Phantasms (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 23 Aug 2024 @ 7:55pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant JG Rafe Caradec & Lieutenant JG Saelihn Valenis & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater & Lieutenant JG Nusien & Ensign Mimi & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor

3,343 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Episode 20 - Reconstruction
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 1, Conference Room
Timeline: MD 01, 1853 hrs

Previously, on Phantasms (Part 1)...

"Such hallucinations are not without precedent. Temporal incidents happen more than one might generally expect." He found the page he was looking for and moved it to the front, examining it for a second. "Spatiotemporal Visual and Auditory Anomalies typically evidence some kind of manipulation of events. Whether it was by an entity travelling back to this point or the Galileo itself travelling... elsewhere is challenging to say." He looked back to Tarin. "These 'hallucinations' may be the only way of knowing what exactly happened."

An audible sigh escaped Tarin's lips while she ran a frustrated hand down across her face which then slapped against the top of her toned thigh before coming to a rest in her lap. As much as she wanted to refute this theory and label it as both presumptive and preposterous, the current phenomenon was unexplainable until it wasn't, and this meant the most prudent solution was to pursue every lead possible while adhering to the scientific method. "Do the rest of you concur with Lieutenant Vala's assessment?" she asked the surrounding officers within the conference room. "Any alternative theories?"

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

"I agree with Lieutenant Vala." Ullswater's voice was calm and level in contrast to the captain's exasperation. She brought one of her hands up from beneath the table to punctuate her speech with some small practiced gestures "He is an expert in this field, you should trust him too. Furthermore I would urge you to consider what exactly you and Commander Blake were doing at the time of the chroniton incident. Assuming the chronitons were indicative of a temporal event we believe that the ready room was the epicentre of that event. Perhaps you can shed some light on the whole situation."

"I don't think we can rule anything out," Delainey offered. She was not prepared to commit to any single theory even if she couldn't readily think of another that accounted for both science's findings and these symptoms. "Beyond the symptoms people are experiencing, the presence of the chroniton wave and the association of chronitons to temporal phenomenon isn't something easily dismissed as coincedental. The good news is, as far as I can tell at least for now, these symptoms, while distressing and disruptive, don't appear to be causing neurological damage. That's not to say that can't and won't happen, especially if sleep deprivation as a secondary symptom persists, but it makes sense to me to see if these experiences point to a more cohesive narrative."

Tarin's hazel irises locked on to Ullswater's own gray ones while listening to the counselor speak. At least the crew wasn't slowly going insane. For now. The captain spoke up in reply to the chief science officer. "The first officer and I's conversation is confidential. Neither of us performed any action aside from private consultation." It was the plain yet non-complex truth which Tarin wasn't particularly pleased about being asked.

The very slightest hint of a grin came across Sofie's face but her stormy eyes remained as serious as her tone of voice. "Then we have a fairly dire information problem sir. I would suggest that perhaps conversations about what happened should be moved to be behind closed doors. Members of the crew have experienced or may well be about to experience hallucinations that will provide them with accurate and classified information about-"

She shivered, the room felt like an oven and she clenched her fist around the pencil under the table. The pain was returning to her hands. A strong and blisteringly hot gust of wind rushed through the conference room. She could see it rustling the hair of the other assembled officers. With the wind came then that same hoarse voice that had been haunting her all day "You know what they were talking about in there Sof. Don't be afraid." But of course she was.

She cleared her throat, closed her eyes for a second and waved her hand in a gesture of apology. "Classified information about Galileo's previous mission. If we have no way of preventing these hallucinations then we will need to think about this as an information security problem as well as a medical one."

The information jogged a memory of dream that she had had. In it she recalled a snatch of Tarin and Blake discussing a decision. Allyndra sat back. "I can't help but wonder if all of this temporal oddity and bits of visions are related to a decision. I recall one in which there was a discussion of a highly important matter, though what it was is lost when I woke up. If it is then it is imperative that we figure out what triggered this. I am wondering if we then are dealing with a warning that something changed a timeline or are we already dealing with a changed timeline? It is enough make one's head spin, no wonder we are dealing with fuzzy memories."

