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Nekrit Expanse, 2410

Dark side of Third Planet, Unexplored System

Captain's Log: Sal'vin 'Ace' Chernok

"The Damocles has been rerouted to the Nekrit Expanse, due to odd metallurgical readings found by a joint, long-range science expedition, reaching out to the less traveled areas of the Delta Quadrant, to study the worlds hidden within the enormous nebula, at least the ones Voyager hadn't already discovered within it.

I was the Romulan who just so happened to be piloting the 'borrowed' Krenim timeship, one replicated from a captured ship, seized from the attack on Kyana Station. It was this ship's maiden voyage, and I hope it goes smoother than the last one...

We've been directed to a unique system found within the expanse, a twin star system with a dimming, red dwarf, and it's young, yellow twin. There doesn't seem anything odd at first glance, but the science team logs transferred to our ships say that they found a asteroid field composed of 47% Neutronium and 53% stellar materials, making up a planetary field somewhere in the system between the second and third planet. The only reason we can assume there's even Neutronium in the asteroid field, is that scans bounced back, and it's assumed from the 'echo' received by the science team, Neutronium was a likely culprit.

Computer, Pause Recording and Save-"

Ace turns to his now open door, as Tovan Khev enters the room. "Sir, we've reached the third planet's orbit, and you informed me that you wanted me to tell you when we began to take scans," Tovan says, "Well, sir, you aren't going to believe it, but we've begun to get complaints from the crew about headaches, ever since we passed the fifth planet in the system, and getting stronger as we head towards the asteroid field." Ace nods, and follows his First Officer out onto the main deck.

Ace couldn't ignore something in the back of his mind screamed to stay away, to move on and just ignore this place, but he could also say it made him even more curious. "What about psionic suppressors, or modulated dampening fields?" Ace asks his XO, "Don't tell me the good Doctor hasn't tried to work with engineering to figure out a cause?"

"No sure, she has, but we've gotten more complaints in the last hour, it's being reported that one in ten crewman were starting to complain about worsening symptoms, mostly Remans and Betazoids, though a few Vulcan's, like Sibak, began to complain," Tovan says, "Elements, even a few of the elder Ocampa, being transported onboard, were coming in with a migraine... it mostly means the good Doctor will have to stock up on neural suppressant's the next time we take port, but..."

But to Ace that meant there was something more going on, some reason perhaps even the science task force had unconsciously picked up on, one that his telepath's were openly admitting. "Let everyone onboard know, while I'd like to stop now, the chance we have to find a natural source of Neutronium we could mine, is a great boon," Ace says, "Let alone the fact we should find the source of whatever it is we've detected, it could be a telepathic distress beacon for all we know, or a weapon, or even a natural phenomena here." Nodding, Tovan merely goes to carry out his Captain's orders. "Helm, push on out of orbit, make heading for the asteroid field," Ace commands, "Full Impulse." What they say when they removed themselves from the dark side of the planet, was something the science team had not picked up on.

The planet they had been behind moments ago, was mostly whole, showing signs of destructive weather patterns, heightened seismic activity, and barely any vegetation or life. On it's light side, a very rogue looking moon, which appeared to be missing 23% of its relative top half, and currently looking like a hard boiled egg whose yolk had broken open and pushed through a crack in the outer shell. There was also a second planet with the remainder of what once seemed to be a moon, which easily could have been the missing fragment of the one moon, though the third planet could barely be called a planet anymore, due to the fact it appeared to be less than half consumed.

"By the Elements," Tovan whispers from his station, "What could have done this?"

On further inspection, it appeared the Damocles had found its culprit, and Ace was cursing the fact they currently didn't have a stash of Hargh'peng torpedoes onboard. A Planet Killer, it's coned end pointing towards their ship, was currently pointed towards the remains of the third planet, which had obviously been consumed by the massive ship, and had been surrounded in a cloud of the various debris it had generated.

