=/\= USS Charon, Sensor Pod =/\=
"We had information supplied to us detailing common engine signatures of such vessels and discovered that when those emissions were combined with the Thoron particles it only took a phototonic burst set to the right wavelength to serve as a catalyst and illuminate the areas where both the engine emissions and Thoron particles were present."
"As the probes used were medium to long range warp capable probes there was a significant amount of matter/anti-matter on board. If the probes signatures managed to get a fix on any of the inputted engine emissions they were additionally programmed to alter course to them and detonate the fuel payload."
"The probes were recalibrated to emit a photonic burst at the wavelength on a countdown. Unfortunately the launch was pre-emptive and the results went largely unobserved due to the boarding action by one of the Warbirds." Thomas finished his recollection of the events; turning back to the lieutenant and nodded in Affirmation he was done.
"An interesting approach." T'Kal observed, sharp eyes following the information on the screen with barely so much as a blink. Three of the others were already engaged in a low-voiced discussion about the composition of the nebula while young Voran had wandered towards the screen displaying the probe schematics. If T'Kal knew her assistant, he was already committing every detail to memory, adding modifications and improvements as he went.
Turning towards the young human who had introduced himself as 'Doyle', the tall, willowy woman offered an incrementally inclined head "Considering your recent troubles, the state of the Sensor Pod is quite satisfactory."
Seeing as the lady V'Laz was rather busy keeping her company from getting all too enthusiastic and wander off on their own to discover interesting new things, T'Kal decided it would fall to her to deal with the polite young humans. "Tell me, aside from the nebula- and I would certainly appreciate as detailed a report on Yy'a as you can provide – have you encountered any other phenomena of interest in this region?"
Kovel and two others had obviously already found an item of interest and beckoned the Ensign with the astonishingly red hair to join them, mindful of V'Laz's watchful gaze.
Nathanial motioned T'Kal towards one of the consoles, once she was within viewing distance he brought up a series of reports, together they conversed as he showed her the non-classified details and explained as answered as best he could the questions she asked him. He felt out of place, only slightly, but as if someone had pulled a single hair on the back of his neck. Nathanial shrugged the sensation off and continued their discussion.
Thomas was drawn between the conversation at hand and the small breakaway group of visitors. Feeling Nathanial would be comfortable with the conversation with T'Kal, The Ensign excused himself quickly before the conversation required any personal input from himself, inclining his head in towards the other group of Vulcans as confirmation that his assistance was required elsewhere.
Seeing that the group was a small break away Thomas hoped the three might be linked to a specific field or interest. The Ensign enquired to the group. "I hope the tour is proving satisfactory, is there anything specific you were hoping to see while aboard?"
"Indeed there is." A surprisingly small young female glanced up at the human, pointing at a star which was currently being observed by Charon's powerful sensors "The detail is quite impressive. However, the readouts on the magnetosphere appear somewhat … what is the term… fuzzy?" Dark brown eyes regarded the young officer with benevolent interest while behind the young woman a dark clad figure moved on to another screen, tapping away at a console with an air of complete self-absorption. In the general milling about of Vulcans in full inquisitive mode, no one noticed that the same male continued to another console, nor that for a brief time he seemed to have disappeared altogether.
Thomas quickly immersed himself in the cause behind the low quality image, it took a few moments in addition to a few helpful suggestions from the scientists he was escorting to correctly identify the interference that caused the problem and recalibrate the sensors to compensate.
After showing a few more functions and demonstrations of the long range sensor array he ushered the breakaway group back to the others. To his surprise it was quite difficult to break Vulcans away from something they wanted to know more about.
The final section of the tour was of Deck C. Its highlight being the sensor control station, while the majority of the tour had focused on the individual components the layout of the sensor station allowed the most comprehensive use of all the systems at the same time.
In addition it was the perfect platform for solid interconnection to the Astrometrics laboratory. The combination of the two facilities made it possible to produce spectacular three dimensional high resolution displays that made the astrometrics facility onboard the vessel so exemplary. While the control station didn't have the integrated holo-technology Astrometics would have been able to offer it still demonstrated the raw processing capacity of the vessel.
With the tour completed the guests were delivered back to the Turbo lift where the tour was formally concluded and farewells completed, Thomas's head was abuzz the points of view and offered comments by the Vulcan's for him had been personally gratifying. While of the information different individuals had offered were from angles he had never considered. in ways he felt he had gotten more out of the tour than the guests it had been designed for.
Nathanial watched the Vulcans leave. As the turbolifts closed he turned to Thomas.
"Was it just me, or did something feel out of place there, I swear one of my hairs was standing stiff on the back of my neck?"
"Only one?" Thomas joked
"Yeah, either the others are on strike, or it must have been only something small out of place"
"The strangest thing was I think I got more out the tour than the majority of our visitors did. The way some of them approach and diagnose a problem is amazing. I also never knew how engaged a Vulcan could become when shown something new and to take one of their phrases 'fascinating'. Though I noticed nothing untoward, actually I even think one of Kovel's aides likes you." Thomas finished playfully. He had found the entire engagement enjoyable. If anything suspicious had occurred he was none the wiser.
Nathanial shrugged, he couldn't shake the single hair feeling, but as Thomas said, nothing seemed to have happened. Nathanial had been told that even though science was built on finding fact, that in fact 'fact' came from having no fact to start with! He had always wondered if the word fact was used too much in that sentence, but he knew that if something was out of place, it would not start with fact.
=/\= USS Charon, Guest Quarters =/\=
He found T'Pelar still pouring over data, but from her demeanor there was nothing in those files complied by the helpful AI that pertained to what the councilwoman was seeking.
As soon as he stepped into the warm, brightly lit quarters, her head rose from the screen and a teal-blue gaze settled on him, asking a silent question.
The Vulcan responded with a simple nod, but if he had hoped for any reaction, be it only an expression of satisfaction, he was disappointed.
In a way, Kovel understood the lady's frustration. To be this close, and unable to proceed due to the stubbornness of a ship's commander unaware of the stakes in the matter…
It could not be helped.
He walked over to the window where Warbirds silently hovered among cold, silent stars. What if they indeed already suspected? Telling t'Rehu might serve to hasten matters, but it was likely the outcome would be disastrous.
Webs within webs. There were times when Kovel wondered whether it had been wise to trust T'Pelar's judgment without question.
=/\= End Log =/\=
Lieutenant Nathanial Doyle
Chief Science Officer
USS Charon
&
Ensign Thomas Clipper
Assistant Science Officer
USS Charon
&
T'Pelar &Kovel (apb I-Chaya)
Vulcan Science Council
