S1E8 Too Much Time on My Hands

[Dylan Torngate]

PO2 Rayek
[USS Challenger - Deck 7 - Dr. Vaughan's Office - Sickbay]

Rayek waited, expecting a further dressing down from the Captain - perhaps a 'you're off my ship the first chance I get' tirade.  What he got was completely unexpected.

Rayek listened as the man tried to empathize with his unique situation, offering to 'run interference' and asking for only 'co-operation' in return; all before removing his commbadge to indicate things said could be 'off the record'.  Rayek frowned, unsure if he could 'trust' this side of the Captain.   Few thing in the Empire were ever 'off the record'  and those few that Rayek had previous experience with were not something he would choose to do again.  But Rayek got the sense from the Captain this wasn't one of those moments, but rather an opportunity to speak freely.  Rayek wished he could sweep the room for listening devices first, but he doubted the Captain would go for that.

Rayek moved into an 'at ease' stance and turned his head to meet the Captain's gaze.

"Captain, believe it or not,  I am cooperating."  Rayek paused a moment to let those words sink in.  "Despite what you might think of my 'malfunctioning' attitude, I have yet to lie to those aboard this ship, except by silence because as you are aware there are parts of my past that are classified.  Beyond  that silence, my loyalty and duty is now to Starfleet and more immediately to this ship and crew.   I know you doubt this... you and every other person on this ship believes I have a dastardly ulterior motive.  I do not.  If I had remained with the Empire, I would be dead or locked in prison until death because things I know or because I failed to meet certain expectations."

Rayek at this point looked away turning his eyes to focus on the doctor's desk.  It made it easier to continue speaking.  "And perhaps that is as it should have been - a proper Romulan officer would be proud to die for the Empire; but I found a reason to want to live free that was stronger than my duty to sacrifice myself for the Empires convenience and it led me to enroll in Starfleet.   In the Empire, I was just shy of commanding my own ship, so yes, I have an attitude - knowing I am capable of much more than what Starfleet will allow me - but I also respect the chain of command."

Rayek looked back to the Captain, "The fact that I broke that chain should show some measure of how dire I viewed the situation at the time.  Admittedly, my emotional state at the time also influenced much of my decision, and for that I apologize.  We were stuck in what seemed like an endless loop of destruction...  It was quite literally maddening."

Rayek looked down to his bound hands, his barefeet and bed-clothes and almost laughed.  "Do you know what images were first in my mind when I woke this morning, Captain?  Overlapping images of the ship exploding- me along with it... me watching Dr. Moores being consumed in a fiery blast before it encompassed me next... images of me attacking my Vulcan cabinmate insanely...  and me in the Brig asking you to kill me before the next loop so I could end this cycle of madness I kept finding myself in."

Rayek looked back to the Captain, "Of all the variations I've seen,  this one is by far the best - the ship is more or less intact, there is no lasting harm to any of the crew from mine or anyone else's actions this time, and the looping has stopped.  If the cost for that peace of mind, is that I am tried for treason 'again' because I assisted in allowing Lt Lek to eject the warp core before it could breach, then I accept that as still a win.  And that, my Captain, is the truth."

[Sickbay]

Dylan listened attentively to the man. As much as he didn't trust the man, his gut told him something struck true with what the man said. He saw the man slouch out of attention, and seemingly give an honest answer.

"I'm aware of your file. Even the parts the censors didn't want me to. But even my clearance codes didn't give me the full story. I trust if any of it ever becomes relevant, you'll tell me." he said, being equally candid. "There are plenty of people in Starfleet who don't like you. They don't like you being on this ship, in that Uniform, and most certainly not in the Gamma quadrant on a frontier ship. They'd rather have you behind a desk or on a Starbase, somewhere they can keep an eye on you." he said, his face impassive in case anyone was trying to read his feelings on the issue.

He listened to the man's life story. He then nodded his hands at the binders. "I take it if I take those off, you're not going to try and kill me?" he asked, a small smile on his face. He then reached down and moved to disengage the restraints.

He then got a call from the Bridge.

[Bridge]
Still with us, Captain? We'll be grabbing the Excalibur here shortly. There is some sort of river looking anomaly out there that we went over. I can confirm that the Challenger was indeed in some sort of time loop. I started realizing it a few cycles ago. Doctor Vaughan and myself noticed we were reliving the same conversation. 