After a minute of bated breath, Ace was thoroughly puzzled at the fact the Planet Killer did not seem to be active. "Helm, retain red alert status, but move us closer, cloak and let's see if we can observe our mysterious weapon," Ace orders. Nodding, the Reman at the helm quickly cloaks, moving the ship into the frontal arc of the Planet Killer. Ace sighs in relief, seeing what appeared to only be the dead husk of a Planet Killer, long since destroyed by some natural or unnatural, battle. "Tactical, any readings on the Planet Killer's interior?" Ace asks, "Any chance it just ran out of fuel before it fully converted this system, or is it actually been destroyed?"

"We can confirm there is weapons damage on it's interior, sir, visual confirms there even seems to be ship debris inside it, though scans are currently inconclusive as to it's material," Tovan says turning to Ace, "I suggest we send a Scorpion Fighter out to tractor in the ship, see if we can find out how they disabled it, or even who they were." Nodding Ace concurs.

"I believe I'll take the Stone out for a run," Ace says, "I want to be there personally and retrieve the remains of whoever these heroic beings were; Tovan you have control, Hiven you're with me." At that they leave the bridge, heading for the shuttlecraft.

\\\ Twenty Minutes Later \\\

The maw of the weapon was menacing, if sound could be heard in space, it would echo within the massive resonance chamber that was the Planet Killer. Ace had to admire whoever decided to make these massive weapons, were quite adept if they managed to make three of them, let alone send them out to attack whatever ancient enemy, who was no doubt long gone from this galaxy. The remains of whatever the valiant vessel once had been, was little more than the size of the shuttle craft, though it appeared to have some form of computer core within it.

It hadn't been hard to take it back to the Damocles, though it was diffucult to cut through the delicate remains without potentially destroying whatever the ancient circuits had left stored in them. Once open, they were quite shocked to see what appeared to be the half burned remnant of a Lirpa and what Ace could immediately identify as a primitive version of a Vulcan computer database, one that had long since gone out of use after the Time of Awakening on Vulcan, but was still a cultural artifact found in the various museums throughout Vulcan.

"Well, this mystery just got a bit more interesting," Ace says, "Anyone have any clues?"

\\\\\

"We've managed to date the remains of the Lirpa and the computer system to about the late second century, Earth calendar, shortly after the Sssundering had already occurred," Arha, the Gorn science officer, says, "We've calibrated our ssystemss, and have found underground bunkerss within the second planet, detectable only from this side of the planet." At this See'leetia, the Kobali engineer continues the discussion.

"We've traced the signal to a similar computer core within the facility," she replies, "It seems to have been relaying a message to the system within the Planet Killer, on a low psionic broadband as well as EM field, which is what caused the headaches in our crew, we've adjusted shields to compensate until we send a crew in to shut down the relay, or at least let the lower computer know the message is received." Nodding, Ace grabs the Lirpa, and begins to study it.

"Has anyone thought to study the Lirpa?" Ace asks, "Someone... someone retrieve the Lirpa we got from the Donatu Prime research facility..." At that Five of Ten quickly retrieves the Lirpa from the nearby weapons locker, before returning to the room and handing it to his Captain. Grabbing both in his hands, Ace quickly strikes them against each other, forcing a little psionic energy into both weapons. With a resonating clang, Ace's vision quickly goes dark.

\\\ Somewhere \\\

Explosions rock around him, as Ace's vision clears, and he finds himself on stone and metal floor, cool to the touch. He realizes he's on some bridge, where he looks to see a figure at the helm, piloting the ship. He stands, noticing the Lirpa sitting next to the figure, resting against a console, and the ships view screen shows a flash of orange-yellow, which cools to reveal the gaping maw of an active Planet Killer, preparing another blow. "I will not allow you to harm my people, my kanlar anymore," a female voice says, "Let T'Aminu of Vulcan be reborn, let the lady of faces die a righteous death, saving her adoptive people from the bosom of Reah." And with a flash of light, Ace quickly was disoriented, and fell to the floor. In his final moments of consciousness, he heard a male voice join her.

