From A Time Long Ago

Posted on Thu Oct 20th, 2022 @ 5:22pm by Commodore Keiben Haistro & Commander Lillian Carter & Lieutenant Commander Tiandith 'Tia' Tobru & Glin Slorir Varin

2,505 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 5 - Objects In Motion
Location: Central Core - Ward Room
Timeline: Mission Day 4 @ 1700 Hours

ON

Keiben strode into the room, nursing the Raktajino in his hands, Tam by his side. The pair had not had much time to just sit and talk recently and he knew this evening was going to be no different. At this moment Tia was escorting their refugee to the ward room, or at least one of the refugees that he and his crew had picked up during their jaunt through time.
"So what the hell do we do with this Musk fellow... We obviously can't send him home!"

Tam could only shake her head, " I have no idea as to what we can do." The XO answered. "Perhaps we can figure out something during this meeting."

Carter had gotten wind of this evening's meeting to discuss what to do with their... visitors out of time. She had picked up Musk from his quarters and escorted him to the ward room. "Good evening Commodore." She said as she entered the room preceded by Musk.

"Commander... I was expecting Lieutenant Tobru to be escorting our guest!" his telepathic senses picking up on something instantly about the two... Perhaps sending him back to his own time may not be as simple if the pair were as close as he was now suspecting. He took the new information in his stride, standing and shaking the hand of the new arrival. "Musk is it not?"

Tia had been informed, en route to pick up Musk, that Commander Carter of the Cerberus would do so. She huffed a little as she was already halfway there but she simply altered her heading and made way for the next turbolift to get to the ward room. As she entered she saw Haistro, Holt, Carter and Musk already present and whilst fixing her uniform gave a weak smile. "Evening everyone." she said simply.

Keiben's words interrupted by the arrival of hi Security chief, he turned back to this Iconian refugee. "My apologies for not seeing you before now... Things have been a little chaotic... My officers, Commander Tamaska Holt my first officer and Lieutenant Tobru my Chief of Security... Please take a seat!"

Tia took her seat near Musk. There was an odd feeling she got from him, like an itch in her mind she could not scratch. That was the way people felt to her when they did not sit with the universe, if they were out of time, out of place. Tia had looked into altering her own resonance frequency to fit in here, but it wasn't as simple as it sounded.

At the same moment, the Ward Room doors slid open, revealing Glin Slorir Varin standing on the opposite side in the corridor. Having switched out of the heavy, armored uniform so common for the Cardassian Union's Orders he instead wore a fabric, royal blue tunic that mimicked the standard uniform. The Cardassian quickly surveyed the conference room, spotting the Iconian nearby.

In his traditionally haughty Cardassian tone Slorir spoke, "At the behest of the Cardassian government I am here to participate in this meeting, Captain."

Musk gave a polite nod to each of the Officers as he sat down. "I thank you for your hospitality Commander. This station is quite impressive and your staff, a credit to your skilled leadership." His eyes glanced towards Carter.

That one tiny movement gave Keiben the confirmation he needed. Something more had blossomed between Carter and this refugee through time. In one breath he was happy for Carter, she had always seemed very isolated, focused on her work and in a lot of ways disconnected from the others around her so seeing someone special in her life was heartening. In the same breath, could this Musk be trusted after all he is, or more accurately in this time, was a member of a ruthless race of conquerors.
"We all wanted to discuss with you what happens next!" the Betazoid jumped right into the main reason for being here and also bristling at the prospect of Slorir even being in the room. "Do you want to return to your own time?"

Musk sighed. "If I did return, it would only be to attend my own execution. I did what I did not in defiance of my people but in defence of them. We have been bought into this long and bloody conflict that grows more violent and blood soaked each year. I believed we could come to a negotiated peace but, In the eyes of my superiors, I have betrayed our people. and they do not forgive or forget. They would send a team to hunt me down and put me to a slow death. All I can do now is try and start a new life here."

"Once you make this choice there will be no going back... There is information about your species in the databanks... Not as much as we would have liked but some. I will release this information to you for review but it is not a gentle read!"
The Anthropologist in him was fascinated to see how Musk would reach to the recounting of the Iconian species through the ages of time against a living specimens experience within that society... This however was not the time for a scientific curiosity, it was something far more personal and he would also ensure that Counsellor Alessa was available for Musk.

"I will ask once more, please consider your answer... Do you wish to return to your own time?"

Slorir Varin sat coldly and silently staring at the Iconian refugee that was before them. The Cardassian Central Command had been very forthright with him about their goals in this region and desires for the future. While, often, Slorir and the Central Command were at odds in their beliefs, this time they were rather symmetric than parallel. "The Cardassian Union is prepared to also offer amnesty to you," the Cardassian official interrupted, "in addition to political asylum should you seek it."

Musk regarded Haistro for a moment, a bond of respect forming. "Then I would choose to remain here. I will provide you with any additional information you require in my species. Who Knows, I might even return to my home world at this time should I find the political and social trends have alter sufficiently enough for me to do so.

Carter shifted uncomfortably in her seat and cleared her throat. She had not been given clearance to discuss past events with him until it was decided what he was going to do. She looked at Haistro. "He... he doesn't know Sir."

"Know what?" He looked to Carter. The look on her face told him whatever it was, it was not good.

"You will understand in a few moments why I have been focusing on if you would want to return to your own time or not... The information I'm about to sum up for you means that we will be unable to return you to your own time for fear of contaminating the timeline and threatening the very future you are now seeing!"
Keiben's tone was dire but direct. "Do you stand by your choice to remain in this time?"

Tamaska who had been quiet through this whole proceeding, just mulling over things, spoke up. "From what it is sounding, Mister Musk, you would be a welcome addition to this time. I will echo, Commodore Haistro's question, would you stand by your choice to stay in this time?"

