MSNPC LtCmdr. T'Dara: Patience (Part I)
Randal Shayne
((OOC: This normally goes without saying, but a reminder here won't be amiss- everything here is totally, entirely and strictly in character! :D ))
((Deck 1, Conference Room, USS Khitomer))
Lieutenant Commander T’Dara was not sleeping.
Her eyes, a brilliant, vibrant mud color, were peacefully closed, and under her haughty, green-tinged lids, they moved in an incessant searching frenzy, darting back and forth across the folds of her mind’s images. Her sharp-tipped ears, elongated even for her people’s elvish persuasions, processed and chopped up every minute sound, squeak and swish as either relevant or not. Slender fingers, unusually calloused and stumpy for her world’s delicate, willowy tendencies, were intertwined, save for her index fingers, which were elongated meditatively and pressed together, laid lightly upon her philtrum.
Swish went the door.
Swish went the door.
One eye opened, and it swept the room methodically before arriving at the handsome individual who’d just entered. Humanoid, brown hair, red collar, two and a half pips. The details of his face were a gut confirmation of what she already knew- Commander Hobart had entered, and was probably not expecting to find a thoughtfully indisposed Vulcanian leaning comfortably back in one of the conference room’s plush chairs.
She favored him with a one-eye-open nod of silent, mechanical recognition, and returned to her pensive state.
Over the next twenty or so minutes, the swish-swish of the door became an almost musical refrain, melding with the sound of chatter over the intercom, the buzz of the decks as the USS Khitomer violated space as gently as possible to exceed physics’ limitations, and the squeak of chairs as officers filed in. The senior staff was a melange of various genders, species and personal grooming habits- a single, subtle sniff confirmed that- but it interested her in not even the slightest. The wiry, illuminated images of the upgrades and processes she had overseen were far more engaging to her mechanically sympathetic mind.
Hobart: Ensign Cain, our course is set on the path I gave you?
The meeting had started- without an important component of the crew. She had not realized that Captain Shayne would not be present- though the surprise was not entirely unwelcome. She disliked the gaunt-eyed human being. Perhaps it was the way the years pressed on his features like an elevated gravity environment. Perhaps it was the way in which he asserted control in the most subtle and yet grand fashions. Or perhaps it was because his concept of "personal grooming” seemed to be informed by bands of Bolian macaques nibbling snar larvae off one another’s unmentionables.
Her nose wrinkled at the overwhelming memory of his self-neglect. Hobart, whatever his command credentials, at least understood the value of frequent application of deodorant.
Cain: Aye, sir. Course is locked in.
Hobart: Good work, I'll give you the final coordinates when we're done here. ::to the rest of the room:: Thank you for coming, everyone. Normally, Captain Shayne would be giving this briefing, and as you can tell I'm not him. He’s away to attend to other matters, and will be rejoining us upon the completion of our mission.
T’Dara gave another, silent sniff, and nodded one time in approval. He was, indeed, not Captain Shayne. Of course, the burly man would be back- but by that time, she would be loooooong gone.
Hobart: As most of you are aware, Khitomer has undergone substantial upgrade and modification since we arrived in the Sol System. What you may not know is that a number of these modifications are experimental upgrades meant to neutralize the Lattice Alliance’s most powerful weapons: the Sencha wave disruptors. What you're about to hear doesn't leave this room. Commander?
T’Dara opened her eyes and mouth to speak, but the chief engineer- a human she would have found more than tolerable, were it not for the emotional high of his recent union infusing everything he did- beat her to the punch. She translated the gaffe into a chin scratch, and resumed her close-eyed vigil.
C. Dewitt: Right… We have worked tirelessly with Starfleet’s Corps of Engineers to install two new experimental systems. Access to these systems on the command level is restricted to senior staff and bridge crew. There is no one with access outside of this room. These systems are a sensitive matter to our safety and the ability of the Federation to defend against Sencha Wave Disruptors. I expect you to report any suspicious activity to both me and Commander Hobart.
T’Dara acknowledged his words with an approving “Hm” from the back of her throat. Security, like engineering, started from the ground up. If everyone understood their place from the beginning, slips could be limited- or at least the guilty party could be charged and imprisoned.
She had no patience for sabotage.
C. Dewitt: The Sencha Dispersion Array, or SDA, experimental advanced defensive system integrated into the USS Khitomer's navigational deflector array, designed specifically to counteract Sencha Wave Radiation attacks from Lattice Alliance vessels. Before firing, the SDA requires a charge-up period, during which the deflector harmonizes with the ship’s power grid to build the necessary energy. In an emergency, specialized high-capacity energy capacitors allow for a single additional discharge even if main power is offline. However, due to the strain on the deflector, each activation weakens the structural integrity of the dish, limiting repeated use and requiring recalibration after multiple firings. You’ll find technical specifications as necessary in your mission briefings.
