Jane smiled broadly at the question as she peered at the man in front of her. He hadn't told her his name yet and she still had no idea who he was. After being messaged by Triss that the mysterious stranger had arrived she had rushed to the bridge, excited to meet her enigmatic partner. She hadn't found anything throughout the night that would explain why the Admiral needed her or who her new partner would be, so she was insanely curious to finally meet her new partner. She had searched through many of the Admirals records, focusing mainly on the ones that had been encrypted or deleted, but to her amazement there were several thousands of such documents and reports that were secreted away. She had scoured through them, most of them relating to illegal smugglings or counterfeiting, but hadn't found anything that traced back to herself that she would be called to deal with. She was surprised at the dark secrets the Admiral possessed but she figured that everyone had their secrets. Neither could she find out anything on the elusive partner she would have to face, though she didn't have anything to go on as a search.
When Jane had stood on the bridge and finally caught sight of her partner, she was taken aback. He looked to be in his late thirties, with messy black curls framing his head. His clothing was extremely strange, wearing civilian type of clothing that looked antique. His purple shirt was clinging to his muscled torso, the top two buttons left open, revealing his firm hairless chest. His skin was very pale, accentuating the dark curls of his hair. When Jane had approached him she had realized that he was incredibly handsome, with high cheekbones and a narrow jaw, but what had caught her attention the most were his eyes. They were large and beautiful, as she stared into his eyes as she clenched his long slender fingers in her hand she had been entrapped in the green/blue pools of his irises, golden flecks swimming among the bright colors.
After leading him into their meeting room Jane had become insanely curious as to who he was and what he was doing there. What was he an expert of? He was very tall and thin, though very fit with firm muscles. He obviously didn't see the sun very much with his pale skin, so perhaps he was a scientist of some sort. His strange clothing showed that he wasn't too impressed with fitting in, so his job wasn't one that dealt with a lot of people. She couldn't piece anything together and still had no idea who he might be.
When he finally asked his question, the pieces fell into place. He might not have travelled through time, but he was obviously curious about the past with his antique clothing. He must be a scientist of some sort, though his subject was on time itself. She wondered if time travel had been made possible in this galaxy, and immediately her thoughts turned to the Doctor.
The Doctor was from another galaxy entirely, fitting into a small universe of his own. She hadn't seen him for billions of years, after his universe faded he had faded with it, when Jane had instead moved on to the next one. The Doctor had believed that there was a beginning and an end to the universe, but he had no idea that the universes were infinite and spread on forever, Jane following along with the flow of time as each universe came to an end, another one rising in its place..
She wondered if time travel would be possible in this universe. She hadn't heard of it working here, though she knew that it was completely possible at least in the Doctor's universe. Had this one also unlocked the secret of time travel, and if so, who possessed that secret? She supposed that she would soon find out as the man on the seat across from her anxiously awaited her answer.
"You'd be surprised at how open I am to the idea." Jane replied with a smile. She personally had never been able to travel through time, but from her friendship with the Doctor she knew that the concept was entirely possible.
The man continued to hold his steepled fingers to his lips as he sat forwards on his seat intently staring at Jane. "And if you were to learn that time travel were entirely possible..." his deep baritone voice trailed off as he gauged her response.
So time travel is possible in this universe, Jane mused. "I wouldn't be surprised in the least," she responded, swirling the glass of wine she held in her long fingers.
"Good." He responded, sitting back in his chair and leaning his elbow against the armrest. "What I am going to tell you next has to be in complete confidence; the object of our discussion cannot pass from outside these doors." His voice was extremely deep and suave, lulling Jane into trusting him.
"You can trust me." Jane replied, holding her head high.
He stared intensely at her, his eyes a light shade of green and blue as he seemed to search her soul. Jane knew he was deciding on whether or not to believe her, and as he stared she enraptured by his powerful gaze. She found herself swimming in the turquoise depths, watching as flecks of gold flickered brightly in his irises, and was suddenly brought back into reality as he began to speak.
"A Time Gate has been created, where someone on this side can pass through and arrive anywhere in space and time; the past, present, or future, on any planet, any location." He paused, his blue-green eyes piercing into her own.
