Be prepared
I was there when Storvik left our universe.
He was caught on camera leaving Brother Lothar's brig cell after curfew. He'd done something to his guards to let him out of his cell...probably one of those stinking Vulcan mind tricks. He ducked back into his cell, and the remote guard sounded a jailbreak. I transported down there immediately.
I had a weapon out, of course, and a hypospray in the other hand. I arrived at his cell, where the forcefield had been turned back on. One guard was trying to deactivate the forcefield, with little luck; the other was reporting to the command crew and security what Storvik was doing.
He was attempting a mind meld with a device! I couldn't see all the details, as it was a small machine...but it was clearly something made. I turned to the guard who was working on the forcefield, and said, "Never mind that. Use the agonizer!" The guard complied, and hit a button on his belt. Coruscating energy flow occurred over Storvik's body, but the pain was insufficient to break through his mental efforts...after a moment, he faded away, like a ghost in the night.
The agonizer headband and the machine he'd been holding fell to the floor, each smoking. The two devices had shorted each other out. After we powered down the forcefield, I retrieved the device and went to Brother Lothar's quarters. He had been knocked out, a common result of Storvik's failure to master mind meld techniques beyond the level of "slash and burn". I ordered him brought to Sickbay and began a detailed study of the device.
It was gratifying to see components I recognized, power sources and neural nets. I replaced the shorted out power source with a replicated, undamaged one, and was gratified to see the device turn itself back on and begin self-repair. I then ordered the pacifist awoken and began interrogation. I had learned by now that Lothar would be happy to answer any question put to him, if put to him politely. After all, he had nothing to hide. He claimed to want to 'drop out' of Imperial society...but the Imperium does not allow such behavior.
I gave Lothar a berry-flavored electrolyte drink. It contained no drugs to compel truth, as none would be needed. "Are you feeling better?" Lothar nodded. "Please tell me of the device Storvik stole from you."
Lothar gave a sigh, and a small smile. "Are you familiar with the Prisoner's Dilemma?" I nodded, but the man insisted on teaching. He continued. "It is a prisoner's duty to escape, even working towards escape with one he does not trust. One of my hobbies is archaeology..." I nodded, but inwardly I winced. The man had no vocations, only hobbies. Granted, he had many hobbies, and was expert in many fields not normally explored by the Empire. It gave him value that meant he was allowed to live beyond when he would have normally been a shooting target. "...and, concealed in my pants, I had an ancient relic that was supposed to allow its user to escape from violence to any other place and time. Together with Storvik, we managed to decipher its workings. He came into my cell tonight and forced his mind into mine, to make some copies of my brain engrams. Apparently he wanted out of here very badly. He had never before been able to make the device work."
I nodded, then took a sip of my Irish raktajino. No sense not drinking with the man. "Why didn't you escape, Lothar?" He smiled another small smile, and then said, "I was hoping not to simply run, but to go back in time to repair the damage the Empire has wreaked upon this galaxy. I actually had been using my cell as a home base while I researched history...of course, it would be best to know rather than guess an intervention point." I nodded. It made sense now, how Lothar had been able to retain the calm of the Buddha while receiving the torments he'd endured...he had a goal and a means of achieving it.
I gave him a sad smile in return. "Of course, I've had to confiscate it. I suspect that he escaped, despite what we did to stop him." He nodded back at me, then made a moue with his lips. I glanced at him, and quizzled. He saw my expression, and said, "I mourn the loss of my artifact, but even more so, the loss of Commander Storvik. I fear his absence from this plane will cause a kharmic debt to occur." He blithered on in that vein for a while. I nodded at the appropriate points, and when his top ran down, I said, "Can you teach me to use this? If so, then I can retrieve him from where he has fled." Lothar nodded, then laughed. "Certainly, but it will only work for pacifists. Can you give up your ways?"
"Of course I can give up my ways. After all, when on Vulcan..." I grinned. No reason I couldn't give them up, and then take them back when I was done. He blanched slightly at my grin, but nodded. I was on my way.
