REPOST: Lt. Katsim Peri - "Focus On The First Problem"

[Amanda Nordstrom]

OOC: Copied and pasted from the other sims but stupidly did not double
check that I did it properly.  I’m so sorry.  I’m gonna go bury myself
in a cave now.


IC:

(( Bridge, Deck 1, USS Intrepid ))


When Peri had risen up that morning, she had not dreamed that she would
find herself on a completely different ship.  Even Echo was disoriented
by the strangeness of everything, the little creature sticking
particularly close to her and refusing to move from her shoulder, even
to eat something from the replicator.  Well, such as it was.  The device
wasn’t nearly as capable as what she was used to.  Food was not a
problem, but when Peri saw what clothing was available, she’d attempted
to replicate something else, only to find that the replicator only did
edible materials.  So she was stuck.

In a skirt.

Generally, Peri didn’t mind skirts and dresses.  In fact, she liked
them, but not as a uniform.  And certainly not *short* skirts and
dresses.  This one didn’t even make it to her knees and her hand kept
reaching at the hem and tugging it down and tried hard not to think
about how exposed she felt.  At least it had long sleeves, though that
only helped a little.

Everyone was affected by the situation.  All the senior staff were
aboard this vessel which she found was called the Intrepid, a
constitution class from a century and a half before her time. Obviously,
something had caused them to go back in time, but what Peri didn’t
know.  That would require more investigation, but she wasn’t on the team
to explore that.  Instead, there was another situation that she was
called to help with, and it was just as important.  A planet was in peri
from a pulsar, and if something wasn’t done, it would be destroyed. 
From what she’d been able to glean from the logs, that was the purpose
of the Intrepid’s deployment.  What she could not ascertain so quickly
was why it was without main power and could not operate her engines. 
That problem was for Corelli and other people to solve.  She, however,
was tasked with helping an entire planet.

V'Airu: But do you have any memory of the Intrepid specifically?

That question wasn’t for her but for Kel who had a position next to
Commodore V’Airu who occupied the captain’s chair.  It was just one
chair, too, rather than the three she was used to seeing on a bridge. 
There was nowhere for Wes to occupy as First Officer, so instead, he
took a position toward the back at a console.  She was off to the side
at what, as far as she could tell, was the science console.

Kel: ::looking at the Commodore mournfully::  The short answer is no. 
As I said at dinner, we didn't necessarily get all the news from all the
other ships immediately.  A given ship would need to go to a star base
or outpost and download their logs and another ship would have to stop
by to collect them.  The Exeter was in a completely different sector so
I have no idea about this mission. ::pausing to reflect::  But I had
heard of the Intrepid' s captain, Kyle Maclachlan. The joke was that he
and Kirk were cut from the same cloth.  Daring, willing to take risks. 
If he's in the mix on this mission then it's probably not simple. 
::pausing again::  Also we've never heard of a mission the Intrepid
failed to accomplish.  So whatever happens the ship and crew must be
capable of pulling it off.  News of failure travels faster than news of
success.

That was disappointing, but it wasn’t Kel’s fault.  In the 2260’s,
communication over planets was instantaneous, but that was a far cry
different from communication through the galaxy.  Technology like the
Uhura array, a device named after a woman who lived in that very time
period, was what allowed for such things, but very little of that was
put into place at that point in history.  There were other things that
hadn’t been established at that time as well.  After receiving Kel’s
answer, the Commodore nodded sharply, then turned to Wes and Peri.

V'Airu: What about the planet Gelf? Assuming we can reach it, what are
our options to protect its population from radiation from the itinerant
pulsar?

Greaves: Honestly ma’am, I’m not sure. The tech on this ship is so
outdated… it’s gonna be a project for the engineering staff for sure.
And that’s assuming we get the warp core back on.

Katsim: I’m not sure what we’ll be able to do.  I can theorise and come
up with suggestions, but it’s uncertain as to how attainable they are
with what we have available.

Peri’s teeth worked at her lower lip.  Yes, the technology was older and
she’d already spent a good amount of time figuring out how the consoles
worked compared to what she was used to.  The computer was a lot slower
too.  Screens did not react to touch, and instead, there were buttons,
knobs, and switches that one had to push, pull, turn and flick.  While
more tactile, it was so alien to her that Peri was still struggling. 
But she had made progress, and the more she worked with it, the more
she’d learn about it. She just hoped she didn’t break something in the
process.

