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star trek: voyager - kathryn janeway

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[ captain janeway was certain of two things: one) there was no way of contacting voyager; and two) there were other federation signatures present in this strange, alien city that was eerily reminiscent of 20th century earth. neither served to please her, and she'd spent the better part of the morning trying to boost her combadge's frequency in hopes of setting up a homing beacon, but to no avail. she'd try again later, perhaps after dismantling this device she'd been saddled with, granted she could find anything worthwhile hiding beneath its infuriatingly pink casing.

as for those federation signatures... she was on the fence. while those frequencies possessed a distinct federation signature, they were also old and outdated, making use of a particular brand of waveform distribution that had been abandoned by starfleet before she was even born. the only reason she thought to scan for something other than the 24th century standard was her tendency to consider all possible variables, not just the most plausible. she'd come across enough in her time to not be too surprised by archaic federation frequencies, but wasn't so foolish as to trust them or assume they were really starfleet in origin at all. for all she knew, it was a cleverly laid trap, put there specifically to pique her curiosity and draw her in closer with a false sense of security and promises of home.

she debates contacting the source of those signatures directly, but ultimately decides against it, repinning her combadge to her chest and picking up the device instead. ]

This is Captain Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager. This act of hostility is unwarranted and without precedence. If we have done anything to offend you or have crossed into forbidden territory, I assure you, it was not intended, and we will do whatever it takes to reconcile the damages.

[ she shifts, sitting up a little straighter on the park bench she's laid claim to. ] In the meantime, I request to be put in contact with my ship. The sooner we clear up this misunderstanding, the sooner we can discuss opening the floor for diplomatic relations that do not involve unnecessary aggressive negotiations. [ why yes, that's a not-so-thinly veiled threat. ]

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Captain Janeway? Ensign Chekov of the USS Enterprise. Captain Kirk has said that you require further information on this city?

Ensign, good to hear from you. I'd love to hear more about this City, particularly your theories of the temporal variety.

[ don't let those pips fool you. there's a quantum cosmologist hiding under all that command training. ]

They are too poor to be considered theories, sir; I would call them guesses, maybe. What I know is that the flow of time here is independent from the flow of time in other universes.

[Sorry, Captain. Chekov has met very few physics enthusiasts in the City. It doesn't occur to him to provide anything but the simplest, jargon-free answer.]

With time in our respective universes driven to a gradual halt from our perspectives, as if gridlocked in time -- when, in actuality, it is likely us who are the ones gridlocked, and not our timelines at all.

Edited 2013-07-09 23:23 (UTC)

Yes, exactly! ...Not that this can be proven, but time in the worlds from which we have come does appear to be unaffected by what time elapses here. We can stay here for years--years as we perceive them, I mean--without being missed in our universes of origin.

[ she follows right along with perfect ease. ]

So, when people from further along in our respective timelines arrive, it's as if we were never gone from ours to begin with. No absences to report other than their own.

Aye, Captain.

[There's open awe in his expression. Maybe that wasn't a terribly difficult conclusion to draw, but most people would have required more information to reach it.]

What's your specialty, Ensign?

[ she admittedly doesn't know much about pavel chekov other than he was young and extremely bright. ]

Theoretical physics. ...Stellar cartography and transporter theory, also, and warp engineering, to a lesser degree.

[Someone was busy at the academy.]

I'm a theoretical physicist myself. I specialized in Quantum Cosmology at the Academy.

A scientist and a captain! I have never heard of a captain with such a specialization!

Then I should tell you, Captain, that I think that the City may be a quantum fissure and not simply a universe that exists separately from those we have come from.

My ship was designed for long-term exploration missions. Best to have someone who understands the value of scientific endeavors sitting in the big chair. [ a small smile. ] Captains come in all shapes and specializations in my time. [ the captain of the enterprise in her time was, after all, an archaeologist in addition to being one of the federation's top diplomats. ]

A fixed point across the spacetime continuum that intersects a multitude of quantum realities.

