Episode 102. A Vote for the Future

[beep] I am ready, Captain Rodriguez. I have compiled all the information you requested.

[beep] Thank you, Captain Rodriguez. The first suggestion is to establish a colony in the Proxima Centauri system, located 4.24 light-years from Earth. In my reality, the first human colonists settled there in the 22nd century. Proxima Centauri B is rich in resources, but frequent stellar flares will pose challenges. With Tal'Kyr's 26th-century technology and the Enterprise's 21st-century resources, it will be possible to build protective domes and adapt the local fauna and flora for settlement.

[beep] Ensign Flores, the images I am projecting are extrapolations based on available data, not authentic photographs.

[beep] Very well, Captain Rodriguez. The second suggestion is to return to Earth. Thanks to the information Tarsi gathered during her journey through this timeline with Tal'Kyr, we know the Tholians have occupied the planet since the starbase was destroyed. At this very moment, they are flushing out the last pockets of resistance. First, Area 51 will have to be retaken and the assaults repelled. From there, we can set up our headquarters and wage a fight whose chances of success are estimated at 17 %.

[beep] Correct, Colonel Gomard, but not impossible. I estimate it will take humans 521 years to drive the Tholians off Earth.

[beep] Captain Rodriguez asked me to present the main scenarios.

[beep] Lieutenant Commander Corda, I do not have that information.

[beep] Yes, Colonel. With a 48% margin of error, at this hour the number of human survivors would be approximately 5 million.

[beep] That scenario is the third suggestion. Its chances of success are 0.001 %.

[beep] The Enterprise is already at full capacity. For such a rescue mission, the Nauvoo docked in the bunkers must be included in the equation. However, from what I read in NATO's files, those vessels were not prepared to venture into space.

[beep] The fourth suggestion is to restore the Prime Timeline by correcting the contamination in 1954.

[beep] Thank you, Captain Rodriguez. When Schak'Irra emerged from the vortex in 1954, we were attacked by an unknown vessel and crashed on Earth. That event is what caused the temporal contamination.

[beep] Our mission will be to travel back to 1954 and neutralize that vessel before Schak'Irra arrives.

[beep] I was getting to that, Commander Chen. To travel back in time to 1954, Captain T'Met and Commander Tarsi will take command of Tal'Kyr and create a temporal vortex. Once it is stabilized, Tal'Kyr and the Enterprise will enter it. Once we arrive, we'll neutralize the unknown vessel.

[beep] That is correct. Captain T'Met and I were aboard Schak'Irra, but no data was recorded, since our fate was decided in a matter of seconds.

[beep] Do not sell the Tholian's exoskeleton before you have decrystallized it, Commander Chen. We know it is a heavy-tonnage vessel with heavy artillery.

[beep] Affirmative, Counselor Manu. To do so, I would have needed a little time to analyze local sensor emissions. In addition, the Tholians are an isolationist species, and Starfleet has very little data on this species. For all these reasons, I am unable to provide detailed information on the vessel we are about to engage.

[beep] I do not share your opinion, Colonel. We have the element of surprise, we know its position, and we will have numerical superiority.

[beep] The unknown vessel will be caught in a crossfire by the Enterprise, Tal'Kyr, your shuttles, and your DXS.

[beep] The Enterprise and her crew will be under the protection of Starfleet's Temporal Division. Captain T'Met aboard Schak'Irra will offer you two alternatives.

[beep] May I continue?

[beep] The young Captain T'Met will follow Federation directives by relocating you in 1954 to a Class M planet where you will not be able to create cultural contamination. From that perspective, it is highly likely she will choose a planet in the Proxima Centauri system, as I proposed in my first suggestion.

[beep] Those aboard the Enterprise may apply for temporal asylum and will be welcomed in the 26th century, where you will be able to start a new life.