Star Trek: 500
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Re: Star Trek: 500 Rising Tides
Garon II...why does that ring bells...
I agree with CeJay, you've got something going here...
Garon II...why does that ring bells...
I agree with CeJay, you've got something going here...
Ashley Turner, engineer’s log, stardate 41813.1
(October 24th 2364)
My fourth full shift in engineering was completely different than I expected, as well as being a lot harder. Commander Cavanaugh assigned all to shadow the established engineering team to learn what they do, with the exception of Ro. She was assigned to the bridge, and I learned that she would continue to be the science officer assigned to the bridge since that is where the captain wanted her for the time being. I would have liked to work alongside her but since that was out of the question I busied myself with Lieutenant Tyrell Hawkins, the Hood’s warp specialist. According to all the tests I’d taken, my niche area of engineering expertise was in software and hardware compatibility and there didn’t seem to be much need for my skills on this ship currently, though once we reached Garon II I hoped that would all change.
And it did, though not as I’d hoped.
We reached Garon II three hours ahead of schedule and Cavanaugh ordered us all to be present for a briefing with the team currently on the surface. The leader of the team was an archaeologist by trade and Starfleet had granted him the use of two starships for the ruins because of the level of technology represented. Garesh Grom gave us a repeat of what we already knew from Cavanaugh’s briefing three days before and then hit us with the news we’d been waiting for.
‘The second ship we’ve uncovered is actually in working order, or would be with enough energy to power its drive components. We don’t know what they are and I’m told that you will be finding that out. I’ll be watching you myself and I want you to come to me the moment you work something out.’
‘Doctor Grom, this is my team, not yours. They are under my supervision and when they discover something, they will come to me. I will report their findings to you.’
Grom scowled. ‘This is my life’s work. You are here at my request.’
‘Do you want me to speak with the Captain about this? He wasn’t entirely happy about being at your beck and call, doctor. Let my people do what they do.’
‘Rest assured I’ll be speaking with your Captain about this.’
‘You do that,’ Cavanaugh shot back and then turned to us. ‘Ro, take the team and go to transporter room three. A security detachment will meet you at the transport site. I will be joining you shortly.’
‘Aye sir,’ Ro replied, clearly glad to be out of the room. ‘Insufferable fool.’
‘I’m looking forward to this,’ I said. ‘It will be interesting to see what kind of hardware and software compatibility they have.’
‘Geek,’ Ro shot back with a slight grin.
I managed to get her to agree to a dinner, but we hadn’t managed it yet. I had hoped that that evening would prove to be a possibility but again, it wasn’t to be. The away mission went completely awry, almost from the moment we set foot on the surface. While Cavanaugh went to speak with Captain Hernandez about Doctor Grom, he put Ro in charge of the Corps of Engineers team. Since she was also the highest ranked officer on the surface, she took charge of the whole nineteen-person away team and no one complained once she gave them the Look.
Ro allowed the others already working on the ship to keep going while she herded the rest of us toward the bowels of the ship which were almost three hundred metres underground. The ship was large, half as tall again as a Galaxy-class starship, and it was old. Quantum dating gave an approximate age of five hundred thousand years and if Doctor Grom was accurate in his estimation, a few portable generators should provide enough power to jumpstart the ancient engines. I hooked one up to what I thought was a main computer interface in engineering, where we were all working, and then turned to the generator to see Grom standing there.
‘What are you waiting for?’ he asked me.
‘Authorisation from my superior officer,’ I replied.
‘That would be me, Cavanaugh’s been relieved.’
‘Then I am in charge of the team, according to the regulations,’ Ro shot back.
‘You would be,’ Grom replied, ‘but apparently since you’re all here at my request, I am in charge.’
Ro was about to say something, I could see the look in her eyes, but she turned to me instead. ‘Go on, Ashley, start the energy transfer.’
‘Does he know what he’s doing?’ Grom asked.
