Fic: Generations (1/1)

[annelise@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Generations.
Comments/Criticism/Etc. to: ladyvyxen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

--

The U.S.S. Endeavour edged out of Spacedock above the San Francisco 
Yards, and moved forward under impulse power. The rays of the sun 
reflected upon the saucer section of the Nebula-class starship, 
proudly displaying the registry NCC-71805-A. In contrast to its 
elegance the bridge crew of the vessel were having a difficult time 
holding back their emotions.
For them, the adventure was just beginning, but this crew were not 
adverse to danger or adventure. Although they never actively sought 
the precarious situations they had often found themselves in, they 
soon found themselves engaged in one perilous situation or another.

Bloodleblip.

"Come!" called out the Captain, Buffy Summers.
Buffy was reknowned throughout the upper echelons of Starfleet for 
her intelligence, her experience, and her age, as she had attained 
the rank of Captain before the age of twenty-five. Thanks to the 
tutelage of Rupert Giles, her Academy trainer, she had been given a 
position on the USS Enterprise, and had been given Acting Captaincy 
twice before receiving her own command. The door swished apart, 
admitting the the luscious form of Willow Rosenberg, her first 
officer.
"Ah, number one. Just in time to join me for a Mocha!"
Willow yayed, a grin breaking out on her pixie-like features.
"What, no tea?" she asked, in reference to Admiral Giles, who always 
forced Buffy to drink tea whenever he visited. Buffy shared the 
laughter, glad of a chance to relax. Over the years, her relationship 
with Willow had matured into a very cordial and close friendship. 
Buffy sighed, her face reflecting the seriousness she felt.
"What's to report, number one?" she asked, while walking over 
towards the replicator.
"Cordelia has returned from her meeting with Kurn. You were right, 
Buffy. She was able to use her family's link to the High Council to 
get us the two Klingon ships we needed. Unfortunately, we only have 
access to two B'rel class Birds of Prey, not the larger K'Vort class."
"At least we have two cloakable ships." Buffy replied, 
nodding. "Let's just hope we don't have to engage in combat. What 
condition are the Birds of Prey in?"
"According to Commander Anyanka, the ships are in perfect working 
order and ready for the mission."
"That's Anya for you." laughed Buffy. "Never anything less than 
perfect. Prepare the away team for transport and get underway as soon 
as possible."
"Aye Captain." Willow turned and left, a trace of a smile still 
playing upon her lips.

*

The band of energy rippled onward, following a clearly defined 
path. Stellar Cartographers, aware of its deadly potential had 
plotted its course for years, diverting ships and, when necessary, 
evacuating colonies. Oblivious to the fear it left behind in its 
passing, the Nexus, forged on. Although the great ribbon possessed 
life, in a fashion, it was devoid of intelligence.
Guinan stared out of the window. Although she was in a place of 
great joy, her eyes reflected the anguish she was experiencing.
Frustrated at her powerlessness to alter events, she had no option 
but to watch them occur. For her, time had no meaning. All time was 
one time, and the weighty depression of that fact was enough to 
suffuse her contentment with the clouds of despair. A tear escaped 
the confines of one eye, and she looked away towards the ground, 
crushed by her need to help and her inability to render assistance.

*

Buffy stared at the image of the Nexus on the viewscreen. The 
energy ribbon rippled before her, a bizarre snake of colour streaking 
across the starry background. She hoped the experts were right, that 
the newly-devoloped (And banned, she remembered with a smile) phasic 
cloaking device would enable a suitably adapted Klingon Bird of Prey 
to move safely through the Nexus, analysing as it passed through. A 
second bird of Prey was on hand to actually make contact with the 
Nexus, allowing, they hoped, some form of communication with its 
inhabitants. Although Buffy was no expert in this field, even she 
recognised a desperate bid when she saw it, and she hoped that there 
wouldn't be too many casualties for her to be responsible for.

