Cambil stood by the window in her ready room, staring into the vastness of space, her mind replaying the harrowing events on Bajor. The dusty village streets, the impending invasion, and the knowledge of the suffering her people would soon endure weighed on her heavily. And yet, despite everything, she had been powerless to warn them.

Returning to the Themis after stopping Irlina and her team of scientists, who were convinced they had to destroy Bajor and the Federation’s exploration efforts in the Delta Quadrant, Cambil was pleased to have some peace to herself. The sanctuary of her ready room gave her time to think carefully about everything. She was avoiding going home to her quarters as she knew her husband would be upset with her for not stopping what was going to come to their people. Cambil just knew she couldn’t break the temporal prime directive so blatantly. It would change so much. 

The door chime pulled her from her thoughts.

“Enter,” she called, her voice carrying both exhaustion and relief.

The door slid open, and Perez stepped inside, her face reflecting a similar blend of weariness and triumph. Perez wasn’t just Cambil’s chief engineer; she was a close friend who had been at her side through thick and thin.

“Bexs,” Perez said softly, using the familiar name she reserved for their private moments. “We’re ready. The modifications are complete. We can recreate the vortex and get back whenever you give the word.”

Cambil nodded but didn’t speak right away. She turned away from the window and motioned for Perez to sit across from her.

“How close did we come?” Cambil asked, the weight of the question lingering in the air. She needed to hear it again, but from someone close enough to give her both a professional and personal opinion on this whole conundrum. 

Perez sighed, sinking into the chair. “Too damn close, Bexs. If you hadn’t stopped Irlina on Bajor.” She hesitated, knowing the depth of what that meant. “Well, there wouldn’t be much left of the Themis or you to return to. You saved us all, but especially your own timeline.”

Cambil’s gaze drifted for a moment. “I did what I had to,” she said quietly, her voice laden with the emotional toll. The guilt of what she couldn’t do was silently sewn between each word. “But it wasn’t just about me. My people… knowing what’s about to happen and being unable to say a word.”

Perez leaned forward, her tone softening. “I know. I saw it on your face when you returned. You wanted to warn them. But you couldn’t. It’s not easy, Bexs, but you did what was necessary to preserve the timeline.”

Cambil rubbed her temples, trying to ease the tension. “I know. But it doesn’t make it easier. Seeing my grandfather, knowing what’s coming for him, for my father.” She paused as she exhaled slowly. “It was hard, really hard.”

Perez reached out, resting a reassuring hand on Cambil’s arm. “You did the right thing. And you stopped Irlina. If it weren’t for you, none of us would be here. Everything would be different. It’s why we have rules like the temporal prime directive. It’s there to protect us, so we don’t have to sit here and wrestle with the big ‘what if’ questions.”

Cambil managed a small smile. She wanted to change the topic. Cambil knew she could make herself go mad if she kept debating it. “And you managed to command the saucer section pretty well. How did it go?”

Perez’s smirk returned. “Well, when the Krenim timeship tried to stop us from using our transporter, we threw our bigger weight and knocked them senseless. Let’s just say, the saucer’s still in one piece thanks to some creative engineering.”

Cambil chuckled lightly, her first genuine laugh in what felt like days. “I knew I could count on you, Ramona.”

Perez’s smirk softened into a warm smile. “Always, Bexs. Let’s finish this mission.”

Cambil stood, taking a deep breath. “Let’s get back to where we belong.”

The pair exited the ready room together and returned to the bridge. Cambil’s crew looked up from their stations, waiting for her next order. T’Rani, standing at her post, met Cambil’s eyes with a calm, composed expression.

“Commander Perez,” Cambil said, taking her seat at the centre of the bridge, “initiate the deflector modifications. Let’s open that vortex.”

Perez, back at her engineering station, moved swiftly. “The deflector is fully charged. Recreating the temporal vortex… now.”

The ship thrummed with energy, and the view on the screen began to shimmer. The swirling vortex reappeared ahead of them, a spiralling gateway back to the future.

Just then, Commander Abbej’s voice cut through the quiet. “Captain, I’m detecting a large subspace distortion entering the Bajoran system.”

Cambil’s stomach tightened. “What is it?” She didn’t need to ask but kept her composure as she awaited the answer. 

Abbej checked her readings, her face paling. She pushed a small stray lock of purple hair off her cheek and behind her ear before answering. “It’s the first wave of the Cardassian invasion force.”

Silence fell over the bridge as the main viewscreen shifted to show the unmistakable forms of Cardassian warships slipping into Bajoran space. Cambil’s breath caught in her throat as the realisation of what would come washed over her. This was the beginning. The beginning of the pain and struggle her people would endure for decades.

T’Rani stepped forward, her voice quiet but firm. “Captain, we must leave. We cannot interfere.”

Cambil’s heart clenched as she looked at the approaching ships. It was as though she was watching history’s nightmare unfold in real time. She had done everything she could to save her family—now, she had to let history play out as it had before. Like Perez had told her, she could not sit around any more and consider the ‘what ifs’. It was time to return back to what she knew. 

With a long, steadying breath, Cambil turned back to her crew. “Lieutenant Andar, plot a course for the twenty-fifth century, where I am sure the Krenim authorities will be waiting for us to hand over our current guests in the brig.”

“Aye, Captain,” Andar replied, their tentacle vines moving swiftly over the helm controls. “Course plotted.”

“Engage,” Cambil said, her voice filled with a mixture of sorrow and resolve.

The Themis pulled away from Derna and Bajor, leaving the Cardassian ships far behind and far from them. The Cardassians were far away from being able to see the Themis on their sensors.

As the Themis neared the vortex, the stars distorted, space-time warping around the ship as it crossed the event horizon of the rift. The familiar disorienting shift of time travel rippled through the ship as it quickly moved from one point of time to another.