S1E10 Listening In

[Dylan Torngate]

PO2 Rayek
[Betazed - Underground Security Compound - Meeting Room]
"Understood, sir." Rayek answered along with the rest of the assembled security crew.  Rayek followed the Captain in under the raising door.  He quickly assigned the four other security members to specific sections of the room with instructions to mark off on the master attendance list each individual checked and cleared.   Then he moved to his section, pulling his tricorder from his duty belt and began an individual by individual scan of attendees for any unregistered electronics.

He had barely gotten through a third of his section when the Captain called for him.

Rayek had missed what the two had been speaking of earlier so looked to the Commander for confirmation of the Captain orders.  At the Captain's impatient prompt, Rayek looked back towards the Captain. "Yessir."  He took hold of the Captain's arm firmly with one hand while he pulled a set of  hand-restraints from his duty belt and began hand-cuffing the Captain.

"Captain Dylan Torngate, I am Petty Officer 2nd grade Rayek tr'Lhoell, you are under arrest on suspicion of Espionage against the Federation.  I advise you that under Article 31, UCMJ, you have the right to remain silent, that is, say nothing at all. Any statement you make, oral or written, may be used as evidence against you in a trial by court-martial or in other judicial or administrative proceedings.  You have the right to consult a lawyer and to have a lawyer present during questioning. You have the right to Starfleet legal counsel free of charge.  In addition to Starfleet counsel, you are entitled to civilian counsel of your own choosing, at your own expense.  You may request a lawyer at any time.  If you decide to answer questions you may stop the questioning at any time. Do you understand these rights?"

With the Captain in cuffs and with his rights advised to him, Rayek, with his hand still holding on to the Captain firmly, began to guide the Captain towards the door.   He used his security code to reopen the door and ushered him through and down the corridors all the way to the stations Brig where he ordered the attending security to open a cell and guided the Captain within.

[Compound]

Dylan watched as the man hurried over, with predictable Romulan efficiency. He stood there, waiting to see how the man would take the order. He felt the cold metal bite into his skin, as he grimaced. The man didn't even blink. He didn't try and fight the cuffs, knowing all too well that he'd end the worse for it.

He listened the rights. He knew them well. "Understood well, Petty Officer. Let's go." he said, being led by the arm toward the door and down the corridor. He didn't require much guiding- he went willingly, being shepherded down three flights of stairs and into the dark room that served as the Brig. He entered, and listened as the thrumm of a force field raised behind him. He was an animal trapped in a cage, a lab rat under a microscope. He turned back toward the wall, hands still bound.

"Find the bastards who did this and put them down, Rayek." he said, a neutral look on his face and in his tone.

[Bridge- USS Challenger]

A voice sounded in Lizzie's ear. It was nasily, harsh, and didn't belong to anyone on the Bridge.

"Well, well, well. What have we here, Doc? Got a little problem keeping the lid on the patients?" it said, before giggling joyfully.

All across the bridge, and across the ship, voices began popping up in people's ears, telling secrets, things that had been told aloud only once or twice... things that should have been impossible for people to know, but yet they knew.

Voices, seemingly out of nowhere.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Compound]

Dylan watched as the man hurried over, with predictable Romulan efficiency. He stood there, waiting to see how the man would take the order. He felt the cold metal bite into his skin, as he grimaced. The man didn't even blink. He didn't try and fight the cuffs, knowing all too well that he'd end the worse for it.

He listened the rights. He knew them well. "Understood well, Petty Officer. Let's go." he said, being led by the arm toward the door and down the corridor. He didn't require much guiding- he went willingly, being shepherded down three flights of stairs and into the dark room that served as the Brig. He entered, and listened as the thrumm of a force field raised behind him. He was an animal trapped in a cage, a lab rat under a microscope. He turned back toward the wall, hands still bound.

"Find the bastards who did this and put them down, Rayek." he said, a neutral look on his face and in his tone.

[Bridge- USS Challenger]

A voice sounded in Lizzie's ear. It was nasily, harsh, and didn't belong to anyone on the Bridge.

