“It is most late, Ms. Harris.”  Cardamon sat on the roof of the operations building, wrapped in a heavy sweater, scowling at her, and at the cold Montana air, “I’ve come to enjoy my bed and the time I spend in it.”

Natalie turned to him, “Cardy, you sound like an old man.”

He glared at her, but there was a slight smile behind it, “I am an old man, at least according to your measurements.”  The Voth sipped at the steaming mug of hot chocolate, “This whole fascination with a new year and new things is most fascinating, I must say.  For a Voth, time is just…there.  We don’t really spend much time marking it with holidays, or special events, or even…talk about it much.”  He looked to the stars above, “Living here in Montana…has opened my eyes to the ways of this planet.”

She leaned back on the roof and stretched her back, hearing it pop and crack.  She gazed up at the starry sky, “And just a month ago you were on the far edges of space.”  She felt his bulky body fall gently against the roof as he joined her in stargazing.

“I never thought of leaving it.  It never occurred to me that there was anything worth living for beyond that place.  I carried so much…fear that if I left…I would lose…me.” He searched for better words, “I would lose myself.”

Natalie chewed on her bottom lip, letting his words sink in for a few moments.  “I’ve been thinking about me and what I carry.  I didn’t go back to the Academy because I felt like I was carrying too much to even go back without a massive amount of shame and guilt.”  She searched the blinking lights in the sky, “…but I’ve been thinking about maybe carrying that wasn’t a good idea.  That maybe…I shouldn’t be carrying anything that weighs me down.”

The Voth turned to her, “This is one of those…metaphors you often speak of, isn’t it?  I ask because I was starting to worry that you are carrying too much throughout the day and perhaps you should avoid such weight in your hands.”

She chuckled and turned to face him, “Yes, it is a metaphor.  Your advice is not wrong, Cardamon…why we carry what we carry sometimes doesn’t make sense.”

He turned back to staring at the stars, “Humans make no sense sometimes, Natalie Harris.”  She smiled quietly and followed him in appreciating the stars above and the worlds beyond in the galaxy.

“And the repairs on the heavy transport?”  Rachel Harris sat at the front of the oblong conference room table with the various department chairs filling out the chairs on either side of the marble table.  The Chief Repair officer confirmed they were on schedule with the ship and would have it ready for launch within two days.  She turned her attention to Research and Development, “How are we doing with the new thruster engines?”  The meeting lasted another hour until she felt they’d resolved the issues.  They broke at 0900 hours, and Natalie followed her mother as the CEO of Harris Transport headed for her office.  “How is Operations going for you, Nat?”

Natalie grimaced as they walked, “It’s…good.  I know I need this, but it’s been really hard wanting it.”  She sighed, “But it’s been helping me find my place and getting my head around how this place runs, walks, and moves – it’s massive!”

The elder Harris chuckled as she accepted a PADD from her assistant, reading the report as she spoke, “Imagine it from my position.  I’ve been working on getting a strong team working with me – my brother did not run a great operation…or even a good one, let’s be honest.”  She signed the PADD and continued, “They left so much business to chance – we’re working hard to earn some of it back.  We’ve got a long road ahead.”  Her feet were back in motion as they walked down the corridor.

“Mom…you really want to do this?”  Rachel came to a stop and gave her daughter a long look that caused Natalie to wonder if she’d offended her.  “I didn’t mean…,”

“No, you…just…you have a point.  Come on, let’s keep walking.”  Natalie caught up, and Rachel continued, “I know why you’re asking – you’re worried it’s too much.  Remember where your mom cut her teeth – Starfleet Diplomatic Corps.  Forty years of that will prepare you for anything – believe me.”  They arrived at her office, and she pushed through the door, her daughter following, “I don’t want to dismiss your worries for me, Nat…you’ve always been the one to tell me the truth.  So keep me honest.  Get me out of the office when I stay too late.”

Her daughter eyed her, “You gonna listen to me…or are we gonna fight like old times when I tell you to go to bed?”

