Episode 130. Touit'Air's Plea
Context
- Stardate
- 231738.174
- Location
-
- Earth
- USA
- San Francisco
- Tribunal
- Timeline
- Prime Timeline
- Previously
-
In 1954, Agnes and Angie triggered the Enterprise's self-destruct to neutralize the Tarantula. At the last instant, the covert mission from 2554 tore them out of the flames: T'Met, Charlene, and Emilie retrieved them through a temporal bubble, also taking the pieces of Lingua... and the Ducati Money Penny. Back in 2554, the team reappeared inside the temporal chamber of VSS Schak'Irra, where Commander Zaneth-Myra Lysana orchestrated their extraction. But with their presence aboard illegal, T'Met had to face her younger double in an incandescent Vulcan duel before reaching the exfiltration point. Transported to San Francisco, Agnes, Angie, and the others reunited with their allies at the foot of a public transporter. No time to breathe: Tarsi's trial is underway, behind closed doors. T'Met knocked out a guard, forced open the tribunal door... and the courtroom awaits them.
Characters
| Name | Affiliation / Branch | Title / Rank | Species | Original Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agnes V. Rodriguez | NATO / Special Fleet | Captain | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Angie Chen | NATO / Special Fleet | Commander | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi | Starfleet / Temporal Division | Commander | Andorian | Prime Timeline |
| T'Met | Starfleet / Temporal Division | Captain | Vulcan | Prime Timeline |
| Touit'Air | United Federation of Planets | Counsel | Aenar | Prime Timeline |
| Lingua | Starfleet / Temporal Division | N/A | Artificial intelligence | Prime Timeline |
| Quihoui | Starfleet / Temporal Division | Admiral | Vulcan | Prime Timeline |
| Jora Tannel | Starfleet / JAG | Admiral / JAG President | Trill | Prime Timeline |
| K'Mara | Starfleet / JAG | Admiral / JAG Judge | Klingon | Prime Timeline |
| Grakk | Starfleet / JAG | Admiral / JAG Judge | Tellarite | Prime Timeline |
| Censsukr' | Starfleet / JAG | Admiral / JAG Judge | Caitian | Prime Timeline |
Manifests
| USS Enterprise Destroyed in 1954 Last known manifest | VSS Schak'Irra | |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliation | NATO | Starfleet / Ni'Var |
| Location | 1954, near Earth | 2554, docked at Starfleet Starbase |
| Captain | Agnes V. Rodriguez | T'Met (young) |
| First Officer | Angie Chen | Zaneth-Myra Lysana (older Tarsi) |
| Artificial Intelligence | Lingua (Unofficial) | Lingua (initial version) |
| Pilot | Eric Corda | N/A |
| Communications | Emilie Flores | T'Killa |
| Operations | Charlene Savea | T'Less-Cop |
| Tactical | Angie Chen | N/A |
| Science | Manu | N/A |
| Engineering | Gornok (Unofficial) | N/A |
| Advanced Weapons | Eros Vitos | N/A |
| Security | Robert Gomard (Unofficial) | N/A |
| Sickbay | Victor S. Calpel K'hoka Khol'a (assistant) |
N/A |
| Counselor/Consultant | Manu | N/A |
| Custodian | Manu | N/A |
TL;DR
Inside the San Francisco tribunal, Counsel Touit'Air uses a recess to reactivate Lingua and analyze the data brought back from the past. When the hearing resumes, he calls Agnes and then T'Met, who confirm the reality of the contaminated timeline, Tarsi's role in the attempt to correct it, and T'Met's 70 years of captivity. Then Lingua reveals the existence of a secret memory block: just before the 1954 mission, someone modified the crash coordinates, the crew transport coordinates, and the Schak'Irra's return vortex. The author of the manipulations? Admiral Quihoui. Touit'Air then turns the accusation around: Tarsi did not attempt a temporal attack; she was sabotaged. Cornered by the revelations, Quihoui cracks and quietly leaves the room, pushing Agnes and T'Met to immediately give chase.
Story
We enter the large courtroom discreetly, where Tarsi's trial is already underway. The setting is solemn, and the atmosphere is charged with tension. The sharp eyes of the security guards settle on us immediately. They are not there as decoration, their weapons trained and ready to intervene at the slightest false move. My heart races slightly, but I force myself to maintain a stoic attitude. At the back of the room, three JAG members and a president sit with palpable authority. To the right, Admiral Quihoui represents the prosecution; to the left, I spot Tarsi seated beside an Aenar, her attorney.
T'Met steps forward with unshakable confidence toward Counsel Touit'Air, Tarsi's attorney, who is visibly absorbed by his opponent's accusations. T'Met whispers something I cannot hear, but a flash of understanding crosses Counsel Touit'Air's eyes.
