~.\~ Start Log Part 1 ~.\~
"So Commander Blake, you will pave the way
before I get in there, you will take a general feel of the gathered and give
them their left and right of arcs." Vin detailed the job for his Liaison Officer
even though he really didn't have to. It was becoming somewhat slightly
obvious that the demi-cardassian was getting nervous. Addressing one or a
few people was becoming easy, what could be a large group... well they do say
more people are afraid of public speaking then they are of death.
With a bow of his head Toby acknowledged
the Captain's orders. "Of course Captain."
"Chief Cross, Commander Lox... what do you
have for me?" questioned Vin. He was hoping for the ideas that Engineering could
implement to prevent these damn quakes from being so bad in the future, anything
that could help. These were the ideas men, the Operations Manager nearby
was there for immediate restrictions on the plans from these two
men.
Marcus stood with the group, listening as
Commander Cross and Lox spoke about their current ideas. He had heard at least
part of it before, but in the few hours since their last conversation, he hoped
they were not more refined.
"I have an idea bouncing around in my head
Captain, although with everything we're trying to do right now, resources could
be a problem." Lieutenant Commander Mark Cross introduced his 'theory'. It was
very much in its early stages of fruition. "In a very basic sense, an earthquake
is just...energy. As we know from experience, when this much energy tries
to dissipate through a solid structure, something has to give, and it's
virtually always the building. The key here is to embrace the shaking of
the structure, restrict the damage to a couple of areas where we'll allow for
some flexiblity and movement. With Any luck the building will remain intact, and
we'll only have a few damaged elements that can easily be
replaced."
He gave it a moment to sink in, before
revealing the main issue he'd been wrestling with. "If we had unlimited
resources at our disposal, I'd say we could achieve it by constructing a metal
frame around the existing structures, and use a flexible alloy at the base to
take the brunt of the force when the quake hits. I just get the feeling we
won't have that luxury."
"It is a mining colony, metals hopefully
shouldn't be that hard to come by, smelting and getting the plan working ... "
considering something for the moment Vin paused. "OPSO your
thoughts?"
Marcus shook his head, "It's not possible
in the short term, though I agree we need to work towards it in the long term.
The safety of the Federations citizens and the planets inhabitants is a
priority. We should begin to divide the planet into sectors and then maybe we
can work on the commanders idea, one sector at a time."
While the OPSO was considering the problem
of resources Vin looked at the two engineers as if to say... anything
else?
"What about putting the entire structure on
a thin coating of liquid. The entire structure would move, but it wouldn't
shake." Justin suggested. "It would end up floating over the shaking. It
was one of the ideas used on old-Earth in Japan to reduce damage to
earthquakes."
"That'd work." Mark weighed up the option
in his head. "Aside from having to dampen any waves that might be generated when
the quake hits, that would probably be the better option for any new structures
we put in. We might face more of an issue with the existing structures, the
foundations might need more extensive modification to be fit for purpose..." he
was thinking a little aloud by this point. "If we can figure out how to make
that manageable though, I'm thinking it'll be less demanding on resources and
manpower than building and installing frames would be."
"Yes, it would also not generate much in
the way of waves, since the structure would be compressing the liquid as well
add a few buffers into the system and it wouldn't even generate noticeable
waves. " Justin said.
"I share Commander Cross' concern with
making it work on existing structures. The man power needed to modify all of
those foundations." He paused looking at the three of them, "Well we have the
same problem as with the earlier suggestion, we don't have it. However, there's
no reason why we can't begin with what we do have, we're just looking at it
being a long term project. I'd need to see what resources were necessary to make
it happen and then I can create a time frame."
"Agreed" Justin added.
Saladin fell silent for a short while, "As
we move forward with it, I think it best we secure the mining facilities and
warehouses first. They are larger than the citizens buildings and can act as
mass shelters in an emergency."
Acknowledging the efforts of the men in
front of him, the Captain interjected. "Okay, I can take what you have
currently provided to the press as 'future' planning. My suggestion is
though a detailed plan of attack, and liaison with some civilians into the
future development, maybe even barter to get the resources we need..." the
demi-cardassian looked towards the OPSO with the last comment. "... if we can
make the civilians gainfully employed in their own rebuilding and updating then
I am sure that will help with public relations. On top of that, we need to
work out something to do now, immediate short term measure to make them
comfortable."
Scratching his head Vin couldn't think of
an immediate solution and therefore delegated the authority back to it's best
resource "Commander Saladin, look at re-assigning individuals temporarily from
different fields to aid in rebuilding. I am sure we can put some of the
Security detail to manual labour or some engineers to fix some civilian
equipment, of course look to the department heads for confirmation on the
plans."
