By Mike Tripp
—
Scene: Battle Bridge, U.S.S. Dante
Stardate: 240513.1840 (aka. May 13, 2409)
“They went for it!”
Lt. Sean Dalmore punched the arm of the command chair in childish delight. The Borg had taken the bait and extended their shields around the doomed saucer section.
An alarm sounded from the tactical station currently manned by Suzanne – a Yeoman who was the only other person on the battle bridge besides Sean and Allen.
“Sir, sensors are detecting intruders!”
From the helm, Allen called up the proper readings before continuing.
“It seems Dante’s science officer created a special program to detect the subspace wave used by the Borg that lets remaining drones remain in constant contact with each other. That program is currently detecting 61… correction 64 Borg in and around engineering. “
The Dante’s makeshift Captain, Sean, laced his fingers together in front of him with his elbows resting on the chair’s arms as he tried to sort his way through it all.
“Do you see any signs of anything the former crew may have developed to counter a boarding party?”
Before Sollace could answer, a warp conduit opened, swallowing the LaForge-Cube with its intended prey still gripped tightly behind its shields. The Saucer went critical as a tremendous beam of white energy shot out across space, narrowly missing the Dante stardrive as the Borg Cube appeared to be vaporized.
—
Scene: Main Bridge, U.S.S. Nelson
<>
Dustin MacLeod stood behind the tactical station, a place he hadn’t been in years but felt as comfortable there as trying on an old pair of shoes.
He quickly pulled up Borg tactics as well as his old, pre-programmed weapons combinations.
J.B., the assistant chief security officer on duty, stood to the right on internal security and sensors, bowing to the XO’s superior tactical experience with the Borg.
The phaser blasts did not penetrate the Borg ship’s shields, of course.
Then the Dante began to fire upon the saucer section.
Seconds later, the Borg shield was extended around the saucer section, and the two ships began to move off together. The Dante turned away from the retreating ships as they began to go transwarp again, but simply coasting away under maneuvering thrusters.
The combined Borg- Dante Saucer began to disappear into the non-space of transwarp. When they were about halfway through, the saucer glowed white as her engines overloaded, and a tremendous beam of white energy shot out across space, narrowly missing what was left of the Dante and completely vaporizing the Borg cube.
Even at this distance, the Nelson shook violently in the shockwave.
What happened next was nothing short of spectacular.
When the afterimages faded from the crew’s eyes, there stood a wormhole in place of the saucer and Borg Cube. Bright oranges, reds, and deep blues swirled as a hole opened.
Immediately, J.B. called out, “Scanning… There is no signature from the other side that indicates a destination. The Borg ship and the Dante’s saucer section are gone.”
“Captain, I can’t predict its stability, but I do know that the Borg ship is on the other end and is severely damaged,” he continued.
The stardrive section seemed to be running out of luck, too.
One of about a dozen tendrils snaked out of the wormhole, crossing the Dante’s nacelles and pulling the abbreviated ship inside. Then the wormhole disappeared.
MacLeod looked down at his Captain, his expression grave.
“Captain, I picked up numerous transporter signals throughout the stardrive section during that battle and based on our scans, it is possible that over two hundred Borg are currently on board the USS Dante.
Tracey stood up and approached the viewscreen…her people were on that ship and they could be clueless that they had been boarded.
Even if they knew, there was little they could do….even if they had known where they had gone.
Dustin ran back to the Science Station and drew up a map of the Dante.
“I counted well over sixty in Main Engineering,” he exclaimed. “They’re going to take the ship from there and then work their way to the Battle Bridge!”
Captain Mills couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed at all the curve balls she’d been thrown.
—
Scene: Battle Bridge, U.S.S. Dante
Sollace fought with the controls as the wave passed over the ship, rocking it violently in its wake. A Wormhole appeared opening in all its brightly swirling colors. … Its tendrils snaked outward crossing the Dante’s nacelles, pulling the abbreviated ship inside.
Then the wormhole disappeared.
Passage through the wormhole was bumpy at best, lasting for barely more than two minutes, but seeming more like an eternity.
Then, she was through.
The Dante appeared on the other side not much the worse for wear, keeping in mind of course that it was only the stardrive section.
Nearby, drifted the shattered remains of the Borg Cube.
Sean lifted himself from the floor as was Allen.
Behind him, he noted Suzanne laying stretched out on the deck in a crumpled form. Moving toward her, his hand reached toward her neck…..Thankful when he felt a strong pulse.
Breathing a deep sigh, he turned to the FCO. “Report.”
“We’ve made it through the wormhole in something close to one piece. The wormhole has already closed, and the Borg Cube is drifting derelict 3,000 meters off the port bow,” Sollace reported.
Then he smiled briefly.
“It looks like there’s not much left of it. Sensors detect … about four or five life signs. And I don’t think the ship can be salvaged.”
Sean breathed another sigh of relief.
‘Well, that was one down,’ he thought to himself.
