Ensign Elor Letek - So many questions and so few answers

[Ensign Elor Letek]

((SOS Lab, Deck 10))

Assumptions. So far it had been little more than guesswork as to what had been so special about the nebula that it had been able to manipulate them so much. They knew about the quantum fields. They had also detected the infrasound and were able to understand quite well during which period the consciousness of some crew members had been affected. But the exact cause was still a mystery. Drex had suggested that the infrasound was to blame for everything, but Elor had dismissed this. At least he didn't consider it to be the sole cause. As he liked to think outside the box, he had put forward a much more daring theory, which probably wouldn't hit the mark either, but perhaps the truth lay somewhere in between? Maybe the fog wasn't necessarily alive, but there was SOMETHING in the fog that was?

Another idea Elor had thrown into the room was that the events were not of natural origin. What if the Ifir was in the nebula for a reason? What if experiments were being carried out there that went wrong?

Drex: Uhm? :: He glanced at Lim and then at Letek :: I stepped on the Ifir and turned into a killer a second after, I’m probably the last person who can answer that question. I did read that Jackson managed to restore lighting systems, but I kept Williams occupied. We didn’t collect much in terms of data. ::He shrugged:: I thought your team might’ve had better luck…

Letek: We actually didn't see too much of the ship either. We only made our way to the bridge, where the captain started... ::he hesitates briefly, since that was only his opinion:: to hallucinate. On the way back we came across a Romulan in one of the quarters, unfortunately too late to save him.

Elor didn't like having to remember the events in such detail, but whatever facts they could come up with might be the key to solving this mystery.

Lim: It is probably worth digging into the records to look for unusual interactions between starships and nebulae at least.

Drex: Good luck… :: He commented :: Almost every encounter with a nebula is unusual. Our sensors didn’t detect anything before we entered the zone, aside from three minor spikes in the baseline frequency. But we were still too far out from the nebula to draw a meaningful connection.

The Bajoran couldn't help but think of their last mission, when they had landed on the planet and experienced a blackout.

Letek: Perhaps it would be advisable in future not to always fly the ship directly into somewhere. I hope the captain will take that into account in the future.

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.

He completely agreed with Drex. If the Romulans had carried out any experiments there, they wouldn't admit it. And the crew of the Eagle would certainly not get a chance to investigate the Ifir. In that case, they probably wouldn't be able to solve the mystery.

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.

Elor thought about this question. He hadn't asked Braya about it, but he also assumed that the voices she had heard were also 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: Response?

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: Response?

The question of whether the captain spoke Romulan never left Elor's mind and became more and more of a pivotal point in this mystery for him.

Drex: Those frequencies might follow a pattern. Aand 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.

Elor had closed his eyes and was trying to get his thoughts in order.

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

Lim / Drex: Response?

They were going round in circles and getting nowhere, so 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 / Drex: Response?

Elor gave his two colleagues a smile before leaving the lab and making his way to Nicholotti.

TAG / End for Elor

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Ensign Elor Letek

Medical Officer

USS Eagle

E240201EL2