compile summary --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Star-date: 2408.07.22 (USS Hades, Science Lab One, SciO Ensign Harry Doorman, 0940) (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - CSO, Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes- 0941) (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 0942) (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - CSO, Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 0943) (USS Hades, Science Lab One, ACSO Ensign (JG) Kenneth McKenzie, 09:44) (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - CSO, Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 0945) (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 0946) (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - aCEO, Lt. Darla Wright - 0947) (USS Hades - Bridge – COPS Lt. Maraht - 0948) (USS Hades, Science Lab One, Ensign- SciO Harry Doorman, 0949) (USS Hades - Bridge - aCTAC/CSEC, Lt. Baylon Trinin - 0950) (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 – CSO Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 0951) (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 0952) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – CSO Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 0953) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 0954) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – COPS Lt. Maraht - 0955) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics lab - CSO, Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 0956) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics lab - ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 0957) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – CSO, Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 0958) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – COPS Lt. Maraht - 0959) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 1000) (USS Hades, Deck Six, Corridor, ACSO Ensign (JG) Kenneth McKenzie, 10:02 hours) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – COPS Lt. Maraht – 1005) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – CSO, Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes- 1006) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – COPS Lt. Maraht - 1007) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 1008) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – CS), Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 1010) (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 1014) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- begin compile Star-date: 2408.07.22 (USS Hades, Science Lab One, SciO Ensign Harry Doorman, 0940) McKenzie shrugged. "I'm sorry, Ensign. I assumed that you read the report." Kenneth stated. ~What report?~ Harry wondered to himself. "I'll lay it down for you; We found some debris floating in space, some of it, we believe belongs to the aliens we are hunting after, or even their attackers. We are not sure. Some of it has been brought on board and is being looked at by Jericho and his team. Also found in the debris were some shells which we also believe may be from our new friends. I would like to get help from Medical to study them. We also have to find this battlefield, since, as I said, the debris may have been in space for some time. We need to find it's original location. Does this clear it up for you, Ensign?" Harry nodded. "It certainly does, sir." He replied. "Have we been mapping the debris field so far? I mean things like velocity and angular vector? Also have we been mapping the gravimetric variants in this area?" (reply McKenzie) "Okay then, in order to get back to the battlefield so to speak, we'll need to know those basic factors. Then what we do is plug those variables into the computer, and tell it to rewind the motion of the debris scatter pattern , including possible debris collisions, until it seems like we'll have a point of convergence for these pieces." Harry furrowed his brow as he thought, "Of course there is no way to be exact, since there is a very good chance that there is debris that we have no mapped and which could have collided with stuff that we have mapped, so the vectors could be skewed. Still with enough data points we should be able to map the spatial clusters and have a fair idea where the particular pieces of debris began their scatter, at the point where the vessel would have most likely been destroyed. If we get multiple high density spatial data clusters, then we are most likely looking at debris from more than one ship." "The math isn't hard, just time consuming. I can probably have everything mapped out inside a couple of hours, but you have to realize there's going to be a fairly high margin of error considering the age and likely shifting of variables were dealing with here. We could end up with clusters that are completely erroneous." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - CSO, Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes- 0941) "Lt. Haynes, do you mean to tell me we've got Klingons out here? How? WHY? Or are you implying that one of our species is technologically on par with the Klingons? And of what era may I ask?" Jack recognized the voice as that of Lo'ren and turned his head quickly to acknowledge her. "Ms. T'Voff welcome, I didn't see you." He gave her a nod and lopsided smile. "As to your question the answer is no, I didn't mean to imply we actually have klingons involved in this battle but the weaponry signature used by one side is similar." The other question gave him a pause though. "If I had to make a comparison as to what era or dynasty would be comparable to the klingon timeline though I would have to plead a lack of information at this time, after I have run these scans through the mainframe of the science labs I could probably answer the question to your satisfaction." (Reply: Lo'ren, any) Since the two engineers were occupied he motioned with his head and eyes for her to follow him and moved away from the main group toward the debris, speaking as he went. "Scans of the material show it not to be dangerous to life forms so it's safe to get closer." He stopped next to the pile and got down on one knee as he reached for a piece with his bare hand then thought better of it and returned the appendage to his side as he looked up at her. "While the neutrino emissions aren't harmful I hadn't thought about what might happen to tissue if it's exposed directly to the quantum strings, until we know for sure it's best to play it safe." Crossing his arms and resting them on the knee he continued. "You heard a part of what we were speaking of at least, what's your estimation of the security situation? I'd like to get input from tactical to see if you agree or disagree." While she was speaking Jack gave her his full attention but couldn't help remembering her in the lovely dress she had worn to the party a week ago which gave his eyes a twinkle, she was shapely and could certainly be lovely when she wanted and to tell the truth she seemed to enjoy his company at least a little. It was best not to consider too far beyond that though of course, at least not yet. Since Harry and Angeni had become an item ... ~My hat's off to you you big ape!~ he had resigned himself to being an odd man out again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 0942) "Ms. T'Vof welcome, I didn't see you. As to your question the answer is no, I didn't mean to imply we actually have klingons involved in this battle but the weaponry signature used by one side is similar. If I had to make a comparison as to what era or dynasty would be comparable to the klingon timeline though I would have to plead a lack of information at this time, after I have run these scans through the mainframe of the science labs I could probably answer the question to your satisfaction." Lo'ren smiled and raised an eyebrow, thinking that Jack would, more likely than not, have at least an estimate. Leaning on one leg slightly she tipped her head at the CSO. "Best guess, Jack? Would they be on par with todays Klingons? Or are we talking Kirk's era, or even Archer's? I can extrapolate a little from that." (reply Jack, any iyw) She followed when Jack motioned her to follow him over towards another pile of junk. "Scans of the material show it not to be dangerous to life forms so it's safe to get closer. While the neutrino emissions aren't harmful I hadn't thought about what might happen to tissue if it's exposed directly to the quantum strings, until we know for sure it's best to play it safe. You heard a part of what we were speaking of at least, what's your estimation of the security situation? I'd like to get input from tactical to see if you agree or disagree." Lo'ren thought back to the science and engineering that had been bantied about just moments before. "That is largely dependant on how quickly we can match up the Klingon technology structure to what we currently have. If the owners of this possible weapon are on the level with Archer or Kirk's era we may be able to hold our own. If the weapon is on par with current technology, well... we're in trouble when we take into account that the battle in question was a couple hundred years ago." (reply Jack) She looked down at Jack Haynes as his mind worked through some of the variables she had presented him. ~You can almost see the wheels turning.