Captains log, Stardate 309083.6
Enterprise is part of a search party tasked with investigating the disappearance of a Tellarite freighter. Thus far no sign of the vessel has been detected. However we have not yet given up on hope of finding the ship. Or at least some of her lifeboats.
I must say that I am pleasantly surprised at the crew we took on at starbase ten. Lieutenant Commander Chekov has proven a capable sensor operator and generally competent officer, much as his record said he would be.
I would also like to praise lieutenant Commander Rajan, our only Laconian officer, for his work with commander Scott repairing our systems. Most of the worst hiccups in our systems have been repaired through their diligent efforts.
Rajan and Chekov have even proven exemplary working together. Yesterday the two of them had the idea to boost our sensor performance by routing some input through the precision targeting arrays on the lower primary hull. Tests have showed that at least a five percent boost can be achieved in this way and I am curious to see if anything similar has been done aboard any other vessel in the fleet when we make it back to starbase six.
Currently Enterprise has entered the Alpha-Romeo-39G system. This desolate system with only a single red dwarf star and three gas giants lay along the projected course of the freighter and would likely prove to be a safe place for the ship if she was looking for a place to stop for repairs. We will begin sensor sweeps as soon as we have cleared one of the planets in the system.
“Ready to begin sir,” Sulu said calmly. By this point a complete sensor sweep was a routine operation on the ship. All where by this point capable of performing the sweep while sound asleep.
And like the past three systems they had visited it did not look promising. Lacking even a proper name Alpha-Romeo-39G possessed little of interest to even deuterium collectors. Since the system had been surveyed a hundred and twenty years prior there were less than three recorded instances of the system being visited. Meaning there were no settlements in the system, no ships. Nothing the slow the sensors down.
In total eighteen systems had been scanned by both Enterprise and the frigates, meaning that it was increasingly likely that the freighter was not to be found. The most likely explanation was that her reactor had failed, either stranding the ship in deep space where it would never be found. Or going critical and spreading bits of the ship in a rapidly expanding cloud. Either way it was unlikely the vessel would ever be located.
Suddenly Chekov straightened in his chair and announced, “Captain I think I have something on my scanners!” He sent the sensor data to Kirks own monitor.
It was indeed something. The second gas giant in the system had a plume of excited gas shooting out of its northern polar region. It was not much, but it was the first lead they had that was worth following. “Take us in mister Sulu,” Kirk ordered.
“right away sir,” Sulu said from beside Chekov. A moment later, “Course laid in for half impulse. ETA is around an hour.”
“Very good.” Kirk said. He would have preferred to go there quicker. At full impulse, half of light speed, they would reach the gas giant in just over twenty minutes. But the system was cluttered with asteroids and dust, and Enterprises deflectors could not protect the ship at the speed she would be achieving. Objects would have just to much force behind them.
An hour later found Enterprise hovering above what looked very much like an entry point of a vessel into the gas giants upper layers, where exhaust gases from an impulse engine had disturbed the gas around it.
The sensors reported nothing, however the atmosphere grew to dense for effective scans below sixteen kilometres. Kirk ordered the ship in to look for the vessel that had made the disturbance. Given the state of the gas any ship which had caused it would have had to have done so at least a week prior. Meaning the ship was likely either the freighter they were looking for, or long gone.
“Got something sir,” Sulu reported as Enterprise reached eighteen kilometres. “Sensors show a metal object roughly one hundred ninety metres, by seventy metres, by twenty. Consistent with the freighter sir.” Sulu added before sending the sensor data to Kirk and Spock for their review.
“That’s not all the sensors show,” Spock said a moment later.
“What do you mean?” Kirk had just pulled up the data himself and did not see anything out of the ordinary.
“I am detecting faint traces of radioactive gases consistent with low power disruptor fire.”
“My scans show it to,” Chekov said. Spock looked up from his board and sent him a data packet. The young Russian looked it over for a moment and nodded, “I can confirm that sir.”
“What can you confirm?” Kirk was out of the loop and not liking it.
“If that is the missing Tellarite freighter, which I suspect it is, there are no lifesigns, and the weapons fire is consistent with Orion manufactured weapons.” Spock said calmly.
Spock had been correct on both accounts. They had indeed found the Tellarite freighter. Or rather what was left of it. Its hull was mangled, chewed by disruptor fire almost in two. Her reactor and cargo were gone. As was her crew.
The shuttles that had gone over, transporters being inoperable due to the gas, had reported signs of a boarding action within the ship. Corridors scorched with weapons fire, breached rooms and broken bodies. Both Orion and Tellarite. One individual, tentatively identified as the ship captain, was propped against the outer bridge bulkhead with a short sword pierced through his chest. A pile of dead Orions lying around him. It was not a pretty sight.
Kirk had taken Enterprise back out of the planet and beamed a message over subspace saying the freighter had been found and her location. In the middle of a routine sensor sweep Spock had then reported an ion trail consistent with a small fast vessel. Obviously the Orion fleeing the scene of its latest victim, a cargo hold full of fresh captives and booty.
Enterprise had followed this trail, it was rather obvious. Perhaps the pirate had been damaged in its fight with the freighter? It led to the outskirts of the system where Spock had been able to pick up a faint warp signature. Less than six hours old he had said.
Kirk had ordered Enterprise to follow the trail, beaming another message to the starbase and frigates which explained what they were doing and promised further reports as the situation developed. At high warp, with frequent stops to reacquire the warp signature of their quarry, they set off in pursuit of the pirate.
