Lieutenant JG Wyatt Ral - Continuous Improvements
Jason Price
(( Main Engineering - Deck 36, USS Astraeus ))
Dermont: We're allowed a couple o' days 'ere soon. We've earned some time down. We'll 'elp ya. Wyatt, go ahead and pull that info, along with every other fighter in the same weight class that ya can find...that includes non-Federation designs as well.
Ral: Will do Lieutenant. I’ll get the computer to cross reference every known design we have on file. It’ll take some time to collate the information.
Dermont: Maybe we'll find...inspiration.
Zarax: Great idea, sir. I didn’t even think of that. I really appreciate you two helping me out. If I can get this down, it might help me out when promotions come around.
Dermont: 'Appy ta 'elp. Thanks fer lettin' us tinker. But ye're the lead on this, ma'am. It's yer baby so don't let us loud engineerin' types try ta take it away from ya when we get carried away...
She smiled at Valin as she nodded.
Zarax: Of course, sir. I mean, how is it going to look if I just handed the project off to you two and sat back until it was done? No, sir. This is my puppy. :: she thought that was the correct Terran expression :: But as I’ve heard a few times from some of our senior officers, a good leader knows when to ask for help.
Ral: Any suggestions, let us know. No matter how wild they may seem.
Wyatt watched as Valin took another sip of his coffee and waggled one finger in the air.
Dermont: One thing though. If we're doin' this, we 'ave ta use mah garage. We've just gotta. :: He grinned over his thermos. ::
oO Valin’s garage. Now where has he been hiding that I wonder? Oo
Zarax: Your garage?
Wyatt looked clearly as confused as Zarax
Ral: Even I haven’t seen his garage Lieutenant ::grinning::
oO It definitely isn’t on any deck maps. I’ve gone over them too many times since we joined the ship to have missed it. Only option left is some engineering holodeck program Oo
Zarax: Ohh. Okay, fine. Your garage then.
Dermont: ::He grinned.:: Perfect! Send us what ye've got so far. I'll figure out schedule rotations and reach out with a time and date.
Ral: What about this group shield system? It looks pretty good, an interesting concept.
Zarax: Oh, the group shield? Yes, that is pretty awesome. Shielding for only a fraction of the power. The catch is, though, that you have to work in a group, so no maverick pilots out there.
oO Wonder if that would work for starships too. They must be manipulating the graviton matrix somehow. Bit of light reading later I think Oo
Wyatt saw Valin scratching his beard and knew he had ideas running through that complicated brain of his.
Ral: I guess we need to synchronise speeds between the linked ships.
Zarax: So, any suggestions on how to reinforce the hull without losing performance? Part of what makes it as maneuverable as it already is comes from the lightweight design. And what I really want to improve on are these engines. Warp 6 is great if you’re not going far, but what if we have to deploy while the ship continues on to another location? It’s going to take us forever to get anywhere.
Dermont: A couple o' ideas. So yer aimin' on increasin' both warp and sublight speeds? Frame 'ardly matters while yer bubble is up. Sublight though...especially around any gravitational mass of note...that begins the trick. Let me study the recordings o' yer flight. We can review the data and see exactly where yer losing yer speed. Ya know, maneuverin', accelerating, that sorta thing.
Ral: We may be able to compensate within the navigation software. Like we did with the Bynars code changes for the warp 13 test.
Valin glanced at Wyatt and nodded.
Dermont: Righto. So many tiny variances. 'Ells, ye might already 'ave a great engine, but yer controls might not be calibrated ta respond quick enough or even ta allow ya ta meet yer new max speeds. As ya know, most fighters controls are fine tuned ta allow you ta get the max outta yer ship. But if ye've given it a new max...those controls aren't doin' ya any favors. Might need ta give yer flight systems an lil upgrade too.
Ral: An additional sub processor to just handle the course changes and acceleration. We could then offload the work from the main computer core. It wouldn’t add much additional weight.
Zarax: Response
Valin set down his thermos and clapped his hands, quite loudly even in the relatively noisier environs of main engineering. Several crew stood nearby glanced, possibly expecting new orders from the shift manager.
Dermont: So I think I'm onta an idea. Wyatt, pull apart 'er engine schematics and compare to other designs. I'm sure she is, but make sure she's goin' in the right direction as far as efficiency. Ma'am, ya think ye can put yer design to the limits in a bit more...formal testin'? Straight run, acceleratin', turnin', the whole kit and kaboodle? Both in open space and within orbit of a Earth-like body o' gravity? Meanwhile, I'll start lookin' at...math...::he made a face.::
Ral: I’ll get on it as soon as I’ve finished with these environmental system updates.
Zarax: Response
Dermont: Alright then, Lieutenants. I'll reach out as soon as I've got the time sorted. Back to it fer now.
Wyatt stood there grinning for a second, the excitement of getting involved in non-business as usual work taking over him for a second.
Ral: Thanks for the opportunity of working on this Lieutenant ::smiling at Zarax::
Zarax: Response
Wyatt went back to his console and started back on the work he’d left previously.
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Lieutenant JG Wyatt Ral
Engineer
USS Astraeus NCC-70652
C239903WR3