Temporal Wake (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 24 Nov 2024 @ 7:52pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant JG Serran & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater & Lieutenant JG Montgomery Vala & Lieutenant JG Nusien & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor & Lieutenant JG Hovar Kov

3,609 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Episode 20 - Reconstruction
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 1, Conference Room
Timeline: MD 05, 2200 hrs

[ON]

Five days had passed since the crew of USS Galileo had begun to exhibit most unusual and disturbing 'hallucinations'. Visions, daydreams - whatever nomenclature best fit the description struggled to properly convey the inherent malaise one experienced with each new alternate perception of reality. Though the frequency of these cerebral events seemed to be diminishing, the origin and validity of them remained a mystery...an enigma which needed to be solved before the starship and its crew could certify for operational readiness and deploy again during its long-term assignment in the Pleiades Cluster.

The interior of the small conference room located on deck 1 next to the bridge was cramped with the entirety of the vessel's officer corps in attendance. The master chief and yeoman were also present, leaving seating a rare commodity for those lucky enough to have arrived early to the captain's scheduled debriefing. At the head of the long table sat said individual, Commander Morgan Tarin, who'd laid out a large PADD before her and silently drummed her fingertips atop the work desk's glossy surface. Her discerning hazel eyes scanned the assembled cadre, and when the chronometer ticked to 2200, she began to speak.

"I know it's been a long series of days and we're all still anxious to get to the bottom of what's happening. I don't enjoy these hallucinations as much as any of you so let's not waste any time." Tarin's gaze shifted from the yellow-collared individuals in the room to the blue-collared ones. "Ops and science: give it to us straight. What've you found and verified?"

"There's a lot of specifics that we have confirmed through interviews and our analysis of our sensor reading of the temporal phenomena observed during the systems test but for the moment let's outline the big picture of what happened here." There was so much of a narrative that Sofie could weave from the collected interviews, a grand story about time travel and sacrifice. But right now, sat next to the captain with a room full of people looking for answers, she knew what was needed was the briefest outline, the barest facts. "During the systems test, at around 1240 hrs, you and Commander Blake left the bridge to discuss the events of the ship's previous mission in your ready room. During that discussion you decided to delete a portion of data from the computer's memory. Actors from the future, believing this decision to have been the cause of a large scale war, have attempted to alter the timeline by having you not delete this data. The hallucinations that we have been experiencing are memories from that original timeline."

Ullswater was conscious that this could be a terrifying revelation, that the crew might be expecting a lifetime of memories to come flooding back so she quickly added an extra remark. "Luckily there are only be a few days worth of memories so though potentially unpleasant these experiences should not be overwhelming and will likely pass with time."

Tarin listened to the science chief's prompt explanation. Some of it - those portions of personal and deciphered revelations - sounded familiar. The uneasiness didn't quell in her belly and was instead amplified by a statement Ullswater had just made. "Original timeline?" Was she inferring their present essence of being was of an alternate path? "How have you come to these conclusions?"

"Yes, original," Ullswater repeated back. She wanted to be clear that the meddling the future crew had conducted had at least somewhat worked. "Now that we are in a timeline where the data has not been deleted we have deviated from what was originally true. We've been able to come to these conclusions both through the temporal analysis conducted by Lieutenant Vala of the event observed during the systems test in addition to the interview process and uncovered logs which have allowed us to construct a fairly coherent narrative of the last few days of the crew of the original Galileo."

"Captain," Serran spoke up, "as you are aware from our conversation, thanks to Ensign Mimi's sharp eyes we discovered personal logs from many crewmen including you which confirms Lieutenant Ullswater's conclusions."

"Additionally, I ran additional diagnostics on the ship's systems which while not conclusive in and of themselves, when combined with the other evidence we have gathered confirms that the Galileo did experience a temporal anomaly."

Vala gave a single nod. "I can corroborate these findings," his voice had a slight shake to it, "I have run a wide array of specialist experiments, checked the mathematics numerous times... The conclusions drawn by Lieutenant Ullswater and the Operations Department are unequivocal." He blinked, his face barely able to contain the vitriol within. "It is an abberation." His lip curled in disgust. He would have spat on the ground had he been amongst his kind. "To meddle with the timeline, for any reason... It is against nature. The laws of all."

