LtJg Lera Michaels - The Keys To The Kingdom

[steve...@yahoo.com]

((OOC - This is very long and I apologize for that.  ))

((Main Engineering, Deck 12, Khitomer))

Dewitt: ::to Vidya:: Your point stands, Ma’am. We will divert some power. ::to Michaels:: Lieutenant, give me a list of what we can pull from without breaking anything we will need today. Whatever buys us a couple of percent on the dampeners.

Michaels: On it, Commander.

Vidya: This is your vessel true First Officer. It is for you to decide which areas should divert power.

Dewitt: Thanks for trusting us with this, Ma’am. Lieutenant Michaels. Run the list.

Michaels: There are not many choices since we have already been operating at a reduced load. The holodecks and the replicators are obvious choices. There is residual capacity within the Sanitary Waste Management systems so that can continue for several hours without additional power. Provided we are going to be operating at reduced power levels we can cut back on basic life support. While our people can get by with colder temperatures for some hours :: glancing at Vidya:: I do not know how sensitive to lower temperatures our guests are.

Vidya: Dampeners are stable and… ::computer bleeps:: One of the masses is proving most difficult to remove from the dampeners. ::to everyone:: Assistance would be wise.

Khitomer shook and Lera shook her head. That was never a good sign. While it was to be hoped that the problem was in the inertial dampeners, there remained the possibility that filaments were still firmly attached to hull plates. If those were not pacified, Khitomer could lose hull plates or SDA panels and the ship might have to stop regardless of what the bridge wanted.

Valeris: ::Looking over the sensor feeds:: Looks like the filaments are catching on to what we are doing.

Dewitt: They’re adapting. Mr Valeris, let’s try to calm them down. Slow the process. If you need a second pair of hands, tell Lieutenant Michaels what to do.

Michaels: The filaments caused major structural damage to the Sheliak ship. It is probable that they lost hull plates as well. If we are going to continue moving, then persuading those filaments to release us is imperative.

Valeris: It looks like this particular cluster is attempting to reflect the transporter beam. Compensating.

Vidya: Your beam must have something the threads want. As I am not familiar with this technological, I can only summarize it as no different than your propulsion.

Dewitt: Compensate however you need to, Commander. ::to Michaels:: Reroute power to increase resolution and buffer coherence time. We need those inertial dampeners.

Michaels: Disconnecting the holodecks and waste treatment ... now. Increasing buffer coherence to 90% of maximum.

Her hands flew across the console so fast that Lera actually began to worry she might turn off something critical by mistake, She held her hands away from the console, fingers extended and closed her eyes for a moment. oO Precision girl. Precision rather than speed. There is a one in five chance that we all survive this, Oo Lera opened her eyes again and began to call up schematics for the ship system. She could sense Vidya watching the displays closely. There was no time to worry about that now. She called up areas which were unoccupied and were seldom accessed other than for maintenance. A tap here and this set of Jeffrey tubes were isolated and powered down. Another set of taps and that cargo bay was in the dark.

The ship shook again.

oO Not too late. Not too late. Oo

Valeris: Almost….there….

Vidya: ::to Michaels:: Might I suggest giving the threads a new target? One your vessel does not care about? Instead of this beam choose something you would discard. Might I suggest power to your food replicators for instance? Or perhaps this halo-deck I have heard mentioned once. Give them the boost and perhaps the threads would be drawn to them?

Lera turned and stared at Vidya for a moment. She allowed a slight smile to creep onto her face.

oO Give them another target. That implies... Oo

Michaels: That is an interesting idea. That implies that the filaments are attracted to energy which is consistent with the behavior we have observed. We need the filaments to release the main ship so it would need to be something away from the ship or something we are prepared to sacrifice. Probes perhaps... Small, ancillary vessels that we can sacrifice without great loss.

Once more, the ship shook.

Valeris: Got it! ::beat:: And almost half of that Dampener. Dammit.

Dewitt: Good work, Commander. This should make the right smoother and the masses less… agitated.

Lera pointed toward the ceiling and bobbed her finger. A glance at Vidya made it clear that the gesture was a complete mystery to the Velithari.

Michaels: Sorry. Just thinking. To maximize the probability of success, we would need to make Khitomer undesirable while making the sacrificial section more desirable.

They still had a third of the masses and filaments to go but for Lera, the critical ones were those gripping the hull and the warp core.

Dewitt: Alright, we’re not done. Mr Valeris, set the warp core free next. There are still a few masses remaining in supplemental systems. Then everything else, masses connected to the hull next.

Vidya: ::questioning:: Is that wise true First Officer? Should the hull not be the priority? My understanding based on the limited information I have on your warp core, going faster than light would put a strain on the Kit-o-more’s hull. Is this correct? What good is your warp core if you can not use it until you are free of the nebula’s cloud and the hull is ready for faster travel.

Michaels: Commander. If we lose hull integrity, we lose everything.

Dewitt: Lieutenant, you’ve said it yourself. The masses in the outer hull are going to be a challenge. I want you to coordinate damage control parties. Take any personnel you need, engineering and operations, to get those outer hull holes fixed up as soon as beaming the masses out rips them open.

Michaels: The holes in the hull are critical and if we do not plug them we will have little time to stop the loss of atmosphere. If the filaments change their behavior again, there is the possibility that we could lose entire sections of the hull. ::deep breath :: We have an idea we would like to try rather than the musical solution. Based of what Vidya has told me, it appears that the filaments are attracted to energy. The botanical analogy lies in phototropism; plants will move to collect more light. If we could put a high energy source, a probe for example in an area undergoing mechanical stress, the filaments should release Khitomer to grab the probe. We could have a crew ready to spray sealant on the holes as a temporary fix.

