Bad Omen

Posted on Thu Jan 21st, 2021 @ 12:26pm by The Narrator & Lieutenant Commander Meilin Jiang & Lu'kat

Mission: S2:3: Snow Drift
Location: Canopus Station, Science Centre
Timeline: MD 1 12.30

"...and this is the main workspace. As you can see our specialised labs branch off from here. Bioscience, planetary science, astrophysics and anthropology. And those departments break down further into specialised work teams, using our air-gapped shared database to ensure all our labs collaborate. We are, in fact, one of the only departments using a shared network and access to a Beta level AI. Given our's is a closed system, and all data is entered into it is screened or entered manually, we do not suffer the same issues as others do."

Lab Administrator Xo Tomec was a short man who could best be described as enthusiastically plump. Rounded cheeks, a solid waistline, and eyes that always seemed wrinkled in perpetual laugh lines, he had been dubbed the Anti-Ingram in the secret meetings among the station's scientific personnel. His job was to administer the labs, to help them run smoothly and not grind against each other.

If Jiang was the driver, then Xo was the mechanic who kept the engine purring.

"Now, er...Mr Lu'Kat? You must forgive me," Xo said amenably. "But how should I refer to you? I do not wish to insult you by saying a rank that is not your own. And my speciality is in planetary development, not xeno political studies."

Lu'kat surveyed the workspace carefully, it did indeed look like a well-oiled machine, to use a pre-warp era term. "Accidentally mistaking a rank is no cause for offense, Lab Administrator Xo Tomec. Only when it is misstated purposefully one might choose to frown upon it. Words themselves I often find meaningless, it is the intent they are spoken with, where the goal of communication becomes clear", the Cardassian stated as he took note of the scientists and officers working at their stations. "You may refer to me as Representative Lu'kat, or just Lu'kat, whichever you prefer. Since I am the only Cardassian on Canopus Station, a little bit of leniency surrounding titles and designations should be no cause for any confusion."

"AH! Cardassian humour, it is a rare gift to be given," Xo said with a chuckle. "Now, if you'll follow me I have a small briefing for you concerning our ongoing scientific projects, as well as proposals put down by project teams for future study. Following that, I believe we have a small lunch prepared from our hydroponics lab-"

"Administrator Tomec?"

The voice filtered out of the air, friendly-sounding but with the genderless tone, a great many computer systems tended towards.

"Ah. Yes, Nike our Beta Level AI," Xo said by way of explanation and eyed the ceiling. "Nike, these are the scheduled guests I am escorting. Is it important? I am sure if it is not, then perhaps Doctor Schiller in Xenobotany could help you?"

"Sensors have detected an abnormality in the outer system. Tactical computation has decreed there is no immediate threat to Station or Long Jump Assets in the Carpathia system. The anomaly is, at current readings, a trio of comet's transiting the star system. They have been on record for five months," Nike said.

"Three comet's we've known about since we arrived seems hardly worthy-" Xo began.

"All three astronomic bodies have been begun to decelerate from interplanetary speed. Deceleration is constant, but low impulse," Nike expanded.

"Activate the station's ladar array," Meilin ordered as she stared at the astrometrics display. For the past several minutes she had been more than happy to allow Tomec to play tour guide, but now it was time for action. "I want a full spectral analysis from active sensor sweeps. And task the nearest two orbital probes from the Oort Cloud to match vectors with the comets. I want unbroken visual monitoring to corroborate sensor scans." She cast a wary look at Tomec. "The remainder of the outer system probes need to respectively scan the origin point of the anomalous arrival of the comets and be on alert for subsequent anomalies."

Tomec nodded, turned to Lu'kat and bowed, and then hurried off to move mountains.

"LIDAR array five is online and in position for immediate tasking. Beginning data assimilation," Nike commented. The astrometric image shifted becoming a blurred computer-enhanced image. Slowly over agonising seconds the pixels that represented the Beta level AI's best guess approximations began to fizzle and be replaced with more definitive answers.

It looked like a cigar, black as night with the gloss of its icy skin worn away by interstellar radiation. There were pockmarked scars here and there from impacts. The scale of this single astronomic body was close to fifty kilometres from either of its blunt ends, with a cross-section worryingly uniform at ten across.

The nose of the comet was a blaze of high energy particles that Nike was identifying as hydrogen, oxygen, methane and other more esoteric elements and chemicals. There was also a great deal of hard radiation being thrown out of what appeared to be an engine nozzle larger than Gibraltar. That end was pointed in the system, slowing the colossal bulk of the interstellar intruder. On its opposite end was a crown of jagged, crenellated rock and ice that the computer pointed out also contained manufactured elements.

"From the small sample size and uniformity of the design to within a half kilometre, all three objects appear to be artificial in nature. Given their size, it is feasible that this is a generation starship with the ability to accelerate and decelerate without needing to manoeuvre to face a new thrust vector," Nike explained. "At the current rate of deceleration, they are going to go into a close orbit of the outer paired dwarf gas planets Catastrophy and Calamity."

The potential for this to be a Concordance tactic was too great for Meilin's tastes. Before she alerted Captain Ingram, she wanted to be sure. Tapping her combadge, she said, "Jiang to Kisbeck. Prepare yourself for an immediate transport." She cut the channel before the Xilosian scientist could reply. "Computer, lock onto Philosopher Prime Kisbeck and perform a site-to-site transport to this location."

