Chapter Text
A New Beginning: A Star Wars/Star Trek Story
By Catherine Grassi
Chapter One: A New Assignment
Space, such a vast, endless black void of brightly lit stars that blanketed over nothingness. All seemed peaceful, no noise, no movement of any kind. One would never imagine that in this quiet, dark space there was a galactic war ensuing. A ship called the Tantive IV broke through the serene, peaceful space with a much larger vessel in pursuit. An Imperial Star Cruiser gave chase as it fired its proton cannons at the smaller craft. A lucky strike blew through the main reactor and forced the ship’s engines to fail. The small craft drifted helplessly through space like a ship at sea without a rudder.
Rebel soldiers raced through the maze of corridors until they could run no further. The blast door jammed; the red-alert sirens echoed through every inch of the ship; and the lights failed. The soldiers continued to pull with all their strength, wedging their arms through the open crack in the door, hoping the door would give. That was when they heard the sounds from the other end of the corridor, the darkness shielded whatever made that sound.
The soldiers held their breaths, only the beathing of their hearts were heard until an all-to-familiar sound of heavy breathing, more like from a machine, was heard before the red glow of a light saber made his presence known. Darth Vader, the Imperial Sith Lord emerged from the shadows. The soldiers opened fire on him with their blasters, but to no avail. Vader deflected the fire power with ease closing the gap between himself and them.
One by one, Vader cut through the soldiers like butter, dispensing with each soldier until there were only two left. The soldier who stood before Vader felt unseen hands wrap around his throat and lift him into the air before the Force snapped his neck and propelled him into a wall. The last soldier never saw his end when it came. He still had his arm through the crack in the door when the saber sliced through his middle and into the door itself. The saber cauterized as it cut through both body and metal. It fused the soldier’s body to the door until the saber reached the lock and liquified it. The door opened immediately.
Princess Leia’s face looked troubled as her image moved through a misty white cloud until she became more visually clear. She mouthed only a few words before disappearing in the mist again.
“Help me, Elaina Skywalker. You are my only hope.”
A silver and blue astro-droid appeared. It beeped a strange message before Leia’s voice repeated the phrase again. It, too, disappeared in the white mist.
“Help me, Elaina Skywalker. You are my only hope.”
Suddenly, a black glove appeared through the mist and grabbed her by the throat. Vader’s image became clear as he raised her up into the air, cutting off her air supply, and causing her immense pain. She clawed at his fingers to release the pressure, but he was too strong. She could feel the blackness coming. The grip on her throat closed, and pressure in her head made her ears ring. Yet, she could still hear the dark sinister voice.
“What have you done with those plans?”
He repeated over and over as he slowly choked the life out of her. The darkness began to overtake her. The pain in her throat was too much to bear. She tried to scream, but nothing came out.
Elaina darted up from her bed and clutched at her throat. She could still feel the painful grip of those fingers around her neck as she gasped for air. It took her a moment to realize that all of that was just a dream. She quickly looked around, squinting at the darkness of her quarters until she was satisfied that she was alone. She could still feel the soreness around her neck like all that she experienced was real, but it was not real. It was a dream, or was it? It was the same vision she had for weeks. She took it as a warning that something in her life was about to change.
Kicking the blankets off her, Elaina rose from the bed and made her way into the bathroom. She stood before the mirror and observed her appearance. Her face looked flushed, her hair matted and wet from sweat, her eyes slightly bloodshot. The dreams were getting worse.
“Computer. What is the time?” She asked.
“The time is 0430 hours,” said an unseen female voice.
Elaina washed her face and dried herself with a towel. She hated those nights when the visions would come. She would feel the intense fear, anguish, and physical pain of all those men who died at the hands of Vader. Some of them screamed their last moments before death took them. She felt all of that. It made her body react as she slept. Each morning she woke up feeling more exhausted than she felt before she went to bed. The fear and physical pain that those men felt right before the end stayed with her until she calmed her mind. Each night it grew worse.
