100813.5
CAPT Tungsten, D.
LOCATION Planet 1 of the EGS-A758Z system, Alpha-7190 Sector.
MISSION Deter and/or intervene in pirate activity to stop it, and aid victims.
OUTCOME Successful. But another group in need of rescue was discovered.
KEY PERSONNEL
- CAPT Tungsten, D.
- CMDR LaSalle, E.
- LCDR Reese, V.
- LT Fra’Seer, K.
- LT Wind-People, A.
- LTJG Gha’Kahrr
NARRATIVE While on patrol in the Alpha-7190 Sector, we received a distress call from the Federation light freighter SS Southern Cross on its way to DS9 with a small shipment of advanced medical scanning equipment. They were under attack by a single Naussican Raider, and too lightly-armed to prevail in that fight. They were trying to lose them in the EGS-A758Z system, a very unremarkable and uninteresting star system by all outward appearances, when we set intercept course.
Before we could emerge from slipstream at that location, the freighter had lost engines from enemy fire while attempting to use the atmosphere of Planet 1 to lose them, and went down. This planet is an ocean planet, completely devoid of landmass. The freighter’s pilot managed to keep the ship at a shallow enough angle to glide to a water landing, but they quickly began to sink, while we entered the system, and dealt with the Naussicans. Of note for later, the ship was sinking more slowly than it should have been.
The Naussican ship was extremely out-gunned by USS Dragon, and its engines were disabled almost immediately. A hail was made ordering them to surrender, and they did comply, even with much unhappy shouting. All 5 of the crew were beamed directly to the brig under the watch and care of our security teams.
As we turned to the task of rescuing the freighter, it was determined we could not get a tractor beam or transporter lock from orbit due to ionizing interference in the atmosphere of the planet. Indeed, we would eventually need to get within about 85 meters for tractor lock.
Dragon was ordered to Condition Blue, and the ship entered the atmosphere for a water-landing, before diving after SS Southern Cross. The ship performed extremely well in both atmosphere and under water, though we are still trying to purge trace amounts of sea water from some difficult to reach places in cargo bays 3 and 4, which were used as ballast tanks. This is not impacting operations.
Upon reaching a depth just under 200 meters below full submersion and achieving tractor lock, we began ascending with SS Southern Cross. It was here that things became unexpected. It was detected that the gravitational pull on the freighter increased just slightly once we had a hold of it. It was not something we could not handle, but the reason why is noteworthy. LT Fra’seer detected a large group of aquatic humanoid lifeforms had been swimming upward under the ship, attempting to slow its descent, and they were successful by a small amount. Most of them let go as soon as we had tractor lock, but one of them decided to hitch a ride on the freighter’s hull. Fortunately, especially after we ascended out of the water, we detected these beings also had a set of lungs in addition to gills.
There was concern at this point about a Prime Directive violation, even if stumbled into accidentally, though it was my call to continue with the rescue operation, as it would be the least-damaging option. As for the one sitting on the freighter’s hull, it was determined we could not safely beam him back to the water, due to the ionizing interference. I made the call to bring him aboard, and he would be transported (the much shorter distance than back to the water) into a room that was filled with water at LTJG Gha’Kahrr’s suggestion.
Our guest was immediately showing signs of advanced intelligence, performing mathematical calculations as a show for us, and speaking somewhat unceasingly, in the hopes we would have something like our Universal Translator, to calibrate it.
Once we had that calibration, we learned that our guest was named Maderko, and he was a diplomat by profession. He explained that his people had actually fled there from a planet they called Alpha. They had their own space ship that by his accounts seems to have been capable of about Warp 1. They headed to the only planet in a habitable zone within their range they knew of, which was this ocean planet, and he went on to describe many of the hardships for things like culture and industry a planet with zero landmass presents. (No metals to mine, no means of making fire, no repair of what few technologies they brought with them after their ship sank.)
In our discussions he also explained that they had had contact with alien species before, while still on their original planet, though few, and mostly passing traders coming to them. All the species mentioned appear to be extinct. Most interestingly, he said that one of them had warned them that the “Empire of the Eternal (Endless) Flame” was expanding in their direction. LT Wind-People checked the reference with our databases, and it appears to be another name for the T’Kon Empire. That means these people are at least 600,000 years old by our best estimates, as the reported range of the T’Kon Empire would have engulfed areas around there by then. They had to flee to this ocean planet before they ever made direct contact though, so sadly, we can’t learn more through them.
It was further explained that these people used to have an appearance closer to human ‘but with slight facial bone structure’ differences. They forced their bodies to adapt to an aquatic world, and they now have a much more fish or possibly dolphin-like appearance, with small fins, smooth rubbery skin, of course gills, some webbing between fingers and toes, but also retractable claws and sharp teeth, to apparently make sure they did not end up at the bottom of the food chain. If Maderko is any indication though, they seem like a very friendly and social people.
