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

[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

Spoiler: Nosy Betazoids Only

Show

"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]

Spoiler: For nosy Betazoids only

Show

"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.