Posted by Lieutenant William Hampton (Chief Engineering Officer) in MPT- “Six Hours From Evil”- Cargo Bay 1

Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in MPT- “Six Hours From Evil”- Cargo Bay 1

Posted by Lazol (Chief Science Officer) in MPT- “Six Hours From Evil”- Cargo Bay 1
Posted by… suppressed (13) by the Post Ghost! 👻
OOC: any and all Science personal, this is your thread

The Cargo bay was filled with ruins from what appeared to be an ancient temple. Stones with hieroglyphs lay about the room, some were as large as a bulkhead, others could fit in the palm of a hand. The federation expedition that had found the ruins had noted that they theorized that each of the stones were actually rubble from a wall, and that all of the pieces used to fit together. However, they were unable to decipher the meaning. Leviathan had an extensive scientific database and a top of the line science and research department. It also helped that the science staff on Leviathan was alive, something that the research expedition team was not. Their body parts had found in pieces and had to be scrubbed off of the stones, and it had not been an easy or quick process. On a few of the larger stones, a few drops could still be found if examined carefully.

The Science Department had their orders, and they were simple, assemble the Hieroglyphs before arriving at Starbase 237, they had a week.

-StoryTeller S

OOC: Just bumping this for scientists or anyone who likes a good puzzle :)

OOC: Jumping in here. Love what I have read about your sim idea and the title is creepy —Ty

IC: Jessie stowed her long cane rows in a tight braid and placed her blue baseball cap with the words “SF Stingrayz” and a picture of a flying fish sprawled a crossed the brim. The hat of course, was turned backwards. None of her crewmates were probably aware that Jessie had played tackle for the San Francisco team while they were studying at the Academy nearby. Those were the days before Jessie had any idea she wanted to be on a Starfleet ship or study science. As she entered the cargo bay, she slipped on eye covering that she had replicated to look like silver mirrored coloured sunglasses. Giving her ever creeping red coveralls a tug, she slung the personal tractor emitter over her shoulder. The black box wasn’t heavy or cumbersome. She just liked the way her muscles flexed carrying it that way. Whistling a Klingon lullaby her mother sang to her as a child, she approached the mess covering the cargo bay deck. No wonder the Chief Science Officer had left this to the lowly crewman to straighten out. No doubt as soon as she had it up and cleaned, the CSO would be around to figure out the puzzle of what was written in stone. Literally.

First, she started with her PaDD and took pictures of all the stones as they laid and individually. As she carefully documented each piece, Jessie ate a gagh sandwich with her free hand, careful not to drop any of the worm juice on any of the stones. Once she had categized everything, Jessie went to the closest terminal and entered the pictures and asked the computer to assemble the labelled pieces into the correct order. Once that was completed, she would use the handheld tractor emitter and move the pieces into place. Though the part Klingong would have loved to move all the pieces by hand and show off her powerful upper body strength, she did not want to damage the pieces as some were fragile. Once the wall was back up, she could then run forensic tests to determine whose blood was on the stones that her nose was smelling, how the wall came apart and what was written on it. Jessie suspected the wall had been blown apart with some type of weapon, but would wait for the tests before being certain. As she finished off her sandwich, Jessie waited patiently for the computer to tell her how to put the wall back together.

Petty Officer Jessie Polizzi, Science

“I’m afraid the computer won’t be able to help you miss.” Hampton spoke up from behind the Klingon. He was wearing his standard starfleet uniform and was smiling. “It’s never seen glyphs like this before, so the database won’t be very helpful.” He snickered. “For such bold explorers starfleet sure is underprepared.” He gave Polizzi a grin. “Here.” The pieces began to glow, some were very dark, others shined brightly. “That should help.” He nodded and disappeared.

Mr. Hampton

As Polizzi continued to work on the puzzle, she would find her concentration broken by the clearly strained voice of the captain. =^=Crewman Polizzi, any luck with the artifacts yet?=^= he demanded, as if her work held the answer to the very question of life itself.

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Before Jessie could respond to the CE, he was gone, seemingly in mid air. She continued to stare at the empty spot the man had just previously taken and then evaporated from seconds earlier. The voice of the Captain aroused her from her fog filled brain and she shock her head from side to side dismissing the CE and his words. Pressing the comm link on the desk she answered gruffly (OOC I have no idea where to cross post to) =/\= No sir. Polizzi out =/\=

After her brief answer to the Levi’s commanding officer, Jessie turned her attention back to the computer screen. Giving the LCARS terminal and a thumb, her anger was rising. What the hell could be taking the computer so long to complete a simple task? All in had to do was give her the pattern to put the rocks back together. Sure, she could do it all manually herself, but that could take hours. It was after all, just a simple puzzle any ten year old human could figure out.

Polizzi, Sceince

The terminal shot back readings of temporal residue, which had apparently saturated the blocks. It was not wonder that the scientists were unable to construct the wall so easily. There were various images, which the computer could read, Polizzi would need to channel her inner artist if she wanted to assemble the pieces, an analysis of the images would be the only way.

Storyteller S

Jessie looked at the reading puzzles at the puzzle of answers the computer was giving back to her. It wouldn’t make any difference what was on the rocks. The computer still should be able to read the shapes and give her an outline of a schematic. Maybe the terminal was malfunctioning. Shrugging, she lifted her booted feet off the desk and left the cargo bay. Maybe the terminals in the science department would work better. Besides, there was always cages needing cleaned.

