Posted by Lieutenant Xam Ra’Ti (Tactical Officer) in MAIN SIM: Bridge

Posted by Lieutenant Kreed (Chief Medical Officer) in MAIN SIM: Bridge

Posted by Ensign Chandel (Science) in MAIN SIM: Bridge
Posted by… suppressed (24) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>

He looked over at Dovek. “Whaddya say, Comms? We need to start a dialogue. Maybe instead of us just listening, we could say something back?”

Ra’Ti, Chief Tactical Officer

OOC: Do you still want Leah here? If not, I will sneak her off and put her elsewhere. ~Linds

OOC: I do apologize but I am back.

IC: Roman nodded, “I like the idea of a dialogue. If it’s sentient, we may be able to reason with it. Perhaps even find out what it wants?”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Xam looked at the XO and said ” It seemed to like the power surge through the shields… at least I think it might’ve. If we can talk, and it’s hungry or bored or something, I’m sure we can work out a solution… if it lets whoever is in there go.”

Ra’Ti, Chief Tactical Officer

Zaril turned to look at the XO and the Tac Officer, “Sirs I don’t know” he paused. “I don’t know how to communicate with it, I could try sending out a strong emption but I would need a doctor to give me the counter agent to the suppressant I’m on to be effective. I don’t think words will work.” he swung around, “Then there is the mater of the temporal interference and i don’t know what that will do, could communicate the wrong thing in the wrong time.”

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zaril Dovek
Communication Officer U.S.S Sentinel

“Wouldn’t using something in the Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma spectrums work? Couldn’t you see if you could use the computer to set something up with that. Perhaps something as simple as hello?”

Ensign Chandel Sci

Seeing that there was little she could do up here and Zaril seemed steady enough for the time being, she moved over to the Deltan and spoke softly in his free ear. “Call me if you need me. I mean it.”

She gave him a nod and slipped quietly to the tubolift letting the bridge crew handle the crisis.

~Leah Hart, NP

The nebula hung motionless, its tendrils drifting like smoke after a storm. The pulse that had filled the bridge was gone—replaced by a steady, rhythmic shimmer deep within the haze.

Then the pattern changed. The outer clouds began to turn, slow and deliberate, aligning the vast hidden structure so one ring faced the Sentinel.

Chandel’s console caught faint chronometric ripples—28-minute intervals, the same as Orris Station’s final readings.

On the viewer, the violet haze tightened into a spiral, like an iris narrowing around a single bright point of light at its center. The glow steadied, pale and unblinking.

The Veil wasn’t attacking.
It was watching.

Cpt. Asam, CO

“It’s not attacking, at least.” Roman seemed calm, internally he wasn’t quite so much. But he could handle himself. “Let’s keep an eye on it and keep working on possible communication.”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Chandel frowned as she studied her readings, “The last readings from the Orris station had the same 28 minute cycle that I am seeing now and I would postulate that the rotation of the outer cloud could be
a defensive alignment, a gateway formation, or the reactivation of a subspace mechanism. This is all acting very deliberately, regardless.”

Ensign Chandel Sci
Bump back onto the boards

“Send a message,” Roman cracked a tiny smile, which was unlike him, “We come in peace.”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Zaril’s eyes narrowed at the XO, and then shook his head. “Sending message Sir all channels frequencies and bands.” he said, “I will think it as well” he noted, as he turned back to the console to send the message, he was not sure that what ever it was, would respond to a message of peace, but he would try before offering something else to the XO

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zaril Dovek
Communication Officer U.S.S Sentinel

For several seconds, nothing happened.
Just the quiet thrum of the ship and the soft flicker of nebular light on the viewer.

Then the nebula answered.

Not in words.
Not in sound.

A ripple of pale light swept through the Veil — a single, smooth wave spreading outward from the structure at its center, like a pond disturbed by one deliberate touch. Sensors registered a faint uptick in the same neural-like frequencies Chandel had mapped earlier… and a soft, momentary spike in gamma-band activity, the kind associated with recognition or surprise in most known species.