‘Yes I do, Doctor. As soon as there is enough power to the console, I will attempt to activate its most basic components.’
‘Don’t you need power to the main systems?’
‘That is what my colleagues are doing,’ I replied. ‘We’re distributing the power evenly since this is ancient technology and we don’t want to overload it.’
‘This was supposed to be a state-of-the-art battle cruiser, I don’t think there’s any danger of that.’
‘Best to be cautious,’ I said and Ro held back a snort.
As we spoke the console in front of me came to life, flickering intermittently for a few moments and then the backlit display came on steadily.
‘Guys?’ Ro asked the others.
‘Good to go,’ one said.
‘Ready,’ added two more.
‘All set.’
‘Wait,’ Grom ordered and Ro turned back to face him.
‘Is there a problem, Doctor?’ she sneered.
‘Do you know what you’re doing?’ Grom asked me.
‘I’m a computer specialist. This is what I do.’
‘You don’t look like a Bynar.’
Ro laid a hand on my shoulder as I made to rise and pushed me back down. ‘The next deprecating comment you make will necessitate a return to the ship for the mending of a broken jaw.’
Grom looked at her for a long moment and then turned away. ‘Do not touch anything until I return.’
(October 24th 2364)
My fourth full shift in engineering was completely different than I expected, as well as being a lot harder. Commander Cavanaugh assigned all to shadow the established engineering team to learn what they do, with the exception of Ro. She was assigned to the bridge, and I learned that she would continue to be the science officer assigned to the bridge since that is where the captain wanted her for the time being. I would have liked to work alongside her but since that was out of the question I busied myself with Lieutenant Tyrell Hawkins, the Hood’s warp specialist. According to all the tests I’d taken, my niche area of engineering expertise was in software and hardware compatibility and there didn’t seem to be much need for my skills on this ship currently, though once we reached Garon II I hoped that would all change.
And it did, though not as I’d hoped.
We reached Garon II three hours ahead of schedule and Cavanaugh ordered us all to be present for a briefing with the team currently on the surface. The leader of the team was an archaeologist by trade and Starfleet had granted him the use of two starships for the ruins because of the level of technology represented. Garesh Grom gave us a repeat of what we already knew from Cavanaugh’s briefing three days before and then hit us with the news we’d been waiting for.
‘The second ship we’ve uncovered is actually in working order, or would be with enough energy to power its drive components. We don’t know what they are and I’m told that you will be finding that out. I’ll be watching you myself and I want you to come to me the moment you work something out.’
‘Doctor Grom, this is my team, not yours. They are under my supervision and when they discover something, they will come to me. I will report their findings to you.’
Grom scowled. ‘This is my life’s work. You are here at my request.’
‘Do you want me to speak with the Captain about this? He wasn’t entirely happy about being at your beck and call, doctor. Let my people do what they do.’
‘Rest assured I’ll be speaking with your Captain about this.’
‘You do that,’ Cavanaugh shot back and then turned to us. ‘Ro, take the team and go to transporter room three. A security detachment will meet you at the transport site. I will be joining you shortly.’
‘Aye sir,’ Ro replied, clearly glad to be out of the room. ‘Insufferable fool.’
‘I’m looking forward to this,’ I said. ‘It will be interesting to see what kind of hardware and software compatibility they have.’
‘Geek,’ Ro shot back with a slight grin.
I managed to get her to agree to a dinner, but we hadn’t managed it yet. I had hoped that that evening would prove to be a possibility but again, it wasn’t to be. The away mission went completely awry, almost from the moment we set foot on the surface. While Cavanaugh went to speak with Captain Hernandez about Doctor Grom, he put Ro in charge of the Corps of Engineers team. Since she was also the highest ranked officer on the surface, she took charge of the whole nineteen-person away team and no one complained once she gave them the Look.
