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| - "How long until the Romulan ships are within weapons range, Mr. Chellaud?" Commander Aznia Toma ordered the report from Tactical. The Pakled tactical officer reported back, "Two Minutes." "Toma to Rahall," Aznia tapped her badge, "How quickly can you install a cloaking device?" Chief Engineer Rahall's voice rang back across the communicator, "Three... maybe four minutes." "You have two, prepare to beam to the freighter!" Aznia ordered. She tapped her badge again, "Transporter room, beam Rahall and one of our auxiliary cloaking modules directly to the freighter immediately." "Aye sir, energizing." a crewman's voice answered. "Mr. En'thaas, set a course for the Romulan ships. Let's intercept them and buy as much time as possible." The Aenar helmsman maneuvered the ship toward the ominous warbirds. "Captain, they're locking on us." "Evasive maneuvers." She turned toward Tactical "Mr. Chellaud target the smaller support vessels with a phaser cannon spread, let's see if we can pull them off course." Aznia ordered. "Support vessels are pursuing, the lead warbird is breaking toward the freighter, 30 seconds to range." The Federalist shook violently, sparks flew across the bridge. "Shields are at 30%." The Tactical officer reported. Aznia turned to Science Officer Haln, "I want you to dump all power except shields and structural integrity into the deflector dish. Let's see if we can generate a gravity well to hold that warbird back." The Saurian Science Officer engaged the deflector as the energy transfer blew out several relays, but the particle stream generated a field that slowed the Warbird's progress. "Get whatever power is remaining back to weapons!" Aznia ordered as the strained ship tried to juggle its various tasks. "Fire at will on the Warbird!" The phasers inflicted significant damage on the Romulan lead ship, but the support vessels swarming them were decimating their defenses. "Shields offline!" The Pakled Tactical officer shouted. "Hull integrity down to 29%!" "Keep firing until the freighter cloaks! Once they're clear, give me warp power!" The bridge overloaded with energy feedbacks, "We won't have warp power!" En'thaas reported, "We're losing core contain-" A shower of sparks cut off the officer's report, as the holodeck program ended. The crewmen found themselves within the empty holomatrix on level 1 in the Starfleet Command building. En'thaas stepped toward Aznia, setting a hand on her shoulder, "Good attempt." he consoled her. The holodeck doors opened, two Starfleet officers walked in, "Interesting method." a grey haired Admiral announced. He looked around the holodeck, "Thank you for participating, you're all dismissed." The crew shuffled out of the room, except Aznia. "I thought I could give the freighter time to make repairs by cloaking them." Aznia explained her actions, "I was only fighting for time... I'd hoped we could hold out long enough to secure them, then jump to warp ourselves." "You don't often get the time you expect," the Admiral explained, "but your approach was commendable." "Is there any chance I could see how the rest of that simulation turned out?" Aznia inquired, "The Kobayashi Maru may still have escaped." "No you can't see. You died. Dead Captains don't see." Admiral Deet taunted the failure. "You must accept the consequences of your losses. Not knowing what happened to that freighter is a very small consequence, compared to losing those 400 men and women aboard your ship." Commander Toma shook her head in frustration. "You did fine, Commander." Deet reassured her. He looked over to the other officer in the room, "Have you met Commander Daniels? He's in charge of the simulations department here at Starfleet Academy." Daniels extended his hand to Commander Toma, "Nice to meet you." he smiled politely. Aznia smiled and greeted Daniels similarly. Daniels looked in the Admiral's direction, "To be honest, I think Commander Toma's attempt was one of the best I've seen in my time here. I'd hate to think my program is getting soft." He smiled coyly toward Aznia, "Admiral, if you don't mind, I have some questions about the simulation from the user's perspective. Would you mind if I spoke to Aznia in my office?" "Of course." He nodded to Daniels before addressing Aznia, "Commander, report to my office tomorrow at 1400 hours, we'll go over your results and I'll let you know your next assignment." Admiral Edinger Deet smiled at his subordinates