Common Grounds I

Posted on Thu Mar 12th, 2020 @ 4:36pm by Captain Enalia Telvan & Petty Officer 2nd Class Ila Dedjoy & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Ensign Briaar Gavarus & Petty Officer 2nd Class 'Big Ethel' Jablonski & Jaeih Dox-t'Aan
Edited on on Wed Apr 1st, 2020 @ 3:39pm

Mission: Dedjoy System Mystery
Location: The Intel Pod
Timeline: 2397

Stepping into the turbolift, the buxom Starship Captain had ordered her Romulan flight chief to come along as they rode to the Hera's Intel Pod. As always, the young Lieutenant Commander had a PaDD in hand and was reviewing all of the relevant data that was available concerning the current mission while she stood next to the taller Trill Captain.

"I've forwarded all of the data to Yeoman Dedjoy in the POD as requested Captain. Considering the information from Commander Paris from the surface of Primordius and the scan data from Dr. Mah on the Turing, it appears that these signals from the crystals are affecting those with any measure of psionic potential. Which I suppose explains the headache I've got." Mnhei'sahe Dox said in a matter of fact tone. While Romulans didn't generally possess psionic abilities, the young pilot had, through both training and circumstance, developed a small amount of the abilities of Vulcan ancestors. "Looking at some of the reports from across the ship, this is a minor issue on a number of decks. Ensign Tathaa, Lieutenant Gonadie, Lieutenant Pacci, and several others have reported mild headaches. Doctor Power is set to administer a theta booster all around that should take care of it for now."

The shorter, red-head was in no way responsible to summarize the data for the Captain and hadn't been ordered to, per se, but the canny Trill knew the young woman well enough to expect such behavior from Dox, who tended to read all the ships reports and keep up on as much information as she could. And as Dox wasn't quite sure why she had been asked to accompany Enalia to the pod, she was possibly overcompensating just a hair.

The spotted woman, however, had known that her Rihannsu Flight Chief would fill her in on anything she would have missed the second they were alone and her bet on that mark was correct as always. "Excellent. I was wondering about that. Make sure that's employed as soon as it's available and if it looks like it's going to take too long, have sickbay come up with a more immediate solution for the bridge crew at the very least."

"Aye." Dox replied, as she pulled up and sent a message to medical that Enalia could see, spying a glance at Dox's Padd, that the young officer had already written to almost exactly what Enalia had just specified in anticipation.

"As for that data Rita and the Turing away team sent..." Enalia lightly crossed her arms under her prodigious bosom and leaned against the turbolift wall, a concerned look on her face. "I assume there's an attempt at communication in there but I'm not science-savvy like some augmented people. My mother sprang for the math and tactical package, not the 'remember all the science and medical knowledge you want' package so if you understand more than I do, please..."

Enalia didn't like to refer to it, but at least in private with those she felt closest to, she was candid about the genetic modifications that her mother, a pirate queen, had done to her and her now-deceased sister. there was a lot of baggage with that, but after many horrific events, the sole survivors of her family were now her, her holographic wife, and her daughter who was a heavily augmented clone of her mother with genetic data from the model of her wife used to prevent clone decay.

To say that Captain Telvan's life had been stressful was an understatement. However, on the USS Hera, this was normal.

Of course, Mnhei'sahe was no stranger to genetic modification of family drama, having undergone her own share throughout her life and could relate to the Captain easily enough in this regard as she simply nodded, with a light chuckle. "My upbringing was either... piloting or punching, so I'm likely not any more qualified to interpret this. But looking at the report from Commander Sonak and Commander Paris, it looks like they observed a repeating mathematical regression in the signals that they got whenever they tried scanning that thing. I might not have been the most attentive student at the academy, but mathematics is generally considered a universal language. A regression of numbers in a pattern indicates at least the possibility of an intelligence that might have been attempting to see if we understood what it was saying."

"English or Romulan, you hold up on finger on one hand and two on the other, and I hold up three fingers in reply, we just communicated." Dox said with a slight smile as she checked her PaDD again. "Medical confirms. Doctor Power will be sending nurses to the bridge, engineering and all essential sections with theta boosters based n Doctor Mah's data."

