Athena Mission 2.5: Endless Nights

[Katheryn Brighton]

[Bridge]

James smiled and placed his watch back on his wrist, this time with the watchface in line with the palm of his hand. "It's not even my birthday and you're already giving me a ship boarding?" The XO joked following the other Carter into the turbolift.

[Turbolift]

Once the doors slid shut, for a moment the smile faded away and exhaustion took it's place. He had tried to keep it from being visible, but for just a small moment he let himself slip. The officer stared at his wrist watching the seconds tick by. Finally he turned over to look at the woman standing in the lift with him immediately trying to regain his normal composure. "One of these days we'll be dispatched and have a proper routine mission that goes completely to plan." James joked trying to seem like he was fine.

[Turbo lift ]

Once the lift doors closed behind the XO Katheryn had been tempted to lean back against the rail even for just a few moments as she continued to fight the tiredness although it seemed that she wasn't the only one as she looked at Commander Carter briefly and was glad there wasn't a mirror about as she dreaded to think what she looked like at the moment and decided to avoid looking at her reflection.

She managed a grin as the XO joked about their mission then called out their destination of " Sickbay " before answering him as the lift started to move. " Agreed Commander it would be nice but then again it might be boring if it did " she joked back willing her legs not to give way until they reached Sickbay and the thought of seeing Caleb kept her going.

[James Carter]

[Turbo lift ]

Once the lift doors closed behind the XO Katheryn had been tempted to lean back against the rail even for just a few moments as she continued to fight the tiredness although it seemed that she wasn't the only one as she looked at Commander Carter briefly and was glad there wasn't a mirror about as she dreaded to think what she looked like at the moment and decided to avoid looking at her reflection.

She managed a grin as the XO joked about their mission then called out their destination of " Sickbay " before answering him as the lift started to move. " Agreed Commander it would be nice but then again it might be boring if it did " she joked back willing her legs not to give way until they reached Sickbay and the thought of seeing Caleb kept her going.

[Turbolift]

James shook his head as a genuine smile crossed his lips. "Boring isn't always a bad thing." He replied pausing slightly. The ride wouldn't be long, but at least for now he didn't have to pretend he was fine quite as hard. "When I signed on for this job, it was for the boring. Well, that among other things I suppose. I don't know how many times I've almost died on the Athena. I guess it's not like that would have stopped me anyways." The XO shrugged as he thought back over all of his time on board. He looked down at his watch again. James didn't really know how to handle timeloops. One of the few constant facts throughout most of his life was that time was always moving forward. It kept him grounded, but now even time was going wrong. However he didn't have much time to think on that as the lift came to a hault and the doors slid open. "Ah, good. It's our stop. After you Ms. Carter."

[Katheryn Brighton]

[Turbolift]

James shook his head as a genuine smile crossed his lips. "Boring isn't always a bad thing." He replied pausing slightly. The ride wouldn't be long, but at least for now he didn't have to pretend he was fine quite as hard. "When I signed on for this job, it was for the boring. Well, that among other things I suppose. I don't know how many times I've almost died on the Athena. I guess it's not like that would have stopped me anyways." The XO shrugged as he thought back over all of his time on board. He looked down at his watch again. James didn't really know how to handle timeloops. One of the few constant facts throughout most of his life was that time was always moving forward. It kept him grounded, but now even time was going wrong. However he didn't have much time to think on that as the lift came to a hault and the doors slid open. "Ah, good. It's our stop. After you Ms. Carter."

[Turbo lift]

Katheryn saw his smile and smiled back as she listened to what he had to say and she agreed with him boring every now and again would be a welcome change to the craziness of life aboard the Athena but it was something she was getting used too especially with the help of a certain doctor. " I know what you mean it isn't always a bad thing and yeah I could say the same thing since coming aboard and it wouldn't stop me either " she replied honestly as the lift came to a stop and the Commander gestured for her to go first.

" Thank you " she said walking out into the corridor and led the way to their destination keeping focused as much as she could despite how she felt until finally the doors to Sickbay came into view along with two of her team members.

[Sickbay]

She acknowledged them with a polite nod then watched as they went through first and for Katheryn she always associated Sickbay as a place of safety and no doubt a certain special someone would be waiting for them to arrive. Katheryn then walked in next and soon spotted Caleb nearby although part of her wanted to rush over waited for him to spot her.

[D'Vid]

[Athena- Bridge]

"Capital idea Ms. Venator. I believe that should~" Constance paused to yawn, covering her mouth politely, "~be of first priority."

