LtCmdr Connor Dewitt - Nebulas
Tim
((Main Engineering, Deck 12, Khitomer))
Dewitt: Commander, change of order. Warp core slides to the run after next. This one goes into weapons systems. Every filament sitting on a torpedo magazine, loading mechanism or launch tube comes first.
Connor watched Valeris start to adjust the targeting. The Commander knew his job. That was reassuring.
Valeris: ::A quick nod:: Aye, sir. Changing targets.
He should not have needed to second-guess the change of plan. But the call from Amelia kept replaying in the back of his head. It had been short. Almost too short for what Connor imagined she must have in mind. Being down here felt wrong by now. With all the familiarities he felt for this place and all the love he had for the ship’s systems, his place was on the bridge now.
Michaels: Response
Vidya: SDA? Explain.
Connor turned slightly. Vidya seemed to look at him directly and he realized that he had used the abbreviation twice now without giving any further explanation. He took a breath.
Dewitt: My apologies… SDA stands for Sencha Dispersion Array. It is a defensive systems Starfleet developed to counter the shots of Sencha radiation originating from Lattice Alliance vessels by dispersing its energy. The system is effective, but experimental.
Michaels: Response
Vidya: ::nods:: I see. So it is a weapon? ::to the XO:: You mentioned you have used this SDA before in another nebula? What were the results?
Valeris: ::To himself:: Nothing good, i’m assuming.
Connor shot the Commander a sharp look. Funny comments here and there were one thing, but he needed to keep his mouth shut in diplomatic situations.
Dewitt: It’s not a weapon. It is more like a shield. ::beat:: As for the last time we used it inside a nebula, it interacted with the material around us and sent a strong feedback pulse through the system that made us go dark for half a day.
He could have said more. The actual memory was not pretty. The first officer decided to leave it where it was.
Michaels: Response
Vidya: Then I would advise using caution within the nebula cloud until such a time you have preparation. You have advised, true First Officer, keeping the SDA away from the center is a wise decision. I concur with that assessment. I recommend getting as close to the edge of the nebula’s cloud as possible before its use.
Connor nodded slowly. He had been thinking the same thing. But again, it was not up to him. And he had to fight the urge to make it up to him.
Valeris: Least chance of damage, the better.
Dewitt: Thank you, Ma’am. I’ll pass that on to Lieutenant Semara by message. I would rather not need to use the SDA at all.
Michaels: Response
Vidya: Very well. That is your prerogative. ::looking about:: How shall I assist with the torpedoes? Will there be more transporting of masses away from them?
Connor took a deep breath while his fingers were sending the message. Right. The torpedoes. He needed to focus.
Valeris: Masses and filaments around the launchers and magazines have been targeted. ::Tapping the console:: Beginning transport now. ::towards Vidya:: Sorry, there isn’t much to do but wait now.
Connor watched the screen. The transporter indicator started. It took a second longer than usual. A second longer than Connor felt comfortable with. He held his breath without realizing it.
Dewitt: Good. Commander, the moment those bays are clean, give me a report. ::to Michaels:: How are the buffers handling the patterns, Lieutenant?
Michaels/Vidya: Response
Valeris: Should only be a few minutes, then we should have some freed up offenses.
Another nod. Amelia would see when their capacities came online again, no need to call anyone. The clock on her plan was already running.
Connor took a few seconds to look around the room. Engineering had come back to life. Two junior crewmen were patching a console near the warp core. Another team was running diagnostics on the EPS junctions they had just cleared. The lullaby was still playing quietly through the speakers. It was quieter than before. Valeris must have turned it down at some point. Connor had not notice.
Then a damage control panel chirped from across the room. Immediately, Connor’s senses sharpened again.
Dewitt: Report!
Michaels/Vidya/Valeris: Response
Connor took the answers as they came. He felt his teeth grinding against one another.
Dewitt: The vibrations of the ship must be a problem once the thrusters fired. ::tapping a few buttons:: Power generation is back at 34%. That’s enough for emergency forcefields around the hull breach plugging masses.
34%. Two hours ago they had been below survival. The masses they had pulled off the reactors and nacelles were paying off exactly the way the math said they would. It was a nice change of scenery and it still surprised him a little.
Michaels/Vidya/Valeris: Response
Dewitt: Alright… Inertial Dampeners are a new priority. ::beat:: What percentage of the masses have we removed?
Michaels/Vidya/Valeris: Response
TAG/TBC
LtCmdr Connor Dewitt
First Officer
USS Khitomer
A239901CD3