Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
|
Post by Carl Torek on Aug 1, 2015 17:14:51 GMT
~ Mission 28 : Xallac ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Synopsis:After being cleared of all charges against them, along with time for the Raven to undergo an extensive refit, the crew are assigned to a new mission. Carl has little option but to inform Command of the evidence found at the Mojave dig by Professor Carter and his team, and dating back to 1985. Their subsequent detainment on the Raven was to allow Torek more time to investigate ...
oooOOOooo
Following a meeting with Command, he is ordered to release the Professor by the Section Admiral, and their mission is reallocated to another Star Ship. The Raven is instructed to continue the investigation of the Mojave Site with the Professor and his teams of Archaeologists ... Combing through the four hundred year old complex, until now buried beneath tons of desert sands, they seemed to be finding little ... Then, evidence is found to indicate two races, the Halanan, a shape-shifting race, and the little known Xallac, a warrior race, who have to have been at war with each other for centuries, have seemingly and inexplicably, formed an alliance.
As more of the main Mojave facility complex is uncovered, evidence shows that the Halanan and the Xallac could be about to attack the Federation and Earth itself. The Raven crew are immediately dispatched to the Xallac Systems, part of the Orion Arm and encompassing over one hundred thousand worlds, to investigate, while the Federation begin plans for the defense of the Sol System.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can the Raven find proof of the supposed imminent attack, and in the process discover 'why' Carl Torek was sent back in time over four hundred years without his knowledge ?
The reasons would become frighteningly apparent if the Mojave reveals its secret ! Regards and enjoy Carl Torek
|
|
Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
|
Post by Carl Torek on Aug 1, 2015 18:04:06 GMT
"Lieutenant. I will be 'absent' for the next twenty four, no, twelve hours, do you understand. No interruptions, no impromptu visits, I have guests at my home and intend to be there for a couple of hours at least."
"Aye ... Sir ...." the woman said to Torek's back as he walked away.oooOOOooo Arriving back home he could tell that almost everyone was waiting to hear what Star Fleet Command had said regarding their situation. If pushed, he thought that the majority of his own Command Staff might think they were being held on Earth from some misguided lack of trust, but that obviously wasn't the case. His concern would be when he revealed his instructions, because he doubted they were going to be happy at all ! Grabbing a drink he smiled confidently and kissed Chloe. Rather than mob their Commanding Officer, his crew waited patiently for him to work around to informing them what the Section Admiral and likely the Federation President herself had said ... Not one for making his Officer's wait, let alone the silent Chloe, he tapped the glass with a spoon and called for a little quiet. Harry Wedlerson appeared on the lawn and nodded to Torek before waiting to hear the impromptu briefing ... Chloe, knowing this was 'ships' business, went to sit on the side of the pool, feet dangling in the cool water as Bethan and Vanessa threw an inflatable ball back and forth .... oooOOOooo "Grab a drink Harry ...... OK everyone. Obviously you are all eager to hear what's happening, so here it is ....." he said, taking another drink before continuing, "I have been ordered to release Professor Carter and his team and transport them back to the site in the Mojave Desert. I have also asked Commander Wedlerson to beam down as you can see ... A quick outline, for those unaware, two scraps of notes have been found at the dig site by the Professor, both confirmed to be hand-written and dated four hundred plus years old." "Sir, I was unaware there was anything out there." Harry commented. "No, no-one did until we began to prepare the area for numerous building projects. They came across an abandoned facility, all of which is yet to be uncovered, it's there Professor Carter found the notes." "You said 'hand-written' Admiral ?" someone asked. "Yes ... Hand-written ........ By me, apparently, and before someone uses the drink as an excuse to ask the obvious question ..." he said, grinning, "... That too has been confirmed. The sections of either one or more notes were written by me some four hundred years ago. How this came about, we have no way of knowing. While at Star Fleet Command I visited one of our less frequented floors and underwent a 'very' thorough brain scan. Being half Vulcan, it was 'suggested' that I may be suppressing the memories of my visit to the past purposely for whatever reason, so ... I agreed to allow the Vulcan Ambassador to join with me in a mind meld. She too confirmed that I had no knowledge of the even, either hidden or otherwise." he finished, moving to the nearby bar and refreshing his drink, telling everyone to feel free to do likewise. "With respect Admiral." Calli said, intentionally making her query 'official' rather than familiar, "Does this mean we're not going to be assigned a mission ?" "Yes we are ...." Carl said, looking at his Staff, "Listen, we are not being punished for what happened, in fact Commendations will be forthcoming for our handling of the situation. We have been ordered to, assist, the Profes ......" he stopped speaking to allow the groans to subside. "Hold on everyone." Will said, asking for quiet to allow Torek to continue: "We have been assigned to assist the Professor and look into the dig site much more 'thoroughly' then the 'paint brush' brigade could." he said, hearing a few humorous jibes regarding Archaeology, "At this point, we can't leave Dock anyway, so we may as well do something to keep those idle hands busy ... I have told Carter that we will arrive at the dig site by zero eleven hundred hours tomorrow, that should give you lot time to sleep off the hangovers. So, for today, enjoy the rest of the barbecue and the drinks. Andae, if you and Will could check on the refit status before you get to the Mojave, so we at least have an idea when we can go if the need arises. Harry, you'll be in Command up there, see to it those groundhogs do their jobs, quickly .... OK, drinks are on me." he finished his speech and went over to the pool and sat beside Chloe. "Am I packing then ?" she asked quietly. "No, you're getting wet." he said, seeing the look of confusion as he replied, then the shock as he pushed her into the pool, much to the delight of his Children .......... ~ OOC ~ ~ OK everyone ... Mission 28 is underway ~ The first part, as you can see, is set on Earth itself, but I'm sure that we'll need to get back to our beloved Raven at some point Hope you enjoy our outing and please remember the posting guidelines They are there for everyone's benefit Regards Steve
|
|
Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
|
Post by Andae Blakus on Aug 3, 2015 0:37:07 GMT
"... Obviously you are all eager to hear what's happening, so here it is ....." he said, taking another drink before continuing, "I have been ordered to release Professor Carter and his team and transport them back to the site in the Mojave Desert..."
"I knew it," the CEO spun on his heels, gathering to him his engineers and informing them they'd at present have plenty of time to make the Raven spaceworthy - warp core refits etc., even though complete, required last minute checks - and there was also the damage sustained from their fight with Fleet Admiral Kinnard's allies to finish repairs of and the mending of the vandalism perpetrated by the Spacedock's maintenance staff.
Archaeology... It was hardly a worthwhile pursuit in an age when the Federation's focus was very much on the future, on advancement and progressive philosophy... etc. Yet the Raven had experience of archeologists before... The name that could escape no long-serving Raven officer's lips was that of Tahl El-Kamat, impostor archaeologist and political rebel who'd wished to conquer the galaxy - as far as Blakus had been able to tell... That'd been a long and arduous fight - chasing the Cordovin rebel across several sectors, finally to crush him - perhaps - at a planet where he'd kept a vast undergound complex, building a superweapon, the one the ancient civilisation - before modern Cordovin society arose - had created the first version of, a doomsday weapon that'd destroyed their interstellar culture.
He spotted Wedlerson and Park by his side, indicating the freshly prepared fluted champagne glasses before him, "More ice?"
* * *
Returning to his temporary residence near to the Admiral's - booked by Blakus for the duration of the barbeque, as he doubted his ability to return to his Starbase quarters in the inebriated state he'd suspected he'd find himself in at the party's conclusion - he found himself accompanied by a few stragglers.
He let them in into his sparse temporary abode - almost spartan in its layout and aesthetic - and talked sedately and tiredly about the events of the past few days, and the events to come in the following days regarding the investigations of Professor Carter's archaeological find in the Mojave Desert. They sat in the dully lit sitting room, the floor-length windows displaying a view over the Bay and its twinkling lights that seemed like an urban setting of stars - a galaxy, its churning stellar matter playing out some cosmic theatre among the walkways and thoroughfares of the old city of Earth over which some magic seemed to lay.
What he couldn't reconcile was - and it was little surprise - that Carl had apparently been sent back 400 years, to write a note which upon Carter's finding of it, would've influenced Carter to call the Admiral to the Mojave dig in the first place... which would mean Carl, to write those notes, may feel the need to somehow return to the 20th century, if only for preservation of the timeline. He seemed however, Blakus thought, with a measure of what he thought may have been foresight though he couldn't be sure, was that Torek was keeping the matter under wraps as much as possible, even to members of his own crew.
In the early morning soon after waking - a grey mist speckled with sun-reflecting silver glitter from buildings that dominated his view of Frisco Bay - he accessed his personal terminal. In short order he was patched through to Admiral Torek, "Carl," he nodded, "Head not too bad I hope."
Torek smiled, "I can't say the same for you, by the looks of it, Andae."
"I'm not sure how to take that," Blakus said, absent-mindedly straightening out his hair, "Anyway to important matters, when do we head to the Mojave Desert, sir?"
<Tag Carl, All>
|
|
Calli Valente
Starfleet Intelligence
"Don't get in my way."
Registered: Aug 4, 2010 21:19:10 GMT
Posts: 534
|
Post by Calli Valente on Aug 4, 2015 22:17:14 GMT
Observation Lounge ~ USS Raven-B ::
Calli sat listening to the scant information Admiral Torek had at hand .... When he had finished he opened the table:
"So we're being sent into the desert to 'assist' a bunch of soil-sifters." she said, raising a laugh from those present, but she held a hand up to continue, "OK, in all seriousness, I don't see how we can help with what they are already doing down there. Surely we should be on our original assignment and if need be called back if the situation warrants ?" Harry raised his hand to comment:
I took the liberty of patching into the bases' scanners ...." he said, rising and moving to the large view-screen, "This shows the area of land in the Mojave where the Professor is investigating his find ... As you can see, it covers almost four hundred square meters and is on several levels. Again, without the Raven's sensors we're limited unfortunately .... The area excavated so far is the upper north quadrant, presumably where the notes were found and likely the office or administration area of the site."
"Any chance we could drop the Raven behind the Star Base and use her equipment ?" Calli asked.
"No." Torek replyed.
"Then at this point I think we have little option but to go down there and conduct our own investigation." she said, shrugging.
"Let's get this straight." Carl said, looking at those around the table, "We are there to 'assist' the Professor, not go off on our own mini-mission ..... Right, Let's get ready for boots full of sand .... Oh, and just so there is no, misunderstanding, I want all the information found scanned and recorded before we hand anything over to the soil-sifters, as Commander Valente called them." everyone grinned at the comment and filed out of the room. Fifteen minutes later they materialized twenty meters from the main tent covering the semi-buried entrance ......
