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The Continuing Voyage: Part I

Space…The Final Frontier…

Trudging through the vastness of the final frontier was the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E. Sovereign-class, sixth Federation starship to bear the name and the second to be commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Despite such an impressive list of credentials, she had seen better days…

It had been less than four days since the battle in the Bassen Rift against Praetor Shinzon's flagship, the Scimitar. After a furious hour-long engagement, the Scimitar had been destroyed, but at great costs to the Enterprise and the Romulan Warbirds Talvath and Valdore with whom victory would not have been possible.

The Enterprise had suffered enormous damage during the battle. Her primary hull was scorched from the blasts of Reman disruptor banks. A quarter of her forward saucer section was gone, torn from the Enterprise when she had rammed the Scimitar in a last-ditch effort to stop Shinzon. Her port warp nacelle showed the scars from the inadvertent collision with the wreckage from the Warbird Talvath.

The Talvath on the other hand was even worse off then the Enterprise. The damage caused by the Scimitar had been so great that what was left of the Warbird had been abandoned in the rift, pending the arrival of salvage teams. The surviving crew were on board the Valdore which had made sufficient enough repairs to return to Romulan territory under her own power.

The Enterprise was also lucky to have her warp engines functioning. Geordi had made as many patches as he could to insure a velocity of warp factor 5.5. It was the best they could do until they arrived back at Earth. The admirals at Starfleet Command had taken one look at the damage reports before unanimously agreeing that the Earth shipyards would be the best facilities to repair and refit the Federation flagship.

At least it hadn't been like a century before after Kirk's battle with Khan, where the damage to the original Enterprise had caused Starfleet to unanimously agree to decommission her.

Picard sat back in his chair. He couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Shinzon's face in those last few moments on the Scimitar's bridge. He saw Shinzon impaled on that rod, pulling himself closer to the Starfleet Captain. The sound of flesh tearing, the smell of blood, and the feel of his breath would remain in his dreams. They would be as tortuous as his nightmares about Locutus and his experience with the Borg. And his last vision of Data placing the personal transporter on his uniform…

Picard opened his eyes and pushed these thoughts away. Each of them would mourn Data in their own private ways. Each of them had suffered a personal loss as grave as this. Together, they had all mourned Tasha's death; he had murned his brother's passing in the same manner. But before he could recall any more lost friends, his Starfleet laptop began beeping, indicating an incoming message. Picard reached to access it-

-and was greeted by the face of Admiral Kathryn Janeway."

"Admiral."

"Good to see you're still in one piece after that battle. I…feel some responsibility in this-"

"It wasn't your fault, Admiral."

"Well, I'm afraid that does not totally allay my worries. Now, I;, disturbed you, but I though you should be the first to know."

"Know what?"

"Command is pressing charges against you, Jean-Luc. For misconduct in the line of duty. Specifically regarding your…relationship with Shinzon."

"Command or someone else in Command?"

"Admiral Alynna Necheyev."

It made sense. Of the relatively few enemies that Picard had made in Starfleet, Necheyev was one of the greatest. It had all started ten years earlier when she had ordered the Galaxy-class Enterprise-D to implant an invasive program into the recovered Borg drone that had become known as Hugh. Picard had initially agreed with her. However, he had come to realize that he was allowing his prejudice against the Borg to interfere with his decision and let Hugh return intact to the Collective.

Necheyev had given him hell after he had filed his report with Command. She had tried to push for a court martial, but the other high ranking Starfleet admirals had agreed with Picard's reasoning. Humiliated, she had vowed to neither forget or forgive Picard for this.

It didn't get any better three years later when Ensign Ro had graduated from her advanced tactical preparation classes. She had expected her protégée to use these talents to the best of her abilities. And indeed Ro had.

For the Maqui terrorist cells.

Admiral Necheyev had tried to avoid responsibility and shift the blame for this new humiliation on Picard. She again failed, but was given another chance barely a year later following the Enterprise-D's destruction at Veridian III. What have saved Picard and his senior staff there had been the sacrifice of Captain James Tiberius Kirk.

"When is it set to start?"

"As soon as you reach Earth. I'm doing everything I can on my part over here at Command to either delay or stop her. Between you and me, I'm not fond of Necheyev either. Janeway out."

That was an understatement, though Picard as he closed the channel. Necheyev had made a grave enemy in Starfleet's newest admiral because of what had happened two years earlier…

The U.S.S. Voyager had just made it back to Earth after seven years in the Delta Quadrant. They should have received a hero's welcome. Instead, Necheyev had ordered the former Maquis arrested and had pressed charges of violation of the Prime Directive and high treason against Janeway. It was, as Data with his emotion chip active would have put it, bullshit.

Fortunately, with the aid of Admiral Owen Paris, Janeway had been found innocent of the charges and the Maquis released. Part of the reason was that with the end of Dominion War so recent, Starfleet needed heroes. And besides, Picard would have probably done many of the same were he in the Delta Quadrant.

But they were both here and now in the Alpha Quadrant. And this time, Necheyev had messed with the wrong Starfleet officers.

To be continued…