Captain's Log, Stardate 58092.4.
The USS Melbourne sits in drydock at Starbase 20, undergoing repairs and refit. With only a small roster of personnel needed to remain aboard to coordinate with the dockmaster, I have authorized the rest of the crew to take shore leave. Before everyone departs, however, there is one pleasant task to perform.
The senior staff and many other officers are gathered in the Cloud 9 crew lounge, where Capt. Mitchell oversees a promotion ceremony for Lt. JG Nal Tradis. After Mitchell finishes his speech, Cmdr. Partav replaces the hollow pip on Tradis' collar with a solid pip, giving her the two solid pips of a full Lieutenant. The Melbourne's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Thomas Singer, follows this with the announcement that part of now-Lieutenant Tradis' new responsibilities is her appointment as the ship's Assistant Chief Medical Officer. Once the congratulations are over and the celebration has ended, many of the crew start heading out on leave.
Capt. Mitchell remains aboard the USS Melbourne for the time being, but not long after the promotion ceremony he receives a transmission from Delta IV simply informing him that "It is ready". Mitchell understands the message loud and clear: his new Captain's Yacht is ready. As the Captain readies to depart for Delta IV to pick it up, several of the crew approach him volunteering to assist. It seems that word had spread of the fancy new spacecraft the Captain had requested and a few of the crew have a desire to see it as soon as possible. Lt. Stuart had already intended to go, as he was responsible for the design of some components added to the new vessel, but now the impromptu Away Team has added the ship's Conn Officer, Lt. JG Echo Reydon, as well as Engineer Shryra Thelles and Small Craft Specialist Kito Ainae. The Captain permits them all to join him and the five of them board the Sydney class transport USS Neill for the short trip to the spaceport on Seyann, one of the moons of Delta IV.
On the USS Melbourne, Cmdr. Partav is overseeing some cleanup of the destroyed Science Labs aboard ahead of the Starbase 20 repair teams coming aboard. Due to the damage sustained during the attack that destroyed that section of the ship, and the loss of the personnel present there at the time, there is some uncertainty if there are remains of any dangerous experiments still present. The area is repressurized and unsealed, with Partav entering alongside Lt. Cmdr. Ahn'Kress, Lt. Cmdr. Mera Tir, and Lt. Tradis; with Ens. Haral standing guard outside to prevent anyone else from entering until the area is cleared. Under Partav's supervision, the survey starts with Lt. Cmdr. Tir doing a security sweep and not detecting any threats. Lt. Tradis scans for any biological material that might be a risk to workers and does not find anything. Any bodies had long been removed, and if there was dangerous material it did not survive the hull breach and exposure to vacuum. Finally, Lt. Cmdr. Ahn'Kress has been reviewing the surviving experimental equipment, not only to look for dangers but also to determine if any of the experiments can be salvaged.
Just as the group is finishing their investigation, and before any of them can react, one of the experimental vessels ruptures and there is a burst of tetryon radiation that bombards the four of them, as well as catching Ens. Haral just outside the lab. Lt. Tradis scans everyone, herself included, with her medical tricorder and finds no immediate risk, but as a precaution they should all go to Sick Bay for anyon particle treatment. One final sweep is done and no other dangers are found so Cmdr. Partav notifies the dockmaster, a Tellarite named Leva Tennir, that her teams are cleared to start their work. He then orders everyone exposed to the tetryon burst to follow Lt. Tradis to Sick Bay, where they receive the prescribed treatment.
In the Delta system, the USS Neill arrives at Seyann and Capt. Mitchell and the rest of the officers from the USS Melbourne disembark. They are greeted almost immediately by an attractive Deltan woman named Viora Galin, who introduces herself as a representative of House Istari here on behalf of Joran Novor, majordomo for the Lady Inanya, aka Capt. Mitchell's mother. She tells the Captain that his ship is ready, while also hinting that the Lady Inanya had been in communication with Orion trader Telani Vartok about some of the custom modifications made to the vessel. This unnerves Mitchell slightly, as he was unaware that his mother had been in contact with Talani since they had all participated in the Pax Alpha peace conference. He covers his nerves quickly by asking that Viora show them the ship.
Viora escorts Capt. Mitchell and the other Starfleet officers to one of the many docking bays in the Seyann spaceport. Inside are several technicians, mostly Deltan, surrounding a sleek spacecraft of obvious Starfleet manufacture, though some elements seem off. Ens. Theless instantly recognizes it as a Waverider-type craft, but one of the newer models that has had warp capability added. The ship already carries the USS Melbourne's registry on her hull, and the name Nomad is blazened above it. Ens. Kito, with a keener eye for smaller craft, also notes that the ship's profile has been altered from the standard hull configuration. After a closer inspection she suddenly realizes that the Nomad has been modified with an Orion stealth profile, reducing its silhouette on sensors.