Dig Site ~ Mojave Desert ::
They walked into the large open-sided tent and looked for a clear area to set up. One of the Professor's team appeared and told them they could use the second tend as their base off to their right. The group filed in and began set-up of their equipment. Calli was looking at one of the data PADD's when an elderly gentleman climbed out of the buried complex and approached them. She had the distinct feeling she had met the man before, until she realized it was his attire she recognized from her history classes: The hat, the khaki cotton suit, brown highly polished brogues, that she had the distinct impression were made from the closest thing to real leather the twenty forth century had to offer. He was every fraction his namesake, Howard Carter, the discoverer of the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun. She wondered if they were distantly related, though the thought fell from her mind the second the man opened his mouth !
"There are 'ONLY' two rules, both of which you will adhere to completely while you are at my dig .... One: You will not, under 'ANY' circumstances copy, disturb, or remove any object, artifact or piece of information, regardless of whatever dubious relevance you feel it may have on you or the Admiral .... Two: You will follow the instructions of my personnel 'TO THE LETTER' at all times. Failure to do so will find you stood in the desert ... I do not expect you to like these instructions, nor do I care for your opinion on them, you will comply or I will have you removed .... Forcibly if necessary." Carter said, looking around the Star Fleet Officer's as if they were tourists.
"Good morning to you too, Professor." Calli said, a wry, mischievous grin on her face, "Has anyone ever told you that you look exac ......"
"Commander !" Carl said quietly, stemming her commentary, "We fully understand, and respect your need to preserve Seniority Professor Carter, but my Officers are used to working together without the need for someone looking over their shoulders. Furthermore, They will copy, disturb, 'AND' if necessary remove any and all items they feel relevant !"
The stand-off between Torek and Carter seemed to be reaching boiling point, Will stepped in to ask about extra data storage to break the apparent deadlock. After a few seconds, Carter turned to the furthest table, a three square meter affair, and activated it. The horizontal monitor showed a schematic of what rooms had been accessed and what corridors were still blocked by hundreds of years of sand and erosion. It was obvious to everyone that only a fraction of the original complex of rooms had been uncovered, Admiral Torek assigned teams quickly:
"Commander Jamison, Commander Marionette, you start working south east, bring in Personnel to remove or shore-up corridors if you need to. Commander Park, set up here and coordinate re who we require from the sh ......"
"NOOOOO !" Carter screamed, "I will 'NOT' allow dozens of people to trample through this find. You will work with whomever I assign to accompany you or you 'WILL LEAVE' is that understood."
"This is going to be a long day." Calli muttered under her breath, alas, there was nothing wrong with Carters' hearing, and he spun to face her:
"The Talellier Gems, currently housed in the Louvre in Paris, were in two rooms almost twenty meters below the surface ... It took us two months to reach them so as not to damage the crystal bases they were resting on. At the end we were sifting the sand by the spoon full !"
"You have seventy two hours Professor." Carl said tapping his Comm badge. Will held a finger to his lips as Carter was about to protest, silencing him instantly.
=^= Torek to Raven =^=
=^= Raven here Sir .. Commander Wedlerson =^=
=^= One to beam up .. .. .. Oh Harry .. Have twenty shovels .. .. Big ones .. .. Transported to this location once I'm aboard .. .. .. Energize =^= Calli watched him disappear from sight then turned to the Professor:
"Any particular direction you would rather us 'NOT' go in .... Professor ?" she asked, a wry grin on her face ..........
< tag : All >
|
|
Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
|
Post by Marionette on Aug 5, 2015 18:39:20 GMT
Marionette had, upon learning that they were going to be at the Mojave dig site, replicated an archeologist kit to beam down with; a shoebox-sized pouch-purse of of paint brushes (narrow to wide, and soft to stiff), hand-spade, a mesh wire strainer bowl, soft rubber grip tweezers and tongs, a dental pick set, and last but not least, afew sample jars and petri dishes.
"Commander Jamison, Commander Marionette, you start working south east, bring in Personnel to remove or shore-up corridors if you need to. Commander Park, set up here and coordinate re who we require from the sh ......"
"NOOOOO !" Carter screamed, "I will 'NOT' allow dozens of people to trample through this find. You will work with whomever I assign to accompany you or you 'WILL LEAVE' is that understood."
Marionette paused and looked back and forth as Torek and Carter jousted for control of the dig site, and then cocked an eyebrow as Valenti and Carter got into the verbal jousting.
"Any particular direction you would rather us 'NOT' go in .... Professor ?" Valenti asked, a grin on her face. Marionette walked over to where Jamison was and set off to the southeast, before more verbal jousting occurred.
=-=
Walking down the slope that led into the series of trenches and squared off holes at various depths, Marionette headed in a more or less south-east direction, before coming upon a tunnel entrance, with lanterns at regular intervals as the tunnel goes down. There were also several tunnel entrances which sloped downwards, leading to underground rooms and warrens.
|
|
Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
|
Post by Carl Torek on Aug 6, 2015 22:12:49 GMT
=^= Torek to Raven =^=
=^= Raven here Sir .. Commander Wedlerson =^=
=^= One to beam up .. .. .. Oh Harry .. Have twenty shovels .. .. Big ones .. .. Transported to this location once I'm aboard .. .. .. Energize =^=
USS Raven-B :: Space dock ...
"How is the refit progressing Harry ... More importantly, have all modifications to the outer hull been completed ?" he said as he stepped onto the Bridge.
"Yes Sir ... We still have approximately twenty four hours of work to be done then the inevitable 'clean-up' after these have left the ship." he said, motioning towards several Technicians from the Star Base, "Otherwise we should be ready for departure ahead of time."
"Good ... Inform the Dock Master that we will be leaving immediately." Carl said, heading for his ready room.
"Sir ?"
"Don't worry, all we're doing is moving the ship into a geostationary orbit 'outside' the Space Dock ... If the need to return arises then we will do so ..... Once you inform them I want the ship moved directly over the Mojave Desert, ideally as close to the dig site as possible. Once in position begin extensive scans of the facility buried there. I want to know where every room and closet is, send a detailed schematic to our team on the surface and search historical records for anyone who may have been connected with whatever they were doing down there."
Sat at his desk he asked the computer to pull up Professor Carters' records .....
The man was eminent in his field, and had been responsible for countless finds on several worlds, so why was he suddenly so interested in a site that in archaeological terms was moments old ..... The other thing that had been worrying him was the site itself. Given Earth's climate control, there was no way the facility should have been buried, let alone invisible from detection by orbital satellites, even twentieth century radar could distinguish between open ground and burried structures like walls and even doorways. So, either the place had been built below ground in the first, one hell of a feat given the hundreds of square miles of sand it was constructed on, or it was purposely buried once it had ceased to be of use. Given the ten percent so far unearthed, so to speak, he was inclined to go with the former explanation. He glanced towards the plexi-glass window to see they were moving away from the dock and rotating through one eighty degrees prior to passing through the massive space doors.
"Computer .. Begin checks of all perso ..... Disregard." he said, knowing he could check the Professor's team easily through the University. Leaving his ready room he stepped onto the Bridge, Harry got out of the Command seat as he approached, "I assume the Dock Master wasn't too happy with our request ?"
"Hardly Sir." Wedlerson said, a wry grin on his face, "Approaching the position you requested Admiral."
"Geostationary orbit established." the Duty Navigation Officer informed them both.
"Let's take a look ..... Put the dig site on screen and magnify." Torek ordered, seeing the main tented area clearly, "Lieutenant Svensonn, begin scan's ... One kilometer radius, one hundred meters depth."
Slowly on the real time view of the site a tactical overlay began to appear. A scale showing depth was placed down one side of the screen and each passageway was color-coded in increments of ten meters. Carl sat forward in his seat as more and more of the hidden facility was revealed. The Science Officer adjusted the center of the circle as it began to expand in one direction, but the depth was constant at twenty two meters for the most part. Corridors seemed to stretch out on two axis, north - south east - west, hardly surprising given how major cities were planned years earlier.
The scan showed a facility of six hundred meter by seven hundred, on two levels, the upper at a depth of twenty two meters, the lower at forty meters ... But then the Science Officer frowned, adjusting the scans she identified three hundred and sixty shafts. All seemed to stem like the spokes of a wheel from a central shaft five meter in diameter and almost two hundred meters in depth, angled at negative five degrees, going deeper as they got further from the complex. In an effort to make 'tunnels' visible she shifted scan settings, but they seemed to come to dead ends one hundred meter from their supposed point of origin.
"Contact Commander Jamison. Tell him to get someone into those tunnels."
"Sir, there is no way we can get into them." Svensonn, the Science Officer said pointing at the color-coded layout, "As you can see, they were either filled in, or collapsed under their own weight. The main shaft is blocked right up to the lower level and I detect no voids below the lower level. Is it possible they simply 'gave up' on whatever they were doing and moved on ?"
He stood up, as if getting closer to the screen would give him more answered than sitting down, alas he was wrong.
"Why would they want to expand the site in such a manner ?" he mused, "Send this information to the away team please." ..........
|
|
Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
|
Post by Andae Blakus on Aug 8, 2015 4:01:22 GMT
He descended into the dig site, after picking up equipment from the tent reserved for them near to Carter's precious main tent of operations. His hair was already dry, crackly, in the slight breeze; sand encrusted his follicles. He perused the tools in his satchel, toothpicks, chisels and the like, all well-worn wood and metal. He looked at the equipment in disdain, "What kind of barbaric age...?"
If any of these passages had intersections, or doors that could be electrically powered, he could hotwire the circuitry and gain access immediately. It was plausible actually, that he could regenerate dead power cells, for surely, the base having been constructed in the late 20th century would've had ample access to electricity to incorporate into its design, if he remembered his history lessons on scientific development of electricity right.
However, the vast quantities of sand and eroded dislodged rock that may have once formed part of walls, partitions and the like, made it impossible - as he was rapidly discovering, exploring the levels around the south-west quadrant - to find a way to access those depleted power grids. If he could, he would have the equipment beamed down immediately, much to Professor Carter's chagrin he was sure.
After a fruitless attempt to access the tunnels and the incredibly narrow in places shafts that led down one or more levels (with fortunately still-intact steel ladders to allow ingress), he headed back up to the area where the dig began, near to the tents, and found Commander Park.
Park looked up as he approached, the CTSO looking over a PADD, "Any luck?"
"Not in my assigned quadrant. How about you?"
"Still waiting on Commander Jamison and Commander Marionette's report. They've been gone for three hours," Park replied.
Blakus wiped the sweat from his face: the dark claustrophobic - though he didn't actually suffer from that - tunnels with their lengthy winding passages and occasionally deep shafts, though extending no more than twenty metres in most cases, had taken a lot out of him. "Well, they're in the south-east quadrant, farthest from us... We can contact them if they take much longer."
