Jane had almost completely forgotten about the Admiral's involvement in their trials, she had almost begun to believe that only she and the commander were aware of the challenges the universe was facing. She wondered what was going on on the Admiral's planet and whether or not he had encountered any of the affected yet.
It was an urgent call, one that needed to be accepted immediately. She clicked on it and the center screen directly in front of her switched to reveal the Admiral. He stood with a grave expression in front of a black backdrop, his steely grey eyes matching the silver of his uniform as he peered at what Jane knew was an image of herself standing before him.
She snapped to attention, clicking her heels together and bringing her hand to a salute at her brow, noticing that the commander remained standing with his hands behind his back at her side. "Admiral." She acknowledged.
"At ease, Captain." The Admiral responded with a whine, his eyes peering down his long, beak-like nose at her. His eyes then flashed to the right of Jane where the commander stood.
Jane followed his gaze to peer at the commander and watched as he scoffed at the sight of the Admiral's face on the screen and turned his head in impatience. Before she could begin to wonder why the commander had such an adverse reaction to who was on the other end of the conference call the Admiral began to speak.
"How are things progressing, Captain?" He asked in a nasally tone, ignoring the commander's blatant form of disrespect.
"We will arrive at... our destination within a few days," Jane replied, careful to not let any information regarding the Time Gate slip; she wasn't certain how much the Admiral knew about the situation.
"Good," he replied, his eyes flashing with anxiety. "The sooner the better-"
"Is there a reason for your conference call or are you merely checking up on me, Zane?" The commander suddenly blurted, scowling at the screen in distaste.
Jane glanced between the two of them, shocked by his sudden outburst. Zane? She questioned to herself; they know each other on first name basis? Knowing a high ranking official's name was something that was very rare; she doubted that even anyone aboard her own ship knew her name. She realized that she shouldn't be able to know the Admiral's name and was embarrassed that the information had suddenly fallen to her.
The corners of the admiral's lips pulled downwards into a frown and Jane couldn't help but see the similarities between the expressions of the two men as they glared at each other.
"I am ensuring that the two of you will be able to accomplish your task," The Admiral- Zane- retorted in a calm and measured tone, "and assessing whether or not I need to call upon another party in your stead."
"Do you really have another party you can call on do accomplish this task?" The commander responded, his eyes flashing.
The Admiral's lips hardened into a thin line as he steeled his grey eyes towards the commander. "You know my methods. I always have a failsafe."
"But you failed to mention that we are actually the failsafe- your the scientists at the Time Gate have all perished in their attempts to stop the merging." The commander said angrily, his hands clenched into fists.
Jane looked at the commander in shock upon the revelation that there had already been an attempt to stop the universes from colliding and that it had failed. What did that mean for them- would they be able to stop the merging when others before them were killed in the process?
The conversation lulled into silence as the two men glared at each other, until the Admiral's expression began to soften. "I very much regret the steps that have been taken to reach this point, but yes, you are my last resort. I do not prefer having to turn to you for such a high risk assignment but I had no other option," he stated gravely.
"I appreciate your concern."
"As you should, I need not remind you what the consequences will be should you fail."
"Don't tell me you are worried about my capabilities."
"I worry about you constantly."
"How considerate of you."
Jane glanced back and forth between the two men in shock, wondering what exactly was happening. Who was the commander that would make him the man the Admiral would call on in order to save the universe? How do these men know each other so well and why do they act as though they hate each other? She peered at the two of them closely and couldn't help but see many similarities between the two of them.
They both had the same wide arching forehead, though he commander's was mainly obscured by his dark curls and the admiral's hair was cut short. Both men were clean shaven with matching, slender jaws and piercing eyes. There were also differences as the admiral's nose was much larger- arching sharply over his upper lip- while the commander had much more prominent cheekbones, but Jane could see several structural similarities between the two men.
"Have you encountered any of the affected?" Admiral Zane asked, switching the topic of the discussion.
"Three cases, all of which are contained. How are things at the capital?" The commander quickly responded.
"Isolated and quickly detained, though I have not personally encountered a case."
"Of course not, the idea of you actually putting yourself in danger is preposterous. I imagine that you are hiding somewhere in a remote location?"
"Don't be snide. My safety is paramount for the transitioning of affairs once everything settles down- should you succeed- so yes, I am currently in a secure location where I will not be harmed."
"Unless you become affected."
The Admiral's eyes darkened. "Let us hope that it does not come to that."
"I'm certain that your stubbornness will protect you." The commander drawled sardonically.
"I can say the same about you."
"Good, that settles it then. We will both be kept safe due to our obstinate natures," the commander replied, rolling his eyes. "Back to more important matters, have you come up with a more conclusive method of solving our current dilemma?"
