USS Enterprise NCC-1701
Wednesday 9th February 1994
As the fog cleared and the transporter beam released its hold on him, Krang looked around him with interest. He had never expected to be a guest onboard a Federation starship. The first thing that struck him was the light. He blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the brightness that was almost overwhelming in its intensity. Humans, he reminded himself, did not have the same visual acuity as his own species; they could not see as well in the dark and hence, the extra light was a necessity.
Two humans stood directly in front of him. Tall and strong looking for their species, they were clad in red, indicating they were security officers. That impression was confirmed by the phasers in their hands, phasers which were pointed directly at him. They considered him a threat, then. Good, that was as it should be, even if he currently intended them no harm.
The one on the left, an older but still physically fit, grey-haired man, took a half step forwards. "I am Lieutenant Commander Giotto, Enterprise's security chief. I must ask if you are carrying any weapons." His gaze dropped to the d'k'tahg sheathed in Krang's belt but he did not comment.
Hearing the unspoken words, Krang's hand moved to lightly touch the knife. "Apart from this one, you mean? Yes, there is another, smaller knife in my boot. They are both a part of my uniform. Other than those two weapons, I am unarmed."
Giotto decided not to challenge that. "Captain Kirk is expecting you, if you will follow us…"
Krang did so and after a short walk that took him through a maze of corridors and past various crew members, all dressed in those brightly coloured, pyjama-like uniforms, he found himself in a meeting room. At that point, the man named Giotto dismissed his colleague and took up a guarding stance by the door.
Kirk was there, of course, dressed not in the jeans and casual sweater he had been wearing the day they'd met, but in a mustard gold uniform with braiding at the wrists indicating his rank and the insignia of the Enterprise on his chest.
Standing next to the captain was a tall, slender man with elegantly upswept eyebrows and ears, and sleek, black hair cut in the typical style of the Vulcan military. He was dressed in the blue uniform that denoted a science or medical specialty, and Krang correctly identified him as Commander Spock.
Two other Vulcans, dressed in the traditional robes of their people and very obviously not Starfleet officers, were also present in the room. Krang guessed that the older one of the two was probably the captain of the Vesaya. It was not an unreasonable assumption since he had been invited here to meet the Vulcans and he was proved right when Kirk introduced them, giving their names as Captain Sevek and Commander Solkar.
He noted that the younger Vulcan bore a marked resemblance to Kirk's first officer. They were clearly related. How interesting… fascinating as the Vulcans would no doubt say.
The meeting began with Kirk giving the Terran woman, Sarah's, apologies. While Krang suspected that her absence was a deliberate choice on Kirk's part, it pleased him greatly. While she represented the local resistance, she was, in his opinion, a liability and the discussions would proceed more smoothly in her absence. The Klingon did, however, have a message for her and her colleagues. "I have come here to speak with you in good faith," he warned. "We expect the handover of power to be completed in an orderly fashion. My troops are willing to withdraw peacefully, but any attacks on the part of the resistance will lead to immediate retaliation."
"On that subject," Kirk said, "I have something interesting to show you. We picked up a broadcast on an 'unofficial' network." He nodded towards his first officer, who activated the vid-screen.
The image of a reporter appeared, a human female wearing a hooded sweater that partially obscured her features, a wise move considering the illegal nature of her broadcast. "…explosives found on the Golden Gate bridge late last night after witnesses reported seeing a group of Klingon soldiers acting suspiciously…"
Krang let out an angry snarl. "This is outrageous! None of my soldiers would…"
The Starfleet captain interrupted him, holding up a placating hand. "Keep watching. It's not what you think."
"…in a shocking twist, CCTV footage from the bridge shows that the perpetrators were not what they seemed…" The camera cut to a slightly blurred, black and white image showing a white van going through the toll booth without stopping and driving onto the bridge at significant speed. The scene changed again, this time to footage from a safety camera positioned roughly halfway across the bridge. Three figures had emerged from the vehicle, dressed in dark clothing and carrying a large bag. The camera zoomed in, showing the men's faces – human faces wearing poorly constructed rubber prosthetics to give them the appearance of cranial ridges and long hair worn loose in the Klingon style. "Local police are investigating…"
Krang frowned as he considered the implications. "We had a similar incident in Australia. A group of criminals set a fire that thanks to the extreme weather conditions, came very close to destroying large areas of their country. It was, by the way, thanks to the tireless efforts of my troops, that an ecological disaster was averted."
