STAR TREK – REVELATION
Episode 001 – Times Destiny (Part One)
The static, electric child-like voice spoke to him; where it came from was unknown, no one else heard it, only he did, “You must correct the time line.”
“The lady who dies twice will save thousands more.”
“The traitor will become your greatest weapon.”
“You must correct the time line.”
“She must, has and will stand trial, rescue her.”
Images flashed through his mind, a gleaming starship one that was somehow familiar to him and yet so distant.
“The time line must be corrected.”
“The doctor will hunt them all down.”
“The time line must be corrected.”
The starship, battle damaged almost beyond recognition; a distant planet unfamiliar to him, “You must correct the time line to save us.”
“She destroyed your ship but will always help to save it.”
“Your final destiny is to save us!”
Captain Michael Delany suddenly jolted out of his seat. Had he been dreaming that voice, the overlapping voices and the images? Why were they all familiar to him? He looked around the Bridge; it was the Bridge of his ship the USS Merrimac. His crewmembers were on duty. His First Officer Commander Savok, a Vulcan who was an exceptional officer for his logical approach to solving problems and his exceptional strength. Behind him was his Tactical and Second Officer, Lieutenant Commander Meredith Farrar. A human who passed top of her class at the Academy and had yet chosen this assignment. At the Helm was the Andorian Kalar who was one of the most exceptional pilots of his race.
“The time line has been altered, the time line must be corrected,” spoke the voice.
Mike looked around the Bridge. There was no one else present except for the duty officers.
“It is part of your final destiny, the time line must be corrected,” it continued.
“Who’s that?” asked Mike aloud.
Savok turned to look at him, “Are you alright Sir? To whom were you speaking?”
Mike looked at his first officer, “I thought I heard a voice.”
Savok glanced round the Bridge then spoke back to his Captain, “I do not see anyone who is not supposed to be on the Bridge.”
“I’ll just sit down, maybe I got a head rush when I got up too quick.”
“Should I ask Doctor Pel to check you over?”
“That will not be necessary Savok.” Mike sat back down and closed his eyes to clear his head. “Rescue her, the cost will be huge but you must rescue her,” it continued.
An image of a woman appeared in his mind, a brunette with blue eyes, slim face and build. The image started to change, looking gaunt, eyes more sunken; her build a whole lot slimmer, thinner maybe. Why was she important to him? He’d never met her before, yet he knew her, he knew her name…but at this point in time it eluded him. He had once considered her for his First Officer position but opted for Commander Savok, so she must have stayed on her ship. Why was he being shown her? What was it about her?
“Save her to save us,” spoke the voice.
Mike wiped his face with his hands and got up, “Commander, I will be in my Ready room. I need to look over some crew personnel files.”
“Aye sir,” replied Savok taking the centre seat as Mike left for his ready room to do a lot of searching through the Starfleet database.
High above the planet Veron Six orbited Starbase Epsilon Piper Four, a backwater retreat for ships on long distance missions. The USS Hetrick was docked at the Station, its personnel on shore leave before their next, crucial mission. Lieutenant Paul Galloway was sat in the Stations bar, drowning his sorrows. He’d recently transferred to the USS Hetrick following the loss of the previous ship that he had been serving on. On that mission, the ship had been destroyed, but the crew did escape in evacuation pods; at least most of the crew had escaped from the encounter with the Romulans. He’d seen his wife’s pod, along with a few others fired upon and destroyed. It was at that point that he had decided that he was going to leave Starfleet, but Captain Beverly Gordon had persuaded him otherwise. Still the loss of Katherine Galloway was too much to take. When he’d seen her pod blown to smithereens, he’d lost the will to live.
The USS Hetrick rescued him, along with another hundred of his crewmates. The Captain had ordered his crew, when they had abandoned ship to go into separate directions for a better chance of survival; yet his wife didn’t survive. No, she was killed and now he was here, in this bar, drinking. He had nothing else to do, nothing to care about. He surveyed the patrons and located a Nausican. They were known as fighters. He was determined to have a fight. Maybe the Nausican would knife and kill him. Then he’d be with his wife. He started his approach to the Nausican; as he got closer it occurred to him that this Nausican was bigger than he’d first thought, ‘Good. This should be over quick’.
