Thoss nods once, almost imperceptibly to the doctor in acknowledgement before addressing the Lieutenant. "You say you have learned of this new technology Lieutenant? What have you discovered so far? Truly what you have unearthed of this technology will go a long way in furthering our understanding of the universe."
So the mind-control did not take effect until after they approached in their shuttle. If there is a shuttle on the surface we need to find it.
Reeves and Garret continue to look for an entrance.
I most certainly would not, Malati seethes internally.
"It does appear to be rather... captivating." she replies to the lieutenant, though she gives Thoss a look. She gestures to the officers looking up and mouths, "'Clearly mind affected. Monolith most likely source."
I don't recall receiving reports of other starships having been in the area--only lost probes.. The doctor attempts to recall anyrhing useful about the USS Whorfin.
[Dice=Insight+Command (15)]2d20
The Whorfin is a Miranda class currently assigned to patrol the border of the Klingon Neutral Zone, commanded by Hato Narita. A Miranda would carry a crew of 360.
Thoss nods once, almost imperceptibly to the doctor in acknowledgement before addressing the Lieutenant. "You say you have learned of this new technology Lieutenant? What have you discovered so far? Truly what you have unearthed of this technology will go a long way in furthering our understanding of the universe."
So the mind-control did not take effect until after they approached in their shuttle. If there is a shuttle on the surface we need to find it.
So the mind-control did not take effect until after they approached in their shuttle. If there is a shuttle on the surface we need to find it.
The Whorfin is a Miranda class currently assigned to patrol the border of the Klingon Neutral Zone, commanded by Hato Narita. A Miranda would carry a crew of 360.
Reeves and Garrett scan the symbols, locating a section that seems to say that something about the opening of the way to those who are worthy of power. As they read, one of the runes above eye level emits a blue spotlight that falls on the ground in a meter diameter circle.
At that moment, you hear a sizzling sound from the air near Thoss. In the blink of an eye, three Klingon warriors are standing in front of you. The many scars they wear indicate they are veterans of many battles. They look around in anger and confusion. One of them shouts, “What is the meaning of this? Why do you attack our ship and steal us away?”
They draw disruptors from their belts.
"If you find yourself so easily whisked away, I would not think it wise to raise your voice." Kerensky's voice was firm as he put his hands on his hips, near where he had the klingon disruptor concealed. It would be a foolish risk to his superiors to think he could out shoot the three of them tense as they were.
"But as you can see the situation is complicated. You are not the first Klingon crew to be brought here and we are not the first Federation crew to be brought here." He gestured with one of his hands towards those assembled before the monolith. He did his best to make it clear he would not be browbeat by them. "If you want to shoot you're weapons I'm sure we can find something to hunt so you can contribute. If however you'd like to talk and discover more first you can comport yourself like seasoned warriors able to adapt to a changing situation rather than a group of senile targs... then you can lower those weapons." He had heard a nausicaan in a neutral port impress a few Klingons with a similar speech and hoped he could pull it off convincingly.
Thoss slowly raises his hands as the Klingon's draw their aim upon him, guaging the distance to the nearest cover. Once Kerensky has announced his presence he replies in a calm voice (assuming the Klingons don't open fire), "Welcome to Bacchus. I am Commander Thoss th'Chiaqis of the USS Valiant. As you can see we have suffered the same fate as yourselves. Killing us will not get you off this planet, only if we work together will we be able to escape this place."
Under your barrage of diplomacy, the Klingons relax slightly, but they keep their weapons at the ready.
"These KHA-di-bakh stole a bird of prey and brought it here. We will recover it and punish them. As long as you do not get in our way, we have no quarrel with you, Federation."
Kerensky moves a bit closer to the Klingon arrivals "The others not from our ship were drawn here and are under the sway of this structure. They will defend themselves with lethal force-" Suspecting that might mean less to a Klingon he held up his hand "But they are being influenced. Whatever is doing it may defend them. Such powerful technology may have targeted them."
"Capturing or executing them for resisting may be permisable by your laws however it would seem to me that it might be more impressive if you could a way to free potentially loyal warriors of the Klingon Empire from the sway of an unknown force."