~ As he spoke she crouched down near him and took a closer scan of some of the material, daring to come within centimetres of the pile directly in front of her but not touching. She was within centimeters of touching Jack also; being in as close proximity to him as she now was, she couldn't help but feel his body heat and take distinct comfort from it and some pleasure too. Lo'ren was careful not to touch him as her recent attempts at higher emotional control had taken a toll on her mental barriers. Bad form if she snuck into another's thoughts - especially a non-telelpath - even if it was accidental. She turned back to Jack when there was a lull, "You see, the main concern from a Tactical perspective at the moment - is will this stuff affect what our weaponry can do? Can we test this altered material, say," She paused, the idea blossoming in her head quickly enough to require ordering, "What if we purposely alter a hand phaser? Could we get an accurate idea of what goes on with this after effect?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - CSO, Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 0943) Lo'ren had smiled and raised an eyebrow, she wasn't about to let him off with a shrug. Leaning on one leg slightly she tipped her head toward him. "Best guess, Jack? Would they be on par with today's Klingons? Or are we talking Kirk's era, or even Archer's? I can extrapolate a little from that." He had given her a wink and a bit of a sardonic smile before saying. "Second Empire near the time of the Khitomer Accords would be my best guess, off the record." He had added the last conspiratorially before stepping away from her. To his query she paused to consider carefully before replying. "That is largely dependant on how quickly we can match up the Klingnon technology structure to what we currently have. If the owners of this possible weapon are on the level with Archer or Kirk's era we may be able to hold our own. If the weapon is on par with current technology, well... we're in trouble when we take into account that the battle in question was a couple hundred years ago." He gave her a blank look for a moment before disengaging mental gears and back-tracking, she was using a slightly different method than he had expected but it had a lot of merit. "I see what you're getting at." The problem with weapons technology was that it was constantly growing and developing and she was right about trying to nail down the timeframe. The Khitomer Accord timeframe if he was correct would mean the unknown alien civilization had had more time to develop their weapons technology than the Federation since the Accords had been signed only a little over a hundred years ago in the year 2293 Federation reckoning. The question then was whether they had continued to fine tune this particular weapon or had gone on to another weapons form however he considered it unlikely since this one was potentially highly effective, it gave him goosebumps to think of such being fired at the Hades. The Federations higher order of weaponry fortunately was included on this vessel having the most powerful phaser arrays and armed with quantum torps rather than the less powerful photons. His line of reasoning slowed a bit as he noticed her leaning close to him with the tricorder whirring as she gathered more readings and an almost electric thrill ran down his arm and side as he felt her nearness. Jack had always been the type who vigorously contested his "personal space" and hadn't been in this close proximity to anyone in a long time so this was an unexpected turn of events but he found he was relishing it so he kept his place rather than lean away reflexively. "If I'm right and if the tests confirm it. .." She looked up from her readings then. "... then we're a bit behind the curve as I see it but of course that's dependent on whether the race in question continued to develop or stagnated, scrapped this for another and more effective weapons system..." Now that was a scary thought. "... or if they've actually lost ground because of internal or external events. I admit the last point is the least likely and development is the most characteristic of higher order life forms but at this moment we have little to go on." He shook his head and swept his right hand toward the debris. "The fractal space angle isn't very helpful in this instance even though it's a technological step up for us since the foundation of it was presented on earth almost seven hundred years ago, had that angle been followed who knows where we would be today. It doesn't necessarily point to a more highly developed technology but one that's certainly different in that aspect... at the same time though it didn't transfer over to the Tch'kairn weaponry since what little we've seen here from what we believe to be the insectoids is pretty much standard stuff." Throwing that variable in just weighed them down with more questions than it answered so wasn't really helpful. "You see, the main concern from a Tactical perspective at the moment - is will this stuff affect what our weaponry can do? Can we test this altered material, say," She paused for an instant. "What if we purposely alter a hand phaser? Could we get an accurate idea of what goes on with this after effect?" He grinned and nodded. "A capital idea I'd say, I can monitor it closely with my equipment." He looked over to the engineers. "I'd suggest running the possibility by the CEO first though to make sure she's ok with it since it's still technically in her custody until I remove some it from the hold, either that or we can conduct the experiment in the labs." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Science Lab One, ACSO Ensign (JG) Kenneth McKenzie, 09:44) "It certainly does, sir. Have we been mapping the debris field so far? I mean things like velocity and angular vector? Also have we been mapping the gravimetric variants in this area?" "Not me, personally, but I was the one who found it. I mapped some of it, before I handed it over to Crewperson Kase here." Kenny replied, pointing to the male Bajorin Crewperson. "Aye Sir." stated Kase. "I have the data right here on a PADD." The Crewperson walked over to a small stack of PADDs on one of the consoles. After picking up one, he walked over to Harry and handed him it. "This is all the data that I added to it, plus what Ensign McKenzie started with. It contains the speed, angles, force, a 3D map of much of the area and other related factors which you will need." "Okay then, in order to get back to the battlefield so to speak, we'll need to know those basic factors. Then what we do is plug those variables into the computer, and tell it to rewind the motion of the debris scatter pattern , including possible debris collisions, until it seems like we'll have a point of convergence for these pieces. Of course there is no way to be exact, since there is a very good chance that there is debris that we have no mapped and which could have collided with stuff that we have mapped, so the vectors could be skewed. Still with enough data points we should be able to map the spatial clusters and have a fair idea where the particular pieces of debris began their scatter, at the point where the vessel would have most likely been destroyed. If we get multiple high density spatial data clusters, then we are most likely looking at debris from more than one ship." "At the very lest, we should be able to know what the ship, or ships, looked like." stated Ali "The math isn't hard, just time consuming. I can probably have everything mapped out inside a couple of hours, but you have to realize there's going to be a fairly high margin of error considering the age and likely shifting of variables were dealing with here. We could end up with clusters that are completely erroneous." "Understood, Ensign. See about working with Crewperson Kase there, since he worked more on it than I did." (Reply Ensign Harry Doorman) "Crewperson Ali. I know you do have some medical background, like myself, and some of it was the study of small insects for cures back on your home planet, am I right?" "Aye, Sir." she replied. "OK. In that case, we'll see about getting the help of Sickbay to study the shells. Our slight medical knowledge combined with our science knowledge should be able to help Sickbay with them. Harry, Kase, can I leave you two alone with your side of the work while Ali and I talk to Sickbay about an 'alliance'." Kenny smirked at the last comment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - CSO, Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 0945) While Lo'ren's considered the matter Jack considered briefly how the matter SHOULD be handled, since a containment field was already in existence in the cargo bay it wouldn't be a problem to modify a phaser as she had suggested, the only unknown was what the quantum strings would do under phaser fire. Would it nullify the phaser discharge? ~Hmmm, unlikely.~ Would it break down the filaments, modify them or perhaps cause a catastrophic breakdown? ~A possibility to all three certainly though I don't believe any great energies would be released in a catastrophic breakdown as we are dealing with a trace amount of energy. Don't forget though Jack that the phaser fire WILL be a catalyst in such a case, the combined energies of both filament AND phaser discharge COULD release a lot of energy.~ That then would necessitate only low power tests here in the bay, anything higher than 15% power output according to his rough estimate would be unsafe and have to be handled in the special containment unit in the physics lab on deck 6. ~Why bother then with tests here when I'm going to have to move the stuff anyway? Good answer.