Lieutenant Alira Venn: A Fresh Set of Eyes
Isara Aleron
She paused and looked at Kessler before continuing. She’d already pressed her luck once, so she decided to keep her opinions on the possible outcomes to herself for the moment. Kessler knew them, so if he chose to share, then that would be his decision, not hers.
Venn: Starfleet has several concerns. Firstly, nearly every cosmozoan we’ve encountered has had dangerous qualities to it. A few have proven to be relatively harmless, if undisturbed. But more have proven to be extremely hazardous; some even hostile. We’re to assess the threat, if any, and make recommendations on tactical situations as needed. To quote Captain Niac, we’re to consider a full range of scenarios from “'big space fish wants a hug' to 'it just ate a nacelle and it still looks hungry.'”
She nodded at Kessler again and stepped back a bit to let him have the floor again.
T'Fearne: That is fascinating, if it’s what it appears to be. I’m not comforted at the lack of substantial information to work with, Lieutenant.
S'tek: I agree with the Lieutenant, Sir. It is the unknowns that worry me the most.
Kessler: This is a great scientific discovery for sure, but as mentioned the safety of the ship and crew falls to us. With a power that this thing must project we need to know we can defend the ship even if it is from just the creatures natural biology versus a weapon. T'Fearne, has the Ronin ever encountered a biologic lifeform like this before?
Alira noticed the shake of the Vulcan woman’s head. She’d already known this fact, or it would have been in her briefing. But it was good to get confirmation that her facts were complete. As much as others assumed Intelligence was keeping information from them, the same was often true going the other direction.
T'Fearne: Not in the nearly two years I have been aboard. The largest vessel encountered might be a Lattice Alliance Super-Weapon over a year ago. I believe some crew encountered a juvenile Space Jelly several months ago, they can grow to quite a large size, but I’m not aware of their maximum size limit. I can run a search through the security mission database and see if a previous mission details anything like this.
S'tek: ::quietly:: Space jelly?
Kessler: Ok, then we are starting at square one. ::beat:: options? Through them out no matter how crazy they sound. We'll weed through them one by one.
He began handing out PADDs and she took one from him to make her own notes on. Unfortunately, without more data about this creature, she really didn’t have many ideas on what they should do. But she was an analyst in SFI, so her job was speculation based on data, no matter how improbable that speculation may seem.
oO Okay, here goes nothing then. Oo
T'Fearne: ::glancing at Venn:: You mentioned it has not yet been confirmed that this is biological. What of the non-biological option? Synthetic, some sort of living machine, large-scale photonic? What do you think, Ensign?
Although she had begun addressing Alira, T’Fearne finished by directing the question to the new Ensign, so she chose to remain silent for the moment.
S'tek: A synthetic or a living machine is possible, Lieutenant. It wouldn’t be the first time that Starfleet has encountered something like that. ::pause:: A large-scale photonic construct? The power source needed to create a projection of that size… without coherence drift or field collapse… it would be enormous.
She was already laying out several scenarios on her PADD. Most of them were along the lines of, “It’s a huge humpback whale in space, and look how badly that almost ended for Earth.” But just enough were along the thought of, “it’s Gomtuu. It just wants to be left alone.”
Venn: I have no more data than I’ve shared, but considering that we’re tasked with tactical options, I think I’d personally like to start with something that let’s us get this thing away from the possible hands of the Consortium or the Lattice Alliance. Like, how do we move it?
T'Fearne: Agreed, the Consortium and the Alliance have both demonstrated a willingness to weaponise what they can. ::slight brow raise:: Move it the same way you control any crowd or a larger, stronger opponent. Attraction or repulsion through leverage.
S’tek: What is that old Human adage? ::pause, recollects:: Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.
oO It may be large enough to be a world, but it’s not. And I doubt anyone could move this thing with something as basic as a lever. Oo
Still, she admired his optimism.
Venn: It’s massive. We’re not even sure how massive yet, but early speculation is on the order of kilometers.
T'Fearne: Do we have a way to verify that? The details about the size? It would be remiss of me not to bring up the possibility of an Alliance or Consortium scheme? Could we be heading towards a trick? False readings created to lure Starfleet explorers?
She was about to respond and explain that they’d already tried that a few times, but with no success, and that was one of their objectives for this operation. Of course, that was Velis’ task - biological data. However, before she could make such a response, the doors opened once more, and a Bajoran Ensign walked in.
T'Fearne: ::in greeting:: Ensign Akani.
S’tek: Ensign.
Akani: ::In response:: Lieutenants, Ensign.
Kessler: Thank you for joining us Ensign. Did you get the briefing note I sent you about this? ::gesturing to the blurred image::
T'Fearne: Given current uncertainties, I believe Security has several immediate objectives. I assume the Science department is attempting to determine what this entity is. What they uncover could help us understand more of its nature, tactical assessment is merely conjecture without more data. Regardless of what they uncover, it would be prudent to have a range of repellents and attractors.
Kessler: Agreed but at the same time we need to understand that we do not know the physiology of this creature ::beat:: yes, I am assuming it is biological and not man made. That said we need to ensure whatever counter measure we are discussing needs to be looked at also from how to prevent from doing this creature any damage. We have a duty to protect the ship but we also have a duty to protect new life.
Venn: I couldn’t agree more, Lieutenant.
oO At least, up until the point we determine that we might actually have to kill it to ensure the security of the Federation and our allies. Artist forbid. I hope I’m wrong about this. Oo
T'Fearne: I prefer to think of heightened situational awareness as a significant advantage in ship security and preparedness. I don’t assume hostile intent, but neither can I assume it can identify us as non-hostile, or that it can even distinguish between incidental contact and a deliberate attack.
