A Shadow in the Dark

Posted on 22 Feb 2022 @ 5:03pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Commander Marisa Wyatt & Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeysa Zeror

3,437 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 7, Astrometrics Lab
Timeline: MD 08, 0150 hrs

[ON]

USS Galileo was three days into its search and rescue journey within the Pleiades Cluster. Regula I was slowly turning into a distant memory for some, while others yearned for its return. The semi-charted region of space the Nova-class was now operating in appeared beautiful to the naked eye and held many mysteries. Whether astronomical in nature or artificially created, it was one of the galaxy's most undiscovered frontiers. It contained thousands of young stars in various stages of evolution with the potential for hundreds of new habitable worlds to be discovered.

The time was almost two hours past 0000 and most of the alpha shift crew were asleep. PT for Galileo's commissioned officers started promptly at 0530 leaving little time for late night activities. For Commander Morgan Tarin, however, the late evening had borne significant developments. A commbadge message sounded through several ship personnel's commbadges.

"Commanders Blake, Warraquim, Sandoval, and Petty Officer Zeror. Report to astrometrics." The flat tone and unique forceful inflection in the voice could only be that of Tarin's.

After a few seconds the slightly groggy voice of Jeysa responded. "On my way Captain."

Marisa looked at her chronometer and groaned. The woman was a sadist. She blinked twice. "On my way." She hoped this meant they were getting close. She dressed quickly, sure she wouldn't like whatever the acting captain had in mind.

Allyndra heard the call of Commander Tarin. "He 'ha kēia manawahi!"* At this rate she would hardly have enough command time in between the idiotic PT drills and now this interruption.

"Warrent Officer Darius, you have command," she got up out of the so-called big chair.

Allyndra headed for the turbolift to see what Commander Tarin was up to now. She refused to use captain unless absolutely required. As far as she was concerned Morgan Tarin had been assigned as captain to this ship, but she had so far in her book, had not really earned the title. What was it they had said at Academy, something about respecting the uniform not the person. As the door closed she muttered, "Hono ika maku lahine e mālama i kāna mau k'eiki i mahalo ʻia lāk'ou"*

Blake had needed to shrug her uniform jacket on in the turbolift, doing it up en route. She rubbed her eyes and took a soft breath, gathering herself ready for work. Her chest panged with guilt for a moment, but she forced it aside with a whisper under her breath, her eyes closed as she centred herself. There was no sign of the adjustment though as she strode through the doors to astrometrics, her expression unreadable. "Captain."

Galileo's astrometrics lab - also known as stellar cartography - was one of the larger and most bulbous compartments within the starship. A single narrow catwalk extended from the doorway into the center of the room where a small circular platform contained a robust LCARS console positioned at waist height. The walls consisted of holographic projection panels which curved into a 360-degree circle around the room's occupants. Overhead lighting was dim to facilitate focus and concentration on the minutiae of astronomical information being visually presented.

When the doors hissed open, Morgan turned around and acknowledged Blake. "Commander." She motioned for the first officer to join her at the center of the room. An expansive spacial projection of Regula I and it's surrounding sector was displayed throughout the planetarium.

Blake half turned as she walked towards her, to take in the whole display. It was the one place that could make it feel more real to the First Officer, whose astronomy knowledge was limited. "Is it bad?" she asked quietly, assuming that the time of the call meant it wasn't going to be good.

The lift finally got to the proper spot. Allyndra caught Commander Blake just entering and decided to pause for a moment. She took a couple of deep breaths and straightened before entering the Astrometrics lab. Already the region was being displayed and she noted the various indications of stars, the station they had left. She said nothing but just waited.

Sandoval walked in, not at all surprised to see her superiors on the catwalk. Of course the acting captain would make herself at home. She noticed that the woman had utilized the map science had put together during the last month of their trip to Regula I. She looked around, noting the changes to the 3D projection.

Last to arrive was Jeysa who quietly slipped into astrometrics, as the only Nco of the group she stood off to the side while Tarin interacted with the officers.

