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Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

DAY 08 [0800 HRS.] TEMPUS SIGILLUM

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[ Captain Ives | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
Attn: All OOC, but also IC: 1) @Brutus 2) @chXinya 3) @Ellen Fitz 4) @trevorvw 5) @Nolan 6) @Hope 7) @RyeTanker 8) @P.C. Haring 9) @stardust 10) @Number6 11) @Swift 12) @BipSpoon 13) @Auctor Lucan
[Show/Hide]
By the time the Senior Staff had all arrived, Captain Ives entered the conference lounge in her female form. "Good morning," she said with a faint smile, which didn't quite reach her eyes. Her concern was for the tasks ahead, which had implications of dire nature and a scope that was difficult to grasp in its entirety. "Please be seated."

By the time the officers present were in their seats, the sliding doors parted for Sarresh Morali, whom had been summoned for this briefing in particular given his affiliation with the Relativity. Jien raised her eyes to the former Ash'reem and inclined her head, motioning for him to come and sit in the free chair next to Natalie Stark. The man knew why he was here already, so Jien turned to Cameron Henshaw - her Yeoman seated at her adjacent duty station in the room. "Good morning, Cam. Please hail the Oneida. They are waiting for our call. On screen."

The panoramic viewport next to the conference table was soon lit by the view of the Oneida's briefing room instead of Qo'noS' surface, and Captain Jackson was there along with the rest of his Senior Staff, all seated and silent. [Ives, good morning. All present and accounted for. We have cut off all sensor logging and recording in this room as you asked.]

"Good morning, Jackson. Thank you. Thea? Initiate encryption mode Ives-Niner-Alpha for this subspace transmission and deactivate all sensor logging on my authority." Jien said, and once Thea chirped in compliance, she turned back to her own officers. "What I am about to tell you all... is information that isn't just sensitive in the classical sense. One might argue it goes beyond traditional security clearances, as the repercussions of what we need to do may have consequences that are impossible to fully predict. Yet with that inherent risk in mind... the reason why this assignment is spoken of now is also precisely that very lack of predictability."

Jien came to stand behind her chair, placing her hands on the back of it while she spoke. "The Infested have dismantled the very means by which the Relativity and Starfleet of the future could effectively protect the timeline. What the Infested have done - or rather will do from our perspective - is to ensure that their access to time-travel technology allow them to go wherever they want, and by doing so - unchallenged as they are by the time-preserving forces of the centuries to come - they have full latitude and control over the course of history. By acting in knowledge of what they need to do in the present to affect the future, and by being able to deploy forces from the future to ensure victory, whatever we do here may - at any point - be for naught. They already sent the Calamity to destroy this ship as well as the Harbinger, and they still have the means to do something like that. Even though they have difficulty to predict the development in this timeline because the Relativity found us in the Mahéwa System and helped us continue our mission, our timeline still isn't protected from temporal incursions, so unless we can raise a defence against the Infested in the future, any achievements we make can be undone."

Pushing away from the chair, Jien walked to the panorama viewport. "Lieutenant Morali, the TDG sat, please," Jien said to their Temporal Affairs Officer, cuing him to display the salvaged image of what she was talking about. "When Captain Ducane of the Relativity sent back Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt to his original timeline - ours - Leavitt wasn't just given instructions on how to help us keep the Infested from destroying Praxis. The PADD he brought from the Relativity also held encrypted information that we'd be privy to access if we managed to keep Martok as Chancellor. Ducane also told us to keep the Breen out of the war if he were to help us further, which we also managed to do. This established key events in our timeline that allowed Ducane to tell us more about what we could do to fight the Infested without compromising other development that need to happen after today. I know this is a lot to take in, but Sarresh Morali will give you the science of it all."

The screen on the wall was displaying something neither of the Senior Staffs had seen before. [Show/Hide]

"Captain Ducane's ship is without port in the timestream, but they are still able to retain some data - kept from being corrupted by what the Infested have done. What you see is one of the satellites of the Temporal Defence Grid, which the Infested have erased from existence. It was a satellite network which prevents unauthorized temporal incursions from some point in the future and onwards. The only reason we can see this image is because the Relativity's stand-alone and protected database still kept it after the Infested ensured it was never created.

"Ducane's report state that the grid was supposed to come online at an unknown date in the 25th century. It is believed that it was secretly co-created by numerous factions in all four Quadrants - the technology spreading since it was in everyone's interest to protect themselves from incursions. The grid prevented temporal incursions, any attempts rejected unless authorised by the temporal authorities in the destination-point. You may have read reports from our dealings with the Relativity wherein Ducane has mentioned the Temporal Cold War. What you are looking at is the very reason why it will be a 'cold' war."

Pacing the conference room, Jien continued, looking between the faces present as well as the viewport and the Oneida officers. "In order to keep this network of satellites out of the recorded history, and keeping temporal factions in the future from travelling back to undo its creation, it was developed off the books and by incognito temporal agents - acting outside of jurisdiction to end centuries of endless incursions, also called the Temporal War. The very existence of the TDG was born out of an ontological paradox, where the creators learned about the grid from someone in the future. In a sense, we are now a part of that paradox... since we have two tasks ahead of us."

Pausing in front of the satellite on display, Jien laid it out as plainly as she could. "At some point, about one year from now - as best as we know - a temporal agent is supposed to organise a meeting with agents from many 24th century powers in order to propose the TDG Project. The report from the Relativity state that they will never live to do so unless we keep the Infested from killing them. Our first task, to be kept entirely off the record - never present in any log or written report - is first learn whom these agents are, find them, and then prevent their retro-assassinations. Then, when the Relativity can detect a version of the future in which the TDG does exist in the timestream, our next task is to 'pull' the satellites into our present day, and thus keep the Infested from undermining our mission from hereon out. The means by which we will be able to do so is still being researched, but if Ducane has suggested it as a means to preserve our timeline, we can but assume there is a way."

Pausing, Jien empathised with the looks on the faces of those present, the task seemingly daunting even for her. "Missions pertaining to this project will be under the code 'Tempus Sigillum', and all missions pertaining to it must be kept off the logs, to ensure temporal security for the agents we'll save, as well as the location of the satellites once they are here. Before your questions and any reports from your departments, Lieutenant Morali? What do we know?"

Giving the cue to Sarresh to explain the science of it all, Jien went to sit at her place by the table. There would be time to address the current status of the Romulan development, the tech research into thalaron dispersion and anyonic phase variance applications as well, but it was plain how their mission had just become a lot more complicated...

OOC: Click for Conference Lounge reference cutaway: [Show/Hide]
This is the continuation for Interregnum 01-02! In the header I have listed some writers with present characters, but this post introduces a number of coming short missions that will be carried out in the backdrop of other events, so it is a Attn: All nonetheless. 'Tempus Sigillum' will be a theme of stand-alone away-missions and Story Prompts that will continue through the Interregnum as well as the Episode to come. Oh! Remember to post in the Story Workshop with your ideas for Episode 02!

As for posting order, it follows the seating arrangement starting with the Guest/Liaison seat, so, 1) @Brutus 2) @chXinya 3) @Ellen Fitz 4) @trevorvw 5) @Nolan 6) @Hope 7) @RyeTanker 8) @P.C. Haring 9) @stardust 10) @Number6 11) @Swift 12) @Sqweloookle 13) @BipSpoon 14) @Auctor Lucan . The first posting round will address the Tempus Sigillum mission with questions, observations and thoughts/reactions, while the second posting round will switch to Departmental reports. Please feel free to NPC the officers on the Oneida if you want! I will then close this thread out with a finishing post where Ives deals orders and answers questions. If there are any follow-up reactions to the orders given they can of course be posted as well.

