STF

Trying to reach Deck 31

Posted May 22, 2019, 10:35 p.m. by Lieutenant Commander Collin Harding (Chief Medical Officer) (Charley Gilmore)

Posted by Lieutenant Sural (Chief Engineer) in Trying to reach Deck 31

Posted by Captain Hamilcar Jasar (Captain) in Trying to reach Deck 31

Posted by Lieutenant Sural (Chief Engineer) in Trying to reach Deck 31
Posted by… suppressed (19) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Snip

Sural found that at certain times the human direction of disinformation was occasionally valuable. However, as a Vulcan, he could see little reason to not speak directly. “We cannot,” Sural replied. “However in trusting in our party here as true to this universe, and looking to our goal of reasserting the computer central programming, we may assess any we find in the alignment of those goals. Ensign, whether you are realizing it or not, you are the most important person in this group right now, to undertake this mission. The safety of the ship is dependent upon us to complete this.” It may have been a bit heavy handed, however, it was true. If the programming determined to scuttle or destroy the ship, then all was lost.

Galen nodded and smiled. This was the real crewman. “Sorry, buddy. Had to be sure. Come on, let’s get this me tangled up like the Chief said.
He and Jobs spent the next few minutes securing up the doppleganger while Sathut and Sural were talking. Galen also took the opportunity to cut a patch of hair from the back of the duplicate with a cutting tool from a corridor toolbox in one of the maintenance lockers in the hall. “There… now we can tell him from me and he, hopefully, won’t be any the wiser in case he escapes.” There was a slight chuckle to his voice as he finished and put the tool box away.

NE Galen
Security

“Astute, Mr Galen,” Sural commented.

Sathut made his way over to the pair of Galens. “Excuse me, I must do something, just a test,” he took Galen’s hand and pulled him over to the false Galen. It was like a small child pulling a grown man, so he wouldn’t have much pull unless Galen came willingly.

If Galen would walk with him over to the false Galen, Sathut would grab the hand of the false Galen and sniff it deeply, then do the same with the real Galen. “Hmm… Yes, I can smell a slight difference in a few factors. I would have to test it on another set in order to be certain, but now I have a small clue that might help me to identify your duplicates without the usage of a blood test,” he spoke with a small smile, letting go of the security officer’s hand.

Sathut, CNS

Galen went willingly, but mostly out of curiosity and the fact he had been caught of guard. “Oh,” he shrugged and smiled before absently rubbing his sniffed hand down his pants. “Well, then, I will leave the sniffing to you.” He shook his head, unable to tell a difference in smells. But then, he wasn’t about to get down and sniff the hand of the unconscious duplicate.

Sural, meanwhile, would attempt with a portable first aid kit to patch up Jobs sufficiently to the task ahead. He was no physician, nor did he have the ‘hands of a surgeon’, though he had done well at basic first aid. Fortunately 24th century first aid was considerably farther advanced than the past techniques. In short, he relied heavily on the dermal regenerator and a stimulant to keep Jobs going. When they were all through, Sural replied, “Mr Galens, you are in the lead. Sathut and Jobs you are in the middle. I will follow. Mr Jobs, direct Mr Galens as needed to get to the computer core with all due haste.” Holding his own phaser now, Sural upped the notch on the setting to heavy stun.
- Sural, CE

“You have to be pulling my leg,” Nhamashal groaned, pressing a stylus against her temple. Nothing was working. Every tweak and scan she could think of wasn’t solving her dilemma. Something had to be wrong with the computer systems, but she wasn’t sure what it was. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Ishtar figured it was best to seek the problem at its source. She didn’t think much of the task, arming herself with a PaDD. She hoped to be out of there within the hour, the excitement of generating a simulation for her current experiment guiding her feet.

“Ah, down here.” She muttered to herself, turning down the corridor. It seemed suspiciously quiet, the air almost stagnant compared to the labs. Shrugging, she slowly approached the computer core, her attention captivated by notes on her PaDD.

Lt. Nhamashal
The Unknowing Scientist

As Ishtar rounded the corner, she was see Sural, Sathut (whom she would be familiar with as DH’s), along with a security guard, his twin, lying unconscious and bound, and another crewman. It appeared as though they were about to enter the computer core as well.

Jobs caught her arrival and alerted the other’s. Lt. Sural, is she one of ours or theirs?”

NE Jobs (computer tech)

Galen paused as the person rounded the corner. His hand went to his phaser and he frowned slightly. “I’m NE Galens… security officer for this junction. What’s your business here?” It sounded harsh but it was a harsh time.

NE Galens
Security

“Pleasure, Galens.” Nhamashal greeted, catching his instinctive gesture to his phaser. “That won’t be necessary. I’m only here to figure out what has my computer systems so finnicky.” She frowned, waving her hands in assurance. Glancing past the NE, she rose her eyebrows at the sight. “What’s going on here?”

Lt. Nhamashal
CSO

OOC: Correcting typo. :)
Trin

“It is a long story, Lt. Nhamashal, but the short of it is that some complex things are going on,” Sathut said with a small smile. Then he tilted his head slightly. “Oh, by the way, what we talked about last week? I have some time next Saturday if you are available,” he spoke as a test. The Mirror officer wouldn’t know that he and Nhamashal had not spoken in several weeks.

Sathut, CNS

“Complex is an understatement, Counselor.” Nhamashal retorted, shaking her head. “Do what? I don’t remember any recent conversations..” Ishtar trailed off, furrowing her eyebrows in slight confusion. She knew, during migraines, she had a tendency to forget brief interactions. Although, she was fairly certain she hadn’t seen much of Sathut in the past several weeks. “That is besides the point,” She cut back to their situation. “You’re obviously heading for the computer core; do you need any help?”

Lt. Nhamashal
CSO

Sathut smiled slightly. “Just a test, Lt.,” he said with a small nod. “There seems to be a rash of duplicates aboard the ship, posing as each of us. Well, a certain selection of the officers aboard the Olympic. They seem to be trying to steal our ship or destroy it, neither of which we want. Those that are here are all the originals,” he explained as succinctly as possible.

Sathut, CNS

“Interesting.” She folded her arms over her chest in consideration. “Have you found any means of inhibiting their success?” Nhamashal did not intend to come off rude, but her analytical stance could have been easily misinterpreted in their situation.

Lt. Nhamashal
CSO

There did appear to be a surge of crew who did not know what was happening. Finicky. A curious understatement to say the least. More people were showing up and that was creating more confusion than confidence. With each person coming about it increased the chances of them making contact with a mirror universe ‘twin’. He glanced to the nervous Jobs then to the unknown Lt whose behavior was atypical for the situation. “Lt,” Sural said to Nhamashal, “How is it that the vessel’s computer systems have been taken over by an alien artificial intelligence and you are only calling it ‘finicky’?” He paused, assessing her. “We were going to attempt to restore computer function and thus computer control of the vessel before those from a mirror universe who have boarded the ship destroy or scuttle it. Logically, how would you undertake this?” She wore science colors, though if he could frown, he would. “Lt, you speak of your computers. That implies that you are familiar with them and the crew who maintains them. You do not recognize one of you technicians?”
- Sural

“I can only assess a sitution based on what I know, Lieutenant. I was not aware any computer occupation by an artificial intelligence,” Nhamashal admitted, shaking her head. Only a few moments ago she had assumed there was a simple glitch in the computer array, something that would require an easy modification to restore its functions. It was not until Sural had spoken that she realised the gravity of their situation. “Do you know how the AI came to occupy the computer core? In many cases, AI use a process comparable to a virus in order to infect–in other words, occupy a system. If the AI is operating similarly to a computer virus, we might be able to use similar tactics to loosen it from its control, just as you would malware.” Ishtar was a biologist and would not claim she was an expert on computers, but she had worked with them enough to have a basic understanding of how the AI might have infected the systems. Sighing, she nodded. “I am still new to the ship, Mister Sural. Unfortuntely, I haven’t had the time to memorize all of the computer technicians.”

Lt. Nhamashal
CSO

“As am I,” Sural replied, though did not say further what he himself thought of it. Opinions were something that more often than not raised the ire of the recipient even when Sural was only trying to be helpful. Emotions were .. illogical. “Members of the mirror universe have gained access to the vessel and constructed a near duplicate of the bridge in a lower cargo bay. We found ..” At that moment his PaDD beeped and he glanced at the message and list.

Almost simultaneously, Sural’s and Sathut’s Padds beeped notifying an incoming message. First off was the code they had all agreed on. “The following is a list of crew members that have been compromised and have duplicates on board. Those names in red are original crew members that have been eliminated and successfully replaced. Do not hesitate to apprehend those names in read.”

There was a list of 100 names including Odinson, Oberon, and Ishtar, among other’s.

OOC: I’ll leave it up to you to roleplay whether the Ishtar with you is the real one or the duplicate <BEG>!!

Odinson (XO)

“We fond that their plan was to replace crew with the intention to take over this vessel or, if unsuccessful, to scuttle it or destroy it.” He read Ishtar’s name in the list. “Logically, Lt, the evidence points to a kind of overlay or overwrite of the Olympic’s AI with that of their own equivalent. Time is of the essence. Sathut, Mr Galens, please continue to escort Ensign Jobs to the computer core. At this juncture if you encounter anyone else, stun them. Ensign Jobs is the expert for this mission. Protect him.”

“They’ll likely go for self-destruct, should their attempts be unsuccessful. With that in mind, their new AI probably has access to those codes, or is over-writting them with its own.” Ishtar spoke to the audience of her thoughts, but maintained a volume loud enough for Sural to hear, should he wish to interject. Despite clear contemplation, she dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand.

“Logical,” he replied in turn. “Their AI was not nearly as .. generous with freedom of access and prevented all but the most cursory of searches or attempts at commanding the vessel. We do not know where their override programming is, though we believe that a restore from core would overwrite this new AI and restore ship functions.” It was an option, to be sure. One of many that he felt were occurring over the ship to safeguard ship and lives.

