Posted by Gamemaster Wookius Furrius (GM) in Main Sim - LOST!

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Mikel Petrov (Chief Engineer) in Main Sim - LOST!

Posted by Lieutenant Jason McLeod (Intelligence Officer) in Main Sim - LOST!
Posted by… suppressed (19) by the Post Ghost! 👻
OOC: Fortunately my weekend extends into Monday with Thanksgiving … :) … and using a classic TOS show start method and usurping the Captain’s Log .. please use this as a jumping off point for gathering information and planning your actions.
IC:

Captain’s Log, Supplemental.

The Wolverine has been dispatched to a system called Myst, named after the gaseous proto clouds that surround the system and the star. The Myst system is home to seven worlds, three gas giants, two twin ice worlds, a rocky lump of a world that is more like a patchwork conglomerate of metal rich pieces, and the planet Myst. Home to currently no known intelligent species but having a unique eco-system under a layer of mist or fog that rises and lowers with the daylight, almost like a tide. Within these mists are ancient ruins that follow softer stone layers of the slopes of the mountainous landscape that is prevalent over the planet’s surface. This planet too holds a wealth of rare minerals and metals.

The Myst system is outside the Federation boundary and has had on and off claims on it set by the Federation, the Romulans and two other species - the Kien and the Wis. While it holds a wealth of minerals the dust proto clouds in the system do not react well to complex alloys and slowly break it down. Ships like the Wolverine are safe, however more permanent structures are not. Federation presence has been limited to survey vessels, archaeological and science teams. This is where we come in. A month ago the science and archaeological team that was on the planet failed to check in. A follow up ship, a small science surveyor, the Pythagoras, was dispatched and has not been heard from. The Wolverine is next to determine the fate of this ship and the first planetary team, headed by a Janine Carson, who is a cousin to my first officer, Commander Erin.

The situation is complicated by an on and off again war between the Kien and the Wis, neither having shown interest in joining the Federation. Data on each are limited and neither of their homeworlds have been visited by Federation diplomats. Both the Kien and the Wis claim the Myst system as theirs. Evidence from science teams suggests they have undertaken prospecting in the system, and, in one case a report of possible grave robbing of the alien crypts far down in the mists. Evidence also suggests that there have been land battles on Myst between the two parties, however, to date, Federation teams have been left alone.

We are approaching the Myst system now. Sensors have picked up the Pythagoras orbiting Myst, but with no life signs. We have also picked up Kien and Wis ship signatures inside the system, but farther out. It may be that they are playing cat and mouse with each other amongst the clouds, planets and planetoids dotting the outer system areas.

Wookiee

“Approaching Myst System now, Captain.” Commander Erin announced quietly. No sooner did he inform the CO that Bryson also spotted the Pythagoras. “Pythagoras insight, scanning the ship now.” The XO put the ship on the viewscreen as he began scanning the ship. Bryson couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to enter a known war zone, let alone with Federation allowing the science teams to do so.

“Reading zero life signs on the Pythagoras…” Bryson said aloud once the scans were complete.

Erin (XO)

Remy leaned forward in his seat, hoping the few added inches would give him a better view of the Federation ship.. Keeping his eyes focused on the Pythagoras he began barking off a serious of question.

“Does she show any damage?”

“Any signatures from the Kien an’ Wis vessels in the immediate area?”

“Are life support and engines still func-SHON-ine?”

Boudreaux (CO)

“Checking the scans for engine data now. I’m not seeing anything yet on the systems integrity that jumps out.” Mikel updated but it was more obvious conjecture as the scans were not completed yet. Call it his trained assumption.

Petrov CE

The engines, according to the knowing eye of the chief engineer would show the power on the Pythagoras was essentially on ‘stationkeeping’. Life support was at a level the computer would automatically place it in if there was nobody on board. Engine output looked to be programmed to maintain orbit and position.

There was no outward damage to the ship.

Alita took another look at her read outs and waved away the Ensign that came to relieve her, motioning him to run the phaser drills instead. She had decided to pull the ‘I’m the DH, this is my perogative’ card.

• Alita, MO/COS

“Kien and Wis ships are a bit further out, so I doubt their attention has been placed on us.” Commander Erin replied. The XO was hoping it would stay that way. They didn’t need any more obstacles than they were already facing. “Should I put together a team to head over there?” Bryson asked.

Erin
XO

Ion traces suggested that a Wis ship had passed by within the last two days. A larger concentration of ionic radiation from an impulse drive would suggest they had halted not far from the Pythagoras - yes within transporter range but not far enough to physically dock. Nor were there any weapons signature residues.
Wookiee

“Dat would be de plan, Mr. Erin. Let me know when you’ team is ready. Transport over an’ see if you can find out where de crew went. Access de ships logs, as well,” Remy replied.

Turning to the science station, the CO ordered, “Compare de bio signatures of de missing scientific team wit’ any life signs on de planet.”

