began to fade, the missile hit its target and the Klingon ship vanished in a fireball.

"Yes!" Data crowed triumphantly. The rest of the bridge staff was more reserved but no less grateful that their plan had worked. Unfortunately, they realized quickly that it had not been soon enough.

"La Forge to Bridge." Geordi's slightly panicked voice came through the comm. "I've got a problem down here. The magnetic interlocks have been ruptured. I -" he cut off abruptly, and they could hear him shouting something at the Engineering staff. Everyone on the bridge shared glances of confusion and concern.

Geordi came back on the line moments later. "Bridge, we have a new problem. We're five minutes from a warp core breach. There's nothing I can do. Ejection systems are offline."

Tasha drew a sharp breath, and Data got a look in his eye that she was worried meant he was about to panic. But Will stepped in and took control of the situation before he could. "Deanna, evacuate everyone to the saucer section. Mr. Data, prepare to separate the ship."

It seemed an endless five minutes. No one said a word until they absolutely had to, until finally Will gave voice to what was on all their minds. "The core breach is accelerating. We've go to get out of here."

As if on cue, Geordi's voice came through the comm. "That's it, bridge. We're all out."

"One minute to warp core breach." Data reported.

"Begin separation sequence," Will ordered. "Full impulse power once we're clear. Warp core is going critical."

"Separation complete," Data announced.

"Engaging impulse engines." Deanna barely waited for Data to stop speaking.

"Core breach in progress," Data said soberly. They all knew what that meant. The heart of their beloved ship would soon be gone forever.

But their nostalgia was forgotten as a far more serious problem presented itself. They had gotten far enough from the stardrive section not to be caught in the explosion, but they had cut their timing too close and they were not clear of the shockwave emanating from the blast. It threw the saucer out of orbit, and they all realized at once that they were caught in the planet's gravity.

Data's response pretty much summed up what everyone on the bridge was thinking. "Oh, shit!"

It was certainly the first time she'd ever heard Data use that turn of phrase. Had the situation been less dire, she might have laughed. But there was no time to laugh, and this wasn't exactly a laughable situation.

Data quickly went back into logical mode. "I have rerouted auxiliary power to the lateral thrusters. I'm attempting to level our descent."

"All hands," Will said into the comm, "brace for impact."

The ship rocked and pitched as it entered the atmosphere and began to skim the ground. Despite her best efforts, Tasha was thrown over the console and the Captain's chair, landing on the main floor of the bridge. As she sat up, she became aware that something - or rather, someone - was wrapped around her, keeping her from further harm, protecting her head.

"Data," she whispered incredulously.

He heard her somehow, despite the background noise. "I have you. You are safe."

"I know, Data. I know."

The ship shuddered to a halt. The bridge crew glanced around at each other.

"Is everyone okay?" Will asked.

"I think so," Tasha replied, disengaging herself from Data. She could see that Worf and Deanna were getting to their feet as well. "Yar to La Forge."

The dull beep that indicated no connection met her. She tried again, with the same response.

"Communications must be down," Will sighed. "We need to set up a command post outside. Then we need to start searching the ship, account for everyone -"

But he never finished his sentence. At that moment, the sky went dark. For an instant, they were perplexed. Then they realized what had happened.

"My God," Deanna whispered. "He's actually done it."

The weight of it hit them all. It didn't matter what they did now. They would all be dead in a few minutes.

Tasha's hand met Data's, and he caught her eyes. She broke the silence first. "Data, if I have to die, there's no one I'd rather be with."

"I feel the same way. And in a way, I am relieved. I had expected that on some occasion I would lose you, and then, as I promised, I would have to continue my life without you. And that thought caused me great distress."

"I love you, Data."

"I love you too."

Their lips met, and they shared a passionate kiss for what they both knew to be the last time. They held each other, trying to focus on each other and not on what was going on around them. Their world burst into flame, and then there was nothing.

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The ship shuddered to a halt. The bridge crew glanced around at each other.

"Is everyone okay?" Will asked.

