S1 M4 "The Temporal Variable"

[Naga Rylu]

James remained in his seat as he noticed a Gorn entering the room.  At first, he was a little shocked as they were not that many Gorns in Starfleet.  In fact, James was willing to wager that she might be the first Gorn serving in Starfleet.    The fact that she is unique makes her job harder; a lot of the crew might have pre conceive notions of her abilities.  Some names and logs came in mind Worf, Nog and Odo as famous people that served in Starfleet and the first of their kind in service.

Even though he knew about her presence, James had not had the opportunity to formally introduce himself.   He noticed that she stood up on the briefing room.  James wanted to make her feel comfortable.  Hawke stood from his chair and approached the gorn woman.  He extended his hand and said "Thank you for being here, Ms. Rylu.  I don't think I had the privilege of knowing you, my name is James and I am the Chief Engineer of the ship.  I am honor to have you on this ship".  As James finished he slightly bowed his head as a sign of respect.

He pointed at the Science seat and told her "Your Department Head is ill, she has spoken highly of you...so I think is fair to have you take her seat...we need as many diverse ideas as possible to solve the crisis...and by the way...no fancy salutes or sir as long as we are alone...James is fine...so please take your seat".  As James finished pointing at her seat he made a genuine smile.  He was intrigued at her capability.

As he finished, he took his typical seat in the briefing room in his seat.  He hope that he made the new Gorn officer a little comfortable.  As he sat down he placed his hand around his forehead the headache that he had been killing him.   The pain was pretty sharp.

As soon as he heard the doors swished, Hawke took a second to regain his composure.  Luckily for him it was the other individual that currently outrank him on the ship.   He smiled as Lizzie walked in and greeted her.  He noticed that she sat next to him.

He heard Lizzie question and James nodded in response.  He gave a faint smile as his headache was still bothering him.  He looked at Lizzie and responded honestly "I don't know much more than anyone here, a Galaxy class vessel that appear near us, the ship looks relatively bad to Starfleet standards.  They appear to communicate with us, they way they appear and their actions might not indicate that they are following Starfleet protocol.  Weird thing is that they act like they know us and something about them feels familiar but I don't know what...they act like they know us...it's kind of eerie"

As James finished his sentence he looked at the first officer chair and looked at Lizzie "You know, that is yours for now, the Captain is temporally indisposed, I am sure the Commander would appreciate your advice,  I know it hard to get used to but, I think you are up to task...the ship needs you as much as sickbay"  James said those words so she could hear it.  It was her time to act like an XO and he had his support.

She was a bit taken aback by Hawke's offer of a handshake, but gently clasped his hand in hers, mindful of her talons as she did so.  "... Hawke then."  She replied, nodding her head in a respectful manner.  She liked protocol, it gave her an idea where the lines were when interacting with people.  "It is nice to formally make your aquaintance."  With that, she moved to take 'her' seat, though it took some careful maneuvering.  Her tail she had to feed carefully through the hole at the back, then gingerly sat down in the dangerously creaking chair.  She swallowed, briefly inflating her neck, she had the feeling it was not built to Gorn standards of sturdiness.  There was a reason most of her furniture had no legs and was directly on the floor. These... wheely-chairs were made by Chiikaiha, the devil.  She was sure of it.

Briefing Room

K'lizh strode into the briefing room, taking stock of the by-now familiar faces. Some he felt more comfortable with than others, and so he sat down beside Naga. Like him, she was an outsider amongst the human-majority crew. Sadly she did not have the luxury of others of her kind aboard this ship, not that it would have done her much good in this universe.

His mind was already racing with theories about the ship outside, but he sat down quietly and waited for the commanders to call on him. They had been doing this sort of thing for longer than he.

Naga gave K'lizh a small smile and a flick of her spines as he took the seat next to her, trying to find the best way to settle her claws on the arms of the chair.  She'd rather not damage it, after all.

