[snip]

It was only then that Glen remembered the item that had been thrust into his hands by the medical technician, just a few moments earlier. He opened his right hand and looked at it again. Some kind of computer circuit. Was it important? The injured man must have believed so, as he had been found still clutching on to it tightly. The computer chip was doing little good here in the Captain’s hand. It needed to be analysed and the contents determined before they could make use of the information hidden on it. It should have been taken immediately to a science lab.

“Lance,” the Captain said, “Please have this read and analysed. It could possibly be the key to all of this! I’m the Captain not a Chip Reading Machine!”

Based on the CO’s comment Lance was pretty sure his previous CO’s reports hadn’t arrived yet, he would have definitely been told not to make leadership decisions, especially if it involves shaving foam and balloons.

With the ship going to yellow alert he kept his head down and watched the sensors making sure the drain stayed at around 20%. He was also waiting for the ships scans to finish, so far so good they’d not highlighted anything bad.

Lance looked up as the captain spoke to him, he wasn’t used to people calling him by his first name, but took the chip ” Er… Sir.. I guess you’re not a cup reading machine, although it would be a great future evolution, I mean developing the ability to read tech just by I don’t know stroking it out shoving it in an orifice.....” Lance paused mentally checking himself as the wandering thoughts in his head attempted to escape. “Never mind Sir, I’ll see what I can get off it, hopefully it’s not too badly damaged” he said looking at the device, he’s tried it on the standard reader at the science station and if that failed he’d take it apart in the lab.

Lance tried to see if the device was comparable with Star Fleet systems

The data chip in question was your standard Starfleet data chip, as had been mentioned it came off the NE in sickbay who was the so far only survivor of the USS Trudograd, a medical rescue ship sent to locate the Risan signal they were also tracking when the Trudograd had also gone missing, hence why the Merrimack was now here. The chip could easily be inserted into one of the nearby data ports on a console here on the bridge to be read.

“It looks like it will be compatible with our systems; as long as it isn’t too damaged you should be able to quickly read it in a data port on your console,” Glen decided. “Let me know as soon as you have anything from it.”

Max continued to listen to what was going on the bridge. He also kept an eye on the hull polarization. He wanted to make sure nothing happened to the polarization. He wanted to know everything going on which is why he kept the comms open to the bridge. He wanted to be ready for anything and being able to listen is ideal.

As this was going on with Malone, Mullins and others could see that a few tinier fragments of metal and such were also emerging from the nearby cloud where the larger fragment of the nacelle had come from with their survivor. All matched compositions of a Starfleet vessel so were likely yet more bits and pieces of the Trudograd. Something clearly had destroyed the ship with almost all hands. The markings so far on the bits of hull metal showed likely the explosions had come from within the ship most likely, this was not a sure thing of course yet they needed much more fragments or large pieces to make a better judgement. So far none of the pieces were bigger then say their hands or such so likely no more survivors yet.

Also picked up though that someone from science could comment on was they were picking up a higher level of solar/spatial winds passing through the nebula currently causing the various gases and such to stir up a bit more. The result was a few sparks of electrical and plasma reactions off their port bow about 300 some meters away were seen, and while not a threat were like a slowly incoming storm on the horizon.

=/\= Lieutenant Mullins! Captain Glen here! I’m slightly concerned about the increasing number of lightning bolts flying about outside the viewscreen here, and the quite beautiful but deadly sparks off our port bow. Are you monitoring the intense conditions within this latest plasma storm heading in our direction, and based upon your forecast do you advise that we alter our present position? =/\=

Glen also asked the Communications Officer, NE Coals, who had been rather uncommunicative, “Have you managed to make any further progress on cleaning up the earlier degraded comm signals? And can you confirm that Comms are still open, and that you are still relaying everything that we’ve seen or found back to DS - K5 as we discussed earlier?”

Cross came back on the bridge ,the last time she was there everyone had been wondering what could have happened to the lost ship ,then she was called to sickbay about the Lt who had materialized in sickbay .

She heard the Captain contacting the CE and from what the CMO heard and saw it did not look seemly safe, no wonder Glen was concerned’’ Captain the patient is stable but still under an induced coma.’’ She kept her anxiety at bay but in reality wondered if the Merrimack fate would be similar to that of the Trudograd.

“So, we won’t get any answers from him?” Glen replied. “Let’s hope that the device holds some answers!”

“What information if anything was found in device?” Cross believed the answer to what destination awaited them would come out from it.

“Lt. Malone is still working on it,” Glen replied.

• Glen, CO