.004 - video

[captain_jtkirk]

I don't think these things are malfunctioning at all but if it's just an excuse to roll call, then I'm Captain James T. Kirk. My friends call me Jim.

[He tips the communicator to the side, and there's Spock. Looking stoic as always.]

And that's Spock. Don't worry kids, he always looks like that. He won't bite.

Comments

[Private]

[logistical]

The Captain did not stand for it.

[It's a mild correction, but an important one. Kirk's decision had saved Earth and millions of other lives in the 'Fleet, even if he'd broken the rules.]

[Speaking of which--]

Are there laws governing exchanging information across these temporal disturbances?

[Private]

[daxattack]

[Of course he didn't. Jadzia smiles -- there's a reason that Kirk is the standard by which Starfleet captains invariably measure themselves.]

That is an excellent question, to which I have no answer. There are very clear laws regarding interfering in one's own timeline. I've witnessed first hand the consequences of breaking them. But if what you say is true, my reality as it stands shouldn't even exist.

[She ducks her head down, scanning the day's logs. But as far as she can tell, all Federation outposts are standing. Including those on Vulcan.]

A parallel universe?

[Private]

[logistical]

[Y E P he's met older Spock.]

One created when the Romulan in question altered the timeline, yes.

[Beat.]

May I ask what happened when one's own timeline is interfered with by a past or future version of oneself?

[Private]

[daxattack]

My crew and I were transported to a milestone era in early twenty-first century Earth history. My captain, through no fault of his own [temporal regulation officers have ears EVERYWHERE, you never know], interfered in a landmark civil rights movement.

As a result, entire planets were wiped out. We were forced to directly interfere in historical events, in order to set things right. I can't imagine that the consequences of losing Vulcan would be any less dire.

[Private]

[logistical]

[His brow furrows with what could almost be worry.]

The long-term effects upon my timeline are not yet apparent. It has only been a few weeks.