Anomalies

Posted on Mon Aug 31st, 2020 @ 9:30am by Lieutenant JG Kevin Lance & Ensign Lucas Miles
Edited on on Tue Sep 1st, 2020 @ 3:22pm

Mission: Distress Call
Location: USS Independence and Freighter Olympia
Timeline: Current

Kevin stepped out of the turbolift and onto the bridge of the USS Independence. He still carried his phaser and away team gear as he had come straight to the bridge from the transporter room. He handed the weapon and other gear to the Assistant Chief Tactical Officer. “Please stow this gear. I relieve you on the console.” Without further acknowledging the ACTO’s departure, Kevin scanned the tactical console.

All was in readiness. Two-thirds of the tactical department were at their battle stations, standard procedure for yellow alert. Systems were nominal. Weapons and shields on standby. But the sensor anomaly to the right front of the ship had reappeared. This time, however, the level of confidence in the reading was high.

Kevin frowned and restarted the diagnostic routine on the starboard forward sensor array, then tapped is com badge. “Tactical to Engineering,” he announced.

“Engineering, Ensign T’Sol reporting,” was the response.

“You repaired the starboard forward sensor array?” Kevin asked.

“Aye. The array was installed with the wrong calibration unit, allowing the controlling mechanism to slip out of physical alignment creating conflicting data that manifested as the anomaly that you detected earlier. Lieutenant O’Connell was able to replace with incorrect unit with the proper type based on ship’s specification and,” T’Sol continued to drone on as the computer finished the diagnostic routine. The sensor was operating at almost prefect efficiency.

“Roger, Tactical Out,” Kevin announced cutting off the Engineering Officer’s soliloquy. Switching to inter-ship communications, Kevin call out, “Lieutenant Lance to Ensign Miles.”

"Go ahead Lieutenant," Miles responded from his position at the helm station of the freighter. He had naturally gravitated to the navigational systems of the ship since coming aboard as part of the Away Team and was wrapping up his analysis of the ship's navigational computer.

"We are detecting an anomaly," Kevin rattled off a string of coordinates, "Can you confirm?"

Lucas raised his eyebrows as he turned his attention to the freighter's sensors. He had not been actively scanning their surrounding vicinity but had instead been more focused on trying to understand why the freighter's systems seemed...weird, for lack of a better word.

But sure enough there were anomalous reading to the starboard side of the Independence. The freighter's unsophisticated sensors could not give him any more information other than to say there was something abnormal happening in that region of space.

"I can confirm Lieutenant," Lucas responded. "I am getting some abnormal readings off the starboard bow of the Independence." He paused trying to see if increasing the sensor resolution of the freighter would help but the computer gave him some strange error reading, similar to what he was getting with the engines.

"I'm afraid I can't get you any more clarity than that sir. Besides the limitation of the sensor clusters of this freighter, I am getting some error readings from her sensor systems, likely related to the system wide failure we were alerted to."

Kevin furrowed his brow as he nodded in confirmation of what he suspected. "Very good, Ensign," he replied, "Continue to monitor that region and send all you readings to the Independence, Lance, out."