So, this is set the morning of Day 8. With this starter, we open up for Supplemental threads set between Day 8 and Day 18 of the Interregnum. The rest of the days of the Interregnum are N/A for the time being. Since the Theurgy has Quantum Slipstream tech, the crew will be able to reach the Klingon border well in time for Donatra's arrival, if that is where the Theurgy goes (again, please post in the Story Workshop if you have ideas!). As for Chancellor Martok, he will leave Qo'noS by Day 10 at 1200 hrs., the Klingon Houses falling in line and gradually making a fleet along the voyage towards the Romulan border.

The naming convention for all Supplemental threads (Group or One-on-One) in Interregnum 01-02 is Day 0X [YYYY hrs.] Insert Title, wherein X marks the day and YYYY marks the time. There will be a list of Story Objectives that will be detailed in an upcoming Newsletter this week, which covers potential missions in the continuation of the Interregnum, but remember that this is also a time for R&R.

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #1 –
[ Lt (jg) Sarresh Morali | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy] Attn:
[Show/Hide]

Sarresh approached the assembled senior staff with his features schooled, and took his seat next to the ships XO. He glanced at the Martian woman, whom seemed focused on discerning the fate of the universe itself in the swirling clouds of cream that dotted her ever present cup of coffee. She met his gaze for a brief moment, arched an eyebrow, and then leaned back in her chair, watching the rest of the assembled room. That worked for him. He'd much rather be back in his lab, but moments like this were one of the reasons he was on this ship. Did it feel wrong, to explain what he was going to explain to the collected department heads of not one, but two ships in what he viewed to be a primitive past' compared to where he had spent many years of his life? Yes.

Did it need to be done anyways? Yes.

He'd already gone over what was to be discussed with Captain Ives, what could be told, what should be avoided, and how much detail to go into. It wasn't uncommon for Sarresh to be in one of these briefings, but despite the smattering of temporally displaced individuals that had managed to find their way onto the Theurgy in recent months, Sarresh truly was the expert on the subject matter to be discussed. And if they were going to pull off what he and Ives hoped to achieve, they were going to need the department heads of both ships to pitch in. To sum it all up for himself, he was going to have to suck it up, and brief them all.

Mimicking Stark, Sarresh looked around at the others. He spotted at least one friendly face, and spared the smallest of smiles towards the ships Chief Diplomat. Quite the friendly display from the man whose natural state could be summed up as permanently scowling. He also caught the gaze of Lt. Cmdr. Cross, whom he had recently deployed with on the harrowing trip to the Azurite Station. Sarresh repressed a shudder there, and simply nodded in acknowledgement of all that had happened therein. Of course, there were new faces since the last time he'd had to do one of these staff briefings (not to mention a whole second command staff he'd had little to no personal interaction with), and Sarresh was glad that - in addition to practicing his report in his quarters earlier, he'd looked over the files of the current staff - for both ships.

He could be damned cantankerous at times, but he would be damned indeed if he wasn't prepared.

As Ives' greeted the assembled staff's, Sarresh fiddled about with his PaDD, tapping his fingers along the edge of the casing. There was no doubt that Jien Ives was quite eloquent when they wished to be, but Sarresh would lay money down (not that they used money in the 24th century, he had to remind himself) that everyone in Theurgy's observation lounge could at least guess the nature of their briefing, given his presence. Still, he quietly noted, squaring his own shoulders as if to brace for a blow, even they are going to be dismayed by this news.

And thus he watched the crew in front of him, and those on the display screen, and not Captain Ives, as the news of the situation with the Relativity, and uptime in general, was revealed.

It was a grim picture indeed, and Sarresh, for once, looked sad, not angry. He had very little memory of his time aboard the Relativity, but he could empathize (hard as that was to imagine) with their crew and the plight facing them, adrift in the seas of time itself, trying to right their course. He still wanted to punch Ducane the next chance he got, but his heart did go out to those who served with the man, and the struggles they now faced. As he nodded toward Ives and pulled up the schematics, he schooled his own features, as the crux of the briefing materialized on the display.

For something so powerful, Sarresh had to admit that the device was deceptively...normal looking. Not at all out of place in orbit of any world. Which was the point. He felt a twitch run through him, a shiver down the spine that manifested across his entire back, as the satellite spun gently on its y-axis. With a few strokes he'd just kicked the Temporal Prime Directive square between its metaphorical legs.

And he'd do it again, if he had to.

Standing as he was addressed by Cpt. Ives, Sarresh gave a terse nod to the assembled crews. "Some of you are familiar with my background and qualification, some of you are not. Suffice to say that I am a preeminent authority on all things related to time travel currently available to those of us gathered here, as well as our allies in the Klingon High command. And even I don't know everything about the Temporal Defense Grid."

For just a moment, there was a brief spark of amusement in the swirling miasma of colors that made up Sarresh strikingly non-human eyes, but even that seemed to dim as he continued on. "The Grid is perhaps the single most important temporal advancement in the future history of our galaxy. This network of satellites, deployed at key points across the vast expanse of the Milky Way, will form something of a temporal shield that - without prior authorization of the contemporary agencies in the target time frame, will prevent incursions like those we saw with the Calamity.

"It is precisely because of the grand importance that the names of those that are responsible for creating and populating the grid are hidden in the depths of time itself. What we do know," he took a breath, enlarging the diagram and highlighting a few key components, "is that by some point in the next century, a new form of temporal phase variance technology will be created, that allow these satellites to detect and refract any attempt to breach the timeline without proper codes. Think of it as the shields on a starship. With the proper frequency modulation programmed into your onboard phasers, you can cut through a shield as if it were not there. At the same time, even with a ships shields engaged, communication can be enacted between the vessel and another nearby ship, or comm's buoy. The shields do not prevent a subspace conversation."

This was a gross understatement as to just how the device actually saturated space and time from the point of the grids simultaneous deployment across the Alpha quadrant, but it would suffice for the moment. Taking a breath, he plunged on.

"Now, with that in mind, the TDG would allow up time agencies to reach out to their downtime counterparts and confer and collaborate. The frequencies and methods for such cross-time communication protocols are, as you can imagine, classified at the highest of levels and I only retain knowledge of a few such frequencies that will be made available as needed. However for the purpose of understanding, accept that they exist, and the temporal agencies of most of our local polities are aware of them at this point in history. Uptime could talk to downtime, but without the proper approval of downtime agencies - being given the exact cryptographic frequency modulation of the TDG's phase variance at the point in time of which uptime agents might wish to breach downtime - such an incursion cannot happen."

There was a another pause here, to let everyone wrap their mind around the situation. Pressing on, Sarresh began to tap out a series of commands on his PaDD, noting, "In addition to establishing this defense, the TDG also acts in a similar fashion to the Tachyon Detection Grid technique employed by Starfleet and the Klingon Empire during the events of the Klingon Civil war in the mid to late 2360s, but, once more, on a temporal, galaxy wide scale. The system will detect inbound incursions from uptime, track the moment, notify the relevant contemporary authorities via the protected protocol channels, and then bounce the intruders back uptime to their point of origin. Detect and reflect. Once enough of these satellites are deployed in strategic points, the grid becomes self-sustaining and undetectable. The more units brought into play, the wider the field of protection and the more redundancies that can be deployed to shore up the timeline. With this grid in place, the Relativity is able to monitor changes and act, uptime, while still having a port of call to return to. Without it..."

Sarresh shrugged his shoulders and held his hands up, mimicking a gesture he'd seen plenty of humans use in the past. 'Without the grid' was self evident at this point. Their greatest uptime ally was untethered in a temporal storm, and the stylized Temporal Cold War was about to be a hot one in the present, with a new front opening up thanks to those who had become infected to date, or would, in the future.

"Further specifics have been distributed to the personal PaDD's of everyone in this room, relevant to your department, specialties, and need to know," he glanced first at Ives, and then, at Captain Jackson on the view-screen. "Similar details will be made available to your staff by courier, Captain Jackson. I'm sure you all understand the nature of what we are dealing with and the need for an overabundance of precautions."

