Meeting The Past

Posted on Wed Dec 21st, 2022 @ 12:56pm by Lieutenant K’lar & 2nd Lieutenant Orjheza zh’Kaakret
Edited on on Wed Dec 21st, 2022 @ 4:32pm

2,425 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 114 - A Time and Place for Everything
Location: Type 7 Shuttle
Timeline: MD1 1330 hours

<1330 hours>

"I'm telling you", said the Andorian woman forcefully. "I'm qualified to fly this thing, sir." Her voice was high pitched with a sense of urgency behind it.

"Marine", K'lar replied. "You are a fighter pilot... This is a science shuttle." His long Klingon fingers spread out like a net over the colorful touch screen panels as he flew the tiny ship out of Shuttlebay 20.

The type 7 banked downwards and spun into a wide spiral. K'lar began the journey of guiding the little vessel on an exit path between the multitude of parked ships, now also representing different timelines

"Is this the fastest path towards the Pegasus, sir?" 2LT Orjheza zh'Kaakret simply couldn't seem to relax. She was used to flying a speedy, agile Valkyrie for the SFMC. Now here she was being shunted around by some teal collared Klingon in an obsolete bucket.

K'lar understood the Andorian's subconscious habits better than she could have recognized it herself. "You see... I would not be a Klingon scientist if I were not also wise", he said.

"Wha-? Of course you-", she started to reply before being interrupted.

"But this mission is not about me, Lieutenant", K'lar said. "Right now we are speeding across time and space to meet your ancestor... Not mine."

Orjheza huffed and rolled her eyes. Her stark white hair was wrapped tight to her scalp and rolled into a small bun. Dark blue skin almost looked more Bolian cobalt than cerulean Andorian. "Umm and so what if I am nervous then? Huh, sir? You want me to just... To just... Stay calm? And then when you won't let me relax by flying the shuttle-" The words had been rolling off quickly from her tongue.

"Lieutenant", K'lar interrupted. Her mouth seemed to move a warp factor a minute. "Everything will be fine." He turned to her and looked into her eyes until he felt the two connect. "I also want to thank you for agreeing to this study."

Orjheza visually appeared calmer after finally listening to the Klingon's booming voice. "It's... No, I understand." She smiled between words. "I'm in Starfleet too." She looked out the view screen as various ships filled their view from the spacious main window. "I have to play my part in solving this mystery too", she added.

"That's the way", said K'lar. "It will only be a little further." He looked over his shoulder towards the rear of the shuttle. Its retrofit which had underway with the engineering team was finalized. The mid-body compartment contained extra seating, crew stations and a replicator. Powerful dorsal scanners could be operated here.

The small aft compartment had been upgraded into a cramped lab. Various equipment was ready to scan and analyze different materials. Each item was connected to a modified computer. A small cot-like bed gave room for one to sit or lay based on their preference. There was also one chair alongside a narrow desk, with bright illumination providing clarity throughout the small space.

"Are you going to poke and prod and umm", Orjheza started playfully. "Are you going to experiment on me like one of your targ lab rats?"

"Yes", K'lar replied grimly.

Orjheza was taken aback because she thought he'd see she was joking and react one way or another. Instead she was now left to ponder the reality that he really did experiment on targ... And now she truly was part of an oddity, or at least her ancestor was anyway.

"I just never asked to be a part of this", she said as she recognized the ship they were approaching.

"But yet you are curious", K'lar responded.

The Andorian woman chuckled dismissively. "Sir.. That's enough with all the Klingon wisdom and therapy."

K'lar glared at her. Their eyes looked in depth at each others' as K'lar tried to figure Orjheza out. He could see the jocularity. The camaraderie. His expression warmed as he burst into laughter. "Do not distract me, Lieutenant." He continued to laugh. "Don't distract me."

He forced himself to practice a contraction. He noticed humans often said things like 'we're' or 'they'll'. A Bolian once pointed out that he avoids using them and K'lar occasionally tries to force them into his speech.

Orjheza laughed and said, "Fine. You can fly." Having gotten her laugh from the Klingon, she stood and began to explore the cockpit, leaving K'lar in a good mood. Internally, she cursed her luck about being babysat by a Klingon scientist. She distracted herself by scanning ships on a large science panel alongside the rear wall.

