//------------------------------//
// Season 1 Episode 6:  “The Choices We Make” 
// Story: Star Trek: Phoenix 
// by Dewdrops on the Grass 
//------------------------------//


STAR TREK: PHOENIX


S01E06


“The Choices We Make”







Personal log, Stardate 47750.3

Well, it’s that time. I’m starting my second year at the Academy today. Summer’s been a lot of fun, between taking some leave time to myself and the optional courses I was able to take. I even got to spend some time hanging out with Maia. She’s… well, she’ll never be perfect, but we’re friends. I like to think so, anyway. I wish I could keep her as my roommate for the second year, but I know I can’t. They force us to change. I hope my new one will at least go a few days before she tries to kill me. 

I’m also looking forward to my new classes. Mom’s second-year class goes hand in hand with the observatory internship on Mercury I applied for. I still haven’t heard if I received it, but I’m feeling confident. At least that’s what I’m telling myself so I don’t run around in a panic.

I’m going to miss seeing Wattson… and, yes, Cadeneza too. They both graduated, so they’re out on their own first postings, somewhere on the opposite side of the planet. I intend to write them, both of them. I hope they’re able to stick together.

As I stepped out of the transporter booth onto the grounds of Starfleet Academy, I stopped my log recording. The chill of autumn filled the air, bringing with it a promise of grey skies and rainy days. I adjusted my cadet’s uniform and hurried inside to report for my first day. Fortunately, unlike the last time I began a year, they weren’t making us go through all the shenanigans. We reported in just as if we were coming back from a leave. 

Once done so, I was ordered to report to my new quarters, which were on the far side of the dormitory from where I’d been living during my first year. I had a few minutes to put my stuff away before reporting for reveille and first classes. Sadly, no sign of my roommate yet, though I did see she’d already put her things away. 

To my delight, my Mom’s class turned out to be my first one, so I hurried over to it, sitting right up front in the same seat I’d chosen before. “Oh, good, you’re early, Cadet,” said Amina as she greeted me. She waved me up to the lectern. “I have some good news for you.”

“Yes, ma’am?” I said, maintaining discipline. By now I’d learned never to slip with Mother or Mom in public, which I’m sure they appreciated. I know I did, because it meant fewer reprimands. 

“So, I will be announcing this to the class near the end, but I couldn’t wait to tell you,” Amina replied with a sparkle in her eye. “They’ve chosen who won the internship on Mercury. It’s you.”

A happy smile crossing my muzzle was all the reaction I allowed myself, despite the strong urge to bounce around happily on my hooves. “I’m happy to hear that.”

“You should be. Your internship will take the place of your final exam of your third term for this class, so make sure you do it properly, understood?” Amina beamed at me. Once I acknowledged, she waved for me to sit down.

I spent the whole rest of the class giddy with excitement, and only just avoided taking a bow when she announced the results to the whole class. One cadet, a smarmy brat of an Andorian male who’d always been rude to me did raise his hand and ask if nepotism was involved, but seeing Amina verbally stomp all over him for that eliminated any chance of him dampening my mood. Besides, I was too excited.

I spent much of the rest of my classes like that, enjoying the subject material, having a blast. It was really quite amazing how happy I’d become at the Academy, given the way it started. It really helped that all the drill instructors and everyone relaxed on me. As if I’d proven myself able to handle the worst with my first year, I’d earned some basic respect. It made a massive difference.

Only once I returned to my quarters later that evening did I get to meet my roommate. I’d been sitting at my desk, working on my first homework assignments when I heard claws tapping on the floor rhythmically outside my quarters. Then the doors swished open, and the tapping grew louder. I gulped, a little worried by what that meant, turned around, then gaped. 

“Oh my god, you’re adorable!” I said in unison with my new roommate.

She wavered first, a deep blush showing through her pale orange fur. She spread her lips open in a smile, showing off long, sharp canines and equally sharp incisors. A soft purr rippled from her throat as she wriggled her nose and cheeks, waving her whiskers. Lamp-like golden green eyes gazed at me from underneath a long, beautiful mane of dark chocolate brown that streamed down her head to her shoulders, exposing two furry orange ears. She raised one paw-like hand and waved it at me. “Sorry,” she said. “That was unprofessional. I’ve never seen a member of your species up close before.”

I hopped up to my hooves at once, a similar blush on my face. “No, no, it’s fine. I said the same thing, haha!” I trotted over and stuck out a hoof. “Twilight Sparkle. I’m an Equestrian, a unicorn.”

She took it with both hands, careful not to accidentally claw me. “Preta Re’l. I’m a Caitian. Not too many of us on Earth.” 

“Oooh, I thought that’s what you might be,” I said, still chuckling. “Well it’s nice to meet you, Re’l.”

“Oh, please, call me Preta,” Preta said as she whisked her way over to her desk so she could take a seat. Her long orange tail swished through the air behind her as she walked. “I’m surprised I never saw you in any classes last year but I have heard about you and your sister. Still, it is nice to finally meet you.”

“Oh, call me Twilight, then. And, well, I study a lot,” I said, wishing this damned blush would get off my cheeks already. But I couldn’t help it. Preta was cute! Not in any kind of romantic, attractive kind of way. More like a fluffy animal. Like I could hold her and pet her and snuggle into her fur. 

...and just then I understood why so many people seemed to have the same reaction to me, and a note of shame washed over my heart, dampening my mood a bit.

“Ah, you must be going for a scientific career then,” Preta said, nodding. “I’m a pilot myself. I want to be at the helm of the biggest starship in the fleet, just so I can steer it around.”

“A pilot, huh?” I returned to my own chair. “How’s that working out so far?”

She shrugged, an elegant ripple that worked its way through her fur. “So far, so good. Not too much piloting to be done in the first year, but, well, that’s true of any career path.”

“Well, if you need help with any of your required classes, let me know, and I’ll do what I can,” I said.

She laughed, and gave me a coquettish grin. “Why thank you. That’s very kind of you, Twilight.”

That infuriating blush came flooding back, hotter than ever. “Aheheh, yeah, you’re… you’re welcome.” 

I returned to my studies, though my focus broke more than once. Every so often I glanced over to see Preta, and she was always stretching or moving her limbs as she worked, or humming to herself. “Can’t sit still?” I wondered.

“No, not really,” Preta said with a light sigh. “But that’s how I usually am. Too much energy.” She glanced my way and laughed as I looked away immediately. “What?”

“Nothing,” I insisted, even as my cheeks burned like fire. 

“I’m not flirting with you, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Preta said casually as she leaned back in her chair.

“What?” I gasped. “I… no, that wasn’t…That’s not why–”

She unleashed a long string of purrs, like her version of a laugh. “Twilight, the same thing happened with my first roommate. I just thought I’d clear the air before you try asking me for a date on our first leave.”

“It… no, that wasn’t going to happen,” I said. I shook my head vigorously, trying to clear my thoughts. “You don’t interest me like that. N-not that you’re not pretty or anything! You are! But I just, what I mean is… I don’t…” I took a moment to take a deep breath, then continued, “I’m not looking for romance, from you or anyone else.”

“Oh.” She considered that, rubbing one hand up against her chin. “Then… oh!” She let out another purring laugh. “Oh I see. It’s that affect. Well don’t worry Twilight. I know I’m cute and cuddly. You can’t go three steps on Earth as a Caitian without finding that out.”

“Same here,” I murmured. “Sorry if I’m acting like that.”

She waved a hand and smiled. “Don’t worry about it. It’ll pass.”

She was right. Pretty soon I was able to look at her like anyone else. It helped that we’d moved on to chatting about our current classes. As it turned out, she did want me to take a look at one of her assignments. The look of gratitude she gave me afterwards was so cute I could hardly stand it.

Later on, as lights out was called and I settled into my bed, I found myself smiling happily. My second year was going to be so much better than my first year, if today was anything to go by. Nothing could possibly go wrong.













