USS ENTERPRISE-A, 2370'S - JUST OUTSIDE BAJORAN SPACETo his Uncle's innate surprise, Peter took the job of Chief Security Officer very, very seriously. Perhaps his lately-discovered figurehead status in 31 drove the rejuvenated man to prove his worth. To prove that he could, in effect, make a difference.
"These second phasers you'll be carrying are of course patterned after the old Phaser 1's. They differ in their more sophisticated intent. The EM-Pulse they give off will effectively disrupt the nervous patterns of any living being, as well as any parasitic, symbiotic or non-corporeal entity such as may be controlling them. This will have the added bonus of also disrupting any transmissions they may be giving off, enabling ship's sensors to triangulate their destination. Repeated use could probably kill, no matter what the target's strength. Unlike standard phasers, their purpose is not the wearing down of a subject. They couldn't melt butter if it was already lukewarm. They are a stopgap, multi-level disabler with some serious flaws. Use them wisely though---and they could possibly bring down a Q."
A bit of hyperbole to restore shattered confidence was a command trademark. Before his full-time service to 31 began, Peter Kirk had been one of the best, in keeping with family tradition. He dismissed his staff with a simple, unassuming gesture.
"Computer--current whereabouts of Amanda Kirk? Privacy override K2."
The internal locator had been put in during the first battle of wills between the Kirks. It reminded Jim of the dread Mirror Universe. To Peter, it was merest common sense.
"Amanda Kirk is in the Captain's cabin, asleep next to him."
He smiled. The bond had been all but instantaneous. Amanda had immediately fallen for the closest thing she would ever have to a grandfather. Just as Peter had come to worship him, after Sam Kirk's tragic death. Jim loved all children, and this one meant posterity. Possibly their three trans-cosmic visitors--all his children by blood or adoption--had reawoken this in the bloodied but unbowed legend.
"Director Kirk!"
The smile faded. Jake Sisko always made a beeline for him as soon as his regular shifts ended.
"Yes, Mister Sisko?"
Jake was thrown that a man who appeared almost his own age had once given orders to people like Jellico and Nechayev. He shuddered to think what secrets Director Kirk would carry to his grave. At least some of those secrets had driven the man to virtually obliterate Section 31, despite almost certainly knowing what this would cost the UFP.
"I--wanted to know if my father had sent any messages. Not for me--but anything at all."
Peter sighed. He had a special fondness for kids like Jake Sisko, Wesley Crusher and Naomi Wildman. They had lived the dream that had been closed to him, in 2267. But that fact also created an untenable level of presumption in such kids that Peter felt he had to address.
"Jake--your father is a Commodore. For all I know, this current silence is due to his orders. Also, I told you. I'll give my life story when this current crisis has at least begun to recede. Don't you have enough work to do, with that other Peter's story?"
Jake shrugged.
"He gave me too much. Sometimes, I can't stop writing. Other times, I stare at how much is there, and I feel flustered. He even gave me intimate details about his marriage. Then there's this weird stuff about who his real mother is....."
"Uhura. She was going to bear The Rock, but evil prevented this, and his spirit was stolen by a rather flaky version of my Mom, Aurelan. You're right. It is off-putting."
Jake stared in dumb silence.
"How could you possibly know that? I was the only one he gave his story to, in any substantive way. For that matter, how did you know who he was, when you wandered in on Bajor?"
Kirk turned and looked at Sisko.
"My quarters. Now."
Sensing an exclusive, Jake followed Peter, who activated a series of protocols inside his cabin.
"One--this doesn't travel for ten years. Two--I'll try and discern what's going on with your father. Just remember that Jim's experiences in the Mirror Universe means that no Chief Of Security save Uncle Pavel was ever part of his inner loop. Now, ready?"
"You know I am."
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2294
"Commander Kirk. Pity about your Uncle. I loved him too."
Peter looked cross at Jamie Finney.
"Captain--he hadn't heard from you since your father's court-martial. So spare me the crocodile tears. As far as I'm concerned, you're just like Carol Marcus and Janice Lester and all the rest. Jim didn't do as you wanted--so you blame him for your troubles."
"You're wrong. I avoided Jim to spare him stories of my father's continued mental deterioration. He did attempt to conspire against your Uncle again. I was forced to put him down like a dog. There were--lots of conspiracies against him, you know. Care to know more?"
He decided to gauge her seriousness with a slimy demand. Peter took Jamie's hand.
"I'm lonely and close to breaking inside. You change that for tonight, and I'll listen to anything you have to say."
She actually smiled. Recruitment bonuses were beyond most people's comprehension. Not to mention the benefits of a higher classification.
"You look a lot like Jim did, in his prime."
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2319
The tribunal continued.
"Captain Kirk, do you deny that the Enterprise withdrew from Bajoran space at a critical point?"
"No, Admiral--I do not."
"Do you deny that this withdrawal all but ceded Bajor and its surrounding systems to Cardassian forces?"
"No---I do not."
"You have said that you knew of Cardassian Cobalt-Based 'Depopulators'. While this is confirmed to be truth, it remains unclear how you obtained this information. Was it through Starfleet or an illegal, unsanctioned channel?"
In disguise in the gallery was Uncle Pavel, then-current head of S31. Their eyes met, and Peter knew what he had to do.
"It was through an illegal channel. I take full responsibility for placing the fleet in danger by using such vague, potentially unreliable information."
As the defrocked Captain left the hearing, his helmsman cried. He wiped her tears.
"Rachel--future Captains don't cry. Stand down from those tears, Mister Garrett. That's my final order."
"Yes, sir. I will miss you."
In private, Pavel Chekov tore the bars and pips from Peter's uniform. He then patted him on the shoulder.
"You have just taken your first steps into a much larger world."
