Finding the Needle

Posted on 22 Mar 2022 @ 5:52am by Commander Marisa Wyatt & Lieutenant Aria Rice

2,990 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 4, CSO's Office
Timeline: MD 08, 0500 hrs

[ON]

Sometimes, like now, it was fortunate to spend a good deal of time doing research. While Marisa did not deal with intel directly, she dealt with scientists, and sometimes scientists worked with classified information. She created a search parameter to start digging and then contacted the others to meet with her in her office.

Lt. Aria Rice frowned as she walked to Marisa's office, taking a moment to sip the coffee she had just replicated before the call came in. There was a certain tension on the ship now, a stress that seemed like a mild fog to her. You know, if she was being poetic. She managed to smooth the frown out by the time she got to Marisa's office and she rang the chime to announce herself before entering. "'Commander," she said, lightly, meeting her eyes.

"Thank you for coming," Marisa said. "How is your department doing?" She missed Luke. At the same time, she was glad Aria was the one to take over.

Aria smiled gently, watching Marisa as she nodded. "It's...going. A lot of learning for all of us. Poor team, a brand-new Chief trying to learn the ropes, and a new Captain. Still..." she gave a small shrug. "It's what it is."

"It is, indeed." Marisa smiled back. "With the Galileo, if it isn't one thing, it's another."

"Story of our lives, and we've been here long enough to feel it," Aria said lightly, but with good humour. She had never really had much chance to talk to Marisa. But now, as Chiefs...it felt good. Like she was a part of something a little bigger. "So, who are we waiting for?"

"Kala Marika. But she's been delayed. It seems everything is a rush right now." Marisa glanced at the chronometer and sighed. "So, we should get started. I can fill her in later." She pulled out a PADD and handed it to Aria. "The acting captain wants us to find everything we can on the past fifty years of Klingon history and advancement." She raised an eyebrow, but otherwise kept her opinion of the woman and her order to herself. "I know, she's not asking much." The half-Vulcan allowed herself to smile wryly. "It's on a need-to-know basis, so we're basically looking for anything unusual or that we think of interest."

Aria nodded, meeting Marisa's eyes and giving a small smile back. "Okay, so it's a group project," she said lightly, hoping that Marisa also had experienced those at the Academy...and all the downfalls of those. "So, the best thing would be to split up the areas of research, one of us is the lead to put it together into a single report, then the other two proofread and then we submit." She stopped and looked at Marisa, suddenly looking embarrassed. "That...that is my recommendation anyway, 'Commander..." she added embarrassed, feeling as if she had crossed a line she had never stepped over before. Being this causal with a Chief, on something that came from a Captain.

Marisa waved a hand in the air. "Don't worry about it. This is a brainstorming session. I agree that it will be easiest to divide this into areas of research. 50 years’ worth of data on an empire is a monumental task. I plan on searching scientific databases and discussions that include Klingon research. Where would you like to focus?"

Aria considered it, biting her lip for a moment. "Tech and strategic patterns," she finally said and met her eyes. "Ship and weapons technology, advancing in their strategic planning and deployment." She could do that, although she knew it would be an all-nighter or two.

"That would be perfect," Marisa said with a smile. "Unfortunately, time is of the essence, so we're both going to be pulling at least one late night. The acting captain wants this as soon as possible."

"Of course she does," Aria said, her voice neutral so it could be taken as a roll your eyes at the whims of your Captain or just straight up fact. She glanced around the room for a moment, considering it. "Well, we could work here together. Might be a way of keeping awake and pooling our resources. I can get the coffee, if you believe in caffeine as a stimulant."

"Bring all the coffee you need," Marisa replied, smiling at her reaction to the acting captain's orders. "I prefer spice tea and sandwiches. I'll bring those. And cookies."

"Okay," Aria chuckled and gave a small nod. "Although next time, if we have less of a deadline...I'll make you some. For now, replicated will have to do..." she rolled her shoulders, looking thoughtful. "We might as well begin now." She'd have to ask Gabriel to cover her a bit, but she knew he wouldn't mind.

Marisa nodded. "Now it is." She went to the replicator and got a plate of cookies and a plate of cheese and crackers and took them back to the table. "To get us started." She smiled sat down.

Aria chuckled, nodding as she met her eyes, taking a PADD. "But if we start getting the cheese farts, I suggest we move to my quarters," she said playfully before she started to read.

"If you'll be more comfortable, sure." Or it could just keep them from being interrupted.

====

For the next hours, Aria buried herself into everything Klingon. Her uniform jacket got discarded and she had pulled her ponytail out at some point, her fingers playing with the elastic. As she read, she realised that Klingons, to her, were boring. Boring. "So boring..." she murmured to herself, reaching for yet another sip of coffee to try and keep herself going. But she had made some notes...

