[Star Trek Adventures] Episode One: Fire, Earth, and Sky

[Sir Shameful]

Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Von Klitzing. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before…

Stardate 48039.8. The USS Von Klitzing is two weeks into its six-month mission to chart stellar phenomena in the unexplored Gorn Periphery. Following an initial scouting mission by the USS Damietta, the Von Klitzing has begun to chart and research anomalies in this largely unknown region. The vessel is straight out of the construction yards, and as yet untested. Similarly, the members of the crew - a few old friends and acquaintances excepted - are new to one another, and the calm transit of the science vessel's maiden voyage out from Starbase 82 has provided only limited opportunities for them to get to know one another and work in tandem so far. Today, however, there is a shared mixture of excitement and trepidation throughout the ship.

During the Damietta's brief survey of the area on its way further into deep space, the vessel's sensors detected bursts of energy consistent with a flare star in the newly-charted Epsilon Invictus system. The Von Klitzing was given the system's coordinates as a waypoint on its grand exploratory tour, with the goal of using the ship's top of the line sensors to take readings on the small, dim red dwarf. The science vessel's precise instruments could record information that will greatly advance Federation scientists' understanding of magnetic field fluctuations affecting main sequence stars. Of course, the bursts of luminosity, radiation, and magnetic disturbance that characterize each flare event are both beautiful and incredibly dangerous.

As the Von Klitzing approaches the Epsilon Invictus system, the crew prepares for their hazardous mission...


Directives
Explore spatial anomalies and other unexplained phenomena
Ensure the safety of Starfleet personnel and Federation civilians

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin stood, straightening his uniform. He prefered to be standing on occasions such as this. It made him feel more focused, centered. He looked at the viewscreen displaying the dwarf star. This was something that spoke to the astronomer in him, and to his mind was what the Federation was all about. Knowledge, ever hungry, ever grasping was the beating heart at the core of the greatest organization he had ever served.

"Helm, hold our position here. T'Loran, how close will we need to be to get the best readings for the next pulse?"

He glanced at his Science Officer. A Vulcan, he had found in his limited experience her to be more...sociable than the average Vulcan and he appreciated that. Following that query, he tapped on his comm-badge.

"Tobin to Dr. Randin: Kaiya, we will likely be experiencing a fairly close pass with the radiation of this star. Standby for any injuries and anything proactive would be greatly appreciated."

Finally, he turned to his XO, Commander Ravaki. She was a fellow Trill, joined as well which made them rarities alone but the command staff of their ship defied the averages. Between them they had hundreds of years of experience. He smiled.

"Think we can get the shields to a point where we are not all glowing in the morning, number one?"

[spinningdice]

Zhalia remained seated, letting focus remain on the captain. She nods as she's addressed "Raise shields, try and pick up on the frequency of the flares and modulate our shields to match - lets see if we can make this ride as smooth as possible.", her posture remains relaxed, she's aware of the danger, but it's a good crew and a good ship and they know what to do.

Despite all this, she is abuzz, she didn't show it but she easily grew bored with monotany.

[Anyr]

"Acknowledged. I'm already preparing as many radiation inoculations as possible. My staff and I will make sure that everyone gets a dose."

Kaiya spoke while dodging past one of her subordinates. Sickbay was a hive of activity today. Nurses and specialists rushed from one task to the next. Kaiya paused beside one woman who was tapping out schedules on a padd. She had an outwardly businesslike aura, that was very convincing: And false. The CMO put a hand on her subordinate's shoulder.

"It's all right, Mary. You're doing fine. There's no reason to doubt yourself."

She felt the nurse's emotions calm somewhat. Satisfied, Kaiya moved on. There were a dozen more things left to do.

[whoiam]

"Hugging the star closely before we've got a decent map of it's magnetic activity is an unwise move, Captain." The Damietta had detected evidence of a flare star, sure, but predicting where said flares would be aimed was a lot more difficult than detecting the luminosity changes they caused.

A quick glance around the bridge told her that the other duty officers weren't terribly pleased with her telling them to sit back and man the telescopes. Hm. Well... just because she didn't share their impatience didn't mean she couldn't indulge it. She wouldn't volunteer for anything too pointlessly dangerous, but there were compromises that could be struct between 'too much risk' and 'no risk allowed, ever'.

T'Loran takes a quick glance at the Damietta's timing information on her console.

"Based on the Damietta's measurements, there's a decent - though far from certain - chance that there will be no major flares in the current duty shift. While I would still recommend against spending unnecessary time in low orbit before the preliminary maps are complete, we could try temporarily dropping a touch below the habitable zone.

We could attempt a polar flyby, perhaps? The chances of being struck by an errant CME event increases as we approach the equator, after all. Besides which, the closer observations should aid the mapping effort... and cut a few hours off the positioning time for a complement of sensor probes. Seems the most logical place to start."

[EarthenRite]

"Excellent. Let's start by getting some good sensor scans of our friend out there."

[Ascension]

Cmdr. Regh | Chief Engineer
Main Engineering, USS Von Klitzing

Down in Main Engineering, the Von Klitzing's temperamental Chief Engineer was in a particularly critical mood. This business with the flare star seemed all too reminiscent of the irregular pulsar which caught him off guard in his younger days, and he was determined to ensure that nothing went wrong this time.

"Unless Doctor Randin comes down here herself and orders you on bedrest, there are no breaks until we see the other side of this flare," Commander Regh called out over the hum of the engines, in a lecturing tone. "If you think you're finished with your assignments, recheck your station. If you think every single thing you're responsible for looks absolutely perfect, check it again, because you're probably wrong. This is the first real test the Von Klitzing has been asked to face, so we don't yet know how she's going to respond. That ignorance must be addressed, and that demands our full attentions."

Regh ran a hand through his graying hair and grunted his equivalent of a sigh. He'd have at least a few more gray hairs before the day was out, he was sure.

He checked the basic chronometer on his PADD, then tapped his combadge.

"Commander Regh to Bridge. I'm going to make a quick circuit to double-check our failsafes, to make sure that if our shields should fail, they won't be down for long. I'll be back at my post by the time the flare event occurs. If anything should go wrong between now and then, Lieutenant Sovik has Main Engineering."

Even though the captain couldn't see the gesture over the communicator, he gave a nod acknowledging his Vulcan second. Barring any objections, he then hefted his over-stuffed toolkit and went out to make his rounds. He could've easily sent a more junior engineer to do systems checks, but it's like they say, "If you want a job done right..."

Today I Learned that there are a whoooooole lot more kinds of variable star than I thought there were, some of which would've been more useful for my backstory than "irregular pulsar." Oh well! Let it never be said that Star Trek's technobabble is flawless.

If I could, I'd like to create an advantage along the lines of "Failsafes Readied" so that if our shields do get knocked out by the flare, we can restore them more quickly and easily. I'm guessing that would be something like Control + Engineering, assisted by the ship's Structure + Engineering, since that's what's used for the Regenerate Shields action itself?

Regh's Control + Eng = TN 15, ship's Structure + Eng = TN 11, no Focuses apply
Regh's dice: [roll0] Ship die: [roll1]

[Sir Shameful]

Under the direction of the ship's senior officers, the Von Klitzing burst into frenetic activity. In main engineering, every crewman was working double hard; the boss man, Commander Regh, ran a notoriously tight ship, with no tolerance for even the appearance of laziness. When he expected even the near-impossible, like modulating the shields based on years-old sensor data from other flare stars, they jumped into action to give it their best anyway - and under his stern direction, they succeeded. Meanwhile Regh checked the failsafes, ensuring that the shields could come back online in the event of a system failure.

Between sweating and standing ramrod-straight, crewmen smiled at one another. Regh was nothing if not thorough.

Down in medical, Commander Randin was doing her best to create a second failsafe of sorts, passing out radiation inoculations as quickly as her staff could manage. It was a time to wish for an emergency medical hologram to assist, but the Von Klitzing, bursting with lab equipment and high-power sensors, didn't have room for one more subsystem. It soon became clear that it would be impossible to inoculate the entire crew before the likely occurrence of the flare event without pulling crewmen from their stations at a critical time, and Commander Randin judged that doing so would be too disruptive at a critical moment.

Injections were distributed to as many crewmen as possible, and the medical team was on standby.

At the helm, Lieutenant Nadine al-Karaki waited patiently for the Captain, XO, and Science Officer to complete their conference. The young human woman, her black hair worn loose so that it played lightly over her slender shoulders, inclined her head as the plan took shape. "Understood, sir," she said, her consonants lightly rounded by the hint of an Earth-culture accent. "Moving ahead, full impulse. I'll take us along a polar latitude." Under her fingers, the Von Klitzing danced forward.

Invictus was a Latin word meaning "unconquered", and Epsilon Invictus was a well-named star. Although dim in the scheme of the galaxy's suns, the red dwarf smoldered like a defiant ember against the darkness of space, the last light of a fire that refused to entirely go out. As the Von Klitzing approached, so tiny by comparison that it was more like a molecule than an insect, that light slowly began to strengthen, gradually turning from an almost maroon dimness to a brighter orange red. The calculations were good; a flare event would begin soon, likely within the next half hour.

