[sb118-khitomer] Ensign th'Vrosa - Dear Denobulan. Data Determines Denouncing Deception. Definitely.
Fviaek
((Bridge, Deck 1, USS Khitomer, Ceram Archipelago))
Valeris: ::Shrugging slightly:: I was just askin’ if we had a plan in case our attempts to communicate cause an issue, or if we should “play dumb.”
After listening intently to the response given, and throwing in a nod or two, he thanked the man and turned his attention towards the Comm.
th’Vrosa: Are our communications compromised in any way? Even something as simple as the- uh, filaments corrupting a signal. ::There’s a puppetry gesture in a bid to mimic strings:: Or an encoding issue where we send something and it turns out horribly wrong.
Dewitt: Comms have been… creative… this afternoon, Ensign. The nebula blocks several frequency bands, so we have been threading messages through what the Velithari keep open for us.
Soft verbal backchannels like an “I see” or “That tracks” flowed from his lips as Dewitt spoke.
Valeris: And with the filaments reacting differently to different frequencies, we don’t know if trying to get a message to the away team will cause similar reactions.
There was a swift click of the tongue. The options racing through his mind had begun to crystallize. Repeat messages seemed like a no, at least until the filaments got fila-found out. One last question was posed towards Security/Tactical.
th’Vrosa: And finally, in your professional opinion, do we have solid evidence as to how dangerous this quagmire is or are we proverbially flying blind?
Morda: There’s a lot we’re still figuring out about the other players and the terrain we’re operating on. We’re just starting to make headway on these filaments that’ve permeated the ship, but we haven’t quite yet regained maneuver, let alone initiative.
That was good to hear. Still figuring out meant no specific cause for alarm with our foreign friends.
Dewitt: We know the room better than we did an hour ago. The largest masses are asleep and not spreading any further. ::pointing up:: Hence the music. We are applying the same technique throughout the ship.
Valeris: Thankfully to similar degrees of success. Now we have a lot of tired pasta instead of angry.
Naxell: So, there— ::a brief, confused glance to Valeris:: Nevermind. ::back to th’Vrosa:: There you have it, Ensign. A thorough lay of the land. With all that we don’t know, is there merit to even attempting to put a plan together for the contingent of intercepted communications? Or should we trust in our adaptiveness and creativity?
th’Vrosa: Sir, not only do we need a plan but I propose we implement a plan to cut off any suspicion at the pass.
The young counselor finished the exercise, pausing as his eyes returned their full focus to his new captain. His own smile would mirror the Captain’s. The moment, however, was short-lived as another voice began to speak.
Dewitt: If we sell a malfunction of the deflector, how would that need to look like?
The Andorian was no longer smiling. His brow had quickly furrowed with worry.
oO Deception is not going to gain us the ground we need. Oo
Valeris: Power fluctuations, rouge signal bands to hide the purposeful ones? ::beat, glancing between the Captain and First Officer. Maybe a little too excited at the thought:: I could blow something up?
oO I’ve changed my mind. Deception is preferably to detonations. Oo
Morda: Response
Dewitt: How long do you need to implement those changes?
Valeris: In theory, only a few minutes. Maybe reprogramming a couple of EPS junctions, then boom.
The edges of his thin blue lips began to curl downwards. The junior officer was briefly torn between interjecting and simply staying quiet as a man who is neither a senior officer nor in the command pathway.
Naxell: Alright, get to work. Ensign Morda, please assist the Commander.
Something wasn’t sitting right in his gut. Echoed betwixt his ears and rattling around within his mind was the answer Ensign Morda had given him. There didn’t appear to be any definitive evidence in any direction regarding our alien friends.
oO There’s still a lot we’re figuring out about the other players Oo
Morda:
Carefully the man continued to listen. His own idea had firmly lodged itself in his brain and was reluctant to budge.
Dewitt: One more contingency, Sir. If the Velithari read our buzz as anything other than the men of this ship being clumsy, it should be me on the comms. She has already accepted my… capabilities.
There was a brief unheard chuckle deep within the mind of the Thaan. Misandry was an interesting cultural quirk to find this far in deep space. Do they play along or buck the expectation? What hijinks and mischief will the men of the crew get up to? His face remained frowning, closer and closer he believed the ship was pursuing a course of dangerous misfortune.
Valeris: As long as we don’t need to start drooling on ourselves to sell the incompetence.
oO I wonder if they’ll judge me in the same breath. Andorians don’t come in “male” or “female”. Oo
Naxell: Deception compounded. ::to th’Vrosa:: Do you have an opinion, counselor?
The man was specifically asked for his opinion and it would be letting his Captain and his duty down if he didn’t make his opinion heard.
th’Vrosa: ::He began softly, an interest contrast to the strength of the words:: Captain, I lodge an objection to this plan of action. We don’t know enough about-
Valeris: ::Tapping at his console:: Modifications underway. We should be ready to malfunction all over the place when we call out.
A brief pause that was belayed once Naxwell nodded at him.
th’Vrosa: This is a performance that makes us seem inept, foolhardy, or spurious. We must at least consider a different course of action.
oO My course of action Oo
Naxell: I agree. ::to Dewitt:: Number One, this charade needs to end at some point. I don’t know whether we’ve reached that point yet, but we’re going to. And soon I think. That’ll be delicate work.
th’Vrosa looked at Dewitt, his face was still frowning- foreseeing the current course of action as one lousy with doom, but his eyes were still warm. Just because they came down on opposite sides of this issue didn’t make them enemies.
He hoped.
Valeris / Dewitt / Morda / th’Vrosa: Response
th’Vrosa: ::Offering to the floor:: There seems to be a malaise regarding the Velithari. We don’t have definitive evidence they mean us harm so we should lead honesty forward.
Valeris / Dewitt / Morda:
th’Vrosa: A simple unencrypted open broadcast. Something on a frequency band that our floaters can pick up and :stressing the word:: our friends to be can also catch on whatever hardware they’re running. Something on a harmless enough frequency to keep the filaments happy.
Valeris / Dewitt / Morda:
th’Vrosa: The facts as have been presented to me simply do not justify the risk of alienating this species this early in our relationship.
Valeris / Dewitt / Morda:
——— ● ——— Ensign Uchal th'Vrosa
Counselor
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
K240305UV4