Posted by Commander Brad Walker (Chief Of Staff/Second Officer) in Main Sim - Bridge

Posted by Captain Dira Myqian (Commanding Officer) in Main Sim - Bridge

Posted by Commander Brad Walker (Chief Of Staff/Second Officer) in Main Sim - Bridge
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>

Dira frowned. “Take us to yellow alert,” she told Zoi and turned to face the view screen. They couldn’t use transporters, and they knew so little about these people and this nebula. “Can we disrupt that are of space enough to let them know we know they are there, but not cause any harm?”

Captain Myqian, CO

“If we’ve detected them, however fleetingly the contact has been, it’s likely whatever is in this nebula is interfering with their masking as well,” Brad chimed in as the alert lights began pulsing yellow. “Can we call over to the Whisper and see if they have an escort that they know about?”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Dira turned her gaze towards the view screen, taking in the nebula, and the stricken ship they were desperate to help. She nodded and looked over at the comm station. “Open a channel to the Celestial Whisper.”

“Channel open, captain.”

=/\=This is Captain Myqian on the Ogawa. We’re detecting some unusual signals and are wondering if you might have another ship nearby.=/\= She had no way to know how much of her message came through clearly, but at least their last conversation had been a bit clearer.

Captain Myqian, CO

Bump for Tom

OOC: Well, with there being no Tom for the time being… Linds?

IC: Brad took note that the away team had reached the Whisper, sending up a little prayer that they’d be able to quickly get to the bottom of this.

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

OOC: Yep, lol. Here we go.
IC:
The screen shifted and a man appeared. He had the same pale blue skin. \Greetings. I am Assistant Keeper Jusetith Zor’ell. Keeper Vell’kor is greeting your people. You say you detected unusual signals?\

Dira nodded, relieved to note that the interference seemed to be less currently. Whether that would stay that would remained to be seen. “Yes. There seem to be something near our two vessels that is disturbing the EM background. We can’t identify it, and it comes in and out of our detection.”

Zor’ell was still, with no expression crossing his face for several seconds. He looked off to the side and nodded before he looked back to Myqian. //Captain. that is most unusual. It is possible it could be a ship. We are checking to see if we can also detect it.// He looked away again, the voice of someone else on the Whisper’s command area too soft to make out.

Dira shot Brad a look. Well, at least no one was panicked. That was good, right?

The Assistant Keeper looked back at the screen. //We cannot detect anything unusual, but your ship does seem to interact with the nebula in interesting ways. Perhaps you are detecting something we cannot because of this uniqueness.\

“It’s quite possible,” Dira said. “If it is a ship, should we be concerned. Is it one of yours.”

Zor’ell’s mouth opened and then he clamped it shut. //No, it is not here with us. We are on a pilgrimage. It is sacred. If it belongs to my people, then we have ways of detecting them and are trying to do so now. But some types of our ships can veil themselves. It is… unusual, however. And I have no idea why one would do so here.\

Zoi watched the Assistant Keeper’s body language and facial expressions for anything that could be suspicious. They were a foreign race and culture but she watched nonetheless. She didn’t like the unknown of a possible ship nearby. It could be whomever or whatever instigated the illness, or were simply waiting for a ship to become prone in this nebula and ready to be scavengers. There were too many possibilities to name and she had to wonder if they somehow got themselves in a trap.

Dira nodded. “We’ll stand by and wait for your results. Meanwhile, I need to confer with my crew. We have people visiting you and we are preparing to take on any of yours that you need us too. I want to make sure everything is safe.”

He nodded and the screen returned to the view of the intense and chaotic nebula and the Celestial Whisper before them.

Myqian blew out a breath. “Just to make things more fun, right?” she said towards Brad and Zoi, before turning to Haven. “Let’s be proactive and assume there is a ship and if it’s hiding in plain sight, it doesn’t mean us well. We have hundreds of ill people on that ship, plus we’ll have our own people going back and forth. Make sure we can keep everyone safe.” Her gut said that is someone didn’t want them interfering with the Whisper, they would have objected by now.

“I agree,” Brad said. “Including with their statement that any ‘veiling’ of ships in this area is unusual. Unusual situations usually mean ‘someone’s up to no good.’”

=/\=Bridge to Engineering. Is it possible to improve our sensors any further? We’re detecting distortions in the EM background but we can’t pinpoint further. We might have company and our friends are helping to confirm if that is the case, but I don’t want to rely on that.=/\=

Captain Myqian, CO

Zoi nodded and relayed all readings from her investigation on to Engineering including all the diagnostics so they wouldn’t think it necessary to rerun them and waste time. Though she had the feeling the mystery guests were not yet ready to make themselves known, they would soon enough. It is better to be as prepared as possible especially given the contagious nature of the illness. They had no way of knowing yet if it would be contagious to the crew of the Ogawa and every precaution should be taken. Hurrying along those precautions because of some malcontent could be the difference between life and death for the crew.

Haven, CoS

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

=^=Engineering here Captain. Maybe? It depends on what is causing the interference. Um… let me try a few things and I will get back to you Captain.=^=

Lt Sutret - CE

=^= Engineering to the Bridge. We were able to clear up the sensors using the same field pulse we used to get the engines working. I recommend that we don’t spend too much time in here, because it’s only a matter of time before we have further system impacts. =^=

“Captain, sensors are cutting through the interference. Whatever they did down there worked,” the NE at the science station said.

“Good. Anything?” Myqian said, turning to Haven.

Zoi would see that there was indeed some sort of large object sitting just off the starboard bow of the Celestial Whisper. It was large enough to be a ship, though it was about a third the size, just a bit bigger than the Ogawa’s runabouts.

The comm chirped an incoming call. “Captain, The Whisper is hailing us.”

“On screen,” Myqian said.

Before them appeared Assistant Keeper Zor’ell. ||Captain, we have investigated the signal, and we can confirm there is a vessel that is veiled. It is an Aetherian vessel, but no other Aetherian ships should be here. This is The Pilgrimage. It is a sacred trip. Only authorized vessels are allowed to enter the nebula. They have not answered our calls, but they have not shown any offensive actions thus far.||

Well that was finally an answer to the name for these people and Dira filed that away. This was still a first contact, after all, despite the emergency, and while they were focused on the plague, it was important to get to know and understand these people quickly. Details might make a massive difference to the outcome of the situation. “If your ship is the only one allowed in this nebula, then this other ship would know this. Do you believe they mean harm?”

Zor’ell seemed conflicted, but Dira was cautious to ascribe body language signs to a people they just met.||It is possible. Sadly, not all believe The Pilgrimage is worthwhile. They would rather pretend it isn’t necessary.||

“Can you tell me about this Pilgrimage and why it is so important to your people?”

He looked away, casting his gaze to someone off screen. Looking back, Zor’ell nodded. ||It is a long story, but a long time ago we were foolish and there was an accident. There was much destruction and we were forced to relocate our home to a new world. We return to remember the past so we do not make the same mistakes in the future.||

As a cultural feature, it made sense, but it certainly only added to her list of questions. “But only one ship can be authorized? And presumably only so many people. Can anyone go on this Pilgrimage?”

He shook his head. ||There is a lottery open to the public for some of the slots, but the rest are chosen by our government.||

Warning bells sounded in her mind and Dira understood exactly how this situation could possibly go. If there were disgruntled people on that ship, then they might not care there were people ill. Or, since they were not responding, it was possible they were experiencing issues as well. “Would you be alright with us trying to reach out to them if we are able?”

||You can certainly try. Just, be cautious Captain. This is not a normal occurrence here.||

Dira nodded. “I understand. We will take all precautions.”

||Captain, we’ve also gotten word from the lower levels that you might benefit from info on the illness. We’ll send over all the data we can while your team collects samples. Let us know if there is anything more you need from us, and know how grateful we are you are here.||

She gave him a warm smile. “We appreciate the info and I promise we’ll do everything we can to help. Ogawa out.”

