Episode 84. Wrapped Up
Context
- Coordinated Universal Time
- Saturday, August 10, 2024 - 21:03
- Location
-
- Earth
- USA
- Nevada
- Area 51
- Hangar
- VSS Schak'Irra
- Bridge
- Timeline
- Schak'Irra Timeline
- Previously
-
Guided by Agnes Rodriguez's last thoughts, Acting Captain Angie Chen led her team to Area 51, where the wreck of the twenty-sixth-century temporal vessel rests: Schak'Irra. Under General Cliffton's supervision, T'Met managed to partially reactivate the vessel's artificial intelligence, Lingua, inactive since 1954. Still confused and wounded in her memory, Lingua remembers the crash and begs to be taken home. After a verbal standoff with Cliffton, Angie obtains permission to requisition the vessel's equipment and components in order to reinforce the Enterprise against the Tholian threat.
Characters
| Name | Affiliation / Branch | Title / Rank | Species | Original Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angie Chen | NATO / Special Fleet | Commander Acting Captain |
Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi | Starfleet / Temporal Division | Commander | Andorian | Prime Timeline |
| T'Met | Starfleet / Temporal Division | Captain | Vulcan | Prime Timeline |
| Robert Gomard | NATO / Army | Colonel | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Eros Vitos | NATO / Special Fleet | Ensign | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Emilie Flores | NATO / Special Fleet | Ensign | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
Manifest
| USS Enterprise | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | NATO |
| Location | Earth Orbit |
| Captain | Angie Chen (Acting) |
| First Officer | N/A |
| Pilot | Eric Corda |
| Communications | Emilie Flores |
| Operations | Charlene Savea |
| Tactical | Eric Corda Charlene Savea |
| Science | Manu |
| Advanced Weapons | Eros Vitos |
| Sickbay | Victor S. Calpel |
| Counselor/Consultant | Manu |
| Custodian | Manu |
| Passengers |
Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi (Confidential) Robert Gomard and his squad T'Met and 4 Vulcan survivors from Schak'Irra Emmanuel Macron |
| Detainees | Vladimir Joseph Putin and his bodyguards |
| Ground Team |
Angie Chen Robert Gomard Eros Vitos Tarsi T'Met Several crew members |
TL;DR
While T'Met and Tarsi pack up Lingua's components, Angie, Eros and Gomard explore Schak'Irra, mixing wonder with comic detours. Between soldiers' jokes, mission memories and science-fiction references, the trio recovers a hint of lightness - until Angie has a sudden realization: going back in time might save Agnes. But the idea quickly runs into her companions' logic. Reality reasserts itself: first, they must bring back the equipment and cover the presence of their allies from the future. Just as everything finally seems under control, an urgent distress message from the starbase interrupts the good mood. The Enterprise must leave at once...
Story
While T'Met and Tarsi pack up Lingua's components under the watchful eye of General Cliffton and a few Area 51 engineers, Angie, Robert and Eros continue exploring Schak'Irra.
They reach the bridge.
The silence there is denser.
As he settles into the captain's chair, Colonel Gomard studies the environment with feigned admiration, as though he perfectly understood the subtleties of the consoles around him.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Comfortable chair.
Feels like a real movie set.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
Do not touch anything, Robert.
You would be capable of launching a torpedo by accident.
Ens. Eros Vitos (Weapons Engineer)
No risk, Captain.
The vessel is powered down. The weapon systems are inactive.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Hey, Mr. Splick, it would appear we are being chased by Ben-Hur and his chariot!
Ens. Eros Vitos (Weapons Engineer)
Precisely! Captain Clark, it would be rational to flee and aim our lasers aft!
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Brilliant as ever, Mr. Splick.
Make it so!
Ens. Eros Vitos (Weapons Engineer)
That is when the Venusian Splick jumps onto a console and presses every button with unmatched speed.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
What the hell are you two doing?!
Did you hit your heads or what?!
Ens. Eros Vitos (Weapons Engineer)
It is a classic from Galaxy Patrol.
