Ensign Kivik: Better Left Unsolved
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Keegan Flick-Parker
Jul 16, 2021, 2:07:09 PM7/16/21
to USS Veritas
((Cockpit, USS Baikal - Day 5, arrival at the Blue Moon))
Ensigns Reade and Kivik had spent the morning running tests on the modified drones and preparing them for launch. Now, Kivik sat at one of the Science Officer’s consoles with the others, in the Baikal’s cockpit - to nir right was Ensign Reade and, directly behind nem, Ensign Thorne.
Rahman: Let's see how close you can get us, Mr. Parker.
Parker: Response
As the moon had come into range, Kivik launched the survey drones, which shot ahead of the shuttle and began surveying the planet - looking for any sign of the NX-era shuttle’s rare Ditanium hull. The Science Officer watched carefully as the results began coming in…
oO This moon has near ideal conditions for settlement - but that shouldn’t be possib… Oo
The Ensign’s thought was cut off as an unusual energy surge on the planet’s surface confused one of the drone’s sensors. Ne compensated, adjusting the bandwidth of the drone’s scanners to exclude the strange energy reading. As interesting as it was, that was not yet their primary concern.
The energy in the cockpit was tense, as everyone waited. After what felt like an eternity, the console pinged and Kivik breathed a sigh of relief. They had detected Ditanium. The tension began to melt away into excitement - they had found the Endeavour Five!
Only - it was strange. As the drones triangulated the shuttle’s position and honed in towards it, Kivik expanded the scanning parameters and it quickly became apparent that the shuttle was located far from the campsite - nearly 150 kilometers away - and that the rock surrounding what remained of the shuttle were the sedimentary deposits one would expect to find at the bottom of a seabed.
oO Something happened here… Something very strange. Oo
Rahman: Ensign Kivik, what's the condition of the shuttlepod based on your initial scans?
Kivik: It’s in rough shape, Captain… The shuttle appears to have crashed into an ocean, which has dried up or relocated since the incident. It’s accessible, but the wreckage has been degraded by the salt water. There’s a chance the computer systems may be intact, but we’d have to go down to the surface and examine them firsthand to know. If we do, we’ll need to be careful - I noticed some unusual energy readings on the surface that could be dangerous.
Rahman: Thorne, is the shuttlepod's structural integrity strong enough to withstand a tractor beam?
Thorne: Response
Rahman: All right, let's get a closer look. Ensign Reade, prepare to beam down with Ensign Kivik, Thorne, and myself-
Suddenly the Captain stopped, mid-sentence. Kivik turned in nir chair to see what had stopped the Captain - who seemed distracted, or perhaps in pain...
Wong: Response
Rahman: I'm sorry... I just...
There was another pause as the captain winced. When she opened her eyes again, they were glowing a dull blue.
Rahman: Excuse me, Ensign...
Captain Rahman stood up and walked over to the tactical station, a strange calmness in her movements. Kivik barely had time to register what was happening when the console behind nem pinged again. Ne turned to look at the screen and puzzled at the readings - the strange energy signature from the planet seemed to be extending upwards toward the shuttle, almost as if it were reaching for them...
Thorne: Response
Before ne knew what was happening, the Captain sat at Thorne’s console and fired a torpedo directly at the crash site.
oO What is the Captain doing?! If the shuttle is destroyed, we’ll never know what happened! Oo
Thorne: Response
Parker: Response
Reade: Response
Kivik: ::Unsure what else to say:: That torpedo will render the entire area investigatable. What remained of the shuttle will be gone...
Wong: Response
Just as the torpedo made impact with the shuttlepod, blasting it into dust, the captain collapsed to the deck.
((USS Baikal, Cockpit -- En route back to Star Station Esperance, the following day))
The crew had jumped to help the Captain, moving her to the Lounge so that Lieutenant Wong could care for her. Nobody was quite sure what had happened, though Kivik suspected something on the planet had motivated the Captain’s actions. While Wong tended to the Captain, Kivik sat at the Science console, digging through the limited results ne had collected in their brief time over the moon.
oO I wish we’d had more time… Oo The results were primarily surface-level scans, quick and simple. It was challenging to get a bearing on what they had found, if anything.
Anyone: Response
Kivik: ::Turning around:: Whatever it was, it was over in an instant. ::Rubbing nir eyes:: I’ve been looking at the data for hours and I don’t feel any closer to figuring it out.
Anyone: Response
Kivik: There was a strange energy surge on the planet moments before the Captain… took action... but I filtered it out of the scanners’ sensors in order to find the shuttle. I’m afraid there’s nothing more solid about the energy readings to go off of. I’m open to any suggestions or theories, though.
Anyone: Response
Kivik: It’s worth a shot - I’ll look into that. Perhaps I should take a rest, though. I don’t think staring at the data any harder will make it any clearer. ::Sighing:: Things certainly didn’t go how we expected…
Anyone: Response
Kivik: Still, I’m just glad we all made it. Whatever happened down there will remain a mystery. Maybe that’s for the best...
