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Benjamin only has time to do little more than log into his station before the bridge is rocked by the twin tractor beams, sending him tumbling to the floor. Klaxons blare from his all across the bridge, and he climbs back to a standing position, bracing himself for further impact. "Structural damage on multiple decks!", he shouts to be heard over the din. "Warp core is offline! Fire suppression systems are engaged, but reports are coming in on decks 13 to 15 of suppression system failure! Initiating a scan of the source, Captain!" Not again, Benjamin thinks to himself. I'm not losing another ship or another crew.
Ben raises an eyebrow at Dr. MacLeod's final cryptic statement, but decides against pressing the doctor further on it at this time. "I'll forward the results to your office for disbursement to your team, then." He taps his badge to open a comms channel. "Takezo to Away Team Alpha. Good work, all of you - between your work and the other teams, we've ticked enough boxes to mark these planets for future research by a dedicated science vessel. Complete your current work, and meet back at the designated coordinates for transport back to the Bastion. Takezo out." He nods to the doctor. "That means us, too. Ready to depart?"
Benjamin listens to Kestra's report with interest. "Well, that's strange," he replies. "If they had early warning detection and technology to repel oncoming astronomical objects, then it must have been one Hell of a meteor storm to doom two worlds."
Ben's demeanor shifts from his usual professional demeanor to one more open. "I can relate," he says as the doctor reviews the PADD. "Growing up human on Betazed was a formative experience, but I was not really prepared for much of Earth culture when I went to the academy. So much of it is based around white lies to avoid uncomfortable truths. As natural telepaths, Betazoids don't really hide what they're thinking, since culturally they can't. It took me longer than it probably should have to catch on to Human cultural norms when I moved to San Francisco to attend. There was a girl in my particle physics class, Jen Calvern - hell of a head for the motion and positioning of superluminal particles. As the final loomed, she suggested we meet in a study group to go over our notes and prep." He gives a wistful smile to himself and a silent chuckle. "To my surprise, she was less interested in studying particle physics and more interested in anatomy. I believe I actually said to her 'so much for the uncertainty principle.'" "A lot of people find me brusque or confrontational," he says after a moment. "I just find it simpler to lay out what I believe, and move forward from there. It has cost me relationships in the past, and I'm sure I've been passed up for promotion because of it - prior to the Desdemona, of course - but you can't build a bridge if the foundation isn't secure, and a foundation of lies is as shaky as it comes."
A beeping from his PADD attracts Benjamin's attention as the doctor ponders his query. Ben blinks in surprise as he reads the data. "Well, I didn't expect that," he says incredulously. "But the genetic markers are too close a match to be a coincidence. There's several commonalities in life found on both planets to suggest some sort of diaspora between HIP Alpha and Beta at some point in their history. It's clearest on single cell organisms, but what sea life exists on both planets share enough similarities to warrant an in-depth study by a dedicated science team." He studies it for awhile longer, then turns back to the doctor. "Life sciences were never my forte, Doctor - what do you make of it?"
"Mutually assured destruction is a great deterrent to itself," Benjamin says in reply. "Right up until someone decides it isn't. We lost so much knowledge from that conflict, we don't even know which side started the conflict, Augment or not. I suppose it really doesn't matter, since the result was the same either way. But that's war. There are no 'right' or 'safe' decisions, only ones that calculate the least cost in lives." Benjamin takes a moment to close his tricorder, as he's completed downloading the data to his PADD. "As it happens, Humanity appears to be back at that crossroads, facing a foe that has us outgunned and outmaneuvered at every turn. Do you think we've learned our lesson from three hundred years ago? Or do you think that in our desperation we would ignore the better angels of our nature?"
