Lt. Cmdr Thelan Valeris - Probing for Snacks?
tas9303
((Bridge, Deck One, USS Khitomer))
The doors of the turbolift slid open to reveal the surprising situation on the bridge. A large ball of shiny filaments suspended in the middle of the room by a few other threads that seemed to have attached to the walls. There were three other officers on the bridge, all seeming to figure out what they were all looking at. Thelan took one step onto the bridge before setting his engineering kit down with a dull thunk.
Valeris: So, uh…::gesturing towards the ball:: What’s that?
Stros: A question we are currently attempting to answer.
The long haired Vulcan spoke without even looking at Thelan, his attention divided between a console and the disco ball in the middle of the room.
C. Dewitt: So far? It has integrated itself into the bridge structure without triggering any further hull breach alarms. ::beat:: Which means it either bypassed our systems or it’s using them… Or it does not spread further.
Thelan slowly nodded, his eyes moving between the central mass and the filaments attached to the walls.
Korras: Response
Valeris: ::Shrugging:: Alright. Where do you need me?
Stros: We need to make sure that this…anomaly isn’t attempting to cause further damage to the vessel or our systems.
C. Dewitt: Secure essential systems first. Propulsion, life support and sensors are priority one. Then defensive tactical systems.
With a half shrug/half nod, Thelan moved towards one of the filaments that had attached itself to the wall and examined it. Had the console he needed not been on the other side, he would have tried to stay away. But the curiosity was too great.
Korras: Response
C. Dewitt: ::nodding:: If this thing is interfacing with the ship, we cut off anything critical before it can exploit it.
Which would possibly require annexing the bridge, depending on how far the intrusion had gotten.
Valeris: Almost looks Lattice to me. ::Ducking under it to the other side:: What does it do when you touch it?
There was the curiosity again. He could feel the eyes of the others on him as he got closer.
Korras: Response
C. Dewitt: Don’t…
Reaching up, Thelan swiped one finger across the filament, plucking it like a guitar string. A low tone resinated throughout the bridge from the tension between the single filament and the larger ball at the center.
Valeris: If anything, we might be able to use it to make some music.
His humor fell short. Expectantly.
Morda: Commander -- that thick one has some awfully thinner cousins that’ll slice right through the atomic bonds of your person. I advice caution the closer you are to that thing.I
C. Dewitt: You heard the man, no more touching.
Thelan put up his hands, palms out and backed away from the filaments towards the console.
Korras: Response
C. Dewitt: Can you detect those thinner filaments? Any way to make them visible?
Morda: Response
As Thelan worked, his mind mulled over the Commander’s question. Perhaps there were ways to make the filaments visible. Filling suspected chambers with some sort of gas to give the filaments more definition or shadow? Changing the spectrum of light to maybe reflect against the things? Finding out exactly what the filaments were made of would be the most effective, configuring the sensors to find each one would be ideal.
C. Dewitt: If you have any ideas for a local or ship-wide solution, please start working on it.
Morda: Response
C. Dewitt: I’ll assist you shortly! ::pause:: These thicker strands… Are they structural or functional? ::stepping a little closer:: Data conduits? Antennae? Some kind of interface?
The console trilled quietly as Thelan ran diagnostics and scans on the filament intrusions. The data streaming across his console was both amazing, and frightening.
Valeris: I’m reading energy transfer through the filaments. ::Beat:: There appears to be several avenues of travel through each strand. Power coming out of the central structure and possibly data flowing in.
Morda/Korras: Response
Now that there was a basic understanding of what the filaments were doing, the challenge started of why.
C. Dewitt: We need to understand their purpose. And we need to know how we can remove them. Or will beaming them out make it worse? ::looking to Vealeris:: When you secured our systems, start working on that, Commander. Lieutenant Korras will assist. Maybe earlier scans from the Lattice Alliance ship can help. They might have suffered from the end stadium of what we are looking at.
Valeris: You got it, boss. ::Turning to Korras:: Can you get me the scans from the Lattice vessel? I want to do some direct comparisons.
Korras/Morda: Response
With the sensor data from the earlier scans now flowing across Thelan’s screen, he began to cross-reference what was happening to the Khitomer with the Lattice ship. There were certain similarities, but the Sencha radiation was throwing a wrench in the works.
Valeris: The hull breaches on the Lattice ship roughly match the breach that this ball of yarn left when it entered the ship.
C. Dewitt/Korras/Morda: Response
With a few more taps at his console, Thelan let out a sigh. Trying to work out the what and why was complicated.
Valeris: I’ve locked down propulsion and life support. Fairly easily too. Whatever this thing is doing, it doesn’t seem that interested in primary systems. I am reading some comm interference coming from the center of the bridge. Maybe jamming? Electromagnetic feedback?
C. Dewitt/Korras/Morda: Response
The next thing that came up on his screen made his eyebrow raise.
Valeris: It also appears to be curious about what ingredients are in a Talaxian Souffle. Something is accessing the replicator repository.
C. Dewitt/Korras/Morda: Response
TAGS/TBC…
Lieutenant Commander Thelan Valeris
Engineering Officer
USS Khitomer
A239905NR1