as he turned to leave, nodding as if to say 'good day'. Toma and Daniels stood at attention as the Admiral vacated the area. Once he was clear, they began to speak casually. "You've served with the Admiral, right?" Daniels asked the straightforward question. "I was his Chief of Security aboard the L'Étoile du Nord for three years," she answered "I consider him a mentor... and a friend." "I suppose that's good to hear," Daniels smiled, "With his promotion, I'll be working under him here at Starfleet Command. I'm interested in knowing what I'm in for." Daniels led Aznia out of the holodeck, walking a short distance down the corridor to Daniels' office. The office was small; it was on the interior side of the corridor, so there were no windows. PADDs were stacked on every surface, listing reports and assignment rosters for ships all across the quadrant. Aznia smiled at the messy workspace, "It looks like you keep yourself busy!" "Oh, I'm sorry about the mess." Daniels looked around. Aznia smiled back, "No... don't be! I feel like I'm at home." The door slid shut behind Daniels, "Commander, I'd like to speak to you about something classified. This can't go beyond these walls, not even to the Admiral." Aznia was too curious to turn away, "Um... Go ahead." she nervously permitted him to continue. "Computer, lock office doors." Daniels walked behind his desk, unlocking a cabinet with a retinal scan. "Have you ever heard of Section 31, Commander?" "Of course I have." Aznia's attitude changed to disgust, "If Section 31 still exists, and if you're working with them, we can end this meeting now." "No, Commander. I do not work for Section 31. In fact, Section 31 hasn't existed in over 180 years." He sat down, setting an unusual piece of technology from his cabinet on the desk, "And that's the problem we face." he tapped buttons on the device which illuminated the room with a stream of complex holographic data and imagery. Aznia was stunned by the imagery for a moment, she forced her composure past the sight to discuss the so-reviled topic at hand, "Section 31 was a criminal organization that corrupted the best facets of Starfleet!" She leaned in, "How many people died because of their actions?" "You're right. Section 31 was brought to light when their efforts to instigate a war with the Klingons backfired. Their unfrozen, genetically engineered, super soldier wreaked havoc on Earth, Starfleet Command, and the Enterprise. The incident led the people of earth to route out their operatives and to remain vigilant in stopping any rouge intelligence operations like them." Daniels leaned in closely to match Aznia eye-to-eye, lowering the tone of his voice, "None of it should've happened." "Then we agree." Aznia eased back, "Section 31 should've never existed in the first place." Daniels grinned, "Well... we don't agree. Section 31 should exist. They should still exist." he struggled to make his point, "Don't get me wrong, the Section 31 that you know should've never existed. They should've never been pushed to such aggressive lengths. They should've never overplayed their hand like they did." Aznia was confused by the nebulous debate, she cut straight to the chase. "So, why are we discussing this." Daniels stood up, and began to interact with his holography. "This is a timeline. It shows time as it should have played out." "'Should have played out'?" Aznia quoted back in a dismissive tone. "Are you saying that the timeline has been altered?" "Right." Daniels expanded a section of the timeline, "Right here. The destruction of the U.S.S. Kelvin" information about the event expanded onto the holographic globe surrounding them. "I've read about this." Aznia stood up and walked in closer, "That was the same ship that destroyed Vulcan. That was when it arrived." "So you're aware that the timeline has been altered." Daniels argued his point. Aznia contemplated the statement, "Who's to say that this isn't the 'correct' timeline? Nobody is qualified to rewrite 200 years of history!" Daniels chuckled, "It's quite a responsibility, but it's an important job to do." Aznia gazed back at him sharply, again cutting directly to the point, "Who are you, Daniels?" Daniels sighed, "I am a temporal agent from the 29th century, I've been trapped here for the past 22 years, monitoring intelligence reports, forging credentials, evaluating officers, making calculations, and waiting for the right time to act." "What are you waiting for?" "Like you said," Daniels