[snip]

The first was that indeed the light pattern was some kind of signal, given the power output with each burst it was fair to say it was a long range communicator to where/when though was anyone’s guess. Also what it meant was equally a mystery and probably would always be so.

The second though was that the formula somehow dealt with FTL travel, indeed into the realm of subspace which worked in concert with warp travel to move ships and other things known to her. So with the first idea in mind she could further theorize that this long range communication was tunneling into subspace to go even further then normal so this meant whoever would receive it probably was not going to be getting it anytime soon nor show up anytime soon.

The third and probably most important though, was with this formula she could in theory create a counter formula pattern to cause interference or outright blocking of any further transmission to whoever was going to get this, the power to use it would have to come from their own warp reactor of course, and the ‘lighting’ would have to come from the ship’s nacelles, coupled with a carefully timed raising/lowering/fluctuating pattern of the ship’s warp bubble. In essence it would be like trying to run the ship at warp while staying still, starting and stopping it over and over. It would be risky of course, no one to her knowledge had ever attempted something like this, it was like over revving a conventional car motor in neutral to the red line to make the most noise and hoping you did not blow up the engine.

Of course if she or those on the ship did do this there was no telling how or what this might do to the massive diamond structure over the planet, at the least it would simply block the signal it was preparing to transmit, at worse it could in theory cause it to explode with unknown results to them or the planet below.

Finally there was one longer term idea gemerinating in the back of her mind, if this formula could be used as a means for making computers run at incredible states of processing on such simple hardware, not to mention produce such imaginational levels of power output, and use for FTL means of travel. It occurred to her that with further research who knows what limits it could produce for Earth’s Starfleet!

Checks on beam over were a bit mixed, in theory they could, however, the sheer amount of radiation inside it from the massive power core would simply fry anyone going over there, and even if they had say some kind of automated drone that too would have its circuits fried pretty quick. So in short no they couldn’t get inside.

GM CockRoach

Damien worked the panel, but more cautiously than he had done so. El chewed a nail and tapped the back of Damien’s chair with one finger while waiting. What was happening in the mess hall? Was Galen finding out anything? Her eyes stared at the image of the ship. In a lower quarter there was a grid scale image of it in a rough 3D turning to a new orientation every few seconds.

“Sorry El,” Damien said. “Computer says we could try it.” He turned in the chair to face her. It also happened to stop the tapping. “There is a reason there is no crew there. It’s just a big power plant. Radiation all through it. The hull is .. a wall to contain it all. We’d be fried if we tried to get in there. Heaven only knows how they are shielding their computer data banks in that.”

“So it’s a big impulse drive, huge power plant, and impressive mathematical light show that happened to start up right after that disruption field in space dropped,” El summarized.

“And big enough to put out power like the Cochranes,” Damien added.

El thought and stared at the mathematical symbols, her mind racing about and shifting equations and formulae. “That’ a formula. That means that math can be our ally and we could work something to neutralize that like Rosa said. That is going to be a mess. I think we have time. That .. what they are doing can’t be quick like say, you know, opening a wormhole in front of us or anything. This is more like that is the worm and it’s just digging the hole.” Shivers ran down her spine. This was so yummy. “If we can figure it out we’d almost have to match that though. I don’t know yet. Maybe the nacelles. We’d need to spike the engines. Maybe use a flickering warp field. You all are going to have do do some serious overtime.” And yet, there was even more. There was power in those formulas that .. if she could figure it out would mean a huge step ahead. But what? And how? First things first.

Rosa said dryly, “Like being up all night on gamma shift is not enough?”

“Bragging rights, Rosa,” El said. “Bragging rights.”

[o] Engineering to Bridge. The light show out there is based on a foundational mathematical formula not unlike warp theory. That is somehow projecting energy through a comms carrier - the lights - into subspace. To where I have no idea but they’re digging the hole, not opening it. Radiation in that is off the scale to hope to go over there but also means nothing we know is living there. [c]

El, Eng

OOC: Bumping and trimming!

GM CockRoach