"Oh, no, I don't think this is a conscious signal. I'm sure communications would have picked up on anything like that. It's quite regular, but these patterns, here... it certainly looks like an automatic biological function of some sort."

"Maybe its the sound of something eating, snoring, respirating, or even reproducing."  The Communications Officer put the signal, translated obviously to a sound they could all hear, onto the open bridge communication system, to let them be the judge of what it might be.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:14, Tue 24 Sept 2013.

Nevi nodded and turned back to his console as the sounds filled the Bridge.  Pursuing a new line of thought, he began to analyze the energy fields around the possible organism as well as looking into the effect it was having on the red dwarf star.

Their job completed, T'Enya thanked Lt. Parker and returned to her station where she resumed reading the most recent reports on the thing.

With Spid'Dar's first comment, T'Enya intones "Once one has eliminated the impossible, whatever is left -- no matter how improbable -- must be the truth." It was a quote from an old earth detective novel, but it was particularly appropriate at this point.

Once the doctor provided her analysis, T'Enya noted "We need to get a closer look, to get more information. The two possibilities I see are to send the torpedo-probes, hoping that they are small enough to remain unnoticed, or to slowly approach with the main ship and try to present ourselves as a 'friend'. The shuttle would be too small and too vulnerable, I believe. In either case, Navigation should have an 'escape course' laid in away from the Federation in case of an Emergency."

"If we attempt to approach as a 'friend', I would suggest Diplomats and Communications officers work closely with the helm to try to estimate ... 'Body Language'."

Bridge

One of Captain Tabin's ivory eyebrows arcs up when she hears Dr. Zephyr's report.

"So, we're potentially dealing with a first contact situation, assuming the creature is alive and intelligent.  These are the options we have discussed so far.

"We could bring the Vigilant closer to the entity which would give us visual and also getting a better read from our sensors, but might place the entire ship at risk.  We could use one of the probes and receive the data from it while we maintain a safe distance, but the creature might assume it is an attack.  We could send a shuttlecraft with the probe out there and maintain a transporter lock on its crew just in case something goes wrong, but we have no idea if something like that could block our transporter beam."

Captain Tabin looks at her bridge crew, assessing their reactions.

"Suggestions, ladies and gentlemen?"

When T'Enya gives her input, Captain Tabin nods.

"It is entirely possible that the shuttle may be too helpless should the entity see it as foe.  Of course, given the effect it is having on Epsilon Alpha, I'm not sure the Vigilant is much better off."

OOC:
@ T'Enya:  Lol, started writing this post and then saw yours.  I hope you don't mind that I included Tabin's reply.  Looks like that's one vote for "no" on the shuttle/probe combo.
@ All:  Like I said, Tabin is more device than captain.  This is your story, and you  get to make the final call.  I just write it as if she made it.  :-p

Carson grinned. This was more like it.

"I reccomend sending out a shuttle Captain; I know it's a risk but I'd rather have human... or Andorian or Vulcan... first hand contact. A probe on its own won't provide the gut feeling getting up close will. On the other hand as you say we don't want to risk the entire ship without good reason."

Nevi stopped his scans for a moment.  A long moment.  Then he turned to the Captain, "Captain.  If our mission is exploration then I say we approach this situation with scientific curiosity rather than expediency."  He looked at the other members of the Bridge crew, "The first question should be is this a threat to the Federation?  It does not seem so.  So far this red dwarf seems unscathed by this organism."

He looked at the Captain, "My suggestion is that we sit.  We watch.  We scan.  I see no reason to rush into actions that might invite conflict until we have an established set of data to work off of."

"It looks as if I have one vote for and one vote against using the shuttlecraft.  I then have one vote for waiting and scanning."

Tabin gets up from the captain's chair and walks over to the science station.  She looks over the various readouts available, frowning as she assesses the options.  Her antennae flatten out in a gesture of frustration.

"Unfortunately, it looks as if our data will be limited if we wait here.  Epsilon Alpha's solar radiation is interfering with our ability to collect clear data.  I suppose we could try boosting the energy levels on the active sensor array to get a better reading."

Nevi looked over at the Captain and saw her frustration.  A thought crossed his mind and his fingers started tapping away as the warp core and engine schematics began to come across his screens, "Perhaps we can get the ship closer..."

