Maj Wes Greaves - Predator or Prey?
Jacob Rittenhouse
((Engineering, Proud Mary, Present))
((3 hours, 4 Minutes of air remaining))
Tapping his badge once again to close the comm line, Wes walked back to the rest of the team. While
he thought they had been roughing it, hearing what was going on with the Tigris made the Marine happy to have to only deal with some old machinery. Just as he got back to Anton and Peri, it was clear they'd made significant progress on the life support. Significant
as in "Anton removing his helmet and breathing air". When the security officer didn't immediatly start gasping for breath, Wes followed suit.
Shutting his air supply down and unbuckling his own helmet, he removed the thing and scratched an itch that had been bugging him for hours.
Greaves: Thank god. I've been fighting that itch since we got here.
Richards: Now what?
Greaves: Still no word from the Thor, but the Tigris has her hands full out there (motioning upwards to ceiling). Apparently time is just as broken for them as us.
A pair of old ships just appeared and that team is busy with them.
Richards: Response?
An alarm sounded off, not overly loud, but still insistent. Everyone turned toward the sound, but it was Peri who interpreted the meaning.
Katsim: There’s a readout here…
Richards: Response?
Greaves: Only good things I'm sure.
Peri ignored the little jap that indicated Wes's mood was improving. Instead she studied the data with a frown.
Katsim: A life form. A big one. But...outside the ship.
Greaves: Yeah, the Tigris said something about that, but I didn't really understand what they were talking about.
Richards: Response?
Katsim: I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s huge. And I’m reading more levels of chronitons and anti-chronitons surrounding it. ::She paused, then added.:: And
us.
Richards: Response?
Lieutenant Reid had said she couldn't confirm the source of the temporal anomolies, but maybe they could. Afterall, a ship of this size must have advanced sensors. If they were online, maybe they could collect more data than the Tigris could.
Greaves: What's the particle density like around the.... thing? Could it be the source of all of these jumps?
The XO watched the scientist fiddle with the controls, but after only a second, she replied.
Katsim: I can’t tell.
Richards: Response
That figured. Wes leaned over the primary display and tapped a few controls as well. The table was easily large enough to accommodate 6 people standing at once. 8 if they really crunched in together. With only three of them working it was downright roomy. He saw at once that the controls could be set up to work collaboratively or individually, and Wes started looking into data inputs.
Greaves: This sensor output is horrible. Is there any way to tie into the ship's sensor arrays better?
Katsim: I can try.
Richards: Response
Greaves: Then let's do that.
With the lights fully illuminated, Wes left Anton and Peri to work out the new problem as he explored the well lit space. It took at least a minute just to walk the perimeter, where he could faintly see the evidence on
a containment field shimmering. Obviously the handiwork of the team to create a breathable space. He also found more hatches to maintenance tubes, another generator like device, and finally confirmed the central pillar was some form of warp core. Finally,
the sound of Peri's voice broke the silence and he walked back to the primary display.
Katsim: I think...I think that's done it.
A moment later, more information lit up the screen and poured down over it. It was too much to read all at once, especially with the need for the translation. What normally would have populated immediatly first showed
up in alien script, and then as the tricorder interfacing translated, the words would morph to the translated version. It slowed everything down.
Richards: Response
Greaves: Same here. The computer might as well have left it untranslated. What's it mean?
Katsim: It’s...it’s definitely thicker there. More particles, more active.
Peri’s fingers continued to move over the console, guiding the tricroder, and then she shook her head.
Katsim: From what I can tell, I don’t think it’s the *cause* of the chronitons and antichronitons. But...from what I’m seeing, I have a theory.
Richards: Response
Greaves: Don't keep us in suspense. Spill.
His friend continued to stare down at the data, clearly lost in throught, and Wes was about to prod her again when she finally answered.
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…
Wes glanced to Anton as Peri's voice trailed off and she began typing quickly back into the console. From his side of the table, the Marine could see her flipping through different sensor filters and new data populated
quickly before she moved. Raising an eyebrow and giving Anton another curious side eye, he watched the woman freeze.
Greaves: Figure something out?
Richards: Response
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?
The Marine glanced left and right, looking at the compartment again. The thought had occurred to him earlier in the mission, but he'd kept it to himself, expecting to find remains eventually. Now that Peri brought it up again, he realized that through all of their exploration, they'd not found any organic remains.
Greaves:
Maybe the Proud Mary was only disabled. They might have evacuated the ship? It's still fairly intact.
Richards: Response
He nodded. It was a reasonable idea as well.
Greaves: Did you have another theory?
Katsim: Response
Richards: Response
He hadn't considered that, but he instead spun the conversation back to Peri's initial theory.
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/Richards: Response
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.
Katsim/Richards: Response
Tags/TBC
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Major Wes Greaves
Acting Executive Officer
Marine Detachment Commander
USS Thor - NCC 82607
E239702WG0
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