Preface

So, this is the second arc of Shadows of Time. It's not imperitive you read the first arc, but it might help. I may insert a summary ficlet, if there's call for it. I think it'll be alright, though. I came to the conclusion of time fluctuations being a good reason why some books conflict with each other. Also, when your main character is known for not keeping relationships going very well, and you have a OTL in mind for him, well, you might have to jump through a few hoops in order for it to make sense. Even if that means crashing the timeline. Whoops? (Here's where my friend SouloftheWind would say, "F'in Riley!") Expect some cameos from later series as well as TOS to come into play. I'm excited to write this little treasure hunt. There will no doubt be some tugs at the heartstrings, too. As always, I welcome feedback. I'm really hoping I get more guffaws than groans, but a few of each is fine, too.

A note about the very beginning of the Prologue... The dialogue is taken from the Star Trek novel, Crossover, since... well, that's where the divergence happens. Only the lines spoken are directly quoted, and events summarized for the sake of setting up the storyline.

Thanks again and enjoy!

-TD

Summary: With Spock's untimely death, war builds upon itself, eventually blossoming into chaos with the Hobus supernova. The resulting devastation unravels the timeline, sending an inexperienced Crewman Daniels fleeing from the fallout. He recruits President Archer to the cause of reestablishing events as they should unfold.

Characters: Archer * Riley * Daniels * Sarek * Guinan * Anab Saed * Sulu

Cameos: Bridge Crew, Enterprise circa mid 2280s * Morgan Primus/Number One * Mia Colt

Aliens: Lagarens * Talosians

Disclaimer

This work of fiction is written by a fan, for fans. No money has been exchanged for this story. The author has taken great pains in order to keep within the canon and apocrypha of the Star Trek universe. Save for original characters as mentioned, all characters belong to CBS/Paramount and are used without permission. This work is not an official story within the Star Trek universe. Distribution or publishing of this work is prohibited, save through free means, such as free-access websites, fan fiction mailing lists, e-mail, or person to person delivery.

Prologue

"Follow me," yelled the middle-aged Vulcan, as he called to his students. The unificationists clamored through the courtyard, towards a gate, all amidst disruptor fire between two factions of Romulans. As their teacher neared the exit, a Romulan sentinel guarding the gate placed the man in his sights and fired. A miss, thanks to another bolt sent towards the sentinel, by one of the students. However, the next bolt from the sentinel was close range and unavoidable. The student placed himself in harm's way, his chest heaving from the gaping wound of the bolt. "Save yourself, Teacher!"

The Vulcan cradled the young Romulan in his arms, eyes looking up from the young man to the barrel of a disruptor. "I am afraid that is no longer an option."

"Get up, rebel! Or I'll burn down the two of you!" sneered the guard.

"I cannot," explained the Vulcan, his voice smooth though defiant, "This one is hurt. He needs help." Of course, the man knew he would glean no sympathy from the Romulan sentinel, but it was unlikely his life would continue for much longer, given the situation.

The sound rang out, just another sound of death and technology within the chaos of the courtyard on Constanthus, which would become to be known as the place where Ambassador Spock fell.

Aboard the Enterprise-D, Admiral McCoy gripped the armrest of the counselor's seat. He looked from Picard to Riker, bitterly. "We're too late! He's gone!"

"You can't know that, Admiral McCoy," countered Picard.

The frail old man, if he could, felt even older then than he ever had, "Don't you tell me what I know and what I don't! I had the man sitting in my noodle, at one point! He's gone. He's gone, and we're too late, damn you."

Confirmation came, hours later, once Proconsul Eragian had cleaned up the mess made by Governor Tharrus of Constanthus, though spun in traditional Romulan fashion. Even so, as tensions between the Romulan Republic and the Federation grew more intense, the longer it took to negotiate the remains of the beloved ambassador.

Unable to face his part in the demise of his friend, Admiral McCoy sanctioned himself away in ShiKahr, away from the funeral for Spock. He heard the others enter the old home, where Perrin still took up residence. He chose to ignore them, staring out at the unforgiving Vulcan landscape. He couldn't help but remember the last funeral for his friend. Leonard McCoy set his jaw, refusing to look back at the man he knew was behind him.

"Ye cannae blame yourself for it, lad." Montgomery Scott placed a supportive hand on the ancient man's shoulder.

"Like hell I can't," muttered McCoy, his lips trembling as much as his hands, as his eyes welled up. "Damned fool shouldn't have gone out to BFE to begin with, but I fouled it up, Scotty. No do-overs, this time. No Genesis project to bring him back and what's left of him in my brainpan is quiet and cold."

Shaking his head and feeling for his friend, Captain Scott tried to take some of the blame away from McCoy, "Aye, ambitious he was, true... If only that blasted Captain Emick hadn't crippled the Yorktown, I'd have been able to help ye, laddie. Had a plan and everything..."