"Well, well, well. What have we here, Doc? Got a little problem keeping the lid on the patients?" it said, before giggling joyfully.

All across the bridge, and across the ship, voices began popping up in people's ears, telling secrets, things that had been told aloud only once or twice... things that should have been impossible for people to know, but yet they knew.

Voices, seemingly out of nowhere.

Bridge

Lizzie had been seated waiting for more information when the voice in ear made her jump!

She did not recognise the voice, but the tone was very familiar from her childhood. Whenever bullies found out secrets from you, they would use that tone to torture you before revealing it to everyone. She jumped to her feet.

"Did anyone else hear that?" She asked of the rest of the Bridge crew.

There were several murmurings from the duty officers but none of them said anything.  Each had a different look on their faces. Some looked guilty, some ashamed and some downright puzzled. Whatever it was they had heard, it was clearly different to what she had heard.

Whoever it was that had spoken to her, clearly thought she was responsible for the release of the patient files. Or, more likely, intended that she be thought guilty!

However from the look of the rest of the Bridge crew, the information they were hearing was far more accurate. 'How on Earth did, whoever they are, get this information?' She thought to herself.

Sitting back in her seat, her brain going round in circles trying to think of any answers.

She decided to ask for assistance. She tapped her com-badge.

Vaughan to the Captain. What is going on Sir? The whole crew appear to be hearing things and from the looks on their faces, different things too!

[Kyan Mackenzie]

:: Primary Science Labs ::

Elijah and most of the Challenger's Science Department had been spared the security detail on Betazed. It was a double edged sword. Having visited the planet once before, Elijah wasn't averse to going down, but he WAS averse to conducting security patrols and having the personal interactions that that sort of work entailed. Luckily, there was plenty of work to be done aboard the ship, such as running diagnostics on all the new software upgrades and their compatibility with the Challenger's hodge podge hardware arrangement. Elijah, Wentworth, and two other Science crewmen had been in the lab all day working on the upgrades. As each of them had their own specific area, there hadn't been alot of conversation.

It had been a pretty good day. Then the Captain had recalled everyone. Apparently there was some sort of disturbance on the planet. His compatriots had begun discussing the possibilities, but Elijah continued working on the upgrades. Truth told, he didn't care about the disturbance, as it had not yet disturbed him.

"Apparently there was a breach in the communications system. Lots of medical records were compromised." Wentworth noted."

"And  the Captain's command codes were used to do it." one of the others added. "Just checked the com logs."

"Should we... do something?" the fourth science crewman asked.

Primary Science Labs

Bonnie walked into the lab and smiled at the few people she walked past as she made her way in. She walked into the centre and begun to speak. "Ok everyone, do we know what's happening other than the fact that we know it's a security breach?" Bonnie asked.

Wentworth was the first to speak up. "All we know is that the Captain's command codes were used to get the information and to send the message." he said. "We haven't dug any deeper into it yet."

"Hi there Mister Aldin. We'd like to welcome you to the Hotel California. Enjoy your stay!" a voice cooed, which only Elijah heard. Immediately after that, all he could hear was the sound of a crowd of people speaking all at once. Dozens of conversations of which he could made out snippets at a time. Elijah's hatred for crowded spaces existed for just this reason. He got up quickly from his seat and scanned the room. No one else seemed to hear it, which didn't make sense. The agitation soon got the best of him.

"Be Quiet!" he said loudly. "Everyone stop talking!"

[Kyle Briggs]

[Secure Area]

Dylan frowned as he listened to one of the Admirals, who had just been telling him off for messing up his perfectly good schedule. Dylan... didn't care. He knew what his job was, he knew why he was here. And right now, his job was keeping whatever happened, contained. Whatever it was. What he didn't account for was Kyle calling him over only a few short minutes later.

He walked quickly over to the man, and leaned over the console, trying to get a good look at... whatever was on the screen. A flashing bar held some weird information, but before he got all the way across he heard the man speak. As Kyle had predicted, he had indeed asked the silent question.

He didn't like the results. He looked at the line, and looked at it again. But there it was, somehow, somewhere, his access codes had been used to release classified audio recordings... that themselves should not have existed. Double bad. But, the Commander was right. This wasn't going to be wrapped up pretty.