Rachel smiled at the memory, “We’ve had some fights, I’ll admit.”  She checked her desk console and turned to her daughter, “It’s you and me against the world, Nat.  I need someone I trust in the wings keeping the stage moving with an eye to the rafters and audience.  This job might seem like it lacks danger…but it’s not all repair and construction.”

Natalie frowned, “You’re not going to explain what that means, are you?”

The older of the two smiled mysteriously, “Soon enough, you’ll have to get read into it all, daughter.”  She was going to say something else when the door to her office opened, and her assistant entered, a confused look stuck on her face.  “What is it, Lori?”

Lori Dahl wasn’t sure, “I have a Rachel McKee in the waiting area asking to see…Ambrose Harris?”

Both Harris women raised their eyebrows, and Natalie spoke first, “Isn’t that….”

Rachel finished, “It is. That’s the young woman that Ambrose saved.  It’s been, what…ten years?”  She thought, “Move my meetings around and send her in.  Natalie, stick around.  This is going to be…interesting.”

Natalie took a seat at a console near the windows while her mother stood behind her desk.  Rachel McKee walked in a moment later, dressed professionally but looking unsteady as she glanced around the room.  Her blond hair had been given a professional going over, and she nervously held a handbag with her.  She seemed out of place in every sense of the word.  The CEO of Harris Transport gestured to one of the chairs in front of her expansive desk, “Ms. McKee, please…have a seat.  Can I get you anything?”

The young woman shook her head and then thought better of it. “May I have some water, ma’am, please?”  She awkwardly worked her way to the seat, her shoes looking brand new and not broken in.  Natalie stood and grabbed a glass and filled it with lemon water from the back kitchen area, setting it gently on the end table next to McKee.  A hushed “Thank you, ma’am,” whispered from her lips as she adjusted in the seat.

Rachel Harris sat and leaned over her desk, “What can I do for you, Ms. McKee?

She glanced at Natalie, a nervous smile playing across her lips, “You remind me of him…both of you do.”  She gave a nod to Rachel.  “I’m Rac…actually, I go by Elizabeth these days.  I’m Elizabeth McKee.  Your son saved my life ten years ago, and I’ve recently been working through my experience with a counselor…and he suggested I reach out to Ambrose.”

The older Harris asked, “I need to ask why, Ms. McKee.”

The young woman had been playing with her hands and let out a long sigh, “I need to ask his forgiveness for what happened that day.”  She pulled a tissue out of the handbag as tears threatened to flow, “I killed them, Ms. Harris.  They died because of me.”

Rachel looked to Natalie, whose eyebrows had shot up in shock, and tried to assure Mckee, “You can’t have known….”

The tears turned to sobs as she spoke her terrible truth, “I did.  I knew what was coming.  I could have stopped it.  I could have saved them all.  I let them die.”  She collapsed into further sobs.

“Welcome back, Captain Harris.”  The Harris Transport employee at the dock noted on his tablet, “The house is ready for you, and there’s a car waiting for you.”

Ambrose waved the reference to his rank away, “I’m not in uniform, Josh…and I’m not Starfleet while I’m here.  Ambrose or Mr. Harris will do just fine.”

Josh Marina felt his face warm.  “It’s…sorry, sir…it’s just really cool to have a Starfleet captain in my shuttle bay!  And an Excelsior II class one too!”  He composed himself, “I’m going to stick with Mr. Harris for now.”

“Thanks, Josh.  Keep up the good work.”  He walked off the landing pad and into the transport hub making his way to with bag in hand to find out who was picking him up.  He stepped outside the doors and was surprised to find an old friend at the wheel of one of the company cars.  “Cardamon…they let you drive?”

The Voth lept for the car and embraced the surprised and now shocked Harris, “I have learned many things in my time here, captain.  They’ve taught me a lot about driving, eating, climbing, horses, cows, pigs, bulls, camels…it is truly a magical place you have here.”  He gestured to the car, “I have only been in one accident so far!”

Ambrose turned his head at the last reveal, “What happened?”

Cardamon whispered, “We don’t talk about it.”

Harris returned the whisper, “Did anybody die?”

