"Elle, I'd like you to sit in on the briefing for this next mission," Picard said. "We've been invited to witness the installation of Gowron-"
"The installation?" Elle echoed. "What, is he a pipe?"
Picard choked on his tea. "Eleanor," he said, unable to hide his grin.
"What?" Elle asked innocently.
"The inauguration of Gowron, which I will participate in, and hopefully we can get Worf back in good standing."
"We will," Elle said. "Uh, what if I tell you that the house of Duras has allied with the Romulans, is that gonna ruin our plans?"
Picard choked on his tea again. He put the cup to the side. "I should have guessed."
"Oh, come on, Sela doesn't even exist in this universe so it won't be that bad," Elle said.
"Who?"
"No one," Elle backtracked. "Just a blonde Romulan."
He squinted at her but didn't pursue it. "Any tips?"
"No," Elle said after a second. "I skipped these episodes a lot. I don't care for posturing."
"Fair enough."
Elle thought back to her time on the original Enterprise with Pike. "Actually, Captain, while you guys are doing all that, could I go on a field trip?"
"Where?" he asked, instantly suspicious.
"Well, Captain Pike told me about this cool temple on one of the moons," Elle said. "Boreth? And it's got some cool history and artifacts, and honestly, I wanna see what a Klingon priest looks like."
"You have to take a full security complement," Picard said.
"Yes, sir."
"And Dr. Crusher."
"Yes, sir."
"And take detailed notes for me," Picard said, grinning.
She grinned back at him. "Yes, sir."
-/\-
"Ah, Q'onos," Elle said as they slid into orbit. "We should catch a show while we're here. I wanna see them do a play."
Worf sighed loudly behind her.
"C'mon," Elle said. "Ch'alal Artrozh is the best Shakespearian stage actor in the quadrant, and they're doing The Tempest." She looked at Picard.
"If we don't end up kicked out of Klingon space, we'll figure out tickets," Picard said.
"Yes!"
The Enterprise met up with its assigned escort, and Elle went down to Security. "I'd like to request a security contingent to accompany me and Doctor Crusher on our trip," she told Lt. Kapoor, Worf's second-in-command.
Lt. Kapoor tapped his badge. "Lt. Commander Worf, please report to the security dept when you have a moment," he said.
"No," Elle said, giving him the biggest puppy eyes she could manage. "We don't need to bother Worf with this."
Kapoor tapped his badge again. "Sir, please."
Elle groaned and wilted onto his desk. "C'mon, man."
"You are the biggest security risk I've ever met," Kapoor said. "I am not risking my entire career."
"You're no fun," Elle told him, sighing.
"Nope," he agreed cheerfully.
"I suppose I can't regret it."
Worf came in, already glaring. "What have you done?" he asked.
"I haven't done anything!" Elle protested.
"What are you going to do?" Worf pressed.
"Nothing!" She scowled at him. "I'm trying to get a security escort to take a field trip to a museum temple while we're here."
"Where?" Worf asked.
"The moon of Boreth."
Worf squinted at her. "The most sacred monastery of the Klingon empire. Why?"
"There's some cool rocks," Elle said. "And, a deep history of the Followers of Kahless."
"Are these cool rocks at risk of destroying the galaxy?" he asked.
Elle chewed on her lip for a moment. "No," she said confidently.
"You do realize that only two courtyards are open to visitors?" Kapoor asked, pulling up the destination on his computer.
"Yeah, the courtyard with the history lessons," Elle said.
"Hnnh." Worf nodded at Kapoor. "Approved," he said. "A full security contingent. Who's taking you?"
"Dr. Crusher."
"Hmph. Acceptable." He squinted at her. "This is a very important mission we're on. What do you know about it?"
"The House of Duras is a lying, scheming, capitalist house with no honor," Elle said.
"I already knew that."
Elle shrugged.
"Hn." He pointed a warning finger at her. "If you menace my security officers, I will know about it."
"I solemnly swear I will be on my best behavior," Elle promised. "And I never menace anyone. On purpose."
