Beta-Encarta IV was keeping it secrets frustratingly well; as it had done since the relatively early days of the Federation.   It sat there, a mix of swirling pinks, browns and deep reds, a chaotic maelstrom, below which barely anything was known.

Lieutenant Debaere, Chief Science Officer aboard the USS Grus had trying numerous computer simulations with the aim of potentially flying the ship into the planets upper atmosphere and conducting scans.  Sabers’ had done this sort of thing before and successfully surveyed many gas giants and other planets with hazardous atmospheric conditions.  None of the experiments Debaere had conducted had resulted in a better than 73% survival rate for the ship and her crew.

Rightly the Captain had deemed that level to be far too great a risk.  So Debaere’s focus had switched to modifying the ships probes.  The Grus only carried two of them, as scientific study wasn’t a priority on a vessel tasked with security and with limited capacity.  But at least they were the most sophisticated probes currently available to Starfleet.

Lieutenant Lyambo, currently had both hands inside one of the Class 1 probes, which from the outside looked identical to the rest of the Photon Torpedoes stacked around it, within the confines of the Forward Torpedo Bay; basically because that’s what it was, a torpedo packed with scientific equipment rather than carrying a destructive warhead.

Chief Petty Officer Thomas Lose, whose domain this typical was, handed the Namibian born Chief Engineer the small welding torch Dinari would need to hold in place the device he’d just installed, Lose had served aboard a number of ships, the last of which had been the USS Jaxartes, as the ships sole Torpedo Officer, making sure that when the Tactical Officer fired a torpedo, that’s what indeed happened.

He was there to fix faults in a hurry, and in extreme cases, operate the torpedo loading and firing system, manually.  The Torpedo Bay of the Grus, was a lot more technically sophisticated, and even though problems were rare, someone was still needed to watch over everything.  Lose would need to load the probe into the firing chamber manually, as it wasn’t on any of the four rakes ready with Photon or Quantum Torpedoes.  Six of each was currently in position to be loaded and fired at a moment’s notice.

“Right, there we go.” Lyambo finally said in triumph bringing his hand out of the lozenge shaped cylinder.  “That little thing should more than double the probes shielding.”

“And you think this will help it survive longer than previous attempts?”  Lose asked passing the Chief Engineer the section of casing they’d removed to get inside.

“I’m hopeful.” Lyambo replied.  “But that planet loves to keep its secrets.”

The pair of them secured the casing and pushed the trolley the probe sat on, over to the launch tube.  A quick tap on the controls and the door moved up and away, allowing for two clamps to attach themselves to the probe and load it into the tube itself.

Once satisfied everything had gone smoothly, Lose contacted the Bridge.  “This is the Forward Torpedo Bay; the probe is loaded and ready to fire at your discretion.”

He received an acknowledgement from Ensign Tholakath on the Bridge and waited for the sounds and lights which would indicate a successful launch.

**********

“Probe away.” The Cardassian confirmed.  “On track and sending back full telemetry.”

“Confirmed.”  Lieutenant Debaere added from the science station. “I’m receiving preliminary data from the probe; entering the atmosphere in twelve seconds.”

The Chief Science Officer watched the data scroll up on the two screens before him.  He wouldn’t be able to read everything it told him now, but he’d have plenty of time to study it later in detail.  The information it providing changed rapidly as the probe penetrated the outer layer of the planet’s atmosphere, before grazing the next layer below.

It was all over in a matter of seconds; despite the Chief Engineers best efforts, the probe had only lasted 23 seconds within the planet’s atmosphere; before being crushed by the phenomenal pressure.

Debaere sat back in his chair and let out a long slow breathe; the shops computer still catching up on all the information it had been sent, in those few short moments.  “Probe transmission ceased at 15:27.”

Lieutenant-Commander Vought turned his head to look back at his CSO.  “Anything useful amongst that data you’ve gathered?”

“It’s too early for me to tell Captain.” The lieutenant replied.  “It’s going to take a while to sift through all this and see if our efforts have unearthed anything new.”

“Fair enough Lieutenant,  just let me know of your findings.”  Vought turned back towards Lieutenant Stuart.  “Helm, bring us back on our heading to Skoni, Full Impulse.”

“Aye captain, course laid in.” She replied as her fingers danced across the control surface.

“Engage.”

The journey at sub-light was going to take the USS Grus a fraction under four hours to complete, but there was no real need to make a Warp jump other such a relative short distance; unless an emergency cropped up.  These last few days since the patrol had begun, had been quiet; in some respects to quiet.

Chance sat back in his Captains chair, looking around at the Bridge Officers going about their various tasks.  Other than Lieutenant Debaere, they’d been a team, working together through tough times and some of the hardest situations any crew had been put through during this fledgling century.

There was something odd about his First Officer Lieutenant JG Jason Devron.  Yes he was a perfectly capable officer, and his previous commanding officer had help rein in the head strong mentality he had; which had clearly made him even better at his job.

The last mission of the USS Jaxartes, was shrouded in mystery, and that uncertainty was something Chance didn’t like.  He wanted to trust his XO and those that had served with him completely; after all they made up around a quarter of this ships current complement.  Of cause he’d asked, and been given the same story. He just wasn’t buying it.  Stars just didn’t appear from nothing; but then there it was, carrying the first name of their doctor; Phoebe, in the area of space, previously known as Harpers Rift.

Did Devron or any of his shipmates know the Jaxartes and been pulled from active service?  Considering the ship had received a refit running from the end of 2400 through to the second week in January 2401, it seemed on odd decision to remove that particular ship.  Then again baffling choices made by those in command were nothing new.

Chance just couldn’t help wondering if everything was somehow connected, or was it that he was just still jumpy and paranoid after Frontier Day?