revivalproject | This Vacation Interruption Brought to You by Section 31

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This Vacation Interruption Brought to You by Section 31

The time of your meeting has come...

The coordinates that you were given lead you to a restaurant near the beach. It's closed for the day but the tables are still out. Small tables with just enough room for two. And that is where you will find '31'.

You see her sitting alone, nursing a drink in a mug. There is one waiting for you, as well. She doesn't smile as you take your seat, just lifts one slanted eyebrow.

"Greetings. I am gratified that you accepted my invitation. My name is Agent T'Pring." The chances of that being true seem unlikely. "I work for a department within the Federation that concerns itself with any and all security concerns the United Federation of Planets may face. As you are not of this universe, I do not expect you to understand this. However, I still believe we may be of use to one another."

She leans forward, hair falling in front of her pointed, elfin ears. Maybe you have done some research and recognize her race for what it is: Vulcan. Maybe not. She lowers her voice and continues:

"I have questions regarding your abduction and the story behind your imprisonment. I do not believe I am able to assist in freeing you, however I may have insight if there are questions you wish to ask."

She moves your mug closer to you. It's a fragrant tea, still warm.

"In the interest of diplomacy and to encourage this exchange of knowledge, I will allow you to begin this interview.

"You may ask me whatever you wish."

OOC NOTES:

This meeting is optional. You can have your character meet Agent T'Pring or not.
If your character is speaking with T'Pring, you can ask her anything. She may not have the answer, but you can ask.
This meeting is one day only IN GAME. In real life, the threads will continue to the end of the event.
If you have any questions, please use the Question Comment below.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And the obligatory specific questions for this bugger:

- Does Jon’s compulsion work on her? (He will try either way, but...)
- Should he try to forcefully extract any knowledge from her, what happens?
- Is there anything off he should see or know about her or the tea?

Jon is so delightfully complicated. I adore him.

-No. Vulcans are EXTREMELY mentally powerful. I imagine that their own psychic/mental abilities will protect them.

-He can try and she will likely raise an eyebrow and just answer anyways. Vulcans do not lie.

-EXCELLENT question. No. It's just tea. It is relaxing for humans though and is not from Earth.

Do these answers help? If you don't like them/want to flub things for a plot reason for Jon, just let us know. I am willing to bend things to let Jon have a little more fun.

Good~ All of this is good. Thanks for clarifying! 8D

And let's be honest. He'll really just secretly be glad to be allowed to enjoy the tea without any need for paranoia.

Would Cal pick up anything from touching the mug (ala echoes/impressions) with his psychometry?

I love you characters with abilities. As I said above, you will likely know the tea is not from Earth and is harmless. From the mug, though, you might get echoes of perhaps other people who have sat and drank tea with Section 31.

They might not have been having such a peaceful time....

Not that Cal knows where Earth is but nice to know all the same! ...if he can even hold the thing, ahahaha! Thanks!

Keith stared at the mug for a moment. It smelled decent, but he wasn't sure, yet. He flattened his expression, trying to appear neutral.

"So, you don't know anything about these Agrii who have us now, and you don't know anything about Atroma from before?" he asked, crossing his arms. Like T'Pring, he kept his voice low.

Agent T'Pring sips at her tea. "I do not know of a race named the Agrii. Nor the Atroma. However, they may be named differently in our universe. Do you know any unique descriptions of them we could research?"

"None of us ever saw the Atroma, but we've had contact with the Agrii... they definitely don't speak human languages as the norm. But..." Keith frowned a bit as he tried to figure out how to best describe Ga Re. "Yeah. Three black eyes... pinkish skin... four arms. Two legs. A tail. They look like they might be smooth-skinned, too. And three fingers on each hand." Keith was good at remembering visuals. If he'd thought to, he could have sketched what he remembered, but he didn't have paper or anything for that.

Wanda takes the seat smoothly, trying her best to hide her discomfort. This is a first - in the history of the Fleet, no one on any of the planets they'd visited had ever heard of the Atroma or offered any help.

