569: Alternate Continuity Paradox Timeline 3.2

This is an "Alternate Continuity Paradox" Post
(for an explanation of what that means, see From the Ready Room post "From the Writer's Notebook" dated 81008.0200)

Timeline 3, Post Two of Two (Final)

From the Ashes
by -=/\=- Zanh Liis
80818.00
Two Weeks after Saved

-=Aboard a small, unmarked Federation Starship=-

"The Prism is collapsing, Captain," Lieutenant Swift warned from tactical. "We can't stay ahead of it."

"Take power from everything else and put it into the engines, Mister Hanson," the Captain commanded his chief engineer, his fist clenching the arm rest of his chair.

Finally, unable to sit any longer, he jumped out of it and paced toward the forward view screen. "Come on, come on,"

"Structural integrity is failing on decks twelve through fifteen!" The Executive Officer warned his Captain. "Life support will be gone within sixty seconds."

"Tell them to get out of there. Any way but the-"

"Captain! There are two escape pods about to launch from deck fifteen aft."

"No!" The Captain shouted, "I told them, no matter what, you can't launch the... damn it," He landed back in his chair and hit the ship-wide comm. "Captain to all hands! Do not, repeat, do NOT launch the escape pods! Evacuate decks twelve through fifteen immediately!"

"It's too late, Sir," said the XO, pale as a ghost. "They're already locked in to launch."

"No," the Captain closed his eyes a moment, knowing that as soon as those ships launched and broke the bubble surrounding them...

"Captain! Structural integrity aft on decks one through fifteen is lost..." Hanson announced grimly. "We're about to be crushed like a tin can."

"Not if I can help it." The Captain raced over to the engineering panel, and began to override every security lock out imaginable to dump more power into the engines.

"Floor it, Lassiter," he ordered the young woman sitting at the helm. "Give it everything you've got left.."

"Aye, sir," Gira Lassiter replied, as she offered up a silent prayer and powered the engines past the point of safety. *Better to be blown up than crushed, I suppose,* she thought.

Over her shoulder, her Captain prayed much more audibly.

"Hail Mary, full of grace, our Lord is with thee..."

"The ship is coming apart," Lassiter gasped, interrupting.

"Aye, Gira." The Captain whispered sadly. "Fly her apart, then."

-=Aboard the USS Serendipity=-

Zanh Liis paced around her ready room. She'd had an uneasy feeling all morning that she couldn't quantify, and as the day wore on it was only getting worse.

Something wasn't right.

Personal log, supplemental. We left Carrick O'Sullivan in the care of his family on Earth weeks ago. He seems to be doing all right, they tell me, but I can't help but worry about him. There's been no news of his father or the Perseids, and every day that drags on, it becomes less likely that they will ever...

"Computer, end log."

Liis sat down with a sigh and rubbed her tired eyes.

What was wrong with her lately? It was more than just existing with uncertainty; she'd made a living doing that for years.

It was more than just the adjustments that she'd been going through in her personal life.

She honestly hadn't been surprised when Jariel finally wrote to her, but she found she was strangely relieved by what his letter had said.

She had actually smiled wistfully as she reached out, touching the text on the screen, in response as she grasped what the words meant.

It meant happiness for him, and that was the one thing she had never truly been able to give him- and the thing that she had wished she could give him, most of all.

"What would you say to me if I told you that I think I'm falling in love?" He had asked. "Would it matter who it was with? Could you be happy for me, Liis, if I finally found what I never knew was missing? I'm scared to death. I've never felt this way before."

"Feel the fear and do it anyway, Camen." She had written in response." Don't let anything hold you back. I'm happy for you. Truly. Whether you decide to stay, or the two of you begin a new life here among those who already love you so dearly, know that I wish you every happiness with her. Whoever she is, she's damned lucky.

Be well, and let me know what you decide about coming back to the Sera."

She had, at his further request, packed up his belongings and put them into storage aboard ship, awaiting his final decision if he would return to duty or remain on Bajor.