The younger Vulcan offered him an enquiring look. "In what way is this incident connected?"
"Video footage from a security camera implicated my people," Krang explained – and despite his training, he was not completely successful in hiding his outrage at that accusation. "Two of the criminals were arrested. There was no doubt about their guilt; the oil cans they had used to start the fire were found in their vehicle. We also found the prosthetics they had used to disguise themselves as Klingons."
"I guess they'd planned to stir up resentment," Kirk surmised. "What happened to them?" He regretted that question at once; Klingon justice was brutal and he had no doubt that the criminals had faced summary execution.
"We handed them over to the Australian police," Krang said, taking a grim enjoyment in Kirk's surprise. He had a good idea what the other man had been thinking and under normal circumstances, he would have been right, except Koreth had decided to build bridges with the Terrans. "As far as I know, they are in prison in Sydney, awaiting trial."
"It is logical to assume," Solkar said, "that there are other, similar incidents of which we are unaware. I believe the term is 'Fake Flag'.
"False flag," Kirk corrected, "and yes, I think you're right. Committing atrocities with the intent of blaming the other side is a common guerrilla tactic."
"The fact is…" Spock took up his captain's narrative, "while the Klingons have been in control of Earth, crime levels have dropped and several ecological disasters have been prevented - the conservation programme they initiated in Africa has resulted in the recovery of several endangered species. None of that has gone unnoticed by the populace, many of whom have come to the conclusion that life under the Klingons is not as bad as they had thought. Nor has it gone unnoticed by the various resistance groups who are seeing a decline in support for their actions. These false flag tactics are an effective way of whipping up hatred and discontent."
"Distasteful but logical." Sevek nodded his understanding. "The important issue, however, is what effect all this will have on your planet's history."
"It's hard to predict with any degree of certainty," Spock said thoughtfully, "In our time period, there are very few records in existence from Earth's late twentieth century."
"Well, that's convenient," Krang growled.
"Indeed," Spock agreed. "Your forces arrived in 1992, which is the date recorded in Terran history books as the beginning of the Eugenics War, the period of history in which Khan Noonien Singh and his fellow tyrants took control of much of Earth. I think it is evident to all of us that those history books have been rendered inaccurate."
Listening to the conversation, Krang suppressed a growl. Khan Noonien Singh and his augments had been a thorn in the side of the Klingon forces since their arrival on Earth. The so-called 'superman' had fought tirelessly for the freedom of his planet and somehow it seemed unfair that history had labelled him as a tyrant. Nothing about this whole thing was fair, he reminded himself; there were more important things to worry about than Khan's reputation.
"The evidence suggests," Solkar said, "that Earth will experience an extended period of unrest once the Klingons have departed. Given that Khan is still at large, it is possible that the power vacuum created by the withdrawal will be the cause of the Eugenics War you mentioned."
"That makes sense." Krang remembered the lectures on time travel that he'd received from both Marla and Chrissie. "I do not claim to be an expert, but it has been suggested to me that history cannot actually be changed, only fulfilled."
"An interesting supposition," Spock said. "You are suggesting that your invasion of this planet was always meant to happen."
"It is possible," Krang agreed. "The dates do not quite tally, but they are close. You said yourself, that there are no records from this period of history."
"Well, there's definitely nothing in any history book about a Klingon invasion," Kirk said, "so obviously something has changed."
Standing by the door, Giotto had been paying careful attention to the conversation but not participating. He was here to guard the captain, nothing more. Still, an idea was forming in his head, a theory that while outrageous, just might offer something to the discussion. Before he could think better of it, he spoke out. "Captain, I have an idea about that…" He regretted it instantly, as all eyes in the room turned towards him, but it was too late to retract the words.
"Yes, Giotto?" The captain gave him an encouraging nod.
"Conspiracy theories, sir. You know I've always been interested in them…"
That was true enough, Kirk knew. Giotto's interest in the conspiracy theories of the twentieth century had fuelled several very entertaining late-night conversations in the rec room.
