The Pinicon Belt

Cole's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of furrow to his brow and tautness to his jaw at the other Cole's almost slight of his science officer, the creases deepening and jaw tightening further at the near intimidation tactics in soliciting their help. Instantly suspicious of his counterparts motives, his eyes flicked towards Jayce, widening slightly in question with a nod towards the Captain and looking for his Counselor's insights, hoping if their were any deception that Jayce would pick up on it.

@Seck, If Jayce would like to attempt to read the Captain, you'll have to touch him, but in the tight confines of the ship, that's easy enough to explain.

Aurin curled the claws of his thumb and forefinger together, catching a sudden increase in the tension of the room. The Commanders seemed reluctant to trust one another, at least. He glanced around at the rest of the doppelganger crew, wondering what struggle would tighten their belts in a situation like this. He had a few thousand questions, but bit his tongue to keep them to himself for the moment. Now wasn't the time to drill for information - and he feared the other Cole might interpret his curiosity as an attempt to gather intelligence.

Jayce moves a step closer to the Captain Walker. "Captain, Is there a Halian named Jayce Devar among your crew? If there is, you would know that Halians can sense the emotions of others upon touch. I hope to sense your confidence in our two teams' collaboration. If you would permit me to rest my hand on your shoulder...perhaps your Devar can return this gesture." He says with a warm smile.

He looks at Jayce and wants to say no, but acquiesces, and offers his hands. "We had a, well, a version of you I suppose. He died, not long ago. I hope, although I fear he was assimilated."

He waits a moment and closes his eyes. "Our Aurelian was assimilated, and then last time I saw Aurin, he pointed a disruptor at me. "

Jayce fights a involuntary shiver at the thought of being assimilated.

"That harsh reality is less than comforting; thank you for sharing Captain. I wonder how parallel our realities run, and what parallel fate Lieutenant Ah and I could suffer in our own." replies Jayce as he takes the Captain’s hands in his.

He then clears his mind and begins to let go of his own thoughts, creating a space for the flow of emotion.

Trying to contain the concern Drake feels for his own life, he asks Captain Syrran about their version of Jayce. "What exactly happened to your version of Jayce? What were the circumstances?"

The notion of a star fleet officer turning on other star fleet officers is unsettling to Luna to say the least. What happened to their version of Jayce? Why did he threaten the crew with a phaser? and even more unsettling, What if it was him that turned but instead the only one loyal?
Luna eyes her own phaser lying ready but keeps a calm appearance.

As Captain Cole's emotions of stress fill Jayce's mind, he also feels the captain's hopefulness toward the alliance of the two crews. There is something else though. Jayce, cannot pinpoint the exact emotion behind it, but the Captain is holding something back, something important.

Jayce breaks his mind away from the Captian and releases his hands. His own emotions, senses, and thoughts return to his mind's surface.

"Persistent war and being responsible for the lives of your crew as well as the security of Starfleet itself is a heavy perpetual burden Captain. You carry it well. I sense your hopefulness that we can help each other, but to what purpose? I feel a reluctancy within you." calmly states Jayce to Captain Cole.

Jayce gives his own Walker a silent look that is meant to convey, there is more.

The captain frowns. "It's difficult to trust. Information given and then assimilated is used against us. But I'll trust this once more. We believe the asteroid belt’s strange quantum properties resulted from the technology of an ancient race of Sculptors who could shape reality to their will. Starfleet believes some of that technology remains intact at the heart of the Pinicon Belt, and we hope to harness that power to rid our reality of the Borg threat – and maybe even erase the Borg from all quantum realities."

M'Ress frowns. Erase the Borg? was that even possible?
"How far did you make it before you were stranded? Do you...how many other copies of US are in here...?

The alternate Cole's frown was quickly mirrored by Cole, the Starfleet officer in him concerned by the prospect of eliminating an entire race - hostile or otherwise - while the tactician in him appreciated the boldness of the plan. Ancient alien technology was certainly within their mission parameters and not something that should be left for whom, or what, ever to find. Saying as much, he met his counterpart's expectant gaze and nodded, agreeing to accompany them deeper into the asteroid field.

"So if you can coordinate the sensor recalibration and upgrade with Lieutenant Ah we can be underway ... I assume your shuttle will take the lead and we'll follow?"