A Ship Named Titanic

Stardate 44063.1 06:00 hours. Location: Sector 2186 - Alpha Quadrant

The Intrepid-class I.S.S. titanic just out of space dock headed for its first official assignment in the Delta Quadrant. Captain Kathryn Janeway had taken the bridge for the first watch, as most new captains had done in the past. She didn't know what was in store for her and the crew of two hundred, but most of all, she didn't know what dangers were ahead.

Janeway stood from her command chair and walked over to the operations console where a young ensign was working. "Mr. Kim, has Starfleet given us any orders for our maiden voyage yet?"

The ensign shook his head. "Not yet sir."

Janeway looked down, she never liked to be kept waiting. "Very well, if Starfleet ever decides to contact us, inform me. I'll be in my ready room." She turned and exited the bridge. In her ready room, Janeway ordered a cup of herbal tea, walked over to her desk and started at it. It was a mess, when she beamed aboard, she told the crewmen handling her bags to take certain items to her ready room and that she would sort them out later. She cleared everything out of her way, sat down and fell asleep.

06:32 hours

Janeway awoke to Ensign Kim's voice filtering through her com badge. "Kim to Janeway, please respond." By the tension in his voice, it was clear that he had been trying to raise her for a while. Janeway sat up and took a sip of her tea. It had grown cold and was bitter tasting. She then tapped her com badge to answer the ensign's hail.

"Janeway here, what's up?"

Kim replied with eagerness, "Starfleet Command has given us our orders, please report to the bridge. Kim out." The comm line went dead.

"Finally!" Janeway yelled as she exited her ready room. "Now we'll know what our mission in the Delta Quadrant will be." She walked up to Ensign Kim. "Well ensign, what did Starfleet have to say?"

Kim looked at Janeway "We are supposed to report to starbase three-seven-five where Admiral Ross will brief the senior staff on the mission."

Janeway looked towards the front of the bridge where seated at the helm was Lt. Paris. "Helm" she ordered, "Plot a course to starbase three-seven-five, warp 8."

Lt. Paris keyed in the sequence and reported that the ship was ready. Janeway walked to her command chair and sat down, she then gave the order to engage the warp drive. The Titanic went into warp so gracefully that Janeway didn't even feel a jolt. "I'm going to have to send a bottle of Saurian Brandy to Utopia Planitia when we get back to Earth for a fine job they did on this ship."

"I don't think one bottle is going to be enough, better make it two." A voice had come from behind her. She knew that voice.

Janeway stood up and turned around to see her fiance, Mark, coming out of the turbolift. She ran up to greet him. "What are you doing here?" She said as she gave him a hug.

Mark returned the hug, "Since I designed this ship, Starfleet felt it necessary for me to be here on her maiden voyage."

Janeway turned left to face her security chief. "Mr. Tuvok, have Commander Cavit report to the bridge, until he comes, it's yours."

Tuvok nodded "Aye Sir".

Janeway turned back to Mark. "We have a few hours before we arrive at the starbase, would you mind taking me on a tour?"

Mark smiled, "I'd like that very much. Now if you'll follow me..." He took Janeway by the arm and they entered the turbolift.

Two hours later, the couple were finishing the tour. They went into Janeway's private dinning room, ordered coffee and sat down by the main windows that looked out into space.

Mark reached out to Janeway's hand, "Well, that's the end of the tour."

Janeway smiled, but the smile wasn't an easy one to make. "I only hope that the name Titanic wont put a jinx on this ship."

Mark looked into Janeway's eyes, he tried to comfort her as best as he could, he knew it wouldn't work but he tried anyway. "I know what your concerns are Kathryn, but it's going to be ok." He then tried to lighten her up a little. "Besides, I think we've made a few improvements since 1912."

His last comment made Janeway feel a little better, not to the pint of laughing out loud, but it made an actual smile grow on her face. "I'm really glad you're here, you designed a wonderful ship, one question though, where's the grand staircase?"

Mark smiled, "Well, I suggested one, but Starfleet said no. Besides, you have a holodeck, don't you?" Just as he said that, the stars outside slowed down and went from streaks of light to single dots against a black background. Starbase three-seven-five came into view as well.

Janeway's com badge beeped and the voice of the ships first officer, Commander Cavit came through. "Captain Janeway we have arrived at Starbase three-seven-five, please report to the bridge."

Janeway and Mark stood up and exited the dinning room. They walked down the gray hallway, Starfleet had chosen gray to be the main color for the newer ships they were building. They reached the end of the corridor and called for a turbolift. When the turbolift came, they walked inside and Janeway ordered it to go to the bridge. On the way, Mark decided to let a secret that he had been keeping out into the open. "I think that you are going to love this mission that Starfleet is sending you on."