"Also, it looks like my mother is in transit to the POD now. Yeoman Dedjoy just sent a request for her to come up to consult. I know they seem to like brainstorming on patterns and the like, so if there is a message or a language in this signal... they'll find it." Dox concluded as the turbo lift slowed to a stop at the pod and the doors opened.

"They make a good pair. Hell, your mother has an amazing number of friends onboard if Maru is to be believed." Enalia paused a moment, thinking as she stood in the doorway of the turbolift. "I don't doubt that this is a means of communication... But that means I'll need to be in the pod to act as a diplomat." She then gently rested a hand on Dox's arm. "And therefore I'll need you on the bridge. You're the last senior officer aboard other than Sam and Mona. She's no longer cleared for bridge duty by medical and he's not trained for the big chair."

Swallowing, Dox's already fast Romulan pulse jumped slightly and some of the color drained from her face for just a second at the idea. She had manned the bridge a few times, but never during an actual mission and she realized this was why Enalia wanted her to accompany her on the lift. With the lightest of stutters, Dox replied. "Uh... A... Aye, Captain. Aye. I'll... do my best."

"Excellent. Don't think about the fact that everyone's lives are in your hands... Because as a pilot they already are. It's just that now the chair is a bit bigger and a bit more central to the action and you have to do a lot more of that delegation thing we talked about on the holodeck, ok?" With a squeeze of Dox's arm and a reassuring smile, Enalia stepped out of the turbolift. "I believe in you so believe in yourself."

And with that, the turbolift doors closed and Mnhei'sahe stood alone in the small chamber as she muttered to herself, "Imirrhlhhse."

=^=Please restate destination.=^= the computer replied to the Lieutenant Commander's Romulan curse, to which Dox rolled her eyes and sighed. "Very funny. Bridge, please "

---------------------------

Back in the POD, Enalia was moving with intention as she came to the door to Yeoman Ila Dedjoy's lab.

Sighing, Enalia punched in her access code and wondered just how bad the lab had gotten since she'd given it to the doll eyed woman. On the plus side, Ila'd produced results where none were expected. On the downside, there were times she needed her Yeoman and she was squirreled away in here for days.

As the door opened and she stepped in, it seemed that Ila was so engrossed in the new data, she barely even noticed that she had come in. This was one of the things she was afraid of. The Illaran threw herself into her work to the exclusion of almost all else and before she became an android often forgot to eat. Now that she barely needed to eat anything...

"I take it the new data is helpful?" Enalia asked, wondering if Ila would fill her in on why or just agree.

"Mmhmm, very much so, ma'am. Thank you." Ila didn't even blink as she organized the data. "We needed a pattern and with this... And this... We have it and now we can start trying to communicate."

From the corridor, the door hissed open again and the former Tal'Shiar agent and new ship's nanny, Jaeih Dox stepped in holding a plate of tuna pate and crackers and a wry smirk on her face. "Greetings, Captain. Miss Dedjoy. Lucky."

As she stepped in, she placed the plate in front of Dedjoy and cricked an eyebrow. "You still occasionally require this form your systems maintenance, my dear. Eat." Then she turned to Enalia, "I've been reviewing this as well since Miss Dedjoy sent me the file. There is certainly a mathematical pattern happening here. The pattern is familiar, but I cannot yet place it."

"Harmonic resonance of Talosian crystalline structures," Ila replied almost immediately. "Remember the data I sent you on the black crystals when we first met? The resonance was similar to how I developed the data storage and retrieval systems for them."

"Yes, of course." Jaieh said shaking her head lightly. "Thank you, my dear."

With the mention of Talos IV, the color drained away from Enalia's face as she looked between the other two women. "Talosian crystalline structures? Excuse me?"

"As I recall from the black crystals, they possess multi-fractal levels of folded data processing for near infinite storage." Jaeih said rubbing her chin, not paying much attention to the mention of Talos. "Can we overlay the signal from the object on the map of your crystal processing paths? Perhaps that will restructure the order of information into something more understandable?"

