| abstract | - A hundred and fifty years after the Dominion War, a now-retired Zak Kebron tells his son of an experience during the war, and teaches him and his teacher a valuable lesson about viewing conflict. The Excalibur is MIA for 18 months after slingshotting forward in time (Double Time). When the crew realizes they have jumped forward a year and a half, they begin to alert Starfleet Command of the situation. The Cheyenne-class USS Corinth appears and begins battling a Romulan warbird and the Excalibur joins in the fight. The warbird is quickly over-powered after which the Corinth begins firing on the Excalibur but flees when it realizes it is outgunned by Calhoun. The Romulans hail the Excalibur to tell them they are now allies in the war, and that the Corinth was stolen by Cardassians for study. The Excalibur then pursues the Corinth, which is boarded and retaken. Zak Kebron tells this story to his son, Cal, for a school report, saying it was the only part the Excalibur had in the Dominion War. Cal’s teacher confronts Kebron, saying the story is a complete lie. Kebron tells the teacher that his lessons about the glories of war are a lie, because there is no glory in war. Kebron says the only glory to be found in war is through individual accomplishment from individuals refusing to be defeated. Kebron then continues saying that many accepted war stories are fabrications and that no war truly ends. He tells of Sisko’s lie about the Romulan senator whose death brought the Romulans into the conflict and that when the fabrication was discovered many years later it led to the Third Great Earth Romulan War.
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