VSF Blessings: A Star Trek Fan Production
Episode 9: Timing
Started: February 11, 2025
Podcast Published: June 3, 2025
SCENE 1: Rings a Bell
SOUNDS: Shipyards sounds.
ETHAN 1
Captain! We’ll be finished loading the bells for St. Joseph Cathedral soon. After Brother Patrick and I check things over one last time, we’ll be good to go.
JEREMIAH 2
That’s great news, Brother Ethan. You’re ahead of schedule.
ETHAN 3
Brother Matthias may have a thing with patterns, but I have a good head for spatial geometry. Our cargo bay is filled to the brim with the bells and their packaging, but they all fit. The loading team was sure we’d need to take a second run.
JEREMIAH 4
Good job. While Mars isn’t far away, I do appreciate efficiency.
ETHAN 5
Now Brother Matthias just has to fly us. With all this weight, the Blessings will fly like a brick.
JEREMIAH 6
Hahaha! He does like a challenge.
ARCHBISHOP MORGAN 7
Jeremiah! I’m glad I caught you!
JEREMIAH 8
Archbishop Morgan, what brings you out here?
MORGAN 9
I need a favor, if you don’t mind.
JEREMIAH 10
Of course, what do you need?
MORGAN 11
I’m sorry to ask, but I need you to clean out your mother’s secondary laboratory while you’re on Mars.
JEREMIAH 12
Her lab? That’s still there? We cleaned out her Earthside lab years ago. I didn’t know that one still existed. I’ve never actually seen it.
MORGAN 13
I was shocked as well. I don’t know what strings your father pulled to maintain it there for these what…two decades?
JEREMIAH 14
I guess it will be twenty years this year.
MORGAN 15
It isn’t a big lab, quite small actually, which might have helped in keeping it from being reassigned. Regardless, the Daystrom Institute of Technology needs that space now. Once you’ve delivered your cargo for Saint Joseph’s, please pack up her lab and bring it back here. I’ll find someplace to store it until you can decide what to do with it all. I’ll help, of course, if you want.
JEREMIAH 16
Of course I’ll want your support. Thank you for letting me do this, too. It’ll be like getting to know a new part of her in some ways.
MORGAN 17
I’m here if you need me in any way.
JEREMIAH 18
You always are.
SOUND: Show Introduction Music
SCENE 2: ARRIVED
SOUNDS: Light footsteps in hall.
MATTHIAS 19
Sorry that landing earlier was a little hard.
ETHAN 20
You really rung our bells there, Brother Matthias.
MATTHIAS 21
Har har.
ETHAN 22
I knew the Blessings would fly like a brick. She landed like one, too.
MATTHIAS 23
Starships aren’t typically aerodynamic. They ALL fly like a brick in a planet’s atmosphere. However, you were right, Brother Ethan, she REALLY flew like one this time with all the weight.
PATRICK 24
That’s as close to our maximum weight limit as I ever hope to get.
JEREMIAH 25
All things considered, you still did a superb job. The cargo was delivered undamaged and the VSF Blessings was unscathed.
MATTHIAS 26
Thank you, Captain.
THOMAS 27
Saint Joseph’s Cathedral is HUGE, isn’t it?! I had no idea the scale of the project.
PATRICK 28
And it’s an engineering marvel! It’s made from Martian stone that was hand hewn rather than machined. I met some of the stonemasons. They’re sticklers for ancient tradition on stone carving and building. While they may use modern technology to move the stonework around, in the end, it will be like it was made a millennium ago. Fascinating project.
THOMAS 29
This is my first time visiting Utopia Planitia Gardens. It’s my first time on Mars, actually.
JEREMIAH 30
Mine, too, Brother Thomas. It looks like this is the place. We’re right on time. Now where’s…
ANGELA WALLACE - FACILITIES MANAGEMENT 31
Father Jeremiah, I presume.
JEREMIAH 32
Yes, did the collar give me away?
ANGELA 33
That and the fact that you look a lot like your Dad. I’m Angela Wallace, from Facilities Management.
JEREMIAH 34
Nice to meet you , Ms. Wallace. You knew my Dad?
ANGELA 35
Yes, but not well. He would stop by his wife’s lab here periodically. My condolences on his passing. He was a very nice man.
JEREMIAH 36
That he was. Thank you. I didn’t even know this lab still existed. How did Dad manage to keep the space reserved? I would have thought you would have needed the space long ago.
ANGELA 37
Honestly, I have no idea, and, yes, we always need more space. The decision was above my grade. It is located off the beaten path and is comparatively small. Perhaps that helped. Shall I let you in?
JEREMIAH 38
Yes, please.
SOUNDS: Keys pressed. Door opens.
ANGELA 39
Let me know if you need anything.
JEREMIAH 40
We will. Thank you, Ms. Wallace.
SOUNDS: Segue music.
SCENE 3: POINTS IN TIME
SOUNDS: Door closes.
PATRICK 41
Wow. It’s like walking back in time twenty years. This place hasn’t been touched.
JEREMIAH 42
I know. I’m sure my Dad took comfort in that.
ETHAN 43
Is this a picture of you as a boy?
JEREMIAH 44
Yes, that’s Mom, Dad, me, and John…Archbishop Morgan. She kept the same copy on her desk in the Earthside lab, too.
ETHAN 45
A proud Mother.
MATTHIAS 46
It’s not a holophoto.
JEREMIAH 47
No, Dad took up photography for a while. He had an antique camera, dark room setup, and everything.
MATTHIAS 48
That’s quite the hobby.
JEREMIAH 49
He liked how it caught a precise moment in time. Life goes by in a blur, and we have to capture the moments to remember, he would say. They’re all I have now, these moments in time.
THOMAS 50
Quite the legacy he left you.
JEREMIAH 51
I hadn't thought much about it until now, but you are quite right.
PATRICK 52
What research was your mother doing?
