The Investigation Begins

Posted on Sat 22nd Oct, 2016 @ 2:24pm by Colonel Horatio Drake & Commander Jasmine Collins-Keller & Commander Paul Graves PsyD

785 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Cloak & Dagger
Location: (USS Warspite) Deck 1: Briefing Room
Timeline: MD-02: 1440 Hours

Drake sat uncomfortably in the small briefing room on a chair that seemingly hadn't been replaced since the ship's original commissioning. The room itself was of a sickly brown colour and the left wall followed the curve of the Bridge, making the narrow room even less spacious. These ships brought a whole new meaning to the term utilitarian - even the smallest of modern ships, such as the Defiant Class, felt luxurious in comparison.

The five officers sat at the head of the table. Drake sat without coffee, the replicators seemed to be producing something that whilst coffee by name, was certainly not.

He took a deep breath and addressed Graves. "Lieutenant... how led is T'Vrek by his emotions? Would they allow him to supersede any orders he has been given?" The Romulan was old-school, to say the least, he was borne of a day where relationships between the Star Empire and the Federation were not so amicable and clearly still held hostile sentiments.

Paul thought about that before giving his answer. "I believe, while Commander T'Vrek is of a suspicious frame of mind, he is at least experienced enough and politically astute enough to not start a war over a freighter or two. But astute does not necessarily mean adroit, as can be observed by his handling of us. I suspect his feelings were easily discernible even to people who aren't empaths. He's not an actor--at least, he can't maintain an act for long. While that means he is more likely to be overtly temperamental than most, he is also likely to be more honest than most Romulans. I hope so, anyway. Much depends on what his advisors are like and whether he heeds their advice and can distinguish good advice from bad."

"I see." He turned his attention to Anthony.

"Lieutenant, do our scans of the area reveal anything that was not picked up on the original investigation by the Romulans?" He asked, inquisitively.

He nodded his head, "No sir. We're picking up even less than they did. However I've been reviewing their data and there is something unusual about some of the precious few scans the freighters managed to perform. Just in front of the forward bow, about fifty metres, there were minute quantum fractures in the electrodynamic field."

Drake blinked, science had never been his strong point... let alone quantum mechanics. However, if there was one thing he was taught in the Marines it was to never show you didn't understand.

"What could this be caused by?" He glanced at Graves, hoping he had the same grasp on this as he did... or rather didn't.

"I didn't know electrodynamic fields could fracture," Paul said.

Collins took over, "Well, as you know, quantum electrodynamics is another term for the relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics which describes how light and matter interact with each other. Obviously cloaked ships emit higher electrically charged particles so have to mask this with tetryon particles."

Drake sat in silence. Graves looked blandly at Lt. Collins. "There is a reason I went into psychology--because Engineering jargon makes my brain hurt."

"So, if there were fractures in the electrodynamic field... this could mean some sort of cloaking or shielding device being used without the use of tetryon particles to cover it up." She raised his eyebrow, as if coming to a simple conclusion... that everyone should have already come to.

"Meaning... that this ship could, in fact, be masquerading as an Intrepid Class after all..." Drake felt like he was the cat who got the cream.

He nodded and turned his attention to the only officer at the table who looked younger than he did. "Lieutenant Hizik, who would benefit from causing diplomatic unrest between the Federation and Romulan Empire?" The question, posed ten years ago, would have been a simple one to answer. Now... it wasn't so straight forward.

"I wouldn't say any main faction would have any reason to cause issues between us and the Romulans... if it wasn't for the advanced technology clearly being used, I would suggest a smaller faction of militia or other zealots... there are plenty to choose from, but none would have the ability to back something of this size." His reply came with a smooth and quiet voice.

Drake nodded, deep in thought.

"I know these fluctuations are small, but at what range can we scan for them?" He turned, once again, to the Strategic Operations Officer.

"I would say about half the range of normal long range sensors scans... say five light years, at a stretch."

"Very good, begin scanning for them immediately... let's see if we can't get a trail to follow." Drake smiled, the game was afoot!

 

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