Stardate 58460.1: A team from the Cerritos led by Mariner conducts a routine inspection of a time portal on Krulmuth-B. But as Ensign Boimler poses in front of the portal, it activates, he gets drawn into the time stream and ends up in the past. Stardate 2291.6: While on a mission to Setlik II to deliver grain, an Enterprise landing party investigates the newly discovered time portal. Suddenly Boimler emerges from the future. As the crew is consulting of how to send the ensign back, an Orion ship appears. Boimler advises against firing because Tendi told him her great-grandmother was on an Orion science ship that allegedly discovered the time portal in the first place. But the Orions take the opportunity, beam the device aboard and warp away. There is no way to track them, but Pike authorizes Boimler to apply future knowledge. The Orions are ready to trade the portal for the tritriticale grain in the cargo holds of the Enterprise. After returning the portal to Krulmuth-B, everything is set for Boimler to go back to the future. But just as he wants to step in, Mariner arrives. This unfortunately depletes the storage of horonium in the portal, which is necessary for it to operate. There is no known deposit in the whole quadrant. Mariner tries to help Uhura with the translation of the symbols on the portal, but it turns out it merely reads "This is a time portal" in an old Nausicaan dialect. Boimler assists Spock in synthesizing horonium, but they end up destroying the lab. Boimler feels sorry about the grain that was given to the Orions, which will force the settlers of Setlik II to relocate. He secretly contacts the Orions to cancel the deal. It looks like Mariner and Boimler are stuck in the past. As they are talking with Pike about the good old times and Archer's NX-01, however, Boimler remembers that the hull of that ship used a horonium alloy and part of it was incorporated into the Enterprise NCC-1701. After harvesting the horonium, a landing party beams down to send Boimler and Mariner back. But the Orions are already waiting, blocking the entrance. Pike arranges a deal with them: The Orions let Starfleet use the portal, and as history is concerned, Orions discovered it.

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