Space Trip - Star Trek PbtA

Game Master MCKhaos

This is the gameplay thread for Space Trip.

Lt. Gerhard stands motionless at a table on the side of the small arms practice range, his hands resting by his sides. He takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he closes his eyes. A timer sounds and Gerhand's hands move to the table though his eyes remain shut. Quickly and methodically, he rapidly disassembles the TR-116. Without looking, Gerhard releases the magazine, opens the bolt to verify the chamber is clear, and spins the thumb selector to release the bolt carrier assembly. Setting the assembly beside the magazine, he removes the barrel and targetting systems. The TR-116 is quickly reduced to its component parts as Gerhand's hands move, placing each part on the table. Just as quickly, the components are brought back together. With a snap, Gerhard cycles the action, releasing the bolt to close the chamber and slaps the timer. He opens his eyes to see the timer flashing :27.44. Damn it. I've got to stop fumbling with the extractor. Alright ... again. Gerhard clears the time and begins to slow his breathing again.

Inhale. 1,2,3,4,5. Exhale. Inhale. 1,2,3,4,5. Exhale.

Col. Verelon sits in his chamber, legs folded, still wearing his slumber garments. He does his morning breathing exercises daily, to settle his ever-excited nerves. War treats no one fairly, and Verelon was no exception.

C'mon man, just get through the meditations. You've got to keep your calm. The crew will have no use for Andorian engineer at his wits end!

He gets up and begins to don his Starfleet uniform and perform his daily grooming. He combs his mustache, and polymers his hair up into a tall and wild shock. He looks in the mirror and catches a glimpse of the brave and foolhardy young recruit he once was.

After a brief moment, he sighs, and then puts on the jovial countenance he has become known for. It's great to be part of a new crew, and travel in a solid vessel. As he makes his way to engineering, he greets the crew politely and warmly. Today seemed to the Colonel, like it would be a great day.

Lt. Cdr. Kol is up early, nursing a raktajino while putting off the reports she needed to process. Kol always preferred lighter reading while waking up, and she had a whole stack of classic Romulan novels she'd rather be reading. I hope to get more details on the mission, she thought. It's a little odd to be kept in the dark, even if I am the new transfer. She sighed and moved on. Starfleet surely had its reasons for transferring her, however obscure they might seem.

First impressions are important, and she wanted to make sure she had any needed briefings before the day's meeting with the crew. She felt confident about making friends on a new ship; it might just take time and a few away missions...

Draining her cup, she put it back in the replicator for disposal. She walked past the viewport with the sweeping expanse of stars and headed for the door. Let's see what's out there, she thought.

I wonder what the captain is doing? Maybe that'd be her first stop.

Captain's Log Stardate 53001. I have been named the permanent Captain of the USS Defiant, the second ship to hold this designation. With the end of the Dominion War, Starfleet Command is eager to explore the Gamma Quadrant, but is war weary and wary. The Defiant has been assigned to pass through the wormhole and make first contact with the species of the Gamma Quadrant. We will have limited support, but I have hand selected this crew, and am confident in our ability. I am pleased that the engineers were able to retrofit the USS Defiant to include an adequate holodeck, so that I will not need to interrupt my morning maintenance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The camera zooms in on the USS Defiant entering the wormhole. The camera cuts to a scene of Tork in the holodeck, firing rounds down range. We see Verelon moving through the hallways, greeting crewmembers. We see Kol finish her raktajino and move out into the hallway with great purpose. We see Hock at the helm, clearly a bit nervous traversing the wormhole. Finally, the camera sticks with Captain Worf, sitting in his ready room reading reports. He sighs and reaches up to his combadge. This is the captain. Senior Officers report to the briefing room.

He means you. What do you do? It is a small ship, you likely see each other in the halls before reaching the briefing room. How does that interaction play out?

Shortly after conducting his first round of routine checks on the engine and warp nicelle functionality, Verelon hears Captain Worf's announcement overhead. He didn't even give me enough time for a proper check of the ship's weapons and cloaking device! He knows I needed until at least 53001.3!

With that, Verelon tweaked the power gauges just before making his way toward the briefing room. As he passed the small arms practice range, he hear the familiar sounds of a TR-116 being fired off in swift and deliberate intervals. A quick deduction would put the pistol in the hands of Tork Gerhard, who has most likely missed or ignored Worf's announcement.

Upon entering, he noticed impressive groupings on the targets found across the range. As Gerhard takes a brief moment to sit and rest, Verelon approaches him with a warm smile; his arms crossed behind his back.

