They say that all good things must end someday
Autumn leaves must fall
But don't you know that it hurts me so
To say goodbye to you
Wish you didn't have to go
No, no, no, no
– Chad and Jeremy (A Summer Song)
=/\=
In 2192, Empress Hoshi Sato yawned and stretched. "Tell me more about that ship," she said to Milton Walker.
"Well, hmm, let me tell you a bit about temporal integration," he replied. "See, let's say we take a little trip to, I dunno, 2011. And we stay for two decades, and then we return here, but to just before our departure."
"Does it have to be seconds before?"
"I don't believe so," he said, kissing her hand. They were alone in her Ready Room.
"And?" she demanded, taking her hand away. She was in no mood for his clumsy attempts at romance.
"And you end up with two versions of yourself. Now, the one that traveled is, of course, two decades older. So if we left today, she would be," he paused for a moment and she glared at him, "about fifty-five."
"You're lying like a rug," she said to him, annoyedly. "You know I'm not really thirty-five."
He swallowed hard. He had read the literature, and knew, for real, that she was going to be sixty-three at her next birthday, which was about six weeks away. Too young, he had just learned, was going to peeve her to no end. But an estimate that was too old would probably get him a dagger in his side. He had already told her that he was sixty-seven years of age. "I, I know," he said cautiously, "Though you could certainly pass for it. And I know that your eldest is about that age. But you do not look like his mother! You appear as if you could be his elder sister."
"How much elder?" she glared at him. The wrong answer could still spell major trouble for him.
"Less than five years," he said, hoping that about forty would be the sweet spot.
"You really think so? It's so hard to replicate good hair dye. I always end up with roots."
"I don't even notice, my dear." He kissed her.
"Tell me more about temporal integration," she said.
"Very well," he sighed, it was not looking good for him getting any more that evening. "So let's say we return from 2011."
"Does it have to be earlier time travel, or can it be later?"
"It can be either," he said, "As I was saying, we return. And there are two versions of both of us. If we touch our other versions, the most extraordinary thing happens. See, the two versions merge. They become the age of the younger version, but with the memories, knowledge and experience of the older version. It's quite remarkable, really."
"So if we go back to January of 2155, when I first got the Defiant," she said, "er, never mind how old I was then," she glanced at him and he just smiled at her, "I could have all of this information at my fingertips. And I wouldn't have to busy myself with replicating any hair dye. Why, I could do that an infinite amount of times and live forever!" She grinned at him.
"I, uh, I suppose, with careful planning, one could."
Uh, oh…
=/\=
In 3110, this was very nearly what the Varg-i-yeh were doing. They used their propulsion system as a means for moving ahead in time, briefly. This would be a difference of up to a minute. Then they would catch up.
But in their case, they did not temporally reintegrate. Instead, they remained separate, thereby continually making copies of themselves. The process was a form of temporal cloning. As a result, Varg-i-yeh were forbidden from touching each other. They had performed so much temporal cloning it was virtually impossible to tell who was who anymore. This almost made sense, as they were identical, all copies with but one original.
=/\=
Back in 2192, in another part of the Defiant, Frank Ramirez hustled himself over to the mess as mice skittered by his feet. There was one person he wanted to see.
The slop being offered was none too appetizing. The replicators must've been on the fritz, yet again. It was his job, as Chief Engineer, to repair such things, but there were so many work orders and so many repair demands that he and his staff simply could never fulfill even one-tenth of them all, particularly as there was a mouse infestation, and they loved to chomp on wires. The doctor had snakes for that, but you had to ask nicely, and do a favor, in order to be able to borrow them for any length of time.
Plus there were the Empress's own demands. If the environmental controls in her quarters were even slightly off, he was tasked with personally fixing them – and immediately. Other, more pressing matters, kept taking a back seat to her comfort.
He saw the pilot, Shelby Pike, and barely acknowledged her. That was planned. The two of them were an item, but very few people knew. This was potentially an issue with the Empress. Because he was the First Officer, he also had bed privileges.
With the Empress.