answered, "A chance to rewrite history. And I need the help of a good officer." "I can't be a part of this!" Aznia scoffed, "I won't take lives into my hands like that." Daniels turned back to his timeline, bringing up the profile of a Vulcan officer, "This is Doctor Span, one of your best friends and most trusted confidants." "I've never seen that man." Aznia shot back. Daniels brought up a picture of Span with his wife and son, "Because Vulcan was destroyed, he was never born. Neither was his son." he pulled up another profile, "His wife, Elsie Walesa. She should be your first officer; someone with an illustrious and meaningful Starfleet career... instead, she's running a courier service in Idaho." "I don't know these people at all." Aznia shook off the information. Daniels moved the timeline again, "And then there's our war with the Dominion/Romulan alliance. That isn't going very well, is it?" "I'm still confident that we can persevere." she hoped aloud. Daniels shook his head, "This war should be over. It should've been over almost 50 years ago when we liberated Cardassia." "Liberated? We left Cardassia leveled, their population almost extinct, hardly a military victory." Aznia lamented. "Just another entire race of people that we can save." Daniels shot back. "If Section 31 would've been involved in the Dominion war, their actions would've led to a cease fire at Cardassia. They would've coerced the Romulan Senate into maintaining the Treaty of Algeron." Aznia covered her mouth with her hand, exhaling softly. Before she could answer, "How about the fate of the entire Federation?" Aznia set up sternly, "What happens to the Federation?" "I can't be sure. I don't know this future any more than you do. But what I do know is that my attempts to contact my century's Temporal Investigations department have gone unanswered, as if they're not there at all." Daniels explained, in the future that I know, the Federation barely survives a number of threats. But they do survive. Even if they win this Dominion War, it will leave a weakened, pitiful Federation that is completely unprepared for the Undine, the Fen'Domar, the Iconians, or the Sphere Builders." "Who?" Aznia was giving Daniels her full attention. "Just know this." he tapped his finger against the desk, "With this past, we have no future." Aznia was sold. "What do we need to do?" "Just be prepared for further instructions. Make sure you're on time to meet with the Admiral tomorrow. And remember, this information doesn't leave this room." Daniels switched off his device, the cluttered office reappeared around them. He manually opened the door by pressing a control pad on the wall. "Commander Toma, I appreciate your feedback on the Kobayashi Maru simulation." he gestured for her to leave the office, "Feel free to contact me if you have any other feedback!" Aznia left the office questioning her whole world, not knowing where to turn. --- A short stroll from the transporter hub in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Aznia found herself outside of a building marked 'Lakul Courier'. She walked in the front door, greeting the clerk, "Hello. I was wondering if I could speak to Elsie Walesa." "Let me see if she's available." The clerk walked away. Aznia took a moment to look around the room, noting a series of pencil sketches. Some appeared to be family portraits, but several were different starships, a Tuffli freighter, a Whorfin class transport, and even a striking sketch of the Excelsior class Enterprise-B. The clerk returned, "She has a full schedule today, is there something I can help you with?" Aznia insisted, "Please. It's a matter of personal importance. I have some brief questions for her." The clerk sighed and disappeared around the corner again. A moment later he returned with Walesa in tow. Walesa entered with an annoyed tone "Is there something I can..." something about Aznia struck her as familiar, stopping her in mid-sentence, "Deet? Your name is Deet." she said. Aznia was surprised, "No, but I do know someone by that name..." Walesa led Aznia to her office. It was a tidy and well organized place, with more pencil sketches adorning the wall. In the corner was a lighted drawing table. "Are these pencil drawings your own?" Aznia asked. Walesa smiled, "Yes, it's a hobby of mine. I've always got visions running through my mind, and I feel a need to put them to paper. In fact, I have one I want to show you." Walesa reached into a large desk drawer, removing a