Sending ET Home (part 1)

Posted on Sat Jul 9th, 2016 @ 2:50pm by Commodore Samantha York & Lieutenant Illise Hale & 1st Lieutenant Leroy Mangalia & Crewman E.M.H. Galen
Edited on on Tue Jul 19th, 2016 @ 10:51am

1,065 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Point of View
Location: Calypso

ON

[Science Department]

Illise and Galen stood in the Main Science Lab with 'Harry' nearby. Now that the computer had been restored to normal operations, Galen was released from her confinement to sick bay, and Illise was finally able to run some more complicated tests on the rift. Together with a team of scientists, they had been working on the problem of how to get 'Harry' home.

While reviewing the computer's logs, the scientists had discovered that there had been an unusual spike in the ship's warp field just before several fail-safes deactivated the core and the engines were shut down. This was rightly attributed to the effects of the cosmic string. However, as the warp field destabilized and collapsed, subspace had distorted inside the string creating a 'pocket' of negative-mass. Theoretically, the positive and negative masses should of cancelled each other out; but since negative mass produces exotic matter - which is inherently unpredictable - the end result had been the sudden appearance of a dimensional rift. All of this of course, had taken place in a space no larger than a single proton.

A second science team was working to figure out how exactly all this had happened. There was a lot of head-scratching going on in Lab Two.

In the Main Lab, Illise and her team had finished going through the sensor records of the moments after the engines failed. They had discovered a series of low-intensity pulses that were being emitted from the rift. These pulses followed a rather complex pattern, strongly suggesting that they were not a natural phenomenon. Unfortunately, due to the rift's unusual location inside the cosmic string, much of the previous sensor data had been distorted by the intense gravitational waves, making a clear determination difficult. These forces also prevented the probe they had sent from getting too close, lest it be crushed. Despite this, the probe had sent back some rather interesting information.

Comparing the computer records to the probe's data revealed that the pattern had changed immediately following the moment when the Calypso first started experiencing computer malfunctions. The team had marked this as when 'Harry' came on board.

One of the scientists had postulated that the pulses might be used to help map the gravitational minefield extending outward from the cosmic string, and provide a guide back to the rift. Illise and her team were currently investigating this theory. The largest obstacle that they were facing was the gravitational fields themselves: any signal they sent became too distorted before reaching the rift, and a probe that got too close would be torn apart.

Illise took another swallow of her coffee, then looked down at it. While it was still hot, the mug was woefully empty. She though for a moment, considering how much coffee she had already had, then considered getting a re-fill. Galen gave her disapproving look.

"Try some fruit." Galen suggested. Illise looked over at her and smirked.

"Is that your medical recommendation Doc?" Illise asked, only half-mocking.

"As a matter of fact..." Galen trailed off as Illise smiled fully then glanced back down at her mug.

"Maybe." Illise gulped down the last of the coffee. "But the caffeine is so nice."

"Vitamin C would do you better. How about a nice glass of grapefruit juice?" Galen looked across the room at the small replicator set into the bulkhead hear the Lieutenant's office. Real juice would be better, but replicated would be fine.

Illise grimace. "There's no such thing as a 'nice glass' of grapefruit juice." she said.

"You trying to poison her Doc?" Leroy said with a smile as he walked through the door hearing about the grapefruit juice. "Orange, Prune or just a straight Orange would be better for her than Grapefruit. Hell, I'll go get some of my reserve of Kiwi Strawberry if that's what she wants." Stopping in front of the Science officer, Leroy still smiled. "Sorry to barge in, I was wondering if you needed any help."

"This is why I drink fruit smoothies," Sam replied with a chuckle. "Much easier on the system after a long night of research." She nodded to the information on the console. "Good work, Lieutenant. It's no wonder we missed it earlier."

"Computer," Sam continued, "Compare the data from the rift and the resulting effects on the Calypso and compare them to the science database. Have there been any similar encounters?"

"Working," the computer replied.

"I spent a decade compiling the data from a thousand different sources," she explained to Illise. "Not all of them official."

"Impressive." Illise said, respect clear in her voice.

"I'm a scientist first," Sam explained. "Although it drives Damion crazy."

Turning to Leroy, Illise asked, "How close do you think a fighter could get to the rift before getting crushed?"

"Depends on what it looks like to be honest. Gravitational distortions, theta waves, gamma rays, any antimatter that's flowing through. I have to take all of that into account, but I could probably get it within about a thousand meters if everything is just right."

Sam raised an eyebrow and looked from Illise to Leroy. "That sounds plausible. Much better than the ship or a shuttle. And a fighter can pull out faster than any other ship, increasing the odds of success. Maybe if we engineer a torpedo and shoot our guest through the rift, it might deliver him safely -- as long as there's a way for him to get out on his own."

"I'll send you the data from the probe," Illise said to Leroy, "the scans can give you a more accurate picture of the forces we are dealing with out there. I would suggest coordinating with engineering on how to retrofit a fighter to get close enough. It will need some structural reinforcing, increased shielding and stronger shield emitters, just to get within twenty thousand kilometers of the rift. We also have a nearly complete map of the gravitational distortions, which you can use to program a navigational course around the worst of them." She paused before continuing in a serious tone, "I cannot stress enough how dangerous this region is. Even with a map and fighter's increased speed and maneuverability, the space near the rift is highly unstable."

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Illise Hale
Chief Science Officer

Crewman Galen
EMH

1st Lieutenant Leroy Mangalia
Flight Leader

Commodore Samantha York
Commanding Officer

 

RSS Feed