He never got the chance to find out though as Lieutenant Scott Hawkins suddenly appeared from nowhere and blocked his path. Scott looked at Paul and then quickly surveyed the situation. Within a matter of seconds, he instantly knew what Paul was up to. “You’re not starting a fight with him. He will pulverize you.”
“That’s the idea,” replied Paul, “You’re not going to stop me this time.”
“Actually, I am. You’re off the ship when you’re supposed to be on duty in Engineering. If I have to take you back to the ship unconscious, then I will. Captain’s orders.”
“You can’t do this,” pleaded Paul.
“Actually, as Chief Tactical Officer I can, and will.” Scott quickly grabbed hold of Paul by his shoulder and spoke, “Energize!” Both of them disappeared in a shimmer of light and rematerialized on the pad in transporter room one on the USS Hetrick. “Ok, you have a few choices, either return to Engineering, accompany me to the Brig or report to the Captain.” Paul looked at Scott; he could see on his face that he was deadly serious. “You promised me months ago that you would look at this, that if there was a small chance, a remote chance.”
“I’ve studied Romulan tactics ever since I left the Academy. This approach is something new. If I am right, then she is still alive.”
“Have you mentioned this to the Captain?” asked Paul, in the hope that a rescue mission could be set up.
“I’ve served with the Captain since I graduated. She will not risk the ship until we have proof.”
“Do you have proof or is this just a theory you have?”
“I’m still looking into this. I need time.”
Paul looked Scott directly in the eyes. Scott’s arms were crossed, his face unflinching. He stared back at Paul until Paul’s right fist landed Scott flat onto his back, “You’ve already had two years. I’m off to Engineering.”
Scott sat himself on the edge of the transporter platform, rubbing his face. “Every bleeding time.”
Mike was in his Ready room reviewing the personnel files of all the officers that he had considered for the position of First Officer. No, he had no doubts that he had the correct one; he just wanted to find out what had happened to one of the candidates who wanted to be his First Officer. Within a matter of hours, he had located the file. The name seemed familiar but also wrong, he stared at the screen, looking at it. The name read Katherine Galloway.
“That’s not right, it can’t be” he spoke, but there it was on the screen. He cleared his eyes with his hand, and looked at the screen again, the name read Katherine Malloy. He reached over and switched off the monitor and then switched it back on, the name showed as Katherine Galloway. The name was back. He turned away from the screen and spoke aloud, “Computer, current information on Katherine Galloway please.”
The female voice of the computer spoke after a few moments of searching for the file, “Commander Katherine Galloway. First Officer on the USS Genesis, NCC 23696. Decorated with the ‘Silver Cross’ for Valor. Current status: Deceased. USS Genesis was destroyed two and a half years ago in an encounter with the Romulans. She is succeeded by her husband, Lieutenant Paul Galloway, Deputy Chief Engineer of Ambassador class, USS Hetrick NCC 21071.”
Mike closed his eyes to think, “Rescue her to save us,” spoke the voice once again.
Mike stood up and paced round his ready room, the voice was trying to tell him something. Had he imagined that second name; the screen had clearly shown the name Galloway, yet there was the name Malloy. “Computer, current location of the USS Hetrick?”
“The USS Hetrick is currently stationed at Starbase Epsilon Piper Four.”
“Computer, how long would it take to reach Epsilon Piper Four at Warp Five?”
“It would take three days, six hours and forty seven minutes to reach Starbase Epsilon Piper Four from our current location.”
Mike left his ready room and entered the Bridge,
“Captain on the Bridge” announced Meredith Farrar at his entry.
Commander Savok stood up from the centre seat to allow his Commanding Officer to sit down, “That will not be necessary Commander. I need you to stay on the Bridge for a short while. I will be in my Ready room as I need to make contact with Captain Gordon.”