The Voth stepped back in shock, “No!  There was just an incident with a tree, a deer, and the reverse gear.  That is all I am going to say on the matter.”

“When did this…accident happen?”  Harris trusted Cardamon in a great many things.  He wasn’t sure driving was going to make the list.

“Two days ago.  I’ve learned so much since then!  I’m nearly a new ma…er…new Voth!”

At that, Ambrose laughed, “Careful, you’re picking up on our idioms.”

“Is that the same as an idiot?  Are you insulting me?”  Cardamon didn’t appear offended, just curious.

“No, it’s…two very different things.  Has anyone insulted you?”

A shake of the head, “No, but given my research on the video screens, it’s almost a rite of passage among humans in this world.  As if it’s necessary for discourse.”

Ambrose sighed, “I think we’re going to have to get you away from the television and into something more…constructive.”  He could see the look on the Voth’s face, and he relented, “Fine, you can drive.  Just…don’t kill us.”

Cardamon excitedly hopped to the driver’s side, “I will promise you I will not kill us.  You are not as tasty as the deer venison we cooked after the…incident.” Harris stared at the Voth, who replied out of concern, “What…did I say something wrong?  I’ve been working hard at avoiding that.”

He shook his head, “No, just…maybe don’t talk about eating humans again.”

The Voth got really excited, “Oh!  I’ve been learning about puns.”  He looked at Harris with a menacing smile that was not intended to be menacing.  “Does it leave…a bad taste in your mouth?”  Cardamon lost it and laughed, tapping the wheel of the car as he chuckled, chortled, and chuckled some more.

Harris groaned, “Drive the car, Cardamon.”  The Voth quietly laughed throughout the rest of the drive as he remembered the pun he’d made.

Harris sat in the office of his house, the console at his old desk bright in the evening darkness.  He’d arrived a bit harried with Cardamon at the wheel, and he’d taken a few moments to get the old house open again.  Memories floated from room to room as he walked, voices from the past itching at his ears.  Finally, he sat at the desk and began working backward on the USS Garrison and Rachel, now Elizabeth McKee.  He’d been at it for an hour when his mother entered the room, her hair tied up under a wide-brimmed hat, her smile wide at seeing her son.  He stood, and they embraced tightly, exchanging greetings and catching up on the latest and greatest.  She found the bottle of dark liquid in the corner and soon sat on the rich leather couch, sipping at the whisky.  “She crashed into bed early…I figured you’d need some time to remember…things.”

Ambrose sighed, “I got started.  Looking through my report, the XO’s report, captain’s report…it all lines up.  I thought maybe there was a hint of something here or there…but the facts and figures lined up just as I remembered them.  Pirates attacked.  The Chief died in the middle of it all.  I pulled everybody out of engineering, including Rac…Elizabeth.  I lost my leg, but we managed to keep going.”  He gestured to the screen, “I was looking into the other reports when you walked in…did she say why?”

Rachel Harris sipped and shook her head, “Her exact words,” she pulled up her tablet and scrolled to her notes, “…were ‘ I knew what was coming.  I could have stopped it.  I could have saved them all.  I let them die.’  We haven’t been able to get much out of her.  Both her parents are long gone, and she’s an only child.  I think she didn’t have anywhere else to turn…so she came to find you.”

Harris tapped at the console on the desk, “The important thing is she found you.  I looked into the records for the Garrison…she was taken out of active duty shortly after I transferred…she’s been sitting in a surplus yard a few sectors away.  Surprised they haven’t scrapped her or sold her off.  Miranda Class hasn’t seen active service in a while.”

His mother sat forward on the couch, drink in hand, “You’re thinking of getting onboard her?”

Ambrose wasn’t sure what he would do, “I’m wondering if getting back on board with her would help.”

Rachel held up her refilled glass, “…or it could make it so much worse.”

“It’s a fair point.  I put in a request to the dockmaster to see about visiting the Garrison.”  He tapped at the console and shut it down, “How are things here?”

