Out of Body Experiences

Posted on Sat Oct 31st, 2026 @ 5:13am by Captain Rovak & The Commander & Lieutenant Lovan Dimitri
Edited on on Sat Oct 31st, 2026 @ 5:14am

1,729 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Shifting Shapes [4-5]
Location: USS Excalibur, Upper Inner Dock - DS13
Timeline: After 'The Vulcan and the Vampire'

The trip from Lovan's quarters to Pier 2 of the inner dock in the station's upper sphere had not taken long. Rovak briefly explained how they had found the vessel beneath the 25th moon of Dreizhen V, and how it had been upgraded and used as an extrauniversal explorer, but none of the details about its true nature.

Lovan had many questions about a Federation starship found abandoned on an alien moon, but felt they could wait until later.

Within, they reached the bridge quickly via turbolift. The empty room was active and aglow, with the view on the viewscreen as it would be if it were a window instead, showing the view of the hemispherical upper inner dock beyond.

"Commander, may we speak with you?" Rovak seemed to ask the empty room. Ahead of them, the viewscreen split down the middle, and parted like a doorway, revealing a room beyond that made no sense, given that through it one would have found the empty space of the outer dock.

Lovan looked around the room slowly as Rovak called out. He could sense something, some presence was here, but he wasn't sure what it was.

Rovak moved ahead, assuming Lovan would follow.

Lovan followed, his footsteps making no sound along the floor, just as they hadn't the entire walk here.

They reached the room within, a round warmly coloured room built around a central terminal with a transparent pillar that rose to the ceiling, a single glowing blue sphere in the centre, shimmering faintly as it sat there.

"Welcome to my parlour, said the spider to the fly." Came the Commander's voice from behind them. As they turned, they found him there, and the doors sealed.

"Although perhaps today, it's the other way around. There's little more I can do lately than buzz around and annoy people." The Commander said, looking at Lovan.

Lovan turned with Rovak to see the man standing behind them. He studied the image, noting the two different colored eyes, which he'd not seen before in anyone and found interesting. "A hologram? Like an EMH?" he asked Rovak.

“Not quite. This is the Commander. His people were known as the Gallifreyans. His body is gone, but his mind remains, here within the Excalibur. He also joined us from another universe.” Rovak explained.

“One where we also have Vampires. Though they’re usually a bit more… solid. Am I right in thinking you’ve never heard of the Time Lords before?” The Commander asked Lovan.

Lovan turned to study the hologram once more. "I've learned in my travels that there are many types, and most do seem to be corporeal in some way," he agreed. "But no, I've not heard of Time Lords before."

“For the best.” The Commander said. “None of them left, anyway.” He moved around them to the central console and entered a few commands. “According to my readings, sunlight should be a hazard for you. But you’ve somehow acquired an immunity. How’d you manage that, then?”

Lovan watched the hologram as it crossed the room to the console. An eyebrow raised at his words. "How do you know that?" he asked curiously. "My kind don't register on scanners."

“Perhaps not the scanners you’ve encountered in the Federation. But my people were the Lords of Time. Over a billion years we contended with gods, monsters of every conceivable stripe, and beings so complex and esoteric I don’t even have the language to explain them to you. We cut ourselves off from the multiverse. Upended almost every natural law there is. A wraith-like Vampire is, well, somewhat quaint, to be honest. I don’t suppose you’re familiar with the Illithids?” The Commander asked.

Lovan absorbed all this information. "Your people could control or change time, then?" he asked. "Aye, I'm familiar with Illithids, although I've not had many encounters with them. And to answer your earlier question... Divine Intervention."

Rovak raised an eyebrow at the mention of 'Illithids'. It was unusual to him that they would both be aware of something, he made a note to follow up on it later.

"Of course, I should have figured. The structural variations in such things do vary dramatically." The Commander said, taking one last look at his display before shutting it off. "Well, the good news is I know approximately where you are from. The bad news is unfortunately as with everyone else, I can't get you back there. But we should at least be able to spot your reality, or one of the adjacent parallels should we encounter it." The Commander explained, leaning casually against his console.

"No doubt I would as well," Lovan said. "I don't expect to be going home any time soon, and there is really no need to."