END
Ensigns Reade and Kivik had spent the morning running tests on the modified drones and preparing them for launch. Now, Kivik sat at one of the Science Officer’s consoles with the others, in the Baikal’s cockpit - to nir right was Ensign Reade and, directly behind nem, Ensign Thorne.
Rahman: Let's see how close you can get us, Mr. Parker.
Parker: Response
As the moon had come into range, Kivik launched the survey drones, which shot ahead of the shuttle and began surveying the planet - looking for any sign of the NX-era shuttle’s rare Ditanium hull. The Science Officer watched carefully as the results began coming in…
oO This moon has near ideal conditions for settlement - but that shouldn’t be possib… Oo
The Ensign’s thought was cut off as an unusual energy surge on the planet’s surface confused one of the drone’s sensors. Ne compensated, adjusting the bandwidth of the drone’s scanners to exclude the strange energy reading. As interesting as it was, that was not yet their primary concern.
The energy in the cockpit was tense, as everyone waited. After what felt like an eternity, the console pinged and Kivik breathed a sigh of relief. They had detected Ditanium. The tension began to melt away into excitement - they had found the Endeavour Five!
Only - it was strange. As the drones triangulated the shuttle’s position and honed in towards it, Kivik expanded the scanning parameters and it quickly became apparent that the shuttle was located far from the campsite - nearly 150 kilometers away - and that the rock surrounding what remained of the shuttle were the sedimentary deposits one would expect to find at the bottom of a seabed.
oO Something happened here… Something very strange. Oo
Rahman: Ensign Kivik, what's the condition of the shuttlepod based on your initial scans?
Kivik: It’s in rough shape, Captain… The shuttle appears to have crashed into an ocean, which has dried up or relocated since the incident. It’s accessible, but the wreckage has been degraded by the salt water. There’s a chance the computer systems may be intact, but we’d have to go down to the surface and examine them firsthand to know. If we do, we’ll need to be careful - I noticed some unusual energy readings on the surface that could be dangerous.
Rahman: Thorne, is the shuttlepod's structural integrity strong enough to withstand a tractor beam?
Thorne: Response
Rahman: All right, let's get a closer look. Ensign Reade, prepare to beam down with Ensign Kivik, Thorne, and myself-
Suddenly the Captain stopped, mid-sentence. Kivik turned in nir chair to see what had stopped the Captain - who seemed distracted, or perhaps in pain...
Wong: Response
Rahman: I'm sorry... I just...
There was another pause as the captain winced. When she opened her eyes again, they were glowing a dull blue.
Rahman: Excuse me, Ensign...
Captain Rahman stood up and walked over to the tactical station, a strange calmness in her movements. Kivik barely had time to register what was happening when the console behind nem pinged again. Ne turned to look at the screen and puzzled at the readings - the strange energy signature from the planet seemed to be extending upwards toward the shuttle, almost as if it were reaching for them...
Thorne: Response
Before ne knew what was happening, the Captain sat at Thorne’s console and fired a torpedo directly at the crash site.
oO What is the Captain doing?! If the shuttle is destroyed, we’ll never know what happened! Oo
Thorne: Response
Parker: Response
Reade: Response
Kivik: ::Unsure what else to say:: That torpedo will render the entire area investigatable. What remained of the shuttle will be gone...
Wong: Response
Just as the torpedo made impact with the shuttlepod, blasting it into dust, the captain collapsed to the deck.
((USS Baikal, Cockpit -- En route back to Star Station Esperance, the following day))
The crew had jumped to help the Captain, moving her to the Lounge so that Lieutenant Wong could care for her. Nobody was quite sure what had happened, though Kivik suspected something on the planet had motivated the Captain’s actions. While Wong tended to the Captain, Kivik sat at the Science console, digging through the limited results ne had collected in their brief time over the moon.
oO I wish we’d had more time… Oo The results were primarily surface-level scans, quick and simple. It was challenging to get a bearing on what they had found, if anything.
Anyone: Response
Kivik: ::Turning around:: Whatever it was, it was over in an instant. ::Rubbing nir eyes:: I’ve been looking at the data for hours and I don’t feel any closer to figuring it out.
Anyone: Response
Kivik: There was a strange energy surge on the planet moments before the Captain… took action... but I filtered it out of the scanners’ sensors in order to find the shuttle. I’m afraid there’s nothing more solid about the energy readings to go off of. I’m open to any suggestions or theories, though.
Anyone: Response
Kivik: It’s worth a shot - I’ll look into that. Perhaps I should take a rest, though. I don’t think staring at the data any harder will make it any clearer. ::Sighing:: Things certainly didn’t go how we expected…
Anyone: Response
Kivik: Still, I’m just glad we all made it. Whatever happened down there will remain a mystery. Maybe that’s for the best...
END
===
Ensign Kivik (ne/nem/nir)
Science Officer
USS Veritas
V239806K11
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