Fallout

Posted on Sat Jul 26th, 2025 @ 2:38pm by Commodore Wilkan Targaryen & Director Aamis & Commander Zhora zh'Roothi & Lieutenant Commander Ash Randall

2,251 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Gaia
Location: Ready Room, U.S.S. Enterprise
Timeline: 2439-06-14, 16:30

Commodore Wilkan Targaryen didn't like to be blindsided, especially when his lack of information on a subject could risk the lives of his crew. The Enterprise was at the planet Gaia and had begun its analysis of the charged plasma field, that was the good news, the more surprising discovery was what they'd found during their investigation. A full duplicate of the Federation Starship Defiant was trapped within the barrier, trapped there since their first visit to this world. Yet, that was only half of the story. For them it had been only moments past.

As he walked into his Ready Room, with Director Aamis of the Federation Department of Temporal Investigations between him and his XO, Commander Zhora zh'Roothi, the Commodore was seething. He didn't like to be kept in the dark and this was tantamount to throwing his crew and he into the middle of a perpetual night. Not only was the Director playing with the lives of his crew, but she was also toying with the crew of the Defiant - which a younger version of herself was even aboard!

Pulling out his chair, Wilkan sat down and glared at the Vulcan as she sat in one of his guest chairs. He didn't hold back, "An explanation is in order."

The Vulcan Director cocked her head in a puzzled look, "In my estimation your discussion with Captain Sisko was succinct, Commodore."

"That barely registers on the things I have questions about, Director," Wilkan replied with fire in his words. "Did you know that a duplicate of the Defiant was in the barrier?"

"I had no knowledge," Aamis answered evenly, "only a theory, that happened to fit the facts."

"Then explain this," his voice rose with the demand.

Her eyebrow rose, "Specific aspects of this mission remain classified, Commodore. I am not at liberty to explain everything to you."

Enterprise's Captain shook his head, "That's not good enough, Director! Right now, I have two ships to worry about and very little to go off of. What I do know is that the Starship Defiant is hanging in space thinking it's the 2370s and you're sitting on their Bridge the same time you're sitting on mine. You say that this mission is classified, but so much of it hasn't added up yet. What I do have leads me to believe this is an unsanctioned mission and you've hijacked my starship."

"I can assure you, Commodore, that this mission is an official mission of the Federation Department of Temporal Investigations," Aamis answered without a shred of emotion. "Information that has been withheld is due to it being restricted as need to know."

Wilkan interrupted, "Well I'd say I need to know."

"Again, there is little that has transpired that would justify me releasing information to you, Commodore," she answered matter-of-factly.

"What do you think, Commander?" Targaryen asked his XO. "Think we need to know?"

The Andorian had sat quietly as Wilkan directed his heated questions to Aamis. Had the Commodore been one of her kin it was unlikely they'd be sitting so cordially discussing the intricacy of Temporal Investigations and its classified files. Instead the Vulcan Director would have been pinned against the bulkhead gasping for breath from the pressure applied to her narrow throat for her lies. There was a long chequered history of distrust between Vulcan and Andorians - one the most loyal of their origin would take pleasure in reminding any who would listen.

Zhora was above that level of hostility, but the Directors actions had done little to smooth those ancient stories and had now endangered, not one but two vessels in her quest to keep her cards close.

"We should have been transparent from the start," zh'Roothi answered from her standing position at arms length over Targaryen's right shoulder. "Given we cannot start again, nor can we turn back now I'd say we certain need to know what's going on."

"I am sorry; nonetheless, again, nothing has changed that justifies my releasing the information to you," the Vulcan answered nonchalantly.

The Commodore nodded, "I believe that you are deliberately withholding vital information from my crew and I into this mission, Director, information that may mean the safety of this ship and its crew. The Defiant is hanging out there, trapped in the barrier, and if we don't operate properly this ship is just as at risk as they are. Now, I am going to implore you a final time, what aren't you telling us?"

"I have told you all that is necessary at this time, Commodore," Aamis answered without pause. "Any additional information has been classified beyond your current clearance levels," she looked between both the Commodore and the Commander as she issued that order.

Wilkan crossed his arms, "Alright then. I suppose I'll remain here, in the dark and trust that you haven't put my ship at unnecessary risk. Sound right to you?"

Aamis shifted her weight, "Commodore, you're allowing your emotions to cloud your thought process related to this assignment, leading you to see deceit where none exists. The information that you have been provided is all that is necessary to complete this mission. Our responsibility is to explore this planet, not assist the Defiant."

The antenna on zh'Roothi crown stiffened with alarm and disbelief. "We're to leave her trapped in the barrier - how long for? Until we've completely rewritten history in its entirety?"

"Commander, as you may have realized I was present on the Defiant during this mission and it in no way encountered or was trapped within this barrier. I would surmise that it is a duplicate, an echo, nothing more," her tone was chilling, almost as cold as Andoria.

"I see," the Commander's tone lowered as her dislike for the Director grew. "And if this echo, you put it, was to follow us exploring the surface." She folded her arms. "What then?"

Aamis answered, "Considering that they are stuck in a quantum fissure and unable to navigate out of it I would deem that an unlikely risk, Commander."

"These are your people, Director. You mean to tell me you can just ignore their plight?" The Commodore asked.

"The Defiant I served on returned to Deep Space Nine, Commodore, these are not my people," she answered with a slight inflection.