After Smith left me, I drifted through the next couple of weeks. I’d made a mistake, an awful mistake, and I’d have to live with it. Despite my best efforts I let it show in my work too, just enough to make Commander La Forge ask me what was wrong. I didn’t give him details, just told him I’d lost a personal relationship, but it was enough for him to send me to Troi.

Troi was… kind. She listened. But as I spoke with her about what I’d done, I didn’t get the same comfortable feeling I’d always had with Belle back on Earth. Part of that was the lack of rapport–this was the first time I’d seen Counselor Troi apart from the annual psychological checkups all officers are expected to undergo, but she also… Well, she told me the same thing I told Twilight.

“You need to remember to be open and honest with your relationships,” Troi said, giving me a patient, but firm smile. “There’s nothing wrong with what you wanted. A bit of fun, a casual relationship, friends with benefits, however you want to phrase it, it’s all perfectly normal. But you cannot just expect your partner or partners to know that’s what you want if you don’t tell them.”

“I… I know that, Counselor,” I murmured, sighing as I adjusted my posture on the couch. “I’ve learned my lesson.”

She watched me for a moment, slowly nodding. “But something is still bothering you.”

Of course she can tell that. She can literally read me like a book. Biting off the urge to snark at her, I said, “Yes. I apologized to her that night, but I haven’t seen her since. I’ve wanted to apologize again, but I haven’t had the chance. Well, that, and I wanted to give her some space...”

Troi held up a hand. “If you’d like, I can reach out to Lieutenant Smith. Ask her if she'd be willing to hear you out, while I or one of my other counselors are available to mediate.”

“No, no, that’s… that’d make it feel like some kind of weird intervention thing.” I shook my head vigorously, frowning hard enough to hurt. “Besides. I know she knows I’m sorry.”

“Oh?” Troi’s smile dropped. “Just like you knew she knew what you wanted, and you knew what she wanted?”

It was a good point. A very good point. Still made a small part of me want to hit Troi though. Belle was never this blunt, even on my bad days. Gritting my teeth, “Okay, so fine. I still should apologize.”

“Yes. You should. And you should hurry.” Troi reached over to her table and pulled out a PADD. “While I can’t share anything any other crew member says to me, out of respect for their privacy, I can show you this.”

Taking the PADD in my magic, I examined it curiously. It was a list of crew transfers, both requests and mandatory. Smith was on the list of requestees! “Wait, what?! And it was granted too...”

I read further. She was scheduled to transfer to the Farragut at Starbase 248. Which the Enterprise was scheduled to dock with in less than five minutes! “Oh my goodness.”

Troi took the PADD back. “If you’d like, Miss Shimmer, we can always pick up this session at another time.” She added a wink for emphasis.

I jumped out of my seat. “Yes ma’am. Excuse me.”  I fled out the door in a hurry. “Computer, locate Lieutenant Alma Smith.”

“Lieutenant Alma Smith is on Deck 25, section 5.” 

“The airlock.” I cursed under my breath, then ran for the nearest turbolift. “Deck 25, section 5!” As the turbolift doors closed, the shudder of the ship dropping out of warp reverberated up through my hooves. A quick check on my engineer’s PADD showed the ship approaching the starbase, slipping inside the doors right as the turbolift came to a halt.

Dumped out into the corridor, I emerged to find a throng of people, uniformed and civilian alike, gathered about the airlock, waiting for it to open up. Smith was among them, near the front, carrying a duffel bag around her shoulders. “Alma!” I cried out as I pushed my way through the crowd.

Smith turned at the sound of her name and her eyes widened. “Sunset? W-what’re you doin’ here?”

I stopped right next to her, flashing apologetic looks at the people all around who glared at me. “I, listen, I heard you were leaving the ship, and I wanted to–”

“Excuse you,” Smith interrupted in a voice that brooked no argument. Not harsh or insulting, or even full of hurt, but authority, and a certainty of purpose. “Sunset, if Ah wanted you to know Ah was leavin’, Ah would’ve told you before Ah left.”

I winced at those words, like a slap in the face. “I… okay, I hear you, but I wanted to apolog–”

“No. Not here.” Smith scowled at me for a moment, then jerked a thumb towards the far end of the corridor. I followed as she led us away from the crowd and off into one of the storage bays, where fortunately no one else was around. “Ah can’t believe you. Runnin’ up to me in public like this were some 20th century romance flick.”

“It–I didn’t…” I had to take a moment to calm down the flood of emotions surging within me. “Alma, I only just found out you were leaving. What else was I supposed to do?”

“Maybe you could’ve taken the hint? Hmm?” Alma said, a sour expression dominating her face.

I took a step back. “Ouch,” I muttered.

Her gaze softened a bit. “Right, that was a mite unfair of me. But Ah was gonna tell you, Sunset. Ah just didn’t want… this. This is what Ah wanted to avoid. Ah didn’t want this to be some big dramatic thing. We’re adults. More’n that, we’re Starfleet. We can be mature about this.”

I nodded, my ears folding back to hide in my mane. “You’re right. You’re right, and I should’ve sent you a message.”

Her lips thinned as she stared at me silently for a moment. “You know, since you didn’t say nothin’ in the past two weeks, Ah thought it might’ve meant you didn’t care. Ah was hopin’ you say somethin’, even just a communique. And when you didn’t, well, Ah figured that was the end of that.”

“...I’m sorry. I was trying to give you some space...but just like before, I convinced myself that space was what you wanted, so I just went with my stupid assumption instead of opening my mouth and talking to you.” Mentally I kicked myself upside the head. Can I seriously not do anything right? “I do want to apologize though.”

She nodded, came forward, and squatted down so she could look me in the eye, like she so often did when we were together. “I hear you. And Ah… well, Ah should’ve realized that too.” She let out a quiet laugh. “Ah think we’re both comin’ away from this with valuable lessons learned. And Ah forgive you, Sunset. Ah’d like to be your friend again, just… from a distance. For a while.”

Tentatively, I held up a hoof, and she shook it like I hoped she would. “Agreed. Friends.” When she let my hoof drop, a note of curiosity entered my mind. “So, um, the transfer.”

She rolled her eyes in a good natured fashion. “It weren’t just ‘cause of you. The Farragut’s a good opportunity. They’re workin’ with a lot of colonies in the surroundin’ sectors, helpin’ them with their agriculture and other things. Ah heard about the position a month ago. Ah was gonna say somethin’ about it that night, actually. See if maybe you’d be interested in transferrin’. And if you weren’t, Ah weren’t gonna either.”

The overhead intercom lit up with the voice of Commander Riker. “Attention all hands: we are now docked with Starbase 248. We will remain docked with the starbase for seventy-two hours. Shore leave time will be granted to most personnel. All personnel transferring off the ship must depart within one hour.”

Smith’s smile pulled into a frown. “Well, Ah guess that’s my cue. The Farragut won’t be waitin’ for long, and, well, Ah ain’t aimin’ to be court-martialed for goin’ AWOL.”

“Right,” I replied, with a sad smile of my own. “I hope you enjoy your new position over there. I’ll try to write you from time to time.”

She paused for a moment, considering me, then rolled her eyes again as if to say to hell with it before wrapping me up in a hug. “Ah will miss you, Sunset. What happened between us was rough for us both, but I know you’re still a good person at heart, and you’ll always be mah friend. Take care now.” She let go of the hug and rushed out the door before I could say another word.

I sat in the storage bay for a few moments, letting my racing emotions cool down. Then I left. I decided I’d stay aboard the ship. As nice as some shore leave on a starbase might be, I wasn’t in a mood for much other than getting back to work.

And so I threw myself back into it, letting the days go by. Thankfully whatever strange luck or circumstance or what have you that caused the Enterprise to experience so many bizarre events seemed to have taken a vacation, because for a good solid couple of months, everything stayed routine. I exchanged the occasional message with Smith, and heard from Twilight about her success with her finals. When they introduced a new Starfleet uniform, I was one of the first to adopt it, finding I liked the colored shoulders, black torso and pants, and grey undershirt better than the old style. And I continued to expand my duties in Engineering, swiftly becoming one of La Forge’s top aides.

