((Starfleet Ops, Level 1, Copernicus Center, Amity Outpost))
Rosek-Skyfire: =/\= There's some urgency, but exercise your best judgement. Let us know what you find. =/\=
Iko: ::under her breath:: Please find something…
Lael had looked to Bec after her hasty radio message, and Bec had looked back with the same expression; D’Cyra had just caught this out of the corner of her eyes.
She couldn't help herself. If someone was hurtling towards the abyss, you couldn't wait until the other one was standing with one leg in the air above the precipice. And what had happened in the "Whispering Walls"? The Interlink system had trapped team members in maintenance shafts or led them astray in a constantly shifting maze of holo-caverns.
D’Cyra always remembered the words of a famous admiral: "I would rather err by acting than by omission.” Although that was over 600 years ago, it had lost none of its relevance. And in a certain way, they were all sailors too.
Rosek-Skyfire: =/\= Understood. Rosek out. =/\= ::to D’Cyra:: All right. Let's see if we can get any more information to pass along. The more they have, the better of an idea they will have of what they are getting themselves into. Informed decisions are key.
They didn't know what was really going on out there, which data was more accurate.
Varati: ::to Lael:: Aye, Commander. If events continue to unfold so rapidly, there simply won't be time for accurate analysis.
Information prolongs life – yes – but you have to have the right information for that to happen.
Rosek-Skyfire: ::to Bec:: We don't have much time. Any thoughts on what else we need to look for or any other scans we can run to get more information?
Iko: If we can get our hands on more information about the vessel the Runabouts have been chatting to…
Bec frowned thoughtfully. Yes, time was the only thing they didn't have.
Varati: We might be able to extract the transponder signatures from the general radio logs?!
The database would surely turn up something in that regard. And who else could it be besides the Turei or Vaadwaur?
Rosek-Skyfire: ::brow furrows:: See if you can adjust the sensors. ::to D’Cyra:: Can we increase their range at all? Get more detailed scans?
Since D’Cyra had not only worked on the drones and buoys, but also on the Pathfinder project and the Uhura array equivalent for quite some time, this topic was not completely unfamiliar to her.
Varati: Well, we can increase the sensor power step by step; we can also precisely align the sensors and antennas. However, the increased power then leads to higher noise or "ghosts." Since we're concerned with long range rather than short range, I would suggest reducing the sensor pulses instead. The "dead zone" between transmit and receive isn't so critical here. By using pulse compression filters, we can increase the signal power by a factor of 30 to 40.
Disadvantage: With regard to the sensors, we are then completely "blind" in the short range and, in the long range, except for the selected area.
Iko: Please…
She looked into Bec's somewhat bewildered face. It must all seem like foreign vocabulary to her. At the same time, she sensed Bec's inner restlessness, her desire to help through action. A feeling that wasn't unfamiliar to her either...
But well, that was a decision she didn't have to make herself; she had two commanders standing beside her.
Varati: I think we have to take the risk for a snapshot in time? Locally, we at least have a small backup with the buoys…
Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Saavei: =/\= Miombo to Ops, the Daintree has been damaged. We are attempting to assist. There is a Turei vessel, the Starshell, with us. =/\=
Even though the transmission was very poor, at least the question about the other foreign vessel was answered.
Iko: D'Cyra I want data on that vessel and I want it now. Their warp signature and how it reacts with the rift and subspace is our key.
She hastily searched the database for relevant information, now that they knew who they were dealing with.
Varati: Ah yes, it's probably a Turei ship. Not a frigate, more like a scout. In any case, Turei ships are equipped with powerful plasma-charged weapons. Technically, they're state-of-the-art, as far as we know. The ships look a bit like triangular, upturned cake tins, with the artillery turrets mounted on top in a pockmarked pattern. This likely made them very well suited for flying through the debris flows in the corridors. Approximately 40 meters long, 10 to 15 meters wide, maximum crew size 30 men…
They have special shield modulators and devices for generating energy beams to influence the harmony of the subspace corridors. Whether these are suitable for maintaining the corridors, we don't know. Within the corridors, they probably do not use warp drive, unless they also have a technique to adjust the warp fields accordingly so that there is no interference with the corridors. ::pauses::
Ehh, yeah.. So we're looking for traces of deuterium... Phew, this is starting to feel like an academic lecture!
D’Cyra began to grin; with the deductive method, one eventually gets from the general premises to the underlying individual cases, or vice versa.
She was overcome by an uncontrollable craving for chocolate... such thought processes consumed a lot of energy, and her squeezed citrus fruits didn't get her very far.
Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Iko: What's the Indy doing?
She shrugged, clueless.
Varati: We haven't heard anything about the Indy yet... they were still in talks with the Trenvonn, that was the last we heard.
Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Bec nodded again. Was it really a nod? Or just a nod of agreement?
Iko: Any objections to grabbing Yosemite Sam and trying to help 'em out?
First that rather exhausted nod, and now suddenly this? She couldn't believe her ears. And hardly even to her eyes... did Bec actually seem to be moving towards the exit?
Varati: Wait… What?! We're supposed to grab the remaining scout and fly out there too? The Miombo can do Warp 6... but we can hardly expect the small engines to handle that for extended periods. And even then, the flight would take several hours?!
The idea was crazy... D’Cyra jerked her head back in disbelief. Now she had to frown too. Somewhat surprised and perplexed, she looked at Lael. She was the highest-ranking officer; only she could decide whether they too should leave Amity and rush to the others' aid.
Rosek-Skyfire: Response
It was a delicate situation. But they had to choose a course of action, and quickly.
Varati: I don't know, I'm torn... Helping, yes, but how?! At some point out there, we'll lose real-time control of Amity's sensors. And we wouldn't be any better equipped than the other two scouts...
It annoyed her that she hadn't looked at the auction brochure for one of the Immaculata Class IVa yachts... They could reach a cruising speed of Warp 7 and a top speed of Warp 9... But she actually wanted to donate most of the money...
Iko/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
But there were many more things to consider, especially the right equipment and a command link to the stationary OPs here on Amity, which gave them access to the raw data from the sensors.
Varati: And even if we fly, who will take command here on Amity? ::pause::
Well, both Keehani and Kizat were more than experienced leaders who could take command of Amity.
Varati: I would need to update a few extra mission PADDs and have some special equipment brought onto the ship... that will take some time.
Iko/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Varati: I need to ask Chief Petty Officer O'Duffy how quickly he can get the Yosemite ready for take-off.
D’Cyra felt that unpleasant feeling of indecisiveness... her feet felt both hot and ice cold at the same time, and the nerve endings tingled all the way to her fingertips.
As much as she supported Bec's idea, she didn't want to blindly rush headlong into disaster. If only they could have called on the Shelby for help...
Varati: But shouldn't we contact the Indy first? Plunge headlong into adventure, uh, well, I mean, there seems to be a lot going on out there, to put it diplomatically.
Iko/Rosek-Skyfire: Response
Tag/TBC