Veridian (Stories of the Enterprise D)

So much could go right and so much could go wrong. The stakes weren't something that Enterprise hadn't dealt with before. She'd handled a Klingon Civil War, two fights with the Borg, one in their territory, among other things. So she wasn't afraid of an out of date Klingon warbird that even Enterprise-A could turn into scrap metal. She underestimated just how resourceful and devious Klingons could be as this was no ordinary Klingon fighter. This was an Ingi fighter, the same murderous bastards that ripped apart Khitomer and she herself had fought against after Gowron had been sworn in.
Even as Armagosa's last light faded, the battle raged. Enterprise found her shields to be suddenly useless. "They must have the correct frequency." She said. As her own weapons matched her shield harmonics so they could go through to strike their target, it was the only way to trick her shields into believing these disruptors were her own weapons. Clever and exactly what the starship expected from a member of the Ingi family. But the question remained, how did they get those frequencies... Then it hit her. "Geordi!" She cried. "Your visor, take it off!" If Geordi was surprised he didn't show it. He obeyed his starship without a word, putting the device on the floor where it could see nothing. "Now change the shield harmonics." Enterprise ordered. "I don't care what you put in, anything different than what I have now." Geordi understood in an instant and quickly punched in a new set of numbers. The next round of firing did no damage as her shields held. The warbird looked surprised. Enterprise faced it with a grin, despite the pain that was beginning to build in her aft section. "My turn." She said. A single phaser shot would've done but Enterprise had held back her fire long enough. She wanted to let loose and annihilate her opponent and Riker gave her her head. Three torpedoes and two well aimed phaser shots and the Klingon bird of prey exploded over Verdian III in a large enough detonation that for anyone on the planet's surface below, it would've appeared as though a second sun had suddenly made itself known.
Enterprise had little time to revel in her victory though as shooting pain ran through her from all sides. It was sharp, powerful and left her gasping for breath. "My core, Riker." She moaned. "It's failing." "Enterprise, we can't evacuate in time. Can you separate?" Riker asked. "I-I can try." She rasped, already going through the procedure. Survival instinct had taken over and this was the one chance Enterprise had to live. She broke free of her disruptor marked nacelles, barely having enough time to get away before the explosion shock wave slammed into her from behind. She yelped in pain. "Impulse is out!" She warned. "Thrusters at station keeping!" Riker barked. "It's too late, we're being drawn in." Enterprise cried as gravity reared its ugly head and pulled her towards the planet she'd fought so hard to save. Flames licked at her hull, generated by the incredible speeds she was traveling at. With no shields, it was a painful experience but Enterprise fought hard, keeping a vicious hold on her lucidity as the planet's surface appeared through the clouds. She ground her teeth together. This was going to hurt. "Brace yourselves!" She warned and seconds later she felt her hull scrape against rocks on one side, then the other. Her nose dropped straight for the soft soil below, digging deep into it. Enterprise's scream earned her a mouth full of dirt and as soon as she came back level again she spat it out, hoping she'd get the chance to rinse her mouth out later. The forest trees scraped her hull in protest for her rude entrance but Enterprise didn't have time for apologies. There was a steep cliff ahead and she needed to stop before then. Go over that, and there would be no survivors. She had no impulse but a few of her thrusters still worked. She fired them now, using the reverse power to slow her down and the friction from the trees to bleed off the rest of her speed. She came to a halt, a mound of earth pushed up in front of her, and a 3 mile long track from where she'd first impacted left like a scar on the surface.
Coughing a loogie to remove the last of the dirt from her mouth, Enterprise asked "is everyone alright?!" Riker did a quick inspection. "All decks report good Enterprise. No casualties and medical teams are responding." "Good." She sighed. Her vision was blurring and she blinked several times to clear it, surprised to feel something wet streak down her face. Was that her, was she crying?! No she was an Enterprise. She didn't cry, least of all in front of her people. "Buck up, soldier." She thought, straightening her hull as her stance became more rigid. She could not afford to relax, even now. Her people still needed her, and Enterprise intended to fulfill that need.
When Picard returned, he was stunned at the shape his ship was in. Her stardrive section was completely gone, her saucer covered in horrible burns and gouges, most still bleeding. A pool of blue blood coated the ground around her. "Sir." She greeted, straightening. Her eyes, both of them, flashed with the pain of her action. "Stand down Enterprise. You're in no condition for formalities." "I'm well enough to carry out whatever orders you have sir, short of leaving the surface." She replied. "Then relax Enterprise, until we can get the supplies to repair you. And that's an order." "Yes sir." She agreed with a sigh, resting her snout on the mound of dirt that acted like a pillow. Picard could almost say she looked relieved.
Then his engineer gave him the report. "Her injuries are massive. She doesn't realize it but a majority of the saucer section's primary systems were knocked out in the explosion. She's dying." Geordie said. "I thought Galaxy-class starships could survive for years on their saucer sections alone. More than long enough to get a replacement section." Picard said. "When they're in peak condition which Enterprise most certainly is not. The damage is extensive, beyond our ability to repair. Her body is trying to fix itself as best it can which is why she hasn't felt anything yet but her organs will shut down and take their healing properties with them." Geordie replied. "How long does she have?" Picard asked. "At the rate the failures are progressing, I'd narrow it down to hours."
