arrival . ota

[chaotica]

Hugh Cambridge is partway through an analysis of an artifact - an old one, part of an extended paper that he'd never finished - when the transition comes.

At first, he assumes the ship's entered some sort of anomaly, and he turns away from the viewport (the stars have shifted, how odd), his hand moving to his combadge. A quick touch, and he starts, "Cambridge to -"

This isn't Voyager. In fact, this is the Ten-Forward of a Galaxy Class starship, unless he misses his mark. Populated with a few handfuls of people, some out of uniform, some in uniform, but those in are wearing the style that was in use twenty years earlier. Cambridge's uniform has shoulders of a grey-purple, and the turtleneck inside is medical/science blue. His combadge is thinner and sleeker.

"- Oh, bugger," finishes Cambridge. It's an illusion or it's time travel - neither of those bodes well.

Comments

[dictaphonic]

When the uniformed man suddenly appears in Ten Forward right across from Will, he very nearly drops his cup of tea. "What the devil?"

But as his mind begins to process what has just happened, he blinks--and then gasps almost excitedly. "Oh my! They were serious. People really do appear here regularly!" And, belatedly realising that he's started talking out loud, he adds, "Oh, hello! Welcome to the USS Enterprise. It, ah, seems people unexpectedly appear here all the time, so...I wouldn't worry too much about it." It's his idea of being helpful and calming. After all, he was glad to see a friendly face when he appeared here only a day or so before, so he hopes it will be just as welcome for this other man who has come out of nowhere, too.

[chaotica]

A slow blink. Oh, it's the Enterprise, wonderful, almost as much of a magnet for absurd loosely-scientific phenomena as Voyager is, and he's two decades in the bloody past, and someone's telling him not to worry.

"Oh, well, then," he remarks, heavy on the sarcasm, "I suppose I'll just go about my business, then."

[dictaphonic]

Will flinches. "I-I actually just meant you're not in danger. Not that the situation isn't a bit...unsettling. Just perfectly explicable! Um." He shifts uncomfortably, setting his cup of tea back down, mainly to have something to do with his hands while he thinks of what to say next. "I'm Will, by the way. Will Arrowsmith." He holds out a hand for the man to shake, hoping that politeness might...improve the conversation.

[chaotica]

Cambridge isn't sympathetic. And isn't particularly in the mood for being polite.

"Year," he says. "Stardate... if you know it." - with a glance at the man's clothes. "And then I will direct myself to the command center of the ship."

[dictaphonic]

Will looks sheepish--and a little intimidated. "I'm afraid I'm still learning that system. B-but I do know that it's 2366! June...erm. Late June. If...that's helpful." He pauses for a beat before adding, by way of explanation, "I've only recently arrived myself. But I'm certain you'll find someone who can explain more."

[engineermage]

"That's kinda what I said," Kale said from a table near the man. He's wearing something straight out of the twenty-first century: jeans and a t-shirt for a production of Beowulf movie. And gloves...

"But you don't seem to be too surprised?"

'Oh bugger', after all, is usually what someone uses when the realize something horrible has happened again. Like they left the candy out in plain sight and the little kids have gotten into it.

[chaotica]

"Surprised, yes," corrects Cambridge, "shocked, no." Something odd is going on here, he's certain of it, but less probable events have occurred and continue to occur with frequency in a universe heavy with chaos. He eyes the man at the table, adjusting his collar self-consciously. "Let me guess: early 2000s, 2010s; and let me further guess: temporal anomaly."

He grimaces. Bugger is right.

[engineermage]

"Actually an individual named Q who thinks he's the gods gift to the galaxy. I haven't seen him personally, but that's what other people tell me," Kale said. If he had seen Q, he would have taken a swing at him.

The idea that this would be a bad idea or severely dangerous would never occur to him. Trembling before gods or powerful beings was not a concept he was familiar with.

"But, on your other guess, yes. I'm from Eire and the year is 2015."

Eire, not Ireland. And his accent is definitely very Irish.

[chaotica]

Cambridge's shoulders sag. Q. Bloody Q.

"Well, no wonder," he says, mostly to himself. And that puts out most conventional solutions to the problem. At least, from what he remembers, Q tends to put things back together extremely quickly, especially fast given that Q operates on the time scale of an immortal being.

"The year was 2015," he corrects, "most people just call it Ireland, and the more important question is what year is it now."

[engineermage]

"You've heard of him before then?"

That seems to be a common reaction, Kale's noticing.

"Which most people are you talking to? Because I've never heard the name before and my da's king of Eire," Kale said, mostly amused. Because he's very sure he'd know what most people would call his own country.

"As for the date, I haven't a fucking clue to that one. Sorry."

[ancientstalker]

Cambridge is being watched.

Specifically, by a man at a table, an array of PADDs scattered across it, and one in his hand.

"That seems to be the general consensus when this happens, yes."

His voice is clear, likely to attract Cambridge's attention.

"You don't seem to be too lost."

[chaotica]

He straightens his uniform a little, thinking, sadly, that now he's going to have to go and introduce himself to the senior staff on the ship. God knows they'll do something stupid like send a ping to the nearest starbase to confirm his records, and then the whole bloody house of cards that is Cambridge's timeline will collapse.

"Galaxy-Class starship," he says, "Enterprise, evidently, a year in the 2360s, on Earth's time scale, and we're most likely in the Alpha quadrant. I've certainly been more lost, in my life."

[ancientstalker]

An observant one. Orlin's interest is somewhat piqued. He lowers the PADD he's holding.

