We have arrived

Posted on 22 Jan 2016 @ 3:55pm by Captain Jasmine Somers FCapt & Lieutenant Commander Cody Parker & Captain Maia Sterling & Lieutenant Commander Sheela Swiftpaws
Edited on on 19 Nov 2016 @ 2:25pm

3,408 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Season 2 Episode 1: The New Frontier
Location: UXSys 2355874 - Outer Class M Planet
Timeline: Mission Day 11 0900 hrs

[ON]

The USS Tomcat had arrived at UXSys 2355874 and dropped to impulse, now the work would begin in ernest, Jasmine was feeling uneasy as Donovan was still in a coma.

"Lets see the planet, onscreen" Jasmine said and a moment later the screen came to life and they saw a peaceful blue and green planet with fluffy white clouds. A Moment later a large landmass came into view "Maginify" Somers ordered.

As the screen was maginified, all saw a cirular crater partially filled with seepage water, the elements had tarnished the otherwise perfect circular hole, just to the south was a ruined fortress of some kind.

Tapping her Commbadge =/\= Somers to Sterling =/\=

=/\= "Sterling here Captain" =/\=

=/\= You are required on the bridge Commander, Somers out =/\=

It was not long after she ended the call that Maia arrived on the bridge and saw the crater and ruined fortification, Jasmine looked at her first officer.

"Commander, get me more data you can on that crater, pleimary scans say its over fifty-years old and the ruined fortress a lot older, I want to know if those Borg energy traces still linger or if the planet is once again clean of the collective. I am not sending an away team until I know" Jasmine said.

Maia went over to her science station and ran scans.

"Captain, I am picking up several artificial satellites in orbit, and very strange readings just outside the la-grange point of the planets gravitational field. Strong fields of gravity however almost no mass to speak of. I believe the planet is surrounded by a maze of cosmic filaments. I am also detecting residual anti protons on the planets surface, as well as low levels of gamma radiation around both the crater and the fortress, Sir." Maia replied.

Maia paused and continued changing controls on her console.

"Captain It may be prudent to put up our shields to prevent detection. I am not detecting any moons, it might be prudent to hide in the atmosphere of one of the gas giants and resume surveillance operations from there". Maia stated.

Somers was drumming her fingers as her XO explained "Maia can you please put it into Laymans terms for those of us not scientifically minded please?" She said then looked at tactical "agreed, Shields up yellow alert" She then looked at Maia "Those failments and debris will they hinder transporters or will an away team need to be sent down via shuttlecraft?" She asked.

"The quantum filaments will not hinder transporter ability but they will present a severe navigational hazard for any ship that has to traverse them. A quantum filament is made up of dark matter particles, they have heavy gravity but almost no mass so they are hard to detect. You remember when I was charting the system for subspace anomalies and Borg Transwarp conduits and I found evidence that an Omega particle bomb had been set off some 300 or more years ago. Well this could be the residue of that conflict at least it fits my theory. Of course I would need more time to study the phenomena. As for the anti proton and gamma particles detected that could be residue from a Borg footprint similar to others found on system J25 and Jared 4. I would need a much closer examination to verify that though". Maia stated.

"Hmmm, thank you for the simplfied report Commander, but any Borg residual traces and how safe will it be to send down an away team and will they need EVA suits?" Somers asked "Helm take us to the gas giant we can hide ourselves from any immediate detection, while we work on things" She said.

"Yes Captain" the helm officer responded and got to work.

"I don't think they will need EVA suits captain. The Gamma radiation is low level intensity and shouldn't present a problem at least in the short term. l wouldn't want to live there though". Maia added.

Nodding "I fully agree Commander, but have Doctor Cahill prepare some innoculations so she can add a few more minutes to their tme down there" Jasmine said.

"Aye Captain", Maia replied.

"Now all we have to do is prepare a shuttle" She said then pressed the Comms button on her chair arm. =/\= Bridge to Shuttle Bay =/\=

=/\= Shuttle Bay here! =/\= the response came back.