portfolio. Several additional drawings were inside. "When I drew this picture, the name Deet came to mind." Walesa showed Aznia a picture that bore a striking resemblance to herself. "I must know you from somewhere." "Fascinating," Aznia admitted, "Do you have others?" She wondered how she would end up joining with the Deet symbiont. Walesa showed Aznia a number of drawings, some of Span, some of Federation starships, some of a half-Vulcan child. "These people... it's like I have memories of them in my head, but I don't know who they are. Sometimes a name accompanies the image, but it's like an afterimage." Aznia smiled and nodded, "Tell me about your courier service. When did you start Lakul Transport?" "I didn't start it, it's a family business." she explained, "My grandmother was an El-Aurian. She was the Captain of the S.S. Lakul, which transported refugees to Earth after their homeworld was decimated by the Borg. Interestingly, she barely made it to Earth in one peice. The ship was caught in an energy ribbon, and was fortunate to have been towed to safety by the Enterprise-B. She was lucky the Enterprise was outfitted with a tractor beam that very morning, Starfleet protocol wouldn't let them leave drydock without one. The Lakul's sister ship was destroyed, but my grandmother made it to Earth with one of her vessels in tact. It was all she had when she arrived. She used it to start this business." Aznia nodded, "Did you ever have any aspirations of joining Starfleet." "I suppose I would have... but the family trade has always kept me busy." She chuckled, "...and my drawing." "And your drawing." Aznia echoed. "Do you ever wonder why you have these visions you draw?" "I think it's an El-Aurian trait. My grandmother had similar visions, much more intensely. It's like there's an awareness of something else out there. I really can't explain it." "I think you're right, Elsie." Aznia leaned in, lowering her voice, "I think that there's been a horrible change to our history, and it may be up to me to fix it." Walesa laughed aloud, "...and people think I'm crazy." "Please, Elsie. For Span, for your son..." she tapped her finger on the picture of the half-Vulcan boy, "...consider what I'm saying." Walesa turned serious, locking eyes with Aznia for a long moment. "Alright. I believe you." --- The next afternoon, Aznia arrived at Admiral Deet's office in San Francisco. Aznia wanted to tell the Admiral what she'd discussed with Daniels, but she also realized the importance of keeping such information secret, Daniels had yet to contact her, so she was unsure of how to proceed. "Aznia, come in... take a seat," the Admiral greeted her as she entered his office, "I've gone over your Command training records with Starfleet, they were reticent to give someone so young a command at this point; but I got a report in on my desk this morning, and we need good Captains more than ever." he smiled widely, "Congratulations, you're due for promotion this evening, and they're giving you command of the newly commissioned Tactical Escort, U.S.S. Federalist. Your first assignment will be on the lines in the Orellius sector." Aznia was excited by the news, "Admiral, thank you. I don't know what to say." "You could start by saying 'Yes, sir.'," the Admiral joked, "We'll hold the promotion ceremony at 1800 aboard the Federalist. Pack up your things and get ready to report aboard." Aznia stood up, preparing to get to the task. Before leaving the room, she turned back to Admiral Deet, "Have you, by chance, spoken with Commander Daniels since yesterday?" "He helped compile the data from your evaluations, but we didn't speak at length. Why do you ask?" Edinger inquired. "We had an... interesting conversation. He suggested some interesting things about time travel and alternate timelines," Aznia decided to hold back, "...but I'm sure it was just banter." Deet raised an eyebrow, "Alright, Aznia. You'd better get ready. I'll see you this evening." Aznia left the Admiral's office, and returned to her temporary quarters at Starfleet Command. She packed up her things, and had them transporter aboard the Federalist. She decided to take a shuttle into orbit so that she could visually inspect her new ship, as it awaited in dry dock. The shuttle launched from San Francisco and reached orbit in minutes, a Saurian ensign piloted the shuttle, "She's a beauty, Captain!" he said proudly as they approached the Escort in drydock. "Yes she is, Lieutenant. But I'm not Captain quite