Report on the Tour

Posted on 28 May 2023 @ 5:58pm by Lieutenant JG Christina Hartley & Captain Bane Plase

1,421 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: Chief Engineer's Office

As Christina reached her office, she finished putting the final parts in her report on the tour she had given the Elder. It had been an interesting visit, and she had also been looking into the technology of Antioch's people, and it was definitely interesting. She already had found several ways to improve upon it.

She sighed, and replicated a cup of coffee, before sitting down. "Hartley to Bane," Christina said, tapping her comm badge.

On the planet below, Bane was getting the final touches done for his appearance on the news broadcast of all broadcasts that would every happen on Antioch III. Several members of the Tashi's staff primed him, applying various types of makeup that went with his complexion. One of them had told him, when asked, that it would make his skin appear less oily and make it so he didn't look so tired. He originally objected to it, but relented. As Christina's voice came from seemingly nowhere, one of the staff startled and jumped back. Plase inwardly smiled, relishing the momentary uncomfortableness she felt, the way he still felt about getting primed. "Go ahead, Lieutenant."

"I've finished the tour with the Elder, and I'm just finishing the report. So far, they think our technology is like magic, but I've been looking at their technology, to see if it can be improved," Christina replied.

Bane was glad Commander Larsen had assigned them an Elder each. It really was a good idea. "I imagine they would think our technology is magic. As one of your Earth philosophers said a long time ago, 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' As far as helping them improve their technology, at this stage in the game, that is against the Prime Directive."

Christina chuckled softly. "I told them the exact same quote, to be honest. It was a writer, Arthur C. Clarke, one of my favourite authors from the time," Christina said. "As for the improvement, I'm looking into it for us as well. They use a different method of FTL travel, but it could lead to improved travel for us as well, or at least better communication. I've got a few ideas for a new comm system that would be better than our current comm. badges, which won't be able to be blocked."

Bane was equally amused they had used the same quote. Of course, he and Christina had been close since she was little. "Sounds good. I'd be interested to see how we could integrate some of their ideas." He eyed the aides briefly and wondered how they would interpret what he had just said. Changing the subject, he continued. "Which Elder did you have and what did you show them?"

"Elder Ectar was with me, and I gave him a tour of the engine room. His head almost exploded when he saw the warp core, and his heart almost blew up when I showed him a holodeck," Christina replied. "I did my best to keep the explanations simple, but even simple wasn't really simple for them," Christina said.

Plase had to chuckle, and wished he could have seen the Elders face in the holodeck. "It was a good choice to have Elder Ectar with you. I can only imagine his reaction to the holodeck. Out of curiosity, what did you show him that you couldn't show him on the ship itself?"

"A brief overview of our history of warp, so an image of the Phoenix, Captain Archer, Doctor Cochrane, stuff like that. I told him how we started with basic tech, so in a hundred years or two, their people would likely be as advanced as we are, and that we all begin somewhere," Christina replied.

Plase nodded as an aide applied a powder to his chin and forehead. "Good choices. It's nice to see when someone has more than you, that you had to work to get where you are, and that it's possible."

"I thought it would give them some confidence, getting to know that we didn't always have such advanced tech, and it's why I've been looking at their tech. Their FTL drive, or Star Drive as they call it, goes at currently warp one, but I can already double that to warp two with a few minor tweaks," Christina said. "And that's just the start."

Plase shook his head. "I appreciate your zeal, Lieutenant, but again, that would be against the Prime Directive. We have to let them develop that by themselves, naturally. If we gave them the ability to travel four times faster than they can without the ancillary technology to back it up, disaster could strike," he stated.

"Oh, I'm not ready to give it to them, I'm doing this to see if it can be done. Let's face it, FTL might end up being better than warp drive, or as a decent backup should we ever be short on dilithium or antimatter," Christina said. "They use a different mineral to power their drives."

This intrigued Bane. Being an Engineer himself, way back during his days on the Pegasus-D, finding a new way to travel faster than light was the holy grail. in the 2360's, it was discovered that the traditional way of warp travel was actually damaging subspace. New techniques and new methods had been developed, but those were only stop-gaps at best. "That is intriguing. Make sure to write up a report, talk it over with Mr. Larsen, then have it on my desk ready to submit to Starfleet Command when I am ready to submit my full mission report to them."

"I will," Christina replied. "I'm studying it as much as I can, and the mineral is definitely unique. I'm not sure how it gives off the radiation required to power their drives, but you know me, when I find something I don't know, I find out since I need to know."

"Is this mineral common, or is it something that is unique to their planet," Bane asked, his curiosity running wild. The aides were now brushing his hair.

"Oh, it's not common, that's for sure. I suspect it's something to do with the Antioch system. I mean, four stars in a single system does put off some unusual radiation, and mixed in with the minerals that are found on the planets, well, I suspect that's what gives it the strength to create an FTL field," Christina explained.

The Captain's hopes were dashed a bit. It surely would have been a hell of a find. Then he thought of something more. "Maybe you and the Science Department could work on analyzing that radiation and this mineral. Could be possible to replicate it? I don't know, to be honest. I am sure you and Lieutenant Spangler would be able to figure something out, if it is even possible." Bane saw movement to his left, and saw that the primary contact for the broadcast being put on was looking at him expectantly.

"Honestly, I think we might be able to replicate it, and I suspect that we can make use of it. I've already got teams getting a lot of samples of the mineral; I asked the Elder for permission before he left. He was happy to donate as much as we want; there are several planets in the system full of it, so I sent out five teams. Once we have it, I'll get Lt. Spangler to study it as well," Christina said. "I'd be surprised if the Lt. hasn't already started studying the radiation from the suns."

Plase's eyes narrowed a bit. "It's possible. However, last I heard, he was on the planet somewhere. Maybe he is sampling it. Who knows. I need to check in with him after this broadcast. Speaking of the broadcast, they are motioning for me. It's time. Please let Commander Larsen know its about to begin. You all should be able to watch it live."

"I will," Christina said, sending the message to the Commander. "I'm in my office now, ready to watch it."

"Excellent. Good work with the Elder, with the tour, and with your research. Someday you will be running the Daystrom Institute, you keep this level of excellence up. Bane out."

Christina chuckled; she always loved Bane's faith in her. She leant back as she looked at the readings, turning on the monitor to watch the speech.


A post by

Captain Bane Plase
Commanding Officer
USS Cygnus

&

Lieutenant Junior Grade Christina Hartley
Chief Engineer
USS Cygnus

 

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