Vidya: ::without a second thought to the XO:: Shall I assist you Michaels?

Dewitt: ::to Vidya:: Most appreciated, Ma’am. Lieutenant Michaels will know better than I do where your eyes will be most useful.

Valeris: Probably better than staring at a screen watching numbers change.

Michaels: Of course, Miss Vidya.

Vidya: ::bowing to Michaels:: Perhaps you could tell me more about how your warp core works as I assist? We do not have such technological aboard the Jorogumo. I am curious as to how you achieve this faster than travel light.

Lera took another deep breath and stiffened. Vidya was asking for the keys to the kingdom. The virtual definition of whether a species qualified for Prime Directive protection was whether they knew how to achieve faster than light travel. Simply explaining how to do it circumvented years... centuries of development. The decision was too important for a lieutenant junior grade. Lera turned to Connor and hoped that he would rescue her from this decision.

Dewitt: ::to Vidya:: Lieutenant Michaels can walk you through the basics, Ma’am. If you want the deeper engineering it may have to wait until the imminent threat is gone.

Decision made. Whether it was the right one or not was not up to her. What was up to her was how much to tell Vidya without saying too much.

Michaels: This is a very complicated topic and there are two key elements. The first is the warp bubble which distorts regular space allowing us to ignore certain relativistic laws of physics. The second is the tremendous amount of energy required to create the warp bubble, I mentioned earlier the possibility of subatomic particles with the reverse charge from normal. We call that antimatter. When tiny amounts of antimatter are mixed with ordinary matter, an enormous amount of energy is released,

The answer was not wrong but implementing that would require an extraordinary amount of scientific and engineering development to accomplish that. Lera was positive that Vidya did not find that answer ti be very illuminating.

Valeris: ::Half mumbled:: We don’t want to give too many of our secrets away.

Vidya: ::to one of the males:: It was merely a question of curiosity. Were your away team not as curious as I am about our technologicals that you do not possess?

Valeris: Touche

Michaels: We were indeed. And I fully understand your position.

Dewitt: I am still full of questions, Ma’am. I am at least as curious about your technology as you are about ours. Forgive any crew members that are not willingly sharing information, Ma’am. The reason is our Prime Directive.

Vidya: Tell me then, what is this Prime Directive? And why should it matter now? Should Velithair have said such a thing before meeting you? And how does this help us repair your Kit-o-more hull?

Dewitt: Short version Ma’am. The Prime Directive is our most important rule. It says that we do not share our technology with people unless certain conditions are met. ::pause:: It is not because we think you are less. It is because we have made mistakes in our history. Mistakes that were not small. We need to get to know you better before sharing more intimate details of our technology.

It was a reasonable summary of the Prime Directive though Lera was not at all certain Vidya would not take the answer poorly. She sworeto herself, that she would never apply to be a diplomat. Nice hard facts were complicated enough for her.

Valeris: ::Holding up his hand slightly:: Not to mention interfering with natural development of a civilization. Introducing our technology could greatly affect the natural outcome of a society.

Vidya: Response

Dewitt: Mr Valeris, where are we on the warp core systems? Are the masses out? And where is our power output?

Valeris: I had to take my time with these ones, Commander. We’ve managed about 68% of the full intrusion into the warp systems. Plasma conduits are clear, reaction chamber is almost there, dilthium matrix is clear. ::beat:: Power generation is steadily climbing as we slowly clear out what we need. I would say we should have about 74% of full power within the next hour. ::beat:: You know, barring anything catastrophic.

Vidya: Response

Dewitt: Alright. Commander, once those systems are clear, start lining up the hull connected masses. ::beat:: Lieutenant Michaels, where are we on the damage control parties?

Valeris: Hull masses targeted for next run, sir.

Michaels: The damage control teams are standing by. There are two issues. Precisely where they need to go which is a function of criticality and the damage that needs to be repaired. It should be apparent that we can not repair damage before it occurs. Plugging a few thousand holes is one thing. Replacing a damaged hull plate is a different matter. They can not be everywhere at once.

Valeris: Someone said that the cloud was sensitive to subspace, right?

Michaels: Unless I am mistaken, the Velithari have been visited a number of times by warp capable ships. The "takers" several years ago. The all female ship that Lt. Semara referenced before. Other ships that initiated the rumors :: quick glance at Vidya and a slight shake of Lera's head to tell Vidya to ask later:: about the Velithari. The Lattice Alliance ships that included that derelict vessel we initially encountered. It is improbable that none of those craft engaged their warp drives near the nebula. Were we not at warp one when we entered the nebula? I believe the nebula is no more than minimally impacted by the warp fields.

Valeris: When we have the ability, I think we need to be out of the cloud as fast as possible. We don’t want to kick this immune response, or whatever it is, back into overdrive. That wouldn’t help any of us.

DeWitt/Vidya: Response

Michaels: In our current condition, my preference would be to stay in the nebula rather than expose ourselves to a Lattice Alliance battle group. :: beat :: In the interim, sir, I would like permission to try the probes. If successful, it would minimize the damage and give us a better idea of where to send our damage control teams.

Dewitt/Vidya: Response

Lera called up the display and overlaid the hull stresses. There were three locations that were approaching critical stress levels.

Michaels: I would send three probes to just off the hull here, here and here. If it doesn't work, we will be out three probes. If it does work, we will have less damage.

DeWitt/Valeris/Vidya: Response

Tags/TBC ——— ○● ——— LtJg Lera Michaels

Engineering Officer
USS Khitomer
K240106LM2