Jhalib Ekal, "Every action..."

[Deliera Jay]

((Day 119))

::There were only three sets of items that Jhalib Ekal desperately cared for during his time on Limbo.

::His rebreather was the thing that kept him alive during difficult periods of time travel - specifically when they crashed onto Limbo. It had only ever been programmed and reprogrammed by Merce Ekal (his husband, the one man he truly trusted never to inadvertently kill him unless he was having a particularly *bad day*). Jhalib had only ever made minor adjustments, never changing it's levels unless having consulted him. A bleak thought later was he'd eventually have to seek advice about the breather elsewhere now that Merce was no longer accessible, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.::

::The three rings he'd re-placed onto his right hand, having belonged to his father, that he'd begun to wear them after his engagement. He'd only hid them when he'd jumped to 2395 to catch up with the Veritas, given that his mother was currently in possession of them in this time period, but now that she was aware of exactly who he was, there was no real reason to try and hide himself to the same extent.::

::And then, finally, the CRI brace. Which wasn't technically his, but instead property of the Temporal Integrity Commission. Once they got off of Limbo, he intended to jump back a couple more years - being here, in 2395, knowing everything he knew about the incoming fixed events, made it too tempting for this crew to approach him for information about every problem, much like how he'd inserted himself into this conflict to change the impact of the Tholian invasion. It'd be easier, better, and logical for him to disappear into the vast galaxy - maybe take a tour of the Delta quadrant. Eventually be lost to time.

::Which is why he was very anxious when Tristam Core got his slinky Rodulan fingers on the CRI brace's innards.::

::The vulcanoid was pacing up and down the back of the tent, chewing on his thumbnail with his arms partially crossed while the Rodulan sat in front of the CRI, carefully going over the technological pieces of engineering that allowed it to make transporter-based jumped through time. The poor thing was splayed out on the workbench, meticulously placed in order and labelled as well as possible by the more qualified engineer. Most of it was still connected together, of course - the chroniton radiation doses, for one, still in their protective casings and connected to the brace's injection point.

::He *technically* had two doses left. One spare, which he hoped might get him back to his time period but he'd been too late to utilize before the beacons in the 25th century were no longer operating - or perhaps they didn't exist in the same way.

::And the mercy jump, which would take him back to 2491 once this was all over. Sufficed to say, he was only planning on splitting the one dose. The mercy was to remain exactly where it was.::

Ekal: Please be careful.

Core: You've told me this twice. I'm being careful. I've steady hands.

oO That's what they all say. Oo

Ekal: I'd just feel far more comfortable if you let *me* work with my equipment.

Core: Okay, out of the two of us, who managed to successfully transport a shuttlecraft from one side of a solar system to the other?

::The vulcanoid chewed on his thumb again. The Rodulan didn't know it, but Core was also heavily responsible for the CRI's existence, if only for the beacons that allowed it's transport through years, because of the exact feat he was talking about. Alas, it would only have occurred if he was killed with the Veritas's destruction.

::And unfortunately for Jhalib Ekal, Tristam Core was safe and sound. And pulling apart one of his most important possessions. He finally conceded.::

Ekal: . . . you.

Core: I'm glad we agree. ::beat:: *Stop pacing*!

Ekal: You are *literally* pulling apart my livelihood right now!

Core: I'm making *basic mechanical adjustments* - the bulk of the work is already done!

Ekal: Yes, and last time I used it, it burnt out and I had to put it back together again. It's a testy little bastard - I'm really concerned you're going to lose bits of it-

Core: That's it! Go take a walk. I'll call you when we're ready to pull out the chroniton radiation.

::Unsettling black Rodulan eyes frowned at him, and though he was hesitant to leave his equipment without supervision, Jhalib slinked away from the tent towards the beach, trusting that Mister Core would be successfully in making the necessary changes . . . and not ruining the device in the process.::

oO It'll be fine. Oo

::Before long, taking a slow walk down the beach, he ran into Uncle Tai. Commander Zhou.

::He was still getting use to the rank.::

Ekal: Aren't you too tan to sunbathe?

::Yes, he was *clearly* still getting used to the rank. Zhou turned to glance at him as he approached, eyes still partially trained on the younger Ayden Blake.::

Zhou: Fancy a swim, Mr. Ekal? The water’s quite warm, so I’m told.

::He tapped the metal braces around his legs, the only things giving him some form of free movement.::

Zhou: I haven’t decided to risk it with these yet though.

Ekal: Probably for the best.

::The man's attention returned to Ayden, playing within the sand nearby the ocean. After a few moments of silence between them, a curious side-eye was given to him.::

Zhou: So, ready to be a hero again?

::Jhalib cringed.::

Ekal: That's a really poor description of my actions.

Zhou: Well, you did save some of the crew from dying in a battle against the Tholians. And while things might have changed up there in the three hours or so while we’ve been down here for the last four months, I highly doubt it. So no war with the Tholians either just yet. Now all you have to do is save this crew from spending the rest of their days on this... paradise of a prison.

Ekal: I didn't set out to save them in the *first* place. Not really, at least.

::The result of his actions, this timeline, had been nearly unintentional - a product of his initial actions at Cait Spacedock in Joseph Washington's office. In his native time, the Montreal dealt with the miners at Havley's Hope, as given it's relatively low priority, the Veritas wasn't required to complete the investigation. In fact, if the TIC hadn't decided to jump the gun and attempt to destroy the ship, his involvement wouldn't have even been necessary - which is why he'd spent many of his first few weeks actively avoiding the crew. Only Makepeace had managed to convince him to start being more social.

