Lost in Time (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 04 Jul 2024 @ 11:45am by Commander Morgan Tarin & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor & Ensign Mackenzie Laren

3,707 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 7, Main Engineering
Timeline: MD 06, 1610 hrs

Previously, on Lost in Time (Part 1)...

For only the briefest of moments, Tarin could have sworn she she heard a twinge of emotion in the Vulcan engineer's voice. It gave her momentary pause after which she simply shrugged it off as if her mind was playing tricks on her. "Have you tried re-calibrating the power distribution nodes to compensate for the flow dynamics?"

It was akin to asking if Sera had shut off the computer and turned it back on. Of course they had tried that.

"The generators run on a different amperage. We have even tried to run it through an EPS tap - hence the shortages and...small personal injuries. It is somewhat of a...zero-sum game. I believe I now have a number of legitimate reasons why the holodeck generators operate on a separate power distribution system."

It was a testament to her knowledge base that Sera could still have a cogent conversation regarding engineering systems. However, she was already reaching her limit. Her head was beginning to pound, her bones ached--no thanks to Lieutenant Vala--and Tarin was still standing in front of her.

"Why are you still here?" Sera asked in a bewildered tone, not quite realizing she had now graduated to 'thinking aloud.'

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

Galileo's captain had been pondering the intricacies of the ship's utility trunk network and power relay systems while listening to the engineer's more thorough report of the difficulties her team was encountering. Tarin was no grease monkey but she was fully qualified across all primary systems management operations, and was able to keep up and offer - admittedly limited - advice. The sudden impromptu question, however, snapped her from her thoughts and forced a baffled expression across her lightly-freckled features. "Excuse me, ensign?" Her hazel eyes narrowed while a sharp edge in her inflection cut through the room.

"Should you not be on the bridge? The...Klingons, right? They'll be here...soon?" She furiously tried to access her inner chronometer which had been 'on the fritz,' since getting pulled out of their time. Oh, this really was bordering on the definition of insanity, but it had been such an innate thing to know timing that now to not have it available?

Tarin stepped forward a full pace then came to a stop very close to Sera's form. A mere half-inch taller than the Vulcan, she stared directly into the woman's unorthodox blue eyes while searching and evaluating them for some unknown evidence of unusual behavior. Her voice lowered in volume yet intensified with a healthy dose of verbal discipline. "I am the captain of this starship and where I determine my place to be at any given moment is none of your concern. Right now, I need to know your department is functioning properly and you can cover all of Galileo's power requirements when we enter combat. Which, from what you've just disclosed, is questionable."

"You are, yes." Sera agreed readily. That part of reality was still immutable. Thank Surak. "It is going to be fascinating to see if we can maintain the power requirements necessary or if the splicing will cause a feedback loop overloading the phase modulators and blowing out all of the plasma relays. The subsequent hypothetical explosion could be quite... beautiful. Kaiidth. "

...Fascinating? Beautiful?! Tarin tilted her head with an accompanying perplexed look in her facial features, one completely devoid of amusement. Not only had the woman ignored the stated rationale for her visit, she'd received no reassurances that the ship was in any condition to fight. To the contrary, it appeared to be the opposite. Sera's behavior was becoming unorthodox and was worrisome considering her species was renowned for their mental discipline under duress. Tarin's eyes flicked to the nearby chief engineer's office. "Your office. Right now."

Well, there was not much to interpret in the captain's directive. That was...nice. Nothing to think about - just do.

Sera turned around and walked to her office and her brows furrowed as she saw all of the data padds strewn all over the desk and a few littered about the floor in a hap-hazard manner. When had that happened exactly? She couldn't remember. It was all sort of jumbled all together at this point. Ugh. It didn't matter.

Matter. Anti-matter. The warp core! Gone. No power. Make it work. Draw water out of an empty well. Well? Tarin. Tarin was here, in her office. The female's scent was unmistakable. Fvadt. She was in trouble, wasn't she? Having no other option available, Sera turned back to face the intense persona that was the captain of the Galileo.

There was no door to the small administrative alcove within main engineering which meant total privacy wasn't an option, but the room did offer a respite from any prying eyes. When Tarin followed the ensign inside, her eyes darted around the chaotic assembly of administrative PADDs which littered both the desk and the floor in a most unorganized manner. A manner almost antithetical to traditional Vulcan order and discipline. Her sharp eyes snapped up to Sera's following her silent visual inspection of the woman's work space. "Ensign M'Lyr'Zor," she started with a low volume of voice, "is something wrong? Your behavior since I entered Engineering has been...out of character for you."

