Resurrection Part I
Posted on Thu Jul 10th, 2025 @ 3:17am by Captain Thorrin & Commander Marisa Sandoval & Lieutenant Sivek & Major Hastios Eilfaren
Edited on on Thu Jul 10th, 2025 @ 3:26am
2,300 words; about a 12 minute read
Mission:
In The Nick Of Time
Location: Vulcan Prison Colony Limonu
Timeline: MD004 1500 hrs
Thorrin had been pouring over reports since Zosia left. He was relieved that they were able to catch her and wipe her memory before she went any farther. But, the question remained why the now former Chief Engineer left. In the absence of an answer to that question he also looked over suitable candidates from all over the timeline. He had narrowed it down to three. Although he was pretty sure he knew the one he wanted. There was the question of this incident that the DTI had termed The Event and the candidates involvement. Thorrin tapped his comm badge. "Commander Sandoval and Major Eilfaren come to the Ready Room if you please."
Marisa was reading a book on temporal physics when she got the call. "On my way," she replied, then finished the paragraph and slipped a bookmark between the pages before leaving her office.
"Hello, captain," she said when she entered the ready room.
Not far behind the XO, Hastios entered the ready room. "Captain, Commander." he said nodding to them both respectively.
"Thank you for coming. Do sit down. It seems that our Engineer Lieutenant Commander Zosia has gone AWOL. She left the ship without authorization or even letting anyone know. Lucky for us Tarian was able to find her and transport her back to the ship. Her memory has been erased and she has been returned to her life. However, this presents the interesting problem of finding a new Chief Engineer." He paused to smile as he handed a PADD to each of them. He also took the moment to sip his wine. "Meet Lieutenant Sivek. Currently a resident of Limonu Prison on Vulcan. I would like to give him the job. What are your thoughts?
"Interesting," Marisa said after reviewing the PADD. "He is definitely qualified. However, if you bring him on board, he will likely want to go back and save his mother." She looked at Thorrin. "I am not saying it is good or bad. Just that it seems likely."
"Perhaps, but sadly we will not be able to allow that. But still we can offer him redemption of some sorts. Preliminary research suggests that the reason he is in prison, his own failed experiment can and should be reversed." Thorrin placed the PADD on his desk and leaned back in his chair. "The primary mission of this ship has always been to correct mistakes in the timeline and restore those stranded in time. Perhaps this is a chance to do both."
Marisa nodded slowly. "Perhaps. Regardless, it is worth taking a closer look."
"Are we just glossing over the fact that this man is a criminal? You want to give him access to the ships systems when he is responsible for the deaths of hundreds due to recklessness and his lack of respect for the chain of command, his obsession about his mother is clear here." Hastios tapped the PADD with the back of his hand. "I'm not a psychologist and I can see how this turns out." he had remained standing until he read the PADD, then had been walking the same line along the floor. Regimented. Familiar. "Give a man obsessed over the loss of his mother due to a temporal event access to temporal technology, factor his the mental decline of his father and his own obsession." he turned to face them both. "And we are talking about his qualifications and his shot at redemption?"
The man had a point and Thorrin knew it. This was precisely what he wanted from his XO and 2XO. A couple of people to bounce ideas off of. "Are we not all obsessed with something? All here with something of sorts to prove." From the tone of his voice one was not sure if the Captain meant himself, someone else, or both. "I am not suggesting making him part of the crew immediately. I am suggesting we bring him in to talk and get the measure of the man. If it will not work out we simply leave him in the prison and return to the drawing board. But if it will work out we get an engineer with more than extensive knowledge of temporal systems. Add to that we can ship him back to his box, should the need to do so arise."
"I do not advocate glossing over anything," Marisa said. "But I would like more information than this. Surely there is a way to get it without giving him access to the ship?"
Hastios exhaled through his nose, lowering the PADD slightly as he looked between the Captain and Marisa. His tone was measured now, less confrontational.
“Understood, sir. If the intent is to bring him aboard, then we approach this with layered security—no unrestricted access, psychological evaluation, and compartmentalised system clearance until he’s proven stable and loyal. We may gain a capable engineer, yes... but also the baggage that put him behind containment on Vulcan.”
He glanced back at the PADD. “Sivek’s currently in the Special Handling Unit at Limonu Penal Colony. That alone tells us how Vulcan authorities regard his risk profile. My recommendation? We don’t bring him here. Not yet. We go to him.”
He took a step forward, folding his arms. “Let’s conduct a preliminary interview in a secured environment—on-site at Limonu. That gives us the chance to read the man in person, assess his mental state, and judge whether his interest in temporal systems is still professional… or still personal.”
Then, more quietly, with a calm certainty that carried more weight than any threat: “If we bring him aboard and he steps out of line... if he jeopardises this ship or anyone on it... I’ll do what has to be done. Without hesitation.”
He met Thorrin’s eyes directly and nodded once. “Awaiting orders, sir.”
"Hastios has a point. I would prefer we meet him, see what he is like and how he answers our questions before we consider bringing him aboard." Marisa secretly agreed with the El'Aurian about what to do if this man tried to take over the ship as well.
"Very well. We will transport in to the prison and meet him. If he passes muster we will bring him here. I believe that to be a fair compromise. Please don a uniform and meet me in the Temporal Transporter Room in fifteen minutes" Thorrin downed the last of his wine something that some of the crew had come to call the toast. This signified that the Captain was done talking and it was time to do something.
Fifteen minutes later Thorrin arrived at the Transporter Room in a red standard issue Starfleet Uniform. He smiled at the Chief who manned their station as he waited on the pad for Hastios and Marissa.
