Lieutenant Commander Mart Tucker - One Giant Blur
Martin Tucker
Marty shifted his weight as he leaned against the counter, sipping his increasingly cooling coffee, as everyone was brainstorming, and there was no port in the storm that was a developing headache; he wasn’t sure if it was the volume or the sheer amount of people talking. Thankfully, not all at once, but close.
Kel: With all due respect if this was a planet killer I think we'd know by the missing planets. ::beat:: Gomtuu offered a unique situation, but I'd like to think we can use it as a learning experience to make this contact easier.
The Trilldorian was always looking on the bright side of things.
Tucker: No matter how you slice it, first contact is going to be touchy at the best. It’s not like we know if it can talk or not. Or do we?
Velis/Beck: Responses
Marty was still trying to figure out how the Engineering team would come into play. If it’s organic in nature, that could pose a problem from an engineering standpoint. And even if they do learn what makes it tick. What could they do with that information? And how would that work with the first contact aspect of the encounter, if there is one?
He still really hadn’t heard much of a plan, except to study it and make contact. There was a lot of space between those words for interpretation. One’s contact is another’s conquest. It was a fine line, one he’d like to talk to Morrow about. Maybe he can shed some light on things.
Raga: We don't know enough at this point. I think our first priority should be to get to the creature, at a safe distance and find out just how 'very large' it happens to be. Then go from there. Normally I'd recommend sending a shuttle to scout ahead, but with the uncertainty of its size and temperament I'm hesitant to send out what might be seen as food if it's big enough. How long until we arrive at its last known location?
Kessler: ::looking to the wall display:: ETA to intercept is three hours nineteen minutes Commander.
Whatever they were going to do, Marty thought, they were on the clock. Three hours plus, and there was still no way to scan or survey the creature. Though they were rigged with a deep space package for Stellar Cartography.
Marty tapped his chin in thought.
Kessler: Given your previous attempts at this failed, I am sure all related data will be made available to our mission? No redactions?
Venn: I cannot speak to the information Lieutenant Velis will be providing. However, as you’ve no doubt surmised, I was - until this operation - assigned to Starfleet Intelligence as an analyst. I’ve studied these cosmozoans, although I am sure my interest does not match that of the Doctor. I’ve prepared a full briefing of why I am here, if I may? No redactions. At least, none that I am aware of.
Marty raised an eyebrow, sat down his coffee and crossed his arms across his chest.
Niac: By all means Lieutenant. I'm sure everyone here is all ears.
Tucker: Time to lay it down Lieutenant..
Velis/Beck/Raga: Response
Venn: First, just to give a perspective on the size, since there seems to be some conjecture, here’s what long-range scans have been able to deduce.
The picture on the screen was not of high quality. It was big, whatever the hell it was. He was pretty sure it was several times the size of the Ronin.
Venn: This image is not clear because our sensors were so far away that was the best resolution they could get. Given the impressive range of our sensors, that should help give you an indication of just how large this thing is. This is in addition to the fact that, as Lieutenant Veris has mentioned, it’s hard to get sensor readings in the first place.
He was pretty sure he had the solution to part of the problem.
Venn: As I am sure the doctor can confirm, there have been a few different kinds of cosmozoans spotted over the years. One of the first was encountered by the USS Enterprise under the command of James T. Kirk.
Marty had read about this at the Academy, it was required reading, if he remembered correctly. He loved Starfleet History, with a focus on engineers, of course; his two favorites were Trip Tucker and Torres from Voyager.
Venn: In that incident, an entire crew of Vulcans was killed by a very large space amoeba. The crew of the Enterprise narrowly escaped, but only as a result of having to destroy the amoeba.
Sometimes History sucked.
Venn: Please note that Captain Kirk considered destroying the creature a viable option to preserving the life of his crew.
Marty noticed that Kel looked like he wanted to say but bit it back.
Venn: And then there is the planetkiller, as was already mentioned. Not necessarily a living organism that we can tell, but equally a threat. Please note that Captain Kirk and even Commodore Decker determined its destruction was necessary.
Niac: Beyond the size of this creature...does Starfleet have a reason to believe it represents a threat of that ::He nodded gravely towards the monitor::...scale?
Kel did not look pleased, and voiced his displeasure.
Kel: ::forcefully:: The Planet Killer was a machine not a living creature and again I would state that if we had such a construct in the Alpha Isles we would know about it by the destruction in its wake.
Tucker: Wait, so could this thing actually eat a planet, or are these just comparisons?
Raga/Kessler/Velis/Beck: Responses
V'Len shook his head, but he had to admit to himself it was a fair point.