[William Waring]

[Briefing Room]

Will entered the Briefing Room and stopped at the head of the table, hesitating just a moment before taking the seat.

He took a look around the table and noticed the CFO was absent from the meeting. He drew a breath and began to speak.

"Thank You for assembling so quickly. With the Captain currently indisposed, I thought it prudent to gather you here to discuss our course of action. Until the Captain returns to duty, Commander Vaughan will be my right hand man on the Bridge and as such Dr. Belmont will be Acting Chief Medical Officer" Will turned and offered a nod of assurance to Lizzie before continuing.

"Minutes ago a Galaxy Class Vessel dropped from Warp dangerously close to the Tempest. That is what caused the Shipwide Alert. This vessel appears to identify as the USS Tempest as well." He paused to see if everyone fully understood what was being said.

"Now, the Commanding Officer of that vessel spoke with me and James but did so in such a manner that sounded like she knew us. Not just from Starfleet records but as if she was a family member. Just before closing the channel she left us this:"

"Begin Log:
It's been seventy years since the incident that trapped us here has occurred. The New Horizons Colony is expanding at an exponential rate which makes me very proud of what the original crew have accomplished.

On a record keeping note: I have finally been able to determine how far back we were thrown. By my calculations it was approximately two hundred years, give or take a decade...."

"As you can see, I, well not me but a future or past or whenever, version of me leaves a message that is kept so I can get it. Frankly I don't quite know how myself. Now I turn the floor to the resident experts, you guys. Theories, ideas, anything. Let's start with Operations, K'lith?"

[Klizh]

[Briefing Room]
"Thank You for assembling so quickly. With the Captain currently indisposed, I thought it prudent to gather you here to discuss our course of action. Until the Captain returns to duty, Commander Vaughan will be my right hand man on the Bridge and as such Dr. Belmont will be Acting Chief Medical Officer" Will turned and offered a nod of assurance to Lizzie before continuing.

"Minutes ago a Galaxy Class Vessel dropped from Warp dangerously close to the Tempest. That is what caused the Shipwide Alert. This vessel appears to identify as the USS Tempest as well." He paused to see if everyone fully understood what was being said.

"Now, the Commanding Officer of that vessel spoke with me and James but did so in such a manner that sounded like she knew us. Not just from Starfleet records but as if she was a family member. Just before closing the channel she left us this:""As you can see, I, well not me but a future or past or whenever, version of me leaves a message that is kept so I can get it. Frankly I don't quite know how myself. Now I turn the floor to the resident experts, you guys. Theories, ideas, anything. Let's start with Operations, K'lith?"

It dismayed the Caitian that his XO still slurred his name. He knew it was tricky, but not impossible for the human mouth to form his name. Perhaps Warring was just tired. The man had been a wreck since his mate had left Starfleet.

"Given the many instances of time travel phenomena on Starfleet record, even the ones that have not been classified, the idea of our descendants travelling back to meet us is not impossible," he said, casting a sideways glance out the windows and wondering if there were any Caitians aboard that vessel. "The question is, why would they go to all the trouble to do so? And why now? Why this exact point in the Tempest's timeline? Did they say what they want?"

[Lizzie Vaughan]

It dismayed the Caitian that his XO still slurred his name. He knew it was tricky, but not impossible for the human mouth to form his name. Perhaps Warring was just tired. The man had been a wreck since his mate had left Starfleet.

"Given the many instances of time travel phenomena on Starfleet record, even the ones that have not been classified, the idea of our descendants travelling back to meet us is not impossible," he said, casting a sideways glance out the windows and wondering if there were any Caitians aboard that vessel. "The question is, why would they go to all the trouble to do so? And why now? Why this exact point in the Tempest's timeline? Did they say what they want?"

Briefing Room

Lizzie listened to what Klizh had to say before leaning forward.

