MSNPC LtCmdr. T'Dara: Later That Same Day...

7 views

Skip to first unread message

Randal Shayne

unread,

May 23, 2025, 2:16:03 PM5/23/25

to sb118-k...@googlegroups.com

((Deck 12, near Main Engineering, USS Khitomer))

Prix: =/\= Ouchita to Khitomer Bridge, Engineering and Sickbay. We transported Lieutenant El’Heem to sickbay. The energy discharge hit us hard… We will try to return to Khitomer shortly. Ouchita out.=/\=

T’Dara’s lips pursed, but she kept her eyes on the job. The probe was disabled. The most accurate human assessment she could give under the circumstances was “hmm”. Of course, that was far too emotional for her people. A more tacit “hm” was more appropriate.

This device she had worked on, built with her own bare hands, her own tools, and a veritable detachment of SCE personnel… was no longer functional. It was disabled- probably in a fashion that would make it difficult to reactivate it; or, at least, so challenging as to make repairing it a pointlessly exhaustive effort.

Hm.

Dewitt: That’s good news…

T’Dara: Acknowledged, commander.

He was, of course, right. Any one of them might be expendable for the purposes of the mission, but on the whole, loss of life was the single most undesirable outcome of any goal. If it could be saved, it was worth doing so- even at the expense of the last year of work. And yet, for all the oversights she and the SCE had committed, the sheer, unbridled bad fortune to decide to test her device in the one place in all of space time to experience such bizarre, subspace nonsense was… unique. It was almost as if fate were laughing at her.

Klingons and Vulcans had little in common, but both had done away with their god figures. One species had killed them, the other had simply moved past them. But when examining the illogical chain of events leading to the present, T’Dara could only think of one thing.

The Vulcan Science Directorate has determined that gods don’t play fair.

Dewitt: A little more enthusiasm, Commander… ::pause:: My gel pack diagnostics for the warp core came back all green. Let’s start up the dilithium chamber control and the injector systems.

T’Dara: Acknowledged.

T’Dara kept a close watch on the intermix chambers, watching containment figures increase steadily and safely. When Dewitt needed to attend to communications, she was able to smoothly assume his monitoring duties. Eyes downcast, she listened carefully.

Hobart: =/\= Bridge to Engineering. I need my ship, Con. Have you tried unplugging it and plugging it back in?

T’Dara looked up for a moment, eyebrows quivering. Unplugging? Plugging back in? Was the human commander serious? Was there something of unique note in that statement that went over her well-quaffed head? Or were they talking about a different sort of plug?

Now a single eyebrow stayed in the air. She’d no idea that human relationships could be so mature.

Dewitt: =/\= Brilliant idea, Nolen. Why haven’t I thought of it? Let me quickly press Control-Alt-Deflector for you. =/\=

A final examination of the live-feed schematics indicated a readiness to take things to the next level.

Dewitt: ::quietly:: Start injecting the critical mass of matter once the injectors are online.

T’Dara: Acknowledged.

With containment well within parameters, and a steady flow of mass ready for injecting, T’Dara carefully and calmly began the insertion process. A pair of tiny tendrils of matter made their way slowly towards the intermix chamber, and as they contacted the central point, the matter streams began to thicken and speed up, a precise chain reaction capitalizing on physical laws to use every ounce of energy attainable.

Hobart: =/\= Response =/\=

Dewitt: =/\= I know, I know. We have replaced all gel packs for the warp core systems. If everything goes well, we will have main power in a few minutes. Then we only have to reroute essential computer functions and get to DS33 or wherever and spend our shore leave replacing gel packs. =/\=

T’Dara swallowed her comments. Dewitt was correct, logically, ethically, in every way. So why did she find it so difficult to abandon the probe? Her mission? Her agenda?

Hobart: =/\= Response =/\=

Dewitt: =/\= ::thin smile:: Oh we’re in this together, Sir. And I’m absolutely certain you’ll want to be right there making sure I get all the help I need - especially with the mountains of tedious diagnostics, endless system reboots, and delightful manual recalibrations. Wouldn’t dream of doing it without your expert oversight.=/\=

For the first time in a long time… T’Dara felt nothing. No emotion. Not even the hints of one. After being so stricken with feeling, the absence of such felt unnatural. Unhinged. She closed her eyes briefly, and looked inward, and saw a floating void of black, with sunlight streaming in from some distant, high-up source. Dust particles floated in the ambling breeze, and she looked about, trying to gain ground on that which she had so diligently avoided acknowledging. In the distance, a tiny pinprick of red stormed towards her, and she leapt out of the way as it barreled past.

She watched unbridled fury roar past, its screeching demands for action only detached from her body by her iron will.

Hobart: =/\= Response =/\=

Hobart’s words brought her back to the present, and she leaned on the console momentarily to regain her equilibrium.

Dewitt: =/\= You got it. Give me five minutes, I’ll keep you updated. Dewitt out. =/\=

The chief looked at her, and she had to fight the sensation of being inspected, watched, judged.

T’Dara: Injectors are operating smoothly. We are at 1,200 milligrams of deuterium, climbing at a rate of fifty miligrams per second.

Dewitt: That sounds perfect… Let’s inject the antimatter and start the reaction. Start with one-hundred milligrams per second and follow the delta-2 injection pattern.

