I was tagged by @jackalgirl for WIP Whenever. Here's a very small bit that I'm still not 100% I'm going to use, because it's kind of a fun thing but also I'd want to get the various player-captains' permission before posting it to AO3, if it gets that far.
"Which freelancer captains are currently docked with Groundbreaker?" Junlei demanded. "And sober," she added as an afterthought.
"Jenkins and Fiori are neck-deep in a drinking contest at the Lost Hope," came back the first response a few minutes later. "Ven's resupplying. Evenshaw's buying something at the Promenade."
"See who's available for an emergency trip," Junlei said. "And ask the Commandant to visit me, immediately, with my compliments."
"What's going on, Chief?"
"Possibly a suicide mission, but I'm not giving up on the Unreliable."
“You can’t get any kind of connection with the lab?”
“Negative, Captain. Dr Welles’ terminal is not accepting transmission requests.”
Jaq swore under their breath. They really could have done with Phineas’ advice on this one.
One minute they’d been shuttling replacement parts for a generator down to the New Hope Centre, the next, they’d been thrown completely off course by a phenomena they had never encountered before. Since passing through the . . . what had ADA called it? Portal? Anomaly? Jaq wasn’t rightly sure what it was but the important point was their systems had gone haywire ever since they had been sent hurtling through, every alarm the Unreliable had (including a few they’d been previously unaware of) screaming at them until Parvati had gotten things under control. All was quiet now and that worried Jaq more.
They stared out the cockpit window at the ship before them – a mirror image of their own – and tapped their fingers against the arm of the captain’s chair, picking at the edge of the frayed leather.
“And you’re reading life forms aboard the . . . other Unreliable?”
“Correct, Captain.”
Was this some sort of trap? Another attempt by the deposed former Board members to undermine the new government in the system? Or something else? Something stranger?
“Transmission inbound. It appears to be from an alternate autonomous-digital-astrogator.”
ADA’s pixelated brows had disappeared upwards in surprise on the terminal. Jaq suspected their own expression was similar.
“Patch it through, ADA.”
There was a moment’s pause as the connection was secured and then a woman’s voice filled the cockpit, steady and authoritative.
“Am I speaking with the Captain of the Unreliable?” she asked.
“Correct,” Jaq replied, curiosity warring with caution. “And you are?”
Static crackled in the air and Jaq rubbed the back of their neck where their hair stood on end.
“I too, am the Captain of the Unreliable. My Unreliable, that is.” The voice sounded thoughtful now and tinged with what might have been excitement. “It would appear you and your crew have crossed into this Universe via a temporal rift.”
Right. Obviously. That made total sense, Jaq thought. They narrowed their eyes at the ship opposite, searching for . . . they weren’t really sure what. Markings from a mercenary group maybe? Or something off, something to mark it out as hostile. It really did appear, in every way, to be exactly the same as their own.
“You suspect a trap?” the unknown woman asked.
“Wouldn’t you?”
The alternate Captain hummed. “A reasonable assumption, to be certain, but not correct in this case, Captain . . ?”
“Evenshaw,” Jaq offered. “Captain Jaq Evenshaw.” There didn’t seem any risk in giving their name. It carried a little weight after all – or it did in their own universe at least, and if this woman was to be believed then that seemed unlikely to be the case here.
“And I am Captain Aethel Fiori de DeSoto,” she returned.
DeSoto? Was this some long-lost relative of Max’s? Well, at least that didn’t sound like the name of any Board loyalists Jaq had come across.
“Have you encountered the concept of the multiverse before, Captain Evenshaw?”
“Uhh . . .” It sounded like something Phineas might have mentioned once or twice but they couldn’t say they understood it.
“Not to worry,” the other captain offered and Jaq found her voice strangely reassuring. “If you are willing to meet – and I believe it may be mutually beneficial for us to do so – then I will do my best to explain. Though, it might be best, Captain Evenshaw, if you came alone. I think it would be prudent to avoid our two crews making contact.”
* * *
Jaq waited for the hiss of the airlock doors opening, their nerves tingling in anticipation. Their hands felt empty without the weight of a rifle but they had agreed to come unarmed. They tightened the strap on their body armour just for something to do.
“I believe you are making a grave mistake, Captain,” Max had said as they’d prepared to leave the safety of their own ship, and for once, even Felix hadn’t argued with him. Under other circumstances, Jaq would have been inclined to agree with the vicar, walking alone and unarmed into unknown territory wasn’t the brightest plan, nor the most strategically sound, but there was something about the tone of the other captain that set them at ease.