"We can't take anything they say at face value." She started, looking at Will, but looking round the table as well. "While they might be exactly who they say they are; it is just as likely, if not more so that this is some kind of trick. For what purpose I can only guess at. If they are who they claim, then they will have no issue to us verifying who they are by genetic analysis. If they are proven to be on the level, then we should consider helping them with whatever they need. After all it would make no sense for them to contact us and risk their own futures unless it was vital. My recommendation is to ask for a small group of them to beam over, we do a deep protein analysis of their genetic code. This will not only reveal their ancestry, but also show if they are trying to hide anything. I will add this though, if it is a trick or trap, it is a very elaborate one. Once that only a handful of races and groups are capable of." Lizzie stopped and took a drink of water.

[James A. Hawke]

Briefing Room

Lizzie looked at James.

"Since when has the Captain been unavailable?" She asked in a low voice, incredulous that she had not been told that she was the acting XO.

However now was not the time to cause a fuss, she had to step up to the the plate. She got up, straightened her uniform and poured herself a glass of water from the jug in the middle of the table. She then took a deep breath and sat down in the chair to the right of the Captain's. She then thought about what James had said about the other vessel. She had plenty of speculations, but she needed more information first. So she sat back and waited for Will to arrive.

James looked at the First's Officer's chair and smiled towards Lizzie.  He knew she worked hard and was dedicated to Starfleet and it was her opportunity to be near command.  He wanted her to succeed in her position and he would do whatever it was in his power to make her succeed.  He wanted to explain that for most of the crew the Captain's absence should come without notice, however recent events pushed their hand.  Before James could explain Lizzie what happened to the Captain he was interrupted by another person.

[Briefing Room]

Inside she saw a small group of people seated. Not knowing entirely what they were talking about, though she had a general idea, she stood by Hawke and waited for him to give her permission to administer the hypo.

James noticed that Dr. Belmont was in the room and acknowledge her presence.  She near him and said little.  James hoped that his rank did not intimidate her that he was just another officer on board.  As the conversation ended he took a second and responded "Yes, Doctor Belmont...I have a headache normally, I would come to sickbay, but the Red Alert prevent me otherwise...Thank you for coming"  James nodded in appreciation.  He gave Dr. Belmont the signal that she can administer whatever she had do "Do what you have too, just don't make me drowsy"  James said with a faint smile.   He still felt the pain in his head from the morning.  It was not enough that it would deter him from his duties but he wanted to be clearheaded for moments of crisis.

James remained seated and heard the comments of his fellow bridge officers.  He agreed with the acting first officer that they should not be so quick to trust.  "I agree with Commander  Vaughan, asking them to submit for medical examinations is a good idea,  I would also propose the to scan for Tachyon that would cover most theories of time travel,  I would also like to go their ship and look at it. If it is the Tempest I might be able to recognize it, it might fool computers but I know that Warp Engine like the back of my hand"  James said

[James H. Hawk]

[Briefing Room]

James almost ran into the briefing room as he was already late. He quietly took his seat without disrupting the others who were already discussing theories. From listening to the others he manage to form a good idea of what was happening, a battered ship that appears to be a future version of the Tempest had appeared nearby, crewed by people who seem to be descendants of our Tempest's crew.

"It could be time travel, sir, as K'lizh said but after listening to those logs I would guess that it's more than just time travel. My guess would be that it involves a alternate timelines. This is quite an elaborate setup so I doubt it's faked and I would suggest that we all keep an open mind. Additionally, their ship appears to be quite battered and while that could be age it is possible that they have some sort of enemy so as Chief Tactical Officer I suggest we remain at Red Alert while we investigate the situation or at least Yellow Alert. It's to be better safe than sorry."

[Vasilisa Belmont]

James noticed that Dr. Belmont was in the room and acknowledge her presence.  She near him and said little.  James hoped that his rank did not intimidate her that he was just another officer on board.  As the conversation ended he took a second and responded "Yes, Doctor Belmont...I have a headache normally, I would come to sickbay, but the Red Alert prevent me otherwise...Thank you for coming"  James nodded in appreciation.  He gave Dr. Belmont the signal that she can administer whatever she had do "Do what you have too, just don't make me drowsy"  James said with a faint smile.   He still felt the pain in his head from the morning.  It was not enough that it would deter him from his duties but he wanted to be clearheaded for moments of crisis.