"I think so," Tasha replied, disengaging herself from Data. She could see that Worf and Deanna were getting to their feet as well. "Yar to La Forge."

The dull beep that indicated no connection met her. She tried again, with the same response.

"Communications must be down," Will sighed. "We need to set up a command post outside. Then we need to start searching the ship, account for everyone. Beverly," he added to the woman who had just stepped out of the ready room, "we'll need to establish a temporary sickbay outside as well."

"Will, what about the Captain?" Tasha asked. "Now that we're through the atmosphere, we should be able to scan for him and beam him out."

Will quickly checked her theory, but he was shaking his head. "Sensors are down, and even if we could find him we don't have transporters."

"Maybe we do," she countered. "We don't have main systems, but no one's checked the extent of damage to the shuttlebays yet."

"Yes." Will nodded slowly. "It could work. Get down to the main shuttlebay. Data, go with her. If you find Soran and the Captain, beam both of them aboard and put Soran under arrest." They left the bridge just as he began laying out a search pattern.

It took, in Tasha's opinion, far too long to get down to the shuttlebay through the Jeffries tubes. She'd never been so glad to see anything as she was to see the shuttlebay, and to realize that the shuttle closest to them was intact. Instantly, they activated the shuttle.

"Computer, scan planet for lifesigns more than twenty meters from the external hull of the ship.," Data ordered.

"Two lifesigns detected, one very faint."

Tasha's eyes went wide. What if that one was the Captain? "Data, run to sickbay and get a doctor down here."

"Why should I -"

"Because I have field medic training and you can move faster than I can. Now go." She didn't really care that Data technically outranked her. This was an emergency and anyway, rank had long ago ceased to matter between the two of them. Data, for his part, offered no further arguments. He hurried back the way they had come.

"Lock onto the two lifesigns and beam them aboard."

Tasha's first thought was relief as she saw that the Captain was standing upright and didn't appear seriously injured. So Soran was injured instead. She turned to see what she could do for him, despite all that he had been responsible for, only to realize it wasn't Soran at all.

It was a human male Tasha had never met, though she would have recognized his face anywhere, bruised, scraped, and bloody though it was. James Kirk. What in the galaxy is going on?

But she quickly realized she had more important matters to attend to. Kirk was breathing raggedly, covered in blood, and she quickly fell back on her field medic training. Severe internal bleeding in addition to the visible wounds, probably broken ribs if he's breathing like that, possible head injury. "Captain, I need the medkit."

"Right." Picard also knew Tasha had more medical training than he did. "We need a doctor. Picard to Crusher."

"No good, Captain. Comm system's down. I've sent Data to get help, but it may be a few minutes." She ripped off the man's shirt, barely taking into account who it was she was stripping. Right now, he was just a patient. "Turbolifts are down too. Where's Soran?"

"Dead. And would all of these malfunctions have anything to do with the reason we're currently on a shuttlecraft that's apparently parked?"

"Ah, Captain -" she fidgeted a little.

"What is it?" he could tell from her expression that it was bad news.

She was grateful for the man under her care, which kept her from having to look Picard in the eyes. "About the ship - the Klingons fired on us just after you left." She pressed a hypospray to Kirk's neck that should help his blood clot. "Somehow - and you'd better believe I'll be investigating once everything's under control - they were able to fire right through our shields." She explained to him how they'd fired back on the Klingon ship, destroyed it only to find that it was too late. How they'd evacuated the stardrive section only to be thrown into the atmosphere by the shockwave.

"Are you telling me we're on the planet?"

"Yes, sir."

Before Picard could answer, two sets of footsteps echoed through the shuttlebay, and he saw Tasha's shoulders sag in relief. Data came back up the ramp, followed by a Vulcan doctor Tasha recognized as Lieutenant Selar.

"Doctor Crusher is occupied. She requested that I attend to the situation."

Even through the pain that twisted his face, Tasha could see her patient smile at a particular type of speech that he no doubt found as endearingly familiar as she did. Selar, for her part, didn't react to the identity of the man lying on the floor at all. Data, on the other hand, took a step back in surprise, eyes wide and jaw dropped.

