Sensor Data

Posted on Tuesday, 28 April 2020 - 1:00pm by Commander Soral & Lieutenant JG Yolen * & Lieutenant Alex Kingsley

Mission: Operation: Recall
Location: USS Fontana | Various (Shuttle Bay & Science Lab)
Timeline: 2393

{ON}

Soral had been unable to sleep. He wanted to get his hands on the data that they had recovered but with the shuttle as damaged as it was that was taking longer. Yolen had just now called him to tell him that the shuttle was repaired enough to pull the data. They couldn't download it but...they could take it out manually and then for a link up with the computer. He needed to get Alex and get down there.

The door to the science offices hissed closed behind him. Soral made his way to the Chief Science Officer's office and rang the chime.

“Come in,” came a muffled response. Nestled into the space below her desk, the science officer was surrounded by reports and journals combined with files retrieved from Starfleet records. Not only did they have the unusual phenomenon the nebula has presented them with but there was the far from insignificant discovery of the drone. The fact the drone was still - albeit barely- alive when they beamed it aboard was raising so many questions.

Where had it come from? Had the Borg technology allowed it to endure, even to the point of surviving a trip through one of the wormholes they had encountered? It seemed incredible- no impossible- yet she could not recall any sign of another ship or any debris.

Setting aside the PADD she was reading she was climbing out from under her desk when the door opened and her visitor entered. When she finally realised who it was, she clamoured to her feet. “Commander!”

Soral raised an eyebrow. "You were under your desk?"

“I ran out of desk space,” she said simply, standing in one small clear patch. “Research... can I help you, Sir?”

"Lieutenant Yolen has asked to see us. He's been able to make progress on the shuttle."

“That’s great!” She enthused, crouching down and quickly piling up her reading material and leaving the stack on her desk. “And ahead of schedule too...”

"He's been working around the clock." He motioned to the door. "Shall we go?"

Alex nodded as she stepped around her desk. “I’m hoping the data can help answer some of my many questions...”

"Such as?" He asked as they walked towards the lift.

“It isn’t everyday you come across a drone just drifting inside a nebula. How did she get there? How long was she there before we found her?” Alex rhymed off as they entered the lift, “where is the Borg ship? Destroyed, adrift..? Are the wormholes the answer? At least in part?”

"Indeed. Excellent questions." He paused as they entered the lift. "How are you settling into your new position?"

“I think so far it is going well,” Alex mused, “aided by the fact it isn’t a massive department in terms of staff. And yet the paperwork seems just as bad!”

“Indeed. Try the XO role. I have begun to see paperwork in the shadows of space." The lift stopped at their destination. He walked towards the shuttle bay allowing Alex to follow and ponder his bad Vulcan joke.

After a slight pause she hurried after him, not quite sure if he had been trying to be funny... By the time they entered the bay she was right on his heels and from here the shuttle looked as beat up as when they were towed back in. The work, no, the magic, had been performed inside. On the systems which had been so badly damaged.

Yolen walked into the shuttle after them wiping hi hands on a rag. "Commander, Lieutenant. Welcome."

Soral looked around . "You have gotten a lot done."

He smiled, "I have indeed!"

“Not just a flyboy, huh?” Kingsley whispered to him with a grin. “So... you think we might get the sensor data?”

"Not by uplink," he smiled. "But have no fear I have your sensor data near."

Soral raised an eyebrow. "Can we get that from you without the dreadful poetry?"

Alex grinned, “so, what’s the plan?”

Yolen shrugged. "Nothing monumental." He reached over and pulled out a box. "Sensor data. It'll be up to you to pull out the info." He handed it to Alex.

Soral gave a nod. "Excellent. Keep working Lieutenant." He looked at Alex. "Do you mind company with the exploration of the data?"

“Of course not,” she assured him quickly. “I can promise only that it will be time consuming and probably make your paperwork look exciting.”

"Perhaps." He said. "I shall meet you in the lab in one hour. I have one more thing that I need to complete."

Alex nodded, “then I will see you in an hour, Commander. And thank you, Lieutenant. Appreciate you doing this so quickly.”

He grinned at her. "You are most welcome."

“I’ll best get started,” Alex decided with a nod to them both, curious to see what information the shuttle sensor data could provide.


(One hour later)

The interior of the laboratory was in almost complete darkness, save for the soft glow from workstations and a holographic display which was taking shape in the space directly above the central console. A small blue dot in the epicentre depicted the shuttle, as the data extrapolation created a picture of the surrounding space. The nebula itself was displayed in all or its beauty, a cascade of colour against the blackness of space.

For all that had happened once inside, reviewing the sensor data confirmed there was no hint of the wormholes they would subsequently encounter. For that, she surmised, they could blame the nebula itself. Nebula’s were always mysterious creatures and they liked to stay that way. Sensors hate them, often given confusing or conflicting data. Which was why it was such pain staking work. A computer programme could extrapolate and create a simulation with ease given time but it could not deal with conflict. And the programme she was intently working on had flagged up multiple ones.

As such it left gaps and glitches in the simulation. The error message which seemed far too frequent was infuriating but one at a time she was resolving those. But not all.

Nursing a coffee, she allowed it to play through one more time as she listed some questions to put out to a colleague back on Earth. Curiosity had her pinpoint the position of the drone, relative to the wormholes. Next she studied the data for indications that there had recent activity before they encountered the first wormhole. It seemed improbable that they had triggered them ... she filed that away for later.

Soral had come into the science lab while Alex was deep into the work. The glitches were maddening. He sighed. "Alright I have an idea. Perhaps we are looking at this wrong. Can we bring up data on similar nebulae? Maybe we can overlay the data and see if we can fill in a few gaps that way."

At his voice she almost jumped through the roof.