Giotto was already continuing. "This has the potential to become one of the biggest ever. Think about it, sir. Unless you live in one of the large population centres, there's a good chance you've never seen a Klingon, apart from on the news broadcasts. There are at least two incidents that we know of, where humans have been caught with Klingon prosthetics. It wouldn't take much to convince people that this has all been a big hoax."
"The idea is preposterous," Sevek said, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. "Are humans really so gullible?"
"YES!" Kirk, Giotto and Spock all spoke at once.
The Vulcan captain's eyebrow raised even higher. "I will defer to your knowledge of the species."
"If it goes how I think it will, "Giotto said, "Khan and the other genetic 'supermen' will take control of Earth with very little opposition. The people who see these videos will accuse them of faking the whole alien invasion. The more Khan denies it, the more people end up believing it. In the end, nobody will accept Khan's innocence. The people who have actually met Klingons will know better, but as the theory becomes accepted by the masses, the less they will talk about it and eventually, as years pass, the whole thing will be forgotten. It wasn't supposed to happen and therefore it didn't happen."
"Unbelievable," Krang said, shaking his head. "And yet… it makes a very twisted sense. Terran technology is primitive; their global internet is in its infancy and they have little in the way of recording devices. It may be beneficial to encourage this… conspiracy theory. Certainly, it would not be difficult."
"I agree that it is the closest you can come to putting history right," Sevek conceded, and if there was a flicker of emotion on his face at the idea of doing something so ridiculous, it was perhaps understandable. "Short of further time travel, which is likely to have the effect of confusing things further, there is little more you can do. Our focus now must be on protecting the planet from further incursions."
"That is out of my control, "Krang said. "Once our ship has departed, it will be your responsibility to keep Earth safe. I have already told you that I cannot prevent my government from sending another invasion force."
"As you say, we have discussed this already," Kirk responded. "But I think it bears repeating. You may tell your High Council that when we return to our own time, we will be watching the borders."
"Indeed," Spock said, steepling his hands in thought. "We would ask that the Vulcan government of this time make the same commitment."
Sevek inclined his head in agreement. "Your request is logical. I assure you that we will keep watch on Earth. Our scientists insist that time travel is impossible and we would prefer to ensure that it remains that way."
Reaching into the pockets of his robes, the Vulcan captain removed a data chip and placed it on the table. "Having anticipated the need, I have taken the liberty of pre-recording a message for your government. I would suggest that Captain Kirk record a similar message on behalf of the Federation."
Raising an eyebrow in a manner that was very reminiscent of his first officer, Kirk stretched out his hand and picked up the chip. This meeting had given him a lot to think about. It should not have happened of course, or at least, certain things should not have been discussed. Neither Starfleet nor the DTI would be impressed if they learned he had disclosed details of future history to the twentieth century Vulcans. He'd realised that if he wanted the Vulcans to help, he needed to trust them with total honesty. In the end, he was the officer on the ground and it was his decision to make. Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, he decided that if he was to record a supplementary message, he needed to know exactly what was being said. Inserting the chip into the nearby computer console, he set it to play.
"For the attention of the Klingon High Council. I am Captain Sevek of the Vulcan Survey ship Vesaya. I speak now on behalf of the Vulcan High Command. The planet known as Earth is under our protection and no further temporal incursions or attempts to alter the current timeline will be permitted. Vulcan cruisers will be stationed along the border until such time as the Terrans are able to develop their own space programme and take responsibility for their own defence. Should you come in peace, you will be made welcome. Come as aggressors and you will be met with deadly force.
Live Long and Prosper.
Note: So, some possible answers in this scene. Is Giotto right, I wonder? Regarding Krang's comment about recording devices, the vast majority of people in 1994 didn't have mobile phones and there were no cameras on them back then. VCRs were common of course, although not overly sothisticated and I dont imagine many people would be interested in recording the news, official or otherwise. Some people will have had camcorders but there was no youtube or tiktok and no easy way of sharing video footage.
The usual thanks are owed to the same wonderful people as always, JDC0, Solasnagreine and RobertbruceScott, and to my lovely beta Linny.