Stardate 76517.8; July 06, 2399
EPISODE
110
Edited by Peter Bossley
Written by Chris Adamek
ADDITIONAL CHARACTERS
Cadet Gessal
Alentay
Boothby
Cadet Adam
Rostolev
Cadet Prevar
Shat’ra
Prologue
The first signs of morning came when a beam of amber sunlight poked through the thin veil of
silky white fabric draped over windows.
The glittering shaft of light danced effortlessly through the hazy
morning air, its radiant warmth gently washing over Erin Keller’s delicate
body. Somewhere, deep in her
unconscious mind, she could sense the dawn of this new day, and a tiny,
ethereal smile curved upward her scarlet lips.
Though the silent universe spanned hundreds of millions of light
years in any given direction, nowhere within those confines was there a more
serene, placid sight. Her shapely body
wrapped in pale violet sheets, Erin Keller represented all that was perfect in
the universe; Kendall Johnson only wished he could forever preserve this one
singular moment of bliss.
Somewhere, deep in the back of his wondrous mind, Kendall’s
thoughts were already conspiring to grant his wish. It was certain that some temporal phenomenon could somehow wrap
its intricate equations around those euphoric moments and forever lock them
into eternity… But until the day came
when such things were possible, Kendall was content to preserve within his mind
this perfect memory.
“So perfect,” he mused, gently brushing aside the stray lock of
auburn hair that dangled on Erin’s forehead.
“So very perfect…”
And while Kendall intended the sentiment for himself alone, its
delicate words nonetheless resonated within Erin, as well. Her ethereal brown eyes slowly opened to the
new day, wide with affection and curiosity from the outset. “You’re so very sweet,” she chirped, the
smile on her face widening. “What would
I do without you?”
Kendall didn’t immediately respond, mainly because he knew not
what to say… but somewhere, buried deep within his darkest of thoughts, Kendall
remained silent because somehow knew
the answer to Erin’s question. It was
little more than an echo of what once had been, a shadow left by time… and
Kendall was not at all fond of the answers whispered by those shadowy echoes.
Not at all…
“Is
everything okay, Kendall?” Alan
Christopher stood less than a meter away, looking on with curiosity in his
bright blue eyes. He had no idea what
was about to happen.
But every
single facet of Kendall Johnson’s life in recent months had been building to
this single moment. He was destined to
eliminate Alan Christopher… and after his recent encounter with the malevolent
Illidan, Kendall knew that within him he possessed the courage to do the
deed. He reached behind his back…
Christopher
stepped forward, frowning a bit.
“Kendall?” His curiosity was slowly giving way to concern.
But this
was the man that ruined Kendall Johnson’s life. Not only did Alan Christopher steal away Erin Keller, he stole
all the hopes and aspirations that went with her. Christopher was not worthy of a woman as wonderful as Erin
Keller! He could never hope to be!
But that
would no longer be a problem… The time
had at long last come to end Christopher’s egotistical delusions of grandeur,
and put him out of his misery.
Kendall
very quickly withdrew the weapon from behind his back. On the surface, it looked very similar to a
phaser, but it was anything but.
Equipped with highly advanced temporal technology, Kendall Johnson could
erase every shred of Alan Christopher’s deluded existence in one fell swoop…
And he did
so… with pleasure.
It was an echo. It was… what might have been. And it was thoroughly unpleasant. Kendall tried his best to dismiss the dark
memories passing through his conscious mind—after all, it was not wise to
linger upon what might have been, especially in the midst of such
perfection. The darkness would only
serve to detract from the euphoria.
“What are we going to do today?” Erin playfully inquired. “I was thinking about heading down to the
beach… It’s been warm the past few
days, so I’m quite certain the water won’t be too chilly!” Propping herself up with her elbows, she
turned to Kendall and grinned. “What do
you think?”
“The beach…” Kendall had
never been fond of the beach. His fair
skin tended to burn with incredible ease, and then it would get itchy as it
peeled away—and really, he wasn’t too fond of the water, either. He forced a smile to his face. “The beach sounds… great.”
Though Kendall made certain there wasn’t even a hint of
displeasure in his voice, Erin somehow managed to see right through his little
white lie. Tossing aside some of the
velvety sheets, Erin wrapped her arms around Kendall’s shoulders and pulled
herself closer to his body. “So what do
you really want to do?”
With Erin just lying inches away, the question was very easy to
answer. “I just want to stay here… and
enjoy this moment.”
It wasn’t a long-term plan for this new and wondrous day, but it
was certainly enough to satisfy Erin for the short-term. She planted a gentle kiss on Kendall’s
lips. “I think I can handle that…”
“Good.” Kendall flashed
a devious grin, and gently closed the small gap between him and Erin.
…And as the blazing golden sun climbed into the cerulean skies,
Kendall… heard his communicator bleep:
“Harrison to Johnson!”
Startled by the summons, Kendall pushed aside Erin and
instinctively slapped his chest—but his fingers fell upon little more than
flesh. Suddenly realizing that his
shirt was on the floor, Kendall scrambled out of bed in search of his missing
wardrobe.
Erin frowned. “What’s
going on?”
Though it pained him to do so, Kendall had no choice but to
ignore Erin. Captain Harrison did not
like to be kept waiting, and considering the circumstances, Kendall didn’t
exactly feel like explaining the reason for his tardiness.
He found his shirt hanging on the back of a chair. It was a simple white tank-top, communicator
firmly attached to its customary position above the left breast. Kendall quickly tapped the shiny Starfleet
insignia. “Johnson here!”
“Lieutenant,” Harrison crisply stated, apparently unfazed by the
brief delay, “report to the bridge at once.
We have a situation that requires your attention.”
“Yes sir!” Though his
mind was a bit preoccupied with Erin Keller, Kendall was nevertheless at a loss
to explain this new situation.
Everything had been rather calm when he and Erin first arrived—there was
no sign of trouble of any kind. “I’ll
be there right away.”
“Very well. Harrison
out.”
And on that note, Kendall was forced to face yet another echo;
another instance of what might have been.
“Computer,” he said, already headed for the exit, “end program.”
Erin Keller and every last drop of her divine perfection
immediately vanished into thin air…