Captain Matthew Cross slowly became aware of the normal, mundane sounds made by the cockpit's instruments, the soft hums, clicks, and beeps. The sound of his own breathing was loud in his ears. He opened his eyes. The cabin lights were on. Beside him, Dexter sat in the copilot seat, eyes closed but still breathing. Behind him, Cross could hear the rustling of Jo and Alex as they recovered from their trip through time.
The powerful sense of deja vu wasn't quite as strong as last time, the visions much less intense and disquieting. Was that a good sign? Had they managed to save humanity?
He looked out the front window. Stars.
And something else. Something BIG. A dark shape that blotted out the stars as it moved across his field of vision with a swiftness that belied its immensity.
His console beeped at him, pulling him from his stupor. It was the ship-to-ship communication system indicating there was an incoming call. He thumbed the activation toggle and was rewarded with the visage of a middle-aged man on the comm screen. He wore a deep blue uniform and a recognizable, sideways, elongated Starfleet insignia on his left breast.
"I am Captain Braxton of the Federation Timeship Relativity. Please stand down your weapons; we have secured the Suliban vessel in our hangar and taken custody of the crew. We would also like to take charge of your refugees so we can relocate and reintegrate them back into society."
Cross sat up straight in his chair and replied. "I am Captain Matthew Cross of the Federation starship Crockett. Would you mind explaining what's going on here?"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Captain," replied Braxton in an unbending tone of voice that told Cross he had no hope of ever getting an answer. "Suffice it to say that the Suliban have been causing quite a bit of trouble and you helped us avert a serious corruption of the timeline. We thank you for that."
Another officer strode into the camera frame and whispered something to Braxton, who nodded in reply. Braxton returned his attention to Cross, and there was a slight smile on his lips. "I'm violating regulations by telling you this, but I'll offer you a piece of advice for the future that you should try to remember: forgive her."
Cross started at the enigmatic warning, at a complete loss for words. 'Her' who? What could Braxton possibly mean?
Braxton noted Cross' confusion. "You'll know when the time comes. Safe journeys, Captain. Braxton out."
The viewscreen blinked off, and out the front windows Cross saw the Federation Timeship Relativity slide forwards and disappear in a flash of light through another of the tell-tale time vortexes.
For the next minute, silence held lease in the cockpit of the Crockett, none of the crew knowing quite what to make of their encounter. Finally, Jo got up and walked back to the door leading to the crew compartment. She opened it and peered inside. She turned back and said, "Yup, thought it was too quiet back here. They're gone."
Matthew Cross rolled his eyes in abject disconsolation. "I hate time travel," he muttered, and silently swore to himself never to time travel again!
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