Mission: Theft of Time (USS Octavia E Butler): Difference between revisions

{{LCARS-bar-heading|Prologue|10|COLOR=linear-gradient(to right, #650869, #420745)}}

While Rouiancet is occupied at a summit of Captains from the [[Gamma Flotilla Expeditionary Task Force]], Lt. Commander Avander Promontory takes command of the USS Octavia E. Butler, with Lt. Josh Herrick stepping in as First Officer. While taking an in-depth scan of a curious anomaly that has characteristics of a wormhole, Promontory can’t help but shake the feeling there’s more there than what meets the eye. Scans detect some sort of temporal aspect, as well as a distress call from what appears to be a Starfleet ship, though there’s a strange modulation to it.  They draw closer, but remain on the edge so as not to get pulled in.  Suddenly, the ship rocks and the even horizon expands and [https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Chroniton chronitons] registered exceed maximums. The ship shuttles and the computer warns of an impending structural failure, then recommends engines be shut down. 

With the signal no longer there, they try to escape, and suddenly everything goes quiet with systems down and life support running on backups. Promontory orders to get the viewer working, and the anomaly which had once taken up the entirety of the screen is now but a speck, and where once they had seen purples and blues, now they see reds and black.  As the sensors come back up, they find they have suddenly come 800 years into the future.

{{LCARS-bar-heading|Act I|10|COLOR=linear-gradient(to right, #650869, #420745)}}

With the Butler having gone through what seems a one-way wormhole 800 years into the future and in the [[Beta Quadrant]]. With supplies necessary to repair damage, Lieutenants Arlill, Nilsen, Richards, and Maxwell head to a nearby trading post to procure the necessary supplies. In the meantime, Lieutenant Herrick along with Ensign Lahl and Caras conduct what repairs they can.  Drs. Toz and Jania Nis, along with Counselor Stendhal provide palliative care in sickbay to those injured and affected by the time jump.  Lt. Commander Avander Promontory remains on the bridge along with Lt. Commander Katsim and Lieutenant Yinn in order to find a way back home.

Promontory asks the science officers if they had any thoughts on how to get home.  Both Yinn and Katsim theorize different ways, but all of them require the ship in better condition than it currently is.  Promontory fields some com calls while Katsimand Yinn start on the models. Forsyth manages to get partial sensors and finds debris, but can’t tell what it is. When she asks if combining sensors would work, Katsim is uncertain and suggests they ask engineering and continues her own models.  Unfortunately, nothing works and she suggests that they will need either exponentially more dilithium, or another energy source. Katsim also inquires as to handle the Prime Directive, and Promontory tells them they should limit interaction with those in the future and not bring anything back.   

As they discuss further options and needs, Katsim registers an explosion on Deck 9. Meanwhile, Forsyth indicates that the debris is from another [[Starfleet]] ship, though likely from the future where they are presently, and might have some of what they need. Herrick calls to connect with Promontory and alert him that the temporal anomaly blew out some conduits and Deck 9 won’t be inhabitable for long.  He tells them to proceed and if they can, get more power to the bridge.

Once the call is closed, Promontory suggests they go on a salvage operation. Forsyth volunteers to be on the away team, and she is joined by Loq, the other half of Yinn. Remaining on the bridge, the group are contacted by Herrick and Nis to let them know they’ve been boarded by something with future tech, and Promontory says he’ll send extra security.  Katsim checks in with Forsyth and Loq, and then tells Promontory and Yinn what she discovered about a ‘[https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Burn Burn]’ and its origin.  With the knowledge that dilithium isn’t an option, Katsim suggests a time crystal, though there is a question of whether or not they can get one.  

A call comes in and the screen reveals Avander Promontory, but an older version, who claims they need to talk. Because of the [https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Af-Kelt af kelt], this proves difficult, but they intend to find a way.  The younger Promontory heads to the ready room in preparation.  

Forsyth and the Loq body of Yinn take a shuttle to the abandoned ship.  They find a bay, but it’s no longer connected to the rest, but there are other intact sections large enough to board, but they will have to use EVA suits to salvage anything. As they scan, Loq picks up transporter signatures, but scattered throughout, as if all crewmembers simply beamed off the ship. Forsyth suggests they run more scans and tries to get closer before they suit up. They begin the search and while there’s concern about taking future tech, the fact is, they have to get back to their own time.  As Yinn picks up something with a Starfleet insignia, she suddenly finds herself floating in open space and realises she has picked up something that acts like a transporter. Forsyth offers to come get her, but Yinn simply transports back, and the two continue with their search.  

==== Sickbay and beyond ====

With injuries pouring into sickbay, Drs. Toz and Nis attend to the patients as best they can. While several [https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/El-Aurian El-Aurians] deal with severe nausea from Af Kelt, she asks about what inventory they have that can help treat it and how other patients are doing. Some of them are panicking and Nis asks Stendhal for her advice. The counsellor advises that they limit interaction with anyone and anything in the new time.  Nis points out a patient who has temporal narcosis while Emond, recovered somewhat from the Af Kelt, points out they also need to be cautious of other temporal disease when suddenly an alarm goes off.  

Toz thinks the alarm is to indicate incoming casualties and asks Nis to check in with other departments.  She herself touches base with Promontory. Uncertain as to where they are in the future, Stendhal asks the computer for more information and they find out they’re in the Beta Quadrant. Nis asks Emond if she has telepathic capabilities and if she can tell if anyone has any disordered thoughts.

They head out of Sickbay and find an injured officer in the hallway. Stendhal stabilises him and Toz has a nurse take him into Sickbay. As they work, the lights fail and only the red emergency lights give them any illumination. Toz suggests they continue to look for injured.  As they move, suddenly a [[phaser]] shot grazes past her shoulder and the group prepares to possibly face a crewmember affected by the time jump.

