Anti Scorpiad Weapons Modification Projects

[Joy 0]

Subject : Anti Scorpiad Weapons Modification Projects

From : Ambassador Joy Five

To : Admiral Day

CC : Captain Corizon, Captain Sorehl

Classification : Secret

 

 

Admiral

 

As you arrived late to the weapons development discussion, I thought I would review discussions that took place before your arrival, and give my thoughts on the more controversial projects discussed after. Basically, there are four weapons systems under discussion.

 

The first is an adaptation of the mines used in the recent encounter for use as a torpedo warhead. This was tasked to me. I have a preliminary design. A significant reduction in size is required if the warhead is to be launched using standard launchers and propulsion units, and without a loss of speed that would make point defense possible. This size reduction will quite likely reduce effectiveness. However, given that the larger mine deployed units were totally effective, I believe proceeding with the torpedo launch version worth attempting. We might have to launch them in volleys for full effect. I am passing the design to engineering for review and to confirm fabrication is not unduly difficult.

 

The second item discussed was the anti venom. It is apparently considered effective across multiple races, and can be fabricated in large amounts. However, this is a defensive measure. It would reduce the Scorpiad advantage in close in hand to hand fighting, but it would hardly give most other races an advantage. Short of a Horta, few Alpha Quad races would have an advantage. Thus, while it may be prudent and advisable to have the anti venom available, the availability of anti-venom does not suggest a viable offensive tactic. No one is recommending we seek boarding actions.

 

The third consideration is the use of phasers set to stun. Scorpiad ships are living entities. They seem to have nervous systems, rather than internal optical digital networks. Thus, the phaser settings intended to overload organic nervous systems have been seen to be effective, at least against smaller Scorpiad ships. We have not tested this against the larger ships. I might also distinguish between stun, heavy stun, and some exceedingly heavier setting that might be appropriate for an organic being the size of a starship. The current stun settings for a ship's phaser bank are designed for riot control, or to end a combat on a planet's surface. It should be possible to modify these stun settings, designed to overload a small being's nervous systems, and apply the same type of phaser waveform at a much higher energy level than we have needed previously. The disadvantage of phasers, of course, are the shorter range and light speed propagation. We would have to get close to an opposing ship, and force it into normal space.

 

Such a very heavy stun (VHS) phaser setting might be used to complement the de-phasing torpedoes. If the torpedoes could neutralize the Scorpiad phased propulsion system, and force them into normal space, the VHS phasers might render them non-combat effective. Whether VHS would be a neutralizing weapon or a lethal weapon might be researched by those who better know Scorpiad anatomy.

 

All of the above approaches are minor variations of existing Federation weapons systems. I am reasonably certain none of the above modifications would violate Alpha Quadrant treaty, Federation law or Starfleet regulation.

 

The fourth area we discussed was biological attacks. As Scorpiad ships are so resistant to most traditional ship to ship weapons, we were considering attacks -- other than VHS phasers -- that might take advantage of the biological nature of the Scorpiad ships.

 

We considered three very different types of virus: the traditional organic RNA based virus, a similar nannite based virus, and the software virus. The first problem with such attacks is that a good knowledge of the host is required to design an effective attack. From personal experience, I know that my sisters of Mudd and I feel ourselves immune from software viruses more because the Maker's operating system is so unknown as because it is so secure. One has to know the target of a virus well before you can make an attack. An RNA based organic virus must use the target cell's own resources to build copies of itself. Thus, if we were to attempt to design an RNA virus, we would need a solid understanding of Scorpiad biology. In general, unless they have never encountered such an attack, and are not expecting it, we would have to know the Scorpiad better than they know themselves to fabricate a solid attack.

 

Nannite attacks require a similar knowledge of the enemy. If a nannite is to make many copies of itself, to get sufficient numbers to disable the host, the nannite must be made entirely of materials that are available inside the host. If the Scorpiad metabolism is primarily organic, this becomes a very difficult proposition. Federation and Mudd nannites are primarily metallic. They cannot do runaway reproduction inside an organic host.

 

The other difficulty is delivery. Nannites and RNA viruses alike are fragile. Designing a warhead to penetrate shield and hull while keeping a virus payload intact is not a trivial issue. It might be possible with sufficient inertial compensation to design an appropriate warhead, but the warhead problem might prove as difficult as the virus itself.

