Let Me Be There

Posted on Mon Oct 8th, 2018 @ 6:35pm by Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Sonak
Edited on on Tue Oct 9th, 2018 @ 1:41am

Mission: Hera v Hera
Location: USS Hera, Deck 8, Lieutenant Commander Paris' Quarters
Timeline: 2395, en route to Meroset 347

When the door shut and the doctor was reassured and on their way, she'd planned to speak to Sonak about getting something to eat. But she found she lacked the strength to stand, or to speak. The responsible role model had lingered longer than she should have, and squandered the energy that he had lent her through their link; now she was exhausted. Feeling herself borne aloft, she could see the stars streaming by at warp through the viewports in the ceiling of their bedroom as Sonak carried her to the bed.

As her clothes were removed, she tried to help, or at least be compliant, and the next thing she knew, she was wrapped in blankets with a straw at her lips. Taking it in, a liquid meal was digested, then there was calm and peace, as she felt the warm touch of the skin of her spouse upon her back, and Rita Paris was comforted, if not fully conscious.

You are here... you have duties you should be tending to... I am... I am fine, I just need rest, she tried to protest weakly in his mind, even as his arm wrapped around her shoulder, his hand coming to rest cupping her elbow. This he knew comforted her, and she snuggled against him despite her projected thoughts. She had no idea she had been sleeping for hours already.

My duties of the day were of course completed before we began this experiment, he assured her through their meld. Regulations do not authorize personal activities until thatresponsibility is satisfied, and I made sure there were no violations of them; even if the good doctor could have made it an official health issue superceding any ship duty. But that would only have cleared you, not me.

He maintained not only mental but physical contact with her, as he knew full well how essential this was for her; even more so after such a recent displacement accident.

That being told, there was no question about me being absent while such an experiment about your condition was ongoing. You are now and forever part of me... apart and never parted.

I was terrified. It was different this time... it came for me. I felt that way before but it... it really came after me this time. Rita's heart rate began to increase, already high because of her proximity to Sonak, but recalling the trauma of the day, fear surged up inside her. It never did that before, and I couldn't get away, I didn't know what it was going to do to me. I've never been so scared in my life, and I've been pretty scared.

He touched her on the temple to strengthen the connection and at the same time do one of those gestures that helped settle her emotions.

This is but an emotional perception. There was no difference in the data than when you were taken off the Exeter. Which brings something else to mind; back then, it took the power of an ion storm to open the quantum breach; but there was no energy disturbance of the kind when we proceeded with this experiment. This means that there was another massive power source connected with the system. Since there was none detected outside the ship, the only logical conclusion is that it was inside the ship.

He paused to let it all sink in before he shared his conclusion.

There is only one source aboard powerful enough and directly connected to the transporter system to account for this, especially without anyone noticing; the ship's main power core. But no standard Starfleet issued power core would affect the quantum realm like this. Adding the fact that you ended up here following your jump from the Exeter, and that occurring when a similar ion storm was raging in both universes to affect both ships through time and quantum realms while none was at play a short time ago, there is only one logical conclusion; the most significant factor responsible for your quantum shifts is the Hera.

At that, Rita's eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright in bed. "The core sample! The one those scientists wouldn't stop going on about because it had properties... they wanted to study... Sonak, they never rematerialized the core sample! And it didn't show up on the Exeter's pad either, right? So that means it's still transphasic, trapped by the warp field here on the Hera! Do you think it would migrate to the warp core and interact somehow?"

"That could explain a great many things."

Just like that, the fear was gone, replaced by excitement at the prospect of discovery. For at heart the woman was an explorer, and putting together the pieces and seeing the wonders of the universe at play thrilled her. Though she was no scientist, Rita Paris' mind was flexible and inventive, and often intuited practical answers to complex problems. And once again, as Sonak had calmed her, so too had he led her to the intellectual precipice she required for one such leap of logic.

Apart, each were exceptional in their own way. But together they were a greater whole than the sum of their individual contributions.

"There's a reason why this happened. Likely a quantifiable reason, and once we retrieve that X-factor, then we can continue testing without the danger of..." Rita shuddered at the memory, and the fear of it blossomed within her once more, much to her chagrin. Brow furrowed, she tried to calm herself before surrendering and laying back down, settling her shoulder blades against his torso. Though her moods could be mercurial, when her mind needed soothing it was illogical to struggle on her own when he could help.

