Kathryn
ooo
Late July, and I'm nearing the end of a six-week leave. The final project report is finished and delivered, so now I'm concentrating on more pleasant tasks.
Easy enough to do: Miral was with us the first two weeks, so we had plenty of family time, including a visit from Tom's sister, Kathleen, and her husband. They're professional musicians, part of a traveling quartet that was here to perform with the symphony. Turned out that their show is designed for young children, so they invited us to dress rehearsal.
Miral had a grand time. During parts of the show, the youngsters are invited onstage to participate — so she got to "perform" several times. Made for good images to send to family and friends.
This week, Mom's here to see the house, so we decided to throw a family cookout: Phee and Nico, and Owen and Julia. Tom's eager to try out the new grill, which sits on the deck that he and Harry built.
Julia arrives alone. "Owen was called to Paris. Emergency meeting," she says, looking at me.
"Haven't heard anything," I say truthfully. It might be nothing: Owen has a hand in many projects. But those instincts I honed in the Delta Quadrant are sounding a red alert.
ooo
We'd just finished lunch when the vid sounded, and Mom kindly answered it.
"Katie," she announces gravely, "It's Alynna Nechayev." She didn't have to say it: I knew from the look on her face.
Nechayev, who's in uniform, looks apologetic. "Sorry to interrupt your leave, but the Romulans had an emergency meeting with President Zife this morning. They finally came clean about the supernova and officially asked the Federation to help evacuate Romulus and surrounding worlds.
"The president's office intends to announce our project, so we need you and Captain Archadi in Toronto immediately. There's a news conference scheduled for 1700. Owen and I are on our way, so we'll see you shortly." She pauses. "Though you might want to turn on the news first."
ooo
I call Scott, then take a breath and open the back door. "You have to leave, don't you?' Tom asks in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Yes, back to Toronto, where I'll be meeting Owen and Admiral Nechayev," I say as I glance over at Julia. "For the best explanation, I suggest you come inside and watch the news."
"Everything all right?" Mom asks warily.
"We'll be fine," I assure her as I usher everyone inside. Tom calls for the vid, and the news blinks on with a startling headline: Romulus Faces Destruction.
"For those of you just joining us," the newscaster intones, "it's been an extraordinary day. Early this afternoon, Federation President Zife announced in an unprecedented emergency meeting, Romulan officials disclosed that their planet's sun will go supernova within the next few years.
"The explosion, they said, will destroy Romulus, Remus, and a number of nearby worlds in the star system. The president also announced that the Romulans have formally asked for Federation help in evacuations."
Phee and Nico are still watching the vid, but Tom, Julia, and Mom all turn to look at me. I just nod.
"There's a new development in this story," the newscaster continues, "so we'll take you to our correspondent in Toronto, Zeha Parr. Zeha …?
"Thank you, Sam," the young woman said. "Actually, the Romulan supernova has been an open secret in the Federation for some time. For years, Starfleet vessels patrolling the Neutral Zone have scanned the Romulan star system. Recently, those scans have shown … for want of a better word … abnormalities ... in the Romulan sun." I raise an eyebrow: that's not quite correct, but some of the truth is still classified.
"About a year ago, a task force consisting of Starfleet and Daystrom Institute personnel was assembled to study this data and estimate when the supernova might occur, the potential force of the explosion, and the worlds it could affect.
"It was just announced that the task force will hold a news conference here on the Daystrom campus in a couple of hours. So I'm sure we're all anxious to hear what they have to say. Of note, the task force is led by Admiral Kathryn Janeway, who, you might remember …."
"And that's my cue to leave," I say.
Tom follows me upstairs and sits on the bed while I change. "So this is what you haven't been able to talk about," he says quietly. "That's pretty intense."
"Until a few hours ago, this was all classified," I reply as we walk upstairs. "We've wondered if the Romulans were going to say anything, given their secretiveness. Certainly never expected them to ask for help."
He nods. "So I suppose you're back to work."
"Depends on whether the Romulans have already shared their data. Not much we can do until that happens. I'll know more when I get to Daystrom." I lean in and kiss him. "Have to go. I'm sorry to dump the party on you. I'll be back as soon as I can … though it does seem that I'll be on the news in a couple of hours."
ooo
Tom
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The family's having dessert when I get downstairs. "I was just saying that I suspected something was up with the Romulans," Mom says. "Your dad's been visiting the space stations along the Neutral Zone. Now I realize that they're preparing to shut them down."
"This sounds bad, I know," Phoebe says, "but should we really care about Romulans? From what I know, they're still the enemy."
"It's not just Romulans," Mom says. "There are other planets in that system. Some of them are mining planets where the miners are basically slave labor." She pauses. "I wonder if the Romulans will even consider them."
"And besides the space stations, there are scientific stations, colonies. Hell of a lot of people could be affected," I add.
"No kidding," Nico says. He's quiet for a moment as he swirls the beer in his glass. "You know, that's a hell of a thing that Kathryn's been working on. Apocalyptic."
"Well," Gretchen says as she looks over at me, "we now know why Katie's been somewhat distracted lately."
