Discoveries Part 1

Posted on Fri Aug 13th, 2021 @ 7:28am by Ensign Alexandra 'Lexi' O'Connery & E.D.E.N & Commander William Gerhard & Ensign Michael Sloan & Ensign Elegy Nascimento & Chief Petty Officer Manishie Karalo

Mission: Mission 4 - Eden
Location: The Caelestis - Deck 23 Front end
Timeline: Day 168 09:30
3211 words - 6.4 OF Standard Post Measure

Lexi was nervous. She hated things like that but she was coming along as they needed a translator to attempt to try and work out consoles as they went the other direction on deck 23 to the captain and the group that she had taken with her. The young ensign almost wished to be in that group, the captain was a reassuring presence.

“Anyone else getting a weird feeling around being on this deck like they really should not be there?” She was not a believer in that type of thing but it left her feeling a bit disconnected as they moved from the lit corridor into a chamber.

William walked out in front of the group with his plasma rifle in one hand and his scanner in the other. This was the first room that had entered since the search began on this deck and his scans showed it was fairly large. He focused on his scanner and signaled the two additional members of his security team to fan out. He declined to answer Lexi's question as he focused on his scanner.

As the armoury officers took point in the away team's advancement, Ensign Elegy Nascimento caught up to Lexi. His boot falls were loud on the deck, practically echoing in the large chamber. He holstered his hand-scanner momentarily and he checked the settings on his eyewear. Given the apparent dangers on this ship and his own impaired hearing, Elegy desired the redundancy of the speech-to-text tech built into his glasses, in case his cochlear implants experienced technical difficulties. Sidling up to Lexi, the dark-haired Science Chief swayed his body to bump his shoulder into Lexi's shoulder affectionately. Although he kept his eyes on the armoury officers, Elegy taunted Lexi with, "Steal something with me. It'll make you feel better."

Lexi jumped and looked at him suspiciously despite the affection that he was showing. "You are a bad influence. There is nothing to steal here." She whispered before signing - Always. She hated how the feeling of being watched and the feeling that they should not have been there. She knew many languages and not one conveyed just how disturbed she had been since she had seen the figure. All thoughts of having a decent shower or bath had left her days ago.

Elegy's sapphire eyes went wide --pantomiming as if Lexi had hurt his feeling-- and his jaw fell agape similarly. He winked at her as if to say, don't you underestimate me. "We can't begin to fathom what we might need in the next five, ten years," Elegy said, countering her supposition that there was nothing here to steal for science. Elegy cast a quick glance ahead, watching for the hand signals from the armoury officers. Satisfied he still had his bearing, Elegy stamped one of his boots on the deck and he smirkingly said, "The scanners say these deck panels are as strong as our hull plates. Maybe we should stock up?"

"Something to consider seeing you are moving past stealing for science," Lexi said highly amused by the man.

Manishie wasn't what you'd call a front-line armoury officer. She had extensive experience back on earth with several police departments and had made a name for herself as a good detective, on the back of which she had made it onboard the Atlantis. Walking with this group reminded her of teaming up with the arrest teams back on earth, always in the back, always with protective gear, always in a bit of a panic that the goons with the big guns would mess with the evidence. Her hand was clasped around the phaser pistol and her head was on a pivot, taking in everything she could around her.

Still keeping his hand hovered over his holstered phase pistol, Michael listened to the two ahead of him talking about ransacking the ship. "The key is to steal it, quietly." He motioned with his left hand to indicate the ship as he explained, "A quiet ship that seems empty. Gives all indications that it's free for the pillaging. But what if they're watching as a test of character. Or maybe it really is an empty ship." He let his voice drift off as he kept an ear open for anything that signalled danger.

Elf was at the back of the group, all but skipping. She loved exploring and was enjoying looking around even though this was a serious mission.

"We should have found the time," Elegy said over his shoulder to Elf, once she was close enough to hear it, "to go jogging through here. Huh, Ensign? Lesser chance of collisions."

"You wouldn't have been the first," Manishi muttered to herself, remembering her encounter with the doctor there earlier in the week. Her eyes still focused on the readings of her tricorder.

Elf nodded. "Still, I like exploring," she said brightly.

William looked up from his scanner and began to take in the room. Nothing had been picked up by his sensor sweeps, so he decided to go the old-fashioned route and use his eyes. He closed his scanner and slipped it back into his pocket before griping the foregrip on his rifle. "Well, has anyone found anything? Sound off," he said projecting his voice so he could be heard. He noted the slight echo from the room.

"Still no hints of bio signs, beyond the away teams, sir," Elegy reported. He snapped his eyes down onto his scanner display to corroborate what it had been telling him for the last kilometre of exploring. Following William into where the compartment widened out, Elegy said, "Radiation levels are normal; no indicators of movement; no sign of E.D.E.N..."

Manishi simply shook her head, "All clear here, sir." she sounded off.