=/\= Have a troop shuttle ready to go and equip it with some electronic jamming equipment, last reports on the species living in this system said that they were Pre-Warp, but if this area is ripe for Borg activity, they may have advanced recording or observation devices around the system, if this is the case then we cannot break the Prime Directive =/\=

=/\= It shall be done Captain, shuttle Bay out =/\=

When the Comms was closed she turned to Sheela "El tee get me as much information as you can on the planet and what the away team may expect, prepare a worst case scenario then prepare a briefing Padd, when the Away Team has been assembled you will brief them on what you know" She said then looked at Sterling "Comander I need you to get all the scientific data pertinent to the Away Team, when you have done that give the data to Lieutenant Sheela so she can do a fully informed brief, come back to me when you are both done" Jasmine said.

Sheela immediately searched through the data banks to compile what ever information they had gathered on the planet below. Now was falling behind them as the ship moved to its newer location. The information just wasn't there for a good report. The Away Team would be going in blind. Except for what Science could round up on the planet. "If yooz want better intel. Let me infiltrate the planet below. Not even Fleet has anything useful but a star designator with a few planets." She looked at Jasmine in the eyes. "All wez know is whot happened to Major Donovan. And a telepathic species on the planet below. How it would effect the crew...." She shrugs. "Better to sacrifice one than many."

Sheela knew the risk of operating alone and setting up a cleared area for the others to follow. She was planning out her load-out if allowed to go ahead of the Away Team. "Iz report in as often as possible. Captain."

Jasmine looked at the Mousian, it was unusual for someone to voluntary go ahead an scout without being instructed and ordered, Mousian's were not as a rule fond of remaining outside for too long outside of their cities, but the planet below was like the wild, which made the Lieutenants offer more meaningful.

"Visit Medical get you an innoculation El tee then go scout, take a shuttle and make sure you contact the ship every twenty minutes you are down there ok?" Jasmine said looking intently at Sheela. Looking then to Sterling, "Commander please supply the Lieutenant with what environmental dat she will need for her scouting trip down there".

Sheela nodded as her eyes gleamed with anticipation of going in ahead of the rest of the Away Team. She knew what she was looking for. Even if the place was saturated with radiation which could effect her for life. This was what she did best. Getting to tight spots and getting information.

"I think a class four shuttle might be perfect for the job. However we could always launch a modifed probe first to determine if there is any danger". Maia suggested.

"Excellent" Looking at Sheela "You will have one and a half standard hours down there El tee, if you and the shuttle have not returned after that I will send a Search team down" Jasmine said.

Sheela had listened to what Sterling had to say. She nodded. She knew if she wasn't off the planet within the allotted time frame, she would be dead or beyond recovery if she was still alive. "Squeee..." in an affirmative tone and took off, leaving the bride in her usual scamper.

"Good, get you to medical then to shuttlebay one" Jasmine said and watched the mousian leave the bridge.

Not long after Sheela had left the bridge a freshed faced Ensign arrived onto the bridge, Jasmine studied him then looked to Maia.

"Commander Sterling meet Ensign Cody Parker the new Chief of Security/Tactical" Jasmine introduced him.

"Thank you Captain, Commander it is nice to meet both of you," Cody said as the introductions were quickly made.

"Welcome aboard Mr. Parker". Maia said with a smile.

Looking at Parker "okay Mr. Parker take up your post, you will have to catch up on the job unfortunately" Somers said.

"Aye, Aye Captain," Cody said quickly as he stepped behind the security and tactical panel. Moving quickly he pulled up the scan data of the planet that was on the view screen. He took a deep breath as he scanned through the data quickly reading the information.

In the corner of the panel there was a text box of the bridge communication. Cody browsed through it quickly, to get an idea of what was happening so far.

He'd only been on the ship long enough to drop his sea bag into his new quarters before reporting to the bridge. Taking a deep breath he spoke to his new Commanding Officer, "Captain it appears that there is a significant chance of threat on this away mission, May I recommend the away team be joined by two crewmen with rifles? The tactical range of the rifle offers the crewmen a better chance of survival if engaged by," he paused for a moment realizing that the captain had been in Starfleet longer than he had and this was not an Academy test. "I apologize, you probably are aware of the tactical advantage of the rifles already," he chuckled nervously as he finished.

