[Nothing quite makes the time difference hit so hard as that remark -- unfamiliar with the Cali class ships? Of course...it makes sense. And reminds Tendi that she really has to stay on her toes with stuff like this.
The smile she gives as she nods in response is, um. just a tiny bit forced.] Oh-- of course. That makes sense. That would be why you're unfamiliar.
[Nailed it. Absolutely.
She's content to follow Jim for now, getting a look at the city around them while she does. It's...well, it doesn't at all look like the Earth areas she had been to, but she never actually left San Francisco during her time at the Academy anyway. Her attention is split three ways in that regard: watching the city, watching Bones frolic (it still seems so weird to her that they don't talk!), and listening to Jim's briefing of the situation.]
That's what I was afraid of. [A little sigh.] I tried contacting the Cerritos, but I couldn't get a signal through. [Even now, her comm badge doesn't seem to pick up anything when she taps it.] But-- this planet doesn't seem warp-capable at all so far, and no one else seems to recognize the Starfleet uniform, so... I don't get it. Why are we here?
[ Jim's eyes narrow just slightly at her tone - it's not as innocent as she'd like it to sound, but he only lets the beat of potential suspicion hang in the air for a moment before he lets it slide. Whatever she's reluctant to tell him, clearly it must not be entirely pressing, or she'd speak up. Right? Sure. There's a lot to parse out here. ] ...uh huh.
[ There's a lot to see, as they move out of downtown and towards the beach. Streamers have been hung, more and more vendors are hawking their wares the closer they get to the main activities. The denizens are decidedly all human, though some Chosen may stand out, enjoying the day.
Jim shakes his head, offering a sympathetic expression, running his free hand over the back of his neck, the other still attached to Bones' leash. ] I'm afraid no signal has been able to get in or out, as far as we know. We're - it's unclear. The prevailing theory at the moment is that this is some kind of advanced simulation.
We were brought here intentionally. The Chosen. [ They'll have to stop somewhere and get her some new clothes; she'd be welcome to whatever he and Spock have, but Jim doubts it would fit her anywhere near comfortably. ] Our captors call themselves the Council. No one's managed to get a good look at them, or figure out why exactly they're doing this.
You, me, and my CSO are the only Starfleet personnel I've seen here so far. No other Federation citizens have arrived. There's also - [ Jim exhales and shakes his head, offering Tendi a helpless shrug. ] - we've been dealing with the issue of the multiverse as well. Most of the Chosen all hail from different timelines and universes.
Which would explain why your rank is on your collar. Regs from my universe have it on the sleeve. We're also the furthest in the future, from what I can tell; at minimum 100 years from most of the others.
[ And in Tendi's case, well. Now that was doubled. ]
[Oh, my god. It's a Suspicious Captain Stare. Like, on one hand, this is terrifying because now she's under the microscope and she's never been the greatest officer for subterfuge anyway, and what if she messes up, or cracks under the pressure, or-- ........... but on the other hand...SHE GOT A SUSPICIOUS CAPTAIN STARE. From Captain Kirk! That's kind of amazing!
(Focus, Tendi, this is no time to lose it!!)
No signal in or out. If they could make a signal booster, would it even work...? If there's some kind of interference, is there some way to track and disable it? Wait, oh--]
A simulation? Wow! If I wasn't so mad about [--the parchment's accusation--] being here, I'd be really impressed! If that's true, this is like, really next-level stuff.
[This is also not the time to be impressed!!! That said, at least getting The Science Brain going is enough to make her stop focusing on freaking out over hanging out with Captain Freaking Kirk. Or freaking out over the time travel aspects she's pretty sure she absolutely should not talk about. Or the part where it sounds like she's going to be stuck here for a while.
Maybe this is all some big elaborate holodeck malfunction. Maybe she accidentally got transported into someone's holonovel! This doesn't exactly seem like something Boimler would come up with, so it'd have to be some other nerd who wants to hang out with people from-- what'd he call it? "Those Old Scientists," that'd be "TOS era" right? Okay, there we go. The gears are turning. Thank you, Science Brain.]
Ooh, a multiverse scenario! Or...an approximation of one, at least. If it's a simulation, then you'd think there would be a source somewhere that we could find, right? Like a [...don't say holodeck control panel, don't say it--] ...projector...or a signal booster...or something.
