Ensign Thomas Melville-Kilpatrick - A Singing Ship
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Sarah P
12:58 PM (5 hours ago) 12:58 PM
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((Stellar Cartography, Deck 16, USS Khitomer))
Melville-Kilpatrick: I just thought, maybe it would sound clearer bounced from someone who isn't...er...about to be tortured?
B'Ella: Good point. Someone on the inside could in theory get a clearer transmission through to Matthews.
Naxell: The scanner—what if we used that?
Graves: ::quietly:: Wh-which s-scanner?
B’Ella: ::gives the Captain a look:: The scanner sir? The scanner just scans things and does not communicate them.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Maybe not directly...
But scanners did do some work in transmitting, after all, they had to send the information to computers somehow. And the cloud itself had been affected--or at least seemed to be.
Naxell: Back in the lab, we ran a full spectrum analysis of a sample of the cloud and it seemed to excite something we couldn't really see until we ran Lt. Commander Valeris's lighting protocol.
Thomas nodded along. This was the part of things that he knew about already.
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.
Thomas wasn't too familiar with Morse code or the energy it would take to send such a signal compared to...well, any other type of communications. But what B'Ella was suggesting didn't seem too far out of the realm of possibility.
Graves: The S-Sencha arrays…
Naxell: Are designed to dispel incoming Sencha waves. Speak freely, Ensign.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Sorry, medical doctor here, so I might be missing something...couldn't those only be used for, er, Sencha?
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.
Thomas nodded and smiled a little. This was why there were so many capable people on the science side of the ship--to think of these things.
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?
Thomas gave it a thought.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Something simple, telling him about the situation? He probably believes he's alone over there...how about, "Transmission received, delegation incoming... ::considering Matthews and his reputation:: ...be careful what you say?"
Naxell: ::nodding to Melville-Kilpatrick:: Good suggestion. Brevity and clarity.
Graves: A-aye s-sir.
Thomas felt rather pleased with himself. Maybe he should begin to consider diplomacy as a side option when he wasn't treating the many potential maladies of the ship.
C. Dewitt: =/\= Bridge to Captain Naxell =/\=
Naxell: =/\= Go ahead, Commander. =/\=
Thomas waited for bad news.
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. =/\=
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. =/\=
White blood cells, now there was something Thomas was familiar with. He tried to shift his thinking to picture the nebula as a large system of blood vessels with the filaments acting as blood cells.
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: Or maybe only through certain parts of the ship?
Naxell: =/\= I see. Anything else? =/\=
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. =/\=
Valeris: =/\= With promising results. =/\=
Naxell: =/\= Excellent work. Once you're sure of yourselves on Deck 5, focus your efforts on our warp nacelles. =/\=
Melville-Kilpatrick: If it's an immune response...well, we saw a shuttle before. It makes sense that it "knows" how to respond to our technology then...
Morda: =/\= 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? =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= I’m eager to play my part, Ensign. What message do you want me to relay? =/\=
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. =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Coy is my watchword, Commander. I have practice… =/\=
Melville-Kilpatrick: Maybe we should use some codewords instead of the original message.
And that was where Thomas fell apart. He liked things that were straightforward.
Valeris/B’Ella/Morda: =/\= 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.
Thomas reflected on that--of course. If the dust and nebula reacted to the scanner on a small scale, what they were doing would more than likely cause an even greater response.
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. =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Understood, Sir. I’ll add no sneezing to our list up here. =/\=
Melville-Kilpatrick: So if the scanner's out...what should we do?
Valeris/B’Ella: =/\= Response =/\=
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.
And they were back to Thomas' original idea of bouncing off of someone else. There was a certain amount of pride that came from hearing someone who knew what they were doing repeat something that you had said uncertainly, because that meant at least some of it had actually been a good idea.
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? =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Plausible, Captain. Two thoughts. The nebula blocks entire frequency bands. We have an ever evolving list of what is open to what degree. Ensign Morda will push the list down to you. Two: Depending on the band you actually use, you might want to throttle the data stream to compensate. ::pause:: Mr Valeris?
Melville-Kilpatrick: ::quietly:: Would that also send our message to the away team?
He imagined the other ship's crew listening in on the transmission. Not the greatest possibility.
Valeris/B’Ella/Morda: =/\= 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. =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Good catch, Ensign. We might sneak it by the nebula. If they detect it, we can attribute it to system malfunctions. =/\=
Melville-Kilpatrick: That's pretty good.
B'Ella: Good point. Someone on the inside could in theory get a clearer transmission through to Matthews.
Naxell: The scanner—what if we used that?
Graves: ::quietly:: Wh-which s-scanner?
B’Ella: ::gives the Captain a look:: The scanner sir? The scanner just scans things and does not communicate them.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Maybe not directly...
But scanners did do some work in transmitting, after all, they had to send the information to computers somehow. And the cloud itself had been affected--or at least seemed to be.
Naxell: Back in the lab, we ran a full spectrum analysis of a sample of the cloud and it seemed to excite something we couldn't really see until we ran Lt. Commander Valeris's lighting protocol.
Thomas nodded along. This was the part of things that he knew about already.
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.
Thomas wasn't too familiar with Morse code or the energy it would take to send such a signal compared to...well, any other type of communications. But what B'Ella was suggesting didn't seem too far out of the realm of possibility.