Allyndra simply kept quiet observing and listening. She had turned over the medical aspect to Nusien with the few notes she had.

A recollection of the personal log Tarin read - from herself - resurfaced in her thoughts. A geopolitical landscape from the future apparently fraught with conflict, death and destruction and a future of the United Federation of Planets clinging to its existence by a single tendril. She didn't want to believe it'd existed as much as anyone else, but it was near-impossible to remain skeptical with members of her officer corps all arriving at the same conclusion. "Medical? Are these hallucinations we've been having...actually real memories? Devoid of any psychological or biological ailments?"

Carlisle met the CMO's gaze briefly, taking a moment to see if he wanted to speak first before offering, "My findings continue to support the belief these experiences reflect actual memories rather than signs of a psychological disorder impacting the crew en masse. If the latter experience were true, I would still expect to hear aspects of these hallucinations that reflect each person's individual psychological make up, so to speak. For example, someone who has been raised to believe in the importance of organized religion of some kind might experience hallucinations that conform to those psychological constructs. Instead, what's been reported is a great deal of thematic consistency across experiences. While no one has every single piece of the puzzle, the reported stories seem to fit together."

A puzzle it certainly was. Even Tarin couldn't fully understand the totality of what might have occurred despite reading through a series of supposed logs shed written to detail happenings from a bleak moment in time. The counselor's diagnosis alleviated some of her concern pertaining to any ship-wide affliction of the psychological sort which might be contagious, but now steered them in perhaps a more uncomfortable direction. "Thematic consistency," she repeated to herself. "Shared hallucinations - 'visions'? From our individual perspectives of this temporal event?"

Delainey nodded. "Exactly."

Nusien had been deep in thought as everyone spoke. When the Counselor finished their report he decided to speak up. "There is medical evidence to support the Counselor's hypothesis. In most humanoids the medial entorhinal cortex of the brain is responsible for the perception of time, it is also the area of the brain where memories are created. It is possible that the temporal event affected this part of the brain causing the knowledge of the event to be deleted from memory, or better yet suppressed. Now, the brain is a extremely resilient organ. It is trying to find a way to repair itself to release the memories and so they are perceived as dreams or hallucinations. A brain scan of any volunteer who has had these visions can prove this hypothesis." He was already designing the parameters of the scan on his PADD as he finished speaking.

"I have not had a chance to fully review the medical findings as I am transitioning, but from what I can see I agree with our new CMO. Something caused these so-called memories," Allyndra added.

Something. Tarin's worst fear was realizing itself in real-time and one of her hands subconsciously drifted to the PADD in front her atop the table. She retrieved it, tapped several commands into its small interface to link it to the conference room's large wall-mounted LCARS display, then opened a classified file for all assembled to view. "As adamant as I've been to reject these...findings," she prefaced in a cold and stoic tonality, "Command agrees with our analysis here." She pointed to the screen on the bulkhead. "I received this Priority One transmission from Starfleet several hours ago which was transmitted fleet-wide. Several science teams stationed at various monitoring stations across the Federation believe they've detected signs of a change to our timeline following a wave of chroniton radiation sweeping across the quadrants at superluminal velocity." The text was short and concise, devoid of much further detail. "No one within Starfleet's been able to identify the supposed changes so far, however - given the amplitude of the chroniton radiation wave - these changes are expected to be...substantial."

Nusien read the text on the screen and the findings. He could barely believe what he read. "Captain, if I may. Using volunteers from the crew it may be possible to undo the changes within the brain. Unlock the memories... If we do that then we can possibly learn what happened. I volunteer to not only run the study, but I would volunteer for the scans as well."

Sera had been quiet for the entirety of the meeting thus far. She had been listening to what had been said and reconciling the information with her own personal experiences. To hear that the hallucinations were fragments of suppressed memories...Saalm's voice echoed through her mind informing her that they would not be able to create the same field on the way 'home.' That the crew would not remember...but they did, or at least some and a little...and with remembrance came culpability, yes?

The option of remembering more of what occurred was not preferred given the glimpses Sera had experienced since the systems' test. Illogical thoughts and actions, the feeling of rationality slipping away, the decent into psychosis...Sera shivered at the thought of uncovering any further memories. What she had experienced had changed her, and she couldn't help but to glance over to Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius in a significant manner before focusing back on the current task at hand.

