Lt. Hanson and crew soon learn that the buoy contains a bomb set to
go off in a few seconds. Canon calls for Red Alert, and Hanson,
Gabe, and Tanari have engineering cleared in case they are unable to
disarm it.
Ensign Lister informs the `bomb squad' that the red wire was
connected to a proximity sensor and advises against cutting it.
The crew realizes they must isolate the area and put of force fields
to shield the blast. Lt. Gabriel Pelgrims proved once again that he
is indeed a miracle-worker as he disarms the bomb, a bomb Gabe does
not think could be manufactured by the Gethi or Partans.
Ensign Meredith Tanari aided Gabriel in conducting research on the
Loten system after they successfully defused the bomb. Hanson went
to speak with the CO. Captain Canon proceeded to ream out his
officers until he found the underlying cause of the bomb incident.
Lister, Tanari, and Pelgrims explained themselves. As a result,
Canon decided to meet with the two sides in a neutral location - the
USS NIGHTINGALE.
Hanson and the others get ready for the meeting with the dignitaries
and don their dress whites. Ensign Lister, however, had duties to
perform. From his bridge station, he discovered an incoming missile
headed straight for the Gale. He raised the shields and took evasive
maneuvers in response. Hanson orders the next missile debris beamed
into a cargo bay for analysis.
Ensign Lister destroys one of the next incoming nuclear devices and
brings in the remains to a shuttle bay for Gabe to inspect.
Hanson gives over the command chair to Lt. Syllis and joins Captain
Canon and company in the shuttle bay. They soon find that the
missile is not nuclear in nature, but actually contains a dying
Bajoran Federation ambassador. They could not save her, so the Gale
crew gained a murder mystery on their hands. The Nightingale's XO
Dennis Hanson directed officer's Patton, Lister, and Tanari to begin
an investigation.
Hanson, Patton, Tanari, Pelgrims, and Lister meet later at a
busy `Swamp' to discuss their findings. At this time they are also
joined by Peligrims and Marcol Narai at their table. Post mortem
examination by lt. Patton shows that the Ambassadors body is
saturated with a unknown substance which is identified by ensign
Lister as being a Mineral Solvent used in Dilithium mining when
phaser bores are impractical to use.
The discovery of the Mineral Solvent leads to another hint to the
Ambassadors death. But will it be a useful one or is it just a blank?
As the discussion continues at the Swamp the dangers of the Mineral
Dissolvent comes to light. Patton, who was send to the colony Deadwood to
evacuate the colony, saw at first hand what the waste materials of the
dissolvent could do to humanoid live.
The greed of a mining conglomerate there turned a peaceful world in dead
trap were human live could only be sustained for 16 hours tops when
unprotected. Even so the conglomerate was only fined and some lower
functionaries were fired at the end.
The only thing positive out of the story was that the dissolvent was banned
by Federation Regulations.
Ensign Nim Lister who has a lot of experience with mining then explains that
the material is called Nadrixium and needs to be synthesized before use. And
could only be activated by a chemical called N-34. Both chemicals can only
be made in a controlled environment of a production facility/
This leads to the conclusion that there must be either shipments going to
the planet or a productions facility on site. But why do they need this
hazardous mining material? To find something in a hurry?
Ensign Lister offers to find out and so the discussion seems to be getting
to an end as a course of action seems to be found.
(
geocities.com/hwfnightingale)