"I have access to resources you didn't in the field, and still wouldn't. There's another reason we have to keep trying. Your XO, Reyes, is being affected by it. Short flashes of purple in her eyes, physically shaking, and probably other things I don't know about yet, it's clear this stone is causing negative effects on you and your people, and I will find out how it's doing this. Under the circumstances, I cannot help you get back onto the Bay, not until we fully know how the stone has affected you." Nova's voice was full of regret. She's been doing her best to aid Hemlock and his crew since they arrived, but now she has to take a strict stance, seeing as the stone may be manipulating one or more of the crew members.
"I'm sorry Hemlock, but this is all I can do for now, aside from helping Reyes the best I can." She turned her attention to the XO. "How are you feeling? Do you have any pains, aches, or headaches? Strange feelings?" Nova also ordered the medical team to do a more indepth analysis of the crew, this time looking for signs of unusual behavior and uncommon injuries, aches, or illness.
"It's.. intermittent.. comes and goes... but I feel like there's another voice in my head.. it doesn't always speak English, either.."
She reached up and placed her hand on her head, closing her eyes for a few moments. "I.. think I hear Hispanian sometimes.. Rheinlandic at others.. It's just not right at all..."
Hemlock sat in waiting for a few moments, getting faint pickups of dialogue from Reyes on the other side. 'When was this..? She never said anything about this...'
"I'm going to have my medical team take a closer look and see if we can figure out a way to help, but we'll have to get on Juneau, the equipment here isn't exactly up to par anymore. Please." Nova's tone was clear, she wasn't going to force Reyes to come off the ship for examination, but she certainly would like for her to comply.
The lab team reported the current general unremarkableness of the stone to Nova, who insisted they keep examining, to look for any way it might be manipulating someone.
"Alright... but.." She seemed to have something else, but elected to keep it silent, instead pushing herself up and awaiting for Nova to proceed. "Let's just go.." "Do you have any aspirin.. by chance...?"
The stone itself would seem fairly unusual in it's appearance, although not in the usual sense. It was perfectly spherical, the only deformation being the strange symbol on the 'bottom'. It appeared to be a small triangle of sorts with a mass of tentacles emprinted onto the surface, the indents all emitting a strange purple glow. As they examined it, the stone would periodically speak to the operatives and individuals examining it, communicating to them in a number of different languages.
"Yea, I do. What was the first thing?" Nova started towards the door but ready to help Reyes move if need be, one of her operatives fetching the aspirin from the medical team along with a bottle of water. Nova started leading Reyes towards the station to get her the medical attention she needed.
The lab team reports the various voices and languages, alongside the details of the marking. This is reported to Nova, who deems this to be of Nomadic origin and placed under lock down.
"I don't even know anymore... I wanted to tell Matthew about all of this.. but I didn't know how to.."
As they proceeded along, she took a few of the pills of aspirin, waiting for the effect to kick in. "Thank you.. I'm just so lost here.. I don't know if he's going to snap.. or if I am.. or.."
The stone continued to not resist, but now seemed to begin singing tunes in a Hispanian dialect.
Meanwhile in the conference room of the ship Sader was walking arround the table smoking his cigarette and thinking. "Well now that the idiot is out of the way safely locked away. I only need to get the XO and chief engineer off the ship after that getting the rest of the crew will be easy. The marines will take care of them and then we can finally begin the search properly without being disturbed by the blody crew."
He grabbed his communicator. "Nova get both the XO and the Chief Engineer off the ship and escort them to their new quarters. Make sure they are guarded by at least 2 marines at all times. After that join me at the drydock."
Nova dispatched one of her operatives to get the Chief Engineer while she stayed with Reyes, guiding her to medical. "Actually Admiral, I'm taking the XO to medical for immediate attention, she needs it. One of my men will handle the Chief Engineer." Nova was concerned with what Sader's plans were, but followed his orders all the same, despite the detour for Reyes to be examined.
The Chief Engineer, listed in the records as a Chief Petty Officer Frederick von Goethe, was down in the deeper bowels of the ship's rather large engineering sector. The area of the ship itself, measuring from the far aft end to about a bit aft of the central amidships area, was rather messy, with scattered machinery and tools everywhere. In one of the offshot rooms in the central reactor area, von Goethe was wedged under a pipe, clearly trying to maintain the already battered ship. "Reyes.. That you again..? Can you tell Meyers I need the socket wrench again..?"
"Please.. I don't want to leave the ship.. Can't I just.. stay in medical here..?"
"Not Reyes. One of the NIS operatives. I have orders to escort you to your new quarters. Juneau's engineering teams will take over here." The operative stood there, patiently waiting for the man to come out from underneath the pipe.
"As well equipped as this ship used to be, it doesn't have the equipment to help you, not right now. Maybe I can fix that, but for now we have to get you onto Juneau and in for examination. The medical bay here won't be able to do what we can." Nova continued alongside the medical team she had called earlier, helping guide the XO to the stations medical wing.