Athena Mission 2.5: Endless Nights

[Ethan Hadden]

[Mess Hall]

Ash carefully removed the two shepherd's pies and laid them on the heat-resistant surface of the counter as she responded. "Is that what's going on? I heard a couple people talking about testing some new sensors on my way in today..." She shook her head as she trailed off. "Either way, I know a thing or two about getting in the way - but I've been trying really hard not to lately. Even if that can be incredibly boring sometim -"

Ash broke off mid-syllable as she caught the view out of the mess hall's windows along the far wall. Looks like Ethan was right about the supernova... She closed her mouth from where it had been hanging open and turned to the young crewman next to her with excitement in her eyes. "Do you see that? Come on!" She ducked out of the kitchen and ran over to the windows, hopping up to sit on one of the nearby tables in a most unprofessional fashion.

[mess hall]
Scrambling behind Ash, Ethan saw an amazing burst of light coming from where the huge old star used to be. " Woah! That is amazing!" He said , staring in awe at the huge bursts of light.  Sitting down on the table alongside Ash, he said , still fixated on the exploding star. "Man, I haven't seen anything quite like-

[Mess hall]

Ethan was bored.  While exploring this supernova thing was certainly interesting, for the security crewman, it lost interest rather fast as the scientific crews took over. It was his off- shift, and as of right now, there wasn't anything to be on the lookout for, so he wandered his way to the mess hall. The events of what happened on the megacity still stood out in his mind. Shuddering slightly he sat himself down at one of the stools.  Noticing the manager, he smiled. "Morning."

Confused , Ethan was wondering why he was bored . He was watching a huge exploding star, wasn't he? Looking out the window port, he saw the old star, sedately in its death throes. "Did you just see that , Ash?"

[Constance Lafayette]

[Athena- Bridge]
The Admiral unconsciously itched at her elbow where her prosthetic connected, "I'm not sure Ms. Venator but I intend to find out." She admitted but held up her old PADD and examined the data on ship's systems. She remembered this all- it was exactly the same.

Constance nodded, silently thanking whatever force had preserved her sanity for another day...
"Hmmm... let's run a detailed scan on the supernova, looking for chronoton particles. Let's see if we can ascertain if it was the nova or rule it out as the cause." She said to James, but she was clearly speaking to the bridge at large.

Constance then received D'Vid's message, she had been waiting for that. He was an El-Aurian and, from what little she understood of them, they had a keen sense of time.
"That's the working theory D'Vid. Was there anything we were testing in engineering that could have caused this? We are trying to isolate the variables."=/\=

Then, turning to the helm, she said, "Let's get out of here. Maximum impulse. Head along any course other than the one we came in on. Let's see what that does."

[Leonard T. Scott]

[Athena- Bridge]
The Admiral unconsciously itched at her elbow where her prosthetic connected, "I'm not sure Ms. Venator but I intend to find out." She admitted but held up her old PADD and examined the data on ship's systems. She remembered this all- it was exactly the same.

Constance nodded, silently thanking whatever force had preserved her sanity for another day...
"Hmmm... let's run a detailed scan on the supernova, looking for chronoton particles. Let's see if we can ascertain if it was the nova or rule it out as the cause." She said to James, but she was clearly speaking to the bridge at large.

Constance then received D'Vid's message, she had been waiting for that. He was an El-Aurian and, from what little she understood of them, they had a keen sense of time.
"That's the working theory D'Vid. Was there anything we were testing in engineering that could have caused this? We are trying to isolate the variables."=/\=

Then, turning to the helm, she said, "Let's get out of here. Maximum impulse. Head along any course other than the one we came in on. Let's see what that does."

[Bridge]

"Aye, ma'am," Leo responded before plotting a course and setting it.

He turned to Cat, still fawning over her new necklace.

"Sorry, babes, but it looks like lunch may have to wait. I know Ash would be excited to know about your new shiny."

He shook his head a bit. She didn't mention that already, did she?

[Tavana]

[Athena- Bridge]
The Admiral unconsciously itched at her elbow where her prosthetic connected, "I'm not sure Ms. Venator but I intend to find out." She admitted but held up her old PADD and examined the data on ship's systems. She remembered this all- it was exactly the same.

