Ensign Tho’Bi - Golden Brown Texture Like Sun

[Tobi]

((OOC: Jumped straight to the Boraxian ‘Turbolift’ to make the length of this Sim manageable for everyone simming after me))

((Boraxian Interior Transport Capsule - Boraxian Ship, ‘New Hope’))

Rumble and scrape. Rumble and scrape. The Andorian's antennae twitched as he sensed the uneven and uneasy movement of the cramped transport capsule. Rumble and scrape. Rumble and scrape. The young Engineer found himself ill at ease with the notion of traveling in a mechanised transport capsule on a heavily damaged, ill-maintained spacecraft of unknown age, origin, and service history.  

Rumble and scrape. Rumble and scrape. As much as his still recovering senses could tell, the hexagonal capsule was traveling within six rails, each set to one of the capsule's six corner points. He could sense no wheel or guide shoe between capsule and rail. Rumble and scrape. Rumble and scrape. What he could sense though, was the push and pull of energised particles between the inductor plate of magnetic rail and the reaction plate of the capsule.  

Rumble and scrape. Rumble and scrape. When working properly, magnetic rail is frictionless and therefore, without noise or vibration. The Boraxian transport capsule was not without noise or vibration. Rumble and scrape. Rumble and scrape. As near as his recovering senses could tell, the capsule was dragging on one of the rails. With each passing support pylon the capsule gave a rumble, with each meter of rail, it gave a scrape. Rumble and scrape. Rumble and scrape.   

((Main Engineering - Boraxian Ship, ‘New Hope’))

The young Engineer breathed an audible sigh of relief as they crossed the threshold between capsule and Main Engineering. 

Crunk! The hexagonal shaped door shut behind them and the Andorian sensed the capsule rattling off down the flagging collection of magnetic rails.  

oO Shaslex n'fellex Oo

Directly in front of them was a transparent partition. Beyond the partition, they could see the top of the Warp Core; an hexagonal column of pulsating tainted white light, with ever-shifting undertones of shimmering bluish-green, radiant green, bright yellow, and simmering red-orange. To both the trained and untrained eye, these shifting undertones cast a spellbinding ambience across the walls and consoles of the heavily sectioned Engineering Department; but the trained eye also saw the colourful undertones as evidence of impurities in the ship's deuterium supply.

Dark blue eyes tracked across the sparsely crewed partitioned consoles and the large master system display hewn into one of the walls.

Dariell: Be welcomed to the nerve center of New Hope Engineering. Where would you please to see as first?

The Chef shot a glance in the Andorian’s direction.

Silveira: I defer that answer to Ensign Tho’Bi, as he is our Engineer.

The acrid bite of burned plasma caught the young Engineer's nose. It lingered in the air. It conjured images in his mind. Black and gold uniform blistered and spat outward by flesh and bone rendered liquid and gas by millions of kelvins of heat. The quiet of the sickbay during the night-shift. The slow rhythmic company of biobed and induced coma. The feel of Dermal Regenerator calibration on his fingertips.  

Tho’Bi: ::quiet, even paced:: I need to see the critical systems.

Cole: If this were a Starfleet ship, you’d have engineers climbing over each other’s shoulders by now. You folks prefer a little elbow room?

The Andorian smiled a little at his roommate's seemingly natural ability to cut through it.

His Boraxian counterpart nodded and walked them to an unoccupied workstation. 

Dariell: There. Engineer Tho’Bi, you can gain insights into areas where you can assist us. ::turns to Silveira and Cole:: Lieutenant Commander, Ensign, be our guests. Would you like chairs or something to drink before Engineer Tho'Bi finishes his analysis?

The Chief smiled and shook his head.

Silveira: We appreciate the gesture, but I am fine, thank you Dariell.

Cole: I prefer to stand, but thank you for the offer.

Black Engineering Rucksack was set down upon the deck. PADD extracted and sync with Engineering Tricorder confirmed.

The Andorian Engineer studied the console before him. Unlike the set of four consoles in the computer core, each with 61 tiny transparent hexagons, this console appeared to work without the need for partner consoles, as it featured 244 transparent hexagons; though the tiny hexagons were still grouped into four lots of 61, each lot set at an opposing angle, calibrated for one of the Boraxian's four hands. Had the Andorian known what one was, this console arrangement might have reminded him of an old Earth instrument, the Steel Drum.

Tho'Bi: ::to Silveira:: It will take a moment to confirm the calibration of the decoding.

As he spoke, the Andorian held up his PADD, where stardust symbols fell into place one by one.

Dariell: Response

Silveira: I will let you and Tho’Bi to work as we just step aside and send in a report on the Computer repair, Ensign Cole please join me.

The Security Ensign nodded to the Chief but stopped mid turn to face Dariell directly; she took a breath before speaking sincerely.

Cole: Dariell, if I’ve come across as suspicious or prying, I owe you an apology. Security habits die hard. My job is to see danger where no one else does, even when it’s not necessarily there.

Dariell: Response

The acrid bite of burned plasma once again caught the young Ensign’s nose. Quiet moans and sobbing. Medical personnel rushing from bed to bed. The crisscross of instruction and counter instruction. Priority scrambled for, in too little time and far too much urgency. 

The Andorian shook the memories from his mind and attempted to focus on the task at hand. 244 hexagonal cells. Mechanical pixels. And what of the tones Dariell had made? Would his PADD'S decoding mean anything without the vocalisations? 

The conversation between Ensign Cole and the Boraxian Engineer continued. 

Cole: ::soft smile:: And sometimes that means I forget there’s more to people than what they tell me outright. Some things… well, some things are private, ::beat:: aren’t they? Not secrets meant to hurt anyone, just parts of yourself you’re not ready to share until you feel safe.

Dariell: Response

They say Andorians can sense the ice grow. Zhar tharek’Ghelni gralan fel lex’shrelexi. And so the young Andorian sensed the tones emitted by the tiny transparent hexagons upon touching them with the paler than usual blue of his fingers.

Sseeshh …Ssaahh …Ssuurr …Sswaahh

Metallic colors pulsed in different timings across the activated hexagons, each matching its own musical tone. Paler than usual blue fingers danced across Tricorder inputs, setting the Tricorder to record the ultra high frequency tones. Quantized audio data synced with PADD decoding algorithm. Extrapolation began at a Quantum rate.

The conversation between Security Ensign and Boraxian Engineer continued dull and distant in the Andorian’s perception. 

Cole: I’ve lived through that myself. Before Starfleet, there were pieces of me I kept hidden, not because they were dangerous, but because I wasn’t sure how others would see me. It took time, and the right people, before I could be… honest, whole.

Dariell: Response

Ssaahh …Ssaann …Ssuurr …Sseeshh 

Golden brown, texture like sun. The hexagons lit up in warm metallic colours. And all of a sudden a shimmering, shuddering three dimensional image of golden brown with an intangible texture like sunlight, manifested above the console. The warp core.

Cole: So if you’re holding things back, I won’t press. I just ask this… when you’re ready, when you want us to know, you tell us. Until then, I’ll do my job. I’ll watch the door, keep everyone safe, including you and your people, and trust that you’re doing the same in your own way.

Dariell: Response

Ping and chirp. The Engineering Tricorder lit up as the young Andorian tasked it with scanning for Theta Radiation.  

The Chief had already stepped back from the Engineers, but continued to keep a watchful eye on them; he was soon joined by Ensign Cole. The Chief whispered so only the Security Ensign could hear. 

((OOC: The exchange between Silveira and Cole has been established as outside the range of Tho’Bi's hearing and therefore omitted from this Sim. The following takes place as Silveira and Cole are talking.))

The young Engineer turned to his Boraxian counterpart. His paler than usual blue hand gestured in the direction of the shimmering, shuddered projection. 

Tho'Bi: ::quiet respectful:: There is an inspired elegance to your control interface. ::bows slightly::

Dariell: Response (if necessary)

The one meter ninety centimeter Andorian turned and looked up at the ever-shifting colours of the Warp Core.

Tho'Bi: It is very beautiful ::turns to Dariell:: but we both know the colors represent impurities in your deuterium.

The Andorian turned back to the hexagonal Warp core and pointed and pointed with each new colorful undertone.

Tho'Bi: Yellow ::beat:: Sodium. Green ::beat:: Magnesium. The blue green ::beat:: Iron. The orange and red ::beat:: Calcium. ::turns back to Dariell:: The power levels you are extracting are impressive, considering the purity of deuterium you must work with.

Dariell: Response 

Tho'Bi: I could help you to construct a filter to purify your deuterium. 

Dariell: Response 

Tho'Bi: ::smiles:: This is true ::nods:: you would lose the beautiful colors.

Paler than usual blue fingers brought his Engineering Tricorder to the Boraxian's eye height.

Tho'Bi: ::smile disappears:: I do have another concern, though.

((OOC: Assuming Tho'Bi's mention of a concern is enough to trigger Silveira's Tactical Spider-Sense and checked with Bruno.))

Silveira: Response 

The Andorian Engineer turned to the Chief, instinctively adopting a more upright posture. 

Tho'Bi: ::deliberate:: Lieutenant Commander, I am registering elevated levels of Theta Radiation.

Silveira: Response 

Dariell/Cole: Response (if required)

Tho'Bi: The levels are not dangerous as yet ::beat:: but I recommend that you and Ensign Cole set your Tricorders to scan for Theta Radiation ::beat:: in case the levels increase.

Silveira: Response 

Dariell/Cole: Response (if required)

Tho'Bi: Tho'Bi: The Theta Radiation is too low to be a warp core breach ::beat:: it could indicate other containment problems ::hesitation:: but… it the most likely explanation is the use of antimatter based weapons ::beat:: such as photon torpedoes or similar technologies. 

Silveira/Dariell/Cole: Response 

TAGs/TBC

((OOC: 

Andorian Phrases:

Shaslex n’fellex

Slide, don't slip

Already on the SB118WIKI. 

Zhar tharek’Ghelni gralan fel lex’shrelexi

Only a true Andorian can hear the ice grow

New one. I'll add it to the SB118WIKI.

Theta Radiation via Memory Alpha:

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Theta_radiation

))

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Ensign Tho’Bi

Engineering

USS Artemis-A

A240203T11