Einstein's Dragon

"I've managed to smooth out the ride a bit after analyzing the data I've gathered overnight." Tharsis reports. "With some luck, and without any more unexpected objects hurtling at us from the void, we can gather data in a bit more comfort."

"Very good Mr Tharsis," says Commander Gideon from his chair. A small sigh. "Keep all these on file, some of them might require some research at home."

Alexandra edges quietly onto the bridge, though she's apparently aiming more for not disturbing than sneaking up on anyone. She's got a dataslate in one hand, and seems to be making notes on it intermittently.

Tharsis keeps several screens up with the incoming datastreams across his consoles. "From what I've learned so far, I just hope this thing doesn't expand any further. It's like the universe is coming apart at the seams, and if it gets a start, it might literally unzip everything."

"Are we having any effect on the rift ourselves Mr Tharsis," frowns the Commander. "Effect of the observer and all that..." He hasn't noticed Alexandra's entrance.

"How would we know?" Lex asks absently, mid-note. "Trees falling in forests and suchlike. We're here, so any effect we -wouldn't- have on the rift if we -weren't- is immeasureable." She looks up and smiles. "Pardon. I don't mean to interrupt."

"Thus far, our presence and active scanning do not appear to be having any measureable effect." Tharsis says. "The incidents we have encountered thus far appear to be a result of the rift's existence. I am hoping with with a bit more analysis, I may be able to predict the timings of 'flare ups' that would result in further happenings."

Sam Gideon turns around in his chair just to give the good doctor a wry smile, "Hope you're settling in fine Dr Wright. And you're probably right." He turns around again as he addresses Tharsis, "Has there been any sign of change in the Rift since we took up position? If there is a chance the high-brows can think of some solution be nice if they had the time to do it before it does come apart."

"If I were to make an analysis based on current data, the rift is increasing at a rate of .05 percent every three hours." Tharsis says. "Thus far that rate of expansion is steady."

Alexandra blinks. "Shall I fetch a needle and thread?" she asks, a slight tilt of her head given. "A thread spun of one of these unknown radiation types could probably do the trick. I'm not sure what you'd make the needle out of, though." She gives a returning wry smile. "I'm settling in fine, thanks. I'm still trying to figure out if I ought to be saluting anybody, though."

"No idea of when that expansion would be critical, or even if it's already beyond that point?" asks Sam. "Technically Mr Tharsis should be saluting most people," he chuckles. "But since my life is literally in his hands, I think I'll let that pass."

"Insufficient data to determine a criticality factor." Tharsis says. "I'll continue my analysis until I can give you something more solid."

"I wonder if we'll figure out when it'll be critical before it's actually critical," Lex comments, giving a dry little chuckle. "I suppose we'll find out. In any case, there doesn't seem to be anything anomalous going on with the crew. Yet. Really, you need a physicist to analyze all of the bizarre particles being generated by this thing. I'm keeping notes, though. Lots and lots of notes. Someone will be able to make sense of them."

"I think anyone eminintly qualified to understand what's going on here is probably more than happy to be as far away from this thing as possible," says Sam with a surprisingly genuine enthusiastic smile. "But that's what we're here for."

"Actually ma'am, I hold an advanced degree in physics." Tharsis states. "I also took studies in biology, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and astronomical sciences. That's one reason all of this fascinates me. In fact.." he says as he is cut off by an indicator beeping on one of his data monitors. "What the hell... Commander... she's twitchin'... chroniton particle density has increased by 25 percent and continuing to rise."

Alexandra blinks at Tharsis' reply. "Well, then, wish granted," she replies, her short laugh cut even shorter by the indicator going off. "Mmmm. Do you mind if I connect myself to the console here? I probably won't see anything that you don't, but you never know. Besides, there's just something about viewing the data later in a log that doesn't do it for me."

"She's about to spew something at us?" asks the Commander. "Just keep us out of the line of fire." Sam leans around in his chair, "Please, connect yourself." He's more interested in Tharsis' data.

Tharsis pops open an interface panel for Alexandra near her current seat. "Help yourself." he says as he focuses on his data stream. "No sign of a microrift opening, but a chroniton field is beginning to form around my hull. I'll attempt to disengage as best I can."

The Sivadian woman nods, connects her datajack to the interface panel, and frowns just a bit. "...More of that strange radiation," she murmurs, shaking her head. "I couldn't even -begin- to tell you what prolonged exposure is going to do, if anything." She blinks then, looking up. "...Wait, it's thrown something at you?"

"A comet, a viking ship, something wierd that looked like a Nall building and according to Mr Tharsis' sensors this morning an edition of the New York Post from February of 1963," nods the Commander. "Very well Mr Tharsis, best speed."

Loken comes in from the hatchway, he doesn't say much yet, just heads straight for the pilot's seat, presuming it's unoccupied.

The field continues to grow, and before Tharsis can engage his engines, a sense of shifting comes across the bridge, and the data flow suddenly ceases as the monitors go quiet. Instead of a massive glowing rift, the viewscreen shifts to an image beyond of a massive star cruiser, nearly a mile in length, with three smaller freighters flanking it as it enters orbit around a lush Earth-like planet. Emblazoned along the side of the huge vessel is a name: ISS GALACTIX. For a moment, Tharsis is silent, but his voice eventually returns, soft, quiet, and full of awe. ".....dad?"

Alexandra wears a surprised, but curious expression. "Well, then. I might just get my favorite scalpel back," she comments. "Keep an eye out for it, would..." She trails off there, putting a hand to the side of her head and closing her eyes tightly as that sense of displacement hits the bridge. "...Well -that's- an unpleasant feeling."

Sam stares at the ship in front of him, "Mr..." His voice isn't working. "Mr..." He tries again, "Mr Tharsis?"

Loken is busy strapping himself in, but does glance up at the cruiser, "Impressive," he states. He doesn't seem incredibly surprised, though. He's used to big things.

As the massive ship settles into orbit, the three smaller ships settle into an orbit along side him. One of them looks very familiar. "It's... it's me! Along with Alaria and Berseus.. we're.. we're arriving at Harmony... no... please... don't make me go through this again.." Tharsis says in a voice that sounds like it is on the verge of tears. Try as he might, his engines won't engage. It is as if he sits in limbo, watching the events unfold.

"You...?" Lex starts to ask, though she trails off as she watches. Nope. Nothing more from her, at least for the moment.

Sam leans back in his chair, "Lieutenant Tharsis!" His voice is back again and it's sharp. "You have your duties. I need a status report. Now." The sharpness isn't matched by his expression though.

"Do you want me to take control for the moment, sir?" Erik asks, strapped in and going over the controls, but not taking control as of yet. He's still not batting an eyelash at the monsterous ship, he's seen bigger.

Over the comms, a deep voice begins to speak. "My children.. my faithful crew. We have all known this time was coming. I have lived for over 500 millenia, and even the best scientific knowledge can not keep some things from finally reaching an end. Soon, my positronic matrix will decay, and I will cease to exist. There are a few things I wish to say while I still have time..." As the voice continues, Tharsis manages to rouse himself. "The.. the field appears to have shifted us in time and space to the other side of the galaxy... approximately 15 years ago..." he relates, his sensors glued to the viewscreen.

"Three different sorts of radiation," Lex comments, making notes again. "All of them those strange, unknown subtypes we've been seeing. The levels are off the bloody -charts-." She frowns then, eyes again straying toward the enormous ship. "...It's dying," she murmurs to herself.

"Can we do anything?" asks Sam, his eyes still fixated on the Tharsis' father.

Loken just nods a bit, keeping his eyes primarily on the controls, but still waiting for the time being.

The voice continues, "Know that I love you with every fiber of my being, my children, and that I will always be a part of you, and will be with you in spirit. Here, my faithful crew, my final resting place will become your new home, and our journey of many centuries will finally come to a close. Here, in this paradise, you will grow into a civilization. Even if I am not here in body, I will be watching in spirit, and with pride." Tharsis voice returns, struggling to maintain some composure. "I.. I don't know. The field is dampening all my systems.. however.. there are signs that it is beginning to dissipate..."

Alexandra nods slightly in agreement. "It would seem so, if the radiation levels are any indicator. They're still -very- high, but they're dropping." The comment is absent at best, though, as she's watching the viewscreen intently, her expression nothing short of curious.

"Can you open comms Mr Tharsis?" asks Gideon more gently this time.

Loken remains where he is, glancing over the pilot's controls and readouts still, occasionally looking up at the viewscreen, but it's never for long.