[Briefing Room]

Lisa nodded as he spoke to her. It felt strange to be in this room with all these senior officers. She just wanted to take care of Commander Hawke and go back to Sickbay. She didn't know what this other Tempest was there for, but if what everyone was saying was correct and time travel was involved, she didn't want to be around if the reason they were here wasn't pleasant. She had had enough of unnatural things that, to the unaccustomed eye, could be described as magic. She wanted to be away from the action if this ship fit that description.

[Briefing Room]

Will entered the Briefing Room and stopped at the head of the table, hesitating just a moment before taking the seat.

He took a look around the table and noticed the CFO was absent from the meeting. He drew a breath and began to speak.

"Thank You for assembling so quickly. With the Captain currently indisposed, I thought it prudent to gather you here to discuss our course of action. Until the Captain returns to duty, Commander Vaughan will be my right hand man on the Bridge and as such Dr. Belmont will be Acting Chief Medical Officer" Will turned and offered a nod of assurance to Lizzie before continuing.

Well look at that, she was involved after all. Lisa caught Will's eye and gave him a short nod. It seemed like this mission was as serious as she was predicting, and everyone had to be on top of their game. She listened closely, still standing casually next to Hawke's seat.

"Minutes ago a Galaxy Class Vessel dropped from Warp dangerously close to the Tempest. That is what caused the Shipwide Alert. This vessel appears to identify as the USS Tempest as well." He paused to see if everyone fully understood what was being said.

"Now, the Commanding Officer of that vessel spoke with me and James but did so in such a manner that sounded like she knew us. Not just from Starfleet records but as if she was a family member. Just before closing the channel she left us this:"
Quote from: William Q. Waring - Age: 91
"Begin Log:
It's been seventy years since the incident that trapped us here has occurred. The New Horizons Colony is expanding at an exponential rate which makes me very proud of what the original crew have accomplished.

On a record keeping note: I have finally been able to determine how far back we were thrown. By my calculations it was approximately two hundred years, give or take a decade...."

"As you can see, I, well not me but a future or past or whenever, version of me leaves a message that is kept so I can get it. Frankly I don't quite know how myself. Now I turn the floor to the resident experts, you guys. Theories, ideas, anything. Let's start with Operations, K'lith?"

At this conclusion, Lisa reached into her kit and swiftly injected a hypospray of analgesic in Hawke's neck. That done, she remained standing as the opinions kept coming in.

Briefing Room

Lizzie listened to what Klizh had to say before leaning forward.

"We can't take anything they say at face value." She started, looking at Will, but looking round the table as well. "While they might be exactly who they say they are; it is just as likely, if not more so that this is some kind of trick. For what purpose I can only guess at. If they are who they claim, then they will have no issue to us verifying who they are by genetic analysis. If they are proven to be on the level, then we should consider helping them with whatever they need. After all it would make no sense for them to contact us and risk their own futures unless it was vital. My recommendation is to ask for a small group of them to beam over, we do a deep protein analysis of their genetic code. This will not only reveal their ancestry, but also show if they are trying to hide anything. I will add this though, if it is a trick or trap, it is a very elaborate one. Once that only a handful of races and groups are capable of." Lizzie stopped and took a drink of water.

Yep, she was definitely involved now. She didn't particularly like the idea of determining whether these people were who they claimed to be, because if they were...there were some things she wanted to be kept secret. Even if it was only a possible outcome and not the future she would end up living. If they weren't who they said they were...well, she'd dealt with her fair share of unfriendly neighbors while in Starfleet and didn't particularly enjoy it. However, that troublesome curiosity managed to get the better of her. She might not like what she was being told to do, but she had to admit it was fascinating.

