Lt. Commander Anath G'Renn - Red Alert (Columbia) (Part 1)

[Anath G'Renn]

((Main Bridge - Deck 1, USS Columbia))

 

Duyzer: Ten million kilometres, they are practically on our doorsteps, people. ::beat:: This ping was even more intense, doctor. Do you think that means something?

 

G’Renn: I am sure that they know we are here by now. The only question is if they see us as a target.

 

Duyzer: Colquhoun and Horn, does them being this close mean we can find out more via sensors? They should be in range for our short-range scanners, but they are still cloaked, of course. Could we maybe modify the computer program passively scanning the phase variances?

 

Horn: Already on it sir. However, it looks like the traces we were finding have faded. Not naturally, but rapidly as if they were going into a different phase variance. I’d suggest we move quickly to the tundra orbit and balance the equation.

 

Colquhoun: Agreed. As for scanning the phase variances, it’s… well, they’re too infinitesimal to be able to. We have to stay in narrow bands, so I’d suggest we stay at something roughly close to what we last detected.

 

::That was the case with the sensors, but what of the computer virus. She turned her chair slightly to look over at Owens and Kano. Duyzer followed right along with her train of thought. Apparently they were relatively in sync. However, it did make her feel a little redundant if she and Pholin kept thinking the same thing.::

 

Duyzer: Owens and Kano, I know I’ve barely given you any time, but have you been able to make progress with the virus? Do you know what is possible and what is not?

 

Owens: ?

 

Kano: :: Nodding along:: In short it should work, I still think the best try would be from inside, but if the first try doesn’t work we can still fall back with that.

 

Duyzer: =/\= Commander Duyzer to Captain Whittaker. =/\=

 

::For just a moment, the silence stretched out. Was the away team alright? The Columbia didn’t exactly have a good history of away teams and Captain Whittaker specifically getting into trouble. Were they alright?::

 

Whittaker: =/\= Go ahead. =/\=

 

::Anath breathed a sigh of relief.::

 

Duyzer: =/\= Sorry to interrupt. The Ya-Grhan have entered the system and are slowly closing in on us. We haven’t been able to break their phase cloak, but we have everything planned out. How is the situation down there? =/\=

 

Whittaker: =/\= Not at all what we were expecting, Commander. They appear to be rather peaceful, although worryingly unconcerned about the impending Ya-Grhan threat. =/\=

 

::A group of superpowered Humans who didn’t use their powers for war? It was almost hard to believe. But apparently Captain Whittaker had been pleasantly surprised by the residents of Safe Harbor.::

 

Duyzer: =/\= Please stay stafe down there, captain. These people… =/\= ::he paused, wondering if he should continue:: =/\= These people have deceived us before, we cannot forget that. =/=

 

Whittaker: =/= I understand your concerns, Commander but I truly believe that the espers will allow no harm to come to us. The Governor of Safe Harbor has been incredibly accommodating. =/= ::beat:: =/= Commander, I want you to move the Columbia into a high polar orbit. With any luck the planet’s magnetic field will hide you from the Ya-Grhan’s sensors. =/=

 

Duyzer: =/= We’ve actually been considering a tundr- =/= ::he stopped::

 

::Anath immediately heard the same distinctive sound of a comm channel closing that caused Pholin to stop speaking. There were plenty of potential explanations. But only one of them made logical sense given the situation and the potentially hostile ship outside.::

 

Duyzer: Why did we get cut off? Are we being jammed?

 

G’Renn: That would be a logical explanation.

 

Colquhoun: I can’t find the origin yet, but I think the Ya-Grhan may be aware that we’re here, sir.

 

Kano: Its definitely not coming from the planet. ::Her hands danced over the console trying to pinpoint the origin of the jamming signal.::

 

Owens: ?

 

Duyzer: Hmm… ::he said, unsure what to think of the jamming::

 

Kano: At least we know that they've got not nothing to do with the Ya-Grhan. And despite the threat, first contact seems to be going well.

 

Horn: Let's hope it goes as well out here. 

 

::There was a momentary lull in the conversation.::

 

 Horn: Commander.  What if we sent a communication via the scanning we've been doing?  A message to the Ya-Grhan, effectively broadly sent out to them so it wouldn't reveal anything... but they might respond. 

 

Colquhoun: It might tip them off that we have some idea they’re in the system, but we might be able to configure it to look like it’s a repeater broadcast.

 

::She wasn’t sure why they would respond at all. Especially if they tried to make it look like an automated message.::

 

Duyzer: It seems risky, ::he said, the interested clearly noticeable from his voice:: what would there be to gain for us? 

 

Kano: ::She smiled.:: Sir, if we did it that way, we could potentially make it look like we are aware of how they phase, making it look like we have a tactical advantage against them.

 

Owens: ?