He was caught on camera leaving Brother Lothar's brig cell after curfew. He'd done something to his guards to let him out of his cell...probably one of those stinking Vulcan mind tricks. He ducked back into his cell, and the remote guard sounded a jailbreak. I transported down there immediately.
I had a weapon out, of course, and a hypospray in the other hand. I arrived at his cell, where the forcefield had been turned back on. One guard was trying to deactivate the forcefield, with little luck; the other was reporting to the command crew and security what Storvik was doing.
He was attempting a mind meld with a device! I couldn't see all the details, as it was a small machine...but it was clearly something made. I turned to the guard who was working on the forcefield, and said, "Never mind that. Use the agonizer!" The guard complied, and hit a button on his belt. Coruscating energy flow occurred over Storvik's body, but the pain was insufficient to break through his mental efforts...after a moment, he faded away, like a ghost in the night.
The agonizer headband and the machine he'd been holding fell to the floor, each smoking. The two devices had shorted each other out. After we powered down the forcefield, I retrieved the device and went to Brother Lothar's quarters. He had been knocked out, a common result of Storvik's failure to master mind meld techniques beyond the level of "slash and burn". I ordered him brought to Sickbay and began a detailed study of the device.
It was gratifying to see components I recognized, power sources and neural nets. I replaced the shorted out power source with a replicated, undamaged one, and was gratified to see the device turn itself back on and begin self-repair. I then ordered the pacifist awoken and began interrogation. I had learned by now that Lothar would be happy to answer any question put to him, if put to him politely. After all, he had nothing to hide. He claimed to want to 'drop out' of Imperial society...but the Imperium does not allow such behavior.
I gave Lothar a berry-flavored electrolyte drink. It contained no drugs to compel truth, as none would be needed. "Are you feeling better?" Lothar nodded. "Please tell me of the device Storvik stole from you."
Lothar gave a sigh, and a small smile. "Are you familiar with the Prisoner's Dilemma?" I nodded, but the man insisted on teaching. He continued. "It is a prisoner's duty to escape, even working towards escape with one he does not trust. One of my hobbies is archaeology..." I nodded, but inwardly I winced. The man had no vocations, only hobbies. Granted, he had many hobbies, and was expert in many fields not normally explored by the Empire. It gave him value that meant he was allowed to live beyond when he would have normally been a shooting target. "...and, concealed in my pants, I had an ancient relic that was supposed to allow its user to escape from violence to any other place and time. Together with Storvik, we managed to decipher its workings. He came into my cell tonight and forced his mind into mine, to make some copies of my brain engrams. Apparently he wanted out of here very badly. He had never before been able to make the device work."
I nodded, then took a sip of my Irish raktajino. No sense not drinking with the man. "Why didn't you escape, Lothar?" He smiled another small smile, and then said, "I was hoping not to simply run, but to go back in time to repair the damage the Empire has wreaked upon this galaxy. I actually had been using my cell as a home base while I researched history...of course, it would be best to know rather than guess an intervention point." I nodded. It made sense now, how Lothar had been able to retain the calm of the Buddha while receiving the torments he'd endured...he had a goal and a means of achieving it.
I gave him a sad smile in return. "Of course, I've had to confiscate it. I suspect that he escaped, despite what we did to stop him." He nodded back at me, then made a moue with his lips. I glanced at him, and quizzled. He saw my expression, and said, "I mourn the loss of my artifact, but even more so, the loss of Commander Storvik. I fear his absence from this plane will cause a kharmic debt to occur." He blithered on in that vein for a while. I nodded at the appropriate points, and when his top ran down, I said, "Can you teach me to use this? If so, then I can retrieve him from where he has fled." Lothar nodded, then laughed. "Certainly, but it will only work for pacifists. Can you give up your ways?"
"Of course I can give up my ways. After all, when on Vulcan..." I grinned. No reason I couldn't give them up, and then take them back when I was done. He blanched slightly at my grin, but nodded. I was on my way.