Ensign Richard Matthews - Losing My Touch
Matthew Gough
((Deck 6, Isolation Room, USS Khitomer))
Matthews: Oh, wait, question. How many attempts at time travel did you make? Sorry, just clicked that made it sound like you had to take a few cracks at it. If you were, why the heck did you settle for using the deadly radiation method?
Oh good, there was that annoyed look he was hoping for. An eye roll! Not the kind that made it look like the other was in pain, or that their eyes aware about to roll out of their head, or off their eye stocks, depending on the person he was talking too. But still, he’d struck a nerve, people always got more chatty when they were annoyed with him.
Took a little longer than usual. Dang, he was loosing his touch.
Nah, this was Semara’s kid, and Semara was pretty unflappable.
Tori: What, a slingshot maneuver without a mathematical savant? Try to fight through to Bajor and find the mythological time orb? Find a friendly Q? :: Beat :: Ras, you said it. We're desperate. Our resources and manpower dwindle every day. The only thing we're rich in is Sencha. It's everywhere in the Isles. Emitters are easy to pick off of dead ships, no matter whose they are. Besides, the rest of the engineering and flight control problems are easy to solve in comparison to the causality problems a Hobart Hole just swallows up... :: A long beat :: If you're willing to take the radiation. :: A shrug :: But that's daily life in the Isles for you.
Worrisome that in the future there hadn’t been leaps and bounds made in the defence against the radiation. Medication, shielding, any number of things. EV suits to be worn at all times during the daily life in the Isles at least. Then again, if the timeline they had put together was accurate, going off the three future visitors words. The war would ramp up pretty quickly.
Weird. Not that he was a history buff like some. But he thought that during wartime, advancements ramped up. Wait, no, not if the fighters were a small group that did not have the facilities that a larger group had. Future Ginney had said that the Federation had pulled out of the Isles so.
So that was a point to their story of desperation. If nothing else.
Looking down at his note then back up at Ras, he made a ‘go on’ gesture. Surely Ras had realized he would be the best to talk to this kid at least. Since there was familiarity there.
El'Heem: Response
Tori: We did test, but the payloads were all massless. :: Beat :: Electronic and subspace signals only - much simpler in a lot of ways. Maybe we could have sent a communication back in time, but would you have believed it? Would you have acted? Would a different crew who's never heard our names? You're all having a hard enough time with us here in the flesh. Can you honestly say it wouldn't have just been deleted? :: A heavy sigh, then an unhappy murmur. :: Maybe if I knew about mom... :: Shaking her head, cutting herself off, and speaking up again :: We spent a long time on this, found as much as we could about other attempts to change history. As far as I can tell, a big change in history needs a big action. We can't expect action from you if we're not willing to take it ourselves... That's why we came.
That really wasn’t the best reasoning. A message from the future, or messages, or even a form of communication if those . . . holes, could be kept open and create a two way communication line. Would have been safer, and easier for repeat tries if something went wrong. Oh no the Khitomer crew failed and did crash on another planet? Hang up and call back to an earlier point again.
There’d be mistrust. But that hardly made travelling back in time the better option. Then again. Richard let his mind wander, thinking of people he’d do pretty much anything to see again. Who was to say he wouldn’t do the same thing?
Matthew: :: Turning to look away from Tori when he said :: And a chance for you to see your mom again? For Kael to see his? No judgment here for wanting that.
Frankly, Richard felt it was easier to trust the travellers from the future when they were up front with their selfish reasonings for what they had done. Sure, saving the galaxy could be considered selfless. But they did live in the galaxy, saving it like they usually did, was kind of self-serving.
Anyway. It did more to endear these kids to him that they may of did this because they wanted to see their parents again.
El'Heem: Response
Tori: I don't know. The Admiral's numbers suggested Starfleet has it in their power to win right now with a decisive offensive. Do you think you could convince Starfleet command to mobilize a fleet to Alpha Trionus? Would they commit that fleet to fight there and keep fighting, no matter how many ships or lives it costs both sides? It would be a bloody victory followed by tense, hateful, watchful peace, but victory and peace nonetheless. Would it be worth the lives of your friends and officers you've never met on all those ships? How do you weigh them against the prisoners? Don't forget these Tholians and Sheliak hate you, and will only hate you more for every life you take - combatant or otherwise - making it all the bloodier.
Matthews: Yeah, sure, I play games with an admiral every Thursday night. Just let me call them up and ask for a favour, starting a war is so easy.
El'Heem: Response
Matthews: :: Turning to Ras :: Ras, you know my default setting is sarcasm, and frankly there’s not much more of a way to answer that sort of request. :: Turning back to Tori :: I thought the goal was to avoid a war. Don’t tell me you’re giving up now and just going to push for starting it earlier. Again, this time travel experiment could have just been a time travel subspace message if that was the case.
Tori / El’Heem: Response
Matthews: Honestly, I was guessing that was a no. Otherwise, you’d just be sitting the Khitomer up to go straight into battle. Seems counterproductive to saving your friends and family. If we’re going to do anything, I say we be sneaky about it. There’s a lot to be said for subterfuge. Because, yeah, call me a sap, but I don’t think it would be worth the lives of friends or people I don’t even know. :: He shrugged :: And I’d like to think that if I ever get taken prisoner, I’d be treated well, or as well as a prisoner could be treated. Do onto others and all that.
Tori / El’Heem: Response
Matthews: :: Turning to Ras :: Okay am I missing something here? Doesn’t a prisoner camp have Starfleet officers posted there? We’d have to include actually killing our own people if we just go scorched earth on the place. Or am I mistaken? Is it like automated? Or are we just ignoring some of the innocent people we’d be killing. :: He turned to include Tori :: Including prisoners that have already been taken captive. Who probably worrying they’ll never see their own parents, or kids or anyone again.
Tori / El’Heem: Response
Matthews: Sorry guys, I know this is just talking around in circles on my end. So let’s just take the time we have now, and work on solutions. Reasonable ones. Yeah? And before Ohnari comes back and rebuilds Tori as the bionic Betazoid. Should we call your mom? :: The last question was directed to the girl on the table :: No judgment, I’m thirty . . . :: He brought up a hand and quickly counted a few fingers :: forty-something depending on what you count. And I still want my mom when I get stuck in sickbay. And she doesn’t come with baked goods . . . actually mom’s cooking would be what would put you in sickbay. :: He shook his head :: No one tell her I said that.
Tori / El’Heem: Response
TAGS/TBC
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Science Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A238908RM0