Lt. Robin Hopper: Stray Thoughts
Robin Hopper
((OOC Note – My sim from Kivik’s POV contains new tags for Dro; This sim, from Robin’s POV, contains new tags for Reade))
((Southern Tundra Region, Team A’s Accomodation Hut))
Reade: So at the moment, for the comm signal to get through the shield mesh, it needs to have Trenvonn signal attached within the message. Without this the mesh will refuse to send the message. So we are going to use the drone as an “encapsulation” method for our comms message essentially tricking the mesh into thinking we are Trenvonn.
Kivik: Alright, I think I understand. Thanks, Scotty.
Hopper smiled as the Kitty Hawk’s science officer shrugged nir shoulders and gave her a look that clearly said ne was only barely following the technical babble.
Lohani: And what can we do to help?
Dro: ::nodding his head:: We have skills we can use to be helpful.
Robin turned her attention to the two Betazoid nobles she’d been asked to babysit. Son Ucron Dro of the Twentieth House and Daughter Lohani Vananth-Polgonz of the Sixth. She recalled the two of them being at odds during their mission briefing – and the thought of having both of them crammed together in one little hut with them had not been a welcome one. But, circumstances were what they were.
Hopper: Well, Daughter Vananth-Polgonz, with your understanding of communications equipment, I think you’d be best suited to assisting Lieutenant Reade…
Vananth-Polgonz nodded. At least she was getting over her desire to avoid any serious work on this trip.
Reade: More the hands the better for me. I am happy to get any assistance if I can.
Hopper turned her attention to Dro.
Hopper: …and, Son Dro, I was hoping that, with your experience as a planetary engineer and veteran, you might help us work out some sort of defense system.
Dro: That sounds like a wonderful idea.
Robin crossed her arms, holding the cup of hot chocolate to her chest and trying to absorb its warmth as much as possible.
Hopper: Those drones are still out there, scouring the planet – and we now know they’re particularly interested in Betazoids for some reason. So, that means we need to keep all of you as safe as possible.
Kivik: Son Dro, I’m happy to assist with that. My speciality is not in communications equipment – but geosciences are more my cup of cocoa. Maybe we can find some way to harness the environment to obscure our presence here? Or at least gather some pointy rocks to throw.
Kivik stepped forward, tucking nir hands behind nir back as ne humbly offered to assist. Robin was grateful for that. As the more seasoned officer, Kivik could easily have tried to ‘take charge’ – a split power dynamic that Robin honestly didn’t have the patience for after so many hours awake. Then again, Kivik had seemed abnormally humble since their first meeting. Perhaps it was just the J’naii’s nature to go with the flow.
Dro: ::smiling broadly:: Both good options from what we have seen so far.
With everyone’s objectives clarified, Robin took another sip of her hot chocolate. The one benefit of the chill air here was that her headache had finally begun to subside… then again, that also could have been on account of the stimulant that Ikaia had administered. Perhaps it was both. Either way, she knew she was going to have one hell of a power nap when they were finally back aboard the Galaxy Class starship in orbit.
Hopper: I’ll do whatever I can to help you all out – and liaise with the other teams. Ultimately, our goal is to restore contact with the Kitty Hawk and get everyone out of here. Safely. So we need to collaborate. Is that going to be a problem for anyone here?
Kivik nodded silently.
Reade: I am good with that.
Dro: Not at all. My friend and I will be ready to defend us as much as we can.
Lohani: Fine by me. ::Smiling:: Cousin Ucron and I can certainly set our disagreements aside for the time being.
Hopper: Great. In that case, let’s get started!
She raised her mug of cocoa in the air slightly, rather like a small ‘cheers’.
Reade: Sounds good.
Dro: Fine work.
As the two groups split off, Dro and Kivik stepping to one side and Reade and Lohani to the other, Hopper tried to take stock of the current situation.
Commander Ukinix – or at least, one of them (she was still trying to get used to that oO Talk about a split power dynamic! Oo) had taken the shuttle Quimby out on a drone-hunting operation, leaving behind two teams in this frozen landscape. It was a small point of pride for her that her patient had been cleared by Ikaia to continue his duties – though she did worry somewhat for the Caitian Ensign.
With that in mind, Communications was at the top of her mind. Without a way to reach the Kitty Hawk and get off of Idrustix, all of this other work would eventually be in vain. The planet was still being slowly ‘cooked’ by the tetryon radiation – and those drones were still out there in numbers unknown. The shuttle couldn’t hunt them all, and no amount of defense or concealment would keep them safe from the radiological bombardment of the Trenvonn’s barrier.