He snorted, and exited.
Elle looked at Lt. Kapoor.
He sighed. "Okay. Let me pick your team."
-/\-
"Ready?"
"Ready."
"Energize," Lt. Kapoor said. He'd decided to assign himself, as well as Martinez, Rourke, and Vanderbilt.
They materialized outside the monastery. It was bitterly cold, the wind blowing snow in their faces. Elle shivered at the sight of the steep mountains and zipped up her all-weather jacket. "Yikes."
"Winter," Dr. Crusher said. "It ought to be warmer in the temple."
"We hope," Rourke said.
"It's like Hoth," Elle said, shuffling closer to Dr. Crusher. "Or Ilum."
"Where are those planets?" Dr. Crusher asked.
"Star Wars," Elle said. "This is better than the holodeck."
Vanderbilt opened the door, struggling against the wind, and Martinez went first, ushering the rest in.
They shuffled in hastily and Vanderbilt closed the door behind them. It was warmer in the stone monastery, fires lit up every fifty feet. There were people bustling around, more than Elle had expected, but less than a typical temple with visiting privileges. She took her hood down.
"Lead the way," Kapoor said, gesturing to the space. "Where's the tour?"
Elle stepped towards the closest wall, squinting at it. "Here, this is the beginning," she said. "Kahless, when he was leaving." She discretely took a picture with her tricorder. "Ooh..."
"We lost her," Rourke said good-naturedly.
"Well, at least it's warm in here," Vanderbilt said.
"So cool," Elle whispered. "Van, give me your tricorder. I want to take handwritten notes."
"Take video," he said.
"No," Elle said, "it's not the same."
He handed it over without complaint.
Elle had the time of her life for the next three hours, looking over the walls and the illustrated manuscripts on display. "Must've changed a lot in the last eighty years," she muttered, scooting around behind what looked like a pilgrim. "Can't imagine there were many visitors here then."
"You are correct," said a deep voice.
She startled and looked up at the voice. It was one of the monks, his hood pulled up to cast his face in shadow. "Sir," she said respectfully.
"What is a human child doing here?" he asked.
"I came to seek knowledge of the past," Elle said. "And the future."
He stilled. "The future?"
"Yes." She looked up at him. His eyes glinted in reflected firelight. "I know things."
"Whatever you think you know, you do not," he said. "The present is a veil between the past and the future."
She dropped her gaze. "Sometimes," she said.
He took his hood down. "Tell me, pilgrim of Earth. What do you seek?"
"I know someone who came here," Elle said. "I know someone who will come here. I was curious."
"Curiosity is a trap of your own making," he said. "To attempt to see beyond is to court madness."
Elle frowned up at him. "Plenty of people have and will have seen beyond. None of them have gone mad." She leaned forward. "Is it the method that drives one mad? The crystals? They're unstable, right?"
He scowled down at her. "How do you know-"
"Pike," she said.
He froze. "Pike," he repeated. "You are too young to know him."
Elle smiled. "And yet," she said.
"And yet," he echoed. "What did he tell you?"
She studied his eyes. They were old. Older than one would think. "Are you the one that he spoke to?" she asked. "The leader of the Timekeepers?"
"I am Tenavik," he said, confirming her suspicions. "We do not perceive time as others do. Not here."
"Can I see them?" she asked.
"The time crystals do not leave the monastery," he said.
"I don't want one," she said. "I just want to see them."
"You doubt Pike's story?"
Elle shook her head. "I would never dishonor him in that way." She grinned up at Tenavik. "I've just, you know, I've had my fair share of temporal excursions."
"Yes," Tenavik said. "I know."
Could he read the temporal ripples clinging to her timeline? Did exposure to the time crystals give them time powers? Why had no one ever... Elle looked around. The rest of the visitors to the monastery were looking away. Dr. Crusher and the security team were talking by the fire. Something was weird... She shivered. "What are you doing?"
"You wanted to see," Tenavik said, inexorable. "You must come alone."