Klingon ships followed the Klingon philosophy of we don't believe in shields, we believe in thick metal hulls so we can go smash smash, they loved disruptors (which everyone knew because...standard for Klingons...), and they did forward facing weapons because you didn't exactly turn tail and run if you were Klingon.

The history of Klingon ships meant that they loved Ds. D6, D7, only to be broken with the K'Tinga, and now the D8...which sounded, to Aria, as fucking spectacular as a concept. Although they'd only been made for a few years based on what she saw, and she doubted anyone was going to be able to nail one down easily. Oh, and then there was the cloaking, because if you have a little alliance with the Romulans during your military history, you learn from your allies...

But back to the D8. Type VIII Disruptor Cannons, Type IX Disruptor Cannons. Battle cloaking system, adaptive shielding system, the insane reinforced hull plating...torpedoes! Photon and Tricobalt.

She stifled a yawn, bringing her hand to cover her mouth. Okay, so the Klingons are looking for their own version of the quantum torpedoes based on this... she thought, scratching the back of her neck. And of course, they are now being super-imperialistic and want to expand. And they're trying to Cardassian their way through with infiltration, surgical alterations and general spycraft. Fun. I miss having an Intel department... she stopped suddenly, bringing up a report. "Huh."

...X reports that there have been four failed tests. Several ships have been destroyed. Unknown losses...

Aria's hands went to another report, with the same little code on it. X confirms they are redesigning the hull to support the changes. Theories about what happened, but there is some evidence to support the new cloaking.... she stopped and looked over at Marisa, meeting her eyes. "So, what do you think would happen if there was some cloaking tech that would rip a Klingon reinforced hull apart when being activated?" she asked aloud before she stifled another yawn. "I'm sorry, I just find Klingons really, really...dull. I swear I am falling asleep..." she reached for her mug and drained it.

"I'm finding a lot of theory, but little fact," Marisa said, setting down her PADD to stretch. "At some point, they were researching Romulan cloaking technology, but the Romulans are cautious and they couldn't quite replicate it. Knowing the Romulans, that's probably a good thing." There were several papers on weapons advancement, but she had yet to find any evidence that they'd advanced to the testing phase. Nothing so far seemed to match the ship that was following them.

"So, we got some rumours then," Aria said and sat back, rubbing her face roughly with her hands to wake up. "Lovely rumours, and some spytales here and there."

"Yes. But with fifty years of history and technology, there's a lot to cover." Marisa's computer chimed and she turned to look at it. "This is interesting." She sat back down and focused on the scrolling data, occasionally flagging something. "The computer found some new files..."

Most of it involved research on bending light across the spectrum, new types of armor plating, and stealth technology. "The Klingons have been working on alternate ways to cloak a ship that don't involve a cloaking device," Marisa said at last. "Ways that don't take as much power and don't leave a residual trail."

Aria looked at her, studying her for a moment before she let out a sigh. "Might tie into these..." she motioned to the snippets she had discovered. "Rumours about testing things, and it not working. Breaking the ship apart. If they were looking at changing their hull, maybe adding something to it...I dunno, panels or whatnot...it ripped them apart when they tried it. Might mean whatever it was just didn't...work. Or, I am grasping at straws," she met her eyes, smiling. "Not exactly like they can put mirrors on the outside of a ship. We'd still see them on the scanner."

"This is true, but research into cloaking technology has been going on for generations. I've seen papers on using quantum physics to bend light on a sub-atomic level. One of these reports touches on that, and the efficacy of various types of hull plating. If the Klingons can find a way to make ships impervious to sensors and to visual identification without the increased tachyon levels, and use less power, it would give them an incredible advantage over the rest of the quadrant." Marisa sighed. "What I can't find is if they've succeeded. There's information here on a dozen different types of hull plating, coating, and design." She sent the pertinent information to Aria. "See if any of this matches what you've found. I'll see if there's any indication this has progressed to testing."

Aria nodded, moving through the reports. "Got this one..." she said and read out from the PADD. "X has reported deaths from waves. Two ships lost, not I have to admit that I am not sure what the author means with waves, but it could be...energy, light...? By Luna's dust, if they told me they were using microscopic iron balls suspended in paint, I'd believe them by now."

Marisa chuckled. "I have no idea, either. I wonder if they were testing plating or some other way to hide a ship and when it was bombarded by light waves, it failed catastrophically." She shook her head. "That makes the most sense to me, but your idea is just as plausible." She cocked her head to one side, considering for a moment. "You know, I wonder what effect microscopic iron balls would have on shielding?"

