6. Exploring
Having listened to the logs relating to what happened at Tanarexa IV, Nina pondered what had happened there. Something, or someone, was responsible for that anomaly. It was no wonder that the holograms hadn't figured out how to return the Baffin to it's home reality. 'Of course, that was just the start of their journey,' she thought. After all, she wasn't sure herself, whether she could re-trace her steps back to Gallifrey, if she wanted to.
Of course, she also needed to look at the sensor data of the anomaly, and of that planet. That would tell her more than just the logs. She searched for the data, and the index of the data scanned on that date came up.
Tanarexa IV
Tamarexa Anomaly
'The planet first,' she thought. She selected that data.
There was no real pattern to the displaced regions on the planet. But then the ship had only scanned 7% of the surface, before they were interrupted. 'I'll look at the scan on the other side, if they did so.'
Her stomach rumbled, and she glanced at the time. She had been at it for nearly an hour, and she had forgotten breakfast. She decided she would get breakfast before researching further.
“I'm just getting breakfast,” she told Alpha, who seemed quite interested in whatever it was she was reading on one of those PADDs.
“Oh,” Alpha said, putting the PADD down. “You don't need to tell me. We can be an informal crew. There is only the two of us here.”
Nina nodded as she exited the Bridge.
Alpha watched as Nina left the Bridge. It was true that the situation was informal. She was primarily programmed to be an engineer after all, not a commander. She reflected on the time she had been active. It also seemed she was growing beyond her original programming. 'Much like the Doctor on Voyager,' she considered. She shrugged and turned her attention back to the file on Klingon history.
Of course, there was more to do than re-tracing the Baffin's journey from the first displacement to the crash, Nina considered as she entered the Mess Hall. She also wanted to explore the planet, and learn about the cultures thereupon. (Of course, she considered she could just take the TARDIS and do that and return to the ship, but she didn't want to do it by herself.) She decided to propose it to Alpha later in the day.
“No,” Alpha said.
“No?” Nina asked. “Why not?”
“The Prime Directive,” Alpha answered. “We can't make contact with pre-warp civilisations.”
“We can't?”
“No. You can look it up under General Order One.”
“So, we can't take the ship to explore the planet,” Nina clarified.
“No, we can't,” Alpha said. “But we can use it as a base.”
“Sure.”
,
Nina was disappointed. She then used her console to look up the Prime Directive.
Prime Directive
Starfleet General Order One
Starfleet Personnel shall not interfere with the natural development of any civilisation, culture or society.
It reminded her of the Time Lords' own policy of non-interference, as it existed prior to the Time War. She wasn't sure how showing the ship would violate that Order thought. Of course there would be interpretations and reinterpretations over time. However, there were other ways to explore the planet. She decided to wait before asking Alpha if they could take off and go into orbit. They would be able to look at the planet and it's civilisations quicker that way.
Alpha knew Nina was restless. It was obvious she wanted to do more than review the Baffin crew's logs and help her get back to the right universe. She sighed. Closing the file on Klingon history she accessed the probe inventory. She could launch some of them to have a clandestine look at the closest of the continents.
The probe launched from the Baffin. Unlike the holograms aboard the ship, its AI was relatively simple. It wouldn't get bored, for a start. It left the Baffin and headed northwards. Two minutes later, it had left the island the ship had crashed on behind.
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