MSNPC Hereditary Chief Engineer Xarrin: This can't be a coincidence?

[Tomas Falt]

((Power Chamber 2, Deck 742-Beta, Voth Generation Ship Igirni))

Xarrin: I’m not saying your hypothesis is wrong, but dust on its own does not prove anything and I’m unconvinced servos firing incorrectly would have caused the two replacement rods to have failed as quickly as they did. I think we should consider what else might have caused this.

Kettick: And we are, Chief Engineer. Simply making sure to check every possibility. This one is simply the first to have jumped up at us. If we notice anything else abnormal, it will go on the list as well.

Adea: ::nodding at Kettick’s words:: Indeed, Commander. ::turning to Xarrin:: We’re not ruling anything out just yet.

Xarrin: No, we shouldn't rule anything out, I just don’t believe this is an entirely mechanical problem. Are your scans sophisticated enough to look for any compounds that shouldn’t be in the reactor? Perhaps it’s become contaminated somehow in a way our diagnostic instruments are unable to detect?

Kettick: If you give us the baseline, most likely.

Xarrin nodded and gestured to one of the engineers behind him, who quickly set out to retrieve the data from a nearby storage console.

ch’Clex: I can run a parallel scan for compounds that do not match the local material profile.

Stapledon:  That sounds like a good idea.

Adea: ::nodding to Kettick:: If you think it might work, Commander, go for it.

Xarrin turned to his counterpart.

Xarrin: Thank you, Commander, your efforts are appreciated. As a reminder I would ask you ensure your scans remain confined to the designated systems. 

Kettick: By your command. Mister Stapledon, please carry on. Mister ch'Clex, perimeter sweep, if you would. I will focus on the core.

With no task of his own Xarrin took the opportunity to watch this Starfleet team in action, keen to see if any of their methods were worth replicated within his own team in future,

ch’Clex: I have something.

Both the Starfleet Captain and Chief engineered turned their heads toward the blue-skinned one. Lieutenant Mister ch'Clex wasn't it?

ch’Clex: Trace amounts of an unknown compound near the affected housing. Very faint. It may be contaminated, but it is not part of the reactor assembly.

Kettick: Forward the spectral profile, please.

Stapledon:  That's... interesting.

Adea: What’s interesting?

Xarrin cast a glance at the Captain, who as far as he could tell looked impatient. He decided to try and explain it himself, at least in part to check he had understood correctly.

Xarrin: If this substance is foreign to the assembly, then its presence alone is significant. Our technology may be outdated compared to yours, but we still have strict protocols to ensure nothing enters this chamber that doesn't belong.

The blue-skinned one took a couple of steps backward, seemingly following an invisible trail.

ch’Clex: The same trace is present beyond the reactor housing.

Kettick: Good job, Lieutenant. I have the same trace in minute amounts in the reactor core. Mister Stapledon, in your own expertise, would this kind of compound be likely to emit radiation pulses? Say, at a couple kilohertz?

The human female titled her head, giving Xarrin the impression she did not agree with something that had just been said.

Stapledon:  Radiation pulses?  No, sir.  I am detecting traces of nichrome in the substance, though.  This is an electrical resistor and would explain the increase in thermal radiation.  It's very good at resisting current and emitting heat.  Also, its presence beyond the reactor housing suggests it might be acting as a resistor to slow down signals to the servos from the sensors.

The Starfleet team formed a huddle to discuss their findings further.

Adea: If that’s the case, could that cause the issues you’re seeing here?

Xarrin: If I'm following correctly, yes, it could certainly explain the delays. What it would not do is explain the speed at which the replcement rods failed. That remains inconsistent with our machinery’s tolerances.

Kettick: Not quite my expertise, I am afraid. But we could ask Eagle to run a quick simulation of the reaction profile with the extra compound mixed in, see where it leads us?

The suggestion was met favourably by the rest of the Starfleet team. Not for the first time Xarrin noted their methods involved a lot of discussion and collaboration, which was certainly different to how things were run on Igniri's own engineering team.

Adea: If you could ask the Eagle to do that please, Lieutenant.

Xarrin: Thay should work, as long as your simulations parameters are sophisticated enough to recreate our actual reactor specifications. 

Lieutenant Blue-skin nodded his agreement

ch’Clex: Aye, Captain.

He tapped something attached to his chest,

ch’Clex: =/\= ch’Clex to Eagle. We are forwarding a spectral profile of an unknown contaminant located in and around the reactor housing. Request immediate simulation of its interaction with the reactor’s sensor and servo-control systems. Include thermal resistance, signal delay, and cascade-failure modeling. =/\=

Xarrin quickly realised the tap must have activated a communications device.

ch’Clex: =/\= Send the results directly to my tricorder and mirror them to Lieutenant Stapledon and Commander Kettick. =/\=

The Starfleet officer entered a few final instructions into the panel, setting the process in motion.

ch’Clex: Eagle has the profile. Simulation is running now.

Counterpart Kettick nodded.