Eaves dropping wasn't considered a taboo to an El-Aurian, and Guinan was certainly not an exception. Ever since Spock's death, things had felt off, the way they had at other times in the past. She had tried to speak with Jean-Luc about it, but he was nearly as much swept up in grief as these two, perhaps an after-effect of his melding with Sarek. She walked past the guests of the house, where Saavik and Perrin were being visited by those close to the ambasador. The withered form of T'Pau stepped out from a flitter, as aides assisted her descent. Expecting the crone to go to the family of Spock, Guinan was taken aback when T'Pau instead approached her, "It has been a long time."

Guinan bowed her head in respect, then raised her brows, "Yes, it has. I grieve with thee, T'Pau."

T'Pau calmly placed her fingertips at Guinan's brow. Not a melding, but a gentle connection. "I grieve with thee, Guinan. Your mind is unsettled. Though this is not unusual given the circumstances, I sense the unease is unrelated." T'Pau took away her hand with grace and raised her brows. "Is it not?"

"No. It is, alright. And it's not." Guinan was used to being the calm listener. It used to amuse her with the role reversal in this particular Vulcan. However, T'Pau's counsel would be welcomed right now. When asked why, The El-Aurian replied, "Spock shouldn't be dead." She grimaced, the expression resembling a smile to those unaware, "I know, everyone is saying he shouldn't be dead. ...But I'm telling you. T'Pau, Spock is supposed to be alive. Something's gone wrong." She heard movement behind T'Pau and looked that way, but whatever or whoever it was had already vanished.

15 years later...

"Get him out of my sight!" shouted the blonde Romulan. Sela's nostrils flared in rage at the human's insolence. She weighed Tom Riker's usefulness and found it lacking. He'd pay dearly for crossing her in front of her command. She reigned herself in, once the guards took the man away. Turning to her second, Fleet Commander, Sela eyed the Romulan cooly, "I want every ship in the sector searching for this 'Salek.' The impostor Spock will face a far painful death more than the teacher himself. But first, he must be captured and brought down. That was where Eragian and Tharrus failed." Sela grinned at the thought of belittling the false teacher. The grin soon faded into a snarl, as she contemplated, Who knew that Vulcans could have a martyr complex? Though it wasn't so much the Vulcans Sela and Romulus had to deal with. The fact that so many Romulans had joined the Unification movement sickened her. It was a thorn in her side, but if she could pluck it out and use it as a weapon herself, she could have the Empire itself. She wouldn't be off along the edge of Romulan space, dealing with ship commanders more interested in exploration than conquest.

It began slowly, in the heart of the Hobus star. No one knew who had used protomatter weapons. Soon, it would not matter. By the time Nero had reached Sela and beseeched her help, the supernova had become a ravenous phoenix, and with every planet devoured, its faster-than-light-speed increased. It was too late to save Romulus, too late to save most of the quadrant. What was left of the Empire, once the Federation sent help from Vulcan, was left in shambles. The Borg and the Dominion were only too eager to help pick up the pieces.

Centuries earlier...

"Captain!"

Archer turned at the voice and observed the man who had called for him. "...I haven't been called 'Captain' in a very long while, " chuckled the man, his crows feet growing deeper as he smiled in recognition. "I never thought I'd see you again, Daniels!" The Federation president got up from his chair and shook his head, "I don't recall you looking so young as you are, either."

Daniels flushed with embarassment, "Actually... -It doesn't matter. What should I call you? Mister President?" He was nervous and excited, but more than that, Daniels looked terrified, like a cadet tossed out on his first real mission. Jonathan wondered if that might actually be the case.

"Let's start with 'Jon.' Or 'Archer' if you must. You are Daniels, right?" The man nodded eagerly, and for some reason, Archer felt the need to take him at his word. He shook his head, "I don't get it. The Temporal Cold War is over... Isn't it?"

"Well... Yes and no. Your part in it should be. That's what I've been briefed on, sir... Jon... Archer? Sir." He tried to stop himself from shuffling his feet. Before Archer could accuse him of knighting the president, Daniels flummoxed. "Jon. ...This is... I mean. The reason why I'm here..."

"That's another good place to start, Daniels. It's good to see you, but why are you here?" Jon was starting to get a worried feeling himself, "Is time unstable?"

"Yes! Well, no. Not here. Here's safe. That's why I'm here, actually. I need a safe time to work from..." Daniels stopped himself from fidgetting, and realized he'd picked up a model of the NX-01. He nearly dropped it, putting it down. Archer could hardly believe this was the same time agent who had helped protect the founding of the Federation.

Jon rubbed at the bridge of his nose, "What happened?"

Daniels paused and looked up to the other man, trying to figure the best way to put it. "They tell me it's best not to let people in the past know too much about the future, but Jon... That's just the thing. Everything's unraveling. I managed to make it out before my timeframe was undone. The only reason why I'm still alive is because I'm here, in the past. We have to make it right."

"I understand that before, with the Enterprise, we were right in the center of all that time war nonsense... What's to say your 'timeframe' is the right one?" Archer wanted to help Daniels, given that the peace bought with the founding of the Federation was paid for by the man's life, as well as so many others. Still, he had to play devil's advocate.

