A Face From the Past

Posted on Tue May 23, 2017 @ 6:54am by Lieutenant JG Rhe'la Daughter of the Forty-ninth House

773 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Rumours
Location: Engineering Lab 1
Timeline: MD 5 1700

ON:

A portal subspace field dampener.

Such a technology was as hard to come by as it was illegal to possess on the station. The mere thought that such a device had been brought aboard and utilized to blind the sensors long enough for a murder to be committed...

It sent a chill down Rhe'la's spine all the way to the tip of her tail. This time it was an aide to the Ferengi ambassador. What if it was her next time? The murderer could have been someone with a personal grudge against Nazl, but it could just as easily have been one of the human supremacists that had been agitating on the station since before she arrived.

But it wasn't her job to investigate either of those situations. Hers was to figure out how such a device could be built to a small enough scale to be concealable, while still being powerful enough to disrupt the internal sensors in the turbolift.

So far her attempts had failed to bear fruit. The lab was strewn with prototypes that were either unable to project a field more than a few centimeters, or were too unwieldy to be man portable. Or, at least, HU-man portable.

"OK... so if I interlace here... and interface the coil assembly with the power cell..." Her gloved hands deftly manipulated the small tools as she maneuvered through the latest prototype. This one was barely larger than the power cell it was built around; utilizing micro circuitry on a level usually reserved for medical devices.

"I figured I'd find you here. Engineers do so love their labs."

The sudden voice caused Rhe'la to jump, her tools clattering to the floor. "Who... wha... what are you doing down here? This area is restricted! And..." She paused when she realized the individual in question was one of her countrymen. She didn't recognize the Zarnac before her. Or, at least, she didn't think she did.

Slipping the magnifying glasses she had been wearing onto her brow, she squinted at the newcomer. "Wh... who ARE you?"

An'ta felt a warmth in his heart he hadn't felt in years. This was the cousin he remembered. The one who he'd lost so many years before. He felt like he was back in his younger days all over again. "I think you know who I am, Lieutenant. Or should I say... cousin."

Hopping down from her stool, Rhe'la stepped hesitantly toward the male. He COULD be a cousin; she did have a fairly large family, after all. But as she got closer and caught his scent, her eyes went from narrowed to wide. No - it couldn't be...

"An'ta? Th... th... the one... from the future?" He nodded, and now she REALLY didn't know how to react. "What.. are you doing here? On DS5?"

He'd expected that question. "Grandfather has seen fit to appoint me as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, from the Forty-ninth House to Deep Space 5; with the stated mission to secure a home for our people on Pangaea, and secure alliances with the other races. He isn't entirely convinced that the Cardassians can be trusted to abide by the deal my current timeline counterpart made with Ambassador Turven."

"That's... understandable. Ambassador Turven has a reputation for being a bit shady. But why wouldn't Grandfather tell me you were coming? Why wouldn't YOU tell me you were coming?" Rhe'la asked, her tone becoming ever more terse.

"I asked him not to. You're busy; clearly - based on all of this tech strewn everywhere. My work doesn't need to interrupt yours. But once I got here... I needed to see you with my own eyes. To see for myself that you were still alive." His throat tightened as he looked at her - as young, vibrant, and irrational as ever. "Drakt and I blamed ourselves for not being able to save you. Every day... for almost twenty years. My being here is as much about protecting our people as it is saving you. To put right what once went wrong."

Right at that second the station went to yellow alert, drawing both of them out of the moment. "I... need to get to engineering. Something might be wrong - something IS wrong. And you can't be down here anyway."

"Go. I'll be in touch." An'ta answered, his emotions getting the better of him. Stepping out of the lab, he allowed Rhe'la to lock the doors behind her, then watched her skitter away.
OFF

Lt. JG Rhe'la, Daughter of the Forty-ninth House
Chief Engineering Officer
Deep Space 5

An'ta, Son of the Forty-ninth House (NPC)
Ambassador of the Forty-ninth House

 

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