Two weeks ago, I reported that a Federation (non-Starfleet) scout vessel returned from the Gamma Quadrant with the news that they had discovered a complete copy of Earth’s solar system, ten light years from the GQ side of the wormhole. The Earth of that duplicate solar system appears to believe that their current year is 2023, and historic evidence was discovered suggesting that a genetics-driven war recently engulfed the planet (within the last two decades). Limited-range sub-light vessels were seen operating in the system as well, confirming that “Earth 2” is a pre-warp civilization, and, therefore, protected by our Prime Directive.
Yesterday, Captain Riker authorized a covert (non-interference) recon mission into the Gamma Quadrant, to gather additional intel on Earth 2. The mission will be conducted by a Starfleet crew aboard the runabout, USS Rio Grande, and it will take a month and a half to complete (since runabouts are limited to warp 5, and it will take 18 days to travel the ten light years to get there).
Since this is an observation mission, to a pre-warp star system, the Rio Grande will be sprayed with a situational reflective coating of Tetronalyde, that can be activated by polarizing the runabout’s outer hull. This will render the runabout invisible to visual detection – the predominant detection capabilities of the Earth 2 pre-warp technology. Additional features are also being installed to further minimize detection, according to the older technology in use. Please note, however, that this is not a modern cloaking feature; it does not render the Rio Grande invisible to modern sensors.
This recon mission will be launched in early February, with crew selection yet to be announced. The science-oriented Rio Grande will be outfitted to carry 4-5 mission personnel.
-Lieutenant Commander Sam Archer
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January 25, 2370 – (Devron Timeline 3.0)
Enterprise Station :: Public Affairs Office :: 2370