[Ready Room - Deck One - USS Chimera NCC 96899-C]
Anya pressed the chime and entered the doorway "Captain Xerxes reporting as ordered Captain." She gave a stiff salute and was perhaps a bit anxious about what was to come. Not necessarily about her actions themselves but about the procurement of the 'Puppetmaster' programme itself.
The Captain stood and returned the salute when he saw it was his Squadron Commander at the door. "Captain Xerxes," He greeted her, "please have a seat." He gestured to the seat in front of his desk, and then moved to take his own as she approached. "We have much to discuss. Would you care for a beverage?" He offered in hospitality.
She took the proffered seat and shook her head "No thank you Captain on the drink and yes I think we do have a lot to discuss." {I'll bet it won't start with the top agenda}.
Once the Captain receive his own beverage from the replicator behind his desk his swiveled in his chair back toward Captain Xerxes. Before he took a sip of his coffee he asked for a brief mission report. "I read your initial report, Captain." He said. "But if you would clarify some points for me. What were the Breen defenses like around the base?"
"Technology wise hard to tell sensors don't work very well down in the soup but if I had to guess more of the same that was on Antigonis possibly with a minor edge in firepower. What was interesting though was the numbers and positioning of the defenses. The anti-air and anti-orbital weapons were too numerous and positioned oddly. It seemed like whoever planned out the defenses wasn't used to how to set them up and each individual weapons value nor were important buildings more heavily guarded. Point in case the base defences primary control room didn't have any short range anti-air artillary surrounding it. It's more of a hunch than anything solid but the defenses may have been arranged symbolically, I've got my guys running checks against anything in the archaeology and anthropology databases." Anya replied.
Rojac didn't say anything at first, but only nodded in acknowledgment. After a moment or two he looked back up from the top of his desk and lowered his hands into his lap. "Have them look in the direction of the Sitiva site, Captain." Rojac said. After a pause he elaborated. "The latest report from the studies on the alien held on UNITY show that remarkably similar images of the creatures have appeared on the murals along the walls of the ruins. DNA tests are underway to conclusively link them to the site."
"Sitiva...that's well within Federation borders. If they have a legitimate claim that could explain their willingness to side with the Romulans and Breen and also substantiates the information given by Ambassador Alecto regarding the alien on Narendra. Do the murals give any specific information on the aliens themselves?" Anya asked.
"The inscriptions along the walls describe these creatures in a mysterious way." Rojac said. "The translator converts the script to call them 'Muhareem' or 'the Whisperers'. They believe Sativa to be a sacred site. Which should make it a prime place to study the symbology."
"I'll pass on any information to science that my guys find and they can research it further...who would have thought that I of all people would miss Chimera-B's Cultural Anthropology Lab?" Anya quipped.
Rojac put his arms atop the desk and leaned forward. "So tell me about the scorpion squadron, Captain. I've read some troubling reports. I'm not complaining about the results; I'm just worried about what Mr. Lanner has described as an 'Erassian Program' that took over the craft at the last crucial moments of the dogfight." He paused a beat. "What is it and how did it get there?"
"Each type of Erassian Alliance Military Ship is designed to fufil just two primary roles unlike their counterparts in the Federation which try to specialise in everything. The Intelligence Gathering Warships (IGWs) specialise in Stealthed Reconnaisance and collecting Signals Intelligence. The Starfighter Carrier Warships (SCWs) specialise in providing Forward Command & Control plus large scale Fighter & Bomber Launch Facilities. The Destroyer Class Warships (DCWs) specialise in Stealthed Ambush and being able to provide Heavy Forward Defense to blunt enemy attacks before they reach the more valuable Cruisers and Carriers. Finally the Cruiser Class Warships (CCWs) specialise in providing extensive Short and Medium Range Defenses for the Carriers plus Long Range Artillery Support for forward units." Anya paused.
Thank you for the lesson in Erassian ship design." Rojac smirked, then gestured with his hand. "Please, continue."
Anya continued "The problem arose just over thirty years ago when the Alliance started to bring in the first of the Fourth Generation Cruisers. At that point the range of the missiles far outstripped the ability of the Cruiser's sensors to accurately aim them. Two solutions were floated both of which are in operation to this day. The first option was to create autonomous weapons that once given the general coordinates would search, prioritize and destroy targets. That gave rise to the T.H.U.D's, Drone Interceptors, Hive Bombs or {C.F's as they're known amongst pilots} and numerous other highly effective weapons. The second solution was to use the sensors of the forward units themselves to provide precise coordinates essentially the same principle as the ODA teams on the surface of Canna III lazing the Anti-Proton Towers for my Lancers. Now when it came to linking the Cruiser's Artillery with fighters they had a problem, fighter movement proved too unpredictable to utilize the system safely. Fast forward to years later and I'm designing the AX-02 Lancer dealing with penny pinching bureaucrats constantly complaining about the Lancer Project taking too much resources, requiring too much classified research access and being run by someone of what they considered to be a lesser background. Any request for further resources to develop better anti-ship weaponry was turned down without even looking over the proposals. In turn I looked at creating a system to allow sensor data to be channeled from the Lancers on the frontline to bombers or capital ships further away to allow them to make shots beyond standard torpedo targeting range, the more I looked at the system the more I became sure I could get it to work for anti-fighter attacks. How then to overcome the problem of unpredictable fighter movement? Simple, make it predictable."