That made a good Segue back from the scientific specifics of how the grid worked and to the issue at hand. "Tracking down and protecting the individuals responsible for the creation of the TDG and preventing their assassination, thus undoing the defense grid and allowing the incursions to begin in the first place - and yes, I hate paradoxes as much as, and possible more than the rest of you - is going to be quite the challenge. Without their skills and knowledge, the grid cannot exist. We need it to exist in order to use the encapsulated methods and hints, for lack of a better word, delivered to us by Lt. Leavitt to then fetch the grid system and pull it downtime to present day. Which...will probably cause its own issues, but is a far better alternative to the can of worms we are currently dealing with."

While wondering at the etymology of that particular human colloquialism, Sarresh set his PaDD down, and clasped his hands behind his back, glancing first at Ives, then the rest of the staffs. "I'll be happy," - willing was probably a better word - "To answer whatever further questions you have to the best of my ability. Please trust however, if I say that I cannot go into further detail on some specific point or another, there is a good reason for it."

Once he had addressed what he could in the immediate moment, with Ives leave, the time traveler eased himself back down into his chair, carefully folding his hands on the table before him. Mostly to keep the small trembles in his left hand from being visible to the assembled group. Despite the necessity of the briefing, simply talking about the TDG with Leavitt, and Pierce, whom had brought and discovered the data, respectively, had been taxing enough. The large number of individuals outside of the authorize temporal agencies that now knew of the Temporal Defense Grid made him sick to his stomach. The visceral nature of his reaction had surprised him. To date, he'd been perfectly willing to bend the Temporal Prime Directive to the point of outright breaking it if it made his job in the past easier. The battle of the Azure Nebula being the most obvious example of what he was willing to do, or allow to happen, to change, if need be. He'd been haunted by the revelations of what might have been, as well as the personal loss he suffered there, but this...

Ives was lucky Sarresh had been able to talk at all on the subject, a sign of their dire need. At least he was managing not to rush out of the room and give into the urge to empty the contents of breakfast into the nearest refresher.

OOC: I had planned to have this up three days ago but worked had other ideas. Please let me know if anything needs adjusting

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #2 –
[PLt. Selena Ravenholm | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy]

Standing almost ramrod straight, Selena studied the main display mounted into the center of the inner wall of the Conference Lounge, hands clasped behind her back.  It was nice to be out of the antigrav chair, things were still a little stiff and tight around her back but the “normal” motions were perfectly comfortable once again.  Her more “acrobatic” feats will have to wait a while longer though, her spine could wrap itself into a pretzel of course, but the meat around it would file attempted murder charges.  At least she didn’t have to worry about such contortions for now, most of her non-recovery time had been taken up by sitting at consoles and reading up on an unending stream of reports from all over the ship.

It was almost a dream.

The hiss of the doors brought Selena out of her inner musings, raven hair brushed along the back of her neck when she turned to see who the final arrivals were, and as expected there was only the one person left: Captain Ives themselves.  Nodding in greeting and acceptance, the cyborg quickly slipped into her chair and automatically synced her visual feeds with the table’s interface with a small smirk.  No fumbling with the control pad while she was in here, if she needed to look something up or display something on the screen or holo she was doing it in style.  One final arrival managed to catch her off guard though, her eyes snapped to the door and an eyebrow rose in surprise at the sight of one Lt. Morali strolling in, giving his best impression of a Brikar.  Well this just got interesting.

As soon as the Ashreem-turned-human took his own chair Captain Ives didn’t waste any time, Henshaw linked in the Oneida and got the briefing going.  Nor did they waste time on the usual pleasantries, preambles, or other such openers.  And as usual, the captain did not disappoint.  Selena’s silver-blue eyes couldn’t stop jumping between the Captain and the Temporal Affairs Officer all throughout the briefing, and when the visuals came in it was hard to pull her eyes off of them instead.  That didn’t mean she wasn’t listening of course, the idea of temporal incursions from the future wasn’t new to her, she’d faced the Calamity and heard all about Nina’s origins, and that was just what she’d experience in the past few months.  Before this she’d read all sorts of cryptic, yet still highly classified or buried (or both) reports about these “temporal agents” from all throughout Federation, and even pre-Federation history.

This “Temporal Defense Grid” was something entirely new though, and Selena was having trouble wrapping her head around it. Almost as soon as Morali displayed one of the Grid’s satellites on the screen she tried to download a copy to study in detail later.  She should’ve known she’d hit a wall the moment she digitally reached for the file, and she ran into it so hard she almost got knocked out of her own AR space, physically rocking back in the chair as if pushed while the displays only she could see momentarily scrambled.  The hell was that?. Shaking her head clear and rebooting the AR she listened in one ear while prepping several bots and daemons to spearhead some more file retrieval attempts, and her frown deepened as every single one of them either just vanished into digital oblivion without a trace, or returned with pure garbage.  Or worse.

Somehow, she got the feeling that Mr. Future going on about how this Grid worked was toying with her.

Retreating in defeat for now, Selena returned her full attention to Morali and had to fight the urge to immediately access the PADD sitting on the table in front of her.  Physically looking up information like that was a breach of etiquette after all, and this one would be on display for everyone to see.  As much as it pained her, she could wait.

Morali finished his presentation at last, and Selena twisted the chair back around to face him fully, no longer needing to see the screen and him at the same time.  “So, how exactly are we supposed to do something like this?  You say there’s no record of who exactly worked to build this thing, and that it just ‘appeared’ so to speak one day, snapping into activity without anyone knowing about it until it was too late to stop it.  Galaxy-wide.” Her eyes were staring to blink a little fast as her mind raced to make sense of the sheer scale of this beast.  “Setting aside all the technical issues of a quantum-level subspace dampening network working at near-instantaneous response times *anywhere in the galaxy with minimum, if any, sentient control and or oversight*, just how are we supposed to identify and protect key players who could be literally anywhere, anyone, or even anywhen?"

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #3 –
[ Lt. Cmdr. Cross | Conference Lounge | D. 1 | V. 1 | USS Theurgy ]
Attn 1) @trevorvw  2) @Nolan  3) @Hope  4) @RyeTanker  5) @P.C. Haring  6) @stardust  7) @Number6  8) @Swift  9) @BipSpoon  10) @Auctor Lucan  11) @Brutus  12) @chXinya

Recognizing that the last time he’d sat here, he’d been near fresh out of bed with Hathev and mere hours from heading the crazy shit at the Azurite Station, Cross had an odd mixture of emotions swirling in his gut now. On the one hand—prosthetic or flesh didn’t matter—he felt more settled with how things were developing with Hathev, and since spending time with Kai and Elro on the holodeck, Cross felt less guilt and confusion over connecting with the counselor so quickly after losing Blue. They had not had a “repeat performance” of their first night together, partially due to her continued recovery from the Klingon boarding party nearly eviscerating her, but mostly because they both agreed they needed to figure things out without falling into the sack if this was going to turn out to be something that actually worked. Granted, that didn’t preclude kisses, intimate touches, and physical or verbal flirtations, all of which Cross knew without having to ask the woman, that what he lacked in experience he made up for in enthusiasm and the desire to improve.

Then there was the other hand.

He still had nightmares, sometimes daymares, of all the fuckery they’d encountered at the Azurite Station, and if he never again had to hear about the Niga virus or any nonsense connected to it he’d die a happy man. Almost at the moment of the thought, Cross made eye contact with Sarresh Morali and he nodded in return. The potentially ominous nature of what they were about to hear in this briefing had Cross shifting in his chair as they waited for everyone to settle. If not belly-bursting seed pods of doom, what fuckery were they going up against next?

As soon as Ives cued Jackson, Cross pulled himself from his internal musings and tracked the conversation with due consideration as befit his station. The more Ives spoke, the more Cross settled into an oddly placed ease. Unpredictable temporal fuckery was a step up from what he’d just dealt with. Leaning forward, forearms braced on the table, Cross studied the Temporal Defence Grid satellite. He snorted to himself as he remembered the conversation and makeshift dinner he’d shared with Lieutenant Leavitt for onboarding and debriefing purposes. It seemed the man was good for more than just a laugh. Glancing down at his own PADD, Cross left himself a note to follow-up with Leavitt; something he’d promised to do anyway.

