Temporal Tinkering

Posted on Sun Mar 25th, 2018 @ 3:26am by Dodian Carli

Mission: Mission 6 - Azzia
Location: Azzia
Timeline: MD4
3294 words - 6.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Dodian had been on Azzia for 6 month studying the temporal anomaly that held their system inside. She was alone, which she liked, and no-one really bothered her unless she had to go out and get supplies, equipment or anything else. Her mind was what she had to keep her company and given her past then she was more than happy with that. The anomaly itself was fascinating to her, how it was dangerous to outsiders, needing the Azzains help to traverse such a barrier.

At the moment she was in a tech shop looking at scanners that she may be able to tweak to scan the anomaly in better depth, she kept to herself as to try to avoid much attention.

An older Vulcan, his hair graying at his temples, walked into the shop. He was accompanied by a young male who seemed to support him. Though the man was old, his eyes were bright as they glanced around the room. "I understand you study anomalies," he spoke, his voice shaking ever so slightly, not yet introducing himself, nor stating what it was exactly that he needed, or wanted.

Dodian almost jumped out her skin and dropped the equipment she was holding whilst letting out a little yelp for good measure. Catching her breath she turned to see an elderly Vulcan who seemed to know something about her, this made her uneasy. Had her old Orion Syndicate slavers found her? She was always looking over her shoulder...

She nervously nodded to the Vulcan to see what he'd say next.

"I need your help," the old man continued, "my name is Tevir. One hundred and forty-five years ago, my wife disappeared on the USS Ishimura. When the ship was found decades later, there was no trace of the crew. I have always believed she was dead but now...now I believe she may not be."

Dodian smiled weakly in thought, her El-Aurian sense was that she could detect lies and deceit so therefore she knows when someone is being genuine and it seemed like this Vulcan was. She waved him to follow her to a corner of the shop where she activated a noise dampener... "People listening, always listening." she said re-calibrating it slightly for better usage. "Explain your thoughts."

"When she disappeared...it felt like her presence was gone. But since a few days ago...I have been experiencing strange sensations. Sensations I cannot explain. My...current..wife...she does not understand. She senses something too, as if..." Tevir hesitated and looked to the young man supporting him.

"My grandfather seems to think he has been bonded to two women ma'am," the youth responded, "it disturbs him greatly. He needs help in discovering if she is truly back, because his sensation of her is off."

She could feel his worry, his strain and it felt like it was affecting his health but that was just an observation based on his grandson helping him in and out, although that could just be his age. She understood what it felt like to lose people, hell she was on Azzia to try and find her sister but it didn't come to anything. "Ok..." she began, "you believe your dead wife is still 'around'?" she asked bluntly. She tended to be much like a Vulcan in many respects as her past trauma had left her very guarded.

Slowly, the old man nodded. "Yes, I believe so." He glanced sideways at the young man. "My grandson is sceptical, but I believe she is. I can sense her, but it feels faint, like something is wrong. I need help in finding her and I believe anomalies may be involved."

"Do you believe that the anomaly here has something to do with her disappearance?" she asked, she had been getting interesting readings from the Azzia anomaly, mainly chroniton based which would indicate some form of time related disturbance within it but she wasn't ready to share that news with anyone yet.

"I do not know. I do not know how she can be assumed dead and now I sense her. I do not consider it unlikely the anomaly may be involved. I was led here, I was hoping you could tell me more, so that me and her family can have closure. If it is just her soul, I need to bring her home."

Dodian made face of resignation, she felt in some way obligated to help this man find closure of the whole dead wife maybe not dead wife situation. "I have a lab behind my shop, come." he ordered leaving the shop at a reduced pace so the man could follow. If she was going to help him, or inform him of details then it would need to be away from the prying ears of Azzia and in her own space, her safe space.

Passing into her shop she entered 3 separate codes, an eye scan and voice recognition just to get in the door. Her shop was small, so was the building but she had installed El-Aurian style 'space advancers' to expand the lab space tenfold, that way she existed in a part of subspace outside the confines of the real world. to the outside it was little two story building with a shop out front, through the back it was a lab to be envied with her own version of El-Aurian tech she had remembered how to make from the El-Aurian Science Academy. It sparkled as if it was brand new but it was all self built from scavenging and building.

"Stay here," Tevir told his grandson, "I will be alright." Acknowledging the young man's nod with one of his own, the old Vulcan followed the woman towards the back. "Interesting," he commented as he looked around. "I did not think you would allow my grandson to see this, assuming all this is classified?"

Dodian shrugged, "Classified in the sense it is mine and I don't want others to see it yes." She moved across to a console, looking back she wondered if she should help him over to which she eventually gave in and assisted him. Physical contact was not something she liked, often she would avoid it but he was struggling and she relented.

