Dissecting the Future (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 30 Jan 2024 @ 7:01pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Lieutenant JG Zara Ghemora & Ensign Amanda Turell & Petty Officer 1st Class Gabriel Stark & Petty Officer 1st Class Lysander Octavio

3,006 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 1, Conference Room
Timeline: MD 01, 1554 hrs

[ON]

A warm and steaming mug of raktajino was clasped between Commander Morgan Tarin's palms while she stood patiently in Galileo's conference room awaiting her investigative team's arrival. The previous contentious briefing had left a sour taste in her mouth, not only because of the situation her crew now found themselves in and the dire, dystopian future, but also because now experienced a rare feeling of helplessness. She'd been instructed how to prevent this future from occurring, but not why. Could going back in time and changing a single decision prevent her from making another similarly fatal decision weeks later? Years later? It was an overwhelming feeling which perturbed her in the most intense way.

Five small silver PADDs were laid out on the large table, one in front of a corresponding chair. Tarin didn't fully trust this future Saalm quite yet, but the reality of their situation was indisputable. They were 25 years into the future and without proper planning and preparation, they would be at a severe disadvantage should they encounter any hostile forces...Klingon, Romulan, or even Federation. She brought her mug to her lips and took a hearty sip of the caffeinated Klingon beverage. It was going to be a long day and an even longer night.

Lysander always made an effort to arrive a little early to briefings and his duties. His parents had taught him that time was money and on time was late, and they were lessons he took to heart. It was an easy win, and he knew it typically gave a good impression. The doors slid open and he stepped inside, immediately noticing he was alone with the captain, for a moment at least. It was a rare opportunity to make a personal introduction.

He immediately stood to attention. Appearences were everything, and cultivating a certain reputation was how he operated. "Petty Officer Octavio, sir," he gave a respectful nod by way of a salute, "Reporting for duty."

Having left not long after Lysander did Amanda was next to arrive, she had remained quiet in the briefing as was expected of a lowly security ensign though the revelation that in a few years time they would all be dead had drawn a surprised gasp out of her. "Captain." she said proudly as the door closed behind her.

A couple of minutes later, Gabriel moved in right on time and greeted the group as he headed for a seat. He'd seen Aria off to the transporter room first, promising her a full report of what was discussed in her absence. He noted with mild confusion that their deputy was also missing though, but remained silent as he settled in his chair.

"At ease," instructed Tarin who observed the three arrivals, nodding to each then gesturing to the ones still standing to take a chair and sit. "We're on a tight schedule according to Rear Admiral Saalm, so let's get started immediately. It's going to be a long afternoon and full evening, so make sure you hydrate and get some food in you if you start feeling fatigued." The captain then paused and frowned, wondering where the new Cardassian security deputy was.

Ghemora had not meant to be the last one to arrive, especially as she was now the acting senior Security officer on the Gal, but she'd gotten lost in researching the numerous protocols and precedents that had been set in regards to temporal incidents, such as the crew found itself in, but found there to be a true lack of anything specific besides terribly broad language and limited historical reports. By the time she'd noticed the time, the deputy had rushed to check in on T'Paaru, ensuring both petty officer and detainees were well situated, before making her way to the conference room.

When the door whooshed open, Ghemora paused in silence as she took note of everyone else already present and seated before she found the nerve to step in, "Apologies, captain, for my tardiness. Conducted some final checks to be able to assure you the security of the ship and crew is well in hand so we can focus on this assignment." The Cardassian officer had been stiff as she spoke, but once done, looked momentarily confused as she sought a seat at the table behind the last, unclaimed seat behind a silver PADD. Glancing at it a moment, but not daring to touch it yet, Ghemora's gaze moved to Tarin as she awaited instructions.

"Good of you to make it, lieutenant," the captain greeted the slightly-tardy woman more-so with relief of her arrival rather than contempt. "Have a seat. It's going to be a long day and evening for all of us." Tarin then moved to sit at the head of the table between both sides of security personnel, and picked up her PADD.

"This," she wiggled the small, silver administrative device in the air, "contains a copy of Starfleet's most current strategic, tactical and intelligence operations reports as of January 2417, approximately four months ago before Galileo-B traveled outside the transmission range of the Federation's subspace relay network. Each of you have a copy and this information was provided to us directly from Rear Admiral Saalm." Tarin then set her PADD down and retrieved her mug of raktajino to take a slow sip. "I assume by now you've all been briefed on our 'circumstances'," she continued. "Whether or not we're here by coincidence or chance, or whether or not we agree with this violation of the Temporal Prime Directive, doesn't matter anymore. This ship - Galileo-A - is presently in hostile territory no longer controlled by Starfleet. If we expect to survive these coming days here in the 25th century until we can return to our own time, we need to fully understand the political, strategic and tactical landscape we're in. That means reviewing and assessing fleet power strengths, new starship and weaponry design schematics, fleet movements, combat tactics, patrol zones, advancements in cloaking technology...everything and anything in these reports that can give our starship an edge when we're likely out-classed by 25 years of technology upgrades. Understood?"