So time travel is available in this universe, Jane thought, not surprised in the least. Though she was a bit concerned that she hadn't heard about it until now. She wondered how he had learned of time travel, her eyes briefly broke apart from his as she glanced at the purple shirt that was buttoned tightly across his chest. She hadn't seen a fashion design like that for years, the clothes now available forming automatically to the body without buttons or zippers. She quickly brought her eyes up to lock with his once more.
Seeing that she didn't scoff or otherwise refute his declaration, the man decided to continue. "Managing the time gate was difficult at first, but eventually scientists were able to pass through the gate into any time era or place they wished.
"For several years the scientists were merely investigating the past, learning about history and bringing back their research, afraid to do anything that would alter the course of time. But mistakes were made." His lips drew into a frown as his gaze drifted to the walls.
"A man was killed on one of their trips to the past, someone who was not meant to die. The scientists returned to the present, terrified that the universe had forever been changed. They expected the 'butterfly effect' to take place, where an act as simple as stepping on a butterfly in the past completely alters the course of the future." His brow furrowed as he continued to stare at the wall, his fingers drifting to his lips as his elbow rested on the armrest to his seat.
"When they returned, they were shocked to find that nothing had changed. The man that they had died when he was supposed to, he had not been killed by their actions. The scientists went into a frenzy, asking how and why he had not been killed in this reality when they had personally watched him die. They knew their machine worked perfectly, and they could find no explanation behind their reasonings.
"They went back through the time gate, to a later time period. Everything had been changed. Their worst fears had been brought to a fruition; apparently one of the descendants of the killed man should have become a leading general in one of the wars, but because he was never born a war that should have been won, was lost.
He sat up in his seat, staring once again at Jane as he steepled his fingers together and brought them under his chin.
"The scientists came to a conclusion that through the Time Gate is an entirely identical universe to our own, one that they could alter that wouldn't affect this universe in any way. They could transport to any space and time in that universe and change anything they wished to watch how it played out. Of course, the creator of the Time Gate was obstinate against making any changes, unwilling to alter anything in this new universe. After he was removed and the Time Gate fell to new hands, they began to do more experiments on their new found universe: testing plagues, mixing DNA, starting wars, destroying planets. The Time Gate created the greatest laboratory imaginable for them, one where their experiments didn't hurt them in any way and they could do anything they wished in all of space and time and not face any of the consequences."
Jane had never heard of time travel working like that. She knew that that there were alternate universes, but having a time travelling device that worked on an alternate universe, now that was interesting, yet terrible. The people in the alternate universe really lived, and yet these "scientists" have been passing into the other universe and purposefully killing millions for science. Her stomach clenched at the thought, that all of those peoples' lives were ruined merely because the scientists themselves experienced no negative repercussions.
When he spoke again the hair on the back of Jane's neck stood up, his voice dropping several octaves. "They never expected- couldn't even imagine... The two universes are colliding," he growled.
Jane tensed, the change in his tone terrifying though she couldn't quite understand the meaning of his statement.
"They were never meant to combine. It's impossible, there have been too many changes made, so many people killed..." His eyes dropped to the floor, a deep sadness revealed in their depths.
Jane waited patiently as he stared deep in thought. She examined his shoes, noting that they were made of actual leather, an item that was extremely rare in this day and age and would prove to be nearly impossible to find. Unless, she thought, he had travelled to the past on a certain planet where the leather shoes were extremely popular and cheap, and then returning to the present time with his findings. Her thoughts were immediately brought back to attention as the man suddenly sat up and began to stare at her as if he were the teacher and she were the student.
"The two universes are connected by the Time Gate and are starting to merge together," he explained, interweaving his fingers. "The two realities shouldn't coexist, so the combined universes have been trying to right themselves, creating... conflicts. Say, for example, that someone on the alternate universe was never born, whereas on our universe said person is alive with a small family of his own. He can't both have never been born and live a full life with his family, and so the two realities cancel each other out by killing said person and everyone that he might have come into contact with.
"We call this man one of the 'affected,' as in he is affected directly by the two merging universes. He has to die in order to balance the two realities, but he doesn't just disappear. Instead, he suddenly goes raving mad and kills everyone around him that he might have ever known or interacted with, and he doesn't stop his rampage until he himself is killed." He stopped as Jane sucked in a rapid breath of air.