He was back in the tunnels again, a gloomy passage ahead - lights seemed to flash to his right; he spun his circular high-beam lamp up to it, and saw a tall wall of sandstone that extended up several levels, its surface had been cut into to form cubic gaps in the walls. Recesses for timbers that once formed several floors above him? He didn't think so; he peered closer at the small black recesses in the walls, his palm flashlight glinting off several highly reflective objects in each cubic hole. He found a handhold and climbed up three metres to the closest hole, withdrew the artefact inside: a faded gold ornament, a jar even it seemed. He tentatively pulled the lid off the jar, coughing as his breath disturbed whatever it was that lay inside. A dusty substance rose from the jar, seeming like the results of something combustible... ash!
"Eurghh!" he recoiled, dropping the object in the same instant and hearing it smash on the floor. Cursing quietly, he lowered himself back to the surface of the passage. The ornament was broken into pieces, its ash spilled out. No ornament though, it was an urn! Carter would be delighted Blakus was sure to hear he'd ruined a find. He cast his gaze up at the wall, all the urns glinting in the light. This was some columbarium. People long deceased, from the year 1984.
At the end of the passage - the choking dust down here he soon found would permit him to go no further - he found a curious inscription on the wall, next to, what was presumably, a door into another compartment. He grunted; a tricorder would help here. An inscription... This was plain Roman lettering... it read 'Vomo'. The name took on instant significance: Vomo, his alter ego when the Raven had been imprisoned on a planet and brainwashed with new identities.
Who would leave such a message, unless they'd also been on that assignment. One Admiral Torek, or one Commander Jamison? A message left here in 1984, to be picked up by the Raven crew in 2401?
<Tag Torek, Jamison, All>
|
|
Deleted
Registered: Apr 25, 2024 21:42:45 GMT
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2015 23:52:50 GMT
Deep in the South East quadrant, Will had lost count of how many tunnels he and Marionette had walked. Each tunnel they entered went deeper underground then the previous ones and that effected the scanners. It got to a point where they could only read about one hundred meters ahead of them. The scanner would show the one hundred meters and they would continue going deeper in until the scanner finally showed a dead end. So far, every tunnel they had entered ended at approximately five hundred meters. Will suspected the whole section was like this and considered skipping a few but he knew that that one tunnel they decided to skip would be the one so they went into each and every one of them. It also made him wonder why they had just stopped digging or searching in this area. He figured it had something to do with not finding anything. these just seemed like dust filled, empty caverns. There were no doors. They detected no hatches or secret compartments any where. Will figured the only thing they would come out of these tunnels with would be hair and lungs full of dust. His tricorder fritz and he looked up at his companion.
"You still getting anything, Commander?" he asked.
<Tag: Marionette>
|
|
Calli Valente
Starfleet Intelligence
"Don't get in my way."
Registered: Aug 4, 2010 21:19:10 GMT
Posts: 534
|
Post by Calli Valente on Aug 9, 2015 13:02:58 GMT
following her little tête-à-tête with Professor Carter, she joined two of his team and began heading towards her assigned section ... The Facility, almost one kilometer square had obviously been abandoned in something of a hurry ... Old equipment, or rather, twentieth century equipment, was laying dust-covered in each room they entered. They had been informed by Admiral Torek that the Raven was now in geostationary orbit above them, much to the annoyance of Carter, who seemed to think his 'prize' was being taken from him by the very people he was trying to keep out of his excavation ! ~~~~~~~~~~After almost four hours of finding absolutely nothing, they entered what seemed to be a secondary control room, maybe their equivalent of a 'Battle Bridge' ....... Equipment here had been covered with tarpaulin, ensuring it wasn't damaged by time or the dust-filled atmosphere. Lifting one sheet after another, she scanned the consoles in turn, she would let the people on the Raven decipher just what they actually did. "Commander, maybe you should take a look at this." one of the junior Archaeologists said, pointing at the far wall of the room. Walking over she studied the wall then turned to the young woman: "It's a wall." she said, knowing she was pointing out the blindingly obvious. But the woman moved closer running her fingers tentatively over a section. Dust and loose earth fell to the floor forming a small cloud at their feet as she moved back and forth. Calli suddenly saw what the woman was referring to: There, well hidden but obviously not well enough, was a vertical indentation in the wall. The woman nodded to her colleague who brandished a brush and began working a meter away at the same height. He too found an indentation ... Calli stood back, partly to allow the two to work unhindered, but also to hopefully not breathe in every particle of earth and dust that was falling away from their efforts. Two minutes later she was looking at the outline of what could only be a 'doorway' or access to a second room or chamber. The woman picked up her bag and began to leave: "Where are you going ?" Calli asked, causing the woman to turn to face the Star Fleet Officer. "I am going to get the Professor, he will want to be here if we can open that." she said, motioning towards the wall. "No ...... We can inform the Professor once we have ascertained there is something to tell him." Calli said, making sure her tone defined her statement as more order than suggestion. "But ! ....." the woman said, looking at her colleague for support. Without replying Calli tapped her comm Badge: =^= Valente to Raven =^= =^= Raven .. Commander Wedlerson =^= =^= Commander .. can you get a lock on my position and scan the area five meters around me ? =^= =^= One moment .. .. .. You appear to be in a room off a corridor .. There is on room to your West and a further one to the South directly opposite your location =^= So one to her left as she stood looking at the back wall, and one directly behind her, which they had already explored ... She frowned, eyeing the two Archaeologists before continuing with caution, after all, these people were not Star Fleet. =^= Harry .. Are you seeing anything to my North ? =^= she asked. =^= Solid rock .. .. .. I could expand the scan radius if you wish =^= =^= No .. Thank you Commander .. Valente out =^= she tapped her Comm badge to close the connection and stepped up to the wall for a closer look. "Maybe they were planning on expanding but gave up ?" the woman said, shrugging. But Calli wasn't convinced, despite the Raven's assertions there was nothing beyond the wall, she was still unconvinced. Taking one of the tools at her feet she tentatively pushed it into the indentation moving it downwards for the length of the gap, she tried this along the top and down the other side before stepping back looking at the trowel-type tool. It had gone in almost to the handle, so fifteen centimeters, there 'was' a door here, she had no doubt, but her worry was 'WHY' the Raven had not seen it ! With the reluctant help of the two Archaeologist's they cleared the 'doorway' and the ground in front. Calli had checked either side of the door half-expecting there to be an activation pad allowing the door to open. 'Wishful thinking Calli' she thought, almost disappointed, but then the woman gasped as the door moved inwards. Only a fraction, but it 'HAD' moved ... Once again Calli stood back, allowing them space to work and within minutes they had cleared everything away and the door was free to swing away from them. She looked at the Star Fleet Officer who could do nothing but nod, wishing she was wearing a weapon. The room was in complete darkness and one of her companions lifted a portable light off the floor and handed it to Calli ... The room contained two desks, facing each other, several cabinets, and numerous aged star charts on the walls. Calli looked at the circled stars and the chart pinned next to it: Signal One | :: | Orion Nebula | :: | 1,320 LY | Signal Two | :: | Alpha Centauri | :: | 4.22 LY | Signal Three | :: | MARS ! | :: | 140 Million MILES |
|
|
|
|
|
"Who are the Xallac and the Halanan ?" the male asked, holding up several pieces of paper. Calli could see it looked much like an aged timetable. She took the papers. "OK ..... I need you to leave now." Calli said quickly ushering the complaining Archaeologist's out of the room, "This area is off limits until cleared by Star Fleet Command." Tapping her Comm badge again she contacted Admiral Torek on the Raven: =^= Sir .. You need to come down here .. I have found what appears to be a schedule .. It clearly states movements from two races The Xallac and the Halanan =^= =^= They have been at war with each other for hundreds of years .. Why would they be associated on the same literature ? .. .. I will be right down .. Have our team converge on your location .. Torek out =^= She looked at the papers, clearly showing communications between them and someone on Earth, but how could that be almost four hundred years previous she mused. The main worry was the signatory on the documents ... Carl Torek. Director .......... < tag : ALL >
|
|
Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
|
Post by Marionette on Aug 9, 2015 17:33:06 GMT
Deep in the South East quadrant, Marionette was keeping track of exactly how many tunnels and rooms they were wandering through, as they ventured deeper and deeper underground. With each level they went underground, the tricorders became less and less reliable. Still, Marionette mapped out the tunnels and warrens in her head with exacting precision. Unfortunately, most of the rooms were either dead ends, or were of little significance.
"You still getting anything, Commander?" he asked.
"Negative, although i have precisely mapped out the various rooms and tunnels which they have excavated. Perhaps another pair of the Raven crew will have more progress in a different area." she said, absentmindedly poking at her tricorder again, before it sputtered out completely.... Followed by Jamison's tricorder also flickering and dying out.
She folded the dead tricorder and put it in its pouch. "We should return to the surface, and report our lack of findings." she said, a hint of almost nearly annoyed in her voice. Marionette, having mapped out the maze-like warren's, led the way. Eleven minutes and 38 seconds later, they were out from underground, and on their way back to the camp, no doubt occupied by the ever irascible Dr Carter....
|
|
Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
|
Post by Andae Blakus on Aug 11, 2015 23:50:03 GMT
It couldn't be a coincidence. 'Vomo', the name, the alter ego, the transplanted personality, had been with him in a sense ever since the mission to that seemingly paradisiacal planet 6, 7 years ago. Granted it was a short name, hence greater theoretical possibility of other meanings but what else could the inscription really mean, engraved with some care - with the hope perhaps that it wouldn't be eroded by time - into the wall next to the likely immovable granite door. It did make him wonder what he'd find on the other side.
He walked back over to the fallen urn, careful not too disturb the ash any more than he'd already done so. Fishing in his equipment belt satchel, he produced a portable pattern enhancer whose three legs he extended and positioned over the smashed urn. "Raven, this is Blakus. Lock onto the enhancer signal near my location and energise. Have the object taken to the science lab and subjected to a detailed forensic study. I want to know about fingerprints, any residual DNA..."
"Copy that, sir," Wedlerson replied, "What is it?"
"Possible human remains. Report back to me and the rest of the team when completed. Blakus out." It was unlikely that there was any DNA left; cremation combusted the organic remains, and usually very thoroughly. Still it was worth the check, and it also served to remove the incriminating evidence of a ruined archaeological find - he imagined Carter wouldn't be too happy to see the results of Blakus's meddling.
He made his way back out of the underground complex, calling the good archaeologist down to his discovery. Carter stood agape at the columbarium chamber's entrance, "I can't believe we never found this place!" He descended into the chamber, his flashlight playing off the surfaces with an excitement seemingly all of its own.
"It seems not all the rooms down here were buried; some were sealed off. That's when a tricorder with the ability to map, and a large shovel come in handy, Professor."
Carter glared at Blakus momentarily before turning back to take in in wonder the stacks of glittering urns, arranged in neat inset rectangles and seeming to peer down at the scientist with eyes of their own. "The eyes of the dead," Carter whispered.