Cross tracked the train of insight alongside the captain’s steps as Ives paced the conference room. They were going to be shooting at unknown targets while blindfolded in the dark. No difficulty there. Cross inwardly snorted again, still thankful that they were coming up against assassination attempts instead of more virus shit. He made more notes as Ives stepped aside to make way for Morali. The man’s opening sequence made Cross clear his throat to hide a chuckle. “I’m the expert and even I don’t know jack shit,” seemed to be the theme of the briefing and the route they were taking this round.

Morali quickly moved into a less eloquent but no less thorough account of temporal technology that was fascinating, and had it been discussed under any less dire circumstances Cross would have enjoyed mulling over the concepts more, but as it was, he kept himself from needless musings and stayed centered on the intel. He couldn’t help but nod in agreement at Morali’s explanations for what was being shared and why the not-a-real-but-placating-apology to Jackson almost annoying Cross with how logical it was to follow these precautions.

Cross remained silent as Morali closed his briefing and the cybernetically enhanced Ravenholm spoke up first. He appreciated her initial questions and remained silent for the time being, more interested to hear others' thoughts and questions before voicing his own. Though his own were so far along the same lines of who were they supposed to shoot at, blow up, bribe, negotiate with, etc., to get all this accomplished. It seemed impossible to achieve victory at every level in this type of scenario, and Cross got the sinking feeling that they were coming out of the frying pan and falling into the fire.

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #4 –
[ Lt. Cmdr. Kai Akoni | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy]

Kai sat at the table he’d sat at multiple times before, but this time it felt different. Maybe he’d finally broke through a wall in his mind or maybe he was finally starting to crack under the pressure. Either way, he felt slightly more comfortable sitting here.

The one thing that didn’t make him comfortable was the subject matter of the briefing. The whole briefing was just causing his head to swirl and for none of it to make much sense. Truth be told, his least favourite subject at the academy according to both him and his transcript, was temporal mechanics. He could understand the generality behind the principles, but the whole “this is what happened, only it hasn’t happened it” is where he got lost. He had been working hard trying to understand it and he vowed to himself during this briefing that he’d be doing a lot more reading about it.

As he sat in his chair and listened to the briefing from both Ives and Morali he shifted his weight in the chair from side to side. Realizing he was sore from his workout earlier, he brushed it away from his mind. He knew he’d have a headache following this briefing.

The large man listened to Ravenholm’s question which actually clued him into the gravity of the situation. Maybe not the gravity, but the question caused it to finally click in his head.

He thought about it and he was sure that the thought had occurred to everyone else in the room. The Theurgy was here and in this place with all this information. He decided to say aloud what others were thinking. Even though it wasn’t a question, it was a statement with no answer..at least not yet.

”Echoing that last question, how do we know we aren’t one of those key players”

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #5 –
[ Lt. Vanya | Conference Lounge | D. 1 | V. 1 | USS Theurgy ]
Attn 1) @trevorvw   2) @Nolan  3) @Hope   4) @RyeTanker   5) @P.C. Haring   6) @stardust   7) @Number6   8) @Swift   9) @BipSpoon   10) @Auctor Lucan   11) @Brutus   12) @chXinya 

Time Travel.   Why did it have to be time travel?     

The only thing sure about time travel was that nothing was for sure.    It was the ultimate in chaos theory.   

Long argued to be the stuff of science fiction, many events, accidental and intended had proven that theory to be wrong.   Everything about time travel was flux.    In some regards, if you changed history then you were breaking the rules (what researchers called the Keeler Paradox) another theory that was rumoured was that you could travel in time, change history, and be stuck in the new timeline that you created (the Sela Contradiction).   Even attitudes to time travel weren’t consistent, with time travel working for even an isolated then fugitive Admiral.   

The contradictions were enough to make a more binary creature’s head explode.   For Vanya it was just another day at the office.   

“I am an artificial being”   she said aloud addressing the Horta in the room.   “Due to the 'Confidential' nature of my original purpose, any attempt to duplicate the contents of my brain will result in failure.   Any attempt to hack my brain including physical probes will encrypt the data.    The only way to decrypt the data would be to put my neural net back as it was on my body.   Any attempt at spoofing, will result in permanent erasure of my mind.”   

She listened to the conversation.   They were like humans in the old western USA trying to understand warp theory.    And yet there were races who did have a greater understanding of this sort of thing, someone that could see the basecode of the space time continuum,  or at least get a better feel for it 

“There are races that have sensitivity to the intricacies of time.    The El Aurians, Borg, even the Devidians  have an innate ability to understand flashpoints in time.   Is there a way we can build on this expertise somehow?” 
It was a long shot Vanya knew.   The El Aurian understanding of time was mysterious, Theurgy had access to ex Borg, a;though the temporal knowledge they retained might be sketchy at best.   Which left the Devidians.   Time traveling, neural energy harvesting parasites.     They were probably likely to throw in their lot with the infested.   
Inhabiting my head are:

[Lt. Vanya |Assistant Science Officer| USS Theurgy]

[Lt. J.G Foval |Assistant Diplomatic Officer |USS Theurgy]

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #6 –
[ Captain Ives | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
Attn: All OOC, but also IC: 1) @Hope 2) @RyeTanker 3) @P.C. Haring 4) @stardust 5) @Swift 6) @BipSpoon 7) @Auctor Lucan 8) @Brutus 9) @chXinya 10) @Ellen Fitz 11) @trevorvw 12) @Number6 
[Show/Hide]
At the start of the briefing, Chief Science Officer Vanya had laid any unvoiced concerns to rest in regard to her ability to log and retain classified data from the briefing, and her assertion about what may happen to the data had been reassuring. After that, and her own initial briefing, Jien had remained silent in her seat, listening and watching while Sarresh Morali gave the two Senior Staffs as much as he could safely relay and yet still allow them all to grasp the scope and intricacies of the challenge ahead of them.

Ravenholm had been the first to raise her prudent concerns and questions, speaking about the enormity of the network and its computational power and response times - not to mention the reach and implied numbers of satellites that had to be pulled from the future - but also wondering how the detection and protection of the individuals was supposed to work when they had nothing to work with in terms of intel. Kai Akoni chimed in as well, suggesting that if they all were to save these temporal operatives, were they not also equally important to stay alive in order to accomplish this mission?

"Indeed," Jien said where she sat, "we whom know about the TDG here might be considered 'key players' in that regard, yet Ravenholm speak of the unknown individuals whom are due to meet - whom we need to keep alive - and we do have something to go on. Thea, would you please load the Relativity Program?"

[Aye, Captain,] the A.I. said over the intercom, and above the conference table, an encrypted data sphere appeared.

"This program was brought to us by Lieutenant Leavitt, originating from the USS Relativity. Captain Ducane will be using it as a means to send whatever data they find in the future that will give us a time, place and perhaps even a name of an individual they discover to be involved in the creation of the TDG. This is our starting point to save these temporal operatives, and the nature of the data sent to us will have a short expiration time, since the intel from the Relativity comes from a future ever-changing." Realising that what she was saying might make little sense for officers who had struggled with temporal mechanics in the Academy, she elaborated briefly. "In other words, when this program gives us an alert, we may only have hours - even minutes - to act on the intel before it is no longer relevant for our present time. That being said, there is no way to know for certain what the crew of the Relativity may have found and why something was sent us specifically, nor how much they are able to tell us without causing further damage. We will be acting on a need-to-know basis."