yet." She quipped, "Are you serving aboard?" "Aye, ma'am," the Saurian responded, "Lieutenant Jr. Grade Dewoh. I'll be working ship's security detail!" Aznia immediately began to size up the situation, "Let me ask you, Lieutenant. If my orders seem unusual, even in our first mission, would you have any doubts?" "Every situation is unique, Captain... Commander," he corrected himself, "I go where I'm ordered, and I will have your back." Aznia smiled at the dark red alien, "Thank you Lieutenant." The shuttle approached the Federalist docking doors, the large panels slid open, allowing the shuttle to access the ship. The shuttle's rear hatch opened as crewman awaited their commanding officer at attention. A formal whistle sounded, greeting Aznia aboard. En'thaas and Rahall were two of the first officers to welcome Aznia, having just been transferred aboard, "I can't think of anyone I'd rather serve with," En'thaas assured the Captain. "Congratulations, this is quite a ship," Rahall added. "Well, I know she's got a fine helmsman and chief engineer!" Aznia complemented her senior staff. "I'd like to see the bridge before the reception ceremony." "This way Captain Toma," En'thaas led the officers to the turbolift. They walked aboard the bridge, as it all seemed strangely familiar to Aznia, she eyed up the Captain's chair, "I suppose that's yours," Rahall gestured for her to sit down. Aznia sat in the seat, immediately pressing a few buttons on the arm, "Comfortable fit... just needs a little lumbar adjustment." she joked. "The command transfer reception will be starting shortly in the deck-3 banquet room. I'm going to go see if I can find my dress uniform." En'thaas reminded the group. "Officer thinking, I'm about to go do the same." the ship's new commanding officer stood up, as the crowd parted. --- A few members of Starfleet brass arrived with Admiral Deet to the reception, a crowd of crew and dignitaries enjoyed good food and a mildly festive atmosphere, "Attention everyone!" Admiral Deet boasted from the central lectern, "Attention on deck!" Another ceremonial whistle blew, stopping the crowd in their tracks, Aznia stood alongside in anticipation as Edinger gave the orders. "For services performed on behalf of Starfleet and your crewmates, it is my honor to promote you, Aznia Toma, to Captain, with all the duties and privileges thereunto." Edinger pinned an additional pip on Aznia's uniform as the crowd began their applause, "Hold on... Hold on..." Deet settled the group lightheartedly, "Captain Aznia Toma, as of stardate 87355.47, by the request of Admiral Edinger Deet of Starfleet Command, you are hereby requested and required to accept command of the U.S.S. Federalist... Computer, transfer all command codes to Captain Aznia Toma, voice authorization Admiral Edinger Deet Pi-Omega-Six." The computer chimed, it's cold voice repeating the order, "Transfer complete. U.S.S. Federalist now under command of Captain Aznia Toma." "I relieve you sir," Aznia stated. Edinger smiled, "I stand relieved." he reached out to shake Aznia's hand, "Congratulations, Captain." He quickly looked out toward the crowd in the room, "Now go ahead and clap." Laughter and applause filled the room. As the festivities continued. "It's all a little overwhelming," Aznia mused. Edinger raised and eyebrow, "This is overwhelming? Just wait until you've got a wing of Jem'hadar assault ships chasing you from behind, and two Romulan Warbirds ahead of you..." "Well when you put it that way, maybe I'll just have another drink." Aznia joked. Edinger praised the new Captain "I'm proud of you Az, you're going to do well here." Aznia was overwhelmed with the support she'd received, and felt compelled to be more forthcoming with her Commanding officer. "I wanted to talk to you about this afternoon, remember I mentioned that conversation I had with Commander Daniels?" "Yes, you mentioned he said something unusual to you?" Deet was suspicious. "Well, to make a long story short, he suggested that he was from the 29th century and that changes made to the timeline needed to be corrected." Aznia raised her hand to assure the Admiral, "I wouldn't mention something that seemed so outlandish, except... he had some compelling evidence." "What kind of evidence," Deet inquired sternly. Aznia sighed, "He had some impressive holography, complex and detailed knowledge of history, back stories on individuals he couldn't have possibly otherwise known." she went on further, "And I went