Dawning Ancient
Posted on Sun Apr 17th, 2016 @ 9:41pm by Lieutenant JG Ricki St. Louis
Edited on on Sun Apr 17th, 2016 @ 9:55pm
Mission:
Brave New World
Location: S.S. Sea of Saipan
Timeline: After Monday Vanishes
[ON]
Dr. Ricki St. Louis emerged from day long surgery to the news that her friend had suffered an accident and was now missing. Ignoring the tug of fatigue, she used her medical rank as a means to inject herself into the situation. Leaving it in the hands of normal investigators wasn't an appealing option.
A cruise ship employee met her as she beamed aboard, "Ma'am, I'm afraid that the scene is too dangerous. Please return to your starbase."
Ricki played the medical card, "I'm a doctor. I represent starbase health and safety concerns. I require your assistance, not interference."
"I'm sorry, Doctor. I didn't know."
"Your captain, please?"
"Of course. This way."
The ship's captain busily cleaned up the scene of the accident as to not alarm passengers in the morning. He related events as far as he knew them.
Ricki processed the information. "This man that your sickbay has detained, I need to speak with him."
"My ship's physician doesn't recommend it. There is no Federation record of him of any kind. He is a human of completely unknown identity and origin. More than that, he speaks irrationally."
Ricki was polite and patient, "I understand, Captain, but if the strange energy bursts have affected people, then I must quickly determine how."
He sighed, sounding very much a man who was worried about legal implications, "This solar system is your domain, and I want to cooperate fully with any investigations."
"Thank you, Captain." She was led to a sickbay room where a bewildered man sat slumped.
He looked up at her, "Please stop subjecting me to all those strange machines?"
Ricki downloaded his diagnostics to her wristbook, "You've been in a natural wilderness, by the variety of bacteria and viruses in and on your body." She rolled through the charts using synapses, "No organic mental conditions, stable brain patterns and neurology..."
He shook his head and whispered, "What is this magical illusion?"
"What, my wristbook holgrams?"
"Whatever you call it. Would you please return my glasses?"
"Ancient technology and craftsmanship, just like your jump capsule?"
"Jump capsule... is that what you call it?"
Ricki sat down with him, "Sir, your capsule vanished with a close friend of mine and returned empty."
His eyes widened, "What? Oh dear."
She settled herself, "My name is Dr. Ricki St. Louis, Starbase surgeon."
His expression became one of fascinated surprise, "A woman?" He chuckled lightly, "I guess that my wife was right about that happening someday." He extended his hand, "Herbert, Herbert Wells."
"Mister Wells, I am deeply concerned about my friend. Please tell me where she went? There must be a mothership somewhere that projects and retrieves the capsule."
He looked puzzled, "Mothership? No, there is no such thing involved."
She rested her hand upon his, "How, then. Please!"
Herbert cleared his throat, "Per venture, might we perhaps strike an healthy bargain? Return to me my possessions and permit me to return to my capsule? In return, I would go find and return your friend." He added, "I don't believe that she's in any immediate danger."
Ricki studied him, "You're obviously not familiar with the Federation, and I can understand your fears."
"I am hoping for the most harmonious and beneficial cooperation, if possible. Unfortunately, I am quite at the disadvantage, here. I... didn't realize just how incredibly far I would travel."
"From where?" She received his gaze of distrustful fear. "Sir, Mister Wells, please. Monday, that is my friend, she lacks important social essentials. She's not as adaptable to strange surroundings as perhaps you or I."
Herbert bolstered his courage, "Come with me in my capsule. We shall retrieve her together, and I shall send you back here. Truly, I wish I could convince you that I'm telling the truth."
"You already have, Sir. My medical scans of your brainwaves clearly indicate truth telling."
"What? You mean... those wavy lines represent my brain functions? And you can interpret them?"
"Correct." Ricki stared off with troubled concern, "No way they'll let me do this." She sighed tensely, "When in doubt, bluff. Come with me."