"Of course," Ila replied, pulling up the latest scans on the holo-table and overlaying the known crystal processing resonances on top of it. They were similar but the signals from Primordius were far more complex. "There's about a fourteen percent match. If we work in the data from the away teams... add in an evolutionary complexity factor..."

After another moment of data integration, Ila was able to boost that match to almost sixty percent.

"Oh, now that's interesting. Look at that cluster, Ila." Jaeih pointed to the display. "In grid 7-x, 3 layers deep. That's a resonance frequency that repeats in successive order. And it repeats... here... here... and HERE. Are the sequences before and after those part of the sequence? It almost resembles gamma radiation bursts from stellar matter."

"Excuse me, but can we go back to Talosian crystalline structures a moment?" Enalia demanded, almost petulantly, getting the attention of both women. "Visiting Talos IV still has the death penalty, you know."

The doll faced woman just blinked at her captain for a few seconds before replying. "That's... Not entirely true. Besides, just because something is forbidden doesn't mean you can't study it."

The look of exasperation on the Trill woman's face was priceless. "That's exactly what forbidden means. That's the literal definition."

Interjecting to hopefully difuse the situation that was beginning to get tense, Jaeih raised a finger and leaned in slightly, "If I may, Captain. I asked Miss Dedjoy a similar question regarding the situation when we first discussed this crystal structural function and as I understand it, Tallosian Crystals were procured by her people several generations past for study prior to the ban and prior to their Discovery by the Federation. Miss Dedjoy studied their structure in her youth in University."

"Now, with those memories of that study digitized, she's simply able to recall it in exacting detail. But no violations occurred to secure the information" the clever former spy rationalized.

The Trill woman took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Ok... I guess there are still a lot of surprises in the crew left to learn. Carry on then."

Pursing her lips and looking over to Dedjoy, Jaeih bit her lip and chose not to comment on Enalia's comment which, considering the literal mountains of secrets in her own past, would truly derail the topic. "Indeed. And in this case, it provides us with significant amounts of existing data to compare to our research here."

"Now, Ila, dear. That gamma burst pattern. Are there other patterns in here you recognize from the EM spectrum? Is this pattern... light-based?" Jaeih asked, bringing the topic back around. "The crystals down there ARE absorbing and refracting light, after all."

If Ila could furrow her brow, she'd have done so. Instead, she nibbled on one of the crackers and tuna pate that Jaeih had brought for her. "Light-based is subjective... If we broaden the spectrum to..." After a moment more of work at the controls, Ila was able to include a wide range of the EM light spectrum. "And now we have an eighty-seven percent matchup. There are coherent patterns across all EM bands from the normal visible ranges to just under the subspace bands."

"Fascinating." Jaeih said, leaning in further. Do we have enough to extrapolate any viable information? Perhaps if we use the holographic display to project the message, perhaps a visual replay might reveal something that we might be able to interpret."

The android Illaran stared at the display for several long moments, moving back and forth and tapping at the controls curiously before she pulled up a second and third display. The second one was of a decidedly complex brain map. The third one was similar... but with fuzzy edges, as if it were composed of millions of brainwaves.

"I know what we're looking at now. And how to communicate with it," Ila declared in a subdued voice.

"This..." she began, pointing to the first brain map she had pulled up. "Is a map of my consciousness from when I... Well, when I died."

This..." She then pointed to the vastly more complex one next to it yet clearly resembled the other. "I just extrapolated this brain map from all the signals flying around Primordius. Life evolved down there and it used my mind as a basis for... Well, it seems they're a form of hive mind, from the looks of this. My knowledge isn't there, but my curiosity, most of my personality, dedication to... Yeah..."

Ila ran a few more quick calculations in her head, counting on her fingers of all things. "Couple that with the black crystals grown from neutronium and that would re-tune them to operate similar to the Talos crystals... They're trying to reach out and communicate via theta waves subconsciously and these other waves are their conscious thoughts."

"Which means the repeating math patterns..." A sudden realization came to the Yeoman, her eyes widening even more. "That's like a lymphocyte flag."