After another shot barely misses them, a voice insists the ‘sensitives’ are given over to them, for they threaten the stability of the continuum. When he steps into the open, he looks human but with red glowing lines tattooed on his face in some sort of pattern and tells them to hand over the El-Aurians and explains they dissolve the the timeline around them and will spread it like a disease if they return. Stendhal gets grazed and at the sight of her blood and faints while a metal bead slips from the tatooed stranger’s shirt and unfolds into a spider like drone that advances toward Emond.  She shoots and misses, backpedals, and trips over Stendhal.  Lucas fires as the insectoid automaton leaps through the air, directly for where Emond is standing.

Nis manages to put herself between Emond and the automaton which latches onto her arm. Taking a scalpel from her person, she stabs it and it melts away as if made of sand before reforming around her knife and jerking it from her hand. It reformed and Stendhal, having awakened from her swoon, orders the computer to erect a forcefield between the officers and the intruder with it’s device. The automaton slams into it, and the field drops. Stendhal throws her [[tricorder]], but the device just destroys it.  Toz tells them to shoot with everything they have, kill setting, and tells the bridge they can’t hold out much longer.  Just after that, more security arrive and Toz suggests they go back to Sickbay and let security handle things there.

Emond asks if anyone has heard of interactions between El-Aurian’s and the [[Q (species)|Q]], and Nis asks if what they intruder said about paradoxes makes any sense to Emond, but Emond is sure Q aren’t involved. She then washes her hands at a sink, notices her arm, which had been healed of injuries, shows deep wounds in the mirror, but when she looks at her real arm, it his healthy. She attributes it to a trick of the light. Emond asks if she’s all right and Nis says it’s nothing just before Emond receives a call to attend a meeting.  

Back in Sickbay, Miash takes charge after Toz and the others seek out more wounded in the halls.  She recruits Petty Officer Lohkina to assist in ensuring things are prepped and ready for the doctors.  Lieutenant [[Zimedia Nijal]] comes in with a hurt wrist, and after treating her, Miash asks if she can stay and help, and she does so.

==== Engineering ====

Herrick checks on the damage in Engineer and asks Caras and Lahl for updates on their status. With no dilithium crystals, the ship is in dire need.  Lahl struggles with the idea that she might be the last [[Lahl (symbiont)|Lahl]] host and after reporting that secondary backups are running all right, notices Lahl’s expression and asks if she’s all right. He suggests music as they work, and though they aren’t able to do much until supplies arrive, he asks where they should begin with what they can do.  Herrick votes for opera music, then suggests they start with the EPS distribution and notes what decks where they can go ahead and turn life support off in order to have the energy for other things, then they head to Deck 9.  

On Deck 9, they see more of the ship has suffered severe damage. Caras asks the computer to continue the music and wonders about paradoxes. As one of the ensigns go to open a hatch, Herrick warns them to scan it first. They do, and when they open it, the engineers see a reflection of themselves, and suddenly an EPS conduit flames up. Herrick manages to close the door just in time for it to block an explosion, one too big to simply be contained to one small area.  When Caras scans, he finds everything is down, including life support on deck 9.  They decide to evacuate the deck and after checking in with Promontory to find out they need extra dilithium, agrees to scavenging what they can from the smaller vessels in the hanger.

After coming along some other officers, they guide them to safety. Suddenly, there’s an alarming beep from Lahl’s tricorder, and Caras realises it’s a reading from the previous explosion that they didn’t receive until just then, indicating the chronitons are still in effect. One of the people they have found in the corridor, a botanist, ignores Herrick’s warning and opens a hatch. They see another vision of Herrick in a nearby tube and brace for another explosion, but nothing happens, though Lahl reads the beginnings of an explosion on her tricorder, which only supports the idea time is still functioning oddly. Herrick notes they have other people find and internal coms aren’t working on that particular deck. As the Botanist uses the hatch to head to hydroponics, Caras wonders if he has the authority as an ensign to say something about the botanist’s behaviour.  The person returns with plants that emit a bright light, allowing them to see better.

The group head to the hanger to try and salvage dilithium from the vessels there, but Herrick admits it will offer limited use. Lahl puts what she gets into a carrier and afterward, they head to the Maintenance support center.  There, Caras notices some panels have been removed and computer parts exposed, and he wonders if they’ve been sabotaged. They discover it has not been, but someone had access the computer database.  Lahl intends to see what has been put into the system, if anything. Herrick says they can secure it from Main Engineering and updates Promontory as they return.  

After collaborating with Lieutenant Herrick, Lieutenant Arlill takes a list of necessary items down to Kisaba Station in Sector 2520 along with Maxwell, Nilsen, and Richards. They arrive on the station and begin to look around in a market, but Nilsen struggles to read script because Federation Standard has deviated over the last 800 years.  After adjusting, he notices he can’t find Dilithium. Others noticed people approaching self serve terminals only to walk away empty handed.  Maxwell suggests they find a back street trader to acquire some.

As they move along, Arlill notices a Klingon following them when an Andorian named Bos Ch'riannon steps from one of the booths and introduces himself. When Arlill asks about dilithium, Ch’riannon is incredulous and tells them the substance is rationed. They inquire after other items they are looking for, and as Ch’riannon looks over their needs, Arlill whispers to Nilsen and points out the Klingon.  Nilsen speaks to him and makes a friend, but Ch’riannon seems uncomfortable.  Henri gets in Arlill’s head, but the Bolarite tries hard to focus on the mission. Ch’riannon asks why they are so obsessed with the past considering their clothes and shuttle are so old, but Arlill says they’re interested in preserving it and understanding where they’ve come and assures him their intentions are honourable. Richards suggests they work on smaller items first so the traders can get to know them a bit, and Maxwell suggests they go somewhere more comfortable to talk.

As they head to a greasy restaurant, Nilsen asks Ch’riannon why he said it was dangerous while Kadar takes the list and says he can help even though the items haven’t been used regularly in years.  With time needed to procure them, it affords the officers a chance to take a look around. After they split, Nilsen talks to Maxwell and asks his thoughts on the situation and asks if time travel can ‘bugger up your brain’ because Arlill was acting like his normal self rather than hating Nilsen’s guts and Max suggests it’s the closest he’ll get to an apology.