"I'm Wanda. Wanda Maximoff." She doesn't touch the mug, as tempting as the smell is. Natasha taught her well. She doesn't have a reason to distrust T'Pring...but she doesn't have a reason to trust her, either. Mot yet, anyway.

"You found out about this somehow," she begins. While there are dozens of things she wants to know, one is by far the most important. "Do you know what has happened to the people they took and lost?"

"We have identified hundreds of identical gaps in time. It is likely these are moments when an individual is abducted. We have also determined it is when the same individual is returned."

T'Pring reaches into a pocket and pulls out what looks like a thinner, smaller tablet computer. She taps against it and slides it over.

"Prominent people from Starfleet have experienced these gaps without being aware. This is one for a Doctor Julian Bashir. You will observe that the gap mirrors itself within milliseconds as he was presumably taken and returned. We have not been able to identify a circumstance where this has not occurred."

She sips at her tea. "It is logical to assume all people are thus returned to the moment they were taken."

Wanda studies the video. "...I know him, from my husband's memories. But he has been missing for months for us."

Doctor Bashir seems fine from what she can see, and this sounds like what people who disappeared and returned to the Fleet had reported experiencing. Wanda wants to believe that this means Vision is safe in their home on Naviadna but what she saw in the storm still haunts her.

"And none of them have been hurt? The people who kidnapped us this time...they act like they don't understand very much." She shrugs. "But it could just be an act."

"Fascinating," T'Pring states in response to how long Bashir had been missing.

"No. None of them have experienced any injuries. Nor have any of them retained memories from their time...'abroad', let us say." She leans in, plainly interested even if her expression barely gives it away. "How long was he among you? For us it was hardly the span of a nanosecond."

"Not long? We never spoke." Wanda had every reason to avoid the medical facilities as much as possible. Just walking in there and looking at some of the instruments made her stomach turn. "But it was much longer than he was missing here."

Honestly, she only really recognizes him because he'd been trapped on the same ship as Vision.

"The Agrii tell me some of their people disappear too but we have no way to know if that is true. We have never seen them in-person."

Cal's wary by default, but he's here all the same. After looking around to make sure this is where he's supposed to be, he settles into the seat, saying nothing until he's acknowledged. Behind him BD-1 remains silent but curious, peeking just over his shoulder at the Vulcan woman.

It's quite the preamble, but he offers just the slightest nod of his head. No, none of the names mean a thing to him, but he remains cautious and alert, trying to sense out anything that might not match up with her words and demeanor through the Force.

He doesn't make a move to accept the mug of tea just yet, his eyes on T'Pring.

"...how do you know about our situation?" He feels that's at least a good place to start.

She looks at BD-1 curiously, an eyebrow raised. No questions come, though and her expression says very little except for the fact that she finds it curious.

The agent lifts her own tea to her lips and takes a dainty sip before reaching down and pulling out what looks like a small, thin tablet. She taps on it and slides it over.

"We have noticed repeating gaps in time around certain notable members of Starfleet. There are other, more confidential agencies that have reported similar concerns."

The PADD on the table displays scientific data on a person named Dr. Julian Bashir. It shows two nearly simultaneous moments of extreme energy readings and erroneous time readings.

"This was one such event. A similar one preceded your arrival, here."

The droid ducks behind Cal a bit, only to reappear over his other shoulder. Cal waits patiently for the woman to speak again, head lifting just slightly as she brings out a tablet. He glances down at it once she's slid it over for him to have a look, brow furrowing.

"Gaps... But this person- they returned?" he asks as he puzzles over the time readings. For them to get such readings must have meant a round trip. "And did they remember anything of going missing?"

He's not too surprised that there would be a high level of energy readings for circumstances like that. "I wish I could say how we arrived, but when I woke up, we were already here. Do you know if the origin point of those energy outputs are from this galaxy?"

Agent T'Pring shakes her head. "The origin point cannot be pinpointed. We have every reason to believe that they are originating in another galaxy, if not another universe. It should not be possible, and yet we have you here as evidence."

T'Pring pulls out another tablet and starts tapping.