Shelby knew that she had to share. It did not sit well with her, but this was the case with all of the men on board. The Empress did allow marriages and relationships – that was not always the case – so long as she could swoop in at any time, and under any pretext. Aidan MacKenzie, the Tactical Officer, was married to the ship's teacher, Susan Cheshire, but that never stopped the Empress. What was to stop Hoshi from butting in on what Shelby and Frank had?
And so she saw him, and smiled just the tiniest bit, and he nodded at her very, very slightly. And then he turned to find the person he wanted to have dinner with. A mouse skittered by as he looked around. Damn rodents! Where the hell were the snakes?
Ah, in the corner. Excellent.
Frank made his way over to where another older guy was sitting, Security Specialist Josh Rosen. "This seat taken?" Frank asked.
"It is now," said Rosen. He paused to try his dinner, and then pushed it away.
Someone turned the game on the viewer, and it got loud in the mess hall. Josh nodded at Frank, and then pulled out a PADD. This would be better. They would communicate that way, in the open, and no one would suspect a thing. Josh typed.
What's up?
Frank responded.
We're near a planet where there are other humans, people you and I both know.
Rosen raised an eyebrow. Frank typed some more.
Tucker and Cutler and Crossman got there in '57, and then Stoney's cousin, and Masterson, in '61. Empress will want to get an invasion force in. Shelby will pilot at least once. Aidan will probably be sent down, too.
Rosen responded.
That means Izo will go down, too, and probably Kira. Arashi would never sully his hands with combat.
Frank replied.
Right.
Josh continued.
How are you getting down? Unless you can find something to fix, I don't see it. I take it you want to go there and stay?
Frank nodded. Josh typed some more.
If Aidan wants to get down there and stay, there is no way the Empress will ever buy Susan going down there. Shelby has a pretext, so does Aidan. And you might, too. But not Susan. Aidan isn't going to want to leave her. But he is definitely going to have to leave his kid. Kira won't go native, and he can't be trusted with any plans.
Frank wrote.
I know. And I haven't figured out how to get Susan down there yet.
Josh typed.
What do you need for me to do?
Frank thought for a minute.
I don't know yet. I also think Stoney might want out. But I haven't talked to him yet. The big thing is that there are the contraband Constitution class ship parts coming out of that system. Empress thinks there's manufacturing going on there, and I think she's right. So that might be my pretext. It might also be a way to convince her to send Susan down, and maybe even Stoney, to work the Science angle.
Josh shook his head and typed.
Kira is the Science Officer, remember? We are back to square one.
Frank typed.
No, we might not be. If we can convince her that it's dangerous down there, she might be willing to have everyone but Kira go. The first born heir to the throne can't be getting into scrapes anymore.
Josh thought briefly.
What about that time ship and the guy who brought it in? Think he can help at all?
There was a loud round of cheering as the South American Pistoleros scored in the first inning. Frank let the sound die down as he typed.
I think he's worse than useless. He strikes me as a guy who doesn't know the first thing about his tech. I get the feeling he's a thief or a wannabe. Either way, I see him as less trustworthy than Kira. You need to come with us, Josh. I know you don't like the idea of going native, but she will find out someday, and Izo will end up killing you in the Agony Booth. And Mark Stone needs to be convinced to come along, too. He'll get it whether he's a part of this plan or not. You two are the only other ones I trust with these plans, and want to be able to come along with us. You are getting too old for this nonsense. We all are. Get out while there's still a chance.
Josh nodded. Izo was coming over. He quickly deleted their typed conversation and changed the PADD so that it was instead showing a picture of a naked girl. As Izo came over, Josh pretended to be showing the picture to Frank – it was Miss May, a blonde wearing nothing but sky-high heels and a lab coat. The double entendre caption read, "Pamela is about to get off work. Come and join her."
Izo looked over their shoulder, and then grabbed the PADD to look at it more closely. He smiled. "Send me any photos you have of this one!" he yelled over the din.
"Yes, sir!" Josh hollered back. "I got a whole calendar's worth."
=/\=
And when the rain
Beats against my window pane
I'll think of summer days again
And dream of you
And dream of you
– Chad and Jeremy (A Summer Song)