"I'm afraid that all of our readings near the location of the Time Gate have all been destroyed; I am not certain of what you will face once you arrive- so I would suggest for you to follow through with out previous plan."
"Just blow it up."
The Admiral appeared to be slightly reproachful once the simpleton method he had ordered for was out in the open.
"Well- I'm glad that I am finally aware of what our mission is for once we arrive." Jane said with a chuckle.
The commander broke his fervent connection to the screen and turned to look at her. "That all depends on what we find; any actions we take will be based on our own discretion."
"So we really have no idea of what we are up against?" She asked.
"All information on this matter is inconclusive as the very idea of a Gate that allows you to travel through time- albeit in an alternate universe- is preposterous." The Admiral stated in exasperation.
The Commander glared towards the screen.
The reality of the situation began to sink in for Jane. The entire universe was going to end, the only people standing in the way of this certain doom was her and the commander. The responsibility they had forced upon them was daunting, and she began to feel that no matter what they tried any attempt they made would be futile. There was no chance of survival for any of them. She shook the dismal thoughts away, knowing that getting depressed wouldn't do anybody any good. She was always an optimist, even the end of the universe shouldn't be able to get her down, she reasoned. Especially since she was immortal and would outlive the universe.
"I'm certain that we will find an equally impossible solution to this impossible dilemma, and everything will soon be back to normal." Jane said jokingly, trying to alleviate the tension they all felt weighing down on them.
The commander let out a dark chuckle in response to her lightheartedness. "Right. Well, Zane, I think that concludes our little meeting, don't you think?" He asked with a tilt of his head towards the screen as a hard smile spread across his lips. "You have nothing to fear, the Captain and I will be able to handle the end of the universe with ease."
The admiral pursed his lips, his grey eyes solemnly peering at them as though it would be the last time he ever set eyes on them. "While it is commendable for such brevity, I hope the two of you don't fail to see the gravity of this situation. Though my conscience shouts against this, I fervently believe that the fate of this universe is left in good hands." He bowed his head towards the two of them.
Jane snapped to attention and saluted the admiral, unsure that she should be appreciative of his high regard towards her or insulted by his two-sided compliment. The screen suddenly went blank as the admiral ended the call. She turned towards the commander, eager to question him about his plans.
"Just blow it up, huh?" Jane asked coquettishly, placing a hand on her hip.
He offered her a shy smile. "You do have missiles on this ship... right?"
Jane laughed. "Yes, though you most likely already knew that."
"Of course."
"What if I don't think that blowing up the Time Gate is the best option?"
"I would then remind you that I have a more accurate opinion on what would and wouldn't work with regards to the Time Gate." He stated, folding his arms.
Jane copied his position and folded her arms as well. "What makes you think that you have the more accurate opinion?"
"I've had more experience with time travel than you."
"Oh I highly doubt that. Don't you know that I'm a time traveller?" Jane asked, tilting her head to the side as a wide smile spread across her lips.
He blinked in confusion before raising an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yes." Jane said with a smirk. "I move forwards in time at the rate of one second every second."
He laughed out loud.
Jane paused, a strange thought suddenly striking her: if she were going to spend the end of the universe with one person then she was immensely lucky that it would be with the commander. Though the stress of the last twenty-four hours was written across his face his eyes were alight with a bright fire, giving Jane hope that everything might just turn out alright.
Her attention was drawn away from his handsome features as a message popped up on one of her screens. She was brought back into reality as she read the report; of one of the janitors in the cafeteria had suddenly strangled a co-worker to death before the security guards had arrived to the scene. Jane typed the janitor's name into the screen and his face appeared; his picture stared forwards with brown eyes that matched his long braided hair that fell down his back. She recognized him as the same Adam that had completed the shooting range the day before. She marvelled at how only a day had passed since the games; it felt like a lifetime ago.
She set the computer to search for him throughout the ship as every camera engaged in the face detection software and a livestream was brought up on her screen. It showed the hallway between the cafeteria and the other recreational areas on the ship on the level above the arena. Two security guards were holding onto Adam's handcuffed hands as he thrashed and writhed to get free; their attempts to walk through the hallway thwarted by his furious movements. Two more crew members with brown uniforms approached from down the hallway to assist as a small crowd began to form.
"They're becoming more frequent." The commander observed from over her shoulder.
Jane frowned at the screen as she watched two medics somberly leave the cafeteria carrying a stretcher between them, a dark sheet draped over the body they were transporting. "As time progresses the more frequent the affections." Jane stated, feeling a lump form in her throat.
"Apparently." The commander agreed.