Constance nodded, silently thanking whatever force had preserved her sanity for another day...
"Hmmm... let's run a detailed scan on the supernova, looking for chronoton particles. Let's see if we can ascertain if it was the nova or rule it out as the cause." She said to James, but she was clearly speaking to the bridge at large.

Constance then received D'Vid's message, she had been waiting for that. He was an El-Aurian and, from what little she understood of them, they had a keen sense of time.
"That's the working theory D'Vid. Was there anything we were testing in engineering that could have caused this? We are trying to isolate the variables."=/\=

Then, turning to the helm, she said, "Let's get out of here. Maximum impulse. Head along any course other than the one we came in on. Let's see what that does."

"Admiral there a comm buoy eleven light years from our current position.  We could send an infomation packet to it with instructions to send a signal back.   The only problem it would take about two days for us to receive any response."  Tavana said. 

[Catrin Maddux]

[Bridge]

"Aye, ma'am," Leo responded before plotting a course and setting it.

He turned to Cat, still fawning over her new necklace.

"Sorry, babes, but it looks like lunch may have to wait. I know Ash would be excited to know about your new shiny."

He shook his head a bit. She didn't mention that already, did she?

[Bridge]

Cat looked at him, her head cocked. She had just said something about that, hadn't she? Confusion rocked her, not just her own, but as though that entire portion of the quadrant stopped and asked, 'Huh?'  She leaned a little into him, trying to regain her bearings.

"Well that was a bit weird. Nothing like a little case of deja vu. I could have sworn it was later than it is though."

The counselor squinted owlishly at the digital clock on his panel. It was definitely earlier than she had remembered. Maybe she was just getting tired. She rubbed her eyes a bit and decided not to dwell on it.

"I wonder what Ash has got cooked up for us today."

[Katheryn Brighton]

[Bridge]

Katheryn had barely registered the conversation going on around her as she tried and failed to stop herself from yawning. Just like everything else that had happened in such a short space of time she couldn't understand why she was suddenly feeling so tired especially since she'd had a good nights sleep and was only half way through her shift.

She did however catch enough to hear the possibility of them being stuck in a time loop which didn't sound good at all so was relieved when the Captain then ordered them to move away and hoped that whatever this was would stop once they were out of range of the Supernova. She definitely was optimistic and for once her shift ending couldn't come any quicker so she could get rid of this headache, relax, see Caleb and try to forget today.

[Susan Venator]

[Athena- Bridge]
The Admiral unconsciously itched at her elbow where her prosthetic connected, "I'm not sure Ms. Venator but I intend to find out." She admitted but held up her old PADD and examined the data on ship's systems. She remembered this all- it was exactly the same.

Constance nodded, silently thanking whatever force had preserved her sanity for another day...
"Hmmm... let's run a detailed scan on the supernova, looking for chronoton particles. Let's see if we can ascertain if it was the nova or rule it out as the cause." She said to James, but she was clearly speaking to the bridge at large.

Constance then received D'Vid's message, she had been waiting for that. He was an El-Aurian and, from what little she understood of them, they had a keen sense of time.
"That's the working theory D'Vid. Was there anything we were testing in engineering that could have caused this? We are trying to isolate the variables."=/\=

Then, turning to the helm, she said, "Let's get out of here. Maximum impulse. Head along any course other than the one we came in on. Let's see what that does."

Bridge

Suzie immediately began a full spectrum scan of the Supernova.

"I'm not picking up any chronoton particles Captain. In fact there is nothing unusual about the Supernova at all. But that in itself is strange. There should be spikes in some of the readings and troughs in others. It's almost as if we have a textbook average Supernova. And as I'm sure you're aware Captain, averages don't exist in nature!" She reported, her had beginning to ache.

She paused as she was hit by a flood of emotions from within the ship. Normally she would try to keep them out, but when she felt the fear and anxiety level rise she felt that she had to speak.

"I should also let you know Captain at the emotional level of the crew has risen sharply. I feeling a powerful mix of emotions, with fear being the biggest single one. Though there are plenty of others. I would advise you to address the crew to help keep things calm." Suzie added cautiously, not wanting to suddenly become a councillor.

[D'Vid]

[Athena- Bridge]
The Admiral unconsciously itched at her elbow where her prosthetic connected, "I'm not sure Ms. Venator but I intend to find out." She admitted but held up her old PADD and examined the data on ship's systems. She remembered this all- it was exactly the same.

