Library Computer Access & Retrieval System [LCARS]
United Federation of Planets - Memory Alpha Historical Archives
Starfleet Command Approved
Chief Records Officer Edgar Lacy Plummer Reporting...
Captain's Log, Stardate 42609.1: In response to a desperate plea from my old friend Captain Donald Varley of the U.S.S. Yamato, I am running a grave risk by taking the Enterprise into the neutral zone. Varleys request was prompted by dangerous malfunctions which have been plaguing out sister ship. Perhaps with both crews working together we can eliminate the problems before our presence is detected by the Romulans?
Captain's Log, Supplemental: The Yamato's entire crew and their families, more than a thousand people, have been lost. Circumstances unfortunately, permit us no pulse for grief.
Chief Engineer LaForge's Report on the Yamato's Destruction:
Sensors revealed that what we witnessed was an uncontrolled and catastrophic matter and antimatter mix. The magnetic seals between the chambers collapsed.
In the event of a breach in seal integrity, there is an emergency release system that "dumps" the antimatter. Apparently such a "dump" began and then was halted and the containment seals were dropped. There was still sufficient antimatter present to lead to an explosion.
Conclusion, how ever it happened, the Yamato did it to herself. I think that Captain Varley may have been right, there maybe a design flaw? A Galaxy class starship is the most sophisticated piece of machinery we have ever built, something could have been over-looked?
Excerpt From The Yamato Flight Logs by Captain Donald Varley:
Personal Log: It was kind of Doctor Ramsey to allow me to carry away my own little piece of the legend from the archaeological dig at Denius III. My engineers have examined it, but are completely baffled by its technology. What was its purpose? I am like a cave man confronted by a tricorder. I am certain this device is Iconian, but how far did it travel before it was abandoned on this...alien world?
Personal Log: A galactic "rosetta stone". The starfields on the artifact were unintelligible, until I took into account two hundred mellenia of stellar drift. After that it was easy to pinpoint Iconia.
My First Officer is questioning my orders to violate the Neutral Zone. But I am convinced that I have taken the only proper course. Should this advanced technology fall into the hands of the Romulans we might as well dock our ships and defend ourselves with sticks?
Personal Log: We have been spotted by a Romulan cruiser but after playing hide-and-seek through several solar systems, I think I have managed to elude them?
The Iconian probe scan. Was it an attempt at communication? If only I knew what we were dealing with here?
Personal Log: I am unable to send an away team to the surface of Iconia nor can I scan the energy sources on the planet because of these maddening systems failures. It is infuriating to be stopped at the threshold of a dream by one's own ship. We are leaving orbit to rendezvous with Picard, if his people can't help us repair the Yamato? I must convince him to continue this exploration. The future well being of the Federation may well depend upon it?
Iconia:
Coordinates 227 Mark 358, Planet II.
The Iconians were long thought to be just a myth, no the Iconians are certainly real. We know that three systems within this sector had a number of cultural similarities, similarities that could only be explained by there being a single unifying influence. These worlds were either colonized or probably conquered by the Iconians?
The Iconians were believed to be warlike. Ancient texts did speak of "Demons of Air and Darkness" when referring to the Iconians. Legend has it that they traveled without the benefit of spaceships, merely appearing out of thin air on distant planets.
Captain's Log, Supplemental: As happened with our sister ship, the Enterprise is beginning to experience a series of system failures. So far, they are random, but I fear they could be early symptoms of what happened to the Yamato?
Chief Engineer's Log, Supplemental: Chief LaForge Reporting... I have been reviewing the Yamatos logs and I believe that that alien probe may have had something to do with their problems.
Data's Scan Of Iconia Results:
No life form readings. All major cities have been heavily damaged an the pattern of destruction is consistent with that of large scale orbital bombardment, Approximately two hundred thousand years ago.
There is an energy source in the mountains of the smaller continent.
Chief Engineer's Log, Supplemental: Chief LaForge Reporting... That probe was a transmitter sending an alien computer program. The same program that is currently aboard the Enterprise trying to rewrite our software in its own image. We have two completely different computer systems trying to interact.
Riker: "Fate - Its protects fools, little children and ships named Enterprise."
Captain's Log, Supplemental: While there is little left on the surface of Iconia, we have found what appears to be a control center. Which seems to have remained intact?
Away Team Findings:
The Iconian language is similar to Dinassian and Iccobar, they could be branches of the same language family beginning with Iconian?
Iconian is the parent tongue of a language family which consists of Iccobar, Dewan and Dinassian.
"Demons of Air and Darkness", indeed. On Iconia we discovered a gateway portal technology. Is this how the Iconians traveled, crossing light years as easily as we would cross a room? Those places could be on distant planets in the galaxy?
I think that the Iconians might have out foxed their enemies. Maybe they all didn't die in the bombardment, some of them could have escaped through the portal?
This is what Varley feared, this is what he died for. The Romulans could use this technology as a weapon?
There is nothing in the unit to indicate that it was used as a military command center, more of a "transporter room". The Iconians have been referred to as conquerors, but that knowledge has been passed down by descendants of those who attacked this world, the victors invariably write the history to their own advantage.
It's possible that their enemies confronted by this technology, were driven to attack the Iconians out of fear? Consider this, with the portal technology, one could simply "beam" and army onto any planet or building through shields and stone or simply send in a bomb to eradicate ones enemy out right. There would be no way to detect or defend against such an attack?
Chief Engineers Log, Supplemental: The only way to save the Enterprise is to effective shut down the entire ship, purge the database and reload ships data from the archives and restart the ship's systems. In effect, rebooting the ship.
Status: Closed.
Contagion / Iconians
