What The....?

Posted on Mon Apr 8th, 2013 @ 7:41am by Lieutenant Riley Sukotav & Ensign Reva Madhava

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: USS Hammond

* * * USS Hammond * * *

Things on the Hammond had been quiet since their return but Riley had been occupied nonetheless. He’d had more time now to see all of the station and that was an immense undertaking, pun intended. He’d also been reading over the reports that Commander Leroy sent over on all the sightings on the station. So far, the Hammond crew hadn’t been affected, though that was likely just the luck of the draw. They seemed completely random and as yet, he saw no real pattern either. Just like life, he mused. He rose from his office and stepped through the door into the main science bay.

Or so he thought.

Somehow he was in engineering and Reva was there. Even more strange, she was giving the countdown to the jump. What the....? A quick glance at the closest readout showed the course laid in for the return to SB900. He rubbed his eyes, then pinched himself to make sure he was awake. Well that was dumb. If I’m dreaming, I just dreamed I pinched myself and of course I’ll feel it. Get a grip Riley.

“Reva?”

She turned towards him, wide-eyed, then rolled her eyes. “Oh, c’mon, don’t tell me this is about to be one those dreams! It’s bad enough I’m back at the crossover countdown,” she whined, addressing herself more than she was Riley. Just a few minutes ago, it seemed, she was lying down for a nap and then found herself here, with the computer calling out warnings and timings.

“Umm, this isn’t a dream as far as I know. We’re about to jump back to the station. Though I....” He stopped to shake his head. “Damned if I know what’s going on.” As he finished the sentence, the red alert began to sound and warnings flashed on the console screens. Immediately, the computer’s voice began to intone:

=^= Core breach in two minutes. Warning, core breach in two minutes =^=

“This isn’t a dream?” She could read him, but then, she could normally read people in her dreams, depending upon the dream. “If it isn’t, then I really do need to pay attention to this damned thing!” Turning back to the engineering console, she started shunting power away from the warp core and working to balance the power draw and output.

Just as the computer announced that the warp core was no longer heading for breach, a voice over the comm said, =^=Portal open! We’re going through, one-quarter impulse.=^=

“Acknowledged!” Riley answered as he hurried to catch up on the readout. “What the hell caused that announcement?” He studied the screen before him, then blinked. “Reva? Can the warp field...shrink?”

“Yes...,” she answered without thinking as she was busy with doing the calculations necessary to let the portal close behind them, just as she had done a few days ago. “Wait, what? Shrink?” She looked over at Riley then moved to look at his screen, explaining as she moved, “Yes, the field can shrink; it’s one of the things Engineering works to prevent when a ship is moving. Understandably, it’d be disastrous if a field shrank while a ship was in it.” Standing close to him and reading his screen, she quickly went quiet and her brow furrowed. “No, no, no,” she whispered, pressing commands into the screen.

“Why didn’t the computer announce this? Or one of the techs?”, she wondered aloud.

“What techs?” Riley glanced around at the engineering bay, which was empty save for them. He shrugged and tapped his comm badge. “Riley to bridge. Any strange readings up there?”

He was answered only by silence.

“Bridge?” No answer. “Computer, please locate Lt. Ito Tsuki.”

=^= There is no such officer on board =^=

Riley turned and looked to Reva. “How soon do we reach the docking bay?”

“Ten minutes,” she answered.

Riley did some fast calculations in his head and muttered. “Should hold till we get there. But where the hell’s the bridge crew? And if Ito’s not here then who’s flying this thing?”

“If Ito’s not up there and there’s no Bridge crew and my crew is gone..., then this is a dream. One of the nightmare sort.” She stopped and grabbed Riley’s hand. “You’re real... and I’m not a strong telepath, so it’s unlikely I’ve pulled you into my dream or somehow joined yours. What the --”

Her question was cut off by the computer, =^=Beginning docking sequence. All hands to stations.=^=

“I’m sure they are,” Riley commented drily. “Computer, what is the crew complement of the USS Hammond?”

=^= Crew complement of the USS Hammond is two. Lt. Riley Sukotav and Ensign Reva Madhava. =^=

“Answers that question. Sort of.” He turned back to the panel and switched to the docking screen. “At least it’s automated. Then we can get on the station and get to the bottom of this.”

Baffled by the computer’s answer, Reva ran down Engineering’s docking to-do list. Out loud, she wondered, “Could we have left the others in the other..., nevermind, silly question. If we left them, why not us, too? Time loop?”