He explained that they had to flee their planet due to their own creation turning on them. They had several nation-states on their world that lived in an extended period of cold war. As he tells it, they actually had a long period of peace through deterrence, and had established something of an international council or confederation to try to keep the peace, and answer as one world body for their handful of alien encounters, but through heavy industrialization to maintain their deterrence, they had harmed their ecosystem. They were, however working and making progress to address that, but the latest technology on the military side had been AI control of their weapons, to enable milisecond response times. The AI of the various nations actually colluded together with the conclusion that their people posed the greatest threat to the territories they (the AI) were charged to protect, the planet, and lower life forms, and turned their weapons on them. They were unable to fight back, but apparently one of their few exploratory ships nearly completed was allowed to escape with a group of them to this ocean planet. They were in a hurry, so they could not take their time to find a better location within range.
Most relevant to Starfleet Command and the Diplomatic Corps here though, Maderko confirmed my suspicions that he did not hitch a ride just to seek thrills. It was to beg for help. His people want off their ocean planet. Preferrably to return to their original planet, but they do not know where it is, with the loss of their ship, and cannot point to it in the sky, as the stars have moved position in the intervening years, and they have been unable to accurately record this, not having so much as paper available. They acknowledge we may be unable to find it, or someone else may have moved in. (Maderko even pondered out loud whether the T’Kon may have set up a colony there in the ruins.) They would prefer to be re-settled on an M-Class planet with land and sufficient resources of their own, but not for the sake of isolation. They are also open to being settled as refugees onto another planet among a different people, though it is not their first choice. (They are not numerous, there are perhaps only a thousand of them. Clearly not breeding quickly in their current form.) It was also expressed that at least some of them, like Maderko himself, would like to be transformed to their original state, if at all possible, though he said the research on the subject was lost with the ship, and he is not a scientist himself.
I have only promised him that I would try to bring him an answer within a number of weeks even if it is “They are still discussing it”, unless I am ordered not to. I also told him that we have already been settling a lot of refugees lately, which may complicate matters logistically, and that I didn’t feel it was the right call to scoop them all up now, as their lives are not in danger, and we may not have much of a place to put them just yet.
It is my opinion that we should help them somehow, though. LT Wind-People suggested perhaps they could find another island on Risa as her people had, but I don’t know how tolerant the people of Risa will be for yet another alien population, especially one interested in re-establishing not only their own culture again, but industry. It was also suggested we could make an artificial island for them on their current planet, but that would also lack some of the resources they’d need to rebuild, though it could be a stop-gap just to get them used to living on land again.
I have to ask if there is a planet they can be settled, even if they have to share it, but still get a reasonable amount of their own space. I also recommend finding their original home planet, even if it is either uninhabitable at this point, or has been re-settled, so that we may at the very least conduct archeological investigations, for the edification of us, and them.
I believe I have already implied this strongly enough, but I will state for the record, they did posses faster-than-light travel, and were already accustomed to alien contact, so I do not believe there is any Prime Directive violation here.
RECOMMENDATION We should attempt to have a computer simulation determine through their range and stellar movements where their planet ‘Alpha’ is located. If we cannot locate it, it is not habitable, or is already resettled, we should try to find them a new world, or at least a planet willing to take in their population. These people are intelligent, and seem to have learned the lessons of their past failures, they certainly had enough time to think about them. They did posess technology almost as advanced as our own when most of the species we know were at best still discovering the wheel or fire, if even that much, therefore I do not believe they need to be shielded from our society for the sake of development.
RECOGNITION LT Wind-People for her application of her unique cultural perspective in conversation with Maderko, and LT Fra’seer for her expert handling of the pirates we took prisoner and investigation of their ship. LTJG Gha’kahrr for seeing to our guest’s needs, and gathering valuable scientific information.
OOC Event Log Thank you for everyone who participated! I had a lot of fun with this event, I hope others did too. I actually based the story on a song (Star of Sirrah - Live Note that each of the many singers is voicing several characters in this live version,and the camera isn’t always on the screen to show you who, but this is best version.) I discovered somewhat recently, though with more emphasis on what happens to these people after they reach their new ocean world. What implications would that have for a society? The latter based upon some thoughts from Isaac Arthur on water worlds and the Fermi Paradox. It was fun kind of putting that into the Star Trek context, and I think this gives several hooks for ongoing discussions and events to follow, with Medical, Science, and possibly also Command and Diplomats to figure out what to do with more refugees. If you guys want to take them. Feel free to talk to me if so!