Kettick: Either the trail comes out of the reactor through this access hatch and moves towards the rest of the facility... :: He reversed the movement :: Or the contaminant has been brought in, by mistake or by malice. Mister Xarrin, if we show you the probable structure of our mystery substance, can you tell us if this has any use elsewhere on-ship, or quickly get in touch with someone that does?

Stapledon:  I think it would be a good idea to scan one of the sensors.

Adea: Unless Xarrin has any reason to object, go for it.

Xarrin held up a three fingered hand.

Xarrin: Captain Adea, I don't know the protocol on your vessel, but aboard the Igniri it is customary that I am addressed as Chief Engineer. Not Xarrin, and certainly not Mister, whatever one of those is. That said, you may proceed, but please be cautious. The sensor assemblies are sensitive.

ch’Clex: I can maintain the perimeter scan while Lieutenant Stapledon checks the sensor directly. If the substance is present on one sensor but absent on another, that should help narrow the affected path.

Kettick: Response

The female nodded and continued, moving herself closer to one of the sensors. 

Stapledon:  I am detecting traces of the substance in the nearest sensor here.  It is not present in the sensor toward the east, that way.

Adea: I take it that’s bad?

Which was a good question, and no one that he had an easy answer for... 

Xarrin: Yes and no. It's less for us to decontaminate, but at the same time we need to determine why not all sensors have been affected. If the contamination is selective I will be very concerned.

Blueskin lifted his eyes from the scanning device to share an update with the group.

ch’Clex: Eagle’s simulation concurs with Lieutenant Stapledon’s assessment.

He turned the scanning device so the rest of the group could see the incoming model. Xarrin craned his neck to get a better look, but could not make sense of what little he could see.

ch’Clex: According to the simulation, if the affected sensors report late, the control system begins correcting a problem that no longer exists. Then the next correction arrives late as well. Over time, the errors build on each other.

Kettick: Response

Stapledon:  What it means is that the sensors are not all sending their data as fast as they normally would.  Some are slower.  This results in cascade failures.

Adea: Can we clean the sensors? Eradicate the substance? ::turning to Xarrin:: Can you assign a team to it?

ch’Clex: Cleaning the sensors may stop the cascade, but I recommend we preserve samples before decontamination. If this substance was introduced from outside the reactor, we will need to compare it against any traces elsewhere.

Xarrin could not agree more. He wanted the ship functioning again, but he also really wanted those samples. He needed to find out what was going on.

Xarrin: I agree, preserve samples first. Once they are secure my team can begin decontamination, without the risk someone damages the evidence.

Stapledon / Kettick: Response

Adea: And whilst that’s taken care of, we can investigate exactly where it’s coming from. Tell me, Xarrin, I feel from your tone you aren’t certain this isn’t 100% accidental?

And there it was. A direct question from the Starfleet Captain on a topic he had been trying to ignore until now. Was this really all an accident somehow?

Xarrin: I am… uncertain. The evidence is incomplete, but the pattern does not align with natural wear or random failure.

Stapledon / Kettick: Response.

ch’Clex: Captain, the trace pattern outside the housing is inconsistent. My guess is that someone tried to remove the trail.

Xarrin sighed. If true, he found that revelation deeply troubling.

 

Xarrin: Are you scanning devices sophisticated enough to provide any evidence as to who or what might have tried to remove the trail?

Kettick / Stapledon / Adea: Response.

ch’Clex: But I think I can trace it to its general area.

oO I suppose that will have to do! Oo

Xarrin: Then do so. Whatever the truth is, we must uncover it before further damage occurs.

Kettick / Stapledon / Adea: Response.

As blue-skin began his trace Xarrin felt his mind begin to race as he considered the implications of what had just been discussed. Despite the undertone of suspicion coming from the Starfleet team Xarrin was still not prepared to believe someone would deliberately sabotage the ship. Accidental contaminatio was far more likely.

Xarrin: Found anything? Lieutenant, wasn't it?

ch'Clex / Kettick / Stapledon / Adea: Response.

Before Xarrin could respond an urgent Klaxonnl sounded, sending him scurrying towards the nearest console as If by reflex. The Voth team behind him scattered for their own stations at the same time.

Xarrin: ::Quickly pulling up a report:: We're losing pressure! There must be a rupture in one of the fuel pipes near the engines! ::waving to his subordinates::  Shut off the flow, now! Before we vaporise someone! 

He watched the pressure gauges intently as his subordinates quickly shut of the fuel flow, and sighed with relief as they began to normalise.

ch'Clex / Kettick / Stapledon / Adea: Response.

Xarrin: We can only hope no one was nearby when it happened. Superheated liquid hydrogen moves fast if it's not contained. That's why the fuel lines are designed with multiple layers of containment, they should not fail.

He paused for a moment, thinking thoughts he really didn't like.

Xarrin:  Am I the only one who thinks this can't be a coincidence? We need to investigate further. ::looking at Adea:: Did you say you had a team looking at the engines?

ch'Clex / Kettick / Stapledon / Adea: Response.

TAG / TBC

Heriditary Cheif Engineer Xirrin

Voth Generational Ship Igirni

As simmed by

Commander Tomas Falt                      

Strategic Operations Officer

USS Eagle-A

J239807TF2

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