Musk looked at Carter and seemed to draw strength from her presence. He turned to Tamaska. "I do, now tell me what happened to my people."

The Cardassian Liaison Officer shifted in his seat, slightly, as he waited to hear what they would tell Mr. Musk about the timeline and the fate that befell his people. He, internally, debated just announcing what had happened outright to see how the Starfleet personnel tried to rectify the situation. Instead, he chose to remain quiet, a rarity for him, and allow the others to do their jobs.

Carter spoke first. "The central star of the T'Kon empire went supernova over 300 thousand years ago. I'm afraid your people did not survive. I'm sorry." She placed her hand on Musk's in a gesture of support. "What little we do know of your people is in the computer..."

Musk seemed to take the news quite well. After a moment he sighed "It does not surprise me, in fact, I told them they would end up wiping themselves out of they did not change. Looks like I was proven correct."

Tia could sense the sadness in Musk. After all, he'd just found out his people were gone. "I am sure some of your people survived Mr Musk." Tia spoke softly. "I speak from experience that when you find out your people are gone it can be hard to deal with, but we are never truly gone if one of us survives." she left out that fortunately for her people quite a bit survived even if they were spread across the galaxy. Their new home world was also a bonus.

"Well, as what was said, welcome to your new home Mr. Musk, hopefully you will be able to find happiness in this new era." Tamasaka speaking up.

"I am sorry Mr Musk. If there is anything that we can do to help your transition please do let us know... For now though, we will see to your immediate needs, somewhere to live and access to the database so you can find out more about this time... I'm sure Commander Carter would be happy to see to that!"

Keiben could easily sense the man's resolve, the inner calm infused with sadness at the news. He could and would no doubt be a benefit given his knowledge, perhaps even helping Lieutenant Han figure out the multitude of Iconian and T'Kon devices in the lab's vaults. In the same breath, he still had concerns. This was the first time he had encountered an Iconian for obvious reasons. The telepathic reads could easily be inaccurate as he had never experienced Iconian thoughts before.

"Carter" Keiben indicated gently that this was her moment to either say her peace or take Musk and give him the full tour of the station and get him settled into some real quarters.

Picking up on the hint from the Commodore, Lillian stood and gestured to Musk. "Come on I'll get you set in quarters and then give you a tour of the facility.

Musk smiled at the prospect of spending time with Carter. "I'd like that." And he too stood and followed her out the door.

Once the pair has left the room Keiben turned to the remaining gathering.
"I still have my concerns but they have been somewhat relaxed after this... thoughts?"

"I can see that something is going on between them, and it seems to be helping them both. Maybe keep an eye on them and monitor the situation minorly? I dont' want them to think that we're being too much of spies in this development." Tamaska replied.

"Agreed... And you Glinn?"
Keiben focused on the Cardassian in the room, curious as to his opinion realising he had been slightly more reserved than he had expected.

The Cardassian looked up from his datapad at the others in the room, carefully considering which way to go with his comments on the matter. Momentarily he was shocked that they had asked his opinion at all. But why wouldn't they? The Cardassian Union had every right to be in the room as the rest of them. They were a powerful government, a dominant force in the Alpha Quadrant. They were legitimate and his people were prepared to offer asylum to Mr. Musk themselves if things with the Federation didn't go as planned.

"I recommend caution," he found himself saying before he could hold himself back. "Something about this exchange was far too... chummy for my tastes."

Keiben couldn't help but feel the same. Something that grated against him because it meant the Cardassian and he shared similar opinions and opened the door for other similarities to surface. Still, he choked down his own feelings towards the man and found himself quietly nodding in agreement.
"I couldn't help but feel the same.... Tia, can you keep a discreet eye on Musk... for now! Just until we have a clearer understanding of him and his motivations! I would welcome your thoughts as well... Being an El-Aurian you have certain insights the rest of us don't necessarily see"

Varin was also curious to hear what Tia had to say, having been well versed in El-Aurians having a form of second sight so to speak.

Tia nodded as Keiben asked her to keep an eye. She'd had someone trailing him since he came on board anyway. "I would limit his access to our computers." she offered. "I know he is out of his time but his people are not stupid and have an intuition about technology. There is a duality to him I cannot quite place yet but part of that might be that he is out of his time as much as I am out of my own universe. I always recommend caution and restraint when dealing with someone who claims to be happy to be here when they have just lost everything they have ever known. I have seen it all too well." she said looking away in thought for a moment. The memories of her past life against the Dominion were all too telling for her.

The Cardassian Glinn absently chuckled at the comment from Tia, "You'll have to excuse me for that." He was thinking about when he first arrived aboard Deep Space 21 and his feelings at seeing the Cardassian built station under Federation control. He had said much the same thing, and he didn't really mean it himself.

****

Meanwhile, the door to one of the staterooms opened and Lillian gestured for Musk to enter. He walked in, looking around the room, his eyes finally resting back on Carter. He smiled at her "I wanted to thank you for you hospitality."

Lillian smiled and blushed slightly as he took a step towards her, she found herself looking away coyly "It our pleasure. We want to make sure you're comfortable here."

He took another step closer "And I wanted to thank you personally. You have made this difficult transition though time much more bearable. I've always thought myself a good judge of character and I can tell you are loyal and kind and.... very beautiful."

Lillian blushed even more as she looked up at his eyes. "Tell me... what is it you want" She asked almost breathlessly.

Anther step and he was right infront of her. "I think the rest of the station can wait, would you join me for a drink?"

He slipped his arms around her waist. She did not protest. She moved her face closer to his and whispered "Just a drink....?" as the stateroom doors closed.

OFF

 

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