"What?" Blakus moved out of the way of other archaeologists, geologists filtering into the chamber to start whatever they started doing when they discovered something noteworthy.
"The letter, the manuscript makes sense, the eyes of the dead. Look!" Carter pointed at the rows of urns, "My palm light reflects off the top surfaces and gives the impression of an eye - slit of white with a black centre - in each one, following me wherever I go." He walked back and forth, looking rather foolish.
"What else did the manuscript say?" Blakus asked, coming to stand next to the good professor.
Carter's gaze was transfixed on the eyes, "That hell will erupt upon the world, descending in torrents of fire..."
Blakus rolled his eyes. "Right, well besides many other things hell cannot come from above, if we're wanting to be literarily exact. Who wrote this and where did you find it?"
"It was unsigned, contrary to most of the documents we've found. It was in a storage cupboard, in a sort of archive room unearthed in one of the first excavations... One of the last paper entries on file." Carter seemed preoccupied for a moment, eyes leaving the rows of staring urns at last, "Right, I've got to get back up to HQ. Organise a proper study of this place to overcome the mindless tinkering and toying you've doubtlessly been doing, Commander. Everybody. With me." Carter led his team to the exit of the chamber, Blakus waiting til they were out of hearing range before looking at the far wall and the heavy door. He made up his mind, withdrew his phaser and walked towards the door.
|
|
Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
|
Post by Carl Torek on Aug 13, 2015 21:54:31 GMT
His return to the surface was unavoidably delayed as he needed to contact Star Fleet Command regarding the possible inclusion of the Xallac and the Halanan ... Arriving at the dig site he walked straight to the main tent where they had all met with the Professor and his team, but several of his Officer's, and the Professor were still missing. He tapped his Comm badge and contacted the ship:
=^= Raven .. Torek .. Please scan the area around me and lock on to all Star Fleet Personnel =^=
=^= Admiral .. I am only registering Commander Blakus and Commander Valente not with you .. Is that correct ? =^=
=^= Yes .. Can you get a position and lock on Professor Carter ? =^=
=^= Got him Sir =^=
=^= Transport them to this location =^= he said, about to close the Comm when the Transporter Chief continued.
=^= Admiral .. I am detecting weapons fire from Commander Blakus .. He is alone and there is no return fire .. Do you still want him transported to your location ? =^=
=^= Yes Chief .. Neutralize his phaser first though .. I'd hate him to hit any of us by mistake =^= he closed the comm and waited. Carter appeared first, immediately plunging into a diatribe regarding his position ... Calli and Andae appeared simultaneously, Blakus releasing the trigger of his now deactivated phaser as he materialized. He shrugged as he replaced the weapon on his belt and headed for Torek.
"There was a door ..... I didn't have the key." he said by way of explanation.
"We'll get to it Andae." Torek said, getting everyone's attention, "OK .... Some 'information' has come to light regarding the 'owners' of this place .... Unfortunately, along with good ol'e Americans, it is very possible, despite the current lack of hard evidence, that there were a couple 'visitors' along for the ride. What they were doing on Earth has yet to be ascertained, but one thing is certain, there weren't here site-seeing !"
"Anyone we know ?" Wedlerson asked.
"Yes, but at this point that information is confidential ... Command has assigned the Raven to investigate this information further, so we'll be leaving orbit. I'll be briefing you fully before departure .....2 he looked at Carter, who had been trying to get his attention for the last ninety seconds, "Professor, I must inform you that this site will be off limits to 'ALL' non Star Fleet Personnel from the conclusion of this meeting, and before you complain, this has come directly from the Presidents Office and has been signed-off by her personally ... Don't worry, you'll get your site back in due course, and it would be appreciated if you could remain on-site under observation of course, to assist Star Fleet in their investigation ... If you prefer to leave then I am sure one of your, Students, will be more than willing to assist."
"I will take this to the Federa ......" Carter began, jumping out of his seat in complete frustration, but Carl nodded at someone out of sight to the rest of the meeting and Carter found himself between two large Security Officers, neither of which had any respect for uncooperative people. Stopping short of physically lifting the elderly man off his feet, they escorted him out of the tent. Carl watched him leave then continued:
"Commander Peers, you will remain here in charge of Security. I am sure Colonel Burwell can look after your department for a short time. Professor Carter is to have no more access to this site, is that fully understood ?"
"Aye Sir." Peers said, turning to leave and set up his teams.
"OK Harry, find Carters' Deputy and ask her if she is willing to help us, if she isn't then hand her off to Commander Peers, then get back to the ship. We depart for the Xallac System in six hours. Andae, get back to the ship and make sure we're good to go ... I'll be back on board in an hour, that is all Gentlemen."
As the meeting broke up he contacted the ship and ordered a site to site transport.
Moments later he was on his lawn and walking into the house. He was going to tell Chloe and the girls that they were staying here for this outing ..........
< tag : Andae / ALL >
|
|
Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
|
Post by Andae Blakus on Aug 14, 2015 20:44:33 GMT
OOC: Backposting slightly
Unbeknownst and later on undisclosed to the Raven crew - for Andae thought there was some special significance in this find; enough to conceal it from his fellow staff for the time being - he had managed to open enough of the apparently immovable door with a short phaser blast along its well-concealed frame.
Thankfully the room wasn't what he'd suspected it might be. A small device lay at the far end of the table that was at the room's centre; the space itself was otherwise bare. He toyed about with the mechanism, opening it up and finding a primitive recording mechanism: lines of tape coiling around wheels, interspersed with wires connected at one end to a small antiquated circuit board and at the other to a device that also held a plastic box in which two rolls of the tape were wound round two of the wheels. How quaint, he thought, Very singular!
Fascinated, he located what he thought was the playback button, compressed it into place awkwardly and a faint buzzing emanated from the device, soon interrupted by recordings of voices, of terrible sound quality. Intermittent ghosts amidst an awful wash of static - barely discernible.
Andae turned, in what he felt as a sudden sense of creeping horror, to see the chamber close shut behind him, clothing him in darkness. Without hesitation he raised his phaser - on full power - and attempted to obliterate the door. Then half in frustration, yet half in relief, the cerulean wash of a transporter whisked him from the scene.
OOC: Up to date
He found himself before the Raven's senior staff near the first excavations before the tents: the Admiral, the first officer, Commanders Park and Marionette. Also with him was Calli, the difference being Andae was brandishing a phaser whose discharge he immediately deduced had been nullified during transport. Carter was also there; red faced in fury and contempt.
Andae took the enraged man aside, consoling him with a hand around the archaeologist's tense shoulders which shrunk from him.
"This manuscript by the anonymous author," Andae began as they strode to the HQ tent of the excavation site, "I want to see it, Professor. You said it was one of the last of the complex's log entries, fire raining from the heavens... or hell... etc?"
Carter gave him a sharp look from his position the other side of the PADD and book-laden table, "Commander, there's only the original and may I say, an inferior copy... I'll be keeping the original of course." He stopped his ragged pacing and stared again at the CEO, "If I give you the copied manuscript/letter I have a feeling this could all end far worse than it would seem to have done here in 2401 -"
"Why do say that?" Blakus asked bemused.
They heard from outside the tent, "... We depart for the Xallac System in six hours. Andae, get back to the ship and make sure we're good to go ... I'll be back on board in an hour, that is all Gentlemen," Carl finished by addressing the away team as a whole.
Within the tent, Blakus presented his palm, "The manuscript's copy, Professor." Carter handed it over reluctantly; Andae added, "Perhaps you can make sense of the device I found beyond that far wall in the columbarium..." Not at first understanding, Carter looked up, pearls of astonishment touching his eyes as he experienced the revelation.
"Aye, sir," Andae saluted to Carl upon exiting the HQ tent and being once more subject to the harsh grit sand-filled air that'd battered his uniform and dried his hair to a crisp. He grinned at his old friend and colleague, "See you on the flip side. Raven, one to beam up." Milyanov, Taylor, hopefully Emily Mouring would've made it back aboard by now.
Some reason however he suspected he would be helping Wedlerson shoo the last of the troglodyte maintenance techs from the ship.
<Tag All>
|
|
Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
|
Post by Carl Torek on Aug 16, 2015 0:11:08 GMT
"But why leave us here ?" Chloe asked quietly, not wanting to upset the children who were still splashing around in the pool despite the mid-evening coolness. "We're going into what we know to be a war zone, and before you tell me we've been in them before, this is unlike anything even the Raven has approached. The two races in question have been at war for hundreds of years Chloe .... Thousands of inhabited worlds on both sides have been laid waste, radiation ensuring no life could survive there ever again .... The death toll is in the countless 'billions' and anyone even straying into the Orion Arm are treated as enemies of 'both' sides and are swept aside without mercy." "But didn't you say they had seemingly formed some sort of alliance ?" she asked, not letting the subject close. "We have no proof of that." he said, being patient with her knowing she was worried, "It's going to take almost two weeks to reach their region and we could be walking right into their war for all I know ..... Please, I wouldn't ask you to remain on Earth if I didn't think it necessary, you know that. Get them out of the pool and we'll have a talk before I go up to the ship." he said, leaning over to kiss her tenderly before getting out of the lounger and heading into the house. Moments later his Family followed, sitting patiently for him to speak ...... USS Raven-B :: Earth Orbit ::Stepping onto the Bridge he took his seat ... "Commander Wedlerson, contact Command and inform them we will be leaving orbit immediately, Navigator ... Set course for the Orion System. Speed trans-warp five then stand by." "Course and speed laid-in Captain." Marionette confirmed. Carl turned to Commander Blakus. "I hope your engines are up to the trip Andae, I'd hate to have to ask for a tow at some point. All Departments Heads note, we are going to have plenty of time to ensure the ship is operating at better than peak efficiency before we reach our destination, so the very 'LAST' thing I will want to hear is that something wasn't fixed before we left Earth. Double check and triple check now, because we won't be turning around once underway." he sat back and let his Senior Staff do their thing, within three minutes all departments had reported they were ready .... "Sir, Command confirms our departure orders." Harry said. Carl looked around the Bridge then at the large view-screen, the blue green jewel of Earth resplendent below them. "Let's go." Torek said ...... oooooOOOOOOooooo Thirteen days later :: "All stop." Carl ordered. The Raven had traveled over thirteen hundred light years at high warp. Understandably, Commander Blakus needed time to make 'running repairs' and change umpteen systems and hardware during their journey, but now he needed to replace the practically worn out warp core with the replacement they had brought with them. Naturally, Carl was eager to enter the region of the Orion Belt which held the countless worlds of the Xallac and the Halanan, but he also knew he needed to cede to his Chief Engineer in some matters ... Finding a gas nebula approximately three light years from their destination he ordered the ship inside and all but essential power systems shut down for the duration ... The replacement of the warp core and associated sub-systems would take two days, in the mean time the crew would be busy preparing. With colonel Burwell in charge of both the Marine contingent 'and' the ships Security Officers, he needed to ensure protocols were fully understood by both parties. Other's had their tasks too ..... Managing to grab a moment with Commander Blakus, Carl asked if it was possible he could spare someone to assist Commander Marionette in making some minor adjustments to a long-range probe: "What did you have in mind ?" Andae asked, turning to bark orders at two Junior Engineers before looking back at Torek. "I want to modify one of the Class Five medium range recon probes to send into the System for a look-see, it has a range of three point two six 'LY' so approximately one Parsec, we should be able to get an idea of, well, anything, from it's readings ...... I know it's risky, but our own long-range sensors are getting nothing while we're stuck in here. I'd like at least something to go on before we drop into the lions den." "We can't cloak it." Andae began, but again spun to bark a stream of orders to several people before turning back to his Commanding Officer, "I'll get someone on it Admiral." he said, striding away without waiting to be dismissed. < tag : Andae >Nodding in appreciation of what his Chief Engineer had on his hands, Carl left him to it and went to his quarters. He, like everyone else was badly in need of some rest if they were to be ready for whatever faced them once they left the nebula. "You look shattered." Chloe said as he entered, Bethan and Vanessa waved then went back to the virtual reality game they were playing in the living area, "Go take a shower and I'll fix you a drink." she said, pushing him toward the bedroom before going to the cabinet ... Drink in hand she headed for the bedroom, stopping in the doorway as the sight of Carl, spread-eagle on the bed, one boot off, one on, was dead to the world. Dimming the room lighting she closed the door and went to sit with the girls. "No point in wasting this." she said, shrugging to herself as she raised the glass as if in a toast .......... < tag : All >
|
|
Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
|
Post by Andae Blakus on Aug 17, 2015 9:52:04 GMT
The thirteen days spent getting out to the star systems around the Orion Belt had been some of the most arduous of Andae's career thus far. The esteemed maintenance techs from Earth Spacedock had made it clear to him that they didn't have the time, nor the experience of the current state of the Raven's warp drive system to carry out the replacement themselves. Therefore they'd hauled a near-depleted warp core out to the Belt; during transit replacing the core with the new one maintenance had unceremoniously dropped in cargo bay 2.