Man she could go for some hot Tom Kha Gai or something...

"Ms. Morgaine. This time loop seems to have worn everyone out. I want you to have the kitchen staff running food packs to whoever you can get them too. It feels like a 6 hour skip or so every time we loop. That means people are going to be missing meals. I know you'll have to start any preparation over again each time we loop so you'll probably have to use the replicators to get things out to people. This is top priority- people could easily starve."

Constance furrowed her brow at Jame's question, "It seems like it was at the same time index, as far as I can tell." She said, "It's reasonable to assume that it's time based... or at least linked to something happening." She explained after D'Vid's message had reached her.

"Interesting Mr. D'Vid. Any idea what could trigger something like this?"=/\= She asked as she checked the distance of the cargo ship.

"Excellent Ms. Carter. Let's ready the team- take a shuttle as soon as possible. Take Mr. Hadden- the younger they are the more energy they should still have. Helm, let's get us to the Cargo ship ahead of time. Set in an intercept course at full impulse." She commanded, "James- I want you to go with them. I seem to recall that you have a propensity for boarding ships... even if they were wooden ones." She added, her tired eyes giving him a little "smile".

"Fine then Doctor, let's have the medical staff distribute the stimulants. Please start with the security team that is going to board the cargo ship. We need them particularly alert. No slip-ups."=/\= She said, her voice tenser than she wanted it to appear.

Now the world around the El-Aurian was now taking a bigger toll on him. The space around him felt it was pulling him in a dizzy spell. His eyes lids were getting heavy. The organ call the stomach let out a nice loud growl.

=^=Well, Captain from what I gathered.=^= The El-Aurian replied. His fingers was dancing over the console. =^=That little tiny ship out there could be a trip wire to our time loop. Yawn... =^= Great El-Aurian ancestors D'Vid was feeling like them. In the light of things he wished he could hear his great grandfather's voice but with this loop it was cutting the sense of the spirit world being cut off. =^= awwww.... Sorry...I need to compensate the anti-matter build up in which to be aligned to the jawbone....ahaha.. I was joking in the jawbone...I mean...let me think....think...gimme a moment to fix it=^= he paused looking at the console. What was he doing? For a moment he had almost forgot. This no sleep was a dozer.

=^=oh YES!!!!! I will make work that magical tooth pick to make the mend in our situation.... That will mend the time metric deflector....awww... =^= Now, he was going to make something that had not been invented yet. He had to what all other Great Engineers did. Improvise. Like Scotty and LaForge. Like a magician pulling a sword out of his mouth. The illusion of the magic to wow the audience. He started to hum an El-Aurian child sleepy song. Which was making him more tired.

The one thing was he was feeling very, very, very tired.

=^=Permission to take a nap...awwwwwwwwwwannnn.... sorry.... This is really making feel....=^= that eek feeling in his stomach. That sour taste. The fear of you need to throw up. His fellow workers are seeing that D'Vid was losing color. He was going pale. =^=our time is not our time...we need to get out...or we be loopy droopy sleep out.=^= he looked at the other engineers and giggled. He was over tired. His mind done wonder but he gets rather funny.

[Caleb Brighton]

[Turbo lift]

Katheryn saw his smile and smiled back as she listened to what he had to say and she agreed with him boring every now and again would be a welcome change to the craziness of life aboard the Athena but it was something she was getting used too especially with the help of a certain doctor. " I know what you mean it isn't always a bad thing and yeah I could say the same thing since coming aboard and it wouldn't stop me either " she replied honestly as the lift came to a stop and the Commander gestured for her to go first.

" Thank you " she said walking out into the corridor and led the way to their destination keeping focused as much as she could despite how she felt until finally the doors to Sickbay came into view along with two of her team members.

[Sickbay]

She acknowledged them with a polite nod then watched as they went through first and for Katheryn she always associated Sickbay as a place of safety and no doubt a certain special someone would be waiting for them to arrive. Katheryn then walked in next and soon spotted Caleb nearby although part of her wanted to rush over waited for him to spot her.

[ Medical Bay ]

Caleb smiled at Katheryn once she came into view. As the rest of the group entered in. He began to direct them to each of the stations and to roll up a sleeve. He waited for Katheryn to move her sleeve up. When her arm was ready, he prepared the dosage. He told her he loved her and quickly injected her with the stimulant. "See I was quick about it. Seems my crew was too,"Caleb said. He knew his love was adverse to needles. He then put a cotton ball over where he injected her and taped it up. He told her it would not hurt, but just wanted to seal up the wound he created just as precaution.

