Debriefing alternate reality (Part I of II)
Posted on Thu Mar 28, 2019 @ 10:21pm by Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin & Commander Caleb Ryan & Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Lieutenant Jason Haines
1,501 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Doors of Perception
Location: Guest quarters
Timeline: MD06 11:15 am
[ON]
The last twenty-four hours had been nonstop. With the actions around Raddon, the newcomers had had to take a back seat. They had been given comfortable quarters, permission to explore the public spaces with an escort, and then everything had gone nuts and so it was only now that Annora and Jason were able to devote time to questioning the new comers.
Aside from a standard hand phaser and tricorder, Annora left the rest of her gear at the office. She was talking with temporal refugees, not interrogating a suspected criminal. Plus, she felt confident enough in her hand to hand combat skills should they prove hostile. Annora paused just around the corner.
"I've been on the receiving end of a similar debrief, but never thought I'd be giving one."
Jason nodded and said, "Yeah, I've never been point on one. I've been an official recorder, so I have witnessed a couple first hand. It is going to be a touch tricky to validate any information, as it looks like they all have been through trauma and we don't have anyone from the other group to present any conflicting data. Truth is always from a certain perspective. After all, the Maquis believed in what they were doing and their actions were coming from a certain perspective of truth."
She chuckled. "I guess that makes us the two best qualified people on the station for this assignment, barring any actual agents from Temporal Investigations. Let's go see what their version of the truth is and go from there."
Approaching the guest quarters, she nodded to the guards in place. "Morning. Everything quiet?"
Crewman Zalar nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
"Glad our guests are behaving. Lieutenant Haines and I have some questions for them. If we need help, we'll be sure to yell."
Entering the room, Annora introduced herself. "Good Morning. I'm Lieutenant Tessaro, head of station security. I believe you've already met Lieutenant Haines."
Jason was curious as to whether or not Annora was suspicious of him given her comment about Temporal Investigations, so it took him a moment to register the fact that she had mentioned him.
"Good morning," Jason said with a smile. "I hope you had a relaxing sleep and enjoyed the food, as much as one can enjoy replicated food."
The Andorian had been pouring out drinks from a jug that was on the table when they entered. As Annora and Jason were admitted, the group all exchanged looks and moved slightly closer together. "Your replicator has far better choices than we're used to. It's a long time since we've had redbat, replicated or otherwise." She hesitated for a moment. "Thank you."
Annora wasn't familiar with redbat, but assumed it was the drink in the jug. "Glad you're enjoying the replicators. Have you had a chance to explore the station?"
"No." The woman looked around, blushing purple. "To be honest with you, we've been on the run, always looking over our shoulders for months, years some of us. Hot showers, hot food, warm, soft beds. I think the luxury got a little better of us. We are only just starting to think about seeing more of your station."
"I get it. It can be hard to turn off the fight or flight response when it's been a part of your routine for so long. The station amenities will still be around when you've had time to get settled."
Thankfully for Annora, she had the impending security concerns of the Federation Charter to help occupy her thoughts after the end of hostilities.
"If you don't mind, we'd like to get your perspective on how you ended up traveling through the portals."
Jason had his tricorder recording the conversation, but stood by quietly. He would let the Lieutenant take the lead and he would observe.
Shavias Ch’zath, the male Andorian with the injured antenna and the eye patch who seemed to lead the group sat staring quietly at Annora and Jason. He sipped his drink before he spoke. “I first would like to know the status of my injured,” he said. “And when they will be returned to us.” He was loathe to let anyone separate from the group for too long. There were entirely too many Vulcans he had seen.
"That's a question for Medical, one that you could have asked at any time. I'll see what I can do."
Walking over to the comm panel, Annora punched in her access code. "Sickbay, this is Lieutenant Tessaro. Our recent arrivals are requesting an update on our friends. Any assistance would be appreciated."
There was a pause before the request was acknowledged. Annora waved Shavias over. "You have four minutes to talk with them. Once we're done here you may visit them in person."
“How are my people?” Shavias asked. The medical officer moved the monitor around to he could see.
The Human and the other Andorian raised their hands in greeting. "Hi," the Human said. "You should see this place. It’s amazing. They've got rid of my scars, fixed my broken arm. They've even made an artificial kidney for Th'lann."
The Andorian on screen nodded. "They want me to stay here for a little while longer, make sure it's working. But I feel better already."
The Human butted in again. "They say we can have visitors? Why don't you drop round?"
Sh'vet leaned over her partner’s shoulder. "We'll be with you soon. These Starfleet," she said the word carefully, like tasting some strange new food, "want to talk to us for a bit first."
"Well, don't be too long. Maybe Shavias can get a new eye?"
The screen went blank and Sh'vet looked at the Starfleet officers. "So what do you want to know?"
Shavias nodded with satisfaction that his people were being cared for. He turned, putting a possessive and protective arm around Sh’vet as the looked at the Starfleet officers. “Thank you,” he told them. “I will answer your questions.”
"You're welcome, Mr. Shavias. Glad to be of assistance."
It was like she learned in her leadership classes at West Point. Your troops will have more respect for one who ensures their basic needs are taken care of. Shavias' concern was for his friends and comrades in arms.
"Let's start with the basics, try to get a baseline and go from there. What was the date where you came from?"
Sh'vet thought about it. "It’s 702, Andorian calendar. 1969 post Surak." She counted on her fingers. "2393 in human terms. Beyond that, I'm afraid we've lost track."
"No, that's plenty of information. That lines up with our reckoning of time. While you have traversed realities, it is simply a lateral move. There does not appear to be any time travel involved."
She wasn't sure which was worse. Both involved major cultural shifts, but at least in her time the politics and loyalties mostly remained the same.
"You mentioned an armed conflict with the Vulcans. Is this a recent occurrence, or has the conflict been raging for a long time?"
If the two histories matched up at all, she expected the latter answer. Either Captain Archer failed to broker peace between the two races, or he may not have existed at all.
Jason listened carefully and stayed quiet as Annora asked questions. He watched the body language of everyone, not just the speaker. In a group, sometimes people let their guard down to an extent if a leader was speaking. He was willing to take their story at face value as long as he didn't see anything he didn't trust. After all, they were from a much different universe and would most likely at least leave something out of their story.
"The Vulcans have been carving the galaxy up to suit them for hundreds of years. Andoria fought them for years, but we've been all but scattered now. The Cardassians and Klingons seem to be holding the line, but there's a lot of space between those two points."
"Do they have any true allies versus conquered subjects?" Jason asked.
“Humans have been their subjects the longest,” Shavias said, “and very few are in the resistance. The Bajorans eagerly courted the Vulcans if it got them out from under the Cardassians. The Ferengi are happy to provide weapons and trade as long as it keeps the Vulcans on their side of the border.”
"In our universe, Vulcans are highly intelligent and ruled by logic," Jason said. "What about in your universe?"
Shavias laughed uproariously. “Logic?” he asked. “No one ever accused a Vulcan of being logical! They are all passion! Rage and anger and lust! They put Klingons to shame. At least Klingons have honor!”
"What about the Romulans?" Jason asked. "How have they reacted over the years?"
Sh'vet's antennae twitched in confusion. "The who?"
To Be Continued...
Lt Annora Tessaro
Chief of Security
Lt(jg) Jason Haines
Chief Intelligence Officer
Shavias Ch’zath
Andorian revolutionary
Isilde Sh'vet
Resistance Fighter
(NPC by Soran)
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