A Breach in Temporal Accords

Posted on Sun Aug 28th, 2022 @ 9:09pm by Captain Shran dh'Klar

Mission: Time Bandits
Location: USS Washington

Captain Shran lay in his bed, a book placed on the nightstand that he had been reading before going to sleep. The lights were off, the room dark and cool, perfectly normal for an Andorian. Shran was in a deep sleep, but he was still aware of his surroundings despite the deep sleep.

On the bridge, gamma shift was manning stations as the Washington was traveling at low warp. A Vulcan shuttle had docked with the ship only an hour ago, some sort of Vulcan mystic that had been sent for aboard the shuttle. The captain had ordered a security detachment to escort their guest to quarters, though he had informed them to be prepared to be asked to take them straight to T'Plana. The captain was obviously not thrilled having this person aboard the ship, and in truth the same could be said for the officers on gamma shift. Anything that put the captain on edge put them on edge as well.

Shran was deep into his REM cycle when suddenly his antennae twitched and his eyes sprung open. "Computer, lights" he said as he jumped out of bed. The lights illuminated his bedroom and their at the end of his bed, stood what appeared to be a human in a uniform that he was not familiar. Shran pulled a phaser that was concealed in the nightstand and took aim at the stranger, "Who are you and why are you in my quarters?"

The man rose his hands up in a defensive posture, a smirk on his face. "Captain, if I meant to harm you, I would have done so and you could have done absolutely nothing. I am a friend, and I am hear to provide you with critical information."

"I've heard that before. I'm not the trusting sort" Shran replied harshly. He hit the comm panel, "Security to captain's quarters."

"You comm system is disabled captain. We need to talk, and it is best if we do so in private, just me and you. I am friendly captain. My name is one you may know from your family history possibly. You can call me Daniels."

Shran gave him an inquisitive look. "Why would you think that name would mean anything to me?"

"Consider your family history. You ancestor that you are named after, he spoke of his adventures with Captain Archer. Those tales have been passed down in your family, I know they have."

On the bridge, things were becoming even more lively than normal. "We are picking up a distress signal" said Ensign Drake.

"On screen" said Lt Patton.

The view screen came to life, a distressed human appearing on a bridge that was dim and filled with fog. "Help. This is the cargo freighter Asimov. We were attacked by Orion bandits. We have managed to fight them off but have taken critical damage to most of our systems. Engines are down, environmental systems compromised, we have plasma fires all over the ship and additional systems are beginning to fail. We require immediate assistance."

Patton stood from the command chair, "Asimov, this is the USS Washington. We are responding to your distress call. We will be there shortly." He looked to the helm, "Lay in an intercept course and engage at maximum warp."

"Should we wake the captain or Cmdr Grayson?" questioned Drake.

Patton thought for a moment and then sat back down. "Notify sickbay to prepare for possible casualties. We will wake Cmdr Grayson if anything out of the ordinary happens. I don't think we need to panic the senior officers just for a simple distress signal."

In the captain's quarters, the discussion was finally beginning to make sense. "Captain, as we speak you ship is altering course. Your Lt Patton believes he is answering a simple distress call, and as such isn't planning to notify you or Cmdr Grayson. He has no idea that this is actually a trap, and the trap is designed to capture and take over the Washington. This can't be stopped, but what happens afterwards must be stopped for the sake of the timeline."

Shran slumped down onto his bed. "You are a temporal agent. You are that Daniels, the one from the 31st century. Are the potential hijackers from some other faction? If they are I'm going to be very upset, because according to the stories, that Temporal Cold War was supposed to be over."

Daniels smiled. "You are a bit like Capt Archer, do you know that? He didn't care for these sorts of things either. To answer your questions, yes they are another faction, but no, the Temporal Cold War isn't still going, it is in fact over. This is something completely different, a group of rogues. I can't tell you much, but what I can tell you is that in the future from your point of view, Ambassador Spock will finally achieve his goal of reunification between the Vulcan and Romulan people. It happens after a singular event that alters the quadrant forever, only a few years from now, and the event creates a temporal incursion that creates an entirely new timeline. We insulated our timeline from that timeline, but in doing so, we missed something regarding the reunification. Not all of the Romulans were agreeable to it, they simply played along like they were so that they could gain a foothold. For centuries on Vulcan these Romulans worked to find a way to alter the timeline in a way that would benefit them most. The found that in the 31st century, and so they came here and now."

Shran placed his head in his hands and tried to let the frustration pass. "How can something here in the 24th century change everything so drastically?"

"Multiple elements are currently here at one time captain. You currently have a pair of Vulcan in your crew, Shoniara and T'Plana. They are both dealing with medical issues at this time that require the help of a certain Vulcan mystic. The trio in one place is the first part. The mystic is meant to heal them both, and then something of importance happens, something I can't tell you. But these Romulans plan on using these three to alter the timeline through a ancient Vulcan/Romulan ritual, and the Washington is the most powerful ship in the five sectors. No ship that StarFleet has in the area can defeat the Washington because of the special secret upgrades."

Shran let out a long breath of frustration. "Alright, so I'm about to lose control of my ship by Romulan mercenaries from the future who want to use a pair of my crew along with a Vulcan mystic to alter history. So all I need to do is retake my ship and keep them from doing what they plan on doing."

"And you cannot kill any of the Vulcans captain."

"Of course. It would be too easy if I couldn't simply eliminate a big chess piece. Alright, so what next?"

Exit your quarters and make your way to Cmdr Grayson's quarters. You'll have to force your way in, but at least you won't be trapped in your quarters, saving you necessary time. Ayana and Celes will find you shortly after you free Cmdr Grayson, and then it is up to you as to what happens next. I will reappear when I can."

With that Shran quickly put on clothes, the first thing that was available and close was leisure wear, but it would do. He grabbed his phaser and rushed out of his quarters. As the doors closed behind him he heard the door lock. The takeover had begun on the bridge.

On the bridge Patton and Ensign Lynch were the last of the StarFleet personnel alive, though they had been captured. Ensign Malakoff was slumped over Ops, Drake lay dead by the tactical station, and a group of five Romulans were moving into the various stations, one Romulan holding them at disruptor point. "Don't worry human, you had no chance against us."

The Romulan sitting in the command chair looked different than the others, sporting blonde hair rather than the traditional black. "Alter course, take us to Gol Oedan, maximum warp." She placed her hands up to her her lips in a thoughtful manner. "Now we rewrite history, so that the Quadrant always remembers the Romulans, and the family Sela."