“Captain Gordon? Commanding Officer of the USS Hetrick? If memory serves, they are currently on assignment at Veron Six.”
“That’s correct. Your memory is as impeccable as ever.” Captain Delany turned towards Kalar, “Set course for Starbase Epsilon Piper Four, Warp Five.”
“Aye sir.”
“Captain, that course correction will take us away from our current assignment. Starfleet will not approve of us leaving our current mapping mission. The Bajorans are needing this area completely mapped and planets assigned from it for us to complete our treaty with them. Their ambassador, Kel Aniyan is due to rendezvous with us in exactly one weeks time to confirm the mapping information and sign the treaty. It will take us approximately four days to travel to Veron Six. We will not have enough time to travel back to complete our mission.” Mike looked at his First Officer, but the way that he looked at him was different; it was like he was looking through him, like Savok wasn’t the First Officer. “You’re right, of course. Helm, increase to warp eight.”
“Sir, I cannot recommend this course of action.”
“Commander, as my First Officer I expect you to follow my orders.”
“Captain I have no issue with following your orders, as long as the reason behind them is understood and logical.”
“I have reason to believe that Captain Gordon could use our assistance, our personnel to help with their mission.”
“As I understand the Hetrick’s current mission is routine patrols of the Romulan Federation Neutral Zone. I don’t believe that the Merrimac’s presence will be of assistance to her. I fail to understand the logic in this course of action.”
Mike looked at his first officer, “Sometimes logic doesn’t work. If it turns out that the Hetrick doesn’t require us, then we can still get back here and resume our mapping mission. Correct?”
“At Warp Eight, I believe that we will have enough time to complete the mission, providing no problems present themselves.”
“Excellent.” Mike went back into his Ready room, sat himself back down and the voice once again spoke out, “Rescue her, save her, save us.”
Lieutenant Rochelle Smith, Chief Medical Officer of the USS Hetrick was attending to Scott Hawkins, “Minor bruising to your face Lieutenant. You know you really should report this behavior of his to the Captain.” Lieutenant Hawkins rubbed his face, the bruising now subsiding, “That won’t help him Roch. What he really needs is what I cannot provide at the moment. How can I go to the Captain with a theory?”
“It could save her life.”
“Assuming she is alive. I’ve reviewed the footage from his escape pod over and over again. I’m convinced she is alive; the way the Romulan ship specifically selected it’s targets.”
Scott got down from the bio bed and walked over to one of the wall displays, “He needs his wife back. I’m sure that the Romulan’s must have scanned her pod and transported her onboard before it was destroyed.”
Rochelle put down the Tricorder that she was adjusting and approached Scott, “Tell the Captain. She knows you are our expert on Romulans. You studied them throughout your Academy days. It’s why you picked this assignment.”
“She will not enter the neutral zone without proof. Besides where do we look? The Romulan Empire is huge.”
“Where would you take her?” Scott turned round and leaned against the panel; it made a quiet bbbzzzttt noise which quickly made Scott move once again, “If I was a Romulan, I would take her to a remote location. Maybe Franquila. It’s remote, near the border but not guarded so it wouldn’t draw attention to itself. No ships fly there, therefore it’s uninhabited, or so they want us to think.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Every night when I’m not on duty, I set the long range scanners to detect low frequency transmissions on frequencies that I know are used by Romulans. Every so often, a transmission leak comes from the planet. I cannot explain why they are detected, if the planet is uninhabited?”
“Have you told the Captain of this?”
“No, I don’t think it’s enough to go on. It could be a remote relay Station. It could be anything. I can’t tell Paul this in case it gets his hopes up. I can’t bring it to the Captain either. I could go alone in a shuttle to try to check it out-” Rochelle cut him off before he could finish his sentence, “That could cost you your position. You’ve worked hard to become Tactical Chief on here, besides what if it was true, what if you got captured?” Scott smiled at Rochelle, “Never happen. I’m too good to ever be captured by the Romulans.”
