Divided We Fall

[Ian Galloway]

[USS Courser]

"œPermission granted, Mister Corass," Don said to the Bolian bartender. It was good to have the bartender on the bridge. It was not for civilians per say, but serving the crew drinks had a benefit. The Captain had rules like every other Captain on the ship.

Then Don perked up as the operation officer who mentioned the suggestion of Neyi Carnelian for a name for the Nebula. He smiled the suggestion and see what name they will use. However they were interrupted by a report of a message in space.

The energy from science was like refreshing energy like the smell of a good cup of coffee. He was not a big fan of coffee. He does drink more when he does extra work in his office.

The surprise of language barrier was not a big surprise. The Captain had great pride of his crew. He had total confidence in them. They were busy bees trying to decipher the language at the science station.

"œAs you attempt to decipher. Can you see what direction it is coming from?" he asked.

[Bridge - USS Courser]

Arafe had never been on the bridge before, so he was tentative as he stepped off the turbolift.

"Everything looks so... official!"

He thought as he found a place he hoped was out of the way. Even though he still felt like an intruder, he began to assess the space for it's ease of access and layout.

"I suppose it's efficient for running the ship, but I'd make the captain's chair swivel so he can better observe those stations behind him. I may bring that up to the Captain next time he visits Ten Forward."

He mused to himself as he listened to the attempts to translate the unusual message. Not having anything else to do at that moment, he figured he'd tried to be helpful.

"Sounds like there is some Rigelian and maybe... Corridan in there. If I'm right, it seems like a very old dialect."

[Kimiko Sugiyama]

Kimiko Sugiyama
Bridge - USS Courser

"Lieutenants, your assistance with organizing the various layers of this audio, and then guiding the computer to translate what I can remove, is requested."

Kimi listened intently. Nine had cleaned up the transmission, but still it seemed unintelligible to her. There were fragments of words... phrases... It was maddening.

Then Arafe entered the bridge and said...

"Sounds like there is some Rigelian and maybe... Corridan in there. If I'm right, it seems like a very old dialect."

Kimi's eyes widened. The Bolian might be right! But again that did not make sense, why would there be so many languages unless there were several transmissions deliberately layered on top of each other, like...

She whirled to the science station, where Crewman Nine and Lieutenant Lonic both studied the transmission.

"Hey, guys, what if it is not just interference? What if it is deliberate scrambling - like an encryption?"

Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "What if it is meant to sound like this, in code? Nine, don't filter it; look at the whole signal. I bet you could decode it on a metadata level, right?"

She turned to Captain Addams. "Then we can hear what they are really saying, and maybe have a chance at translating it!"

"œAs you attempt to decipher. Can you see what direction it is coming from?" he asked.

Kimi gulped. "Right. Yes, Sir."

She dashed next to the towering Betan and said, "Lonic, if you can track the signal to its origin, I'll try focusing sensors on that spot?"

[Xasik]

[USS Courser - Mess Hall]

Lieutenant Commander Willow Fletcher

USS Courster / Mess Hall

Lieutenant Golshani

Golshani chuckled at Commander Fletcher's remark about her "˜face to give children nightmares' and made an inviting gesture towards her, pointing at the empty seat across the table.
"œI have been around for a few decades; seen my fair share of both, cosmic miracles and cosmic horrors. Trust me when I say that I'm not easily terrified. Yet. But I'll make sure you'll be the first one to get my notice if that changes..."
He took a sip of his mug and leaned back in his seat, giving the exchange officer a calm look.

"œI know what you mean"¦ Sometimes the melancholic thoughts resurface no matter what"¦ Is it because this sector borders former Romulan territory?
I remember when I was assigned to Starbase 77, the first few weeks I had a hard time relaxing. That was the home base of my wife's Ship before"¦ Y'know"¦ Things..."
He took a deep breath, trying not to remember; trying not to sour his own thoughts with tragedies that had just barely healed in both him and his children"¦
"œLife is motion..." He repeated her words, taking another sip, symbolically drowning his thoughts. "œ...and it always finds a way."

Willow smirked at Golshani when he stated that she would be the first to know if he found something that terrified him.
"œI'll hold you to that Shan. If I'm not the first to know when you get the shi-...shipments scared out of you then I will be personally offended."
Her smirk slowly calmed to a relaxed, soft smile. It was nice to be able to joke around with someone and not have them second guess every word she said. On duty she had to be assertive and serious. She played the part of the rigid, humourless Romulan, representing her people as a highly trained and focused individual would, but off duty she was free to simply be herself.

Her expression dampened a little at his next question. She took a moment to think about it before answering, swirling the tea in her glass.
"œSomewhat." She admitted softly. "œI think about my father often, every day in fact. I wonder if he would be proud of the person I became or if he'd be disappointed by what he saw. But then I remind myself of what he said to me when I first joined the military." She reached into the top of her uniform and pulled out a necklace that had been concealed just under the collar. It was a simple thing, a small milky, pearlescent crystal on a thin leather strap. Gently she held it in her hand with her thumb lightly running over the smoothed pendant.