Swivelling around in her chair she gave him a mysterious smile "I am aware of the tactical situation Ensign, but first I will send in Lieutenant Sheela for she is good at getting around in places you and I would have issues with, then when she returns from her mission and reports I will decide who will lead an away team down to the planet" Jasmine said.

Parker returned the captain's smile, nodded and began pressing buttons on his station once more.

"Excellent, now get your bearings ensign, its about to get interesting" She finished.

"Aye Captain," Parker replied as he began to browse the small arms armaments of the ship. He checked the number of weapons onboard and the last they were cleaned, repaired and or tested. Making a mental note, that would be one of the first things he checked into later this evening.

Sheela scampered to her quarters and grabbed her kit. Then off to Medical for her shots. Sending a silent wisfull prayer and good-bye to her well groomed fur.

Somers watched Sheela scamper out of the bridge, it always amazed her how a species which evolved primarily indoors managed to adapt so easily to outside, yet Sheela always seemed to be so eager to get outside, the Lieutenant was certainly a puzzle, she looked over to Sterling then to Parker.

"Commander Sterling keep scanning for anything that may be a danger to us" She then turned to Parker "Mr. Parker keep scanning for any Security breaches and transfer Tactical to your Station, Major Donovan is currently incapacitated so I hope you are a good shot? Should we need it" She said with a smile.

"Aye Captain", Maia replied.

"Aye Captain" Parker replied in unison with Maia. Running his fingers across his console he transferred Tactical to his station as well.
"Tactical now online at the security station." Focusing once more at the task at hand Cody entrenched himself in his work.

Kit smiled to himself and sent a text message to marine country. It read [ Squad A be ready to depoy 2 riflemen to accompany a possible Away team, co-ordinate with Security if you need to. Squad B on Alert.] " Internal sensors set to cover our bases, Captain." K'Muss said. " Also keeping Marines at the ready just in case."

Maia continued scanning and detected a communications satellite. She scanned it and it seemed to be of late 21st century technology equivalent with 256K encryption protocols. She scanned the internal workings of it. It seemed to use microwave transmissions multiplexed in and then shot out an optical laser to a receiver on the planets surface.

"Captain. I believe we can access their communications satellites to get a better understanding of there nature and tie in the universal translator, if we take an away team down it would be better to understand there language and media references". Maia suggested.

"We will send a team down in time Maia, for now thought I need as much data as we can get, before I risk an Away team, remember the Hydaransz System debacle, we barely secured the outer system, I do not want the same happening here. So where are we on the latest reports?" Jasmine asked indicating all those on the bridge.

"Captain if we can tap into there communications satellite we can get a better understanding of what there culture is. There are several in orbit, if we delay actual planet fall until we know more I think this would be a better away team mission for the time being. We know almost nothing about the inhabitants or culture of the planet.The more time we collect data the better our chances for mission success will be. Besides I think it would be right up Lt Sheela's alley to tap into the communications satellite network undetected. They are unmanned. I will pull up a display of our sensor scans". Maia said.

Maia punched up the relevant data and put it on her science one monitor.

"This satellite is approximately late 21st century design, we can access the console here and attach a universal translator as well as a Transtator scrambler buffer. As their data passes through the main CPU, the Transtator assembly will copy and buffer the data and send it back via tight beam back to us. We should get a pretty good idea of their media, culture and geopolitical sensibilities as well as and their communications systems planet wide. It's a more logical alternative than making planet fall and stumbling around in the dark". Maia said.

"Scanned the planetary rings of this system and have found one outpost on the dark side of the third ring. All indications are that it is lightly manned." Kit explained. He sent info to Ensign Parker for his take. " Approximately the same level of tech as the satellite." Kit said.

Somers looked at her crew and felt pride, not all were used to working together, yet they had risen to the challenge, althogh of late there were more Fleet Officers on the bridge than there were marines.

"We still need to remain invisible to their scanners reports indicate that they are a pre-warp culture and as thus fall under the Prime Directive and Mr. Parker employ signal jammers" She said then looked at Sheela "Lieutenant apply Comms jammers, allow for data to come to us, but nothing to go out, I want us invisible to all their sensors" She said.

