"Wow, he's buying," Bradley noted. "I don't recall the last time I saw that happen."
"You know him? That's Admiral Jevor, right?" Yilaan asked. Bradley sat and stared at Yilaan for a few minutes. "Right?"
"How is it that you don't know anything about the Front and the IKRS and everything, yet you recognize Jevor?" Bradley said angrily, her voice becoming somewhat louder. "Who the hell are you?" Bradley rose half up out of her seat, seemingly expecting the need to flee at any moment.
"Julie, please, there's an explanation for everything," Yilaan said soothingly.
"Oh really?" said a familiar voice as a hand was placed on her shoulder. "Well, why don't you tell us all?" Yilaan winced; it was Jevor.
Jevor snapped his fingers and several Andorians came over and bodily lifted Bradley and Yilaan out of their seats. "Take these two back to my quarters; I think I'll be retiring early tonight." Yilaan and Bradley struggled against their captors as the men and women amongst Jevor's crew all laughed and cheered. The Andorian warriors sat themselves down and set about to their evening of abusive behavior and drinking themselves into oblivion.
Jevor, the Andorian guards, and their two unwilling guests made their way down a multitude of corridors. The two continued to struggle against the Andorians, and were rewarded with the occasional kick and push. Eventually they arrived at Jevor's quarters and the women were pushed inside, falling to the floor as they stumbled forward.
"Leave us be; go join your friends and revel in our victories!" Jevor ordered. The guards nodded and readily agreed, slapping each other on the back and the like as they left Jevor's quarters.
"Jevor, damn you!" Yilaan shouted at the Andorian Admiral as he locked his door and turned to face the women. "Let us go! You filthy piece of B'Kuleth!" she continued, slipping into Klingon. Klingon had always been her favorite language to swear in.
Jevor looked at Bradley, then at Yilaan. "Not until we're through with our business."
Yilaan seethed at him and rose from the floor in a fighting posture. "Just try it, you dishonorable G'laath! Your blood is as thin and weak as the Veketh worm, and you won't stand a chance. I'm not just some puny sprite for you to prey on; let us go or we'll leave on our own and you can watch from the floor as you lie in a pool of your own blood."
Jevor looked honestly shocked at Yilaan's vehemence. At the same time, Yilaan flinched as she felt Bradley's hand grip her arm. "Cecilia, it's alright; he's with us."
Sensing no deception from either of them, Yilaan relaxed her guard. "You might've told me, Julie," she said irritably.
"I needed a convincing performance from you. Now then," Bradley said, firmly guiding Yilaan to a chair. "A formal introduction, and then you are going to answer the questions I posed to you in the restaurant. Admiral Jevor, Fleet leader, Golden Wing of the Horde, this is Cecilia Yilaan. Her identification says shes a horticulturist, but she definitely isn't, and she has no knowledge of our quadrant of space. She claims to be Betazed too. I couldn't sense any deception, except for pretending she knew something about plants; since she claims to be from 'somewhere better' and I can't find falsehood, I thought you should meet her." She turned to face Yilaan, "For the record, Chalcy roots find Almaen poisonous. If you went to such trouble to get a fake ID, you should've done your homework."
"Er, well," Yilaan stammered, finally taking Jevor's offered hand and shaking it. "Command....er, Admiral, I'm sorry about the things I said to you."
Jevor smiled at her, "No worries; your fighting spirit was most impressive. So, you're a woman of mystery, eh?"
"So it would seem," Yilaan replied simply. "Who are you people; are you some sort of dissident group? Julie, are you Betazed yourself? You said you couldn't sense any deception from me."
"We're asking the questions tonight, Cecilia," Jevor said firmly but gently. "Can I get you refreshment?" Yilaan shook her head no, so the gray-haired Andorian admiral motioned for Bradley to go ahead with her line of questions. Jevor sat in a chair nearby, while Bradley pulled up a chair next to Yilaan.
"You have no reason to be frightened of us, Cecilia. We just need to know that we can trust you, okay? You seem the kind, not to mention tough, sort, and we'd like you to join us. I told the admiral of your assisting me earlier in the restaurant, and he was pleased," Bradley said reassuringly. Yilaan nodded, so Bradley continued, "I am not Betazed; I will answer your question so that you might feel more comfortable with me. Specifically, I'm Human, with limited telepathic and empathic abilities. You look surprised, somehow."
"I am," Yilaan said, making the decision at that time to be completely truthful with them, relying on instinct alone. "The Julie Bradley in my universe was, rather is, Human, without any telepathic or empathic abilities."
Admiral Jevor raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat. Bradley looked over and nodded, seemingly signaling that Yilaan was telling the truth. He nodded in return, and Bradley turned back to face Yilaan again. "Tell me about her."
"She is a strong woman, and a good fighter. She serves as an Ensign in the security branch on board the ship U.S.S. Bristol, on which I am First Officer," Yilaan responded.
"What is your rank?" Bradley inquired.
