[AMF]

The ?Captain?s Quarters,? as the great hall was traditionally known was silent, except for the sound of the Captain?s heavy breathing. The reports from the Fleet over the past few years had been singularly interesting. Of course, there were the initial reports of strange worlds, and colony status reports, and new scans, but none had been more enthralling than when contact had been made with two ?alien? Groups almost simultaneously, about two years ago or so. Both were, to all appearances and tests, very close to human. Admittedly, the lung structure of the Manticore people was troubling. Even given the vast expanse of history that separated the Captain and his people from Ancient Earth, it was hard to account for an entire race of people that now breathed methane. Evolution alone could not explain it. The mystery remained unsolved. The other aliens, however, were practically identical to pure strain human standards. And there were other similarities - the society and people of the so-called republic bore striking similarities to those of the Aether. Doubtless, when they fled Old Earth to evade the Klackon menace, they too had adopted strict measures of control and decision-making in their society in order to survive in the harshness of space for all these millennia.

But, nothing could prepare the Captain for the reports he was now reading. By all accounts it appeared that the long quest, the hope that had fueled the exiles on for these thousands of years, had perhaps come to an end. These new aliens, contacted at the edge of Aether space, claimed to be from none other than Earth itself.

The Captain rose, and turned to the Commander?s around the table.

?Don?t let this report get out. Classify it Ultra/SCI. Only we in this room, the crew who encountered the ?terrans? and the head of the inner security office can know about it. We need to gather further information. If this got out to the general public before we can verify it?s authenticity, it would cause a general panic. And, more importantly, there are some obvious inconsistencies that need to be addressed.

First among these is: how can we explain that our histories and records tell us that Earth was conquered by the Klackons? How could they have survived? Did they fight back after such a defeat? That would truly be good news?but it seems hard to swallow. There are two possibilities: either they did survive the Klackons ? in which case, it is difficult to explain how this happened. Or two, they did not survive the Klackons, and are not actually from Earth. In which case, who are they? Do they believe they are from Earth falsely, or are they attempting to trick us into revealing our technologies??

One of the Commanders, at the far end of the table, raised his hand. ?Permission to speak, Captain??
?Granted.?
The Commander was from the N8 Directorate ? in charge of the scientific and technological aspects of running the Fleet.
?Sir, I feel that I must remind everyone that if we examine our own history and our early technological exploits, there may yet be a third possibility. When the Base escaped Old Earth by slipping into, and become adrift in, the time-space continuum, it is possible that when we emerged after what seemed hundreds of years, we might have emerged into?an alternate universe. Perhaps a universe wherein Old Earth survived the Klackons??
The Captain spoke: ?While we welcome debate here Commander, this line of reasoning about alternate universes has long been discredited - our scientist showed long ago that is simply not possible.?
?Yes, sir, but remember our technological advances into understanding the time-space continuum were long ago stabilized at an early level in order to divert resources to survival in the depths of space?it is conceivable that with further research, they could bear fruit along these lines??

The room was silent?until the Captain spoke again. ?Fine, check into it, put a few scientists on the problem, see if what you suppose is possible, but don?t tell them why you?re asking?do it discreetly. ?