We’ll always have
New York – LC 38
"You don't understand, I belong here!"
The man was frantic with his words, almost hysterical. His eyes were wide and blood-shot while his white hair was disheveled. The lab coat he wore was of this time and not from the 25th century. The man looked between the person aiming a pistol at his chest to his right and the swirl of impossible insanity to his left. The vortex was a discordance or sound, light and weather that was both rapturous and repulsive to look at, and the man in the lab coat looked at it dreadfully.
"No doctor, you don't."
The person with the pistol was a hardened veteran of these events. All of them say the same thing and almost of them end the same way: death. These travelers would rather die in a time frame they never existed in, yet insist on being a part of. And why not? They left their own time to find something new sometime else. But that is not permitted. Not natural. You deal with the cards you are dealt with - anything else, temporally speaking, is just running away from your own existence.
And these runners force other people to leave their own time to chase them - hunt them - down. Just. Like. Now.
The sphere of beautiful terror pulsed in the alleyway and made this little corner of New York City the worst place to be. The man with the pistol was ironically becoming impatient with how long this process was taking. His female partner watched the scene and tried to remain passive by mimicking a statue. Her attempt failed as she looked over her shoulder every few seconds hoping no one either followed or stumbled upon the scene. It was enough that one man was trying to live his life when he shouldn't, much less having another two people from the future drag him back, dead or alive.
"Kyle, listen to me," Kathryn said. "Your work on personal Temporal Teleportation worked! Look at your achievement." She pointed at the globular beast.
Kyle looked away from the menacing pistol to his delightful child of intellectual effort then to Kathryn, a pained expression on his face. "They took it from me to use as a weapon!" He pointed at the man with the gun, his face snarling.
"Kyle Retarius, I'll say again: enter the portal and return to your own time."
Kathryn rolled her eyes in frustration. The agent from Section 31 was dismissive of every suggestion and action she took while on this 'journey' and she was beyond annoyed with him. "Kyle, focus on me. I'm your Captain. We've been through a lot since the Academy, you can trust me. Trust me when I say that the 23rd Century is filled with more danger and less hope than home. Starfleet needs you; I need you to come home."
The scientist lowered his arm and looked at Kathryn. His face transformed from hate to sadness. He nodded as the luminescent ball pulsed again. He looked up to the night sky at the immense buildings towered above. "Did you ever love me?"
The agent looked sideways to Kathryn. "Is he serious?"
Kathryn ignored him and took a step forward, her hand outstretched. "Can you forgive me for being honest with you?"
Doctor Retarius looked at Kathryn with resignation. "You didn't answer my question."
The agent stepped forward with Kathryn, his wrist band beeping as if a timer expired. "We don't have time for this doctor. You must enter the portal."
"Kyle. I - "
Suddenly, a hover car appeared above them and slowly passed over the alleyway. All three looked up, but it was the agent that recovered from the surprise the fastest, stepped forward and yelled at the man. "Doctor, you are being ordered to enter the portal!"
Kyle Retarius leapt away from the agent and drew a pistol. Kathryn recognized the Type 2 Phaser and gathered her wits. "No, don't!"
A blue phaser beam appeared into the night and missed the agent by centimeters. The agent responded with his own purple-colored beam. It connected at Kyle's chest. He screamed as he disintegrated. Within seconds he was gone forever.
Kathryn stood rigid. The hovercar appeared again, this time with blue light swirling and flashing at various points on its fenders. The agent tapped his wristband, grabbed Kathryn at the waist and jumped into the ball of light.
A beam of light from the car probed into the alleyway, itself now dark as if no one was ever there.
---
Kathryn appeared on the transporter pad. Alone.
Science officer Margaret Retarius stood next to the transporter consol. Her hands knotted together with knuckles white. When she saw Kathryn she looked around the pad chamber as if to expect someone to appear from behind the Captain. After several extremely long seconds, Margaret's face changed from hesitating expectations to the realization of reality. She broke down and collapsed to the floor sobbing.
Looking out the window of a transporter room in Earth Spacedock, Kathryn could see the bright lights of New York City through the clouds. She huddled next to Margaret.
"I'm so sorry, there wasn't enough time to save your brother or bring him back."