JEREMIAH 53
She was working on advancing transporter capabilities.
PATRICK 54
Advancing them? In what ways?
JEREMIAH 55
Honestly, I don’t know much. Only that it dealt with research into transporter technology. I was a teenager at the time and had other things on my mind. I just knew she had this second laboratory here for some reason.
THOMAS 56
If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to your Mother?
JEREMIAH 57
No one knows for sure. She was working in her lab back on Earth one night. She had some last minute preparations she wanted to complete before running a round of tests the next day. There was a lab on the other side of campus that had an accident…an explosion. It was nowhere close to her lab, but it caused a power surge. The theory is the transporter she was working on malfunctioned as a result of the surge, locked onto my mother, and beamed her energy out into space. There was a full investigation. They found residual traces of recent transporter activity in her lab. They traced the destination to empty space. No body was ever found. Eventually, she was legally determined to be dead.
THOMAS 58
I had no idea. I’m so sorry, Captain.
ETHAN 59
I wouldn’t be able to step foot on a transporter again.
JEREMIAH 60
Interestingly, that thought never crossed my mind. It wasn’t the technology. It was a once-in-a-lifetime malfunction.
ETHAN 61
But even so. I’m sorry, Captain.
JEREMIAH 62
That was 20 years ago. My Father and I dealt with it and slowly moved on in our own way. It wasn’t easy, but I like to think she’d be proud of us for that.
THOMAS 63
I have no doubt.
JEREMIAH 64
Now, let’s get to packing up. There’s some heavy equipment in here we’ll have to arrange to be moved.
PATRICK 65
I’m checking it out now, Captain.
JEREMIAH 66
Thank you, Brother Patrick. Oh, the furniture stays here. It belongs to the Institute.
MATTHIAS 67
I’ll start emptying any drawers. It doesn’t look like there’s much here.
JEREMIAH 68
I didn’t expect there to be. She didn’t work out of this lab as often as the other.
PATRICK 69
Captain, this unit is still connected to power.
JEREMIAH 70
What is it?
PATRICK 71
It’s a transporter pod. Not for beaming out, but for receiving. One way only. Interesting.
JEREMIAH 72
Can you disconnect it from the power conduit?
PATRICK 73
Yes, I think I can. Would you like for me to power it up first to see if there are any logs or data you’d like to recover?
JEREMIAH 74
Hmmm…Why not? Let’s continue this journey of discovery one more step.
PATRICK 75
Ok, now let me see here. This should do it…
SOUNDS: Buttons pushed, equipment powering up, and background hum.
PATRICK 76
The startup diagnostic says it is humming along like new.
JEREMIAH 77
Fantastic. Anything of note?
SOUNDS: Buttons being pushed.
PATRICK 78
No personal logs, Sir. There is data from transports received…or attempted transports. It looks like each of them failed.
JEREMIAH 79
Failed?
PATRICK 80
Yes, the energy patterns had destabilized too much to be rematerialized.
ETHAN 81
Whatever she was working on, she didn’t seem to be having much luck.
THOMAS 82
A lot of progress can come from failure. I believe Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
PATRICK 83
There’s not quite 10,000 in this transport record, but there are a lot.
JEREMIAH 84
Mom was always persistent.
SOUNDS: Computer alert.
MATTHIAS 85
What’s that?
PATRICK 86
I’m not sure…it looks like…
JEREMIAH 87
Looks like what?
PATRICK 88
It looks like something is beaming in…pattern is being buffered…Heisenberg compensators are activating, and…
SOUNDS: Transport materializing
MARIA HOLLIS 89
No, no, no, no! Wait, it worked. Who are you?
JEREMIAH 90
Mom?
MATTHIAS, ETHAN, PATRICK, THOMAS 91
MOM!
MARIA 92
You guys are a little too old for me to be your Mom. Seriously, who are you, and why are you in my lab?
JEREMIAH 93
Wait, if you don’t mind, humor me a bit first. What is your name?
MARIA 94
Maria. Doctor Maria Hollis.
JEREMIAH 95
And what’s the last thing you remember before materializing here?
MARIA 96
I was in my laboratory back on Earth. There was a loud noise across the campus. The lights flickered and a control panel started behaving chaotically. The last thing I remember is the feeling of the transporter beam lock and the lightness of transport washing across me. I thought I was a goner because nothing else I had transported had stayed together in one piece so far. Then, I was standing here looking at you guys. Now, your turn.
JEREMIAH 97
This is Brother Matthias, Brother Patrick, Brother Thomas, and Brother Ethan.
MARIA 98
And you are?
JEREMIAH 99
I am Captain…
MARIA 100
Captain who?
JEREMIAH 101
Captain Jeremiah Hollis.
MARIA 102
Wait…that’s my son’s name.
And you look like my husband, James. Are you related? Some cousin I’ve yet to meet?
JEREMIAH 103
No, I am your son. It’s me, Jeremiah.
MARIA 104
But you’re my age.
JEREMIAH 105
As your son, I know that you want to establish reality quickly with facts so the appropriate emotions can follow second. “Navigate with your mind and steer with your heart,” you always said. You disappeared twenty years ago in a transporter accident. The investigations concluded that your energy had been scattered into space.
MARIA 106
I’m afraid you have me confused with someone else. I just left my son and husband not two hours ago. They’re safe at home. Transporters are not time machines.
JEREMIAH 107
Check the chronometer on the control panel over there. You’ll see that almost twenty years exactly have passed since your last memory.
SOUNDS: Buttons pressed.
MARIA 108
What you say appears to be true. I think I'm in shock. Twenty years...
JEREMIAH 109
I’m sorry to spring this all on you like this, but you always liked to know the facts as quickly as you could.
MARIA 110
That’s right, thank you…still…twenty years.
JEREMIAH 111
It was an eternity for me.
MARIA 112
And a bat of an eye for me. How do I get back?
JEREMIAH 113
In my timeline, you don’t.