Suddenly all of the mass murderings she had researched became clear. Now she had the explanation behind why the seemingly normal people suddenly snapped and began killing their relatives and people they associated with. The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to come together, but the result left a bitter taste in her mouth. If the affected person killed everyone they had ever come into contact with, the result would be monumental. Family, relatives, school mates, friends, coworkers, the list of people one interacts with throughout their lives is gargantuan.
Jane thought silently to herself. If what he said about the plagues and wars the scientists initiated on the other universe were true, not to mention the destroyed planets, then there was going to be a lot of "affected" popping up.
"When did the universes first start to collide?" Jane asked, trying to imagine how quickly the universes were merging and how much time they had left to somehow stop the process.
He sighed, absently rubbing a hand through his dark hair as he stared around the room. "Recently." His voice drawled. "Two days ago, in fact."
Jane was shocked at how rapidly the changes were taking place. It was just yesterday when Jane had read the first reports of the "affected" going on killing sprees, and she had only been looking among nearby planets. It was hard to imagine how many other killings were going on throughout the rest of the universe.
His eyes bore into hers as his voice once again lowered. "The scientists have been experimenting on this universe for years, and now it is hardly recognizable to our own. I fear that once the two universes are completely combined, nothing will be left."
She kept her expression impassive as the reality of this truth sunk in. Apparently the scientists had instigated wars, experimented with plagues, and destroyed entire planets on this alternate universe. Such major changes in history would make it difficult for the two universes to have any similarities, perhaps there were none left. The two universes would completely cancel each other out as everything dissimilar was destroyed.
Jane clenched her jaw as she thought about what the scientists had done. She was sickened by their selfishness and lack of concern as they performed their experiments on an alternate universe. A part of her was glad that they were finally seeing the damage their actions wrought, though the destruction of both of the universes was an exponential price to pay because of their meddling with time. Her eyes flicked once again to the man's outfit, the buttons on his dress shirt, the leather shoes, his black suit pants, his belt even had a buckle. Such an outfit was extremely outdated, and yet it looked brand new.
She wondered how the man knew everything about the Time Gate, and began to speculate that he might have been a significant part of it. Was he one of the scientist who passed through to the other universe? If so, he was partly responsible for the destruction of both realities as the two of them collided. She held her head high and stared at him dead on.
"So what are we going to do save our universe?" She asked, daring him to come up with the answer. There might not be anything for them to do, but she doubted that. The Admiral had specifically called her to help him with his "problem," and he said that he deemed her entirely capable of handling it. Though she considered this man to be part of the cause of the problem, she hoped and trusted that he would have a solution up one of his purple sleeves.
He sat back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest as a bemused smirk flitted on his face from her arrogance. "I am going to go to the Time Gate, and you are going to take me there," he stated, drawing out the pronouns.
Jane smirked, remembering the Admiral's warning on how her new partner didn't like to work with others. "What are we going to do once we get there?"
He stared at her, the mixed colors of his blue and green eyes peering into her own. She was reminded once again of how handsome he was, with his high forehead and curly dark hair messily arranged on his head. His forearms were crossed over his slender yet muscular chest as he continued to stare at her with his beautiful pools of eyes, his lips pursed. "You are going to leave that to me," he stated in his deep baritone voice.
Jane wondered if she should trust him. He obviously wasn't telling her everything, she didn't even know his name. Her only purpose wasn't just to give him a ride, was it? If that were the case, why did he tell her everything about the Time Gate? She determined that she was going to assist him, and not just provide the transport he needed. She supposed that regardless of his desire to work alone, he would probably require her assistance and she was going to help him. The entire universe was at stake.
Jane stood, their meeting over. "Fine. Let's return to the bridge and put in the Time Gate's coordinates then, shall we?" She extended her hand to the man who continued to sit on the chair, content with watching her. Finally he stood, his height extending several inches above her. Jane peered up into his face, continuing to hold out her hand. "I don't believe I caught your name, or title," she stated, doubting that he was going to tell her his real name or station.
"You can call me the Commander, Captain." He silkily responded, briskly shaking her hand. So he was pulling rank on her, Jane realized. Commander was the rank just above her own in the Star Fleet, though she had never heard of him. She doubted that he was actually a commander of anything other than himself, but if he wanted her crew to think of him as of higher rank than their captain, then so be it. It didn't bother her too much, though she knew that "the Commander" was obviously lying to her face.