[Sickbay]

Dylan heard the call over the speakers. Even without his badge on, he could hear the message. He reached for the badge, and moved to put it back on his chest.

"I take it I don't need to remind you, this conversation never took place." he said to Rayek, before acquiring his professional attitude. "Crewman tr'Lhoell, you are confined to quarters until our return to the Alpha quadrant. I trust I don't need to have Security escort you. You will be receiving a reprimand for striking a superior officer. Dis-Missed." he snapped off, invoking Starfleetspeak for "Get out". It was a rather easy let-off for the Romulan- one of the lower tiers of punishments he could have given.

Torngate to Lek. Congratulations, Lieutenant. Your anomaly still exists.

Bridge, Captain. Launch a warning buoy at the edge of the anomaly. Begin broadcast of general distress calls on encrypted Federation frequencies.

[Lek]

Torngate to Lek. Congratulations, Lieutenant. Your anomaly still exists.

[Junior Officer's Quarters]

Lek heard the message from the captain and thought, "No poodoo sir," but he replied.

"Thank you Sir."

Lek frowned as he thought over the captain's message and muttered.

"He didn't say I was no longer restricted to quarters, so I believe I will stay right here and enjoy this film I found in the archive."

Lek flopped back onto his bunk and hit play to 'It's a Mad, mad, mad, mad world' and found himself laughing at the nonsense of hyoomon behavior.

[Kyle Briggs]

[Bridge]

Kyle had made his way up to the Ops station as they tracked the return of the Excalibur saucer section. He was about to contact the Captain once again until the man called the Bridge himself.

Bridge, Captain. Launch a warning buoy at the edge of the anomaly. Begin broadcast of general distress calls on encrypted Federation frequencies.

Kyle nodded to the Ops officer who returned the nod a few seconds later.

Buoy launched, Sir. We've also secured the Excalibur. And once it was completely free of the anomaly, we began getting readings similar to a Time Cristal. Sir. If someone tried to install one of those on the Excalibur and was not able to stabilize it, that could have been the cause of the time loop. I haven't figured out the warp cores involvement yet but it had to be connected. We didn't read the crystal until after it was gone. 

[Kyan Mackenzie]

Bridge

Bonnie looked over to Elijah and offered him a smile before he went over to the ops console and changed the display for the young officer who was was behind it. She smiled slightly, watching the ensign work and then looking down to her own console as they ascended.

Once they had raised 10, 000 kilometres, Bonnie looked up and over to Elijah.

"We should be out of it now. Surge levels have lowered significantly." Bonnie looked over to Elijah and let out a small sigh. "Are things still repeating?" Bonnie asked.

Elijah had been monitoring the ascent, as well as collecting data on the river anomaly. The Challenger would be able to navigate around it now, and afterwards the science people could look at the data.

"We're in normal space now. The chronokinetic surges won't be a problem any more." he replied, scanning his screen. Her second question was more difficult. But he didn't have the same feelings about being on the bridge as he did with his physical. "No. We're not in the anomoly anymore. It hasn't repeated for a while."

As he turned to look as the lastest sensor data, his watch alarm sounded. Looking down at it, Elijah saw that it was time for his appointment with the ship's counselor. Of course that meant that he'd missed his physical with Doctor Vaughn entirely, which was a little irritating. Things being settled now, Elijah made his decision. He shut off his alarm and rose form his seat.

"I have an appointment with Lieutenant Maddux now. I'm late."

He then turned on his heel and made his way to the turbolift.

[Rayek trLhoell]

PO2 Rayek
[USS Challenger - Deck 7 - Dr Vaughan's office - Sickbay]

[Sickbay]

Dylan listened attentively to the man. As much as he didn't trust the man, his gut told him something struck true with what the man said. He saw the man slouch out of attention, and seemingly give an honest answer.

"I'm aware of your file. Even the parts the censors didn't want me to. But even my clearance codes didn't give me the full story. I trust if any of it ever becomes relevant, you'll tell me." he said, being equally candid. "There are plenty of people in Starfleet who don't like you. They don't like you being on this ship, in that Uniform, and most certainly not in the Gamma quadrant on a frontier ship. They'd rather have you behind a desk or on a Starbase, somewhere they can keep an eye on you." he said, his face impassive in case anyone was trying to read his feelings on the issue.

