A Voice From The Past
Posted on Sun Apr 13th, 2025 @ 8:33pm by Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren & Lieutenant Narin Valen & Lieutenant Junior Grade Rachel Sinclair
Edited on on Sun Apr 13th, 2025 @ 9:02pm
2,166 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
Episode 16 - Silent Cries
Location: Astrometrics - Deck 8 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD004 0900 hrs
In general, there was no food in Astrometrics, but there was a table on the upper rim where a scientist or other crew member could either look at the holographic projection or work on a smaller monitor. It was here Alyssa chose to meet with the other three to again sift through the Pioneer's past and look for evidence to present to the captain to convince him he needed to revisit a planet that he removed from the ship's computer. Or even something that might indicated what part of space the ship was in when it first encountered The Silence. So far, all they managed to do was eliminate areas. But at least that gave them less area to cover.
She also talked with Lieutenant Mira Jayna, who spend hours in Astrometrics when Alyssa first came to the ship. Then the intel officer had been looking into who may have "borrowed" the Pioneer while the crew had been absent. Jayna was more familiar with the Pioneer's history than Alyssa. Even that had been less productive than she hoped.
The chief science officer set out a tray of simple snacks and waited for the others to join her.
Narin arrived in Astrometrics and spotted Alyssa up on the upper rim. He made his way over, hoping she’d found more than he had on The Silence. His own search had come up empty. There was no data on them on the computer. The mention of a “promise” echoed in his mind. It would make sense if that promise included keeping The Silence’s existence a secret.
“Hi.” He greeted her as he approached. He looked over the tray of snacks she’d set out. “You came prepared.” He said with a smile.
"I find it can be helpful to munch on something when I'm doing research. Plus, if I don't, I tend to go hours without eating anything." Alyssa smiled. "I think it's an occupational hazard." It also helped when she kept hitting dead ends, like with their search for The Silence.
Narin nodded. “I’ve gone entire days without realizing I hadn’t eaten. Occupational hazard, no doubt.” He picked up a snack and glanced over at her. “Hopefully, it will help us make some headway. Any luck on your end?”
"Still waiting to hear from Vaebn. Beyond that, nothing but dead ends," Alyssa admitted. "Now I'm looking for anything concrete to take to the captain."
“Same here,” Narin admitted with a weary sigh, taking a bite of the snack as they waited for the others to arrive.
"It's worse than looking for a needle in a haystack. We don't even know what that needle may be or what its chemical composition." Alyssa chuckled. "Too bad we can't just dream the coordinates and be done with it. But that still won't convince the captain to help us."
Narin glanced in her direction, with a smile. “Maybe next time I’ll ask them for the coordinates, if they decide to pay me another visit.”
"I'm beginning to believe that if it had been that easy, they would have told us to begin with." The chief science officer ran a hand through her hair. "For some reason, they trust Vaebn with that information and so he is the only one who can help us now."
Narin nodded. “It does seem like Vaebn holds the key. "
Alyssa nodded. "Unless he left a coded message somewhere." if he did, she had no idea where to look.
Vaebn had been tending to her sister and the damage that had been done to her both physically and mentally. There was a lot to sort through and thankfully Starfleet had granted him an indefinite leave to handle this emergency situation. These reasons led to the surprise when it was brought to him that some officers from the USS Pioneer had reached out to him. He knew that Captain Malbrooke would not disturb him unless the situation was dire, and so he authorized the transmission on a secure channel. Although nothing was truly secure on Romulus.
When the screen changed from the seal of the Federation Vaebn saw a woman and a man wearing Starfleet teal and another woman wearing Starfleet gold. "Jolan Tru. I am Lieutenant Commander Vaebn tr'Hwersuil. To whom am I speaking."
"My name is Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren. I am currently the chief science officer aboard the USS Pioneer. We apologize for bothering you, but we have a...delicate situation and need your help. In fact, you are the only person that can help us."
Vaebn leaned back in his chair and tented his fingers, one of his eyebrows raised in the Vulcan fashion. "For a fellow Pioneer it is never a bother. Besides if you filled my shoes then you must be good. Now, what situation is on your hands." His next move would determine exactly what he would say. There is some information that Vaebn would not share regardless of who he spoke with.
"To be succinct, Lieutenant Valen, Lieutenant Sinclair, and I have been contacted through dreams by The Silence. They say they are being attacked and have asked for our help. We have been given permission to remember, but we don't know how to find their planet. They mentioned you by name, and so we're reaching out to you to see if you can help us."