Thus it came as no surprise when he came to me one day and asked to take me aside to his office. “So, Lieutenant, I’m sure by now you’ve heard about Worf’s upcoming promotion.”

“I might have, sir,” I replied with an amused grin. Of course I had. Nothing escaped the ship’s grapevine, especially not when it came to promotions of senior staff.

“Well in that case,” La Forge responded with a matching grin, “it shouldn’t surprise you that the rest of the senior staff and I are planning a little ceremony for him. We’re going to be on Holodeck Four in a couple of days.” He listed a date and time. “I’d like to put you in charge of Engineering while I’m out.”

“Sir?” While not the first time I’d been put in charge, that was in an extremely unusual circumstance. So this still caught me a little off-guard. “Don’t you usually give Barclay that role?”

“I do, but Lieutenant Barclay’s about to go on some extended leave time. He’s taking a shuttle tomorrow.”

I nodded in understanding. “Well, I’ll be happy to take over for you for a few hours, sir.”

“Good. Though it’s too bad you won’t get to see the ceremony,” La Forge said, his smile turning just a touch sadistic. “Commander Riker has something pretty funny planned.”

“Well I’m sure one of these days I’ll get to see something like that,” I said with a shrug. 

A few days later I took charge of Engineering, as promised. I feared there’d be some major disaster while I was responsible, like one of the impulse fusion generators exploding, or maybe the starboard nacelle coils failing while the ship was at warp. Fortunately, nothing of the sort occurred. In fact, it was pretty boring, and left my mind wandering even as I focused on a bit of maintenance on the magnetic interlocks. They looked a little worn down, like some of the parts would need replacement soon. I made sure to put in a note in the log regarding it, right alongside the other request I’d made for the phaser EPS manifolds. We’d just had a bit of a refit at Starbase 248, but all they did was replace the bridge module and a few other bits and pieces.

Though I swear somehow that messed up the interior lighting controls in half the ship. It had been a few weeks and we were still chasing electrical gremlins all over the place.

As I finished making my note, the red alert klaxons blared. “Red alert!” said Riker through the intercom. “All hands to battlestations, Captain Picard to the bridge!”

I set my work down at once and turned my gaze to my fellow engineers milling about. “Alright, people, you know the drill! Get to it!” I moved away from the interlocks over to the station most people like to refer to informally as the ‘pool table,’ where La Forge usually stood during a battle. I checked the readouts and put in a few commands to transfer power about, then tapped my combadge. “Shimmer to bridge, weapons and shields fully powered and ready for combat.”

“Understood, Shimmer. Stand by.” 

I waited patiently, watching the sensor readouts, until La Forge came marching in. For some reason he was dressed up in a 19th century European naval uniform, complete with a saber strapped to his side. “Shimmer, I’ll take over from here. Status report.”

“All stations report ready, shields and weapons at full power,” I replied, moving over to the other side of the table, my usual position during a red alert. “Do you know what’s happening?”

“We got a report that the Amargosa Observatory was under attack,” La Forge said in a distracted manner as he scanned the readouts. “Looks like we’re dropping out of warp now. Get ready.”

As the ship shuddered, I braced myself in case we came under fire. But nothing happened. Soon the alarms faded, cancelling red alert. “Must’ve been too late,” I murmured sadly.

“Riker to La Forge.” 

La Forge tapped his badge. “La Forge here. Go ahead.”

“Captain Picard wants us to send a team over to investigate who attacked the observatory. I could use an engineer.”

“I’ll have one sent to transporter room three right away. La Forge out.” He stopped to think for a moment, then looked at me and grinned. “Shimmer, you look like you’ve been a bit bored. How’d you like to go on an away team for once?”

My whole face lit up like a Hearth’s Warming Eve tree. “I’d love to, sir. I never get the chance.”

“I know. And that’s not because I don’t trust you to do a good job,” La Forge replied. “I rely on you being in Engineering too much. Make sure you take a standard toolkit and a tricorder. Hop to it, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, sir!” I said, nodding to him, unable to keep the big smile off my face. An away team? I actually get to go on an away mission. I’ve been aboard the Enterprise for two years now and this is the first one I’ve ever been on. The thought was quite exciting! And potentially dangerous. 

But that’s what my magic was for. I didn’t need a phaser. Not while I had my horn. 

I picked up the necessary equipment on the way and reported to the transporter room. “Shimmer?” Riker said as I entered, a deep frown on his face. “I wasn’t expecting him to send you.”

I froze. “Sorry, sir, if I–”

He shook his head. “No, you’re fine, Lieutenant. Take your spot. We’re about to transport over.”

Letting out a small sigh of relief, I stepped up onto the pad, right next to Dr. Crusher, who smiled at me. “Good to see you, Lieutenant.”

Riker waited just long enough for one last security officer to arrive, then stepped onto the pad. “We’re going to have to keep an eye out for survivors. Sensors showed there are still five life-signs aboard.” He nodded to the transporter chief, “Energize.”

The swirl of transport surrounded me with its tingling sensation, and then we appeared in a heavily damaged room, so dark we could hardly see. The odor of burnt flesh, rubber, and other materials flooded my nostrils, making me queasy. While the others broke out flashlights, I lit up my horn with a ball of light on the end, providing plenty of illumination.

Riker eyed me for a moment. “Thank you, Shimmer.”

This showcased the area littered with torn apart metal, and several dozen blast patterns all over the wall. I also saw a body lying in a nearby corner. Whoever she was, she was definitely dead judging by the energy weapon burn covering half her torso. I shuddered at the sight, and swallowed back the sour taste in my mouth.

Riker glanced over at Worf. “Mr. Worf, you’re with me.”

As Riker and Worf headed off, I took one of the guards with me. “This way.” I proceeded in the opposite direction, trying not to shake as I passed by the first of what was likely many dead bodies. In fact it wasn’t long before I spotted a second one, human male, with his eyes frozen open and throat charred black from an energy blast.

The room we were in was small enough I could still hear the others talking. Worf’s rumbling voice said, “These blast patterns are consistent with a type-three disruptor.”

“Great,” Riker quipped. “That narrows it down to Romulan, Breen, and Klingon.”

I brought out my tricorder and began scanning for disruptor energy signatures. I also pre-prepped a shield spell matrix in my mind, just in case. “Keep your phaser ready,” I said as I gestured up a set of nearby stairs. “Up here.”

The security officer with me, some Lieutenant junior grade I’d never met before, murmured a quiet, “Aye, ma’am,” as he drew his phaser out in his right hand, keeping his large flashlight in his left. 

“Over here!” I heard Worf shout. I glanced down to see he and Riker were working to free a survivor. At least one person made it.

Since they had that covered, I moved on. We passed a few more dead bodies on the way, with each one tearing my heart a little more than the last.  “Focus, Shimmer,” I whispered before speaking loud enough for the others to hear.  “I’m not picking up any sign of active disruptors.” I looked around at the damaged hallway we were in. “If there were any,” I added, “they’re gone now.”

“Maybe we chased them off when we showed up?” suggested the security officer. 

“Maybe.” I stepped past banks of ruined consoles, past a set of doors and a ladder to the lower deck, then my hoof hit something on the ground. Confused, I glanced down at what I’d touched, and barely stifled a gasp of horror. It was another dead body, but not human. This one was covered in green blood from head to toe. Which meant only one thing.

“Go get Commander Riker,” I ordered. While the officer bustled away, I searched the area thoroughly. I spotted what might’ve been a disruptor once, but something–perhaps phaser fire–caused it to explode, showering the whole area with shrapnel. Which explained all the blood. As I continued to explore, I saw a pair of boots sticking out from under a large piece of metal. I floated it over to the side, exposing another dead body, with pieces of large sharpnel buried in his back, covered in more green blood. There was also a tricorder lying nearby, thankfully undamaged.

