Star Trek: Starbase 777 - ndn-uninhabited-decks

And the first thing Allan did was switch on the life support there, so that they could, you know, breathe oxygen and all. "Alright, we should be able to breathe now! And if you can't, please let me know. Oh, and we'll probably be crawling through some tight spaces, so keep your arms and the rest of your limbs inside the vehicle, please," he smiled in such a silly way as he brought up the schematics of the ship from earlier in engineering on his PADD, mapping out quickly the way they'd need to go to get to the lights. "Should start with this tunnel up here... I'll go first. Commander, you alright with holding up the back? Five meters apart?"

Gregor had his repair kit in his left hand and close to his body, if something were to pop out of a shadow at them he could just swing the repair kit at them or give a good ol' punch with his right cybernetic hand. "Aye I'm alright with that, this uninhabited deck reminds me a bit of one of my previous postings ones." Gregor said as he picked up a little flashlight from a little discreet pocket he had sewn into his pants, just in case. "Lead the way." He said with the usual smile he had on, one that was quite neutral.

"Aight, cool, cool, so, then - Vara, you'll be behind me, Copia, you after that. Assuming we're all good with that. Vara, if you're not comfortable crawling through the tubes, you can always stay back here, keep watch in case anything weird happens?" He offered, just in case the officer who didn't have any experience with this would want to stay back.

Her eyes lit up. “Are you kidding? I love crawling through stuff, practically my whole job pre-Starfleet. Phasers I’m not comfortable with, crawling through tight spaces is my life!”

The uninhabited decks of any ship always looked vaguely alike no matter what faction had made said ship. There were walkways, power conduits, Jefferies tubes, turbolift shafts… And all of the rest of the internal workings of a ship, creating a sprawling mass of machinery and systems. At least signs marked what each area corresponded to – and the MSD that had been looked at earlier could serve as a sort of map.

"Alrighty then, behind me it is," Allan said, going to stand at the entrance of the tube but looking at Vara a little more seriously for a moment, "by the way, uhhh, calling the deputy commander of the station we work on 'boss lady' isn't really cool? Like, that get you into some serious trouble later down the line, so... I would... recommend against that kind of shit, yeah?" He laughed nervously, trying to stay cool, but like, as someone who had gotten in huge trouble for some actually somewhat justified disrespect to a superior officer - he wanted to make sure ensigns - what he was just a little over a year ago, really - wouldn't get in trouble thinking they could get away with said stuff. And with that, he opened the hatch of the tube, crawling into that said Jefferies tube that the MSD seemed to indicate was the start of said pathway towards where the lights were being manually switched in that little pattern. "Stay five meters apart from eachother, don't want anyone getting jumbled up." He took a deep breath as he started crawling through, keeping an eye out for any sort of malfunctioning machinery that might cause some sort of trouble before they even got to their destination. Bar any of that, though, he kept it moving.

"Oh, it most definitely will at some point.. I remember I once called my superior officer as an Ensign a nickname they had gotten, it didn't go that well." Gregor chuckled at that memory it happened years ago so he didn't remember the nickname exactly but it was one where they had twisted the last name to something funny, may have been a different story than this one though as it wasn't the nicest nickname, after getting in such trouble from a situation like that Gregor never said that nickname again. Gregor crawled into the Jefferies tube in said order and stayed five meters behind, he still brought his repair kit along the way even though it wasn't the most practical thing to carry with you into the Jefferies tubes it was sometimes necessary. "Maybe Ghosts aren't so unlikely after all if as the Commander about the personality change, Pa Wraiths.. etcetera." Gregor chuckled, not that he had actually encountered a Pa Wraith and hopefully he never would not from what he had heard and read about them.

“Point taken, won’t happen again.” She didn’t much see the point in arguing, she wasn’t here by choice nor did she have much respect for the system of Starfleet as a whole . Vara moved into the vents after Allan as she crawled along with them, however she seemed mighty skilled at crawling. It wasn’t anything in particular, but one could tell just by looking at her how skilled she was, not a toe or finger out of place as she crawled behind. “Once stole from this like uh, cult leader type fella who traded in ghost stories to his followers. Stole their idol and sold it, made a pretty buck for the local orphanage.” Vara said as she moved along. “Would ideally not like to meet ghosts who are mad at me for that one.”