Elaina ran her fingers through her dark hair, pulling away the loose strands out of her face. It was too early to be up, but she knew that she would never get back to sleep now. Besides, today was the first day of her new assignment. She needed to be ready for it.
Elaina quickly showered and selected a fresh uniform. She needed to look perfect. She took one last look at herself in the mirror after the final touches on her appearance. She wore very little, in terms of makeup. She preferred the natural look and never obsessed over her appearance. She was a slim, attractive young woman and never needed to do anything outside of her usual grooming practices to look good.
After packing her carry-on bag, Elaina left her quarters and proceeded to the Prominade. Her shuttle would arrive at Dock 4 at 0700, and she wanted to be there to catch it. Since she was early, she would grab a quick breakfast before checking in.
Elaina ordered a bagel with cream cheese and coffee before seating herself at a small table in the dining area. She made a note to herself to grab a small Bajoran sweet cake before she left. While living and working in this section of space, she enjoyed trying out the variety of foods that these Federation planets had to offer, but the Bajoran sweets at this space station were her personal favorites.
“Lieutenant, you’re up early,” said a voice behind her.
“Dr. Bashir,” said Elaina as she rose to greet him. “I had trouble sleeping and took the extra time for breakfast.”
“Well, you should have come to the infirmary,” he said with a smile. “I’m sure we could have provided you with something.”
Dr. Bashir took the chair opposite her. She gave a slight nod before returning to her seat.
“Maybe, it’s just nerves. I’m starting my new assignment on a starship.”
“Yes, I know. I saw the manifest. We will miss you.”
“Thank you.” Elaina smiled. “I’ve grown to like it here too. I will miss this place.”
“Chief O’Brien will miss you the most. There’s not another engineer within a hundred light years that could handle a fusion reactor like you. Not to mention, fixing those malfunctioning replicators for Quark.”
“Well, Cardassian technology can be challenging, but I’ve had a lot of practice fixing things.” Elaina took a sip of her coffee.
“The Enterprise will be lucky to have you.”
“I appreciate that. Thank you.”
After Dr. Bashir received his order of herbal tea and a fruit plate, the two of them continued their morning of light conversation until the time came for Elaina to check in. She finished her coffee and bid the good doctor farewell.
The shuttlecraft, Einstein, pulled into Dock 4 right at 0700 and wasted no time loading the supplies and the new crew members. Elaina reported in and took her seat like the rest of them after securing her bag. She studied her crew members while they waited for take-off. All of them were young, inexperienced when it came to serving on a command vessel. She closed her eyes and felt the emotions of each of them. There was a jumble of mixed emotions, some anxious and a little fearful. Yet, they all held a common feeling, excitement at serving on board a prestige ship like the U.S.S. Enterprise – D.
All of them, except Elaina. After fighting in the Clone Wars alongside Anakin and Obi-Wan, performing routine tasks on these Federation space stations could not compare. At least, serving in Starfleet gave her cover to hide. The visions were telling her that the time would come when she would be returning to her own galaxy.
Elaina’s eyes opened wide once the shuttlecraft entered the shuttle bay. It hit her like a wall and nearly took her breath away. She sensed a change in the Force.
“Yeah, I can’t believe it either,” said the crewman beside her. “We’re actually on the Enterprise.”
The crewman could not contain his excitement about the ship. He mistook Elaina’s gasp as a mutual feeling that he was having. She could not understand the worship mentality that a lot of them had about the Enterprise. It was just a ship to her, like so many that she traveled in throughout most of her life. These were kids, even though she was the same age, yet they had very little experience in comparison. She kept reminding herself of that.
Elaina’s reaction was due to a disturbance. There was an old friend on board this ship from her past. Someone that knew her from when she was just an infant. Elaina smiled as she disembarked and followed the rest of the team to find their quarter assignments. All new crew members needed to place their personal belongings in their rooms and check in with the medical staff before going to their assigned departments. Her unplanned reunion with this person would have to wait.