The message hadn’t been ignored.
It had been noticed.

A second later, Zaril’s console fluttered with a return signal — not shaped like language, not yet, but a pulse matching the exact cadence of the phrase he had thought.

“A definite response on the Gamma band frequency and light resonance. It is definitely neural activity. Did you get anything mentally, Zaril?” Chandel asked curiously, glancing at her fellow officer.

Ensign Chandel Sci

He shook his head no. “No but it is trying to mimic me, I’m going to feed it a few examples try to start forming some basic communication starting with yes and no” He said adjusting the frequencies and his thoughts, 6khz and a happy thought and 600hz with a unapproving thought for no. Including the letters for yes and no as well.

One beat.
Two.
Three.

A perfect mirror.

The nebula was repeating the rhythm of his mind.

-EvilJen

The nebula froze.
The slow drifting particulate haze stilled entirely, as if the entire cloud were holding its breath.

Then the response came.

A 6 kHz pulse echoed back—almost identical, but not perfect. Slight delay. Slight wobble. Like a child repeating a new sound for the first time.
Alongside it, a faint surge of emotional color washed through the bridge—soft, uncertain curiosity.

A 600 Hz pulse followed, quieter, briefer… accompanied by a flicker of discomfort in the surrounding light.

It had understood the difference.

Ra’Ti gritted his teeth. He wasn’t anxious… he was frustrated. Finally, he just thought Screw it. to himself and tapped the comms. [O] Bridge to Doctor Kreed. Doc, we need you on the bridge asap. [C] He looked at the XO and, before he could be asked, said “Neurological, brain-like activity and we aren’t asking the closest thing to an expert we have? That’s just a waste.”

Ra’Ti, Chief Tactical Officer

A few moments later, the Saurian CMO came into the bridge. He looked around and then went to the XO. ” Commander. I was asked for, how may I be of assistance?”

Kreed, CMO

He sent and waited for a response. “Do you understand?” he asked it finally

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zaril Dovek
Communication Officer U.S.S Sentinel

Silence.
A long, heavy pause.
The viewer showed nothing but the great violet mass staring back.

Then—

6 kHz.
A long, steady tone, stronger than before.
And beneath it, a whisper of gamma-wave resonance brushing the edges of Zaril’s thoughts like fingertips dragging across glass.

Not language.
Not quite.

But unmistakably: Yes.

Cpt. Asam, CO

No one seemed to answer the doctor. Rand stepped from her spot at the back of the bridge. “I believe, Doctor, that science and comms need your input. The readings are brain wave patterns.” She glanced at Ra’Ti and then Alden to see if that was correct. She didn’t quite understand exactly what it was they were getting.

Yeoman Rand

Chandel jumped as if she’d just woke up. “Oh, yes Doctor my apologies. Those surges are almost hypnotic.” She tapped a few keys and a graph of the Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma spectrums showed on screen with the intervals they came in on. “As you can see, Doctor this ‘being’ seems to be communicating with waves, mostly gamma waves. We brought you up to see if you could assist in deciphering them.”

Ensign Chandel Sci

Kreed moved the science station and looked at the readings. “Definitely conscious brain wave activity. Here-” he said and pointed at a spot on the graph, “- and here. Those wave fluctuations are typical of thought process. Whatever this is… it is sentient.” He looked at Chandel and said “What else have you found?”

Kreed, CMO

Xam exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. Without waiting for permission from the XO, he said “Ok. That’s great. Chandel, Doc; work with Dovek and see if we can step up the learning curve for our new acquaintance. Yeoman Rand, get me any rules or regulations concerning first contact with unknown species. I ain’t going back to jail because we didn’t dot a ‘t’ or cross an ‘i’ somewhere. And someone go check on the Skipper. Maybe if ‘ol Cloudy McCloud over there has chilled the fu<% out a bit, maybe she is better and can get back to work. If not, then our focus is establish meaningful communication. We are not gonna fight this, got? We need to talk first.” Xam sighed. Under his breath he said ” Dammit, Rende… of all the days to have a fit…” and he began running the brainwaves through the universal translator.

