S3-M10: Unfinished Business

[Kyle Briggs]

[Briefing Room]

Kyle listened as questions were asked and answered. However, he couldn't believe the way Mackenzie was acting toward the Admiral. Nor would he stand for it any longer. The XO side of him chimed in.

"That's enough, Lieutenant." he said. "We'll meet in my office once this briefing is concluded." He turned his attention back to Carter. "If may continue, Admiral. I'm sure what the lieutenant meant to say..." he said with a side eye glance at Kyan. "....is seeing as you're the resident expert on these two species, we're just gonna go on the assumption that we know nothing about them and we'll need you to share all you your information including ideas on defending against them."

Just that quick, he turned on the engineer side of his brain.

"Now on the engineering side, I can't wait to get into this thing. I feel it needs to be a priority. It may give us a hint into how we can ward off the EMP attack. That may be the difference in our survival if they decide to move on the Katra."

[Balan]

[Katra station - Briefing room]

Things were getting hot and their Chief was getting the feathers shaking on the Vice-Admiral. Balan had understood that MacKenzie was interested in the safety of Starfleet officers and citizens in the area.

"œMay I ask sir," Balan said to the Vice Admiral and Commander Carter. "œDo we know these attacks on Starfleet have a pattern? Like the same amount of ships and time?" He asked and placing his hands behind his back.

Then his brown eyes looked at the trigger, "œand how sure we this trigger is not a"¦" he had a puzzled look which he forgot the word he was trying to fish. "œSir, er"¦.BAIT!" he blurted out. Then he looked down feeling shame for his forgetting a word. "œAre we sure it's not baiting us?" He repeated.

Then just as he as either man was answering that when Balan looked at the eyes of the men to see if he could see any mistakes by Changling on the Vice President. Because Ambassador Odo spotted them by looking at the appearance, however, Balan could miss the detail cause he was not a changeling but an Allomorph. Which was a totally different species.

[Sirol]

< Katra Station / Simulation Lab â†' Turbolift >

A meeting would be prudent, Lieutenant. Thnak you. Just let me know and I will coordinate accordingly. Also, it will give me time to make the argument to the captain. I am hoping the simple lattice work of silicon might be able to bypass normal communications, while giving us a back up system. But, that is only a basic understanding. Thank you. 

"œOf course, Commander."
She responded in a polite tone while she once more lovingly booped Emeralds ECS to signal the child that she would have to head out for a while.
"œIf you can maybe formulate your plans and send me a copy, I could relay them to Captain Eydis. It might be a beneficial incentive to agree to a meeting if the Captain knows what you have in mind."
With that she politely ended the call, then made her way to the briefing, quiet in speech yet with Emerald in her thoughts.

Reisen had been delayed by the seeming increase in security and a bluish colored tholian which he had briefly caught a glimpse of as he came out of the tubrolift onto the level with simulation lab.  His eyes would catch a glimpse of a young Romulan female heading to a turbolift herself.   Then it was like the floor had been pulled out from under him.  He had missed meeting with his new Commanding officer Sirol in the lab. And he moved swiftly to try and get to the turbo lift only catching a bette glimpse of a rather attractive looking romulan female. Who had a look of utter joy or happiness etched onto hir face as the doors slide shut.

The slender scientist stretched her neck and straightened her uniform and her lab coat when she sensed the tertiary presence of someone and focus on her person.
Looking up her eyes caught a young-ish looking Rihannsu. Not a sight she expected to see often these days.
Outside of their space her people - due to their little numbers - had become some sort of a rarity in many places, especially the Gamma Quadrant, so the other one stuck out to her.
With her smile still prevailing, she gave him a hailing nod before the doors of the turbo lift closed and metaphorically cut their gazes.

She once more activated her wrist mounted holographic PDA to see if Commander Briggs had sent her any potential addition, yet her inbox was empty, and Sirol interpreted this as a positive sign that everything was happening according to this day's plan.

I'm so sorry I have missed you Science officer Sirol. There seems to be a heighten sense of security around the station. I'm at the Simulation lab awaiting your return. You seem to have a.

You have a blue tholian guest who just went into the lab. I have decided to wait in the hallway unless you have need of me. Please say you need me to come. I would not like to barrage in on your tholian guest
unannounced. I remember hearing something about tholians not being particular fond of surprises with otehr species

As her comm badge chirped and she once more heard the familiar voice from before, the scientist raised an eyebrow. She was positively surprised about the other's speed. His statement however surprised her.

Her first instinct had been to tell him that it was alright, and that the "˜blue Tholian' as well as the second Tholian who was already on their way to join the first in the lab were her associates; her friends, her family even.
In the last moment though she decided to not say anything.
Instead she reached out to Eydis via the Lattice, relaying a friendly and warm emotion and letting hir know that she would be back soon.
'My apologies, I was called to a meeting. Please make yourself at home. Emerald is already looking forward to meet you. I will be with you as soon as my time permits.'
She then focused on the call again.
Reisen seemed worried, maybe even intimidated by the presence of the Tholians, and - considering many species' past contact with them - it did not come as a surprise at all.
Unlike Sirol, who had grown to love them and feel natural in their presence, most others saw Tholians as an unpredictable oddity at best, a threat at worst"¦
And then there was his inquiry echoing through her thoughts"¦
Please say you need me to come"¦

She paused for a few seconds, then eventually - habitually - nodded and responded.
"œThe Tholians are our associates aboard, but if you would prefer to join me, I am on my way to the briefing room right now.
I am not yet aware what this briefing will entail, but Commander Briggs has asked for a xenobiologist. If you happen to be one, consider this your official draft, if not, I can still ask whether it would be acceptable for you to join, and would get back to you as soon as I receive an answer."

__________________________________________________

< Katra Station / Briefing Room >

[Briefing Room (Little before meeting)]

Kyle looked up as Sirol entered. "Great. You're the first one here. Admiral Carter called this briefing so I'm not sure what it's about but before the others arrive, I wanted to get with you. Not sure if you are aware but Captain Kirok had to leave Katra and our Chief Science Officer had family matters to attend to and left as well. I'm not sure who will be taking over as commanding officer but until then, we need a department head in your area so I am making you Acting Chief Science Officer. I can't promise it will stick but for now, I know you can handle it. That's if you will accept it."

Quietly listening to the Commander, the scientist folded her arms behind her back and acknowledged his explanations with nods.
Admiral Carter? A new name she had not heard yet, yet from her experiences with Starfeet so far, having an Admiral aboard usually either meant a diplomatic event with a delightful cocktail party... Or trouble....
She hoped for the first, but braced herself for the latter.
As he continued through, she slowly raised an eyebrow, and her face turned into a more serious expression though.
Eventually she once more nodded.

"œI was not aware of the change of Command, no, nor of Lieutenant Th'vannerh's departure."
Family matters could mean anything on the scale of catharsis to catastrophe, and while she hoped that he was alright, she did not delve into it, and instead responded with a polite "œI wish him the best." before she musingly inhaled.
There had not even been time for an announcement or goodbyes. Yes, she indeed hoped that everything was alright"¦
Towards the next point though she looked at Commander Briggs again and gave him a calm nod.
"œThere is no need for promises, Commander.
I am glad to help where I can and will gladly accept."
She paused for a moment, looking at him, hoping that her calm tone did not come across as lack of interest, before she eventually added.
"œOne more thing, If I may"¦
...Our newest science staff member Reisen voiced his wish to accompany me. I however have not yet received specific information on his special fields. Since I was not yet informed about the nature of this meeting or potentially classified contents, I considered it wise to ask you first, whether or not he would still be allowed to partake."

Once the room began to fill with more and more crew members - the notable security presence did not escape her - Sirol gave them too a polite hailing nod before she then quietly took a seat at one of the long sides of the table and placed her cobalt blue work padd next to her on the table.

As Admiral Carter then began to speak and explained what he had brought with him, Sirol stared at the exotic device, attentively listening and quietly musing.
The idea of having a trigger to a weapon of mass destruction right in front of her on the table unsettled her. Katra had seen such a condensed chain of terrorist attacks in the past few months"¦ Enough to last several lifetimes"¦ Enough to take multiple lifes and drive many civilians and business owners off-station"¦
But it was also something else; something older and deeper"¦
Her own experiences upon the destruction of her home system"¦
Her proxy experiences upon accessing historical memories via the Lattice"¦
She was noticeably unsettled, yet did not say anything, yet listened, and only ever seemed to ease up again upon Carter's explicit explanation that this piece here was a trigger without its metaphorical(?) bomb.

Listening to Carter's and Mackenzie's conversation about the two sibling species though seemed to quickly produce a new, rich breeding ground for worry"¦
To state that the interpersonal chemistry between Carter and Mackenzie was terrible would have been the understatement of the month, and within trying to exchange information about the T'Sari and the T'Kori their polar opposite mindsets clashed and seemed to sooner rather than later cause one of them to lose control.
Yet luckily they always seemed to bounce back just close enough to the subject matter that they avoided the worst...

"Your goal is to change that and reverse engineer the bio-mechanical trigger to build an interface for it so that we can make sure that the next time the T'Kori try to launch an attack on us we have countermeasures. I will open the floor for any questions."

"An on yer reverse engineering, ye might be looking at the Xindi bio-rifle. Teh Reptilians used to used it. It had a bio lock on it what made it that only a Reptilian could use it. An if anyone else tried, it blew up. Also there was two larvae in there. A really neat weapon so it is!"