Glancing at Morali, Jien briefly though about how the crew had prevented a Borg invasion, but how it was actually supposed to have happened - Infested influence or not. They had upset the timeline irrevocably by saving billions of lives, so with that in mind, Jien told herself that not all damage done to the timeline was a detriment, even if Captain Ducane was of a different mind on the topic. She turned her eyes back to the other offices and concluded her answer to Ravenholm's question. "Aside from the individuals we are to save from retro-assassination, there may also be key technology that we may have to preserve. Components that may become crucial for the creation of the satellites. Either way, we may only get just enough intel to act... but too little to fully understand why we need to do something. Time will tell."

Vanya spoke anew, speaking about how some species had connections to the intricacies of times, and Jien inclined her head. "Aye, we might be able to build on expertise from other sources than the Relativity, but it is too early to tell. We know too little about what El-Aurians may do to aide us, but if Zyrao Natauna hasn't been able to shed further light on what is ahead of us, I would think that there is little hope for aid in that regard. Perhaps not because of the abilities of her species, but because so little seem to be certain about the course of our timeline.”

Thomas Ravon spoke up next, the squad leader of the Lone Wolves looking grim, delving into memories. "We do know what the Infested are capable of, since we've already fought and destroyed the Calamity. Living through that, and knowing what it cost us, I think it is clear we have little choice but to try and do what Captain Ducane suggests. The enemy knows it wasn't enough to send one of those ships back in time, so I reckon that next time, they would likely send more."

Jien nodded, knowing how Ravon had almost been killed in combat, but she was glad he'd made it back to the Theurgy.

OOC: Click for Conference Lounge reference cutaway: [Show/Hide]
Posting instead of @Nolan since he has asked to reduce his number of characters. :) The posting order is as follows from this point onwards: 1) @Hope 2) @RyeTanker 3) @P.C. Haring 4) @stardust 5) @Swift 6) @Sqweloookle 7) @BipSpoon 8) @Auctor Lucan 9) @Brutus 10) @chXinya 11) @Ellen Fitz 12) @trevorvw 13) @Number6 . The first posting round  (which ends at 7 above) will address the Tempus Sigillum mission with questions, observations and thoughts/reactions, while the second posting round (starting with 8) will switch to Departmental reports. Please feel free to NPC the officers on the Oneida if you want.

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #7 –
[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy]

@Auctor Lucan @Brutus @Hope @P.C. Haring @stardust @Swift @chXinya @Ellen Fitz @Number6 @trevorvw

Lieutenant Frank Arnold settled into his seat with his cup of coffee and let his mass settle into the comfortable seat. He certainly did feel a little trepidation at being in the department head meeting, so probably a status update on repairs to the ship, which were coming along nicely despite the casualties.  Having the Captain and crew of the Oneida made sense as well since the two would be working together, so they had to know the situation with the other ship.  The routineness of the meeting rapidly dissolved when the Captains essentially ordered each ship to become a communication black hole and the engineer felt his eye brows try to climb into his hairline.

As Captain Ives delivered the details of the blackout, Arnold felt the weight of tradition descend on his shoulders, then move on to his temples and coalesce there in a temporal headache that plagued officers whenever the concept of time travel and paradoxes became involved.  Given the information they had so far, he figured that time ship engineers must have had their brains rewired just to keep everything straight, or they completely discarded certain time concepts just to keep sane. I despise time travel and paradoxes. A warp field stability equation, or hull stress test, but time! The engineer griped to himself mentally as the imponderables and what ifs became defined.

The Chief Engineer's sense of crazy was saved by something he did liked to wrap his head around as he followed along.  It was the visual of the Temporal Defence Grid and a salt and pepper eyebrow quirked at it. On the face of it, it was so plain and this appealed to his engineer sense. No nonsense and functional, yet it was so exotic, he didn't even know where to begin on putting something like this together. A ferocious frown formed under the large beard when Morali informed everyone that the technology was going to become available soon, but they had no idea who or where these key pieces of technology were. That ferocious frown and glare turned itself on the temporal officer till he dropped the name of the new Operations officer. Still it was all highly theoretical, so hopefully Mr. Levitt had some useful information for grabbing? these devices from the other time period. It was still all foggily theoretical since they currently had no way to execute any sort of time travel short of warp slingshots around a sun.  Still the prospect of this new project cheered the Chief Engineer some and his mind began wondering which of the staff would be the best to deal with putting it all together.  The bionic Operations chief brought up several good points that he found himself reluctantly agreeing with. On the face it, with much in the way of clues, where did one even begin?

There was one aspect of this whole process that he was puzzled by. It was the nature of how they were supposed to go about pulling in the technology.  If the ship's company had to develop the process themselves, there were several security and records issues at stake.  The process of invention was a free flowing collaborative experience for scientists and engineers alike, and that meant a easy flowing information between all parties involved.  This led to some undesirable habits from an information security standpoint, such as leaving PADDs with notes lying around or putting up 'white' boards to theorize and discuss.  It was probably pretty obvious but I had to be said.   The Chief Engineer sat there for a moment as he waited to see if Lietutenant Lail had anything to add, but after an short pause, she shook her head and the head mechanic decided to speak up. Trying to keep his tenses and time frames correct in this one was causing the Chief Engineer's headache to get worse.  "Captain, Mr. Morali.  My concern isn't mission logging specific, but an expansion of that. Pulling something from another time frame, is that it?  Pulling something from another time frame is strange enough as is.  Do we need to build several new technologies into the ship? Will that require research notes, equations, and blueprints will take up gigaquads of data that we're going to have to record and work from. Are we going to setup a standalone data area to secure the information from any outside access?  If we need to transport the the information, and no offence Thea, do we trust the data networks? Will armed guards be necessary to physically carry a gel pack back and forth between places like the labs and engineering? How easy or hard is one of these things to build? Will the onboard industrial replicator be enough or do we need a more advanced device that can higher scale molecular complexity that the Klingon's have or do we go back to Federation space and try to get access slash seize a more advanced unit?"

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #8 –
[ Lt. Cmdr. Hathev | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]

Attn:  1) @Brutus‍  2) @chXinya‍  3) @Ellen Fitz‍  4) @trevorvw‍  5) Nolan 6) @Hope‍  7) @RyeTanker‍ ‍  8) @stardust‍  9) @Number6‍  10) @Swift‍ 11) @BipSpoon‍  12) @Auctor Lucan‍ 


Hathev sat back in her seat, her posture as perfect as ever.  The past week had seen a strong recovery on the part of her abdominal muscles and now that she was back to full duty, and without restrictions she realized just how much of her time was spent sitting.  She would need to rectify that at some point, she realized.    The counselor was certainly not oblivious to Cross glancing at her, nor did she anticipate he was oblivious to her own furtive looks back in his direction. 

While she would not share it publicly the entire concept of this coming mission unsettled her.  Based on a warning from the future, the Theurgy needed to ensure the survival of covert temporal operatives whose identities were currently unknown.  In addition they might be called on to safeguard technology sent, or potentially stolen, from the future in order to ensure the creation of a galaxy wide network that would prevent temporal incursion.  The ramifications of causality, pre-destination paradox, and divergent timeliness were numerous, to say nothing about the the ramification of the violation of the Temporal Prime Directive.

Her conversation a few days ago with Ensign Cir’Cie came back to the forefront of her mind along with a new line of thought.

How many of the principles we are trying to save will we betray in the process?

Hathev suppressed the thought just as quickly, ensuring no one else in the room would pick up on it.  There was far too much to contemplate on this matter, that indulging it this moment would do little good.

As to the matter at immediate hand, Hathev was relieved that she was not the one to attempt to sort out this temporal puzzle, and a certain part of her longed for the days when the Vulcan Science Academy had ‘concluded’ that time travel was impossible.  For as incorrect as that conclusion had been proved to be, there was something to be said for ignorance being bliss.

Ignorance, however, was dangerous.  Ignorance bred confusion, misinterpretation, and distrust.  It was on this topic she addressed when she finally spoke up.