Arlill asks Henri for his take on the merchants, and Henri says he finds them suspicious, but that’s not unexpected. When Arlill sees Nilsen heading over to him, he asks Henri to try and access the database of the station.  With Richards and Maxwell right behind, he asks if the others have found anything more out about the station and whether or not the Federation still exists.

Richards tosses Arlill an orange orb that he procured for free at a stall, then asks what the others have found.  Nilsen says the Federation is still around, but they have changed and contacting them wouldn’t be easy. He then tells them Ch’riannon mentioned something about late shipments and suggests that if they help him, they will receive a lot more help in return.  Nilsen says he can handle Kadar and suggests they pretend they are not Starfleet, for the Federation isn’t popular due to dilithium restrictions because of low supply, and intends to find a better map of the area.   Arlill approves and the group secures temporary quarters.

The next day, Arlill internally checks in with Henri, then with the rest of his team. By that time, they have most of what they need except the dilithium. He wonders if they should return to the OEB or see if they can find more. They decide to eat breakfast first, and Nilsen shares with them a book he’s reading about Janeway and her experience in the Delta Quadrant. Arlil asks if he lacks confidence we’ll get back, but Nilsen remains hopeful and Maxwell is confident.  There’s some concern about whether or not to trust Kadar, but the group get the supplies they can, then head back to the Butler.

Kadar, the [[Klingon]] merchant, and Aamin a station resident, discuss the newcomers whom they have pegged as time travellers despite their efforts. After seeing the requested items, they agree the newcomers aren’t there to cause harm, but they also agree to keep watching them - for they are actually Department of Temporal Affairs agents.

When they follow the officers back to the OEB, they are cloaked and remain undiscovered.  Their sensors register weapons fire on the Butler and they realise that Species SFSC-15506 is on the ship, though they don’t know how they managed to get there.  Original intent to put a time tracker thwarted, they agree to continue watching.

The OEB, specifically Promontory, is greeted by visitors - older versions of themselves from the time to which they have travelled. Promontory sets up meetings in order to discuss matters. 

Older Emond meets with younger Promontory while Older Promontory meets with younger Emond in order to reduce the effects of af-kelt.  She instructs him to refer to her as Grand Auntie in order to avoid confusion. Grand Auntie asks if they’ve heard of a time crystal, and Promontory mentions that Katsim had spoken of it, but isn't sure how to get one. Grand Auntie has information that will help them do so, but they have to take the utmost care, for they will have to steal this crystal.  While Promontory doesn’t like that idea, Grand Auntie tells them that’s how they get home and they can’t linger in that time.

Younger Emond meets with Nijal and younger Emond who suggests she calls him Uncle to help avoid confusion. Uncle tells them they need to get back to their own time before the Loom Cultists find them.  Emond mentions that they had met them when they boarded the OEB earlier.  Nijal asks what they are, and Uncle explains they are Time Zealots who take extreme views on enforcing consequences for forbidden time travel. Uncle has no memory of the incident.  When Nijal asks why they’re being told this information, Uncle tells them a Red Directive, which is what this is, trumps the Temporal Prime Directive. However, Uncle says they can’t help them directly, but he can tell them one time crystal in in close range, but guarded by a black market dealer. He also warns them the Loom Cultists might follow them because of a variance in a non zero probability field which Nijal states they’ll try to avoid.  Uncle passes along the information they need.  

{{LCARS-bar-heading|Act II|10|COLOR=linear-gradient(to right, #650869, #420745)}}

Those who went to the station were successful in procuring most of the supplies they need - everything except dilithium, which is most important for returning home. With people healed and the saboteur eliminated, the crew must focus on finding a way back to their own time by stealing a time crystal from Sbadni, a black market dealer, using the information from the future versions Emond and Promontory. They have the opportunity to use a soiree on the moon the dealer owns in order to accomplish the task.  

==== Before the Party ====

Sbadni regards herself in a mirror and tries to remember whether or not the last party was three days ago or of it lasted three days. Reflecting on how boring everything has become with no one as a worthy adversary in the sector, she hopes the party will attract ‘novel’ people and orders that all the rare items get put on display. She refers to a guest lists and notices some strangers on there and finds herself excited to meet them.

==== The Party Party ====

Stendhal along with Nijal, Yinn, and Caras will attend the party directly, as invited guests. With them on the inside, their mission will be to disable the internal security for the compound to assist Katsim’s team’s endeavours and then leave without being caught. After going over their goals, Stendhal asks who will pilot. Caras states he’ll replicate appropriate clothing that will have special compartments for their gear, and they all agree to go as people wearing various outfits from various times to appear eccentric rather than temporal castaways. Upon their arrival to the moon, the group dress themselves in shiny, glittering, and certainly eccentric outfits. Yinn drives home the partygoer idea by bringing along partially empty liquor containers.

They enter the Exhibition Hall and Caras immediately recognises the use of pheromones, but is fortunately not as strongly affected as most males. Nijal suggests they go talk to the woman, and so the group approaches. Yinn feels something off and realises the entire room is a tachyon grid which means security is watching everything at a subatomic level and she suggests they flood the room with more tachyons to disrupt the grid. Caras approaches a bar and asks for Andorian ale when he notices an orion woman heading right toward them - Sbadni. Stendhal keeps up the ruse and asks the others what they think about their new friend while Sbadni tells Caras to go talk to another Orion female, tell her that he’s Sbadni’s slave tonight and to bring her a prized blade. Nijal realises they need to get Sbadni’s attention off of Caras so he implement the planned sabotage. Playing to the blackmarket dealer’s desire to add to her collection, Nijal says she can’t help but notice something missing, but they could help with.