"W-Wrong?" Sera stammered in an almost guilty manner, like she was some child who had just consumed a 'stolen' pastry from the platter to be served after end-meal. "W-why would anything be...wrong?" A plethora of thoughts bombarded her, urging to be spoken aloud and she blinked as if holding back tears and took a step away from Tarin.

There was still so much to do, wasn't there? She couldn't seem to remember. Wasn't Vala's shot supposed to fix some of this?! It was all slipping again. Arms crossing her body, Sera grasped her upper arms as if attempting to keep everything in her mind together if she could just squeeze hard enough.

"I...I think. I think I'm lost..."

Tarin silently grit her teeth and swore to herself. She had no idea what the ensign's words specifically meant, but her body language and the manner in which she spoke indicated something was not right. Hours before battle with the Klingons, the captain was now facing the prospect that her chief engineer wasn't fit for duty. "Lost?" she firmly repeated with a narrowed brow. "Elaborate."

Sera's eyes looked to left as if she was trying to remember something. What was it that Lieutenant Vala told her...the words were wispy and ill-formed; an utterly alien concept given her nearly-eidetic memory. Sen'temehludet...loss of time...time psychosis. Shit. She suddenly understand the logic behind that particular human expletive. Montgomery had asked her not to repeat what he had told her. Oh, how promises were prisons!

"The...minor temporal disturbance we encountered appears to be having a somewhat deleterious effect on my...mental functioning." Sera forced her hands back down to her sides and focused her attention towards the captain's face. "I was...attempting to compensate."

The captain inhaled a deep breath then breathed out through her nose with an audible huff of frustration. A long moment of silence passed while Tarin internally processed this new and unfortunate development. "How long has this been affecting you? And what effect is this having on your performance?" she sternly asked. It was bad enough to only be informed of this on the eve of combat, let alone the repercussions it could have on the crew and ship as a whole.

"I..." She would ask another question about time? A minute...an hour...a lifetime? Focus. "It became...noticeable after Hollenday died." That was the easy question to answer. Now to the hard part.

What effect? How much was the captain asking for? Did she want to know about the irreverent and insubordinate thoughts? The Virginia, perhaps? Oh no. She refused to divulge that particular tidbit. Sera's silence went on a little too long before answering.

"Ah. I have not been able to meditate or sleep since the temporal disturbance. I have focused my attentions on ensuring that Galileo has sufficient power to defend ourselves adequately...as long as nothing overloads. But..." She swallowed visibly, but pressed on, "I do not believe I will be 'fit for duty' for much longer, captain." Sera sighed knowing she wasn't helping her case, the ship, or Tarin.

The tall red-collared commander's eyes widened at the engineer's revelation. Six days. Six days with no sleep or meditation...if what Sera was telling her was true, it was preposterous. Vulcans by their very nature required constant meditation to control their emotions which were often an order of magnitude more powerful than those of Humans, and every humanoid life form required REM sleep on a regular basis to prevent psychosis. That Tarin was just learning of this now enraged her and also terrified her - for the health of one of her valuable crew members. "Have you reported this to sickbay? Or Lieutenant Carlisle?" was her next question which came in an urgent inflection.

"I tried... I think?" Sera had spoken with Carlisle, she was sure of that. But it never occurred to her to report to sickbay - it has all been so insidious at first, until things had gone well beyond simple exhaustion. "We were already down a man, captain...so much is at stake. I just...pushed on. The needs of lives aboard this vessel outweighed my needs. Just as this time's needs outweigh our own."

Tarin turned away and pushed both of her hands up through her hair with a combination of supreme vexation combined with anger. She then turned back to Sera, her pale freckled cheeks slightly flushed and her eyes narrowed with a sharpness which cut through the periphery. "You are an officer aboard this ship and you have allowed yourself to be compromised," she loudly rebuked, "without seeking help or informing anyone in your chain of command." How could this have happened? What could - and hopefully should - have been a correctable medical issue seemed to have spiraled out of control to its breaking point. "The 'needs of the many' mean nothing if you're not fit enough for duty to help us get there!"

"...Allowed?" Had she allowed this? Wait. Chain of command. That's...that's really important. That was a big infraction, wasn't it? Sera needed to add that to her now growing list of regulation violations. She was a bad officer. How did all of this happen?