"If I may, can you inform me of the world as you know it? General terms. Just as you do not know of Klingon not Borg, I will likely not know the names you refer to either."

He'd kind of had a feeling that would be the answer, but he still hoped. Unable to hold back a sigh at that, Cal leans back in his chair, feeling BD-1 pull himself up higher behind the padawan so he won't be caught between.

"The world as I know it?" Cal's half-smile is without humor as he gives a small shrug. "Which world? If you mean where I'm from, then that's difficult since before this I'd been traveling between several, and I'm pretty sure we'd just jumped from one and were in space when I was taken."

She's not here to help- because she can't, he thinks, which is a little frustrating. He's not sure how helpful anyone can be outside of wherever the Agrii must be operating from. More data to be collected, and then what? Cal can't help but frown as he finally reaches for the mug of tea, if only out of something to exercise anxious energy. His bare fingers but brush the drink, thankfully not lifting it more than a few millimeters as it slips from his grasp and thunks back on the table, contents nearly sloshing over it sides.

T'Pring looks at the tea as it falls back onto the table as though that is a clue. Her eyebrow raises and her head tilts to the side as she appraises Cal with interest.

"I had not intended for the question to be confusing. The fact that you have multiple worlds is fascinating and something I wish to learn more about, later. For now I would request that you limit your response to the world you would consider home. If that is a spaceship, then so be it."

She looks back at the mug, eyes flicking down and up quickly. "Before you respond, however, do you require assistance?"

Cal intakes a sharp breath, tensing for a moment as he closes his eyes, riding out whatever jumble of images and emotions flash through his mind then. It's both a curse and a blessing that there's so much overlapping, snippets here and there but nothing particularly sticking. That's probably for the best.

"...n-no," he says once he trusts himself to be able to speak, retracting his hand to massage the space between his eyes as though that would make the echoes fade faster. It doesn't, but it keeps him from touching the mug with his bare hand. "Sorry- I'm... I'm fine." He glances at BD-1 as the droid peers over his shoulder at him with a hoot of concern, forcing a weak smile in an attempt to reassure his little friend.

He takes a moment to try centering himself, and to recall what the question had been. Home, huh? Not even Bracca had felt like home, and it's definitely not one now. "A ship it is," he shrugs. He hasn't been aboard with Captain Greez and Cere for long, but he feels more comfortable aboard the Mantis than he has anywhere else lately.

"It's...not really built for a big crew- I think it's a luxury yacht model. Small, sleek. It's got a nice kitchen and a common space. And a terranium. One of the captain's indulgences."

The agent is watching Cal without even blinking as she watches him recover from whatever he's just experienced. She can't know for sure what happened when he touched the mug, but she knows that there is something extraordinary going on with this human and that makes him even more interesting than he had been before.

Gambling on the fact that Cal will not understand what she's taking out, T'Pring reaches to her waist and pulls off what almost looks like a fat flip-phone. A tricorder, is what it is. Something for T'Pring to open and let scan over her guest so she can get readings on his physiology. Not that she is about to say anything to explain it unless asked.

"There are many in this place who also would consider a ship their primary home. Is your crew primarily Terrans or are there members of other, alien races?"

While he doesn't think that the woman would try to do him any harm, Cal is still on his guard, a default for him that he doubts he'll ever be able to really ease out of any time soon. He arches a brow at the device, lifting his head in gesture towards it.

"What's that for?" he asks, and even his droid peers at the thing with a curious tilt of his head.

"We're not a big crew. The captain is a Latero, and aside from me it's just one other human, and BeeDee here."

The Agent looks at the droid and then at Cal, patiently. She wants information and understands that Cal is not the sort to provide open-endedly. It is an interesting dynamic and one she is not afraid to indulge.

She hands the tricorder over so Cal can touch it.

"That is a tricorder. It allows me me to scan a person and to get readings on their physiology, health, mental readings... Many things. If you wish, you may use it on me as well."

She directs her attention to 'BeeDee' and nods her head toward it. "What is the capabilities of that android?"

