SEASON 3: EPISODE 01

CROSSFIRE:Epilogue

  Captain Jonathan Masters was back on his ship.  He had only been gone for a few days but it seemed like he had lived an extra lifetime.  He was resting in his quarters as per Doctor Murphy’s orders.  The phaser blast to his shoulder had not been as bad as he had feared; he was however sore and tired after having to walk for hours on end and several scuffles he had endured.

  He sat on his couch and held his model of the old USS Swiftfire.  He ran his fingers along its surface.  It was cold and had a metallic feel to it.  This had been the last thing he had done before he had left on his quest for answers.  He had got answers to his questions, but now a whole new set presented themselves.

  As the Enforcer promised he was debriefed once he left Doctor Murphy’s care.  Two Starfleet Intelligence officers had beamed over from the Annan.  The two officers, whose names were so plain he had already forgotten them, had made him tell his story from start to finish.  Then they had started the questions.  Not all in linear order.  They started at the beginning and worked their way forward before jumping around with questions about later events, then back to a linear track and so forth as they looked for inconsistencies in his story.  He had told the truth for the most part.  He had left out Doctor Murphy’s revelation not wanting to add any more woes for her.  In the end they had left satisfied that they had got all they needed.

  He put down the model on the coffee table and reached into his pocket.  There was one other bit he had left out of his reports.  He pulled on the blood stained combadge that had belonged to his captor, Sela.  It had not taken much effort to surmise that this was not his combadge.  He still did not understand what drove Sela to do what she had done.  He did not even know where she was going and what she hoped to do.  He wished he could have kept the datapadd that she had, he felt that the answers probably were locked in its memory core.

  All he had left was her combadge.  She had slipped it to him as her final act.  Did she think he could use it to call for help despite the fact it did not work?  Or did she just want him to have a reminder of what he went through?  Was it just her symbolic acceptance that she was going to die and that she was no longer a Starfleet officer?  He would never know now.

  He had at least received some good news.  When he got back to the Swiftfire he told Commander Core about the Dominion outpost and she had dispatched Captain…no, Major Daley’s Marines to secure the area.  They had found Skipler who was in fact still alive just very heavily stunned.  It seemed that Sela still had a little of what made her a Starfleet officer in her as she had not killed the man.

  Masters had briefly gone to the planet to see Skipler.  The alien had been pleased to see he had survived and Masters had thanked him for his efforts.  They had also given him a Federation communicator so that if the Dominion ever returned he could contact them straight away.

  As a gift Masters had given him a replacement knife for the one he lost.  It was a modern knife that was lighter, stronger, and sharper and would last him for the rest of his life.  That had been a blatant breaking of the rules but he did not care.  As far as he was concerned Skipler deserved it.

  There was a chime indicating someone was at the door.  Masters stood up and walked to a set of draws in his bedroom.  He paused as he looked at the combadge.  He was not sure if he should do what he was planning.  In all respects he should have handed it over to Intelligence, at the very least he should just destroy it.  With these thoughts in mind he instead slipped the combadge into a draw and hid it at the bottom.  He walked back over to the door.

  Masters pressed the controls on the wall next to the door and the door opened.  At his door was Major Daley.  He had a brief flash of Sela as he saw the resemblances in her face.  These weak surface features were immaterial to the strong deeper differences between the two.  He was glad to see Daley.  She was one of those people who just lifted his spirits when he was in their presence.  There was no doubt that he had strong feelings for her.

  “Can I come in?” she asked.

  “Sure,” he replied.  He stepped back and allowed her into his quarters.

  “How is your shoulder?” she asked as she walked in.

  “Doc said it will be fine.  The area is still tender from the flesh and skin regeneration but it was nothing more then a glancing blow.”

  “That’s good,” she said.

  There was a brief silence as the two stood across from each other giving each other nervous smiles.  He was still unsure about his feelings towards her and what he should do.  They were good friends but there was a definite sexual tension that made him feel ridiculously giddy when he was alone with her.

  “Congratulations on your promotion,” he finally said.

  “Thank you.”  She took a deep breath before she continued.  “I can’t do this anymore.”

  “Pardon?”

  “This ‘just friends’ thing.  I can’t wait until the end of the war to see if there can be something more between us.  If anything the last few days has taught me that no matter what the potential pain might be the reward of having a relationship with you now is worth that risk.  I don’t want a tomorrow where the chance is gone; I don’t think I could take it.”

  Masters was lost for words.  He had not seen her be so open.  She was taking a big risk and been totally honest with him in voicing her feelings.  It was something that he didn’t know he could do.  She had far more emotional courage then he did.

