The Three of Us

Part 29 - Shaking the Ship

"I need your help. It's ... a little embarrassing to ask."

An Ikaaran eyebrow, dark and thin, edged up slightly. "Oh?"

"We have," Captain Archer sighed, "There are crewmen in our Brig."

"That's unfortunate," commented Ebrona. They were sitting in the Observation Lounge with her fellow crew members. There had been some tours but, for the most part, the women had stayed in the lounge.

"Well," Jonathan admitted, "they're in the Brig without a trial. And we'd like to rectify that, maybe while we're on Paradise."

"But we are to perform agricultural tasks."

"Understood. And I know you aren't lawyers or judges. But I need to get this done. And right now, you're the only people who have a fighting chance of not being biased."

She thought for a moment. "We do not know your laws."

"I'm not sure you'll have to. I mean, we don't have any way of really enforcing the details."

"But – let me ask you this," Ebrona said, "Do you not have a home world, and a government there? Could not your crew members remain in the Brig, or confined to quarters, until you returned? Then they could receive a proper trial, from people who would know the nuances of your laws."

Captain Archer sighed again. "Can you walk with me a little?"

"I suppose," she smiled and stood up.

"I would take you to the Observation Lounge to talk, but it seems that's a little occupied."

"Don't you need to get to your Bridge?"

"In, um," he checked a PADD, "in about ten minutes."

"You gave up your morning meal to talk to us and spend time with us."

"Well, you're my guests," he said. "Let me explain what's going on. What's really going on."

"All right," she said. They were on F Deck, right in front of the MACO training facilities.

Jay and his men were marching by. Ebrona and Jonathan stepped aside to allow them to pass. "Well?" she asked as soon as the MACOs had gone by.

"I was born on October ninth."

"All right," she said, tentatively.

"In 2112."

She looked at him oddly. "How is – and what of the others?"

"T'Pol was born in 2088, and Phlox in 2080. A few of the other human crew members are older than me. Commander Reed is a little over a month older. The sous-chef, Lili O'Day, she's about three years older than both of us. And Major Hayes is about seven years older than she is."

"And I was, I was born in 2008." She stood there and stared at him. "How is this possible?"

"We're somewhat reluctant time travelers. We hit a particle wake. It was 2154. And suddenly we were in 2037."

"So you have been this way for two years. I take it that you are remaining far away from your home world, it is for this reason."

"Yes," he admitted, "it's to protect the timeline, but it's more than that. Our world is at war right now."

"And you can do nothing about it," she said softly.

"If you go back to Ikaaria," he said, "you can't tell anyone. I know that they don't know us. And I know that, in 2154, we had not yet made First Contact. So in order to preserve the timeline, you can't, please, you can't say a word."