[Rescue] Lieutenant Dekas - I hope I don't need a creative catchphrase for this
Ace Christensen
((Bridge, Deck 1, USS Eagle))
Hesan: It’s a radio transmission, sir. Too regular to be natural, so something is causing it. Initial date shows it originating from a point 164 degrees around the ring for our current position. I can’t make out a specific message though.
oO 164 degrees around? What? Oo
He stepped closer to Hesan to look at the information present.
Dekas: Do you think it’s the team trying to reach out?
Hesan: It could be a number of things, sir. :: She glanced across at the closest thing they had to an electronics expert:: Perhaps Lieutenant Neshala could help clear this up?
Dekas: ::with a nod:: Good idea. Neshala, see if you can work some magic. The glyph translation can wait.
Neshala: :: smiling teasingly :: Of course, Lieutenant Captain Dekas, sir.
Dekas: Captain Fairhug, can you double, or even triple check if there are any signs of a beam up? Check through any recognizable signatures in the area, of course. But perhaps especially check for any Cardassian interference. I hate implying that the visiting diplomat would try to do that, but there has been talk that she may be part of the Cardassia First movement, and I can’t overlook the possibility because of it. I want at least as close to a confirmation as you can get in either direction.
It felt silly to request that when he was pretty sure he knew the answer.
Fairhug: Aye, Sir. Checking now.
He stood closest between Hesan and Neshala and had to think for a few moments.
Dekas: Something isn’t adding up.
Hesan: ::with a grin:: What’s bothering you Lieutenant-Captain-Dekas, sir.
Neshala: What do you mean?
Dekas: If I put myself in the shoes of someone potentially willing to kidnap several members of the crew for ransom, or maybe to make an example of, and then blow up that specific building for no discernible reason so shortly after I arrive… what good does it do me to try to gain diplomatic favor if at the end of the day I'm just going to make those same demands? Intel gathering is also instantly less effective as the explosion and missing people are now taking up mental and emotional space in the room, no? Why would those be my choices? And why would I put them somewhere else after the fact?
He was struggling to properly rationalize how they could have potentially ended up that far away from the Station so fast without some sort of outside interference. Even though Ring 42 was one of the absolute weirdest things in the sector, it almost felt unfathomable when there hadn’t been any notable residuals of near-instant transport similar to what Starfleet used in the pristine room.
Hesan: I don’t disagree, sir, but there are other reasons to behave like that. If it was the Cardassians then perhaps they wanted to discredit another party, like the Mithglin, by framing them. Create opportunities they can take advantage that way? Or maybe they want the Ring for themselves and are trying to get Starfleet to leave. It could even be just plain old revenge....
Neshala: Terrorists have never made much sense to me, Dekas. And I’m an Orion. I grew up on Orion and watched how the Syndicate treated my people. I managed to escape it, but to this day, I still don’t understand it. But one thing I know, terror is a strong motivational device. If they thought they stood to gain by using terroristic tactics, I can see why they might try it. But I just don’t know for certain.
The words didn’t bring him any ease in the sense of considering that a terrorist or someone hellbent on revenge could have done these things for any reason, but it did bring help him to consider all sides a little more completely. So long as it didn’t cause thoughts to become truly circular, it never hurt to prepare for something overlooked.
Fairhug: Sir, I have…something.
Dekas: What have you got?
Fairhug: It’s an energy signature, not a big one, but it’s right at the time of the explosion…the thing is, it doesn’t seem to match anything on record.
The Aurelian stepped closer to the screen, his head crest going up once he saw it.
Dekas: Interesting.
Fairhug: Could it be a Denali-specific phenomenon?
Neshala: :: under her breath :: Denali Station weirdness strikes again. :: more loudly :: It’s very likely, Captain. I mentioned it earlier, though I can’t remember if you had joined the team yet. But there has been some serious weirdness on Denali since we settled. Lots of telepathic stuff too, but I don’t think any of us are telepaths, so in my opinion, that might be a good thing.
Dekas himself was not a telepath. He wasn’t even an empath in the racial sense. But Aurelians used an intuition-based observation adaptation that allowed him to on occasion feel guided to things. Not once had he ever felt forced into those inklings here, they were all helpful and primarily passive. But he agreed. Whether the tech itself was “telepathic” or it was simply more intuitive to those with those abilities if they found themselves attentive to it didn’t matter. It probably made it an easier thing to handle now that no one present was able to consider it the way a telepath or an empath might.
Dekas: Agreed.
Neshala: Can you determine where it went, Captain Fairhug?
Fairhug: ::looking back down at his screen:: Negative. Either it’s one of these strange occurrences you’re referring to, or someone did their utmost to conceal it... ::looking back up at the others::…and almost succeeded.
Neshala: Well, it’s just a hunch, but I suspect that it took our people to where that signal we just detected is. It could have been our people trying to reach out. The little bit I was able to get so far indicated it was on a Starfleet signal band. Possibly a communicator, though they wouldn’t reach this far. But I think they have an engineer with them, so it’s possible they may have found a way to increase the signal gain.
Hesan: The easiest way to find out would be to go take a look, sir. At warp one we’ll be there in 23 minutes. Sooner if we go faster.
Neshala: That would be my recommendation as well, Lieutenant-Captain Dekas. :: smirking :: Sir.
Fairhug: ::nodding:: I concur.
Dekas: I would have suggested the same thing. There’s no point in getting too cyclical in the options we have when we have a pretty solid lead. Let’s check out the signature.
Besides, if they didn’t find them over there, they wouldn’t be wasting any extra time than if they stayed in place debating other options, and they would have one less place to look after the fact.
Hesan: Should we check in with Command before we go, sir? After all, it could be the purpose of all this is to actually get the Eagle to leave so another attack can go ahead.
Neshala: It might not be a bad idea to let Fleet Captain Oddas know what’s going on. Get her clearance first. Or, at the very least, Station Operations.
Dekas: Open communications to Captain Oddas.
Neshala: Aye, sir. Opening a channel now.
Neshala tapped a few buttons on her console and opened a channel.
Neshala: Channel opened, sir.
Dekas: =/\= Lieutenant Dekas to Captain Oddas. =/\=
Oddas: =/\= Response =/\=
Dekas: =/\= We’re aboard the Eagle. We found a signal with a Starfleet signature coming from another part of the Ring. We think it could be the missing crew, potentially. Permission to investigate? =/\=
He was partially sure he didn’t necessarily need the permission, but he’d never been the one in charge here, so he wasn’t entirely sure about the etiquette.
Oddas: =/\= Response =/\=
Dekas: =/\= Marvelous. We’ll keep you in the loop as we can. Dekas out. =/\=
The communication ended.
Hesan: Responses
Neshala: Captain, can I drive? Please?
Dekas: I wouldn’t have it any other way, Lieutenant. Set the coordinates for the signal. Once we have the all-clear from Ops, let’s go.
Now was the time he stepped over to the Captain’s chair. To the best of his abilities, he tried not to show the hesitation he almost felt about it. There were people temporarily calling him Captain, and he was in charge for the time being. He wouldn’t get an electric shock for sitting there.
(And, okay, the chair was strangely comfortable. He was going to have to figure out what materials they used and get a chair with the same comfort levels later.)
Neshala/Hesan: Responses
Ops: All clear, Eagle.
He hoped he didn’t have to be creative about the catchphrase to make the ship move.
Dekas: ::With a deep breath:: Engage.
Neshala/Hesan/Fairhug: Responses
As with being on the ship, it was interesting to once again feel the speed of any warp after months of being on a Station for work. It was refreshing. If it weren’t a search and rescue, it would probably be fun. If they were lucky, the ride back would be a fun one.
Dekas: Any suggestions for when we reach the location beyond trying to get a clearer signal and searching for their specific bio-signs?
Neshala/Hesan/Fairhug: Responses
He nodded.
Dekas: If they are there, what quick preparations should we make in the event it’s a little more complicated than simply beaming them out? It feels like we barely caught their signal, it would not surprise me if retrieving them took a bit more effort. Maybe… ah, transport intensifiers? I forget the exact term in Standard, but you understand, yes?
Neshala/Hesan/Fairhug: Responses
Tags, TBC…
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Lieutenant Dekas
Head of Infrastructure Development
Denali Station
J239802D12
Pronouns: They/she (player), He/him (character)