Lieutenant Drex - When the going gets tough we call the engineers
Drex Drex
((SOS Lab, Deck 10))
The three officers had been considering the possibilities, each one darker than the last. After the last two missions aboard the Eagle ended in ship-wide power failures, each caused by contact with environments hostile to advanced technology, Drex could not help but wonder if it was just an odd coincidence or a characteristic of the Atrian Reaches.
The doctors had voiced their suspicions, none of which pleased Drex. It was possible that the Romulans had conducted forbidden experiments aboard the Ifir, and that whatever had happened on that lifeless ship was a direct consequence. Alternatively, it could be an entity in the nebula trying to arm them, or the nebula itself.
The symptoms they had all experienced, were they hallucinations, voices or inexplicable aggression, seemed to share a theme: Romulans. Yet not all the visions had been false. Some had been real encounters; others had been fabrications. The hallucinations may have been shaped by subconscious fears triggered by the ipersound frequencies that affect the brain like a nightmare made real. But even that did not explain everything.
And the voice Drex had heard had not been Romulan.
If Letek was right and the captain had spoken Romulan under the influence of the nebula without actually knowing the language, then they were not just dealing with hallucinations. Something else had reached into their minds.
Could the nebula itself be alive? Could it be a living being rather than just a place? Had they entered its domain uninvited, triggering a defensive response? Letek suggested that it had reacted like an immune system to a virus. Lim wondered if the nebula had wanted them there, feeding off their unravelling sanity like some kind of monstrous, gaseous predator.
And yet, Drex kept circling back to the frequencies. What if they followed a pattern? One that might not be just noise, but a message. What if the visions were not just side effects? What if they were a form of communication? Some kind of warning?
Whatever the truth, they had left him with a pounding headache and an increasing sense that they had stumbled upon something unfathomable, which had taken notice of them.
Drex: We know too little… :: He muttered, more to himself than the others. :: Maybe it just wanted a show... a twisted kind of arena. :: The thought unsettled him, chilling something deep in his chest. :: Only the strongest survive.
Elor stood up.
Letek: I'm sorry, but I need to find out if the captain speaks the Romulan language or not. I can't get it out of my head. Besides... ::hesitating:: Either way, I need to talk to her about something else. As soon as I find out something, I'll let you know.
Lim: ::Lazy wave:: See you later then.
The Denobulan nodded in farewell.
Drex: Let us know her answer.
Elor gave them a smile and headed out. Once the doors had shut behind Elor, she turned to Drex.
Lim: How would we be able to prove if the nebula was alive or not anyway?
The science officer exhaled slowly, turning his eyes to the display of the nebula’s data on the monitor.
Drex: That’s the question, isn’t it? How do you prove a mind when it doesn’t think like yours? ::He tapped a finger against the console, lost in thought:: We’d need a pattern. Something repeatable. If it responds to input then maybe we can start calling it behavior instead of coincidence. ::His brow furrowed:: But even then, proving life isn’t just about movement or reaction. It’s intent. Evidence that it knows we're here and chooses to engage.
Lim huffed and sat back in her chair.
Lim: I mean, I’m not super convinced either way yet and I’m not certain how much it matters in regards to protecting ourselves from the same things happening again.
Drex: If it’s not alive, remodulating the shield frequencies should be enough to get us through without harm, but if this thing is alive, if it has intent, then it will find a way to bypass our defenses and reach us again. ::He drew in a slow, deep breath.:: I’m not exactly eager to test either theory firsthand... but we might not have to. We could send a probe instead and analyze its response. Might be time to bring engineering into the loop.
Lim: Response
Drex: Let the probe take the risk. If we’re right, if there’s intelligence in that nebula, it’ll react. Maybe even try to talk. But we’ll need the engineers to harden the probe against the same frequency exposure that affected us. :: He tapped his badge ::
Drex: =/\= Drex to Commander Kettick. We’re working with a developing hypothesis that may require a specialized probe configuration. Are you available to join us at the SOS lab? =/\=
Kettick: Response
Lim: Response
Drex: I don’t even know if they will authorize us… to launch the probe we need to get close to the Killipaartalik Nebula again.
Lim: Response
Kettick / Anyone: Response
TAGS / TBC