[DCE] Veithal

[Planet of Hats]

SUBMITTED: Stardate: 98594.7

FILED BY: CAPT Jadrys Itana

SECURITY: Level 1 - Open

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LOCATION: Veithal system
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MISSION: Continuing Deep Copernicus Expedition initiative.
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OUTCOME: A detected subspace signature is pinpointed to the discovery of a remarkable free-floating world.
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KEY PERSONNEL:

CAPT Jadrys Itana
LCDR Rena Fox
LT Nazona Liell
LT Cassiopeia Huynh
LTJG Telyn Vaxa
LTJG Njalu Neto
PO2C Dazr

​NARRATIVE: Following up on the subspace signatures detected during our stopover in Tadresta, I directed the Copernicus towards the source of the signals. The origin point was identified by long-range sensors as a rogue planet not previously detected by the Lyonesse Observatory or other regional deep space scans. We have classified the planet as DCE-244, though we now know the planet to be named Veithal.

As we entered closer range, we identified a number of remarkable features. Veithal is a planet of approximately 1.06 Minshara standard radii, with significant concentrations of dilithium detectable in the mantle. Unusually, the planet maintains both an atmosphere and liquid water oceans as well as an orbiting natural satellite of approximately 1,600 kilometres in diameter. Initially we estimated the planet's diameter to be significantly larger, but further scans revealed that much of this estimated diameter was accounted for by its atmosphere, consisting mostly of hydrogen and extending nearly 6,000 kilometres from the planet's surface at its highest charted extent. Further, our scans through the atmosphere revealed an extensive network of active non-sentient lifesigns, extensive liquid water coverage across approximately 85% of the planetary surface, and dense foliage covering much of the exposed rock. Sensors continued to detect a subspace signal emanating from the planet itself, which we were able to pinpoint to a spot somewhere near the equator; however, atmospheric scattering prevented a closer lock.

I ordered an away team to take the flyer Ptolemy into the atmosphere and investigate the planet further. A team consisting of LCDR Fox, LT Liell, LTJG Neto and PO2C Dazr dispatched towards the area of the detected signatures and entered the atmosphere, successfully navigating significant hydrogen turbulence. Scans of the planet revealed a dimly-lit world characterized by plant life adapted with various degrees of bioluminescence, most of it not particularly tall, but rather dense and concentrated in thick colonies close to ground-level nutrients, with virtually no biosigns detected at higher elevations. What little starlight enters Veithal's atmosphere undergoes scattering to create a subtle luminosity in the sky, though this appears mostly like a diffuse twilight.

At the lower levels of the atmosphere, the Ptolemy was able to isolate the source of the signatures to an island centred along the planet's equator. Unable to locate suitably level landing ground, the Flyer crew remained in hover mode just off the island's shore. LT Liell remained aboard while LCDR Fox, LTJG Neto and PO2C Dazr equipped environmental suits and beamed into the vicinity of the signal. While the island was not large, it was fairly rocky and heavily overgrown with bioluminescent foliage, in which the away team observed lifeforms of a mostly arthropodal nature.

The away team soon discovered an artificial structure composed primarily of duratanium and tetraburnium framing supporting stone, though it appeared to be millennia old and heavily overgrown by bioluminescent vines. Through LTJG Neto's efforts, the away team was able to gain access to the interior of the structure by cutting away the oxidized remains of an access hatch, which opened onto what appeared to be a small control room with several banks of consoles and monitors. To the surprise of the team, some of these consoles remained in standby mode and demonstrated an active power source, which LCDR Fox and LTJG Neto identified as drawing power from the source of the signals: A still-active reactor buried beneath the island, drawing power from an artificial quantum singularity.

LCDR Fox identified the need for assistance in gathering further data. With the aid of pattern enhancers, chief engineer LT Huynh beamed down to assist the team in bringing the standby consoles online. Translator data revealed the reason the subspace signature appeared abruptly during our visit to Tadresta: The computerized systems regulating the output of the singularity had decayed sufficiently that containment fluctuated on and off. LT Huynh identified that not stabilizing the containment system would ultimately result in the singularity expanding and imploding the planetoid.

With this in mind, I weighed the alternatives and ultimately gave the away team the go-ahead to stabilize the singularity. At this time, I joined the team planetside to assist with this process. Through our collective efforts, we were able to identify a series of secondary relays and reconnect them to the network via the installation of an EPS cable affixed between two elements of the system which had lost contact some time prior. We verified system compatibility and activated the secondary relays, and PO2C Dazr confirmed the singularity's output had stabilized and containment had been restored.

The restoration of containment allowed us to bring several additional elements of the facility's computer systems online. The most notable of these was a log entry from a female of a humanoid race, transcribed here as follows:

"To whomever finds this entry, please know that this place was once our home - Veithal. Billions of us lived and loved here. There was a time when we looked to a sky filled by a great yellow sun. That changed thousands of years ago. We knew our homeworld would be ejected into space when our star passed close to a brown dwarf. We prepared for centuries. When it finally happened, we'd created... what you see here. Our climate sustainability system, designed to preserve the atmosphere and gravity of Veithal even in the dark of space. We created satellites to light the planet and generators to gradually terraform the world to adapt to the void. But we could never replace an entire sun. Nothing could. So people... left. Understandably. By now I hope they've found a new world somewhere. The ones that could survive, anyway. There were only a few of us left to try and keep our home alive... and even those have begun to pass, or leave for new stars. I'm the only one left now. To whoever you are... if you ever come across a planet of people who look like me, who share my appearance and features, please, give them this message. Tell them that Veithal sleeps in peace, and that I've done all I can do to keep our home alive, even if I'm the last pair of Veithelin eyes that will see it. Signing off, Acting Climate Control Manager Thiess Arith."

Manager Arith's console contained not only a wealth of technical data on the astonishing climate control systems implemented by the Veithelins to maintain a livable atmosphere on the world, but an enormous database of cultural information, packaged in the form of a "time capsule" and evidently designed to preserve the memory of the Veithelin society. We returned to the Copernicus with the data, much of which could be visualized on the holodeck.

Our team convened on Holodeck 3 to load Manager Arith's time capsule. We were shown incredibly detailed images of large cities of a technology level consistent with the Federation of the 23rd century, demonstrating a time lapse which displayed the cities both illuminated by a G-type star and later by an orbital array. Astonishingly, the planet's atmospheric composition changed very little through these images, and the biometric data left by Arith confirmed that the Veithelins were a hydrogen-breathing species which had always subsisted in these conditions. Her images further demonstrated a large mountain in the northern hemisphere, showing a steady receding of the treeline and a slow die-off of taller trees as the planet receded from its sun. Further holo-images demonstrated popular media from the Veithelin civilization - apparently ground-effect vehicle racing was popular among them - as well as scenes from what appeared to be a democratic republican style of government.

We are continuing to study the data from Manager Arith's console. The data retrieved by LT Huynh is extensive and will take time to analyze. We are transmitting copies of the database back to Starbase 91 and will coordinate our analysis efforts.

What is clear is that the efforts taken by the Veithelins to preserve the livability of Veithal in the wake of the stellar encounter are astonishing. LTJG Vaxa tracked the trajectory of the planet against star charts left by Arith and, accounting for stellar drift, it appears that Veithal was ejected from a star system approximately nine light years distant - the star system FGC-4443, a G-type star system. Long-range scans reveal the star's gravitational attraction has captured the brown dwarf, FGC-4443-B, and pulled it into a highly eccentric orbit. LTJG Vaxa concluded that Veithal was ejected from its home system approximately 3,800 years ago. Manager Arith's log is dated to roughly Terran year 1443 AD, suggesting the Veithelins were able to survive for at least 2,800 years without a sun. The climate engineering that went into maintaining their planet's livable state defies imagination.

Further survey of the planet has revealed the highly degraded remains of cities and highway networks, much of them lost to weathering and plant overgrowth. We have also discovered the remains of at least one weather control satellite impacted on a mountainside, and there appear to be several moon-based generators in place, all inactive. The Copernicus does not have the wherewithal to conduct a full survey, given the first-line survey nature of our mission, but I recommend Starbase 91 dispatch a vessel to conduct an in-depth study of this unique world.

We will be alert for signs of successor cultures to the Veithelins as we go forward. Manager Arith's data did not indicate destination points for populations leaving Veithal, but we have biometric data on the species available in the event we locate descendant populations.
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RECOMMENDATION: Dispatch a full scientific expedition to Veithal to further explore both the society here and the incredible weather control technology utilized to maintain livable conditions on an inhabited rogue planet.
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