[ Act One ]

“Captain’s log, August 2nd, 3517.

Today it’s been twenty days since we arrived in this alternate reality after our close encounter with the quantum fissure. By now, life for my crew and myself seems to slow down at long last, and most of our fears and worries have disappeared. Still, the lingering shadow of the uncertainty of our future remains.

As far as I’m aware and informed, the general mood of our group has greatly improved during the last week since the last of our wounded colleagues were released from the care of the Synergy medics. As I mentioned in my previous entries, Co-Yor attested that the treatments they all received were well done and they were all fit to return to duty.

The question remains, though, what duty? We’re all desperately trying to find any kind of sanity in this insane situation, but it’s difficult for all of us. Without access to our ship, there’s only so much we can do in our attempts to find normalcy and daily routine.

A big part of it is Rel’s physical training, which is a welcome, or for some maybe not so welcome, excuse to get the whole crew together for a few hours and exercise as a team. Lieutenant Neirrek is as passionate and… dare I say, happy… about running his PT every other day as always. He takes great joy and pride in making sure we all stay in shape, and his exercises always leave a lasting impression for the next day.

Aside from that there’s surprisingly little for us to do. Yesterday I asked Hiora about the possibility to maybe rebuilt one of our holodecks in the diplomatic sector to provide a diversion from the current monotony, but it turns out the Synergy has abandoned holographic projections for recreational purposes altogether. They are only using that technology for interfaces and other non-entertainment purposes like the astral observatory. But even those are rapidly falling out of style in favor of purely virtual replacements.

The conversation I had with [email protected] made me quite curious about this one aspect of the Synergy’s hive-mind. The way she described it made it obvious that their interconnected consciousness is not only a means for communication, calculation, or information sharing, but also contains the ability to enhance any member’s perception with augmented reality overlays or to submerge them completely in a pure virtual reality simulation. She was a bit secretive with the details, but she did mention that this technology does not rely on sensory input, but rather creates the neural stimuli directly in the user’s brain.

It’s obvious that once you have that kind of technology, you have little need or use for holodecks or similar installations any more. What’s the point of having a room in which you can look at a dragon, when there’s technology that can turn you into a dragon, and allow you to experience flying through the sky while breathing clouds of fire? But the more I think about that promise, the more I feel like a little girl poking a campfire’s flames with her fingers. I’m so curious about it and tempted to ask if there’s a way to experience it temporarily, that I fear I’ll get to close, and it will burn me eventually.

Maybe this is how we’re all going to end here if we can’t find a way back. Assimilated into their society, not by force but by choice. Isn’t this somewhat like how the Federation works? That you become so convinced of the group’s advantages that you willingly become a part of it, even if it means having to change yourself? So far none of us have seen any hints of malice or cruelty in the Synergy, and the sheer variety of species working together in harmony and perfect unity is astonishing. We’ve seen many known species from all quadrants of the galaxy, and at least three dozen unknown ones.

Anyway… for now we’ll focus on finding our pace and holding out until the Sidereal is restored. Tarik provides me with daily updates on the progress of the repairs. He says that work is proceeding as planned, and that in a few days the last Federation technology will be removed from the superstructure. I’ve seen holographic projections of our ship’s current state, and it looks like a skeleton stripped of all flesh and sinews. I really wonder if they can keep the projected schedule and complete the rebuilding in the now remaining four months.

Speaking of Tarik, I reluctantly admit that I do enjoy his company a lot. He has seemingly unending patience, and no matter how many probably very silly questions I throw at him, until now he’d managed to answer them all with confidence, competence, and a sliver of dry wit and humor that always makes me laugh. I hope he’ll stay with us for a long time, because I don’t think I’ve ever met a more charismatic and engaged tutor, cybernetic implants or not.

A part of me wished we had met under different circumstances, but I know I’d never have existed in his universe. He told me about his career, his family, his life. I would have never expected him to be over 180 years old. He certainly doesn’t look a day older than forty, forty-five at most. He explained to me how their nanoprobes and the medical technology and knowledge their ancestors had assimilated, especially from the Vidiians, had led to a greatly increased life expectancy for all members of the Synergy.

When he told me this I was fascinated by how casually he spoke of two utterly horrible events, both the ruthless assimilation technology of the Borg and the despicable methods the Vidiians were forced to develop just to survive the Phage, and how they became something that eventually helped so many trillions to survive and prosper.

This seems to be one of the Synergy’s strengths. They are not stopped or held back by the terrible things their ancestors have done, but they look at those deeds, the technologies and practices, and think of a way to turn it into something good while not falling into the same traps again. While I may disagree with that approach in certain instances, in general it seems to have worked quite well for them.

Also, I realize that soon I’ll have to make the decision whether to relinquish control of the Sidereal’s main computer core to the Synergy engineers and provide them with the encryption passkey. There’s no ship to be had without a computer core, after all, and they need full access to all systems. Besides, I still want to know where and how exactly the timelines of our realities diverged from each other. Still, the cultural information in our main computer seems to be quite valuable for the Synergy, and I’d hate to give up our biggest bargaining chip too easily.

I’ll have to check with my senior officers and consider what they think about the idea, but I know for me there’s no way around making that decision one way or another. I’m painfully aware of all the regulations I’d violate by sharing classified Starfleet data with a foreign government, but what choice do I have? I must think of the wellbeing of my crew first. If I have to commit an act of treason to ensure the safety of my people, I’ll gladly stand trial when we return home and face the consequences of my actions. I can only hope I’m doing the right thing.

But I can already imagine that not everyone will be happy if I release the computer core. Just a few hours ago I completed the first round of one hour long one-on-one meetings with every individual member of my crew, which I use to show presence and gauge the general mood and perspective before unhappiness turns into problems. Jeffrey suggested doing this a while ago to keep the crew informed and content, but it’s quite time consuming. I try to spread it out over the course of several weeks, but those sixty-seven hours are still taking quite a chunk out of my schedule.

There are several crew members, I’d say about twenty, that are certainly reserved and distrusting of the Synergy. I was a little surprised that alpha shift ops officer Junior Lieutenant Clark was amongst that group, but I’m not faulting any of them. I can’t order my people to like the Synergy, only to cooperate with them when necessary. Ultimately, it’s their decision and their personal prerogative to reject the Synergy for as long as that doesn’t cause any trouble for the rest of us. I’ll rather have members of my crew that are open with their distrust of our new friends, then have them grin and bear it and become dangerous later.

Finally, I’ve received a personal communication from the Matriarch. She’ll return to Earth tomorrow and requested a private meeting with me and my senior officers. I’m curious and carefully optimistic about this meeting. What little interaction I had with Matriarch Chiaxi made her seem to possess a refined sense for diplomacy, an uncanny foresight, as well as a firm grasp on which words or actions any given situation requires. I hope she’ll give us some good news in response to the decision we made.

I also expect that in this upcoming meeting she’ll provide us with regulations and restrictions about what we’re allowed to do in their space and what would get us in trouble. There’s probably a whole catalog of rules and laws we’ll have to learn to understand how this galaxy works and not screw things up the moment we set foot outside the solar system.

I know this reads more like an entry to an insecure teenager’s diary than a captain’s log, but the situation is just so difficult for all of us. I try to do well by my crew and inspire them, but I honestly don’t know how long I can put up with this pressure. I don’t know how Captain Janeway managed to hold out, but I now know how she must have felt. Alone, forsaken, hopeless.

I always admired her strength and dedication to get her crew safely back home. Doesn’t mean I have to agree with everything she did, but she never gave up. I don’t know if I can do the same.