Before any other questions come up, Capt. Mitchell ushers everyone aboard the Nomad. In the lounge area, Lt. Stuart takes the opportunity to show off his contribution to the Captain's Yacht. Loto orders the Nomad's computer to activate the holoprojection system that he had designed, converting the lounge into a functional holosuite. For the first demonstration, Loto asks the computer to run program "choose your fancy", and the holosuite proceeds to alter the lounge appearance to a speakeasy from Earth's Prohibition era. At Loto's command it then proceeds to cycle through several other bars, including the Enterprise-D's 10 Forward lounge and a typical hole-in-the-wall drinking establishment. Mitchell is appreciative, though slightly embarrassed that the first thing his crew seems to think of for him is often alcohol-related. Lt. Stuart finishes up by showing the other feature he had installed, a set of holographic crew that consists of an emergency medical hologram (EMH Mark III), a holographic pilot, a holographic technician, and lastly a holographic concierge who can act as a host for the lounge.
Lt. JG Reydon gives the holographic pilot some side eye before making his way into the cockpit, followed by Ensigns Theless and Kito. While they are admiring the systems, Captain Mitchell turns back to Viora asking if they can take the Nomad out. She confirms that all modifications are complete and the vessel is his to take possession of. Mitchell thanks her, and asks her to pass on his appreciation to the technicians and to say hello to Joran for him. Viora and the technicians take their leave, after which Capt. Mitchell and Lt. Stuart join the others in the cockpit. Mitchell takes a moment to send a short message to Talani before taking the co-pilot seat next to Lt. JG Reydon and with a smile tells Echo to take them out. Lt. JG Reydon contacts the spaceport control and requests clearance to depart, gently sliding the sleek vessel out of the docking bay seconds after getting the okay from the controller. A few minutes later the Nomad is in open space and Echo takes her to warp for the trip back to Starbase 20 and the USS Melbourne.
First Officer's Log, Stardate 58094.2. I have received word from Delta IV that the Captain and his escort are already on their way back with the ship's newest auxiliary craft. I will be checking with the repair team lead to see if she has an estimate on when the dedicated docking bay for our latest addition will be ready, though with the Captain's swift return I suspect his parking space will not be ready in time.
Cmdr. Partav is walking down a corridor aboard the USS Melbourne when a pile of EPS cabling drops from an opening in the ceiling directly in front of him. Starbase 20's Tellarite dockmaster, CWO Leva Tennir, pokes her head out from the Jeffries Tube in the ceiling and apologizes, having not realized that Partav was below when she tossed out the cables. Partav brushes it off and asks what the status is on the new docking bay for the Captain's Yacht, and Tennir says it was a lower priority but she can try and scrounge up some extra help if the installation needs to be bumped up. Partav asks her to try, and lets her know that he plans to stay aboard so she can contact him if there are questions or concerns. Leva points out that the repair teams are capable of handling things, and that Chief Engineer Tarka is also aboard if anything did come up. She encourages him to check out the Starbase, and when she spots Partav's Bajoran earring and confirms he is practicing she lets him know about “Little Jalanda”, a section of the station's Promenade that caters to Bajorans and includes a small Temple to the Prophets. Partav thanks her for the tip and heads off, asking the computer where Chief Tarka is.
The computer indicates that Lt. Cmdr. Tarka is in Main Engineering and Partav heads down there. He checks in with Tarka and lets her know that he is planning to go over to the Starbase and that she will be the senior officer on the ship. Tarka says it shouldn't be a problem and plans to check out the Starbase herself before they leave, and hopes that Partav has a good time. Content that everything on the Melbourne is in order, Partav changes into civilian clothes and then heads to the Transporter Room to beam over to the Starbase.
On the Starbase 20 Promenade, Lt. Cmdr. Mera Tir is shopping for outdoor gear ahead of her planned trip to the planet Hearth below for a hiking expedition. Outside of one store she is approached by one of her Security team, Ens. Veronica St. Cyr. Veronica says that Ens. Haral, an Orion member of their team, has some suspicions about one of the establishments, but she is not sure but thinks that Lt. Cmdr. Tir should perhaps check it out anyway. Mera agrees and Veronica leads her to a restaurant, where in a party room at the back several more of the Melbourne's Security division are waiting to throw their Chief of Security a surprise birthday party. Mera gives Veronica a look, but is happy that her team has thought of her. Food is brought out, as is a bottle of something special donated by Capt. Mitchell before he left for Delta IV and the party begins in earnest.
