- , Mission #

"Outta Time"

<GM_James>

Summary

<GM_James>

The Atlantis remains in a high polar orbit while on the planet below hell takes place. Scans show that the planet is breaking apart and that the source of these disturbances is coming from an underground facility attached to a whole heap of underground reactors generating power from the planet's core.

<GM_James>

<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Resume Mission >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

Self: Day 35 of my incarceration: The insidious doctors are still keeping me trapped within this confined space. They stand there mocking me day by day, hour by hour. I fear that soon....I shall go mad. The inhumanity of their treatment....speaks to their black polluted souls...

XO: T'Kirr... put our short conversation with the facility back on the main viewer, running in slow motion.

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

:: nods and pulls it up ::

<NAV_Cdr_Harper>

:: looks up to the main viewer ::

ACTION: The communication comes up on screen, and things seem to be moving a little more normall this time. People in the background dressed in coats and overalls work at terminals, shielding their faces from sparks. The woman at the centre gestures emphatically, but her speech is still garbled and slurred, a haunting sound mixed with the drawn out crackles and explosions.

:: watches intently ::

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

::Smiles innocently at the doctors as he shows either withdrawl symptoms from the lack of work, or anxiety from a weird feeling he has in his gut::

ACTION: The woman at the centre waves her arms, gesturing wildly and shouting at the screen before a final crackle of static and collapsing ceilings cut off the last view.

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: looks over Ilaihr and smiles back to him, nodding ::

XO: Slow it down even further.

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: turns his back to Ilaihr and continues his work ::

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

::Throws a death stare at Tav as he turns his back; like white hot daggers stabbing into butter.::

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

:: slows down the video ::

<NAV_Cdr_Harper>

:: continues analyzing the data from the probe's flight ::

ACTION: The video plays once more, the same scene acting out even slower, the sounds drawn out and elongated until it sounds like a bassy rumble from the depths of hell.

<SCI_LtJG_TLira>

:: gazes at the screen and tries to figure out what the woman is trying to say. ::

<NAV_Cdr_Harper>

:: also trying to figure out what the woman is trying to say, still a linguist ::

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: I dont like it in here doctor!

XO: Now again at normal speed.

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: turns to face Ilaihr :: ENG: I understand that, Ensign. As soon as I can, I will let you out.

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

:: speeds the video back up ::

ACTION: Once again the video plays at normal speed, the same scene being acted out once more, the audio drawn out and elongated into rumbling sighs and grunts and monstrous crackles.

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: You said yourself, I am fit and spry. Surely I could be of better assistance.....than being stuck behind a forcefield.

<NAV_Cdr_Harper>

CO: Admiral... her speech is still slow. The UT can not lock onto it.

XO: This was real time.... SCI: Is there relativistic time dilation at play here?

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: What if I am needed elsewhere?

XO: Play it again,but at double speed.

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

ENG: Your commanding officer knows what is going on and you have full permission... and orders... to be here.

<SCI_LtJG_TLira>

CO: I am not sure, sir. There may have been due to the effects of the massive power being used at the facility, but that cannot be ascertained without a full scan of the facility.

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

:: speeds up the video to 200% and plays it again ::

<NAV_Cdr_Harper>

:: listens with a trained ear ::

ACTION: The scene plays out faster than ever, but the audio comes through with only a slight bit of distortion, slowing and speeding up oddly but not enough to stop the UT doing its work. "Stay back! There's nothing you can do now to stop the cascade overload in the reactors, we can't shut it down! Everything is in the red and we're evacuating the facility; I repeat, do not come any

<GM_James>

clos-" The audio cuts off with a odd vibrant explosion, likely just as the video would have shown the ceiling caving in.

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: I long for the days of my old doctor... he could be bribed... or fired...

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

:: looks from the main viewer to Blackthorne ::

All: The message is somewhat expected. But the real question is why did we have to watch it at twice normal speed to make any sense of it?

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: laughs :: ENG: And who was that?

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: Funnily his name was Valen. And he was a notorius crackpot and booze hound.

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

CO: Some sort of interference that altered the audio recording, or a computer malfunction?

XO: The realtime recording was as I remember seeing it, audio and all.

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

ENG: Huh. I'll have to look him up. I don't care for doctors who allow themselves to be bribed.

All: Which brings me back to relativistic effects. We need to transport a probe into that facility as soon as possible.

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: turns away again, knowing something is up. Ilaihr's just being too friendly for Tav's liking. ::

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: If you were him I'd offer you my finest bottle of Romulan Ale or Saurian Brandy.... or I'd drop you off on an Orion Syndicate planet where you have an unpaid tab and casually mention to them that you were in town.

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: He was the best doctor ever. Could transplant anything into anything, reconstructive surgery that 20th century human women would call art.... and I don't think he even had his medical license....

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: doesn't turn around :: ENG: Well, that makes more sense. Because who needs a medical license here at, you know, Starfleet? And while I enjoy a good drink from time to time, I swore off Romulan Ale years ago.

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

:: scans the facility to check if transporters would penetrate ::

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

CO: We would have to modify the confinement beam, but we should be able to get a probe into the facility.

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: I dont discriminate. Nobody ever died on his table, at least not that could be helped. Each to their own, you must have a price though doctor. Do you enjoy golf?

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

:: begins modifications without asking ::

<NAV_Cdr_Harper>

CO: I have analyzed the atmospheric data from the first probe's flight. It recorded localized subspace distortions on its descent, which would make controlled flight difficult.

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: can't blame the Ensign for trying :: ENG: Golf... I have played once. Discovered that I do, sometimes, have narcolepsy.

All :Subspace distortions... that again brings me back to time dilation.

