Into the Multiverse
After going through a mysterious anomaly, Rhea found herself in a most peculiar situation.
Rhea stood on the bridge of the Unreliable staring out the window. What she saw before her shouldn’t exist and yet she couldn’t deny what her eyes saw. She placed her hand on the Captain’s chair to remind her that she was in fact real and where she stood did exist.
“ADA, tell me again what I’m seeing.”
“Of course Captain,” ADA’s synthetic voice rang out but Rhea could hear the tinge of annoyance. “We are looking at what appears to be the Unreliable.”
“But that’s impossible. This is the Unreliable. Right?”
The red screen where ADA was displayed only raised an eyebrow. “To my extensive knowledge, the possibility of there being another universe where another Unreliable exists is for, all intents and purposes, plausible.”
“Huh,” was Rhea’s only response. She was a fan of some science fiction from back on Earth and after going through her own outrageous science fiction story, she didn't want to deny the improbable. Especially from everything that had happened leading up to this point.
The anomaly, Rhea’s curiosity moving them forward after a brief discussion with the crew, the bright light as they passed through, and then suddenly this. A part of her was dying to study what had happened, but she knew she needed to get back to her home, her universe.
“Can you send them a message? Possibly see if they are willing to meet with us?”
“One moment.” Rhea didn’t have a chance to say anything before ADA spoke up again. “I have made contact with that Unreliable’s ADA. She has informed me that the Captain of her ship is named Jaq Evenshaw.”
“Can you see if they will be willing to meet?” Rhea asked again knowing she needed to be cautious. This captain could be dangerous, unpredictable. But she had to know, had to see if they could help her figure out what had happened.
ADA was silent for a moment before she answered again. “They are willing to meet Captain, but only you.”
“That’s acceptable. Let them know I’ll be over shortly.” With that Rhea made her way to get ready to meet what was possibly this universe’s Captain of the Unreliable.
It didn’t take long and before she knew it, Rhea was standing next to the door where they had docked next to the ship. Her crew stood around her, each of them concerned as to what was supposed to happen next.
“Boss you can’t seriously believe we’ll let you go over there alone.” Felix was standing right next to the door as if to guard it or stop her from going through it. “And with no weapon? That sounds like the start of a character in a serial ending up dead.”
“I have to agree, Captain,” Max was saying as the others nodded in agreement.
“We don’t know if it's safe. What if they hurt you?” Parvati was looking at her with fearful eyes but Rhea noticed the curiosity in them. “Though I guess...what if their ship is really like ours? Like down to the bolts? Think they’ll let me take a look at her?”
Rhea smiled at that. Even in the face of unknown certainty, Parvati was still always interested in how something worked. She turned to face Nyoka and Ellie. Nyoka had a concerned look on her face but was otherwise calm in the situation. Ellie, as usual, had a bored look on her face.
“I think it will be less threatening if I go over without any weapons. Any thoughts from you two.”
Nyoka seemed to be thinking before she said, “It’s up to you Cap. You know we’ll support you either way.”
“And come to the rescue should you need it,” Ellie added, finally letting on that she was concerned.
“Thanks everyone,” Rhea turned to look at all of them except Felix. “Just be on standby. Hopefully I won’t need you to save me.”
“They are ready to meet with you now Captain.” ADA’s voice called out from the speaker. Turning to face the door, Rhea glanced at Felix who was still glaring at the floor. Rhea knew there wasn’t anything she could say to calm him so she resigned herself to head off to this mysterious meeting. But as she passed him, he reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her.
“Be safe Rhea.” He looked into her eyes as if searching for something, but Rhea didn’t know what he was hoping to find. “Please.”
Rhea patted his hand and gave him what she hoped was a comforting smile. “I will be Felix.”
Seeming to accept this, Felix let her go and Rhea walked through the door.
~
Rhea was grateful for the months of perfecting her ability to mask her emotions. Walking into the ship, what looked exactly like her ship yet wasn’t, was a surreal experience. She couldn’t stop herself from looking back into her Unreliable and seeing the crew looking back at her to remind her that she wasn’t going crazy and that this was the universe being it’s usual mysterious self.
Glancing around, Rhea saw the same somehow always dirty looking walls of the entryway, the same slight tarnish and soft yellow glow from the lights. The same stairs leading up to the captain’s quarters and what she assumed would be the rest of the ship, just like hers. Her eyes finally settled on the person in front of her.
They stood as tall as she did, their brown eyes watching her with concern and apprehension. Understandable of course, Rhea thought to herself. Even though they seemed to be older than her, she noticed the same tired lines, the same weight that surviving in Halcyon seemed to also put on her when she had looked at herself in the mirror. She noticed their tension in the way they held themselves, arms resting at their side but watching her every move for any sign of hostility. But even she could see the curiosity in the way the looked at her and the opening into the other Unreliable. What it could mean for them and their crew.
On instinct, Rhea lifted her hands up to signal her desire to not get into a fight. She had some idea that if she were in their shoes she would be cautious and hesitant to trust another, but she hoped they were willing to give her a chance.
“Who are you,” they asked cautiously.
Rhea licked her lips as she wracked her brain for the most non-threatening way she could say she wasn’t a danger to them. It hit her though that she just needed to be herself and hope that was enough.
Dropping her arms, Rhea stepped forward and held out her hand. “Hi I’m Rhea Hawthorne, Captain of that Unreliable. And I think I’m caught in your universe.”
A big thank you to @jumpship90 for letting me learn about their captain and getting a glimpse into their character sheet and for @autonomous-digital-astrogator for setting this up! I hope you enjoy this!