"You're slowing down time," Elle realized. The sensation was eerily familiar, taking her back to days of wandering the Enterprise with Captain Kirk, trying to find something to do.
"You are familiar with it," he said.
"Yes," she said.
"You are a very strange human."
"I get that a lot," she agreed. It occurred to her, about this time, that Worf was going to kill her for going off without the rest of the team. "You can put me back without them noticing, right? My Chief of Security is going to be so mad, and he's already at risk of having a stroke out of pure frustration."
"Then he should not be chief of security," Tenavik said severely.
"Tell that to him."
He turned on his heel. "Come. Time is finite."
Elle bit her lip, shook her head, and followed. I'm so going on the whiteboard of shame. Worth it, though. She trotted behind him, trying to match the tall Klingon's pace. They came to another set of double doors, which he opened with a key.
"You may not record anything past these walls," he said, glaring at her two tricorders.
Elle put the tricorders down on the floor.
"No weapons," he added.
She shook her head. "No weapons."
He unlocked the doors and swung them open.
A blast of heat met Elle's face. She gaped at the long, narrow walkway surrounded on both sides by lava flow. "What in the Indiana Jones," she breathed, following Tevanik down the stone path. They stopped at a pillar with a glowing blue key.
"The pillar of the past," Tevanik intoned, walking right past it.
Elle paused to commit it to memory (what kind of script was that?) and hurried after him.
"The pillar of the present," Tevanik said, stopping before a pillar with a hole in it.
"What language is this?" Elle asked.
"The language of our forebears," Tevanik said. "When the future is past, the present will be unlocked." He took a key from his robes and placed it in the pillar. He turned it, and the doors ahead of them opened.
Elle followed, sweating from the heat of the lava beneath the walkway. They entered the room, and he closed the doors behind them. Elle stood there and gaped. Raw crystals shone bright blue-green with temporal energy. Elle could feel it coming off them in waves. She shivered. "Incredible," she whispered.
"Do not touch them," Tevanik warned. "You will fall between anticipation and horror."
She glanced at him and crept closer. "I wish I had a tricorder," she said, "just to see the live power readings on these things. What temporal energy are they harnessing? Are they interacting with the dekyon field? Are they interdimensional? Have you ever-"
"Enough questions," Tevanik said. "Simply enjoy."
Elle cleared her throat. "Yes. Sorry." These were their sacred trust. Empathy over science, she reminded herself. These are not mine to investigate. She wandered deeper into the chamber, stopping to stare at the crystals perched high up on the stalagmites. "How do they grow?" she asked.
"They simply do," Tevanik said.
"Do you ever harvest them?"
"No. Captain Pike was the last."
"And that was always fated to happen," Elle said. "The Discovery went forward. He did die like he saw."
"Yes," Tevanik said.
She turned to face him. "Do you know my future?"
"I know many things, little ambassador," Tevanik said.
Elle squinted at him. That was very specific. "You do know something," she said.
Tevanik simply looked at her. "I know many things," he repeated.
Elle resisted the urge to scowl at him, and turned to look at one of the closer crystal bunches. "Why is this one glowing brighter?" she asked.
"Stop that," he told it irritably.
"Are these crystals sentient?" Elle asked, leaning closer. "Hello?"
He grabbed her by the back of her jacket. "No," he said.
She wriggled until he let go of her, and she knelt in front of the crystals. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Have you checked?"
"We are not telepathic," Tevanik said. "It would not matter in any case, we cannot hear them."
"All this time and you're not telepathic?" Elle asked.
"That's not how it works," Tevanik said.
"That's how it worked with me," Elle pointed out absently, staring at the crystals. "Orthogonal structure, lit from the bottom..." She stared into the light, trying to catalogue the light source from vibes alone. The longer she stared, the more mesmerizing it becmae. "Can you hear that?" she asked.
"The lava bubbles sometimes," Tevanik replied.
"Not that," Elle said, leaning closer. She was almost nose to nose with the crystal. "The ringing..."
"Ringing?" he asked urgently.