"Aye, sir," Benjamin replies to the captain, already halfway through assembling his teams to investigate HIB Alpha. When the blue lights clear and Away Team Alpha arrive on the surface, he looks around the planet's desolation. "Such destruction," he says as he takes in the remnants of a bygone culture. "This is what we narrowly avoided in the early 21st Century, snuffing ourselves out with nuclear fire before learning our place in the galaxy. Let's see how close these people came to escaping their rock, team. Mr. J'dune, begin your geological survey. Mr. chim Tokkis, start running sensor sweeps on any biological remnants. I doubt we'll find anything multicellular, but life is often doggedly determined to pass on DNA, so we might get lucky. Mr. Terwil, there was a group of buildings a half kilometer away, I suggest you start your xenoarchaeological explorations there. Mr. Rigus, you're with me - we're going to investigate several of the impact craters for meteoric remains and see what we can determine about the makeup - whether they were natural or synthetic, material composition, etc. I would like reports back every half hour, unless you find something remarkable. Let's get to work, everyone. We've a civilization to record."
(1 success, unless I can use my Project Management focus!) Benjamin begins researching the damage done to HIP Alpha, collating the reports coming in from his science teams.
"Aye, sir," Benjamin replies to the captain, already halfway through assembling his teams to investigate HIB Alpha. When the blue lights clear and Away Team Alpha arrive on the surface, he looks around the planet's desolation. "Such destruction," he says as he takes in the remnants of a bygone culture. "This is what we narrowly avoided in the early 21st Century, snuffing ourselves out with nuclear fire before learning our place in the galaxy. Let's see how close these people came to escaping their rock, team. Mr. J'dune, begin your geological survey. Mr. chim Tokkis, start running sensor sweeps on any biological remnants. I doubt we'll find anything multicellular, but life is often doggedly determined to pass on DNA, so we might get lucky. Mr. Terwil, there was a group of buildings a half kilometer away, I suggest you start your xenoarchaeological explorations there. Mr. Rigus, you're with me - we're going to investigate several of the impact craters for meteoric remains and see what we can determine about the makeup - whether they were natural or synthetic, material composition, etc. I would like reports back every half hour, unless you find something remarkable. Let's get to work, everyone. We've a civilization to record."
Benjamin nods to Gareb as he reads through reports sent back to him by the science teams on HIP Alpha, creating briefs to send to the captain to summarize their findings.
"Two planets means at least two teams, Mr. th'Chiaqis," Benjamin says, looking up from his PADD. "Unless you have a preference on planets, I can coordinate the teams on HIP Alpha while you do the same on HIP Beta."
As he's not currently needed at the ops station, Benjamin works to put together teams of scientists to dispatch to the surface of both worlds - xenoarchaeologists, of course, but also geologists to help understand the damage both worlds have suffered from stellar bombardment, and the standard complement of biologists and botanists to study the remnants of the planet's flora and fauna.
Yep, I'm down for whatever! Bring on the unknown!
Benjamin nods to Kestra's request for privacy, and walks with Gareb to the turbolift. "You know, I've seen quite a few things in my time with Starfleet," he says to the Andorian. "I've assisted with studying gravitic anomalies in the Kandares sector, I've helped repair the air scrubbers on a derelict alien ship of unknown manufacture, I've even witnessed the feeding patterns of a cloud-based entity that lives in the vacuum of space. And yet, I've never seen anything like the tech under Orgun III. Understanding that machine, even as damaged as it is, could take us generations ahead of any other known galactic power - including the Dominion. But so many outstanding questions. Who built the tech? Did they also uplift the Lormeans? Where'd they go?" He shakes his head. "The worst part is knowing we'll never know the answers to many of those questions."
Benjamin nods to Kestra's request for privacy, and walks with Gareb to the turbolift. "You know, I've seen quite a few things in my time with Starfleet," he says to the Andorian. "I've assisted with studying gravitic anomalies in the Kandares sector, I've helped repair the air scrubbers on a derelict alien ship of unknown manufacture, I've even witnessed the feeding patterns of a cloud-based entity that lives in the vacuum of space. And yet, I've never seen anything like the tech under Orgun III. Understanding that machine, even as damaged as it is, could take us generations ahead of any other known galactic power - including the Dominion. But so many outstanding questions. Who built the tech? Did they also uplift the Lormeans? Where'd they go?" He shakes his head. "The worst part is knowing we'll never know the answers to many of those questions."
Benjamin nods at the commander's appraisal of the situation. "As you wish, sir," he replies. "Then lets find a way to limit their access to the Tesla's wreckage, and quick."