[Naga Rylu]

Briefing Room

Lizzie listened to what Klizh had to say before leaning forward.

"We can't take anything they say at face value." She started, looking at Will, but looking round the table as well. "While they might be exactly who they say they are; it is just as likely, if not more so that this is some kind of trick. For what purpose I can only guess at. If they are who they claim, then they will have no issue to us verifying who they are by genetic analysis. If they are proven to be on the level, then we should consider helping them with whatever they need. After all it would make no sense for them to contact us and risk their own futures unless it was vital. My recommendation is to ask for a small group of them to beam over, we do a deep protein analysis of their genetic code. This will not only reveal their ancestry, but also show if they are trying to hide anything. I will add this though, if it is a trick or trap, it is a very elaborate one. Once that only a handful of races and groups are capable of." Lizzie stopped and took a drink of water.

While very quietly listening to what all of them had to say, Naga thought over this particular scenario.  Time travel...  How fascinating.  And these people, this Second Tempest, claimed that they were from an alternate timeline, in which they were marooned on a planet, and apparently now, 200 years later, this paradox in the making was catching up to them.

"If I might make a suggestion?"  Naga finally spoke up.  "While unusual, it is not unheard of for my race to live quite a long time, and while I am physically mature, I am quite young myself.  If my counterpart is still alive, she should have the same patterning on her hide as me, and I could ask her about certain things from my life before Starfleet that I have never divulged before."  There were quite a few things she hadn't told them.  Not the important things, not the things they asked her about specifically...  but things that were private.  Or, well, things she felt weren't mentioning, but that she'd never reveal in her life.  "As many have stated before, I am the only Gorn currently in Starfleet."

[William Waring]

[Briefing Room]

Will leaned back in the chair as he listened to everyone as they spoke. Each department had its own suggestions and theories but the prevailing one was Time Travel. It was definitely intriguing and as much as he would like to dive head first into this conundrum, he understood the need to yield to caution.

"Honestly, K'lizh, no. They spoke like we are now. No demands, no speeches. Just casual conversation. It's almost creepy." He took a breath and sipped his coffee as he thought for a moment. "Alright" he began, leaning toward to address the group as a whole, starting with the COO "K'lizh, I want you to work on a more refined theory on how this could have happened, if at all." Then he turned to the James' "Hawke, I want you to prepare a small team for if they approve us beaming over. Personnel is at your discretion but no more then four people, no need to be overzealous. Hawk..." he said now turning to the Tactical Officer "Should they approve our suggestion to beam over, you will be going as well to talk to there CT/SO. Anything you can get without violating the Temporal Prime Directive."

He took another sip of his coffee and continued to speak. "Lisa, please prepare Sickbay for some visitors from the other ship. If they are who they say they are then I suspect little resistance for Dr. Vaughan's suggestion. If we find that an older Naga is aboard the other vessel then I will suggest her presence as well."

He looked around the table one last time before standing up. "Dismissed. Lizzie, please return to the Bridge and open hailing frequencies to the other ship."

[Zed Masters]

=/\=Hawke to Normandy, Rise and Shine...I know that one of the first thing you wanted to hear when you wake up is the sound of my voice...I need a small favor from you, do you mind doing a quick scan on the Galaxy class vessel and running a hull analysis...once you done that report to the briefing room, ASAP.  Hawke out

[Quarters]

Zed had a habit of keeping his comm badge on a table near his bed. Just in case he was needed while he was asleep. This happened to be one of those times. After a moment of processing he sat up in his bed and grabbed his comm badge. Quickly he made his way to the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror and grab a quick shower. He did always wonder why people were always sending him every which way when in reality all he wanted was some sleep. After he'd gotten dressed he tapped his comm badge to speak to the ops officer on the bridge. Zed to Bridge Ops, I need preliminary scans of...some Galaxy class ship. Make it snappy and send it to my PADD. He stood over his desk looking at the PADD which sat on it. If he was being honest with himself he didn't really want to go do work while he was suppose to be off shift. But he had too. The job had too be done, and he was the only one to do it. After a moment of mental turmoil he grabbed the PADD and made his way to the briefing room.