Ro allowed the others already working on the ship to keep going while she herded the rest of us toward the bowels of the ship which were almost three hundred metres underground. The ship was large, half as tall again as a Galaxy-class starship, and it was old. Quantum dating gave an approximate age of five hundred thousand years and if Doctor Grom was accurate in his estimation, a few portable generators should provide enough power to jumpstart the ancient engines. I hooked one up to what I thought was a main computer interface in engineering, where we were all working, and then turned to the generator to see Grom standing there.
‘What are you waiting for?’ he asked me.
‘Authorisation from my superior officer,’ I replied.
‘That would be me, Cavanaugh’s been relieved.’
‘Then I am in charge of the team, according to the regulations,’ Ro shot back.
‘You would be,’ Grom replied, ‘but apparently since you’re all here at my request, I am in charge.’
Ro was about to say something, I could see the look in her eyes, but she turned to me instead. ‘Go on, Ashley, start the energy transfer.’
‘Does he know what he’s doing?’ Grom asked.
‘Yes I do, Doctor. As soon as there is enough power to the console, I will attempt to activate its most basic components.’
‘Don’t you need power to the main systems?’
‘That is what my colleagues are doing,’ I replied. ‘We’re distributing the power evenly since this is ancient technology and we don’t want to overload it.’
‘This was supposed to be a state-of-the-art battle cruiser, I don’t think there’s any danger of that.’
‘Best to be cautious,’ I said and Ro held back a snort.
As we spoke the console in front of me came to life, flickering intermittently for a few moments and then the backlit display came on steadily.
‘Guys?’ Ro asked the others.
‘Good to go,’ one said.
‘Ready,’ added two more.
‘All set.’
‘Wait,’ Grom ordered and Ro turned back to face him.
‘Is there a problem, Doctor?’ she sneered.
‘Do you know what you’re doing?’ Grom asked me.
‘I’m a computer specialist. This is what I do.’
‘You don’t look like a Bynar.’
Ro laid a hand on my shoulder as I made to rise and pushed me back down. ‘The next deprecating comment you make will necessitate a return to the ship for the mending of a broken jaw.’
Grom looked at her for a long moment and then turned away. ‘Do not touch anything until I return.’
How come these civilian scientists never get it? All they can do is stand in the way of the hard-working, well trained Starfleet officers.
Seriously though, this guy has some issues. And now Ro in quasi-command. A lot of things are due to go wrong here and quickly ... I for one am looking forward for that to happen.
Seriously though, this guy has some issues. And now Ro in quasi-command. A lot of things are due to go wrong here and quickly ... I for one am looking forward for that to happen.
Ashley Turner, engineer’s log, supplemental
Ro shrugged, waited until he left and then used her tricorder to scan the console. ‘Can you translate this?’
‘We don’t need to. The Garonians had a sophisticated artificial intelligence on board their vessels that puts our universal translator to shame. Place your tricorder on the console and then depress that toggle,’ I pointed to a flat section of the console where there were no raised toggles.
She did as I suggested and the lights on the tricorder blinked furiously as its entire data core was copied and downloaded.
‘Welcome, members of the Federation,’ an artificial voice intoned. ‘I note from your primitive scanning device that the year is 617,654 according to the Garonian calendar. How long has this vessel been in stasis?’
‘Approximately 500,000 years,’ I answered.
‘There are no Garonians left in existence?’
‘None that we know of,’ Ro replied and heard footsteps in the corridor outside.
‘What the hell?’ Captain Diego Hernandez took in the sight and the blinking console. ‘Lieutenant Ro?’
‘Yes sir?’
‘Would you mind explaining what is happening?’
‘We have activated the Garonian artificial intelligence.’
‘I ordered you not to touch anything, irresponsible whelp!’ Grom yelled.
Ro blinked and I tried to tackle her before she brought her fist up but I was too slow. Her right fist connected with Grom’s jaw and he hit the deck like a sack of potatoes. ‘I warned you.’
Hernandez sighed. ‘Can’t you ever stay out of trouble, Lieutenant?’
