JP: Captain Roshanara Rahman & Jhalib Ekal: Eyewitness (Backsim, Part 1)
Deliera Jay
::Even with the modern amenities provided aboard the slipstream starliners, Roshanara still was looking forward to getting back to her own quarters on Veritas. There was still something about getting to sleep in one’s own bed that just never felt right when traveling.::
::She entered her guest room in the hotel she and Mei’konda had booked, his across the hall from hers, and placed her bags down. When she looked up, though, she saw a figure standing in the shadows that she’d have sworn hadn’t been there before.::
Rahman: Lights.
::The room’s overhead lighting brightened, revealing the man’s features of mixed heritage--Vulcanoid of some sort at least, in crisp clothing and caught simply looking about the living area. He squinted in response to the lights.::
Rahman: Who the hell are you?
::Her arms were tense, getting ready to call for security.::
Ekal: Captain Rahman - my name’s Jhalib Ekal. I’m with the Department of Temporal Investigations. I’m sorry to startle you - I was unable to locate you aboard the station. The quartermaster suggested I wait for you here.
::She raised her lone eyebrow at that, and part of him was concerned she wouldn’t buy his being from Temporal Investigations.
::In a way, it was true. It’s just that his department wasn’t called Temporal Investigations anymore.::
Rahman: He did, did he? I’m sure he meant *outside*.
::She still hadn’t relaxed her shoulders yet. The man wasn’t overly imposing physically - of medium height, wiry build and a head of short but thick brown hair with the eyes to complement it - but she knew appearances could be deceiving, especially for Vulcanoids.::
::Those eyes… something about them felt familiar.::
Ekal: That seems likely, yes. However, I’d prefer having this discussion in private quarters, rather than in the corridor.
Rahman: All right. You have two minutes before I call station security.
::He was quick to get to the point, almost as if he were reciting a report for her.::
Ekal: You were the Chief Engineer aboard the USS Mercury in 2390 - during that time, you and Ensign Mei’konda took a shuttlecraft into a temporal anomaly of some kind, resulting in yours being aboard the USS Veritas five years earlier than initially thought.
::She shook her head at the description of events.::
Rahman: I don’t remember any such experience.
::She’d shared a number of eventful memories with Mei’konda and her other shipmates aboard Mercury, but she’d surely have remembered a time traveling visit to her future command.::
Ekal: No. ::He agreed.:: Lieutenant Commander Delano suggested altering your memories before returning you to the timeline, effectively preserving your history, and the temporal prime directive.
Rahman: Why are you telling me all this now?
::There was a pause as he considered the explanation.::
Ekal: I believe you encountered a second temporal anomaly, upon your exit of 2395 back to your original place.
::All this talk of temporal anomalies brought back unpleasant memories of the various entanglements with the timeline Roshanara had previously been involved with -- the Peppalexa, the Venture. It honestly gave her a headache trying to work it all out.::
Rahman: A second anomaly… ::shrugs:: So now what?
Ekal: There is something you may have seen, that would be vital to an investigation I’m undertaking. I’d like to restore these events within your memory.
TBC…
Jhalib Ekal
C238803SB0
&
Captain Roshanara Rahman
Commanding Officer, USS Veritas
I238705TZ0