Elsewhere on the Promenade, Lt. Cmdr. Ahn'Kress has been taking in the sights, sounds and smells. The variety of cultures and wares on display make her nostalgic for her home city of R'Nath on Cait, which as the primary spaceport of the planet and home to many foreign embassies has a similar multicultural cosmopolitan vibe to the Promenade here. She decides to do some shopping and eventually finds a Caitian clothes boutique where she hopes to find some new outfits. The proprietor, a Caitian woman named C'Sarra is happy to oblige and tempts Ahn'Kress with samples of the latest style from Cait. When Ahn'Kress settles on dress in a purple and green tropical pattern C'Sarra exclaims that it looks perfect and suggests several pieces of Caitian jewelry she has that would make excellent accessories. With her acquisitions in hand, Ahn'Kress asks if there are any Caitian music performances happening on the Promenade that might give her a chance to wear the new outfit, but C'Sarra sadly indicates there are not.
Cmdr. Partav heads to the "Little Jalanda" section of the Promenade, getting a reaction from the Bajorans as mixed as his own heritage. Seeing that he has a couple of hours before services start at the Temple, he finds a small cafe that Tennir had suggested served excellent hasperat and he orders some, indicating to the waitress that he preferred it as hot as they could make it. He is pleased with the result, and finds a seat on the patio to allow him to watch the people go by as he eats.
Her surprise birthday party finished, Mera extends an invitation to her team to join her on her hike, but only Ensigns Haral and St. Cyr feel they are up for keeping pace with their commander. After changing into outdoor gear the three beam down to the small town of Monument Ridge, the starting point for a recommended hiking expedition through the adjacent Monument Valley. The locals, used to tourist visitors, mention that there is an actual monument in Monument Valley, but they will let the travelers learn the details for themselves. The three set off in the early morning for what is expected to be a full day circuit, including a stop at the eponymous monument. The trio spend the first few hours enjoying the trails through Hearth's lush temperate forests when Haral, whose background was as a tracker, catches sight of older, overgrown trails. His curiosity draws him to investigate and Mera and Veronica follow so as not to split the group.
Back on the Starbase, Ahn'Kress is carrying her new acquisitions when she senses another Caitian approaching. She spies a male Caitian with sandy grey fur and pale stripes, dressed flamboyantly in pantaloons and a flowing shirt heading towards her. He stops and bows, introducing himself as K'Moa and inquiring if Ahn'Kress is Clan N'roon. Ahn'Kress, already having picked up the sensory and social cues that the two of them are from the same clan, confirms. K'Moa is pleased and the two begin conversing. K'Moa is a wandering entertainer, but has been based out of Starbase 20 for the last few years. He has a spoken word performance later that evening, which Ahn'Kress says she will be happy to attend, but his afternoon is free and he offers to show her around. She agrees, and K'Moa takes her to the Starbase's Arboretum, a large park with a variety of gardens, tree groves, and small ponds.
Down on the planet, the trio have been investigating the older trails for several hours when they realize they have drifted far off the official paths and likely now won't make it back to town before dark. Mera decides they should get their bearings and try to reach the monument and camp out overnight near there, since it is a known location. As they make their way towards the monument, they start to spot structures in the woods. Haral takes a look and finds they are centuries old cargo containers, apparently set down in an ordered fashion but now disintegrating and covered in overgrowth. With darkness falling they do not linger and instead carry on, reaching their target just as the daylight starts to fade. The monument is a simple stone cairn sitting in the center of a circular clearing. A plaque adorns the cairn and the three move in to read what it says.
This cairn marks the site of the Vesta colony, the original human settlement established in 2089. The farthest Earth colony at the time, Vesta became the first casualty of the Earth-Kzin War when Kzinti forces attacked less than a year after the colony's founding. The Kzinti wiped out the colony, killing all 118 men, women and children living here. The site remains unaltered and undeveloped since the attack in memory of the dead.
In the Bajoran sector, Partav finishes his meal and window shops until it is time to go to the Temple. Though the Bajoran population on the Starbase is relatively small, there is enough traffic passing through that the Temple is run by a Ranjen rather than a lower ranking Prylar. It has been years since Partav has had the chance to attend a service at a proper temple, so he pays close attention. The rituals have changed over the last few years, and Partav notes how much more prominent the Emissary has become. The ceremony lasts a little over an hour and a half, followed by some informal interactions. Partav stays until the very end and then goes up to thank the Ranjen. The Ranjen is grateful and asks to read the officer's pagh, a request that Partav agrees to. Gently grasping Partav's ear, the Ranjen concentrates and notes that he senses that the Starfleet officer recently faced a challenge to his faith and prevailed. He goes on to say that he believes that more challenges lie in his future, but that if he keeps his faith in the Prophets they will guide him through.