MARIA 114
You're telling me that I left you! I left my son for twenty years!
JEREMIAH 115
Yes, you did, but I think I turned out okay.
MARIA 116
Captain, you said? And of course a Priest as well, if I read the collar correctly. I’m sure John is pleased.
JEREMIAH 117
It is Archbishop Morgan, now.
MARIA 118
Archbishop? I have been gone for a while.
JEREMIAH 119
Is it really you, Mom?
MARIA 120
As far as I know, it’s me. Is it really you, Jeremiah?
JEREMIAH 121
As far as I know, it’s me. I have missed you so much…beyond words.
MARIA 122
I’m sorry. I never would have chosen to leave you.
JEREMIAH 123
I know. I’ve always known that.
MARIA 124
I’m still not convinced this isn’t a dream, you know.
JEREMIAH 125
Me, too. I don’t want to wake up yet.
MARIA 126
You look so much like your father.
JEREMIAH 127
That’s what everyone tells me.
MARIA 128
I need to call him. If all of this is true, James needs to know I’m alive!
JEREMIAH 129
I was dreading getting to this part. I have something to tell you about Dad…
SOUNDS: Segue Music
SCENE 4: REUNION
MARIA 130
Oh, my dear Jeremiah. First, you lose me. Then we nearly lost you with this horrid Borg incident. Then you witnessed the loss of your father. My heart breaks for you, my son.
JEREMIAH 131
I try to be stronger because of it.
MARIA 132
You sound just like your father.
JEREMIAH 133
It’s a lot to take in, I know, but I think it’s time we call John next. He’s had to lose all three of us at one point or another. He could really use this good news.
MARIA 134
Of course! Our dear friend John.
JEREMIAH 135
Brother Matthias, could you please contact Archbishop Morgan? We’ll want visuals.
MATTHIAS 136
Will do, Captain.
SOUNDS: Communication beeps.
MARIA 137
Is it weird that I can’t wait to see his face?
JEREMIAH 138
I’m right there with you, Mom. He couldn’t look any more surprised than I did.
SOUNDS: Communications established
MORGAN 139 (Telephony)
Yes, Captain Hollis? How’s it going at the lab?
JEREMIAH 140
It’s going better than I thought. We found something…someone.
MORGAN 141 (Telephony)
Someone?
JEREMIAH 142
Yes, have a look…
MORGAN 143 (Telephony)
No…it can’t be true...Maria?
MARIA 144
It’s me, John.
MORGAN 145 (Telephony)
How can it possibly be you after all these years? After 20 years? You haven’t aged a day.
MARIA 146
It’s good to see you, old friend.
JEREMIAH 147
And she’s truly only aged a few hours, not twenty years.
MORGAN 148 (Telephony)
I don’t understand.
JEREMIAH 149
When we powered up the equipment here, there was suddenly an incoming transport signal. Then mom appeared.
MORGAN 150 (Telephony)
But how?
MARIA 151
We don’t know yet. We…oh, I feel really dizzy…
PATRICK 152
Here, sit down, Dr. Hollis.
MORGAN 153 (Telephony)
Jeremiah, what’s happening? We need to get her checked out!
JEREMIAH 154
I agree. Brother Thomas, if you would.
SOUNDS: Tricorder sounds
THOMAS 155
That was a rough transport. Her body is still reacting from the effects of whatever she went through. There’s some intermolecular instability…
MARIA 156
Oh no. I, of all people, know how serious that is. I come all this way…all these years…just to fall apart.
THOMAS 157
Medical technology has come a long way in twenty years, Dr. Hollis. Unfortunately, I don’t have the information required to tell you your prognosis. We need to get you to a medical facility quickly.
MORGAN 160 (Telephony)
St. Francis Hospital is probably your best bet. It’s not far away.
THOMAS 161
And I think I know just the doctor to call.
SOUNDS: Segue music
SCENE 5: PROGNOSIS
SOUNDS: Med Bay
MARIA 162
Doctor, what’s the diagnosis? Give it to me straight.
DOCTOR LEONARD BREEDEN 163
You’ve been through a lot, Mrs. Hollis Your body has to adjust both physically and temporally. Our first step will be to get you stabilized and then we’ll start treatments to return everything back to within standard parameters. My team is locating your medical records from twenty years ago to help establish what those are for you.
JEREMIAH 164
Will she be ok?
LEONARD 165
My team is already making the preparations. If all goes to plan, I’m optimistic.
MARIA 166
I’ll take optimistic, Doctor. Thank you.
LEONARD 167
You’re welcome, Mrs. Hollis.
It’s good to see you, Thomas.
THOMAS 168
Same here.
JEREMIAH 169
You two know each other?
LEONARD 170
He didn’t tell you? We’re brothers. Biological brothers.
JEREMIAH 171
No, he hadn’t had time, yet. He just said he knew just the doctor to call.
LEONARD 172
And he was right. Not too many doctors on Mars have had experience in such unusual cases such as this.
THOMAS 173
When he was in med school, he did his rounds at a facility that specialized in anomalous medical conditions from across the quadrant.
LEONARD 174
When “we” were in medical school.
JEREMIAH 175
You were in med school, Brother Thomas? But you’re always reminding us that you are a Med Tech, not a doctor.
THOMAS 176
And I am.
LEONARD 177
Now that is rich! He graduated at the top of his class, Father. He had better grades and recommendations than me! To see him wasting it is unbearable.
JEREMIAH 178
I don’t know if I can handle any more surprises today.
THOMAS 179
My calling to God was stronger than my family’s calling that I should be a medical doctor.
LEONARD 180
It’s time we start stabilizing Mrs. Hollis. My team’s here. We can continue this discussion later, brother.
THOMAS 181
You are the best in what you do, Leonard. I pray for God to give you the wisdom and guidance you need to help her.