"Commander," Yilaan replied. "In my universe, Admiral Jevor is also a Commander; he is Chief of Engineering aboard ship."
"And under whom do we all serve in your universe?"
"Captain Mark Freeman is in command of the Bristol, as of Stardate 90130.7. However, the crew and the ship was subjected to severe temporal flux before I was brought here, and he is dead."
"Your measurement of time makes no sense to me, but that's okay," Bradley responded. "I actually meant your government with my question." Julie sighed, "This isn't getting anywhere; Cecilia, just tell us about your people, your life, and that sort of thing. Please don't lie, and don't forget I'll be able to tell if you do."
Yilaan nodded. "Our government is the United Federation of Planets," she began. "All races within our Federation; the Humans, Vulcans, Caitians, Tellarites, Betazed, and hundreds of others live and work together peacefully. Andorians as well, by the way. Our primary goal is one of space exploration, and friendly contacts with unknown worlds are always sought when possible. The Federation is allied with the Bajorans and the Klingons. Peace treaties keep Romulan and Cardassian activity down to a few minor skirmishes. We lost that battle against the Borg that you won, Admiral, but we had a few tricks up our sleeves that destroyed them before they reached Earth."
Bradley and Jevor both sat at stared at Yilaan. "She's telling the truth, or at least what she believes is true," Bradley said to Admiral Jevor after a long silence. She then made a face, "You're telling us you come from another time then? A time of peace and harmony and all that?"
"Not just another time; the correct time. This time line should never have unfolded the way it did. Billions of people have died, and this is not the way it's supposed to happen," Yilaan stated confidently.
Bradley got up and went and sat next to Jevor; they spoke in low tones about their disbelief. "She's telling the truth, which is what I can't fathom. If I couldn't sense it, I'd never have thought it."
While they discussed, Q's essence materialized next to Yilaan. "They're such dullards aren't they? They're fumbling about just because they can't understand simple temporal mechanical theory. That Julie person already knows your telling the truth; they should be hanging on your every word instead of debating whether or not you're mad. I'm glad I'm interfering.....er, watching. Your people need that Federation of yours to avoid becoming a race of uninteresting paranoid idiots." With that Q disappeared.
"I'm not mad, dammit," Yilaan complained loudly, startling both Bradley and Jevor.
They both assumed somewhat patronizing smiles. "Of course not," Bradley said soothingly. "So, if you're from another time, how did you end up here?"
Yilaan sighed. Q had been kind enough to present her with 'help' alright, but it appeared that she'd have to do the work of recruiting them. "A rift in the space/time continuum and an entity known as the 'Q' were responsible for my appearance here," she explained.
"Do you have a purpose for being here?" Bradley inquired.
"To set the time line right again."
"So that this time doesn't unfold and the 'correct' time line happens the way it's supposed to, right?" Bradley said doubtfully.
"Yes."
"How do you propose to do that?" Bradley asked.
"By taking a ship back in time to reverse whatever contamination has occurred. Once that's happened, things will be set right." Yilaan made a face, "You can sense that I'm telling the truth; I don't see what the problem is here."
Jevor straightened in his chair. "The problem, Commander Cecilia Yilaan of the United Federation of Planets, is that you might believe you're telling the truth and still could be grievously mistaken. You could've been brainwashed and be part of the Front trying to trick us into something. Bradley befriended you rather quickly; too quickly perhaps." Bradley looked away, somewhat embarrassed. "She has a tendency to do that at times."
"Why are you hiding from the Front, if that is whom you serve?" Yilaan asked.
Jevor smiled and shook his head. "Nice try, Commander Yilaan," he said, smiling grimly at her. "However, it isn't the time. Not yet. Let us sleep on it, and we'll talk again tomorrow. Bradley can put you up for the night if you don't have a place to stay."
"I don't as far as I know, so that will be appreciated," Yilaan replied.
The three then parted company, with Yilaan and Bradley arriving at the latter's quarters soon after. "Make yourself at home," Bradley said wearily. "It'll be a little cramped but I'm sure we can manage." She tossed Yilaan an extra pillow and indicated a decent spot on the floor.
Yilaan nodded and lay down, realizing only then that she hadn't slept in a long time, and she was very tired. She yawned and asked, "Do you really think I'm mad or a spy or something?"
Bradley sat down on her bed and removed her shoes, "I don't know Cecilia, I really don't. That's happened before to us, brainwashed spies and the like. They infiltrate our people and turn us all over to the Front; the executions are always slow and painful from what I've been told. However, in your case, my gut feeling tells me you're okay. Maybe a part of it is wanting what you say to be true; a universe like yours is very appealing. We're all warriors, but many of us are also very tired of living the way we do." She gave Yilaan a hard stare, "My gut feeling probably won't be enough to convince Jevor, however. Just so you know." With that, Bradley lay down and drifted off to sleep. Yilaan, despite her exhaustion, was wide awake wondering how she would convince her dubious friends that she was right.
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