"Well... shit." he started, running his fingers through the fore of his hair before looking at the line once more- was someone playing a terrible joke on him? He wasn't a traitor... but those were his codes. Plain as day.

"Petty Officer tr'Lhoell!" he called out, as he took his phaser out, and handed it to Kyle. "Petty Officer. Listen closely. Your orders are to take me into custody on charges of Espionage against the Federation and escort me to the Brig." he said, his voice level but obviously stressed. He then looked at Kyle. "Figure this mess out, Commander." he said, as he dropped his Commbadge from his chest onto the table in front of him.

"Well come on, Petty Officer. We haven't got all day."

Kyle watched in disbelief as Dylan just turned himself over. He knew the Captain was innocent and was prepared to stand by him as they figured out what the hell was going on. "Give me some time, Captain. We'll get this figured out." Kyle called as the men were leaving the room. He reached for his comm badge just as it chimed for an incoming message.

Bridge

Lizzie got to her feet in astonishment. The release of all that confidential information could be catastrophic for those concerned.

"Thank you for the information." She replied. She then turned to the Duty Ops officer.

"Contact the Captain and inform him if the situation. Then access the subspace networks and see if we can find an origin point for the release." She ordered before turning back to the Grazerite.

"Contact the Hospital and inform them of the incident at the compound. Not the details, just that there has been one. I am going on the fact that I believe the incidents are related in some way. Offer them our assistance if they need it, but if it just records there is not much we can do."

Whle she was speaking the Ops officer opened a channel.

Challenger to Briggs. We have been notified that the medical facility has suffered a cyber attack and thousands of records have been released to the public domain. It appears to have happened around the time of the incident at the Compound and we are looking into it further,

He then began to trace the the signal before looking up at the Doctor.

"The release point is coming up as Betazed but I can't get much more than that." He replied. "This is not really my field Ma'am." He added.

Lizzie nodded. Before opening anther channel.

Bridge to Engineering. Do we have a cyber security expert on the ship and if so who is it?

She waited for the responses, formulating her own plan.

That is indeed the case, Doctor. We've encountered a shit storm down here with a bunch of different records now being released. And the worse part is, the Captain's security code was used to do it. He's turned himself in and is currently sitting in the Brig. I want every computer expert we have on this. I want the transmission stopped and the culprit found so we can get the Captain released.  Kyle said as he was unaware of the steps she had already taken.  I'm going to be working on it from down here. Use any resources you need, Doctor. Briggs out. 

"It's not gonna work, Commander. We both know you aren't fit to run things. You'll fail. Again. Probably lose some more crew members. That won't sit well with you, will it?"

Kyle's hand flew to his ear. "Who is this? Identify yourself you damn coward." He was met by silence in his ear and some strange looks from others in the room. that was, until their hands began flying up to their ears. Kyle knew what was happening. They were all being told something. He went to slap his badge again to have the Challenger try and trace it through the comm system until he remembered that those were being listened in on as well. He needed a way to contact the Challenger without whoever was eavesdropping knowing about it. He tapped his badge once more.

Mister Rayek. As soon as the Captain is secured, I need you to report back to me. Briggs out. 

He stood and walked to one end of the room. "Ladies and Gentlemen." he said in order to calm everyone down. they were all in a frenzy over what they were hearing. "Ladies and Gentlemen. PEOPLE. SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTHS AND LISTEN." That got some deadly looks thrown his way but it had been effective. They were quiet.  As I'm sure you're all aware of by now, we have a severe situation here and your assistance will be required. I want all of you to take your seats and remove all listening and transmitting devices from your person and place then on the table in front of you. NOW!" he added when no one moved. He waited for Rayek as they did what he ordered.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Secure Area]

That is indeed the case, Doctor. We've encountered a shit storm down here with a bunch of different records now being released. And the worse part is, the Captain's security code was used to do it. He's turned himself in and is currently sitting in the Brig. I want every computer expert we have on this. I want the transmission stopped and the culprit found so we can get the Captain released.  Kyle said as he was unaware of the steps she had already taken.  I'm going to be working on it from down here. Use any resources you need, Doctor. Briggs out. 