SOUNDS: Segue Music
SCENE 6: FAMILY
JEREMIAH 182
I don’t remember seeing anything about attending med school in your personnel file, Brother Thomas. Did I miss that detail?
THOMAS 183
No, I’m sure you did not.
JEREMIAH 184
Then why was it omitted?
THOMAS 185
By my request.
JEREMIAH 186
I’m starting to pry here, I know, but I need to know the capabilities of my crew. I hope you understand.
THOMAS 187
I do.
JEREMIAH 188
Then why did you request this pertinent piece of information be omitted?
THOMAS 189
To answer that question, you need to know something about my family.
JEREMIAH 190
And that would be…
THOMAS 191
My family is very medically focused, you might say. EVERYONE in my family goes into a medical field of one form or another. Medical doctors. Medical researchers. Psychologists. Surgeons. EVERYONE.
JEREMIAH 192
Those are all noble professions.
THOMAS 193
Absolutely, they are. The expectations and pressures are astronomical to follow in the footprints of those who came before us. We are a medical family. Some would say we are a HISTORIC medical family.
JEREMIAH 194
Historic? What do you mean by that?
THOMAS 195
I mean my great grandfather is Admiral Leonard McCoy.
JEREMIAH 196
One of the most famous doctors in the Federation.
THOMAS 197
And his father was a doctor, too.
JEREMIAH 198
That IS quite the bloodline. Your last name is Breeden, so he’s your maternal great grandfather then?
THOMAS 199
Yes, he is.
JEREMIAH 200
So why did you go to medical school if you didn’t want to?
THOMAS 201
Like I said, it was all the pressure. There simply was no other choice. I told my parents I wanted a religious life. They said that was a waste of my God-given talents. So I forged ahead. I excelled! My family was ecstatic. Then, when I graduated, I handed my parents the degree and headed off to a monastery I had already applied to.
JEREMIAH 202
That must have caused quite the stir.
THOMAS 203
That is an understatement, Captain. Let’s just say members of my family were eventually banned from the grounds of the monastery.
JEREMIAH 204
Geez. That explains your brother’s reaction earlier.
THOMAS 205
He was muted compared to normal.
JEREMIAH 206
Perhaps he’s coming to accept your choice.
THOMAS 207
It would take a miracle for that to happen.
JEREMIAH 208
And prayer.
THOMAS 209
There’s been plenty of that from both sides, I can assure you.
JEREMIAH 210
I can imagine. So, are you actually a doctor or are you a Med Tech?
THOMAS 211
I’m truly a Med Tech. I graduated, yes, but I never applied for my medical license.
JEREMIAH 212
I see. Well, we’re lucky to have you.
THOMAS 213
Thank you, Captain.
JEREMIAH 214
If you didn’t want to go into medicine, why did you sign up to be the Med Tech on the VSF Blessings?
THOMAS 215
It’s not that I don’t like medicine. It’s not that at all. It’s just that God was calling me harder and first. I wanted the freedom to follow that calling, wherever it led me. I actually do like medicine and helping people, but I do not like crowded settings like this hospital. Regarding signing up for the Blessings, I didn’t. One of my mentors, Brother Hardisty, knows Archbishop Morgan rather well. When mention was made of staffing a new ship with a Med Tech, Brother Hardisty thought it was just what I needed to figure myself out.
JEREMIAH 216
And was it?
THOMAS 217
It’s still a work in progress, but yes. I believe it was just what the doctor ordered.
JEREMIAH 218
Hahaha! That’s good to hear. Thank you for sharing.
Now that we got that out of the way, is that Archbishop Morgan I see bustling our way?
THOMAS 219
I do believe so.
JEREMIAH 220
I knew he’d catch the first Mars-bound ship and be here stat. He may have even commandeered one. The luxury of being an Archbishop and running the Vatican Space Fleet. Having my Mom back is the next best thing to having my Dad back for him.
THOMAS 221
Indeed. You have that in common, I’m sure.
JEREMIAH 222
Indeed.
MORGAN 223
Jeremiah! So good to see you! Any news on your mother?
JEREMIAH 224
They are working with her now. The doctor is optimistic, he said.
MORGAN 225
Good. When can we see her?
JEREMIAH 226
We don’t know yet. The doctor hasn’t spoken to us since the initial evaluation and they started the treatments.
THOMAS 227
Why don’t I go see what this Med Tech uniform will let me find out in this Catholic hospital?
MORGAN 228
That sounds like a wonderful idea. Hello, by the way, Brother Thomas.
THOMAS 229
Hello, Your Grace.
SOUNDS: Footprints trailing off.
JEREMIAH 230
There goes a good man.
MORGAN 231
I know.
JEREMIAH 232
His brother is Mom’s doctor, by the way.
MORGAN 233
I know.
JEREMIAH 234
Their great grandfather is Admiral Leonard McCoy.
MORGAN 235
I know.
JEREMIAH 236
My Med Tech actually graduated from med school and got high marks.
MORGAN 237
I know.
JEREMIAH 238
And you didn’t think the Captain of the ship needed to know that?
MORGAN 239
No. What would it have changed?
JEREMIAH 240
My impression and expectations of him, I guess.
MORGAN 241
Precisely. He’s had enough of that.
JEREMIAH 242
Huh. Why do I always feel like you're a few steps ahead of me?
MORGAN 243
Because I am older and wiser and always have your best interests in mind.
JEREMIAH 244
Hahaha! I simply don’t know what I would do without you John.
THOMAS 245
Look who I ran into halfway down the hall.
MORGAN 246
How’s your patient, doctor?
LEONARD 247
Mrs. Hollis is doing quite well.
MORGAN 248
It’s Doctor Hollis, please.
LEONARD 249
Oh, I’m sorry. Medical doctor?
MORGAN 250
No, but she’s held in high regard within her field.
LEONARD 251
Then I will give her the respect she deserves. Doctor Hollis is doing well. The treatments are working as expected.