"Captain Kirk!"

Picard sighed. "Indeed, Mr. Data. I suppose that brings me to what I was about to say." He looked from Data to Tasha to Selar. "I'm counting on all three of you to keep silent about this."

"Of course, sir," Data said, and Tasha and Selar nodded their agreement.

"Mr. Data, you and I are going to go help get everyone off the ship and accounted for. Natasha, join me as soon as you're done here."

"Yes, sir," she said distractedly.

"All right, Commander," Selar began, "show me what you've done so far."

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Tasha emerged through the hatch on the main shuttlebay, which Data had managed to open to get himself and Captain Picard out. It was faster walking to the bridge from the outside than from the inside, an hour after the two Starfleet Captains had materialized on the transporter pad. She had managed to track down a working sonic shower and produced a new uniform in the shuttle's replicator. The result was that she bore no evidence that she had been covered in James Kirk's blood only minutes before.

Picard stepped up close enough to her that he could speak almost under his breath and she could make him out. "How's our patient?"

"Selar says he needs surgery, but he's expected to make it. She asked me to find her an actual medical assistant, though."

Picard took a step back and turned his head so he wasn't shouting in her ear. "Dr. Crusher!"

Beverly appeared as if by magic. "What do you need?"

"Dr. Selar needs a medical assistant to help her in surgery. Someone who can be trusted to keep a secret."

She pinched her lips, considering. "Normally, I'd recommend Alyssa, but if it's Selar doing the operation, take Lal."

"She's not an actual medical assistant," Tasha pointed out. "Not doubting her skills or anything, but she's not commissioned and she's never had formal training."

"As far as I'm concerned, that's a technicality. She and Alyssa are the best I have, and she and Selar make a better pair than Selar and Alyssa. Where is this patient?"

"Main shuttlebay. We're keeping him isolated for now - I'll explain later. Where's my security team?"

"Worf's over there." She indicated with her hand. "I think he's already divided the team up into search parties."

"Thanks, Beverly."

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Androids did not look tired. Ever. But the look on Lal's face suggested that if one could have, she would have. Her dark hair was coming loose from its braid, and her clothes were rumpled, presumably from having surgical garments thrown over them.

"Well?" Picard asked anxiously.

"The operation is complete. The patient will recover completely. However, it is fortunate that he was brought here. The internal damage was far more severe than we had believed. Had he gone even a few more minutes without care, he might well have died. Captain, may I ask -"

"Not now. I promise I'll explain everything later, but I'd rather tell this story only once. Natasha, I'm calling a senior staff meeting. Under the circumstances, both Dr. Selar and Lal should also attend."

It took the two of them a remarkably short time to track down the entire senior staff and assemble them in another undamaged shuttlecraft. They sealed the hatch so they could talk without being overheard.

"I know you're all full of questions," Picard began, "and I'll try to answer them as best I can. Soran is dead. He was blown up by his own rocket after the locking clamps were engaged."

"But Captain," Will interrupted, "if Soran is dead, who's Doctor Selar's patient?"

"I'm getting there, Number One. You see, there's been an odd clash of timelines."

"Oh, really? What's that like?" Tasha asked to general chuckles. Even Picard cracked a small smile, his first since - well, now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen him smile since Worf's promotion ceremony. She made a mental note to figure out what was bothering him.

"Soran did blow up the sun. At least, I remember him blowing up the sun. He and I were both swept up by the Nexus. I'm not sure how, but I realized I had to go back and save the ship. I ran into what I can only describe as an echo of Guinan, who told me I could leave the Nexus at any point in time. She also told me she couldn't leave with me, but recommended another relatively recent arrival, whom I eventually persuaded to accompany me. It was with his assistance that I was able to stop Soran." Picard glanced around the room. "I want all of you to promise that what I'm about to say will stay inside this shuttle."

"How is it possible for words to -"

"Turn of phrase, Doctor," Tasha explained to the Vulcan. "It means we're not supposed to repeat it to or within earshot of anyone not currently on this shuttle."

"Then you have my promise," Selar said firmly, and the rest of the group murmured their assent.

