((Deep Trenches, Deluvia IV))
V'Lar: What purpose do you believe it serves?
Fenn: ::with a slight chuckle:: Well hopefully we’re not about to stumble on a secret Romulan base. That wouldn’t be a great turn of events.
V'Lar found the Romulan reference to be unappealing. To a Vulcan, the Romulans were not merely an adversary; they were a living reminder of the savage barbarism of the distant past, from a time before the Time of Awakening, a time before logic.
V’Lar: The statistical probability of a covert facility is negligible.
Fenn: I know it’s unlikely, I was just joking. I can’t wait to see what’s inside.
Sevo: Well, no Romulan life signs. Actually, no life signs at all, as far as I can tell.
The absence of life signs presented two logical possibilities: the facility was fully automated, or the sensors were being impeded.
V’Lar: Given the scale of the structure, total automation seems unlikely.
Sevo: Can’t even detect the life signs of the fauna around the area, even though I can see them. I think the place is emitting a dampening field.
V'Lar watched a school of small, iridescent fish dart near the facility’s exterior lights. Her Trill colleague was correct; the visual evidence directly contradicted the sensor data.
V’Lar: Logic dictates that when the instrument contradicts the observable reality, the instrument is compromised. Assuming your tricorder is functioning within parameters, a dampening field is the only rational conclusion.
Fenn: Response
Sevo: No idea why. Privacy?
In scientific terms, such measures usually indicated the presence of highly sensitive experiments, hazardous materials or proprietary technology.
V’Lar: There are a number of potential reasons. However, regardless of the motivation, the effect is the obstruction of our ability to gain sensor data.
Fenn: Response
Sevo: I’m kinda curious, now. Want to check it out?
V’Lar: The facility appears unlisted and shielded. I would advise caution.
Fenn / Sevo: Responses
V'Lar listened to their reasoning, processing their points.
V’Lar: If this facility is active, then to enter without permission would be considered trespassing. Does the desire to explore sufficiently outweigh the potential risk?
Fenn / Sevo: Responses
V'Lar understood that at times there was a non-optional social convention to support the desires or perspectives of others. V'Lar was unsure if this constituted one of those times but she was acting under a social directive from the ship's First Officer.
oO I have voiced my concerns, I could now show consideration for alternative perspectives. Oo
V’Lar: If we withdraw now to report this structure, our report would be substantively empty. It could be argued that to return without data, when the means of acquisition are available to us, would be inefficient.
V'Lar shifted her gaze between her two colleagues.
oO It may be to my detriment that my superior cognitive and linguistic abilities allow me to make an effective argument for almost any course of action. Oo
V'Lar: For clarity, I am not suggesting that I would make such an argument.
Fenn / Sevo: Responses
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Lieutenant Commander V'Lar
Chief Medical Officer
USS Gorkon, NCC-82293
A240101CC1