Parker seemed to be torn between the possibilities.  She obviously wasn't certain enough to have a solid opinion one way or the other on this just yet.  She stood by, ready to attempt to open communications with whatever it was, when the experts decided it was time to do so.

"While the shuttlecraft may be a good back-up plan Captain, there is only so much information that a shuttle's limited sensor suite is going to be able to process.  I'm in favor of trying to move the ship closer."  He smiles disarmingly.  "I'm certain that I can get us close enough for what we need and without overly stressing the ship."

Doctor Zephyr considered the situation. All the points so far had merit; she definitely wanted a closer scan, but risking the ship for a better Acetylcholine test didn't seem necessary. "Maybe we could keep the ship out of range and send the shuttle craft while keeping a transporter lock on everyone?"

"We may wish to send a Telepath close by" T'Enya adds, "just in case it's intelligent enough to contact from close range. That may justify the dangers of a shuttle mission."

Contrary what some may be thinking, she is not suggesting herself -- while T'Enya is a Telepath, she is untrained.

Parker arched a blonde eyebrow at T'Enya's suggestion.  She looked around at the other officers on the bridge.  Then she looked back to T'Enya and nodded just a bit.  It did make sense, assuming they had a telepath to send, of course.  Of course, her support, as lame as it was, remained unspoken.

"I suppose we could also try hailing it," Tabin muses, looking towards Parker.

"We could try, captain."  She was ready to put that up on the main view screen if it answered.  It would be her first opportunity!

Nevi continued his analysis of the stress tests of the power relays and the magnetic coils of the impulse engines, "I believe I can supply us with enough shielding to get us in and out of the vicinity of the anomaly... organism if you will... relatively quickly and safely.  It wouldn't last long but we could get very close to get definitive readings on it."  He hit a few more buttons and then turned towards the Captain, "If that is your command Captain.  It would take a bit of prep time but I believe it could be done."

Bridge

"From what you've told me," Tabin finally says, returning to her seat in the captain's chair, "It looks like the shuttlecraft with the probe is our final decision.  Mr. Black, you made the suggestion so I'm guessing you're volunteering to fly the shuttle.  Mr. Carson and Dr. Zephyr, I'd like you to accompany him or assign a an officer.  We'll need someone trained in biology to make sense of the scans, and I'd like a security officer onboard just in case it is hostile."

Tabin pulls up the Vigilant's crew complement and begins looking through dossiers.

"Ensign Xandor Twazera is one of the recent Betazoid recruits for Starfleet, and it appears he has empathic and potential telepathic powers.  I'll have him report to the shuttlebay.

"As for the rest of us," Tabin continues, addressing the rest of the bridge crew as the others head to the shuttlebay, "we're going to support them.  Mr. Nevi, start making those preparations on the Vigilant's shields and structural integrity fields just in case we need them.  It never hurts to be prepared.

"Mr. de Silva, I want you to keep us in direct line of sight with the shuttlecraft to make sure we can beam them out of there.  Also, I want you to calculate a course trajectory for the Vigilant just in case we have to warp in there and pull them out with our tractor beams.

"Ms. Parker, keep monitoring that pattern and put the shuttle's viewport information on the main screen.  I want us to see everything that they see.  Get ready to open those hailing frequencies if we find out we can communicate with it.

"Mr. Sorvok, keep scanning the anomaly.  I want to know the moment things change so that we can pull them out of there if we have to.

"Ms. T'Enya, I also want you monitoring the energy pattern that Parker identified.  If this is a trap, I want us to know as soon as possible."

Shuttlebay

The shuttlebay's officers prepare the shuttlecraft deGrasse for the mission, placing one of the modified probes in the main section.  The doors stand open, ready for the team to enter and launch.

When the shuttle team reaches the shuttlebay, they find Ensign Twazera waiting for them.  He is a short, thin, olive-skinned, fresh-faced officer who looks like he is just out of the academy.  His black hair is cut short and brushed to the side in standard Starfleet fashion.  He is dressed in a blue ensign's uniform.

"Uh, hi.  Captain Tabin told me that you needed me for an away team.  I'm guessing it's not for my expertise in exoarchaeology..."