Copia certainly wasn't expecting to hear Vara go in detail about one of her ex-thief escapades. Her eyes popped open and she stopped crawling for a brief second before continuing to crawl again. Copia held back the urge to say anything. In a way she didn't want to cross Vara the wrong way. Heh.

There was a lot of crawling around this section – it was cramped, but a rubber mesh had been set down upon the floor so it wasn’t too bad upon the hands and knees. Upon exiting out of the tubes into the section that housed the internals of the ship’s external lighting system it was possible to stand again. This area was hexagonal in shape and filled numerous mechanical components; the control panels, systems and connections all wired together. It was almost a little difficult to see with the way that things criss-crossed and in the dully-lit conditions, but behind a series of thick tubes likely housing cabling, there was the faint glimmer of a light.

After getting out of the tube, Allan looked at the various components in the room, what with all its control panels and wires and shit that he was all too used to, but - it was definitely hard to see it all. Before switching on a flashlight of his own, he let everyone else get out of the tube, looking around at the cable management systems as he tried to figure out where the external lighting switches would be and... saw that faint glimmer of light, but wasn't sure what to say other than, "okay, well... that's probably our manual switch, over there, making the uh... call for help?" He questioned, what else would an SOS blinking pattern mean? Unless someone was just dying to test it out and play a prank.

Vara hummed as she moved out with him. “I wonder if the SOS was someone from the inside trying to signal for help. If something is affecting them, it seems kind of disorganized. Maybe it missed somebody.” She said as she stood off to the side to let them work.

Gregor got out the tube with a groan and as he got up he set down the repair kit and pulled his shirt down, a true Picard maneuver. "Well I can say that whoever turned it on did quite the job of getting here.. and must have been desperate to." Gregor said with a slight pause, he wondered if the individual or maybe even individuals were still here on this deck since it would make for a decent hiding spot if you had oxygen masks and knew your way around. Gregor turned his flashlight on to for the extra visibility.

It was difficult to tell due to all of the internal mechanics that took up the section here, but it didn’t seem like there was anyone else here. What did become evident upon shining the torch further, however, was the sight of some sort of… Box, hovering above the ground at what seemed to be the control panel for the lighting. Rhythmically, it would inch forward a little to hit the button, then off again, then on again. It repeated in a perfect pattern: forming the Morse SOS that was then reflected in the ship’s outer lights.

Vara bummed and moved towards the box, and merely examined everything around the box. Basically looking for traps that she could notice. “Let’s not touch you just yet love…”

Copia did the same, scanning around, making sure there was nothing that posed an immediate threat. Nothing that was around them at the time, as far as Copia was aware, but she still kept her eyes sharp. On a vessel like New Dawn, and with the fact that they indeed may have been monitored, Copia couldn't take any chances.

Allan squinted at the box, especially as Vara spoke to it, wondering just how in the hell it was hovering there, but clearly it was some sort of ... automated system, perhaps. Or being remotely controlled? "Some heavy wizardry going on here, that's for fucking sure," he said, shining his flashlight directly at the box, and then squatted down to look underneath it, perhaps to see what was keeping it propelled in the air like that.

A visual inspection didn’t reveal anyone (or anything) else in the immediate vicinity. Upon moving forward, the ‘box’ became more clear. It was small in size and almost rectangular in shape, except from how the part that faced the wall sloped together to form a somewhat pointed front. At the bottom it almost looked like the item had feet. A small rod or nozzle was attached to the front, enabling it to hit the button on the console with precision.

Vara looked to the button and backed off slightly. “It almost looks like a….robot? Probably not something as complex as an android, but yeah. Something automated to hit the lights..”

Gregor scratched his chin and leaned forward a bit as his flashlight shines on the box, what an odd little thing he hadn't seen anything like this maybe a few similar things but nothing he could put a name to. " Heavy wizardry? Oz or Gandalf either way I wouldn't dare to push that button without first knowing what would happen.. maybe there's a way to find out." Gregor looked around the box to see if there was well anything.

