Reset (Kaiel)

Kaiel had to sit.  Altogether too much was happening, too quickly.  His mind whirled.  He felt like an artificial intelligence, which kept having its reset buttons punched.  One experience after another whirled around him.  The scientist within him wanted to stop each incident, and analyze it to death.  He did not get the chances.  He was hard-pressed, even though he was now somewhat revived from his Nexus experience, to even keep up with the whirlwind of events.

The presence of El-Aurians was mind-boggling enough.  Too few of them had survived the Borg assault on their homeworlds for Kaiel to have met any.  He was intrigued by their presence, and he was more intrigued by the undertones which seemed to play between Captain April and her El-Aurian guest.  More was going on, here, than Kaiel understood.  He determined to be watchful of the newcomer.  In the Nexus, if anywhere, the old axiom "nothing is as it seems" appeared to be having a field day.

The presence of the child – Captain April's child – was a distraction.  The boy was particularly a distraction to April, who kept glancing at him, in the most peculiar manner, as if she had not seen him in ages.  When she hugged the child, and spoke to him earnestly, Kaiel turned away, feeling he was intruding upon something very important and private.

He glanced to Avi, who struck him as skeptical of their present situation.  Even when the white noise began to work, and the crew reappeared, Avi and April seemed hesitant to believe.  Kaiel could well understand why, under present conditions.  Avi kept a professional calm, and was obviously prepared to carry on, once they got clear instructions.

Before April could give such orders, the El-Aurian transformed into Frank.  This made Kaiel sit up and take notice.  He was alarmed.  For Frank to be playing mind games, within mind games, struck the Sirenn as both cruel and dangerous.  But, it was April's seeming complicity in this subterfuge – since she told Frank to reveal himself – that made Kaiel's blood run cold.  What was going on, here?  Why would April and a Traveler conspire against the rest of the crew?  Kaiel was certain no one else knew what was up.  Eve appeared as startled as anyone.  Vallien did not show surprise, but, that raised eyebrow was like a flare, to anyone who knew anything about Vulcans.  If April had not taken her senior-most officers into confidence, if she had conducted some trickery against her own crew...  Well, Kaiel's mind boggled at the mass of ramifications, none of them boding well.

Kaiel stared, hitting another reset condition, when April questioned Frank, about Frank's intentions.  Holy Winds, had April cooperated with the Traveler, in secret, without even knowing what he was up to?  Who was this Traveler, to command such cooperation from a starship captain?  What agenda was so important, that this sort of duplicity, even double-blind duplicity, would be perpetrated upon the rest of the crew?  It would not be the first time Starfleet had asked its captains to keep secrets from the entire crew.  Such lunacy had been on record since the early years of Starfleet.  But, with the entire future of the Federation at stake, why was the Admiralty playing such secretive games?  The Sirenn, who came from a culture where secrets were only kept from enemies, felt insulted and somewhat betrayed by these revelations, and what questions they occasioned.  He had to struggle to maintain composure.

Frank announced the Nexus was a ship.  A ship?  This intrigued Kaiel's scientific interests.  He had surmised the Nexus was studying people.  He had even proposed to Avi that they might use its own methods to study it, in reverse.  Unfortunately, they had not been given that opportunity.  Kaiel felt ashamed.  Had he not experienced his emotional melt-down with Avi, the two of them might have begun to study the studier.  He was angry and frustrated with himself, for his perceived disruption of this marvelous chance.  Yet, was it so marvelous?  Frank, obviously, knew a great deal about the Nexus.  Damned odd, that he should withhold all that vital information, until now.  Why?  To play teacher to the lesser intellects?  To give an object lesson in how feeble human endeavors might be?  To lord it over them, that the Travelers were more advanced, and had to lead the Federation by the hand, as Neria April led Kyle by the hand?  What pompous arrogance, Kaiel thought to himself.  And what a dangerous, uncontrolled, and open-ended manner, in which to send such a message!  Frank had gambled with the entire future of the Federation, to teach Neria April it was sometimes better to not ask questions?

Reset.

Kaiel had to choke off a snort of indignant outrage.  No scientifically trained person would buy that load of claptrap.  But, more than his professional habits rebelled at Frank's smug assertions.  Kaiel rejected Frank's claim, at the instinctive and conscientious levels.  Even God instructed mortals to question him, to question the world around them, to put things to the test, to learn, to get wisdom and understanding.  "Blind" faith was never what God intended, and if God said that "getting understanding" was important, then Frank's declaration that putting aside doubts, even when you had no reason to trust, was ludicrous in the extreme.  Being open to change was a good thing.  Opening one's self up to the unknown, especially a clearly dangerous unknown, just because one could not figure out something, was an appalling prospect.  If the Travelers' "higher intellect" was to "guide" lesser beings, Kaiel fervently hoped this was not an indicator of the Travelers' usual stance.  That whole business of "there are some things which can't be explained, only accepted," struck Kaiel as fatuous, fallible, and arrogant.

Reset.

Kaiel was working himself into a considerable temper.  He might have said something, had not Captain April simply agreed with Frank!  Just like that?  What had happened to Captain April, in the Nexus, to make her swallow this entire ball of bait?  Kaiel was astounded, unable to comprehend for a single instant, April's complete surrender to Frank's words.

Reset.

Frank faded away.  It was a good thing, Kaiel told himself, clenching his fists.  If Kaiel had been able to get those fists on Frank...  The Traveler's actions and words had been insufferably condescending, already.  The way he had toyed with their lives, in the Nexus experience, was completely unconscionable.  To risk their lives and sanity, to pronounce fatuous drivel, and then have the unmitigated gall to simply abandon the Arcadia, incensed Kaiel mightily.  Did no one notice?  Frank took them where they wanted to go.  Not the Nexus:  Frank.

Reset.

Frank had obviously had this capability all along.  Frank had made them jump through the dangerous hoops of the Nexus.  Frank had permitted the entire crew to be subjected to the psychological influences of the Nexus.  Frank had obviously had the capacity to retrieve them from that situation.  Frank had gotten them out of the Nexus, and put them where they needed to be, in the future.  Like a stage magician who had properly awed his childish audience, he simply vanished.  A final slap in their collective face?

Reset.

Kaiel forced himself to breathe rhythmically.  He forced himself to try to calm down.  But, it occurred to him to wonder why all of this had happened?  If the Travelers were willing to help the Federation, and if the Travelers had the truly awesome capacity to travel time, why had they needed the Arcadia?  Was the ship and crew included simply as a classroom, or captive audience, for the Travelers to demonstrate their superiority?  Or, had this been a warning?  Had Frank been subtly demonstrating that the Travelers had these capacities already, and that they wouldn't tolerate interference by upstart lesser races?  Subtly, hah, Kaiel snorted to himself.  He had to put Frank and the Travelers out of his mind, for now.  Otherwise, he would work himself into a rage, and be useless to those around him.

Reset.

The ship was clearly where it was supposed to be, and very nearly when it was supposed to be.  For that much, Kaiel grudgingly thanked the absent Frank.  He was about to turn to his science console, and disable it, per instructions, when Vallien announced yet another shock.

Someone was trying to beam aboard.

Captain April said they should let the person in.

Reset.

Kaiel was tempted to wonder if April was till addled, letting in unknown intruders.  Then, his mind began to work analytically, again.  Neria April was from this future.  She might know future technologies could defeat any of the Arcadia's defenses.  Indeed, she might even know the intruder?  All manner of possibilities crowded at Kaiel.

He smiled.  He needed the distraction, the new challenges.