When I woke up this morning, I cried. I sat on my bed and just cried. I don’t even know for how long. It feels as if the whole world is looming over my head, threatening to come crashing down at any moment. I should really talk with Niko and Jeffrey. The last thing the crew needs is seeing their captain having a breakdown in front of them. I’m just so scared I’ll disappoint them. Or make errors in a situation that doesn’t allow errors and get someone injured, or worse.

There’s been a recurring thought that started creeping into my mind more and more often in the past weeks. If Shelen was still with us, he’d know what to do. He’d know what to say. But I… maybe mom was right. Maybe I wasn’t ready for my own command yet.

End log.”

Sina dropped the PADD she had used to dictate her log entry onto the low table in her quarter’s living room. She let out a heavy, strained, sigh as she reached for the tall glass of iced coffee, her mind still reeling with the dozens of things keeping her occupied each day. The Romulan leaned back into the impossibly soft cushions covered with Tholian silk and took a long sip from her drink. Her gaze followed the refracted rainbow-colored gleams to the huge windows and beyond, into the star sprinkled darkness above Earth.

Scores of Synergy ships flitted by, racing above the annulus, coming and going according to an invisible schedule, neither worrying nor caring about Sina’s fears and doubts. She looked back at the recording, her brows furrowing as she recognized how she became undone more with each topic she talked about. For a short moment she considered editing or redoing it, but then she shrugged. The chances of anyone else ever reading her log were slim. So why bother?

Not even ten minutes later she was drifting off into an uneasy sleep. She curled up into a ball on her couch and wrapped herself into the soft prismatic shimmer caused by Earth’s light bouncing off the furniture’s Tholian silk covers.

[ Act Two ]

The panorama was breathtaking. Sina stood at the railing of the extensive balcony near the top of the five kilometers tall arcology and let her gaze wander across the vast nexus seemingly stretching endlessly from the pyramid’s foot to the horizon and beyond. The city was beautiful. She was sure that wasn’t the word she would have expected to use, but it was true.

The city below was a wild, apparently chaotic mixture of gray metal and green trees and bushes, but she quickly started to notice the patterns in the pathways, streets, and bridges. Sol III’s nexus 103 was a wonderful patchwork of Synergy technology and architecture, and veins and spots of flora sneaking through the city. From her elevated vantage point she could see the various districts in their different shades of gray and the vastly different types of plants and trees growing all over it.

Urban areas with living quarters were a light, almost white, gray with hundreds of tall thick trees providing shadow, while industrial areas were almost black, with large parts of the buildings covered by thick layers of ivy. Venues of trading and transportation were colored in a matte gray with sparkles of colorful holographic info panels.

Thousands of small, blocky shuttle craft dotted through the sky, both above and below the balcony’s level. Now and then a larger vessel made its way past, like the medium sized transport with decidedly Krenim design slowly approaching the trading quarter, and in the distance Sina could even see a sphere and a cube with their typical white-blue outer hull hovering silently in midair.

“Still not tired of looking at the city?” Niko asked as he approached his captain. Like her, and the rest of the senior officers, he was wearing his light gray dress uniform.

The Romulan shook her head. “No, and I don’t think I will soon. I’d have expected most, if not all, nexuses to be stinking, ugly, black and brown hubs of industry and pollution. But this here is something else completely. It’s bright, and there’s so much green everywhere. It almost reminds me of Dublin or London, but just so much larger.”

Her first officer leaned against the railing and took a deep breath of the fresh and only slightly chilly air. “I know what you mean. Looking down from here, I almost feel like all those years ago when I stood on the observation platform of the subspace antenna pylon in Berlin for the first time as a child. I was so afraid that I’d stumble and fall on our way up to the elevator, but my father held my hand the whole time. But once I was at the top, I couldn’t get enough of it. Being able to see my hometown from almost 2,000 meters up was amazing. I remember coming back several more times, every time discovering something new.”

Niko had barely finished when they heard Tarik approach them. He was again wearing a normal arm on his left socket, and a non-engineering attire almost identical to the previous one. It was obvious from the expression on his face that he still didn’t enjoy diplomatic encounters. “I just received the update that the Matriarch’s flagship has entered the solar system. She will arrive any moment. Would you please join us inside?” Sina chuckled softly while she imagined how [email protected] probably wished to be on his sphere and conduct some propulsion maintenance rather than sit through another official audience.

The Commander quickly cleared her throat and nodded. “Of course.” On their way inside they collected the other senior officers that had enjoyed the view from the balcony that was protected against the harsh winds and cold by an insulation force field. A few moments later Sina, Niko, Rel, Shori, and Co-Yor entered the diplomatic hall, and joined Duncan, Noriko, Visra, and Jeffrey who were already waiting near their seats at the large round table. On the other side Tarik joined Hiora, who was also again wearing the dress she had worn during their first audience with Chiaxi.

The massive, long and rectangular hall was a marvel of architecture and design, with tall double doors on both short sides, and the exit to the balcony in the middle of a long side. Its ceiling towered five meters above the polished marble floor and was ornamented with raw chunks of jorvik trapped in platinum frames that formed a beautiful hexagonal pattern. The large round table, seemingly grown from a single piece of pitch-black crystal and accompanied by twelve comfortable chairs of different sizes to fit their intended occupant, was positioned slightly towards one of the short sides.

A second later, and perfectly on point, the Matriarch appeared at the far end of the hall in a bright blue white flash, swirling up the decaying particles left being by the dimensional shift as she stepped forward in long and bold steps, the ribbons of her flowing robe trailing behind. Like during their first encounter, Chiaxi’s personal security detail waited in the background.

The Synergy’s leader quickly approached the table, her neural tendrils waving behind her with every step she made, before she addressed her guests with a warm smile on her lips while her melodic voice echoed through the hall. “Greetings. Commander D’raxis, I hope you and your crew have been treated well so far and all your wishes and requirements have been met?”

Sina quickly nodded. “Greetings, Matriarch. Yes, thank you. Your hospitality is very generous, and our accommodations are far beyond what we would have expected.”

Chiaxi closed her three eyes for a moment and nodded. “Ah yes, I’m glad to hear that. But please, let’s continue our meeting seated.” She gestured with both hands towards the chairs circling the round table and proceeded to take her place. Once everyone was seated on the comfortable chairs, she continued. “I was pleased to hear of your decision to keep your curiosity and desire for exploration, and eventually return to the stars.”

The Commander returned the smile. “I’m also happy my crew made that decision. We had quite a heated discussion about that question.”

“I can imagine.” [email protected] replied. “You probably still wonder why I asked for this meeting, but I can assure you that there are only positive topics on my agenda today. I have three points I would like to discuss with you and your senior officers.” She paused for a moment and let her gaze wander over everyone seated at the table.

“First, the Synergy Statutes. This is our code of law and describes the rules of behavior and conduct every member of our nation must follow when dealing with other citizens and foreigners. While I don’t expect any of you to become experts on the work, I do expect every one of your officers, senior, enlisted, or otherwise, to understand and follow these rules. I hope you understand that our position on this point is non-negotiable. Since the Sidereal will be upgraded to utilize Synergy technology, I do have to demand that you follow the same rules as everyone else that has access to our technology.”

Sina quickly exchanged looks with Rel and Niko and wanted to reply when her first officer shrugged his shoulders and went first.

“Well, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I think we can manage that.”

Chiaxi raised her eyebrows. “I assume that is a proverb or saying of some kind?”

The XO cleared his throat. “Oh, yes. I’m sorry. It’s a proverb attributed to Aurelius Ambrosius, a religious figure of the 4th century. It’s an expression we sometimes use to say that you should follow the local laws and customs, instead of creating unnecessary conflict by insisting to follow your own ones. It’s said to have evolved from an advice he gave to a philosopher of his time regarding which religious custom to follow when visiting the city of Rome.”