The Comms officer on duty gave a quick, "aye aye," as he began inputting commands to receive only and then activating the communication jammers as requested with allowed normal communications between ships and shuttles, but wont be picked up by any receivers listening for radio signals.

"Captain, I have completed several scans of the outpost on the dark side of the third ring. According to the readings here it appears that is manned with a minimal crew, I would estimate roughly 15-25 personnel at the most. While I do not foresee this outpost as posing a threat, there is something curious about the electronics that are currently in use. As far as weapons they only have crew serve small arms, but it appears that the system in place is a bit more advanced than anything else on the planet. I would recommend maybe a closer look as time allows but for now I would classify it as a low level threat.

Looking around the bridge "okay make it so, the less we let onto the inhabitants of this system the better, its bad enough the species down on this outer Class M planet knows we are here" Jasmine said.

Kit started to run simulations of ways to further fool their sensors.

Iria listened to the conversations and orders given around the bridge, she was not sure of her placement there but she was trying to do her best to fit in and for the moment that meant staying out of the way and when time allowed she would offer commentary but so far she did not see a reason to speak up as of yet...

Jasmine looked at her Councellor "Lieutenant Walon"

"Yes Captain?" Iria looked to the Captain curiously, she was not used to hearing her rank before the more common, "Counselor" but she was more than wiling to adapt to Captain Somers preferences.

"If the Species down on the planet can help Major Donovan she will need some sessions, she will be adamant on not wanting to, but if she gives you trouble tell her it is an order from me, but for now please monitor the crews stress functions" Somers said.

Iria nodded and made mental notes, "Understood I am sure I can figure something out but I will save the "order from Captain" for a last resort, as for the crew I will keep on keeping on." she added with a wry grin' So far folks were not that stressed. That could change at any time and being prepared never hurt...

Noddinig "Excellent" Jasmine said and fell silent and faced the viewscreen again and allowed her crew to do their work, she swivelled in her chair and looked at her CoS "Ensign that space station that was detected by our sensors, is there any indication that they spotted us?" she asked.

Rapidly moving his fingers across the screen Cody opened a report as soon as the screen beeped. "There are no indications that we have been spotted at this time, the scans do not show any weapon systems powering up, but it does appear that they have increased their atmospheric scans within the last hour. I am not sure where exactly they are scanning or what they are scanning for at this time. The computer is currently processing an algorithm based on the type of scan in progress, I should know something within a few minutes."

"Excellent, let me know the moment anything changes Ensign, I do not wish to be caught unawares" Jasmine said turning in her seat to look at the Ensign.

"Aye, Aye Captain," Cody replied, as he checked his scanners once more. He slid the scanner window to the corner of the display where he could continuously monitor it. He sat and continued to absorb all the reports and happenings on the bridge. It was his job to try to create a site picture of security requirements, come up with worst case scenarios and be ready to inform the captain. Alot of his fellow cadets fell out of the program because they couldn't multi-task. Taking a deep breath Cody refocused his thoughts with laser like intensity once more.

"Anything else on the Scanners or whatever?" She asked the rest of the duty stations.

"Science station reports all clear Captain" Maia said.

"No change on sensors, Captain" Kit said

With all the other stations having reported in Jasmine looked up "Excellent, keep us out of that stations sensor range and keep getting as much data on the planet we are near" She said.

With that her crew got on with their tasks at hand and she left them to it, Jasmine's thoughts went to her close friend S'arila who was still in a coma in medical.

[OFF]

Captain Jasmine Somers
Commanding Officer
USS Tomcat

Ensign Cody Parker [PNPC: Somers]
CoS/Tactical Officer
USS Tomcat

Commander Maia Sterling
First Officer/CSO
USS Tomcat

Lieutenant Commander Sheela Swiftpaws
Chief Intelligence Officer/Communications
USS Tomcat

Lieutenant Alexanderia Cahill MD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Tomcat

Lieutenant Jg Iria Walon
Chief Counsellor
USS Tomcat

2nd Lieutenant K'Muss
Marine Commanding Officer
USS Tomcat

 

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