Wish Upon a Star
Posted on Mon Mar 16th, 2026 @ 9:06pm by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Dean House & Lieutenant JG Rowan Hale & Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell
1,961 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Beholder
Location: Vadia
Timeline: Current
Amongst all of the confusion going on. Time coming to a stand still around them. Everything around Batel and Dean shifted. There was a bright flash of light and then a soft open field. Birds singing happily, a light and warm soothing breeze.
Across from Batel was a man in a yellow uniform, slightly peppered hair, his back to her. Dean(Chris) slowly turned around to look at her. Giving her a warm welcoming smile.
"What is this place?" Rhenora asked, seeing Rowan and Dean as well as Marie in the field.
"In case...in case we don't go back. I did this before - when I needed love and the closure to have lived the life I wanted" Batel explained, looking around the rolling green fields filled with tiny yellow and white flowers. A gentle breeze blew softly. " I lived a lifetime here, before..." her voice trailed off as she cast her eyes skyward. " You came here to help me - this was the least I could do for you"
The man stepped forward, grin on his face, hand outstretched. "Nice to meet you, Christopher Pike, USS Enterprise." He shook each of their hands in turn. "I'd offer you a drink, bit to eat, but well, we appear to be in the middle of a field, for some reason." He leaned into Batel, "Is there a reason we are in a field?"
That felt a little weird. Pike talking through his body. It was kind of interesting getting glimpses into Pike's past, memories, experiences. Once he touched Batel, full contact, Dean was back in place. Christopher Pike also standing there leaning against Batel. "It's my gift to Batel," Dean smiled warmly and gently. Turning to look to Rhenora and Rowan.
Rowan looked down at his tricorder, tapped it once, then looked back up at the open field. “My instruments appear to have given up trying to explain this.”
"From what I understand, we're outside of space time, something created by Marie and Dean's minds." Rhenora leaned over and commented to Rowan. "Don't try and understand it - it'll make your brain bleed"
Rhenora observed the interaction - Marie and Chris shared a moment together, a familiar company yet felt as though too much time had passed. She grappled with the purpose - the intent - and realized that Batel must think they weren't going to survive whatever was about to happen.
"You don't think we're gonna make it do you?" She asked quietly as Pike draped an arm around Marie's shoulder, pulling her closer to him.
" I'm not sure - I can't see the future, for some reason it's clouded, as though something else is at play" Batel explained.
Dean popped his neck in three places. "It'll definitely make your brain bleed."
Batel looked at Dean " You helped make this place, I couldn't have done it without you - thank you." She said sincerely, nodding towards him in gratitude.
Dean nodded, "You're welcome."
Rowan watched the exchange quietly, the tricorder still resting loosely in his hand. “If this place is sustained by the two of you,” he said gently, “then I suspect we should make the most of the time it gives us.”
"How much time is that exactly?" Kaylen asked, curious as to how long this construct could exist outside of space time and how much it was costing Batel and Dean. She looked at Rowan, shrugging her shoulders. "Should we go explore?"
Chris peered deeply into Marie's eyes. "You can't stay can you?" He asked with all sincerity of a man who existed out of time. "This is just a visit." There was a soft kindness in his eyes that held an almost pleading sort of sensibility. He was just as Marie remembered him.
Marie shook her head. "This is temporary, the Vezda are free in the prison and these people are helping putting them back in the well. I fear I can't leave though, that I'm still tied to Vadia and Skygowan" she closed her eyes, reliving the angst of the last time they were there all over again. "Damn destiny."
"Destiny always has been a cold sort of mistress." Chris offered, his mind recalling his own future. "Your new... friends, seem nice though. I would say colorful but, the uniforms are a bit dark. I take it there is a whole time thing, probably classified?" He smiled, jovial as ever.
"If I understood it completely myself I'd tell you, but they came up with it. Something about looping time." she shrugged "Technology and temporal theory had apparently come a long way since I last saw you."
He turned and started to follow the others, curious to where they were going, but also so as not to feel alone in the middle of a field of flowers. "Looping time. Sounds like something Spock would come up with, or Pelia for that matter. Without knowing too much, and without knowing how much time we have, I'm glad to know I could be your anchor in a moment of need."
She leant into him, absorbing the wamth of his body and allowing it to soothe her. "You've always been my anchor, I just wish we had more time together" she admitted with a tear in her eye.
Rowan glanced once more at the tricorder before lowering it slightly. “If this environment is stable, there is no immediate medical reason not to,” he said evenly. “Though I suspect ‘exploring’ here may be more… philosophical than geographical.”
"We might as well explore. I'm pretty sure given it's a construct I picked and..I guess made, it'll stay until we're done." Dean shrugged.
"Is this your mind, or hers?' Rhenora asked, leaving the Enterprise couple to have their moment in privacy. In the distance, the blue sky flickered, becoming translucent for a moment. "Somehow I'm not sure we can stay here indefinitely."
