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Darkness Unfolding - Part 6

Author - The Watch Stander
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Darkness Unfolding

by The Watch Stander

Disclaimers in Part 1

~~~~~

Part 6


Archer pushed the door chime outside of Daniels assigned quarters. He was surprised when the door opened almost immediately and a very wide awake Daniels greeted him.

"Good morning, Captain!"

Archer sighed, at this point he didn’t know whether it was the morning or night, he was that tired.

"I need to talk to you."

Daniels didn’t seem surprised. "Of course, Captain. Come in, I’ve actually been expecting you."

Jon gave him a tired look, then entered the door.

"Have a seat by the desk, I’ll get another chair." Daniels seemed almost excited as he hurried to retrieve another chair from across the room.

He returned with the chair and sat across the desk from Archer.

Jon was too tired to play games, so he immediately went to the heart of the problem.

"Members of my crew are seeing apparitions of themselves appearing in different parts of the ship. It isn’t an anomaly causing this, I want to know what’s happening with my ship."

"I hadn’t heard about the appearance of apparitions, but it fits into what I suspected before I went to check on my ship’s equipment." He could see that Archer was getting aggravated.

"To answer your question, It’s being caused by a time line overlap. I was able to control the other time line by putting us a day ahead of it. However, my equipment was damaged and I won’t be able to hold this time frame together much longer before the other one overlaps us and everything goes back to what it was."

Jon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. "You mean if it overtakes us, I won’t remember any of this time line happening?"

Daniels looked regretful, "Yes. Unfortunately I won’t be able to erase it and start again. My equipment is too badly damaged to try again. This is the only opportunity we’ll have to prevent that time line from happening. "

Jon was beginning to see where this was all going. "I thought you were supposed to prevent interference with the time lines, not cause it?"

"Normally that’s true, but remember, we’re in a war and certain fractions are interfering with the time lines in order to change the future to what they want. They’re causing things to happen here so members of your crew will be killed. The ending result is that your mission will fail and Earth will be destroyed. "

He looked at Archer closely, " Has anything come back to you from the previous time line? Flashbacks, dreams?"

Hearing the word dream suddenly brought back the nightmare Jon had been having earlier while asleep on his desk. "Yes, I had a dream about us being attacked."

"Let me fill in the rest of that dream to convince you that what I’m saying is true, Captain. In your dream you were boarded by the Klingons and in the ensuing battle Commander Tucker was seriously injured. So seriously, that he was going to die." He waited to see if Jon agreed with his summation.

"Yes, that was mostly what happened, although I never made it to the end as Phlox woke me up when he called." Jon sighed, realizing that if Daniels knew his dream, then it must be real, something that had already happened. He was not about to let Trip die as well as fail this mission. "What happens now?"

"We change course and head for the nebula before we are over run by the future time line the fractions created. This will put us back into the real time line that was part of original history." He looked intently at Jon," If you lose Commander Tucker, you won’t make it through the expanse to finish your mission. He’s an intricate part of what happens to Enterprise. Without him, your ship won’t stay in one piece or be repaired in time to stop the weapon."

Jon would have laughed had the situation not been so serious. It all sounded so preposterous. He was glad that T’Pol wasn’t here or he’d be trying to convince her that this whole scenario wasn’t absurd. But it was serious and he didn’t want to lose Trip, or anyone else for that matter. His crew were all important to him and he needed them to finish ths mission. Trip especially, since he knew Enterprise better than anyone.

"All right, I’ll give the order to change course." Jon started to get up and head for the door. Then he paused a moment and turned around. "Be advised, if this is some part of a plan you have to use us as a pawn in your war, I’ll be less than happy. I will jettison you and your ship at the first signs of betrayal."

Daniels looked serious, " I understand, Captain. I’m not lying."

Archer accepted this and left.

Daniels stared at the door for a long time afterwards, wondering if he could indeed pull this all off. It would take a lot of luck and additional help from Archer. He just hoped it worked or none of them would live to be part of the future that he knew......

***************************

Trip’s head still ached slightly, but Phlox had released him and allowed him to go back to his own quarters to get a good nights sleep. At first he had fallen soundly asleep, then he started having weird dreams. Dreams of fighting Klingons and being stabbed by one. It was at that point in the dream that he had awoken. The resonant of the pain or imagined pain of being stabbed still with him. Unable to sleep, he had gotten up and sat at his desk to work on the crew schedule for engineering. It was while involved in this he felt a sudden shift of power in the ship. Trip was constantly aware of the sounds of Enterprise and could tell if something wasn’t right just by the feel of the ship. Right now he knew they slowing down and heading in a new direction, he quickly called the bridge.