Feeling glad he took Leva Tennir's advice to come over the station, Partav leaves the Temple to take in more of the Promenade before he heads back to the Melbourne. While wandering he hears someone calling out to him, initially calling him "Andy" before correcting to his actual name of Aedon. He sees a slightly overweight Starfleet security officer with lieutenant pips, kitted out in ill-fitting security armor. The man says his name is Gerry Lawrence and asks if Partav remembers him. Partav does not, but plays it like he does and lets Gerry talk. It becomes apparent that Gerry was a couple of years behind Partav at Starfleet Academy, but was involved in the same Academy amateur theater society that Partav was. Gerry references a performance of Waiting for Godot that Partav and the Ferengi cadet Nog put on, and brags about his own career as a part of the Starbase security before finally giving Partav a chance to speak. When Partav, who is still in civilian clothes, reveals he is the First Officer of the USS Melbourne, Gerry's attitude gets a little more formal, addressing Partav as Commander now. He pivots back to himself almost immediately, however, and petitions Partav for a position on the vessel. Partav politely declines, saying they have no openings, but will keep Gerry in mind if one does come up. Gerry is thankful, and offers to show Partav around the station once his duty shift is up. Partav is non-commital and the two part ways, allowing Partav to continue his tour around the Promenade. As the time for him to return to the Melbourne approaches, Partav sees a strange sparkling, golden glow start to fill the Promenade, a phenomenon also observed by those around him who express a mix of amusement and concern.
Cmdr. Partav is walking down a corridor aboard the USS Melbourne when a pile of EPS cabling drops from an opening in the ceiling directly in front of him. Starbase 20's Tellarite dockmaster, CWO Leva Tennir, pokes her head out from the Jeffries Tube in the ceiling and apologizes, having not realized that Partav was below when she tossed out the cables. Partav pauses and looks around confused. Once he regains his bearings his initial reaction is simply to say "crap". Having read many briefings and case studies on similar incidents, Partav immediately assumes he is caught in some kind of temporal anomaly, and that no one else has noticed given that CWO Tennir does not act like she has been through these events before. Partav excuses himself and contacts Chief Engineer Tarka, asking if the ship has functional sensors, but Tarka replies that they were all taken offline for the repairs.
Partav turns his attention back to Tennir and asks who the commander of the Starbase is, which she says is a Capt. Blackwell. Partav taps his combadge and tries to reach the station CO, but gets his assistant instead. Partav invokes temporal regulations, which is enough for the assistant to transfer Partav to Capt. Blackwell. The Captain is reluctant to accept Partav's claim that he has been through a time loop and is unsure if he is ready to commit station resources to monitoring the Commander in case it happens again, instead countering that the Melbourne has just come back from several months of strenuous duty and suggesting that Partav speak with his vessel's Counselor. Partav decides to take his own actions and heads to the Melbourne's Sick Bay. The medical staff is all on leave, so he activates the EMH Mark IV and asks her to scan him for chronitons. Taking a medical tricorder, the EMH makes the scan and indicates she does not detect any chroniton radiation, nor tachyon radiation, both of which could be indications of a temporal phenomenon. She further notes that she cannot detect any unusual readings from Partav, even the traces of tetryon radiation from the earlier accident are no longer present thanks to the anyon treatment he and the others received.
At the same time Partav was was dodging falling EPS cables for the second time, Lt. Cmdr. Tir had suddenly found herself having a surprise party sprung on her. She is puzzled, then notes that Haral seems to also be confused. A quick consult between the two reveals that they are the only ones who seem to be having this sense of déja vu. For the moment they decide to go through the motions and act like the surprise party is in fact a surprise to Mera. Elsewhere on the Starbase Promenade, Ahn'Kress is staring at the image of herself in a holo-mirror trying on a new dress as the proprietor of the clothes shop exclaims that it looks perfect on her. Ahn'Kress stumbles through the rest of the transaction, including the purchase of the same accessories that she definitely remembers getting before. She leaves the shop and starts looking around, anticipating the arrival of K'Moa.
