The Logistics of Polarons

Posted on Wed Dec 16th, 2009 @ 11:54am by Captain Elsie Halliwell & Ensign John Bradshaw & Lieutenant Cress Maven & Lieutenant Commander Dylan Blake

1,075 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Balowlli System
Location: Main Engineering
Timeline: Current

ON:

Captain Kerr strode onto the main deck of Engineering with a defiant air. The main doors rolled open with the familiar hydraulic sound as he snaked his way through them and, on seeing Sheedy with her assistant, Blake, he nodded to both with the intention of them to follow him.

On entering her officer, he smoothly rounded Lieutenant Sheedy’s desk and took a seat, making himself rather comfortable with a cup of coffee from her replicator en route to it.

“So, Lieutenants, I want a report on where we are concerning the condition of the consignment of torpedoes we have onboard. Have you managed to delve into their inner workings yet?�

Sheedy perched on the edge of her desk and sighed before addressing her commanding officer. "It's easie' said th'n done, sir, bu' we're makin' good progr'ss. We've b'n tryin' t' work 'n tand'm wi' th' sci'ntific team, but tha's easie' said th'n done, too." She turned around and looked up at Blake. "D'you still 'ave th' padd we were makin' notes on earlie'?"

Automatically, Blake passed the padd across.

Kerr held out his hand, intercepted the PaDD and began to scroll through the text silently, listening to both Dylan and Skanda talk.

Sheedy shrugged as the padd passed right by her hand. "As y' see, th' guts of th' thing are complica'ed. T' emit th' radiati'n, th' guidance sys'ems 'ave been modified in ways we don' know 'ow t' anticipa'e. Th' schematics 're only 'elpin' so much an' it's ca'eful goin'. S' far, nothin's blown up, which's good."

"Its one hell of a weapon sir," Blake spoke next. "I've never seen anything on this scale before, it’s as complex as they come. The tracking device Sheedy said works on radiation but could also be programmed to hit a none-reactive target. Then on top of that the explosive yield this monster has, well let’s say if we'd hadn't been careful handling it, you'd be needing to replace a good four sections of the ship not to mention a new engineering team."

Suddenly the doors flew open, and the young Ensign Bradshaw briskly walked in with his face planted on the PaDD he was carrying making sure his notes were right that he almost bumped into Lieutenant Blake. “Oh sorry, Sir,� He said with an apologetic tone. “Lieutenant Sheedy I have…Oh Captain you’re here too, great, I have the report on my transporter scenario I ran earlier with Ensign Maven,� He announced as he handed them the PaDD.

Taking a moment to catch his breath “I found that it’s possible to transport crewman aboard a vessel after using the Polaron torpedo, but there’s still a fifty-fifty chance that it may not work,� he explained.

“Fifty-fifty?� Kerr harshly questioned. “I don’t like those odds.� He inhaled deeply and pondered silently for a moment, looking upon his senior engineering time as he did so. Leaning back on his chair, he lifted his head up and stared at the ceiling, whipping his eyes briskly from side to side, attempting to consider what the next course of action should be.

“Well,� he said after another moment, “it doesn’t look like Command have truly honed this device. It all seems a little risky. But, then again, I guess that is why we have been given the task of testing them further.� He looked to Sheedy and Blake, narrowed his eyes and attempted to warm his face unsuccessfully. “You two, I want you to liaise with Ops and make the Archimedes the priority. If something does go wrong, I want our shields to take the brunt of the blow. Also, the Doctor. I want everyone on this ship protected.�

Blake exchanged a glance with Sheedy. "Aye, sir we'll being work straight away."

Kerr then turned to John. “Mr. Bradshaw, I also want you to work with Ops. There has to be a more successful procedure to cut through the interference. I’m not so worried about getting people onto the vessel so soon after the detonation, but off it. I’d also like time-frames. Earliest optimum safety time-frame after the weapons explodes.�

“Aye, Sir I will see to it, I would also like to point out that the detonation area can cause system failures within a cone-like area, and if the vessel had hull damage, and one of these things were used, it would cause the emergency force fields to drop causing decompression of the entire deck,� he bluntly pointed out.

Skanda frowned at that. "We'll 'ave t' work tha' ou' too, then. 'S pointless t' 'ave a disabl'd ship y' can't sen' people to. Mr. Bradshaw, any ideas f'r tha'?"

John stood there a moment pondering an idea “If we ensure that the torpedo’s targeting sensors are one hundred percent accurate, and target a specific area that would be one idea, or we could also try turning the yield parameters down a few notches to try, and localize the effect range,� he advised.

Skanda picked up the padd with the torpedo's schematics on it from where Kerr had laid it and made a note next to the targeting sensors. "We'll check i' ou'. Thank y', Ensign," she said to Bradshaw with a flash of something that could have been a smile. "Anythin' else?"

Looking at the Lieutenant he nodded “I have nothing else Lieutenant,� he responded.

Kerr smiled and nodded to his Engineering team. “I’ll leave you to hammer out the details, Lieutenant,� he said, turning as he did so. “I’ll expect a full report on my desk within the hour. It shouldn’t be too much longer before we enter the system.�

"Aye, sir," Sheedy responded, standing and giving Kerr a half-serious salute. "We'll look thin's ove' an' y'll 'ave tha' repor' pos'aste." She tossed the padd from one hand into the other and beckoned to her engineering team. "C'mon, then. Le's go t' work."

OFF:


Coltan Kerr
Commanding Officer
USS Archimedes


Skanda Sheedy
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Archimedes


Dylan Blake
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Archimedes


John Bradshaw
Transporter Chief
USS Archimedes

 

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