“I will leave the finer points of this mission and it’s related logistics to those far more qualified to sort through it than I.  That being said, I must raise a concern about the crew during this operation.  Putting things on a ‘need to know’ basis is understandable and, often time expected on board a starship.  However, given our isolated nature, and the degree to which this information will likely be compartmentalized, we should expect the near certainty that the crew will rely on rumors and innuendo to fill in the details being kept from them.  That said, has there been any discussion as to an appropriate ‘cover story’ to provide the crew as a whole, that encapsulates the nature of this mission, without revealing details that would violate the Temporal Prime Directive any further than is absolutely necessary?"

She took a sip of her tea.

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #9 –
[ Lt. Cmdr. Rutherford | Diplomatic Council | Deck 2 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Swift @BipSpoon @Auctor Lucan @Brutus @chXinya @Ellen Fitz @trevorvw @Number6 @Hope @RyeTanker @P.C. Haring
[Show/Hide]

The reasoning why Samantha Rutherford had accompanied Andrew Fisher to the briefing room, all the way from his quarters, were as manifold as the diversity of potential futures, she didn’t yet now they would have to preserve. Not only for themselves, but reality as they knew it. A wide-crowned tree, stretching its branches into the sky, each one bearing the ripe fruits of possibility. Bestowing upon them the calming shade of liberty, in following their own destinies, while unrelenting at the same time, to the subtler illusions of autonomy. A butterfly within its lush foliage, capable of setting of a storm, that could blow away all the verdures but one. Fate. And while the stroll through the hallways of Theurgy seemed as straightforward as the passage of time itself, ever onward toward an inevitable terminus, it held a distinct measure of unpredictability too. An uncertainty born from a myriad of influences, large and small, that made the blonde wonder.

Her most prominent instinct, that of ensuring the Commander would not quite literally add insult to injury, by falling on his face in a moment of weakness, wholesomely served as a hyperbolic rope to progress hand over hand along, but also as a herald of the clandestine forces really at work here. A simple human relationship, elevated to succinct symbolism, over the matters at hand, their grander journey. A measure of distance between them, tethered somewhere between what was dignified, and what was desired, as they promenaded the communal pastures of the ship. Hands clasped behind her posterior like a delicate necklace, as the woman’s curves bent and arched like an aquatic creature slithering through water, while her medium was air. A vehicle filled with telling silence. A ginger smile filling pages and pages of unspoken truths. Larimar glimmers a speech of dedication and passion, unintelligible to the people around them. A lover’s cipher.

As they slipped through the threshold of the conference room, about half of Arthur’s round table was already congregated at the curved perimeter. Except the King itself. And despite his grander ordeal, Andrew’s knightly traits still prevailed over the vestiges of his broken armor, as he pulled back the designated chair for the diplomat to slip into, at the corner of the briefing desk. A gentle smile he couldn’t see, of rose petals constricted in stifled gratitude, which still radiated like the sparkle of a dew drop, on an English rose. Only slightly dulled by the fact that she had sunk into the comfortable cushions right beside counselor Hathev, whom just days prior, had uncouthly pried into the sequestered meaning of her dealings with the handsome intelligence chief. An imposition that still rang like the chime of a red alert, in the back of the blonde’s conscience. Even though her outward expression, trained and curated by Vulcan teachings, did not yield to that of the woman, whom she even shared part of an ancestry with.

Her delicate approach, however, fell to the wayside of a somewhat heavy-duty glance by the counselor towards the other Vulcan in the room, commander Cross, who – as azure courtesy diverted to him – seemed to reciprocate the notion towards Hathev. Or had initiated the exchange, it was impossible to tell after the fact. Yet, at the same time, the entire colloquy wasn’t relevant enough to warrant any deeper examination. No matter the sieved output of the rumor-mill, concerning Ducote’s late wife. As such, instead, the blonde focused on the other officers in the room, as the rest slowly filtered in. Stark, for example, whom she had unfortunately not been able to spend as much time with lately, as they used to have. Outside the weighed realm of duty, that was. Though, in all honesty, that probably went for everyone in this room, as the gravity of the mission kept them close to the ground.

Like lieutenant Ravenholm, the previously indispensable asset to Andrew’s team, who had since risen to new challenges, lending her immaculate expertise to operations now. And Frank Arnold, who had carved out a couple of minutes from his extremely busy schedule bringing the diplomatic council offices back up to snuff. All while undoubtedly coming up with new ways to improve upon it on the fly. Of course, there was also the rest of senior staff, whom she just hadn’t shared any unprofessional repartee with, yet. It wasn’t long before the far door opened and Ives strolled in, donning their female sleeve. A formal greeting, followed by a mannerly invite, which made Samantha feel relentlessly misplaced, within the cozy confines of her chair, as she realized she’d seemingly been the only one already seated - aside of the gravely wounded - following Drew’s undoubtedly cunning ploy, to single her out in any way. Alas, however, the minimalistic blunder remained unnoticed.

Shortly following the captain was another officer the diplomat had previously related with, on a more personal level, also too with exceeding rarity as of late, as duty had sucked them under, like an unrelenting riptide. Also, on objective examination, he seemed to have become more reclusive, ever since his visions had apparently come back in full force. And while her larimar ponds reflected a manner of sympathy, upon the Ash’reem, he plump lips rather mirrored a measure of exhilarant levity, intended to lift the man’s spirits, as their eyes met transverse across the room. A simplistic notion that quickly fell to the wayside to the comparatively convoluted account of potential future developments. Time was a complex thing, much like a person, seemingly not following any reason or rhyme. Even more so, taking into account, traveling back and forth within such a jumbled mess of possibilities. Where the tiniest change could derail an entire timeline.

There was still resistance within the science echelons of Starfleet, predominantly the Vulcans, whom had long hard-lined the truth that time travel was impossible. Some of which still argued there was no substantiated proof still that it existed. Simply accounts of people who either claimed to have been from the future or to have traveled there. Arguing that an absence of other explanations wasn’t evidence. But it was certainly not a diplomat’s place to judge one conviction over the other, on a scientific subject. Her mind rather immediately went to the political and consular ramifications of what was presented here. Though she did stop to wonder, how a defense grid of physical satellites, developed by the brightest minds of the quadrant, could protect the entire galaxy of temporal incursions. The entire universe, as a matter of fact, since chaos theory – to her knowledge – challenged the conception that any action was localized to a specific space. So, if any sufficiently advanced race in the future – such as the parasites - from outside the galaxy – such as the parasites – were to travel back in time outside of the range of the grid, it would seem entirely useless. Unless anyone postulated such a localized aggregation of satellites could safeguard time in the whole of reality. But then, why wasn’t one enough?!

Shaking her dainty pate with abject vigor, lashes drawn over larimar hues, a gentle haze of pressure in her mind reminded Sam, why she didn’t usually dabble in the convoluted theories of temporal science. A pressure gingerly released by delicate fingertips of one hand placed atop the table, tracing every ridge of skin on their underside, as they brushed against one another. Sarresh, try as he might, too couldn’t really create much headway, in making their theories seem less complicated, to the scientifically challenged blonde. It certainly would be easier to understand once the specialists would break the whole thing down into specific orders. What irked her, however, was the gentle ping of withholding. A red flag of her profession, that she had been trained to be alert toward. An inherent trigger that not even implicit trust could ease.

It wasn’t long till lieutenant Vanya next to her sprung to life, like a ‘Romulan’ alarm clock, prompting the quarter-Vulcan to almost jump out of her skin. At least more so than she would’ve wanted to, in a professional setting. Seeing as they were going around the table in such an orderly fashion up until then. Letting the recitation of the android’s user-manual wash over her nonetheless, the diplomat drew her attention back to the intricate ballet of her fingers on the tabletop before her, brows ever so slightly inclined in covert consternation. Vowing to just stare at her hand for the time being. Allowing her own sensitivity to time count the seconds until that frail sense of dismay would subside. Ultimately, however, the chalice moved to her, even though her area of expertise certainly didn’t yield much in this case. Looking up with reignited vigor to azure ponds, golden curls bounced back gingerly, agitated by a subtle shake of the head. A lot of technical odds and ends had already been discussed, and surely there was no expectation here for her to expand upon that. Pursing her lush lips ever so slightly, the blonde started with a deliberate inhale.