She sat him down on a nearby stool and wheeled him into a centre circle, then she walked over to the console and picked up a pair of gloves with interactive nodes on them before moving into the centre of the room herself. Closing her eyes and placing her hands together she took a deep breath and whispered, "Illumin." Unclasping her hands and raising them from that position to above her head a 3D interactive anomaly appeared blocking out all else. "This Mr Tevir is the Azzian Anomaly." she said as they seemingly stood inside it.

Tevir looked up and around, doing a 360 in place before looking straight at her. "Impressive. What is so special about this particular anomaly?"

A nod was her reply to the Vulcan's seemingly pleasant compliment. "Well I have only been here for 6 month so my preliminary findings are limited." She began, zooming in on a part of the anomaly. "From what I can tell this temporal anomaly is connected to something, what I'm not sure but my hypothesis is another anomaly somewhere else. It emits chronitons which are related to temporal events or properties."

She paused to make sure he was still alive and paying attention.

"This is me," she continued bringing up a bio scan of her 5 months ago then her now for comparison, "and according to this since being here on Azzia I have began the process of temporal cellular regeneration and as such my cells are reversing to an earlier state, making me younger. If you've been here for more than a month then you begin to notice things like increased libido, energy and stamina. Your appearance may change depending on your age, I fortunately cannot seemingly look any younger..." She noticed the man nodding. "Do you have any thoughts?" she asked to break up the monotony of her talking, on science it was hard to get her to be quiet.

"You mean to say this anomaly has rejuvenating qualities. Are they permanent or does one revert to one's prior state if one moves away from Azzia?" That could be interesting, especially for himself and his wife, as they were growing older with the associated ailments. "Can it be used to travel through time, do you think?" Perhaps, he could use it to prevent the disappearance of the Ishimura, he reasoned to himself.

"I believe with prolonged exposure over a lifetime that it may become permanent, I believe Azzians have longer lifespans than most humanoid species in this quadrant but I cannot know for sure if the effects fade as I've not left since discovering them myself." she answered one of his questions. "I also hypothesize with the correct equipment that time travel may be possible through the anomaly itself." she paused to move the zoom on to another part of the anomaly. "This part is denser than the others, there is a lot of chroniton particles in this area and I'm not sure why they are are 'collecting' themselves here. To answer your query however I theorise it may be possible, but altering the timeline is something I urge against."

Even though her past could do with changing her species was always against the use of time travel to alter events, who's to say that stopping the Ishimura from disappearing wouldn't lead to a major disaster or it may delay a war that already went on too long. One thing is for sure if she thought she knew what he was thinking then he wouldn't have that grandson sitting outside right now.

"I know. It is just wishful thinking...please pardon an old man for remembering matters from when he was a mere young man." Tevir inclined his head ever so slightly. "I would like, however, to study this anomaly a bit further. Perhaps I can discover how this one came into existence. I have not been able to discover how anomalies are...born, for a lack of better term. Do you have any theories?"

Dodian simply nodded, she could understand his reasons for wanting to change timelines, to change the course of his life. She had thought about it many times, not getting caught by Orion slavers, not becoming a sex slave or being whipped for any reason they made up. She felt herself staring blankly as she subconsciously held her back, the source of her back pain emanating from the scars from her masters anger.

"There are a number of theories that people think can cause them but we simply do not know enough even now as to why things happen in the universe." she answered. "Personally I like the idea of two ripples in space colliding, an explosion of new discovery such as this forming for us to study. Most of the time they are less complicated than the species that try to poke and prod it..."

"A ripple in space..that is an interesting way of looking at it," Tevir mused absently, "what about ripples in time? Do you think properties of anomalies can be altered through third-party intervention?"

"The universe is a living entity in itself, it has moods, ripples of emotion and can give us sights of spectacular beauty..." she began going off on one of her tangents. "Chroniton particles are said to have temporal properties and that tends to be what is involved in time travel of any kind. Romulan cloaking devices naturally create these particles so there may be an argument to say that if sufficient attention was paid to them they could be altered in some fashion but I haven't heard of any species here that has managed to do so with any real stability." she replied to the Vulcans question.

"I was not suggesting the use of cloaking devices, but what about ion storms? Or influence of solar systems?" He gestured at her representation of the Azzian anomaly. "Is it already discovered how this one was created? Or even why it stays in place?"

Dodian's nose twitched, "I know you were not suggesting cloaking devices Mr Tevir, you asked if the properties of anomalies, in relations to 'time ripples', can be altered by third-parties and that was one suggestion as to how it might be accomplished." she retorted in some defiance. "As for this anomaly I believe that there is something to suggest a temporal pressure, if you can call it that, that keeps it in place. It has never expanded, nor shrunk, always maintained perfect consistency from the first time readings were taken."

She thought of the Nexus for a brief moment, that was an anomaly that was effected by solar systems but only in the sense that it's course was altered by the destruction of solar systems stars. "Now that I think about it... there is the possibility that the Azzian star could be the link that holds it here, like an anchor."

