A Little Bird Told Me

Posted on Sat May 30th, 2020 @ 1:59am by Commodore Jane Saulitis

Mission: Cruel Meridian
Location: Executive Officer's Quarters
Timeline: MD 02 - Afternoon
1380 words - 2.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Jane pressed the chime on Hanover's quarters and stepped back. This was not an official ship's business call, just a concerned friend who had heard some odd rumors and wanted to make sure that he was all right. She glanced around wondering what kind of rumors would fly if she stayed too long, if someone got the idea that she and Jared were some kind of item. It was silly and she needn't worry. After all Hak had always been able to read her so easily, he would know the truth as he always had. Jane had never been with anyone else.

The first press of the door chime yielded no result. Neither did the second press. However, as the implications of a third press were being considered, Jared rounded the corner down the corridor from his quarters and noticed Jane standing in front of his door. Having come off of duty, he had lingered in his office for longer than he had anticipated, still scratching his head over the finer details in the contract that bound Leyana to become the Sozon Emperor's wife.

"Captain," Hanover waved. "A pleasant afternoon to you. How are things?"

"Mostly fine . . . I could complain but I won't. I actually came to ask you the same question. I heard a little rumor about an incident in the lounge last night? And I thought I might just come and have a chat, make sure everything was all right indeed." Jane was trying to be cheerful about it but she was eyeing Hanover very carefully. "May I come in?"

"Of course, captain. After you." The door opened and admitted them both into Hanover's quarters. Much like his office, any place where the mundane, repeatable design born from the engineers at Utopia Planetia Shipyards could be restyled, Jared had done so with his self-proclaimed holy trinity of hardwood, leather, and brass. The resulting room seemed to absorb the ambient noise that was ubiquitous on every starship to the point where an unaware visitor would think something was wrong with his or her hearing.

"May I get you anything? Chef Paddy made an excellent breakfast this morning, but that's been a while ago now. Getting kind of peckish, now that I'm thinking about it," Hanover mused to himself with his nose stuck inside of a refrigeration unit.

"No, I'm okay, I just ate actually." It was only her first meal of the day but she wasn't going to tell him that. Generally she remembered to eat at least twice a day and she hadn't come here to discuss her eating habits or how well she took care of herself. One of the things about being a Captain that she didn't expect, she sometimes felt like a mother hen.

"So yes, the incident involving myself, Mr. Barr, and Commander Sommers yesterday evening," Jared sat down in the same upright posture that he employed on the bridge. "There's little more information I have than the report I submitted alongside the standard report from sickbay. I was in the lounge with a few members of the crew. We were enjoying some frosty beverages and good company when it all came to a screeching halt. I managed to spill my drink on myself after having seen an apparition." He held up one finger to pause his thought, stood up, and walked over to his closet before retrieving a garment bag.

"See this thing? Ridiculous, right?" Hanover partially unzipped the bag, revealing a feathered costume that was unmistakably fowl in nature. "On the Worcester, I lost a bet with one of our engineers and had to wear this thing during a departmental brief in front of the entire ship. I've sort of kept it around since then as a memento. The reason I mention this," he returned the bag to its place, "is because the apparition I saw was of myself in that very costume."

While certainly amusing it made her frown a little bit. "And had you ever worn it on Majestic, if only for a moment?" She asked curiously. She'd seen an apparition of herself but had been unable to determine when it had taken place. After all, she was only getting a cup of coffee out of the replicator and how many times had she done that on Majestic since she took command? A thousand?

"No, I haven't. In fact, I had just about forgotten about the costume until I saw myself in it," Jared sat down and took a sip of water from his glass. "It was unmistakable, but senses are easily fooled or manipulated. So with some help from Bert and Lhaes, I went to sickbay out of an abundance of caution. Not to put words in your mouth, captain, but I take it that look means that I'm not the only one to make a report."

"No, you're at least the fourth person I've heard something like this from, including myself. Mine was much simpler though, I wouldn't identify when it had been. I was simply getting something from the replicator. Still, it's really concerning me." Jane sighed and she slumped down a bit where she was sitting. "If it's not one thing it's another but this has to be all connected somehow. The nacelle and warp engines, not being able to contact Starfleet and the apparitions. We have to be in some kind of temporal anomaly."

"Temporal anomaly? What?" Judging by his body language, this particular piece of news seemed to catch the ship's executive officer off guard. "Captain, I read the daily departmental reports this morning while lying on the bio-bed this morning. Every department's parameters checked in as nominal. Did I miss something from Commander Murphy regard the engines?"

Jane blinked at him, how could he not remember the ship lurching and throwing them all about, the warp engines going offline at the same moment? "What's the stardate?" She asked concerned. "What day is it?"

If there was any doubt whether or not Jared's nonverbal communication evoked concern, that doubt was quickly washed away as he frantically reached into his jacket pocket to retrieve his PADD. His fingers knew both where and in what sequence he had to press the touchscreen device in order to log into and retrieve the latest daily reports that the various department heads had submitted. They were neatly organized by department and by day.

Oh thank the heavens. Hanover was simultaneously relieved to confirm his perception of the current day and time but unsettled at the implications of what it meant with respect to Captain Saulitis.

Solemnly, he placed the PADD on the table between them and rotated the display one hundred eighty degrees so she could read for herself.

"Five days," Jane said completely stunned. "That means . . . you were the first. Min didn't report anything until two days later. This is incredible." Then she realized she probably shouldn't have said that about Min. "How did this happen?" She asked rhetorically. "Commander, I'm sorry. I have to go, I don't think I can discuss future events. I'm not crazy I assure you, not yet anyway. Let's just both agree that there are odd events happening on this ship and in all likelihood when you meet me again I won't even know we had this conversation." She stood up. Would it simply be a matter of stepping into another part of the ship or would she be trapped where she was?

Hanover fought against every instinct he had to ask questions and gather information upon which he could base his decisions. A million lines of questioning flooded his brain all at once. There were so many possibilities, he couldn't be sure of which lead to pursue, but the Temporal Prime Directive was clear. Any risk of creating a paradox was too great. Any detail could endanger the ship and its crew, so instead of acting, Jared simply stood up and nodded, exchanging a knowing glance with Jane.

Jane wanted to warn him of what was going to happen but she couldn't change the timeline so she simply nodded, sighed and said, "Good Afternoon Commander. I'll see you . . . on the bridge, sometime."

"Some time, indeed."

---

Captain Jane Saulitis
Commanding Officer

Commander Jared Hanover
Executive Officer