Chapter Text
Beppo System—STO Universe Falkayn1
“Would you look at that.” Nelia chuckled as she gestured at the Starfleet ship on the viewscreen.
“Who called the museum for a takeout order?” Twesata giggled.
“The last time I saw one of those was when I toured the Utopia Planetia museum as a cadet.” Shelana reminisced with a fond smile.
“It’s a spaceship.” Ashley remarked, rolling her eyes, “What’s the big deal?”
“That’s a genuine Constitution-class cruiser.” Shelana exclaimed with more than a little awe in her voice. “Those ships are legendary. Enterprise…Lexington…Yorktown…Hood…I grew up hearing stories about those ships and their captains.”
“Kirk…Pike…Wesley…DeSoto…Decker…” Nelia recited, now in a respectful tone of voice. “They were a special breed. I heard they were bringing back some of the older designs, but this one doesn’t look like one of them.”
“Yeah.” Twesata interjected, "This one looks like the real thing.”
“There’s a practicality to many of those older ship classes.” Nelia, her engineering training resurfacing, pointed out. “The Mirandas are still going strong and the Connies were hanging around well into the 24th century before they were finally phased out.”
“I wouldn’t put a 23rd century unrenovated Connie in a full blown battle against a top line Klingon, Gorn, or Romulan ship today--much less the Elachi or Hirogen.” Shelana commented, “But they’re still useful for picket duty or watching over isolated outposts and colonies. And they free up other ships for frontline service.”
“This baby’s in perfect condition. Just like it came from refitting at a starbase.” Nelia added with a wicked grin.
“No holodecks or replicators though.” Shelana noted, “They used the old food synthesizers.”
“You mean the ones where you had to insert a disc to get your food?” Twesata queried.
“Yup.” Nelia chuckled. Her laughter fading away to be replaced by a more pensive expression, she pondered, “I wonder what it’s doing here…now.”
“We’re being hailed by the cruiser.” Rana called out from her station.
“Put them on screen.” Nelia replied, “I gotta admit, I’m curious.”
“Spoiled Princess this is USS Valley Forge. Come in please.”
“Valley Forge? This is the Spoiled Princess.” Nelia responded as Rana opened a channel between the two ships. “Nelia Terre owner and operator. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but…”
A human with short, neatly combed, seal brown hair, grey eyes, and wearing the mustard shirt with black trim and captain’s rank insignia on the sleeves of a 23rd century starship captain appeared on the viewscreen, answering with a slight accent marking him as being of Scandinavian origin. “Why are we here? For now, let’s just say that we went through an interesting rabbit hole recently and have been asked to assist you. Captain Soren Magnussen, at your service.”
“Captain.” Nelia responded with a smirk as she appraised the attractive man on her viewscreen. “Must have been a helluva rabbit hole you fell through.”
“Indeed it was.” The 23rd century starship captain answered back. “The gentleman next to me can explain it a lot better.” As he spoke, the captain motioned towards a non-descript looking man standing beside him. “This is Agent Daniels. I’ll turn you over to him now.”
“Agent Daniels?”
“Ms. Terre.” The man inclined his head in greeting, “Thank you for coming. I know about your recent experience with the Devedians and I can tell you that you are right in your suspicions that they are not acting alone and that they and the ones controlling them could pose a serious threat.”
The roguish Orion responded with a frown. “So how do you propose we deal with that problem?”
“If you and your associates would beam over to the Valley Forge…” Daniels requested, “I can explain in greater detail.”
After quickly checking to see that the rest of her group was in agreement, Nelia nodded in assent. “All right. We’ll be over in…fifteen minutes?”
Receiving a confirming nod from Captain Magnussen, Daniels answered back, “We’ll see you then. Daniels out.”
“Okay, girls…” Nelia took a deep breath and exhaled as she addressed her team, “Take a piss or whatever else you need to do and we’ll meet in the transporter room in ten minutes.”
USS Valley Forge
“Welcome aboard the Valley Forge.” Captain Magnussen exclaimed to the four attractive women standing on the transporter pad of his starship.
“Thank you, Captain.” Nelia grinned before quipping, “Now…what’s a 23rd century starship doing…”
“In the 25th century?” The Danish captain chuckled, “Come with me and all will be explained to you. Agent Daniels is waiting for us in Conference Room One.”