The man was frantic with his words, almost hysterical. His eyes were wide and blood-shot while his white hair was disheveled. The lab coat he wore was of this time and not from the 25th century. The man looked between the person aiming a pistol at his chest to his right and the swirl of impossible insanity to his left. The vortex was a discordance or sound, light and weather that was both rapturous and repulsive to look at, and the man in the lab coat looked at it dreadfully.
"No doctor, you don't."
The person with the pistol was a hardened veteran of these events. All of them say the same thing and almost of them end the same way: death. These travelers would rather die in a time frame they never existed in, yet insist on being a part of. And why not? They left their own time to find something new sometime else. But that is not permitted. Not natural. You deal with the cards you are dealt with - anything else, temporally speaking, is just running away from your own existence.
And these runners force other people to leave their own time to chase them - hunt them - down. Just. Like. Now.
The sphere of beautiful terror pulsed in the alleyway and made this little corner of New York City the worst place to be. The man with the pistol was ironically becoming impatient with how long this process was taking. His female partner watched the scene and tried to remain passive by mimicking a statue. Her attempt failed as she looked over her shoulder every few seconds hoping no one either followed or stumbled upon the scene. It was enough that one man was trying to live his life when he shouldn't, much less having another two people from the future drag him back, dead or alive.
"Kyle, listen to me," Kathryn said. "Your work on personal Temporal Teleportation worked! Look at your achievement." She pointed at the globular beast.
Kyle looked away from the menacing pistol to his delightful child of intellectual effort then to Kathryn, a pained expression on his face. "They took it from me to use as a weapon!" He pointed at the man with the gun, his face snarling.
"Kyle Retarius, I'll say again: enter the portal and return to your own time."
Kathryn rolled her eyes in frustration. The agent from Section 31 was dismissive of every suggestion and action she took while on this 'journey' and she was beyond annoyed with him. "Kyle, focus on me. I'm your Captain. We've been through a lot since the Academy, you can trust me. Trust me when I say that the 23rd Century is filled with more danger and less hope than home. Starfleet needs you; I need you to come home."
The scientist lowered his arm and looked at Kathryn. His face transformed from hate to sadness. He nodded as the luminescent ball pulsed again. He looked up to the night sky at the immense buildings towered above. "Did you ever love me?"
The agent looked sideways to Kathryn. "Is he serious?"
Kathryn ignored him and took a step forward, her hand outstretched. "Can you forgive me for being honest with you?"
Doctor Retarius looked at Kathryn with resignation. "You didn't answer my question."
The agent stepped forward with Kathryn, his wrist band beeping as if a timer expired. "We don't have time for this doctor. You must enter the portal."
"Kyle. I - "
Suddenly, a hover car appeared above them and slowly passed over the alleyway. All three looked up, but it was the agent that recovered from the surprise the fastest, stepped forward and yelled at the man. "Doctor, you are being ordered to enter the portal!"
Kyle Retarius leapt away from the agent and drew a pistol. Kathryn recognized the Type 2 Phaser and gathered her wits. "No, don't!"
A blue phaser beam appeared into the night and missed the agent by centimeters. The agent responded with his own purple-colored beam. It connected at Kyle's chest. He screamed as he disintegrated. Within seconds he was gone forever.
Kathryn stood rigid. The hovercar appeared again, this time with blue light swirling and flashing at various points on its fenders. The agent tapped his wristband, grabbed Kathryn at the waist and jumped into the ball of light.
A beam of light from the car probed into the alleyway, itself now dark as if no one was ever there.
---
Kathryn appeared on the transporter pad. Alone.
Science officer Margaret Retarius stood next to the transporter consol. Her hands knotted together with knuckles white. When she saw Kathryn she looked around the pad chamber as if to expect someone to appear from behind the Captain. After several extremely long seconds, Margaret's face changed from hesitating expectations to the realization of reality. She broke down and collapsed to the floor sobbing.
Looking out the window of a transporter room in Earth Spacedock, Kathryn could see the bright lights of New York City through the clouds. She huddled next to Margaret.
"I'm so sorry, there wasn't enough time to save your brother or bring him back."
Section 31 agent - Mark Harmon
Kyle Retarius - Matthew Fox
Margaret Retarius - Emma Roberts
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