Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie - Under Surveillance
Addison MacKenzie
(( Briefing Room – Deck 1, USS Artemis-A ))
Richards: Has it been confirmed the Kobyar and the Grunden are the only two intelligent native species?
MacKenzie opened her hands slightly and offered a barely visible shake of the
head.
MacKenzie: We don’t know much about the world, but I have to imagine
that with these two large factions, if there was another native species to
contend with on the planet, one of them would have mentioned it.
Tho’Bi: ::Still looking at
table:: Captain. We need a baseline ::looks up at the Captain:: If we
have the ship scan for i- ::tilts head on way and then other:: Stable isotope
ratios (beat) Isotope ratios v-vary from planet to planet (beat) ::counts on
his fingers:: Oxygen Carbon Nitrogen Iron Magnesium Titanium Zinc (beat) Copper
(beat)(beat) Nickel. ::looks at the table:: …there’s more but… They each
indicate sp-specific planetary conditions. ::looks at Captain:: If
the ship scans for st-stable isotope ratios it (beat) it gives us a b-baseline…
She
could feel her head start to lower, wondering if the Andorian was going to ever
figure out what point he was trying t make…
Tho’Bi: If the ship’s
scans (beat) don’t match our Tricorder scans (beat) we know the raw material
(beat) or the weapon (beat) or the equipment (beat) didn’t come from their
planet.
MacKenzie: ::nodding:: A good
strategy, but I guarantee they won’t make any evidence easy for us to find.
That’s its own issue.
She waited an additional moment to see if anyone had additional questions.
Seeing none, she proceeded forward.
MacKenzie: We’ll be arriving at Galaris IV in the hour. Commander Dakora
will lead the away team to work with the Grunden, along with Lieutenant
Vailani, Doctor Sadar, Lieutenant Gnai and Ensign Tho’Bi. Their territory is
rural. Rugged. Let that inform your preparation.
She nodded to Dakora, sending his team off to begin their own preparations. With
her team remaining around the table, she laid out their task.
MacKenzie: The rest of you will be with me heading to the Kobyar
capital. Their urban centers are highly developed and readily display their
technological ability. With that in mind, are there other questions I can
answer before we arrive?
Silveira: I assume we are allowed to carry hand phasers, right
Captain?
Jovenan: I would imagine the Kobyar
facilities are reasonably safe. Still, our technology and personnel
would be too valuable in either of their hands to be left undefended. Even if
the both sides are as amicable towards us as they say, I don’t think we should
give them a reason to fall into temptation.
Bergmen/Richards: Response
MacKenzie listened to their input, and nodded.
MacKenzie: It’s an active war zone, after all. The last thing I want is
for us to find ourselves without the ability to defend ourselves.
Silveira: Captain,
are we also allowed to scan Kobyar weapons? After all, each faction has claims
of outside interference…
Imril: Not just their weapons, but their vehicles, surveillance gear, communications systems. Molecular analysis could help determine what’s being produced in-housefrom what isn’t. Progressive changes to computer coding could show the same. I’d also suggest taking a thorough look at the logistics of manufacture, from the collection of raw materials to roll-out of the end product.
Jovenan: Agreed. Even the best industrial replicators leave
identifiable patters, and too high quality is suspicious as well. I’m just
concerned that the side in fault – if either – knows this, and we might have
trouble gaining access to sufficient data without their cooperation. Hopefully,
both sides are as eager to clear their own reputation as they are of blaming
the other.
MacKenzie: If they’re serious about getting to the bottom of this, that’s
a non-negotiable for me. They’ll have to allow access to all their
materials. Any act of subterfuge is reason for suspicion.
Bergmen/Richards: Response
Vitor frowned, leaning back on his seat.
Silveira:
This feels like running on the edge of a blade.
In her time serving with Vitor, she discovered that the man had a pragmatic way
of stating what everyone else was likely thinking or feeling, but perhaps
unwilling to articulate so readily. It was a trait she appreciated.
Imril: One of the questions we should find an answer to is how far from Galaris IV the Koybars or Grunden have travelled since they’ve achieved warp capability. Which alien vessels or societies, and media, they’ve had regular contact with in and out of the Federation. The outside influences they are absorbing of their own initiative.
