Captain's log, stardate 45523.6. Our survey of this previously unexplored sector is now well into its second week. We have departed the star system we have temporarily designated 30452 Federation Astrophysical Survey and are on course for the next system on our list.

I am about to begin going over the various summaries of preliminary findings that have been filed by our department heads concerning 30452 FAS. Given the results of this survey so far, we are certain to make a rather hefty deposit in the bank of cosmological knowledge.

The work of our Science Division people is providing not only revelation, but respite. Many of those aboard who are not directly involved in survey work are taking advantage of this admittedly welcome lull in our usually hectic routine to relax a bit -- oh.

The door signal Squeepled, and Jean-Luc Picard put his log entry on hold. "Come," he called, and the door to the ready room slid aside. "Ah, Number One. What brings you here?" Picard greeted him. "Isn't this your off time?"

"I've been keeping busy, Captain," Will Riker said, handing Picard a padd. "Here's the correlated environmental data on the third and fourth planets of '452. Thought you might want to see this sooner rather than later."

Picard smiled, took the padd, and leaned back in his chair. "Thank you, Will," the captain said as he began to scan the display. "With the ton of work we've yet to get through, I didn't feel right in making this a priority item. It was thoughtful of you to run this on your own." He tapped the padd with a finger. "Ah, here's what I was hoping to see."

"Let me guess. The ambient radiation spike on Planet Three?"

Picard nodded slowly. "Precisely. As we thought, it's coincident with the date of the formation of the ruins, within the margin of error -- that is, the spike agrees closely with the date we've established through other evidence. Whoever wiped out this civilization came quickly, struck hard, and didn't leave much behind."

"Everything suggests that Planet Three suffered a massive thermonuclear bombardment from space," Riker agreed. "Whoever it was used weapons designed to scatter as much killing radiation as possible. Everything on Planet Three was intended to die, and the planet is dead for all practical purposes. All that's left are bacteria and insects, a few hardy plants, and not much else."

Picard read further. "We estimate that it has been six thousand years since the bombardment," he said, "yet the planet is still badly contaminated. What remains of the ecosphere is extremely fragile." The captain picked up one of the padds on his desk and handed it to Riker. "The geological survey has identified several areas that could have been the sites of ground-based launching facilities on Planet Three," the captain told him. "Spaceports, more or less. Large ones."

Riker read the display. "I agree," he said. "They had to have been launching facilities, given their size and proximity to the sites we've established for Planet Three's major cities. Think the natives could have escaped?"

Picard shook his head. "The ruins suggest a native population of more than two billion humanoids at the time of the bombardment. The launching facilities -- if that's what they are -- would be inadequate to handle that number in anything like a reasonable time, and I doubt the natives had time. What do we have on Planet Four, Will?"

"Our analysis of the ruins there confirms that Planet Four was not as technically advanced as Planet Three," Riker said. "However, the natives of Planet Four seem to have had space travel of some sort. As for the plague virus we found during our orbital bioscans, Dr. Crusher's still working up the schematics," Riker replied. "To quote the doctor, 'I'll have it soon. It's complicated. Please go away.'" He grinned and then grew serious. "Beverly's theory is that the virus might have been tailored to kill off all higher animal forms on Planet Four."

"Tailored, you say? It was purposefully designed?"

"She says it might have been, sir," the first officer said. "The virus is still present in Planet Four's ecosystem, and its effects remain potentially devastating. Beverly says, from what she's already seen, that the odds against a virus like this one evolving naturally and then remaining relatively stable for six millennia are prohibitively high. Viri just don't work like that."

"But Planet Four is ecologically stable at present," Picard pointed out. "It actually seemed quite lovely."

"Yes, sir. Higher forms of animal life are not present on land, but lower forms are prospering, and plant and marine life seem to have been completely unaffected."

Picard read quickly through the report from the exobiology section. "What about that life-form Bergeron located just before we left?" the captain asked. "That brightly colored slithering thing that looked a bit like a Centaurian bhobb? It seemed to be the most highly evolved land-based life-form left on the planet. Any worthwhile findings?"

"Nothing much, Captain," Riker replied. "Hibberd replicated the thing before we left, returned the original to its habitat, and dissected the duplicate. There was some initial hope that the creature might be sentient, but Bergeron says, quote, 'If you give it ten million years, it might amount to something, emphasis on might.' Unquote."

Picard nodded. "I see. Too bad."

Riker continued. "All in all, Planet Four seems the next best thing to a paradise, in some ways -- except, of course, that the natives are all gone, their cities and other artifacts have been crumbling into dust for six millennia, and we would die within fifteen minutes if we beamed down to the surface unprotected."

Picard shook his head. "I wonder who came through here and did all this, Will. Two planets devastated, one apparently irredeemably. It seems incredible--"

"Worf to Captain," came a distinctively deep voice.

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, sensors have detected a warp-field generation pulse, eighty-seven point three light-years off, bearing four hundred ninety-five mark twenty-three. Duration was zero point one seven seconds."

"Any sign of a ship in that area?"

"No, sir. Wait -- there it is again. Same range and bearing. The duration was zero point five eight seconds."

"Commander Riker and I will be right there," the captain said. "Picard out."

"Now that's odd," Riker said, climbing out of his chair.

"Indeed." The captain rose and, adjusting his jacket for the umpteenth time that day, glanced at the survey summaries that still lay, unread, on his desk. They say there is no such thing as a useless fact, Picard thought, but sometimes I wonder.

The captain and first officer left the ready room and stepped directly onto the bridge. Ensign Ro Laren was in the captain's chair. "Captain, Commander," she greeted them as she rose. Her tone was as formal and correct as ever. Without another word, Ro moved away from the conn and relieved her replacement at the flight control console.

"Any indication of warp-field strength, Mr. Worf?" Picard asked as he took his seat. Riker plopped down to his right.

Worf shook his head and frowned at his Tactical panel. "Neither pulse lasted long enough to be able to tell, Captain."

Riker spoke up. "A bit over eighty-seven light-years from here at that bearing -- isn't there a system near those coordinates, Mr. Data?"

"Yes, Commander," Data replied, nodding. "There is a system with a G0-type star at that location." The android paused for a moment, awaiting the results of a long-range sensor scan. "Sensor readings coming in now. The system in question has eleven planets. The third and fourth may be class-M. The system lies well off our course through this sector, and so it was not included on our survey list."

"That may change," Picard said dryly. "Anything else, Mr. Data?"

"I am not sure, sir. The star seems to be generating more interference in midrange space-normal EM frequencies than might be expected."

"Oh?" Picard thought about that for a moment. "Is there anything about the nature of the interference that might be considered unusual?"

"No, sir," replied Data, shaking his head. "There is simply more of it than I would expect to see from this type of star."

"Captain," Worf called. "There has been a third pulse. Same bearing, same range, duration zero point eight three seconds. This pulse lasted long enough for us to derive a reading of field strength, sir. It was sufficient for warp factor one."

That was more than enough for Picard. "Ensign, set course for that system, warp factor three."

"Laid in, sir."

"Engage."