[Corridor - Just Outside the Briefing Room]

As he came close to the door his comm badge rang out again. Mr. Masters, this is the Bridge. We've sent the preliminary scans over to your PADD. Do you require anything else?

Nothing else Bridge. Master out. Normandy drew close to the door and as it opened he realized the meeting was already in session.

[Briefing Room]

A small short sigh left Zed's lips as the reality of how late he really was set in on him. He hastily made his way over to where James was sat and leaned down to speak in a hushed tone. "You know Birdy, there are other Operations officers on this ship you can call while I'm asleep." Finally he looked over to the XO and offered a small smile holding up the PADD he'd brought with him. "Here's an early scan of the ship you asked for. Haven't had the time to look it over just yet, but it's all there." This time he spoke at a much more normal volume and with a respectful tone.

[Naga Rylu]

[Briefing Room]

Will leaned back in the chair as he listened to everyone as they spoke. Each department had its own suggestions and theories but the prevailing one was Time Travel. It was definitely intriguing and as much as he would like to dive head first into this conundrum, he understood the need to yield to caution.

"Honestly, K'lizh, no. They spoke like we are now. No demands, no speeches. Just casual conversation. It's almost creepy." He took a breath and sipped his coffee as he thought for a moment. "Alright" he began, leaning toward to address the group as a whole, starting with the COO "K'lizh, I want you to work on a more refined theory on how this could have happened, if at all." Then he turned to the James' "Hawke, I want you to prepare a small team for if they approve us beaming over. Personnel is at your discretion but no more then four people, no need to be overzealous. Hawk..." he said now turning to the Tactical Officer "Should they approve our suggestion to beam over, you will be going as well to talk to there CT/SO. Anything you can get without violating the Temporal Prime Directive."

He took another sip of his coffee and continued to speak. "Lisa, please prepare Sickbay for some visitors from the other ship. If they are who they say they are then I suspect little resistance for Dr. Vaughan's suggestion. If we find that an older Naga is aboard the other vessel then I will suggest her presence as well."

He looked around the table one last time before standing up. "Dismissed. Lizzie, please return to the Bridge and open hailing frequencies to the other ship."

Naga stood up as carefully as she had sat down, yet the chair decided it didn't wish to release her tail or hips completely.  She glared at the offending furniture, then sighed and approached Lisa, as Doctor Vaughn was going to be busy.  "Doctor Belmont, if I might have a moment?"  She began quietly.  "I wanted to request an appointment to have prosthesis replacements for my Primary claws.  They were removed when I was quite young, but the nerve damage persists in being an issue."  She glanced down at her toes.  "I would like for them to be partially organic, but I would be alright with a ceramic or metal replacement as well."

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Briefing Room]

Will leaned back in the chair as he listened to everyone as they spoke. Each department had its own suggestions and theories but the prevailing one was Time Travel. It was definitely intriguing and as much as he would like to dive head first into this conundrum, he understood the need to yield to caution.

"Honestly, K'lizh, no. They spoke like we are now. No demands, no speeches. Just casual conversation. It's almost creepy." He took a breath and sipped his coffee as he thought for a moment. "Alright" he began, leaning toward to address the group as a whole, starting with the COO "K'lizh, I want you to work on a more refined theory on how this could have happened, if at all." Then he turned to the James' "Hawke, I want you to prepare a small team for if they approve us beaming over. Personnel is at your discretion but no more then four people, no need to be overzealous. Hawk..." he said now turning to the Tactical Officer "Should they approve our suggestion to beam over, you will be going as well to talk to there CT/SO. Anything you can get without violating the Temporal Prime Directive."

