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[Xasik Speech]

Xasik Speech
Xasik Lattice
Emerald Speech
Emerald Lattice

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[Katra Station - Simulation Lab]

Xasik

Sitting at his desk, Xasik looked at one of his terminal screens for a moment before taking some more notes on his padd. He hadn't been so focused on work in weeks and it felt good to be stretching his geologist muscles again. On the screen was a live stream of an erupting volcano on an uninhabited planet, a super volcano that had the power to change the entire planet if it's eruption was big enough. Xasik had been given access to a network of probes that had been sent to the planet to observe the event. In return he was taking notes and giving his professional opinions and observations on the event. His notes would then be used as a part of a series of geologists' works that would be used to help educate budding young geologists studying with Starfleet.
He would even be credited as Dr Xasik Freeman. The whole idea was very exciting to him. He had been watching the live stream for nearly 12 hours and had witnessed the initial eruption.

The planet itself had been flagged for potential habitation months ago. Probes had been sent to gather initial readings in the atmosphere and both on and below the surface. When the ground probes had detected harmonic tremors near one of the larger mountains, extra probes had been sent to witness the event. Xasik had received the assignment moments after the first readings had begun to pour in and he had been working hard ever since.

At first Emerald had behaved themself. They had been content to play with their toys in their EV Tank and squeak softly at him, but as the time wore on they had become more and more restless and loud.
Periodically Xasik picked up the Galaxy Rose that Eydis had gifted him and focused on trying to connect to the Lattice and with Emerald. So far he was unsuccessful at connecting himself at will and controlling his connection. He found feelings easier to express and read than words and thoughts, so he decided to start there for now.

At the moment Sirol was watching Emerald for him. The little Pebble had been getting so boisterous and loud that it had been hurting Xasik's ears. He was grateful to her for volunteering as tribute to keep Em amused just a little while longer. His shift was nearly over and with a few final sentences in his report, he read it over and submitted it. He would have fellow geologists read over his notes and recommend any changes to them before they would be published. It was all very exciting! Soon he would be a published geologist, and one of the few Remans to be published in official Starfleet material.

With his work submitted for review and his inbox clear for the moment, Xasik looked over to his red Galaxy Rose before gently running his fingers over it and picking it up. He felt a familiar warm tingling in the back of his mind as the rose granted him access to the Lattice. He tried reaching out for Emerald and Sirol first as they were closest to him. He sent them his warm, content feelings. Once he felt he had accomplished this small goal, he then expanded his attempt to include Eydis, Peylix and Skaldyr, sending them his warm feelings, gratitude and contentment.
Ever since he had received the rose, he had been making the effort to practice with it every day. It was hard and exhausted him quickly but he was determined to master it. His mind was just like a muscle, the more he exercised and worked it, the stronger he would become.
He felt almost giddy when he felt Emerald reaching back for him with their own wave of emotions and feelings. Connecting to his child in such a way was absolutely the most wholesome thing Xasik had ever experienced and he was so grateful to Eydis for giving him the opportunity to do so.

"œHello," he tried to send out over the Lattice. "œHakuna Matata?"

Xasik laughed to himself as his mind spun a little from the energy used to Lattice. Hakuna Matata? Really Freeman? He thought to himself. He needed coffee. He had been working for nearly 12 hours straight. With a smile he reached up to tap his comm badge.

"Freeman to Reisen. Good morning! Just wanted to ask if you could pick up some coffee for me on the way to the lab? I might whither and fade without it. Please and thank you! Freeman out."

---------------

Emerald

Every day brought new experiences to the young Tholian. No longer considered a "˜hatchling', Emerald was now in the phase known as the "˜juvenile state'. Every day they grew stronger and learned more about the world around them. Reaching this state had coincided with The Sharp One (Xasik) being able to hum for the first time. Emerald had been overjoyed to hear their grunting parent finally humming back at them. They had been so overjoyed that it had triggered a small jump in mental progress for the young Tholian that could be felt by all connected to the Lattice.