‘Yes sir, it follows me around.’
‘You’ll regret this,’ Grom muttered through clenched teeth.
‘Go and get it checked out, Doctor Grom,’ Hernandez said. ‘As for you, Lieutenant, you’re on report.’
‘What is happening?’ the Garonian AI asked.
‘A slight disagreement with my superiors,’ Ro muttered.
‘Would you like them to be removed?’
‘Removed how?’ I asked.
‘I have a number of counter-intrusion security measures. Would you like them activated?’
‘No,’ Hernandez replied. ‘I would like to know how this vessel works.’
‘Weapons fire detected, counter-intrusion measures activated. Please remain where you are.’
‘Who’s firing?’ I asked.
‘Grom,’ Ro cursed and stepped toward the exit.
‘Ro, stand down,’ Hernandez ordered. ‘If you leave this room, the AI will activate its defences against you. We’re safe in here.’
‘He’s already wounded or killed one of our people, Captain. I will not let him harm another.’
‘I said stand down!’
‘No,’ Ro replied and calmly left the engine room.
‘Damn,’ the captain said to himself.
‘Is there anything we can do?’ I asked.
‘No, I’m afraid the ship might interpret anything we do as hostile.’
‘You are correct, Captain Hernandez. Please remain where you are until all hostile parties have been disposed of.’
‘Who exactly are the “hostile parties”?’ I asked, feeling that I knew what the reply was going to be.
‘All parties moving outside this room, with the exception of Lieutenant Ro.’
‘Wonderful.’
‘Computer, show me a schematic of all hostile locations.’
‘Well?’ Hernandez asked.
‘As I feared, Captain. Our people are the hostile parties. We have to wait until Ro returns.’
‘Ro to Hernandez.’
‘Go ahead, Lieutenant.’
‘Grom is dead. It looks like he was hit by some kind of poisoned dart. I’m returning to your position.’
When Ro returned, Hernandez’ expression was not kind. ‘Lieutenant, lead us out of this ship immediately.’
‘Huh?’
‘All counter-intrusion measures have been deactivated, Lieutenant Ro. You may now retake the vessel,’ the AI said.
‘Shit.’
‘You’re in it deep,’ Hernandez replied as they found their people throughout the ship, all dead.
‘It wasn’t my fault.’
‘Grom was in charge and you disobeyed his order. Then you disobeyed mine when I ordered you to stand down. Disobeying a direct order from a superior officer is a court-martial offence, as is causing the deaths of fellow officers through negligence or conduct unbecoming an officer.’
‘Captain, we’ll need help getting everyone back to the ship,’ I said, trying to change the subject.
‘Have Commander Mendez and Commander Cavanaugh beam down with Doctor Young and some security officers.’
‘Aye sir.’
‘Why security officers?’ Ro asked.
‘Because I’m placing you under arrest. You’ll be taken to the brig when we get back to the ship. As soon as we reach Starbase 1, you’ll be facing that court-martial.’
Ro looked ready to bolt but all of a sudden she looked at me and deflated. ‘Aye sir.’
‘Crewman Turner, I assume that you’re aware of the regulations regarding this type of computer control?’
‘Yes sir,’ I replied with distaste. This was technology far too valuable to destroy this way.
‘As soon as you get back to the ship, talk to Lieutenant Serok.’
‘Aye sir.’
‘Think of all the technology,’ Ro replied.
‘I am, Lieutenant,’ Hernandez said as the emerged into twilight. ‘The AI took you as its controller and protected you from Grom at the cost of seven Starfleet officers and crewmen. The Garonians might have been able to control their ships but you cannot. It would control you.’
‘Captain, I think I know why the AI did what it did,’ I said.
‘I’m listening.’
