"Future Present, Future Past" by Lady Rainbow Rating: PG-13 Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em, don’t make money off ‘em. Notes: Thanks for the reviews, Begoogled, rfortstars and Ladyhawke Legend. :) And Pesterfield for the edits. :) Remember, even if you sneak a peek, I’d like your opinions on my writing. Thanks. Yeah, the plot thickens. Both Jon and Hoshi have languages and linguistics in common (and oddly enough, so do I. LOL :) You get to meet Commander J.T. Daniels, Hayes’s First Officer in this chapter and Malcolm gets into serious trouble. Corrections done, Pesterfield:) Four Jonathan Archer frowned as he traced the intricate, scroll-like lettering on the screen. “I can see the similarities between this and the language at the time of Surak, but there’s already some kind of drift between the two, as if the colonists on Beta Polaris were already revising and rewriting their own language.” Hoshi nodded in agreement. “Taking the language to its roots and ‘aging’ them in a different direction. It’s like taking Shakespeare’s English and reverting it to the old Anglo-Saxon language from the Norman Conquest, then developing it differently from there.” She shook her head in wonder. “New words aren’t unusual in a generation, but a complete change of grammar structure—“ “A complete reprogramming,” Jon said. “Their children must’ve been confused.” “No,” she objected. “Children’s minds are much more flexible and they can pick up language like a sponge with enough exposure. I’d think it’d be the adults that would have more problems.” “Previous knowledge getting in the way. Kind of like trying to learn Andorian and Vulcan at the same time after learning Rigellian. Vocab and rules from one interfering with the other...” Jon chuckled and said, “Yeah, I found that out the hard way. Wish I had your talents with languages, Hoshi.” “And I wish I had your diplomatic skills. So we’re even.” Hoshi smiled and patted Jon’s arm. “So, is there anything similar between the two that we can identify?” “The occasional word or turn of phrase, some similar characters, references to ancient texts and stories, some similar religious and secular ceremonies...” Jon switched screens and highlighted a passage from a wall on Beta Polaris. “There’s one word that seems to repeat itself constantly in the colonists’ writings, Hoshi. T’Rima and T’Les have translated it as i’Rhiamanau, which is a corruption of the Vulcan word for ‘chosen’ or ‘isolated’.” “Makes sense, Jon...Beta Polaris isn’t exactly around the block, especially at that particular time. So they felt...isolated?” “I think it’s more than a feeling. It’s written as a proper noun, like a name, not an adjective, and that makes a significant difference.” Hoshi sat back in her seat and considered that. The colonists must have been ostracized by the Vulcans back home. A disturbing thought occurred to her: What if the colonists hadn’t left the planet voluntarily? All the historical accounts had praised the willingness of the colonists to brave the unknown for Vulcan and their loss was bitterly mourned for decades afterward. Something didn’t add up. Hoshi knew that neither V’Lar or T’Les would dare question conventional wisdom and tradition. So which story should she believe? The comm chimed and she pressed the button. “Sato here.” “Captain!” The alarm and excitement in Travis Mayweather’s voice made her sit bolt upright. “Sensor contact, zero three one mark two, moving at one-quarter impulse.” “Tactical alert. Notify Columbia and the other ships in orbit.” The alert rang through the ship as she and Jon came out onto the Bridge. Travis looked over at her and got out of the command chair. “We’ve lost it again, sir,” said Lieutenant Bryan Trace. Trip’s second-in-command sat at the weapons station. “Wait—there it is.” “Onscreen,” Hoshi ordered. The viewscreen shifted to a clear distortion of nearby space. “Magnify. What is that?” Travis shook his head. “The computers can’t identify it, but it seems to be some kind of spatial distortion. It’s too organized to be a random event, but I can’t tell exactly what it’s supposed to be.” It disappeared again, then reappeared on the opposite side of the screen. “Is there more than one of them?” Hoshi asked. “Hard to tell, Captain. It could be a single one that’s moving really fast.” Travis frowned as he plotted the distortion’s appearances on his screen. “It looks like it’s moving in a zigzag pattern, coming closer to us, then moving away.” “Activate defenses,” Hoshi said quietly. “Considering what happened to the colony and to Salem One, I’m not taking any chances. Jon, anything on subspace?” Jon listened for a long moment, then shook his head. “Nothing, just static. No jamming, nothing.” “Get me Columbia.” Jon touched buttons, then nodded at Hoshi. “Enterprise to Columbia. Are you seeing what we’re seeing?” The calm voice of Commander J.T. Daniels replied, “We see it, Captain Sato, and we’re monitoring it. I’ve ordered ship’s defenses activated as well.” “Is Captain Hayes on the surface of the planet?” “Affirmative, but he’s on his way up. I’ve told him to stay put, but he insisted on transporting up.” Hoshi hid a smile. Daniels’s smooth, even voice reminded her of a host of a children’s show. That calmness had an annoyed undertone to it; so Hayes and his science officer had the occasional