by Dayton Ward
“I don’t know if they’d appreciate the comparison, but it’s good enough for me.” Seven gestured toward the monitor, and the rocket it still displayed. “For whatever reason, and they’ve never seen fit to share that with me, they want humans to succeed. It’s more than being a parent, actually, but it’s obvious they feel some kind of heightened, maybe even personal stake in what happens here.” He shook his head. “Maybe one day they’ll tell me what that’s all about. As for me and the other agents, our job wasn’t to drive the car, but to make sure the car traveled the right road. If the engine overheated or hit a pothole and blew out a tire or ran off the road into a ditch, they had to be allowed to make the necessary repairs. Even if they drove off a cliff, we had to let them do it, and that’s enough car metaphors for one day.”
Mestral cocked an eyebrow. “Indeed.”
“If humanity is going to succeed, it’ll have to keep doing its own heavy lifting, and that means making mistakes and learning some hard lessons along the way.” Seven sighed. “And a global war is one hell of a lesson.”
If Seven was right, then how painful must it have been for his enigmatic overseers to step back and watch as Earth plunged into yet another worldwide conflict that had resulted in millions of deaths, millions more wounded, and left a civilization on the brink of collapse? With the knowledge they had to possess, it was unfathomable that the Aegis was unaware of the war and its effects.
They naturally would also have known about the Vulcans.
Just as Mestral suspected they might do at some point many years after his own decision to remain here, his people had sent emissaries to Earth, and while the relationship between the two worlds was a new one, Mestral knew from his dealings with Captain Kirk and Mister Spock that it was an alliance that would only strengthen and deepen over time. Now, however, the people of Earth were still learning how to accept with humility the hand of friendship Vulcans had offered.
He found it interesting that the Aegis, as inexplicably as they once removed themselves from Earth’s affairs, had returned with equal ambiguity, at least in some form, not long after the arrival of the Vulcan ship. Although he had never experienced any direct contact with Gary Seven’s unknown sponsors, Mestral received a message nearly four years earlier, directing him to this Manhattan apartment where he had found the storehouse of advanced technology along with instructions and a request to “resume his assignment.” The message itself had been short and to the point, not bothering to mention that he had never actually been designated as an official Aegis agent. Intrigued by the possibilities and with nothing else to do, he had accepted the offer. As for this new base of operations, it was not the same residence or even the same building in which Mestral had first come to know Seven and his human protégée, Roberta Lincoln, nearly a century ago. That building along with a significant portion of that area of the city had been decimated during the war, and reconstruction efforts were still under way. There seemed to be something of a cyclical nature to how the Aegis operated, returning to New York. Perhaps this new location had even been selected by Seven himself.
“Since you are here,” said Mestral, “does this mean I can expect to be joined by a team of actual Aegis agents? After all, I am approaching an age where this sort of activity might not be the most prudent course.”
“I passed that point decades ago, but to answer your question, a new team is in final preparations and should be here within the next few days.”
“Is there a reason for this change of attitude?”
Seven replied, “We weren’t meant to avert World War III, or even the actions that sent the Eizand ship back to its homeworld, but there are still things we can do to help the people of Earth as they move into this new age. They’ll find their own way, but that doesn’t mean we can’t lend a hand now and again. There’s still a lot to do, even with the amazing turnaround we’re seeing since the Vulcans came. Humans now know without doubt that other civilizations are out there, waiting. Many of those civilizations are potential allies, while others will be enemies. Unfortunately, and as you know from your own experiences here, there are humans who will view everything and everyone not of this planet as a potential threat. They’ll continue to create clandestine groups like Majestic 12, Initiative 2031, and the Optimum Movement, and allow themselves to be controlled by their uncertainty, their paranoia, and their fear, which will only grow deeper the farther humanity moves into space.”
Considering the aged human’s words, Mestral said, “Then we can expect to be busy for some time to come.”
There would be much to do, he knew, and much of it would be accomplished without the people of Earth being any the wiser. Just as he, Gary Seven, and so many others had done for more than a century, he would continue to move behind the scenes, hopefully affecting positive change for humanity and his adopted planet. Like those who had come before him, Mestral would carry out this necessary work standing not in the limelight, but instead from within the protective veil of history’s shadow.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks to my editors, Ed Schlesinger and Margaret Clark, who continue to indulge me when I veer off on these weird tangents and harangue them with things like, “No, I really can connect all these dots. Honest!” Their patience for my antics is endless.
Thanks once again to Greg Cox, author of some of my all-time favorite Star Trek novels: Assignment: Eternity, The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh (both volumes!), and The Rings of Time. I’ve endeavored to keep my twentieth- and twenty-first-century tales in sync with these novels in particular, and Greg has always supported my efforts to expand this little corner of the Star Trek literary sandbox.
Thanks also to Kevin Lauderdale, author of “Assignment: One,” which appeared in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 8. While the details of his tale don’t mesh with The Eugenics Wars, the basic premise was such that I still wanted to include it in this story, while making it consistent—at least in the broad strokes—with Greg’s books as well as mine. Kevin understood my desire and gave me his blessing, and it’s always nice to pull together a few threads as we keep weaving new patches into the Star Trek storytelling quilt.
Finally, thanks to the readers who’ve told me how much they’ve enjoyed Star Trek: From History’s Shadow and Star Trek: Elusive Salvation. I wondered if I had one more of these stories in me before moving on to something else, and it was you all who made me decide to give it one more go.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dayton Ward understands and forgives readers who skip over these “About the Author” pages. It’s easy to gloss right past them. Besides, a lot of them can be kind of pretentious, with the author listing everything they’ve ever written along with the names of every cat they’ve ever rescued from a tree. Dayton hates being that guy, even though he digs cats.
But if you’ve made it this far, let Dayton know by visiting him on the web at www.daytonward.com, where you can read about all the stuff he’s written and thank him for sparing you the pain of yet another long, drawn-out “About the Author” page.
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ISBN 978-1-5011-4731-9
ISBN 978-1-5011-5014-2 (ebook)
