USS Excalibur Sim Log - 02.04.18

[Cdr Miranda Hawthorne 0]

MISSION BRIEF: Captain Swain is missing, but we seem to have uncovered a few clues. We continue our preliminary search for evidence this week on EXCALIBUR.

 

Cptn Swain: BEGIN SIM

Cptn Swain: BEGIN SIM

Cptn Swain: BEGIN SIM

 

Hakran K'hal: :: in stellar cartography, piecing together what Swain had been working on down here prior to his disappearance - has just pulled a fragment of a file on the USS Pei Xiu ::

Rhan K'hal: :: on the bridge, looking over Starfleet's files on the systems Avenar, Selliak and Tellas ::

Tandaris Admiran: ::on the bridge at the engineering station, interfacing with the starbase computer to use its resources::

William Chocox: ::is back in Engineering::

Hunter Matheson: ::bridge, sitting at helm, thinking for once:::

Tandaris Admiran: I've established a link with the station computer to borrow some of its processing power. It will still be a little slow, but it will be faster than we've been used to lately.

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::Getting a cup of tea on the bridge::

Hakran K'hal: :: notes that there are a more than a few file fragments, figures these must've been deleted by the Captain as well as everything else he's been working on - however the database upgrades he had his brother perform after officially taking over as chief science officer seems to have foiled the attempts at complete wipes ::

Hunter Matheson: ::turns:: Has anyone checked his quarters?

Rhan K'hal: Anything will help, a random mouse could probably out-process us at the moment.

Rhan K'hal: I'm sure Commander Arden had that part under control, Gunny.

Hunter Matheson: ::nods:: Yes, sir.

Hakran K'hal: :: frowns, unable to do much more than look at the small fragments he's seeing ::

William Chocox: +Admiran+ Commander, what do you want me to do now?

Hunter Matheson: Where else, or how else would he leave things behind in case they carted him off?

Tandaris Admiran: +Chocox+ I want you to begin packing.

Hakran K'hal: +Bridge+ K'hal to bridge, I may have found something down here, but it's very fragmentary. I'm going to need some file reconstruction at the very least.

William Chocox: +Admiran+ Engineering stuff or personal affects?

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::lifts a brow at the comm, over his tea::

Rhan K'hal: +Hakran+ What's up, bro?

Tandaris Admiran: +Chocox+ Engineering stuff. The good stuff, if you can fit it into reasonable-sized boxes. I'm not sure how much room we'll have.

Hakran K'hal: +Bridge+ I have a fragment of a file Swain had accessed during his time down here. Something about an archaeological excavation on Tellas Minor. There are a number of other fragments. He definitely tried deleting this stuff but your upgrades helped to save some of it, Rhan.

Indaura Ryssan: :: on the bridge ::

William Chocox: +Admiran+ On it sir. ::starts packing whatever he can::

Rhan K'hal: :: rubs chin thoughtfully :: +Hakran+ I'll talk with Commander Admiran, see what we can come up with considering our hardware limitations at the moment.

Rhan K'hal: :: looks over to the spotted one, waiting for him to finish what he's doing ::

Tandaris Admiran: ::K'hal:: Does Other K'hal have something?

Rhan K'hal: :: gives him the cliff notes version, then adds :: That narrows down where your beacon was pointing to. Looks like we need to go to Tellas. Assuming we could go anywhere.

Rhan K'hal: But it would be nice to have the same info the Captain apparently had. Not sure how much more we can get out of it here. And there's nothing to say that this information is easily available through normal channels.

Tandaris Admiran: ::nods:: One problem at a time. Let's see if we can figure out why he shied off to Tellas... or was taken there against his will.

Cptn Swain: Arden> Tellas Minor?

Rhan K'hal: Yes, sir, that's what Hakran said was in the log fragment.

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::Frowns over his tea::

Rhan K'hal: :: looks at what Hakran sent up :: From the Chief Science Officer of a USS Pei Xiu, Stardate 42445.72.