“At this point Reva, anything is possible.” Riley watched the image as the Hammond moved into position and the docking clamps extended and attached. “Ready?”
“Yes,” she nodded and they headed out of Engineering. “Good thing docking can be so automatic.” Walking the empty corridors was creepy; worse was going through the docking hatches and not seeing anyone else, on either the Hammond’s side or on the Station’s. “Riley... I’m not sensing anyone.”

“At all?” He stopped as they emerged on the docking ring and looked down at her. Just where the hell were they? Or when?

“Well, I don’t have a huge range, but usually there’s background noise. Right now, it’s just you. So, yeah, where or when? Let’s go a little farther, maybe it’s just this area.”

Riley led the way as they stepped through the doors that led out of the docking bay. A trip in the turbolift soon deposited them on the main level of the Promenade - a Promenade that was a ghost town. There was nothing but silence in an area that was usually filled to the brim with the noise of people. Their footsteps echoed as they stepped forward, then Riley stopped.

“Something’s terribly wrong --”

The insistent beep of a terminal prodded at him and continued, growing louder. In an instant, the promenade vanished and once more he was standing in the main science bay of the Hammond. It was such a shock to his system that for a moment all he could do was blink.

“What the...?” he asked again, then fear rose instantly. “Computer, locate Ensign Reva Madhava.”

=^= Ensign Madhava is in her quarters. =^=

Riley took off at a dead run.

* * *

“Something’s terribly wrong --”

Riley had been just behind her and when he stopped speaking, it took Reva a moment to turn to see why. Riley was nowhere in sight. “Riley?” She took a few running steps back the way they’d come, looking into each shop. “Riley!”, she shouted, but she was alone. “Okay... so this is a nightmare. Mine.” Somewhere down the Promenade, something clanged; something was coming her way from the direction she and Riley had been heading. “I’m ready to wake up. Anytime now,” she whispered to herself and tried to rein in the fear that was triggering a fight or flight response. Running seemed like a really good idea right now, even though she hadn’t a clue what was making noise.

Closer in, closer to where she stood, there was a soft chime then a pounding. Reva screamed....

And was in her own quarters on the Hammond. The pounding was that of someone at her door, which she gladly answered. “Riley!”

“Reva!” He dashed in and took hold of her shoulders. He was far too wound up to be attacked by his usual nervousness around women. “Are you alright?”

She wasn’t so reserved: she hugged him. “Oh... there’s background noise! Other than being completely freaked out, I’m okay. You?”

“Ditto on both counts.” He hugged her back, then cleared his throat and let go. “What was that? I am at a loss for words.” As usual, he thought.

She, too, let go and stepped back, sensing his unease. “The incidences on the Station, they involved people seeing past or future people. What just happened doesn’t fit that at all, so it must not be the same phenomena. But I haven’t a clue what it was. When it hit, where were you?”

“I was in my office and stepped out into main science, only it wasn’t science, it was engineering and you were there.” He shrugged. “It seems similar but yes, very different which suggests that whatever this is is getting worse.”

“Worse? Yeah, that was... bad,” she agreed. “It wasn’t something triggered by an experiment in Science? Something different? That seemed more like an alternate universe than any past or future.”

“Most of the reports coming through Science have been alternate as well. Not a true past. As for the future ones, that’s anyone’s guess.” Riley rubbed his forehead and then looked back at Reva. “I’d suggest for now we get on the station. At least it’s not mobile. And we can go report this little field trip as well.”

Nodding, she took his hand, “Okay. There’s one more thing: after you disappeared, Riley, something else was there. I got the sense of something big and ...predatory. So I’m just going to hold onto you for a little bit.”

“Wow...that’s...umm...good thing that you...well..okay.” The normal Riley was back apparently.

As they headed out for the Station, she chuckled. “I don’t bite, unless you ask me to, I promise.”

That comment really didn’t help his tongue-tied state. It brought images to mind that really shouldn’t be there and once more, he wondered why it was that Orions seemed to torment him no matter where in the universe he was.

“Let’s go.” He managed to get those two words together without incident.

Perhaps it was her scare in that vision, but for whatever reason, Reva found his discomfit inordinately amusing.

******************

Lt. Riley Sukotav
Totally At A Loss

Ensign Reva Madhava
Not Totally Alone