Enterprise's Captain sat back in his chair, analyzing the answers, "For some reason I don't entirely believe you, Director. I think that you really do believe that, or at least you've made yourself believe that you don't care about the Defiant and its crew, but you really do." He shifted, "Something happened back when you were on the Defiant that made you question this planet to the point that it consumed you. Hell, you even joined the Department of Temporal Investigations just for the remote chance that you could possibly come back here one day. And now you're here, trying desperately to make us think you don't care, while you really care more than any of us could possibly imagine."

Wilkan crossed his arms, "Now, I'm going to give you one final opportunity to come clean, Director, and tell us what is going on."

Aamis looked between the two carefully, pondering carefully how to proceed and the fallout of what would come next. It was almost as if the weight of the galaxy rested upon her shoulders, but the question was would she relent. She rose from her seat to her feet and walked toward the Replicator. Pressing a control, "Bolian tonic water."

Impatiently zh'Roothi shifted her weight from foot and foot and unfurled her arms as the Director stood at the replicator perhaps, finally ready to reveal all after Targaryen's pressing.

The Vulcan director stood in front of the replicator silently sipping the cup of water that had been recreated on the grid. Gradually drinking the entire contents before turning back to the Commodore, she motioned toward the empty cup, "Can I interest you in a glass? Bolian tonic water has a relaxing effect upon the central nervous system of humanoids."

"I'm aware," Targaryen answered as he glanced at the cup. "Captain Sisko once told me about it."

"And I," Aamis answered as she set the cup on the grid. She reached up and tapped the key to recycle the glass, "He taught me about it decades ago when I served on Deep Space Nine and the Defiant." Watching the glass disintegrate, she continued, "It is fascinating how time works. One Defiant escaped this Hellscape while another did not."

The Commodore looked at her carefully, "I take that as an admission?"

The Vulcan woman nodded, "Commander Randall is correct in her supposition, Commodore. The Defiant located in the barrier is a quantum duplicate of the original Defiant. When Defiant was within the barrier in the 2370s, the ship was subjected to quantum energy discharges that struck Major Kira. Momentarily, it was as if there were two Kiras, slightly out of phase with each other, that was until the energy dissipated and the ship crossed through the barrier. The Defiant crew would get to know their descendants on the surface and would later decide to recreate the accident to ensure their survival. The Helm was transferred to auto-pilot, shields raised, and a communications probe with final messages for the crew's families launched. The Defiant proceeded toward an unusual temporal signature within the barrier, determined to be an anomaly that would cause a temporal incursion that would take the ship back in time. The auto-pilot adjusted course to clear the barrier, emerging in normal space with no trace of the settlement or the inhabitants left behind due to Odo altering the flight plan."

"I was emotionally compromised by the events that occurred," Aamis answered honestly. "While Defiant was at the planet, I learned that I had descendants within the population of the planet after having mated with another crewperson. While I had a family of my own with my husband on Deep Space Nine, the loss of these descendants caused me emotional strain. I became fixated upon Gaia and what had happened, intent upon finding a way to restore the colony. After a great deal of research, I recalled the duplication of Major Kira upon arrival and considered the potential that the Defiant had been duplicated during the encounter with the barrier. It was not farfetched a possibility. Afterall, Thomas Riker had been duplicated by a transporter beam carrying the same phase differential as a distortion field returning him to a planet's surface."

Wilkan listened to everything that she said, letting it all sink in. He tried to be supportive, but also worried about how he would come across, "Why all the bravado?"

"Because I have spent years attempting to stabilize my emotions," Aamis revealed. "I am," she paused, "afraid that this mission has compromised me yet again, compounded by what else I had found about Gaia."

"And that was?" Targaryen questioned.

Aamis walked over to the window and looked at the Defiant hovering amidst the barrier. She sighed, "Few know that there is a conflict being fought, even now, between multiple time-traveling factions operating from different points in time trying to establish their own preferred version of history. These factions typically avoid direct confrontation and use proxies to gain dominance over the time stream. Despite the Temporal Prime Directive, often DTI is authorized to work with such sources to learn of potential threats and stop them, under the provisions of the Temporal Accords. I learned from a contact that Gaia is one day restored, but that is in violation of the law so one of the factions returns to finish the job."

She put her hand to the window over the Defiant, "If we save the colony, the Federation will destroy it."

As the Director revealed the truth about her motives zh'Roothi felt a pang of sorrow for the woman and the previous sour thoughts had lessened somewhat. "What's our next step?" she asked unfurling her arms.

"You have three potential options, Commander. Option 1 is that you help the Defiant to escape the barrier, at which time they will be fully exposed to our current year and subject to the authority of DTI for reintegration. Your second option is to find a way to push them through the barrier toward the planet, potentially causing them to undergo the temporal incursion that leads them to crash over 200 years in the past," she kept her attention on the windows as she made the suggestions.

Wilkan interrupted, "That's two, what's the third?"

Her answer was quick, "Do nothing."

"Captain to the Bridge." Came the voice of Commander Randall over the Comm. "Sensors have detected multiple, inbound, solar flares, X-Class plus." The 2nd Officer advised.

Commodore Targaryen looked at his visitors, "We're going to have to postpone the rest of our discussion." He rose to his feet, "Thank you, Director, for sharing this information with us. While I don't understand why you couldn't have told us all of this sooner, I appreciate that you've come forward now." Wilkan paused before continuing, "But, if you put this ship in danger, I will have you placed under arrest and thrown into the Brig without question."

The Vulcan nodded, "I understand."

"Good," he looked at his XO, "Let's get to our Bridge, Commander, and see what fresh Hell is coming out way this time."

The Andorian snorted slightly: "Given recent events all bets are off at this point."

Wilkan nodded as they walked toward the Bridge's door, "Indeed."

 

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