Looking at Enalia, Jaeih was now just as confused. "Lymphocyte? I'm afraid that is beyond me, my dear. But... you're saying these crystals' minds are... based on your own?"

"This one I know," Enalia replied with a bit of a grin. "Lymphocytes are the white blood cells most races have in the... Wait... That means whatever is down there is treating us like an infection." Her grin quickly faded when she realized just how much danger the away team really was in now that she knew that.

"Exactly right on both counts." Ila nodded and cleared the displays, starting work on a new communications display. "Which means we're going to need a massive, glowing array that can talk across a really wide band in order to even begin to communicate. The only array we have like that aboard the Hera..."

"...are the main sensor grids on the pod." Enalia finished as she realized what kind of program her mad scientist of a Yeoman was building.

"The pod? THIS pod?" Jaeih commented as she thought about what was said. But the intel expert had spent more than enough time on the ship to know it's capabilities. "Yes, the sensor grids are more than sufficient in displaying the full EM spectrum and beyond. But would we not have to get significantly closer, Captain? Would that not put the Hera in the risk of succumbing to the effects of the signal, possibly before we have a chance to respond properly?"

"We would need to be within... Three hundred kilometers," Ila clarified casually, continuing her programming.

The Trill captain furrowed her brow, weighing her options and considering the implications of what she was about to say. "Yeah, there's no way we're taking the Hera that close. We'll have to separate the pod. I'll need a volunteer command crew for it."

"I may not be Starfleet, Captain. But I am a member of this ship regardless." Jaeih said, standing up a little more straight. "And there are crewmembers in peril that we must return to safety. You have my services however you require them, and I doubt there are any that would not say the same upon this ship. What must we do to prepare?" Jaeih looked both at Enalia and Ila, eyebrow raised.

"We reconvene to the pod bridge and find two or three more like-minded people," Ila replied as she finished up with her initial program. "I can run the Operations and communications station."

"I can handle piloting and C&C," chimed in Enalia, looking towards Jaeih. "Do you prefer tactical, science, or engineering?"

"As I've been working with Miss Dedjoy and am familiar with the specifics of the work we've been doing here, I will likely be most useful at either science or engineering. Both, if necessary." Jaeih said confidently. "However, as Commander sh'Zorthi is on the Turing, I think Ensign Gavarus can fill the need of an engineer for this mission."

The spotted woman nodded solemnly as she called the bridge. "Telvan to the bridge. Commander Dox, please prepare for pod separation. We'll be taking it and a volunteer crew to within three hundred kilometers of the surface. Also, please see if Ensign Gavarus would be willing to volunteer for the engineering position. We'll also need someone for tactical."

Sitting in the command chair of the bridge, Dox's hand ran over the control panel of the seat as she replied, still anxious but overriding that in the need of the moment."Aye, Captain. Initializing for separation sequence now. I'm contacting Ensign Gavarus now and would recommend Petty Officer Jablonski for Tactical. She's fully rated on the systems and is extremely sharp in a crisis scenario."

"Excellent. We'll leave control of the separation sequence to you. We're en route to the pod bridge now." As Enalia spoke, she was leading the other two back to the turbolift and to the small command center on the pod. "We've only ever used this for training before so... Let's hope everything actually works right..."

From the Opps chair, the young human Ensign Cance turned to the main chair. "Lieutenant Commander Dox, all decks reporting ready for main Pod separation."

"Thank you, Ensign." Dox nodded, punching some more commands into the chair console. "Captain, we're ready for separation on your order. Messages from Ensign Gavarus and Petty Officer Jablonski. On your approval, they will be on their way."

"Send them up. We'll be ready to start the sequence when they arrive." Taking the forward helm seat and looking over the almost eighty-year-old controls, she started tapping in the command overrides to redirect the pod systems under the control of the small nerve center. "I hope I remember how to fly this thing..."

"Aye, Captain. They're on their way." Dox said from the bridge as the channel closed. Stepping over to the science station, Jaeih logged in and called up all the mission data she needed as she allowed the slightest of wry grins to crack her patrician facade at the sound of her daughter giving orders over the comm from the bridge. It was a fleeting instant of obvious maternal pride, but one that didn't escape Enalia's glance as Jaeih spoke. "Science station ready, Captain."