At the Captain's admission to not having full access to his file, Rayek wondered what parts had been kept classified, and more importantly - by who and for what purpose?  The suggestion that some would have preferred if he'd have been sent to work on a Starbase or back at Starfleet headquarters in an dull office job stuck behind a desk for the rest of his career was about on par with being sent to prison, and his expression of distaste at the idea clearly said as much.  "Thankfully, that was not the case."

Reading the Captain's preference on the subject was impossible.  But the fact that the Captain had stated his willingness to 'run interference' and had provided this 'off the record' opportunity suggested to Rayek that perhaps the Captain wasn't as set against his presence here on the ship as Rayek first thought.  The man could have taken this incident as the perfect opportunity to get rid of an  'unwanted Romulan spy' - but he hadn't.

He listened to the man's life story. He then nodded his hands at the binders. "I take it if I take those off, you're not going to try and kill me?" he asked, a small smile on his face. He then reached down and moved to disengage the restraints.

He then got a call from the Bridge.

When the Captain questioned about removing his bindings, Rayek noted the Captain's slight smile and Rayek's lips twitched in humor as well.  "You have my word, Captain."   And soon he was freed.  Rayek rubbed at his wrists and was about to comment when Commander Briggs contacted the Captain.

[Bridge]

Still with us, Captain? We'll be grabbing the Excalibur here shortly. There is some sort of river looking anomaly out there that we went over. I can confirm that the Challenger was indeed in some sort of time loop. I started realizing it a few cycles ago. Doctor Vaughan and myself noticed we were reliving the same conversation. 

Rayek looked to the Captain pointedly at the XO's confirmation of not just the anomaly but of the time loop as well.

[Sickbay]

Dylan heard the call over the speakers. Even without his badge on, he could hear the message. He reached for the badge, and moved to put it back on his chest.

"I take it I don't need to remind you, this conversation never took place." he said to Rayek, before acquiring his professional attitude. "Crewman tr'Lhoell, you are confined to quarters until our return to the Alpha quadrant. I trust I don't need to have Security escort you. You will be receiving a reprimand for striking a superior officer. Dis-Missed." he snapped off, invoking Starfleetspeak for "Get out". It was a rather easy let-off for the Romulan- one of the lower tiers of punishments he could have given.

With the Captain's more professional demeanor, Rayek resumed his 'At Attention' stance.   Rayek acknowledged the Captains question about their conversation with a question of his own.  "What conversation, sir?"

At the orders to confine himself to quarters, Rayek responded appropriately.  "Yes, sir."  He left the doctors' office at being dismissed.

He paused on his way out to speak with Dr. Vaughan. "Doctor, the Captain has ordered me to my quarters.  I am on my way there, unless you require me for further tests or observation."

[Lizzie Vaughan]

PO2 Rayek
[USS Challenger - Deck 7 - Dr Vaughan's office - Sickbay]

At the Captain's admission to not having full access to his file, Rayek wondered what parts had been kept classified, and more importantly - by who and for what purpose?  The suggestion that some would have preferred if he'd have been sent to work on a Starbase or back at Starfleet headquarters in an dull office job stuck behind a desk for the rest of his career was about on par with being sent to prison, and his expression of distaste at the idea clearly said as much.  "Thankfully, that was not the case."

Reading the Captain's preference on the subject was impossible.  But the fact that the Captain had stated his willingness to 'run interference' and had provided this 'off the record' opportunity suggested to Rayek that perhaps the Captain wasn't as set against his presence here on the ship as Rayek first thought.  The man could have taken this incident as the perfect opportunity to get rid of an  'unwanted Romulan spy' - but he hadn't.

When the Captain questioned about removing his bindings, Rayek noted the Captain's slight smile and Rayek's lips twitched in humor as well.  "You have my word, Captain."   And soon he was freed.  Rayek rubbed at his wrists and was about to comment when Commander Briggs contacted the Captain.
Rayek looked to the Captain pointedly at the XO's confirmation of not just the anomaly but of the time loop as well.

