Science Find
Posted on 20 Sep 2022 @ 12:09pm by Commander Calliope Zahn & Captain Corvus DeHavilland & Lieutenant JG Hannah Wagner & Chief Deputy Marshal: Ridge Steiner - FMS & Lieutenant Commander Cesar De La Fuente Ph.D.
Edited on on 20 Sep 2022 @ 9:19pm
Mission:
M3 - Into the Deep
Location: USS Pathfinder
Timeline: MD08 1545HR
1956 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure
The afternoon seemed to wane on interminably. Half yawning with exhaustion and half with just garden variety boredom, Captain DeHavilland flicked through the screens on the command console of the Captain’s chair. More vital statistics of the ship coming through. Reports from various departments, warp output statistics, medical readiness, even details on the efficiency of the matter resequencer’s. And on top of it all, the copious amounts of scientific data the tiny little Nova’s sensors were pulling in en masse. While she was sure it fascinated the hell out of the Science department, it was all mindless data points scrolling endlessly along the console to her. She wanted badly to waste time in the holodecks, or go for a run somewhere to get out her frustrations but she knew that wasn’t an option. Mostly because it was a bad look for the Captain to be lounging on a mission like that, but also because she didn’t want to do it with Major Finn in tow.
Corvus sorely missed the bridge of the Praetorian where she’d spent countless hours just like this, scrolling the ships data points while the Captain did whatever the Captain needed to do. Jackson never micromanaged the ship, or her, and only ever was on the bridge when something needed the Captain’s direct attention, trusting her to handle it day to day. She sure wished she had that luxury, but as much as she wanted to trust Calliope to manage it while she sat in her ready room and handled OC business, she wasn’t ready to let go, though it was hard to admit that if it had been Thad sitting there, she would have left the bridge long ago.
Still, there was something to be said for being a constant presence considering the situation that they were in. To reassure the bridge staff (and herself to a degree) Corvus had ordered that the visual of the USS Theseus be displayed on the corner of the forward glass just so that there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that they weren’t alone out here. She was sure the scuttlebutt had moved quickly among the crew about what kind of foe they might find themselves in front of so anything she could do to settle their minds a bit was worth the effort.
Everyone on the bridge was going about their standard routine, uninterrupted by anything more than the occasional idle banter or task related chatter. Nothing at all out of the ordinary so naturally everyone looked about curiously as they were joined on the bridge by one of the Science Officer’s assigned to their expedition. Of course, it was hard to tell if their attention was directed to him because of the fact he was a transplant from another ship or simply because of what the man looked like. Lieutenant Commander De La Fuente was the Chief Science Officer aboard the Admiral’s flagship, the Alexander, so undoubtedly he was a highly qualified and intelligent individual but had the man not been in a Starfleet uniform, one might have had a very different opinion of him.
Cesar was a slight man of a little more than average height for a human, who shaved his head completely bald forgoing any graceful departure of his hair and just wiping it out in one fell swoop. Like Corvus, he preferred the uniform variant that was a vest instead of a jacket but he had rolled his sleeves up near the elbows. With his sleeves up, one could see the tapestry of tattoo’s that started at Cesar’s hands and made their way up both arms, disappearing under his uniform only to reappear at his neck up above his collar.
There was no need for him to acknowledge anyone else as he quietly crossed the bridge to the science station that had been occupied by Petty Officer Mattherson, one of Chief Edgerton’s protégé’s. Cesar whispered something to Mattherson and both of them consulted the screen in front of them while the rest of the bridge went back to their normal business when nothing dramatic followed his entrance.
“Any more drills planned?” Corvus asked, just trying to break the monotony. She felt more than she saw Ensign Wiser twitch at the CoNN at the thought of more drills. “At the r-.”
“Captain DeHavilland,” Lieutenant Commander De La Fuente called out, interrupting her mid-sentence. “Could you please authorize use of the deflector shield to amplify our sensors? I’ve got something on long-range I’d like to confirm.”
DeHavilland nodded, “Go ahead, Commander.”
“Thank you,” he said, turning his attention back down to Mattherson and their shared terminal.
Calliope straightened her posture at the news of something of interest. She'd been feeling redundant, but she wasn't going to check out of paying close attention.
“Captain,” De La Fuente called out again, this time the urgency in his voice crystal clear. “I’m picking up something of non-natural origin. A ship or station, perhaps. I’d like to launch a trio of probes to help triangulate the signal. Get a clearer picture.”
“Actively moving, or debris?”
“It’s moving, ma’am. I can’t just can’t be sure it’s moving on its own power and not free floating as a result of some other momentum,” he clarified.
“Alright. Prepare the probes. Mr. Wiser, let Captain Callum know what we’re doing,” Corvus ordered quickly, in many ways glad for the newest development and the distraction from the monotony. She just checked that reaction with the reality that this might not be good news.
“Aye, Captain,” Wiser nodded, working his terminal to do as commanded.