 

Horn: :: He grinned a touch mischievously as he replied. :: Well, it's not without other benefits.  Any response would include information on the variance in the communication waveform.  

 

Duyzer:  Now you’re talking… ::beat:: What would we be sending? We want a response, of course, but we really don’t want to be the aggressors.

 

Kano: How about sending out the basic Starfleet first contact communication. That we are on a mission of exploration.

 

::Anath nodded, liking the idea.::

 

G’Renn: While something tells me they wouldn’t believe that, we could still try.

 

Owens: ?

 

Horn: I could have it ready before they get into weapons range.  In fact.. :: He tapped a couple commands into the console:: it's ready now if desired. 

 

Colquhoun: Sir, I’d suggest we make our move to orbit now.  We’re quickly losing the edge here.

 

Duyzer: Good… – any objections? Now’s your last chance. ::he looked around the bridge slowly and somewhat unsure::

 

::She spoke up in support of the acting captain’s idea. It was all part of the job. She had to back up Pholin’s ideas, so long as she agreed with them. And Anath was a fan of the automated message. While she had been worried about showing their hand and the virus plan had not been something she was a fan of, the idea of giving them one more chance to communicate and play nice appealed to her Starfleet values.::

 

G’Renn: No objections, sir.

 

Any: ?

 

Colquhoun: Sir, it looks like they’ve shifted their phase variance up by 0.2 degrees.  That might indicate that they can only shift in small increments. I think we can send Lieutenant Horn’s message in roughly a 0.8 degree spectrum and be reasonably sure they’ll receive it.  ::beat:: I think this also means they’ve left warp, sir.

 

Duyzer: It’s time, then. ::he moved to the helm, looking over the Saurian’s shoulder:: We’re moving into the tundra orbit. We want to hover above the colony, but let’s try to hide from their sensors as much as possible as well. Make use of the planet’s magneticity, ensign.

 

Junu: Aye, sir.

 

::It was an interesting compromise, between the captain’s orders for a high polar orbit and her suggestion of the tundra orbit. Anath quietly made a note of the incident for her mission report. The Saurian ensign engaged the course and took the Columbia closer to the planet in a defensive position over the colony.::

 

Duyzer: Slow and steady. ::he smiled and looked over his shoulder:: Ensign Kano, I want you to keep monitoring our orbit, and especially the colony. If the jamming signal was coming from the espers, we definitely want to keep an eye on them while we deal with these Ya-Grhan. Also, ::beat:: try to see if we can possibly re-establish communications with the away team.

 

Kano: Yes sir. ::She paused.:: I'll get started now.

 

Duyzer: ::he turned around, away from the viewscreen, as he continued:: Colquhoun, Horn, we’re going to send this communication. I want it to be text-only; we want to make this appear as a regular, not at all special in any kind of way, automatic transmission. I agree with mister Colquhoun, let’s send this out in a range of point eight. ::beat:: Monitor all variances, we want to know when they respond, of course.

 

Colquhoun: Aye, sir.  I’ve kept our passive monitoring at that band.  I’ll switch to active monitoring after they’ve made the first move.

 

Horn: Setting it to be on an automatic repeat.  Should be similar enough to a distress beacon to at least get their attention.

 

::The imminent potential of battle was too much to take. Anath shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She tried to keep her uncomfortable squirming in the first officer’s chair unnoticeable, but she wasn’t sure if it worked. Her left hand’s grip tightened around the armrest of the chair. What was the Ya-Grhan’s next move going to be?::

 

Duyzer: Ensign Owens, since we’re moving into orbit we won’t be able to monitor the Ya-Grhan ship using the method we’ve been using. I’d really like to know their location, though. Would there maybe be a way to circumvent the magnetic disturbances, or compensate for them in our scanning?

 

Owens: ?

 

Duyzer: ::he returned to his seat, and approached G’Renn:: Doctor, ::he said, quietly:: how do you feel about the situation down there? It seems the captain had a lot of faith in these espers… And now our communications are jammed. ::beat:: I don’t know.

 

::She banished the anxiety from her mind for just a moment and tried to speak back up. It was time once again for Anath to be the voice of logical reason. It was her Vulcan half’s time to shine. When Pholin spoke up, she turned her chair slightly to look at him and take in the acting captain’s concerns.::

 

G’Renn: I trust Captain Whittaker’s intuition. So far, it would seem that everything is aligned with the information that we currently have. A community of espers trying to live in peace and the Ya-Grhan here. ::She gave Pholin an inquisitive look.:: Would you not say things are proceeding at least somewhat as we expected?

 

Duyzer: I agree, but- ::his voice was overwhelmed by a sudden wailing sound::

 

 

Lieutenant Commander Anath G'Renn

Chief Medical Officer/Second Officer, USS Columbia

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