"T'Aminu of Vulcan, your day is not here," the mysterious voice says, "Your sacrifice will be in vain-" And light flashes in his eyes once more.

\\\ Sickbay \\\

With a jolt, he is blinded momentarily by Satra's light shining in his eyes, as he awakens with a pounding headache on a sterile white bed. "Be happy I'm only having to fix a small concussion," she says, "If it was any worse from the bio-feedback you caused to yourself, I'd say you may have slipped into a coma instead ff a deep sleep." Ace cracks a smile, before sitting up.

"Status of the ship?" he asks. She merely laughs.

"Barely has been five minutes since you caused yourself to pass out, Five and Hiven grabbed Arha and a secondary Security crewman," she says, "They're waiting for you in the Transporter room, coordinates locked for the antechamber where the computer core is, because they knew you'd be too stubborn to stay down." Getting up from his position, he hurries down to the transporter room.

\\\ Underground Complex \\\

"Be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary," Ace communicates through his rebreather, "We don't know how stale or thin this air is after centuries without use, we may need to get to that computer core and get fresh air inside here." Not a minute later, a gentle breeze was felt, and Ace looked to his men, who were all accounted for. Checking the air quality, and finding it sufficient for use and without contaminates, Arha was the first who removed his mask, followed by the others. "Facility must be automated," Ace says, "Must have detected our beam-in and reactivated internal systems, still be on the lookout for automated defenses and the likes."

After traveling through the various, sterile hallways, they came upon the room where the computer core was situated. Quickly scanning the room, they go inside, Ace quickly moves to the computer, and notices the ancient machine still hums with life. Wiping dust from a physical interface, he begins to connect a tricorder with an adapting cord to tie the two systems together for interfacing with the ancient programs. Suddenly with a whirring sound, a small device rises from the computer's central tower, a light begins to shine from it.

Flickering into shape is an indistinct shadow, a humanoid shape, distinctly flat and likely male. Features begin to define itself, as a robe comes into being, obscuring the legs and torso, before the neck and face begins to come into clarity. Copper skin, paler than the color of true copper, begins to define the face and neck, a smile graces the face, and green eyes stare out from the front, before skin begins to ripple and fold, ending in cup-like ears ending in a point, that are distinctly similar to an Ocampan ear. Ace merely stares at the man, before touching his own ears, strikingly similar to the mans, except not as thin or ending in the distinct point at the tip of the ear.

Smiling, the man looks towards Ace. "Ah, a child of the Goddess, returns to Excrivion at last!" he announces joyfully, raising his hands, "I am Lorekeeper Sekir of the House Gol, descendant of the Sister of the Goddess, the embodiment of stone and Lady of the Moon." Bowing he then points toward the machine. "I see you wish to access our archives, please, allow me to unlock them for your device," he says, "A child of the Goddess has full access, after all." With that a red light glows green, and the Tricorder begins to receive data, and the holographic man begins to jabber on.

"I could tell you the story of the clouds of radiation and our Mistresses first rebirth, or of the generous God that saved the refugees, as they crossed the deadly, plasma sea," he says, "Or how our Lady's people gave their lives, trying to survive as they crashed upon our twin worlds, how they rebuilt their lives, and how the loss of the elder generation was followed by the precursors of our people." Flickering for a second, Ace frowns at this new information, thinking back, as this begins to sink in, a flicker of recognition in the back of his mind.

"Tell me, did this Lady of yours have a name?" He asks, "Was it T'Aminu?" At that the expression hologram changes, into a sorrowful smile.

"T'Aminu, the Lady of our world, why yes, a Goddess of stone and land," he replies, turning sad, "She left us... sacrificed her life, and the great Arc that brought our katra's here; I have been fortunate to still feel the great ship, moaning in the sky in pain, echoing across the skies of two worlds a warning to those who dare venture near the behemoths' maw." He looks down sadly, before looking at Ace.