“Miniskirts?” Ashley shook her head in disbelief as she observed the female crewmembers going to and fro about their tasks walking down the corridor on her way to the briefing room.
“Standard uniform during the mid-23rd century.” Twesata grinned.
“You’ll never catch me in one.” Ashley responded, receiving in return a sly grin from the Valley Forge’s captain as he and the women reached their destination.
“Anything's possible, Ms. Williams.” Magnussen bantered as the door swished open to admit them. “Agent Daniels is waiting inside.”
As they entered the room, they were met by a slender man with a receding hairline. “Thank you for coming. Please…” he urged, gesturing to the conference table, “have a seat. We have much to discuss.”
Once Nelia and the others on her team had taken their seats, the enigmatic Agent Daniels inclined his head. “Greetings. I am what you might call a temporal agent.”
“Temporal agent?” Rana interrupted, “Are you saying that you can travel through time?”
“Yes.” Daniels affirmed, “As you saw with the Devedians, time travel is possible—just very difficult. Just as it is possible to travel from one universe to another.” The time agent concluded with a slight grin.
“Point taken.” Rana responded with a slight smirk of her own. “So…I take it Captain Magnussen has also travelled through time?”
“Correct.” Daniels responded, as he glanced at the man standing next to him, “Captain? If you would please?”
“Thank you.” Nodding his head in acknowledgement, Magnussen cleared his throat. “My ship and crew were drawn into a vortex on stardate 1317.88…”
“That would put it sometime around September 2265.” Twesata noted for the benefit of her extra-universal companions.
“Right.” The captain affirmed. “The Valley Forge was answering a distress call in the Carnala System when we were ambushed by cloaked Klingon vessels.”
“The Klingons had developed an early form of cloaking by bending gravitational waves.” Nelia clarified, “But it didn’t take long until the Federation had learned how to pierce the cloak. A few years later, we found out that the Romulans had developed a much more effective means of cloaking—although it was still vulnerable to detection.”
“The Enterprise under the command of James Kirk fought an engagement against a Romulan warbird circa 2266.” Daniels clarified, mostly for the benefit of Ashley and Rana. “Subsequently, the Romulans improved on it to the point where now it is so good that you need a tachyon beam or grid to detect a cloaked ship with any degree of certainty.”
“The Klingons shouldn’t have possessed that sophisticated a cloaking system so early.” Shelana noted. “It should be another two—three years before their deal with the Romulans.”
“Again correct.” Agent Daniels affirmed. “The battle involving the Valley Forge was in an area rich in the presence of chroniton particles. The reaction of the chroniton particles with the energy caused by the fighting resulted in the opening of a time vortex that drew Captain Magnussen’s ship, along with the Klingons, into the 25th century. The Valley Forge was classified as missing in action, presumed lost on stardate 1318.46, but came out of the vortex this century…in fact, a few months ago current time.”
“What about the Klingons?” Nelia inquired, genuinely curious.
“After a brief engagement, they were destroyed.” Daniels reported ruefully, “They refused to listen or surrender.”
“In other words…” Nelia scowled, “They behaved like Klingons.”
“Must be difficult getting used to a different time.” Rana pondered as her human companion nodded her head in agreement.
“Yeah.” Ashley agreed, “We can kind of relate…”
The Danish starship captain smiled warmly at Ashley and Rana’s words, “It has been rough on some of my crew. They left loved ones…memories…you understand. Still…we are Starfleet officers and crew, no matter the time or universe. When duty calls…”
“We answer.” Ashley finished, feeling a kinship with the time displaced starship captain as she quoted one of her favorite poets. “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”
“I see you are a fan of Tennyson as well, Ms. Williams.” Captain Magnussen commented with a warm smile that was returned by the former gunnery chief as he quoted in response, “Tis not too late to seek a newer world.”
“Or a newer universe.” Ashley smiled back.
“Captain Magnussen and the Valley Forge have been of help to us both in their current time and now.” Daniels declared, once again taking control over the briefing. “While in the 23rd century, his ship and crew helped us in dealing with a crisis that was a spillover from the current Temporal War we’re in.”
“You mean we’re fighting in a time war?” Rana interjected, the astonishment visible on her face. “How? Why? Who’s involved?”
“I’m afraid much of what you’re asking about is need to know.” Daniels apologetically responded, “The less you know, the less possible damage you can do to the timeline.”