[email protected] nodded in understanding and replied warmly. “I see. It’s a… unique expression, but I understand its meaning. Thank you, Lieutenant Commander.”

“Maybe we should try to avoid using idioms?” Sina quickly spoke into the round, part question directed at the Matriarch, part order for her officers.

“That is not necessary, Commander.” Chiaxi replied softly. “At one point or another we will have to understand the way you talk. And while our technology allows us to communicate on a raw linguistic level, many, if not most, idioms and expressions will require some effort to learn. So please, you do not need to restrict your way of talking.”

The Romulan thought about her host’s words, then agreed. “As you wish, Matriarch. You are correct that we will need to learn to understand one another beyond what our translation systems provide for us.”

“I’m glad we understand each other.” Chiaxi continued. “Which brings me to the next point. Operational knowledge of the technology we’re providing you with. I’ve been following the progress of the Sidereal’s restoration, and its currently projected completion is in 153 days. Is that estimation still correct, Tarik?”

The engineer nodded and replied straight to the point. “Yes, Matriarch. So far, we have not encountered any problems that will cause any delay, and we’re confident that our systems will operate as expected once they are installed in the upgraded Sidereal superstructure.”

“Good.” [email protected] nodded. “That means that you and your crew have about 153 days to learn the basic concepts and acquire enough knowledge to operate our technology without causing any accidents. I had a group of engineers and instructors estimate your crew’s current knowledge given the previous configuration of your vessel and extrapolate an appropriate training and simulation schedule from that point. It will be challenging and difficult, but it should be manageable. Without that training we simply cannot allow you to take control of your ship again.”

Sina swallowed before she responded. “I understand, Matriarch. Of course, we’ll try to complete that training, but what happens if we need more time?”

“What do you expect to happen?” Chiaxi retorted with a wide smile, her three cybernetic eyes gleaming like miniature blue stars. “You simply won’t be allowed to take control of the Sidereal until you’ve completed all required tests and simulations, but there will be no other consequences.”

Commander D’raxis looked to her senior officers, trying to assess their opinion. Most of them seemed to understand and accept the Matriarch’s requirement, even Visra met her gaze and nodded in agreement. Eventually Sina faced [email protected] again. “We understand and agree. What is the third point you wanted to talk about, Matriarch?”

“It is somewhat connected to the second one, Commander. The training program in its current form assumes that your people learn the Synergy interface concepts. Since every single member of the Synergy has a neural uplink and cortical implants, our interfaces are optimized for direct mental control, not for manual operation. Given that you will most likely chose to not utilize neural implants to interface with our technology, understanding our interfaces alone will take an estimated three to four weeks.”

Rel spoke up after the Matriarch finished. “You’re right, it’s basically impossible that anyone of us would accept such an implant.”

“I thought so, Lieutenant. Because of that, I have a suggestion to make. If we were given access to your own interface definitions and schematics, we could modify the controls of our systems to follow your standards that are more appropriate for manual operation. This would almost completely eliminate the requirement for your people to relearn our interface patterns and reduce the necessary time from almost a month to a few days.” Chiaxi explained.

“But for that your engineers would need access to our main computer.” Sina remarked and let out a soft sigh. It wasn’t a question, and everyone in the room knew it. Even the Matriarch, who simply nodded. The Commander exchange looks with her most trusted officers and took a deep breath before she continued.

“I’ve been discussing the topic of granting you access to our main computer core with my officers just today. There were many good arguments for and against doing so. The largest hurdle is that technically, granting you access to the computer is an act of treason. The Synergy is an unaligned entity with no formal diplomatic relations to the United Federation of Planets.”

While Sina was talking, Chiaxi asked Tarik a question via their neural uplink. [Are their main computer core’s protection and encryption systems able to withstand a focused attempt from us to bypass or disable them?]

The engineer’s eyes widened slightly at his ruler’s question, and he carefully looked around while everyone else seemed focused on Sina and Chiaxi. [No, Matriarch. We could easily break through the protective layer to get to the data.]

[Have we done so?]

[email protected] swallowed. [Of course not, Matriarch. You asked us to treat them as diplomatic guests, so we didn’t interfere with their possessions unless they requested it.] He hesitated for a moment, then added the question. [Do you wish us to break into their computer core?]

[No. Keep following diplomatic protocols. I was merely being curious. Thank you, Tarik.]

“But given the current situation, we all agreed that we have no alternatives.” The Romulan continued. “I guess you’ve already taken the computer core from the Sidereal. If you take me to it, I’ll provide the passkey to remove the encryption layer from the memory banks.”

The Matriarch smiled softly. “Your decision is most welcome, Commander. Tarik will see to it that you are provided the opportunity at your convenience. I promise you that this decision will be beneficial for all of us. It will also help us better to understand the mystery of your presence here. With access to your sensor data, our scientists will be able to work faster and more focused on a way to return you home. And your historical databases will help us find out where our universes diverged from each other.”

“I hope that the future will give me the chance to talk to your Federation. From what we’ve learned from all our conversations, your government appears to be quite reasonable. Therefore, I’m sure your leadership will be understanding of your decisions, given the extreme situation you suddenly found yourselves in.” Chiaxi added, slowly rising from her seat and walking around the table towards Sina.

The Romulan also stood from the chair, carefully following the Matriarch’s movements and slowly walking towards her, unsure about what the protocol expected from her. The two women soon met, and [email protected] offered her long-fingered hand to Sina, who accepted the gesture and took the hand.

“I’m convinced that eventually everything will turn out well for you and your people.” Chiaxi spoke softly while shaking hands with the Commander. “But I think it is time for you now.”

Sina raised her eyebrows. “Time for what, Matriarch?”

“Time to meet the other major galactic powers, of course. Since you are on your way to be able to set out on your own soon again, you should know what’s waiting for you out there. The others are also quite curious to meet you. Rumors of visitors from another reality have spread faster through the Milky May than subspace communication. Please, follow me.”

[email protected] let go of Sina’s hand and turned around, facing away from the round table, and headed straight for the large doors at the near site of the hall, opposite from where the Matriarch had arrived earlier. Captain D’raxis exchanged quick glances with her senior officers, but then shrugged her shoulders and followed Chiaxi.

With flowing robes, the Matriarch strode through the automatically opening doors, and revealed five alien ambassadors waiting for the Sidereal’s senior staff. When Sina and the rest of her officers eventually followed the Synergy’s leader, they were faced with a group of diplomats that couldn’t have been more diverse and unexpected, each of them eying the newcomers curiously but still with some reservations.

First, Commander D’raxis and her officers were introduced to the amorphous and continuously flowing ambassador of the Dominion, residing in their floating container, and accompanied by two heavily armored Jem’Hadar. Next was the elderly bald male Krenim delegate, proudly displaying his black and blue leather tunic that was decorated with his empire’s insignia.

The most impressive sight was the almost two and a half meters tall six-legged representative of the Tholian Assembly, their ruby red armored encounter suit allowing them to interact with other species outside their own extreme environmental requirements.

Next to the Tholian ambassador waited the Breen representative, clad in one of the species’ typical nondescript pale white refrigeration suits, creating a striking contrast to the Tholian’s bright red suit. The last, but not least, diplomat waiting for Sina was a Suliban female, dressed in simple grayish-brown robes held together by a purple cord.

After the initial introductions, Niko moved closed to Sina and whispered in her ear. “Well, that just got interesting.”

[ Act Three ]

Sina, Niko, and Tarik stood in the engineering bay where the Synergy had temporarily stored the Sidereal’s main computer core. The group looked up at the huge twin cylindrical isolinear matrices towering twelve meters above them. Countless wires and pipes for power supply and the cooling system ran into the core from the sides and the back, and the whole construct was glowing in an eerie pale blue light.