This had brought new revelations to the child as they started to process the world around them and view others differently. The Sharp One could hum now, but was still different to First Mother (Sirol), Humming Mother (Peylix) and Dear Mother (Eydis). Emerald did not know how to refer to The Sharp One anymore. He was not a mother (tholian), his humming was not that of a mother (Tholian), but he was still a parent. Emerald did not understand, but what they did understand was that they felt similar to The Sharp One in a way they didn't understand. To Emerald this strengthened their bond in a way they couldn't express. The Sharp One was a parent, but not a mother (Tholian), but Emerald felt similar to both him and the mothers (Tholians). It was all too much for the child right now so they simply focused on the love and warmth that they got from all their parents and hummed it right back at them.

Right now they were with First Mother in the nest. She was squeaking to them in nice, soft tones and although they didn't understand what those squeaks meant, they still enjoyed the soothing sound of her voice and the snuggle time they were having. The Sharp One was busy on his side of the nest and hadn't been humming for quite some time. It was unacceptable and Emerald intended to give The Sharp One a stern squeaking to.

It was then that Emerald felt The Sharp One humming again. They hummed back at him and chirped and clicked happily at the feeling of love and warmth coming from him.
"œPeep Squeak! PEEP peep peep peep!"
"œMother."

Congratulations! Well deserved!

ooooh I love the action starting. It's very well written! Finally Willow will get to do her job!

[[USS COURSER - Bridge]]

[USS COURSER - Bridge]

Lieutenant Commander Willow Fletcher

USS Courser / Bridge

Lieutenant Lonic

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

Listening to Lieutenant Lonic answer her question, Willow nodded. She knew better than to question someone who had a better understanding of the situation than she did. This was why different people were trained for different jobs after all. Everyone had their own fields of expertise and the key to a well functioning crew was to trust those experts.

"œVery well, Lieutenant. We shall proceed with your recommendation. Proceed with caution. We have civilians aboard and I'd like to keep them in one piece."

Looking at the main view screen, Willow was momentarily mesmerized by the purplish-red pixels and the sparkles and reflections. She was tempted to question what it was but refrained from doing so, trusting that she would be informed if it was anything to worry about.

The Romulan shuddered when the distress call suddenly stopped. That did not bode well in her mind. The hair on the back of her neck was still standing on end. It was almost painful at this point. She almost flinched when Lieutenant Lonic spoke again.

"œNo response. Yet. But they must have received us. I register shifting proximity sparks"¦ Of some sort"¦ But sensors claim that the ship has not moved."

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

A physical crash? A tractor beam perhaps?

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

Something wasn't right. Her years of intense training had prepared her for all kinds of situations, honing her instincts to be as sharp as possible. Distress calls did not just cut off like that unless something  had happened to the source, or it was a trap. With the ship still on sensors and not moving, but shifting proximity sparks detected, she was now certain it was likely the latter.

"œRed A-"

The Romulan never finished her command as a shock wave hit the USS Courser. She didn't know how she had managed it, but the petite XO had managed to stay on her feet. She had stumbled but had managed to stay upright, which was more than she could say for most of the bridge. When the lights went out and the terminals, padds and screens went dark her suspicions were realized.

"œIs everyone alright?" She questioned out loud as she looked around the bridge to see if anyone needed help. "We've been hit with something. Some kind of EMP?" She took a breath to calm herself down. "œI'm certain that this was a trap and we so willingly wandered in. Unless we can get systems back online we'll be stuck, like a Constitution class ship caught in a Tholian web."

Taking a step to the side on impulse, Willow avoided wearing the contents of Lieutenant Lonic's stomach on her uniform. Small splatters of it had landed on her boots but that would be far easier to clean up than her uniform. She wrinkled her nose slightly as the smell hit her but did not react otherwise.

"œAre you alright, Lieutenant?" She turned to look at Lonic. She felt her stomach clench as the urge to vomit tickled at the back of her throat. She swallowed it down. She would show no signs of weakness while on duty.