“Good, because I wouldn’t want to lose you to them. I’ve seen Paul’s anguish and wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
“Neither would I,” confirmed Scott, “If she is alive, I don’t think I could ever imagine what she is, would be or has gone through. I don’t think I’d be here if it was me.” Rochelle put her hand over Scott’s mouth, “Don’t say that. You’re stronger than you let on.”
“Maybe. Thankfully I will never need to know.” Both Scott and Rochelle held onto each other for a while, both happy in each other’s embraces.
“Captains Personal Log,
Stardate 45131.8, I am making this log entry secure. I have recently been hearing a voice in my head; I think I am the only one who is hearing it. I have seen images; a ship that I don’t recognize yet is familiar, a planet that I don’t recognize, a female who I think I once considered as a first officer for my ship. These images are just some of the things that I cannot figure out their meaning.
The voices have mentioned something about this timeline being wrong. Should I take it that I am not supposed to be here, that I am not supposed to be Captain of the USS Merrimac or even supposed to be a Captain? The phrases, the words I cannot remember now; maybe I imagined it. Maybe I am going mad and should have Dr Hadrius Pel check me out. God knows? I’ve currently set the Merrimac on a course to rendezvous with the USS Hetrick; her crew has one member who used to be on the USS Genesis. He is the widower of its First Officer. I am hoping that he can help shed some light onto this? What is the significance of his wife? How does she fit into this equation? What is it about this dead woman that has compelled me to abandon my current mission on what is possibly a wild goose chase? Commander Savok has so far indulged me in this, however his Vulcan nature is making him question my judgment in this matter. He knows what we are doing can risk the fragile treaty we hold with the Bajorans. I have been in communication contact with Captain Beverly Gordon of the USS Hetrick. I’ve not been able to tell her too much; how would it sound if I told her about this voice that I have been hearing? All I’ve asked, which she has granted, is an audience with Lieutenant Paul Galloway, her Deputy Chief Engineer. Maybe he can confirm that the person who I have seen in my mind is his wife, I might then have a lead as to what to do, where to go. He might even know what the planet is that I have seen. I have too many questions and not enough answers for this puzzle. All I know is that if I am wrong on any of this, then Starfleet could potentially strip me of my command, due to my course of actions. As I understand, Kel Aniyan is not someone to be trifled with; her reputation in the Cardassian Bajoran war spoke volumes for them defeating the Cardassians. I have no wish to plunge the Federation into war with them; we have enough trouble with the Romulans.”
Captain Delany finished his log entry and leaned back in his chair in his Ready room. He again wondered why he was doing this?
“Correct the time line,” spoke the voice once again, “The timing is near.”
“Captain, we are approaching Epsilon Piper Four. You asked to be notified upon our approach.”
“Understood Savok. I’m on my way to the Bridge. Open hail to the dock master at the Station.” Once Mike had arrived onto the Bridge, Meredith Farrar advised that the Dock Master was on the line, “Merrimac, this is an unexpected pleasure. You’re not scheduled to arrive here within this current mission period of yours. You’re quite a way out of your mission area. Is there any reason for your visit?”
“We are here to see the Captain of the USS Hetrick.”
“Very well Merrimac. Proceed to docking Station port Alpha Five. Third level. Starboard side of the Station. I can allow you six hours before the Berlin is due to dock there. You’ll be next to the Hetrick. Dock Master Henderson out.” The screen went back to the image of the docking yard on the Station. The docking lights on the third level of the starboard side of the Station suddenly came on. “That must Alpha Five.”
“Indeed Captain, the Hetrick must be in Alpha Four,” commented Savok.
Mike did a customary nod to Savok to confirm the same thing; he then turned to Meredith, “Send a message to Captain Gordon. Ask her to meet me in the Station’s Observation lounge. Ask her to bring Lieutenant Galloway with her.”
“Understood sir. Sending message now.”