Elle blinked-
And turned around, staring at the new place she was in. "Hello?" she called uncertainly, scuffing her boots on the dusty ground.
"You know there's no one out there," a voice said.
Elle turned and saw... herself? Herself, older, wearing some sort of tunics and robes thing and a belt with pouches. "Hello," Elle said, uncertainly.
"I remember this," Older-Elle said, giving her a gentle smile. "Hello. Welcome to the end."
"Is this how it's supposed to go?" Elle asked. "Pike was in his own body."
Old-Her wrinkled her nose. "We are, as usual, the exception." She gestured to the surroundings. "I wasn't kidding, you know."
Elle looked around. They were on a planetoid, bare and dusty. A firepit burned cheerfully near them. There was a house, incongruously set nearby. No plants. No light. Elle looked up, looked around. In the sky was a dim, fading sun. It was twilight. Beyond that, pure blackness. "Where are we?" she asked.
"I told you," Older-Elle said.
"The end, of what?" Elle asked.
Older-Elle shrugged. "Us, certainly. That star's only got one more minute."
"Who are you talking to?" asked another voice coming from the house.
"You can't see this," Older-Elle said. She shouted back, "Hang on! It's my younger self!"
"What?" said the voice, joined by two or three other voices. "I wanna see!"
"No!" Older-Elle shouted back. She looked at Elle with a wistful smile. "You better go."
"But, how-"
"Like this," Old-Elle said and reached out to touch Elle's forehead. "Focus on the present, young one. Don't get caught up in the future. It'll come when you're ready." She pushed Elle backwards.
Elle fell back a step, and everything began to blur. She saw four people come out of the house. A young woman, an older man, two men who looked to be in their thirties.
"It's time," the older man said.
"Yes," Older-Elle said. "Once she showed up..."
"Get it over with," said the gruff-looking man. "Tired of all this waiting."
The sun went out. "Thirty seconds before our atmosphere goes," the older man said.
Older-Elle gave them each a hug, and closed her eyes. Everything went black, and then exploded into white, blinding light-
Elle heaved in a gasp. Sulfury, hot air filled her lungs, and she blinked rapidly, staring up at the craggy ceiling. "Wha-" She gasped for air, scrambling to sit up. "Wha-, I-"
Tevanik peered at her cautiously, kneeling in front of her. "Interesting," he said.
Elle raised shaking hands to wipe her face. She was crying. "What, happened?" she asked, breath stuttering in her chest. "I don't-" She shook her head. "I don't understand. I didn't touch them."
"What did you see?" Tevanik asked.
"The end," Elle said, faltering as she remembered the star going out. "I don't know. I was old. I talked to myself."
"That's not supposed to happen."
Elle shook her head. "Older-me said it was the exception. There were these people there. There were no stars. It was, empty. And then everything went black. And then white. Did we blow up? Do I blow up?"
"How old were you?"
"I don't know," Elle said. "I had grey hair. I looked, old."
"Not a warrior's death," Tevanik said, dissatisfied.
"I'm not a warrior," Elle said. She crossed her legs and leaned her elbows on her knees, taking a steadying breath. "I wasn't afraid. That's good. I don't want to be afraid."
"You are taking this very calmly," Tevanik said, squinting at her. "Usually there is more screaming and crying."
Elle shrugged. "I've died twice already. I think by the time I die-die I'm gonna make my peace with it."
Tevanik regarded her doubtfully.
Elle wiped the remaining tears from her face and stood up, forcing her wobbly legs to support her. "I'd like to go, now."
"Agreed." Tevanik placed a bracing hand on her shoulder. "You don't want a crystal?" he asked. "You did not go mad. You are entitled. That is your honor."
The temptation was intense. Until she really looked at the crystals around her. "No, thank you," Elle said. "I think one vision is enough for me." She squinted up at him. "If I need one later, though..."
"You will have one," Tevanik said, starting to guide her back towards the exit. "We need to stop letting Enterprise people in this monastery."
