Commander Toryn Raga - Resolve
Rameses
((ooc: Had to make a slight adjustment to some of the tags and where they appear as I realized the comms from Tucker to Kel and Raga happened before Narhelion detected the inbound Lattice Alliance armada.
There also seemed to be some confusion about the explosion near Kel and the timing of the detected fleet. The fleet isn’t close enough to actually fire on Narhelion. I tried to
Should be good though since this is closing out Act 2.))
((Aft Chamber, Cosmozoan))
The first thing he noted beyond that was how the room changed to his perception. There was a vibrance to everything in the room that was part of Narhelion. Organic and inorganic alike. Toryn stepped up to the same interface where Wren’s PADD was inserted and the entire thing rippled as strange looking buttons, ports and protrusions appeared. In a language he had never seen before but understood fully.
Raga: By the Branch. This is a maintenance console. Aft Propulsion Monitoring Station.
Narhelion: ~ Correct. You are in what you might call Secondary Engineering. ~
He heard the voice clearly in his mind and couldn’t help but smile. There was an almost melodic lilt to it that reminded him of the silicone based aliens that lived in the rogue neutron star he’d encountered during the Chin’toka’s final mission.
Toryn checked on the others to see who else had consented to the temporary mind link interface. While he moved around the room. The floor in the center rose at his approach into some sort of table. With a representation of Narhelion herself in the center. It seemed to be focused on her front for the moment with several flashing sections that he immediately knew to be showing damage.
Wren: This is…… incredible. Commander, are y-?
Narhelion: ~ All in mind link locally can hear and converse directly. Words, thoughts, memory, emotion. All as much or as little as wanted or needed. Same contact can be made to any so linked with Narhelion anywhere. ~
He understood what she was thinking before she’d even finished verbalizing it. It was a familiar but foreign sensation. Being a telepath himself, he was used to such contact with his family on board the Ronin. But the feel and background of this particular contact was strange and foreign to him. Not in a bad way though. That same calm, melodic lilt that was present in Narhelion’s vocal expression was tenfold more so while mentally linked. If he had to describe it in one word it was: Serene.
Shortrith: What's it like?
Wren: ::To anyone not connected:: It’s sort of like…. I’m connected to Raga, and we’re both connected to the Narhelion. It doesn’t hurt, it’s….. It’s fascinating to me. I’ve never experienced anything like this.
Shortrith: That's fascinating.
Venn: Yes, it is amazing. I have never felt anything like this. I’ve heard of my people doing group mind links, but it’s extremely rare and extremely personal, so I’ve never heard what they experience, but this…
There was a flitting moment where he ‘heard and felt’ Venn’s intent from prior to linking with the beautiful entity they were now mentally joined with before she raised her walls fully.
Raga: I understand, Lieutenant. This is…why we’re in Starfleet. For moments and experiences like this. If only we could tell the ship.
Wren: ::pointing to parts of the console:: This is translating atmospheric readings, and this part up here is out estimate speed. I can't decipher what the speed is, since I don't know the unit of measurement, but.... ::excited:: These blobs over here are the other away teams!
Shortrith: That's good!
Raga: She has access to our PADD’s linguistic files. So we can alter what the units of measure are as needed. And..oh, the Ronin. She’s got it locked in a tractor beam. That’s an interesting nickname though.
He chuckled to himself.
Shortrith: What's it saying?
Raga: She’s referring to our ship as the ‘Tiny Predator’.
Just then he felt intense pain from Narhelion and knew immediately through the mind link that something had happened. It took him a moment to recover.
Narhelion: ~ Self repair possible. But Narhelion is in a partial hibernation state. Will require extensive time to mend without assistance. Narhelion primary offensive weapon, offline. Caretakers. Caretakers would have helped. Narhelion is using most of the remaining resources, focused on mending Tiny Predator outside. ~
What followed was a flood of memories of people and places and an armada of other similar creatures to Narhelion, as well as what some might consider more traditional vessels accompanying them. It had the same sensation as recalling events from when he was little and still in Haemachuo schooling. There was a distance to the memories, as if they had happened long ago. And he felt immense sadness and loss. Toryn couldn’t help but feel for her. It reminded him of the memories of the dead he carried within his own mind as well.