Bridge

Lizzie heard Kyles response to her earlier com and no realised why she would not get a response from Dylan. She needed to act and to act fast. She immediately strode into the centre of the Bridge.

"I want this ship locked down! No communications are to enter or leave this vessel without my direct permission."

She paused for a second and then turned to Ops. "Close down and encrypt all methods of communication from this ship, be that vocal, data, computer, everything. No transports are to take place without permission and all computer access logged and investigated. Shut down all access points to the main computer except for here on the Bridge and main engineering.

She paused again before turning to the duty security officer.

"I want guards posted in engineering and at the computer core. Then find me a cyber security expert. I want to know how the Captains personal codes were stolen and used to leak information. I also want to know if there have been any further leaks that have not come to light yet."

Both officers nodded and began to carry out their assigned tasks. Meanwhile, She opened an internal channel.

Vaughan to Sickbay. Please check all our patient files and see if any of them have been copied and transmitted for any reason.

One moment Doctor. I'll just check for you. The voice of the duty nurse replied.

Thank you. But please do it as fast as you can.

A few seconds later the nurse spoke up.

Apart from a couple of transfers. There has been no copying or transmitting of any patient files in the last 3 months.

Thank you. That's one less thing to worry about. Please make sure no-one accesses the systems in Sickbay without supervision. There has been a security breach and we are trying to identify it. Keep up the good work. Vaughan out!

Lizzie closed the channel and sat in the centre chair. Since Dylan was in the Brig and Kyle trying to sort out the mess on the planet, that meant she was the ranking officer. Problem is, she had no idea what the security detachment on the surface had been doing, but from Kyle's com she figured he was in the dark too.

Leaning back, she wondered what the motivation behind this leaking of information was.

[Rayek trLhoell]

PO2 Rayek
[Betazed - Underground Security Compound - Brig]

"Find the bastards who did this and put them down, Rayek." he said, a neutral look on his face and in his tone.

Rayek looked over the still bound Captain. An oversight? Perhaps... but also an opportunity.  Rayek doubted the Captain would make use of it considering the man had offered himself up for arrest, but it was there should the Captain recognize it and have need of it.  "Of course, Captain."

Rayek moved to the Brig's security console and was about to see if he could access any of the security camera footage. When he heard a voice in his ear.  Rayek stiffened at the unfamiliar voice's words.  His dark eyes fixed angrily on the unfortunate security crewman manning the console beside him.   "Where did you hear that?"  The Romulan almost snarled as he took a step towards the other security member threateningly.

"What?  I didn't say anything." The other guard commented defensively, while he took a step back away from the Romulan, his hand edging towards his phaser.  Rayek noted the gesture... but more importantly he noted that the man's voice wasn't at all like the voice he'd just heard.  Rayek stopped and stepped back frowning.  "My mistake..."  Rayek offered in way of a vague apology while he tried to figure out what he had just heard.  He felt around the ear that he'd heard the voice sounding from... but before he could investigate the mystery voice much, his comm badge chirped.

[Secure Area]

Mister Rayek. As soon as the Captain is secured, I need you to report back to me. Briggs out. 

Rayek glanced back towards the Captain at the Commanders order - perhaps the man hadn't seen him almost physically assault another security member.  Yeah, no such luck.  Turning on heel, Rayek left the Brig and double timed it back up to the meeting room.

[Compound - Corridors]
Along the way he considered the voice, wondering if it had been telepathic.  It hadn't felt telepathic... sounding from his ear more so than in his mind.  Plus he was on the inhibitors.  Not that they haven't proven fallible before...  And someone rooting around in his mind would explain how the voice had known about his secret... but still despite being on a planet of empaths and telepaths, Rayek felt that such an obvious answer was wrong and misleading.

