Findings most unusual...

Posted on Thu Jan 12th, 2012 @ 1:45pm by Captain Nathan Cowell MD & Lieutenant JG Devok & Lieutenant Colonel Anastasia DeVries & Lieutenant Jasad Broca

Mission: Crises and Consequences
Location: Various
Timeline: Two hours after 'Serendipity Strikes Again'

[Astrometrics Lab, Deck 7, USS Arizona]

The data had flown in from the scans the long range sensors had been conducting for the last few hours in waves. At times, there was little to do, and other times there was no chance to blink with all the data being displayed. It was exciting, at least as far as Lieutenant Junior Grade Devok was concerned, and every new stream of readings promised new chances for discovery. The Ferengi had waited for his chance to make a significant discovery, and something as promising as a misbehaving star couldn't prove to be anything less than a possibility for that very thing. In the lab around him stood several people, the least of which was Chief Petty Officer Trevor Sadler, who he'd gotten to know rather well in the last day.

"Mister Sadler, how are your scans coming together?" the Ferengi asked as he approached the man. The Chief didn't immediately respond, he was sorting through the latest burst of sensor data which was being displayed on three different monitors. If nothing else, Devok had to hand it to the man for being able to multitask like a professional.

"Pardon?" Trevor finally asked, looking over at the Ferengi, "The scans... ah... yes, I've compiled most of the data. If I'm reading the scans right... the star is exhibiting signs of coronal instability. I'd have to go with my gut and say the thing is about to go... though I can't really say how long until it does. Could be tomorrow, could be ten years from now, but it is in a prime location to do some damage to the Romulan infrastructure. I've seen some civilian traffic going in and out of the area... I believe it is a mining system for the Romulans."

"Do you think we should bring this to the Admiral's attention?" Devok asked, not entirely sure if it really warranted such measures since the data wasn't firm.

"Can't hurt. And worst case scenario, it's a cliff note in a report and nothing else ever happens... but at least we said something," the Chief shrugged.

"Good idea... I'll be on the bridge then. Let me know if something significant is discovered," Devok settled on his course of action and headed for the corridor.

[Bridge, USS Arizona]

Lt. Devok walked onto the bridge and set his sights on the man dozing off in the center most chair. As he got closer, the Ferengi realized that the man was wearing two more pips than he had been wearing the last time he'd been on the bridge four some hours prior. The change puzzled the Ferengi for a moment before he shrugged it off and continued to advance.

"Excuse me, Admiral, I wanted to brief you on the findings," Devok said in a loud enough voice to jar the commanding officer awake.

Admiral Nathan Cowell lurched forward slightly at the sudden sound of what qualified for Devok's voice. The old man sucked in a deep breath before easing back in his chair and giving the Ferengi a withering glare.

"What's so important you had to wake an old man up for?" Doc Cowell asked, frowning.

"It's about the star I mentioned earlier... Hobus," the Ferengi remarked.

"And? What about it?" Nathan urged him to continue impatiently.

"Well sir, according to my astrometrics chief, the Hobus star is suffering from coronal instability. I believe it will be going supernova soon. While the system itself isn't inhabited, several systems nearby, as well as a few outposts in the radiation cloud threat range would be in danger. I thought perhaps we could pass this discovery along," Devok said, almost bowing as he spoke.

Jasad's eyebrows lifted a half-centimeter when the Ferengi named the star he'd taken an interest in. Hobus. While he was hardly an expert an astrometrics or galactic cartography, that was one star he was familiar with. He began tapping into his console, bringing up related records. "Hobus," he interrupted aloud, "I remember the Hobus from my first posting," he said.

"Not here," he added. "The science officer on my ship made a similar report to our Gul, thought it might have intelligence value. But that was decades ago, and I can't imagine that the Federation hasn't.... ah, yes. Here it is. USS Bozeman, assigned duty near the Neutral Zone after returning from a temporal anomaly. Sounds familiar." He smirked slightly as he read on, "...detected instability in the Hobus Star system several years ago, and suggested it could be showing signs of going nova. Hardly a proverbial 'scoop', I'm afraid..."

Jasad swiveled in his seat, "Still, if you compare the new readings to the originals, perhaps there is some scientific value in charting the progression of events?" He imagined that was the sort of comparison Science officers reveled in performing.

Devok stood in stunned silence. He'd never heard the news, and he'd only been out of the Academy a few years. That would have been something worth telling someone if it were indeed true. Devok stormed over to the Science I console and brought up the sensor scans the Arizona had conducted, as well as those from the report that Lt. Broca had performed.

"I can't believe this! Someone is trying to ruin my discovery! I know there's something new here! There has to be!" the Ferengi declared from the back of the bridge.

Adm. Cowell turned to his First Officer, "You know anything about what that fool Ferengi is going on about? It's all gibberish to me."

"A bit," Stace retorted in amusement of the poor fool's act of comedy. "Kristin's specialty is Astrometrics. She has mentioned this particular star a few times in the past. She called it uniquely intriguing. Of course I never really asked for specifics as science isn't exactly my cup of tea."