At first, Janeway thought that he was just making small talk. "Well, as long as it isn't convoy duty..." She stopped, realizing something. "You already know what my orders are and you haven't said a word?"

Mark nodded, she could have killed him for that but decided to get him back later. "And when were you going to tell me what they were?" She stared at him.

Mark turned his head to face her. "Sorry, but I had orders from Admiral Ross not to discuss the mission with anyone, even you."

Janeway rolled her eyes, Mark had never cared much for orders, he didn't have to. "Mark, you're not in Starfleet. No one can order you to do anything."

Mark smiled "Ok, so there weren't any orders. The admiral just asked me to keep it quiet. You never know when the Bajorans or the Klingons are listening."

Janeway understand why, if the Alliance ever got wind of a new starship and a mission to the Delta Quadrant, they would find a way to wreck everything. "Alright, I can see why you were told that. Of course now I'm curious. Is there anything else you've not been telling me?"

Mark looked back at her with shock. "Like what?"

Before Janeway could answer the question, the turbolift doors opened. "We'll have to continue this discussion at a later time." Mark nodded his head and they entered the main bridge.

Janeway walked to the conn and started at the main viewscreen. "Mr. Kim, open a secure channel to Admiral Ross."

The viewscreen went from the picture of the starbase to the image of Admiral Ross. "Kate, good to see you again." The admiral was at least fifty years of age. He and Janeway had become good friends over the years.

Janeway returned the greeting "Likewise Dave." She was glad to see him again, the last she heard was that he had been captured by the Alliance and tortured for information. "I believe you wanted to inform us on our new mission? She continued trying not to let the eagerness in her voice show.

The admiral nodded his head. "Please beam over with your senior staff and I'll brief you on the details. Oh, and bring that future husband of yours along as well. Ross out." The screen shifted back to the image of the starbase.

Janeway hit her com badge. "Senior officers, report to transporter room two." She then walked up to Mark and they joined Commanders Cavit, Tuvok Lt. Paris, and Ensign Kim in the turbolift.

08:50 hours

Janeway, Mark and the senior staff materialized in the stations transporter room. Admiral Ross stood by the controls "Welcome to Starbase three-seven-five. If you'll follow me please." He walked to the door, the sensor recognized a lifeform coming and the door opened. The crew followed the admiral down the hallway to a conference room. The room was of typical design, the table was made of oak. It had a tinted glass top. They sat down, Admiral Ross was at the head of the table.

Admiral Ross looked towards Marks direction, he wanted him ready for the meeting. "Your mission will be to test out some equipment that will eventually become standard issue aboard starships. Mr. Johnson will give you all of the details."

Mark stood from the table and walked to a wall viewer and activated it. A diagram of the I.S.S. Titanic came up. "This is a diagram of the systems aboard Titanic." He hit a few controls on a keypad next to the viewer. A schematic of a metaphasic shield grid over laid itself on the titanic. "This is what your first assignment is. It's a prototype for metaphasic shielding."

Lt. Carey's mouth dropped open, he had heard about metaphasic shielding but never really believed that it would work. After a few moments of silence, he asked a question. "Excuse me, but didn't Starfleet just come up with this idea a few months ago?" The rest of the senior officers stared at Mark.

Admiral Ross spoke up. "Yes, that's correct lieutenant. Is there a problem with that?" He had hoped that the meeting would have gone smoothly without any questions, but it seemed that that idea had just died.

"Yes I do have a problem with that admiral." Carey was starting to get on edge, he didn't want to die a young man. "I don't want to trust my life to some machine and I don't want to throw it away like it meant nothing!"

Mark tried to calm the engineer down. "Listen, I stand by my work, and I know that this idea is sound. It only needs to be tested to make sure it's a good thing for Starfleet to invest its time into."

Mark turned his attention back to the briefing. "Captain Janeway, you will take the Titanic through the Barzan wormhole to sector 615 of the Delta Quadrant. There is a star that we have specifically set aside for you to use..."

Lt. Tom Paris was confused. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly does metaphasic shielding do?" He had never been a person for reading the latest scientific discoveries. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in new advances in technology, he just never actually cared much about them.

Mark looked at Tom "Lt., metaphasic shielding is a subsystem of a starships shields. A vessel with this technology can enter a star's corona and the people aboard it wont be affected by the radiation."

Paris leaned back in his chair like he had just been hit by a ton of bricks. "One more question, how exactly does it do this?" At that moment, he decided that he should read more.

"Let me show you." Mark said as he hit a few more controls on a PADD. Another schematic came up. On it was a star and a graphic representation of the Titanic. "When the metaphasic shields are activated, a bubble forms around the ship. And just like any shield system, things can go out, but nothing cam come in." He hoped that he had said that correctly so the lieutenant could understand.