[Compound - Secured Area]
Rayek arrived back at the meeting room still no nearer to having an answer.  He was met outside the door by yet more security and had to be screened in before he was allowed to pass this time.  He quickly located the Commander and reported in.  "Commander. The Captain is secured in the Brig.  He said nothing in regards to his arrest other than he wants me to find those responsible."  Quieter so to be just heard by the Commander, "May I ask, sir, how the Captain was implicated in the first place?"

[Lek]

[Engineering - USS Challenger]

Lek was just finishing his check of the ship's power systems when he heard an unknown harsh and nasily voice spoke in his ear.

"So, do you think Vank ever made it out of debt? Tricking him into investing into that pergium mine and shorting him on the stock worked perfectly, for you, since you knew the mine was salted and didn't actually have any pergium, you made 25 bars of gold pressed latinum on that deal, Vank went bankrupt. The 211th Rule of Acquisition was how you justified your actions 'Employees are the rungs on the ladder of success. Don't hesitate to step on them', but Vank was your best friend. Do you think he will ever forgive you?"

The cruel voice purred, before giggling with unabashed glee.

Lek leapt out of his seat and looked around the compartment to see who could have possibly sneaked up on him and, more importantly, how could they possibly know about that deal. The deal that soured him on business, because the voice was right, he'd tricked a friend and ruined him for profit. The whole matter still sickened him and he'd allowed himself to forget about what he'd done, now that it'd had been wrenched back out of the vault he'd buried it in, he felt the same shame and guilt he'd felt when he realized what he had done.

As he dealt with his own demons, he was marginally aware that all around engineering, others in the crew were looking stunned, scared, sickened, ashamed, and a whole gamut of emotions that revealed that Lek was not alone in the intrusion.

"Is that what telepathy is like?"

He wondered aloud, as telepaths were typically unable to read Ferengi, Lek was singularly unprepared for the experience.

[Olivia Briggs]

[Deck 2 - The Briggs's Quarters]

With Elijah still playing happily with his toys, it allowed Liv a chance to set up the picnic that she had put together for them for the trip to the Meditation Gardens after deciding that they may as well still enjoy it even if they were now back home. She also didn't have to worry about rushing off to the Mess Hall or Lounge as her shifts were being covered by her staff since she wasn't technically back on duty for another day or two although had let them know that she had returned to the ship early.

She had just finished placing everything out on the blanket when she heard an unfamiliar voice in her ear.

"You know your mother never really loved you, that's why she abandoned you Olivia Marie"It hissed sending a cold shiver down her spine. "Kyle knows it, you know it, so stop kidding yourself that she did".

The shivers continued until she looked round, her breathing heavy with fright and realised that no one was there apart from her son. Whatever that was had scared the hell out of her wondering where it had come from and how it knew about her nightmares and not for the first time wished that her husband was there to comfort her. Fighting back tears she lifted Elijah up and held him in her arms tightly.

[Bonnie Moors]

:: Primary Science Labs ::

Elijah and most of the Challenger's Science Department had been spared the security detail on Betazed. It was a double edged sword. Having visited the planet once before, Elijah wasn't averse to going down, but he WAS averse to conducting security patrols and having the personal interactions that that sort of work entailed. Luckily, there was plenty of work to be done aboard the ship, such as running diagnostics on all the new software upgrades and their compatibility with the Challenger's hodge podge hardware arrangement. Elijah, Wentworth, and two other Science crewmen had been in the lab all day working on the upgrades. As each of them had their own specific area, there hadn't been alot of conversation.

It had been a pretty good day. Then the Captain had recalled everyone. Apparently there was some sort of disturbance on the planet. His compatriots had begun discussing the possibilities, but Elijah continued working on the upgrades. Truth told, he didn't care about the disturbance, as it had not yet disturbed him.

"Apparently there was a breach in the communications system. Lots of medical records were compromised." Wentworth noted."

"And  the Captain's command codes were used to do it." one of the others added. "Just checked the com logs."

"Should we... do something?" the fourth science crewman asked.

Wentworth was the first to speak up. "All we know is that the Captain's command codes were used to get the information and to send the message." he said. "We haven't dug any deeper into it yet."

