When the Guns Fall Silent (A Star Trek quest)

There's a part two coming out Thursday, but I felt wrong not getting this out to you today.

[Persistence Roll: Sakura? 6 6 7.]

As the anomaly fades out, everything returns to normal. A figure, floating in what you now remember as the Tarina Edge Astral Sea, a "moderate" size astral sea that constrains access into this sector.

"You have potential." The figure smiles. "Maybe one day you will reach our threshold."

The figure vanishes.

In the aftermath, you're able to perform a tally, and everyone's back to normal. The science teams are the most upset, and when Minovsky reviews their notes, she tells you they were useless. Dalirath is more scathing.

You resume going towards the destination planet at warp speed, the warp drive creating a rainbow current behind you. On the way, the engineers come up with notes about what happened, and you have a meeting with Nadeshiko.

In peculiar ways, the memories of growing up as Yanagashira Sakura have overwritten your old memories but not perfectly. You were an idol, before you joined Starfleet, and still occasionally release songs. And how the Admiralty put both of you on the same ship .. you're not entirely sure.

How long this will last is something neither of you sure about. But it is nice to have family while it does.

[] Write In: Downtime actions. Note you can expect a lot of visits by your officers, so this should be what you think Sakura's response to the events are.

Nechayev seems to not notice anything amiss, and she sends you an update of the weather observed of various astral seas.

You have 5 weeks of downtime. You can research the following topics (allot a total of 50 dice, no more than 20 to each):
Current Options:

-[] Wentian (Engineering) Minovsky, Dalirath, Kenni (Science), Zh'viathon (Engineering):
Understand the Dimensional Folding. [Bigger on the inside. Allows for heavier hulls, larger sections. Would unlock more modules, as well as provide a design choice to Starfleet to make things smaller and same size, or same size but really larger.][ ???? successes required] (Pools successes, note this is a Extremely Long Term Project.)

-[] Wentian (Engineering) Minovsky (Science) Zh'viathon (Engineering) Talonis (Operations) Sakura (Command):
M/AM Fault Tolerance [Warp Core and M/AM reactors can fail-safe with 1 success on a 2d roll. They also generate more power for ships systems.] [57/120 succeses required](Successes pool, may take no more than 10 dice a turn.)[Blocks Warp Core Mk VII++ Completion]

-[] Wentian (Engineering) Kenni (Science) Zh'viathon (Engineering) Talonis (Operations) Sakura (Command):
Increase Warp Field Cochrane Output (Yoyodyne Nacelle Mk XXIX) [All listed speeds increase by .5/.3/.2 warp factor, may have max cruise above warp 11] [5/120 succeses required](Successes pool, may take no more than 10 dice a turn.)

-[] Wentian (Engineering) Science (Science) Sakura* (Command) Talonis (Operations): Improved Subspace Communication Buoys. (Subspace bandwidth and speed increased to Very Good/Warp 16. This gets you a +1d to any roll with Science in it. May have beneficial plot events. Select which Science Officer you want in this research.] [TN: 30 Successes]

-[] Wentian (Engineering), Nadeshiko (Operations), Janeway(Science), Talonis(Command), Science (Science): Slip-space Shields (Tiny) - A breakthrough in shield technology, you can prototype this enough to make Starfleet R&D see it's value on the Type-86 Mk I. (Requires completion of the Type-86 Mk I shuttlecraft.) [Refit for shuttles will skip an entire shield generation. Will have beneficial long term effects. All participants will roll for a trait.] [TN: 30 succeses]

-[] Wentian (Engineering), Nadeshiko(Operations), Janeway(Science), Talonis(Command), Science (Science): Slip-space Shields (Giant) - A breakthrough in shield technology, you can prototype this enough to make Starfleet R&D see it's value for spacedocks and possibly even planetary shielding. [Will have beneficial long term effects. All participants will roll for a trait.] (May create Planetary Shields Mk I, and Station Shield Grid Mk XI.) [TN: 60 successes]

-[] Wentian (Engineering), Zh'viathon (Engineering), Janeway (Command), Talonis (Operations): Power Systems Mk. VI (Unlocks the ability to put several extra die on a ship system, redundancy of power supplies. Primary benefit for newer ships, and later refits.) [20 successes] [If taken after NextGen Plasma Wiring, it's 10 successes for the ability to provide 2 extra die across systems]

-[] NextGen Plasma Wiring - Researchers: Wentian, Zh'viathon, Daliareth, Kenni, Talonis (20 successes required) [No risk of plasma fires unless there's a catastrophic misroll. Allows for an extra die for a ship system. Also allows for seperated and redundant power cores.] [If taken after Power Systems Mk. VI, can set multiple die, but is now 25 successes required)