~ "Ms. T'Voff strike that last comment." He looked back to her. "I need to move some of the material for other tests anyway, we'll do this in the Physics lab on deck six." (Reply: Lo'ren) Standing to his feet Jack motioned Culver over. "Get a team down here to remove some of the material, I'll mark the pieces I want transferred." "To which lab sir?" The man asked as he nodded his head. "Physics lab on deck six." Jack answered, High energy biophysics lab had become a quick pain to have to speak every time he referred to it so he had shortened the name within the department for convenience. "Right away." Culver turned and was tapping his combadge as Jack walked over to the aCEO. "Lt. Wright I'm having some of the material moved for further study, is there any special considerations you would like me to keep in mind for the data such as specific tests?" (Reply: Darla, any) "You've got it." He turned back to Lo'ren after finishing up that detail. "I can replicate the energy discharge of a phaser within the special containment unit in the lab Lo'ren, if you don't mind accompanying me for the tests, I'd like you to input the discharges for the unit since you're more familiar with ships weaponry than I am. We can simulate anything from 1/100th output of a hand phaser to the full output of the ships phaser bank, I'm also going to call in another specialist to help." (Reply: Lo'ren) Since Ken and Harry were busy this would be a good opportunity to bring in someone he had been wanting to talk to a little more. he keyed the combadge. "Lt. Maraht this is Lt. Haynes and I've got a favor to ask." (Reply: Maraht) "I'm going to be conducting some high output tests in the physics lab on deck six and would like to know if you could be in attendance, since it's a weapons simulation I've requested Ensign T'Voff's presence as well. I'd like you to be monitoring the containment fields on site and help me monitor the energy readings from the experiments in case of a catastrophic failure." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 0946) Jack's mind never seemed to turn off, "Ms. T'Vof strike that last comment. I need to move some of the material for other tests anyway, we'll do this in the Physics lab on deck six." Lo'ren nodded her assent, "Sounds good Mr. Haynes." ~Might as well save time and energy.~ The CSO called over another science officer and set in motion the preparations for transporting the debris up to deck 6. Lo'ren watched him as he brought his thoughts into action. She appreciated how quick he was and also how quick he was to ease out of the cargo bay and away from Darla Wright, Lo'ren had not run into her on the whole, but she'd been privy to one or two off-record comments made by Eoin and Bolan. Jack was now addressing the self-same aCEO and getting any information or things he could test for up in the Physics lab. Jack turned back to Lo'ren and she listened to his idea, "I can replicate the energy discharge of a phaser within the special containment unit in the lab Lo'ren, if you don't mind accompanying me for the tests, I'd like you to input the discharges for the unit since you're more familiar with ships weaponry than I am. We can simulate anything from 1/100th output of a hand phaser to the full output of the ships phaser bank, I'm also going to call in another specialist to help." "By all means, Jack. I also thought we could expose actual phasers to the material... for lack of a better term touch the phaser to our debris and monitor what the phaser does once it's been affected by this stuff. Maybe in that way we can develop a counter?" Lo'ren was certain that Jack heard her but he was running so quickly she didn't really expect much of a response, so she called down to the Arms storeroom. "Ensign T'Vof to Crewman Ilis, I'd like some phasers sent up to the Physics lab on Deck 6 and prepare requisitions for new ones should we manage to destroy what we have." =/\=Yes, ma'am. Any particular preference?=/\= "Send up three standard hand phasers, six minis and two rifles - not the heavy ordnance though." =/\=Yes, ma'am.=/\= Ilis cut the line quickly to get to his task. Lo'ren knew that he would get the job done and the phasers would be waiting for them, with Ilis there to turn them over. Next thing, inform Mr. Trinin. "T'Vof to Trinin." (reply Baylon Trinin) "Sir, we're panning on testing some phasers and we may end up destroying some by the end of the day. Any objections? (reply Baylon Trinin) "I've told Ilis not to bring any of the heavy ordinance weapons and to prepare requisitions for everything he pulls, just in case." Lo'ren spoke with a bit of a grin, she could only imagine the Chief's face. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - aCEO, Lt. Darla Wright - 0947) Darla was checking out the neutrino decay rates, categorizing the neutrino classification type and calculating the half-life of the affect when Haynes spoke to her again. "Lt. Wright I'm having some of the material moved for further study, is there any special considerations you would like me to keep in mind for the data such as specific tests?" "I'd like to see a metallurgical magnoflux study as well as a tensile and a flexibility study. I'd also like to have a microcellular strata study and a evaporation test conducted if that's alright with you, Lieutenant." "You've got it." Haynes replied. "I'd also appreciate it if you'd leave me a sizeable ample to run our field analysis on." She added, not wanting to just turn over the entirety of the materials, when her own engineers could possibly discover something of interest as well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades - Bridge – COPS Lt. Maraht - 0948) Once Maraht secured permission to leave his post at the Bridge, he called Ensign Fredericks to replace him. Once the Ops Ensign arrived, he shifted his bulk toward the turbolift. Just then his built in commbadge chirped. =/\= Lt. Maraht this is Lt. Haynes and I've got a favor to ask. =/\= Maraht paused. “Maraht here. Yes, Chief Haynes, what can I do for you?” "I'm going to be conducting some high output tests in the Physics Lab on Deck 6 and would like to know if you could be in attendance. Since it's a weapons simulation, I've requested Ensign T'Vof's presence as well. I'd like you to be monitoring the containment fields on site and help me monitor the energy readings from the experiments in case of a catastrophic failure." “Certainly Sir. I am glad to be of help,” Maraht answered. “I confess to my own curiosity about the debris since Lt. Wright had insisted on a containment field in Cargo Bay 3.” (Reply Jericho Haynes IYW) “I will meet you in the Physics Lab on Deck 6 very soon Lt. Haynes. Is there any specific equipment I need to bring?” asked Maraht. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Science Lab One, Ensign- SciO Harry Doorman, 0949) McKenzie explained that they had been mapping some of the information that Harry would need, and that it was Crewman Kase that had been handling the bulk of the data where the debris mapping was concerned. "Aye Sir." stated Kase. "I have the data right here on a PADD." The Crewperson walked over to a small stack of PADDs on one of the consoles. After picking up one, he walked over to Harry and it to him. Harry accepted it as the crewman continued. "This is all the data that I added to it, plus what Ensign McKenzie started with. It contains the speed, angles, force, a 3D map of much of the area and other related factors which you will need." Harry nodded with approval. "Well this is certainly going to make things easier." He said. "Okay then, in order to get back to the battlefield so to speak, all we need to do is plug those variables into the computer, and tell it to rewind the motion of the debris scatter pattern , including possible debris collisions, until it seems like we'll have a point of convergence for these pieces. Of course there is no way to be exact, since there is a very good chance that there is debris that we have no mapped and which could have collided with stuff that we have mapped, so the vectors could be skewed. Still with enough data points we should be able to map the spatial clusters and have a fair idea where the particular pieces of debris began their scatter, at the point where the vessel would have most likely been destroyed. If we get multiple high density spatial data clusters, then we are most likely looking at debris from more than one ship." "At the very least, we should be able to know what the ship, or ships, looked like." stated Ali "That depends on how much debris we have mapped from any given ship. There will most definitely be gaps in the data but we will get some ideas if not a complete image." ` and since the math isn't hard, just time consuming- I can probably have everything mapped out inside a couple of hours, but you have to realize there's going to be a fairly high margin of error considering the age and likely shifting of variables were dealing with here. We could end up with clusters that are completely erroneous." "Understood, Ensign. See about working with Crewperson Kase there, since he worked more on it than I did." Harry looked over at Kase. "Sure, Kase has done such a great job already, I'd be glad for the assistance." He turned to Kase, "Let's get started shall we?" Kase nodded. "Lead the way sir." McKenzie and Ali left the lab to go discuss things with medical concerning the shells, while Harry and Kase got started on the data and turning back the hands of time to view a battlefield that had been gone now fro a century or more. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Bridge - aCTAC/CSEC, Lt. Baylon Trinin - 0950) Baylon had been monitoring everything going on between the bridge and the Cargo bay pretty closely, especially after Wright had made her request for a containment field. He had locked onto the debris with a transporter and as standing by to have it jettisoned in the event that it proved to be too much of a threat to the ship. He had also picked up his scans of the compartment with the internal sensors. So far there wasn't anything that seemed to indicate a serious threat to the ship, although the eventual decay of the deck-plating would be an inconvenience, the containment field had halted that when the decking had no longer been exposed to the affects of the contaminated material that they had beamed aboard. Baylon had heard Maraht's request to leave the bridge followed immediately thereafter by the CSO's request that he join Haynes in the high Particle Physics Lab. That was good call on Hayne's part, since Baylon knew from first hand experience just how intelligent and tenacious the Horta Operations Chief could be when presented with a mystery or a problem. Baylon's commbadge chirped and Ensign T'Vof's voice sounded. =^=T'Vof to Trinin.=^= Baylon tapped his commbadge and replied, "Trinin, here, go ahead Mister T'Vof" =^=Sir, we're planning on testing some phasers and we may end up destroying some by the end of the day. Any objections?=^= Baylon knew that the ship had more than enough phasers to lose a few dozen without worry, however, there had to be a good reason for it. =^=I've told Ilis not to bring any of the heavy ordinance weapons and to prepare requisitions for everything he pulls, just in case.=^= He made his decision then. it was time to let T'Vof make her own decisions in this regards. "I trust your judgment Ensign. All I ask is that you do not disable or destroy more than 2% of the ship's total store. I can only imagine that you have a very good reason for performing these tests and so I can't see any reason why I should disagree. however, I'd like a complete report on my desk after you've finished your studies and tests." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 – CSO Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 0951) The voice that came through the com was almost "human" with little mechanical quality because of the technological capabilities of the voice synthesis program it used. A nice piece of equipment that vox. -^- Certainly Sir. I am glad to be of help, I confess to my own curiosity about the debris since Lt. Wright had insisted on a containment field in Cargo Bay 3. -^- "Thanks." Was Jack's only reply. -^- I will meet you in the Physics Lab on Deck 6 very soon Lt. Haynes. Is there any specific equipment I need to bring?” The horta inquired. "I have all the equipment in the lab we will need." Jack said as he turned. Your own presence should be enough." Turning toward Lo'ren he noticed she was busily speaking with someone on the com and beyond her the team had arrived to gather the material so he walked toward them where he pointed out various pieces, a litttle grin playing at the corners of his mouth at the aCEO's request to "Not take everything." The totality of the pieces he wanted was less than a third of the full pile. After that was arranged he turned once again to watch them carrying the material away and saw that she was finished speaking, noticing he was done she stepped toward him dabbing at her eyes as she did so which elicited a bit of surprise in him. Had the conversation gone badly? "So, Jack, I've got a bunch of phasers heading to the lab. Shall we go discover what this stuff does?" He nodded thoughtfully and gestured they should follow the science team that was already in motion. "Right this way, I've got plenty of material for study." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Cargo Bay 3 - ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 0952) Lo'ren listened to the Chief of Security give his instructions. =/\=I trust your judgment Ensign. All I ask is that you do not disable or destroy more than 2% of the ship's total store. I can only imagine that you have a very good reason for performing these tests and so I can't see any reason why I should disagree. however, I'd like a complete report on my desk after you've finished your studies and tests.=/\= "Yes, sir. Thank you. T'Vof out." Lo'ren closed the comm chanel and thought for a moment. ~Two percent huh? I could pull a few more phasers...~ She sent a text message to Ilis, not feeling the need to send another comm to the man. [Double the order, Ilis. Lo'ren.] She strode over to the rapidly thinking CSO. ~Prophets, would I love to know how his mind works.~ She admired his intellect and ability to mesh with different departments, she also loved the way he'd arranged the gathering - though it turned had turned touchy for her once she'd opened herself to singing. She hastily wiped a tear that had shed at her mother's memory, hoping no one noticed it. It was only 3 years ago that her mother had died, and she'd not recovered. Lo'ren, like so many others, had not been able to get back home to Bajor for the funeral because of the Civil War. Thankfully, her mother had passed because of age, not the shocking passing many other Cadets and officers had experienced with their own families. ~Pull it together, Mutt. You have work to do and emotions won't serve right now. I wonder how many of my fellow officers in this room have lost family because of Doenitz.~ She guessed at least a couple and left it at that. She brushed aside any further thoughts of death and sadness and turned her attention to the moment at hand. "So, Jack, I've got a bunch of phasers heading to the lab. Shall we go discover what this stuff does?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 6 – CSO Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 0953) Stepping out of the turbolift Jack allowed the procession of anti-grav sleds to precede him down the corridor as he motioned for Lo'ren to slow up as well. While in the turbolift everyone had been quiet and he hadn't asked her any questions because of the company. " So what exactly did you have in mind again for the phasers? I heard you were prepared to have some destroyed." (Reply: Lo'ren) "Oh! I see." he mused. "Has some merit, after I do those tests the aCEO wanted we'll cut the debris up into smaller pieces and start the weapons tests." (Reply: Lo'ren) They were in front of the lab now and he motioned her to go in first then followed wondering if Maraht and/or her weapons requisition had arrived yet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades - Deck 6 – ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 0954) Jack motioned her to lag behind as the junior scientists carted the material down the hall into the lab. "So what exactly did you have in mind again for the phasers? I heard you were prepared to have some destroyed." Lo'ren nodded, "Yes, I ran my idea by Lt. Trinin and he's got my confidence and my promise not to destroy more than two percent of our stores." Her eyes glinted, joking and a bit dangerous at the same time. As she spoke her hands encompassed her ideas the best they could "My thought is this, if we can take phasers of varying types and physically alter them in a controlled environment, we can observe what happens when we then attempt to fire those phasers - either against unalter material or against the timewarped materials." She glanced up only a moment as she took a breath, checking that Jack followed her thought pattern. "From that we may be able to create a counter effect or a guard against the original weapon and save our ship from self destruct due to our own ignorance. I, for one, don't want to fire the main phasers without knowing what they'll do to me, this ship or another ship." "Oh! I see." he mused. "Has some merit, after I do those tests the aCEO wanted we'll cut the debris up into smaller pieces and start the weapons tests." Lo'ren thought this would work out well. "Sounds good, that will give me the opportunity to get a base line on each weapon we use. After all no two phasers are exactly alike." She held up her hands to stave of the inevitable arguement, "Though they are almost identical, each has a specific energy signature and the power outputs vary by micro measures. Plus, I have Crewman Ilis collecting several types so we can see how they affect pulse weapons, grenades and solid stream items big and small." As she said this they arrived at the Lab door and Jack graciously allowed her to enter first. She spotted Ilis, the blue-skinned soldier - the word simply fit him better than any other term, nodded at her and handed over a PADD containing the full listing of her requisitions. "Thank you, Ilis. You may return to your post." "Yes, ma'am." Ilis nodded and his antenae bent towards her as he bowed slightly and left. He was quiet, and gruff but he'd been her staunchest supporter since they'd done Helldeck together. After she'd quickly double checked what Ilis brought, confirming everything was there, she waved the PADD in Jack's direction. "I've got a nice little pile of guns and bombs, Jack. I'll keep myself busy with these while you do the other tests for Ms. Wright. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 6 – COPS Lt. Maraht - 0955) Leaving Ensign Fredericks in charge of the Bridge OPS station, Maraht had made his way down to Deck 6 to see the debris for himself. Having seen the preliminary reports, he was concerned the debris might pose some sort of danger to the ship. He halted at the Physics Lab door. ~Do we have enough shielding here if something ugly should happen?~ He hoped so. He would check to see if they needed a containment field here too. Rippling his finer phalangi in resignation, he rumbled his way through the door. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics lab - CSO, Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 0956) "Sounds good," Lo'ren agreed. That will give me the opportunity to get a base line on each weapon we use. After all no two phasers are exactly alike." She held up her hands and gave him a look as though he might argue the point , "Though they are almost identical, each has a specific energy signature and the power outputs vary by micro measures. Plus, I have Crewman Ilis collecting several types so we can see how they affect pulse weapons, grenades and solid stream items big and small." Jack merely shrugged in acknowledgement. It made perfect sense since you were directing an energy flow through a manufactured, synthesized crystal and even the strictest quality control standards could never enforce perfection therefore it would mean the amplitude, modulation and wavelength of the weapon would vary just as she'd stated. He shook his head in consternation a bit at whatever boneheads she may have been used to dealing with who would argue such a basic scientifically valid point. Within the lab an Andorian from the tactical department was awaiting their arrival, Jack scanned the compartment as she took possession of the weapons she had ordered. The High Energy Bio Physics Lab was a massive chamber filled with cabinets and electronic equipment in the front which was about 40' wide by 30' deep, behind the maze of cabinets and workstations was the second and most important part of the lab, an area of 1600 square feet which contained the shielded vessel and two long workstations for controlling and monitoring it. He turned back to her as she dismissed the man and watched as she checked the items off of her manifest then turned to him, waving the padd. "I've got a nice little pile of guns and bombs, Jack. I'll keep myself busy with these while you do the other tests for Ms. Wright. He shook his head as he grinned at her excitement. "You've got enough there to start a small war Lo'ren, you tactical types are all alike. Give you some weaponry and you're like a pig in slop." He laughed to show he was joking in case the smile hadn't already given it away. (Reply: Lo'ren) "Follow me with the sled, there's a worktable in the back you can lay them out on," He said as the door opened once again and the horta Maraht rumbled through just as the two men who had fetched the debris were coming from the back, with an anti-grav sled and five people including a horta in a rapidly diminishing area the aisle was quickly becoming congested and their pathway to the rear of the lab was blocked. Jack shook his head at the approaching men. " Step to the side gentlemen and let us through." "Sorry sir." One of them answered as Jack stepped toward them then motioned his team forward. The two men stepped around an equipment locker to give them room. (Reply: Lo'ren, Maraht) Wending his way through the maze he led them around the last of the computer nooks and into the back where the massive containment vessel occupied most of the space, to the left was one long workstation with another on the right, both of them were equipped with three dimensional holographic interfaces and displays which could be activated from the main control panels on their near end. Several chairs were available for seating and beyond them was the worktable he had mentioned earlier. The containment vessel itself as has been posted before had a large and thick window of transparent aluminum, third generation and the rest of the unit was of duranium and vibranium alloy, an extremely dense and rigid metal which was an exquisite conductor for it's specially designed containment fields. Within the vessel and plainly visible through the window was the emitter array which could be programmed to 'fire' just about any energy form that could be imagined. The shielded anti-grav sled which the two men had left near the vessel was hovering in the air on auto head which would keep it from drifting around he noted as he walked up beside it, the led indicator plainly visible. "The first thing we need to do," Jack mused as he turned and motioned Lo'ren to avail herself of the workspace of the table. "Is to get these pieces in the vessel so that I can run those tests, could you help me Maraht?" (Reply: Maraht, Lo'ren) Jack tapped the lighted numerical buttons beside the door on this end to input the coded sequence then stepped back as it clicked then took hold of the handle and easily pulled the massive valve open then walked to the sled. "I'll maneuver the sled inside and ground it then we can scatter the pieces out a bit, they only weigh a couple of hundred pounds apiece, the two of us can slide them off easily enough." (Reply: Maraht) After the seven pieces had been placed apart on the deck of the unit he wiped a light sweat from his forehead then smiled at the horta. "Heavier than they looked, thanks for the help." He motioned Maraht to precede him then activated the sled and pushed it out the door, after it was sealed he pointed to the workstation on the left as you walked to the back. "You'll find the controls for the containment fields on that one Maraht, while you are familiarizing yourself with them I'm going to program in the testing sequences, a level one field should be more than enough for the NDT (Non Destructive Testing) tests I'm about to do for Lt. Wright. When we get to the weapons tests though it's going to be a different story." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics lab - ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 0957) " I've got a nice little pile of guns and bombs, Jack. I'll keep myself busy with these while you do the other tests for Ms. Wright. He shook his head as he grinned at her excitement. "You've got enough thereto start a small war Lo'ren, you tactical types are all alike. Give you someweaponry and you're like a pig in slop." He laughed to show he was joking incase the smile hadn't already given it away. She laughed, glad that someone understood her humour. "Well, right back at you, Mr. Haynes. I think your day wouldn't be complete without a mystery to analyze." "Follow me with the sled, there's a worktable in the back you can lay themout on," He said as the door opened once again and the horta Maraht rumbledthrough just as the two men who had fetched the debris were coming from theback, with an anti-grav sled and five people including a horta in a rapidlydiminishing area the aisle was quickly becoming congested and their pathwayto the rear of the lab was blocked. Jack shook his head at the approachingmen. " Step to the side gentlemen and let us through." "Sorry sir." One of them answered as Jack stepped toward them then motionedhis team forward. The two men stepped around an equipment locker to givethem room. Lo'ren grabbed the handle of her sled and pushed it ahead of her behind Lt.Haynes. She nodded at the scientists who'd acrambled when Jack requestedthey move, "Thanks, gentlemen." She kept close to Jack, but made sure not to bump him with her 'grav sled.When they reached the back, Jack motioned her over to a table that was large enough to accomodate a good number of items. She started pulling out the various phase weapons and laid them out in an orderly fashion. Jack wasted no time in turning to the boulder, "The first thing we need to do, Is to get these pieces in the vessel so that I can run those tests,could you help me Maraht?" "I'll maneuver the sled inside and ground it then we can scatter the pieces out a bit, they only weigh a couple of hundred pounds apiece, the two of us can slide them off easily enough." Jack and Maraht were getting busy withthe material. ~Good, down to business.~ Lo'ren liked the no nonsense method Jack took. ~He seems so at home in the lab.~ (Reply: Maraht) "When we get to the weapons tests though it's going to be a different story." Lo'ren glanced up at that and smiled, "Yes, we may need a much higher containment, especially when we've touched the weapons to the warped bits.They may start blasting off in funny ways." In all actuality, Lo'ren was rather looking forward to that part - asidefrom the fact that they needed to know what would or wouldn't happen. "Lt. Haynes," Lo'ren wasn't usually one to be formal, but she didn't want tooverstep herself with other officers and crew about, "Is there a spot Icould actually fire these weapons? I want a real time reading of eachphase-stream." (reply Jack) She nodded and picked up several weapons, holstering them and slinging tworifles over her shoulders. ~Lock and Load.~ She still found it funny thatshe felt so comfortable with so many dangerous weapons on her person, butstill felt naked without her mek'leth or another bladed weapon. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – CSO, Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 0958) "Yes, we may need a much higher containment, especially when we've touched the weapons to the warped bits. They may start blasting off in funny ways." After a moment she directed a question toward him. "Is there a spot I could actually fire these weapons? I want a real time reading of each phase-stream." Jack thought a moment then shrugged and pointed toward the far wall. "The lab itself has sensors and I could monitor that from here in addition to the tests I'll be conducting and feed the data stream to the padd you are carrying, would that work?" (Reply: Lo'ren) "Cool." He nodded. "Just give me a second to set up the subroutine after I get the tests started and we'll be good to go." (Reply: Lo'ren iyw) “I am setting up the containment fields now Sir,” The horta said from behind Jack which startled him. "Protective containment fields in place. If anything explodes for any reason, it should all be kept inside the unit." "Thanks Lieutenant," He said as he turned, hearing the hum of the protective fields within the chamber as he did so. "And please don't call me sir, you actually outrank me you know." There was a twinkle in his eye as he turned back and finished up programming in the required tests. "All right, the metallurgical magnoflux study will run first followed by the tensile strength and flexibility study. The microcellular strata study and evaporation tests will conclude the series." He tapped the button. "Initiating." (Reply: Maraht, Lo'ren) "Everythings running smoothly so far." He noted as the sensor suites began gathering data from the samples, after tapping a button the holographic images appeared to his left and he turned to inspect them, the magnetic polarities of the seperate metal fragments were being compared as the array induced a current within them, the sensors then went through a wide range of power levels and measured both flux gain, polarization and finally after the induced current was withdrawn their inherent magnetic capacity as the electromagnetic fields began to decay. "It will take a few minutes before the first series is concluded." Having said that he began setting up the subroutine that would tap into the labs sensor suite then located her padd and patched into it. "All right Ms. T'Vof I've got you set up, you can access the data stream from your external download link and I've set this station to save it as well so you can compare the readings if you wish from both sources." (Reply: Lo'ren) The magnoflux series was completed he noted as he checked on the ongoing tests and the forcefields inside the unit activated and began shifting, using forcefields this way on the fragments placed stress on differing places and the computers were measuring that induced stress and the reaction of the metal. There was a notable "Crack!" from inside the unit as one piece was stressed beyond its ability to withstand, the sound like a pistol shot due to the heavy forces used and the inherent strength of the metal. After initially starting at the sound Jack spoke up. "There might be some more of that, the neutrino decay has been eating away at all but one of tese fragments for a couple of hundred years and has affected their structural integrity." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – COPS Lt. Maraht - 0959) "Follow me with the sled. There's a worktable in the back you can lay them out on," Maraht heard Jericho Haynes saying as he entered the physics lab. He rumbled through just as two men were moving the debris around with an anti-grav sled. Five people along with Maraht in a rapidly diminishing area made the aisle congested and their pathway to the rear of the lab was blocked. Jack shook his head at the approaching men. “Step to the side gentlemen and let us through." "Sorry sir," One of them answered as Jack stepped toward them then motioned his team forward. The two men stepped around an equipment locker to give them room. Maraht rumbled his way through. He had grabbed a Tricorder and his PADD before heading down to the Lab. Both were wrapped up in his main phalangi. Lo'ren grabbed the handle of her sled and pushed it ahead of her behind Lt. Haynes. She nodded at the scientists who'd scrambled when Jack requested they move. "Thanks, gentlemen." She kept close to Jack, not bumping anything or anyone with her 'grav sled for which Maraht was grateful. When they reached the back, Jack motioned her over to a table that was large enough to accommodate a good number of items. She started pulling out the various phase weapons and laid them out in an orderly fashion. ~She is surprisingly organized,~ Maraht approved silently. "The first thing we need to do is to get these pieces in the vessel so that I can run those tests,” said Jack. “Could you help me, Maraht?" “I hope so Sir,” said Maraht fervently. "I'll maneuver the sled inside and ground it. Then we can scatter the pieces out a bit. They only weigh a couple of hundred pounds apiece. The two of us can slide them off easily enough." He followed the CSO inside the unit gamely. ~If Venerable Mother could only see me now!~ He struggled with his phalange and rocky body to shift, push and shove the pieces from the antigrav unit to the deck along with Lt. Haynes. They dropped, with a certain degree of volume, more than were lifted, by either one of them. Maraht was grateful that neither one of them caught any appendages underneath the heavy chunks of metal and wondered if they would leave dents in the decking. Once the task was done, Lt. Haynes wiped sweat from his forehead, then smiled at the Horta. "Heavier than they looked. Thanks for the help." They left the unit with Lt. Haynes pulling out the antigrav sled. After the CSO sealed the door, he pointed to the workstation on the left, as they moved in the Lab. "You'll find the controls for the containment fields on that one Maraht. While you are familiarizing yourself with them, I'm going to program in the testing sequences. A level one field should be more than enough for the NDT (Non Destructive Testing) tests I'm about to do for Lt. Wright. When we get to the weapons tests though it's going to be a different story." Maraht puttered around with the controls for the containment fields, powering up the console and doing some diagnostics to make sure the fields would have good integrity. The equipment tested out as ready. “I am setting up the containment fields now Sir,” said Maraht. He pressed buttons and the containment fields lifted the chucks slightly, suspending them a few inches above the decking. "Protective containment fields in place. If anything explodes for any reason, it should all be kept inside the unit." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 1000) Jack pointed her to the back wall. "The lab itself has sensors and I couldmonitor that from here in addition to the tests I'll be conducting and feedthe data stream to the padd you are carrying, would that work?" She considered the wall. ~Not often I have permission to shoot at thewalls.~ She mused wryly. "As long as I'm not setting any alarms, I'm good togo. That should work fine." She headed over in the direction he'd pointed "Cool." He nodded. "Just give me a second to set up the subroutine after I get the tests started and we'll be good to go." Lo'ren nodded but didn't verbally reply as she set herself up properly. “I am setting up the containment fields now Sir, Protective containmentfields in place.. If anything explodes for any reason, it should all be keptinside the unit." Maraht was at the controls of the large containment unitthey'd just filled with space junk. Jack turned to speak with the rockyofficer. She noted that Jack had started the testing. (Reply: Maraht) She noticed the holographic images that started flashing and then jackworking at a station and subsequently her PADD containing the manisfest ofweapons. "All right Ms. T'Vof I've got you set up, you can access the datastream from your external download link and I've set this station to save itas well so you can compare the readings if you wish from both sources." "Thank you, Mr. Haynes. Could you please be doubly sure no one get's tooclose to me while I do this? I'm not the hair trigger type and I'mm keepingthem all on a low setting, but it'll so much easier if I'm not worryingabout accidentally burning someone." She'd set up a target image on the wallin front of her and took aim after instructing the computer to measure theenergy flow, scatter pattern and phase variance. She ticked off each weapon as she fired it and kept one of each weapon tothe side as her control series. Just as she was about to take aim the large,booming crack caused her to nearly duck and roll. She controlled herself,managing to stop short of taking aim in the direction of the sound. ~Get agrip, Mutt. No danger here - just space junk complaining.~ She did stop for a moment and looked back in the direction of Maraht andJack. "Any possibility of muffling that sound? Makes me just a bit jumpywith weapons in hand." She grinned a bit wolfishly, letting it be known shewas joking. (reply Jack, Maraht) She finished her baseline data collection and returned to where theintriguing stuff was going on. "So, while I was busy taking target practice,what, in the name of the Emissary was that noise?" (reply Jack, Maraht) Lo'ren could follow most, but not quite all of it and so she simply acceptedthe explanation. "Oksy, well. In any case, I have my weapons ready to go. Idid like the thought you'd had earlier though Jack, fire upon the materialitself and see what our unaltered weapons do to it. Maybe we can do thatfirst?" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades, Deck Six, Corridor, ACSO Ensign (JG) Kenneth McKenzie, 10:02 hours) Kenny walked down the corridor with Crewperson Ali on their way to Sickbay, where they assumed the CMO, Trommashere would be. Since he knew that Doorman and Kase could handle their jobs, he just need to get the data from the shells, and what better way than to ask for the help of Medical. Since the aliens who used to wear the shells were long dead, this was their field of knowledge. Just to make sure that he know where Trommashere was, however, he tapped him COMM badge. =/\="Ensign McKenzie to Lt. Trommashere."=/\= (reply Lt. Trommashere) =/\="On behalf of the Science Department, I would like Medical's help to study the alien shells which have been brought aboard. Would you, or some of your Medical staff be able and free to help us?"=/\= ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – COPS Lt. Maraht – 1005) "Thanks Lieutenant," said Lt. Haynes as he turned. "And please don't call me sir. You actually outrank me you know." There was a twinkle in his eye as he turned back and finished up programming in the required tests. "All right, the metallurgical magnaflux study will run first followed by the tensile strength and flexibility study. The microcellular strata study and evaporation tests will conclude the series." He tapped the button. "Initiating." “Yes, ……Mr. Haynes,” replied Maraht. He had been so used to these stalks around him outranking him that he felt uncertain as to what to call Lt. Haynes. He liked this stalk as an officer, and did not wish to cause offense. He set aside that matter for now and checked his controls. "Everything’s running smoothly so far," Lt. Haynes noted aloud. As the sensor suites began gathering data from the samples, after tapping a button the holographic images appeared to his left and he turned to inspect them, the magnetic polarities of the separate metal fragments were being compared as the array induced a current within them, the sensors then went through a wide range of power levels and measured both flux gain, polarization and finally after the induced current was withdrawn their inherent magnetic capacity as the electromagnetic fields began to decay. "It will take a few minutes before the first series is concluded." Having said that he began setting up the subroutine that would tap into the labs sensor suite then located her padd and patched into it. "All right Ms. T'Vof I've got your set up. You can access the data stream from your external download link and I've set this station to save it as well so you can compare the readings if you wish from both sources." "Thank you, Mr. Haynes. Could you please be doubly sure no one get's too close to me while I do this? I'm not the hair trigger type and I’m keeping them all on a low setting, but it'll so much easier if I'm not worrying about accidentally burning someone." She'd set up a target image on the wall in front of her and took aim after instructing the computer to measure the energy flow, scatter pattern and phase variance. Meanwhile, the magnaflux series was completed. Maraht watched both the ongoing tests and the holographic projection as the forcefields inside the unit activated and began shifting. There was a notable "Crack!" from inside the unit as one piece was stressed beyond its ability to withstand. The startled reaction to the sound from both officers was visible. Maraht was startled too, but had little time to react. He was too busy monitoring the containment fields against such an eventuality. Lt. Haynes spoke up. "There might be some more of that, the neutrino decay has been eating away at all but one of these fragments for a couple of hundred years and has affected their structural integrity." Ensign T’vof paused for a moment and looked back in the direction of Maraht and the CSO. "Any possibility of muffling that sound? Makes me just a bit jumpy with weapons in hand." She grinned a bit wolfishly, letting it be known she was joking. Maraht tweaked the containment fields in an effort to help muffle any more sounds coming from the lumps of metal. Ensign T’Vof approached the two of them after gathering her baseline data from firing the weapons. "So, while I was busy taking target practice, what, in the name of the Emissary was that noise?" “The forcefields pulling on the debris caused one of them to crack,” replied Maraht. “Their integrity is not structurally sound after all these years. Mr. Haynes could give you a more detailed analysis.” (Reply Jericho Haynes) Ensign T’Vof seemed to accept the explanation. "Oksy, well. In any case, I have my weapons ready to go. I did like the thought you'd had earlier though Jack, fire upon the material itself and see what our unaltered weapons do to it. Maybe we can do that first?" “Are we ready for that yet Mr. Haynes?” asked Maraht. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – CSO, Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes- 1006) As the data from the stress tests was being compiled Jack heard Lo'ren coming upon them. "So, while I was busy taking target practice, what, in the name of the Emissary was that noise?" “The force fields pulling on the debris caused one of them to crack,” The horta chief of operations replied succinctly. “Their integrity is not structurally sound after all these years. Mr. Haynes could give you a more detailed analysis.” Jack turned quickly from the readouts and smiled at the two. "Got me at first too. The full explanation would be that the neutrino emissions caused by the subspace distortion field that was in turn caused by the quantum filaments embedded in the metal has weakened the molecular bonds and caused stress faults along the grain of the alloy. The shifting force fields that are testing the pieces caused one of the chunks to snap nearly in two at approximately twenty six percent of its nominal rated capacity. While the others are holding on all but one of them is showing similar stress patterns and that one remaining is the chunk that was not embedded with the quantum filaments. From the looks of it then the Tch'kairn wreckage is positively riddled with the filaments and degraded to the point of uselessness." He turned just enough to give one of the readings the eye before looking back. "The one from what I have hypothesized to be their enemy then is holding in there well, I expect Lt. Wright is going to be very interested in the data." s he sat back he thought. ~Jack you really sounded like an egghead there, gotta work on that.~ "Oksy, well. In any case, I have my weapons ready to go. I did like the thought you'd had earlier though Jack, fire upon the material itself and see what our unaltered weapons do to it. Maybe we can do that first?" “Are we ready for that yet Mr. Haynes?” asked Maraht. "An excellent idea that." He said as the metal fatigue tests ran their course, all of the Tch'kairn fragments had failed miserably with a 42 to 72 percent drop in efficiency which proved that while over time the quantum strings would break down nearly any kind of metal they were inefficient in the short term for that sort of use, the normal operational mode would then be to use the weapon to take down enemy command and control capability which was terrifying in itself, without control any ship would be adrift and helpless. It didn't take long now for the next test to fall in line now that the tensile strength and flexibility tests had been concluded. The data for the microcellular strata study was even now finished uploading causing Jack to whistle but he forced himself to answer Lo'ren's question first. "Of course Ms. T'Vof, you can input the settings for the phased energy emissions on this board to my right or on Lt. Maraht's secondary console, your choice. I wouldn't recommend actually firing your weapons at more than 8 to 10 percent of capacity since we need to maintain a good safety margin in case of an explosion, don't forget to use a full face shield for that. After the low output tests are done we can expose the weaponry to see its reaction to the subspace distortion field. The high energy tests will be conducted by the emitter array. If you'll give me just a moment I'll get the last two tests concluded." (Reply: Lo'ren) "The closest I could compare it to would be worm eaten and rotted, the whole mess is worthless." he shifted his focus back to Maraht. "Just a moment Lieutenant, the evaporation tests are nearly concluded as well." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – COPS Lt. Maraht - 1007) "The closest I could compare it to would be worm eaten and rotted,” said Lt. Haynes. “The whole mess is worthless." He looked over to Maraht. "Just a moment, Lieutenant. The evaporation tests are nearly concluded as well." “Yes Mister Haynes,” answered Maraht. Less than a minute later he had what he needed. He turned back to Ensign T’Vof and nodded. "All right, I've got all I need. You can start setting up for the weapons tests." Maraht nervously hoped that nothing bad would happen and strengthened the containment field substantially, adding more power. “The containment field is ready for the weapons testing,” he reported --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 1008) "Of course Ms. T'Vof, you can input the settings for the phased energy emissions on this board to my right or on Lt. Maraht's secondary console,your choice. I wouldn't recommend actually firing your weapons at more than 8 to 10 percent of capacity since we need to maintain a good safety margin in case of an explosion, don't forget to use a full face shield for that. After the low output tests are done we can expose the weaponry to see its reaction to the subspace distortion field. The high energy tests will be conducted by the emitter array. If you'll give me just a moment I'll get the last two tests concluded." "Right," Lo'ren moved over to his right and started inputting her parameters for the initial tests. As she worked she commented, "I certainly hope we get some usefull stuff out of all these tests. Can we salvage anything from the wreckage? Is it comparable to our equipment?" "The closest I could compare it to would be worm eaten and rotted, the whole mess is worthless." he shifted his focus back to Maraht. "Just a moment Lieutenant, the evaporation tests are nearly concluded as well." "Yes Mister Haynes,” answered Maraht. Less than a minute later he had what he needed. He turned and nodded "All right I've got all I need, you can start setting up for the weapons tests." Lo'ren nodded and took up a spot on the floor. She was close enough that she had a clear view on the junk and her peripherals weren't distracted, but far enough to avoid (hopefully) splash from the junk or her weapons. She had one of each type of weapon slung on a shoulder or belt and the smallest personal hand phaser in her hand, and her face mask was down. “The containment field is ready for the weapons testing,” The large rock reported. She nodded at Maraht as she looked over her shoulder towards the two officers, "Mr. Haynes, Mr. Maraht, I'll ask you both to remain behind me and make sure that no one else gets in the way either. I'd rather not have anyone endanger themselves needlessly." (reply Jack, Maraht, iyw) Turning back to the debris, Lo'ren set the phaser to the lowest stun setting and took aim at the piece of space junk furthest away from her and fired a 2second blast into it. The fragment looked to take the blast quite well but instead of the typical redish heat that shone on phasered metal the fragment wavered in and out of reality randomly. Lo'ren's eyes took in the sight and her jaw dropped. ~Holy Prophets, one spot of that on the Hades could cause her to segmentally implode.~ (reply Maraht, Jack) Lo'ren took a step back. "I think that's a very good indication that we don't want this stuff affecting the ship. Jack, you're sure this stuff isn't going to bust up our systems?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – CS), Lt. (jg) Jericho Haynes - 1010) “The containment field is ready for the weapons testing,” Jack heard Maraht call. "Mr. Haynes, Mr. Maraht, I'll ask you both to remain behind me and make sure that no one else gets in the way either. I'd rather not have anyone endanger themselves needlessly." Jack gave a grim smile, ~Like I'm going to wander into the path of a phaser test or let anyone knock around back here on a whim, not!~ Suppressing a chuckle he turned back to the console so that he could watch the readings, sightseeing wasn't on his agenda obviously, they were on a scientific endeavor here. The energy rated at .8 kilowatts of phased emission per nanometer squared climbed quickly to its maximum as he watched then the unthinkable happened. "Shut it down!" He shouted and turned as he slid out of his chair to see Lo'ren with widened eyes backing away from the debris. "Lieutenant we need to reset the containment fields to account for the effects, an E5 I think for now." He slid his chair across less than a dozen feet to end up near the horta. "The effect should subside quickly, if not I'm shutting down the tests." (Replay: Maraht) Jack watched as the horta deftly manipulated the controls with its appendages, as he grimly observed the distorted subspace ripples begin to subside and the distortion wave dissipated quickly. "I think that's a very good indication that we don't want this stuff affecting the ship. Jack, you're sure this stuff isn't going to bust up our systems?" He nodded as he looked away from the readings. "Subspace distortions can be contained if you keep them localized but I'm not going to jump into it with my eyes closed. Hang on just a moment Mr. Maraht." He moved back over to his station and began extrapolating the possible high end effects based on the energy used. The readings looked grim indeed when you really got into it. Spinning in his chair after a moment he fixed the both of them with a glare. "Needless to say there will be NO more hand weapons used during the experiments but I do need to do another test to make sure my data curve is correct, close up the unit please Ms. T'Vof and Mr. Maraht I need an E 10 field set up. If this one checks out as it should we're going to be cutting the weapons fire tests short and going directly to exposing the weaponry to the field." He didn't say why they would be cutting it short of course, no need to alarm anyone without hard data to back up his theory. (Reply: Maraht, Lo'ren) With the containment field then set as he wanted he set the emitter to fire a test burst at 50% power on a delay, it would power up the emitter and release the stored energy only at his direct command. "Are you ready Lieutenant?" (Reply: Maraht) "Lo'ren stand back from the unit." he cautioned and waited patiently till she had given him a positive reply, all joking was gone now. When the area was clear then he began the countdown, "On my mark three, two, one!" At one he tapped the button to fire the emitter and as the beam lanced out all hell broke loose, there was a groan like from a dying man as first one then another of the fragments lost their cohesiveness and exploded; the adjustments Maraht had made to the vibration absorbing properties of the unit masking most of the explosion followed by the ripples of the subspace field which broke over the forcefields and was stayed but only just thus. The lights in the lab dimmed at the tremendous energy being directed to keep the field in check and there was a sound like metal crying out in a tremendous wail which lasted for a long moment, long enough for Jack to get a cold sweat down the back of his neck. "Mr. Maraht increase power on the containment field by ten percent." He grated as he glued his eyes to the readings and shut out the sound of groaning metal. The field edged higher as if in response then settled, seemingly teetering in indecision whether to continue to climb. ~Typical response would be to increase power to compensate but when I did that just now it climbed then settled down, could the distortions be absorbing some of the energy from the containment fields?~ "Hold it steady Lieutenant." His voice had a tense edge to it. "And watch your readings closely, don't change a thing except on my instruction." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 6 – Physics Lab – ATAC Ensign (jg) Lo'ren T'Vof - 1014) Jack confirmed what she'd thought, bad news, and asked her to holster her weapons. ~Target practice will have to wait for another day.~ She powered down the phaser in her hand, staying where she was so that she would not be in the way should Jack or Maraht need to get to the consoles quickly.~ "Fine by me Jack, I'd rather not be in the middle of a shot and suddenly wink out of existence." She smiled wanly, trying to make a joke, but feelinga bit jumpy and, yes, frightened to do it properly. (Reply: Maraht) With the containment field then set as he wanted he set the emitter to firea test burst at 50% power on a delay, it would power up the emitter and release the stored energy only at his direct command. "Are you readyLieutenant?" (Reply: Maraht) "Lo'ren stand back from the unit." Having the scientist take charge gave her some relief and she merely nodded, backing herself away from the debris. She turned her head slightly, but kept her main vision on the metal fragments, "Clear." The maelstrom that errupted following a short countdown sent Lo'ren's mindinto a frenzy. One part of her was juggling the logic and science of it all.~By Surak this is most fascinating.~ Another part of her was praying for deliverance, ~Prophets, protect us.~ and the rest of her was gearing up to defend against the threat, ready to leap into the line of fire to protect the two ranking officers. She was poised on the balls of her feet. Each crack, bang and jolt rufhed through her - causing her to coil even tighter as she watched the exploding space junk disintigrate as it flew outward. The lights dipped as there was a sound of metal rending itself atom from atom. "Mr. Maraht increase power on the containment field by ten percent." Jack was alternating looking at his readings and the real life fireworks display behind the containment barrier. "Hold it steady Lieutenant." His voice had a tense edge to it. "And watch your readings closely, don't change a thing except on my instruction." Lo'ren finally uncoiled herself and let what engineering and scientific training take hold of her faculties. "Jack," she let her confusion be spoken in her tone, "I'm getting a power drain... That's not right, is it?" (reply Haynes) She pulled up the readings of her test fire and the grid shot. She looked at the reading, her eyebrow going up in a typical Vulcan quizzical look -peppered with Bajoran confusion and disbelief. "Those phaser shots didn't dissipate... they dissapeared right before they hit the debris." Lo'ren had to wonder at what could create such an effect.~Where did they go is the question.~ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- end compile