Pike sat in his cabin. The lights were off, letting the stars beyond the room's window blaze forth in all their glory, but Pike had no eyes for them right now. He just sat in his big chair staring blankly ahead into the darkness. The gloom in his quarters hid his expression, but matched it perfectly: one of dour concentration mixed with deep anger, with a touch of worried concern thrown in for good measure.
He’d returned from the 'Ancient West' party in the holodeck rather late and had fallen immediately into a deep dreamless sleep. But then, sometime in the dead of the night, he’d been awakened by the arrival of a message, and had been unable to return to sleep, so he'd just been sitting here in the dark, mulling the matter over and over in his mind, hoping desperately to find a way to avoid what was coming. Of course there was none, and he knew it, and that's what was angering him.
The message had been a simple one, three short words: "It is time."
He'd been expecting the message, it was the reason he was on the *Ronin* in the first place. Still, when it actually came, it had shocked him. Perhaps the situation simply had never seemed totally real to him, and now that he'd finally received confirmation, the reality came crashing down on his head like a 16-ton weight.
Or maybe it was the manner in which the message was delivered that had upset him so. It didn't arrive by subspace radio, or carrier wave, or even carrier *pigeon*. It had simply popped into his head - those three simple little words, "It is time."
Pike sighed and rubbed his eyes. Glancing over at his desk, the chrono read 0530 hours. He groaned inwardly. The night was over, there was no point in trying to get back to sleep now. He stiffly rose out of the chair and made his way to the bathroom.
As he showered, he made an effort to mentally recompose himself. He'd have to be in top form for the coming day, because it was time to inform Captain Evans and his staff of the real reason for his presence on board, and of the *Ronin's* secret mission. He knew it would be a long and arduous task, because the story he had to tell them was all but unbelievable. He knew they'd go along with him because the pips on his collar demanded that they do, but he wanted -- he *needed* -- them to actually believe him. The fate of the Federation depended on the actions of this crew in the next few weeks, perhaps longer, and he couldn't afford to have people that didn't believe in what he was doing.
Showered and dressed, feeling somewhat refreshed and slightly more awake now, Pike called Captain Evans on the intercom.
[Evans here.]
"Captain. I want to schedule a meeting with you and the senior officers at 0800 hours in the main holodeck."
There was a moment of silence at the other end of the circuit, then Evans' voice asked, [Yes sir. Did you say the holodeck, sir?]
"That's right, Captain. Pike out," he snapped. Immediately he regretted his rough tone of voice. It seemed his unwanted late-night message had left him more on-edge than he'd realized. He'd have to apologize to Evans later. Right now he had work to do.
He walked back out into the main room of his cabin over to the small safe that was built into the cabinets behind the desk. He punched in his code and the thick hatch obediently slid open. He reached in and removed the materials he'd need for the meeting.
0800 hours arrived and one by one the senior officers of the *Ronin* filed into the holodeck. Admiral Pike had arrived early in order to set things up. In addition to the standard bare walls and hologrid machinery, the cavernous room now sported a long table and chairs identical to the setup in the ship's briefing room. As the crew entered, they took up their customary position at the table, with Captain Evans at the head. Pike remained standing.
When everyone had settled down, Pike began.