" So Much Ice And So Little Time "
(Con'd from: " Final Approach ")
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Stardate: 60298.1410
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
It had not taken long for the monitors of the science workstation to become alive with information supplied by the powerful long-range sensors of the ANUBIS. The Scarab-Class ship had effortlessly moved closer to the two shuttles, remaining undetected by them to be able to extend the sensors to reach the planet that was to be their destination.
Although the Shillian scientist had done some preliminary research on that particular planet, the Chief Science Officer had not been prepared to witness first had the extend of the conditions on TOLAR IV. To described the sphere that hung in the vacuum of space as an 'ice world' would have been an understatement of the largest sort. The temperature at the poles had been indicated by the long-range sensors to be in the area of 70 degrees Celsius *below* the freezing point making it impossible for any sort of normal biological life to flourish there. Even in the equatorial regions the temperatures read to be well below what even the most thick-skinned humanoid would have considered to be acceptable making the planet a less than hospitable place to be on.
After having overcome the initial shock of having seen such startlingly low temperatures covering the entirety of the planet, the Shillian scientist changed the focus of her preliminary research to the weather patterns that dominated the surface of TOLAR IV. Aside from a few high-pressure zones that helped fuel storms with winds reaching in excess of 80 kilometres per hour, the Chief Science Officer had been pleased to see that the icy surface had been for the most part caressed by gentle chilly breezes that were causing a wind-chill factor of approximately minus three to minus eight degrees Celsius. The planet was by no means a welcoming paradise but the Shillian woman had easily brought to mind several other locations she had researched during her time at the ACADEMY and on the AVALON that had been perfect examples of worst hostile environments.
Confident that any away team going to the planet would be able to survive for more than a few minutes if equipped with the right material, the Chief Science Officer once again changed the focus of her research this time looking for the ruins that she knew would be somewhere on the planet. Due to the nearly constant winds and the presence of an impressive amount of snow and ice over the crust of the planet, the task of locating any type of structure using the long-range sensors had not been an easy one. It took the combined help of the Chief Engineer and Executive Officer to permit the scientist to discover something more than frozen water after several minutes of scrutinizing.
Buried under meters of ice, the Shillian scientist had been able to discover what appeared to be the remnants of an ancient civilization that the Chief Science Office could only guess dated back to several centuries if not more. With a closer inspection and analysis of the ruins there had been no way for the Shillian to be able to make an accurate estimate of the age of the structures, but needless to say that the scientist believed them to be old.
"Captain," the Chief Science Officer said, something having caught her interest.
"Yes?" The Commanding Officer asked in return, surprised by the silence that had come from the scientist. To have the Shillian be speechless for more than a few seconds at a time was something of an oddity and although by it self this had meant nothing Captain Simmons could not help but feel a little troubled by this unexpected reaction. "What is it Lieutenant?" The Captain asked, the prolonged silence having stretched beyond his willingness to wait.
"Sorry Captain, I thought that I had seen something on the planet surface but I must have been mistaken, I mean it is either that or the sensors picked up a momentary glitch and since Lieutenant Dawson has already assured me that the sensors were working at their highest effectiveness the error had to be mine to make," the Chief Science Officer replied in a single breath making it seem as if nothing had happened.
"Just for the fun of it," James said, turning his chair around to face the back of the bridge and the science station where the Shillian was working, "tell us what you *thought* you saw."
"Well sir," the scientist said hesitantly, "the sensors picked up a large metallic structure on the surface of TALOR IV, I mean I saw on my screen what appeared to be a large metallic structure resting on the surface of the planet, but the image was gone before it fully registered on my instruments leading me to believe that their might be something in the atmosphere of the planet or in orbit that caused some sort of interference that appeared to be like a large metallic structure."
The Captain glanced over to his Chief of Security who quickly lowered his gaze to his console. "I'll perform some tactical scans of the area, just in case," Lieutenant Seth said, not wanting to leave anything to chance given that they had a Hirogen tracker ship somewhere behind them. Caution and not taking anything for granted was the safest course of action at this time, and insuring that this metallic structure that the Chief Science Officer had seen was indeed only a glitch could save them a world of problems later on.
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Jessica Solarik { maya_992003@yahoo.com }
Lieutenant Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