A beep sounded into the room, it was followed by the voice of the EMH Program. "If you'll excuse this interruption and activate comm channel four-oh-nine, I would like to ask a question." The admiral hit a few keys on the desk and the screen changed to an image of the Doctor. "Well first off, I'm glad that I was able to reach you before the meeting ended."

Janeway was getting mad. "Dr. Please get to the point and stop taking up our time."

The Doctor was startled "Ok, fine. Here's my question, what will happen to the ship if the shielding doesn't hold?"

Mark laughed at the question. "I can assure you that the shielding will not fail, it has been tested and retested."

The Doctor was not amused. "If you'll answer my question, I promise I'll keep your medical records in good shape..." He said with a smile on his face. If he wanted to, he could keep Mark off of the Titanic by putting certain information into his medical records.

Mark wisely chose to answer the question. "Well, if the metaphasic shields fail, two secondary systems of skin tight shielding would form around the ship."

Lt. Carey grew more nervous. "Two separate systems? Why would you have two systems?"

Mark nodded his head. "Yes, one system for the people onboard and the other system for the ship itself."

Commander Cavit tapped his hand on the table. "How long would the crew have if the secondary shielding had to be used?"

Mark walked to the side of the room and pushed a button, a window opened up to reveal space. Outside the window was the Titanic. What a beautiful ship he thought to himself. He turned back to the group. "If that ship ever lost the metaphasic shielding, the secondary shielding would last for another half hour. Hopefully the crew would be smart enough to pilot her out of the star before the secondary shields would go." He paused letting what he had just said sink in. "If for some reason the secondary shields failed before the ship could leave the star, the radiation level would rise until they crew would be dead."

There was a long pause in the room. The silence was eating at the admiral. "If there are no other questions, I'll close this meeting. Captain Janeway, you'll find the route that Starfleet has laid out for you, it has the coordinates of the star as well. It is stored in your computer under the file name Beta-Two-Three-Six."

Janeway was confused. "Why is the information in the Titanic's computer?" Why not just give us the information here?"

Admiral Ross smiled at the question. "You never know where the Alliance is these days, ever since they joined up with the Dominion, they've been able to retrieve certain information from Starfleet vessels."

Janeway immediately thought of one case in particular when Starfleet was investigating Lieutenant Worf. Certain files from the Enterprise had been found missing and the Klingon was a major suspect. Eventually, after days of questioning, Worf was no longer under any suspicion. Her thoughts were brought back to the room when Admiral Ross dismissed the officers. They stood from the table and walked out the door. They then headed for the transporter room, when they reached their destination, Mark and the senior officers went and stood on the transporter pad. Admiral Ross looked to Janeway. "Good luck and have a safe journey captain."

Janeway smiled "Thank you admiral." She then looked to the transporter operator "Energize". The senior officers dematerialized from the transporter room. Admiral Ross wished he could go with them, but he had other duties to perform aboard the starbase. He was getting less active as he was getting older. He had regretted everyday since he accepted his promotion to admiral. He never really wanted to go above the rank of captain, but Starfleet had needed him. He walked over to a window and watched as the Titanic went into warp towards her first mission. "Goodbye Kate" he said with tearful eyes.

Stardate 44068.3 13:30 hours. Location: Sector 615 - Delta Quadrant

Captain's log Supplemental:
We have made it to the Delta Quadrant without any problems. Note to I.S.S. Thunderchild, thanks for being our escort to the wormhole. I only hope that this mission will go peacefully without any problems and the name Titanic will not be remembered for a tragedy anymore. End Log.

Janeway entered the Bridge from her ready room. All of the senior officers were at their duty stations. "Report."

Ensign responded. "I have located the star that Starfleet chose, the computer identifies it as Epsilon six-seven-one. Transferring information to your console captain."

Janeway walked up to her chair and sat down. "Let's see what we have." She pushed a button on the console and looked over the information. "Mr. Kim, are there any indications that the radiation might not stop at the shielding?"

Kim shook his head "No sir."

Mark was getting annoyed by the waiting. "Can't we just get this started?" He wanted to show off his invention without anymore delays. He had waited long enough for Starfleet's approval of the project and he wasn't about to wait any longer.

Janeway looked back to see Mark standing my Ensign Kim. "We should do some more scans to make sure it's safe." He was starting to make her feel uncomfortable. It was against her better judgement and she knew that she should follow her instinct. But she was becoming anxious to see what would happen. "Alright, engage the metaphasic shielding and take us into the star."

Outside, the Titanic headed for the yellow star. As the ship got closer, the shields had a yellow color to them. The Titanic was at impulse, then she went down to maneuvering thrusters. Back on the bridge, Janeway was shielding her eyes from the brightness of the star. "Harry, can you do anything about the light?"