*

Will Riker sighed, leaning heavily into his command chair. This was 
where he wanted to be, he realised. Captain William T. Riker. He had 
to admit it to himself, it sounded good. How long he'd waited for the 
opportunity to take this chair, and that moment on Varidian 3 when 
he'd looked up through the shattered remains of the Enterprise's 
bridge, he'd thought this moment would never have come. Still, he 
thought, a smile creasing his aged face, here he was.
"Sir!" An Ensign's voice broke into his reverie, and he immediately 
turned his attention to the matter at hand.
"Yes Ensign, what is it?"
"We're approaching the coordinates set for the meeting point, 
Captain. The Grissom, the Endeavour and two Klingon ships are already 
there."
"Good!" Riker enthused. "Hail the Endeavour, I want to speak to 
Captain Summers."

*

Buffy was sitting in her ready room when the call from the 
Enterprise came through. She composed herself, unconsciously 
adjusting her uniform in the same manner that her Academy Trainer had 
too.
"Captain Summers, good to see you!" Riker's baritone rang out.
"Hello again, Captain." acknowledged Buffy.
"What's the situation Captain?" Riker's face held a trace of a grin.
"Starfleet have asked that an experienced group of officers should 
attempt to gain access to the Nexus. Apparently, that's us!" Buffy 
broke into a wide smile. "We each have to make selections from our 
crew. I'm handing control of the Endeavour over to Cordelia, my Chief 
of Security. I've selected my first officer, Willow Rosenberg and 
Lieutenant Spike to accompany me."
"Who's been selected from the Grissom?" asked Riker.
"Captain Harris of the Grissom is coming along, as is his first 
officer, Lieutenant-Commander Angel. Also Commander Data."
"Data? Last I heard he'd retired from Star Fleet!" Interrupted Will.
"He was approached by Admiral Bernlin and asked to return on a 
special commission. Do you know which officers to choose from your 
own crew?"
"Yes. Myself, Troy and Commander Vesch."
"Vesch? I'm not familiar with that name. Should I be?"
"She's the granddaughter of Tasha Yar, half Romulan, and a damn good 
officer."
"Can she be trusted?" Buffy had always harboured distrust for the 
Romulans, despite the peace treaty. Like vampires, they had no honour 
and had to be closely watched.
"Doubtlessly. She's proved herself many times over."
"Alright then, prepare to beam over to the Vor'cha with your chosen 
crew members in thirty minutes, standard mission equipment. We don't 
have long before the Nexus arrives."
"I'll see you there. Riker out." 

*

In the Holodeck of the Endeavour, Buffy practiced her fighting 
skills with a Kut'luch, the bladed weapon favoured by Klingon 
Assassins. The holodeck had been programmed to ignore safety factors, 
and she was immersed within the deadly game. Suddenly the hidden 
communicators within the holodeck chimed out and repeated, "Bridge to 
the Captain, report to level 2." Just for a second, Buffy lost her 
concentration, and was nearly impaled by a sword, thrust by a 
vampiric humanoid.
With instincts honed to near-perfection, Buffy whirled and buried 
the serrated blade into the torso of her attacker, and it exploded 
into dust.
"Computer, end program!" she called out jubilantly and strode out. 
Behind her, the alien world evaporated into a blank grid.

*

Will Riker stepped off the transporter, and waited for his eyes to 
adjust to the dimmed light of the Kul'pla's transporter room. A 
young, black-haired woman came up to meet him.
"Greetings Captain Riker, I'm Cordelia Chase, Head of Security." She 
offered the Captain a flirtatious smile.
"Ah, young Cordelia, I remember you from aboard the Enterprise." 
Riker winked, playfully. "How long ago that was!" He threw in a quick 
leer.
Cordelia, social abseiler, laughed dutifully. "Buffy is on level 2. 
She's converted the galley into a ready room and will meet you there. 
I've been assigned to escort you."
"Then lead on, young lady." Riker's irrepressable grin broke out as 
he followed Cordelia from the transporter room.