"Sir," Lt. al-Karaki said slowly, addressing the captain, "there's something in orbit. A small object, approaching our position."

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, USS Von Klitzing
Bridge

Tobin turned from his conversation with the other senior officers and towards the liuetenant. He crossed his arms behind his back as he checked the viewer.

"On screen, if possible. What kind of course, lieutenant? If the pulsar has affected its navigation it may not see our location properly. Prepare to take evasive action. I would like to know what the object is."

[spinningdice]

Cmdr Ravaki | Executive Officer
Bridge, USS Von Klitzing

"Is it a ship? Check all frequencies for any attempts at communication - the conditions here may be causing interfance." Ravaki leans forward in her chair, but does not yet rise.
Without waiting for an answer she taps her com-badge "Shran to the bridge, we may require your expertise"

[Sir Shameful]

"There's interference from the star's radiation, captain," Lieutenant al-Karaki replied, "but I'll try to bring it up."

A grainy image played over the Von Klitzing's bridge screen, difficult to make sense of given the brightness of the star that took up much of the area being viewed. But if the crew looked closely, they could see it: a tiny grey object making gradual progress along the fiery corona. It could not be much bigger than two dozen meters long, about the size of a Federation shuttle, but given that its movement was visible against the vastness of Epsilon Invictus it must be hurdling along at incredible speed. "It's approaching us directly, Captain," the Lieutenant said after a moment's observation. "A collision course at high velocity. I doubt that's a natural phenomenon, sir. The odds are... well, they're astronomical."

A quick medium-range scan of the object revealed it to be a sort of rounded cone, with a hull that gleams dully, like weathered iron. There was an energy source somewhere inside, and the object seemed capable of accelerating and moving under its own power. Yet as the scan transmitted its data back to the Von Klitzing, something about the object changed. It accelerated slightly, and a blue-green shimmer briefly appeared around it. Energy output increased. "I don't think it liked that, Captain," Lieutenant al-Karaki murmured. "It's refusing hails on all frequencies. Still accelerating toward our position. Thrusters are ready for evasive action on your order."

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, USS Von Klitzing
Bridge

The captain moved quickly to his chair, his demeanour changing smoothly from the more casual nonchalance he adopts during normal times to a much more serious and focused demeanour.

"Yellow alert. Executive evasive maneuver Tobin Alpha 2. Until we know for certain that this is not the result of some failed scans or interference, we are not charging weapons. Continue to hail on all known frequencies."

[Squadfather42]

Cmdr Ravaki | Executive Officer
Bridge, USS Von Klitzing

"Is it a ship? Check all frequencies for any attempts at communication - the conditions here may be causing interfance." Ravaki leans forward in her chair, but does not yet rise.
Without waiting for an answer she taps her com-badge "Shran to the bridge, we may require your expertise"

Lieutenant Keval Shran
Andorian Security Officer
USS Von Klitzing

"Acknowledged, on my way." Shran replied as he tapped his comm badge.

Putting down the security weapons inventory list he was working on, Shran made his way quivkly over to the nearest turbolift.

Upon, entering the bridge Shran took a couple steps forward and rendered a quick salute. "Lieutenant Shran, reporting as ordered."

[spinningdice]

Cmdr. Ravaki | Executive Officer
Bridge, USS Von Klitzing
Captain, perhaps we should withdraw? This may simply be some automated defensive system, if we pull back it may give us some time to consider, rather than provoking it further.
She nods to acknowledge Shran as he enters "Any insight, Lieutenant?"

[Squadfather42]

Cmdr. Ravaki | Executive Officer
Bridge, USS Von Klitzing
Captain, perhaps we should withdraw? This may simply be some automated defensive system, if we pull back it may give us some time to consider, rather than provoking it further.
She nods to acknowledge Shran as he enters "Any insight, Lieutenant?"

"l agree mam, to engage a craft we know nothing about would be a mistake. For all we know, it could be an unmanned craft on a pre-determined flight path."

Shran continues to watch the unknown craft on the main screen.

"I recommend maintaining our current security level. I would then move the ship out of the flight path of the unknown vessel. If it keeps on its current path, then so be it. If it follows us, then its intentions are becoming clear. At that time, I advise going from yellow to red alert."

Shran as an after thought offers one last piece of advice.

"I would continue trying to hail it. I would also suggest cycling through all recorded languages. Just in case it doesn't respond to English."

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, USS Von Klitzing
Bridge

"I agree. We will evade the object now and observe its reaction to that. If it comes about to resume a collision course, we will withdraw and reassess from a safer distance."

The captain frowned slightly, the next aspect distasteful to him in many ways.

"Mr. Shran, if we are unable to withdraw and the object begins powering any weapons, make sure you have a firing solution, and then you may put the ship into red alert. Do not fire without a direct order."

[Squadfather42]

"Aye sir, I'll man the weapons station and monitor the sensors from there."

Shran moves quickly to the weapons station and takes control of it. Moving quickly, and yet carefully, Shran brings up the sensor readings on the unknown ship. With everything else a simple button press away, Shran monitors the situation.


If I need to roll anything just let me know. I'm a completely new player here.

[Sir Shameful]

"Taking evasive action, sir," the Lieutenant reported. Firing thrusters, the Von Klitzing rapidly adjusted course, moving out of the strange object's direct trajectory. There was a moment's tense silence, everyone watching the sensor readouts or the grainy image on the viewscreen. And then it happened. "Sir, the object is adjusting course," Lieutenant al-Karaki reported. "It's aiming right for us again, and closing fast." With its strange cone shape, the object seemed to slide through space, and the turn it made was effortless and fluid. No external engines were obvious; it was as if it were pulling itself forward.

At that moment, however, a sensor alert blared. It was almost unnecessary, given the increase in the brightness of Epsilon Invictus. "Captain, the luminosity event is beginning," the Lieutenant said, somewhat redundantly. "We don't seem to be in the direct path of any projected flares. If we withdraw, we'll miss our chance for optimal scan data." She was all business, as usual, but there was an undercurrent of strain in her voice. The scientific mission had been dangerous before the introduction of this unidentified object. How much was the crew willing to risk to finish it?

There was still no response on comms. Whatever it was either couldn't talk or wasn't interested.

[Squadfather42]

Lieutenant Keval Shran
Andorian Security Officer
USS Von Klitzing

Shran stands there at the weapons station deep in thought. Making the necessary adjustments to the station Shran is ready to begin a red-alert and getting a shooting solution.

"Orders, Sir?"


Since this is my first ever Star Trek game, please let me know what I need to roll for anything.

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, USS Von Klitzing
Bridge

Tobin leaned forward resting his chin in his hand for a moment. His brow creased as he formulated a response. Finally, he leaned back once more.

"Lieutenant, broadcast this message on all frequencies. Unidentified vessel: this is Captain Tobin Etahn of the Federation vessel Von Klitzing. We are currently attempting a scientific survey of this pulsar. You have now engaged a second attempt to ram our ship. Allow us to go about our business. If you continue in your attempt to ram this ship, we will take it as a sign of aggression and defend ourselves."

The captain made a gesture across his neck for the wide transmission to be killed.

"Mr. Shran, give them 10 seconds to make a sign of altering course. At that time, elevate to red alert and standby to fire. If you have to I want that object disabled not destroyed."

[Squadfather42]

Lieutenant Keval Shran
Andorian Security Officer
USS Von Klitzing

"Aye sir, standing by."

Shran responds as his finger hovers over the button to switch from yellow to red alert.

[Ascension]

Cmdr. Regh | Chief Engineer
A Jefferies Tube, USS Von Klitzing

Regh is still checking the last of the fail-safes when the yellow alert starts up. Scowling, he checks his chronometer again.

"Either the flare's come early, or something else has gone wrong," he mutters to himself, not liking the sound of either alternative.

Finishing up his work with uncharacteristic haste, he hauls himself out of the Jefferies tube and heads back toward Main Engineering.

"Engineering to Bridge," he calls over his combadge while in transit, "is your emergency likely to lead to damage reports?"

[spinningdice]

Cmdr. Ravaki | Exectuve Officer
Bridge, USS von Klitzing

Ravaki responds to leave the captain free to concentrate on the situation "Stand by engineering, we have an unidentified object, we've not yet established it's motive, also the flare appears to be firing early."

[Ascension]

Cmdr. Regh | Chief Engineer
Main Engineering, USS Von Klitzing

"So everything's gone awry all at once?" Regh summarizes, with a dry laugh. "That's about what I expected. Stand-by acknowledged; my people will be ready."

[Sir Shameful]

"Yes, sir," the Lieutenant replied. There was another tense silence as the message went out, a warning thrown out into the darkness of space. For a moment, it seemed that nothing would change. But then Lieutenant al-Karaki blew out a held breath. "Sir, the object is decelerating. It's still approaching, but it's bleeding speed. It should stop short of us."