"Hi there Mister Aldin. We'd like to welcome you to the Hotel California. Enjoy your stay!" a voice cooed, which only Elijah heard. Immediately after that, all he could hear was the sound of a crowd of people speaking all at once. Dozens of conversations of which he could made out snippets at a time. Elijah's hatred for crowded spaces existed for just this reason. He got up quickly from his seat and scanned the room. No one else seemed to hear it, which didn't make sense. The agitation soon got the best of him.

"Be Quiet!" he said loudly. "Everyone stop talking!"

Primary Science Labs

Bonnie raised an eyebrow in confusion as the young ensign shouted for everyone to be quiet. The room silenced and everyone seemed to turn towards the ensign, but something seemed to be bothering him as he continued to try and block out the noise.

The room was at an average noise level, likely raised slightly by the fact that they weren't sure what was happening. People usually speculated when something like this happened so she guessed it must've been that which was making the room louder. However, the room wasn't that loud; she guessed that Elijah needed a few minutes to calm down and collect himself.

Bonnie walked over to the ensign. "Ensign... Elijah, are you ok? would you like to go somewhere quiet for a few minutes?" Bonnie asked, motioning for him to walk beside her to somewhere where is was quiet. She turned towards Wentworth before Elijah answered. "Make sure our files are encrypted and as secured as possible. I don't want any breaches on our side." She finished, looking back to Elijah and smiling.

[Dylan Torngate]

Bridge
Vaughan to the Captain. What is going on Sir? The whole crew appear to be hearing things and from the looks on their faces, different things too!

[Bridge]

The voice continued. "Oh-hoo-hoooo Doctah, the Captain can't help you now, sésata. He pretty much handed it right to us." the voice said, giggling again. "Doctah Doctah. What to release next?"

[Secure Area]

Kyle's hand flew to his ear. "Who is this? Identify yourself you damn coward." He was met by silence in his ear and some strange looks from others in the room. that was, until their hands began flying up to their ears. Kyle knew what was happening. They were all being told something. He went to slap his badge again to have the Challenger try and trace it through the comm system until he remembered that those were being listened in on as well. He needed a way to contact the Challenger without whoever was eavesdropping knowing about it. He tapped his badge once more.

Oh come on koyo. You know we're not gonna be that easy, sasa ke? Where's the fun in that? You know it's true. You'll never win. The Captain will go down and you'll have failed yet another superior. Can't even keep them safe in the home of the Federation! Aie aie aie what a failure. Why bother any more, ke?

[Engineering - USS Challenger]

Lek was just finishing his check of the ship's power systems when he heard an unknown harsh and nasily voice spoke in his ear.

"So, do you think Vank ever made it out of debt? Tricking him into investing into that pergium mine and shorting him on the stock worked perfectly, for you, since you knew the mine was salted and didn't actually have any pergium, you made 25 bars of gold pressed latinum on that deal, Vank went bankrupt. The 211th Rule of Acquisition was how you justified your actions 'Employees are the rungs on the ladder of success. Don't hesitate to step on them', but Vank was your best friend. Do you think he will ever forgive you?"

The cruel voice purred, before giggling with unabashed glee.

"Oh come ON, you lobeless meatbag. Have you gone soft? You know what happened, but was it worth stepping on him? Not very... Federation of you." the voice purred. It almost sounded like the old Earth legend of the Cheshire Cat.

PO2 Rayek
[Betazed - Underground Security Compound - Brig]

Rayek looked over the still bound Captain. An oversight? Perhaps... but also an opportunity.  Rayek doubted the Captain would make use of it considering the man had offered himself up for arrest, but it was there should the Captain recognize it and have need of it.  "Of course, Captain."

Rayek moved to the Brig's security console and was about to see if he could access any of the security camera footage. When he heard a voice in his ear.  Rayek stiffened at the unfamiliar voice's words.  His dark eyes fixed angrily on the unfortunate security crewman manning the console beside him.   "Where did you hear that?"  The Romulan almost snarled as he took a step towards the other security member threateningly.