"All, just so you are aware, this current
living arrangements was never meant to be permanent, given the planning for the
whole world is underway whether a city gets built here or not was always
unknown, hence the haphazard look about you. I am as of this press
conference now going to confirm that a City will be built here, a permanent
one. I believe that the planet needs it. Whether this is a waste of
resources because future environments and planet formations take shape, I don't
care. Maybe where we stand will become a ghost town once the world is 100
percent habitable. But I need to assure the populace that we are doing
something for the long term, it will give them something to hope or strive for."
The Captain confided in his staff all this information, reassurring them that
they were in this for the long term.
Changing direction Vin spoke "Commander
Lox... I understand you have been barely appointed at this time but progress on
how the team is fitting together just in case it is asked. Do I say that
you have been appointed and that resource allocation for your group is underway
but it will take time?" Of course it would take time, but this was the stage for
a progress report... 10 mins before entering the fray of a press
conference. This was definitely not like a ship. Everything that
they did was in the public eye.
"I'd say that in the coming weeks the team
will come together after I have had a chance to see what resources will be
available for the team. For now, I'm looking over the available personnel
to select the optimal mix of all disciplines, including civilians." Justin
said. He had some ideas, but it was too early to speak of
them.
"I'd have to disallow the civilians, you
are an engineering response team to the 14th Fleet and it's jurisdiction."
stated the Captain but allowing time to pause and consider he continued. "Maybe
if a civilian was assigned it would be on a transfer scheme or appretencship
scheme of some sort. Some sort of allegence to the interest of Starfleet
must be acheived."
Hopefully giving the Commander something to
consider Vin continued. "Miss .. uh" the Captain looked at his PADD then
directly at the demi-klingon. "Nix. As the current representative, give me
a run down of science. Brief, and as many fields as you can." He didn't have to
explain, and Lieutenant Nix's appearance here wasn't at random, it was requested
for a couple of hours ago. Science was one of the fields on this planet that had
a number of different fields it was tackling at the one time.
"It's Lt Nix, not miss," Kylee stated, "I
earned that title and don't like it being ignored." Probably not the best thing
to be stating, but her mood wasn't the best after being left to her own devices,
then dragged in to a situation she had little knowledge of, than called to a
meeting with someone who hadn't taken the time to learn her name. She was still
playing catch-up on all the details.
"Science lab is being repaired, minus the
refrigerant being drained from one To use in the tunnels. Most of the other
projects have been pushed aside while we focus on running the piping and
drilling down to the aquafer. A skeleton crew works on the repairs of the lab,
while others do their separate parts for the plan, once I made them realize the
importance of this. Other projects will be delved in to once the miners are
taken care of."
K`ylana had been quiet and mostly unnoticed
in the background until she felt the need to interject with a slight glare
toward Nix and what she perceived to be rudeness toward Captain Dharmajiva. "Let
me also remind you that ranks can also be demoted." Perhaps Vilqa and Nix were
far too alike in stubborn pride but there was no room for temper tantrums from
those with superiority complexes when the title offered by Captain Dharmajiva
was completely proper in usage. Once more the female Captain returned to silence
as she listened to the conversations around her.
Kylee turned her head slowly to face K'y,
her brow arched. She stared at her, her brow furrowed in anger, barely seeming
to hold her tongue. Her time on this hell hole of a planet was quickly wearing
on her, and after being left in the dark on most of the situations, then dragged
in to find a solution last minute while she was trying to get the lab even
functional was burning down the already short fuse. She crossed her arms over
her chest and turned her attention back to the meeting, her hands clenched,
wishing she had access to her holosuite programs right now.
The demi-cardassian had bit his lip,
acknowledging the events that just transpired in front of him, and it was
obvious that he was not pleased. "Lieutenant..." he spat "... you will see
me privately for five minutes now." With that he directed the Lieutenant away
from the others and the prying ears.
<<look for a JL between Vin and
Kylee. >>
On returning the Captain cleared his
throught "Medical?" It was a simple one word statement/question. Vin fully
believed that Shep would be all over this. Pretty much a status report
summary is what he was after. How many injured, in recovery, died,
facility status .... etcetera. Anything that could possibly be
asked.
Cait sighed softly as she referenced the
PADD she had in hand. The numbers were bad and there was no sugar coating them.
"In this dome alone there were a reported 210,241 injuries at the aid station
and the medical facility. That doesn't include any who didn't come in of course.
The medical facility is still full with critical and seriously injured people,
but the staff are working non-stop to get everyone they can back on their feet.