"Then perhaps we could set up a study," Tevir suggested, almost a little too eagerly. He had come here with a purpose, even if it had taken him almost one hundred and fifty years to do it. While he cherished T'Sara, he had never fully recovered from losing Ka'See. And now, there was this odd nagging feeling at the back of his mind that drove him towards finally pushing his efforts to do something about it.

"Definitely another avenue to look into." Dodian replied with a little emotion in her voice, it managed to creep itself in. "I would need to get closer to the systems sun to measure its properties and solar outputs." she stated.

"We have a shuttle at our disposal, though I hear there is a starship in orbit....I may be able to arrange for it to go where we need to in order to commence our thesis." He offered the faintest and minutest of smiles, "my grandson is an excellent pilot. He accompanied me here because my son would not allow an old man to travel on his own."

"You have that kind of power? To divert a starship?" she asked out loud. It was definitely an interesting proposal to say the least, the possibility of getting 'closer' to the anomaly was almost too good to be true but why was he being 'nice'? He seemed eager to use her expertise and in her experience she had found that trusting someone else's intentions led her down a path of pain. Her face showed her emotion all too well, her worry and trepidation.

"No I do not have that kind of power but I am certain they will loan us a shuttle if we request it. This research is too important for them to deny us." He studied her for a moment. "What are you afraid of?" he asked suddenly, knowing the look he saw in her eyes. He had seen that look before, the reluctance and fear. It was long ago, so long ago but he recalled it as if it were only yesterday. "I am not here to steal your research, I am here because I need your expertise. Anything we discover, can be accredited to your name, if you like."

"It's not my research I'm worried about..." she could feel her anxiety grow, her hands began to shake ever so slightly and she could feel her breath quickening. Flashbacks of beatings from slave masters, whips, screams... Turning away from Tevir she closed her eyes and spoke in herself, 'Relax... deep breath Dee.'. The moment to herself is all she took to calm herself before turning back to the Vulcan still resting on his stool. She was used to potential panic attacks just the thought of a small enclosed space with men she didn't know set her off before she could mentally prepare for that idea.

"If you think you can make it happen Vulcan," she began trying to hide her emotion, "then we shall proceed."

For several seconds, Tevir didn't move and just watched her. He had seen her shaking hands, and somehow her anxiety was hard to miss. Finally, he walked towards her and reached for her hands. "My name is Tevir," he said softly, feeling like an old sentimental fool as he spoke. "You have nothing to fear from me. I do not know what has happened to you before, nor do I require to know, but you are safe with me and my family. I told you why I am here, and that is the truth. I have no reason to lie."

For a moment as he took her hands she felt her body become rigid and shivers flew up her spine. No-one touched her, or she had at least avoided it for many years but this Vulcan had used his old man creeping feet and was there, in front of her. Dodian stared into his eyes, without blinking, listening to all he said.

Her El-Aurian ability was to sense deceit, lies, and in this case she could feel his sincerity, he meant what he said but still there was hesitance, there was resistance. Something he wasn't telling her, something he didn't feel he could, at least not at this moment.

"Ok..." she said removing her hands from his slowly closing her eyes for a minute and biting her lip. "We will go ahead with the shuttle idea." she agreed against her better judgement.

Stepping back, Tevir nodded slowly. "I will arrange for a meeting, shall I meet you back here...tomorrow?"

"Front of shop, yes. This is my home, I only let people in if I know they are at least somewhat genuine." she replied.

The Vulcan slightly inclined his head. "I have not lied to you, but I respect your wishes. Tomorrow afternoon, I will return. May I call my grandson to help me out? You will forgive an old man for not being able to walk a distance on his own?"

"No you haven't lied Mr Tevir but I do know you are holding something back, an El-Aurian of my ability can sense as such but it is not you I do not trust. A meeting implies more people and I do not know anyone here well enough to just let them inside. Once meeting them out front I will be able to tell if I can let them in." she replied moving towards the door and opening them to notice the grandson had nodded off. She threw a small spring at him and he opened his eyes without flinching, 'How very Vulcan.' she thought. "Your grandfather needs help in leaving." she stated simply pointing to Tevir.

The young man gracefully got to his feet and bowed slightly. "Thank you for entertaining him ma'am, I hope he has not been a bother." Though the young man faithfully went where his grandfather bid him to lead him, that didn't mean he shared the old man's views. "Come on grandfather...we should not keep the lady, I am certain she has other customers waiting." Giving the woman a final nod, he led his grandfather out of the shop, back to their accomodations where his sister was waiting for them.

She followed them as they left the shop, truly an unforeseen situation. She certainly didn't know this would happen when she had got up this morning and was curious to how it would play out... but not as curious as to how he managed to find her. Who told him about her?

---

Tevir
Vulcan Scientist
pnpc Lhaes

&

Dodian Carli
Sciences Chief