As I picked it up, Riker and Worf entered the room and knelt down at the first body. “Romulans,” Worf pronounced.

“Yes sir,” I said and pointed at the other body. “Two of them. I’ve found what looks like a Romulan tricorder too.”

“Good work, Lieutenant,” Riker said. “Keep searching the station. There’s bound to be a few more survivors we haven’t found yet. And Shimmer, as soon as we’re done here, I want you back on the Enterprise analyzing that tricorder.”

I acknowledged him, then left the room via the far side exit. This took me down a long passageway, past some  quarters and into a lounge. A lounge with a functioning terminal. I sat down and tried to pull up some records from the central computer’s core but all I saw was missing data and corrupted files. I swore under my breath and left the area.

I did help locate two other survivors while exploring the rest of the station, as well as discovering that the cargo bay had been completely ransacked; supplies, equipment, pretty much everything had been tossed or smashed with some showing damage from disrupter fire. Not really finding anything else, I reported to Riker over comms and was beamed back to the ship where I headed straight to Engineering. “Taurik.” I  stepped past the Vulcan officer standing by the ‘pool table.’ “Is Commander La Forge here?”

“No, ma’am,” he replied with an impassive look. “I believe he is in Ten-Forward with Commander Data. Something about testing new equipment.”

“In Ten-Forward?” My face screwed up in confusion, then I shrugged. “Okay, whatever. I need you to help me analyze this.” I held up the Romulan tricorder. “My Romulan’s pretty rusty, but unless I’m wrong you studied it at the Academy, right?”

He arched an eyebrow at me. “I did.”

“Good. Over here, then.” I took him over to one of the consoles behind the glass wall and sat down in the chair, opening up the tricorder. It was about twice the size of a Federation one, more akin to an old 21st century style laptop than a normal tricorder. 

Taurik passed me an interface cable and I plugged the device into the console. “Computer, is this a normal example of a Romulan tricorder?”

“Negative.” 

“Show me a normal one, then.” An image of a smaller device closer in size to what I’d expect appeared on a nearby screen. “Okay, so are there any records of a device similar to this one?”

“Affirmative. A similar scanning device was recovered from the wreckage of a crashed Romulan scout ship on Stardate 43349.2 at Galorndon Core.” 

“Must be an extra fancy one, then,” I murmured. “Okay, let’s see what you’re hiding.” I pressed a few buttons on the tricorder. Romulan glyphs and writing appeared on the screen, along with what looked like some sort of energy pattern. My universal translator stubbornly refused to render the glyphs readable. “Okay, Taurik, can you read this?”

“I am attempting to do so, ma’am,” he said as he stared down at the text, leaning over me in the process. “However, it seems to be encrypted as what I am reading makes little sense.”

“Great. Okay then.” Sighing, I busted out one of my favorite go-to tools and brought it over the tricorder. I switched it on, then tapped on a few controls on the console. “I’m going to try to decode it. Hopefully this won’t take long.”

“Hopefully not,” Taurik agreed. “Though I wonder. Why bother encrypting their own tricorder?”

“Might just be on a timer or something,” I shrugged. “I found it next to two dead Romulans who’d been killed by an exploding disruptor. Maybe it needs an input code as a security measure.”

Taurik stood up straight and frowned. “That suggests whatever they were searching for is highly classified.”

“Or it could just be paranoia. I mean they are Romulans,” I quipped. I tapped at a few more buttons. “Okay, we’re getting somewhere. Looks like the computer’s figured out the encryption sequence. Going to take it a few minutes to decode.” As I kept my tool in place, I glanced up at Taurik. “You said La Forge and Data are testing new equipment?”

Taurik cocked his head, the Vulcan equivalent of a shrug. “Indeed. I believe Commander Data made some mention of emotions, though I do not understand why.”

“Emotions?” I considered that for a moment, then nodded in realization. “Right. This was before you came aboard, Taurik, but last year the Enterprise tangled with Data’s twin brother, Lore, along with the Borg. He recovered an emotion chip, a piece of equipment designed to let him experience emotions. At the time he decided not to install it. Wonder why he would bother now?”

“Perhaps something changed his mind?” Taurik suggested.

“No idea what that would be,” I replied. The computer beeping at me drew my attention. “Okay, decryption is complete. Running the sequence now.”

We waited patiently while the computer worked. “I can read it now,” Taurik said. “May I?”

I moved my chair back to give him greater access. “Be my guest.”

He leaned over and tapped at a few of the controls. “Hmm. I believe it would be best if you were able to perform the full analysis, as there are many things here I do not recognize. But I may be able to… yes!” He pressed one final key and all the glyphs changed to familiar writing. “I have disabled the security mechanism preventing universal translators from translating the device.”

“Perfect, thank you Taurik. I think I’ve got it from here,” I said. 

As he stepped away, I scooted my chair back over and began going through the tricorder top to bottom. Now that I could read the writing, it was a simple affair. This wasn’t just a tricorder. It was a portable database, which was necessary for whatever they were trying to detect. It had a lot of energy signatures programmed in, most of which were familiar like Federation’s sensor frequencies. But there was one that stood out that I had no clue what it was which took some digging into the computer’s database to figure out. 

I tapped my combadge. “Shimmer to Riker. Sir, I’ve finished analyzing the tricorder. I know what they were searching for.”

“On my way, Lieutenant.”

When Commander Riker arrived, with Commander Worf in tow, I showed them the tricorder. “It took a while to determine, sirs, but the Romulans were trying to find trilithium.”

“Trilithium?” Riker inquired, looking at Worf.

Worf gave me an impressed look, then nodded. “Yes sir, I am familiar with it. It is an experimental compound the Romulans have been developing.”

“In theory, sir,” I added, “it could inhibit or even stop all nuclear fusion within a star.”

“Indeed, but the Romulans never found a way to stabilize it,” Worf added.

Riker glared at Worf, then me, then pressed his hand to his face. “But why would the Romulans be looking for it on a Federation observatory? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Maybe they made some?” I suggested. “I mean, this is a solar observatory. They’re studying the star. They may have attempted to manufacture a small amount to try to test with it. It might explain some of the damage to the observatory if it became unstable. Then the Romulans found out, and trashed the place.”

Worf considered that, then shook his head. “Perhaps Lieutenant, but if that were true, we would have seen the equipment they would need. If the scientists were using trilithium, they did not make it themselves.”

“Which leaves us with a mystery,” Riker concluded. “Worf, I want you to have Geordi and Data go back over to the observatory, have them scan for trilithium. Shimmer, you go with them. I’m going to see if I can’t get anyone to interview the surviving scientists, have them explain what the hell they were doing over there.”

“Aye, sir,” I chorused with Worf. Riker gave us another quick scowl then walked away. I turned to Worf. “Sir, may I ask what’s bothering Commander Riker?”

Worf grimaced. “I wish I knew. It has become most… irritating.” Then he focused his gaze on me. “You should report to the observatory. La Forge and Data will join you momentarily.”

“Right, right,” I muttered. I gathered up my tools along with a more sensitive scanner that could be reconfigured for Trilithium and made my way to the closest transporter room. I began scanning the cargo bay once I was back aboard the observatory..

It wasn’t long before I heard the musical chime of transporters preceding the appearance of Data and La Forge. “Ah, there you are, Shimmer,” La Forge said as he brought forward an identical scanning tool to mine. “Any luck so far?”

“None yet.” I glanced over at Data and stumbled when I saw the huge smile on his face. “Um, sir?”

La Forge caught my gaze and leaned in to whisper, “Emotion chip. Try not to bring it up; he’s been on a humor kick.” Then he backed away and cleared his throat. “Well, Lieutenant, you have the cargo bay covered. Data and I will move on to the central lab.”