"Well, then. You seem to be the type to know if I say the letter "Q," to know what I may be talking about." His bland tones seem to come off slightly amused. "And, believe me, there are people more lost than yourself at the moment."

[chaotica]

Cambridge's shoulders sag.

He sighs.

Q should really know better. Cambridge was/will be involved in events that really were quite fragile, and altering even background factors like his presence could be catastrophic. For everything.

"A state to which I am accustomed," he says. Being surrounded by lost idiots, that is. "Bloody Q continuum."

[ancientstalker]

"I wouldn't worry too much. A being like Q has the ability to rectify any damage to the timelines..." A pause. "Assuming, of course, we're in the same timeline."

He's going to reach for a PADD.

"Which is something I have yet to have determined. I am aware, however, of Starfleet's Temporal Prime Directive, so, feel free to abide by it. The universe hasn't collapsed in on itself yet."

[captainproton]

Tom was in Ten Forward, doing, well, nothing. It was getting rather boring but he was going to go out on a limb and say Captain Picard would not be in favor of having him touch the helm of his starship. It was kind of like being in prison again, but with temptations.

Still in his early 2370's uniform, complete with Lieutenant pips, he thumbed his fingers against the table, taking a sip of his coffee. Maybe he should go see what Kirk was up too and then Captain Picard could throw them both in the brig. Could be fun.

Tom looked sideways as someone new appeared. And he did not like amused. "Looks like you have this all figured out. Care to take a stab at it? Three guesses and you too can win a lovely cup of coffee straight from a working replicator."

[chaotica]

The uniforms contrast. On top of that, Cambridge is fairly sure Tom Paris hasn't served on a Galaxy-class starship. Perhaps he's utterly wrong about that, but...

He steps up and pokes Tom hard in the shoulder. Definitely real, as far as real can be trusted; he then gives a little tug on Tom's collar to show his rank insignia. Lieutenant.

"Oh, it's Lieutenant Paris," he says. "Well, then."

[captainproton]

"Woah, hey personal space buddy. And yeah, It's Lieutenant Paris. Do I know you? Wait, were you present at my court martial? Well, yeah, it's Lieutenant. And if you have a problem with that, well you'll have to take it up with Captain Janeway. Who isn't here right now. So keep it to yourself. And unless you want to be accidentally eviscerated I'd keep away from the angry half Klingon too. That would be my wife."

What was with this man? He just rubbed him the wrong way, and in this case, literally. What was with the poking?

"So...Do you have a name?"

[chaotica]

Cambridge's eyebrows up.

"Mrs. Paris-Torres," he says, "oh she of the indeterminate rank," what bloody rank was she when Tom was full lieutenant? "- will probably favor me in any given argument, because she has more sense than you. You don't know who I am - correct?"

Just to confirm. Perhaps Tom is busted down to lieutenant in the future. Cambridge wouldn't completely rule it out. But, this is really just going to confirm what he knows already, from Tom's more youthful countenance to his rank to his uniform: the timeline, evidently, is broken to shit.

[captainproton]

Tom arched his eyebrow, watching the man carefully. He really was a piece of work. And new him somehow. "B'Elanna's also a leiutentant. Okay, Junior grade, we're both not full lieutenants. " As much as Janeway seemed to like him there was never that pip on his chair.

"And no, I don't know you. Should I? Did we meet somewhere and I'm just not recognizing you?" Three possibilities. This guy was from somewhere in his past and his memory was failing him. This guy somehow ended up in the Delta Quadrant and joined Voyager. Or they all got home a lot quicker than he thought (hoped) they would. That one's more likely. If they'd gotten back in what would have been a seventy five year trip, he'd be dead or elderly. And this man recognized him now. Or close to now, as he was. Only he wasn't a lieutenant.

"What rank do you think I'm supposed to be? Maybe I should put in for a promotion."

[magneticxman]

"Cambridge, huh?" Lorna asks, looking up from the PADD she's reading. She gives Hugh a smile and stands, offering her hand to shake his. "Welcome to the weird. If you've heard of an entity named 'Q' then you know where to place the blame. No, there's no way home yet, and yes people are working on it." She stops and tries to think of all the questions she had when she arrived. "So far it seems safe enough."

[chaotica]

He doesn't take the hand, eyeing it, then eyeing her. She's not an alien race he can readily identify. There are a handful of possibilities that look similar enough to human, but with variations on hair color, but all of them are unlikely enough that he refrains.

"I'm sorry," he says, "do I have my name written on me somewhere?"

[magneticxman]

Lorna is used to people giving her the eye, but she doesn't like it. She drops her hand, her expression becoming less cheerful. In a ship full of aliens people were normally treating her like nothing special. She doesn't want to deal with the very visible fact that she is special all the time.

"You said your name. Mine's Lorna." She isn't rude but she is clearly somewhat deflated.

[chaotica]

"Eavesdropper, not psychic. I see."

Neither of the two seem particularly to bother him, but he wanted to know.

"Lorna," he says. "Yes, I'm Hugh Cambridge. Doctor, Lieutenant, but I prefer Counselor. How long has it been since you arrived?" Given that she used the word home, and that she doesn't introduce herself with rank, as an off-duty Starfleet officer would.

[magneticxman]

Starfleet. Ugh. Lorna makes a small face. Still, he's not immediately trying to take over the ship so she doesn't mention her general perception of Starfleet and its officers. "A few months. It's harder to tell here. Are you a counselor like you're on a council or are you a counselor like you have a couch and diagnose people's crazy." She's not entirely sure which answer she hopes for, but it seems important to know.