Kim keyed in a sequence of commands and the viewscreen dimmed, allowing Janeway to see clearly. Janeway looked to Tom Paris, "How far do we have until we are completely inside the star?"

Tom turned his head towards Janeway's direction. "Another ten meters captain." He then turned back to the controls. A moment later, the ship was inside the star. Janeway had ordered an 'all stop'.

Mark was smiling "Fantastic isn't it? Just think of it, we are the first people to actually enter a stars corona and survive." He walked down to Janeway "I'm glad that you were the one that Starfleet chose for this mission Kate."

Janeway looked to Kim. "Mr. Kim, how are the shields doing?"

Kim checked his controls and replied "Shielding is working within normal parameters." He then looked up to the viewscreen "It's beautiful" he said to himself.

"Alright, set a course out..." Janeway was cut off by Mark.

"We aren't done with your mission yet, we can't leave."

Janeway was confused. "There wasn't anything in our orders saying about staying in the star."

Mark smiled "Well, I guess I'm changing those orders. We'll need to stay in here for at least twenty hours in order to really test the shields."

Janeway was about to protest but for some reason that she couldn't explain, she did what Mark told her to do. "Alright, we'll stay in here for twenty more hours."

Mark's smile grew, he always like it when things were going his way. He then walked around the bridge, checking readouts on the ships systems. He stopped by the engineering console and handed a PADD to Lt. Carey. Carey took the PADD and read what was on it. It was a schedule for shield frequency and shield harmonic tests that were to be done on the shields while the Titanic was in the star. "These tests are to be run every half hour, after each test, you will note any changes in a log."

Carey looked over to where Janeway was sitting. "Captain?"

Janeway stood up and walked over to Carey "Follow his instructions, use as many as people as you need."

Carey looked back to the list, he didn't really want to do it, but his orders were clear. "Alright, but promise me one thing, if this experiment of yours goes wrong, I don't get blamed for anything."

Mark smiled "I promise you that you won't get blamed for any problems. And I assure you that there wont be any problems." He then walked up to the turbolift. "I'm having a party tonight and I invite all oft eh senior officers to join me in holodeck two at 1900 hours." He then walked into the turbolift and exited the bridge."

19:00 hours

Outside Holodeck Two, Janeway stood by the door, everyone else had already gone in and she was the last one. She walked up to the door, it opened to reveal a movie theater from the twentieth century. She walked in and sat by the other senior officers. Janeway looked over to see who she was sitting by, it was Tom Paris. "Lieutenant, do you know what's going on?"

Tom looked back to her. "I have no idea, although I recognize this theater, I believe it's a re-creation of a theater named Cinemark Ten." As he said that, he began to rock in his chair. "I don't really care much for the colors. I've never really liked the color purple. Mark walked up to the front of the room from the control booth.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you all made it." He looked at his audience, "Say, where's that EMH of yours?" He paused and then looked at Lt. Carey. "And what are you doing here? I thought I gave you an assignment."

Carey stared back at Mark, he was beginning to hate the guy. "Haven't you ever heard of the word delegate? Lt. Torres is taking care of it."

Mark nodded. "Computer, patch me into sickbay." The computer beeped "Activate the EMH program and transfer him to Holodeck Two."

The Doctor appeared next to Mark, he had a puzzled look on his face. "What?... What am I doing here?"

Mark turned to face him. "Well, you are the only CMO aboard aren't you?" The EMH nodded. "Yes... Oh I see, you actually recognized me as a senior officer. Finally I get some recognition!"

Janeway stared at Mark. "Computer, transfer the doctor back to sickbay." She paused. "We've found that if he gets too excited about something, his program dies."

Mark had a cold look on his face. Janeway was ruining his time consuming work. "Alright, I've invited you here to watch a movie." He looked around to note the expressions on their faces. Most of them really didn't care. Paris was grinning from ear to ear. He never had any time to go to a movie, work was always in the way. Mark continued his introduction. "We are going to watch the movie Titanic."

Everyone but Mark, Paris, and Tuvok started to frown. They all knew what happened to the Titanic and they didn't want to watch a movie about something they knew about.

Carey stared at Mark, "How long is this movie?"

Mark thought for a moment. "Around three hours... why?"

Carey's face frowned even more. "So I have to watch a movie for three hours? I could be doing more imprta..." He stopped realizing that if he left, he would have to get back to work on what Mark wanted him to do. He decided to stop protesting. "Ah never mind, three hours wont kill me."

Mark looked over to Paris, who was raising his hand. "Yes, Mr. Paris?"

Paris put his hand down and asked his question. "Can I run the projector?" He was acting like a child in a candy store.

Mark nodded his head to the request. "Ya, the booth is right up there." Paris stood and ran to the back of the room and into the booth. Mark walked over to where Janeway was sitting and sat down in a vacant seat. "Alright Tom, hit it!" The lights dimmed and the movie started playing. Janeway smiled, she turned to Mark. "This better be good."