"Wonderful," Benjamin grimaces as he studies the computer simulation of the Lormean DNA helix. "Someone with more reason than sense decided to uplift a bunch of lemurs, and this is the result." He thinks for several long moments, then turns to the first officer. "Commander, if the Lormeans were indeed genetically engineered by some unknown intelligence, then there is a small loophole within the Prime Directive. Our hands are less bound due to the prior cultural contamination by a non-Federation entity, though the extent at which we can operate is still restricted, especially since that caveat was included to cover cultures currently in existence, like the Klingons, rather than...whoever did all of this."
"A photon torpedo or two would probably be enough ordinance to fully destroy the Tesla," Benjamin replies, doing some quick mental calculations. "It would leave behind the tritanium of the hull, but in its current state and without shielding? We should have the firepower to remove any seriously contaminatory technology." He looks around, back to the Lormean city. "The damage has already been done, however. We might be able to fast track a First Contact damage control team out here if we include this machine in our report back to Starfleet. This is tech that outstrips the Dominion - if we can even understand a fraction of it, maybe we can turn the tide of this war."
Whoa! Glad to hear you're OK, T'Karra - infections can be a serious business.
I am at GenCon, so my ability to check in is going to be basically nil. Feel free to bot me to keep things rolling.
"This machine is astounding," Benjamin says as he sets up his tricorder to mirror Kestra's readings. "I can't even begin to tell you where this machine is getting the energy to perform these feats, let alone how it's able to control orbital spin or meteorological modification. But I think I understand enough of this to perform repairs on the parts that are failing, at least long enough to come up with the next step of the solution."
"Agreed, let's save the hand-wringing and moralizing until after the planet isn't actively shaking itself apart."
"My God," Benjamin says under his breath as he begins to understand the enormity of the machine. "The power requirements to move a planet alone is staggering. Is this Iconian, maybe? Something on this scale wouldn't be impossible for them, but there's not any powers in the galaxy I'm familiar with that can even come close to doing what this machine could do."
For the first time upon arriving upon Orgun III, Benjamin's expression visibly changes to awe when he sees the massive device. "No," he says in response to Kestra's exclamation, still looking at the enormity of the machine. "No they do not." He's broken from his surprise by the whirring of Kestra's tricorder, and he pulls out his own.
My apologies on my radio silence, but I got horribly ill after eating something that disagreed with me on Wednesday. It was the single worst case of food poisoning I've ever had to deal with. I'm back now though.
Challenge Dice Results:
1: 1 success 2: 2 successes 3: 0 successes 4: 0 successes 5: 1 success + 1 effect 6: 1 success + 1 effect
"I'm fine," Benjamin says, having helped carry Garib after the rockfall. His dark hair is going gray from the rock dust, and he brushes as much as he can out now that there's room to maneuver, causing a small cloud of dust to arise from him. "Nothing that hitting the sonic showers back aboard the Bastion won't fix. Doctor, can you see to our injured?"
Benjamin also is scanning for anomalies, much like T'karra - however, he notices the warning just a split second before it hits. "Brace, everyone!", he gets out, just as the cavern shakes, with small rocks and dirt rattling the area.
"You're right, Commander, we need to get to that site before Orgun III shakes itself apart."
Benjamin nods at Gareb's approach - the Lormeans might better understand the necessary limitations of the Prime Directive if couched with them being the superior technological culture. "Indeed, Minister - imagine what could happen if the inhabitants of Orgun II got their hands on one of your flyers. There are thousands of ways that could play out, with many of them ending in the extinction of their culture at their own hands. There are just too many variables for anyone to calculate to know what costs such knowledge might entail."
Benjamin gives a low whistle after he listens to Captain Forrest and the minister give their reports on the gravitational disturbances. "Whatever is creating this is powerful enough to interfere with the sensors aboard both the Tesla and the Bastion, which is highly impressive. I concur with the Commander - we need to get eyes on whatever's causing the disturbance."
Benjamin listens to the minister and Captain Forrest explain the situation. He's impassive through most of the explanation, but he straightens at the suggestion of evacuating the Lormeans to Orgun II. "Let's step through the order of events, first," Benjamin says. "When did these geological disturbances begin? Is there any correlation between the onset of these disturbances and the crash of the Tesla?"