"I must have my possessions returned!"
"What is so important?"
He struggled through hesitation, "Among them is a key. I need it to override certain functions in my capsule."
Ricki nodded, "A moment." She left the room and announced, "I need to scan all of his possessions for trace readings." A nurse complied, bringing her an opened container. She reentered the examination room, "Quickly."
Herbert gratefully received his key, his watch, his embroidered handkerchief. "Thank you for trusting me."
"Like I said, I trust my diagnostics." She took him out of the room, explaining to nurses, "I need him to explain his jump capsule to me if we're going to rescue Ensign Starr."
"But Doctor! Security!"
"We don't have much time. Please."
Fortune doesn't always favor the bold, but it did in this case. The cruise ship personnel weren't military regulationists, and starbase teams had not yet arrived to claim control of the situation.
Ricki walked briskly with him to the exhibit area. "Mr. Wells..."
"Please... Herbert."
"Herbert, how is it that you chose this ship?"
"I didn't. At least not knowingly. I think, however, that I now understand what happened. At my point of origin, I had a large translucent stone of extraordinary properties in my laboratory. Upon emerging from my capsule, I noticed the same brightly glowing stone."
"A beacon of some kind... Okay..." They arrived to see crewmen carefully moving exhibit cases.
Herbert became agitated, "No! I believe that we need that same stone! Where is it?"
Monday rushed to the crew, but she spoke gently and slowly, "Pardon me, if you would, but it is imperative that I examine the exhibit stones. May I please see them?"
The apprehensive crewmen nodded, "Um... of course. This way." He led them to lifeboats that were being carefully loaded, "We're getting them offship as a safety precaution."
Herbert shook his head nervously at her with wide eyes.
Ricki maintained her calm and whispered to him, "This is important. Do you know if we need all of these?"
"I don't think so. That one... that one there."
She turned to the crewmen, "I need to take this particular case back to the exhibit room. Feel free to load the remainder, but I am officially quarantining it pending safety analysis. This lifeboat is to remain in proximity to this ship."
"How close?"
She shrugged, "Twenty five kilometers."
They nodded, "We shall."
Ricki tapped her combadge, "Starbase, I am placing S.S. Sea of Saipan and it's small craft under a temporary, precautionary quarantine, pending radiation checks."
=/Acknowledged, Dr. St. Louis. What assistance do you need?\=
"None, at the moment. I'll update within the hour."
Panic welled up in the crew, "Quarantine? This will be a disaster for the passengers!"
Ricki held up her hand, "Announce to everyone that Archa is still under heightened security precautions. It's merely a safety check."
That abated their fears a bit.
She whispered to Herbert, "Quickly."
He helped her push the hovercart holding his stone back to the exhibit area. "If we can just keep it in this room, then that will replicate original conditions."
"How long will it take for us to retrieve Monday and return?"
"One hour, two at the most."
She parked the stone over in a corner and instructed the crew, "Please depart and seal the room while I conduct forensics. I don't want this room disturbed any more than it already has been."
After they left, she gestured toward the capsule, "Quickly! My bluff will implode the moment starbase teams arrive!"
He opened the capsule, "I'm afraid you'll have to sit upon my lap."
She climbed in and he shut the door. He then put the key in its slot, "This will disable the automatic recall."
Ricki nodded, "That's why it returned here."
"Correct. It's an anti-theft measure." He adjusted the numbers dial, "Let's change this from nineteen to eighteen. It'll give us a head start on your friend."
"What do you mean, head start? Where will this take us?"
He energized the system. Capacitors charged. "Forgive me for not explaining fully until now. It isn't only a matter of location." Energy fields synchronized extradimensionally. "It's a matter of time."
"Time? You mean... time travel?"
The capsule hurled out of normal space/time. "Correct. We are on our way back to my home, the year eighteen hundred and ninety six."
[OFF]
Dr. Ricki St. Louis
Herbert Wells
Starbase 332 Twilight Zone
Pegasus Fleet
