"Affirmative," the computer replied in a very low, drawn out voice. Clearly there was computer damage somewhere.
The rest of the crew was beginning to stir. Captain Freeman of the R.S. Bonaventure turned his head to face his guest, Yilaan, and smiled ruefully, "Whose bright idea was this to go back in time and set the time line straight anyway?"
Yilaan made a face as she mentally compared the Captain Freeman in front of her, in this alternate time line, to 'her' Captain. She had gotten to know this Captain, and discovered he was of the same honourable cut as the man she knew back in her universe.
"Computer, damage report!" Commander Valen, first officer of the Bonaventure, called out. The lights on the Bridge were dim, and there was loose wire and broken deck plates hanging from the ceiling and strewn about the floor.
"Main power off-line," the computer began, speaking very very slowly with the unusual deep voice as before. "Shield generator number five is damaged. Navigational deflectors...."
"Computer, run an analysis of yourself and conduct restarts and repairs as possible. Make a list of unsuccessful repairs and reroute it to Engineering," Valen interrupted. The computer didn't reply; Valen shrugged his shoulders. "Is everyone alright?" he asked, turning to the Bridge crew.
"Just bumps and bruises it would appear," Commander R'lanna, the Romulan chief engineer on board the Bonaventure, reported.
"As soon as main power is brought back on line, engage the cloak, Commander," Captain Freeman said to R'lanna. She nodded in response.
Lt. Klagg, the Klingon helmsman, swiveled about in his chair, "Captain, are we in the right time? I mean, did we come to the right, er, place in time?" Klagg was clearly struggling with his limited understanding of temporal mechanics. The whole thing baffled him, actually, even frightened him a little. However, he was Klingon, and would be damned before he would admit fear to his captain.
Freeman glanced up at Commander Valen, the Vulcan first officer, who responded to Klagg's question, "Well, Lieutenant, the breaking thrusters fired appropriately, according to the computer. Commander," he continued, addressing Yilaan, "would there be marker beacons at this time? Something we could pick up with our communications systems for accurate day and time measurement, as well as location?"
"Unless there's been further contamination farther back in time that we don't know about, there should be. Try on one of the lower band sub-space channels," she suggested. Freeman rolled his eyes at the possibility of more time line contamination.
"Checking," Valen replied, pausing while his fingers danced lightly over the communications console. "Sparse comm traffic," he said under his breath to no one in particular. "I've got something! A repeating signal." He paused again, reading the console, "Captain, we are in the year 2171, and it is the 10th of June."
"That's about nine days before the assassination of the president of the UAAW," Freeman replied, smiling. "Well done! We made it! We have a chance to rewrite history the way it was supposed to be written." Several crew members gave shouts of appreciation.
"We are also five days away from Earth at warp nine, Captain. From where I show our position," Valen continued. The jubilance and mirth on the Bridge subsided.
Freeman looked back at his first officer and nodded grimly, "Very well then, we have some work ahead of us." He stood up from his command chair and pointed at Commander R'lanna, "We need main power back online now."
"I'll see to it personally, Captain," R'lanna replied, nodding stiffly and quickly departing the Bridge.
"Klagg, start us towards the conference at sub-light speed. As soon as we get main power back, give us warp seven to the conference. Our engines just went through a rough ride. We'll coddle them for a bit, then punch it up to warp nine. I want to get there in plenty of time for this conference, and I want to avoid as many surprises as possible.," the captain ordered.
"As you say Captain," Klagg replied.
Yilaan laid a hand on Freeman's shoulder, "I have some technical knowledge; I could be of help to R'lanna in Engineering."
"Go to it," Freeman ordered. Yilaan nodded and left the Bridge.
A couple of hours passed as crewmen shuffled busily around the Bridge and other areas of the ship, repairing conduits, rewiring controls, and fixing the computer. Freeman was on the Bridge reading one of many progress reports and repair estimates, when a comm signal sounded, followed by R'lanna's voice, "Captain, main power back on line." As she spoke, the lights on the Bridge regained their usual brightness.
"Well done, Commander!" Freeman called out to her. Then turning to Lt. Klagg, "Lieutenant, carry out my previous instructions. Get us to Earth." Klagg acknowledged and the ship was soon speeding off on its critical mission.
Several hours later, the captain and Yilaan found themselves taking a break at the same time and shared a table. "Half my crew thinks you're crazy," Freeman said idly after a few moments of pleasantries. "They also think I'm crazy to follow your advice."
"What do you think?" Yilaan asked him.
"I think it's like I told the other captains; sometimes you have to go with your gut, even when you know what you're feeling isn't rational," Freeman replied, taking a drink of apple juice. "The crew's seen me do strange things before this, and they always turned out for the best. They'll follow me now too."
"It also helps when they're nudged along a bit," Q's quiet voice whispered in Yilaan's ear. She smiled and nodded; Freeman, confusing the gesture with one meant for him, smiled in return.
"I'm sorry we don't have one of those Holodecks you described to me when you were talking about your other life, but I know someone who I'd wager can cook better than your replicators could," Freeman said. "Would you be interested in dinner later?"
"Sure, who with?" Yilaan asked, an innocent look on her face. Freeman got a blank look, before the moment was lost and both officers laughed aloud. "Sure! That's sounds good, Captain."
"Call me Mark, Cecilia," Freeman responded, placing one hand on her shoulder as he stood to leave. "I have things to attend to on the Bridge. I'll see you around seven?"
She nodded and he left the recreation room. Yilaan turned towards an external window, put her feet up, and stared out into space.
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