Kel:  One thing to think about.  The central computer on these ships
isn't networked the way ours is.  High density files had to be put on
tapes and then reviewed on a specific terminal.  It could be that if we
check the quarters of the department heads we could piece together what
their plan was.

Greaves: I don’t think the shield technology from this era has the
properties we need, and without replicators we can’t create enough
anti-rad meds to inoculate a planet’s population.

Right, he had discovered the same thing she had.  The replicators
weren’t true replicators.  All they gave was food.  That was a severe
limitation. The technology was definitely not as advanced as had been
evidenced when they’d tried to function like normal in the ancient
ship.  That comment also made the doctor pause as he, too, considered
their situation.

Kel:  If we can't use meds, then we'd have to get the population below
ground or inside some sort of shielded space.  And try to minimize the
actual amount of radiation that hit the planet's surface.

Katsim: That sounds difficult to do with a planet wide population…

Greaves: Assuming we get the drive back online, how long of a trip is it
to Gelf?

Kel:  The navigational sensors are showing Gelf to be 3-light years
off.  We have impulse power back, no doubt a miracle by Mr. Corelli, so
it will take us 23 years to arrive.  If Mr. Corelli can get us warp
power the standard warp 6 cruising speed would get us there in a little
over 5 days.  I can drop that to two days if we punch it to warp 8.

Peri didn’t have the capability to figure that out without writing it
down, but evidently the Doctor did.  She could do some computations in
her head, but not like that and certainly not that quickly.   Or maybe
he was just better at using the old ship than she was.

Greaves: I’m mostly worried about how much time we’ll have to act
provided we get there in time.

Peri nodded.  They would have to figure in not only time to travel, but
time to prepare whatever they needed to do to help the people.

V'Airu: Response

Kel:  On the topic of the pulsar, how would the radiation coming off it
affect our warp field?  Are we going to be able to maintain warp long
enough to get to Gelf?

Katsim: That depends on the type of radiation.

Greaves / V'Airu: Responses

Kel:  ::Looking at Greaves:: Nice Shirt by the way.

Peri blinked, taken aback by the sudden commentary on Wes’ attire.  She
had noticed it, of course, how could one not? Everything around them had
changed, save themselves.  The ship, the controls, their outfits. 
Everything.

Katsim: Um…so…pulsar?

Greaves / V'Airu: Responses

Kel: Lt. Katsim, not that I'm not loving this trip down memory lane, but
is it possible that the Pulsar is what brought us here? I'm not sure I
understand why just the crew and not the whole ship ended up here.

That gave Peri another pause, her answer not quite so quick as Kel’s. 
Her mind pondered over the situation and once more her teeth worried her
lower lip.

Katsim: I will not say it’s *impossible* but I don’t have enough
information to make that determination.  That being said, I think it
would be best to focus on what we need to do to help those people.  As
we gather more information, that should hopefully become clearer in the
process.

Greaves / V'Airu: Responses

Katsim: Anything we do will have to use materials we have currently or
are able to obtain.

Either from the planet or somewhere close by, and that still depended on
whether or not they could get the ship functioning properly again. They
also couldn’t just blow some fumes at it and stop the electrons hurtling
toward the planet.  Peri shifted and crossed one leg over the other, but
found that didn’t really help her feel any better.  She uncrossed it,
then crossed again and tugged at the skirt once more.

Greaves/Kel/V’Airu: Responses

Katsim: We’re dealing with a high concentration of electrons. Currently,
I can think of two ways to handle this.  The first is to deflect.

Was that a viable option considering where and when they were? Peri
didn’t know, but again, they needed first to focus on what might work
and worry about how to get it to work later.

Greaves/Kel/V’Airu: Responses

Katsim: The other is to find a way to allow the electrons to be
absorbed.  Or…maybe a combination of those options.

Unless someone else could consider another approach, and there were
certainly no details in what she suggested.  But, that was what she
could see in the moment, and as she and the others pondered over the
possibilities, perhaps they would come up with something specific and
viable.

Greaves/Kel/V’Airu: Responses


--

Lt. Katsim Peri
Chief Science Officer
USS 'Oumuamua
M239008AD0