"œHe gave this to me the night before I left and told me that no matter how far I travelled or how far apart we were, he would always be proud of me. He made this for me himself. He said it was a little piece of home to always carry with me." She stopped for a moment and sighed. "œIt gets worse whenever I'm in or near Romulan territory, be it current or former territory. But I'll be alright. I've got Khi Nei'rrh to help take my mind off things."

Khi Nei'rrh (Khi for short) was Willow's pet rooster. He was a Belgian d'uccle, a bantam chicken breed known for being docile. She had gotten him as a gift when she had first come to the Federation and had expressed her admiration for chickens as such noble looking birds. Khi lived in her quarters. He was house trained and made very little mess. The only issue was his constant need to crow, but Willow had solved that problem by soundproofing her quarters so only she could hear it. Willow loved Khi and would do anything to keep him safe.

Willow felt Golshani's pain when he brought up Starbase 77 and his wife. She nodded in understanding. "œI know," she offered quietly, trying to comfort him. She wasn't going to make him talk about it anymore than he was willing to. She raised an eyebrow as he repeated her words before adding his own spin to them. "œLife finds a way. Somehow I knew you were going to say that."

He pressed out a little smirk, then cleared his throat.
"œSo"¦ I can imagine there's not much to do for security on survey missions like these"¦ What do you guys do to keep yourself busy? Drills? Seminars?
My folks in engineering and I are currently using the time to optimise non-essential systems. We are digital janitors to say so"¦ Not the worst of fates, but after two weeks it feels like we are running out of things to optimise..."
He chuckled a little thinking about his assistant sh'Sael and his computer specialist C8 Red arguing about procedures, just as they - in a playful manner of course - had been doing throughout the entire mission so far.
"œ...Got word that the Captain's daughter is interested in an engineering career path as well. I wonder whether she'll join us at one point. My department is always eager to see a new face.
How about yours? Got any interesting new additions to security as of late?"

Taking another sip of her tea Willow looked around the room out of habit. True, there wasn't much traditional work for her to do on a survey mission, but a sharp mind was always able to find ways to usefully employ oneself.
"œThere's always something to do," she replied as she looked back at him. "œQuiet assignments tend to breed laziness so I make it a point to assign extra training and drills to keep my team sharp. Personally, I think they're in better shape now than before I arrived. They may have complained a lot at first but they got over it. It's not my job to be their friend, it's my job to keep them sharp and on top of their game just in case we run into trouble."

The Romulan nodded as Golshani explained what he and his team were doing to fill their time. They did a fantastic job keeping everything running so smoothly. She had certainly noticed and she was sure that others had too.
"œI think I speak for the entire ship when I say that your hard work is extremely appreciated. Sometimes small quality of life changes can make the biggest difference."

She took another sip of her tea as she listened to Shan talk. Her glass was nearly empty by now but she didn't really feel like getting another drink. She would have to work soon anyway.

"œCaptain's daughter aye? That may prove to be interesting. Good on her though. If engineering is her calling then I hope she follows her passion. As for fresh faces in security, we haven't had any for a while. We get the odd freshling with a hero complex joining and thinking it'll be an easy job. They quickly change their attitudes though when they see the amount of work that goes into the job. We very quickly weed out the slackers. Survival of the fittest my friend."

Willow smirked at Shan before drinking the last of her tea. She stood up and straightened her uniform, making sure to tuck her necklace back under her collar.
"œThank you for the very welcome chance to chat Shan. It has been very appreciated, but for now I have to get to work. Good luck with your shift and please tell the twins that the scary Romulan said hello."

After saying her goodbyes, Willow made her way out of the Mess Hall and towards a turbolift. "œBridge," she instructed with a clear, sharp voice. Her expression hardened and her posture became rigid as the door opened and she stepped out of the lift and onto the bridge. She resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow at the flurry of excitement she could sense in the air.  Something had the scientists in a flurry.

[Kimiko Sugiyama]

Kimiko Sugiyama
[Bridge "" USS Courser]

Kimi came before Captain Addams to discuss their next actions when the main door whooshed open and the Chief of Security strode onto the bridge.

Kimi snapped to attention. "Oh, Lieutenant Commander Kohau Vetath..."

The science officer faltered a little. For some reason, Kimi always seemed to infuriate security officers. It might have been something to do with her burning desire to immediately communicate with and befriend any lifeform they discovered. The fierce, one-eyed Romulan was very likely no exception.

Kimi continued, warily. "Lieutenant Commander, Sir, we have intercepted a transmission - from some lifeform within the nebula! - but it is currently unintelligible. I hypothesise it might be encrypted. We are currently working on decoding this, as well as finding the source of the transmission... then we can maybe find out what they are saying."

She glanced at the captain, then back to the security chief.

"I was going to... well, I wondered if I might seek permission now to try and make contact, once we figure out the coding and I can gather enough vocabulary to properly translate..."

Kimi decided she probably knew the answer to that question, so instead quickly turned to Crewman Nine and Lonic. "So, ummm, how are we doing on that?"

.

