<div><<This is a backlog from before the away was preparing to leave that I just realized wasn't sent>></div>
<div> </div>
<div>Justin had retired to his quarters for a short sleep break while Sciences<br>went over the data he had flagged for them. He had set his alarm for 3<br>hours of sleep. This was his minimum needed to keep going. He's pay for<br>
it later, but right now, even 3 hours felt too long.</div>
<p>He kept mulling over how the ferrous oxide could have ended up in the<br>star, and what had that cargo hauler been doing so near the star. Could<br>this all have been some sort of accident? Some mining accident... or was<br>
it deliberate, and they had left the ship to break up to hide the<br>evidence? These were questions that needed answers, and he had no idea<br>how to answer them.</p>
<p>Kylee starred at the screen, looking at the location of the asteroids, her<br>brow furrowed in thought. She tapped her comm badge as she sat back,<br>needing to speak with Lox about sending a probe to the site to search for<br>
signs of any ships moving through the area. "Commander, you still have<br>those extra probes out there?" she asked.</p>
<p>"Probes are still out there, planned course should have them... one near<br>the north solar pole, and the other two making their way towards the<br>equator on the far side." Justin replied as he changed uniforms, having<br>
fallen asleep in the one he had been wearing earlier.</p>
<p>Kylee nodded, running a hand along her face, already back to her schedule<br>of not sleeping for more than an hour at a time. "Can you send one to a<br>different area if I give you the coordinates?" she asks, climbing to her<br>
feet and beginning to pace back and forth. "I can send them to you, or<br>meet you somewhere.."</p>
<p><br>"Meet me in engineering in... 10 minutes. I'll have one of the probes<br>ready to change target loaction by then." He replied.</p>
<p>"On my way," she said, looking around and grabbing her uniform top,<br>pulling it on over her tank top as she walks to the door. She grabs her<br>PADD as she walks by the table, examining it to make sure that she all the<br>
necessary information.</p>
<p><br>Justin finished changing his uniform and headed for Engineering. A few<br>minutes later, he walked into Engineering.</p>
<p>Kylee finished setting her uniform in place, lifting a hand up to cover her<br>mouth as she yawns as she makes her way through the hallway to the<br>turbolift and<br>to engineering. Taking the short ride down to the deck that Engineering was<br>
located on, she steps out, walking absently as she studies the PADD in her<br>hand.</p>
<p><br>"Probes are ready to new course entries. Where are we sending them?" Justin<br>asked as he saw her.</p>
<p>Kylee glanced up as she stepped through the door, looking over at Justin.<br>"We're looking for any signs of a ship in that asteroid field.." she stated,<br>making her way over to him and offering her PADD to him. "I think that's<br>
the source of the ferrous oxide."</p>
<p><br>"Could it be the one that we saw break up?" Justin said as he entered the<br>information into the computer.</p>
<p>Kylee blinked, looking as though she'd been hit by a ton of bricks. "I..<br>wow.. perhaps I should get more sleep.." she said, running her hand<br>through her hair. "It might be.. but why let the ship get destroyed if<br>
it's needed?"</p>
<p>"One of two reasons... first, t wasn't' supposed to break up.. so it was an<br>accident. The second... to hide the evidence. Had we not been scanning for<br>anything and everything, which most Federation crews would not have done,<br>
we would never have noticed it." Justin replied. "I'm hoping for the<br>former, but the mathematical probabilities suggest the latter."</p>
<p>Kylee nodded, looking at the computer screen. "I wonder.. do you think it<br>might be a trick to throw us off. Or perhaps that ship was damaged and<br>needed to be destroyed.." she suggested.</p>
<p><br>"We don't have enough information to answer any of those questions. The<br>ship, by design, did have a way to transmit a distress call, and it<br>didn't. That much we know. Why it didn't, we don't know.."</p>
<p>Kylee sighed, looking thoroughly worn out from all of this. "Hopefully the<br>probes will give us the information we need, because I'm growing tired of<br>just adding more questions with no answers," she said, the frustration<br>
evident in her voice.</p>
<p><br>"Such is life on the 'Ridge. When I was head of Sciences... I added<br>nearly 200 kiloquads of questions for research... and almost no answers."<br>Justin said "I prefer Engineering.. have a question, build the answer.<br>
Probes will be at the asteroid field in ... 25 minutes."</p>
<p>Kylee arched her brow at that, looking over at him. "You were in charge of<br>the Science dept?" she asked, nodding slowly as he mentioned the arrival<br>time of the asteroids. "Hopefully they'll be able to find something.."</p>
<p>"Yep. Started in sciences... Was promoted to Acting Lt. and put in charge<br>of the USS-Audax's Science section. When the Engineering position opened<br>up, I shifted over, since by science specialty was basically engineering<br>
anyway. Been here ever since." Justin grinned "Built a shuttle called<br>the Giskard. It made these probes look like children's toys... but it was<br>all cutting edge tech. When the Xelucian war broke out.. our first victory<br>
was because I used it's cutting edge tech as a anti-matter bomb. Took<br>everything it had to punch their shields, then detonated taking out a<br>large section of their ship." He was still saddened by the loss, but<br>
happy that it proved so effective as a weapon.</p>
<p>Kylee nodded slowly, wincing slightly as he mentioned having to blow up<br>the shuttle, since it sounded as though he had been really proud of that<br>ship. "Have you ever thought of building another shuttle like that?" she<br>
asked.</p>
<p><br>"Because Starfleet won't let me. The Captain, being bound by regulations,<br>can't let me build another either. As it was, she stretched the rules to<br>the limit, to let me build the first one. As much as I want to build<br>
another one, it isn't going to happen.. and I won't push the matter. I've<br>just have to stay within the bounds of the rules and regulations, but<br>within them.. this is the most advances Galaxy class ship on the line.<br>
Every upgrade Starfleet has allowed for this ship has been done and taken<br>as far as they will allow. That includes bio-neural gel-packs and<br>computer core components. I've also been adding the holoemitters in the<br>
corridors and common areas, based on Starfleet's newest specs for the EMH<br>Mk 2. Currently we are just ahead of the regulations.. and this war has<br>slowed things down so it may be a while before it is fully operational."</p>
<p>"Oh.. that would be a good reason to not build another one.." she said, a<br>slight smirk upon her lips. "This ship is definitely more advanced then<br>the ones I've been on.. but, it's not hard to be more advanced than a bird<br>
of prey," she said, covering her mouth as she yawned again. She glanced to<br>the screen, clearly anxious for the results of the probes. "How soon will<br>we begin to get the readings we need?"</p>
<p>"20 minutes, at least." Justin replied.</p>
<p>Kylee nodded, looking around. "I have a bit more data to go over in my<br>lab. Will you let me know what information we get from the asteroid<br>field?" she asked.</p>
<div><br>"I'll have the computer sent it as soon as it starts arriving." Justin<br>replied as he made some adjustments to the data on his PADD. "I've got<br>the probes scanning for any ion trails from impulse style engines while<br>
they are enroute. Maybe we can detect something that way."</div>
<div> </div>
<div>-------------------------------------------</div>
<div>Respectfully submitted by</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Lt Cmdr Justin Lox</div>
<div>Engineering</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Lt Kyle Nix</div>
<div>Science</div>