"Oh, and your question. Control? No. Nobody controls time. We understood it, which is rarer and much more dangerous. We could see it, the whole shape of it, every possibility branching off like frost on a window. Some moments are fluid, you can nudge them, and the universe just shrugs and carries on. Others are fixed, and if you try to change those, reality starts to tear. So we made rules. Lots of rules. Mostly about not touching anything."

"By and large we did not change time. We preserved it. Less advanced species, given our knowledge, would have rewritten history for every petty grievance and unravelled the cosmos within a week. Our power lay in restraint. We watched, we recorded, and when absolutely necessary, the Celestial Intervention Agency made… adjustments. Quietly. Officially, of course, we never interfered. That's one of the reasons why our friends here don't have total access to the functions of this TARDIS. Not that I don't trust and admire them." He said with a smile to Rovak.

Rovak once again raised an eyebrow, his face looking unenthused.

Lovan absorbed all this and nodded slowly. He didn't need to know what a 'Tardis' was to know what the meaning behind it was. "Indeed. No one should have that sort of power at their disposal. Back home that's the realm of the gods only. And even then, I've been told, there are rules."

"Without rules there is only disorder, as the masters at the academy used to say. But I digress. Is there anything I can do to help you acclimate to your new life here?" The Commander asked.

"Not that I know of. I'm uncertain what Capt. Rovak's intention was in bringing me here to meet you, but we do seem to have some things in common. Are you able to leave your vessel and move about on the station?"

"After a fashion, I can use the station's holoprojectors where they're fitted, but only as an image. Here is the only place I can actually effect anything. I expect you can go anywhere." The Commander said with a hint of jealousy.

"Aye, I can," he said. "You can't interact with matter on the station even with holoemitters?" he glanced at Rovak. "As I understand it, even the EMH can interact with medical instruments."

"Unfortunately what remains of me is significantly more complex than standard holoprograms. It's either being insubstantial or leaving parts of myself behind, which I've found more than a little off-putting." The Commander explained wistfully. "But as a human once said, life goes on, even after the thrill of living is gone. But I don't think he had either of our situations in mind." He smiled.

"Indeed," Lovan agreed. "While I am technically no longer living, I have no lost my thrill of existing," he smiled a bit.

"In any event, I shouldn't keep you. If you find you have any troubles that can't be helped by these fine people do let me know, I may be able to assist. Or if you simply want to chat, about the experience of being a disembodied entity, or anything else in particular."

"I certainly do intend to visit again." Lovan said. "It's nice to have a fellow immortal to converse with once in a while."

"Indeed. Until then." The Commander said with a nod. A doorway appeared in the wall they'd entered through, leading back to the Excalibur's Constitution-class bridge.

"Commander." Rovak said with a nod. He looked blankly at the Commander for a moment, and the Time Lord gave a subtle nod.

They turned to leave, and soon they were back at the turbolift door.

"Thank you for your time, Lieutenant. I believe under the circumstances, if you are still willing to join us, it would be appropriate to offer you the provisional rank of Lieutenant, and a position in our Operations department." Rovak told him.

Lovan exited back onto the bridge with Rovak in a thoughtful silence, his hands clasped behind his back. "Was that visit a test?" he asked.

"More of a consultation." Rovak said. "We take the word of others in good faith, but when our science fails us, it becomes necessary to seek out the expertise of those whose knowledge exceeds our own. I appreciate that you are confident that there is no potential risk of you to us, nor us to you, but as commander of a station with more than 20,000 individuals aboard, I must have some level of certainty. I apologise for any covertness, however I am confident that for you and the Commander to know one another is a benefit to both."

He nodded. "A wise precaution. You must trust his judgement very much. Hopefully in time I can earn a similar level of trust. I agree that our acquaintance will be mutually beneficial."

He paused. I accept your offer. I will report to the Ops Chief for a room and duty assignment, and will do my best to get up to speed on the station as soon as possible. I've never worked, or even resided, in a place with so many people in it."

"Welcome to Deep Space 13, Mr Dimitri." Rovak said, offering the man his hand.

"You can call me Lovan when I'm off duty," he smiled, taking the offered hand with a bit of a surprise, as Vulcan usually avoid physical contact in his experience. His own hand was firm and warm, like any normal human's.

Rovak nodded politely, and made his way back to the turbolift, leaving their newest officer to his new home.

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