Just then, Sbadni receives a report from security that the intruders fired upon them. She tells them to take care of the situation and use cannon if need be, but to not disturb her. Yinn whispers to Caras that she’s set her quantum scanner to overheat in a few minutes which will cause a small explosion and hopefully disrupt the tachyon field. She also lets him know that she’s found a badge that will let them teleport instantly if they just think about where they need to go. Turning back to Nijal, Sbadni asks what the Cardassian thinks she would be interested in. Stendhal pulls out a gold watch and a silver plated spoon as old as the Eiffel Tower on Earth. Whispering to Yinn, she tells the Bolian to hurry up and do what she’s going to do.

Caras retrieves the sword from D’vina and asks her to come back with him to tell Sbadni he did a good job. Reluctantly, she does, and as they rejoin the group, the scanner overloads, shattering several display cases and cracking several more. Caught off guard, Nijal asks her companions what is going on. Yinn uses the future badge to transport right behind Caras and take the blade, then does so again, that time to stand in front of Sbadni and place the blade at her throat. Witha single command, D’Vina, one of Sbadni’s servants, draws a firearm and points it at Nijal and threatens to kill her should anything happen to the Betazoid/Orion dealer. Meanwhile, Nijal stares intently at Stendhal in the hopes she’ll read the Cardassian’s mind as she says silently, ‘cover me’ and makes her own threat.  

Sbadni orders her men to lower cages filled with Betazoids and asks who they are and where they’re from. She tells them she has enhanced pheramones that allow her to open up certain psychic pathways which force them to spill their secrets while they live out the darkest desires her Betazoids can find. Nijal takes a risks and shoots, downing one of the cages and rolls behind it for cover. In the chaos, Yinn begins to feel disoriented and as she tries to draw close to her fellow officers, she passes ou while in the lab back on the ship, the Klingon side of Yinn finds himself unable to feel his other half. Nijal takes charge and somehow, in the middle of the chaos, the group manages to escape and get back to the shuttle. As Nijal guides them toward the OEB, Caras realises that his sister may have used pheramones in him and he never realised it.

==== Infiltration ====

Katsim, Toz, and Maxwell intend to break into a reinforced shaft 100 meters below the main display room, which is also heavily guarded, in order to steal the time crystal. With transporters only able to to transport them outside the building, the group has to find a way inside. When more guards join and they huddle together in some sort of briefing, Maxwell takes initiative and races forward, and the others follow. Making their way inside, they find themselves in a hall, but have to hide behind some boxes when people approach. Two white coated women carrying trays with dirty dishes appear and Toz whispers to Max about what they should do. The women eventually pass and the group continues on their way.

As they traverse through the halls, they start to go up despite the need to go down, but Katsimcontinues on, trusting in the information on her tricorder. Eventually, they come to a circular area which angles down, likely one of the towers. They follow, eventually coming to another hallway, then stop as Katsim’s tricorder registers the shaft is just around the corner and there are several guards. Toz sets her tricorder on heavy stun and suggests she causes a distraction while Maxwell and Katsim grab the crystal.

Katsim finds herself suddenly grappling with the idea that they might not be the most innocent in the scenario, but also is in no position to do anything else, especially since a black market dealer isn’t likely to agree to a fair trade. Contemplating the advice from the other two officers, she makes a decision and then calls for action. The three go in and hold the guards, caught slacking while playing a game, at phaser point Maxwell grabs the crystal, destroys the controls to the door, and they quickly leave. Katsim leads them back the way they come and the group soon find themselves pursued. Turning into an all out run, new guards behind them begin to shoot and strike Katsim in the shoulder.

==== It Takes Talents ====

Promontory, Nilsen, Richards, and Lahl, as well as some marines, intend to distract guards away from the compound. Promontory places explosives carefuly into stowage as he touches base with his team, and then the group set off. Nilsen guides them out and ‘hides’ the shuttle in one of the moon’s poles. He lands on the ground at the base of a mountain. With a climb ahead of them, Richards suggests they transport the supplies to where they need them, for they don’t want to get spotted carrying them, and asks when the other teams will be in position, but there’s an inhibitor field which prevents it, and Nilsen indicates that’s why he flew as low as he did. Thanks to the lower gravity of the moon, however, the group is able to carry the load more easily than usual.   Nilsen notes that the shuttle is picking up neutrinos and Lahl worries about where they’re coming from and suggests they get moving before they are spotted.

When they passed over the steepest part of the hill, Richards spies white towers, and when they get closer, they finds themselves face to face with not a fortress, but a palace. They make their way to the wall that surrounds the perimeter, and Richards comments that he saw at least twelve guards. As they begin to set things up, Promontory notices one of the explosives is already counting down. The group barely has enough time to take cover before it goes off.

Nilsen blacks out, and when he comes to, contacts the OEB but is unable to hear any messages they send back. Upon rising, the others join him and find him bleeding from his ear as well as his nose. Lahl blacks out and dreams of Steven, someone she knew who had been killed in an accident. The apparition reassures that she did everything she could, to take care and not come back again; he also thanks her for making sure he had a funeral. As she and the others try to reconvene, they hear shouts of guards and Lahl hides behind debris from the explosion. As they approach, another explosion goes off, and Richards wonders if the satellite in the sky had anything to do with the premature ignition. They decide to head back to the shuttle and regroup.

As they arrive at the shuttle, they find a guard hovering near the doors, with possibly more elsewhere. Spying a small cave, Nilsen suggests they hide in there. Hidden, Nilsen rips up his shirt to provide temporary bandages for wounds while they figure out how to proceed. He asks if any tricorders are working, and as Lahl tries to fight a pain in her abdomen, she is able to connect to external and internal sensors on the shuttle. She struggles to keep a hold on herself rather than past hosts and connect with other systems. Nilsen suggests they use the access she does have to chase away the guards and volunteers to scout the shuttle.

Lahl is finally able to get up the shields even as she fights back the memories of Vedrin, a former host. Promontory asks if they have access to weapons and Lahl confirms they do, then manages to start the shuttle which startles the guard. Suddenly, Vedrin comes to the surface and says something has happened to Lahl, but then agrees that the best thing they can do is get back to the shuttle. They hurry over as best they can and are fired upon by hidden guards.