“It’s been an experience getting things in order.  My brother was an idiot…and that wife of his didn’t really do much.  She was content to be the softer side of things…trouble was, so was he.  We’ve lost a few teams in the shake-up…but I’ve been able to find some really good people to step up.”

“…and Natalie?”

She smiled, “She’s finding her feet.  She likes it here…and no, I don’t know if she’ll ever go back to Starfleet Academy.  She wants to be more than just the sister of Ambrose Harris.”

He sat forward at his desk, “I don’t blame her. After what happened in the Delta Quadrant…I’d have a hard time wanting to get back into space again.”

“And yet you did.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give up being able to search the stars.  There’s something about the expanse of it all…it just…draws you in and calls you along to the next adventure.  What about you?”

She set her empty glass on the desk, “I’ve found myself happier with dirt under my feet and the sun shining down on me – can’t really explain it.  I think this is where I’ll stay.”  She leaned over and kissed his forehead, “Good night, ‘Brose.”

As she walked out, he fell back in his chair.  She’d come looking for him, his mom had said.  She feels like you’re the only one left.  He held those words in his heart as he closed the office and headed upstairs to sleep, hoping for a clearer picture in the morning.

“Easy, easy.”  Harris moved through the barn, checking on the horses as he went.  He’d been thankful that the house he’d built was far enough away from the Harris Transport Campus that it still felt isolated.  He owned three horses and there was a caretaker to manage the home while he was gone.  He had come to love the early morning rides as the sun crept up over the horizon in slow motion.  He secured the gates for the horses and was walking out as Juliet Woodward walked lazily down the path from the house, her civilian clothes giving her a comfortable air.  They’d discovered she was from Scobey, which had been saved with Harris Transport’s investment in Opheim.  “Good Morning, Woodward.”

“Mornin’ si…cap…damn, this is hard to figure out what to call you when I’m off duty and off the ship.”

Ambrose accepted the offered cup of coffee, “Let’s go with ‘Harris’.  It’s easier than calling me by my first name…that’d be awkward.”

She smiled in agreement, “I agree.”  She took a pull from her coffee, “So, Elizabeth Rachel McKee?”

A grimace, “Yes.  She’s up at the main house getting breakfast.  We’re meeting at her there to figure out…just what in the world we’re going to do.”  He looked at her, “You able to get her records from her current therapist?”

“We talked last night when I got in – he’s surprised as we are that she’s here.  He didn’t tell her that there was a need to confess anythin’.  He suspects she’s dealin’ with a heavy case of survivor’s guilt that’s been gettin’ heavier and heavier as the years have gone on.  Ten years is a long time to carry somethin’ like this.” He kicked at the ground, saying nothing.  She turned to him and waited for him to speak.  She raised her eyebrows, “You think there’s something to this?”

He put his hands up, “I know, I know.  I’ve dug through every report that was done in the incident.  I’ve reached out to those of us who are still alive.  Everything points to us being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  But…,”

She stared at him, “But….?”

“There’s something there.  I didn’t want to admit it ten years ago…but it started bothering me when I talked to my mom yesterday.  It was the wrong place, wrong time…but some of the stuff that, at the time, felt accidental…I’m starting to wonder if it was.”  He shrugged, “I don’t know.”

She stopped, and he walked back to where she stood, pointing furry gloves at him, “The most dangerous thin’ is hindsight and doubt.  Together they can form false memories, plant ideas that weren’t ever even considered, and do a really good number on you and whoever else is in the middle of it.  You need to be careful, sir.  She could be having a full-on episode of some kin’…and if she drags you in…I’m going to be jugglin’ two patients and not just the one.  That is not ideal workin’ conditions.”

Ambrose finished his coffee, “You have my word – I’ll be careful.  Let’s get on with it, shall we?”  She followed him down the snow-packed path to the main house.

Elizabeth McKee sat down on the couch in the main house’s living room, finding comfort in the soft seat and fluffy cushions.  Ambrose walked in, a woman following in his stead.  McKee stood, her smile cratering as she said, “Hey.”

