Chapter 3.2

Posted on Fri May 13th, 2022 @ 3:53am by Admiral Janule Tua & Willian Targaryen

1,404 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Waiting for the End
Location: USS Stargazer
Timeline: 3189-03-15, 17:00

"Will," Admiral Janule Tua identified in surprise. "I wasn't expecting you this early."

"I have always been early when meeting with a superior officer, Ma'am," he said politely as he stood at near attention not far away.

She laughed when she heard him say that. "I hate to say this, but I know you a lot better than that. Well at least my first host Anek did at least. Back when he served with you on the Enterprise..."

"That still doesn't make much sense to me, Admiral," the Enterprise's Captain interrupted. "You keep referencing my career and our time together, but as far as I am concerned those events have not happened yet."

"You're right," she agreed and then countered, "but you're also very wrong. Galatea reported to me that she discussed the truth with you and that, during your mission to Ni'Var, there was an accident where your ship was duplicated in an anomaly. One ship remained in the past, and one was brought to this future. I can show you the history of that ship," she pointed to a small shelf and a replica of his vessel sat upon it, "you may recognize that."

Willian walked over to the wall shelf and looked at the bronze model of the Enterprise that sat atop it. He quickly recognized it as being his, "How did you get this?"

"It has been passed down by Tua over the centuries," Janule explained. "It was a gift given to Anek by his former Commanding Officer when he was appointed to command of... well let's not go there. I know how partial you are to a specific line of ships. Let's just say that model hung in a proud place aboard its descendant."

The Captain put his fingers on the saucer of the model, gently running a finger down it. He brushed away a small bit of dust left behind, "You may want to talk to the cleaning staff."

"I'll get right on that," she answered as she walked to join him. "Will, I know that this is going to lead you down a rabbit hole that neither of us are really prepared for. Maybe we should just rip the band-aid off? I'll start. Admiral," she mocked his bravado, "My crew and I need to be returned to our time." She paused as she took a drink of wine, "Want to roleplay my answer?"

"I'm not a fan of games," he replied quickly.

She smirked as she pushed away a lock of hair from her forehead, "Unless you're the one hosting the game. Very well then. I'll play me too in this little play of ours. Will, you know that I can't allow that. In addition to the Burn, the Federation spent most of the 30th century fighting in what we, affectionately, now call the Temporal Cold War," she lifted a hand to stop him from interrupting, "Don't worry you too will learn a bit about it, or rather a version of you will. Anyway, the Federation finally reached a stalemate with the various players and the Temporal Accords, an interstellar treaty that outlawed any temporal incursions, was created to end the violence that permeated all time. Not only would returning you to your time create a paradox where two exact copies of your ship and crew were alive and well in the same era, we would also be violating the treaty and plunging the Federation into another war. With how things are at the moment... it's a risk I can't take."

"If you know me as well as you say that you do then you know I never take no as an answer, Admiral," Targaryen said in a cold tone of defiance. "My ship is equipped with more than enough technology that I can easily break your temporal quarantine."

"Do yourself a favor and shut up, Captain," Tua interrupted authoritatively. "Since you're not from around these parts I'm going to choose to ignore your little outburst and point out that even discussing temporal incursion methodologies with another party is in violation of the law. Besides, you won't get very far anyway. I'm sure you ran your own analysis of the different methods of time travel. Let me guess: they all failed?"

He crossed his arms, "You and I both know a wounded, determined animal is the most dangerous."

"I would tell that animal not to bother because he's not aware of all of the facts. Namely that the Federation has deployed a temporal detection grid. It's designed to detect a temporal incursion and block it. You would need something a lot more powerful than the Enterprise has to get around it and there aren't too many of those options still available." She took a drink from her wine glass, "This isn't a bad place to be, Captain, once you get passed the Burn and the state of the galaxy. Starfleet could use someone with you and your crew's talents. It isn't every day that a Hero of the Federation returns."

He let himself fall into one of the oversized chairs in the Admiral's Dining Room, thinking about all that she had said. He had thought this whole time the failure of the simulations had been because of the ship's status and, now, to find that it was all by design was a damning fact to learn. Worse, while he had resolved himself long ago that they were trapped in this time, to be given that knowledge by another was heartbreaking. Worse, his crew would never see their families again. Yet, somehow, they had. It really messed with his head.

"If you'll excuse me," he rose back out of the chair, "I'm not feeling all that festive."

She interrupted, "You know, Captain, having read your logs it appears that you've been through quite an ordeal, one that few would have been able to survive - let alone in a ship seven centuries behind the times." The Admiral had brought the logs up on her holoPADD and scrolled.

Willian paused before the door sensor picked him up. He turned only his head and looked over his shoulder at her, "My crew deserve the credit for that."

"They've certainly done themselves proud then. Who knows maybe if they remain here the Federation may've had a chance. Too bad your ego's getting in the way of that," she said acrimoniously.

"I beg your pardon?" He turned and spat the words at her.

She steepled her fingers, "You're being selfish, ignoring the reality of the situation because you're trying to put the needs of your ship and crew before the Federation. The man I knew..."

"I've never met you, Admiral," he yelled back at her.

"... You think in such three-dimensional terms these days. Truly a shame," she said with a depressed sigh.

"Sorry to disappoint," he answered. "But a Captain's first responsibility is to the crew under his command."

She waved a finger, "Then you forget your Oath."

"The Captain's Oath is something that I've never forgotten," he challenged. "I think most of us can recite it in our sleep."

"Wrong Oath. Remember when you were on the Pennsylvania and assigned to the 16th Fleet? You took an Oath then to always uphold the principles of the Federation and that you would always serve its needs above all others." She pushed aside her wine glass on the end stand and played with it between her two hands, "The Federation has never needed you as much as it does right now. You helped establish the Federation's emergency response processes to help respond should the Federation fall to keep some semblance of normalcy in the galaxy. Surely you remember some of that. Even today there are depots that are still missing - lost to history - that are filled with critical resources and supplies that our ships need if we're going to survive the Chain. Will, please help us to help the Federation. You and your crew are our only hope."

The words echoed through his head as he tried to process the enormity of the situation. So much pain had taken over the galaxy that they could barely keep their heads above water. So many were at risk of being pulled into the abyss. They were looking for absolution that may never come.

"I'll see you at dinner," he answered somberly as he stepped out of her room, not waiting to be dismissed.

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