D) Physical Structure

  At this point in our observations we have determined that the average Orishan (see holographic representation) stands roughly two meters tall and has six extremities-two legs and four upper arms, two on either side of its body. Like other insectoids, they seem possessed of a durable exoskeleton and sensory organs that include a set of antennae set on their heads above their four faceted eyes.

  It is possible that this species has specialized representatives-hunters, workers, breeders, etc., each with variant characteristics-but at this time we have seen no evidence of this.

  E) Addenda

  They seem wholly uninterested in the universe at large or even in the local bodies and idiosyncrasies of their own system. All their attention seems focused on maintaining perfect piety in the eyes of their deity or, in this case, the Eye.

  The Eye of Erykon is the dominant symbol of this culture, and while we are not yet sure of its full significance, it is clear that the Orishans believe the Eye to be a physical manifestation of some sort, capable of inflicting apocalyptic damage upon their civilization should some aspect be found wanting.

  They have no artificial communication devices in orbit and seem to have organized themselves into hive-like cities of various sizes. There is no indication that they have developed any vehicle or technology capable of reaching much less traveling in space. They are simply not interested in anything outside their religious construct of the universe.

   RECOMMENDATIONS:

  The Orishans, stated, are not truly xenophobic, only intensely insular. Their single driving ethos seems so far to be worship of Erykon and fear of this so-called Eye.

  Under normal circumstances I would advise we bypass this planet or, at most, leave a clandestine observation team behind according to the “duck blind” scenario, to get a better idea of how well they will handle a true First Contact situation.

  Of course, these are not normal circumstances, so the expected recommendations do not apply. We will have to improvise something.

  Filed on Stardate 58443.7 by Commander Deanna Troi, Diplomatic Officer, U.S.S. TITAN

  DISTRIBUTION: Capt. W.T. Riker; Cmdr. C.J. Vale; Cmdr. Tuvok; Cmdr. S.Y.E. Ree, Cmdr. Jaza N.; Lt. Cmdr. R. Keru, Cmdr. X. Ra-Havreii, inclusive.

  “Wait a minute,” said Vale, looking up from the padd in disbelief. “You’re saying these people are in the process of developing warp technology, but they don’t plan to use it for space travel?”

  “That seems to be the case,” said Troi. “They’re extremely insular, and while they are aware of the larger universe and the possibility of alien intelligence, they have no interest in exploration.”

  It was obvious that no one in the room was happy with this news, least of all Captain Riker. His eyes had taken on a hooded, steely quality, the one he generally reserved for facing down opponents in contests of resolve.

  Troi didn’t need her telepathy or her telempathy to know what he was thinking. Starfleet’s Prime Directive was in danger of dropping down on their plans with the force of an archaic firewall.

   Will?she touched his mind tentatively, nervous after their long weeks on opposite sides of the chasm.

  He blocked her, as had become his custom, keeping her probing mind out of even the shallows of his, just as completely as he had on every other recent occasion.

  It was as if he’d shut his mental door, boarded it up, and painted do not enter in large garish letters across its face.

  Behind that door, as the briefing continued, Riker’s mind flickered like lightning between the regulations, searching for any loophole or exception, anything that would allow them to save their lives without risking the Orishans’ natural development.

  “Are we absolutely certain of these findings?” he asked at length.

  “Thus far the data seem to indicate a uniform cultural viewpoint, sir,” said Tuvok. “They are not truly xenophobic so much as intensely pious and self-focused.”

  “Granted, we’ve only deciphered about a tenth of what’s been culled from their transmissions, Captain,” said Troi.

  “I’m still bothered by the fact that there was so much signal compression,” said Jaza. “There’s some missing piece here that I don’t understand.”

  “We can ask the Orishans about it, maybe,” said Modan. “Once we contact them.”

  The rest of the news, including the revelations about the Orishans, was pretty bleak.

  Science and engineering had done what they could to get Titanmoving again, which, as it turned out, wasn’t much.

  Power held steady at just above forty percent, allowing the crew to resume a version of normalcy, but Titanwas still becalmed, as Riker had put it.

  The quantum distortion that surrounded them continued to prevent the shields from achieving full strength and the phasers from initializing. It also prevented any motion beyond the herky-jerky one hundred meter lurches that so distressed Ensign Lavena and currently kept Xin Ra-Havreii cloistered away in his quarters.

  When he’d reconvened his staff, Riker had hoped to be presented with more than just a few more scraps of cultural data. There was something about the Orishans that made him nervous, though he couldn’t yet say why.

  Cultural myopia wasn’t unusual, even in known space. In fact, out-and-out xenophobia was common. The Organians, the Melkotians, even the Daledians had all taken the protection of their privacy to what seemed to many to be insane extremes. But these sorts of cultures, when they developed warp tech, either exploited it for limited space travel or, as with the Organians, had no use for it at all.

  Beings from a culture that avoided the sky but wielded a technology with that much destructive potential had to be handled with extreme delicacy if they were handled at all.

  “Why would one develop warp technology if not to move between worlds?” asked Dr. Ree.

  “Power,” said Jaza. “A stable warp reactor generates a considerable amount of energy. A single rudimentary device could power an entire planetary culture for centuries.”

  “Wow,” said Vale. “Why haven’t I ever heard of anyone using warp generators that way?”

  “It’s too dangerous,” said Jaza. “Creating a warp field inside a planet’s atmosphere and having it destabilize could have catastrophic effects, and perhaps not confined to the planet.”

  “That’s if things go wrong,” said Ra-Havreii. “If they continue using their device without trouble, Titanwill be trapped here indefinitely.”

   Indefinitely. It might as well mean infinitely. The same conditions that prevented Titanfrom regaining power, from sparking the warp core, from using nearly any of its energy-based systems were the same ones that prevented them from scanning the area for their missing sister ship or contacting it even if they should succeed in finding it.

  “I have the beginnings of a notion about the warp core, Captain,” said Ra-Havreii thoughtfully, after the silence stretched too far. “And another about, perhaps, using the shuttles to tow us free of the affected area.”

  “The problem with that idea,” Jaza said, “is that the second the shuttles launch, they’ll be subjected to the distortion effect. They’ll be just as becalmed as we are.”

  “Can we contact the Orishans by subspace?” said Vale. “Just let them know there’s somebody up here who needs them to hold off their experiments for a while?”

  “Not at the present time, Commander,” said Tuvok. “The distortion effect, though somewhat weaker around the planet Orisha, is also in a more pronounced state of flux. While their signals seem capable of bleeding into open space, Titanlacks both the technology and the power to punch through the flux from the outside.”