When Copia laid her eyes on the box, immediately her eyes popped open. She didn't know what it was, but whatever it was, it didn't look like anything she'd ever seen. It was different in the most unsettling of ways to her. A box with an unknown purpose, in the middle of the uninhabited decks? It couldn't have been placed there on accident. "Negative, Commander," Copia immediately said to Gregor. "I strongly urge that we do not make contact with this entity. In fact, I recommend we stay as far away from it as possible. I am unable to deduce its exact function and its physical makeup. Lieutenant Allen, I strongly recommend we get out of here. This entity doesn't seem safe, and if set off, the entity may cause a chain reaction or expose our location within the vessel." Copia's eyes looked around once more for anyone else that could be here. "Unless this was designed as a trap to lure us here. Strongly recommend everyone stay alert and monitor your surroundings."

"I have no fucking clue who Oz or Gandalf are, but... yeah, we can talk about that later," he said with a laugh, nodding at Vara as she said it looked like a robot, and then turned to Copia and held up his hand in an attempt to let her know things were alright. "Exocomp," He said after a while of looking at the thing, "that's all it is. I mean, no guarantee that it's totally safe, it could be programmed to explode for all I know, but usually... you get 'em to do little tasks and shit." He shone his flashlight around the room again and then back at the exocomp, "it's absolutely not a trap, I mean- if someone took the time and energy to code the command into an exocomp, which - shouldn't be all too common on a ship with only 400 people aboard - they absolutely meant to do so." And just to... test it out, he moved the exocomp back just a smidge, to see if it would be programmed to move back forwards, or if it was simply programmed to hit the button from where it had been placed.

Exocomp...? What the hell was that?! Copia must have not done enough research... Immediately Copia was silent when Allan held up his hand. Copia couldn't help but scan around for anything or anyone in the vicinity. Copia had no idea what exocomps were, or how volatile they could get if reprogrammed or commanded the wrong way. Despite being silent, and remaining still, Copia's face contorted in panic. None of this seemed alright to her. While Allan knew what exocomps were, who knew what this one was programmed to do? And did Tewari's crew know about this? If not the crew, did Tewari? Was this the plan from the beginning? Copia already felt extremely unsafe in this environment, and hearing about a device foreign to her made her that much more uneasy. Thankfully, Copia stayed still and covered her mouth to try and mask the fact she was undergoing panic.

The exocomp gave a quiet beep as it was moved out of place, but it didn’t make any attempt to move forwards again. It remained hovering in place instead – it appeared that it had only been programmed to flick the lights, not extensively enough to the point that it would find its way back to them if moved.

Gregor raised his eyebrows in response but then remembered not everyone had watched movies that were centuries old, it had been a hobby of his to watch old movies when he was younger and it sort of sparked a bit of imagination in him to. "Huh.. it does look a bit off, I haven't seen an Exocomp in.. I don't know but a long time." Gregor chuckled a bit, they had been standing there trying to figure it out for quite a while. "Then that leaves the question who programmed it , might be an Engineer." Gregor said mostly to himself as he thought of different scenarios but none that seemed probable.

“Huh….yeah. It’s not hostile. I mean maybe the chief engineer? But I don’t know if she would’ve concealed it from us. Comms officer probably wouldn’t be in the wheelhouse, so yeah. It looks a bit….i don’t think the right word is rushed but it doesn’t look quite right?” She said as she lightly brushed her hair out of her face.

Gregor inspected the Exocomp a bit more just to have a good look, it was just hovering there not even moving, odd. "Odd, strange are some of the words you could use to describe it. Well we know two things, one they can program two they know at least a bit of morse." Gregor's head was almost spinning with different scenarios, possibilities it could almost make one insane especially with a song stuck in his head as well. "It doesn't appear to be moving.. So the programming." Gregor cut himself off as he tried to think, he hadn't been in a situation like this before.

The exocomp was, in fact, just chilling.

In an unnecessary bout of panic, Copia had overworked herself and reacted much too rashly for an exocomp that was just chilling - at least, after seeing it not really do much, her nerves calmed. "I... apologize for my outburst," Copia remarked. "I have never seen an exocomp in my life, nor studied about it. It is new technology to me. I had assumed that the crew of the New Dawn had constructed it from scratch, using it as a conduit for their -- shall I say, operations. This exocomp does not seem to pose an imminent threat." With Copia's nerves calmed -- finally -- she let go of the tension throughout her body. She needed to trust Allan - and with that, she did.

"I'd be pretty concerned if an officer aboard any ship didn't know morse for SOS," he said, "but... I mean, you'd think if it was the chief engineer, she would have told us or kept us away from it, yeah? Nah, someone," he couldn't help but smile sweetly at the exocomp as it made that quiet beep, "someone deliberately placed it right here. They couldn't have gone... far?" He turned to Copia and shook his head. "Hey, you're good, you're good. They're pretty rare, even to an enginneer, yeah?"

