Lt. JG Katsim Peri - "How To Find Answers"
Amanda Nordstrom
((Engineering, Proud Mary, Present))
Peri had a theory. And no, it wasn’t bunnies. Her theory
involved particles and a great living organisation that seemed
to hover outside of where they were situated. She wished she
could see it, but their position left no opportunity to gaze
out into space beyond in the direction of said living being.
The containment field was keeping the vacuum out and the life
support in - a good thing because that was preserving what was
left in their suits. Peri kind of liked being able to breathe,
really. She had a feeling so did hte two men with her.
That being said, there were some readings she was getting in
regards to that…whatever what was. Some information could be
gleaned, enough to form a theory - but only a theory.
Katsim: Verterons are often present in wormholes. I’m
wondering if, somehow, it got stuck. If the wormhole was
located near a naturally occurring chroniton field…
Peri continued to work at the controls, trying to get a
clearer picture of what was out there. Silently, she thanked
the Prophets that they were able to get that much to
function. Some might have thought that after so long adrift,
everything would have broken down, but that was not so. The
thing was, in space, nothing deteriorated. It was all
preserved just as it was left, cast adrift in a sea of
gravestones.
Then something hit Peri. Gravestones. Where were all the
people? If they had been there for a millennia, if a battle
had been waged and fought, if people had died...where were all
the bodies? The idea sent a shiver down her spine. She didn’t
want to see dead people. She didn’t want to witness their
lifeless forms and vacant stares. But she couldn’t help but
wonder...why were they just gone? Why were there no bodies
left?
What had happened to them?
Her hands froze and her eyes widened as she stared at the
screen, not quite comprehending what it said as the thought
struck at her and stuck.
Greaves: Figure something out?
No. Not quite. Not really. In fact, the only thing that had
occurred was she had formed another question. In truth, it
was a rather morbid one, but she couldn’t help but think of it
in light of the realisation?
Richards: I knew it. I shouldn’t have given that kid the gummy
worms. Stupid Anton.
Looking up, Peri licked her lips, then asked softly.
Katsim: If there was a battle here...if people died...where
are all the bodies? Where did everyone go?
Evidently Wes was not particularly surprised by the question.
He glanced around, his own gaze traveling two and fro. Oh he
certainly thought about her inquiry, but he was not acting as
one who hadn’t thought of that very same thing.
Greaves: Maybe the Proud Mary was only disabled. They might
have evacuated the ship? It's still fairly intact.
Richards: That would explain the hustle and bustle. We know
that the ship was damaged, and there were injuries.
It was still fairly intact, and it seemed a reasonable
conclusion, not only to Anton, but to Peri as well. Except
for one thing.
Greaves: Did you have another theory?
Katsim: Not exactly. But we didn’t register any bodies
floating around on the Thor either. There are none among the
debris as far as I know. So where did they all go?
Richards: Maybe they encountered the same issue we are, maybe
we are trapped here forever. In our own little separate
version of reality.
Peri paused. It wasn’t actually a bad theory. While people
didn’t necessarily like to talk about it a lot, there were
alternate universes out there. Physicists who specialised in
quantum mechanics in particular had theorised the existence
for generations before it had finally been confirmed by
experience. Multiple theories had explained certain aspects,
but it wasn’t until what the humans called the ‘String Theory
that really helped smooth out the mathematical inconsistencies
between them. And it had turned out to be right in some ways,
though there were still many questions surrounding multiple
universes.
But were they dealing with multiple universes? Or just a
simple back and forth through time? Not that it was, truly,
simple. But she was getting off track.
Greaves: Okay, so the idea is that the creature might have
gotten stuck in a wormhole near a chroniton field? If it's
stuck, then it has to have had a way to sustain itself, right?
How does it get energy? Some form of photosynthesis? I can't
imagine it could survive stationary if it has to hunt.
Katsim: I don’t know. I’m trying to get more information, but
the translation is difficult at times.
There was still so much that wasn’t translated either at all
or in a way that was difficult to interpret.
Richards: But how do we fit into the mix? Unless…
Peri glanced over at Anton who was visibly disturbed. She
hadn’t meant to upset him, and thus far, they had no way to
prove if her theory was correct or not.
Greaves: Alternate theory. (pause) And tell me if I'm way off
base here, but what if it moves via wormhole manipulation,
hence the verterons, and what if it hunts via time
manipulation, hence the chronitons and antichronitons.
Appearing out of nowhere then snagging prey from a dangerous
time to bring it to someplace safe would make for one mean
predator.
Richards: That would explain the lack of bodies, but still
doesn’t explain what they would want from us. We weren’t in a
particularly life threatening situation… or maybe he’s had to
adjust his hunting practices.
Peri pondered over Wes’ theory and Anton’s addendum.
Honestly, it was as viable as anything she could come up
with. There *was* a life form out there. Was it sentient?
Or was it acting on instinct?
Katsim: Anything is always possible. I just don’t have a good
enough reading to be able to confirm or not.
Greaves: Response ?
Richards: We might want to let the Tigris know that they
could be potential prey, or that we could be potential prey.
Katsim: Either way, it might be best to share our thoughts.
Perhaps they could get more information.
Although they had been able to get certain parts of the ship
up and running, the difficulty with the translation made
things difficult. The technology seemed sound, but Peri
couldn’t really tell what it’s full capabilities were, whether
or not it was equivalent to what the Thor or Tigris could do.
All she could do was try and get as much information with what
little they had at their disposal.
Greaves/Richards: Response?
Katsim: There…is one way we could try and piece together
what’s happening. What happened.
But Peri had a feeling she knew what the answer would be. Her
dark eyes cast a brief glance at Anton, then a longer one at
Wes before dropping back down to the console. No, they
probably wouldn't like it at all.
Greaves/Richards: Response?
Katsim: There are still pockets of those chronitons throughout
the ship. We could go back in time and try to see what
happened.
Greaves/Richards: Response?
It was pretty much what she expected, but Peri knew that the
best way to get answers to questions was to be at the scene
when it all happened.
Katsim: Unless we send some sort of probe.
The problem was, they didn’t have any. Did the Proud Mary?
She wasn’t sure and certain specs about the ship and what it
contained were still not fully translated. But the Tigris
might. And if they were in communications range, they might
be in teleportation range.
Katsim: One small enough to keep to the corners and shadows
and record data while staying out of sight…
Greaves/Richards: Response
-- Lt. JG Katsim Peri Science Officer USS Thor M239008AD0