A Familiar Face in an Unexpected Place

Posted on Tuesday July 21st, 2020 @ 11:23am by Lieutenant Commander Freya Mannerheim

703 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: S1-A1-Ep. 1: Spectrophobia
Location: Starbase 47
Timeline: A few days after arrival

Freya stood on one of the walkways of the observation deck, staring out into space. She was in no doubt to what she had seen on the viewscreen when their sudden rescuers had hailed them. She had seen Commodore Gregory Paladin - and not the one she had come to trust and even somewhat like. No, this was the Paladin that haunted her nightmares. And that only left one option - their rescuers had been Terran. The attacking ships had been identified as the USS Cain and her sister ship, USS Abel/i> - but why would Starfleet ships attack another Federation vessel?

She shook her head. This whole gambit was very familiarly Terran. And the runic code that had been used... something nagged at her mind, like something that was hidden in plain sight. Freya took out a PADD and opened the message again, trying to find what it was that irked her. It was all impeccable. Almost too impeccable, she thought to herself - this was not written by a computer, and not by someone only somewhat familiar with the elder Futhark. No, this code had been devised by someone entirely fluent in its application.

With another shake of her head, Freya put away the PADD, and made her way to one of the cafeterias on the deck, getting herself a large mug of strong, black coffee, and found a free table to take a seat. Sipping her coffee, she continued to mull over the PADD, when someone tapped on the table. She looked up to see a young woman with long, blonde hair, and striking green eyes, in sciences teal uniform. The pips on her collar identified her as a Lieutenant, junior grade.

"Can I help you?", Freya asked the newcomer. "Oh, sorry, I did not want to disturb you," the young Lieutenant responded. "I was just wondering, are you from the Poseidon's science department? I've been told to report to the Chief Science Officer."

With a smile, Freya shook her head. The blue collar on her (terran) uniform had led many people to assume she was in the science department. "I am sorry, I am the Chief Flight Control Officer of the Poseidon, not in sciences. Well, I used to be, that's why I still wear blue. I'm afraid I don't know where Lieutenant Heddan is at the moment, maybe you could enquire at the Poseidon's berth?"

With a smile, the young officer thanked Freya, and made her way to the turbolift. The terran sighed. The young woman had reminded her of her little sister, Sora - just about 10 years older. Suddenly, it hit her. That's why the code seemed awfully familiar! She opened the message up again, to confirm her suspicions, and finally saw it. There was a consistent spelling mistake, with an added diacritic on one rune that should not be there. Of course, not being as familiar with the runes as herself, the others would not likely have picked up on this. But there was only one person Freya knew that always made this mistake.

Sora.

She put down the PADD and shook her head in disbelief. How was this possible? When she had left the Mirror Universe less than a year ago, Sora had been 14. But then, she had always had an interest in time travel, from a very young age. She frowned. That young Lieutenant that had approached her had borne a striking resemblance to her sister, and she never even asked her name.

In frustration, Freya slapped her thigh. Nonsense. This was all just a coincidence, it had to be. What was she thinking, that her sister had travelled back in time from the future, crossed over to this universe, and somehow become involved in an attack on the Poseidon that could have easily killed her? And yet, stranger things had happened in recent months. Her own arrival in this universe, the sudden appearance of Lieutenant Kord, now this attack by the Terrans.

She finished her coffee and got up, making her way towards the turbolift. She was going to need something a little stronger. Time to hit the bar.

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