Temporal Investigations

From FEInfobase

Temporal Investigations, technically known as Starfleet Temporal Investigations, is a division of Starfleet dedicated to the preservation of the timeline.

History

Founding

Originally a department of the Federation government, the Department of Temporal Investigations arose from the events of the Temporal Cold War in the time immediately preceding the formation of the Federation. It was one of the original departments of the Federation's government, created during the administration of its first President in 2161. Tasked with preservation of the timeline, the Department of Temporal Investigations was granted broad powers within its rather narrow jurisdiction, and had the power to arrest, try, and sentence those who were found attempting to violate the timeline.

Early Centuries

Temporal Investigations's first test came in the mid-2180s, when a member of the Federation Council, a Tellarite named Skalaar, attempted to use a rudimentary chroniton emitter to move back through time to deliver medicine, discovered a month after his son's death, to his son. While Skalaar's story was emotionally powerful, and he was one of the leaders of his race - itself a founding member of the new Federation - his actions were specifically illegal. He failed to travel through time, and caused himself serious injury, and Director of Temporal Investigations Suvok demanded his immediate removal from the Federation Council and arrest. When the Council refused to dismiss him, wishing to wait for him to recover from his injuries, Suvok acted, placing the Tellarite under house arrest. The Council moved to dismiss Suvok from his post, leading the Vulcan to hand leadership of the Department over to a human named Ted Jericho.

Jericho continued Suvok's investigation, refusing to release Skalaar from DTI's custody. In the end, Suvok's actions were vindicated - the Federation Council voted to remove Skalaar from his position, though they insisted he be tried in a normal court rather than by Temporal Investigations. Jericho agreed to this, and Suvok returned to duty as the Director.

Power Rise

Throughough the 23rd century, Temporal Investigations struggled with the courts, Starfleet, and the Federation Council to retain the power to fulfill its obligations. Temporal Investigations knew the dangers of time travel well; a single act of time travel, even by someone with no intent to cause harm, could invalidate the choices made by every being in the galaxy. Temporal Investigations's leadership saw this as the ultimate threat to freedom - someone could steal the choices an individual had already made. The Federation Council and the courts, however, often disagreed with the Temporal Investigations leadership, seeing some of its actions as being too aggressive, even bordering on dictatorial. Meanwhile, Starfleet, going through its 'cowboy' era with men like James Kirk and Christopher Pike commanding starships, did its best to keep the power to discipline its officers within its own organization, believing that sometimes minor temporal disturbances might be required for the explorers and soldiers to do their jobs, and wanting them free from the risk of a Temporal Investigations inquisition should that happen.

This changed in 2267, when Leonard McCoy, acting under the influence of a powerful hallucinogenic drug, entered the Guardian of Forever and found himself in 1930. Through actions of simple human conscience, McCoy prevented the death of a woman, which led to the Federation ceasing to exist. After McCoy's crewmates resolved the problem, Kirk's report on the incident reached Temporal Investigations. Using this incident as proof of the need for tighter temporal security, the Department gained the power to investigate both Starfleet and civilians, and to act with a sweeping mandate, though they did not regain the ability to perform trials internally.

Disappearance

Temporal Investigations continued to operate through more than another century, until the days of the leadup to the Borg War. However, during this time, the Department simply ceased to exist - its agents started to die or vanish at an extraordinary rate. Faced with the Borg threat, the Federation Council was unable to rebuild the Department, and its last active agent vanished in 2393.

Resurrection and Starfleet Temporal Investigations

Following the Borg War, the mandate to protect the timeline was passed to Starfleet. A small under funded group was set up with the role of seizing and cataloguing any temporal artifacts, to ensure that no one (not even Star Fleet or the Federation) could make use of any technology or knowledge.

Temporal Investigations is based out of a place known simply as The Office, in New Orleans. They also have a Vault located on Mars.