That's the theory. There's a decent amount of evidence supporting it. [ Jim can show her their notes in detail later, but hitting the main points for now will suffice. ] If it is indeed a sim, I've never seen one this advanced. There are no visible seam points anywhere, and the number of Chosen only seems to be increasing. With that much processing power...we're talking about a huge operation.
We've managed to successfully establish an alternate network. [ Jim pulls his dark web communicator out of his pocket, clearly a piece of handiwork, but it gets the job done. They'll have to get Tendi one, but he has more he's been building back at the house. ] Piggybacking off the main one. So far, we've had no supervision on it.
[ It had...unleashed something, but no interference from on high as of yet. ]
There was an AI presence on the main network about a month ago that we believe may lead us to the source. We're currently in the process of scanning the area for electromagnetic anomalies. [ Building the telemeter was never the hard part, but it sure was a lot more manual than a planet-wide scan. ] Once we identify a potential source, we'll see if we can uncover a port.
We're taking this with the utmost of caution. [ This is a warning, every ounce of authority he can muster whilst in civvies walking a dog. Nothing in particular has indicated Tendi is as loose a cannon as some of the crew he deals with on a regular basis, but with the spider-teens and Spock's insistence on exposing his brain to the damn AI, Jim's got enough to deal with. ] The Council doles out punishments for perceived crimes, with no recourse to appeal.
[ So if they do find something and they tamper with it, they might get fucked with right back, or worse. ]
I mean, are all of the Chosen being ported in, though? Like, there's a good chance that some of them could be simulated, too. If I was trying to make a really realistic simulation, that's what I'd do, to throw off suspicion.
[... Not that she'd do that to begin with. Really.
But-- it really does have her thinking! Even if it's not literally a holodeck, it could be the same technical idea, and in that case...could there be something really super wrong happening, here? Sure, she's done some stuff in the past, but nothing that should have landed her in a prison! What if this is all just som--
... wait. She gasps.]
Shut up, [so first, she just told Admiral James T. Kirk to shut up, but second, at least the starstruck vibe seems to have worn off?] there's an AI?! But that-- what-- how do you know it's an AI? Is it in-- [Wait, they want to uncover a WHAT??] ... You're not seriously thinking of porting into it are you?!
[HAS THE BORG TAUGHT THEM NOTHING?? (Tendi, he doesn't even know the Borg, calm down.)]
It's a reasonable question. [ Much as he hates the idea, it's possible she's right. They would have no way of knowing - they're basing their conclusions off their collective data, but if the dataset was tampered with? Or if it was simply technologically advanced beyond their understanding? They were fucked. They were fucked anyway. ] It's possible, but we suspect the natives are simulated; none of the Chosen have demonstrated similar characteristics. And the citizens are - well, they always seem to know when you're a Chosen.
[ Some of them were nice, some suspicious, but they always seemed to identify them as Other. Still, even if they're simulated, Jim's gotten to know some of them passably well - regular customers at the unofficial Fix-It shop he and Spock have going.
Tendi gets really animated over the AI, and Jim raises a hand as if to help quell the onslaught. ] For the record, I agree with you. It's a bad idea for a whole host of reasons.
[ Now's probably not the time to mention that Spock's great fuckin' idea is to plug his BRAIN into it and see what happens, with the Logical Fucking Plan being Jim stunning his ass when he goes Terminator. Needless to say, Jim is not quite on board with that part. ] It's an AI, we confirmed it by communicating with it in binary. It was released on the network and seems to be studying the transmissions.
I tried to crack into it, no dice. But it seems like this thing is embedded in a lot of the functions of this place... [ He shrugs, as if to say, it is what it is. The starstruck quality is going to wear off real quick when Tendi realizes the Jim Kirk from the history books is just as risk-taking and unpredictable as the rest of Starfleet. Or maybe his Captaincy is what helped set that standard in the first place. ] It's the best shot we've got, and we're taking all the precautions we can. This is assuming we can find the damn thing in the first place.
The natives, huh... [Hmm.] That-- makes sense, actually. I scanned some of them before, and they read as normal. Like, really normal. Weirdly normal. If that makes sense. I mean, you'd think there would be a little variation from one to another, but nope! Everything was exactly the same! How weird is that?
[It sure does seem like the kind of readings you would get from a holodeck or an android or something. Now she has to wonder if anyone has scanned holodeck characters... Someone definitely has. Right? Like, there's no way someone hasn't tried that--
Anyway, that's not important! The important thing is we are not doing another Borg storyline! They're too freaky!]