“I always forget how massive those things are.” Niko said. “You never really get to realize the size if you only see the numbers on a screen.”

Sina chuckled and added. “I know exactly what you mean. But I guess we won’t have to worry about it for all too long, do we, Tarik?”

“You are correct. Once you’ve decrypted the computer core, we will proceed to mirror its entire data storage into one of our own systems, which has significantly higher storage capacity, increased processing power, and improved query timings. To facilitate that data transfer and ensure it is completed without problems, the Matriarch has assigned one of her own data processing adjuncts to the task.”

While the engineer was speaking to Sina and Niko, he reached out through the hive-mind to contact the data processing adjunct. [Na’lo? We’re waiting at the core. Can you join us?]

Tarik had barely finished the thought, when the specialist’s reply arrived. [Thanks, Tarik. I’m on my way.]

“Really? I didn’t expect the procedure to be so complicated.” Sina said with a raised eyebrow.

[email protected] smiled as he finally turned to face the Starfleet officers. “Oh, it’s not really complicated. The Matriarch just wants to ensure there are no mistakes that could lead to data loss. You have to remember how important the information contained in your main computer is for us.”

“Hmmm. Makes sense.” Niko replied, while he slowly walked around the massive computer core. “Can we then proceed at all? I mean, is that specialist already here or do we need to wait for them?”

“She has already investigated the core and configured the duplication interfaces according to our scans of its isolinear architecture. But she’ll be here any moment.” Tarik replied without hesitation, knowing exactly that his colleague was just around the corner.

Only a few seconds later, the bay’s primary doors opened, and an apparently young woman entered, dressed in simple and comfortable clothes resembling a leather variant. She was a couple centimeters shorter than Sina, and had an average stature, as well as slightly pointed ears. The left half of her head was cleanly shaved to grant access to an external data port for her cortex augmentation, as well as make space for several decorative dark tattoos, which contrasted with her light pink skin and covered half her head and neck. The right half was covered by neck-length straight blonde hair.

“Hi. I’m [email protected], Reserve Data Processing Adjunct. I’ve been assigned to ensure a correct data transfer and incorporation of the contents of your computer’s memory banks into the Synergy hive-mind.” She introduced herself, her light blue cybernetic eyes focusing Tarik, Sina, and Niko in that order. “If you like you can also call me Na’lo. Before we begin, I want to let you know that I’m extremely excited and honored by this project. This is an unimaginable treasure trove for us. To see how our people developed in a different timeline… Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Sina replied with a smile on her lips. “Nice to meet you, Na’lo.”

“Hello!” Added Niko simply with a nod.

The Sidereal’s crew had quickly learned that it was futile to introduce themselves multiple times. Once they had told one member of the Synergy their names, that information rapidly spread across the hive-mind. It took several replies in the form of “I know” before the Starfleet crew gave up on introducing themselves to newly met individuals.

[email protected] acknowledged their responses with a simple nod and turned towards the computer core. With a simple gesture she conjured several huge holographic displays that visualized in incredible detail the current state of the Sidereal’s main computer. “We can begin at your leisure.”

“Okay.” Sina said softly and looked over to Niko who simply nodded. “Computer…” She waited for the chirp indicating the main computer’s command recognition mode had activated. “Remove encryption from all systems and disengage security protocols. Authorization: Commander Sina Phaio Gallagher-D’raxis, Psi-One-Two-Zeta-Nine. Passkey, One-Two-Seven-The-Sirens-Are-Calling-For-Me.”

The computer sounded a chirp to acknowledge the command and responded with a request in its typical artificial voice. “Primary authorization accepted. Secondary authorization required to complete operation.”

Now it was Niko’s part. “Computer, remove encryption from all systems and disengage security protocols. Authorization: Lieutenant Commander Niko Heisenberg, Kappa-Eight-Delta-Xi-One. Passkey, Five-Six-Three-Brave-Day-Sinking-In-Endless-Night.”

“Secondary authorization accepted. Removing encryption, please wait…” The computer replied, and the group in the engineering bay could see on the holographic displays how one after another the individual components became accessible again. Main interface, primary processors, secondary processors, command interface, diagnostic routines, backup systems, memory banks, and so on. After less than three minutes all systems were available again.

Then the main computer continued. “Disengaging security protocols, please wait…” Again, several status displays changed one after another. Intrusion countermeasures, memory integrity checks, heuristic input analysis, and many others turned off, granting now unrestricted access.

“Done.” Sina breathed eventually after the last security protocol status indicator had changed to inactive. “It’s all yours now, I guess.”

Na’lo nodded. “Understood. I will now proceed with mirroring the memory banks.”

The specialist focused intensely, her gaze drifting off as she turned her attention to something the others couldn’t see. The various holographic displays changed their content, and now showed details about the process of copying the computer core’s memory banks safely over to the Synergy system and verifying their integrity. On the virtual screens Sina and Niko could see the progress’s status being updated.

Preparing target storage…

Allocating 1,300 gigaquads…

Verifying target integrity…

Completed

Scanning source storage…

Verifying source integrity…

Completed

Configuring data replication links…

Completed

Initiating data transfer…

Completed

Transferring data…

Progress: 0%

[email protected] was completely focused on the task in front of her, giving it her undivided attention. Meanwhile, Tarik was busy keeping an eye on the physical systems between the memory cores and the connected auxiliary systems. “All connections are stable.” He reported after several moments of checking on every ODN adapter and power line.

“How long do you think it will take?” Asked Niko directed at [email protected]

“Not too long I suppose.” The engineer replied, and then continued to explain the process in some more detail. “The amount of memory that needs to be copied is easily manageable by our systems, it will simply take some time due to the additional integrity checks and verification and validation steps Na’lo will perform. Still, she should be done in a couple of minutes.”

As they were talking, the screens continued to update their status displays according to [email protected]’s progress. It took only half a minute before Na’lo could report the first segment being completed.

Transferring data…

Progress: 10%

“Progress according to expectations. Operation system and management functions transferred. Data integrity confirmed.” [email protected] announced and added with a curious smirk. “The design of your subroutines is quite interesting. It matches the first impression we got from your hardware. Crude and simplistic, but with a pragmatic elegance to it.”

Niko chuckled upon hearing those words. “I guess that was a compliment.”

“I somehow doubt that…” Sina replied wryly. “I think it’s more alike us looking at well-preserved Pleistocene stone tools and thinking, wow, homo habilis sure was advanced for their time.”

The first officer let out a hearty laughter and replied with his dry humor that even put a smile on Tarik’s face. “Believe me, we got the best flaked stone knives this side of Africa!”

[email protected] just shook his head in response and kept monitoring the data and power connections to the core, while everyone in the room waited for the process to continue. Around thirty seconds later the next stage was reached.

Transferring data…

Progress: 25%

“Tactical subsystems transferred. Data integrity confirmed.” Na’lo stated flatly, while she reviewed the Sidereal’s combat functions. She smiled at the effective simplicity of the subroutines for calculating targeting solutions and programming torpedo flight paths, and the almost naive way the Starfleet vessel controlled its shields elicited a mental groan from the specialist. She quietly shook her head at the many mistakes she noticed, and the vast amount of wasted potential and missed optimizations.

In expectant silence Sina, Niko, and Tarik watched Na’lo manage the transfer, their eyes eagerly following every single update on the screens. The speed and efficiency with which the data specialist accomplished a feat that would take several Starfleet engineers over an hour was utterly astonishing to the command officers. They both had witnessed how time-consuming maintenance and upgrades on a main computer could be, but now [email protected] made it seem easy.