[Nine]

Crewman Nine
[Bridge "" USS Courser

Nine was in the midst of its work as the Romulan First Officer, who doubled as the Chief of Security, entered the Bridge. Given that the ranking officer, the Captain, was already in command, there was no need to call out the arrival of the Lieutenant Commander. Still, as Nine's supervisor named the latest entrant to the Bridge, Nine found a moment to look away from its unscrambling work and observe the Romulan. Its data on Romulan body language and customs was scant, but Nine had taken the time to study for several hours when it was first assigned to the Courser, and upon learning of Kohau Vetath's position. Nine's visual scanners noted a firm posture, and a facial expression it was unable to categorize. Like Kimiko, Nine also tended to frustrate its security officers, though for less warm reasons. Nine was a rather miserable combatant, being slow to react to unexpected and fast-paced situations, and it regularly struggled to create new mobility programming for its robotic frame on the fly. A humanoid often spent its entire life training with its body, Nine had only begun using the frame full-time in the last few years, and had to manually run through and set commands for it in sequence. There was only so much pre-allocation of commands that one could do in a combat situation...

Asked the question by Lieutenant Junior Grade Kimiko Sugiyama, Nine endeavored to answer, its automated voice as even as the line of a phaser beam. "We are making progress, Leaders. Lieutenant Lonic identified the transmission, and our gentleman guest..." Nine executed a nod toward its science station, and then halted it halfway. It had run the code for a nod in the direction that Arafe had been in, before Nine had turned to address the humanoids. It ran the correct code now, and successfully nodded toward the Bolian bartender. "...This gentleman, has assisted us in the likely positive identification of two languages entwined in the message. Lieutenant Sugiyama has been instrumental in guiding our work to unscramble and decode the data." A few small motorized noises emanated from Nine's 'head' as its triple antennae shifted. The First Officer's reaction to their report might tell Nine much about what their personality, and what behaviors to prepare for.

[Don Damien Addams]

Crewman Nine
[Bridge "" USS Courser

Nine was in the midst of its work as the Romulan First Officer, who doubled as the Chief of Security, entered the Bridge. Given that the ranking officer, the Captain, was already in command, there was no need to call out the arrival of the Lieutenant Commander. Still, as Nine's supervisor named the latest entrant to the Bridge, Nine found a moment to look away from its unscrambling work and observe the Romulan. Its data on Romulan body language and customs was scant, but Nine had taken the time to study for several hours when it was first assigned to the Courser, and upon learning of Kohau Vetath's position. Nine's visual scanners noted a firm posture, and a facial expression it was unable to categorize. Like Kimiko, Nine also tended to frustrate its security officers, though for less warm reasons. Nine was a rather miserable combatant, being slow to react to unexpected and fast-paced situations, and it regularly struggled to create new mobility programming for its robotic frame on the fly. A humanoid often spent its entire life training with its body, Nine had only begun using the frame full-time in the last few years, and had to manually run through and set commands for it in sequence. There was only so much pre-allocation of commands that one could do in a combat situation...

Asked the question by Lieutenant Junior Grade Kimiko Sugiyama, Nine endeavored to answer, its automated voice as even as the line of a phaser beam. "We are making progress, Leaders. Lieutenant Lonic identified the transmission, and our gentleman guest..." Nine executed a nod toward its science station, and then halted it halfway. It had run the code for a nod in the direction that Arafe had been in, before Nine had turned to address the humanoids. It ran the correct code now, and successfully nodded toward the Bolian bartender. "...This gentleman, has assisted us in the likely positive identification of two languages entwined in the message. Lieutenant Sugiyama has been instrumental in guiding our work to unscramble and decode the data." A few small motorized noises emanated from Nine's 'head' as its triple antennae shifted. The First Officer's reaction to their report might tell Nine much about what their personality, and what behaviors to prepare for.

Don rubbed his chin with his right hand as he was studying the screen. "œWhy that is interesting"¦" he said. The wheels in Don's gears in his head was rolling as he was thinking. What he learned as a Captain to hold on his questions and allow the crew do their work. When they report. Then he taken the information to ponder and come up with a order to go forward to find answers. He had always enjoyed asking questions. That was one of the things he had missed. When he was not Captain he was able to ask a million questions which was to throw doggy bone ideas to the fellow crew members. When he did it. That was his goal.

They are heading that direction and he was hoping they can decipher what the message is. They might need to reply or it could be call for help.

[Sirol]

USS Courser / Bridge

Lieutenant Lonic

Lonic closely observed as Sugiyama instantly jumped into the work of trying to decipher it. He tilted his head for a moment and inwardly appreciated the attitude. True scientific curiosity. The universal force driving the galactic societies forward towards a prosperous future.

"With permission, I will add Lieutenant Lonic's simile to the correct "˜Mount' Fuji in my report, as well. It appears quite apt."

Crewman Nine's inquiry noticeably caught the slender officer off guard and it took him a second to gather his thoughts and - most importantly - find the correct words to respond.
With a slow nod towards Nine he gave his permission.
"œOf course. Any aspect you deem important to paint a clear picture."

He hunkered down over his console again, yet his ears remained with the two scientists as he listened to them, as well as Nine formulating a plan to peel apart the layers. A straightforward problem approach Lonic appreciated. He turned around and looked over his shoulder to see the speech fragments coming to fruition. (The proximity of the science station luckily meant that he did not have to abandon his own post, yet his own scientific curiosity could be satisfied.)