“What of the Borg currently on board?” he then spoke aloud.
“Sensors detect a total of 115 crawling around in the lower decks….and it looks like that number may be growing. They’re assimilating the crew as they go.”
“Did the former crew develop any sort of contingency plan?”
After reading through the files, Sollace’s smile grew as he read.
“Yes, sir! I don’t understand it all, but the program tracks down each individual Borg via their subspace wave. It can also disrupt and block that signal as well as achieve a transporter lock from it. The system is programmed to automatically lock on and beam them to whatever coordinates we state. It’ll continue until all boarders have been repelled.”
“Seems they just didn’t have the time left to initiate it,” he added.
The CSO smiled warmly. It seemed luck was with them.
“Mr. Sollace, set coordinates for 2,000 meters off the starboard bow and stand-by to initiate program on my mark. … MARK!”
With the sequence keyed, all the Dante’s remaining active transporters powered up as they sprang to life. Borg began materializing into empty space beyond the ship.
After ten minutes, they were safe again.
Sollace checked his readings.
“I read only 37 lifeforms remaining onboard including us.”
“Only thirty-seven out of this ship’s former full crew complement?” Sean asked, the shocked sorrow registering in his voice.
‘So much for saving the Dante and her crew,’ Sean thought to himself. ‘To think of all that had lost their lives in this.’
Pushing back those ugly thoughts, Sean had to think about the living.
“Where are we?”
“Checking sensors now,” Allen called out from flight control. … “Well THAT can’t be right.”
He re-tapped the commands back into the console a second and third time before speaking again.
“Readings show us just outside the Corvaenuz System,” he said finally, “but the stars are off slightly.”
“What do you mean … off?” Sean asked.
“Location is confirmed but……”
The young officer’s facial expressions twisted into a rather puzzled and mystified expression as his voice trailed off.
“What can’t be right, Ensign?” Sean prodded.
“Sir, our location is indeed the Corvaunis System, but …” he paused again, but only for a few seconds … “The time is off.”
“Off in what way, Ensign?” the acting captain prodded, again awaiting the answer.
“If these readings are correct … It says the year is no longer 2409,” he answered, swiveling in his chair to look his friend in the eye.
“Calculated by star positions, computer says the year is ….”
“… 2370,” a new voice on the battle bridge finished quite calmly.
“You have … yes … traveled 39 years back into what would be considered your past,” it continued.
All eyes swiveled to see who the hell had spoken, all rising (if seated) and bringing phasers to bear.
It was Sean as acting captain who spoke, however.
“And who the HELL are you? … Q ????”
“No, I’m not the entity referred to as ‘Q’,” he answered with a shake of his head.
“I’m Daniels … a temporal agent from the 32nd century, dispatched to investigate your sudden appearance within this timeline.”
Before anyone could breathe another word, Daniel’s touched a device attached to his forearm and immediately all present found themselves no longer aboard the scarred battle bridge of the Dante, but somewhere else entirely.
“Welcome to my temporal observatory,” the agent answered quickly before the question could be asked.
Sean asked the next logical question.
“You say you are from the 32nd century and we …. We have been transported back to 2370?”
“And what the hell is a temporal observatory?” Sollace blurted out.
Daniels raised a hand to cease questions before drawing in a long, deep breath.
“From what we have been able to gather, the Borg cube attempted opening a transwarp conduit looking to drag the Dante in with it. … Only the attempt resulted in a wormhole, slicing across time and reality to land you here in 2370 … as well as an alternate.”
“Wait, wait, wait … Not just into the past but realities???” Sollace exclaimed.
Sean placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder before stepping forward, as the original leader of the rescue team from the U.S.S. Nelson … and as formerly acting captain of the Dante, he represented both the Nelson team and the Dante survivors.
“So, YOU are saying that WE are no longer in 2409 … but 2370 … AND not even still in our own universe?” he asked trying to wrap his head it all.
“Exactly,” Daniels confirmed.
“That wormhole cut through the fabric of your universe and into one of the adjacent realities … not too dissimilar from your own … but definitely different.”
“Different in what way?” Sean asked, trying to stay up with the conversation even as his mind reeled from the idea of it all.
“There are slight bits of history … small things,” the agent swept his arm around the observatory and towards the timeline that encircled them all, “that differ enough that as history continues to expand forward … it will result and shape itself into a completely different timeline than the one you know.”
“Ok,” Sean said, finally finding his mental feet again. “Then send us back.”
Daniel’s shook his head.
“An impossibility,” Daniels answered quickly.
“Sadly, there is no going back for any of you … THIS … is your new home,” he continued.
“Why?” Sollace asked. “You are from the 32nd century. And from the look of this place, you surely have the technology. … Send us back.”
“We cannot because you are already still there.”
Daniel’s expression turned sad for them, mixed with understanding of how they must be feeling.
“As impossible as any of this sounds …,” and again he turned toward a floating timeline, calling up a visual representation as he spoke.