"Absolutely no idea. But, in Humanity's history, it was a technique used in Radar Absorbent Material, or RAM. They'd paint their aeroplanes to try and make them invisible to the radar at the time," she paused, trying to find a way of describing it based on what she had learned at the Academy. And because it was obscure Earth history, she added; "Radar was what they used, to detect objects in the air." She suddenly smiled, giving a shrug. "I did an essay on it, during my second year. The development of sensors, from pre-warp to present day. Although I forgot a lot of it since graduating. The human brain can only hold so much apparently." She paused, going back to the subject. "But let's...play this out. If there was a way of having something, to create cloak paint, it would need to be suspended in something. We know there is not a known material to build a starship of that could do it, but something suspended in it and painted..." she shook her head before she took a PADD, to do a search. "It killed the bats. Well, it's unconfirmed..." she offered the PADD over for her to read. "But the fumes of it killed these flying mammals. I remember it because I never knew that there was something called bats until then, and they are just adorable."

"Bats I'm aware of," Marisa said, chuckling. "Not so much radar-absorbent material. And that is why I'm glad you're here. So, we know the Klingons have been working on better ways to make their ships invisible, but not if they've actually worked it out. Right? Too bad we only have 24 hours. Given a week, we could probably find something."

Aria nodded, chuckling softly as she looked at her. "So, if they have worked it out or not is an unknown. But we can look at the circumstantial evidence and make an...assumption?" she made a face, because she hated the word. "Or a theory. That might be a better way to phrase it. The likelihood we think it is Klingons."

"Yes." Marisa grinned. "We are postulating a theory based on circumstantial evidence. But we really don't have time to do the research necessary to prove it." She wasn't sure if it would be good enough for the acting captain, but the science officer was pleased with the progress. "Unless we get lucky. But from what I've seen so far, the Klingons are being careful--even with each other."

"Might say Klingon Empire on the label, but it's all houses and they're all suspicious about each other," Aria rolled her eyes, finding the idea of hiding technology between each other a quaint notion. "Let's keep digging, in case we get lucky. And if we're not, well...we did our best." And that had to count for something.

Marisa nodded, then smiled. "Indeed." She got herself a cup of spiced tea and went back to finding new places for the computer to mine data. It wasn't that she didn't think the computer could search the information on its own. It was more that she'd done so much research over the years that she knew some odd, out-of-the-way places where scientists liked to share information and gossip about what other scientists were working on. And if she got lucky, there might be some references to new Klingon technology.

Aria got up as well, to get herself some more coffee. She drank it down, not caring about the way it burned her mouth a little. Right now, it didn't matter. She replicated herself some more, moving to sit down again before she started researching again, eyes focused on the screen.

Six hours later, they were still at it. There'd been no breakthroughs, no additional information. And no definitive answers. And then Marisa found something odd. "Here's something," she said after she'd read it twice. "Two physicists who said they did it. But when I go to look at what they did, it's missing. I know we can't say for sure it relates to our search, but it's in the same general field."

Aria rubbed her eyes for a moment, looking at her for a moment before she nodded. "Do we have names? If so, we can try and cross reference it...see if we can find something, anything, to tie it to it."

Marisa checked. "No. Just where it was sent from. I'll see if I can narrow it down." She sent what little she had to Aria in case the other woman could match it with her own research. "It's like finding pieces to a puzzle that don't match up, and don't give any indication of what the completed puzzle should look like."

Aria looked over at the PADD, frowning as she bit her lip. "Wait, the coordinates look...similar...to one of the reports. From X..." she found it and offered it over to Marisa. "Could be a coincidence, could also just be where they do R&D."

The science officer took several minutes to carefully look over the report. "I think you may be right that they're connected. The timing is also similar. Well done." She stretched and looked at the chronometer. "I think we should leave it at this and compile our findings. If the fates are with us, you can get four hours' sleep after we send in our data." She could go one night without sleep, and planned to take that time to create an algorithm to continue crawling through more esoteric databases, just to be thorough.

Aria laughed, almost desperately, at the idea of sleep. "I haven't had more than a few catnaps here and there since we departed," she admitted, giving her a smile. "Four hours sounds absolutely beautiful."

Security had a lot more to worry about than science. Marisa gave her a sympathetic smile. "Then I will take my leave and let you enjoy the next few hours. Thank you for your help. It was truly invaluable."

"It has been a pleasure working on this with you," Aria said, giving her a nod. "And I appreciate the patience you've had with me...and all my coffee!"

[OFF]

--

Lieutenant Commander Marisa Sandoval
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant Aria Rice
Chief Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

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