"This stimulant should last you about 12 hours. So hopefully two or so loops, though I hope we don't have that many more. I do not recommend any dosage past three. It sadly comes from personal experience that I can be transparent about," Caleb said to the whole group.

[Katheryn Brighton]

[ Medical Bay ]

Caleb smiled at Katheryn once she came into view. As the rest of the group entered in. He began to direct them to each of the stations and to roll up a sleeve. He waited for Katheryn to move her sleeve up. When her arm was ready, he prepared the dosage. He told her he loved her and quickly injected her with the stimulant. "See I was quick about it. Seems my crew was too,"Caleb said. He knew his love was adverse to needles. He then put a cotton ball over where he injected her and taped it up. He told her it would not hurt, but just wanted to seal up the wound he created just as precaution.

"This stimulant should last you about 12 hours. So hopefully two or so loops, though I hope we don't have that many more. I do not recommend any dosage past three. It sadly comes from personal experience that I can be transparent about," Caleb said to the whole group.

[Medical Bay]

Seeing him smile at her made her heart squirm with delight as he always had a way of making her feel better whenever he smiled and this was no different. Going over to him immediately and rolling up her sleeve as requested and yes she couldn't stand needles but he knew how to distract her without her realising and hearing him say he loved her was just what she needed to hear and it was over before she had chance to register the needle going in.

" You were Cal and definitely they were " she replied smiling as he placed the cotton ball over the injection point and taped it up. " I know it won't hurt as I trust you and I love you too " she said quietly enough for him to hear before he told them all about how long the stimulant would last and explained how many dosages they could have.

[Ethan Hadden]

[Mess Hall]

"Oh right! The food!" Ash shook her head as if to clear the fog out of it, and started moving towards the kitchen. When did I get so tired? Maybe I need some more tea... She made it to her workspace and started clearing the counter, but as she started removing dishes, her stomach growled. Didn't I just eat? I could have sworn I was full a few minutes ago. Maybe I'm just imagining things...

Muttering to herself under her breath, she pulled a couple plates over and dished out some sustenance for both her and Ethan. "Here, maybe we can eat these as we go," Ash offered as she handed him the plate.

Before they could leave the mess hall, however, Ash found herself back underneath the counter, reaching for the unmarked box again. She wrapped her fingers around it and quickly scooted out, but as she stood, she felt a wave of dizziness sweep over her. She gripped the table as she swayed, then turned to Ethan with wide eyes. "I think I need to rest for a bit... And get something to eat... I don't feel so great..."

[Mess hall]

Ethan quickly helped steady Ash. " You and me both." He said, yawning and trying to shake off the tiredness . Taking a couple bites of the corn, he asked. "What's in the box ?" But before he could get a reply back , the comms vibrated .

[Bridge]

Lieutenant Carter to Crewman Hadden please meet me in Sickbay immediately

"Well then . I guess I'm needed in sickbay ." He said as he quickly scarfed down a few more bites of food. "I guess I'll see you later then. Unless we get looped again."
Heading down to the sickbay , he gave a nod to the others. "HeyÁ¢â,¬"yawwwnÁ¢â,¬"So what's the plan? If it involves some sleep, I'm all in. "

[Katheryn Brighton]

Heading down to the sickbay , he gave a nod to the others. "HeyÁ¢â,¬"yawwwnÁ¢â,¬"So what's the plan? If it involves some sleep, I'm all in. "

[Sickbay]

Katheryn looked over as Crewman Hadden walked in and yawned before asking what he plan was and she didn't blame him for yawning or for wanting it to involve sleep and if there was a way for them to do that then she would happily let him but they had a mission to complete.

" I'm afraid not Mr Hadden you'll be joining myself, the XO and two from Beta Shift in a shuttle as we've been tasked to investigate the Cargo Ship that appears just before we loop " she replied then looked towards Caleb with a faint smile " Dr Brighton and his team are giving us stimulants to keep us awake and functioning so we can complete our mission".

[James Carter]

[Sickbay]

Katheryn looked over as Crewman Hadden walked in and yawned before asking what he plan was and she didn't blame him for yawning or for wanting it to involve sleep and if there was a way for them to do that then she would happily let him but they had a mission to complete.

" I'm afraid not Mr Hadden you'll be joining myself, the XO and two from Beta Shift in a shuttle as we've been tasked to investigate the Cargo Ship that appears just before we loop " she replied then looked towards Caleb with a faint smile " Dr Brighton and his team are giving us stimulants to keep us awake and functioning so we can complete our mission".

