Recruitment to Destruction - Part 2
Posted on 09 Jun 2024 @ 5:52pm by Captain Ricardo (Rico) Montoya & Lieutenant Commander Aiden MacMahon & Lieutenant Urushi Yaotome & Civilian Dalmot Cree-soon
Edited on on 09 Jun 2024 @ 5:53pm
1,464 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
M-18 The Past is Future
Location: USS Phoenix
Captain Montoya sat in the briefing room. The sick bay he had awakened in had been looked more advanced than anything he had ever seen and what he had seen on the walk here had been like wise. Looking around the room he recognized the woman G'Ren but there was a Trill, a Caitian, and another individual from a species he was not familiar with sitting there with him and his XO.
"What is this place?" Aiden asked as he looked around the room. He was not as calm as Montoya, his body tensing as his suspision grew. "Where are we? Who are you?" he directed the question at the others. The headache also did not help to put him in an amicable mood.
"One question at a time, human," said the Caitian, finding it difficult to keep contempt out of her voice.
"I have more questions!" Aiden retorted as he began to stand up instinctively sensing hostility from the feline, wincing as he moved.
"You will find out soon enough, sit down,.... Commander... please," Shazaran said after a few glares from the others. She ended with a forced smile, but it looked more like a snarl. Her sharp fangs could not make it look fiendly, no matter how she tried.
Aiden sat down slowly and reluctantly. "Now will be good.." he said sitting back, but not returning whatever that expression on the Caitian's face was supposed to be.
G'Ren's bottled her frustration with their slips in composure, they had roles to play and they were being poor actors at that. "Captain, Commander, You are on the Federation timeship Continuum. What I am about to tell you would.be in violation of the Temporal Prime Directive but according to our history these events are supposed to have taken place. Before the founding of the Federation, Captain Archer reported their being a Temporal Cold War. Well gentlemen that war has gotten hot.
"Agents from the 30th century have gone back in time and are targeting key events to destabilize the quadrant and destroy the Federation. Other time ships are recruiting other vessels in various eras to aid in protecting the proper flow of history. Before you ask, the reason we need help from yourselves and others is frankly, time ships are not equipped or manned for offensive action.
"We will be hunting down any temporal signatures to try and capture them, as well as cleaning up any issues created by any of the various incursions. All while you target specific events to ensure they take place they are supposed to."
This was a lot to take in. But if their history, the Federation itself, was at stake what chose did they have. Glancing to his XO and back to G'Ren. "How are we going to be able to move through time, and what are the specific events we are to protect?"
Waving to her fellow conspirators. "I will let my officers explain those details."
The Trill woman leaned against the bulkhead, her arms crossed as she avoided eye contact with the Captain. Eventually she turned and looked at Rico. "I know that you know your Starfleet History well, don't you Captain?" she asked simply. Her arms remained crossed, and she continued to lean against the bulkhead. "Tell me, what do you know of the USS Enterprise, registry, NCC 1701?"
A puzzled scowl showed as he looked quickly to his XO and back to the Trill. "Oh history is no different that yours. Ways ask something you already know?"
G'Ren interjected. "Time is fluid and there are others seeking to alter the past to their benefit. We need to ensure nothing has already been altered while we were outside of space-time. Please answer the question."
Shrugging he nodded and answered the question. "Well depending how long you have that can be a long answer but to hit the high points... Commanded first by Christopher Pike then by James Kirk. Both conducted significant missions of exploration. Several key events took place under both but the more impactful events like the Oganian Peace Treaty, taking place under Kirk. After completing a 5 year mission, the ship was refit and launched ahead of schedule and was destroyed shortly after that launch. Did I pass?"
"Yes, but we have intelligence that there are Temporal Agents working on the Enterprise." She paused for a brief moment. "Their plan is to use the Enterprise to attack Starfleet Headquarters. With it being the only ship in the area, it will do a lot of damage to Earth's cities and population before anyone can respond."
Aiden frowned at the account. His lips formed a "wow" but he remained silent for now.
Sazanka paused again for a moment. "We need you to destroy the ship as history records it. To prevent them from altering the timeline."
"We need to what!?" Aiden asked, this time he did speak
Rico spoke up to answer his XO's question. "Ok so according to your information, another group with time traveling capabilities wants to capture the Enterprise in order to attack Earth. According to history, the only thing that came out of that wormhole was debris...so if anything other that debris emerges, you need us to destroy it. Correct?"
G'Ren looked to her colleagues. The memory alterations had taken hold...they had never been this close to success but they and to be sure. "That exactly what we need you..." Right on cue another of her crew appeared.
"Captain. we have a problem."
G'Ren was handed a padd and upon seeming to have read it issued a command. "Raise temporal shields and extend them around the Phoenix."
Rico stood.
"Captain Montoya. It seems we need you to do more that one task." Handing him the padd.
Looking at he information himself he paced slightly. This was no rogue, but had the appearance of a muti-front coordinated operation. The list was extensive no longer was it the commandeering of the second Enterprise but now included encounters with the Borg, multiple events with Klingons, Romuluans, and even the Dominion. All redundant efforts to cover any failure of any failure of an attempt to alter a earlier point in time. Captain G'Ren's higher headquarters wanted the Phoenix to deal with three events while other ships were requited in other eras to deal with other threats.
Again Rico looked to his XO, as he returned the padd. He hated trying to deal with temporal mechanics and paradoxes. Either trying to wrap his mind around it all or getting knocked out by their beam was giving him a headache. "So how are we going to be able to move through time?"
Shazaran was inspecting her claws, as she got bored with all the talking and the fact that they had to explain the basics of something they couldn't begin to fathom. "We made some modifications to your deflector, which will allow you create a spaticotemporal vortex and .... phew..... off you go," she said making a waving motion with her hand.
As everyone spoke, Dalmot stood off to the side, trying his level best to seem friendly. At least, as friendly as his species usually was. He quiet demeanor could best be likened to that of a Klingon warrior. Of course, in their time, his people had eliminated all of the Klingon filth in the entire galaxy.
Aiden stood up as well. He could not sit still for this long, even less so when he was agitated. "Why did you choose us?'"
"As I mentioned earlier our time ships are not equipped for offensive action, and even if it were the risk of contamination is too high. Our technology is too advanced to be risked loosing in the past. You class of ship has the power to face almost any threat in your time frame let alone anything in the past, not to mention your cloaking capabilities."
Rico was looking out the portal at his ship slowly nodding his head. With an exhale he turned, "Let's get to work."
Aiden pursed his lips as he studied the people from the future. He disliked all of them and disliked the mission. "Just to make something clear. I will be taking my orders from you, Captain, not from anyone else," he said to Rico.
“Good. I remember sitting in the Academy temporal and historical classes, wondering what Captain Archer must have felt when having to go into those temporal situations blind Guess we are about to find out.”
* - Most of the other events involving Kirk, or other members of Kirk's crew, still took place but simply involved other Starfleet officers.
Captain Ricardo Montoya
CO
Lt COmdr Aiden MacMahon
XO
Antagonist NPCs:
G'Ren
- played by Montoya
Delmot Cree-soon
- played by El-Altaa
Shazaran
Played by MacMahon
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