Don't Shoot The Messenger

Posted on Tue Jun 15th, 2021 @ 1:08pm by Colonel Sehan t'Varis & The Messenger

1,472 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Chapter IV: Unravelling the Mystery
Location: Commander's Quarters, I.R.W. Ourainavassa
Timeline: 238702.18

It had been one hell of a day. Senior staff going on a mission with the Terrans, the strange message from the ex-Borg claiming to want to defect from the Vulture. She was looking forward to a nice, relaxing evening on her own. She had replicated a double cheeseburger with bacon and fries, grabbed a bottle of Romulan Ale, and had put on some more comfortable clothes. Her plan was simple. A comfort meal, and an old Earth movie.

She filled a bowl of fruit for Eavy, sat down in her favourite armchair, and began zapping through her archive of movies, finally settling on Star Wars: Episode III, one of her favourites. Old Earth's ideas about space travel were rather entertaining, and very much enjoyed the story and the action sequences. She took a bite from her burger, and pressed play.

As the familiar opening titles of the film began to play, what could only be described as a translucent, upside down cone-shape materialised in the middle of the room. Inside the swirling cone was a dark, faceless, featureless figure. Although the figure inside the cone could see the occupant of the room sat in her armchair as clear as day, the same luxury was not afforded to Raven.

"Raven, I have an important message for you" the figure said, their voice sounding so distant, yet so near.

The Colonel paused the film and groaned. Was she really not going to get any rest? She shook her head. "Who are you, and what is so important that you interrupt my down time?"

"Who I am is not important, but what I have to say is. Billions of lives are at stake" the figure responded.

Raven sighed. "When aren't they. Right, say your piece."

The figure spoke, in a sincere tone. "The Zhat Vash are experimenting with the Omega molecule at Hobus in an attempt to stabilise it. Their haphazard attempts to do this will fail, resulting in Hobus going supernova. This supernova will then release a massive subspace shockwave which, upon reaching Eisn, will result in the total destruction of the Romulan star system by supernova. You may not believe me Raven, but billions of people are going to die if you don't act"

The colonel couldn't help but roll her eyes. "And because they are experimenting with mycelial spores at the same time, they will cause irreparable damage across the multiverse. I know. We're working very hard on stopping them. Anything else you have to tell me that I already know?"

"I suggest you urgently re-examine your calculations on when you think it's going to happen, Raven. I would also recommend you try and track down this woman to verify what I'm saying is true" the figure responded.

As the figure finished speaking, a holographic image of Taryn's sister Skylar appeared several inches in front of the cone. The synth, although an even greater scientific mind than her creator, had not reached the same conclusion of the inevitable supernova as the figure talking to Raven from inside the cone.

Raven sat up. "A mysterious messenger from the future, telling me to speed up our operation against the Zhat Vash, and to seek out some strange woman for verification. Forgive me if I don't believe what you are saying. Give me a reason to trust you. For all I know, you are working with them, and trying to lure me into a trap. Not going to happen."

"If I were trying to lure you and your crew into a trap, I wouldn't reveal my hand before it was played" the figure responded.

"What kind of stupid do you take me for," Raven replied, shaking her head. "You haven't revealed anything. All you have told me is what to do, which feels very much like a trap. You have not given me any reason to trust you. And I have a habit against trusting mysterious strangers who show up, in the middle of the night, in the middle of my living room, unnanounced, and don't even show their face."

"If I were going to lure you into a trap, I wouldn't have told you what I was going to do. I would have just done it and it would have been too late for you to do anything about it. Raven, I have never considered you stupid, but I didn't have you down as a fool. I am telling you this so you have a chance to repair your timeline, because if you sit back and do nothing, you will end up living with being responsible for the deaths of billions and the near-extinction of the Romulan and Reman races. Can you really live with that on your conscience again?" the messenger countered.

"Again? I think you got your timelines mixed up, whoever you are. And you did not hear me, it seems. We have allies. We are working on stopping them. And if you are with them, now I've told you. Okay, let's try a different angle. This woman. Who is she?"

The figure replied, expecting the long game to be played. "We do not make mistakes Raven, the timeline as it is now has the chance to be corrected but only if you take heed of my warning. I would offer to give you a glimpse into your not so distant future, but I expect I already know the answer to that offer. However, the woman you should seek out is named Skylar, she is a scientist and one of the greatest minds of her time. She lives a very sheltered life, but I can put you in touch with an intermediary who can open dialogue."

The colonel pondered the mysterious figure's words for a moment. "This Skylar, you speak of," she began, finally standing up from her chair and walking towards the holographic image. "Something about her is familiar." She turned to the figure. "I assume you are not actually here. You are using some sort of technology to project your image through time. And, from the way you speak, you are someone I know, or will know. Female, humanoid. Probably human, judgig by the way you speak. Unless, of course, you are distorting your shape, and I am really speaking to a Gorn man." She slowly walked around the figure. "Not corporeal, definitely a projection. Okay, I'll bite. Where will I find that intermediary? Who is it?"

"Skylar, or at least the one who lives in my timeline, has helped me over many years to develop a reliable method of communicating with you through time. It does not allow me to fully materialise, at least not yet. The intermediary you need to contact is Doctor Kenneth Barrow of Starfleet Research and Development, I will leave you his contact details and tell him he can expect to hear from you soon. If you can reach a mutual understanding, then Doctor Barrow will be able to contact Skylar and arrange for you to meet at a neutral location of your choosing" the figure responded, feeling that giving Raven the choice of where the rendezvous would take place may begin to build a level of trust.

"Starfleet, eh? As you seem to know everything about me already, you must know that I have quite the history with that organisation. Not one that would encourage me to seek their help." Raven shook her head. "So what makes you think that this Doctor Barrow will be any different?"

The figure sighed. "If I didn't trust him, then we wouldn't be having this conversation. The only reason Starfleet haven't fired him for repeated disregard for their instructions is because he's so good at what he does. He's only using them until he's got enough backing to start up his own research institute, as a matter of fact I'm talking to you from his facility now. He can be trusted, Raven."

The colonel nodded slowly. "Very well, then. Since you know where to find me, you probably know how to send me his contact details. I will get in touch with him over the next few days. If there is nothing else, I'd like to get back to my evening's relaxation, I've had a long enough day." She rubbed the patch over where her left eye was. "And the way things are going, the next few days will be just as long."

"He can be contacted via encrypted communications link at his private residence, the Barrow Orchard on Earth. Tell him The Messenger sent you, he will understand what it means" the figure said.

As soon as The Messenger had finished speaking to Raven, they and the upside down cone containing them disappeared in the blink of an eye. No traces of The Messenger from the 25th century ever being there remained.

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