From: Shawn _ (alamo_nate_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Mar 05 2008 - 12:26:31 PST
=Signal Tracking=
(cont'd from "Moving Forward")
LOCATION: USS CHANTICO
SCENE: Main Engineering
STARDATE: [2.8]0305.1222
Crichton thought that it would only take him an hour or so to track down the signal, now that he once again had access to Federation technology. The signal's source was proving exceedingly difficult to pinpoint, however- whoever had created it had taken the time to piggyback it inside of almost every transmission coming from ANDARA. Crichton was now working through the laborious process of eliminating possible sources, and even given the relatively low level of technology on ANDARA, it was taking him some time.
And, as usual, time was against him. The announcement of Daisy and Drake's capture by the Dominion had reached the Federation, and there was already talk of an offensive to "liberate" ANDARA and attempt to recover them. Either way, Starfleet Command was no longer content to suffer a Dominion-controlled planet so close to their border, and the fleet build-up near the GATEWAY seemed to prove the rumor that an attack on the Dominion forces on ANDARA was imminent.
This was, of course, bad news. The Dominion wouldn't hesitate to send Andarans to die by the thousands- or worse, begin executing them just for spite- and with Ambassador Vertec currently in "temporary control" of the planet, Andaran casualties were expected to be high. Daisy wouldn't have liked where this was going; preventing something like this was why she had gone to ANDARA in the first place.
And among all this political tumult, the strange signal continued its broadcast, continued to transform innocent Andaran children into crazed killers.
Crichton wondered why Starfleet was even bothering to see this through- if they were going to attack ANDARA, most of the children they were trying to save were probably going to wind up dead anyway. But Crichton also knew that Daisy would want them to continue, even if they had to do it against orders. Saving the children was important, regardless of what might happen afterwards.
"How's it coming, Lieutenant?"
Crichton looked up from his console, to see Lt. Commander Kor standing behind him, her hands clasped behind her back. She looked tired, but strong, and Crichton wondered if the woman *ever* had time to sleep.
"Slowly," Crichton said. "Whoever made this signal bent over backwards trying to hide the damn thing."
"And it still appears to be changing?" Kor asked.
"Refining itself, more like," Crichton nodded. "If it continues to change at the rate its going, in a day or so it may even be powerful enough to affect the entire planet with a single broadcast."
"How long until you can pinpoint its source?"
"Hopefully, within the next few hours," Crichton said.
"Hopefully?" Kor asked.
"Best I can do," Crichton shrugged. "Playing 'hide and seek' signal games isn't exactly my specialty."
"Could the Dominion be broadcasting the signal?" Kor asked. It made sense- the Dominion was the obvious culprit. They had the most to gain by throwing ANDARA into chaos, and it was entirely possible they had manufactured the entire emergency as a way to get Federation personelle onto ANDARA. But even so, Crichton didn't think the Dominion was behind it.
"They could be," he said. "But it doesn't look like it. This transmission is definitely coming from ANDARA itself, not from a Dominion vessel. And unless the Dominion has a secret base constructed somewhere on the planet, I don't think they've got the hardware to generate a signal like this."
"Then who?" Kor asked.
"Got me," Crichton said. "Somebody who could move some fairly sophisticated transmission equipment onto ANDARA's surface without being noticed, or someone who had access to the transmission equipment already present there."
Kor frowned. "Could it be someone from ANDARA?"
"I'd say so," Crichton nodded. "But why would they target their own population?"
"I think the answers to all our questions will become much clearer when we've located the source of the signal," Kor said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCATION: GATEWAY Station
SCENE: Promenade
Major Alex Towers stood in full uniform, overlooking the Promenade the way a general might survey his men the night before battle. Most people staring down at the grandeur of GATEWAY's Promenade might be filled with a sense of awe at its size and diversity, but Towers gave these no consideration. Instead, he only concerned himself with tactical appraisals of the area- where was the best cover, where might an enemy place explosive charges to collapse upper-tier walkways, ideal choke-points, that sort of thing. Not that he was expecting any Jem'Hadar to suddenly materialize on the Promenade to give a repeat performance of the Battle of GATEWAY, but one never did know.
Towers was not given to reminiscing about the past, but as his eyes fell on a figure walking down the tier towards him, he suddenly began to do just that. He recognized the man instantly, and his dislike for him was instant as well. Towers had never really been a "people-person", but there were few people he could say he truly hated. This man was one of them.
The man saw him, and a second later, recognized him. Towers briefly thought the man might change course, turn around, or attempt to avoid a confrontation, but then remembered who it was he was dealing with. This man wasn't one to run from an uncomfortable situation.
Towers turned now to face the man, his expression anything but friendly. The man came to a stop a few feet away, and for a long moment, they only stared at each other.
Finally, the man spoke. "Lieutenant," he said with a nod.
"Major, actually," Towers said, frowning. "What are you doing here, Dreyton?"
Raxl Dreyton sighed. "I guess you haven't forgiven me, then."
"Forgiven you?" Towers asked. "You're lucky I haven't already thrown you into the brig."
"That'd hardly be neighborly," Dreyton smirked.
"Cut the crap, Raxl," Towers said. "What the hell are you doing on GATEWAY Station?"
"Private business," Dreyton said defensively. "I don't work for the UFPMC anymore, so I don't have to answer your questions."
"Right now, I'm acting Sec/Tac officer," Towers said. "So yes, you do."
"I'm a bounty hunter, alright?" Dreyton said. "Can I go now?"
"I want to see some authorization," Towers said.
"I don't have it on me," Dreyton said. "I already cleared everything with security when I landed."
"And now you have to clear it all again, with *me*," Towers said. "Please accompany me to the security center."
"We both know this has nothing to do with my authorization," Dreyton said.
"I can have security arrest you and *bring* you to the security center," Towers warned. Dreyton sighed.
"Fine, kid," he said. "Lead the way."
==================================================================
Shawn
a.k.a.
Jake Crichton, Lieutenant
Chief of Engineering
GATEWAY Station, GS-2
---------------------------------
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat Oct 11 2008 - 03:10:20 PDT