Polizzi, Science

As Polizzi made her retreat from the cargo bay, NE Copper had been heading towards it, his mechanical arm, expertly crafted by Dr. Kastil, glistening as it caught the overhead lighting.
“Oh…I was just on my way to give you a hand, Polizzi,” Copper commented to the quarter-Klingon. “It seems that my teenage years spent playing Tetris might have finally found their true purpose!”

With a hearty chuckle at his own joke, the NE entered the cargo bay and activated the portable tractor beam provided by Polizzi. Then with a flourish, he began to direct the beam around the room, picking up various pieces of the broken artifact and attempting to slot them back together in the correct configuration…

• NE Copper

Lazol was rapping his fingers on his desk while grumbling to himself impatiently. He shot up from his desk and tapped the intercom. “Polizzi, Cooper, why haven’t I been informed as to your progress yet?” The Ferengi was in a sour mood, he had been doing his best to turn the Leviathan into his own personal fiefdom, but that was going far slower than he’d like. He’d set up the “Slip Box” and started to bring an economy to the ship but he had yet to have his boots kissed or be given Oo-mox by his subordinates. Now that rankled him.

Rising from his desk he took out an ornate case from a drawer and opened it where inside was a depleting source of Hupyrian beetle snuff, yet another reason for his sour mood. He snorted the powder and held his breath as he suppressed the urge to sneeze and exhaled before heading down to see what was causing the delay.

Lazol, CSO

Copper’s face blanched and he almost dropped the section he’d been manipulating, the massive, heavy rock bobbing like a cork on the wave of the small tractor beam. He was yet to meet the new CSO in person, but he’d heard enough rumours to last him several lifetimes already. And he’d thought the ex-Borg, GLaDOS, had been terrifying enough!

=^= Ah, Copper here, Sir =^= he responded anxiously over the comms, his eyes silently pleading for Polizzi to return and save him from this Ferengi inquisition. =^= I apologise, Sir, but…well, the truth is that I don’t exactly have any progress to speak of yet. I mean, these blocks, they’re…well I don’t mind admitting it but, they give me the creeps. Sir. And not because of the weird writing, although that’s unsettling enough. But, Sir…I found a piece of an ear stuck to the left cornerstone. And what I think might be a tooth embedded into an archway! =^=

• NE Copper

Lazol heard the NE coming over the comms and he tapped his intercom on the desk and said, =/\= Ensign you’re bothered by an ear and a tooth? You realize that we deal with ancient artifacts and anomalies on a day to day basis that warp your perception of reality in ways that science struggles to describe, and you are bothered by an ear. Do I need you replaced Cooper? =/\=

=^= Yes, Sir. I fully realise that, Sir. =^= Copper replied, before adding at a reduced volume, =^= The fact that one of those anomalies took my arm makes it impossible to forget. =^=

=/\= And I’m sorry for that ensign but we have jobs to do and you now have two arms correct? =/\= Lazol said dismissively as he finished, =/\= Lazol out =/\=

He entered the turbolift and made his way towards the cargo bay as he pulled up the known data on the archway. The PADD blinked with ‘No Information Found’ as Lazol growled and swore in Ferengi before storming onto the scene.

Lazol, CSO

At Lazol’s arrival, Copper glanced over his shoulder and then hurriedly returned to his work, the tractor beam making seemingly effortless journeys of the various artifact pieces around the deck. At the settling of one final piece at the pinnacle of the configuration, Copper emitted a triumphant “Hah!” and then stood back to see what might be about to happen next…

“I think…that might be it, Sir?” he ventured, tentatively, in truth clueless as to whether he’d arranged the pieces in the correct pattern or not.

• NE Copper

As Lazol eyed the archway, he grumbled and said, “So we have an archway with a tooth and an ear. What have you found Polizzi?” Lazol barked as he took a tricorder from his waist and scanned the structure, the computer still not able to place the glyphs as he said. “Alright, fine, what do we know about this culture? Do we know anything about the society where this came from?”

Lazol, CSO

“Not a bloody thing. Sir,” Copper replied, despondently. “I don’t even know where these things came from. Only that a team was sent down to retrieve them and…well, that tooth and that ear is all that returned besides the pieces themselves.”

Lazol was unaware of who was on that team as he tapped the head band he was wearing behind his left ear where he had installed a transceiver that was programmed to the ship’s comm system. He wasn’t going to wear a starfleet badge after all and this was his work around. =/\= Medical. Send someone to cargo bay 1 immediately. And bring a tricorder =/\=

He began to move around the area, viewing the reconstructed artifact from different angles, as if one of them might offer even a sliver of an answer.
“I dunno, Sir,” the man sighed, his fleshy hand rubbing at the metal arm, as if with touch he could breath life back to it. “Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

• NE Copper

The pieces that had been assembled correctly were portraying an image, of what, the officers could not tell yet. Some of the stones were covered in blue paint, the head of what appeared to be a dragon had been formed as well by several of the stones pieced together.

Storyteller S

Lazol eyed the structure and tapped his foot impatiently as his mind started to loose it’s profit seeking edge and slip into a science minded outlook. “I’ve seen countless artifacts and antiquities in my dealings Cooper and most if not all cultures have a creature that looks like this but…” He trailed off as he was mentally trying to put the pieces together. “It almost looks incomplete, or that you have some in the wrong order.”

Lazol CSO