Sure enough, the strange rounded cone glided to a halt just beyond the Von Klitzing's adjusted course. There was still no reply to the hails; the object seemed to be simply staring the science vessel down. After a moment, a ghostly blue-white light emerged from the tip of the cone, moving slowly along the length of the Von Klitzing like a caressing hand. "Sir," Lieutenant al-Karaki began, "it seems to be scanning us." After running along the length of the ship once, the light doubled back, this time growing brighter and more intense. And then, all at once, chaos broke loose. Alerts lit up every panel like an Earth nightclub, and a klaxon blared alarm. "Sir, we've lost power to shields! Radiation alert, all decks!"

It was only pandemonium for an instant; Commander Regh's carefully-prepared failsafes came online a moment later, and the shields sprang back to full effectiveness. "Sir," the Lieutenant said, regaining her composure, "medical requests are coming in from decks two through four. There was no structural damage, but power systems may have been affected by the radiation." On the viewscreen, the object turned in space like a half-spun top and began to depart, gradually accelerating away from the Von Klitzing - though still within easy range of any response the Captain deemed appropriate. The entire encounter had lasted perhaps twenty seconds.

Epsilon Invictus was still gradually growing in brightness as the flare event gathered strength.

[Anyr]

Lt Cmdr Randin | CMO
Sickbay, USS Von Klitzing

A flurry of alerts suddenly lit up Sickbay's terminals. Kaiya paused in the act of checking a tricorder. The next second, her voice rose above the general confusion.

"Medical requests coming in from decks two and four! Grab your medkits and get moving! Erin, Vorlai and Mary: You're with me."

Kaiya and her team would head for whichever deck seemed most urgent. Another team would handle the rest. And of course, some people would stay behind to keep sickbay running in her absence.

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, USS Von Klitzing
Bridge

Tobin tapped his badge.

"Bridge to Regh: good work with your shield systems. We need technicians to check the power systems. They could have been damaged by the radiation. Shran, change our shield harmonics in case another object returns. T'Loran, Number one: get us ready for a scan of the pulsar. Lieutenant, I need information on what happened with that scan. Did the scan shut down our shielding? Was the radiation effect from the loss of shielding or something the probe did?"

[Ascension]

Cmdr. Regh | Chief Engineer
Main Engineering, USS Von Klitzing

The Von Klitzing's engineering bay is a cacophony of alerts and alarms, and Regh hardly needs the captain's reminder to check the power systems, but he bites back a bitter retort. No point in antagonizing his new captain, particularly when there are plenty of lower-ranking targets for his sharp tongue much closer at hand.

"Don't stand there slack-jawed!" he roars at his staff. "If you expected anything less than the unexpected, Starfleet Academy should've held you all back for remedial classes."

He leans over a catwalk and jabs a gnarled finger down at a group of technicians clustered near the base of the ship's warp core.

"Henderson, Perez, Talas, get on the monitors for the primary electro-plasma system; Latha, Groznik, check the secondaries. Prepare to flush excess radiation from the conduits on my mark."

I'm assuming that this would functionally be the "Power Management" task, so I'll roll Control + Engineering. Power Management doesn't mention the ship assisting with any stats (though Regh being in Main Engineering, rather than on the bridge or elsewhere, should reduce the Difficulty from 2 to 1), so I'm going to spend the Momentum I earned earlier while readying failsafes to buy an extra die.

TN = 15, no Focuses apply
[roll0]

Incidentally, I ALMOST took a power systems focus, but decided not to at the last minute. May yet come to regret that. :smalltongue:

[whoiam]

Lt. Cmdr T'Loran | Science Officer
Bridge

T'Loran didn't need to do much in the way of preparations; Both she and her department had known the scans were coming up, after all. It was just a matter of when.

And this was as good a time as any.

Carefully avoiding scanning the ram-happy probe (no need to set it off again), she sent the signal down to the labs that they were going to put the flyby to good use...

[spinningdice]

Cmdr Ravaki | Executive Officer
Bridge, USS Von Klitzing

Lt. Shran, reference the shield logs with the limited scans we received to properly modulate the shields from further attacks, should our mysterious object return." she moves around to stand beside him in case he requires assistance.

[Ascension]

Cmdr. Regh | Chief Engineer
Main Engineering, USS Von Klitzing

"When it sleets, it hails," Regh grumbles, looking over the damage reports. The blended Andorian and Human crew of the Livingston, a creaky old Excelsior-class he'd served on straight out of the Academy, had displayed a remarkable talent for mangling their cultures' aphorisms.

"Sovik, Latha, with me," he orders. "We've still got some fires to put out."

He catches sight of Sovik's eyebrow before the Vulcan has time to ask the question.

"Those are figurative fires, Mr. Sovik," he clarifies, then grunts, "At least I hope they are."

Tool kit in hand again, he heads off toward the Jefferies tubes with his assistants in tow.

Reason + Engineering lowers my TN to 13, but I think I'll refrain from spending Momentum. We're living life on the edgeeeee!
[roll0]

[Squadfather42]

Lieutenant Keval Shran
Andorian Security Officer
USS Von Klitzing

"Aye, mam. It shouldn't take to long to make the necessary changes."

True to his word, and with the assistance of the XO, it was a in a short while that Shran had made the correct changes to the shields.

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, USS Von Klitzing
Bridge

Tobin stood and walked over to the science station, now more curious than ever as data was coming in. He couldn’t resist a smile as he saw T’Loran’s screens.

“This is incredible work from you and your team, T’Loran. This is what being a part of the Federation is all about. You’ve given us a trove of data.”

He turned back towards the rest of the bridge.

“That goes for all of you too. We had a few bumps starting off and I won’t say we are done with that yet, but we are on the cusp of success. And, we get to see an amazing stellar phenomenon. I count this as a win.”

[Sir Shameful]

The crew sprang into action, the mission still on their minds even as they dealt with the fallout of their encounter with the mysterious object. Commander Regh's initial efforts to purge radiation from the conduits were met with success - but as damage control systems came fully back online, new problems were revealed. There had been minor explosions within the conduits on Deck Seven; whatever the probe had done, it seemed to have overloaded the Von Klitzing's energy tolerances and ricocheted dangerously around its power systems. The cantankerous chief engineer and his assistants made their way down into the Jeffries tubes, hand over hand. Lights within the narrow metal passages flickered ominously, and the walls were blackened in places, the result of intense heat.

Unfortunately for the engineering team, they soon discovered that there were literal fires to put out. The launch subsystem for the Von Klitzing's photon torpedoes was ablaze when they arrived, and clearly beyond the possibility of an easy field repair. The ship would be down a weapons system until they could figure something out. In front of the torpedo system, having seemingly made a valiant attempt to shut it down before it caught fire, was the blackened and battered body of Ensign Ch'zathron. The young Andorian was still breathing, but it was a shallow gasp. His burns were terrible to behold. It seemed that Cmdr. Regh and his team were the first to discover him - he'd come here alone, probably crawling through the Jeffries tubes to try to save the subsystem when he saw it beginning to overload.

It wasn't difficult for Cmdr. Randin and her team to reach the area where the worst cases were concentrated - they were on Deck Four, and so was sickbay. Two of Starfleet's own were beyond help. Crewman Rahm and Crewman Darak had been in the shuttle bay when the shields failed; closest to the star, they had taken the full force of the radiation burst before the shields came back online, and had been killed instantly. They looked peaceful, as though they'd fallen asleep at their posts, their arms still reaching for the controls as they manned their duty stations. On a ship with a crew of 78, even after only two weeks, everyone knew everyone a little. Crewman Rahm had been shy, hiding behind her waves of blond hair, but had loved to sing. Crewman Darak had never shut up about plant genetics.

The worst surviving cases were concentrated in the lower access level to the computer core, where six crewmen had been preparing to accept and catalog the scan data. All were reporting dizziness, disorientation, and headaches - one was vomiting. All were classic symptoms of radiation sickness, which meant that the medical team had little time to treat them before even more severe effects set in.

On the bridge, Lt. Shran successfully altered the field harmonics of the shields under Cmdr Ravaki's careful direction - whatever had happened when the object had scanned the Von Klitzing, the ship would be ready for it next time. Meanwhile, T'Loran could not be distracted from her scientific mission. The powerful sensor arrays of the science vessel drank in data greedily, mapping magnetic fields and probing chemical composition. The resulting report was stunning, far beyond what Starfleet Command had asked for in detail; it would keep Federation scientists busy, probably for years to come. Outside, Epsilon Invictus continued to grow brighter, and the first flares began to erupt from its surface like young snakes bursting from the egg.

So far, the Von Klitzing was out of their path, but the event would only intensify.

Lieutenant al-Karaki was still pouring over data from the strange encounter, doing her best to answer the Captain's questions. "Sir," she began, choosing her words carefully, "the object's scan seems to work differently from Federation scans. It pushed so much energy into the Von Klitzing that our power systems exceeded their tolerances, causing a momentary shield failure and damage to some of our subsystems. Analyzing us on that level... well, it probably has incredibly detailed information on the ship, even its internal layout and systems. I can't say whether the effect on our shields was deliberate, but if not, it was certainly callous at the least." Outside, the object continued to move away, picking up speed. "I think it's about to enter warp, sir."