I whispered a quiet word of appreciation to La Forge. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a laughing android while surrounded with constant death and destruction. And laugh he did, I could even hear it echo after they left the cargo bay. At first it was almost adorable, in a squeaky, higher pitched guy kind of way. But it quickly grated my ears that I had plastered across my skull in hopes of drowning out some of his cackling. 

Just as I finished with the cargo bay and moved on to the barracks, I heard my combadge beep. “La Forge to Shimmer. Data and I have found some kind of sealed door in the outer ring. This might be what we’re looking for.” 

“On my way.” 

I quickly trotted through the corridors and managed to meet them just as Data, with a panel on his open arm, waved at a nearby wall and declared, “Open Sesame!”

The wall popped open and rose into the ceiling.  I covered my eyes at the burst of light that bled through the windows on the far side. It took a few moments, but eventually I was able to adjust to the lighting and quickly noticed the slew of probe casings labeled as “Mark V” and “Mark VI” that lay on shelves with an even larger one that took up the central track which fed into a firing tube.  I turned to La Forge, but Data was already bursting with laughter as he told yet another stupid joke about magnetic personalities which left La Forge and I sharing an exasperated look. I brought out my tricorder and looked down at its readings, or lack thereof. “Wait, why can’t I detect anything?”

“You’ll need to step into the room, Lieutenant,” La Forge said. “There’s a dampening field.” 

“Oh.” I took a few steps forward, then grunted in satisfaction as readings returned. I got a closer look at the probes.  “Huh. Their interiors have been altered with most of the sensory equipment completely gone.”

“Yeah,” La Forge agreed. “Something doesn’t feel right about this.” He examined the central probe for a few moments before turning around. “Data, come here, would you?” He waited for the android to approach, then added, “Have you ever seen a solar probe with this kind of configuration?”

I saw Data bring up his tricorder like a freaking puppet and mime and a growl of irritation escaped my throat as he talked to it, calling it ‘Mr. Tricorder.’ Ignoring the byplay, I moved to the console and popped open its access panels on the probe.

“Thank you, Shimmer.” He glanced down at the probe and whistled. “Woah. I’m seeing something in the theta band. It could definitely be a trilithium signature. Shimmer, can you–”

“Hahahaha!” Data broke into gut busting laughter in our faces.

“Oh come on, sir, with all due respect, I think that’s enough!” I shouted. 

“She’s right, Data, we don’t have time for this!” La Forge added.

“I cannot help myself!” Data said, then laughed again. “I think something is wrong!” 

Then he screamed in pain as he broke into another laughing fit, before seizuring and collapsing onto the floor in a boneless heap.

I watched, horrified, as La Forge ran to him. “Data?” he said. “Data! Are you alright?”

A sigh of relief escaped me when I saw Data sit back up almost immediately. Data took a moment to breathe before he replied, in a quiet, shocked voice, “I believe the emotion chip has overloaded my positronic relay.”

“Well we’d better get you back to the ship,” La Forge said. He tapped his combadge. “La Forge to Enterprise.”

I heard the static and tried mine too. “Shimmer to Enterprise.” With no response I swore under my breath. “Must be the dampening field, sir. Let me go try–”

“Gentleman, miss, is there a problem?” 

La Forge and I turned to see an aged human man with white hair standing there, an amused smile on his face. “I’m sorry, who’re you?” I asked. “Are you one of the scientists?”

“Yes, Shimmer, this is Doctor Tolian Soran,” La Forge said, coming around to stand at the console behind the open solar probe. “Dr. Soran, there’s some kind of dampening field preventing us from contacting the Enterprise.”

“Like I was about to say, sir,” I pointed out, “the field only goes so far. I can just step outside and–”

Dr. Soran punched La Forge in the stomach before slamming his face straight into the console. La Forge collapsed onto the ground unconscious. Before I could light up my horn, Soran had a weapon out and aimed it at me.

My training kicked in and I dove for cover, barely missing the disruptor blast that blew a hole in the nearby wall. “What the hell are you doing?!” I shouted. “Why did you… you...” I paused as things began to click then gasped. “You! You’re the one who stole the trilithium! The Romulans were looking for you!”

“Excellent deduction, Lieutenant Shimmer,” Soran said as he fired another shot and I dove behind the nearest pillar. “And yes, I know who you are. I learned all about you while aboard the Enterprise, you and your abilities.” 

“Data!” I shouted at the android cowering along the floor. “Get up and help me!”

“I… I cannot!” Data cried as he ducked his head into his hands, bawling like a baby. 

“You see,” Soran continued, “I’m afraid I have some very specific plans, and you are a risk to that plan. A risk I cannot afford.” 

“Oh yeah? Like what?” I taunted behind the pillar. I tapped my combadge again, but only received the same static. “You’re going to blow up the star?”

“I am, and you can’t stop me,” Soran said. He fired several more blasts my way as I left the pillar and ran across the room for a better vantage point but once I was seemingly far away, his fire stopped.

“Like hell I can’t.” I summoned up the spell matrix in my mind for a shield then watched in horror as the shape and light from my horn quickly fizzled out before it could cast. I tried again, and nothing happened. The dampening field. Somehow he’s using it to block my magic. How’s that even possible? 

Before I could even curse myself for not bringing a phaser, a loud bang rang out. I noticed something fly away from the observatory and into the Amargosa star through the windows.  The sensors inside the observatory shrieked as they recorded the object’s impact into the star, and I couldn’t help but watch as the star quickly began to collapse into itself. “What… what the hell is wrong with you?!” I screamed. “Do you know what that’s going to do? You’re going to destroy the entire system!”

“I know. A shame, isn’t it?” Soran said from behind. And I could feel the cooling metal object pressed against the back of my skull. “Now now, my dear. Don’t move, unless you want your head to be vaporized.”

Somewhere a speaker burst to life. “Soran! Transmit your coordinates!” 

“Hmm, well, that is a problem,” Soran groused. “I guess it’s your lucky day.” Pain exploded in my head that spread throughout my body. My knees buckled and I collapsed onto my side. Everything was blurred and I could barely keep my eyes open as I saw him fiddle with the console before doing the same to La Forge’s visor.

My eyes were already closed when I heard random shouting and bother phaser and disruptor fire ringing out throughout the room. Then I felt the arms grab me around my barrel that dragged me across the floor. I struggled to open my eyes through my groaning and the pain, but I was just able to recognize Commander Riker before our surroundings dissolved, replaced by a transporter room. 

“It’s alright, Lieutenant,” Riker said as I collapsed onto the platform. “You’re safe now.”

“But… La Forge… Data… Soran, he…”

“Ssh,” Riker said, patting me on the shoulder. “Don’t talk. You’ve got a nasty head wound. Let Dr. Crusher take care of it.”

The last thing I saw before my vision faded entirely was Dr. Crusher approaching me, bearing a hypospray.









I awoke lying in Sickbay, listening to Doctor Crusher conversing with Riker and Captain Picard about Soran. Shortly after Picard left sickbay, I attempted to sit up but only managed a groan as everything still spun from the pain. 

“Lieutenant.” Crusher rushed over to me and gently pressed her hands against my body forcing me back down onto the biobed. “You need to lie down. I don’t want you up and moving yet.”

“Mrgh. Fine,” I murmured. I closed my eyes to avoid the ceiling’s bright lights. “What… what happened?”

“Doctor, is she well enough to talk?” Riker asked. “I’d like to get her word on what happened on the observatory.”

I opened my eyes and noticed that Crusher was frowning as she looked down at me, before nodding at Riker. “Yes, but try to keep it at a minimum. She has a severe concussion.”

“It’s fine, doc,” I said, wishing I could sit up. “Is… did Commander Data or La Forge come back?”

Riker exchanged a look with someone out of sight, then slowly shook his head. “Data’s fine, more or less. We rescued him from the observatory. But I’m afraid Doctor Soran kidnapped Geordi.” He stepped closer, stopping right at the edge of the biobed. “What happened over there, lieutenant?”