Wow, so it's communicating with you and everything? That... that's definitely bridge crew stuff. For sure. [Is she in over her head, here? Is this even Cali-class stuff? Sure, Jim taking on an AI makes all the sense in the world, that's like, classic flagship stuff. But going from Second Contact and escort missions to this? She's totally not qualified! Maybe Rutherford would be. Mariner would go all in whether she was qualified or not. But this...
Ooh, wait, actually, she has a thought.]
If it's communicating with us, maybe there's a way to rig up a device to locate its signal. I mean, the PADDs are connected by a network, right? It looked like it had some kind of location thing in it, too. Like a map or something? If it's tracking us, maybe there's a way to reverse engineer it to track them?
Trust me, the barometer for weird can and will get worse. [ Jim snorts, offering a noncommittal shrug. ] But I guess if they are short on processing power, that's one area they might try to cut corners with.
[ They approach the beach area, where the festival really appears to be in full swing. Stalls of food and local wares, streamers hanging over the street, more people - natives and Chosen alike - spilling out onto the beach for festival activities. Bones trots ahead, ambling their way through the hustle and bustle. ] Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can't offer you a way home, but we can get you fed and watered.
Seems like a battlefield promotion is in your future, Tendi. [ It's a joke that's not really a joke, but Jim bumps her shoulder companionably with his own, hoping to ease some of the nerves. Much as he wishes she weren't here, it is something of a relief to have another officer on deck. So far it's been him, Spock, and two (albeit superpowered) teenagers - which, don't get him wrong, Peter and Gwen were great but - it's easier when you have an actual adult who signed up for this kind of bullshit on hand. ]
I like the way you think. I've tried everything I can think of, though I'd appreciate a second set of eyes on it. Cryptographic codebreaker protocol didn't get me anywhere. [ The AI in particular had ripped through his anony864 commands like they were tissue paper. Not exactly encouraging. ] We're building a telemeter. Technology is primitive - 21st century at best, for most of it - but when we're done, we'll be able to see where the greatest electromagnetic disturbances are. An AI as powerful as this one has to be draining a lot of power from somewhere.
[Tendi frowns thoughtfully and nods, keeping her eyes on the locals. Jim has a point -- if you're looking to cut power somewhere, reducing variation in non-important entities seems like the right place to start. They never have to resort to that on the holodeck, but...this is way more sophisticated. Could it be based on the same idea, though? She'll have to think about that for later.
The beach is one of the most amazing things she's seen yet -- more of that soft not-sharp sand, tents and stalls everywhere...and no crime! Not a single knife being thrown! It's like, kind of suspiciously nice. She feels this urge to look over her shoulder -- one she has to suppress a bit, because they're not on Orion, so knife-throwing shouldn't even be a thing. Uh. Right?? Right.]
Oh-- you know, I could eat. But I'm open to recommendations? You have no idea how long it's been since I ate non-replicated food! [...wait--] Actually, you probably do, now that I think of it.
[A promotion, huh? It's just a joke --seems like rank doesn't even matter here!-- but she plays along with a knowing laugh.] That's one way to surprise my friends back on the Cerritos! But I have a feeling they'll be even more jealous that I was hanging out with you.
[She says that like it's totally obvious why. I mean, it is, to her -- Boimler and Mariner might have gotten to hang out with Captain Pike, but this is way different! ...not that it's fun to brag about without any of them around. It's actually...kind of...not fun to think about. What if they're all worried because she's missing? How long is it going to be before she sees them again? She's so mired in it that she almost starts with another "sir"-- but she manages to stop herself at the last second.]
You said people are here from different timelines, right? So I guess it just makes me wonder...how long have you been here? I mean-- [a little snort,] it'd be a pretty big deal if the captain of the Enterprise went missing for years on end! I'm sure most of Starfleet would have heard about that. [... in history books, at this point, but she leaves it vague.] But it sounds like you've been here long enough to figure out a lot of this already, so...it seems unlikely for you to be just arriving, like me.
[ At the end of the day, no matter how advanced it was, it operated on zeros and ones. Some things would always remain the same, and a system overload? Always possible. Nothing had infinite capacity, and Aldrip had been getting more new arrivals every month - hence Tendi's presence, right now.
Jim laughs good-naturedly, leading them over to a row of food stalls. There's plenty on offer, but Jim guides them to a hot dog cart, the cooked meat too fragrant to resist. Locals here did something with it, a blend of spices infused into it - none of which, so far, had closed up Jim's airways, so he thinks it's a safe bet. ] I ate four hamburgers my first day, I get you. Everything here is pretty decent, fresh. The locals catch fish, and raise their own foodstuffs.