Lieutenant! It is always a pleasure to watch you shoot. Personal security is of the utmost importance... It appears the Captain has summoned us to the briefing room. I suggest we go, and promtly. It is safer to navigate a class 4 asteroid field than to keep a Klingon waiting.

Kol made a mental tally mark in her favor when she heard Worf's message. A good first officer learns from a captain as well as works with them, and anticipating his routine and methods would make for a good assignment.

She stopped by Engineering to collect the Colonel, but a gold-suited ensign wordlessly pointed towards the helm. It wouldn't do to be later than the Andorian! She picked up the pace, walking purposefully past other fellow crew (she exchanged a smile and a nod to her Vulcan friend, T'Sopek, but shrugged off the inevitable longer conversation) before hearing the tell-tale tones of Verelon coming from the small arms range.

Kol steps into the room, approvingly counting the groupings on the targets. A battlefield memory bubbled up from one of the symbiont's previous hosts, and she took a breath to clear the intense images.

She tilted her head and gestured at the weapons rack. "Nicely done, Gerhard. We'll have to have a competition some time, yes? Or perhaps a session in the holodeck would be more interesting. After the mission, of course." She did love all the exotic options from history in the library.

Kol pointedly checked the time, and looked at the Colonel with a characteristically enigmatic Trill smile.

Aye aye, sir. Gerhard responds crisply to the Colonel. After you, sir.

Gerhard quickly stows the rifle and walks briskly from the range after Col. Verelon.

He nods to Kol, Thank you; I'd enjoy that.

"Gibs" slowly uncrossed his feet and pulled them down from off the table in front of him. So far his attempts to remove the strange residue from the coin Verelon had given him had proved surprisingly ineffective.

This is ridiculous, I'd rather be stuck scrubbing the floors after a case of Grazerite Flu than spend any more time on this.

Putting the phase coil resonator in his pocket, Ernest stood up and walked out of his quarters, only to bump right into Kol as she stepped briskly down the corridor.

Why pardon me, ma'am. I was not expecting to encounter such a force of nature right outside my door and got pulled right in. Please, lead the way.

Oh and Verelon, do you happen to have a phase modulator I could borrow? This resonator didn't do much more than cause this resin or whatever goop this is to smear around a bit and make a bigger mess.

Gibs flipped the coin into the air for emphasis, then handed it back to Verelon and turned to follow Kol.

The Captain looks up from a data pad as the bridge crew arrive at the briefing room.

At ease.

He looks around the room. The Federation has limited star chats of this quadrant, primarily those collected by the Defiant's former crew and by a few Ferengi expeditions. He emphasizes the word "Ferengi."

We know little of this area, but I trust you have completed your reports. . He looks at each of you expectantly.

Tork, what is the most tactically significant race in the current sector. Tell us a bit about them.

Kol, what local spatial hazards might threaten the ship?

Gibson, what particular aspect of the mission objective or purpose troubles you?

Verelon, what issue with the Defiant troubles you?

BTW, I added a link to a nifty technobabble generator under the Worf and Starship Command aliases.

Kol had rewarded Gibson with a relaxed, cocky grin at the flattery. Going to have to keep an eye on that one, she thought. Maybe both eyes. She wiped it off her face moments before entering the briefing room, sliding into a chair near Worf.

When it was her turn, she called up some reports on her PADD and sent it to the main display.

"Captain, sensors are showing several layers of what appears to be possibly artificially induced inversion fields along our course. The inversion energy fields will block subspace communications and short-range sensors, but that's not a direct threat- just we'll be flying blind at times." Kol indicated some of the possible ways to minimize interaction with the fields. She left the question of who could generate such fields unasked and unanswered.

A more serious look crossed her face as Kol brought up the next series of scans. "More worrisome is clear signs of a graviton ellipse in the sector. As you know, these ellipses are attracted to electromagnetic fields, such as those generated by stars or even the Defiant's normal systems. Gravimetric impulses emitted by such an anomaly measure in the millions of terajoules of energy. They are inherently stressful and damaging to any ship or even small planetoids. Very dangerous."

She folded her hands in a classic Kol steeple and addressed everyone. "My recommendation at this point is to launch probes to cover any blind spots by the inversion fields and to have double crew duty on both long- and short-range sensors. Maybe we'll see who, if anyone, is generating those fields. Plus we should be able to anticipate the movement of the graviton ellipse."

The Colonel stands with his arms folded behind his back. He nods as Kol speaks, in acknowledgement of her suggestion, but an uneasy look spreads across his face.