“I have one question though …” she started out, tapping her index-finger against the cold glass once, before pointing it at Sarresh, keeping the rest of her hand steadfast on the table. “The parasites do not originate from within this galaxy. They’re assumed to have emerged first through …” the blonde continued while picking up her PADD at an angle to peruse the detailed information available. “… a temporal breach at the center of our local supercluster. Well beyond our galaxy, and this proposed defense grid. So, somehow, it can be - and has been - circumvented spatially, right?” she concluded, letting the device sink back down with a gentle thud, as larimar hues transfixed back toward the head of the table. “Also, the Starfleet database lists roughly 65 documented instances of time travel. Not all of which were out of the future – from this point in time at least – but a considerable amount are. And the grid did not prevent these?” Readjusting her stance ever so slightly, the diplomat weighed unrelenting on the scientists in the room. After all, it was her duty at the negotiation table to lean on the theses presented to her. Giving a moment to breathe, for everyone to figure out who would come force and reinforce the faith everyone had in the direction of this mission, though immediately adding:

“At any rate, my department will be ready to lend any assistance needed in finding these key people and facilitate whatever official pressure necessary to extradite them into our care and protection.”

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #10 –
[CWO 1 Larrant | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy]
Attn: 1) @Hope  2) @RyeTanker 3) @P.C. Haring 4) @stardust  5) @Swift 6) @Sqweloookle 7) @BipSpoon 8) @Auctor Lucan 9) @Brutus 10) @chXinya 11) @Ellen Fitz 12) @trevorvw 13) @Number6 .

The Medusan avatar took its seat at the conference table. Larrant's promotion had only been official for less than a day and here he was thrown into a situation. One he wished he was less than familiar with. The Medusan did not respond. Instead, he observed.

As advanced mathematicians, physicists, and navigators, Larrant's race had calculated every known permutation of time travel. He knew things Starfleet scientists and engineers did not. Things he would never divulge to those his people considered lower life forms. Larrant did not totally agree with his people's view of organic corporeal life as lower and inferior. He did, however, agree with their concept of the Prime Directive. As a Starfleet officer, it was General Order 1; a directive and order he personally applied in regards to sharing his people's knowledge. His crew would have to figure this out on their own. Or at least 99.9999999 percent of it. The galaxy was at stake after all. His people wouldn't crucify him for giving the Theurgy a subtle assist here or there.

When the schematic for the TDG appeared, deep within the shell of his holographic avatar, the lights of his POD began to rapidly blink as he recorded the data. Internally his mind began to do the math. Fascinating, he thought, or was that the echo of the consciousness within his mind.

It reminded him of the Space-time Anomaly Detection Array (SADA) he and other Medusan's had consulted with Starfleet and the Department of Temporal Investigations on. Like the Vulcan's consultations with United Earth in the 2100's, the Medusan's kept a watchful eye, and much in the way of knowledge from the SADA development team. It was tough watching them struggle and stumble but necessary. Larrant struggled with the urge to nudge the SADA team to more advanced techniques in monitoring space-time. Thankfully he had corporeal individuals to reference who had already discovered the rudimentary calculations to detecting temporal anomalies, primarily Dr. Paul Manheim.

Larrant had met Dr. Manheim in 2342 when Manheim was working at a university in Paris and Larrant was at the Vulcan Science Academy. The two had lengthy conversations on gravity and the effect it had on space-time and the possibility that gravity could be used to create holes in space similar to wormholes and blackholes and form pathways to other times and dimensions. It was dangerous science and Larrant felt guilty that he may have accidentally encouraged the doctor too much because 22 years later Manheim achieved what was considered impossible. Larrant shuttered in his POD, a swirling of multicolored gas agitated by the thought.

Manheim's experiment in 2364 sent a graviton ripple known as the Manheim Effect across thousands of light-years, felt by Medusans everywhere. Time became nonlinear causing temporal loops and repetitions. It was the exact reason the Medusan's kept a tight lid on their knowledge of temporal physics. Such knowledge in the wrong hands could rip the very fabric of this universe apart. Worse what if the knowledge led to a weapon. The thought of weaponized gravitons sent further concern to Larrant's mind.

Then the image of the Chesapeake surfaced in his mind. The Darvash Crisis as it was taught as at the Academy. A crisis he played a large part in by assisting Lieutenant Tessa Niles calculate the math needed for a slingshot maneuver to travel back in time to save their captain. It resulted in a temporal disaster as there existed two Chesapeakes and crew. The crew of both ships were lucky, but not Larrant. He and his temporal doppelganger linked minds in that brief confrontation. They both agreed that they had made a mistake. With the pain felt as his duplicate was destroyed along with the time-traveling Chesapeake, Larrant swore to stay clear of direct involvement in time travel.

He knew the current situation was dire. Time was already being messed with. Conflicted, the Medusan sat and watched the conversation.

OOC: Since I wasn't in the original post order, I wanted to go ahead and toss in a non-engaging post for round one. I will then clearly fall in the rear of the post-order for Round 2.
CPO Sithick [Show/Hide]
CWO1 Larrant [Show/Hide]
BG Natauna
 [Show/Hide]

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #11 –
[ Lieutenant Elro Kobol | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
Attn: @Brutus @chXinya  @Ellen Fitz @trevorvw @Nolan @Hope @RyeTanker@P.C. Haring @stardust @Number6 @BipSpoon @Auctor Lucan

Temporal Mechanics was never something many Starfleet officers, including Elro, enjoyed nor try to understand. He was glad that there were just as many who did and wanted to protect the timeline, otherwise they'd be in trouble and not even be, in the slightest, aware of it.

So the Calamity incident shouldn't have happened, that isn't comforting that somehow the Temporal Defense Grid was either compromised or failed and that the insane AI populated starship breached the past. Elro hoped that no more incursions would happen but that was in the hands of the future Federation, though one thing was certain for the fact that Captain Ducane's USS Relativity still exists and the crew aren't infested. He was glad they were working towards the same goals as the Theurgy crew.

Maybe it was time to ask. ”Sarresh, does this mean that the Parasites are defeated since the future is still intact and not full of darkness?” Elro asked, he was glad that Morali was on the 'protect-important-ancestors' bandwagon as he had thought to suggest earlier, ”we may have to infiltrate Earth or any other member world in order to find those key individuals or even an enemy world since they may have joined the Federation in the future.”

Another thought occurred, ”there aren't any infested among the Relativity crew? Were they tested?” Elro added a moment later, he just considered that their crew could somehow become infested in the present in the goal to learn all they could about the future. ”Not to mention what about the Relativity's crew's ancestors, the Parasites may try to eliminate them in an attempt to stop providing help to us as well.”

”There are so many paths the enemy could take to ruin everything in many different ways," his eyes widened slightly as he realised he said his thought outloud then he quickly followed it up with. ”Perhaps we should go for the most effective plan and find both who the creator and leader of the T.D.G project are, without those there won't be any drive to even make one." Elro suggested, simple and the obvious, that maybe the Parasites will over think their planning and not go for the direct approach.

Hopefully the Captain won't put too many of their crew and resources, including those of their allies, all over the place to enact too many contingences. Elro immediately shut down that kind of thought process as it would only stress him, he decided to be positive.

Selena and Kai had raised a good point that it could be possible one or more of them could be involved with the Temporal Defense Grid's creation, Elro decided to address it. ”Does anyone among us have an adeptude for Temporal Mechanics or maybe one day even any of the crew have children could--” Elro trailed off, he kind of zoned out as he wondered what life would be like with Derik and kids. Immediately he imagined a picture of him, Derik and at least one kid in a holopicture but the child wasn't quite in as much detail as he and Derik were, quickly Elro refocused on the meeting. He didn't need this, not now, not ever.

