Much to Answer For

Posted on Wed Mar 9th, 2022 @ 10:02pm by Captain Björn Kodak

Mission: Sojourners of Time
Location: Ema'harai Chamber 1
Timeline: Mission Day 8 at 2000

[Ema'harai Chamber 1]
[The City of Megrethon]
[Talbeethia Prime]
[MD 8: 2000 Hours]

Captain Kodak stood in the smoking ruins of one of the Ema'harai chambers, his vivid golden eyes -- slit like those of a cat -- sweeping across the scene before him. Portable lighting had been set up, dispelling the darkness that, prior, had only been interrupted by the strobing staccato of sparking wires and control panels that shone with emergency warning glyphs. The lighting rigs clearly showed the destruction that had been wrought: holographic projectors and sound equipment had been reduced to melted slag, completely non-functional. The central dais upon which ceremonial occupants would stand had been smashed, having fallen prey to an overhead assembly of equipment that had become dislodged and fell. An acrid smell of burnt out components and only recently-put out fires filled the Chameloid's nostrils as his eyes moved to regard First Cherithan Ru.

The head of the Talbeethian Guard, the First Cherithan was garbed in the ornate raiment of her station, looking like a bedazzling figure swathed in intricate metal erupting from her shoulders. As Elemaine Ru carefully navigated the room -- ensuring her dark purple robes did not get stuck on charred burrs of exposed metal -- she came to make eye contact with the Starfleet Captain, who stared at her with an intensity she found uncomfortable but completely understandable. Two chambers full of his crew had gone missing, a byproduct of whatever had happened in the ritual rooms. Such events were currently a mystery but she had her people working on both an explanation and, hopefully, a solution. For now, though, all she could offer was an apology. "I am so sorry this happened, Captain. We have used this technology for decades without these kinds of problems. We are, of course, working to find out what went wrong."

"I appreciate that," Kodak nodded slowly, once again taking stock of the ritual room's state. Andrew had been here just 45 minutes prior; he'd been here and accessible. He'd been here and >i>safe. So had the rest of them, the Captain reminded himself. The loss of his First Officer, Debbie, Timmoz, Mothim, Margarar, and the rest deeply concerned him. For the moment, though, it seemed there was little he, himself, could do about the situation. Movement from the left caught his eye and Kodak turned, spying someone in stark white robes -- which, he'd learned, indicated the person wearing them was from the Sciences department -- coming up to speak with the First Cherithan.

After several long moments of hushed conversation, Ru nodded and sent her underling away. Picking up the hems of her robes, the woman trudged her way through the wreckage to come closer to Kodak, hoping to have a quiet conversation with the Captain. "I have information about what happened and," she sighed, "an even bigger apology to make to you and your people. It seems one of our chief Ema'harai technologists took umbrage with your people using our technology. She had argued before commencing Ema'harai that you not be allowed to experience the ritual but her peers shot her down. You are, after all, not the first alien race we've invited to partake."

Squaring her shoulders, Ru continued, "The affront was not you, specifically, but guests in general. Chief Technologist Umburu apparently sabotaged the equipment, intending for Ema'harai to fail before it really began. But her handiwork had consequences she did not anticipate and, instead of the ritual wholly failing at the outset, the equipment sensed the danger of its own imminent destruction and grabbed everyone in the rooms as a safety precaution. Had they been left here, they may have been killed in the explosions that followed. Hence the system tried to remove them from danger the only way it knew how: by sending them back, too."

Kodak soaked all of this in and nodded. It made sense, at least in terms of why everyone had been sent back in time. The cause, however, gave the Captain great pause. "This...Umburu?" he said the name, tilted up at the end in a question. "Can we speak with her? Learn more about what she did and how to undo the damage?"

"Chief Technologist Umburu is currently in custody," Ru confirmed, "and currently undergoing questioning. As the act of sending your people back was an accident, I do not know if Umburu can help. But we will try to find out everything she knows that may be helpful, Captain. I promise."

"I appreciate that," Kodak said, meaning it. "But don't you have other chambers? Can't we simply use them to bring everyone back?" It seemed a logical assumption to him.

"Yes...and no," the First Cherithan sighed. "If we knew precisely when and where each of your groups had gone, our technology could reach out and re-establish a connection. Unfortunately, the damage done to these systems is extreme. Thus far, we've been unable to access the temporal coordinates established when your people went back in time. Without them, your people are untethered and adrift. They are safe," she raised a staying hand, "but for the time being, at least, they are stuck where they are."

"Wait...so you're telling me this system of yours doesn't keep some kind of backup record of where and when people visit?" Captain Kodak's eyes had widened, his breathing getting faster. "That seems like a vast oversight."

"One that, until today, had never seemed needed," Ru replied apologetically. "The chambers are designed to be self-contained. Should calamity happen in one chamber, it -- by design -- would not affect the rest. Moving forward, we clearly need to incorporate some kind of central hub to prevent something like this from happening again."

"Clearly," Kodak sighed. "So what do we do now?" he asked, suspecting he already knew the answer.

"Chief Technologist Mhz is working on the problem," Ru said, lifting her head regally as she made eye contact once again. "She hopes to find the data we need in what's left here. But, as you can see," she swept a hand across the damage, "that will clearly take some time. There is also no guarantee the data we need is still available, though that is certainly the hope. We are doing all we can, Captain."

"I understand," Kodak said, folding his arms over his barrel chest. "I'd like to get some of my own people on this. Perhaps our engineers can help Mhz to track down the data we need. Would you allow such collaboration, First Cherithan?"

"Our science is...well, not to be indelicate, Captain," Ru mused, "but our technology is far beyond yours. I'm not sure what your engineers could do that our own technologists cannot." Seeing a storm begin to brew on the Captain's face, however, her tone softened. "That said, of course...we would be happy to have your assistance," she succumbed with a nod of her head.

"Thank you. I'll head back to my ship and will send someone here shortly," Kodak explained. "First Cherithan," he bowed his head respectfully and then tapped his combadge. "Kodak to Sojo. One to beam up." In a dazzling array of azure sparkles, the Chameloid faded into nothingness.

Ru watched as the man disappeared, then turned to one of her subordinates. "I want to see Umburu now. She has much to answer for."

"Of course, imminence," the underling nodded. "This way, please," he said, gesturing towards the door.


=/\= A post by... =/\=

Captain Björn Kodak
Commanding Officer
USS Sojourner

and

First Cherithan Elemaine Ru
World Leader
Talbeethia Prime