Instead, Ahn'Kress is approached by a distraught looking Lt. Tradis, who asks if the Lieutenant Commander has a tricorder on her before noticing what Ahn'Kress is wearing and realizing that she probably is not carrying one. Tradis explains that some of the other lower deckers had been throwing their own party to celebrate her promotion and afterward she'd spent the day exploring the Promenade before there was some kind of golden glow and suddenly she was back at the party and she is very confused right now. Ahn'Kress assures Tradis she is not alone, and she contacts Cmdr. Partav. Partav responds, and once Ahn'Kress explains the situation he is pleased to note that this means he probably is not crazy. He fills in Ahn'Kress on what happened to him and instructs to see if she can find anyone else on the Starbase who has also experienced the phenomenon. He plans to try and repeat his actions from before as closely as possible, within reason, and encourages Ahn'Kress and Tradis to do the same. He does beam tricorders over to them, indicating that they should all monitor themselves closely.
Just as Partav signs off, Ensigns Chandler and Keldan come up, having been worried about Lt. Tradis after she wandered away from her celebration. As Tradis tries to cover, K'Moa arrives and greets Ahn'Kress, again inquiring if she is Clan N'roon. Ahn'Kress speed runs their previous conversation, and indicates she is busy at the moment but would be happy to meet him back here in a couple of hours. Tradis finally gets rid of Chandler and Keldan by saying she has to help Ahn'Kress with something important, and the two go off. WIth her Caitian hearing Ahn'Kress overhears Chandler complaining to Keldan how he knew that Tradis would try to blow them off now that she's been promoted. Unaware of this exchange, Tradis tells Ahn'Kress how she just remembered that she'd heard from some of the security team about their plan to throw a surprise party for Lt. Cmdr. Tir.
Ahn'Kress uses her tricorder to locate the security team, knowing they would all still have their combadges with them. They "crash" the surprise party just as the birthday cake is being served and the newcomers are invited to partake. They are able to learn that Mera and Haral have also experienced the phenomenon and they quietly step aside to compare notes. Mera notes that she, Haral, and Veronica had been down on the planet at the monument looking at the stars when the golden glow appeared there and they were suddenly back here at the start of the party. She also notes that Haral remembers this but Veronica does not. When Haral asks why only they remember, Tradis points out that so far the people who seem to remember are the same people who had been exposed to the tetryon radiation in the lab accident.
They touch base with Partav, who has by this time beamed over to the station and headed for the Bajoran section, though this time he has stayed in his uniform rather than change into civilian clothing. He does call back to the Melbourne and asks the ship's computer if there are any known interactions with tetryon radiation that match their experience, but it comes up empty. He also asks how everyone feels physically. After thinking about it, and Tradis taking a medical scan of the four of them at the party, everyone concurs that they aren't suffering any physical effects. Tradis' scan confirms that their bodies don't show signs of sleep deprivation, fatigue effects, or anything else that might reflect an extended period awake. It seems everyone's bodies have reset and only their memories remain from the previous iteration. Ahn'Kress has two more tricorders beamed over to the Starbase for Mera and Haral, and passes on Partav's instructions to try and repeat the day.
Mera and Haral proceed to beam down to the planet with Veronica to do the hike again, including getting lost on the older trails, while Tradis returns to her promotion celebration and Ahn'Kress goes to meet with K'Moa. At the Temple, Partav scans for fragments of Orbs of the Prophets, having experienced them exhibiting a kind of temporal power before, but does not detect anything. He attends the service, and again stays to talk with the Ranjen. As before, the Ranjen asks to read Partav's pagh, this time sensing that something is troubling him. Partav explains a little of what is happening, and the Ranjen simply advises that it is the will of the Prophets and that Partav should trust in them. As before, after the service Partav runs into the security officer, Gerry, who this time is more deferential given Partav is in uniform, but still carries on more or less the same conversation, including asking if there is a position open on the Melbourne. Partav gives the same reply, then heads to the same spot on the Promenade he had gone the first time to see if the phenomenon occurs again.
On the planet, Haral is true to his word and gets them lost in almost the exact same way as before. Veronica does note that both Mera and Haral are acting weird, but luckily they come across the cargo containers again and then the monument, distracting her from asking more questions. On the Starbase, Ahn'Kress is attending K'Moa's spoken work performance as she had before, but this time he also notes she seems distracted and keeps checking the tricorder she is carrying. She brushes off his concerns, and as he resumes his performance Ahn'Kress sees the golden aura appearing again.
