Chapter 18: The Past is Now
The wind blew lightly across the surface of Gateway, the breeze rushed around Andre as he stood on a hill looking down into the valley below. The wind seemed to swirl around him as he looked down at the people below, Agents from DTI were standing in front of an odd shaped rock which was projecting images. In his briefing he found that this rock had a name and it was the "Guardian of Forever". First encountered by Captain James T Kirk in the 2260s during his Five Year Mission, the Guardian showed the ability to transport beings through time. DTI hoped that working with the Guardian, the timeline could be restored as it should have been. The Agents that were with the Guardian started walking back up the path to where Andre was standing, Hopefully it's good news he thought to himself. As he waited for the agents to arrive his communicator went off meaning someone from the Yeager was trying to reach him.
"Go for Calzado" he said raising his arm to below his chin speaking into the communicator. The display on the device indicated in green a connection was established and showed it was his first officer Tarsi.
"Captain, you said wanted an update on the Fleet movements at Vulcan"
"What's the news?" he asked. A Starfleet ship had gone to a peace conference with the Romulan Empress and had discovered a plot to attack Vulcan. Now most of the Fleet was rushing to the core to defend the planet, but Andre and his crew found themselves on detached service working on time travel.
"Admiral T'Nae's flagship has been destroyed, Admiral Vinzi has taken over the fleet." Tarsi's voice sounded hurt, he could tell that she wanted to be where the fight was. It made little sense to him and his first officer all the training and when it was needed the most could not be used.
"How long has the fight been going?" Andre asked
"At this point nine hours and counting; Starfleet Command just issued a Fleetwide Red Alert and is recalling forces from Tellar and Alpha Centauri" There was a pause in her transmission before she came back "Andoria is sending it's own defense force to help"
"Things must be really bad then" Andre saw the agents approaching, time to see what they wanted "I'll be back shortly. Calzado out" He tapped his communicator shutting off the transmission as Agent Dulmur approached him, four other Agents surrounded him.
"It took some convincing, but the Guardian will help us" Dulmur said "The Guardian is going to open a portal for you in orbit"
"Where does the portal lead?" Andre asked
"It will open up moments before the anomaly drops the Gagarin and the alternate Captain Calzado in the battle." he replied
Andre thought about it, That's not enough time.
"I can see your doubts Captain, but it will have to do" the tone his voice carried the weight of the message. He had seen a lot in his work, been through many events. He knew sometimes seconds or minutes could be enough, and sometimes not.
"What do we do once on the other side?" Andre asked
"Prevent the Gagarin from entering the battle, Let Discovery attempt to rescue the Prime Gagarin." Said one of the agents standing behind Dulmur
Another agent spoke "All you have to do is force the Gagarin back into the anomaly"
"How do we do that?" Andre asked "Do I hail myself and explain all of this?" the question to himself seemed dumb. Andre knew he wouldn't be able to communicate with himself and had a feeling what the method was to accomplish the mission was. In his mind he knew already what he would need to do, but he hoped it would be different.
Dulmur glanced at the agents that were with him before looking at Andre "By any means necessary you are to stop the Gagarin from interfering in the past."
"Sacrificing a Federation Starship, possibly two more mine included" he looked off into the distance where storm clouds were beginning to roll towards the gathered group "Who is to say that this timeline isn't the right one. That this is how things should be?"
"Captain, you know yourself this is not right" Dulmur replied
"The Borg don't exist anymore in this timeline" Andre said trying to prove his point, any timeline without the Borg was a win to him. Or was that his Bias speaking to him of the life he lived?
"At the cost of sixty three billion and the loss of over a fifth of the fleet" dulmur continued his voice rose over the wind which now began to blow hard "the political destabilization of this entire quadrant and the banning of an entire new form of life. Three starships at the most is a Bargain for the safety of our Quadrant"
Andre looked at Dulmur for a moment, he tapped his communicator "Calzado to Yeager, one to beam up" The Guardian planet, Agent Dulmur and his friends soon vanished as the beam of the transport enveloped him. The beam soon faded revealing the transport room back on the Yeager, Tarsi was waiting for him as he stepped off the transporter pad.
"We just got an update from Vulcan" she said as they both walked out of the transporter room into the corridor.