She had given a lot of thought as to whether she could remain in the quarters that she had shared with him, and decided in the end that she would give the larger space to one of the growing families aboard who could use the extra room and take on a smaller, out of the way space to call her own.

Her reverie was interrupted by the voice of Dane Cristiane.

[Captain to the Bridge.]

She wandered out the door, still preoccupied internally until a brilliant flash of light captured her attention.

She stepped up her pace, taking the last two steps in one leap and racing toward the forward viewscreen. "What the hell..." she gasped, "Reece, what IS that?"

"It's a...thing...no wait, it's a, oh shit." Dabin began to mumble, tapping his panel furiously. "Helm, evasive action!" he instructed.

Hok shot Zanh a sideways glance.

"Go!" she echoed, trusting Reece's judgment.

"Hard to starboard! Hang on!" Hok warned. Everyone tried to keep their footing as the Sera veered violently.

The Captain fell to the deck, but picked herself up from it a moment later with the help from TC Blane, She growled loudly.

"Reece, what the bloody he-" she stopped as she saw Reece gaping at the screen once again.

"Look!" Hok gasped.

Liis' eyes flew open wide. "Zander, is that a ship?"

"What's left of one," Zander announced. "Federation, but there's not enough left to identify it."

"Lifesigns?"

"Twelve. No, wait, eleven. I think...one is very faint, Captain."

"Zanh to all transporter rooms! Lock on to the personnel on that ship and beam them directly to Sickbay!" Before she could ask, Salvek was already up and out of his chair.

"On my way, Captain. Mr. Blane?"

TC fell into step behind Salvek, as Zanh watched the wreckage of the other ship hover now, motionless in space.

"It's going to go," Reece warned, "Captain, I really, and I mean this sincerely, suggest that we get the hell out of here."

"You heard the man, Ensign!"

Hok locked in an escape course and the Sera jumped to Warp, just as the last of the faltering ship exploded and then vanished from existence.

"What was that?" Dane wondered aloud from the communications station.

"I don't know, but get Command for me, Dane. See if they can shed any light on this. Reece, where the hell did it come from? There were no ships reported in our vicinity."

"That's because it didn't come from our vicinity," Reece explained, gesturing for Liis to come over and look at his data. "Captain, I don't know how to tell you this. But that ship, it came from,"

"Reece, you've called me "Captain" twice in the past two minutes," Liis felt a chill go through her, knowing that his news had to be bad. "Where did it come from?"

"It was in another layer of space, then burst through into ours," he paused, and she gave him an imploring look that asked 'and?'.

"Just like we did when we escaped the Sylph bubble." Reece finished. "That ship came from one just like it, I would bet on it."

Zanh tapped her badge. "Zanh to Salvek, be advised that these people may have been in contact with the Sylph. Advise medical." The faintest hint of a thought entered her mind, but she quickly pushed it aside.

It couldn't be his ship that had just disintegrated before her eyes.

It just couldn't be.

[Acknowledged.] Salvek replied, as he was helping to transfer the badly injured Starfleet crew before him to the care of the triage teams, using all available beds in Sickbay.

Hubbard found his hands to be suddenly more than full, and so for the purpose of assessing the incoming wounded as quickly as possible, he activated the LMH.

"We may be dealing with more than only physical injuries," Salvek announced. "These people may have been in contact with the Sylph."

As he spoke, TC Blane walked past, carrying the limp form of a beautiful young woman over to the last open bed. He set her down gently, and then turned to the very last body that was lying in a heap on the floor where it had been transported in a hurry from the bridge of the other vessel.

TC reached down and flipped the broad-shouldered man over, and when he saw his face, jumped back a step and called for Salvek.

Salvek recognized the man immediately, just as Blane had.

The two men hoisted the familiar officer with four pips on his collar up, and called for the LMH, because he had extensive experience in treating this particular patient before.

