102350.9
CAPT W. Lesyak
LOCATION Sector Beta-6740, System POI-B-3843.
MISSION Survey conducted under Tupaia Initaitive.
OUTCOME Initial system survey was conducted. Potential mining sites within the system determined. One M-class planet, Iconian-like structure located in one of archipelagos. The structure emitted a pulse signal towards a location within the system, around one of outer ice worlds.
KEY PERSONNEL
- CAPT Trellain De Drowvani Nimitz
- CAPT W. Lesyak
NARRATIVE We have gathered at the extreme edge of Sector Beta-6740, where we are preparing to warp into a system designated as POI-B-3843. My vessel, USS Aspasia, is currently accompanied by the USS Scharnhorst, commanded by Captain Trellain Nimitz. Our initial deployment has been hampered by external environmental factors; cross-sector long-range communications were temporarily offline due to an unexpected and intense ion storm that has formed within the Ba’aja sector. This storm has also delayed the arrival of the remaining ships in our task group, leaving the Aspasia and the Scharnhorst to conduct the initial survey of the system alone.
As we prepared for the transition from warp, our long-range sensors provided a preliminary architectural overview of POI-B-3843. The system is a binary star system consisting of two yellow dwarf stars. Orbiting these twin stars are seven larger planetary bodies, all of which are circumbinary.
The first celestial body to greet us was the system’s most distant and largest resident, a Class T gas supergiant. One of the most intriguing aspects of this supergiant is its total lack of natural moons. Despite its immense size, it possesses no orbiting satellites of significant mass, although it is surrounded by a very thin, dust-like ring. Flight officers on both vessels immediately flagged the presence of wide-reaching and powerful magnetic fields. While these fields generated significant interference for our standard sensor arrays, we remained at a safe distance of several million kilometers from the supergiant, allowing us to manage the interference without risking the ships. Science officers on the Scharnhorst began a detailed study of the planet’s composition and its unique planetary light show. Initial simulations based on our sensor data suggest that if the gas giant ever possessed natural moons, its gravity eventually tore them apart and harnessed the debris into its own mass. Furthermore, the rotation of the magnetic field indicates that the planet likely has a central core that is slightly smaller than average but spinning at an exceptionally high rate of speed.
To ensure a comprehensive survey of the system, Captain Nimitz and I agreed to a strategic division of labor. I suggested that we deploy several Type 1 probes into the equatorial and polar regions of the gas giant to gain a better understanding of its magnetic field. The Scharnhorst launched these probes into optimized orbits, coordinating their telemetry with the Aspasia’s astrometrics systems to create a unified system scan. We then split our forces: the Scharnhorst moved to the system’s edge to begin scanning the outermost planets and working inward, while the Aspasia moved deeper into the system to survey the innermost planets. We intended to rendezvous near the third or fourth planet, barring any unforeseen developments.
As the Aspasia moved toward the interior of the system, our wide-range scans identified three innermost planets. One of these, a Class D world, was found to possess significant deposits of victurium and neosirium on its surface. Given the distance and the potential for interference caused by the two gas giants and a dense asteroid belt located between our two ships, I ordered the deployment of a communications buoy to ensure we maintained a stable link with the Scharnhorst. While we conducted these scans, the Aspasia also deployed two runabouts to perform orbital scans of the Class D and Class K planets while the ship itself approached the system’s M-class world.
The Class M planet proved to be the most significant discovery of the day. It features approximately 64% water coverage and maintains a climate range that our computers find comparable to Earth, Risa, and Bajor. The polar regions are narrow but appear to be fixed, showing no signs of significant expansion or recession. The planet is rich in plant life on land and teems with animal life in its oceans, though terrestrial animal life appears to be limited to amphibians. The world is orbited by two moons, both of which contain valuable ore deposits; one of these moons notably contains traces of benamite on its northern pole.
Meanwhile, Captain Nimitz noted that the sixth planet, a Class P ice giant, may also be habitable to Andorians but currently it lacks a breathable atmosphere.