“Ms. Norton?” DeHavilland asked, glancing back briefly. “Take us to yellow alert.”
"Aye Captain, Yellow Alert" the young female Ensign responded, as she accessed the alert section on her panel and activated it. Around the Bridge the warning screens changed from green to flashing yellow. She hit the comm and announced—
=^=All stations this is the Bridge, Yellow Alert, Yellow Alert=^=
Then returned to her panel and activated the shields. Turning to the center chair Norton stated, "Ship is at Yellow Alert, Captain. Shields are raised, weapons are ready but off line."
"Let's have the imaging on forward screen." Calliope requested. The unresolved distant mass was projected, in large. At first it appeared as if someone might need to go out on the hull and clean the focusing lens. Calliope leaned forward, elbows on her knees, hands steepled, and waited. After several minutes in suspense, she piped up again. "I know their sensor package isn't as fine grained, but aside from the probes, might it help to triangulate readings with whatever the Theseus can detect?"
"Sorry, Commander, but no," De La Fuente answered patiently, his eyes down on his terminal and not on the screen ahead of the others. "We're parsing the data now. Give it a moment..." he trailed off. Then, as if on cue, he looked up right as the image resolved.
The mass was undoubtedly a space station, or at least some species' attempt at one. The station was very obviously abandoned, but even in its prime it would have been a very crude one to say the least. "Strange," De La Fuente mused to his colleague at the science station, "There isn't a square angle anywhere on the station," he observed. "It's like four dodecahedron-icosahedron compounds attached to one another, but instead of sharp angles, they're all rounded," he said with a shake of his head, "Why would they be rounded?"
DeHavilland cocked her head curiously at the display and admired the same point. "How strange," she agreed breathlessly. "Weapons, Commander? Life signs?"
"No," De La Fuente answered, still pondering his question. "What?" he asked his colleague who had said something softly Corvus couldn't hear. "Bounce a triangulated burst off the station at these harmonics... if it is, we should get the expected reverberation."
A moment later the probes, now coming into view around the station emitted a sustained burst of blue energy at the station for about two seconds while the Science officers stared at their terminals as if their lives depended on it. Corvus watched the probes and the station, but didn't feel the sense of foreboding her instincts would have given her if the situation was not in their favor.
De La Fuente stood up from the station and ran a hand along his bald pate.
"Commander?" Corvus asked.
"It's full of water, Captain," he said, well aware of how strange that sounded. "Salinzed water, if calculations are correct," he added with a smile. He gestured at the station. "Whoever built that was either storing salinzed water for some other use, in space of all places, which doesn't seem likely. Or..." he shrugged and grinned, "They're an aquatic species."
Norton spoke aloud what many might have been thinking "Like the Xindi sub genome?"
"It's possible. I need more to go on," De La Fuente answered, though his instinct was no. Something about the design didn't sit quite right with him; the shape wasn't one-hundred percent a function of utility. Of course, he was at heart an Anthropologist, not a Life Scientist, so his mind always seemed to go straight at those sorts of answers. He'd learned to keep that to himself though so he didn't make false assumptions - at least not out loud.
"Their lifesigns would be different than those we would expect to find on a station of air breathers. We might have to modify the scans or bring a sample over to test for any waste products of known aquatics." Hannah said thoughtfully. "Though, if it's powered down, there is no reason to assume that the life support systems that would filter oxygen into the water would be functional. Unless they have a way to produce bioavailable oxygen that doesn't need power. "
"So. we're going to check to see if somebody peed in the pool...?" Norton smiled to herself quietly.
"Well, let's investigate." Via eye line, Calliope checked with Corvus briefly and didn't see any disagreement with the motion she was about to make. "Mr. Wiser, redirect course for the aquatic station, current warp speed, inform Theseus, and give us a time to intercept," Calliope ordered. They were following this trail looking for anything that stood out. And this listing aquatic station was certainly something that stood out.
"Aye Ma'am. Adjusting heading." Wiser entered the new coordinates. "Estimated intercept, One hour, twelve minutes."
Calliope stood. She needed to take the initiative before Corvus took it from her. "Sounds like plenty of time for me to assemble an away team."
The lift doors slid open, and Steiner arrived in response to the Yellow Alert.
"Away Team? We going somewhere Commander?" he caught the image on the viewscreen "Oh..."
"For a swim." Calliope confirmed for him, sweeping around the command center and heading for the exit. "DeLaFuente, Haille, Marshal..." she said, motioning to each in turn, "You're with me."
"Ok, right" He looked a little baffled For a swim? but held the lift door for them to join him
Calliope waited for each of her team to arrange for their stations to be covered and to join up in the lift, continuing to direct as they assembled. "Let's suit up EVA and prepare for underwater conditions; check our gear, and form up in transporter room one. We're going to get some samples for Doctor Wagner and see if they've got any records aboard. You can each bring a plus one, at your discretion.... " The lift doors closed.
