Tomorrow's Promise (Part 3 of 4)

Posted on 29 Nov 2023 @ 1:31pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Morgan Tarin & Commander Marisa Wyatt & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant JG Zara Ghemora & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Oliver Sylver & Master Chief Petty Officer Toren Vral

3,368 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 1, Conference Room
Timeline: MD 01, 1420 hrs

Previously, on Tomorrow's Promise (Part 2)...

The rear admiral then answered Ullswater's demand with a firm shake of her head. "I'm afraid it's impossible for us to contact Starfleet." She again procured her PADD then tapped its screen several times before rotating her torso and gesturing back to the conference room's large LCARS monitor. "This region of space is no longer controlled by the Federation. We've lost most of our territory and outposts, and along with them, almost all of our subspace relay network. Any long-range communication sent from this position would take years to reach Tellar and be intercepted five-times-over, and also alert any roaming Klingon and Romulan vessels in this sector to our presence. As the situation currently is, my starship's generation of the temporal anomaly which brought you here will soon be detected by any hostile forces within the vicinity. Our time here is short, and if we cannot repair Galileo-B in time, then all of this will have been in vain. All of our futures will end here."

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Saalm set her PADD down on the table then continued to brief all of those assembled. "This was a one-way trip for us...for myself and Commanders Wyatt and Alexander and all of my crew," she revealed with a severe aura of resignation in her features. "It required several years to develop this temporal technology and integrate it within our starship. Starfleet sacrificed an entire task force to provide a diversion to allow Galileo to maneuver past the enemy front undetected. We've lost so many lives...so many of our loved ones. This is our last hope to save ourselves. Please, help us send you back so we no longer share this same fate."

Toren had been listening intently, his weary eyes moving over each speaker, taking in every word, every nuance. His face, typically an unreadable mask, betrayed a hint of skepticism and concern. He cleared his throat, leaning forward slightly. "Admiral Saalm," he began, his voice steady and carrying the weight of his years of service, "I appreciate the direness of the situation you've laid out for us, and the... unconventional measures you've taken in response. But there's a point here that's nagging at me."

He paused, taking a moment to choose his words carefully. "If I understand correctly, you've brought us to this point in time because of actions taken - or not taken - aboard the Galileo-A. Actions that, in your analysis, led to this dire future. However, if the goal is to prevent this future, I must ask: Why were we taken from the very moment after the Cold Station files were deleted? Why not from a time before that, so that the files could still be intact, and you could underscore to Commander Tarin the critical importance of preserving them to avoid this war?"

Opening her mouth to speak, Saalm suddenly reconsidered her initial reply then pursed her gold lips, instead turning to her half-Vulcan science chief standing beside her. The teal-uniformed woman was the subject matter expert who'd helped identify the initial focal point and orchestrated the complexities of the temporal incursion. There was no better qualified person in the room to accurately answer the master chief's query. "Wyatt?" she deferred to Marisa.

"You would be even less inclined to believe us if we'd brought you forward before the act or acts that precipitated the position in which we now find ourselves, as you would have no knowledge of such event," Marisa began. "And it was that very act of destruction that now brings us to the brink of annihilation. We are not here to lay blame. How could you know what would happen when you took what you honestly believed was the safest course of action? That is why we chose the time we did. So you would know the cause of this war and your part in it."

The Galileo's former and current chief science officer looked around at the others, especially those she had called friend. "I feel it necessary to comment on a point brought up earlier that also is relevant to this discussion. The temporal prime directive is to prevent people from altering the past, yes. But like all rules, there are exceptions. Captain Kirk was one very notable exception. We believe this is another. It's not just that we are losing the war, it is that the very existence of the Federation and all it stood for, indeed, even humankind, stands at the brink. As Admiral Saalm said, we will lose this war within a year. Billions of lives have already been lost and billions more will die. Our enemies will not rest until all remnants of the Federation are obliterated. So please, can we take the argument about violating the temporal prime directive off the table?"

Chief Warrant Officer Sylver, usually someone who never said anything at these, had listened with a slight frown and pale features. "With respect, Commander Wyatt.." he said, watching her for a moment. "We can't dismiss unpleasant truths just because they're painful. It's a valid argument and there are those who would argue that Captain Kirk shouldn't have gotten away with it, regardless of outcome. The truth is, this is a violation of the temporal prime directive. And in doing so, it is a choice you've made. It has to be acknowledges regardless of what happens, because it is breaking one of the things that Starfleet and the Federation stands for. If we just dismiss it as unimportant, we are saying that all the other prime directives are unimportant too." He paused, taking a breath that said that it wasn't easy for him to say the next bit, in a room full of Officers, especially since he usually was quiet at things like this. "If an empire is saved by going against the principles it believes in and was founded on, then you just end up killing the empire in a different way."