"Ain't mine either..." Nathan grunted as he leaned back a bit further into his chair, "I suppose he just didn't get the memo on it is all..."

In the rear of the bridge, Devok snorted at the comment made by the Admiral. He was still convinced that there was something significant going on right before their eyes... The readouts of the comparative scans looked almost identical. The helium burn-off rates were about right, the levels of magnesium, sulfur, and calcium being ejected from the star was fairly consistent. There was, however, several elements registering in the current scans that hadn't been in the scans previously. One elemental configuration had even the Ferengi scratching his head in confusing.

"What in the hell is Protomatter?" he blurted out despite himself. He only vaguely remembered the name and his professors were rather eager to simply say a name and move on. It was either something not worth knowing, or something that had been banned from being used and thus not taught to new cadets.

Stace raised an eyebrow at the question and this time turned her attention towards the annoying little troll. "Only the most dangerous and unstable form of matter in existence. Ever hear about Project Genesis? Protomatter."

Nathan's brow drew down at the mention of the Genesis Project. He'd been in Starfleet during that era and the events surrounding it weren't something he cared to relive if he could help it.

"Is that garbage natural?" the old man asked, looking to Broca to see if he was more versed in it than the Science Officer seemed to be.

For the first time since joining the Arizona about a year ago, Jasad's years spent at the Vulcan Science Academy seemed primed to pay off. Working at a school such as that one wasn't just about your own work or field of interest. There was always a conference tangentially connected to your research or area of study. There were always lectures from fellow academics, often attended as a form of professional courtesy. And on Vulcan, there was a real shortage of entertainment. Jasad had attended hundreds of lectures and conferences.

"Yes and No," Jasad said contrarily. "It only exists for milliseconds at a time in nature, but a 'stabilized' form has been synthesized in the laboratory. I use the term 'stabilized' loosely. There are many who maintain that no ethical scientist in the Galaxy would use protomatter due to its inherent chaotic nature. Some scientists have even theorized that protomatter is the type of matter that existed in some prior incarnation of the Universe-"

Jasad stopped himself, noting the look on the Admiral's face. "But more to our interest, there was a symposium on Vulcan while I was an instructor there. It was about stellar instability, and was attended by a scientist from Kaelon II, a rather reclusive culture. What was his name... Doctor Timicin, I believe. He was searching for ways to re-invigorate a dying star, but found stellar stabilization to be an important, related field. I remember that the symposium had Vulcan scientists arguing whether protomatter or red matter was a more appropriate substance for core injection to stabilize stellar reactions. I think most of the Vulcans favored red matter, but... perhaps the Romulans came to a different conclusion? Red Matter is even harder to synthesize than protomatter. Might the Romulans have used Hobus as a testbed for protomatter stabilization technology?"

Nathan grumbled at the explanation. He was far from being a scientist... if it didn't kill you or make you grow extra limbs, Nathan couldn't have cared less. His apathy was registering clearly on his face at the moment.

"So if it is something that happens naturally for a few seconds in time, then what he'd picking up might not be some newfangled science device but just something weird that doesn't happen a whole lot, is that what you're saying? Because I'm hoping it is. I'd rather not waste my time on this any longer than I have to if this is just speculation and conjecture and all that other nonsense," the Admiral groused.

"That may well be, but it is still a discovery! I told you there was something to find out there. Perhaps we should alert Starfleet Command about it, see if they are tracking the same things we are," Lt. Devok urged from the rear of the bridge.

Nathan glanced back at Broca, "Might as well... Send the information to the Science Division and we'll be done with it."

Jasad nodded and swiveled back to face his console. Even as he typed out the message and attached the data files, a feeling of impending trouble swept over him. He knew the Admiral was hoping to avoid another misadventure, but he didn't think this particular protomatter discovery was the natural kind. He couldn't imagine protomatter existing for long enough, or in enough quantity, to register consistently on long-range sensors. And if the Romulans were tinkering with protomatter... well, it wouldn't be the first time one of their bold technological schemes had gone awry. Hobus was still reading as unstable, so if they had tried protomatter injection, it clearly wasn't working. What that ultimately meant, he had no idea. He was just fairly certain it wasn't good.

"Message away, Admiral," he announced. Then he added for the Ferengi's benefit, "And I made sure to spell your name right." Swiveling back around, he gave the Science Officer a wry look.

"Spelled it d-e-v-i-l, right?" Nathan asked with a look of stone cold seriousness that seemed almost beyond comical.

Jasad blinked, feigning confusion. "You mean it isn't c-o-m-m-d-i-s-h-e-a-r-s?"

"Bah! I have more discoveries awaiting me in the lab," Devok said, opting for a retreat instead of a protracted argument with the Admiral and his Cardassian lackey. When he was safely behind the doors of the turbolift, the old man turned to Broca with a devious smirk on his face.

"You know, now that you mention it, his ears do remind me of old subspace relay dishes..." the Admiral couldn't help but chuckle. For the moment, the crisis that the Ferengi had endeavored to invent was averted...