At last count, the death toll is in the thousands and there are a lot of missing
presumed dead. I don't have final figures on that as more bodies are being found
as the clean up progresses.
"This brings up another concern." Cait
looked at Vin. "Those displaced by the quake. A lot of tent communities are
popping up and if waste is not properly dealt with, we'll be seeing a number of
diseases that haven't been seen in ages, rearing their ugly heads. Clinics are
being set up near those communities, but we just don't have the man power to
staff them full time." Cait ran her fingers through her hair, tugging on a curl.
"On the subject of the Medical Center, staff is still being evaluated, inventory
taken, and a list of needed repairs and supplies is being compiled. All of that
should be completed by the end of the week."
A frown darkened the grey skinned Captain's
countenance. "We have to keep going with the tent communities, in most
cases it is the only method we have of housing people displaced. But if we
don't get the waste planning in... Marcus. This is another one for
you. I realise that you are getting busier as the meeting goes on so
please allocate tasks to others, I believe you may have a few newly trained
Operations personnel arriving soon. Young Ensigns would be good to
allocate to such tasks."
Only having to look at K`y to give his
prompt, he awaited her answer. This was one of the important ones, what is the
perceived threat level, what are we doing about it, what should we be looking
for in terms of keeping safe. After all, this was a significant threat,
from what Vin could remember, the Xeleucian threat was more significantly on the
insertion and occupation into planets and bases. Their naval/starship
fleet wasn't quite as effective. They land, and would take ground.
That is what they did, or he remembered them to do.
"I have arranged ongoing meetings with
Timmik however Captain I do not believe that is what you are trying to
determine." There was foreboding in her intonation, "I will be blunt Captain as
there is no room to rest on our laurels. The Xeleucians are still a threat to
not only this Fleet but those beyond our jurisdiction. We can win a battle in
flight with starships, we have proven that. On land however I fear that we will
wage a battle of far more epic proportions than we'd be prepared for, look at
the results of the battle on Five One Seven. If the Xeleucians do attempt a
formal stake in claiming Paradise IV we will require reinforcements and quite
frankly we would have to battle and prepared for the ultimate outcome in which
none of us can reverse." And yet while Vilqa said this she barely flinched, "The
instability of the biodome; that single collapse would be catasrophic, imagine a
full on ground battle on top." Doom and gloom, of course, but never did Vilqa
hide from the possibility of death.
"Paradise-IV..." the name struck the
Captain. He realised that the planet had not been officially named, and
that it was the fourth planet in the Tundalisia system, but...
Paradise-IV. Technically it should be Tundalisia-IV but Paradise did seem
to be the planet's ironic nickname. Eventually he let the thought peeter
out and acknowledged the demi-klingon Captain's stand on current defence of the
planet. Vin only hoped that the Xeleucians would stay well enough away
until they were on more firm ground. The thought of firm ground struck the
Captain as ironic given the current set of circumstances.
"Finally Mr. Cho'Lu..." Vin questioned his
Andorian Officer "... how is the Alpha Team?" The Alpha Team of Starfleet
security was primarily responsible as aid to the local police, but was geared
towards reacting actively to any
threat. Bravo Team would be the
investigation squad and Charlie Team's primary concern was defence of Starfleet
owned facilties and personnel. The dispersement of sections was necessary
to effectively manage day to day workings on the Planet.
"Sir the Alpha Team has been
designated. We have begun our selection of primary equipment and are
beginning readiness drills. Our training will be conducted in an abandoned
building which is colocated here on the Federation compound, Which we may
further develop into a readiness rally point. I can have the team anywhere
in the colony within ten minutes prepared for a myriad of missions ranging from
crowd control to an all out assault on the dome." Yim'Bar stated confidently,
"There is a long list of speecialized equipment we would like to have but in the
mean time we can make do with what is avaialable, sir."
"Specialised equipment is what you will not
have for the time being, you need to think about other means to acheive an
end. Improvisation is what we have to be all about at the moment.
Resources are coming, but how long and how far between is the difficulty." With
that Vin ended the short meeting by stating "Okay, Toby... you are on."
Even though Toby didn't much like speaking
to people like the press, he was glad for the excuse to get away from what could
become a very explosive situation, and he was doubly glad that he was not in a
position of authority over Kylee any longer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``
End Log Part 1
Captain Vincent Dharmajiva
Captain K`ylana Vilqa
Commander Caitlin Blake
Commander Toby Blake
Lieutenant Commander Yim'Bar
Cho'Lu
Lieutenant Commander Mark
Cross
Lieutenant Commander Justin
Lox
Lieutenant Commander Marcus
Saladin
Lieutenant Kylee
Nix