Graves: The S-Sencha arrays…
Naxell: Are designed to dispel incoming Sencha waves. Speak freely, Ensign.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Sorry, medical doctor here, so I might be missing something...couldn't those only be used for, er, Sencha?
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.
Thomas nodded and smiled a little. This was why there were so many capable people on the science side of the ship--to think of these things.
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?
Thomas gave it a thought.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Something simple, telling him about the situation? He probably believes he's alone over there...how about, "Transmission received, delegation incoming... ::considering Matthews and his reputation:: ...be careful what you say?"
Naxell: ::nodding to Melville-Kilpatrick:: Good suggestion. Brevity and clarity.
Graves: A-aye s-sir.
Thomas felt rather pleased with himself. Maybe he should begin to consider diplomacy as a side option when he wasn't treating the many potential maladies of the ship.
C. Dewitt: =/\= Bridge to Captain Naxell =/\=
Naxell: =/\= Go ahead, Commander. =/\=
Thomas waited for bad news.
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. =/\=
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. =/\=
White blood cells, now there was something Thomas was familiar with. He tried to shift his thinking to picture the nebula as a large system of blood vessels with the filaments acting as blood cells.
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: Or maybe only through certain parts of the ship?
Naxell: =/\= I see. Anything else? =/\=
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. =/\=
Valeris: =/\= With promising results. =/\=
Naxell: =/\= Excellent work. Once you're sure of yourselves on Deck 5, focus your efforts on our warp nacelles. =/\=
Melville-Kilpatrick: If it's an immune response...well, we saw a shuttle before. It makes sense that it "knows" how to respond to our technology then...
Morda: =/\= 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? =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= I’m eager to play my part, Ensign. What message do you want me to relay? =/\=
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. =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Coy is my watchword, Commander. I have practice… =/\=
Melville-Kilpatrick: Maybe we should use some codewords instead of the original message.
And that was where Thomas fell apart. He liked things that were straightforward.
Valeris/B’Ella/Morda: =/\= 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.
Thomas reflected on that--of course. If the dust and nebula reacted to the scanner on a small scale, what they were doing would more than likely cause an even greater response.
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. =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Understood, Sir. I’ll add no sneezing to our list up here. =/\=
Melville-Kilpatrick: So if the scanner's out...what should we do?
Valeris/B’Ella: =/\= Response =/\=
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.
And they were back to Thomas' original idea of bouncing off of someone else. There was a certain amount of pride that came from hearing someone who knew what they were doing repeat something that you had said uncertainly, because that meant at least some of it had actually been a good idea.
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? =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Plausible, Captain. Two thoughts. The nebula blocks entire frequency bands. We have an ever evolving list of what is open to what degree. Ensign Morda will push the list down to you. Two: Depending on the band you actually use, you might want to throttle the data stream to compensate. ::pause:: Mr Valeris?
Melville-Kilpatrick: ::quietly:: Would that also send our message to the away team?
He imagined the other ship's crew listening in on the transmission. Not the greatest possibility.
Valeris/B’Ella/Morda: =/\= 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. =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Good catch, Ensign. We might sneak it by the nebula. If they detect it, we can attribute it to system malfunctions. =/\=
Melville-Kilpatrick: That's pretty good.
Especially since the ship was already experiencing some malfunctions.
Valeris/B’Ella/Morda: =/\= Response =/\=
Graves: Yes…uhhh ::forgetting to tap his badge:: =/\= y-yes. That m-may suffice. =/\=
Naxell: =/\= Good. Let's get to work. Commander, I'll be up shortly. Naxell out. =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Aye, Sir. Bridge out. =/\=
Melville-Kilpatrick: ::nervously:: I guess we should get started, then.
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.
Valeris/B’Ella/Morda: =/\= Response =/\=
Graves: Yes…uhhh ::forgetting to tap his badge:: =/\= y-yes. That m-may suffice. =/\=
Naxell: =/\= Good. Let's get to work. Commander, I'll be up shortly. Naxell out. =/\=
Dewitt: =/\= Aye, Sir. Bridge out. =/\=
Melville-Kilpatrick: ::nervously:: I guess we should get started, then.
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: Aye, sir.
Graves/B'Ella: Response
Naxell: Computer, site-to-site transport. To the Bridge, if you please.
And with that, their commanding officer was away and it was down to the three of them.
Melville-Kilpatrick: Well, let's get this figured out. Can the computer figure out the correct resonance, or would we need to test it?
He thought of potentially bringing up an EVA helmet, just for this purpose. But a glance at the computer made him hesitate in the effort--there might be more than a few filaments on the way, and he liked being whole.
Graves/B'Ella: Response
Melville-Kilpatrick: We're lucky that we have comm badges already. But we might need to rethink the message...what if they intercept it?
Melville-Kilpatrick: That could work.
TAG/TBC
Melville-Kilpatrick: We're lucky that we have comm badges already. But we might need to rethink the message...what if they intercept it?
The original that Thomas had considered wasn't the most revolutionary message, but still. Maybe their new acquaintances would see it as a threat that they were trying to communicate with a male.
Graves/B'Ella: Response
Melville-Kilpatrick: That could work.
Graves/B'Ella: Response
TAG/TBC
Ensign Thomas Melville-Kilpatrick
Medical Officer
USS Khitomer – NCC62400
K240210TM2
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