Lieutenant (JG) Thea Kairis - Juggling Act
Quinn Reynolds
((Power Plant, Gibaria Outpost))
Thea studied the screen for a little while, looking over all the work done. zh'Tisav's power rerouting, well done, but growing more unstable as the EPS grid slowly ticked into warning colours. The coolant systems working overtime to shunt excess power through exchanges and out past the facility. The various devices around the gate going dark, one by one, burning out as they performed a task they were never intended for.
They had built a house of cards, as the humans would say, and it wouldn't take much for the whole thing to come tumbling down.
Kairis: This is our window if we want to decrease the reactor output. We'd need to bring that down, bring the backup generators online, and monitor to make sure that a new power source doesn't break everything we've patched. ::She sighed.:: Possibly while standing on our heads and singing the Federation anthem backwards, given how the day has gone so far.
zh'Tisav: Stars the among trek we as on, sea and land on lifeforms new finding… ::She caught the expected looks from her teammates. Her antennae curled toward each other; an Andorian smile.:: What? You said sing it backwards… ::Pause.:: I'm not standing on my head though, hurts the antennae...
Sevo: Honestly, I forgot we had one. We never sing it.
Thea smiled slightly. Perhaps not aboard the Gorkon. She'd learned it young on Tyrellia and sang it many times at many events and functions, along with their own anthem. She felt an odd pang of homesickness, and it was odd because at the same time she was absolutely relieved she wasn't at home.
zh'Tisav: We'll need to balance reducing reactor output with increasing the backup output. If we are too far off, we could create another surge. Even so, we may still get mini-surges.
Sevo: Do the best you can. Let me know how I can help.
Kairis: I think the best thing you can do, sir, is monitor the gate and give us warning if anything changes.
zh'Tisav: ::Tapping on her PADD.:: I'm letting the other teams know what we're planning to do, and to stand clear of any equipment connected to the grid, just in case.
Sevo: Oh, so you're saying there's a small chance of explosions. Who wants to bet they're going to happen in Tahna's vicinity?
The joke didn't quite land with Thea, who had narrowly avoided the explosion that had injured the rest of her team. Her valiant attempt at a smile was a little thin, and she turned away quickly to study a console screen so that her face didn't have to be as tidy as the situation might otherwise demand.
Sevo: Will the reactor-to-gate line be affected? Random feedbacks have been enough of a pain.
The Andorian shifted slightly, and Thea glanced her way to see zh'Tisav share a look with her. The woman's antenna flicked toward each other in what appeared to be a smile, but it didn't quite fit the circumstances. Something a little more blasé, perhaps? She wasn't too experienced at reading the antenna expressions, given how few Andorians made their way to Tyrellia.
zh'Tisav: Best guess? Maybe. The gate is a pretty big question mark.
Sevo: Anything along the path we can shut down to lower the chances of surges?
Kairis: No, I don't think so. The surges are all coming from whatever is on the other side of that gate. What we have switched on this side doesn't make much of a difference.
Whatever Sevo had been working on — Thea guessed some kind of notification system to alert if anything changed with the gateway — she finished it with a tap on the console. Hopefully, that would give them some warning if a power surge happened during the power switchover.
Sevo: Alright, I think I've done all I can. How about you two? What's next?
zh'Tisav: We lower the reactor and bring the back-ups online. Slowly, until the AQS reaches minimum output.
Kairis: It's going to be a bit of a juggling act, but as long as we go carefully, we should be able to manage it.
zh'Tisav: Commander, we'll need you to monitor the grid for instabilities. Thea and I will catch what we can, but the extra eyes will certainly help.
Sevo: Response
zh'Tisav: Once it reaches minimum output, the core will have more room to absorb future surges. A bit like letting some of the air out of a balloon. And we may be able to dump its output into a dummy circuit, which will help with the surges as well.
It was an experience she might excitedly talk about later. Pacing across the carpet of her or Rix's quarters barefoot, talking about how remarkable it was to work with such a unique piece of technology. Right then and there, she was doing her best not to look as overwhelmed as she felt. Oh, there was no doubt a manual buried somewhere — you just couldn't have a piece of technology as complicated as this without some kind of reference material — but they hardly had the time to find and digest it.
Kairis: The monitoring systems all seem to have thresholds baked in, so I don't think we'll be able to put the reactor into a dangerous configuration. ::She rubbed her forehead.:: Absent any external forces, of course.
Sevo / zh'Tisav: Response
Her slim fingers danced over the controls, checking the status of the backup generators. With the touch of a few commands, they obediently came online, appearing on the EPS grid map in reassuring and solid green. Her lavender eyes briefly travelled toward the spot on the map that marked the gateway and silently prayed to gods she only half believed in that it would remain stable during the switchover.
Kairis: Well, here goes nothing. ::She glanced at the other two women.:: Backups are connected to the grid and I'm ready to increase power.
Sevo / zh'Tisav: Response
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Engineer (Damage Control)
USS Gorkon
simmed by
Commanding Officer
USS Gorkon
T238401QR0