"Lieutenants, your assistance with organizing the various layers of this audio, and then guiding the computer to translate what I can remove, is requested."

Lonic nodded and folded his arms behind his back, peeking over the shoulders of the scientists and looking at the fragments the computer was puzzling together.
The computer seemed to recognize or at least "˜assume' there to be fragments of at least eight different languages in various states. He himself spoke neither of them aside from federation standard and a few tiny bits of Klingon, yet as the first four fragments began to assemble on the screen, he leaned forward.

________________________________________________

To any [...] in transmission range, [...] is Captain [...]. Experiencing technical emergency. Stuck. [...] Support critical. Request assistance.

[...] hoch [...] qum chuq, [...] hod [.]. Mah ghaj [...] chach. [...]. Yin qutlh [...]. Tlhob boq!

Iudaiht sneakjs'hnnialmn [...] ueiik'h'unhr [...] koimae, kjumnaihsou 'hh daise'enarrain [...]. [...] iahwil indaere. [...]. [...]. Draed'et aehjae [...]. Stheirhn temilhis! 

[...] rar kaliu-tai, me  [...] Ral [...]. Tiganni [...] dubrinn. Wenn. Mirta-kai dubrinn-su. Mahak a-tal! 

________________________________________________

"œFascinating"
Lonic squinted at the word fragments and seemingly scanned a few of the words.
"œI was certain it was more 'och! Than hoch!..."
Many of these languages did in fact seem to be spoken with a heavy accent; the choice of words seemingly artificial in some cases, outdated in others"¦

"Hey, guys, what if it is not just interference? What if it is deliberate scrambling - like an encryption?"

Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "What if it is meant to sound like this, in code? Nine, don't filter it; look at the whole signal. I bet you could decode it on a metadata level, right?"

Lonic raised one nonexistent eyebrow at Sugiyama's suggestion. Indeed, a profound idea. Using the scrambled medium as both, a carrier and it's own distraction mechanism.
He looked over to Nine, wondering what it would have to say to the idea.

She dashed next to the towering Betan and said, "Lonic, if you can track the signal to its origin, I'll try focusing sensors on that spot?"

With a quick nod he hunkered over his console again.
With the Courser approaching more and more, the source of the signal became increasingly easier to pinpoint as well.
"œThe signal seems to stem from"¦ Relative position 322/181/04"¦"

He transmitted the supposed origin coordinates of the signal to both the science station, as well as the Captain's console in case he wanted to have a look at it as well.
The long range sensors had already picked up a cluster of small, undefined metallic objects, one of them likely the ship, station or installation or origin"¦

As he noted yet another one joining the bridge - This time the XO [Which in an ironic coincidence could be the abbreviation for both, Executive Officer as well as Exchange Officer in her case] Willow.
Giving the XO an acknowledging nod, he then focused on his readings again.
Nine briefed her on the progress and everyone's involvement, and Sugiyama took the expected initiative of briefing the XO as well as suggesting an approach.
A strategy Lonic supported, hence him adding:
"œIt might be an asteroid field with our ship in question having gotten damaged while passing.
I recommend some closer investigation."

[Kimiko Sugiyama]

Kimiko Sugiyama
Bridge - USS Courser

Kimi listened as the data mining by both Lonic and Nine began to bring out intelligible words. She danced from foot to foot as she recognised the signal pattern.

"Oh, Captain! It's a distress signal! And that's why it is layered with so many languages... they are trying to reach anyone who can help, so they are using all different languages that they know!"

She quietened again as a possible signal source was given by the Betan. Suddenly she was studying the sensors very attentively.

Lonic hypothesised it was a damaged ship within an asteroid field. Her own readings confirmed that likelihood.

Kimi scampered to before the command chair, facing Captain Addams and Lieutenant Commander Kohau Vetath.

"Captain, we have to help them, right? We must respond to a distress signal. Can I?"

[Don Damien Addams]

Kimiko Sugiyama
Bridge - USS Courser

Kimi listened as the data mining by both Lonic and Nine began to bring out intelligible words. She danced from foot to foot as she recognised the signal pattern.

"Oh, Captain! It's a distress signal! And that's why it is layered with so many languages... they are trying to reach anyone who can help, so they are using all different languages that they know!"

She quietened again as a possible signal source was given by the Betan. Suddenly she was studying the sensors very attentively.

Lonic hypothesised it was a damaged ship within an asteroid field. Her own readings confirmed that likelihood.

Kimi scampered to before the command chair, facing Captain Addams and Lieutenant Commander Kohau Vetath.

"Captain, we have to help them, right? We must respond to a distress signal. Can I?"

[USS Courser - Bridge]

Captain Addams sat up in his chair. "œHelm, bring us about heading to the distress signal, at  322.181.04," Don ordered. "œOps continue long and short scans for possible threats or any thing out of ordinary."

Petty Officer Frederick Hoff-Wood the bald black man was at the helm. "œAye sir," he replied.