"My apologies, captain. I apparently have failed to adhere to a number of Starfleet Regulations in...not disclosing my worsening functional state."

Placing a hand on her forehead and over her eyes and nose to hide her visible disappointment, Tarin slowly began to pace across the engineering office while she contemplated the next steps to address this untimely turn of events. The ensign's mental and physical health was at the forefront of her thoughts yet competed directly with the demands of the impending confrontation with warships from the Klingon Empire. She slipped her hand down her face then straightened her posture before turning back to Sera.

"Yes, you've done myself, the ship and the rest of the crew a disservice by concealing your ailment," the captain agreed before pursing her lips and lightly shaking her head. "But that's in the past. At this moment, I need to know if you're capable of doing your job and can push through whatever is affecting you. At least for the next several hours." Tarin stepped forward close to the Vulcan and searched her scattered eyes before firmly grabbing her shoulder. "Look at me, Sera. Can you secure yourself and operate this department? ...Or do I need to remove you from active duty?"

The captain's grip on Sera's arm jarred her from the strange reverie in her mind. The captain had given and order. Look at me, Sera. Unblinking eyes tracked to Tarin's face.

Could she do it or not? That was the question. Her skills were needed. It was necessary retain control. There was no other option.

Sera's head bobbed once...twice before speaking. "Yes. I...yes. I will do what is necessary captain to ensure the continuation of this vessel."

"Good." Tarin's hand released the woman's shoulder before she folded her arms across her chest and took another half-step forward, this time turning to look out through the office's transparent aluminum window into main engineering to ensure none of the other junior engineers were eaves-dropping on the conversation. "What - if anything - do you need to maintain focus? And who else knows about this?" she asked with discreet volume in her dry inflection.

Sera's mind more than readily offered up an activity that had seemed to help, and her cheeks flushed slightly in remembrance. Absolutely not.

"Intense sensation...such as pain has been temporarily successful." She finally responded after careful consideration. "He asked for confidence...but...regulations..."

The look she received from Captain Tarin reminded her that she was in a rather precarious position at the moment.

Moment?! Oh come on!

"Lieutenant Vala...knows."

Tarin's head snapped to the side and she twisted her torso to look into Sera's blue irises. "Vala? Our deputy science officer?" She knew who the Romulan man was, of course, and her clarification was more of a Human quirk pertaining to her surprise at the revelation. "Who else?" she then pressed with little patience. "And what sort of...'pain therapy' have you been undertaking?"

"I do not believe anyone else knows, captain." Such a simple question almost sent Sera's control down a rabbit hole. Who else knows? Who else suspected? Who else was affected? Sera picked what she deduced was the least of the unfortunate questions her mind offered up for consideration.

Sera would not say. Vala had brought her the serum he had concocted in an attempt to help her. It bought her silence in this.

"I'd...rather not say, captain."

Swiveling back around to face Sera, Tarin pursed her lips and set her hands on each side of her slim hips. "I don't give a tribble's anus what you'd rather say or not. We're well past that point, ensign," she sharply admonished. Another short pause of silence ensued then she acquiesced with an angry wave of her hand. "...But I suppose it's not relevant at this point. All I need to know is if you can hold it together until we return through the temporal the anomaly...by whatever means necessary. Hopefully - if we're successful - this future won't have occurred and your illness will vanish without a trace."

"I will...hold things together, sir." It almost sounded confident to Sera's ears. "And success would be ideal."

"Yes. Indeed," replied Tarin, her voice returning to a neutral tonality. Her forehead gestured out past the confines of the small administrative office and out into the heart of main engineering. "Now go see to your duties. And send Ensign Mackenzie in here. I'd like a quick word with her."

"Aye, sir." Sera responded in a bland tone, finding it more than agreeable to leave Tarin's presence. She walked past the captain and back out into main engineering. The last place Mackenzie was...ah, down the hole with Andrews.

Once she reached the core shaft, she chanced looking down...at least this time the world didn't shift sideways.

"Ensign MacKenzie Laren..." Sera called down the empty space that once held Galileo's warp core. "Captain Tarin desires a word with you."

"Tell her I'll be right up with Andrews in tow." Mack called back. She had been tending to Andrews to make sure the petty officer was alright.

Once she had relayed her intent to Sera, Mack started back up the Jefferies tube the way from whence she came. She looked back at intervals to make sure the Petty Officer was behind her before she made it back to main engineering.

