Lt. Commander Ross - Small Gestures

[Hannah S]

((Outside Temurian Settlement))

Their ship gone. Their friends in a fight. 

None of this was going to their plan. Ross could see the concern on Lyra's face and he felt it too in his chest - but there was nothing they could do for now except relying on the comfort of their colleague's talents. They would be fine, right? In the end they always were. 

Voss: I certainly hope so. Can’t be very good for trade to have
someone so touchy nearby. Do you have any idea who they could be
fighting with, Mr. Kiro?

His ears flicked once beneath the wraps.

Kiro: It could be anyone.. really... the system is... unstable...

That didn't make it any better - but there was no use in standing around and guessing, so Ross stepped in, focussing back on the important questions at hand. 

Ross: Why don't we start with our most recent findings? The energy spikes?

Truth be told - noting could have sparked less interest in him right now. He had no idea what was going on - and he hated that feeling. But as long as they partnered with Kiro, they simply had to pretend this was nothing but usual business. He gestured at Lyra and A'Mayri, encouraging them to step forward with their findings - at the same time he slipped out of his jacket and offered it to the Vulcan, although he was freezing already. No frozen Ensigns on his watch.

She was sweet enough to offer him her shawl in return - but Ross just held it in his hands for a few confused seconds, overwhelmed with the question where it would be of most use against the cold without making him look like an idiot. 

A’Mayri: From an engineering standpoint, we know that it would take
complex and industrial level equipment to even begin the process of
mining and refining the materials needed to encompass the cores. This
would entail large enough spaces to hold such equipment and would
require quite a bit of power and maintenance. On the scale of Electron
Beam furnaces with a power grid on scale to match.

Ross nodded, naturally waiting for Lyra to take over from there -

...but nothing happened.

When his gaze snapped towards her, she was the next officer looking like she was suffering from an invisible pain of some sort. He locked eyes with her, confused, but she seemed to avoid his gaze - and then her answer came out like a gun shot. 

Voss: In other words, ::too loud, too harsh… she swallowed and tried
again:: In other words, that was clue number one that you weren’t
manufacturing them yourselves. This asteroid couldn’t hold facilities
like that. So we started trying to figure out how these cores worked
ourselves.

Kiro: You did?

Something was going on. Ross couldn't put a finger on the lingering tension underneath their interaction. Was it the worry about their comrades that had shaken Lyra so badly? He was glad A'Mayri was stepping in, because he simply knew too little about the specifics of their findings to do so, so he just stood there, dumbfounded. 

A’Mayri: Madam Voss is most skilled in her line of work, and it has
come into fruition during our… ::small catch:: during our tour to try
and trade these cores with you Kiro.

Voss: We acquired several aftermarket cores in various states of
degradation. Some currently functional, some inert. All the inert
cores had suffered massive failures. But even these dead cores weren’t
quite what they seemed.

Kiro’s posture tightened slightly. Something seemed to click inside him. 

Kiro: What.... I mean... what do you mean?

Ross: We did our own experiments. 

A’Mayri followed through.

A’Mayri: We utilized our own containment systems to track these
results, yes. They are very similar to the units you have back in your
show room. After the Madam had noticed the cores in an almost reactive
state to the other surrounding cores as she mentioned, it had opened a
fascinating yet newly concerning discovery.

Kiro’s gaze flicked briefly toward Voss. The gravity of the situation finally seemed to get hold of him. Lyra seemed to have steadied herself. 

Voss: Have you ever noticed any behavior that would suggest the cores
can network with each other? Link in any way? We observed power
fluctuations when cores were brought in close proximity - regardless
of their state of repair. Which means dead cores aren’t always so
dead.

Kiro: Not officially classified as “networking.”

Ross: But some kind of activation? 

A’Mayri: Yes…but what would cause them to display above baseline
levels of output even when inert?

Voss pressed on immediately.

Voss: It has to have something to do with how they generate power.
::to Kiro:: Have you ever observed one during its initial power-up, or
do they come to you already functioning?

For a moment, the group fell silent. A spooky gust rattled faintly through the outer structure of the building, causing Ross to shiver softly. 

Kiro: My role begins after stabilization is confirmed.

He let the silence stretch just long enough to be felt. Then stepped
slightly away from the group, closer to the inner wall of the
corridor, as if proximity to structure might help order his thoughts.

Ross looked at his colleagues.

Ross: I don't think there's much use in standing here. We need some infrastructure to continue. 

Voss: Okay. There is no reason we can’t at least huddle in the hallway
while we wait, yes? While those of us without fur can still feel our
fingers.

Something about Lyra's response and the following gesture struck him like a push. It was unfamiliar - didn't feel like her usual hesitant and more balanced self. He followed her without thinking - as if that could ease the sudden wave of anger he felt confronted with.

While stepping back into the settlement, he handed Lyra A'Mayri's shawl. His hand lingered on her shoulder for just a second, a quiet question already on his lips - Are you alright? - but then the Temurian stepped in behind them and there was no chance to reassure himself that she was okay, before she snapped back into business. He took a small step back. 

Maybe she was just cold and stressed. Hopefully. 

((Interior Doorway of Temurian Settlement))

Voss: Anyway. Let’s say, for the sake of discussion, that these cores
are, in fact, powered by micro-black holes. Keeping a black hole in
balance to use as an energy source is wildly risky, obviously
dangerous, doesn’t end well, blah, blah, blah - but! The fact that
these cores are doing it at all is fascinating. They’re not destroying
themselves in minutes - they’re functioning as advertised, for what?
Weeks? Months?

Kiro: Then the question is not why they last… but what changes before they fail.

Ross, still utterly out of place in this discussion, gave a short nod. Sounded reasonable. 

A'Mayri: ?

Voss: ::to Kiro:: Have you ever managed to get readings from a core as
it fails? The timing of it, the types of energy it gives off?

Kiro: I have seen crews lose short-term recall during late-stage failure events.

The room went silent. Ross' eyes widened slightly -

Ross: Like the incident on StarBase 118. ::pause:: We heard about it. 

Thin ice, he was aware - but there was no use in pretending they didn't know. 

A’Mayri/Voss: ?

Ross: If numerous cores were on that base back then - is it possible they linked up their effects during failure? Like a... network of... ::he gestured faintly:: energy? 

A’Mayri/Voss/Kiro: ? 

He let that sink in for a moment. The gears inside his mind were shifting - thinking, pondering. 

Ross: I'm just wondering... if they are able to link up like that - what other dangers that might pose. What other kind of unexpected energy spikes. 

A’Mayri/Voss/Kiro: ? 

Ross: Is it possible to force that effect? The shutdown? Can we... test what happens when there are numerous ones shutting down at the same time, maybe some that are in better condition? Somewhere safe, where they can't affect anybody? I feel like that's the only thing that might give us answers. 

A’Mayri/Voss/Kiro: ? 

--

***

Lt. Commander Evan Ross
Intelligence Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
O240009ER2