“That makes sense.” Twesata concurred, “If we were to discover that we could save the life of someone who died in the past, it could have serious ramifications on the present day.”
“Right.” The time agent nodded in agreement. “Time travel is a tricky business and waging a war through time…very perilous. The Devedians’ temporal intrusions must be stopped and we must discover who their sponsors are.”
“That’s where we come in.” Nelia interrupted with a grimace. “We’re your new time cops.”
“Succinctly, yet also correctly, put.” Daniels answered back with a slight smirk. “You’ll be going back to Drozana Station, only in the 23rd century. You'll be temporarily assigned to the Valley Forge for this mission.”
“So, we’re going to use the Valley Forge to gain access to the station.” Shelana presumed.
“Correct.” Daniels nodded in response as he typed data on his padd. “Its disappearance still has not been recorded and when it did vanish, it was in this area of space.”
“Makes sense.” Nelia nodded her head, “Better than taking the risk of bringing in a modern ship or relying on holographic emitters to mask the Princess. Those emitters have a tendency to malfunction at the worst possible times.”
“True enough.” Daniels agreed as he continued his briefing. “One other detail: Twesata Glex…Shelana…Nelia Terre…effective immediately your Starfleet commissions have been reactivated. Records for your commissions have also been placed by our agents on file for all previous and future time periods.”
“Oh no!” The three former Starfleet officers exclaimed in unison with Nelia speaking for her cohorts, “We left all that bullshit behind us! We’re not going back and you can’t make us.”
“Your commissions will not show.” Daniels replied in a reassuring tone of voice, “Nor will you be expected to conform to Starfleet standards except when necessary.” Now taking on more of a lecturing posture, the time agent further elaborated, “With active Starfleet commissions, you will be able to access resources that would be difficult or impossible for you to attain otherwise such as intelligence reports and fleet assets.”
“He’s got a point.” Magnussen interjected, “If nothing else, think of the commissions as being a convenience.”
“Right.” Daniels asserted, promising, “You have both mine and Admiral Quinn’s word that you will not be bound by protocol or red tape.”
“Fine.” Nelia grudgingly conceded, scowling, “But what about Ashley and Rana? They're not Starfleet nor have gone through the Academy.”
“Admiral Quinn has approved commissions for both Ms. Williams and Dr. Thanoptis as well as promoting you to Lieutenant Commander, Ms. Terre.”
“Congratulations, Lieutenant Commander…Lieutenants.” Captain Magnussen said, offering his congratulations.
“Gee, thanks, Dad.” Twesata scowled as Ashley tried in vain to repress a grin.
“Don’t sweat it, Twes.” The former Alliance marine joked, “Shelana and I will keep the REMFs off your ass. We’ll just punch them in the nose if they get out of line—right, Shels?”
“Not a problem, Ash.” The lovely Andorian responded with a laugh.
Daniels sighed before continuing the briefing, “Thanks to you, we know that the Devedians have been taking individuals from the 23rd century to our time where they can safely…”
“Suck the life out of them.” Ashley scowled, “We got that. Now…what are we going to do about it once we get to the 23rd century? I doubt tearing the station apart is an option.”
“Correct.” Daniels affirmed, “You’ll need to be discreet while you are conducting your investigation in the past. Care must be taken to avoid disrupting the timeline.” Taking what looked like a phaser one from behind his back, Daniels placed it on the conference table. “This weapon is a modified phaser that carries a proton charge that will affect the Devedians when they phase shift.” Inclining his head in the direction of the green Orion, the time agent explained, “Your idea of adjusting your phasers was a stroke of genius. This weapon is a refinement on that principle. You’ll all be outfitted with these pistols. We will also supply you with rifles, but…”
“We’re not going to be able to run around a 23rd century station openly carrying rifles.” Shelana interrupted.
“Should you run into trouble, then heavier weapons can be beamed over to you.” Daniels replied, putting the two tactical experts, for now, at ease.
“All right.” Nelia sighed, “So when do we leave?”
“As soon as you get changed into proper uniform and are ready to depart.” Captain Magnussen replied as the briefing came to an end.
Gulping on hearing the starship captain’s words, Ashley winced as a yeoman wearing a short skirt entered the room, “You mean I really am going to have to wear a…”
“Miniskirt?” Nelia teased. “Afraid so…lieutenant.”