 

And that is before the legal and ethical considerations. A weapon designed to kill a ship is one thing. A weapon that could result in genocide is quite another. In principle, a software, RNA or nannite virus could be designed in a self limiting way. Any of the three could be designed to operate for a given length of time, or for a limited number of generations, and then cease. In practice, it is a genuine concern that an RNA or nannite designed for rapid self replication might mutate. No self replication process is perfect. There is a very valid concern that a virus based attack could get out of control.

 

One might make a counter argument that space is an effective containment facility. If one delivers a virus payload to one ship, it is difficult for the virus to leap to another ship across open vacuum. There is less risk of runaway in deploying a spaceship killing virus in open space than deploying an organic being targeting virus on a planetary surface. One might make a case that between a limited generation safety and deployment in space only, the risk might be reduced to an acceptable level.

 

In terms of treaty and law, there are other questions which should be properly asked, and might well be relevant. Are the ships themselves sentient? If so, an imperative against genocide and use of biological weapons becomes much more stringent. Second, are the ship's metabolisms similar to the Scorpiad's? Would a virus designed for the ship also effect the crew? I would greatly desire answers to both questions before committing a virus based weapon to use, or banning the use of such a weapon.

 

With your permission, I intend to ask the above questions of our ghostly guest.

 

My primary mission authorization is with respect to subspace weapons. Council tasked me to be certain they are used if necessary, and not used if not necessary. I am entirely in agreement with the decision to this point to keep that particular genie in the bottle.

 

Strictly speaking, this new genie is in no way part of my tasking. I am in no position to issue a formal political directive. However, I feel I should repeat the sense and mood of the Council at the time I left them, before the wormhole was closed. They wish the Scorpiad threat contained on this side of the wormhole. They were very liberal with respect to what weapons might be used to achieve that end. That is my considered political judgement.

 

On the other hand, my scientific judgement is that a virus development -- either software, RNA or nannite -- given the lack of knowledge of the enemy and limited time available, seems an unlikely proposition. While I may be underestimating the skills of your Engineering, Medical and Scientific staff, and possible contributions that might be made by our guest, solving the technical problems in the time alloted while preventing runaway release with confidence seems unlikely. If there is any reasonable probability of containment or victory without using a virus approach, I can quite concur with your decision to use other means. I would recommend proceeding with the dephase torpedoes and VHS phasers as a primary approach, with the anti venom available as an emergency measure.

 

 

With Respect

Ambassador Joy Five

[Cptn Corizon 0]

Subject : Re:Anti Scorpiad Weapons Modification Projects

From : Captain Ah-Windu Corizon

To : Ambassador Joy Five

CC : Admiral Day, Captain Sorehl

Classification : Secret

 

 

Ambassador

 

I will attempt to quickly address a few of the questions you and the conference raised regarding Anti-Scorpiad weapons.

 

I have passed along your suggestions to Representative Zie of the Shallia and she has found them to be most satisfactory and looks forward to a meeting with you at your convince once we've arrived at Camelot.

 

On the subject of the viral attacks. Under the directive of the Federation Council as a member of the Advanced Tactical Group, I have been authorized to use whatever force necessary to keep the Scorpiad threat contained within the Gamma Quadrant, however, I find myself agreeing with you. None of the options presented are particularly appealing, but the nannite option seems to be our best option.

 

From past experiences with Species 8472, we may be able to use some sort of Nanotechonlogy against the warheads, however, I will caution that from the information we've gathered, the Scorpiads have fought back several Borg incursions into their territory and may have already developed a counter for such technology. I will leave it at the discretion of the Project Coordinator to determine the best course of action in this regard.

 

Regards,

Captain Ah-Windu Corizon

[Joy 0]

Subject : Re:Anti Scorpiad Weapons Modification Projects

From : Ambassador Joy Five

To : Captain Corizon

Classification : Secret

 

 

Captain

 

I do not in the least doubt your authorization to use viral weapons. However, Admiral Day was rather firm at a recent meeting, in your absence, that we shall not use them. As you and he seem to be in agreement, this is not overly important, but I thought you should be aware that the development team has already heard one no-go on viral development.

