Lt. Robin Hopper: The Winner Takes It All
Robin Hopper
((OOC – There are a few older tags for Lekasa, which I believe S’Raga included in his most recent sim, so I won’t repeat them again here))
((Idrustix – “Mid-Islands Region”, Island 4, Valley))
Ukinix(H): Robin, what have you been able to find out about the satellites.
He’d caught her in the middle of a yawn. Trying to play it off like a stretch, Hopper rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand, swooshing her increasingly-frizzy chestnut hair out of her face. oO Next away mission I am definitely bringing elastics… Oo
Hopper: A lot. But I’m sorry to say most of it’s not that useful to us. What I can say is that they appear to be forming a sort of shield or ‘net’ around the planet. Nothing in, nothing out. They’re emitting tetryon radiation… ::Glancing at Lekasa and Lohani:: Particles which are stable in subspace but, when exposed to regular space, get all… ::searching for a word:: …silly. The fact that they’ve managed to form a coherent network is impressive, but also really annoying.
Even a doctorate in Physics wasn’t enough to compensate for the fact that most of them had been awake for over 24-hours. Robin could feel the exhaustion pulling on her brain, making her thoughts sluggish… oO Going to have to make some campfire coffee if we want to keep going… Oo
Ukinix(H): Have the extra two comms boosters we had working to get contact to either the Kitty Hawk or the other teams?
S'Raga: ::Gesturing to his pile of boosters:: I've been working on linking them all together into one big comms array. It should be ready for testing soon, I just gotta work out the bugs.
Ukinix(H): Lieutenant Grurg, how long until sun-up?
Grurg: Two hours and thirteen minutes.
Lekasa: Response
Lohani: ::A concerned look towards Robin:: And you sure the medication you’ve administered will keep us safe?
Robin turned her head to look at the uptight Betazoid noble with tired exasperated eyes. She started to answer– but before a word could leave her lips, sparks flew from one of Ukinix’s PADDs. He ducked, covering his head, as the sparks flew and the screen shut off. Instinctively, Robin stepped in front of Vananth-Polgonz on Lekasa, shielding them from the potential danger. When it became apparent that the only one ‘harmed’ was the PADD, she dropped her arms and stepped towards Ukinix.
Ukinix(H): Dammit!
Hopper: ::Examining the ‘burn out’ PADD:: It’s been overloaded. The circuitry can’t handle the radiation… We can try running the cabling under a few inches of topsoil.
Lohani: If that’s all it takes, should we be taking shelter somewhere? Perhaps a cave.
Hopper: ::To Vananth-Polgonz:: Damned if we do, damned if we don’t, ma’am. We go find shelter and we’ll eventually get toasted anyways. At least here we have a chance at regaining comms. The radiation is worse up the side of the volcano.
S'Raga: The Lieutenant's right, we're having a hard enough time establishing communication as it is, sequestering ourselves in a cave will make it impossible to get a signal out.
Lekasa: Response
Robin shrugged, stepping closer to Ukinix and crouching beside him.
Hopper: ::To Ukinix:: I don’t know about you, Commander, but I’m finding this whole thing confusing. Why trap us on the planet indefinitely? Why hasn’t the Kitty Hawk taken action yet? There’s a puzzle piece missing.
Ukinix(H): Well the weird thing is that nothing has happened. And I’m sure Captain Rahman and Rivi are onto… whatever the hell is going on up there.
Lohani: I should hope so. You’d think they’d have made more of an effort to at least inform us of what is going on up there!
Hopper: ::Annoyed look at Lohani:: I’m sure that if they could they would have. ::Standing, walking over to the HCO:: S’Raga and I have a theory – something that might allow us to get comms back, at least to the other groups. S’Raga, want to explain?
Everyone turned to look at the Caitian Ensign. For a moment he seemed frozen in-place. After a pause, he gently placed his water bottle down and spoke.
S’Raga: Umm, well, when we tried sending signals through the comms boosters, we noticed they were instantaneously catching echoes of their own signal, but not the signal itself, just its tetryon signature. So we ran a few tests and we saw that the ::gesturing towards the sky:: tetryon barrier above us bounces back a hundred percent of the tetryon particles that we send towards it. It's essentially a perfect mirror, but in subspace. So the idea that we came up with was to modify the comms boosters to emit tetryon bursts and adjust the array's subspace geometry so that we can bounce the signal in a particular direction. If we aim it just right, the tetryon burts could bounce all along the inside of the barrier and reach beyond the curvature of the planet and hopefully reach the other teams stranded on the surface.
Lekasa/ Ukinix(H): Response
Hopper: It’s a bit of a longshot, but it’s something. The problem is we’ll need to dismantle and modify our comms boosters. Which means if it doesn’t work, we’ll just be even more out of touch…
S’Raga: Right. I already dismantled the three that we deployed earlier, but for this to work, we'll most likely need the components from the rest of the boosters in Lieutenant Hopper's pack plus the ones that the Kitty Hawk beamed down yesterday afternoon. Even then, this will only be to communicate with the other away teams. As far as we can tell, there's no actual way to penetrate the tetryon barrier, so communication with the Kitty Hawk won't be an option.