22:20 hours

The lights in the Theater came up. Janeway and Mark stood up "So" Mark asked "What did you think of it?"

Janeway looked at him. "Well, it was good. I just hope it isn't a sign..." She was cut off when she heard crying coming from the projection booth. "Mr. Paris?" She walked up to Tom, he was holding a replicated tissue.

"That was so sad, I can't believe he left her. I know that I would have stayed alive..." Paris said between tears.

Janeway almost laughed. "Looks like you got emotionally attached to the movie. I'm glad I didn't." As she said that, the room went dark, a power drain shut down the program and Tom fell off his chair hitting the floor with a loud thud. The computer informed the ship what was happening. "Metaphasic shielding has failed. Secondary shielding activated." The power in the holodeck came back up. Janeway, Mark, and the senior staff walked out the door and headed for the bridge.

* * *

On the bridge, everyone took their stations. Janeway looked over at the engineering section. Lt. Torres was walking away to let Carey take over. "Torres, what happened?"

"I was changing the frequency of the shields when they failed."

Janeway nodded, she then looked over to Carey. "Can you get them back online?"

He shook his head "No sir. The main shield generators are fried. The secondary shielding is running on the backup generators. I recommend we get out of here."

Janeway walked up to Lt. Paris "Agreed. Tom, get us out of here."

Paris hit a few buttons and nothing happened. "I'm sorry sir, the star is affecting the engines, they're dead."

Janeway turned and looked at Mark remembering his assurance that nothing would go wrong. She then looked over to Harry. "Mr. Kim, how long will it take to repair the engines?"

Kim checked his controls. "At least three hours captain, but we..."

Janeway finished the sentence. "Don't have that much time." She looked at the main viewer and then back to Kim. "Star the procedure anyway, and try to get it done in less then twenty minutes."

Kim nodded, he then walked into the turbolift and exited the bridge. Janeway looked up to the interface. "Computer, how long until the secondary shielding fails?"

The computer replied with a clean, crisp voice. "Shield failure in exactly twenty-five minutes."

Janeway put her hand on Tom's shoulder. "Contact Starfleet, inform them of our situation."

Paris checked his console. "The communications array is down captain."

Janeway frowned. "Take a shuttle craft, head for the wormhole and tell Starfleet what happened."

Tom looked at Janeway "We don't have any warp shuttles on board. The maximum speed I would be able to achieve is half impulse. I wouldn't have enough time to get there and back. It would take more then six hours to reach the wormhole."

Janeway knew what she assigned wouldn't work. "You must try Tom, who knows, you might meet up with a friendly ship."

Paris stood up and looked into Janeway's eyes, knowing that he wouldn't see any of them ever again. "Thanks for believing in me." He then walked to the turbolift and exited the bridge for the last time.

Janeway walked over to Lt. Carey. "Ensign Dyson, take the helm." A young trill walked up to the helm and sat down. "Lt. can you do anything to make these secondary shields any stronger?"

Carey looked at his console. "I can't do anything for the shields protecting the crew, but I can strengthen the shielding for the ships equipment and systems. I already started the procedure and should be finished in five minutes."

Janeway was puzzled "How long have you been working on it?"

"I started the procedure before we went to that movie."

"Captain, Lt. Paris is ready to launch." Tuvok said.

Janeway looked at Tuvok. "Understood, clear him for departure."

Outside, a shuttlecraft left the Titanic's bay and made its way out of the star towards the wormhole.

22:35 hours

On the bridge, Captain Janeway was pacing around, it was time to give her last order. "Tuvok, patch me into the rest of the ship."

Tuvok did what she ordered. "Channel open."

Janeway looked at the viewer "All hands, this is the captain. In less then five minutes, the shielding protecting us is going to fail. I order you to evacuate the Titanic, Janeway out."

Mark walked down to Janeway. "Come on let's go."

Janeway shook her head. "I'm not leaving."

Mark blinked in surprise. "The ship? You would choose the ship over your own life?"

Janeway nodded, she then noticed that no one on the bridge was moving. "I gave you orders people! Move!" At her command, everyone exited, leaving Janeway and Mark alone. "Don't try my patience Mark, you have your orders, now get out of here."

Mark smiled "I'm not in Starfleet remember? I don't have to take orders..."

In a corridor, people were moving quickly toward the escape pods. When the escape pods were full, they were ejected out of the ship. Back on the Bridge, Janeway was monitoring their progress. She was alarmed by the readings she was getting. "What's happening?"

