SIM:Skyfire, Chythar/AllInTheMind1
| Crew of the USS Astraeus | ||
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| Lieutenant Commander Chythar Skyfire, MD | ||
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(( Skyfire’s Quarters ))
:: Skyfire had been thrown through time, twice. He had been called by profession of “Doctor” by not only Commander Faranster, but also by an Ensign Pon Pon from Starbase 118. He’d given consultations, he’d been speculating theories about his own telepathic abilities with the captain, and he still hadn’t been grilled by DTI. All he wanted was to curl up with Devlin, and just relax. For maybe five minutes. Or longer. His next shift in Sickbay was going to be busy, filled with Shandres and Saveron’s physicals to confirm the fact they were alive and not actually dead. As Ris had reminded him, it was his job to make sure that they were fit for duty and not just a figment of his imagination. ::
:: Then he heard the chime of the door. Devlin jumped off his master’s lap and ran toward it. ::
Skyfire: Enter.
:: Much to his surprise, when Dr. Saveron entered the room, his knuckles and face whitened visibly, like he’d seen a ghost. He had a similar reaction to Commander Core earlier and was able to mask it under the guise of stress. This time, he had no excuse. ::
Skyfire: Sochya, Doctor…. :: His words had just the telltale trace of his Irish accent, though at this point he was attempting to hide the fear he felt as he stood. :: It’s...surprising to see you.
:: ‘Agreeable’ wasn’t really the right word. And he was a little nervous that he was talking to a dead guy. Or rather, one whom he thought was dead as he reached for his tricorder off the desk. A few cautious steps closer, he timidly began scanning the Vulcan for biosigns, to confirm the fact that yes, in fact, Saveron was alive. ::
:: The Vulcan could hear Skyfire’s heartbeat. ‘Surprising’ seemed to be the honest truth, though why exactly he was not yet certain. One thing was obvious however; Carter Greyson’s concern appeared to be warranted. ::
Saveron: Sochya, Doctor Skyfire.
:: He spoke in his usual calm, neutral tones, noting Skyfire’s tense stance and the fact that he had resorted to the medical tricorder without even asking the Vulcan the reason for his visit. He waited patiently until the scan was complete. ::
Saveron: I commend your dedication. :: He said dryly. ::
:: Upon verifying that he wasn’t seeing things and was not crazy, his pulse slowed a bit and color gradually returned to his face. It was still hard for him to wrap his brain around the fact they were alive. Or at least, that two out of three were alive. ::
Skyfire: I wasn’t sure for a moment...As you may have guessed, I thought you were dead.
:: The Vulcan cocked his head and raised one upswung brow. ::
Saveron: It is unusual for the deceased to remain mobile. :: Although not impossible in this great, wide universe. :: I have read your report. The observations of your away team do appear to present a contradiction. However the expectation that I am deceased when you have already observed me in Sickbay, is not logical.
:: The man nodded slowly and exhaled, taking a moment to formulate his words into actual sentences. ::
Skyfire: I couldn’t very well leave the discovery of your bodies…. :: He swallowed hard, that awkward pause giving his heart just a few seconds to steady itself. :: ...from my report… Which I wrote after leaving Sickbay...
Saveron: Indeed. All relevant information should be conveyed. :: That seemed logical to him. ::
Skyfire: Why don’t you have a seat and a cup of tea? I was about to make myself some jasmine, if you’d like some.
:: The Vulcan settled himself slightly awkwardly onto the couch. ::
Saveron: I would not object to that.
:: He got his mugs of tea from the replicator, handing one to the Vulcan. The little puppy padded over to the couch and jumped on it, sniffing Saveron’s hand in greeting as Chythar had a seat opposite. He took a breath and spoke again. ::
Skyfire: As I was saying, prior to my seeing you in sickbay, you were a fossilized skeleton that was dug up quite recently. Aged ten thousand years.
:: The Vulcan regarded the small animal that arrived to inspect him. Canine, juvenile, from appearances. He received a brief flash of simple, enthusiastic thoughts as the animal assayed a cautious lick of his fingers. As the CMO spoke, the Vulcan began to get a sense of the issue that Greyson had alluded to. ::
Saveron: An observation which was at odds with your later observations in Sickbay. :: He noted. ::
Skyfire: Correct. In the reality I experienced on the away mission, you, Shandres, and Core were dead. Same age, of ten thousand years.
Saveron: You then observed all three of us returned, alive. Such presents a temporal contradiction.
Skyfire: Indeed it does...
Saveron: Temporal physics is not my area of study; I am inclined to leave such questions to those whose it is.
:: Skyfire nodded faintly and recalled a conversation he had with the captain over lunch at Jalandra Palace. ::
(( Flashback -- Jalandra Palace, DSX ))
Skyfire: Bear with me here, I'm not sure I'm remembering all the names accurately. There were a lot of reports. :: He sipped his tea, and tried to start again. :: Dr. Rahman's report said that there were transporter problems with retrieving Commander Core's team?
Egan Manno: Correct. The fracture that they passed through, as I understand it, was both narrow and unstable. We're lucky we got them back.
:: The man merely nodded. He couldn't think of anything more than a transporter accident, the same variety which created William and Thomas Riker. ::
Skyfire: I'm going to suggest then, that the duplication and fossilized tech, came from a transporter accident in which the entire crew was duplicated and unable to find their way back. Ensign Greyson, per Dr. Rahman's directions, rewired the transporter to...do something technical that I don't recall off hand.