 

Joy

[Joy 0]

Subject : Re:Anti Scorpiad Weapons Modification Projects

From : Ambassador Joy Five

To : Admiral Day, Captain Corizon, Captain Sorehl

 

 

It is not unusual for my kind to have sleepless nights. In fact, this is the norm. However, as I am awake anyway, should I not keep everyone else awake too?

 

A few more thoughts.

 

I do not foresee grave problems fabricating the new anti-phase torpedoes and integrating them with existing Federation guidance and targeting systems. However, Federation torpedoes will not be compatible with our allies' ships. Technology sharing teams might best be readied.

 

While the larger Federation ships, designed for long term exploration missions, might fabricate and fit their own warheads, our smaller ships and most of our allies' ships are going to need manufacturing support from Camelot and other fixed stations.

 

I anticipate that a very heavy stun (VHS) phaser setting might be developed for Federation ships with existing phaser systems. Much might be done with software changes only. Changing a disruptor battery into a phaser bank is a different problem. The energy weapons of our allies, which work on entirely different principles, will likely not be easily altered. A remove and replace refit cycle might well be required, which could delay deployment considerably and take the ships being converted off line during the modifications. I would also not be surprised by cultural resistance to altering weapon mixes. Other cultures do not believe phasers to be sufficiently, well, might I say... masculine.

 

If we do not modify the allied ships for VHS phasers, we might have to consider integrating the fleets. All ships might reasonably have anti-phase torpedoes. Some ships would have the very heavy stun neutralizing weapon. As we are not sure of the effectiveness of VHS, whether it will be a disabling or a destroying weapon, we may find ourselves with no knock out weapons. For this reason, I am becoming more enthusiastic about a nannite virus development. Even assuming we do develop a knock out weapon, the tactics of a three tier offense might prove challenging. It is easy to say immobilize them first, disable them next, then close for the kill. Doing so with mixed fleets, not all of which have all the necessary weapons systems, might be less easy.

 

My last question is whether we should seek a preliminary encounter. It would be to our interests, in some respects, to deploy the new weapons in mass and seek a decisive encounter before they know what is coming. On the other hand, it does not seem prudent to seek a decisive encounter if we are not sure of the effectiveness of our new weapons systems.

 

If these factors have already been considered, I am sorry for bothering you.

 

Joy Five

[Joy 0]

Subject : Anti Scorpiad Weapons Modification Projects

From : Ambassador Joy Five

To : Admiral Day, Captain Corizon, Captain Sorehl

CC : Lt. Xenatos, Lt. Admiran

Classification : Secret

 

 

Everyone...

 

It is hoped that the Shallia are in no way associated with the Greeks. Representative Zie of Shallia recently appeared bearing a gift. She has provided a sizable data base on the theory and implementation of Scorpiad weapons and propulsion systems. I cannot say I have fully comprehended the package, but I will attempt a summary, and forward the package upon request.

 

The Scorpiad embrace the 'Many Worlds' interpretation of quantum mechanics. There are many alternate realities. Each reality is associated with an identifying constant, a resonant frequency. Space and matter resonating in a certain dimension -- their theory has 12 dimensions describing their more complex version of reality, rather than the usual Federation theory's 11 dimensions -- interact with one another in a give 'universe.' Their technology is designed to change this resonance, to move matter from one plane of existence to another.

 

Not all alternate realities are equally accessible. It is easier to shift frequencies by small amounts, to interact with 'adjacent' realities, or to double or quadruple frequencies, to interact with harmonic realities. The Scorpiad have seemingly not attempted to interact with a wide variety of alternate realities, but have focused upon one 'adjacent' plane, of a nearly identical resonant frequency, which allows their shifting out of what we consider 'normal' space. (In fact, which reality is 'normal' is entirely subjective.)

 

The new development, however, is that not only is their propulsion system based upon alternate realities. Their weapons systems are as well. Their propulsion system changes the resonance and phase of their entire ships in a smooth and non-destructive way. This is not particularly easy. Their weapons systems are less subtle in changing resonance and phase of portions of enemy ships with no concern at all for the side effects of shifting part of an enemy's ship into another reality. In fact, from a weapons systems perspective, the more violent the side effects of energy release and atomic destabilization, the more effective the weapon.

