Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: 15 May 2004 17:52:36 -0700 In: alt.startrek.creative From: daria@ameritech.net (Daria) Title: Salvage Author: Daria Series: ENT Part: 2/11 Rating: [PG-13] Codes: Tu, R Other header information in Part One. *** Malcolm yawned. Snapping his mouth shut, he glanced around the bridge to see if anyone had noticed. From the corner of his eye Archer saw the yawn, the third one this morning. It was almost humorous how hard the armory officer was working to hide his sleepiness. Archer was tempted to ask Malcolm if he needed some tea to stay awake, but wasn't sure if it would be taken as a joke or as a reprimand. Archer couldn't blame him. It had been unusually quiet on the bridge this morning, and the captain had found his own attention wandering. Archer hid a grin as Malcolm stifled yet another yawn, just as Hoshi spoke. "We're being hailed, sir." "Who is it?" Archer asked, leaning forward in his chair. Hoshi held up a finger, indicating that he should wait a moment; she was still listening. After several seconds she said, "I'm not sure who is sending the message, but the language is familiar. Give me a moment to clean it up, and I'll have a translation for you." There was near silence on the bridge as the rest of the bridge crew alternated between surreptiously watching Hoshi and working, until Malcolm broke the silence. "Sir, I'm detecting something as well. There is a rather large energy signature, coming from..." he hesitated, tapped a key on his console, and then continued "...a system several... about four... light years away." He frowned, trying to make the readings tell him more. When he spoke again, his voice was crisp, all signs of sleepiness gone. "Sir, I think Commander Tucker should take a look at these readings as well." "What are you seeing, Lieutenant?" Archer stood and moved toward the tactical station. "I'm not certain, sir, but I think--" Malcolm shook his head before continuing. "No, it's not possible..." Malcolm went back to manipulating the controls of his station, trying to clarify the readings. "Report, Lieutenant!" "Sir, I'm not certain. These energy signatures... they're enormous. I can't imagine what they might be powering that requires that much focused energy. It doesn't seem possible, but these energy signatures appear to match ours. Starfleet's that is. Or I thought they did, but the match isn't perfect." Malcolm didn't look up as he spoke. "Explain." Malcolm finally looked up and shrugged. "I can't, sir. They simply don't make any sense." He was saved further discussion by the arrival of the ship's chief engineer. Trip moved to the tactical station and looked over Malcolm's shoulder. "What have you got here, Malcolm--" he broke off, staring at the monitor. "Whoa! That isn't possible!" "That's what I said!" "When did you pick these up?" Trip asked. "Roughly five minutes ago. I've been trying everything I know to determine what could do this, and I haven't been able to come up with any ideas." "Hmmm," Trip leaned forward on the console, studying the screen. After several minutes of silence he looked up and met Malcolm's eyes. "Is it possible?" Malcolm shrugged. "I don't see how, but I have no alternatives to suggest." "Gentlemen, would you care to let me in on the secret?" Archer asked, "Or do I need to come up there and figure it out myself?" "No, Captain. It's just kinda hard to believe," Trip said. "I don't know how it's possible, but these readings... they aren't from a Starfleet energy source, but they mimic one. Whatever this thing is, the energy it generates could run our equipment. It just defies the odds that we would find this out here." "I'm not following," Archer admitted. Malcolm explained. "Sir, all our equipment was designed to work from the same energy sources-- makes it easier. That way we don't need different sources of power for each piece of equipment. The same generator that powers the computers, for instance, could power the resequencers, the lights, and the weapons, virtually everything on board. Interchangeable. Now, all those different types of equipment couldn't work off the same raw source, since they have different demands, so they're run through adaptors, to make the same power source work for them all. Well, the adaptors give off an electro-magnetic signature when they convert the energy, which is virtually identical in all the equipment. There are some minor differences, but they are all recognizable as being from the same energy source. But there's nothing special about the signature. It's just how Starfleet designed the adaptors. There is absolutely no reason to think any other species, or culture, would have the exact same type of adaptor, and so have the same signature. The odds against it are just astronomical." "But this-- whatever you're reading-- does?" Archer asked. "Yes," Trip and Malcolm replied simultaneously. "Well, not exactly the same, but close. Real close," Trip added. Both officers continued studying the monitor. "Damn," Trip said finally. He continued manipulating his instruments, trying to get the tactical station to give him more information. Beside him, Malcolm