Lexi turned to answer and let out a scream as the AI appeared next to her. She really hated when the thing did that even if it was interesting to see. She hated being the blond damsel in distress, it made things very boring.

Elf grinned "Hi EDEN!"

The Emergency Disaster Engagement Network looked at the woman and smiled nodding. At least one person on the ship seemed to be intrigued to see her whilst the others "Ah, there you are. I gather things have gotten a little out of hand." She said in the airy accent that freaked Lexi out. It reminded her of old horror films.

"You could say that, E.D.E.N.," replied Elegy Nascimento, nodding at her slowly. He set his jaw and then he said, "In your own way, you've been hospitable to our crew. In your own way, you helped us to find the surplus medicine and fuel we needed to survive. We haven't said that in your own way has been... ambiguous at best. But now we said it. And one of our crewmates has been killed."

This was the first time Michael had met this artificial intelligence. It was something he had not been prepared to encounter. He decided to stay quiet was for the best as the rest of the crew seemed to think talking to an AI of unknown origin was acceptable. Instead, the former Armory Chief allowed his eyes to explore the area they were in as he tried to find the source of the projection before them.

William discreetly signaled his team to begin establishing a perimeter while he made his way closer to where the hologram was. He passed by Elegy and whispered softly, "Tone it down Ensign. We don't want to spook it." He then looked up to E.D.E.N, "E.D.E.N, we have some questions we would like to ask you about what has happened aboard your ship a few days ago. Are you aware one of our crewmates was found murdered aboard this vessel?"

"I am aware. I cannot help with what has happened with your crew member." She explained. "My programming was damaged after the event. I only know of it from the other group and their discussions." E.D.EN explained flickering for a moment. She appeared solidly again and looked around at the group. "What other questions do you have? My programming will not allow me to go against the foundation."

"Did you witness what happened to our crewman? You seem to be aware of people aboard your ship, and he was viciously attacked. Why did you not intervene?" William asked. He chose to press a bit in his questioning.

"I am meant to provide support for any survivors on board my vessel that were here at the start of the emergency and I am unable to act or go against any member of the foundation even to preserve life Lieutenant. " EDEN provided looking straight at the man. She was avoiding the heart of the question but she was unable to tell them anymore.

Lexi frowned at the AI and looked at where they had been heading. She noticed a gap in the wall and glanced around at anyone who looked bored trying to catch their attention.

Noticing Lexi, Sloan made his way toward the communications officer. He made sure his back was toward the A.I. in case it was good at reading lips. In a hushed tone, his body language suggested he was going to ask about the decoration of the room but he whispered, "Find something?"

"Behind my shoulder and to the right." Lexi indicated the gap behind her. Knowing that she now had someone with her the communication officer moved towards it toeing it open with her boot. "Holy.... guys... Lieutenant Williams!" She called drawing the attention of everyone and the AI who disappeared with a smirk.

Rushing toward Lexi, Michael joined the woman by the door. There was definitely something there. It would have been easy to miss unless you just happened to be gazing around the room looking for something. Being a Romulan in Human skin gave Michael a bit of a strength advantage, which he used to brace against the discovered door to help Lexi push.

Lexi pushed open the door more and revealed the compartment inside. It looked like a server storage area but far more advanced just like the rest of the ship and bigger than anything that the communication officer had seen. "I think we found the heart of the ship." She whispered stepping inside. It was why they had come to deck 23 as the AI had been hinting about it but this was not what she had been expecting at all.

Wrinkling his nose, Michael smelled something that was out of place in a server room. "I think this is the A.I. core, what else would need this much computing power," he stated, looking at all of the databanks. Going back to his nose, Sloan added, "Though something isn't right, it seems more lived-in than an abandoned ship should be."

"The man in black," Lexi said thinking back to the man she had seen watching them.

William saw the AI vanish and looked over to where Lexi and Sloan stood. He signaled his armory team to take up positions around the opening of the room and made his way over to the doorway. He pulled his scanner out and began a sweep for bio signs. "Interesting, this room appears to be shielded from our scanners. Ensign Sloan, Crewman Fuller and I will clear this room. Chief Karalo and the rest of you wait until we signal it's clear before entering. Phase pistols set to stun."

Having once held Gerhard's position as Chief Armory Officer, Sloan was familiar with what was asked. Reaching to his holster with him offhand, Michael double-checked that his phase pistol was still set to the stun setting. He then turned his head to William and nodded his readiness.

Elegy Nascimento held his ground, remaining back in the corridor as the armoury officers entered the server room. He mounted his hand-scanner on the back of one of his EV suit's gauntlets. He programmed it to analyze the workings of the computer technology inside and to drink up any electronic signals being transmitted by the servers. Once the scanner began to hum happily, Elegy grasped his own phase pistol and pointed it at the deck for now.

Lexi watched the group step inside and frowned wishing she got to go in with them. "This is getting more and more creepy by the second. Do you think the other group is okay?" She wondered to the small group left as they waited for them to come back.