"Commander, I did not know you were there," she commented. Grabbing something to mop up the few drops of spilled coffee and dry her hands, she thanked the universe that the coffee was not so fresh that it burned. Too much. When had he arrived? "Erm, yes, although the phenomena we encountered is very unusual. I've had the computer searching for any matches, or partial matches, so I can compare."

"Denobula has run into similar factors. I've put in a call we should have the data shortly." He walked in. "Apologies for startling you."

“I wasn’t startled, absolutely no startling here,” she replied with a dismissive shrug. “And yes, they have. Just not inside a dark nebula. On a positive note, I think one question is solved.”

Touching a control the image shifted, “this is where we recovered the drone. It wasn’t obvious at the time but this rippling effect here? Suggests a smaller wormhole had recently closed. There are also some small fragments, in these regions here. The composition appears typical of Borg vessels. I believe the drone and the fragments are all that made it to this side of the wormhole from the point of origin.”

I have reviewed the sensor data on the wormholes they are all unstable so it could have happened. The drone is the least of our worries." He brought up a portion of the nebula. "Do you see this here?" he pointed to a cluster of dense stars.

Alex frowned, “yes... we were heading in that direction before the shuttle was hit.”

He sighed. Just before speaking the coms called. "Ensign Kai-la. The reports you requested have come in sir."

"Transfer to Science Lab please." He walked over to the terminal. "Heminal Helix's have been known to create dense star cluster areas that are actually like snare traps to hide a black hole like phenomenon that is not a black hole but what Vulcans call a molecular devouring singularity."

“You have an interest in astrophysics?” Alex enquired as she watched him work. She knew many scientists who would be offended by a first officer seeming to take charge but she was not prone to such things. Then again, it was all new to her.

Soral stopped. He turned. "I am sorry Lieutenant. I did not mean offense. It has been a long time since I was in science. I love the field but I transferred into security early on. I still stay updated. I did not mean to impose."

“Impose anytime,” she assured him with a good natured smile, “I’m not too proud to accept expertise and what we encountered I hadn’t experienced anything like it. Which, saying it aloud is probably not a good admission from your Science Chief.”

"None of us are born with this knowledge. You have an impressive record and I am glad you are head of this department. I merely dabble." He studied her. "It was Socrates of Earth who was known for being the wisest man for admitting that he did not have all the answers. We will review this together. My knowledge is mostly from papers rather then experiences. Actually Yolen has a lot of science knowledge."

“He is a man of many talents and many distractions,” she observed. “But a very good person to have in a crisis. He did exceptionally well on the away mission.”

"That is good to know." He studied Alex. "I'm going to overlay the Denobulan data to see if we can see similarities regarding this Helix and if there are other phenomenon that go with it." He studied her again. "I am sorry we interrupted your research sabbatical but I am pleased you are with us in this capacity."

“Thank you...” she said slowly, thinking how it seemed a completely idiotic response. Clearing her throat she turned moving to the central workstation. “Okay, if you forward the data I’ll display side by side and we can compare from there?”

"Excellent." He sent the data over. "Sending now."

Alex nodded, manipulating the controls. The holographic image shifted, a second image alongside the recreated shuttle data. “Okay, got it,” she confirmed.

He walked over. "How is it looking?"

“These subspace distortions are remarkably similar,” Alex murmured mostly to herself as she matched up the common vectors. She tilted her head to the side taking a step back as she traces the overlapping concentric circles. A double helix! The realisation came at the exact same second she backed straight into Sorel.

Soral reached out a hand to steady Alex. "Are you alright Lieutenant?"

“I’m so sorry!” She blurted out. “I was just realising why they call it that - the helix? I didn’t realise you were there. Are you alright?”

He gave a nod. "I am alright." He looked at the data. "It is remarkable Like a DNA helix. But look at the shape it is a little different and .... zoom to region alpha three."

With a few taps the image shifted.

"This wave.... What is it...it seems to ride along the helix."

“A displacement wave of some kind,” Alex said as she called up the raw data. “The energy signature is incredibly powerful. Watch the path, it’s destabilising the wormholes.”

"Yes It is the wave that is keeping any stability away." He studied her. "Yolen mentioned that his...mind went to the past. Were you in the past as well?" He hadn't read the reports fully yet.

“Not really,” came the reply after a moments hesitation. “More like a vivid memory wrapped up in a very bad dream.”

She fell silent as she focused on her work. “I’m not sure what everyone else experienced. For me I was at home, studying before party my mother had planned. She loves parties and even though my father wasn’t due home for a little while, she was going all out. Banners, the food ... everything. Happy First Contact Day.

She took a deep breath, “anyway. It got weird. I heard crying and when I stopped working I realised the light coming in the window was wrong, too red - like it was back home on Mars. I knew it was impossible but I had to look, right? I shouldn’t have. It was horrific. The sky burning. The people, the buildings. My father. And the wall of fire just kept coming... anyway. Just a dream I guess.”

"Perhaps not. We need to take a look at that wave."

She glanced down, focus back, as she adjusted the display. “Our shuttle sensors don’t help much,” she sighed, “but this is the metadata right before we were hit.”

He looked at it. He sighed. "Well it appears the computer needs time to get all this sorted." He gave a nod, "Alright. I will leave you to it. I have some reports to read. I look forward to reading the report. Again I did not mean to...what's the human expression? Ah yes, I did not mean to compress your toes."

"Oh, you didn't," she assured him. "And you are welcome to stop by anytime. Might save me talking to the walls. Or myself..."

He bowed slightly. "Indeed."

{OFF:}

Lieutenant JG Alex Kingsley
Chief Science Officer

&

Lieutenant JG Yolen
Helms Officer

&

Lieutenant Commander Soral
Executive Officer