Needle in a Haystack

Posted on Sun Oct 9th, 2011 @ 3:10pm by Captain Vorn Krace & Commander Acle Walex & Lieutenant Commander Zim Drex & Lieutenant JG Emily Hamson

Mission: The Fate of the Swiftsure
Location: USS Iapetus
Timeline: MD08 1612hrs

Drex squinted at the panel as the sensor blips moved across the glossy screen. Little bracketed dots labeled Probe A, B, and C, each showed the shuttles and began overlaying the coordinates of lifeless asteroids, hundreds at a time. He had to keep clearing away useless background data with a few taps of the input gain controller.

"Computer, represent the positions of the asteroids graphically, with no data overhead. Factor point-o-five. Uhh... Yellow."

The screen showed the spinning asteroids in the field. Thousands of them interspersed throughout the region, spinning and occasionally colliding with one another. It was almost blinding to look at.

"Ugh... Blue."

The asteroids all changed color to a muted cyan.

"Much better!"

Then a red blip appeared on the very edge of the shuttle's sensor range.

"Computer. Enlarge sector forty seven and enhance."

The screen shifted and enlarged.

"Hello stranger..." Drex muttered, then. "Captain. We have an unidentified vessel now reading on longer-range sensors. Barely registers. It could be the guy we're looking for. Bearing two-three-five, mark zero."

"Can you bring it up on the viewscreen?" Krace asked, as he walked over towards the science station, looking over the shoulder of the engineer at the diagram the computer had calculated from the data being sent back to it by the probes.

Tapping at the console, "Filtering through a lot of interference...That's the best I can get it Captain." Drex stood from his chair, and moved a little closer toward the command deck to stare at the viewscreen.

The image showed a lot of swirling static, and a blurry, light blob in the middle, roughly elliptical in shape, and taupe in color, with a glowing green stripe that might indicate an impulse engine or a plasma fire.

"I can't even tell if there's anyone aboard, but she's not moving." Drex shook his head, looking between the asteroid field on sensors and the garbled image on the screen. "I'm picking up a high concentration of duranium and other synthetic elements, definitely a ship. There's a lot of rock between us and them. I doubt we can take the Iapetus any closer, and I can't get a more detailed scan at this distance."

Krace stood for a few moments, studying the image on the screen; what there was to make out of it at any rate. "I want a closer look," he muttered. "Number One;" his voice back to normal speaking volume. "Contact the patrol shuttles. Order them to intercept, and use their tractor beams to return the vessel to our position."

Acle nodded and moved to the communications console. Acle offered a nod to the rating manning the console and said "Patch me into the patrol shuttles."

The communications rating nodded, her fingers flying over the console, then wordlessly handed the XO an ear piece which Acle promptly put on.

=>Iapetus to Shuttle Patrols. There is an unknown vessel in sector four-seven on bearing two-three-five, mark zero from Iapetus. Intercept this vessel and and tow it back to base. Be advised, proceed with caution. I say again, intercept, beam, and RTB.<=

"Affirmative, intercepting now." Emily answered and changed course.

-------------
Capt. Vorn Krace
Commanding Officer

Cdr. Acle Walex
First Officer

Lt. Zim Drex
Chief Engineer

LtJG. Emily Hamson
Chief Science Officer