Hello, Ric here with another lore video. So, this one is going to attempt to recap
the Temporal Cold war as told in Star Trek Online. Which is going to be a bit of a tough
case as I can’t really tell it chronologically as I have done with other recaps or lore dumps.
This all centres around the signing of the Temporal Accords in the year 2769 and the
opposition to them from numerous other factions. The Temporal Accords were signed between numerous
powers, from the Galactic Union, which included the Federation at this time as well as the
Dominion and many other governments. Up until this point, Time travel had been used by the
Federation for primarily research and fixing alterations in accordance with its own Temporal
Prime Directive, but not every species abided by these same rules.
All too frequently there were those powers or individuals who would exploit time travel
to their own ends and after many mistakes and alterations to the time line, the Temporal
Accords were agreed upon to put an end to the dangers of time travel. We already saw
an alteration in the form of the Xindi attack in 2152 (to 3) in Enterprise and its left
open to interpretation if the timeline was irrevocably altered or if the shows are supposed
to have always taken place in this timeline. Issues like this are why the Accords were
made, severely regulating time travel’s use and giving oversight to agencies such
as the Federation Timefleet and, by the 31st century, whatever agency Daniels worked for.
However, the very fact that these accords were to regulate time travel, meant that often
agencies from various points in time would end up working together to facilitate their
duties and even regulate incidents from before 2769, that would jeopardize the mutual cooperation
that resulted in the formation of the Accords and their parties.
During the Long War’s Iconian year of 2410, the Federation allied with a pocket of Krenim
survivors, led by Researcher Noye and his Tuterian wife, Clauda who had discovered and
continued Annorax’s research into a timeship. In a last effort to end the Iconian threat,
the Federation-Klingon-Romulan Alliance funded the project. During testing of the temporal
weapon to create an alteration that would delay the Iconian invasion, a miscalculation
resulted in an alteration of the timestream of little impact for the Alpha Quadrant, but
resulted in the disappearance of the Tuterian species, including Noye’s wife, Clauda.
Deciding against such alterations, the Krenim Timeship was instead used to send back an
away team to restore the Iconian’s cultural Archive, the World Heart to them, and call
a cease-fire. Ultimately, this was a paradox as it was the absence of the World Heart from
the time of Iconia’s fall that led to them becoming more militaristic. Either way, not
important right now. The use of time travel on such a scale in
2410, to end a war was a signifier to the Temporal powers of later years that the Alliance
needed to be made aware of the greater picture, and timeline. As a result, imbedded operatives
of Daniel’s Time agency were activated and tasked with taking part in ensuring that the
timeline the Accords were created to maintain, continued. So far, things were happening as
they were supposed to with agents all throughout time liaising to protect it.
Things began to go awry with the creation of the Tox Uthat, a quantum phase inhibiter
that could manipulate matter at a quantum level and result in the alteration of a Star’s
life cycle or many other effects. This device was created in the 2600s by a scientist called
Kal Dano, partly because of the curiosity of invention, but also to protect the home
system of some of his ancestors, the Lukari. Their sun was acting strangely because the
Tholians were attempting to lure out Kal Dano by collapsing the Lukari sun at the tail end
of 2410. Eventually, the system is saved with the use
of the Tox Uthat, but Kal Dano loses it to the Tholians who then aim to use it on another
species, the Na’Kuhl. This is out of revenge for a slight the Na’Kuhl haven’t even
committed yet and ultimately the beginning of many such paradoxes that mark the Temporal
War as such a mess to follow. The Na’Kuhl sun is collapsed and reduced to an irrevocable
cinder, with the Na’Kuhl, already isolationist, being driven into straight up xenophobia.
They go on to become one of the factions to oppose the Temporal Accords in 2769, as their
homeworld’s loss is already part of the timeline that led to the Accords, and those
who signed won’t risk altering things further by saving them. Plus, where does it end? If
every species tries to save its own skin and idealise its future, then there’s no point
in the Accords and the ramifications could be catastrophic and never ending. It’s tough,
but a line had to be drawn somewhere. A more aggressive faction of Na’Kuhl under
General Vosk and lead Researcher Krog intend on using time travel to mess with the Temporal
Accords by preventing the formation of the powers around them. In the 29th century, General
Vosk comes into conflict with the 29th century Federation Timefleet but manages to escape
through his time tunnel to the year 1944 where he encounters Captain Archer, redirected by
Daniels and is defeated, we’ll touch on that later.
Anyway, now we’re going to follow the Tox Uthat for a while as it changes hands and
hops across time, being pursued by Temporal agents. It is recovered by Kal Dano in 2410
from the Tholians and taken to a pre-colonised Risa and buried in a shoreline cave network.