[spinningdice]

Cmdr Ravaki puts the painful crew deaths to one side for now, she can mourn for them later "We took damage to engines? So we have the ability to follow them. Though we need to tread carefully, if it is a new species they may assume that our ship could take that level of scan. I'd hate for a war to break out because of a minsunderstanding, even such a painful one. Though if they are hostile, and are leading us to a trap and torpedoes down..." Ravaki lays her thoughts out for the captain, the decision what to do is his.

[Ascension]

Cmdr. Regh | Chief Engineer
Torpedo Room, USS Von Klitzing

The sight of Ensign Ch'zathron sets Regh's stomach churning. In his long years of service around reactor systems, volatile electro-plasma networks, and the occasional explosive ordinance, he's seen his fair share of comrades and subordinates injured, but experience has not dulled the visceral shock of coming face to face with a person's pain.

Regh only took the most basic first aid course at the Academy, and he was never particularly good at it, but still he sinks to his knees beside the stricken ensign after only a cursory assessment of the damage to the torpedo mechanisms.

"Can you hear me, Ensign?" he asks, without a trace of his usual acerbic tone. "Stay with me. Help is on the way."

He points on toward the fires raging over the photon torpedo firing mechanisms.

"Sovik..." He trusts the Vulcan's logic more than his own, under these circumstances. "Make sure the fires aren't threatening the torpedo magazine itself. The last thing we need right now is a secondary explosion."

Even with safety baffles to vent the force of the blast, an explosion in the torpedo magazine could threaten the entire ship. The very possibility is unsettling.

As for Ensign Ch'zathron...

"Commander Regh to Sickbay. Are there any medical teams to spare? I have an officer in critical condition in the torpedo room."

I assume the ship has to have fire-control systems, but if they function by cutting off oxygen to the fire, we won't be able to put out the fire until Ensign Ch'zathron has been moved... unless we could get hold of an oxygen mask or four.

What can I do to try to salvage this awful situation? Medicine is the exact opposite of Regh's specialty, and I don't have the proper tools on hand for it, but I could attempt a hail-mary with Determination if I have to. (Perhaps off "The answer's always there, if you look closely enough"? "Better to be in the thick of it" might be able to cue off the hands-on, in-the-trenches element as well, but that's stretching it a little.)

[Anyr]

Lt Cmdr Randin | CMO
Shuttle bay/Computer core, USS Von Klitzing

Losing a shipmate never got easier. Kaiya didn't want it to get easier. She forced herself to look squarely at the two corpses. The grief they provoked was a good thing. It pushed her to become a better doctor. Poor Rahm had had such a wonderful voice: And equally wonderful thoughts. Darak had been so full of passion for his field of study. Now they were both gone forever. Kaiya didn't have the luxury of lingering with their memories, though.. Her duty was to prevent more people from joining them. With a heavy heart, she left the bodies behind.

Soon enough, she reached some patients who weren't yet beyond help. Kaiya and her team divided themselves amongst the six sickened people. They administered a flurry of scans, injections and reassuring words. The sight of Darak and Rahm had sharpened everyone's senses. They would do everything in their power to prevent the death toll from rising any higher.

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, USS Von Klitzing
Bridge

The captain considered this for a moment after listening to his first officer. They had lost good people today, but everyone he knew to his core had done the best that they could in every moment. He owed it to their memories to continue the duty that they had sworn to uphold. At the same time, his own duty pulled him in mutiple directions. To pursue the craft or let it warp away; to return the data safely or hold on to it. A few beats later and he had made his decision.

“Signal Starfleet that we are following an object in a potential first contact situation. Send them our pulsar data via subspace as well. Keep this distance between us and the craft, but let us follow it.”

After giving the orders, he checked in on his command console. He activated a half dozen crewmen two hours earlier than their shifts to relieve members of Regh and Randin’s teams. They’d taken a blow, whether in frenzied work or teammates and he wanted to try to ease the burden for them.

After finishing, he reviewed the sensor data from their entire encounter with the probe, from the moment they had spotted it until the present. He and his crew had attempted to see how it responded to their expectations of signalling, but had not looked for anything else. His experience with the bioluminescence language years earlier reverberated in his mind as he began to look at everything on his console with the eye of a linguist, looking for communication in any pattern.

I figured I could not resist this possibility. Since I built a little momentum, I would like to spend one to look at this. If I rolled anything wrongly, let me know but I’m assuming this is an Insight + Science (13, <4) check: [roll0]

[Sir Shameful]

"Yes, sir," the helmsman replied. "The object is accelerating to Warp 6; I'll match them and maintain distance."

As the Von Klitzing turned her back on Epsilon Invictus, the flare event cast bright streaks of red-orange across the system, an omnidirectional volcano of light and heat. It was a beautiful and terrible sight to behold, the likes of which most of the crew would not see again in their lifetimes. But there were questions that needed answering, and this system had given all the answers it could for now. The science vessel accelerated to warp, rapidly leaving the defiant star behind. Meanwhile, Captain Etahn poured over sensor data of the encounter with the probe, searching for some way to use Starfleet's preferred tool - open communication. He had seen unique modes of language before, and hoped to find one again.

The object had not seemed to recognize any hailing frequency, and certainly had not communicated on one. But as the Captain reviewed the entire log with trained and clever eyes, a pattern began to emerge. He looked again at the flash of blue-green light that had surrounded the rounded cone when it was scanned, a subtle and shifting mixture of colors, and it gave him an idea. He looked closer and closer at the grainy footage of the encounter, comparing it against sensor data. The colors had been brightest at that moment, but there had been a slight sheen surrounding the object on many other occasions - not least when it scanned the Von Klitzing, when a dull orange light had briefly played around its exterior.

Could it be a pattern of communication? Captain Etahn fed it into the universal translator, allowing the ship's computer to help him find out.

That would take some time as the translator chewed on the data; on a lower deck, a much more urgent matter was being decided. Ensign Ch'zathron moaned feebly as Cmdr. Regh knelt by him, hardly seeming to recognize anything going on around him. His breathing was getting shallower and shallower - he badly needed the facilities of sickbay, but to move him without stabilizing him first risked his life just as surely as leaving him here. "Sir," said Ensign Trent, a mousy young human woman with near-encyclopedic knowledge of weapons systems, "the heat has partially melted several of the safety baffles. If we don't put out this fire soon..." The possibility hung in the near-scalding air. A magazine explosion at warp speed would be a disaster.

No one suggested leaving Ensign Ch'zathron and activating the fire suppression system, which would surely kill him. But the possibility had to have crossed their minds.

The lower computer core was frantic with activity as the sickbay team did their best to treat the radiation exposure cases. In the midst of the intense and dedicated effort, Crewman Menendez tapped Cmdr. Randin on her shoulder. "Sir," he said, "word from sickbay. There's a critically injured crewman in the Jeffries tubes on Deck Seven. Just keeping you informed." He turned back to his patient, whom he was helping to lie down while he administered another injection. Cmdr. Randin now faced a choice - she could stay and coordinate the response to the radiation poisoning, which would help the sickbay team do the most good there, or she could rush to Cmdr. Regh's location to try to help save Ensign Ch'zathron.

"Sir," reported Lieutenant al-Karaki, "we're receiving a subspace burst from Starbase 82." It was much too fast to be a response to the Von Klitzing's own burst; at this distance it would take quite some time for that one to even arrive, much less receive a reply. The transmission must have been sent much earlier, likely days ago, and was only now reaching the distant science vessel; there were no relay stations out here to speed the process. The message was from Rear Admiral T'Shath, the station's commanding officer and coordinator of the Gorn Periphery exploration initiative. "Captain, there's been a disturbance on the Gorn border: a large buildup of ships and a flurry of coded transmissions. It's near your projected location; be cautious."

I'd allow "the answer's always there, if you look closely enough" for determination in Regh's situation. In the spirit of that value, it doesn't have to be a medical roll if Regh can come up with a creative solution using other skills or materials.

I need a roll from Kaiya, either to coordinate the radiation treatment (Difficulty 1 Insight + Medicine) or to go help Regh (Difficulty 2 Insight + Medicine).

Other crew - security, first officer, science, captain - are welcome to try to help with either situation, whether in person or through coordinating efforts from the bridge.

[Anyr]

Kaiya hesitated for only a moment. The choice was obvious: Six people VS one; Right here VS far away. She stayed with the six right here. Ensign Ch'zathron's treatment would be in someone else's hands. She continued to treat the irradiated crew members.

Insight + Medicine (15): [roll0]

I'm guessing that Menendez was already here before Kaiya arrived? Because he's not part of the team she brought with her.

[spinningdice]

"We're a little short handed sir, unless you need me I'll go to where we're worst hit and help with damage control."

"Randin, Negrand, where do you need me, let's get the wounded stablised and systems operational."

