Cmdr. Katsim Peri - "Adjust, Readjust"
Amanda Nordstrom
((Main bridge, USS Amber))
As the group prepared to send out a probe, they had to also keep in mind the ultimate goal of their mission. While the makeup of the object as well as the fact it held a lifeform - one that could survive the toxic environment made of mercy, - they had to keep in sight the reason they had been called to investigate the object in the first place. Roatov VII lay directly in the path of the flying…what could they call it? Comet? Space ship? Whatever it was, the research outpost was small enough and the object big enough that an impact would be devastating.
Katsim: We also need to figure out a way to carefully change its trajectory without destroying it, but so it will not collide with the out post.
Catona: Only way to find out is to get that data!
Forsyth: Then, let’s hit it!
Peri nodded. Data, information, knowledge, it was the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe. While that object wasn’t necessarily going to answer the question to life, the universe, and everything, getting the data would certainly help get them a step closer to understanding what, exactly, it was and why it was.
Katsim: Launch when ready.
Glancing over at Catona, the man seemed on edge, but at least he wasn’t randomly pushing buttons on the console anymore.
Catona: Probe away.
On the view screen, the device shot out from the ship. Peri watched as it angled toward the strange object, and she wondered what, if anything, it would find that the scanners couldn’t. They were certainly powerful and all well and good, but sometimes, having a sample did allow them to take a closer look. Once it made contact, Peri forced her eyes away from the larger screen to the smaller screen in front of her.
Forsyth: Well, what are we getting?
Catona: Probe’s paused. There’s some sort of acidic layer between the ice and the mercury. No reaction from whatever’s inside.
Katsim: It’s a substance we haven’t seen before, but as Catona did say, it is acidic.
Frowning slightly, she couldn’t help but wonder why there was an acid layer between the ice and the mercury.
Katsim: It’s currently also in a solid state because of the temperature.
Forsyth: Could we try a tractor beam, just enough to shift it slightly or even stop it completely?
Nodding again, Peri didn’t see the glance Catona threw her way, for she flicked her eyes toward the captain herself. Truthfully, the very same thought had occurred to her.
Katsim: It's worth a try.
Before they could do anything more, however, the computer alerted them to some issues with the probe. Both science officers focused upon the messages thrown upon their screens, and Peri’s ridges deepened as she tried to fathom what was going on.
Catona: Some damage to the probe from the acid layer. It’s having trouble recalibrating.
Katsim: The friction must have caused enough warmth to turn the acid back to a solid, thereby damaging the probe.
Which wasn’t good. Quickly, Peri sent a command in an effort to gather as much information as she could as quickly as she could - specifically, for the probe to carefully isolate any samples.
Forsyth: Response
Alas, the poor probe gave out and all the data stopped. However, the computer was able to construct a model of the object thanks to the information the probe managed to get before it went defunct. As they had seen earlier, there was a layer of ice, a layer of acid, then mercury. However, beyond that was another layer, one that had a thick, viscous type liquid in it, along with certain minerals, all zinc based. Unfortunately, that was all the information they were able to receive before the probe shut down.
Catona: This almost sounds like an egg.
Katsim: It does.
Peri agreed, perplexed by the strange makeup. She had never heard of an egg incubating at such low temperatures, or having acid as a part of its shell.
Forsyth: Response
Catona: What if it needs to crash to hatch?
That was an interesting thought. Leaning back in her seat, Peri thought about that idea. It wasn’t a bad hypothesis at all, and the more she thought about it, the more she thought that it actually made sense and was a good one, despite the strange properties.
Katsim: It is a possibility…
Forsyth: Response
Catona: Please don’t get me wrong. We must find a way to divert it, for the sake of the lives down below. But orbital insertion may be part of its life cycle.
Katsim: And if that’s the case, we’d be sacrificing its life. However, if we don’t adjust its trajectory…
Then those on the outpost would perish.
Catona/Forsyth: Response
Katsim: We should try the tractor beam.
The acting captain had mentioned it before, and it was a good idea, one that they should immediately try. After that, they could look at the possibility of finding somewhere else for the object to crash into . Somewhere that wouldn’t kill people.
Catona/Forsyth: Response
Peri’s fingers deftly danced over the console. The object that hurtled through space was so unique, she was eager to study it, but first, they had to figure out a way to prevent it from colliding with Roatov VII’s research outpost. That was the biggest issue. Once that was done, they could take the time to study it.
Catona’s comment that it was very much like an egg intrigued Peri, and it ran through her mind over and over since he said it. She had to admit, that was a really good description, and she wouldn’t be surprised if it proved to be true. But, rather than dwell upon those thoughts, she reoriented them into getting the tractor beam online. A few taps of her fingers input the command, and a few seconds later, the computer beeped. A glowing light flung out toward the object and drew it into its embrace. Carefully adjusting the strength and pull to gently, very gently, turn its trajectory off to the side. Once she checked the math and saw that the new angle would prevent a collision, she released it. That meant they could…
The computer beeped at her.
As soon as the tractor beam released the ‘egg’, the object shifted.
Katsim: That…that didn’t work. Well, it did, but the object readjusted to its previous course. It’s going exactly the way it was before we moved it.
Catona/Forsyth: Response
-- Commander Katsim Peri Chief Science Officer USS Octavia E. Butler M239008AD0