The offered tricorder is given a look, Cal's eyes flicking between it and the woman who holds it. It doesn't sound too unusual, but he knows she can't have missed his minor episode, especially when she'd decided to fiddle with this almost shortly after.

But maybe this is his chance to try getting a better idea of who all he's speaking to.

He doesn't take it right away, deciding to answer her first when she directs her attention to his friend. "More than one would think for his size. He's an exploration droid. Helps me get out of trouble," the padawan replies with a faint smile. It's true enough.

Steeling himself, he draws a slow but quiet breath as he reaches over to take the tricorder with his ungloved hand, to see what sort of echoes it might hold.

Edited 2020-03-29 18:25 (UTC)

Jon has been looking forward to this appointment just as much as he has been dreading it. Dreading, because he isn't sure what to expect. Looking forward, because he might know more afterwards and his own curiosity and the resulting anxiety hasn't done much for his already abysmal sleep habit.

Which at least has left him with more time to worm his way through the database.

So he does recognize her as Vulcan, indeed, nodding briefly as he takes his seat and without explanation sets in already running tape recorder on the table next to the mug. Though his eyes remain on her as she introduces herself and explains her reason for setting up this meeting. He quietly measures her and her words against what he has been able to find in the database. So far nothing appears to be out of place. And yet he isn't exactly willing to take any risks. Not when there may be answers for once.

"I'm Jonathan Sims. The Archivist." He begins by introducing himself. That's the polite thing to do, after all "And I assume these security concerns you speak of refers to our involuntary presence on this planet." That much is easy to put together, really.

It is then that he narrows his eyes, focusing an unblinking stare on her. He can practically hear the soft crackle in the air and feel the added weight on every word as he wraps his question in a demand meant to draw out nothing but the raw truth "Tell me. Do you plan to kill us?"

T'Pring's expression is cool as she hears the demand and quirks an eyebrow. It is the closest thing to a smile or a laugh that anyone would possibly get from her.

"Mister Sims, you may be unaware, but a quality of my people is touch telepathy. To mitigate any intrusion this trait may have on others, Vulcan children begin mental and telepathic shielding exercises quite young. Your attempts at influencing me may be successful with sufficient time a d concentration, but they are entirely unnecessary; another quality of my people is the fact that we do not lie."

She leans back in her chair, posture still straight but attempting to convey some level of relaxation.

"So when I inform you that, no, we have no interest in harming any of you, be secure that this is the truth. We merely desire information. A way to prevent others from being taken."

It's never pleasant when his conscious attempts at compelling someone are met with resistance. Being denied knowledge is about as painful as destroying it. And this case is no different. He feels the first pang of pain the moment T'Pring pulls up her brow. The rest feels like an arrow fired straight through his eyes and left ricocheting through his skull several times before shooting down his spine and bursting into shrapnel somewhere near his core. Jon briefly chokes on the sensation then has to blink several time against the pain while the Vulcan explains her case and he is ultimately left with his gaze fixed on the table and a grimace on his face.

No. That wasn't exactly what he had hoped to achieve.

He exhales once before raising his head again, straightening his back ever so slightly but not even making an attempt to appear apologetic "But can you blame me for trying?" He asks. A normal question. And he continues by raising his scarred hand to his throat, vaguely indicating the scar up there "Or for assuming the worst? Somehow you have known we were here before we had any idea what is going on. I call that suspicious."

Though he hardly needs an answer to those questions. Instead, his hand drops back to the edge of the table, fingers curling slightly around it while he wraps out further suspicions "Are you at war with the Agrii? Was it your people that destroyed their planet, perhaps?"

T'Pring seems unmoved both by the other's apparent pain and by his suspicion. She merely lifts her mug, primly takes a sip, and sets it back down. Her hands steeple in front of her as she considers a response.

"We were aware that there was a gap in time that has mirrored others we have noticed for many years. They have normally occurred around persons of importance when they were, we presume, taken and returned. This is the first time the energy signature and time fluctuation has given us people."

She takes out a tablet and begins tapping on it.

