At the pre-departure briefing, Kirk emphasized the mission's unique nature and potential risks. "We do not belong to this era; any minor interference could trigger unforeseen spacetime paradoxes. Therefore, this operation must be kept to the smallest scale possible."
He looked around at his familiar crew. "Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Chekov... and Magos Osiris, you will come with me. Scott, you will remain on board, ensuring the Enterprise can take off at any time and maintaining its cloaked status. Other crew members are strictly forbidden from leaving the ship without permission."
Osiris' massive body seemed out of place in the shuttle cabin, but he appeared to show great interest in this spacetime journey and the prospect of encountering "ancient" Earth civilization.
His sensors continuously scanned the external environment, recording the unique atmospheric composition, electromagnetic spectrum, and biological signals of this era.
Although this era and this Terra were still not his home, this particular time node was the closest to when he left his home. Everything here felt familiar to him.
However, at this moment, he could no longer openly walk on the streets; he even needed to hide his form as much as possible. His non-human appearance would be too shocking on the streets of the 20th century.
The group changed into simple clothes that fit the fashion of the era, although Spock's Vulcan ears required a hat for concealment, and Osiris had to temporarily remain at a relatively hidden rendezvous point.
"According to historical records," Spock analyzed in his unchanging logical tone, "during this period, institutions researching marine mammals were mainly concentrated in coastal areas. We can try to obtain information on humpback whale migration routes and current locations from local universities, marine research institutes, and... 'whale watching' tour companies."
Doctor McCoy, meanwhile, frowned at the surrounding environment, muttering complaints about the primitive air pollution and terrible public health conditions: "I can't believe our ancestors lived in an environment like this..."
The mission thus began.
Kirk and his team members, these explorers from the 23rd century, blended into the street crowds of 1980s San Francisco, embarking on their seemingly impossible mission—to find humpback whales, which were nearing extinction in this era but had long disappeared in their own time.
Osiris, from behind the scenes, utilized his powerful information processing capabilities to attempt to infiltrate the nascent computer networks of this era, which seemed like toys to him, providing support for the search in another way.
Time was ticking by, minute by minute, and in their original timeline, Earth's destruction was still counting down.
—
The mission proceeded in separate parts.
Kirk and Spock were responsible for finding the whales and planning how to acquire them, while Doctor McCoy worked closely with Engineer Scott, who remained on the Enterprise, to design and build a large aquatic container capable of transporting live humpback whales on the Enterprise.
This required simulating a marine environment, maintaining life support systems, and ensuring it could withstand the pressures of time travel—a considerable engineering feat.
However, for the crew of the Enterprise, they had executed far more complex and dangerous missions, so relatively speaking, searching for humpback whales in the 20th century was not a dangerous mission for them.
While Kirk and the others were busy searching for humpback whales, Osiris was not entirely uninvolved.
He remained at a relatively hidden rendezvous point, where a nimble mechanical tentacle had quietly connected to the nascent global computer network of this era, which seemed as rudimentary as a child's toy to him.
Data streamed into his processing core at a speed that felt frustratingly slow to him.
He browsed late 20th-century news, academic databases, and early versions of internet forums, sensing the unique atmosphere of this era, a mix of hope and confusion.
Though the information was primitive, it carried a vibrant, rough vitality characteristic of a civilization in its youth.
An indescribable, almost "sentimental" data stream rippled through his highly rational thought processes.
Strictly speaking, this was perhaps the closest he had been, in terms of the timeline since his Time travel, to the "home" Earth he remembered.
Not Holy Terra, not Night City, nor the Federation Utopia, but this "Earth" full of life, where technology was just beginning, and problems coexisted with opportunities.
This unfamiliar emotion drove him to undertake an action that would seem extremely risky, even bizarre, to an outsider.
He briefly left his hiding place, using optical camouflage and anti-detection methods to silently blend into the evening streets of San Francisco.
His target was clear—a vending machine flashing with neon lights.
He used a mechanical tentacle to insert coins from this era, which he had exchanged from Kirk, and pressed the button labeled "COLA."
Two blue-packaged metal cans rolled out.
He picked up one, and the cold sensation transmitted through his sensors.
Back at the temporary base, he opened one of the cans.
The faint hiss of carbon dioxide releasing was remarkably clear in the silence.
He did not, as usual, instantly analyze its chemical composition, sugar concentration, or additive structure with his sensors.
Instead, he deliberately shut down almost all external sensors and internal analysis modules, retaining only the most basic, most primitive taste buds.
He slowly poured the liquid into his mouth, and a long-forgotten, excessively sweet taste signal directly impacted his sensory circuits.
"...Indeed, it's still the familiar, detergent-like taste." A nearly forgotten, centuries-old memory was awakened, a taste he thought he had forgotten but actually still remembered.
He did not drink more.
For his current efficient metabolic system, this mixture of sugar and chemicals offered no practical benefit.
But what he did was more like a ritual, a clumsy touch to a past that was almost annihilated.
Then, he picked up the other unopened cola can and, without hesitation, activated a small stasis field generator.
A faint blue glow flashed, instantly sealing that can of carbonated beverage, which carried special memories for him, along with its active molecular movement, within the amber of time.
He didn't know why he did this.
Perhaps, for an Explorer Magos, the instinct to collect "data" was not limited to technology and knowledge but also extended to such a unique "era sample" with no practical utility.
After completing all of this, he carefully put away the "living fossil," his crimson optical lenses refocused, and he reconnected to the slow network deluge, continuing to provide information support from another dimension for the mission to find humpback whales in his efficient and calm manner.