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

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

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

She felt a surge of relief as she heard Lieutenant Lonic state that the systems were coming back online. At least now they would have a chance of survival. She nodded when the Lieutenant stated that he may require medical assistance.

"œOf course," she reassured him, taking another look around the bridge as the crew picked themselves up before tapping her comm badge.

"œBridge to Medical. We've got crew up here that require medical attention." Willow spoke as clearly as possible. Remaining calm and in control was essential. She assisted anyone who needed help back to their feet or into a chair.

Willow's relief at having the systems back online was short lived as the ear piercing alert siren cut through the air. She gritted her teeth as she helped someone into a chair and looked at the closest terminal being plastered by status messages. The Romulan's blood turned cold as she listened to Lonic's report. A hull breach AND intruders? Not Today! Not on her watch!

Kimi Sugiyama
USS Courser - Bridge

Kimi glanced to Lieutenant Commander Vetath. No doubt the security chief would immediately order to repel the invaders with violence.

"Captain, Lieutenant Commander, maybe it is a misunderstanding... or something automated out of their control? If I could just speak to them, face to face, we might still be able to help them!"

Willow turned towards Kimiko when she spoke up and addressed the Captain and herself. The Romulan's gaze was cold and piercing as her blood began to boil.

"œAbsolutely not Lieutenant. This was no misunderstanding. You don't just send out a distress call and then invade the responding ship without an invitation! You will remain here on the bridge until the situation is under control." She looked towards the turbo lift door. "œIssue a ship-wide emergency alert and tell everyone to hide if they can."

She tapped her comm badge.  "œFletcher to security teams. We've got reports of intruders on decks 31 through 42 with a hull breach on deck 39. Assume our guests are hostile and proceed with extreme caution. I'm on my way to now. This is what we've trained for. Alenko, Williams, report to the bridge and defend it if need be."

"œYes Lieutenant Commander," came the response from Alenko. Willow nodded to herself and made her way to the turbo lift. She turned to look at the bridge crew as the door began to close.
"œBe safe," she nodded to them before the door hissed shut completely.

The turbo lift ride seemed impossibly long when in reality it was only a few seconds. She stepped out of the turbo lift and was greeted by a team of her security officers.

"œVesh ta'jot!" She yelled to inspire her security officers as she felt the excitement of action coursing through her system. "œLet's kick some Veruul off the ship!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[USS COURSER - Turbo lift]

Lieutenant Alenko

Alenko looked at Williams as they took the turbo lift to the bridge. What had started as a peaceful day had turned to chaos in a matter of seconds. He had barely had time to process the situation before Lieutenant Commander Fletcher had ordered them to action. Williams looked just as ruffled as he felt.

"œIt'll be okay," he reassured her as the door hissed open to reveal the bridge. Alenko saluted to the Captain and the crew before he and Williams took their defensive positions on either side of the turbo lift door. Williams signaled him to let him know that she was prepared for a fight.

Sorry to keep everyone waiting for my response. I've been a little stuck with my writing lately.

[[USS Courser - Bridge]]

[USS Courser - Bridge]
Lieutenant Commander Willow Fletcher

Kimiko Sugiyama
[Bridge "" USS Courser]

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

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

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

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

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

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

.

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

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

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

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

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

USS Courser / Bridge

Lieutenant Lonic

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

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

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

USS Courser / Bridge

Lieutenant Lonic

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kimiko Sugiyama
Bridge - USS Courser

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

USS Courser / Bridge

Lieutenant Lonic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kimiko Sugiyama
USS Courser

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

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

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

Kimi was becoming impatient again.

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

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

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

https://www.shadowfleet.org/forum/katra-station/s3-m10-unfinished-business/msg262094/#msg262094

Tags for Sirol, Peylix and Eydis

[[Katra Station | Simulation Lab]]

[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.