Upon Carter eventually stating that he planned to attempt a reverse engineering of the T'Kori's rather exotic way of interfacing, Sirol slightly raised one hand, signalling that she had something to add on the subject matter and quickly nodded at Mackenzie's comment in agreement. He was potentially pondering in the same direction as she was.
Leaning a little forward she looked at Admiral Carter.

"œWhat exactly do we know about the specific way the T'Kori and even the T'Sari interface with their technology?
You mentioned them developing alongside their tech, which indicates an exceptionally long process, yet their role in galactic society is not that of a dominant faction, hinting at either inward focused interests or an overall slow progress curve"¦ Further do single-purpose devices hint at either abundant resources or a pattern focused mindset...
Biomechanical technology covers a broad field of tools ranging from cybernetics over genetics to symbiotic organisms. I think an important aspect that will help us decipher the functionality of the interfacing will be understanding the roots and direction of this particular technology.
Do the T'Kori make use of body augmentations? Do they use an interfacing agent like nanoprobes? I think in order to grasp and utilise the technology, it will be vital to understand the two species themself."

James inhaled deeply as his eyes turned to lock onto Mackenzie's. "While I do apologize that the topic of saving lives, potentially even your own isn't interesting enough to hold your attention, next time you decide that your topic is more important than the one the meeting is about please see yourself out. Do I make myself clear?" His words were calculated and cold as he finished the statement.

Sirol quietly bit her lower lip at Carter's words.
While she understood where he was coming from, she also understood Kyan's motivation - maybe even better than Carter's due to the simple fact that both of them knew one another for months at this point and even had spent a respectable amount of time as a family.
Worrying that things might spiral out of control soon, she calmly placed one hand on Kyan Mackenzie's shoulder, wanting to add her own few words and maybe, hopefully, be able to get both of them to pause their disagreement for at least as long as discussing the current subject matter would take.
However, as Kyan spoke up, Sirol hesitated, deciding to let him finish first.

"I'd have ye pardon me for sayin so... Admiral... but you were the one who was there and knows about the T'Kori the now, not us. So if ye could stop talking about it like we're just supposed tae be knowing everything already, and then getting your underwear twisted when I asks ye a question, that would be great, and no mistake."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "And I said there'd been no attacks because I dinnae have no reports of T'Kori attacks. The Sector Command dinnae put none out. Starfleet Intelligence dinnae put none out, and they have nae attacked this station, which is where I've been for the past eight months. So here we are again with you havin information that we don't, and you gettin pissy that you gotta explain it to me. I wanna help you the now Admiral, sure and I do. Like ye said about your family back home, this here is my family" he said indicating Sirol and the others. "And I'm after protecting them. So if you could quit yer whole fake "Oh I'm just another guy, Call me James, but then I'll get pissy when you question me about coming back from the dead with some crazy alien bomb trigger" thing and tell us what we need tae know and answer my questions as though I really don't know the answer already, it's grateful to ye I'd be.

He finished but then recalled Carters final jab at him. "Oh, and about me own topic. I was after telling Lieutenant Sirol here about the Xindi Bio-rifle, the which we have reverse engineered, and which uses a similar kind of thing where only the Reptilians could use it, like yer bomb trigger. So I figured it might help her. And also... I get why yer so pissy. And I'm sorry you got stranded, and if I hurt your feelings. I'm not good at being.... "What was the word that Xasik used during the IRT.... "erm... tactful. So uhh.. yeah. Anyways.. someone else can talk now."

Sirol's eyes had been metaphorically glued to the security chief.
While his words were profound and more than understandable to her and - supposedly - most people of Katra, his choice of words was"¦ Rather unlucky"¦
Her first immediate instinct after the month of Family IRT with Him and Xasik hence ironically had been to ask him to "˜please watch his language if he wanted to play holosim games this evening', yet considering both, the environment as well as the situation, she instead kept things - strategically - more generally understandable for all included while speaking to Kyan.
"œThe human psyche is vastly different as in them living through a comparatively condensed chain of emotions, as well as means of situational perception, individual knowledge and self-expression to accommodate their short lifespan."

With a silent inhale she then looked at Admiral Carter again.
"œThe news about the T'Kori attacks indeed have reached Katra rather"¦ Sparingly.
If I would have to guess why, I would assume it to be a result of various factors ranging from our relatively remote location over the last half year over one emergency situation chasing one another the past months down to multiple changes of leadership...
Circumstances like these - for the most part - did not always leave sufficient chance to stay up-to-date with the events in the Alpha and Beta Quadrant. At least not as much as many aboard would presumably have liked to."

She paused for a moment, then noticed that now also Commander Briggs joined the conversation again, obviously put off by Mackenzie's attitude towards the Admiral and demanding a private conversation afterwards, before he then returned to the original subject of this meeting..

"If may continue, Admiral. I'm sure what the lieutenant meant to say..." he said with a side eye glance at Kyan. "....is seeing as you're the resident expert on these two species, we're just gonna go on the assumption that we know nothing about them and we'll need you to share all you your information including ideas on defending against them."

With an agreeing nod towards Briggs she leaned a little back in her seat, leaving a moment for potential interjections, before she eventually faced the Admiral again.
"œYou, Admiral indeed seem to have a vast advantage when it comes to knowledge about the T'Kori, the T'Sari as well as their technological branches. That being said, I am the station's Xenologist, and deciphering and understanding foreign cultures is my field of work.
Perhaps you would be willing to share your expertise with us?
Have you had the chance to document T'Kori interacting with their tech, maybe even gathered field notes?"

_________________________________________________________

< Katra Station / Tholian Embassy â†' Simulation Lab >

[Enroute to the simulation lab]

Eydis had left the Mother swan and was heading to the simulation lab with the gifts shi had brought with hir. Shi would pause for a second as it seemed hir friends had gone to meet with this federation command caste member.

So shi would go to the simulation lab and meet with the healer and emerald now.  Shi had been thinking a lot on what had happened on tholia prima. And the future of emerald had been weighing on the commanders thoughts. But shi kept those thoughts private as shi approached the simulation door.  Shi was going to give emerald the first of the two galaxy roses.

As the door slide open to the simulation lab

As every alpha shift at 1030, it was Peylix' time to pay their visit to Specialist Freeman and his adopted hatchling Emerald, to check up on the little one and lend potential assistance and answer questions in case Xasik had any.
Over the last few weeks, Xasik had seemed to grow more and more self-confident and experienced and Peylix concluded that soon their daily visits would not be necessary anymore and might be reduced to weekly ones.

While Peylix admittedly had had their doubts in the beginning, Xasik Freeman as well as Scientist Sirol proved to be a loving and wholesome environment for the child. Furthermore, did Peylix appreciate Scientist Sirol's aspiration to raise Emerald as an active part of Tholian society, despite their non-Tholian parent.

As they approached the lab, they could sense the presence of Captain Eydis and cautiously reached out to hir, relaying a greeting and their pleasure to see hir in the lab soon, yet as they entered the level leading to the lab, an unknown person loitering in front of the simulation lab caught their attention.
A vulcanoid life form - maybe another Romulan or Reman? (Peylix was not entirely sure about that considering their difficulty to even tell Non-Tholians apart from one another), seemingly waiting for something - or someone in front of the lab.
Peylix slowed down, then curiously looked, not to say stared at the stranger, illuminating him in the bright neon shine of their EV-suit's lamps for a moment and trying to grasp as to whether this was a visitor or just someone lost waiting to be picked up.
Yet ultimately, considering Peylix was not sure who the stranger was - other than another outsider - they chose to not interact, but rather entered the laboratory to not be late.

<"My greetings, Captain, Specialist, Emerald.">
They spoke in their signature neutral vo-coded voice and headed towards the laboratory's central console to join the two.

[James Carter]

Rather than answering immediately... and with the words he wanted to use, Kyan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, like Counselor Zero had said to do. There were several different paths Kyan visualized in front of him. That was another one of Zero's counseling things. "Look at the different paths, and before you act, consider which one is right." Something about there being rocks.... or a bridge..That's what he said. truthfully, Kyan didn't remember most of it. But he did remember the paths. Today, most of them ended with Carter in sickbay and Kyan in the brig. He wanted to skip down one of those paths. He'd somersault down one of them singing a song at this point! But that was what he wanted to do.

What he knew he needed to do was a different thing altogether. He needed to figure out how to work with Admiral "Stick in His Arse" Carter so that they didn't get blown up by some T'Kori gits. An added bonus would be the the sooner they got it done, the sooner Carter would get back into a shuttle and warp away. And at the moment, that particular outcome seemed higher on the priority list if he was being honest.

The ancient boy finally opened his eyes and exhaled. As usual, the technique left him feeling still angry, but less likely to fly off the handle. After asking Olma of the Honey Tongue for her blessing and help, he found the Admirals eyes and returned his glare. "I'd have ye pardon me for sayin so... Admiral... but you were the one who was there and knows about the T'Kori the now, not us. So if ye could stop talking about it like we're just supposed tae be knowing everything already, and then getting your underwear twisted when I asks ye a question, that would be great, and no mistake."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "And I said there'd been no attacks because I dinnae have no reports of T'Kori attacks. The Sector Command dinnae put none out. Starfleet Intelligence dinnae put none out, and they have nae attacked this station, which is where I've been for the past eight months. So here we are again with you havin information that we don't, and you gettin pissy that you gotta explain it to me. I wanna help you the now Admiral, sure and I do. Like ye said about your family back home, this here is my family" he said indicating Sirol and the others. "And I'm after protecting them. So if you could quit yer whole fake "Oh I'm just another guy, Call me James, but then I'll get pissy when you question me about coming back from the dead with some crazy alien bomb trigger" thing and tell us what we need tae know and answer my questions as though I really don't know the answer already, it's grateful to ye I'd be.

