Posted by Commander Maxwell Harkness (Executive Officer) in Mess Hall - Open Thread

Posted by Cadet Rhese Bowman (Scientist) in Mess Hall - Open Thread

Posted by Cadet Simon Starr (Security Officer) in Mess Hall - Open Thread
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻

[Snip]

Rhese nodded in response to Woolley, who he’d met at his physical earlier in the day, as he was headed out. He smiled, then, to Korczak, at the simplicity of the matter he’d related; appreciating how “school” was most definitely not over. It had been a good exercise in learning to work together; and in the process, Rhese had appreciated also getting to know a little bit about his new crewmates. “You’re right, it was pretty simple, Counselor,” he said, still smiling, as he proceeded to finish off his last bit of salmon. He proceeded then to his replicated akutaq.

Cadet Rhese Bowman (Scientist)

Simon also returned the nod to Woolley before he took his leave. “A simple explanation, of course, the twist on being related to a retired Rear Admiral. It seems so many people have family connections in Star fleet” he said, thinking that he would be the first of his family to pick up the uniform. “Then again, there is the usual stigma that comes with that about living up to your family’s reputation - and that can sometimes mean it’s harder to succeed on one’s own merits, at least that’s what I found when I was working on my parent’s farm,” he said, thinking how everyone used to compare him to his parents.

He wasn’t exactly the best businessman or farmer, but he could move things, that was always a bonus. His experiences in the academy had developed that further, and it was there where he found his interests outside of being a farmhand.

Cadet Simon Starr, Security

“And that Cadets, is called cheating,” Max said laughing as he speared another potato with his fork. He took a bite between laughs. “As for living up to your family’s history, don’t let it stand in your way. You all got here on your own merits, no matter what your connections are.”

“Indeed.” Korczak agreed. “And Commander, it’s not cheating unless I don’t share.” he said with a slight nod and smile.

Max sat down his fork and looked over at Catt. “Now for your hydroponics set-up, I’d be happy to hear your proposal. I could definitely see the benefits for the rest of the crew as well.”

Cmdr. Harkness - XO

Korczak, CNS

Catt turned to face the XO. “The experiment in question is about soil recovery after a industrial disaster sir. So half of the output would be inedible at least at first. But the other half will be quite edible. My hydroponics consists of two small botanical units such as are used of old style generational colonization ships before the perfection of stasis units. Each unit can grow enough vegetable matter to feed around twenty people. They were mostly used to grow soy beans. Which was then processed into a food item called Tofu using partial fermentation of the soy. These types of units remain popular with mining colonies and space stations that do not want to dedicate a lot of time into food production. I am told this tofu can be flavored and textured to simulate any number of foods. Without the unique unpleasant variances caused by replicators.”,

And she played with her fork as she spoke, twirling it first clockwise then counterclockwise.

“The contaminated part of the experiment simulates contamination of the water table and soil by a old type 57 power generator suffering a catastrophic failure. The scenario specifically posits a lack of proper maintained leading to a loss of coolant pressure causing overheating and a meltdown that climaxed in a explosion.”,

And her ears quivered as her normal whisper took on a faint quavering.

“Many small colonies. Such as the one I was born on. Maintain such power systems in use long past the time they ought to be retired. The focus is on making the colony profitable, productive and expensive equipment replacement is avoided. Assuming it’s available at all. Most of these small colonies form when a segment of the population seeks independance from the Greater political entity. In my colony’s case the Federation.”,

“So it becomes needful to have a process that allows these colonies to recover independent of Interference from the government they are escaping from.”

Cadet Catt Bennet. Sciences. USS Challenger.

Bowman listened intently as Catt related the details of her experiment for Commander Harkness before speaking, as he did not wish to interrupt – but he was excited, and felt he could add some relevant input to the idea. “Catt, what if you were given a dedicated space for your hydroponic equipment and experiment? We could even use your existing equipment as a template, to construct additional units in order to expand it to provide potential equipment for additional food growth,” Bowman said enthusiastically. “I’ve brought some seeds, too: a few different strains of lettuce, some spinach, and carrots – all from my greenhouses in Alaska. Surely if we were able to procure the right kind of space – say, even a part of a storage bay, for example – we could easily get something set up, that would provide additional food resources for a significant number of the ship’s population,” Rhese continued, as he looked over to the Executive Officer, before adding: “We could even procure additional seeds and expand the project as well, over time.”