"Tucker to bridge."

"This is T’Pol, Commander. What can I do for you?"

"Are we changing course?" he asked.

"Yes, Commander. The Captain has ordered us to go through the nebula."

Her voice sounded even, but Trip could detect the slight inflection in her tone that indicated that she didn’t approve of this move.

Neither did he. "What! I thought we’d decided against doing that? "

"None the less, the Captain has ordered that we change course and head through the nebula," She responded.

"Ok, T’Pol. I’ll check with the, Captain," He said and signed off.

I know this must have something to do with Daniels. He has convinced Jon to change course.

He took a quick shower, donned a clean uniform, then headed for the Captain’s quarters. Somehow he knew Jon would still be awake.

*******************

At 07:30 hours Archer assembled his officers in the ready room. He looked at their faces as each of them walked in. None of them looked happy, but they were doing their best to hide it.

Earlier, Trip had been furious when he had stormed into Archer’s quarters. It had taken a monumental effort to convince him that the change of plans was necessary and done with good reason. He couldn’t tell Trip what the consequence to him personally would have been for fear of changing this time line. The fewer of them that knew what happened in the other time frame the better. At least according to Daniels.

Jon waited until everyone was present before beginning the meeting. Daniels wouldn’t be here, as he was still working on his ship. Archer had offered Trip’s assistance, but Daniels told him the technology wasn’t something they should see for fear of once again changing the future.

Finally after making sure they were all present, he began.

"I’ve assembled all of you here to explain our new course. As you know the nebulas we’ve encountered have almost always had a negative effect on Enterprise and we have tried to avoid them in the past.

However, I’ve been advised that it’s necessary we change our course and head towards the nebula as it will take us nearer our goal faster. Daniels has also advised me that there are pirates ahead of us on this route and I’d also like to avoid them as well. We don’t want to make our presence in here known too soon. Are there any questions?"

Reed raised his hand.

"Yes, Malcolm."

"If there are pirates ahead, then they may know we’re already here. What’s to stop them from following us into the nebula and attacking us from behind when we’re blind, since our sensors may not work in there."

Archer responded. "It’s a possibility, so therefore you and Major Hayes should work out some emergency drills and contingencies incase we’re attacked."

Reed nodded and turned to Hayes who also nodded.

Trip had his arms crossed and looked slightly uneasy, but he kept silent having agreed earlier to do as Archer requested. He still wasn’t throughly convinced, but Jon had been adamant and Trip wasn’t about to go against his orders.

There was also something in the way Jon had spoken to him earlier. Jon had looked at him intensely almost begging him to agree. It sounded to Trip that Jon was really worried about the crew and the dangers to them from the pirates. This concern was something that had been missing from Jon ever since they had entered the Expanse on this mission. Finally, Jon had grabbed Trip’s arm and asked him ‘Please do this for me, Trip.’ After that he couldn’t refuse and so here he stood, silently waiting to see if others would agree with the Captain.

He half expected to hear from T’Pol, arguing against going through the nebula, but even she stood mute. Jon must have briefed her earlier and won her over.

The meeting finally finished and everyone started to leave. Archer asked Trip to stay and he waited while everyone else left.

"Trip I need you to stay in engineering in case we have problems. If I need you on the bridge I’ll let you know."

Archer wasn’t taking any chances that the same scenario might play out in this time line as well. He wanted Trip safe down in Engineering in case of an attack.

Trip though slightly surprised by the order, realized that it was practical that he be where he was most needed and that was in engineering.

"Yes, Capt’n."

He said it with a slight smile. Using the nickname he had called Jon before the attack on Earth. After entering the expanse it had always been ‘Sir’ since Archer had changed his manner as well and not been the friend that Trip had come to know. They no longer spent any time together as they once had.

Archer now realized how much he missed that nickname and what Trip using it meant, so he smiled back at his friend. At one time they had been almost as close as brothers. Trip seemed to be trying to renew their friendship and the closeness they once shared.

Jon reached out and squeezed Trip’s arm letting him know he appreciated his support.

Trip smiled and then turned to leave, "I’d better let Nelson know where it is we’re going and what’s expected."

Archer nodded and watched Trip leave. As the ready room door closed behind Trip, Jon once more hoped he was making the right decision and not being mislead by Daniels.

*******************

TBC


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