*

"The situation is this," Buffy concluded her briefing. "Lieutenant-
Commander Angel, yourself, Commander Vesch and a skeleton crew will 
fly the Vor'kis through the Nexus as a guinea-pig run for the 
Kul'pla. You will set your shield modulation to 12.36, the same as 
the Nexus. Gather as much scientific data as possible. The rest of 
us," Buffy's eyes scanned the room. "will enter the Nexus in the 
Kul'pla. Questions?"
"What will we encounter within the Nexus?" this from Angel.
"Previous reports indicate that you enter an environment tailored to 
suit your personality, rather like a holodeck program. Once inside, 
we have to stay in contact, or we lose the feel of reality."
"Bloody stupid idea if ever I heard one!" said Spike.
The assembled officers grinned in agreement and at the Lieutenant's 
quaint way with words.

*

The Vor'kis sped towards the Nexus on half impulse. On the bridge, 
tension was beginning to mount.
"The shields aren't modulating! What's wrong?" Angel stepped towards 
Vesch and looked over her shoulder. That's not the correct..."
His voice was cut off by the ship's computer.
"WARNING! WARNING! Shield failure imminent." The voice was gruff, 
the computer repeating the message in both Klingon and English.

*

>From the bridge of the Endeavour, the Vor'kis appeared to implode. 
The warp core in the centre of the ship went critical, vaporising 
most of the vessel. Fragments of hull spun away into the uncaring 
void.
Buffy turned away from the viewscreen of the Kul'pla, nauseated by 
the loss of the crewmembers, and Angel.
"It didn't work!" she exclaimed, frustrated.
"It would be senseless to attempt our original plan with this 
vessel." stated Data. Buffy agreed.
"Can the communicators be set to transmit from within the Nexus?" 
she enquired.
"I believe so." said Data, simply.
"Then make it so." said Buffy.
"Hey, wait a minute!" exclaimed Riker.

*

"How do you expect us to get inside the Nexus? You saw what happened 
to the Vor'kis!"
"There will be no us. I intend to be beamed alone directly into the 
path of the Nexus."
"Bloody madness!" Lieutenant Spike burst out.
"No." said Data. "Records indicate that Captain Kirk survived being 
sucked into space when the Nexus hit the Enterprise-B."
"I volunteer to accompany you." said Willow.
"Me too." said Harris.
"Just us three, then." said Buffy, noticing Riker about to 
speak. "As Mission Commander, I wont be responsible for any other 
lives."
"As you wish." said Riker, wearing an expression of obvious distaste.

*

Buffy awoke from the darkness. She could still remember the biting 
chill of space in that brief millisecond before she blacked out, 
before she came... here. She looked about her and recognised the 
Enterprise. She was inside a Jeffries tube, and people were running 
past. Suddenly, there was nothing more natural in the world than to 
be here. She was being hunted by the Enterprise security. Why? She 
tried to think. Of course, it was an exercise to test the readiness 
of the cadets.
She climbed out of the tube and entered ten-forward. She sat down, 
taking a book out of a pocket. She was just about to begin reading 
when a woman stepped in front of her.
"I don't know you." said the stranger.
"I'm Buffy Elizabeth Summers, Acting Ensign."
The woman laughed, annoying Buffy.
"You're no more a kid than I am!" she stated. Suddenly the scene 
around her shifted, and she was on a dry, arid planet.
"What did you just..."
The woman cut her off with a wave of her hand.