Constance nodded, silently thanking whatever force had preserved her sanity for another day...
"Hmmm... let's run a detailed scan on the supernova, looking for chronoton particles. Let's see if we can ascertain if it was the nova or rule it out as the cause." She said to James, but she was clearly speaking to the bridge at large.

Constance then received D'Vid's message, she had been waiting for that. He was an El-Aurian and, from what little she understood of them, they had a keen sense of time.
"That's the working theory D'Vid. Was there anything we were testing in engineering that could have caused this? We are trying to isolate the variables."=/\=

Then, turning to the helm, she said, "Let's get out of here. Maximum impulse. Head along any course other than the one we came in on. Let's see what that does."

[Engineering]

Call it simple. The simple evidence D'Vid had was notice clues. The clues that followed are. Zeta Zeta name was used twice for the Super Nova. And the sensors are twice the power. So, he had decided to look into that.

=^=I will be glad to look into that Admiral! We will try double the effort. I just pray we don't it hit replay!=^=

"Okay, guys and gals. We got work to do," he turned to Goron. "Lieutenant Goron I would like you help me on double up our steps we did from now to back," he had a small grin. It was just funny to him. The inside his skin, bones, veins and every piece of his body was feeling ill.

"Cadet Jones I am going to ask you to do the reverse why Lieutenant doing," he paused. "Better off start at the same time on the .6.6 mark of the minute. I will review the difference to see we see it...and if we fail. We might back to the first point at [ the Stardate to the last second of the event]. And..."

"We keep doing it over and over," Cadet Jones said.

"Exactly!" D'Vid replied.

"On the mark of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1Á¢â,¬"-"

(Cliff hanger)

[Leonard T. Scott]

[Bridge]

Cat looked at him, her head cocked. She had just said something about that, hadn't she? Confusion rocked her, not just her own, but as though that entire portion of the quadrant stopped and asked, 'Huh?'  She leaned a little into him, trying to regain her bearings.

"Well that was a bit weird. Nothing like a little case of deja vu. I could have sworn it was later than it is though."

The counselor squinted owlishly at the digital clock on his panel. It was definitely earlier than she had remembered. Maybe she was just getting tired. She rubbed her eyes a bit and decided not to dwell on it.

"I wonder what Ash has got cooked up for us today."

[Bridge]

"I heard it may have something do with guacamole," Leo said with a sheepish grin. I'm just glad it's not Klingon. That's one cuisine that always have my a sour stomach."

He looked up at the viewscreen. The supernova seemed to get smaller, then bigger, then smaller again. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. Maybe he needed another a raktajino.

[Constance Lafayette]

[Athena- Bridge]

The ship was moving at full impulse and Constance, internally, breathed a little sigh of relief. Maybe that would help? Who knew- it made her feel better to be putting some distance between it and them however.

"Make it so Ms. Tavana. It may get caught in another time loop if it occurs again but at least in some other timeline we'll have rescue. With any luck- that will benefit us, though I'm not sure if that tracks if we can't get out of this... assuming this occurs again." She reported in her droll, flat,almost monotone.

Constance moved like a tiny bulldog despite her diminutive stature to look over Ms. Venator's shoulder as she reported.

"Interesting. However there is that small dead zone in the sweep. That's generally a sign of a solid body." She said pointing to a large planetary chunk. These were common in supernovae but she was grasping at straws. It was weird that large chunk would break off, most were much smaller this far from the core of it.

"And thank you Ms. Venator I... feel it too. It feels like that time skip didn't roll back our biological clocks. I am going to assign the second shift to see if they can get some R&R. There is no use having all hands on deck if we can't use them all. It'll just raise stress levels even more."

Then, turning to Katheryn
"Ms. Carter. Is there any chance that this is an internal matter? We did just install experimental sensors- could this be intentional sabotage? While it's not my first working theory- it is a variable I can't just ignore. Please look into it."

"Mr. D'vid. I understand you have a keen sense of personal time. Pardon me for further imposing upon you but could you maintain some kind of subjective measure of time? If the loop continues, the ship's systems will not be able to accurately gauge it. This will help us stay on schedules- feeding, taking medicine, and sleeping will be important if this becomes a long-term thing. People's bodies may not Á¢â,¬Ëœfeel' the same schedule but they will need to keep on them."