"Please tell me it's good news" Andre said as they stepped into the turbolift
"Sela's fleet has been repulsed" Tarsi said as she began fiddling with her hands, a sign Andre knew that there was bad news to come "Only after the Columbia rammed Sela's Flagship"
"Stop Turbolift" Andre said, the lift jerked to stop as Andre turned to face Tarsi
"Admiral Vinzi remained on board after ordering the crew to abandon ship. Reports say Sela was going to fire a thalaron weapon at the planet and the fleet" Tarsi placed her hand on his shoulder "I'm Sorry Captain"
"No it's fine, it doesn't matter. Just another life lost in time. Resume Turbolift" he replied, he rubbed his eyes with his hands wiping away tears that had started to form "Hopefully this mission succeeds and we won't find ourselves here. The doors to the turbolift opened revealing the small cramped bridge of the Yeager, Andre walked over to his seat in the middle of the bridge while Tarsi sat at the Tactical station.
"Red Alert, All hands to battlestations" ordered Andre as the lights dimmed and the sound of red alert filled the bridge.
"Helm is ready" said Ensign Flores
"Tactical is ready" Tarsi said turning to face Andre
"So is engineering" chimed Zarva his chief engineer
"Captain there is a temporal Anomaly opening ahead of us" said his science officer a Vulcan female named T'Met
"On screen" Andre replied as the anomaly came into view. It looked almost like a water fountain in space as the hue of colors erupted from the opening and flowed around it in an eerie pulsing manner.
"Take us in" Andre said "Power up the tractor beam, power up weapons"
The officers all acknowledged in turn as the Yeager moved towards the anomaly, as it closed the distance it could be seen that it was no bigger than the Yeager itself and that it would not fit through. But as the bow reached the anomaly a bright flash erupted from it covering the ship, as it receded the portal was gone along with the Yeager.
Down on the planet a light rain had started to fall where Agent Dulmur stood with his colleagues, in front of them stood the Guardian of Forever. It's portal which also served as a projector to images from the past rippled slowly. The Guardian's rock edges began to glow bright, it's voice echoed as it spoke.
"The Past is forever, the now will be changed!
Dulmur stared intently at the ripples of the portal as an image began to coalesce and became discernible. The agents around him began to murmur as the Guardian projected the battle between the Gagarin and the Klingons.
"Report!" Andre said as the familiar fields of stars came into view as the Yeager came out of the portal.
"Astrometrics confirm, based on star positions we are in the year twenty-two fifty-six" T'Met announced from her station
Tarsi scanned the sensor readings "There is Federation starship off the starboard bow, one hundred million kilometers. Weapons discharge is being picked up…..klingon"
"Alright it seems we are in the right place and time" Andre said "Flores keep us stationary here, mask our energy signature so that we don't pick up unwanted attention"
"Aye sir" replied flores as she moved her hands over the conn station console. The last thing they needed was to be caught up in the fight.
"Sensors are picking up Massive chroniton discharge Captain!" T'met set bringing Andre out of his thoughts.
"Source?" he asked turning to face the vulcan
"Ten million kilometers aft of us" T'Met quickly scanned the readings "It seems to be a tear in the space time continuum"
"That's it" he turned to face the helm "Flores set a course, Zarva prepare the tractor beam"
The Yeager quickly turned around headed towards the anomaly, it's small nacelles glowed bright blue as it closed the distance.
"Ship emerging from the anomaly, it's design matches the Gagarin" Tarsi said
"Put it on screen" The screen filled with the view from the Anomaly and the large cruiser as it exited into normal space. It's hull was covered in a white coat of paint with black trimmings, the light from the anomaly reflected off of its paint making its exit even more majestic.
"Zarva engage the tractor beam" Andre said as signalling to his engineer with his hand
"Tractor beam engaged sir" came the reply as the blue beam was emitted from the deflector array.
"Reverse the polarity" Andre said "Push them back into the anomaly, quickly before they regain their sensors and see what's happening"
Zarva quickly worked the console tapping the commands in to get the job done, it seemed as if it was going to work. Before she could put her work into effect the bridge shook and her console erupted in flames as a plasma jet seared the Bloan engineer. She screamed in agony as she fell to the floor, Andre covered his face as the bridge shook again and sparks flew out from the conduits in the ceiling.
"Damage report!" he said as a smokey haze filled the bridge, the smell of burnt wires and flesh filled his nose as he looked around.
"Direct hit from a Klingon warbird" Tarsi replied wiping her a trickle of blood from her forehead. "The tractor emitter is burned out, we have a breach on deck 3 but the force fields are holding."
"And the Gagarin?" Andre asked as it had vanished from the viewscreen in front of them.
"Chasing the ship that hit us" Flores replied "Sir it's headed straight into the battle"
"We can't let that happen, set a pursuit course" Andre said as the ship heaved below their feet. The small ship quickly turned around and sped after the Gagarin trying to catch up.
"Captain we don't have tractor power, what is your plan?" Tarsi asked as from her station
"Disable her before she gets into the fight" replied Andre coldly as the ship grew in the viewscreen
"Fire on a Starfleet Ship?" Tarsi responded in shock
"Enough to get it's attention and pull it away from the fight." Andre replied
"Captain, that is a ship of the line cruiser, we may not last if it fires on us" replied the Andorian as her antennae moved as if portraying her concern
"Noted Number one, fire phasers. Target her engines" Andre said standing up and walking to the helm
"Aye sir" Tarsi said quietly as she targeted the Gagarin
"Flores keep us moving no matter what, don't give them a chance to lock on. And keep the course headed back to the anomaly."
"Like a mosquito got it" Flores said
The Yeager fired it's phasers hitting one of the Gagarin's nacelles. Because it was unshielded the phaser cut through the nacelle as warp plasma began erupting from it. The ship slowed and slowly turned around to face the challenge.
"Direct hit sir, their warp drive is down" Tarsi said
"They are hailing us" Flores said as her console chirped
"Don't answer, turn maintain course" Andre said, suddenly a blue beam was emitted from the Gagarin and the ship shook.
"They have us" cired Tarsi as the ship vibrated, it's engines were still trying to go forward as the Gagarin held it still and closed the distance.
"Fire phasers disable the beam" Andre ordered
The Yeager fired it's phasers striking the emitters along the Gagarin's hull. The beam disappeared after several hits causing the Yeager to break free.
"Captain Sensors are picking up another ship in the fight" T'Met announced "Computer identifies it as USS Discovery"
"Right on time, keep them distracted buzzing around her Flores" The bridge shook as the Gagarin fired on it, it seemed that the attempts for diplomacy were over. Elisa slid her hands along the helm controls moving the ship around up and over the Gagarin. The Yeager was smaller and more agile allowing it to fly circles around the larger cruiser. But the cruiser had more powerful weapons which hit hard every time it struck a hit on the Yeager.
"Ten thousand kilometers from the anomaly sir" said Elisa as the ship shook again from another hit.
Tarsi looked from her station "Those weapons are powerful sir, shields down to ten percent. Another hit and we might be done"
"Almost done, keep it together" Andre said "T'Met how is that fight going?"
The vulcan quickly scanned her console "The prime Gagarin has been destroyed just now, i'm reading a power surge from the Discovery"
"It's over then" Andre said with a bit of relief "Now we need to get out of here and get ourselves back"
The bridge of the Yeager shook as the Gagarin landed another hit "Shields are gone, direct hit to the secondary hull. We are venting Plasma!" Shouted Tarsi as wires fell from the ceiling and consoles erupted along the bridge wall. Several crew screamed as they were caught in the explosions and the lights flickered.
"Helm control is offline, we are drifting towards the anomaly." Elisa said as it grew larger on the screen.
"Do we have thrusters?" Andre asked as he stood up from the floor
"Minimal" replied Flores
"And the Gagarin?" he asked
"Also being pulled in" Tarsi replied
"Good good, but we can't get caught here." Andre said as he held onto the back of the chair Flores was sitting in.
"That may not be a problem sir" T'Met said from the back of the bridge "That last hit penetrated the engineering section, we are losing antimatter containment"
"Do we have power to spare?" Andre asked as he rushed over to T'Met and began working with her on trying to save the ship.
"Captain the Gagarin has been pulled through, our thrusters are at max. It's no use" Flores said as she tried to find a solution to get them out of the anomaly and pull them out. It was no use though, as the ship was pulled slowly in. Their concerns were unwarranted though as the hit that the Gagarin score had been fatal. The antimatter leak could not be contained as the warp core breach happened and disintegrated the ship. The force of the explosion sealed the anomaly on this end and a shockwave rippled through it.
Back on the Guardian Planet the Guardian spoke as the image disappeared, it's voice echoing around its surroundings "All is as it should be, the past is the past and the present is now. Time has been written once again." Before dulmur could give a response a bright wave of white light rushed over the planet and enveloped them, as it passed they were taken with it leaving only the Guardian present. The sun shone on the planet again as the gentle breeze flowed through the air.
"Damage report!" Shouted Andre through the chaos that filled the bridge of the Gagarin
"Direct hit to the Port Nacelle, we are venting Plasma" Kolez responded
Andre knelt down to check on his first officer that had been knocked to the floor during the fight, he placed his fingers on her neck and got no pulse. The ship jerked again from another weapon hit "What is the damage on Sela's flagship?" He said as he stood up
"Minimal Captain" replied T'Vrell as she looked up from her console at Andre "Captain i'm reading a massive buildup of Thalaron energy on her ship."
"She's going to fire it at Vulcan, and poison everybody" Andre said as he turned to face the viewscreen at the massive Scimitar Warbird which was surrounded by Starfleet ships trying to destroy it. "What do we have left?" Andre asked as he walked over to Kolez
"Nothing sir" replied the Saurian "We are fresh out of everything and so is most of the fleet"
"Abandon Ship" Andre said turning to face the rest of the bridge crew
"Sir?" asked Tarsi who sat at the helm
"You heard me, I'm issuing a General Order. Abandon ship" he said sternly, the crew on the bridge took a moment before getting up began to file out of the bridge. "All hands this is the Captain, Abandon ship. I repeat, Abandon ship. Board the escape pods and all available shuttles" Her sat the helm and tapped in his commands. It took a few minutes as the crew got into their escape pods and the shuttles.
On board the Columbia the launch of the escape craft caught the attention of the crew. The tactical officer Kim noticed sensor contacts and turned to face her commanding officer.
"Commodore, the Gagarin is launching escape pods" she said
"Warp core breach?" Asked Commodore Vinzi in reply
"No sir, their core is fine. It's moving away towards the Romulan flagship" Kim said, highlighting its position in comparison to the fleet.
Vinzi stood up and walked over to her station "Is anybody on board?"
Kim nodded as the Commodore stood behind her "One life sign on the bridge"
"Hail the ship" Vinzi ordered as she tried to think what the hell her son was doing.
"No reply sir" said the comms officer from the other side of the bridge.
"Sir their course is set directly at the Warbird" announced the helmsman turning from his station, Vinzi walked towards the viewscreen trying to find words or an order to give as the Gagarin closed the distance on the Romulan Warship.
"Can we beam him out" Vinzi said trying to hold herself together
"Out of range sir" said Kim as they watched the screen. An escort warbird tried to intercept the Gagarin and failed as the ship rammed its wings. The collision ripped one of the Gagarin's nacelles and destroyed the warbird as it spun into the Scimitar. The Gagarin disintegrated as it struck the Scimitar's port wing severing it, the ship seemed to be disabled.
"The thalaron power signature is gone Commodore" Kim announced the Scimitar drifted
Her comms officer "The rest of the Romulan fleet is turning away, There is an open transmission from the romulans sir, Audio only"
"Let's hear it" Vinzi said as she stared at the debris field and the broken scimitar, Sela's voice filled the bridge of the Columbia as the transmission crackled through the audio speakers
"You have won this day Starfleet, But it is not over. Romulus will be avenged, Vulcan will suffer the same fate"
Vinzi held her hand up signalling her Comms officer to cut the line, she walked over to her command seat and sat down processing the events that had just unfolded. "What is the status of the Gagarin's escape craft?" she said
"Belfast and James T. Kirk have picked all of the pods and shuttles" Replied Kim
"I want their senior staff on this ship in ten minutes," Vinzi said, staring out the viewscreen as the remaining Romulan ships warped away.