A unique perspective

Posted on Tue Jul 2, 2019 @ 6:56pm by Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Captain Maritza Soran

2,493 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Doors of Perception
Location: Soran's ready room
Timeline: MD09 08:37 hrs

[ON]

It was turning into a strange day, and it wasn't even lunchtime. Returning to her office with Lieutenant Tessaro, she moved on to deal with strange happenings part two. Indicating the chair in front of her desk, she moved to the replicator. "Coffee, cream, sweetner." she barked at it. "Do you want anything?"

One didn't normally meet with the Commander in jeans and a t-shirt, but these weren't usual circumstances. After dealing with Lt Haines, Soran had asked Annora to stick around. That was how she found herself in the office and out of uniform.

"Coffee and cream, no sugar. Thank you."

Soran brought the two coffees to the desk. "Since we seem to be getting visitors, I'm going to be making decisions about their future. About whether or not I let people stay in a place that is completely different. That they becomes lost in reality, or," she raised an eyebrow at Annora, "in time..."


"And without a Temporal Investigation agent, I'm the closest to an expert you have."

Annora picked up the offered coffee mug.
"Although I'm not sure this qualifies, as they come from the same year but another dimension."

"As you said, closest thing I have. You were stranded two hundred years out of time. Knowing what you know now, was it hard to adapt? Would you have gone back, if you could?"

"The answer to the first question is certainly a yes. When we got the news that we had traveled forward in time almost two centuries, I'm pretty sure the entire crew was in shock. There were a few rookies on the crew, but a majority had served during the Romulan War in way or another."

She paused to collect her thoughts.
"We had survived that only to be lost in an anomaly. Starfleet and the Federation still existed, but weren't the same organizations we'd left behind. Our Starfleet was still transitioning from a war time footing, and the Federation was brand new. There are still times I have to remind myself the political landscape has changed from what I knew. Am I making sense here Ma'am?"

Martiza sipped her coffee. "You do. Please go on."


"As for wanting to go back. If we had initially been offered the chance, I don't think Captain Uberti would have need to poll the crew. The answer would have been a resounding yes. We all had lives to get back to. Now, the answer's a bit more complicated. According to history, we disappeared shortly after our mission to New Kleva and that was it. The Sundsvall was a brand new starship that presumed destroyed with only one success to their name. If we had disappeared during the War, the answer would more likely be a yes. I wouldn't care what history said, there was a mission left unfinished."

Mariza nodded. It was a tenant she understood. "And how do you think you would have managed. If you couldn't go back, and there was a job to finish?"

"I'd do everything I could to find a way back. That would be the focus. After several years I might slow down some, but would still be looking for ways home."

There was little hesitation in her response.

"Regardless of the damage to the timeline? Your knowledge of this time could be extremely powerful."

Annora sipped her coffee as she considered a response. She was fairly confident her answers wouldn't get her in trouble. Plus, Annora was sure she knew where the Commander was going with the conversation.

"I have the advantage of staying in my own reality, and one where things more or less worked out for the best. The Romulan War was won and Starfleet and the Federation survived through the ages. If we lost the war, one ship likely wouldn't make a difference. However you'd have a hard time convincing the crew of that. If nothing else, the survivors' guilt alone would be a compelling reason. Our visitors are convinced they need to return to the fight."

"Yes they are." Maritza wasn't surprised. Someone who just gave up didn't take part in a war, then wake up two hundred years later and get straight back to a life of service despite everything they'd ever known being gone. It was the grit that Marines were famous for.

But was willingness to fight the same thing as facing certain, pointless death? She put down her coffee. "But that's just got a lot more complicated. I can't rule out that people will be waiting for them on the other side. Based on this mornings conversation, not so much with open arms, as 'open fire'."

"Because of the Vulcans. That was a surprise, but not completely unexpected."

While Annora hadn't met the latest travelers, she had read the memo on their arrival. It did complicate matters a bit more, with the Vulcans claiming legal jurisdiction over the first group.

