Post #279: Searching for a Comet
Posted on Tue Jul 22nd, 2025 @ 12:54am by Lieutenant Felix Fernley & Ensign Hannah Thrace & Lieutenant JG Yujas Ritt
766 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
A New Beginning
Location: Ops Centre
Timeline: current
With an away team assigned to survey the planet and make contact with the Ocampa, it fell to those officers staying on the base to deal with the other half of the equation. Felix found herself watching the store on Ops, something not surprising with a lot of the senior personnel going down to the planet, she still didn't know who most of the crew were but she'd get there. As Felix continued to watch the screen Hannah stepped out of the turbolift and slid into the empty science station, glancing over towards the security station she was happy to see that it was Yujas on duty. "Yujas can you patch your tactical scanners into the main sensor array?" Hannah asked as she logged into the console.
“You got it,” Yujas said as his hands worked the controls at his console.
"What's this in aid of?" Felix asked
"We're looking for a comet that's made of enough ice." Hannah said "And while our long range sensors are good it'd be a shame not to use every tool at our disposal."
“What about a probe?” Yujas suggested.
"As long as it finds what we're looking for." Hannah said
"It better." Felix said "I don't want to have to explain to the Captain that we wasted a probe."
"We can recover it later if needed." Hannah said
"I know." Felix said "Get on with it."
Yujas nodded and programmed the probes heading before looking at Hannah. “Ready to launch on your signal.”
"Do it." Hannah said
Yujas hit the commands to launch the probe and watched from his station as it raced away from the base. “Readings are already starting to come in,” Yujas said evenly.
"How long should it be?" Felix asked
"Hopefully not long." Hannah said "Best chance will be a rogue comet."
Yujas continued to monitor the readings coming back from the probe. “I think we’ve got something!”
"It's a comet." Hannah said "About 80% ice and 20% rock so fairly good. Probe's long range sensors put it about 12 hours away."
"Is that going to be enough water for the atmosphere?" Felix asked "If you're doing what I think you are by the book then that's the question."
"It should be enough to seed it." Hannah said "We've just got to hope that the effect is a little more than gradual." she sighed "Yujas set the probe to follow the comet and track it. That way we'll know where it is when we need it."
“Already on it,” Yujas said as his hands flew over the controls. “Monitoring the probe now.”
"Good." Hannah said "At least we've found it."
"Now let's not jinx our luck." Felix said
“Comet continuing on its course, probe is following,” Yujas said watching the sensors readings coming back.
"Just keep your eyes on it." Hannah said
“Not letting it out of my sight,” Yujas said with a nod.
"Are you two always like this?" Felix asked
"Mostly." Hannah said
Yujas just smirked as he kept his eyes on his console. “Sending new coordinates to helm, comments speed and trajectory has changed.”
"It's a comet." Hannah said "That's expected."
“Got it,” Yujas said with a chuckle. “I’m security remember, this isn’t exactly my forte.”
"And I'm the resident nerd yes I know." Hannah said
"So what happens now?" Felix asked
"We just keep an eye on the comet and hope that nothing happens to it until we need it." Hannah said "And that'll be at some point after the away team gets back."
“I sure hope this works,” Yujas said watching his sensors.
"It will." Hannah said "Trust the nerd once in a while."
"This is presumably in aid of potentially terraforming the planet." Felix said "So assuming we did seed enough water into the atmosphere how long would it take to make the surface optimally habitable rather than the desert it is now?"
"That's the bit I don't like." Hannah said "Years, terraforming is still a gradual process."
"If there's a way of making it faster you'll find it." Yujas said
"Count on it." Hannah said with a slight smile "If I knew what it was."
"Start looking." Yujas said
"Oh I will." Hannah said
"Are you as good as your record says ensign?" Felix said
"She's better." Yujas said with a heavy slice of pride in his voice.
"Then find the solution, whatever it takes." Felix said
*************
Lieutenant Felix Fernley
Assistant Chief Operations Officer
Starbase Obsidian
Lieutenant Junior Grade Yujas Ritt
Assistant Chief Security Officer
Starbase Obsidian
Ensign Hannah Thrace
Alien Archaeologist and Anthropologist/Intelligence Officer
Starbase Obsidian
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