Lieutenant JG Amelia Semara - Gel-Pack Purgatory

[Max]

(( OOC: As ever, Amelia's thoughts and feelings are 100% in character!  Y'all are as awesome as ever! ))

((Main Engineering, Deck 12, USS Khitomer, en route))

Lacy: The cavalry has arrived.

The voice of an engineering ensign Amelia had met precisely once - Ginny Lacy, wasn't it? - welcomed her into main engineering.  She gave the woman a pleasant smile for the pleasant greeting, willing herself to slow down again.  It seemed that she had, in fact, arrived precisely at the same time as Richard, and didn't want to disrupt convenient illusion of timing, then.  Better no one (outside of command) was any the wiser of her background computer search.

Michaels: I am endeavoring to avoid being trampled by the horses. :: to the newcomers :: Mr. Matthews. Miss Semara. Welcome to Engineering. We are happy to have someone visit and relieve the tedious boredom.

Amelia wasn't sure what or who the sarcasm was for.  Frankly, she hadn't even been aware it was in Lera's repertoire, but it had a most unique sweet-and-sour flavor to her empathic senses that was unmistakable.  Perhaps it was best if she didn't try to unravel the double meaning.

R. Matthews: Never say you’re bored, and never ever say it’s too quiet.

Semara: :: A shake of her head and a huff of amusement. :: We're here to help.  Let's get to it.

Lacy: So… “emergency” gel pack replacement?

R. Matthews: Right :: He pointed at the officer, whose name he totally remembered :: What the Ensign said. How up to date are we all on this?

Great start.  Get everyone on the same page.

Michaels: Beyond what you said in the briefing, we know only what we could logically conclude from our prior experience in the nebula. Some gel packs are more susceptible to the radiation than others. None of the gel packs involved in our battle at the space station were damaged. Ergo, the older gel packs are better suited for critical services. You mentioned "foreign DNA" at the briefing and that seems to be a plausible source for the susceptibility of the gel packs.

Amelia interjected.  It was a reasonable analysis, but she liked to add some specificity.

Semara: We don't know - for certain - why the packs weren't damaged in the battle, but that's the hypothesis.  Older packs might not be as vulnerable, but there could'a been other factors at play durin' the battle.  :: Beat :: Also, "foreign" is an odd term.  Just... different DNA from the pre-refit packs.

Lacy: Response

R. Matthews: K, while docked, we were retrofitted with replacement gel packs. Unfortunately, the bulk of the new gel packs installed on the Khitomer have a flaw that makes them susceptible to Sencha radiation. We’ve traced the abnormality in packs through their batch numbers. :: He pulled out his tricorder :: I’ll send you the details, check your PADDs.

Michaels: I have the details.

Amelia looked over the map of gel-pack installations, more than anything to make sure it matched up with what her memory was.  She'd spent too much time looking at gel-packs and their installations lately.  Richard seemed on a roll, and her mind was still wondering what the computer would come back with, so she let him continue on with the explanation.

Lacy : Response

R. Matthews: The highlighted packs on decks 18, 15, and 9 are the only ones that are safe for use from what was installed on Deep Space 33. All the packs on Deck 6 were safe, and the highlighted packs on decks 12 and 15 are safe. Anything marked in blue is safe, don’t touch, the others we need to switch out with the packs we have in storage. That means the original gel packs the Khitomer had before its last big upgrade.

Lacy: Response

Michaels: I understand. :: Succinct. To the point. ::

Amelia looked up, catching a whiff of mosquito-bitten irritation from Lera.  It was hard to tell if something about Richard's demeanor was what was bothering the engineer, or if there was more to it.  The man felt a bit like a cloud to her empathic senses - floating along wherever the wind took his thoughts.  There wasn't any reason to take anything personally.

If anything, he was finally managing to present without spilling the more classified points of the analysis.  Might as well let him put the bow on it.

Semara: Alright. :: To Matthews :: Conclusion, Ensign?

R. Matthews: Any questions? If not, we should divide up the decks between us and get to work. Semara can take decks 18 through 15, I’ll grab 14 through 11, Michaels — 10 though 7 and you :: He pointed at the other ensign because he was still blanking on their name :: can get 6 through 3. I’ll message El’Heem to do 2 and 1 on his way back from sickbay.

