Lieutenant JG Leran Perax - If at First You don’t Succeed
Peregrine Falcon
Perax: =/\= Perax to the Constitution, can you hear us? =/\=
Unlike the previous time when there was no response, this time there was a crackling static filled answer. Unfortunately, it was difficult to make out any words.
Yirah: Was that a response or just some sort of feedback from the storm?
Maramox: Feedback. I believe.
Lystra: Sounded like it. Maybe try narrowing the bandwidth?
Perax: Let me try to clear it up. I can try to adjust the signal slightly. ::he turned a few dials, and tapped some buttons on the screen.:: =/\= Perax to Constitution, repeat last message. =/\=
The response was clearer this time. Though it still sounded like a badly tuned antique radio. The response crackled with static.
Bridge: =/\= response =/\=
Bridge: =/\= <static>...barely hear you...<static> ...receive. =/\=
Yirah: =/\= We hear you Conny. =/\=
Maramox: It seems like the storm is only letting a little bit through.
Lystra: I’m surprised we got that much given how thick that storm is.
Yirah: ::to Perax:: Is it something you can fix?
Lystra: Not sure. Maybe if we provided the enhancer with more power it might be able to clear up a little but I doubt we can get a full signal through. And I’d worry that that much power might draw some of this lightning.
Perax: Not really. The interference is coming from the ionosphere and the nebula beyond it. Particles from the nebula and the ionized atmosphere are scattering the signal. I’ve got the signal beam as tight as I can get it and I’ve boosted power as much as I can. The Constitution might be able to do more but unless I can piggyback the signal on a repeater, I can’t do much more here.
Maramox: Some species of creatures sometimes have static that affect reception; but I doubt this is one of those cases.
Yirah: Should we move locations again?
Maramox made a ‘ehhhhh’ noise with their mouth and hoped that sufficed as their answer.
Lystra: Short of us putting this thing at the peak of one of those mountains over there I don’t know if it’ll matter. We could try something else maybe, if audio is questionable we could try and see if we could do narrow band data bursts through the storm. Textual messages might have an easier time getting through.
Perax: ::he grinned slightly at Marsmox’s response.:: That’s about right, ::he agreed with Lystra:: we can try the top of the mountain to shorten the distance the signal needs to travel, but I don’t think we will see much more improvement under the circumstances. Also, lightning.
Perax went from grinning at Maramox’s “ehh” sound to stifling laughter when Yirah reached up and smacked himself in the faceplate. He sobered by realizing his own nose began to itch.
Yirah: Can we try to get into contact with the other away team? You said that you could keep two signals open at the same time. Does not having a stable connection with the Conny change that.
Lystra: We can always try. Worst case we can close one to clear up the other?
Perax: Oh, that’s easy. We absolutely can try. Given the strong magnetic field, communications on the planet should be easier to establish, not perfect, mind you, but easier. And we don’t need to close either. The only problem would be if both started talking at once. Trying to distinguish the two voices could be confusing.
Perax aimed the second transmitter into the air too, but dialed back the power and tightness of the signal. He wanted to reflect the signal off the atmosphere back down to the planet, not breach the atmosphere. He then set the second signal emitter to rotate and find a Starfleet comm receiver.
Yirah: Response
Lystra: So it’s refracting the signal a little? Can we use that? Use the storm like a mirror and bounce the signal off it?
Perax: I’ve got a confirmed signal lock! =/\= Perax to Doctor Foster, Have you ever been to Gloucester in a shower of rain? =/\=
A reply with mild static came in.
Iaonaiae Crew: =/\=Response =/\=
Perax: =/\= if you set up your signal enhancer and lock onto this signal, we might eliminate the static. =/\=
Iaonaiae Crew: =/\=Response =/\=
Lystra: =/\= Oh, you know the usual. Getting stampeded by wildlife and dodging lightning bolts. This place is terrible. We’ve found some fauna has Chrondite in their physiology, bioluminescence and we think they use the metal in their antlers as lightning rods for protection or possibly a source of energy? What about you guys? =/\=
Iaonaiae Crew: =/\=Response =/\=
Perax: Geyser surfing? I’m not that adventurous.
Yirah/Maramox: Response
Lystra: =/\= Is it recent or more like a ruin? In either case should we treat this like a Prime Directive, First Contact situation? =/\=
He paid only half attention while they discussed something about habitations.
Iaonaiae Crew: =/\=Response =/\=
Perax: Ionic storms are playing havoc with our communications systems.
Yirah/Maramox: Response
Lystra: =/\= We just tried. We were able to get a very garbled response from the ship. I’m not sure we’re going to get better than that audibly, but I suggested we could try narrow band data bursts to see if that might work. Or, if you guys have a signal enhancer maybe we could link them together and focus on the same coordinates? =/\=
Iaonaiae Crew: =/\=Response =/\=
Perax: =/\= Wait! Did you say you dropped a beacon probe in orbit on the edge of the atmosphere? We might be able to use it as a signal repeater. It will still be distorted, but we might get more of their message. =/\=
Yirah/Maramox: Response
Iaonaiae Crew: =/\=Response =/\=
Perax scanned for the beacon probe with the first signal channel while leaving the second channel open to the Iaonaiae crew.
Perax: I can confirm that the beacon is still in orbit, but I can’t get a clear lock on it to send a tight narrow beam transmission to it. I can widen the beam, but we’ll lose signal integrity.
Yirah/Maramox/Lystra: Response
Iaonaiae Crew: =/\=Response =/\=
Sending a signal to the beacon probe in orbit, Perax tried once again to reach to the Constitution.
Perax: =/\= Perax to Constitution, we are at N36°14’ by W16°7’. We have discovered geothermal heat sources and an interesting life form that has bioluminescence and lightning rod antlers. The weather is horrible. Could you point us in the direction of a sunny beach? Perax out. =/\= I sent the message as a data burst and not a realtime comm. Hopefully they’ll receive most of it.
Yirah/Maramox/Lystra: Response
Iaonaiae Crew: =/\=Response =/\=