She picked up her PADD, ready to take notes, and walked over towards Reade and Lohani.
Reade: Ok, we first need to get the comms unit out of the drone.
Lohani looked down at the triangular pieces of equipment laid before them on the table. They had been crudely removed from the drone’s spherical chassis by Ukinix and Grurg, and the sticky smelly ooze had been removed – but they were still somewhat mistifying. Robin stepped in to clarify.
Hopper: This entire module constitutes what we can think of as the drone’s brain and central nervous system. We’ll need to isolate and separate the communications components in order to integrate them properly with our systems.
Lohani: I see. Otherwise, we’d be restoring a fully-functional ‘drone’, sans body, into your Starfleet equipment. ::Looking down at the object again, pointing a finger:: So we need to utilize this bit here?
Hopper looked to Reade for additional clarification.
Reade: Once we have it out, we can begin the process of fusing the equipment together. This will help get everything working. Any other ideas that you have?
Lohani and Reade both looked in Robin’s direction. She shrugged – this level of engineering was outside of her expertise.
Lohani: These drones were able to communicate in Federation Standard – so there must be some sort of translation matrix. During the Dominion occupation of Betazed, we ran a lot of our underground communications through translators, coding them like ‘nonsense’ Cardassian phrases… Maybe we can do something similar to make our comms appear like whatever language the Trenvonn speak? ::A raised eyebrow:: They may not pay it as much attention, if they detect it at all.
Reade: Great idea! I did not think about that at all. That might help the signal even more.
Lohani: At very least it may buy us a little extra time before we are detected.
Hopper: I like it… ::Smirking:: Maybe I’m just feeling particularly vindictive after being shot at, but the thought of turning their own technology back on them a little bit does make me feel a bit warmer.
Reade: Response
Hopper: Oh, before I forget, Lieutenant – on the subject of using the Trenvonn’s technology to our benefit, I recall that Ensign Richards managed to establish a comms connection earlier by modifying comms boosters to utilize the atmospheric tetryonic radiation as a signaling medium…
Robin trailed off. It hadn’t even been two full days since they had left the Kitty Hawk for the planet’s surface – but it felt like much longer. When the shuttle had come to collect them, she’d been happy to see everyone, but Nathan most of all. The two of them had been growing closer while working on his shuttle, the Targhee, and the thought he might have been injured, or worse, halfway across the planet had been weighing on her heavily.
Unfortunately, there had been little time for a ‘reunion’, as the mission had hardly stopped with the arrival of the shuttle. In fact, it had breathed new life into both of their duties – Richards focused on restoring the Quimby’s systems and Robin trying to figure out a scientific solution to their captivity.
oO What I wouldn’t give for a few minutes of downtime... Oo Her exhausted mind wandered slightly – until she caught an intrigued glance from Lohani and realized that she’d been thinking a little openly considering she was around two telepaths and quickly tried to refocus, clearing her throat.
Lohani: ::Smiling knowingly:: Did you have a suggestion, Lieutenant Hopper?
Hopper: ::To Reade:: Ahem. Uhh, Scotty, did you have a chance to look over Ensign Richards’ work? It could be useful.
Reade: Response
Hopper: If I understand correctly, this device ::pointing at the Trenvonn drone device:: uses a similar method for passing communications through the Trenvonn’s net. I think it’s crucial we incorporate that functionality into our solution. If we send our messages through subspace we likely won’t penetrate the barrier.
Reade: Response
Hopper: Use your best judgment.
Before she could say anything further, she heard her name being called from across the hut…
Kivik: I wholeheartedly agree, sir. ::Thinking:: Lieutenant Hopper?
She turned, giving Kivik a tired smile. Looking back to Reade and Vananth-Polgonz, she offered them a nod.
Hopper: I think you two have a solid plan to get started with. Let me know if you need anything.
Reade: Response?
Hopper: Hey! How’s it going over here?
With that, she walked across the hut to see what Kivik needed. She could feel Lohani’s eyes on the back of her head. Had they not already been flushed from the cold air and warm cocoa, her cheeks would have turned red. How much of her errant thoughts had Lohani picked up on?
Lohani: ::To Reade, with an hint of amusement:: Well, she’s got a lot on her mind. Why don’t you and I get started? I’ll let you remove the communications components. Meanwhile, I can try to figure out how their translation matrix works. Sound fair Lieutenant?
Reade: Response
TBC
