Zhem leaned forward in his chair. "N'alae, what exactly are we looking at?"
"Those are all most definitely Faeht-class warbirds," N'alae said quietly. The ship was smaller than the Averrek. with two sharply drooping wings with oversized warp nacelles at their tips. It looked more like a Klingon bird of prey than a Romulan warbird - although, since the Klingons had stolen the bird-of-prey design from the Romulans in the first place, it was a nebulous point.
"Correction," T'res announced. "That is one Faeht-class warbird. The vessel is caught in a temporal distortion field around that anomaly. Which is why its location is so hard to pin down - it is orbiting the anomaly, and we are seeing it at multiple points along its orbit simultaneously." She paused for a moment, and then continued, "It is emitting a beam of chronitron radiation into the anomaly, which is itself emitting a much stronger chronitron signal."
"And the nature of that anomaly?" Zhem prompted.
"It appears to be a temporal singularity," T'res answered. "Possibly a temporal wormhole, although much too small for a ship to traverse. I am attempting to determine where, and when, the other end of the wormhole is located."
"Proceed," Zhem ordered. "Any speculation as to what the ship is trying to do to it, or why? Are they trying to enlarge it?"
"Possibly," T'res said. "But it appears that their primary purpose is investigating the conditions on the other end of the wormhole. I am picking up occasional pulses of sensor data - I am attempting to assemble them into a coherent whole."
"How close do you think we can get without getting caught in the temporal distortion?" Zhem asked.
"The other vessel is orbiting seventy kilometers from the center of the anomaly," T'res said, "and it is most definitely experiencing strong temporal distortion. I recommend remaining at least two hundred kilometers away from it."
"Understood. Helm, take us to two hundred kilometers, slowly. N'alae, monitor the temporal distortion, and if there's any effect on us at all, signal the helm to back off."
"Understood," N'alae said.
"Proceeding at ten percent impulse," the helm said.
As they approached the anomaly, T'res announced, "Commander, I am getting something here. Just a few seconds of visual data, but I believe it is clear."
"On screen," Zhem ordered.
The image was of low quality and badly distorted, but the shape of what appeared to be an old Starfleet vessel appeared on the screen. "Can we identify that ship?" Zhem asked.
Shonna squinted, trying to make sense of the image. "That's definitely an Einstein-class survey vessel," she said. "And - yes, that's the Kelvin's number on the saucer."
"So an image from the past," Zhem said. "Interesting..."
Just then the ship in the image lurched, and smoke and flame atmosphere began pouring out of multiple hull breaches. "What was that?" Zhem demanded.
"I'd say it's under attack," Khoal responded. "Those looked like torpedo hits."
"But who is attacking? T'res, can we see who or what is attacking them?"
"Negative, Commander," T'res said. "Insufficient data. That is all I am able to extract from the signal." The video ended, and the viewscreen returned to showing the bizarre situation around the subspace anomaly.
"All right then, so it's the Kelvin, and it's under attack." Zhem frowned. "So when, and where?"
"The light reflecting off of the Kelvin's hull was a spectral match for L-52327," T'res told him.
"The Kelvin was only in this system one time," Shonna objected. "And it wasn't attacked on that occasion."
"Those torpedoes," Khoal mused. "T'res, route the video to the tactical console, please."
"Done, Subcommander."
Khoal stared at what he saw on the console, and frowned. "The energy signatures on those torpedoes are definitely Romulan. Modern Romulan."
Zhem's face darkened. "So, it's an attempt to rewrite history."
"By attacking the Kelvin?" Khoal looked confused.
"Think about it, Khoal," Zhem said. "Destroy the Kelvin, you eliminate James T. Kirk before he was born. And think about the effect Kirk had on history. He made first contact with more civilizations than any other Starfleet captain until Janeway, including the First Federation and the Gorn. His actions likely circumvented wars between the Federation and the old Empire at least twice. He was also personally responsible for much of the state of Federation relations with the Klingons in his time - he was involved in the Treaty of Organia. the Sherman's Planet incident, the Genesis crisis, and the Khitomer Conference. Not to mention saving Earth from potential destruction by alien probes on two separate occasions. Eliminate Kirk, and the history of the entire quadrant becomes profoundly different."
"Not to mention Kirk's influence upon other Starfleet officers," N'alae added. "Most particularly, Ambassador Spock."
Zhem nodded. "Spock acknowledged that Kirk decisively influenced his life. Without Kirk, Spock would have been a different man. Without Spock as we know him, the Unification movement may never have started. And Spock's writings and collected wisdom provide much of the intellectual foundation for the Romulan Republic."
"If eliminating Kirk and changing history was their goal," Shonna said, "then they obviously failed. Because we're still here. Whatever they did, either they didn't kill Kirk, or they simply branched off an alternate timeline."
"Perhaps, Lieutenant," T'res said. "Although creating a stable, self-consistent alternate universe is much harder than is popularly believed. Federation temporal researchers have identified several alternative timelines, but most of them are ephemeral - they tend to decay into improbability very rapidly after their point of divergence from our own timeline. There is only one alternate universe we know of with any long-term stability, and that one only because it is closely entangled with our own."
"So is it possible, then, that we are seeing events in the alternate timeline that the Federation refers to as the Mirror Universe?" N'alae asked.
"I do not believe so," T'res answered. "The markings on the Kelvin's hull were Federation, not Terran Empire."
"So what do you believe is happening here, Ensign?" Zhem asked.
"I am not entirely certain," T'res admitted. "Although there is another possibility that we must consider. It is entirely possible that this is an attempt to alter the history of this timeline - and that we are only still here because that vessel has not yet launched its attack on the Kelvin."
"But - we saw it," Khoal protested.
"In the past, yes. But to them," T'res said, pointing at the warbird on the viewscreen, "it may very well still be in the future."
"And this is why I struggled with physics at Starfleet Academy," Shonna said. "I simply cannot wrap my head around temporal mechanics. Just accept it, Subcommander; it's not going to make sense."
"In this case, it is quite simple," T'res objected. "The chronitron beam that vessel is emitting is causing the temporal distortion to expand. At some point, it will be large enough for the vessel to travel through it to the past. Then they will be able to attack the Kelvin. If they destroy the Kelvin, a new timeline will diverge from our own. It only remains to be seen whether it exists alongside our own, or replaces us."
"Fair enough," Zhem said. "The question becomes, since that part is in our future - can we prevent it?"
"Yes," T'res said. "If we board the vessel, as previously discussed, we should be able to interrupt their chronitron beam, which will allow the temporal wormhole to collapse."
"And then what will become of the Kelvin?" Zhem prompted.
"If we are successful, the attack that we saw will never take place. The alternate timeline that we witnessed will not replace this one, and will dissipate into a mere potential. The Kelvin will continue with its mission as though nothing had happened - because to them, nothing did. And history remains on course." T'res was almost, but not quite, smiling as she concluded.
"All right, now for a practical question." Khoal pointed at the viewscreen. "How do we board that? It's jumping around all over the place."
N'alae spoke up. "I believe it should be possible. I have been tracking the vessel's movements, and there is a definite pattern to them. I believe there is a large enough window for us to transport aboard. It will require precise timing by the transporter operator, but we can do it."
Zhem nodded, and Khoal grinned. "Let's get going, then."
"One moment, Subcommander," T'res interrupted. "There is another problem. The temporal distortion will almost certainly have an adverse effect upon the central nervous systems of anyone aboard that ship. If we beam aboard unprotected, we will quickly become disoriented, and will eventually lose consciousness."
"So how do we protect ourselves?"
"Romulan environment suits have built-in shield generators, do they not?" Khoal nodded, and T'res continued, "Starfleet suits do as well. We can reconfigure the shield generator in each suit to create a subspace isolation field. This should protect the wearer from any adverse effects, and additionally give our transporters a stronger signal to lock on to when it is time to return."
Khoal grinned from ear to ear, and activated the communicator on his wrist. "Bridge to Engineering. Eviess? I have a project for you."
Two hours later the suits were all configured and the teams were assembling in their designated transporter rooms. Rileimo's team of Starfleet and Republic tactical officers was suited up in Transporter Room 2, amidships. Ensign Riig, the Ferengi logistics officer, carried a portable data storage unit into the room and gave it to Markhon. "Now remember," Riig told the Klingon, "not a scratch on it. You promised!"
Markhon laughed. "I will guard it with my life. Now get out of here."
"Break a leg, pal," Riig called out as he left. "Preferably one or more of the enemies' legs."
Sublieutenant Tanan raised an eyebrow. "You and Riig are friends?"
"We were roommates at the Academy," Markhon told him. "I am happy to be serving with him again."
"You Feds are weird," Tanan muttered.
Rileimo took a call from Khoal on his communicator, and then spoke up to the assembled team. "All right, everyone, I just got the word. Close helmets, activate shields, and take your places on the transporter platform. Centurion N'alae will be activating the transporters from the bridge.
They all closed their helmets and checked to ensure that their seals were airtight. "Comm check," Rileimo announced, and the rest of his team indicated that their communicators were active.
"And remember, we may still experience some mild nausea due to the temporal distortions," Rileimo said. "If you start getting disoriented, speak up. Lieutenant Sh'nan will attend to you." He nodded in the direction of the blue-skinned Andorian woman who was their team's medic.
N'alae's voice came over their communicators. "Stand by for transport in three, two, one..."
The transporter room dissolved in a cloud of light around them.
As soon as transport was complete, Shonna pulled her phaser out and did a visual scan of the Tal Shiar vessel's engine room. Lo'mek, beside her, had his disruptor out and was doing the same.
"Two targets," Lo'mek announced. "On the deck at thirty degrees. Not moving."
Shonna glanced in the direction Lo'mek indicated, and saw two prone figures lying in front of the singularity core. "Check them out, Chief," she ordered.
Lo'mek advanced, his disruptor rifle trained on them, but they still didn't move. He prodded one with his boot. "Medic!" he called out.
A Romulan medic named Daauva joined Lo'mek and quickly scanned the bodies. "Alive, but unconscious," she announced.
Shonna signaled her team to search the rest of the engine room. They found five more unconscious Romulans.
"No protective gear," Lo'mek observed. "They didn't know this was going to happen."
"Looks that way, Chief," Shonna agreed. "All right, secure all of the exits. Eviess, your team is clear to work."
"Hsien, try to reroute control of the ship to here," Eviess ordered a Starfleet engineering technician. "Nirlok, help me with the singularity core."
"Amass to Khoal," Shonna said. "We have secured main engineering. No opposition. None of the vessel's crew appear to be protected against the effects of the temporal distortion. All that we have encountered are unconscious."
"Understood," Khoal's voice answered. "We're seeing the same thing. Stay alert, though - there might be some still conscious."
"Got it. Amass out."
"Lieutenant!" Lo'mek suddenly called out. She looked, and saw him pointing to where two unconscious Romulan engineers had been lying a moment before, and where one was now.
"Alert, everyone!" Shonna called out. "We have a live one! Locate and stun!"
Just then a figure staggered out from behind the singularity core, clearly disoriented. Lo'mek brought his disruptor to bear, but before he could fire, the woman fell to the deck - exactly where she had been lying before.
"What the hell?" Shonna said aloud.
Rileimo's communicator beeped. "Amass to all teams. The Tal Shiar personnel seem to be jumping around in time a bit. They may regain consciousness unexpectedly, and in unexpected places. Stay alert."
"We're seeing that too," Rileimo said. "So far they are too disoriented to notice us, though."
"Status report," Khoal's voice ordered. "Rileimo?"
"Computer core is secure," Rileimo said. "Ensign Markhon is downloading their data now." He glanced over to where the Klingon had the portable data store plugged into the ship's main computer.
"Will the temporal fluctuations affect that?"
"Markhon here, Subcommander," the Klingon answered. "Download is proceeding. I am getting some data blocks out of order, but we should be able to reassemble them back aboard Averrek."
"Very good. Shonna?"
"Engineering remains secure. Engineering team has gained control over the singularity core and is attempting to reroute control of critical systems away from the bridge. I'll keep you posted on our progress."
"Good," Khoal said. "How long until we can deactivate that chronitron beam?"
"Eviess here. I'm trying to access the beam emitters now, Subcommander, but the beam doesn't seem to be controlled from engineering. As far as I can tell, it's coming from a lab complex just forward of Rileimo's location."
"Understood. Lieutenant Rileimo, take a team and check out that lab."
"Acknowledged," Rileimo said. "Markhon, stay here and continue the download. Tanan, you're in charge here - keep this space secure until I get back, and if you see anything out of the ordinary, call me immediately. T'res, you're with me." He signalled to four of the Romulan tactical specialists to follow him, and they exited the computer core.
They made their way through deserted corridors, dimly-lit by Federation standards but normal on a Romulan ship. Occasionally they passed an unconscious Romulan, passed out on the deck. Finally they came to the lab that Eviess had indicated.
"Door's locked," Rileimo said. He signaled to one of the Romulan tactical specialists, who came forward with a highly useful device they called a "doorknocker", which shorted out the door's controls and allowed it to be manually opened. Rileimo made a mental note to acquire one of those for himself, then helped the specialists pry the door open.
On the other side of the door they found a large room full of what appeared to be cylindrical coffins. Rileimo went up to one and examined it; T'res ran a tricorder over them.
"Cryogenic stasis pods," she announced. "Empty and inactive."
"That's odd," Rileimo muttered. "All right, let's go and find the chronitron beam controls."
T'res scanned the area and pointed the way; Rileimo led them past rows and rows of the stasis pods. "You could freeze their entire crew in here, from the looks of it."
"Curious," T'res agreed.
Another door, and the assault team used the doorknocker again to open it. Rileimo led the team into a smaller room, which had glowing force-field containment unit in its center. The containment unit was filled with a strange, oddly-pulsating red mass that to Rileimo appeared to be neither exactly solid nor liquid nor gaseous.
"Oh no," T'res said.
Rileimo glanced over at her. The Vulcan's face had a strange, almost horrified expression on it. "T'res? What's going on?"
"This is bad," she said, a faint note of panic in her voice. "This is very bad. I was wrong about what this vessel is attempting." She activated her communicator and said, "T'res to Subcommander Khoal, priority violet."
"Khoal here," came the answer. "What is it, Ensign?"
"Subcommander, there are approximately eight liters of red matter in a containment facility in the lab complex. Also enough cryogenic stasis pods to hold the entire crew."
"Red matter?" Khoal sounded puzzled. "Isn't that the stuff that Ambassador Spock tried to use to stop the Hobus supernova?"
"Correct," T'res said. "It is an exotic form of non-baryonic matter that interacts with both time and gravitation in ways ordinary matter does not."
"Ensign? You're losing me. Please explain."
"Subcommander, I was wrong. I no longer believe this vessel's primary mission has anything to do with the USS Kelvin or James T. Kirk."
"What, then?"
"If I am correct, this vessel's mission is to travel back through time and prevent the Hobus supernova from destroying Romulus."