Episode 5
"Short Secrets of Ghosts"
STARDATE 2306.16
The Essex on patrol near the Klingon/Triangle border, receives a relayed distress call
from Starbase 11. The Regis Asteroid Research Facility has sent out an automated
distress call. The USS Flagstaff, an Anton class cruiser patrolling the area has not
responded to any hails. The Essex has been ordered to investigate. The USS Lexington, also
in the vicinity, has also been dispatched, though their arrival is yet several hours away.
Strangely, when Captain Curp ordered information on the Regis facility, the information
was deemed 'Top Secret', except for its location.
The Regis system is
a trinary star group, with six large gas giants. There are no planets in the system
capable of sustaining indigenous life. The whole system is surrounded by a massive cloud
of asteroids, and that is where the facility lies, buried deep in one of the larger
masses. Initial sensor scans of the area showed a faint energy reading. Carefully passing
through the asteroids, the Essex comes upon the wreckage of what turns out to be the USS
Flagstaff. The ship's remains drifts among the asteroids tumbling in a sort of grisly
ballet. It was obvious from the extent of the damage and the score marks on the larger
sections that the ship was attacked or possibly, though less likely, suffered from a
catastrophe. The largest section of the cruise that remained intact is the central
part of the main saucer section. Barlok's scans are unable to conclude whether there are
any survivors because of immediate radiation interference. Curp orders a landing party to
beam aboard to search for survivors. The landing party, donned in environmental suits,
found only the crew's remains floating amongst the damaged hulk. Internal scans indicated
that the hull of the vessel showed a change in its chemical composition, presumably from
an energy attack, though the type was unknown. Security Chief Leone and Engineer
McGillicutty, though unable to restart the ship's backup systems, suggested removing the
still intact sections of the ship's computer, in hopes that the Essex's science labs can
extract the Flagstaff's log and any other pieces of information that could explain its
demise.
Meanwhile, the Essex's sensors detected a slight change in the spacial integrity in the area. Curp quickly ordered the landing party to complete its core removal and return to the ship, in case the anomaly was potentially hostile to the ship. And not a moment too soon. Just as the landing party returned, an alien vessel appeared from within the asteroid belt and opened fire! The Essex managed the drive off the intruder after a couple of volleys, though no appreciable damage was done to either vessel. The enemy vessel slipped back into the asteroid field, and although the Essex gave pursuit, it could manage to find it-- as though it had vanished! The Essex remained in the area, but, the attacking vessel failed to return. Curp ordered the ship to continue to the research facility with a watchful eye in case the enemy vessel was still in the area. As the ship approached, the remnants of the facility grew on the viewscreen. A thin mist surrounded the 3 kilometer diameter asteroid, a residual dust cloud from whatever happened to the station that hasn't yet settled to the surface. The surface was freshly scored, with fresh craters prominent on its already pockmarked surface. Across the equator, a large fissure spewed a gas that disrupted the particulate atmosphere. Exterior evidence of a base: landing pad, airlock, and sensor array has been obliterated from the surface. Sensor scans of the interior were inconclusive at best, although, Barlok was fairly certain that the several sections of the interior were in flames and heavily damaged. He could not determine whether or not there were any survivors. Curp re-assembled a landing party and beamed them onto the main deck. The landing party beamed into the main corridor, a thick layer of smoke drifting along the ceiling. Sparks in the distance provided the only interior lighting, sparkling balls dancing along the dusty floor. As they proceeded, rubble from collapsed portions of the ceiling and walls blocked direct paths to the main laboratory. Cautiously, the landing party entered the main laboratory. Afire and heavily damaged, the landing party quickly searched the room for any survivors. Dr. Herronomous discovered several badly burned and broken bodies, presumably the chief researchers. Security Chief Leone, with the help of Engineer McGillicutty, began downloading essential files from what was left of the computer. In their search, Leone noticed that the computer had already been accessed recently, after the attack, possibly by the assailants. It was then that the Essex alerted the landing party had to evacuate immediately.
.
The Essex was surprised by the alien ship in orbit
around the asteroid! Sensors had detected a slight shift in the local space when the
vessel had appeared and fired! The initial shot had done minimal damage, allowing Curp
enough time to assemble his landing party and execute evasive maneuvers. The Essex
prepared for battle when the vessel faded from sight! Slowly, the Essex moved through the
asteroids when the vessel appeared again from the aft and opened fire! The ship rocked
from the impact, damage reports quickly coming from all parts of the ship. Helmsman
Flonaise returned fire, phasers raking amidship - a crippling hit! Then, a SECOND vessel
appeared, catching the Essex on a weakened shield! Damaged and outnumbered, the Essex's
crew found themselves in a dire situation! Moving a stronger shield toward their new
assailant, the Essex prepared for a new attack - when the Lexington moved into range!
