[sb118-khitomer] Lieutenant (JG) Ezra Zerva - Transmitting the Transmitter

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BC Cooper

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Oct 21, 2025, 9:48:34 PM10/21/25

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(( USS Ouachita, Shuttlebay, Deck 2, USS Khitomer, En Route to Alpha Trionus II ))

Sparks had been called to the shuttlebay by Lieutenant Michaels and was assisting her with disarming some of the warheads while Ezra and Semara looked through the logs of the Ouachita.

Lera had mentioned some good points. He wasn’t ignoring her. He was just focused on the logs. He’d heard everything she had said. Like making sure to get date and time stamps for each log. Making suggestions on the reason for things, like if the Ouachita had visited the prison before. Something he was sure the runabout had not yet done. The likelyhood it had been there before didn’t line up with the Admirals timeline. Otherwise the POW camp would be gone by now. Just as likely it was gone in the future, with little need for them to go there before coming back here. Especially if they could get the information on the camp from someplace else.

Sparks: I can't fault them for tryin' for a bit of research and all. Best know all 'bout the place you plan on uh...visitin...?

It made sense to Ezra. Gather as much information you can, based on what you can find some forty years after it happened. In that amount of time, information was sure to get lost or have its stories change or get mixed up due to time being a factor.

Zerva: What if this whole thing was started by the prison personnel? There are plenty of mentions of prison guards and corrupt wardens over the centuries from different star systems and planets, both in the Federation and outside its borders. I wonder what the conditions are like at the prison?

Michaels: My suspicion is that the conditions there would not compare favorably with Risa. :: quiet snort.:: I could almost believe that cruelty and corruption would be part of the job requirements for prison personnel. No doubt it requires an interesting set of personality traits to want to work at a prison. :: to Sparks :: Get these down to the Engineering Machine Shop and secure them. Be certain that Commander Dewitt knows about them.

Ezra couldn’t imagine any prison that would be more favorable than Risa. As for the job itself? Indeed, he was sure that it did require a special breed of person to work there. Then again, as a security officer onboard a starship, he could somewhat relate.

Sparks: Beggin' your pardon Ma'am, I done got us a whole cargo bay fitted with the latest in reee-quired safety gears and all that. Bay twelve, I'll be rollin' these down there. Forgive the slight deviation...I get real nervous with flammables in Engineering...and my name is Sparks!!

oO Ba-dum, tis! Oo

He tried not to chuckle at her attempt at joking about her name causing a spark of trouble. Smart move though Ezra thought. Keep the munitions away from the warp core and heart of the ship. Sparks knew what she was doing.

Sparks gave out a snort as she began to depart. She waved to the officers and began whistling a chorus.

Ezra looked up smiling as she whistled and waved goodbye to Sparks. In that moment, he realized how much little time he had spent with her. How little time he had spent with Lacy or any members of the crew that wasn’t either with the enlisted security shifts or the senior members of the crew for that matter. He made a point on his next shore leave to make some time to get to know the other members of the crew. For now though, he focused his attention back on the task at hand.

Semara: Wouldn't Risa be a hell for Tholians and Sheliak? It ain't like Starfleet is accustomed to holdin' either species, let alone together. Even with saints for guards and angels for wardens, imagine what it must be like bein' held by a species that can't even comprehend you. :: Skimming through records, shaking her head :: This is lots a' partial reports, analysis of analysis. Prolly lots lost when the facility was destroyed. Let's pull what we can on the prison from the Starfleet database... Hopin' it ain't that bad.

He raised a brow. While Risa was pleasant for them, he couldn’t begin to understand if the Alliance would enjoy themselves. Particularly with their dislike of the Federation. He began to wonder what sort of recreation the Alliance enjoyed. If any? Perhaps torture was one of them? They certainly had evidence of that when Lieutenant Dewitt returned to the Khitomer those many months ago.

Semara had made a good plan he thought. He made a note to get the names of all the prison personnel. From the Warden all the way down to prison cook.

oO Hmm I wonder what the Alliance eats? Do they eat? They must need some kind of nutrition at the prison. Right? Oo

Zerva: I hope so too. There’s also several names that repeat in the logs, including the Warden of the POW camp. I don’t know if or what they have to do with this. We’ll have to read the logs further. ::checks another log:: Hold up ::beat:: There’s one here with the Captain's name on it. It was logged by the Admiral. I don’t know what it’s about. Hmm. What do you think? Should we take a peak? Or send to him directly? Or ignore it and move on?

Michaels: There may be years of logs to go through and not a lot of time. :: she paused. :: The logical answer would be to move on. ::beat:: And yet... Is this material in the logs that were encrypted?

It would be a good idea to move on, but his curiosity wanted him to know more. But it wasn’t his message to open and read.

Zerva: Not that material specifically, but one of many logs I located after the de-encryption was complete.