Unfortunately, Kal Dano’s ship is damaged and the temporal drive fires off. This takes
his ship way back into the past where it would be become the subject of an arms race between
the Enterprise NX-01, the local era tholians and the Suliban Cabal in 2152.
At the same time in 2152, the Vorgon mercenaries, Ajur and Boratus arrive from their time jump
pursuing Kal Dano’s vessel and supposedly the Tox Uthat, unaware that it no longer in
his possession, and that he’s dead. They are driven off again by temporal agents. At
a later point, Captain Walker and these same temporal agents recover the timeship and Kal
Dano’s body from 2152 using a temporal transporter when the ship’s beacon was activated by
Commander Trip Tucker. Over the centuries, Risa is transformed into
the holiday planet, the course of the rivers is altered and the cave dries out. In 2366,
Captain Jean-Luc Picard and rogue Vash locate the Tox Uthat after time travellers from Kal
Dano’s time, Ajur and Boratus attempt to retrieve it to sell off. The device is recorded
as destroyed by Picard, but in secret, he sends it to Starfleet who store it in their
high security vault at Starfleet HQ for future study. Here it remains a buried secret until
the two mercenaries try again in 2375, using the Dominion battle of Sol as cover to steal
it. This is foiled by Daniels and his recruited agent who (as I said) have been jumping throughout
time to prevent it from being stolen. Eventually, the Tox uthat is recovered by
agent Daniels from Federation custody in 2375 as it is no longer secure and will be needed
for the upcoming confrontations. Back in 2410, Krenim researcher Noye learns
of the prior timeline, that the Federation accidently erased while experimenting with
his Timeship, when he was studying its shielded archives. He learns of the removal of the
Tuterian species and specifically his wife Clauda. This leads him to dwell on the folly
of the Federation and begins him down a path of vengeance. He steals the Timeship, christened
the Annorax and departs after suspicion is brought upon him by Temporal Agents from the
future. He becomes horribly twisted by time travel
so as to become unrecognisable, but this is because he is effectively operating from a
future that didn’t exist yet, one where the Temporal Accords were not signed. As he
manipulates events to ensure this future, his appearance is restored as his desired
timeline is ratified. One of his first actions is to travel to 2769, to declare the tyranny
of the Temporal Accords at and end. This is met with applause from some, like the Na’Kuhl
who, after initially skirmishing with the Krenim, allied with them, forming the Temporal
Liberation Front. They are driven off by Captain Walker of the 29th century and other agents.
The Envoy as he now calls himself, manages to make an attack on New Khitomer, specifically
the temporal observation post which enables a brief window of opportunity where the monitoring
of time travel fails. Utilising this, he begins recruiting more to his cause. In retaliation
for the Temporal agent’s defence, Noye returns to 2410, moments after his departure to try
to prevent pursuit and further attempts to stop him. This too fails and begins his career
as the Envoy properly. He attempts to recruit the Romulans in 2260
by presenting them with a Doomsday weapon at Galorndon Core through Krog. This was foiled
by temporal agents and the Romulan colony rendered into the state we see it The Next
Generation when the Planet Killer falls onto it.
In 2268, the Na’Kuhl ally with the Orion Syndicate to foil the Babel Conference, again
interfering with the formation of the Alliance, this is halted by Temporal Agents, including
one Captain Chekov, who goes undercover on his former vessel. During this bout however,
Chekov’s temporal beacon is discovered by Montgomery Scott, who fortunately is more
responsible and keeps it hidden for his entire life, because Temporal Prime Directive.
In 2270, the Na’Kuhl bring Neural Parasites to Deep Space K-7 in order to overrun the
station, but this is foiled by Agent Daniels, undercover as Ensign Hunter on a Pioneer Class
Starship. This vessel is later recorded as being destroyed in 2270 at the Battle of Caleb
4, and it is, but Daniels manages to save the command crew and recruit them as Temporal
Agents to be placed in 2410. This event also sees the Envoy fail to recruit the Klingons.
Also, in this year, Gorn-Federation relations were endangered when a cloaked vessel destroyed
a Gorn ship over Edren 4, but this alteration was minor and rectified by local-era forces.
A meeting with the Sphere builders occurs in the Kelvin universe in 2270 with the USS
Yorktown dealing with a new Expanse forming from another attempt from the Sphere Builders
to enter into a new universe. After all, the Sphere Builders are extra-dimensional, so
the Prime reality isn’t the only one their able to press into. During the battle, a team
of temporal agents from the Prime reality learn that the Sphere Builders are actually
the Tuterians, cut out of time and cast adrift, seeking to return. Their efforts back in 2153,
manipulating the Xindi into destroying Earth and in other realities are all to allow them
back into the universe, to have revenge on the Federation. Furthermore, they are now
in league with the Envoy, Noye who is aiding them in their return.