In one episode of the series, the USS Advance is chased by a Roman chariot and a 2CV in the asteroid belt of the Gadouean system.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
I know that episode perfectly well!
That is no reason to behave like children!
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Hey... easy there.
Two minutes to unwind are not going to kill us.
We just came out of a mission where we nearly lost our skins.
What did we get? A few hours to breathe?
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
Go tell that to Agnes, who is in a coma in the Enterprise sickbay.
We do not even know if she will make it!
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
You think I do not feel guilty?
If I could go back in time and rewrite that mission... I would.
Without hesitation.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
Of course!
That is it!
You are a genius, Robert!
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Uh... thank you?
Wait. What?
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
Go back in time!
Agnes was considering doing it to help Tarsi recover her reality.
We could ask her to take us a few hours before the start of the mission.
Ens. Eros Vitos (Weapons Engineer)
Captain...
I am no expert in temporal paradoxes, but that means we would all end up facing our doubles.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
I agree with Vitos.
Do not add unknowns to equations that are already unsolvable.
We will end up with sauerkraut bolognese topped with chocolate shellfish.
And believe me, that does not digest well.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
You are both right...
I have other problems to deal with.
When we return to the starbase, Macron will tell Admiral Michaux everything.
He will discover that we hid Tarsi's presence from him... and Tal'Kyr's.
I am going to have to invent some wild story to cover for Agnes.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Or...
You bring Macron in on it.
Once he is reinstated as President, Agnes's coalition will be even stronger with an elected official on our side.
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
So then, conspirators...
What are you plotting?
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
Oh, Tarsi.
Are you done packing up Lingua?
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
Yes.
She is well secured. In a huge box.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
Captain T'Met is not with you?
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
With General Cliffton.
They are recovering equipment in an adjacent hangar.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
What kind of equipment?
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
Weapons.
Plasma turrets, latinum, dilithium.
Components to increase the energy capacities of the Enterprise... and Tal'Kyr.
And the crew's personal effects.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
Very well.
And here? In the vessel itself... what can we still recover?
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
Nothing else useful.
Except perhaps... the vessel's identification plaque mounted on that bulkhead.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
That one?
Why do you want to take it?
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
It is a piece of history in itself.
I need to bring it back to the twenty-sixth century to prove that Schak'Irra was indeed destroyed.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
Eros. Get your tools and remove the plaque.
A few hours later, the four shuttles are loaded to the brim with components from Schak'Irra.
The team is preparing to leave Area 51.
For the return trip, General Cliffton has opened a secure air corridor, avoiding the detour through Cheyenne Mountain.
Aboard Herbie 53, the atmosphere has relaxed.
Colonel Gomard's dubious jokes make everyone laugh - or almost everyone.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
This one will crack you up.
Why does Angie always take a shower before going to the bridge?
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
I am expecting the worst...
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
I know!
So she does not drive the Vulcans away with her human exhalations.
Capt. T'Met
Illogical, Tarsi.
Captain Chen is unaware that Vulcans are particularly sensitive to human body odors.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
Uh... is that a joke?
Capt. T'Met
No.
But I grew accustomed to it during my stay with the Russians.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Ah, the Russians and their delicate aroma...
I never could stand their stench.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
That is the first time anyone has told me I am repulsive.
Ha. Ha.
Capt. T'Met
Forgive me, Captain Chen. I did not intend to be offensive.
On Schak'Irra, I was able to recover pills to dull my sense of smell.
It is a common practice among Vulcans who work alongside other species.
It facilitates intercultural interactions.
The small group bursts out laughing at that remark, appreciating the irony of the situation.
But their moment of relaxation is interrupted when they receive a call from the Enterprise.
Ens. Emilie Flores (Communications)
Hello, Herbie 53.
This is the Enterprise.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
Herbie 53.
We are listening, Flores.
Ens. Emilie Flores (Communications)
I have just picked up a distress message from the starbase.
We have been ordered to return there urgently.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
Copy, Flores.
We will be aboard in ten minutes.
Prepare the vessel for immediate departure.
Chen, out.
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
She sounded panicked.
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Acting Capt.)
Yes.
And that is not like her.