Gabriel nodded his understanding, because he understood what she wanted. However, he didn't see how they could find any kind of an edge over technology 25 years more advanced than their own. They struggled enough when they were under fire in their own time with their small, science oriented, understaffed ship. And the crew that had been onboard since being sent out to Regula I hadn't had a chance to rest and refresh for several months. All their weaknesses from their own time would only have followed them through to this one. He only hoped the Praxis didn't decide to join their compatriots of this time, or they'd be dead in the water before they'd even started. Truth was, they only stood a chance with them at their side.

Ghemora gave he PADD sitting in front of her only a slight glance before returning her gaze to the captain. When it became clear that no one else wanted to step up to take the lead, the deputy decided it was on her to open up the discussion, even before they dived into the future information. "To be honest, captain, given what was discussed in the prior brief by Admiral Saalm, if we are engaged by any of the 'threats' in this time, we will have nothing to offer up in terms of defense.

"This…'time' is dominated by an alliance of two factions that have spent most of their spacefaring history to develop ships built for combat and war. Since probably before they actual first strike, both the Romulans and Klingons would have building intelligence and tactics to defeat Starfleet vessels, all of which would have twenty-five years of advancements we lack. Frankly, without even needing to glance at the intel, I can confidently assume they would already known how to defeat any countermeasures we can come up with due to our…antiquated, by comparison, systems.

"Our only advantage is our current location," Ghemora paused to bring up a starchart in the center of the conference table before continuing. "Even as it was before, we are still located well outside of what would be normal operational space, even in terms of this war. Unless the Klingons or Romulans have access to transwarp technology with a nod nearby or have developed something faster than warp, we are still located at least a couple of weeks away from any tactically significant area. That seems to be our only apparent tactical advantage at the moment."

"I agree with the Lieutenant." Amanda began to speak. "Even before 25 years of technology advancement this ship was hardly a match for a contemporary Klingon or Romulan warship even with the Galileo-B alongside us. Our best chance to survive right now is to avoid hostile ships."

The ensign's agreement reminded the Cardassian of another vital note. "The only advantage Starfleet has ever had over major hostile forces is our sensors technology. Given our technological advancements, even in relation to our time, that may be an avenue we should focus on," Ghemora added.

Lysander allowed the officers discussion to wash over him. He didn't need his racial penchant for empathy to tell that his fellow officers were concerned about the prospects of the Galileo in these hostile times. The ship was barely equipped for a battle with a freighter, and would probably end up smoked by a scout of any hostile power if they were found. They were underdogs. But who didn't love an underdog? He'd have to turn this mission into a holonovel once it was over.

Leaning forward Lysander finally made his presence known within the conversation. He couldn't pass up this opportunity to make a good impression. "Our sensors may give us a crucial edge indeed," he began, giving the Cardassian a pleasant look, "But we should not underestimate how useful our size is. If we need to hide surely we could find a reasonably busy asteroid field, and land on the surface of one that's made of whatever metal is most likely to confuse enemy sensors."

"Excellent idea, Mr. Octavio," Ghemora complimented the petty officer giving him a glancing nod before turning her attention back to the captain. "Remaining undetected and not drawing attention to ourselves or this sector will probably be our best tactical strategy, as long as the temporal event's emissions were only locally spread." The deputy didn't want them to overlook the fact that such events often were quite noticeable, even from very far away.

The captain's sharp hazel eyes shifted across each of the gold-collared crew members as they spoke and attempted to identify the most pertinent strengths their planetary survey vessel possessed. "Even in the 24th century, the Mark II Nova-class was equipped with the most advanced starship sensor systems within the fleet," Tarin agreed. "If we can determine what to look for and where - and pursue early-detection-and-evade tactics - then our chances of survival go up. Even more so if we can reduce our OODA loop." Her attention focused on the holographic stellar cartography map the DSEC had displayed at the center of the table, then she shook her head with frustration. "But this sector of space appears mostly unchanged from 2392, which means there are no nearby stellar bodies or nebulae. We're at least several days travel from the nearest asteroid field and Galileo certainly isn't the fastest vessel in the fleet. We can't simply cut and run from Galileo-B and our crew members over there and leave them to fend for themselves if we encounter a hostile force." It was a difficult situation they were faced with, one which didn't offer many traditional avenues to play to their strengths.

Ghemora spoke up first, "Then let's analyze what we have and focus on what countermeasures we can take to leave as little of a footprint as we can to be detected. We should disable any remote systems' auto-connect and stick to short-range comms between the three vessels. It would probably be a good start."