William motioned for Sloan to take point and indicated to Crewman Fuller to take up the rear. He shouldered his rifle and entered after Sloan. He swept left and checked all his corners as he continued in. He could tell the room was massive, and the smell became stronger as he entered. Someone had definitely been living in the area for some time. He made his way down the rows of what appeared to be Data Core sections. There was a soft humming sound that was emanating from the stacks of data cores, and he could also feel the heat that the servers were putting out. When he had reached the far side, he turned back to the center of the room. "Clear left," he called to his team and listened for the responses.

Crewman Fuller swept the center stacks and found no signs of any individual. As he approached the centermost data core, he could see there was charring and what appeared to be broken fragments of the hardware on the ground. "Clear middle," he said and then searched for the two officers with his eyes, "Lieutenant, Ensign, you may want to see this."

William turned and made his way over to where the young man stood. He took in the damage with his eyes and searched for any evidence of what may have caused it. He then looked back towards the entrance where they had come, "It's all clear in here. Chief Karalo, post two officers at the entrance and then join us in here." He then motioned for Crewman Fuller to position the rest of the Armory team at the perimeter. "Ensign Nascimento, I think we will need your expertise on what we are looking at here," he added.

Padding into the server room slowly, Elegy lowered his phase-pistol again to raise his hand-scanner instead. "This isn't a central processing unit as we know it, sir," was Elegy's first assessment of the nearest server stack. After reading the scanner readings again, he said, "It's made from linear memory crystals, nanotech processors and fibres that look... biological?"

As the voices echoed back from somewhere inside to say it was clear Lexi finally got a proper look inside of what they assumed was the AI's DataCore. "Let's go." She said stepping past the door and wincing at the smell that Sloan had been right about. The area smelt lived in and it was familiar but what interested Lexi was where Ensign Sloan, Crewman Fuller and Lieutenant Gerhard were stood waiting for them - a huge damaged DataCore. "That is some damage."

"Looks like it was deliberate," Michael stated as he knelt to examine the damage. The one thing about data was that it was nearly impossible to delete, but familiarity with the technology was the key to unlocking the secrets within. Right now, they knew next to nothing about what created this ship or what kind of technology they were dealing with. "This will take some time to deal with, but I can probably get something," the Romulan added as he looked at the DataCore.

“You can fix it?” Lexi asked surprised.

"Maybe not back to full and maybe not all the data," Michael narrowed his eyes at the device. "I can probably get something, there are only a few ways to store data. The biggest difference in technology is encryption and power supply."

William nodded as he observed the rest of the stack. This must've been why EDEN was having trouble describing what had happened. Someone or something had been using the room as a living space and had decided to destroy this particular DataCore. "One thing is certain, someone or something else is on this ship. And they have been living here for some time."

Having set up a security perimeter Manishie stepped into the room. It really did smell of stale air and sweat, "Homely." She commented, her face wrinkled up in disgust, "Everyone, please don't touch anything. Did we find where they sleep? It probably has some personal effects there. Could tell us a bit about this person." She hesitantly walked further into the room, looking around for any signs that might be useful to their investigation.

"Well aren’t on you a surprise. Not just a security officer after all." Lexi teased just a little as

Manishie looked over at Lexi and smiled, "Someone in the department has to have a working brain." She ventured deeper into the section to try and find the personal space of whoever was holed up in there.

Lexi chuckled a bit taking in all the security officers and their reactions to the teasing. She watched Manishie walk away further into the space. She was going to join her when a thought occurred to her. "I wonder how the other team are doing?" She asked making conversation trying not to get distracted by memory crystals, nanotech processors and biological fibres.

Lexi's comment reminded William that this was a two-team search. He nodded in agreement as he pulled his communicator from his pocket, "I'm sure the Captain is going to want to see this for herself." He then activated the communicator and spoke into it, "Gerhard to Captain Leroux. We've found something over here you are going to want to see. It appears to be a DataCore storage room and there are signs someone has been living here for some time."

No answer came through the communicator. The silence was deafening for a moment before Lexi spoke up. "The communicators are fine. I checked their function before we left." She assured quickly not wanting to go straight to there must be an issue with the other team but she heavily implied that with her tone.

While William and Lexi attempted to make contact with the other away team, Elegy Nascimento had crouched at the base of one of the computer hardware stacks that was only mildly singed. It didn't look as out-of-commission as the others if the flickering lights and telltale clicks were any indication. After he instructed his hand-scanner to attempt its own version of hailing frequencies with the server, Elegy glanced back over his shoulder at William's alarming discovery. "Sir, I've spent more time on this ship than Atlantis in the last week," Elegy advised. "We've never lost intraship communications during our previous away missions. None of their building materials or energy signatures have hinted at any interference..."

William glanced over at Elegy before turning his attention back to his communicator. He tuned the frequency a bit and set the communicator to broadcast on all channels, "Gerhard to Captain Leroux, please respond."

But there was no response.