"You mention the 'Agrii'. I do not know a species by this name. Can you describe them?"

"They are short, covered in brown fur and have an appetite for cats." Jon replies flatly, just slightly irritated by his own inability to answer such a simple question before moving right on "No, I can't. They dropped us on a destroyed planet that hasn't seen any sentient life in decades."

Catching himself, Jon lets the irritation pass, then sighs.

"I'm sorry. It's... We- Or I at least haven't met them." Then he pauses, mentally picking through what little he does know.

"Three eyes. I believe they have three eyes. Thin and long legs. That's... That's the impression I got from what's left of their city. It's not a city designed for humans. Or... Beings that entirely share our physical attributes."

The agent pauses and frowns. "You stated that the planet has not seen any sentient life in decades. Do you know precisely how much time has passed? Depending upon the climate of the planet, I would expect there to be very little left behind after both time and the elements have eroded structures."

She clears her frown and makes a gesture as though to show 'on the other hand'. "Without knowing more of the composition, however, this is merely conjecture."

"According to the information we were given, it's actually been centuries, but no precise amount of time was stated. It just... The city doesn't feel left to decay quite that long. Decades, yes. I have seen enough documentaries on Pripyat and its slow decay over the past three decades since its abandonment to make Temba feel... Oddly well preserved. So, no. I can't tell you any details. Or give precise numbers. Not after merely having two days there before being pushed here." Which he still isn't too pleased with, but... Still.

He lets out a brief sigh.

"They want to rebuild. And return to their planet. There's neither rhyme nor reason in the array of people they bring in for that task - Christ, I'm certainly no architect! But according to others that have been there longer... They don't mean us any harm. Much rather they simply don't seem to know what they need in order to acquire their goal. If you find out a way to get into actual contact with them, consider offering help to their cause." Just a suggestion.

"If it does not violate the Prime Directive, we certainly will." T'Pring taps a bit more on her tablet and puts it down, suddenly very intrigued.

"You say that the place is 'oddly preserved'. We have also heard from others that these alien beings are... at best confused about their current state. Something they attribute to...distance, I believe?" She sips out of her tea and inclines her head.

"Is there anything to suggest that their remembrance of their history is incorrect? Or tampered with?"

Jon leans back as he listens to her words, brows pulling together in thought as he picks up his own mug at last without giving it much thought.

Distance. Distance to their planet? Or something left behind on it, perhaps? It's an idea he can in a way relate to. Or at least that's the explanation he has been giving himself for feeling his own connection to Beholding be a little... Off. Though the Entities are said to dwell in a realm outside of reality itself, so distance may not even be truly involved. But he's just giving himself a headache he has no need for over this again.

"Those storms may be part of the issue. When I arrived on Agra 10, one was there, and it lasted for days. I was foolish enough to get lost in it until it ended and have no usable data on it. My recorder didn't work properly in there and, yes. But others say they have data on them and they supposedly are deadly to the Agrii. Which means that aside from rebuilding, there is also the matter of dealing with those storms. Though I am not sure if we can find the necessary equipment to figure out where they come from or what precisely they are on the planet itself."

He takes a sip of the tea, nods in slight approval, but also glances over at the tablet she uses and raises a brow.

"Are you by chance familiar with ways of communication that don't rely on actual language? Spoken of written words? Are elaborate forms of telepathy common on non-human species?"

[Hux had debated on attending the meeting or ignoring it all together. He believed that over all it was probably a waste of time and there would be no answers. The Agrii haven't been very straight forward, and he doubted these people were. He sat in front of the Agent, ignoring the cup of tea offered. He clasped his hands together in front him.

He spoke in a soft, but firm tone. A tone that made it clear he was used to being in command and getting answers.]

How is it that you are aware of us and our story, but do not know about the race behind the abduction? You claim you are behind the security behind this United Federation of Planets....and the Agrii were able to send us to one of your planets. You proceed to allow us to stay and ask us to attend this meeting. What is your actual intent behind all of us?

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This Vacation Interruption Brought to You by Section 31

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