Daniels wracked his brain trying to tell Archer without spoiling things and making it all worse. "Jon, something happened around the turn of the 24th century... Or, rather... It didn't happen. And because it didn't happen, eventually another thing didn't happen, which led to yet another thing not happening..."

"You're losing me, here. Daniels. I can keep a secret. You can mind-wipe me if you want, after. What happened and how can I help?" Daniels sighed and smiled, a bit relieved. Archer was still waiting an explanation, though.

"It's all about a Vulcan named Spock. He stops a transwarp supernova from destroying half a quadrant of the galaxy... Except something is missing from the timeline that leads up to his death before he can do so. Because he wasn't there to save that part of space, the balance of power in that century falls apart. I couldn't see the effects coming towards my timeframe without getting caught in the fluctuation. I've saved what I could of historical records prior to arrival, but they aren't complete." Daniels took out a case, opening it and pulling from it something like a PADD. It filled the room with a holographic representation of the timespace continuum. Areas affected showed deviations in red and amber.

"Oh, this old thing," mumbled Jon as he turned about to view the time map. He looked along the lines and events. "So much red."

"Anything past the year 2371. That's when Spock shouldn't have died." Daniels furrowed his brow and pushed down his fears. "We have to undo the death."

"So, we hop forward in time and save the day." Archer wasn't sure he was exactly in peak physical performance, though. He had aches and pains that finally caught up to him after so many years in the service.

"Red zones are out. Not safe, remember?" Daniels sighed. Archer remembered what had happened when he'd gone with Daniels to the 31st century, as well. He wasn't sure how to help, at this point. "Here... Before 2371, through here... Amber. This means the timeline is off, but very slightly. There's a few areas that were ironed out with temporal investigations from later decades and centuries... all being undone, now." The timelines slowly reflected the change. "I can't go, because I'm from the red zone... you can't, because you're too important a figure from the past."

"So, we don't hop forward in time? What do we do, Daniels?" Jon was starting to get exasporated, even though he understood the importance. This version of Daniels was green as they come.

The young time agent observed Archer, then nibbled a lip in thought. Finally, he pulled an event from a broken timeline and displayed it before them, "This is the missing piece... but I don't have all the information available. ...Captain Montgomery Scott took a ship called the Yorktown from a museum. He was going to help rescue Spock, and in the correct timeframe, he did. But here's where things deviate. The Intrepid took out drive capability, and Scott was taken into custody for a time."

"So, the Intrepid didn't stop the Yorktown in the other timeline?" asked Archer. "Why?"

"Different captain. Here's the captain, in the red zone: Walter Emick. Before the deviation, Terrance Riley." Daniels brought up the small amount of information on Riley, "Something happened to stop him from being born. If we restore Terrance Riley to the timeline, then we restore Spock."

Archer blanched, "You want me to set his parents up on a date?" He still didn't know what he could do, if he wasn't going into the future. Time capsule? Jon rolled his eyes.

Daniels' face flushed, "That's the thing... I was able to find out his father, but I can't find any record of his mother. It must have been damaged by the fluctuation." He went to his case and took out something that resembled medical devices. He went up to Archer, who stepped back and held up his hands.

"Woah, wait a minute. You want to tell me what that is before you go slapping it on me?" Archer shook his head for the umpteenth time.

"Quantum time resonator. You'll be here, but your mind will leap into someone's body. Hopefully someone Kevin knows." Daniels smiled, feeling a bit better, since they had a goal, now, and he had Archer on his side. They'd get the timeline fixed in tip-top shape, in no time!

Archer wrinkled his brow, "Who's Kevin? And-wait a minute-Mind-swap with someone? Don't you think that's a bit dangerous? What If I don't make it back?" What exactly had he signed up for, with this?

"Captain Riley's father." Daniels looked at all the red zones and then pouted at Archer, who was pinching his nose again. "...Well...I can walk them through your life... I guess."

"Daniels." The agent looked up at Archer expectantly, and saw the president steeple his fingers. Archer winced and told him, point blank, "You're not very convincing. Do me a favor and never take up Sales." The agent gave a faltered smile. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this. Fine. How long will it take?"

Daniels shrugged, and Archer felt a groan catch in his throat. The young agent explained, "I don't know. I can pull you back at any time, though. And I can send a mental hologr-"

"Just... do it." Archer sat back down and waited as Daniels strapped one thing or another to his wrist and another blinking gadget to his forehead. "So, what's the plan?" But Daniels had already initiated the device, and Jonathan Archer shivered as the world changed around him.

He was walking down the corridor of a tall structure. He could tell it was tall, not just by the large panes of transparent alluminum with the desert beyond, but by the feel of the structure under his feet. Then again, he could also hear the slightest din of sand as it was carried up by the winds. He came to a halt, before others led him outside and up the side of a mountain. The climb was oddly not as arduous as he'd imagined. When he'd gotten to the summit, he was greeted by a tall man, who looked very similar to the first man Daniels had shown him. The man brought his hand up in the traditional salute of a vee. "Greetings, my father."

"Oh, boy." Spock raised a brow at Sarek's choice of words.