He took another sip of his coffee and continued to speak. "Lisa, please prepare Sickbay for some visitors from the other ship. If they are who they say they are then I suspect little resistance for Dr. Vaughan's suggestion. If we find that an older Naga is aboard the other vessel then I will suggest her presence as well."

He looked around the table one last time before standing up. "Dismissed. Lizzie, please return to the Bridge and open hailing frequencies to the other ship."

Briefing Room

Lizzie nodded.

"Yes Sir." She replied in a soft but clear voice.

She then finished her drink in one gulp before getting up and heading onto the bridge.

Bridge

Lizzie exited the Briefing room and made her way into the centre of the Bridge, just in front of the Command chairs. She then turned to the duty Ops officer.

"Open a channel to the other ship." She ordered, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Aye Commander." The young officer replied activating the proper controls.

Lizzie waited nervously to see who would answer the hail.

[James A. Hawke]

[Briefing Room]

Will leaned back in the chair as he listened to everyone as they spoke. Each department had its own suggestions and theories but the prevailing one was Time Travel. It was definitely intriguing and as much as he would like to dive head first into this conundrum, he understood the need to yield to caution.

"Honestly, K'lizh, no. They spoke like we are now. No demands, no speeches. Just casual conversation. It's almost creepy." He took a breath and sipped his coffee as he thought for a moment. "Alright" he began, leaning toward to address the group as a whole, starting with the COO "K'lizh, I want you to work on a more refined theory on how this could have happened, if at all." Then he turned to the James' "Hawke, I want you to prepare a small team for if they approve us beaming over. Personnel is at your discretion but no more then four people, no need to be overzealous. Hawk..." he said now turning to the Tactical Officer "Should they approve our suggestion to beam over, you will be going as well to talk to there CT/SO. Anything you can get without violating the Temporal Prime Directive."

He took another sip of his coffee and continued to speak. "Lisa, please prepare Sickbay for some visitors from the other ship. If they are who they say they are then I suspect little resistance for Dr. Vaughan's suggestion. If we find that an older Naga is aboard the other vessel then I will suggest her presence as well."

He looked around the table one last time before standing up. "Dismissed. Lizzie, please return to the Bridge and open hailing frequencies to the other ship."

As James heard the instruction of the acting Captain, he stood up from his chair as a sign of respect.  He felt a little surprised in commanding a possible away team mission, however it was not his first mission and he knew some of the personnel needed.  He agreed with Will that four individuals would be ideal, any more than that it could be perceived hostile.
There was one individual on the away team was already pre selected and it was Lt. Hawk the Chief of Security, normally he would take a Science and Medical with him  but the DNA test from them was needed.  James then focused on the available people.

James sat again in his chair and thought to himself Where is Normandy with the damn report ?  He was not furious just wanted to get some information before walking in to the ship.  The Hull Analysis would give a lot of information for individuals that studied the galaxy class.  It could indicate which upgrades and era the ship was from.
He noticed another individual coming into the room.

A small short sigh left Zed's lips as the reality of how late he really was set in on him. He hastily made his way over to where James was sat and leaned down to speak in a hushed tone. "You know Birdy, there are other Operations officers on this ship you can call while I'm asleep." Finally he looked over to the XO and offered a small smile holding up the PADD he'd brought with him. "Here's an early scan of the ship you asked for. Haven't had the time to look it over just yet, but it's all there." This time he spoke at a much more normal volume and with a respectful tone.

As the PADD was handed to James, he could not help but to crack a smile.  He was tempted to say something back, but preferred not to interrupt the meeting.

