Located on the port side (to the left of the command chairs), this is the captain's private office. Meetings with more than three people need to be conducted in the Conference Room.

==> From USS Mongoose - Bridge
Once there he sat in his chair and gestured to lieutenant Svensson. "Please have a seat lieutenant and tell me what is bothering you."

Jillian sank into the offered chair and leaned forward enthusiastically while struggling not to fold her hands on the captain's desk. "I don't think it's trouble Captain, I think it's quite the opposite. Call it a moral booster for the crew. I would like your permission to organize a show in the Burrow for the crew. An evening of jazz and popular music-when duties permit of course." She sobered up on her last point.

Anther cocked his head as he looked at the young lieutenant. "An interesting idea lieutenant. And one I'd be happy to see implemented. However, you should have taken this through the chain. The proper way of doing this would have been to speak with either the counselor or operations manager. They would get the proper approvals or make the arrangements.

Do not take this as a discipline, simply a counseling session. If you jump the chain of command, especially for something non-critical, it can lead to bad habits. Which might result in you jumping the chain of command when it is serious. This would and should lead to more serious consequences. If you are unsure who to speak to about this feel free to ask your supervisor or even another senior officer for clarification."

He smiled as he continued. "We'll simply consider this you asking me who to speak to for this idea, and leave it at that, though you won't be jumping the chain of command in the future. Understood?"

OOC I think she's the ship's counselor too :D

"Of course captain, but ummm...." The blonde's eyes flitted from side to side mischievously, "Do you have any requests?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:10, Mon 17 Sept 2018.

Almost as if on cue, Jillian is contacted by Nurse Brackett.

"Apologies, Lieutenant, if I am interrupting you, but we may have an emergency here in Sickbay. It's Napax. He's in severe distress."

Jillian stood and tapped her comm badge. "Keep him stable, I'll be there momentarily. Excuse me Captain." The blonde didn't wait for permission to depart, she moved swiftly out of the ready room up the bridge ramp to the turbolift.

The ship's counselor is Napax. a Ferengi of all things.

Anther frowned, not that she was leaving, that was the right action, but that Napax was in trouble. Tapping his com badge as she left anther called the sick bay. "Anther to sickbay. Status on Napax?"

Not receiving a response, Anther left the ready room heading to Sick bay.
==> To USS Mongoose - Bridge

There were times when he found it hard to think on the Bridge. Just like he told Ensign Quinn, he sometimes needed to have three eyes... even four! It wasn't that he didn't have competent crew, but most of them didn't have the experience yet to see The Big Picture. That was what sitting on the Bridge hampered him doing--too many little details to keep track of.

This way, he had a few minutes before the Away Team reported to think about the big picture. It had to do with making intuitive leaps when you only had a tiny bit of data.

Facts: Shackleton Expanse. Dark matter. Dark energy. Klingon experimental facility. Alien ship from another universe.

These were all strands of events that he felt should be woven together into a coherent tapestry... a tapestry that should have showed a coherent picture. The Big Picture. He just couldn't see it yet.

 "=/\= "Sir, this is Quinn. Good news via the third and fourth eye after all.
The Away Team shuttle has returned and I've relayed word for them to report
to the Ready Room as soon as they're able. And speaking of reporting..." =/\=

The chime to the ready room rang, perhaps rousing the Captain from his contemplation.

"=/\= I have a Lieutenant Lenaris here, reporting for duty." =/\=

=/\= "Acknowledged, Ensign. I believe Lenaris is scheduled to relieve Renlo at ops. Have him do so, and just keep an eye on him till he gets settled in." =/\= Anther replies.

He wasn't expecting Lenaris to have any difficulty stepping into the role, but sometimes the first time sitting on the bridge could make a person nervous.

=/\= "Aye, sir." =/\= Ensign Quinn replied, after a brief pause.

In reply to Saoirse Eleanor 'Elle' Quinn (msg # 15):

!BING!

=/\="Lieutenant Commander Vinzz, reporting to the Captain's Ready Room, as instructed."=/\= Shard's voice says through the door announcer.

"Enter," the captain responds.

The door opens and the first Away Team enters.

After taking seats, the Captain continues.

"Naturally I'll expect individual reports from all of you, but I also wanted to get your personal opinion of what you saw and did. I'm just not convinced that it is as straight-forward as it seems."

