Star Trek_ Generations - J M. Dillard [75]
He lifted his hand to shade his eyes, and stared at something moving down a distant hill. Picard followed his gaze and saw a small, slender woman leading a horse. Antonia?
Kirk nodded, wistful. Shes not real either, is she?
Nothing here is … nothing here matters … He looked around at his surroundings with sorrow. Its kind of like … orbital skydiving. Exciting for a few minutes, but in the end, you havent really done anything. You havent made a difference. And then his gaze fell upon Picardand for the first time, he seemed to really see the man in front of him.
Captain of the Enterprise, huh? He shot the other man a look of pure camaraderie and did not quite grin, but the corners of his eyes crinkled.
Thats right. Picard smiled with relief, surprised that Kirk had even registered the information.
Close to retirement?
I hadnt planned on it.
Well, let me tell you something, Kirk said, with a sudden passion that told Picard he was at least seeing the real man. Dont. Dont let them promote you, dont let them transfer you, dont let anything take you off the bridge of that ship. Because while youre there, you can make a difference.
You dont need to be on the bridge of a starship, Picard countered firmly, grateful that at last his words were being heard. Come with me. Help me stop Soran.
Make a difference again. He paused, his own tone rising with a fervor that matched Kirks. Youre right; nothing here is real, nothing matters. But the two hundred thirty million who died when the Veridian sun was destroyed they were real. So was my crew
Kirk leaned forward, his expression intense. The crew of the EnterpriseD?
Picard dropped his gaze, nodded somberly. All killed when the ship was caught in the resulting shock wave.
Kirk turned his face away, toward the woman walking down the distant hill, and was silent a long moment.
And then he looked back at Picard, and a smile spread slowly over his features. How can I argue with the captain of the Enterprise? He paused, and an amused glimmer very like the one Picard associated with Will Riker shone in his eyes. What was the name of that planet? Veridian Three?
Thats right, Picard said, with utter relief at the realization that he had at last succeeded.
I take it the odds are against us, and the situation is grim?
You could say that, Picard allowed.
Kirk gave a small, resigned sigh. Of course, if Spock were here, hed say I was being an irrational, illogical human for wanting to go on a mission like that … He grinned suddenly, brilliantly. Sounds like fun.
And he turned and went with Picard without a backward glance at the approaching woman.
FIFTEEN
Now, if youll excuse me, Captain, I have an appointment with eternity and I dont want to be late, Soran said.
Picard cast a swift glance at his surroundings. A millisecond before, he had been astride a horse, beside James Kirk, looking out at a gently rolling plain. Now he was once more atop the dusty plateau, seated on a rock in the shadow of a great tree, his hand full of pebbles; overhead, the Veridian sun shone down, radiating gentle warmth upon his skin.
James Kirk was nowhere to be seen.
Before him, Soranpale face aglow with maniacal anticipationturned and began to climb the scaffolding toward the top of the rockface.
There was no time for further appeals, no time for subterfugeno time to peer anxiously about to see whether Kirk had indeed gone through with his decision to leave the nexus. Picard dropped to the ground, rolled onto his back, and wriggled headfirst beneath the stone arch, praying silently all the while that he would not be doomed to see history repeat itself.
There was little room. He had gotten his head through to the forcefields other side and slipped his shoulders beneath the arch when the field flashed blindingly in front of his chin. The jolt was agonizingly intense; as the field crackled, he thrashed