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

::The one doctor who doesnt play golf....:: CMO: There must be something I can trade for my freedom...

SCI: Conduct wide range scans of the local area and determine any effects these flushbacks are having on subspace and/or spacetime.

<SCI_LtJG_TLira>

CO: Aye sir. :: begins the scans ::

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

Self: I swear I've negotiated with Cardassians who give more leeway

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

:: picks up a PADD and hands it to one of the science officers behind T'Lira, asking him to make physical modifications on one of their probes, and he scurries off ::

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: Are there any rare plants you wish to study the potential medicinal properties of perhaps?

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: spins around to face Ilaihr, praying that this helps it get through :: ENG: There is! It's called time. That is the only way you will heal enough to safely return to work. If you hadn't sustained such a major injury and required extensive surgery, you'd be out now. I never require anyone to spend more time here than they need. As soon as you are ready to leave, I will be the first to let you go. Literally.

<SCI_LtJG_TLira>

:: continues the scans and finds the results to be... odd, to say the least. :: CO: Scans are currently picking up large-scale normal space distortions around the planet, but the interference at the facility is too great for the scanners to penetrate.

SCI: Which gets us back to transporting a probe inside it.

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: gives this idea some thought :: ENG: I'll make you a deal. If you will stay on that BioBed, I'll give you a PADD, and you can use that to do whatever work you are able from right here. I won't let you do anything physical, but I see no reason you can't think about your duties and even be involved, so long as you are on that BioBed.

<SCI_LtJG_TLira>

CO: Modifications to the transporter beam should allow the beam to get through the interference.

XO: You were working on those, I believe?

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

CO, SCI: Yes, I've modified the confinement beam. I'm having the probe to be sent altered slightly to compensate for the increased stress on its finer systems. It should be ready in a few minutes.

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

::Looks at the Trill cynically, thinking about his options.:: CMO: Very well. I wish to know whats going on on the bridge and our situation.

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

:: notes a bleep on her console at Tactical :: CO: The probe is ready for transport.

XO: Go ahead.

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

:: begins transport of the altered probe ::

ACTION: The probe transports, taking a good 15-20 seconds longer than usual before it confirms arrival and begins sending back telemetry

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: hands Ilaihr a PADD :: Deal. As long as you stay on that bed. I see you up and about, that PADD is going to be out of your possession faster than a proton can travel from :: points :: that wall to :: points the other way :: that wall. Got it?

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

CO: I'm finally receiving information from the probe, stand by. :: tap, tap ::

:: waits for delicious data ::

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

::Follows Tav's finger , staring at the walls:: CMO: I sincerely doubt you could make the PADD disappear in 100 picoseconds. But, I agree with your terms.

<SCI_LtJG_TLira>

CO: Sir, the readings are... conflicted. The first set indicates the same conditions that the rest of the planet is undergoing, but the second set indicates none of that.

SCI: That is, in fact, conflicted. :: thinks a moment :: The probe's internal clock - does it match ours?

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: walks to his office, and returns a moment later with a PADD, locking out the medical functions and unlocking Engineering before handing it to Ilaihr :: ENG: There you go.

<SCI_LtJG_TLira>

CO: Yes and no. The probe displays two different stardates. The first is the current stardate and the second appears to be roughly 12 hours slower.

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

::Takes the PADD and starts reading the current SitRep whilst sitting calmly on the biobed.:: CMO: So how long has that body been host to the Tav symbiote? Out of curiosity.

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

SCI: Twelve hours ago?

<SCI_LtJG_TLira>

XO: Yes.

SCI: And the 12 hours ago readings match the ones that say all is well and not destroyed?

<SCI_LtJG_TLira>

CO: Precisely. It appears there is time dilation occuring here.

Not time dilation, but time... fracturing?

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: thinks a moment :: ENG: It's been a little over sixteen years. First joining was with Doctor Prieth Tav.

XO, SCI: If we transmit a meesage through the probe, could it appear in the past?

*message

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

:: thoughtfully :: ENG: That was over 147 years ago.

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: I was first awoken a little over a hundred years ago now...

<SCI_LtJG_TLira>

CO, XO: Sirs, the probe telemetry that dates back 12 hours ago is detecting the formation of a subspace vacuole.

SCI: Clarify.

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: To be frank, I find it enjoyable to accquaint myself with joined Trills as they understand the measure of time that I understand.

<SCI_LtJG_TLira>

CO: It appears to have just formed. The reading is very anomalous. It may have been the cause of the initial problem.

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: Do you remember the old Miranda class starships?

SCI, XO: Could we send a warning message through to the past?

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

CO: In theory, yes.

<SCI_LtJG_TLira>

CO: Sir, would that not cause a problem with temporal laws?

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

SCI: Temporal laws do not apply when the laws of time itself are being tampered with.

SCI: Probably, but we're also staring at a probe that is simultaneously both now and then, so don't try to think about it too hard.

<CMO_Dr_Tav>

ENG: Awoken. That's right. How did you wind up frozen?

All: Alright. We need to formulate a message that will get their attention and be taken seriously.

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

CO: What about a sample of their data?

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

CO: Or rather, scans of their facility in its current state.

:: nods :: XO: That would, at least, lend credibility.

XO: But is it too complex? Can we transmit that much?

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: I dont remember the name of the science vessel I was aboard. But I was 16 and on my way to my naming ceremony on Andor when we hit an anomaly and lost life support.

<XO_Cdr_TKirr>

CO: Only a sample of what would be pertinent.

<ENG_Ens_Ilaihr>

CMO: The crew... put me in stasis until I was discovered by the USS Devonshire a century later.

<GM_James>

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Pause Mission >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>