To Boldly Go Once Again

To Boldly Go Once Again

By Eratta

Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Everything that you recognize belongs to Paramount. Everything else is mine.
Archive: Absolutely, just tell me where.
A/N: I haven’t written in the longest time, so it may take a few chapters for me to get back into the swing of things. This is also unbeta-ed (I’m accepting applications though), so please forgive any errors/discrepancies.

EDITOR's Note: Character Death.

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History was being made once again today. Or perhaps history was trying to get back to what is should always have been, before presumptuous individuals had tried to change timelines and destroy entire worlds. Five years after the successful return of the NX-01 Enterprise from the Xindi Mission, Earth was once again attempting to “boldly go where no man has gone before”.

Such were the thoughts of one Jonathan Archer one morning, the morning of the first deep space launch in almost eight years.

“Am I the only one getting a sense of déjà vu?”

Archer had to smile at that, and nodded to his best friend. It was very much a sense of déjà vu, but this time he wasn’t on the ship in the captain’s chair. This time, he was watching the vessel come out of space dock from an observation deck, watching the sleek hull glide past in the vacuum of space, gazing at the numbers and letters that made up her name: the NX-02 Columbia. In his peripheral vision, Trip was slowly nodding his head.

“Eight years ago that was us. Even after all this time, I can’t believe they’re goin’ to finish what we started.” The engineer said.

Jonathan didn’t respond, which garnered him a look from the other man.

“You’re not wishin’ that it was you on that bridge, are you?”

Now that the Columbia had gone to warp, Jon turned towards Trip and offered a small smile. Though not as close as he once had been, Trip still knew him well. He clapped a hand on his best friend’s shoulder as they began to walk back to the docking port.

“You know Trip, if you’d have asked me that just a week ago, I might have said yes.”

“But today is different?”

Jonathan paused. Yes things were different, but they had been different since that attack exactly five years ago; the attack that had killed eighteen and marked the beginning of the end of the Xindi mission.

“Yeah, today’s different.”

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Two months later the same man, the former captain of the Enterprise was sitting in his office going through paperwork. He’d never really liked paperwork, but he’d come to appreciate the rhythm of it. The beep and chirp of the PADD, the scrolling data which proved somewhere, progress was being made. It certainly wasn’t nearly as stimulating as being out in space, experiencing new things and meeting new people. But for the most part, it kept him from thinking about the past, the past which really didn’t seem long ago at all.

Jonathan shook his head. He had taken this mental path far too often, always to the same end. He was not going to think about that; not as long as he could avoid it.

The door to the office opened, and Jonathan Archer’s personal secretary poked her head in.

“Sir, Admiral Forrest just sent a communiqué. He’d like you to meet him in the main conference room in the Command building.”

Archer turned off his PADD and rose from the desk, shaking off his disconcerting introspection as best he could. Now was not the time for personal interference. He forced a smile onto his face and straightened his shoulders as he walked out of the office.

When he arrived at the conference room, he could feel the old curiosity rising within him. Every member of the Command team was there, as well as a number of younger captains, commodores, commanders and various specialists that Archer was vaguely familiar with. All were directly connected with the NX-02 program. Forrest was standing at the head of the table, drumming his fingers on the screen of a PADD. Apparently, Archer thought, this was something important.

“I’ve called you all together because we seem to have a problem on our hands.” Forrest began. He paused for a moment, allowing the weight of his words to sink in.

“We’ve lost contact with the Columbia.”

Jon was confused. Such a minor problem did not merit an assembly such as this.

“Admiral,” he began, standing so he could be seen and heard, “that’s hardly an emergency.”

Forrest’s mouth twisted into a wry expression, something between a smile and a frown. Ever since he’s first known him in flight school, the admiral had known that Jonathan’s observations, while sound, were sometimes out of place. In any other man the trait would have been unbearably annoying.

“Normally I’d agree with you Captain, but it’s been nearly a week since we heard from them. Given Captain Ruiz’s usual punctuality and adherence to protocol, it’s something we should look into.”

“Perhaps there is some spatial interference which is causing the problem.”

The suggestion came from Ambassador Soval, seated in his usual place near the admiral. Murmurs ran through the assembly; that was always a possibility.

One of the younger commanders shook his head. “With all due respect Ambassador, that can’t be it. They’re only two months out; nothing should be able to interfere at that range. And even if it did, it would only disrupt communication, not sensors.”

“What do you mean?” Archer asked.

The commander turned to him, grey eyes darting nervously even as his voice remained even. “We’ve lost all trace of them, sir.”

“You mean to say that you cannot pinpoint their position.” Soval clarified.

“No sir, I mean that we can’t even find a signal to try to pinpoint. It’s as though the Columbia never existed.” The commodore replied.

“So what the hell happened to them?” Forrest asked.

It was a question no one could answer.