Within an hour, Captain Delany, Captain Gordon and Lieutenant Galloway were in the Station’s Observation lounge. “Well Captain. I’m indulging you in this, only because it might allow my Lieutenant a bit of closure. Exactly why did you request this meeting?” asked Beverly Gordon. Paul Galloway looked nervous in the presence of both Captains. Mike produced a PADD, which held an image of a person on it, except that he’d got Commander Savok to help him age the image of this person to look more gaunt, more frail. He handed it to Paul. Paul looked at it for a few moments, “What is this?” he asked, not sure what or who he was looking at.
“Look closely Lieutenant. I need to know, do you recognize her?”
Paul looked again at the image, “It looks like Katherine, but she was killed almost three years ago.” He threw the PADD across the room, “What sick game are you playing Captain? Don’t you think I have suffered enough already? I keep reliving the moment of her death every day.” He turned towards Beverly and continued, “Hawkins thinks that she might still be alive; he has some bizarre theory that she was captured by the Romulans. He hasn’t mentioned it to you because he feels that you won’t do anything,” vented Paul in frustration.
Beverly for her part didn’t respond directly to Paul’s frustration. Instead all she did was touch her Communicator badge and spoke, “This is Captain Gordon. Send Lieutenant Hawkins over to the Observation lounge on the Station, top priority. Anything else he is working on will have to wait.”
“Understood Captain”, came the reply.
Mike left his seat and picked up the PADD and changed the image. “This planet, I’ve tried to reproduce on this PADD as best as I can from memory. Do you recognize it Lieutenant?” Paul picked up the PADD and studied the picture of the planet. Nothing about it struck out at him. “Sir, with respect. I’m an Engineer. I spend most of my time in the depths of the Hetrick. I have no chance of seeing any planets from where I am based. Even on Away missions, I only see the surface, nothing from above. You’re talking to the wrong person.”
“I see,” said Mike, disappointment in his voice.
“Captain, Mike” spoke Beverly, “What exactly is this all about? I know what your current mission is. You are putting the fate of the Federation at risk by this. You are risking war with the Bajorans. Why ask to see us?”
Mike, still on his feet after having presented Paul with the PADD spoke once again, “What I have to tell you, stays in this room. Even my First Officer doesn’t know about this. I cannot explain this without sounding like I should be relieved of command, except that…”
Mike looked at them both, hesitantly. “I’ve been seeing images of things, places,”
He looked at Paul as he continued, “People, I keep hearing a voice, telling me that the timeline is wrong-”
“You aren’t thinking of interfering with the timeline continuity are you?” interrupted Beverly.
“No. I needed to find out if anyone else recognized the person on the PADD. I see her in my dreams; she’s gaunt, weak. I think I’m being told to rescue her.” Paul looked at the PADD once more and switched back to the image of the woman. Yes, she was gaunt, she looked older somehow, but he wasn’t too sure. Paul linked it up with the Stations computer, accessed his own files from the Hetrick and overlaid an image of his beloved wife. “Yes, it could be her. But she looks so different,” spoke Paul solemnly.
At that point, Lieutenant Scott Hawkins entered the room, “Captain you requested to see me,” Upon noticing the presence of Paul and another Starfleet Captain, Scott paused. “What’s going on?”
“Lieutenant, may I introduce Captain Delany, of the USS Merrimac. Captain, this is Lieutenant Scott Hawkins, our Chief Tactical Officer and also our resident expert on the Romulans. He spent most of his time at the Academy studying them. That is why he is on this assignment; so far whenever we have had an encounter with the Romulans, thanks to our Lieutenant, we have emerged victorious.”
“I see. Welcome Lieutenant,” greeted Mike, as he invited Scott to take a seat next to Paul. Paul himself was still flicking through the three images now: that of his wife, the older gaunt version of her and the planet.
It wasn’t until the planet appeared back on the display that Scott spoke up, “Why have you got an image of Franquila on the PADD?”
Mike suddenly looked at him, “You know this planet? You know where it is Lieutenant?”
“Yes Sir. It looks like the planet Franquila. It’s a planet in Romulus space. It’s not very heavily protected. It doesn’t have much in the way of Romulan ships protecting it although it does have some level of transmissions emanating from it. Communication frequencies I believe.”
