Extinction (Mission)

Extinction
Season:	Season 4
Episode:	3
Date:	March 30, 2390
Span:	25 days
Template:Mission

The Black Hawk, having recently uncovered a fresh band of piracy operating freely on the edge of Starfleet space, is assigned to patrol the Argatha sector in hopes of finding a lead on a pirate haven. Upon arrival, the Black Hawk’s long-range sensors pick up an uncharted binary system in the western quadrant and moves to investigate, only to discover the system mostly lifeless, aside from the remains of an extinct civilization on the second planet. The investigation continues, and the mystery deepens, especially when they discover something absolutely shocking...

Belvedere Beginnings

Summary

Admiral O'Connell orders Captain Geisler and the Black Hawk to assume command of Task Group Belvedere. Belvedere's primary objective is to seek out potential locations where pirates may use as safe havens. On March 15, 2390 (Stardate 67201.0), the Black Hawk begins its assignment and starts to visit sectors and systems that have not been visited by Starfleet in several years.

As the Black Hawk begins its mission, the crew settle into a routine. Fighter pilots inspect their fighters and run simulations. The Security department meets to implement new policies and procedures designed to prevent further spies from manipulating and sabotaging the Black Hawk. Flight Control plots a course throughout the surrounding sectors to establish several patrol routes. Captain Geisler continues his tradition of conducting surprise inspections throughout the ship, renews physical and tactical certifications, and meets with many of the department heads, including the ship's new Chief Engineer and new Chief Counselor.

Lieutenants Kemm and Ryler soon discover evidence of temporal tampering aboard the Black Hawk, indicated by a rusted support bracing in the secondary life support systems. Lt. Commander Djinx is looped into the investigation, which is expanded to reveal additional areas of tampering throughout the ship, including rusted escape pod clamps and a rotting gel pack in a science lab. The ship also picks up a distress call from a civilian scientist whose most recent experiment runs awry.

Routine operations and investigates force the crew to settle into a mundane and uneventful lifestyle, the first the crew has had since before entering the Finnean Convergence Zone.

Timeline

• Orders

NOTE: Though the Black Hawk received its Orders on March 3, the ship would not begin its mission until March 15.

Mission Day 1

• 1100 hours: Checking In
• 1200 hours: The Special Ones
• 1230 hours: The First Step
• 1300 hours: Weeding Them Out
• 1300 hours: Command Struggles
• 1330 hours: Doctor At Your Door
• 1530 hours: By The Numbers

Mission Day 2

• 1000 hours: Charting Our Way..

Mission Day 3

• 0930 hours: A Rusty Dilemma
• 1100 hours: We've Got Rust
• 1200 hours: Rust, Rust and More Rust
• 1300 hours: Braces, Clamps, and Gel Packs. Oh my!

Mission Day 4

• 1000 hours: A Visit to the Flight Deck

Mission Day 5

• 0800 hours: Breakfast Meeting
• 0930 hours: Phaser Drills
• 1100 hours: Late Physical
• 1800 hours: Dinner Party

Mission Day 9

• 1900 hours: Fidget

Mission Day 10

• 1430 hours: A Desire To Fly

Mission Day 14

• 1400 hours: Improvisation

Mission Day 15

• 1000 hours: New Ship, New Assignment, New Start
• 1100 hours: Assuming Command
• 1200 hours: Digging Out The Truth
• 1300 hours: Making the Rounds

Mission Day 19

• 0930 hours: Best-Laid Schemes O' Mice An' Men
• 1200 hours: Grilling the Fresh Meat
• 1300 hours: T.A.M.I.
• 1400 hours: Seeking Answers
• 1500 hours: Building Trust

Unexpected Discovery

Summary

On March 21, the Black Hawk detects a binary star system that wasn't on the already bare star charts. Commander Walsh, acting on suggestions from Lieutenant Commanders Di Pasquale and Djinx, authorizes a probe launch to the system. Its telemetry reveals eleven planets, one of which is M-Class. The Black Hawk warps to the new star system in search of possible locations for pirate havens. The crew soon learn that the M-Class planet features an atmosphere too dense for the sensors to accurately penetrate, but no lifesigns are detected. Captain Geisler authorizes Commander Di Pasquale to take an Away Team to the surface via runabout to investigate further.