Unfortunately, the forward sensor array is functioning sub-optimally, at about 24% capacity. I've been working to enhance its photon feed, but it's suffering from unprecedented energy loss.This is far from the ideal time to be taking the Defiant II into a potential graviton ellipse! Plus, it looks like I'm working woth engines from stardate 52000. I simply don't think we are prepared for this.

The Defiant now has the Minor Condition: Sensors Damaged.

Sir, based solely on existing information ... Tork scowls slightly ... from the Ferengi ... this sector is nominally controlled by the Wadi, a humanoid species fond of gambling. We have received some reports of unknown, likely military, activities; while the top hats in the Diplomatic Corps are dismissive, I'm inclined to suspect the presence of the Dominion. I've been unable to verify those suspicions at this time as ... Tork paused apprehensively. ... sensor operations have been prioritized for other matters ... appropriately so, given the Commander's report. Tork finished, hurriedly.

Anytime you are talking about first contact with new species, it opens up the door to a number of risks to our crew, most of them unknowns. My primary concern is preventing cross contamination so that we don't unknowingly contract a disease while shaking hands with our new friends. The last thing we need is to ruin our fragile new peace with a chance case of Auroral Plague. We'll want to play it by the book when it comes to standard medical scanning procedures for all away teams, both prior to leaving and upon return to the ship. Now, I know that no matter how careful we are, we're going to come across something we've never dealt with before. That's just the nature of exploration. We have a right smart crew on board, and I trust we can fly by the seat of our pants when needed.

Verelon rolls his eyes and opens up his posture.

The Dominion you say?! Unknown diseases you say!? My my, there's nothing sweet and easy about this voyage now is there? I suppose flying by our pants... seat... The Colonel glances at Gibson to confirm his understanding of the context will become not an occasional necessity, but our Modus Operandi!

He laughs aloud briefly.

Ah well, if things were continuously perfect, we wouldn't need Starfleet's best and brightest on this ship then, would we?

He smirks half-heartedly.

Worf nods as he listens to each report, visibly sneering when Tork mentions the Ferengi.

Our first task from Starfleet Command is to establish proper diplomatic relations with the Jaradi. The Ferengi have already poisoned relations with the Wadi. It will not do to have the Ferengi best us to the Jaradi. We are to rendezvous with a diplomatic shuttle on the outskirts of their system. The Jaradi are highly distrustful of outsiders and protective of their territory.

Nevertheless Tork, if the Dominion remains active in this area, we must maintain yellow alert in this sector.

Kol, set a course for Jaradi prime, but first have Verelon assist with the probe net. We will not fly blind.

Dismissed.

What do you do? You have already set up some nice impossible problems with the sensor issues, so maybe the technobabble move would work nicely here.

Verelon believes the only way we can truly have tactical acuity is to get these forward sensors operating at a sufficient capacity.

Our ship will surely be met with an onslaught of asteroids, foes, space junk, or other intolerable obstacles if we can't even feed the capacitors...But maybe...

While the probe net may be sufficient temporary substitution to our navigational quandary, I'd like to suggest an additional strategy. By using an ultra-magnetic dynamo as a makeshift energy converter, we may be able to use some of the emergency ship fuel to produce the desired photon ejection and get the full visual field we truly need to ensure the safety of the Defiant II and her crew.

Kol has a bit of ambivalence to the Ferengi. Memories bubble up from the symbiont of a wide variety of responses and interactions, mostly stemming from issues of gender and wealth.

The Dominon, on the other hand... She misheard Gibson and her imagination crosses the inputs, hearing that the Dominion had bioengineered a disease for war. She shakes it off and focuses, glad for Gibson's confidence.

Kol is nodding along at Verelon's suggestion. "By all means, Colonel. I fully expect you have many extra engineering strategies that would prove more useful than my off-the-cuff suggestion." A hint of a smile crosses her face. She expects that Verelon will rise to the challenge with flying colors. He may just need some herding, like all engineers.

When she can, she will operate a terminal to see the screen. "Computer, show me the course options for Jaradi Prime from our current location."

Gibs sat down at a terminal to monitor the data feed coming back from the probes as they began to sweep out away from the ship. He began making notes while numbers streamed in across the screen in several columns.