*

"Watch!" she said. Suddenly, a large cube appeared in the sky. Buffy 
recognised it immediately as a Borg ship.
"I see this every day." said the woman. "My name's Guinan, and 
you're in the Nexus. You can be anywhere, anywhen, here. The Nexus 
protects its occupants, prevents illness, keeps you happy by 
attempting to cater for your every wish. Eventually, you realise that 
your wish is simply to leave. Can you imagine what its like, living 
for an eternity, constantly feeling joyful? I'm forced to having to 
make myself want to see this," Guinan waved towards the Borg 
ship, "just to keep myself sane. This place must be destroyed."
"Do you have any idea how?" asked Buffy.
"Yes, there's an Engineer here, called Morak. He was on the same 
refugee ship I was. He believes that if you could somehow alter the 
path of the Nexus to pass into a sun, it would be destroyed."
"Okay." agreed Buffy. "How many others are there here?"
"Including you and your friends, nine."
Buffy mentally kicked herself for having forgotten her friends. 
Still, they would be unharmed.
"I'll do my best." said Buffy, her eyes reflecting nothing but grim 
determination. 
"Buffy to Enterprise." Buffy tapped her comm-badge.
"Riker here, go ahead Buffy." Riker's voice was tinged with relief.
"I've spoken with a woman claiming to be Guinan. She believes that 
if you can alter the path of the Nexus to pass through a star, it 
would be destroyed."
"We read you." Riker turned to Data. "Analysis, Mr. Data."
"Intriguing concept. The path of the Nexus was changed before by 
destroying stars along its path."
"Not exactly a viable prospect, Data. Any alternatives?"
"It may be possible to direct the Nexus by the creation of phasic 
warp bubbles around it, which would act like walls to channel it."
"How do we go about doing that?" asked Riker.
"It would mean using two ships flying on each side of the Nexus. Our 
shields have the capability to be modified to that end. The 
Enterprise has an existing configuration in its data banks, and the 
cloaking device on the Kul'pla could be easily modified to create 
bubbles."
"What existing configuration?" asked Riker, mystified.
"It was originally intended as metaphasic shielding." said 
Data. "Geordi originally programmed it from notes made by Dr. 
Crusher."
"Well," said Riker, "I've never known anything of Geordi's to go 
wrong yet! Well, apart from the holodeck every other week..."
"However, this plan would mean us having to fly almost into the 
star's corona and probably into it. We should survive, as we have 
metaphasic shielding, but the Klingon ship will not."
"Why do we have to fly so close to the star?"
"Basically, we are trying to push the Nexus sideways, as soon as we 
pull away, the Nexus will continue on its original course. I suggest 
putting a skeleton crew on the Kul'pla, and keeping a constant 
transporter lock on the crew members, ready to beam them back before 
hitting the star's corona."
"Can't we control the Klingon vessel remotely?" Riker asked.
"No sir. Our systems are incompatible. Maybe if we had more time..." 
Data gave a very human shrug and Riker smiled in response.
"Okay Data, run with your plan.

*

"Buffy to the Endeavour." she called out, touching her comm-badge.
"Endeavour here. Chief Medical officer Ben is on standby to receive 
casualties." Commander Anyanka's voice was barely audible through the 
waves of static.
"Nine to beam up, engage when ready" Buffy said.
"Anyanka to Bridge." Anya's voice came out over the intercom, 
startling the commanding officer.
"This is the Bridge," Cordelia replied. "Go ahead."
"I have a problem getting a transporter lock, I can only get a 
partial lock on seven of the nine life forms, with a possible eighth."
"We're running out of time. Attempt to beam aboard all that you can."
Anya activated the transporter controls, and glanced nervously at 
the pads. Seven forms materialised, and she was glad to see that 
Xander and Willow were among them. Then she noticed that Buffy wasn't.
Feverishly, she worked at the controls, but it was no good. The 
other two patterns were shifting too rapidly to get even a partial 
lock. She looked up into Willow's eyes, and replied to the silent 
question with a shake of her head.

*

The Enterprise under the guidance of Captain Riker and the Kul'pla 
under the Captainship of Willow Rosenberg maneuvered into position on 
either side of of the Nexus. At a signal from the Enterprise, the 
cloaking device on the Kul'pla partially activated, blurring the 
ship. The Enterprise too was only partially visible through its 
metaphasic shielding. Between the two vessels, the Nexus thrashed 
about like a caged beast. Slowly, the two vessels edged towards the 
Benecian sun. The hearts of the Captains on both ships were heavy, 
knowing that by this action they were consigning a mutual friend, to 
death.


*

Buffy stood on the bridge of the Enterprise, and ordered Cordelia 
to score 'The Slayer kicked My Ass' onto the Cardassian vessel. Buffy 
internally basked in a moment of triumph. She had almost single-
handedly stopped a threat to the Federation, however slim, and now 
she was on a personal high. The viewscreen changed from showing 
Cordelia's Calligraphic handwriting and flickered into the form of a 
Cardassian. It was at this moment when Buffy's world exploded.