"The way I see it, we have three options. One, we hand the first group over to the Vulcans. Two, we let them make the return trip separately from the Vulcans. Three, we claim we can't send our visitors back and keep them here in our reality. None of them will make all sides happy. As for the risk associated with sending them back, they didn't seem too concerned about that when myself and Lt Haines debriefed them. If that's a risk they're willing to take, I don't see that being a factor."

"Back then, they were only being chased, now it looks like they're going to be caught. I could be sending them to an execution." She swirled her coffee around in her cup. "Did anyone bring up the temporal Prime Directive when you first came through, and looked to go back?"


"We didn't really have a choice, the decision was made for us. Partly because the anomaly collapsed behind us. On the return trip, I spent some time talking with my counterpart on the Kazanga. Commander Huxley told me once they realized we weren't a modern starship, they contacted the local Admiralty for further instruction."

She didn't understand all the details of the anomaly, but trusted the analysis of both Lieutenant Lese and Commander Zh'vanet.

"I'm told the Temporal Prime Directive was something they had to consider, even before a decision was made. The crew of the Kazanga was careful not to reveal the fact we had traveled forward in time. If they had sent us back, they would have had to find a way to do so without contaminating the timeline."

Annora set down her cup.
"The Temporal Prime Directive forbids Starfleet directly interfering with history. Should we find ourselves interacting with the past we should do everything possible to avoid paradoxes or altering history. As our visitors are from the same year, but a different reality, do we have to worry about the timeline? What does the regular Prime Directive say about these matters?"

"It would call it an internal matter, like with the Klingon civil war twenty years ago. I would have to stay neutral on that basis." Soran stared at her coffee, hoping there would be answers in the swirls of cream that hadn't quite mixed in. "I could use a dedicated JAG right now." Maritza thought again. " A hypothetical: If you were told you weren't allowed back, due to knowing too much, but your anomaly was still there how much resistance would you have put up?"


When the Prime Directive shifted from non interference with primate societies to non interference everywhere, Annora didn't know. Neither aspect existed in her time, although they were cautioned about visiting non warp societies.
"A Columbia class ship wouldn't stand up long against most modern ships, but I'm fairly confident we'd get back or die trying. I'd like to thing we'd avoid firing on another Starfleet ship, but in the heat of the moment it might have happened. One could argue that we're already involved in the matter. We're housing both parties on the station, one has asked help to return home and the Vulcans have essentially asked for extradition."

"I can't agree to that. It's probably a death sentence. And I cannot arm the Andorian and his friends either." The horns of her dilemma, how close to 1 was she prepared to let the possibility of certain death become? "I could keep them here by force..." but could she look herself in the mirror afterward?


"We certainly could." That was an option, but not one she wanted to enforce. "But for how long? Neither side will willingly agree to stay on the station. About that only option with that would be to indefinitely keep them in the brig. Do we know enough about the portals to send them back separately and to a different location in the same alternate universe?"

"Everything we know, which isn't much, says each portal goes to a fixed point in time and space. They will both come out in the same place." Maritza pinched the bridge of her nose. "Chances are, the Andorian will walk straight back into an armed guard."

That idea was out which wasn't a surprise. It was a long shot to begin with. Setting aside the idea of a portal to another dimension, Annora tried to approach the concept from a purely tactical standpoint.

"According to their own testimony, the first group was being pursued by the Vulcans. In a list ditch escape attempt, they fled into the caves underneath their version of Risa. Somehow that network connected to our portal network on the planet. Several hours later, the Vulcans arrive through the same portal."

She closed her eyes to help visualize the scenario. The Commander was right, that without weapons things looked grim for the first group. "I'm guessing there's no way of knowing for certain if other Vulcans are on the surface. We could ask our visitors, but is there's no guarantee they'll tell the truth. Otherwise, I'd suggest sending them through first while finding a way to stall the Vulcans."