"I believe we can locate the source of these inversion fields based on patterns seen in the probe's data. Creating an inversion field is often done by harnessing energy from a radioactive source, and then redirecting it to disrupt local sensor arrays. Rather than depend on sensor readings, it might be a simpler and more effective method to look for the signature left by the radioactive power source. We can do that by measuring the level of gamma rays hitting our probes. If we look at the radiation readings coming in from the probes, we should be able to pinpoint the source of the inversion waves by triangulating the source of the gamma ray radiation. Once we know where they are coming from we can better assess whether to approach and disable or maintain our course using the probes as our navigational flashlights."

Listening to the scientific analysis from the senior officers, Gerhard stifled an involuntary shutter, remembering the various science courses he'd suffered through at Academy. Give me a straight-forward engagement, I can handle that ...

Hearing the Colonel's suggestion for using the emergency fuel reserves, Gerhard started speaking, immediately regretting it: We can't use that fuel. I mean, Colonel, sir, I have concerns that use of the emergency anti-matter reserves would impair our ability to fulfill the requirements of Order 2005, should that need arise, Colonel, sir. Current operational guidelines, in particular Star Fleet Regulatory Agency regulation 4832.4, restrict use of emergency and reserve anti-matter and anti-deuterium to combat operations, sir.

Gerhard looks around desperately, seeking someone else to speak.

While the probe net may be sufficient temporary substitution to our navigational quandary, I'd like to suggest an additional strategy. By using an ultra-magnetic dynamo as a makeshift energy converter, we may be able to use some of the emergency ship fuel to produce the desired photon ejection and get the full visual field we truly need to ensure the safety of the Defiant II and her crew.

Gerhard started speaking, immediately regretting it: We can't use that fuel. I mean, Colonel, sir, I have concerns that use of the emergency anti-matter reserves would impair our ability to fulfill the requirements of Order 2005, should that need arise, Colonel, sir. Current operational guidelines, in particular Star Fleet Regulatory Agency regulation 4832.4, restrict use of emergency and reserve anti-matter and anti-deuterium to combat operations, sir.

Gerhard looks around desperately, seeking someone else to speak.

Worf immediately agrees with Gerhard. There must be another way Colonel.

Ensign Hock pipes up. We could shunt power directly from the reactor core directly the ultra-magnetic dynamo and achieve a similar effect.

This will certainly solve the visibility issue, but you will have to the converted power through the Einstein-Rosen bridge between the reactor core and the sublight engines. You will gain full tactical awareness of your short range scanners (remind me later), but you would have to take the ship condition "Sublight Propulsion Damaged." Verelon, is it worth the trade to you?

When she can, she will operate a terminal to see the screen. "Computer, show me the course options for Jaradi Prime from our current location."

As the probes launch, you make Gibson's suggested modifications. Once deployed, the computer screen flicker to life showing a number of possible routes. With the new modification, you can tell that the shortest route passes dangerously close to a graviton ellipse. A safe route will result in the ship being an hour late for the rendezvous with the Jaradi. What course do you set?

"There's no way I'm risking the ship for a mere hour." Kol says to herself. "We can send a subspace transmission ahead of us to inform the Jaradi of the new rendezvous time."

[/b]Perhaps the Jaradi will find information about the location of this graviton ellipse to be useful and we can frame our report of it as our first diplomatic act of exchanging information about the area, even if they already know about it. I agree with Lt. Cmdr. Kol that an hour's delay is well worth it to avoid limping into our meeting with a damaged ship and possibly being even more delayed.[/b]

Ensign Hock, call ahead and let them know we will be delayed. Kol, set a course for the rendezvous location, maximum warp.

Make it so.

Kol lays in the course. "Aye, Captain," she says crisply. This sort of navigation is a basic part of Starfleet training, no matter the career path you've chosen. Beyond that, some of her previous hosts have had some interesting experiences on a shuttlecraft, even while piloting. Thinking of a time forty years ago, she turns her head to Worf and says, "Course laid in, Captain."

Make it So with bonus from Major:Command: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (6, 5) + 1 = 12

While the ship is underway, Gerhard gathers the security NCOs for a final security briefing. In addition to the regular exhortations about maintaining the ship's security and security protocols, Gerhard reminds them of their dual role as a presence in diplomacy: "Each of you represents the strength and resolve of the Federation. We represent strength, not aggression; we cooperate for peace, we do not impose it. Each of you, and the persons in your command, must strive to display that resolve without intimidating our guests -- we want to welcome them to the stability the Federation can provide. To the extent that you can provide assistance to our honored guests, do so -- it both supports our diplomatic mission and allows opportunities to gather intelligence. This mission is primarily a diplomatic function, so keep a sharp lookout; I'll be debriefing each team after our meeting with the Jaradi."