The DSEC then turned her gaze at the ensign, "Turell, we should split the intel in two. I'll take the Romulan with Mr. Stark, and you can head up the Klingon with Mr. Octavio. While I don't doubt they've been translated, sometimes there are little things that the Universal Translator misses when it comes to context and colloquialisms that may help us. Agreed?"

Gabriel lifted a delicate eyebrow when he realised that she was waiting for agreement, nodding and motioning a hand towards Ghemora in a way that indicated he'd do whatever he was given.

"Alright." Amanda said, she put the Padd she had been glancing through that had some Romulan information on closer to Stark and picked up a different one.

Lysander flashed a smile at Turell, then glanced back to Ghemora, "Happily, Lieutenant."

The Cardassian then turned her attention back to the captain, "Sir, we may want to bring in a sensors specialist to assist. While we can make recommendations, they are going to be able to look at the technical data with a much better understanding than us. If all three ships can run 'dark' until we're ready to be transported back to our time, we might be able to hide in place. Space is massive, by comparison, so even with the three of us, it would be like trying to locate a single grain of sand on all of Vulcan."

Tarin didn't look up from her PADD to reply, her attention now intently focused on Galileo-B's technical specifications while simultaneously reading and listening. "Petty Officers Arij and Minodora are still on board." She glanced up then subtly nodded to Ghemora with approval before considering her other suggestion. "If we place our starships in reduced-power mode and minimize our EM signatures, we'll also be sacrificing our sensor advantage and early-warning capabilities. Space is big, but assuming what Admiral Saalm said during the briefing is accurate, generating this temporal anomaly was the equivalent of trying to smuggle a tribble into the Great Hall on Qo'noS."

Caught off guard by the example, Ghemora started, "That..," before thoughtfully pondering it a moment before continuing, "...actually doesn't sound that difficult," if her memories of others' stories could be trusted.

...After a few minutes of silently reading, Ghemora let out a slight hum in the affirmative, but didn't glance up as she informed, "As I suspected would be the case: the Romulans have used the Klingons 'honor' and desire for 'glory to lure them into being the primary vanguard of much of their invasion of the Federation systems."

Setting down the PADD she continued, "It has been ensured that, if the alliance should fail, the Klingons will find themselves outnumbered thanks to the losses they have suffered in their quest for conquest. The Romulans have seemingly allowed them to claim more worlds, but show support by providing 'security' to major stellar travel lanes and through control of captured sensors stations," Ghemore explained, probably unnecessarily for the others.

Gabriel looked up from his padd and across to Ghemora at the analysis, thinking it over with a deep breath. "I don't know..." he said quietly, shaking his head lightly. "No, I mean...what you say is right, but...it tends not to end well when people underestimate the Klingons' cunning. From their track record, I wouldn't be surprised if they're fully aware that they're being manipulated...and don't care. Because it gets them into position for what *they* really want."

Ghemora lowered the PADD in her hands and glared slightly at Stark. "Don't mistake 'arrogance' for 'cunning'," she reminded him in a subtle display of her prejudices towards Klingons before returning to her reading.

"Looks like the Klingon shipyards have been busy." Amanda remarked. "They finally retired the B'rel bird of prey, and put out nearly a dozen new classes over the last 20 years."

"Wars drives innovation," Lysander mused, "I've seen two bit backwaters develop into the cutting edge due to conflict with a neighbouring world. If there's one thing I know about Klingons its that they rely on conflict to push their tech. Peace strangles them." He'd spent a lot of time working on Klingon strategy with the admiralty. He hadn't thought much about it at the time, but perhaps they knew something he didn't? Until now at least. "I'm simply baffled that the Klingons were able to produce anything half as good as the Federation, assuming they scaled up to full production. Perhaps it's the case that they just went for quantity over quality... Or someone in Starfleet dropped the ball."

Not looking up from her PADD, Ghemora added, "Could be as simple as a result of the early stages of the new Klingon-Romulan alliance. Romulans have always held a technical and intelligence advantage over their neighbors. If they had given these specifications to the Klingons as a show of non-aggression, it would have bolstered the Klingons' ability to develop and produce much more advanced warships."

Finally lowering her PADD and glancing to properly address the others, "But Mr. Octavio is correct: war drives innovation. The Defiant-class is a direct result of the Dominion War, and I do not doubt that the Klingons would have capitalized on any captured technology in the years that followed, eventually leading us to where they find themselves now," the DSEC agreed before returning to her analysis of the Romulan intelligence.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Zara Ghemora
Deputy Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

Ensign Amanda Turell
Security Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Mimi]

PO1 Gabriel Stark
Security Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Blake]

PO1 Lysander Octavio
Security Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Vala]

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