"I'm not talking about spying or anything... just your general impression of things, gut reaction... anything that you might not feel was appropriate for an official report."

In reply to Anther th'Valla (msg # 17):

Miranda writes her report on a PADD as she heads to the ready room and slides it on to the desk as she sits down.

     Shard opens his mouth, as if to speak--but then an antenna twitches at the sound of a padd being slid onto Anther's desk--and he closes his mouth and settles back in the chair...smiling calmly.

In reply to Shard Vinzz (msg # 19):

Miranda sighs then speaks.

" There was a time while we were on the mission when I felt lost and slowed down. Vinzz did an admirable job keeping the mission going. It is in the report. "

"That's one of the reasons we have teams, Commander," the captain replies. "It's so someone can pick up the slack if it becomes necessary."

"But, whether you felt lost or not, what kind of sense did you get? What was it that made you feel... lost?"

In reply to Anther th'Valla (msg # 21):

" Not sure exactly. My entire history has been one of exceptional focus. "

"I get like that, too, when it comes to engineering problems," Koram speaks up as if T'Shran's words were a prompt.

"As for the facility, Captain, I'd have to say that I got the impression that the Klingon scientists weren't happy about the situation."

"Now, in retrospect, I think that was for several reasons."

"One: as scientists, they are a necessary evil in Klingon society. Klingons think that all Klingons have the 'warrior gene'... and, to a certain extent, that's probably true. But scientists have a more dominant 'secondary' gene--the scientist part. It means they are practically second-class citizens. And yet, when they are involved in such a project, they get to shine."

"Two: I don't think they liked working on the forced singularity project. Oh, the science part was thrilling enough for them, but I guess I got the impression that they were being forced to do so. Pardon the pun."

"Three: while they understand the reason for placing the research facility in the Expanse, I think they would have rather not been in the Expanse... or at least investigating the Expanse instead of the singularity project."

"Did any of that contribute to the problem? I'd say no, but only because they are Klingons. There aren't many species that can achieve as single-minded a focus as Klingons... though that's usually combat, battle and conquering."

"But, you are correct, Captain. I probably would not have put that in my report simply because I could not offer any evidence to justify it. I would have considered it a bias on my part."

In reply to Koram Val (msg # 23):

     Shard nods as Koram voices his observations.

     "I got a lot of that from the Klingons while we were inside the subspace anomaly with them, as well, sir." Shard adds, "I got an impression from the Science Team Leader that there was some dissatisfaction among his techs--but that it was more than the usual 'Scientists chafing under Warriors' thing.  I picked up on a kind of real resentment, on their part.  And also..."

     Shard pauses a moment, looking around from the Captain, across the small group, and back to the Captain--all the while his antennae are slightly withdrawn, as if he's expecting some kind of physical attack.

     "Look, I know that many people think I'm prejudiced against Klingons, that I'm always accusing them of the worst behavior.  But the reality is that I have a very high regard for the Klingon's abilities, not only as individual warriors, but also for their collective ability to act in single-minded pursuit of achieving their goals--a Klingon will do, or say, or suffer anything in order to achieve what he is after.  If it can be done in what we would see as an Honorable manner, then that's how they will do what needs to be done--but even if they have to violate their own Codes of Honor, if something needs to be done, they will do it!"

     "As a Security Officer, that then means I'm always assuming Klingons are acting with ulterior motives--so that I can be prepared for whatever they are actually up to."

     "The reason I'm bringing this up is because I don't want any of you to just assume I'm being prejudiced when I say this--" Shard paused to take a breath, set his shoulders, and raised his antennae fully, "Despite how cooperative, and even grateful the Klingons were for our help at rescuing them, I believe that they were being too cooperative."

     "They barely made any effort to try and cover up what they were doing, when we confronted them.  And when we did lay out what we believed it was that they were doing, they were almost happy with what we were accusing them of doing.  I'm sorry, people, but after a little thought on the matter, I'm convinced that the Klingons were lying to us about what they were really doing.  'Forced Singularity Power'?  Really?  They can steal that from the Romulans--or just find a corrupt Romulan Engineer to sell it to them--and they'd have a fully functional system.  Why, then, do they need to 'research' it?  Just to figure out how to 'do it the Klingon Way'?"

     "No.  I don't think that's what they were researching at all." Shard turns to Koram, "If they were experimenting with getting power out of a singularity, then when it went wonky, why didn't it just explode?  Or implode, whatever.  And then consider the whole 'sucked into a subspace vacuole' thing--again, they were playing with a singularity, if they got 'sucked into' it, why weren't they just crushed in the gravity?  Why was there a 'space' for them to be trapped in, in the first place?"

     "No, sir." Shard says, turning back to Anther, "I think they were experimenting with either opening artificial wormholes, or with creating Transwarp conduits.  Now that I think on it, messing with the fabric of space-time to open wormholes might even explain our reception of that distress signal from the Federation ship, down there--it was some fluke side-effect, something sucked through time and released, because of the ship's proximity to that field generator of the Klingons.  That would even explain why they are here, in The Expanse--space-time is rumored to already be wonky around here."

     Shard settles back in his chair, "Well, that's the vibe I feel I was getting, anyway.  I think the Klingons lied to us about what they are doing, down there.  Sir."

Elle contacts/updates the Captain:

=/\= "Captain th'Valla, the Klingon prisoners have been safely transported to the brig, the second Away Team is... er, still alive, and are engaged in combat aboard the Ancestor. We are attempting to locate the Klingon vessel, although after our initial engagement, it appears not to pose an immediate threat."

"Have Commanders Vinzz or T'Shran uncovered anything urgent we should be aware of, sir?" =/\=
This message was last edited by the player at 20:57, Sun 16 June 2019.

In reply to Saoirse Eleanor 'Elle' Quinn (msg # 25):

     Shard suddenly straightens in his seat--eyes wide open, and his antennae both trying to stretch all he way up to the overhead.

     "Did...did she just say that there's a gang of battle-pumped Klingons on the Bridge?  Our Bridge?" Shard asks, incredulously--his voice rising as he speaks.

     Shard is out of his seat before anyone answers, charging for the door.

     "Silviene!  With me!" Shard shouts, just before reaching the door and slapping the open button.

In reply to Shard Vinzz (msg # 26):

After only a minute-or-two, Shard walks back into the Ready Room,

"Sorry, Anther it was..." with a grimace, Shard stops speaking mid-sentence.  After a pause, he continues.

"Uh, I mean, no problem, Captain.  Just a slight miscommunication." Shard continues, as he re-seats himself.

     "What's this about more Klingons having a firefight over on some Unknown Vessel?  I assume that's where these Klingon Prisoners came from?  Anyway, the Bridge crew seemed to indicate that this had been going on for a little while--so I mobilized the entire Security force, armed with Type-Threes, and sent them over to put a stop to it, and put the Klingons to bed.  If their ship has run off, we can always hand these Klingons over to our Friends, down on the asteroid."

"When you are in command of this vessel, Commander Vinzz," the Captain says as Shard returns to his seat, "then--and only then--do you have the right to dispatch a security force to another ship!"

"Things have happened while you were on your mission. If it was anything that you needed to concern yourself with, I would have told you."

"Otherwise, it would have been available in standard reports."

"You need to realize... and accept... that others can do their jobs effectively and efficiently, and will do so whether you are around or not."

The Captain makes a pointed glance at Stilk and Silviene and Blackthorne as if to prompt them to give their report.

In reply to Anther th'Valla (msg # 28):

     "Uh, yessir.  Sorry, Sir--I didn't intend to over-step.  It's just that, it was reported to me that the fighting was on-going, and that Mongoose personnel were involved." Shard responded, appropriately chaste, "The quickest way I know to stop a fight is to overwhelm it with superior firepower.  I did give instruction to only use Stun settings, though, Sir."

     "Should I rescind the order and have the Security personnel stand down, Sir?"

"By all means, rescind the order and have security stand down," the Captain replies.

"This alien ship is from a different universe... possibly drawn here by the artificial singularity that the Klingon research station generated."

"Given the nature of the alien ship, however, I feel confident that the aliens on the ship are capable of dealing with the situation. I sent an Away Team over to assist in repelling the boarders in case they were not familiar with Klingons."

In reply to Anther th'Valla (msg # 30):

     "Aye, Sir." Shard says with a nod, then taps his comm-badge,

     "Vinzz to Security.  Stand Down the Full Muster, Chief.  Current forces aboard the alien vessel have been deemed sufficient.  Release called-up off-duty personnel to their regular activities.  Chalk it up in the records as a training exercise.  Tell everyone I said 'Well Done', Chief.  Vinzz, out."

=/\= "Aye, Sir.  The Klingon Hunt has been cancelled.  It was all a Drill.  Acknowledged.  Main Security, out." =/\=

     Shard nods, then looks back over at Anther, then to Miranda, and back.

     "If I may inquire, Sirs, for how long will we be keeping the current batch of Klingon...guests...in the Brig?  As I understand it, the vessel they came from has either left the area, or is maneuvering to continue fighting with us--in which case it will likely be destroyed very soon.  Either way, our...allies...down in the Brig likely will not be going back to it."

     "Do you want me to make arrangements for their prolonged stay in the Brig, or arrange secured guest quarters for them?  I would also like to suggest that we have an option to return them to Klingon authority--we could always beam them down to the asteroid facility.  Whether it's there legally, or not, it's still Klingon property, for the moment.  We'd be in the right to hand these Klingons over to those Klingons, and then consider ourselves done with it, except for the paperwork.  Sirs."

In reply to Shard Vinzz (msg # 31):

" It is the Captain's decision but secured guest quarters is my suggestion. Even if they act like our treaty doesn't apply to them it still applies to us. Until such time as they are proven to be a security risk to this ship or crew. "

"We don't know that the Klingon supply ship has left the area," the Captain replies.

"Since it is a supply ship, though, my guess is that it is still around, just keeping station somewhere. And it is cloaked."

"As for the Klingons in the brig, hopefully they will be joined by the rest of their raiding party that's still on the alien ship. At which time, we will return to the facility and transport them down there."

"For now, they will remain in the brig as if they were drunk sailors on shore leave."

"However, it would be prudent to station a surreptitious guard on them. They are, after all, Klingons."

"If that's settled, then have you anything to report, Commander Felis?" the Captain addressed the Caitian.

"What was your perception of these Klingons and the facility?"

He'd been about to explain what he was looking for, but decided it might serve to prejudice Silviene's thinking.

After Silviene's report, Anther then waits for R.T.'s report.

He wasn't expecting Stilk to report much, and Sergei's report was apt to be medically oriented.

In short order, then, everyone has given their impressions to the captain.

"I can't say I was expecting anything different," he says with a sigh. "I was just hoping one of you, at least, would help confirm my feelings. Otherwise, I might start to think I'm getting paranoid."

"You are all dismissed now. You can take a bit of R&R... until something else hits the fan."

In reply to Anther th'Valla (msg # 35):

     Having been dismissed, Shard stands with the others.

     "Aye, Sir." Shard says with an acknowledging nod, "I'll head down to Main Security to double check the set-up in the Brig with our...Guests...then get to a report for the Away Mission.  I'll be in Security if needed."

     Shard heads out of the Ready Room and off for Main Security.

In reply to Shard Vinzz (msg # 36):

Miranda stands.

" What suspicions would that be sir? After all, I have been through I was expecting a few things as well. Fearing and Expecting. "

"While I can see the immediate cause-and-effect of several events," the Captain replies to Miranda, "they all seem like pieces of a larger puzzle that I just can't see the full picture."

"For instance, the attack on the Catspaw can be clearly linked to the secret Klingon facility here in the Expanse. Admittedly, that Klingon captain may have over-reacted as a means to protect that secret."

"And, we believe that when the Klingon experiment was activated, it brought this alien ship from another universe here. But, did it? It's too much of a coincidence to think that there isn't a connection, but I'm not sure there's a direct cause-and-effect."

"And, why did the Klingon supply ship immediately send an away team over to that ship? There's the obvious motivation, of course, but I can't help wondering if there was something on that ship that the Klingons wanted... or didn't want us to find."

"Captain, I have the Ancestor on comms they are reporting that the Klingons have been neutralized on their ship and are requesting that they relocated outside of the anomaly so that it can reduce its effect on them. What are your orders sir?" Kate's voice comes in over the captain's comm badge.

In reply to Katherine Seward (msg # 39):

" All of which seems correct. The worries I have are are the others from another universe and How much will the Empire protect this secret Outpost. "

With everyone from Away Team One having reported and dismissed, although T'Shran still remained, he could have returned to the bridge, but he didn't see any reason to relieve Ensign Quinn of her position at the moment.

So, he pondered the situation for a minute before replying to the Ancestor.

=/\= "Greetings, Commander Eclipse. This is Captain th'Valla."

"My engineers are currently studying the problem of the device that may have brought your ship into this universe. First, we need to make sure that's what happened."

"Second, we must figure out a way to safely return you."

"Third, we must determine if this dark energy or location has something to do with it."

"Therefore, leaving this area which we call the Shackleton Expanse is not immediately advisable."

"Fourth, as intriguing as it is to meet a new species from another universe, I do not believe that justifies altering the Mongoose's mission, which is to explore the Expanse."

"I can have my engineers assist you in adjusting your ship to compensate for the dark energy and the different universal constant."

"However, I am open to suggestions. Would it be advisable for us to meet and discussion options?" =/\=

After Eclipse's reply, he checks a few things first before he responds to her comm.

=/\= "I just received a report from my Chief Science officer. She says that this particular location should have no significance to what brought you here or how to send you back."

"If it had something to do with the dark matter or dark energy, then leaving the Expanse could be an issue. Since we still know so little about either phenomena, it's impossible to say how they may have interacted with the research facility's experiment. In any case, we have a complete record of that event, which will help if we need to recreate it to send you back."

"And, while I would enjoy a visit to your ship, I believe we'd be better served if you were to visit my ship for now. That way, our scientists and engineers could ask you about anything they don't understand as they try to solve the problem."

"You and your mate are welcome aboard. Do you use transporters, or would a shuttle be more appropriate?" =/\=

there again a slight pause before Eclipses response comes back

"Captain th'Valla, we have transporters, but not sure if they will link up to yours, no Shuttle, but I do have another means of transport if you could send me a visual of a location we could safely arrive at that would be all I would need for this alternative method."

The captain understood what Eclipse was saying... that the Ancestor's transporters might not be able to link with the Mongoose's transporters due to the different quantum signature. He felt it wasn't important enough to mention site-to-site transport. If she had an alternate method, the first thing that came to mind was foldspace transport. Or maybe they had developed true teleportation.

Instead, he replied:

=M= "Certainly. You might as well use our transporter room, as it's designed for that sort of... arrival." =M=


He then contacted the Transporter Room to inform them.

"Captain th'Valla to Transporter Room. Expect incoming visitors but not by transporter. I'll be right down."

In reply to Anther th'Valla (msg # 44):

Miranda nods and moves with the Captain.

Once the Away Team is beamed back aboard the Mongoose, they are directed to report to the Captain's Ready Room for a debriefing.

Whenever is there, the Captain speaks.

"There's no such thing as being disappointed in a First Contact," he begins. "If you feel that way, then you went into the situation with the wrong expectations."

"Every First Contact is different, even the ones that are similar. What we need to do in this case is to assess what we did get out of it."

"What I need now is for each of you to give me your perceptions of the brief encounter."

"Why don't we begin with you, Petty Officer Starbird."

"I can go first, Captain," Koram spoke up at the reluctance of Pacomio.

At the Captain's nod, he continued.

"I did not observe any secondary technology in use. Yes, they had plasma weapons, and the ship was of greater technology than the Federation currently has, but there did not appear to be any supporting technology."

"My guess is that most of their technology is... acquired... from some other species. I don't believe that they can build much of it on their own."

“Ummm.... well, I dunno.  They didn’t seem happy to see us.  I had the feeling they thought we was musclin’ in on their territory.  Even though Starfleet ain’t in that kind of racket, but they don’t know that.”

Eclipse stepped forward after Pacomio finished.

"To me they did seem very adamant on denying this region of space belonged to anyone, I was reluctant to use my empathy, as without knowing anything about them I was not sure if there could be any effect positive or negative. To me though their ship, to me seams more like they have taken what they know works and adapted it for space, more like a forced technological evolution, they had sailing ships, so they took what they knew they could build and turned it into a space vessel. I am a bit concerned about the creature they where attacking, though, especially if it has any ecological impact on either the place they come from or the place they go to."

Eclipse looked over at Miranda quick before back to the Captain.

"I also volunteered to have the Ancestor follow the ship back to their planet, with the Ancestors active stealth system fully operational the ship should be ale to follow them with minimal risk. Though I would like to test the Ancestors Active stealth against your ships sensors first."

"Once we stopped the hunt, the creature they were hunting flew away and... disappeared," the Captain responds.

"Our sensors didn't get a very good reading on it, or on how it disappeared. Our science department is still working on that."