Amelia's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, doubtful the right move was to have that many senior staff assigned to specific decks when they could be who-knows-where on the ship when packs needed replacing.

They were still talking about emergency gel pack replacement procedures, right?  Somehow, she was starting to wonder if that was what they were still talking about.  She took a breath to interject and ask that question, but Lera got there first.

Michaels: I have one comment and one question. My comment first. As my father might say, Richard, you are a day late and a dollar short. We have individuals already switching out gel-packs. Individuals who have the training and the experience to know what they are doing. Your information will save us some time. I thank you for that. And I am certain we will be able to find a place where your assistance will be helpful.

Amelia stood a little straighter.  Amelia couldn't imagine why there was a need to word it quite like that.  Richard was, well... Richard, but still.  It rubbed her sense of manners all the wrong ways.

But there was the bigger issue.   Replacing packs... already?

Semara: :: Clearing throat. :: 'Scuse me?  I thought we were lookin' to make a protocol to stop cascades and quickly swap packs after takin' damage.  Not swappin' 'em now.  Someone care to explain?

Amelia shot a questioning look at Ensign Lacy, hoping she wasn't the only one who'd lost the plot in the conversation.  Ras' original orders were clear, she thought.

R. Matthews: Sorry, what? No, no, the packs were already replaced. We did that before leaving Deep Space 33. I reported that at the briefing, what do you mean you have people switching out the gel packs?

Okay, good.  She wasn't going completely insane from juggling too many different projects at once.  At least not yet.  Hopefully.  That was reassuring.

Lacy: Response

Michaels: My questions. Are you suggesting that the gel pack manufacturer did not properly vett their source of the Vulcan DNA they used? And given that Mr. V'Lak is also a Vulcan, is it your recommendation that I pull him off the assignment?

Amelia's eyebrows pinched together, disturbed by the developments of the conversation.  By the four!  How in the heavens was she supposed to catch someone who was presumably in deep cover when their internal communications were an insecure (both emotionally and control-of-information, it seemed) mess?

Michaels' question about classified findings could wait.

Semara: :: Holding up a "please wait" hand. :: Ensign Matthews, verify our orders, please?  No one should be re-replacin' any packs right now...

Maybe she was going insane after all.  Stuck in some sort of Q-forsaken gel-pack purgatory or a telepathic time-loop or some lonely holodeck programmer's program where she'd never escape the question of which gel-packs were which, which had been replaced, which needed monitoring, how many of each were left...

Maybe the switch to a full-time intelligence officer couldn't come soon enough after all.

R. Matthews: =/\= Blue to El’Heem, I mean Matthews, dang it, to El’Heem. Sir, we got an issue. Engineering is going through and replacing the bio neural gel packs we’ve already switched out. Can you get them to cancel that order and put back whatever they might have already switched out? =/\=

She started going through the PADD again in case she missed something in her notes.

El’Heem: Response

At least Ras was there to back them up.  Another round of digging in the computer's literal guts was going to be avoided, it sounded like.

R. Matthews: =/\= Thanks, I’ll go over the redundant systems plan with the individuals that have the training and experience here, to make sure they know what they’re doing. Get us back some time we’ve lost, before we get to the nebula. =/\=

El’Heem: Response

To a telepath, there were few more comically frustrating things than a miscommunication of this sort.  All she could do was chuckle wryly in relief that it had been stopped there.

Semara: Great. Now tell me we're on the same page?  Please?

With any luck, Amelia could follow up on Michaels' question in private later.  She was deeply curious as to how the engineer had arrived upon information from classified research.

Michaels / Lacy: Response

R. Matthews: Okay, El’ Heem will take care of that. Now to answer your questions. No, and no. Any packs from the batches with Vulcan DNA added to the synthetic neurons are black listed currently, when it comes to dealing with the Sencha radiation threat. And yourself and any other Vulcan crew member are not going to be moved off any projects.

Semara: Stop.