They were on the way to assist the folks who had sent the message. For they are on a journey which they are not sure of the outcome. There was no way he had wanted his crew be in danger. The reality of exploring in space brings a danger. Even the families that are on the ship. Still their well being and life was in his hands.

[Sirol]

USS Courser / Bridge

Lieutenant Lonic

"Oh, Captain! It's a distress signal! And that's why it is layered with so many languages... they are trying to reach anyone who can help, so they are using all different languages that they know!"

Lonic nodded towards Sugiyama's conclusion.
"œVery likely. Their multi layered languages are performed"¦ Broken"¦ Like a foreigner trying to pronounce a written translation, indicating a lack of en par UT technology. Whether due to technical difficulties or due to a slower technological development curve will be up to speculation until we get a closer look.
Clearly they established FTL though, considering that the assembled language are; and I am using that term very loosely... Local to the surrounding sectors and dominant factions."

Towards her statement that they would have to respond to the distress call, Lonic once again nodded, and now too did an inquiring look towards Willow and Addams.

Captain Addams sat up in his chair. "œHelm, bring us about heading to the distress signal, at  322.181.04," Don ordered. "œOps continue long and short scans for possible threats or any thing out of ordinary."

"œAlready on it, Captain."
Lonic calmly spoke, now again with his eyes glued to the readings on his console as the Courser made its way through the Carnelian clouds.

The closer the Courser navigated to the origin of the distress call, the more low priority reports about smaller particles up to medium sized metallic debris were registered as "˜processed by the main deflector'.
Lonic raised one non existent eyebrow.
The suspected asteroids were yet to show themself, yet debris of various size and shapes increased in density the further they made their way forward...

Turning around towards Sugiyama, he gave her a musing look.
"œ...Maybe the remains of a battle?"
By the end of the day, it was unlikely, yet not impossible.

Almost nothing was really known about this sector since the multitude of dense dichromic nebulae made an area-wide survey difficult and not particularly lucrative.
There was universal consensus that this area was - despite it's beauty - poor in resources, and simply not worth an organised effort, with the only true local oddities and exports being its tales about ships gone missing - which however was to be expected from any place bordering both Klingon and Romulan territory as well has possessing the ingredients to spark gravimetric field distortions"¦

"œThe identification protocols have too little information to clearly identify our immediate surroundings, yet judging by the material composition, we might be passing through what used to be a Klingon convoy..."

His hands once more hushed over his console before he then looked up to the Captain and the XO again.
"œWe are now in range to receive a visual and respond with certainty of reception, Captain..." He spoke, yet immediately squinted.
"œ...Should be at least. I can not get a clear scan of the object. The surrounding nebula or deflecting debris might scramble our reception..."

[Kimiko Sugiyama]

Kimiko Sugiyama
USS Courser

Captain Addams sat up in his chair. "œHelm, bring us about heading to the distress signal, at  322.181.04," Don ordered. "œOps continue long and short scans for possible threats or any thing out of ordinary."

Kimi grinned and dashed back to the science station, making her own preparations.

They approached the signal source and the lofty Betan Ops Officer made his report on the debris field.

Turning around towards Sugiyama, he gave her a musing look.
"œ...Maybe the remains of a battle?"

Kimi looked up from her own sensors and nodded. These were... bits of starships... the metallic content was too high for asteroids. She had not the expertise to identify what bits, or more importantly, from the starships of what kind of species.

The only thing she could add to his theory was...

"They were completely pulverised... there must have been many ships, and something extremely destructive..."

"œThe identification protocols have too little information to clearly identify our immediate surroundings, yet judging by the material composition, we might be passing through what used to be a Klingon convoy..."

Ah... Klingon. Kimi could read their nuanced sigils and quote their epic war-ballads, but she was glad the Ops Officer had the skill to identify their ship parts.

"œWe are now in range to receive a visual and respond with certainty of reception, Captain..." He spoke, yet immediately squinted.
"œ...Should be at least. I can not get a clear scan of the object. The surrounding nebula or deflecting debris might scramble our reception..."

That was to be expected, somewhat, given their locale. They would probably have to board the old-fashioned way, by shuttle.

Kimi was becoming impatient again.

"Captain, I have crafted a reply signal in several of their languages - offering help. Permission to transmit?"

[Xasik]

[USS Courser - Bridge]
Lieutenant Commander Willow Fletcher

Kimiko Sugiyama
[Bridge "" USS Courser]

Kimi came before Captain Addams to discuss their next actions when the main door whooshed open and the Chief of Security strode onto the bridge.

Kimi snapped to attention. "Oh, Lieutenant Commander Kohau Vetath..."

The science officer faltered a little. For some reason, Kimi always seemed to infuriate security officers. It might have been something to do with her burning desire to immediately communicate with and befriend any lifeform they discovered. The fierce, one-eyed Romulan was very likely no exception.

Kimi continued, warily. "Lieutenant Commander, Sir, we have intercepted a transmission - from some lifeform within the nebula! - but it is currently unintelligible. I hypothesise it might be encrypted. We are currently working on decoding this, as well as finding the source of the transmission... then we can maybe find out what they are saying."