“Fuck.” Ashley scowled, “I finally get a promotion and this is my new uniform.”
“What’s your problem with short skirts?” Rana asked, genuinely puzzled. “I think they look very attractive.”
“The sky blue you’ll be wearing will match your darker blue skin perfectly.” Twesata flirted, brushing her hand briefly against her asari lover’s arm.
“They’re not so bad, Ash.” Shelana consoled, “I’ve worn them on a few holodeck programs.”
“I guess!” Ashley sighed, “And no…skirts don’t bother me. I can be a girly girl when I want to be. It’s just that…if Shepard and Alenko were to ever find out…I’d never hear the end of it from them. Garrus, Joker, and Wrex would be even worse. I’d never live it down.”
“You’ll get used to wearing one.” Nelia chuckled as she and the rest of her team made their way out of the conference room. Her laughter fading as they walked down the corridor to the transporter room, the roguish Orion declared, “We also need to get our armor and clue Belen in on what’s happening. I want to set up a Plan B…just in case.”
“Good idea.” Ashley nodded, sagely pointing out, “No plan survives contact with the enemy.”
“Or our allies.” Rana added with a smirk.
“Exactly.” The roguish Orion nodded her head in agreement. “While I trust Magnussen well enough, there’s something shifty about Daniels. He's hiding something.”
“Well…he does come from the future.” Ashley commented as the team took their places on the transporter pad. “It’d make sense that he’d hide stuff from us.”
“True.” Nelia concurred, adding, “But that’s not what I mean. Something’s wrong, but I can’t put my finger on it and that has me worried. You don’t survive in this line of work as long as I have by not paying attention to your gut and my gut is telling me that there’s something odd about that man.” Glancing down at the transporter technician, the Orion rogue commanded, “Energize.”
The Spoiled Princess
“Okay, girls!” Nelia prompted as she and her teammates stepped off the Princess’s transporter pad. “Armor up, don’t forget to activate transparency mode, and replicate mid-23rd century uniforms—circa 2265. Red for myself, Ashley, and Shelana…”
“Blue for me.” Twesata interrupted, rolling her eyes, “I know. Used to play around in a 23rd century holodeck program. I think I still have it…”
“Orgy Night on the Potemkin doesn’t count, Twes.” Shelana laughed as she exited the transporter room.
“These uniforms are color coded?” Ashley exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Yep.” Shelana responded. “Red for tactical and engineering, blue for medical and sciences, and yellow-gold for command. It got switched around in the 24th century because…”
“Red was the kiss of death.” Twesata quipped as Shelana let out a sigh.
Speaking primarily to the human newcomer, the Andorian tactical officer explained, “Tactical/Security get the dirty jobs and have the highest casualty rates because…”
“We’re in the trenches getting shit done.” Ashley interrupted, nodding her head in understanding. “Worked the same way in my old universe. Grunts do the work while the REMFs take the credit.”
“Some things never change no matter what universe you’re in.” Shelana chuckled as both Twesata and Nelia blew raspberries at her.
“Daniels is holding something back and I don’t think it’s because he’s afraid of us damaging the timeline.” Nelia declared to her Ferengi friend as she put on her armor and then, after activating its transparency mode, slipped on her miniskirt and boots.
“So…what do you think he’s holding back and why?” Belen inquired as he returned from the replicator with two drinks, handing the antarean sunrise to his friend while he kept the other for himself.
“Don’t know.” The green Orion woman admitted, “It could be nothing. But my gut’s telling me otherwise.”
“Not listening to your gut in this business is a good way to get yourself killed.” The Ferengi bartender soberly replied.
“Right So…this is what I have in mind...just in case.” Nelia nodded her head in agreement as she explained her contingency plan to her friend while quickly downing her drink, “So…any questions?”
“Nope.” The Ferengi bartender/engineer replied with a frown. “You know you can count on me and the Princess. We’ll be there when you need us.”
“Thanks, Bel.” Nelia smiled as she bent down and kissed her friend on his fore lobes. “Take care of yourself and my girl.” Activating her comm, the lovely Orion called out, “You girls ready?”
“We’re waiting on you, Nel.” Shelana’s voice came through the comm speaker. “Get your green ass in gear.”
“On my way.” Nelia laughed, “Next stop…the 23rd century.”