Science Powers Activate!

Posted on Thu Jan 4th, 2024 @ 8:35am by Lieutenant N'vok Holv & Staff Sergeant Leilani Charles {Kelea-Salik} & Nicholas Mathias

Mission: Season 6: Episode 4: Memory Lane
Location: Science Office
Timeline: MD6
2463 words - 4.9 OF Standard Post Measure

N'vok had the central table in the science department set out with coffee and water, and cups. Datapads were placed in front of each chair with a review of what was known of the technology and society of the slavers.

He sat down and took a sip of Andorian The and waited for everyone else to arrive

Leilani was next through the door, having dropped her children off at nursery/school enroute. She offered a warm smile as she walked around to a seat. “Good Morning.”

"Welcome," said N'vok with a nod. "I was hoping that your skill might be turned to finding more information about an artifact." He gestured to the datapad. "The information is all there, perhaps you can see something that was missed and links to other cultures. It seems to have been used as a . . . way to put people off their game, to make them vulnerable. Though if that was its original purpose is anyone guess."

Leilani nodded as she took the datapad. “I can certainly have a look and see. Maybe something will present itself.”

Nicholas had gotten a good shower in before his duty shift began and headed down to the science office, where he saw that he was the third person or so into the meeting. He looked around the room and smiled to each person that was present, saying, "Hello, everyone! It's nice to see everyone here today. Thanks for inviting me to the meeting."

"The more eyes and minds on a problem, the better," said N'vok. "There is a team assembling to visit one of the slaver's worlds. A basic outline of what we know of them and their system protocols are there," he gestured to the datapads. "Anything that will help them blend in or allow us to gain more information about and insight into the slavers is welcome."

Leilani offered Nicholas a polite smile, before looking at N’vok. “I remember this now, my sister-in-law Emily was on the away team that discovered this artefact. She described it’s effects as intoxicating, the more you had exposure the more you wanted.”

"Do we have anything in regards to what these slavers actually look like yet? I know that we've gotten a few broadcasts and everything, but have we identified any certain species as the slaver species or others that might be related to them?" Nicholas asked to the various scientists that were already in the office.

"We know some about them but it is not as complete or useful as we would like," said N'vok. "You will see the information in your datapad. The counting mission should give us some more information to work with but for now, we must work with what we have."

“Which isn’t that brilliant” Leilani sighed. “Whatever this artefact is, it’s a shame we couldn’t use it against our enemy, but without knowing how it works and what effect it would have on their biology it’s useless.”

"While I suspect they would have countermeasures in place for their own technology," said N'vok. "It may also be that they are so mentally and emotionally warped from being slavers that what we find disturbing may be natural to them."

Nicholas looked over some of the information presented on the PADD in front of him. It didn't take long for him to think of something, especially in regards to the artifact. He spoke up and said, "I just wonder if this artifact could be linked to the way this species transports its victims off of their ships? Maybe like the Iconians moved between worlds? Just in a slightly different fashion?"

"It is possible," said N'vok. "You have full access to the scans, if you can make some sense of their technology we would all be grateful. The simple fact is we know so little about the technology that the slaver use or even the principles it is based on. I have some suspicions but no supporting evidence yet."

“That could be a point” Leilani looked up from the PADD. “If this device makes you long to be in its presence, then who knows what long term effect it could have? It would be a good way to subdue, or even control people. I suggest we keep it tightly under guard, it’s a good job it did shut down.”

"No need for that, on the Commodore's orders it was launched into the heart of a nearby star," said N'vok. "It was deemed by Command too dangerous to keep aboard, so all we have to work with is a deep analysis of the scans."

"The slavers have access to technology that is more advanced than ours but more importantly, works on different principles,' he continued. "We need to try and discover what we can about those to be able to understand what their technology is capable of. Unfortunately, our data remains sparse."

Leilani nodded. “Well we can extrapolate some data from what’s on this PADD, something is better than nothing.” She offered a smile.

"I suspect the key will be understanding the exotic matter used in the making of the artifact," said N'vok. "We have detailed scans and analysis but that is only a beginning of understanding. Once we are well away from this sector, we should attempt to synthesize some of the matter for practical experimentation."

"Something that I'm worried about is if they've got more of these artifacts laying around. One objective we should have should be to figure out what it is and another should be to make sure it doesn't come back onboard, if it's something to harm any member of the crew. Looking over the scans that we have of the artifact, like you mentioned earlier Mr. N'Vok, it appears that the artifact uses some sort of exotic matter within its functions. Since the shields appeared to not stop it the first time from transporting aboard, do we think we can come up with something to stop it from happening again with the information that we've obtained already?" Nicholas asked, curious to see what everyone else would think or what he might be missing from the readings of the artifact.

"I am certain there are more of these items around, perhaps not in this exact form," said N'vok. "It fits what we have learned of their . . . methods as it matches the pattern of how they operate, seeking to disrupt and undermine their victims to break down possible resistance."

"Well, a question then. Could we maybe first get the defense set up against them and then, find another one to study at a distance? To learn a bit more about it?" Nicholas asked, knowing that studying an object might help them to learn more about any sort of differences between the two.

"If we find another and if the Commodore will let us bring it aboard," said N'vok, "I would be happy to run a deep analysis of such an object. I believe it is possible the shield against the harmful effects but, at the moment, that is theory not practice."

"Well, getting back to the original suggestions that I've made, I think we should find ways to protect ourselves from the device and making sure that more can't make their ways through our shields. Then, maybe we can go from there," Nicholas replied, trying not to get ahead of himself.