Once the team is aboard, the shuttlebay doors open and the deGrasse takes off towards Epsilon Alpha and the anomaly...

OOC:
Okay, big bump and a few extra orders from Tabin so everyone has something to do.  ^_^  This is what I need from you:

Black:  Roll Physical for piloting the shuttle towards the anomaly
Carson:  Roll Physical for testing the shuttle's phaser locks "just in case"
Zephyr:  Roll Medicine to make sense of any data that comes from the probe with a +3 technobabble modifier courtesy of Black
Nevi:  Roll Engineering for the modifications
de Silva:  Roll Physical for changing the Vigilant's position and orbit
Parker:  Roll Communications for maintaining the pattern
Sorvok:  Roll Knowledge for sensor scans (if you're still out give me a heads up and I'll roll it for you)
T'Enya:  Roll Subterfuge for checking the pattern

Nevi nods as the orders are given out, "At once Captain."

His hands and eyes flash across the console as he puts together his change in the configuration.  He sits back for a moment as the computer simulates the changes and analyzes the outcome.  Nodding to himself, he opens a channel to Engineering, "Ensign Iluya, I am relaying modifications to the engines and the shield generators.  We will be preparing to channel an 80 percent increase in power to the magnetic coils of the impulse engines.  The power relays from the nacells to the shield generators will be pushed to their limits so you will be running stress tests on each affected relay and making modifications on those that fall outside the parameters I have sent you.  Likewise, you will alter the shield generators to accept the magnetic flux from the impulse coils and merge it with the shields.  The calibration information is also found within my instructions.  If you have any questions contact me.  Nevi out."

He switched off the comm and switched it back on immediately, "Ensign S'tal.  You and your team are on high-alert until further notice.  Coordinate with Ensign Iluya.  She will be making modifications that you will have to maintain for the time being.  Nevi out."

Switching off the comm, he turned, "Captain.  In under an 35 minutes you will have the capacity to move close to the red dwarf.  I am alternating the shields to act as a layered magnetic field in addition to their normal capacity.  Adding the magnetic flux to the shield will allow the ship to simulate the magnetic field that many planets possess.  While we have this shield up we will not be able to go to warp but we will have full impulse at our disposal."  His antenna flicked to the sides a bit, "I would not maintain this alteration for more than an hour at a time.  At most."

(OOC: Rolled a 25 without a Jury-Rig bonus since I didn't know if it applied in this case.)

"Aye, Captain!"  Carlos turns to the helm and begins to make the necessary calculations for warping in and locking onto the shuttle as well as moving the Vigilant to maintain a direct line of sight with the shuttle's projected flight path.

[OOC:  Carlos de Silva rolled 16 using 1d20+8 ((8)).  I forgot my Dexterity Stat, so the total should be 18.  Apologies...]
This message was last edited by the player at 14:45, Fri 27 Sept 2013.

"Aye aye, captain."

Parker turned to face her console.  She pressed her finger to the metal thing in her ear, and occasionally she'd tap at the console with purpose.  She was doing her best to keep the signal they had detected clear, and also remaining vigilant for any changes.

Also, she was preparing a steady line of secure communications with the shuttle, and also devising an algorithm to deal with any interference they might encounter due to proximity to the main system star.

---

10:28, Today: Parker rolled 22 using 1d20+11. Communications Roll.

"Hello, Ensign Twazera," Doctor Zephyr said with a smile. "Exoarcheology is such an interesting topic, but you're right, that's not why you're here. It looks like there's some sort of creature near the star. We're hoping that you can sense something from it, empathically or telepathically. Please tell us immediately if you start sensing anything."

She sat down next to the shuttle's science terminal as the shuttle took off and went towards the anomaly, analyzing the readouts as they came in.

[OOC: Ally Zephyr rolled 31 using 1d20+14. Med + Int + Technobabble.]

"Aye, Captain."

T'Enya focused on her console, looking for anything that might be a trap.

[11:43, Fri 27 Sept 2013: T'Enya rolled 29 using 1d20+10 ((19)).]
This message was last edited by the player at 19:40, Fri 27 Sept 2013.

Carson cheerfully checked the phaser locks ("just in case"), though he was more interested in seeing how his fellow shuttle passengers felt about their mission.

