What do the probes say

Posted on Thu May 30th, 2024 @ 9:11pm by Ensign Quinton Grey (Kosugi) & Captain David Hawkins & Lieutenant Commander Mel Torma

Mission: The Gamma Expanse
Location: Stellar cartography
2286 words - 4.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Stellar cartography, was always something that Quinton found very interesting and giving him the feeling of awe. A platform was in the center of the rounded room, with star systems being shown upon the viewscreens, giving the sense of having 360 degree view of space out beyond the hull of the Gladiator. Quin watched the interplay of the various elements out there. Different colors were representing the different elements that were inside the Nebula. Blue represents oxygen, red is sulfur, and green signals both nitrogen and hydrogen. Information was coming from the probes that had been sent out. "Okay I do wonder how well the probes will react to the different elements that are out there in the Nebula."

Mel watched the interplay of color and light as well, holding onto the edge of the command desk as if to halt herself from falling into the vastness of space. "It's quite a view." she commented with a pair of smiles. She was used to things here in the Federation, but their lack of soft carpet in places was still a confounding annoyance... but such an annoyance was nothing to worry about. "We can track how the probes react, and what causes them to fail first. If this were a Dalacari cruiser I'd suggest prepping the next batch of probes to bear that in mind, buuuuuuuuuuut make due with what we've got." she sounded like being on the Gladiator was akin to 'Roughing it' in the boonies of space.

"Oooo, look at that." she hunkered down one form to be at Quin's eye level, and motioned to a rather vibrant display of color, shifting and swirling in a gentle swirling mixture. "I'm so glad your eyes and mine can see colors in similar bands." she expressed.

"I wholly agree, such a spectacular view." Quin said with some reverence. "You know maybe another set of probes could possibly be prepared? Also its interesting to see through a doorway before stepping through the threshold. Who knows what will happen when we do go in there. Such possibliities for remarkable findings, don't you think?." Quin glancing over to Mel.

The probes continued their flight, swooping around to get readings, one picked up a planet with a strong gravitational pull, seeming to draw the probe nearer to it.

"Uh Mel, we maybe losing that probe here soon." Quin exclaimed, "Wonder if we can get pictures of where it may be going before the atmosphere eats it?"

"You're talking to THE advocate for playing it safe, you know." she chided, in jest, before she gave a pair of nods. "I'll prep the next salvo of probes. Hopefully these will last a little longer with a mild enamel laminate over the hull plate." she adjusted the composition of the probes to be fabricated.

"Oh I hope we can get pictures. Let's see." her other form said, calling up the visual data stream. What came back were images of a solid planet. A world. Plant life that had adjusted to the caustic environment, though very little in the way of visible animal life. Maybe some buzzing insects that had grown hardy in the environment, but nothing that people would enjoy enduring.

"You know, the only thing keeping it from being comfy is..."

"... the atmosphere. Oh and the air pressure. And air composition, which IS the atmosphere I guess." she giggled. "A nice place to study..."

"... but I don't think I want to live there."

"I wouldn't want to live there either, unless it was underground. "Quin responded as he looked for other details from the other probes. "I would rather prefer to be around something that supports life just a wee bit better."

"Oh I could never do underground living. Leave that to the Slate, or drone miners. Just not at the same time, the Slate don't like aggressive..."

"... mining tactics like that. There's paperwork involved and everything." she giggled, "So what's next on the scan? Hey, I'm gonna get something to drink, you want anything?"

"A drink would be lovely thank you." Quin responded as he went over the readings of the other probes, feeling somewhat sad at the loss of one. Even though it was just a probe, still it had been out there doing its job and it was a piece of the Gladiator.

A few more minutes passed by then Quin's eyes flared wide. "Holy moly, I think I found a signature of some sort and I think it is an impulse engine signature. Its being a little bit strange." another moment and a reading from another probe. "I found a more friendly atmospheric planet. I am getting some sort of signal there. I can't quite make it out. Another signal or signals? They seem to be all intermixed." giving a huff of frustration.

Working with a Dalacari could be crowding. One form went to retrieve three glasses of water, while her other form remained on hand to observe the results. Her wandering form returned with three glasses, one of which she handed to Quin, while the other two were divided amongst herself. "A signal? Hmm, pull up the audio spectrograph of the signal, and then have the computer remove the static and merge the signal into an audio signal. Might as well..."

"... try to think with our ears." she paused to give Quin the chance to do what was asked, and then there it was. It was messy and it was far from the clearest signal, but there was certainly an artificial quality to it. It was man made.

"I think we found our first place to investigate."

"And what would that be?" David Hawkins asked as he walked through the doors of the stellar cartography with a bottle of water.

Quin's eyes flared wide and his head whipped around when he heard a new voice make its voice known. "C-captain Hawkins?" shooting a glance over towards Mel then back to Hawkins, "Well you see sir we located some signals and there is a class M planet that is more suitable for humans to dwell upon..." his voice trailed off and he took the offered glass of water from Mel and took a healthy drink.

Mel turned with a start and let go of a held breath between her forms, "Captain! You nearly gave me half a heart attack!" her glance went from 'Oh sweet Dia!' to 'How dare you!' before she calmed down. "Okay so first, I'm out of drinks on hand. Help yourself." Dalacari hospitality, at the best she could offer.

"So, like Quin said, we've found some promising results. An M Class, or near-M, world. Why are they called M Class? Is it because when you see it you say..."

"... something like Mmmmmmm that's a nice planet?" she asked. "I mean, I know you all have a Y class, and I get that. Why? WHY?!" she continued. "We use numbers from..."