Saalm wasn't a woman predisposed to emotional outbursts yet it took a great deal of mental fortitude to not allow years of war wariness and personal trauma to boil to the surface in this moment. She stared coldly into the conn officer's eyes. "It is easy for you to sit here and judge us for our supposed mistakes - to not believe this new information and accept that this is your future. I understand how hard this must be," her attention shifted to everyone in the room again, "for all of you. I wish this was a deception but it is not, and you are here now. If this is the same Galileo crew I remember, you would evaluate and study this information in a rational manner...not an emotional one."

She paused briefly to rub one of the fatigued bags below her eyes before continuing to speak to Sylver's rebuke of both she and her chief science officer. "You have no idea what we have lived through since the war started. The totality of it is outside your comprehension. For you - any of you - to sit here and envisage a universe where a controversial prime directive decision is simply so black and white that it only becomes right or wrong, is misguided. You are all Starfleet officers and you were taught at the Academy that no single entity is qualified to impart their own present societal and scientific knowledge and ways of thinking upon another who comes from a different time period. Both in past historical context and if ever encountering a future context."

The rear admiral's voice became sharper as she experienced more emotional fatigue. She'd engaged in these same arguments many times over with Starfleet Command and her own crew when the special temporal program was being developed. "You will forgive me if I say your sense of moral superiority is both arrogant and ignorant. To preach of philosophical principles while knowingly serving in the same organization which - out of desperation - created the morphogenic virus with the intent to commit genocide against the Founders, is hypocritical. Starfleet is not without our blame for violating the Temporal Prime Directive. But we value life and prosperity above all else, for all races." Light green eyes shifted across every non-Human in the room. "For your people, and yours and yours, and yours. And I must believe all of you do as well. If violating this Starfleet protocol can ensure the preservation of hundreds of billions, then that is what must be done. Commanders Wyatt, Alexander and I came to terms with this decision many months ago."

"Then we are all captives to your will, Admiral." Sera replied, knowing that might have been somewhat insubordinate, but after the Orion chose to dress down the--rightfully so--recalcitrant officers in attendance here as if they were disobedient children...well. She had never been to the brig before.

Saalm may have been attempting to win her 'case' by using various fallacies of argumentation, nonetheless, one was always required to look at things rationally. Apparently Commanders Tarin and Blake deleted critical information - their motivations? Irrelevant. This definitive action purportedly caused a cascade of events ultimately leading to the dire future Galileo now found itself in. They were now 25 years displaced from their current timeline and basically at the mercy of Rear Admiral Saalm if they had any chance of returning to their own time.

"Captain. What are our orders?" The Vulcan woman asked, her attention honing in Commander Tarin.

Even though she'd taken on the task of guarding the entrance to the conference room, Ghemora had used her clearance and subdermal comms implant to listen in since she would have normally been part of the briefing had they had enough qualified Security personnel to handle the duty in which she'd taken on. While many points had been made that she was in agreement with, especially from the more junior officers, the conversation had clearly skewed in a direction that wasn't going to help any of them; the Gal-A crew nor the future of Federation.

The door chimed before swooshing open to allow the Cardassian Security deputy to step in, with them swooshing and locking behind her. This had the intended consequence of drawing much attention to the sudden interrupter, which served Ghemora's desire. Coming to a rigid, formal stance, "Admiral, collected officers," she addressed quickly to show proper respect before focusing on the most senior in the tightly packed room.

"You all can continue to discuss the ethics of this temporal violation if you like, but that will not change the fact that the act that brought us here, that caused our incursion into the future, has already inevitably changed what will be this time's past and our, the Galileo-A's future. I am sure that is a fact that you can agree on, Mister Vala, Mister Wyatt," Ghemora stated with a glance at each.

Continuing as her gaze momentarily focused on Tarin and Blake, "No matter what comes of this, the decision to destroy the data recovered from Station 31 was made based on ignorance and fear; emotions that often drive the decisions of those when faced with horrors and the potential of such. We are being presented with the results of that decision, whether we like them or not. As a Cardassian, having lived through the Dominion's War, if Cardassia had known what it would cost our people; eight hundred million lives and the near destruction of our homeworld, we may not have sided with the eventual architects of our genocide.

"Much as we might wish to speak of ethics and beliefs when it comes to the Federation and Starfleet, if the data Admiral Saalm and her crew have to show us proves to be legitimate, then we must consider what we will be required to do to stop such from happening; to change the fates of the hundreds of billions that will be affected by the decisions of two officers aboard one small ship hundreds of lightyears away from where the war will take place.

"What has already happened for us cannot be changed, that much I'm sure we can agree. If the Galileo is to return to our time, now with the knowledge of what results our choices will have, then perhaps we should focus our energy on developing a plan and finding a solution to change the fate of the galaxy as we've already set in motion. The fear of the unknown has led us to this point. Perhaps we should do what Starfleet has always done and push past that fear to find the future that is best for the Federation and the galaxy as a whole," Ghemora concluded, going silent as she took a step back to be almost pressing against the doors as her eyes glanced around to read the reactions of the numerous personnel stuffed into the room.