MacKenzie nodded along. It was a good point.
Bergmen/Richards/Silveira: Response
Imril: Either side or both could be developing new technology on their own, or reverse engineering it, based on what they’ve been exposed to in the Borderlands and beyond. The presence of bad actors could be a mistaken impression drawn from gaps in what each side knows about what the other side is working on. Being at war so long, it’s reasonable to expect that they’ve both got robust spycraft operations going on. Getting a look at some intelligence data could prove helpful in zeroing in on suspect items or persons, if any.
That was absolutely true. The information provided by Starfleet so far indicated
that the Kobyar in particular had utilized drone and stealth technology.
Jovenan: If they are fully open
to us, we might get lucky with gaining access to the relevant data. But if not,
is there any indication we should look for to prove reverse engineering? Less
advanced solutions where they couldn’t bypass encryption, for example.
Bergmen/Richards/Silveira/Imril: Response
Jovenan: Hmm. We are very dependent on the sides to provide us
with evidence and access to their own equipment and data, then. Making them
feel like we’re accusing them or even being suspicious of them would undermine
the mission.
MacKenzie: That’s true, but it’s up to us to be clear about our
intentions and the need for the information if we are all to proceed in good
faith – assuming they actually want us to get to the bottom of what’s happening
on the planet.
Bergmen/Richards/Silveira/Imril: Response
Bridge: =/\= Captain, we’re approaching Galaris IV. =/\=
MacKenzie: =/\= Standard orbit. =/\= ::to the team:: Let’s get moving.
(( Xal-Kor’Za City Center – Kobyar Capital, Galaris IV
))
The beam-in completed with a familiar hum and flicker – and then, silence.
MacKenzie’s away team materialized on a raised obsidian platform in the center
of a stark, geometric plaza. The air was crisp and cool, tinged with ozone and
the faint scent of antiseptic – like a hospital built by an architect. The air’s
composition was thinner than on Earth, but breathable without extra effort as
long as they didn’t need to engage in any rigorous exercise. Overhead, the
skies shimmered with the faded trails of high-altitude drones. Even the clouds
moved in organized lanes, shaped by atmospheric regulation systems that bent
nature to engineered precision.
Xal-Kor’za, the Kobyar capital, was the epitome of a technocracy – looked
as one might expect: towering spires of alloy and crystal curved in deliberate
arcs, their surfaces etched with shifting glyphs – Kobyar script rendering in
light, conveying data in real-time. The ground beneath their feet wasn’t stone,
but something synthetic – soft and responsive, designed for maximum efficiency.
The noise level was nearly nonexistent. Even the flow of hovercraft traffic in
the mid-level skyways was eerily silent. Pedestrians – tall, scaled Kobyar in
flowing, caste-colored robes – moved with purpose. No one dawdled, no oine
loitered. There were no crowds, just flow. MacKenzie felt as though they were
being observed… Not overtly, but thoroughly. In Starfleet’s notes, she recalled
their mentioning of the Kobyar’s extensive surveillance net, obviously on full
display.
The team was dressed in field jackets, each of them carrying kits pertinent to their
department’s specialty, in addition to a tricorder and sidearm on their hips.
MacKenzie: ::pointing:: The Kobyar central government is in that
building over there. The Kobyar have a robust surveillance network, so we
should assume that our movements are always being monitored… I guarantee they are
already aware of our presence, but before we go in, let’s get some readings.
What can you tell me?
Bergmen/Richards/Silveira/Imril/Jovenan: Response
The away team didn’t get very far in their readings before a female Kobyar
dressed in a military uniform. MacKenzie turned her attention and extended her
hand.
MacKenzie: You must be Major Indeethl Oolwi. I’m Captain MacKenzie of
the Artemis.
Oolwi: Response
Bergmen/Richards/Silveira/Imril/Jovenan: Response
Tag, and TBC!
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Fleet Captain Addison
MacKenzie, M.D., Ph.D., FASFS
Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A
Captains Council Member at Large
V239601AM0