ST:MAC103 | "Darkness & Disguise"

The MacAlpine has been tracking the signal, previously identified as the 'White Noise', on route to what is believed to be its home system. While they are travelling, Commander Orso heads her Captains warning about trusting her instincts, and while she wishes for peace, she prepares the ship and the crew for battle.

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Luna@falconecoose | Luna nods to Nimitz as the holos in "Captain, glad you could join us."

Alistair Nimitz@natthaan nods in greeting

Septah@annpc#5570 taps away on his console, closely monitoring any data the sensors are picking up.

Luna@falconecoose nods slightly "Stations how are we looking? We still on course with the ship? And do we have an eta on arrival?"

To Septah@annpc#5570: You would pick up the ship slowing down before it drops out of warp as it enters the system

Alyssa@crystyll taptaps her console, checking the latest tracking info

Septah@annpc#5570: "We've begun entering the system, Captain. Details on star type and composition of orbital bodies will soon follow."

To Alyssa@crystyll: You would pick up the ship they are following slowing down before it drops out of warp as it enters the orbit of one of the planets ahead of the MacAlpine

Alistair Nimitz@natthaan: "Copy that."

Alyssa@crystyll: "The target vessel is decelerating, Captain. Course trajectory plots as moving for a standard orbital approach to one of the planetary bodies."

Septah@annpc#5570 checks that planetary body for what the sensors can reveal about it.

To Septah@annpc#5570: Sensors would show a G Class star, orbited by two Earth-like planets, an ice planet, a gas giant and two dwarf planets on the edge of the system

Alistair Nimitz@natthaan nods off-screen for his ship to deploy escort fighters

To Septah@annpc#5570: Long range scans of the planet would show that the earth is inhabited due to the energy readings mainly focused around a single continent

Luna@falconecoose nods to the officers as they give their reports "Helm, bring us out of warp. Try and keep us shadowed in a stellar shadow for now."

Septah@annpc#5570: "The system consists of one G Class star with two Class M, one Class C and one Class J planet in orbit, along with two dwarf planets near the system's edge."

Septah@annpc#5570: "The planet the target is heading to possesses concentrated energy readings on one continent. A possible sign of civilisation there."

Luna@falconecoose nods at the updated stellar info "Helm, keep us behind the Class J then. Captain, I advise you to do the same for now, we don't know what we are going into."

Septah@annpc#5570: Any detectable dangers there, like unbreathable atmo, radiation, etc.?

Fiona@falconecoose FX | The MacAlpine drops out of warp behind the Gas giant, quickly ducking into the top edge of the asteroid belt around the Gas giant.

Alistair Nimitz@natthaan nods as he relays orders to his crew

To Septah@annpc#5570: Scans would show that large parts of the planet would show signs of heavy irradiation and a barely breathable atmosphere for the majority if not all Federation species

To Septah@annpc#5570: Though scans would also show energy readings throughout the irradiated zones

Luna@falconecoose: "Any thoughts on how to proceed then people? We can't knock on the door as we were not invited to follow the ship."

Alyssa@crystyll: "A class V probe, perhaps?" she offers, turning back to the centre

Luna@falconecoose nods slightly "That is a good idea, prepare one to be launched towards the planet the ship we were following is on a course with. Something doesn't sit right with me about this."

Alyssa@crystyll nods, chattering indistinctly over comms with the launch bay as the probe as readied

Alistair Nimitz@natthaan folds his arms as he waits

Alyssa@crystyll would report readiness to the Captain when confirmed

Luna@falconecoose glances over her shoulder towards Septah "How are the long-range planetary scans looking?"

Luna@falconecoose nods to the front "Launch the probe."

Alyssa@crystyll pushes the magic button "Probe away."

To Alyssa@crystyll: The probe's data would start feeding back to the console as it picks up several satellites and probes throughout the system, all on a trajectory away from the planet >

Septah@annpc#5570: "The planet is barely habitable. The majority of Federation species will find the atmosphere unbreathable, and I also see large swaths of radiation across the surface."

To Alyssa@crystyll: > as it gets closer to the planet it detects a space station in orbit, hidden from the MA initially by the shadow of the planet, about the size of Starbase 1 in TOS but still being built

Alyssa@crystyll: "Probe sensors are tracking multiple artificial satellites and probes all on trajectories leading away from the planet."

Luna@falconecoose nods slightly with a raised eyebrow "Sounds like a lovely place to call home...if it is that bad how have they survived for so long?"

Alistair Nimitz@natthaan: "They could have adapted."

Alyssa@crystyll: "There also appears to be a relatively small orbital facility in construction on the far side of the planet; approximately scaled too early Federation facilities like Starbase 1."

Septah@annpc#5570 nods, "If they are a native species, they would have evolved to deal with the climate."

Septah@annpc#5570: "If not...well, you may be surprised what scavengers and the truly desperate people of the universe are sometimes capable of..."