Joining Di Pasquale on the Away Team is Lt. Commander Geisler, Lieutenant Fairchild, Ensign Mackie, and a security officer to pilot security drones for long-range observation. As they approach the planet, they quickly learn that the atmosphere's ionization limits sensor range to roughly a full kilometer. One of the first discoveries is the remains of a metropolis, seemingly dead for more than a century. The runabout lands and the Away Team ventures into the city, which is starting to decay due to lack of maintenance and cleaning after several major storms. Several bodies are discovered, though they are decayed beyond recognition and mostly skeletons. Ensign Mackie locates a data core, which he extracts for closer examination.

The Away Team reports the situation back to the Black Hawk. Knowing that he can't take one dead city at face value, much less as the sole status of the planet, Captain Geisler decides to keep the Black Hawk in orbit until a proper investigation can be conducted. Several away teams are then formed, and sent to the surface via shuttlecraft to expand the investigation. Meanwhile, Commander Di Pasquale assembles a security force to secure a base camp where her runabout had initially landed. As she supervises set up, security forces begin to scout the nearby area, including some living quarters. They discover a handwritten diary which logs various states of unrest in the local populace, and then later a large amount of apathy and lethargy by the writer. Commander Geisler, meanwhile, discovers a medical facility filled with vials of strange liquid, hazardous material suits, and strange log entries which indicate some sort of disease outbreak.

Lieutenants McCullen, Ryler, and Blake, along with Petty Officer Sokamin, take a runabout to the planet surface and select a military airfield to explore. Upon arrival, the runabout has a mechanical failure, leaving McCullen at the spacecraft for quick repairs. The rest of the Away Team ventures into the airfield where low levels of radiation are detected. It is determined that the airfield possesses several nuclear weapons whose casings are beginning to fail, exposing the radioactive elements to air and weather. The team examines what they believe to be the airfield's command center, and locate a room dedicated to operations, much like a mission control room. Several maps are found, each one bearing strange markers. These seem to reveal that the area where the teams are focused was a focal point for whatever brought about this civilization's doom.

Captain Geisler, unable to escape his own curiosity as to what's on the planet below, joins Ensign Crehan for a shuttle ride down to the planet. Ensign Mitchell, a security officer having arrived at the shuttlebay at the most opportune time, joins the team. Once all three arrive on the surface, they begin to search a suburban area. Several skeletons are found scattered around, having appeared to have died from natural causes and never buried. The first building inspected appears to have been a veterinarian's office, indicated by several cages and kennels filled with animal skeletons. A subfloor is discovered, well sealed from the elements, which contains a rotting corpse, the first alien deceased with flesh on the bones. Doctor Jennin is immediately contacted, and he heads for the surface to inspect the corpse. The doctor conducts a few scans before determining that the corpse can be safely and carefully transported back up to the ship.

Another away team, comprised of Doctor Abrams and Ensigns Khan, Proctor, Hollingsworth and Florkiewicz explore a coastal area. Their investigation yields several bodies who clearly perished unaware that their lives were about to end. Their tricorders detect unfamiliar crystals, and while the Away Team debates what to do next, the ground gives way under Ensign Khan, who falls into a cave filled with multiple crystals. Doctor Abrams and Ensign Proctor fall in with her. The site is bewildering, but the Away Team all agree that they need to return to the surface. Hollingsworth attempts to beam them out, but the crystals soon mimic the transporter sound and explode. All three are gravely wounded, but they are quickly medivac'ed to the Black Hawk.

Lt. Commander Djinx leads a science detail down to the planet and happens across a museum. Like the rest of the planet, the facility exhibits major disrepair and decay, but the team is able to discover several interesting details. The species, Sadorians, seems to possess not only three genders, but hold their genetic ancestors in high esteem. They also discover several large statues made of crystals which also act as signal amplifiers.

Elsewhere in the system, however, members of the 325th Fighter Squadron patrol the asteroid belt, only to discover three small craft. These craft attempt to run, but are quickly disabled and tractored aboard the Black Hawk. The pilots of the small craft are transported to the brig to await questioning.

