Ensign Jovenan – To find what is lost, do not to look for it
Jovenan
((Turbolift, USS Artemis))
((OOC: This is a belayed continuation to Lt. Dakora - Seeking Answers))
The Captain was now aware of their findings: the meteor had been directed towards the planet by an unknown actor. The meeting in the Ready Room was over, and Jovenan was silently thinking on a turbolift ride with Lieutenant Dakora back to the lower decks. After a while, she spoke.
Jovenan: Sir… Do you wish me to try to check the figures now? Or is there something else I should do first?
Dakora: No, I'll request that Kawarda re-check the data. ::His brow furrowed.:: I'd like you to focus on means and methods. We know what they did; I want some theories on how they might've done it.
Jovenan: Aye, sir…
Means and methods. Somebody had done something to move the meteor off the stable orbit, and not just by a bit, but enough to plummet towards the city so that they could still trace its rapidly changed course. The thought made Jovenan feel sick. Why would anyone want to do such a thing? No, that’s not the question the Lieutenant had ordered her to focus. Don’t focus on that. Focus on the means and methods. How would anyone do such a thing?
Jovenan: Sir, if they used a tractor or repulsor beam, they probably used a vessel of some sort.
The Lieutenant looked doubtful but nodded regardless.
Dakora: Good thinking. Finding that ship could lead us to find whoever did this. ::He cocked his head.:: Does the trajectory data we have provide any clues about the potential ship?
Jovenan: It would have been a smaller vessel, since it didn’t show in the analysis. A shuttle, for example. I don’t think we can deduce the size or course of it from the data alone. Maybe the Da’al have a flight records or something, but I don’t know if we can use them.
The turbolift slowed down and halted as they reached the deck 8, where the Intel hub was, but Lieutenant prevented the door from opening. The act surprised Jovenan, but she figured out he didn’t want others to hear them.
Dakora: If I was the one who did this, I would want to avoid taking off from anywhere that would require flight plans. Preferably somewhere that sensors would have a hard time detecting. ::He reached way back into his academy memories.:: Maybe look for someplace with fistrium deposits... or kelbonite?... something like that.
Jovenan: That… would make sense, sir. I’ll look for places that are optimal for… hiding.
The Lieutenant seemed satisfied, and it looked like he was about to open the turbolift door, but then he turned to face Jovenan once more.
Dakora: I think I'm going to need to borrow one of these blue uniforms. ::He pointed to Jovenan's jacket.:: People will be less suspicious if someone in blue is asking around the science ministry than someone in black.
Jovenan looked down to her uniform. oO I don’t think you can fit into my skant. No, wait! Don’t read my thoughts now! Oo
Jovenan: I guess that would be necessary to keep the investigation covert.
The Lieutenant opened the door, revealing the corridor on the other side, and the group of crewmembers who had waited for the doors to open while they were still talking. Jovenan wondered what the crewmembers had thought why they had kept the door from opening.
Dakora: Keep me posted if you find anything and I'll do the same.
Jovenan: Aye, sir!
The Lieutenant left the turbolift, while Jovenan remained on it with the influx of other crewmembers entering. She should probably start working on the project right away. All aspects of the investigation were time sensitive; the dust was settling and the bad guys running away. She had scolded herself for taking it too slow during the last mission aboard the Excalibur, she didn’t want to make the same mistake again.
((Time jump: The next day))
((Sensor Pod, USS Artemis))
The Da’al had shared with them some cartographical data on their planet. Those maps probably didn’t have secret bases marked on them.
Lt Dakora had asked her to look for places where the perpetrators might be hiding. He had suggested they might be hiding in places that have minerals that block scanners, such as fistrium and kelbonite. The maps the Da’al had provided them didn’t have too detailed accounts on geology, so they might need to scan the entire planet for potential hiding spots. Jovenan feared there might be thousands of them. The minerals were rare, but sufficiently deep caves might be enough to trick the local authorities.
There was one problem though. She had been ordered to keep the investigation discreet. If she now went and had the planet scanned for the specific minerals, the Da’al might be able detect the scan. That might alarm the perpetrators and authorities likewise. Looking for hidden things is suspicious.
That’s why they needed to look for everything but the hidden things.
Jovenan had entered a typical research scanning proposal into the computer system. She had requested permission to take a probe around the planet and scan for gallium deposits. The argument for the necessity of the scan was quite simple: she had been studying the Da’allium, which contained gallium, and needed to know more about the amounts of the element on the planet. The formation mechanism of Da’allium was still unknown, and it wasn’t unreasonable to assume a science officer who had helped identify the substance in the first place would want to spend their shoreleave studying the thing. A probe could circum-orbit the planet in no time, without the ship itself needing to break from the geosynchronous orbit.
It had taken some time to have the proposal approved, but it had gone through the typical channels. Even if they had shared the request to the Da’al authorities, no one could connect her research project to the secret investigation. And it had been approved.
Jovenan: Computer, launch the probe.
With an affirmative chime, the small, unmanned space vehicle left the sensor pods launch tubes. It would take some time to travel around the planet for a few times before returning to the ship. Jovenan didn’t need to wait for that long, as the probe began transmitting telemetry almost immediately.
Apparently, there were only some minor gallium deposits on the area the probe had had time to scan in the very few minutes. Jovenan didn’t really care about those. She did save the data, for further study and to keep her cover of innocent scientific study, but what she was looking for was something else. The telemetry revealed there were three types of areas on Meranuge IV: those with gallium, those without, and those that could not be scanned. The latter places were optimal for hiding.
The probe hadn’t made it around the planet the first time when Jovenan tabbed her combadge.
Jovenan: =/\= Jovenan to Lieutenant Dakora. =/\=
Dakora: =/\= Response =/\=
Jovenan: =/\= I think I found something, sir. Apparently, there is a large canyon of unscannable area. How the telemetry is scrambled suggests it’s kelbonite, lots of it. =/\=
Dakora: =/\= Response =/\=
Jovenan: =/\= The cartography we have suggests it’s called… the La’kso Canyon, sir. =/\=
Dakora: =/\= Response =/\=
TAG/TBC
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Ensign Jovenan
Science officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11