T’Dara raised an eyebrow, but kept speech to herself. Nothing he’d said was wrong, but he’d not conveyed the elegance of the solution, the aesthetic cohesion of the design, the sheer… excellence of it all.
It wasn’t boasting if it was objectively true, and it wasn’t selfish if she knew she was but a part of the team that had pioneered it. But to do what they’d done in so short a time? Even by her exceedingly high standards, it was a remarkable achievement.
Now to see if their prowess was sufficient to stop these tests from going poorly.
R. Matthews: ::sing singing lowly under his breath :: If I could turn back time.
One watery eye opened, its mud-hued iris staring with both confusion and ire. Was that a reference to her? The notion that the Vulcan Science Directorate had determined that time travel was impossible? She suppressed her already suppressed emotions further. What happened to her family in the wake of that galling dismantling of dogma could not affect her performance here.
Whatever differences she and her dispersed Romulan cousins stood behind, they were right about one thing; humans had a habit of showing up when you least expected them- sometimes in a memory, and sometimes from right behind you.
C. Dewitt: The second system is a subspace resonant hull plating. It is an experimental countermeasure designed to mitigate the neurological effects of Sencha Wave Radiation on telepathic crew members. By generating a low-frequency subspace resonance field across the ship’s outer hull, the plating disrupts the radiation’s harmonics before they can penetrate the interior and affect organic minds. However, this system requires constant fine-tuning, as excessive resonance can interfere with the ship’s own subspace communications and sensor resolution. Additionally, prolonged activation can cause localized energy fluctuations, temporarily weakening shield efficiency in certain sectors of the ship.
It might take a hundred years to rule out those particular weaknesses; a solution would need to be initiated on a quantum level. But by that point, would not other technologies take over from her designs? The completionist of her mother warred with the ambition of her father. Her tongue pushed against the roof of her mouth stiffly.
Hobart: Thank you, Commander. Given that there are two experiments, we're going to have two independent teams focused on them. Commander Dewitt will run the hull plating tests, with Lieutenant Croix and Ensign Matthews as support.
C. Dewitt: Yes, Sir. ::nodding to Croix and Matthews::
T’Dara opened her eyes just long enough to place names with faces, and then closed them again, the information she’d required having been effectively inputted.
R. Matthews: Sounds like fun.
T’Dara: oO Only if something goes quite incorrectly. Oo
Her thoughts momentarily drifted back to the first lab-based tests of concept, and the horrifying sensation of teeth loosening in her gums as the localized resonance bombarded her insufficiently protected self. Her tongue licked the top of her mouth again. If she thought back hard enough, she could still taste the buzzing.
Croix: Response
Hobart: For the navigational deflector, Mister Semara will be project lead, supported by Ensigns Michaels and Cain.
Again T’Dara opened her eyes, and scanned the faces before her. To her dismay, none of the faces that reacted had anything more than a single pip to their name.
T’Dara: oO I sail upon a ship of babes. Oo
Cain: Aye, Commander. ::Using a decisive tone:: We’ll get it done.
Well, at least they seemed confident. Of course, overconfident youth were hardly a rarity in Starfleet. Some of the brown hair, shorn short atop her head, had begun its inevitable transition to steely grey, but but two or three years before, she’d had lieutenants mistake her for a freshly commissioned ensign.
Those days had not been enjoyable for those lieutenants.
Michaels: Response
Semara: Aye, sir. :: Catching a glance from the chief engineer, she nodded in understanding :: I'll coordinate with Commander Dewitt after we're done here.
T’Dara indicated approval by closing her eyes again.
Hobart: In order for these tests to work, we need Sencha waves. That's where our friend from SCE comes in. ::indicating to the Vulcan:: Commander T’Dara has mounted a tuned-down emitter salvaged from DS33 to a probe, and it'll be shooting at us. Which is why Commander Ohnari and Lieutenant Dewitt will be responsible for making sure we don't kill ourselves in the process.
Her pursed lips quickly disappeared, but she disagreed- it was her responsibility to ensure they weren’t killed. Ohnari and Dewitt were there to assist- and keep them from dying if she failed.
Which she wouldn’t.
Didn’t.
Couldn’t?
Best not to dive too deeply into her own plomeek broth. That was what had sent her mother into-
A Dewitt: Aye sir.
T'Dara: Acknowledged.
Her voice, underutilized and somewhat nasally, contained an arch propriety and haughtiness that was carefully cultivated. Emotions might not be tolerable in her society, but pride apparently was mandatory. She was all too… ready… to own that aspect of it.
Hobart: While all that is going on, Lieutenant Matthews will work up strategic plans for combating Lattice boarding parties. Lieutenants Zerva and El’Heem will assist. Make the most of our downtime, gentlemen. I don't want to be close quarters again, but if it happens I want us to be ready.
TBC...
MSNPC LtCmdr. T'Dara
Starfleet Corps of Engineers Consultant
as simmed by
Captain Randal Shayne
Commanding Officer
USS Khitomer
NCC 62400
G239202RS