Cadet Rhese Bowman (Scientist)

“The limitation to this is weight. We can’t assume we can just place 20 ton hydroponic systems anywhere. So the scale needs to be limited. We also can not assume we can replace the existing botanical garden. The plant life there is mostly flowers but have been carefully bread to provide and filter the ships environment. They are a boost to moral as well for off duty personnel. So we would need to take over half a cargo bay set on the ships centerline. So it’s not a light project and may need to wait till after the Cadet cruise if I can get a ground assignment. I had thought to simulate it in a holodeck. But computer simulations are not always reliable when using new methods that the simulation can not define a effect for. This is why equipment is in storage at the station. Water saturated with nutrients has a definite mass and weight and potential hazards of shifting that weight should a gravity anomaly occur. These types of gravity anomalies are not as uncommon as would be expected given the competence of Starfleet engineering. Getting the units replicated in the first place required a great deal of negotiations with Star Fleets Quartermaster corps.”,

Bowman nodded as Catt was talking, while alternating between finishing off the remainder of his akutaq and taking bites of the apple slice he’d gotten from Commander Korczak.

And Catt had turned to look at her fellow scientist while maintaining her study of the XO’s expression. It would be illogical to not mention the risks as well as the benefits. She had spent four years setting up for this project. It was after all her obsession after her colony’s demise to find a way to prevent similar events. All of which was in her dossier and could easily be found by any senior officer.

Cadet Catt Bennet. Sciences. USS Challenger.

Simon smiled watching his fellow cadets get excited. It was a reminder to him why he joined Starfleet. “Well, I can’t offer much help on the scientific side, but I did also grow up on a farm. The agricultural benefits to this would be astounding,” he said, hearing the excitement in his own voice, as he pictured what that could mean for the Federation as a whole. “I’d be interested in the results, that much is certain,” he added before taking another bite of food he knew he wouldn’t get again in a while, enjoying every bite.

Cadet Simon Starr, Security

Rhese had finished his apple slice, and proceeded to also finish the last bite of his akutaq before pushing his tray away slightly, to indicate he was finished. “Well, it would of course be your project, Catt. But I’m willing to assist in any way you’d need. Though I would also like to produce a couple of units to grow my seeds in. The yields of the lettuce varieties, in particular, are very high – most likely we could produce enough for several fresh salads per day.” Talking about the fresh food reminded him again of the delicious foods provided by the Counselor – the apple slice itself had been particularly good. He turned to look again at Korczak, smiled, and said “Thank you again, Commander, for sharing this with us. It was all delicious!”

Turning back to his Caitian crewmate after a beat, Rhese’s expression changed gradually to a look of concern, as he continued: “You do raise good points about the mass of the project, though, Catt. We’d have to be careful not to exceed our means, depending on the space allotment. We could work out some way to create a ‘backup’ artificial gravity system, too, to avoid issues if the main system went down for some reason… but you’re right in that there’s no way to guarantee something couldn’t go wrong at some point. Though, there have been several successful hyrdoponics projects – even for additional food on missions to remote sectors where resupply of the ship couldn’t be guaranteed – on multiple starships. Perhaps we should look into their logs in order to better anticipate potential issues we might face. As to starting a hydroponics bay here on the Challenger during the cadet cruise, it could easily be something that could be maintained should one or all of us be reassigned, with some training… though I definitely understand your reluctance to set up your project here, not knowing how long we’re to be assigned to this fine vessel,” Bowman concluded. He looked, again, to Commander Harkness, hoping he might have some advice or input.

Cadet Rhese Bowman (Scientist)

“It is definitely an interesting thought,” Max said as he looked around at the cadets. “We could probably reinforce the super structure under one of the cargo bays, and include a secondary inertial dampening field to help minimize any effects of shifting load. We could set aside some space for your experiment Cadet Bennet, if you would like. And we could bring on some additional seeds from the starbase before we leave. I think it would be a good project, and can be used to help improve the ship. And of course like any good experiment, if it doesn’t succeed by the time you leave the Challenger, there is nothing wrong with that. But we have to start somewhere.”

Sitting up, he leaned on the table. “So if we were to start this project small, just to start. I can get you a cargo bay, but what would you need to get started?”

Cmdr. Harkness - XO

Korczak listened intently as the exchange took place, but kept his face passive and seemingly preoccupied with the discussion. He watched the Cadets interact, particularly Bennet, and was quite pleased… and more than a bit surprised… that she had stepped out of her shell in such a fashion. He made a mental mark to note her profile when he returned to his office.

Looking down at the now empty plates, he smiled and gathered up the plates and put them back into the bag. An advantage of being as non-descript as he was, leaving a table of people engrossed in conversation had never been an issue. He tended to blend into the furniture wherever he was, and that was fine with him. With a polite nod in the direction of the table in case anyone noted his leaving, he stood and walked out of the lounge.

Korczak, CNS