Hastios arrived precisely on time, the doors to the Temporal Transporter Room parting with a quiet hiss. He stepped inside clad in standard-issue Starfleet security gold—regulation, polished, and in his view, utterly uncomfortable. The uniform itched at his instincts more than his skin; he’d spent decades in marine gear, built for utility and movement, not ceremonial cut and departmental colour coding. Still, he wore it without complaint, the fabric stretched across his broad frame in defiance of his personal preferences. His posture remained rigid, hands clasped behind his back, eyes cool and alert as they swept the room. He offered Thorrin a sharp nod as he stepped onto the pad, his silence carrying the quiet weight of readiness—and warning.
Now that they were all gathered Thorrin took his place on the pad. "Mr Delany if you would be so kind. Set temporal coordinates for three hours ago. Location is Limonu Prison Colony on Vulcan. Energize when ready."
"Aye sir. Coordinates laid in. Adjusting temporal displacement. Energizing." Fox Delany spoke from his console and as he slid the transporter faders up the three officers dissolved in a swirl of green and blue.
The first chime came at zero-four-hundred hours. It was a gentle sound--two rising notes that were more than sufficient in rousing an inmate from slumber. There were no loud alarms, no strobing lights, and no shouting. That would have been inefficient.
Sivek opened his eyes but remained motionless. He hadn't slept, not in the typical human sense. Meditation occupied the bulk of his rest cycle, and he had long ago stopped resisting the rhythms of the colony. Finally, he stood, folded the thin sleeping duvet across the platform, and faced the wall for the morning sequence.
Eight lines of Surak's First Axiom were engraved there. He recited them aloud--quietly and clearly, not for the guards but simply for the act itself. The words reverberated against the stone. It was a stifling reminder that another day had begun in isolation.
By zero-four-fifteen he had washed, dressed, and prepared the day's study materials. Meals always came precisely at zero-five-hundred hours, passed through the aperture in the wall with the same tranquil motion as every other exchange made there. He rarely ate more than was necessary--two mouthfuls of pel-mek broth, a sliver of leiplar root, mineral water.
From zero-six-hundred to twelve-hundred hours was Research Block. There were no laboratories, but the penal colony administration permitted access to outdated academic texts and unnetworked computer terminals. Sivek made use of them all. His current project was a hypothesis on the effect of subspace lattice collapse near artificial wormholes. He'd meant to work on the lattice model. Or had it been the resonance index? No--he was sure it was the model. Unless that was yesterday. Or the day before. It was hard to tell sometimes. In any event, it would never be read.
At precisely twelve-hundred-thirty hours, he stood at the far end of his cell and faced the smooth, blank wall for forty-seven minutes of silent reflection. The other Vulcan inmates called it sim-rouak t'kathral, or the stillness protocol. It was a remnant of ancient Vulcan monastic discipline that was still utilized by the more traditional sects. Here, no one enforced it. But no one had ever dared break it, either.
Afternoon brought with it, more research. Then physical maintenance: stretches, breathwork, a full circuit of the cell--measured out over the years with great meticulous efficiency. He completed the entire sequence barefoot, in total silence.
On Limonu, there were no visitors. No messages or letters. And Sivek, not a single mention of parole.
At nineteen-hundred hours, the cell lights dimmed, and the colony entered its long quiet.
Sivek returned to the data PADD, reading over an unfinished equation. The fault in the model had been gnawing at him for weeks. Not because it was wrong--errors were commonplace and expected. But because he couldn't remember when he'd started writing it. Time was elusive on Limonu.
Somewhere beyond the stone and heat shielding of the prison, the stars were still in motion.
And somewhere--if his father had been right... they also bent.
He re-read the last paragraph three times before accepting that the language was a bust. Not the mathematics--that seemed to hold together on its own--just the words used to frame it. They were much too declarative. Too sure. A temporal field model built on certain precepts ought not to speak in absolutes.
He deleted the paragraph. No irritation, just habit. He'd done it a thousand times before, on a thousand silent mornings.
Sivek set the data PADD aside and stood slowly and gracefully. His knees no longer creaked and cracked the way they had during his first few years on Limonu. After his fifth year, he had adopted good ergonomic habits that kept his joints and muscles in excellent condition. There was always something to refine here.
He approached the wall. Not the engraved one--just the blank one, on the opposite side. He had memorized its imperfections. The faint mineral bloom in the upper right corner. The slight ripple in the finish where a hairline crack had once formed and had been repaired--some time before Sivek had arrived.
He placed one hand on it, fingers splayed and his palm flat to the stone. It was warm--not from sunlight, but from the life support systems that hummed deep underground. Thermal consistency, he thought. Efficient and entirely predictable.
Unlike people.
For years he had maintained the illusion that the loss of his mother was an event he had understood. A cause, and an effect. Input and consequence. But time--true time--did not behave like that. The more he studied it, the less he trusted the permanence in endings.
Her voice still existed out there. Somewhere. He did not call it hope. That would have been too emotional, too human. But it wasn't belief either. It was simply... probability, uncollapsed.
Somewhere on the surface of this dwarf planet, the sky was ash-coloured and the wind kicked up plumes of fine dust. He had never laid eyes upon any of it since no one was permitted aboveground.
The silence deepened, not with menace, but with gravity. He sensed that something had shifted.
Someone was coming.
A Joint Post By
Major Hastios Eilfaren
Chief Security & Tactical Officer
Second Officer
USS Herodotus DTI-30656
Lieutenant Sivek
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Herodotus DTI-30656
Captain Thorrin
Commanding Officer
USS Herodotus DTI-30656
Commander Marisa Sandoval
Executive Officer
USS Herodotus DTI-30656
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