Tandaris Admiran: Now that we know what we're looking for, I can refine the file recovery program to prioritize related data.

Maryse Dubois: ::Enters the bridge, walking over to Rhan.::

Tandaris Admiran: ::begins tweaking the heuristics::

Hakran K'hal: :: slowly working on the next fragment - and hating every moment of it; is a physicist, not an IT tech ::

Rhan K'hal: :: nods to Maryse :: Making progress... slowly.

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::Smirks:: Asher was looking at his own logs?

Rhan K'hal: :: blinks :: If he was the C-Sci of the Pei Xiu on that stardate, apparently yes.

Tandaris Admiran: +Hakran+ Admiran to Science K'hal. It looks like you're trying to reconstruct deleted files. Would you like some help with that?

Hunter Matheson: ::listening in on the bridge chat::

Cptn Swain: Arden> He was Chief Science officer on the Pei Xiu for about four years.

Hakran K'hal: +Tandaris+ By all the quantum fields in the universe, yes.

Maryse Dubois: Good. Did we have any luck getting station bio scans?

William Chocox: What am I going to need?

Tandaris Admiran: +Hakran+ Sending you a tailored file recovery program that should latch on to any data related to the Pei Xiu or Tellas Minor. As it recovers more and more data, it should get faster and faster at finding related files. It won't get you everything, but you should be able to restore more of the deleted logs.

Rhan K'hal: We did, and he didn't go on the station from the looks of it. Took the Llamrei right out of its berth and snuck off. Whether on his own or under persuasion we don't know yet.

William Chocox: ::starts trying to make decisions based on what can fit while being useful, maybe for more than one use as well::

Hakran K'hal: +Tandaris+ Thank you, Commander, I'll see what we can see. Try to figure out what's so interesting about this excavation.

Rhan K'hal: +Hakran+ :: chimes in:: FYI, bro. Those are Swain's own logs apparently, according to Commander Arden.

Tandaris Admiran: +Hakran+ An excavation? As in some kind of archaeological dig?

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::to NOIP:: Now why he'd be looking at files from Tellas Minor is a good question.

Hakran K'hal: +Tandaris+ :: frowns at this tidbit from Rhan, then answers Tandy :: First log entry starts out, and I quote: "We have arrived in orbit of Tellas Minor where we will be assisting both local authorities and the Federation Archaeology Council in the excavation of some unusual ruins on the planet’s western continent."

Tandaris Admiran: Hmm.

Rhan K'hal: :: Arden :: Nothing spectacular about it sir, or is it an off-limits type of thing?

Tandaris Admiran: ::Maryse, Indaura:: Doctors, are you busy at the moment?

Indaura Ryssan: I am not Admiran.

Hakran K'hal: :: takes the Admiran File Restorer v0.1 and starts to apply it to the fragments as he finds them ::

Tandaris Admiran: It might help if someone checks the Federation News Service for anything related to Tellas Minor.

Cptn Swain: Arden> Nothing that I know of, to be honest. He's never even mentioned that mission as far as I remember. We were on a bit of a... a bit of break.

Tandaris Admiran: If the captain has returned there now, connected to an archaeological mission years ago, maybe there has been a development that made the news.

Rhan K'hal: :: compassionate kitty face :: Understood, sir.

Tandaris Admiran: ::Maryse, Indaura:: Maybe the two of you could look for anything interesting in that area.

Hunter Matheson: ::puzzled expression, super skeptical:::

Maryse Dubois: It would be too easy if we could just track the Llamrei. ::Look to Tandy, nods.::

Rhan K'hal: :: looks at the doctors :: Now that *I* have a program for. I'll set you up on the port auxiliaries. :: tappity tap tap ::

Tandaris Admiran: ::everyone:: I think there's one other possibility we have to consider.

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::over his tea:: Yes?