"I'd be beyond distracted," Nico exclaims. "My hat's off to her: that kind of job takes some guts."
Gretchen gives me a knowing look. I just smile at Nico.
"Yeah," I say softly, "she definitely has guts."
ooo
I'm a little late in turning on the news conference. Dad and Nechayev are debating with a reporter over whether the Romulan situation really was an "open secret." The camera pans over to Kathryn having a quiet conversation with a Trill woman.
"Hey," Phoebe says, "didn't we talk to her at the exhibit opening?" "Yeah … Reseil," I begin as I try to remember her last name.
"Dr. Tatnim," Gretchen supplies, then shrugs at my surprised look. "Met her when Katie and I had lunch," she adds. "They seem to get along well."
They finally introduce Kathryn, Reseil, and Captain Archadi, who Kathryn also has mentioned. Kathryn surveys the room for a moment … and oh, I know that look: calm, open, but I can see the flash in her gray eyes, a hint of the steel that lies underneath.
She has their attention as she sets out the scenario: the potential force of the explosion, the damage it will cause, and how far it will reach.
It's interesting to watch the reactions. Nechayev is neutral. Dad's watching Kathryn with an "I knew you could do this" expression. Makes sense, considering this is the project he persuaded her to wait for.
Here, Mom and Gretchen mirror Dad's expression, though there's no mistaking the pride reflected in Gretchen's eyes. Phee looks puzzled, as if she doesn't know the woman on screen. Perhaps she doesn't, but I certainly do.
Kathryn finishes — time for questions.
"Admiral, how closely does your team's data agree with the Romulans?"
"We haven't received the Romulans' data, so I can't give you specifics," she says, which creates a buzz in the room. "However," she continues, "I expect we'll disagree on some points."
"Where do you see the disagreements?"
"Hard to tell. While we've had invaluable assistance from the Federation Science Agency, the Vulcan and Andorian science academies, and the Klingon High Council, none of us have the luxury of proximity. We're all scanning through a 2.5-light-year-wide Neutral Zone. And it would be unwise for any of us to shoot a probe into that space."
"Using the data you have, can you estimate the point when evacuations have to stop?"
"I'm not involved in the evacuations, so it's not appropriate for me to speculate," she begins, and I see a flash of mischief in her eyes. "Are we talking about a holonovel-style rescue? A ship flying off with the planet imploding behind it? The reporters chuckle at this, and she gives them a moment.
"From a scientific perspective, there are a couple of things you need to understand." She turns to point at the images behind her. "First, a good sensor, strategically placed, could detect when the star runs out of fuel. But the question is: How quickly will the star cool off and collapse?" She shrugs. "Hard to predict. We do know that it will take a quarter of a second for the core to implode and send out shockwaves, radiation, stellar material, and neutrino emissions. And by the way, neutrino emissions move VERY quickly.
She pauses a moment to let that sink in. "Secondly, understand that there's a healthy distance between a planet and its sun, so real-time updates are impossible. For example, here on Earth, there's a time lag of about 8 minutes. So, by the time the planet gets notice that a supernova is in progress, no one will be alive to see it. The neutrino emissions will have killed them, though it's always possible that radiation or shockwaves could get there first."
The room is dead quiet as Kathryn looks around, waiting for questions. No one says a word. "As I said, I'm not involved in the evacuations. But it's reasonable to assume that the Romulans are paying close attention to the science as they make plans."
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Kathryn
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I beam back home and toss my jacket over a chair. Tom and Mom are waiting downstairs, and she hands me a glass of Irish whiskey on ice. "Figured you could use this," she says.
"Thank you," I say gratefully as I sit. "I stopped in my office after the news conference; there were 150 messages on the vid."
They both laugh. "I think I have that many on my pocket vid," Mom says. "Good thing I called Martha before you went on."
"Harry called," Tom reports, "then B'Elanna. She wanted to know if Lumina was part of the project. Told her that I didn't know; we don't chat about classified stuff."
"Well, you told the truth," I allow, and neglect to elaborate. Parts of Lumina's mission are still classified. Which I hope Harry remembers.
"So what's next?" he asks, and I know there are several layers to that question. I shrug. "We wait for the Romulans to give us their data. That might depend on whether the Federation helps with evacuations."
"That could be tricky," Tom allows. I nod. "I'm happy to not be involved in that. Or with the sociopolitical entanglements," I add.
"Well, Katie," Mom says as she gets up, "I will say that you have a talent for teaching. Should you decide to retire, you'd be an asset to Columbia or any school you choose."
"That a hint?" I tease.
"Nope," she says as she heads upstairs. "I'll leave that to Tom."
"Don't look at me," Tom whispers as he moves in for a kiss. "I know better." His kiss is soft and sweet, and I relax and let him pull me into his lap.
"So," he whispers. "Are you telling me that Captain Proton's ship can't make a hair-raising escape from an exploding planet?"
I can't help it: I start to laugh … so hard, in fact, that Tom has to take my glass before I dump whiskey on the couch.
"I figured you'd catch my little reference," I manage to say when I catch my breath.
"Oh, yes, ma'am," he murmurs as he pulls me back into his arms.