"What?  I didn't say anything." The other guard commented defensively, while he took a step back away from the Romulan, his hand edging towards his phaser.  Rayek noted the gesture... but more importantly he noted that the man's voice wasn't at all like the voice he'd just heard.  Rayek stopped and stepped back frowning.  "My mistake..."  Rayek offered in way of a vague apology while he tried to figure out what he had just heard.  He felt around the ear that he'd heard the voice sounding from... but before he could investigate the mystery voice much, his comm badge chirped.

Rayek glanced back towards the Captain at the Commanders order - perhaps the man hadn't seen him almost physically assault another security member.  Yeah, no such luck.  Turning on heel, Rayek left the Brig and double timed it back up to the meeting room.

[Brig]

Dylan looked from beyond the force field as his Petty Officer almost moved on the other security guard. He didn't know what was going on, but whatever it was, he wanted in. Dylan didn't hear the voices, but it appeared everyone else was freaking out about something. He called out to the man, but by the time the words had left his mouth, the man was already gone.

The crew had to act soon if they were to get to the bottom of the mystery.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Bridge]

The voice continued. "Oh-hoo-hoooo Doctah, the Captain can't help you now, sésata. He pretty much handed it right to us." the voice said, giggling again. "Doctah Doctah. What to release next?"

Bridge

Lizzie heard the voice again. It was clearly taunting her and trying to make her act without thinking.

She decided to go back to the lessons she had been taught by her Vulcan doctor back on Earth.

Closing her eyes, she cleared her thoughts and began to slow her breathing. This allowed her to focus on the facts rather than what the mysterious voice was saying. She began to list the points in her head.

1) Everyone seems to be hearing this voice, though not the same message.
2) Each message seems to be tailored for each crew person, playing on their fears or previous actions.
3) Every time the voice is heard it is in the same ear.

She paused in her list as she reviewed the last point. There was something familiar about the right ear. She thought about it for a few more seconds before it hit her.

'The Sub-Dermal Ear Receivers!' She thought suddenly. She then turned to Ops.

"Scan for subspace transmissions in the voice only range." She ordered. "They will be directed at our communications implants rather than any of the ships systems." She added.

"Yes Doctor." The Ensign replied.

He tapped his board before looking up in amazement.

"I've found what appear to be the transmissions you describe Doctor. A few are happening now but most are historical."

"Can you trace the source?" She asked, a bit to sharply due to her anxiety.

The Ops officer shook his head.

"No Ma'am." He replied. "They are being bounced off numerous satellites and ground stations. I might be able to trace the source eventually, but they don't last long enough to get a reliable trace."

"Can you intercept them? Understand what they are saying?" She asked.

The Ops Officer shook his head again.

"No Ma'am. The signals are encrypted for the named recipient only!"

"Can we block them? Stop them from reaching us and picking up anything from the ship?" She enquired, hoping that they could at least do something.

"Possibly. I will need to work on it and confirm if they are all within the same bandwidth. If they are, then there is a good chance of us blocking them out. Give me some time Ma'am."

Lizzie nodded.

"Get on it." She replied. "And pull on anyone you need for this. Our first goal is to stop the transmissions being received and then try and find out who is sending them.

The Ops officer nodded and began to work on the problem.

[Olivia Briggs]

[Deck 2 - Briggs' Quarters]

Just when she thought it was safe to put Elijah down, she heard the voice again in her right ear instinctively placing her hands over both of them to try and block out the cold calculating downright nasty voice that kept taunting her.

"What's the matter Olivia Marie, afraid that Kyle's going to find out that your just like your dead mother and that you'll abandon Elijah"

" Leave me alone, you don't know the truth " she practically yelled scaring her son who then began to cry. Trying to ignore the voice she picked up Elijah and held him, whispering in his ear and singing one of the Irish songs he always enjoyed to calm him down. It was then that Liv decided that she couldn't stay here not when she didn't know where the voice had come from, why it was happening and not knowing when Kyle would be back to tell her that everything was going to be okay.

Picking up the diaper bag and leaving the picnic on the blanket, Liv held onto Elijah and left their quarters unsure where she was going not really caring as long as it was away from the voice.

