First Duty (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 13 May 2024 @ 12:52pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Morgan Tarin & Lieutenant JG Rafe Caradec & Lieutenant JG Montgomery Vala

3,028 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-B - Deck 2, Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 04, 1519 hrs

Previously, on First Duty (Part 1)...

"Agreed, Captain.", Rafe responded. He then turned to the Lieutenant and reached out his hand. "No hard feelings, Vala. I do appreciate your expertise. I think this whole situation has all of us on edge. I mean, in our current timeline I'm not even supposed to exist. And that's really hard for me to swallow. I must...we must get to the bottom of this, and soon. Time can be cruel. Yet right now, it's our most valuable commodity and we need to make the most of it."

Vala gave Caradec the smallest nod of acknowledgement, still slightly bristling, "Indeed. If a security breach has occurred that is obviously worrying from many angles, but my focus is the impact this new data has on the objectives of this mission."

He straightened his uniform and continued, "I believe that this aberrant data provides an alternative path for the alteration of the timeline. If the Galileo goes back and prevents this information from being passed on at Regula, it could allow the war to be averted and this terrible research to be surpressed for good."

Tarin opened her mouth to speak then closed it, pausing with consideration for a short moment. "Admiral?"

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

The Orion captain had been diligently listening and observing the words and interactions between the conn officer and science officer. She was an expert at interpreting subtle forms of body language and tonal inflections, especially in Humans who were traditionally less-than-capable of hiding their true intentions. Some were proficient deceivers but most all of them had their own unique tells unbeknownst to them. However, she did not know Caradec well nor Vala, and both officers had just posited direct and logical courses of actions following their new findings.

"I find it difficult to believe, Lieutenant Vala, that you have managed to unravel a new timeline string within 48 hours when it took our best scientists and temporal researchers almost two years to complete their calculations. With greater technology and understandings of temporal deviations, nonetheless." Saalm then curtly shook her head and opened a light green palm to the man. "However I cannot deny your findings aren't without merit. I've read your historical file and I know of your history within the Star Empire. You are a subject matter expert and though you might be 25 years out of your time, it's not impossible you have discovered something our people in this time overlooked. If Commander Tarin wishes for you to proceed with your investigation, you have my support." She then raised a single finger to indicate caution, "But your time is limited. As soon as my ship finishes our repairs to main engineering, we will send you back in time to accomplish your mission...whether or not you've completed your investigation. You have 48 hours, at best," she warned.

Vala's eyes flicked over to the Orion. It remained difficult to mask his distaste for the blaise attitude people seemed to have for the timeline in this era. "I appreciate your support Commander," he gave a small nod to Tarin, "and yours, Admiral."

He tapped his PADD a couple of times then continued, "If I am to give a completely frank assessment, we are in a precarious position with the mathematics of it all. Your simulations are focussed on the large waves of impact decisions such as deleting, or not deleting the Cold Station files may have," he made a vague gesture with his hands, "War or no war.""

He frowned a little before carrying on, "I am, however, concerned at the implications for the timeline of two particular issues, one of which is unsolvable. The first is what will happen if we do not return the Klingon ship we arrived with to it's proper time. The other is the death of Officer Hollenday and his absence from the timeline when we return. I believe humans refer to such issues in causality as a 'domino effect'. We cannot easily predict how the timeline will flow with such small changes, but it will undoubtably be affected."

Saalm shifted her rear end in her chair then straightened her posture somewhat slightly. Vala was sharp and was living up to the reputation he possessed in the historical logs. Most importantly, the paradoxes he had just mentioned were a closely guarded secret she'd hoped to keep private between she and Tarin.

"Our scientists struggled with these same concerns for almost the entirety of this project's development," the rear admiral began to reveal. "Bringing you here was the easy portion of our mission; but we had not anticipated Praxis would come with you. Yet we planned for this contingency, and we believe that event - and Hollenday's death - will have a negligible impact...if we can send you back in time."

Temporal causalities were advanced forms of mathematical calculations at best, and completely indeterminable at worst. "Starfleet's temporal generation device which is embedded into Galileo-B's systems was designed for only two uses. The first use was to bring you here and shield your vessel from the temporal effects to ensure nothing more than an empty starship with no crew arrived. The rift you entered worked by generating an alternating quantum-isotope field around your vessels when they passed through the barrier, thereby preserving your vessels' physical and biological states. As well as your memories."

