Personal Log: Joshua Kingston

[silverphoenix08]

Commander's Personal Log: Stardate 91611.32

Project Orpheus personnel, myself included, discovered stasis pods containing Romulan survivors within the Warbird wreckage beneath the ice, as well as multiple... "orbs," for lack of a better descriptor. 

Upon returning to the station, Commander T'Pau and I began our experiments on the orbs, while the medical staff focused on stabilizing and treating the Romulan survivors which, unfortunately, required bringing the Romulans out of stasis. While I'm uncertain of the details, at some point the Romulans awoke, overtook the medical staff, and attempted to compromise the station's central computer, with some degree of success. When Commander T'Pau and I were made aware of the situation, we made our way to sickbay in a vain attempt to rescue the medical staff and prevent the Romulans from leaving. Unfortunately, we found ourselves vastly outnumbered. T'Pau took a direct hit and was stunned. I attempted to resist, but I was flanked by a secondary group of Romulans coming off the turbolift. I was incapacitated and awoke a few hours after the situation had been defused. 

Admittedly, I'm ashamed of my actions. While I may be a Starfleet officer, my time in the xenoanthropological field isn't exactly filled with times in which I must defend myself. I'm currently setting up a training schedule for myself so that I may get in better shape, both physically and mentally.

Still, this ordeal has been enlightening. Never before have I used my empathic abilities in a combat scenario; it was quite the experience. It felt as if the entire sickbay were filled with two polar energies, one passive and the other hostile toward my presence. I won't say that it gave me the greatest insight, but at least it allowed me to "see" who was focused on me and who wasn't. This is likely why I couldn't detect the Romulans in the lift; prior to the doors opening, they didn't see me and therefore know I was a threat, and therefore had no strong feelings or desires to harm me. In any event, I intend to learn from this and reacquaint myself with the use of sidearms. I've even placed a requisition for newer model pistols. 

I've returned to the Lawson to resume our objective of investigating the nearby systems; Lt. Commander Imedi has taken over my outpatient treatment since we'll be away from the starbase for somewhat extensive periods, which I'm grateful for. When I awoke, some of the medical staff were giving me odd looks. Unfortunately I have no idea why. Now that I have reviewed my medical logs, I see that Dr. Kayce gave me melorazine while I was unconscious. Frankly, I wish she had told me when I first awoke. Waking up without my telepathy was equally frightening, especially after enduring multiple stuns. 

I haven't seen Jeren since the fight broke out. There were no fatalities and he isn't listed as being injured on the duty roster, but I still worry. This is the second time in which he's been held hostage while performing his duties. He's resilient, but this is hardly what he should be having to handle for his first official Starfleet operation since... the last time. He would hate me if he heard me say this, but after yesterday's ordeal, I would love nothing more than to formally request that he be reassigned to the Lawson's crew rather than stay aboard the station to sweep the corridors. Still, it's where he wants to be, and I won't argue with him on the matter. 

My imzadi would certainly make me suffer if I did. 

[silverphoenix08]

Commander's Personal Log: Stardate 91612.09

*the faint strumming of a harp can be heard in the background*

It's... late, clearly. *yawn*

Conn says we're 0.7 light years away from our destination. I suppose we're close enough that I could get up and arrive on the bridge early. I'm sure Mr. Benic would appreciate a couple of hours rest before we arrive. Frankly, I may need him to assist me when we arrive. I'm still quite tired. 

It seems that the nightmares have returned. At least, I think they have. I'm awake in the middle of the night, still wiping the last of the sweat from my brow. 

What's strange is that I can't remember my... dream. Normally they're so vivid. I suppose it's a side-effect of the melorazine. 

Op begins at 0900. I'm going to stop by the laboratory first to make sure we're properly stocked before we arrive. I know we left the station fully stocked, but Dr. Aurel has a tendency to use supplies quite superfluously for her own experiments. Thankfully, she at least has the foresight to only use supplies which we can replicate. 

[silverphoenix08]

Commander's Personal Log, Stardate 91614.57

News has just reached me of the viral outbreak that has occurred back on board the starbase. I've ordered Ensign Ryl to return us to the starbase. Given my poor health, I must assume that I have also been infected and cannot risk spreading this disease to other planets. 

The latest reports from the starbase indicate that this virus attacks the neurological pathways of those infected. It's possible that, if I'm infected, it is the cause of my strange dreams and unfocused abilities. 

At the moment, only one other crewman is showing any signs of sickness, a slight cough. I've placed both him and myself under quarantine, and isolated the oxygen recycling for both of our quarters. With luck, whatever we have will not spread to the rest of the ship. If the bridge crew become infected... well, perhaps I should hope that none of us are infected, rather than think of what this virus may do to them. To us.

News of the virus has slowed research on samples from the Sal'Ei system. Since most of our research is focused on the biological findings at the moment, we've sealed off the experiments in case of cross-contamination. We know nothing about this sickness, or how it may interact with other microorganisms. Best to be safe than sorry. 