He seems to ponder Kerensky's words for a moment, then he turns his weapon toward the monolith and fires. The disruptor beam impacts the wall, but there is no effect.
"Whatever is controlling them must be inside these structures. Have you found a way to enter it?"
"No harm done just Klingon scientific curiousity. The structural integrity as expected is extremely advanced." Kerensky says to the onlookers mesmerized by the monolith. "Perhaps ye can bring us up to speed with your own observations."
"We're not here long before you but these others might not appreciate you shooting the monolith. A little time might garner us some valuable if dubious observations and we can proceed from there."
The humanoids you found here when you arrived turn their attention to the light emitted from the structure. Lieutenant Chara walks into the light like a woman possessed. As the blue light passes over her, a section of the monolith at ground level disappears, revealing a passageway lit by glowing runes on the walls and ceiling. The passage cuts into the interior of the structure. The rest of the people who you found on the planet move quickly toward the opening...
"Captain," Thoss's voice rings out in urgency, "This way! An opening was triggered by Chara! We don't have much time!" He sprints towards the opening before it closes...
Kerensky moved to follow his superiors lead unless the Captain gave an indication otherwise.
Doctor Bhalla shrugs. "It would appear that we are more likely to uncover the cause of whatever is going on beyond that portal than remaining here." she suggests to the captain after the andorian takes off.
When the opening appears Garrett dashes for it hopefully with the Captain in tow.
As you pass through the opening, trailing behind several of the others, you see a bright flash in the corridor ahead. One of the Romulans disappears in some sort of energy beam, showing his skeleton in bright relief before he is disintegrated completely.
Lieutenant Chara is only steps behind him...
"Lieutenant!" Thoss yells as Chara is only seconds from sharing the Romulan's fate. He summons a burst of speed and attempts to tackle her!
Seeing the effect on the Romulan Kerensky dives forward attempting to tackle Lieutenant Chara to the ground trying to get their before Commander th'Chiaqis not wanting his superior's life risked.
The doctor is horrified when she sees the Romulan torn apart on a molecular level within the very portal she has suggested entering.
"I...I-I, obviously stand corrected." she manages to stutter out, but her shock prevents her from springing into action in the same manner as her more military-minded crewmates.
Reeves hustles after Garret and enters the structure.
Kerensky drags Lieutenant Chara to the ground as another burst of energy zaps the floor in front of them. The other people who were here when you arrived crowd the opening, pushing inside. The newly arrived Klingons remain just outside of the opening, examining the situation.
The interior of the monolith is not featureless. There are no glyphs here, but there are larger geometric symbols, lines traced down the corridor and a clear circular point something like a lens where the disintegration beam emerges.
"That's quite a security system," says Reeves. "Whoever built this place didn't want anyone just wandering in. We, however, are getting in. Let's see about disabling it. Garrett, Thoss, look around and see what you can discover."
"Yes Sir." Thoss nods as he picks himself up from the floor, "That was commendable of you Lieutenant," he nods in approval to Garrett, "Now take a look over there while I check out this side."
Garrett examines for any missed engineering components to try to disable the device or perhaps a hidden panel
"Let's all take a look around." Doctor Bhalla chimes authoritatively even while the Captain's words are still in the air. The woman is not going to pass up an opportunity to "one up" her superior.
Doctor Bhalla then examines the device to see whether some metabolic or other biological process may trigger it. She also examines the lens on an effort to ascertain what physical or chemical means it uses to disintegrate targets.
Kerensky looks around but finds it challenging to get his head around such advanced alien technology.
Dr. Bhalla theorizes that the lens is some sort of bio-sensor. Any living matter that passes through a certain area of the corridor triggers the beam.
In fact, according to Garrett, the beam continuous. Most of the time it is very low energy, but it can be increased to destructive levels.
[ooc]You are free to come up with ways to deal with this hazard. Permanently disabling the system is a Difficulty 3 Task. Bypassing it without disabling it is a Difficulty 2 Task, but you will be trapped on the other side if it reactivates.
Yesult starts cursing in his native tongue as he starts working on the security beam yanking a panel and crossing this wire and then connecting it to a most unconventional conduct supply and crosswiring it through a relay feed and suddenly he gets a smile
Garret manages to pry some panels open and cross-circuit some energy feeds. The energy beam becomes visible, yellow energy arcing from the lens to a spot on the wall above eye level. You can duck safely through the space, moving deeper into the monolith. The corridor twists and turns, each turn at 108 or 54 degrees.