“… The you still aboard the Dante of yet a third reality was also sucked by the borg into the same type wormhole, only it cut from their universe into yours and only transported them backwards in time a few hours.”
“They warned Capt. Mills and the Nelson of what events were about to happen so those events could be altered and changed … as is correct for that reality’s timeline,” Daniels added.
Sean looked as if he was about to vomit.
“So, you are saying we still exist there … and yet we are here … at the same time?”
“What happens to us?” Allen Sollace added the question.
“This is where you are meant to exist now … Yes,” Daniels answered. “This is where you are meant to remain.”
“Our families … friends … our lives?” Sollace asked.
“You are where you need to be, and this reality’s events will unfold as they need to because of it.”
The temporal agent paused a moment before adding … “I am sorry about the loss of your family and friends … but those aren’t your lives any longer.”
Sean was still trying to wrap his mind around it all.
“But by being here, we’re altering this reality’s history,” he stated not so much as a question, but a fact.
“And yet that is what is needed for this universe’s timeline to unfold as is necessary,” Daniels answered with conviction in his voice.
“What happens to us?” Sollace asked.
Daniel’s waved his hand across the displayed timeline, sending it back as threads within the larger master line.
“We will help each of you in creating new lives, integrating you into this time, this place.”
“And we are to just ignore the fact that we know how history is going to unfold?” Sean asked.
Daniels shook his head. “You forget that I said this timeline unfolds differently from you own, in fact … the planet Rom …”
He paused as if catching himself before changing verbal tracks.
“… Let’s just say history here will unfold different from what you originally knew to the point that when you reach 2409 again … It will be completely different.”
“No,” Sollace said, crossing his arms stubbornly.
“No … Send us back. Family … friends … our lives are back there,” he continued. “Send us back now!”
Daniels’ shook his head but still smiled a thin smile.
“No … we cannot. … BUT I do now see why you end up becoming the ship’s cap … the person you are meant to be.”
Scene: Main Bridge, U.S.S. Fenrir
Stardate: 240513.1840 (aka. May 13, 2409)
Those on Earth knew the date as May 13, 2409 … a date burned deep into the soul of Capt. Rutlh’ven.
Looking out over the bridge of his command … the U.S.S. Fenrir, NCC-185377, Allen saw not the crew but instead the events of 32 years prior.
It was on this date the U.S.S. Nelson answered the distress call of the U.S.S. Dante and dispatched a rescue team over to a ship whose crew had already been assimilated by an attacking Borg cube.
Was on this date that rescue team had assumed control of the Dante via the battle bridge and were swept into a wormhole created by said Borg cube’s failed attempt to open a stable transwarp corridor.
Thus, sweeping the surviving members of the team 39 years into the past … and into an alternate timeline.
No way of returning, young Ens. Allen Narross Sollace was forced to change his name (well, last name at least) and assimilate into that time, that place.
Thanks to the workings of temporal agent Daniels, he and others of the team were able to remain in Starfleet … beginning their new march through the years of history … including one Dominion War.
And now Allen Sollace … Allen Rutlh’ven … had reached the date he’d last left in another reality whose timeline completely differed from the one he’d been forced to live just to reach the same date once more.
He’d helped establish a new colony, fought the Dominion War, worked his way up through the ranks of Starfleet and even assisted with saving lives of refuges from the supernova that claimed the Romulan homeworld and several of its colonies.
Just one of the many events different from what he’d learned in school as a child.
Daniel’s had let slip that Allen would go on to become a ship’s captain and that came to pass a few years back.
Stroking the arm of his command chair, he took pride in Fenris and her crew.
With a few final thoughts of his wife, children and grandkids … Capt. Rutlh’ven noted that although the transition had been hard … leaving behind all they’d lost …, he was pleased with the way life had worked out.
He also made a note to contact Sean Dalmore … also now a Rutlh’ven … on this day of all days and share a drink with his friend who was out there commanding a ship of his own as well.
The survivors of their original rescue team (being few in number) each agreed to adopt and share the family name “Rutlh’ven while also helping establish a new colony where they’d all call home.”
They’d come to consider themselves one family … bound by ties beyond those of blood.
And that family had grown a bit larger over the years since.
A thought that left Allen smiling as he turned back towards the bridge and mission before them.
He definitely needed to remember to call his brother later on for that shared drink.
—
Out of Story: The above begins by revisiting a story written back in the 1990s from the play-by-email RPG group U.S.S. Nelson within the overall Trek universe of alt.starfleet.rpg (a newsnet group at that time).
Allen Sollace was my very first character and through this, I took the version of him that went through the wormhole and showed where he actually ended up … as the version that went back and warned the Nelson was indeed … from another reality even back then (to explain his the twin self remained and became one Ross MacBride … whose story will also continue within this STO verse, but more on that story at a later date.
Respectfully,
Capt. Allen Rutlh’ven
CO, U.S.S. Fenrir