[[USS Courser - Mess Hall]]

[USS Courser - Mess Hall]

Lieutenant Commander Willow Fletcher

USS Courster / Mess Hall

Lieutenant Golshani

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tag to Sirol and Eydis from little Emerald sending out their love and affection
Tags to Peylix and Skaldyr as well. Emerald is reaching for everyone connected to the Lattice

https://www.shadowfleet.org/forum/katra-station/s3-m10-unfinished-business/msg261927/#msg261927

[[Katra Station | Simulation Lab]]

[Katra Station | Simulation Lab]

< Katra Station / Simulation Lab >

All of a sudden though, an unexpected, yet blissful sensation tingled in her mind.

At first she had assumed to just relive her own memories, yet suddenly it dawned on Sirol that her perception was live. She could sense Emerald reaching out for her utilising the Lattice.
She instantly stopped, almost even froze in place, just staring at the child.
Her face was unable to properly reflect the great joy she felt, yet her thoughts did"¦
Lifting the ECS a little she eventually managed to catch her breath, a wide smile showing on her face as she gently placed her forehead onto the bubble, closed her eyes and returned the thoughts and feelings of love and happiness to the little one.
It was one little perfect moment.
A moment filled with love and belonging.

Her eyes wandered over to Xasik, and her thoughts to Eydis, with Sirol being eager to wake up her co-scientist and contact the Captain.
Yet at least for the first, Sirol then hesitated; restrained herself - for now - to leave him to enjoy a few more minutes of sleep he needed so desperately before Reisen would arrive.
She would tell Xasik once he felt a little better.

With both of her hands tightly holding the ECS and her forehead still resting on it so Emerald could reach out and have the closest possible substitute for physical contact while she still smiled at them, synching her emotions with the child, she then reached out towards Eydis via the Lattice.

Full of love and what was essentially parental pride, she could not help but had to share this moment with hir; share Emerald's first attempts at communication with the same joy and adoration any biological parent would have had for their child's first words"¦
"˜Can you sense it too?! Emerald is with us!'
Sirol eagerly asked, sharing the same enthusiasm and bliss with Eydis, slowly but surely realising that she had found herself right in the middle of an important family moment.
With her family.
Even if one of them was asleep and the other one at the other end of the Station right now...

Emerald

Humming at The Soft One was easier this time than it ever had been. Emerald rejoiced in the warmth of her emotions and love, and at the new feeling surging through them. They had practiced humming a lot lately, reaching out for only The Soft One, but now it felt different, like they could reach further. The love and warmth of The Soft One gave them strength and guided them. Emerald reached for her even more and tried to convey to her just how much they loved her. They reached out to her with a feeling that could only be interpreted as a child's love for their parent. "œMother"

When she lifted the bubble up and looked at them, Emerald felt the surge of her emotions, like a warm embrace that they had never experienced before. It was exciting. What they could feel was distinct, distinctly her. "œMother," they reached out to her again. "œFirst Mother." The Soft One (Sirol) was First Mother.

Although they had no concept of their own instincts, it was instinct that now guided the hatchling. Reaching out for First Mother, they followed her thoughts and feelings as she reached out to the others connected by humming. With her guidance they could feel The Humming One (Peylix) who was a humming mother, the Skittering One who was caring for The Sharp One while he rested and The New One (Eydis) who was very dear to First Mother, therefore Emerald would now refer to them as The Dear Mother. Allowing First Mother to guild them, Emerald reached out for Humming Mother and The Dear Mother and conveyed their joy, warmth and love to them. And through them they were able to feel the presence of every Other One humming together.

Emerald reached out for every humming one that they could feel, excited and curious at this brand new experience . They allowed themself to get lost in this wonderful new feeling of warmth, like an embrace that they never knew they needed.
But suddenly it dawned on them that something was missing. The Sharp One had never hummed but still Emerald reached out for him. It was no surprise when he did not hum back.
"œPeep squeak!" Emerald called out to him, allowing their confusion to seep into their humming.
The Sharp One was different, not a mother, so what was he? Emerald turned their attention to First Mother as if to ask her this question.