Sorry I haven't been posting much - I've been out of town over the July 4th weekend. Getting back into the swing of things now!
"May I inquire to the health of our scientists?", Benjamin replies, partially interested but also partially attempting to draw out a conversation with Captain Theema. "This was a relatively devastating crash, and we have a doctor with us. The more we know about their injuries, the better prepared we can be when we arrive." Perhaps they'll reveal more information than they intend, he thinks to himself.
Benjamin curses inwardly as the Lormean flyer appears overhead, slowly raising his hands as they point their weapons at him and the rest of the away team. That gray area is getting darker by the moment, he thinks to himself as he awaits some sort of response to Kestra's reply.
"Fortunately, there's some latitude we can take," Benjamin says, putting his tricorder away for the moment. "There are non-Lormean life signs in the capital, which means the scientists have gone with the Lormeans, either willingly or by force. In either case, Federation citizens have contaminated the Lormean culture, so our job is now to limit that contamination as much as possible. It's a massive grey area, and if we somehow make things worse, it's court martials all 'round." He sighs in frustration. "What I wouldn't give to have one of those Jem'Hadar shrouds. It'd really make this a lot simpler."
Benjamin confirms T'Karra's scans with his own, and then turns to Kestra. "Aye, with the computer core removed, all we need to do is complete the scuttling. The weapons aboard the Actium should be able to finish that job. I don't believe that taking her to the Lormean city is a good plan - I don't think we'd be able to hide her from their sensors, primitive though they may be." After a few moments, he heads over to the doctor. "Any sign of Kestra's relations?", he whispers.
"Aye, sir," Benjamin replies to Commander Jok'kem. "Before we go, it bears mentioning that if we can't get a lock on them with the Bastion's sensors, then we probably won't be able to communicate with the ship when we're down there. I'll see what I can do about setting up a relay between the Actium and the Bastion, but we should be prepared to act autonomously." With that said, he returns to his quarters to grab his sidearm and tricorder, spending little time there before heading to the shuttlebay.
Benjamin's eyes widen as he does his research. "Oh, of course, Dr. Sherman! I read his research on subspace communication mediums - there were some fascinating implications in the mathematics."
"Aye, sir," Benjamin replies to T'Karra, already finishing up a memo for just that purpose. "I'll defer to the captain's judgement, Kestra, but I think your read on the situation is right. Sensors don't show anyone in the presence of the Tesla, Lormean or otherwise. Our first priority needs to be to remove the advanced technology from Orgun III, and limit the contamination of their culture. After that, we can figure out how to extract the survivors." He pauses for a moment, searching for the right words. "I wish I could say I found evidence of Betazoid life-signs on the planet, but the interference is just too great. The best I can say is that there is evidence of non-Lormean life in their capital, and if the Four Deities are watching over her at all, Diasla will be there with them." He leaves the implication open, knowing full well there's no way he could hide it if he wanted to from her.
Benjamin presses several keys to initiate a perfunctory scan of Orgun III, and see if he can find out the fate of the Tesla.
"Not all of us can be as devoted to the teachings of Surak as a Vulcan, Sir," Benjamin replies. "Though I wonder how his philosophy might have changed if your species didn't require tactile range to facilitate your psychic abilities."
Benjamin's heart skips a beat from Kestra's revelations. "Gareb's right. Focus on the positives. The Tesla is damaged, but we don't know how badly. If she's salvageable, then the best thing we can do right now is do the research and put some action plans in place. Once we get there, we can get them on board and into the doctor's medbay, if that's even necessary. And if she's not, then our work will hopefully save her life." He leaves the unspoken third option unspoken. While he doesn't believe in superstition, he'd rather not give voice to the phrase all hands lost.
Emotional State for Kestra: Dread, though he's doing his best to compartmentalize.
"That would be the worst case scenario, Kestra," Takezo responds. "Gareb has the policy down - scrub as much as we can, try to limit the contamination of their culture as much as we can. We should be able to hide the Bastion from their more primitive sensors, but if the ship has crashed on Orgun III, then we could have a potential GO1 crisis."
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