Maryse Dubois: ::Takes a seat by Rhan and starts searching.::

Tandaris Admiran: This data on Tellas Minor could be a red herring, planted either by Swain or by kidnappers.

Rhan K'hal: Purple cod? Or was that red herring... I always get the fish sayings confused because my stomach chimes in.

Hunter Matheson: ::Arden:: Sir, there are too many things that are not adding up here.

Maryse Dubois: ::Smirks.::

William Chocox: Hey! I need that tool, You can use this one.

William Chocox: ::takes a tool from a random enlisted man::

Maryse Dubois: ::Begins a search on news files that involve Tellas Minor.::

Hakran K'hal: :: manages to finesse some of the next file fragment ::

Indaura Ryssan: :: Helps Dubois ::

Cptn Swain: Arden> That's possible, Commander. ::Looks to Hunter:: Hmm?

Hunter Matheson: Well, sir...

Hunter Matheson: One, why would the captain sneak off to an archaeological dig without telling someone where he was going?

Hunter Matheson: Two, if it was super secret, why did he tell someone he was leaving and would be back, then not show or send a message?

Hunter Matheson: Three, I doubt there would be anything in any news string if it’s something he wants to keep secret.

Tandaris Admiran: Maybe he's a brainwashed sleeper agent and he received an activation code that put him into a trance-like state.

Tandaris Admiran: ::has been reading too many murder romance technical manuals lately::

Hunter Matheson: ::blank stare at Admiran:::

Hakran K'hal: +Bridge+ Okay, got a bit more. Seems there was some tension between the Fed Archaeology council led by a Dr. Ornn, and the local association. Apparently the Pei Xiu was there to mediate as much to help digging.

Hunter Matheson: Just doesn't add up, sir.

Hunter Matheson: Too many variables.

Rhan K'hal: :: glad for the break in the conversation, latches on to what Hakran said ::

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::dryly:: If it did add up, do you think I would have involved all of you in it?

William Chocox: ((And miles to go before I sleep.))

Hunter Matheson: No, sir. And that's another point.

Rhan K'hal: +Hakran+ Good digging bro, I'll add Dr. Ornn to our variable mix and see what we can coax out on him, he could be involved for all we know.

Hunter Matheson: Why are we looking for him?

Hunter Matheson: We have a whole lot of suspicions, but nothing to base them on except that he didn't show or call home.

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::Blinks::

Cptn Swain: Arden> I mean, if you'd rather go back to whatever it was you were doing, feel free. I am not your commanding officer.

Hunter Matheson: What if it's a distraction? What if we're being made to focus on one thing and not see something else?

Tandaris Admiran: I, for one, was incredibly bored before you brought this problem to us. I was about to contemplate building a new secret project.

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::Blinks again:: A distraction from what, exactly?

Hunter Matheson: No, sir. Not suggesting that, sir. I mean, we're all concerned about the captain. A distraction from something we're not seeing? Kind of like the forest for the trees?

Hunter Matheson: Not sure, sir. It's nagging at my gut, sir.

Maryse Dubois: ::Quietly, but Rhan can hear her.:: I'm not finding anything yet...

Tandaris Admiran: If we find the captain, maybe he can tell us what he is a distraction from.

Rhan K'hal: Ahem. :: loudly :: Do I need to be the stuffed-shirt in the room to start quoting regulations about command level personnel and how they're not supposed to just disappear without logging in because of the knowledge inside their head? Not to mention regulations on taking yachts out?

Rhan K'hal: :: nods at Maryse ::

Hunter Matheson: Hell, it could be something as simple as his yacht, and not him.

William Chocox: ::keeps putting more boxes together.::

Maryse Dubois: How far away is Tellas Minor from here?

Hunter Matheson: ::decides to shut up and mind his own business, but it's still in his gut:::

Rhan K'hal: In our ship's condition, a long damn way away. A pleasant jaunt for a yacht or a runabout though.

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::Nods to Rhan:: I assumed that was at least partially Commander Hawthorne's reason for looking into this. Obviously, mine is personal.