Sonak looked straight ahead as he spoke.

"If there is indeed a connection between this ship and your peculiar situation, than this X-factor may have a name: Captain Telvan."

A frown settled onto the pretty pilot's face. "You'll have to elaborate, m'love. I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"This her ship. It is most unlikely that she would not be aware of what happens aboard, especially with the main systems and even more if some peculiar phenomenon is ongoing; all the more considering the specific history of the Hera. And in the unlikely eventuality that she is indeed unaware; then somebody else is interfering with the workings of her ship and she should be informed. She would more readily understand what is happening."

"So... you're saying that the X-factor in the equation may not be the transphasic core sample? It might be Captain Telvan who caused a transporter beam to do the impossible and eat me today?" Rita rolled over so she could look Sonak in the eye. "Even if that were possible, to what end?"

"I am not saying she is responsible; although this is still a possibility. But she has to be at least aware of any discrepancy in her ship's main power core activity; that is, unless her chief engineer is successful in witholding the information from her, which I deem unlikely at this point. One case or the other, the captain is the most likely person to hold the key to this mystery aboard her ship... or to get it."

"If the core sample is transphasic... it fluctuated and appeared in the galley on deck nine, where a table was suddenly bisected by an ethereal column of some sort, that as soon as it had registered on the visual spectrum, vanished into thin air according to the report. I was actively trying to pull myself together and it was working, but the sample has no guiding sentience, so it has just remained in the subspace frequency of existence until I got close to a transporter, and somehow we're linked on a quantum level...?" Reaching down next to the bed, Rita fetched a PaDD, tapping at the tablet to log in and dig up files.

"This," she said quietly. "I missed this... when there's some awful or weird or impossible problem, I've got you. You keep me calm enough to think of an answer instead of awash in emotions I do not want." Sitting up, she looked over her shoulder with a grin before resettling her position, her back to his chest so they could both see the tablet. "I enjoy solving the mysteries of the universe with you. Without you it can often be a terrifying experience. But when you're here, I'm not afraid, because we're exploring. That means everybody comes home."

Onscreen, manicured fingers danced through a simple yet efficient file organizational structure to bring up the footage of the column as well as her progression from optical distortion to full on ghost.

Sonak observed the phenomenon then made quick mental calculations and flash estimates of one hypothesis after another before replying.

"Basic quantum theory states that every atom in the universe is linked to another somewhere. Since organic material is nothing more than a specific reorganization of the same atoms as in the rest of the universe, and in the same proportions, there is no reason to think such an atom is part of the exact same pattern as another. This object is apparently caught within a transphasic anomaly. It would suggest that, as a result of a highly improbable occurence, all the atoms of your body have their correspondence in all the atoms of this object. Therefore, its transitional state is resonnating on the quantum level to destabilize your own when exposed to a dematerialization process near a sufficiently powerful energy source... like the ion storm that struck the USS Exeter; or the overloaded warp core of the USS Constitution; or the enhanced power core of the USS Hera."

He stood up and went to his personal computer, a new light in his eyes.

"I will run simulations to evaluate this hypothesis. This may very well be the key to freeing you permanently from this hazard."

Smiling to herself, Rita was content. Though she’d been through a harrowing and terrifying experience… again… Sonak unconditionally supported her. Physically when it was needed, emotionally when it counted and scientifically when the mystery presented itself and a hypothesis formed. Tapping at her PaDD, she sent a message to Yeoman Dedjoy to request scans for a transphasic object in the warp core, referencing the core sample she’d beamed out with 127 years and a universe away.

Less than a minute later, a reply arrived from Dedjoy with an attached image of the core sample, covered in some sort of film. “Not like it and you were trying to drag the Hera into a transphasic state. Running scans on it in the Intel pod now.”

Chuckling, Rita forwarded the message to Sonak. Leave it to Dedjoy to be one step ahead of them.

“I think our hypothesis may have some traction, Mister Sonak,” she giggled. Her eyelids were heavy though… while whatever he had fed her had bolstered her system and he had calmed the terror that had consumed her, Rita Paris was still only human. The strain and stress of the day were catching up to her, and within seconds she was sound asleep, one hand still holding a PaDD as the other hand fell across her body.

Noticing her literally falling asleep, Sonak went to tuck her into bed, making sure she would rest comfortably in both body, mind and spirit before returning to his computer.

Now that the hypothesis was confirmed by factual data, there was still work to do.