LtCmdr Connor Dewitt - Immune Response?
Tim
((Bridge, Deck One, USS Khitomer))
C. Dewitt: If you have a fitting spot, activate the jukebox, Commander.
Connor let his gaze drift to the floor in front of him. The bridge speakers were still playing the slow music for the central mass. Connor tried to listen for the music in the chosen corridor on deck 5. Of course he could not hear it from here.
Valeris: No noticeable reaction yet. Maybe we need to try a different song.
C. Dewitt: ::quietly:: Let’s not reach for something new yet, Commander. The mass on the bridge took a beat, too. Give the corridor the same time before we change something up.
Valeris: Maybe the reaction is more visual. Putting that area on the viewscreen.
C. Dewitt: ::nodding:: Do it.
The main viewscreen rolled over from its standby mode to a stretch of empty corridor on Deck 5. Faint blue lines drew themselves across the deck plating. It was their familiar ‘do not tread’ map. Where several of those lines crossed there was a shimmer mid air. It looked a little smaller than the bridge mass.
Morda: Let’s make sure whatever is piping through includes harmonics beyond normal humanoid range. Vorta, Kerelian, Romulan, Cetacian - their music covers a board spectrum, sometimes even beyond the range of their own native hearing.
Connor gave a single nod. He did not know why that central mass behaved differently than the one on the bridge. Wasn’t it about the same? Shouldn’t it react to the same frequencies? Or were they slightly different? Or was it personal preference of the central masses what music they liked?
Valeris: Now we can watch the show in action.
Morda: Applying some visual overlays to put numbers to the optics.
False-color bands overlayed the corridor on the viewscreen.
C. Dewitt: Good, Mr Morda. Keep it on screen.
Connor was still talking quietly. He was not sure if he would wake the bridge central mass if he would speak louder, but he did not want to try.
Morda: Looks like at least a moderate downtick, but still a bit chaotic.
C. Dewitt: ::beat:: Then let#s stay with that song. Don’t change anything until it… ::sigh:: has fallen asleep. Chaotic on the way down is still on the way down.
Morda: Seeing another node like one on the bridge … I wonder whether they are either the source of the filaments, or whether they emerge when enough filaments converge. Either way, now that we can map the filaments in most areas, we should be able to map back and identify any of these visible clusters.
Valeris: Response
C. Dewitt: That’s a good question, Ensign. One that we hopefully can answer later.
But before Connor could continue, his combadge chirped.
Semara: =/\= Semara to communications assistant Dewitt. =/\=
For half a second, Connor did not move. Communications assistant. He tried not to let his amusement show in any visible or audible form. He cleared his throat.
Dewitt: =/\= Communications assistant Dewitt here, Ma’am. Go ahead. =/\=
Semara: =/\= I need you to pass along a message to the Cap'n. The Velithari nebula is full a' livin' organisms we can't detect. If I understand Cap'n Rana, I believe the life-forms to be allergic to subspace bubbles and waves, in a manner a' speakin'. That reaction would be what makes 'em able to stop us from goin' to warp, but it also means if we do manage a stable bubble it'll likely be highly toxic. We could endanger the nebula's stability over very long distances. =/\=
Connor’s eyes drifted to the center mass of the bridge again. Maybe all of this was not so crazy after all. Maybe they were seeing life. Or maybe the mass was not a probe, but a cell of an immune system?
Dewitt: =/\= Understood, Ma’am. I’ll get this to the Captain the moment we close. =/\=
Semara: =/\= The Velithari are real protective, and I understand 'em to be real worried about infection or contamination of themselves and the nebula. So tell the cap'n that, too. I don't know much more than that yet. If I were to guess, I'd say odds are low of a true sapient intelligence. Too diffuse. :: Beat, then thoughtfully. :: Ant colonies are capable a' complex problem solvin', but don't 'think' per se. Maybe an analogue? :: Another beat. :: I'll call back when we know more - 'bout anythin'. Either way, we can't go to warp until we're fully clear a' the nebula, or confidently understand the mechanism. =/\=
The first officer took a deep breath and nodded. He knew Amelia could not see him, but his thought already tried to piece things together. If the masses were part of a bigger thing, putting them to sleep might interrupt their spreading on the ship. He found his previous picture of an immune response more and more fitting. But clearly, these were doing more than just reactions to chemical circumstances.
Dewitt: =/\= Yes, Ma’am. No warp, Ma’am. I’ll let the Captain know. ::beat:: A note from the Captain, Ma’am. Concerning the pasta party you were supposed to attend before you left… Turns out the guests had cousins in every cupboard. We’re playing slow records, most of the are snoring. We ain’t sweeping any of them outdoors, yet. Just letting the family sleep. =/\=
Senara/ Rana: Response
Dewitt: =/\= Understood. Communications Assistant Dewitt out. =/\=
Connor closed the channel and held still for a beat. Pasta… Cupboards… Cousins. He used to be more creative. And he just hoped that Amelia would read the words the way he meant it. Bridge pasta was not a particularly well chosen metaphor for the central mass. Yet, Amelia knew her way around a kitchen. And maybe even more important, he hoped that the Aliens had never set foot in a Terran ktichen… or opened a cupboard… and that they had no concept of an extended family.
C. Dewitt: Remind me to invite you all to a pasta party.
Valeris/Morda: Response
Connor chuckled.
C. Dewitt: Continue the experiment on deck 5 and monitor the central mass.
Then he tapped his combadge.
C. Dewitt: =/\= Bridge to Captain Naxell =/\=
Naxell: =/\= Response =/\=
C. 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. =/\=
Naxell/Any: =/\= Response =/\=
C. 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. =/\=
Naxell/Any: =/\= Response =/\=
TAG/TBC
First Officer
USS Khitomer
A239901CD3