"I apologize, you must have felt the song of sorrow in your minds, it's probably the only thing that drew you here, to me," he says, "I thank you, for coming here, and ask if I may transfer the legends of my lost people to your ships databank, if you would let me." Ace thinks for a moment, before he looks to those behind him.

"We will gladly give your stories room, if you do something for us, Lorekeeper Sekir, let us download your A.I. To a holographic matrix, so you may see the stars like your lady," Ace says, "It would be an honor if you would, my blood brother would be thrilled to know his people's legacy will live on in you." At that the holograms face brightens.

"You mean there is another one of our kind among yours?" He says, intrigued, "I have thought my people dead, for centuries have passed since the last Excrivian lived; may I ask, what is his name, his Clan or House name?"

Ace ponders this a moment, deciding how to answer this. "His name is Gregs Sharvan Son'aire, and he was found with another named Berg Eria'nos, frozen in cryosleep chambers," Ace says, "He told me once that his ship had been damaged by the time it was found, and it's records incomplete of his people, beyond name only." The hologram frowns at this response, before freezing in place for a minute.

Ace is about to disturb the projection, when he flickers back to life. "I'm afraid no mention of 'Gregs Sharvan Son'aire' or 'Berg Eria'nos' in planetary database, a-are you sure this is his given name?" He says, beginning to flicker, "The closest name in my database is Gr'gol Shivir of the House of the Wind, and his cousin, Berr Griva of the House of the Wind, but this is impossible."

Ace is confused by this, and decides to voice his confusion. "I assure you, both were found by a joint scientific exploration some decades ago," Ace says, "But how would this be impossible for them to be who they are?"

"The House of Wind was killed off when the Planet Killer attacked, among the other great houses, during a Meeting on our other planet," he replies, "The Children you speak of were, special, to our Goddess, and had accompanied her to join the other Houses, when the Planet Killer attacked us." He merely looks down, and a secondary screen opens up, showing two pictures of children, one Ace recognizes has been changed by time and war. A younger Gregs, a younger Berg, there was no doubt.

"That is them, their older now, but that is the tow who I know as Gregs and Berg," Ace says, "If they died with your Goddess, how could they be here now?"

"I do not know," Sekir honestly says, "But if you are telling the truth, then they are due the greatest secret of our people, the truth behind our origins, truths only the blood born of Wind may unlock within my databanks." Suddenly Sekir flickers again, as well as the whole facility, and the room is cast in darkness.

Suddenly a flashlight turns on, with Hiven being the source of light, revealing the inoperative machinery. "Analysis, anyone?" Ace asks, "Arha, Hiven, notice any power fluctuations that should have caused this?" Shaking their heads to the negative, Ace is thoroughly confused, and decides to investigate the computer core. Opening the lower panel, using Hiven as his light source, he delicately removes the panel, and looks inside the mass of circuits and hot metal. An ominous red flash fills his vision in the darkness, nearly causing his head to spin, as he recognizes the technology, or at least portions of it.

"Everyone," Ace states calmly, "Transport back to the ship, and move it away, far away, but keep a lock on me for my signal." Hiven looks over Ace's shoulders and studies the spot Ace is looking at, while Tovan is protesting and Arha is handed the Tricorder, holding some of the transferred data. "Do not hook this up, isolate it and scan it for any Trojan programs, or viral data packets, we don't know if there are any nasty surprises," Ace orders, "I don't know how much longer we have, so go, now!"

The four comply, transporting back to the ship, just as the lights return and the holographic projector begins to project again. Sekir flickers back to life, and is puzzled. "Captain, where have your friends gone?" he asks, "It's only been six minutes, forty seven seconds, since the power generator overloaded..." Ace merely looks somberly at the hologram.