The others similarly are seeing the aura, and all try desperately to get scans. The effect does not last long, however, before Partav again finds himself dodging falling EPS cables, Ahn'Kress is looking at herself in a mirror, Mera and Haral are at her surprise party, and Tradis is at her lower decks celebration. This time the five immediately contact each other to confer, with Partav asking if anyone remembers any data from their last second tricorder scans. Unfortunately, the shift happened too quickly and no one remembers anything of note. No one, that is, except Ahn'Kress who does remember the timecode on tricorder just before everything reset. Based on what she saw, and the point during K'Moa's performance that it happened at, she believes that the aura did not appear at the same time as previously. By her rough calculations, this time around the reset happened at least 20 minutes earlier than before.
Capt. Mitchell slowly comes to, realizing he is lying in a bed in an unknown location, and he feels a pain in his lungs that makes breathing a little difficult. A balding, middle-aged man wearing a jumpsuit with a medical patch comes up and tells Mitchell to take it easy. The man, a doctor of some kind, says that Mitchell and the others have sustained some lung damage from inhaling a toxic substance. Mitchell is puzzled when the man seems to not know what species Ens. Theless is, and does not recognize the name Andorian. The doctor also asks if Lt. Stuart's cybernetics are "Vulcanian". When the doctor corrects himself to say Vulcan, he mentions reports of Zephram Cochrane's warp flight and First Contact with the Vulcans in his hometown newspaper as a child, Mitchell realizes they have somehow wound up in the past.
The doctor calls over a woman he addresses as Laura, asking her to bring some water. Using the time he takes to drink to center himself, Mitchell then starts acting slightly more confused than he is, and asking questions. He learns they are on the Vesta colony, a name he does not recognize, and that the colonists were surprised to find the five of them as the colony was not aware of any Earth ships being anywhere near their location. When Laura makes an offhand comment about "old Zee Cochrane" perhaps having invented an even faster faster-than-light engine, Mitchell leans into that and claims that they were on a ship with an experimental warp drive. The five were apparently found unconscious in a field by a group of colonists who had been out searching for livestock that had gotten loose and wandered off. The doctor adds that they haven't found the group's escape pod, but that it must be near to where the five of them were discovered as they wouldn't have been able to get far with the condition of their lungs.
Lt. Stuart is the next to regain consciousness, and the doctor moves to him with Mitchell right behind. Mitchell uses the excuse of reassuring Loto to pass on where they are and the cover story he has started to form, hoping that Loto catches on not to say too much. While the doctor and Laura tend to Loto, Mitchell tries to learn the date but only gets a month and day, May 20th, not the year. While this is happening, Lt. JG Reydon awakens and Mitchell leverages his empathic abilities to cue in the Betazoid helm officer on what is happening. Once Echo gets his bearings, he catches on to what the Captain's game is. Capt. Mitchell engages in more conversation, finally learning the name of the doctor: Dr. William Masters, or simply Bill or Doc as he indicates.
As the conversation between the two continues, Loto overhears the date again as well as the name of the colony. As a child of a distant colony himself, Loto had an interest in the history of humanity's space colonization, so when he hears “Vesta” and a date in May his blood runs cold, to the degree that he doesn't even need to know that Echo has telepathically pulled the year from the mind of the doctor to realize they are in 2090. Mitchell's empathic ability and Echo's telepathy both catch Loto's sudden sense of distress, but at that point both Ens. Theless and Ens. Kito start waking up. Doc goes to Shryra and Laura goes to check on Kito, while Mitchell positions himself to signal both of them to not say much.
Embarrassingly, Doc speaks slowly and loudly to Shryra, not realizing she understands him perfectly. The Doc and Laura seem to believe that both Echo and Kito are human, and their comments about radiation and Col. Green's camps point to their assumption that Kito's Bajoran nose ridges are an inherited mutation, something not uncommon on late 21st Century Earth after the devastation of a nuclear war. Doc believes everyone will be fine, though he is less certain about Shryra due to a complete unfamiliarity with Andorian biology. He does want to see if he can identify what damaged their lungs, so collects some samples to take off to be analyzed.
With their heads clearing, everyone is also starting to remember the circumstances prior to losing consciousness and then waking up here. The group remains careful about how they explain it, but slowly they piece together the series of events leading up to their current situation. The Nomad had been approaching the star system when Echo noticed something was causing a minor deviation in their course. They dropped out of warp to investigate, though still maintained their course towards the Starbase. Loto's scans detected a gravitational anomaly, the cause of the deviation in their approach, but he was having trouble identifying what the phenomenon actually was. Before he could analyze the sensor readings more closely, whatever it was he was scanning exploded and the Nomad was caught in the blast. Ens. Kito was injured when one of the control panels blew out, so Loto activated the newly-installed EMH, while Echo and the Captain fought to regain control of the ship. Seconds later a conduit ruptured and began flooding the interior with corrosive plasma coolant. The crew were quickly incapacitated and the last thing anyone remembers is the EMH calling for an emergency transport. Many of the details are conveyed in whispers, or through telepathy between the Captain and Echo, so that they don't say something they shouldn't within earshot of Doc and Laura.
