LTJG Nolen Hobart — Can't Stop the Signal
Isaac Bresnick
((Chief Medical Officer’s Quarters, Deck 2, USS Arrow))
Lieutenants Jacin, Ohnari, and Hobart were gathered in the fancy, windowed quarters of the Acting Chief Medical Officer, who was still draped in her nightgown. A giant blue bat snuggled off in a hammock, snoring lightly, as they compared notes. Nolen had volunteered what little he knew of the mirror universe, and it went over poorly.
Ohnari: You need to read less holo-novels. ::glancing back to the screen:: admittedly little, please go on.
Jacin: Response?
Hobart: So, this mirror telepath… is probably evil?
Ohnari: :scoffing:: Seriously Nolen, enough with the holo-novels. Just because they may not be a part of this universe, they aren't automatically evil.
He would have made a witty retort, but Ayemet intervened.
Jacin: Response?
Hobart: Okay… supposing it’s safe, how do we find them?
If Talia didn't stop chewing her lip, she wouldn't have much left of one. Instead, she rubbed the bridge of her nose in thought.
Ohnari: Whatever is happening, it seems the stress of it may have amplified the signal. So, does that mean every telepath or empath within a certain radius heard it...? And are we inviting trouble if we try and respond?
Hobart: If they came in from the mirror universe, maybe whoever was chasing them did, too.
Jacin: Response?
Ohnari: Can you trace back a telepathic signal..? If we try it the same way one would a distress beacon?
Nolen knew there was a physiological aspect to telepathy and empathy. His brain was genuinely detecting something, so there had to be a way to transmit it. And he knew the ship's medical equipment had some capability to monitor and inhibit such signals. Maybe there was a way to tie it into the ship's external sensors.
Hobart: I think so, but most of what I have in mind would be medical.
Jacin: Response
Ohnari: I mean..I don't generally have sophisticated tracking technology shoved under my bed...so...Science lab?
Jacin: Response?
Nolen was already heading for the door.
((Timeskip, Stellar Cartography, Deck 4))
Hobart was, again, on his back, under the main processor and display unit. He'd finished the update and was now tying the entire system into the modified sensor array that the two women had been working on. But he was getting distracted.
Hobart: ::looking off to the side, reaching slowly:: So fluffy…
Dr. Ohnari’s footwear weren't Starfleet-issue by any stretch, but their little bunny faces were irresistibly cute.
Jacin/Ohnari: Response
He gritted his teeth and pulled back his hand, cradling the fingers that had been jammed in by a swift kick.
Hobart: ::wincing:: Yah, done down here. You can turn it back on, but we won't know anything without a fresh signal. Sensors wouldn't have logged the last one.
As the equipment over him began to whir, he slid out from under it.
Jacin/Ohnari: Response
Nolen stood as the pair discussed their next steps. He started to grow worried. Getting a shuttle was easy. Flying it away from the ship without permission significantly less so.
Hobart: You know, we really do need to go ask—
Hobart felt his stomach fall out from him and his vision darkened. It wasn't the same as last time. Less intense. Weaker. But also, not the same kind of terror.
oO Is anybody out there? Oo
This time he tried to focus. The sensors may work or they may not. They needed more clues. The viewport— there was a star, distant and faint but definitely within a star system. No, wait. Two. Binary!
And that's when he came to, sitting on the ground, his tochus feeling more than a little sore from the fall.
Hobart: ::groggy:: Did we get it?
Jacin/Ohnari: Response
He picked himself up off the ground. Again.
Hobart: ::pinching at his sinuses:: Look for binary star systems along that vector.
Jacin/Ohnari: Response
TAGS/TBC
———
Lieutenant Junior Grade Nolen Hobart
Engineering Officer
USS Arrow (NCC-69829)
A240001NH3