Peel Post # 3 "Listening Pt1"

Posted on Thu Feb 22nd, 2024 @ 10:06pm by Captain Jamie O'Connell & Lieutenant Commander Angel Devroe & Lieutenant Maria SanChez & Lieutenant JG Johan Albo & Lieutenant JG Sarissa Aloran & Lieutenant JG Sayvek

Mission: TALES FROM THE MIDDLE STARS
Location: USS Peel
Timeline: Current

::ON::

~Deck 1~

The Bridge Crew were all executing their various duties while the Ship was still parked on the edge of the outer most fringes of the Nebula collecting as much needed data as possible.

Meanwhile the Comms Officer was busy at her station listening to these odd sounds coming from some place other than within the Peel. Looking over at Command "Captain, you may want to come and take a look at this Sir" the Ensign suggested.

O'Connell looked up, replacing his PADD in the side pocket of his chair, rose walking over to Comms "What is it Ensign" he inquired looking at the Screen.

"Captain I keep getting this repeating sequence of sounds and they're not from any vessels in the area" then she paused for a few moments looking at the Captain "From what I can ascertain they seem to coming from some place inside the Nebula, Sir."

Jamie thought for a few moments "The only things in the Nebula are stars and gases, so......" then he paused as an idea was forming in his mind "Unless.....Ensign have you tried running those sounds through the Universal Translator at all."

"Yes Sir I have and with a negative result" as she paused thinking "It could be a language never heard of before or maybe one that hasn't been active for a very long time" she replied while still mulling things over in her mind.

"How are your linguistics skills Ensign; would you be able to delve into this further" Jamie inquired not knowing what the answer would be.

A smile came across the Ensigns face "Actually I minored in linguistics while attending the Academy" she stated proudly "Let me see what I can figure out Captain and I'll get back to you."

Jamie smiled "Yes please, if there's any chance those sounds are a language I want to know who or what they are emanating from" he instructed wondering if his hunch was correct or was he just grasping at straws.

"As you wish Captain" the Ensign replied before getting to work on the task at hand.

As Jamie returned to the center seat Angel looked up at him "What are you thinking Captain......where do you think those sounds are coming from" the Commander inquired in a low voice wondering what was going through Jamie's mind at the moment.

"This entity we're supposed to collect data on" then he paused "I'm wondering if it's trying to communicate with us" Jamie replied in a low voice looking at his Number One.

"Well it certainly wouldn't be the first time a 'being' tried to communicate with Star Fleet and the Universal Translator came up short" Angel replied.

The Captain nodded in agreement as he looked towards the Science Station "Lieutenant Sayvek, keep scanning the Nebula.....specifically for any movement from within......let me know if anything is getting closer to us" Jamie ordered then looked back at his Number One "We need to know if this thing starts moving around and where."

" Scanning...indications negative at this time. The Nazgul readings are not present nor is there movement at the last location noted." Sayvek replied.

"Those are my thoughts as well; glad we're on the same page" Angel replied with a grin pleased that Jamie and herself becoming synced in their thought process.

Turning to Sarissa "Counselor please let me know if you pick up anything in your senses from within the Nebula; maybe you'd have a better chance at communicating with this entity.....if that's even possible" Jamie stated not really liking being in limbo at the moment.

Sarissa was already miles ahead, letting her senses ‘feel’ for what might be out there. “There’s definitely...something, but it’s...hard to say exactly what.”

"Well Counselor, you certainly have more indication than we do at the moment" Jamie replied "If you sense anything tangible, please let us know right away. Between all of us here on the Bridge, hopefully we can come up with some answers."

Sarissa nodded. “Of course Captain” she turned her attention back to what she was trying to sense. If she had to open her mind up much more she’d be risking being overwhelmed by the crew, let alone the mysterious creature.

Tactical called out "Captain I'm picking up an Essary scout ship running parallel to their border heading in our direction" Maria informed Command.

"Keep an eye on their position Lieutenant and let me know if they get closer than five thousand kilometers" Jamie ordered really not wanting to deal with those idiots at this point in time.

"Aye Captain" SanChez replied as her hands flew over the Console changing the Screen to a more intricate view of the area.

"So you think the Essary are just trying to rattle our cage a little" the Commander inquired looking at her Captain.

"Probably.....I mean we have been parked here for some time now" as he thought "I don't think they'd be stupid enough to try something or fire on us....I'm sure they don't want to be the ones starting a war."

"Let's hope not" Angel answered thinking Jamie was probably correct in his assumptions.

Sayvek continued his normal scans until he remembered something from a Kirk era report.
" Captain the Gola that Kirk encountered was able to warp time around itself. Making the Enterprise sensors readings look like old one as it could manipulate time. It also had the ability to make phasers and photon torpedoes explode either before they reached it or after it passed them. We could be on top of it and not even know it ." Sayvek warned.

That was the last thing Captain O'Connell wanted to hear. Rising from his chair he walked over to Sayvek "That's one of the reasons we're parked at the outer most edge of the Nebula" he explained "Thank you for your insight......so is there any way you can adjust your sensors to compensate for that eventuality."

" Fortuantely yes update systems intigrate quantum level programs. Also unlike Kirk's time we employ quantum torpedoes which will dealmit a greater blow. I hope we do not have to use those myself," Sayvek replied.