It is not long after this that Doc leaves to perform the analysis, and Laura has to go check on patients in other wards. They say that Laura and another nurse, Ursula, will be around and to shout if the group needs anything before departing. Now free to speak, Loto informs everyone that they are on the planet that will be home to Starbase 20 but back when it was originally the Vesta colony, nearly 300 years earlier. More importantly, he informs them that the colony is doomed. Sometime in the near future, maybe a month, maybe only days from now, the colony will be wiped out and everyone there killed by the Kzinti. The exact date is not known precisely because there were no survivors, so it is only estimated based on evidence collected after the end of the first Earth-Kzin War, which this attack would be the inciting incident for.
Realizing their predicament is even worse than they'd initially believed, Mitchell reminds everyone of their duty under the Temporal Prime Directive and, more than that, they are the crew of the USS Melbourne. He brings up the Melbourne Rules, emphasizing that they will work the problem and that they will find a solution. With everyone reassured and focused, the group starts brainstorming options. First off, Loto manages to hack into the operating system of the primitive computer in the recovery ward. This gives him access to the computer network and he relays what he is able to learn about the colony itself. The ship the colonists had arrived on, which Doc had mentioned was called the SS Concordia, was a DY-series transport. Upon arrival they landed the ship, first ejecting the matter-antimatter reactor to prevent any accident on the surface. From there the initial settlement was built by literally taking the Concordia apart. The hospital they are in was built around the ship's Sick Bay, the initial residences were the crew quarters, the ship's bridge is now the heart of the administration building, and the cargo containers that held all their supplies are now garages and warehouses.
Assessing resources, the team focuses on two things. Firstly, there is the subspace communications system from the Concordia. The Captain wonders if this can be used as a sensor system for them to try and find a trace of any anomalies in the system, but Shryra says it would take some major modifications that simply could not be hidden from the colonists. The second asset is the ship's astrometrics facility, which was little more than an optical telescope with capabilities extending into the infrared and ultraviolet. Further planning is interrupted by a warning from Echo that he can sense someone approaching.
Sure enough two new people arrive, introducing themselves as the colony leader, a middle-aged, bearded man named Thadeus MacDonald, and the head administrator, a younger, blonde-haired woman named Tricia Cochrane. Mitchell in turn introduces himself as "Gary" Mitchell, having not given Doc a first name during the earlier conversation. Thadeus echoes Doc's earlier statement that they had been surprised to find the five, and that they had not expected to see another Earth ship for years. Mitchell presents the cover story that he had started to put together earlier, solidifying the details. He explains that their ship was equipped with an experimental warp drive and that they had been sent out here to help upgrade the colony with new technological advancements in communications that would make it easier to stay in touch with Earth. Obviously their warp drive was a little too experimental, because it malfunctioned when they arrived in the system, but luckily they were close enough for their escape pod to reach the planet's surface.
MacDonald seems to believe the story, so Mitchell presses on. He asks if they might be allowed to use the colony telescope to search for their ship, which might still be somewhere in the system. He explains how Loto is a skilled science officer, and has had some training with Vulcans. Mitchell adds that it was the Vulcans who had provided Loto with his cybernetic implants when he had been injured; even they could see that the loss of such an intellect would be illogical. MacDonald agrees, and asks Tricia to arrange the telescope time with someone named Westwood, apparently the head scientist at the colony. Beyond that, MacDonald reiterates that they are welcome and that they will find someone to show the five around once Doc clears them to leave the ward. With that, the two leave.
Even though Capt. Mitchell had said they wanted to use the telescope to look for their ship as cover to let them search for any anomalies, Echo points out that the Nomad might actually still be out there. As far as he can remember they were still on course for the Starbase when the accident happened, and they must have stayed close enough to that trajectory or they wouldn't have been near enough to the planet for the emergency transport to get them here. Now that he has realized this, Echo takes out his combadge and tries hailing the Nomad, but gets no response. He still thinks the ship is out there, it wouldn't have enough velocity to escape the system so would have gone into an elliptical orbit around the star. With a little effort he thinks he can work out some navigation plots for where the ship might be, which would give them somewhere to point the telescope.
