Investigating the Interference

Posted on Fri Feb 25th, 2011 @ 3:14pm by Lieutenant JG Ronnie Wolfe & Lieutenant JG Jerreck O'Connor & Lieutenant JG Talri & Lieutenant JG Tramira Kyt

1,135 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Forests of Mythraeli
Location: Science Conference Room
Timeline: Current

ON

Ronnie had several teams analyzing the scans from their arrival at Mythraeli and the most recent scans. There had to be something different. Something that changed. People didn't just disappear. Well, sometimes people did, but not generally people and a shuttle.

Ronnie looked over her notes and waited for the others to arrive.

Talri came directly from stellar cartography. The consoles there were sufficiently linked to the rest of the system that she had been able to examine the data there. She was certain that there was a clear and logical explanation for what had happened, all that remained was for someone to discover it.

With a cup of spiced tea in hand she sat down at the conference table, nodding politely to Ronnie by way of greeting.

Kyt arrived. She had a few cuts and scrapes in her uniform. She seemed slightly at better mental status. The fact that a couple of the cuts were still bleeding indicated that she had almost forgotten the time of the meeting, and the audible warning had interrupted her.

"You look a little battered," Ronnie told Tramira.

"Combat training. Safeties off." Tramira said. "Works better that way."

'Indeed,' murmured Talri, almost under her breath, before sipping at her tea.

"So, my thinking has not tripped across anything new." Tramira said. "And my only thought on the issue would be environmental. There was something I read once, about planetary electromagnetic fields. Duonetic fields interfere with just about everything. But it should have prevented our beam down to begin with."

"That sounds like a possibility," Ronnie said. "If that's the case, it's a good thing the away team took a shuttle and didn't beam down." She looked at the readings from the initial scans. "Computer, compare the initial scan of the planet with the readings after the away team disappeared. Is there any change in the electromagnetic fields?"

The computer was silent for a moment, then beeped. "Electromagnetic readings increased 54 percent between the two scans."

"But Duonetic fields don't discriminate. They would have taken out the shuttle's engines, guidance systems, shields, and life support." Kyt said. "They'd have been flaming little meteors, that impacted in the surface." Kyt countered.

"There's no indication of a crash, so we're looking at some other form of electromagnetic interference," Ronnie said. "Something that didn't interfere with the landing but is now causing serious problems."

Kyt simply nodded. She was already out of her scientific depth level.

"Computer," Ronnie said. "What sort of electromagnetic interference would be triggered by the away team landing on the planet?"

Talri held up a hand, palm outward. 'Lieutenant Lancaster I believe you may be asking the wrong question. Correlation does not imply causation. We need to know what might cause temporary or variable electromagnetic interference. The most common cause of such is simple electrical storms, which may vary in both duration and intensity.'

Kyt scowled. "How about you let the scientist follow her train of thought?" Kyt asked. "She's the Chief Science Officer, and she may have a point. If something realized an away team had landed, they may have erected a duonetic field to prevent the away team from contacting us."

'Indeed,' said Talri, unfazed by Kyt's tone. 'It is entirely possible that you are correct. However, it would be prudent to rule out the more mundane and naturally-occurring potential causes before engaging in such speculation.'

Kyt shook her head. "No. We should evaluate all opportunities." Kyt countered.

'Regardless of probability?' Talri sipped her spiced tea again. 'You are of course welcome to evaluate the situation in whatever fashion seems best to you, Ensign Tramira. I shall do as my reasoning dictates, and first investigate the most probable causes.'

Kyt scowled. She had people down there. Important people. She wanted to deck this Vulcan one for interfering with the seemingly logical train of thought Lancaster had gone with. She refrained. It took a lot of effort.

Jerry walked into the Conference Room, his uniform jacket open and a PADD in his hand. He was obviously recovering from a hangover as he walked in, reading the PADD. He collapsed into a chair and looked around. He obviously hadn't slept much, and was taking the demotion very hard. "Okay, people left the ship, went down to the planet, and disappeared. So, tell me why we don't just classify this dirtball Class-Y and run, like intelligent people? Seems like a great idea to me."

Kyt was relieved. Someone to deck. A good strong uppercut, and a good deal of her stress was relieved. "Why? I'll tell you why, you son o a denebian slime devil. There are people down there who I personally signed the order to issue them away team duty. Those people have families who care about them. I care about them. You have any problems with that, your hand-to-hand combat retraining is going to be a great deal harder than necessary, now snap out of your pathetic state and start helping." She demanded.

'Agitation is not productive,' said Talri firmly, looking from Kyt to O'Connor. 'Neither is violence. It is inappropriate. I strongly suggest that you sit down and discuss this properly.' In sharp contrast to the others, Talri remained perfectly calm.

Ronnie shook her head. "Enough of this. We're not leaving people behind," she glared at Jerry. "And we're not fighting," her glare turned to Tramira. "We're here to find a solution, or to find options we can explore."

The computer beeped. "A sufficiently strong electro-magnetic field would disrupt communications and scanners. Also an increased cosmic ray activity. Sunspots, and solar storms. Ionization of the atmosphere. A sufficiently strong electro-magnetic pulse. A thermo-nuclear explosion. Some creatures use bioelectric waves to communicate. Analysis indicates no planetary storms that would account for the lack of communications."

"Lieutenant Talri, I would like you to examine solar activity. Sunspots and solar flares. Also see if there is anything in this system that may be disrupting communications. If there is, we're obviously not detecting it. Ensign Tramira, work with engineering and Ops. We need to punch through this interference." She turned to Jerry. "Lieutenant O'Connor, you and I are going to see if there are any plants or animals that could cause this type of interference. We'll meet here at 0900 tomorrow to discuss our findings." She wasn't going to give Jerry and Kyt time to get into any more squabbles. They needed to find out what was going on and they needed to get their people home. "Dismissed."

OFF

Lieutenant JG Ronnie Lancaster (PNPC)
Chief Science Officer
USS Calypso

Lieutenant JG Talri
Stellar Cartographer
USS Calypso

Ensign Tramira Kyt
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Calypso

Lieutenant JG Jerreck O'Connor
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Calypso

 

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