Ra’Ti, Chief Tactical Officer

Sensor scans showed the following:

Delta and Theta waves: concentrated directly ahead of the ship, deep within the structure.

Alpha and Beta equivalents: a few mirrored Dovek and Asam’s brainwaves that Kreed had only recently monitored. It also had several other patterns that fluctuated with humanoid brain patterns under stress and pulsed like heartbeats.

Gamma spikes: intermittent, coinciding with moments of fear, adrenaline, or vocal distress.

Cpt. Asam, CO

“Doctor, I think the creature is in distress. Is there anyway we could use these wave patterns and communicate back to it. Reassure it? Find out why it’s in distress?”

Ensign Chandel Sci

“The brainwaves of most humanoids are unique… like fingerprints in humans. And there seems to be more than one set here. Can you isolate and separate the different ones?” Kreed asked. “That would allow us to discern which one we should be focused on.”

Kreed, CMO

Chandel nodded and her hands flew over the console to see if she could separate the patterns.

Ensign Chandel Sci

As Chandel worked the following patterns were isolated:

Pattern A — “Humanoid, Familiar Stress Signature”

Dominant Waves:

Alpha/Beta with elevated Theta, pulsing at ~8.2 Hz

Mild Gamma spikes tied to acute problem-solving

Background tone: steady, rhythmic

Crew Match:
Commander Roman Alden

The nebula’s pattern mirrors this… but exaggerated, as if it were copying only the emotional overlay (tension, alertness), not the personality behind it.

Pattern B — “Empathic/Communications Modulated Pattern”

Dominant Waves:

Alpha with distinct emotional modulation

Soft recurring Theta rhythm at 6.0–6.2 Hz

Gamma surges similar to Deltan empathy.

Crew Match:
Lt. JG Zaril Dovek

Kreed has his detailed scans from Sickbay following the empathic hunger episode.

The nebula’s version contains elements of Zaril’s current and prior emotional states — curiosity, focus, recent apprehension.

This is the most closely mirrored pattern, suggesting the entity is actively using Zaril’s signals to learn.

Pattern C — “Unstable Humanoid Stress Pattern”

Dominant Waves:

Erratic Beta and Gamma spikes

Elevated Theta pushed into near-dreamlike territory

Rhythmic surges matching acute emotional agitation

Crew Match:
Captain Rende Asam

Kreed recognizes the pattern from Sickbay scans taken shortly before she stepped down from command:

disrupted neural regulation

subspace-synchronous emotional spikes

The nebula version appears fragmented, as if it captured one of her episodes and stretched it into a repeating loop.

Pattern D — “Composite Humanoid Pattern”

Dominant Waves:

Layered Alpha/Beta from multiple sources

Weak, wandering Theta

Minimal gamma, almost no emotional contour

Crew Match:
No single person — but it resembles a blend of background brainwaves from:

bridge crew under low stress,

nearby officers reacting emotionally but not directly interacting,

miscellaneous humanoid hum normally filtered out.

Pattern E — “Non-Humanoid, Non-Starfleet Neural Architecture”

Dominant Waves:

Delta and Deep-Theta only

Waveforms are too large, too slow, and too layered to be created by a humanoid brain

Oscillations occur across three slightly different phase offsets, as if the signal exists in overlapping moments

Crew Match:
None. Absolutely none.

This pattern has:

amplitude far beyond any humanoid neural organ

coherency similar to a living mind, but at a structural scale Chandel’s board isn’t designed to interpret

a resonance that repeatedly positions it directly inside the nebula’s structure

This is the mind of the phenomenon itself.
Not humanoid.
Not simple.
Not localized in one point — but spread across a massive area, like a distributed consciousness.