A minute later Na’lo announced the next milestone being completed.

Transferring data…

Progress: 55%

“Tactical data transferred. Data integrity confirmed.” [email protected] said, followed by an impressed murmur. “Mmm… tactical configurations of over 10,000 vessels belonging to more than 450 species. That’s much more than I would have expected. It will be very interesting to take a closer look at all those.”

Sina let out a heavy sigh. “This is the part that, when we get home, will have me stripped of rank, sent to a penal colony, and never set foot on a starship again.”

“Us, Sina.” Niko put his hand on the Captain’s shoulder. “Us. After all I went along with you.”

The Romulan laughed. “Damn, not even in prison I’ll be safe from your smart-assery.”

Her first officer grinned. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

“I’m at the last segment.” Na’lo commented, interrupting the officer’s playful quarrel. “The cultural and scientific database. Once this transfer is done, the process is completed. Estimated time remaining one minute and thirty-five seconds.”

With bated breath the Commander and Lieutenant Commander watched the progress display crawl the last few percentages.

Transferring data…

Progress: 100%

Completed

“Cultural and scientific database transferred. Data integrity… confirmed. These are billions of historical documents, replication patterns, recorded traditions, memetic information, from more than a 1,000 worlds. Hundreds of millions of entries for math, engineering, chemistry, biology, stellar phenomenon. This… this is amazing! Thank you, Commander!”

A warm smile curled Sina’s lips upwards, while Na’lo regained her focus and Tarik returned from behind the computer core. The specialist’s eyes were wet, her face an expression of joy and… hope, overwhelmed by the brief glimpses she had been able to take at the copied database.

[email protected] walked up to the Commander and tightly hugged her. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to us.”

The embrace took Sina by surprise, but after a moment of hesitation she returned the gesture and replied softly. “You’re welcome.”

Na’lo released Captain D’raxis from the hug and stepped back. “I’m sorry, we got carried away.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Sina waved her hands, wondering about the specialist’s sudden reaction. “Are you okay? You look a little overwhelmed.”

“Yes, it’s fine now. It was just the… the shared joy of trillions of minds watching the data together with me.” [email protected] responded, much more controlled and reserved again now.

Tarik stood next to the small group, until now quietly watching the exchange. “I’ve felt it, too. Commander, you can’t imagine what it was like. A tsunami of information and euphoria, a wave of hope unlike any I’ve seen or felt before. Even the Matriarch was watching us.”

“The Matriarch was here?” Niko asked, surprised that their leader personally witnessed the procedure. “Seems a bit unorthodox for a person as important as your leader to watch over a couple files being copied.”

“Well, of course not in person.” Tarik explained. “But she was following the process closely through our hive-mind. And what appears as the copying of a couple of files to you, might be the most important cultural discovery for our people in hundreds of years. You must understand that the Borg have left us with no culture of our own. They’ve erased all recordings, all traditions, even the native languages of the different species in the Synergy.”

The engineer’s gaze wandered between Niko and Sina for a moment before he continued. “If there’s a chance for us to get even a part of our history back, it is well worth almost any endeavor.”

“Aren’t you worried that this information would fracture your empire? That certain races would identify and try to group only with their own kind because of their history from our reality?” Sina asked, a little worried about a galaxy wide culture shock.

[email protected] shook his head. “No, the chances for this are minimal. Our hive-mind binds us all much closer together than you could ever imagine. We don’t see each other as Humans, or Vidiians, or Bajorans. We are the Synergy. We are more than the sum of our parts. I think the more likely scenario will be that traditions that belonged to any one species in your reality will be widely adopted by all of us here. But that might take months, or even years to happen, and if it happened it will probably be only for the most prominent and well-known customs.”

Na’lo continued after her colleague had finished. “We agree with Tarik’s estimation. This appears to be the most probable development, but of course we will only know once it has happened. Anyway, the amount of data from your computer core is impressive. We would not have expected it to be this excessive and intricate. It will take years, maybe even decades, until we’ve examined all the data in full detail.”

[email protected] had barely finished when suddenly a holographic projection of Chiaxi flickered into existence next to the group. Her harmonious melodic voice echoed through the engineering bay as she addressed the Starfleet officers.

“Commander D’raxis, Lieutenant Commander Heisenberg… on behalf of the whole Synergy I would like to express my deepest gratitude. I can also feel the data from your computer core spreading through the hive-mind. Tarik’s description fit it perfectly, a tsunami of information and euphoria. You have given us back part of our history, of our identity, and for that we thank you wholeheartedly.”

“Oh, don’t mention it.” Niko said, a wry smile on his lips, and his cheeks becoming a little flushed.

Sina continued with a happy smile on her lips. “You’ve done so much for us already, this is the least we can do to repay your kindness and hospitality. I hope that this data will help you and allow you to improve your empire even more.”

Chiaxi’s hologram nodded and turned to face the Synergy members. “Na’lo, Tarik… thank you for performing the data transfer so quickly and efficiently. You’ve both done commendably here today. I am sorry I couldn’t witness the process in person. I would really have liked to attend this historic moment.”

“Thank you, Matriarch.” [email protected] and [email protected] replied in unison, both beaming with pride and accomplishment.

“I cannot promise when we’ll meet again because diplomatic business is consuming most of my time currently. But I hope I can return soon. There is still so much we need to discuss. Until then, please take care.” The Matriarch’s projection flickered briefly, then vanished in the blink of an eye.

“So, what’s happening next?” The first officer asked, looking around.

“Our business here is done. There’s one last step I have to perform, then we can return to the annulus.” Tarik said, and wordlessly conjured a holographic control panel right next to him. He turned around and focused his gaze on the computer core. One by one, the status lines on the control panel started to change.

Releasing data replication links…

Completed

Disengaging ODN adapters…

Completed

Deactivating power supply…

Completed

When the last line changed to completed, the computer core’s silent humming ceased, and its soft blue glow died. It had served its ultimate purpose.

[ Act Four ]

[Tarik?]

[I’m here. Can I help you with something?] Came a slightly frustrated sounding response after several moments.

Na’lo continued carefully. [I’m sorry to interrupt your regeneration cycle. The Matriarch had tasked me with investigating the Sidereal’s information to find the point of divergence between our timelines. The team of data processing and analysis adjuncts I’ve created for this purpose has just identified the origin of the divergence. How do you think should we proceed?]

[Most of the Starfleet crew are asleep right now, so we should propose a meeting later. Do you feel confident enough to present your findings?] Replied the engineer, his curiosity being greatly aroused by this surprising findings.

[Yes. But I assume it will be uncomfortable, if not distressing, for them, considering how they reacted to the Matriarch’s revelations.] The data specialist continued. [The divergence started even before the Borg’s temporal incursion, but its consequences only become apparent later. I’ve seen in the transferred records that many affected personalities were held in high regard by Starfleet.]

If Tarik was in control of his physical body right now he would have furrowed his eyebrows. [You expect a confrontation about your findings?]

[I’m not sure. But I expect the news to be extremely upsetting for them.]

[Hiora?] Tarik sent and added the security adjunct to their private mental conversation.

[Secondary Security Adjunct [email protected] reporting. What do you need?]

[Na’lo and her team discovered what caused the timelines between our universe and the Sidereal’s origin universe to diverge. She wants to present her findings tomorrow to our guests but wants to be sure the upsetting news doesn’t spill over into a confrontation.] The Primary Engineering Adjunct explained.

[Understood. Just inform me when and where that presentation will occur, and I’ll have a security team on standby.] Hiora state flatly, but in her typical professional tone.