“He stole the trilithium, sir,” I answered, the memory crisp and clear despite the head trauma. “He’s the reason the Romulans attacked. He blew up the star.”

Riker nodded and rubbed at his beard. “Well, we figured that much. But I’m guessing he told you outright that’s what he did.”

“Yes. But that’s not the only thing sir.” I moved a hoof up to check my horn, in case it had cracked. Fortunately, it was unhurt. “The dampening field, the one he used to hide his equipment? It blocked my magic. Otherwise I could’ve stopped him.”

“But that’s not possible,” Doctor Crusher said. “I’ve read the reports over the testing you went through when you first arrived on Earth. He’d need an enormously powerful field to cut off your magic, far more powerful than he should’ve been able to generate on that station.”

“Well, he managed to figure out how to destroy a star,” Riker said. “I’m not surprised he could neutralize Lieutenant Shimmer’s abilities. But now that we know that’s possible, I’m keeping you aboard the ship. No more away missions, at least for now. You’re too valuable to risk losing.”

“Should I take that as a compliment, sir?” I snarked in my daze.

Fortunately, Riker knew how to take a joke. “If you’d like.” He chuckled. “Regardless, it sounds like he took all of you by surprise, and you tried everything you could to salvage the situation. If you’re planning to beat yourself up over Geordi being kidnapped, don’t. It’s bad enough that Data’s doing it.”

Crusher smiled down at me before I could ask anymore questions. “Don’t worry, Lieutenant. Focus on yourself. Doctor’s orders.”

It took a few hours before Doctor Crusher released me and pronounced me fit for duty, so long as I didn’t push it. It took only two steps out of Sickbay before a page sounded on my badge. “Picard to Shimmer. Lieutenant, please report to Stellar Cartography.” 

“Right away, sir,” I answered. My mind raced as I made my way to the nearby turbolift. Stellar Cartography? What could he want there?

I found the Captain standing alone beside the console, looking into the holographic displays, when I arrived. “Ah, Lieutenant. I realize you were only just released, but I could use your assistance.”

“Of course sir,” I replied with a slight frown. “Though I’m not sure what I can do for you here.”

“Truthfully, I was going to ask Commander Data to assist me. But what I need right now is someone who can think clearly, which is why I called for you. Although Dr. Crusher cleared him for duty, I believe Data needs a bit more time to come to grips with his new emotions,” Picard said. “How are you with stellar cartography?”

“Uhm, well, I’m not my sister, but I’m decent with it, sir.”

“Good.” He gestured for me to take a seat at the console. “Are you familiar with the energy ribbon that nearly destroyed the Enterprise-B during its maiden voyage?”

“Vaguely, sir,” I answered, trying to think back to what I learned. “I know that was when James Kirk died. It’s some sort of temporal phenomena that circles the galaxy.” I faced the consoles before me and typed a query into it. “Every thirty-nine-point-one years, apparently.”

“Well, I just learned from Guinan that it’s not just a phenomena.” He swiftly explained in detail about how it was a doorway to an alternate dimension called the Nexus, which was Soran’s true goal, since he was also, apparently, an El-Aurian. “Given that you had a personal confrontation with him, I wanted to hear your opinion.”

“Sounds about right to me,” I replied with a frown. “He didn’t say much, but what he did say made him sound… resolute. He has a goal and he won’t let anyone get in his way.”

“Then Guinan was right,” Picard whispered.

“If he’s trying to get back to it sir, I think he’ll have a good chance.” I typed another query into the console. “Looks like it’s passing through this sector in forty-two hours.”

Picard paced back and forth as he considered that. “Which means there has to be some connection to the Amargosa star. Miss Shimmer, would you please compile a list of anything affected by the star’s destruction, no matter how insignificant?”

I nodded. “It’s going to take the computer a few minutes to get that together, but yes.” I put in the request, then sat back to wait. “Sir, permission to speak freely.”

He eyed me, clearly intrigued. “Granted.”

“Do you know if Commander Data will be alright?”

Picard let out a small sigh. “I understand his emotion chip fused into his neural net. It cannot be removed.”

“He cried on the observatory, sir.” I shook a little as I remembered it. “He cried like a child. I don’t know him very well, but that makes me worried for him.”

“It concerns me as well,” Picard admitted. “Mr. Data has long been a colleague of mine. I intend to visit him when we’re done here.” Then he gave me a curious look. “If you don’t mind, Lieutenant, there is a personal question I’d like to ask of you.”

“Yes, sir?” I said, giving him an uncertain frown.

He took a moment before continuing. “When you were first assigned to the Enterprise, I took the time to read your file. Your history, and that of your sister, is most intriguing. One thing I noticed is that her specialization is in the sciences, such as Stellar Cartography, which I can understand. But I am curious as to why, well, you haven’t gone down a similar path.”

I paled, having not expected that of all things. “Uh, w-well…”

“If that was too personal–”

“No sir, it’s not that.” I turned away from him, feeling more than a little flustered. “It’s… the reason I haven’t been doing that is, I wasn’t sure there was much point. While I do still believe that Celestia moves the sun for Equus, I came to realize a while ago that finding our home wouldn’t be as simple as finding a sun orbiting its planet within a bunch of recorded data. It has been over a decade since we first mentioned it, and if it were found we’d have known. So spending all my time searching for it that way just… it felt kinda pointless.  I know I won’t be able to find Equus by looking for an unusual star, so I started looking to find it another way.”

Picard nodded. “Of course. I imagine it must be hard to maintain that belief, given what you’ve learned since coming to Earth. Still, I must admit that I have a lot of respect for you to continue to still do so.”

“Yes sir. It’s… it’s not always easy...” I trailed off in thought as I watched the computer compile the results until it beeped. “I have the list, sir.” I gave it a quick look through. “I think I know what’s most important: the Bozeman had to make a minor course correction due to the altered gravitational forces in the sector caused by the Amargosa’s star’s destruction.”

“A minor course correction…” Picard repeated, tapping at his chin. “Miss Shimmer, where is the ribbon now?”

It took me a moment to bring it up, requiring a substantial zooming in on the holographic display till it was located amidst the field of stars. “Right here, sir.”

“Can you project its course?”

Jeez, I’m starting to see why he wanted Data here. “I can. It’ll take a moment.” I typed in the request and we watched a bright red line form on the display, carving through the sector like a long red string. 

Picard nodded. “Enhance grid nine-A.” I zoomed in as requested, showing us a closer view of the ribbon’s location. “Where was the Amargosa star?”

I typed a new command in. “Right here, sir. I think I see where you’re going with this. You’re suggesting Soran is trying to change the path of the ribbon.”

“I suspect so, but what I don’t understand is why. Why would he bother?” Picard grunted. “Why not just fly into it with a ship?”

That one I could answer. “Because every ship that’s ever entered it has been severely damaged or destroyed. Even if he could try to enter the ribbon that way, I don’t think he’d survive long enough to get caught inside.”

Picard grumbled something under his breath, then looked at me. “Lieutenant, you said that when the Amargosa star was destroyed, it affected the gravitational forces of the sector. Now did the computer take that into account when it projected the course of the ribbon?”

I checked the computer, and gave a soft groan. “No, it didn’t sir. Let me fix that.” I watched the display as I put in the recalculation, and sure enough, the long red line bent downwards, changing its path significantly.

“There’s our proof,” Picard breathed. “He can’t get to the ribbon, so he’s trying to make the ribbon come to him. Shimmer, does it pass near any M-class planets?”

I typed in the command. The map zoomed onto a star’s system, detailing the star and its collection of planets. “Yes sir. Looks like there’s two of them in the Veridian system. The ribbon won’t pass close enough to either on its own… let me simulate destroying the star.” My blood froze as I watched the simulation shift to intersect Veridian III.

“That’s where he’s going,” Picard breathed.

“Sir,” I hesitated. I could feel my heart hammering inside my chest as I poured over the  information on the Veridian system. “Sir, if the Veridian star is destroyed, it’ll produce a shock wave just like the one we saw at Amargosa.”