looked up from the readings. "Captain, with your permission, I'd like to check something in the armory." "Good idea," Trip said to the armory officer. "Permission granted." Archer said, wishing he knew what they were thinking. "Captain." Hoshi's voice was pitched slightly higher than usual. Distracted by the odd readings, Archer had forgotten she was working on a translation. He turned to look at her and saw that her eyes were wide. "Yes, Ensign?" "Sir, I think it's a sales pitch!" *** In his ready room, Archer listened to the message for the third time. It chilled him as much as it had the first two. Trip and Malcolm remained silent as the message replayed. "Croellian Industries announces the newest in Protection Technology. Available on a limited basis, this unique technology was imported from a distant sector. It will provide the buyer with a distinct advantage against any attacker. Fully integrated into weapons and defense systems, the technological specifications will be sold to the highest bidder. Contact Croellian Industries for a demonstration of this unique weaponry." The message continued for another moment in the same vein, giving details on how to arrange for a demonstration, and then, according to Hoshi, it repeated. She had informed Archer that the language was a dialect of Dorlogian; once she had recognized it she had been able to translate it easily, and had updated the Universal Translator with the variation. The message had been broadcast in an encrypted form, but the Enterprise sensors and decryption protocols were more sophisticated than those on Dorlog; they had been able to pick up the message that was obviously meant for other ears. Archer looked at the two officers. "Gentlemen-- it's obvious you have an idea about this. I need your thoughts." "It's ours," Malcolm stated grimly. Archer turned to him. He'd suspected as much, but needed more confirmation. "Are you certain?" "Yes," Malcolm said. "Well, not exactly ours. According to our readings from that power source, it comes from a generator that creates energy that could power our equipment-- including our weapons. There would be no point in doing that unless they have weapons or equipment that could use that power. Any weapons that could use the same energy sources and adaptors as ours-- well they'd have to be remarkably similar. Too similar to be a coincidence. When I went to the armory, I ran some simulations. There is no doubt that our weapons could be powered off that energy source." Trip had been standing with his hands on his hips, studying the deck plating, thinking. Finally he spoke. "Captain, say I'd never seen the weapons on Enterprise before. If somebody handed them to me and told me to make 'em work... whatever I came up with to power them would almost certainly put out an energy signature that looked like this. Combined with that message we just heard... well, there isn't much doubt." "Someone is powering Starfleet weapons, or something remarkably similar-- probably a mixture of their weapons, combined with some of our technology to improve them. Of course, until I get a closer look at those weapons, I can't say for sure, but the odds..." Malcolm's voice trailed off. The three men sat in silence, contemplating the turn of events. Trip finally broke the silence. "So who is doing this? And where did they get Starfleet technology? Now, we haven't gone missing any equipment or weapons off Enterprise that I know of, so we know they didn't reverse engineer this thing." "I think we all know the answer to that," Malcolm said. He looked at Archer and then Trip in turn. "The question is what are we going to do about it?" "Malcolm, I don't think we can assume that--" Trip began. "Commander, think about it," Malcolm interrupted. "It's the only rational explanation. As you just said, we haven't misplaced any of Enterprise's weapons, or any other equipment that I'm aware of. That only leaves one possibility." Archer absorbed this information, and then brought up his other concern. "Malcolm, would we be able to defend ourselves against our own weapons, if they were used against us?" "If they used our exact weapons against us, we'd be able to defend ourselves. That isn't really the concern. The real problem is once they know about our weapons and our defenses-- which are pretty easy to predict, based on our weaponry-- it wouldn't be difficult to modify their weapons to defeat them. Of course, that assumes when we power the hull polarization we're working off a power source that used the same energy signature. Ours doesn't-- anymore. Or at least, it doesn't have to." He looked, just slightly, pleased. "Go on," Archer said. "After Dorlog, I did some work on the hull, remember?" Archer and Trip both nodded. It would have been hard to forget. While working on the upgrades, Malcolm had continually activated the tactical alert to test his upgrades; the noise had been irksome and had wreaked havoc on the crew's nerves, until Archer had made him cease the testing until he deactivated the siren. Malcolm didn't meet their eyes. "Well, I wasn't sure what might be done with the information the Dorlogians obtained, so I