For he had kept his silence.
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2245
Rachel was gone. So was her ship. A man who had no children had just lost the closest thing he had to a daughter. He fought back a grin as he pulled the trigger that killed the youngest son of Kevin Riley.
"Your policy of having Romulan 'contacts' gave them access to our movements, and we gained nothing. I am enacting General Order Seven for the equivalent of high treason."
In the back of the room was Old Man Riley himself, telling his son to accept his fate with dignity. The policy had been an unmitigated disaster. When he had gone, Director Peter Kirk wiped away the ashes and spoke.
"Some say I should have done that when he didn't resign after we lost the Enterprise-C. But that's not how we do things anymore. WE are one entity, with one agenda. As of right now, I want the cloaked blockade of Romulan territory lifted. I commanded it, and I say its done its job. But keep a few ships handy. I want evidence to show old Kempec that Jarod is a collaborator. If we have the Chancellor in our debt, we have the Klingons. All other missions and projects are cancelled until they have my personal approval. All funding--even for replicator maintenance--goes through this office."
"Sir---that's impossible. 31 just isn't managed that way."
"Wasn't. Wasn't."
The man raised a phaser.
"Isn't."
Director Kirk's personal bodyguard cut him down. Saavik reiterated.
"Wasn't. It refers to past tense. Now clear this room."
The 85-year old grinned at seeing the woman he loved.
"I knew there was a reason I married you."
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2369
"Sir, he made these bizarre accusations against Cadet Leader Locarno, then collapsed. Cadet Crusher turned him over to us."
"Good work. He thought you were standard Academy Security, I take it?"
"Always, sir."
"An extradimensional. The possibilities--"
As Peter Kirk summoned his wife, Peter Kirk lay in a brig, unconscious. Later, after a brief meld, Saavik gave the news.
"He, Husband--Is You!"
James Kirk began to directly question his prisoner.
"Why are you in this reality? Are you a scout for an emigration or invasion?"
Lt. P. Claudius Kirk began to plot his escape.
"None of your business--and no, I'm not a scout."
"Why do you give off such unusual energy readings? Why were you harassing Cadet Crusher?"
"None of your business--and Wes is about to make the worst mistake of his young life."
Director Kirk smiled in victory.
"So you're a time-traveler as well. In that case, why not go back to Deneva 3? Its where I'd go."
Lt. Kirk realized now that he had to guard every word around this sideways time-duplicate.
"Deneva 3 is too important to mess with. I could end up killing myself, if I did the wrong thing."
The Director guessed this time.
"So you can't control where your movements begin or end? It stands to reason, then, you must have some high-powered friends."
Peter C. Kirk was a master of many things, but debate was not among them.
"Let me out of here---or I'll destroy this place. I'm not fond of Section 31."
"So your abilities have yet to return? Yes, that makes sense. Different universal laws, and all that. The tick of a clock, the variance on barium decay--even whether the Earth was born at 2AM or 3AM on Genesis Day. Multiply those variables by infinity--and reality travel must be very draining indeed."
Lt. Kirk fought off a gulp. His counterpart was verbally rabbit-punching him.
"I'm learning to deal with it. I'm getting much better at it, as I go."
"So you've been bouncing through quite a few realities, is what you're saying. Tell me more, Peter."
Lt. Kirk now clammed up entirely. Director Kirk sneered.
"That won't help you. Before she left, my wife established a mental link between us. I can scan you, even though I'm not a telepath. I'll take you in drips and drabs, if I must. You see, our two realities are vibrationally comparatively close. What affects yours will affect mine, eventually. Now, who or what is---Ghidorah?"
Rather than clamming up, Lt. Kirk instead opened the floodgates.
"Behold, The Ancient Destroyer!"
Both Peters collapsed in absolute agony, til the non-native shifted into another quantum universe. He would not actively remember this meeting.
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"There I was, Jake. Pushing 110, and with an influx of mental images so overwhelming, a man one-fifth my age would have a coronary. Saavik coaxed me out, but I was still dying, and so was she. The Bond, you know. In some couples, it just runs that deeply. We needed a miracle. What we got was a miracle worker."
"You mean Captain Scott's reemergence."
"Exactly. Scotty knew more about transporters at their most basic level than any man alive. The Ansata terrorists on Rutia IV tried to kidnap him, so they could improve those wretched flash-teleporters of theirs. When 31 retrieved him, I decided to let him know who was in charge. Together, based on my early research into DNA, we cobbled the transporter rejuvenation system. But after all was said and done, I was still a figurehead inside a corrupt secret kingdom. My extended illness had shown me that much. So with the help of a Vulcan adept at Gol, we looked at the images that had set me off."
Jake made his own guess here.
"Visions of the future, right? They nearly killed my dad."
The Director looked away.
"Its amazing what that other Peter puts up with. Worlds dying---from the monster's creation to the last battle of all."
Jake's eyes went wide.
"You mean---you know how his battles will turn out?"
"Yes. But its all images that make no sense. More importantly, I saw snatches of our universe. Bajor dying, Bajor being reborn. I saw a darkness issue from my own heart, to kill this new Bajor. That was when I made my final plans for 31. From his own non-temporal memories, I knew the other Peter would be there. He can't see his future. But I can. Anyway, that was why I prepared the show I put on for when you all beamed down to New Bajor. Jim's rebirth--all that. Derived from bits and pieces. Even my little Amanda--but she's a story for another day."
Jake left, and began to write a story he would hold onto as long as he could.
"Throughout reality as I've seen it, Peter Kirk is at his core a little boy attempting to avenge the fall of creation as he once knew it. To restore the sunlit realm he called home. The variations that follow from that basic premise can lead you down any one---of The Infinite Paths."
Thanks, Kevin -- Rob