She glanced at the captain, then back to the security chief.

"I was going to... well, I wondered if I might seek permission now to try and make contact, once we figure out the coding and I can gather enough vocabulary to properly translate..."

.

Walking onto the bridge, Willow flinched at being addressed by her Romulan name. She was incredibly proud of her Romulan name, but for her assignment aboard the Courser she had requested to be addressed by her Federation name of Willow Fletcher. This was to help maintain a sense of ease among the crew. In her experience, Romulan names could spark a sense of unease and with her in a high ranking position, it seemed logical that a more familiar name would work better.

"œLieutenant Sugiyama, I request that you refer to me as Lieutenant Commander Willow Fletcher, or simply Lieutenant Commander." Her tone was even and unemotional as she spoke.

She listened to Kimiko explain the situation and her hypothesis to her and nodded. "œPermission granted Lieutenant. Proceed."

Crewman Nine
[Bridge "" USS Courser
"We are making progress, Leaders. Lieutenant Lonic identified the transmission, and our gentleman guest..." Nine executed a nod toward its science station, and then halted it halfway. It had run the code for a nod in the direction that Arafe had been in, before Nine had turned to address the humanoids. It ran the correct code now, and successfully nodded toward the Bolian bartender. "...This gentleman, has assisted us in the likely positive identification of two languages entwined in the message. Lieutenant Sugiyama has been instrumental in guiding our work to unscramble and decode the data." A few small motorized noises emanated from Nine's 'head' as its triple antennae shifted. The First Officer's reaction to their report might tell Nine much about what their personality, and what behaviors to prepare for.

Willow listened to the explanation given by Crewman Nine and simply nodded. "œExcellent," she said in a tone dripping with authority. She looked around the bridge at everyone present and observed them working.

USS Courser / Bridge

Lieutenant Lonic

As he noted yet another one joining the bridge - This time the XO [Which in an ironic coincidence could be the abbreviation for both, Executive Officer as well as Exchange Officer in her case] Willow.
Giving the XO an acknowledging nod, he then focused on his readings again.
Nine briefed her on the progress and everyone's involvement, and Sugiyama took the expected initiative of briefing the XO as well as suggesting an approach.
A strategy Lonic supported, hence him adding:
"œIt might be an asteroid field with our ship in question having gotten damaged while passing.
I recommend some closer investigation."

Willow turned her attention to Lieutenant Lonic and nodded as he added his opinion and suggestion to the conversation.
"œA commendable theory, and yes, I agree. A closer investigation is warranted. We must exercise extreme caution though, or we may end up in a similar predicament."

Willow paused for a moment and listened to the transmission that was playing on repeat. She instantly recognized her mother tongue, but flinched at the bad accent.

USS Courser / Bridge

Lieutenant Lonic

To any [...] in transmission range, [...] is Captain [...]. Experiencing technical emergency. Stuck. [...] Support critical. Request assistance.

[...] hoch [...] qum chuq, [...] hod [.]. Mah ghaj [...] chach. [...]. Yin qutlh [...]. Tlhob boq!

Iudaiht sneakjs'hnnialmn [...] ueiik'h'unhr [...] koimae, kjumnaihsou 'hh daise'enarrain [...]. [...] iahwil indaere. [...]. [...]. Draed'et aehjae [...]. Stheirhn temilhis! 

[...] rar kaliu-tai, me  [...] Ral [...]. Tiganni [...] dubrinn. Wenn. Mirta-kai dubrinn-su. Mahak a-tal! 

"œI can make out Romulan in the transmission," She mused out loud to anyone listening. "œSpoken with a very poor accent I might add. Not a native Romulan speaker." Willow resisted the urge to compliment the speaker on their grasp of the language though. They could not hear her so there would be no point. She had heard some dreadful attempts from Federation races trying to speak the Romulan Language, but the speaker in the transmission was doing a sufficient job. She could at least understand them.

Willow made a lap around the Bridge to personally inspect the work that the crew were doing before returning to the Captain's side.

Kimiko Sugiyama
Bridge - USS Courser

Kimi listened as the data mining by both Lonic and Nine began to bring out intelligible words. She danced from foot to foot as she recognised the signal pattern.

"Oh, Captain! It's a distress signal! And that's why it is layered with so many languages... they are trying to reach anyone who can help, so they are using all different languages that they know!"

She quietened again as a possible signal source was given by the Betan. Suddenly she was studying the sensors very attentively.

Lonic hypothesised it was a damaged ship within an asteroid field. Her own readings confirmed that likelihood.

Kimi scampered to before the command chair, facing Captain Addams and Lieutenant Commander Kohau Vetath.

"Captain, we have to help them, right? We must respond to a distress signal. Can I?"

The Romulan watched Lieutenant Sugiyama bounce from foot to foot and raised an eyebrow at her. How could one person have so much energy? Should they perhaps restrict her coffee intact? She said nothing about it and simply let her do her job. If bouncing around like a rubber ball was what worked best for Kimiko then there was no harm in it, as long as she did not distract others from their work.

When Lieutenant Sugiyama approached the command chair, Willow acknowledged her with a nod and waited for Captain Addams to respond before she responded.
"œProceed," she nodded to Kimiko. "œWe must respond."