Lekasa/ Ukinix(H): Response
Hopper: It’s your call, Commander. But it’s the best shot we’ve got, at the moment.
Lekasa/ Ukinix(H): Response
S'Raga: Another thing to keep in mind is that even if we're successful in sending a signal to the other teams, there's no guarantee they'd be able to send one back. If not, we could send them instructions on how to use their own signal boosters to make a tetryon burst emitter, but we should be prepared for the possibility that it may just be one-way communications.
Hopper: I’m sure the other teams are prioritizing reestablishing comms the same as we are – and they both have Engineering Officers with them – ::A differential nod towards Ukinix:: Or former Chief Engineers in the Second House’s case. They may well figure it out before we do.
Lekasa/Ukinix(H)/: Responses
Lohani: ::Crossing her arms:: Well, do you think this plan of yours is going to work?
S'Raga: We can run a few more tests, but so far it's looking promising. The emitter will probably be ready by mid-morning, but if there was someone else here with some knowledge in communications equipment that could lend a hand in dismantling the other boosters, we could be transmitting by sunrise, as long as the radiation doesn't fry the circuits before then.
Ukinix(H): Response
Lekasa: Response?
Vananth-Polgonz gave a slight huff, drawing Robin’s gaze. If the stuffy noble said one more word about hiding in a cave or issued one more complaint, she wasn’t sure she could contain her frustration any longer.
Lohani: I’m no expert… But I have some experience working with communications platforms. Maybe I can help – with some guidance.
Hopper: ::Surprised:: You do?
Lohani: ::Curtly:: During the Dominion War I was part of an insurgency group on Betazed. We used a lot of ad-hoc technology to keep up with one another… Now I oversee a galaxy-wide media network. So yes, I have some skill with communications technology.
While she didn’t love the noble’s condescending tone, she couldn’t deny the fairness of the woman’s irritation. Robin had judged her as useless… Evidently lazy was more of an accurate criticism. All the same, if she was willing and able to help now, the Science Officer was happy to let her.
Hopper: ::To the HCO:: S’Raga? See if Daughter Vananth-Polgonz can help you, then. ::To Lohani:: Thank you.
Lohani: Don’t thank me yet.
((1.5 Hours Later))
The first rays of the blue giant star were beginning to creep over the horizon. Daylight was almost on them and, with that, would come an increase in radiation from the tetryon field above as the son’s own ejections began bombarding the field from the other side. The sky was beginning to shift in hue, from a dark maroon to a burnt amber colour. It was unlike anything Robin had ever seen before, and it was quite unsettling.
Work on the makeshift Tetryon Signalling Device had progressed more quickly with Daughter Vananth-Polgonz’ assistance, and Robin had been able to take a few minutes to continue her analysis of the satellites. There was considerable interference from the tetryon particles as they were drawn down into the planet’s atmosphere by gravitational forces… but she was beginning to get a clearer picture of how they functioned. Whether or not that would allow them to do anything about them or not remained uncertain.
S'Raga: Alright, I'm initializing the tetryon signal converter now. It seems to be working within nominal parameters... Those parameters being "not crashing the system", anyway. How are the emitter arrays?
As S’Raga spoke, Hopper turned back towards him and took a few steps towards the device. She had begun to feel a little dizzy, and a slight headache was beginning to form at the back of her head – likely the result of the radiation… but it was still over four hours before they would receive another dose of the Lectrazine-hyronalyn radio-protector.
Hopper: ::Rubbing the back of her head:: They should hold so long as we watch for overloads.
S'Raga: Ok, it sounds like it's as ready as it'll every be, then. What do you think?
Hopper: Yeah… Yeah, let’s give it a shot. Now or never, right?
S'Raga: ::Nodding, and turning to their XO:: Commander Ukinix? We're ready to give it a try now.
Ukinix(H): Response
Lekasa: Responses?
As the array turned on, there was a buzz of static from their combadges. Robin recognized the tone, garbled as it was, as the chirp of their combadges reconnecting to the local subspace network. Whether or not they could be used for any sort of practical verbal communication was not yet clear, but at least they–
Unknown Source: =/\= Kkzzzzxt... Kxxzzztk... =/\=
Robin’s eyes went wide.
Lohani: What was that? That sounded like someone. Was it the Kitty Hawk?
Lekasa/Ukinix(H)/Grurg: Responses
The words had been indistinguishable but there was no mistaking what Robin had heard.
Hopper: That was The Beegees.
Lohani: The what?
Hopper: The Beegees. ::Realizing the need to clarify:: Uh, oh, a twentieth century Earth band. That was More Than A Woman – it’s the name of their song… ::To S’Raga:: Where’s that coming from? Is it the Twentieth House team? oO It has to be Nathan…Oo
S'Raga: I'm not sure, I haven't even transmitted a signal yet. Hold on, let me try to clear up whatever's coming through.
S'Raga crouched back down at the control panel and worked on isolating the source of the noise.