Capt. T'Met
Counsel, we have brought you what you requested.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
Thank you, my dear.
Adm. Jora Tannel (JAG President)
Counsel Touit'Air, I remind you that this hearing is being held behind closed doors. Who are these people who have just entered?
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
Excuse me, Madam President. My associates have just brought me new evidence to complete the file of my client, Vexoriana Lyss'ra Tarsi. I ask the court for a recess so I may review it.
Adm. Quihoui (Temporal Division)
Objection, Your Honor. Counsel Touit'Air is well known for delaying tactics whenever he feels control slipping away.
Adm. Jora Tannel (JAG President)
Objection overruled, Admiral Quihoui. Counsel Touit'Air, I grant you 30 minutes. The hearing will resume at 11:00.
The president suspends the session with a sharp strike of the gavel. The JAG members rise and withdraw. During the half hour we have been granted, T'Met works to reactivate Lingua on a makeshift device. Counsel Touit'Air consults the AI and the data collected throughout her journey through the past of the contaminated reality. Soon after, President Jora Tannel returns to the room and announces the resumption of the hearing with a strike of the gavel. Our group takes position again at the back, attentive to the defense's plea.
Adm. Jora Tannel (JAG President)
The hearing may resume. The defense has the floor.
Adm. Quihoui (Temporal Division)
Objection, Madam President! The prosecution had not finished its presentation.
Adm. K'Mara (JAG Member)
Please sit down, Admiral Quihoui! I remind you that this tribunal is not under your jurisdiction, and that only President Jora Tannel is empowered to define the conduct of the trial.
Adm. Grakk (JAG Member)
Counsel Touit'Air, you have the floor.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
Thank you. I call Captain Agnes Valentine Rodriguez to the stand.
Adm. Quihoui (Temporal Division)
Objection! According to Earth's archives, this person is a criminal convicted in the 21st century for the murder of one Angie Chen. Her testimony is inadmissible and irrelevant!
Cmdr. Angie Chen (Number One)
Say, Agnes, what the hell is this? Do you know what she's talking about?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
She's talking about our doubles in this temporality. Apparently, I was on the payroll of the Russian Secret Services.
Adm. Censsukr' (JAG Member)
Objection heard, but overruled. Counsel Touit'Air, please proceed directly to the relevant point.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
Miss Rodriguez, please place your right hand on the truth sensor and state your identity.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Agnes Valentine Rodriguez. Born July 5, 1985, in Namur, Belgium. Captain of NATO's Special Fleet, assigned to USS Enterprise, NCC-1701.
Adm. Quihoui (Temporal Division)
Objection! NATO never possessed starships. We all know here that Enterprise was built by Starfleet in the 23rd century!
Adm. Grakk (JAG Member)
Objection overruled. Please continue, Counsel.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
Captain Rodriguez, do you know the accused present here, Vexoriana Lyss'ra Tarsi? If so, under what circumstances did you meet her?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Yes, I recognize Tarsi. On July 31, 2024, Enterprise was on mission in orbit around Earth when we received a signal from the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon. I ordered my first officer, Angie Chen, to establish first contact.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
What information did that first contact reveal to you?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Tarsi tried to convince us that we were not supposed to exist and that our reality was the result of a temporal accident that occurred in 1954, caused by a 26th-century ship, VSS Schak'Irra.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
Did you believe her initial revelations?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Not immediately, but over the months, Tarsi's predictions all proved accurate. We were at an impasse, and I eventually accepted her version of events.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
That is when, together with Tarsi, you decided to travel back in time to 1954 in order to correct the temporal contamination and restore the Prime continuum?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Exactly, Counsel. I sacrificed my ship in order to destroy the Tarantula, which had ambushed Schak'Irra.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
So, in a manner of speaking, Schak'Irra returned safely thanks to your efforts. Thank you, Captain Rodriguez. Please step down. I call Captain T'Met to the stand.
Adm. Quihoui (Temporal Division)
Objection! Captain T'Met is a member of the Temporal Division and is bound by confidentiality agreements. By testifying, she would violate those agreements!
Adm. Censsukr' (JAG Member)
Is that correct, Captain T'Met?
Capt. T'Met
It is partially correct. Upon my return from the mission, Admiral Quihoui gave me a document resembling a confidentiality agreement, but as of this moment, I have not signed it.
Adm. Censsukr' (JAG Member)
Objection overruled. Please take the stand.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
Captain T'Met, please place your right hand on the truth sensor and state your identity, please.
Capt. T'Met
T'Met, daughter of Salekk and T'Ribble, born January 4, 2245, on Vulcan. Captain in Starfleet, Temporal Division, assigned to command VSS Schak'Irra until stardate 231730.4.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
Forgive the indiscreet nature of my question, but could you tell us your biological age at the beginning of the 1954 mission and your current age?