The voice begins to falter a bit, "I feel... my time has come... I love you all, my children... fare......well..." The voice fades off, and Galactix' running lights flicker, and slowly fade to dark. Tharsis access his comm system and attempts to open a channel. "It.. it appears non-functional.. There's no signal getting through the field." he says, his voice cracking as Galactix speaks his final words.

"I'd be even more afraid if it -was- getting through," Lex comments. Right. Her fingers are gripping the edge of the console as she continues to watch. "I'm not very up to date on my temporal theory, but I'm pretty sure that would be -bad-."

Sam doesn't say anything, just looks in the direction of Tharsis' hologram, concern etched on his face.

"Are you capable of flying, Tharsis?" Erik asks, concern definitely in his voice. His glances to the ship are more frequent as it parts it's dying words, "I can take over if you need it,"

Tharsis's hologram slumps back in its chair, a tear welling at the side of one eye that breaks free and runs down the side of his face. Outside, the image of the ships and the planet begins to fade, and after another wave of shifting, the data recorders spring to life again and the viewscreen is once again filled with the image of the glowing rift beyond. "I'll... I'll be.. fine." he stammers. "Just.. give me a minute."

Alexandra shuts her eyes, wincing at this second shift about the same way as she did at the first. "...That's not any more pleasant the second time," she mutters, rubbing briefly at the bridge of her nose. "Not a feeling one could ever get used to, I don't think." She shakes her head a bit and frowns, looking toward Tharsis' hologram.

"A minute be damned," says Sam standing. "Viking Longships and Iceballs is one thing, this.... bring us about Mr Tharsis, set course for Earth."

Loken glances behind him, looking between Tharsis and Gideon, "I don't think Tharsis is fit to fly, sir," he states simply, turning back to look at the controls before him.

Tharsis nods slowly, his controls setting course, but as he prepares to engage, his comm system crackles. "UF Command to Tharsis. We have monitored a massive space/time distortion from the rift. Still analyzing effects. Maintain position and continue data recording to determine likely cause. Out."

"That's easy for -them- to say," Lex mutters, pursing her lips. "They're perfectly safe where they're at. Typical." She shakes her head. "Well. If we're to stay here, I'll expect to see you two for a full scan sometime tonight. I'll be performing one on myself, as well. If it's data they want, then data they'll get."

Sam Gideon looks ready to chew out Loken as he spins on him, but is distracted by the incoming signal, "Put me online Mr Tharsis." As he waits for the all-clear he gives Alexandra a 'this isn't over yet' look before continuing, "This is the Tharsis to Command, we have just been sent 15 years into the past by that damned distortion. Continued exposure to the rift is an unacceptable danger to this ship and her crew. Request permission to return to SpaceDock."

Loken just remains where he is, not putting in any more comments for the moment, it seems.

The comm crackles back, "Negative. Continued observation is critical. Maintain position at all costs." Tharsis glances at the comm, then back at Gideon, then back at the comm.

Alexandra tilts her head at Sam, but keeps silent for the moment. She does rub at the bridge of her nose a bit, however, and glances toward the hologram of Tharsis again.

Sam looks ready to murder someone, though fortunately his face is directed away from most of the crew. Until he sits down on his chair again and in a tightly controlled voice says, "Maintain position Mr Tharsis." And under his breath adds, "For now."

Loken still, remains seated and quiet for the time being.

"Acknowledged.." Tharsis says quietly, his controls returning to neutral. "Chroniton density has.. returned to normal."

"...I'm going to have to come up with designations for these subtypes," Lex mutters to herself, taking down a quick note on her dataslate. She looks up toward Gideon then. "You seem less than enthused. That's not to say that I blame you, mind."

"Set Condition 1 throughout the ship," says the Commander still angry but trying to maintain his professional tone. "And tag on an alarm to those readings you picked up just before we.... jumped. I think some mental preparation might be beneficial to all of us if /that/ was to repeat itself."

Loken keeps up the whole silent routine, maybe he'll ride out the storm this way.

Tharsis nods. "I'll program in an alert based on the conditions five minutes prior to the shift." he says, rousing himself with some effort. "Condition 1 set."

Alexandra seems to be stealing Loken's idea, simply falling silent for the moment.

"Mr Tharsis," says Sam after a beat. "I'm sorry about what you've had to go through on this mission, do you have any idea what just happened?" His voice is is more it's normal tone again. The anger draining.