Mark walked up to her. "Come here and I'll explain it all." He led Janeway over to the captain and first officer chairs. They sat down. "Kate, the escape pods weren't designed very well..." He was cut off by the computer's voice. "Secondary shielding protecting the crew will fail in ten seconds, nine, eight, seven, six, five,"

Mark picked up Janeway's hand. "I love you." The computer finished the countdown. "Two, one." At that moment, the radiation levels went full force instead of rising slowly. Janeway and Mark both died holding each others hands and looking into each others eyes.

Outside, the escape pods emerged from the star. The crew of the Titanic sighed with relief, they were safe. Until the hatches of the pods blew off and the crew was blown out into space. They didn't have time to get their space suits on. One hundred and ninety-nine people died that day, everyone that was assigned to the Titanic, everyone but Tom Paris.

Seven Years Later

Stardate 51032.1

Captain Picard was sitting in his ready room onboard the Starship Enterprise. He was reading a Dixon Hill book and was drinking a cup of tea. The desktop viewer on this desk came up with blinking words that said Incoming Message. Picard stood up from his couch and walked over to his desk. "Computer, open channel."

The computer beeped. "Enter security code."

Picard hated the security procedures on the ship, it wasn't a new thing but it was just a pain to do. "Authorization-Picard-Four-Seven-Alpha-Tango." The text was replaced by the image of Admiral Ross.

"Ah, captain. How are you?" Ross asked smiling.

Picard smiled back. "I'm doing fine, and you?"

Ross stopped smiling "I'm fine. Listen, I have a job for you."

Picard leaned closer to the screen so he could hear better. "Yes?"

Ross picked up a PADD "You are to report to starbase three-seven-five to pick up Lieutenant Thomas Paris."

Picard nodded, "And you'll fill me in on the mission later?"

Ross shook his head "No, Lt. Paris will fill you in, Ross out." The screen went blank.

All Picard could do was wonder why Starfleet needed him to pick up Lt. Paris, the sole survivor of the Titanic. He hit his comm badge. "Picard to bridge."

The filtered voice of Lt. Commander Data came through "Bridge here sir."

Picard continued "Set a course for starbase three-seven-five. Warp nine, inform me when we arrive. Picard out." At his command, the line went dead. Picard stood from his desk and walked over to the window. As he looked out, the stars started to move until they became streaks of light. As he watched the stars, he thought of Tom Paris and what happened to the Titanic. He finally said with a whisper "Why me?"

* * *

An hour later, Picard was standing in the transporter room. "Engage." The lieutenant at the transporter controls keyed in the sequence and Tom Paris materialized in the chamber.

He walked up to Picard, they hadn't seen each other since the problems Starfleet had with Chakotay and the Maquis. "Good to see you again captain."

Picard smiled back. "Welcome aboard, If you'll follow me, I'll show you to your quarters." He started to head for the door, but Tom reached out and took a hold of his arm.

"Actually, I would like to brief you and your senior officers on the mission first, if that's ok sir." Tom said as he was letting go of Picard's arm.

Picard nodded. "This way then." He turned for the doors, as they exited, he looked to the transporter chief and said "Have the senior officers report to the conference lounge."

The corridors were mostly empty, there were only a few crewmen here and there. Picard and Paris didn't talk much until they walked into a turbolift. "Bridge" Picard said, the lift started to move up. There was only one thin on Picard's mind and it was bothering him. "Tell me, why do you need the Enterprise?"

Paris looked at Picard "that will be explained in my briefing, but I can tell you that one reason was that you're the only other captain in Starfleet that believed in me."

Picard smiled, "Who was the first?"

Paris looked down to his feet and then back to Picard. He was clearly trying to hide the tears that were starting to roll down his face "Captain Janeway."

They finished the lift ride in silence. When it reached the bridge, they exited and walked over to the conference room. The doors opened allowing them to enter. Seated at the table were Picard's senior officers.

Picard walked up to the front of the room "This is Lieutenant Tom Paris, he is going to inform us on our new mission." He then sat down.

Tom walked by the table. As he was walking, he visually checked the officers. His eyes stopped on Worf. He then turned his head to Picard. "Before I begin captain, there is a problem." He pointed at Worf. "Last I heard, Klingons were members of the Alliance. What is he doing here and how many more of them are on board?"

Picard looked at Worf and then back to Paris. "Lieutenant, I can assure you that Commander Worf is not part of the Alliance, he does not hold the same political views that they do. He is the only Klingon onboard this vessel."

Paris was still uncomfortable, but he continued. "Alright, he can stay." He activated the wall viewer, a map of the Delta Quadrant came up. He zoomed in on a system. "As you know, I am the only survivor of the I.S.S. Titanic under the command of Captain Kathryn Janeway. We are going to salvage the ship from sector 615 of the Delta Quadrant." He paused. "The ship is in a star that Starfleet has labeled Epsilon Six-Seven-One. The Titanic was testing out Metaphasic Shielding for use on later starships. I believe you all know the story." The crew nodded. "Good, then I wont bore you with all of the details."

