The Precipice

Posted on 15 Apr 2024 @ 12:19am by Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater & Lieutenant JG Montgomery Vala
Edited on on 18 Apr 2024 @ 1:45pm

3,400 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-A - Geology Lab
Timeline: MD01 - 1507 hrs

[ON]

Galileo is a small ship, it was only a short walk from the conference room on deck one to the erstwhile geology lab that Sofie had temporarily commandeered as her office. Though normally a place of sanctuary for her as she entered it today with Vala close behind she had a grim look on her face. Nothing about the meeting they had just experienced had made her happy. As she went to take her seat she gestured to one of the other ones for Vala and as she sat she said "I think we have a lot to talk about."

Vala sat down, exhaling sharply, "Where to begin..." He said shaking his head. He had a grim expression. No part of the briefing they had just attended had been remotely satisfactory as far as he was concerned.

"I feel I am at a disadvantage here," he began cautiously, knowing it was a sensitive topic, "I do not wish to dredge up difficult aspects of your previous mission, but I feel that I need to know more about this data that the admiral," he put bitter, sardonic emphasis on the word, "seems so obsessed with us recovering."

He locked his eyes on Sofie, "I will take it as read about the aberrations and portals and such things," though it sounded horrible and fascinating in equal measure, "but I need to know one thing: is what they found truly a prize worth starting a war over?"

Sofie let out a sigh, a long sigh that captured in its weight a whole pile of emotions. She rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb, closing her eyes for a moment before beginning to answer the question. "I'm not allowed to tell you much, but no. There was no breakthrough in research that we found there, it was a failed experiment, and given just how monstrous and unethical an experiment it was..." She shook her head "Any scientific institute would throw out that data. They followed no rules, none of it can even be trusted, or replicated."

"If the preservation of that data is the fulcrum on which the future of the Federation rests..." She shrugged, it was a sad resigned kind of shrug. She didn't feel the need to finish the sentence aloud.

He nodded slowly. This information made the whole affair make even less sense. "I appreciate the insight," he gave a respectful inclination of the head.

"I cannot..." he exhaled harshly, leaning forward and rubbing his forehead, "I cannot fathom any of this. After a lifetime of scholarship dedicated to temporal mechanics my understanding of causality is that a single event cannot be the sole cause of another. The variables are just..." He simply shook his head.

He looked back to Sofie, "What is your take on it all?"

"It's arrogance. The future changes on the wings of a butterfly. If they are so certain of this outcome then in my opinion it is not representative of this one specific action but a series of sharpening contradictions on a geopolitical level." There was a little shake of her head, as if irritated by her own conclusion "In my most honest moment I would say this is a problem solved on the level of how nations interact with each other not of temporal science."

Her gaze met his, a tempest raging in her grey eyes. "I can not fight this battle in that arena though. We are scientists not diplomats and so we have until that ship is fixed to prove that there is another path. A proof we will have to make on their terms and with their methods if we are ever to convince them."

They certainly were very much at the mercy of the Galileo-B if they wished to return to their own time with any precision. Vala nodded at Sofie's appraisal, "Yes, you are right," he continued to nod, then mumbled, "Yes, yes, yes."

He tapped the table in front of him with some agitation, "I just have a... feeling. You will have to forgive me a little paranoia but it is," he vaguely gestured to his ears, "in my nature."

He took a deep breath, "But if we take what you have just said as likely, which I agree it is, then this war may well be inevitable. Surely if 'temporal scientists' in the new 'present day' have come to the same conclusion then..." He bit the inside of his mouth, thinking of how to articulate the myriad thoughts that were buzzing in his head, "Well if war is inevitable what does your strategy become..." he paused, "winning the war."

He proceeded carefully, "What better way to prepare the Federation for an inevitable conflict than to send back in time details of that conflict back in time and... save data that they believe, however erroneously, holds the secret to transwarp transporters..." He trailed off.

"So they come here, try to secure that technology for the Federation by tricking us into thinking it was the road to peace." Sofie liked the idea, she didn't need an excuse to distrust Saalm and from that angle this was surely an idea that she would be on board with.

She took a moment to think, everything in the last few hours had been so much that she hadn't had an opportunity to really organise her thoughts, and after the last few weeks that was a difficult task at the best of times. "In that case," she placed her words with a similar caution to that which Vala had employed, her placement of each word as deliberate as ever "We have to assume that Commander Wyatt's job when we are over there is to maintain that subterfuge. They will have doctored any data that they let us handle. Maybe we should consider alternative routes of analysis."

"Perhaps the engineering crew will be less closely monitored, if we tip them off they might be able to access some less filtered data for us." Sofie couldn't help but be in love with the idea that they'd have a chance to prove to Tarin that Saalm was lying to them. She gave a little tilt of the head, acknowledging the possibility that this might not be some grand conspiracy. "Even if they aren't lying to us a way to confirm that would be nice."

A modicum of relief allowed Vala's posture to relax a fraction. He was glad his line of thinking made some rational sense to Sofie. It was always difficult to pick out the good hunches from the general paranoia every Rihannsu developed in their youth as a result of having to exist amongst other Rihannsu.