Alyssa@crystyll turns, "Perhaps they are in the process of adapting. If the radiation detected on the surface is the result of a more recent catastrophic event, they could be attempting to relocate away from there."

To Septah@annpc#5570: Deep scans through the radiation and the continent with all the primary energy signatures, would show a few vast dome-like structures all moving out from one central one

Luna@falconecoose: "Aye, they do seem desperate from what we have seen."

Septah@annpc#5570: "I am seeing some energy signatures within the irradiated zones as well. The continent where the signatures are concentrated seem to consist of a central dome with other sizable ones branching out -

Septah@annpc#5570: - from it. Given the similarity of these constructs to what we see in settlements on harsher planets, I suspect the inhabitants do not have the physiology to survive this environment naturally."

Septah@annpc#5570: "Of course, they could simply like building in domes. You never know when it comes to the aesthetics of foreign cultures."

To Alyssa@crystyll: The probes sensor would suddenly be flooded with a sensor signatures similar to what was on record from the subspace pings from before

Alyssa@crystyll: "Captain, the probe is receiving a large volume of sensor data. Patterns flag up as a match for the previously recorded subspace pings."

[11:05] Luna@falconecoose glances over her shoulder with a nod "That could be it..." glances over at the new info "Well then...there goes our stealth. Captain, what do you reckon we do? Time to knock on the door?"

[11:05] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan: "Pegasus is great for knocking."

[11:07] Luna@falconecoose nods slightly "Sounds like a plan then, Captain if you which to knock we can send you the sensor config to knock."

[11:07] Luna@falconecoose: wish*)

[11:09] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan nods "Let's get this show on the road, we are ready to receive."

[11:11] Luna@falconecoose nods to the ops officer "Right then, stand by to receive." who nods quickly before he turns and sends the sensor config over to the Pegasus for it to send a 'ping' towards the planet

[11:11] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan nods in thanks as he turns off to the side to give the order to send the ping.

[11:12] Luna@falconecoose: "Once you send the ping, we should receive two pings back from the planet which is them acknowledging the ping before they hail us. So Helm takes us up and out from behind the Gas Giant."

[11:13] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan The Pegasus sends the ping and waits

[11:14] Septah@annpc#5570: Too far/too many rads to see what lifeforms are on the surface, I presume?

[11:14] Fiona@falconecoose FX | The MacAlpine slowly rises out from within the asteroid belt before it moves out from behind the Gas giant when a moment later both the MacAlpine and the Pegasus get hit by two sensor pings

[11:15] To Septah@annpc#5570: Yeah, bar there is a lot with dense concentrations within the domes

[11:16] Fiona@falconecoose Comms | "Captains, we are receiving a hail from the planet."

[11:16] To Alistair Nimitz@natthaan: The Pegasus would be getting the same

[11:17] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan glances over "We are receiving as well."

[11:18] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan gives a hand signal to put it up on the screen

[11:18] Luna@falconecoose: "Right, let's keep running scans on the planet and system to see what we pick up. On screen."

[11:19] Septah@annpc#5570 focuses on the sensor data coming through, occasionally taking a glance at the viewscreen.

[11:19] Fiona@falconecoose FX | As the screen comes alive with the image being broadcast from the planet, they would see a feminine looking alien with light blue skin and long elf-like ears only partly covered by their long>

[11:19] Fiona@falconecoose > hair, they would also be wearing what would like a very formal attire. Behind them in the picture would be several people looking at something off-screen and above the speakers head, >

[11:19] Alyssa@crystyll continues to log the probe data, while curiously observing the figure on screen with a perked brow

[11:19] Fiona@falconecoose > while others would be running around between consoles, just visible over the speaker's shoulder would be a large black cylindrical object with blue lines crisscrossing across the surface of it, >

[11:20] Fiona@falconecoose > these lines would be gently pulsing with power. The speaker takes a moment looking at the screen before they speak.

[11:20] Va'ra@falconecoose | "I am Anisratar Sravina Va'ra Drios of the United Council of Lorkav, what do you want?"

[11:21] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan: "I am Captain Alistair Nimitz of the Federation starship Pegasus."

[11:23] Va'ra@falconecoose | The alien looks down at something in their hand, when the lines across the object suddenly glow a deep blue for a moment. "Ah, yes...I have heard of you. Again, what are you doing here?"

[11:25] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan glances to Luna

[11:26] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan: "We have been following a ship that has been travelling at low warp speeds, we tracked them here to this system."

[11:26] To Alyssa@crystyll: When the object on screen glowed for a moment a massive energy draw would have been detected from the central dome

[11:27] Va'ra@falconecoose | "Why are you following our ships? We have not violated any of your laws..."

[11:27] Alyssa@crystyll: "Captain, this may be of interest."

[11:28] Luna@falconecoose leaves Nimitz to continue his state of the art diplomacy while she moves over to the console

[11:28] Luna@falconecoose: "What is it?"

