A Quick Stroll and a Bite

Posted on 18 May 2012 @ 12:12pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn

2,725 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo - Main Engineering
Timeline: MD 05 - 1215 hrs

[ON]

With the recent troubles with the warp core now fixed and Galileo underway again, Lirha thought it best to check on the situation herself, as well as pay a visit to her engineering crew. Usually stuck at their posts in the bowels of the ship, they were the most vital department, without which the small starship would be unable to function. An engineer's work was often plentiful, grueling and stressful, and the captain wanted to pay a personal visit to help boost their morale.

Getting ready to go on her lunch break, the captain passed control of the bridge off to Commander Remington then entered the turbolift and descended to Deck 7. Stepping out after a short ride, she walked down several corridors before arriving at the large double-doors to Main Engineering. As she stepped inside, the doors parted then closed with a swish, after which Lirha walked further into the room in search of her chief engineer.

Markum was face first in a side secondary power relay station, barking out orders as usual, while telling about another war story. "Where is that plasma torch at?! So anyway we were surrounded by Dominion vessels, blasting away at us with everything they could before we reached the wormhole. then...." An engineer's mate handed the torch to Quinn, then looked to the CO. "Ma'am." Quinn replied from behind the panel. "I tell you to not call me sir, now you call me ma'am?! Willis put you up to that...didn't he?"

Lirha heard the familiar voice of her chief engineer coming from what appeared to be one of the power relay stations, and she moved closer, nodding to acknowledge the engineer's mate and clearing her throat to signal her presence. Though, to be honest, she was rather content standing there and listening to what appeared to be the halfway point of a rather interesting story. "Good afternoon, Chief." she said in a light voice.

Quinn peeked his sut covered face from behind the panel, "Hi Skipper. I hope it was you, he was calling ma'am." he said with a sideways grin. "We are almost done here. Just have to solder the final relay together, and check on the XO's work."

"Excellent." she replied with a nod, anxious to get underway again. "Any idea what caused the initial malfunction?" she asked. It was a question that had been burning in her brain for the last several hours, yet she hadn't had the chance to completely diagnose her ship due to the rather unexpected visit from the Klingon captain.

"The plasma inducers to the starboard nacelle were ripped to shreds from a repetitious static pulse from a faulty relay.." Quinn slipped the rest of the way out and lead Lirha to a nearby terminal. He keyed in a few commands and suddenly a replay of events just seconds prior to the malfunction began running in slow motion. "See, here Skipper? That is the relay from the Warp Core, to the starboard plasma inducers." He tapped the screen as a double flash of light popped on and then off the screen. "That is the static pulse that was not stopped by the replay switch. The relay was faulty. The ion node in it is three-one thousandths of a millimeter off from required specs. It it were any more than just that little bit, we'd been instantly atomized. So, it was either someone was in too damn much of a rush to get us out and didn't take the time to quality check the replicator. Or, it was done purposely."

Lirha leaned close and peered at the monitor, taking note of the defective relay on the replay. She thought about his last statement regarding the cause of the accident. "We're lucky to still be here." she commented as she stepped back and pondered his implication. "You think someone sabotaged the nacelle?" she asked in a quiet voice as she pulled him to the side. "Have you checked the access logs for any unauthorized personnel?"

"I looked already Skipper." replied Quinn in a matched whisper. "It was clean, and I expected it to be, really. I just have to add that it was a possibility, though highly improbable." Quinn let out a sigh. "Just frustrating to think that something so critical, could be overlooked during production." He looked back to the CO, "So are you using your Orion charms to keep out guests in line, Skipper?"

The captain grinned. "You mean Captain K'nara?" she asked. "She's not so bad once you get a few drinks in her, I suppose." she added. The encounter in the shuttlebay had been interesting, to say the least, but Lirha had been rather amused watching the members of both crews socialize. "Her shuttle departed a while ago and I sent a few cases of bloodwine with her." she said with a wry smile.

Quinn let out a hardy laugh. "With all due respects Skipper, I knew you were more than just a pretty face, ma'am. You're a pretty face that plays dirty."

"Why thank you, Chief." she replied with a rather genuine smile and bright eyes. Though she hadn't seen much of her chief engineer over the past few days, she enjoyed his company and demeanor. "So how is your department running with the new personnel?" she asked. "Is Miss Peers adjusting to her new role?"