Finally she gave James a nod, "Susan's right. I'll make the announcement." she said dryly and walked to her chair but didn't sit in it- just pressed the button to activate the internal ship wide comms.

"Lafayette to all crew. We've have a time loop occur. All departments are working on a solution to this situation but it appears we may be in for a protracted mission. I am relieving all second shift personnel and ordering them to get some R&R while the first shift works on the problem. Get some food, get some rest, and take your minds off the problem. Many great ideas in history occurred when the individual let their mind wander. In four subjective hours, ship's time, you will be called back on duty. We're going to be played the long game here so let's not burn ourselves out at the start. That is all."

She tugged at her uniform, straightening it. "How was that Mr. Carter? Did you think they got the eureka reference? Because that's what we are going to need to get out this if my memory of past ships affected by chronological distortions are correct..." She said, rather seriously.

Somewhere on the long range sensors the cargo ship was detected.

[Katheryn Brighton]

[Athena- Bridge]

The ship was moving at full impulse and Constance, internally, breathed a little sigh of relief. Maybe that would help? Who knew- it made her feel better to be putting some distance between it and them however.

Then, turning to Katheryn
"Ms. Carter. Is there any chance that this is an internal matter? We did just install experimental sensors- could this be intentional sabotage? While it's not my first working theory- it is a variable I can't just ignore. Please look into it."

Somewhere on the long range sensors the cargo ship was detected.

[Bridge]

Despite the sudden tiredness and her head being slightly fuzzy still Katheryn made herself focus on the conversation listening as the Captain talked to everyone in turn. When she then looked at her and asked if the situation they were now in could of been caused internally through intentional sabotage, it did make her think that it might be a possibility especially as there had been no problems until the new sensors were installed.

However unpleasant that thought might be that someone had done this deliberately she agreed with the Captain that they couldn't rule it out. " As much as I don't like the idea its a possibility and I agree its something we can't ignore and I will get on it immediately " she replied returning to her console to prepare the investigation as the Captain then addressed the whole crew.

Katheryn understood that the odds might be against them if they were stuck in a time loop but would hopefully get enough done before the next loop and made a note to leave a reminder to try and avoid repeating herself. Any thoughts of her shift ending and relaxing were pushed to one side for now as she focused on what she needed to do.

[Ashlynn Ren Morgaine]

[mess hall]
Scrambling behind Ash, Ethan saw an amazing burst of light coming from where the huge old star used to be. " Woah! That is amazing!" He said , staring in awe at the huge bursts of light.  Sitting down on the table alongside Ash, he said , still fixated on the exploding star. "Man, I haven't seen anything quite like-

[Mess hall]

Ethan was bored.  While exploring this supernova thing was certainly interesting, for the security crewman, it lost interest rather fast as the scientific crews took over. It was his off- shift, and as of right now, there wasn't anything to be on the lookout for, so he wandered his way to the mess hall. The events of what happened on the megacity still stood out in his mind. Shuddering slightly he sat himself down at one of the stools.  Noticing the manager, he smiled. "Morning."

Confused , Ethan was wondering why he was bored . He was watching a huge exploding star, wasn't he? Looking out the window port, he saw the old star, sedately in its death throes. "Did you just see that , Ash?"

[Mess Hall]

Ash was half-buried in the storage counter beneath the cabinet, attempting to take inventory for the Captain. She reached towards the back corner, fingers closing around a curious, unmarked package that she didn't recognize - Except I do recognize this... I've done this before haven't I? Her brows drew together, and the fingers of her left hand moved to the chess piece hanging from the chain around her neck. She twirled it around as she looked at the strange container in front of her and did her best to sort out what had happened.

I found this box, but I couldn't find an opening mechanism for it. It's not one of mine, so I wanted to open it. I was... going to try and pry it open with something when Ethan showed up. Then he helped me with lunch. And then the supernova -

Ash was pulled rather abruptly from her thoughts by someone talking. Surprised, her head shot up, only to smack against the underside of the counter. A small squeak escaped her lips as she gripped her head, muttering a brief string of unladylike curses under her breath. She crawled out of the counter, still gripping the package, and turned to Ethan.