[ At least there was the upside, considering there were no replicators. Jim had learned a lot about cooking since he'd arrived, and it was still woefully inadequate in the grand scheme of keeping himself fed. Thank God for Spock.
The comment does get a puzzled blink out of Jim, the nonchalant way Tendi says it, like his so-called popularity should be obvious. He's had his fair share of media circus and more, but the rumors swirling around him within Starfleet had rarely been positive. Tendi can't be much younger than him (actually, he must have just missed her at the Academy, right?) so it's just - hm. A little strange.
Not enough for him to call her out on it, but add enough hms to that pile and he might start voicing some of these questions - or, more dangerously, drawing and collecting his own conclusions. Getting caught in a lie might expose her faster than she wished.
But for the moment, Jim just directs her to the menu to order whatever she'd like, pulling a few of Aldrip's weird, crescent-shaped coins out of his pocket. It was still something of a novelty, paying for things with actual, physical currency; Jim never failed to get a kick out of it. ]
I've been here about three months. If time works the same way here, it's possible news hasn't traveled back. We were in deep space, last I remember. [ It's a big if, something none of them have any concrete information on. Jim tries not to think about it, because of all the things they had to worry about - this was the one they could make the least progress on, and that was just wasted energy. ] My first officer has been here about five months. Well...not mine, exactly, not from my universe, but.
[It smells like home. Well-- not like literally, because the cooking methods are way different, they probably don't use half the same spices she was used to on Orion. But it smells like real cooking, and that's close enough. It's not like she hasn't had shore leave, either -- it hasn't been that long since D'Erika's wedding, and the food was amazing. The Tendi family spares no expense for things like that. But still! It's nice.]
Four? Were they that good, or were you just that hungry? [She means it, but it's also a good way to slide right past that comment that, in retrospect, might sound a little weird. Starfleet had rapidly expanded over the course of his tenure on the Enterprise and then as an Admiral, but...she knows enough about history to realize that none of that happened until later in his career. Maybe, in part, because of his career. Because the crew of the Enterprise had laid the groundwork.
Standing in the footsteps of giants, and this one ate four hamburgers in one sitting. It's-- it's wild, that's for sure.
She points out something on the menu --a "corn" dog? it doesn't look like a dog or corn, but it's on a stick, which is pretty neat-- and frowns thoughtfully at his words. Three months? He seems to still think she's from his era, so his guess makes logical sense, in that way...] It-- could be something like that, yeah.
[Or maybe there's another temporal element at work here? Maybe he manages to travel back to the moment he left or something. That sounds right, for one of those time travel scenarios.]
... Hold on. [a beat; don't say Ambassador Spock for the love of every god under the sun don't--] you mean your-- first officer was here first? But not like the same, it's more like-- ...different universes? Wait, how exactly did you work that out? I mean-- what's the evidence for that?
Can it not be both? [ Jim laughs good-naturedly, passing the coins to the vendor to retrieve their food - he gets a bratwurst hot dog for himself, and picks up a fistful of condiments packets as he adds a tip to the jar on the counter. The food is taken right off the grill, fresh and ready, and Jim passes Tendi her corn dog. He hasn't seen those since Iowa's State Fair, when he was a snot-nosed kid running after his brother - an old, regional tradition; if San Franciso had one nearby while Jim was at the Academy, he hadn't noticed.
Jim continues to amble towards the beach, offering Tendi her pick of the condiments he'd grabbed - relish, mustard, and ketchup. ] It's hard to say for sure. We haven't had anyone leave and come back yet.
[ Not that Jim's aware of, anyway. If this is even the first version of this place.
Jim eyes her for a second, trying to determine the protocol for this. They're pretty much at the point of making it up as they go along - he and Spock had agreed that Prime Directive Section 2 was active, but this was a new call - security clearance. Still, Jim is of the opinion that rules aren't always a one-size-fits-all situation, and Tendi is here now, stuck in this with them.
All this to say: Jim's inclination is to trust her, and if he goes back and gets court martial'd for it, Admiral Cartwright can suck his left nut.
...okay, so maybe he won't say that part to Spock when he defends his decision later. ]
In my universe, we had an interdimensional incident once before. It's been classified, so - [ Jim makes a vague knighting motion in Tendi's direction. ] - congratulations Junior Lieutenant, Level Four security clearance granted.