Harris stepped forward and embraced her softly, “Hey Rach…or Elizabeth…or Liz..?” He pulled back, and she shrugged, “Liz works.”  He gestured to the couch, and she sat on one end while he took the other.  Woodward sat in the chair opposite them as he introduced her, “This is my ship’s chief counselor, Juliet.  I asked her to join us because I think she can help.”  He turned back to his former engineering officer, “I know this will be hard to discuss…but I need to know what pushed you to find me?”

McKee kept her attention on her hands, “I…I needed to confess to you that…I could have saved them.  I could have stopped it all from happening.”  She accepted the tissue box from the counselor, “I was on the night shift that night.  You’d put us to the task of ensuring the intermix chamber had been given a proper diagnostic, and an EPS conduit systems check.”

Ambrose nodded, “I remember.  The Chief wasn’t happy with the work that had been done before, so he wanted it done right.  Porter was pissed.”

She nodded, dabbing at the tears that threatened to flood her face, “Well…we did the intermix chamber, and it came out just fine.  But we didn’t do the EPS systems check.”

Her former assistant chief asked the obvious, “Why?”

She fell back into the sofa, sighing a deep and mournful sigh.  “I was tired.  I didn’t think we needed to redo it and Paula swore up and down she’d done it right.”

Harris growled and explained to Woodward, “That’s Gamma Shift Lead Paula Perena.  She was pretty worthless.  My chief was trying to find a place for her without sending her packing.”  He gestured to McKee, “Ra…Liz was just following what her shift leader was telling her.”

Juliette spoke up, “I read the reports, Liz.  Even if you worked with the EPS system…the Garrison Incident would happen no matter how hard you tried.”

McKee shook her head heavily, “Chief Porter would still be alive.  He was in main engineering at the console when it blew – the entire room killed him.  The EPS system wasn’t working right.  It hadn’t been for weeks.”

Woodward looked to Harris, who sighed in acknowledgment, “It wasn’t – we’d upgraded…almost refit the Garrison from stem to stern six weeks before the attack.  I wasn’t as good as I am now. And Chief was an old school engineer – Matthew Porter was 50 years old – he’d cut his teeth on ships like the Garrison.  We thought we had it licked.  The week leading up to it, we kept getting error codes and power reports that told us it wasn’t.  That’s why Porter was pissed, and that’s why he asked me to get Gamma Shift on it.”

Liz sobbed, “We didn’t do our jobs…and Porter died…we lost five crew that day.”

Ambrose disagreed, “Porter was stubborn.  He would have stayed in main engineering no matter what.  I tried to pull him out, but he ordered me to save who I could.  He was old school.  You didn’t kill him, Liz…he saved the rest of us.”

She shook her head miserably, “I don’t know if I can ever accept that, Ambrose.”

Harris smiled quietly, “We’re not going to process through this in an hour, Liz.  Let’s take it one step at a time, ok?” He nodded to his chief counselor, “Juliet’s been asking to take some horses out…and I got to follow up with some reports I missed.  You and her should take in the ranch.  Take some lunch with you.”

Juliet smiled wide as McKee looked on with worry, “Don’t worry, Liz.  I grew up an hour from here – horses are my second language.  Come with me.  You ain’t seen nothing like Big Sky Country.”  They left the room and Harris turned his attention to his PADD.  The dockmaster had gotten back to him.

The horse ride had gone on in silence as Juliet led and Elizabeth followed.  The ambient sounds of the woods around the Harris Transport Campus filled their ears, and within an hour, they’d found their way to a lake and laid out lunch.  McKee sat as she stared out on the placid lake, the sun pouring warmly over them.  “Wyoming was never this beautiful.”

Woodward popped some grapes and relished the sweet taste, “Wyomin’ exists to get to Montana; at least, that’s how I heard it.”  She took a long drink from her water bottle, “I’ve used this place in my holographic relaxin’ sessions to help center myself.”  She nodded to the former engineer, “Where do you go when you need to breathe, Liz?”