Narhelion: ~ If contact with Tiny Predator Ronin is required, adjustment to external communication nodules will need to match Tiny Predator’s frequencies. Dampener field can also be adjusted to prevent Narhelion’s external field from interfering. Alien linguistics accessed. Analogue would be Navigational Deflector. Narhelion projects a similar field on all axes out two nearly three light years. ~
Wren: She’s… oh, she’s trying to fix Tiny Predator. I think when she defended herself earlier the ship got caught in the crossfire.
Venn: It’s trying to make contact with Tiny Predator.
Narhelion: ~ Correct. Frequency match confirmed. Synchronization also confirmed. Tiny Predator should now sense all of Narhelion and you as well, without complication. Narhelion has also awoken vocalization processes fully. Can new Caretakers sing to Tiny Predator? ~
Shortrith: As in… Hail the captain?
Narhelion: ~ Linguistic correction. Can new Caretakers ‘hail’ Tiny Predator? ~
Venn: Yes, I believe it’s trying to call the Captain.
Narhelion: Hello, Tiny Predator.
Toryn watched as one of the screens above the nearby station shifted to show the visual communication with their ship. But the most amazing part of it was he didn’t even need to look at the screen. He could see the same thing in his own mind as if they were looking at it through Narhelion’s perceptions.
Niac: =/\= And hello to you...whomever you are. My name is Karrod...and our ship is the Ronin. We are not a predator...we have no desire to harm you. We wish to make peaceful contact. Can you understand us? =/\=
~ Speak for yourself, Karrod. The Ronin most definitely is a predator. ~
Shortrith: =/\= ::with a nod:: Captain. I've got the comms open on my commbadge. =/\=
Wren: ::alert:: =/\= We’ve made contact with the Narhelion, sh- =/\= ~ Oh, sorry, you want to talk to him yourself. That’s fine! ~
Raga: =/\= Likewise. Some of us are linked with Narhelion and can see you through her eyes as it were. =/\=
Narhelion: Narhelion apologizes to Tiny Predator’s fuzzy Caretaker. Narhelion did not realize Tiny Predator Ronin fragility.
~ It thinks the Ronin is fragile? ~ He knew immediately this was from Venn and chuckled.
Niac: =/\= Narhelion? Is that your name...or the name of your ship? Either way 'fuzzy caretaker' thanks you, Narhelion. We did not believe you damaged us purposefully. Your energy transfer is also appreciated but doesn't appear to be compatible with our systems...I don't suppose you'd mind deactivating it? =/\=
~ She’s using too much energy on this, and it’s confusing the Ronin’s sensors. Her metabolic processes haven’t woken up yet, so she’s not having an easy time making new energy. ~
~ Fuzzy Caretaker? ~
The surface thoughts from Venn and Wren, aside from that being rhythmically appealing, was interesting. He suspected they hadn’t realized he could hear them and vice versa yet.
Venn: ~ Narhelion, our systems appear to be incompatible for further healing. Can you please cease so Tiny Predator can resume natural healing from within? ~
Toryn understood what the Lieutenant was doing and corroborated her sentiment.
Raga: ~ Agreed. That energy transfer is not needed, but appreciated. If you cease it we can ‘heal’ Tiny Predator from within. ~
Narhelion: Narhelion has a request. Narhelion is last of my kind. Would Tiny Predator’s fuzzy Caretaker permit Narhelion to take some of Tiny Predator to make a new Narhelion?
Toryn barely even had a chance to wrap his head around what the giant space whale had just asked of them when their actual comm badges chirped with Marty’s voice.
Tucker: =/\= Tucker to Kel and Raga. =/\=
Kel: =/\= We're here, but my group has sustained injuries as has our host. =/\=
De La Croix: =/\= Well that's all very nice for you then but we have a patient here who needs immediate care or this wound could be fatal. I was already detecting decreasing levels of cellular energy in this whole area and now...much of this tissue is dead or dying. If this creature is to survive we'll need significant resources...uh...hello...ship? Madam Narhelion I presume? I want to help you but I'll need quite a few things from our vessel to even get a start on it. =/\=
Raga: =/\= So, what we felt earlier was that. A piece of the Tholian ship Narhelion destroyed earlier. I’m glad you’re alright. =/\=
Tucker: =/\= We’ve lost Doctor Beck. =/\=
Toryn’s eyes widened with that singular statement.
