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“I’ll forgive it this time,” Riker said with mock gravity.

She thought back over what Riker told her about the battle against this Reman, or human clone, or whatever he was. “Can I ask you a question, sir?”

“Name it.”

“What would this Shinzon guy have done if Starfleet sent a different ship? Or if someone else found that prototype android?”

Riker blinked. “I don’t know, Commander. To be honest, that really wasn’t our primary concern.”

“Yeah, I can understand that. So this android—what’s it called, B-4?—is still around?”

Nodding, Riker said, “Yes, and he’s got all of Data’s memories.” Suddenly, Riker squinted, as if he realized something. “Come to think of it, that also means he has Lore’s memories, Lal’s memories, and the personal diaries of the entire Omicron Theta colony where Data was created.” He shook his head and chuckled. “All in a brain that’s barely at the level of a four-year-old. That android’s gonna have an interesting life.”

“I’ll bet.”

With that, Riker stood up, and walked over to where Vale was standing. A gust of wind blew through, ruffling his hair and making the strands of gray stand out. “In any case, I didn’t just come here to give you the inside scoop. I came to make you an offer.”

This time, Vale blinked. “Huh?”

Grinning, Riker said, “The first officer position on the Titan is yours if you want it.”

Shaking her head a few times, Vale said, “But—what about Commander Worf?”

Riker hesitated. “After—after what happened to Data, Captain Picard requested to have him back on the Enterprise. On top of everything else, Worf’s star is pretty high right now, especially after single-handedly rescuing the embassy. It’ll be good PR for the Enterprise to have him on board after everything we’ve been through this past year.”

Vale nodded. “Can’t argue with that.”

“Besides,” Riker added, “you look much better in a bathing suit than Worf.”

Despite herself, Vale laughed. “Sir, you are a married man.”

“Yes, and my wife would rather Worf was in the bathing suit. But I’m the captain, so I get to make those determinations.”

“Lucky you.”

Vale looked up at Riker’s pleasant, bearded face. She liked the man, admired him, thought he’d make an excellent captain.

But will I make a deserving first officer? Or do I want to go on protecting the people on the Enterprise?

“What do you say, Christine?”

Vale made her decision.

The Traveler watched as a galaxy died.

Remnants of stars, fragments of planets, gases and particulate matter, energy of all kinds, it swirled toward the center like water flowing down a drain.

How many people lived there? the Traveler wondered. How many trillions of creatures lived and died in that galaxy? Who will remember them now that they’re gone?

“You shall,” said a voice that was both right next to him and across the universe. “That is why we travel—to witness the glory that is the cosmos.”

The Traveler let out a very long sigh. It was an affectation from his time as a human being named Wesley Crusher that he had never been able to shake. “I know,” he said. “And I wouldn’t give it up for anything.”

His fellow Traveler spoke in a teasing voice. “You almost did.”

“I know. When I went to save the Enterprise at Rashanar, it was really tempting to go back.” Thoughts of Colleen Cabot filled the Traveler’s mind, the scent of her hair, the taste of her lips—and the sound of the Orion disruptor blast that killed her.

He looked back out over the galaxy going through its death throes. “But then I wouldn’t have been able to see this. Or that stellar nursery. Or those spacesingers. Or—” He smiled. “Well, you get the idea. I couldn’t go back to a life where I’d be restricted to one corner of one galaxy when I’ve got the whole universe to explore.”

“So what brought you to this place?”

The Traveler paused and reflected on the question his fellow Traveler posed to him. Finally, he answered in one word: “Data.”

“The android you served with on the Enterprise?”

“Yeah. He died right after I saw him on Earth—and I