10-13-2026, 09:19 PM
Hallowette smiled at Mara's instruction to update the logs, rather pleased that the Security Chief had reached the same conclusion she had about the planet's name. There was something reassuring about it, really. They had known of Nalim's existence for scarcely an hour, and already it had become more than a designation on a navigational chart. Someone had given it a name, and it seemed only right that Artemis should respect that.
"Aye, Commander. Updating the navigational database and ship's log to reflect the local designation of Nalim."
She made the necessary changes before returning her attention to the helm, where the approaching planet had grown from a distant contact into something more real. The additional sensor information was beginning to give form to the world she'd imagined earlier, and Hallowette found herself studying the geography as Aeryn delivered her report. Oceans, rivers, mountains and broad stretches of rocky plains, with a single settlement situated where two rivers met on their journey toward the sea. It was an interesting choice of location, particularly for a community that had apparently found itself suffering from a shortage of water, though she supposed there were any number of explanations for that. A river was only useful if there was something flowing through it, after all, and something clean at that.
Mara's next questions were rather more complicated, and Hallowette listened as the Security Chief reminded everyone of the obligations imposed by the Prime Directive. Hally had grown up around enough diplomatic conversations to appreciate that good intentions weren't always sufficient, and that sometimes the manner in which assistance was offered mattered every bit as much as the assistance itself. Whatever they discovered about Nalim, they needed to understand who they were dealing with before deciding how best to help them.
"Keep us on course. I'm hopin' that this is just another one o' my paranoid delusions," Mara said with a faint smile. "Please prove me wrong, an' show me tha' Nalim is safe for us to help without havin' to use kid gloves."
"I'll certainly try, Commander," Hallowette answered, returning the smile as she checked their approach vector. "Course remains steady. We're maintaining full impulse toward Nalim."
She had been about to return her attention to the unanswered hails when something in Mara's earlier question occurred to her. They had been discussing the colony's technological development largely in terms of what the sensors could identify on the surface, but there was another piece of evidence already sitting in the communications buffer. Hallowette brought up the recording of the original transmission, examining the accompanying carrier information rather than playing the message again.
"Actually, Commander, there is something we already know about their technology," she offered, glancing toward Mara. "Whoever contacted us recognized Artemis as a spacecraft and knew how to transmit on a frequency we could receive. That doesn't necessarily mean everyone on the planet possesses the same capabilities, but somebody there has at least some familiarity with spaceflight and communications technology."
Her fingers moved across the controls as she isolated the original carrier from the recording, comparing its characteristics with the surrounding interference. There was a surprising amount that could be learned about a transmission without understanding a single word of it. Its modulation, bandwidth, frequency stability and the manner in which it propagated through the surrounding environment could all offer clues about the equipment responsible for producing it. Even the interference might tell them something, provided they could distinguish what had happened at the source from whatever had happened to the signal on its journey to Artemis.
Hallowette found herself leaning forward a little, her attention settling more completely on the communications display.
"There's also the transmission itself," she continued, her voice taking on a trace of the enthusiasm that tended to emerge whenever a subject particularly interested her. "If we can establish what kind of equipment they're using, it might help us understand their technological development. The signal degradation could tell us something, too. Atmospheric interference, equipment damage, deliberate disruption... those wouldn't necessarily look the same."
She glanced toward Aeryn's station, where the Science Officer was already examining the planet in considerably greater detail.
"And there's the language. If the universal translator interpreted the message, we might be able to examine the original audio and identify whether it resembles anything already in the Federation linguistic database. That wouldn't tell us everything about the people living there, obviously, but it might give us somewhere to start. "Her brow furrowed as another possibility occurred to her. "Although, if they were speaking Federation Standard in the first place, that would be interesting for an entirely different reason."
Hally considered the thought for another moment before remembering that she was supposed to be answering Mara's question rather than delivering an impromptu lecture on comparative communications technology. She offered the Security Chief a small, almost apologetic smile. "Sorry. What I mean is, I might be able to establish a little more about who we're dealing with from the original transmission. At least enough to give us a better idea of what questions we ought to be asking."
She turned back to her console, leaving the computer to continue its scheduled hails while she began examining the recording more closely. The original message remained frustratingly incomplete, and she was careful not to mistake possibilities for conclusions. There was no guarantee the signal would yield anything useful, particularly given how badly it had deteriorated before reaching them, but there was no reason to overlook evidence they already possessed while waiting for something new.
"No response to our hails yet, Commander," she added, checking the communications monitor before returning to the recording. "But, I'll keep trying."