[Thank you. We’ll inform you the moment we’ve confirmed the schedule.] Na’lo replied, her thoughts being much more confident now. The memories of the volatile reaction certain members of the Starfleet crew had displayed when [email protected] had told them about this universe’s past were quite unsettling for [email protected] The thought of having to face a potentially equally charged situation without precautions had been one of the reasons she had decided to contact Tarik.

Hiora acknowledged Na’lo’s response and disconnected from the private conversation.

[Thank you, Tarik. And again, my apologies for disturbing you.]

[No problem. As the factual Starfleet liaison, I’ll inform them and then also attend the presentation. See you later.]

Ten hours later, the crew of the Sidereal was assembled in the primary function hall of diplomatic sector twelve. Tarik was standing on the stage of the hall that had been reconfigured into an auditorium for the presentation, next to Commander D’raxis, while the rest of the crew and officers were seated in rows of comfortable chairs around the stage.

“You know, one part of me is really curious about what Na’lo found out, while another part is utterly terrified. On our Earth there’s a saying. Never ask questions to which you don’t want to hear the answers. And thinking about what she will probably tell us, I’m no longer so sure that I actually want to know the root cause.”

Tarik smiled at Sina and replied. “Didn’t you tell me a short time ago that the first duty of every Starfleet officer was to the truth? Why would you then not want to know what caused our universes to become so radically different from each other?”

“Because I’m scared.” She admitted after taking a deep breath. “I’m scared of the terrible things that I will hear happening to people I respect greatly and hold in high regards. People who inspired me, people whose influence and legacy made me into what I am today. It will probably not be easy for any of my crew.”

“I understand. If you feel it is becoming too upsetting for you or your people, you can always request a break.” He replied with a concerned expression. The engineer hesitated for a moment, before he continued. “I’ve just been notified that Na’lo is on her way. She’ll arrive in a few moments.”

Sina nodded and left the stage to join Niko and Rel in the center of the first row. She was just sitting down when the stage was engulfed in the signature flash of a dimensional shift that bathed the whole auditorium in cold blue-white light for a split second. The two Synergy members stood close to each other for a few seconds, then Tarik also left the stage to watch the presentation from the side area.

A tense silence fell on the hall when Na’lo stepped to the front of the stage, and behind her two massive holographic screens flickered into existence. The left screen was titled with “Sidereal,” while the right one carried the label “Synergy.” Both screens were currently completely in sync, showing the date 2373-12-07 and a thin bundle of causality strands.

“Hello. I am Reserve Data Processing Adjunct [email protected] But if you like you can call me by my name, Na’lo. The Matriarch has tasked me to find the origin point when the timeline of our two universes diverged irreparably from each other. My team was successful, and we’ve identified the root cause of the deviation with the help of data from the Sidereal’s main computer. In accordance with your leadership I will now present our findings.”

She looked at Sina, and when the Romulan woman nodded in agreement, the specialist continued. The screens behind her changed slightly, progressing a few hours. The strands stayed in sync for most of the time, but at one moment the ribbons on the right screen changed.

“According to our analysis, the divergence originated at this moment. The Enterprise-E is about to return to sector zero-zero-one to participate in the defense against the invading Borg cube. Captain Picard announces his intentions to his crew and asks whether any member of the bridge crew objected to his course of action. In your universe nobody did, and all future events occurred as you know them.”

[email protected] swallowed before she continued. “However, in our reality, Lieutenant Hawk asked about a small group of civilians that were still on board the Enterprise-E. The following discussion, albeit brief, and subsequent actions introduced a delay of sixty-four seconds before the ship would arrive at Earth compared to your reality. This minor delay was sufficient to cause the destruction of the USS Defiant, and the death of Lieutenant Commander Worf.”

By now the screens had changed again, and the causality strands on the right side only had a passing similarity with the left screen. The two timelines were already significantly different from each other by now.

“In your reality the Enterprise-E arrived in time to rescue Lieutenant Commander Worf and distract the cube so that the smaller warship remained adrift. In our reality, the delay introduced by evacuating the civilians with shuttles, caused Lieutenant Commander Worf to attempt ramming the cube. The Borg detected the energy transfer to the Defiant’s engines, classified it as an actionable threat, and destroyed the already battered warship with a salvo of plasma charges before it could impact the cube.”

A murmur went through the audience, and a handful of small hushed discussions broke out between some members of the crew, but a few stern gazes from Niko and Rel quickly restored order.

The temporal ribbons changed again, and now there was no more similarity between the left and right screen anymore. Na’lo continued with her presentation.

“The next several groups of events are more similar again. The cube is eventually destroyed and launches the sphere. The sphere generates a temporal vortex and travels into the past, and the Enterprise-E follows. The sphere conducts orbital bombardment of the Phoenix launch site. The Enterprise-E destroys the sphere, and a group of Borg manage to infiltrate the ship.”

While the data specialist spoke, and the screens gradually updated, the causality strands on the right display seemed to approach a pattern more closely resembling the left screen again, but the similarity was only superficial. A closer look still revealed that the timelines were divergent.

“On Earth’s surface, repairs on the Phoenix are underway, but the Borg hidden onboard the Enterprise-E manage to take control of main engineering. Lieutenant Commander Data manages to encrypt the main computer. The subsequent assault on main engineering fails in a similar way, but with higher casualties due to the absence of Lieutenant Commander Worf, and Lieutenant Commander Data is still captured by the Borg.”

The gathered crew stared at the screens in deathly silence. Many faces had paled, but [email protected] knew that the worst was yet to come.

“The Borg continue to assimilate the ship until they gain control of deck eleven, and then proceed to construct the interplexing beacon on the main deflector dish. Captain Picard acquires a drone’s neural processor and learns of the beacon. Since Lieutenant Commander Worf was dead, it was Lieutenant Daniels who joined Captain Picard and Lieutenant Hawk in their attempt to release the deflector dish and destroy the beacon.”

The right screen was now at the verge of completely losing any resemblance to the known timeline and delve into pure unabated chaos instead. The strands and ribbons now crisscrossed each other wildly and chaotically, many strands ending abruptly.

“But Captain Picard’s plan failed. In this encounter Lieutenant Daniels and Lieutenant Hawk were assimilated, and Captain Picard was killed.”

Another crescendo of murmurs and discussions broke out amongst the Starfleet crew, this time even the first and second officers looked at Sina with their faces being slightly paler than moments ago. The captain herself wordlessly stared at the screens, her eyes following the chaotic temporal ribbons visualizing how this timeline descended into chaos.

Niko leaned over and asked. “You didn’t know what she’d say?”

“No.” The Commander shook her head, tearing her gaze finally away from the screens. She was pale, like most of the crew, shocked by the bluntness with which Na’lo had delivered the message.

On the stage, the data specialist waited for a few minutes until the commotion had died down a little before she continued. “From this moment on, the two timelines are completely divergent and never again approach any resemblance to each other. The Borg manage to complete the interplexing beacon, and a subsequent assault mounted by the surviving crew comes too late.”

“With the beacon active and the signal dispatched to the Delta Quadrant, the Borg resume the assimilation of the Enterprise-E. They rapidly overwhelm the crew’s defenses on several decks. The death of Captain Picard left the crew with extremely low morale, and the remaining bridge officers have insufficient experience to properly handle the situation. Eventually, Commander Crusher initiates the auto-destruct sequence and orders the crew to evacuate the vessel.”

The screens now show completely different causality patterns, the strands utterly dissimilar to each other. The display for the Synergy’s timeline is much more chaotic and unraveled, with ribbons entangling and disappearing rapidly. The changes were irrevocable and irreparable.