Meanwhile Sarissa was sensing more, a whole swathe of emotions were emanating some somewhere very close by. “Captain....” she stood up from her seat moving closer to the front of the bridge. “I’m sensing more now...emotions...so many emotions...” she paused. “Sadness...such sadness...loneliness, it’s so lonely...”

Jamie looked towards Sarissa "Thank you Counselor, at least we now know it's emotional state" as he paused momentarily "If this gets too uncomfortable for you to continue please feel free to take a break" not wanting her to overtax herself.

" Captain scanning a small planetoid body 3 parsecs inside the nebula. The last known coordinates of the time stealer." Sayvek added.

But before the Captain could give a response, he suddenly noticed everyone's hands had slowed down to a crawl keying their consoles. Jamie stood, which seemed to take the better part of a minute when he called out "W..h..a..t....t..h..e....b..l..o..o..d..y....h..e..l..l. S..c..i..e..n..c..e....r..e..p..o..r..t" and as quickly as the phenomenon had started it suddenly stopped " Ok Crew I need answers; what just happened or was I the only one that noticed a 'time slow down."

Number One spoke up first "No Captain you weren't the only one....I noticed it as well. It would seem time literally slowed down for a few moments" Angel replied being a little uncomfortable with what had just transpired.

" Tracking the temporal anomaly beyond that planetoid there Captain. It would appear to be stationary now. Scanning planetoid...no appearance of sentient life. Essentially a great rock inside the nebula." Sayvek responded.

In the moment of the temporal slowdown the effect for Sarissa had been very different. In what seemed like a slow down for the others Sarissa had been shown something that had left her horrified, she had slid down the wall she was stood by and was sat on the deck trying to make sense of what had flashed through her mind.

The Captain looked over seeing the Counselor sitting on the deck not looking so good, as did Lieutenant Albo. Jamie motioned for Johan and they both walked over to see what was wrong "Counselor you're not looking so good, are you alright" Jamie inquired with concern.

As all this was going on the Commander tapped her Comm "Computer dispatch the EMH to the Bridge" came the order as Angel took over the Con since the Captain was otherwise engaged. Moments later the EMH appeared "What is the nature of the emergency" came the quarry. "Lieutenant Aloran may need some medical attention" Angel replied with the EMH on it's way to check out Sarissa.

" Captain the computer has extrapolated a universal signal. It would seem our being is similarly adolescent. As you can hear." Sayvek stated as he played the audio of a child like cry.

Sarissa was still trying to clear her head as she looked up at Jamie, holding out her hand to Johan to help her to her feet. “I... I’m fine... now.” She looked around whilst allowing the EMH to run a scan. “Captain, I need to speak to you and Johan in private.”

Hearing both the Counselor and the Lieutenant moments apart Jamie made a judgement call "Mr. Sayvek continue to monitor this child like voice" and knowing Sarissa's request must be important "Commander you have the Conn" then he turned "Lieutenants you're with me" as the trio left the Bridge.

A few minutes passed in real time before something changed.

" Commander It appears the anomali is moving in our direction." Sayvek reported.


~ Ready Room ~

Entering the Ready Room Sarissa waited until the doors closed before turning to look at both Johan and Jamie. "I didn't want to say this in-front of the crew. When time slowed down for all of you, it was...different for me." she paused. "What I saw was...horrible!" she took a seat, closing her eyes to recall the scene. "Everyone on the bridge was...dead, dying, injured, it was impossible to tell exactly which. The bridge was in a shambles, emergency lighting...blown out stations...smoke so thick I could taste it!!" she opened her eyes and looked between them. "I don't know if it was a warning, or if I saw a glimpse of the future!"

The Captain was certainly taken back by Sarissa's statement for a few moments; he glanced over at Johan who had this look on his face like he had lost his best friend. Jamie knew he had to stay something captain-like "Wow!!.....I can see why you were sitting on the Deck sort of out of it for a few minutes" then he paused choosing his next words very carefully "Whether your vision was a warning or a premonition of the future......either one is quite disconcerting" pausing once again "Or it was a defensive mechanism by the entity to scare the bloody hell out of us attempting to distract us."

"Whatever this thing was trying to accomplish......the whole idea just plain sucks in a major way" Johan stated emphatically looking over at Sarissa dreading a time not having her in his life anymore.

Sarissa was rubbing her hands together nervously, it was going to take some time to unwind from what she’d seen. “It...it could just have been trying to frighten me.” She offered a brief smile, she too was worried about losing Johan. “I just need some time to unwind.”

Hearing the conversations Jamie decided to give a very distinct admonition "Thank you Councilor for bringing this to my attention privately. That being said I'm ordering all of us to keep this conversation between the three of us......otherwise it could cause mass panic on the Ship. At least for now, I'll keep this to myself and not even share it with Commander Devroe; which I have not done previously unless I feel there is a need for her to know" Jamie concluded being very stern.

"Not that my opinion pulls much weight but I agree Captain, this should remain between just the three of us" Johan stated then glanced over at Sarissa and smiled.

Tbc

::OFF::

Senior Staff
USS Peel
NCC-71015