| SUBMITTED: Stardate 93903.2 | FILED BY: LCDR Keliaya | SECURITY: Level 2 - Confidential |
LOCATION: Alpha-7192 Sector
MISSION: Establishing diplomatic relations following first contact and obtaining information potentially relevant to search and rescue efforts.
OUTCOME: An agreement was reached with the Tiks, who still prefer to remain without contact with the Federation, but are slightly more amenable to us now after having understood our mission. The Tiks have given us their information on the atmospheric similarity they detected, though we do not yet know how to read their map.
KEY PERSONNEL:
CAPT Se'lai
LCDR al Firawn
LCDR Eunbi
LCDR Keliaya
CIV Mana
LCDR al Firawn
LCDR Eunbi
LCDR Keliaya
CIV Mana
NARRATIVE: The U.S.S. Valley Forge set out on stardate 93898.1 to follow up on a potential lead for our search and rescue mission, temporarily conducted by the U.S.S. Lexington in our absence. The Lexington encountered a group of cosmozoan entities who claimed to have found something with similar atmospheric composition to the Lexington but smaller, deemed likely a shuttlecraft or escape pod by Captain Omar. However, the Lexington was unable to establish diplomatic relations with the distrustful beings (See this report for more details on the Lexington's mission).
The Valley Forge first searched for the cosmozoans in their last known location, and long-ranged sensors detected them in a system only four lightyears away. Upon arriving in the system, I attempted to minimize our threat appearance by lowering various types of technological emissions but did not achieve any results. Commander al Firawn scanned the creatures with passive scans only to avoid disturbing them, and though not much information was gained, he managed to observe deflector-like technology on the cosmozoans, as well as the radio signals they used to communicate.
Applying the Lexington's translation matrix, Commander Eunbi was able to decipher the cosmozoans' signals. Like with the Lexington, they were extremely wary of us and demonstrated a strong distrust for our metal-based technology. Captain Keelah communicated with them in another attempt at diplomacy. Commander Eunbi was able to sense a large amount of intelligent lifeforms inside the cosmozoans (verified by the Lexington's sensor data) but could not distinguish whether we were communicating with them or the cosmozoans. Their use of the word 'Gods' to seemingly supplement 'ships,' as pointed out by Keelah, did suggest that they were the smaller lifeforms within.
During the conversation, the beings mentioned the EereE, and the captain called Mana to the bridge due to her firsthand knowledge of the EereE. After showing her our scan data on the cosmozoans and playing the untranslated audio, Mana identified the smaller lifeforms as most likely being the Tiks, and it was them that we were speaking with.
According to Mana's historical information, the aquatic Tiks were one of the first species to join the EereE Order, and did so willingly due to the alignment of their ideals of natural order with the beliefs of the EereE. The EereE proceeded to industrialize their homeworld, which polluted it to the degree that the cosmozoan creatures (their gods) who required its oceans to breed could no longer have their young survive here. The EereE offered to repair all the damage they had done in their Crusade period with the introduction of the Overseer, but disagreement over the AI network's implementation was the final straw that broke the two species apart. The Tiks apparently abandoned their homeworld and left inside the bodies of the cosmozoans (their aquatic nature allowing them to survive in the circulatory systems of the creatures), who now function as bioships for them in return for the Tiks' assistance in guiding them to vital resources and maintaining their health.
Modern Tiks have formed a symbiotic relationship with the cosmozoans, whom they still refer to as 'gods.' Their experience with the EereE have soured their view of non-biologically based technology, perceiving them as 'perversions of nature.' It is unclear whether they believed our statements of peace, but they appeared satisfied by Captain Keelah's negotiation efforts. We promised that Federation vessels would leave the Tiks alone, and they agreed to give us a map pointing to the similar atmospheric composition they had discovered. In our exchange we learned that the Tiks ignored this discovery as it did not have the correct hydrogen-oxygen ratio, and they sought water to sustain themselves and their cosmozoan ships. As a gesture of good faith, Keelah also presented a map of systems Starfleet had charted in the region to assist the Tiks in finding water sources.
RECOMMENDATION: We should honour our word and not make further contact with the Tiks unless they do so first, or if circumstances make it absolutely necessary. However, the Valley Forge science teams cannot yet make sense of the 'map' they have given us. I recommend first consulting astronomy and navigation experts across the fleet, and if that fails, seek out the Tiks again for assistance.
//SIGNED//
Lieutenant Commander Keliaya
Chief Engineer, U.S.S. Valley Forge
OOC: Deciphering the map will be done in the followup episode Xe Marks the Spot on Friday December 1st at Beta+1.