Upon seeing the three new personnel enter the stellar cartography chamber, Tarin summoned them to come close with a motion from her fingers. The new captain didn't respond to Blake's question directly but instead proceeded to brief the small assembled group. "I know it's late but I have information to share with you," she explained. Her hazel eyes shifted to the young red-collared Trill. "Petty officer, record notations of this conversation into the ship's log. Level nine security access, encrypted."

Glad she'd remembered to bring her large Padd with her Jeysa pulled it out from under her arm "Level nine encrypted, aye Sir."

Morgan turned to face Galileo's three senior-most officers and clasped her hands professionally behind her back. "When we departed Regula One, I forwarded several new sensor configurations for the ship's lateral arrays. Specifically, to conduct passive scans of the lower EM subspace spectrum. I also enacted an external comms blackout; no messages in or out through local planetary nets or subspace receivers - even temporary ones." She paused to regard each of them. "Now I will show you why."

The new captain returned to the LCARS console where she input several command sequences. She then looked up as the giant panorama shifted its view and centered itself on Regula I. A gold Starfleet commbadge icon appeared next to the station representing USS Galileo, after which the marker started to move away from the station with a purple tapered course line following its path.

"This is our course departing Regula One," said Tarin. The visual simulation continued and showed the Nova-class moving swiftly along a north north-western galactic heading. A new blue marker was placed over the course line when the ship changed its heading by an order of 20 degrees to port before continuing on a new path. The course line and Galileo's icon proceeded on a slightly-altered trajectory then changed its heading again, denoting a new marker. The pattern repeated a third time with another course correction to starboard by 41 degrees and another marker. The simulation finally ceased all movements to indicate the vessel's current position.

"You can observe that we've made several course changes to alter our flight path over the last three days. Each one at deliberate, non-standard intervals," Tarin pointed to the different blue nodes left behind along their vector.

She returned her focus to the astrometrics lab's console where her fingers again manipulated the interface, accompanied by soft computer chirps. A new marker appeared on the large planetarium's projection. It was located slightly aft of Galileo's first course change and was denoted with a small circular gray icon which pulsed then faded and repeated.

"When we performed our first course change, the aft lateral sensor arrays picked up this unknown EM signature for a few seconds...designated Sierra 3-1. It faded off our passive sensors once we established our new course." Tarin tapped at the console again and a second similar gray icon appeared within the near vicinity of Galileo's second course change.

"The same signature re-appeared after our next course alteration...again detected by lateral sensor arrays." Tarin input a final series of commands into the console then pivoted from the terminal to face those behind her. Another pulsing gray icon manifested on the astrometrics display just aft of the Nova-class' position. "Three hours ago - after our latest course change - passive sensors again detected the same contact."

There was a moment of pause before Tarin spoke again. "Computer, plot motion analysis for contact Sierra 3-1 over the last 70 hours." A new tapered gray line was superimposed over Galileo's flight path. Though not as detailed due to limited data, the raw data sequence mirrored the Nova-class' flight path beginning shortly after it had departed from Regula I.

"We're being followed...by something capable of maintaining warp 8," the captain revealed.

Allyndra had figured that out before the reveal. The question then was why, who, and what possible reason. "Captain," she felt like she had ashes on her tongue. "My first thoughts would be, why, who, what possible reason and finally if we managed to track them at least this much then there are not being fully subtle or they have severely underestimated the capabilities of this ship, at least in the sensor department. I must make the observation, that if they have been following, our odd course corrections would have alerted whoever they are that this ship knows something. Hence subterfuge at this point would be futile. I lead to surmise that whatever our actual destination is, there is something there that is of significant interest to others and they themselves do not know the actual coordinates of whatever or wherever we are heading."

Commander Tarin listened to the winged doctor speak. Certain elements of the medical officer's deduction seemed speculative in nature, and after Warraquim finished talking, Morgan regarded her more closely with scrutiny. "'Why, who and what' is correct. But we haven't actively tracked anything. These are latent sensor images processed by the ship's computer with over an hour's delay. The fact that this contact has maintained its course while following our flight path refutes such a theory." It wasn't a slight against Galileo's second officer. It was an honest assessment of the provided data.

