Tachyon Scramble
Posted on Sun Jun 6th, 2021 @ 3:58am by Captain Luka Mahone & Lieutenant Alan Harrison & Lieutenant Serra V'lon
852 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
Frizzle
Location: Forward Research Camp - Near Caves
Timeline: MD 02 - 0212 Hrs
There were a number of issues Serra was likely to raise with Captain Mahone once this immediate crisis was resolved. The limited scientific resources devoted to the initial surveys, the unusually slack oversight, not to mention allowing civilians - with children no less - access to the site. Those issues, however, had to be set aside for the moment.
She understood the human need for urgency when it came to children and hazards. Indeed, Vulcan parents were not completely heartless in this regard, however there was a stoicism and control that provided perspective. Patience and caution would be required in the coming hours.
"Have the engineering crews enhanced the power generators as requested?" she asked the chief engineer nearby. "In order to fully scan the caves for evidence of the missing group, a significant increase in power output will be required."
"Yes, we've been working on them overnight," Alan yawned - he'd barely slept last night, concerned about every precious minute. "Although I'm a bit concerned if they'll be able to get through those dampening fields we encountered last time we scanned this place."
"Hence the request for additional power. Logically that should enhance our ability to scan the cave network." Serra noted the yawn. She wasn't familiar with Lt Harrison's sleeping patterns, and had to refrain from questioning his capabilities to complete the work while fatigued. Instead she chose to explain her thinking in more detail. "Should this prove unsuccessful we will still need the additional power generation for the quantum flux sensor suite. Failing this we may require the assistance of the USS Atala to penetrate the dampening field."
"We should be ready to test the scans again any minute now, last I heard. Ensign!" Alan exclaimed, motioning to a junior office manning one of the consoles. "How long until we're at full power?"
"Uh, approximately two from now, sir," they responded nervously after checking their console.
"Good, good!" Alan responded, switching back to talking to Serra, "If the power available on a planet can't penetrate those fields, I worry about whether a starship would be able to either. Perhaps if neither of those work, we could try an indirect approach..."
Pausing for a bit to think to think, he continued, "Lieutenant, are you familiar with the concept of a borehole?"
"A deep hole intended to tap a natural resource. Typically water, oil or another liquid. Commonly used for industrial water tapping," Serra replied, as though recalling the dictionary definition. "Did you have a particular thought for this line of inquiry?"
"If we can't increase the power to break through that interference at the current distance, perhaps we can bring the sensors closer to what we're trying to scan?" Alan excitedly quipped - he felt a bit more energized already. "Lieutenant, I presume you're familiar with the inverse square law, where energy per unit of space energy degrades greatly with distance. So, the closer we could get the sensor array to the interior of the caverns, the stronger our sensor signals would be!"
"Indeed I am," Serra nodded. "You are proposing we create a hole in the surface structure to permit the sensors to move closer." She raised an eyebrow. The proposal was creative, though not without risks. "Without knowing where the missing life forms are, such an action could be reckless. A more patient approach may yet yield further data."
"That's fair. Although if we continually scan as we drill down, we should be able to detect any lifeforms that could potentially get in the way," Alan responded.
As they spoke, the young and scraggly-haired Assistant Chief of Engineering seemed to appear out of thin air next to Alan. "Sir, there might be a problem. We've got tachyon emissions in the caves."
Tachyon emissions... thought Alan. That made things different. "I see... Thank you, Lieutenant. Where exactly were these found? Are they at all close to the regions we haven't been able to scan so far?"
"Nah," Kikua replied off-handedly, giving Alan a PaDD full of information on the matter. "They're actually a little ways from the entrance. About in the area sectioned off and authorized for civilian exploration."
"Logically, the tachyon emissions and the missing civilian party may well be connected," Serra observed. "An inverse polaric field should allow additional sensor penetration through the tachyons. The modifications to a standard Starfleet type-3 probe would be the most efficient method."
"Good idea. Make it so, Lieutenant," Alan said to Kikua. This planet seemed to be full of surprises. He'd only been here a few months and until recently nothing exceptionally strange had happened, but had heard a few stories about the events that predated his arrival.
Serra just nodded her assent and got to work. A probe launched from orbit would be the most ideal situation given their ability to put themselves in a geosynchronous position. She silently signaled the Atala with the requirements.
"The modifications should not require an extensive amount of time," she informed her colleague.
"Seems we have our work cut out for us," Alan said with a nervous chuckle.
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