The March Ever Forward

Posted on 08 Sep 2016 @ 1:19am by Lieutenant JG Rahl Tyton Ph.D. & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

2,414 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 12 - Recluse
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Administrative Office
Timeline: MD -5 18:00 hours

[ON]

Shaking his head to himself Rahl walked down the hallways with one intended destination. Now that he was on board he needed to check in with his commanding officer. Unfortunately, he had yet been able to arrange for a meeting with the executive officer. Considering he had work to start and things to do that left one option..checking in with the admiral.

He stood outside the door to the admiral's office for a moment making sure his uniform was straight. Most of the time he didn't care when he was working and in various stages of research. However, this was not one of those times. One did not stay a department head or even a lieutenant for long by showing up shabby in front of a high-ranking superior officer.

He hit the button outside of the office and waited for permission to enter.

Lirha had been busy in the late afternoon with various tasks ever since the end of Alpha shift. For once, she'd managed to grab a quick meal from the mess hall without any long waits at the buffet, and following that brief accomplishment, she'd retreat back to her old administrative office on Deck 2 in order to finish filing the remains of her daily SITREPs and OPREPs to Starfleet Command. With one hand grasping a PADD and the other clutching a salad fork, she was suddenly roused from her work when the door chime sounded.

The rear admiral shoved a quick forkful of Caesar salad into her mouth and quickly chewed before setting her utensil down and looking towards the door. "Enter," she called out with a muffled voice.

Hearing the admiral saying to enter he walked in and stood at attention on the other side of the desk from her. He had no idea if she was one to stand on full ceremony or not. He noticed the food on her desk and barely concealed a wince.

"My apologies for interrupting your meal admiral. Lieutenant JG Rahl Tyton reporting for duty. As I was unable to get in touch with the executive officer, I thought it would be prudent then to formally check in with you before taking control of my department."

She took sight of the familiar El-Aurian she'd met in the transporter room not too long ago -- the new chief research officer, if she remembered correctly. "Hello Mister Tyton. Yes, please sit," she replied, motioning towards the empty chair across from her desk. "Have you managed to get settled yet aboard our starship?"

Rahl took a seat in the chair. He nodded in response to her question. "I have put my things into my quarters. I'm sure I'll get around to unpacking them and putting them in their place at some point in time. However, first and foremost the job comes first. I've made note of where the labs are and there relation to my quarters as well as the bridge and other essential areas of the ship. I have several ideas of where to possibly begin with research. As well as the individual research projects that may come up in our various missions from time to time."

"I understand," she nodded. "I wanted to ask you about your research...humorous that you mentioned it," she grinned, her gold lips tugging slightly at the edges of her cheek. "What type of projects have you been working on? Anything related to planetary science?"

Rahl shook his head. "I have ventured into that field a couple of times but nothing recently. Though I have been looking over some documentation and specifications of something a colleague sent to me. Something named Project Genesis. Where theoretically according to what I've read in it. One could create life on a completely barren planet. Granted something of that nature that could effect a planetary scale must be completely researched and handled delicately. That's the only thing recent that I've had exposure to in the planetary sciences."

He shrugged. "Most of my time in the recent past has been devoted to nanite and slipstream technology research. The slipstream technology is what I was going to start back on here first. If I can find a way not only to recreate it but to harness it safely. As a scientific survey ship I'm sure you can see the benefits. To be able to travel vast stretches of distance with in hours that before would have taken months or years to do."

Lirha recalled the classified nature of the Genesis device and the hazardous nature of its initial trial in the Mutara Nebula. Promising technology but not quite refined enough to be useful on a large scale, had been her interpretation. The volatile nature of the core's design by David Marcus had made it one of the most studied topics in Starfleet Planetary Science during the late 23rd century.

Slipstream technology, on the other hand, was still relatively new and complex, though similarly unstable. She pressed a green finger to her chin for a brief moment. "The application of slipstream technology would be the next great leap for any space-faring empire," she agreed out loud. "Could you imagine the new worlds and possibly galaxies we could reach?"

Rahl nodded. "That is exactly my point. We could likely explore areas that no one else would be able to reach within our lifetimes by normal means of warp. The impact it will have on science and exploration is too monumental to fully grasp. It will be a new frontier far more vast than anything we have ever imagined or come across before. It will be a wondrous time in our civilization."

"Indeed. But it is also a dangerous technology that we do not fully understand. At least, not yet." Lirha replied. "In a way, it is similar to the Genesis project you mentioned." She then paused while several thoughts permeated her brain in regards to the subject of advanced warp travel. "Why is it you have such an interest in quantum slipstreams as opposed to subspace wormhole technology? Would the latter not be more efficient and plausible?"

Rahl shook his head. "In my opinion artificially creating a wormhole. Even a temporary one would be the same as the overuse of a warp drive in space. Remember admiral that Starfleet put the speed limit of warp 5 on all fleet vessels due to the damage that warp fields have with creating subspace ruptures in space because they weaken the fabric of space."

He let out a slow breath. "I believe artificially creating a wormhole would do the same thing and possibly to an even greater and more devastating effect. You are effectively ripping a hole through space to get to to where you are wanting to go. Through slipstream technology you aren't ripping a hole. You are entering an another dimension if you will. THe slip stream is already there. It's not an artificial construct. We simply enter that natural space and use it for travel."

