In twenty-one-fifty-six Romulan guns opened fire on the Columbia in what they claimed was an act of self defense. They would hold to this version of events for many centuries to come without ever wavering from their convictions. Perhaps it was simply their perspective and what would eventually be the final outcome for their home world. Initially the details of what had happened were sketchy to say the least. The only thing that was certain was that NX-02 had been blown to pieces taking all but five or six crewmen with her. The first one on the scene was a Vulcan ship and even with their emotions suppressed, they were still struck with horror at what they found. Everywhere was shattered pieces of the ship silently floating in space. Occasionally they found a body hovering in perfect stillness among the wreckage. Every victim they found, they brought aboard so it could be brought home and buried on Earth. They also found at least three of the escape pods with survivors.
At the time that Columbia was first encountering the Romulans, the Enterprise was enjoying some much needed shore leave on the Planet Risa. Half the crew went ashore the first two days then the other half got their chance. Captain Archer had gone with the second group and had orchestrated it so that Lt. D'Arcy would be in the second half. It had been a long time since they had experienced even five minutes alone together. Their last encounter was after the three Orion 'slave' women were safely locked away. In fact, they were heavily engaged in making up for lost time when Archer's communicator went off. It was hardly a time for interruptions and the captain would have liked to have tossed his communicator into a pitcher of water and put an end to that incessant chirping sound. It was only natural human instinct when presented with your mate of choice to want to consummate and release all that pent up sexual desire. Indeed, they had done just this as soon as they had checked into the hotel. This time, it was supposed to be the long slow dance, but both lovers also had Starfleet and their duty built into their DNA and try as they might, they couldn't ignore it. Besides, the ship would not be contacting Archer if it were not important.
When he answered his communicator he was only told that all shore leave was canceled effective immediately and that he was to report to his ready room for a communique from Admiral Gardner. Even with no more information than that, his stomach began to twist into knots. The last time he had received such an order it was to tell him that seven million people had been killed by the Xindi. What fresh hell was awaiting him now? With many apologies he put on his uniform then told Danaë to return to the ship with the others and say nothing. Without hesitation she agreed.
Once he was back on board the NX-01 he went straight to his ready room and learned what had happened to the Columbia and the loss of its more than a hundred and thirty crew members. He barely managed to maintain his composure as he recalled all of his crew from their shore leave and gave orders to return to Earth. Once they were underway he called all the senior officers to the command center and told them what had happened. No one could speak. Almost everyone in that room knew someone serving on the Columbia. Shock and disbelief permeated every inch of the command center. Cmdr. Tucker could fondly remember working briefly as chief engineer during those final months as she prepared for her maiden voyage. He had even shared a number of meals with Captain Hernandez. That it was all suddenly gone was unthinkable. For five years the Enterprise had been out in space exploring. They had met a number of hostile species, been shot at and attacked. Yet somehow they had always survived. The Columbia had not made it a full year.
Archer looked around the room and could see the grief and shock on each of his officers and even a soft, muffled sob from Hoshi. Even T'Pol, with her suppressed emotions, could not hide the deep sadness that showed in her eyes. As his eyes moved over the somber faces that filled the room, he stopped at Lt. D'Arcy. She looked as pained by the news as anyone, but there was something different about her expression. There was no shock, no surprise and it bothered him greatly.
"As of this moment we are returning to Earth. I will fill you in on information as it becomes available. You're dismissed." Everyone began to slowly file out of the room, still in shock. "Lt. D'Arcy, if you would please stay behind, I would like to have a word with you." All eyes glanced from the captain to the lieutenant in a silent look of 'uh oh someone's in trouble'. Even the lieutenant was confused as to why she was being singled out and the way he furrowed his brow and the dark expression of his eyes made it clear that they would not be exchanging pleasantries. Once everyone had filed out and the door was closed, Archer began to fidget with some pens and paper on the table, glaring as he did. She had no idea what she could have done to earn such a look, but something was clearly up.
"Have I done something wrong?"
"I watched your face during that meeting. Everyone was surprised to hear about the attack... everyone... except you." Once again he was watching the way she turned her gaze towards the floor. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"
"I knew that sometime in the year twenty-one-fifty-six there would be an attack perpetrated by the Romulans. The exact date and time, or what ship I didn't remember. That was a history lesson from way back in my teenage years. Learning a few dates and a handful of facts during an hour lecture is not the same as living it."
"But you knew the Romulans would attack us sometime this year. You knew that innocent people would be killed and yet you said nothing."
"It's not that simple, " she argued.
"No it's not," he shot back.
"Do you really believe that I wake up each day and check the calendar to see if it's some important historical date so I can tell you? No. I live my life day by day the same as you do." She knew he was hurting over the loss of the Columbia and particularly Erika Hernandez, but she would not allow him to take his pain out on her. "Even if I did know, I couldn't tell you. If I did..."
"I don't want to hear about the importance of preserving some ridiculous timeline or lectures on the butterfly effect. Between my dealings with Daniels and you I don't believe that any of it is truly fixed. According to Daniels you were going to come to this time one way or another and the Suliban simply facilitated an easier path. Don't try to tell me now that it's all fixed."
"If that's true then regardless of how, Columbia was fated to be destroyed one way or another," Danaë pointed out. This only served to anger Archer more and he took a step towards her before stopping himself. The lieutenant never flinched, but stood there defiantly. He could throw her into the brig for all she cared, but she would not take the blame for this tragedy.
"If you would have come to me at any time and told me what you knew I would have listened and maybe we could have been there to prevent so many people from dying."
"Maybe... and maybe we would have been blown into a thousand pieces ourselves." After saying this, the lieutenant heaved a sigh. She really couldn't blame him for being so angry. He was grieving the loss of his friend as well as the crew under her command. He felt guilty for enjoying a moment's pleasure on Risa while all of this was happening. She could sympathize with his feelings, but there was no way to know if telling him about the Romulans would have changed things for the better or the worse. She needed him to understand the difficult situation she was in. "History has proven time and time again that whenever someone interferes with a less developed civilization or time period--"