Picard nodded. “Which would destroy all the planets in this system.”

“It’s not just that sir,” I said, my voice shaking a bit. “Veridian III is uninhabited, but Veridian IV is inhabited. It has a pre-industrial humanoid society, comparable to Earth’s medieval period.”

He looked down at me. “Population?”

I closed my eyes before answering. “Two hundred thirty million, sir.”

Picard took in a deep breath and bowed his head before tapping his combadge. “Picard to bridge. Set a course for the Veridian system, maximum warp!”

“Yes sir.” 

As Picard walked down the gantry, I followed after him. “Computer,” he said, “estimated time to Veridian III at maximum warp?”

“Approximately twenty-two hours.” 

“Well,” he said as we stepped out into the corridor. “With any luck we’ll either get there before or just after the Klingons do.”

“Klingons, sir?”

He looked back down at me and nodded. “Yes, Lieutenant, there was a Klingon Bird of Prey that transported Soran off the observatory. Presumably that’s how he’s getting around.” He considered me for a moment. “It’s going to be a while before we get there. I understand you’re still injured, but I need the best engineer I have in charge. I’m giving you sixteen hours to rest, then I want you back in Engineering. You’ll be acting Chief Engineer until Mr. La Forge returns.”

“Yes sir,” I replied. “Thank you, sir.”

He considered that. “Don’t thank me yet, Lieutenant. Carry on.”










As much as it left me squirming with uncertainty, he was right to order me to rest. I needed it. I needed it badly. And when I awoke refreshed the next day, I could tell just how sore I was previously. I had to admit, I was more than a little eager for some payback against Soran and stopping his plans was just icing on the cake.

“Welcome back to Engineering, ma’am,” Taurik greeted as I walked in. 

“Thank you,” I said. “Status report?”

“Everything is functioning normally,” Taurik replied with a raised eyebrow as he gestured to the ‘pool table’ console. “Though I did notice a slight fluctuation in the phaser EPS manifolds. It could be a problem if we end up in a fight.”

I looked at the screen and frowned. “You’re right. Get someone on that right away. Last thing we need is for the phasers to stop working.”

“As you wish,” Taurik said. He nodded and stepped away. 

I kept a close eye on the systems, performing maintenance, giving orders every so often until we fell out of warp. From my screens in Engineering I did have some access to the sensors which let me see the green planet beneath us. It also let me see the Captain sending out a transmission, though not its contents. 

I tensed like a coiled spring when I saw the Bird of Prey decloak and I made sure to study every sensor readout we had. As I went through the information, something gnawed in the back of my mind. “Computer,” I murmured, “run a comparison of the energy readouts of that Bird of Prey against Federation records, with emphasis on engine and weapons output.”

“The Bird of Prey’s weapons and engine output are approximately one hundred sixty-five percent of normally observed emissions for this class of ship.”

I thought for a moment. “Compare that to other known Klingon vessel classes. Is it comparable to a larger class?”

“Confirmed. Energy signatures comparable in power to a Vor'cha class attack cruiser.” 

“Wow. They must’ve amped this ship up something fierce.” I tapped my combadge. “Shimmer to Bridge.”

“Riker here. Go ahead, Lieutenant.”

“Sir, I’m not sure what you’re seeing up there, but according to the sensor readings, that Bird of Prey registers as having the same strength as a Vor’cha class attack cruiser.”

There was a pause, then, “Good to know, thank you, Lieutenant. Be advised we’re attempting a hostage transfer, in the hopes of getting Geordi back. In the meantime, keep those phasers and shields powered. I don’t trust these Klingons one bit. Riker out.” 

“A hostage transfer?” I breathed. “Who the heck are we giving them in exchange?” Snorting, I decided not to worry about it, and busied myself with checking a few other systems, then called Taurik over. “Taurik I need you to run a quick level three diagnostic on the port plasma relays. One of the generators over there is fluctuating like we didn’t have enough things to worry about.” 

As soon as I sent him on his way, I heard a few voices raise in greeting. Turning, my heart soared as I saw Commander La Forge walk in. “Sir!” I said, rushing over. “I’m glad to see you’re okay. I wanted to apologize–”

He shook his head and gave me a soft smile, clapping me on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t your fault, anymore than it was Data’s. Soran got to all of us.”

“Still…”

“Forget it, Lieutenant. We need to focus on what’s going on with the ship. How’re things holding up?”

I walked with him over towards the consoles behind the glass. “Just a few minor things. The phaser EPS manifolds on the portside are fluctuating, along with its fusion generators. And I think there’s something going on with the magnetic interlocks too.”

“Hmm.” He looked down at the consoles, carefully scanning each one. Then he pulled up a schematic of the interlocks and gave it a close look. “Yeah, I see what you mean. Well, we’ll just have to keep them working as well as we can till we get back to a starbase. Shimmer, I’d like you to–”

The entire ship rocked as an explosion tore into the hull. People stumbled all over the place as red alert klaxons blared alongside smaller, more insistent alarms. “What the hell was that–”

BOOM!

Another explosion sent me rolling across the deck before I righted myself using my telekinetic grip. Hopping to my hooves, I rushed over to the nearest console. “Damn it! They’re blowing through the shields as if they aren’t even there!”

“How the hell… Remodulate the shields!” La Forge ordered immediately, pointing to several technicians. “You, you, get to the deflector and get some of that damage fixed immediately!”

I moved over to monitor the flow of power to the phasers, watching as several shots were fired. “Sir, we have another problem!” I smacked the console as I watched the power flow drop to minimal levels. “The phaser EPS manifolds! They’ve overloaded!”

La Forge bustled over to my side and nodded. “Yeah, I see it.”

“Riker to Engineering! I need more power to those phasers, Geordi! We can’t penetrate their shields!”

“We’re aware, Commander. We’ve had an overload. I’m going to try to bypass it.” Geordi turned to me. “Shimmer, get up in that Jefferies tube. We’re going to need to rerun main power through the secondary coupling. We might be able to force enough power to the phasers through there.”

“We’ll burn out half the ship’s systems doing that, sir,” I pointed out even as I rushed over to get my toolkit, struggling to maintain my footing as another disruptor blast tore into the ship.

La Forge threw up his hands. “And if we don’t, we won’t have a ship left to fix, Shimmer. Get on it!”

“Aye sir!” I rushed over to the Jefferies tube and popped open the hatch. I eschewed my usual method of climbing the ladder in favor of simply floating myself up with my magic. It was a bit exhausting, and probably the last thing I needed to do with my recently recovered head injury, but I needed to get up there now.

As I reached the right tube and crawled inside, the whole ship shook and threw me against the wall. I winced, gasping for air, then tried to light up my horn enough to use a variation of that old classic Feather Fall around my whole body, like wrapping myself in my own inertial dampening field. It was enough to keep me from getting injured further as I rushed down the tube.

I heard more shouts and screams coming from Engineering and all around us. The realization that my life was in danger struck me hard as I popped open my tool kit and fumbled with the hatch. I’d been contextually aware of the danger for years. They threatened you, repeatedly, with battle simulations. Drills. Maneuvers. All that and more at the Academy. Of course then I spent two years on the Enterprise. I’d been in battle after battle, and yet the Enterprise always came through. We never seemed to struggle.

Not like this.  I picked up a hyperspanner and unplugged one of the coils, and found my magic shaking as the thought that we were all about to die continued to clasp my heart with its icy claws. Soran had me at gunpoint just scant hours ago and I’d been lucky to dodge and weave through his disruptor blasts that would’ve ended me in an instant. Hell, if it hadn’t been for Riker and Worf intervening, he probably would’ve finished it then and there. My pony instincts, the ones that told me to run to a place and hide, or stampede with my fellow mares and stallions until we were far away from the threat, clung to the back of my mind.

