Ensign Maezel Fenn – Discovery
0 views
Skip to first unread message
just_pain...@outlook.com
Mar 7, 2026, 8:32:50 PM (5 days ago) Mar 7
to sb118-...@googlegroups.com
(( Engineering Annex, Gibaria Outpost ))
Following a brief examination of the vine contained within a canister, Maezel had theorised that the life form fed off the surrounding radiation-like phenomenon being emitted from the gate. She’d based this theory largely on the fact that the life form seemed to thrive in the environment saturated with the stuff and that the presence of a sub-space coil could possibly be used to combat the vine. Her task now was validation, to prove what she was saying and find out how far the outpost’s engineers got with this idea.
Fenn: While you try and fix the coil Lieutenant I’m going to have a look at some of these PADDs. Maybe they reference some test they did with this coil.
Kovar: It appears that the probes were constructed with heavy metals similar to the ones the Lieutenant found, especially tungsten. It seems that gamma radiation was of particular concern to the researchers here.
zh’Tisav: Well, of course. They’re some of the best natural radiation shields.
Marshall: What are we thinking for the crew going through? We can't exactly bolt hull plating to everyone. Command tends to frown on that.
Following a brief examination of the vine contained within a canister, Maezel had theorised that the life form fed off the surrounding radiation-like phenomenon being emitted from the gate. She’d based this theory largely on the fact that the life form seemed to thrive in the environment saturated with the stuff and that the presence of a sub-space coil could possibly be used to combat the vine. Her task now was validation, to prove what she was saying and find out how far the outpost’s engineers got with this idea.
Fenn: While you try and fix the coil Lieutenant I’m going to have a look at some of these PADDs. Maybe they reference some test they did with this coil.
Kovar: It appears that the probes were constructed with heavy metals similar to the ones the Lieutenant found, especially tungsten. It seems that gamma radiation was of particular concern to the researchers here.
zh’Tisav: Well, of course. They’re some of the best natural radiation shields.
Marshall: What are we thinking for the crew going through? We can't exactly bolt hull plating to everyone. Command tends to frown on that.
Maezel listened into the conversation while she started skimming through a pile of nearby PADDs. She considered that Tungsten could be a good choice depending on what the environment was like on the other side of the gate. If the environment included some version of high energy cosmic rays then secondary radiation may also present a problem. If that was the case, it would mean that any radiation shielding would likely need to be layered with other materials.
Fenn: Depending on how things are beyond the gate, you may need more than just tungsten.
Kovar: Obviously these materials work well for the purposes of machinery, but not for Starfleet personnel who require mobility. To protect our away team, it would be logical to adopt a similar protective principle. Radiation resistant polyethylene and polymer composites layered between fabric material could be a solution that is sufficiently lightweight while not sacrificing radiation resistance.
zh’Tisav: Consider powdering the metals and mixing them into a polymer. They could coat anything in that form.
Scientifically the ideas were solid. Having a layer of polyethylene would be much better at absorbing incoming radiation, especially when paired with other layers of protection.
Marshall: That's not bad. Which means we need a replicator.
Maezel kept quiet as she continued to read through the PADDs. Most of the information so far was useless or at least didn’t reference what amounted to a sub-space-based bug repellent.
Kovar: Now, the question is whether we have any functioning replicators here that could produce sufficient protective equipment.
zh’Tisav: Behind the shelves in the northwest corner. It’s a Class 4 industrial model, so it’ll handle most small to medium components. Whether it works or not is up to you.
Marshall: Fenn, keep going through those PADDs. Anything referencing field tests on that coil, I want it flagged. Kovar. ::She tilted her head toward the northwest corner.:: With me.
Fenn: ::looking up at the sound of her name:: Yes Commander.
Kovar: Response
The familiar, faint whine of a tricorder signalled to Maezel that they’d found what they were looking for. She tried to not let the sound of repair work distract her from a log entry written by one of the engineers who presumably had occupied this area before her and the others did.
“...and the tests with the harmonic resonance device seem promising. I don’t know if it’s the sound frequency that affects these vine-like things or not but the specimen we placed into the container really doesn’t like certain low frequencies. We’re just waiting for a data analysis from the science team, maybe they can shed some light on this. In the meantime, we’ll try and figure out the issue with power cells overloading. They burn out after only minutes of use and we don’t understand why.”
Maezel looked up from the PADD and once again moved to the crate of junk she’d looked at earlier. Sure enough, on closer inspection the burnt-out parts did look to be from power cells which must have burnt out during tests of the project. She glanced over to Commander Marshall briefly to see if she and Ensign Kovar had made any progress with the replicator.
Kovar: Obviously these materials work well for the purposes of machinery, but not for Starfleet personnel who require mobility. To protect our away team, it would be logical to adopt a similar protective principle. Radiation resistant polyethylene and polymer composites layered between fabric material could be a solution that is sufficiently lightweight while not sacrificing radiation resistance.
zh’Tisav: Consider powdering the metals and mixing them into a polymer. They could coat anything in that form.
Scientifically the ideas were solid. Having a layer of polyethylene would be much better at absorbing incoming radiation, especially when paired with other layers of protection.
Marshall: That's not bad. Which means we need a replicator.
Maezel kept quiet as she continued to read through the PADDs. Most of the information so far was useless or at least didn’t reference what amounted to a sub-space-based bug repellent.