out of my way to check out some of these stories, and it all seems to hold up." "What does he want you to do?" "Well, ultimately, his goal is to restore the timeline- in his words." Aznia replied, "He asked me not to discuss this with anyone, and said he would follow up with additional information." Deet was puzzled, "I'm glad you've come to me with this, clearly we need to find out what he plans to do. For now, I want you to wait for his instructions and get back with me. We need to stop whatever he's planning." "But what if he's right, Admiral?" Aznia was concerned about Deet's dismissiveness, "What if this is all wrong, and we are on the wrong course." "We've got our own history to protect, Aznia. The temporal prime directive demands we prevent incursions into the timeline as much as possible." Deet drove home the lesson, "Whatever he's asking you to do, if he can't bring it before Starfleet command, there is no place for it on the bridge of your ship. Do you understand?" "Yes, sir." Aznia acted confident in the order, while hiding her substantial doubts. --- Aznia retired to her quarters, ready to spend the first night aboard her new home. She began to unpack her personal possessions. A panel on the wall chimed to summon her attention. She walked to the panel activating the comm line, "Captain Toma here," "Captain, you're getting a message on a secure line." the communications officer informed. "Go ahead and put them through." Aznia answered. Daniels' face appeared on the uplink. "Congratulations, Captain. I trust everything went well with the Command Transfer?" "It did, and I've been able to confirm much of your story as well." Aznia informed him. Daniels explained, "I'm uploading information into the Federalist's computer about a phenomenon that will be passing through the Orellius system in the next few days." "The Orellius system? That's where we're being sent on assignment." Aznia stated with a questioning tone. "Right. You'd be surprised by the orders you can divert and sway when you work for Starfleet Command." he got back to the point, "This phenomenon is a conflux of temporal energy. The bottom line is that it will allow you anyone who enters it to leave anywhere, at any point in history." "Just that easy? Sounds too good to be true." Aznia shot back. "Well," Daniels sighed, "Not quite. The ribbon has proved incredibly destructive to any ship that is pulled near it. 120 years ago, two El-Aurian transport ships were rescued from the ribbon by the Enterprise-B. It can be a very dangerous phenomenon." Aznia remembered the same story from Elsie, "How do you suggest we proceed?" Aznia asked. "First off, I'd like you to familiarize yourself with the history regarding the U.S.S. Kelvin incident. When you leave the ribbon, you'll be traveling to the year 2233 and boarding the Narada, a Romulan vessel that arrived in our space through a temporal anomaly exactly at that time. You'll need to bring several officers who each need to be briefed on the situation in detail. The more trusted officers that you can muster, the better. Based on what I know of the phenomenon, each officer who enters the ribbon will be enticed by a fantasy that will tempt them to stay, they need to resist it, so I hope you can find disciplined minds for this mission as well. Ultimately your goal will be to commandeer or destroy the Narada from within, as soon as you arrive, and at any cost." Aznia replied, "Understood, and how do we get into the ribbon?" Daniels braced himself for a negative reaction, "I've arranged to have a crate placed aboard your ship. You will find it in Cargo Bay two marked as '5000 Self-Sealing stem-bolts', in the crate, you will find all of the necessary components and instructions to modify one of your quantum torpedoes with a trilithium warhead." "Trilithium?" Aznia recoiled. "You'll need to fire the warhead into the Defera sun in the next 72 hours in order to change the course of the ribbon so that it intersects with Lae'nas III. I'm sending over all of the data you'll need." Daniels explained the plan. "That will kill everything in the Defera system!" Aznia shouted down the plan, "I won't have any part of it!" "If you succeed, none of it matters! Those lives will be restored!" Daniels pleaded. "I think you're a little too confident and comfortable playing god, Daniels." Aznia reasserted herself, "I was already unsure if I wanted to go along with your plan, and now you're asking me to murder billions of people?!" "I am asking you to save billions of people," Daniels demanded, "I've been waiting for years for a chance to access this anomaly. The time is right to set everything straight. If we succeed, the consequences of this timeline are erased!" "If we succeed... 