-[] Wentian (Engineering), Nadeshiko (Tactical): Phaser Strip Mk VI. (Accuracy +1d, Damage +6) [15 successes]

-[] Wentian, Zh'viathon (Engineering): Complete Warp Core Mk VII++ (Gain +1d Speed, +8 Phaser Damage; Required for installing more powerful systems.)[50 succeses] [BLOCKED: Complete M/AM Fault Tolerance]

-[] Yanagshira (Tactics), Dalirath (Science), Wentian (Engineering), Sakura (Command): Prototype Plasma Rainshower Launcher Mk. I [14 successes](Very Long Delay)[Progress: Plasma Rainshower Integrated Weapons Systems Mk. I (Starbase)][Unlocks: Plasma Rainshow IWS Mk. I (Starship) Research]

You also spend some time processing a lot of requests for people to change gender, and find that's a pleasant task. Some people got things out of it, even if you can't help but feel that this is also strangely crueler in some regards, as no one knows if it'll persist or not.

As you speed towards your destination, you have a series of meetings. It's about now that you realize you need a counselor, as everyone's using you and Nana for it.

Nadeshiko is just happy to have a sister, after some thought, and is just going to enjoy it as long as she could. So will you, as it's nice having a family actually talking to you. Is it running away from your problems to do this? Probably. But is it nice, for once? Absolutely.

It will cause problems down the line, though.

Nechayev is bewildered by this problem, and Minovsky's papers on the experience and data are being fiercely debated. Kenni's papers on the workarounds you did and how to better identify them are percolating through the sensor enthusiasts,as well.

The two seem the most unaffected, although it seems that Minovsky is now the favored by Dalirath to replace her, as she was able to think on her feet the most. Dalirath, herself, is quite affected, and it takes her most of the trip to regain an element of emotional control. Her and Talonis were often doing dual meditation, and you carefully turn a blind eye to them psuedo-dating. Delarnious is monitoring it, and having the entire command staff.. well.

You suspect no one is under any illusions this will continue for long.

Janeway was apparently just knocked out the entire time, and talked to you of dreaming of being a pirate on ancient Earth. Nana- ... well, she was just trapped in her office. Somehow. She refuses to talk about it, and you suspect there's something she's not telling you about what was going on.

Delarnious is.. well, Delarnious. He does start giving mental training courses, and a lot of the crew sign up.

The most annoying bit is removing all of the reinforce as a lot of it is getting in the way of ship operations. There's a lot of discussions among the lower level engineering and operations officers about lessons learnt, but everyone is quite hoping they don't need to do this again without actual time to think about what to reinforce.

You finally get your hand on the science teams reports, and.. well, it wasn't very helpful. There's been observed aetherocosmofauna and flora forever. The data you get back is sheer nonsense, and you are forced to conclude that they must have been heavily effected by the "water".

The pictures of the cute underwater fish do suggest the anomaly may have altered the sea's properties quite a bit locally.

R&D Phase

The dice is 31d for M/AM Fault Tolerance
There are 28 successes, with 6 positive effects.

You continue your progress on making the m/am reactor more fault tolerant. The challenge is that in any good starfleet ship, there are many redundant systems for it, and at this point, you need to determine how to re-architecture it to allow for more warning - or, specifically - avoid warp core breeches.

There's conversations back and forth with other chief engineers going on, you note, and it's becoming a fleet effort to share and give experience in the art of creative solutions and troubleshooting to engineering officers.

Starfleet R&D seems almost exasperated at the number of papers and discussions they're a part of now. That said, a major element of this is that you might be able to move it further away from the outer hull. It's not quite a warp drive re-do, but you're seeing discussions about alternate geometries if they don't need such a separated engineering hull.

[88/120]

The dice is 34d for Increase Warp Field Cochrane Output
There are 26 successes, with 3 positive effects.

Testing Yoyodyne designs often comes with stress. You don't even get to any physical testing on shuttles, as the models look like they need a lot of work. Yoyodyne has their own shuttles to test, and you're grimly sure this was rushed out from proto-alpha testing.

Wentian is taking it as a challenge, and you realize grimly you're going to lose her to SCE very shortly. Maybe you can horse trade for a good engineer when you return.

[Wentian now rolls every mission, starting with 4 dice. Each mission, a dice is deleted, and as long as you roll over 10, you keep her. You can attempt a TN 3 successes Politics roll to keep the dice. (You have 4 politics dice.)]
[31/120]


The dice is 27d for Understand the Dimensional Folding
There are 17 successes, with 1 positive effects.

