LtCmdr Connor Dewitt - Plans
Tim
((Deck 12, Main Engineering, USS Khitomer))
The amount of calls the Chief Engineer had been expecting for a crew of this size had been less than those that were actually reaching him. The inbox of their ticket system was bursting from a mix of automatically and manually generated error reports throughout the ship. The task of merely prioritizing those tickets was done by the ship’s computer and Connor was glad that that functionality still seemed to work, although it was slower than usual. He tried to get a hold of the most important issues when his tricorder chirped.
Michaels: =/\= Michaels to Dewitt and T'Dara. I am at the probe now. This is an impressive bit of engineering. I might be able to figure this out on my own but that could take a considerable amount of time. If I am going to check its status and deactivate it within a reasonable timeframe, I will require detailed instructions. =/\=
That had been fast. Connor was impressed and a thin smile covered his lips. The Commander T’Dara replied and Connor’s eyes searched Engineering for the Vulcan woman from SCE.
T’Dara: =/\= This is T’Dara. I will join Commander Dewitt momentarily. For now, locate the primary internal system hatch, and enter code 87734 on the computer interface directly to the right of it. =/\=
The Chief Engineer would have reprimanded her for the lax security system if it would not come in so handy at this point.
Dewitt: =/\= Monitor the energy flow and get back to the Runabout as soon as problems arise, Ensign. =/\=
Croix: Response
The two women arrived at Connor’s working station and he greeted them with a quick nod.
T’Dara: =/\= Inside you should see a pair of bioneural gel packs aligned against a small reactor, and below it you will find three rows of isolinear chips. Avoid the far left chip on any level; if we cannot be sure the probe will remain powerless, each will carry a plasma charge sufficient to vaporize your hand. =/\=
Connor raised an eyebrow in the fashion that only a Vulcan usually did. T’Dara’s description sounded like somebody cramped all the systems necessary to fire a Sencha Wave inside a probe without a real plan or thought out Engineering because they had an empty probe lying around.
Dewitt: ::mumbling:: Do we have plans for the probe somewhere?
Croix/T’Dara: Response
Michaels: =/\= Not touching the isolinear chips sounds like an exceptionally fine idea. =/\=
Without external sensors, there was no point in following any signal from Michaels attempts to deactivate the probe. They Khitomer - at this point - even seemed to have a hard time to establish a sensor uplink to the Ouchita. Connor was impressed that they could talk to Michaels without any significant delays.
Michaels: =/\= The interior of the probe appears to be as pristine as it was when it left the laboratory. There are the bio-neural gel packs. Color can be deceiving in this lighting. My immediate reaction is that they appear to be light blue. =/\=
Light blue would be better than anything they had found aboard the Khitomer. The Chief Engineer felt his pulse getting a little slower and his heart slowing down the blood flow.
Michaels: =/\= Everything appears to be as designed. There is a high probability that the probe is operating as intended. ::beat:: I must say I am surprised at how much power this reactor must generate to test Khitomer's new shield system. Imagine what it could do if connected to ... =/\=
Connor pricked up his ears as the Vulcan Ensign stopped mid-sentence. Not a very Vulcan thing to do. Maybe something she had picked up from her Human parents. He looked at the Vulcan woman in front of him.
T'Dara: =/\= Response =/\=
Michaels: =/\= I apologize. I was struck by a thought. What do you need when developing bulletproof armor? =/\=
Connor rubbed his eyes. Another one of Lera’s lectures when she was just supposed to disarm the probe.
T'Dara: =/\= Response =/\=
Michaels: =/\= You need a gun capable of firing the projectiles you are trying to stop. What do you need if you are going to test a shielding system's ability to resist a Sencha weapon's fire? You need a weapon robust enough to challenge the defense. This probe was not developed just for this test. The probe itself is a prototype, is it not? Or you mount a couple of these bad boys on a starship, power them with a warp core, and you have yourself one heluva weapon. =/\=
With every sentence Lera said, Connor felt the anger return to his body. A lab experiment was built with safety in mind. It was designed with a red button that could be pushed to stop the experiment in its tracks, before it got too dangerous. A weapon was built to hit its target under every circumstance. It had other priorities and it was a hole different system to work on.
C.Dewitt: Commander?
Croix/T'Dara: =/\= Response =/\=
Connor gulped. That had been the most Vulcan answer he could have expected. He looked down and saw more and more error reports popping into his inbox. His voice was quiet, but determined.
C.Dewitt: Give us a clear answer, Commander. This is not only your life you are playing with, it’s the lives of a crew I’ve sworn to protect. We don’t have time. How can the probe be deactivated?
Croix/T’Dara: Response
TAG/TBC
LtCmdr Connor Dewitt Chief Engineer & Second Officer USS Khitomer A239901CD3