[ He's allowed to do that, since he served a summer with Starfleet Intelligence between sophomore and junior year, so suck it Cartwright. Captain with a Level 10 who earned a Sigma 9, what were you going to do about it? ]
We know we're from different universes because we've met before. Well, I've met him before; it hasn't happened yet, in his current timeline. [ Though if they were going with that theory - had Ambassador Spock known this would happen? Or perhaps it was yet another variation of Spock, the same but slightly to the left. ] There are events that unfold that diverge our universes. And he...looks different. So do I.
Like, look, this place is a lot, that's for sure. But Tendi isn't inexperienced when it comes to a lot. Her first day on the Cerritos had ended with her manually pumping a human heart while a rage virus swept the ship, so-- generally, she can handle whatever's thrown at her. It's just...usually it's one a lot at the time, and this is already at around two or three.
... Make that four. Interdimensional incidents definitely count as number four.]
Looks different? How does he look different? I mean, just...different features? [And, with a sneaking suspicion that Beckett was right about that "universe where everyone is young and hot," she adds:] Or...younger? Older? Something like that...?
Yes, generally. He looks like he could be related to the Spock I know, but not exactly him. [ Jim raises a hand in a so-so motion, nearly sending ketchup onto his shirt. He doesn't, but it is a near thing. ] He's from what we call the Prime universe, since the divergence affected my universe more holistically.
He's older, in part because of that. The events that resulted in my Captaincy at 25 didn't happen, so while we're both from roughly two years into our five year mission - he's 37, I'm 28. [ Jim shrugs and glances away towards the beach. He knows it's best not to let it bother him, but bother him it does. How can it not, knowing he's from the lesser universe? Even if Spock refuses to let him call it that. ] I have blue eyes, a byproduct of unshielded radiation exposure at birth. They're supposed to be brown. You see what I mean?
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expiationlogs2024-06-10 07:58 am
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The smile she gives as she nods in response is, um. just a tiny bit forced.] Oh-- of course. That makes sense. That would be why you're unfamiliar.
[Nailed it. Absolutely.
She's content to follow Jim for now, getting a look at the city around them while she does. It's...well, it doesn't at all look like the Earth areas she had been to, but she never actually left San Francisco during her time at the Academy anyway. Her attention is split three ways in that regard: watching the city, watching Bones frolic (it still seems so weird to her that they don't talk!), and listening to Jim's briefing of the situation.]
That's what I was afraid of. [A little sigh.] I tried contacting the Cerritos, but I couldn't get a signal through. [Even now, her comm badge doesn't seem to pick up anything when she taps it.] But-- this planet doesn't seem warp-capable at all so far, and no one else seems to recognize the Starfleet uniform, so... I don't get it. Why are we here?
no subject
[ There's a lot to see, as they move out of downtown and towards the beach. Streamers have been hung, more and more vendors are hawking their wares the closer they get to the main activities. The denizens are decidedly all human, though some Chosen may stand out, enjoying the day.
Jim shakes his head, offering a sympathetic expression, running his free hand over the back of his neck, the other still attached to Bones' leash. ] I'm afraid no signal has been able to get in or out, as far as we know. We're - it's unclear. The prevailing theory at the moment is that this is some kind of advanced simulation.
We were brought here intentionally. The Chosen. [ They'll have to stop somewhere and get her some new clothes; she'd be welcome to whatever he and Spock have, but Jim doubts it would fit her anywhere near comfortably. ] Our captors call themselves the Council. No one's managed to get a good look at them, or figure out why exactly they're doing this.
You, me, and my CSO are the only Starfleet personnel I've seen here so far. No other Federation citizens have arrived. There's also - [ Jim exhales and shakes his head, offering Tendi a helpless shrug. ] - we've been dealing with the issue of the multiverse as well. Most of the Chosen all hail from different timelines and universes.
Which would explain why your rank is on your collar. Regs from my universe have it on the sleeve. We're also the furthest in the future, from what I can tell; at minimum 100 years from most of the others.
[ And in Tendi's case, well. Now that was doubled. ]
no subject
(Focus, Tendi, this is no time to lose it!!)
No signal in or out. If they could make a signal booster, would it even work...? If there's some kind of interference, is there some way to track and disable it? Wait, oh--]
A simulation? Wow! If I wasn't so mad about [--the parchment's accusation--] being here, I'd be really impressed! If that's true, this is like, really next-level stuff.