Geordi LaForge had a question on his mind. "Why has Starfleet taken so long before ordering a salvage operation?"

Paris looked at LaForge. "Until recently, the Alliance has had control of Sector 615. They withdrew from the area last week. Fortunately, they never found the Titanic. If there are no other questions, we'll start the mission."

They stood up and exited the conference lounge. On the bridge, the senior officers went to their duty stations. Lieutenant Paris stood by the conn.

Picard could tell what was on Tom's mind and frankly, he couldn't blame him. "Ensign Redd, let Lieutenant Paris take the conn." Redd stood up and walked away. Lieutenant Paris sat down, ready for orders. "Set a course for sector 615 of the Delta Quadrant, and engage at maximum warp." After Picard got a confirmation that they were in warp, he looked to Data. "Mr. Data, conduct a sensor sweep for any enemy ships."

"Yes sir." Data nodded and started to configure his console for the task.

"Number one, you have the bridge." Picard stood up and exited the bridge. In the ready room, Picard sat down and activated his comm badge. "Picard to Crusher."

The voice of the Enterprises CMO came through "Crusher here."

Picard tapped his fingers on the desk "Dr., when we reach the Titanic, I want to send an away team over. Can you set up a radiation shot to help protect us?"

"You will be using suits wont you?" Crusher paused. "Yes captain, the shot will be ready by the time we arrive. Crusher out."

* * *

Three hours later, the Enterprise dropped out of warp and came up to Epsilon six-seven-one. The escape pods from the Titanic disaster were gone, the Alliance had taken care of them when the took over the area. The Jem'Hadar had been ordered to find the ship, but it never happened.

Captain Picard walked out of his ready room onto the bridge. "Report."

Troi checked her console. "We are ready to activate the metaphasic shielding to begin the operation."

Picard nodded "Mr. Data, activate the shields. Mr. Paris, take us in."

After the shields were up, the Enterprise moved towards the star and entered it. After a few moments, the Titanic came into view. The Enterprise closed in until she was fifty meters above the ship.

Picard and the other people on the bridge stared at the viewscreen image of the ship. After a moment of silence, Riker spoke up "Look at that." The outside of the Titanic was dark black, the star had really scorched the vessel.

Picard looked towards Worf's direction at Tactical. "Mr. Worf, link up to the Titanic's computer. I want to see their bridge." The Titanic's bridge came up on the viewscreen. It was in perfect condition, the only thing that was an eye sore were the lifeless bodies of Janeway and Mark.

Picard was confused. "I thought that all of the crew left the ship in the escape pods before they were ejected."

Data shook his head "Apparently, the captain, her fiance, and several other crew members did not evacuate the Titanic with the rest."

Paris was almost in tears "I should have died with them, I shouldn't be here."

Picard ignored the lieutenant "Engage a tractor beam, let's tow her out of this grave."

Outside, thousands of light blue lines went from the Enterprises tractor emitter to the Titanic. Once the link was established, the ships emerged from the star.

Data looked to Picard "We have emerged from the star, reporting all stop sir."

Picard smiled "Computer, have Commander LaForge and Doctor Crusher report to transporter room two." He then walked to the turbolift. Data and Paris followed him.

* * *

The away team materialized on the bridge of the Titanic. They were all wearing suits to protect them from the radiation. Picard looked around. "Since there were no bodies left to recover outside, we'll have to do with what was left onboard the ship. Lieutenant Paris and Doctor Crusher, you'll go and find those crewmen that didn't report to the escape pods and have them transported to the Enterprise. Mr. LaForge, go down to Engineering and check out the warp core, make sure it's stable. Remember to keep an open comm link at all times." They nodded and exited the bridge to carry out their orders. Picard turned to face Data "Start uploading the computer files to the Enterprise." Data walked over to the Engineering console and started working.

After two hours passed, Crusher came through Picard's comm badge. "Captain, we've found most of the remaining crew members and are continuing our search for the last one." Picard was about to acknowledge her report when LaForge came through.

"No need to go searching doctor, I've found him. Please report to Engineering."

Picard looked over to Data. "How's the upload coming?"

Data looked up "I just finished it sir."

Picard tapped his comm badge "Enterprise, beam the remains of Captain Janeway and Mark Johnson to the morgue."

O'Brien's voice came through "Aye sir, energizing." The bodies of Kate and Mark dematerialized from the chairs. Picard and Data then headed for the turbolift and exited the bridge.

The turbolift stopped, they exited it and headed down the corridor that led to Engineering. They walked up to LaForge, Crusher, and Paris who were standing in front of the warp core.

"You know where the other crew member is?" Picard said.