While the investigation on the planet continues, the ship's new counselor, Lieutenant T'Mari Rael, reveals to Captain Geisler and Commander Di Pasquale her connection with the V'Shar's Scientific Inquiry Bureau. This leads to a massive and invasive investigation and inquiry process to determine the Counselor's validity, as well as her ability to remain in good standing with the crew. During the investigation, Rael, pregnant with child, collapses under the stress and is transported to sickbay. A quick examination determines that both Rael and child are still healthy, though she is moved to a private room for further examination and observation. Di Pasquale and Geisler report the situation in full to the Captain. Harvey is not at all pleased about the situation, but together with two of his trusted officers, they determine that this is a golden opportunity to observe the V'Shar. The Captain decides to allow T'Mari to remain on board the Black Hawk, and outside confinement, provided she agrees to several restrictions. The senior officers soon visit with the new Counselor, lay out the plan, and she agrees. T'Mari, about an hour later, shares some information on the Sadoria system, and the surrounding sector, with several members of the senior staff as a sign of good faith.

More expeditions take place on the surface, with much of the crew participating. Commander Di Pasquale discovers a bunker where it appeared some sort of local militia or a conspiracy group had holed up. She reunites with the other teams shortly afterward to compare and contrast their findings before deciding to send two new expeditions, one to visit the caves found the day before, as well as a governmental facility which seems to possess a spacecraft not belonging to Sadoria. Lieutenant T'Mari is permitted to make her first visit to the surface, along with the civilian Conrad Hawkingsson, visit a safe area of town, but do not get far when T'Mari collapses under a severe mental strain.

Commanders Geisler and Djinx lead a team to the site where a previous away team had fallen into a sinkhole. Caution is exercised, but soon they stumble upon what appears to be an ancient underground city. Preliminary scans indicate that this city is not only more advanced that anything on the surface, but it is also centuries older.

A small team led by Commander Di Pasquale heads to retrieve the alien spacecraft. Upon arrival, they realize that not only is the building in terrible shape, but it also seems to be one of the creepiest locations discovered thus far. The team locates the spacecraft, which appears to be pod-sized and sits only one person. Lieutenant Kemm easily opens the craft, revealing a slab-like seat and multiple holographic displays which render a text that the translators cannot interpret. The craft's sensors, however, are not impeded by the atmospheric interference and reveal an extra lifesign within the facility. Commander Di Pasquale and Petty Officer Sokamin enter the facility and discover an old woman suspended in a cyrogenic chamber. When the chamber detects the Starfleet arrivals, it activates and reanimates the woman, who is also revealed to not be a Sadorian but instead the owner of the spacecraft they found. Commander Di Pasquale determines that the woman needs to be taken aboard the Black Hawk for medical treatment and debriefing.

Soon after the woman comes aboard, one of the squadron's pilots locate a small, broken bottle on the flight deck. Thinking nothing of it, the Ensign collects the shards and discards them, completely unaware that its sweet-smelling perfume is starting to work its way into the ventilation system.

Timeline

Mission Day 21

• 0900 hours: Ready At Last
• 1000 hours: On Patrol
• 1030 hours: A Logical Assumption
• 1330 hours: Scouting Run
• 1400 hours: A Probing Situation
• 1400 hours: Setting Up Base
• 1500 hours: Base Camp
• 1500 hours: And Away We Go
• 1530 hours: And Away We Go, Part 2
• 1530 hours: A Science Field Day Out
• 1600 hours: They're Dead, Harv
• 1600 hours: New Boots, Old Ground
• 1630 hours: Pilots Exploring
• 1730 hours: Fighter Stuff Continued
• 1730 hours: Matters of Decomposition

Mission Day 22

• 0800 hours: Honesty is Always the Best Policy, Isn't it?
• 0900 hours: The Probe
• 0930 hours: The Probe, Part 2
• 1030 hours: The Probe, Part 3
• 1045 hours: Breathing Room
• 1100 hours: What Do We Do Now?
• 1200 hours: Saving Grace
• 1300 hours: Showing Willing
• 1330 hours: What Were They Afraid Of?
• 1500 hours: Comparing Notes
• 1600 hours: Excursion
• 1600 hours: The Craft
• 1600 hours: Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, It's Off To Work We Go, Part 1
• 1700 hours: Taking Care
• 1715 hours: Extra Duties and Cleaning Up

OOC Information

Mission 21 began on January 4, 2021. Since then, 86 posts have been published.

External Information

Complete Mission Logs for Episode 21: Extinction