took the precaution of adding a subroutine that modifies the incoming energy frequency. That changes the polarization frequency slightly. I haven't shown it to Commander Tucker yet," he admitted. "It takes nearly double the normal amount of energy, because a lot is lost in the process of transforming it-- it isn't very efficient. I left the program in the computer, but it doesn't automatically activate with a tactical alert. It has to be manually activated. I haven't finished testing it, and it won't make a huge difference-- but at least it removes the advantage they might have had from knowing our weapons and power source." "What about the other upgrades you were working on?" Archer asked. "Oh, they would help some. They polarize the hull more quickly, and make it a little stronger. In this situation, that won't matter much. We just have to make sure that they don't figure out the new polarization frequency." "Malcolm's right," Trip said. "We have to change the polarization to an entirely different frequency, probably take his adaptations another step. I'd like to look at that subroutine. And I think we should start running the tests." "The sooner the better," Malcolm agreed. "It would sure help if we knew exactly what kinds of weapons they've developed," Trip mused aloud, not expecting a response. "Then we wouldn't have to worry about trying to defend against everything." Archer hesitated for a moment, before going to his computer. He pulled two blank padds from his desk and with a few keystrokes downloaded information to each padd. "Remember when I told you that Commandant Cournic from Dorlog had contacted me with news of Director Corzac's arrest? He also sent this. It's the information on our technology that they found in the Director's possession. If, in fact, the weapons being referred to are ours, and were built based on information from Dorlog, this is the information that would have been available." Trip and Malcolm were staring at Archer, taken by surprise that the captain had this information. "We don't know, for a fact, that any of this information was ever released," Archer reminded them. "The Dorlogian authorities were unsure." Archer handed each of them a padd, and then waited while they read. The padds held sanitized versions of a transmission Archer had received from Dorlog shortly after his officers had been returned to his custody. He had deleted the original transmission from the Starfleet database, but as a safeguard he had kept a copy in his private database. The padds contained a list of technological information about Enterprise weapons and engines that had fallen into the hands of a Dorlogian criminal. They were not copies of the original report as it had been transmitted to Archer-- that version had been complete with the details of the interrogations the men had endured. The captain knew that even these sanitized versions had to be stirring up unpleasant memories. Malcolm's lips were pressed into a thin white line and he had gone very still as he read the padd, but he remained composed. Next to him, Trip swore softly as he read. Malcolm glanced up at the muttering, then returned his attention to his own padd. He finished first and lay it down on the table. "Well. That certainly gives us a starting point, doesn't it?" Malcolm's voice was brittle. "If that was the information they had available, then there are only a few Starfleet-type weapons they could have created-- unless they have some extremely gifted engineers who were able to make some big leaps," Trip said. "I doubt they understand the underlying principals well enough to make too huge of strides." "There is a rather large piece of equipment putting out a huge amount of energy that I'd consider a pretty strong testimonial to their abilities. I don't think we should underestimate them," Malcolm replied tersely. He picked up the padd again. "I agree with Lieutenant Reed," Archer said. "I don't think we should underestimate this...syndicate. How long will it take you to determine what sort of weapons they might have, based on the information they had to start with, and the readings from that power source? And how long to devise defenses against them, and get the new upgrades on line?" "Not too long. Maybe two days?" Trip ventured. Malcolm was still studying the padd. Looking up he added, "Yes, sir. That sounds about right." "Get to it," Archer told them. "I'd like to have that information available when we get there." They had been moving toward the door but Archer's words stopped them. Both turned to look at him. "Get there, Captain?" Trip asked. Malcolm tipped his head, questioning "They have Starfleet technology and they plan to sell it to the highest bidder. That isn't going to happen." *** -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Awards Tech Support http://www.trekiverse.us/ASCAwards/commenting/ No Tribbles were harmed in the running of these Awards ASCL is a stories-only list, no discussion. Comments and feedback should be directed to alt.startrek.creative or directly to the author. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? 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