"These sensor readings wouldn't have been obtained without course corrections," continued the captain. "I've been analyzing them privately over the last few days and comparing them with similar reported contacts from other Starfleet vessels in this sector over the last six months. Well before Galileo arrived in the Remidia system." The truth was deeper than the Nova-class' crew could have predicted.

"This...'signature'...as I've come to know it, has been hypothesized to shadow our starships in their warp wakes. Since you're all Starfleet officers, you're aware that every warp-capable ship produces a subspace wake while at warp which dampens short-range sensor capability directly aft of the vessel. It was my hope that by altering our course and reconfiguring Galileo's lateral sensors, that I could definitively prove this theory correct." Tarin looked back up at the large chart plot in the astrometrics lab. "And I think we've finally found our culprit."

"Since you've clearly done all the work, ma'am, could you enlighten us?" Marisa asked. Her tone was strictly neutral and professional, but she didn't like the lack of trust the acting captain showed by not revealing any of this before, or asking anyone--including science--to help.

"If I may captain," Allyndra spoke up again. "I remember a situation before were we need to spot not just a ship, but a cloaked one at that. There was a rather clever solution that one of our science officers came up with. This ship," she waved a delicate hand. "Is equipped with some of the finest sensors the Federation has. Anyway, to cut to the chase as I believe the saying goes. There is mass, mass cannot be cloaked, thus a mass that is moving creates gravity waves as it interacts with space-time. We can detect gravity ripples. We did that before and pinpointed the cloaked ship."

"We can also do a thorough particle analysis. Cloaked ships also vent particulates that can be identified if you're looking for them," Sandoval added.

Blake's brow started to crease into a frown as she shook her head, holding a hand out to stop the detour that the blue collared officers were taking them down. She knew they were far more interested in this kind of thing than she was, but right now, she needed to deal with the reality, not the what ifs. "Enough, let's hear all the facts before we start with the hypothesising," she interjected before nodding to Tarin. "You said you'd found the culprit?"

Morgan paused to recollect her thoughts, running a frustrated hand up her forehead then through the loose curls in her dark hair. "Yes. As I was saying..." She'd briefly become bewildered by the conjecture coming from the doctor and chief science officer. Incomplete deductions and questions which had fleeting relevance to the information she was trying to present. Science crews. Privately, she wondered how Captain Saalm ever made it through her briefings if this was the norm on Galileo.

"Based on this contact's speed and past-identified locations in this sector, Starfleet Command assumes it to be a starship," Tarin finally continued. "And I concur based on my own observations over the past half-year. I'm not concerned with tracking the vessel for now. I want to know what it is. All intelligence reports point to it being a sophisticated starship able to circumvent traditional long-range sensor detection. It's obviously not a cloaked vessel or else it wouldn't have been detected by multiple ships' long-range sensors. None of our starships have the capability to break through known cloaks at extended distance."

"The leading theory coming from Command," Tarin looked all three officers in their respective eyes, "is that it belongs to the Klingon Empire. Possibly an intelligence vessel collecting data on our operations and expansion in this region of space. And...most likely equipped with some form of stealth technology which makes it impervious to all except the most scrutinous Starfleet sensors."

There was a short silence in the astrometrics lab before Morgan spoke again. "My best guess about why this contact is shadowing us?" she glanced to the first officer. "It's wondering why a Nova-class science vessel is pushing at high warp, and it's investigating our movements from a distance."

Allyndra kept her peace, but she was curious as to what the commander, nee captain wished to do about it. She would see if the science officer said anything but did the higher ups want to know about the vessel or not. There were ways to sort of entrap the vessel sophisticated or not.

"Tracking--and therefore monitoring--the vessel may help us understand more about its origin and capabilities," Marisa began. "That will help us verify if it does indeed come from the Klingon Empire. It is my opinion that we could learn more if we act like we don't notice anything amiss. It is also possible this vessel is the reason we're out here to begin with."