"They need to be warned."
"Discreetly." He advised.
She lifted her hands to the screen and began typing, her fingers flying as she broadcasted a message throughout the entire ship, informing her crew to expect a ship-wide broadcast from their captain in the next few minutes. She then began setting up the details for the transportation of her message.
She held her finger above the button that would begin the recording as the commander took a step to the side, out of the camera's view. She then slowly lowered her hand, unsure of herself. "Do you have any ideas on what I should say?"
He raised his eyebrow at her. "Why don't you just go ahead and inform your crew that anyone they know might suddenly turn into a mass murderer and kill them at any given time, that their families have most likely already been brutally murdered, and that the universe is about to end?" He replied sarcastically, his baritone voice taking on a menacing drawl.
"Well, that's a little macabre, isn't it?" Jane said, unsettled by his brash statement.
"Distressing, to say the least."
"But not very discreet."
"Really?" He asked sarcastically.
Jane sighed but she couldn't help but be amused by his dark sense of humor. He knew full well that letting the crew know the truth while they were trapped on a spaceship in the depths of space with no escape- they were now far from any civilization that would be able to help them- would be the worst possible thing for them to do. Chaos would erupt and things would be much worse than if things were kept... discreet.
Jane stood straighter with a lift of her head in determination before she clicked on the record button, knowing that there was no way she could tell the complete truth of the situation but she could at least give her crew a warning to what they would be up against.
"This is your Captain speaking." Jane said into the screen, seeing a broadcast of herself appear on the corners of every screen in the control room below her.
"That was a bit redundant." She heard the commander whisper from off to the side; she had to do all that she could in order to stifle a laugh. The message she was about to give was intensely serious and could not be delivered with a smile. She was heartened, however, that amidst the gloom of the disparaging future she was still able to joke around, but now was not the time.
"In light of recent circumstances a new procedure will be put into place," she began, thinking quickly. "When you are off duty you will be required to return immediately to your personal rooms, alone, and lock the door. You will stay in your room until the time of your shift when you can return to your duties. I understand that your lack of freedom will be challenging, but your seclusion is a precaution for your safety.
"I am aware that the recent, inexplicable attacks have been distressing, but I am here to inform you that no one on this ship is to blame for the recent deaths." She stopped herself from pressing the subject, knowing that she had already said too much. She then switched tactics.
"Should you witness a fellow crew member begin to show signs of aggression, report it immediately, and get as far away from them as possible. I want you all to be kept safe, so the new procedures will be put into place immediately. If you are off duty promptly make your way to your private quarters and lock the door behind you.
"If you find these restrictions unbearable, there is another option for you. The cafeteria will be closed but people still need to eat while on their breaks; orders for your meals can be made through the screens in your rooms but there needs to be someone to deliver the meals. If you choose not to lock yourself in your room you do have the option of transporting the meals in order to help the process, but I'm afraid those are your only two options while off duty.
"Thank you for your cooperation in the matter, I can promise that these precautions will only be temporary and I ask all of you to bear with me in patience.
"Should there be any refusals to follow through with these orders you will be detained in the cells," she said as a side note, harshness edged in her voice. "Thank you for your time."
Jane clicked on the screen and watched as it went blank, the transmission ended. She sighed in relief, gladdened that she had been able to do something that might help lower the casualties.
"By keeping them separated and contained if they become affected there wouldn't be easy access to unknowing victims." The commander said as he stared at her with respect, obviously impressed by her methods of keeping her crew safe. His eyes then darkened.
"But what about those on duty?" He asked, motioning towards the control room at the dozens of crew members with bright red shirts lined up in rows below them.
She knew that the ship would be a lot safer now that her crew would no longer be able to mill around the cafeteria and lounge areas when an affected might attack unexpectedly; but she could do nothing about the people who would be forced to remain in their positions for the duration of their shift.
"The ship has to continue running, but at least those off duty will be kept safe." Jane stated with remorse as she looked at her crew.
"You'd make a good admiral. Have you ever thought of increasing your rank?" The commander stated.
Jane whisked around to peer at him in confusion, unsure of where the compliment had come from. He was peering at her intently, his hands held behind his back as he slightly leaned towards her.
"I prefer having my freedom." She stated with a shrug. "Being stuck behind a desk isn't as appealing as exploring the universe and getting into dangerous situations."
"Even when you are faced in situations such as this?"
"Especially at these times."
His eyes gleamed as he peered at her with interest. "Because you know that you are the best suited for the most dangerous situations and would have no one else take your place."
Jane gaped at him, wondering how he could have possibly known that, until realization hit. "So I take it that you are the same?"
His lips spread into a sly smile. "Precisely."