S’tek: We do need more than just conjecture… Sirs.
She couldn’t let that pass. The Ensign was correct, but the problem was that until someone confirmed something, everything was conjecture. That was the very basic essence of science.
Venn: I couldn’t agree more, Ensign, but that’s all we have at the moment, and that’s why the Ronin is going there. To get more than just conjecture.
Akani: Would it be worth optimising shields just in case?
Kessler: Like I said, all ideas get put on the table. Optimising shields is a good start.
Venn: One of the issues we’ve had was with getting sensor data. I’m not sure how involved this department is with tactical sensor calibrations, or if that would be Operations, but I think we should consider making some calibrations to offset those issues.
S’tek: I apologise if I’m going over ground already covered but where did… ::gestures to the screen:: …these images come from?
Akani: Honestly, I'm wondering the same thing.
Alira had been expecting that question, and after looking at the two Ensigns, Lieutenant Kessler turned to her briefly before responding.
Kessler: At this time Ensign, that information is on a need to know basis. We are working with the data Lieutenant Venn has provided.
T’Fearne: Responses
S’tek: Any puzzle starts with the edge pieces. For us, that’s the source of these images. If they were taken at range, we’re missing context. If they weren’t… then someone got close to this creature…
S’tek: …or non-biological creation, and we need to know how, Sirs.
Venn: It’s not exactly a state secret, sir. These images came from our long-range sensors, as well as a few ships that have tried to get close to the creature. As I mentioned, getting sensor data has proven to be something of a challenge.
She’d also had enough of the implications that she was holding out on them. She was tired of feeling like the enemy. She wasn’t. And she was on this ship too, so if they failed, she failed. If they died, she died. It was really that simple. She wasn’t going to fail this crew, and she just wished they realized that they were all on the same team.
Akani: Forgive me if this has already been asked, but are we planning on making contact with this… ::trying to choose her words correctly:: entity?
Kessler: ::looking to everyone in turn:: I would be extremely disappointed if we came all this way just to take pictures and then be on our way. ::beat:: Yes, I would plan on making contact with this creature.
T’Fearne: Response
Akani: ::bowing her head:: I understand. How long do we have before we make contact?
The Lieutenant examined the display on the wall before responding, and even Alira could see that they’d be at their destination in very short order.
Kessler: Not as much time as we would like to have, Ensign. We need to work fast, but smart.
S'tek/T’Fearne: Responses
oO Almost like we have some intelligence. Oo
She stopped the snark before it came out of her mouth, but it was difficult.
Akani: Apologies for my questions, Sirs, but just how big is this thing?
Venn: No worries. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, we’re not entirely sure due to the poor sensor data we’re getting, but it seems to be on the magnitude of kilometers. Very, very big.
S'tek/T’Fearne: Responses
Kessler: ::unfolding his arms and picking up his PADD:: Ok, here's the plan. Akani, I want all relevant data on any spaceborn lifeform Starfleet has encountered to date. How were they dealt with in a non-lethal encounter? S'tek, you specialized in Tactical systems at the academy. I want you working on options for the shields and how to best optimize them against an unknown energy output. T'Fearne, Venn; please coordinate any data from other ships in the area that have made any reports about this thing or any obscure mention of a biological encounter that might have been overlooked in subspace coms traffic. ::looking around:: There are workstations in here we can use so we do not need to leave the area, this will give us the best chances of finding some of Mister S'tek's puzzle pieces.
She bit down on her retort that she’d already made a full report with the Captain on previous encounters, and that Akani’s work would be redundant, but she also knew from her training that it never hurt to have more than one set of eyes on a piece of data. It helped ensure perspective and that nothing got overlooked.
S'tek/Akani/T’Fearne: Responses
Kessler: Use your PADDs to add your findings. Even the smallest puzzle piece left out can leave a gaping hole in the overall scheme. Let's get to work and do not hold any questions back.
Venn: Yes, sir.
S'tek/Akani/T’Fearne: Responses
He gave her a slight nod before stepping over to T’Fearne to speak. She held back a moment to let them finish, finding a workstation to begin their task.
((OOC: I’m going to omit the private conversation as Alira is deliberately trying not to eavesdrop. I’ll rejoin at the point that T’Fearne comes over to join Alira on their assignment. Congrats T’Fearne!!))
Once the two Lieutenants had finished speaking, she turned to T’Fearne and nodded.
Venn: So, we don’t have much to go on here. There were some sensor contacts by a few ships, but honestly the best we got was the one image that’s already been shared. The Jacksonville reported that their science team was convinced it was biological, but from what I could see, there was no actual scientific data to corroborate that.
T’Fearne: Response
Venn: I would like to think we can avoid harming it. I’m actually hoping for that, despite what some would think. I’m just worried about what could happen if the Lattice Alliance or the Consortium got their hands on it. And there is always a concern that it might be dangerous to us, even if unintentionally. But we just don’t have enough data that I’ve been able to find.
T’Fearne: Response
She nodded and looked back at the screen. The enormity of the task was almost overwhelming, but she was optimistic this crew could solve this mystery with the best possible outcome. They had a reputation for that.
Venn: Well, maybe you can find something I can’t. I’ve been staring at this data for so long, I am sure I’m not going to find anything new. A fresh set of eyes couldn’t hurt.
T’Fearne: Response
Lieutenant Alira Venn
Mission Specialist (Intelligence)
USS Ronin, NCC-34523
A239412S10