Captain’s Log, USS Diana, Stardate 22931.12 (2274-01-06 09:28:44)
After journeying 14 months from the Kerbol system, the Diana is approaching our interesting little Dyson sphere. We've had the Dyson sphere under observation for four months now, and as we approach the point where it should be within visual range, our science team is finding it even more puzzling than when Diana and I first detected it. Readings are exceedingly difficult to get while at warp, so we’ve had to make several stops along the way to make more detailed observations. Our most recent, and extended, were 50,000 AU from the primary, but we’ve not yet located the outer edge of the shell, nor conclusively determined its structure.
Due to the red-shifting of the already-red spectrum of the star, Diana and I had assumed that the structure would most likely be a Dyson bubble or net, as the occlusion was far too great for a Dyson swarm or ring made up multiple satellites residing in the same orbit, and ultralight solar collecting light sails capable of using radiation pressure to maintain station-keeping aren’t far beyond the Federation’s own materials science.
Now we’re beginning to wonder if that’s really what we’re seeing. Two of our science staff, Ensign Bilbin Kerman and Ensign Wenson Kerman, are both firmly of the opinion that it must be some kind of bubble using radiation pressure, but our chief engineer, LTJG Lobles Kerman, has speculated, and I am leaning towards agreeing, that we may be seeing an actual Dyson shell. Diana M-5 has, to date, refused to take a side, preferring to wait until more evidence is available.
That evidence will hopefully be available soon, as we prepare to drop out of warp a mere 50 AU away from the system primary. Our current flight path is at an oblique angle to the position of the star itself, as nobody wants to drop out of warp and collide with the Dyson sphere itself, whatever form it happens to take. From there, we intend to close in on the Dyson sphere at quarter-impulse, and investigate further. To date, we’ve not only not detected the outer edge of the sphere, but no sign of subspace, or even electromagnetic, traffic that would lead us to believe someone’s home, which simply adds to the puzzle, confounding the science department, and adding to the air of curiosity and, perhaps, worry amongst our crew.
As for our new crew, the journey here from Kerbol, hasn’t always been easy, but the slow pace has allowed Diana M-5 and I to make significant inroads towards training our Kerbal crew up to Starfleet standards. Mostly.
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USS Diana Ship’s Log, Supplemental, M-5 “Diana” Reporting
It is important to understand what Dee means by “mostly” in this instance. We’ve all heard the jokes and comments from non-human engineering students at Star Fleet Academy, such as how the first Vulcan scientist to watch the old “Back to the Future” trilogy for the first time, nodded sagely, stating “Yes, that is exactly what human scientists are like, in my experience.”
So, yes, human scientists and engineers can be…eccentric. In some ways, the Kerbals are even more so, and it has shown in many of the repairs and refits done to the Diana. Systems kludged together that you would expect to fly apart at the seams…don’t. On the other hand, we’ve had to evacuate the physics lab twice this week alone. While their enthusiasm is appreciated, there are times I wish the Kerbals were a little less…over-enthusiastic.
Adapting Starfleet protocol to work with the Kerbals themselves has been interesting. For example, while they insist that there are subtle differences in their surnames, neither of us can discern them, either in verbal or written form. The universal translators completely fail to differentiate between these subtleties, and while Dee and I have both made concerted efforts and become fluent in the Kerbal language, we remain unable to do so. As such, Dee and I have taken, to referring to crew members by their first, rather than last, names, which the Kerbals have found completely acceptable.
Another change has been the shift to Starfleet’s optional four six-hour watches, rather than the more standard three eight-hour watches, as rotation of their native planet, Kerbin, is only six hours. Kerbals generally sleep a total of six hours every 24 hour period, with lower levels of activity during a second six hour period of “night”. Captain Haines and I have, therefore, endeavored to accommodate this in scheduling, with staff rotating through assignments such that during every six hour watch, one group will be in their low-activity period, one their sleep period, one standing watch, and one working on secondary activities or training.
To date, these adaptations have been successful, with our crew working well together, even in emergency drills. Whether this will remain the case in a true emergency remains to be seen.