  “I know we agreed to something else before but this is how I feel right now.  I just thought it was important that you at least know how I truly feel.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” Masters said truthfully.  At this moment everything that came to his head did not seem like it would be appropriate to explain what he felt.

  Daley walked up to him.  “You don’t need to say anything.”

  She put her hands on his face and pulled his to hers.  It all appeared to happen in slow motion to Masters but it still took him a second to respond.  As her lips touched his he felt something he had only felt with one other person before.  It was almost like electricity had passed between them, it was a feeling of being one, a feeling of total comfort.  It was as natural as breathing and at that point he wondered how he managed to live before this feeling, the feeling of knowing that this is how you wanted to feel from now to the end of time.  It was an almost timeless moment that also felt all too brief.

  Daley broke the kiss first and looked him directly in the eye.  “Did you feel it?”

  All he could do is smile widely and nod.

  “I take it you feel the same as I do?”

  “Yes,” he confirmed as he brought a hand up and stroked her cheek.  He felt like a schoolboy having his first kiss.  “What do we do now?” he asked.

  Daley’s eyes looked down briefly as she bit her lower lip.  As she looked back up at him her eyes twinkled.  “I can think of a few things.”

  She kissed Masters again with passion that was matched by his own.  For the first time in a long time Masters surrendered to the moment and to feelings that he had not felt for so long that they were almost alien to him.  The feelings encompassed him and everything floated away.  It was like they were the only ones in the entire universe and it felt complete.

  Dalton Masters walked towards the just landed shuttle.  It was the second time in the last few days that this shuttle had visited his home.  Fleet Admiral Rekris exited the shuttle and walked towards him.  Unlike his appearance in his previous visit the Admiral looked upbeat.

  “Admiral, you look like you have good news.”

  “I do indeed.  It seems our previous statement about your son was somewhat premature.  Jonathan is very much still alive.”

  Dalton nearly tripped over in shock.  He and his wife were still grieving for the loss of their only child.  They were told there would be no body to return and had already started to plan a service and an appropriate monument to their son.

  “What happened?” he asked still filled with disbelief.

  “It seems that Starfleet Intelligence falsified the report.”

  Dalton knew he should be feeling angry but he was too busy been relieved that his son was still alive.  “Why?”

  “For…operational reasons.  I can’t give you much; Jonathan was taken prisoner by an officer as she attempted to commit treason.  They were intercepted but Intelligence decided to put out the story that he was killed to mislead any accomplices working with his captor.  In my rush to be a dutiful friend I came and gave you the information personally.  If I had let it go through the proper channels, you would never have been notified.  I am truly sorry to cause you and Claire such trauma.”

  Dalton grabbed his old friend in a fierce bear hug.  Admiral Rekris looked a bit nervous as he approached; probably fearing that Dalton would strike him.  “There is no need to forgive you for doing what a friend would do.  You don’t know how much it means for us to know that he is still alive.”  He released the Admiral but grasped him strongly by the shoulders and smiled widely at him.

  “I’m glad I could give you this good news,” replied the Admiral smiling just as widely.

  “There is something else I want to talk to you about,” said Dalton.

  “What?”

  “You asked before if there was anything you could do to help me.  I want back in.”

  “You want your commission back?” said Rekris checking that he understood Dalton correctly.

  “Yes.”

  Rekris did not even pause in his answer.  “Command should have too much trouble with accepting an officer of your experience back.”

  There was one major issue that Dalton had.  “What about the fall out from my leaving?  I did leave at a time when the war was going very poorly for us.  Now, we’re on the up with a foothold in Cardie space, it might seem I’m jumping back on the winning side.”

  “If anyone thinks that then they are an idiot,” said Rekris bluntly.  “I do think you never should have stepped down, we could have organised some type of indefinite leave to give you the time you needed to get over that happened in your last mission.”

  “I did what I thought was best for Starfleet at the time.”

  “No one has ever doubted your commitment to the service; it will be good to have you back.”

  “Come inside, we have to tell Claire.  I must warn you she’s likely to grab hold of you and not let go with this news!”

  Dalton thought that it would also be good to be back as he walked Rekris towards his home.  He had not lied when he said he had thought he had done the best thing for Starfleet.  He’s actions had cost lives, material and hurt his confidence in his abilities.  However, as the war continued he found it harder and harder to sit back and let it play out.  When he heard that Jonathan had been killed it had really brought the need to return to active duty to the fore.  Thankfully he could return without the spectre of vengeance hanging over him.  He would be back for the Federation.