Log of the Month

The cylindrical device sat on a diagnostics table, the black of the device a sharp contrast to the greyish-green of the table. All around, bulky fighters sat quiet on their docking pads. The symbol of the Klingon Empire adorned the room and the fighters. A shuttle near the device was being powered down by the support engineers. Captain Veqlargh stood over the device, an analyzing stare piercing through the black metal and into the heart of the machine.

"Well, there is a forcefield shielding the inner circuitry, we will need to bypass it in order figure out how this thing works." Avarek commented, "I would use an energy dampening field, or a field inhibitor, but that may just trigger a failsafe and kill us both, then the device may turn us into those walking dead."

"The other warriors who were victorious on the surface call them the jachlom --the 'wailing dead'." Veqlargh commented, "if we can control this device to our purposes, however, we may have some jachlom of our own."

"So far any attempts to slow down the rate of information from this device have failed, and any attempts to speed up our own computer seems to yield the same results." Avarek shook his head, "It just seems to be incompatible." With a sharp growl, Avarek brought his fists to bear on the table in front of him.

"We've been attempting to use brute force to figure out a way to get at the innards of the device. Yet we have completely forgotten the one piece of equipment we can get at."

Seeing his engineer's puzzled expression he motioned toward the console lying on the table, next to the main device.

Veqlargh added with a toothy smile, "We can get at the console. We can safely attach it and detatch it whenever we want. If we can't get at the innards of the device, then why not try to get at the innards of the console. Once we have it open we can figure out how it works and try to devise a piece of hardware around that which will allow us to slow the display down. It'll be long hours and several days, but I think that is our best option at the moment. Besides we appear to have plenty of time."

Several hours were spent pulling the console apart in Engineering. The device delivered information at a speed unreadable or comprehensible by Klingon eyes and machines. The console was the key. A device could be attached to the console that would interpret and route the data, translate it and display it a a speed and level that would be readable and display it on the console.

Veqlargh found Avarek in Engineering working on the final tests for the multiplexer array. The Nain device sat in the shadow of the primary warp core, workbenches nearby looked over by engineers, Terrans and Klingons alike. Avarek, sweat on his brow and circles under his eyes, sat on a stool at the modified console now attached to the device.

"Torres spent half the night working the engineers of beta shift to finish before morning. The surgeon will likewise be busy with the injuries. We managed to create a matrices that will convert the data from the Quantum computer to the isolinear systems on the maQmIgh." Avarek put his hand on the instrument on the side of the console, the casing was obviously Klingon in origin, but the display was a Federation analysis and decryption module. "It was not easy designing the module, and there were some complications in the process."

"The taHqeqjan'jay has secrets, HoD." Avarek cautioned. "Early this morning, I was analyzing an interface casing and noticed another beneath it. I scanned the casing and found circuitry within it and when I removed it, a light optical cable connected it with the interfacer. I believe the casing I analyzed was a decoy, a false connection, that when activated it sent an activation signal to the device."

"Indeed. When I initialized the circuitry, the device made a light click and whirring sound. Quickly I finished my work and we activated the module. After running through a query on the system we found an obscure reference to the specific part and how to send another signal to deactivate the triggered mechanism."

"I do not know. We believe we stopped whatever program we activated, but I do not know what the results would have been. I also discovered from the Nain system that there are 34 other such direct single signal links on the surface of the device and another within the console. Also, if the console were activated in an improper way, another such mechanism would be triggered as before."

"I suppose it is not surprising that the Nain have such possible security precautions for unauthorized access to their device."

"The cowards booby-trapped the damn thing to keep our claws off it." Avarek said gnashing his teeth and curling up his lip.

"Yes HoD, but I recommend that we proceed with extreme caution, this device is far more volatile than I thought."

"Certainly. One of the ISC corpses from the surface has already been set up in a containment field in the science lab. We are prepared to beam the device into the field and activate it."

The science lab was cold and sterile, rarely used in these times of war. A body lay on the floor in the center of the room, the empty shell of a Pronhoulite pacification trooper had been dead for a long time ,but the smell was contained in a force field. In side the field, the Nain device had been materialized, the modified console for the device laying on a workbench outside the field.

"The device is sending out nano-probes with each of those pulses. The force field is registering tiny impacts throughout."

The corpse lashed out violently in every direction, kicking and thrashing its arms for a few moments and then became still. It sprung to its feet and slowly looked around the room at the officers standing nearby. It hurled itself at them, making contact with the field and sending the animated corpse to the floor. The saurion creature let out a terrible shriek as it landed.

"A number of these nano-probes are capable of burrowing into the cerebellum, forming a small cluster inside and sending out sythetic neuro-electrical signals."

"Not quite. The clusters need the surrounding tissue to create the chemicals needed, basically eating away at the skin, bone, and muscle until the body can no longer function at all and the cluster disintegrates. But because the sythetic chemicals are much weaker than natural impules, the animated corpse moves and reacts slowly. This also makes it impossible for the sythetic impulses to override an active brain, a living one." Avarek explained as the jachlom once again threw itself at the force field.

"These Nain are a clever and innovative group. It shall be a great honor killing ever one of them with their own device."

"My engineers and some of the scientists will have to analyze this further, but I'm sure we'll decypher all of its many secrets."

We have infiltrated a borg infested ship. We are using to attack a warp gate. Currently we have had no trouble on the ship but I remain ever watchful for trouble.