Rojac smirked and leaned back into his chair. It was obvious that Xerxes was into this development of technology, and he wondered if she wold have been better off with a job at R&D. But then he thought she might go crazy without being able to shoot down a few Romulan fighters every now and then. And she might end up shooting the other scientists instead, he thought.
"The still unfinished programme is called 'Puppetmaster'. To make Puppetmaster you take one blank Last Generation Military Grade Erassian Pilot Support AI illegally obtained on the black market, reprogram it with hive behavioral functionality developed in the Federation by scientists studying the Borg whilst removing any spyware then add in parameters for the craft and weaponry along with control codes for the craft then install it into a state of the art fighters with an advanced computer core and bio-neural gel circuitry. Puppetmaster is set up to create precise positional and timing conditions which allow for missiles to be deployed to exact coordinates without having to get a sensor lock on the enemy whilst simultaneusly ensuring the enemy is lured into those exact coordinates and allied units are not. Puppetmaster only acts to create the desired scenario when given an executive order and not at any other time. Contrary to what Lieutenant Lanner thinks it's not an Erassian Programme, in reality its about as Erassian as the Lancers themselves are...one minor component and a lot of inspiration." Anya shrugged as she said the last bit.
"I can understand Mr. Lanner's reservations though, Captain, when the emblem for the Erassian Alliance flashes on his screen and he no longer has control of his craft." Again, Rojac rested his arms atop his desk - he just couldn't find a comfortable position. He must've been sitting in his office too long. "So what about the Scorpions made you decide to use this program?"
Anya nodded at the prompt "The appearance of the Scorpion II's within the Alliance was to be expected. It fits in with expected developments after the Romulans deployed their new Assault Fighters against us. What was surprising was how advanced the Scorpion II really is and how good the Romulan Pilots were. In fact they were too good which was why I gave them a Collington test. That squadron was recieving remote telepathic guidance from somewhere though judging by the timing and the distance I'd say unlikely to be from the planet, more likely there was another Muhareem or something similar on board one of those troop transports. That was another reason I implomented Puppetmaster...you can't telepathically read a machine."
"Another Muhareem..." Rojac almost whispered. "Those damn things are turning up everywhere. Have you informed anyone else of these suspicions?"
"Then we need to gt on the line with Colonel Hendricks as soon as possible. Preferably before his people board the disabled troop transports." Rojac said, quickly swiveling toward the communications console on the wall behind him. LtCmdr Montesque's face appeared on the screen. +Yes, Captain?+
"Mr. Montesque, get me a secure line to Colonel Hendricks." Rojac ordered.
+One moment, sir+ The communications officer replied before disappearing off the screen. Rojac turned around once more to face Anya. "Command is going to want to review this program once we get back to UNITY. Make a copy, and put it on an isolinear chip to present to when we arrive. And find some legal counsel." Rojac said. "I trust you, Captain, but you know as well as I that there are some in Starfleet that doubt your allegiance. I'll do what I can to protect you on my end, but you'll need a lawyer."
"I'll consider who to obtain for legal advice. Unfortunately there's no such thing as a lawyer I trust." She said. Anya knew what the standard response Prometheus would adapt but they would probably wait till the Starfleet ships departed. Even now the Alliance doubted the Federation had the stomach to do what was necessary to win the war.
"Send me a copy of the program and your report before we dock." Rojac said.
"Aye Captain" Came the swift reply.
+Captain,+ Montesque's face appeared behind the Captain on the monitor. +I have him.+
"Patch him through." Rojac replied. As the screen went blank he looked back to Xerxes, "You're dismissed, Captain."
Anya snapped a salute, performed an about turn and exited the room.
"Colonel Hendricks," Rojac said as the door shut behind her, "I have some troubling news for you."
[End Log]
Captain Cropa Rojac
CO
USS Chimera - C
Marine Captain Anya Xerxes
Flight Ops CO
USS Chimera - C
Captain Cropa Rojac
CO
USS Chimera - C
Marine Captain Anya Xerxes
Flight Ops CO
USS Chimera - C
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