Elle stifled a semi-hysterical laugh. "Don't worry. The next Enterprise person to come here won't even care about the crystals. Just the spiritual beliefs."
Tevanik stopped her from exiting the sanctuary. "You need to understand," he said gravely. "What you saw cannot be changed. That is your future."
Elle met his eyes. "We are but mere mortals," she said. "Everything has its time. Everything ends. Everyone dies. I understand that."
He nodded, satisfied, and let her go. "We are at your service, if you require counseling," he said.
"Thank you," Elle said. "I think I'll consult with my Vulcans."
He made a noise that could be rendered, "ew." "As you wish," he said formally. He bowed, and departed, leaving her alone by the double doors.
Elle leaned against the stone wall. Time was moving normally again. Dr. Crusher would notice she was missing any moment. Elle picked up her two tricorders and headed back to the main hall.
"Elle!" Dr. Crusher and Kapoor rushed over to her. "Where did you go?"
"Around the corner," Elle said. "I saw where they keep the cool rocks."
Dr. Crusher cupped Elle's cheek in her palm. "You all right, sweetheart?"
Elle managed a grin. "I think I'd like to go now. I've seen all the cool stuff. And I'm really hot."
"It's still cold in here," Dr. Crusher said, touching Elle's forehead. "You're very warm."
"Lots of energy expenditure," Elle said. "And my jacket is insulating."
"No gift shop?" Vanderbilt joked, as they headed towards the exit.
"Trust me, you don't want a souvenir," Elle muttered.
Tevanik was waiting by the door. "Farewell," he said, bowing his head. "batlh bIHeghjaj."
Elle bowed her head in return, and they exited the monastery.
"What did he say?" Vanderbilt asked, over the roar of the blizzard in their ears.
"Enterprise, six to beam up," Kapoor said into his communicator.
They materialized onto the Enterprise in a flurry of snowflakes. "May you die well," Elle said, taking off her jacket.
"Sorry?" O'Brien said, gaping at her.
"That's what he said," Elle said, shivering in the warm air as the sweat on her skin started to cool. "Before we beamed up."
"What, they're too cool to say 'thank you for coming'?" Rourke asked, stomping the snow off his boots on the carpet.
O'Brien gave him a Look.
"Sorry," Rourke said sheepishly.
Elle shook her head. "That's their whole thing there. The Followers of Kahless, Sto-vo-kor, the prophecy, the Timekeepers. It's a blessing."
"How was it?" O'Brien asked.
"Educational," Elle said. "I got lots of notes."
"Nerd," O'Brien said fondly.
Dr. Crusher put an arm around Elle. "Come on. Sickbay for general exams. I want to check your temperature. You're awfully flushed."
"The monastery sits on top of a lava flow," Elle said. "The rocks were in the geothermal vents."
"I didn't even get to see the rocks," Rourke complained as they headed for sickbay.
"Crystals," Elle corrected. "They were crystals."
"Elle, you first," Dr. Crusher said, helping Elle up on the biobed. She frowned at the biometric readings as they came up. "You do have a light fever. And your energy levels and brain functions are all over the place."
Elle winced.
Kapoor frowned at her. "What did you touch?" he asked.
"Nothing!" Elle protested. She looked at Dr. Crusher. "I need to talk to Spock."
"The monastery is known for people having spiritual revelations," Dr. Crusher said. "What did you see?"
"I need to talk to Spock," Elle said again.
Dr. Crusher put her hand on Elle's forehead. "Once your fever goes down and you settle a little bit."
Kapoor was still frowning, but he gentled his manner. "Elle, did you see anything that would endanger the Enterprise?"
"No," Elle said. "It had nothing to do with the Enterprise or this mission. I swear."
"I believe you," Kapoor said.
"Why didn't we see anything?" Rourke asked.
"We all went in with secular expectations," Vanderbilt said. "Elle was the only one going in looking for spiritual explanations."
"If by spiritual you mean quantum mechanical," Elle muttered.
"Same thing," Kapoor said. "And you were the only one who saw the rocks."
"Crystals," Elle said. "I didn't touch anything."
