Posted by Ensign V’alura Belmont (Science Officer) in Main Sim - Holodeck 3 - Faster Then The Speed Of Thought Maybe

Posted by Fleet Captain Drudoc Andone (Commanding Officer) in Main Sim - Holodeck 3 - Faster Then The Speed Of Thought Maybe
[snip]

He ran a hand through his hair and peered around the holodeck. A miniature rendering of the Ark Angel hung in the exact center of the grid-lined room with several translucent lines stabbing outward from key areas and pinning to batches of data likewise suspended. Several of the ship’s interior systems were also rendered at equidistant points around the Ark Angel, reflecting the vessel’s current configuration. Flanking each of the lesser models along the wall were cascades of technical information—intermix pressures, EPS flow rates, gravametric outputs, and so much more—and several subsets of equations from his preliminary research from their venture in the runabout.

With a little luck, he thought, smiling weakly, we’ll be able to figure out a way to get us home that doesn’t involve leapfrogging across the galaxies using a volatile engine.

“Is this what you wanted to see me about before your test flight, Ensign?” a calm voice asked from his shoulder.

Caelian nodded slowly, looking sideways at L’Nel. The Vulcan was too busy studying the construct to notice. “The start of it, anyway. If I’m right—well, that’s a very big ‘if’ wrapped up in more assumptions and guesses than I care to admit—a week of some serious number-crunching is all that stands between us and Federation space. And you, my friend, are one of two very vital components needed to make it work.”

A dubious brow lifted in his direction. “…Indeed.”

“J-Just wait,” the engineer laughed, waving L’Nel’s stare away. “I’ll explain soon enough. Just waiting on—”

“We’re here!”

The door to the holodeck rumbled open and Sophia Jackson sauntered in with a smile on her face. Cradled in her arms was the protoform they’d discovered accidentally during their test flight. While most of the crew had given her the playful sobriquet of “Mini Fayth” after the woman she resembled, Caelian thought of her fondly under a different name more reflecting his current aspiration for the diminutive creature: Hope. Jackson gave L’Nel a polite nod, made introductions between him and Hope at a careful distance as not to startle the protoform being. The Vulcan greeted her calmly and plainly, as was his custom, before Sophia turned to him.

“Hello, there, little one,” Caelian beamed, crouching a bit and putting his hands on his knees to be more eye-to-eye with Hope. “How are you feeling?”

—Caelian Weir, Engineer—

”..I have been given food to eat and drink. It has been a strange session to feed this form in that way, it seems so.......inefficient.” MiniFayth commented. Looking around then the mini-form of Fayth seemed to take in the holodeck. “..What are we to be doing here? Your crew mates did not say.” She asked then.

GM CockRoach

V’alura finally made her appearance in the holodeck, her customized console in tow. She smiled at the gathered group, “Sorry for the delay, somehow I always end up fashionably late to the party.” She found a spot to set down the console and that’s when she noticed Mini Fayth in Jackson’s arms, “Little one! Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. It’s good to see you again,” V’alura couldn’t help but worry over the protoform that was suddenly and without warning given a physical body.

To Caelian she added, “Looks like you’ve been busy. Tell me what you need and I’ll see it done.”

Ensign Belmont (Science)

“Right, so everyone’s here.” Caelian began to vibrate with the anticipation. Presentations had always been one of his failings at the Academy, and this was far from a simple talk on warp theory. “Ah, but first let’s make our guest comfortable. Computer, generate a one-meter stand near the Ark Angel display.”

A plain and polished plinth of white materialized nearby. He motioned for Jackson to come closer, and she gently placed Hope on it. Giving the protoform what he hoped was an assuring nod, he turned back to his peers.

“First, I’d like to say how much I appreciate everyone taking their free time to be here,” he said, clasping his hands in front of his chest. “I know it’s been crazy busy getting the ship ready for the slipstream modifications. I’m hoping that a theory I’ve been kicking around will pan out and we won’t need to wait five thousand years to see Earth again.”

Sophia smirked. “Get to the point, boss?”

“Fine, fair.” Caelian chuckled sheepishly at her jibe, then gestured to Hope. “We now know that this region of space is home to several very interesting forms of energy, and not just the naturally-occurring boridium. We also have the so-called reality bubbles consisting of protoform energy. This energy is fundamentally similar to both transporter and replicator energy. As we’ve seen with our little friend here, these protoforms are able to bring thought—also a type of energy—into being by virtue of contact with a sentient, self-aware being like us.”

Caelian’s voice cracked a bit as he recalled the incident aboard the runabout, but thankfully managed to wrestle his grief under control before continuing.

“We learned through a very unfortunate incident that the protoform bubbles are somewhat self-aware. I’m only guessing here, but I can only equate it to a level of consciousness found in simple life like, say, an amoeba: pure instinct. Hope here—who most of you know as Mini Fayth—is still coming to terms with her new form, so we’re still learning through the difficult lens of her ignorance and innocence.”

Jackson leaned closer to L’Nel and murmured, “Meaning she doesn’t know what it’s like to be us yet, so she can’t tell us what it’s like to be them. I’m guessing it’s like trying to get a blind man who can suddenly see to explain what a sunrise looks like.”

The Vulcan nodded dubiously, then stared at Caelian. “I take it her presence pertains to an aspect of your theory.”

“It does.” The engineer turned and tapped a few commands into the console beneath the projected starship. “Before we knew that the protoform pockets were life forms, I’d intended to attempt to harness their energy by way of the deflector dish and channel it through a specially-prepared area of the ship. The first hiccup in this plan is that we now know the protoforms are alive, so we would need to find a way to gather this energy without committing what amounts to murder.”

Caelian gave Hope a deeply apologetic look. “I have absolutely no desire to bring any further harm to your kind, little one. I hope you can believe that.”

“But you do have a thought, right, boss?” Sophia pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Otherwise, why else would we be here?”

“While it’s not exactly something I would care to do, another option has presented itself that’s a bit more… moral.” Caelian paused to gather his thoughts, steel himself for what he was about to suggest. “Hope mentioned that, when her kind die, they effectively release their energy out into space. I’m hoping to study this energy burst so that we can figure out how to harness it to achieve our goal of getting home. While it’s a little more grim—”

“You can say that again, boss.” Jackson grumbled.

“—it might serve the same end without violating our Starfleet oaths and the sanctity of life. I’m not even sure it will work anyway, but it’s the best option I can think of at this point. If my theory holds, their energy will manifest our desire to return to Federation space by returning us to our section of the universe. I can only hope the process is the same matter-energy conversion as it appears to be.”

L’Nel lifted a brow in his direction and clasped his hands behind his back pensively. “You said that there was a part of your theory of which I was to take part. Explain.”

Caelian nodded and turned to the image of the Ark Angel. A few commands caused the display to expand and break away until a small interior room was shown. A complex array of cables snaked through the center of the room and up the back of what appeared to be a chair.

“Right, so, there is a lot of risk involved with this kind of experiment,” he explained carefully, “the chief of which will be the controlled interaction between our sentient subject and the nebulous protoform energy. One wayward thought and the unexpected happens.” Caelian gestured to Hope with an apologetic grin. “While it doesn’t necessarily have to be a Vulcan, I thought that our best chance at success would be to channel the energy in such a way that it only came into contact with a singular strong and focused mind. I thought maybe we could start smaller-scale before taking the entire ship for a ride that could theoretically end with us all ending up as energy on the other side of the galaxy.”

L’Nel nodded soberly.

“V’alura,” Caelian said quickly, moving away from the deathly prospect. “I’m going to need your scientific know-how on the design end of this whole thing. While I’m pretty versed on engine design, physics, and even quantum theory, I tend to look at things from a technical angle. We’ll need your fresh eyes—and your number-crunching friend—to shore up holes in the design. This is going to require your expertise as much as ours. I hope you’re up to the task.”

He sighed slowly, and a wave of weariness seemed to sweep through him. He turned to Hope and crouched so he could once again meet her eyes. “While we can’t do this without you or your kind, little one,” he said carefully, “I want you to understand that I won’t do this if it will bring any further harm to you or the others. Will you help us?”
—Caelian Weir, Engineer—