[sb118-ops] Ensign A’Mayri - Slide to the left-

[A'Mayri Y. Stark]

((Provisional Science Lab - MTF Maximum Thrusters))

A’Mayri quickly realigned her current focus and remembered that in order to be able to enjoy working with new discoveries and investigate new technology, it must be met with hard work and mission ready focus. Their priority was to further understand the powercores to minimize potential dangers and gain insight that could place the federation ahead of any political or economic gain that they were currently facing tensions with.

Voss: Right. Based on our findings during the memory loss incident, we know they contain a high percentage of ferroniobium alloyed into steel. It’s lightweight, tough, and resistant to corrosion and heat. It’s a material that makes sense for a power core - it’s just not enough to hold these when they start to melt down. ::to A’Mayri:: Industrial capacity for manufacturing steel like that? What do you think? I mean, it’s not wildly complex, but it does require pretty specialized furnaces?

A'Mayri: ::To Voss::  Ferroniobium alloyed into steel in itself is a complex task. It would require close attention to the secondary melting stage if not equipped with the necessary instrumentation to streamline the process. Due to the nature of its component metals, the Temurians–if able would require an Electron Beam Furnace to purify its amalgamation ::To Ross:: To summarise, mass production would require more advanced smelting equipment and the facilities to mold such metals. It is…complex, and would require a great amount of space and constant monitoring.

Ross: That will be valuable information for Lieutenant Sylvax and Willow. It will give us hints on whether the Temurians actually built these things or if they're just playing middle-men for someone else.

Voss: Commander Foster said the Temurians are living in what’s essentially a temporary base on one of the asteroids, right? Obviously we can’t rule anything out yet, and some asteroids are basically dwarf planets, but… I don’t know. Doesn’t sound like an optimal manufacturing setup.

A'Mayri: Some asteroids are categorized as large enough to be able to be sourced for resources that could easily include what the Temurians may need– the issue falls upon how they were able to obtain such equipment in the first place.

It didn’t feel right to A’Mayri. She opened her PADD, reopening the file resources that the federation had on the Temurians and the Drakos cluster thus far. The Temurians were essentially a wandering race that lived on multigenerational ships. Not much was known outside of this so far, but if that were the case then why would they risk bringing their home so close to dangerous asteroid clusters? To hide? To mine? It would be illogical for such a careful species to create manufacturing facilities large enough and complex enough to sustain mass production of such volatile products. From an engineering standpoint, it would be inefficient unless an outside source was influencing the matter.

Ross: And what kind of lab and infrastructure would that call for?

Voss: Well… we’ve never been able to learn much about how the Romulans manufacture their singularity drives, but if these are even passingly similar, it has to be an extremely sophisticated operation. It’s all just theories for now, but let’s say these cores really do contain micro-black holes and are using them to generate that wild amount of power. The tech required for creating relatively stable micro-singularities…

Her eyes fractionally steeled at the suggestion that micro-black holes and stabilizers were potentially rooted in the source for the power cores endless energy, body almost rigid despite her proper form. Very few things in the known universe could actively produce such power on its own.

Black holes produce energy from their own rotational magnetic fields. But it’s stable, constantly replicated enough times through science but still complicated to maintain.

oOLiving organisms produce their own energy through metabolic digestion or the converted consumption of outside resources–Oo

She paused her train of thought; eyebrows furrowed at such an idea. The half Vulcan officer lowered her PADD to return her full attention to the other two officers.

A'Mayri: As skilled as the Temurians may be, the inherently unstable source of this power draw during the initial steps of manufacturing would be impossible to disguise– disruptions in environmental readings to include heat production and geographical changes in electromagnetic wave detectors. We would simply be able to see changes in the environment and space even if we were unable to identify exactly what infrastructure to look for.

Ross: I'll inform the Lieutenants to look out for that specifically. Anything else you'd like them to know? I'll try to get our hands on more of these cores as soon as possible, but maybe there's something else we'll need?

Voss: Not something I’d like them to know, but… if they’re visiting the Temurian settlement, they should ask to see the power cores in use. I’m curious if the Temurians are using them themselves, since they’re apparently touting them throughout the sector.  

A'Mayri: Whether the Temurian’s are able to find a settlement for such operations or are running their businesses through space commerce, it would be most helpful if we are able to obtain sampling of the materials they might be sourcing from around the area. Scraps of metals and alloys they may be using to start. Finding where they are buying such resources will be a helpful step. 

Lyra nodded.

