Captain Addison MacKenzie - Strange Readings
Addison MacKenzie
As each member of the team rematerialized on the Cube, the familiar blue glow of the transporter beam was replaced by dim green lighting. Addison had never had an encounter with the Borg, so her context for this experience was only based on what she’d learned in the Academy and received in briefings from Starfleet Intelligence, but the non-existent personal connection coupled with the knowledge she’d accumulated was cause for significant anxiety.
If she’d known better, she could almost feel the adrenaline start to pump through her veins, even causing her to sweat a little bit, but then she remembered the Borg preferences for temperature and humidity and was more than happy to attribute the thick air to that. Around them, a low, steady hum could be heard – or was it a buzzing? – but there were no drones, and no sign of activity, at least in this vicinity of the vessel.
She kept her rifle at the ready, knowing that the members
of her team would begin their assessments.
Beck: . . . anyone got odds on the chances of an Aurelian Borg that might be molting?
She pursed her lips and made a note of the Beck’s unique sense of humor.
Fortunately, Salkath stepped in to temper the seemingly lackadaisical approach.
Salkath: ::stifling a scowl and
speaking low:: Easy, Ensign.
MacKenzie: Keep your wits about you. Let’s take some scans and see what
we can find out.
Sadar: ::quiet:: Understood Sir.
Addison moved forward slowly as the members of her team started to fan out, making
a visual assessment while the others started scanning for various items of interest
related to their specialty.
Jovenan: Atmosphere
standard. Relative humidity at 92%, the Borg standard, but the temperature is
down by several degrees, at 32 Celsius. ::pause:: No lifesigns in immediate
proximity, sir.
Savel: I believe we are clear. For the moment.
Salkath: These regeneration alcoves are not only powered down, but
inert. There is seemingly no intent for drones to inhabit them at all.
::looking down the expansive, empty corridor before them:: Which could indicate
a very undermanned vessel.
Addison shook her head slowly. Something wasn’t right.
Sadar: The Borg do not require a
standardized temperature to function, so the lowered temperature would not be
an impediment to them. ::looks towards the Captain and Salkath:: Perhaps the
lowered temperature is a consequence of the inert state of the Cube?
Beck: That would track with how our engineering systems work, anyway. As advanced as some of their tech can be, it still requires a helluva lot of power to run a ship this size, and that energy has to bleed out somewhere. They used to make water cooling systems for computers back home before we managed to optimize our power units.
Salkath: Our understanding of Borg technology is rudimentary at best, since it
comprises thousands of species' technology amalgamated. However, I do believe
that this is a safe assumption.
MacKenzie: A plausible hypothesis,
I suppose.
Savel: There is something... odd...
about this particular Cube.
Sadar: Beyond the absence of drones, I presume. ::fidgets with the tricorder:: According to my scans, there are no active lifesigns within a radius of 500 metres, including upper and lower decks.
Jovenan: Response
Beck: ::nodding:: Yeah, I'm reading the same thing - I didn't mention it because I thought for sure my tricorder was malfunctioning. I'm not reading any microbial life, either, though I guess their air scrubbers could be a lot better than ours.
Salkath: It's not just a lack of biological functions in
the immediate environs, but a lack of power as well. In fact, there are areas
of damage or neglect that are left unrepaired. Nothing terminal, unfortunately,
but still inconsistent with normal Borg vessel regeneration.
Savel lowered his rifle, though he didn’t release it from his hands,
then turned back to address the rest of the group.
Savel: I find it highly illogical for the Borg, rogue or not, to
abandon what appears on the surface to be a fully functioning vessel. ::beat::
As redundant as it may be for me to say, I will still do so as the only
security officer present, we should use extreme caution in navigating the Cube
and prior to interacting with any portion of it.
Beck: Hey, somebody had to say it, even if we were all thinking it.
Jovenan: Response
Sadar: ::considers:: If this Cube was designed with drones in mind, the access points the drones utilize to access the Cube’s systems should still be present. Perhaps finding one such access point could give us some answers? As would the absence of one.
Beck: Forgive me, as I'm not really a Borg specialist, but… aren't all Cubes we've encountered designed with drones in mind, or am I missing something? I thought it was the larger, more complexly shaped vessels that functioned otherwise.
