Ansolon Season 02 / Episode 04
by Alan Tripp
— 2406 —
Alan Pathfinder allowed the maintenance pod to drift as he simply wanted to take in the view.
What was before him was canvas waiting for the brushstrokes that would transform it into a masterpiece … or not.
Depending on the artist … or engineer in this case.
A veteran of the Dominion War and several years in the centerseat in the decades after, the Starfleet captain had agreed to take a position managing one of the fleet yards as the work associated with the reclamation project gained steam.
The reclamation project was one designed specifically to rebuild the fleet after the Borg had wiped out most of it during their assault on Earth in 2401.
The project called for either the refit of hulls not beyond saving … or … taking parts that could be salvaged to create new ships from the pieces that remained.
In the case before him, Alan had a salvage team pull two much older ship hulls from one of the boneyards … sister ships.
And what remained of one of those older ships lay before him … history that spoke to Alan’s heart.
But if he made this choice and followed his heart, it would be setting in motion another way the timeline would turn even further away from the one he grew up knowing … before he was chunked back into the past, that is.
What was it temporal agent Daniels once told him? … When in doubt, just follow your heart.
You can’t help but do what is right as from you, that’s what history expects and wants.
So after a tour of both hulls, Capt. Alan Ironheart set his thumb to the padd as he authorized the move.
— One Year Later —
Cmdr. Ahlayna Sollace swallowed hard, raised her head and looked out the forward viewport of shuttlepod.
U.S.S. Sam Houston shown bright – the lights of her drydock illuminating her hull.
The design was a mixture of old and new.
And some of that new was so new it was as yet untested in the field.
Once rechristened and released from drydock, this Okinawa III-class experimental refit would be one of the oldest active ships serving in the fleet – she and her sister, the U.S.S. Crazy Horse, both.
Originally launched during the age of Christopher Pike and the Enterprise, these ships served faithfully, were refitted to Okinawa II-class specs and continued to serve the Federation til the 2290s when both retired to the bone yards.
There they remained until someone saw the potential and added them to the list of ships part of the reclamation project.
And no matter if Ahlayna was ready or not, this small ship was to be her first command.
— 2412 —
Capt. Alan Sollace stepped onto the bridge of the small Okinawa frigate, taking in the sights, sounds and even smells.
It was like coming home, but after new owners had taken up residence and changed things.
In his reality, the ship had never been refitted into an experimental design but had been restored to original condition, given to the Smithsonian Institute and used as a ship of living history with a crew that flew her to various ports of call … sort of like a traveling museum.
It was that version of the ship Alan had commanded as part of detached duty while in between captaining ships of the line.
Here, the original had been refitted with the experimental tech created by Daystrom Spaceframe Industries instead of the Wolfe-class back home.
Of course this was home now. This reality.
Back home, Shallana Ironwolf had commanded the experimental Wolfe-class.
Here the centerseat had fallen to another.
Alan placed his hand on the back of the command chair but did not sit.
This was not his Sam Houston. And his was long gone.
“Can I help you, Captain?” a voice asked.
It was a voice he recognized even if different from his own.
“Good morning, Capt. Sollace,” he said, turning so she could see him.
Ahlayna Sollace looked into her own eyes … eyes that had seen more years, experienced a different life and belonged to a male version of herself.
She’d met Alan Sollace once during the aftermath of the great “Temporal Crossing of 2408.”
He was her, but from a different timeline, different reality … and the future of that other reality at that.
Stuff that really made the brain hurt if you thought about it too much.
I mean … How would you like to meet the opposite sex, older version of yourself?
“What brings you to the Sam Houston today?” she asked.
“With the Avalon and Houston both docked at Hell’s Keep, thought I’d take a moment to visit the old girl,” he said simply. “Different from the one I knew, but similar enough to stir the memories.”
“You commanded this ship?” she asked. “In that other reality, I mean.”
Alan nodded.
“One restored as part of historical preservation and living history … part of the reenactment fleet,” he said.
“The Houston refitted back there was known as a Wolfe-class … commanded by Shallana Ironwolf.”
“I know her,” Ahlayna said. “She commands our sister ship … Crazy Horse.”
“Never realized she was a former Houston captain,” she added.
Alan laughed.
“Shallana always regretted the move from the smaller Houston to the big battleships and task force command,” he said. “Honestly, I think she slugged that fleet admiral just to get a demotion back to captain.”
Alan paused looking around.
“She always has had a thing for the smaller ships, so Crazy Horse doesn’t surprise me at all.”
“Houston is more tactical leaning whereas the Crazy Horse more science driven,” Ahlayna noted.
“Not sure the Houston would have it any other way … no matter her shape,” Alan returned.
“I *did* command a Sam Houston that served the line … Two actually,” he continued.
“First was a Cavalla–class destroyer … same as your Lafeyette-class. Second was Ares-class destroyer. Cavalla-class was always my favorite though.”
Ahlayna let him talk, sizing him up and comparing him to herself without meaning to.
“This ship is a ship of destiny that you will find yourself bound to,” Alan said. “Just as I was bound to mine.”
“I can definitely agree with that,” she returned smiling.
She liked him.
“Would you like a tour before we shove off?” she offered.
“New orders?”
“Would seem strange readings have been detected on the opposite side of Malstrom, and they need a small ship rated for handling the harshness out that way, so we got the short straw,” she answered.
“Short straw my ass,” Alan returned with a laugh. “You are looking forward to it as I would have back when I was your age. … You sure I’m not putting you out with the tour?”
“Not in the least,” she said. “Gives me something to do while the rest of the crew reports back.”
As they walked, Alan shifted to small talk.
“So … How are the wives?” he asked.
Ahlayna laughed.
“You heard about that,eh?” she answered.
“They are both off on assignments of their own,” she continued. “So, I’m left to my own devices for the time being.”
Alan nodded, suddenly missing his own wife and family.
“Another thing we have in common,” he noted.