[This is also not the time to be impressed!!! That said, at least getting The Science Brain going is enough to make her stop focusing on freaking out over hanging out with Captain Freaking Kirk. Or freaking out over the time travel aspects she's pretty sure she absolutely should not talk about. Or the part where it sounds like she's going to be stuck here for a while.
Maybe this is all some big elaborate holodeck malfunction. Maybe she accidentally got transported into someone's holonovel! This doesn't exactly seem like something Boimler would come up with, so it'd have to be some other nerd who wants to hang out with people from-- what'd he call it? "Those Old Scientists," that'd be "TOS era" right? Okay, there we go. The gears are turning. Thank you, Science Brain.]
Ooh, a multiverse scenario! Or...an approximation of one, at least. If it's a simulation, then you'd think there would be a source somewhere that we could find, right? Like a [...don't say holodeck control panel, don't say it--] ...projector...or a signal booster...or something.
no subject
We've managed to successfully establish an alternate network. [ Jim pulls his dark web communicator out of his pocket, clearly a piece of handiwork, but it gets the job done. They'll have to get Tendi one, but he has more he's been building back at the house. ] Piggybacking off the main one. So far, we've had no supervision on it.
[ It had...unleashed something, but no interference from on high as of yet. ]
There was an AI presence on the main network about a month ago that we believe may lead us to the source. We're currently in the process of scanning the area for electromagnetic anomalies. [ Building the telemeter was never the hard part, but it sure was a lot more manual than a planet-wide scan. ] Once we identify a potential source, we'll see if we can uncover a port.
We're taking this with the utmost of caution. [ This is a warning, every ounce of authority he can muster whilst in civvies walking a dog. Nothing in particular has indicated Tendi is as loose a cannon as some of the crew he deals with on a regular basis, but with the spider-teens and Spock's insistence on exposing his brain to the damn AI, Jim's got enough to deal with. ] The Council doles out punishments for perceived crimes, with no recourse to appeal.
[ So if they do find something and they tamper with it, they might get fucked with right back, or worse. ]
no subject
[... Not that she'd do that to begin with. Really.
But-- it really does have her thinking! Even if it's not literally a holodeck, it could be the same technical idea, and in that case...could there be something really super wrong happening, here? Sure, she's done some stuff in the past, but nothing that should have landed her in a prison! What if this is all just som--
... wait. She gasps.]
Shut up, [so first, she just told Admiral James T. Kirk to shut up, but second, at least the starstruck vibe seems to have worn off?] there's an AI?! But that-- what-- how do you know it's an AI? Is it in-- [Wait, they want to uncover a WHAT??] ... You're not seriously thinking of porting into it are you?!
[HAS THE BORG TAUGHT THEM NOTHING?? (Tendi, he doesn't even know the Borg, calm down.)]
no subject
[ Some of them were nice, some suspicious, but they always seemed to identify them as Other. Still, even if they're simulated, Jim's gotten to know some of them passably well - regular customers at the unofficial Fix-It shop he and Spock have going.
Tendi gets really animated over the AI, and Jim raises a hand as if to help quell the onslaught. ] For the record, I agree with you. It's a bad idea for a whole host of reasons.
[ Now's probably not the time to mention that Spock's great fuckin' idea is to plug his BRAIN into it and see what happens, with the Logical Fucking Plan being Jim stunning his ass when he goes Terminator. Needless to say, Jim is not quite on board with that part. ] It's an AI, we confirmed it by communicating with it in binary. It was released on the network and seems to be studying the transmissions.
I tried to crack into it, no dice. But it seems like this thing is embedded in a lot of the functions of this place... [ He shrugs, as if to say, it is what it is. The starstruck quality is going to wear off real quick when Tendi realizes the Jim Kirk from the history books is just as risk-taking and unpredictable as the rest of Starfleet. Or maybe his Captaincy is what helped set that standard in the first place. ] It's the best shot we've got, and we're taking all the precautions we can. This is assuming we can find the damn thing in the first place.
[ Maybe they'll just blow it up? Who knows. ]
no subject
[It sure does seem like the kind of readings you would get from a holodeck or an android or something. Now she has to wonder if anyone has scanned holodeck characters... Someone definitely has. Right? Like, there's no way someone hasn't tried that--
Anyway, that's not important! The important thing is we are not doing another Borg storyline! They're too freaky!]
