Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.  The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.  No copyright infringement is intended.

The idea for this story has been at the back of my head for a long time. In fact it is already it's own reincarnation. A different story grew to 100 pages, before I had to face the grim reality that my writing – although evolved – did not live up to the premise, mainly because I didn't have the right support in the form of a talented and knowledgeable beta reader.

My initial idea was to start at the end of the episode “Bound”, but I revised that in favor of more canon friendliness. The only deviation from that route is, that I will consequently ignore the events of “These are the voyages...”, since that particular – rightly criticized “valentine” - did not show any real events, but a holo-deck simulation, the historic accuracy of which cannot be ascertained. Several indicators, like the lack of transfers, promotions or deaths over the course of 10 years, which included the atrocious Earth-Romulan war, make it rather probable that the shown holo-deck simulation was an utter and complete fabrication. At a later point in this story, that topic will be dealt with accordingly.