Venn: I am only pointing these out, because as some have mentioned, towing this thing is going to be impossible. And if it truly is a threat, we may have no other option. Considering that one of the main purposes of Starfleet is to seek out new life, destroying it when we find it almost seems anathema to us. However, sometimes it just becomes necessary as the crew of the Enterprise found. Now,I have more examples where a less fatal option was found. Shall I continue?
The less lethal option would be the better one for sure, Marty thought. It wasn't like Starfleet to just blow something out of the sky because they didn’t understand it. If it were truly a first contact situation, lethal force should be the absolute last option.
Niac: Very well, Lieutenant...continue. I think you've got our full attention.
Raga: Response
Venn: Gomtuu. Commander Raga has already mentioned this one as well, and as the Chief of Security has pointed out, it destroyed a Romulan Warbird.
Niac: As I recall the only reason they made it through that particular encounter was due to the involvement of a civilian diplomat who made...contact with the creature somehow. The mission reports I read were never particularly clear on that point but I believe telepathy was involved. Mr. Kel, Lt. Velis...fill in some blanks here if you could.
Kel: Indeed there was an intelligence there, and contact was made by a Betazoid via telepathy. Many of the "complications" of that mission could be attributed to the hostilities between the Romulans and the Federation.
Marty tried not to roll his eyes at the mention of the Romulans.
Tucker: ::under his breath:: Freakin’ Romulans, bullies, the lot of them.
Raga/Kessler/Velis/Beck: Responses
Venn: It is true that this ended well for our people, but the Romulans didn’t fare so well. And that is a nice segue into the other possible threat here. The Lattice Alliance and the Consortium. Take the incident with Gomtuu. Why were the Romulans there in the first place? Because they saw the opportunity to secure a weapon. Oh, they claimed interest in First Contact, but have no doubt that they were seeking an edge against us. Do any of you have any doubts that the Lattice Alliance or the Consortium would see a similar opportunity here? There are a few more examples, like the Crystaline Entity, the Space Jellyfish encountered by the Cerritos, or even the creatures at Farpoint Station. I don’t think anyone here will argue that the Crystaline Entity was peaceful. The reality that this creature poses a risk exists, and if our enemies get ahold of it first, that risk increases exponentially. And that’s why I am here. Threat assessment. The final risk determination will be yours, of course, Captain Niac, but I’m tasked with bringing my expertise to advise on a course of action.
Marty stood up as he could tell that Kel was beyond holding his tongue this time around. And he couldn’t blame the man either. Everyone had read the reports, it was required learning.
Kel: ::angrily:: The crystalline entity acted purely on instinct, there was no malice. It's no different than me eating an apple and killing the bacteria on the surface. Starfleet was eventually able to communicate with the creature.
The Captain stepped in before things could’ve gotten out of hand.
Niac: Thank you Lieutenants...what your information lacks in depth it more than makes up for in grave implications. Something tells me we're all going to lose some sleep over this in the next few days...but I am determined not to become another statistic in the 'failed first contact' ledger. So here's what we're going to do. Lieutenant Velis...you're to work with Commander Kel. He's our Chief Science Officer and for the purposes of this mission you're to report to him. Get the science and medical teams together...I expect everybody who isn't already an expert in astrobiology to become one in...::he glanced at the chrono::...about three hours. Doctor Beck, if anyone from your team has relevant expertise I want them working with V'Len's people.
Beck/Velis: Response
V'Len nodded.
Niac: Lt. Venn, you work for Lt. Kessler now. Mr. Kessler, I want your team to start developing tactical contingencies assuming the full spectrum of possible responses to our presence from 'big space fish wants a hug' to 'it just ate a nacelle and it still looks hungry.' Pull in Major Singh's people if it'll help...although I'm hesitant to even consider deploying our fighter craft in proximity to something like that. I want all the options you can give me before we try to make contact with the unknown creature. Understood?
To Marty, it looked as though things were starting to break up into teams, which was probably better than continuing to argue ethics in history. He understood, but they couldn't fix anything in the past; they had a say in the present and future.
Kessler/Venn: Responses
Karrod glanced back towards the blurry image and crossed his hands over his chest, deep in consideration before speaking again.
Niac: Mr. Tucker...get back down to your people, see if any of them have expertise in biomechanics. If we can study this thing we'll need to understand it in a biological and a mechanical sense. Guess which side of that coin you get to focus on while you're working to make the good ship Ronin look as nonthreatening and...unappetizing as possible. That just leaves us, Mr. Raga...and we get the fun job.
Tucker: Aye, Skipper, I’ll head down there now.
With that, Tucker gave the Captain a two-fingered salute and made his way out of the conference room and back towards engineering. Hopefully, he didn’t have to round up his best engineers; sometimes it was like herding cats. The doors swished behind him as he stepped out onto the bridge and then into the turbo lift.
Tucker: Main Engineering and make it snappy.
TAGS/TBC