"Commander." Jane acknowledged, dropping his hand, deciding to play his games. She turned from him and headed towards the door, sliding her hand over the sensor as the door opened with a sigh. She heard him pick up his duffel bag and follow behind her. They made their way back to the main bridge, Jane nodding curtly to the crew members they passed on their way.
Their solitary ride up the lift was in mutual silence, both of them engaged in their own thoughts. She wondered who the commander really was. He wasn't of Star Fleet, that much was made certain from his choice in clothing. He didn't appear to be someone who was in charge of others, and instead looked like a type of person who only fended for himself without sparing a thought for others. The lift doors slid open and they both passed into the control room.
Jane noticed as the crew members sat straighter in their chairs and stopped chatting with each other upon her entrance. She appreciated the respect they showed her, but felt slightly guilty that their conversations had ceased on her part. She like watching the camaraderie among her crew take place. While she worked with the transparent screens on the bridge, her crew members thinking that she wasn't paying attention to them, Jane would watch as they smiled and laughed and told jokes with one another as they worked. However, they stopped as soon as they thought she was watching in order to show their diligence.
She turned to the left and quickly passed by them, heading towards the stairs to the bridge, the commander following close behind, his duffle bag still over his shoulder. After he typed in the coordinates to the time gate she would assign someone to lead him to his rooms so that he could become situated, and not have to carry his things with him wherever he went. Jane stepped onto the bridge and crossed over to her circular platform. Triss was in her corner on the side of the bridge, though instead of bowing over her e-book she was watching Jane and the commander approach. She watched as shock registered over her second in command's face as the commander stepped onto the bridge as well.
No one was allowed on the bridge other than the captain and the second in command, and Jane could feel the stares as the crewmembers within the room gaped at the man in the purple shirt who calmly followed Jane into the Captain's platform. Ignoring the stares Jane waved her hand out in the air as her many transparent screens flew around her in a wide semicircle. She quickly closed down the screens that held her latest searches for the mass killings before her companion could see them, only leaving one screen in the air. It was the one that managed the main controls of the ship and set their course. She stepped to the side, motioning for the commander to put in the coordinates.
He stepped forwards, glancing all around him at the upturned faces who stared at him on the center of the platform. He then set his jaw and ignored them as he focused on the screen in front of him, quickly typing in the coordinates. Once finished he looked towards Jane.
"Thank you Commander." Jane turned towards Triss, who was remained in her seat, her mouth agape at the odd sight before her. Only the Captain was allowed to alter the course, even the second in command did not have that power, and yet the stranger who had arrived that morning was given the privilege. Jane waved her second in command over to where she and the commander stood. The Treshiss quickly snapped her jaw shut and swooped up her e-book to saunter over to the two of them.
"Triss, I would like you to take the Commander to his private quarters and allow him to become situated." She ordered, nodding towards the man at her side. Triss stared at the commander, then briskly nodded and walked to the stairs. He quietly turned to follow her, shifting his duffel bag on his shoulder.
After watching him leave, Jane turned to look at the expanse of faces in front of her. Every crew member's eyes were peeled on the commander as he crossed the room to the lift, confusion and amazement written across their features. She had been ordered to treat him as a partner, and as her partner he was going to have the same privileges as her. She considered giving him a matching uniform to her own to see if he accepted it, reminding him that they were to work as a team.
Jane wasn't sure if she trusted the man. She knew he had lied to her about his name, but the information about the time gate had all been true, she felt it. He had put enough trust in her to trust her with the information, letting her know that the end of the universe was going to happen as more things began to spin out of control on the other universe combined with hers.
She waved her hand and once again an expanse of transparent screens spread out in front of her. She searched where they were going, examining the coordinates he had plugged in. They were moving far into the edge of the universe, away from major civilized planets and out of the reach of major Starships. Apparently the scientist who had invented the Time Gate had thought that their disconnection from civilizations would help them from creating too much trouble, she thought ironically. That was certainly proved wrong, Jane thought with a huff. It would take them several days on full speed to make it to the coordinates. A disturbing thought came to mind as she wondered what the state of their universe would be in within the next few days. If it had only been two days since the initial collide and the amount of "affected" taking place were already popping up all over different planets, who knew how bad it would get by the time they arrived.