"Captain's log, stardate 45350.3. We have arrived at Penthara IV and can see for ourselves the atmospheric devastation caused by the asteroid impact."
Penthara IV was in a bad way; from orbit, the Enterprise crew could see that the planet's atmosphere was partially covered by huge, dark clouds of dust. Picard and La Forge had beamed down to the colony's primary city, New Birmingham, to find the sky obscured by the dark dust clouds and it was snowing heavily. They were currently meeting with the colony's chief meteorologist, Dr Hal Moseley, to discuss a plan to put right the unfolding environmental disaster. "We've located three underground pockets of carbon dioxide, here, here and here." Picard said, pointing to a map on a computer monitor. "Our drilling phasers can release enough of the gas to form an envelope which would temporarily hold in the heat of the sun."
"We've spent years, decades, trying to avoid anything that would lead to a greenhouse effect and now here we are about to create one on purpose." Moseley remarked, shaking his head at the irony.
"Less than 20% of your normal sunlight is getting through that dust, Doctor." La Forge pointed out. "If we can hold enough heat in with the CO2, that should give the planet time to mend itself."
Just then, a worried scientist approached them. "Dr Moseley?" she called.
"What now?" Moseley asked, realising from his colleague's expression that it was not good.
"New Seattle's reporting a cloud depth of 12 kilometres. Two rivers, tropical rivers, are beginning to freeze." the scientist reported anxiously.
Moseley turned back to the two Starfleet officers. "We'd better get started before there's nothing left to mend." he said grimly.
~8~
The Enterprise orbited Penthara IV. Riker, Worf and Dr Crusher were in Ten-Forward when they saw Rasmussen enter, holding a small pile of computer chips and looking around the room gleefully. He spotted the three senior officers and headed over to join them. "Look who's here." Riker said quietly.
"I hate questionnaires." Worf grumbled.
"Professor, please come join us." Crusher called to Rasmussen. Unlike her colleagues, she was quite taken with the apparent time traveller.
Rasmussen sauntered over to join them. "I hope I'm not intruding." he said as he sat down next to Dr Crusher.
"Not at all." she assured him. "You're probably the topic of conversation at every table in this room."
Rasmussen shuffled through his pile of chips until he found the three appropriate ones and handed them out to the three Starfleet officers. "As I promised, here are your assignments." he said, taking the time to hold Dr Crusher's hand as he handed her the appropriate chip. "I'm sure they'll be painless. Please try and complete them by tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?!" Worf stared.
"No problem, Professor." Riker smoothed things over, though he was feeling just as put upon as Worf.
"You're all very calm." Rasmussen commented, looking at the three officers from face to face.
"Is there some reason we shouldn't be?" Riker asked coolly.
"History always records where people were, what they were doing, when important events took place." Rasmussen remarked. "But it rarely remembers their activities say, a week before, or a day... or even an hour."
"Are you suggesting an important event is imminent?" Worf asked curtly.
"I didn't say that, did I?" Rasmussen counted. "Please... go on doing what you were doing, pretend I'm not here."
However, the three officers found this rather hard. "How come there's no record of other future historians travelling back to witness 'important events'?" Riker asked after a moment.
"We're obviously very careful." Rasmussen retorted. "Matter of fact, a colleague of mine and I recently paid a call on a 22nd century vessel; one of those old NX-class ships."
"They hadn't perfected quarantine fields." Dr Crusher commented. "You probably saw some surgical masks and gloves."
"Isn't it fascinating how everyone has different interest when it comes to history." Rasmussen remarked. "Different perspectives on progress." He opened a small ring on his finger, looked inside, smiled and closed the box again.
"Mind if I ask what that is?" Riker asked him.
"Just checkin' the time..." Rasmussen waved him off. "No problem."
"Is something supposed to be happening here?" Riker asked, getting frustrated.
"No, it's nothing, nothing." Rasmussen waved him off again, then changed the subject. "What about you, Commander? What do you see as the most important example of progress in the last two hundred years?"