[Sickbay]

James stayed back against the wall so that he could observe the rest of his crew. "Let's get this done so we can get over to the cargo ship. I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you how time sensitive this is." Technically, it wasn't that time sensitive at all. If they missed it this time they would just go for it earlier the next run. However he wasn't about to say that.

[Ashlynn Ren Morgaine]

[Mess hall]

Ethan quickly helped steady Ash. " You and me both." He said, yawning and trying to shake off the tiredness . Taking a couple bites of the corn, he asked. "What's in the box ?" But before he could get a reply back , the comms vibrated .

"Well then . I guess I'm needed in sickbay ." He said as he quickly scarfed down a few more bites of food. "I guess I'll see you later then. Unless we get looped again."

[Mess Hall]

Ash followed Ethan's example and did her best to get some food down. It seemed to help a little with the dizziness, but she was still bone tired. Ethan's question about the box brought her attention back to the present, however, and gave her a little boost of energy as her curiosity took over. "You know, I'm not sure. All of my supplies and tools are usually labeled, but this is completely unmarked and I can't even find a latch to release the lid on it."

Her fingers twirled the chess piece around her neck as she spoke, obviously lost in thought. Before she could give the box too much attention though, the message from the Captain came through and Ethan was summoned to sickbay.

[Athena- Bridge]

"Ms. Morgaine. This time loop seems to have worn everyone out. I want you to have the kitchen staff running food packs to whoever you can get them too. It feels like a 6 hour skip or so every time we loop. That means people are going to be missing meals. I know you'll have to start any preparation over again each time we loop so you'll probably have to use the replicators to get things out to people. This is top priority- people could easily starve."

Ash exhaled and allowed her eyes to close for a moment before she responded. "Aye, Captain. I'm the only person on duty at the moment, but I can call in a couple people... Even then, I don't know if we'll be able to run food around the ship. I can bring it to a few key places like the Bridge, Sickbay, and Engineering, but other than that, we'll be working non-stop just to get food ready - especially if I have to start over after every loop. It might be easier to send people to the Mess Hall whenever possible. We have space to set up pillows and blankets so people can rest as well."

As Ash spoke, she moved back into the kitchen, waving at Ethan as he left. She started heating up water and dug through her stores to grab every caffeinated drink she could find, resulting in an intergalactic mix of teas and coffees. She already had one batch of food ready, thanks to the time skip.

Once she finished the message to the Captain, Ash reached out to Sasha and Nicholai, the two young civilians who usually only worked in the mess hall during busy meal times. Luckily, they were both awake and physically able to make the trek down to the mess hall in a few minutes.

[Caleb Brighton]

[Sickbay]

Katheryn looked over as Crewman Hadden walked in and yawned before asking what he plan was and she didn't blame him for yawning or for wanting it to involve sleep and if there was a way for them to do that then she would happily let him but they had a mission to complete.

" I'm afraid not Mr Hadden you'll be joining myself, the XO and two from Beta Shift in a shuttle as we've been tasked to investigate the Cargo Ship that appears just before we loop " she replied then looked towards Caleb with a faint smile " Dr Brighton and his team are giving us stimulants to keep us awake and functioning so we can complete our mission".

[ Medical Bay

"Indeed we are. Hop on up to the chair and I will get you the dosage,Caleb said. He was preparing the next dosage. With Wendy, Al, and Edward's help, the last person of the away team that needed a dosage was Ethan. He was glad to have already administered it to himself. Though he was nowhere near where he was sleepless the last time when Franc showed, he still envied Al sometimes. Though the circumstances that led him to be that way, it must have been nice sometimes to not need sleep.

[Sickbay]

James stayed back against the wall so that he could observe the rest of his crew. "Let's get this done so we can get over to the cargo ship. I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you how time sensitive this is." Technically, it wasn't that time sensitive at all. If they missed it this time they would just go for it earlier the next run. However he wasn't about to say that.

"We are just about done. Once Mr. Hadden get his dosage, you are all good to go. Once you leave, my work doesn't stop. I have a few more doses to administer. I think we can get that done quickly. Hope you find something to fix this soon. I don't know how any more loops we can take before full delirum sets in. Trust me it's not pretty,"Caleb said.

