MSNPC Amari Sakamoto - Into the Depths

[Koihime Nakamura]

((The Main River - Russell River Mines - Antor II))

Sakamoto: With any luck, it should be quick. Your reports and previous investigations looked good, but the crew of the Veritas are gathering information to make sure there's nothing they can help the planet with ::with a smile:: Better to gather from the source, right?

McLaren: ::laughing:: Yes, of course, we are happy to provide any questions that Ikaia and Scotty have.

.oO I hope she knows *I'll* have questions for her. Oo. Amari did note that she hadn't been greeted, but then again, Starfleet personnel were vanishingly rare visits.

Reade: The mine looks like a great engineering marvel. I would love to learn some more about engineering if possible Ms.McLaren.

Wong: I understand that you have a lot of talented individuals here, Ms. McLaren. I’d like to see where we can best help you here at Russell River.

McLaren: Yes we do Lt. Wong. That is always the nice thing about being on teams. Similar to how your Starfleet vessels operate. I do have one slight concern that you might be able to help with. Ensign Reade, your opinion should be valuable as well.

.oO Really. Oo.

Scotty’s eyes raised. He looked over to Ms.McLaren

Reade: I would be happy to help.

Amari raised her eyebrows at this concern, curious what it could be.

Wong: So I suppose to start, I’d be curious to know what your first-hand experience has been with Russell River? What does an average day look like here?

McLaren: Well, it depends on the day really. But in general, the mine operates 24/7, with 4 shifts covering the day. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta.  Most people start at the Delta shift which is done overnight and work their way towards the Alpha shift which is during the day. The total shift is about 6hrs long. Everyone gets one day off at the end of each month. However, since the last month, the Gamma and Delta shifts have been on and off. There are some concerns with the structural integrity in the lower parts of the mine. Its considers safe by our standards still, but some workers are refusing.

.oO Hm. Oo.

Reade: Very interesting, very similar to Starfleet shifts. What is happening deeper down in the mines? Have the other mines spoke out about the safety issues?

Sakomoto: There aren't very many other mines near here, currently. I know a few are in application stages, but we do have some concerns about the deep-crust mining methods.

Wong: Is that a frequent occurrence?

McLaren: There are 3-4 shifts a week that are not happening now, maybe we could talk about getting some safety devices down there.

Reade: We can look into that for sure. What did you have in mind?

Amari just.. had words about this in her head, that she wasn't saying that starts with .oO And why didn't you file these in your reports? Oo.

Or conversely, did they, and she wasn't provided them before heading out? It was entirely possible that it was only extremely recently that this happened, and the administration was trying to resolve it in house before they reached the mandatory reporting period.

McLaren: Something that can ensure the miners feel safe down there.

Reade: We can look into that.

.oO Sure can. Oo. If they needed Starfleet to upgrade safety equipment, surely someone should have complained to the Mining Safety Comission by now. And she was also wondering if this was just McLaren humoring the Ensign.

Wong: Response

((Mine Entrance, Antor II))

McLaren: Please follow me into the mine and we can get started. But before we go any further I request you please put on the vest and hardhat. Also please ensure that all loose gatherings are secured. If something is lost, chances of retrieval are low.

Reade: Of course.

Wong: Response

Amari wasn't really equipped with many loose items, and her PADD was already in a secured pocket as she put on the vest and hardhat.

Scotty put on his helmet and vest. He ensured to put the rest of his equipment into his backpack.

McLaren: Please wait here a moment, I need to sign you guys into the tracking sheet.

Reade: Copy.

Wong: Response

Reade: ::To Wong:: Are you ready to go down? Remember all comms will be spotty.

Wong: Response

Amari was beginning to feel like a third-wheel here. And this, depressingly, is what she expected. It was a thing that sure, being an inspector for mine safety is very boring. But, oh well, maybe she can focus on her work.

McLaren: Ok, we are good to go down. Is everyone ready?

Reade: Good to go!

Sakamoto: Ready.

Wong: Response

(( Some time later, down the elevator ))

The tour had been interesting, and honestly, Sakamoto had some notes. And some concerns, which she wanted to raise. The Russell River mine was one of the largest on the southeast edge of the eastern continent - situated on the Rahnor Delta, named after one of the biologists on the first colony expedition, and was the eighth largest mine on Antor II. For example, right now, they were approximately three kilometers deep, mining for duranium, and a host of other valuable metals. This was one of the deepest mining bores across the planet, with only the Eolian Mesa mines going deeper. And, well as they entered the break room at level 614, Amari had to admit a certain sense of awe. She'd never been this low before, as the Eolian Mesa mines demanded certain training to properly audit them.

Sakamoto: So I have a number of questions. ::Amari had made notes on her PADD a bit, but one thing that made her valuable in her job was her eidetic memory.:: I noticed you're down to only two strings of communication relays and boosters. ::And all on the Northcenter-Southeast lateral, to boot, which ran parallel to the Pataki Fault, a deep oblique fault line that was generally quiet, relative to Antor II's active tectonics.:: The report you filed said you were going to repair the tertiary parallel relay chain within a week, how is that progressing?

Wong/Reade: Response

McLaren: Response

Sakamoto: ::nodding:: That does clarify a bit. I noticed that about two point four kilometers or so we passed through a rather dense layer of galladium-duranium alloy. The schematics suggest that the  data connections are through the same line of the communication relays, do you have plans to add a backup there?

Wong/Reade: Response

McLaren: Response

TAG/TBC

Inspector Amari Sakamoto

Antor II Government

C239112CA0