USS Courser / Bridge

Lieutenant Lonic

Lonic nodded towards Sugiyama's conclusion.
"œVery likely. Their multi layered languages are performed"¦ Broken"¦ Like a foreigner trying to pronounce a written translation, indicating a lack of en par UT technology. Whether due to technical difficulties or due to a slower technological development curve will be up to speculation until we get a closer look.
Clearly they established FTL though, considering that the assembled language are; and I am using that term very loosely... Local to the surrounding sectors and dominant factions."

Towards her statement that they would have to respond to the distress call, Lonic once again nodded, and now too did an inquiring look towards Willow and Addams.

"œAlready on it, Captain."
Lonic calmly spoke, now again with his eyes glued to the readings on his console as the Courser made its way through the Carnelian clouds.

The closer the Courser navigated to the origin of the distress call, the more low priority reports about smaller particles up to medium sized metallic debris were registered as "˜processed by the main deflector'.
Lonic raised one non existent eyebrow.
The suspected asteroids were yet to show themself, yet debris of various size and shapes increased in density the further they made their way forward...

Turning around towards Sugiyama, he gave her a musing look.
"œ...Maybe the remains of a battle?"
By the end of the day, it was unlikely, yet not impossible.

Almost nothing was really known about this sector since the multitude of dense dichromic nebulae made an area-wide survey difficult and not particularly lucrative.
There was universal consensus that this area was - despite it's beauty - poor in resources, and simply not worth an organised effort, with the only true local oddities and exports being its tales about ships gone missing - which however was to be expected from any place bordering both Klingon and Romulan territory as well has possessing the ingredients to spark gravimetric field distortions"¦

"œThe identification protocols have too little information to clearly identify our immediate surroundings, yet judging by the material composition, we might be passing through what used to be a Klingon convoy..."

His hands once more hushed over his console before he then looked up to the Captain and the XO again.
"œWe are now in range to receive a visual and respond with certainty of reception, Captain..." He spoke, yet immediately squinted.
"œ...Should be at least. I can not get a clear scan of the object. The surrounding nebula or deflecting debris might scramble our reception..."

Looking at the debris outside of the ship, Willow listened to the crew speculate and converse but did not partake in the conversation. She preferred to listen and observe situations before voicing her own thoughts.
Lonic's observation that the debris they were observing might in fact belong to a Klingon convey was very likely. She smirked to herself as her mind wandered and she thought to herself "˜Klingon crew crumbs'. It was a thought she would never voice out loud but the thought made her inner Romulan purr. The animosity between her people and the Klingon people was deep seated and not easily shifted. It had been pure luck that she had not been stationed with any Klingon officers yet, but if that were to happen Willow would do her best to remain civil. Her actions and words were on display for the public to judge her by, but her thoughts were her own.

"œIs there anything we can do to boost our chances of a clear scan?" Willow questioned out loud to the crew. She then addressed Lieutenant Lonic directly, agreeing with him. "œI think you may be correct in your observations. This is most probably a Klingon Convoy that encountered foul play. Perhaps by Romulans, perhaps not, this area used to be Romulan Space, but until we have more information we can not be certain."

Standing in her usual rigid posture, Willow dug into her own mind and memories to try and piece together what could possibly have gone down based on her own knowledge. If there was anything of use or worth contributing to the conversation then she would speak up, but for now the XO concentrated on sifting through her hazy thoughts.

Kimiko Sugiyama
USS Courser

"They were completely pulverised... there must have been many ships, and something extremely destructive..."

Ah... Klingon. Kimi could read their nuanced sigils and quote their epic war-ballads, but she was glad the Ops Officer had the skill to identify their ship parts.

That was to be expected, somewhat, given their locale. They would probably have to board the old-fashioned way, by shuttle.

Kimi was becoming impatient again.

"Captain, I have crafted a reply signal in several of their languages - offering help. Permission to transmit?"

Willow raised an eyebrow at Kimiko's impatience, but she could understand. She waited for a response from the Captain before taking it upon herself to respond.
"œProceed Lieutenant." She nodded towards Kimiko. "œYellow Alert," she commanded. "œWe have no idea what's lurking out there. We proceed with caution from this point on. If there is someone out there requiring assistance we will help them."

Willow shivered slightly as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her skin pricked with goosebumps. Perhaps it was her distrusting Romulan nature coming into play but she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling settling into the pit of her stomach and her mind.
The Klingon crumbs were warning enough for her. If her people were responsible there was a chance that she could talk them out of a sticky situation, but there was always the chance that it had been someone else to destroy the Klingon Convoy.

[Kimiko Sugiyama]

Kimi
USS Courser - Bridge

The fierce Romulan stood to rigid attention at the centre of the bridge.

"œProceed Lieutenant." She nodded towards Kimiko. "œYellow Alert," she commanded. "œWe have no idea what's lurking out there. We proceed with caution from this point on. If there is someone out there requiring assistance we will help them."

"Yes, Sir," said Kimi, striking the relevant keys. "Transmitting signal now..."