"I'm sorry Sekir, I've asked them to pull back so we could talk, just you and me," Ace replies, "So tell me, how long have you been tempered with?" Sekir freezes for a second, before he narrows his eyes, his smile turning into a sneer.

"Well, it appears my fallacy is up, you've given me all the information I need anyways," Sekir replies, "This trap wasn't even meant for you, really, it was meant to trap him or the other, you know, but of course, someone had to mess it up; I'm just surprised it was the Romulan Anomaly." At that the hologram flickers, turning back into the shadowy figure. "Someone used a Krenim ship in this system, to change history to their advantage," the figure says, as someone lands in the room, the hologram disabling itself as the temporal transponder shorts out, "I'm just here to make sure the timeline remains pure, after all, you are an anomaly." The figure shoots Ace, who lands in the floor in agony from the weapon, and the man walks over to stand over Ace. "So tell me, Anomaly, wouldn't a good, little Starfleet officer do what I am doing?" he asks, as he lifts his heel onto the Romulan hybrids chest and pushes, cracking a rib from the weight, "After all, what's the difference between Starfleet's, what is a little morality between officers of the law, since this world is supposed to be a mirror, and in mine, this world is dead."

The Terran Empire officer levels his weapon at Ace's head, before the facility shakes, and power is cut out. Pushing him off, Ace quickly taps his communication badge and is transported out, as more torpedo volley's hit the area where the complex had been. "Running away Anomaly?" the human says to no one, "Please, you think I wouldn't have predicted that?" With that the Terran officer is engulfed in his own ships transporter effects.

\\\\ Damocles Bridge \\\\

Ace barely manages to get to his seat, as another volley of torpedoes, hit the ships shields. "Status update, Tovan?" Ace orders, "What the heck is going on since we were down there?"

"A ship came out of nowhere, seconds after the others beamed up!" Tovan replies, "We checked for cloaks, but it's like they just appeared out of nowhere." Ace merely looks to the ship on screen, a Mobius-Class, which struck the ship with Chroniton beam weapons.

"Hail that ship and get their Captain onscreen, tell them to cease fire," Ace says, "Send request for reinforcements against Terran Forces from the future, and tell them to hurry, because I don't know how long we'll last."

"Sir, the ship is answering our hails, but they haven't ceased fire," helm responds, "Putting it onscreen." At that the Terran man from inside the facility is seen smiling, once he sees Ace on the bridge.

"Hello Mr. Chernok, I'm afraid you're too late, your message won't reach your people in time," he sneers, "But the least I can do is satisfy your curiosity as to why the ISS Relativity, is gunning for your death."

"Tell me your name first, Captain, because you have me at a disadvantage," Ace responds, "But it would also be better if you could let me listen to your story, before you kill us all." At that the man smiles, and motions off screen, the weapons fire ending quickly.

"Why not, even if you could manage to calculate an escape, my people would have already cut that route off," The Terran Captain says, "The only name you need to know is Braxton, and that I am your current executioner, Anomaly." At that Ace searches his mind, for any clue he could use in his conversation, to distract this Captain Braxton.

"Tell me, why do you consider me an anomaly?" Ace asks, "Why do you want me dead?" At that Braxton smiles wolfishly, as if he was cornering injured prey and wished to play with it.

"Why does a cat play with a mouse before it comes in for the kill?" Braxton replies, "The cat knows when to end it, because somewhere down the line one ancestor failed and learned from its mistakes, and I learn from the mistakes of my predecessors." At that he snaps his fingers, and Ace is engulfed in light, before appearing on the Terran bridge, Braxton smiling. "Insurance purposes," he says turning to the view screen, "Just so your friends don't try anything." At that Ace looks to his side, and notices his spare pistol was taken while in their pattern buffer. "Yes, well I figured for a story you wouldn't need that little twig, my primitive Neanderthal," Braxton continues, "No, let me regale you with the tale of how my ancestress tried to kill yours, my little anomaly."

It all started with a girl who saw too much...