 

The weapon is at core a graviton beam weapon. Given that gravity is essentially a warping of space, and wave particle duality, the beam essentially causes a resonance in space time. The beam uses gravity to shake space-time, to cause a vibration. Given the energy levels and difficulties in creating and focusing gravitons, this would not make for an exceptionally effective weapon. The key is in the frequency of the vibration. The frequency used by the weapon is the frequency of the alternate reality used by the Scorpiad propulsion systems. The effect of the graviton beam is to shake its target into the other reality.

 

There might be two counters.

 

The first is exploiting the doppler effect. A ship moving towards a scorpiad firing the beam would receive the beam at a higher frequency than is transmitted. As audible beams sound higher pitched if as one approaches the sound source, and lower pitched as one is going away, so the effective frequency of the graviton beam shifts with the relative velocities of the shooter and the target. Thus, the scorpiad weapon is not a simple fixed frequency weapon. They need to adjust the beam frequency to counter the doppler effect, so the effective frequency on impact is the phase shifting frequency.

 

One counter is to avoid approaching or fleeing from a scorpiad ship at a constant velocity. If one constantly changes relative speeds, it becomes difficult to tune in the exact correct frequency that makes the weapon effective. Thus, evasive maneuvers might be focused less on having the beam miss, than on having the beam hit at the wrong frequency. Constantly changing speeds makes their targeting problem very difficult. It is not particularly easy to retune a graviton laser to constantly shifting frequencies that change with the speed of a hostile ship.

 

The second counter might be tuning shield frequencies to interfere with the incoming beam. I do not entirely understand the physics. Zie suggests that our shield frequencies should modulate between the shield frequency of our universe and the shield frequency of the alternate universe in a sine pattern, and this alternation should take place at the resonant frequency of our own universe. I wish I could explain why this might work. I will offer you Zie's equations. Perhaps you could explain it to me. I do understand that the tolerances involved are very tight. In a rapid development program, it will be very difficult to achieve a perfect defense. We might, however, improve our shield effectiveness considerably.

 

The weakness of this approach is in locking one's shield harmonics into a frequency that the enemy might guess. If they realize why their phasing weapons are suddenly less effective, they might use traditional phasers or disruptors tuned to the key frequencies to totally bypass our shield effectiveness. Thus, we might need flexible shield programming. When attacked by Scorpiad weaponry, we might go to the resonant modular pattern. When attacked by Al-Ucard or other weaponry, shifting to an unknown and unpredictable shield frequency would be more than prudent. Unfortunately, if they direct both types of weapons at the same ship at the same time, there is no current way to protect well against both. We might seek to avoid confronting mixed forces. I fear that after their first few encounters with retuned shields, the enemy will likely deliberately create mixed forces, or rearm ships with both weapons systems. Depending on how flexible and responsive their scientific and engineering people are, the tuned shield approach may only gain us a brief window of opportunity.

 

I understand that Captain Corizon has had access to a great number of unusual and / or banned weapons programs. Would one of them be the Pegasus Project? I never had access to the technical details, but from the few overviews I have seen, the Federation was once well on the way to developing the Scorpiad ability to phase ships into adjacent realities. The project was abandoned to honor treaty requirements, but if we have any documentation, engineers or scientists associated with Pegasus, they would be most useful in understanding Zie's data and working the shield tuning project.

 

Lacking Pegasus people, I would like to work with the best shield people available, both from the Federation, and from the allied fleets. Currently, the need to precisely control and modulate shield frequencies has not been a priority in Federation shield design. I doubt the Klingons or Romulans have made this a priority, either. There has been no need. This might have to change fast.

 

I am beginning to rewrite shield programming for Type 18 Shuttlepods, and may wish to borrow a few as remote targets. I am also attempting to tune a graviton laser for the key frequencies, to use as a test weapon. The standard Federation scientific graviton laser will not have strong power levels or the highly responsive variable frequency tuning to compensate for doppler, but if the shuttle cooperates by approaching the graviton laser at precisely the correct speed, we should be able to test the shield configurations at a low power level. If this works, we might translate the shield frequency programming for the larger ships with some confidence.

 

Zie also reviewed the de-phasing torpedo and very heavy stun phaser approaches. She was encouraging. She believed these weapons would likely work, but offered no refinements.

 

Ambassador Joy Five