McKee reflected on the question, a blank look on her face expressing her answer, “I’m…I’m not sure, Juliet.  When I left the Garrison, I went right back to work in the private sector doing engineering work.  I worked here and there – got pretty high up in a Power Plant operation in Denver two years ago…but I was always looking up to the stars.”  She took a bit of a roast beef sandwich and raised her eyebrows as she chewed and swallowed, “That is…a helluva sandwich!”  She polished it off and sighed, “I didn’t realize how hungry I’ve been.”  She picked up a container of grapes and slowly began to enjoy them.  “I guess I need to figure out how to…take the time to relax and enjoy the moment.”

Juliet understood, “In the beginnin’, it’s hard to appreciate…or even accept that you need to take those moments.  We don’t want to admit we’re not perfect at everythin’…or need help.”

Liz sipped at her soda silently as the counselor spoke gently to her.  “I sometimes think it was a mistake to leave Starfleet.”  She laid back on the blanket, feeling her back stretch and settle as she stared into the stark blue and white world above her, “I think I was running from what happened on the Garrison…that I didn’t want to face the truth or the death, or the life I would have to live.”  A moment later, she admitted, “I’ve spent ten years running and hiding from the truth.”

Woodward shifted to lay opposite her, joining her in searching the sky and clouds for answers.  “The truth, in this case, may not be what you think it is, Liz.  Harris doesn’t think you’re guilty of what you think you are – at least in the way you seem to believe it.  You may have neglected your duties, but correlation doesn’t mean causation…or the other way aroun’.”

The engineer pushed herself up, “You really don’t think I’m guilty, do you?”  Her face showed she was questioning but also that she wasn’t sure if she believed the woman.

Juliet shifted, so she was facing McKee, “Often the case with our old memory is that we remember somethin’ as it happened…but in the years between the moment and today – we’ve inserted our own commentary or our own interpretation of the memories, or we’ve added additional rememberin’ to it that’s more based on how we feel about the moment than what was really happenin’.”

Liz frowned, “So I’m remembering some of what happened…but also what I think I remember?”

The counselor snapped her fingers, “Bingo Bongo, Bob’s your uncle.” McKee’s frown deepened, and Juliet laughed aloud, “I forget not everybody knows my sayings or understands them.  I’m agreein’ with you, Liz.  Memory is tricky.”

“Do you think they have the original recordings of what happened in the engineering room?”  

Woodward sat up, her turn to frown, “I feel like I know where this is goin’…you sure you want to do that?”

McKee shrugged halfheartedly, “I don’t know what I want to do…but I want to be able to answer the question about what happened that day without having to go back to my memories that have had ten years to become something other than the truth.”

Juliet nodded, understanding McKee’s ‘why’.  “Let’s pack up lunch and head back to the house…see if Harris has anything to report.”

Ambrose closed the channel as the two walked back into the living room.  Woodward filled him in as McKee drifted back to the couch and sat softly, listening to the conversation.  He glanced at his former officer and back to his counselor, “Well, I just got off the line with the dock master where the Garrison is held.  According to their records, the data core was never dumped, and she’s been hooked up to battery power since she was transferred there.  I went up the ladder a few rungs on either side, and we’ve been given provisional permission to inspect the Garrison under the auspices of closing the investigation into the Garrison’s status and future.”

McKee blinked.  Twice.  She could feel the emotions bubbling on a rollercoaster ride around the chambers of her heart.  They could go back.  She could stand back on the decks.  They could find the recordings.  She could find out the truth about what happened.  This could help.  “Yes.  I want to go.”  She swallowed hard and emphasized, “I need to go.”  Harris walked up to her and reached out a hand.  She gripped it and looked up to hold eye contact.  “This…is important, sir.”

Ambrose squeezed her hand, “Then we’ll make it happen, Liz.”  He checked his chrono, “I can have a shuttle ready to depart at 1200 hours.  Woodward, you’re coming with us…I’m going to see if I can get Natalie along for the ride.  We’ll help you find your answer, McKee.  Whatever it is.”  She gave a quiet nod.