"Any combat experience Ensign Twazera?" Carson asked casually. "You never know, we could be lucky... uh... I mean unlucky of course."

---

OOC:19:57, Today: Daniel Carson rolled 28 using 1d20+8. Physical!

Bridge

Spid'Dar Nevi works quickly to get the modifications online. Between his efforts on the bridge and his team's in main engineering, they are able to get everything running within the given time estimate.

Carlos de Silva makes a slight adjustment to the Vigilant's orbit. The ship pushes further outward, and begins to curve around to keep it in line of sight with the deGrasse. However, atmospheric disturbances make the approach a little rough.

Parker is able to keep the energy pattern online. While monitoring it, she notices that there is one segment that repeats intermittently. It does not match up with any known languages---even Tholian radiation-based communication---but that would likely be par for the course for a new lifeform.

T'enya also monitors the pattern at her own console. She isolates the same pattern that Parker finds, but analyzes it with respect to potential encryption codes as well as anything hidden contained within it. Her diligent effort eliminates the possibility of anything else masked by the pattern. Whatever it is, it is being plainly transmitted.

Sorvok continues to monitor the anomaly.  There are no changes as the shuttlecraft approaches...

On board the deGrasse

Black is able to keep the shuttle on a steady course, avoiding the brunt of the solar wind coming off Epsilon Alpha as it approaches the source of the anomaly.  Every so often, the shuttle rattles as the red dwarf erupts in a sizable solar flare. The proximity to the star makes the fluctuations even more noticeable.  Epsilon Alpha dims enough that the light being reflected into the shuttle actually changes.

Ensign Twazera does his best to answer your questions despite being fairly nervous about flying in a shuttlecraft. He seems to grow more and more agitated as you approach the anomaly.

"No other training beyond the---ergh---academy. Sorry, sir, I'm just a lab jockey."

"Uh," he says to Dr. Zephyr, "I think I can sense it. Just...just, give me a moment."  He blinks and holds his head, seemingly in pain. He waits for a moment before shaking it off

"There," he continues. "Sorry.  Whatever that thing is...it's in pain.  Waves of pain and...regret?  I think that's what it is. I tried to get in touch with it, but it's mind is too...different... I...I'm sorry, there's not much else I can say."

As Dr. Zephyr monitors the information coming from the probe, she makes the following discoveries. Whatever is out there is primarily made of energy, and it seems to be siphoning off energy from the star at an astonishing rate. At the center of it appears to be a tiny speck of matter, but at this distance and with the star's interference it is impossible to tell what it is.

However, that is not the most curious thing about the anomaly. According to the sensors, it's human-sized.

The deGrasse manages to finally clear the curve of Epsilon Alpha, giving the shuttle the chance to see what is out there. Black puts the entity on screen...

Bridge

Parker keeps the Vigilant main viewscreen synced up with the deGrasse's. As the shuttle gets a clear view, Tabin gives the order to magnify.

"Ms. Parker, magnify section 1082 mark 181. Switch to a false color readout pn Epsilon Alpha to show the energy siphoning effect, but keep the anomaly in real color."

The screen changes view, switching to a dark red for the star. Waves of black rhythmically cascade across the star, showing the drop in brightness as the anomaly sucks energy from the star.

The anomaly itself looks minuscule compared to the star. A hazy cloud of milky white energy hovers around the star. It almost looks human sized.

"What the hell is that thing?" Tabin wonders out loud...

On board the deGrasse

Moments after the shuttle clears the star, Ensign Twazera jolts.

"Sirs," he stammers, "it's emotions have changed... I think it sees us!"

Bridge and the deGrasse

Surely enough, the deGrasse's sensors show the entity is approaching at an alarmingly fast rate...

OOC:
@ Spid'Dar: Yeah, Jury Rig only applies to repairs so it doesn't in this case.
@ Carlos: No problem. It's a simple roll, but I had 20 as the DC for smooth sailing. As a result, just a tiiiiny bit of turbulance.
@ Daniel: You add your dex to the phys roll for that, so make that a 30 and a +2 bonus to any phaser attack you decide to roll.  ^_^

@ All: Big bump up.  Let me know what you want to do!  Cue appropriate danger music!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-LCmeB-qRQ