Capt. T'Met
At the beginning of the mission, I was 32 years old. Upon my return in 2554, I had reached the age of 102.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
In other words, you state that your mission lasted 70 years?
Capt. T'Met
Correct, Counsel. When we arrived in 1954, we were attacked by an unknown ship. Schak'Irra could not withstand it, and I ordered the AI Lingua to crash on Earth while transporting the crew to a secure location.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
What Starfleet instructions should you have applied in such a situation?
Capt. T'Met
Avoid any technological contamination of the local population and conceal our presence while waiting for rescue.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
How do you explain humans from the 20th century getting their hands on Schak'Irra and capturing your crew?
Capt. T'Met
My instructions were not followed. Lingua deliberately ignored the coordinates I had given her. Initially, Schak'Irra was supposed to be swallowed by the Litke Deep and the crew transported near the shores of the Beaufort Sea.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
Yet Schak'Irra was spotted on the surface and recovered by the Americans, who exploited its technology, while your crew was captured by the Soviets. Why did Lingua ignore your directives?
Capt. T'Met
I discovered the truth only 70 years later, after Captain Rodriguez and Tarsi freed me from the Russians, when we recovered Lingua from the wreck of Schak'Irra in Area 51. By reinstalling her later on NATO's Enterprise, I discovered a secure memory block causing a behavioral malfunction. The analysis revealed that the instructions I had transmitted in 1954 were accompanied by priority counterorders. Those data had been recorded before we even departed.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
You are therefore suggesting that someone already knew the details of the events before your mission even began?
Capt. T'Met
Affirmative, Counsel. Lingua can testify to it.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
I request the court's authorization to activate the AI of VSS Schak'Irra so she can reveal this memory block to us.
Adm. Jora Tannel (JAG President)
Authorization granted, Counsel.
Lingua
...I forgive you, Captain Rodriguez. It was an immense joy to have been reactivated on Enterprise... Oh, I am no longer on Enterprise. What is happening? Where am I???
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
AI Lingua, you are back in 2554, at the San Francisco tribunal. You contain secure data that Captain T'Met isolated. Can you display them for us?
Lingua
Search in progress... Memory block found... Recorded on stardate 231538.1, 5 hours before VSS Schak'Irra departed for the 1954 mission.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
What does this memory block contain?
Lingua
Three coordinate corrections: the crash site of VSS Schak'Irra on Earth, the crew transport site, and the coordinates of the wormhole for Schak'Irra's return to the 26th century.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
I draw the court's attention to the fact that the wormhole coordinates that allowed Schak'Irra to return in 2554 are inversely proportional to those used by Commander Tarsi when she decided to investigate 1954 with Tal'Kyr. Instead of returning as planned on stardate 231538.7, Schak'Irra was propelled several weeks after her departure, in other words, to stardate 231729.9. I therefore conclude that someone attempted to destroy Schak'Irra, Commander Tarsi, and Tal'Kyr by making the coordinates of the two vortexes coincide.
Adm. Quihoui (Temporal Division)
Objection! Commander Tarsi voluntarily stole Tal'Kyr to carry out this attack against Schak'Irra! As the officer responsible for the investigation, it was easy for her to generate a vortex at the same coordinates, according to the return procedures established by Starfleet's Temporal Division.
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
That is not true!!! You know perfectly well that I tried everything to find Schak'Irra, despite the fact that you sabotaged my investigations!!!
Adm. Jora Tannel (JAG President)
Please sit down, Commander Tarsi. You will have the floor when your turn comes. Admiral Quihoui, your objection is sustained. Continue, Counsel, but speculation has no place here. Please proceed directly to the facts!
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
I was coming to that very point, Madam President. AI Lingua, who entered these coordinates into your secure memory block?
Lingua
Admiral Quihoui.
Counsel Touit'Air (Attorney)
Thank you very much. I am finished with the witnesses, Madam President.
Adm. Quihoui (Temporal Division)
I contest these baseless accusations!
Despite the pressure, Counsel Touit'Air remains unshakable, relying on the evidence and testimony to build a solid argument in Tarsi's favor. Then comes the moment to address Admiral Quihoui's involvement in suppressing the affair. The attorney drives the point home, turning the accusations back against her, pointing to her suspicious actions and her orders to destroy all evidence. Objections from the opposing side fly, but Counsel Touit'Air remains impassive and determined.
Suddenly, Admiral Quihoui can no longer withstand the pressure and abruptly leaves the courtroom as discreetly as possible. I exchange a look with T'Met, and we leap from our seats to pursue her...