Posted by Captain Alexxander Ryley (Chief Medical Officer) in Sickbay

Posted by Fleet Captain Katelyn Jacobs (Commanding Officer) in Sickbay
<snip>

“Fo@#s the d@mn fi#ld…=^= there was a brief flash of light again… this time with a burst of wind from the pressure of a bubble opening in sickbay. The figure almost stepped out of the darkness as she phased more into view. The image/person seemed to be of their former engineer Heather Argeneau, her uniform was more than a little different, but pretty clearly a Federation style, the insignia wasn’t that of Lieutenant but likely a Commander…

=^= Lieutenant Commander Ryley? Captain Garinder’Jen th’Jir?=^= She paused… =^=I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.=^= She looked sadly at Garinder’Jen th’Jir. =^=As you might have figured we are a parallel universe Chimera. Best we can figure, we literally and improbably crossed identical points in subspace at the exact same time. We were quantum-ly attached via our warp fields… but our universes operate at different frequencies and that’s leading to the crushing pressures as the universes vibrate apart and our fields try to keep us together.=^=

Commander Heather Argeneau
Alleged Alternate Chimera
GM

Ryley took in the information and listened carefully.

Jen glossed over the ‘Captain’. Been there done that in his rise in ranks in the Marines. Still he preferred Colonel. Of course this could be a ‘trap’ of some kind however he had no reason to suspect one. They were hours away from being crushed. Anything hostile would simply have let the counter tick down. Physics was not his strong point. He had a greater sneaky sense than physics however he did understand what she was saying. He glanced at Ryley. They hadn’t figured that specifically, though they had considered some kind of collision with another ship. He nodded as she said that.

He thought quickly. =^= How are your people? =-^= he asked. It was irrelevant in the short run, however any officer had a care to their people. And these, in a way, were the same people. =^= What if we attempt to synch frequencies through our respective warp fields? Momentarily be aligned though with the universal difference allow us to continue on? =^= This was as bad as time travel.

Turning to the doctor he said, “Open a comms link to the chief engineer. He needs to weigh in on this.”
- Jen

Ryley did so. =^= Sickbay to Engineering, we have a technical discussion going on which requires the Chiefs attendance remotely at least or in person if she can get here in the next few minutes,=^= he tapped his cane thoughtfully.

=^=We took some losses…=^= The pause was telling. =^=Right now I’m in command.=^= She looked around… =^=You seem to be in better shape than us. I hope the losses haven’t been so bad for you. I figured out the mirror universe thing via my telepathy and engineering knowledge.=^=

=^= We did come to a rather .. abrupt halt =^= he replied with a slight curl of his lips to a smile. Comparing casualties was not like comparing scars from one’s missions. One might be forgotten or looked at fondly. The other, casualties under one’s command, was simply never forgotten.

She exhaled, =^= the problem is we are now linked by our warp fields and if we drop it, we get crushed by yours. If you drop yours - you get crushed by us… even if we drop them at same time, a millisecond of difference could be devastating for the one that was slower. Our shields were down when this happened our exterior decks were crushed I’m pretty sure we can’t handle even a millisecond of error. Could you?=^=

=^= We have determined that as well. Even a ship fully intact could not handle a second of the sudden crushing pressure. We also know that the pressure is increasing and we have mere hours before it happens whether we try something or not. =^= He had a thought. =^= What if we could connect our computer to yours? The command to lower the shields would be by the same system at the same time. =^= The ‘how’ to do that would be for the engineers and scientists to fathom. He was only spouting what he could think of.

=^=Our computer has been squirrelly every since the sudden stop. I trust it but only so far.=^=

=^= Ours is intact, however insular. We have only just gained access to the computer core to find out what has happened with any certainty. =^=- That was a stretch of the truth. The computer said so much and they filled in the blanks with a fair bit of intuition involved.

=^= Have you ever heard of the prisoners dilemma, Captain? =^=

Commander Heather Argeneau
Alleged Alternate Chimera
GM

=^= No, I haven’t =^= he replied, expecting an answer.
Jen

Argeneau paused, =^=The prisoner’s dilemma is a paradox in decision analysis in which two individuals acting in their own self-interests do not produce the optimal outcome. In our case, I could tell you a time to shut off your shields… and we could, on purpose shut ours of a fraction of second later… definitely saving us and likely destroying you… You of course could do the same… as opposed to taking the real risk of trusting each other… our computers… and our damaged ships to turn off everything at the exact same moment. Prisoners Dilemma. =^=

Commander Heather Argeneau
Alleged Alternate Chimera
GM

Jen took this in. He wondered whether he had survived on the other side. Or what he was like there and if what he was going to say was going to be accepted. =^= Then it is fortunate that we are not prisoners, Commander. I liken us more to being in the same foxhole together under enemy fire. Right now I’m not seeing any grenades for either of us to sacrifice ourselves on. =^= He allowed a small smile. =^= Inasmuch as all beings are imperfect the hallmark of Starfleet is trust in the one working next to you. And you yourself have just shown yourself in that same mind. Were you considering self interest you would not have brought up the Prisoner’s Dilemma but simply sacrificed us on the altar of convenience. =^= He stepped closer to her. =^= Our options and time are limited. Much is at stake. That is what makes the challenge real. Let’s do this. =^= He held out his hand in an offer to shake.

The image smiled, =^=We aren’t here to kill anyone, much less ourselves.. from another mother.=^= Heather was an outstandingly attractive and empathetic person… at least in their universe. Of course they could be from the mirror universe that they were more familiar with… which could mean that this was all a trick. She nodded at the hand gesture… knowing as well as anyone they couldn’t make physical contact.

Yes part of him wondered if he was making a deal with the devil, however, he would have hoped for input from the others. =^= What do you need from us to make this happen and to keep this portal open when it is needed? =^= How was he going to convey this to the Captain? was another thing going through his mind.
- Jen

=^=I agree the computer syncs is the best of some bad options, with manual backup. Audio countdown, computer triggered with our best person on the manual over-ride.=^=

As if her Betazoid ears were burning, the compact frame of the aforementioned captain stood in Sickbay’s doors, resting her hands on her hips as she surveyed the room, trying to find the object of her desire. Having not gotten anywhere in the shuttle bay, she had made her way there, hoping to sync up with her first officer again to plan the next phase. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the female form speaking to him, quickly placing the facial features as a former member of the crew. Her hands dropped by her sides as she strode over to them.

“What’s going on, Commander?” she demanded.

Jacobs, CO

Unasked, Ryley answered. “We’ve hit an alternative reality version of ourselves and the Earp fields from each ship are not balanced frequency wise, we are crushing each other and the alternative us have made a house call to talk through the situation.”

To the apparition he added. “In terms of the prisoners dilemma didn’t theorists work out that actually both sides promising to cooperate almost always led to defection and the best solution was always for each party to assume that the other would act in its own self interests and instead they should both follow the same solution and confess or in this case defect?” He asked.

Ryley
MD

=^=I can’t say I’ve read any actual studies in vivo, but I think its the fear of betrayal that leads to the betrayal. Didn’t Winston Churchill say ‘that the only thing we need to fear is fear itself.’=^=

Heather looked sad for a moment. =^=I have nearly two thousand people trusting me.. and I’ve decided to trust you. I wonder if I’m not going to live long enough to regret it. As your Captain or,=^= as she looked at his insignia, despite the fact Jen never corrected her. =^= your commander mentioned, we could have just waited for you to shut down your warp drive or lose power to your shields… and we would have certainly survived… but you would have died.=^=

Commander Heather Argeneau
GM