Chapter Text
On the Protostar, they were discussing options. They were at the heart of the Federation. After all this time, they were so close to all their dreams coming true. Unfortunately, the Living Construct stood in the way of everything. Each ship was firing at the other, a constant barrage of chaos.
Dal looked over at Gwyn, feeling conflicted.
He liked her. He wanted to make all her dreams come true, just as she believed in him without a doubt. He couldn't mess this up for her.
Dal hated what he was about to do. This was gonna be painful.
“The Protostar’s auto-controls are fried. Someone will have to stay back and detonate it. I am the captain of this ship.”
“No, Dal,” Gwyn said, devastated.
“Admiral Janeway is true to her word. She’ll help you get into Starfleet, but she can’t help me,” Dal continued.
“You can’t do this Dal!” Gwyn shot back.
Rok, Zero, and Jankom stayed silent.
“How long until we can detonate the protocore?” Dal asked
“It will take any engineer about a day, but Jankom isn’t any engineer.”
Murf trilled at this.
Dal couldn’t help but smile. “Alright, get impulse online. If our math’s fuzzy, it’ll be nice to have a little breathing room.”.
Rok, Zero, and Jankom left the room to get started. Gwyn stayed behind,
“Gwyn, I know you’re upset with me.”
‘Upset’ was an understatement. Her hands trembled as she clenched them into fists, her knuckles white.
“Gwyn…”
“Dal, you can’t leave me. We’re supposed to do this together!” Her voice broke a mixture of anger and desperation.
Dal took a deep breath, stepping closer to her. “I don’t want to leave you, Gwyn. But this is something I have to do. For us, for everyone.”
She looked away, trying to hold back her tears. “But why does it have to be you? Why doesn’t Janeway do this? We need you Dal!”
“Because I believe in what we’re doing. And I believe in you. Janeway is going to be there with you guys. She needs to be there to navigate you to safety.” He reached out, holding her hand. “You’ll get through this, together. I promise.”
Gwyn’s resolve wavered, and she let out a breath. “You better come back, Dal.”
The words hung over him.
“Dal. Promise me,” Gwyn said shakily, her voice barely a whisper. He didn’t want to promise her something that he didn’t know if he could fulfill her promise or not.
“Dal.” Her breath broke. “Promise me.”
Janeway materialized up to the bridge. Gwyn backed up from him.
“We are ready, Captain,” Janeway said.
Dal nodded. The rest of the crew came back into the bridge.
“Dal..” Zero started, their voice filled with emotion.
Rok just picked him up and hugged him tightly.
He smiled. “I’ll miss you too Rok.”
Zero tried again, their voice steadying. “We know how much of a sacrifice you’re making. We won’t forget it.”
“Yeah. Jankom Pog will miss you, and your short shoulders,” Jankom said, sniffing.
“I’ll miss all of you. You were the best crew a captain could ask for.”
They all hugged him, except Gwyn. Tears streamed down her face as she stood apart, watching. After they let go, Gwyn ran to him and gave him a big hug, her body shaking with sobs.
“Gwyn..” Dal said softly, his own tears threatening to fall.
“I can’t do this without you, Dal. I need you here. ”
“Yes, you can. I am so proud of you. You’ll be the queen of Solum. You’ll make your father proud.”
Gwyn just cried into his shoulder, her heart breaking with every passing second.
“Take care of them, Janeway. They are a good crew. Please?”
Janeway nodded, her expression solemn.
Dal smiled through his tears. “Thanks.”
Rok had to carry Gwyn along as she wouldn't let go of Dal. She eventually let go, her cries echoing in the corridor.
“No. No. I can’t let him do this. I can’t,” Gwyn cried, her voice raw with pain.
“It’s the only way, Gwyn,” Rok replied, tears in her eyes as well.
They all ran to the shuttlecraft, leaving Dal behind to make the ultimate sacrifice.
The bridge of the Protostar was eerily silent without the bustling crew. Dal stood at the control console, his expression resolute. He glanced over at Janeway, who stood by his side in her holographic form.
“Are they safely aboard the shuttlecraft?” Dal asked, his voice steady despite the turmoil inside him.
Janeway nodded, her eyes filled with a mixture of respect and sorrow. “They’re ready to launch, Captain.”
Dal nodded, taking one last look at the bridge that had been his home for so long. Every console, every panel held memories of their adventures together. He could almost hear the echoes of their laughter, their arguments, their camaraderie.
“Thank you, Janeway,” Dal said, his voice thick with emotion. “For everything.”