==Tags==
==GM INPUT Request: Is there anything in the communications technology that might give our linguistics enthusiast any clues? Something like the kind of tech they are using, its origins, the language they are speaking when not translated by the UT, the origin of the transmission and if it was bounced over a relay, and if there is anything in the background of the transmission that can be isolated and identified?==
"Aye, Commander. Updating the navigational database and ship's log to reflect the local designation of Nalim."
She made the necessary changes before returning her attention to the helm, where the approaching planet had grown from a distant contact into something more real. The additional sensor information was beginning to give form to the world she'd imagined earlier, and Hallowette found herself studying the geography as Aeryn delivered her report. Oceans, rivers, mountains and broad stretches of rocky plains, with a single settlement situated where two rivers met on their journey toward the sea. It was an interesting choice of location, particularly for a community that had apparently found itself suffering from a shortage of water, though she supposed there were any number of explanations for that. A river was only useful if there was something flowing through it, after all, and something clean at that.
Mara's next questions were rather more complicated, and Hallowette listened as the Security Chief reminded everyone of the obligations imposed by the Prime Directive. Hally had grown up around enough diplomatic conversations to appreciate that good intentions weren't always sufficient, and that sometimes the manner in which assistance was offered mattered every bit as much as the assistance itself. Whatever they discovered about Nalim, they needed to understand who they were dealing with before deciding how best to help them.
"Keep us on course. I'm hopin' that this is just another one o' my paranoid delusions," Mara said with a faint smile. "Please prove me wrong, an' show me tha' Nalim is safe for us to help without havin' to use kid gloves."
"I'll certainly try, Commander," Hallowette answered, returning the smile as she checked their approach vector. "Course remains steady. We're maintaining full impulse toward Nalim."
She had been about to return her attention to the unanswered hails when something in Mara's earlier question occurred to her. They had been discussing the colony's technological development largely in terms of what the sensors could identify on the surface, but there was another piece of evidence already sitting in the communications buffer. Hallowette brought up the recording of the original transmission, examining the accompanying carrier information rather than playing the message again.
"Actually, Commander, there is something we already know about their technology," she offered, glancing toward Mara. "Whoever contacted us recognized Artemis as a spacecraft and knew how to transmit on a frequency we could receive. That doesn't necessarily mean everyone on the planet possesses the same capabilities, but somebody there has at least some familiarity with spaceflight and communications technology."
Her fingers moved across the controls as she isolated the original carrier from the recording, comparing its characteristics with the surrounding interference. There was a surprising amount that could be learned about a transmission without understanding a single word of it. Its modulation, bandwidth, frequency stability and the manner in which it propagated through the surrounding environment could all offer clues about the equipment responsible for producing it. Even the interference might tell them something, provided they could distinguish what had happened at the source from whatever had happened to the signal on its journey to Artemis.
Hallowette found herself leaning forward a little, her attention settling more completely on the communications display.
"There's also the transmission itself," she continued, her voice taking on a trace of the enthusiasm that tended to emerge whenever a subject particularly interested her. "If we can establish what kind of equipment they're using, it might help us understand their technological development. The signal degradation could tell us something, too. Atmospheric interference, equipment damage, deliberate disruption... those wouldn't necessarily look the same."
She glanced toward Aeryn's station, where the Science Officer was already examining the planet in considerably greater detail.
"And there's the language. If the universal translator interpreted the message, we might be able to examine the original audio and identify whether it resembles anything already in the Federation linguistic database. That wouldn't tell us everything about the people living there, obviously, but it might give us somewhere to start. "Her brow furrowed as another possibility occurred to her. "Although, if they were speaking Federation Standard in the first place, that would be interesting for an entirely different reason."
Hally considered the thought for another moment before remembering that she was supposed to be answering Mara's question rather than delivering an impromptu lecture on comparative communications technology. She offered the Security Chief a small, almost apologetic smile. "Sorry. What I mean is, I might be able to establish a little more about who we're dealing with from the original transmission. At least enough to give us a better idea of what questions we ought to be asking."
She turned back to her console, leaving the computer to continue its scheduled hails while she began examining the recording more closely. The original message remained frustratingly incomplete, and she was careful not to mistake possibilities for conclusions. There was no guarantee the signal would yield anything useful, particularly given how badly it had deteriorated before reaching them, but there was no reason to overlook evidence they already possessed while waiting for something new.
"No response to our hails yet, Commander," she added, checking the communications monitor before returning to the recording. "But, I'll keep trying."
==Tags==
==GM INPUT Request: Is there anything in the communications technology that might give our linguistics enthusiast any clues? Something like the kind of tech they are using, its origins, the language they are speaking when not translated by the UT, the origin of the transmission and if it was bounced over a relay, and if there is anything in the background of the transmission that can be isolated and identified?==