Riker thought for a moment. "I suppose the warp coil. Before we had warp drive, Humans were confined to a single sector of the galaxy."
"Spoken like the consummate explorer." Rasmussen said chirpily, then looked around the room as if he were either waiting for something to happen or for someone to join them.
"What is going on?" Riker asked, losing patience. "You waiting for someone?"
"Phasers." Worf said abruptly.
Rasmussen turned to him. "I beg your pardon?"
"There were no phasers in the 22nd century." Worf said simply.
Rasmussen turned to Dr Crusher. "Ah, you see, Doctor? Our Klingon friend is a perfect example of what I was trying to tell you. He views history through the eyes of a hunter, a warrior. His passion lies in the perfection of the tools of violence." he said rather condescendingly. "How delightfully primitive."
Worf was incensed. If this were a Klingon ship, he would've flat out murdered Rasmussen for such a remark, but of course this was a Federation ship so he held himself back and instead got up to leave, very angry indeed.
~8~
In main engineering, La Forge was briefing Ensign Jae on an assignment. "As soon as we input this atmospheric data from Mosely, the computer should tell us how many holes we'll have to punch." La Forge said, handing Jae a PADD. She nodded and left to get to work.
Just then, Data arrived. "What have you learned about the tectonic stability around the drilling sites?" he asked La Forge.
"Couldn't be better. Our scans were all clear and Moseley says there hasn't been so much as a quiver down there in well over a century."
Just then, Rasmussen came sauntering in as if he owned the place. "Ah, just the two I'm looking for." he said cheerfully. "I've brought the forms I'd like you to complete. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours."
"We're kinda busy here, Professor." La Forge waved him off. "Tomorrow might be better." He turned to his colleague. "Data, we've got about twenty three thousand thermal simulations. You think you could check them through for anomalies?"
"Certainly." Data acknowledged, and sat down at a computer station, where he began typing at great speed as the number scrolled by onscreen.
"Is that as fast as he can go?" Rasmussen asked La Forge, seemingly not impressed at the android's speed.
"Not fast enough for you, Professor?" La Forge asked dryly.
"There's very little known known about Data's efficiency... almost nothing about his part in this mission." Rasmussen replied. "It's a topic of great conjecture."
"Two hundred nine anomalies all within acceptable parameters." Data announced as he finished his task.
"Thanks, Data." La Forge acknowledged and turned to Rasmussen. "You've come to witness this mission... that's it, isn't it?"
"It would be best if you just thought of me as a fly on the wall, and went about your business." Rasmussen waved him off, checking his ring again.
"I will return the answered questions to you as soon as possible, sir." Data said to Rasmussen, taking his assigned questionnaire chip.
"Data... at Penthara IV!" Rasmussen announced dramatically.
La Forge didn't have time for this. "If you'll excuse me." he grunted, and headed for another terminal.
Rasmussen followed him. "Your prosthesis... what d'ya call it again?"
"A VISOR." La Forge answered curtly.
"VISOR, right. I have a picture of you in my office wearing that. How d'ya like it?"
"It allows me to see. I like it just fine." La Forge waved him off, wishing that this man would just leave him alone already.
"Ya know, Homer was blind..." Rasmussen remarked, "and Milton, Bach, Monet, Wonder..."
"A fly on the wall, huh?" La Forge huffed sarcastically.
"A fly on the wall." Rasmussen said amicably as he followed La Forge over to join Data at the Master Systems Display.
"The computer has configured the drilling pattern and specified depths." Data reported.
La Forge tapped his combadge. "Captain, we've got what we need. I'm ready to transport down to the surface."
"I'll notify Dr Moseley. Good luck, Geordi." Picard's voice said over the comm.
"Gentlemen." La Forge said to Data and Rasmussen, and left for the transporter room.
While no one was looking, Rasmussen picked up a PADD and slipped it into one of his coat pockets. "Who said these moments were any less exciting when you know the outcome?" he said innocently to Data.