Kovar: Now, the question is whether we have any functioning replicators here that could produce sufficient protective equipment.
zh’Tisav: Behind the shelves in the northwest corner. It’s a Class 4 industrial model, so it’ll handle most small to medium components. Whether it works or not is up to you.
Marshall: Fenn, keep going through those PADDs. Anything referencing field tests on that coil, I want it flagged. Kovar. ::She tilted her head toward the northwest corner.:: With me.
Fenn: ::looking up at the sound of her name:: Yes Commander.
Kovar: Response
The familiar, faint whine of a tricorder signalled to Maezel that they’d found what they were looking for. She tried to not let the sound of repair work distract her from a log entry written by one of the engineers who presumably had occupied this area before her and the others did.
“...and the tests with the harmonic resonance device seem promising. I don’t know if it’s the sound frequency that affects these vine-like things or not but the specimen we placed into the container really doesn’t like certain low frequencies. We’re just waiting for a data analysis from the science team, maybe they can shed some light on this. In the meantime, we’ll try and figure out the issue with power cells overloading. They burn out after only minutes of use and we don’t understand why.”
Maezel looked up from the PADD and once again moved to the crate of junk she’d looked at earlier. Sure enough, on closer inspection the burnt-out parts did look to be from power cells which must have burnt out during tests of the project. She glanced over to Commander Marshall briefly to see if she and Ensign Kovar had made any progress with the replicator.
Marshall: Run a full diagnostic. Tell me what you find.
Kovar: Response
zh'Tisav: Hmm, it looks like they never got around to adding power. Anyone see any power cells?
Marshall: There's a rack of them along the back wall.
Kovar: Response
Maezel chose to remain silent as her mind attempted to connect the dots regarding what the outpost’s engineers were trying to achieve. What had gone so wrong that they needed to create all this specialised technology? It certainly wasn’t a competence issue. If any of the science team were still alive, she’d love to be a fly in the room of that debriefing. The heavy clunk of a power cell hitting a workbench jerked her back to the task at hand.
zh’Tisav: Is it just me, or is that thing watching me?
Marshall: It's not just you. Don't make eye contact. ::She paused, then called across the annex without looking.:: Fenn, how are you getting on? Found anything?
Fenn: ::moving to Lieutenant zh’Tisav:: Actually yes, I think so. You might want to come and see this when you have a second Commander.
Kovar: Response
Marshall: Good. ::She meant it, whichever way it went.:: What's next? Talk me through what you're seeing.
Fenn: ::handing the PADD to zh’Tisav and speaking loud enough for the Commander to hear too:: They got round to adding power but it seems they couldn’t keep it powered for some reason. The engineering team here were experimenting with sub-space coils to make a harmonic resonance device but they never got it working properly. The logs show issues with power cells burning out from overload and it sounds like they never found the right frequency to repel these vines.
Kovar / zh’Tisav: Response
With the replicator coming online, Maezel wondered if the schematics for the harmonic resonance device could be found there. If they were actively testing it then it would make sense that there was some sort of record, if only for spare parts.
Marshall: That sounds like there's a template in its fabrication matrix and it's struggling with it.
Kovar: Response
zh'Tisav: Hmm, it looks like they never got around to adding power. Anyone see any power cells?
Marshall: There's a rack of them along the back wall.
Kovar: Response
Maezel chose to remain silent as her mind attempted to connect the dots regarding what the outpost’s engineers were trying to achieve. What had gone so wrong that they needed to create all this specialised technology? It certainly wasn’t a competence issue. If any of the science team were still alive, she’d love to be a fly in the room of that debriefing. The heavy clunk of a power cell hitting a workbench jerked her back to the task at hand.
zh’Tisav: Is it just me, or is that thing watching me?
Marshall: It's not just you. Don't make eye contact. ::She paused, then called across the annex without looking.:: Fenn, how are you getting on? Found anything?
Fenn: ::moving to Lieutenant zh’Tisav:: Actually yes, I think so. You might want to come and see this when you have a second Commander.
Kovar: Response
Marshall: Good. ::She meant it, whichever way it went.:: What's next? Talk me through what you're seeing.
Fenn: ::handing the PADD to zh’Tisav and speaking loud enough for the Commander to hear too:: They got round to adding power but it seems they couldn’t keep it powered for some reason. The engineering team here were experimenting with sub-space coils to make a harmonic resonance device but they never got it working properly. The logs show issues with power cells burning out from overload and it sounds like they never found the right frequency to repel these vines.
Kovar / zh’Tisav: Response
With the replicator coming online, Maezel wondered if the schematics for the harmonic resonance device could be found there. If they were actively testing it then it would make sense that there was some sort of record, if only for spare parts.
Marshall: That sounds like there's a template in its fabrication matrix and it's struggling with it.
Fenn: It could be parts for the device.
Kovar / Marshall / zh’Tisav: Response
Fenn: ::looking at Lieutenant zh’Tisav:: What do you think Lieutenant? Can you recreate it?
Kovar / Marshall / zh’Tisav: Response
Kovar / Marshall / zh’Tisav: Response
Fenn: ::looking at Lieutenant zh’Tisav:: What do you think Lieutenant? Can you recreate it?
Kovar / Marshall / zh’Tisav: Response
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages