The other perspective

Posted on Fri May 14th, 2021 @ 1:02am by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Chief Petty Officer Remal Kajun

Time was definite yet completely undefined. The small vessel and its crew had been studied for some time, the celestial beings drawing a number of learnings and understandings from them. It seemed there was one small problem however, now that they had gleaned all there was - what to do now? They had little influence over the corporal, they couldn’t turn ships around, they couldn’t whimsical the engines now stalled and dead with time back into working. Even if they could reset the time period back to when the ship had entered they had not attempted such a feat before.

“We have a duty to protect them, they are linear, they will age and die” One of them announced as they pondered this particular problem.

“ We cannot return them to their time, we have no influence there” another countered.

“We are responsible” The first replied “However part of the situation resides with them entering our home, they wished to be here”

It was a philosophical discussion being bantered around by the Bajoran Gods, discussing lives and how they would deal with them.

“What will be, will be again. If they are returned home, they may perish. The logical course is for them to remain here until such a time as suitable help can be.” The wiser of them spoke with an air of grace and understanding. “Their existence while linear cannot be allowed to continue on this course therefore we will suspend them as a reasonable precaution.”

The being grew distant. “The future of their home is in peril, as much as their present situation allows. Safer here with us for the time being. We will propose it to them, though choice is beyond us. I see one who will help them, yes, it will be one of many times she will help those of Bajor.”

“Yes, it can be so that they will be helped by those we have chosen. Much time will pass however, we must remember the linear beings” The other replied sagely. “We must suspend their linear existence”

“Time is but a construct of the mortal. Caution must be taken.” The white space they were in shifted, the message they were conveying done, the scene changed to show more of their actions as they enveloped the ship using energy from their own essences. Carefully they constructed a bubble, enveloping the ship and the crew within. While it shields them from the linearity of time and space on the outside, inside the passage of time was very different.

Inside the bubble, time continued to tick at a variety of speeds. While some parts sped forward, others were reversed. Like a VHS tape that was watched and rewound hundreds of times. The beings who didn’t understand time were attempting to control it and failing in that task.

Meanwhile, every now and again they would check in on the crew, keeping them informed of progress, making certain they were safe, and interacting with their imaginations. Learning from them the things they needed in order to further interact with the future of the Bajoran race.

This crew were the first, but they would not be the last. They understood that one day the Bajoran people would take to the stars and many would seek them out. To understand as they sought to understand the Bajoran people. It was a fascination that spanned a two way street. The main flaw in their plan, a young girl and her book of children's tales.

The child did not fit the construct of the linear bubble, her accelerated growth rate messed with the very concept. As she became alone the storybook was her only companion, as the time alone increased the characters in the book became real in her mind, and then became real in body, a warped manifestation the Prophets themselves had not anticipated.

The ship faded, replaced by the blackness of space then the darkness of their room. The candles still flickered, their wax bases lower than previous. Some time had passed. Rhenora opened her eyes, confusion clouding them as she attempted to understand what had transpired. She looked to Remal to see if he had experienced the same thing.

He shook his head. “Well, that made about as much sense as something people from Earth call a hot dog.” He released her hand realizing it was quite warm.

“ There’s a dog that's hot? Or the foodstuff where they put long meats on bread and smother it in condiments?” She retorted as she rubbed her temples, massaging the tension headache that was beginning to blossom. “Why can’t they just make sense?”

He began attempting to straighten his legs, a most uncomfortable task. “The second one. Apparently they used to be made of meat scraps wrapped in intestine lined skins. A gross practice indeed.” He grunted as he fell backward, his second leg beginning to cramp.

“Ugh, as for making sense, I’ve all but given up trying to unscramble their words. It’s easier just to gleen the message from the surface.” He rolled and grunted as he stood. “Obviously they were worried about the ship and crew. “

“It appeared almost as though they had tried to preserve them so that someone else could rescue them later” Rhenora admitted as she leveraged herself to her feet.

“I caught that. It appeared like they created some sort of bubble to protect the ship from linear time. Though you may have been better off with a physicist or at least someone smarter than me on that front.” He stood fully erect and felt the bones in his back pop with an audible crack.

“ Don’t you just love getting old?” She snorted as his back complained from the movement. “So perhaps the crew are still alive, merely trapped in a temporal bubble”

He grimaced, “We grow older each day. A child should help with that, one way or another. Any way, yes, if they did what they showed us, one way or another they are alive. Maybe our presence, or more to the point, your presence, has started the process of the bubble collapsing.”

“ My presence?” The gravity of the situation settled like a weight upon her shoulders. It would make sense, the Prophets knew all, they would have known the Liberty would be here at this time and would assist. It was the way of the universe. Still - it didn’t help with her stress levels.

“I’m just guessing. The Sisko could have found them sooner, but he had bigger things to worry about. Perhaps you or rather we, were meant to be the ones to find this ship. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to duty while I go put some ice on my back.” He wrapped his large hands down around her backside, giving her tush a gentle squeeze before kissing her upon her nose ridges.

“ You’re probably right, once again we feel like a glorified puppet with their strings being pulled by higher beings. At least we have a plan to rescue the ship, all we have to do is pull it off” She looked into his eyes and saw a myriad of emotions.

“And, for what it’s worth, you have a better understanding of why the Alla is stuck in a bubble. Beings who don’t understand time, created a bubble of time. Sort of like a deaf man composing music. Sure it’s possible and may sound brilliant, but is it miraculous,” he nodded, “also yes.” He released his grip on her.

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you are on this journey” She whispered before pecking him on the cheek “I’d hate to be the centre of attention all the time, besides, the Prophets need a new puppet” She smiled as she stepped backwards. “We have an understanding and a plan - lets get this done and go home”

He nodded, and showed his hand to the door. “After you, m’lady, m’puppetmaster.” He knew in his heart there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

TBC

Inspired by:
Clean Bandit - Rather Be (Lyrics) feat. Jess Glynne