Paint and Powder

A Star Trek anthology by Andrew Joshua Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan based work of prose. Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager et al are the property of CBS Television, and creation of Gene Roddenberry. Please support the official release.

"The Visitor"

By Dramatic Spoon

Grief.

A word unfamiliar to her.

She had only been online and awake for a year when it had happened.

Sisko was gone.

The man who had pulled her out of storage, back into action, and led her was gone.

And the one person she knew felt the same way was someone who hadn't accepted her yet.
He blamed her for what happened.

So she held it close to herself.

And waited.

"Jake."

Jake turned to look at the speaker.

"Terok. You must be thrilled."

Terok paused and pursed her lips in thought.

"Hardly. For all my complaints about the Federation and Hyoo-mons, Klingons are worse. They're putting someone named Drex in charge and he's dumber and louder than any Klingon I've seen."

"Hrmph."

"I want you to know that out of all the men that have been in charge of me, Only one has come close to Gul Dukat."

"..."

"Your father was a good man. For a human."

"...Thanks," Jake half-heartedly replied as he hoisted his bag and turned to leave.

"and one last thing."

He turned back to look at her.

There was something unfamiliar to him in her expression.

Empathy.

"She blames herself for it. She misses him just as much as you do," Terok paused, "Don't hold it against her. She's already doing that. I'm not telling you to forgive her, but you weren't the only one to lose a father that day."

She awoke

She had been told by Nog what was going to happen.
A theory and to best do it, it involved pulling her out of her current hull and placing her back in...

back in her original.

Things didn't feel right.
The last upgrades to her old systems were still decades behind her latest body and-

"Defiant."

She turned her attention to the speaker and paused.

He looked so much like-

"Jake?"

He only nodded.

"They didn't-"

"My plan is to replicate the incident as closely as possible, and that means I have to be here as well."

Silence fell.

"I'm sorry." He stated.

"What?"

"For what I said and did back then. I was angry, lost. Mom..."

He paused.

"I...I thought I had finally come to terms with losing Mom. But then the accident, and... It opened it back up. I shouldn't have lashed out at you."

The Defiant smiled.

"I've experienced worse. What's done is done."

She held out a hand.

"Let's go save Dad."