Ensign Kelor Zh'taan - So, we are going or not?
Kelor Zh'Taan
((Lab 2, Deck 10, USS Ronin))
Niac: I mean, do you think they harvested enough of this extra-universal material to try this again somewhere else? Somewhere deeper in their territory where we wouldn't know about it until they were successful or until there was a big hole in subspace where our galaxy used to be.
Zh'taan: I don’t have all the information on this subject. ::He briefly glanced at V'len:: But from what I saw on Moon Sigma, the Romulan technology used was rather outdated. I think they could make do with older, even abandoned complexes to deploy their technology.
Kel: Could we detect such a facility? When we entered the system there was nothing unusual until the Kurosawa arrived and that lid blew off.
Wren: The system didn’t even register the temporal eddies until it was too late. That’s why we thought for so long that…. Well oO That you and the first officer were dead. I can still feel shreds of that despair in the nooks and crannies of the ship sometimes. The trauma hasn’t just lingered in the people, it sometimes feels like it scarred the ship itself. Oo
Niac: Response
Zh'taan: I would recommend that we store the results of the anomaly signature analysis and compare them with the Starfleet database. It might allow us to detect other sites with similar characteristics… I think.
Kel: Good thinking Ensign. We could also use the sensor array Starfleet has placed in the Alpha Isles, see if we can detect anything.
Wren: oO The problem isn’t that it’s undetectable. Anything can be detected, the ship just needs to know what it’s looking for. It needs to recognize the threat before encountering it…. Oo
Niac: Response
Kel: What about the Argus Array? Could we aim that at Alliance Territory? See what it sees?
Wren: That might help, but that wouldn’t work for every ship. This all happened in our territory, not theirs, which means there’s a risk of multiple ships encountering it at once.
Zh'taan: But for now, no other incident like ours has been recorded in the database. There is still a small chance that what happened in the Ross-580 system was an isolated case.
The situation had seemed desperate for the Ronin. But it didn’t necessarily mean it had been the same for others.
Niac: Response
Kel: What about a covert mission into Alliance Territory? See what we can find? I could get Kos to lend me the Foxy Lady. It's an unassuming freighter, perfect for something like this.
Wren: oO That would give me the opportunity to study the schematics more thoroughly… maybe even fill in some of the blanks in the notes that they left? Oh, but… I’m not sure they’d consider me for something like this. You’re at the bottom of the ladder… but maybe… Oo
Zh'taan: That would allow us to gather enough data to complete our database!
Niac: Response
Kel: I've done this sort of thing before Karrod it's nothing new to me. If the Alliance is building other reactors like this Starfleet needs to know.
Wren: ::thinking back to her childhood anatomy lessons:: What if we created a sensor that could detect Sencha radiation like it’s a virus?
oO Nice catch again! Oo
Zh'taan: That’s a good idea, the radiation should be easily detectable by medical sensors given the effects it has on certain organisms.
He thought back to the effects the radiation had on him during his expedition on Moon Sigma…
Kel/Niac: Response
Wren: I’ve been through the records of what we know about the radiation, and Starfleet computers simply don’t have enough data to properly recognize what it’s detecting. It’s like suddenly exposing a population to a completely alien pathogen. Sometimes there are survivors, but what usually happens is the population is quickly killed because their bodies have no frame of reference for what they’re fighting.
Kel/Niac: Response
Zh'taan: And this radiation can “contaminate” both people and equipment.
Wren: ::Talking a little faster now:: Exactly. But when a population is slowly acclimated to the pathogen over a long period of time, eventually they gain herd immunity. What I’m suggesting is that we gather as much information about the Sencha radiation as possible, active Sencha radiation, and expose our system to that raw data in increments in a simulated program. Over time, the computer acclimates, and can detect both the radiation, and the side effects. We’d be able to detect strong surges in Sencha radiation within a matter of days if we have multiple people working on it.
Zh'taan: We could also examine the data collected by the infirmary. The medical staff must have treated many people who were exposed to the radiation, they should have information in their database that we do not have.
Kel/Niac: Response
Wren: Well, we’d still need that raw data, which means… I think that a trip into Alliance territory might be necessary to see if there is another reactor. oO Don’t overstep here, Della. Oo We need to see Sencha radiation actively in use. If they’ve built another reactor, then we could gather as much as we need just by observing.
Zh'taan: ::Turns toward Kel:: We should perhaps examine what the ship’s probes collected when the Ronin first arrived in the system and the incident with Captain Niac occurred. That might allow us to detect other similar anomalies?
Kel/Niac/Wren: Response
Zh'taan: Yes, and with all this information, we will be able to better prepare ourselves to enter Alliance territory.
Kel/Niac/Wren: Response
As the discussion progressed, Kelor became more and more comfortable. The captain was right, he was no longer at the Academy. He had at least a basic understanding of what he was talking about, and he still had the right to make mistakes. However, for his research on radiation, he did not want to be wrong. And the more data they gathered before any potential expedition, the higher their chances of success would be.
Zh'taan: However, we must not forget that this radiation can prevent warp travel. If we are to travel into Alliance territory, we must be sure we can leave quickly. I can try to work on a solution if you wish. ::He turns toward Kel::
Kel/Niac/Wren: Response
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