Picard wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or say as he sat down next to his ship. He'd refused to let Riker debrief him. Now that he knew the full extent of his ship's condition, every minute was precious. Enterprise was feeling her pain now, just as Geordie said she would. Nonetheless, she managed a weak grin at her captain's presence. "Hey." She greeted. "How you feeling?" He asked. "Like a Klingon shot me to hell, and then crashed me on a planet's surface." She replied. "Funny." His voice had no humor but if she was keeping her spirits up that was a good sign for now so he smiled. His fingers scratched her nose, admiring the smooth texture of her skin while his thumb gently rubbed a small scratch, given to her by one of this forest's many branches. Enterprise gave a soft purr at his actions, indicating he was doing something right. She tilted her head, leaning into the stroking slightly, minding her weight carefully. "You're worried about me." She murmured. "I'm the captain of a ship who's more of a wreck than she is a ship." He replied. She chuckled. "You know me, Picard. I always bounce back." Enterprise was surprised to feel a tear droplet on her nose. And what was that small sniffling noise. Was that her? Picard, was he crying?! Enterprise wasn't sure, her vision was too blurry to tell. She could hardly feel his hand on her nose anymore even though she knew it was there. She could sense him through their bond and even that was fading. She was dying. Death was calling her and though she'd felt it many times before, it wasn't an unknown to her, she resisted it as firmly as she had the Klingon. Picard soothed her, his voice gentle and soft and dare Enterprise say it loving. Perhaps it was the onslaught of Death that gave Enterprise the courage she needed but whatever the reason, she nudged her captain's hand gently with her nose, indicating she wanted to say something. "Yes En?" He asked. She couldn't find the words. The most important time in her history and she couldn't find the right words! "Hey, it's alright." Picard soothed, seeing his ship was getting upset. "Use the bond if you have to." Enterprise knew how much Picard hated using the bond. The telepathy was often too powerful for him to get used to. But Enterprise had to tell him and it was now or perhaps never. Who knew when she'd be born again after all.
Her voice was weak, even in his mind. She was fading fast and it made his artificial heart beat louder from its owner's pain. "I-I l-love y-you." Her melodic voice sang its song in his head, reverberating past his ears. "I love you, Jean Luc Picard." Picard swallowed. Did she? After all this time? After 8 years, did she feel the same way he did. Thinking back, he recalled various times throughout their missions where Enterprise would do something reckless or dangerous for his sake. He'd put it down to duty and just being an Enterprise. Any ship with the name was bound to be rebellious, it came with the territory and he expected it. But thinking a little harder, he realized that what his ship did wasn't just for the sake of being a rebel, it was for love. She loved him all along and he was too blind, too foolish to realize it.
He was so busy admonishing himself he failed to notice how Enterprise's began to grow dark and clouded. The spark of life that had existed in them for so long was finally fading. The pain of a breaking bond is what brought him back to reality. "Enterprise..." He breathed. "Enterprise!" He took a deep breath. There was so little time. "I-I love you too." Maybe a millisecond later, the bond snapped and Picard screamed, clutching his head and his heart as he collapsed on the ground. His crew of course, came running the instant they heard his cry. Dr. Crusher immediately began scanning him. "His serotonin levels are falling rapidly, way too quickly for anything normal to be the cause." She said. "How bout a broken bond?" Riker asked softly beside her. She looked at the first officer, who had a hand on Enterprise's hull. Dr. Crusher rose, turning her scanner on the starship. It was always a 50-50 with Enterprise. Sometimes the tricordor worked and sometimes it didn't. And even though the results were inconclusive Dr. Crusher knew. Enterprise would never ignore Picard, especially not when he was in pain like this. Even if she was incapacitated herself she would use the bond to comfort him and Dr. Crusher found no evidence of this now. There was no denying it. She was gone. Despite herself, the doctor felt tears well in her eyes and they flowed freely down her cheeks. A rough sob escaped her, matched by Picard who was still clutching his head on the ground. She leaned down, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. She, they still needed him.
For Picard the breaking of a bond was agony. He had no idea how Enterprise stood this in the past. Had she felt it when Kirk died? He wasn't sure. She never said. When he finally managed to stop crying he looked down at the broken form of the starship and felt himself coming apart again. He'd lost her, despite his vows never to. It was a captain's duty to protect his ship. To keep her alive at all costs. But Enterprise was more than just a ship to him and he'd known that from the first day he'd stepped aboard her. Why? Why oh why didn't he just tell her his true feelings then? Why didn't he tell her even after Stargazer had given him her blessing?! She had told him what his heart had hoped to hear for eight years. And just when she needed him most, needed to hear it most, he'd faltered. It was one thing to lose a ship, it was another to lose a lover and she, Enterprise, would never know.
Category:Star Trek Fanfiction
Category:Story