- Location
- On the Cinerama Screen
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Maybe we need to send a flask of it over
That idea got stuck in my head all evening, and, well, I just couldn't help myself...
In his office at the Department of Temporal Investigations, agent Dulmur looked dourly out at the Golden Gate Bridge that dominated the view outside his window as he could hear one of the junior agents rushing in.
"Sir... we might have a problem," his junior gasped, out of breath.
And it was going to be a simple day... "What is it, Lieutenant," Dulmur asked, turning towards his perspiring junior... Harwood? Braidwood? No - Bradbury, that was the name.
"Take a look at this." Dulmur accepted the PADD Bradbury handed him, promptly scowling at what he saw there.
"This better not be a joke," Dulmur said. "You know I hate those."
"No, sir. The report just came in from the USS Nerv, twenty minutes ago."
"Get me Lucsly."
----
One hour and a quick hail later, agent Lucsly ambled in. His dour look was a match for his partner's. Indeed, many in the DTI had difficulty telling the two apart occasionally, regardless of Dulmur's blonde hair compared to Lucsly's dark brown.
"Report," Lucsly said.
Dulmur handed the PADD over to Lucsly, "just got this from Captain Ikari of the Nerv. They encountered a spatial rift, deep within the Alpha Quadrant."
"Please tell me they logged it and moved on?" Lucsly knew the real answer, but even he wasn't opposed to have a sliver of hope.
Dulmur shook his head, "as one Commander Katsuragi, Nerv's Ops Officer, put it - they had a 'minor temporal incursion...'"
A knot formed in Lucsly's stomach. Those three, miserable words meant a lot of paperwork and interviews, and he was not in the mood to travel today. He lost count of the number of times he and Dulmur had to add yet another starship to their "Kirk list," named for one of the biggest offenders of temporal mechanics in Starfleet. Seventeen violations - the man was a menace.
Dulmur continued, "the bulk of their report has been redacted by a Commodore Kiel, claiming 'Section 31' privileges, whatever those are. What they do say is that a bottle of Romulan ale fell into the rift as it closed."
Lucsly started reaching for the antacids. "How in the hell did a bottle of very illegal alcohol, that's not even supposed to be on a Federation starship in the first place, fall out of the ship and into the rift?"
Dulmur was eyeing the antacids, too, "Katsuragi said it just 'happened' to be sitting on top of a cargo container when whatever redacted business concluded, got dragged out of their shuttlebay's forcefield, and just 'happened' to fall into this rift."
Lucsly sighed, he better clear his schedule for the next couple weeks. "Did they get readings from the other end of the rift? How bad of a contamination are we looking at here?"
"Their sensors were having difficulty getting an accurate read on the temporal signature, but Akagi, their science officer, confirmed the quantum signature was not a match."
Lucsly was now taking a second dose of antacids. "So, they weren't content on merely contaminating our timeline, but that of a different universe entirely?"
Dulmur, stone-faced as ever, replied, "looks that way."
Lucsly walked over to the window and gazed at the horizon for a moment, "let's get passage --"
"I already got USS Orville assigned to rendezvous with Nerv."
"Very good," Lucsly admired his partner's thoroughness. "Let's go."
Dulmur and Lucsly strode from the room. Though there was one lie after another in Captain Ikari's report, they knew the truth was out there.
"Sir... we might have a problem," his junior gasped, out of breath.
And it was going to be a simple day... "What is it, Lieutenant," Dulmur asked, turning towards his perspiring junior... Harwood? Braidwood? No - Bradbury, that was the name.
"Take a look at this." Dulmur accepted the PADD Bradbury handed him, promptly scowling at what he saw there.
"This better not be a joke," Dulmur said. "You know I hate those."
"No, sir. The report just came in from the USS Nerv, twenty minutes ago."
"Get me Lucsly."
----
One hour and a quick hail later, agent Lucsly ambled in. His dour look was a match for his partner's. Indeed, many in the DTI had difficulty telling the two apart occasionally, regardless of Dulmur's blonde hair compared to Lucsly's dark brown.
"Report," Lucsly said.
Dulmur handed the PADD over to Lucsly, "just got this from Captain Ikari of the Nerv. They encountered a spatial rift, deep within the Alpha Quadrant."
"Please tell me they logged it and moved on?" Lucsly knew the real answer, but even he wasn't opposed to have a sliver of hope.
Dulmur shook his head, "as one Commander Katsuragi, Nerv's Ops Officer, put it - they had a 'minor temporal incursion...'"
A knot formed in Lucsly's stomach. Those three, miserable words meant a lot of paperwork and interviews, and he was not in the mood to travel today. He lost count of the number of times he and Dulmur had to add yet another starship to their "Kirk list," named for one of the biggest offenders of temporal mechanics in Starfleet. Seventeen violations - the man was a menace.
Dulmur continued, "the bulk of their report has been redacted by a Commodore Kiel, claiming 'Section 31' privileges, whatever those are. What they do say is that a bottle of Romulan ale fell into the rift as it closed."
Lucsly started reaching for the antacids. "How in the hell did a bottle of very illegal alcohol, that's not even supposed to be on a Federation starship in the first place, fall out of the ship and into the rift?"
Dulmur was eyeing the antacids, too, "Katsuragi said it just 'happened' to be sitting on top of a cargo container when whatever redacted business concluded, got dragged out of their shuttlebay's forcefield, and just 'happened' to fall into this rift."
Lucsly sighed, he better clear his schedule for the next couple weeks. "Did they get readings from the other end of the rift? How bad of a contamination are we looking at here?"
"Their sensors were having difficulty getting an accurate read on the temporal signature, but Akagi, their science officer, confirmed the quantum signature was not a match."
Lucsly was now taking a second dose of antacids. "So, they weren't content on merely contaminating our timeline, but that of a different universe entirely?"
Dulmur, stone-faced as ever, replied, "looks that way."
Lucsly walked over to the window and gazed at the horizon for a moment, "let's get passage --"
"I already got USS Orville assigned to rendezvous with Nerv."
"Very good," Lucsly admired his partner's thoroughness. "Let's go."
Dulmur and Lucsly strode from the room. Though there was one lie after another in Captain Ikari's report, they knew the truth was out there.
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