CDR Naxell — Hopelessly Demoted to You
Naxell
((Stellar Cartography, Deck 16, USS Khitomer, Velithari Cloud, Ceram Archipelago, Alpha Isles))
They had discovered that Ensign Matthews, taken by the Velithari from his spacewalk, was now moving around surreptitiously aboard the Velithari ship, the Jorogumo. Even if Commander Naxell had been of a mind to leave a man behind, Khitomer had run aground, so to speak. The cloud these aliens resided in had grabbed hold of her, and run her through with microscopic, razor sharp filaments.
Naxell: Supposing that if it weren't trapped in the containment field it would have moved, what if we bored a hole to the shuttle with a focused scan?
B’Ella: ::computer beeping:: Sir, we know the probability to send a call back on Matthews helmet wouldn’t likely work, but what about the Morse Code he used to send to us? The computer believes with a eighty nine percent probability, that such a code could get through from our end. It draws a lot less power to send given its primitive form of communications. What if we used your idea of a focused scan on the shuttle to send that code? It would boost our chances of success. We could then lock onto the helmet and track its location once the code makes contact from the scan.
Graves: The S-Sencha arrays…
Ensign B’Ella’s suggestion struck the Captain as sound. But their Kelpian science officer had something to say. Was it in support of the Klingon’s proposal? Or a complication to it?
Naxell: Are designed to dispel incoming Sencha waves. Speak freely, Ensign.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Response
Graves: We don’t n-need to use Se- ::pause:: -encha, the a-rrays just have a much wider r-range for outp-p-purposes.
One of the Captain's eyebrows shot up. Khitomer's navigational deflector was a prototype, he knew, from the technical briefing he received before taking command of the ship.
B’Ella: It’s worth a shot. ::beat:: Graves if you could refine a focused beam, while Melville-Kilpatrick implements the light experiment to get us there, I’ll begin typing out the message in code. What should the message contain sir?
Melville-Kilpatrick: Response
Naxell: ::nodding to Melville-Kilpatrick:: Good suggestion. Brevity and clarity.
He gestured to Ensign Graves with a smooth sweeping motion. A smile pulled at the corners of the Denobulan's lips. Progress made him happy, and this was progress.
Graves: A-aye s-sir.
Dewitt: =/\= Bridge to Captain Naxell =/\=
Or so he thought.
Naxell: =/\= Go ahead, Commander. =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Sir, Lieutenant Semara just came through from the Alien ship. She has reason to believe that the nebula itself is alive. A diffuse, possibly non-sapient organism. Maybe the crystalline structures we see is the answer of the nebula’s immune system. She suggested the nebula might be allergic to subspace fields. =/\=
Valeris: =/\= Maybe the filaments are searching through the structure to identify certain proteins or markers that would help them better combat future infections. Like white blood cells. =/\=
Naxell heard his own teeth connect, and silently reminded himself to relax his jaw lest he lose his molars. Their progress was indeed on hold. He wouldn't sacrifice any of his crew if he could help it. And certainly it would reflect poorly on the Commander to have lost his ship on his first mission. But neither could he simply discard the value of this lifeform around them, supposing that truly was its nature.
B’Ella: ::to no one in particular:: How was Lieutenant Semara able to get a call through to the Khitomer?
Graves: Perhaps c-communications can go o-out b-but not i-in?
Melville-Kilpatrick: =/\= Response =/\=
If it was alive and the Velithari had developed a culture and a technology in symbiotic reliance upon it, they certainly could have developed such means of communication. Perhaps it was through their assistance—known or unknown to Lieutenant Semara—that her message had been allowed out to their ears.
Naxell: =/\= I see. Anything else? =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Yes, Sir. I think we were able to lie the central mass on the bridge dormant. Ensign Morda raised the question of the masses are the origin of the filaments or the result of their intersection. Either way, I think we have the bridge contained for now and we are trying to apply a similar frequency strategy on Deck 5 currently. =/\=
Valeris: =/\= With promising results. =/\=
Naxell: =/\= Excellent work. Once you're sure of yourselves on Deck 5, focus your efforts on our warp nacelles. =/\=
To leave the living cloud under the power of Khitomer's maneuvering thrusters and impulse engines would require a thorough cleaning. And that would take time, though how much Naxell could not say. He also could not say what effect a subspace warp field would have upon the cloud, but he was certain it would be unpleasant. Faster for them, but harmful (perhaps even deadly) to it.
But he rathered to have the option and not need it, than the inverse.
Melville-Kilpatrick: =/\= Response =/\=
Valeris: =/\= If the data is correct, we should be able to subdue the rest of the filaments and masses fairly effectively. It will just take time. =/\=
B’Ella: =/\= Sir, would it be possible to send a message back to Lieutenant Semara? =/\=
Naxell nodded. She didn't ask his permission to interject, but where urgent matters needed addressing and their own efforts had somewhat stalled by this new information, he was happy to offer forgiveness.
