Lt. Cmdr. Alieth - Echoes Of The Brain In The Void (& part II)
Alieth
[[Computer Core Tank’s Chamber, 50th level, Lattice Alliance Unknown Structure]]
The three of them moved forward into a chamber of sorts. There was a walkway that crossed above a large pooling of the substance. The pool of sorts glowed softly, a faint white glow, like that of an ossuary in the darkest night. A vision that nearly made the Vulcan shudder, not because of death itself, a natural destiny of all living beings, but because of the little desire she had to reach that destiny at the tender age of 47.As they made their way to the cylindrical pool, they could see more details of the room and the pool: the pool occupied the very centre of the room, framed between the pylons that seemed to support the ceiling, and which ascended in graceful arcs, lost in the darkness of the ceiling. The tank itself was filled with a dark substance, despite the faint whitish light it emitted, and when they peered over the edge, they could actually see that there were flashing lights beneath the surface, dim and flickering. Alieth wondered if what she saw as a white light might actually be of a particular colour to other humanoids who, unlike Vulcans, didn't have a vision range that veered slightly more towards the reds. However, it appeared that the core was submerged in the centre of the pool, with four access panels placed around its outer cylinder. These were clearly not designed for humanoid appendages, and had a series of holes and sliders too large for any of their hands.
Lorana: Ensign, any life signs?
Syrex: ::handling tricorder:: What th.. Sorry, yes, one life sign. It’s.. a symbiont.
The Vulcan's slanted eyebrows furrowed a little more as her short-sighted eyes scanned the dark liquid in search of the symbiote. After a time, she saw it, a non-foaming trail across the pool, and the slug's pale, thin back. Alieth hadn't had to deal with too many joined trills in her time as a doctor, but she remembered well the diagrams she had studied at the Academy, thanks to a near-perfect memory. That creature did not look healthy. Not at all.
Lorana: A symbiont? Without a host?
Syrex: A symbiont can survive in environments that meet their needs; they don’t necessarily need to be in a host. Unlike a host without a symbiont, that’s always fatal after a few hours.
Alieth: The composition of the liquid we saw outside is consistent with an environment suitable for a symbiote. :: Scanning the black surface of the tank :: In addition, there appear to be a number of neurotransmitter chemicals in this pool, :: Pointing to the flashing lights under the surface :: These are electrical pulse feedback nodules, the symbiote cannot move or rest without touching one so that the computer has access to its mind at all times.
The three women spread out around the pool, with Syrex scanning the creature swimming pitifully beneath the surface, Lorana occupying one of the access points and Alieth moving to the opposite side of the entrance to try to study the core itself and how it connected to the pool.
Lorana: Gaining access. The security protocols haven't been updated… from what I can gather this is an old facility… mostly abandoned.
Syrex: oO Hopefully abandoned, that likely means not defended Oo
Alieth: The core seems to maintain the subroutines to keep the station running, as well as compile information and send it to ..... :: The commander paused, analysing the various data streams:: ... to the system's communications hub, as well as to five other facilities in nearby systems.
It was as if that place had been a research node that had fulfilled its purpose a long time ago, and, at that moment, it served as a kind of back-up and problem-solving centre. But what did the symbiote have to do with all that?
Lorana: Look :: points to a file :: It's Sencha Niac's original experiment. A power source… it's been adapted as a shield generator … by Roda Salix, Sencha’s lab assistant.
Syrex: Salix… Salix… Salix! I remember hearing about that symbiont going missing, the commission assumed it was dead when they could only find the Niac symbiont after the accident with Sencha radiation.
Alieth: That explains how the Alliance acquired Sencha's knowledge: they used her former assistant to dig up the information. :: She observed the electronic villi that moved like algae with the creature's slow movement :: And they probably extracted more data and prototypes from it to develop their current technology…
The commander added nothing more, but she clearly remembered the reports of Gra'vel's abduction, and it didn't take her long to conclude that the creature in the tank hadn't cooperated of its own volition. The chances that it had been manipulated or otherwise tortured to help the LA were just too high. Was it sane, after all that time? How long had that creature been in their hands? 60-70 years? And how had they been able to abduct it and keep it alive all that time?
By the access panel, Lorana seemed to have found something of importance, and made it known.
Lorana: These configurations explain everything. It works as a converter, it transforms the S-Wave blast into an energy source … this could be why the Gormaganders are attracted to this area of space.