"Well, besides from the current issue, the department is running perfectly. It's helpful to have Willis around too. He knows me better than I know myself I think." He looked down the corridor, then back to the Skipper. "As for Peers, well Skipper. She has the potential to design an engineering department. She's a bright kid. A little more time and I'd expect her to be ready to take the reins and run on her own. She may end up being my retirement plan."

"Retire?" she replied in a light voice with a raised eyebrow, "But you just got here." she added with a grin. "Besides, I have the feeling Galileo has many adventures ahead of her which will require your expertise." she said. Despite her fondness for Markum, it was good to hear that Lilou was performing well, and Lirha had heard nothing but good things so far about the young assistant chief engineer.

"Don't worry, Skipper," replied the old engineer, "I'm not going anywhere. I love this ship, besides, someone needs to make sure you don't break her."

The Orion captain grinned, her teeth white against her gold lips. "I'm already quite fond of her, you know." she replied, then glanced around as several gold-collared personnel moved diligently between various consoles and exchanged information. "Would you like to grab some lunch with me?" she asked him. "I was on my way to the mess hall when I came down to check on you but you seem to have everything in order.... I think Engineering will be fine without you for a half hour." she suggested with a tilt of her head.

He smiled broadly, "Would I ever, Skipper. I was about to eat that plasma torch I'm so hungry." he replied as he walked along with her. "So when is Command going to wise up and give you that last pip, Skipper? You should of had it before we even left San Fran."

Lirha shrugged, unsure of the answer. "I haven't given it much thought, to be honest, but I suspect the outcome of our current mission will have a heavy influence." she said, walking with the older man out of Engineering and down the corridor. "What about you? Have you ever thought about life as a lieutenant?" she asked as she turned to look up at him.

Quinn shook his head with a grin. "I don't know, Skipper. I'm happy with the Warrant. I think the other enlisted's and non-com's look up to me in a way. You don't find many enlisted personnel achieve what I have. I want to be approachable, and the older I get, the more I want to pass down my knowledge to these...kids, in engineering."

"You seem to be very good at that, from what I've seen." she said, complimenting his department's performance. At the end of the corridor, they entered the turbolift and Lirha turned and stood against the far wall with her hands clasped behind her back. "You've had quite a career in Starfleet. I went to double check your service record the other day to make sure I hadn't been hallucinating. Thirty-two years is a long time... Have you thought about what you're going to do after?" she asked curiously as the doors closed and the lift ascended.

Quinn shrugged his shoulders at the idea. "I'm not really sure what I'll do. I'm almost finished with my Doctorate in Starship Propulsion, so that will open several doors for me. I'd like to consult for Starfleet's Xenotechnology Research Division. I had a great time there, but with a Ph,D. well, I could have more influence. Then again, I heard through a friend of mine that Starfleet's Warp Technologies Development Group could be looking for a senior consultant too in the next five years or so. Either way, I do want to teach too. That will be a given." He sighed some, them smiled at the young Orion woman next to him. "Maybe I'll open a daycare instead. Work from my quarters, wipe snotty noses, grade tests for the academy via sub-space, and be one of your civilian mission adviser. "

"Heh." she said with a grin, chuckling at the mental sight of Markum surrounded by toddlers in a daycare center. "I have the feeling you'll do quite well at whatever you decide." she said, then stepped forward as the lift stopped and the doors swished open. "Speaking of warp technologies, I imagine you're rather curious about our current assignment, specifically Project Sienna?" she asked as she walked with him down the corridor to the mess hall.

Still smiling at the though of his daycare comment, he scratched his beard as he turned his attention to the current mission. "I took a peek at some of the specs a few days ago when we stopped at the Starbase. Tarishiana and the others were having a bit of trouble figuring out the application of the technology. I didn't say anything to them, but it is a similar technological principle that I worked on back at XRD. Our test ship vanished though, along with Admiral MacGinns pet Beagle. Damn, was he made about that."

"Test ship?" she asked curiously as she looked up at him. They finally arrived to the double-doors to the mess hall and stepped inside as the doors parted then closed behind them with a swish. "The Federation has experimented with this type of drive before?" she asked.