Enterprise is part of a search party tasked with investigating the disappearance of a Tellarite freighter. Thus far no sign of the vessel has been detected. However we have not yet given up on hope of finding the ship. Or at least some of her lifeboats.
I must say that I am pleasantly surprised at the crew we took on at starbase ten. Lieutenant Commander Chekov has proven a capable sensor operator and generally competent officer, much as his record said he would be.
I would also like to praise lieutenant Commander Rajan, our only Laconian officer, for his work with commander Scott repairing our systems. Most of the worst hiccups in our systems have been repaired through their diligent efforts.
Rajan and Chekov have even proven exemplary working together. Yesterday the two of them had the idea to boost our sensor performance by routing some input through the precision targeting arrays on the lower primary hull. Tests have showed that at least a five percent boost can be achieved in this way and I am curious to see if anything similar has been done aboard any other vessel in the fleet when we make it back to starbase six.
Currently Enterprise has entered the Alpha-Romeo-39G system. This desolate system with only a single red dwarf star and three gas giants lay along the projected course of the freighter and would likely prove to be a safe place for the ship if she was looking for a place to stop for repairs. We will begin sensor sweeps as soon as we have cleared one of the planets in the system.
“Ready to begin sir,” Sulu said calmly. By this point a complete sensor sweep was a routine operation on the ship. All where by this point capable of performing the sweep while sound asleep.
And like the past three systems they had visited it did not look promising. Lacking even a proper name Alpha-Romeo-39G possessed little of interest to even deuterium collectors. Since the system had been surveyed a hundred and twenty years prior there were less than three recorded instances of the system being visited. Meaning there were no settlements in the system, no ships. Nothing the slow the sensors down.
In total eighteen systems had been scanned by both Enterprise and the frigates, meaning that it was increasingly likely that the freighter was not to be found. The most likely explanation was that her reactor had failed, either stranding the ship in deep space where it would never be found. Or going critical and spreading bits of the ship in a rapidly expanding cloud. Either way it was unlikely the vessel would ever be located.
Suddenly Chekov straightened in his chair and announced, “Captain I think I have something on my scanners!” He sent the sensor data to Kirks own monitor.
It was indeed something. The second gas giant in the system had a plume of excited gas shooting out of its northern polar region. It was not much, but it was the first lead they had that was worth following. “Take us in mister Sulu,” Kirk ordered.
“right away sir,” Sulu said from beside Chekov. A moment later, “Course laid in for half impulse. ETA is around an hour.”
“Very good.” Kirk said. He would have preferred to go there quicker. At full impulse, half of light speed, they would reach the gas giant in just over twenty minutes. But the system was cluttered with asteroids and dust, and Enterprises deflectors could not protect the ship at the speed she would be achieving. Objects would have just to much force behind them.
An hour later found Enterprise hovering above what looked very much like an entry point of a vessel into the gas giants upper layers, where exhaust gases from an impulse engine had disturbed the gas around it.
The sensors reported nothing, however the atmosphere grew to dense for effective scans below sixteen kilometres. Kirk ordered the ship in to look for the vessel that had made the disturbance. Given the state of the gas any ship which had caused it would have had to have done so at least a week prior. Meaning the ship was likely either the freighter they were looking for, or long gone.
“Got something sir,” Sulu reported as Enterprise reached eighteen kilometres. “Sensors show a metal object roughly one hundred ninety metres, by seventy metres, by twenty. Consistent with the freighter sir.” Sulu added before sending the sensor data to Kirk and Spock for their review.
“That’s not all the sensors show,” Spock said a moment later.
“What do you mean?” Kirk had just pulled up the data himself and did not see anything out of the ordinary.
“I am detecting faint traces of radioactive gases consistent with low power disruptor fire.”
“My scans show it to,” Chekov said. Spock looked up from his board and sent him a data packet. The young Russian looked it over for a moment and nodded, “I can confirm that sir.”
“What can you confirm?” Kirk was out of the loop and not liking it.
“If that is the missing Tellarite freighter, which I suspect it is, there are no lifesigns, and the weapons fire is consistent with Orion manufactured weapons.” Spock said calmly.
Spock had been correct on both accounts. They had indeed found the Tellarite freighter. Or rather what was left of it. Its hull was mangled, chewed by disruptor fire almost in two. Her reactor and cargo were gone. As was her crew.
The shuttles that had gone over, transporters being inoperable due to the gas, had reported signs of a boarding action within the ship. Corridors scorched with weapons fire, breached rooms and broken bodies. Both Orion and Tellarite. One individual, tentatively identified as the ship captain, was propped against the outer bridge bulkhead with a short sword pierced through his chest. A pile of dead Orions lying around him. It was not a pretty sight.
Kirk had taken Enterprise back out of the planet and beamed a message over subspace saying the freighter had been found and her location. In the middle of a routine sensor sweep Spock had then reported an ion trail consistent with a small fast vessel. Obviously the Orion fleeing the scene of its latest victim, a cargo hold full of fresh captives and booty.
Enterprise had followed this trail, it was rather obvious. Perhaps the pirate had been damaged in its fight with the freighter? It led to the outskirts of the system where Spock had been able to pick up a faint warp signature. Less than six hours old he had said.
Kirk had ordered Enterprise to follow the trail, beaming another message to the starbase and frigates which explained what they were doing and promised further reports as the situation developed. At high warp, with frequent stops to reacquire the warp signature of their quarry, they set off in pursuit of the pirate.
