Patience: an STO Story Chapter 2: Nudge

[Chapter 2: Nudge]

V’Larr turned to Daniels, regarding him carefully.  “Mr. Daniels,” he started tersely, as if addressing a raw recruit that violated basic protocol, “you expect me to believe that these 3 events are causing the end of time?  Causing the end of all timelines in the 28th?  These changes are so tiny that it is hardly likely that any of your projections are correct at all.  Why have you not sent your temporal agents?  Ships?  It should be easy knowing where and when these disappearances happen to stop them.  Take them out of the timeline and put them back, like so many bottles on a shelf.  Mr. Daniels, your projections have so many logical fallacies that we would need to start another timeline for me to explain all of them to you!”

Daniels’ eyes widened under V’Larr’s rebuke, and he threw up his hands as if to protect himself from an attack:  “ok, Admiral, you’ve made your point.  The reason I contacted you instead of other temporal agents is because of Lieutenant Commander Vyr.  It isn’t just a resemblance of you, it IS you.”  Daniels paused briefly waiting for a response, the only one he got was the cool Vulcan gaze from V’Larr.  “Admiral, we don’t have an explaination for this anomaly.  In this timeline, you’re Fleet Admiral V’Larr, but apparently you’re also Lt. Commander Vyr, Starfleet Security – MACO Detachment 773 Bravo Company.  Admiral, we believe this is why there are temporal anomalies in the Defera system.  YOU are causing them.  Well, both of you I suppose, at least that is our hypothesis.  You seem to be the nexus for these other changes.  It’s possible that if we can correct the timeline right here, that is all that will be needed to put our timeline back on the correct path.”

“I’m sure you’ve considered the possibility that this is a clone, as the Romulans attempted with Jean Luc Picard,” V’Larr said flatly.

Daniels winced, then his face screwed up in a cross between a scowl and a thoughtful look.  “If that was the case, we would be able to trace Vyr back to his origin point.  Look, over here,” Daniels said, walking over to a different timeline, “we’ve got your origin point, here,” he said pointing, “in the 23rd.  We can trace your timeline until here,” he said running his finger along the line, stopping at a point, “when we recruited you as a temporal agent and brought you forward to the current timeline in the 24th–”

“And with complete disregard to my wishes–” V’Larr snapped.

Daniels continued as if he wasn’t interrupted, “and here we can see your origin point in the 24th,” his finger stopping at another point.  “Between these two points we can trace a temporal link.  Your origin points in both timelines share the same temporal signature, this is how we can track you through time.”  Daniels walked to another point: “Here’s Vyr.  His origin point is two days from now.  His temporal signature is not shared by you, but from what we’ve gathered, he IS you.  We also cannot find his temporal signature on any other timeline that we’ve found, as if his existance starts two days from now out of nothing.”

V’Larr squinted at Daniels: “and what am I doing during this time?”

“You, V’Larr, are reviewing reports on Kearsarge and having your morning coffee like any other day.  You, Vyr, are getting a mission brief on Deferra from Joint Task Force Commander Kuzmina.”

“Daniels, you say that Vyr and I are the same, how is it our temporal signatures are not shared?  How can we be the same with different temporal signatures?”

“And therein lies the mystery, Admiral.  Like I said, there’s something wrong with the timeline.”

“But then Vyr disappears, as the others do.”

“He does.  V’Larr and Vyr share this timeline at the same time for several days, then Vyr disappears as mysteriously as he appeared.  This seems to set the other events in motion, past and future.”

“And what is to be done about it?”

“Well, Lieutenant Commander, I want you to carry out your mission as assigned by the JTF commander.  I’ll return you to your shuttle like you never left,” said Daniels.

V’Larr stared at Daniels blankly, wondering if this was some form of joke.  “Excuse me Daniels?”

“I’m sorry Lieutenant Commander, is something I said confusing you?”

A sharp, high pitched ringing sounded in Vyr’s ears, so loud it blocked out his thoughts, it blurred his vision.  His lungs, on fire as he gasped for breath, clutching his chest as he collapsed to the floor.

There is indeed something wrong with the timeline.