K'lar felt himself start to get agitated. He could instinctively feel himself wanting to let her fly. The science officer cursed her Andorian treachery in his mind before brushing away his Klingon mentality.

"Uhh", K'lar paused to clear his throat with a hrumph. "Yes.. Forget the shuttle." K'lar tapped a minor course correction into the ship's path. "Tell me about your House", K'lar started before pausing. "Ah.. Your clan! I meant your clan. That is the Andorian manner of speaking... Yes?"

Orjheza laughed for a few moments, not having expected such a question. "Well sir", she began. "It's a boring way of life. Ice mining a bunch of asteroids and ice plains which all look the same."

"But you come from a frozen land", K'lar said. "Are you not used to such places?" He accidentally seemed to imply that he thought her homeward was just as bland as the space rocks she'd mentioned.

"Such places?" 2nd Lt. zh'Kaakret sounded offended. "Andoria is diverse and beautiful!"

K'lar's eyebrows raised quizzically as if in doubt. "Is it not a frozen ball of ice?" That did not help.

"No sir!" The marine was not one to bow to some random science officer. "There are many cities.. Underground. Sir. You might actually enjoy learning more about some of the wildlife there."

Orjheza sarcastically stretched out several words within her last sentence. She was trying to find a way to respectfully insult the fact that he was a science officer who seemed to know so little about Andoria.

K'lar burst into laughter upon noticing her tone. "Qapla!" He banged his large fist on the hard edge of the shuttle's panel. "You are a warrior." He put emphasis on the word 'are'.

"I'm just worked up", said the pale blue woman. "Meeting someone I know as an older woman.. But she's my age? I can't even", Orjheza froze in thought. "Imagine."

"After meeting you", K'lar said dramatically. "I am the one who is nervous to have two of you."

Orjheza laughed and felt her cheeks tint indigo in a blush.

"Coming within visual range of the Pegasus." The ship became visible as two other vessels parted to form an opening. K'lar had been flying a path between ships to practice flying the Type 7. He hadn't much practice before. The truth was that he could have plotted a course to avoid many of these twists and turns.

"The history", 2nd Lt zh'Kaakret said. "The prestige... I can't imagine my grand zhen serving here." Andorians were raised by bond groups of four genders. "She began her science officer career there."

K'lar sent a signal to the Pegasus and received an acknowledgement. Moments later the flash and sounds of a transporter signal beamed a diminutive Andorian lady into position.

Orjheza turned several shades lighter, anxiously wrapped her arm close to her chest and began to stand. "Shryza", she called out.

The other woman made eye contact and appeared equally shaken. "Mr. K'lar helped set up this meeting. I contacted the Starbase Science Department to share information."

K'lar began to speak. "I told her of the many connections between crew past and present."

Ensign Shryza zh'Kaakret was one of Orjheza's grandmothers. She was dressed in the maroon top and black pants worn throughout 2295. A large Type B tricorder was worn on a thin strap across her chest. "And we were surprised to find ties between us... Orjheza." The woman from the past smiled. "I can't even begin to put this into words.. What this feels like."

K'lar scanned both Andorians carefully. He checked for signs of exposure to recent temporal anomalies. One of the main indicators of this is the chronitron radiation levels. K'lar noticed a different signature between Orjeza and her zhen. But Shryza seemed to be lacking signs of exposure to a recent anomaly.

"I need to run more tests", K'lar said as he returned to his seat, folded his tricorder and holstered it. "We shall return to the labs and begin a detailed exam."

"Say, can I fly the shuttle?" Shryza asked the question with such a sweet expression on her face. She looked similar to Orjheza, but appeared younger with more of an innocent exuberance.

"No!" "No!" K'lar and Orjheza replied in unison.

"Alright", Shryza said as she rolled her eyes and looked confused.

Orjheza immediately seemed to feel bad. "No! No, listen.. Flying was a big issue between me and the Klingon. We just stopped arguing about it."

"The Klingon?" K'lar replied half playfully.

"Sir! Let me finish", Orjheza cut off K'lar knowing he was teasing her. "He wouldn't let me fly either is all", she said with a smile. She felt bad about snapping so quickly.

"It's no big deal", Shryza replied. "It's just. Wow!" Her eyes were wide as saucers as she spoke, looking around the cabin. "It's not everyday that one beams down into a shuttle from... What year is it?"