"I'll get someone on it, Admiral," Andae considered pulling Tinsley away from the AMRIs to assist the gynoid in prepping the modified recon probe, however Milyanov might be the bettter choice as he was overseeing repairs and improvements to the thruster assemblies/impulse drive - which were secondary in priority at the moment.
In engineering, he kept half an eye on the in progress replacement of the core - the machinery having had to be assembled from composite components which were lowered one by one into the warp 'column' that intersected several decks, to be joined up at various points along its length from adjoining maintenance junctions.
The new dilithium chamber itself was being manoeuvred in on a repulsor gurney, the crews being careful not to destabilise its centre of mass on the gurney lest it topple over and shatter the crystal matrix inside.
"Lieutenant Milyanov, Blakus... Assist Commander Marionette in torpedo bay 1 with modification of a class 5 probe for launching into the nearby system. We'll see how long it lasts... It's possible, if the Xallac and Halanan have made peace, that the same rules that applied to their war before are now nullified... So, for example, they might not be inclined to destroy a third party's property so readily. Remember, these races have experienced centuries of hatred and bloodlust. If they've made peace between themselves, perhaps they're willing to listen to similar pleas from the galaxy at large."
<Tag Marionette (feel free to use Milyanov as you like)>
Orion's Belt, Andae thought, taking a moment's respite in his office, four or five systems that formed part of the Orion Arm itself and were - it was thought - home to colonies of the Xallac Empire. The Xallac - always a warlike race; renowned for it before their age-old conflict with the shapeshifting Halanan had begun, according to interstellar legend - occupied thousands of systems in the Orion Arm, making them one of the most powerful races in the Alpha Quadrant but which lay outside the Federation's reach and sphere of influence, as well as the Romulans' and the Klingons'.
He opened a desk drawer and picked out the paper log entry given to him by Professor Carter - he'd kept it close at hand since departing Spacedock nearly two weeks ago - and surveyed the mock four centuries old parchment before him, spreading its curved corners flat on the desk. It almost seemed to be written in a form of poetic verse, "Hell will erupt upon the world, descending in torrents of fire... Hell will erupt upon the world, 360 fire-gold pinpricks... Like spokes on a wheel separated by 1 degree, newborn volcanoes emerging from the Earth."
That was only part of it. Carter had been right: it was an inferior copy of the original, even though he'd done his best to make it look authentically ancient. Parts of it were unintelligible, and as for the signatory, indeed, there was none. What had these people living in late 20th century Earth been talking about? They seemed to have been writing their own future, carving out a deep shaft and tunnelling out 360 'spokes' about 100m long, fitting with the log entry. Were they some strange cult, having purpose built a large complex in the Mojave Desert? And why had the Raven officers in particular been summoned to the dig site, after initially - Andae had theorised - being kept away from it and diverted to that barbeque (that seemed a lifetime distant now)?
A crash from main engineering had him scrambling towards the core section. "What's going on?" he shrieked.
"The core won't connect to the constrictors!" Taylor shouted back, "We nearly lost it down the side of the chasm."
|
|
Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
|
Post by Andae Blakus on Aug 18, 2015 15:16:53 GMT
Seeing that his staff had stabilised the warp core in main engineering - the new core descending into place on the lower part of the magnetic constrictors as it should - Andae decided to head to the bridge. The atmosphere aboard the ship was subdued, the crew lying in wait for the results from the probe soon to be sent and apprehensive about what might be discovered in the Xallac system, 3 lightyears from the Raven's location deep within the magenta-hued nebula.
Here they were on the edge of a system that'd presumably, until recently, been a warzone, a region of strategic importance to both factions. Now with the seeming peace, they weren't sure what might be found: the two races in coexistence in the system; an uneasy truce; or a ruse, that the Xallac and Halanan - age old and powerful enemies - were indeed still that, enemies, and the Raven and any probe or shuttle it sent into the system would be annihilated in accordance with the rules of engagement the Xallac and Halanan had set down since the start of their conflict?
He arrived on the bridge, seeing on the viewscreen the electrical energy arcing between energetic hotspots in the nebula's matter. Descending to the command area, he noticed Jamison sitting in the command chair, "Ah, Will, the Admiral's off duty... I should remember the duty roster..."
The XO smiled, "Is there something I can help you with, Andae? Any issues with the warp core installation?"
"No... It should be all sorted. Excuse me, sir." He walked to the rear of the bridge, accessing the engineering station, "Computer, transfer engineering to bridge." But just in case, he thought. After a short, heated conversation with Lieutenant Taylor, he found that after all engineering had the situation well-in-hand. "Update me in case of any changes. Blakus out."
"Commander... detecting an anomaly in the nebula, bearing 76 mark 4, 192 mark 09," tactical reported tentatively, "It's fixed in place, sir, could just be another localisation of exotic nebula matter."
"More concrete evidence first, Ensign, then you may speculate," Jamison responded shortly.
"It is a ship!" tactical said, as if he'd known this all along. "Approximately 150m in length, and 800m across its beam! It's moving... Extrapolating a course it appears to be moving on a highly elliptical trajectory in and out of the nebula... I would suggest, it's engaged in a recon operation, guarding entry to the system."
"Yellow alert. Admiral Torek to the bridge. There's no proof it comes from within the system, Ensign," Will denied.
"Beg your pardon, sir, but I think there might be proof," Andae replied. He'd been working furiously at his station since first hearing the news. "That extraordinary ship design is common to only a handful of races we know about... the Son'a, the Beronians, and - on the evidence gathered by long-range listening posts - the Xallac Empire. Either it's a routine recon, or they have suspicions someone is here, or... they're expecting someone..."
<Tag Torek, Jamison, All>
|
|
Deleted
Registered: Apr 25, 2024 21:42:45 GMT
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2015 1:38:33 GMT
"Yellow alert. Admiral Torek to the bridge. There's no proof it comes from within the system, Ensign," Will denied.
"Beg your pardon, sir, but I think there might be proof," Andae replied. He'd been working furiously at his station since first hearing the news. "That extraordinary ship design is common to only a handful of races we know about... the Son'a, the Beronians, and - on the evidence gathered by long-range listening posts - the Xallac Empire. Either it's a routine recon, or they have suspicions someone is here, or... they're expecting someone..."
"Let's hope it's the first one." Will said as he stood and walked toward the view screen.
"Do have a visual, yet?" he asked.
"No, Sir. The Nebula is having a small effect on the sensors." came a reply.
"Andae? Anything you can do about that?" Will inquired.
OOC: Apologies for the late and short post. Still getting use to the 10 hr/6 days work week. I'll be back on point soon.
|
|
Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
|
Post by Carl Torek on Aug 21, 2015 18:56:41 GMT
OOC :: Sorry for the length of this post, but I needed to get a few things in ... "..... and you are convinced that no-one will discover what we are doing ?" he asked Siwa Ir, his Personal Assistant.
"You have noting to worry about Carl, you may rest assured that only those most loyal to our endeavors are allowed to participate in our little project, now, once we leave here you will again take control and ensure work continues ... Do you understand the instructions as given to you ?"
"Yes." he replied, a frown forming as he wondered why he was being questioned.
~~~~~
It was as hot a hell, but no change there. Taking off his jacket he threw it to his 'Personal Assistant' and walked into the main tent to look at the plans of the facility. Why anyone in their right mind would want to build a radio telescope here in this damned heat was beyond him. The thing would be useless during the day because of that very heat, and would only have a few hours at night before the relentless Sun rose yet again to bake them in their sweat-soaked clothing.Over a dozen of the six meter 'dishes' had been installed in a grid pattern, Electrical Engineers were busy laying cables to the yet to be completed Operations Center, a rather grandiose title for what was essentially a control room, but hey ho, 'We Americans do like to embellish' he thought to himself as several of his Deputies and Supervisors entered, all wanting to talk at once.
For the next three hours he made decisions, filled in yet more 'Request' forms off for the things he needed, arranged meetings for the following days, then decided he needed to go out into the sun and check on progress first hand. Not that he was looking forward to it now the Sun high in the desert sky and there was a decided lack of cover ... Once complete, the facility would have almost thirty rooms, some small, some large enough to hold a conference in if the need arose, and at this point, almost all of them were more nothing more than marker posts in the sand. The ones that were nearing completion were still without roofs or any form of power. That, unfortunately, was another issue ....
"They have finished for the day Carl. It is time we went below." Siwa said quietly, watching him closely to ensure his compliance.