Ullswater's eyes didn't move from Tarin's. They were locked in. Maybe Sofie was looking for something hidden in her captain's gaze. Understanding maybe? That Tarin comprehended what was happening. Or maybe Sofie was trying to say something with her own, attempting an unspoken communication. A message of danger.

"Saalm and Sandoval, liars and manipulators. But her eyes are different. She's not like them." The lab on a future version of this ship and a desperate attempt to find a conclusion to a problem that they were never meant to solve. With every strand that their kidnappers showed them she and Vala had been cajoled into one conclusion. Beaten down into acceptance of an unconscionable truth. It all came back to one thing. Again and again, the one place she never wanted to return to. A pit whose sides were too steep to climb. Where all that was left was the the slow and inevitable fall back into the fire. "It all came back to us Sof. Just you and me forever."

Sofie had to scrunch her eyes shut again, even wince a little, but as her eyes opened she once again found herself gazing into the hazel abyss. "I think it should be fairly elementary to determine what that decision was commander, but again, this relates to classified information. We were kidnapped, I recall that much. They wanted us to change something in the timeline relating to Galileo's previous mission. Additionally the centre of the chroniton disturbance that we detected during the test was in the captain's ready room where Captain Tarin and Commander Blake were discussing classified information." She raised a finger, and glanced around for a moment taking her eyes of Tarin to address the rest of the room. "For reference of those of you who joined us in the last week, Galileo's previous mission is classified."

She turned back to Tarin, her words laden with concern. "Captain, even if you haven't experienced these hallucinations yourself you must be able to work out from these facts what you did to change the timeline. Perhaps you went into the ready room with one thing on your mind but changed it before leaving. I feel like I can already infer what you changed from the snippets I have. I am not the only person in this room who will be able to. I emphasize once again the information security issue this presents."

Listening intently had always been one of Saelihn's best attributes, somewhat ironic given her species nickname of 'Listeners' but still she hadn't had any hallucinations or dreams. That's not how her species worked, not in relation to temporal events. She'd voiced her concerns with the captain previously, mostly about Rice and Ghemora, that feeling of a void when she saw them, and she pushed a case for this being temporal and not Romulan related. It seemed the mood of the ship followed that line of thinking also.

El Aurian's were gifted in many ways and cursed in others. Something Saelihn had often thought. Thankfully her migraine caused by the temporal event had receded as this timeline continued on. Captain Tarin seemed reluctant even now to believe in a temporal event but the evidence only pointed to one thing, in her opinion. Did she want to voice her opinion? Things had changed, that was a fact, her biology told her so and every fibre of her being screamed it.

The captain's head was starting to spin. Classified information, yes, from Cold Station 31. That much was certainly relevant and at the forefront of her recent mind. As was their parlay with the now-deceased Captain KehG and his successor, Commander Kuran, and now this detected chroniton surge and subsequent crew-wide hallucinations, and talk of time travel and...timelines. Tarin reached up and rubbed her forehead while resisting the urge to kick everyone out of the conference room so she could obtain a moment of private reflection. But she didn't need to. Her sharp gaze momentarily became distant.

~~

"ETA until the Klingons enter weapons range?" queried Commander Morgan Tarin from the command well at the center of the bridge.

Rafe looked at the chronometer counting down to their inevitable fate, "Two minutes, 31 seconds, Captain."

"Tarin to Saalm, we're almost out of time. How long until you're ready?" the -A's captain asked the future rear admiral.

A short pause ensued which eventually produced an non-ideal reply. "Three minutes. We are finishing realignment of the driver coil assembly."

"Understood," said Tarin who now looked down to the tactical display on the center console between she and Warraquim. Two blue Starfleet emblems denoted their current positions while three red and orange Klingon icons slowly closed on their position.