Na’lo continues her report, easily recounting the facts that left the whole chamber speechless. “Meanwhile, the repair of the Phoenix has been completed and it launches according to schedule, with Zefram Cochrane piloting the vessel supported by Commander Riker and Lieutenant Commander LaForge. In main engineering, Data attempts to distract the Queen by pretending to have succumbed to her schemes. He removes the main computer’s encryption and disables the auto-destruct sequence.”

“Lieutenant Commander Data targets the Phoenix and launches a group of quantum torpedoes, while positioning himself close to the plasma coolant storage tanks. The targeting solution he programmed for the torpedoes makes them miss, and he ruptures one of the coolant tanks, releasing its contents into main engineering. Many drones are destroyed, their organic components liquefied by the coolant, but the Queen manages in time to escape to a higher level.”

The Data Processing Adjunct took a deep breath and let her gaze wander over the rows of chairs in the auditorium. She could feel the tension, the disbelieve. Still she didn’t hesitate to continue.

“The Queen is able to activate the ventilation system to remove the evaporated plasma coolant. In a short but brutal fight Lieutenant Commander Data manages to destroy several more drones before he is eventually overwhelmed and forcefully dismantled. The Borg now have full control over the Enterprise-E. The Phoenix manages to complete the warp flight but is destroyed with a photon torpedo upon her return, killing everyone on board.”

“Knowing the exact timing of the Vulcan scout ship’s arrival, the Borg proceed to assimilate the population of the settlement from which the Phoenix was launched. Once they complete establishing a bridgehead on Earth’s surface, they move the Enterprise-E into a position from which they can intercept the Vulcan lander. The Vulcan vessel is destroyed before they can muster any resistance.”

[email protected] took a deep breath as she continued, her stoic facade slowly cracking. She thought she could manage recounting the terrible deeds of her people’s ancestors in detail, describing every death, enumerating every assimilation. But it was one thing merely to remember those heinous acts, and a different one to talk about them and actively recall them. Memories of terrible scenes from over a millennium ago flash before her inner eye.

“Over the course of the following weeks, the Borg… conduct a ruthless campaign of assimilation on Earth. Hundreds of millions fall before them, and the Human armies of the 21st century are ill suited to defend against the Borg. In their desperation against this overwhelming enemy, the Humans resort to liberal use of nuclear weaponry, but even this measure proves ultimately futile. Less than five weeks after the launch of the Phoenix, Earth has been completely… assimilated.”

The specialist’s voice faltered on the last word, and the screens behind the specialist flickered briefly, then winked out of existence. The audience was quietly watching the now mostly empty stage, with all eyes being focused on Na’lo. Sina’s face was a mask of utter shock, as were many others of her crew. Several Human officers were sobbing quietly, trying to control their emotions while facing an unprecedented massacre of their people.

“This concludes the report of our findings. The data is freely available to you if you wish to conduct your own analysis. The subsequent development of the galaxy has already been described by the Matriarch in a previous gathering, but our historical records are available for you to investigate. I understand that you hold many of the names I mentioned in high regard, and I apologize that I couldn’t provide you with less disturbing news.”

Eventually, Sina rose from her chair and walked up to Na’lo. “Thank you for running this investigation. I know it probably was as difficult for you recalling those events, as it was for us listening to your findings. At least we now know the truth, and that already makes the situation better than before.”

It was then that the Commander dismissed the crew and let them return to their training sessions and simulations. At the far end of the hall, around the entrance’s corner, stood [email protected] and watched the assembly slowly disperse. She had observed the whole presentation from her somewhat hidden post, ready to order her security team into action at the sight of any escalation. She was satisfied that it wasn’t necessary to intervene, and that the few commotions that happened were swiftly dealt with by the Sidereal’s senior staff.

As she turned to walk away from the hall she sent a simple message to the isolated network of her security detachment. [Operation complete. Return to deployment zone zero.]

[ Act Five ]

Noriko lazily stood next to the other senior officers, waiting for captain D’raxis like everyone else. The Commander’s message had requested the whole crew to meet in this location, a generous lounge on the edge of diplomatic sector twelve. Ensign Yamada could overhear some of the conversations around her. Shori was eagerly trying to convince Niko of trying the outdoor swimming pool and told him what an amazing experience it was. Meanwhile Rel and [email protected] were discussing the advantages of one tactical formation over another, and how to best counter it.

Finally, after several more minutes, Sina entered the lounge accompanied by Tarik. They headed directly for the gathered officers, their footsteps echoing softly in the largely empty hall. “Good morning.” The Commander greeted her crew. “I hope you’re all well rested, because we have a long day ahead of us.”

“What exactly are we going up against today, Sir?” Noriko asked playfully.

Sina just grinned like the Cheshire Cat itself and looked at [email protected] “Just wait a minute, you’ll love it.”

The engineer cleared his throat. “I assume you all have started with your assigned reading materials?” He looked around, noticing everyone nod. “Good. I know it seems to be an overwhelming amount, but we assumed you wanted to get done with the lessons as quickly as possible. Therefore, we provided you already with all related material regarding each specific subject.”

Noriko remembered seeing the list of files for the first time a couple of days ago. Hundreds upon hundreds of pages on the Synergy navigational charts, gravimetric projection controls, subspace slipstream navigation, combat maneuvers that should be impossible with ships larger than fighters, and half a dozen other topics. She did a quick calculation in her head and concluded that for the next five months she would have minus two hours of free time per day if she wanted to get through all the material.

Tarik continued. “Please follow me.” He turned and headed towards another, larger, door that looked almost like an airlock. Cautiously, but slightly curious, the group of officers followed. [email protected] approached the door and opened it with a simple mental command. Behind the door was another large room that looked much like a staging area, with several more identical bulkheads departing from it.

“I think I remember seeing a similar door onboard the sphere that rescued us.” Rel remarked as they got closer to the entrance.

“That is correct, Lieutenant.” Tarik replied as he stepped through the door. “There are several of these doorways on the upper cargo deck on Sphere 272-Theta-8. Actually, the sphere contained several hundred of those particular doors.”

Noriko looked at the room behind the door, but something didn’t seem right. It was a large hall with the familiar pale gray plating on floor, walls, and ceilings. Half a dozen long tables with enough seats for about a hundred people were lined up on one end near several wall consoles that most likely were fabricators.

As she walked closer she kept wondering about what seemed so strange about the staging area, when one of the other bulkheads opened and a member of the Synergy passed through it, revealing yet another room behind it. Suddenly it hit her like a ton of bricks. The area behind that other door couldn’t possibly exist. Thinking of it, even the staging area should have been halfway outside the annulus’s superstructure.

“Captain?” The Ensign asked, stopping dead in her tracks. “What… what’s with that room? It can’t be real!” Everyone around her also stopped and looked at the doorway, then at Noriko, then back at the room.

“Relax, Ensign.” The Romulan replied. “The trick is to try and not think about the layout. Trust me, it’s perfectly safe.” She then stepped over the door’s threshold into the staging area. After some moments of hesitation and questioning murmurs the rest of the crew followed. Niko and Shori went next, then Rel accompanied by Hiora, followed by the remaining people shortly thereafter.

“Sina, where are we?” Asked Niko while looking around the new chamber they’ve entered. “Are we still on the annulus? And how did we get here?”

The Commander spread her arms and turned around, gesturing towards the other doors. “We’re in the staging area to our training facilities and simulators. The Synergy completed its construction just yesterday.”

[email protected] continued with a more detailed explanation. “Behind those doors you will find facilities providing exact simulations of the Sidereal’s bridge, main engineering, laboratories, security checkpoints, medical facilities, and other systems with which you are not yet familiar. You’ll be able to use those as part of your training schedule to acquire the proficiency and routine required to control your vessel after its restoration is completed. It will also enable you to train with the new systems, like fractal dimensional shifting manifolds that replace your transporters.”

