Lt Alex Storm - Is It Behind ... Door Number One, Door Number Two, or Door Number Three?
Karen Morris
((Bridge, USS Artemis))
Alex shook her head at the Secretary’s words. Could he hear himself? “It was installed illicitly and without approval.” And stealing the ship was what? Announced to the world and approved? Her eyes narrowed, even though they remained on her own console and not on the Secretary. oO Change the subject, Alex. Oo
Storm: According to our last intel on Outer Seedea, there are no orbital weapons in that system. Granted, a ship is a weapons platform in itself.
MacKenzie: Helm, alter course. Let's see if we can pick up the scent.
Munro: Response
Storm: It’ll be another thirty minutes before we can get a clear enough LRS scan to see if we can find one warp wake - and hopefully not fifteen of them.
MacKenzie: Stay on top of it. Let me know when you have something.
Jetripar: What are the odds of being able to find such a trail? You make it sound uncertain.
Jovenan: A warp trail can in good condition last for a while, but the stellar winds and the natural and artificial forces and fields from the planet might smear it. Not to mention any other traffic there might be. That is, of course, assuming the Afalqi doesn’t have the technology to mask its trail.
Munro: Response
Storm: I’d call it realism.
MacKenzie: Worse comes to worse, we check in with the local authorities and see if they're able to get us any more definitive information.
Jetripar: I'm certain you could convince the colony to share anything they know with you, if it becomes necessary.
Munro: Response
MacKenzie: Making a pit stop is certainly something I'd like to avoid unless it's absolutely necessary. Staying on the trail while it's hot is the only lead we've got at this point, unless one of our other teams are able to come up with some more information.
Jovenan: If we don’t find the trail within the system, we might need to comb for it outside. It becomes harder to spot with time.
Storm: Especially depending on how many ships are coming and going from the planet. Unless their ship is giving off any unusual readings, it could be particularly hard to pick out from among a lot of other warp wakes.
Munro: Response
Jetripar: I agree that the first priority is trailing my ship. Please, please. Proceed.
Alex glanced up from her console. He didn’t feel deceptive, but that didn’t mean she cared for him. And if she took her Betazoid senses completely out of the mix, it would be a wise move for someone involved in the heist to maneuver them away from the actual direction the ship was supposed to be going.
Storm: I’m running a resonance scan for warp signature variations. If we can find anything out of the ordinary, it might give us an advantage as we go fishing.
MacKenzie/Munro: Response
Jetripar: Would someone be able to pull up a map of the sector, with special focus on the most likely direction that the asset is moving?
Jovenan: I have it right here.
Storm: What are you looking for specifically, Secretary?
MacKenzie/Munro: Response
Jetripar: Yes, ::pointing:: there and there. The Barol system, and ngeb Base, a Klingon station. Both of those have shown up on trade communications logs many times. Could he be heading to either of those?
Jovenan: Barol system has an unaffiliated colony world, no significant plurality in any one species. Some mining and other industry presence on other planets. It grew in prominence after the Khitomer Accords and the expulsion of the Orion Syndicate pacified the area. The ngeb Base is officially categorised as a trading post.
Storm: Either of those would be good places to hide people, but we’re talking about a ship. Even cloaked, ships are harder to hide - especially if anyone is going down to a planet or a trading post. Its complement could be tracked. Speaking of which, do we have a list of people believed to be aboard the Afalqi?
MacKenzie/Munro/Jetripar: Response
Jovenan: There are only a few other inhabitable worlds in the neighbouring sectors. Further out, we have factions such as the Nascaik and the Thama, and the Celendi Nebula. Plenty of opportunities to hide if they head straight to one.
Storm: Can we eliminate any of those planets because of location or other factors?
MacKenzie/Munro/Jetripar: Response
Jovenan: I have the Outer Seedea’s system on sensors. No vessels currently detected in there.
Storm: That doesn’t mean much.
Alex glanced at Jetripar.
Storm: I mean, in the case that they do have a cloaking device.
MacKenzie/Munro/Jetripar: Response
Storm: Let’s see if we can detect any warp wakes yet.
Alex’s fingers thrummed against her console as the sensors examined the area’s eddies and worked to separate the naturally occurring ones from any created by a manmade source.
Munro/Mackenzie/Jetripar/Jovenan: Response
She watched the various permutations scroll across her screen.
Storm: I’m picking up three warp wakes…Permission to put them on the viewscreen?
Alex glanced toward the command team in the chairs.
Munro/Mackenzie/Jetripar/Jovenan: Response
Alex flicked the display from her console to the viewscreen. The Seedea system was displayed on it. From Seedea, three warp wakes were visible. Each heading off in a different direction.
Storm: If I zoom out and put the other locations given to us by Secretary Jetripar, we have something interesting.
One of the wakes headed in the direction of the Barol system, another in the general vicinity of ngeb Base, and a third went off in a completely different direction.
Munro/Mackenzie/Jetripar/Jovenan: Response
~*~
Tags / TBC!
~*~
Lt Alex Storm
Tactical Officer
USS Artemis
O240103SK2