'If'." Aznia scoffed, raising another matter, "Tell me Daniels, what happens to Admiral Deet in your other timeline?" "Admiral Deet?" Daniels was thrown by the question, "What do you mean?" "I spoke to someone who seemed to have some knowledge of your timeline. They suggested my name was Aznia Deet." Aznia raised an eyebrow, "Why else would that be my name? Why would I end up with the Deet symbiont?" Daniels rolled his eyes, "Edinger Deet died in service of his career as a doctor. In my universe, he was a great healer who gave his life on a mission that saved millions of lives from an environmental disaster, and thankfully you were there to save his symbiont when things went south." "So, if this mission is a success, the Admiral dies." Aznia cut to the chase. "Yes." Daniels admitted, "And I'm asking you to restore his fate as a hero and a healer, and to save all of those lives that he already sacrificed himself to save once. Aznia, I'm asking you to affirm the decision he's already made." "Daniels, I'm not destroying that solar system, and that's the end of the story." Aznia shut down the conversation, "Goodbye, Daniels. I'm sorry I can't help you." she pressed a button to turn the monitor black. Aznia sat down on the edge of her bed, contemplating the situation for a good long while. After several minutes she made a decision, "Computer, establish a communications like to Lakul Transport in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho." --- The Federalist arrived in the Orellius sector. Aznia had spent hours pouring over the data sent to her by Daniels. She hailed Admiral Deet, "Admiral, I wanted to let you know what Daniels was planning." "Go ahead, Captain." the Admiral gave her his full attention. "He had a trilithium warhead placed aboard the Federalist. He wanted me to use it on the Deferi star, so that the gravitational forces in the sector would shift, and a temporal nexus would intersect with Lae'nas III. He then wanted me to enter the temporal nexus in order to change history." "He wanted you to destroy a star?!" The Admiral was shocked. "That's right, I suggest you have him brought into custody immediately." Aznia insisted. "I want that trilithium device, Aznia. Not only would it be important evidence against Daniels, but that is a weapon of mass destruction that I do not want aboard one of our ships on the frontline." Deet was concerned. "Do you want the Federalist to return to Starbase?" Aznia offered. Deet responded, "No, I'll take the L'Étoile du Nord to rendezvous with you tomorrow at Defera." "The Federalist will be there, Admiral." Aznia nodded, "Aznia out." --- The Federalist and the L'Étoile du Nord rendezvoused in orbit of Defera, Deet hailed the Federalist to initiate contact. "Hello, Federalist, are you prepared to transport the device?" "Lieutenant Corbin Bohannon here, Admiral. We're transporting it now." a junior officer answered. Deet was curious, "Where is Captain Toma?" "She left yesterday along with several members of the bridge crew. She said it was a top-priority matter, and placed me in command. That's all I know." Bohannon struggled to explain. Deet ended the communications without warning, "Computer, are there any known temporal anomalies passing through this sector?" "A conflux of temporal energy is currently passing near the Lae'nas system." Deet grabbed his helmsman by the shoulder, "Set a course, maximum warp!" --- Aznia, Dewoh, En'thaas and Rahall stood with Elsie Walesa on the bridge of the Lakul. The rusty old El-Aurian transport rattled and hummed as they plotted their strategy. "No matter what you see in that ribbon, you need to remain focused." Aznia insisted, "We need to focus our attentions on emerging in the Narada's engine room as soon as it enters our space. Once we're there, we do whatever we can to detonate their singularity core. At all costs. Remember, if we succeed, the timeline will reset, and we all take our chances on an entirely new fate. We aren't giving our lives here." The crew was ready to trust the Captain, no matter the consequences. A chime rang on a nearby control panel, Elsie moved to investigate. "It's a Federation starship, Aznia." she warned. "Can you hail them," Aznia asked. Edinger appeared on