Dewitt / Any: =/\= Response =/\=
B’Ella: =/\= We intercepted a transmission from Ensign Matthews. It was in an old Terran Morse Code. He’s alive and wants us to find a way to lock onto his helmet to get him out. Ensign Graves sent a call back via the comms in Matthews helmet, but it was filled with static. We were in the middle of trying to contact him back. Can you let the Lieutenant know we are trying to find him and send him a return message. ::eyes Commander Naxell:: If that’s alright with you sir? =/\=
Naxell: =/\= ::reluctantly:: It is… but let's be as coy as we need to, Commander. =/\=
It was at that point Naxell realized just how long he'd been away from the Bridge. The initial communications with the Velithari, the subterfuge intended to appease their wrath—all had happened without the Captain's prior authorization. He hadn't known Lt. Commander Dewitt for very long, but he had seen enough of the man to know that if there had been any more conventional way to approach the situation, he would have certainly pursued it.
Dewitt / Melville-Kilpatrick / Valeris: =/\= Response =/\=
Graves: S-Sir. We can no longer use the s-scanner the w-way we intended. It m-may be se- ::breathe in:: -en as a s-s-s-sign of ::beat:: aggression.
C. Dewitt / Melville-Kilpatrick / Valeris / B’Ella: =/\= Response =/\=
The Captain scratched at his beard, thoughtfully. Cultural misunderstandings were the stock and trade of first contact scenarios, but that simply couldn't be helped. Especially when the first contact was involuntary and at the end of dozens of very pointy, subatomic spears. They may yet have to choose between being friendly and being a pincushion.
Naxell: =/\= Bridge, there are concerns down here of not causing a stir out there. Whatever we do, we will have to be careful. But nothing is off the table—for all I know, a sneeze will be seen as an act of aggression by the Velithari or their cloud. =/\=
Graves: It w-would be wise to use Lieu- ::pause:: -tenant S-Semara as a signal b-booster. Co-communication would be even m-more te-tedious than it is -n-now if we c-could only go thr-through her. ::pausing to pull up a similuation on the console and then gesturing to it.:: W-we can s-still use the s-sencha arrays b-but not for the l-large scan to clear the w-way for the signal. Inste- ::beat:: -ead, we can u-use it as a r-repeater for l-long range s-sonar communication against S-Semara’s comm b-badge.
Naxell: =/\= Bridge, we're considering using the navigational deflector to produce a resonant pulse, that could ripple from the away teams’s combadges to the EVA helmet we believe Ensign Matthews is carrying. Plausible? =/\=
The Bridge currently held the ship's former Chief Engineer, and their current highest ranking Engineering Officer. All the theoretical thinking down here in the science laboratories was for nought if Khitomer's technicians didn't give it their blessing.
C. Dewitt / Melville-Kilpatrick / Valeris / B’Ella: =/\= Response =/\=
Graves: =/\= I d-do not know the me-mechan- ::beat:: -ism in which the c-cloud is h-harmed, but s-sonar sh-should be passive in the ultraaudible r-range r-rather than a f-form of radiation or o-other harmful means of tr-transmission. =/\=
C. Dewitt / Melville-Kilpatrick / Valeris / B’Ella: =/\= Response =/\=
Naxell’s eyes fell expectantly upon the seated Kelpian. For as much as an Engineer's understanding of the ship and its systems was vital to knowing the limits of what they could actually do, in matters such as these it fell to the Science department to confirm whether the limits would prove fatal to what they were actually trying to accomplish. Here, the means and ends needed to be in alignment with each other.
Graves: Yes…uhhh ::forgetting to tap his badge:: =/\= y-yes. That m-may suffice. =/\=
C. Dewitt / Melville-Kilpatrick / Valeris / B’Ella: =/\= Response =/\=
Naxell: =/\= Good. Let's get to work. Commander, I'll be up shortly. Naxell out. =/\=
He tapped his combadge to close the channel. The three Ensigns wouldn't need his guiding hand any longer, the Captain hoped. They were Starfleet officers, granted authority and autonomy to complete their tasks as best they could, in their discretion.
Melville-Kilpatrick / Graves / B'Ella: Response
Naxell: As soon as you've figured out the correct resonance for both the combadge and helmet, inform Commander Valeris. Then it will be up to him to make the ship buzz.
Melville-Kilpatrick / Graves / B'Ella: Response
He nodded, a proud glint in his eyes. It didn't last very long. Not because he wasn't proud of the junior officers, but because he realized with the number of filaments puncturing the ship, many yet unmapped, a turbolift ride might be a very efficient way to slice himself in twain.
Naxell: Computer, site-to-site transport. To the Bridge, if you please.
((Less than a second later, Bridge, Deck 1))
The chirp of the computer's acknowledgement registered with the part of his brain that processed sound at roughly the same time the blinding white light of the transporter stream was resolving into Khitomer’s command center. He took a breath before addressing the room.
Naxell: Alright Number One, just what is going on with my ship? And what am I to be? Ship's janitor?
Dewitt / Valeris / Morda: Response
TBC
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Commander Nax-Ellarneii-Tellargo
Commanding Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A240001NH3