After answering any remaining questions regarding applicable security protocols, Gerhard returns to the bridge for the rendezvous. He relieves the junior officer seated at the Tactical station and begins reviewing the ship's status.

While traveling to the rendezvous point, Gibs busies himself by studying over the ship's readings from the graviton ellipse, if the Jaradi showed an interest he should at least be able to give them some up to date readings from it. Given the readings coming in from the probes it looked like there would likely be a gravimetric discharge in the near future. Gibs mumbled to himself and smiled as he thought of giving the five day forecast to the Jaradi delegation.

Cloudy tomorrow, with a slight chance of hull crushing gravity waves. Don't forget to pack your magnetic field inverters!

As Gibson quips, the camera cuts to an exterior view of the Defiant as it jumps to warp speed.

[After these messages, we'll be right back!]

We come back from commercial to find the bridge crew at their stations. The camera pans from face to face, and the expressions range from nervous to excited.

Hock is the first to speak. Jaradi ship in visual range, sir. His voice breaks and he looks embarrassed.

Worf ignores it. On screen. The ship appears to be menacing by design. It is substantially larger than the Defiant.

Gerhard, tactical report. Don't anger them.

Gerhard, passive scans wouldn't require a roll. More in depth scans will require a Make It So roll to avoid detection. What do you do?

As the ships close in, Worf speaks again. Kol, I understand you have been trained for first contact situations. Please hail them.

The channel opens and a female Jaradi waits patiently. What do you do?

Worf keys in a few commands and messages flash on Verelon and Gibson's consoles. Notify me of any other threats in the area.

What do you do?

Gerhard smiled inwardly: The Captain knows brute strength is not the most important asset in a fight. Gerhard reviews the reports from the passive scanning systems and, acting on a hunch, adds communications frequencies into the system; while he wouldn't be able to decrypt them, if there was a change, he'd know. He also verified that the scanning data was making it into the firing solutions subroutines, keeping the database of standard "firing solutions" updated and ready for deployment.

Finally, he prepared the active scanning system, readying it to scan the Jaradi ship; while this would only trigger if the Jaradi ship scanned the Defiant, it would hopefuly ensure that the Jaradi were receiving an active scan before they could even begin processing the returns from their own.

Kol took a breath. She hadn't done first contact before, not as Siarzad, that is. She called on her memories from previous hosts and her Starfleet training, with in inwardly pleased glow that such a historic moment would forever be remembered by the symbiont and passed down for generations.

With a relaxed expression and warm tone, careful to not show any teeth to a new species, she said, "Greetings on behalf of the United Federation of Planets. I am Lt Cmdr Siarzad Kol, of the starship Defiant. We apologize for our delay in this rendezvous and would be happy to share data about the nearby graviton ellipse that caused the delay. It is my sincere hope that this is the start of a long, peaceful, and mutually prosperous relationship between our worlds and governments."

Well, it wasn't the snappiest of historic lines, but it covered the bases: Hello, here's a present, let's be friends.

Studying his monitor's outputs intently, Gibs listened to Kol's introduction as he kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. He turned slightly and his eyes widened as he saw the Jaradi on the viewscreen. What a magnificently terrifying presence she has, he thought.

Returning his attention to his console, he opened a new subroutine and keyed in a request for the computer to pull up information on other monocular species then cross reference it for any mentions of behavioral, cultural, or diplomatic tendencies shared between them.

Verelon accepts Worf's orders, though somewhat reluctantly, and proceeds to work diligently on restoring the ship's tactical visibility by rerouting energy from the reactor core. When the final connections are made, and the Defiant II regains its forward sensors, Verelon sighs.

Gerhard, Kol, I hope they know what they're doing. With our propulsion systems operating in such a low energy economy, we'd be foolish to attempt to out maneuver this imposing vessel. Let's hope diplomacy takes us where limited energy reserves cannot....

And then, for just the shortest of moments, a blip appeared on the Defiant's radar, seemingly undetected by the Jaradi, before quickly returning to the secrecy from which it briefly emerged. Verelon's antennae shot up above his mane in response.

I must tell the others, but not cause a stir.... And with a quickened stride, Verelon began to exit engineering and make his way toward the bridge.

Verelon ... your post is just so ... so perfect. Seriously, it is like you are trying to set up one of my fronts.