Voss: Until we get our hands on new cores, we should open up these inert ones and try to figure out how they’re generating such a staggering amount of power. ::gesturing for the rest of the team to come over:: When we pop open the casing, we can see all the fused circuits, but it looks like everything is routing toward this section. The first question is - does this core generate a micro-black hole when it’s first powered on? Or are they creating them in a lab and then transferring them in?

A’Mayri: ::Carefully stepping to the side of Voss to allow for Ross to step in closer when he was done:: If they are using mirco-black hole technology, it would be unlikely that it would produce its own singularity. ::carefully pointing to fused circuits, reaching over to grab a multimeter to confirm it’s powered down status once more:: Because the other powercores are still active with no single location to power down, it can only be deduced that the power source is transferred in at its creation, then somehow maintained until either damaged or a fault because exploited.

Ross: ?

Voss: Exactly. Regardless of the method of creation, what is generating power? Heat energy as it consumes matter? Rotational energy as it spins? Harnessing the Hawking radiation it emits? Something else entirely?

A’Mayri remembered one earlier thought once more, a small flash of embarrassment tensed in her jaw. She remained silent for a moment longer before turning her attention away and back to the powercore she had originally started her investigation on.

This was why she found herself more steady with engineering. She understood her weaknesses enough, her mixed logical and analytical reasoning more suited to schematics and practical applications. A’Mayri was thankful that the team had Voss, thankful that she could be the one to take apart or build whatever she and the team needed.

A’Mayri: ::leveled but quiet voice:: It could be a combination of all or parts of your theories. A black hole in itself does not produce much energy on its own, it’s what surrounds it that does. We should be mindful of potential matter warping effects if it indeed does use such methods. It could be a reason that its hardware is failing.

Ross: ?

Voss:  Maybe if we can clear out the mess, the rest of the components will be a little –

sh’Sonora: =/\=This is your pilot speaking. Please secure all loose and vital equipment, secure yourselves, and hold onto your butts ‘cause things are about to get interesting in the Tamarian proverb kind of way. Sparrow out.=/\=

A’Mayri’s head shot up from her lowered gaze at her work station, eyes quickly shifted to see Voss attempt to gather the core and tools she had been utilizing. She just as quickly looked at Ross.

A’Mayri: Lieutenant, the discharged power cores are still relatively dangerous, but there may not be enough time to secure them before–

Ross:

Voss: Dome or ionization chamber - either one! Just lock it down before we get –

When the ship lurched, A’Mayri instinctively gripped the bolted down work station for stability as she was momentarily pleased that they held in place. What was considered more valuable and important were safe enough, all that was left were the out in the open power cores and the not strapped in or secured Voss and Ross.

She quickly gathered the power cores as Voss gathered some loose tools into her arms. She maneuvered around the uneven deck as she opened the Triple D, tore off her scarf to carefully wrap around the core and delicate exposed core parts to then shunt the said wrap into the dome to secure the opening with a loud and heavy THUD!

Ross: ?

A’Mayri: ::steady steps back towards the group, side stepping a loose tool slowly and almost comically sliding down the way.:: Our helmsman is quite enthused in their flight arrangements-

The Andorian pilot was someone A’Mayri had quickly learned to respect, suspecting that the sudden flight maneuver and warning was for good reason. 

Voss/Ross: ?

A rumbling jolt as the ship compensated for the thruster’s sudden propulsion, the hull off the MTF lightly groaning. Its sounds are mostly amplified by the large space of the cargo bay making it sound worse than it probably was.

Her dark brown eyes quickly scanned over her two teammates, compensating for the few moments she had to look away to secure the dome.

A’Mayri: ::Quick scan over Voss and Ross:: Are you both alright?

Voss/Ross: ?

She felt the muscles in her shoulders eased a touch. A’Mayri returned to Voss’ side, scooped up as many of the tools as she could from the Betazoid as her other arm carefully lifted to offer the other female officer a steadying hand back to the wall mounted seats. In her mind, their science officer was of top priority in the line of protecting mission variables. She offered Voss a small smile, just a subtle upturn at the corner of her lips before she turned away. 

Her gaze flickered to Ross for a moment, lowering the tools into one of the secured crates nearby. His stance seemed steady, like years of flight experience was comparable to a sailor who's sea legs were ingrained into their muscles. Although she wasn't aware of his previous years in familiarity with these types of spaces, she could still respect the physical evidence it left behind. 

A’Mayri strived to be useful again, much like she tried to back at Raskor on the beach or at ensign bingo. Whether it was her strength or ability to hyperfocus on a task handed to her, it would be done to the best of her ability.

Voss/Ross: ?

--
V/R,
Ensign A’Mayri Ych’a Stark
Engineering Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
O240303A1