Alieth: Download everything on a PADD, as well as all the information you can find on how they are implementing it right now. Search to see if you can find the subspace field that Lieutenant Raedai spoke of earlier, if we identify it, we will have accomplished a good part of our mission here.
The Caitian gave a tiny nod of her head, but seemed to remain focused on the information unrolling on her screen, golden eyes glittering in the dim light as they moved rapidly back and forth, reading at lightning speed.
Lorana: This index here … the host for the Salix symbiont died … and LA put the symbiont in here, as their prisoner and forced it to change Sencha's work.
Just then the substance appeared to glow as the symbiont swam around the tank at their level. On every screen of the terminals appeared letters written in Trill.
Syrex: Just in case either of you don’t know how to read Trill, it says “I long for home and the freedom it brings”
Lorana: It wants to be free? Return to Trill.
Syrex: It seems that way, the loneliness it felt must have been excruciating. I would be surprised if it didn’t want to return to our homeworld. It likely knows what we need to know.
Alieth: We should rescue them, they are a Federation citizen, after all :: She made a pregnant pause before resuming:: I am concerned about their mental state, though. So many years of captivity can break most people.
As she spoke, the petite commander had pulled out the PADD strapped to her leg, and connected it to the Core, making a rough copy of all the available raw data. She would let Lorana make a specific copy of the important documents she had found, while she gathered as much information as possible to analyse later on the Ronin... if there was a Ronin to return to.
Lorana/Raedai (Optional): Response
Syrex: I am sure I can look after it, if we beam it some of the fluid back to the Rhine, I can keep it in a tank until we can hand it over to the appropriate authorities.
The Vulcan nodded and looked around her.
Alieth: We can create a small container with the wall panels to catch some of the liquid in the pool, just enough to survive in the Rhine long enough until we replicate something more suitable. :: raising a hand:: but that will likely activate the defence protocols, and no doubt we will need to get out of the star system as soon as possible. :: glancing at her own PADD before checking on Lorana:: Do we have all the relevant information we need?
Syrex/Lorana/Raedai (Optional): Response
Alieth: Ok, I will leave this downloading until the last possible moment, when you finish your download, Miss Lorana, we will begin the process. :: Pressing her combadge:: =/\= Lieutenant Raedai, can you lock our signals and beam us up as soon as we give you the signal? We are going to do something that will set off the alarms. =/\=
The word ‘something’ sounded exactly like ‘ something crazy’ even to the Vulcan's ears.
Lorana/Raedai: Response
The Vulcan nodded decisively, before turning to the young Trill. She observed her for a moment in silence, before asking the question she had in mind.
Alieth: Ensign Syrex, are you sure you can keep this symbiote alive by any means in your hands until we can get it to the Ronin? Even if that means you host it if there is no other alternative?
It was not a possibility she relished, even less so if, as she suspected, the symbiote was not entirely sane, but it was something she had to ask. A sacrifice she couldn't force, just ask, because if they took too long and needed to extract the symbiote, it would put Syrex's life at risk. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but it was a very real possibility if they couldn't keep the slug stable in the Rhine.
Syrex: Response
Alieth:Very
well, we will do our best to ensure that this is not necessary.
The
short vulcan finally disconnected his PADD from the core: he had
managed to download about 60% of the information it contained, not
all of it, but enough to have an approximation of what the LA had
been researching for the last few decades. She glanced at Lorana,
looking for her to finish, before heading towards one of the curved
walls of the room.
He replaced the
PADD, back in its holster on her leg, with her phaser and looked at
her two companions.
Alieth: Lorana, you and I will
cut two panels and weld them into a hemisphere to hold the liquid
from the pool. Ensign Syrex, capture the symbiote as soon as possible
to deposit it in the container. :: Activating the helmet's inner
communicator with her cheek:: =/\= Lieutenant, have you got us
locked? =/\=
Syrex/Lorana/Raedai (Optional): Response
The Vulcan took a deep breath, shoulder to shoulder with Luxa, as they had been so often since they both joined the Ronin crew. Then she looked back at Syrex, alone at the edge of the pool.
Alieth: On my mark: one, two, three... NOW!
She activated her phaser and began to detach one of the panels from the wall. The circuits that seemed to run through it sizzled and let off small purple flares as she pulled each side of the wall apart. Halfway through the cutting process (and when she expected Lorana to be at a similar point) the entire room lit up a dark purple colour and a low, grim alarm began to rumble through the room.
Syrex/Lorana/Raedai (Optional): Response
[[Tags! TBC]]
Lieutenant Commander Alieth
Chief Science Officer & 2O
E239702A10
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