*

The Nexus, trapped between the subspace fields generated by the 
Enterprise and the Kor'pla, plunged into the star's corona.
"Transfer complete." informed Commander Anyanka from the transporter 
room, a scant few seconds before the Kul'pla exploded. Riker merely 
nodded in response.
"How are the shields holding up?" he enquired.
"Shields at sixty percent and holding." stated Data, calm as usual.
"Okay then, take us out." As the Enterprise banked upwards and 
headed out of the Corona, only Deanna caught the tear in Riker's eye.
"Willow, you have the bridge." Riker nodded to the redhead as she 
came out of the turbolift, and he headed into the ready room.

Bloodleblip.


"Come!" called out Riker, just settling into the Captain's chair." 
Deanna stepped into the room.
"Will, I've known you..."
Riker cut her off with a wave of his hand.
"I know, Deanna. Buffy deserved a lot more than that, but what else 
could I have done? I had no choice. The good of the many..."
"Far outweigh the good of the few." Deanna continued. "Yes, I don't 
blame you for your course of action, and neither will anybody else. 
Not even Rupert. Yes, I can tell that is what's bothering you. You 
feel that you've betrayed his trust. But as you say, what else could 
you have done?"
Riker sighed, annoyed at himself. Feelings of guilt pervaded him, 
gripping him in a mental fugue. Stop it, he thought. You're a 
starfleet officer. Do your duty.
"Deanna, I leave it to you to prepare the eulogy." he said.

*

"She was not a woman you could forget." Riker's last words were 
still echoing in Willow's mind as she sat on the bed in her quarters. 
The door chimed.
"Enter." she called, sitting upright. Captain Xander Harris entered 
the room, a somber expression on his face. Willow relaxed again.
"I should have been there, with her, in the Nexus." he declared.
"Then you would be dead too." stated Willow, logical as always.
"I'll always regret not being with her" Xander said, vaguely.
"She died in the line of duty. Its the way she'd have wanted it." 
Willow scowled at the cliched sound of her voice. "There's nothing 
any of us could have done. Will you join me in a drink?"
Xander nodded, and walked over to the replicator. He ordered two 
drinks and came back with the glasses, passing one to Willow. "You 
were more deeply in love with her than you thought, weren't you?"
Willow gave him barely perceptible nod. "Yes, I realised too late."
Xander held up his glass. "To Buffy, a good Captain and friend"
"Yes." said Willow, her heart breaking. "A good friend."

*

The Nexus died. In every known continuum, the rippling band of 
energy faded out of existence. Inside, Buffy screamed as she was 
caught within the maelstrom of power, buffetted on all sides.
"Home!" she cried, willing only to be free of the Nexus's grip. The 
Nexus, existing in all dimensions and time frames, fulfilled her 
wish, its last act before dying.

*

As the Nexus died, Guinan stared into the raging heart of a star. 
Myriad colours played about her eyes as the ribbon of energy flailed 
about. Her last thoughts were of her impending freedom, and strangely 
she smiled as she was willingly consumed by the Sun's heat.

*

Buffy blinked as the kaleidoscope of colour cleared from her 
vision. Pastoral fields stretched out before her, and the sky was a 
perfect blue. The single, yellow orb of the Earth's sun was just 
reaching its zenith. Laughing, Buffy walked towards a rocky 
outcropping and peered over the edge. Immediately she sobered.
Below her, down the hillside she was standing on, a group of 
neanderthals, wielding knives and spears, ran in a group chasing 
after a creature she identified as something approximating a horse. 
She gasped, realising that she was stranded on Earth thousands of 
years before she was even born.
"My dear Miss Summers, there's no need to despair." With a start, 
Buffy turned around at the sound of a voice behind her. With a sob of 
relief, she hugged the newcomer.
"Well!" said Q, draping an arm over her shoulder. "After all our 
stimulating chats, I couldn't just let you stay here. Think of the 
waste! no, the Powers That Be have a much more useful task for you. 
Your own Hellmouth, in fact."
Buffy's smile mirrored Q's own, as they both disappeared in a 
bright flash of white light.

*

END