The screen went blank and Myqian blew out a breath and turned to look at Brad and Zoi. “Presuming we can figure out how to hail them, we’re in a difficult position. We can only split out resources so many ways, and we don’t know if they are here to cause problems or not. But my instincts tell me that a ship showing up unexpected on an important cultural journey is about people feeling left out of something and resenting it. Thoughts? Ideas? Other concerns?”

Captain Myqian, CO

Lt Sutret - CE

Brad’s expression darkened. “Or they’re the ones responsible for introducing the virus and are following along to make sure it took, then destroy the ship and make it look like something got them while on this Pilgrimage. Maybe a way to put an end to the practice.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Dira nodded slowly. “It definitely possible. We know nothing about these people and without knowledge of their history, we’ve got a lot of blindspots. Right now, some of that will probably get better once some of the away team returns and we can talk face to face with these Aetherians. Over comms is better than nothing, but it’s not ideal under the circumstances.”

Captain Myqian, CO

Zoi frowned at the now blank screen and sighed. The Captain was being diplomatic but Zoi’s mind was filing through possibilities. “I would say, Captain, your assessment is the most probable one. The fact that they are cloaked is a little disconcerting. I would ask that if they were left out, why come so close to the approved vessel instead of staying back further. Also, are they infected as their brethren are? Perhaps that is the reason they are not answering. If we approach communication with concern for their welfare, they might answer us even though they might not answer the other ship. It is worth a try to contact them even if they are the source of the virus. More knowledge is always good. If they are the antagonist, maybe what they will see is a caring ear and they will want to tell their side.”

Haven, CoS

“If they don’t answer, do we risk sending out another small craft to try an in-person contact?” Brad asked. “If they’re hostile, uninfected and simply choosing to ignore hails as a way of pretending they’re not actually there, they might attack.”

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Dira nodded slowly as she digested the valid comments offered. This was one of those situations that fell squarely on her shoulders as Captain. The kind of situation that seemed small at first but could disastrous consequences if you made the wrong decision. Fortunately for her, and her crew, Dira had settled into her identity and style of being a captain and the burden of consequences was acknowledged but tucked to the side.

“Especially with a species we know so little about, we have to give the benefit of the doubt. We’ll hail them and see what happens. I’m not keen on sending another vessel over until we have a solid grasp on what the illness is, but once we do, then we can consider reaching out in other ways.”

“Like a photon torpedo to the gullet,” Brad muttered. “Or a telepathic broadcast, depending on the mood.”

Dira quirked a brow which always had the effect of exaggerating the bulges and ridges around her brows and nose. “I mean, hypothetically we could try telepathy, but we have no idea if that would even work with them. I can sense them quite clearly, but knowing they are under so much distress, I thought it best to batten down the hatches as it were.” She knew he had been joking, but it was a possibility if they thought it stood a chance of working. But these people weren’t psi-positive that she could detect, so it was likely a moot point.

“It has the added benefit of keeping you in the here and now, which we all need,” Brad replied with a small grin. “‘Never his mind on where he was. What he was doing.’“

She looked at Zoi. “Try to hail them. Assume a similar frequency to the Whisper.”

Captain Myqian, CO

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

Brad went over to a science station as the hail went out. Theoretically, they should be able to detect if their transmissions were being received by anything. Then, they would know if they were being deliberately ignored.

“Captain,” someone at the ops station said. “We’re getting a data packet from the Celestial Whisper. It’s the requested information on the illness.”

Myqian nodded. “Excellent. Send it down to Dr. Kane and the rest of the research team. It’ll give everyone a place to start.”

OOC: I’ll post that info down there tomorrow. :)

Captain Myqian, CO

Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Chief of Staff

The unpredictable nature of the nebula meant that since the ship was only detectable by the sensors in certain moments, it was hard to gauge what was or wasn’t happening on the secretive vessel. However, since the Celestial Whisper could receive their communications, it was likely that the other ship could too, provided their systems were working normally.

Furthermore, there were fluctuations in the sensor readings where the ship was that suggested that the ‘cloak’ was more a blocking of sensors than a true cloak, and that if someone were looking out a window at the right spot they might be able to see the ship. That the Ogawa and Whisper were both able to register the fluctuations meant that something wasn’t working properly.

~Mischief Maker