JEREMIAH 252
Is she out of the woods yet?
LEONARD 253
Not all the way but nearly there.
MORGAN 254
Thank God and all his Grace. When can we see her?
LEONARD 255
Not yet. The team is still working through a few things, but soon. She tells me she has no idea how she got here from twenty years ago.
JEREMIAH 256
That’s true. She was working with transporter technology, not temporal.
MORGAN 257
I have a team of experts already checking her lab and pouring over the records from twenty years ago. If it’s to be found out, they will.
LEONARD 258
You may find some clues from the medical scans we took as well, if she consents to releasing them.
MORGAN 259
Good idea. I’ll discuss that with her at the appropriate time.
LEONARD 260
Now, I must get back to my other patients for a bit. Your Mother is in excellent hands, and someone will be out to get you soon, I’m sure.
JEREMIAH 261
Thank you, Doctor. You have my gratitude and prayers.
LEONARD 262
I appreciate both.
SOUNDS: Segue music.
SCENE 7: DISTANCE & TIME
MATTHIAS 263
The Captain says his mother is responding well to treatment.
ETHAN 264
That’s a relief to hear. Our prayers are being answered.
PATRICK 265
Now if we could figure out how all this happened in the first place. Doctor Melton, have you found anything new in the records?
DR. MELTON 266
Not yet, Brother Patrick. But the day is young.
PATRICK 267
It seems to me the two greatest mysteries are those of distance and time.
MELTON 268
I concur.
MATTHIAS 269
Distance and time?
PATRICK 270
Yes, distance because a typical transporter has a range of around 40,000 kilometers but Mars is 225,000,000 kilometers from her lab on Earth. That’s over…what…a 5,000 times difference.
ETHAN 271
Wow!
PATRICK 272
I know of no current technology within the Federation that can bridge that astronomical gap. And time because, as we know, she appears to have traveled twenty years into the future.
MATTHIAS 273
What was Doctor Hollis working on?
MELTON 274
My colleague here can answer that. He was part of the original investigation. Brother Phillip, can you bring these gentlemen up to speed, please, on what we know about the Hollis incident? Archbishop Morgan asked that they have full access to the investigation.
BROTHER PHILLIP 275
Oh…I’m sorry. I was a bit distracted by what Brother Patrick said. Sure…bring them up to speed.
MELTON 276
Thank you.
PHILLIP 277
Doctor Hollis was working on ultra-long-range transporter technology. Ultra long range on an interplanetary scale.
ETHAN 278
Interplanetary transporters! That could revolutionize how goods and materials are shipped within a solar system. Less time loading, unloading, and nearly zero transit time.
PHILLIP 279
Precisely, Brother Ethan. Those distances are far beyond our current capabilities. The transport energy stream destabilizes to such an extreme extent that it cannot be materialized on the other side.
PATRICK 280
That explains all the failures we saw in the transporters logs.
PHILLIP 281
Yes, it does. You see, Doctor Hollis took an unorthodox approach to her studies. She started at the end and was working backwards. She started with the failures…creating hundreds of them…and looked for the commonalities and patterns.
PATRICK 282
Because if they existed, they could be incorporated into the Heisenber compensators to extend the range, for example.
PHILLIP 283
Yes, that was the plan. And it was a good one. It doesn’t answer the questions, however, of how did Doctor Hollis survive such a journey and why it took twenty years? Her research was nowhere near achieving any semblance of success yet. Plus, transporters aren’t known for their time traveling abilities. Like Brother Patrick said, it’s a question of distance and time.
MELTON 284
Reviewing the last record in the log when Doctor Hollis materialized, there are some peculiarities that will require further study.
PHILLIP 285
What are these peculiarities?
MELTON 286
I cannot be certain yet, but they look like temporal signatures.
PHILLIP 287
I can’t say I’m shocked by that.
MELTON 288
Neither am I, Brother Phillip. It’s the way they are integrated within the transport matrix that is a bit shocking. Also, where did they come from?
PHILLIP 289
Interesting, Doctor Melton. Let’s finish up gathering our data here and move on to our field office. The Daystrom Institute has space and computer access reserved for us nearby. We need to tease some answers out of all this soon.
MELTON 290
Absolutely, I can’t wait to get their computers chewing on this conundrum. Nearly finished.
MATTHIAS 291
The VSF Blessings and her crew stand ready to help too.
PHILLIP 292
And we’ll need it, Brother Matthias. There’s some information I was hoping you could bird dog for us…
SOUNDS: Segue Music
SCENE 8: THANKFUL
JEREMIAH 293
Mom, how are you feeling?
MARIA 294
I’m tired and a little nauseous. The doctor said it’s normal and will pass soon enough.
JEREMIAH 295
That’s good. I still can’t believe you’re here lying in a biobed right in front of me.
MARIA 296
And I can’t believe I’m looking at a son who’s my age now.
JEREMIAH 297
Yeah, that is a little weird, isn’t it?
MARIA 298
More than a little. I’ll get used to it though. When you’re a teenager, you’re forming your habits and mannerisms you’ll carry into adulthood. I recognize the teenage Jeremiah that I left earlier today in you. That familiarity is comforting.
JEREMIAH 299
I’m glad, Mom. I have someone outside in the alcove anxious to see you. He wanted us to have our time first.
MARIA 300
John, of course. Our dear, old friend, John. Always cautious to not overstep. John! Get in here!
SOUNDS: Footsteps
MORGAN 301
Maria, I am stunned beyond my wits. You are here. In front of us.
MARIA 302
Tada!
MORGAN 303
I’m so sorry about James.
MARIA 304
I’m still processing that, John. I know it hasn’t hit me yet with all that’s been going on. Intellectually, I know you have told me he’s gone. Emotionally, it hasn’t connected yet.
MORGAN 305
I understand. We’re here when you need us.
MARIA 306
You always are, John.
MORGAN 307
He never stopped loving you, you know.