Once inside and under covery, they get into the air and seek out the marines who had been dispatched to set off more explosions about a klick away. Richards checks on Lahl and Promontory points out a lot of smoke that’s too much for the explosions they had planned. Lahl avoids talking about concerns regarding the symbiote and finds the marines in good condition. She suggests they land to pick them up, then leave quickly. Lahl is back to her normal self, and Nilsen lands to pick up the marines. When the bridge contacts them, Nilsen tells Arlill to prepare a landing pad for their return and that they have injured. The group head back to the OEB and make it there safely. Miash meets them in the shuttle bay and sends most ahead to Sickbay, but stays behind to check on Nilsen. Asking how he feels, he says he’s fine, when suddenly the computer registers alerts, calls for evacuation, and suddenly begins to count down to self destruct.

==== Bridge ====

Herrick, Arlill, Forsyth, and Nis remain on the bridge to oversea the other teams and keep the ship behind a moon to help hide it and make a quick get away when necessary. Herrick asks if the passive scans reveal anything. Thus far, it’s quiet, and teams should be in position. A minute later, the scan reveals something that has settled into geosynchronous orbit with the moon that looks like some sort of surveillance satellite, and isn’t sure whether or not it will have detected them. Nis expresses some nervousness but is reassured by her fellow officers. Suddenly, the computer tells them the satellite is producing unexpectedly high levels of neutrinos. Forsyth notes that such technology is old compared to the time they are in. Concerned about the presence, Arlill suggests they keep their distance. He also finds it odd that it’s not orbiting the planet and the temporal signature seems familiar, something he’s seen in recent logs. Forsyth brings up the idea of using an EMP pulse to disable the satellite.

Herrick agrees to the idea as Nilsen breaks comms silence but the message is garbled. Suddenly, the satellite changes direction and seems to aim in the direction of the Butler. Nis’ notices the shape of the image on her tricorder is more organic, like a squid rather than technology. Arlill reroutes power to weapons and shields and they decide to utilise Forsyth’s EMP idea while the Ops chief puts them on yellow alert and tries to hail the Satellite, asking its intentions. It asks for the Butler’s instead and he tells them they registered explosions and were investigating salvage options. Suddenly, the computer acts strange, processing at a triple speed. Herrick decides it’s time to come out of hiding and face the object. Herrick gives the order to release the pulse then puts them at red alert. Some systems are affected, turning off and on, as if something was testing their systems.

Seeing the stress in Herrick, Arlill quietly offers help and encouragement. He registers the explosion on the surface and suggests that they might have company soon since their actions won’t exactly go unnoticed. Nis checks scans of the away teams and notes that Nis is giving off strange electric signals and is con She also notices scans indicate tachyon fields swirling all around the away teams inside the palace. Forsyth asks if they can transport them out of there, and unfortunately the EMP isn’t usable for another hour. She then wonders if the satellite has access codes they can use, but Herrick doesn’t think they have time to hack in. Instead, they decide to get closer to the moon and mask their signature by trying to appear like a common phenomenon.

Fearful that the Loom Cult might be after Promontory and Emond, he asks if there’s any sight of them. Arlill begins to receive suggestions from the computer to assist, and then discovers they’re receiving a garbled message from the injured team. Forsyth readies the phasers, but the EMP will take another 30 minutes to allow another pulse. Somehow, the computer is able to crack into the satellite and begins to show images from the planet. The computer is able to get a lock on their officers and Nis tries to contact Promontory’s team. As Nis reviews the images, she sees that guards are massing together. Nilsen comes through and asks them to prepare a landing pad for their return, warning that they have injured. Herrick asks about Stendhal’s team and notices the feed Nis has. Unable to ascertain whether or not they have been discovered, Herrick asks about Katsim’s team. Nilsen finds that he, too, has feeds, and can’t explain, but notes it’s very helpful.

With the computer’s unexplained assistance, the EMP is able to recharge more quickly and is usable far sooner than expected. The ship begins to shudder and Nis realises there’s a problem with the warp plasma conduits which will tear the whole ship apart if not dealt with. Herrick advises how to do so and they await the arrival of the away teams. Suddenly, a man appears on the viewscreen, a Loom cultist and states they will remain in a fixed time bubble thanks to some ‘presents’ of their which are causing the problems with the vessel. The ship warns about transports detected, then begins a countdown to destruction even as Herrick tells Forsyth to fire at will. Arlill tries desperately to gain control of the ship, but as he passes out, he hears the voice of Henri while Nis experiences the appearance of a former host. Forsyth initiates the EMP, then passes out.

==== Henri ====

During the chaos of the last few days, Henri has managed to gain access to a mobile emitter and is able to now freely move about. The newfound freedom also has him asking existential questions about morality and what is real.

{{LCARS-bar-heading|Act III|10|COLOR=linear-gradient(to right, #650869, #420745)}}

Members of the OEB find themselves thrust into different points of time, and each group must try to find their way home.  

==== 2156s ====

Toxin Arlill awakens to find himself in a tunnel along with Forsyth, Stendhal, and Toz. As he looks around, he notices they are surrounded by mining equipment. A distant rumble puts them on alert, and as they move about, they observe human workers digging in a mine - a mine they are currently in. Suddenly, a hooded figure emerges from behind a stalagmite, locks eyes with Arlill, then hurries away. Arlill realises the figure doesn’t belong there either, and as they continue onward, he also realises they are on Luna in Sector 001. Toz suggests they dress up like workers, an idea which Forsyth supports to help the move without drawing suspicion, then suggests they ask for directions.

The group moves down and comes to a junction. Arlill tells the others to choose one and head down then report back. Toz finds laundry and returns with a couple of items and tells them the tunnel she took lead to living quarters, which indicates a larger mining system. Down a different tunnel, Forsyth overhears a couple of workers talk and realises they’re during the time of the Romulan wars.