S'Raga: It looks like we're receiving a signal of some kind. And it's using the ambient tetryon radiation as a carrier wave! That's actually... really ingenious.
Richards: =/\= Can everyo--kkzxt ... Kxzztk--nsign Richards =/\=
oO I knew it! Oo Robin felt a sudden unexpected rush of emotion. She had been trying not to think about what might be happening with the other teams, maintaining an optimistic state of mind – but to hear Nathan Richards’ familiar voice over the comms released a pent up well of worry and exhaustion. She did her best to hide her tears as she laughed in relief, turning away from the group for a moment.
S'Raga: ::Tapping away at the control panel:: Attempting to enhance the signal.
Keehani: =/\= Ensign Richards, this is First Secretary Ukinix, what is your status? =/\=
Ukinix(H): Response
S'Raga: Ok, I've activated the transmitter. You can respond now, Commander.
Ukinix(H): =/\= It’s bloody good to hear your voices. =/\=
Any Sixth House: =/\= Response? =/\=
Lekasa/Grurg: Responses?
Dro: =/\= It is good to hear from the other teams. Carter was called back by the Ambassador shortly before the satellites were deployed. Have we got any other communication that has been had with the ship? Or an idea what has been going on? =/\=
Robin turned back to the group at last, a genuine but exhausted smile on her face, as she wiped her face off as best as she could. She loved The Beegees – but she’d never been so happy to hear them in her life.
Ukinix(H): =/\= Looks like we know as much as you do, Son Dro. =/\=
Dro: =/\=Beyond the major circumstances things are no real complaints from our end…=/\=
S'Raga: ::To Hopper, very quietly:: Signal strength and stability are nominal. It's actually working!
Hopper: ::Nodding, catching her breath:: That’s excellent, S’Raga. Thank you!
Without worrying about rank or station, she gave the Caitian Ensign a big hug. After a moment, she stepped back, releasing him, hoping she hadn’t overstepped and made him uncomfortable.
Hopper: ::Softly, back to S’Raga:: We, uhh, we need to figure out how they are managing to reach us. They might not be using the same stable method…
Dro: =/\= Scratch that, a storm has spun up and is heading our way, we have some higher ground nearby but we need to break camp to move the equipment. Let's stay in touch and try to coordinate as much as possible. =/\=
Keehani: =/\= Understood, Son Dro, please stay safe. Sixth House team, what is your status? =/\=
Ukinix(H): =/\= It’s approaching sunrise here, we’re hoping to be able to scout out further at first light to get an idea of what’s going on. We’ve been trying to get our comms boosters working. =/\=
There was a screech of feedback and static that filled the air for a moment, a flock of small bird-like creatures rushing out of the nearby grass and taking to the sky in panic. As they flew off towards the treeline, a pervading silence filled the air once again. Robin tapped her combadge and, when no sound emanated, her stomach dropped. They were no longer connected.
Ukinix(H): Response
S'Raga: I'm not sure, Commander. Our tetryon array is still online, but all signal activity went dead.
S'Raga clambered over to another control panel on the other side of their contraption and furiously typed in some more commands. Hopper followed him, looking over his shoulder as he worked.
Hopper: Look at the waveform pattern. There was a temporary signal convergence between all three sites here, in a central latitude and longitude – right where one of their satellites is located.
Lohani: Now you’ve exceeded my understanding. What does that mean? Can we still communicate with the other groups?
Lekasa: Response
S'Raga: It's not a failure on our end. Whatever cut the signal came from an outside source. If I had to guess, I'd say our alien friends in orbit caught on to us.
Ukinix(H): Response
Hopper: ::Frustrated:: What the hell do they want?!
Robin paused, surprised at her own outburst. The back of her head was now throbbing with a growing ache. Crying had not helped.
Hopper: Sorry, everyone… The exhaustion and radiation is getting to me. ::A certain look towards Ukinix:: I’m fine, though…
Lohani: You’re just saying what we’re all thinking. What in the name of the Four are these people trying to do – kill us all? And if so, why hasn’t your Captain Rahman taken more decisive action? ::An uncertain look towards Ukinix:: I thought you were close with her.
Ukinix(H): Response
Lekasa/Grurg/S’Raga: Responses
Hopper: Okay, well, whatever their reason, they don’t want us communicating. But we don’t have to play by their rules…
Ukinix(H)/S’Raga/Lekasa/Grurg: Responses
Robin nodded excitedly, an idea forming in her mind.
Hopper: If they can jam us through the field, there must be a way to route signals through the satellites. That means, if we can crack their security protocols, we might be able to forward our own signals through the satellite network… Turn their tech against them.
Ukinix(H)/S’Raga/Lekasa/Grurg: Responses
Hopper: I doubt we’d be able to get a signal out the other end, to the Kitty Hawk, but the only way they’d be able to stop us from bouncing signals to each other down here would be to deactivate their own satellite net. Either way, it’s a win for us, right?
Ukinix(H)/S’Raga/Lekasa/Grurg: Responses
TBC