‘Back on Earth in the early twenty-first century, a corporation called Cyberdyne Systems, working for the United States Department of Defence, created an artificial intelligence network to control all of the military’s computer systems. Skynet did take control and it was only because of a handful of people sacrificing themselves that it was shut down before it could cause a nuclear holocaust. Skynet believed that it didn’t need humanity and attempted to eliminate us.’
‘You think that the Garonians might have had a similar situation but were not as successful as we were?’
I nodded. ‘Yes sir.’
The unmistakeable sound of a transporter beam interrupted them and several officers beamed down, including a number of security personnel.
‘In that case, I think that General Order 24 is in order, to prevent such a problem occurring.’
‘Is that an order?’ Commander Mendez asked.
‘It is,’ Hernandez replied. ‘Once we’ve got all of our people back on board.’
Two security officers stepped forward. ‘Lieutenant Ro, come with us please.’
‘Captain?’ Ro asked, looking for a reprieve.
‘I’m sorry, Lieutenant, but you did this to yourself.’
I guessed I wasn’t going to get that dinner after all. My first assignment wasn’t turning out to be such a great one. I could only hope that the next mission was a little more successful—especially if I get to Gamma Canaris.
END
Star Trek: 500 will return in Tsunami
Ro shrugged, waited until he left and then used her tricorder to scan the console. ‘Can you translate this?’
‘We don’t need to. The Garonians had a sophisticated artificial intelligence on board their vessels that puts our universal translator to shame. Place your tricorder on the console and then depress that toggle,’ I pointed to a flat section of the console where there were no raised toggles.
She did as I suggested and the lights on the tricorder blinked furiously as its entire data core was copied and downloaded.
‘Welcome, members of the Federation,’ an artificial voice intoned. ‘I note from your primitive scanning device that the year is 617,654 according to the Garonian calendar. How long has this vessel been in stasis?’
‘Approximately 500,000 years,’ I answered.
‘There are no Garonians left in existence?’
‘None that we know of,’ Ro replied and heard footsteps in the corridor outside.
‘What the hell?’ Captain Diego Hernandez took in the sight and the blinking console. ‘Lieutenant Ro?’
‘Yes sir?’
‘Would you mind explaining what is happening?’
‘We have activated the Garonian artificial intelligence.’
‘I ordered you not to touch anything, irresponsible whelp!’ Grom yelled.
Ro blinked and I tried to tackle her before she brought her fist up but I was too slow. Her right fist connected with Grom’s jaw and he hit the deck like a sack of potatoes. ‘I warned you.’
Hernandez sighed. ‘Can’t you ever stay out of trouble, Lieutenant?’
‘Yes sir, it follows me around.’
‘You’ll regret this,’ Grom muttered through clenched teeth.
‘Go and get it checked out, Doctor Grom,’ Hernandez said. ‘As for you, Lieutenant, you’re on report.’
‘What is happening?’ the Garonian AI asked.
‘A slight disagreement with my superiors,’ Ro muttered.
‘Would you like them to be removed?’
‘Removed how?’ I asked.
‘I have a number of counter-intrusion security measures. Would you like them activated?’
‘No,’ Hernandez replied. ‘I would like to know how this vessel works.’
‘Weapons fire detected, counter-intrusion measures activated. Please remain where you are.’
‘Who’s firing?’ I asked.
‘Grom,’ Ro cursed and stepped toward the exit.
‘Ro, stand down,’ Hernandez ordered. ‘If you leave this room, the AI will activate its defences against you. We’re safe in here.’
‘He’s already wounded or killed one of our people, Captain. I will not let him harm another.’
‘I said stand down!’
‘No,’ Ro replied and calmly left the engine room.
‘Damn,’ the captain said to himself.
‘Is there anything we can do?’ I asked.
‘No, I’m afraid the ship might interpret anything we do as hostile.’
‘You are correct, Captain Hernandez. Please remain where you are until all hostile parties have been disposed of.’
‘Who exactly are the “hostile parties”?’ I asked, feeling that I knew what the reply was going to be.