He finished but then recalled Carters final jab at him. "Oh, and about me own topic. I was after telling Lieutenant Sirol here about the Xindi Bio-rifle, the which we have reverse engineered, and which uses a similar kind of thing where only the Reptilians could use it, like yer bomb trigger. So I figured it might help her. And also... I get why yer so pissy. And I'm sorry you got stranded, and if I hurt your feelings. I'm not good at being.... "What was the word that Xasik used during the IRT.... "erm... tactful. So uhh.. yeah. Anyways.. someone else can talk now."

He hoped that Carter would accept his apology and get on with it. He also wondered what had happened to Kirok. This whole day was beginning to look like it was going to be one of "those" that people were always lamenting.

[Briefing Room]

Kyle listened as questions were asked and answered. However, he couldn't believe the way Mackenzie was acting toward the Admiral. Nor would he stand for it any longer. The XO side of him chimed in.

"That's enough, Lieutenant." he said. "We'll meet in my office once this briefing is concluded." He turned his attention back to Carter. "If may continue, Admiral. I'm sure what the lieutenant meant to say..." he said with a side eye glance at Kyan. "....is seeing as you're the resident expert on these two species, we're just gonna go on the assumption that we know nothing about them and we'll need you to share all you your information including ideas on defending against them."

Just that quick, he turned on the engineer side of his brain.

"Now on the engineering side, I can't wait to get into this thing. I feel it needs to be a priority. It may give us a hint into how we can ward off the EMP attack. That may be the difference in our survival if they decide to move on the Katra."

[Briefing Room]

James took a mental note to pass down a note that Mackenzie would never be allowed to attend another of his briefings. 'My condolences for your career if you think this is an acceptable way to speak to superiors.' He thought to himself. James was by far one of the more relaxed admirals. He knew several of his colleges that would've already had the officer relieved from duty for insubordination. "Your contempt is noted, Mackenzie. Now if you're quite done..." He began, his voice flat and calculated as his eyes moved back to the table as people continued to ask questions.

[Katra station - Briefing room]

Things were getting hot and their Chief was getting the feathers shaking on the Vice-Admiral. Balan had understood that MacKenzie was interested in the safety of Starfleet officers and citizens in the area.

"œMay I ask sir," Balan said to the Vice Admiral and Commander Carter. "œDo we know these attacks on Starfleet have a pattern? Like the same amount of ships and time?" He asked and placing his hands behind his back.

Then his brown eyes looked at the trigger, "œand how sure we this trigger is not a"¦" he had a puzzled look which he forgot the word he was trying to fish. "œSir, er"¦.BAIT!" he blurted out. Then he looked down feeling shame for his forgetting a word. "œAre we sure it's not baiting us?" He repeated.

Then just as he as either man was answering that when Balan looked at the eyes of the men to see if he could see any mistakes by Changling on the Vice President. Because Ambassador Odo spotted them by looking at the appearance, however, Balan could miss the detail cause he was not a changeling but an Allomorph. Which was a totally different species.

Carter took a breath in to speak. Both are good and valid questions. "I retrieved the device myself onboard a T'Kori capital ship that the T'Sari neutralized with the aid of a T'Kori defector who was unfortunately assassinated shortly thereafter before we could work with them on reverse-engineering the device." He paused as his eyes glanced down at the table for a moment as he had to control his expression to not have a pained look on his face. For anyone perceptive enough it was still there, however. "As for your first question. Yes. The T'Kori do follow many very similar patterns every single time. They strive for disorientation. The initial crippling usually happens about fifteen minutes ahead of an attack. Long enough many assume the attack is finished, short enough that there's no time to brace for a second attack. The number of ships varies every single time based on the target but one thing does typically occur every time. There's at least one larger warship at every occurrence and for every warship, there are three daughter ships. Good questions."

__________________________________________________

< Katra Station / Briefing Room >

As Admiral Carter then began to speak and explained what he had brought with him, Sirol stared at the exotic device, attentively listening and quietly musing.
The idea of having a trigger to a weapon of mass destruction right in front of her on the table unsettled her. Katra had seen such a condensed chain of terrorist attacks in the past few months"¦ Enough to last several lifetimes"¦ Enough to take multiple lifes and drive many civilians and business owners off-station"¦
But it was also something else; something older and deeper"¦
Her own experiences upon the destruction of her home system"¦
Her proxy experiences upon accessing historical memories via the Lattice"¦
She was noticeably unsettled, yet did not say anything, yet listened, and only ever seemed to ease up again upon Carter's explicit explanation that this piece here was a trigger without its metaphorical(?) bomb.

Listening to Carter's and Mackenzie's conversation about the two sibling species though seemed to quickly produce a new, rich breeding ground for worry"¦
To state that the interpersonal chemistry between Carter and Mackenzie was terrible would have been the understatement of the month, and within trying to exchange information about the T'Sari and the T'Kori their polar opposite mindsets clashed and seemed to sooner rather than later cause one of them to lose control.
Yet luckily they always seemed to bounce back just close enough to the subject matter that they avoided the worst...

Upon Carter eventually stating that he planned to attempt a reverse engineering of the T'Kori's rather exotic way of interfacing, Sirol slightly raised one hand, signalling that she had something to add on the subject matter and quickly nodded at Mackenzie's comment in agreement. He was potentially pondering in the same direction as she was.
Leaning a little forward she looked at Admiral Carter.

"œWhat exactly do we know about the specific way the T'Kori and even the T'Sari interface with their technology?
You mentioned them developing alongside their tech, which indicates an exceptionally long process, yet their role in galactic society is not that of a dominant faction, hinting at either inward focused interests or an overall slow progress curve"¦ Further do single-purpose devices hint at either abundant resources or a pattern focused mindset...
Biomechanical technology covers a broad field of tools ranging from cybernetics over genetics to symbiotic organisms. I think an important aspect that will help us decipher the functionality of the interfacing will be understanding the roots and direction of this particular technology.
Do the T'Kori make use of body augmentations? Do they use an interfacing agent like nanoprobes? I think in order to grasp and utilise the technology, it will be vital to understand the two species themself."

Sirol quietly bit her lower lip at Carter's words.
While she understood where he was coming from, she also understood Kyan's motivation - maybe even better than Carter's due to the simple fact that both of them knew one another for months at this point and even had spent a respectable amount of time as a family.
Worrying that things might spiral out of control soon, she calmly placed one hand on Kyan Mackenzie's shoulder, wanting to add her own few words and maybe, hopefully, be able to get both of them to pause their disagreement for at least as long as discussing the current subject matter would take.
However, as Kyan spoke up, Sirol hesitated, deciding to let him finish first.

Sirol's eyes had been metaphorically glued to the security chief.
While his words were profound and more than understandable to her and - supposedly - most people of Katra, his choice of words was"¦ Rather unlucky"¦
Her first immediate instinct after the month of Family IRT with Him and Xasik hence ironically had been to ask him to "˜please watch his language if he wanted to play holosim games this evening', yet considering both, the environment as well as the situation, she instead kept things - strategically - more generally understandable for all included while speaking to Kyan.
"œThe human psyche is vastly different as in them living through a comparatively condensed chain of emotions, as well as means of situational perception, individual knowledge and self-expression to accommodate their short lifespan."

With a silent inhale she then looked at Admiral Carter again.
"œThe news about the T'Kori attacks indeed have reached Katra rather"¦ Sparingly.
If I would have to guess why, I would assume it to be a result of various factors ranging from our relatively remote location over the last half year over one emergency situation chasing one another the past months down to multiple changes of leadership...
Circumstances like these - for the most part - did not always leave sufficient chance to stay up-to-date with the events in the Alpha and Beta Quadrant. At least not as much as many aboard would presumably have liked to."

She paused for a moment, then noticed that now also Commander Briggs joined the conversation again, obviously put off by Mackenzie's attitude towards the Admiral and demanding a private conversation afterwards, before he then returned to the original subject of this meeting..

With an agreeing nod towards Briggs she leaned a little back in her seat, leaving a moment for potential interjections, before she eventually faced the Admiral again.
"œYou, Admiral indeed seem to have a vast advantage when it comes to knowledge about the T'Kori, the T'Sari as well as their technological branches. That being said, I am the station's Xenologist, and deciphering and understanding foreign cultures is my field of work.
Perhaps you would be willing to share your expertise with us?
Have you had the chance to document T'Kori interacting with their tech, maybe even gathered field notes?"

A small smirk appeared on Carter's face as he listened intently to Sirol's line of questioning. All excellent questions. He thought carefully on each question before he began. That was an inperceptable hesitation as his mind bounced each question around. "Many excellent questions." He began in an excited tone. "To answer them all will take some time so please bare with me as I answer them all."