"When we send you back," she continued, "it will be to your own time, but with a modified field. We cannot know for certain what you will experience, however our best scientists predict you will return back to your original destination several minutes before your crew - and Commander Tarin - make your final decision to permanently delete the cold station's data. You will retain no memories of this future and once you cross the temporal event horizon to go back 2392, your timeline will reset. What has happened here in this future has not happened in the past, therefore Petty Officer Hollenday's death, Praxis' disappearance, and other events which have happened here will become irrelevant. You will be returned back to your original time period just as you left it, but with a new decision to make in order to alter this future."

Vala blinked a few times, allowing silence to fall for several moments as he absorbed the new information.

Since arriving in 2417 he had known with a certainty that there was something deeply wrong with meddling with the course of time. Regardless of 'temporal authorities' or the desperate situation, what would be, certainly should be.

But... the Federation had saved his life, and he owed it to return the favour in a fashion. If a war must be prevented, then it would be, if all went well.

To twist time to their will and to have it snap back without repucussion though... Well that brought things back to square one. How could causality function without consequence?

He cleared his throat, his face shifting to a more grave visage, "Admiral, I must express a firm objection to this 'reset'. If the Federation is truly so fragile that a war with their allies was able break out within years of 2392 then surely we have an obligation to make reports and submit logs so that a level of introspection can take place. We manipulate time to avoid a war, but that will not combat any of the systemic issues that clear existed back in our time. To allow our memories to be wiped and ignorance to reign is unacceptable."

Saalm frowned at the science officer, the age-creases along the sides of her eyes betraying her youthful emerald facial features. "You of all scientists should know you cannot return to your timeline with knowledge of the future; it is inevitable that it would be used deliberately, as you just stated, or inadvertently. It would irrevocably alter your...our evolution's path and future fates in a way we cannot predict." She then displayed another green palm to the man, this time positing a new question. "You are a Starfleet officer. What is our first duty?"

"Time flows, Admiral," Vala said coldly, ignoring her question for the time being, "What we would know is irrelevent. How we shape or attempt to change things would bw irrelevant. Possessing knowledge of this timeline, once we have altered it, is immaterial to the future we create. Such information would merely become relevant information about the present but not a second beyond it."

His gaze pierced her, "Preventing this war would be a phyrric victory if rot within the Federation is not exposed and exised with great precision. For us to go back, prevent your doom, then blunder on as if nothing has happened would be the gravest folly. It would be delaying the inevitable."

He shifted slightly in his seat, attempting to calm the frustration he felt within, "In answer to your question, our first duty must be to the ideals of the Federation. Truth. Justice. The very ideals which are under threat if measures are not taken to ensure the disaster of this timeline is remembered and lessons learned from it."

The Orion rear admiral studied the Romulan, staring into his green eyes with her own before a subtle smile of acceptance tugged at one corner of her gold lips. "As you've just stated, Vala, our ideals and core values are under threat and those degradations were responsible for this future. What better way to correct this by remembering our first duty: to speak the truth. To not lie, obfuscate or deceive, even when such a an option appears benign. We draw power from the truth and this core philosophy guides us in our exploration of space and is the framework of our moral values."

Saalm closed her hand then clasped it within her other atop her desk. "If you wish to permanently change this future, this is the path you must pursue. You will remember this first duty and remind all of the Federation where we once came from. You've spent so long attempting to ascertain the nature of this second data leak that the most obvious solution presented to you - speaking truth to power and sharing the research you discovered within Cold Station 31 with your galactic neighbors - has eluded you. You still seek to deceive...hoping you can catch your deception before it spreads. Is that truly the Starfleet way?"

The visceral racial instinct to bear his teeth in incredulity was difficult to swallow, but Vala managed to maintain his more composed expression with only a twitch of his lip.

"Misdirection is the key to survival. If knowledge is power, then to be unknown is to be unconquerable," he repeated the famous Rihannsu proverb in Federation Standard, keeping his eyes locked on Saalm. Her desperation had transformed into naivety.

"A starfleet officer's duty is to the truth, Admiral, not necessarily to speak it. Finding the truth and taking responsible action thereafter is at the core of Starfleets mission." He leaned forward, "If it weren't the Prime Directive would not exist and we would be obliged to inform primative worlds of the wonders of the universe before their time."

His face remained stormy as he continued, "To claim Commander Tarin's actions in deleting this abberant research were a form of 'deception' is disingenuous in the extreme. Science thrives on open networks of information, but what went on at the Cold Station was closed and deeply unethical. Destroying that information utterly, then retaining our memories and senses so we can expose the full scope of the corruption in the Federation that allowed such research to occur will do much more than simply prevent a war."