"I believe you," Kapoor said.
Dr. Crusher pushed Elle gently to lay down on the biobed. "I'm keeping you for observation for a few hours," she said. "Get comfy. I'll bring you a cup of hot cocoa, and you can sleep."
"Update us if anything changes," Kapoor said.
Dr. Crusher nodded.
They all left the area. Elle took a deep breath and let it out slowly, finally alone. For now. She took another deep breath, trying to center herself. Well, you got what you asked for, she told herself. Now, live with it. She pulled the blanket over herself and reached over the side to turn on the warming function of the biobed. The steady beep of her own heart rhythm lulled her to sleep before Dr. Crusher could come back with the hot cocoa.
-/\-
Elle woke up to someone holding her hand. The lights were dim. "What time's'it?" she asked, squinting at Guinan.
"Midnight-ish," Guinan said. "You were tired out from seeing the future."
Elle stilled. "How do you know?"
Guinan gave her a Look.
Elle deflated. "Yeah. Of course you know." She sunk back into her pillow, craning her neck to look at the biobed readings upside down. "Am I ok?"
"You're fine," Guinan said, squeezing her hand. "Physically, at any rate. Dr. Crusher said you could leave whenever you wanted. How do you feel?"
"Fine," Elle said.
"Try again," Guinan said, inexorable.
Elle took a deep breath. Stopped deflecting. Took stock of her body, of her emotions. "Tired," she said. "Shaky. I want to cry. I didn't-" Her breath hitched and she sat up, the better to hide her face behind her hair. "I wasn't, I wasn't going to tempt fate. It caught me up, anyway."
Guinan rubbed her knee soothingly. "Fate has a habit of doing that."
Elle pressed her hands against her eyes. "Yeah." She glanced over at Guinan. "Did you see your death, when you were in the Nexus?"
"Maybe," Guinan said. "It was a turbulent time." She eyed Elle. "Did you see your death?"
"Yes," Elle said, pulling up a knee to rest her chin. "I don't understand it though. I don't know where I was, or who was with me." She thought about her older self, the wry humor, the gentle smile she'd given her younger self. "I wasn't afraid though. I was, resigned. Not resigned. Like, accepted it. Resolved." She dug her chin into her knee. "Resolved," she repeated. "I was resolved. I was going to do something."
"Did you say anything?" Guinan asked.
"I said, 'I remember this. Welcome to the end.'" Elle frowned. "There were no stars... no plants. Hardly any air. The sun went dark, and, they hugged, and that was it."
"They who?" Guinan asked.
"I don't know," Elle said. "It was getting blurry, and it was dark. And then there was this light... and that was that." She shook her head. "Not as dramatic as I thought it'd be."
Guinan smothered a grin. "You can't have dramatic deaths all the time," she said. "It sounds like you will be at peace."
"Yes," Elle said. "I don't think I'll mind."
Guinan gave her a hug, wrapping her up in her comfortable robes. "Don't dwell on it," she counseled, pressing her cheek to the top of Elle's head. "You can't change it, only meet it."
"I'll be old," Elle said, muffled into her shoulder. "It's gonna take a while."
"Good," Guinan said, squeezing her. She let go and tapped Elle lovingly on the cheek. "Don't dwell," she repeated. "Why don't you go finish sleeping, and in the morning, you can help with the impending Klingon civil war?"
"Oh, we're still doing that?" Elle asked, sliding off the biobed. "I thought it'd be over by now." She tugged at her shirt, still in her away team clothes. She needed a shower. "Although I guess it was a two-parter," she mused, following Guinan out. "Huh. Welcome to season 5, Guinan."
"Thank you," Guinan said, amused. "Happy to be here."
"Me too," Elle said, grinning. "There's some good ones coming up."
-/\-
A shower and a sleep later, Elle was feeling ready to face the world. Or, the Romulans.
"Four-dimensional chess," Elle muttered, watching the movement of Klingon and Federation ships. Little red dots fluttered around, possible cloaked Romulan ships. "Always chess with them."