[Squadfather42]

Lieutenant Keval Shran
Andorian Security Officer
USS Von Klitzing

Shran lookd up ftom the security console. "Sir, do you need me to remain here and monitor the console, or do you need me to assist elsewhere?"

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, USS Von Klitzing
Bridge

“Mr. Shran, accompany the Commander. Number one, whatever Regh needs to get that fire under control, he gets.

Doctor, I am going to initiate a site-to-site transport for the injured crewman that is with Regh. I will transport him directly into a biobed and attempt to activate the emergency systems there. That should buy you and your team a little time and make life easier for Regh and the others to lockdown the torpedo controls.”

Tobin moves to an Ops control and helps the crew there set up the site to site transport, directly entering the information when necessary.

Site-to-Site Transport: Control+Medicine vs 14 (<4 since I imagine this is decidedly emergency medicine): [roll0]

Also, this can be assumed to be withdrawn if Regh posts first regarding heroic attempts

[Ascension]

Cmdr. Regh | Chief Engineer
Torpedo Room, USS Von Klitzing

Without his Starfleet Academy training, or his long years of experience, Commander Regh might have been tempted to give in to despair. Worse, he might have been tempted to sacrifice one life... that of Ensign Ch'zathron... for the good of the 70+ others aboard the Von Klitzing.

But he, like many, many Starfleet officers before him, has looked seemingly no-win scenarios in the face before, and he knows in his heart that there is always an answer. It won't be obvious, it's likely not simple, and it almost certainly won't be easy... but if you have the vision to see it, it's always there.

He pries an access panel off the wall, swinging out an auxiliary computer terminal. The purpose he has in mind for it wasn't anywhere in the thoughts of the Nova-class's designers, but... all systems link back to the same computer core. It should be doable. In theory.

Swiping furiously at the panel to dismiss the tactical overlays mistakenly assuming that he's attempting to manually fire the torpedoes, he murmurs, just loud enough to be heard, "Computer... give me the exact spatial coordinates of the first empty bed in the Von Klitzing's burn ward, relative to this room."

"Commander," Sovik urges, the slightest disruption audible in his eternally calm tone, "the action you are considering would be difficult to attempt even with direct access to the transporter controls."

"Ensign Latha," Regh grunts, not taking his eyes off the LCARS panel, "didn't you tell me you used to help your sister out in a volunteer clinic before the Bajoran liberation? Does that man look like he's going to survive without treatment?"

Latha's silence says all there is to be said.

"Mr. Sovik... what I am attempting to do may kill Ensign Ch'zathron, and if it does, that will be on my conscience. However, he would be no more dead fused to the deck of Sickbay than he would be if three gearheads from Engineering and a junior tactical officer decided to try to play doctor. I, for one, choose to opt for the course that sincerely attempts to save this man's life."

An uneasy silence falls across the torpedo room, broken only by the ominous roar of the still-raging fires. Regh finds himself dearly wishing his race was in possession of more active sweat glands.

After a couple minutes of rising tension, he leans back from the console and squints one last time at Ensign Ch'zathron's body, and at his tricorder, reassuring himself of his calculation of the wounded Andorian's exact position.

"Regardless of the outcome of this attempt, we are about to evacuate this compartment and activate the automated fire suppression systems, is that understood? If this goes wrong... let me deal with that. I assure you, my knack for criticism does not limit itself to the faults of others."

He meets their eyes... Sovik, Latha, Trent. Finally, his gaze settles on Ensign Ch'zathron, and he holds that image, burning the sight of the young Ensign into his mind. For good or for ill.

"Transporters," he orders the computer, "site-to-site transport, using provided coordinates. Engage."

He doesn't wait to see whether his ploy worked.

"Okay, people, we are moving. Clear the torpedo room. Computer, engage fire suppression systems as soon as that door is sealed."

Transportation is Control+Engineering, aided by the ship's Sensors+Engineering, at Difficulty 2, raised 1 if the target isn't on a transporter pad, raised another 1 if the destination isn't, with possible adjustments for other factors (which I suspect may apply in this situation).

I'm buying a die already set at 1 with Determination, giving me at least 2 successes. I will further buy another die by taking 2 Momentum from the pool.

TN on Regh's dice is 15, Transporters & Replicators Focus applies if 4 or below. TN on the Ship's die is 13. 2 successes from Determination.
Regh: [roll0] Ship: [roll1]

Regh's Veteran Talent gives him a chance to regain spent Determination. Effect die: [roll2], Determination regained on a roll of 5 or 6.

Here's hoping.

[Squadfather42]

Lieutenant Keval Shran
Andorian Security Officer
USS Von Klitzing

"Aye sir."
Shran steps away from the weapons console, and moves towards the XO.

"Ready when you are Mam."

[Sir Shameful]

It shouldn't have worked. Not really. Site to site transportation within a starship was uncertain - and that was under ideal circumstances.

Perhaps it was the Captain's manual assistance on the far end. Perhaps it was Cmdr. Regh's never-say-die ingenuity. Perhaps it was simple luck. But Ensign Ch'zathron's body shimmered, at first uncertainly, and then with the telltale signature of a successful transport. Sickbay confirmed his arrival a moment later. There would be scarring, weeks of physical recovery and months or more of psychological recuperation, but the Andorian would survive; he'd been rescued just in time.

Fire suppression systems kicked in without incident thereafter, quickly quenching the blaze that had threatened the photon torpedo magazine. Commander Randin's team was having success at the computer core, as well. The sickbay staff worked diligently, staving off any further damage from radiation sickness and easing the pain of the afflicted. The Von Klitzing would be down nine crewmen for a while, two of them permanently, but every life that could be saved had been.

There was relatively little physical damage beyond that caused by the fire in the photon torpedo subsystem, but the Von Klitzing's power systems had certainly taken a pounding. Although Cmdr. Regh had successfully purged the conduits of radiation, dozens of heat sinks had melted and many failsafes were no longer active. The shields had been modulated to defend against any further aggressive scans, but if another power surge did occur, it could be even more devastating. Damage control could restore some of the failsafes to at least partial functionality.

As the injured were settled into sickbay, the pursuit of the conical object continued. "Sir," Lieutenant al-Karaki said, her expression revealing that she was once again the bearer of bad news, "I've extrapolated the object's destination based on our current trajectory. It's headed directly for the Federation colony at Gamma Evangeline III." That particular colony was one of the Federation's most far-flung, on the very border of the Gorn Periphery; the Von Klitzing had passed it on its way out from Starbase 82. It seemed that the science vessel would be detouring back the way it had come.

"If we accelerate to Warp Eight, we could bypass the object and reach the colony first," the Lieutenant offered.

Nice work on the intra-ship transport! Creative idea. I allowed the Captain's success to assist.

Regh keeps his determination; good roll. The photon torpedo system is currently beyond full repair, but Regh could attempt a jury-rigged solution or focus his efforts elsewhere.

The XO and Security can work on damage control with a Difficulty 2 Presence + Engineering task to restore power failsafes.

Sorry for the slowdown; full day at work, and then Shadow of War came out and I neglected my responsibilities.

[spinningdice]

Cmdr. Ravaki
USS Von Klitzing

Ravaki got to work hiking out burned out heatsinks and either replacing or patching them, while giving orders to a team to do the same



Presence + Engineering (15) [roll0]

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, USS Von Klitzing
Bridge

Once again a slight frown played across the Captain’s face. This was not a good day. This was not a good situation to find themselves in. The Gorn, an unidentifed ship heading towards a Federation colony, damaged weaponry and worst of all members of his crew injured or dead.

“Accelerate to warp 8. Send a message ahead to the colony administrator and include as much detail on the effects of the ship’s scans as we can. Tell them we will explain more when we arrive. T’Loran, when the computer finishes working on something for me, might I borrow your scientific experience? I would like a second set of eyes on this before we encounter that ship again.”

Tobin checked the computer’s progress on his translation project.

[Ascension]

Cmdr. Regh | Chief Engineer
Jefferies Tubes, USS Von Klitzing

Having rushed from trouble to trouble all throughout the Von Klitzing since even before the unidentified probe's disastrous scan, and having just been through an emotional ordeal with Ensign Ch'zathron, Regh is beginning to tire... enough so that he barely bites back when Commander Ravaki begins ordering around his damage control teams.

"Surely you remember that red isn't an engineer's color any more, ma'am," he gently chides as he hurries, ever so slightly out of breath, to make his own presence known where the Executive Officer has identified the worst of the damage to the ship's failsafes. By the time he arrives, there's little enough left to do, but that doesn't stop him from wading in until he's elbow-deep in wiring.

These old bones don't move as fast as they once did.

Control + Engineering to assist, TN 15. Just one die, since it's an assist roll.
[roll0]

[spinningdice]

"I have complete faith in you commander, but the captain's moving us along at breakneck speed and I'm more useful here than staring out the viewscreen on the bridge. By all means I bow to your authority in this domain" Ravaki smiles at the engineer, trying to put him at ease. Last thing she needs is animosity in the ranks. She's new to command positions, at least in this host.

[Squadfather42]

Shran works around the clock trying to make what repairs that he can.