Geordi nodded, he pointed at the warp core. A man was floating in the upper chamber. He was wearing a red uniform and had the rank of lieutenant commander on his collar. "Somehow he ended up in there. I'm checking the computer logs to find out what happened."

Picard frowned, "Very well, you can continue your search on the Enterprise, I've ordered Data to upload the ships files." He then hit his comm badge. "Picard to Enterprise, beam the person from the warp core to the morgue and beam us directly to the bridge, energize." They beamed away leaving the Engineering section empty.

They materialized in the aft section on the main bridge. Picard sat down in his chair, Data, Geordi and Paris went to their stations and Crusher headed for a turbolift.

"Alright, let's get underway." Picard said "Commander Data, set the ship for warp tow and get us back to the Alpha Quadrant."

Data hit a few controls and reported that they could only do an impulse tow because of the radiation that was flooding the Titanic.

Picard frowned, it would take a while to get back. "Hail Starfleet, inform them of our situation and request them to dispatch a ship equipped to handle radiation floods." Data nodded and got to work.

LaForge walked up to Picard "Captain, I have enough information to tell you what happened on the Titanic."

Picard nodded and hit his comm badge "Senior Officers report to the observation lounge."

A few minutes later, the staff were assembled in the observation lounge. LaForge was standing at one end of the room. "It seems that the metaphasic shielding was not meant to be rotated like a shield modulation. It took a little modulation but it stopped working and everyone died."

LaForge picked up a PADD and handed it to Picard. "These are the people that were left on the Titanic."

Picard frowned, "Any loss of life that isn't necessary is never good."

LaForge continued "They were all found in their respective quarters. All of them were lieutenant commanders and they seemed to be chatting with each other over an open comm link."

Paris looked at LaForge "What were their names?"

LaForge picked up another PADD and displayed the information on a wall viewer, he then read the names out loud. "Lt. Commanders Highlander, Wright, Hayward, Stidham, Sweeney, Buckmiller, Boddy, Sheerin, Vavaresos, Norris, Henshaw, Filippone, and Eggleston."

Data turned his head to Picard "There was also a lieutenant that we couldn't identify, all we know was that she was a female with red hair."

Riker was confused "where was she found?"

LaForge spoke up. "She was in the same quarters as Commander Highlander."

Paris hit hand on the table "I knew it! I leave for one minute to get help and she goes after my best friend!"

Picard stared to Paris, deciding whether or not to go down that path. "Who was she?"

Paris stared back. "Her name was Carie Donaldson, she was a friend of Kes, Neelix, and me."

"Who were Kes and Neelix?" Worf said as he was scratching his chin.

Paris looked over to where Worf was sitting. "They were a crew of a vessel that a previous captain found when I was serving onboard the Melbourne. They were both outcasts from their worlds and later moved to Earth."

Picard nodded. "Who was the one in the warp core and what was he doing there?"

"That was Commander Stidham" LaForge said "He was trying a site-to-site transport at the time. The radiation somehow altered the coordinates of his transport and he ended up in the warp core."

Picard's comm badge beeped "Bridge to Picard, the I.S.S. Utah has arrived to tow the Titanic."

* * *

A few days later, the Enterprise, Utah, and Titanic were in Earth orbit. A Federation tug was taking the Titanic to Earth Station Mckinley to decommission the ship. Picard stood with Paris in the Transporter Room, they were both in dress uniforms. "Captain," Paris started "I want to thank you for coming to Earth to bury the crew."

Picard nodded "I know how hard it's been for you, we must just recognize that death is a part of life and we should get on with our lives. Well, let's beam down, I believe the rest of the senior staff are waiting for us."

They walked onto the transporter pad. Picard and Paris dematerialized from the room. They rematerialized in a cemetery, the sun was shining brightly that day. They walked over to where the enterprise senior officers were standing. There were several head stones laying in the ground. The graves were in a circular pattern with Janeway's and Mark's coffins in the center.

Paris walked around, reading each of the tombstones. They all had the words 'In memory of the Titanic crew, who gave their lives for the good of science.' Paris then looked up to the Enterprise senior officers. Kes and Neelix walked up behind Paris, they gave him a hug but didn't say anything. They didn't need to, the same thoughts were in their minds.

Picard walked up to Paris and handed him a box. Paris took the box and opened it, inside was the Titanic's Dedication Plaque. He read the inscription on the bottom of the Plaque. "O that I were an Angel, and I could have the wish of mine heart , that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God." He paused and then added "Rest in Peace Titanic." His words were to both the crew and the ship. Paris took the Dedication Plaque out of the box and placed it inside a glass container that was sitting on the ground in front of the graves.

Picard and the senior officers quietly walked away, leaving Tom, Kes and Neelix alone with the 'remaining crew' of the Titanic.

The End