The Admiral's back straightened up for a moment as he began to run down the exhaustive list of answers. "Both the T'Kori and the T'Sari have developed slightly different over the time since the great exile. An event roughly 2000 years ago where the T'Sari exiled all of the T'Kori to another planet in the solar system. Of course, their conflict goes back long before that as well. However, both of them evolved to use biochemical computers. From studies on the T'Sari they typically use their index finger for a smaller device like this or a full hand for larger devices. Our studies have indicated that the biochemical interface simply unlocks the use of the device. They interface directly with the devices they're using almost telepathically with brain implants they receive as children. The T'Sari do follow a similar mindset of making more specialty devices, they do however also make more all-purpose devices. A glimpse back through history would show that they did follow the same pattern before the species diverged." He stiffened a moment as he continued. "Unfortunately most of our studies on physiology and culture have been on the T'Sari instead of the T'Kori. We've only been able to carry on an extended conversation with the single T'Kori and...they're gone now." His voice became sour as he finished the last sentence. A sad look appeared on his face for a moment as his thoughts returned to his greatest failure.

James cleared his throat for a moment before he continued. "Tactics are more my strong suit than culture and science. So please allow me to explain what I have observed from tactics." His voice returned to the stoic and confident tone he had before. "The T'Kori have a very singular track mind. Their insistence on always following a singular strategy that never deviates. They're also not capable of launching multiple phases of an attack all at once because of this. The large warship being protected by smaller daughter ships indicates that they operate on a similar rank structure to our own with the mother ship issuing commands to the daughter ships. Additionally, in a firefight, they tend to focus all of their firepower on what they deem as the weakest target at that given moment. They then move on to the next weakest until they've finished their attack. The most effective counter-strategy against them in that regard is to bait them with something perceived to be a weak link but then overwhelm them with multiple attacks all at once, all focused on different aspects of assault." He paused as he allowed his brain to catch up so to speak. "What I've gathered about their culture from interactions testing their strategies is as follows. They appear to run off a military dictatorship with the military being one of the most important aspects of their culture as a whole. Their use of devices intended to cripple enemies indicates that while formidable they normally don't believe they could win in a 1v1 fight and tend to cower away at any pre-emptive show of force. This is likely a result of the many years that they simply were outclassed by the T'Sari, who at the time attempted to force back any and all attempts at colonization and expansion by the T'Kori. This seems to be why they've scavenged from other species. Inside the derelict T'Kori warship that the T'Sari allowed us to inspect we found parts from several different species and factions. Including a warp drive that was a federation design, which had appeared to have been reverse-engineered. The insistence on using parts from other factions also points towards my conclusion that they are a military-first culture."

[Kyan Mackenzie]

[Briefing Room]

James took a mental note to pass down a note that Mackenzie would never be allowed to attend another of his briefings. 'My condolences for your career if you think this is an acceptable way to speak to superiors.' He thought to himself. James was by far one of the more relaxed admirals. He knew several of his colleges that would've already had the officer relieved from duty for insubordination. "Your contempt is noted, Mackenzie. Now if you're quite done..." He began, his voice flat and calculated as his eyes moved back to the table as people continued to ask questions.

Kyan was no where near done. He'd not even started. This infuriatingly smug person was pushing the limits of the boy's restraint, such as it was, to their breaking point. More than anything else in the universe right now, Kyan wanted to jump out of his chair and feed Carter his teeth. He'd envisioned what it would look like; what it would feel like. It might not go like that of course. Carter was likely a middling to fair fighter. After all he had managed to survive all these months, which had to account for something. But there was no scenario where, were he to act on his impulses, that Kyan didn't at least extract his proverbial pound of flesh. None. Most likely he'd win. He had the experience advantage. He also had the advantage of Carter's hubris. And unlike Carter, who probably didn't make a habit of fighting ten year old boys... Kyan had been fighting people twice his size for more than a century. His training, in large part, was predicated on a size disadvantage.

But he also knew that if he were to allow himself to get caught, then it was over. As much as he understood his advantages, and exploited them, he also understood his disadvantages, and avoided having them exploited. It worked most of the time. Sometimes it didn't. The Hunter and his crossbow came immediately to mind. Of course it was all moot anyway because firstly, Kyan wasn't going to attack Carter. And even if he did, Briggs would get involved, and he didn't have any problem with Briggs. But moreso than that, it was poor tactics. He would be the one blamed. He would be the one that was punished, even and especially if he beat the man. Even if he won, he would lose.

There was a time, not so long ago, when that wouldn't have mattered. Back then Carter would have caught one to the jaw back in the docking bay. And Kyan would have been in the brig. Then he'd have gotten transferred. He didn't care back then. Sure, the brig sucked, but he didn't mind it if he got to give some smug grup his due. But over the past several decades, he'd learned that you couldn't just break the jaw of every grup whose attitude it might improve. Sometimes it was better to wait for the threefold law to work in it's own time. "Everyone will get what the Powers owe them." he'd been taught. "And They always pay their debts." Even if they take their own sweet time in the doing of it!, Kyan added silently to himself.

The Crimson haired boy heaved a sigh, but said nothing. It was pointless to say anything else to Carter. He wasn't going to stop being a smug, holier than thou, pain in Kyan's backside until he'd gotten back in that broken down shuttle and flown off back to Earth or wherever he was going. So there was no point in spending any more time on it. In addition to which, it was taking up time better spent on getting ready for the T'Kori. And plotting tactics for dealing with them was both more interesting, and a better use of his time than trying to get Carter to take the Cappellan Sky Tree out of his arse!

And so he listened to the Admiral's spiel about the T'Kori and their tactics. As he did, Kyan was reminded of something he'd read in Sun Tzu's book. "Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him." The beginnings of a counter strategy started to weave together. But he needed more information.

He worked hard to make his voice sound as pleasant and deferential as possible so as to not offend Carter again, and actually get an answer to a question for once. "Admiral." he began as pleasantly as he could, "What do we know about T'Kori shields and weapons? Torpedos, beam weapons and the like? And do we have any specs on their mother ships and daughter ships?"

[James Carter]

Kyan was no where near done. He'd not even started. This infuriatingly smug person was pushing the limits of the boy's restraint, such as it was, to their breaking point. More than anything else in the universe right now, Kyan wanted to jump out of his chair and feed Carter his teeth. He'd envisioned what it would look like; what it would feel like. It might not go like that of course. Carter was likely a middling to fair fighter. After all he had managed to survive all these months, which had to account for something. But there was no scenario where, were he to act on his impulses, that Kyan didn't at least extract his proverbial pound of flesh. None. Most likely he'd win. He had the experience advantage. He also had the advantage of Carter's hubris. And unlike Carter, who probably didn't make a habit of fighting ten year old boys... Kyan had been fighting people twice his size for more than a century. His training, in large part, was predicated on a size disadvantage.

But he also knew that if he were to allow himself to get caught, then it was over. As much as he understood his advantages, and exploited them, he also understood his disadvantages, and avoided having them exploited. It worked most of the time. Sometimes it didn't. The Hunter and his crossbow came immediately to mind. Of course it was all moot anyway because firstly, Kyan wasn't going to attack Carter. And even if he did, Briggs would get involved, and he didn't have any problem with Briggs. But moreso than that, it was poor tactics. He would be the one blamed. He would be the one that was punished, even and especially if he beat the man. Even if he won, he would lose.

There was a time, not so long ago, when that wouldn't have mattered. Back then Carter would have caught one to the jaw back in the docking bay. And Kyan would have been in the brig. Then he'd have gotten transferred. He didn't care back then. Sure, the brig sucked, but he didn't mind it if he got to give some smug grup his due. But over the past several decades, he'd learned that you couldn't just break the jaw of every grup whose attitude it might improve. Sometimes it was better to wait for the threefold law to work in it's own time. "Everyone will get what the Powers owe them." he'd been taught. "And They always pay their debts." Even if they take their own sweet time in the doing of it!, Kyan added silently to himself.

The Crimson haired boy heaved a sigh, but said nothing. It was pointless to say anything else to Carter. He wasn't going to stop being a smug, holier than thou, pain in Kyan's backside until he'd gotten back in that broken down shuttle and flown off back to Earth or wherever he was going. So there was no point in spending any more time on it. In addition to which, it was taking up time better spent on getting ready for the T'Kori. And plotting tactics for dealing with them was both more interesting, and a better use of his time than trying to get Carter to take the Cappellan Sky Tree out of his arse!

And so he listened to the Admiral's spiel about the T'Kori and their tactics. As he did, Kyan was reminded of something he'd read in Sun Tzu's book. "Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him." The beginnings of a counter strategy started to weave together. But he needed more information.

He worked hard to make his voice sound as pleasant and deferential as possible so as to not offend Carter again, and actually get an answer to a question for once. "Admiral." he began as pleasantly as he could, "What do we know about T'Kori shields and weapons? Torpedos, beam weapons and the like? And do we have any specs on their mother ships and daughter ships?"