N'vok nods. "The system seems to be quite clever, it, as far as I can determine, reflects rather than generates chi and psi waves. Which in turn excites the production of chi and psi waves from intelligent minds which reinforces the cycle. If we can dampen the initial reflection we should be able to stop the process completely."

"I'm just wondering if it's something that acts like a Borg Vinicilum or however you say that dang thing. Connects minds and amplifies their psionic energies to amplify the effects of the device to make it where it causes more damage the more minds it can connect to," Nicholas asked, curious as to it effects as he looked down at the scans that were done on the device before it was jettisoned off the ship.

"One of the very few things I am certain of is that the more minds in proximity to the artifact, the more powerful the reflections will become," said N'vok before taking a sip of The. "Dropping one of these items on a heavily populated world would be disastrous."

Leilani sighed. “If this is just one device of theirs, what other kind of devices could they have? Who knows what they could do to us, and this ship.”

"Not only to other races. We've had a taste of what it might do to the various species we have onboard, so lord only knows what it'd do to a race out in this neck of the woods," Nicholas replied, going to the replicator and getting a new drink and taking a sip of it before sitting back down.

"Yes," agreed N'vok, "they have great and terrible technologies. Which is why we must learn as much about them as we can so that we can counteract their ploys. Eventually, we will learn enough about them to be able to engage and destroy their petty empire."

"Well, could there be a way that we could use their own techniques against them? It wouldn't be too hard to rework the basic principles against the devices to make them turn on themselves and basically self-destruct. At least, that's something I'm looking at from the sensor scans that we've done," Nicholas replied, pulling up some of the sensor information up on his and everyone else's PADDs.

N'vok took a look at the calculations. "It is possible but I suspect it would cause a more intense reflection. We will continue to study the problem. My thought is to lock it into near stasis to prevent any generation of chi band harmonics. But all of these ideas will have to wait until we have another artifact to investigate."

Leilani nodded. “If we do find another, It’ll have to be extremely careful just what we do with it. Any benefits could be outweighed by risk, not just to us but to the whole ship.”

"Agreed," said N'vok. "Let us table discussion of theoretical future problems and work out how best to learn about the slaver aliens now. How can we best tap into their data and media flows to get a picture of their society and technology? And in such a way as to not attract undue suspicion?"

"Well, could we maybe do something similar to the crew of Deep Space Nine crew did right before the outbreak of the Dominion War, but tweak it? They had cloaked mines to help make a barrier to the wormhole. Could we maybe do something like that with a cloaked probe? Modify it and drop it off somewhere near one of the slaver planets to help us tap in better to their information network, so that we'd have an in without being detected?" Nicholas asked the group.

"I am not sure if we have any such technology to spare, though it is a good idea, perhaps something we can leave behind when we get out of this sector," said N'vok. "But as we are sending a team to visit one of their planets on an information-gathering mission. How can we scoop up as much data as possible without giving ourselves away?"

"Well, if the away team could get access to a computer terminal, I'm sure that they could implant a virus to gather as much data as possible before they have to get out of there. It shouldn't take more than a minute to implant, depending on the virus type," Nicholas replied.

“Fingers crossed we’ll find what we need.” Leilani smiled. “This ship and crew need a break. If we can pull a magical rabbit from a hat, then maybe we’ll get lucky.”

"We do at that but a magic rabbit seems unlikely," said N'vok. "Infiltrating their system may be possible, anyone who wishes can coordinate with Intelligence and Operations on such a task. But remember, not being detected as members of the Federation is of primary importance."

"My thoughts ran to more passive systems, perhaps a cloak lined with wide-band receptors hard-wired into a high-density storage medium," said N'vok, projecting a hologram of such a garment. "As it does not emit any signal, it should not be considered a threat. We would have to wait for our return to download and analyze the information, but anything broadcast nearby could be collected."

"That could work and it could be tucked away in a secret jacket pocket somewhere, assuming these slavers have pockets to begin with," Nicholas replied with a small snort of laughter, wondering what the slavers wore for their garments.

"It would be easy enough to make small receiver units for each member of the team," said N'vok. "The broader our area of coverage, the more data we should be able to gather for later analysis."

"What would the transceiver's range be like? I'm sure that it wouldn't be more than a few meters, since it would have to be low frequency to hide it away from the slavers," Nicholas asked the Lieutenant, curious as to the specifications of the devices to make sure nobody got caught.

"No frequency at all, it will be entirely passive," said N'vok, "therefore there should be nothing to be noticed. I cannot believe they would not be alert to spying, so we will just listen and let them talk to us." He enlarged the hologram, "Passive receptors for everything from microwaves to psi waves, though the later will be a marginal read at best." He tapped his finger on the table, lost in thought for a moment. "Unless we could use each person wearing one as an additional antenna . . ." He began making notes, the design flickering as parameters were adjusted.

"I know that it might not be as ethical as possible, but could we get with the medical teams and see if any Andorians are going on the mission? We could possibly use their antennas as possible ways to hide the transceivers. Just a thought, especially if we need an excuse for why something is going on? Maybe, we could explain it as Borg technology or something?" Nicholas replied, wanting to see if anything like that could work.

N'vok raised an eyebrow at Nicholas. "I do not think that is how Andorian antenna work. In any case, we have enough to get started with. Let me know if you need anything and remember, time is short, If you come up with any ideas, get in touch with me directly. Dismissed."