The Ending Of The Story

Posted on Sun Feb 17th, 2019 @ 8:47pm by Captain Charlotte Averis

Mission: https://wellington.pegasusfleet.site/index.php/sim/missions/id/5
Location: Various

"You did the thing I wanted?" Charlotte asked over the comm to Renee down in engineering, right after the engineer had confirmed that the rift had been closed.

Renee finished securing the ship's functions back to normal, not bothering to answer her Captain for several seconds, "Yeah, I did, Charlie. You know, I'm sorta surprised you didn't want to stay. Especially after what I'd found?"

Charlotte sighed. Renee had hacked into Starfleet's database while she'd been in Wellington's sickbay and did her research. In their timeline, most of the crew from the Icarus were alive, except for Charlotte, Maxwell and a couple of the others. But whereas Andrew Vernet was dead in their own side, he was alive on the other side. The Captain had wanted to see him, but there hadn't been time and she had her duty. "I know. But they need to be as ready as they can be. Having the information on the Shalti and the Kojal should help them without giving them our own tech."

It was probably good that Charlotte couldn't see Renee's smile, because then she'd know something was up, "I know and they will. I got a look at their Renee's research and she's on the right track, just needs some refinements in some areas and if she keeps going in the same research path? They'll be fine."

"I hope so, they deserve better. Let me know when we're ready to rejoin the Fleet, Admiral Orion is waiting for us." Charlotte cut the comm and sighed. What could have been, but there was making the future here to think of. At least the six crew that had stayed on the other side could have their lives ahead of them. The two that came over to this side? Hopefully they didn't regret it.

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USS Wellington

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Renee slid into her console in engineering and brought the screen to life. The Icarus had gone in and deleted everything that had to do with their technology from the sensors and equipment and there wasn't any hardware to study either. Instead, she'd been given the information on the Shalti to work with and her own biochemical memories as well, with the little implants she had. What she saw from that fighter, from just looking at the Icarus? She could work on those observations and try to reverse engineer a bit of that. Should be fun!

As her screen came up, it flashed a bright pink and then black with a pink border to it. Then a text message came up: 'Sync your implant to the audio feed from the console.' It came up for a second, then blinked off. Curiosity killed the cat and Renee looked inwards to work with the settings, then activated the visual feed as well. In the middle of the pink-bordered screen, where no one else could see it because of image phasing, the image of herself came up and smiled at her.

"Hi Renee, it's you!" The familiar bubbly voice of herself, but with a tired look behind her eyes and the obvious features of Wellington's sickbay on the wall, made Renee smile at the 'blank' screen. "Look, first of all, change your password. You've been using the same one since the Academy and I've changed it already for temporary security. Right now it's the name of your second Academy boyfriend's third sister's husband's childhood dog. You know the one." She rolled her eyes, "But make it a bit more original. That's almost as important as what I need to tell you. Ya'll aren't ready. You aren't remotely ready, those fighters you have are pretty decent, but you're gonna have to make improvements. I don't know if the Borg can hold them forever and if they can't, well..."

The image sighed and tapped a button off-screen and another hidden image came up on the screen in front of her, "Because I don't know how long you have, I need to help you figure some things out but you're already on the right track. I know I asked that cute little doctor there to tell you this, but since I'm here now: Remember that you don't have to cut a hole through the fence, nor do you have to jump over it. Let the rabbit go down the hole and UNDER the fence to get to the other side. It's not about brute force. But here's a few more little tidbits, nothing to violate Temporal regulations too bad, but still. You take care of yourself, Renee, don't be afraid to take chances. Toodles!"

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Elsewhere on Wellington
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The screen had waited for Siobahn to activate it and had patiently been dormant until it had also known the doctor was by herself in her own quarters. But it finally was time.

Renee's face came up on the screen with a bright smile, "Hi Siobahn! Thanks again for putting me back together and thank Hailey as well for me, give her a kiss or two as well, but those are from you, not me." She winked at the young doctor, then grew more serious, "But I'm telling YOU this because I think you'll be more likely to believe me than anyone else, okay?"

There was a pause, almost inviting Siobahn to nod, before Renee continued, "They're coming. The Shalti, that is. I reviewed the initial sensor data and that first bit, where their control craft reoriented itself? That wasn't a mistake and it tells me that they sent a message home. If the Shalti didn't know you guys were out here already, they do now. And they'll know you're an easier target than the Borg are. I don't know who to go to, but I know you have the ear of your Major Weston and she's got people she can whisper to as well. I hate to put this on you, sweetheart, I really do, but you need to figure out a way to get this to someone who can make a difference and get the Federation ready. Or at least out here in the Delta Quadrant. Stop them cold in the first engagement and they may decide you're not worth it. Renee is on the right path, but I can't do too much in that regard."

Renee seemed to deflate for a few seconds, then smiled again, "I'm sure you'll do just fine, Siobahn, sweetie, and thanks again. I'll try to be in touch if I can find a way... Damn... You didn't hear that, right?" She winked, "Toodles!"


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Deep in the Delta Quadrant
World of Shal
Homeworld of the Shal'ti
****************

The message came from out in the middle of nowhere, but the Empress recognized it nonetheless. She took her attention from the battle raging several hundred light years away to listen to the message from the lone, weak voice from what could only be a daughter of one of her children's children and had an 'accent' that almost rendered the voice unintelligible. Almost. It stated that it was still hunting it's quarry and requested instructions, quarry known as 'Federation'. The voice soon vanished and didn't return, but from where it came from? Unexplored territory. Perhaps it was fertile new ground?

For the first time in decades, a century? More? Her attention remained away from her children fighting the machines, dying and destroying. It went to one of her children, a young Queen Shalti who was a mere century old, sitting on the static edge of her territory and building her brood, "My daughter..." Her voice hissed over the hundreds of light years nearly instantly, "Take your brood to the center of this arm of the galaxy, find this 'Federation' and feed. Grow and enslave them, then bring me their flesh and we shall finish these machines for all time."

"Yessssss, Mother..."

OFF:
END OF: 'Hello From The Other Side'