[Briefing Room]

James eyes narrowed a moment as his mind recounted his time aboard the derelict warship. "Good questions Mr. Mackenzie." His voice was far more relaxed now than it was before. He emphasized the word 'Mr.' as if attempting to make a point that he wasn't referring to the man by rank any longer. A new look appeared in his eyes as he glanced over at Kyan, one of reserved respect. "Sadly we do not have any specs on the daughter ships. They're a heavy fighter typically. Quite small but very effective in a swarm. If they carry torpedoes I've never seen them fire one which would be odd. They have an unfortunate tendency to self destruct before someone else can look at their ships. The mother ship however, yes I do. The files are highly classified but I will make them available to you when this meeting is concluded. All the classes of their ships from their heavy fighters up to their flagship capital vessels are outfitted with weapons that closely resemble romulan disruptors. While the fighters don't carry torpedo, their mother ships typically carry two types of torpedo. Both one built to disable other ships, similar to an EMP and another that resembles the design on our own photon torpedoes. Their capital ships carry those as well of course. Then finally all ships across their lineup come equipped with deflector shields that resemble that of the klingon. In addition to that the mother ships carry what appears to be romulan cloaking devices. Oddly only their middle sized vessels seem to carry this with both their capital and fighters being left without." James offered a small nod to the man as if to indicate that he thought the question was a valued one.

[Sirol]

< Katra Station / Briefing Room >

As Carter answered Balan's questions about known patterns on the T'Kori attacks, Sirol activated her wrist-mounted holographic PDA and began to take notes. While she did have her PADD with her, her PDA was her usual way to quickly access all she needed, with her PADD working as a linked backup which she could hand around to everyone rather than stretching out her arm across the table if she would need to share any information.
The green glow of the holographic interface slightly illuminated and reflected on the table in front of her as she quickly typed, beginning to set up an essential file on T'Kori strategy.
One giant hit to cripple an enemy hinted at limited resources; at a conflict fought out of a pragmatically decided "˜need to fight' rather than out of a mindset seeking for glory in battle and victory.
A society perceiving themself as the victims of causality on a larger scale perhaps?

"Many excellent questions." He began in an excited tone. "To answer them all will take some time so please bare with me as I answer them all."

The scientist acknowledged his words with a polite nod, yet stayed quiet so as to not interrupt his trail of thoughts.
She could sense that he was under great pressure, with his shifting, inconsistently perceivable aura leaving a feeling of negative pressure behind her eyes and crawling down her neck. A part, maybe even all of him must be personally invested in the conflict with the T'Kori.

A planetary exile ~2000 years ago yet no noticeable technological edge"¦ A potential indicator for her earlier theorised inward focus or slow progress curve"¦
Maybe research and development were of secondary relevance"¦
A society focused on military business instead?
But then again, war too proved to be a catalyst for technological development, and fighting a faction in the same system - even on the same planet for a period - should have been more than enough of an incentive"¦
There must have been a secondary factor holding them back; something less logical and rational"¦ Emotional...

"However, both of them evolved to use biochemical computers. From studies on the T'Sari they typically use their index finger for a smaller device like this or a full hand for larger devices. Our studies have indicated that the biochemical interface simply unlocks the use of the device. They interface directly with the devices they're using almost telepathically with brain implants they receive as children. The T'Sari do follow a similar mindset of making more specialty devices, they do however also make more all-purpose devices. A glimpse back through history would show that they did follow the same pattern before the species diverged."

The scientist slowly nodded as she took her notes, then slowly looked up towards Carter.
"œSkin contact as an unlocking mechanism makes sense.
If the functionality of the technology is telepathically, it is likely their cranial implants work as a sort of brainwave amplifier which can not easily be turned on and off at will, so the device itself would require means of registering when used in the manner of closing a circuit.
I would not be surprised if every T'Kori has their very own ID-tag upon interacting with their tech.
I assume you have not had the chance to retrieve or extract cranial hardware, have you?"

She paused for a moment and looked at her notes, then at Carter again.
Him telling her that the only true reliable information on T'Kori culture stemmed from the T'Sari as well as one passed defector complicated things.
Even more so, she noticed him mourning the T'Kori in question.
She remained quiet for a moment, musingly looking at her notes again.

As he began to explain that tactics were more of his fortÁ© than sociology, Sirol leaned forward again and attentively listened.
Just as art could reveal a culture's values and dreams, the way a culture fought their wars could reveal a lot about their mindset and priorities.
His explanation confirmed her theory: They did indeed show signs of a pattern-focused mindset.
A single strategy, similar tactics; systematically taking out weak elements; maintaining what they deem most promising"¦
Clear hierarchical structures; presumably with every individual being assigned to a specific task with little chance of deviation - which made the aforementioned defector even more of an oddity Sirol would have to ask more questions about later.
Systematic being the keyword here"¦

As he confirmed her theory about the T'Kori's emphasis on the Military - even more so them living under military dictatorship - Sirol once more nodded.
"œA society driven into exile - no matter the reason - will inevitably have to face hardships of all sorts, but most prominently socio-economical descent.
An easy target for any sort of dictatorship; with military-values being the most likely to find fruitful ground immediately: Tell a starving, subjectively ostracised population that with enough determination, firepower and comradeship they will be able to reclaim what should have been rightfully theirs, and you can grow yourself a militia within a single generation.
Let this mindset evolve for long enough - and 2000 years is more than overdue -, and you will have an entire population that sees itself as the victim; a people that sees attacking "˜the other' - or more often enough foreigners as a whole - as a righteous act of fighting for freedom..."
Once more she paused and internally shuddered.
It was the same story that kept repeating itself on countless planets and among a near infinite number of societies, only that - usually - these never lasted more than a few decades before the fear of total annihilation forced them either into changing their ways or extinction getting the better of them"¦

Taking a deep breath again she eventually looked up towards Carter, to finish her explanation by commenting on his elaboration on the T'Kori's attacks.
"œThey might have been the weaker party, maybe even for centuries.
The devastation they managed to cause therefore might be all the more impactful for their own perception of their capabilities...
Their near-exclusive focus on combat may have cost them decades and centuries worth of progress; having them resort to reverse engineering foreign technology and leaving them in a vicious cycle of seeing themself as disadvantaged, hence investing little into research, hence resorting to reverse engineering and seeing themself as disadvantaged and so on"¦
I would argue that this society is - no pun intended - a ticking time bomb on various levels.
Having them stick to their fixed pattern alone proves dangerous already, but the slim chance of them eventually breaking their patterns and subsequently realising their actual potential may prove a threat to themself and everyone around, unless the roots of their societal trauma are explored and the results carefully taken care of."

She leaned back again, and let her eyes wander through the room, as she noticed that Kyan addressed Carter once more - This time more level-headed than before.
She had noticed the security chief going through various stages of hatred and anger within a few little minutes during her elaboration, painting both, his aura and the vicinity around in a felt blood green, almost even transpiring to her like a weight on her own chest.
Yet the fact that he decided to reach out once more, this time more approachable, as well as the fact that Carter instantly accepted it, and his own stress level decreased by doing so made Sirol smirk a little.

The scientist resorted to quietly taking her notes again.
In essence it was what she expected after Kyan mentioned the T'Kori's involvement with the Romulans, and even the self-destruct tactics did not surprise the scientist at all.
As a matter of fact, she would even have suspected pilots of damaged ships to purposely ram their vessels into one of the aforementioned enemy weak spots"¦
Anything for the cause after all...

[Xasik]

[Katra Station | Simulation Lab]

(Xasik speech)
(Emerald speech)
(Emerald's Lattice thoughts and feelings)

< Katra Station / Simulation Lab >

For a moment Sirol just stared at the child, full of surprise, joy and bliss, yet ultimately unable to form an immediate reaction.
Still linked with them, she was aware that Emerald was not yet capable of precise speech and explanations of their thoughts, yet she was well aware of the meaning behind their relayed emotions.
Mother"¦
The flavour of Emerald reaching her echoed through her mind and for a moment almost even brought tears to her eyes before she could collect herself enough to control herself.
Without breaking both, her mental-, as well as her eye contact with Emerald, she began to free one hand, reaching out and trying to find a nearby, unbreakable object, yet when she had no success with that, she remembered the second gym ball near her.
Reaching out for it, she kicked it towards Xasik to wake him up without hurting him, interrupting the call with Commander Ferris or disturbing the connection with the child.
"œWake up..." She whispered towards her recharging subordinate. "œEm is reaching out!"

Xasik

Xasik grunted as something bumped against him, jolting him from his sleep. He growled softly and readjusted himself with the intent to go right back to sleep, however his keen ears caught the whispers of his colleague telling him to wake up. Her next words sent a jolt right to his brain. Emerald was reaching out?!
Sitting up, Xasik looked over to her with wide eyes as pride surged through him. His child was growing so fast.
"œReally?" He asked as a single tear welled in the corner of his eye before making its way down his cheek. He brushed it away quickly and rubbed his eyes to rid himself of any more tear threatening to make themselves known.
"œ.......Did you really just kick a ball at me?" He questioned as his brain finally caught up with his body. He could see Sirol's second gym ball settling into a corner nearby. He gave his colleague a lop-sided, goofy grin knowing that one day they would look back on this moment and laugh, but right now he was too busy being proud of his child.
"œMy smart Little Pebble." He smiled.

Sirol tilted her head as she began to realise that Emerald too tried to reach out for Xasik, yet could not sense him.
She instantly walked over to the awakening scientist, and placed the ECS in his arms, to assure the hatchling of his presence, while Sirol already worked hard to formulate a plan in her head as to how to explain to a child that their parent was incapable of one of their own essential ways of communication.

