JP: Captain Roshanara Rahman & Jhalib Ekal: Eyewitness (Backsim, Part 2)

[richyulin]

((Hotel Room, Star Station Esperance))

::He conveniently left out that she wouldn’t be required to share - the temporal prime directive was a fickle thing in this point in time, but he figured she’d make her own judgement if she felt bound by it. If even one of the Veritas crew was aware of what was about to happen, then maybe that was an adjustment enough. If he himself didn’t get the information he required, then leave it to those who already possessed it to make their own judgement.::

::Roshanara took a moment to process everything he’d told her. With it now being 2395, she supposed the need to keep her memories hidden from her no longer applied. But did she want to know what this “second temporal anomaly” was about?::

Rahman: How long would this take?

Ekal: A few moments. Your executive officer has already undergone the process. Though, I should note, I was a bit less forthcoming with him than I have been with you. I’d ask you keep what I’ve told you confidential.

::She took a deep breath.::

Rahman: All right, let’s get this over with.

::That . . . was easier than he’d honestly expected it to be. Doing his best to avoid giving off a shocked expression, he pulled the toolkit off of his shoulder, opening it up to retrieve the medical device he'd used recently with Mei’konda.

::As he’d promised, the procedure took only a few minutes. The memories that came back to her didn’t quite rush back to her mind like a flood, but then again, they were five years old by this point. They’d returned, but even still, some of the details remained hazy.::

Ekal: How do you feel, Captain?

::She pinched the bridge of her nose, wincing a bit.::

Rahman: ...like I need to remember my mother’s advice never to talk to strangers.

::The irony here being that he was as much of a stranger to Roshanara Rahman as his father Sabor before him, the Vulcan having served with her for some time.::

Ekal:::with a small chuckle.:: Wise words, I’d imagine. ::beat:: Would you be able to walk me through your return to the Mercury?

::She rubbed her eyes, and sat back, looking up in thought.::

Rahman: We were placed back in the shuttle… there were only a few minutes to get everything set up before the effects of the memory wipe would take hold. We decided to avoid any traces of an anaesthetic in our systems, we’d adjust the shuttle’s life support systems during the trip back to knock us both out.

::Maybe that’s why the memories were still fuzzy. She’d literally been fighting her body’s urge to fall asleep.::

Rahman: Once we’d entered the conduit, I saw strange images and readings. They seemed to be temporal echoes, like ripples through time of various events.

Ekal: Did you see your ship among them?

::She thought back over the kaleidoscope of images around the shuttle.::

Rahman: I saw Mercury in the distance, waiting for us. And Veritas left behind.

::She furrowed her brow.::

Rahman: No, wait. I saw several instances of Veritas. One fighting the Borg ship. Another traveling back. And there was one involved in some sort of battle.

Ekal: Can you describe it?

Rahman: The ships looked to be in a standoff. Veritas and maybe several other Starfleet ships on one side. Several others--Tholians on the other. Suddenly, they all began firing on each other.

::She shook her head.::

Rahman: I didn’t get a good look really. Everything was moving by so fast, and I wanted to just close my eyes. I looked over and Mei’konda had already passed out. It wasn’t long before I blacked out as well.

::This was information he already knew - a conflict occurring - but the details had been scattered and re-interpreted, computer records disputed and sides accused of falsehoods. But one thing in his timeline that had never been proven, despite years of officers recounting their version of events, was who started the conflict.::

Ekal: I know it’s a tough ask, but are you able to tell me which side fired first?

::She tried to replay the images in her mind again. It wasn’t really as if she could just rewind and freeze frame her memory, but she thought she had seen something.::

Rahman: It started with a torpedo. A Starfleet torpedo. A bright blue light. It must have been a quantum torpedo. I didn’t see who fired it though.

::His heart sank in his chest, the answer not being the one he’d desperately wanted to hear.::

Ekal:::standing:: Thank you, captain. I appreciate the assistance.

Rahman: Is that all you need?

::The optimistic and to the point attitude he’d been discovered with had been replaced with a look of disappointment. He turned over his chronometre strapped around his wrist, the recall beacon already flashing. He’d finished in the nick of time.::

Ekal: Yes. The investigation is almost complete, save for a single detail. But that’s been made clear to me now.

::She looked away for a moment, rubbing her temples.::

Rahman: ...what are you investigating?

::When she looked back up, though, he’d already disappeared as abruptly as he’d arrived, leaving the confused captain to wonder what it all meant.::

END

Jhalib Ekal

C238803SB0

&

Captain Roshanara Rahman

Commanding Officer, USS Veritas

I238705TZ0