Crusade Ch8
The Ulysses was headed out toward the region of space recently dubbed the "wild lands" for its notable habit of taking in starships of all varieties and never letting them go. If Snyder could put an Earth twist on it, it was the galaxy's answer to the rumors of the Bermuda triangle, only this phenomena was a real and documented thing.
The captain and his finally assembled command crew were going over the fourth set of padds handed out by Snyder before the meeting. The first two held the entire record of both Commander Malcolm, and the new medical assistant, a young Bolian female named Munz. Both officers were a little shy and embarrassed as snyder listed every single notable event in both of their careers, both good and bad. Fortunately, they weathered it superbly, and the general crew took on to the new arrivals quite fast.
The third padd held a boring account of the ship's overall readiness written by Engineer Denning, Doctor Hartford, and Ensign Norman. The dull to the extreme report detailed the full list of supplies, fuel, and weapons aboard, as well as a list of a few engineering suggestions made by a Vulcan crewman... Solvek was his name if Snyder remembered correctly. Denning added it as a personal favor.
After nearly boring the senior staff to tears with that report, Snyder handed out the fourth set of padds. It was the explicit orders given to him by the Admiralty just before Ulysses left mars. The beginning of it he had copied already during the first staff meeting, all about Operation: Recover and all that, but he had left the rest for this meeting specifically.
"The first planet we are to visit was discovered just recently by a passing deep-space probe searching for more dilithium deposits just before the war. At first, the readings were dismissed, it was just another class M planet with no real value, until human lifesigns were detected."
"Human?" Doctor Hartford echoed, surprised, "So far away from Federation space?"
"Indeed, doctor," the Captain continued, "When the probe passed the planet, recognized here as Beta-Hydra, it discovered nearly three thousand humans inhabiting the planet, most of which were concentrated in a single settlement."
"Did the probe pick up any modern energy signals?" Denning asked.
"No, all it was looking for was dilithium and nothing more. The fact that it found the colony is a wonder in itself. Although, by the few visual scans the probe made of the surface, I highly doubt that they are either completely backwards, but neither are they using any modern technology extensively, either." Snyder brought up a close-up shot of the settlement on the planet. Since it was only a geological survey, the image of the actual buildings was fuzzy, but it was obviously large and made out of materials not easily harvested by simple machines. Towers and stone-cobbled streets were very common in the town, as well as what looked like a fortress in the center, large and imposing, looming over every other constructed building.
"Wow," was all Norman could say, "Nice craftsmanship,"
"I agree, ensign," Malcolm said, "But I must say that an imposing fortress in the middle of the city kind of sways my opinion toward them being at least a little hostile."
"Maybe they just like stonework," argued Munz.
"I don't know what their disposition is," Snyder interrupted, "But orders are orders, and we are going to send our first olive branch to Beta-Hydra whether they like it or not. End of story."
After a brief silence, Denning spoke, "Has anyone considered the fact that maybe these people might want to be left alone? I mean, if they wanted to be found and known, they would have at least documented their travel here whenever they left proper Federation space for here, and probably might have sent their own probe at least into orbit to direct incoming space travel to them."
"Good point, sir," Norman said, "But maybe they were in too much of a hurry to document their departure, and are incapable of launching a probe."
"Yeah, they could be too sick to do something," Gonzales added.
"No, the image shows no signs of anyone sick or of any kind of strife there. It looks like a tranquil village..." Doctor Hartford said.
"I disagree," Munz interrupted, "The image is too fuzzy to be sure of anything about the population. For all we know, those cobblestones could actually be dead bodies."
"If there was any kind of medical problem, the image as well as the scans would have shown it." The doctor countered, her face becoming a little red.
"It was an image from a GEOLOGICAL survey! It can't detect medical cases!" Munz practically shouted.
"There would have been something for the probe to pick up, Lieutenant!" Hartford exclaimed, using her superior rank to stop Munz from interrupting her, "There are ALWAYS signs."
"People!" Captain Snyder shouted, obviously annoyed at the loss of control of the two doctors, "Your opinions have both been noted. We are heading toward Beta-Hydra as we speak. When we get there, if there IS a medical crisis, you two will be the first to know."
"Aye, sir." Both doctors said in unison.
"We will approach the Beta-Hydra system in less than nine hours. Until then, I suggest we get everything ready for our arrival. I want to be prepared for EVERY possible thing that could happen out there. Dismissed."
Snyder watched his senior staff leave the briefing room, keeping an eye on Munz and Hartford. The two females were glaring daggers at one another, and Snyder was sure Munz was growling.
**********
Captain's log, stardate 53419.4
The Ulysses has arrived at the Beta-Hydra system. Every crewmember is excited about the prospect of meeting a people who have probably not seen other humans for at least over a century. We cannot accurately scan the planet because of a strange ambient radiation that surrounds the planet and extends for a few kilometers into space. I don't want to risk the health of the crew, so I have stopped the ship well away from the radiation. Unfortunately, we are just out of transporter range. If we can do anything for these people, we're going to have to use the shuttlecraft.