As the doors closed he looked to make sure no one was in ear shot, just in case. "Not officially, and not exactly. The technology was based on the same principle of opening a gate through space to come out at a coordinated location. The drive was found on a small planet on the outskirts of the Zalkon System, oh...fifteen years ago, or so. Our best guess was that it came from another galaxy. We stripped it down, and went through it, piece by piece. The theory behind it was doable. The problem was the power source. We couldn't manufacture anything that could generate the needed output. So, we improvised."

"A warp core?" she guessed, curious now as to the information being provided by her chief engineer. Despite the lack of security clearance, he seemed to be very knowledgeable about the principals and history behind the experimental technology.

"Well, that's what we used. It was the wrong choice though, seeing that the test vehicle has never been found...yet." He shook his head in what almost seemed disgust. "The harmonics put out by a Warp Field were incompatible with the spacial ripple that the device wanted to make. We had it all wrong. We tried to force it. We were ordered to force it, to make it happen. Starfleet Intelligence wanted a man on the inside of that project too. Were they pissed when we wouldn't budge." He suddenly realized he was babbling. "Sorry Skipper. I know more than the average non-com. Just in the right place, at the right time I guess. Are our bearded friends on to what we are really doing out here?"

"It's hard to tell." she replied with a shake of her head as they moved to the nearby replicators. "Captain K'nara was very...guarded." she said finally after pausing for a moment to think of the correct word. "She's smarter than she lets on to but hasn't been as belligerent as I expected." the captain explained. "But the truth is that we've gotten this far with rather minimal difficulties from them so I'm inclined to think that's a good sign."

Markum nodded, "Yeah, I just hope our luck holds up....and no more engine failures."

"Indeed." she said quietly in agreement. Her green fingers tapped delicately on the replicator's LCARS terminal and she selected a blackened chicken salad from the menu, complete with two sides of spicy ranch dressing. With a shimmer of light, her salad bowl materialized before her and she grabbed her meal then looked back over at Markum. "Shall we go find a seat?" she asked.

Markum selected a chili cheese dog, with all the fixings and an Iced tea, double sweet. As he grabbed his items he gave a nod, "Of course. How about that one?" he suggested the one next to the large panoramic window. As he took a seat he had a sip of his sweet tea, and a large bite from the dog. After a few moments of chewing, followed by swallowing he finally spoke up. "Skipper, What do we do if things get hairy and the Klingons find out about our package after we depart the Starbase? Do we defend to the last man, or make scrap out of it?"

Lirha looked up from her salad and finished a large bite of lettuce and chicken. Wiping her mouth with her napkin, she shook her head with uncertainty as she answered the chief's question. "Our orders are to transport Project Sienna safely to Starbase 001...at all costs." she replied, staring into his eyes with a knowing look.

"That's what I was afraid of." Quinn mumbled as he took a bit of his dog. "Still..." he swallowed the remaining mouthful after clearing a way with his sweet tea. "....Still, I'd like to have an opportunity to have it set up in on of the Multi-Purpose Laboratories, and have it powered by Aux-Power. That way we can put a dampening field into and around the entire lab, and that will stop anyone beaming in, or beaming it out if we happen to lose shields. The idea of running it on axillary power is to keep the dampening field up in case we lose main power."

The captain considered the idea for a moment as she took several more bites of salad, followed by a long sip of her drink. Finally, with a nod of her head, the looked back up at the older engineer. "I think we can arrange that." she replied, "Have you spoken to the Operations and Science departments about it?" she asked. In her estimation, each of the department heads would have to be notified and assist in order for such a large piece of tech to be protected.

"Rai-rai, Schtiper." he responded with a mouthful of dog in his mouth, almost choking. After taking a sip of his tea, "Sorry, what I was trying to say was, aye-aye, skipper. I'll get with both of them and get a plan together to make it happen as smoothly as possible."

Seeing the chief preoccupied with his hotdog, Lirha nodded silently in reply and finally focused her full attention on the meal in front of her. She was lucky to have such a resourceful and experienced engineer on her team, and had no doubt that he could get the job done.

[OFF]

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CMDR Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Chief Warrant Officer Markum Quinn
Chief Engineer
USS Galileo

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