He laughed. ”I got a headache just thinking of all this temporal stuff.” Elro said and rubbed the sides of his forehead.
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Lieutenant JG Adam Kingston, Master-at-Arms, (Vector 03 Security) Profile Clickie

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Lieutenant/Dr Elro Kobol, Chief Medical Officer, (Vector 02 Medical) Profile Clickie

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #12 –
[ Ensign Cameron Henshaw Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Sqweloookle @Brutus @chXinya @Ellen Fitz @trevorvw @Nolan @Hope @RyeTanker @P.C. Haring @stardust @Number6 @Auctor Lucan
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Cam activated the commlink with the Oneida without hesitation, and quickly did what she could do on her end to further secure the call. She utilized a few similar protocols to those she utilized while communicating with the wolves, but the Captains security protocol had pushed that even further. With any luck, anyone attempting to listen in would hear little more than a garbled mess. Once done, Cam took her seat, and made herself comfortable with a cup of tea. She held it between both hands, allowing the warmth to spread out across her palms and fingertips, the sensation grounding her and in a way, protecting her from the sense of impending doom that she so frequently felt within the confines of the conference lounge.

Cam had taken the required classes in temporal mechanics at the academy, just as any Starfleet officer. She hadn’t actually been terrible at it though. Any trepidation she’d once felt at speaking up within the room, had long since passed. While she may not have been a  member of the senior staff, she was intimately aware of many of the go-ons aboard the ship. Her attention continuously drifted around the room, attempting to feel out the reactions of her crew-mates, and listen to what they, the more experienced members of the crew, had to say before she opened her mouth.

Just as she was about to, her eyes locked onto the data sphere hovering above the table.

I hate time travel.

Her face contorted slightly and she took a sip of her tea, the dark liquid turned slightly tan by the presence of milk, temporarily leaving a small bit of residue on her upper lip before she brushed it away and spoke. Glancing to Hathev she gave a nod, “I agree. Rumors are going to spread like wildfire through the ship, and I wouldn’t be shocked if the lack of information starts to negatively affect morale, and frankly I don't’t know how much of a morale hit we can afford to take. If I can make a suggestion?” She looked between Ives and Hathev, pausing briefly before continuing, “Perhaps we ought to take an official position, provide them the comfort of small slivers of information, it might prevent the rumor mill from getting out of control. Though department CO’s will likely still be responsible for cracking down on rumor-mongers.”

Quickly, she turned to Elro though, “By contacting whoever is responsible for the construction or even idea of the grid we risk them never continuing with the project, or not completing it as the timeline has it laid out.” To her, temporal mechanics functioned much the same way as destiny. The events that were designed to happen, would happen unless there was influence from an outside source. While they all still had their free will, their free will itself fell within the confines of a seemingly fixed timeline, each choice building on the grand design of the timeline, just as they were meant to. After that though, she hushed herself. Where usually she may take notes on such a meeting, in this instance, she did not. She would have to rely on memory alone to accomplish any tasks that sprang from the meeting. A computer could be breached far easier than a mind could.

Re: Day 08 [0800 hrs.] Tempus Sigillum

Reply #13 –
[ Captain Ives | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]
Attn: All OOC
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In turn, Captain Ives addressed the questions and concerns that the Senior Staff raised, remaining standing in the conference lounge.

Frank Arnold's concern was directed at the practical aspects of the challenge in front of them all, raising questions about if the solution in which the TDG was to be reallocated in time would require research, and if so, how it were to remain classified and contained. "It is unknown whether or not we need to build new tech at this point, so there is no telling what the security requirements would be, or what solution we might have to work with," she said simply, referring to what she'd said earlier in the briefing. "It is, however, my firm belief that - given the scope of our undertaking - Captain Ducane wouldn't suggest we made the attempt unless he has foreseen - or know - a method of accomplishing this no-small feat. At the very least, we ought to count on him and the crew of the Relativity to aid us when the time comes."

[If I may, Captain?] Thea's disembodied voice said, but then the sliding doors parted, and her interface projection walked into the conference lounge. Seamlessly, she continued to talk, only now the voice came from the hologram instead. "Before the mission at Starbase 84, I was tasked to create an encrypted single-access temporary memory buffer in which I stored the personal messages that the crew wished to send to their loved ones along with the Simulcast. Jona Rez may have used his bygone backdoor access to my systems to delete that buffer and alter the prepared Simulcast, but that doesn't mean we could utilise something similar - but more fortified - to serve the needs of the Engineering Department when the Relativity contacts us and tell us what we need to do."

"Yes," Jien said and inclined his head, "that might be one method to use, so please add that as a task. In any case, once the TDG has been brought to present day, all lingering notations or references towards this undertaking has to be purged beyond any manner of restoration."

"Aye, Captain," Thea said and folded her hands behind her back, having come to stand in the background of the room.

Commander Hathev brought up the matter of crew morale, and how sensitive it may be. Cam concurred as well, yet they were both in understanding about the requirements of need-to-know basis. The suggestion for an official position was a good one, and Ives nodded in turn to the two women. "This crew already know about the Relativity's involvement in our mission, since they came to our aid at the end of the Niga Incident. The official position can thus be that Captain Ducane is giving us intel to help in our mission, but because of Temporal Law and the sensitive nature of using said intel, some tasks of ours will have to be kept off-record. It is the truth, but it also doesn't give away any details about the TDG or what we need to do. Moreover, given that the Relativity rendered aid on the way to Qo'noS as well, Ducane's involvement in our mission shouldn't be that surprising."

Rutherford raised a concern about the supposed origin of the enemy, and how they might shirk the restraints of the TDG, but as far as Ives understood what Morali had said in that regard, the grid would effectively deal with all incursions. "The protection is rendered at the destination time-point rather than the origin point of the incursion, correct?" Ives asked Sarresh, making sure that she had the science of it right, and then nodded when getting the affirmation. "Good, and given the fact that the Infested, according to Ducane, purposefully had the TDG removed from the timeline, it suggests it was an obstruction for them in the years following the grid's implementation."

As for the other instances of time-travel, that was harder to foresee, but there would likely be consequences. "Whatever ought to have happened if the Infested didn't prevent the grid from being invented is - for us all - unknown, but when it existed, it did work as Mister Morali described, right?" she asked Morali, and then continued. "Now? Here? All bets are off, until we help ensure the grid is made, and bring it to the present, so that we can have a chance of continuing the mission unopposed from the Infested forces in the future."

Elro Kobol, the Chief Medical Officer, seemed to have misunderstood what the future entailed - or might entail - since the infested was still very much a threat from that future as well as the present. Ives might have suggested that the Betazoid would speak to Alistair Leavitt to learn one possible future in more detail, but as it were, she smiled and had great empathy with the confusion given the topic at hand. "A lot of unknowns. All we can reliably know about the future will be given to us by the Relativity Program, including whom of the TDG Project's inception we must save," she said, gesturing towards the data sphere hovering above the table, "and as for the Relativity crew, I can but assume Ducane is running a tight ship and takes all the precautions he can. It is his best interest that the future is restored, since the Relativity is without port until then."

When there were no more questions or concerns raised, Jien turned to the screen showing the Senior Staff of the Oneida. They were quietly talking amongst themselves, but no further comments were made. Captain Jackson eventually spoke up across the encrypted channel. [Let's focus on what we can do, instead of what we do not yet know. Also, let's hope that program from the Relativity gives us enough intel, and in time for us to act on it.]

"Agreed." Jien inclined her head.  "Thank you for listening."

- FIN

OOC: Given the amount of time it has taken to complete one posting round, I think it is better we end this here. It serves its purpose to foreshadow Episode 2, so let's call it a day. :)
 
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