Captain Trake Promontory: To the Ground
Avander Promontory
((Central Quantum Transport Junction, USPS Showrunner))
Out of the simulated television-show realities, and into some sort of processing center. It wasn’t exactly a “frying pan/fire” situation, but it felt like a similar level of metaphorical tension.
And he was with more of his crew! As best they could tell, they had glitched out of the lasted transfer and landed behind the scenes—way behind the scenes. Their chief engineer suggested this might be the basis for the quantum reality manipulation technology employed by the Astrachthoni.
They needed to escape back to the Thor, on that they all agreed, but after perceptual years of enforced acting, they also agreed that they wanted to break things on the way out, perhaps burning it all to the ground.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have much to do that with. They didn’t Trake dug into his tunic. The multi-tool he had palmed in the last scene was still there. He tossed it to Morro.
Promontory: I have this. You’re our engineering chief. We’ll follow your lead on this one Mr. Caras.
The doctor pulled out a hypospray. Probably even less useful in the current context than the multi-tool.
Nera: And I’ve got this! It’s filled with Ambizine. I was going to use this to knock out that damn..uh, charming Vulcan from the Janaran. Apparantly our guests didn’t think to search our uniform pockets.
Caras: They must have just zapped us back to what we had previously before all of this had… happened. I don’t even really remember if I had anything on me.
That checked out. Trake was in the dress uniform he had been wearing when he was abducted on the Syren’s Song.
Nera: We need a proper plan, and information. Wandering around could work, but we’re just as likely to hit a wall or an unfriendly drone.
Caras: These tools should work on the basic level, but I might not be able to do anything to the quantum infrastructure.
Trake followed Morro’s eyes around the room—if something so large could even be called a room. As it was, Trake couldn’t see a far wall, let alone an exit.
Promontory: This place is massive; I’m not sure where to begin.
Nera: What about one of those drones? They can fabricate cables, and obviously detect where repairs are needed. Think you could pull some wires out until one of them’s cooperative?
Caras: Oh, I did see one of those when trying to locate you guys. I think they are specifically not using quantum computations in order to make sure they aren’t affected by quantum interference, at least the kind that causes quantum data structures to collapse. Obviously if there is something like a quantum filament, nothing is surviving that.
Trake was (or had been) a scientist. He even had a little background in hyperdimensional theory. But he was no engineer and Morro’s comments sounded like a lot of blather with the word ‘quantum’ sprinkled in liberally. But he didn’t want to admit that he wasn’t fully following all the implications, so he nodded sagely.
Promontory: Probably not using cosmic strings either… But more practically speaking, how can we get to one of the drones?
He pointed up and up to wear most of the unmanned mechanical bots were milling about.
Nera: They detect breaks and make repairs, right? Let’s do what we originally, said, and start breaking something.
He began kicking the nearest computer tower. Trake arched an eyebrow. He doubted that an advanced computing system would be bothered by a few kicks to the shin, as it were, but then the Chief Engineer joined in.
Caras: Oh! let me help.
The exercise seemed cathartic for the men, as if they were laying out decades of frustration against the hapless computer tower. Trake shrugged. Who knew, perhaps this particular server had hosted Morro and Ay’s shows.
Promontory: Maybe with some leverage.
He sized up the tower and picked a point that his small force might put the most stress and joined in the beat down.
Promontory: Here!
With the three of them hitting in force, something disconnected or jostled loose and a blue light blipped off the obelisk.
Caras: I think that’s a sign. It looks like we kicked off some kind of notice.
They took a step back and waited, but not for long.
Caras: ::Whispering:: looks like we got the attention of one.
A drone flitted down. It was an orb with some apertures reminiscent of a Medusan carrying pod. Trake doffed his outer jacket and held it out.
Promontory: Best net I can do, in the circumstances.
Nera: Response
Caras: Ready? Now!!
As soon as the drone was in range, they seized on it. It wrestled back, but between the three of them, they held it in place. Morro quickly went for the outer plate and managed to pry it off.
Nera: Response
Promontory: I don’t think we can handle two at a time. Maybe shut down whatever it would use to call a friend?
Rather elegantly, Morro simply detached a power cell. That seemed to do the trick as the drone stopped fighting, powered down, and plopped to the ground.
Morrow rolled it over and went to work.
Caras: Ok… got him. He’s a little cute. What do we call him?
Names were important. Names had meaning. Names had power.
But this was just a piece of machinery, literally one of countless drones in some anonymous alien warehouse.
Trake shrugged.
Promontory: Orbie?
Nera: Response
As the engineer continued to work, he struck up a conversation.
Caras: Speaking of which. Cap… What did you get stuck in? Has it been as long for you as it was for us?
They didn’t seem to be in any pressing danger and Trake was eager to hear more about their experiences and compare notes. He let out a long sigh.
Promontory: Honestly, it was all like a dream. Or a series of dreams really. I’ve cycled through dozens of shows—some sort of space western, a Romulan soap opera… (straining his memory) oh, there was a swashbuckling show that I kinda liked, but it got canceled after two seasons… A few other things. (beat) And several failed escape attempts. (waving at the data center) But I’ve never seen anything like this. (turning back to the boys) What about you two?
Nera/Caras: Response
Promontory: I mean, you seem older—well, mentally, if not physically. I think they can sorta decouple the two anyway. My sense is that about a week has passed by “on the outside.” But I experienced about five years. It seems to be variable. I haven’t encountered too many other Asgardians. (beat) So, you two were together at least?
Nera/Caras: Response
Promontory: It pays to be genre-savvy. (beat) These Astrachthoni are like perversions of El-Aurians. Like, they don’t have any stories of their own and they are desperately trying to find meaning in other peoples’ without doing the work needed to make them meaningful…
Nera/Caras: Response
[[TBC]]