::That he'd had a hand in those orders, and that fast-tracking them to Rahman had had any impact, had been a fluke. And it proved that the Veritas could be saved.::

::Zhou, in spite of Jhalib's endless ongoing self-deprecation, chuckled.::

Zhou: Eh, we’ll be all right. The camp is close to being self-sustainable, especially once the first batch of crops come in. All considering, the crew is in good health and spirits. Ayden’s clearly enjoying himself.

::He sighed, knowing that Zhou was not referring to Ekal at all, but his very young self.

::The longer they spent on Limbo, the more he was becoming concerned that his childhood memories would be replaced by events that did not actually occur in his home timeline. So far, everything was how he suspected it to be - normal, unchanging. He didn't feel weird, have any senses of deja vu, didn't recognize anything from the planet that he didn't a week prior. They were good signs.

::Just because he was related to this Ayden Blake, didn't mean he *was* this Ayden Blake. But this Ayden would inevitably be his replacement.

::Would he eventually meet and fall head over heels for Merce? Find Nairen? Or were those specific events all a matter of circumstance?::

::There were too many questions Jhalib had about Ayden's future.::

Blake: That's assuming the ship still has the capability of keeping an away team *breathing*.

::Right.

::Yeah, he was definitely bringing his rebreather for that.::

::Both Zhou and Jhalib turned to see the stubborn Brekkian/Betazoid approaching from behind them.::

Zhou: Shouldn’t you be in bed getting rest?

Blake: It's been two weeks - if I didn't get out of camp, I was going to start going stir crazy.

Ekal: You were living on a starship three months ago - how is that any better than being cooped up in a town?

Blake: It was a starship with a holodeck. And an active workload. ::She stood alongside the two, glancing at the boy.:: How is he?

Zhou: He’s fine... if there were sharks out there, they would have eaten a crewman or two by now.

::There was a moment were pure displeasure simply *radiated* from a glare she gave to Zhou.::

::Zhou looked over at Jhalib and exchanged grins.::

Zhou: Yup, she’s back to her old self again...

Blake: I wish. I still don't feel a hundred percent. ::She shook her head, glancing back to Ekal.:: I wish I could come with you.

::He shrugged.::

Ekal: Honestly, what use would we really have for you up there, is the question. Assuming the temporal coordinates were calculated correct, which is a big *if* considering we're working with an extra dimension, no one will be on the Veritas anyway. It'll be nothing but repair work.

Zhou: Response?

Blake: That doesn't make me feel better.

Zhou: Response?

::She shook her head.::

Blake: Six officers to get a ship with a basic crew complement of two hundred and twenty back in a state to course correct and get transporter function back online?

Ekal: Could be worse. Could be under attack by a Tholian fleet as well.

Zhou: Response?

Ekal: God no. All of the ships I ever set foot on were either incognito or from the 2390s.

::Oh, that would be problematic. He'd run into Veritas crew members on accident before, at the next fixed event. Because his jumps were apart of his history, no doubt the crew would run into a younger version of him later down the line at the next fixed event.

::Once they were back on the Veritas, he'd have to leave.::

Zhou: Response?

::Jhalib hesitated.::

Ekal: Once this is all done, I'd like to stay-

Blake: We can arrange that, if necessary-

Ekal: -but I have to leave.

::Sky glanced away, the eagerness she'd had when she jumped in suddenly dashed as she looked back towards Ayden. The boy was currently hands-deep in sand and flicking it back to the water.::

Zhou: Response?

Ekal: The TIC discovered there was an application to the term 'fixed events' - these are points in time and space where all different alternate realities, or alternate universes, I suppose you can say, intersect. Like a weave. No matter what changes, or the circumstances leading up to it, these events *must happen* in some shape or form. But I know everything there is to know about the ones coming up - and for that reason, I can't stay.

Zhou: Response?

::There was a soft sigh that came from Sky. She didn't turn her eyes back to Jhalib - not immediately, at least.::

Blake: We have to get the ship back, first.

Ekal: I know. I can't go anywhere without reassembling the CRI back to it's original state, and I can't do that without proper equipment now that Core's gone and pulled it apart for this one time use.

Zhou: Response?

Ekal: Contrary to popular belief, I do have some engineering capabilities. ::He grinned, but changed the subject.:: I wanted to say thank you. You've done a lot for me, despite all of this.

::He motioned around the beach, which was meant to be taken as their circumstances leading up to Limbo.::

Zhou: Response?

Ekal: I dunno yet. If I don't have something to work towards, I'm gonna go crazy here. I might head to the Beta quadrant, help sort out some political problems on my homeworld.

::He received a look from Sky, fear striking across her eyes for just a split second before she recomposed herself. Brekka's political climate was nightmareish in the 2390s, and would just deteriorate well into the 2400s, until the interplanetary war in the Delos system. The planet was not unified like Earth or Vulcan, or even any of the colony worlds here in the Shoals. If he could convince, or even strong-arm (if he had to) the leaders of Delos IV into some kind of alliance between one another, stop the oncoming storm.::

Zhou: Response?

Tbc . . .

Jhalib Ekal

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