Ensign Alok Munshi - The Ensigns of Compression
Alok Munshi
(( Science Lab C4, Deck 531 ))
Alok watched the awkward trajectory from his vantage point near the table leg, his analytical mind instantly calculating the biomechanical failure of Tori's airborne parachute run. A thin, knowing smirk mixed with genuine shared pain touched his lips—he had programmed the wind shear variables into the atmospheric controllers precisely to induce this level of chaotic entertainment.
Ysatch: Pro....phets …
A'Mayri: Tori! Maintain your form as best as you can! Disconnect yourself from the wire if need be!
Alok felt a flicker of professional pride mixed with wicked amusement. His little Ensign Bingo gauntlet was operating entirely within optimal parameters—the panic was controlled, the physics were brutal, and the team was adapting on the fly.
Munshi: ::His hazel eyes tracked Tori's descent, his voice calm amidst the chaos.:: Hold your position, Tori! If you drop the wire now, the induction capacitance will reset the circuit and we’ll have to restart the whole sequence from the carpet-jungle baseline!
Ivalyan: Response(s)?
Still soaring, Tori clenched his knees together to keep wire between his thighs. He began to rapidly descend along the hypotenuse of the right angle the table leg made with the ground.
Ysatch: ::screaming:: I'm going down!
As predicted, the cleaning arm had completed its cleaning cycle and maneuvered back into its case. With the ground level wind now settled and no longer threatening the ensigns with a fly by good time into the dustbin, A’Mayri released the wire to immediately lift her and arm into the air. Head tilted and eyes focused up her arm like one would the barrel of a gun, she tracked the angle of the fall and landing point with her arm as a quick guide tool before she called out to the other two.
A’Mayri: ::Eyes flickering between Tori’s falling form and the ground farther ahead.:: Ground contact in 9.3 seconds! Approximately 1.3 meters ahead! 1.5 Yards in conversion!
Alok mentally cross-referenced A’Mayri’s trajectory calculations with his own timing, noting with quiet appreciation that her half-Vulcan spatial processing was performing at peak efficiency.
Munshi: Trajectory is sound. Ivalyan, prepare to secure the copper slack the moment he impacts! We cannot allow the line to lose tension or the terminal handshake will drop!
Ivalyan: Response(s)?
Tori had hit the carpet with a bone-rattling thud and skidded a bit before winding up in a heap of tissues just 10 yards short of the connecting terminal.
Ysatch: ::wearily:: No thank you admiral, I've already tried the gagh …
The wire still clenched between Tori’s thighs was a potential current point near sensitive systems that was also under duress.
A'Mayri: I can handle and further direct the weight for now, go on! Tori was able to get the end of the wire approximately 9 meters away from the terminal. Will one of you go to assist him?
Alok stepped forward, his shrunken boots rustling against the massive carpet fibers as he prepared to execute the next tactical maneuver of the gauntlet.
Munshi: I'm on it. Ivalyan, can you please cover our flank in case the climate control randomizer decides to throw a thermal gust our way while we're out of position.
Ivalyan: Response(s)?
Everyone moved, A’Mayri careful as she offered Ivalyan and Munshi small nods before she hefted the wire back over her shoulder.
A’Mayri: ::Head looking over her shoulder, calling out:: Keep pressing ahead in the meantime, and until everyone is caught up! We still need to maneuver ourselves back up to the terminal.
Alok caught up to Tori's groaning form, grabbing the loose end of the copper rod to steady the circuit while casting an appraising glance at the distance remaining.
Ivalyan: Response(s)?
Munshi: Agreed. We are operating well under the time limit, but the structural variables are about to get complicated. On your feet, Tori—the simulation isn't finished yet.
Ysatch: Response(s)?
A’Mayri: A Hover Dolly— ::Small pause, quickly flipping around:: The Dolly– the hover dolly should have vertical and horizontal directional controls we can reach on the surface of the platform. If we can get everyone atop, our combined weight can activate the sensors underneath the controls.
Alok squinted through the micro-scale landscape toward the massive flat surface of the hovering disc, his mind instantly running the math on weight distribution sensors versus their current shrunken mass.
The hover dolly was positioned perfectly underneath the terminal and blended in with the tile. The only problem? The lip of the dolly was approximately two times their current shrunken height.
Munshi: A hover dolly? Brilliant, A’Mayri. Though considering our current mass, we’ll need to synchronize our stepping vectors perfectly, or the pressure sensors won't even register our combined footprint.
Ivalyan/Ysatch: Response(s)?
Alok crouched at the base of the massive metallic wall, his mind whirred through the physics of micro-scale mass distribution.
Munshi: We don't need to scale it conventionally. The dolly’s surface sensors are weighted to respond to standard Starfleet deck-load baselines, which means individually we're invisible to it. But if we pool our mass and apply a localized harmonic pulse to the base plate...
He reached into his utility kit—now the size of a shipping container relative to his shrunk form—and pulled out a modified micro-oscillator.
A’Mayri/Ivalyan/Ysatch: Response(s)?
Alok gave a short, sharp nod of acknowledgment, his fingers flying across his modified micro-oscillator to lock down the frequency.
Munshi: Precisely, Counselor. Which is why we aren't climbing it. We're hacking the physics. A'Mayri, Ivalyan, Tori—get the copper wire anchored directly against the main pressure seam of the chassis. If we use the jumper cable to bridge the dolly's internal diagnostic port while we all jump simultaneously, the resulting feedback loop will trick the lift sensors into thinking a full-weight senior officer just stepped on board.
A’Mayri/Ivalyan/Ysatch: Response(s)?
Munshi: Then we synchronize our chronometers right now. No room for asynchronous drift.
Alok tapped a rapid sequence into his wrist commbadge, hardwiring a synchronized count directly into their shrunken audio feeds.
Munshi: On three. One... two... three—jump!
Four tiny figures launched upward in unison, their boots connecting with the gleaming, smooth metal of the hover dolly's platform. For a fraction of a second, the deck plate remained stubbornly dark. Then, with a sharp, pneumatic click, a ring of bright blue indicator lights flared to life around the base of the terminal.
The hover dolly hummed to life, a gentle anti-grav field engaging beneath them and lifting their microscopic forms smoothly toward the towering summit of the terminal interface.
Ysatch/Ivalyan: Response(s)?
Alok watched the terminal display approach at a steady, controlled velocity, a quiet sense of validation settling into his chest. The code was holding, the variables were resolving, and the team—the actual, integrated circuit of the crew—was rising together.
Munshi: Get ready to bridge the final gap. We’re coming up on the terminal handshake in five seconds. Let's finish the circuit and shut this compression field down before someone discovers we've hijacked their laboratory.
A’Mayri/Ivalyan/Ysatch: Response(s)?
With a final, decisive movement, the group of mini Ensigns guided the copper rod into the terminal's main data port. A sharp spark of white light flashed across the micro-terminals, and with a deep, shuddering hum, the spatial compression field collapsed.
/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\
The world suddenly expanded, the massive expanse of Science Lab C4 snapping back to its proper proportions in a dizzying rush of normal scale. Alok stood back on his standard-sized boots, blinking against the sudden shift in perspective as he adjusted his uniform tunic.
Munshi: ::He looked around at the three slightly disheveled, panting ensigns, a rare, genuine smile breaking through his professional veneer.:: Simulation complete. Time elapsed: fourteen minutes and twelve seconds. Outstanding execution, everyone. Consider your Ensign Bingo credits fully secured—and try not to break anything else before our shift starts.
A’Mayri/Ivalyan/Ysatch: Response(s)?
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Ensign Alok Munshi
Engineering Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
A240204AM1