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Bridge, USS Diana
Tramy Kerman’s fingers danced over the helm controls as she dropped the Diana out of warp. The former skipper of the KSV Just Testing had jumped at the opportunity to join the giant alien starship on its trip back home, just for the opportunity to see the galaxy outside the Kerbol system. Looking down for what had to be the thousandth time at the gold braids of a lieutenant junior grade around the cuffs of her new uniform, she pondered once again how she ended up the second officer on the Diana. “We’re at all-stop, Captain,” she announced. “Navigational scans are clear for at least 10 light-seconds.”
Dee Haines nodded. “Good. Didn’t think we’d run into anything out here, but it’s good to know our long range sensors are still working. Speaking of which, any sign of our mysterious megastructure?”
At the multi-sensor hood, which had been remounted to allow it to swivel down to Kerbal height, Ensign Bilbin Kerbal looked up. “So, Lieutenant M-5 is continuing to analyze the readings, but nothing so far, Captain. We still aren’t even seeing the typical Oort cloud of comets or closer Kuiper belt. Not even any signs of planets. It makes sense if they dismantled them all, but it’s still just weird.”
Turning to the female kerbal seated at the navigation station, Dee said, “Ms. Hayvin, plot a search course taking us above the ecliptic. Ms. Tramy, once she’s done, take us in at a quarter impulse. No sense running into any planets we may have missed on our scans.”
Behind, Dee, at the communications console, a male kerbal in a red operations uniform spoke up. “Captain, do we want to radio Kerbin, and let them know we’ve arrived?” Like most of the bridge crew, with the notable exceptions of Dee herself and Tramy Kerman, he was a relatively young ensign.
“Excellent idea, Mr. Tedler. How long until we should expect a reply?”
Tedler Kerman thought about it for a moment. “Assuming immediate reply? Around eight and a half hours, ma’am.”
“Good,” Dee said happily. “It’s kind of nice to be able to actually send regular reports. Tedler, go ahead and transmit an update to Kerbin.”
Diana, the ship’s M-5 computer, spoke up over the intercom. {“At one-quarter impulse, and assuming the outer boundary of the sphere is within 1 AU of the local star, it will take us 4.5 days before we can expect to reach the Dyson sphere itself.”}
“Or,” Dee noted, “just over a day at full impulse.”
From the nav station, Hayvin Kerman, turned around briefly. “Ma’am,” she said, “with a star system this empty, we could go low warp. At Warp 1, we’d be there in less than 90 minutes.”
Dee pondered for a moment. “Could work. Could kill us all. Before we make a decision though…Engineering,” she continued, keying a button on the arm of her chair.
{“Engineering. Lobles here.”}
“Got good news for me, Mister Lobles? How are our engines?”
{“Impulse engines one through four are happy campers. Secondary warp coils are on standby, but are doing fine. Main warp engine hates me and everything I stand for, but is still working as well as can be expected. Couldn’t hurt to give it a break, though, and use the secondary coils for a bit if you want warp while we’re here but aren’t in a particularly big hurry.”}
“Mr. Lobles, you’re not planning to blow us up, are you?”
{“Not this week, Captain. Next week, maybe. I’ll get back to you on that.”}
Suddenly, Bilbin sat up, a look of confusion on his face. “What? That doesn’t make sense.”
Dee turned. “What doesn’t make sense, Ensign?”
{“I think we found it, Captain. It’s just...remember when we said it would be silly if the surface of the sphere was solid?”}
“I do,” she replied. “You’re saying that…no.”
{“Yes.”}
Bilbin nodded. “It looks like a solid surface, ma’am, approximately 15 million kilometers radius.”
“On screen.”
Flickering to life on the main viewscreen, a tiny image of a darkish sphere was visible in the distance.
In her command chair, Dee frowned. “Is that a potato? Can we clean that up at all?”
Bilbin shook his head. “Even with our Federation wonder-sensors, and even going to active sensors, we’re going to need to get closer to get a good look.”
“Fair enough. Mr. Bilbin, Diana, go to active sensors,” Dee ordered. “Ms. Tramy, take us in.”