His brain still foggy from sleep, it took Xasik a moment to register that Sirol was approaching him. He accepted the ECS from her and looked at Emerald with a look of pure pride on his face.
"œI'm so proud of you," he spoke to the young Tholian, his voice drenched with emotion. He chuckled as Emerald reached out for him and made sure to place a hand in a position that Emerald could reach and touch their hand to in return.
"œI would give almost anything to be able to be in the Lattice with both of you. Perhaps I can inquire about it with Eydis and Peylix the next time I see them."

With a smile she cuddled Emerald's ECS once more before she looked at Xasik.
"œSmart little forerunner figured out how to reach out to me and the others all by themself!
I was about to compile a learning plan for them, based on average Tholian child development statistics. It appears as if I need to speed up to keep up with them!" She chuckled and inhaled deeply as a sudden green blip on her wrist mounted PDA caught her attention.

Xasik couldn't wipe the grin from his face as he watched Sirol cuddle the ECS once again before looking back at him. He had never felt so much pride before. His child was exceptional! He grinned even wider as he listened to Sirol explain that she had been compiling a learning plan for the Emerald but that the child was developing faster than she had anticipated.
"œWell, what do you expect when they're surrounded by exceptional individuals?" He chuckled. It was true though. Those around Emerald with the greatest influences on them were some of the best in their fields.
He focused his attention on Emerald again as Sirol focused on her wrist mounted PDA, booping the ECS and smirking as Emerald giggled and tried to grab his finger through the bubble. This was one of their favourite games to play, along with ramming their ECS into objects and bouncing back off them, giggling the entire time. It was amusing to watch Emerald find different objects to bounce off.

"œCommander Briggs requests my presence with preference of someone versed on xenolinguistics and xenobiology.
That being said, I have not received any information on our new addition Reisen's special fields. If he arrives here, would you be so kind as to ask him about it, and - in case he happens to be a xenobiologist - send him my way so we have both requested fields entirely covered?"

She gave him and Emerald a friendly smile, then instantly began to type a response to the Commander.

The Reman nodded at Sirol's request. "œWill do," he responded. "œIf he arrives here while you're gone I will ask what his fields are and send him your way if he happens to be a xenobiologist. Have fun at your meeting!"

With that she gave her colleague a gentle bow, then hunkered down and placed a hand on both, Aeryn's head and Emerald's bubble, once more reaching out to both, sharing a bright and dense shimmer of love with them, before she then quietly turned around and scampered out of the lab.

Xasik bowed his back in return to Sirol's bow and watched as she said her goodbyes to both Emerald and Aeryn before leaving the lab. He smiled as Emerald squeaked after her as she left before settling down in the ECS and making grabby hands at the Uropygi.
"œYou two are really becoming good friends. I'm glad, my Little Pebble. Aeryn is a good influence on you, except when you chase her around the lab and knock things over." He chuckled as Emerald squeaked back at him.

He wondered if the new scientist, Reisen, would show up soon. It would be exciting to have a new scientist in the lab. He looked forward to meeting them.

[Enroute to the simulation lab]

Eydis had left the Mother swan and was heading to the simulation lab with the gifts shi had brought with hir. Shi would pause for a second as it seemed hir friends had gone to meet with this federation command caste member.

So shi would go to the simulation lab and meet with the healer and emerald now.  Shi had been thinking a lot on what had happened on tholia prima. And the future of emerald had been weighing on the commanders thoughts. But shi kept those thoughts private as shi approached the simulation door.  Shi was going to give emerald the first of the two galaxy roses.

As the door slide open to the simulation lab

As the door to the Simulation Lab opened, Xasik got to his feet to greet them. He was surprised and glad to see Captain Eydis.
"œHello Captain Eydis," he bowed to hir politely while still holding Emerald in their baby bubble. "œIt is a pleasure to see you again."

He smiled as he noticed Emerald reaching out with their hands towards Eydis while squeaking and chirping. Xasik placed them on the ground and watched as Emerald rolled their bubble over to Eydis and bumped into hir leg while giggling.
Emerald made grabby hands at Eydis, wanting hir to pick them up.

"œI'm sorry Captain." Xasik apologised for Emerald running into hir with their bubble. "œIt's one of their favourite games to play, running into others in their bubble. I think they're glad to see you."

Nervously, Xasik adjusted his lab coat before clearing his throat. Now was as good a time as any to ask Eydis about connecting to the Lattice. "œI would like to talk to you about something important. I wonder if it is possible to get a device like Sirol has so that I too can connect to the Lattice. I would like to be able to connect with my child the way a Tholian parent can."

Xasik looked up as the doors to the lab opened once again. He was half expecting it to be the new scientist, but was not disappointed to see that it was Peylix.

<"My greetings, Captain, Specialist, Emerald.">
They spoke in their signature neutral vo-coded voice and headed towards the laboratory's central console to join the two.

"œHello Healer Peylix," Xasik greeted and gave them a polite bow. "œIt is good to see you. Sirol tells me that Emerald is reaching out to others over the Lattice. I'm so proud of the Little Pebble! I was actually just asking Captain Eydis if I could get a device like Sirol so that I too could connect to the Lattice."

Emerald

Placing both hands on Emerald's ECS again, Sirol slowly stood up, giving off what could only be interpreted as a confused, joyful laugh at the movements she could sense.
As she began to realise that Emerald not just reached out to her, but also to other Tholians aboard; those Sirol had had the closest contact with.
Emerald remembered!

"˜Yes! Dearie, move forward"¦.' She speechlessly relayed to them. "˜Welcome home...'

Basking in the warmth of First Mother's (Sirol) surprise. They continued to hum at her and to hum at Dear Mother (Eydis) and Humming Mother (Peylix). They could feel the warmth radiating from First Mother and they loved it. They wanted more of this feeling.

"œPeep peep peep peep!," They giggled as they watched First Mother boop The Sharp One (Xasik) with a bubble. The Sharp One grunted with his sleep sounds before First Mother squeaked quickly at him. This seemed to catch The Sharp One's attention and he sat up. Emerald squeaked happily at this and squeaked again when First Mother placed them with The Sharp One. They reached out for The Sharp One's fingers and giggled as he moved them around for them to chase, all the while humming at First Mother, Dear Mother and Humming Mother and conveying their joy to them.

The good feeling didn't last long though as they felt First Mother preparing to leave. They didn't want her to go and hummed their feelings at her.
"œMother," they called to her via the Lattice with their hands extended. They thought they had succeeded when she touched their bubble but quickly realized that they were wrong as she turned to leave.

Emerald squeaked at First Mother as she left the den, humming at her as well. They hummed at her their desire for her to stay and made grabby hands at her as she left. They were determined to keep humming with her though. They were happy that they could still feel her warmth through humming.

Emerald squeaked at The Sharp One as he grunted something at them. The tone of his grunts was soft and warm so Emerald reached out for him again with their hands to let him know that they understood his warm feelings.

Suddenly though Emerald felt the humming of the Dear Mother (Eydis) and Humming Mother (Peylix) getting stronger. They were coming closer! They had managed to summon the mothers to them!

Emerald watched as Dear Mother entered the den. They reached out for hir with their hands as The Sharp One grunted at hir in greeting. They were extra delighted when The Sharp One placed them on the ground. With excitement they rolled as fast as they could towards Dear Mother and booped into hir, humming at hir (over the Lattice) their love for hir and asking to be picked up with their emotions.
"œPeep! Chirp! Squeak! Chirp peep peep peep!" They called to hir with grabby hands. They could feel hir warm humming. "Mother!"

They listened to The Sharp One grunting at Dear Mother about something that they didn't understand. Their attention perked up again as they felt Humming Mother getting closer. They squeaked for them as they entered the den.

"Peep! Squeak! Chirp peep!" They called to them in greeting, feeling their warmth just as strongly as they felt the warmth of First Mother and Dear Mother. "Mother!"
The only one missing was The Sharp One. Emerald hummed their sadness at this thought as they looked back to The Sharp One grunting at Humming Mother as they approached.

[Kyle Briggs]

[Briefing Room]

Everyone was listening to Carter and asking very useful questions. After some words from Carter, Mackenzie seemed to have finally calmed down. Kyle was definitely gonna chat with him though. Was the man trying to kill his career? When there was a break in the talk, Kyle spoke up again.

"Sir. I'm not sure if you've heard, but Captain Kirok had to leave the Katra just before you're arrival. Until a new Commanding Officer arrives, I'm gonna make this a priority. As soon as we've completed this briefing, I'd like to get my people on the reverse engineering as soon as possible. At your leisure of course, Sir."

[Eydis]

Eydis would nod to xasik and then reach inside the case as he spoke to hir. Briefly hir blue eyes turn to look at emerald. Shut would take out the two galaxy roses native to tholia. A blue one and red with gleaming gold stems and semi transparent blue Crystal petals for one and blood red for other.

