Informing the Crew
Posted on Sat Jan 14th, 2017 @ 10:31pm by Captain Alistar McKeon & Commander Isabella dei`Silvisi & Lieutenant Jera'turak Ros & Lieutenant Commander Akira-Ri Sato & Lieutenant Kev Walker & Lieutenant JG Fe'cia Niatra & Ensign Matt Connor & Lieutenant T'lon & Civilian Specialist Kaylyn Wolfe
Edited on on Sat Jan 14th, 2017 @ 10:32pm
1,234 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission: Transitions
Alistar stood in the main lounge and stared out the large view port at the ship towing Endeavour towards the nearby shipyards as he waited for the senior staff to arrive. He had sent out one of the surviving yeomen to deliver the summons following his communication with the Arthurian and Tepes. He knew it was a long shot, but if there was any way to get the Endeavour and her crew home he would consider it, so long as it wasn’t extremely dangerous. Not all of his crew had survived the trip to where they currently were. Silently, he reflected on the events of his first command. In less than two years, the Endeavour had faced a slightly successful rescue mission, a deadly battle with renegade Klingons, a dangerous encounter with a Ferengi warlord, a failed diplomatic conference that had nearly claimed the ship and her crew, and now this, to be trapped in an alternate timeline twelve years in the future and halfway across the quadrant. He had been told that command of a ship wasn’t easy, but in his time as captain of the Endeavour, he had come to see that as an understatement.
Isabella stepped into the lounge and noticed McKeon immediately. She had been around him long enough to know that something was wrong simply by the way he was standing. Minimal power had been restored throughout the ship, which meant that the basic lighting systems now worked. The replicators were being worked on and would hopefully be repaired soon, but for now everyone was making do with bottled water and ration bars. Not knowing if the captain had eaten recently, Isabella walked across the lounge and handed him a ration bar.
“I hear that we’re in an unusual situation,” she commented quietly.
“Thanks and yeah. That’s what I wanted to discuss,” Alistar said as he accepted the ration bar. Looking at the wrapper, he made a face and tore it open. It was apple-cinnamon, which meant that it tasted like dried out apple flavored cardboard. He ate it as quickly as he could. “I figured the lounge would fit everyone better. Plus, there’s a hole in the briefing room bulkhead.”
“That would be slightly unsettling,” Isabella said with a faint smile. Behind them, they could hear the others arriving. Once everyone had arrived and gathered around, she nodded slightly to indicate that it was time.
Alistar turned and faced the officers present. “Everyone, we went through the anomaly into an alternate timeline dimension and ended up over twelve years into the future. We’re being tower by a Starfleet ship from this era to a shipyard where we’ll hopefully get the Endeavour repaired and find out if we can return to our original timeline.”
Isabella listened and managed to keep her facial expression neutral. Inside, she was torn. She had left Sicily not on good terms with her family, and now, it seemed that her parting words would be forever. As everyone else listened, Isabella turned towards the view port and closed her eyes, hiding the tears that threatened.
“Wait, we might be trapped here. What if we already exist in this timeline?” Jera asked hotly. “For that matter, what would they do with us if we can’t go home?”
“Standard policy varies, but one option would be for us to be sent to a secured center and kept in quarantine, but that’s for our timeline. They may have a different policy,” Akira said.
“Wait, you mean that they may send us to a quarantine center and keep us there like criminals in prison?” Matt asked. He had been keeping quiet simply because he was the junior most officer present, but that was almost too much for him to keep in. He was pretty sure that everyone else present shared his thoughts on that idea.
“Fuck that. I’m not being sent to a quarantine center for the rest of my life,” Jera snarled angrily.
“No one is being sent anywhere, Jera, so calm the hell down,” Alistar said, trying to defuse his chief engineer. Having served with the Bajoran/Romulan hybrid before, he knew how quickly she could lose her temper. “Right now, we’re being set up in temporary guest quarters on the station nearby while the ship is repaired. While that is going on, I’ll be involved in the proceedings while they figure out what to do with us.”
“Captain, it may be possible that we do not already exist in this timeline. If that is true, would it not be possible for us to continue our Starfleet careers in this timeline as members of Starfleet?” T’lon asked.
“I don’t see why not,” Kev chimed in. “After all, Starfleet is Starfleet. We’re all sworn officers and crew, in fact the computer core is still intact. All of our service records are there for them to review.”
“What about home? What if it’s possible for us to return and they don’t allow it?” Fe’cia asked.
Everyone grew quiet at that question, and Alistar nodded. “If it’s possible for us to return home and they try to keep us from that option, then we’ll do anything we have to in order to make it happen. However, if there’s no going back for us, then we’ll explore every other option before us as well,” he said.
“Is there any way we can learn anything from this timeline, such as its history and political standings?” Kaylyn asked, feeling out of place since she was the only cadet present.
“As a general rule, I wouldn’t authorize that unless we were planning on staying, and I’m sure that the intelligence and command officers of this Starfleet would feel the same,” Alistar said. “I think we should all wait and see what our options are before we start thinking long term.”
“So, in other words, we just sit here and wait in a severely damaged ship for our futures to be decided by people we don’t know?” Jera asked.
“It could be worse. They could be Ferengi,” Kev said.
“Oh, shut up,” Jera growled towards her assistant engineer.
“I wanted to inform you of what we’re facing, and to let you know that no matter what happens, we’ll face it together as a crew. As a family,” Alistar said. “In the meantime, Ros, I want you and Walker to get a fully detailed diagram of our schematics ready. Also, be prepared. I’ve already authorized the yard dogs to come on board and begin repairs. Don’t bite their heads off. T’lon, I’ll need you to assist with repairs as well. Niatra, I want you to help with medical for the time being. Sato, security is to be stationed at all critical systems. These guys may be Starfleet, but this is still our ship. Be polite, but make sure your people do their jobs.”
“Yes, Sir,” Akira said with a determined look on her face as she gave her captain a nod.
“Orders for everyone else will be given as we go along. Dismissed everyone,” Alistar said. As the senior officers filed out of the lounge, he sighed and turned back to the view port. It was going to be a long, interesting few weeks ahead.
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