Lt Jovenan – Through the Window into the Wonderland

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Jovenan

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Feb 20, 2024, 10:51:00 AMFeb 20

to USS Artemis-A – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG

((Chez Adea, Dekoa, Betazed))

They had a plan. Well, it wasn’t a plan, it was merely an idea. And they were going to jump out of this window and plummet into the depths of time based on that idea. There was no logic in Q, but that didn’t justify their ideas being based on embracing the illogical.

Jovenan: Sir, if that place really is Romulus or Cardassia or whatever, we would be captured immediately after being spotted. This house is much safer than what’s out there. Wouldn’t it make sense to plan our mission first before stepping through. Like, what would we even be doing there? Assassinate the Senator ourselves?

Sadar: What!? No! ::hesitates:: U-Uh, that being said, I, uh… ::twists anxiety band:: If the Senator’s survival is the defining point of divergence, then it has to be rectified, but, I mean, surely there are other options available to us?

Jovenan nodded. Putting the history to its right tracks was their ultimate objective, should Q not do it by themselves. But when the history dies because a man survives, they had to consider if they had it in them to pull the lever and force the trolley to another path. It was ironic that CloQ had chosen them for this mission; a Mizarian and an Edo; a woman who hated violence so much she would surrender in the face of it, and a woman who hated it so much that she would kill it at sight.

Except was that CloQ’s plan? They had stated their intentions, albeit not very directly, and Jovenan felt that they might be walking into their trap. She needed to point it out, but she hesitated. If this was a special prison designed for Genkos, she couldn’t force him to stay, but she didn’t want him to walk straight into the fire either.

Jovenan: And, um, sir, if I may… CloQ said they are doing this because of you running away from your, um, traumas. Are… Are you sure running from your childhood home to another time and planet is the right course of action, sir?

Genkos didn’t break the eye contact. His gaze revealed what he was thinking; Jovenan had made a mistake by speaking her mind. She might not be taking Toto for walks after all.

Adea: We have to do whatever CloQ wants us to do - or perhaps, the exact opposite.

Lowering her gaze to the floor, Jovenan nodded. Doctor Adea knew CloQ better, and he was their Commander.

Elain: So, are we going or not?

Sadar: I think trying to use a Q’s logic is pretty much impossible? If they had no intentions with connecting gateways to the house, surely there would be none in the first place? Unless that is something they can’t quite control? Or is it a symptom of obsessive behavior, that they can’t not mess with time and space?

Adea: Last time the worlds they overlapped appeared to be very carefully curated, something akin to a space and time museum. I refuse to believe they would be slipshod this time around.

Jovenan: It’s impossible to know how the window works, but since CloQ has made it, I guess it makes sense that they’ve directed it to a place and time that’s somehow relevant and…

Elain: Genkos!

Jovenan turned to see Tevet stepping away from the window. She hadn’t noticed that the child had went onto look through it again. Had they seen something?

Elain: There’s something moving on the other side.

That was always a chilling statement to hear. They didn’t know yet if the window could be walked through, but if it was a portal, maybe it could be passed from both directions, a wormhole of a sort. Something could, in theory, come through to this side.

Doctor Adea moved in to investigate.

Sadar: Careful Sir, we haven’t yet established that this window is entirely one-way. Anyone on the other side might be able to see or hear us as well.

Romulan Newscaster: -news of increased hostilities in the Alpha Quadrant between the Dominion and the Federation-Klingon Alliance has the citizens of the Empire wondering what prompted Praetor Darok to open the Senate to reevaluate the Empire’s official stance on the conflict. The discussions are expected to wrap-up by tomorrow, with Senator Vreenek’s impending return from his diplomatic envoys to the warfront, which will likely bolster the pro-Dominion sentiment in the Senate. In other news-

Adea: Well it’s definitely the right time and place.

Jovenan: Yes, Vreenek was assassinated on the return journey to Romulus. That would mean it’s 2374 on the other side of that mirror.

oO I was one year old at that time. Oo

Elain: Response

Looking at Doctor Sadar, Jovenan could see how terrified she was by the veracity she was turning her ring. Jovenan felt the same. This could be their most dangerous mission ever.

Sadar: Well, at least we know now for certain why the Romulans didn’t reinforce the Alliance in the Dominion War. ::sighs:: What do we do now?

Adea: I think we need to go through, and ::he sighed:: we need to ensure the Romulans join the war.

If the mood had previously been nervous, it was now tensing. What he was asking of them was crazy. It might have been too much. Jovenan felt a curious feeling creeping to her mind. It wasn’t anger or fear, more like desperation.

Sadar/Elain: Response

Jovenan: Sir, but that would require killing an innocent person! The regulation requires us to refuse…

The Commander raised his hand and stomped his cane to the floor. Closing her mouth mid-sentence, Jovenan stopped talking to hear what he had to say.

Adea: I understand your objections, and I feel them as well. But the truth is, without Senator Vreenek’s assassination, many millions more die. Possibly billions if the Federation are unable to turn the tide back on the Dominion. We’re going to have to fake Vreenek’s assassination. Thank the gods nobody’s had to do this before.

Once more, Jovenan lowered her head and nodded.

Jovenan: Aye, sir.

Sadar/Elain/Adea: Response

She looked at the magic window that had been created to Doctor Adea’s father’s study. It had been barricaded, presumably by the house’s former residents, using planks. At that time, the planks had prevented anything from coming in, not bombs, not thieves. Now the frames separated two worlds from each other. Two timeframes.

Jovenan: First we need to take these planks off. Tevet, show us the tools you brought. Maybe there’s something useful.

Ripping the planks off the walls, the window portal was cleared, and they could see through it without obstacles. Staring at the space on the other side, Jovenan’s heart was racing. She couldn’t believe they were doing this.

But there was one more thing before they could go through.

Sadar/Elain/Adea: Response

Jovenan: We need someone to guard the window from this side, Tevet. You’re brave, I’m sure you can do it.

Sadar/Elain/Adea: Response

Then, they turned to the portal. Breathing heavily, Jovenan tried to keep her eyes open, but ended up closing them just as she stepped through.