Shi would hand the red one to the new parent and guardian of emerald. And turn to see emerald bounding forward. Stooping down hir legs shi would present the blue colored flower to the little emerald. Speaking to hir in tholian which was translated seconds later. "œ Emerald a gift for you. You are Tholian and one day you will add to the song of our people. A get deal I believe." [color]

Shi would then place the flower off onto a nearby table and then bend down and scoop the little hatchlings bubble encased form up. Peering at emerald with hir blue crystalline entity infused eyes. Shi then looked to xasik. That can be arranged Xasik parent of emerald Xasik. The gift should allow you access to the lattice in this area. Galaxy roses can only grow on planets like tholia prime.
Healer peylix. How soon until emerald first molt.[color]

[James Carter]

< Katra Station / Briefing Room >

As Carter answered Balan's questions about known patterns on the T'Kori attacks, Sirol activated her wrist-mounted holographic PDA and began to take notes. While she did have her PADD with her, her PDA was her usual way to quickly access all she needed, with her PADD working as a linked backup which she could hand around to everyone rather than stretching out her arm across the table if she would need to share any information.
The green glow of the holographic interface slightly illuminated and reflected on the table in front of her as she quickly typed, beginning to set up an essential file on T'Kori strategy.
One giant hit to cripple an enemy hinted at limited resources; at a conflict fought out of a pragmatically decided "˜need to fight' rather than out of a mindset seeking for glory in battle and victory.
A society perceiving themself as the victims of causality on a larger scale perhaps?

The scientist acknowledged his words with a polite nod, yet stayed quiet so as to not interrupt his trail of thoughts.
She could sense that he was under great pressure, with his shifting, inconsistently perceivable aura leaving a feeling of negative pressure behind her eyes and crawling down her neck. A part, maybe even all of him must be personally invested in the conflict with the T'Kori.

A planetary exile ~2000 years ago yet no noticeable technological edge"¦ A potential indicator for her earlier theorised inward focus or slow progress curve"¦
Maybe research and development were of secondary relevance"¦
A society focused on military business instead?
But then again, war too proved to be a catalyst for technological development, and fighting a faction in the same system - even on the same planet for a period - should have been more than enough of an incentive"¦
There must have been a secondary factor holding them back; something less logical and rational"¦ Emotional...

The scientist slowly nodded as she took her notes, then slowly looked up towards Carter.
"œSkin contact as an unlocking mechanism makes sense.
If the functionality of the technology is telepathically, it is likely their cranial implants work as a sort of brainwave amplifier which can not easily be turned on and off at will, so the device itself would require means of registering when used in the manner of closing a circuit.
I would not be surprised if every T'Kori has their very own ID-tag upon interacting with their tech.
I assume you have not had the chance to retrieve or extract cranial hardware, have you?"

She paused for a moment and looked at her notes, then at Carter again.
Him telling her that the only true reliable information on T'Kori culture stemmed from the T'Sari as well as one passed defector complicated things.
Even more so, she noticed him mourning the T'Kori in question.
She remained quiet for a moment, musingly looking at her notes again.

As he began to explain that tactics were more of his fortÁ© than sociology, Sirol leaned forward again and attentively listened.
Just as art could reveal a culture's values and dreams, the way a culture fought their wars could reveal a lot about their mindset and priorities.
His explanation confirmed her theory: They did indeed show signs of a pattern-focused mindset.
A single strategy, similar tactics; systematically taking out weak elements; maintaining what they deem most promising"¦
Clear hierarchical structures; presumably with every individual being assigned to a specific task with little chance of deviation - which made the aforementioned defector even more of an oddity Sirol would have to ask more questions about later.
Systematic being the keyword here"¦

As he confirmed her theory about the T'Kori's emphasis on the Military - even more so them living under military dictatorship - Sirol once more nodded.
"œA society driven into exile - no matter the reason - will inevitably have to face hardships of all sorts, but most prominently socio-economical descent.
An easy target for any sort of dictatorship; with military-values being the most likely to find fruitful ground immediately: Tell a starving, subjectively ostracised population that with enough determination, firepower and comradeship they will be able to reclaim what should have been rightfully theirs, and you can grow yourself a militia within a single generation.
Let this mindset evolve for long enough - and 2000 years is more than overdue -, and you will have an entire population that sees itself as the victim; a people that sees attacking "˜the other' - or more often enough foreigners as a whole - as a righteous act of fighting for freedom..."
Once more she paused and internally shuddered.
It was the same story that kept repeating itself on countless planets and among a near infinite number of societies, only that - usually - these never lasted more than a few decades before the fear of total annihilation forced them either into changing their ways or extinction getting the better of them"¦

Taking a deep breath again she eventually looked up towards Carter, to finish her explanation by commenting on his elaboration on the T'Kori's attacks.
"œThey might have been the weaker party, maybe even for centuries.
The devastation they managed to cause therefore might be all the more impactful for their own perception of their capabilities...
Their near-exclusive focus on combat may have cost them decades and centuries worth of progress; having them resort to reverse engineering foreign technology and leaving them in a vicious cycle of seeing themself as disadvantaged, hence investing little into research, hence resorting to reverse engineering and seeing themself as disadvantaged and so on"¦
I would argue that this society is - no pun intended - a ticking time bomb on various levels.
Having them stick to their fixed pattern alone proves dangerous already, but the slim chance of them eventually breaking their patterns and subsequently realising their actual potential may prove a threat to themself and everyone around, unless the roots of their societal trauma are explored and the results carefully taken care of."

She leaned back again, and let her eyes wander through the room, as she noticed that Kyan addressed Carter once more - This time more level-headed than before.
She had noticed the security chief going through various stages of hatred and anger within a few little minutes during her elaboration, painting both, his aura and the vicinity around in a felt blood green, almost even transpiring to her like a weight on her own chest.
Yet the fact that he decided to reach out once more, this time more approachable, as well as the fact that Carter instantly accepted it, and his own stress level decreased by doing so made Sirol smirk a little.

The scientist resorted to quietly taking her notes again.
In essence it was what she expected after Kyan mentioned the T'Kori's involvement with the Romulans, and even the self-destruct tactics did not surprise the scientist at all.
As a matter of fact, she would even have suspected pilots of damaged ships to purposely ram their vessels into one of the aforementioned enemy weak spots"¦
Anything for the cause after all...

[Briefing Room]

A small hum passed his lips for a moment as he listed to Sirol. "Very astute." James began softly. He thought carefully as his eyes went blank for a moment as his mind returned to a lot of his own field notes on the species. "Your observations largely match my own. A species threatened and oppressed for centuries do tend to resort to desperation. They fell on the military because it was how they survived. Now it's all they've ever known. The society was born in suffering. Now they're lashing out to make sure no one else comes in as an oppressor. The T'Sari's role in the T'Kori's military state simply cannot be overstated." He replied before he got to Sirol's question. "We have not been able to study the T'Kori's implants. We have however been given access to designs from the T'Sari. You would be correct that the T'Sari typically use individual identification with a unique encryption key assigned to their user when the implants are put in shortly after birth."

Then he heard Briggs speak up. "Certainly Mr. Briggs. You're all dismissed. I will be fully available for further questions and will be at the disposal of all of you. I have full faith in all of you." The admiral said calmly.

[Kyan Mackenzie]

[Briefing Room]

Then he heard Briggs speak up. "Certainly Mr. Briggs. You're all dismissed. I will be fully available for further questions and will be at the disposal of all of you. I have full faith in all of you." The admiral said calmly.

Finally! Kyan thought, pushing back from the table as soon as Carter said the magic word: Dismissed. Anything following it was lost on him as he was already, mentally at least, out the door. Practically leaping to his feet, Kyan turned to Sirol. "Hey, lets go tae to your lab an work on this thing." Then remembering what Briggs said, he surreptitiously shot the XO a glance before continuing excitedly. "And after I get the specs on the T'Kori ships I have some simulations to run on possible counter manuevers!" The prospect of some good old fashioned ship to ship combat with a brand new enemy had all but made Kyan forget about his distaste for Carter. It also had him eager to get to work. He started for the door before the Romulan Scientist had even gotten out of her chair.

"So it's a complex attack I wanna try first. So we'll use a runabout or a scout ship as the bait you see and then put two ships just out of their sensor range below and above the bait ship on the Y axis. It kinda like an Anglerfish so it is. When the T'Kori come in with their daughter ships, then the bait ship will run, and draw the daughter ships off. Then the two attack ships will do a quick warp jump and disable the mother ship....."

Kyan was out the doors by this point, and stopped to look back at Sirol. "Well come on then! We got work tae be doin the now!"

[Gideon Drake]

[Lieutenant JG Gideon Drake | Chez Cloten | Promenade | Katra Station]

Once he got Admiral Carter back in, after conducting his duties, Gideon looked all over the station for Serena. He was in for a shock when he found a note in their quarters saying goodbye. He was devastated. The most beautiful woman in the galaxy...gone.

Naturally, he had his choices of where to go to get drunk. He chose Cloten's pub. That was how hurt by Serena he was. Bloody breakup. Nothing but a note. No bloody where she had gone. He was going to get himself well and truly drunk, and one can do it in nanosecond's in Cloten's pub.

"Oi! Furball! Another pint!" he called. Cloten arrived in time with the latest synthohol, the usual booze: Romulan ale. Illegal, but so was every bloody thing in Cloten's.

"Sure, flyboy, sure," he said. "Glad to keep it coming!"

Of course, inwardly, he would've liked a chance to humiliate the flyboy for occasional embarrassments. He was going to keep it coming. So some woman broke his heart. Well, he had plenty of those in his establishment to do the job for that.

[Sirol]

< Katra Station / Briefing Room >

Towards Commander Brigg's explanation, that he would make the reverse-engineering efforts a priority task, Sirol quietly nodded.
This sounded like a welcome chance for all departments to get their hands into some work again, and - with a bit luck - even have cross-department interactions.

