Probing for Answers (Part 1)

Posted on Sat Feb 1st, 2025 @ 7:38pm by Commander Zhaan D'Sai & Captain Rylan Gray & Lieutenant Tyler Malbrooke & Lieutenant Daegan Baas & Lieutenant Juliette Barnes & Lieutenant Patrick Ryan M.D. & Lieutenant Ayryn Trynn M.D. & Lieutenant Stormy Knight
Edited on on Sat Feb 1st, 2025 @ 7:40pm

2,113 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: A Silence of Friends
Location: Guran System, Guran III
Timeline: MD003 - 1330

[At the Beam Down Site]

"Come on," Zhaan said to the ship's counselor. As together, they headed down the wide boulevard that led into the city. It did seem as though the city were returning to a semblance of life though no actual life forms could be seen. Ball drones were moving around the city and lights were coming on. It made Zhaan think of staying in overnight lodgings. That moment when you first come into the room and see everything ready and waiting for you.

Walking alongside the commander, her tricorder taking continuous passive scans, Trynn was more interested in observing. The movements, the lights… all in virtual silence. As if a giant was slowly walking from a slumber. Somewhere, there was obviously power and one well concealed to escape detection.

“It feels cold,” she observed, “lights obviously coming on but it has that feeling of those old abandoned castles in Scotland. Fortunately I don’t believe in ghosts but it makes me think this is either some AI or someone really wants to create that impression. Watch how the lights activate, there is a pattern. A logic. Perhaps though it is just due to how the city was engineered?”

"Easy enough to automate," Zhaan said as they continued walking. "Same way the lights come on when you enter your quarters but on a much larger scale. Be interesting to get a look at the computers that run this place." They reached the main square. "Which way?"

Personally she was more interested in who created those computers in the first place. Clearly there had been a technologically advanced culture but that was clearly not the big picture. Opening her tricorder she studied it, “to the right… although….”

Pausing she adjusted the tricorder before holding it up towards their XO, “unless someone is in a shielded area, I can’t pick up everyone,” she pointed out as her eyes swept the area around them. Yet there was no clear danger.

[In the Factory]

Stormy was checking everything she could. The city was coming to life. Or, rather, it was preparing for something. Using her tricorder and the translation she had of the original message, she began to look for anything that would tell her what this facility was for. "Hello? Where did our friend go?" There was no response, but she figured it was worth a try.

Tyler barely saw where they were going, his eyes were glued to the tricorder. "I am scanning for the Lieutenant's molecular signature. If he is anywhere within scanning range we will find him. It is also possible to find him if he has not materialized. At the moment I am getting a slight reading from that direction." Tyler indicated an area that was in front and to their left.

Julie turned at once and pointed her tricorder in that direction. “Is it him, though?” she wondered aloud, bu began heading in that direction anyway.

Doc continued to follow the group. "I'm as baffled as anyone here. He was transported but where? I can't find signs of him on the planet so that means he must have been beamed off planet? Are there any other ships nearby? Or maybe something is blocking our range?"

"As far as I know, the Thunderbird didn't detect any ships in the area," Stormy said, turning to the doctor. "But it is possible that he's inside one of the buildings. There may be something in the construction or technology that's blocking our tricorders."

[On Board the USS Thunderbird]

"Do we have the archeological team on board," Rylan asked. "Scan the surface. Try to pinpoint areas of activity."

It was Ensign Wells' first time serving on the bridge as a security and tactical officer. Lieutenant Baas had assured him that he was up to it and had even gone as far as to assuage his worries. 'We are setting up an archeological site...what could happen?' Well, they lost contact with the away team that's what. On the Captain's order he scanned the surface. "Ca..Captain I'm not reading Lieutenant Baas' commbadge nor any Trill life signs." He swallowed nervously, "The rest of the away team is accounted for."

"Scan for gaps," Rylan said to the ensign, modulating his tone to be a bit gentler. "Areas where we can't read anything at all."

"Yes sir." He clenched his fists and took a breath to steady his nervousness over screwing up the scans before he even ran them. Scanning the surface, there were several areas that the sensors couldn't penetrate but what was detectable, other that what had already been reported, were increasing energy signature from within and under the city itself. "Sir, there are energy emissions coming within and under the city and they are increasing. There are also several areas that our scans won't penetrate."

"USS Thunderbird to Commander D'Sai," Rylan snapped and an answer came almost at once.

"D'Sai here, Captain," Zhaan answered. "Making my way into the city to meet up with the away team. We're getting better sensor readings now but there are areas that are still blocked off."

"Same here," Rylan said. "Our scans aren't picking up Lieutenant Baas but there are areas of the city that are impenetrable by scan. Investigate further but take no overly hostile action without my approval."

"Understood, Sir," Zhaan answered. "D'Sai out."

[At An Undisclosed Location]

"I understand," a disembodied voice said. Male certainly, strongly authoritative, in Federation Standard, the words taking on the varying inflections of those who had come down to the planet's surface. On the wall across from Daegan, a large display now appeared in an unknown language though it was easy enough to interpret since the center of the screen held a rotating humanoid figure and the side panels contained what appeared to be readings.