[silverphoenix08]

Commander's Personal Log, Stardate 91625.3

I've just returned to the Lawson after visiting with some crewmen from the 26th Fleet. While I'm not sure what prompted Captain Vega to reach out to them, it would seem that she is attempting to lay down the foundation for a future collaboration. Honestly, I'm excited by the prospect for many reasons. While I have every confidence in the skills of our Romulan allies, being around fellow Starfleet officers will be refreshing, even if it's for a brief time. 

I've also met some very interesting characters from the 26th Fleet; Doctors Mika, Nya, and Lazarus, as well as an enigmatic Chief Petty Officer whom I had originally mistaken as a Liberated Borg. 

What's funny is that, although we rendezvoused with the 26th to discuss Project Orpheus, most of my mingling with the crew somehow touched upon the topic of the Borg. Doctor Nya approached me and personally thanked me for my research on Borg nanoprobes; apparently, my work gave her insight into how to modify medical nanites to be better tools for treatment. Given her enthusiasm in meeting me, one would think that I was some sort of celebrity. And while I was flattered, I admit that it felt rather awkward to be the target of such adornment. Most people in my line of work don't expect to be treated as distinguished guests simply because of their research. At least, I certainly don't. 

Doctor Lazarus provided me with some interesting insight into her species. I'm looking forward to running a few socio-economic forecasts to see what they tell me, given the new data I have. The most fascinating topic, however, was a death ritual she mentioned. Apparently, when one of her kind dies, they remove the person's brain and telepathically extract all of their knowledge and memories for others in their telepathic collective mind to draw upon. It's very reminiscent of the Borg themselves, who apparently have attempted to assimilate her kind in the past, according to the Doctor. While she believes that the Borg were only interested in their Dilithium resources, I suspect that the Borg actually have an interest in this telepathic ability she mentioned. If I were to guess as to the Borg's intentions, they would likely investigate the possibility of adapting or replicating their telepathic hivemind as a backup to their own bio-mechanical collective. Borg drones communicate on subspace frequencies which, with the right tools and knowledge, could be disrupted. It would make sense to have a redundant system in place to prevent a total communications blackout.

Oh, I also need to scour the database we've accumulated on the Borg's collective knowledge and see if Doctor Lazarus' people are mentioned anywhere, both to test my hypothesis and to share with their Triumvirate, in case they want to know exactly how much the Borg were interested in them.

And I mustn't forget to discuss the Chief Petty Officer. Apparently he suffered an accident at age 15, and was forced to have a positronic brain take over for certain, damaged functions, including emotional response. When I tried to sense his presence with my empathy, I felt nothing. It was an interesting experiment, with two notable conclusions. While the Chief has a chip designed to simulate emotion, it actually projects no such psychic energy. This is something I'd always wondered about, since my experience around organics with positronic brains is obviously limited. But the other thing I learned from the experience is actually more of a personal revelation than professional: psychic essences aren't tied to being organic. We know, obviously, that emotions can't be sensed from artificial or synthetic life such as androids and holograms, or even from organic species such as the Ferengi. But this is the first time that I've met a human, or a member of any empathic-compatible species, who I couldn't sense. It's a very strange sensation; with my eyes, I could easily see him as the living, breathing person he was. But when my mind reached out to touch his, there was nothing. Sheer void, almost as if he existed on a dimension other than my own. 

Is this what other non-empathic species feel? Or rather, not feel? I often try to rein in my power to prevent it from interfering with my work, but even then I'm at least vaguely aware of the presence of others.

...I think it's time for me to re-evaluate whether my ability is the burden I made it out to be. If others only feel the void that I felt from the Chief, then perhaps I've carried a blessing all this time. 

[silverphoenix08]

Commander's Personal Log: Stardate 91631.4

As stated in Captain Sheridan's memo, the corpse of Lt. Junior Grade Sasha Monroe was discovered on deck 19 of the station. Commander T'Pau, the Captain and I were the ones to discover it. She has since been moved to the Medbay for an autopsy; I elected to investigate the Jeffries tube. However, I did make a few preliminary observations of the body before the medical team removed it. 

The Lt. had backed herself into the furthest corner of the tube, and her body was found in a huddled position. Generally speaking, this is a common stance for a body that has expired from starvation, severe and sudden abdominal injury, or died while experiencing profound fear. 

When the medical team removed the body, they noted a pierce wound on the Lt.'s back. I inspected the tube, but found nothing that matched the shape of the wound, indicating that she received the injury before entering the tube. As for the tube itself, I also found no signs of tampering or interaction with it on the Lt.'s behalf, and no evidence of an escape attempt. I suppose the Lt. saw the tube for what it was: her coffin. And while we know that the Lt. died under duress, we've yet to uncover proof that she was technically murdered; current evidence suggests a slow, natural death. Still, I've taken the liberty of examining the tube for microfractures or other points of entry that could've been used by, say, a gaseous lifeform. However, no microfractures were found in the tube. 

I'm returning to the tube later today to investigate the possibility or presence of interphasic organisms. My basis for doing so is strictly based on speculation, but if we can rule out the more "fringe" possibilities, then we can at least take comfort that the assailants in question are of a more conventional nature.