Edited 2013-07-11 14:19 (UTC)

Logical, of course--when is your time, if I can ask that? [It sure isn't Chekov's time. As far as he knows, the captains in the twenty-third century all come from solid command backgrounds (not that he knows the personal details of many captains, but.]

Yes. From what you have seen, do you think that is apt?

[ she wouldn't provide him with this answer had she not already given it to kirk. janeway's still in the process of setting up boundaries within the limitations and allowances of the temporal prime directive for this rather unique situation she's found herself standing the middle of. ]

2375. [ so, late 24th century. she's from about a decade prior to the romulan sun going supernova. ]

Very apt. Good work, Ensign.

It was 2258 when I left home. The scientific advancements that must have been made... I cannot imagine. [Forget about Romulus' sun! Janeway's knowledge undoubtedly dwarfs his own. Not so good from a conversational vantage point, but there's so much to learn!]

Thank you, Captain. It should be possible to create a breach between this reality and others if a warp field can be generated, theoretically, but with no way of identifying quantum state signatures or mediating states of quantum flux...

[Shruuug. Captain Kirk seems to think that escaping is a thing that's going to happen. Maybe Captain Janeway will understand how complicated an escape would be.]

I'll see what I can do about letting you in on a few of them. [ she is going to be outlining parameters later on, deciding on what's okay and what's not, etc. ] Like this-- [ she points to the combadge on her chest, something much, much more than a simple starfleet insignia. ] It's called a combadge. It's a communicator, universal translator, and locator signal, among other things.

[ she does. she understands it perfectly, and while she has defied such odds before, it was never easy and usually left voyager in a state that had repair teams scrambling to put the ship back together again. ]

Not so theoretical anymore, but you're right -- without the proper technology, we're pretty much sitting ducks.

[Technology from the future. This is pretty much the most exciting thing that has ever happened.] Your combadge must be a great convenience. How strong is the signal? Can it transmit interdimensionally, or be modified to do so?

[Thank you, Janeway, for not mistaking the technical issues for giving up.]

I'm not so sure that the technology required can be developed with the available materials. In time, maybe.

Relatively strong, and while we've been able to modify it to do just that in the past, it involved amplifying internal communications on my ship as well -- something we can't really do here. I have, however, secured it to your crew's Starfleet channel, so as not to strictly rely on these archaic cell phones.

[ you're talking to the queen of never giving up, chekov. if being stranded 70,000 lightyears away from earth can't make her give up, being here sure as hell isn't. ]

Seems like time is the one thing we have in excess.

If there is a way to use anything in the City to amplify the signal, we will find it.

[A captain from the future on their comm channel? It's not his place to say anything, but he has to wonder what's going to happen with two captains and one crew. Chekov doesn't doubt the professionalism of either Kirk or Janeway; it's just a question of who to listen to in the event of conflicting commands.

(Loyalty says Kirk. Logic says Janeway.)]

You will be working with us for the duration of our stay here? [If he sounds a bit hopeful, well. Janeway is a knowledgeable physicist as well as a captain.]

[ protocol is in favor of her assuming total command of kirk and his crew, should such a thing a ever be necessary. another captain might've already done so, but janeway doesn't see the need to do so when she's more than willing to cooperate with kirk and work out some sort of co-captaining arrangement while they're here. these are his people, after all, and she knows how she'd feel if someone -- even the likes of jean-luc picard -- started giving her crew orders that overrode her own. it's not something to be done lightly, though she'll ultimately do it if she ever feels it to be necessary. ]

Yes. I will.

In our time, there are no Starfleet protocols for this. How would you like to be addressed?

And presently, I don't see any reason to enforce mine.

Captain Janeway will do just fine while for duty situations.

Aye, Captain Janeway.

Ah--if it is not too much to ask, sir, would you consider discussing the possible physical structure of this universe with me? At a greater length?

Ma'am, and I would love to.

[ said with the enthusiasm of the geek she is. ]

Ma'am, of course. Thank you.

[His excitement is going to compromise his dignity if life gets any better. It's been ages since he had a decent conversation about the City's nature with another physicist.]

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directives - 2013-07-16 14:11 (UTC) - Expand

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