As Toz begins to have trouble breathing, she suggests they try to find the surface. .Forsyth points out where she saw a lift when she went ahead. The group load up in the lift and head upward. Because they’re on a mining facility, they don’t find the outdoors, but rather corridors and better environment systems. Arlill cautious them not to interfere, but to try and gather more information, then approaches a terminal in the hopes of getting more detailed information about where and when they are. Toz notes that all of then crowded around the terminal will make them suspicious, so suggests she and Forsyth ‘window shop’.  

When Arlill notices people staring at him and Toz, he realises they are in an era where Klingons aren’t common and he’s still unusual. After Toz hides her ridges with a stolen headband she appropriates from a shop and he makes his hair look as if he’s hiding antennae, Arlill tries to access information from the console, but it’s password protected. As the group wander about, uncertain what to do, a news report over the intercom alerts everyone that the USS Columbia has not checked in for two days and a Romulan attack is suspected. Unfortunately, the shopkeeper realises Toz has stolen the bandana shouts at them, so they makes a hasty get away. Arlill leads them into the maintenance tunnels. As they arrive, Toz manages to calm herself and asks how they will be able to get back to their own time. They get to a crossroads and Arlill leads the way. As they round the next corner, they come face to face with a cultist and Arlill recognises a devastating weapon in the Cultist’s hands and he suspects they have arrived to create a significant event. They pull back and press against the wall to try and hide, but the Cultist sees Arlill and after making eye contact, the cultist begins to run while the officers chase them just as security officers appear behind them as they pass through a slowly closing door.

As they give chase, Promontory’s voice comes through their communication devices and tells them to find a time crystal which will help them get home. The group head on and find the device on the deck. Arlill deactivates it, then realises the people may have heard the message and are seeking the time crystal, then impresses the importance that they get to it first. Using his tricorder, he tracks it and arrive along with the cultist who tries to get to it first. Arlill hits the cultist with a tricorder and security officers arrive, coming after them. He then rams into the security guards, opening an opportunity for his fellow officers to grab the crystal. Forsyth starts for the shard, then tackles a cultist before he can reach it. After subduing him, she grabs the crystal and it begins to glow. The cultist gets up and lunges for the group, but Forsyth darts out of the way. Arlill grabs the cultist and darts toward a shuttle, telling them to go home, then the shuttle closes behind him and it launches away. Forsyth and Toz then find themselves back on the Butler, but without Arlill.  

==== 2340 ====

Nilsen, Maxwell, Lahl, and Katsim find themselves on a strange ship. Nilsen discovers its his grandmother’s ship, the USS Saint Albans. Lahl tells him they can’t meet her because they can’t contaminate the timeline. With Katsim’s shoulder injury only half healed, Maxwell makes a makeshift sling for her, and the scientists asks where the time crystal and everyone else are.  

Maxwell taps his badge but is unable to establish a connection to anyone, and as they decide to move, he states they should do so cautiously because they aren’t meant to be there. Nilsen takes their communicators and adjusts them so they can have communication between each other just in case, then notes their current uniforms will stick out in the era where they’ve arrived. Just then, a form appears, but before they can do anything, more people arrive and shoot the figure, who drops to the floor. The leader introduces herself as Lieutenant Althea Nilsen.  

In order to avoid contaminating the timeline, the group introduce themselves with fake names. Althea takes them to Science Lab 3 where those who haven’t been taken by the enemies on the ship have taken shelter. Katsim asks about devices on the ship that Lieutenant Althea had mentioned and she tells them any time someone approaches them, they are teleported away. Nilsen express hope that anyone affected by the device would still be alive since there is nothing to indicate they’ve been killed. He suggests they try to reverse the signal, but Althea indicates they’ve already tried.   She suggests they try to find a way off the ship unless anyone has any other ideas.

Lahl creates a program to trace the signal of the strange devices in hopes of finding the disappeared crew. After asking Katsim to look over the math, Katsim herself adds an algorithm to find the time crystal. The search is successful, and they discover the crew has been transported to Mars’ moon, Phobos.

The group decide to commandeer a shuttle, and when Lieutenant Althea asks them what they’re doing, Nilsen convinces her to let them go. They aim for the location of the crystal and don suits, then set the shuttle to autopilot back to the ship. On the surface is a crashed Soyuz class vessel and they head inside. Using a tricorder, Katsim leads them through the damaged area toward where the cystal registers, but they come to a door blocked by debris. Lahl struggles and the others encourage her not to over do it. Thanks to the lack of gravity, the debris is moved quickly and they find the shard in the next hallway.

Maxwell removes his glove and grabs the shard, causing pain to shoot through him. Nilsen does the same and encourages the other two to do the same, bu they refuse, flabbergasted by the mens’ impulsive and dangerous antics. Despite that, they draw closer, and a moment later, they all find themselves back home.

==== 2374 ====

Ensign Tenna Emond discovers that she along with Lieutenant Rivka Brzezinski and Nurse Miash have been thrust inside a transporter room of the USS Solidarity in 2374. As Brzezinski scans, she thinks they are near a planet of telepaths due to a mass field of alpha and beta waves and similar neurological markers. Using the Console, Emond discovers the ship is part of the Tenth Fleet near Betazed and are in the middle of a training exercise, so they shouldn’t be in the middle of battle. Suddenly, the ship shudders.  

Outside, Captain Xerxis Lumie strolls down the hall as a part of usual morning routine, but pauses outside one of the transporter rooms, sensing people inside when it should be empty. Before he can investigate, the ship shudders and the bridge reports an attack from the Dominion. Telling his first officer to take take defensive action, he arms hismelf with a phaser and enters the transporter room to find the three women, demanding they identify themselves. Miash tries to calm him and when confronted with the idea they could be Changelings, she offers to allow samples to be taken. After connecting telepathically to Emond and Brzezinski, Lumie decides to believe them. As the three head out, another blast rocks the ship and a beam falls upon the captain. The women take him to the mess hall and lay him on the table. When he awakens, the trio help him to his feet.  