"An immediate-"

The reply on the comm was cut off in a shower of energetic feedback as a transporter pillar materialised in a free area of floor space. Kisbeck appeared out of the beam, his dark gold pupil eyes narrowing against the bright lights of the lab for a moment.

"-transpor-nargh!" he snarled. The Xilosian Philosopher Prime held up a hand to cover his eyes. He was dressed in a standard-issue station uniform with the off grey shoulder patches and no rank insignias. "You know, I have a colleague of mine who has a rather worrying philosophical thought experiment concerning this matter relocator devices of yours. I'm also sure my stomachs still catching up with me."

He looked around, the onyx skinned Xilosian's head fronds shifting in colour towards a waving sea of green.

Meilin allowed herself a cool smile. "Your friend is not wrong to be concerned. We have had remarkably few studies to confirm whether the transported individual's quantum instantiation remains the same after the transport as before." As an idealist who believed matter emanated from consciousness rather than vice versa like her materialist colleagues, such a notion did not concern Meilin in the least. "If I could direct your attention to the three extrasolar bodies that have just entered the system without showing up on any of our sensors, I wish to know if you are able to identify anything about them."

"That's not troubling at all," the Xilosian said in a grumble, stepping towards the holographic display and eyeing it. "You must understand my field of expertise is in geophysics, plate tectonics and the like. After all the Cradle Facilities were where I was put to pasture before the Concord-"

His fronds glowed a uniform pink hue.

"You think these are Concordance?" he asked in a shocked tone.

"It had crossed my mind," Meilin said in stoic admission. "Can you confirm?"

"Ahh...er...a moment?" Kisbeck said, still reeling as he looked at the hologram. "I mean...I'm not seeing the resemblance. The Concordance ships were massive affairs, but not on this scale. Some of them maybe when the rocks started falling from the out system but...no, no I don't think these are Concordance."

Meilin nodded. "Thank you, Kisbeck. That was what I needed to know. Unless you possess some knowledge of what theses comets might be, or what might have brought them here under our noses undetected, then you have my leave to go about your business."

"Are we-...are we in danger?" Kisbek asked, his gold eyes narrowing as he looked at Meilin. "Because it would appear returning to my business seems some what trivial. That and I'd rather help here than mediate a zoning dispute between a slot bar and a solarium."

"I truly do not know," Meilin said, "so if you believe you can be of assistance, then you're welcome to stay." Clearing her throat, she said, "Tomec, Nike, what have the scans from the probes and ladar shown us?"

Lu'kat also took a great interest in the three generation ships. They must be ancient, he thought. Kisbek's question also was at the forefront of the Cardassian's mind. Ever since his arrival Canopus had been hopping from one life-threatening ordeal to the other. It would be easy to assume this new development was to become just as threatening. But for that to be properly assessed they would need more data. Too many questions remained, apart from the most obvious one: who are they? Others like: are they still alive? Perhaps the ships were running on automatic pilot, transporting thousands of corpses, acting as intergalactic ancient super coffins. That might be an extreme thought to have, but at this point the possiblity remained just as real as any other. After all, who would have expected the Xilosians, pre-Federation offshoots from the Alpha-Quadrant to have made their home here. All Lu'kat knew for sure was that out here in Messier 4, anything was possible and nothing was too crazy to be disquailfied.

"Back when we dealt with the Wire Wolves, Lt. Commander Ricci and I were forced to use the Emergency Beacon to get rid of them. The energy burst resulting from it will have reached the outer edges of the galaxy by now, letting everything and everyone know something happened here. These ships will undoubtedly have picked it up as well. Perhaps they decided to come take a look?"

"Statistically unlikely. These vessels have been on our sensors for 5 months, four days, and several hours. They were considered a Grade E scientific anomaly to be researched at a later date. At that point they were considered to be Class 3 comet fragments of a much larger demi-planet that had broken up in interstellar space," Nike responded. "Though undoubtedly they must know that we are here, as communication and power signatures have been baffled."

"Nike is correct," Tomec said as he returned. "We, in fact, had a probe in the production phase before the Wire Wolves destroyed the manufactories. But Representative Lu'kat is not wrong, his strategy did aid us but also sent a flare through subspace."

Meilin frowned. She did not like the thought that a run-of-the-mill anomaly had flipped its established behavioral norms into something entirely new and unpredictable. All things had a flow. Altering the flow always led to trouble. Always. "I believe I asked for a report," she said in a clipped tone.

"Fragment Three has begun to fracture," Nike reported. On the hologram the vessel closest to the gas giant was indeed coming apart. But the blaze of its great engine remained unchanged, as fragments small and large began to flake off of the hull. Hundreds, then thousands, ranging in size from the size of a probe to that of a cruiser. And then each began to manoeuvre, their tails emitting the bright sparks of a drive plume as they to began to slow down alongside their carrier ship.

"I'm not much of an expert on these things, but I think you look surprised. As though this was not normal," Kisbeck said slowly.

And now it was time to inform Captain Ingram. The situation had evolved beyond observation to the point where a response was needed, perhaps even intervention, and that required a command officer. "No," Meilin said without turning away from the display. "Nothing about this is normal."

"Commander Jiang to Captain Ingram," Meilin said with a tap to her combadge. "We have a situation."