[11:29] Alyssa@crystyll shows her the data indicating the timing of massive energy draw to the glow change of the object on the screen

[11:29] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan: "We know, it just piqued our interest, we wanted to see if we could help at all, we saw it took a while to travel."

[11:30] Luna@falconecoose raises her eyebrows slightly while she is looking at the console "What exactly am I looking at here?"

[11:31] Alyssa@crystyll perks a brow, "I am... uncertain, however, the correlation between the energy draw and the visual change of the object on the screen is too accurate to be coincidental."

[11:32] Va'ra@falconecoose | "Ahh so we piqued your interest then...that is something. And we are all fine here." The alien glances down at something in their hand again when the object glows still for a moment >

[11:33] Va'ra@falconecoose | > "It has been surprisingly quiet from the MacAlpine, and Commander Luna Orso has it not..."

[11:33] Septah@annpc#5570 runs the visual record of the alien through the Federation database for any matches.

[11:34] To Alyssa@crystyll: With the new glow, the probe would have picked up another energy spike, but this one would have lasted longer and allowed the examination to get a complete reading on them

[11:34] To Alyssa@crystyll: The waveform of the energy signature would be almost identical to that a human brain wave

[11:34] Alyssa@crystyll watches as another energy spike is recorded in sync with the glow change

[11:35] To Septah@annpc#5570: There would be no record of this species bar a single file mentioning the system name that they used when the MA encountered the ship

[11:35] Luna@falconecoose glances up as her name is mentioned with a shrug to Nimitz "What? How did they?"

[11:35] Alyssa@crystyll: "Curious... Captain, I do believe the waveform of this energy spike is consistent with that of a humanoid brain wave."

[11:36] Septah@annpc#5570 glances to the front, "A telepathic...device of some description, perhaps?"

[11:36] Luna@falconecoose glances back at the console "Yeah...how and what?"

[11:37] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan: "The Commander is a busy woman."

[11:37] Septah@annpc#5570: "This species is completely unknown to us, Captain. The only record we have is the system name, which was recorded by us during our communication with their ship."

[11:38] Va'ra@falconecoose | The alien nods slightly "I can imagine especially since their Captain is dead..."

[11:38] Luna@falconecoose glances over to Septah "Keep looking, we need to find out anything we can about them as they seem to have us at a disadvantage..."

[11:39] Alyssa@crystyll looks to the viewscreen, then to Luna and back again

[11:39] Septah@annpc#5570 nods, "I will learn everything I can."

[11:39] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan slowly nods "Might I ask how you knew that?"

[11:40] Luna@falconecoose tenses at the mention of her captain being dead "How...if there were telepathic would they have the range..."

[11:41] Alyssa@crystyll: "It is not entirely unheard of, though extremely rare to my knowledge. I would surmise at this point that the species at large does not possess such a capacity, but the... 'device' you see perhaps +

[11:41] Alyssa@crystyll: + does"

[11:43] Va'ra@falconecoose | "I have my ways...Captain Nimitz. And if you want to know, why don't I offer you a formal invitation to meet with me in person."

[11:44] Septah@annpc#5570: "Technological telepathy is not unheard of. Sentient machines have been encountered with the ability, as well as devices that can transfer thoughts to otherwise non-telepathic beings."

[11:44] Luna@falconecoose nods slightly "That is a possibility...but even so..."

[11:45] Septah@annpc#5570: "I can't find any precedence of a device that would enable a non-telepath to possess telepathic abilities, but a...comm receiver for brainwaves as one might call it- not entirely unfeasible."

[11:45] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan nods "Very well, I accept."

[11:46] Luna@falconecoose frowns slightly "This gets odder and odder..." she turns to look at one of the officers watching the situation "Commander Mustang, you have the green light for your plan...Phalanx has it go."

[11:47] Fiona@falconecoose Mustang | "Aye Captain, they will be stepping off in a few moments."

[11:49] Va'ra@falconecoose | "Excellent Captain, due to the radiation across our world you will be unable to use your transporters. You can dock with our station and get a shuttle from there."

[11:50] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan: "I shall arrive soon."

[11:51] Va'ra@falconecoose | The alien smiles slightly while they look down at something again when the object pulses still "I will look forward to it then." with that they close the channel.

[11:51] Luna@falconecoose: "I don't like this one bit, Captain."

[11:52] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan: "I don't either..."

[11:53] Septah@annpc#5570: "That device may very well be able to extract more than trivial information from our minds. I would suggest caution."

[11:54] Luna@falconecoose: "That is a good point, start looking at ways we can block it if it is telepathy. Helm, set course for the station."

[11:54] Luna@falconecoose: "What do you recommend, then Captain going forward?"

[11:55] Alistair Nimitz@natthaan: "We go ahead with this meeting and don't die."

[11:56] Fiona@falconecoose FX | As the MacAlpine starts moving towards the station, one of its hanger bay open for a moment, the MacAlpine and Pegasus would pick up a brief Romulan power signal before it vanishes.

[11:56] Luna@falconecoose: "That sounds like a good plan indeed."