Suddenly, a message from Promontory telling his crew to find the shards of the time crystal so they can be pulled back to their own time comes through the combadges of the Butler officers, and Lumie understands how they were suddenly there. He tells them to go on and obviously intends to get to the Bridge himself.  

Scanning for a source of chroniton radiation, the women find the time crystal shard a couple of decks away and take a short cut through a maintenance shaft. Finding the crystal, Emond grabs a hold of it, and suddenly, they are all sent back to the Butler.

==== 2401 - Frontier Day ====

Herrick awakens to find himself in a cargo bay along with Nijal, Richards, and Yinn. An announcement over the speaker tells the crew to take their positions in preparation for the 2401 Frontier Day celebrations. Richards notes they only have twenty minutes. Nijal reminds them it’s probably best to avoid interacting with anyone. As they exit, they find themselves on Deck 33 of the Sequoia. They have no idea how they got there and try to remember what happened to the ship during Frontier day, figuring if the ship survived, they could simply wait a few months, then step back into their old lives in the Gamma Quadrant. Scanning, Herrick sees there’s only four of them from the Butler along with some scattered temporal readings, two of which are moving, the stationary one in the solid waste reclamation reprocessing center. When Richards suggests he go after the moving ones, Herrick cautions it would be better to stay together.

Using the limited library on her tricorder, Nijal discovers the Sequoia survived the attack on Frontier day, but can not determine anything else. The group get into a turbolift to seek out the other time signatures and also discuss what cover they should use to explain their presence. Herrick asks if anyone has any weapons and Yinn reminds them of the personal transporter she stole from 800 years in the future, then suggests they raid the armoury.

 

Unfortunately, Richards indicates the armoury would not be accessible considering they expected to have a lot of guests on board, and their conditions might not work considering they're supposed to be in a different quadrant. The group decide to be prepared for action, and get on a turbo lift only to have it stop and open up for a captain who wishes to use it.  Giving answers to allay suspicions, the turbolift stops again to reveal a Vulcan. Although intending to take the next one, the captain is this they can all squeeze in.

The group finally make it to deck 12 and head to an observation lounge. On the way Herrick thinks he spies someone who looks like his father, but since his father made no mention of Frontier Day, elects too dismiss it.  He also spies two people who look like they're looking for something. Yinn approaches in an effort to act like a true visitor to the ship.  After a brief back and forth, they continue searching for something.  Herrick points out they have the same temporal signature ashe and the other Butler officers do and wonders if it got swept up in the temporal distortion as well.

Nijal ask some more directly and the visitors indicate they took advantage of the situation created by the time paradox in the hopes of seeing a Loom. As the other hooded figure withdraws a device from a store compartment, Herrick asks if anyone knows what it is. Yinn states it looks like a technologically advanced quantum scanner, and doesn’t believe they are just there to watch. Taking out her phaser, Nijal orders the figures to put the scanner down or she’ll destroy it.  The figures admit they don’t just watch, they predict and tells them that it was the Starfleet officers that brought the Loom there.  

Using the personal transporter, Yinn appears behind one of the figures and grabs them, asking for assistance. Nijal manages to trip the other figure and fall into the one Yinn is grappling which causes the device to tumble. After scooping it up, Herrick tells them to run, but a forcefield appears and captures them.  As hope seems to fade, Promontory’s message comes through, telling his officers to find the time crystals so they can go back to their own times.  Remembering the stationary reading from earlier, Herrick asks Yinn if the personal transporter can take all of them to Deck 2.

They managed to use it to get out and to Deck 4 and Nijal asks what the crystals look like just as the doors open and three members of the Sequoia walk in and state ‘resistance is futile’. Richards grabs an ornament and throws it at one, smashing it on the ground at their feet, then rushed toward a Borg aiming for Herrick to push them away.  The group run and find a set of stairs, then head up.  After another struggle, Yinn uses the personal transporter to get to the cultist’s quantum temporal device and somehow it cloaks them and causes the borgified officers to lose interest. As Yinn manipulates the device, she finds a way to open it and out drops the time crystal shard. Suddenly, everyone finds themselves back on the Butler in their own time.

Promontory awakens to an unfamiliar face who explains that he is 500 years in his future and in the middle of a temporal war.  Checking on the other members of the OEB, he finds that they were deposited in other timepoints. When Promontory asks whey they didn’t get back to the OEB, the attendant says it was because of a flux in their temporal signatures - technology that was banned under the Temporal Accord.  When Promontory mentions the Loom cultists, the Attendant realises he’s led them there. He flicks Promontory through some sort of transporter gate, and just before it closes, he sees the attendant get vaporised by an approaching figure. He finds himself in yet another room and discovers Caras is also there.  

Elsewhere, Jania has a conversation with a previous host who tells her she’s been thrust through time into the middle of a war. She gives her instructions of where to go in order to avoid detection and that she should trust the knowledge of Nis. She manages to meet up with Promontory and Caras and finds out they have missed their own time by five hundred years. Nis explains that time crystals have an erratic rate of decay and she thinks something broke the extremely fragile lattice to set it off in an uncontrolled manner. She also thinks not everyone was sent to the same time.  

Caras suggests they find weapons and medical supplies and will likely have to wrestle them from other people since it’s unlikely doors to the armory and such will be left open. Promontory suggests they find a Starfleet officer to help them, though he’s not sure whether or not where they are has been taken over by any enemies. He warns them that the enemy figure had another emblem that looked similar to a squid or spider.

A guard by the name of Elanoria comes to the door and trips falling down. Promontory tells her they aren’t from there and she indicates she knows and that’s why they’re in a containment center which is the safest place to be during a time siege. She then asks if they have been sent by the Na’kuhl. Caras tells her they’re Starfleet officers and she demands they prove it.  When she says she believes them, the orion asks if she can give them weapons.  Just then, a figure emerges and begins to fire.  Caras pushes Elanoria to the ground and her weapon skitters across the floor toward Nis and Promontory.  He tells Nis to return fire.  After a brief fight, the figure suddenly disappears, and Elanoria tells them she is a chief warrant officer Elanoria, adjunct to Containment Services of Temporal High Command, and Promontory asks what is going on.