Firing at the fresh attacker, the Lexington forced it to move off and vanish! The damaged
vessel soon followed suit. The odds balanced, the twin Constitution class vessels readied
themselves for another round. Sensor scans proved inconclusive, with the interference from
all the asteroids. The only thing to do was to wait. From the aft quarters of the
Lexington, the two ships simultaneously materialized and fired! The Lexington, trying to
evade, was struck severely in the aft. Sensor scans showed that the engineering
compartment was damaged and the Lexington was losing power. Curp ordered a Phaser volley
on the closest enemy vessel - the one as of yet undamaged. Phasers aand photon torpedoes
strafed and blew gashes into the ship, sending it crippled into the asteroid field! The
Lexington, damaged, was not quite finished- turning its fore toward the remaining enemy
ship, it let off its own volley of photon torpedoes, striking once again amidship! The
vessel managed to vanish once again. The Essex gave pursuit into the direction the ship
had taken. Barlok detected then an explosion from just outside the asteroid field,
possibly the vessel that had suffered considerable damage from the Essex's assault. Curp
ordered the ship to discontinue its search while returning to the Lexington, to assist in
any repairs. After stabilizing the Lexington, Curp ordered a continued search for the
missing alien vessel. After several hours of searching, Curp ordered the Essex to return
to the Regis Laboratory and the Lexington to complete cleanup operations.
Supplemental
Stardate 2306.17
Having defeated
the mysterious ships that destroyed the Regis laboratory, the Essex is ordered to return
to Starbase 11 for several days of R&R and await reassignment. The USS Lexington has
since been repaired and will join the Essex at Starbase 11. As the Essex cruises home,
data resulting from its investigation of the attack begins to accumulate. Analysis of the
wreckage from the USS Flagstaff shows a deterioration of its molecular structure caused
from an enveloping energy plasma. Currently, there is no known weapon equivalent in the
Starfleet archives. The cloaking ability of the ships has befuddled the ship's scientific
staff. Although the idea of total invisibility is not a new concept, the ability to hide
from modern sensor equipment, which incorporates several types of scanning techniques, is
a remarkable technological feat. The enemy ships themselves remain a mystery, however,
images from the attack on the Lexington shows a painted underbelly depicting a bird.
Library tapes indicate that Romulan ships were painted in such a fashion during the
Romulan conflict.
The scientists down in
the special studies lab, in a cooperative effort with the engineering staff, have been
able to reconstruct much of the central computer core of the USS Flagstaff. The central
computer core contained the captain's log, along with the logs of the command
staff, most of which remains
encrypted. Most notably was Captain Baldwin's last several log entries dated after
2306.15. In them, he accounts concluding testing of the "Photon X" torpedo and
its accompanying guidance system on a nearby cluster of asteroids. The extent of the tests
were evidently recorded in an earlier log, currently encrypted or possibly
destroyed. His last entry, dated 2306.16, tells of him ordering the Flagstaff off to
investigate DeBroglie spacial distortions in the area. This corresponds to the apparent
time of the ship's demise.
Stardate 2306.17
Capt. Curp
There was the
great weight of unpleasantness when you told McGillicutty of his father's disappearance.
The duties of command often toll heavily on the soul that way. He may wish to request time
to attend
to arrangements back home. Regulations
are pretty liberal in such matters, often times allowing as much as 2 months for a
grieving family member. Purely a discretionary matter left up to you and McGillicutty.
Reports from the
special studies lab continue to drift in to your office. A report that catches your
attention comes from Barlok; an update of the strange energy emissions created by the
other-dimensional creatures from the Tarsis Nebula. Although he had speculated this
earlier, mounting evidence has convinced him that the background radiation created by the
alien saucer as it entered our dimension matches the Essex equipment readings of the
output of Dr. Grenig's Hilbert Device. What this correlation means is unknown, however, he
requests permission to investigate the matter, including speaking with Dr. Grenig himself,
if at all possible.
As you approach
Starbase 11, communications officer Marsh informs you that a personal communication has
been sent to your personal terminal in your quarters. The visual message is from Carrie,
who sent it three days ago from her family's home on Mars. She greets you warmly and tells
you that she intends to stay home another couple of weeks to catch up with other family
members who also are coming in to visit. She's excited about a potential job as a
secretary for the Federation Consulate on Delta IV. She would also like to arrange a
rendezvous with you, preferably based on when your next leave is scheduled. Included with
the communiqué are pictures of Carrie with family members, including her childhood
pet, a golden retriever.