With the Captain's more professional demeanor, Rayek resumed his 'At Attention' stance.   Rayek acknowledged the Captains question about their conversation with a question of his own.  "What conversation, sir?"

At the orders to confine himself to quarters, Rayek responded appropriately.  "Yes, sir."  He left the doctors' office at being dismissed.

He paused on his way out to speak with Dr. Vaughan. "Doctor, the Captain has ordered me to my quarters.  I am on my way there, unless you require me for further tests or observation."

Sickbay

Lizzie looked up as Rayek exited her office after speaking with Dylan.

"Give me a minute while I run another scan." She replied, taking out a tricorder and scanning the Romulan.

A few seconds later, she examined the results and was pleased with what she saw. She nodded and smiled at Rayek.

"I can release you to your quarters Mr Rayek on the condition that you rest as much as possible. Also, I want you to keep the inhibitor in place until tomorrow so I can get full readings and see if you can handle it on a permanent basis." She replied.

[Catrin Maddux]

NPC-  PO1 Grelek

At Catrin's gentle touch to his arm Grelek frowned and took a step away.   "No offense doctor, but my control is currently limited, now is perhaps not the best time to be offering support through physical contact to a touch-telepath."  He didn't comment on how at that brief contact she seemed as confused as he was.

Grelek wondered if perhaps his problem would be better served if he spoke to Dr. Stroreck.   But the doctor was already leading the way to her office.  Grelek followed and took a seat on one of the chairs.  "Thank you for agreeing to see me."  Grelek got the pleasantries out of the way before delving to the root of the problem.  "I believe the condition has been developing for a while now, but only culminated earlier this morning during an encounter with my roommate."

Grelek glanced down at his hands uncertainly before continuing. "I don't know how to put it in any other way than, I was afraid that the man was going to attack me.  In fact, I was certain of it, because I'd been attacked by him previously... in previous timelines.  It was as if I knew exactly what he was going to do before he did it... but this time he didn't - yet I still feel that fear as if he had.  Meditation thus far has not helped.  And I am doubting myself and my logic in knowing this."

[Deck 7 - Counselor's Office]

Catrin sat back in her chair and listened to the man's words. Suddenly something clicked in the back of her mind, and she sat forward, excitedly.

"Timelines! That's it! That's what's been so off with today. Temporal mechanics aren't really my forte, but I did experience a looping situation once before. Well I say once, but if I recall it lasted a couple weeks. The memories are overlapping, and causing this confusion. It's difficult to say how long we experienced this particular loop."

She sat back, and looked a bit sheepish. "I'm sorry about that. I got a bit excited because I finally understand why today's felt so weird. If we have indeed been caught in a temporal loop, it's quite likely the entire crew has been put through a tremendous strain. You're definitely not going crazy for remembering an incident occurring that hasn't actually happened. It's not unreasonable for some members of the crew to have lashed out. Everyone has their limit."

The counselor folded her hands on the desk, and her tribble inched out from behind a stack of PADDS, and gave a quiet purr. She lightly scruffed at it's fur and it began to roll lazily back and forth.

"Perhaps even Vulcan minds have their limit. It may be you've just been over taxing yourself trying to make sense out of a near impossible situation. I think some rest could be a great help to you, and I can prescribe a mild sedative to help you in that manner, if you wish. I also know a few holoprograms that provide an excellent relaxing environment. For a time, I had some trouble controlling my empathic abilities. Sometimes trying too hard can make it more difficult on yourself."

[Bonnie Moors]

Elijah had been monitoring the ascent, as well as collecting data on the river anomaly. The Challenger would be able to navigate around it now, and afterwards the science people could look at the data.

"We're in normal space now. The chronokinetic surges won't be a problem any more." he replied, scanning his screen. Her second question was more difficult. But he didn't have the same feelings about being on the bridge as he did with his physical. "No. We're not in the anomoly anymore. It hasn't repeated for a while."

As he turned to look as the lastest sensor data, his watch alarm sounded. Looking down at it, Elijah saw that it was time for his appointment with the ship's counselor. Of course that meant that he'd missed his physical with Doctor Vaughn entirely, which was a little irritating. Things being settled now, Elijah made his decision. He shut off his alarm and rose form his seat.

"I have an appointment with Lieutenant Maddux now. I'm late."

He then turned on his heel and made his way to the turbolift.