"I know of no one who said that, Professor." a puzzled Data replied.
~8~
The clouds above New Birmingham had worsened as La Forge joined Dr Moseley in his lab. "The Enterprise will monitor the CO2 concentrations at six different altitudes." La Forge explained to Moseley, pointing to an Okudagram. "If all goes well, it won't take more than 20 bore sites."
"Let's hope all goes well." Moseley said.
La Forge tapped his combadge. "La Forge to Commander Riker. How're you doing?"
"We've gotten word from the monitoring stations. They're all online. We're ready when you are, Geordi." Riker answered.
"That's excellent. All we need now is an open channel to Data." La Forge said.
~8~
Everything on the bridge of the Enterprise was ready. "Open a channel, Mr Worf, and prepare to fire at target one." Riker ordered.
"The computer has locked in phaser depth calculations." Worf acknowledged.
"Mr Data?" Riker asked into the intercom.
"Ready, sir." Data answered from engineering.
Riker looked to Picard, who gave the nod. "Fire." Riker ordered Worf.
The Enterprise fired a phaser beam down at Penthara IV, which bored into tundra. The beam stopped and was immediately followed by another, which hit a distance away.
~8~
Data was monitoring progress from engineering. "Target one is emitting two thousand cubic metres per second." he reported. "Target two, one thousand six hundred."
~8~
"Surface wind patterns over the target are stable." Moseley announced, checking his computers anxiously.
"You picking up anything at altitude, Data?" La Forge asked over the open comm channel.
"CO2 concentrations remain unchanged at upper elevations." Data replied.
~8~
Rasmussen waltzed onto the Enterprise's bridge just as the ship fired two more shots at the planet. "Have I missed much?" he asked nonchalantly as he made himself comfortable in Riker's chair.
The crew paid him no attention. "Target 14% complete, sir." Worf informed Riker, checking his console.
"Data, what've you got?" Riker asked over the comm channel.
"No change, Commander." Data replied.
Riker turned and noticed Rasmussen sitting in his chair. He was not pleased but continued monitoring the situation at hand. "Winds, Geordi?" he asked.
"Holding steady, sir." La Forge answered.
"The computer has stopped drilling." Worf reported as the phaser fire ceased.
"You should be getting something, Data." Riker said.
~8~
Data checked his readings. "Elevated CO2 levels at 20 kilometres." he reported.
"Now ya talking." a pleased-sounding La Forge said. "We've got some new temperatures coming in."
~8~
Dr Moseley checked his monitors and was pleased at what he saw. "All thermal monitoring stations are reporting no further temperature drops." he smiled.
"Correction, Doctor. Two equatorial stations are showing slight increases." a very pleased La Forge told him.
"Thank you." Moseley said gratefully. "Thank you all. You've given us what we need... time."
"We're glad to be of help, Doctor." Picard replied. "The Enterprise will remain in orbit and continue to monitor your progress. Picard out."
~8~
Rasmussen was still sitting in Riker's chair as if he owned it. "'You've given us what we need... time.'" he quoted, thinking he was sounding clever.
Picard paid him no attention. "Ensign, return to synchronous orbit." he ordered Ensign Felton.
"Aye, sir." she acknowledged, and brought the ship back into a synchronous orbit of the planet.
"Very clever, Picard." Rasmussen commented. "And well done. We've always known how you did it, but to experience the moment, to witness the nuances, it's indescribable." And he sat back and smiled, ignorant of the annoyed look Picard was giving him.
Author's notes: And here's the second chapter as promised. Rasmussen annoying the crew was funny. I can understand why they were so irritated with him; I'd feel the same if someone starting bugging me while I was busy trying to save lives! I dropped in a little reference to Enterprise in this chapter, since that series was set in the 22nd century. Given the later reveal of Ramussen's true nature, I think he would probably know of the NX-class ships, hence the reference. So, here's the second chapter and hopefully the third will be up Friday. Bye for now!