Looking around for the source of the voice he saw nothing. "That's good. My name is Daegan Baas. I serve on the starship orbiting the planet. Whoever you are, we mean you no harm."

"I am Striel," the voice said. "Preliminary scans are inconsistent with data accumulated on the population native to this world. You are an intruder."

It appeared that he had been taken alone but there was no way to be sure. He thought about asking about the others but decided it was better to let whoever was asking the questions do so until a more opportune time. "Nooo... We only recently arrived and from what we understood this planet was thought to be uninhabited until a group found the city we were examining. A team of archeologists were planning to study what they thought were ancient ruins."

"This city is fully operational," Striel answered. "There are no ruins." The data display shifted now showing the USS Thunderbird in geosynchronous orbit over the city in the center with no data in the side displays. "More data is required."

Daegan looked as the display shift to show reading of their ship in orbit. "That's our starship. We represent the United Federation of Planets. And I will provide any information I can. I have a question for you. How long has it been since your city was 'fully operational'?"

"This city is fully operational," Striel answered again. "Further data is unavailable." A secondary screen opened and on this one, a building was displayed; to the left, was an image of the ball drone and to the right, another drone with wings. Both had changing stats listed below. "Dispatching ..." The image of the USS Thunderbird was reduced, showing its position in orbit with a tracking line indicating several objects leaving the planet's surface, headed in the ship's direction. "Estimated arrival time, one hour."

[Back with the Away Team]

Zhaan, having received the information from the ship, took them out of the square traveling left and before long, arrived at the factory where the remainder of the away team was assembled. The factory, because that's what it appeared to be, was ramping up production; she noticed that the overhead lights were on and the displays were registering, something the drones wouldn't need since they were interfacing with the displays. "Interesting," she murmured as she gestured for the team to join her outside. "Report."

"Commander, I have a faint molecular signature from Lieutenant Baas. It is possible to follow the signal and learn where he is. However, in order to do that we would need to get the signal stronger." Tyler still scanned openly. Everything he saw was interesting and he wanted to gain as much information as he could.

"We believe our presence activated the city. At first we noticed the globes, but now the factory is making other devices. But we don't have any real answers yet, ma'am," Stormy added. "If we can find where the lieutenant was taken, we might learn more."

"We woke something up," Zhaan said quietly. "And now, it's responding. That's interesting. Lieutenant Malbrooke, work with Lieutenant Barnes and see what you can do to strengthen the signal. And notify me immediately once you have something."

“I might be able to ping the atmospheric scatter,” offered Julie, making an adjustment to her tricorder. “It’s a bit finicky, but it’s the best option I’ve got right now.”

"Doctor Ryan and Lieutenant Trynn, let's take a short walk. I want to see if we can find anything out about the people who lived on this world and what happened to them."

Doc nodded. "Lead the way."

“Sounds like a great idea,” Trynn agreed. And it helped that she was more than a little curious herself. And maybe more information would lead them to their missing officer.

Since Stormy hadn't been given any orders, she continued to scan everything, looking for changes since they first entered the city. They had definitely awakened something, and it was preparing for...what? She didn't like most of the possibilities.

[At An Undisclosed Location]

Daegan had a bad feeling whatever had been launched had been launched against the Thunderbird. There had to be a way to convince whatever was controlling this system that they were not a threat or that a large amount of time had past...but how. According to this Striel he had an hour. "Striel, we are not a threat to you or your city but you said yourself that you were missing information. Will you allow me to contact my ship?"

"Unable to verify," Striel said. "You are unauthorized. An intruder. Your statement is being recorded for transmission to the governing authorities."

"Striel, what governing authorities? All the data we have both before and after our arrival show no sentient life anywhere on the planet. The data on the tricorder, the scanning device you confiscated, will confirm this. At least for the general vicinity."

A ball drone moved toward the wall where a panel opened. Anchoring itself in place the drone extended so that it now appeared more roughly humanoid in appearance. One of its appendages connected to a port on the tricorder and, after a several seconds, a new panel appeared, this time showing the surface of the planet. Blue bars, at floor and ceiling level appeared, flashing in a regular pattern, as data from the tricorder was pulled into the Gurani network. "More data is required. Assessment of military capabilities of ship in orbit commencing."

"Striel, you didn't answer my question. Where are the governing authorities you spoke of, or any of the population of this city? You keep saying more data is required, What data do you require? Perhaps I can help you get that data."

More displays appeared around the room, a visual report to someone who no longer stood the watch in this place, this time of the Guran system as well as two of the neighboring systems, with pinpoints marked though no data streams were present. "Communications network is down. Sensor net is down. Beginning repairs. Intruder, what do you offer?"

Deagan was stuck now. He still didn't really know what this thing was; he assumed it was some kind of computer. He definitely didn't know what it needed, but he needed to get both sides talking. But how...? "We can learn from each other. He can give you what information we have on the time that has passed and you could teach us about your history." He paused. that was just another platitude, what he needed was a way to prove...anything, but how? "What if I can prove to to you that a vast amount of time has passed since you were last online?"

To Be Contined

 

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