Post by Ensign Tekison Nevir on Jun 17, 2015 14:47:48 GMT -8
This was actually something that started to excite Tekison in a way.. mostly because of the puzzle aspect. And the theory. Almost all was forgotten while the younger officer walked around, trying to figure this out. He truly was the expert in this particular field, but his higher ranking officer was brilliant in her own right as well. She was able to catch on rather quickly.
"Wait... let's focus on the obvious contradiction. The first thing you told me is that this planet was alive. I take it you mean viable as well as geologically by means of seismic activity?"
"Exactly." Tekison stated, looking over the features the computer was able to piece together. "I would place this planet well into the 6-8 billion year old range, plenty of time for a planet to be gifted life. There is evidence here of plate boundaries, and we even have water erosion around vast areas. If it didn't have a global connected ocean, it certainly had large sized seas."
"Hunter said the same thing. But then you said that the planet was dead. So, I pose to you all... let's look at this like a murder."
It was something in the back of his mind, but when Yolanda vocalized it, the Bajoran bit his lower lip, listening as she described what she was thinking.
"Let's say I'm the killer. I've committed the crime. I didn't hide the body, or the weapon. All of it is left in plain sight. So, how could I possibly convince you, the investigator, not to look for me... the killer? I just have to be clever in hide in plain sight. The most effective way, is to make you not see a homicide, but a suicide."
It was a rather scary theory, that there was a group that not only had the power to destroy an entire planet, but could due it through means that could seem natural, or even just erase the existence of the planet if one did not know it was there. A suicide meant that the planet really did have to blow itself up, which was something Tekison was familiar with.
"Of course, the fact still remains, planets don't just randomly combust. Something had to cause it. But whatever it was had to be strong enough to penetrate the layers of the crust and destabilize the planet's core and magnetic field. So, how does that happen? Chemically? Physically? How does one destroy a planet?"
"Its not... completely unheard of, Commander. There have been cases of planets dying in their mid-lives. One of the most unusual I remember hearing about was the Enterprise D finding a system that was naturally growing dilithium, but as a result, it would destroy the planet. But for every possible natural cause, there are also some unnatural causes. Black matter experiments, underground warp core tests, singularity experiments. There is a reason why we have select planets for scientific research. What we need is a focal point. Something out of the ordinary that will determine if this was natural or murder."
His answer came immediately in the form of Georgia, spinning the display and pointing out another location.
"There's another impact mark. It's a bit like a pin prick compared to the other dimple, but it's definitely there. It's also incredibly deep; this model is designed to model the surface not the interior, but you can see it's sort of given up trying to see where the bottom of the hole is."
"The computer can't determined the size of the crust or core, so it tries to make an assumption based on surrounding planets. That's why I asked for Etimon and the others." he said in answer, picking up a PADD and tapping in commands. Instead of playing with their main display unit, Tekison thanked whoever assigned him here for giving him a large science lab.
"Computer, activate secondary model display. Display and enhance Sector 24 alpha, quadrant 7, give me a cut away view." he said, taking that particular section of crust Georgia pointed out and showing it by itself.
"I think you're on to something. Commander, I think we have the equivalent of a fingerprint for your crime scene. There are no boundaries anywhere within range to explain the hole, and no evidence that puts this near a geologic hotspot. Geologically speaking, this was a very stable section of the planet, and yet there is a deep hole."
His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden activity of Hunter as the biological samples seemed to be... active? That had to be a mistake, right? The Lieutenant was speaking of certain species that could survive as cells for decades in space.. but were they just cells?
"Cell division? Tardigrade? I thought you said this was neural tissue?" he asked curiously, while looking down at his PADD. The planetary analysis was very near completion, which would tell them almost exactly what the planet could have been.