"... zero to ten, kinda on the one to ten scale, but zeroes are just dreadful." she continued, then remembered, "Oh, so yes. We found an M-Class, go plant a flag Captain. Though also we picked up..."

"... something artificial. Manufactured. Certainly something like a beacon or maybe a distress call. We're having trouble filtering it out from background scatter."

"Perhaps sir, you may be able to pick up something or notice something that we aren't noticing?" Quin suggested. "And then we have a direction to go from there." the ensign glancing at both Mel and Hawkins.


Captain Hawkins approached the central platform in the Stellar Cartography room, his gaze shifting between the various displays of color representing different elements in the nebula. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took in the vibrant hues, contemplating the implications of the readings.

"Interesting," he murmured to himself, his mind already racing with possibilities. He then turned his attention to the data displayed on the viewscreens, noting the trajectory of the probes and their findings.

As Quin and Mel briefed him on their discoveries, Hawkins listened intently, his brow furrowing in thought. The mention of an impulse engine signature and a potential distress signal piqued his interest. He took a sip of water, his gaze focused as he processed the information.

"An impulse engine signature within the nebula," Hawkins mused, his voice thoughtful. "That could indicate the presence of a ship, possibly stranded or in distress." He considered the implications, mentally mapping out possible scenarios.

"And a distress signal," he continued, his tone turning more serious. "If it's artificial and intermixed with background scatter, it could mean someone out there needs our help."

Hawkins glanced at the spectrograph display, trying to discern any patterns or anomalies in the signal. He then turned to Mel and Quin, nodding in acknowledgment of their efforts.

"Can you take a closer look at the signal and see if you can isolate any discernible patterns," he said, his voice determined. "And as for the M-Class planet... Seems like as good as any to start our investigation. We may have just found our next destination."

With a sense of purpose, Captain Hawkins began analyzing the distress signal, his mind focused on unraveling the mystery hidden within the swirling colors of the nebula. "That distress signal, I'm assuming we are going to have to get one of our probes or runabouts out there to get more of a connection?"

Quin looked Mel then back towards Hawkins. "From what I am seeing we may need to boost the signal, maybe even set up a buoy in order to strengthen the levels of the communication. Maybe both?" looking towards Mel for clarification.

"We can't," Hawkins replied as he jumped in. "That is why we sent out the majority of our shuttles, runabouts, and probes. We will just need to get closer by either the Gladiator or those already out there."

"Well you are the Captain and since you've sent out the shuttles and runabouts, that leaves the Gladiator to get a view as well. What's next on the agenda?" Quin giving a direct look at Hawkins.

There was a slight pause and David blinked before he slowly looked towards the ensign. "Seriously... sarcasm, Ensign?"

Hawkin's return remark gave Quin pause. What the heck did he say to the Captain? His words came to the forefront and Quin's eyes widened. Oh crud! "Sorry sir..." the wince rather evident.

"...Uh huh..." David replied as he shook his head before taking a deep breath. "Can't get good help these days."

"Well then we'll make it work as is." Mel interjected, almost putting herselves between the two. "We can network some of the probes and remote..."

"... shuttles to act as a signal amplifier. We'll have some updated results for you in fifteen minutes, twenty tops." a placating offer, but a serious one.

Quin was rather grateful for Mel coming to his rescue. However will that ease what he considered Hawkins giving him the evil eye.

David's expression softened slightly as he glanced at Mel, appreciating her quick intervention. "Thank you, Mel," he said, acknowledging her support. Then, he turned back to Quin, his gaze still stern but not as harsh. "Put away that stink eye, Ensign. Let's focus on getting those updates as quickly as possible." Despite his initial reaction, Hawkins understood that mistakes happened, and what mattered was how they moved forward to address them.

Quinton gave an audible gulp. He wasn't intending on causing a stink here, he wasn't certain as to what got into him. Could it be being in the nebula? "Once again... sorry sir." his voice having a squeak to it.

Mel turned so that each of the gentlemen here got their own personal Dalacari glancing their way. To Hawkins, she was straightforward and business, but with a soft smile. "Consider it done. You'll have those results soon." while the Mel facing Quin had a more sympathetic display on her features. "I'm certain the captain is just under a great deal of stress. Nothing personal."

Her responses were shorter than her usual long-winded, double sided replies. That was perhaps because at the moment, her attention was split. To someone like Quin, who might not have worked directly with the Dalacari before, this was just a simple display of looking both ways before crossing the rubicon.

To David, though, he saw the slightest signs. Splitting her attention so drastically like this was something she wasn't used to. Working on two screens, sure. Working on two consoles, absolutely. Holding two conversations, no.

Quin responded. "You are both right, Captain Hawkins and Commander Torma." He turned his gaze back to getting the necessary readings. He drew in a slight breath, wanting to just disappear for the moment. Still though, he had a job that was needing to be done.

David Hawkins folded his arms and leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Quin. "Oh, don't worry about it, Ensign," he said, his tone flat and dripping with sarcasm. "I mean, it's not like we're in the middle of a crucial mission where every second counts and professionalism is key. Feel free to let your mouth run wild."

He took a deep breath and turned around. "Please prepare this information for the briefing in the morning. We will go from there. And Ensign, if you don't mind. Please make sure to be at that briefing. I'll want you to brief what you have," the captain nodded to the two before stepping off. "Good work."
tag any y'all

Quin's eyes bulged out as he turned to watch Hawkins leave stellar cartography. "Wait what? Er y-yes sir. Thank you sir." the Captain wanted him in the morning briefing? This was going to be daunting, he will do that.