Total=11
[roll0]
[roll1]

[whoiam]

Lt. Cmdr T'Loran | Science Officer
Bridge

"Of course, Sir." Cataloguing the sensor scans could wait - or more accurately, could be delegated to the rest of her department. They did have a lot of science personnel on board, after all.

With her work being carried on elsewhere, T'Loran leaves her station and approaches the Captain's chair. "So, what were you working on, Sir?"

[Sir Shameful]

Slowly, under the senior staff's careful direction, ship and crew recovered together.

Repairs were somewhat limited by the availability of supplies, and the Von Klitzing's internal configuration was decidedly less pristine then it had been a few hours earlier despite the effort that went into fixing it, but the energy safeguards were back online. The only system that would require intensive fixing, beyond what could be done while traveling the fringe of known space, was the photon torpedo launcher, and the necessary components should be available at the Gamma Evangeline colony. Everyone was tired, and some tempers were beginning to fray, but the science vessel had survived its first real test. Whether it could fully and peacefully resolve the situation it had encountered, however, remained to be seen.

"Message away, sir," Lieutenant al-Karaki reported. "At warp eight it will take us approximately 36 hours to reach Gamma Evangeline III. Repairs should be complete at that point, and all injured crewmen except Ensign Ch'zathron should be cleared to return to active duty. We will arrive about twelve to sixteen hours ahead of the object if it maintains its current speed." For now, the senior staff would have a breather, downtime to plan their approach once they arrived at the colony. It also provided an opportunity to pour over the Von Klitzing's information on Gamma Evangeline III itself and gather together any pertinent facts that might help them determine a course of action.

Gamma Evangeline III was a young colony, established only about thirty years prior to the current stardate. It hosted an odd mix of scientists and miners, with some tensions between the two throughout its history. It'd had trouble with Orion pirates from time to time as well; on several occasions colonists had been kidnapped and sold into slavery. Starfleet was able to recover some of them, but nearly a dozen had disappeared into the shadow market before they could be rescued. There had been some concerns about the colony's close proximity to the Gorn Hegemony given the Federation's disastrous first contact with the Gorn, but the reptillians had never so much as referenced the colony in a diplomatic communication.

Scientists on the planet were engaged in a long-term study of geothermal anomalies and the unusual extinction cycles of local lifeforms.

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, USS Von Klitzing
Bridge

He gestured at the panel displaying the linguistic data he had fed in regarding the possible language forms being presented by the object.

“I have to believe there was something we were missing; some attempt to communicate that perhaps we just were not capable of seeing. I input some readings of light fluctuations from the object into the universal translator. Your insights would be most welcome.”

[Anyr]

Kaiya spent most of the journey nursing people back to health: Both physically and mentally. Treating the remaining radiation symptoms was a simple matter, now that the crisis had passed. Calming people's nerves was trickier. Kaiya could feel the crew's tension growing throughout the ship. She did what she could to ease it. Of course, Kaiya herself wasn't exactly in peak condition either. Filling out two death certificates had that effect. Hopefully that feeling would help her empathise with those she comforted.

[Squadfather42]

Despite the setbacks and the repairs, Shran still feels as if something else could happen. As such, he monitors the tactical station and notes even the most minute changes.

[spinningdice]

"The way it's shooting off towards the Gorn border, seems to me like it's trying to provoke a war. Now whether its a third party, some faction with the Gorn Hegemony, or even a rogue group within the Federation that is provoking this, is were the question seems to lie."

[Ascension]

Unlike some Chief Engineers, Regh is not a habitual visitor to the bridge, but the impending confrontation with the mysterious probe is a large enough problem to bring him out of his usual demesne.

"If we're going to face that thing again, we need to be prepared in the event that it chooses to 'scan' us again," he says, with heavy skepticism on the word 'scan' as a description of what the probe did. "That 'scan' did more damage to us in one go than most weapons I've come across."

He nods to T'Loran.

"Lieutenant Commander, I'd like to see whatever sensor logs we have on the scan event itself, both external and internal readings. We need to find out if it's possible to harden the electro-plasma systems against the effects of the probe, or to adjust our shields so they won't be immediately overwhelmed."

He scowls as bleak thoughts cloud his mind.

"I'm proud of my people and their work, but unless we're able to make adjustments in advance, I can't guarantee how much of the Von Klitzing would survive a second contact with that thing."

[Sir Shameful]

Theories flew, but no consensus could be reached. There was too much information lacking. Whether the object was some new weapon, a destabilizing force on the Periphery, or first contact with a species so alien that no traditional form of communication could reach them, it was headed for a Federation colony, and that made the lives of Federation civilians the Von Klitzing's priority. There was no telling what it would do when it arrived. Further reviewing the sensor logs did not reveal any new information. The science vessel's shields were modulated to resist the damaging effects of the object's scans, and the power system failsafes had been restored. That was as much preparation as was possible.

The hours of the journey flew by, the turning of the duty shift clock restoring some sense of normalcy aboard the Von Klitzing - though nothing could shake the apprehension that came with this suddenly dangerous mission. The science vessel overtook the object as expected, arriving at the colony well ahead of it. "Dropping out of warp now, sir," Lieutenant al-Karaki reported. Somewhat refreshed after a little sleep, she still looked stressed - everyone did. To have something rip past the shields and cause direct damage like that strange scan had put the whole crew on edge, especially after losing two of their own. The mood among standard crewmen was openly hostile toward the strange object.

Gamma Evangeline III was a rugged-looking world of tall mountains and thick jungles, much like Earth might have appeared when the dinosaurs still roamed it. The lights of the colony could be seen on the night side, moving toward dawn. It looked peaceful, but the sense of tranquility was not to last. "Sir," the Lieutenant reported, "I have Administrator Escobar of the colony hailing us."

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, USS Von Klitzing
Bridge

“Open a channel. Administrator Escobar: this is Captain Tobin Etahn of the Von Klitzing. What is your status?”

[Sir Shameful]

Administrator Escobar was a trim woman in her early forties, her hair back in a sensible bun and her clothes cleanly pressed. Her expression was collected and professional, but more than a hint of worry was audible when she spoke. "Captain," she said, offering a nod and a brief, strained smile, "we're glad to see you. We got your message. Nothing here is out of the ordinary, so far as we can tell, but we're concerned about this object you described. We've recalled our scientists to the colony proper, and security teams are on alert."

She looked briefly uncomfortable. "I also contacted Starbase 82 to request support. I mean no offense, but you're not a warship. If we're going to be attacked, we need to be ready." Behind her, several attendants are working on terminals, clearly coordinating whatever response the colony could. "Two Starfleet ships are on their way, but they won't arrive before this... thing does. I'd like to invite you and your senior staff down to the colony so that we can discuss the situation and come up with a plan of action."

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, USS Von Klitzing
Bridge

He stood up, grasping his hands behind his back. Warships. He understood the desire but he was saddened that the situation could call for them. He swallowed back these thoughts.

“That was a sensible precaution, Administrator but I am still hopeful we can emerge with a peaceful solution. My senior staff and I will beam down to the surface immediately.”

He turned back to the assembled staff.

“Number One, T’Loran, Mr. Shran; you will be with me. Regh: your expert opinion please. Are you better staying here or beaming to the surface? ”

He tapped his badge as well.

“Captain to Dr. Randin: please meet us in the transporter room.”

[Anyr]

"On my way."

Kaiya would soon arrive in the transporter room. Her belt was adorned with the standard 'just in case' supplies for generic missions. She gave everyone present a bright smile.

"So, why are we he-Oh! a meeting with the Administrator? I see. Well as always, my knowledge is at your disposal."

Actually answering Kaiya's questions was often unnecessary. She just saw the answer forming in your mind.

[spinningdice]

"Keep our comm-badges locked onto, should the object arrive early bring us straight back to the ship." Ravaki follows the captain the transport room.

[whoiam]

Lt. Cmdr T'Loran | Science Officer
Bridge

"Captain?" T'Loran was busy equipping herself for an away mission - which, in her case, was grabbing a tricorder and a phaser - but still spoke her mind as she did so. "If the Gorn surprise the ship, do you really want them to be able to catch it without any of the senior officers on the bridge? Even if Commander Regh has more work to do, that'll be repairs down in the lower decks - can't have one officer doing that and taking the bridge watch simultaneously."

[Squadfather42]

"Aye sir, on my way." Shran responds to the Captain's hail. Making sure that everything in Security is taking care or, he secures his phaser and heads towards the transporter room.

[Ascension]

Regh frowns. There's far more he wants to get done aboard the ship, but given the timescale and the materials available to him, little of it seems realistically achievable. What a humiliating situation to be in, as an engineering officer... just one encounter with the unknown and his ship already needs the attentions of a starbase. But perhaps...

"Gamma Evangeline III... the colony does a lot of mining, doesn't it? That planet might answer the difficulties we've been having with repairs better than the ship's stores ever could. My background is in materials engineering... if the right minerals are present in those miners' haul, we might be able to repair the damage to the torpedo room without needing to put in to starbase for replacement parts. I'll go down with you and see if Administrator Escobar can put me in touch with a mining representative."

