[snip]

As the probe left and over the next hour nothing much else happened other then the comet to come closer to the planet’s orbit in the next few hours more, the launched probe soon dropped from warp and began its survey as programmed of the nearby system. The system was quite small all things considered. Two planets were in evidence, one a small planetoid without any atmosphere not much more then a tiny 700 meter round hunk of rock mostly made up of low quality nickel, copper, and iron. The second further out planet was not much different coming in about 900 meters or so around. Again an airless dead planetoid consisting of mid-quality iron, nickel, copper and traces of uranium.

So it seemed at first glance nothing was amiss in the system, until rounding the far side of the G type star opposite in orbit from where both planetoids were they got their next surprise! A large dark grey toned alien structure held position about 10.8 km just barely outside the stars corona. It seemed like it was somehow siphoning off hydrogen, helium, and similar gases from the star using it as some kind of giant power source. The structure from base to its highest point was about 8km high and about 6 or so km wide. It was like a giant funnel with the pointed most end facing the G type star where swirls of gases entered, then rounded up to the top in a half dome. Which glowed a massive orange-red-blue colored patterned swirl. In a way it was like looking at the universe largest known ice cream cone made out of metal. The entire surface was almost entirely smooth, only a few small colored points like a the top indicating energy traversing up and down the structure. The energy levels were more or less off the charts for the probe to analyze. However, one thing its gravity sensors and subspace arrays could tell was the top of the massive structure seemed to form a small tunnel into subspace, and residual eddies in the system showed fading levels of gravitational effects like those they picked up just before the comet arrived. Looking at the age on the structure the probe’s analysis of the metals indicated somewhere around the 2-4 thousand years mark. Said metal was mostly made up of heavy titanium, duranium and high mixes of both and tritanium alloys. The last of which was only now slowly being worked into usable forms with Federation construction due to the difficulty of manufacture. Given the levels of radiation present near the star the probe was unable to tell if there was life on board the station.

Dariusz had been doing some calculations of his own while he waited for the probe to reach the far side of the system. A typical comet, like the one they could see, is about 10 km in size, but it is an odd shape rather than spherical. Assuming a density of 1 gm/cc, typical for water ice, then this comet would have a total mass of 5 Tonnes. In order to warp space-time, and to drive a comet faster than light, would require some enormous power. The terraforming of Mars, which Cara had just mentioned, was carried out by diverting comets already within the Sol System, rather than bringing them from other systems. Warp drive in starships required the annihilation of matter and antimatter in a fusion reaction mediated by Dilithium crystals. So, the energy readings that they were now receiving from the probe, that were ‘off the charts’ made sense, and the structure must be some kind of engine for creating this necessary power. A 2-4 thousand year-old structure, still in working order was very unusual, and whether or not there was any life aboard, it most likely was self-repairing to have continued working for that long. His mind was deep in calculations and numbers.

Cara, on the other hand, was simply held in awe of this ancient industrial artifact, and her mind instead reflected on the people and the society that might have built it, and what their purpose in doing so might have been. This was the very reason she had believed joining the crew of the USS Merrimack was the right career move. This was a new site that didn’t yet appear on the United Federation of Planets Committee for Industrial and Technical Archaeological Heritage Register. Cara could write scholarly articles on this site, and it could even gain her a position on the Committee itself. If she were to achieve a long academic career, then this is where it would begin.

Dariusz attempted to slingshot the probe to come back again and observe the artifact from the opposite direction.

Slingshotting the probe ar4ound the structure the readings on the opposite side confirmed much of what had been seen before. However, as it came around closer again, this time a thin green energy beam came from the structure near it. The probe indicated the beam was an active scan of some kind. After a second the beam of light from the mammoth structure ceased.

“Sir!” Dariusz told whoever had the conn now, “The Probe has been actively scanned from the structure!”

Cross had been on the bridge for some time, she avoided looking at the Captain’s chair, for the last time she had seen Joe he had been sitting there .Now the female doctor was both looking at the screen and listening attentively to what was being said ‘’So this is not just an ordinary comet, that beam is scanning something but what? Our ship or the planet down below ..if so for what ? ‘’ she asked, then remembered someone had said it was not the first time the comet had passed through the same route ‘’ If its scanning the planet then who ever send it would know that the Klingons left ‘’ .

At this point Cross wondered if she should contact the Captain, telling him it was not just any ordinary comet, not only was there a scanner on it but it had scanned their probe as well.

Dariusz almost jumped out of his own skin at the reply right behind him. He hadn’t realised that Doctor Cross was still on the Bridge and had thought she had left the Bridge about the same time as Joe Milligan. “The comet itself is very ordinary, Sir!” Dariusz explained. “However, it didn’t get here by itself. It was warped here from another system, probably by the structure we just saw on the video feed from the probe we sent. It’s that structure that scanned the probe, not that that means it is occupied by anyone. Everything could be automated, but it has been sending comets the same way at intervals since it was operational, and it’s thousands of years old. So, I think that’s the unusual thing!”

Joe had already informed the Captain of this, all except for the scan which had just happened now.

Cross had not been there all the time ,she came after finishing the Vulcan’s medical ‘’ My bad, I thought the structure you’re talking about is on the comet with the scanner attached to it and yes now it scanned our probe as well ,even if its thousands of years old could it be that it has just maybe been a couple of years that a scanner was attached to it? Could someone found the opportunity to use it knowing it would pass this way ? If so by whom and for what purpose? ‘’ she asked Dariusz and the rest of the crew present on the bridge.

Cross did not think for one second that anything organic was present on it.

“The structure is in the next system,” Dariusz replied, a little confused. “We just sent the probe into the next system to discover where the comet came from, and we found this… but I have no idea if the scanner is as old as the structure. I’d need to activate the scanner by passing by it again, or probably have to send another, in order to examine the type of scan more closely. Is that what we should do, Sir? As you know it took over an hour to get there, and we carry only 25 scientific probes, and have only a limited number left of those with warp capability? As for who and what? We are outside of known space here, on the edges of the territory claimed by the main races that we are aware of, but one thing that our exploration of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants has shown us is that we are not alone. We do know that the Tholians control a vast territory in the Beta Quadrant, and that there have been several visitors to Earth in history that we haven’t yet met out here, but I wouldn’t want to speculate as I would most likely be proved wrong.”

Cara spoke up, “Sir! If I might add? This structure is nothing like anything on record, and I’ve found that the Merrimack has additional, apparently secret, material that I haven’t come across anywhere else, neither in Starfleet, nor in The Vulcan Institute records. It doesn’t match anything in those either. But the several thousand-years age of the structure tends to suggest that it is automated, otherwise the inhabitants must be very long lived indeed. The reason for it sending comets? I did a search of comet diverting earlier. You were here, so you must have heard what I said then. Once again, I couldn’t find anything to determine who or why. I think we really need to take the Merrimack there to investigate any further. As Crewman Pokorski says, otherwise it is just speculation without any data to go on.”

At this point, the NE Communications Officer spoke up, “Sir! I could send a contact signal, and repeat it every five minutes? If you wish, I could try all known Klingon and Romulan frequencies as well as the more usual contact frequencies?”

• Bridge crew