Wow, so it's communicating with you and everything? That... that's definitely bridge crew stuff. For sure. [Is she in over her head, here? Is this even Cali-class stuff? Sure, Jim taking on an AI makes all the sense in the world, that's like, classic flagship stuff. But going from Second Contact and escort missions to this? She's totally not qualified! Maybe Rutherford would be. Mariner would go all in whether she was qualified or not. But this...
Ooh, wait, actually, she has a thought.]
If it's communicating with us, maybe there's a way to rig up a device to locate its signal. I mean, the PADDs are connected by a network, right? It looked like it had some kind of location thing in it, too. Like a map or something? If it's tracking us, maybe there's a way to reverse engineer it to track them?
no subject
[ They approach the beach area, where the festival really appears to be in full swing. Stalls of food and local wares, streamers hanging over the street, more people - natives and Chosen alike - spilling out onto the beach for festival activities. Bones trots ahead, ambling their way through the hustle and bustle. ] Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can't offer you a way home, but we can get you fed and watered.
Seems like a battlefield promotion is in your future, Tendi. [ It's a joke that's not really a joke, but Jim bumps her shoulder companionably with his own, hoping to ease some of the nerves. Much as he wishes she weren't here, it is something of a relief to have another officer on deck. So far it's been him, Spock, and two (albeit superpowered) teenagers - which, don't get him wrong, Peter and Gwen were great but - it's easier when you have an actual adult who signed up for this kind of bullshit on hand. ]
I like the way you think. I've tried everything I can think of, though I'd appreciate a second set of eyes on it. Cryptographic codebreaker protocol didn't get me anywhere. [ The AI in particular had ripped through his anony864 commands like they were tissue paper. Not exactly encouraging. ] We're building a telemeter. Technology is primitive - 21st century at best, for most of it - but when we're done, we'll be able to see where the greatest electromagnetic disturbances are. An AI as powerful as this one has to be draining a lot of power from somewhere.
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The beach is one of the most amazing things she's seen yet -- more of that soft not-sharp sand, tents and stalls everywhere...and no crime! Not a single knife being thrown! It's like, kind of suspiciously nice. She feels this urge to look over her shoulder -- one she has to suppress a bit, because they're not on Orion, so knife-throwing shouldn't even be a thing. Uh. Right?? Right.]
Oh-- you know, I could eat. But I'm open to recommendations? You have no idea how long it's been since I ate non-replicated food! [...wait--] Actually, you probably do, now that I think of it.
[A promotion, huh? It's just a joke --seems like rank doesn't even matter here!-- but she plays along with a knowing laugh.] That's one way to surprise my friends back on the Cerritos! But I have a feeling they'll be even more jealous that I was hanging out with you.
[She says that like it's totally obvious why. I mean, it is, to her -- Boimler and Mariner might have gotten to hang out with Captain Pike, but this is way different! ...not that it's fun to brag about without any of them around. It's actually...kind of...not fun to think about. What if they're all worried because she's missing? How long is it going to be before she sees them again? She's so mired in it that she almost starts with another "sir"-- but she manages to stop herself at the last second.]
You said people are here from different timelines, right? So I guess it just makes me wonder...how long have you been here? I mean-- [a little snort,] it'd be a pretty big deal if the captain of the Enterprise went missing for years on end! I'm sure most of Starfleet would have heard about that. [... in history books, at this point, but she leaves it vague.] But it sounds like you've been here long enough to figure out a lot of this already, so...it seems unlikely for you to be just arriving, like me.
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Jim laughs good-naturedly, leading them over to a row of food stalls. There's plenty on offer, but Jim guides them to a hot dog cart, the cooked meat too fragrant to resist. Locals here did something with it, a blend of spices infused into it - none of which, so far, had closed up Jim's airways, so he thinks it's a safe bet. ] I ate four hamburgers my first day, I get you. Everything here is pretty decent, fresh. The locals catch fish, and raise their own foodstuffs.
[ At least there was the upside, considering there were no replicators. Jim had learned a lot about cooking since he'd arrived, and it was still woefully inadequate in the grand scheme of keeping himself fed. Thank God for Spock.
The comment does get a puzzled blink out of Jim, the nonchalant way Tendi says it, like his so-called popularity should be obvious. He's had his fair share of media circus and more, but the rumors swirling around him within Starfleet had rarely been positive. Tendi can't be much younger than him (actually, he must have just missed her at the Academy, right?) so it's just - hm. A little strange.