"Good grief," Dalton exclaimed as he too recognized who it was they were carrying, "Get me an anti-grav gurney if you have to, we need a place to put this man!" He turned, his expression grave as he spoke in hushed tones to the Sera's second and third in command. "Somebody better tell the Captain."

Salvek tapped his badge. "Captain to Sickbay. Immediately." Then, having done all they could do for the rescued crew, Salvek and Blane moved out into the hall to await Zanh's arrival.

As they waited, each man wondered what they would be able to do for her, once she knew what they knew.

She came jogging up the hall a moment later, concern etched on her face. "What is it, boys?" She tried to continue through the door, but each of her officers held her fast by one arm.

She looked at them in confusion, then panic.

"What?"

"It's..." Blane began slowly, searching for the right words to break the news.

Salvek finally dove in and simply spoke the truth.

"Captain, one of the injured officers from the lost ship is Keiran O'Sullivan."

Liis' expression changed instantly. At first, she shook her head, unable to believe what she had heard. Then she began to tremble.

She gulped hard and searched first Salvek's eyes, than Blane's.

"Thomas?" She held tightly to his arm.

"It is Keiran." Blane softly corroborated Salvek's statement. He felt Zanh's body shift toward him as her knees threatened to give out, and Blane's arm immediately wrapped around her waist, steadying her even as Salvek grasped her arms more tightly.

"I have to see," she declared. "I need to see."

Suddenly she had managed to pull free of both startled men. She pushed forward through the doors of Sickbay with speed and determination, Blane and Salvek a half step behind.

"Get her out of here!" Hubbard yelled from across the room as he tried to resuscitate a young man in a yellow uniform with two gold pips on his collar.

"He's got that right!" Dalton McKay echoed, looking up from O'Sullivan as he hurried to scan him with a tricorder since all the biobeds were full. "OUT!"

"Not until I see him!" Zanh shouted above the din all around them, and she hurried up to the edge of the gurney holding O'Sullivan's unconscious form. She reached out to touch his hand, but suddenly stopped.

If it was cold and lifeless, she would never be able to survive the sensation of feeling it.

She stared at him long enough to accept that it was really him, and then she clamped a hand down onto McKay's shoulder. "Is he alive?"

"He is right now. Whether or not he will be in five minutes may have everything to do with you getting the hell out of our way."

Zanh stepped backwards slowly, the steadying hands of Blane and Salvek returning to take hold of her arms.

"Just, wait," she pleaded as they began to draw her off. "Please." She leaned down, whispered something in O'Sullivan's ear and then finally relented, allowing Blane and Salvek to escort her out.

"That voice," The Executive Officer of the ship that had been known as the USS Perseids began to regain consciousness, and the moment he heard the familiar female voice that had haunted his dreams for years all around him, he knew that this had to be it.

"I heard Zanh Liis' voice. I must be in Hell." Ashton Ledbetter groaned, as Jack Hubbard put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from trying to sit up.

"You're not in Hell yet, but that was Zanh Liis." Hubbard replied, before giving the man a quick hypo and sending him back into unconsciousness.

In the waiting room, Zanh turned back and forth between her two most trusted senior officers. "Is this happening? Tell me I haven't completely lost my mind. Tell me that the crew of the Perseids is on the other side of that window."

"You're awake, and this is real, I promise you." TC assured her. "He's alive, Zanh Liis."

"Someone must speak to the Admiral. Would you prefer that I do it, Captain?" Knowing her as well as Salvek did, he knew that she would want to stay where she was.

"Please Salvek," Liis couldn't keep her eyes off of the room beyond the barrier, and pressed her hands up against the glass separating her from it.

"Thomas, if you could get a message to Carrick. Whatever happens, they should put him on the first available ship and bring him back here."

"I'll see to it, Captain." TC's normally unreadable expression had been overtaken by one of deep concern for his Captain.

He was reluctant to leave her alone until they were certain what O'Sullivan's prognosis was. "Perhaps we should hold off,"

"No," Liis felt certain that they he could not have come this far just to lose the fight now.