T’Dara nodded. Already within the matrix, flashes were beginning to emit. A 1:1 ratio of matter to antimatter was the norm when converting either to explosive energy potential, but in order to effectively disperse that energy into a constant, rhythmic pattern (as was recommended for warp drives) a series of smaller reactions beforehand was recommended, so as to disperse heat, energy, plasma residue and deuterium throughout the chamber. It was normal, everyday stuff- the sort of thing any second year engineering student would be taught.

So why had it taken her even a second to figure out why it was necessary?

She thought of sickbay, and the non-judgemental attitudes she would find within those white bulkheads. She thought of the kind faces, the competent care, the gentle acceptance of who she was, and who she was turning into. But none of them would be able to stop it. None of them would be able to tell her that she’d return to normal, or she’d have greater control over herself, or she’d feel truly Vulcan ever again. The vulnerability would only ever get worse. The fragility. The hatred of her own being.

That was why she worked so hard. That was why this had mattered.

And this was why she’d never forgive herself for what she’d put the Khitomer through as a result of her selfish ineptitude.

T’Dara: Delta 2 acknowledged. Antimatter flow regulators in Stage 1 sequence. Stand by.

The antimatter began to seep into the containment chamber, slowly, slowly. It felt like an eternity to T’Dara, an impatient being at the best of times, but she also understood why it was so painfully drawn out. The gel packs that they’d replaced the old ones with had not had a chance to properly integrate with one another. As such, it was like asking six people to do the careful work of one; without enormous caution, the effort would be thrown out of sync.

Michaels: =/\= Michaels to Commander Dewitt. I am back on Khitomer.=/\=

Dewitt: =/\= Welcome home, Ensign. I hear you were successful? =/\=

Dewitt’s words nearly elicited a snort from T’Dara. How unladylike. How un-Vulcan. And yet, rating the destruction of the probe as “successful” was ironic in the extreme.

Michaels: =/\= I am uncertain how much of the probe is left but I suspect Commander T'Dara will not be overjoyed about it. I will leave it to you or Commander Hobart to deal with her on that matter. =/\=

T’Dara did not even look up. “Deal with her”. Deal with her. It wasn’t just her probe that was the problem. It wasn’t just the SCE. It was her. Her.

Dewitt: =/\= I’ll brief you on her thoughts on the matter, Ensign. Anything else? =/\=

A sparkle of wrath twinkled in the aging Vulcan’s eyes before she could suppress it. It would be difficult to brief anyone on her thoughts, as words had yet to be invented to describe the sheer ugliness of them.

Michaels: =/\= You may not be aware but I had a few moments of unconsciousness. I believe it was a malfunctioning air purification unit but Doctor El'Heem mentioned hypoxia. =/\=

Dewitt: =/\= You should report to sickbay then. =/\=

And, T’Dara thought uncharitably, consider talking less.

Michaels: =/\= I know. I also know that Doctor Ohnari will be angry if I do not check in with her expeditiously. My plan is to check in at Sickbay and return to Engineering as soon as she clears me. =/\=

Dewitt:=/\= Agreed. Make it quick. As soon as you feel up for it, report to Engineering. We have a ship to fix. =/\=

The intermix chamber took on a steadying hue of blue as the antimatter reaction began to take solid hold, but it was still not at a self-sustaining level.

Michaels: =/\= Understood. Michaels out. =/\=

Dewitt: If you need to get anything out because of the probe, do it now and make it quick.

Part of her considered ignoring Dewitt, but that would have been insubordinate as well as unprofessional, so she leveled her tone as best she could.

T’Dara: Nothing further, Commander.

Dewitt: Alright… with that out of the way… Let’s focus on the startup process again. We should be at least at 150 kilowatts output now… Efficiency is way too low. Any ideas?

For a brief moment, she was not a problem. She felt young again, barely in her fifties. She felt lively, and the rippling potential of possibilities scouring along her flesh.

T’Dara: The new gel packs haven’t formed neural pathways with each other yet. It’s suppressing efficiency in reaction stabilization, energy conservation… everything.

Dewitt: Alright… Let’s try it and get to the next injection stage to get main power running again.

Once they brought it to the next level, they could depend on the reaction to maintain itself without so much intervention from them, and from there, the packs could begin to integrate with each other.

T’Dara: Acknowledged.

((Timeskip, 12 hours, Deck 12, Main Engineering, USS Khitomer))

T’Dara: Commander.

She extended a PADD with a smudged, dirty hand, immaculate nails jagged from a dozen harsh impacts. But there was a pride in her eyes that had not been present for some hours, and it was good to pretend that it would stay for awhile this time.

Dewitt: Response

T’Dara: Gel packs have been replaced on the bridge, engineering, astrometrics and all other priority locations. Efforts are ongoing for Decks 4 through 17. Compromised gel packs have been secured in Cargo Bay 2 inside hermetically sealed crates.

Slowly, but steadily, life had seemed to return to the Khitomer, though not without some effort. It was a team effort at its heart, not a competition or a scramble to compete with others. This was what she’d missed. She wondered when she’d experience it again.

Dewitt: Response

T’Dara: We are running low on new packs; with your permission I’d like to authorize hard-links to the main computer. It will not be as rapid or as smooth, but we should be able to control most, if not all, aspects of the ship- albeit somewhat clumsily.

She wondered if she was stating things less dramatically than was due. The slow-down, compared to what the crew was used to, would be considerable. Still, it would allow them to finish their mission; fix whatever anomaly they were rooted next to, and report to DS33 for refit and repair.

Dewitt: Response

Tag/TBC… MSNPC Lieutenant Commander T'Dara Starfleet Corps of Engineers Observer As simmed by