Novan Theory

Posted on Thu Feb 27th, 2025 by Lieutenant Commander Freya Preston & Lieutenant Shral ch'Vyrhor

1,068 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: M01 - The Hooke
Location: Main Bridge, USS Hooke
Timeline: Present

Shral was able to do what the Captain had asked him to do, while standing in for his bridge duties. There was nothing happening, the ship was moving along toward her destination anyway. On the side panel's screen, Shral had his notes from the Academy. It had only been a semester long course on history so finding the notes and his research for the Novans didn't take that long.

Freya wandered the bridge with a cup of coffee in her hand, checking each work station as she walked around, she came to a stop at the tactical station. Freya noticed that Shral seemed to be working on other things while watching the sensor readings and such. She tilted her head slightly, "What are you working on Lieutenant?"

Shral hadn't noticed the Exec until she'd spoken. He didn't bother asking her how long she'd been standing there, "Oh, hello Commander." He replied, "I'm just reviewing my notes to see if there's anything that stands out about the Novans." His time at the Academy had been somewhat difficult, but it hadn't been so difficult that he struggled each day. The class about the different colonies within the Federation was perhaps the most interesting of the ones he'd taken though.

"Oh," Freya replied. She looked around his work station at the screen with his notes on it. "I didn't do so great in any history class I took at the Academy," She frowned. "Have you come across anything of interest yet?"

"Not really," Shral answered, "Most of the notes I have are what everyone already knows, or should know. Terra Nova was settled late in the twenty-first century. Contact was lost with them shortly after the Novans expressed their displeasure with Earth. It would be almost a century later before anyone found out what happened."

He went through his notes, "The planet had been struck by an asteroid, but nobody knows where the asteroid came from, it's always been believed that the asteroid came from within the system and the Novans simply didn't see it when they'd entered the system years earlier. Either way, the Novans were eventually able to get the colony going with the assistance of United Earth and joined the Federation by the end of the twenty-second century."

Freya nodded, "Was there anything major over the last several hundred years?"

Shral shook his head, "Not really anything of note. The Novans wanted to settle the northern continent where the original colony was a few years ago, but the Dominion War started and that became the focus, so any plans were postponed until most recently."

He looked at the Exec, "The only thing that I can find that would potentially be seen as odd, is that the history from the original colony is lost. Beyond what was known by United Earth during that time, there's nothing known about the original colony. We only know about the asteroid hitting the planet because of the radiation and remnants of the asteroid that hit the planet.

"We don't know what the colonists were doing at the time of the asteroid strike, and we don't know if they somehow accidentally caused it to happen. We have only assumed over the years that the asteroid was on a collision course the entire time." Shral pointed out.

Freya raised a brow, "What do you think happened Shral?"

The Andorian laughed somewhat nervously, "I wouldn't dare to speculate, but my history teacher at the time believed the Novans may have activated some sort of object. He always believed that the asteroid should have been detected given how close it was from the time they arrived until the time the asteroid hit the planet. He just lacked any tangible evidence to prove himself right."

"That's an interesting take," Freya replied. "Did he ever say why beyond the detection theory?"

Shral shook his head, "He was a bit of a conspiracy theorist. I don't know if you ever met Lieutenant Commander Tak Cluvirg, Tellarite officer, but he had a number of really strange takes on history."

Freya thought about it for a moment, "I don't think he was instructing at the Academy while I was there. He sounds like an interesting character though. Do you believe the Novans triggered something that destroyed them, and that they simply incorrectly believed Earth to be responsible for it?"

Shral shrugged, "I don't know what I believe Commander, however, I do know that those who survived were told by the adults that Earth was sending more people and it was frowned upon. They could have very easily believed that it was an invasion force, especially if they knew some of the adults had been saber rattling. Either way, I doubt any of the survivors knew that someone had found something to trigger the asteroid strike.

"The most likely reason is the planet gets hit by an asteroid every few hundred years and it was due for a new strike," Shral concluded. He didn't have a tangible reason to believe what the Tellarite Commander had always said during his time at the Academy. "What do you think?"

Freya liked the turnaround play, "I don't know what I think," She answered honestly. "The theory would have some merit if there was tangible evidence to back up the claim. It sounds to me, however, like there isn't evidence to support that though." It had some merit, "Did he have any understanding on how history was lost for the Novans?"

"No," Shral answered, "I just assumed he went along with the traditional accounting for how that happened. The survivors were all very young and had no real understanding of what was going on at the time. They believed they'd been attacked and knowledge was lost to them."

Freya simply nodded, "That's always made sense to most people including modern Novans. The rest of his theory is where I personally draw the line. You're welcome to tell the Captain when you report on it, but I would probably just keep that in my back pocket."

Shral nodded, "I'm probably going to at least let him know. He seems like the type that wants to know every detail no matter how wild it may seem."

Freya smiled warmly, "I won't tell you not to. Please update me if you find anything else of interest," She told him before returning to the chair in the center of the bridge.

 

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