History doesn't lie

Posted on Mon Aug 16th, 2021 @ 5:35pm by Captain Elijah Michaels & Commander Grace Vetur

1,308 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Out of Time
Location: Captains Quarters

This whole situation was going to be hard to explain, not just to Starfleet but also the Romulan government as well. Because how do you tell them that two Ships once considered missing 140 years ago now turn up in the middle of the Dreadex sector lightyears and century or more away from where they were last seen?

Elijah sat on the couch in his Quarters, his Uniform jacket undone as he looked through the historical data in the ships computer about their displaced Constitution Class ally. His attention focused on something. anything that might shed light to what happened.

The door to his quarters chimed.

Elijah sighed as he got up and looked at the door. "Come in!" He said yawning.

Grace walked in, dressed in a long-sleeved tunic and slacks. "I looked through an archive of lost ships. There is very little information on the Resolute and nothing on its last mission. Have you had any luck?"

"Urgh do you know how many Constitution Class Ships they commissioned in the mid 23rd century?" He asked as he stretched. "Starfleet clearly didn't like versatility."

"Starfleet still likes building bigger and better Starships," she said. "Back then they weren't as good at sending in logs. There was nothing after the ship left for its five-year mission. They were scheduled to pick up supplies, but never made it. I assume they would have copied the logs and information then." She sighed. It makes it harder to get the right information."

Elijah nodded. "Officially Starfleet send the USS Monitor and the USS Cardiff to search for them but there was nothing out there for them to find." He responded as he sat back down. "No debris, no signs of battle."

"Which makes sense if they went into the nebula and ended up here," she said, sitting down beside him. "The question is, can we get them back? And to complicate matters, we need to get them back without letting them kill each other." That last would be as difficult as getting them back to their own time.

Elijah nodded. "Though who isn't to say that sending them back won't interfere with the timeline?"

She sighed. "That's the problem with time. We don't know that they aren't supposed to go back because they haven't done so in our timeline. Not yet, anyway." She turned to face him. "Maybe, once we do send them back, our records will show that they were only late. The worlds they discovered will be part of the Federation. If we can't send them back, they still won't be part of our records because that, too, hasn't hapened.

Elijah nodded. "So what are we going to do? Because the way i see it no matter what we do it's a no win scenario?"

"Not necessarily. If we can send them back, we send the Resolute first, give them time to get away, then send the Romulans. If they can't get back, then we take the Resolute to the nearest Starbase and send the Romulans to collect the Relentless. I don't think the Commander wants to die if she can help it."

"True." He said with a look of agreement. "Though it'll take days for us to leave Dreadex and we have to skirt past Halcion, the Romulans won't be here for even longer."

Grace nodded. "All we need now is for science to calculate how to get them back--if we can."

"Yeah and we have to factor in the damage to both ships, state of repairs and the fact we can't use our technology to help them." Elijah sighed as he took a sip of his tea.

"There is that," she said, smiling. "But it's easier for us to use older technology. I think the engineering department is a little too excited about the opportunity."

"I was worried about that." Elijah admitted in truth. "Intact ships like the Resolute are rare by 2395 and we should tread carefully."

"Yes. At least until we know what we're facing," she replied. It was hard to make any decisions when they didn't have enough information. But hopefully science would help with part of hte equation.

"So what now?" He asked her with a curious glance in her direction. What little could the two of them do?

"My opinion is we carefully monitor the situation, notify Starfleet, and hope for the best," she said. "I still hope we can find a way to get them back to their own time. But if not, we'll need to get them to where they can be integrated into our present."

Elijah nodded as he listened to her assessment of the situation, ever the optimist in this kind of thing. "Seems like the only thing we can do." He smiled as his fingers interlocked with hers on the sofa they were sat on.

"Both are growing suspicious. I hope we can figure this out soon," she said, smiling at Elijah.

"Me too." He said as he looked at her and then cupped her chin.

She knew he was going to kiss her. She also knew she should leave, but maybe it wouldn't hurt Amanda if she stayed just a little longer.

And then he kissed her. Lips pressed on hers and then there was silence as they kissed.

Grace slid a hand into his hair as she returned his kiss. She never knew kissing could be this nice. A little kissing wouldn't hurt, right?

In a brief moment the mood changed as Elijah and Grace were in the midst of their kiss.

Grace pulled back. "Not yet. Please, Elijah. I need to make sure Amanda will be okay first. And..." She paused to get control of her emotions. "New Icelandicans are not like others. We do not rush into physical relationships. It hasn't even been a month yet."

He kissed her forehead. “Good thi my I did my research.” He smiled at her cutely.

"You may have done your research, but that..." She shook her head. "That was..." Pushing it? Yes. But then, she should have stopped with the first kiss. Her grandmother taught her that to lie with a man was a commitment. That much she believed and would honor. But there was something else, something she'd long forgotten...until now. A ritual of sorts She would have to look into. "It was my fault." She kissed him on the cheek. "I should leave. There is more research we both need to do before morning." She paused. "Have you heard from Starfleet Command?"

“I’m waiting to hear back from them.” Elijah responded to her. “We will have to bring both Ship Captains onto the Ontario soon and tell them the truth.” He commented. “We need to tell them the reality they have stepped into.”

"Does that mean we can't get them back?" Grace asked.

"Starfleet isn't sure if we can send them back." Elijah responded.

Grace sighed. "I should let you know that a Vulcan engineer on the Relent has figured out they're out of their own time. He hasn't said anything yet. I think the Romulan Commander is also aware of the situation." No matter what they did, this was going to be difficult. "With your permission, I'll talk to Lieutenant Bálor and see if he has any ideas. If not, we'll look at how to integrate them."

“That’s a good idea.” Elijah responded. He looked at her. “The integration will be difficult especially when they discover the truth about Romulus.”

"Okay." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I should go now. I'll let you know what I learn." She kissed him on the cheek before standing. "Sleep well, Elijah."

He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "Night Grace...." He said softly to her.

____
OFF

Lieutenant Commander Grace Vetur
Executive Officer
USS Ontario

Captain Elijah Michaels
Commanding Officer
USS Ontario

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