Everything That Could Go Wrong Part 2

Posted on Fri Sep 29th, 2023 @ 4:00pm by Jeassaho Kea (*) & Dr. Izriel "Jaxx" Lonn

Mission: Fractures
Location: SS Mary Rose - 2304
Timeline: Variant Time Line - Future
1257 words - 2.5 OF Standard Post Measure

"I know you're curious. If our positions were reversed, I would be too. Messing around with personal timestreams isn't exactly clear-cut, though."

The trek from Sickbay towards the main bridge ought to have been a familiar affair. After all, the ship had been home for many years and, as an engineer, Jeassaho had spent a great deal of time getting to know aspects of its interior quite intimately. Structurally, things were still easy enough to predict, but aesthetically, functionally, the Mary Rose was entirely stripped of her former glory and better resembled a half-buried relic dug up from someone's backyard. In many of the corridors, emergency lighting was barely adequate and there was a hesitancy to the way the turbolift shuddered to life that didn't elicit a great deal of confidence in its stability. Jaxx, having insisted on a fairly detailed medical scan to add to his report, had been left to explain what really couldn't be responsibly elaborated on, to the one person in all of his existence he struggled to win an argument against.

This time, the universe was clearly cheating.

As the lift lurched, the doctor didn't bat an eyelash, stood patiently regarding the younger Betazoid with a quizzical expression of his own. "We are going to have to piece together what happened though, if we're to stand any chance of figuring out how to return you. Are you sure you didn't try to take apart something you shouldn't?" A familiar twinkle in his eye teased her, though it was an odd dynamic now, all things considered.

Jeassaho was aghast by the time she got to the bridge of the state of the ship in such a small amount of time to her. The woman shook her head as she looked around the bridge that was filled with unknown people who quickly disappeared seeing two versions of their Captain appear.

“Very much sure. Mid battle but there was something odd going on in the grotto.” Jeassaho said slumping into the engineering console seat as she took in the bridge. “We only just got a refit in my time.” She finally said looking sad by all the changes.

"Things have been difficult," Jaxx confirmed unnecessarily but didn't elaborate. He also didn't mention that it wasn't the first time he'd heard that story, possibly wasn't the first time he'd met someone from her timestream experiencing exactly the same thing, nor was it the first time what remained of the Mary Rose's crew had been forced to deal with temporal anomalies. If anything, it seemed to be a central theme these days and not one that was any easier each time he was confronted with the capacity to influence his current reality. For everything he'd lost, there was something of equal value that had come from it. The life growing inside of his fiancé was the most poignant example. "We haven't accessed the Grotto in years. A lot of what was in it was lost when..." He stopped and corrected himself. "Was lost. You said you were mid-battle?"

“You do not get to hint and not tell stuff, Izriel.” The younger version snapped as her hands rang along the engineering console taking it all in “You keep saying lost but nothing more…. You…”

“Enough.” The older Jeassaho murmured weakly. She did not have the patience to watch herself arguing with her partner.

It was less the man's expression and more the psionic flare of annoyance that highlighted the frayed edges to a personality otherwise renown for being fairly unflappable. Jaxx was just as unwilling to get caught between two competing extremes of stubbornness and even less inclined to be lectured by either. "I get to do exactly what I believe is best when it comes to protecting my family." It wouldn't earn him a peaceful night but at least one of the women in the room understood the reasons for all his broken buttons. "We need a course of action," he added darkly to the ship's captain. "Before the degradation sets in."

"Course you do." Younger Jeassaho said under her breath looking at the console better running a finger along the bottom cleaning the dirty and grim that coated it like everything else. How had things gone so wrong?

"That might not happen." Older Jeassaho commented looking at her younger self thoughtfully before looking at Jax and offered a smile to him trying to temper his worries and fears.

"I'd rather not bank on a 'might not'," Jaxx pointed out. He was easily far more tense than ever would have been considered normal growing up. The Betazoid had his serious side, an introspection that was a little atypical of the more widely expected gregariousness of his people, but he'd been calm about it. The sheer amount of threat response radiating from him was alarming more because it seemed more central now to his make-up than appearing out of place.

Older Jeassaho slowly got up and moved over to the man put a hand in his wishing she could offer more to him that would calm down the pressure that was building for him. “So what is this degradation?” The younger Jeassaho demanded trying to not look too freaked out by the affection on display for someone who was not Gregnol.

"Whatever brought you here impacts on a cellular level that we've just not had enough time to evaluate yet." Once again, there was little elaboration in regards to how they'd arrived at that conclusion, including any mention to what was surely prior experience with someone in a similar situation. "What we have been able to figure out is that it compromises both versions of a person." Izriel's eye contact remained with his fiancé, eyebrow raised.

“I am going to be fine. We are going to be fine.” Older said taking her hand away from him as her attempts seemed to no be working to calm him. She was worried but there was nothing so far to suggest the likelihood of it happening.

The curl of his arm around her to pull close enough to kiss her temple was a delayed response but seemed conciliatory, a recognition that his over-protectiveness had veered, yet again, into the realms of unhelpful. Five years on and after everything that had clearly happened, Jeassaho was still not a woman who tolerated pessimism easily. "Do we have any plan of attack for this?"

Older Jeassaho looked deep into his eyes savouring the moment as the other version of her looked away. “Not in the slightest.” Older Jeassaho said touching his cheek as she tried to think of options to process everything. It was not at all an easy task when one was seven months pregnant and considering temporal issues.

A warmth reached the man's eyes this time as he smiled. "So business as usual then."

"Very much." Older Jeassaho said smiling as she touched his cheek again before glancing to where the younger version of her was meant to be sitting. "She's gone..." Jeassaho commented looking around confused. There was no way the woman could have moved and left in the time that the pair had been trying to make sense of things.

Under any other circumstance, that might have been a shock. This time, as Jaxx turned towards the empty seat, the only expression that interrupted his quiet apology was resignation. Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he tucked her head beneath his chin and exhaled slowly.

"Until the next time at least."