Considering the Past

[Annabelle O'Halloran 0]

 

Jon sits at a workstation in the science lab modifying his personal cloaking device to work on a much larger scale. Aside from making blueprints as he works, he is also constructing an adapter for the device due to its limited power. Rather than wait for someone to tell him to get started on this project he decides to get an early start. He’s completely focused on his work, not paying attention to his surroundings.

 

Anna walked slowly back from the mess where she'd gone to grab a sandwich for dinner which she planned to eat while she started the research requested by McQueen. She was expecting Caroline to come along in a little bit and give her a hand. She walked into the lab and paused on the threshold, surprised to see Jon there. He hadn't looked up when the doors opened and she realized that he most likely hadn't even heard them. He was riveted on whatever it was he was working on. She walked over, calling softly, "Jon?"

 

Jon turns his head slightly as if he heard Anna but then returned to his work. He jots a few notes on a PADD next to him before returning his focus to the cloaking device. Even though he’s paying attention to his work he is aware someone else is in the room.

 

This time Anna tapped his shoulder. "Hello?"

 

He turns to Anna after setting his tools on the table. “Sorry, I get a little ‘in the zone’ when I work. I hope you didn’t mind me setting up shop here, it’s the only place where I can get some peace to work on the cloaking device.”

 

"Of course, I don't mind," Anna answered, shaking her head. She gave a curious look to the counter. "What are you working on?"

 

He points to the device on the left, which is no bigger than a wristwatch “I’m modifying the cloaking device so it can hide the Reaent. Due to its limited power I’m also making an adapter to where it can draw power from the Reaent and function as intended. As for power consumption, it won’t take much to run it.” Points to the adapter on his right, which appears to be in construction at the time being.

 

Anna looked thoughtfully from one device to another. "We can track them from their emissions. Based on the sensor package they had in this time, what, if anything will they be able to scan from us?"

 

“Truthfully…” taking in a deep breath, “the Reaent will be like a ghost. The cloaking devices from the Shadow Corps are very efficient and put out almost no emissions whatsoever. I say almost because if the device becomes compromised it won’t work as intended. Hence the reason I’m carefully working on it while making blueprints. I hope that answers your question.”

 

Yes, it does, thank you," Anna answered "Can we fire weapons through it?"

 

“Yes and no” he replies. “We can fire while cloaked but I wouldn’t recommend it. There’s a chance, albeit a slim one, that it might or will give off our location. That’s why a majority of Shadow Corps agents do not carry energy weapons.”

 

"They would be able to determine our position probably with analysis of the weapon trajectory but by then we would have moved. Reaent has better maneuvering ability than those old K'Tinga ships." Anna slid onto a stool and looked at Jon for a moment before asking. "The Shadow Corp. Is that where you were...are...right now? The you in this era?"

 

He lets out a sigh. “You knew I was a member of the Knights, but there’s something you didn’t know. After that war I fought in a long time ago, I joined the Shadow Corps as a freelancer. That means I was a member but I acted on my own. As for this particular time, I was monitoring the activity between the humans and the Klingons up until they established their peace. I have a gut feeling that my past self is in the area; it’s a feeling I can’t shake and it bothers me.”

 

"You are in a unique position on the ship in that you are the only one who was alive in this era. I wonder if your self has scanned Reaent. Knows that we're here..." Anna looked worriedly at Jon. "What would you do?"

 

“Depends on which version you’re referring to” he says in an inquisitive manner. “If you mean the current one, me naturally, I would first check our ship to see if we had leftover particles responsible for temporal distortions. Rule of thumb is that any ship going forward or reverse in time will have a chronological stamp to indicate where or when it was from. In the event that you are talking about my past self, however, I might have noticed the Reaent’s appearance but would have done nothing since neither my ship nor the temporal prime directive was threatened. Long story short we have to be careful.”

 

"I was wondering what the 2291 Jontilles Shamor would do," Anna replied with a smile, which quickly faded. "We do have to be careful, and yet--the Captain has decided, and there was a definite consensus, that we will act to make sure the Enterprise makes it to the conference."

 

“Are you sure we’re doing the right thing though? If my past self gets involved and tries to stop us, it could be dangerous. It might be possible to reason with me but it would have to be very convincing. Back then I usually acted before questioning those around me. I know for a fact we can’t blow up my ship; if I die on the ship I could not exist in the present. That makes for a difficult situation for me. If we must help the Enterprise; then we need to handle it quickly, quietly, and carefully.”

 

"I have no way of knowing if we're doing the right thing or not. It's a gamble but it's a gamble based on our knowledge of history that tells us that the Enterprise did make it to the conference and foiled the assassination of the Federation President." Anna watched Jon, adding, "That's the Captain's reasoning and it feels right. As for your other self being so close by and in a position to interfere...we're going to have to program his ship's particulars into the computer so we can monitor what he does."

 

He nods “I’ll upload my ship’s transponder codes so we can track it.” Motions to his workstation “it won’t be long for me to finish the modifications to the cloak, but the adapter might take a little while to finish.”

 

Anna nodded, still turning over the ramifications of Jon's other self being so close by. "And you have no memories at all associated with Reaent having come back, do you?"

 

He scratches his head “I’m currently drawing a blank as to whether I saw the Reaent at this time or not. I truly wish I knew but I can’t seem to remember.”

 

"Because it hasn't actually happened yet?" Anna asked softly, not expecting an answer. This was one of the reasons that temporal anomalies were so frustrating. Things didn't stay linear, lines blurred and suddenly what should be up was down. Jon was right--they would have to be very, very careful but that was like telling a blind man to watch his step as he crossed a room with a floor covered in broken glass. "We know what happened--it's possible we just don't quite know how it happened and this is how it's supposed to be."

Edited November 15, 2009 by Annabelle O'Halloran