"True, true but not many alien species I know really got into it- assuming that.. It could be someone we haven't yet spoken to." Gregor shrugged as he continued to stroke his chin in thought, he hadn't heard or seen anyone else but the team while they were here. "If someone is here on the deck.. before us.. doesn't that mean they're hiding? I mean oxygen wasn't on and assuming that a person is even left here on the deck they're mighty quiet, but that's just an assumption."

There was still no sign of someone else being here. There were no figures looming in the darkness, no sense of the away team being watched.

Vara looked to Copia. “Take deep breaths and count to 10, centre yourself and let it wash over you.” Vara said as she looked at the Exocomp quietly, and started to examine its form. Sometimes artists left trademarks in their work, and engineering was its own form of art. It was a long shot, but she tried to see if there were any identifiers along its body, or clues in general.

The exocomp had been painted green with a silver trim. On top if it, a pair of silvery wings had been painted.

Copia looked to Vara. Who was Vara in a position to give order---wait. This wasn't an order. She was trying to help! Copia nodded. "Interesting, Ensign. Let me try..." Copia inhaled, while she didn't necessarily have lungs she still could replicate the process of breathing and her emotion chip responded as such. One...Two...Three... ...She held her breath briefly. Four...Five...Six... ...and exhaled. Seven...Eight...Nine... ...before the feeling, just like Vara described, indeed did wash over her. Ten... whoa. That was...weird. Noticeably calmer, Copia looked back to Vara. "Thank you, Ensign," Copia said, her voice now noticeably calmer. "That... worked effectively." Before her curiosity made her study the exocomp. Hm! Nice little designs! The silvery wings were cool. Kinda shiny.

She noticed the wings. “These wings mean anything to you lot? Or the green and silver paint job? The paint makes me think Romulan, but that might be a heavy stretch.” She said with a tsk. “But it could be a trademark? Sometimes artists left trademarks in their work to prove it was theirs, I’ve had to point that out when selling art to buyers. I don’t got anything on the wings. And you’re welcome LT.”

Gregor looked closely at the paint job as shined his flashlight on it, he thought for a few good moments but nothing came up. "Not at the moment, no.. Sure, could be Romulan inspired since the Green and the wings match up. And a trademark, maybe, I'm mostly used to.. smaller trademarks like a name, maybe there's a name somewhere on it." Gregor shrugged then proceeded to try to look everywhere he could on the exocomp even below it if there was something, but it might just have been a far stretched guess.

Unfortunately there was no name etched upon the exocomp, only the nice paint-job.

"Well, uh..." he hummed as he looked at the exocomp, and then set it aside next to the wall where it couldn't really damage anything, hoping that would at least give the chief of engineering some piece of mind now that the lights weren't going off. "Best thing we can do from here is report back, yeah? No telling where the creator of this is, but... might be worth it to look around elsewhere," he said, and looked back into the tunnel they'd come in here through. "Hate to suggest it, but... we should probably head back on through? Same order?" He asked, and if nobody had any objections, he would get in the tube. Head first, of course.

“Right behind ya.” She said as she crawled in. “I wonder if there’s like, a log of recent systems or worlds they visited. I don’t know if we can even access that or if it would be particularly useful, but it could help us out.”

Copia nodded - she had just gotten calmed down but heading out was certainly the best thing for her to do right now. "Aye, Lieutenant," Copia responded before also crawling behind Vara, and remaining five meters apart from Vara as before.

Gregor nodded as he picked up his repair kit yet again and got into the tube staying fives meters behind, he thought a bit on his way trying to recall what he knew about exocomps since he was sure he had read something about them that could maybe be of use until it finally hit him, he would have snapped his fingers if it wasn't for him crawling through the tubes with a repair kit in hand. "If I'm not mistaken.. aren't exocomps a sentient artificial lifeform? At least I think they were recognised as such in 2380.. But either way exocomps sometimes have a paintjob that tells them which faction they are from, so perhaps it's a Romulan Engineer we are looking for."

After some further crawling, the team made it out of the bowels of the uninhabited decks again and had all headed back to the corridors to regroup and discuss with the other teams once more.