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Stardate 2306.17
Dr. Herronomous
On the journey
back to Starbase 11, you continue to investigate the reason behind the disappearing hand.
A thorough medical investigation revealed nothing unusual compared to the readings from
your last physical, which was just prior to the encounter within the Tarsis Nebula. There
is the slight chance that recent stress may have played a role in your perception of a
disappearing hand, but, you haven't been feeling fatigued or stressed as of late.
Fortunately, it hasn't recurred since.
Your research on
the alien mind control continues slowly in secret. It was apparent at the time that the
collars were constructed for the members of the crew who had limited or no psionic
capacity. This idea suggests that the collars broadcasts a signal that overrides the
individual's brain wave pattern, and presumably replaces it with an alien pattern. How the
collar manages to accomplish this feat remains a mystery. The actual design of the collars
is quite exotic, using
technologies that is quite beyond your
medical expertise. You feel certain, based on the number of fragments you managed to
conceal, that each collar was specifically tuned for each victim, meaning that no one
collar could work on two different people.
The bodies of the
aliens recovered from the planetoid were taken away before you really had enough time to
do a thorough autopsy. However, you did manage to record one hundred and two
separate molecular chains that are unfamiliar to Federation science. Starfleet hasn't
responded to any requests for an update on their investigation into the matter.
Your later
examination of the bodies of the scientists found within the Regis Asteroid Research
Facility confirms your initial findings, in that three had died by severe radiation burns
caused by the energy plasma the alien ship had used to attack the base, and the remaining
four had died from fallen rubble.
Stardate 2306.17
Chief Eng. McGillicutty
After the Essex
departs from the Regis system, Captain Curp calls you into his office. He seems very
pensive as he asks you to take a seat. He speaks softly as he tells you that it's his sad
duty to inform you that your father has been reported lost along with the rest the members
of the passengers and crew of the transport, SS Denihan, headed for Derigo. Apparently,
the Denihan encountered an unexpected ion storm and hasn't been heard from since.
Starfleet is continuing search
efforts, however, the likelihood of
finding survivors seems to be very slim. Curp extends you his heartfelt condolences
and tells you his willingness to help you during this time.
Returning to your
quarters, there are several messages waiting for you at your terminal. Two are crew roster
changes, one is a power consumption report, the last is an initial assessment of the
schematics of the experimental equipment Chen removed from the Regis Research Facility.
The report contends that the equipment is essentially a modified photon torpedo
targeting system with several unusual qualities. First, it has what appears to be subspace
transmission equipment built within, its exact purpose remains unknown. Secondly, this
equipment seems to have its own internal independent computer and data storage equipment,
unusual in of itself, more unusual of its immense storage capacity size. There was no data
to be downloaded from the equipment to determine what it might be used for. Lastly, the
equipment seems to be heavily shielded against radiation. The report has no functional
explanation for this.
Stardate 2306.17
Security Chief Leone
The days
returning to Starbase 11 has given Security Chief Leone a
chance to continue his personal
investigation of the Regis Laboratory
attack. After some fidgeting with the
tricorder copy of the remains of the lab's computer files, the chief decrypts some
technical and miscellaneous files concerning the "Photon X" torpedo that do not
appear in the Flagstaff log data. The files contain specific test results
spanning the last several months, an
actual diagram of the torpedo itself, and partial log entries made by the scientists
themselves.
The test results
show a increase in range nearly three times that of normal photon torpedoes. Surprisingly,
the torpedoes being tested were apparently unarmed, harmlessly striking the target
asteroids.
The diagram depicts
a torpedo that's considerably larger than the standard 1.5 meter anti-matter
containment housings that the Essex and her sister ships currently use. Weapon
design is not Leone's forté, although it's fairly obvious that this design has far more
shielding than one would expect for any torpedo. Also, he notes an array within the
housing that looks like a communication transmitter and receiver.
The partial logs
tell nothing of note, except recording the last moments before the attack. The final entry
depicts the scientist frantically trying to hail the Flagstaff when the orbital
bombardment began.
There are also
several lines of computer language script that don't appear to be any part of the existing
programs. Your encryption program isolated the code and saved it to a separate file. The
computer's virus detection program hasn't identified it, although if left functioning, the
program can attempt to determine what the source code was intended to do.-
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