| rdfs:comment
| - In comparison with the Earth Spacedock it passed by at rather close range, the Whale Probe's estimated length was in the vicinity of 70 kilometers – one of the largest space vessels ever encountered by Starfleet. First Contact with the probe by a Federation starship was made by the USS Saratoga while patrolling the Neutral Zone. The Saratoga was disabled by the probe's powerful communication, as were at least seven other vessels along the probe's route to Earth, including the starships USS Yorktown and USS Shepard, and two Klingon vessels. USS Saratoga's scan analysisAfter disabling Earth Spacedock and the prototype USS Excelsior, the Probe settled over the planet, directing its communications attempts towards its oceans. When it received no response, the Probe began vaporizing Earth's oce
- At least eight vessels, including the USS Saratoga, USS Yorktown, USS Shepard, and two Klingon vessels, were disabled on the probe's way to Earth. There, it disabled Earth Spacedock and settled over the planet with intentions on communicating with the Earth's whale species.When the probe received what it was looking for, it retreated back into deep space. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
- Dwarfing a Federation Miranda-class starship and even the Earth Spacedock, the Whale Probe was cylindrical in shape, and carried a small deployable sphere normally stowed internally at the front. This sphere was physically detached from the Probe while in use, but connected to it by an energy beam. The sphere's purpose was that of a communications device. It apparently served to broadcast the message of the Probe, but had the side effect of causing virtually any device that used energy to function to lose its power. It was also capable of ionizing planetary atmospheres, seemingly as another unintended side effect. In comparison with the spacedock it passed at rather close range, the Whale Probe's estimated length was in the vicinity of seventy kilometers – one of the largest space vessels
|
| abstract
| - Dwarfing a Federation Miranda-class starship and even the Earth Spacedock, the Whale Probe was cylindrical in shape, and carried a small deployable sphere normally stowed internally at the front. This sphere was physically detached from the Probe while in use, but connected to it by an energy beam. The sphere's purpose was that of a communications device. It apparently served to broadcast the message of the Probe, but had the side effect of causing virtually any device that used energy to function to lose its power. It was also capable of ionizing planetary atmospheres, seemingly as another unintended side effect. In comparison with the spacedock it passed at rather close range, the Whale Probe's estimated length was in the vicinity of seventy kilometers – one of the largest space vessels ever encountered by Starfleet, and potentially second only to V'ger in size. First Contact with the Probe by a Federation starship was made by the USS Saratoga while patrolling the Neutral Zone. The Saratoga was disabled by the probe's powerful communication, as were at least seven other vessels along the probe's route to Earth, including the starships USS Yorktown and USS Shepard, and two Klingon vessels. The ships did not recover from their neutralized states even after the Probe had continued on, beyond their ranges. After disabling Spacedock and the prototype USS Excelsior, the Probe settled over the planet and directed its transmissions towards its oceans. The sheer amount of energy contained in the broadcast began to vaporize Earth's oceans and ionize the atmosphere, creating a catastrophically thick cloud layer over the entire planet. As all planetary power sources began to fail, the Federation President was forced to send out a planetary distress signal, which was picked up by Admiral Kirk, aboard the "HMS Bounty", a captured Klingon Bird-of-Prey. Spock, also aboard, noted that the transmission appeared to have been intentionally directed at Earth's oceans, and theorized that the message may have been intended for some aquatic creature. After listening to what the Probe's transmission sounded like under water, it was discovered to be identical to the sounds produced by an extinct cetacean species called the humpback whale. Spock theorized that the Probe had been sent by some unknown group that had once been in contact with whales, who had sent the Probe after the whales went extinct to find out why contact had been lost. Destroying the probe appeared to be out of the question, as any vessel that went anywhere near it immediately lost power. As such, it was determined that the only way to save the Earth was to respond to the Probe and hope that it would leave once it had made contact with its intended target. However, with no whales left on Earth, there was no way to accurately respond to the Probe, as simply replicating the sounds made by humpback whales would have been useless without knowledge of what they meant. Kirk determined that the only way to stop the probe was to find some humpbacks who could answer it. Consequently, the Bounty was taken into the past via the slingshot effect, and successfully retrieved two of the species from 1986. Returning to the time shortly after the probe's arrival in 2286, the two whales were able to respond to the probe's call, and it departed for an unknown destination, restoring power to the vessels it disabled along the way. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
- In comparison with the Earth Spacedock it passed by at rather close range, the Whale Probe's estimated length was in the vicinity of 70 kilometers – one of the largest space vessels ever encountered by Starfleet. First Contact with the probe by a Federation starship was made by the USS Saratoga while patrolling the Neutral Zone. The Saratoga was disabled by the probe's powerful communication, as were at least seven other vessels along the probe's route to Earth, including the starships USS Yorktown and USS Shepard, and two Klingon vessels. USS Saratoga's scan analysisAfter disabling Earth Spacedock and the prototype USS Excelsior, the Probe settled over the planet, directing its communications attempts towards its oceans. When it received no response, the Probe began vaporizing Earth's oceans, creating an impenetrable cloud cover over the planet, causing surface temperatures to plummet rapidly. The Federation President was forced to send out a planetary distress signal, which was picked up by Admiral Kirk, aboard the "HMS Bounty", a captured Klingon Bird-of-Prey. Spock, also on board, quickly established that the probe's call was intended for the extinct cetacean species of humpback whale; Spock theorized that some other species had once been in contact with whales, and had sent the probe after the species went extinct to find out why they had lost contact.Since destroying the probe wasn't possible, and they would be unable to communicate with the probe itself due to their ignorance of the whale "language" even if they could duplicate the sounds, Kirk determined that the only way to stop the probe was to find some humpbacks who could answer it. Consequently, the Bounty was taken into the past via the slingshot effect, and successfully retrieved two of the species from 1986. Returning to Earth, the two whales were able to respond to the probe's call, and it departed for an unknown destination, restoring power to the vessels it disabled along the way.
- At least eight vessels, including the USS Saratoga, USS Yorktown, USS Shepard, and two Klingon vessels, were disabled on the probe's way to Earth. There, it disabled Earth Spacedock and settled over the planet with intentions on communicating with the Earth's whale species.When the probe received what it was looking for, it retreated back into deep space. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) Before retreating, Section 31 had a cloaked vessel nearby and downloaded information and components on its propulsion systems. This information later led to the development of the X-Project. In 2384, the whale probe attempted to destroy the USS Phoenix-X after having learned that components were stolen from the probe nearly a century earlier. A high-pitched frequency was used by Wallace to warn the probe away, while Section 31 used this second opportunity to steal more components from the probe to be used in the Phoenix-X's transwarp engines. The additional components eventually enabled the Phoenix-X to travel to the Andromeda galaxy. (Star Trek: Phoenix-X: "Experimentalism", "Forbidden Crossing Part I, II & III")
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)