After a few more turns, the corridor opens into a large pentagonal room. This large room contains the same blue markings and etchings that cover the outside of the monolith. It is obviously a control room of some kind, with panels and displays and controls spread about the room. With the amount of dust covering the controls and the seats, it is apparent the place hasn’t seen use in a very long time. Based on the placement of displays and controls, you suspect that they were designed for bipedal humanoids of about the same size as humans.
The various humanoids rush into the room, running their hands over the controls with manic energy, but to no effect.
Then, seemingly at random, the displays respond.
The displays spring to life, showing three-dimensional displays running a variety of status updates and algorithms that are incomprehensible without much closer and more careful study. Some information is easy to see, however. One display shows a 3-D representation of the Bacchus system. It shows a beam shooting from Bacchus IV, reaching out to a moon of Bacchus III. The moon is pulled out of orbit, cut into huge monoliths of different geometrical shapes, and pulled down to the surface of Bacchus IV.
Another display shows a display of the galaxy, with bits of red highlighting different points all over the galaxy. Bacchus IV is highlighted, and the greatest concentration of lights is in an unexplored area of the galaxy deep within the Beta Quadrant.
Another display shows a representation of twin orange beams trapping the Lexington and a Klingon bird-of-prey. If the display shows the current situation, it looks like both ships are in danger of being torn apart.
You hear the 3 Klingon new arrivals coming behind you.
Thoss glances over to Garrett waving the Denubian over. "Garrett! This must control the tractor beams holding the two ships! Can you make sense of this?"
"Garrett, see if you can shut down those tractor beams. Doctor, lend him a hand, if you please." As Captain, Reeves is fully aware that Dr. Bhalla is a more than competent engineer (as is Reeves).
"Thoss, give me a hand."
Reeves moves to address the Klingons. "In this emergency, I propose we work together to get our ships out of danger. There will be time to settle our differences later. My Chief Engineer is working on a solution. Are either of you engineers?"
Following the Captain's orders, Doctor Bhalla heads over to provide Garret with some help.
"The focus of the tractor beam appears similar to that of other optics. Either we turn the direction of its 'gaze', or close a lid over it." she suggests.
Garrett dashes over and attempts to release both ships if possible but the Valiant for sure!
Thoss glances over to Garrett waving the Denubian over. "Garrett! This must control the tractor beams holding the two ships! Can you make sense of this?"
Garrett's frustration grows as he wrestles with the alien technology. Finally, he applies a little percussive maintenance. Surprisingly, the two beams cease.
As the dazzling displays stream information at you from all directions, an explosion rocks the monolith. All of the displays go dark simultaneously, leaving you in pitch black. Then one display appears, showing you a holographic representation of the Bacchus system. It shows the planet you are on, with beams of energy bolting out and destroying the other planets in the system. A placid voice speaks throughout the control room. “Your access of our technology has put you in danger. This system will be destroyed. Use the teleportation field to return to your ship and leave this star system immediately.”
The voice repeats the message as a purple beam of light splays a spotlight on the floor.
"Captain," Thoss exclaims with a note of urgency, "Unless we can figure out how to shut this device down in a next 5 minutes, I suggest we do as it says!"
"First they abduct us and now they want to destroy the system because we're more competent than they expected." Kerensky commented quietly as he tried to stay the hell out of the way of the people that could resolve the problem.
Seeing the situation devolving into chaos, the 3 Klingon warriors tense and draw their disruptors. Their leader speaks, "Enough of this. We are not here to be attacked by crazed technology. Destroy the criminals and return to the ship."
They open fire on the distracted Klingon fugitives, catching them completely off guard. The disruptor beams disintegrate the unsuspecting Klingons almost immediately.
"Get as many of the others as possible into the transporters!" snaps Reeves, indicating the wayward Starfleet and alien personnel.
"Then evacuate yourselves in an orderly fashion."
Reeves will personally move to the closest "fascinated" individuals and try to coax them towards the transporter. If that doesn't work, he'll try nonlethal force.