"Sometimes poker," Alexa said.
"Poker chess," Elle said. "Whoever loses gets blown up. Data's on it, though." She looked at the long-range sensor scan, which showed the Sutherland as a green dot. Data's first command, if you don't count taking over Kivas Fajo's ship. No. Data's first official command.
Elle was watching from her quarters, since the ship was on yellow alert. She couldn't remember anything except that it all turned out well, and she didn't want to distract the bridge crew. "What do you think, Simba?" she asked.
Simba the Third purred reassuringly and butted against her stomach.
"No, you can't crawl in my sweater," Elle said. "I got a huge lint ball last time."
Simba purred unapologetically.
"Elle, long-range transmission coming in from the Vulcan Embassy," Alexa said. "It's Ambassador Spock."
"Uh-oh," Elle said. "Accept the call." She smiled as Spock's face filled the screen. "A'nirih. What's up?"
"That was going to be my question, Elle-kam," he replied. "I sensed much emotional turmoil from you. Has something happened?"
"Oh, you know, saw my future death," Elle said, waving a hand. "No biggie."
The blood drained from his face. "Your what? How? Elle, you cannot change events-"
"I know," Elle said. "The monk explained."
"Monk?" he said. "What-"
"I was old," Elle said. "It's not for a long while, Spock. Don't worry."
He stared at her. "How?" he asked, still pale green.
"I, saw the crystals on Boreth," Elle said.
Spock's eyebrows went down. "Eleanor Wilcott," he said firmly. "That is incredibly dangerous. You could have-" He took a deep breath. "What happened?"
She explained everything. "I swear I didn't touch them," she said. "It just, happened."
"I believe you," Spock said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Only you, Elle."
She grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry?"
"Do not be," Spock said. "This would have always happened."
"You've studied the time crystals?" Elle asked.
"Briefly," he said. "Long ago, when we used the one Captain Pike obtained." His brows slanted in concern. "And you are well, truly? No echoes of the vision? No flashbacks?"
"No," Elle said. "I'm actually surprised about that. I'm sure it'll hit me eventually, though."
"Captain Pike's accident and death were highly traumatic," Spock said. "If yours will be as peaceful as you say, I would not worry about it."
"Are you just trying to make me feel better?" Elle asked.
"Is it working?"
"Yeah." She gave him a grin. "Any words of wisdom for me, a'nirih?"
"Time is a path from the past to the future and back again. The present is the crossroads of both," Spock quoted.
"Funny," Elle said, "that's what Tevanik told me too."
"There's a reason for that," Spock said, amused. "What is the other one I'm going to tell you?"
"Kaiidth," Elle said. "What is, is."
Spock inclined his head. "How did you know," he deadpanned.
Elle leaned back in her chair. "Acceptance," she said. "Whatever it is, I can't fight it. Can't change it. Ugh. I have to be all mature about this. How irritating."
Spock's eyes twinkled. "I am sure you will rise to the challenge," he comforted. "You can do anything you set your not-inconsiderable will towards. You are like Captain Kirk in that manner."
"And you," Elle pointed out.
"We shall see," Spock said.
"Well, if you could get the Romulans to chill, that'd be great," Elle said.
Spock looked severe. "One cannot work miracles, Elle-kam."
She laughed.
-/\-
No one filed a report on Elle's field trip. The mission reports stayed firmly on the House of Duras' takedown and Gowron's successful inauguration.
And Picard, Crusher, Worf, and Elle got to see The Tempest in the original Klingon. It was amazing. "See, what'd I tell you?" Elle asked, poking Worf in the side. "Transcendental."
"What was your favorite line?" Dr. Crusher asked.
"How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't," Picard quoted, with the appropriate intonation.
Elle shook her head. "I don't know. I like 'We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.'" Appropriate, for these last couple days, she mused.
Worf sighed. "Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."
Elle patted him on the back. "Don't feel too bad, Worf. Let's go get some lunch. You're paying though, because we don't have any money."
Worf sighed again.