"If Explaining The Unexplainable Was Easy There Would Not Be A Need For Scientists"
(Previous Post: "Combat Readiness")
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Stardate: 60324.2015
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Although the attack on the first of the Cardassian ships had begun, the attention of the Shillian scientist had been on the second of these ships and the interest it was clearly demonstrating towards the second SCARAB-Class ship that had entered this sector of space along with the USS ANUBIS. As far as the Cardassian had been concerned, this second ship which had ironically been made to display the name USS LOKI after the Norse god of trickery and 'Master of Deceit' had been in reality nothing more than three VIPER-Class interceptors around which a holographic image had been created. Alone this visual illusion would not have been sufficient to trick the sensors of the Cardassian GALOR-Class Destroyer, but in addition to a sophisticated sensor interference field along with the manipulation of various force field, the USS LOKI had appeared to be as real as any other ship.
Not at all being in her element during times of conflicts, the Chief Science officer had decided to maintain her focus on the three VIPERS and to offer their pilot, Lt. Cmdr. Enaii, any and all assistance that she might require. Knowing the Intelligence Operative as she did though, the Shillian woman doubted very much that any such request for help would ever be received by the ANUBIS, which left the Chief Science Officer to try and anticipate any possible need the single pilot and her co-pilot may encounter.
The sounds of battle filled the bridge of the USS ANUBIS but the Chief Science Officer continued to watch the progress of the VIPER squadron which had up to this point expertly manage to evade the attempts of the second Cardassian ship to engage in combat. Had the USS LOKI been equipped with the same type of weaponry as the model that it had been based upon, the battle would have been short, but Lt. Cmdr. Enaii knew that a direct confrontation would serve to only reveal the trickery that had been used to lure the second ship away from the main action.
For a brief moment, the thoughts of the Shillian scientist went back to the sub-space distortions that they had encountered before and how easily they the security and marine forces of the ANUBIS had dealt with the second attempt of those dimensional creatures from boarding the ship. The Chief Science Officer was certain that neither Ensign Doratheva nor First Lieutenant Pravat would have claimed that this had been easy, but given the drastic difference between the first and second outcomes, the head of the science department had been pleased with what she had helped to do. Now if only she could be as useful during the second phase as she had been during the first, maybe the scientist would not have felt so bad about her inability to do anything more than to nervously observe the action unfold.
The eyes of the Shillian woman suddenly opened to their largest as she watched the Cardassian destroyer engaged against the LOKI fire a volley of missiles that would either destroy any if not all three VIPERS or at the least allow those onboard the enemy ship to realise that something was not right with the ship they were engaged against. The Shillian tried to come up with a way to assist the Intelligence Liaison Officer by coming up with a way to divert or maybe even destroy the missiles before they reached their target. With only seconds to spare, the Chief Science Officer came up with and dismissed a variety of plans and ideas, all of which would have required far more time than was available.
When the scientist was faced with the reality of her inability to help she closed her eyes and hoped that the missiles would simply pass through the holographic image of the USS LOKI without impacting against any of the three VIPERS hiding within. After a few seconds, the scientist slowly reopened her eyes to find the second Federation and Cardassian ships exactly where they/ had been left moments before. A quick scan of the area revealed no traces of the missiles which had been launched, but what proved to be even more puzzling to the Chief Science Officer had been that according to the sensors of the ANUBIS, all three VIPERS had been there and intact.
At first the scientist had kept an eye on the tree VIPERS because she had found herself to be of little help with the conflict at hand, but now the Shillian woman had found something far more interesting to focus upon. With a quick glance at her instruments the head of the science department confirmed that the missiles had been launched and had been on target for the USS LOKI, but the lack of any explosions or residual element had created a mystery that the Chief Science Officer had become very interested with. If the USS LOKI, or more precisely the three VIPERS, had not destroyed the missiles before they had impacted, and if those same missiles had not come in contact with any of the ships or just flown right through, what had happened to them?
A few seconds ago the Shillian woman had been frantically searching for ways to stop these missiles, but now the scientist found herself searching with the same ferocity for an explanation to account for the unexplained vanishing of those same deadly weapons. The more the Chief Science Officer searched for a way to explain what had happened, the more the Shillian was faced with unanswered questions. In the end the scientist accepted the only possible explanation available to her: that the Intelligence Liaison Officer had used some never before seen trick that she had at her disposal in order to keep the illusion of the USS LOKI intact for a little while longer.
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Jessica Solarik { maya_992003@yahoo.com }
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
"To see the world in a grain of sand, 2005 post #304
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)