She cupped the receiver bead to her ear as it scanned the frequencies for any return signal. At the same time, she peered at the fuzzy images on the viewscreen, hoping to resolve something - anything - that might show them what these potential new friends might be like...

[Ian Galloway]

[Bridge - USS Courser]

Arafe stood at the rear of the bridge and tried to be as inobtrusive as possible.  He'd never been here when the ship was underway and he found everything fascinating. He was brimming with questions, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself because someone might remember to tell him to leave. So while it killed him him to remain quiet, being a naturally gregarious person, he stayed out of the way and kept silent.

[Sirol]

USS Courser / Bridge

Lieutenant Lonic

If it had been any other faction, Lonic likely would not have been able to recognise either, the debris as well as the lacklustre accent in the distress call. Luckily though, Klingons happened to be - as a matter of lucky chance - one of his study pet projects.
Commander Willow being able to definitely identify the Romulan language - spoken with the same difficulties - supported Sugiyama's and his assumption that the (logical) intention of the distress call had been to be understood by the widest possible audience.

Now looking towards the exchange Commander herself, practically in unison with Lieutenant Sugiyama, he waited for a response.
In the background, the repeating distress call could still be heard, spreading an oddly eerie ambience across the bridge.

"œIs there anything we can do to boost our chances of a clear scan?" Willow questioned out loud to the crew. She then addressed Lieutenant Lonic directly, agreeing with him. "œI think you may be correct in your observations. This is most probably a Klingon Convoy that encountered foul play. Perhaps by Romulans, perhaps not, this area used to be Romulan Space, but until we have more information we can not be certain."

Looking up to the Commander, Lonic silently exhaled.
"œNot in a practical way, Commander.
The entirety of these nebulae causes us interference of various degrees, the best recommendation I can offer is to stick to steering though the areas with the lowest density to keep the effects to a minimum. Alternatively a network of probes could bring a slight increase in reception via quantity of network coverage, but considering the distance and time being a factor here, it would hardly be a feasible option.
The best short term solution will be us receiving clear as currently possible readings via proximity to the ship in question."

Once more he looked at his screen.
Yes, the readings were gaining clarity - Somewhat.
The visual on the main viewscreen showed a fizzling purplish-red soup of pixels, interrupted by occasional sparkles and reflections, which most likely were debris.

"œProceed Lieutenant." She nodded towards Kimiko. "œYellow Alert," she commanded. "œWe have no idea what's lurking out there. We proceed with caution from this point on. If there is someone out there requiring assistance we will help them."

"Yes, Sir," said Kimi, striking the relevant keys. "Transmitting signal now..."

"œCopy."
He simply answered, switching to yellow alert and waiting for any changes among his readings as to whether or not Sugiyama's hail received any answer.
He certainly could make out some shift in the signal source as all of a sudden the repeated distress call ceased, leaving the bridge crew in a moment of uncomfortable, almost even alarming silence.

Lonic raised one non-existent eyebrow.
This was certainly not what he had been expecting. But then again, depending on the severity of the other ship's damage, there was a realistic chance that they could not easily respond within a few seconds.
"œNo response. Yet. But they must have received us. I register shifting proximity sparks"¦ Of some sort"¦ But sensors claim that the ship has not moved."

He bit his lower lip and looked at the screen again, narrowed his eyes and watched the "˜sparkles' seemingly dancing and shimmering, as all of a sudden a shock - akin to a felt earthquake - seemed to hit the ship, flinging Lonic against his console.

A physical crash? A tractor beam perhaps?

Within a matter of a few seconds the Courser's lights went dark; terminals, screens and padds entirely blacking out and the ship itself coming to a seeming complete halt.
What seemed like a crash though was merely a bump - luckily - (or deliberately?) keeping the ship intact...

Regaining consciousness Lonic forced himself back to his feet, yet could hardly fight the nausea and the pain.
Something was not as it shoul---- Was his last thought before he involuntarily projectile vomited in a straight line across his station.
Hastily wiping his terminal with his sleeve, the semi-delirious officer saw lights slowly flickering back onto his terminal.
LCARS was rebooting and scanning for errors, yet in this very second he could only hope that his breakfast had not hit the Captain and the XO.
(Especially the XO, there was something strangely eerie about her aura"¦)

"œSystems coming back online..." He groaned, looked up and squinted.
Despite the "˜impact', he seemed to be the only one affected so"¦ Severely.
Trying to ignore the ringing in his ears and the smell of fresh blood in his nose he looked at Willow.
"œRebuilding Database at 43%. 46"¦ 47..."
He cleared his throat and wiped his bleeding nose with his clean sleeve.
"œI may require medical assistance..."
He exhaled once more and watched the loading animation finalising.

The next shock moment however did not take long to fall into place.
With computer systems back online, the first thing all of them would note was the unmistakable screaming noise of an alert, followed by everyone's terminals being flooded in status messages.

"œCaptain, we have a hull breach at Deck 39, countless automated emergency reports and.. Several intruder alerts throughout the decks 31 to 42"¦ As well as..."
He paused for a moment then squinted.
"œ...We lost internal sensors on the affected decks once more..."