You have the distinct feeling this was nowhere near a good use of the power - the devices that fold space seem crude and overly large. You're not sure how they even work, and after a few weeks, you're quite sidetracked by making new tricorder prototypes, as well, as arguments about the devices.

[17/????]

The dice is 20d for Phaser Strip MK VI.
There are 12 successes, with 2 positive effects.
Failed - You get somewhere, but you just don't manage to get it to work. Thankfully, you don't get an explosion, but after a full week, you are left with no real progress, but some interesting notes.

(Can retry next R&D)

A week later, in mid June, you reach the system you were originally headed for, on the other side of the Southeastern Tarinan Sea, Gregorian, a cool class M world - currently in winter there.

There's a science outpost there, and represents the explored edge of this new sector. You can finally offload your science teams, and set off to stars that not even probes have been in.

CREDITS MUSIC:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckFAVjTfNhk

You arrive in the Cearia system in a flash of light, after the result of a pleasant cruise for once. The bright nebula had been a sight to look at, but most importantly, no anomalies, no weird omnipotent buildings, no annoying science teams, just investigating a system containing three M-class planets in a trinary system with no radio emissions, no subspace emissions, no light sources.

When you arrive, you start surveys on the planets and it goes smoothly, with it being boringly standard excluding a carbon-selenium planet that has some of your science department curious how that happened. They eventually conclude it's entirely artificial but they aren't sure how, just that it must have happened millions of years ago.

There are three M-class planets here, and one of them intrigues you. It has .. no animal life whatsoever over the size of small housecats. Seeing what looks like a massive herd of what you'd characterize as flying cats is .. peculiar. So peculiar it's the first time you stay overnight to observe the night fauna closer.

In the morning, two of your marines are found dead, and Dalirath in critical condition, Kenni missing, with a phaser and science kit. Your ship sensors recorded no discharge of anything, and perplexingly, no local cameras or overhead sensors caught anything.


[END TEASER]
[Roll Opening: Turning Tides]

[Rolls 6s; 7 4 9 10 1 9 8 5 3 6 10 4]
[Ship Time: 0414 hrs]

You call an immediate meeting of the senior staff an hour after your woken with the news of Dr. Nana declaring a Biohazard Emergency. Nana attends via holoprojection from the sickbay, a sign she's deadly serious. An hour ago, she moved the ship to Biohazard Three status, and everyone who's been to the surface or in contact with them quarantined.

Dalirath and Yanagashira are in isolated recovery rooms. Nana is preparing to examine the others as you speak. She goes first therefore.

"There was a parasite in Dalirath.. and Yanagashira. Captain, you are likely immune as well, but you'd be extremely sick. The parasite seems to have unknown effects, likely with neurological effects. It's genetically engineered, as well. We're monitoring progression." She disappears, immediately.

That puts a spin on the situation you didn't care for.

Delarnious continues after a beat of awkward silence, a forcibly calm expression on his face. "We can't get any signal on Kenni. His badge is just gone, and not even scanning for the materials seems to work. Something is really odd down there. We've reviewed the footage and sensor data, and we don't have any explanations..." He coughs. "Admittedly, we hope to try it again when we have more of the science department out of quarantine. I've assigned the case to Constable Remy."

Talonis has no information to add at this time except that she's extremely sure there's nothing in orbit by now, having used three different methods to scan conventional and several unconventional methods to cloak objects.

Wentian just mentions that scanning for the parasite is putting a mild strain on resources, and she doesn't advise getting into a battle while you're doing so. Thankfully there's not much in orbit, or even in system as far as you've been able to tell. Still, Wentian advises you mount a CAP with your shuttles and she.. of course.. volunteers to pilot the Type86. Delarnious has no objection, except to tactfully state Wentian's needed more on the ship.

[ ] Do so - start a CAP immediately
[ ] Do so, but put a trained pilot in the Type86 instead of Wentian for the CAP.
[ ] Do not issue a CAP.

The world below has a 18 hour day, 6 hour night, at this time in it's orbit and at the latitude you established a camp in. Dr. Nana has asked you to place a quarantine beacon.

[ ] Place a quarantine beacon
[ ] Do not place a quarantine beacon.

What steps do you take to investigate?
[ ] Write in a mix of information requests and actions.

Minovsky reports that the parasite is still undergoing testing, but you know full well Biohazard Three means "can probably phase through all but class-twelve forcefields.", which means she might not be able to do any testing.

You can also try to call in additional assistance, but you are sufficiently far enough away that all you can really do is do research via secured channels if you don't mind the lag.

Information You Have So Far: