Buying some time

Posted on Thu May 25, 2017 @ 5:26pm by Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Barnes & Lieutenant Commander Kelani Tetanal

Mission: Avatar
Location: Ops
Timeline: MD 10 || 1100 hours

There was a blue shimmer in Ops and Kelani materialized. She looked quickly around--noting everything to appear to be in order, she approached Barnes saying, "Chief, I need to talk with you regarding the computer troubles. My colleague and I have an idea that may buy us some time. I wish to have your opinion as to its feasibility."

The person the Science Chief spoke to turned around, only to reveal a tall bearded man, a feature unrecognizable from behind. "Sorry ma'am," the petty officer said, shaking his head. Ever since the new chief came aboard, he'd often been mistaken for the Senior Chief. "Chief Barnes is still in the primary core. He'll likely still be there until the core's back on the right foot."

Though taken aback, Kelani recovered quickly and recovered quickly and replied courteously,"That is quite understandable given the circumstances, Mr....."

After her experience in the lab, Kelani was uncertain. She allowed her Betazed talents to come to the fore, hoping that this man was real and not another murderous holoprojection.

The petty officer was certainly quite real. "MacDonald, Lieutenant," the Petty Officer replied, raising an eyebrow. He looked towards the door, which was closed. MacDonald considered that she must have used the transporter when she entered, that is... if she wasn't an illusion.

Reassured as to the reality of the man before her, Kelani smiled and stepped closer as she said, "Please forgive my unorthodox extrance, Mr. MacDonald." She did not miss his quick look toward the door and continued, "Things are quite uncertain in the corridors just now...I took the liberty of transporting directly here...."

"You might be careful doing that, Lieutenant," the Petty Officer cautioned. "With the computer in control of the holoemitters, you could easily be shot by security. You can also count on Chief Barnes having Security near him. He's had a few scares already.

" Indeed," Kelani replied, continuing, "I àlso have had a scare in that way. " I will most certainly be more judicious in using the transporter in the future "

She moved to a worktable, saying, " My colleague and I believe that if the computer can be engaged with an unsolveable problem, perhaps it will help with our current problem."

MacDonald raised an eyebrow, surprised that she didn't pick up on why the Chief wasn't in the room. "Ma'am, if that's the case, you'll actually want to go down to the Computer Core. The Chief has all systems on manual control, and the best place to deal with the computer is in the only place you can actually touch the computer."

"I see," Kelani replied, thinking with dread of the journey to the computer core. "It is wise to be cautious and hopefully this will be resolved soon.". She looked up at MacDonald, asking, "Have you any suggestions as to a problem or question that would be useable?

"I'm just a environmental specialist, ma'am," MacDonald replied. "Aside from monitoring gauges, there isn't much I can do, nor do I really know much else to do." Seeing the expression on her face, he added, "Something wrong, Lieutenant?"

Kelani blushed, embarrassed, "Nothing solving this problem will not cure, Mr. MacDonald. I was attacked by q hologram of my colleague earlier---I suppose that I am nervous...."

"All the more reason to travel by foot and in pairs, ma'am," MacDonald suggested. "In situations like this, solitude can soon mean death. Would you like for me to accompany you to the core?"

"I would indeed, ". Kelani replied, " but I don't want to cause you to be pulled away from your duties...."

"I could use a break from monitoring," the Petty Officer replied. He gestured to a couple nearby specialists to keep an eye on things. MacDonald then withdrew a phaser from the nearby weapons locker before nodding to the Lieutenant. "Ready when you are, ma'am."

Kelani took a deep breath then moved to MacDonald's side, saying, "I am ready now, I think. Let's do this...a way must be found to stop this madness"

MacDonald nodded and took the first steps out into the corridor. "The core's just a Jefferies Tube climb up and a few sections away. We shouldn't be too long."

And too long they weren't. Just a few minutes after they'd left Operations, Petty Officer MacDonald entered the computer core. Seated at the consoles were three officers, including Chief Barnes. "Senior Chief!" shouted MacDonald.

Tired, Tom looked up from his console. He'd only finished dealing with HoloMaddy fifteen minutes ago, and the adrenaline had come crashing down. He still had a lot to do, including figuring out how to isolate whatever this thing was. "MacDonald? What brings you by?"

"I am the cause Chief," Kelani told him. "I came to Ops with an idea that might give us more time to find a solution to our problem. Mr. MacDonald offered to escort me here."

"Ah." Tom nodded at the Petty Officer. "Thank you, Mister MacDonald."

MacDonald nodded and turned to leave, gesturing for a fellow officer to accompany him.

"What's your idea, Lieutenant?" Tom asked, gesturing for her to join her at a station. "I've already got our primary systems on manual control, and we're already getting the starfighter cores married together to keep the tricore online."

Kelani moved to the workstation near to Barnes, saying, "My colleague and I have continued to analyze the information from the probe as best we could given present circumstances. It occurred to us that if the computer could be engaged in an unsolveable problem, perhaps it would lessen the threat somewhat and give you more time to resolve the major problem."

Tom nodded, thinking about the idea. While it did have some merit, he was a bit concerned how it would impede his repair efforts. "Sadly, there's too many safeguards to keep the computer from using too many resources for equations and such. Even though we've got primary systems on manual control, whatever's inside the computer could find a way to exploit those protected and unused resources to continue operating."

"I see,". Kelani said, trying not to sound as crestfallen as she felt. "If this presence is that adaptive, then the risk would be too great." She frowned as she considered the problem. She said, almost to herself, "We need something to distract the presence without making us more vulnerable."

"What would you suggest?" Tom asked, finding himself short on ideas.

"I am unsure," Kelani replied. "It must be something the presence would consider innocuous but would in fact hamper this entity. We should also devise a communication method that the entity cannot comprehend but is simple for us."

A thought occurred to her and she turned to Barnes, asking, "Chief, in your opinion, should we isolate the probe and the black box? Could it still be linked to them in some way?"

"What black box?" Tom asked. "And are you certain that whatever this is came from the probe?"

"It is the only explanation that fits," Kelani replied, continuing, "These events only began after we encountered the probe and began analyzing the black box. It began as experimentation, learning the ship's capabilities. The longer this entity is on the ship, the more dangerous the situation becomes....." Kelani's voice trailed off as an idea began to form.

"If there were some way to convince this entity that Triumphant is no longer safe or reliable, perhaps it would retreat to the probe, knowing it to be safe. Then we could seal the probe...."

"That probe is hundreds of years old," Tom replied. "Whatever this intelligence is, it'll have to be something absolutely catastrophic to send it running for that probe. And, why go for a probe if you could just take over a shuttle or runabout? Besides, the only thing that would be so catastrophic to send it packing would be Triumphant's destruction. That's not something you and I can authorize."

"Quite true," Kelani replied. "However, if we can trick the entity into believing that its existence is threatened--by whatever means--it could retreat or restrict its activities.....possibly a little 'theatrical' between the Captain and a few others...."

"We have to be careful though," Tom pointed out. "It's more than capable of defending itself. If it's threatened, we need to make sure that not only we are able to defend ourselves, but we can counter its moves."

"Which is why we need to consult with someone with tactical experience--I have very little such experience--to determine if this idea is feasible and doable." Kelani replied, continuing, "I do not mean to imply that you do not have such experience, Chief...."

"That's quite all right, Lieutenant," Tom said, not offended in the slightest. "I'm just good with systems. I wouldn't trust me with a phaser or tactics either." He sighed, thinking about their predicament. "The only solutions I see at this point is pulling all isolinear chips from the core, every last one, and rebuilding the entire thing by hand, or activating the auto-destruct. Both of which require command approval."

"And both of which would leave us extremely vulnerable," Kelani added, suppressing a sigh. "We need more information but I am at a loss as to how to safely obtain it."

"Well," Tom said, looking back to his console for a bit. "There might be a way, at least to slow it down for now."

"Oh? In what way?" Kelani asked, intrigued.

"Back in the 2370s, the Borg invaded the Enterprise, tried to assimilate it," Tom explained. "Commander Data used a fractal encryption code to lock down the computer and keep the Borg from using it to take over the ship. It's a procedure taught to P-O-One's and above in enlisted computer school, as well as the Academy. Though the Borg were never able to break it, seeing how this... avatar... operates on an entirely different level, it could contain it until we figure things out. Although, if it gets out, I can't guarantee how angry it'll be."

"There is that possibility,". Kelani said gravely. "However, if it is deemed workable, perhaps it should be tried. Command approval is needed, yes?"

Chief Barnes nodded in acknowledgement. "The only downside that is if, for whatever reason, we have to send a primary system back into computer control, then it will not just be locked down, but it will be totally inoperable. But, I guess it's better than nothing."

"It is, I suppose," Kelani replied. "Perhaps it will work. " She sighed, continuing, "We can only try..."

A thought occurred to her and she looked at Barnes, a concerned frown on her face as she asked, "Is there any record of this procedure in Triumphant's databanks "

"There are records of its existance," Tom answered, thinking he knew what she was thinking. "Not of how to combat or undo it."

"Is there enough information for the entity to recognize this recommended procedure?" Kelani asked. "If there is adequate information, could this entity counter this and procedure?"

Tom smiled, a sign that he was becoming more and more comfortable with the officers aboard this ship. "With all due respect, Lieutenant, the Borg hive mind couldn't crack the code on the Enterprise. Even if there's adequate information, there's no way in hell that this entity can crack it."

"Then perhaps we should bring this idea to the Captain," Kelani said. "His will be the final word on the matter, after all."

Kelani sat silently for a moment, then asked, "Chief, since you feel it unwise to leave here, shall I present this idea to the Captain?"

Unconsciously, she began preparing herself for the trip to the Bridge.

The Chief found himself in full agreement with Lieutenant Tatanal, especially when he still had a lot of diagnostics to perform and erecting new firewalls. "By all means, Lieutenant. Just be careful going it alone."

"I shall indeed," Kelani replied, trying to hide her nervousness. She took a deep breath and rose, moving slowly toward the door. Once there she paused and looked back at Barnes.

"Good fortune to us all," she said, then exited the area.