**********
Snyder and Malcolm stood before the open space doors of the main shuttlebay. The ever-present hum of the magnetic shield that protected them from the vacuum of space was the only thing that made the stunning vista a little less beautiful.
Both men were looking at the sparkling blue oceans of the planet's western hemisphere, at the snow-capped mountains taller than even Mount Everest on earth, and a canyon that could give the giant canyon on mars a run for its money. But the beauty of the planet was second to the sheer magnificence of the blue-green set of rings that surrounded the planet. The rings were in perfect circles in perfect order between the two colors. The sunlight that glinted on them made even Saturn's rings look dull.
"It almost doesn't seem natural," Malcolm breathed.
Snyder pulled himself together first. "Beautiful as it is, commander, we have a job to do."
Malcolm took a last glance at the beautiful rings before turning back to his duties. In his hand, he held a list of all the first-aid supplies and emergency rations being loaded onto the first shuttle down to the planet. Captain Snyder, Doctor Hartford, and Engineer Denning were going to be the first team to visit the planet. Malcolm tried to explain the regulations specifically saying a Captain should not go on a mission like this, but he was promptly ignored. Snyder said he was going for any diplomatic situations, Hartford for medical, and Denning was going in case they needed to repair any failing technology. Denning had tried to convince Snyder to send Solvek, since he seemed to be more adept at repairing systems than he, but Snyder would have none of it.
Already the away team had assembled on the open hatch of the shuttle, all waiting for the last of the supplies to be loaded. Malcolm heard Denning whisper to Hartford:
"It's probably going to fly like a brick when we get airborne."
"If we get airborne at all." Hartford whispered back, a light note of humor in her voice. Malcolm guessed she was just happy to be away from Munz.
Snyder was already in the cockpit of the shuttle, readying all of the systems and checking over the inventory one more time before they left. Suddenly, over the comm., Snyder addressed Malcolm, "We're ready to go here."
Malcolm understood, and left the open shuttlebay, going to the closed control room to see the shuttle off.
"Commander," Snyder said when Malcolm got there, "You have the bridge."
"Aye, sir." Malcolm said, just as the fully loaded shuttle slowly lifted off its landing struts and headed out into space.
Malcolm watched them go, and when he was sure they weren't turning back around, reactivated the forcefield and proceeded to close to main doors.
The Ulysses was headed out toward the region of space recently dubbed the "wild lands" for its notable habit of taking in starships of all varieties and never letting them go. If Snyder could put an Earth twist on it, it was the galaxy's answer to the rumors of the Bermuda triangle, only this phenomena was a real and documented thing.
The captain and his finally assembled command crew were going over the fourth set of padds handed out by Snyder before the meeting. The first two held the entire record of both Commander Malcolm, and the new medical assistant, a young Bolian female named Munz. Both officers were a little shy and embarrassed as snyder listed every single notable event in both of their careers, both good and bad. Fortunately, they weathered it superbly, and the general crew took on to the new arrivals quite fast.
The third padd held a boring account of the ship's overall readiness written by Engineer Denning, Doctor Hartford, and Ensign Norman. The dull to the extreme report detailed the full list of supplies, fuel, and weapons aboard, as well as a list of a few engineering suggestions made by a Vulcan crewman... Solvek was his name if Snyder remembered correctly. Denning added it as a personal favor.
After nearly boring the senior staff to tears with that report, Snyder handed out the fourth set of padds. It was the explicit orders given to him by the Admiralty just before Ulysses left mars. The beginning of it he had copied already during the first staff meeting, all about Operation: Recover and all that, but he had left the rest for this meeting specifically.
"The first planet we are to visit was discovered just recently by a passing deep-space probe searching for more dilithium deposits just before the war. At first, the readings were dismissed, it was just another class M planet with no real value, until human lifesigns were detected."
"Human?" Doctor Hartford echoed, surprised, "So far away from Federation space?"
"Indeed, doctor," the Captain continued, "When the probe passed the planet, recognized here as Beta-Hydra, it discovered nearly three thousand humans inhabiting the planet, most of which were concentrated in a single settlement."
"Did the probe pick up any modern energy signals?" Denning asked.
"No, all it was looking for was dilithium and nothing more. The fact that it found the colony is a wonder in itself. Although, by the few visual scans the probe made of the surface, I highly doubt that they are either completely backwards, but neither are they using any modern technology extensively, either." Snyder brought up a close-up shot of the settlement on the planet. Since it was only a geological survey, the image of the actual buildings was fuzzy, but it was obviously large and made out of materials not easily harvested by simple machines. Towers and stone-cobbled streets were very common in the town, as well as what looked like a fortress in the center, large and imposing, looming over every other constructed building.