Bar an unpleasant surprise... a possibility which seems frighteningly likely, given recent events, but Regh tries to dismiss that worry as paranoia... Lt. Sovik should be able to handle the ongoing maintenance work long enough for Regh to take a brief sojourn dirtside.

[Sir Shameful]

The senior officers assembled in the transporter room, considering their options as they prepared for the meeting. Lieutenant al-Karaki was, as the First Officer had requested, on standby on the bridge, and would maintain a lock on the senior's staff's comm badges. Any sign of the object, or of other trouble, and she would order the officers beamed back aboard. Although junior officers commanded the bridge for now, they were taking the responsibility seriously, and had assured the captain that they would remain vigilant no matter how long his meeting took.

The transporter energized, and the senior staff found themselves in a simple but functional room, facing the small delegation that had come to greet them. Administrator Escobar stood at the front of the group, offering a thin smile. Her hands, clasped together in front of her, were clutching each other so hard that the knuckles were white - it wasn't just Kaiya that could feel the stress pouring off of her. She was flanked by two men. One was older, grey-haired and slightly stooped in posture, but with bright blue eyes that took in every detail.

The other was younger, perhaps in his thirties, with blond hair that hung down almost over his eyes. He was fidgeting, seeming to find it difficult to stand still, and appeared even more agitated than the Administrator. Escobar stepped forward, making a welcoming gesture. "Captain, welcome to Madsen's Landing. I believe we still have the honor of being the Federation's furthest-flung colony in the quadrant, but we still pride ourselves on our hospitality."

She gestured to the older man. "This is Dr. Quentin Stone, who heads up local research." Dr. Stone inclined his head, offering a brief smile. "It's good to meet you. We're not looking at the same fields - it's largely geology and ecology here - but I'm still glad to meet fellow scientists."

Escobar nodded, then gestured to the other man. "This is Dr. Adam Sandhurst, our medical officer and liaison with the mining cooperative." Sandhurst frowned. "Replacement medical officer," he growled. "The Orions got the last one." Escobar stiffened, but let the matter drop.

"If you'll follow me, please, we'll discuss the matter in my conference room." The trio led the way through a quick succession of tastefully appointed hallways and into a central room, where a long wooden table sat surrounded by well-crafted chairs. Everyone was scarcely into their seats when Escobar began speaking again. "I've been over your report several times. If this... thing can rip past shields like that, it's a serious threat. What I don't understand is why it would come after us. We're not a rich or strategically significant colony. Apart from our distance, we're not particularly remarkable."

"It's a Gorn weapon," Sandhurst interjected, his voice loud and forceful, "or an Orion trick. Who knows their motives, besides greed and evil. We need to hit it before it reaches us, slow it down until the Starfleet ships can get here and blow it apart." Stone raised an eyebrow, his mouth turning down in quiet disapproval, but he didn't interrupt. The words hung over the table - Escobar was certainly considering the option.

[Ascension]

"With all due respect," Regh speaks up, in a tone that implies that 'all' still doesn't amount to very much, "as the man in charge of repairing the damage it's caused so far, I'm fully qualified to tell you that if destruction was that thing's intent, the crew of the Von Klitzing would already be breathing vacuum."

Yes, Regh knows he's preempting his captain, and yes, he himself has recently referred to the probe's attentions as "scans," with emphasis on the air quotes, but he feels somewhat obligated, as the ship's ranking Tellarite, to be oppositional. Besides, the discovery that the administrator's liaison with the miners is a towheaded junior doctor already has him in a bad mood. He needs to talk to a metallurgist or geologist or even crew foreman, someone who'd at least recognize the words if he started listing off his material requirements for the torpedo room repairs. Sandhurst, from the sound of it, has nothing but anxieties to share.

"Obviously, it's still dangerous... but if it's a weapon, it's not very good at its job."

[spinningdice]

Cmdr Revaki | Executive Officer
Conference Room, Gamma Evangeline III

"Regardless of it's intent, our vessel is one thing. Everyone on board chose to put our lives on the line to discover new worlds and civilisations. However if it threatens the colony here, these people do not. We may have no choice but to take action should it approach."

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn,
Conference Room, Gamma Evangeline

“I do not think we should jump to battle yet. For the very same reasons you stated in requesting support from Starfleet, we owe it to ourselves to see if there is a peaceful, scientific solution. We are, I presume, all dedicated to those principals.”

He smiled,’mostly to defuse the tension he knew he would cause by putting a damper on their aggressive instincts. He felt very concerned, knowing that Kaiya could feel this, that if the object did reappear he might not have the ability to enact a peaceful resolution before violence.

“That said, of course, self-defense may be our final solution. We will aid you until the other ships arrive. Until then, I would suggest three courses of action.

First, we should estimate how long and if possible for us to evacuate the colony if we need to.

Second, we should establish emergency shelters in the event an attack comes before other avenues are explored.

Third, we should continue to work on efforts to communicate with the object. If you have any linguists or machine language specialists, I can coordinate their efforts.

Thoughts?”

He looked around the table, hoping he had exerted just enough authority to keep the thoughts away from outright attack, if only for a moment.

[whoiam]

Lt. Cmdr T'Loran | Science Officer
Conference Room, Madsen's Landing


"The captain seems incapable of leaving me to my work. Is he still convinced he's the Science Officer? Or does he just not trust me?""


"Sir, would the Captain's attention not be better spent on preparing to defend a star system using only one set of colonists and a damaged science vessel? We have a large and well-trained science team that is of no particular military significance, but who can handle the linguistic analysis - including the contributions of any scientists we can borrow from the colony - without drawing your attention away from the other, rather harder, tasks at hand.

That said, I would also add 'electronic countermeasures to conceal the colony' and 'remote sensor arrays to try and trigger the probe's aggressive response to incoming scans in a safe direction' to the list of possible preparations."

[Anyr]

Kaiya almost winced at the local tension. The colony's representatives didn't seem at all harmonious. Even the landing party brought its fair share of doubt and conflict. But Kaiya found Dr. Sandhurst to be the most jarring of all. It was quite a shock to hear the medical officer advocating total destruction. What pain had this man suffered to reach such a state? Kaiya remembered the deaths of Darak and Rahm. If the death toll were to rise higher, would she become just as bitter? A concern to guard against. Regardless, Kaiya felt duty bound to speak against her counterpart's opinion: Especially since she could sense the administrator considering it.

"Dr. Sandhurst's view fails to take a certain possibility into account. What if the object really is the herald of an unknown race...and is one of many? You're clearly concerned for the lives of your comrades. You want to eliminate a possible threat as quickly as possible. But for all we know, destroying that object could provoke an army of them to attack. You're already dealing with the threat of two alien races. Earning the ire of a third would be disastrous."

[Sir Shameful]

Sandhurst looked somewhat taken aback by Regh's frank assessment of the object's destructive capabilities. Evidently the Tellarite's words had made him begin to wonder if even Starfleet's reinforcements could destroy the threat, and that the possibility that they could not troubled him deeply. For her part, Escobar seemed to deflate, looking even more tired. It was clear there was nothing like consensus among the Starfleet crew.

"Evacuating the colony is out of the question," she said simply, her voice quiet but firm. "Even if we could pull up stakes within the twelve hour estimate you gave me before that thing arrives, I'd never convince the people here to do so. Are we supposed to run from every threat that comes our way? We knew there would be risks when we became frontier colonists, but we did it anyway because we are not afraid to face them."

"And that's why we should listen to her," Sandhurst broke in, pointing at Commander Ravaki. "It attacked a Starfleet ship already, so it's clearly hostile. Surely you've come up with some kind of countermeasures by now. If it comes for us, your protection is the only chance we've got." Stone interjected, putting a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Adam," he started, but the medical officer brushed him off, and he fell silent.

Escobar broke the tense moment by speaking again. "We have emergency storm shelters, but if the weapon used on your ship was strong enough to cause that much damage with a momentary attack, I don't think they'll provide much protection. Our scientists mostly study non-sapient life and geology, but I can put anyone with relevant experience to what you're describing at your disposal. I doubt they'll match your qualifications, though."

Stone spoke up in reaction to T'Loran's words, his gravelly voice soft and calming. "I'd be interested in seeing what you have in mind, Lt. Commander. Hiding the whole colony would be no mean feat, and I don't know if I want to provoke an aggressive response even in the opposite direction, but I am interested in using what we know about the object already to come up with a solution. Which is why I'd like to examine a question: why is it coming here?"

The words hung in the air a moment, and then Stone elaborated. "What makes us, or our planet, of interest to it?"

Sandhurst broke in again, temper flaring. "Because we're a Federation colony, Stone, and it wants to wipe us out. What other explanation is there? And if it's the first of many," he said, addressing Kaiya with fire flashing in his eyes, "then we - and the Federation - have much bigger problems, because when it attacked you, it and whatever sent it declared war. It's already hostile. If it's got a fleet of ships like it, then we'd better get more reinforcements."