"This is the captain," Tarin spoke again, this time thumbing the intraship comm button. "Hostile Klingon warships are still on an intercept course and are two minutes out from our present location. Maintain station readiness and prepare for combat. All hands...battlestations."

~~

Tarin reached up and rubbed her eyes with the back of her knuckles before refocusing on the scene in front of her. She was back in Galileo's cramped briefing chamber with a large cadre of commissioned and chief warrant officers surrounding her. "I..." she exhaled a frustrated breath while observing everyone present and shaking her head. "Enough with this conjecture. Even if we assume everything postulated here is accurate and a temporal lens into some sort of altered timeline - and that's a big 'if' - we still don't know why. And that's our job, to figure out the 'why'." She paused to collect the various pieces of information they'd already gained during this group conversation.

"What we know so far is that Galileo detected a surge of chroniton particles during our systems test which appears to have emanated from my ready room. We have to assume that's accurate and not an erroneous sensor detection. We also know the crew - many of us from different species and departments and positions - are experiencing visions or hallucinations. Let's also assume that's accurate. And according to Doctors Warraquim and Carlisle, no adverse psychological or physical side effects have been reported. Yet. These are our tangible knowns.

"Mister Vala's theory," she then looked to the Romulan, and though she absolutely hated to admit it out loud, "seems to be the best we have so far. Ullswater, you've vouched for him so let's assume for now he's correct and work to record and collect as many of these visions or hallucinations or whatever we're calling them. Let's build up a repository of knowledge and see where it leads. Trust but verify."

Tarin's brow tightened before looking to the chief science officer and the others around her. "In the meantime, it might become possible that some of us will obtain classified research knowledge regarding Cold Station 31. Therefore I'm initiating a ship-wide communications blackout. Intraship comms are suspended until further notice. There will be no incoming or outgoing transmissions relayed by anyone except myself, Commander Blake and Commander Warraquim. Any crew member recalling sensitive CS-31 data is to report to me immediately. Let's figure out what's occurring as fast as we can and work this problem."

Allyndra shuddered remembering what she experienced at that place or the alternative or whatever had happened. "As you realize, Captain Tarin, I was part of the away team there. If need be I am willing to have another debrief with you, ma'am."

"Yes, I remember quite well. If that time comes, I'll contact you privately," Tarin replied to the doctor. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"Myself and Lieutenant Vala can schedule interviews with the crew, try to put together a more coherent picture." Ullswater then gave a nod in the captain's direction. "Of course, if those interviews come up with anything sensitive I will refer the interviewee to you."

A sagacious plan of action, Tarin silently approved. It would be difficult to conduct interviews with all 40-some Galileo crew members within such a short time period, but even if half that number were successfully 'screened', it was an order of magnitude better than none at all. "Get on it at once," she nodded to Ullswater. Her hands and forearms then extended to lay across the edge of the large table while she looked around the room. "Any other questions? Suggestions?" she asked.

Sera tilted her head, appearing suitably interested as the briefing played out, when the second time in a few moments, she was suddenly somewhere else...Captain Tarin's office...Sera's accented words took the entire focus of her mind.

"You have, without reservation, been exceptionally vocal against our collective--and individual--concerns regarding what is being demanded of us here. We are being asked to violate numerous Starfleet regulations, and our concerns were summarily dismissed as needing to look towards the larger picture, and yet you sit here and question if I believe in what we are doing here?"

Sera continued to press her case. "We are here because you failed in your duty as a command-level officer to follow the orders you were given to turn over classified data that is apparently the entire lynch pin to everything unfolding as it has up to this specific moment. That you are questioning me now about mine is...curious."

"Perhaps you should go first, Captain." Sera said suddenly. "That is my suggestion."

Tarin's attention focused on the Vulcan DENG and her raw proposition. She personally held no objections to such a suggestion. The subtle implications of this request, however, didn't go unobserved. "I see no problem with that. And since you were the first to bring up this screening ordering, then you'll be second." Her eyes shifted to Ullswater then Vala, "and both of you, third and fourth."