"Wow," was all Norman could say, "Nice craftsmanship,"
"I agree, ensign," Malcolm said, "But I must say that an imposing fortress in the middle of the city kind of sways my opinion toward them being at least a little hostile."
"Maybe they just like stonework," argued Munz.
"I don't know what their disposition is," Snyder interrupted, "But orders are orders, and we are going to send our first olive branch to Beta-Hydra whether they like it or not. End of story."
After a brief silence, Denning spoke, "Has anyone considered the fact that maybe these people might want to be left alone? I mean, if they wanted to be found and known, they would have at least documented their travel here whenever they left proper Federation space for here, and probably might have sent their own probe at least into orbit to direct incoming space travel to them."
"Good point, sir," Norman said, "But maybe they were in too much of a hurry to document their departure, and are incapable of launching a probe."
"Yeah, they could be too sick to do something," Gonzales added.
"No, the image shows no signs of anyone sick or of any kind of strife there. It looks like a tranquil village..." Doctor Hartford said.
"I disagree," Munz interrupted, "The image is too fuzzy to be sure of anything about the population. For all we know, those cobblestones could actually be dead bodies."
"If there was any kind of medical problem, the image as well as the scans would have shown it." The doctor countered, her face becoming a little red.
"It was an image from a GEOLOGICAL survey! It can't detect medical cases!" Munz practically shouted.
"There would have been something for the probe to pick up, Lieutenant!" Hartford exclaimed, using her superior rank to stop Munz from interrupting her, "There are ALWAYS signs."
"People!" Captain Snyder shouted, obviously annoyed at the loss of control of the two doctors, "Your opinions have both been noted. We are heading toward Beta-Hydra as we speak. When we get there, if there IS a medical crisis, you two will be the first to know."
"Aye, sir." Both doctors said in unison.
"We will approach the Beta-Hydra system in less than nine hours. Until then, I suggest we get everything ready for our arrival. I want to be prepared for EVERY possible thing that could happen out there. Dismissed."
Snyder watched his senior staff leave the briefing room, keeping an eye on Munz and Hartford. The two females were glaring daggers at one another, and Snyder was sure Munz was growling.
**********
Captain's log, stardate 53419.4
The Ulysses has arrived at the Beta-Hydra system. Every crewmember is excited about the prospect of meeting a people who have probably not seen other humans for at least over a century. We cannot accurately scan the planet because of a strange ambient radiation that surrounds the planet and extends for a few kilometers into space. I don't want to risk the health of the crew, so I have stopped the ship well away from the radiation. Unfortunately, we are just out of transporter range. If we can do anything for these people, we're going to have to use the shuttlecraft.
**********
Snyder and Malcolm stood before the open space doors of the main shuttlebay. The ever-present hum of the magnetic shield that protected them from the vacuum of space was the only thing that made the stunning vista a little less beautiful.
Both men were looking at the sparkling blue oceans of the planet's western hemisphere, at the snow-capped mountains taller than even Mount Everest on earth, and a canyon that could give the giant canyon on mars a run for its money. But the beauty of the planet was second to the sheer magnificence of the blue-green set of rings that surrounded the planet. The rings were in perfect circles in perfect order between the two colors. The sunlight that glinted on them made even Saturn's rings look dull.
"It almost doesn't seem natural," Malcolm breathed.
Snyder pulled himself together first. "Beautiful as it is, commander, we have a job to do."
Malcolm took a last glance at the beautiful rings before turning back to his duties. In his hand, he held a list of all the first-aid supplies and emergency rations being loaded onto the first shuttle down to the planet. Captain Snyder, Doctor Hartford, and Engineer Denning were going to be the first team to visit the planet. Malcolm tried to explain the regulations specifically saying a Captain should not go on a mission like this, but he was promptly ignored. Snyder said he was going for any diplomatic situations, Hartford for medical, and Denning was going in case they needed to repair any failing technology. Denning had tried to convince Snyder to send Solvek, since he seemed to be more adept at repairing systems than he, but Snyder would have none of it.
Already the away team had assembled on the open hatch of the shuttle, all waiting for the last of the supplies to be loaded. Malcolm heard Denning whisper to Hartford:
"It's probably going to fly like a brick when we get airborne."
"If we get airborne at all." Hartford whispered back, a light note of humor in her voice. Malcolm guessed she was just happy to be away from Munz.
Snyder was already in the cockpit of the shuttle, readying all of the systems and checking over the inventory one more time before they left. Suddenly, over the comm., Snyder addressed Malcolm, "We're ready to go here."
Malcolm understood, and left the open shuttlebay, going to the closed control room to see the shuttle off.
"Commander," Snyder said when Malcolm got there, "You have the bridge."
"Aye, sir." Malcolm said, just as the fully loaded shuttle slowly lifted off its landing struts and headed out into space.
Malcolm watched them go, and when he was sure they weren't turning back around, reactivated the forcefield and proceeded to close to main doors.