Greetings on behalf of the Jaradi Imperatum. I am Ambassador Inglint of the ship Jareth. Your caution in the face of the graviton ellipse speaks volumes of your people. We share your desire for peace and prosperity and would appreciate any navigational data you may have to offer. I have been led to understand that we will have a formal dinner on your vessel this evening. Your vessel is impressive. As a show of good faith, would you be willing to give myself and two aides a tour before the function?

She looks to the side and begins blinking rapidly, a sign that Gibson recognizes as one of anxiety. Apologies Kol, I must attend to a small issue before coming aboard. The hail cuts out and Worf looks to Kol with a bemused expression as the viewscreen changes to show an image of the Jaradi ship. There is a massive explosion in the engine section of the Jaradi ship.

Worf stands to his feet. Report!

What do you all do?

Kosst! Gerhard mutters. He triggers the active scan, hoping to gain any information on whatever had attacked the Jaradi ship. He quickly keyed a follow-up scan to focus on any ejecting lifepods. Captain, recommend immediate 'yellow alert.' No point in risking an incident warming up weapons after the shooting was done, but getting the shields up can only help us.

While he waited for the Captain's response, he alerted his security crews and directed a combat search and rescue to head to Shuttlebay No. 2. Captain, requesting authority to launch runabout number 2, which has combat search and rescue crew en route. Gerhard paused slightly. With your permission, I'd like to join that crew.

Kol's poised to raise yellow alert, waiting for the signal from Worf. Her eyes dart back and forth between the Klingon and her console as she works on the comms, trying to raise the Jaradi. "Ambassador! Are you in need of any assistance? We can send a runabout." She nods at Gerhard. If it's a security concern, she trusts him to have point.

Regardless of the response from the Jaredi, she taps her comm badge, saying, "Kol to Sickbay. Be prepared for emergency medical transport from the Jaradi ship. We don't know what we're dealing with yet." It's best to have the medical team ready and on standby. She pushed away an unhelpful memory of a preventable death. That old, dull pain was someone else's; a distraction in the current crisis. She took the lesson and filtered away the emotion.

The tension in her voice is clear, her brow showing the concern for the Jaredi. "Gibs! Are you reading any lifesigns in critical condition?"

This is not a good first contact situation... but it could be worse!

Worf nods at Gerhard and sits, content in letting his crew handle this emergency for the time being.

The Jaradi reappears on the viewscreen and blue lights flash with regularity.

Our engines have been disabled by an incredibly dangerous criminal. He has stolen a shuttlecraft and we are unable to pursue. Please, the criminal cannot be allowed to escape.

The damage appears localized. Gibs, despite the size of the explosion, the number of life signs aboard the ship has not decreased, although there are some injuries. It appears the explosion did not kill any Jaradi.

What do you all do?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gerhard, you take two members of your security team and board a runabout.

As you are heading towards the Jaradi ship, a small craft appears on your sensors, but quickly vanishes. The Jaradi ship is still venting atmosphere.

What do you do?

As the Jaradi responds, Gibs reacts by keying in a scan for shuttlecraft in the area and then scans those craft for their trajectories, velocties, acceleration, and for lifesigns aboard. If he could spot the correct shuttle harboring the criminal, he could scan to see if there were accomplices or hostages on board and what their status might be.

"Captain, there appear to be two shuttles moving away from the Jaradi vessel. Both are moving away from the Jaradi ship, one in our direction and one away from us both. It's too soon to tell, but I reckon the terrorist who sabotaged their ship is onboard one of them. Multiple lifesigns registered aboard both craft, I'm fine tuning the scan now."

"Also, I would like to request permission to board the Jaradi vessel and offer any assistance I may to their medical staff in treating any wounded as soon as is feasible. I'm sure they are much more familiar with their own biology than I, but in a crisis sometimes every extra hand counts. It would also be a good opportunity to learn about them while helping. Alternatively, we can make our medical bay available to any of their injured crew."

As Gerhart review the information from Gibs' scanning, he scowls. 50/50 odds are not good, but at least no 'rescue' is necessary. Let's get to the combat and searching parts. He thinks back on a lifetime of chasing crooks, criminals, and saboteurs and his training in espionage, counter-espionage, and SERE, and chooses a shuttle to follow.

Make It So: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (3, 5) + 3 = 11

Kol is tracking the vessel that Gerhard doesn't follow. "I'll send a probe after the other one, Gerhard." Presuming he's got the criminal, the other one still merits investigation. She initiates the proper sequences to send a tractor probe on its way.

"I'm with you, Gibs," Kol is up and on her feet, ready to move. She looks to Worf, eyes alight with the prospect of helping a new species. "I'm the one trained for first contact, sir."