After Elaina unpacked her bag, she reported to sickbay and the medical staff as ordered. She moved to the engineering department where she was assigned. There, she met her commanding officer in charge of the department, Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge. He had a pleasant personality. Elaina could tell that he was a strong leader. He had a commanding quality along with the trust of his team. She liked him. He was a person born with a physical disability that he refused to submit to, he was born with no sight. He learned to develop and strengthen his other senses, and with the advancement of his people’s technology, he wore a high-powered visor to act as his eyes.
Geordi reminded her of a Jedi master who also went blind, but his senses were so finely tuned to the Force that he really didn’t need to see. His adversaries always underestimated him.
At last, it was mid-afternoon when she concluded her shift for her first day. She made her way to the luxury lounging area of the ship known as 10-Forward. The place looked like some of the more elegant restaurants on Coruscant before the Empire took over everything. Elaina walked into the room and quickly scanned the faces. Her senses were very strong in this place. Her eyes finally locked with a very welcoming face.
Guinan stood behind the bar and watched the new crew member when she entered the room. She felt her presence even before she walked in. She looked older, more mature than when she last saw this girl. Her hair grew longer, but the eyes were the same. Guinan felt like crying and wanted to rush over and give Elaina a huge embrace, but she remembered where they were. Those kinds of greetings would have to wait until they were alone.
Elaina slowly walked toward the end of the bar as Guinan closed the distance and held out her hands. She gave the young girl a slight smile and gripped her hands tightly instead. She held them as Elaina returned the smile.
“Somehow, I knew that I would see you again,” said Guinan fighting to hide her overwhelming happiness.
“When I came on board, I could sense something. I had a feeling it had to be you,” said Elaina and smiled.
“You haven’t changed much since I last saw you. Still the same Elaina. I can see it in your eyes.”
“If you have a moment, I would love to have some time to talk with you. I have so much to tell you.”
“Come, we’ll find a table by the window.”
Guinan gave an order to the bartender and led Elaina to a quiet table in a corner overlooking the galaxy. When Elaina sat down, Guinan gripped her hand again across the table as if she wanted to reassure herself that Elaina was real.
Counselor Deanna Troi watched the reunion from the opposite side of the lounge while Dr. Beverly Crusher casually talked about her day with the new crew members over coffee. Beverly looked up and noticed that her friend stopped listening to her stories and frowned.
“I see that my topic of conversation might be a little boring today,” she said as she sipped her coffee.
Deanna tore her attention away after that last statement. She looked almost guilty that she let her mind wander in the middle of Beverly’s talk. It was rude of her to do that.
“I’m sorry, Beverly. I saw something rather odd just happened,” said Deanna.
Beverly turned in her chair slightly to gaze over her shoulder at what Deanna was seeing. She saw Guinan talking with one of the new crew members and turned back.
“What is it you saw?” Her curiosity now peaked.
“When this junior lieutenant entered, I had a sense that Guinan knew her. In fact, she wanted to embrace her like she hadn’t seen her in years.”
“Interesting! Well, I interviewed her along with the other new crew members, and she seemed very normal to me. In fact, I did a quick medical scan of all of them. Nothing out of the ordinary. She’s a normal human.”
“She may be normal physically, but I couldn’t sense anything from her when I met her. I felt the excitement from the other members, but I couldn’t read her at all. It was like she was blocking me.”
“Could she be an empath?”
“Perhaps! Yet, I feel something uneasy about her, like she was deliberately hiding something from me.”
“Well, I can go over the scans more closely and see if I may have missed something. She may be an empathic humanoid.”
“No, I don’t want to create a problem if there isn’t one. We have no real evidence that she is here under nefarious circumstances. It may be nothing”
Beverly nodded in agreement and sipped her coffee again. Deanna did the same and let the matter rest, but the uneasiness refused to leave her. She would have to watch this new junior officer more closely from now on.