Nusien sat and listened, he had learned years ago that it was best to listen before offering any information. At the moment he wondered if something that was already said is correct. "From what I am hearing it is possible that some of us are experiencing events that have happened but were blocked from our memories. There is precedent for this, it has happened to numerous ships, numerous times. It could have been another race that we encountered or a temporal anomaly that the ship came in contact with. We could scan the crew for residual chronitons in their DNA and look through the ship's databanks for any such incidents."

All Rafe could do while listening about hallucinations, temporal anomalies, confidential this and that, was think about CS 31. With the creatures and inter-dimensional portals, could that be the source of all this? His eyes were on those in the conference room, yet they held the blank expression of the thousand-mile stare. He was thinking about when everyone started to experience the hallucinations and when the chronitons presented themselves. It seemed unlikely that the mission of CS 31 was the cause of a possible alternate timeline. However, they could not leave any stone unturned. He thought now might...well, not just yet. He would see how things played out. The captain's got enough on her plate.

The Edosian doctor's assessment of the current situation was accurate enough if not slightly presumptive. As much as she hated for assumptions to be made then acted upon, there was little other circumstantial evidence to pursue. "We can't jump the gun just yet. If there's precedent, then that means there's evidence," Tarin said in reply to Nusien. "You and Doctor Warraquim and Doctor Carlisle...figure this out from your end at once and inform me of your findings. If this is a biological or psychological affliction, we need to know immediately and begin treating it." She turned back to the rest of the group, "The rest of you, record everything you can remember if you experience one of these hallucinations. Pass the order down through each of your departments and record any information your people express to you. And Ops?" she turned to look at both Serran and Mimi, "Run a level one diagnostic on the computer cores and all memory banks. Just in case."

"Aye, captain," Allyndra responded. "We will figure this out one way or the other. Doctors as soon as the meeting is over, we meet in sick bay."

"Whatever it takes," Delainey replied with a nod and acknowledgement to Tarin and Allyndra.

Nusien turned to Allyndra first. "Of course Doctor..." Then he turned to Tarin. "Aye Captain. May I request that any records of the hallucinations be sent to Sick Bay for our perusal. Reading and hearing about what everyone is seeing would be helpful in figuring this all out."

"Then we will get started on our end as soon as the captain has dismissed us," Allyndra acknowledged the other doctor.

"Request approved," stated Tarin. "But as previously discussed, any crew member who reports classified information surrounding Cold Station 31 is to be flagged and referred to me immediately. Considering the sensitive nature of these hallucinations - if they prove to be accurate - we can't take any chances." Information management was becoming the theme of the hour and would most likely persist throughout the coming days.

When Tarin mentioned a level one diagnostic Mimi glanced across her boss Serran then began making some notes on a Padd, level one diagnostics took a long time. "A level one diagnostic, aye sir." She said then quickly added for everyone's benefit. "We will need to take the primary computer core offline while we run it."

The captain knew such an inconvenience would arise yet it was necessary to troubleshoot any potential issues concerning Galileo's software and memory systems. Just as the science department had been ordered to conduct their own review and explore their unorthodox theories, so too would a more practical evaluation occur with the starship's core systems. All potential avenues of fault needed to be explored and ruled out before this fantastical time travel hypothesis could begin to be taken seriously. "Noted. Be quick about it and be sure to run evaluate the backup core following your tests on the primary." Tarin's hands clasped together as her fingers intertwined and her knuckles softly cracked while she glanced around the conference room one final time to all currently mustered. "That's all for now. Solve this conundrum as soon as possible and bring me results. Dismissed."

[OFF]

--

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Sofie Ullswater
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Delainey Carlisle
Chief Counselor
USS Galileo-A

CMDR Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Saelihn Valenis
Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

ENS S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Deputy Engineer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Nusien
Deputy Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A

LTJG Rafe Caradec
Senior Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A

ENS Mimi
Deputy Operations Manager
USS Galileo-A

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