"Given the prevailing theory that these experiences are indeed memories--I recall being informed by an Admiral Saalm regarding the deletion of classified data that initiated a cascade of events that culminated in a future where the Federation was being completely, annihilated...amongst other things."

With all of the information that has been flowing through the officers, one of them remained particularly silent, and that was the new Chaplain. Hearing about temporal disturbances, hallucinations, and so many other things was of particular intrigue to Hovar. However, it was something that was just said that gave him pause. The Federation being annihilated? It seemed impossible. Then again, it was impossible for a Klingon to convert to Catholicism, yet there he was.

"If I may, it should be noted that encountering hallucinations, regardless if there is a disturbance, can invoke a traumatic response as the mind is trying to make sense of what is true versus what is not. It would not be out of the realm of possibility that someone becomes re-triggered when exposed to a particular stimuli, especially if part of their hallucination is the destruction of the Federation. It would help from a therapeutic perspective to come up with a treatment plan to help those more affected than others."

Carlisle noted the chaplain's valid observation and found his suggested approach to treatment reasonable. At the same time, she wasn't sure those particular specifics would be of interest to anyone else but those treating the crew directly. She made a mental note to meet with him following the meeting to discuss putting those particular details into practice.

Hovar looked around in genuine curiosity.

"Does anyone know, at least suspect, what happened to the Federation to cause its oblivion?"

The principal question inquired of by the chaplain was bound to be asked eventually. Privately, Tarin preferred that the Klingon had taken the initiative to rip the bandage off sooner rather than later. She looked back to her PADD then again tapped its streamlined display several times to queue a new, important piece of documentation the operations team had unearthed. "Apparently, we do. Here is a personal log I supposedly recorded from stardate 94371.6...25 years into the future."

The room's large LCARS monitor now showed the captain's own words:

"I'm recording this log with the hope it will be preserved for historical review in the event Galileo returns back to its original time period. This starship - along with Praxis - has been pulled into the future through a temporal anomaly, and we now find ourselves in the year 2417. The cause of the temporal anomaly...was the Galileo-B, a future Nova-class vessel from this time period apparently equipped with temporal-generation technology.

"I'm still struggling to come to terms with this future and the historical events which have transpired since 2392. Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm and Commander Marisa Wyatt, both presently serving on the -B, have briefed us on a tragic and hopeless state of affairs for the Federation. A losing war with a Klingon-Romulan alliance has seemingly shattered the core foundations of the UFP, and what remains of Starfleet will soon suffer complete defeat and the loss of all its major worlds.

"The cause of this - the focal point, according to Saalm and Wyatt - was my recent decision to delete the cold station's facility logs and research data, effectively creating a chain of events which soon spiraled into open conflict between the major powers in the quadrants. Do I believe this to be possible? ...Perhaps. Is is plausible? I can't say. Many of my officers, including both Lieutenants Ullswater and Vala, are hesitant to believe this causality. And an even greater number have expressed distress at the apparent violation of the Temporal Prime Directive which brought us here.

"The crew's on edge, and so am I. The thought that we cannot control our destiny except to alter it by going back in time to 'correct' this supposed mistake does not sit well with me. Then again, this future we've been shown...is terrifying. The loss of life is beyond catastrophic. Is it the right thing to do to alter the past the change the future? To save hundreds of billions of souls in this time period? This conundrum now consumes my thoughts, and I need to reflect on this - the most difficult decision of my career.

"Computer, end log."

There was a moment of quiet as the assembled officers digested the content of the Captain's log. First to break the silence was Ullswater "I concur with the opinion of the original Ullswater. There are scientific methods of analysing history, through study of material conditions and motive contradictions but the mathematical psychohistory we saw in use is pseudoscience." There was a restrained bitterness in her voice that made it clear she held the crew of Galileo-B, and everything that had happened to them in utter contempt.

Sofie didn't want the conversation to get bogged down on that point though. Whether or not there was truth to the science the other version of her had been presented with was a much less important question than the one she wanted to ask next. "Are we opening this up to discussion sir? Do you know what you are going to do with the data?"