"2399", K'lar replied while banking the shuttle back towards a return course to the starbase. The tiny ship sped up as it finished the sharp turn.

There were a few moments of silence. Shryza spoke again. "The turn of a century. It just seems odd to me." Shryza adjusted the much older and larger tricorder as she sat. The Type B was revolutionary in its time, but was now a relic. One which K'lar noticed as a technology enthusiast.

Shryza lifted her instrument and began a scan of K'lar. Orjheza stood behind the two seats and held onto a chair. She could sit in the mid section cabin, but would rather stand in the cockpit. The marine was absolutely enamored with her zhen, although she felt too anxious to say much.

The tiny shuttle continued to fly through the menagerie of assorted ships. Some were the usual vessels which frequented Starbase 400 on a regular basis. Other ships were so out of place that just seeing them felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity.

K'lar couldn't help but notice a B'rel turning between an Ambassador class starship and the USS Essex. Upon running a scan, he noticed the ship was the IKS Hej'DoQ.

"No", he began to say while shaking his head. "It does not make sense. How could?" He froze for a moment, mouth open and head tilted towards the small green shape cutting through space ahead."

K'lar hailed them and sped ahead at full impulse. The shuttle rocked at the sudden increase, bucking Orjheza as she held on. "Relax, boss", Orjheza quipped.

"You don't understand." K'lar spoke in a way which was now different. Somber. Concerned. "This can't be."

Shryza turned to K'lar. "By chance.. Do you know somebody on that vessel?"

K'lar turned to them. "That ship was my home." The science shuttle had sensors powerful enough to run a detailed scan from this distance. "Reading a skeleton crew." He was truthfully checking to ensure he himself was not onboard. There appeared to be four older males and three women on the barebones ship.

He began hailing the Hej'DoQ and was connected. "Klingon vessel, you are experiencing a temporal disturbance. I must ask you.. What year is it?"

A voice responded over the shuttle's comms, =/\="This is the Hej'DoQ.. Federation shuttle? But you have the voice of a Klingon! You work for Starfleet?"=/\=

K'lar replied, "Please... The year."

=/\="2360."=/\=

"If I can have you report to Starbase 400 to-" K'lar began to speak but was cut off.

=/\="We cannot leave our vessel."=/\=

"I am personally familiar with the tales of the Hej'Doq", K'lar said. He didn't tell them that he was her nephew. K'lar definitely did not tell her how much her teachings impacted his life.

Kintarra, daughter of M'Varn, was a revolutionary Klingon in some aspects. She was part of an underground movement based on research done with the Klingon augment virus. Such studies were shunned across most of the Klingon Empire. Her group's work focused less on genetic manipulation and more on Klingon biology.

Other members aboard the Hej'DoQ included house members who were instrumental in helping the KDF and the Federation build upon early, shaky ties.

After several moments of silence K'lar spoke again. "I must insist. I will send you more detailed instructions once you dock." K'lar sent a text acknowledgment to ensure a written channel was open as well. This was where he'd send them a map to the meeting location and more detailed written Information about the rendezvous point.

If only they would accept his invitation.

=/\="Federation Shuttle. We are intrigued.. We will meet you at this Starbase."=/\=

The verbal channel closed. K'lar once again set the shuttle on its original course. It had to turn away from the Klingon ship it had been trying to pursue.

"This is no coincidence", K'lar said as he turned to Shryza and then Orjheza. "I think there may be more than just a few ties to the past." K'lar felt as if the encounter was forced upon him, as opposed to a random arrival.

"We need to run more tests", Shryza told him with a concerned look written across her golden irises.

Sensing an opportunity in the look of distraction on K'lar's face, Orjheza chimed in. "I know you two are bonding over the whole paradox thing.. But if you want to get back to the station faster, you really should let me fly."

Almost in a daze, K'lar stood. "I.. I can use this time to run more scans." He unholstered his tricorder and began a scan of Orjheza. he wanted to compare the DNA sequences between the two looking for any sign of temporal energy signatures.

Orjheza quickly hopped into the pilot's seat and began quickly tapping the controls. The shuttle was now joined in its path by the impromptu B'rel escort. Its shape drew nearer and nearer to the shuttle, soon engulfing it under its wings.

Officers on both ships sped back to space dock, where they would be forced to confront ghosts from the past and spirits of the future.

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