Elanoria tells them the other figure was not from the Loom, or they’d have already been erased. Soldiers appear, but she tells them to stand down. Nis, upset over having fired a phaser to kill for the first time is upset, despite failing the attempt and a soldier reassures her. The soldier then introduces herself as Susru Nis. Jania Nis asks Susru if she can help them get home, but the other Trill only says they’ll make sure what is supposed to happen actually happens as it should, then introduces a young  man who also shares the surname of Caras.  The group moves out and Promontory asks how the war is going and Susru gives some memories of a different version of her versus what happened to specifically her - and that hse preferred her current self, even if it meant going through war.

As they come to a staging room, Elanoria innoculates them against time quakes. Nis tells her they’re looking for a time crystal, but Elanoria says the Na’kuhl have sequestered them all. Nis explains she thinks the time crystal has shattered which was why they were all thrown into different times and they need to find it, then asks if, instead, they could use their time’s temporal transporters to gather their crew and return to their own time. Elanoria asks them to be patient because they have to figure out logistics.

Elanoria leads them to an area called the ‘Bull Pen’.  They hope to find an agent who can hopefully help them with the temporal displacement. As she looks over the names, she realises she’s forgetting them and recalls the Loom, then explains they are nth dimensional creatures that feed on time disturbances.  If touch, a person will be erased from time and Loom Cultists have dedicated themselves to eradicating any temporal anomalies.  Promontory asks what they can do and Elanoria indicates the best thing to do would get them back to their own time, but suddenly, a time quake interrupts everything. Suddenly, the room changes, walls decorated where before they were empty, and Elanoria explains that the inoculation prevents them from being affected by such events.

One Promontory asks what causes them, Susru explain the occur when big changes happen in the past that changed the future. The younger Caras visibly changes and tell them that some received less inoculation in order to help guide those trying to preserve the proper timeline.  Caras wonders if they were the epicenter promontory asks if they can use the Butler crew’s residual temporal energies to track them. When Susru checks when the latest change happened, she finds out it was in 240106.  The younger Caras, now called Valaran, I think she may have found the time they fell out of. Morro Caras that's how do they get back in time. One time that stands out was the time when the crew were all together, right before they were split, and they suspect the other times along with the 2401 time are where their crew members ended up. Promontory asks what they can do to fix the problem.  Elanoria explains one of two things can happen. First, thanks could right themselves and individuals will snap back to their proper time. The other option is to get directly involved, which promontory chooses especially with a threat of the Loom.

Nis points out the time shards are probably burnt out, but Susru states they can be recharged and have a distinct resonance. As long as the crewmembers can get to the shards, they should return them to their original time, but they have to find the fragment in their own time to charge it.  To find it, they have to seek out the resonance that the out of time visitors also echo, for they would match the crystal. Caras suggests they find a way to contact the other crewmembers in other times and Valaran indicates he should try to send a message through a transporting device and Caras realises he can make an ad-hoc communication through their badges.  

As Promontory prepares to record a message to send and let others know the plan to get back to their own time, alarms blare and the room is bathed in emergency lighting. Elanoria tells them someone is trying to breach the BullPen.  As they watch, the doors begin to ‘age’ and though Elanoria says they will hold for a while, she suggests they work quickly.  Promontory records and sends off the message just as the doors give way and the temporal soldiers set up a shield. Although they personally have no weapons, Promontory silently tries to indicate to Caras that maybe they can use the engineering tools to defend themselves.  Elanoria is shot and before their eyes, she ages and decays.

When the cultists break through and demand Promontory to be handed over, Susru insists there’s already a Loom there. They don’t believe her, but she points out there are three of them now, but there were four originally.  Using this to distract the cultists, she gets close enough to jam a scalpel into the powerpack of her adversary.  This causes the pack to explode aging everything not behind the temporal shield. The Cultists, along with Susru, become ash and the computer warns that a depressurisation event is imminent as her sacrifice takes care of the cultists, but also detonates the hyper-entropy device they had.  

Seeing a green crystal on the ground, Morro realises it was the time crystal and grabs it. As the bulkhead begins to buckle, Valaran grabs a hold of Morro and the latter feels the sorrow of the former. With the primary forcefield systems down, Valaran asks Morrow if he can cycle them back on, and the orion tries. Promontory tries to get Nis to focus on an escape plan and asks if they can recharge the crystal. Nis says they need some kind of strong pulse generator, like a subspace communicator, and they’ll need to calibrate it to the exact frequency of the time crystal or they risk destroying it completely.  The group leave the Bullpen and head to the Advanced Sciences workplace.

Once there, they head to a free space.  As they begin to work, Avander receives a strange message telling him that when he returns to his home, he should activate a tractor beam with a 3:4 Tachyon/Chroniton mix in order to close a wormhole with all Federation Starships on the proper side of it and to ‘watch out for that last cultist”. As they work on charging the crystal, it begins to crackle. Nis sees a vision of future hosts, then finds herself and her crewmates back on the bridge of the Butler. Suddenly, a cultist appears, draws a knife, and attacks her.  Caras jumps forward in an attempt to help and manages to get between them. The cultist’s knife slices past Morro’s upper thigh and diverts the stab to Nis’ shoulder.

Suddenly, a strange creature with tentacles appears, wraps itself around the cultist, and the man suddenly disappears. WIth the threat gone, Promontory orders the injured to Sickbay, tells Lieutenant Wauhk who was also on the bridge to take a headcount as well as to initiate the tractor beam with a tachyon/chroniton mix. The worm hole fluctuates, spits out two vessels, then closes, and the ships that have come through hail the Butler.