Initially, Hovar's body language focused on the Captain with dedicated attention. Even though the Captain answered his question; even though his colleague voiced her thoughts as to how to prevent such an event from a scientific mindset, the Klingon did not dare to utter another word. It was his people, the Klingons, who alongside the Romulans (which made him want to vomit) destroyed everything that Hovar has grown to love and respect. He thought of his house, his family, his parents, his siblings and their children, who broke the seals of Armageddon for the Federation. More so, he thought about his own relationship with the crew, which caused him to remain silent, shifting his body language to that of someone deep in thought, his eyes cast down onto Conference Room table. He was already resented by some purely by accident of birth. The concept that the Federation fell into Klingon hands, and Hovar keeping his true relationship with the Empire a close secret, would do the Chaplain no favors.

As it was for everyone else, the details in the proffered log were a lot for the senior counselor to absorb, but she found herself instinctually looking over to Hovar, not in condemnation or shock, but in a desire to offer solace. This news was not easy for any of them to absorb, but to learn his own people were responsible for something like this when he was still grappling with wouldn't meant to be a healer within his own culture, having already been rejected by some members of his family... she didn't want him to feel any more isolated than he possibly already felt, and while she knew she couldn't control his feelings, she also knew she didn't want him to deal with them alone any more than she wanted anyone else to feel isolated. Once again, Carlisle was reminded of the constant internal struggle of competing priorities she had faced, seemingly since the moment she boarded.

She did not feel defeated, but she knew she had to continue to dig deep to harden her resolve.

Vala leaned forward, nodding in agreement with Sofie, adding his support, "I can only agree with Lieutenant Ullswater's appraisal of the situation. I have studied this field for many years and it is beyond arrogance to claim understanding of the intricacies of the past then attempt to alter it. The fact that they seem to have successfully done so, regardless of their motivation, is a crime against untold billions who will now no longer be born."

Ullswater and Vala's opinions - their convictions verbally stated - held a heavy weight which permeated the room for a moment. The chaplain's muted outward reaction, however subtle, was noticed by Tarin who took a lengthy period of time to contemplate the erupting emotions from the assembled crew. "I do know what I'm going to do with the cold station's data logs, Number Two. And I've already done it, as you acutely realized several days ago," she revealed.

"Ignoring for a moment the temporal incident, the potential diplomatic crisis and all the rest of this situation I still think there is something that bears discussion." Ullswater's face was turned to her captain but her eyes were looking off to the corner of the room. Her voice was quiet. "If we just hand over the data to Starfleet, let them brush this under the rug, then it is only a matter of time before the experiment restarts, before the killings begin again."

As Hovar listened to everything that was going on, his eyes narrowed slightly as he contemplated what was going on. He thought about everything that was happening, specifically with the decision that the Captain already made that may, or may not, have sowed the seeds of doomsday. The Klingon, as a clergyman, couldn't think about the situation in terms of science. Rather, he looked at everything in terms of where science could not, or dared not, go to. He has it under very good authority that a clergyman should remain silent when he is unsure, and that is to remain silent when he is sure.

"How do we know that someone hasn't already been born who will die because of our actions today?"

"I agree, once the genie has been let out of the bottle, that it is nearly impossible to put in back in." Allyndra couldn't help but think about the Fold ships her own world had hide away.

Vala nodded once more, his face barely hiding the dripping contempt he had for the situation. "Millions have," he said pointedly to the Klingon, "in the entire galaxy, untold billions." He turned his attention to the rest of those gathered, "Who has the right to decide the things that were decided in that future. Must the timeline be tweaked and toyed with whenever the Federation faces an existential threat? Is it an empire that must, under no circumstances, be allowed to fall? Who has the authority to decide that one timeline should remain as another is sliced into oblivion, regardless of the cost. It is an abominable thing." He bared his teeth in disgust, his voice slid entirely into his native accent, "Mhr'vaat!"

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Sofie Ullswater
Chief Science Officer/Second Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Serran
Operations Manager
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Montgomery Vala
Deputy Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

CMDR Allyndra illm Warraquim
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Delainey Carlisle
Chief Counselor
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Nusien
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A

ENS S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Chief Engineer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Hovar Kov
Chaplain
USS Galileo-A

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