Ensign Herrick: Omicron Particles

[markanthonyparker]

(( Bridge, Deck 1, USS 'Oumuamua ))

Josh had fired a short text message from his console, directing the transmission towards the Nichols telling them to continue cautiously. It had taken several attempts to establish a connection with the vessel to confirm receipt of the message, and the engineer focused on keeping the fragile thread of communication open.

Herrick: Message away and the computer has confirmed receipt, sir.

He was curious on what signs of life Solari would offer. His training had been limited to emergency med kits and focused on the standard carbon-based bi-ped variety.

Solari: Response

Katsim: Evidently there was an instance of a creature similar to this. The crew of the USS Voyager came across one in the Delta Quadrant. They, too, thought it was a nebula.

V'Airu: Are there additional indicators that this and the organism encountered by Voyager are similar?

Herrick tapped his console to mirror the report that Katsim had up. He scanned through it and saw the mention of omicron particles and checked the ship’s scanners. The system didn’t reply with an affirmative or negative response, it was simply blank.

Herrick: I’m checking now.

Solari: Responses

Josh discovered the reason; with the effects of the nebula, some of the sensor data was being obfuscated. He paged back in the sensors logs to see what the ship had on record.

Herrick: It looks like… ::he continued to page through the logs:: shortly before we entered the nebula, there were reports of omicron particles. Not at the same concentration recorded by Voyager, but at higher concentrations than normal.

He continued to argue with the computer, inputting responses and not getting much back.

Herrick: Unfortunately, we are not able to get any more definitive readings from the sensor array now. It will take some time to track down how to get them more operational here.

V’Airu/Solari/Katsim: Responses

Katsim: There’s no indication they were able to communicate, but they did take a sample and discover it was a creature that way.

There was a long pause after Katsim’s suggestion while the Commadore weighed risks and benefits.

V'Airu: Would Etan's team need to collect this sample?

Katsim: Perhaps. The Voyager logs indicate there were small masses that adhered to the hull. Since they’re further in, they’re more likely to be able to collect a sample of some sort. 

Josh checked on the system that monitored hull integrity, no other worldly attachments had registered on the screen. He pondered the validity of the automated report given the other malfunctions.

Katsim: I can send them a message, Commodore.

The engineer glanced at the connection, thankfully it was still working.

Solari: Responses

V'Airu: It seems to me the development of shielding that will protect us and the away teams from the worst of the ambient effects -- and perhaps from any reprisals -- is paramount. Are there other opinions?

Katsim: Are these emotional waves caused by a telepathic like empathy, or through some other method?

Josh thought this suggestion fit many of the puzzle pieces. He hadn’t been getting fully formed thoughts, just unwanted feelings that seemed to come from an exterior source.

Solari/V’Airu: Responses

Katsim: There are those who are able to shield telepathic attempts, but this is more along the lines of empathy.  

Solari/V’Airu: Responses

Katsim: Without specialised training, how can we block an empathic resonance? 

Herrick: From a technical perspective, I’ve run through the common defences the ship could. If it’s telepathy, stronger species usually transcend anything our equipment can typically defend against. I’m still checking out alternatives though, sir.

Katsim/Solari/V’Airu: Responses

Herrick, pulling to Katsim’s inspiration to look at other ships logs, found another related item from Voyager

Herrick: There was an incident where there was a persistent telepathic takeover of the crew using emotions; they were only able to break free using a resonance burst from the warp core. However, I have no clue what that would do to this nebula if it is an entity.

Herrick/Solari/V’Airu: Responses

Herrick: We could also modify our deflectors to emit pulses from our ship at the same exact interval that we’re seeing. If it is a lifeform, perhaps it would respond to some sort of similarity.

Herrick/Solari/V’Airu: Responses

Tags! and TBC!

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Ensign Josh Herrick

Engineering Officer

USS ‘Oumuamua

O240005JH3

he/him/his (player/character)