Galileo-A's captain's voice spoke up from within the small LCARS screen. "It's gamble and a risk assessment, lieutenant," interjected Tarin. "On the one hand you believe securing all of the cold station's research logs and deleting them will prevent such a leak from occurring in the first place. On the other hand, Admiral Saalm - and even I - can't be 100-percent certain this new leak you discovered will be the end of it. What if there is a third data source? A fourth, fifth or sixth? Something you overlooked in the last two days?" She paused to think of a more practical way to rephrase the current conundrum.

"The question we have to answer is, is this benefit of attempting to cover up clandestine research worth the risk that it may be discovered again in the future and lead us into another similar future like this one? And is the risk of revealing Starfleet's dangerous research activities and discoveries - whether or not they were officially authorized - worth the benefit of geopolitical stabilization within our quadrants?"

"I believe there is no need for a black or white perspective here," Vala addressed Tarin's monitor, "I suppose there would be little issue with certain elements of the data being released. The conspiracy to conduct such research could be exposed, as could various ethical violations. The crucial element that should be eliminated or manipulated is the ill gotten data and research that came from the Cold Station."

He glanced back to Saalm, "None of these experiments should be repeated, and you can be certain that they will be if the Rihannsu and Klingons get their hands on the finer details." You had to draw the line somewhere, or where would it end.

Straightening up a little, he addressed Tarin again, "Captain I cannot ever provide certainties. There could be well hidden trails of other leaks of data, indeed, but regardless of this I would recommend that we try our best to follow your original instincts. Our focus should ultimately be in ensuring such research practices are purged from the Federation, and those who authorized them are severely implicated in the eyes of the public."

"I think we should take one step at a time, Lieutenant.", said Rafe. "We are provided limited options. If we go back without our memories, there is a very strong possibility we end up right where we started. Here. In the same conversation we're having. We could still maintain mission integrity with limited instructions on what to do when we got back, even if our memories are erased. Or, we could simply go back with our memories intact and run the possibility of this getting out. And it would get out. Eventually, someone always talks."

Caradec turned to the Admiral and addressed both senior officers. "Admiral, Captain, I think I could help by going over some of the video footage, at least to put my mind at ease that I had taken a look. Let me do that. I truly think I could find something. To me, if Lt. Vala is correct, the information leak would have to come from Cold Station 31, which came over on the shuttles, and then propagated onto the Galileo-A. It has to be there, somewhere." Any additional arguments from Vala were going to be futile if he continued, which it seemed he had yielded to the Admiral. It seemed things were coming together but he had to get over to the Galileo-A. He had work to do.

As much as Saalm wanted to continue to debate the moral and ethical quandary surrounding CS31's sensitive and dangerous research, she realized the senior conn officer's request was a reminder that the longer they debated the merits of their plan without first conducting the investigation, the more time they would potentially waste. The Orion flag officer rubbed the side of her emerald neck. "Begin your investigation with Vala immediately. We can return to this discussion once you report back with your findings. Commander Tarin, any objections?"

"None," answered Galileo-A's captain from inside the screen with a curt shake of her head. "Lieutenants, report back here within the half-hour and begin your work. Let me know what additional resources you need, if any. We're going to be operating at reduced power mode for the foreseeable future but I'll see what I can do to free up any facilities you might need."

"As you wish, sir," Vala gave a respectful nod to his commanding officer, "I understand resources are scarce but perhaps a security officer can assist us? I am afraid my familiarity with security systems is somewhat lacking."

Not a bad idea, Tarin briefly pondered before silently agreeing to the proposal. The Security department certainly wasn't needed for any high-priority tasks at present. "Take Lieutenant Valenis and bring her up to speed. She'll be able to help the two of you. Get this done quickly, all three of you."

Vala gave Tarin's screen a small nod of acknowledgement, before shifting his eyes to Saalm. He couldn't bring himself to trust her, but he was grateful that she was not standing in the way of his theory for the time being. His voice carried the mixed sentiment as he spoke, "Permission to leave, sir?"

"Dismissed," ordered the Orion rear admiral with her own curt nod in reply.

Rafe nodded his head in acknowledgement, turned around, and exited with a slight show of relief on his face. This only allowed him a small window with which to help absolve himself of any wrong doing in keeping the data and releasing it to his family via someone he did not know. Looking back, he knew it was a mistake worthy of only a 1st year cadet. But none of that mattered now. He must first, plant the fake evidence, then find a way to notify himself in the past to not make the same mistake, or correct it before the timeline-altering information gets out.

[OFF]

--

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-B
[PNPC Tarin]

Lt. JG Rafe Caradec
Senior Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Montgomery Vala
Deputy Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

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