[DCE] HD124284 System Survey

[Planet of Hats]

SUBMITTED: Stardate: 98520.8

FILED BY: CAPT Jadrys Itana

SECURITY: Level 1 - Open

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LOCATION: HD124284
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MISSION: Deep Centaurus Expedition ongoing progress report
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OUTCOME: Stopping for crew leave on a tropical planet, Copernicus made first contact with a ship from the Ustavan Starleague.
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KEY PERSONNEL:

CAPT Jadrys Itana
CMDR Yma Quispe
LCDR Rena Fox
DR Yulia Zvizdaryk

Non-Federation:
CAPT Parth Norra, Ustavan Starleague vessel Tapevan

​NARRATIVE: Our survey into Centaurus took us to the HD124284 star system, en route to our anticipated waypoint at Psi Centauri. Our scans of the system confirmed observations from Starbase 92: A K-type orange dwarf system. The Copernicus confirmed the presence of several planets:

* HD124284 I - J-class hot Jovian, orbiting close to the star.
* HD124284 II - E-class geoplastic planet with significant surface magma; about 0.5 Earth radii.
* An asteroid belt that may have originated from a protoplanet breakup.
* HD124284 III - M-class warm-climate, 77% surface water. About 0.92 Earth radii. Three moons, all small.
* HD124284 IV - K-class with an extremely tenuous atmosphere.
* A second asteroid belt.
* HD124284 V - Class J jovian with a significant ring system.
* HD124284 VI - Class C geoinactive, small radius, somewhat eccentric and elliptical orbit. May have been partially ejected early in system formation.

Our survey concentrated primarily on HD124284 III. Orbital scans revealed a planet with an average temperature estimated in the vicinity of 75.5 F, increasing at the equatorial regions, and a relatively regular orbit leading to minimal seasonal variation - essentially a perpetual summer climate. Scans revealed no sign of sentient life, civilization, structures, alloyed metals or orbital networks, though a significant biomass was detected in the form of both foliage and non-sentient lifeforms. Further samples confirmed the presence of a standard breathable atmosphere and standard tolerable ranges of gravity. I authorized LCDR Fox to prepare a science team to deploy to the surface for further analysis.

The away team's survey confirmed a benign tropical climate, and analysis by Dr. Zvizdaryk and the Medical department confirmed that standard Starfleet away team immunizations were more than sufficient to deal with any extant aerosols or other submicron infectants without issue. Soil, botanical and biological samples were taken for study. The outcomes of these studies will be filed as appendices.

As the surveys continued, Coun. Sudet recommended that the crew take the opportunity for brief shore leave on HD124284, recognizing the Copernicus was missing the Lohlunat Festival this year and many of the crew would benefit from the chance to stretch their legs on shore. Upon review, I authorized the ship to remain in orbit for three days and granted the crew permission to take time to visit a secured area on the surface during off-duty hours, with travel restricted to a warm-climate beach and coastal area confirmed as safe by the science and security teams. The Cetacean Ops teams were also permitted to take leave following a marine probe survey turning up no hostile marine life.

Approximately 39 hours into our layover, the Copernicus delta shift bridge crew alerted the senior staff to another ship entering the system. I assumed command to find the crew had accurately identified a ship of approximately 500 metres length and a displacement and arrangement consistent with a warship, not responding to hails, but bound for the second asteroid belt. The arriving ship soon diverted long-range scans to the Copernicus and changed course to HD124284.

With no contact with the approaching vessel and energy readings suggesting the ship's shields were raised, I made the decision to recall the crew from the planetside within a one-hour window that would provide time for evacuation before the other vessel would reach us. The crew returned to the ship expediently, and the other ship passed through the asteroid belt within 72 minutes before initiating communications.