Having been in the Jefferie's tubes, Mack was sweaty and dirty as she entered the Chief Engineer's office and approached Commander Tarin, who by contrast had a crisp, spotless appearance. It truly was the difference between the officer that sat in her ivory tower and passed judgement on those below her and the officer who worked her ass off to keep the tower structurally sound.

"You wanted to see me, Captain?" Mack asked as she entered the office.

Tarin watched the tall Bajoran approach, the horizontal wrinkles across the bridge of the woman's nose a stark reminder of her species and cultural heritage. She didn't appear too worse for the wear and the captain now had a pressing issue to discuss with the junior officer. "Yes, come in," she instructed before leading them both back into the far corner of the room in front of several large wall-mounted LCARS system displays. "You've only been aboard Galileo for a short time; an even shorter time serving under Ensign M'Lyr'Zor," she remarked as a matter-of-fact. "Your performance has been up to standards thus far considering your position as the new acting deputy engineer. And of course, you know that should something ever happen to the ensign which incapacitates her, you're next in line to head Engineering."

"I understand, sir." Mack nodded. "It's not something I like to think about often, but it's a scenario I must prepare myself for."

So, it was a performance review? Mack thought to herself. Quite the time to be holding one, especially given the dire circumstances they were in. Mack could think of at least three separate things she could be doing to patch up the Galileo right now, each one would give them a better chance at surviving the return of the Klingons, and here she was in a performance review with the Captain. Of course, as she valued her position, she would curb her Bajoran sarcasm and play along with the evaluation. Mack was grateful, then, that the Captain wasn't a Betazoid: Those f--kers almost always knew about her silent displeasure, and would make a point to drag it into the light.

"Of course. No one does." Tarin paused then turned away from Mackenzie for a long moment while considering her upcoming words and their implications to the young engineer. Eventually her feet shifted and she swiveled back around to face the yellow-collared woman. "But your diligence is required. Not everyone aboard Galileo has processed this temporal event in the same way. Right now, your job - all of engineering's job - is to prepare us for combat and see us through the anomaly back to our own time period. That is your first and foremost priority...do you understand?" the captain pointed a finger to the woman's chest to emphasize the personal duty she expected.

"Yes, sir." Mack said with another nod. That was what she had been doing this whole time, she mentally added. Mack's solution to dealing with this temporal event had been to bury herself in work. If she allowed herself to think too deeply on the implications, especially her fate in this future timeline, she would have been bound to a biobed in sickbay before they ejected the warp core.

A silent curt nod from Tarin was the extent of her approval. "I want you to make sure you assist Ensign M'Lyr'Zor as much as possible throughout the coming hours," added the captain. Her hazel eyes now discreetly observed the Vulcan through the large window within the small office. "She's had a lot on her plate over the past few days and I imagine very little sleep. Keep an eye on her and relieve some of her workload wherever you can."

Mack nodded. "My own plate's been jam packed full of work that needs to be done, but I shall endeavor to keep the Vulcan in the corner of my eye and step forward when needed."

It was true that most of the things on Mack's plate was in relieving Sera's workload, but there was no sense in affirming to Commander Tarin that she was already doing such. That was a card that was held close to the chest.

"Good. That's all, then. Return to your duties," Tarin straightened and dismissed the junior engineer before pausing to speak a final addendum to her order. "And Ensign Mackenzie? Call me 'captain'."

Mack had pivoted to return her duties and her back was facing the Captain when Commander Tarin called out for her to issue her addendum. Mack stopped and turned around just enough so she could see Commander Tarin once more, and so the Captain could see her response.

"Yes, Captain." She nodded, using the proper terminology that Commander Tarin had requested before once again turning her back towards the Human woman.

The Bajoran Engineer then exited the Chief Engineer's office. Her next step was to coordinate with the Vulcan about fixing the power surges from the spliced holodeck generators. As she approached Sera, she glanced around, wondering where that Andorian who had volunteered to assist her had gone.

Now alone in the administrative cubicle, Tarin glanced around at the bright LCARS status displays one final time before tugging the hem of her dark uniform jacket down to smooth its wrinkles. A nearby glance at the chronometer revealed time was still ticking, and with every second that passed, the Klingon task force continued its intercept approach at high warp. A final round of checks within main engineering would be all the time she could allot to this task before returning to her ready room to make combat preparations. And to enter her final will and testament into the ship's log.

[OFF]

--

Ensign Mackenzie Laren
Deputy Engineer
USS Galileo-A

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Acting Chief Engineer
USS Galileo-A

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