Janeway placed a hand on his shoulder, a gesture of solidarity. “It’s been an honor serving with you, Dal.” She dematerialized and went to the shuttle.
With a final nod, Dal moved to the control console. His fingers danced over the buttons, initiating the proto-warp sequence. The ship’s computer responded with a series of beeps and a calm, mechanical voice: “Protowarp sequence initiated. Warp in T-minus 1 minutes.”
“Dal to crew. You need to go, now.” Dal commanded.
“Understood. Powering up now.” Janeway replied.
Dal’s heart pounded in his chest as he activated the manual override, ensuring there would be no turning back. He glanced at the viewscreen, seeing the chaos of the battle outside. The Living Construct’s influence was beyond destructive, but he knew that his sacrifice could save countless lives, including Gwyn’s. That’s all that mattered.
Dal felt a strange sense of peace wash over him. He had made his choice, and he knew it was the right one. The countdown continued, the seconds ticking away.
He smiled. “Let’s go fast.”
The Protostar zipped into oblivion. In its wake, it left a beautiful rift in space.
Gwyn silently sobbed in the shuttle. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t. Not Dal. Anyone but Dal.
After a while, Gwyn fell asleep. Her head rested on Jankom’s shoulder.
When she woke up, she didn’t dare open her eyes. She clung to the hope that Dal was still with them. She whispered, “Dal?”
Jankom looked sad. “Jankom… is not Dal. Sorry, Gwyn.”
She sighs, turns to the wall, tugs her knees to her chest, and hugs them tight. Her eyes shut tighter, and she tries unsuccessfully to fall asleep, shoving away the still-present urge to break down.
She searched out for Dal in her Neuroflux state. Nothing. She sighed and cradled her legs tighter. Before, she looked broken. Now, she looked numb; as if she lost all hope, her face completely emotionless. She closed her eyes, letting the darkness consume her, trying desperately to escape this nightmare.
After a week or so in the shuttle, Gwyn had managed to be more active, even if she was only on autopilot.
Zero started, “You know.. Gwyn. It may be.. beneficial to talk about it.”
Gwyn hugged her knee’s again. “No. I don’t want to.”
Zero tried again. “Gwyn. We know how much he meant to you.”
Tears streamed down her face. “No. No you don’t. He’s gone. And it’s all my fault.”
Zero tried arguing. “Gwyn, in no way shape or form was this your fault. None of this was your fault.”
Gwyn didn’t respond, and quietly cried, huddled up against the shuttle.
The ship rocks beneath her. She tries to convince herself that it had all been a bad dream, that Dal was waiting for them somewhere, safe, and alive. It’s that thought that gets her to open her eyes. She doesn’t say anything, she just takes a long shaky breath. She will find Dal and get him back to them.
…
To her.
After that, she is on autopilot, once again.
In San Francisco, Gwyn and the rest of the Protostar Crew were rescued, questioned, and put on trial. They got all charges dropped.
The architecture she saw on earth was mostly old. iconic, almost, arching towards the sky. it had been so... beautiful; it was so carefully constructed, and yet it hadn't felt imposing, just... beautiful, every brick placed with such care for artistry. warmth lined this place wall-to-wall. It was a place that cared for its people – took care of them, made sure they were okay. the concept felt achingly unfamiliar. dal would have liked that. She kept her eyes on the ground.
She'll see it later, she promises herself. Later, when she finds Dal. She'll bring him back here, and they can look together.
She reaches out with her mind again, eyes flickering a glowing teal before dimming back to their regular color. Dal wasn't here, just has he hadn't been the last thirteen times she'd checked.
Gwyn clenches her fists by her sides, and the rest goes by in a blur.
Gwyn was sitting on a bench, in Starfleet headquarters, her expression blank, staring at the wall. All of this had just been too much for her to handle. Her father… She knew what he expected of her. To go to Solum. To save the Vau N’Kat race. But Dal…
Admiral Janeway walked up to Gwyn, interrupting her thoughts. “A penny for your thoughts?” she asked.
Gwyn looked up at her. “Oh. Nothing.”
Admiral Janeway sat down next to her. “You know. I get it.”
Gwyn looked at her and said. “Get what?”
Janeway gave Gwyn a sad smile. “Missing them. Doing whatever you can to keep your mind off of them. But still have that feeling of loneliness.”
Gwyn looked down. “Yeah. Something like that.”
Janeway sighed. “You didn’t know Chakotay. But he was captain of the Protostar. When I first met you guys, I thought that you knew what happened to him.”