The unknown ship identified itself as the ULC Tapevan of a political entity identified as the Ustavan Starleague, represented in this instance by a humanoid male identifying himself as Captain Parth Norra. Before we could complete our introductions, Norra stated that the system was subject to the Ustavan Starleague and claimed the Copernicus had committed an unauthorized entry. I identified the vessel and the Federation, and notified Norra that no border buoys had been seen, no border patrol vessels had approached us and our starmaps had no charting of Ustavan space. This seemed to pacify him for the moment, and we were asked to submit to a remote scan for hostile pathogens and contraband. In the interest of avoiding conflict, I permitted the Tapevan to conduct a ship-to-ship scan.

The results of the scan seemed satisfactory, and Captain Norra informed us that the system had been claimed only within the past year under what he called the Extractive Outsourcing Act. I questioned if the Ustavan Starleague was active in other systems in the area, and he answered somewhat indirectly that the USL maintained active offworld industries in "many systems." Further, he noted that many of the systems ahead, including Psi Centauri, are claimed as held territory by the Ustavan Starleague, and transmitted both a basic starmap and a datablock translated to a document identified as the Starleague Traffic Guidelines. These guidelines delineated expected behaviours for ships traveling Ustavan space, particularly a speed limit of Warp 6.7.

While I requested an in-person meeting to make a formal contact, Captain Norra declined, citing "deadlines to meet" and a discomfort in the climate observed aboard the Copernicus, which is apparently not a typical environment for Ustavans. Prior to breaking communication and returning to the asteroid field, Norra transmitted a datapermit that claimed to authorize us to continue to visit HD124284 III for the duration of our shore leave.

With this permit in hand, we resumed the duration of our leave, but continued passive monitoring of the Tapevan from range. We observed the following:

* From surface bioscans and visual observations, the Ustavans are humanoid but appear adapted for a cold-climate, low-light environment. It is likely they had little interest in HD124284 III because its tropical climate would have been visually uncomfortable for them. We observed that all the Ustavans visible on the viewscreen squinted upon initial contact, as though the light level on our bridge was painful to process, though it appears their technology is capable of adapting to filter this through visual contact.
* Ustavan technology is broadly similar to that observed in the automated mining operations in previous systems we visited. Captain Norra did not give us a clear answer as to whether the Ustavans were directly responsible for mining operations that obliterated entire pre-warp civilizations, but we are proceeding with great caution.
* The Tapevan is a highly practical and utilitarian ship design of a technology level consistent with Federation starships of the 2360s or 70s, with a bias towards combat and cargo space. We detected specialized equipment for mineral extraction and collection - two cutting beams were seen deployed, though these appear to have no combat use - as well as significant armour load composed primarily of duritanium polyalloy and rodinium. Weapons signatures are unclear, but we identified at least 18 ports which appeared to be egress hatches for kinetic projectiles and at least four emplacements which appeared to be tetryon-based beam weapons, suggesting a well-armoured ship with a significant projectile armament.
* We observed the Tapevan traveling into the system at Warp 6.7, but the observed power levels - consistent with a matter/antimatter reaction system - suggest Ustavan ships are capable of traveling at higher speeds.
* The Tapevan's activities focused primarily on two larger asteroids containing significant quantities of tantalum and rodinium, which we observed the ship extracting. After about 11.5 hours of our observing passively, the Tapevan reoriented herself to place her stern impulse drive between us and the cargo hold door. We suspect the Ustavans recognized we were continuing to observe them and sought to conceal their activities, though we have no indication of fluctuating power levels or any other signs that something beyond ordinary mining extraction was occurring.

Upon the conclusion of our shore leave window, we transmitted a thank you and farewell to the Tapevan and received no verbal response, only a pulse text transmission reading "Safe travels." Attached was another copy of the Starleague Traffic Guidelines.

Several systems on our itinerary are marked on our starmaps as claimed by the Ustavan Starleague. The Copernicus will maintain silent yellow alert during our travels in the space of this new political entity.
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RECOMMENDATION: No action required.
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OOC: