USS Enterprise NCC-1701,
Monday 24th January 1994
"Tell me, Captain," Sevek said, abruptly making up his mind. If there was even the smallest chance that this ship from the future could help him locate the missing survey team, then he had to try. "Your ship's sensors… I am aware that for reasons of preserving the timeline, you cannot discuss their specifications, but would it be accurate to say that they are more advanced than our own?"
"Without knowing the capabilities of your own sensors," Kirk responded, "it's hard to answer that question, but yes, I think that might be a fair assumption. Why do you ask?"
"You have been honest with regards to your purpose here," Sevek said. "I will therefore reciprocate. For some years now, we Vulcans have had an observation team living on Earth. Since the arrival of the Klingons, we have been unable to locate them."
"And you are concerned for their welfare," Kirk concluded. As a captain, that was something he could understand all too well.
"Indeed," Sevek said. "They may have been killed in the fighting or even discovered by the Klingons but it is also possible that they have been able to mask their bio-signs to avoid detection."
Kirk nodded. "I can make no promises, but we will certainly try to find them for you. I assume you wish to retrieve them if they are located?"
"That would be the optimal outcome," Sevek agreed, turning towards his subordinate. "Commander Solkar..."
At the other side of the room, the two younger Vulcans were standing side by side in very similar poses - backs straight and hands clasped behind them - as they looked out of the window at the Vesaya. Solkar's gaze slid sideways to study his companion. It was almost certain that they were closely related; the unknown Vulcan who called himself Spock looked far too like him for it to be coincidence. There were many reasons why he should not ask but the desire to know was overwhelming and despite his control, it was an effort to keep his mind on the subject under discussion.
"…Chronitons are of course, the key," Spock was saying. "We have found that they are present in almost all cases of temporal displacement, whether intentional or accidental."
"Are there many such incidences?" Solkar queried. "Surely the risk of temporal paradox is too great for time travel to become common."
"Time travel is, as you say, extremely dangerous," Spock said, "I cannot speak for what future generations may or may not allow, but in our time period, it is forbidden except in case of extreme emergency. The risk of changing the timeline is too great."
"Assuming that it is actually possible to change the past," Solkar said thoughtfully. "There are many conflicting theories, none of which have been provable until now. One such is the theory of retrocausality."
"You are correct," Spock said. "The Terrans refer to it as the grandfather paradox. The name comes from the concept of accidentally preventing one's own birth by killing an ancestor before he has children, thus preventing the person from travelling back to kill that ancestor."
Solkar saw his opportunity and took it. "I would suggest then, that you do not kill me, Schn T'gai Spock, since I am not yet bonded and have no children." It was with some satisfaction that he saw Spock flinch slightly, confirming his suspicion. "Just how closely are we related?"
"I should not give you any information about your future," Spock said after a moment. "However, I do not think that confirmation of something you have already guessed will affect that future in any way. Very well, I will tell you the truth. Your assumption as to my identity is correct. I am indeed your direct descendant, your great grandson to be precise."
"Fascinating!" Solkar said. "I believe that…" Captain Sevek's voice interrupted him and he stopped, turning to face his superior officer. "Yes, sir?"
"Captain Kirk has agreed to assist us in our search for the missing team," Sevek told his first officer. "I require you to give Commander Spock all the necessary information to achieve our goal."
"We will need to know how many people we are looking for," Spock said, glancing at his captain for approval. Kirk nodded and he continued, "It will also be helpful to have their last known location."
"There are three missing people," Solkar responded. "One male and two females. The last time we heard from them they were in the northern USA."
"Then that is our starting point," Spock decided. "With your permission, I will go to the bridge now and begin work. We will need to proceed with extreme care if we are to avoid detection by the Klingons. They have been on heightened alert since the rescue of the prisoners in the London Detention Centre and are carrying out regular scans."
Sevek nodded. "We will return to our ship then and wait for news." He offered Spock the taal. "Live long and prosper."
The younger Vulcan reciprocated the gesture. "Peace and long life."
Loire Valley, France
Monday 24th January 1994
The revelation that Krang was the planetary governor with responsibility for everything that happened on Earth was shocking to Chrissie but at the same time, it did make sense. That he was a very senior officer had become more and more obvious to her as she had got to know him, but she hadn't realised just how senior. She'd told him that his rank and position would not change anything. Was that true? Did it matter to her?
Her first reaction had been a nervous laugh. He had to be teasing her, surely? Much as he always appeared very serious, he did have a dry sense of humour that manifested itself in odd ways. It had to be a joke… didn't it? Planetary governor? She'd been expecting him to say he was a regional official of some sort, maybe even in charge of the UK, not the entire planet! No," she said, shaking her head, "You're joking, aren't you? What do you really do?"
I am a senior officer of Klingon Imperial Intelligence," he told her. "I was assigned here by my government to run things. Yes, Chrissie, I really am the planetary governor here."
There was no smile or sign of humour on his face and slowly it dawned on Chrissie that he was serious. "Oh! Okay…" She stepped back, wanting a little space to process the information. "I… I need to clear the table and load the dishwasher." Momentarily taking refuge in the mundane, she focussed on the dirty dishes, completely missing the look of pain in his eyes at what he saw as her rejection.
She was still loading the machine when she heard her daughter running down the stairs, Toni a moment behind her. It would be hard not to hear them since they were making enough noise for an entire herd of elephants, Chrissie reflected wryly. "WALK!" she admonished them, "How many times have I told you about running on the stairs?"
Both children skidded to a halt at the entrance to the kitchen. "We're ready for bed, mama," Fina said. Her black hair damp from the water she had splashed on her face, the little girl was wearing her favourite blue pyjama set with a space rocket on it and the words 'Future Rocket Scientist' emblazoned underneath.
Despite her worries, Chrissie smiled at the sight. The outfit was meant for boys but a few months ago, the four-year old had declared her disgust with the entire pink princess thing that little girls were encouraged to like. Maybe it was having an older brother, but the child was more interested in toy cars and trains than she was in dolls and prams.
Toni on the other hand had chosen his grey Sonic the Hedgehog pyjamas and Chrissie noted that they were getting a bit old and faded as well as being slightly too small for him. She sighed, making a mental note to get him some new ones when she went shopping.
Putting the final plate in the dishwasher, Chrissie straightened and turned her attention back to her errant offspring. "Right, let's get you two monsters into bed." She glanced at Krang. "Would you deal with it while I finish cleaning up the mess in here?" Over the last few nights, she'd noticed that he seemed to enjoy the whole bedtime and story-telling routine and it would give her a few minutes' space to think.
She could leave that for Marie-Claire to deal with in the morning, Krang thought with just a touch of resentment, but he did enjoy the night-time stories with the children and so he did not argue, instead shooing the children back upstairs and into their bedroom. Toni climbed into his bed and his sister dived in next to him, snuggling up against her brother as they both waited expectantly for their story.
The Klingon settled himself on the end of the bed, racking his brains to think of an interesting tale to tell them.
"Can we have the three bears tonight?" Fina asked hopefully.
"The three bears?" Krang frowned. "I do not know that story."
"Well, there's Daddy Bear, Mummy Bear and Baby Bear," the little girl told him, "and…"
"That's a baby story," Toni interrupted scornfully. "Can't we have one with proper adventures in it?"
"It's my turn to choose," Fina protested, "You chose yesterday and I want the three bears."
Krang held up a hand for silence and both children instantly stopped their squabbling. He thought for a moment and an idea came to him. "It is obvious that you have both heard that story many times and know it far too well. How about I tell you how Daddy Bear met Mummy Bear?"
This was something new and revolutionary and both children were intrigued. Hiding a smile, Krang began. "Once upon a time…" He had learned quickly that bedtime stories had to begin this way. Despite the formulaic beginning, however, he had a few surprises in store for them. "… there was a young, handsome bear who was brave and honourable and desperate for adventure…"
Toni and Fina listened with rapt attention as the Klingon told a wild and highly improbable story involving spaceships and pirates and battles. Passing by the bedroom, Chrissie stopped to listen and despite having missed the beginning, was instantly caught up in the magic.
"…and there, on the auction block…" Krang's eyes went to the doorway, silently letting Chrissie know he was aware of her presence. "…was the most beautiful female bear that our hero had ever seen. He was instantly in love with her! Letting out a loud roar that terrified the evil slave traders, he rushed in and with his big, sharp claws, he broke the chains that were holding her prisoner. Nobody dared to fight him and so he rescued her and took her back to his ship."
"Did she fall in love with him?" Fina asked, absolutely enthralled with the tale.
"Did the pirates chase them?" Unlike his sister, Toni was more interested in the battles than the romance.
"If you want to know what happened next," Krang said with a mischievous grin, "you will need to be good and go to sleep and maybe you will find out tomorrow night."
With no further argument the two children snuggled down into their beds as Krang got up and moved towards the door. Lowering the light, he stepped into the corridor and shut the bedroom door behind him.
Chrissie couldn't help smiling. He was good with the children, a natural father and they responded to him so well. "You have a real gift for story-telling."
"So, what do you think?" Krang asked her, a little awkwardly. "Will they fall in love? Will the hero get his happy ending?" She'd said very little after his revelation and despite her promise, he could not help worrying that it had changed things between them.
"He is such a brave, honourable bear," Chrissie said, choosing to use his story to answer the more important question hanging over them both. Moving closer and allowing her body to press against his seductively, she looked up at him. "How could the lady bear not fall in love with him?"
The growl Krang let out had a distinctly ursine quality and Chrissie revelled in the wordless vocalisation of his desire for her. She did not know why she had been so shocked when he'd admitted the truth about his rank. It had been obvious for many reasons that he was not the mid-ranking officer he pretended to be, just as it was obvious that the deception was necessary, keeping him safe and allowing him to do his job without interference or the need to be constantly guarded. She remembered with consternation the information she had given Kirk and Sarah and could only pray that in doing so, she had not put him in danger. No, his rank and position were not important to her. What mattered was the way he treated her and the children, the way he looked at her as though she was something special, something precious. Just maybe, she thought hopefully, he would come to love her as much as she loved him.
Standing on tiptoe, she slipped her arms around his neck. "Come to bed, Krang-oy," she said, hoping, from the context in which he had used that term, that she had guessed its meaning and applied it correctly. If the way his growl intensified was anything to go by, she had got it right. Chrissie nipped at his lip and then dissolved into helpless giggles as he lifted her into his arms and throwing her over his shoulder, carried her into their bedroom.
Before she knew it, she was lying on the bed and he was on top of her, one knee between her legs as his hands worked on removing her clothing. The tiny buttons of her blouse were difficult to unfasten and his growl turned to one of frustration as he fought with them.
Laughing, she batted his hands away. "Don't you dare tear them!"
"Then you had better remove them quickly," he warned her, "because I am running out of patience."
Teasingly she responded with the Klingon phrase she'd first tried out in the restaurant, the one he had threatened to make her scream again and again. He'd kept that promise several times over, much to their mutual pleasure. "Yes, joHwI-oy."
He stilled, looking down at her as she lay pinned beneath him. "It is joH-oywI," he corrected her, "and that is a term that is used only in the bedroom…" He resumed his exploration of her body and as his hand slid under the soft, silken fabric of her skirt that had ended up pooled around her hips, caressing her intimately, all thoughts of words or language lessons were suddenly gone.
historical note: dishwashers were not common technology at the time of this story but they did exist. In 1994, approx 18 percent of UK households had one. Since Krang is fairly influential I think it's fair to say his home on Earth might have one.
The Sonic the Hedgehog game first came out in June 1991 and was I beleive intended for children of age 6 up. So Toni is still a little bit young, but he loves the character.