"Their insistence on monitoring us as we consider an alternative plan is certainly an inconvenience. I think involving Engineering is a sensible approach," he tapped the desk lightly in agitation once more, "Do you know anyone in the department who we can trust to be discrete?"

Sofie cast her mind to the engineers she knew. Hollenday quite rightly wouldn't trust anything that came out of her mouth. Inant and Naime had been on Trial, part of her still felt guilty about what had happened there, she had no idea what those two thought of her. And the officer? Sofie hadn't even met her yet. "I don't know about any of the NCOs. Have you met the ensign? I don't know her name yet."

"Ensign M'Lyr'Zor," his Rihannsu accent picking up the pronounciation naturally, "She goes by Sera I believe." He took a moment to considered her suitability, "I have met her twice, at the banquet last night," It felt like a long time ago, though he supposed it had technically been twenty five years, "and earlier on she came to help me with some equipment in the lab."

He rubbed the side of his face pensively, "She is a Vulcan," that statement alone was sufficient to encapsulate a whole manner of quirks that his distant kin seemed to possess, "But she seemed perturbed at the briefing. Perhaps I can speak to her and..." he nodded slowly at the thought, "Gauge how 'logical' she believes this mission to be."

"You do that." Sofie nodded. Sera had impressed Sofie at the meeting earlier, it would be nice to have her on side. "What about Captain Tarin? Do you think I should speak to her now or wait until we've got something?"

"Hmm." Vala paused and weighed the options, lightly biting the inside of his mouth, "My instinct would be to wait. If we can find something it will be difficult for her to deny that we have become embroiled in a deception."

He tapped his long fingers on the table in front of him, "I suppose we must be prepared for the eventuality that Tarin tows the line here regardless of anything. Not a thought I relish but... well if we find something tangible we should be ready with contingencies."

"Contingencies?" The implication hidden inside that word did not inspire joy in Sofie. Only a week earlier doing what she thought was right with regards to the Cold Station had ended with one of her friends nearly dying and members of the crew injured. Was this going to put her in that position again? Could she even trust her own judgement if it came to that?

But despite all that she could bring herself to think Vala was wrong. "I trust Tarin. I trust that if I show her evidence she will side with us." She'd said it with confidence because it was true, she did trust Tarin, but with a glance to the floor her tone changed to a softer colour "What sort of contingencies would you envision here?"

"I am glad to hear that," he responded with sincerity, "I do not know Tarin yet, so it is helpful to hear a vote of confidence in that regard. I genuinely hope she will do as you say if we find anything untoward."

He paused for a moment, before proceeding with a cautious tone, "What I mean is, here in this time we are at the mercy of the Galileo-B. There are no communications here and we must rely on the information we are fed by the admiral and her people. I do not know what will be uncovered or what we will become convinced of, but we must be ready to act one way or another when we are free of their yoke."

He gave Sofie a determined look, "Once we return to our own time, what we do is up to us. We are free. We should ensure that by that point we are equipped with as many options as we can. We do not necessarily have to pick the timeline they choose," he allowed silence to fall, before adding, "Unless of course we become convinced that truly is the right way forward."

Sofie gave a little smile, dismissive in quality "I really hope we don't." She was willing to pursue all options, entertain any possibility that would be suggested, except that one. Maybe that was going to be a problem. "I don't know if my judgement is always going to be sound on this mission, I'm sure you could tell from the briefing that those of us who were there have strong emotions about what happened at the cold station."

"You are right in that we will have to make a choice when we return. I'm not going to be the only person on this ship who finds one of those choices unacceptable." She shook her head, her eyes scrunched shut for a moment. She was thinking of Lamar, Mimi and the brig. It was getting hotter in here. "Sorry," She waved a hand, trying to shrug it off and not managing "Give me a moment here."

Vala nodded wordlessly and averted his eyes to give her a modicum of privacy. The whole concept of this mission was profane, he thought as he allowed time to pass. For Sofie it was because of what the data held, the horrors she had presumably been exposed to. For him it was the thought of toying with so many lives to achieve a particular outcome. Saving a truly doomed Federation was possibly a justifyable end, but if the cost was too great... he would never live with himself.

He took the moments of silence to steady his breath and find his own sense of calm. The quiet had made him realise quite how agitated he had become about it all. He had to physically avoid the thought that in this timeline he had lived a totally different life. Paradoxes abound. He hoped he would not encounter any information on his alter ego.

Finally he brought his mind back into focus. Moral quandries could wait. He knew what his job was aboard the ship and within this science department. He share his expertise and he would do what he could to have the young Chief Science Officer's back.

He slowly looked back to her, gently breaking the hush that had fallen, "I do not think anyone's judgement is going to be particularly sound as we face these decisions, Sofie."

He took a deep breath, "We will strive to find an acceptable way forward, and if we don't..." He paused for a moment, briefly closing his eyes, "If we don't I will defer to you on the matter. I will advise you of my perspective, certainly, I will fight for as little meddling with the timeline as possible, absolutely, but in the end we must have a united front when it comes to the crunch. Mnhei'sahe," his thick Rihannsu accent spilled over the term. The ruling passion. The honour that is rightly owed, "We shall stand together."

Just what she needed, another person willing to follow her despite all her horrible decisions. "Thanks, we'll find a way through, together." She said it with sincerity in her voice but couldn't keep eye contact. With all these horrors rearing up their heads in her thoughts she was barely holding it together. She needed something to hold, something to keep her hands busy.

Sofie pulled out one of the nearby drawers. Its contents could be heard rolling about as she stuck a hand in. "Would you like one?" She asked, pulling out a round orange fruit from her stash. "Orange, its an Earth fruit. Called the same thing as the colour it is." She awkwardly confirmed the fruits identity. Only a couple of years ago she wouldn't have recognised one, no guarantee anyone else would either.

"I... would," not one to turn down such an offering, Vala accepted the orange and examined it, "I have never seen such a fruit before."

He ran his fingers over the skin, "Soft yet tough skin..." he murmured, then brought it close to his face to cautiously sniff it, "Acidic. Lively..." he said softly, as if he was taking mental notes.

He shook his head and refocussed on Sofie, "My knowledge of Earth food is rather lacking," he said as he lightly squeezed the fruit, "I have eaten things with the Earth fruit 'tomato' in them. Is it at all similar?"

"Hmmn," Sofie mused, as her hands began their work with the fruit, first finding a good vantage point to begin the peel. Already the action and activity was giving her some focus back, her eyes were fixed on the orange as she continued. "Tomatoes, I think, grow on vines whereas these grow on... Maybe bushes?" Her hands found a location to strike and with a slight grunt of effort she made the first break in the tough skin.

"The important thing is you have to take off the outer skin first, it is not normally eaten raw. Then once that is removed the interior breaks into segments." As she began to tear the peel of the poor citrus it cried out with a mist of juice. Sofie liked that smell and it helped again in grounding her, pulling herself back to this reality.

"When I first had one of these, a couple of years ago, my friend handed it to me without explaining things. Not knowing any better I bit into the skin, it elicited some laughs." She gave a quiet laugh to the memory of that day on the beach. "A good friend, even if she didn't explain the nuances of Earth fruit-eating etiquette."

The skin of Sofie's orange was now mostly removed, a little pile accumulating on her desk. She broke the fruit in half, still her eyes fixed on it and still talking, not letting her colleague get a word in edgeways. "On my home world, before I came to Earth, I came from a rich family. It was a world full of horrible inequality and I didn't think of that much until I met these people. In the Federation we aren't rich or poor. I think it is a better kind of society," at that point she looked up and made eye contact with Vala again "I think that is something worth preserving."

She picked a segment of the orange, inspected it for a moment, and then popped it in her mouth.

Mimicking her movements, Vala began to peel the orange slowly, its juice dripping a little onto the counter in front of him. "I'd have done the same. Bitten it," he bowed his head slightly and smiled, "I appreciate you sparing me the experience."

He could tell that ridding the fruit of its skin was a skill. He tore small pieces off bit by bit, where Sofie had achieved a beautiful spiral.

He matched her gaze, "Honour is everything where I come from. Mnhei'sahe, the ruling passion, underpins everything," another small piece of peel fell away, "I did not fit there. Born impure of blood," more peel landed on the counter, "A bastard," a final large piece fell, "Yet I worked and worked. I served. I was... enraptured by the Mnhei'sahe."

He inspected the orange orb, the division of segments was satisfying, "How I wished to fit in. To be a true son of the Empire..." He sighed glancing back to Sofie, "Every challenge I had to surmount a little more convincingly, every exam I had to do a little better, every project I had to offer more and demand less. Climbing, scraping and scratching my way to a single goal. Acceptance."

He shook his head, then pulled a segment free from the fruit, "And I had it for a couple of years. Heady times," he snorted, "but then it all came tumbling down. Shockingly fast. One day I was at the front row of the opera, the next I was rotting in a Tal Shiar prison."

He ate the piece of fruit. It was pleasant, not unlike a Pirum of his homeworld. Refreshing certainly. He chewed for a few moments, then swallowed the pithy remains of the segment. "I escaped here. To the Federation. It was a bargain initially... information, research," he tapped his head, "my mind in exchange for asylum. But here I am. I am a citizen and in the Federation now. I am accepted. I am equal." His gaze intensified on Sofie, "I agree that it is worth preserving. But it must be done right. We must hold onto our principles."

"It is not the Federation itself," she deftly picked up another of the orange segments, all her movements were imbued with perhaps too much precision "But the values that made it." She gazed at the orange segment in her hand as if it held some deep philosophical answers inside its juicy bowels. "If we hold true to those values then the choices we must make should be obvious as they present themselves."

"Well put," he nodded slowly, prising another segment free, "This conversation has given me a modicum of optimism at least," He ate the piece of fruit, chewing it slowly before swallowing the remains. The pith was slightly cumbersome to fully break down. He gave Sofie a small smile, "I am glad we are in accord."

[OFF]

--

LTJG Sofie Ullswater
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

&

LTJG Montgomery Vala
Deputy Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

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