[Ethan Hadden]

[Sickbay]
" I'm afraid not Mr Hadden you'll be joining myself, the XO and two from Beta Shift in a shuttle as we've been tasked to investigate the Cargo Ship that appears just before we loop " she replied then looked towards Caleb with a faint smile " Dr Brighton and his team are giving us stimulants to keep us awake and functioning so we can complete our mission".

[Sickbay]

James stayed back against the wall so that he could observe the rest of his crew. "Let's get this done so we can get over to the cargo ship. I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you how time sensitive this is." Technically, it wasn't that time sensitive at all. If they missed it this time they would just go for it earlier the next run. However he wasn't about to say that.

"We are just about done. Once Mr. Hadden get his dosage, you are all good to go. Once you leave, my work doesn't stop. I have a few more doses to administer. I think we can get that done quickly. Hope you find something to fix this soon. I don't know how any more loops we can take before full delirum sets in. Trust me it's not pretty,"Caleb said.

[Medbay]
"Darn." Ethan laughed as he allowed Dr. Brighton to give him a shot of stimulant . "I thought I was called down here to be a guinea pig for some new sleep aid." He joked before listening to the XO explain the mission . "Sounds like a plan. Fly to the ship , check it out , and see if it has something to do with the timestream . Pretty easy , I say." Feeling the medicine starting to kick in, giving him a energetic buzz, he grinned. "Let's get going then."

[James Carter]

[Sickbay]

James nodded quickly shifting back into the turbolift in hopes the group would follow behind him.

[Shuttlebay]

The doors to the turbolift hissed open as it arrived at the shuttlebay. James silently moved to stand next to the shuttle that had been prepared for them. As he arrived a Crewman handed a PADD over to him with a completed preflight checklist for him to sign off on. Of course the first officer only skimmed it, signed off, and handed it back. "Let's go. We've got your gear on board for you already." Carter said as he turned to look at his away team. Captain, we've arrived at the shuttle and are preparing for departure. I would be prepared for comms to go on the fritz. We'll contact you when we know something though.

[Katheryn Brighton]

[Sickbay]

Despite the situation Katheryn couldn't blame the young crewman's enthusiasm as went over to Caleb to be injected with the stimulant but at the same time understood the urgency for them to get going before they looped again and as the XO left first she motioned for Thomas and Sampson to go first then once Ethan was ready she followed them out but not before she turned to her fiance and gave him the special signal they had for one another when they were unable to speak and with one last smile she walked out and got into the turbo lift already feeling the benefits of the stimulant.

[Shuttlebay]

She wasn't far behind the XO as they left the turbolift and immediately went over to the shuttle that was waiting for them. When Commander Carter had finished with the PADD and told them that their gear was already on board she was glad that they could just get going without any delays especially with them being more alert and not having to worry about the tiredness. " Agreed Commander " she replied then looked at her Security Officers " You heard the XO lets get aboard " she ordered before walking up the ramp and into the shuttle.

[Susan Venator]

[Athena- Bridge]

"Capital idea Ms. Venator. I believe that should~" Constance paused to yawn, covering her mouth politely, "~be of first priority."

Man she could go for some hot Tom Kha Gai or something...

"Ms. Morgaine. This time loop seems to have worn everyone out. I want you to have the kitchen staff running food packs to whoever you can get them too. It feels like a 6 hour skip or so every time we loop. That means people are going to be missing meals. I know you'll have to start any preparation over again each time we loop so you'll probably have to use the replicators to get things out to people. This is top priority- people could easily starve."

Constance furrowed her brow at Jame's question, "It seems like it was at the same time index, as far as I can tell." She said, "It's reasonable to assume that it's time based... or at least linked to something happening." She explained after D'Vid's message had reached her.

"Interesting Mr. D'Vid. Any idea what could trigger something like this?"=/\= She asked as she checked the distance of the cargo ship.

"Excellent Ms. Carter. Let's ready the team- take a shuttle as soon as possible. Take Mr. Hadden- the younger they are the more energy they should still have. Helm, let's get us to the Cargo ship ahead of time. Set in an intercept course at full impulse." She commanded, "James- I want you to go with them. I seem to recall that you have a propensity for boarding ships... even if they were wooden ones." She added, her tired eyes giving him a little "smile".

"Fine then Doctor, let's have the medical staff distribute the stimulants. Please start with the security team that is going to board the cargo ship. We need them particularly alert. No slip-ups."=/\= She said, her voice tenser than she wanted it to appear.

Bridge

Suzie nodded in response as the away team left.

"Permission to us the replicator in your ready room Captain to get some food for the Bridge crew." She asked, knowing that it was by far the closest replicator.