screen, "Aznia, what are you doing?" "Daniels' methods may have been abhorrent," Aznia admitted, "but his goals were admirable. We need to fix this timeline. I believe you would've want it that way." "I want to see the timeline preserved, Aznia. You need to remember your oath to the prime directive." Deet began to lecture. "It's time to heal what's been broken," Aznia confessed, "In another world, you would understand that. At least I hope you do." Edinger responded, "I don't know what any of this means, Aznia; but you're sacrificing a lot by pulling this stunt." "Admiral, however this ends, I want to thank you for the faith you've put in me. I'm doing my best to live up to it." Aznia clenched her teeth, knowing she was sentencing this man to death, "...and I'm sorry for whatever changes for you. But I believe you'd really want it this way. Toma out." the screen went to black. Aznia hung her head in sadness for a long moment, as the L'Étoile du Nord attempted to engage a tractor beam. "Polarize the hull to break free, then set a course into the ribbon!" Walesa ordered to Rahall, who manned the navigation console, "Let's get to the cargo bay!" The team rushed to the ship's cargo bay as the ship careened on auto pilot into the ribbon, as soon as they were all in, Walesa reached for a control panel, hesitating for a moment; "Are we ready!?" "Let's go!" Aznia shouted back as Walesa pressed the button. The cargo bay doors blew open, jettisoning all five of them out of the ship and into the ribbon violently. As Aznia was pulled out into space, she watched the energy of the ribbon blasting into the Lakul's hull as the ship was rocked to pieces, for a moment she wondered if the plan was going to work as her breath was forced from her lungs by the frigid vacuum of space. --- Aznia found herself standing in a woodland meadow, walking in bare feet walking through the softest grass she'd ever felt. A stream peacefully babbled nearby. She looked around briefly forgetting her mission altogether. It was the most serene setting she'd ever seen. After a moment, she shook her head... "No. This is an illusion," she reminded herself. She closed her eyes tightly, and before any more enticement could fall her way, she willed herself out of the Nexus. --- The singularity core of the Narada was in a large dreary room- a stark contrast from the meadow she'd found herself in moments before. Aznia appeared there with Rahal, Dewoh, En'thaas and Walesa together, surprising several Romulan officer who drew their weapons on the intruders immediately. Dewoh was shot down first, the others took cover. "Rahal, can you overload the core?" Aznia shouted over the disruptor fire. She answered, "I'll need a minute, Captain!" Aznia darted across the room, drawing the fire of the Romulans. She ducked behind a console, then rolled out to focus their attention as much as possible. She pointed for her other crew members to do the same, all while giving Rahall a chance to work at destroying the ship from within. En'thaas lunged out from behind a console and attacked one of the Romulans, he knocked the guard's disruptor loose, but was shot by another guard in the process. Elsie ran the opposite direction, hoping to give Aznia time to get to the loose disruptor. Aznia sprinted for it diving to grab the device, but Walesa was shot before Aznia could draw down on her assailant. Aznia briefly looked to see Rahall still working on the singularity core. She pulled up the disruptor hoping to buy just a few more seconds. Aznia fired, downing one Romulan. In the process, she drew the fire of another, and took a fatal bolt to the chest without ever seeing Rahall complete the job. --- "Ahh!" Aznia Deet gasped awake in a cold sweat. "Computer, what's the time?" Deet found herself in her bed aboard the Federalist, stunned by the odd dream. "The time is 2334 hours." the computer dispassionately reported. She climbed out of bed, "Water, 2 degrees Celsius." a glass of water appeared for her in her replicator. She drank it quickly, trying to shake off the vivid nightmare she'd just endured. Against her better judgment, she tapped her combadge, "Deet to Walesa." A groggy voice answered the hail, "Yes, Capitan." "I'm sorry to bother you this late, but I have a strange question for you." Aznia suddenly felt silly bothering someone about her nightmare. "It's alright Captain, go ahead." Walesa answered. Deet asked, "Was your grandmother El-Aurian?"
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