For the briefest moment, she considered telling him about Project Sienna and the experimental propulsion drive Galileo had been tasked with testing during their very first mission out of drydock. It was all highly classified, however, and she quickly dismissed the notion of divulging secret information to the man despite his interest in the subject matter. "For something so natural, it is surprising difficult, yes? Perhaps if there is continued interest in the engineering and science communities, one day there will be a breakthrough." Possible, but not likely, she thought to herself.

"What proposals have you developed for individual research tasks aboard Galileo?" Lirha proceeded to ask.

He sat up a bit with the question. "Well there are three areas that I'm looking at for research at the moment. All three would have some benefit not just to this ship. The first one would be nanites. While I know many of my colleagues would be hesitant about research in such an area due to mishaps that have happened in the past. It is pure ignorance to allow such things to halt the progress of research and knowledge. We simply have to strengthen the safety and security measures used when dealing with such things. However I digress. The basis for the research would be a point to point control system for the nanites. To use them for repair work or what not in places that are too dangerous for organic lifeforms."

He rolled his shoulders a bit. "The second one is dealing with sensors. There are still to many things that our sensors cannot fully penetrate. Especially with stellar phenominon. I will seek ways of refining and strengthening the sensors. Or perhaps developing a whole new system if it comes down to it. The third you already know as we were just speaking about it. The slipstream technology."

Nanite research. Great, she thought to herself first and foremost. Out of all the undesirables in the galaxy -- tribble infestations included -- he'd chosen the tiniest of scientific technology to experiment with. Her mind raced for a moment while she thought of all the possibilities in which such experiments could go wrong. She had to speak up. "Lieutenant...you are aware that nanite research is not condoned by the Federation in a uncontrolled environment such as a starship? Especially considering their...history as a Borg instrument of destruction.."

Rahl raised an eyebrow. "Yes Admiral I'm well aware. Which is why the research and testing would be done in a fully shielded research lab. A force field would be placed around the containment unit. That way if something possibly went wrong then they would be fried and rendered nonoperational the moment they hit the force field."

He shrugged. "In this instance the nanites would only be able to do what they were programmed to do. Which for this purpose is simply repairing structures and other things. No dismantling, distruption, or any other sort of harmful possibilities would be in their programming. I'm not trying to build a weapon with them. Just a possible automated repair system."

Despite the safeguards, Lirha still didn't feel entirely comfortable having the tiny mischievous spirits aboard her vessel. However, if the new CRO considered them to be safe enough under established precautionary safeguards, she would be willing to concede the experiments to him. "What is your idea for application of these nanites if your experiment is successful? Or maybe...multiple applications?" she wondered. "I wonder what our exocomp would think about this..." she mused under her breath.

Rahl nodded as he sat a bit straighter. "The applications for such a thing are as varied as the needs. The applications is for use in repairs where such places would be hazardous for organic lifeforms. Say in engineering there was a breach and radiation was leaking. However it was far to high for any of the crew to go in and try to repair it. With this system the nanites would then go in and repair whatever damage there was. Thus repairing the ship and saving lives at the same time. A secondary application could be in the medical field though I have reservations about that. It makes me wonder if by doing that..if it was the first step the borg had used during the first steps of there creation."

She peered at him through now-narrowed and judging slits of her eyelids. The thought of Earth's most notorious fugitives raced through her mind at the mention of medical nanite applications. But for some reason, the Borg did not terrify her as much as the unknown did. "Please tell me you will not become another Noonien Singh?" she asked with a bit of lightheartedness combined with a large dose of anxiety.

He chuckled and shook his head. "There is no fear of that. I am not some narcissitic megalomaniac. Though if I am able to..perhaps I will join such austere ranks as that of Dr. Noonian Soong one of the Federation's most advanced scientist in the cybernetics field."

He shook his head. "I have no use for power and even less use for the ways in which men without morals or principles use to attain such power. I am here to advance upon the edges of science. To explore the universe in ways that before were literally undreamed of. To help us reach a new level of understanding with the way things are around us. Also to tweak the nose of physicists that try to say some things can't be done and prove them wrong." He chuckled. "One of the things I'm not here for is to create some kind of superior being or super soldier. Besides that's so cliche and last century."

"..Do not tell that to the Klingons..." she muttered under her breath. They would always be happy to attempt re-engineering of their subjects if it could give them a battlefield advantage, she thought.

"Well," Lirha continued, putting on a smile to try and change the subject a bit, "I think your projects all sound very intriguing. And I think you have come to the best starship in the fleet for your needs. We will do our best to accommodate you. Did you...have any questions for me about our operations?" she then asked, wanting to give the man an opportunity to voice anything on his mind.

Rahl shook his head. "No questions at the moment Admiral. I believe everything for the moment is fairly well explained and measured. However should any questions or issues arise I will be sure to speak with the first officer about it. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me."

She smiled and glanced over at her salad which was await her once he departed. "Of course, lieutenant. Thank you for explaining you research and feelings so openly. I think you will enjoy your time here," she replied before giving him a nod of approval. "Dismissed."

Rahl stood up and at attention and nodded. "From what I have seen so far I believe I will. It has been a unique and pleasurable experience so far. I wish you a good day and hope you enjoy the rest of your meal Admiral." He turned and headed out of her office. There was work to be done and it was time to be about doing it.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lt JG Rahl Tyton
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

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