The renegade Krenim also appears to Boratus in 2375, after they failed to steal the Tox
Uthat a second time, which resulted in the death of Ajur. Utilising his grief, he manages
to recruit the influential Vorgon to the Temporal Liberation Front too. He also makes overtures
to the mirror universe of 2410 and manages to secure the services of Admiral Leeta of
the Imperial Starfleet, but that alliance is short-lived. The Terrans bail when things
start shifting in favour of the Galactic Union. During the first Khitomer Alliance conference
in 2410, Krog manages to almost assassinate the Klingon Chancellor and Federation President,
which in turn disrupts the talks enough to jeopardise the future of the Temporal Accords.
In order to stop this, Captain Walker of the 29th century Timefleet arrives to escort the
2410 temporal agent to a point in the future, before Krog jumps back. This is the time from
where Vosk makes his jump back to 1944. This is regarded as the event which catapulted
the Cold War into full on conflict. With things escalating, the Tox Uthat is shepherded
aboard the ship from 2410 along with agent Daniels to be brought to New Khitomer, 2769,
the site of the Temporal Accords signing in an effort to curtail events from transpiring
but the cumulative alterations to time by now have created a situation where New Khitomer
has fallen to the Temporal Liberation Front. After boarding the station, agent Daniels
is killed by the TLF who move off to return the Tuterians in the 26th century, at the
Procyon system. The New Khitomer station has its temporal observatories reactivated and
communications re-established allowing for an allied timefleet to be assembled.
The battle of Procyon V in the 26th century marks a climactic battle between the pro-Accord
forces and the Temporal Liberation Front and has seen several iterations as it seems to
be the perfect location to restore the Tuterians. Agent Daniels is fact is said to have operated
in several different versions of this battle throughout the Temporal War, some where the
Delphic Expanse even consumed the heart of the Federation space, and many more. But in
this timeline, Daniels died before the battle so Temporal Agents from 2410 and Captain Chekov
take command of a wing of the allied time fleet.
This iteration sees the Tox Uthat brought to the USS Enterprise J so that it can harness
its power to collapse the Sphere’s that are generating the devastating Expanse. During
the Skirmish, Chekov realises that his temporal beacon is missing when a activates it, and
it brings a 24th century Scotty to his side in the 26th century battle. Fortunately, Scotty
proves to be a help in installing the Tox Uthat and is returned to his 24th century.
After this is completed, the strike team from 2410, accompanied by a fleet of Time agent
vessels from a multitude of eras moves in to secure Noye, the Envoy and arrest him for
his role in everything. With him finally secured, many of the alterations he was seeking to
do are undone and the future that ensures the Temporal Accord signing; restored. Agent
Daniels is therefore resurrected and as with his deaths many times before, his timelines
are consolidated into one memory and he is aware of the curtailed events.
Because of Noye’s events, which were further complications to the already complicated Temporal
Cold War, it’s quite possible that the role of the Envoy supplanted the Mysterious Benefactor
of the Suliban Cabal as a separate entity entirely. Also, the Xindi focused efforts
of the Sphere Builders seem to also stem from before they allied with the Temporal Liberation
Front, so at this point, they were considered their own faction as well.
The Accords limited time travel to scrutinised research only, but by the end of the 31st
century, Time travel was simply outlawed altogether because of the mess it can cause. Whether
or not people will continue to abide by this is as of yet, unknown, but it’s worth pointing
out that Daniel’s own records did not extend beyond the 32nd century and the galaxy had
other issues to deal with in the form of the dilithium crisis.
Honestly, the Temporal War couldn’t end any other way, with the multitude of factions
all vying to rewrite history to benefit them, it needed to stop. Entire civilizations had
their existence undone and a multitude of splinter realities were created, not quite
Doctor Who, Time War levels of messy, but similar in consequence.
Thanks for watching this summation of the Temporal War as presented in Star Trek Online,
I’m sure its cleared nothing up, I’m still confused by it. The cool thing about it is,
that with any time travel conflict, paradoxes and alternate timelines are common an override
each other all the …time. This means that no one tale involving the war can really be
discredited as it could have happened this way, then been deleted from history by another.
This is reference with the many permutations of the Battle of Procyon V, of which Agent
Daniels is cited a veteran, it’s one of several focal points that always happen, just
never the same. You can see why people hate temporal mechanics.
Thanks again for watching, and if you want a more in depth at the war, there’s always
the main story series, which will continue with a new chapter soon! Thanks again, I’ve
been and shall be Ric again, and I’ll see you next time in the future. Goodbye, Hello!
Mah brain hurts.