Disclaimer: Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek: Enterprise and the Trek universe are owned by Paramount. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Traitor in Our Midst

Synopsis: The Temporal Cold War heats up as a new agent arrives onboard the NX-01 with information and a battle plan to end the TCW in the 22nd century once and for all -or end up destroying the future…Please r/r.

Author’s Notes: I had Finished Part 1 a long time ago, but forgot to post it. Here it is. As always, enjoy.

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Traitor in Our Midst: Part I

***

“Then there’s no immediate danger. It would take two centuries for a subspace message to reach the Delta Quadrant, even if survives.”

Archer was silent for a moment before eyeing his Vulcan first officer..

“Sounds like we’ve only delayed the invasion until what, the twenty fourth century?”

“2366 to precise, Captain Archer”

Archer and T’Pol spun around-

- to see a man materialize in the ready room. He was clothed in a jet black jumpsuit that was similar to the one Daniels had worn the last time he had been seen by Archer, nearly eight months previous. He was leaning on a black cane, with an onyx handle that had buttons of some kind built into it. Archer slowly reached for the phase pistol he had used during the away mission to the transport.

“Please put that phase pistol away; there’s no need to use it. I‘m a friend, not a foe.”

Reluctantly, Archer set it down on his desk.

“Who are you?”

The man smiled.

“As I said, I’m an ally of yours Captain. Allow me to introduce myself as Agent Precursor of the Federation Department of Temporal Investigations.”

Archer stared for a moment, then thought of something he had seen eight months before during his brief time in the thirty-first century.

“Federation…As in the Federation of United Planets?”

Precursor arched an eyebrow.

“I see Daniels revealed more than he should have. No matter. Oh, and it‘s United Federation of Planets but you‘ll find out about it soon enough. But of course, I don’t need to be a telepath to know you’re wondering why am here. Well, there are several things you and I share in common, Captain: A love of exploration, a pet canine who has a penchant for cheese, and of course, the Temporal Cold War.”

T’Pol was, of course, skeptical as always.

“You must be mistaken or lying. The Vulcan Scientific Directorate has concluded that there is no such thing as time travel.”

The agent looked at the Vulcan for a long moment and then chuckled.

“Ah yes, the pre-2266 skeptical voice. Well then, ahem, su ri'agra sik zah lakht kroykah kam'nat, T’Pol-sen.”

It was one of the few times that Archer had seen an emotional response on T’Pol’s face and it for one was not a happy one. He angrily turned towards the DTI agent.

“What did you just say to my first officer?!”

“Nothing that was mean Captain. I simply told her to open her mind up to new possibilities every now and then. Now, as I was saying, I’m here because of the TCW as we in the DTI prefer to call it.

A thought occurred to Archer, one that he hadn’t considered before.

“Those cybernetic beings we faced; were they a faction in the Temporal Cold War?”

“No and you can thank whatever god you believe in that they aren‘t. If the Borg were part of the TCW, then we‘d all be in trouble.”

T’Pol looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Borg…as in Cyborg?”

Precursor nodded.

“Yes, Sub-Commander and you should consider yourselves lucky as hell that you faced off against a partially modified vessel rather than a real Borg craft. If you had, then you would either be dead or one of them in a matter of minutes, assimilated into their collective.”

“Assimilated”

Precursor sighed.

“The process that your physician and those crewmembers from that freighter faced. It is in many regards an infection, though I’m surprised it took as long as it did for them to succumb to the process; it usually only takes a few minutes rather than hours. Must have been the damage caused by their ninety year slumber; not that it matters though. Now, assimilation can be reversed, but with your medical technology, it is of course not possible. But I must admit that Phlox’s solution was resourceful to say the least.”

Archer was silent for a moment before speaking again.

“What about those voices he heard? Did he imagine them?”

Precursor shook his head.

“Your physician did not imagine them. And to answer your next question, no, it was not telepathy. The Borg are part of a collective group consciousness that as the destination of that subspace message implied, is based in the Delta Quadrant. And no, they don’t have a homeworld, just a large space borne city that they designate as Unimatrix One. They maintain their mental link through massive subspace transmitters with receptors built into each Borg drone. Phlox’s were partially developed before his last ditch treatment and thus, he was partially connected to the Collective.

“And the Borg we faced?”

“Not collected to the Collective of the present, only amongst themselves. The Collective’s current subspace transmitters are not that advanced at this point. Rest assured, they won’t receive that message that was sent. Ultimately, it will be another factor that truly introduces humanity to the Borg. But that would be telling and I can only tell you so much.”

“Do you know how they ended up on Earth?”

Precursor was silent for a moment. Then a slight hint of a grin came onto his face.

“Well, you have a right to know.”

Without warning, the agent tapped the top of his cane and the room vanished, replaced by holographic projections, figures and blazing colors. It was disorienting for T’Pol, but Precursor saw a look of recognition on Archer’s face.

“Ah yes, you’ve seen this before, Captain. You might call this a different variation of the Temporal Observatory than Daniels showed you. The difference here is that instead of just analyzing the timeline, we can literally observe events as if we were standing amongst them. Computer, access Temporal Log 11.2373, authorization Dougherty 666-Valhalla.”

***

“We have a problem.”

“Would that really be such a bad thing?”

“Who shall I contact then? I can’t stop him and Enterprise alone after all.”

“Understood.”

***