[Lek]

[Engineering]

"Oh come ON, you lobeless meatbag. Have you gone soft? You know what happened, but was it worth stepping on him? Not very... Federation of you." the voice purred. It almost sounded like the old Earth legend of the Cheshire Cat

[Engineering]

Lek hissed at the voice and snarled back.

"For someone that is supposed to know so damn much, you should know that deal was my last and it was before I joined Starfleet! Whoever you are, you don't know your dork from a doorknob, get out of my head!"

[Kyan Mackenzie]

Primary Science Labs

Bonnie walked over to the ensign. "Ensign... Elijah, are you ok? would you like to go somewhere quiet for a few minutes?" Bonnie asked, motioning for him to walk beside her to somewhere where is was quiet. She turned towards Wentworth before Elijah answered. "Make sure our files are encrypted and as secured as possible. I don't want any breaches on our side." She finished, looking back to Elijah and smiling.

The crowd of people speaking in his hear was too loud and too varied for him to focus on much else. He tried to hear what they were saying, but the people were speaking over one another. It was just dozens of conversations all going on around him. Crowded spaces were one of the things that Elijah hated more than anything else. That and bright, unpredictable lighting. Shipboard alert klaxons were awful, but he had developed his own ways of dealing with those. Crowds though, were not so easily managed. So he avoided them. Now though, it was as though he was in a crowd of people and he couldn't leave. As it progressed, he knew that it wasn't in the room around him. He saw the others react, but they were reacting to him. He put his hands up to cover his ears but that didn't help.

This was one of the reasons why he hadn't gone to Betazed. There were stories of telapaths speaking to people inside their heads, which he wasn't keen on. The conversations were also getting louder. But if it wasn't in the room, then it was just him hearing it. Which mean telepathy or something else.

Everything was breaking down, and Elijah felt himself losing control. He reached into the backpack on his chair to get the deactivated phaser that he used as a stim device. Bonnie was saying something to him, but he couldn't make it out over the noise in his ears. He got the phaser and started pressing the button but it didn't help. Elijah hadn't had a meltdown in ages, but this situation was headed that direction quickly. His breathing quickened and his heart beat faster as the voices just continued talking... and laughing, and some shouted. Some were whispering. But he couldn't make out any of them. Elijah flattened himself against the bulkhead and pressed his hands against it in an effort to keep them still. They wanted to flap, or to smack him in the head to counteract the noise that he couldn't turn off.

The phaser was not working, which meant he wasn't going to be able to stim himself out of a meltdown. His glasses wouldn't work either, because the noise was coming from inside his head... or..

Elijah knew that he wasn't going to be able to communicate with Bonnie or Wentworth or the others in short order. Meltdowns took that away from him and left him in a state where he couldn't think, couln't move, or communicate with words or body language. Sometimes he screamed, sometime he hit himself... although that was more prevalent when he was younger. He'd learned some alternate behaviors, which is what was was trying to do now with his hands to avoid smacking himself in the heard.

"T-Translator." he said. "Get it out!"

That was all he could manage before slinking to the floor. He wanted to say more, or think, or help himself but it wasn't going to happen in the near term. And if Bonnie and the others couldn't get rid of the offending stimuli from his UT, then it wasn't going to happen at all.

[Ashley Weir]

[Quarters]

Her first mission with the Challenger had taken her all the way to Betazed. Growing up she had always found herself envious of Betazoid's. Where she had lost her sense of hearing, something she had lived with until recently, they had an additional sense. That was a feeling she had to shove down and suppress to make sure it wasn't going to interfere with her duties. The young woman looked at herself in a mirror for a moment, being shift with the crew she wanted to make sure everything was absolutely perfect. She sighed slightly and then looked at the clock on her wall to check the time. She needed to report to the bridge soon, she refused to be late on her first day.

[Bridge]

The doors opened to admit the officer, her eyes scanned over the officer on deck and noted that they all seemed distressed. A worried look appeared on Ashley's face as her mind raced over possible things that would create such notable distress among all of the officers. Without saying a word she rushed to her station at flight control and prepared to get to work. She shoved all of the "worst-case" thoughts to the back of her mind and attempted to only focus on her job.