Homeward Bound - Part Four

Posted on Tue Jan 26th, 2021 @ 1:41am by Captain Ariel Gilmore & Fleet Captain Heather Walking Bear & Commander Alyssa Temetti & Lieutenant Commander Meslina Amakawa & Commodore T'Shaamet 'Runt' Antilles

Mission: Mission 105: The Mirror, Shattered
Location: Various Locations - USS Charal
Timeline: 1200Hrs - October 8th, 2393

On her bridge. Captain Ariel Gilmore had relaxed the uniform requirements for her crew, only the bridge crew would wear the Terran uniforms rather than her entire crew, also starting tomorrow morning, the entire ship would go back to normal and that was assuming the Infinity had completed her mission. She was sick of this hideous uniform that on her was a miniskirt and a tank top, highly revealing and while it made her look extremely attractive, this was something she would wear to bed to mate with someone rather than on duty. However Gilmore would resue wearing the old uniform tomorrow and while she was looking forward to it, she also decided she would keep her silence to herself.

Lt Commander Eknir Zh'Shraaliin turned her head. "Captain, I'm reading increasing energy from the portal, a ship is coming through."

"Yellow Alert." Commander Marcus Bowman explained. "Can you identify her?"

"I think its Infinity but I can't be sure," Zh'Shraaliin explained in a light tone of voice.

"Challenge her," Gilmore answered.

Lieutenant Rachael Aquilla nodded her head. "Challenging her now..." she commented. "The response... is good. it's them."

"Stand down." Bowman sighed happily. "Its good to see old friends on the field," he added.

"Hail the Infinity please," Gilmore commented as she rose to her feet.

The screen switched from the starfield and the portal to the scene on a bridge of a similar design to this one, a small Vulcan female stood before her on her bridge.

"Infinity, its good to see you. Were you successful at accomplishing your mission?" she asked.

"Yes, Captain we were... We're sending you a data file, it'll allow you to close the portal. We believe that you and the Charal should have that honor, you have been waiting for us for over a week and you've been helpful in this assignment, so the honor.. is yours..." the small Vulcan explained. "Send them the file Meslina..." she commented to her Operations officer.

"Sending now." the small Trill female commented. "Sent."

Lieutenant JG Naris Terisso turned. "We have it, sir, its instructions on how to close the rift," she commented aloud.

Gilmore nodded. "We have it... Nice work Infinity, you guys don't need to stick around and wait for us... We've been ordered to head out on patrol as soon as your mission was accomplished. Vanguard is expecting you. Again fine work on your mission... Gilmore out." and with that, the transmission was cut off, moments later the Infinity reoriented to her new heading before she flashed away, as her warp drive went about its work.

Gilmore turned to her science officer. "Naris?"

"It's a program file, I'll simply patch into our software..." as she went about uploading it into the Charal's computer systems. "Its ready to activate now sir."

"Do so Naris," Gilmore answered with a smile. "Rachael, raise our shields... Just in case," she said to Aquilla. The Brazilian female nodded. "Aye sir, raising shields," she commented as if reading something off of the lunch menu in the main lounge, down on deck eighteen.

Aquilla smiled as she and the rest of the bridge crew watched as a sudden blast of energy flashed out from the ships main deflector, it impacted onto the portal's energy matrix, the portal began to become more and more unstable until it suddenly collapsed with a bridge flash, releasing a massive surge of energy into both universes, the flash pulse washed over the Charal, only lightly buffering the ship, causing no damage. The energy surge would red-shift and dissipate in time but it would cause no damage, especially to shielded ships.

Gilmore blinked, that collapse had been sudden and rather dramatic, not to mention explosive. "Status report?" she asked.

Suddenly the voice of Lt Commander Micheal "Oddball" Banes came over the com system. "Engineering to Bridge. What the heck just hit us?!"

"It was an energy surge from the portal, that energy had to go somewhere and it released itself violently into both realities as they separated, they were tethered together in ways that were never meant to happen." came the long-winded explanation from Lieutenant JG Naris Terisso as she worked at the science station. "Now that both universes are free... They will be unable to remerge like that, ever again," she explained.

"Oh..." The Com system responded. "Alright then, Engineering out." and with that, the comline to engineering was severed.

"Not ever again?." Gilmore felt a sudden chill at the statement Terisso's words portended. "I'm not sure I like what you mean by that Lieutenant."

"With all due respect Captain. You're not required to like what space-time does, only what we can learn from it.' she explained in a light tone of voice. "This was never something we would have ever been able to change..."

Commander Bowman turned his head. "Something wrong El-Tee?" he asked, he was not liking where this conversation was going and he sought to deal with this before it got out of hand.

"Only that some things come with too high a price, some things should never be done and some experiments should have never been conceived." the Bolslic answered evenly. "The tow universes would have separated eventually, but not before tearing a massive hole in each universe, which honestly, would have destroyed our entire galaxy from the energy surge... and would have sterilized the entire local group of galaxies... In theory, some would have gotten ahead of the energy surge but it would have required decades of running from it. Most would not have made it..." she reported.

Gilmore regarded her in silence for a moment. "How long did it take you to come up with this?"

"The better part of two days... the fact that its two universes moving in two different directions, relative to quantum states. Both realities would have parted eventually, it would have taken about twenty million years and the explosion would race out at the speed of light, same with the radiation surge... Which would only be slightly faster." the Boslic explained evenly. "The energy surge eventually would redshift as it raced outwards but you'd see it from the other side of the known universe in time..." she let out a soft sigh. "in about twenty billion years, everyone in the universe would know that something had gone down in this galaxy... erasing it from existence."

Gilmore sighed. "That's heavy..." she turned. "Rachael, drop two class two probes, we'll leave them behind to monitor this area for a time..." she sat down in her command chair. "Helm set a course for our patrol area and stand by to get underway." she turned to Bowman. "All in all, not a bad way to end a mission...'

"Indeed skipper. Helm. Engage whenever you are ready... Warp nine." Bowman explained.

Lieutenant Kaylen Chegwidden nodded as she smiled. "We're ready to get underway," she reported as she pressed the engage toggle and with that, Charal's warp drive activated and she was gone.