Stone shook his head. "I want to ask your question again, Adam, without the assumptions. What other explanation is there?" He leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of him. "How do we know that it's even here for us?"

[Squadfather42]

Shran listens to the different opinions flowing from both groups.

"The shuttles first action was a scan of our ship. Granted, it was an odd action for a first contact situation, but not outwardly hostile. You're willing to risk the safety of our crew and your colonists on a hunch that you think it's hostile."

[whoiam]

Lt. Cmdr T'Loran | Science Officer
Conference Room, Madsen's Landing

"Commander Regh and I did have some time to analyze the 'attack' on the flight here. As far as we were able to tell, the drone has at no point actually attacked us; It's scan interfered with our shields, internal and external - we just happened to be caught between solar flares and warp plasma at the point it scanned us.

Taking the time to carefully shut down any such 'sensitive' systems and then moving your population into the shelters should be sufficient to safeguard lives. We have, however, not studied it enough to be sure if the machinery of the colony will be safe if exposed to the probe's scans - even if said machinery is de-activated at the time of scanning. That said, repairing colony equipment is still far preferable to repairing colonists, no?

As for 'provoking' it, I would not recommend it as an opening gambit, but rather am contingency response for if it does begin an actual assault on the colony during it's sojurn in this system."

[EarthenRite]

Gamma Evangeline, Captain Tobin Etahn
Conference Room

“Mr. Sandhurst, tempers are frayed and there is reason to be concerned. A possible unknown entity caused damage to our ship and is en route to this planet. However, there is only reason to be concerned , not planning to go to war.

Mr. Stone’s question lies at the heart of this matter. We have absolutely no reason to believe this object wants anything to do with Gamma Evangeline per se. It would be accurate to say that we have no idea what it wants. As T’loran mentioned, our questions outnumber our answers and that is no place for violence to intrude.

However, you may rest assured that the Von Klitzing will do whatever is necessary to protect the lives on this planet.”

[Squadfather42]

Shran stands there,in a comfortable yet imposing stance, watching the two groups debate about the shuttle.

As he watches, Shran finds his thoughts racing through their own brief encounter with the shuttle. Even though the shields took a heavy hit, there was no serious damage.

With the Commander's help, he was even able to find out that scan from the shuttle didn't interfere with the systems or even tried to upload any information.

[Sir Shameful]

Sandhurst falls silent, perhaps somewhat mollified by T'Loran's words, though he does speak up to correct the Captain. "Doctor Sandhurst," he mutters.

There is a moment's silence as everyone digests the new information. Finally, Escobar breaks it, her voice low but strong. "Doctor Stone is right, then," she says. "If this thing isn't coming here because it learned about us from you, how does it know about us, and what does it want with us? It seems we'll be fine if it does exactly what it did to your ship, but it may be coming at us with completely different goals than it had when it scanned you. We can't yet assume that we're safe."

Sandhurst speaks up, suddenly thoughtful. "What if it's connected to the extinction cycles?"

Stone and Escobar share a glance that speaks volumes. "Adam," Stone begins, "maybe this isn't the time..." But Sandhurst cuts him off with a sharp gesture. "Hear me out," he says, producing a tricorder from his pocket. "I know you don't agree with me, Stone, but the evidence is there. The miners have seen it: dirt fused into glass, caches of scorched bones, all the hallmarks of some kind of orbital weapon. The extinctions are caused by an outside force. This thing could be it."

Stone shrugs, then turns back to the crew. "Based on our research," he begins, bringing the crew up to speed on the conversation, "the wildlife on Gamma Evangeline III undergoes an extinction cycle about every 500 years."

Sandhurst cuts in. "Not about," he says, "exactly. Like clockwork."

Stone shrugs again. "It's hard to be perfectly accurate. In any case, it's my position that natural geological phenomena have caused the extinctions through fumes, earthquakes, and eruptions, promoting wild biological diversity across the planet; the extinctions only occur within a radius of about 1,000 miles, so even though the planet has virtually only one biome, life is incredibly varied. Of course, we're due for one of these events soon, so I suppose we'll see who is correct."

"What if it's not soon," Sandhurst says quietly. "What if it's tomorrow?" He stands, struck by a new idea. "Their scientists are better and better equipped than ours," he says, then looks at Stone. "No offense. If we take them down to the mines, show them my evidence, maybe they can settle this. Maybe we need them to settle this. If there's nothing to it, then I'll freely admit that I was paranoid and shouldn't make any decisions on this object. If I'm right..."

He lets the words hang in the air. Escobar and Stone look to the Captain.

[spinningdice]

"Running with the theory that extinctions were caused by external factors, can you think of a reason an entity would want to do so? I don't pretend to be an expert but Extinction and adversity tend to push evolution... or maybe it's a long term farming method for fossil fuels, or some alien form of terraforming?"

[whoiam]

Lt. Cmdr T'Loran | Science Officer
Conference Room, Madsen's Landing

"It would be odd timing for an evolution experiment; speciation typically takes thousands-to-millions of years for anything longer-lived than an insect, while providing a continual selection pressure requires the stimulus to be applied at least once a generation - even for Vulcans, every 500 years is a little on the 'slow and steady' side for that!

While I will admit to the questions raised being fascinating ones, the most urgent question appears to be about this 1000 mile radius of yours. Is it always centered on the same point? If it is, we will be able to move people beyond the area of immediate effect. If not, we will have to just send your population into the shelters and hope they're secure enough."

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, Gamma Evangeline,
Conference Room

Captain Tobin leaned against the arm of his chair, considering what was being presented. Noting the expectation of the Administrator and the other scientist, he turned to his team.

“What do you think? If you consider there to be enough merit in taking a small science team to study Dr. Sandhurst’s theory, I will allow it. A small away team, ready to return immediately when we encounter the object.”

[Anyr]

"I think it's a possibility worth exploring. There has to be some reason why the object is heading here in particular. Maybe these 'clockwork extinctions' are part of that."

[Ascension]

"I'm sure the Von Klitzing has better-qualified botanists aboard, but since time is a factor... I grew up on a farm world, and I took horticulture classes at the Academy. I might be able to help examine at least the plant remains from this... extinction cycle," Regh volunteers. It seems like a longshot, but he wants a chance to contribute something.

[Sir Shameful]

Sandhurst combines a brief smile with a shrug as the crew consider and theorize about his idea. "I don't know why," he answers Cmdr. Ravaki simply. "It would be fast for evolution. As far as location, extinction sites have been found all across the surface. We haven't been able to find a pattern. Maybe you can." Escobar looks around the table and finds the Von Klitzing's crew in agreement: the theory is worth investigating. She nods. "We will provide you a shuttle to the nearest site. Doctor Stone and Doctor Sandhurst can accompany you," she continues, looking to Stone for a nod of approval before going on. "We can be ready to go shortly. There should be enough time before the object arrives to look and come back."

Escobar pauses, letting all of that sink in. "Is there anything else I can provide that would be helpful to you?"

[EarthenRite]

Captain Tobin Etahn, Conference Room
Gamma Evangeline

“In that case, Commander, I’d like to leave you in charge of the expedition here on planet. I will return to the Von Klitzing and monitor the situation from there. I leave this in all of your capable hands.”

[spinningdice]

"We'll do what we can from here." Ravaki nods to captain and begins to co-ordinate the science team.

[Anyr]

"Best of luck, sir."

Kaiya stayed to see the Captain off. Then she placed herself at Commander Ravaki's side.

"What a shame that we were only drawn here by a looming tragedy. Solving this planet's fascinating mysteries would have been so much easier without the ticking clock. Anyway, I assume that you'd like me to be part of the expedition? "

[whoiam]

"Yay. The Captain finally stops babysitting the science department only for everyone else who outranks me to get all gooey about the chance to take soil samples.

...Fine, I've got the unwanted help, now how do I use it?"


"If I may, Sirs? Beyond whatever defensive measures the Captain and Lieutenant Shran put in place, we've likely got four tasks awaiting us; Colonist Protection, Colony Protection, Sample Collection and Sample Analysis. That is, we need to get the colony population safely into the shelters; we need to get the machinery of the colony safely deactivated so the probe's actions cannot cause any kind of catastrophic meltdown or environmental contamination; we need to be gathering core samples from one or more of the prior extinction events' epicentres; and we need to get those samples analysed.

I'd suggest we should probably be split up, one officer per task."

[Ascension]

Regh grunts acknowledgement.

"Fair touch, Lieutenant. Trust a Vulcan to keep the bigger picture in mind."

He looks to Administrator Escobar.

"I know where I fit in that plan, which means I've got no time for looking at dead plants. I need you to introduce me to your technical staff so that we can coordinate the shielding of essential systems against the probe's effects along with the safe shutdown of non-essential systems. There may still be some damage in the event of a high-power scan, but, given what we've learned, we can limit the scope of that damage."

At least we can if your technicians have more brains than your medical officer, he thinks, but restrains himself from insulting the man any further to his face.

[Squadfather42]

"I can start coordinating with the colonists and begin moving them to the shelters, just say the word."

Shran says as the group discusses their options.