~~~~~
In the tunnels they used the modified carriage on rails to head far away from the Main Center of the surface facility .... Reaching their destination, they entered a small room that had been hewn out of the solid bedrock. There they could look at the 'alternate' plans for the complex. Unlike the hundreds employed in constructing the surface facility, there were only thirty people dedicated to this project. They were currently excavating a shaft, a shaft like none other ever built. It was almost three meters in diameter, and would be deep, very deep ... Leaving the office they walked the short distance to the head of the construction. Situated in a circular room five times the diameter of the shaft and ten meter high, it was dominated by a device that Carl had often wondered about, but had never felt the need to question. It was suspended above the shaft by a trio of legs, each buried into the earth. He was mesmerized by the deep crackling tone of the device, but even more by the blueness of the 'light' that was emanating from it. Looking over the precipice he could see the beam of light plunging into the depths until it vanished from sight in the rising mists.
"Status ?" Torek asked one of the men working the device as Carl stood almost transfixed.
"We are through the Lithosphere and are entering the Asthenosphere, currently at thirty four miles. We should reach the upper mesosphere of the mantle in four hours."
"We are behind schedule, you will compensate." he said, turning away to speak to another before the first man dared reply, "Progress on the tunnels ?"
"One hundred ninety eight complete. We are awaiting the shielding, and obviously, the devices." he said, eyeing Torek in fear. He would not be the first to plunge into the shaft at the Human's displeasure ........ 'Yellow Alert ... Admiral Torek to the Bridge'
'Yellow Alert ... Admir .......'Carl suddenly felt as if he was rising from one of the deepest chasms he could imagine, straining to open his eyes he could see a shadowy figure standing over him, their arm outstretched and shaking him repeatedly. "Carl, the Bridge is calling you ....... Carl, wake up !" "Wha ...." he said, confusion running through every fiber of his mind. "You were tired, you fell asleep and obviously needed it. I didn't want to wake you but even after talking to Will he decided to send your Yeoman to make sure you were alright." Chloe said, defiance in every word, "I think you should tell Will to handle whatever is happening and go see Doctor Roach." she continued as Carl got to his feet and dressed. "You should have woken me." he said, walking past her and into the living area where the Children were eyeing the young Ensign with undisguised interest. "Do those spots go 'ALL' the way down ?" Bethan was asking the kneeling Trill, who seemed to be enjoying the 'Q & A' ... She stood as her Commanding Officer entered the room. "Sorry Admiral, you're Daughter was jus ...." "Being nosey." he said, kissing his youngest on the forehead before leaving their quarters, Yeoman Siwa close behind him.. Bridge ::"Apologies Gentlemen, I seem to have been, sleeping. What's the problem Will ?" he asked, glancing at the chronometer and realizing it was the middle of the night, before taking the recently vacated command Seat. The Executive Officer pointed at the view-screen, "Any chance they have seen us, or are coming our way ?" he asked. "Doesn't seem so." Will replied, "We're speculating that it is just a standard recon vessel, maybe patrolling the outer rim of the Xallac System." "Not one to be picky here." he said, rubbing his tired eyes as the young Yeoman approached with a cup of coffee for him, "But shouldn't we be seeing countless derelict and destroyed vessels drifting around this nebula ? ... After all, these two races 'are' supposed to be at war. i'm only speculating here but does anyone else wonder if the 'Intelligence' the Federation have is erm, up to date ?" "Would it not be, prudent, to move deeper into the nebula Admiral ?" Marionette commented. "At you're convenience Commander." he replied, a wry grin forming as the coffee worked it's magic, "I'm speculating that that ship is hardly crammed with weapons. It looks like a long-range patrol vessel that will send any incursion data back to something a damn-sight more armed, so ... Any chance we could get past that thing and into the System ?" he asked ..........
|
|
Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
|
Post by Andae Blakus on Aug 22, 2015 2:07:00 GMT
"Andae? Anything you can do about that?" Will inquired.
"Trying to clear up the picture. Sensor degradation is extreme in the centre of the nebula." He turned around to face Jamison and the Operations officer beyond him, "That reconnaissance vessel may be emitting some sort of jamming field; looks like they don't like people watching them watching other people, if you follow me, sir."
As the ship left the nebula on its elliptical trajectory - only spending a small amount of time on the course Andae had predicted for it inside the gaseous expanse - the difficulty in acquiring a visual on the recon vessel, if that's indeed what it was, persisted. "Confirmed, Commander, it's emitting a jamming signal; it's definitely a Xallac vessel, but no visual identification possible."
Blakus mused, so he supposed, that was one way of hiding a vessel without need of a cloaking device. Carl arrived on the bridge, looking very much as if he'd had far too little sleep in his time off duty. Andae thought he knew how the Admiral felt. He'd not even attempted to go to sleep since they'd officially crossed the border into Xallac space some fifty hours ago. Officially, in the sense that their records were accurate to date of last communication. Therein lay another issue, but he would come to that in a moment.
The Xallac system, if this was in fact their home system, was he agreed strangely unguarded. He wondered how a race that laid claim to several hundred systems - the case was similar with the Halanan - could leave the way to their home system open so blatantly.
"Any chance we could get past that thing and into the System ?"
Blakus patched himself through to engineering, gaining a speedy report from Milyanov - who looked as if he'd been bathing in human sweat with his uniform on. "Lieutenant. How go the impulse engine refinements?"
"Oh fine, fine." The Russian turned from him to wave his hands haplessly at the engineering staff behind him before turning back, "Yes they're going very well, Andae." He paused, "I suppose you want information on the probe that me and Commander Marionette commissioned to send into the system."
"Please." The data flowed through to the bridge engineering console, Andae studying the figures with interest, though with a measure of annoyance. He turned to Carl and Will, "We can certainly get past the recon vessel and into the system whilst its on its patrol path outside of the nebula. Well, it would avoid an encounter at least; they may still detect us on sensors."
<Tag Torek, Jamison, Marionette>
"Also, 'could' explain why that recon ship is there, I've had the benefit of receiving telemetry from the probe we modified and sent into the system. Permission to use the main viewer, sir."
"Granted."
Andae patched through a four-way split screen feed to the viewscreen. It was visual data the probe had picked up as it'd approached the orbit of the suspected Xallac Empire homeworld, one playback in normal light wavelength, one thermal, one in the radio, and one in the mid-range gamma end of the spectrum. Display graphics, numerical telemetry unwinded endlessly either side of each moving image. They watched the visible light feed, of course most recognisable to bipedal eyes: bright rays of light off camera to the left then only blackness, soon with an enlargening silver spot at its approximate centre: the planet Xallac?
He received permission to accelerate the playback time, eventually to a thousand percent, until, "Stop!" Torek commanded, leaning forward.
Andae went back a few frames, realising he'd skipped too far ahead. The image of the grey globe of the Xallac planet shrunk slightly in the display but still dominated it. "The sensors detected approximately 14 million lifesigns on the planet at that point in the telemetry," he commented. "4.9 seconds later the probe broke up, cause unknown. It may have been fired upon but we have no way to tell. One thing conspicuous by their absence, any Xallac vessels around that planet or in the vicinity of its orbit." There was silence on the bridge as they all watched the four displays: static, with telemetry readings haywire and useless. "What's going on in there?" He hadn't been paying close enough attention to what the probe had picked up in the gamma ray telemetry...
<Tag All>
|
|
Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
|
Post by Carl Torek on Aug 29, 2015 0:53:21 GMT
"OK ......." Carl said, trying not to slump back in his seat, "We 'know' that the Xallac and Halana empires encompass almost five hundred worlds spread throughout the Orion Arm ... We also know that the first of those worlds seem to be unaffected by the centuries old war between the to races ....."
"We have no way to confirm that hypothesis Admiral." Marionette said, "Is it not possible that their 'war' has not yet reached this region ?" Carl shrugged, he was guessing and he knew it.
"It is possible, yes. In fact, given the complete lack of evidence to show 'any' form of fighting has taken place, I'm more inclined to believe the worlds in this region have either escaped involvement, or the war has concentrated on the inner worlds only thus far. Apart from the single roaming patrol, there doesn't seem to be anything to show for their so-called centuries-old conflict ...... Where is it now ?"
"Moving away quickly Admiral. It looks as if scanning of the nebula was perfunctory at best." Harry informed him.
"Let's give it thirty minutes to get out of the way, then we'll move into the system at impulse." he said ..........
Thirty minutes later ::
"Helm. Move us to the outer rim of the nebula and scan the system ahead ..."
"All clear Admiral." Marionette confirmed minutes later.
"Take us out. Keep a close eye on communications coming from or to that system, if there is the slightest evidence that we have been detected and are deemed hostile, get us the hell out of here at high warp ... Commander Teng, bring shields and weapons on-line. I want to be ready if we suddenly have unwanted company."
"Aye Sir." the Deputy Chief Tactical Officer confirmed.
Clearing the gas nebula the Raven began to increase speed up to full impulse ...... Marionette had picked out the planet they had originally sent the probe towards and was using it as their destination. The system was enormous, almost dwarfing the Sol system but their Sun was so much more impressive too, and gave live-giving warmth to almost a dozen bodies orbiting her. Having little, or more precisely, zero information on the Xallac they had no 'official' native names for either the systems in the Orion Arm, or the planets circumnavigating the Suns within. He asked Astrometrics to designate this System as 'Xallac S1' and numbered the planets from nearest to furthest out ...... The ship moved into the system and tentatively scanned each planet in turn. While eleven of the planetary bodes were capable of sustaining life, only five showed any significant development, while the other's seemed to be all but uninhabited.
"We believe the Xallac to number in the trillions Admiral." Marionette commented, frowning at her readings, "Yet there are planets, even systems, with no signs of development. This does not seem consistent."
"Admiral, it's possible those worlds do hold life-signs, but with our scans at such low levels we could simply be missing it." Teng offered from Tactical. the Comm chirped to life before Carl could comment:
=^= Astrometrics to Bridge .. Lieutenant Tanner .. .. Admiral .. Passive scanning is giving us nothing but we do seem to be getting a return signal when passing over any of the uninhabited planets .. Planets one through four are of slight concern .. Could be ground or core composition .. Even atmospherics Sir .. But it could also be some form of shielding .. Planets five through eleven are inhabited as first thought and could quite well be monitoring their region for intruders .. How would you like us to proceed ? =^=
"Are there any transmissions coming from or to any of the four mentioned ?" he asked Teng, who confirmed in the negative. Carl continued his conversation with Astrometrics:
=^= Remain on passive scanning Lieutenant .. We'll change our heading to the furthest planet and begin to close .. Do not push your scans is that understood ?"
=^= Aye Sir =^= Tanner replied, closing the Comm.
"Admiral. The third planet, designated 'S1-3' by Astrometrics, is currently forty five percent of it's orbit behind it's nearest companions. It has three orbiting moons, all lifeless. May I suggest we look there first ?" Lysia Teng offered.