This is the part that seems to be responding to the deltan empathy waves

Pattern F — “Unknown Echo Pattern”

(This one stands out.)

Dominant Waves:

Extremely faint Theta and Delta

Weak, repeating rhythm at 28-minute intervals

Emotional contour is undetectable — either absent or drowned by distance

Looks like a distant memory or a decayed imprint

Crew Match:
None aboard the Sentinel.
None from any Federation species in Kreed’s medical database.

This isn’t a living mind.
It’s an echo, a leftover pattern in the nebula’s structure — perhaps from something (or someone) long gone.
But the crew has no context for what that could mean yet.

Cpt. Asam, CO

Chandel pointed out what appeared to be the crew minds, “I can’t tell if it’s this alien mind that is mirroring the crew minds or if it is different. I am querying the computer to see if it is this large alien mind imitating the crew or if it is a different mind.” Chandel keyed in the query.

Ensign Chandel Sci

The Bridge intercom pinged agan, The voice of the ship’s Chief Engineer again

[O]Karl to Bridge, whatever you are doing my engine really doesn’t like it. It says that you are touching… It, I’m assuming whatever you are working on up there. The computer warns that we do not understand, that it is dangerous. I’m inclined to take it at its word. I suggest that we momentarily halt communication efforts until we understand what is going on and why my engine is trying to warn me… and how[O]

He spoke quickly but not rushed.

Master Chief Karl - CE

Chandel blinked and looked up in shock. They were hurting the creature by trying speak with it? She was confused, what else could they do?

Ensign Chandel Sci

Kreed watched the wave distribution intently for a long moment, his large black eyes flicking back and forth. Finally he turned his head and he looked at Dovek. “Lieutenant. Who do you miss the most being so far from home? Or who in your life has died, and you no longer have them?” Immediately after asking the question, he turned back to the display and watched the ‘scattered conciousness’, and how it would react.

Kreed, CMO

Dovek was about to suggest that they respond to the chief, and rethink thier strategy, when Kreeds question hit him like a tidle wave of sadness, loss, dispair, and betrayal. Juno filled his everythought. “Sir?” He asked tears already pouring down his face. If it had not been for the inhibitors the entire bridge would be weeping with him, fortunately for them that was not the case. The anger at kreed began to well up as well, his knuckles when white as he gripped the console.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zaril Dovek
Communication Officer U.S.S Sentinel

Chandel took her hands off the console, backed up a step and looked at the CMO in confused horror. “Why would you ask him that, Doctor?” She said as she moved over to Dovek and put a hand on his arm.

Ensign Chandel Sci

Kreed pointed at the last pattern. “Because of this. Everything else is a living conciousness… even that,-” and he waved absentmindedly at the main viewer without looking, “- whatever it may be.” He watched the nebula/ mind closely. “That last pattern, I suspect, is what passes for a memory for this being. A memory of someone long gone, but not forgotten. And since the Lieutenant has a seemingly strong connection to this… then perhaps some common ground needed to be established.” He finally looked up at the screen, seeming to ignore the shock and anger directed at him.

“I believe, for now anyway, that this being is lonely.”

Kreed, CMO

“I am sorry, Doctor. I did not understand the connection.” Chandel said feeling back for attacking the CMO.

The moment Zaril’s grief hit, the sensors reacted.

Pattern B — the one that mirrored Zaril — spiked sharply across the board.
A sudden flare of Theta activity blossomed in the nebula, rising and falling in the same rhythm as the Lieutenant’s sorrow.
Not feeding on it this time.
Not mimicking.

Matching.

The great violet haze outside shivered—a faint ripple like wind across water.
The central light pulsed once… then again, softer.
Almost… cautiously.

Across Chandel’s display, the faint Pattern F — the echo, the distant lost memory — flickered for the first time since they’d separated the signatures.
Weak.
But present.
As if answering Zaril’s pain.

And Pattern E — the vast, distributed mind — shifted in amplitude.
No aggression.
No force.
Just a long, low wave rolling outward, the neurological equivalent of a slow inhale.

The nebula wasn’t attacking.
It wasn’t probing.

It was listening.
And something in Zaril’s grief resonated with something ancient, faint, and deeply embedded in the phenomenon’s consciousness.

For a beat, the ship drifted in an unnatural stillness — not held, not pushed, simply suspended, as though the Veil itself were holding its breath.

Then into Zaril’s earpiece, the childlike tone that had threaded earlier through the comms flickered back into the audio system — soft, trembling, almost questioning:

“…lo…ss…”

Just one word.
Barely formed.
Barely there.
A sound shaped not by speech but by memory.

It wasn’t trying to harm them.

It was trying to understand.

Cpt. Asam, CO

Chandel looked at the others on the bridge, at the Doctor. “What do we do now? The CE thinks we are in danger but this being seems to be in pain.”

Ensign Chandel Sci

Zaril would focus on the work that needed to be done, it was the only way the grief would not overtake him. [O] yes [C] he responded through the console,

The nebula answered almost immediately.

A clean 6 kHz return, stronger than before. Steadier.
Not mimicry this time — confirmation.

[O] Sorrow[C] ,

The violet haze dimmed, its light thinning like a cloud passing over a star. Pattern F swelled faintly, the echo stretching longer than its previous cycles.

[O]Pain[C] ,

A deep theta-wave rolled outward from the structure, slow and heavy. Several bridge officers felt pressure behind the eyes — not distress, just weight. Recognition.

[O]Anger [C] he responded as he focused on each of the emotions he was feeling.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zaril Dovek
Communication Officer U.S.S Sentinel

The response was immediate and sharp: a brief gamma spike flared through the nebula, then collapsed inward, tightly contained. The tendrils stiffened for a heartbeat… then relaxed.

The entity was not overwhelmed.
It was categorizing.

On Chandel’s board, the scattered consciousness reorganized itself — those once-chaotic patterns aligning into clearer separations, as if the being were learning emotional boundaries for the first time.

Then one final signal returned on Zaril’s console.
Not a word.
Not a frequency alone.

A compound pulse — sorrow overlaid with pain, but without anger.

Loneliness.

The ship remained still.
Not trapped.
Not released.

Simply… acknowledged.

Cpt. Asam, CO

Zaril felt sorry for the creature, he knew what it felt to be alone, even when he was not, I thought it clear. “Sir it’s lonely” he said not looking at the man.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zaril Dovek
Communication Officer U.S.S Sentinel

Kreed moved to stand next to Dovek and said “Exactly.” He looked at the view screen and the looked at Dovek. “Now I believe you need to help it with something else.” He was quiet a moment and then said “Hope. Acceptance. Help it understand that it isn’t alone anymore.”

“Should we answer Engineering?” Chandel said realizing that no one had.

Ensign Chandel Sci

Kreed, CMO

Ra’Ti tapped his comms and said [O] Bridge to Engineering. What’s your status now, Chief? [O]

Ra’Ti, Chief Tactical Officer

[O] Karl here, Current status can only be conveyed in ungentlemanly language. The entity in my engine has resumed speaking with me, it conveyed to us the importance of not waking whatever entity is out there. That if it does wake, it will feed on us, according to it we’re being affected. I’m sending biometric readings shared with us: ‘Spikes in neural activity. Elevated cortisol. Empathic bleed-through. Subspace resonance synchronizing with biological rhythms.’” He read the information on the console “According to the entity in my engine, for lack of a better name, it’s warned me that interacting with whatever’s out there is dangerous, I’m inclined to listen to it until we can at least regroup.[O]

Master Chief Karl - CE