Ila was next to report in. "Operations and communications online, Captain. Isolating the remainder of our data systems now. Fusion reactors spinning up. We should be ready to switch to our own power when Ensign Gavarus arrives."

"Excellent. What passes for engines are coming online now. We should be able to maintain quarter impulse easily enough." Enalia ran through the startup sequence once more just to make sure they weren't missing anything... Then turned in her seat suddenly, staring at something on the starboard wall. "Ok... Nameplate was replaced and the gelato machine was repaired. Thank goodness."

Shaking her head lightly, Jaeih commented. "Well, it is good that the nameplate is correct. It is considered quite the curse to go into a mission on a ship with a false name." As she spoke, the doors hissed open and the two-meter tall Tellarite, Briaar Gavarus and the even TALLER human security officer, Ethel Jablonski entered the room. "And if we survive this, I look forward to sampling the... gelato."

"Uh... the L-C said you needed an engineer to volunteer to man the POD. Can this thing really fly on its own?" The portly porcine said, a little nervously. "How old is this thing? Ooh, a gelato machine."

"About eighty years, give or take?" Enalia winked at Jaeih as she worked over the old helm systems. "In theory she can do half impulse. Realistically? Whatever you can give me. We've got four torpedo tubes, forty photons, two phaser banks, more sensors than most starbases... And no living quarters. If you get hurt, a Defiant-class is better prepared to care for you."

"As for the gelato machine..." Enalia pointed to the wayward device that was built into every Starfleet bridge. "That's a Starfleet tradition of luck that's been passed down since... Well... Who knows now... I think it might have been on the first Starfleet vessels."

"How have I missed that?" Gavarus muttered as she hoofed over to the engineering station, looking over the antiquated interface with a light grin. "Oh sweet, this is pretty much just like an old X-90p system. I used to take stuff like this apart and put it back together as a little kid. Okay... so... interface is primed and the fusion intermix is at 68 percent and rising. NIIIICCCE, this'll kill us all if it leaks. Better make sure it don't, I guess."

"So what're we shootin' at, eh?" the massive and broad security officer asked cheerfully as she attempted to strap herself into the gunner's seat, only to find that the straps did not let out sufficiently for a crewman of her mass, so instead the just perched on the relatively tiny chair. Tapping away at the controls, the tactical schematic of the pod came online, as targeting systems began autotargeting and tracking every celestial object in their vicinity. "So we're really gonna do this here? Separate from the rest of the ship and all?"

"With luck we won't be shooting anything. However, with the main sensor grid acting as a comm system, you'll be using the tactical sensors as the main sensors. We'll also need you to keep a finger on the trigger with probes and torpedoes, just in case. And Gavarus, you're on the transporters, if we need them." With a few more taps at her console, Enalia felt they were ready. "Enalia to Dox, I think we're ready up here. Mind giving us a countdown?"

"Hot dog, the big chair, you betcha! Thanks L-C!" the towering titan of Hera's honor guard nodded in excitement, setting about for the task at hand. It was the bridge duty protocol that Petty Officer Second Class Ethel Jablonski had trained for, but never served a shift of duty. Until today, in the unique opportunity to do the job on a detaching intel pod, that had once perched atop the flagship of Section 31.

"Hera be thanked and praised," Jablonski offered as she grinned ear to ear, merrily preparing for a story she'd tell her grandkids.

From the bridge, Dox had been hard at work when the Captain's call came in. "Thank you, ensign. Stand by." She said to an officer before replying. "Aye Captain. Also, I've had Ensign MacNielle prep the Getaway Driver for immediate transport to Commander Paris' position in the event that signal stops. Transferring frequency and control of transport to the POD bridge now."

Both women knew how dangerous beaming Rita Paris could be for the frequently time-tossed first officer, and this kind of scenario was exactly why Dox had planned for the creation of the small, fast personal escape craft in question and Enalia knew it all too well.

"Excellent thinking. I was wondering about that," Enalia replied with another wink to Jaeih.

To Be Continued...