"I definitely saw that. And since we both saw that, we can't be going crazy, right? What's going on?" No sooner had the words left her mouth, the Captain's message came through. "A... time loop?" Ash felt her stomach twist a little and swallowed. There was a distinct reason she avoided books about time travel; it was messy to think about and made her head hurt. A time loop was entirely different, of course, but the thought of the fabric of time being off-kilter in any way was kind of upsetting.

[Caleb Brighton]

[ Medical Bay ]

Caleb was trying to process everything. The feeling of deja vu was ever present. It was then Constance's message came through. Thinking for a moment, Caleb then came to a revelation. He didn't know how he could pull it off, but he knew he needed to collect heads. He took a deep breath he needed to be able to articulate his idea.

" =/ \= Brightstar to Catnip. I need you down here in medical. Want to run an idea by you and not over coms. Please hurry as we don't know when we are gonna loop again and I don't wanna loose this =/ \=" Caleb said directly to Catrin.

[Catrin Maddux]

[Bridge]

"I heard it may have something do with guacamole," Leo said with a sheepish grin. I'm just glad it's not Klingon. That's one cuisine that always gives me a sour stomach."

He looked up at the viewscreen. The supernova seemed to get smaller, then bigger, then smaller again. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. Maybe he needed another a raktajino.

[Bridge]

Cat put a hand on her mouth, stifling a giggle that turned into a yawn. She thought about the last time they had tried a Klingon-infusion meal and the aftermath. "You sure it was the gagh and not the copious amounts of synthehol scotch you tried to chase it down with? Because they wiggled all the way down, is what i recall you said." It didn't make her list of favorites, but she had composed herself better in any case. Her commbadge chirped.

" =/ \= Brightstar to Catnip. I need you down here in medical. Want to run an idea by you and not over coms. Please hurry as we don't know when we are gonna loop again and I don't wanna loose this =/ \=" Caleb said directly to Catrin.

With a quick tap, she responded. "On my way, Brightstar." With a quick kiss planted on Leo's temple she got up to make her departure. "Lunch will have to wait, Flyboy. I'll see you after a bit. Or sooner if we loop again." She gave him a sardonic grin and headed to Caleb in Sickbay.

[Sickbay]

Soon after, Cat strode into Sickbay. With a wave and a nod to acknowledge the others who were industriously working on their various tasks, she zeroed in on Caleb. "Do you mind if we take this into the office here?" She pointed to the under utilized CMO office. It was her office by rights, but she much preferred the comfort and ease of her own counsellor's office and as such, conducted the bulk of her work there. It had been on the back of her mind to offer the office to Caleb, but the opportunity hadn't presented itself. As she knew he'd follow, she headed into the office and took her seat behind the desk. She folded her hands in front of her, and patiently waited for him to take his own seat before beginning.

"Now then, to the business at hand. What's this idea you had? We'll need to examine all possibilities, and this could be a good start." She trusted his instincts, he was a good friend and an excellent doctor. Anything he had come up with would hopefully help guide them in the right direction for a brainstorming session.

[Caleb Brighton]

"Now then, to the business at hand. What's this idea you had? We'll need to examine all possibilities, and this could be a good start." She trusted his instincts, he was a good friend and an excellent doctor. Anything he had come up with would hopefully help guide them in the right direction for a brainstorming session.

[ Medical Bay- Catrin's Office ]

"I was thinking to maybe use this opportunity with the time loop to study the long term effects it could have," Caleb began. "What it does to the body and how much stress it can have. There are unknowns of course, but studying it could help. I do not know how many loops have occurred, but if they do we can have documentation on its effects Just think of what we could accomplish with it! However, I am trying to find a way we can do it and keep the information. Seeing as time itself loops, what can make it stick? If I write it down, won't it just go away because when time is reversed, so would what i wrote down? In the next loop I probably won't have this idea."

Caleb had hoped he articulated his idea correctly. He had hoped they could quickly find a solution before things were reset again. He foggily remembered the last loop, but were they even memories? How many loops had already happened? This was plaguing his mind, but peaking his interest. He worried about Kayla and Buddy. He worried about Ash, James, Ethan, and Catnip. How long would this last? Knowing the crew of the Athena was more than capable, he still had reason to worry. He was pushing against it with everything he had.