"Very well. The patient recovering in the other shuttlecraft is none other than Captain James Kirk."

The shuttle erupted in questions and exclamations. Only the four who had already known were silent.

"All right, all right!" Picard held up his hand and the chatter died away. "I'll answer questions, but one at a time, please!"

Beverly said what everyone was thinking. "I thought Kirk was dead. Killed on the Enterprise-B's maiden voyage, if I'm not mistaken. Will and I were just talking about that yesterday."

"He was swept out into space during a hull breach," Will confirmed. Then his eyes suddenly went wide. "Unless -"

"They were trying to escape an energy ribbon. This same ribbon, if I'm not mistaken." Tasha silently thanked Tom, as she had many times before for the countless hours he'd spent teaching her and Deanna about Earth history. "Instead of being swept into space, he could have been swept into the ribbon itself."

"I think at this point, it's more than a 'could have'," Geordi said wryly.

"What's his condition?" Beverly asked Selar.

"He has undergone surgery and is expected to make a full recovery. As for the time-travel aspect, his condition is analogous to that of someone who has remained in a theoretic perfect stasis field for eighty years. I suspect that, were I to compare this scan with his last medical examination before his disappearance, he would appear to be in the same condition as he was on his final mission, excepting for the injuries he sustained earlier today."

"How was he injured?" Beverly asked.

"Soran shot out a bridge while a piece of equipment we needed was on the other side. Kirk jumped for it and managed to do what was needed, but the section of bridge he was hanging onto broke off and ended up on top of him. I was on my way down to him when we were picked up. And may I say I'm very glad we were picked up."

"You can thank your Chief of Security for that one." Will grinned at Tasha. "It was her idea to use the shuttle's sensors and transporter."

He nodded his thanks to Tasha. "Now, as to the matter of why my ship, which was not designed to land, is on the ground -"

"I'm working on it, Captain. The only thing I know for sure is that their weapons were standard torpedoes. The reason they were able to cut through our shields was that their weapons were precisely tuned to our shield modulation." Tasha sighed. "Unfortunately, that raises as many questions as it answers. I can't figure out how they could have figured out our shield modulation. I've checked and rechecked the sensor logs, and the Klingons didn't hide any sort of sensor probe in the transporter beam, which was my first thought."

"Oh, my God," Geordi whispered suddenly.

"What?" Every eye in the room turned to him.

Geordi didn't respond. Instead, he slowly removed his VISOR and handed it to Data. "Check it for sensor devices," he said heavily.

Data examined it. "You are correct."

Tasha abruptly hit the bulkhead in frustration. "I can't believe I didn't think of that. I should have had the VISOR checked before he ever went on duty."

"And I should have realized." Geordi's voice was still heavy. "They had my VISOR for most of the time - I thought it was just to make everything that much more frightening."

"You shouldn't blame yourself, Geordi," Deanna said softly. "I'm sure that's exactly what they intended for you to think."

"But this isn't the first time something like this has happened," he said miserably.

"Which is why I should have thought to check for tampering." Tasha was as angry with herself as Geordi was.

"All right, both of you stop it," Picard said firmly. "The fact is, they sent aboard a well-disguised probe, and it's no one's fault for not identifying it. Can it be removed?"

"I believe so, sir." Data fiddled with it for a moment, then popped a tiny device off. "There." He took Geordi's wrist in one hand and then with the other hand placed the VISOR in Geordi's. The engineer clipped the prosthetic back in place.

"Starfleet is sending ships to pick us up. Theywill be here in four days. In the meantime it's our job to make sure that everyone is looked after and protected from any possibility of attack. Any questions? No? Dismissed!"

Some of you, I accept, may see it as strange that Tasha took the time to shower and change before going to look for the medical assistant. My reasoning is as follows: 1. I said "surgery" not "emergency surgery" and 2. They wouldn't want to panic people by appearing covered in blood.

I know the alternate future bit seemed depressing, but the movie did it in brief and the novelization did it so I figured I would do the same.

Please review. The last chapter got more than any other in this story thus far; I'm very pleased.