Commanders Valen and Yilaan, along with Commander R'lanna and Lt. Klagg were gathered along a meeting table in the ship's conference room. Captain Freeman was at its head.
"This briefing is designed for us to go over exactly what we might be dealing with once we arrive at Earth," Freeman began. "Commander Valen has been doing some research, with Cecilia's help, into Earth's past. The technology of this time is very different, as is their understanding of space and time."
"You mean inferior," Klagg said dryly, folding his arms in front of him as he leaned back in his chair.
Freeman glanced his way, "Inferior to our technology and sophistication perhaps, but not to be taken lightly either. We'll need to work with them or around them if we are to succeed." The captain turned and nodded to his first officer, "Commander?"
"Thank you Captain," Commander Valen began, his voice even and steady. "The way Commander Yilaan and I see it, there are three possibilities of what we might face. First, since we have no idea when the Romulans might arrive, we might have to deal with the fact that they are already on Earth, and hidden somewhere. We also might have to fight their ship in orbit of Earth. Yilaan informs me that they too have a cloaking device, and would be virtually non-detectable by the scanning technologies of the time. Fortunately, we will also gain this benefit. The second possibility is that we'll run into them en route to Earth, in which case a battle will take place. If we can defeat the Romulan warship or ships before they reach Earth, that would solve all our problems. The third possibility is that we will arrive before the Romulans get there, and might be able to set up some sort of defense."
"Convincing the locals will take some doing, however," Yilaan interjected. "These people have never seen a Romulan before; few have even heard of the race. The fact that Romulans physically resemble Vulcans can be worked to our advantage; we could simply tell them that a band of renegade Vulcans is plotting to kill their President." She shrugged, "Either way, it will be difficult to persuade them that their President is going to be assassinated by either race in less than a week. I think the burden is going to be on us to take care of this situation ourselves."
"Now, the technology of the time may pose a problem even if we do manage to successful solicit help," Valen continued. "The space ships these people use are small, not very fast, and poorly armed and shielded compared to what we have. Instead of the phaser, they have a laser; a much weaker weapon. Instead of the photon torpedo, they have the accelerator cannon. The cannon is a device that propels nuclear-tipped missiles at a sufficient speed to make them a weapon suitable for ship to ship fights. However, they are slower than the photon torpedo, and thus easily dodged."
"Why are you telling us this?" the chief engineer, Commander R'lanna interjected.
"It is very possible that an overzealous patrol ship might detect us and decide that we are an enemy. As I stated before, the possibility is slight with our cloaking device engaged, but it is nonetheless important to keep in mind," Valen replied. "And if we do get their help, it might not be all that useful against the Romulans."
Lt. Klagg leaned forward, gesturing with his hands, "Commander, you said that two out of the three possibilities for encounter may involve attacking the Romulan ship. What kind of technology do they have?"
Yilaan answered for Valen, "Good question, Lieutenant. If the Romulan ship is from my time, and I think this likely, they will have a cloaking device, excellent shielding, and a large array of phasers and photon torpedoes. Their firepower and defensive capabilities may be superior to ours." The officers of the Bonaventure looked at each other.
"That may be, but our tactics are no doubt superior," Klagg replied, grinning maniacally. "We will crush them as we have our other enemies."
Yilaan nodded, "No doubt."
Captain Freeman glanced at R'lanna, "Any qualms about fighting some of your own people, Commander?"
"You should know me better than to ask, Captain," R'lanna replied, a hurt note in her voice. "My loyalty has always been to you. Besides, they aren't really my people anyway."
Freeman smiled and gestured, "Then no more need be said about it. Thank you Commander."
Getting back to the briefing, Valen said, "Now, obviously we'd prefer options two or three; they stand the best chance of a successful outcome. We should be ready for option one, however. In all cases, we should avoid any discussions of who and what we are, and where we've come from. That would only complicate matters, and possibly cause them to doubt our story, thus jeopardizing our mission. It's going to be hard enough to convince them of our sincerity as it is."
"Noted, Commander," Freeman replied. "Does anyone have anything else to add?"
Commander R'lanna nervously cleared her throat. "Well sir," she began slowly, "my engineers and I finally got around to the diagnostic of hull integrity you asked for, which you said we should do after other systems were repaired."
"Oh, very good! What did you find?" Freeman asked.
"The hull is strained sir. I don't think it can handle the high warp speeds involved with another slingshot around a star."
Silence pervaded the room, as each officer considered what had been said. At length, Captain Freeman stood up and spoke, "Well then people, we get one shot at this." In traditional Klingon style, he made a fist with his right hand and struck his chest, shouting "Kaplagh!" The other officers followed suit, and the group filed out of the room to their posts. The captain's outburst, calling for 'success,' improved the mood of his officers, though each maintained their own private concerns as to the fate of their mission and their lives.
A couple of hours passed, as the officers manned their posts on the Bridge. Idle chatter was common, along with the occasional question to Commander Yilaan about the Romulans of her time, and other subjects. She'd been fielding questions about life in her universe for days, from any number of people, and she was beginning to get a little tired of it. As she was explaining to yet another curious Ensign about life in the Federation, she was thankfully interrupted.
"Captain," Valen reported, "I'm receiving what appears to be a fleet-wide transmission for ships belonging to Earth and the UAAW; audio only." He held up his hand to silence the obvious 'What are they saying?' response from his captain, so that he could, in fact, hear what was being said. So his captain could listen also, Valen switched on the speakers.
"....ship is missing, presumed destroyed. All Earth ships, and those of the alliance, should be on the lookout for an unidentified ship or ships in Sector 7. This is the week of the council meeting, and security of Earth is top priority over previously assigned missions. Fleet Command out." The transmission ended at that point.
The Bridge crew all glanced at each other, each thinking the same thing, but not daring to voice it. Finally R'lanna spoke up, "It could just be a freak accident, Captain."
Everyone glanced at her, "Something in this old resistance fighter says that it isn't. And I'll bet if we track it, whatever it is down, we just might have ourselves a little surprise."
"If we pushed our hull and our engines, we could make it there, and to Earth, the day before the conference and prevent the assassination. There would, however, be little margin for error," Commander Valen stated matter-of-factly.
Freeman smiled broadly at him before turning back to face his helmsman. "Klagg, get us there at warp nine-point-five. R'lanna, keep an eye on our cloak and our hull stress, and let me know if either shows signs of failure." Then, in a slightly melodramatic voice, he added with emphasis, "That is, before either fail, Commander." He smiled again, and nodded as his crew acknowledged his orders.
The Bonaventure lurched forward. "Thank goodness for the historical records, or we would have never known where Sector Seven was," Yilaan noted half-jokingly to Captain Freeman.
Freeman placed a hand on her forearm and looked at her. "No worries, Cecilia," he said warmly to her, "we have luck on our side."
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