Bridge

Bonnie nodded at the young man as he replied and then looked over to tell her he was leaving. She smiled slightly and nodded in acknowledgment. "Thank you, Elijah." Bonnie watched him leave and then looked out of the view screen for a moment. She let out a sigh of relief and stood up, walking further into the room.

Bonnie walked over to the commander and looked out of the view screen. "I'm ready for a rest." Bonnie said, turning towards the captain and smiling. "But duty calls. Do you need any assistance with anything else, commander?" Bonnie asked.

[Rayek trLhoell]

PO2 Rayek
[USS Challenger - Deck 7 - Sickbay]

Sickbay

Lizzie looked up as Rayek exited her office after speaking with Dylan.

"Give me a minute while I run another scan." She replied, taking out a tricorder and scanning the Romulan.

A few seconds later, she examined the results and was pleased with what she saw. She nodded and smiled at Rayek.

"I can release you to your quarters Mr Rayek on the condition that you rest as much as possible. Also, I want you to keep the inhibitor in place until tomorrow so I can get full readings and see if you can handle it on a permanent basis." She replied.

Rayek nodded at Dr. Vaughan's request to rest, and assured her he would.  "I'll have little else to occupy my time." 

He nodded again at her request to keep the electronic inhibitor on until the next day, then headed to his quarters.

[USS Challenger - Enlisted Crew Quarters - Deck 17]

Once there, Rayek took the opportunity to shower and change into more appropriate attire.   He made a short entry into his journal about the days events and recorded a brief video call to send to Dr. Mountain-Khan at a later time.  After that,  Rayek accessed files for reading and sat at his desk to review the ships previous mission logs - or at least those that weren't classified above his current level.   He hoped the ship had enough reading material to occupy him during his 'house arrest' otherwise the return trip to the Alpha quadrant was going to be a worse punishment than the mining prison Faicol-lhui.

NPC- PO1 Grelek

[Deck 7 - Dr. Maddux's office]

Grelek listened to Dr Maddux's animated explanation, mildly.  Having her validate his time loop theory helped with his doubt, but not with his self-control.  It did, however as she noted, provide an an possible explanation - mental strain.  Perhaps she was correct and a bit of rest was all he needed?

"Very well, Dr. Maddux, if you believe it will help, I will try resting.  A prescription for the sedative you mention would be appreciated." Without it he doubted he would get much rest.  "Also I do have a Vulcan monastery holoprogram that would likely find peaceful and calming.  Would you be able book the appropriate holotime as a medical requirement? Otherwise it could be a week or more before time becomes available on the holodeck."

While the doctor made the necessary arrangements from her end, Grelek contacted his superior and booked off on wellness leave.
A few minutes later, the sedative prescription was administered and Grelek stood to leave. "Thank you Dr. Maddux. I will book a proper appointment within the next few days to apprise you of my progress.  Live Long and Prosper."

[Dylan Torngate]

[Sickbay]

Dylan exited the room moments later, and made smartly toward the sickbay doors. He'd had enough of... people for a week. He listened to his XO's reply.

[Bridge]

Buoy launched, Sir. We've also secured the Excalibur. And once it was completely free of the anomaly, we began getting readings similar to a Time Cristal. Sir. If someone tried to install one of those on the Excalibur and was not able to stabilize it, that could have been the cause of the time loop. I haven't figured out the warp cores involvement yet but it had to be connected. We didn't read the crystal until after it was gone. 

[Corridor]

Understood, Commander. On my way. he said, cutting the channel abruptly and stalking toward the bridge. He entered, and exited again a few moments later.

[Bridge]

"Commander."� he said, as he walked toward the centre of the bridge. "Best possible speed away, I'd guess. Be sure to trigger the self-destruct on the warp core once we're far enough away."� he said, but he never had the chance to have the order carried out. The comms panel lit up like a christmas tree on fire, responding to their distress call. Two Luna-class science vessels had abruptly changed course from their path to return to the Wormhole, and were streaking toward the Challenger.

The screen lit up as the lead ship hailed them- the USS Ganymede. Challenger, this is the Ganymede. You do this again, I'm blasting your ship to kingdom come myself. sounded off the voice of a rather irritated Starfleet captain.

It had been Three and a Half weeks.