Janeway continued, “Chakotay was important to me. On my first command, Voyager. He was my first officer. He helped me get through some tough times, and some tough calls. He meant a lot to me.”
Gwyn slowly came to the realization that.. Admiral Janeway wasn’t trying to hunt them down. She was trying to figure out what had happened to her first officer. No. To her friend.
Janeway smiled. “I had a lot of feelings about him, not all of them good, and not all of them bad. I imagine you did too, from what I hear about this Dal.”
Gwyn blushed, and managed a “We had a complicated relationship. At first I vaguely considered him a friend on Tars Lamora. Then I hated him. Then I liked him again…”. Gwyn left her words hanging in the air for a moment.
“The thing I hated most about him is that he pushed himself too hard. He felt like he had to be the best for us. That he had to take all these risks to prove himself to us. To prove that he was a good enough captain for us.” Gwyn rambled. “He knew that he couldn’t get to Starfleet, due to him being an augment, but he wouldn’t accept us not getting the chance to go to Starfleet.”
Janeway sighs. “I saw, you know. When you kids put him in my body, I figured that was someone who was very cared about. I think he knew that.” There’s a pause, and Gwyn doesn’t dare to look up from the ground. “He cared about you, Gwyn. That much is obvious. His sacrifice was made for you to have a better life.”
“He shouldn’t have,” Gwyn mutters, glaring down at her feet. “He shouldn’t have done it, I wanted him with me, I mean with us.”
“If it’s any consolation, he cared a lot about all of you too. He sacrificed himself because he cared about you. He wanted you to have a happy life.” Admiral Janeway comforted.
There's footsteps as a guy runs up to them, panting. A lieutenant, Gwyn thinks, based on the uniform he’s wearing. His eyes are wide and crazed, and he takes a second to catch his breath before gasping out, “Admiral Janeway! You need to see this!
Admiral Janeway sighs, then says, “Can you see that I am in the middle of talking to someone right now?”
The lieutenant ushered them with his hands. “It’s urgent!”
“It always is.” Admiral Janeway sighed, “Well Gwyn. I look forward to seeing you again.”
The guy interrupted, “No! No! Bring her too! This concerns her too!”
Janeway smiled a little at Gwyn, “Well. Duty calls.”
Gwyn wearily got up and followed Janeway. She was tired. She’d like to just. Have a moment to herself. To finally cry, alone. With nobody in the same room.
They walked down the same hallway Gwyn was admiring just a few hours ago.
The two walked into a big coliseum, filled with Starfleet personnel, all talking amongst themselves.
Admiral Jellico spoke up, “Thank you all for coming. By now, I am sure you are all wondering why you are here. We received a distress call from the Protostar.”
Gwyn’s eyes shot up. It couldn’t be. Could it? Could she be so lucky?
Admiral Jellico nodded, and the lieutenant pressed a button on his console.
Dal’s purple face was seen, and voice could be heard throughout the room.
Gwyn smiled for the first time in weeks. Dal was okay. He was alive. She didn’t know how much she could miss that purple dork.
“Uh. This is Captain, or uh, acting Captain Dal of the USS Protostar. To any ship in range, I miiiight need a tiny bit of assistance. My ship it most certainly not in a billion different pieces or anything. And it’s not like I need your help!”.
A loud crash was heard through the speakers, and the screen was cut out for a second, then appeared again, grainier.
“I take it back. I need a little bit more than a tiny bit of assistance. And for the record? It is not my fault.”
A loud explosion fills the recording, with a debris falling behind him.
“I’m kinda known for being a Starfleet hero and all, and they would really appreciate you bringing me back to them!” Dal waved his hands.
Another crash is heard, with an explosion lighting up the protostar.
“And I.” A look of desperation is seen across his face. “I would also really appreciate it.”
Gwyn’s heart ached. Dal. He saved her.
She needed to save him. Her mind was made up. Right then. Solum could wait.
“Ugh! How could this day get any worse!” Dal turned away from the camera.
“Hey, wait!”
The recording was cut off.
Admiral Janeway immediately stood up. “I want to take an exploratory ship, to go and save Dal R’El.”
Admiral Janeway looked up at him, fierce, daring Jellico to stop her. “Dal saved Starfleet. The least we could do is look for him”
Jellico looked… unpleased. “I agree. I want you to pick your ship, and a crew, and set a course to his last known location.”
Gwyn smiled.
We are getting him back.
..
She’s getting him back.