[Artifact] Lieutenant Falt: Not everyone can speak "Engineer"
Tom Cholewa
((Main Engineering, Deck 16, USS Juneau))
Falt: =/\= Falt to the bridge. =/\=
Oddas: =/\= Oddas here, what have you found out, Lieutenant? =/\=
Falt: =/\= We’re still reviewing the limited data we have, sir. Ensign Kettick has a theory that the artefact might have been acting like some sort of beacon, and was what attracted the pirates here in the first place. =/\=
Oddas: =/\= It would be interesting - we have some indication that the pirates are using artifacts, or other technological measures to effect their attacks. =/\=
Falt: =/\= We’re also investigating the possibility the emissions from the artefact affected the Hoppers shields in some way. =/\=
Oddas: =/\= That would fit. =/\=
Falt: =/\= Even if both theories are wrong we know the artefact has a distinct power signature, Lieutenant Deveaux is reviewing the logs to see if there is anyway track it. =/\=
Oddas: =/\= Keep us informed - we are still attempting to track down the general area of the attackers' flight path. =/\=
Falt: =/\= Aye, sir. Falt out. =/\=
Tomas crossed to the nearest console to contact the Hopper’s engineering team. Just as he was about to open the channel a shadow fell on the screen. He turned his head to see who the shadow belonged to.
Deveaux: Excuse me, Lieutenant. I think I have something.
Falt: What have you found?
Deveaux: We might want to get Mister Kettick involved in this discussion, but I think this device might have been involved in some kind of advanced teleportation technology.
Falt: ::raising an eyebrow:: That would certainly fit the theory. Show me what you’ve got.
He followed the dark haired woman back to her console.
Deveaux: Mister Kettick, could you join us please? I need confirmation on my theory here.
Kettick: Certainly, ma'am.
As Kettick joined them Deveaux shared her findings. Tomas noticed that the blushing had stopped now she was focused on a task.
Deveaux: I found traces of subspace particles in their readings of the object. But along with that, there was a sub-quantum signature as well. :: She paused and looked back and forth between the two officers :: The only thing I can think of is teleportation.
Falt: I might be a Science Officer, but I majored in Anthropology and it’s been a while since my physics classes in the academy. So please forgive my ignorance - I thought sub-quantum teleportation was impossible?
Kettick: Not impossible, merely improbable, but would you kindly elaborate?
Deveaux: Well, as you know, our current transporter technology involves sending the transporter signal through subspace to its destination. And there have been experiments in sub-quantum teleportation since the mid-twenty fourth century. But to our knowledge, no one has been successful. But what if whoever created this device had been?
Kettick: In fact, I do believe that a prototype was field-tested by Emory Erickson himself somewhere during the twenty-first century, with marginal success. Specifically, it could transport inanimate matter over astonishing distances, but with a high probability of pattern loss, and every attempt with living beings ended in tragedy.
Tomas knew the name, and the story. And the tragic way it had ended.
Falt: I’m not sure I’d quantify that as a marginal success.
Deveau: Response
Kettick: That being said, it would be effective for retrieving items, if one were unconcerned with pattern integrity and/or working at relatively close distances. In other terms, a thief's tool. And if my memory serves, they were rather energy-effective compared to subspace transporters. What did you have in mind, Lieutenant? A focused subspace harmonic to disrupt the shield and act as a carrier wave for the quantum pattern transfer?
Deveau: Response
If Tomas was honest the engineers had lost him a bit, it seemed he wasn’t as fluent in “Engineer” as he’d thought. He kept quiet, hoping the conversation would swing back to something he better understood. Or at least recognise as federation standard.
Kettick: If the power source was not already present... in that position, I would acquire a few phaser power cells and bridge them using a crystalline matrix, and use the result to power my emitter array - possibly the artifact itself if your deduction is correct, but a series of interlinked combadges would work just as well in a pinch.
Deveau: Response
Falt: How many people would know how to do what you’ve both just described? I know I certainly wouldn’t. More importantly, how would they know when to do it?
Kettick: That would imply an insider. Either with preexisting knowledge of the artifact's technology of origin, or with a Starfleet Engineering background. This could be... ugly.
Tomas’s face mirrored the Remmilian’s grim expression, he was coming to the same conclusion.
Falt: I agree, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. We need to prove at least some of this before taking it to the Captain, or Commander Melchor.
Kettick: Response
Tomas had continued to monitor communications between the Juneau and the Hopper, so he knew about the device attached to the EPS conduit.
Falt: I’m not going to ask the crew of the Hopper to run a level five diagnostic, they’ve got bigger things to worry about at the moment. What about the lab the artefact was found in. Maybe there is information there that could help us prove this.
Deveaux: Response
Tomas nodded, glad he had found a task he could perform.
Falt: Okay. You two focus on proving your… theory. I’ll try and set up a data link to the lab the artefact was found in, see if we can get any additional information. ::short pause:: Don’t forget the race that constructed the ring had the technology to do so long before the Federation existed. It’s entirely possible they had more success with sub-quantum transportation than Emory Erickson did.
Kettick/Deveaux: Response
Tomas went back to his console and set to work. Normally he’d have just beamed down to the lab and accessed the data, but given the Juneau could leave orbit at any moment to pursue the raiders that wasn’t the best idea on this occasion.
Whilst the two engineers had discussed their task he had scanned the lab, looking for any obvious signals he could use to establish a remote link. To his surprise he discovered no activity coming from the lab at all, it seemed to be completely powered down. If the artefact had been the lab’s power source as well then he’d need help powering it up again.
oO Fortunately I have two experts at this sort of thing to hand Oo.
Falt: Apologies to interrupt, pease could you both join me for a moment?
Kettick/Deveaux: Response.
Falt:. ::indicating the sensor readings:: It seems the lab is powered down, any suggestions as to how to power it up again from here?
Kettick/Deveaux: Response.
TAG / TBC
Lieutenant Tomas Falt
Science Officer
USS Juneau, NX-99801
J239807TF2
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