Not enough for him to call her out on it, but add enough hms to that pile and he might start voicing some of these questions - or, more dangerously, drawing and collecting his own conclusions. Getting caught in a lie might expose her faster than she wished.
But for the moment, Jim just directs her to the menu to order whatever she'd like, pulling a few of Aldrip's weird, crescent-shaped coins out of his pocket. It was still something of a novelty, paying for things with actual, physical currency; Jim never failed to get a kick out of it. ]
I've been here about three months. If time works the same way here, it's possible news hasn't traveled back. We were in deep space, last I remember. [ It's a big if, something none of them have any concrete information on. Jim tries not to think about it, because of all the things they had to worry about - this was the one they could make the least progress on, and that was just wasted energy. ] My first officer has been here about five months. Well...not mine, exactly, not from my universe, but.
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Four? Were they that good, or were you just that hungry? [She means it, but it's also a good way to slide right past that comment that, in retrospect, might sound a little weird. Starfleet had rapidly expanded over the course of his tenure on the Enterprise and then as an Admiral, but...she knows enough about history to realize that none of that happened until later in his career. Maybe, in part, because of his career. Because the crew of the Enterprise had laid the groundwork.
Standing in the footsteps of giants, and this one ate four hamburgers in one sitting. It's-- it's wild, that's for sure.
She points out something on the menu --a "corn" dog? it doesn't look like a dog or corn, but it's on a stick, which is pretty neat-- and frowns thoughtfully at his words. Three months? He seems to still think she's from his era, so his guess makes logical sense, in that way...] It-- could be something like that, yeah.
[Or maybe there's another temporal element at work here? Maybe he manages to travel back to the moment he left or something. That sounds right, for one of those time travel scenarios.]
... Hold on. [a beat; don't say Ambassador Spock for the love of every god under the sun don't--] you mean your-- first officer was here first? But not like the same, it's more like-- ...different universes? Wait, how exactly did you work that out? I mean-- what's the evidence for that?
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Jim continues to amble towards the beach, offering Tendi her pick of the condiments he'd grabbed - relish, mustard, and ketchup. ] It's hard to say for sure. We haven't had anyone leave and come back yet.
[ Not that Jim's aware of, anyway. If this is even the first version of this place.
Jim eyes her for a second, trying to determine the protocol for this. They're pretty much at the point of making it up as they go along - he and Spock had agreed that Prime Directive Section 2 was active, but this was a new call - security clearance. Still, Jim is of the opinion that rules aren't always a one-size-fits-all situation, and Tendi is here now, stuck in this with them.
All this to say: Jim's inclination is to trust her, and if he goes back and gets court martial'd for it, Admiral Cartwright can suck his left nut.
...okay, so maybe he won't say that part to Spock when he defends his decision later. ]
In my universe, we had an interdimensional incident once before. It's been classified, so - [ Jim makes a vague knighting motion in Tendi's direction. ] - congratulations Junior Lieutenant, Level Four security clearance granted.
[ He's allowed to do that, since he served a summer with Starfleet Intelligence between sophomore and junior year, so suck it Cartwright. Captain with a Level 10 who earned a Sigma 9, what were you going to do about it? ]
We know we're from different universes because we've met before. Well, I've met him before; it hasn't happened yet, in his current timeline. [ Though if they were going with that theory - had Ambassador Spock known this would happen? Or perhaps it was yet another variation of Spock, the same but slightly to the left. ] There are events that unfold that diverge our universes. And he...looks different. So do I.
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Like, look, this place is a lot, that's for sure. But Tendi isn't inexperienced when it comes to a lot. Her first day on the Cerritos had ended with her manually pumping a human heart while a rage virus swept the ship, so-- generally, she can handle whatever's thrown at her. It's just...usually it's one a lot at the time, and this is already at around two or three.
... Make that four. Interdimensional incidents definitely count as number four.]
Looks different? How does he look different? I mean, just...different features? [And, with a sneaking suspicion that Beckett was right about that "universe where everyone is young and hot," she adds:] Or...younger? Older? Something like that...?
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He's older, in part because of that. The events that resulted in my Captaincy at 25 didn't happen, so while we're both from roughly two years into our five year mission - he's 37, I'm 28. [ Jim shrugs and glances away towards the beach. He knows it's best not to let it bother him, but bother him it does. How can it not, knowing he's from the lesser universe? Even if Spock refuses to let him call it that. ] I have blue eyes, a byproduct of unshielded radiation exposure at birth. They're supposed to be brown. You see what I mean?