Snip

Once his work has been determined by that protocol, the 21 year old officer stepped back from helm to catch a breather of his own. Perhaps get a glass of water and sit down to clear his own mind from all noises which had once proven to be overwhelming. He was used to work under pressure after having spent three years working as a pilot in training for the Merrimack. The mentor before him had stepped aside and let the young Canidin step up.

“Do it.” Rynak spoke before turning to the ensign with a slight nod of his head, pelt shaken to the side hoping the tight muscles around his shoulders and back would eventually loosen due to the tension while they had remained hard at work. He wasn’t too sure what other input he could provide necessarily beside geographical coordinates.

But there was one advantage to the young helmsman’s training. His sense of direction and a nose that had never betrayed him before. ch’Sorel came back around the helm before eventually sitting down on his chair, tail tightly curled around his body. In a way childish but it had become a source for comfort for the Canidin.

Lieutenant JG. Rynak ch’Sorel
Helm Officer
U.S.S. Merrimack - NCC-2346 (Mariner Class)

The coordinated analysis continued across the Merrimack as each department attacked the harmonic network from a different direction.

In Engineering, Ensign Talia Mercer completed the independent calibration requested by the bridge. She ran the incoming harmonic data through secondary sensor channels before comparing it against diagnostic readings from the ship’s power distribution, impulse systems, warp machinery, hull structure, and communications equipment.

=^= Engineering to Bridge. Calibration complete. We’re detecting minor resonance through the hull and sensor housings, but nothing sufficient to account for the harmonic patterns you’re receiving. More importantly, the same relationships remain when we compensate for Merrimack-generated interference. Whatever we’re detecting is external to the ship. =^=

At Science, Ensign Mara Venn incorporated Engineering’s corrections into the developing model. The seven identified nodes remained intact, as did the pathways connecting them.

=^= Venn to Bridge. Engineering’s calibration actually strengthens our confidence in the model. The nodes aren’t sensor ghosts, and the intersections Lieutenant ch’Sorel identified remain consistent after compensation. =^=

Ward leaned closer to her Communications console as MAJEL reapplied the linguistic analysis. “Interesting.”

Several of the sequences associated with individual nodes repeated, but their arrangement changed depending upon which pathways intersected.

“These aren’t seven transmitters broadcasting the same message,” Ward said. “Each node appears to contribute something different. When their harmonics overlap, the combined pattern becomes more complex.”

She instructed MAJEL to isolate several intersections before opening the departmental channel.

=^= Ward to Science and Engineering. I’m beginning to think we’re listening to pieces of a conversation rather than individual transmissions. Science, identify which intersections produce the greatest increase in harmonic complexity. Engineering, keep monitoring for any physical changes aboard Merrimack when those intersections occur. =^=

MAJEL continued plotting the growing web across the main viewer. Seven nodes remained visible, connected by pathways that stretched well beyond Vey’lan and into the surrounding region.

Whatever the Shiarians had created—or learned to communicate through—was not confined to the crystalline city.

The Merrimack was beginning to see the edges of a much larger network.

GM Nosferatu
Your Darkest Nightmare