While the Scharnhorst was establishing a polar orbit and deploying surface probes, it detected an unusual signal originating from a small archipelago on the far side of the planet. This signal was diverted to the ship’s tactical station for further investigation. Despite the lack of obvious signs of civilization or higher life forms, the signal was distinct. The Scharnhorst moved into a geosynchronous orbit over the transmission and transitioned to a state of yellow alert, activating its shields as a precaution. Detailed sensor work revealed a tower-like structure situated on an isolated piece of rock protruding from the ocean. While the structure showed no active energy emissions, its construction included alloys consistent with those used for communication antennas. The builders appeared to have used natural materials for the exterior, but the interior was constructed from alloys similar to those we use for our own subspace buoys. It appeared to be a completely powered-down, automated communication outpost.
I proposed an away mission to investigate the tower from the surface. Since our orbital scans showed no evidence of defense mechanisms or power surges, we determined it was safe to beam down. Captain Nimitz and I led our respective away teams to the cliffy island, where we began a difficult trek uphill through dense foliage. Upon reaching the summit, we stood before the structure. Localized tricorder scans provided much more coherent data than our orbital sensors. We discovered that the entrance was sealed by doors composed of a tritanium alloy with a thin layer of neutronium. This combination of materials explained why our orbital scanners had experienced such high levels of dispersion.
Of even greater concern was the discovery of small, imprinted glyphs on the structure that appeared to be Iconian-alike. My tricorder analysis indicated a 40% similarity that the Iconian alphabet and a 30% similarity to the glyphs found at Preserver Archive found on Lae’nas III, suggesting the builders may have been a civilization historically positioned between the Preservers and the Iconians. Based on the materials’ state, we estimated the structure to be approximately 280,000 years old. Captain Nimitz noted that the presence of Iconian technology might explain the lack of higher evolution on the planet, as the world could have been targeted during ancient galactic conflicts. However, given such a long timespan, it is likely that natural processes of erosion removed any evidence of the planet being such target.
In an attempt to gather more specific data, I focused my tricorder scan on the passage and modified the signal to look specifically for Iconian signatures. This action triggered an immediate and unexpected response. The air around us became briefly ionized, creating a sensation similar to an artificial breeze. The tower began to power up, emitting low-intensity subspace pulses with a duration of 3.8 microseconds. While there was no significant energy buildup within the tower itself, these pulses were being directed specifically toward the aforementioned Class P ice giant located in the outer system.
As we monitored this activation, the Scharnhorst’s tactical officer on the shift hailed Captain Nimitz to report a new development. A structure had suddenly appeared in orbit of the ice giant, one that had been completely undetectable during our initial surveys of the area. Recognizing that we had inadvertently activated ancient technology, I ordered the away teams to prepare for an immediate beam-up. We returned to our ships and transitioned to a state of Yellow Alert, setting a course for the newly revealed structure. The mission has now shifted from a standard survey to a tactical investigation of this ancient, interconnected network.
RECOMMENDATION We are currently en route the investigate the structure orbiting the ice giant. We will remain under Yellow Alert. Initial scans show the structure also does not have noticeable energy emissions, but given how the “antenna” on the Class M planet was easily triggered of by a tricorder, we shall approach this structure with passive scans only. Hopefully, the ion storm will settle down soon, allowing more vessels to reach the system.
On a more different note, I have consulted the Stardate system. According to the Earth’s old Gregorian calendar, we began this survey on a date that would correspond to May 8th, 2425. Further digging through the archives, I have found that this day is a birthday of a natural historian, Davidi Attenborough. Given that next year it will be exactly 500 years since he was born, I would suggest to Stellar Cartography that this system is named Attenborough system, aware this may be seen as “Human patronising”.
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RECOGNITION A very proactive Captain Nimitz and the crew of USS Scharnhorst in this system survey are gratefully recognised.
OOC Thanks to @Trellain43 for participating and for screenshots.
Mission brief here.
Event transcript here.