"I'm not sure which completely. This was one of my stipulations, the one I didn't say out loud. So she could have this, at least for a little bit." Dean glanced up at the sky, "Damn."
Nestled over the next hill was a timber cottage, substantial enough in size ro be a home, with yards, a stable and horses nearby.
"This yours or hers?" Rhenora asked ss they descended the hill, unsurprised that snippets of the past would crop up here. This place was the product of Marie and Dean's minds, it made sense there'd be some memory thrown in there.
Rowan regarded the cottage thoughtfully. “Well,” he said mildly, “if we’re going to explore someone’s subconscious, a cottage is certainly more welcoming than a battlefield.”
" I hear you on that, but I put money on the destroyed Cayuga being over the next hill" Rhenora replied sagely.
The trio descended the hill, walking onto the timber porch and through the open door. It felt odd, exploring someone else's mind and memories but she felt they were here for a reason.
Beyond the wooden door an expansive living area and kitchen lay, rich with timber. The smell of bacon and eggs, mixed with coffee permeated the room. On the wall framed pictures hung proudly, happy moments of lives Rhenora couldn't hope to understand.
Rowan stepped inside and paused, taking in the photographs along the wall. His gaze lingered on them for a moment before the tricorder chirped softly in his hand. “Memories rarely manifest randomly,” he said quietly. “If this place exists, it’s because it matters.”
"It feels like a home, a safe space" Rhenora murmoured as she perused the photographs. They were of Batel, Pike, a once small child growing through the years, several dogs, notable Admirals. Along the opposite wall were highlights from Dean's life and career, a photo of him and Jennifer at a bar somewhere, him and Bonnie dancing badly. It made Rhenora smile at the simple joy in them.
Rowan moved a little closer to the wall of photographs, studying one in particular. As his fingers brushed the edge of the frame, the image shifted slightly - not changing exactly, but moving.
The figures inside the photograph laughed, the sound faint but unmistakable, like an echo through time. Rowan slowly withdrew his hand.
“Interesting,” he said mildly. “The memories appear to be… interactive.”
He glanced toward the kitchen, where the smell of coffee and bacon seemed far too convincing to ignore. He stepped closer and peered around the corner.
A skillet sat on the stove, bacon sizzling happily despite the complete absence of a cook.
Rowan folded his arms thoughtfully.
“Well,” he said, “whoever’s subconscious this is clearly has excellent priorities.”
"Someone's hungry" Rhenora laughed as she headed towards the kitchen. "It's gonna burn if we don't turn it off though" she reached out and turned the heat off, noticing the large table set before them. Coffee sat in a pitcher in the centre, on a small element to keep it warm, the aroma delicious in the cool air. Again the sky in the distance flickered and distorted, glitching against the darkness beyond.
"I have a feeling we should head back soon" The Captain said sagely, making sure there was nothing else left cooking on the stove top.
Chris and Marie entered the front door, his arm around her waist as though he were holding on for dear life, or for the last time. "How can you tell? Ooh is that bacon? Real bacon?" He let go of Marie and moved to grab a plate. "Strange but I feel as though I haven't eaten in a century." He looked up from the table and could see the pale look in Marie's eyes. She was weak.
"Maybe it's cos you havn't" she smirked, sitting at the table and motioning for the others to join them. Rhenora poured coffee for everyone and sat as Chris ladelled out enough bacon and eggs to feed a small army.
"I swear there wasn't that much in the pan" Rhenora quipped, inhaling the hearty scent. She watched Batel carefully, knowing their time here was coming to a close.
"So what happens next?" She asked gently of the other Captain, acutely aware of the amount of rank in the room.
"We go back, and hope your plan works. But now, eat and enjoy, I don't know how long it will last" Marie replied simply.
Rowan accepted the coffee, studying it briefly before taking a sip. “Remarkably convincing,” he murmured.
It was pleasant food and company for the time that it lasted, slowly but shortly the sky nearer to them began to distort, a distant screeching echoing through the hillside.
"This is it" Batel said simply, finishing off her coffee and her meal. She stood, wrapped her arms around Chris one last time and squeezed. "It's time to go back"
He returned the squeeze, then mouthed something in her ear that only she could hear. It was enough to cause her to smile as a lonely tear strolled lazily down her cheek. Then he stepped back and looked around the room. "Thank you all for taking care of her for me. Sometimes she can be a bit stubborn, but don't let that fool you. She has a tender heart beneath that rough exterior." Chris raised a glass filled with something that was not coffee. "To friends."
"To friends" the group echoed, clinking empty coffee cups together.
"And I prefer determined" Batel playfully batted Pike's shoulder beforr giving him one last hug. "We need to go, see you soon"
And with that the cabin and the hillside were gone, replaced with the prison on Vadia. The Vezda were back in the well and there was a distinct point where time moved backwards and paused again.
TBC
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