"He's going to be all right, I know it." She looked up at Blane, tears pooling in her eyes. "He's going to be all right, and so am I."

-=Hours Later=-

The flurry of activity in Sickbay had died out to an eerie combination of beeping monitors, hushed voices, and doctors and nurses moving back and forth between beds, tending to the needs of those in their keep.

"Captain Zanh," A tired Jack Hubbard stood in the doorway, and gestured for her to come forward. "O'Sullivan is awake, and he's asking for you."

Before she attempted to stand, Liis clutched her shaking hands together at her middle, over her nervous stomach.

"How is he? How is his crew?" Liis was willing to bet that the very first thing he asked, before anything else, was how many of them had made it out alive.

"He'll be in here a day or two, but overall, he's in remarkable condition. Some of the others..." Hubbard shook his head. "They'll be here a lot longer."

Finally feeling she could try to walk, Liis rose and took tentative steps on unsteady legs. "Please thank your entire staff for all their hard work, and above all, thank you, Jack."

Jack shrugged humbly. "That's what we're here for. You can come with me, this way."

"He's still hooked up to some monitors, don't let them scare you," Hubbard advised as he pulled the curtain back. "Precautions, you understand."

Liis was aware he was speaking, but she didn't hear a word that the man said. Every sound around her was fading into nothingness, her eyes fixed on one face, and one face only as Keiran looked over and saw her standing there.

He tried to sit up, and groaned involuntarily.

"Don't get too ambitious." Hubbard cautioned, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "You broke several ribs and punctured your lungs, Captain O'Sullivan, among other interesting injuries you've returned to us with. Even with the regeneration, everything needs time to knit back together. Take it easy, and do not try to get up."

O'Sullivan nodded gently, closing his eyes for a moment as he recovered from the attempt.

"Do you need something more for pain?"

Keiran waved the doctor off. "I've had enough for now. Many thanks."

"If you need anything, just let us know. Nurse will be back in a few minutes." This was Hubbard's way of warning Zanh that her visiting time would be limited. He disappeared, leaving them alone.

Keiran stared at Liis as she stood at the foot of his bed, wringing her hands furiously.

"Hello."

"Hello," she whispered. She was afraid to move, afraid to touch him, for fear of causing him pain.

Sensing this, he held out his hand.

Tentatively she took it, surprised by the strength he still possessed as he entwined his fingers with hers and drew her nearer.

He patted the edge of the bed with his free hand, and Liis hesitated. He did so a second time, and finally, slowly and carefully, she sat down beside him.

Keiran gave her a nervous, half-smile. "Glad to see me?"

The question was much more complicated than its simplicity indicated. It was a hundred worries, doubts, and fears boiled down into four short words.

Liis leaned closer.

The corner of her lip curled upward, into the lopsided grin that he loved so well.

"Keiran,"

Just the way she said his name spoke volumes.

He sighed with relief and contentment despite the pain he was in as she gently brushed his hair back with her fingertips.

She leaned down farther still, placing a kiss upon his face, somewhere between his cheek and his lips.

"You have no idea," she whispered, her voice breaking as her tears rained down onto his skin. "...how glad I am to see you."

-------------------------
-=/\=- Zanh Liis
Commanding Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012

Note: There was originally one more alternate continuity outcome that I intended to include with the others...one in which Zanh Liis dies and O'Sullivan returns to captain the Serendipity in her place. I seriously considered going that route but due to crew objections, I did not.

I guess they're kinda attached to the old girl after all *smile*

That post ended up merging into the current plotline as a way to explain what Keiran had seen himself as an alternate reality during his Sylph experience.

In other words, the Sylph showed each of them different alternate outcomes: from his perspective Liis was the one who died, from hers, it was him (this will be discussed in posts later on.)

In the end, I much prefer things the way they're actually going forward!

We now return to our regularly scheduled timeline...and hope you enjoyed the detour. ~ZL