Pangaea Regained (Part I)

Posted on Tue Apr 29, 2025 @ 4:26am by Commodore T'mpest Michaels & Lieutenant Alanna Wells & Commander Cara Letsul & Lieutenant Liam Blackwood

1,280 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Time After Time
Location: Bag End, Pangaea

ON

As soon as she finished meeting with the senior staff, T'mpest contacted Alanna about a trip to Pangaea. This one was to be done quietly as she wasn't sure what to expect from her first trip. She wanted to see Bag End and the portal complex, and she wanted to have a good aerial view of the planet. However, she wasn't quite sure what, if anything, would happen with the fey. For that reason, she didn't want a Marine escort, and she didn't want security.

She did think she should invite Cara and Liam, so, as soon as she made arrangements with Alanna, she asked the two to meet her in the shuttle bay.

Cara arrived a little bit after T'mpest gave her a call. "Greetings I am very excited to be able to go down to the planet with you. Thank you for the invitation." her eyes alight with excitement.

"I expect it will be routine. At least that is my hope. But I do want to see the state of the colony and the portals for myself." And Bag End, as she was curious to see what Alanna had done with the research facility.

"Routine sounds rather lovely." Cara replied. "And will be nice to meet the chief of science. Have you met him before?" the XO making certain that her clothing didn't look out of place.

Liam stepped into the shuttle bay not long after Cara. Spotting the two women, he walked over, offering T’mpest a respectful nod.

"Apologies if I kept you waiting," he said with a slight grin. "One of the gravimetric sensors decided to act up. Seems like the trick is pretending it doesn’t exist then it suddenly behaves."

His attention shifted to the unfamiliar face beside her. "I don’t think we’ve met. Lieutenant Liam Blackwood, Chief Science Officer. And I’m guessing you’re the XO?"

Of course she has met him. Cara feeling a bit foolish as to her question. For some reason Cara was just not feeling like herself. She should have realized that T'mpest would have already. '"Pleasure to meet you, and yes I am the XO."

“Pleasure’s mine, Commander.” He said warmly.

"Thank you for joining us, lieutenant." T'mpest smiled and inclined her head in greeting. "Alanna will be here shortly."

As if on cue, a shuttle entered the bay and landed not far from the three of them.

T'mpest turned to Cara. "I had a...private meeting with the former and current science chiefs about the planet. What we will see today is strictly confidential. Or most of it is."

The hatch opened at Alanna stepped out. "Your carriage awaits," she said with a grin.

Liam watched the shuttle touch down, a familiar figure emerging as the hatch opened. He smiled as Alanna stepped out.

“You really do know how to make an entrance.” He said.

"It's nice to be able to come and go again. I'll give you an aerial view of the colony as we go in. Today, however, we'll keep to Bag End and the portals. And Bri's garden."

Like T'mpest, Alanna was not wearing her uniform. Neither woman wanted to bring attention to themselves this trip and wearing a uniform was a good way to do just that.

"Let us hope this trip goes well," T'mpest said, following Alanna. "I am not quite sure what to expect from my first visit."

"Neither am I. But we'll find out." Alanna grinned as she entered the shuttle and prepared for takeoff.

T'mpest took the seat next to her. "Do we need permission to leave?"

"No. I said I was picking up scientists to take back to the planet. They know I'm leaving right away." Alanna chuckled. "I just didn't tell them who those scientists were."

Cara gave out a chuckle, this was something she was very happy to be included on. "Don't worry I won't be telling anyone about this, at all." her thoughts went to her secret that she'd not shared with anyone. Her experience with portals. She could feel the anticipation build up inside, her eyes sparking with the thought of what may come about.

When they were seated, Alanna got clearance from the station and headed down to the planet. "A good part of the planet is forbidden, even to fly over. So are the fey ruins. I monitor them, but they're considered dangerous."

"I do not know if the temporal fluctuations have altered that, but we should still keep them marked as forbidden and monitor them." That will fall to you, Alanna."

"Yes, ma'am." She already was, but now she had official authority, which would mean she could be more overt in her monitoring.

"Is there a warning system to let you know if someone comes too close to the buildings?" Cara did want to know as always information is very important to find out.

Liam leaned forward slightly in his seat, glancing out the viewport as the shuttle descended. At Cara’s question, he gave a thoughtful nod before adding his own voice to the conversation.

“If there isn’t, I can help set one up—something subtle, maybe sensor-triggered, tuned to biological signatures or residual energy fields. No alarms, just a quiet ping if someone gets too curious.”

He looked over at Alanna. “Unless you’ve already got something clever in place?”

"The portal complex is monitored and guarded. There are several perimeter alerts in place. Some are for the Marines, some for Starfleet, and some for me personally. I've got a relay system that bounces communications signals around the planet to help me send covert messages and to scramble other communications. It also helps in monitoring. For the forbidden areas, I don't have much as anything we set up there can disappear. The same with any person who tries to explore without permission from the fey."

She looked at Liam. "Did that answer your question?"

Liam listened closely, eyebrows raising slightly at the mention of disappearing equipment and people. He gave a small nod. "Yeah, that answered it. More than I expected, honestly." He paused, thinking it over. "The layered alert system makes sense, especially with everything that's at stake. And the fact that the forbidden zones can wipe out equipment or personnel definitely puts them in the 'look but don’t touch' category."

"Oh, yeah. Captain Soran said there were still some fey on the planet. I take her word for it. Plus, I've seen enough strange things on the planet myself."

"In your estimation, have the temporal ripples stabilized/" T'mpest asked.

"Yes, but the portals themselves aren't working. My hope is that they will, in time," Alanna replied.

T'mpest nodded. "One more question. Do you have proof that Ambassador Turvan and the Cardassians were using the Raddon building on the planet as a headquarters?"

"I have proof that Cardassian communications came from there, yes. I don't know for sure that they were meeting there as I didn't want to risk getting caught."

"Probably a wise precaution. Send me what you have and I will add it to my report to Starfleet." There would be many reports before T'mpest felt that everything was back to normal.

Cara settled back in her seat, trying to keep her excitement under wraps. Though just the fact of things being revealed and she was going to be able to talk to Alanna once they landed, was even more exciting.

(To be continued...)

Commodore T'mpest Michaels
Commander
Deep Space 5

Commander Cara Letsul
Executive Officer
Deep Space 5

Lieutenant Liam Blackwood
Chief Science Officer
Deep Space 5

Lieutenant Commander Alanna Wells
Director of Science and Archaeology
Pangaea

 

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