"Helm. Plot a course that will keep the largest moon between us and the planet and plot an approach."
< tag : Andae / Will for comments re our course of action etc >
As they approached their destination, even passive scanning showed that the planet had some form of shielding. Nothing that could actually 'hide' or protect the planet from anyone passing through the system, but enough to make people believe the orbiting body was lifeless despite the adequate atmospheric conditions. The smallest of the three moons seemed ideal to hide, so Helm plotted a course to intersect it's orbit almost fifty thousand kilometers behind, they would then close to a geostationary position less than one thousand kilometers from the surface with the moon between them and it's parent ... At impulse, the maneuver was achingly slow, the realization that they could be discovered at any moment foremost in the minds of the Bridge Staff. But eventually they achieved their desired position .....
Observation Lounge ::
"Gentlemen ... Astrometrics and Tactical have confirmed there is some form of shielding around the planet. My first question was could we disable it, but apparently we may not need to." he motioned to Lieutenant Teng to continue:
"From what we have ascertained, the shielding isn't there to stop anyone getting to the surface, but to dissuade anyone from wanting to bother doing so in the first place. Saying that, they could be hiding dead earth or a planet-wide production facility for all we know. It isn't a solid shield as we know it, but more a 'fog' for want of a better description at this point." she looked at Torek, who nodded for her to continue, "One thing seems certain from our preliminary checks, we can't beam through it, that would likely fry anyone trying while notifying whoever is monitoring that we are there inviting ourselves in unannounced."
"So what do you suggest Lieutenant ?" Will asked on behalf of the group.
"Well ..... I suggest a shuttle." she replied, sitting herself down as if waiting to be chastised for her idea.
"So we can get a shuttle in but not an individual ?" Harry asked, already suspecting what the young woman had in mind, so was prompting her to continue:
"Well, yes ... Transporting anyone, or anything through their shield will set alarms ringing, but, if we can modify a small shuttles' shield, maybe a Type Six Shuttle to resonate with the planet's defensive shielding, we should, could, drop through almost undetected, and if it were picked up it could look like orbital debris or something, anything but a Federation Shuttle anyway .... I, think." she said.
"Thank you Lieutenant." Carl said, turning to his Chief Engineer but quickly back to the Astrometrics Officer, who seemed to have dismissed herself from the meeting and was in the process of leaving, "Lieutenant, you have somewhere more pressing to be ?"
"No Sir, sorry Sir, I just thought you were done wi ...."
"Sit down Lysia." he said, getting up to move her chair into place, "You are not normally at these meetings, but I have a feeling you may be a regular addition. So .... Just so you are aware, we work on the principle of the 'Chinese Parliament' here .. No ranks, no waiting to be 'asked' an opinion, you say what you need to if you feel it needs to be said. That way we get all opinions, and ideas without having to rota them in. So don't wait your turn, and don't ever wait to be asked. If you are at this table it is because your opinion is valued, OK ?"
"Yes ... Sir." Teng said, taking her seat, realizing what everyone had whispered about Command meetings seemed to be true ..... Carl returned to his seat:
"Andae, the idea Lysia proposed ... Can we make it doable ?" he asked, smiling at the young Deputy Chief Tactical and Security Officer ..........
< tag : Andae / Will >
|
|
Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
|
Post by Andae Blakus on Sept 2, 2015 17:25:15 GMT
Blakus looked into the mirror, shaving the five days beard growth that'd built up during the period over which he'd been constantly awake: supervising the refit of the warp drive, keeping Milyanov in line in his efficiency upgrades of the impulse engines and directing activity about his true home on the starship, engineering, the position he'd held ever since the universe had threatened to end and had been fractions of a second from doing so.
Aware he was due in the observation lounge, he finished his uneven shave quickly and slung on his creased uniform jacket - his appearance was a curious mixture of dishevelment and the prototypical clean-cut Starfleet officer. So, the gamma ray bursts from the inhabited planet, dubbed S1-10... Hard to explain, not entirely impossible in a rocky body given they knew little about its planetary chemistry and whatever technologies they were using... but radio transmissions, in the far ultra-long wave if one willed, was completely beyond his understanding. It was being beamed into the galactic plane to somewhere in the vicinity of the Gould Belt, which set alarm bells ringing considering Earth's approximate 300 lightyear distance from Gould Belt's centre.
* * * * *
In the observation lounge Andae studied the surface of the moon, the ship's geosynchronous orbit 1000 km above the tidally-locked moon meaning the Raven stayed out of sight of the mysterious silvery-grey globe of S1-3. He turned and took his seat at the table, Admiral Torek and Lieutenant Teng conducting the briefing together.
"Andae, the idea Lysia proposed ... Can we make it doable ?" Torek asked.
"I think it's an eminently workable plan," he answered, "Matching resonances with the planet's shield grid, it's something I wouldn't have thought of myself. Immediately, that is," he added quickly causing ripples of laughter around the table. "The only other suggestion I can make is that we try contacting them, though if there are Xallac or even Halanan down there - if for instance they've conquered this world - and we want to maintain anonymity, a modified shuttle would be the best approach.
"One issue of concern, I noticed during reviews of the destroyed probe's sensor telemetry a strong long-wave radio signal beamed somewhere towards Earth's local stellar cluster. Is that not alarming, it could be a reaction against our presence here: they identify a Starfleet vessel moving into their... strangely deserted warzone, and send a high power radio transmission to the Federation warning us to stay away..." Andae continued on his train of thought, "If that is the case though, why didn't they contact the Raven specifically, unless, for some reason they didn't wish us to see them."
He looked around the table, seeing who may want to contribute next or offer their thoughts.
<Tag Any>
Lysia Teng gathered her thoughts and took the step to speak out, "If our Intelligence suggested the Xallac and Halanan may have formed an alliance, I agree with the Commander that this region of space does seem unusually empty, or devoid of wreckage from their wars. Intelligence and Starfleet Security recommended to Command that this system should be the first the Raven surveyed, as it was meant to be at the heart of some of the fiercest fighting during the Xallac-Halanan war."
She went on, "Subsequently Command identified it as a prime candidate for having been the site of a possible peace treaty between the two sides, hence the sense in sending us here first." The senior staff took in what the Deputy CTSO said, pleased she'd taken well to the method in which Carl liked to hold his briefings. If there had been a peace treaty here though, however long ago or however recent, they were keeping evidence of it well hidden.
"The Xallac," Andae gestured, "A quadripedal species that breathes methane, prefers temperatures of roughly minus hundred degrees centigrade, construct an empire of three hundred worlds, spread over a necessarily large region due to their bodily requirements..."
"And the Halanan!" the science officer joined in enthusiastically, "A shapeshifting race first encountered circa 2260 and disposed towards the humanoid form. They could exist in any environment... probably most comparable with the Founders. The Halanan would've been the probable victors perhaps, if a treaty hadn't been signed?"
"Yes, a treaty was supposedly signed. Indeed... An odd match-up, not what we're accustomed to. Perhaps the conflict's main front has moved off to another sector, or if they've really committed themselves to peace, all this here in this system could be explained except for that shielded planet." Blakus watched Torek, silent at the head of the table likely considering his options, "I can have a shuttle prepped with the necessary modifications in under an hour, sir. Shall I proceed?"
<Tag Carl/Calli, Will, Marionette>
|
|
Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
|
Post by Carl Torek on Sept 2, 2015 23:50:53 GMT
Listening to the ongoing conversation, it was clear to him that the Federation were decidedly lacking in their Intelligence ..... No fault of their own of course, they had information that two races over on thousand three hundred light years away, had been in conflict for centuries. The chances of that conflict spilling into their neighborhood was less than remote. They had set up numerous listening posts, managed to scan deep into the Orion Arm almost 'fishing' for information, but again, the overriding element was the shear distance involved ... But, regardless of the information at hand, or lack thereof as the case may be, a decision had to be made regarding the next step to take. "The Xallac ...Quadrupedal species that breathes methane, prefers temperatures of roughly minus hundred degrees centigrade, construct an empire of three hundred worlds, spread over a necessarily large region due to their bodily requirements." "And the Halanan!" the science officer joined in enthusiastically, "A shape-shifting race first encountered circa 2260 and disposed towards the humanoid form. They could exist in any environment ... Probably most comparable with the Founders, The Halanan would've been the probable victors perhaps, if a treaty hadn't been signed ?" "I can have a shuttle prepped with the necessary modifications in under an hour, Sir. Shall I proceed ?" Andae asked, knowing his Commanding Officer was close to a decision. "Yes Andae. Thank you ...." Carl said, glancing at his Engineer before turning to his Exec' Officer, "Will I want you to remain on the Raven. Calli, you too ... I'll assign the Away Team in due course, in the mean time I want to set up half a dozen relay buoys between us. I think Lieutenant Gerelo could work out the logistics, Will have him go to Engineering, I want to be able to keep in contact with the ship while she's hidden, and to continue to do so if Will has to move. OK, dismissed." ~~~~~~~~~~ "OK everyone." Carl said as he addressed the Away Team, Commander Blakus assures me the shuttle will be ready to go in ten minutes, so we're taking the opportunity to run through a few things ... You all know each other but some of you may not have worked together on this type of scenario before. I'll run through the list, which includes myself." Commander Andae Blakus Lieutenant Commander Marionette Lieutenant Commander Lysia Teng Lieutenant John Young Second Lieutenant David Scott ... "Lieutenant Young and Second Lieutenant Scott will be looking after our backs. Mister Scott will be our Medic, let's hope your just along for the ride on that front Lieutenant." Carl said, receiving a ripple of laughter for the comment as one of Andae's Engineers approached the group and waited. Andae turned to him: "Shuttle's ready to go Commander." Blakus nodded to Carl who told everyone going with to gt on board before stressing to Will, now in command, to ensure at 'ALL' costs that the Raven not be taken. He must do what is necessary to remain hidden, but if he had to act, then he had to ... Then Carl sat in one of the rear seats as Marionette and Scott Young took the Pilots' seats. The shuttle rose and rotated before moving forward and into the open space between them and the unforgiving, but welcome moon below. They were heading for what had been designated 'S1-3' ..... He watched as a rapier-thin light lanced out from behind the moon, one of the buoys that had been deployed to help them keep in contact with their only life-line .... Approaching the planet, Marionette took the controls while John Young gave a running commentary of their approach: "We should reach the outer shielding in thirty seconds, twenty, fifteen, ten ... ... ... Stand by, if we're going to be lit up now would be the moment." he said, managing to keep the tremor from his voice, "Shield modulation scanning the 'field ... Scanning ... Reduce rate of decent Commander, allow the shields to re-orientate, that's it, contact in, three, two, one ......" They felt a slight shudder run through the shuttle as the shields fought to compensate and hopefully keep them hidden from prying eyes. Dropping over five hundred meters before the sensors confirmed they were no longer inside the shields' influence the sky below them cleared a tad too quickly for Carl's liking. Whatever he was expecting, paled in comparison to what he was looking at ! It seemed that every available square centimeter of dry land was taken up by what could only be described as 'Production Lines' on a massive, MASSIVE, scale ! On Earth, a Star Ship was constructed initially in-situ, ergo in one place where everything it needed was brought to in during it's birth as one of the Federations Fleet. Yet here, it almost looked as if raw materials entered at one end, and almost two hundred kilometers further on, a fully constructed Space Ship emerged. The next hundred kilometers was seemingly dedicated to the 'fit-out' stage, were everything from the Captain's Seat to the food Replicators. Lysia Teng had been looking out of the front and side windows almost fascinated. "Any signs we're being scanned ?" Carl asked. "No Sir ...." Marionette answered, seemingly perplexed, "I would go as far as to surmise that the inhabitants do not feel the need for any form of detection systems beneath their shields." "Henry Ford ...." Lysia whispered, making Torek and the others turn in her direction, Ford Motor Company, old Earth, he set up the very first manned production system ... Volkswagen were the first to incorporate a totally computer-controlled production line. Sorry Sir, I was making unnecces ......" "No, you keep right on talking Commander." Carl said, looking out of the ports. "Sir. I am detecting zero life-signs on the surface." John Young said, double-checking his readings before continuing, "Admiral, according to our sensors, there isn't a single living being in our scan radius, which at this altitude is large !" "Hold on ..... You're telling us that raw materials go in one end, and a few thousand kilometers away a fully constructed 'what' comes out, food containers, a fully operational Battle Cruiser, and there is 'ZERO' organic involvement in the entire process ? ... What the hell !" the Marine Second Lieutenant asked dumbfounded. Carl looked at Andae and realized they must have the same expression on their faces ..........
