Ensign Noemi Lim - I've heard crazier

[Ensign Noemi Lim]

((SOS Lab, Deck 10))

Given her only two missions on the Eagle had ended up with power outages for the entire ship because they had visited places antithetical to powered ships, she could only hope that it was only a coincidence, not a pattern.

Lim: We can only hope.

Drex: If this was some experiment conducted on the Ifir, maybe the Commodore could leverage her influence to get answers. But… we’re talking about the Romulans. If they did something they shouldn’t have, I doubt they’ll be eager to admit it.

Letek: Then let's just hope that they weren't reprehensible experiments and that it's a natural phenomenon after all, so that we can solve the mystery at some point.

Drex turned his chair away from the console, lost in thought.

Drex: Here’s what we do know: some of us became violent, others heard voices, some saw things that weren’t there. The Romulan I encountered was definitely real. Yours, Lim, wasn’t. But we were on a Romulan ship littered with corpses. If the ipersound frequencies can induce vivid hallucinations or nightmares, all your minds might've projected something it had subconsciously picked up: bloody Romulans. But… the voice in my head wasn’t Romulan.

Letek: It at least gives the impression that the hallucinations had an overriding theme. Romulan. I don't know if the Captain speaks Romulan, but under the influence of the nebula she certainly could. It would be good to clarify this question, because if she doesn't speak Romulan, then it can't have been a simple hallucination. Then an alien consciousness must have been responsible.

Lim: Also clarification.  Of the Romulans we met, both were real. The shadow man did not look at all like a Romulan, too tall and skinny. 

Drex: I don’t know. But let’s assume you're right, Elor. Let’s say something is alive in the nebula or the nebula is the lifeform. When we entered its space, maybe it perceived us as a threat. If someone bursts into your quarters uninvited… how would you react?

Letek: That depends. We as Starfleet would probably not immediately try to kill the intruder, but first find out what he wants. However, I wouldn't assume a higher consciousness in a living nebula. More like something... instinctive.

Lim: Basically you’re saying  it sensed we were the virus entering its bloodstream and it activated its immune system? 

If it did turn out that the nebula was some kind of eldritch being that caused everything Noemi was going to, well not rub it in the XO’s face but she was going to be very smug that her spaced too deep theory turned out to be true.

Drex: Those frequencies might follow a pattern. And if they do, they might be a message. ::He frowned, rubbing his temples with his left hand:: Kill was the last command… but it was also the strongest. Before that, it told me to protect something. :: He breathed deeply :: If this is communication, then the visions you experienced could be more than hallucinations. Maybe it was trying to show you what the Romulans did to it. Maybe it was warning you to leave.

Letek: If it warned us to leave, it wasn't very wise to deactivate our warp core. Unless of course it was unintentional.

Lim: If it’s a living thing then there’s the possibility it could also have wanted us there. Maybe it lives off of the madness brainwaves of those trapped within or the actual meat of the dead like some kind of gaseous carnivorous plant.

Drex: Response

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.

While Noemi didn’t know for sure what the other thing Elor needed to talk to the Captain about, she had a pretty good guess. 

Lim: ::Lazy wave:: See you later then.

Drex: Response

Elor gave them a smile and headed out. Noemi hoped that whatever happened he’ll be happy with the outcome. 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?

Drex: Response

She 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: Response

Tag/TBC

Noemi Lim

Ensign

USS Eagle

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