But I am Sunset Shimmer. I’m the daughter of T’Lona and Amina Riviera. I’ve learned how to keep my emotions in check. So I used the best meditative technique I had, and forced all those doubts and worries aside, stabilizing my magic, myself, and focusing on my work. I quickly replaced a few coils and bypassed the main circuit before tapping my combadge. “Shimmer to La Forge! I’ve got the bypass installed. We should be good!”

“Understood, now get back down here!” 

I scrambled back through the tube, the ship shuddering every few seconds from another blast. I could also hear the ship thrum as the phasers went to work, unleashing violent energies into the shields of the Klingon ship. 

Then, as I was crawling down the ladder, I heard a massive CRRRACK! as one of the main EPS conduits blew. Lights went out in the tube briefly before they came back on.

By the time I reached Engineering again, the whole place was a mess of smoke, dimmed lights, and people running around all over the place patching up problems. “I’m guessing it didn’t work, sir!” I shouted as I rejoined La Forge.

“No, no it didn’t,” La Forge growled. “Not your fault, Lieutenant. It was a long shot.”

“So what do we do?” 

We both fell against the console as another torpedo blasted into the secondary hull. “Looks like they’re doing something on the bridge with an ionic pulse. Don’t know what that’s going to accomplish.”

BOOOOOM!

The worst torpedo hit yet struck the ship, throwing me down and rolling all the way over to the other side of the warp core before I got a grip. “Well they’d better hurry!”

As I rushed back over to the console, I called up the sensor report. “Wait a minute… the Klingons are cloaking! And we just fired a spread of… that’s genius!” 

Everyone tensed in Engineering for a moment, no one moving. The whole ship seemed to go quiet, as if awaiting the results.

Then the Klingon ship exploded. “They did it!” I whooped. “The Klingon ship’s been destroyed!”

“We don’t have time to celebrate down here, Lieutenant,” La Forge said, though I saw the satisfied smile that briefly passed over his face. “We need to get repairs going.”

“Right.” I switched over from sensors to internal scans. “We’ve got multiple EPS conduits out, half the fusion generators are down, there’s hull breaches all over the stardrive, and… “ my heart skipped a beat. “Sir, the magnetic interlocks!”

“What?” La Forge walked over to one of the wall panels. “Damn it. Must’ve been that last torpedo.” He tapped his badge. “La Forge to Bridge, I’ve got a problem down here. The magnetic interlocks have been ruptured. I–”

A bright flash of light preceded a loud bang! as the panel he’d just looked at exploded. Then he and I both looked in sheer horror as one of the power transfer conduits into the warp core broke open, unleashing massive amounts of bluish steam.

“Coolant leak!” La Forge shouted! “We’ve got a coolant leak, everybody! Let’s go, let’s get out of here!” He started waving for engineers left and right to flee as a large bulkhead slowly descended. “Everybody out! Let’s move, let’s move! We’ve got to go!”

Time seemed to slow to a stop as I watched the coolant flood the room, every sight and sound falling away. In my head, I knew what that meant. Radiation unleashed like crazy, enough that a few moments spent inside would mean a fatal dose. Worse still, the warp core… without the interlocks or proper coolant, it would explode, and take the whole ship with it. Even if everyone was evacuated to the saucer and they separated… the core would breach so fast there’d be no time. Maybe they could survive, but how likely was that? With so much damage to the saucer from the Klingons, they wouldn’t even have shields. The blast would rip them apart. We’d all die.

There was nothing anyone could do, right? 

Right?

My mind wandered back to the psych test. This was the exact same situation, sure different constraints and in a simulation, but I used my magic back then to block the radiation and to seal a breach. So it should work, right? I could… maybe I could fix the interlocks myself, force them to hold with magic while I restored the coolant. Maybe I could stop the breach, or, at the very least, slow it down.

Enough to give them time. Give them all time.

Them. Not me. 

I closed my eyes and bowed my head. “Mother, Mom, Twilight… forgive me.”

I shook my head and rushed forward, ignoring La Forge’s evacuation command. I could faintly hear him talking to the bridge over the chaos of engineering, “Bridge, we have a new problem! We’re five minutes from a warp core breach, there’s nothing I can… what the hell? Shimmer!” he shouted, ”what the hell are you doing?! Get out of there!”

“Sorry, sir, but I’m the only one who can stop this!” I shouted back.

I saw him step forward, despite the bulkhead about to close behind him. “Damn it, Shimmer, you’re going to get yourself killed for no–oof!” 

I cut him off, wrapping him up in a telekinetic field and shoving him under the bulkhead door, just as it sealed. “I’m very sorry, sir. Go! I’ve got this!”

He watched me for a split second. I saw him reach for his combadge, but then he dropped his arm, nodded, and rushed off.

I turned back to the coolant leak. Already half the sealed room was full of its blueish steam which left little oxygen for me to breathe. With a quick burst of light from my horn, a bubble surrounded my head which constantly replenished air for me to breathe. I cast another spell, a shield to protect me from some of the radiation and heat. But it didn’t block all of it, and I put my hooves into the steam, I couldn’t help but cry out in pain. The heat from the engines… it was like I was walking next to a star. 

But I forced myself forwards anyway, just enough to see where the coolant was spilling out from. I lit up my horn, and just like the psych test, welded the hole shut. I then eased as much pressure as I could. And once I saw that Main Engineering and Deck Thirty-Six had been evacuated, I vented the pressure and plasma down into the two ruptured EPS conduits that melted the deck and room. 

It helped, but not enough. The pressure continued to build and worse, I felt dizzy and was ready to throw up everywhere. “Computer!” I shouted, “Time to core breach!”

“Warp core breach in two minutes, twenty-five seconds!”

Even the computer sounded panicked and I didn’t blame it. I turned my focus onto the real issue, the interlock.

I lowered myself underneath the burned remains of Main Engineering, digging down towards the lower part of the warp core located near the antimatter pods. I saw the interlock and laughed. I could maybe get it fixed, in ten minutes, with a proper welding tool, if I wasn’t alone and had some luck. But with just my horn? Pointless. 

I used my magic to levitate myself upward and focused on the core itself. I needed to release its pressure, slow it down. Oh was it going to hurt like hell… I lowered my horn towards the core, and I pulled. I pulled on it as if it was a source of magic itself. It wasn’t of course, but I could change it. Convert its energy into something my body could absorb. I didn’t need to take in much, I couldn’t take in much, I just needed enough.

The power flooded my mana channels, and it burned. I wasn’t next to the sun anymore, I was the sun. And I screamed. I screamed until I had no voice left. Was this what Celestia felt the first time she touched the sun? I wanted to laugh at the stray thought, but instead I felt the evaporating tears vanish from my face. Then I stopped and slumped into the warp core. “C-computer… enable… enable countdown of time to breach.”

“Warp core breach in one minute.”

With each breath, I gurgled. I looked down at my hooves that trickled blood that quickly dried from the heat, and faintly noticed that it wasn’t just my hooves. I looked at the warp core and let out a choked sob.

“Warp core breach in thirty seconds.”

“Location... of saucer... section?”

“Enterprise saucer section has separated. Distance: ten thousand kilometers and rising.” 

My sticky dried eyes blinked. “Damn it!” I slammed the side of my head against the core. “It’s not enough…” Again. “It wasn’t enough!”

“Warp core breach in twenty seconds.”

“No. No!” I shakily forced myself up. “I’m not going to accept this. I’m going to save them!”

“Warp core breach in ten seconds.” 

I called upon every last bit of magic I had and forced it down my horn and formed a new shield around myself, and another that swallowed the entire warp core. I focused on taking whatever energy that my shield absorbed and forced it to power the larger one. If I couldn’t stop it, and I couldn’t contain it, I’ll at least make it contain itself. 

“Warp core breach in five seconds.”

“Beat that!” I laughed despite my screams and bloody sobs. "They're gonna make it now!"

“Four.”

“Celestia…”

“Three.”

"Mother…”

“Two.”

“Mom… ”

“One.”

“Twilight, I love–