Maritza tapped her fingers against the side of her coffee cup. Annora was both a qualified Security officer, and she had been a soldier during a much less civilized time. "Assume the worst. How would you do it? Get them through a potentially hostile ambush." She hesitated a moment. "Assuming permission to do whatever it takes to get all of our people home safe"

Having been given a theoretical blank check changed the course of the discussion.
"If I know my troops are walking into an ambush, and there's no choice but to go forward? You have to place your trust in their equipment and training. Knowing where the ambush is set up makes things easier, but we don't have the luxury of that assurance. It's doubtful they have much in the way of formal training, but they've survived this long so their skill set isn't of much concern."

Annora watched the Commander for a reaction.
"From a tactical standpoint, they don't stand a chance without weapons. At a minimum I'd recommend a rifle and pistol for each member. Ideally you would want extra power cells, one or two med kits, and a few more pistols. Grenades are useful, but for the enclosed environment of a cave network they might be a bit much. A scanner or two might help locate the enemy forces, although there's always the risk of them being jammed or fooled."

Soran thought it over. "Doesn't sound like a lot of fire power if there's a nasty ambush waiting for you." She didn't want to hand over any technology. Who knew what consequences that could have. But not enough weapons would be worse, and would have the added problem of Federation tech ending up in the hands of an oppressive regime.

"We're talking about six resistance fighters, basically a small squad. Even if we wanted to, I don't suggest loading them down with equipment. They need enough to fight their way out of the caves and get to safety. In my opinion, staying relatively light and mobile is their best hope for survival."

The option to send in the Marines occurred to her, but Annora quickly dismissed it. Even dismissing the Prime Directive, there were too many risks involved. It still seemed Soran was leaning towards helping the rebels but had reservations.

"Am I correct that this conversation is off the record?"

Soran nodded. Any decisions would be hers, and she didn't want her advisors holding back information she might find useful. "Entirely confidential."

With that confirmation, Annora gave her most controversial opinion of the situation. "As I understand it, the original intent of the Prime Directive was to avoid interference in pre-warp societies. Both sides in this conflict appear to have a form of FTL propulsion, therefore one might argue the Prime Directive doesn't apply. Even if we argue it does, we're on a station full of civilians who are exempt. The only way to give the first group a fighting chance is to supply them. If they get in touch with a third party that takes pity on them, so be it."

She shrugged. "It keeps us mostly uninvolved and when we can assure Starfleet Command there was no Federation technology on their person when they left. You could look at it as splitting hairs or as helping restore some balance."

It was using the letter of the law against the spirit of the law. And the Klingons had no such hesitation in getting involved. For example. She thought of Charg for a moment. "I think I would like you to prepare me a briefing on any elements of the station population that you think could do with some closer scrutiny. Any questionable activities around personal arms for example. Notable individuals with dubious incomes, and so on."


With a smirk, Annora finished her drink.

"That can be arraigned. I can have it on your desk by lunch time. In the meantime, what do we do with the Vulcans? We can try and stall them. I believe filing for extradition can be quite the lengthy process if we go by the book. After all, we don't have any treaties with alternate universes. I can have Petty Officer Klinger work on that with Crewman T'meng."

It was Soran's turn to smirk. She liked how Tessaro thought. "I think they're going to be trouble.. And you're right. we don't have any treaties. Therefore we should definitely make sure all our t's are crossed and our i's dotted. I'm sure your people are extremely thorough. Painstaking even."

Setting down her empty coffee mug, Annora nodded. "I'll impress upon them the importance of a thorough job. Anything else Ma'am?"

Maritza kept a carefully straight face at the comment, even though she cheered the sentiment in her own thoughts, "Thank you, that's all for now."


[OFF]

Commander Maritza Soran
CO
DS5

Lt Annora Tessaro
Chief Security Officer
DS5

 

RSS Feed