Still, Jaq was wary when they stepped through into the uncannily familiar confines of the alternate Unreliable.
“Aah, it’s you.”
Jaq froze just beyond the threshold of the airlock, taking in the striking woman before them. Her dark skin was framed by white hair and Jaq found themselves staring back into golden eyes that regarded them with curiosity. She stood a little over their own height, graceful limbed and with the confidently controlled posture that Jaq recognised as being that of a fellow soldier. They frowned and weighed her up, searching for any sign of hostility in those startling eyes.
“How nice to put a name to face,” Captain Fiori de DeSoto continued. “Or one of them, at least.”
Jaq’s confusion must have shone through their attempts to guard their expression as she offered a reassuring smile. “All will be explained. Please, accompany me somewhere we might speak more freely.”
With that she stood aside, welcoming them aboard the Unreliable. As Jaq stepped in, they thought they caught sight of a curious pair of eyes watching them from the hold before the figure skittered away. They followed Fiori de DeSoto up the stairs to the captain’s cabin, their hand hanging loose at their side, fingers just within reach of where their holster should have been.
“Tea?” the Captain asked upon entering the room.
Jaq nodded, staring about them, taking in the décor. This was the first real difference they had noted since boarding. Where their room was adorned with tossball posters, photographs and hastily scribbled to-do lists, this space was, though still distinctly homely, perhaps neater and more ordered. Jaq spotted the same drinks trolley that sat in their room, but rather than holding bottles of zero-gee and abandoned electronics, it was adorned with crystal and glass that appeared handmade, and there were stacks of books about the room that would not have looked out of place in Max’s cabin.
“Here.”
When they turned, Captain Fiori de DeSoto was offering them a cup of fine china painted with intricate patterns, the sweet smell of trip-teaze drifting from it. Jaq accepted it with a grateful smile. They’d seen enough to just about convince them there was no risk here, or, at least, not if they extended the Captain the same courtesy she had shown them.
“Now then,” the Captain said, taking a seat on the edge of her bunk. “Shall we talk?”
* * *
“So, you’re telling me I’m in one of an infinite number of alternate universes?”
Aethel nodded. “That’s right.” She’d been patient in explaining the concept of the multiverse, fielding Jaq’s questions without hesitation or any hint of frustration as they struggled to wrap their head around what was happening. Admittedly, they’d found accepting the idea they had slipped into another dimension a little easier than that Aethel was married to the vicar. . .
“And in this Universe, I – I mean the other me – is still in stasis aboard the Hope?”
“Most likely,” she replied. “Or perhaps you never boarded the Hope. We could not say without checking the personnel records. Anything is possible.”
Jaq fiddled with the empty tea cup before setting it down cautiously atop the polished surface of the desk beside the captain’s terminal.
“Of course, it would be best if you did not have contact with the other you,” Aethel continued with the same casual authority with which she had bestowed all her knowledge throughout their conversation. “Who knows what might happen should that occur. This reality could splinter at the anomaly of two Jaqs occupying the same space. Or you might become trapped here.”
Jaq had no reason to doubt her knowledge on the subject. They grimaced at the thought. It was probably best not to break time and space as they knew it if it could be avoided.
“Phin’s not going to believe this,” they muttered. They weren’t sure they’d be able to remember half of what Aethel had explained. They’d have to ask her to write it down for them so they could provide him with a full report.
“Phin?” Aethel seemed to turn the word over in her mouth for a moment, weighing it up. “You are referring to Dr Phineas Welles, I presume?”
Jaq gave a wary nod and realised they were running a thumb over the band of black ink etched into the skin of their finger. Out of habit, the ring itself sat safe in their pocket on its chain, in case of the need for sudden violence. It had been an unnecessary act in this incidence.
They noted Aethel’s gaze following the movement of their thumb. “Ahh, I see,” she intoned, an amused smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Jaq slipped their hand in their pocket.
“And you would like to return to Dr Welles?”
“As soon as possible.” And without inducing some sort of tear in the fabric of the universe, preferably.
Aethel cast them a warm look full of understanding. “Well then, let’s see what I can do to assist with that.”
Thank you to @autonomous-digital-astrogator for organising this exchange.
@jackalgirl I hope I got some way towards capturing the wonderful complexity of Aethel’s character. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know her and can’t wait to read more of her story.