Rhan K'hal: It's personal for us too, Commander.

Maryse Dubois: Then why not take a runabout to check it out?

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::Smiles:: I appreciate that as well, Rhan.

Hunter Matheson: ::leaning his elbows on the helm console, his head in his hands, frustrated:::

Rhan K'hal: I think the station might notice if most of the pips on this ship were suddenly unavailable for comment, Doc. As of now, I'm not sure how Commander Hawthorne wants to handle that part of it.

Maryse Dubois: Seriously. We aren't having much luck with our search here. We can send a couple people to the planet, while others remain on board to search other leads.

Hakran K'hal: :: as frustrated as he is with his current progress, would be even happier to know he's missing the tensions on the bridge ::

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::Bites his lip:: I didn't want to involve station brass, but this is the best evidence we have so far about where he may have gone.

Indaura Ryssan: Would increase our odds.

Cptn Swain: Arden> Have Commander Hawthorne meet me on the station in half an hour.

Rhan K'hal: :: nods :: Will do, Commander.

Rhan K'hal: :: sends off a message to Miranda to that effect ::

Cptn Swain: Arden> ::dumps his tea in the fresher and heads off to the TL::

Hunter Matheson: ::corrupt files... excavating Tellas Minor... yacht... Excal... things under repair... missing captain::::

Rhan K'hal: I do agree with you, Doc, but we'll have to think about that carefully, and it does potentially put one or both of the Commander's sensitive parts in the wringer.

Cptn Swain: Augustin> ::enters the bridge::

Rhan K'hal: :: nods to Augustin ::

Cptn Swain: Augustin> Did I miss Commander Cormoran?

Hunter Matheson: ::unusual ruins:::

Hakran K'hal: :: gets something on the third fragment :: +Bridge+ Third fragment expands more on the turf war between the Feds and the locals on the artifacts. New data point, a then Commander Seclair, assuming her to be the XO of the P-X.

Rhan K'hal: Just, sir.

Hakran K'hal: +Bridge+ No data to confirm other than the familiarity with which she is mentioned.

Cptn Swain: Augustin> ::Nods::

Rhan K'hal: +Hakran+ Nice work. How's the Commander's recovery program working? I may have to steal it if it's any good.

Hunter Matheson: ::Tellas Minor... Tellas...he leans back, shaking his head while he thinks::

Hakran K'hal: +Rhan+ For the love of... K'hal OUT.

Rhan K'hal: :: Maryse :: He gets grumpy doing computer work. If we didn't look almost like clones I'd wonder if we were really related.

Rhan K'hal: :: adds Seclair to the search parameters, but even borrowing station processing power the going is slow ::

Hunter Matheson: ::shakes his head, chuckling:::

Hunter Matheson: ::mutters:: No.. no way. ::smirks, going back to work on the console:::

Maryse Dubois: ::Giggles as she continues trying to search.::

Rhan K'hal: :: hops up, goes over to quietly fill in Augustin about the developments ::

Cptn Swain: Augustin> ::nods as Khal catches him upto date:: We did a more formal sweep of the Captain's quarters. Nothing out of the ordinary, as far as criminal activity goes and no anomalous entries in the door logs.

Hunter Matheson: :::grabs a stylus and begins flipping, then swivels to Rahn and waits::

Rhan K'hal: That doesn't surprise me. Seems like the only snippets of info he left behind were in stellar cartography, and that's because he wasn't aware of the improvements I made to science's databases.

Cptn Swain: Augustin> One of my people did find this though... ::produces PADD with some notes on it, including some star charts and data:: I can't make heads or tails of it.

Rhan K'hal: :: looks over the PADD, vacuuming in the knowledge in his head :: Computer, bring up sector star chart, centered on Tellas ::

 

Cptn Swain: PAUSE SIM

Cptn Swain: PAUSE SIM

Cptn Swain: PAUSE SIM