Cmdr. Clifton / Shuttle mission away / tag: Gavin

[Steve Bruin]

   *** USS Odyssey / meeting ***

{} nipped & snipped {}

MacLaren: Weel, I'm open to suggestions on our next steps.

Clifton: Once we exit the ship, we will remain quite distant from the base and Odyssey, just in case this thing pulls some surprise move.

 Captain MacLaren: Make sure that the shuttle is checked and rechecked that this entity is not aboard....or somehow attached to the outside to follow. 

Clifton: Very good, just let Gavin know that I'll be in the shuttle bay.  I'll be leaving the ship within a few hours.

  :: Johanna watched Clifton depart with mixed feelings. She wanted to make headway in stopping whatever the Senator was up to; she was certain the woman was up to something. That something would not be good. At this point, however, the senator might not be the most unwanted passenger on board. She felt it in her bones that there was more to the death of her crewman than a robot malfunctioning.:: 

 Captain MacLaren.=^= Captain to Ambassador MacLaren, please come to my ready room. =^+ ::Turning to V'Lenn:: Ye had a good point about empaths; however, it is also a danger since they are more susceptible to a mental assault than others. We'll need to be verra cautious.  I must meet with Ambassador MacLaren, so I will leave it up to you to meet with other empaths and telepaths on board and give them all the details and cautions ye can.

V'Lenn: Certainly, Captain.  I will also coordinate with the Medical staff and Counselors as to any possible aberrant behavior involving any empath on board.

:Joanna returned to her ready room to find Gavin about to enter at the same time. She briefly told him what had happened.:

Gavin: I canna believe it is a coincidence with the senator on board.

Johanna: I share the concern, but we'll have to go ahead with you and Clifton trying to solve that problem while we look into the death of our crewman here. My major concern is that this entity, if there is one, could follow you and Clifton on the shuttle. It might have come on the shuttle as we returned from Avalon. There's no way to be sure.

Gavin: I'll be careful, Hannie. You need to be also. Get Colin to help. He's a strong telepath and he's got that analytical mind that makes him want to solve mysteries.

Johanna; smiling: Aye' he does that. He also cares deeply about life; he'll want to get justice for that pointless death.

:Gavin left and hurried to meet Clifton at the shuttlebay.::

Gavin: Weel, things have gotten even more interesting, aye? Have ye checked out the shuttle?

Clifton: I just finished, so far as I can tell there's nothing wrong and no unwanted passengers either corporeal or otherwise.

Gavin: Let me go in and see if I sense anything. Wait here while I do.

Clifton: By all means, go right ahead.

Gavin: returning: I dinna sense anything. So what's next?

Clifton: I guess we get going, and maintain communication silence.

   *** 2 hours later / inside the shuttle ***

:: Clifton had already moved the shuttle into a pre-arranged location and set about powering everything off.  He doubted that Gavin, seated next to him, knew what was going on so he felt it best to explain. ::

Clifton:  That planet that we're approaching, has quite a shifting magnetic pole.  I mean all planets do, to one extent or another, but this one is very active and that's just what we need.

Tag: Gavin

Clifton:  The shifting poles mean that the magnetic field is shifting rapidly, that means that if Senator Silva scans the area she won't detect our shuttle.  I've just shut off all our power and placed us un a polar orbit. 

::  Eyeing Gavin's rather uneasy gaze, Clifton felt he should add more, just to comfort the Ambassador if nothing else, ::                   

Clifton:  The constant movement of the Magnetic Pole is a direct consequence of the planet’s internal processes, primarily the geodynamo effect. This phenomenon originates deep below the crust, within the planet’s liquid outer core. This planet's  outer core is composed primarily of molten iron and nickel, which are electrically conductive materials in perpetual motion. As this superheated, fluid metal churns and flows due to convection and rotation, it generates powerful electrical currents. These currents create the planet’s vast geomagnetic field. The magnetic poles are merely the surface expressions of this complex, chaotic flow pattern within the core. Fluctuations in the speed and direction of the molten metal’s circulation cause the magnetic field lines to shift, leading to the wandering of the Magnetic Pole across a wide area.  With all that distortion, any ship scanning the planet will get about a hundred sensor ghosts ranging from small to huge, thus camouflaging our shuttle until we power back up.

:: A slight look of worry now crossed Clifton's face. ::

Clifton: Of course, there is one slight risk.

Tag: Gavin

Clifton: Well, as I said the magnetic field shifts quite a bit, if it should shift dramatically and get ahold of us before I can power our engines back up ....

Tag; Gavin

Clifton: Well, let's just say that I hope we both have our affairs in order.

:: The ship remained adrift for another hour, or so, then the silence was interrupted by a beeping noise.  Reaching beneath the console, Clifton eased a rather odd looking comm device into his lap.  The data that was displayed was quite understandable to Clifton, and he relayed it to Gavin immediately. ::

Clifton: This little item is a Suliban comm device, very difficult to detect by anyone, I had the Security Chief of the starbase contact me through it.  As it turned out our friend Silva just left the base in a shuttle, let's see if we can locate her.

Cmdr. Clifton

XO

USS Odyssey

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