Raga: =/\= What?! What do you mean, lost? =/\=
In that moment, as if sensing his distress he caught a stream of images, emotions and intent flooding through their part of the mind link. He saw the piece of the Tholian ship overload and detonate. He saw the grievous wound it had caused as well as Narhelion’s attempts to shield the others. She had pulled Quentin inside herself in order to protect him. It felt, to him, similar to what he knew of how their own stasis units functioned. He also knew V’Len was close to where Quentin was so if anyone could look after the other doctor it was him.
He felt a twinge in the mind link and the nearby table they’d been next to shifted from an internal display to a much broader one. He knew it was indicating Narhelion’s position in space and numerous ‘blips’ denoting something that made his stomach knot slightly.
Shortrith: How can we help you?
Wren: I’ve shored up the baby as much as I can, and- ::pulling her PADD out:: I’m taking this out of airplane mode. The captain now has a visual of her life signs, she gave permission.
Raga: The downside of Tholian technology. It’s proclivity to explode after it’s been severely damaged.
Shortrith: I'm not sure how much we could do, but I'm willing to help however I can to settle this issue, and make sure you turn out okay.
Venn: ~ Narhelion, stay with us. I know it hurts, but we want to heal you like you helped heal Tiny Predator Ronin. Let the Caretakers assist. Can you resist the Angry Crystals? ~
Raga: ~ Agreed. We will do all we can to help you, Narhelion. ~
Narhelion: ~ Caution. Narhelion has detected approaching. Many more angry crystals and unknown vessels with them. Primary offensive armament still healing. Secondary and tertiary armaments are functional but remain in hibernation state. Primary and secondary defensive functions offline and in hibernation state. Recommend hibernation rescindment as soon as possible. ~
Venn: ~ More Tholians! Narhelion must evade and escape! ~
Narhelion: =/\= Please. Narhelion does not want to expire. =/\=
Niac: =/\= We don't want you to expire either, Narhelion. We came to convince you to leave this area of space...but it's too late for that now. Please...wait just a moment. =/\=
Shortrith: If it's any comfort, my friend, I don't think any of us want you to.
Venn: ~ No, Narhelion. They are correct. We want you to live. Please, go before it’s too late. ~
He heard the mental plea but the readings from Narhelion showed that the fleet was in the direct flight path between them and the subspace fissure that she was heading for.
Venn: =/\= Captain, Lieutenant Venn here. How is the ship? Are the forces overwhelming, or is there a chance to resist? I am trying to convince Narhelion to help resist, but it is very wounded. =/\=
Wren: ::leaving her PADD plugged in and hurrying over to another console:: =/\= Her weapons system is reacting badly to the internal damage, until she has that repaired I don’t see her pulling of another full-frontal attack like before.
Raga: We can sense the state of her systems. She’s going to need us to restore her functionality and keep it running while we try to get through this. ::he leaned into the mind link a moment:: She has more defensive and offensive systems, so she’s not helpless as long as we work together. And the Ronin is now partly inside one of her hangars. So, let’s focus on what we can do. I know we’re worried about doctor Beck, but if anyone can look after Quentin it’s his people. And I get the sense Narhelion has him in stasis for the time being.
Venn: Response
Toryn offered all three of them a reassuring smile and focused on the table in front of them. He tapped at the various buttons until data was being displayed in Federation standard so the counselor could also see what they saw without being linked. He also suggested to Narhelion that all interfaces be adjusted so anyone they sent over that couldn’t or wouldn’t mind link would be able to assist.
((ooc: Since we’re closing out act 2 I didn’t leave tags for anyone who’d already done so in their most recent sims. Expect an act 3 starter for Raga before the next Narhelion sim.))
[tags/End of Act 2 for Raga]
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Commander Toryn Raga
First Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
Writer ID: A239410TR0
https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Toryn_Raga