(( Deck 1 - Main Bridge - USS Narendra ))
Kel: No. It’s real... and manageable if we can identify the source. Keep tracking the intensity and duration of the oscillations. I’ll record the physiological readings in parallel.
Voss: Will do. It’s more subtle at this distance, but we’re definitely still picking up data.
Kel: ::after a pause:: ~ Look here. Overlaying your data with the crew’s biofeedback… see this pattern? Every spike in oscillation lines up with minor neural responses across multiple stations.~
Voss: ::nodding:: ~The brain can’t handle all the information at once, so it improvises. Creates ghosts to account for what it can’t understand.~
Kel: ~Focus on the rhythm with me. Let’s see if we can anticipate the peaks.~
Voss: ~The greatest confluences occur in this range. ::she pointed, but their minds were so linked that she hardly needed to:: Some kind of harmonic modulator – ~
Kel: ~Exactly. If we can isolate this frequency, we might be able to shield the crew... or at least anticipate the worst of the effects before they manifest.~
McLaren: Lieutenant? Ensign?
Taylor: Response?
Voss: Sorry, we were just… ::shaking her head:: The nebula is emitting… well, really, you could call it acoustic radiation. But we’ve isolated the range that seems to be causing the greatest physiological effects. If we can create a harmonic modulator to cancel out those frequencies, that should greatly reduce the hallucinatory effects. Taylor, do you think we could make one with a large enough range to cover the whole ship, or are we looking at something we’d all have to carry individually? ::she was already so preoccupied with potential solutions that she’d almost forgotten what they’d all just experienced:: And… are you okay?
Taylor: Response?
Voss: Was she… ::she thought better of it and stopped herself from asking:: I uh… anyway, the other possibility - sound can’t travel in a vacuum. The nebula is shooting out all kinds of particulate matter, even at this range. If we could find a way to… well, to clean up the matter in our path, that might also clear a way in closer.
Sol looked to Ensign Taylor.
McLaren: Shouldn't our navigational deflectors be helping shift that particulate matter away from the ship? Isn't that their purpose?
If it was, and they weren't doing that, why did they even have them?
Taylor: Response?
Voss: I also… Commander, I know we need to approach with every caution, but… if there’s a creature or some kind of entity within the nebula that’s trying to communicate with us… maybe the hallucinations aren’t necessarily a bad thing. Or rather, they may be the only avenue we have to speak to it. Once we get closer and have a better understanding of what we’re dealing with, maybe some of us drop the safeguards. Intentionally. ::looking back at Kel:: Do you think we could pull that off safely?
Kel: Response?
Sol listened to their recommendations.
Taylor: Response?
She nodded.
McLaren: If its something we can do safely, Im no opposed to attempting contact.
Voss/Kel/Taylor: Response?
Sol nodded.
McLaren: I want us to be reasonably certain before we make any attempts. What can I do to help?
Voss/Kel/Taylor: Response?
~~~
Director of Intelligence and Second Officer
Starbase 118 Ops
C239210SM0