Salkath: Assuming this ship has recently traveled here, as the Artemis scans indicated prior to our arrival, then it could stand to reason that this vessel has been modified to operate independent of drone presence. It is completely against all conventional wisdom of Borg tactics, but needs to be considered.
Addison shook her head slowly, but with increasing insistence at each shake. Her eyes narrowed, as something screamed in her gut that something was wrong.
MacKenzie: The Borg are here, even if they’re not here.
This cube only arrived a few days ago, and we have no indication that any
entity, Starfleet or otherwise, detected their presence. I refuse to believe
they just got here on autopilot… Let’s see if we can find an access point or a
power node.
Sadar/Jovenan/Savel: response
The doctor temporarily serving on the Artemis was the first to speak up.
Beck: There. Looks like the access points on this level are all shut down, but there's one on the next deck down that's getting power.
Salkath raised his tricorder in a similar manner, also taking readings, then confirmed what the doctor originally posited.
Salkath: Yes, a distribution node. One level down and 100 meters ahead. We may be able to access this ship's tactical database from that.
MacKenzie: Let’s go.
Sadar/Jovenan/Savel: response
Addison raised her rifle and started to lead the group forward. As they walked,
they passed through a dark corridor whose walls were lined with empty alcoves,
all intended for Borg drones. Why the drones weren’t here and where they might
be was one of the more immediate questions for which they needed to find
answers.
As they reached a junction with both a lift and a stairwell Doctor Beck held up a hand to stop the group and stared hard at his tricorder, frowning. Addison raised an eyebrow.
Beck: . . . I could swear I saw a lifesign pop up for a second. Anyone else see that?
Salkath: Negative, no unexpected readings here.
Addison looked to the others for their assessments.
Sadar/Jovenan/Savel: response
Salkath: I am loath to suggest it, but are we certain it wasn't a psychological error? What is that phrase, 'jumping at shadows'?
The commanding officer’s lips pulled taught, wondering how the doctor might react to the accusation.
Beck: response
MacKenzie: Enough. For now, we can’t rule anything out. There’s enough about this ship that is odd and we can’t afford to waste any time second guessing one another.
Sadar/Jovenan/Savel: response
Salkath: ::equanimously:: But of course. Shall we continue down?
Salkath moved to the front of the pack and led the team down the stairs to the next level below. As they walked through the corridor in the direction of the junction where the power node would be, she was struck by how one side exposed the immense interior expanse of the ship, while the opposite held more empty alcoves.
Salkath stopped short near the bottom of the stairs as the next in line gently jostled him.
Salkath: Perhaps we can jump at this shadow.
Moving slightly aside to allow everyone full view, while holding his phaser aloft steadily, he revealed the lone Borg drone that had exited a dark alcove several meters ahead.
MacKenzie: ::softly:: The game’s afoot… Let’s keep moving. It won’t bother us unless it considers us a threat, and I certainly don’t want to give up any of our weapon frequencies.
Beck/Sadar/Jovenan/Savel/Salkath: response
The group continued forward slowly and deliberately, keeping an eye on the lone drone, who walked in an erratic pattern, careful not to draw its attention. When they successfully reached the node, Addison slung her rifle behind her back, removed her tricorder from its holster, and started to interface with the node. She went back and forth between entering commands on her tricorder and the Borg console, occasionally glancing up to make sure what she was doing hadn’t triggered the drone nearby.
After another moment of digging, she looked up to the others, perplexed.
MacKenzie: The drones appear to be powered down, almost like a state of hibernation. They seem to be in a holding pattern, almost like they’re using the volatility of the Badlands to provide cover…
Beck/Sadar/Jovenan/Savel/Salkath: response
Addison shook her head.
MacKenzie: I can’t tell. It’s like they’re waiting for something.
Beck/Sadar/Jovenan/Savel/Salkath: response
The commanding officer’s brow scrunched up as she continued to look between her tricorder and the Borg console.
MacKenzie: I’m getting an interesting power reading from several decks below us… My tricorder can’t identify it with any more specificity, and I can’t seem to access the information from this console… We should investigate.
Beck/Sadar/Jovenan/Savel/Salkath: response
Tag, and TBC!
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Captain Addison
MacKenzie, M.D., Ph.D., FASFS
Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A
Captains Council Member at Large
V239601AM0