The shuttle dropped from warp, and Natalie tapped in their course while Ambrose sat to her right, reaching out to the shipyard.  They’d talked a little during the trip, but she’d been focused on flying the shuttle.  Behind them, Juliet and Elizabeth hadn’t stopped talking.  Harris picked up bits and pieces.  He hoped this would help his old friend.

=^=Shuttle Harris 220, you are cleared for Dock Five.  Our quartermaster will meet you there.=^=  The channel closed, and Natalie carefully plotted their course and slowly backed the shuttle into the docking mechanism.  They held on as it shook slightly, and the green light clicked on at the rear door.  Ambrose secured the shuttle’s console and led them to the slowly opening door.  

Harris was in uniform and greeted the quartermaster, “Afternoon Master Chief Karsa.”  The older man nodded and accepted his PADD.  He glanced at the others and then back to the documents on the screen.

“Everything is in order.  This map will take you to where the Garrison is stored.  Good luck.”  He loaded a map onto the PADD and handed it back before he returned to his station.

Ambrose examined the map and motioned for the rest to follow.

They’d walked for twenty minutes until they’d located the wing where the Garrison was supposed to be berthed.  McKee’s nervousness was on display as she glanced at each ship as they walked, nervously searching for the shape and size of the Garrison.  Suddenly, there she was.

“Oh.”  She stepped up to the window and took a long look at the Miranda class ship, “She was such a simple girl.”

Harris was at the dock door, tapping on the keycode, “She was tough when it counted.  I remember that much.”  A groan and then a shudder as the door slid open, “Let’s go see how she’s looking.”  Elizabeth stared at the ship a little longer before accepting the hand of Woodward, and they followed behind the former Chief Engineer.  

As they drew closer, McKee slowed and took in the ship’s lines, her eyes shining her emotions.  “They tell you you’ll never forget the ships you served on…I thought I had left the old girl behind…but seeing her again and being this close…those memories never really leave you, do they?”

Ambrose turned as he worked on the console at the door, “She was my home for seven years.  From engineer to Chief.  I know what you’re feeling, McKee…you’re not alone.”  The door hissed open, and he stepped inside, tapping the console to bring the systems online.  There was a pause and then a whirr and then a beep….and then the rumble soon filled the air as lights, environmental controls, and the rest slowly and then quickly activated throughout the ship.  “Let’s walk, shall we?”

They walked.  The Garrison had been an older ship, and her corridors were reminiscent of a past generation of starship whose time had come and gone.  Both Harris and McKee walked together now, touching the walls of the hallway, chuckling at the older tech as they went.  Natalie marveled as she walked with Juliet, leaning over, “They made so many of these Miranda class ships…so many that this was one of those ships you would see all the time on a mission or an adventure.  You look at the ships we have now…she’s obsolete.  At least they made the Reliant Class – honoring these old girls in the new iteration.”

Juliet nodded as they stepped into the turbolift, “Always wanted to step onto the decks of one of these…I can check that off the list.”

Harris tapped the console, “Bridge.”

The doors opened, and they each gasped in their own way.  While the Garrison had gone through refits, the bridge had remained the same.  Ambrose angled for the center chair, “We could never agree to let them replace the bridge.  We upgraded the cables and computer…but this shape and look…it was hard to let go.”  He sat carefully and sighed, “I secretly wanted to sit in this chair…never got the chance.”

Natalie chuckled, “And now you command the Mackenzie.”

He felt the old chair, “She is shiny…and she reminds me of the classic Excelsior…but sometimes you don’t want the shiniest.”  He pushed himself out of the chair, “Let’s see what the computer can tell us.”  They all sat around the operations station as Harris went to work.  The computer was slow.  It took him fifteen minutes to locate the records and five more minutes to get the video screens working.  At last…it flickered, and the paused record faded onto the display.  “Alright.  Here we go.”

The Garrison shook like a wild toddler on a rampage.  The decks were being savagely bounced by the repeated attacks from the pirates.  Lieutenant Commander Porter held on tightly to the console as the power systems held on. The shields were at 50%, but he’d found a way to reroute the power through the EPS conduits to boost them.  It kept them alive, but it had to be done manually.  He continued to mend the system as he went.  His Assistant Chief was working on a wall console when it exploded, and the warp core klaxons started ringing.  Porter read the systems report.  The containment unit was going to fail soon.  He coaxed what he could from the systems while shouting at Harris, “Get out!  Evacuate engineering!  I’m going to give us time.  Get everybody out!”

Harris had a stricken look dripping from his face as he stared at his chief for a millisecond.  His training quickly kicked in as he began to run through the room, shouting for evacuation.  Officers and crewmen desperately trying to keep the room functional gradually gave up and slogged their way out and up from the unstable engine room.  The deck pitched again, and flames burst from several consoles as the ship continued to take a pounding.  The ACEO found one last officer in the corner, collapsed.  Rachel McKee was muttering something as Harris picked her up and shoulder carried her towards the door, slowly closing as the conditions in main engineering were becoming toxic.

Porter gripped his console and shook his head.  The EPS conduits in engineering weren’t going to hold out much longer.  He’d pushed them far beyond their recommended settings, and there was no chance they’d be able to survive what he threw at them next.  He shouted at Harris to hurry as he pounded at the console, encouraging what little he could from the Garrison’s core.

Ambrose threw McKee through the space of the door, and officers grabbed her, pulling her with them.  Harris crawled under the door, his lungs burning and his eyes unable to see inches in front.  Suddenly the world went bright as the main door slammed down on the one leg that was left as he was pulling himself out.  He could hear the explosions in engineering as the pain overwhelmed him.  Klaxons and alarms echoed as he passed out.  A harried medical team arrived and began to stabilize him.  The leg would have to go.

The video ended, and McKee stared at the video and data screens.  Her mouth was open, and tears filled her face, “He…he did everything he could to save us.”

Harris nodded, his emotions slowing him, “You see the readouts.  He overloaded the EPS conduits to keep the shields online and the ship operating.  That last act…he pushed the Garrison to the limit.  The pirates saw our power levels drop and decided we weren’t worth blowing up.  It took a few hours, but we were rescued.  The Garrison went on to serve.”  He gave McKee a look, “There’s no doubt – anything you would have done to the EPS systems wouldn’t have saved anyone.  Elizabeth – you don’t need to carry this guilt.”

She nodded through renewed tears, “It…helps to come here…to see it.”  She glanced at Juliet, “Can…we go see engineering?”  The counselor glanced at Harris, and he quietly motioned to the turbolift.  The two of them left the bridge.

Natalie sat beside her brother, “You’ve lived an adventurous life, ‘Brose.”

He shrugged, “I’ve done my duty…served the fleet and loved doing what I do.  Adventure isn’t the reason I’m in this uniform.”

Natalie took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  Ever since McKee had come back into their lives, she’d felt this thing tugging at the back of her mind. “I…I think I want to go back to Starfleet Academy.”

Ambrose groaned, “Mom’s going to be so thrilled.”

“It’s not because of you, ‘Brose.  It’s because…there’s something out here.  I don’t know what it is…but sitting here, flying that shuttle here…I feel like I couldn’t escape this if I tried – there’s such a connection to this stuff for me.  I look into the stars, and I think, what else is out there?  What’s the next thing to find?  To discover?  I need to do this, ‘Brose.”

He put his hand on her shoulder, “Nat, if you want to do this…it sounds like you’ve got the right idea.  Do it for you…and nobody else.”  They talked briefly until McKee and Woodward stepped back on the bridge.  “Did that help?”

Elizabeth bit her bottom lip and whispered, “Yes.”  A pause, “I’d like to get back to the ranch…I need to…process this with some open sky.”

Harris stood, “Next stop, Montana.  I’ll meet you all at the shuttle.”  The three of them left, and Natalie gave him a curious look as the turbolift door closed.  The former Chief Engineer of the Garrison returned to the captain’s chair and sat in it, reflecting on those that had called the ship home.  Those they had lost, those that had gone on to bigger things…and others who had just faded into history.  He eventually stood and stepped into the turbo lift.  

As the doors closed, he whispered, “To absent friends.”