"Commander T'Shran relayed your offer to me, and I was tempted to let you try even though I don't know what stealth capabilities your ship has. I decided that the information we might gain didn't justify the potential problems it might cause."

"Interesting thought, Eclipse, and we'll keep that in mind, but, remember, it has a neutronium hull. I'm not sure those two facts go together."

He waited to see if Elle or Shard had anything to add. Then he dismissed the meeting and returned to the bridge.

Elle had held her tongue, but spoke up when only awkward silence hung in the air — the conversational atmosphere she was most used to.

"Just a feeling, sir," she said finally. "I'm no empath of course, but even on Earth hunting for sport was eventually... well, let's say, frowned upon. If the creatures they considered their prey actually were genuinely threatening to their way of life, that's one thing to consider of course, but... if the creatures were sentient, endangered or otherwise, the hunters themselves might be responsible for causing some..."

Elle struggled with how to put it, "Imbalance, in the already chaotic Expanse... sir."

She exhaled sharply. Putting her thoughts into words was often as trying as even the most dangerous maneuvers at the conn.

" Quinn if you need time and space to think more conversationally come with me and let's talk. "
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 20:15, Sat 16 May 2020.

Starbird’s eyes seem to light up following Ensign Quinn’s remarks.  “Yeah, I see what yoos means about huntin’.  It’s like back home, when a rummy refused to pay his gambling debts, and we used to send Big Lou to break his thumbs.  After a while, we figured out that if his thumbs was broke, he couldn’t work.  So fuhgettaboudit.  We stopped breaking thumbs.  And even when we laugh about the old ways, we hafta admit, it was uncivilized.  Maybe in a hundred years they’ll be the same way with huntin’.”

"Thank you. You've made some very good points," Captain th'Valla said.

"They do seem to have ritualized this Hunt. We have no way of knowing just how intelligent their prey is, but it does occur to me that they might be intelligent enough that one of them sacrifices itself for the Hunt so that the others will be left alone."

"They might be intelligent but without any civilization or technology other than a herd mentality. That keeps them from finding an alternate solution."

"Likewise, the Hunters have ritualized their Hunt to the point where they don't or won't consider an alternate solution either. Who knows how many generations this has been going on for."

"Anyway, please keep all this in mind for when we encounter them the next time. Since they seem to live somewhere here in the Expanse, I think it is inevitable that we'll run across them again. Hopefully, we'll be able to establish a better dialogue when we do."

"We can now continue with our mission, and everyone can resume normal duties. At 10 hundred tomorrow, though, I would like a report from all department heads on what we've learned about the Expanse so far."

"Dismissed."

((OOC: Not sure we have any Department Heads left, though, so the reports can be done 'off camera'.))

As everyone filed out of the Ready Room, Anther joined Eclipse.

"I'm not sure we've discussed this yet," he said to her, "but I'm assuming that you would like to return to your own universe. I suppose if you were escaping from something that might not be the case, but from what you've said, I don't think that's what you are doing."

"So, my questions are: do you have any idea how to go about that, and do you need help from us? Secondly, is there a time factor involved? Will you start getting sick if you remain here too long?"

“Now that I thinka it, I do feel a bit peaked.  Might just be a hangovuh, though.”

Starbird briefly considers requesting a promotion to Head Officer in Charge of Craps, but decides against it.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Fri 29 May 2020.

In reply to Anther th'Valla (msg # 54):

Eclipse waited till the others had left to respond to the Captain.

"I would like to go back home, as what happened would be an equivalent of you and your crew ending up in another universe. I am basically a pirate hunter, but it's part of my duty as a member of the Star Fleet branch of the Stellar services, and it's what my ship is best at. We make sure the pirates know that they are no longer the big fish in a pond full of minnows. As to how we ended up here, I have no idea, we were at warp one moment then the next thing we're here and all the ships systems are dead. I am not prideful enough to refuse help when I know it's needed captain, so any help you can provide would be appreciated, which was also why I brought some of the material from Navorns truck to have your scientists analyze to see if they could determine if that might have been a reason why it was us who where drawn here by what ever brought us here. As to time frame, thankfully no, but that's only because I have the children here, if it had just been me or even just me and Navorn, I would have had to be back to my universe within a year, or I would start to suffer psychological degradation."

"Let me check on the bridge for a moment, and then we'll head down to Science to see what they've found out," Anther says to Eclipse.