James took the PADD and spoke out loud so everyone in the room could follow him.  "I asked Normandy to do a Hull Scan of the ship, that ship does have the same registry as ours...interesting the ship is primarily composed of Duranium Alloy and also have reinforced ablative armor in certain areas, my guess this ship was reinforced during the Dominion war after the Odyssey hull weakness was exploited by the Dominion...nothing in the initial scans does not tell me that it is not a Galaxy class vessel from Starfleet , if this was a fake this person knew about the Ablative Armor Upgrades which are not commonly known...it looks legit from here"

As he finished the explanation he said "Thank you, Mr. Masters" .
He stood once again and said "Lieutenant Hawk, Ensign Masters and Crewmen Rylu...you are with me, we will meet in Transporter Room 3 in 20 minutes, we will depart when we get an all clear from the ship"  As he finished his statement he left the briefing room and began his preparation to the Transporter room.  It was important to make sure they stay diplomatic during the away team.   If this ship was indeed the Tempest  James would know once he was inside the ship.

[Non-Playing Character 1]

Briefing Room

Lizzie nodded.

"Yes Sir." She replied in a soft but clear voice.

She then finished her drink in one gulp before getting up and heading onto the bridge.

Bridge

Lizzie exited the Briefing room and made her way into the centre of the Bridge, just in front of the Command chairs. She then turned to the duty Ops officer.

"Open a channel to the other ship." She ordered, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Aye Commander." The young officer replied activating the proper controls.

Lizzie waited nervously to see who would answer the hail.

[Other Vessel]

The viewscreen activated to show the Commanding Officer. She was sat down now and had a steaming cup in her hand.

"You will have to excuse the coffee, Lizzie. Or do you prefer Commander Vaughan? I forget which you preceded this early in your life.". She took a sip of her coffee and spoke once more "Anyway, what can I do for you now? I already know of course but I think it's better if I don't 'read your mind' so to speak." She let out a small chuckle "Where are manners! I talked to Will before and I never gave him my name. Now that won't do. I am Alexis, Commander of the Tempest of what is left of it over the past two centuries."

The woman leaned back in her chair and drank her coffee, waiting for Lizzie to respond. All the while she studied the Doctor with the blue eyes that were eerily similar to that of Will's own eyes.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Other Vessel]

The viewscreen activated to show the Commanding Officer. She was sat down now and had a steaming cup in her hand.

"You will have to excuse the coffee, Lizzie. Or do you prefer Commander Vaughan? I forget which you preceded this early in your life.". She took a sip of her coffee and spoke once more "Anyway, what can I do for you now? I already know of course but I think it's better if I don't 'read your mind' so to speak." She let out a small chuckle "Where are manners! I talked to Will before and I never gave him my name. Now that won't do. I am Alexis, Commander of the Tempest of what is left of it over the past two centuries."

The woman leaned back in her chair and drank her coffee, waiting for Lizzie to respond. All the while she studied the Doctor with the blue eyes that were eerily similar to that of Will's own eyes.

Bridge

Lizzie looked at the image of the officer on the other Bridge, what was left of it anyway. She took a step towards the screen, she vaguely recognised the woman, not as if they had met but it was more like she reminded her of someone. Then it hit her, the eyes. It was if she was looking at Will. For the first time, she found herself not completely dismissing the theory of time travel. The more she looked, the more she could see Will's mannerisms in the woman, Including the love of coffee. She however needed to be certain.

"Since I have no idea who you are, I would prefer you to address me as Commander Vaughan as I am currently acting XO of this vessel." She said, not liking the familiarity that the woman addressed her with. She took a breath before continuing. "However, since you are the ones who approached us, I need to know what it is you need." She paused again, giving a small smile before continuing. "In addition, we will need access to some of your personnel so we can verify the story you have told. We are planning to send an away team to your vessel and we would like a small number of your crew to join us here for some non-invasive tests. Assuming everything you have alluded to is proven, we will look to assist you however we can. The problem being however, we are bound by the Temporal Prime Directive. Which as I'm sure you are aware means we are not allowed to take action that will affect the time line or knowingly allow action to take place that is intended to effect changes to the time line." Lizzie paused again. "Are you willing to to accede to our requests?" She asked, finding herself torn between wanting to know what happened to her, and sticking to the rules. She was also genuinely interested in the woman's response.