“You never mentioned this to me Lieutenant,” admonished Beverly, “How do you know this?”
“I set the sensors to monitor the Romulan Neutral Zone for Transmissions on Romulan frequencies. I do it as Tactical Officer. It means that we are always prepared for any situation that might arise.”
“Except this,” commented Paul who had been quiet until now. “You should have mentioned this. She’s alive isn’t she?” He looked to Captain Delany, “You’ve seen her; Scott knows the planet. What is she to you? Scott thinks that the Romulans could have beamed her onto their ship before her evacuation pod was destroyed.”
“Slow down Lieutenant. This could be one big coincidence.”
Mike sat down to think.
“Rescue her, save her, save us,” came the voice.
Mike looked to Beverly, “When are you due out on patrol next?”
“We are here for another five days before we leave on our next patrol. Why do you ask?”
“What I’m about to ask of you is big. If it fails, it could be the end of our commissions. I need you to complete our mapping mission for my crew. It will hopefully allow us to keep the peace with the Bajorans.”
“If we are doing the mapping mission, which I haven’t said we’d agree to, what would you be doing instead?” asked Beverly, even though she thought she might already know the answer. “I need to pay a visit to Franquila, to find out if she is there. If she is, I need to rescue her. I don’t know why, but I just know if she is alive, she must be rescued.”
Beverly looked at Mike for a few moments, “You’re going to do this regardless aren’t you? Lieutenant Hawkins inadvertently has just confirmed what you wanted to know.”
“He has and I intend to. I think there is more to her than what we think. I have to rescue her.”
“With respect Captain, you won’t make it. I cannot change the mission of the Hetrick to satisfy your possible need to do this. You also know that it is my duty to report this.”
“I know Captain, but what if rescuing her could help us?”
“If my wife is alive Captain, I have to know. Please, I request to join Captain Delany on this mission. She needs me, as I need her.”
Scott broke into this, “Captain, I know you will not risk your ship on this mission, I think Captain Delany will. He won’t make it though.”
“Thank you Lieutenant,” said Beverly, glad that she had his support.
“No Captain, I mean he will need an expert in Romulan society, technology and language. He will need me,” finished Scott.
“I’m not risking my ship Lieutenant,” declared Captain Gordon, though she started to realize what he was going to say next.
Scott, as good a Tactical Officer as he was wanted to test himself even more against the Romulans, than just in the occasional skirmishes that the Hetrick had encountered. “Captain, request temporary reassignment to the Merrimac. Captain Delany will need all the help that he can.”
“Lieutenant,” said Captain Delany, “There’s no guarantee that she will be there.”
“Sir, I’ve studied the Romulans since my days starting out in the Academy. There’s no one more qualified in what I can do than me. You need me. You need me to get to the planet, as only I know where it is; you need me in case you cannot operate any of the Romulan equipment. Should they detect you, how will you know? I have knowledge, if only basic of the Romulan Dialect. You need my help.”
“Very well. I will grant you a temporary reassignment on the Merrimac, until the end of this mission with Captain Gordon’s permission. But I need you Captain Gordon to complete the mapping mission for me. Please, I don’t ask this lightly,” said Mike.
“Very well. Scott you will transfer over, as an exchange officer with the Merrimac. Be sure to send me over your own Tactical Officer Captain, to make this more official.”
“Sir,” interrupted Paul, “Starfleet will know both ships have swapped assignments. You will need to change the Warp Signatures of both ships to make it look like neither has left its current assignment. I can make the Merrimac look like the Hetrick until we reach Romulan space then I could, with Scott’s help make it look like a Romulan vessel when we cross the Neutral Zone. It should give us a better chance of success.”
“Very well Lieutenant, I will transfer you over as well. Captain, send me your Deputy Engineer. He can work with my Chief to make us look like you,” said Beverly. “It appears Lieutenant that you might be reunited with your wife after all. I prey that you are. And Captain, I prey that you know what you are doing.”
“Rescue her, save her, save us, save him,” came the voice; only this time both Scott and Paul heard it as well as Mike.
To Be Continued…