Aria looked at Ghemora, taking a slow breath. She hadn't been there for the decision. Neither had Ghemora. Truth was, there was one fact that was bothering Aria. Well, three, but clearly Admiral Saalm did not care about what this meant for them as Starfleet personnel in the time they were from. They'd been taken hostage from their own timeline and popped here, with three people who seemed familiar but might as well be from the mirror-verse. "Hang on a minute...Ensign M'Lyr'Zor has a point," she stood, slowly. "You're from a chain of command from the future. Not our chain of command, since you're saying the Federation and Starfleet has changed this much and we clearly could never understand the decisions you've taken to lead it all here...so apologies if the fact we still have our Starfleet morals offends you, that we need to discuss and examine the angles rather than jump to. The question I got right now is this, what is the chain of command right now? Are you in command, Admiral Lirha, or is Captain Tarin in command?" she took a deeper breath before she looked at her Deputy. Who had added another point of view to it, the same way everyone did. It was good that the Cardassian had no problem with it, and Aria wanted to acknowledge her words with her own view of it. "The problem is, Ghemora, we have no clue if doing this will create a better future, or a worse one. The Klingons and Romulans have an alliance...sucks for us. But that's...sort of remarkable in a way, you know? Could you imagine that yesterday? I can't. Because honestly, the cause all this could be us, it could be the Admirals denying it, it could be a thousand different butterflies getting squashed. This is a stab in the dark, the easiest and most convenient way of getting the end result that they want." She looked over at Lirha, holding her eyes for a long moment. Not with distrust, no...just without any warmth, any feeling, like she was watching a stranger.

"What we do know, chief," Ghemora began to reply without moving from her position but showed no falter in her conviction, "is that the captain made the decision to suppress the information that was found. It is not illogical to believe Starfleet and the Federation would support such for political reasons alone, so as not to show weakness. Regardless of the dangers of the science witnessed, denying its existence only serves to hinder our understanding of it, and how to prepare for any dangers it may present, whether now or in the future."

Galileo-A's tall and athletically-built captain stepped forward in front of the shorter Orion admiral then placed an authoritative hand on the small conference room's briefing table. "Stop this, all of you. It doesn't matter if we exist in the 24th or 25th century; we're still a Starfleet vessel and this isn't a democracy." Tarin didn't express anger in her tonality, but instead a strong hint of frustration at the situation she her crew now found themselves in. Brought 25 years into the future by Saalm's accord...that was a tough sell. Was it fair? Ethical? Did it matter? She couldn't blame any of her officers for the resentment they might be feeling, but the rear admiral and security deputy were both correct - they were all here now, and there was only one path to change their supposed fates. "Rear Admiral Saalm is our commanding superior," decided the red-collared senior commander in reply to Rice's question. She looked over to Saalm then gave her a curt nod. "What are you asking us to do? Here and in the past?"

Marisa couldn't believe that she actually agreed with the captain. Her respect for the woman she had done nothing but complain about — at least in her personal logs — went up measurably.

Saalm walked next to her Galileo counterpart, her green eyes evaluating Tarin's hazel ones with solidarity. "Galileo - ours - requires immediate repairs to our sensor and deflector systems. Any operations officers, engineers and science personnel you can spare, we will need. As well as your workbee and a pilot." The green skinned flag officer lightly shook her head while assessing the recent damage to her starship. "We cannot send you back in time until we repair the surge damage from our initial anomaly generation. Then...once we are able to send you back, you must ensure you do not delete the cold station's administrative, research and operation logs. All must remain intact."

Thinking back to the blue-skinned Andorian COB's prior question, Saalm then elaborated to not only him but those with more scientific minds. "Master Chief, you asked why we are sending you back to that exact moment in time when the cold station's files were deleted...and why not at another point. And why we cannot, ourselves, go back in time?" It had taken much debate and subtle obfuscation to get to this point which Lirha'd prepared herself to answer.

"It is because our temporal scientists identified that it is not the nature of your discovery which created this conundrum... It was not your possession of the cold station's files or you handling of Doctors Quil and Mulder...," she looked to Tarin then Blake and held their eyes for a long, silent moment. "It was your conscious decision to remove the knowledge of these events from the galactic community. And neither Commanders Blake nor Tarin made this decision until stardate 69373.027, according to our records. Knowledge itself can be dangerous, but suppressing it destabilized two galactic quadrants and initiated a chain event-sequence leading to what you now see."

Saalm softened her light and accented Yrevish accent while specifically addressing Blake and Tain. "I don't doubt that your intentions were pure. You were faced with a difficult task with no correct answer: allow dangerous research to proliferate, or attempt to ensure it never arrives in the hands of anyone again for future research. But the reality is that transwarp technology - specifically transwarp transporter technology - has been in its experimental stage for over a centenary, across all major powers. When the Romulan Star Empire learned Cold Station 31 had made a breakthrough and then the Federation attempted to conceal it...this changed the perceived balance of power, which in turn has led to the demise of the Federation."

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-B
[PNPC Tarin]

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Zara Ghemora
Deputy Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant Aria Rice
Chief Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Oliver Sylver
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Rice]

LTJG Montgomery Vala
Deputy Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

MCPO Toren Vral
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Vala]

CMDR Marisa Wyatt
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-B

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