MARIA 308
And I’ll never stop loving him.
JEREMIAH 309
Before I start getting all emotional, my crew is working with the personnel John sent to figure out what happened. They’ve been gathering data and are analyzing it using the Daystrom’s computer’s now.
MORGAN 310
I’ve been clearing some roadblocks for them so they get what they need.
MARIA 311
Thanks, Jeremiah. Thank you, John. It’s all been running around in my brain since I materialized here. Nothing…I mean nothing I was doing should have resulted in this. I should have died in the transport. My patterns should have destabilized long before arriving here.
MORGAN 312
We’ll figure it out eventually, I pray. In the meantime, let’s thank God for making it so.
MARIA 313
That’s an excellent idea.
MORGAN 314
Jeremiah, would you?
JEREMIAH 315
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
MARIA 316 (simultaneously)
…and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
MORGAN 317 (simultaneously)
…Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
JEREMIAH 318
We praise you, Father of all. We thank you for delivering us to this day of unexpected reunion of our family once thought lost…
SOUNDS: Segue music
SCENE 9: BUBBLES
SOUNDS: Background computers, etc. at a Daystrom lab.
PHILLIP 319
Let’s run a regression analysis on the materialization data to see if there is a causal relationship with the temporal component.
RESEARCHER A 320
Yes, sir. Right away.
SOUNDS: Door Opens (use same sound as Maria’s lab)
MELTON 321
Oh, good. You guys are back, Brother Matthias.
PHILLIP 322
What did you find out?
MATTHIAS 323
We found out plenty!
PATRICK 324
We just received multiple packets of data from them. I’ll forward them to you here.
SOUNDS: PADD beeps
PHILLIP 325
Did they resist much?
ETHAN 326
They abruptly ended communications with us twice!
MATTHIAS 327
Archbishop Morgan soon cleared away all obstacles, though. Apparently he knows people who know people.
MELTON 328
So, what did they tell you about the laboratory where the explosion occurred 20 years ago on Earth?
PATRICK 329
They were studying temporal phenomena. Security measures got triggered which started automatic protocols to purge all the data and destroy any time-studies equipment. When one of the scientists tried to shutdown the emergency measures to save their work, he caused a power surge that fed back through the power grid and caused the explosion. Dr. Hollis’s laboratory was one of several impacted.
ETHAN 330
It caused quite the mess in the temporal lab.
PHILLIP 331
Except for the triggered security measure, we already knew most of that.
MATTHIAS 332
Yes, but the part that took Archbishop Morgan’s influence is what we found out next. The mess in the temporal lab, as Brother Ethan put it, involved a mess with TIME, too. There were temporal bubbles!
MELTON 333
Bubbles?
PATRICK 334
More precisely, they were gravity-bound, two-dimensional temporal bubbles.
PHILLIP 335
Huh…and did they extend as far as Doctor Hollis’s laboratory?
MATTHIAS 336
No, that’s what’s not connecting yet.
PATRICK 337
I was thinking on the way over that perhaps the story we know up to now is precisely what happened. The power surge caused the explosion. Doctor Hollis’s transporter malfunctioned because of it, locked onto her, and beamed her away. It wasn’t necessarily where it beamed her, though, but what it beamed her through…
PHILLIP 338
…beamed her through…OF COURSE!
ETHAN 339
Of course what?
PHILLIP 340
Follow me! Doctor Melton, bring up the 3D projection of the laboratory complex.
MELTON 341
Yes, I think I see where you’re going with this.
SOUNDS: Computer beeps and hologram projecting.
MELTON 342
This here is the temporal lab, and this is Doctor Hollis’s lab over here to the left.
PATRICK 343
Now, can you overlay the location data of the temporal bubbles in the second data packet I sent, please?
MELTON 344
Yes, I believe I can do that. Give me a moment…
SOUNDS: Computer beeps.
MELTON 345
I will play it from the moment of the explosion forward. The temporal bubbles will be displayed in blue. I’ve sped it up for our first viewing since the data covers a twenty-minute span.
SOUNDS: Computer beeps.
PHILLIP 346
Very nicely done, Doctor Melton. There are so many of them!
PATRICK 347
When precisely did Doctor Hollis beam out? Do we have that data?
MELTON 348
Yes, we do. I’ll indicate in yellow when her transport sequence happens on the playback. Let’s watch it again…
SOUNDS: Computer beeps.
MATTHIAS 349
So the temporal bubbles definitely coincide with her transport, but they were way across campus.
PATRICK 350
And that’s okay because I believe she went to them. Doctor Melton, can you show us the trajectory of her transporter beam as it left her lab as well?
MELTON 351
Let me find that. I think I can…
SOUNDS: Computer beeps.
MELTON 352
Watch for a green beam emitting from her lab. I’ll start playback now…
SOUNDS: Computer beeps.
PHILLIP 353
By George, that’s it!
ETHAN 354
What’s it?!
PATRICK 355
The transport beam travels right through one of the temporal bubbles! That has to explain Doctor Hollis traveling 20 years into the future.
PHILLIP 356
It is certainly the only temporal variable we’ve seen so far.
MATTHIAS 357
Perhaps the last piece of the puzzle that we found out is the Daystrom Institute has been tracking the appearance of the other side of these bubbles for years. One of them reappeared this morning at the same time Dr. Hollis appeared.
PATRICK 358
And I’d bet dollars to donuts it was the same temporal bubble as the one shown here that her transport beam crossed, just 20 years later.
SOUNDS: Computer beeps.
MELTON 359
And according to the data, the coordinates line up. I believe you are correct. Wow.
PATRICK 360
And 20 years ago the trajectory was pointed to empty space. What about the transport beam trajectory this morning as it emerged from the other side of this bubble?
SOUNDS: Computer beeps.
MELTON 361
Pointed right at Mars!
PHILLIP 362
Sakes alive! I think we’ve got it!