|
|
Deleted
Registered: Apr 25, 2024 21:42:45 GMT
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2015 0:20:19 GMT
After watching the shuttle depart, Will made his way back to the bridge. He exited the lift and made his way to the center seat. He hated sitting here in the center of a nebula with sensors only half [word deleted] working. He had wanted to join the away team but he respected Carl's decisions. He usually had a reason for making them the way he did. The only positive Will could think of right now was the fact that Aandes modifications on the shuttle worked. At least while it was still on board the Raven. Hopefully, there would be no need to break radio silence.
"Okay." he finally said. "Let's keep working on those sensors to see if we can get clearer readings."
With that, he bean doing the one thing he hated most.....Waiting.
TBC....
|
|
Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
|
Post by Andae Blakus on Sept 3, 2015 2:03:53 GMT
Andae finished adjustments to the shuttle's shield grid and took his seat at the port side engineering console, "Shields at frequency modulation 3.79 THz, that's near the maximum the shields are able to produce without diverting energy from systems such as life support, artificial gravity, waste disposal..." "Yes, Andae, the question is, will she fly and will she get through the shield?!" The CEO shrugged, "If the frequency modulation holds as it is... yes." They readied themselves for departure, exiting the aft-facing shuttlebay doors and passing around the moon to come into view of the opaque globe of S1-3... Its shade of grey swirls and slightly more luminous silver-white poles indicated the shield covered all of the globe not just from cursory scans but also from direct observation, except for the possible ice peaks of the poles that lit up the planetary shield to some extent. "Shield modulation holding at 3.79, minimal fluctuation of 700 kHz either side..." he commented. "Shuttle Beta, this is Raven, one brief message to confirm only: reading your telemetry via the nav buoys, you're go for orbital insertion and piercing of atmospheric shield.""Thanks, Will, taking her in." The sight upon entering the shield grid of the surface below them had them all in shock. It looked at first sight like the surface of a Borg planet, going by evidence of the few recorded instances when atmospheres of those nightmarish worlds had been penetrated by Federation and their Dominion War allies' vessels. "Fantastic production lines, no lifesigns, fully automated, and most probably like this throughout the whole system, going by our long range scans." Blakus's mouth was open in awe - terror, indeed, but awe for the sheer scale of the engineering feat that lay before them and extended all around the globe. "Could it be like this everywhere...? Deep field observations and sensor readings of this part of the Orion Arm take decades to return to us, even with the help of subspace transmission. Think, a species long at war, suddenly cease their conflict. We assume they've made a treaty, or formed an alliance... but what if they wiped each other out?" Andae spoke in a hushed, almost reverent whisper, letting the other away team members contemplate the possibility. "They could've been dead for centuries." They continued their aerial circumnavigation of S1-3 - the craft slicing through the air that was thick with the churning harmful emissions rising from the impressive industry below - finding to little surprise that the entire surface was taken up by the manufacturing facilities. Blakus thought - as the shuttle banked past a row of odd-shaped starships, their top surfaces still open as they awaited the next stage of their manufacture - about S1-3... A more inspiring name had to be thought up soon, he thought, else they'd go on referring to objects as letters and numbers for the duration of their time in this bleak war-ruined expanse of the Orion Arm, where the only life seemed to emanate from a few ever weakening radios, transmitting into the cosmos, listening for who might still be alive. Perhaps 'New Venus' was an appropriate name, given its hard to discern surface features when viewed outside the grey shroud that was the shield. "Take her closer to that complex, down there by the river," Lieutenant Young was saying to Marionette, pointing out the front viewer. "Ever the intrepid explorer," Blakus grinned at Young, knowing the man was probably aware of his legendary namesake. The craft investigated a little further before rising in the atmosphere 'til it was just below the shield grid. Andae was eager to explore the inner two planets, in spite of the fact the shield grid of this planet - which the inner two worlds lacked - indicated this was where they had something to hide, and quite evidently they did. The Raven's duty officer broke in over the comm after a few more leisurely passes of the shuttle over the 7x4 grid of factories outputting 2km starships. "Shuttle Beta, Raven! Detecting a fleet of ships, seemingly all lifeless but showing active power signatures, orbiting the second planet S1-2. It appears they've been keeping out of sight of us as we've been keeping out of sight of S1-3, whether that's intentional or not we're yet to determine. And sir, you're not going to believe this... There are 50, no make that 60, 70 million starships, all around a kilometre in length!<Tag Carl, Will> - Regarding edit: I didn't like the other ending I wrote last night
|
|
Calli Valente
Starfleet Intelligence
"Don't get in my way."
Registered: Aug 4, 2010 21:19:10 GMT
Posts: 534
|
Post by Calli Valente on Sept 3, 2015 20:03:43 GMT
Aboard the Shuttle ::=^= Shuttle Beta .. Raven Detecting a fleet of ships seemingly all lifeless but showing active power signatures orbiting the second planet S1-2 .. It appears they have been keeping out of sight of us as we have been keeping out of sight of S1-3 .. Whether that' is intentional or not we have yet to determine .. And sir you're not going to believe this .. .. There are 50 no make that 60 .. 70 million star ships .. All around a kilometer in length ! =^= =^= Seventy 'MILLION' Lieutenant .. .. I find it impossible to believe that seventy million square kilometers of ships have been able to hide behind a planet a fraction of their size .. The deep space gravitational field would be corrupted by so much that a fleet of that size would be detectable far outside the system .. NO .. There has to be some other explanation .. .. .. Hold Raven =^= Torek said as Lieutenant Davis got his attention. Outside the shuttle, almost two hundred and fifty kilometers away, they had picked up something large leaving the surface. Carl ordered them to intercept ... As they closed it was clear it was a completed vessel being moved into orbit from the planetary construction facility. The ship, almost one kilometer in length was seemingly unmanned and being guided automatically from a surface control center. Flying close to the massive ship, they were able to scan it thoroughly yet little constructive information was forthcoming. Frustrated, Carl ordered them back to the location where they were about to set down before the launch then he re-opened the comm to the ship: =^= Torek to Raven .. .. .. We have just watched a remote launch of a vessel from what we think is a massive automated construction facility .. You 'should' be pocking it up as it moves into orbit .. .. .. =^= =^= Sir we are not tracking anything leaving the planets' surface =^= Carl looked at Andae, who shrugged, mouthing the word 'cloaked ?' =^= Commander Jamison .. Take the Raven and investigate that flotilla .. I have a feeling the majority wont be 'real' vessels .. That or the Xallac have developed on hell of a cloaking system and one that could hide millions of ships =^= =^= Aye Sir .. Raven out =^= Will confirmed ...... Aboard the Raven ::Will turned to Calli who was sat in his seat: "Do you really think there could be millions of ships just sat out there without a single member of crew to operate them ?" she asked. "Implausible is an understatement." he said, looking at the view-screen, "Tactical, keep a close eye on 'S1-3' ... If you pick up anything let me know. Helm, set course for the nearest of those vessels, half impulse only." "You know we could be giving up our presence in this System by proverbially stepping out into the open." Calli commented. "I'm open to suggestions." Will replied with a grin. Calli held up her hands in mock surrender. "Just saying." she said wryly. "Helm, engage." he said ... ~~~~~Keeping a proverbial 'eye' on the planet, the Raven moved out from the cover afforded by the moon and began to approach the enormous sleeping fleet. Each ship registered as 'real' in every sense of the word, but she couldn't understand how they had not been seen before now, yes, the cloak theory seemed the most viable explanation, so what or who decided to allow their presence to be discovered ? ... "Any signs of life yet ?" she asked. "Negative Commander." the Tactical Officer reported. Harry Wedlerson turned to face them from Ops, "They look as if they are on minimal power, no higher systems on-line, almost like one of our vessels awaiting a crew." "Close on the nearest vessel and hold station five hundred meters off their Starboard forward quarter." Will ordered ... The Raven made a lazy turn until she was behind and on the Starboard side of the mammoth vessel. moving along the length closing the distance slowly until reaching the five hundred meter mark. The Duty Helm Officer brought the Raven to a complete stop and set her maneuvering thrustors to hold position. Calli got out of her seat and approached the view-screen ... The ship was almost black and obviously designed for attack / defense rather than research. What could only be weapons array's and torpedo tubes bristled the hull's length, and she had the feeling that it could swat the Raven like an irritating gnat if it so desired. "Sir ...." Harry said suddenly, "I don't know how, but I'm reading an oxygen atmosphere inside the vessel." "Was it there before ?" Calli asked, turning away from the screen. "No Sir, I swear it was vacuum as we approached. "Hold on ....." she said, frowning as she moved up to the rear of the Bridge and accessed one of the stations, " According to what albeit 'scant' information we have regarding the Xallac, they are supposedly bipedal right ?" "So ?" Will asked, "Why should that be an issue ?" "Well ..... According to our records, they are also Methane breathers ..... So why the Oxygen atmosphere ?" < Tag : Andae on the shuttle > < Tag : Will on the Raven >
|
|