Semara: Heavens! That ain't Cap'n Shayne. It says "Randal". :: To the others :: Ever heard anyone call him that?

Michaels: The Captain used his first name at the wedding. But I do not recall anyone else ever using it.

Zerva: ::raising a brow:: Nor do I. Starfleet protocol dictates that we address him as simply the “Captain.” Or “sir.” Or perhaps “Captain Shane.” if the need arrises. We don’t normally use our own first names with the rest of the crew, especially if they are enlisted. We are not unlike in that way with the Captain.

Semara: These are personal logs and messages...

Was his name on one or more of them? Could they be old Khitomer logs, or ones from the future?

Zerva: That would explain why it was addressed to him by his first name.

Semara was flipping through the logs when she stopped, her finger hovering over the PADD.

Michaels: Are you all right, Amelia?

Zerva: Tempting as it might be, I think it would be best to take Lera’s suggestion of moving on from the personal files.

oO I wonder if we all might have personal logs of our own? Hmm Oo

Semara: :: Swallowing :: Right, sorry. Okay... :: A deep breath :: Let's start makin' a report for the cap'n. I'll add this log to the top. :: Shaking her head :: Could be important, could be personal. I ain't comfortable openin' it without the Cap'n... :: Beat :: We'll put in what you found on the POW camp, too, but I wanna look through our database for more. Also addin' that the shuttle can't time travel independently, but has modifications that let it safely go through the Hobart Hole; then a note 'bout the torpedoes...

Zerva: Agreed. I’m happy to shift through more of the logs. See what else we can find.

Semara: Lemme know if I'm missin' anything. :: Beat :: 'Fore we follow up on the camp, we got any medical files, or anything 'bout the Alliance themselves? Anything sayin' how their "Fleet" survives, besides suspicious torpedoes?

Zerva: I think that covers everything we’ve found so far. As for medical fillies on the Alliance, I’d check down in sickbay.

Semara: Wait, look at this - here's a reference to treatin' Sencha radiation burns, but nothin' sayin' they engaged the Alliance. :: A long pause. :: I wonder... Do you think they needed to test their time travel theories? :: Beat :: Lieutenant Michaels - a Sencha flare drew us back to the Lagoon Nebula. Big one. Have you found an emitter installed?

Testing it on each other? His body shivered ever so slightly. He couldn’t begin to imagine what they had to try in order to get back here in time.

Michaels: It would be logical to test what would certainly be a non-standard hypothesis. If you recall, it was an issue I raised concerning using Khitomer as a testbed :: For the first time in her life, at least that she was willing to recall, Lera felt profoundly stupid. ::We have spent virtually all of our time on the interior of Ouachita. Other than a superficial examination, we have only spent 6.7 minutes examining the exterior. Which, of course, is where an emitter would be mounted.

That was a very specific amount of time. Had they only examined the exterior for less than seven minutes?

Semara: It might be a lot smaller than we think.

Zerva: Perhaps as small as the MacZerva device?

Michaels: I know exactly where to look for it. :: faint smile toward Amelia :: Come with me. This will take less than two minutes.

Ezra watched as the two exited the Ouachita before getting up with his PADD in hand and followed the two outside.

Zerva: Where bouts would you put such a device on a runabout?

Michaels: Every ship has at least one shield emitter but shuttlecraft have additional unrelated emitters. One thing that should be obvious but is frequently ignored is that they are designed to operate in situations and locations with obstacles and limited external illumination. The craft must be able to emit electromagnetic radiation in their operator's visible spectrum in the direction of the craft's travel. To use Terran terminology, the shuttle must have headlights. Light emitters. Our Ouachita had two.

Zerva: Okay, that makes sense. But am I missing something? What does two headlights have to do with a transmitter? I’m not exactly an expert on shuttle and runabout designs.

Lera stepped up to the shuttle craft and patted the center "headlight" with her left hand.

Semara: Response

Michaels: Exactly. This Ouachita has a third emitter. Note that this one has a different protective cover than the other two. It is difficult to accept that I did not notice it earlier. In my spectrum range of vision, the colour difference is obvious. It may not be so for Humans or :: she hesitated saying Betazoids :: other species.

Was it because she was Vulcan? We all make mistakes and Ezra was no exception to that himself. She was being unnecessarily hard on herself he thought.

Just for the heck of it, he did a search on emitters and transmitters in the logs.

Semara: Response

Michaels: This device emits something other than visible light. It will require some investigation to determine exactly what this one emits and what it requires from the shuttle beyond power. It is probable that this one emits Sencha radiation. Given the damage the probe did to Khitomer, the intent of this device may be as a weapon.

Zerva: ::raising a brow:: A weapon? To what end? Something more than the torpedos we removed? If such a device was possible to create one, it would be prudent to investigate. ::sets down his PADD and pulls out a tricorder::

Ezra began to scan the emitter. There were several beeps and bleeps from his tricorder.