ETHAN 363
But they said these are gravity-bound phenomena. They would not have been anywhere near close enough to Mars for a successful transport. The temporal bubble was still here on Earth.
PHILLIP 364
You are correct, Brother Ethan. There must be something else at play.
MATTHIAS 365
Would you please increase magnification on the moment when the beam intersects with the bubble, Doctor Melton?
SOUNDS: Computer beeps.
MATTHIAS 366
Thank you. Do you see how it doesn’t cross through the middle of the temporal bubble but through the edge instead? The edge looks murky…almost foamy.
ETHAN 367
Temporal foam?
PHILLIP 368
Heaven knows what impact that could have on a transport beam. Perhaps it could explain the temporal traces you saw integrated with the beam, Doctor Melton.
PATRICK 369
This chronophysics is starting to get beyond my level of expertise. We’ve come a long way with the information gathered so far, though.
MATTHIAS 370
We sure have with real progress to report back to the Captain and Archbishop Morgan.
PHILLIP 371
My team will dig into this new temporal information we just discovered. We’ll let you know if we find out anything more.
MATTHIAS 371aa
Thank you.
SOUNDS: Segue music.
SCENE 10: RELEVANCE
SOUNDS: Sick Bay sounds.
JEREMIAH 372
Brothers, good to see you.
MATTHIAS 373
You as well, Captain.
MARIA 374
I almost have all your names straight now. Brother Matthias. Brother Patrick. Brother Ethan. And, of course, Brother Thomas, who diligently looks over the shoulder of every nurse and doctor poking and prodding me. I’m so glad you’re here.
MATTHIAS 375
Well done, Doctor Hollis. You’ve had quite the day so far.
THOMAS 376
And I’m not done hovering yet.
MARIA 377
Yours were the first faces I saw in this new world I’ve found myself in. Plus, you serve with my son. I suspect we’ll all be getting to know each other better soon enough.
JEREMIAH 378
What have you found out so far about Mom’s transporter incident?
MATTHIAS 379
I’m happy to report we’ve found out quite a lot, Captain. Where to start…
ETHAN 380
Start with the explosion.
MATTHIAS 381
Yes, the explosion in the lab across campus was triggered by a security breach which executed automatic protocols to delete data and destroy equipment. One of the scientists tried to stop it, but it caused a power surge in the grid, which, as we know, impacted your mother’s lab.
MARIA 382
The transporter started malfunctioning. The control panel went all chaotic…it wouldn’t take any of the commands I entered. Then it locked onto me. I couldn’t stop it. All I remember saying was, “No! No! No!”
MATTHIAS 383
We heard the tail end of that when you materialized. The next piece of the puzzle we found out was the explosion in the temporal lab caused time bubbles to appear above the facility.
PATRICK 384
Gravity-bound, two-dimensional time bubbles.
MATTHIAS 385
The time bubbles were restricted to above the lab and did not come anywhere near your mother’s facility.
JEREMIAH 386
I see. So how are they related to all this?
PATRICK 387
Because your mother’s transport beam came to them. We determined she passed right through one.
MATTHIAS 388
And the other end of that same time bubble appeared this morning when Dr. Hollis materialized in front of us.
MARIA 389
Of course.
ETHAN 390
And there’s more. While the transporter trajectory was aimed at empty space 20 years ago, when it emerged from the time bubble on Earth this morning, it was aimed straight at Mars.
MARIA 391
But the energy beam still had to travel all those millions of kilometers. How in the world did it not destabilize like everything else?
MATTHIAS 392
Brother Ethan asked the same question, and we do not know. One last piece of information is the transport beam did not pass directly through the middle of the time bubble, but through the edge where the phenomenon looked almost foamy. Brother Ethan called it “temporal foam.”
MARIA 393
Very interesting. Could the temporal anomaly have stabilized the beam in some way? Did it act like a time lens of some sort slowing down the degradation until I reached Mars? Did this “temporal foam” stick to my energy beam somehow preserving it?
PATRICK 394
Doctor Melton did mention seeing some temporal signatures in the transporter record.
MARIA 395
Just when my mind was starting to wander to how a scientist from twenty years ago would still be relevant, you bring me this. That’s assuming these things haven’t already been researched and discovered.
PATRICK 396
Oh, I assure you, Doctor Hollis, you’re exploring unknown territory here. Your relevance is still solidly intact.
JEREMIAH 397
Thinking this through a bit, you’re telling me that twenty years ago, my Mother’s transporter peered through an anomaly in time and found the transport receiver’s beacon…the beacon that we had just switched on…and beamed my mother to it?
MATTHIAS 398
Yes, that’s what we’re telling you.
JEREMIAH 399
My Father apparently visited the lab regularly. I can only imagine that he turned that unit on multiple times and nothing happened. But the day we arrive and do the same thing, we find my Mother not a day older than when I had last seen her.
MATTHIAS 400
Yes, Captain.
JEREMIAH 401
And if we hadn’t turned the transport receiving pod on?
SOUNDS: Silence.
MARIA 402
If there is one thing I know about temporal mechanics, son, you could drive yourself mad thinking about the “what ifs.” It is what it is. What happened happened. No one could have known. No one is to blame. We are together now, and that’s what counts.
SOUNDS: Silence.
JEREMIAH 403
And that’s what counts. You’re right, of course, Mom. It just hit me a little hard that I played an unknowing hand in taking you away from us…from Dad…all those years ago.
MARIA 404
God works in mysterious ways, son. He must have a reason beyond our current understanding.
JEREMIAH 405
God works in mysterious ways, that’s for sure.
LEONARD 406
Hello everyone. Are we having a party?
MARIA 407
This merry band of brothers were sharing their fascinating findings about how I got here, Doctor Leonard.
LEONARD 408
Good, I can’t wait to hear more, I hope. But in the meantime, you need your rest, Doctor Hollis. You still have more treatments scheduled, and you’ll need your energy. I need everyone out of the room. Your son is welcome to stay of course.
