ON:

Location: Engineering

JYUTS: The shields have been completely disabled, all subsystems rerouted or deleted and all power access has been diverted to various tasks throughout the ship.

Location: Astrometrics

:: Koptuka has been having some luck with using the algorithms she's written to decipher some of the alien scrambled code, but it's been tough going. Her accomplishments so far: finding a pattern of prime numbers in series, and unscrambling some portions of the data that spell out "merge" ... "come together" ... "a part of us" and "brotherhood." ::

KOPTUKA: Computer... :: Computer beeps :: Using the algorithms currently in memory, amplify the decoding process. :: Computer beeps :: How long will decoding take?

COMPUTER: Insufficient data.

:: Koptuka growls in frustration and moves around her station and across the room to the replicator. ::

KOPTUKA: :: taking a moment to think of what she wants :: Greluglian tea.

:: As her tea materializes, Koptuka glances back at her station, wondering to herself how long the computer will take to decode with her algorithms. Just then, she notices a bright red spinning light emerging from the floor in the center of the room. ::

KOPTUKA: Koptuka to Security, intruder alert! :: No response; taps communicator :: Koptuka to Security, intruder alert! :: still no response ::

:: The strange red light hovers in mid air, then moves to Koptuka's station. Koptuka grabs a tricorder from a storage compartment in the wall, and she begins scanning. She tries to back out of the room as she scans, but the door's controls don't function. The light changes form to have a humanoid appearance but still glows as ever. Then, it speaks... ::

ALIEN: The other was unsuccessful, so they sent me. Everything will be better this time. :: smiles :: I will make you all understand.

KOPTUKA: :: still scanning, continually adjusting controls like mad :: If you wanted us to understand, why did you send data we couldn't understand? You obviously speak our language, why wasn't your message in our language?

ALIEN: We must evaluate prospects before joining. You have satisfied us.

KOPTUKA: Joining? Joining what? And what do you mean we've satisfied you?

ALIEN: Just that you are suitable candidates. Joining is what will happen to us, and to you.

KOPTUKA: Me? Why me?

ALIEN: No, it won't work with just you. We must have the ship and everyone on it. We must grow. That is how we grow. We are friendly.

KOPTUKA: Yeah, you bet. :: Makes one final adjustment to the tricorder and points it as a weapon. ::

:: Koptuka covers her eyes. When she _fires_ the tricorder, it emits a photon beam. The alien's essence is rendered helpless, existing as a fog on the floor of Astrometrics. Koptuka is finally able to exit, and she quickly moves to a nearby computer panel. ::

KOPTUKA: Computer, erect a level 10 force field around Astrometrics.

COMPUTER: Acknowledged.

KOPTUKA: Ensign Koptuka to Security. Intruder Alert in Astrometrics.

Ensign Beth Koptuka
Astrometrics Specialist
USS Excalibur NCC-2997