Life signs did come up, however they were all alien in nature. Duncan would quickly note that the mist covering the planet hindered the sensors, diffusing any scans after a while. While they penetrated the upper layers, going farther down it lost signal. Similarly, a transporter beam would be hindered at depth. Computers showed that it would be safe at the upper levels but farther down, without enhancers, would not be safe.

There was one thing that sensors picked up and that was a power signature coming from power cells with a Federation fingerprint. Other scans made it out to be a kind of campsite. It was in the upper layers of the mist. It was within safe margins for the transporter, at least at this ‘tide’.

Switching his attention to the new Intel officer, Remy said, “Mr. McLeod, I wan’ to know everytine you can find on de Kein an’ de Wis. Are eider of dere ships big enough to house de whole crew of de Pythagoras?”

“Mr. Petrov, can we take de ship or a shuttle under de cloud cover wit’ out it affectine our systems?”

Boudreaus (CO)

Shuttles were capable of negotiating the planet and within the mist – and that came with a caveat – the prior scientific teams had not landed at depth but only in the upper levels.

Looking around the Bridge, Bryson spotted the few officers he’d need to take part in the away team. “Commanders Claire and Petrov, should be sufficient in joining me.” The XO stated. Of course, Bryson wanted to wait for the final reports to come in before deciding if they needed a shuttlecraft or transporter.

Erin (XO)

Jason gave the Captain a nod, along with a respectful, “Yes Sir.” He turned towards his console and brought up all the data the ship’s computer had on the Kein and the Wis. A few commands later and the data was transferred to his TriCorrder as well as the Captain’s own terminal, “Transfer completed, Sir.”

The Kein and the Wis were apparently from the same genetic source with similar physical make-up, being humanoid-ish and in no small way uninterested in the greater community in space. The Kein had vessels which were often shaped like a stubby legged table whose top was a squat pyramid. The Wis had only been seen with vessels almost flower like, having a central Ovule make up the bulk of the ship with the petals, a silver and purple sheen, emanating out from it. The ‘pistils’ of the ship emanated out from the ovule, perhaps sensory units.

Both were of a size that they could easily take on the 16 person crew of the Pythagoras.

OOC: What, specifically would you like to search for on them?

OOC: life signs of Federation member species, specifically that match the Pythagoras crew. Also, offensive and defensive capabilities.

The Kein, despite the bulky, armored hull scans were able to penetrate. There were logged 263 Kein crew aboard disseminated through the ship with a focus on their engineering area and another cluster in the core of the ship, each being about 100 each. Their ship was curiously fitted for propulsion with numerous impulse ports about it’s equator. Weapons, by their style, looked to have been purchased or garnered from Klingon technology, with disruptors and shielding with secondary ablative hull plating. In short, they were a flying tank. Technology wise, they were behind the current Klingon technology by at least a decade and hence not as advanced as the Wolverine. Scans showed no other life signs.

The Wis, however, were harder. Their central pistils looked to be both sensor units and emanating a kind of countermeasure frequency that thwarted much information coming from sensors. Life signs could be, on a rough scale, picked up, but it looked to hold a similar number of crew only more focused in the more compact ovule area. Computer models and historical scans, of which there were few, showed a powerful, if singular, central beam weapon forward firing. It was unsure if they had any other. Shields were more powerful, and looked to indicate they absorbed some of the incoming fire to be reflected back or repurposed for their own response.

Wookiee

He then turned his attention to the Excitative officer, “Sir, Claire and Petrov are a good selection for the away team. However, might I remind you the value of having a natural born languet by your side during such situations.” He paused a moment before giving his trademark ‘you know I’m right’ smile as he waited for the Commander to finally agree with him.

Lieutenant Jason McLeod

Mikel did not like the idea of going over but it would not be his first mission.

“Sir. The ship is on basic auto pilot. The computer put the ship on low power mode just like it should do if the crew is not on board. I am not sure if it was set to that or the computer went to a default mode.” He updated.

Alita called another officer to take her place and waited for everything else to be ready. McLeod’s comment merely made her shake her head. He was correct in voicing his opinion but he would leant, like everybody on the Wolverine learned, right now she didn’t feel like teaching him.

• Alita, MO/COS

Bryson could see why McLeod thought his skills would be useful on the away mission, but in the absence of life signs and the goal they were hoping to accomplish, the XO knew they’d be misusing a valuable resource.

” For now, It’ll just be Alita and Petrov joining me, Lieutenant.” Commander Erin said, turning to the Intel Officer, ” I think it would be best if you could try contacting the Kein and the Wis to see if there’s any information they could give us about the area that might be deemed useful.”

Erin (XO)

Jason gave a nod, “heard Sir,” he didn’t agree but respected his XO and fellow Wolverine family enough not to argue. Though in the back of his mind, he couldn’t help the ‘it’ll be your I told you over beers.’