SOUNDS: Footsteps
MARIA 409
Thank you all! I truly appreciate all your efforts. You’re doing such a good job!
MATTHIAS 410
We’ll let you know if we find out anything else.
JEREMIAH 411
Thank you, Brother Matthias.
SOUNDS: Segue music:
SCENE 11: BRIDGE
THOMAS 412
Leonard, do you have a moment to talk?
LEONARD 413
Talk about what?
THOMAS 414
You know about what.
LEONARD 415
I thought we’d said all there was to say long ago, Thomas.
THOMAS 416
I just wish that wasn’t the end of it, Leonard. I miss you. I miss talking to you. I even miss arguing with you. I’m where I am, and you’re where you are. We’re both happy, I assume.
LEONARD 417
Are you REALLY happy, Thomas?
THOMAS 418
I really am.
LEONARD 419
Even while pretending to be less than you are?
THOMAS 420
I am being exactly who I need to be at the moment.
LEONARD 421
Don’t you find it boring?
THOMAS 422
Honestly, I have never found it boring. The time for introspection and prayer to connect with God is close to paradise for me.
LEONARD 423
It wouldn’t be for me.
THOMAS 424
I’m not you.
LEONARD 425
No, you’re not. I know that. You are a good doctor, you realize.
THOMAS 426
That’s what my grades and advisors told me. I’m a good Med Tech as well.
LEONARD 427
I bet you are.
THOMAS 428
Can we change our relationship, brother? I miss you so desperately. I have prayed so fervently that one day how we interact would heal.
SOUNDS: Silence
LEONARD 429
OK. I see no need for you to continue to waste such prayers on me when others need them more. I love you, Thomas. You’re my brother. My older brother. I’ve only wanted what’s best for you.
THOMAS 430
I know that. And I love you, too.
LEONARD 431
But what I think is best and what you think is best are two disparately different things.
THOMAS 432
It may seem that way at first, but when you dig down to the foundations of it all, I suspect we ultimately want the same things.
LEONARD 433
You always were the deep thinker in the family.
THOMAS 434
Someone had to be.
LEONARD 435
Haha! Ok, I’ll give it a go.
THOMAS 436
Brothers forever.
LEONARD 437
Brothers forever. I will do my best to lighten up on you. We are grown, intelligent men, after all. Perhaps dinner soon.
THOMAS 438
I would really like that. Thank you, Leonard.
LEONARD 439
What are brothers for?
SOUNDS: Segue music.
SCENE 12: HOMECOMING
SOUNDS: Gravel footsteps
MARIA 440
Jeremiah, you have quite the ship in the VSF Blessings. John was telling me she’s more than a typical ship of her make and design.
JEREMIAH 441
That she certainly is. She’s been treating us well.
MARIA 442
Brother Matthias made such a smooth landing. I’ve never experienced that from the bridge of a starship before. Thank you.
JEREMIAH 443
You’re welcome, Mom. Captain’s discretion.
MORGAN 444
You’re restricted from transporter use for the next few weeks while you recover, doctor’s orders. The most logical way to get from the surface of Mars to the surface of Earth was the VSF Blessings. Archbishop’s discretion.
MARIA 445
Haha! I have a lot of adjusting to do, anyway. That will keep me busy, I’m sure.
JEREMIAH 446
Sorry about getting rid of almost all of your clothes. Dad kept a few favorites, though.
MARIA 447
I’m curious to see what those were. I hope he didn’t keep that green sweater his mother got me our first Christmas together. It was hideous, but he always talked me into wearing it around her during the holidays.
MORGAN 448
Haha! I remember that one!
JEREMIAH 449
Me, too. Because I saw it a few months ago when looking in his closet.
MARIA 450
Haha! That’s my James!
MORGAN 451
Your ID is outdated. They’ve upgraded the system in the twenty years you were gone with new codes and all. I’ve started the process to get you a new one. Someone will be in contact in the next few days.
MARIA 452
Thank you, John. You always were one for details. I don’t know what I would do without you, my dear friend.
JEREMIAH 453
We’re here, Mom.
MARIA 454
I know, Jeremiah.
JEREMIAH 455
He kept the same old key and antique mechanical lock.
MARIA 456
Of course James did. I still have my key, too. In my mind, I only left this house a few days ago. I half expect to find both James and teenage you behind that door.
JEREMIAH 457
If only that were true.
MORGAN 458
You’re going to bring some much needed warmth to this home. Warmth that only a mother can bring.
JEREMIAH 459
I’m looking forward to that.
MARIA 460
I’m nervous.
MORGAN 461
I’d be worried if you weren’t.
MARIA 462
Once I enter this door, James’s passing will be real for me. There’s no going back after that. I’m in this world of denial at the moment. I’m afraid of the emotions that lie just ahead.
MORGAN 463
We’ve been in that very spot, Maria. On this very doorstep.
MARIA 464
I know.
JEREMIAH 465
And it was not easy, Mom. It was painful and hard. But what I remember most about it is we had each other: John and me.
MORGAN 466
That’s what I most remember, too.
MARIA 467
And I have you two.
JEREMIAH 468
You absolutely do, Mom.
MORGAN 469
Without doubt, Maria.
MARIA 470
It’s time.
SOUNDS: Unlocking and opening door.
SOUNDS: Segue music.
END CREDITS
You have been listening to VSF Blessings, a Star Trek fan production. Episode 9, “Timing.”
Created, written, produced, directed, and audio engineered by James McDonald. Story consultation provided by Noah McDonald. All character voices were generated using ElevenLabs AI voice generator. Sound effects from Pixabay.com under free-use content licenses and Trekcore.com.
Star Trek and all related marks, logos, and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan production is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made production intended for recreational use. No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or Paramount Pictures.
Until next time, be the good, do what’s right, and be the light.
SOUND: End Music