Sensor Log Report
Posted on Thu Dec 9th, 2010 @ 8:00pm by Captain Elsie Halliwell & Commander Curtiss Drake & Captain T'mpest Michaels & Lieutenant Commander Dylan Blake
1,394 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Lost Friends
Location: Briefing Room
Timeline: After the away team returns from the planet
Zhukov stood before the Captain, the XO, the Second Officer, and the Operations Officer. It was the first real briefing he had given since his promotion and he was slightly nervous about it.
He gave a quick glance to T'mpest before he began his presentation. She smiled at him and it seemed to help calm him down some. He took a deep breath and began.
"Approximately two days ago, I received a full copy of the sensor logs of the Andorian freighter, Jelto. It was the last ship to pick up the USS Archimedes on their scans," Vladimir said as he zoomed in on a section of space where the flight path of the Nova Class ship was.
"On Stardate 65489.7 a ship of unknown origin appears for less than three seconds." he said as the screen showed the unidentified object appearing next to the flight path of the Archimedes.
"It is then that the Archimedes disappears off the sensors. It could have been encountering some type of subspace fluctuation, it could have suffered some type of accident, or...it could have been ambushed." said Zhukov as his voice trailed off.
“Unknown origin?� the captain questioned, removing her slender hand from her chin where she had placed it. She looked about the room and narrowed her eyes in a concerned and inquisitive manner.
"I don't like that word." Commander Drake replied, shaking his head, "Is there any more that you've been able to come up with?" he queried.
"Well, Lieutenant Blake and I placed all the relevant data into the computer and it came out with three possibilities, one of which we have already dismissed. The two answers that are left are, well, frankly, not very good." Vladimir replied. "The computer suspects Romulan or QAR. Hell, it could be both of them, or neither of them. We are working with very little data here." Zhukov stressed.
The name of the QAR struck an electrified chord that rippled through Elsie's entire body. Almost instinctively she had guessed that they might have had a hand in this. Opportunistic robbery? Calculated theft? It didn't seem to matter to the Queen Anne's Revenge motley crew of space pirates. She shook her head subtly at their name but remained silent.
"Captain, it is our recommendation that we leave here immediately and head at maximum warp to the last known position of the Archimedes. It's the only way we can gather more data." said Zhukov.
"And what if this mysterious vessel is there waiting for us?" Drake asked, still shaking his head, "I think we need a bit more to go on before we go charging in." he added, casting a quick glance to the Captain.
"Do you have any information on this other ship?" T'mpest asked.
"No, Commander. It was only on the Jelto's sensors for less than three seconds, and their sensors aren't nearly as advanced as ours." Zhukov replied to her. "Again, Lieutenant Blake and I believe that the sooner we head for the last known position of the Archimedes, the more information we may be able to gather. All this data is in the computer already, but it's like trying to know what a book is about after only getting to read sentence fragments in the introduction page." Vladimir said.
"I agree, Commander," Halliwell replied sharpishly as she looked upon Zhukov. "We're running out of time waiting around this planet. Set the coordinates to their last known position and get us there maximum warp." Turning to Blake, she added, "I want continuous scans during the entire journey. Use the Astrometrics lab, it's why we have one, for Christ's sake."
She didn't mean to sound so harsh and cold to the senior officers gathered with her. She had thought that she had come a long way in terms of her personal and professional growth, but the single mention of the QAR seemed to have reverted the captain back to her aloof and unbending self.
Blake felt a lump grow in his throat at the snap in the Captain's tone. He nodded mutely at her request.
Drake nodded silently. He could see the determination in the captain's face and heard it in her voice. Any protests he had could wait until they were behind closed doors.
"Aye, Captain." Zhukov said as he shut off the power to the display and headed towards the bridge, stopping to chat with T'mpest for a moment.
"T'mpest, I'd like to give you this information too to see if you can run it through your intelligence channels. And at maximum warp, we are still almost 24 hours away from their last known position. Dinner, tonight?" he asked her.
"I'll see what I can find. I should have something for you tonight." She smiled softly. "Your place or mine?"
Zhukov thought for a second as the two walked into the corridor. "How about your place this time?" he asked her.
"My place it is." She gave his hand a squeeze. "I'll see you tonight. 1900?"
Zhukov nodded. "Aye, Commander." he said with a little chuckle in his response and a wink. The door to the conference room closed behind them.
Commander Drake stood watching the others go, making it clear that he wanted the room with the Captain for a bit of a meeting. No one protested as they made their way out. Sometimes no words were more than enough to convey the point. It meant that the crew was gelling and that they were learning his tells - something important for their future work on the ship.
“Commander,� Elsie said, flicking her knowing eyes up to him as he hovered around the fringes of the room. She turned from him and casually walked over to her desk, sitting slowly down on its support. “I can tell by that look in your eye that we’re about to have the same conversation we had when I wanted to head down to the surface yesterday. And,� she said, smiling at him with a small, almost playful smile, “you’re going to lose this argument, too.�
"We're not a combat vessel, Captain." Drake replied, shaking his head. He didn't care about winning or losing, partly because that wasn't his style and partly because he knew in the same situation he would probably do the same thing. However, in this particular instance, his tactical spidey-sense was tingling, "I don't think charging into this situation at the Scientist's behest is a wise tactical move. If this is more than just a wayward vessel, we may find ourselves outmatched," he said, taking a step towards her. "We should send for another vessel. Something more... potent." he said.
She took onboard his comment but shook her head at him solemnly. “Unfortunately, Commander, Starfleet aren’t affording us that option.� She fell silent a moment, looked him directly in the eye and said, “We’re all the Archimedes has right now. And Command believe that the extra bite we possess compared to the Nova should serve is well. We don’t have a choice in this matter.�
Curtiss folded his arms across his chest profoundly and stared at the floor for a moment, collecting his thoughts. They were a mish-mashed jumble at the moment, lost somewhere between anger, frustration and a genuine desire to help. He just wasn't sure which emotion to entertain. Slowly looking up to the Captain, she shook his head slightly. "Then I strongly suggest we proceed at Yellow Alert, and keep the Tactical staff on alert." he said, "I don't like this. I don't like this one bit."
She looked at him, comforted by the authority that he, as her first officer and right hand man, exuded. Then, slowly, she nodded to him. “See to it, Commander.�
[OFF:]
A Joint Post brought to you by
Captain Elise Halliwell,
&
Commander Curtiss Drake,
&
Commander T'mpest Michaels,
&
Lieutenant Commander Vladimir Zhukov,
&
Lieutenant Dyaln Blake
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