He turned to his station preparing to send a message to the two waring factions. ‘Subspace communication Protocols,’ he thought and paused in his task. ‘Subspace communication network acts like a reflexive system,’ he thought for a moment then brought up the command codes for the Pythagoras. ‘Satellites make the backbone, but out here starships fill in where the satellites can’t,’ he pondered. He wanted to download the Subspace communication buffers. Even if there wasn’t any signals or communication traffic, the buffers might hold tag of a ship that passed by. It might help them uncover which ships were in the area during a snapshot of time.

“Hold that though for second. I wan’ to do some investiga-SHONS of our own before makine contact wit’ dem,” Remy interrupted.

“Sir,” he said turning back to the XO, “it’s a long shot, but there might be a way to tell which ships were here around the Pythagoras via its Subspace Protocols.” He waited for a moment then added, “all we need to do is remotely download their buffers,” he explained.

Lieutenant Jason McLeod (CIO)

“Give it a shot, Mr. McLeod,” Remy said to the Intel officer.

He gave a nod to the Captain and turned back to his station. The data on the Kein and the Wis were already starting to populate across his screens. He commanded the Pythagoras to download its Subspace Protocol buffers. Using his Star Fleet Intelligence Clearance Codes to avoid any issues with surface level removal of data, Jason wanted to make sure that he got all the information he was seeking.

Jason reviewed the data before him while he waited for the data to download from the Pythagoras. The Kein ships appeared like large bulky ships, but that would be a hasty conclusion. The numerous Impulse Ports told Jason that they were designed for speed and rapid changes in directions. The Wis ships were more advanced from their own culture while the Kein ships appeared to be leaps by necessity. It was a very curious mix of technology between the two factions.

‘Why would the Kein have Klingon technology,’ Jason thought as his mind started to go over the puzzle. ‘If both warring factions were technologically equals at the beginning of hostilities why switch to Klingon,’ he wondered.

Petrov CE

Wookiee

“Petty Officer Raab, prepare a shuttle and investigate dose Federa-SHON power signatures. Take someone from Medical wit’ you,” The CO paused for a moment, then added, “When you finish you’ task, Mr. McLeod, join dem on de shuttle.”

Lost in his own world he didn’t react to the Captain’s orders. His eyes danced over the data as it started to pop up on his screen.

“Looks like we’ve all received our orders,” Commander Erin announced to those around him. “My team, gear up, and head to the transporter room within the next 10 minutes.” Bryson relinquished his station and disappeared into the nearby turbolift. The XO wasn’t sure what they’d find when they beamed over, but hopefully the CE or COS would be able to uncover some clues.

Erin (XO)

Alita waved her replacement over and walked to the lift.

• Alita, MO/COS

With the data transfer completed, he opened up the packet.

(OOC: So here is what I am looking for. A) if a shuttle or shuttles left the ship, they would ping the system. The longer they remained pinged, would indicate how far they went. Maybe not give a direction, it would give a general distance. B) If other ships, even non-Federation ships approached, they too would be pinged by the Pythagoras. We might not be able to who they are, but we can have a clue about them. It won’t tell who they are, but will let us know that we found them, like a blood type in a murder investigation. C) If the non-Federation Subspace Communication System did get pinged by the Pythagoras, there is a chance that the signal type might have been logged by the Federation before, thus giving us a more defined which ship. Again, like a blood type with the added benefit of DNA. Does that make sense?)

OOC: Yep .. Gene

OOC: I’m a little behind here so just for narrative I will answer the shuttle/ship/beam question first.
IC:

“Captain obviously our ship can manage easiest in that atmosphere conditions but its a huge risk. We are too big to avoid detection of any kind and would be sitting in the open to those who are better adapted engineering wise to that environment. The shuttle is a better option but if detected much more vulnerable to attack and less capable of defending itself. Beaming is the safest option with the less exposure if we maintain the depth and not exceed it. Keeping in mind we wont be able to easily beam out if we penetrate deeper into the tidal mist.” Petrov answered.

He then moved toward the turbolife a little more than apprehensively.

Petrov CE

Finally taking the time to acknowledge the Captain’s instructions, “yes, Sir.” He said in a sharp and respectful tone. “The data packet from the Pythagoras has been transferred, just waiting on the computer to decipher the information,” he explained. “I have it set up to send to my tricorder as well as to Commander Erin,” Jason went on to say then added, “figured they would need the information more than I would.” He smiled playfully, “we wouldn’t want the XO to transport into a situation with only part of the information.”

(OOC-GM: can we please get an update on what is in the packet, if any?)

Tapping his comm-badge as he spoke, “Petty Officer Rabb,” then once the comm-badge was activated he continued as he rose from his chair, “Lieutenant Locksley, meet me in the shuttle bay. We are going on a bit of a walk about. Let’s make sure we bring appropriate survival gear. We might end up on our own for a bit.” He turned off his badge and turned back to the Captain.

“Sir, if you have nothing else for me,” he said. “I will take my people planet side and investigate that campsite.”

• Lieutenant Jason McLeod (CIO)