Seeking Solutions

Posted on Mon May 22, 2017 @ 8:57pm by Commodore Michael Aravan & Lieutenant Commander Kelani Tetanal & Lieutenant Dalton McNamara

Mission: Avatar
Location: Science
Timeline: MD 10 || 0800 Hours

Lieutenant Dalton McNamara stood near the probe analyzing the data from it and occasionally laughed. "Wow. Some of the notions that humans had back then. It's almost as if they had no clue what they were doing. I'm surprised we made it to the stars."

Kelani looked up from her work and smiled slightly saying, "Indeed. However I believe all of us were quite naive then.". She continued in a musing tone, "Perhaps that naivete is the basis for our current problems...."

"How so, Lieutenant?" McNamara asked, curious.

"Look here," she said, pointing to several entries, "The coding is so straightforward and so obviously unencrypted that it would be a simple exercise to alter or circumvent them. The burning questions are how and why."

"Why wouldn't they leave it unencrypted?" McNamara asked. "It was an open message to all races and species. If it was encrypted, we couldn't get the message of peace and knowledge which they shared."

"Good point," Kelani replied, chagrined. "The openness of the message does leave the probe open to tampering, however. "

She frowned, continuing, "It does not follow, however. If there were a civilization had encountered this probe, they had only had to analyze the probe's message to locate Earth.". She shook her head, " Something is missing...."

McNamara looked confused. "But Lieutenant," he said. "The entire point of the probe was to establish first contact with other races. That's why it was unencrypted and filled with knowledge. But I want to know what else, if anything, was included in it."

"What else?" Kelani asked, moving to McNamara, " Have you found indications of additional files?"She peered at the screen displaying the downloaded files. "If there were additional files, that might help explain many things...."

"Well, I'm not an analyst, but let's separate this from the system and have the computer do a full diagnosis to see if anything is out of place," Dalton suggested. "Do you have any parameters you wish to set?"

"Hmmm. Potentially expandable files--files most likely to be adapted to carry additional information, I would think."

She moved to another terminal, brow furrowed in thought, "There is a method to what is happening to us and we must discover that method."

McNamara started to enter the parameters and then a shock from the terminal hit his fingertips and made him jump back. "Woah! I think we have an overloaded isolinear chip here," he said. "Let me get down here under it and check."

"Are you injured?". Kelani asked, alarmed. Once she realized that McNamara was indeed all right, she began to check as well, saying, " This may be a clue as to what is going on. Be careful, Mr. McNamara."

"I'm good," he grunted as he pulled the panel off under the terminal and crawled under it. His voice was muffled as he responded a moment later. "Three blown isolinear chips," he said. "We need replacements and the turbolifts are down, but I think we have some of the storage room here."

"Very well," Kelani said, continuing, "I will continue my analysis in the meantime."

McNamara grunted and came from under the terminal and headed back to the storage room. "I hope they shut the primary core down soon," he said from the room as he looked for the chips."

"I don't," a voice that sounded like McNamara came from behind her before two strong hands wrapped themselves around her throat.

Kelani attempted a scream and began to struggle, her breath coming fast. She tried to activate her comm badge to no effect.

In desperation, she called on her Cairn heritage, trying to influence her attacker's mind, as well as trying to call for McNamara.

~Help me!!!~ The mental plea went out.

Even though she tried to influence her attackers mind, there was no mind there for hers to meet. However, Lieutenant McNamara heard the mental cry for help and came out of the storage room to see himself trying to strangle Lieutenant Tetanal. "What the.....computer, disengage holo emitters, authorization McNamara Delta Nine One Seven!" he shouted.

The being trying to strange Kelani abruptly vanished and he went over to her. "Are you okay, Lieutenant?" he asked her.

Kelani' breath came in a gasping wheeze as she clung to McNamara and tottered to a nearby chair. At first she could only nod, but as her breathing steadied she replied in a raspy voice, "I am a little--worn-- but I am already feeling better." Her eyes hardened as she continued, "We must find a way to disable the holoemitters and contain this entity, whatever it is, or the next person may not be as fortunate as I."

She rose slowly and placed her hand on his shoulder with a gentle smile, saying, "Thank you for my life."

"I may have saved it, but I'm pretty sure the computer is trying to take it from us," McNamara said as he looked around the lab. "We need to get this information to the Security Cyberdivision and see what they can do with it if there's malicious code in the computer. Do you have other ideas?"

Kelani pondered as she moved to her desk, removing something from a drawer and moving back to the lab area. She spoke slowly, saying, "We must devise a method of communication that the computer can neither anticipate nor corrupt--otherwise we cannot be sure of orders received. The emergency comm badges are working well, but it is only a matter of time before the computer gain access to them as well."

As she moved to McNamara she held up an ancient type writing pad in which she had written 'Morse code?'.

She continued to pace, an idea occurred to her and she spoke again, "Perhaps we can weaken the computer, or at least keep
It preoccupied for a time.....either with an unsolvable mathematical problem or some other form of question that would draw on its resources....."

"That sounds like an idea," he said after he looked at the paper. "Although we'll need something really complex. Maybe get with Operations and see what they've came up with and take it from there. I'll keep on trying here."

"Very well, I will speak with Ops and get their input. Hopefully we can devise something." She moved to the door and paused, remembering the reports of chaos in the corridors. "I will return shortly, if all goes well."

So saying, she activated her transporter armband and faded from view.