PNPC PO3 Xandeus Filistrien - The Proper Time
LT Gila Sadar
(( Cockpit of the USS Griffin - Skies above Wallace Forest, Kahines II ))
The report that Doctor Sadar and Ensign Imril had offered up painted a very different picture to the Environmental Archaeologist now aboard the Griffin. At pick-up, it had been clear that the report about the Archaeologist’s wasn’t incorrect, but pretty much as soon as the Griffin took off to begin the echo survey, just as quickly did the tension leave the high-strung Klingon scientist. If Xandeus had to describe her current mood, it was professional and almost... Amicable? Well, as amicable as a Klingon ever was, at least.
B’Equ: The sensors are primed. We need five good and slow runs over the fortress at varying altitudes to get a proper scan. Start us up at 78.4 volcs.
With practiced competence, Ensign Lyara commanded the Griffin to the suggested altitude, and Xandeus turned to the sensor controls.
Lyara: Course set, Petty Officer begin scanning the strata. Start from the top and work your way down. ::She chuckled slightly:: Although I’m sure you didn’t need a reminder.
Well, work ethic came in all sizes, regardless of whether you were an Enlisted or a Commissioned Officer. While Xandeus might not have needed the reminder, as his fingers were already inputting the instructions to aim the scanners at the designated strata, other Enlisted might have required it.
Filistrien: Aye Sir, aiming the sensors at the upper layer of sediment.
This is when the Klingon scientist’s weird streak of cooperativeness asserted itself.
B’Equ: Your sensors are good. These will be adequate scans.
Lyara: The best in the fleet, or at least I like to think we are.
While Ensign Lyara chuckled with her usual approachable air, Xandeus caught the glance that she aimed in his direction.
oO “You hearing this too?” Oo
Yes, indeed he was.
Filistrien: Scans compiling, Sir. We’ll have a clear look at the uppermost layer soon.
The data showed the 1st basement level of the ruins, though some areas - likely ones that had caved in as a result of whatever had buried the ruins in the first place - were hard to differentiate from the normal earth layers.
Lyara: Are you seeing anything interesting on your screen doctor?
B’Equ: Preliminary scans are showing what we already know so far. However it will help with calibrating deeper scans.
Lyara: Prepare to go up an interval Petty Officer.
Xandeus did as instructed, while Ensign Lyara moved the Griffin about for another run.
Filistrien: Sensor calibrations completed. Systems ready for a second passover, 72.1 volcs.
The data from the second layer and below were more interesting than the ones at the top, showing not only basement areas of the ruins, but also criss-crossing narrow lines that wormed around the entire screen, interweaving with the underground halls.
Lyara: Are we getting faulty readings Filistrien? Or are the tubes just that hectic in design?
Xandeus shook his head.
Filistrien: Unclear Sir. The colonists have avoided contact with the Scorpionmoles, so the Federation databases have little information on them.
This admission made B’Equ scoff in a most Klingon manner.
B’Equ: That’s not surprising. Civilian colonists aren’t prepared to deal with that kind of wildlife. ::shakes her head:: The Federation’s colonization efforts are hopeless.
Lyara: Response
B’Equ: Of course. Scorpionmoles are excellent burrowers, with claws capable of digging through most steel alloys if given time. It is likely that their tunnels weave in and out of the entire lower layer of the compound. Only, they aren’t supposed to be this close to the surface.
Xandeus wanted to admonish the Klingon team for not forwarding what information they had on these burrowing beasts to them, since there was a non-zero chance that Doctor Sadar’s team would encounter them during their dig.
He probably still would, though there was a time and place for such a confrontation. It needed to be used at the proper time.
Filistrien: So ‘something’ has forced them up? ::glances to Ensign Lyara:: Perhaps the same phenomena that unearthed the ruin in the first place? If the entire ruin was underground until not long ago, then those tunnels would also have been further down, after all.
Lyara: Response
B’Equ: Your colonists swear that there hasn’t been any tectonic activity that could unearth a ruin of this size...
Filistrien: You suspect them of duplicity?
Lyara: Response
Tags/TBC
PO3 Xandeus Filistrien
Signals Analyst
USS Artemis-A
As simmed by
LT Gila Sadar
Medical Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240006GS1