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Later that same evening alone in his apartment, Jonathan mulled over the news. It was probably nothing, he told himself over and over. They’d probably come across some uncharted phenomenon which was disrupting signals across the board. Well, that and maybe Echo 1 was out of commission. The Columbia was fine, the tired commodore that he had become said. But the other Archer, the captain who had grown up around starships and their crews knew the how unpredictable deep space could be and was not convinced. If his own experiences were anything to draw from, Columbia and her crew were probably in trouble.

The old grandfather clock in the dark foyer chimed eleven times. Archer sighed as he stood, turning out lights as he made his way to the bedroom. He opened the door, but did not see the bed, desk and bedside table as he had every night for several years. Instead he was assaulted by a blinding, all encompassing light. He blinked a few times, but the image in front of him would not change back to what it should have been. In front of him were a few people gathered loosely around a table, all with their backs to him. They were on a dais in the middle of an enormous auditorium. Beyond the dais he could see thousands of people in stands.

The scene was awfully familiar.

It dawned on him slowly, like he was waking from a dream. This was what Daniels had shown him five years ago, back just before the weapon had been destroyed.

Daniels

“It’s been a while, Captain.” A voice floated from around a pillar. Jon turned and saw the temporal agent, and was irritated as ever to see him.

“Will you ever leave me alone?” he demanded. Visits from the mysterious Daniels were something he would never look forward to. It always signaled that things were about to shift in Archer’s world, and always just when he didn’t need any more complications.

“You remember this?” Daniels asked, ignoring Archer’s question.

“Yes.”

Daniels inclined his head towards the scene, and Archer turned back to survey it once again.

“You see that man, second from the left? That’s you.” He said. Archer deliberately did not look at him.

“And the one on your right? That’s Captain Ruiz”

Jon straightened and shot a look of surprise at Daniels. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with the Columbia’s sudden disappearance, would it?” The old captain demanded.

“The factions are preparing to launch total and open war against each other. Columbia wandered right into the middle of the mess.” Daniels explained.

Archer narrowed his eyes. This is sounding worse every second, he thought to himself. He stepped back behind the pillar with the agent.

“What does this have to do with me? In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t command a ship or crew anymore.” Jonathan said

“When you were about to destroy the Xindi weapon, I told you that if you died, this wouldn’t happen.” Daniels swept a broad hand towards the dais. “It’s the same story, but this time it’s Captain Ruiz, not you.”

Jonathan blinked as he let that sink in. “You’re saying that all the factions of the Temporal Cold War are about to declare open war, and that the Columbia has somehow gotten caught in the mess. You’re also saying that the future depends on Captain Ruiz’s survival.”

Daniels nodded.

Archer signed, and then pressed his lips together into a thin line. “You want me to go and find him.”

“There is no one else who has experience with the Temporal Cold War.” Daniels pressed.

“You’re forgetting that I haven’t commanded a mission in five years and I don’t have a ship or crew.” Archer persisted. A knot was forming in the pit of his stomach.
Daniels looked at him slyly. “You still have Enterprise.”

“She was decommissioned five years ago!” Jon exclaimed. The brightness of the room was increasing again and Daniels was becoming blurry.

“Find a way, Jonathan. The Federation must be formed, and for that to happen you need to find Ruiz.”

The brightness began to fade along with the voice, and soon Jon found himself standing at the threshold of his bedroom. He moved soundlessly to the bed and lay there, staring up at the distorted shapes and shadows coming from the street. He was not looking forward to tomorrow.

A/N Continued: Yes, I referred to Jonathan Archer as ‘Commodore’. Don’t worry, all will be explained in due course.

Chapter 2

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Seven people have made comments

Interesting...good job keeping everyone in character.
Quills

I liked this a lot! I can't wait to find out how you bring in the other characters and how Trip and T'Pol's relationship might have changed. *wink* Since this is a T/T sight, I expect to see some T/T-ness in this story! It will bve great to see what you come up with.

Okay, so once more into the breach! How many times is Daniel going to perform this "only you can save the future" stunt? I find myself wondering about the man's motives at times, no wonder Jon was irritated to see him again. If he could trust him it would be different. Can't wait to see Jon amass his old crew again, at least most of them (I hope). Ali D :~)

This sounds very promising. I can't wait to see how the old crew gets the Enterprise out of hock, ala "Search for Spock". Please don't keep us hanging for too long.

Commodore? After saving Earth, he would probably be able to create his own rank. Grand High And Mighty Martial Proffessor-Doktor Over Admiral Of The Starry Sky.

Commodore? After saving Earth, he would probably be able to create his own rank. Grand High And Mighty Martial Proffessor-Doktor Over Admiral Of The Starry Sky.

Oh, please. It's not like Archer saved the planet by himself. He had considerable help.

But the story is nice.
Look forward to more soon.