"Klingons..." Blake shook her head with a frown, folding her arms and looking away as she thought it over. It just didn't sit right. "What is going on out here that would be of interest to Klingons..." she didn't complete the thought out loud...that they weren't exactly a race that were particularly interested in scientific studies. And from what Blake understood, the area held Starfleet's scientific research facilities...officially at least. So what would be their interest here? Unless, of course, she hadn't been given the entire picture. She met Tarin's eyes, holding them.

"I don't know, Number One." Tarin's reply was genuine yet edged with a touch of agitation. "That's above my clearance. Starfleet tells me what I need to know, when they determine I need to know it." The life of command department officers was usually filled with similar forms of ignorance. Balancing the need for secrecy was sometimes misconstrued for a lack of official knowledge which Starfleet HQ wasn't willing to admit or reveal. The trickle-down effect resulted in the fleet's active-duty captains and crew not always possessing information pertinent to their assignment.

"For now," continued Tarin, "I agree with Mister Sandoval's suggestion. Our primary objective remains to investigate our deep space research station. Figure out what, if anything, has occurred there and why they aren't responding to comms." Morgan looked away from the astrometrics large display and towards her feet.

"Captain," the word seemed still a bit hard to her. "Even if the priority is the station, it would seem that having a... what is the term...spirit, no ghost on our tail is something I would worry about. There is a way to detect things that would cost us little in preparation if you are interested."

Morgan silently mulled through the options available to her. Her gut intuition had proven correct when they'd departed Regula I - that whatever unknown ship was out there, seemed keen to investigate its surroundings. Unfortunately that now included Galileo, which added an additional layer of complexity to their current mission. "Anything involving active sensor emissions is off the table," she decided. It was the easiest choice to make. "We have a job to do, and without clear knowledge of what happened to the research station's crew, I want to play it conservative. The last thing we need right now is a confrontation with the Klingons." She took a weighted breath then looked back up to the other senior officers. "If it's one thing Command is certain about, where there is one Klingon vessel, there are more. This Nova-class is barely a match for a Bird of Prey and we don't have any escorts."

"Doctor," Tarin continued, now deciding on a course of action, "if you think there's a means to locate this vessel in real-time...bring a proposal to my desk in the next 24 hours." She then regarded the chief science officer. "Sandoval, I'm assigning you to work with Mister Rice and Mister Marika. I want the three of you to research and analyze Starfleet intelligence reports over the last 50 years to figure out what sort of new technology we might be dealing with. I'll authorize your team clearance to as many relevant files as I can. Compare and contrast Klingon ship design upgrades, KDF research mandates, and High Command directives." There had to be something they'd missed if the rumors were true. "We'll be arriving at our destination in two days. I expect a full report by then."

"Yes...captain," Allyndra nodded. The idea did not need to slow down their progress as she understood it but she would want to check with a certain Vulcan science officer.

"Yes, ma'am," Sandoval replied. "I have a couple of friends who are Klingon scientists. I think I can get some history from them if I can't find it elsewhere." She hoped that between the three of them they'd be able to get the data they needed.

Jeysa had been making the requested notes throughout the senior officers discussion, most of the science they were talking about didn't make sense to but a potentially Klingon ship following them was bound to be quite interesting. She noted down the tasks Morgan had given to each of them, it looked like a lot of reading for them to do but if it helped them figure what was happening out then it would all be worth it.

Blake watched the blue collared officers for a long moment, her arms folded in thought as her gaze switched to Tarin. There was definitely more going on here than she knew. She understood the point of 'need to know', but speeding into what was likely going to be a dangerous situation, and now discovering that there could be another danger right on their six? At what point did 'need to know' become 'should have known yesterday'?

A short silence propagated through the astrometrics lab. Morgan's attention was again focused on the large holographic projection. Her hazel eyes scanned then re-scanned the star display as if to determine what - if anything - she might be overlooking. Eventually, she clasped her hands behind her back and shook her head to herself. "That's all I have for now," she concluded. "I'll see you at PT in three hours. Dismissed."

[OFF]

--

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Acting Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Saalm]

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

CMDR Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical and Second Officer
USS Galileo-A

PO3 Jeysa Zeror
Yeoman
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Mimi]

LCDR Marisa Sandoval
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

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