Isolating the Warp Signature

Posted on 17 Oct 2019 @ 5:50am by Lieutenant Commander Magdalena "Maggie" Doyl & Captain Gabriel Barron M.D. & Lieutenant Ha'Kir Kahlim & Lieutenant Kaden Son of Martok

1,277 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Empty Creche
Location: Security Conference Room

ON

Maggie and her team had worked diligently to isolate the warp trail, but so far they'd only come close.

So, she called the Chief Flight Control Officer and Chief Strategic Operations Officer to the Security Conference Room to discuss options.

It did not take long for Lieutenant Kahlim to make his way to the Security Conference room. Since coming aboard he had taken the time to study the ship schematics and attempt to memorize the various ways around the ship.

The doors swished open and he stepped into the conference room and saw that Lt. Commander Security Chief was waiting. "Good afternoon, Commander. I'm Lieutenant Ha'kir Kahlim, Strategic Ops" He said, introducing himself.

"Hello, Lieutenant," Maggie said, smiling politely. "I apologize for not taking the time to meet you earlier. Things are a little hectic right now."

"I can imagine" Lieutenant Khalim responded as he took his seat. "What kind of trouble do you anticipate we'll encounter once the mission gets underway?" He asked.

"Our current mission is underway," she said. "Which is why I called you here. We need to find a ship."

"I understand," Lt. Kahlim said. "What do you know so far regarding the ship and its capabilities?" He said.

She handed him a PADD. "This is all the data so far. We have to find that ship before it gets into Sixth Fleet territory or we'll never get those children back. Tactical has analyzed the data and we have a good idea what to look for. The problem now is finding it.

Lt. Kahlim accepted it and studied it.

As he was doing so, Kaden, who had been running a Level Three diagnostic on the helm console and system stepped into the room. "My apologies, he said, "I was working on a project and wanted to finish before I left. What have I missed?"

Lt. Kahlim looked up. "It appears that we've got a needle to find in a warehouse full of haystacks." He replied unenthusiastically. "What is it exactly we're looking for? What was Tactical able to isolate, and are there any unique properties about the vessel that can help us isolate non-relevant signals?" He asked.

"Not much," Maggie said, handing over another PADD. "We know the ship class and where it was headed. Now we need to find the warp trail and rescue the children. We have a great deal of space to check in a very short period of time. PALLAS can help."

Lt. Kahlim raised a brow in slight confusion. "PALLAS?" he asked.

"You don't know about PALLAS?" Maggie was surprised. "Perhaps the best way to explain is for you to meet her."

Maggie raised her voice slightly. "PALLAS, could you please introduce yourself?"

PALLAS appeared dressed in her white Grecian tunic with her large round shield lashed to her back and the Grecian helm tilted back on her head. She looked at each of the officers in turn.

"You called Commander?"

"Hello, PALLAS. Our new Chief Strategic Operations Officer does not know who you are. I thought you would be the best person to explain. You might also want to be included in the conversation. We're discussing how best to find the warp trail of that ship."

She bowed to the Lieutenant before speaking "I am PALLAS, in essence I am the ship's AI. I have the capability of controlling most of the ships functions should the crew be rendered incapacitated. With a fully stocked crew I provide support functions for Security and Tactical as well as controlling the ship's automated counter electronic warfare suites when in battle. As you are the Strat Ops officer I'm sure we will be working closely together in the future." the piercing holographic eyes turned to Maggie "As for the ship, I have already attenuated the sensors to pickup the warp trail, when we get in close enough range. From what I've been detecting from the sensors we may have a harder run of it due to the distortions of the nebula that the most likely fight path of the ship will take."

"Can we alter the sensors to filter out the nebula's effects? I know it's a long shot, but science might have something," Maggie asked.

"I do not know, the nebula's effects are too random for me to adapt to. However I will summon Lieutenant Webb, perhaps he might be able to assist."

"Please do. We need all the help we can get," Maggie said.

Lt. Kahlim did not know how to respond to the. . .thing before him. A holographic projection had been given control over the ship's defensive capabilities. Who was crazy enough to think that was a smart idea considering the various vulnerabilities that a potential enemy could use to seize a tactical advantage over the ship.

"Wait. . .this thing has access to ship weapons?" The Trill said to the Security Chief.

PALLAS looked at the Lieutenant "It is commonly considered rude to refer to a sentient individual as a thing." Her eyebrow raised "And yes I do have access to most ship systems as my installation into the ship was intended to allow the ship to be crewed by a skeleton roster and still be fully effective."

Someone programmed this thing with emotions? Ha'Kir thought to himself. "Sentient how? You're nothing more than a series of programming code displayed through plasma and magnetic containment fields. You're a smart computer, but still a computer." He said, still carefully observing the program.

"I will be more than happy to discuss the finer points of AI ethics and philosophy but I believe that we have a ship to find. Besides your getting dangerously close to offending me Lieutenant."

"PALLAS is far more than just a computer program," Maggie said coolly. "I've worked with her, and I trust her to have my back, as I hope to have hers. You don't have to believe me, but you at least have to accept that I believe." She turned to PALLAS. "Ask McCarthy to join us. We might need her expertise as well."

"Of course Commander." PALLAS looked back to the Lieutenant "While I am not currently able to be separated from the ship, I was designed to be an autonomous backup for the ship. One might say that my programming could be in directly linked to Commander Data. He was, after all, ruled to be a sentient being." she paused "But this conversation is slipping dangerously into the philosophical and metaphysical."

Lt. Kahlim was not satisfied with the response; however, he realized that it was best to not push the issue since they were getting far astray from the original purpose of the meeting.

"So," Maggie said. "We need to set a course of action to follow the warp trail and get our people back."

She looked around the room. "Time is running out. PALLAS has a viable option. I suggest we use her data until we come up with something better."

PALLAS grunted "As you say Commander, I will pass on our finding to the Captain and helm."

Lt. Kahlim nodded as he stood to leave the conference room. He had an uneasy feeling about letting a computer dictate strategy; however, at the moment they did not have a lot of options.

"Thank you, everyone. I'll track down intel to see why they didn't join us," Magggie said. They didn't have much, but they did have more than they started with.

____
OFF

Lieutenant Commander Magdalena Doyl
Chief Security Officer
USS Redemption

&

Lieutenant Ha'Kir Kahlim
Chief Strategic Operations Officer

PALLAS
A.I.
USS Redemption

&

Lieutenant Kaden Son of Martok
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Redemption

 

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