Lt. Cmdr. Alieth - Echoes Of The Brain In The Void (Parts 1&2)

[Karrod Niac]

To me one of the most fascinating things about 118 is the way a small idea can be contributed by one writer and then built upon by others until it sprawls into something incredible and unexpected.  @Alieth's most recent sim, and this whole arc from our current mission, is an absolutely brilliant example of it and it is adding immeasurably to my PC's backstory while creating some fantastic drama and worldbuilding.  

And it all started with a one line gag I wrote into my characters backstory years ago.  My sincere thanks to both @Alieth and @Rahman and Rivi Vataix, who helped to make this part of Karrod's background so central to our current antagonist.  

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[[Computer Core Tank’s Chamber, 50th level, Lattice Alliance Unknown Structure]]

The small group of officers had followed the two Sencha holograms through a tessellation of corridors and hallways, moving deeper and deeper into the structure, in search of information and a solution to the problems the USS Ronin and USS Khitomer were experiencing as they tried to rescue DS33. And, why not, to discover the mystery that constituted the structure itself, as different as it was from the other Lattice Alliance facilities and vessels they had observed so far.

At one point, the corridor took a downward direction, before the holograms turned towards a large portal on one side. As the group approached this entrance, they soon found themselves sloshing through a sort of light-coloured liquid.

Alieth wasted little time in directing her tricorder towards the liquid, as the rookie put voice to what was on her mind.

Syrex: Speaking of up ahead, does that look like liquid on the floor to you?

The Vulcan's slanted brows furrowed softly in the secure atmosphere of her helmet.

Alieth: It looks like some kind of saline biological fluid. It has traces of proteins and some simple carbohydrates…

The commander stood up again, and looked at her two companions. Lorana's tail, sleeved in an adapted section of her EVA suit, moved from side to side, in something Alieth had learned to recognize as a mixture of excitement and determination.

Lorana: I think it’s time to get some answers.

And before any of them could start moving, all their combadges chirped in unison.

Raedai: =/\= Rhine to away team. The Gormangander's target is Alpha particles. Consuming them diminishes the Sencha radiation, but does not eliminate it and does not seem to be affected by it at any time. =/\=

The Romulan's voice came through at a good volume, but somehow with a slight distortion, as if somehow as he moved deeper into the bowels of the structure something got in the way of clear communication. It was, so far, a subtle quality, a crackle of static at the end of the words, but noticeable to a Vulcan's keen ears.

Lorana: =/\= Thank you, lieutenant =/\=

Syrex: =/\= Can you take some scans for us, Lieutenant? =/\=

Alieth: =/\= Have you drawn any conclusions from your observations so far? =/\=

The mist swirled around the group's boots, concealing the water they were treading in for the most part, which made the soft splashing sounds all the more ominous.

Raedai: =/\= In the long run, watching the Gormangander interact with the radiation is fascinating and useful. But the section they are approaching is shielded with a subspace field, which is more than likely at the right frequency to contain the radiation and prevent problems for the station. We need to run an active scanner that doesn't necessarily give us the necessary information, but can certainly warn them of our presence. But this subspace frequency must be in the systems of this complex. =/\=

Lorana: =/\= So, in other words, we need to hurry things up? =/\=

Alieth: =/\=Give us a few more minutes before performing this scan: if we cannot access the core or an incident occurs, proceed to a secure transport and perform an active scan immediately.=/\=

The Romulan had a response ready, as usual, but this time, remarkably, it didn't seem to come with an ulterior motive or a bias. Something that did not fail to surprise the Vulcan, but which she refused to show.

Raedai: =/\= If it does not cooperate, we can connect the Rhine's computer to the complex's systems, pull up all the information while the active scan is running and run away. =/\=

Lorana: =/\= We’ll do our best, we don’t know what it is we’re dealing with yet. In any case, prepare for a quick getaway :: playful :: don’t get too comfortable in the pilot’s chair, Raedai. I’ll be expecting it back. Away team out. =/\=

Raedai: =/\= Response =/\=

Communication broke off, once again, with a cheerful chirp, that sounded utterly out of place in the oppressive, dark atmosphere of the station, far too light for the thick, dense air on the other side of their EVA suits. Soon only the faint sounds of their suits moving, their filtered breaths, the splash of their footsteps and the low, deep, desolate growl of the station were all that could be heard. Without needing to utter a word, the group resumed their march, their holographic guides having vanished a few minutes before.

Syrex: At the very least, if we can find that frequency, we’ll come away with something for our troubles.

The petite Vulcan nodded, appraising where the young rookie's mind was.

Alieth: Indeed, and with knowledge of the subspace domain with which Sencha Radiation interacts, we could find an effective way to shield against it and derived weapons. Or even counter the very weapons that emit it.

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. 

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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

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[[Tags! /TBC]]

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Lieutenant Commander Alieth
Chief Science Officer & 2O
USS Ronin USS-34523
E239702A10 
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Edited September 1 by Karrod Niac
Pasted wrong because I'm a dummy

[Alieth]

this has been fully a team effort with @LuxaLorana, @Alyndra Syrex & @Sirok since we all had contributed to this awesome side mission. I cannot ask for better team! Thanks for them too!

[Gila Sadar]

Oh man oh man oh man , that’s so exciting 🤩

HUGE kudos to everyone involved!!