The crew looked around the area, carefully but curiously investigating the labels and annotations next to each bulkhead. They quickly found doors with labels matching what Tarik had mentioned a few moments before.

“And to answer your other questions…” The Synergy engineer continued. “Yes, we are still on the annulus. The diplomatic sector and your quarters are only 7.4 kilometers from here.”

“7.4 kilometers?!” Shori exclaimed. “But… how? How did we get here?”

“You stepped through a spatial fold. Our vessels do not utilize turbolifts or other internal transport vehicles like your ships do. Spatial folds are short range self-sustaining connections that we employ to provide quick intra-ship transportation. They use a particular form of subspace entanglement tied to specifically constructed frames. Their upper range is about ten kilometers, with some variance depending on the local spacetime configuration.”

Niko stepped to the front of the group again, closer to Tarik. “You’re telling me we traveled over seven kilometers by stepping through a door?”

“Yes, indeed.” The engineer replied flatly as a matter of fact. “And no, the mentioned limit of ten kilometers cannot be extended. Beyond that distance the entanglement simply cannot support itself anymore and breaks down, unless it is actively supported from the outside, which renders the whole concept moot. And again no, there is no way to create anything other than direct one-to-one connections between two frames.”

The first officer opened his mouth for a response, then closed it again. After a few seconds he slowly grinned at Tarik. “Are you really sure you aren’t a telepath? How did you know what I wanted to ask…?”

[email protected] shrugged his shoulders. “Consider it a matter of experience. Those are among the most commonly asked questions about our spatial folds. It is understandable that the technology is confusing and difficult to grasp, since it can easily create geometry that appears non-Euclidean and impossible. Most humanoid minds struggle with layouts that appear larger on the inside than the outside, or similar grotesque appearances.”

“He’s right, and I’m speaking from experience.” Sina interrupted her XO and the Synergy engineer with a smile on her lips. “When Tarik showed me the astral observatory back on Sphere 272-Theta-8 we used the spatial folds to get there. I looked at one of the sphere’s gateway hubs and got a terrible headache from the sight. It certainly takes some time getting used to it. And like I said, best try just not to think about it.”

“Anyway…” She continued. “I think we should get started. We still have a lot planned for today.”

Noriko had listened to the short exchange between Tarik and her CO and XO and shook her head. It seemed that every other day they’d find out something new about their hosts that completely blew her mind. She was still struggling with understanding that every time she talked to one of them, she potentially was talking to hundreds of billions. And now her worldview got another crack by being told about these spatial folds, where stepping through a door could take you several kilometers away from where you were.

The whistle from her captain instantly returned her focus and attention to the present situation. “Okay everyone, listen up. I want five groups. Bridge crew is with me, engineering crew with Junior Lieutenant Vossler, science personnel with Ensign Arsiv, medical staff with Lieutenant Co-Yor, and security with Lieutenant M’Tiras. Each group takes a good close look at the simulators for their department. Check the equipment, try the different stations, get a first glimpse at the interfaces and capabilities. Don’t be shy, you can’t break or damage anything.”

“After four hours we’ll have lunch break, and then will cycle through the other stations in one-hour intervals with a few more breaks. At the end of the day I want everyone to have at least a rudimentary idea where all stations on the restored Sidereal will be when we get her back. You don’t need to remember everything immediately, or become instant experts on everything, but still pay attention. This is our chance to show the Synergy that we’re up to the task, and that we won’t shy away from the challenge of catching up to their technology. Any questions?”

Following her captain’s orders, Noriko walked towards the other bridge officers. It took a few minutes for the whole crew to get sorted into the demanded groups, mostly because of some confusion from a handful of people who used to work in multiple departments. The issue was quickly sorted out, and two minutes later captain D’raxis had her five groups, which then went to visit their simulators for the first time.

The moment the Commander opened the door to the bridge simulator and ushered her officers in, Ensign Yamada just stood and stared. It was somewhat like the Sidereal’s original bridge, but at the same time it was also completely different. Right now, only the ambient lighting was active, and all stations were dark. The walls and floor were mostly covered with the apparently omnipresent light gray plating the Synergy seemed so fond of, while the whole forward half of the bridge’s walls and ceiling were covered in dark gray tiles with embedded golden hexagonal circuitry.

Slowly the group of bridge officers spread through the simulator. Noriko followed her colleagues as they explored the new layout. The biggest difference was that this layout used different elevation levels compared to the single level of the Sidereal’s original bridge. There was the top level with the captain’s chair, flanked by two seats with their own consoles, much like the original bridge. The same level also contained several temporary auxiliary stations at the back, like the older Galaxy classes had on their bridges.

The second layer, four full steps below the first level, contained five secondary stations arranged in a semi-circle facing the forward bridge wall. The young Asian casually walked down the steps at the right side of the bridge to the second level, her eyes curiously wandering over the stations. The station panels were just as wide and tall as she remembered them, but much thinner, and their surfaces were a uniformly dull black. Eventually she stopped in front of the central station.

Leaning over the massive seat that was partially sunken into the floor and was obviously designed to hold the operator in place, Noriko ran her fingers over the console’s panel. It felt cold and smooth, almost like finely brushed metal, but it didn’t seem to be metal. She took another step and dropped into the seat, which was more comfortable than she would have expected. The Ensign smirked as she placed her hands on the panel. “Can we turn this thing on?”

“Of course, Ensign.” Her CO replied from her chair, and Noriko heard a few button taps. A moment later all consoles and displays flickered to life, and the interface was not what the conn officer would have expected. It turned out that the smooth surface was not the screen itself like it would have been at an LCARS station but was merely the backdrop for multiple holographic controls projected on top of it. Looking at the interface in front of her, she quickly figured out that the conn was indeed the central seat of the five secondary stations. Looking to her left and right, Noriko quickly discovered that she was flanked to her right by ops and science, and to her left by tactical and security.

Ensign Yamada took a closer look at the controls in front of her, trying to make sense of the foreign icons and arrangements, when suddenly a voice addressing her derailed her train of thoughts.

“It seems that indeed their interfaces are very different from ours. Considering this is the already improved version after given access to our computer, I wonder how their initial design looked.” A female Vulcan spoke, leaning in over Noriko’s right shoulder. “Could you already make some sense of the controls?”

“Honestly, T’Sai, I don’t want to know.” The Asian replied. “This version alone is going to be a pain in the ass to understand, I’m not curious enough to make it even more difficult and confusing for me. I’ll be happy as an Edosian slug in the rain once I can understand all of this.” She gestured slightly frustrated at the dozen floating holographic displays and controls in front of her.

“I understand.” T’Sai commented stoically while her eyes scanned the various controls in front of them.

“And I think I found the direct navigational controls, but…”

“But?”

Noriko took a deep breath. “They don’t make sense. The interface element doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen on any ship before. It reminds me more of the remote control of the six degrees of freedom drone I was playing with as a child. I honestly can’t understand how an Akira class sized vessel could ever hope to maneuver in a way this panel suggests.”

“You are correct, this element does indeed look more like a drone control than a starship control.” The Vulcan Junior Lieutenant replied, curiously raising an eyebrow. “Fascinating. It seems the Synergy propulsion technology allows for more varied flight dynamics regardless of the vessel’s size. I am curious to find out more about this.”

Similar experiences between confusion and eureka moments became a regular occurrence for the rest of the day, while the Sidereal’s crew made their first steps with the new controls of the upgraded ship. It would be a long journey, months of arduous training, before they would regain a semblance of the familiarity they had with the old version of their ship.