He turned to Ishtar. “We will follow up the rear and consider alternatives if a restoration of the AI from secure backup is unsuccessful.” Given all that he said, logically if Ishtar was of the mirror universe it would provide sufficient proverbial rope for her to hang herself on. He had his phaser, just in case.
- Sural

If Ishtar was irritated by his plan, she did not show it. Her thoughts contained by her emblematic lock, whose key had been tossed into a sea she wished not to venture, Nhamashal’s nod offered simple agreement. “Logical,” Ishtar returned, observing the other three from the corner of her eye. Their advantage was in their distance, but Ishtar figured ways to make up for lost time.

His badge chirped and Reno came on. =^= Reno to Sural. What’s up Chief? Have one .. Simile .. tried to gut me here. Do we know what’s going on? We’re all looking at each other like strangers here. =^=

Sural’s brow rose. It was not the best timing for such a call given the issues they have had along the way with identities. He could also detect a higher octave in Reno’s voice indicating an elevated emotional level. He forwarded the ‘list’ to Reno’s station. For better or worse, he needed to know. Logically there were more of ‘us’ than there were of ‘them’ by percentages. =^= Sural here. We are progressing to our objective and have found similar issues. I have sent you a file from the bridge that has new objectives which you are to take careful note of. If we are successful then the ship and crew will not suffer undue loss. I expect updates every ten minutes; I will do the same. Be mindful and be aware. Sural out. =^=

The updates were more a measure of showing one another whether each ‘team’ was still alive and in control than a measure of updating the other of what was happening.
- Sural

Considering their circumstances, Ishtar understood the vitality of continuous updates between them. By now, she figured they had an inkling of who the imposters were, their names floating about the air with questions marks and skepticism. It was time to tread carefully, any wrong move possible mission failure. It was a risk she would have to take; fortunately, her life had been a Crock-Pot of dangerous situations. This would be no different.

“Despite being genetically identical, there must be a way of determining Mirror from Prime,” Ishtar couldn’t conceive a better word for the people of this universe. Staring down the hall, she considered it a moment. Time, as Sural had mentioned, was of essence. Perhaps knowledge of their differences wasn’t pertinent information.

Lt. Nhamashal
Or so she says

“Logically they would have brought crew over where there were few visible physical changes between ‘Mirror’ and ‘Prime’,” he said, casually adopting her comparison. “I suspect that there were some crew members simply not present as a viable duplicate. I did not study history to know of past encounters with the ‘Mirror’ universe, however, one can conclude that there would be psychological and historical differences in the experience of each individual. It may be a ‘Mirror’ universe, however, that does not mean truly identical. Choices can and would be different even if the persons were similar.” The trouble was that he didn’t ‘know’ any of these people, apart from Sathut, to provide any comparisons.
- Sural

Suddenly, the red alert klaxons sounded throughout the ship. “Attention, ship’s self-destruct sequence has been activated. Repeat, self destruct has been activated. Personnel should make their way to escape pods in an orderly manner.”

As the group made their way to the computer core, Jobs stopped in mid-step and remained quiet for just a moment. Barely audible over the klaxons, the group would hear a small explosion, along with a pneumatic hiss coming from the bulk head. Jobs spoke up. “That. . .thats the lifeboats launching!!! There hasn’t been enough time to get to the boats yet!!! Why are they launching already. We’ve got to get to one before their all gone!!!”

Temp GM Terry and NE Jobs

Sural could ‘feel’ his panic by virtue of the emotion in his voice. He too had heard the hiss of the life boats launching. They might be able to - because they were near the shuttle bays - to escape with a shuttle, however the time frame was not in their favor. Sural calculated there was only a 19% chance of that happening before the ship was destroyed.

Catching up, he spoke up loudly over the claxon. “Negative.” He took Jobs by the shoulder and looked at him. “Listen. There isn’t enough time to find a pod. We must complete our efforts to restore the backup AI. Only then can we cancel the self destruct. You have to help us, Ensign. You alone can save us. We will assist you.” He took Jobs by the arm with one hand and his phaser in the other.

“Mr Galens, time is not on our side. Stun anyone you see from this point. The rest of you, follow. Lt Nhamashal, we may require your assistance with access. Mr Sathut, keep an eye and nose out for danger.” With that he pressed on taking Jobs with him to close the short distance now to the computer core. Along the way he tapped his comms badge. =^= Sural to Bridge. Status please. We are nearly at the computer core. Are any escape pods available in our location? =^=
- Sural, CE

=^=Negative Sural, The computer isn’t responding to orders. It thinks its in the mirror universe. Can you override from there?=^= came a new voice over the comm.

-CO

There. That was it. It was their - and, he suspected - other attempts throughout the ship - to restore it in some way to function and negate the destruct sequence. It would be a ‘job’ to collect all of the pods afterward and ensure that they berth correctly. However, the new voice intrigued him. =^= We are attempting to. =^= He replied cautiously, not recognizing the voice even as they pushed on toward the computer core. It was near now. Their time was running out. He was still expecting the computer to provide a countdown, though he was counting the seconds in his head. =^=Who is this? =^= he asked simply.
Sural, CE

=/\=Sural, this is Harding. You’re speaking with Captain Jasar. It’s a long story, but the pertinent point is he’s been cleared.=/\=

Harding, CMO


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