( note -
Green - Emerald's vocal sounds
Orange - Emerald's lattice thoughts and feelings)

[[Katra Station | Docking Bay | Mother Swan]]

[Katra Station | Docking Bay | Mother Swan]

Xasik raised a non-existent eyebrow as Sirol approached and explained that Emerald may have received the lingering sense of excitement from Sirol. "œYeah, thanks for that," he snorted. "œWhen the little demon next wakes me up I'll be knocking on your door to watch them while I get some beauty sleep."
He acknowledged Captain Eydis and was relieved to see Peylix joining them. He acknowledged the healer with a friendly wave before following Eydis onto the ship.

Xasik nodded while listening to Eydis explain the origins of the name of hir ship. Although a little unusual, the meaning behind the name was heartfelt and soulful so he could understand the importance of it. "œI think Mother Swan is a glorious name." He added to the conversation when he could, listening to Eydis explain the way shi experienced music. It fascinated him to hear that music was far more immersive for Tholians than humanoids, but it made sense. Hir explanation reminded him of something Sirol had explained to him once, about the way she perceived the world and those around her. Seeing emotions as different shades, colours, smells and shapes. It was fascinating to him.

As a telepath himself he could understand this explanation to a degree. If he opened himself up and allowed himself to use his ability then he too could perceive emotions as coloured auras with different shapes. He had been trained as a child by the elders in the mines to hide his abilities so as to not give his Romulan masters something to punish him for. He had spent years training and suppressing his abilities to ensure that he was in total control of himself.
Since his escape from Romulan oppression he had become a little lax in keeping his emotions under control and not projecting them all over the place like an unstable teenager.

"œI must say though, that sounds remarkably similar to how Sirol explained to me how she perceives the world around her, even before she was linked to the Lattice! I guess she really is a Soulian! That makes me wonder though, Eydis, has Sirol been a Tholian spy this entire time?" He turned to look at Sirol. "œAre you really a Tholian in a meat suit?" He couldn't suppress the grin he had been fighting while asking his questions. He was hoping to bring a little amusement to the atmosphere and hoped he didn't offend Sirol in the process.

Giving the Romulan a sheepish grin to apologize for any offense he may have caused, Xasik adjusted his grip on his personal luggage and as well as accepting the ECS from Sirol and making sure he didn't drop his child. He looked to Eydis again.
"œThe way you describe the way you experience music is truly beautiful. I wish I was capable of experiencing it on such a deep level. I am truly envious of Tholians in this regard. Emerald will get to experience something beautiful and for that I'm glad."

After being shown to his quarters, Xasik finally put his bag down and placed Emerald onto the ground to explore. Immediately the child began to roll around and explore. Xasik took the moment of freedom to unpack a little so he wouldn't have to later. He smiled at Emerald's squeaks of excitement as they explored this new environment. He was glad to see that his temporary quarters came equipped with an environmental tank as well for Em to sleep in.

He looked up quickly as he heard Emerald's excited squeaks heading out the door and down the hallway. He had forgotten to close the door!

"PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP!" Emerald excitedly squeaked as they rolled away.

"œEmerald!" Xasik called after them. "œGet your shiny crystalline butt back here!" He ran out of the room to chase his child. He was surprised with just how fast Emerald could be in the ECS.
"œEmerald's on the loose!" He called out to anyone who could hear him.

Congratulations to  Sirol, Drake and Xiiv on the promotion!

I am so sorry to see this. I hope you will return to us eventually. I will miss you and your posts. It is a huge loss to Katra.

I nominate this post. It was so damn cute to read Sirol giving out fruit to people and being so happy and cheerful. Really warmed my heart with the wholesomeness and how happy she was to hear Emerald over the comm badge! Also telling an eternally hungry Reman to bring his appetite is beautiful.

Sirol
- https://www.shadowfleet.org/forum/katra-station/s3-m9-downtime/msg261345/#msg261345