disagreement, much to Hayes’ chagrin. She heard Travis sigh and he shook his head as he adjusted his scans. Travis bit his lip and looked back at Hoshi. “It’s retreating a little, Captain, heading away from Palmya Three at one-half impulse.” “Daring us to follow it,” Hoshi murmured. “J.T.?” “Still here, Captain.” “You stay put. It’s trying to draw us away from the planet—“ Trace interrupted her from the tactical console. “Ma’am, V’Etoru is moving on an intercept course at three-quarters impulse! Blannek is mirroring her sister ship...I think they’re planning on boxing our visitor between them!” Hoshi whirled around to Jon. “Get Captain V’Nor on the line, now!” Jon shook his head and replied, “They’re ignoring our hail—“ “Shenandoah is moving to secondary defense position, ma’am, and Columbia is following suit!” Travis’s voice suddenly grew more alarmed. “Surge in energy readings, directed toward V’Etoru—“ The viewscreen flared and the shockwave rocked the Bridge, sending people flying out of their seats. Hoshi grabbed onto the arm of her chair to prevent a collision with Ensign Yadnar at the helm. The lights dimmed, then came back on at half intensity, the red glow spilling over the floor. “Status report!” Hoshi shouted. “No damage,” Trace answered back. “Columbia and Shenandoah report minor damage...Ma’am, the V’Etoru—“ They all stared at the limp, lifeless hull of the Vulcan ship, it’s starboard side ripped open and debris tumbling out of it like a gutted fish. Suddenly, another alarm erupted, the shrill shriek of the proximity alarm. “Hang on!” shouted Ensign Yadnar as he wrenched the ship hard to port. The tremors woke Malcolm up from another dreamless stupor. The ground pitched under him and he fell out of the makeshift cot. A whine of lasers was his only warning; he rolled out of the way as a portable cabinet of medical supplies crashed down where he’d been a second ago. Dust and debris rained down on him, and Malcolm braced himself in case the tent came crashing down around him. “Malcolm? Malcolm!” Doctor Rosie Arroyo crawled over to his side. “You all right?” “What’s going on? Is it an earthquake?” “Commander Daniels sent us a short burst...Enterprise and Columbia are under attack. That’s all J.T. was able to get off before communications were cut off. We have plenty of people in the medical tents.” “Can we move them to more stable ground?” “Doctor Spelak’s located a set of caves about half a kilometer from here. They aren’t pretty, but it’s more protected. He and the Vulcan orderlies have begun transferring patients there.” “Good. Let’s help them.” Malcolm and Rosie quickly found several patients and loaded them up on stretchers and gurneys. Neither noticed the trembling under their feet as they worked to get the colonists to safety. Thankfully, Malcolm noticed the Vulcans went about their work without any complaints or any objections and worked alongside their Human counterparts. “...V’Nir and Shotak’s moved some of the portable power generators, but there’s no time to get most of the equipment,” shouted Trip Tucker. The Armory officer was among the last of the people to take cover. “Equipment can be replaced; doctors and Armory officers can’t,” Malcolm hollered back. “Come on, Trip!” “Right behind ya, Doc!” They scrambled over rocky ground as the sky whined overhead. Malcolm spotted several Starfleet officers directing people into the caves. One of them was Matthew Hayes; he nodded as Malcolm and Trip brought up the rear of the line. “That’s everyone,” Trip gasped. “I thought you were headin’ up to your ship.” “Change of plans. Transporters don’t work when your defense systems are up.” Hayes’s head snapped towards his left. “Get down!” Malcolm hit the ground as laser fire sliced the air over him. Matt and Trip returned fire, and through the smoke, he saw the reflection of the phase pistol beams off a face plate...set into a helmet that was outlined in scarlet. “Bloody hell,” he whispered. “It’s them.” Then he turned his head to see one of the armored soldiers circling around, staying in Hayes’s blind spot. The soldier raised his laser rifle and aimed at Hayes’s head— There was no hesitation at what he had to do. Malcolm exploded out of his crouch and tackled the soldier head-on. He heard a satisfying thunk as the armored invader’s head impacted the ground and the person lay still under his weight. He glanced back up and noticed a second soldier creeping up behind Trip. Automatically, Malcolm’s hand touched something in his belt pouch and he let it fly. It whizzed through the air over Trip’s shoulder and buried itself into the soldier’s arm, who staggered backward in agony. A dry smile quirked Malcolm’s lips. A laser scalpel, in the pouch right next to the hyposprays... Oh damn. Just like in my nightmare...no, it wasn’t the same thing. He wasn’t in his Sickbay, and Hayes and Trip were fighting at his side...and Hoshi was on the ship... An arm encircled his neck and jerked him backward. He choked out a curse and drove an elbow into the soldier’s stomach, banging it hard into a black protective sheet. Then he heard a sharp command in a foreign language and sparkles danced in front of Malcolm’s vision... “Doc!” Trip shouted, but that was all Malcolm heard before all went black. Back to Part 3 Continue to Part 5

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