Amelia held up a hand before anyone else could speak, and waited to make sure she had each of their attentions.  She didn't care whose feelings were bruised by whom or why - this conversation was crossing a line from a matter of professionalism into duty.

Semara: This ain't the place to discuss details of classified, ongoin' research.  'Til the Captain allows wider conversation, whatever you know :: To Michaels :: Or think you know :: Beat :: 'bout the variance in gel-pack construction - besides its existence - ain't to be shared with unauthorized individuals.  :: To Richard :: And they haven't been authorized, last I checked.  Clear?

She wasn't the sort to raise her voice, and she didn't now, but a relaxed firmness was etched into her posture and voice that would have made the Semara matriarchs of old proud.  Goddesses - she even sounded like the XO a bit!  She'd have a headache and a half living that down later...

Amelia hadn't the slightest idea how Michaels found out, or why she took offense, but that was a question for later.  The more people that knew more details about the gel-pack research, the more ways there were for unverified, untested, and preliminary information to get out into the wild where it could do harm.

Richard revealing information to Banks was already enough of a problem, but at least that was in the relative sanctity of a turbolift and it had been Ras' problem at the time.  At that moment, she couldn't allow the spread to continue unchecked.  Main engineering wasn't the place to discuss these things, at the very minimum.  Who knew what the enlisted would overhear?

For now, the empathically resonant stares from the group was enough of a reply.

Semara: Good.  Continue.

Apparently her first order of business as intelligence officer would be reminding people the principles of "need to know."

Michaels / Lacy: Response

R. Matthews: So! Let’s quickly go over what redundant systems are, why we want them setup in these key areas. And then get to work on doing that. Should be quick and easy and doable in time before we get back to the nebula. To quickly coin a phrase or something, we'll be on time and there'll be a sale! So no one is short on cash.

Amelia took a deep breath, darkling green eyes staring passively at Richard.  She understood he meant well and was trying to lighten the mood, but the words he used might need her empathic understanding to be taken well, and she wasn't certain Michaels was in an entirely understanding way right now.  She wasn't accustomed to throwing around her meagre pips or enforcing discipline, so she would be glad to not repeat the experience if it could be helped.

She looked at her PADD again, weight on one hip pushed out to the side, studying it, scrolling through information as it synced with the central computer.

Semara: Looks like there's already a proposal for rapid pack failover and restart from Miss Banks...

Amelia thanked Juliet for the smile it gave her to see that the Ensign was already on the ball for yet another technical problem.  The young Human was unstoppable.  At this rate, she'd be the boss of all of them this time next year.

Semara: Maybe that's a good place to start for cascade prevention?

Michaels / Lacy: Response

R. Matthews: We’ll just see if it’s the same game plan as originally, or if Ras is going to need us to do something different now.

Semara: The Lieutenant's orders were clear enough.  :: Beat ::  If Banks' algorithm works, that's a good start.  If we implement that, seems our main remainin' concern is detectin' individual pack faults, and havin' a protocol for quick replacement.

Amelia's gaze drifted warily towards the freshly-minted Lieutenant Junior Grade engineer.  Maybe the new promotion was putting new pressure on the woman that she wasn't accustomed to yet, and that was the explanation for the attitude.  Amelia certainly had had her own adjustment period.  Still, the suggestion was offered as loosely as she could give it, since it was difficult to tell what, precisely, was bothering the Vulcan and Amelia was keen to smooth things over if she could.

Michaels / Lacy / R. Matthews: Response

She decided to try a peace offering.  Something to get them all focused as one team, one crew.  That was, after all, what they were supposed to be.

Semara: Whatever we do, let's keep it simple.  I think we can all agree there's been enough mis-communicatin' for one day, so how 'bout we try for one simple set a' instructions even the greenest cadet can understand?  If we learned one thing from the last mission, it's this: we don't know who's gonna be tasked with damage control in any particular sector of the ship in an emergency.

Michaels / Lacy / R. Matthews: Response

Tag / TBC...

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Lieutenant Junior Grade Amelia Magnolia Semara

Science Officer - Special Projects

USS Khitomer - NCC-62400

A239710MA0