101851.4
CAPT Draz, Sanara
LOCATION Frontier, Sector Beta 6741 (Uncharted)
MISSION Operation Signal Catcher - Probe Launch
Joint operation between USS Heimdall and USS Saraswati to deploy long-range probes into the sector. These probes will conduct initial surveys and identify points of interest for further examination.
OUTCOME Five probes successfully launched. One probe lost shortly after launch due to encounter with uncharted anomaly (irregular gravimetric flux); recovery not within mission parameters.
KEY PERSONNEL
- RADM Bishop, Samuel - 38th Fleet XO (@Sam)
- CAPT Tyrstoc - USS Heimdall (@Space_Monkey)
- CAPT Draz, Sanara - USS Saraswati (@Mudd)
NARRATIVE
Saraswati previously (on or about stardate 101822) assisted USS Aegis and USS Tykera in deploying deep-space sensor arrays along the edge of sector Beta 6741. Today, we returned to this region as part of a two-ship element with USS Heimdall to contribute to the next phase of the Tupaia Initiative.
Admiral Bishop had his flag aboard Heimdall and Captain Tyrstoc and myself deferred to his command in all matters. We departed DS-13, crossed the border from the Ba’aja sector into Beta 6741, and dropped from warp together near the first set of launch coordinates. As we approached that location at impulse, Heimdall relayed their calculations for probe trajectory and velocity; I asked if they had taken into account the subspace currents that we noted on our previous visit, and it turned out that they had not. I had my science officer, Commander T’Maal, make the necessary corrections and pass those back to Heimdall. Once those had been cross-checked and confirmed by both ships, I was invited to say a few words and then launch the first probe.
That probe almost immediately began to veer off track by a small but increasing amount. Suspecting a lateral thruster failure, I ordered remote shutdown of the opposite thruster and cycling the others to bring it back on course. This correction took some time and will (most likely) slightly reduce the probe’s range and mission duration, but I believe it should still be able to complete most of its objectives. As a precaution, I ordered all other probes from that production run pulled and set aside; as of this report, close inspection has revealed two others from that batch with at least one bad thruster, which appears to have been a replication error rather than a problem with assembly/integration.
Heimdall had no such difficulty with their launch from the same location, and after verifying their probe was on its way and transmitting properly, both ships proceeded to the second set of coordinates. It was agreed that Heimdall should go first this time; both launches were without incident, and we continued to the third and final launch position for this sector. This was where we had some more bad luck, though in this case the cause was external rather than internal.
As we approached the third launch site, Commander T’Maal noted that the local current had shifted slightly since our previous visit. She provided another update to the launch parameters, which was again passed to Heimdall and confirmed by both ships. Saraswati’s third probe was on course and sending back good telemetry when, 47.4 seconds after launch, it was sharply deflected and ceased transmitting. Analysis of the last second’s worth of data received, as well as our own sensor readings from the launch coordinates, showed that the probe had run nearly straight into a small region (no more than a few hundred meters along any axis) of intense gravimetric flux; our working hypothesis is that this may be connected to the recent shift noted earlier.
We attempted to reacquire tracking and control of the probe without success; due to the anomaly’s interference with our sensors, without moving from our position, we could not even verify if it was still intact, let alone if it was still under (possibly varying) thrust along an unknown vector, all of which meant that the possibility space for its current position was expanding by the second. I was ready to order pursuit, but Admiral Bishop reminded me that we still had other probes to launch and that losing some was part of the risk, while sending a starship in blind (to possibly encounter another dangerous anomaly) was not.
Heimdall’s third launch was (again) unremarkable, and both ships completed the mission and returned to DS-13 without further incident.
RECOMMENDATION
The Admiral told me that he would send another ship after our lost probe, but just in case he forgets (I know he’s a very busy man), please consider this a reminder.
Also, my chief engineer suggests that all commands conduct a round of diagnostics and inspections on any probes that were replicated by DS-13 Operations between stardates 101750 and 101800. The bad thrusters we found aboard Saraswati had valves that were partially fused in the closed position; we suspect a transient glitch or possibly a contaminant in the feed stock.
RECOGNITION
My highest praise, as always, goes to CMDR T’Maal for her exceptional competence and attention to detail in the performance of her duty.
OOC I’m doing Science and I’m still alive! Thanks to Sam and everyone else involved with the Tupaia Initiative, which has lured me back into doing stuff with the fleet again.