Now they had the Romulan's attention. No one aboard the Pioneer should know of The Silence, and there was no record of them he saw to that. But, if they were contacting him then there must be something going on. He held up a finger to indicate that nothing else should be said for a moment. Silently, and with deft fingers he began to input commands into the console in front of him. When he was finished the visual contact blinked black and then came back. "There we are now on an encrypted line. One never knows who is listening these days. Your information is correct. I am the only one who knows about the Pioneer's encounter with The Silence. Starfleet Command is not even aware, as that was the way the Silence wanted it. Telepathic communication is their stock and trade. So, it would make sense for them to reach out to telepaths or even partial telepaths. However, before I can go on I need to verify what you say is true. If you have seen The Silence in your dreams then describe them." He would never admit it but the image of The Silence still disturbed Vaebn somewhat. Their visage was unique and he would have been glad to forget it.
"Large, sunken eyes, long faces, no mouth, but flaps of skin where one should be. They only communicate telepathically." Alyssa closed her eyes for a moment, then looked at Vaebn, a haunted expression in her eyes. "Something is killing them. They are terrified and in pain. We need to help."
"Perhaps you have seen them Commander Maren. I assume the other two officers with you have seen them as well." He watched as Valen and Sinclair confirmed that they too have seen The Silence. Vaebn sat with tented fingers and a typical Romulan stoic face. In fact, if one was to see him right now one would think he was being stereotypical. After a moment of silence, he recalled the information from his eidetic memory.
"The Silence homeworld can be found on Cardassian star charts named Wren IX. I have seen to it that the planet is listed as demon planet unsuitable for colonization or mining operations. This was done to prevent the Cardassians from sending anyone else, but I digress. In actuality the planet is Class M but the entirety of The Silence civilization is underground. Two primary continental masses surrounded by water oceans. Long range scans of the planet told us that she is relatively stable, geologically, and the atmosphere is 19% Oxygen, 78% Nitrogen, and the remaining 3% being various gasses within safety standards. There are also two large ice caps covering the majority of the poles. Wren IX is approximately 3% larger than Earth and due to its mass, has a slight oddity that may makes starship approach interesting. There is a strip of haze or occlusion around the planet. Originally we thought this to be a sensor echo from the binary stars within the system. However, they are a pair of overlapping rings made of ice and other minor massed debris. There are two proto moons on the edge of each ring, and it is my opinion, that they are actually remnants of larger satellites that suffered a collision with another body, thus creating these twin rings that move in different orbit paths, but mirror the remaining satellites."
Vaebn paused to allow the scientific data he just gave to be absorbed. He sipped his coffee and then continued. "Wren IX is one of only two full sized planets in the system, and the only class M in the system. Orbiting binary dwarf stars, Wren IX is on the outer edge of the system, but well within the habitable zone. The inner portion of the system, are mostly dwarf planets rich in minerals but no atmosphere to support life of any kind due to severe gravitational stresses and orbital proximity to the center of the system. Now, that you know what you heading to. I should tell you who you are going to. The Silence have no individual names, they are like the Borg in that way. In fact, they act as a collective often discussing things amongst themselves before acting. As you know they are extremely xenophobic to the point of killing or trapping people on their world to keep their secret. It was only after negotiation and their learning that my people's penchant for secrets that they allowed us to go. The Silence does not use spoken word they only communicate through telepathy. Once linked you can communicate with them and they you. Finally, they emit a psychotropic field. Which is a hormone that they secrete as aerosols into the air. When you breathe it in and turn away from them you forget everything about them, who they are what you discussed, everything. So long as you are looking at them you will remember. If you have any questions I am here." He sat back and sipped his coffee. As far as Vaebn was concerned he has just told them everything that he felt comfortable telling them. But, he would answer any questions they may have.
"Once we help them, how do we ensure that they will let us go again?" Alyssa asked. The rest of the questions were straightforward enough, but their xenophobia concerned her. She wanted to help them, but not if it meant the crew would be trapped on their planet.
"As I see it you have three options. You could attempt to convince them to join the galaxy and overcome their xenophobia. Using this rescue as proof that they need others at times for help. You may just get them to join the Federation. If that fails options two would probably be best. Which simply make the same deal I did. Erase the databanks and sensor logs. Allow them to make you all forget and that would be that. The last option which I do not believe is palatable is to simply remain on the planet and scuttle the Pioneer." Vaebn had quite a long time to think about this. These were the only options as far as he could determine.
"Thank you, commander." It was a lot to absorb. Alyssa was glad the conversation was being recorded and transcribed by the computer so she'd have the details she needed to take to the captain. "We appreciate your time and information. You were most helpful."
"For a Pioneer, anytime. If there is anything else that you may need feel free to contact me on this frequency. I wish you all the best of luck. Jolan Tru." Vaebn closed the channel with the knowledge that it could not be traced. He could not help but feel a twinge of worry for his old friends on the Pioneer. Their first run in with the Silence did not go entirely well. Vaebn hoped this one went a lot better. He turned to his resting sister and all that had to be done to help get her through her ordeal.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Commander Vaebn tr'Hwersuil
On Leave From Starfleet
Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren
Chief Science Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Narin Valen
Assistant Chief Science Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Junior Grade Rachel Sinclair
Assistant Chief Security & Tactical Officer, USS Pioneer
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