Jump 169: Nu Trek

Jump 169: Nu Trek
I hate the name of this jump.
>Ten of Swords (Ruin), reversed: An end to suffering, leading to spiritual transformation.
>Age: 33
>Location: Starfleet Headquarters
>Species: Vulcan
I keep rolling Vulcan with all the Trek jumps, it's kind of hilarious.
>Identity: Renegade (-150)
>Drawbacks: Wrath of Khan (+300), Object of Revenge (+300)
Well, if I'm going to ruin the plot (and believe you me, I am going to ruin the FUCK out of the plot), then I may as well go all-out.
>Specialization: Sciences (Free, Rogue)
>Specialization: Command (Free, Rogue)
Two specializations for rogue? Well, they'll come in handy.
>I Dare You To Do Better (1350)
Doubling this with clairvoyance means superb foreshadowing powers.
>Quick Learners (950)
Amping up my teaching abilities for on-the-job training is certainly helpful.
>Masked Intentions (Free, Rogue)
Well I've got something like thirty thousand years of bullshit under my belt at this point, but sure, I'll take something that makes me arbitrarily better.
>The Intimidation Game (850, Rogue)
So my superpower is giving speeches? ...oh, right, the Naruto build. Huh, yeah, that fits a little bit then.
>Superhuman (650, Rogue)
But I'm ALREADY an Augment. Oh, Khan is going to be in for a surprise.
>Just As Planned (350, Rogue)
Never hurts to plan ahead. A lot of planning ahead. Lex Luthor taking down Red Son Superman level of planning ahead.
>Only Logical (250, Sciences)
Well, I am a Vulcan. For the third time.
>Captain's Log (200, Command)
It might be handy just to make this a habit from time to time, really, so that others know what's on my mind if they go back. And for that matter, so I can do likewise.
>Subprime Directive (0, Command)
Technically correct is the best kind of correct.

...

"Ambassador Spock! I'd been hoping I'd run into you."

"What... you! What- no, HOW are you here? Did you travel through the rift as well?"

"Pretty sure I told you what I was - I'm afraid I took the long way around. Nero was enough of an idiot that in fracturing the timeline that he actually managed to create a stable universe, though I've had trouble getting Q to answer my calls reliably. I don't think he likes what he sees, at least not as much as he used to, but then humanity's not on trial yet."

"You are a strange being. I assume, of course, you have a purpose in showing up on this world?"

"Oh, absolutely, Spock. I was in the neighborhood, and as nice as it is for Nero to give you a front row seat here on Delta Vega to watch the annihilation of Vulcan, I've decided to flip the equivalent of the bird to the way things are supposed to go, and seeing as I'm not Starfleet at the moment, the temporal prime directive doesn't apply to me. Otherwise we'd be pretty much screwed anyway."

"I expect you have a point to this, Crux?"

"Oh, yes, sorry. Long story short, we're going to blow this popsicle stand, unless you'd rather sit here and freeze, and then I'm going to go punch Nero in his smug face and explain to him why Romulus' star went nova, preferably before the entirety of Starfleet is annihilated."

"Indeed. And why is that, exactly?"

"Uh, mostly it's Janeway's fault actually, she spurred a civil war within the continuum. Change versus stagnation."

"Somehow... I am not entirely surprised."

"Yeah. Wait, crap, that means it's still humanity's fault and he's going to throw a tantrum. Oh well, next time I talk to Q, I'll see if I can get him to take you home at least, he should be able to and he owes me a favor. Meanwhile, we've got time to kill - want a tour of Sajuuk?"

...

"...a smokescreen to conceal my true identity! My name is-"

"John!" The Starfleet men on the other side of the brig glass froze as I appeared out of thin air behind the augment in the cell, grinning at him widely. "I like the hair dye, but do yourself a favor, don't go trying to pass yourself off as someone you aren't. He has a much better tan than you."

The augment in question, of course, regarded me warily before deciding to attack me without so much as a by-your-leave. In a mood to entertain him, and with the physical ability to match him, I simply parried everything he threw at me, looking over his shoulder and shooting Kirk and Spock an apologetic look. "Sorry, guys. You know how it is. Augments."

"I... whatever, I should have expected this," Kirk muttered, while he and Spock watched the lack-of-a-fight with very little surprise. "You know, as much as I appreciate the potential help again, you're going against the spirit of the prime directive so hard that I think that I can hear it crying in the other room from how badly you've violated it."

"Sorry, Jimmy," I told him, before my patience ran out and the augment's nose broke with a satisfying crunch. He staggered, then folded when I landed a blow on the solar plexus, bending over him. "Now then. You know who I am, is that right, 'John'?"

A silent glare answered me, and the only moving he did was to wipe the blood from his lip.

"Then you know what I am capable of. ALL of what I'm capable of. Yes?" He nodded, the glare turning increasingly angry. "I've met the man you've passed yourself off as. You, friend, are not him. He was a troubled man with a seed of potential in him that could be cultivated to do great good, and in fact it was. You are not troubled. You are angry and spiteful and would as soon watch the world burn as save it from itself. And I will admit, this is my fault and it probably cannot be changed."

This, in itself, gave him pause. Then his features twisted in rage. "Explain!"

I stood, waving a hand dismissively. "You were awoken a decade too early from sleep, you were filled with hate, you had those flames of rage fanned when they should have been reduced to embers and tempered by logic. If I weren't in this timeline, it wouldn't have happened quite this way, but it would have still been nasty regardless. I will offer you an alternative."

John Harrison regained his feet, wiping the blood from his face again, glowering. "I am listening."

"In the original timeline, you and your crew were given a planet. I propose to do the same thing with a world that doesn't have a cataclysm scheduled. You and your crew have peace, but isolation," I told him.

Harrison frowned, though he was considering it. "We haven't a viable gene pool."

I snorted. "Sure you do, augments came from around the globe and have tailored genes. I'd recommend aiming for four to six children per generation and tracking a breeding program."

Harrison inhaled a breath. "The alternative?"

"You go back on ice, and all augments are turned over to Starfleet. Eighty percent of you will die from extended cryo, the remaining twenty will eventually join the fleet in various capacities," I told him, before apparating outside the cell with a faint pop. "Clock's ticking. Though it was clever to tell Marcus you were someone you weren't. Might've even saved your life when you did."

Kirk snapped his gaze to me. "Marcus. Admiral Marcus?"

I nodded to him, starting to walk toward the exit of the brig. "Mm, yeah. Oh, we should run to the bridge now, he's going to be intercepting you here very shortly. By the way, our friend here hid his crew in those torpedoes to try and smuggle them to safety but had to cut his losses," I told him as Spock and Kirk followed me from the brig into the lift; I hit the button for the bridge. "He'd say he's Khan Noonien Singh, but he's actually not, amusingly. The admiral's about to drop out of warp. Turn on the charm, Jimmy, you're on in thirty seconds."

"...you keep calling me that..."