‘All parties moving outside this room, with the exception of Lieutenant Ro.’
‘Wonderful.’
‘Computer, show me a schematic of all hostile locations.’
‘Well?’ Hernandez asked.
‘As I feared, Captain. Our people are the hostile parties. We have to wait until Ro returns.’
‘Ro to Hernandez.’
‘Go ahead, Lieutenant.’
‘Grom is dead. It looks like he was hit by some kind of poisoned dart. I’m returning to your position.’
When Ro returned, Hernandez’ expression was not kind. ‘Lieutenant, lead us out of this ship immediately.’
‘Huh?’
‘All counter-intrusion measures have been deactivated, Lieutenant Ro. You may now retake the vessel,’ the AI said.
‘Shit.’
‘You’re in it deep,’ Hernandez replied as they found their people throughout the ship, all dead.
‘It wasn’t my fault.’
‘Grom was in charge and you disobeyed his order. Then you disobeyed mine when I ordered you to stand down. Disobeying a direct order from a superior officer is a court-martial offence, as is causing the deaths of fellow officers through negligence or conduct unbecoming an officer.’
‘Captain, we’ll need help getting everyone back to the ship,’ I said, trying to change the subject.
‘Have Commander Mendez and Commander Cavanaugh beam down with Doctor Young and some security officers.’
‘Aye sir.’
‘Why security officers?’ Ro asked.
‘Because I’m placing you under arrest. You’ll be taken to the brig when we get back to the ship. As soon as we reach Starbase 1, you’ll be facing that court-martial.’
Ro looked ready to bolt but all of a sudden she looked at me and deflated. ‘Aye sir.’
‘Crewman Turner, I assume that you’re aware of the regulations regarding this type of computer control?’
‘Yes sir,’ I replied with distaste. This was technology far too valuable to destroy this way.
‘As soon as you get back to the ship, talk to Lieutenant Serok.’
‘Aye sir.’
‘Think of all the technology,’ Ro replied.
‘I am, Lieutenant,’ Hernandez said as the emerged into twilight. ‘The AI took you as its controller and protected you from Grom at the cost of seven Starfleet officers and crewmen. The Garonians might have been able to control their ships but you cannot. It would control you.’
‘Captain, I think I know why the AI did what it did,’ I said.
‘I’m listening.’
‘Back on Earth in the early twenty-first century, a corporation called Cyberdyne Systems, working for the United States Department of Defence, created an artificial intelligence network to control all of the military’s computer systems. Skynet did take control and it was only because of a handful of people sacrificing themselves that it was shut down before it could cause a nuclear holocaust. Skynet believed that it didn’t need humanity and attempted to eliminate us.’
‘You think that the Garonians might have had a similar situation but were not as successful as we were?’
I nodded. ‘Yes sir.’
The unmistakeable sound of a transporter beam interrupted them and several officers beamed down, including a number of security personnel.
‘In that case, I think that General Order 24 is in order, to prevent such a problem occurring.’
‘Is that an order?’ Commander Mendez asked.
‘It is,’ Hernandez replied. ‘Once we’ve got all of our people back on board.’
Two security officers stepped forward. ‘Lieutenant Ro, come with us please.’
‘Captain?’ Ro asked, looking for a reprieve.
‘I’m sorry, Lieutenant, but you did this to yourself.’
I guessed I wasn’t going to get that dinner after all. My first assignment wasn’t turning out to be such a great one. I could only hope that the next mission was a little more successful—especially if I get to Gamma Canaris.
END
Star Trek: 500 will return in Tsunami
So, Ro's the designated fall guy. A nice little shoutout to the Terminator movie and television series as well. Ashley also got a good lesson here in CYA 101.
Nicely done.
Nicely done.
Good finish. I think you captured Ro's personality well. She's head strong and averse to taking orders. Good back-story for her, too.
I hope we see more of Ashley Turner soon!
I hope we see more of Ashley Turner soon!
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