A Captain And A Madman

Interlude Two

Soren's mad plans had failed, the desperate El Aurian killed in the explosion of his own missile. The solar system was saved, millions of lives spared annihilation from their own sun... but at what cost?

Picard's limbs ached as he scurried down the rocky incline, deeper into the canyon, not daring to hope, but not wanting to admit what had likely transpired. Kirk had succeeded, he knew that much, had gotten to the remote that had decloaked Soren's platform, had made this victory possible, but... the sound that had followed, the crumble of stone and screech of metal...

Picard hadn't seen what had happened, had been too focused, far too focused, on preventing the launch of that missile to witness it, and that lack of sight had given him hope. After all, Kirk had already thwarted death outright, survived seemingly impossible odds by coming back after being lost on the Enterprise-B, years and parsecs from this lifeless rock. Every hopeful thought in Jean Luc's mind prayed that Kirk had leapt free somehow, or ridden the catwalk down to the bottom, perhaps thrown himself onto a higher ledge before it finished its plunge.

But when Picard saw the twisted catwalk at the bottom of the canyon, and a glimpse of a white uniform beneath it, those hopes died.

Still, Picard hurried forward, tugging away a piece of debris, peering inside... and finding Kirk, bloodied, broken, but alive, pinned beneath the bulk of the catwalk. The former Captain of the Enterprise was still conscious, still aware of his surroundings, and when he saw Picard looking down at him, he blinked dazedly.

"Did we do it?" Kirk murmured, brow furrowed, eyes narrowed against the pain, voice soft and yet almost pleading. "Did we make a difference?"

"Oh, yes," Picard replied breathlessly, still half-hoping he could find some means to get Kirk out safely. "We made a difference. Thank you."

"Least I could do... for the Captain of the Enterprise..." Kirk's eyes flickered, for just a moment, as he added; "It was... fun..."

Kirk's head turned a little, smiling at Picard as if sharing some private joke... but Picard couldn't quite find it in himself to smile back. And then, the smile faded, bit by bit, the expression that replaced it a quiet mix of awe, and perhaps fear.

"Oh my."

They were his last words, and those narrowed eyes soon saw no more.

Picard knelt there, for a good long time, unable to look away from Kirk's body, unable even to climb to his feet, as if thinking if he left that body unguarded, something would steal it away. His reverie, his long, silent vigil, was broken when a sudden skitter of scattered pebbles sounded from above, causing the Captain to spin around, body tensing for an attack...

Only to find a very recognizable figure, standing above him on an outcrop of rock, with an even more familiar blue box behind him.

"...you..." Dazed and in more than a little pain, it took a moment for Picard to dredge the name from years past. "Doctor."

"Yes." the Doctor's eyes flickered to Kirk's body, a small sigh passing his lips. "I'm sorry. I really am. But I need you to come with me. I need your help."

"Yes, well..." Picard's lips thinned, jaw setting as he turned back towards Kirk, kneeling to curl his fingers under the bottom rim of the fallen catwalk. "To hell with what you need. I don't intend to leave him here like this."

The Captain gave a strangled groan as he tried to haul the catwalk away... but he had been through too much in the last couple of hours, and he was a sore, stiff mess, bordering on dehydration and covered in more than a few cuts and bruises. His first few attempts brought nothing but pained grunts as the catwalk didn't even twitch at the Starfleet officer's exhausted efforts.