"Your observations largely match my own. A species threatened and oppressed for centuries do tend to resort to desperation. They fell on the military because it was how they survived. Now it's all they've ever known. The society was born in suffering. Now they're lashing out to make sure no one else comes in as an oppressor. The T'Sari's role in the T'Kori's military state simply cannot be overstated."

Sirol gave him a polite nod and once more updated a few bits of her notes, changing some aspects marked as "˜speculative' into "˜likely' based on Carter's validation.
"œA tragic but understandable reaction to the circumstances given.
Having the T'Sari as a main contributing factor though, they might prove useful - maybe even vital - for a resolve of the T'Kori's aggression and external attacks; potentially even to a societal healing on a global scale one day.
What is their stance on the overall planetary conflicts and the external T'Kori raids?"

"We have not been able to study the T'Kori's implants. We have however been given access to designs from the T'Sari. You would be correct that the T'Sari typically use individual identification with a unique encryption key assigned to their user when the implants are put in shortly after birth."

With a nod the scientist acknowledged the Admiral's words.
"œWith a profound insight into the T'Sari's interfacing tech, understanding the T'Kori's might be faster. Even If their technology itself took a different development branch, their physiology and neurological makeup - so I presume - has not changed, meaning there would be little need to make fundamental changes to a system that already works. We should be able to go from there."

"Hey, lets go tae to your lab an work on this thing." Then remembering what Briggs said, he surreptitiously shot the XO a glance before continuing excitedly. "And after I get the specs on the T'Kori ships I have some simulations to run on possible counter manuevers!"

The scientist was already about to close her PDA and return to the lab as she noticed Kyan in her vicinity and looked up to the security chief.
With a calm nod she acknowledged his words.
"œI am looking forward to see your ideas for counter maneuvers."
She may not have been a pilot, but she enjoyed a good old dogfight holosim like the next being

"So it's a complex attack I wanna try first. So we'll use a runabout or a scout ship as the bait you see and then put two ships just out of their sensor range below and above the bait ship on the Y axis. It kinda like an Anglerfish so it is. When the T'Kori come in with their daughter ships, then the bait ship will run, and draw the daughter ships off. Then the two attack ships will do a quick warp jump and disable the mother ship....."

Sirol's smirk widened a little.
Why weren't they playing FleetSim together? It appeared like the both of them could have much fun playing the Marquis faction in public matches...
She nodded and shoved her blue padd into one of the pockets of her lab coat.
"œVelociraptor Strategy? I appreciate the way you are thinking!
Of course that would require in-depth knowledge of the capabilities of their ships - their sensors in particular, but your idea might probe an interesting unexpected factor to their stoic combat patterns..."

Kyan was out the doors by this point, and stopped to look back at Sirol. "Well come on then! We got work tae be doin the now!"

"œI will need to make some preparations and brief Freeman and Reisen on the situation, as well as - hopefully - receive a sample or a sufficient simulation of T'Sari interfacing tech.
But I hope that by the time you have concluded your appointment with Commander Briggs, everything should be ready for work."
With that she did a polite bow towards Kyan and the rest of the personnel in the briefing room, before she too made her way out and back to work.
< Katra Station / Simulation Lab >

As she made her way back into the lab, her mind already raced with ideas and speculations. Reverse engineering was not her special field per se, but her previous expertise could"¦ Would?... Prove useful nevertheless"¦
She would make sure to revisit all available data on both, the T'Sari and the T'Kori to not miss anything potentially important.

As the doors slid open, her mind raced even more. This time however with joy.
She saw Xasik, Eydis and Peylix all gathered around Emerald, and for a moment she just stood there and watched them with a smile growing.
It was like a family meeting right in her lab!
She just took in everyone's presence for a moment while getting out of her lab coat and putting it over an empty chair next to her.

"œGood morning." She spoke warmly, then reached out to Eydis and Peylix via the Lattice.
"˜I am happy to see you.'
Granted, seeing Peylix was not a surprise. They visited daily to make sure that Emerald was healthy and well-nourished.
Seeing Eydis here however was a surprise; a happy one.
Sirol gave the Captain a warm smile.
"˜A pleasure to have you with us. Is there something I can assist you with?' She then added towards Eydis, while leaning forward and looking at Emerald's baby bubble in hir hands.
They were cheerful and happy, playfully reaching out for everyone around, both physically and mentally.
Suddenly though, Sirol hesitated, with the tingling sensation of confusion around her.
"˜...Who else is with us?'

_______________________________________________________

For a moment Peylix almost even stopped to take in the unexpected observations.
Over the last couple of months they had gotten so used to the high stress levels - not just among their own - but also the foreign people, that so much joy was surprising, yet welcome.

Hunkering down to give a little pat to the ECS with Emerald inside, Peylix returned the little one's overenthusiastic greeting, relaying their own cheerful and warm thoughts to them, before then getting up again and doing an acknowledging hand gesture towards Xasik.

"œHello Healer Peylix," Xasik greeted and gave them a polite bow. "œIt is good to see you. Sirol tells me that Emerald is reaching out to others over the Lattice. I'm so proud of the Little Pebble! I was actually just asking Captain Eydis if I could get a device like Sirol so that I too could connect to the Lattice."

<"I have noticed">
Peylix calmly spoke, once more looking at Emerald with their very own fair share of pride.
<"Their efforts are strong, although - for now - uncoordinated. With time Emerald will learn how to utilise their abilities with precision and less effort.
Their conductions are"¦ Bubbly"¦ In lack of a better term in your language.
I will instruct Scientist Sirol with how to train Emerald in focus and patience.">

Once more the healer paused and looked at Captain Eydis.
As the highest authority representing the Tholian people, it was hir call to make on decisions like these, and while Peylix was generally in favour of the idea to link Xasik, they did not - yet - say anything.
Sirol's linking had been surprisingly seamless and fast, but Xasik was a different species, possessed a different psyche and he looked back on different skill sets, meaning that Peylix was already more than curious as to whether his linking would be different in any way. After all there was no statistically representative number of non-Tholians linked.
Peylix only hoped that in the case Eydis would agree, they would be able to run the same spectrum of tests on Xasik as they did on Sirol.
It would be a fascinating opportunity to catalogue the mental capabilities of a wider variety of foreigners.

"Peep! Squeak! Chirp peep!" They called to them in greeting, feeling their warmth just as strongly as they felt the warmth of First Mother and Dear Mother. "Mother!"
The only one missing was The Sharp One. Emerald hummed their sadness at this thought as they looked back to The Sharp One grunting at Humming Mother as they approached.

Peylix hesitantly stepped back, letting Captain Eydis pick up the ECS.
They understood the child's attempt to reach out to all of their parents. They had witnessed it several times with each of their own, so they very well understood Emeralds emotions.
They were yet unsure of how to respond to Emerald viewing them as their parent; unsure of how to explain to a child that they were in fact a parent already, but then again would they even have to?

Eydis must have had a similar idea as Xasik as shi handed Galaxy Roses to both Xasi Freeman and Emerald. A charming gift; one they had not seen in a long while, but instantly reminded them of home and even made them a little melancholic.
Xasik too would have to learn utilising the Lattice.
Peylix internally congratulated Xasik and relayed an aura of warm happiness towards Eydis for being so thoughtful.
They were already more than curious to study whether the different medium of linking would have both Xasik Freeman and Scientist Sirol perceive the experience differently in any way...

Healer peylix. How soon until emerald first molt.[color]

Hidden behind the opaque visor of their EV suit, Peylix' eyes seemed to light up a little at being addressed.
They instantly did a step closer towards Emerald and they too placed one hand on the bubble again.
<"œThe estimated time will be four months and two weeks; unfortunately with some potential delay due to the long term effects of the stasis.
Emerald's metabolism is still adapting, and  - despite their perceptiveness - they are still weakened and recovering on a physiological level.">

Gently tapping the ECS with their index finger, Peylix then became a bit less serious and leaned over to look at them in the same manner Eydis did.
"˜How is Katra's most adorable little warrior doing today?' They cheerfully relayed to the child, wondering whether or not Emerald would already be able to understand them...

[Kyan Mackenzie]

< Katra Station / Briefing Room >

"œI will need to make some preparations and brief Freeman and Reisen on the situation, as well as - hopefully - receive a sample or a sufficient simulation of T'Sari interfacing tech.
But I hope that by the time you have concluded your appointment with Commander Briggs, everything should be ready for work."
With that she did a polite bow towards Kyan and the rest of the personnel in the briefing room, before she too made her way out and back to work.

Kyan's eyes narrowed as his "Roleplay mommy" threw him to the proverbial wolf. Typical Rompulan treachery! he thought with a grin. So be it. He'd go and get lectured first by Briggs, and THEN they could get to work on gaming out a strategy for the T'Kori. Of course the whole exercise was going to a painfully useless thing whereby Briggs clutched his proverbial pearls and admonished Kyan to be nicer and more respectful to the Admiral... because ranks and whatever.

It would take time away from more productive, interesting, and most importantly FUN things that he could be doing, and it would end with him agreeing to be nice, or saying that he was sorry but not neccesarily meaning it. Because that was what grups wanted to hear. It was all so dreadfully pointless. But one had to observe the absurdities. So, resigned to his fate, the ancient boy walked back into the room, and over to the Station's XO.

"You needed to speak to me sir?" he offered.