Before Echo can start his calculations, Laura returns. She is carrying some inhalers that Doc has prepared to help treat everyone's lung injuries. Mitchell is concerned about Doc's lack of knowledge of Andorian physiology, but luckily Loto has extensive medical training and is able to figure out that they need to dilute the mix in the inhaler that Shryra will use. Mitchell thanks Laura and she tells them to use the inhalers and then get some rest, doctor's orders. Once she is gone, Loto dilutes Shryra's medicine by what he thinks is a safe amount and everyone uses them. The inhalers do ease the symptoms, and Mitchell tells everyone to do what Laura said and get some rest.
In the morning Doc returns, this time with Ursula. They have brought a breakfast of fruit and oatmeal along with more water and a selection of teas for anyone who wants it. Doc examines everyone and says that after breakfast it should be fine for them to leave, though if they start to have problems breathing or any other issues to come back to the hospital immediately. He heads out again to take care of his other duties, but tells the group that MacDonald has arranged for a guide and they should be arriving soon.
The group's guide is Richard MacNeill, a sociable man in his late-20s and one of the colony technicians. Outside of the hospital the group can see the geodesic dome enclosing the ship's hydroponics, where the colony had been growing food until the crops planted here could be harvested, and the old cargo containers. As they make their way along, the colonists stop and look at the newcomers, especially Shryra. Richard apologizes, saying no one has seen a "Martian" before, nodding towards Shryra's antennae. Moving past the dome, they suddenly see a dozen children aged roughly four to ten years old playing outside a building that appears to serve as a school. Mitchell quietly calms the others when he sees them bristle at the realization all the children are fated to be brutally killed very soon.
MacNeill does not notice the group's reaction to the children and leads them on to where they are laying the groundwork for what will be the settlement's Main Street, leading to the main administration building built around the Concordia's bridge. From there they reach the outskirts of the settlement, where the crops have been planted and various pens hold goats, pigs and chickens being raised. Richard then takes them a little further out to where they have built an observatory to house the telescope and other astrometrics gear from the ship, and he says he is sure that Westwood will okay them to use it come nightfall.
The tour loops back into the settlement, where Richard shows some of the rudimentary manufacturing facilities they have set up. He is particularly fond of where they have started to make clothing from a native cotton-like plant, and leather from a deer-like animal also local to the planet. They end at the communal cafeteria, where a range of food is laid out buffet-style and people are eating at wooden benches made from the trees that were cut down around the colony. Because the colonists work in shifts, the food ranges from breakfast bacon, eggs and bread to lunch sandwiches and chicken or ham and potatoes with vegetables for dinner.
The five of them grab some food and sit down at a bench while Richard continues to tell them about the colony. While they are eating, a man in his early 30s wearing an eyepatch comes over and introduces himself as Dr. James Westwood, a planetary ecologist and the chief scientist for the colony. He received the request from Thadeus MacDonald to let the group use the telescope. He knows it will upset the colony scientists who have been studying the rest of the star system, but one night will not hurt them so he is happy to let the group use the telescope that night. Westwood is far more interested in the advanced communications gear that Mitchell had told MacDonald they had aboard their ship, so Mitchell has to deflect and give only vague responses before claiming that he and the others are still recovering and need to rest up, especially since they will be staying up late to use the telescope.
When they have finished eating, Richard takes them to their temporary accommodations and, when Mitchell asks, provides a portable computer for them to use to try and calculate what area of the sky to scan to look for their ship. In the semi-privacy of the old crew barracks, Echo starts plotting out possible trajectories that the Nomad could have been on, and where a parabolic course based on each of them would take it. There are a lot of variables, but he believes he has a good handle on things. By the time the sun is going down Echo has produced a collection of the most likely trajectories and gives it to Loto to review.
Richard comes to get everyone and lead them back to the observatory as darkness falls. The building is not that spacious, with much of the room taken up by the equipment, so Richard (who is not much of an astronomer) says he will leave them alone to work, though he won't stray far from the observatory. As Loto gets ready to start the search, Kito reminds everyone that the Nomad is equipped with stealth modifications, including ones that reduce its silhouette in infrared. She recommends searching for the ion trail rather than trying to detect the ship itself. The advice is sound, and after searching through a few of Echo's proposed trajectories Loto finds the telltale ion trail. Loto is even able to get a brief visual sighting of the ship, but the telescope cannot change position fast enough to keep a continuous track. Nevertheless, the Nomad appears to be intact and is following one of the predicted elliptical orbits. Now the lost crew just need to find a way to contact her.