An Odd Smattering of Things

Posted on Thu Jul 14th, 2011 @ 3:18pm by Lieutenant Kevin Benning-Wexler & Commodore Samantha York

570 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Shades of Gray
Location: Captain's Ready Room

Kevin stood outside Captain York's office, tapping the PADD he carried lightly into the palm of his hand. He pressed the door chime and waited for the Captain to respond. The Lieutenant was concerned about what he discovered.

"Come in," Sam said, setting down the PADD she'd been reading.

Lieutenant Wexler entered the office slowly. "I'm very sorry to bother you Ma'am..." Kevin began.

"Oh, yes. We haven't met yet. Have a seat," Sam said. "What can I do for you?"

"Ma'am, I have taken the liberty of reviewing the wave harmonic distributions from the energy readings Science gathered from the planet... And well..." Kevin paused. "I think you need to see this for yourself Captain."

Sam took the PADD and scanned through it. Then she looked through it more slowly. "Interesting." To her it painted a fairly clear picture, but she always liked input from others. "What is your analysis of the situation?"

"They are most certainly using a menagerie of equipment from different powers throughout the Alpha and Beta quadrants. Cardassian water treatment processors, Romulan power distribution systems, Federation transporters, Ferengi replicators, it's all very interesting Captain, but none of them would work together for very long without someone down there who has more skill and time than any Starfleet Engineer. I can't say that they were obtained through nefarious means Captain, but most of these systems are not readily shared by their creators." Kevin paused and took a breath. "Or that's what I seem to be getting out of it Ma'am."

"They do seem to be a planet of scavengers," Sam concurred. "Excellent work, Lieutenant. What do you think we should do next?"

Kevin was a bit surprised to be asked. "Well I think it depends on what your goal is Ma'am. If you want to help them, you have to get them on a sustainable system of technology. I tend to recommend Federation technology because it is the most compatible with add-on's from other governments. But if you are looking to disable them Captain, that would be very simple. A couple of targeted electromagnetic pulses in key areas would knock the entire power system off-line and would likely prevent the vast majority of backup generators from activating. Just based upon how they've got everything linked together in this hodgepodge."

"To be honest, Lieutenant, I'm not sure what course of action I want to take. Right now, I want information and suggestions. So that once we do have enough information we'll be ready to act on it," Sam replied.

"I personally think that they're not the most savory of characters, judging by their 'acquired' technology. We should proceed with great caution." Kevin wasn't interested in anyone getting into trouble down on the planets surface, let alone his husband.

"Agreed. Thank you for your report, Lieutenant," Sam said. "See if you and Engineering can find out where some of the technology came from. Are there reports of lost or stolen equipment? Missing ships? Anything along those lines. Work with Intel. They can help you gather information. I'd like you to do it because you will have the best idea of how the various pieces of technology work and if there's a pattern on the planet as to what tech is used where."

The engineer nodded. "Understood Ma'am. I'll get right to work."

__________

Captain Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Calypso

Lieutenant Kevin Benning-Wexler
Engineering Officer
Temporary Assignment USS Calypso

 

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