Egan Manno: It would fit the facts. The implications are a little horrifying to me, though. If that's true, then anyone who went through a fracture may have created a duplicate -- and those duplicates died tens of thousands of years before their originals were ever born.
:: It was one doozy of a mission, and this was the only theory he had that made sense. Though something she postulated was bothering him: did his little trip through time act as a catalyst? Because it didn't seem like it. He was still having difficulty connecting to the puppy. ::
(( End Flashback ))
Skyfire: The reports said...that there were transporter problems with your return. The only theory I can come up with is that the transporter somehow malfunctioned, and created duplicates that died ten thousand years before your bodies were found. I didn’t realize this until the captain and I had lunch together.
Saveron: That… is possible. :: Though he had not considered it previously. :: Such has been known to occur on rare occasions due to transporter malfunctions and, from that I experienced, there was considerable difficulty in retrieving us.
:: What might that mean for their time flow? Had they influenced the Peppalexans? And what then of the copies of themselves that had died in the past… ::
:: CD nodded and had another sip of his tea. There was something else that was bothering him also, about his lunch with the captain. And Saveron, with his years of experience and being telepathic himself, might have some advice. ::
Skyfire: I also wanted to ask...is it possible for temporal time slips to have some effect on telepathic abilities? This isn’t my area of expertise...but I’ve been on at least one time slip in the last twelve hours, not including the away mission. And...I can now sense emotions from Devlin, which I wasn’t able to before.
:: That was an interesting development. ::
Saveron: I am not aware of temporal activities having direct effects on telepathic abilities - though you would appreciate that there are a small number of examples to draw upon. You have however stated previously that your telepathy is species-specific.
:: And Devlin was most definitely not the same species. He was an Earth life-form however. ::
Skyfire: Right. Limited to humans only, no contact. Until now.
Saveron: Your telepathy may not be comparable with that of telepathic species, being something acquired rather than innate. It may be that it is inherently unstable. Have you noted any other changes?
:: Had he noticed anything weird? Telepathically speaking, most of the ship was still a mystery to him. He hadn’t noticed any empathic changes yet. ::
Skyfire: Possibly a change in my empathic level as well, though I can’t say I’ve noticed it so far.
:: The Vulcan’s experience was by default with his own species’ telepathy and to a certain degree that of other naturally telepathic species. Skyfire’s induced and potentially unstable telepathy was a novel entity. ::
Saveron: I do not doubt you are aware of the uniqueness of your situation. Induced telepathy is almost undocumented, certainly I am not aware of any other case of long-term telepathy induction. If you are asking me how your situation might progress, I cannot offer a prediction based on verbal description alone.
:: The Terran was familiar with unusual mind melds, and had watched his mentor, Dr. MacLaren, perform one on Captain Walker a long time ago. Nearly three years had past since then. As for his own, he was no stranger to them -- he had to deal with Azin’s sensory difficulties nearly a year ago. He was acclimated with the crazy details. ::
Skyfire: I don’t know if this would help...but would you like to see it as I did?
:: The Vulcan cocked his head to one side slightly, considering the question. In all the time he had been in Starfleet, he had not actually had cause to utilise his own telepathy. In the absence of any obvious physiological effects to Skyfire’s brain other than the DNA shift, it might be the only real way to gain true insight. ::
Saveron: Such may be enlightening. :: He allowed eventually. ::<nowiki> And I would be willing to undertake such an examination, but you must understand that Vulcan telepathy is not comparable to Betazoid telepathy or similar manifestations. <nowiki>:: He explained carefully. :: It is no casual surface connection.
:: Not everyone was comfortable with the idea of their minds being so open and accessible, not least Saveron himself. ::
Skyfire: I understand. It’s the only way I can think of that may help you gain insight with regards to my peculiar situation. :: He paused again, having another sip of tea. :: I survived a Dokkaran mind-meld that got out of control because of an outside entity.
Saveron: Fascinating. :: And from what Skyfire had told him, the cause of his abilities. :: I am willing to share your experience if you wish. :: It could explain much. ::
:: Skyfire had another sip of his tea and set the mug on the coffee table. Devlin padded back into Skyfire’s lap and got comfortable. ::
Skyfire: Ready when you are.
:: The Vulcan nodded gently and placed his own mug carefully on the table. Careful under normal circumstances to avoid casual contact, he reached out and arrayed the tips of his long fingers against Skyfire’s cheek, moving them slightly as he searched for the neural contacts. There. He concentrated. ::
Saveron: My mind to your mind… oO My thoughts to your thoughts. Oo
:: Where Skyfire was probably accustomed now to the whisper of other minds about him, this present was strong, immediate, and alien. Saveron’s mind was bright, sharp and ordered, and much of it held behind a wall that was impenetrable to the untrained. ::
:: The human took a breath as he felt Saveron’s fingers on his face, exhaling slowly so as to remain calm and focused. Every muscle in CD’s body seemed to relax under the touch. ::
:: The link established, Saveron waited patiently for what Chythar wished to show him, interested to observe that which had led to the man’s current state. ::
TBC
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Lieutenant Chythar Skyfire
Chief Medical Officer
USS Garuda
Devlin the Beagle
Therapy Dog
Simmed by: Lt. Skyfire
and
Lt. Cmdr. Saveron
Xenobiologist
USS Garuda
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Lieutenant Chythar Skyfire Chief Medical Officer USS Garuda NCC-73089 |
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