Loken still just remains silent. And hey, it's not an idea, it's a life choice. Don't be hating.

"If I'd have to make an educated guess..." Tharsis says, "The chroniton field shifted us into.. that time frame.. but not enough for us to interact with it. The field kept us isolated, but there is no telling if the next shift, should one occur, will have a similar restriction. I would advise caution if we are indeed sent into the past again, for any alteration of events could have disastrous consequences."

Alexandra frowns. "And here I was hoping that we were just -seeing- it. Like opening the blinds and looking outside, but still having the window between you and it." She shudders. "I don't even want to think about what actually changing the past might do."

"Curious, out of all the places we could have gone... we went /there/," says Sam. "Let's hope it was a one-off."

Loken remains where he is, strapped in and glancing over the controls. He's probably been over them half a dozen times already but, hey, he's going through them again.

"Of all the places we could have gone, I wish we hadn't..." Tharsis says with some sadness, putting his focus on his work to try and get his mind of the events of the past couple of hours.

"For what it's worth... I'm sorry," Lex offers quietly to Tharsis. "Nobody should have to experience a moment like that a second time." She smiles just a bit, though. "I'd say everything happens for a reason, but it seems a touch trite right now." A nod goes toward Sam. "It doesn't seem likely, but there's always the chance."

"Anything new from the readings?" asks Sam. "Especially rift expansion."

Loken just keeps silent.

"Expansion remains steady... but that last burst of chronitons resulted in a 2 percent increase from its previous size." Tharsis reports. "I think we experienced a.. surge of sorts."

Sam Gideon says, "Shame we don't have complete data from it's arrival until we got here, be nice to know if that's happened before," says Sam. "Any way we could counteract the effects of the field?""

"Given the data I did record from it, I might be able to formulate some counterfields, but it will take a bit of time to reconfigure." Tharsis says. "My shield system isn't the most powerful array."

Alexandra frowns. "I wonder... I wonder what's on the other side," Lex comments absently. "Well. I mean. There's probably multiple 'other sides,' thinking on it, but still. I wonder what would happen if we went through..." She blinks. "I wouldn't think to suggest we actually go. It's just fun to ponder." She looks toward Tharsis, head tilting a bit. "Anything I can do to help?"

"No, going through it would be a bad idea," says Gideon with the first small smile since his discussion with HQ. "But yeah, interesting to contemplate." A small frown, "Is there even another side? Or sides?"

"Likely the best analogy would be a series of infinite currents, with the chance of being caught in any one of them and carried to any place, in any time." Tharsis says, looking back to Alexandra. "I have a file of my shield generator schematics if you would like to peruse it. We'll need to find a way to modify the particle accelerators to generate different particle types if we have a hope of adapting it to become a shield against the rift's radiation."

"If you've been seeing things from multiple eras of history, I think the plural can be assumed," Lex replies, nodding in agreement with Tharsis. "Though the question remains -- are they one way, or can things be sent as well as received?" She smiles over at Tharsis. "I can look over them and see if I can help. Ultimately, I'm a doctor, not a physicist. I -did- take some physics courses for kicks, though, and I try to keep up on my reading. It's very interesting to me."

"Make it your highest priority," says Gideon. "Both of you, I don't like being at the mercy of strange particle fluctuations." A small grin, "Hell I don't like being at the mercy of anything. Period."

Loken has been typically silent throughout all of this, just going over the controls, again.

"Given the awful buzzing in my diodes I've had since we arrived, I'm inclined to agree." Tharsis says. "I'll work as fast as possible." he says, looking over to Lex. "Any help is better than nothing." he says with a smile.

Alexandra nods a bit. "Since I'm already hooked up, such as it is, it'll be easy enough to work, too." She wrinkles her nose. "The only down side is I pick up a bit of what you feel. I think that's why I felt so disoriented when we shifted." A nod toward Gideon, before she looks over at Loken curiously. "You're the sort that opens the freezer door every five minutes hoping that ice cream has magically appeared, aren't you?"

Gideon chuckles at that, but one of the nearer distortion fields brighten, as something has come through. Sam glances over at Tharsis, "Sorry, higher priority, nothing dangerous I hope."

Tharsis looks up as the rift pulses, and focuses the viewscreen on the new object. "What in the hell!? I think danger is becoming this mission's trademark, Commander..." he sputters as he zooms in on it. "It's some kinda... space dragon... and the thing's coming right for us!" he exclaims as the huge dragon-like creature, as big as an ocean liner with wings that stretch out to impossible lengths begins to head straight towards him.

"Can, you move us away?" says the Commander raising his eyebrow more than scared. "Or... hail it... or something?"

"No not real-" Erik's cut off by the space dragon, just going back to the controls at that point, and, well, waiting.

"Oh my," Lex remarks distractedly, just watching the enormous dragon with wide eyes. Hey, she's gripping the edge of the console again. There's a long pause before she adds, "...Somehow I doubt it knows Standard."

Tharsis' controls go into overdrive as he diverts emergency power to his engines and attempts to steer clear of the dragon. "I'm not waiting around to find out..." he says as he gets up to speed. "Let's just hope it doesn't breathe fire or something!"

"Well," says Gideon. "Is it closing?" He glances at his readings. It is. "Who knew space dragons were so fast?"

Not much from the pilot, just watching the viewscreen and occasionally glancing to the controls again.

"Fire won't do it much good in a vacuum," Lex points out. "Unless, of course, there just happened to be some stray oxygen drifting about out there from the rift..." She trails off there. "Um. Right. If nobody minds, I'm going to stop thinking now."

Tharsis pushes his engines into the redline as the dragon creature approaches. Suddenly, the creature opens its maw and unleashes a burst of flame much like a plasma towards Tharsis. Still to far the completely engulf him, it is enough to slam into the aft shields with enough force to cause the ship to lurch and the alert klaxons to sound. "Damn! If I push my engines any harder, they're going to melt down!"

Sam Gideon says, "Firing control to Mr Loken," yells the Commander. "I want that thing off our ass."

"Yes sir," Erik replies, and with a moment's hesitation, flips his controls over to take the guns. Whatever the Tharsis is armed with, he turns it on the space dragon.

The first gun skims the dragon, but it's scales seem to absorb whatever damage that would have been done. Erik's second shot, however, hits it dead in the chest, sending it flying off.

Alexandra just cries out in surprise as the ship lurches, and clings to the console. She's strapped in and all, but hey, there's something to be said for comfort here. "...Is it dead yet?" she asks, rather shakily at that.

"I think that last shot drove it off..." Tharsis says, bringing his engines down out of the red line. "But will it be back?"

"Send a couple of more shots after it Mr Loken," says Gideon. "Let it know it wasn't an accident." He grins over at Lex, "Taken care of."

Erik returns that with a nod, and more pulling of the trigger, two more bolts of plasma sent hurtling through vacuum at the space dragon.

The first shot hits the dragon in the wing, making him back slightly one way...directly into the second bolt of plasma. This one hits the dragon square in the ass. Loken gave the thing a goodbye spanking. The question, of course, is was that intentional, or luck?

"...That... was significantly more dangerous than 1963 New York Post," Lex comments dryly, looking up at the viewscreen just in time to catch Loken's parting shots. "Um. This is probably a bad time to point this out, but if that thing doesn't go back into the rift..." She bites her lip and looks over at Sam.

"I'd hate to think if it went to Earth or New Luna.." Tharsis says, his hologram shuddering. "But there's not much we can do. I'm no warship, and those weapons are just going to piss it off eventually."

"Earth can defend itself if it gets that far," says Sam. "Send a warning to UF Command." Sam leans back in his chair and swivels it around to Lex, "I don't know, some of those theatrical critics were very scathing back in the day."

"Roger." Tharsis says. "UF Command, this is Tharsis. Be advised, massive reptilian creature has emerged from rift. Attack repelled, but creature has fled the area beyond the rift. Suggest transmitting warnings to all nearby planetary systems to be on the alert."

Alexandra blinks at Gideon, and just laughs, albeit nervously. "I feel I should offer an apology, by the way. I fear I'm not much good in a combat situation. I think we've been over that before, though." A nod, and she looks toward Tharsis again. "Barring any further intrusions by dragons, newspapers, or comets, shall we poke at the schematic a bit?"

"Good idea," says Sam. "I'd say I'd keep an eye on things here with Mr Loken, but I'm sure Mr Tharsis can multi-task adequately." He swivels his chair back to the viewscreen, "Back to work people."