Posted by Lieutenant Markus Woods (Chief Science Officer) in Main Sim [Engineering]: An Ever-Shifting Perspective

Posted by Captain Rende Asam (Captain) in Main Sim [Engineering]: An Ever-Shifting Perspective

Posted by Captain Rende Asam (Captain) in Main Sim [Engineering]: An Ever-Shifting Perspective
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻

—SNIP—

Static Warp Field? Yep that was beyond her area of expertise now. She considered his last comment though, her head tipped to the side, and pulled up the scan of the joined mote. “Computer can you determine the biological composition of this sample?”

“Sample contains one hundred thirty-four types of biological components,” the computer stated flatly. “Displaying according to density.“

While the list was extensive to say the least, it was easy for either Fayth or Woods to determine the query was a bit of a dead end. The joined motes, having a rather dense ionic charge, had accumulated a hodgepodge of molecular matter from their various locations of travel—from skin cells to airborne bacteria to carpet fibers. While they didn’t retain they didn’t retain them in their orbit for long, they still served to attract whatever was nearby like static to dust. Part of their energy matrix seemed able to break these biological factors down to their atomic levels before absorbing them completely. Perhaps this entropic nature could explain how they existed outside of Hab’rabi; their effect on the simplest life would also explain why they hadn’t harmed the crew or the ship in their encounters.

She enlarged the image and watched it. “Possible, but if they are…compared to what we know of other similar energies and life forms, the patterns should be attempting to sync. Computer, are the energy patterns attempting to sync or merge?”

“The energy patterns displayed are in a state of multiphasic entanglement,” the computer replied. “Rate of attraction does not exceed the rate of repulsion.“

While there were obviously forces at-play beyond their ability to detect or analyze, the computer was still able to display the difference in outputs between the two types of energy matrices. Each wave type rose and dipped in response to the other, it seemed, trading weakness and strength in equal measure. It tickled the imagination akin to two stellar bodies exerting force upon each other to maintain a stable orbit, a dance of push and pull. The pale amber motes held more of a positive ionic charge that its peer, enjoying more the role of pull; conversely the russet ember held more a negative ionic charge at any given time, taking on the role of push.

She looked glanced up at Woods a moment before looking back at the screen. “Even if they are, we can hypothesize that the two that came out of Cmdr Kohr were hostile toward each other. The orange mote had a stronger energy pattern compared to the white one, which was much weaker. I don’t know…maybe I picked up on something. But the way they came out. It was like the white one was trying to hold on as they floated out of his skull and as soon as the orange one was able to pull away it left. If they were a mated pair, one wouldn’t abandon the other.” She waved at the screen, “but then that’s based of what we know. They may follow different rules. But something happened to that orange mote. If we compare the scans from sickbay to deck 34 it seems to have lost some cohesion…”

She studied it for a bit longer just staring at it, back and forth. “Energy life forms that we know of get weaker the more they exert themselves. Like they loose part of themselves as they expend energy. That could be going on here. They might have the ability to shift into subspace but it might come with a severe cost. The more they shift the weaker they get. Why don’t we try your warp field idea. We can talk all day, but until we try something we won’t know where to go next.” Well wasn’t she just used to talking like a department head now? How strange to fall back into such habits. Moving forward, try something, that had created Mini Fayth. “I don’t think it will hurt them. Not in the short term. When joined they can’t shift or they won’t. That’s not clear. But the point is that they don’t which means they can survive without crossing into subspace. We would just be cutting off their escape route.”

Fayth, med

Tabirs had entered the room about 5 minutes earlier, having been working on some isolated incidents with plasma relays a few decks down. He caught himself up on the plans and adjusted his glasses, as he thought, pushing them up and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Ok, so a static warp field, that’s absolutely doable when we’re running at regular capacity, however with the computer and electrical subsystems on the fritz, is it wise to attempt to have the computer run the calculations to maintain the static bubble? I know that counterintuitivly it’s easier to maintain a warp bubble while traveling, but I think if we run the Variant Kosinski Equation we should be able to create a stable bubble without causing too much trouble. That or we’ll all get trapped in a parallel universe shaped by our very thoughts. Either way really.” Tabris said, more of a stream of consciousness ramble than an actual conversation. He always liked to ramble, and go on about possibilities. He left out the references to the past that he usually had, but it was small steps?

Tabris, Eng

Sharah looked at Tabris and shook her head, “Reality based on our thoughts? I think I better head back to sickbay before you start that.” She glanced at Woods and then Tabris, “Anything I can assist with first?…Oh Lt. Woods, Lt Forgrave asked me to pass on a request that when you know how to track or catch these things to let him know. They are trying to track that one from deck 34 but with it flickering in and out it’s frustrating security.”

=/\=Rende to Woods. We’ll be tractoring in our guest’s ship in five hours. We’ll come to an all stop. Be ready to go with the static warp field then. Once we have the motes controlled here, we’ll send a team to the other ship. You’ll need a shuttle since transporters are still down.=/\=

By then, Markus had worked out the basic principles with Tabris and the other engineers on hand. This really wasn’t his forte or wheelhouse. Better to leave it up to the experts, even though it wouldn’t likely have taken him too long. With five hours to go, there was much to do. He would, of course, check in periodically, but not micromanaging.

Lt Woods, CSO/aXO

Then five hours later: =/\=Rende to Woods and Eldorin. We’ve got the alien ship and come to an all stop. You’re clear to begin.=/\=

Engineering—much like the rest of the Viking—was positively abuzz with activity. Every officer from every department had been pulled in to help with the modifications to the ship in order to answer the security threat posed by the strange alien energy beings. The checkpoints and nigh-continuous scans by medical crews slowed things down a bit, but by now everyone was accustomed to their presence. Teams worked in tight knots, moving in and out of jefferies tubes like ants or exchanging parts brought by anti-grav sleds. While there was an air of tension to the work, smiles were still offered and banter came and went in moderate tones. This was, to most, just another day aboard a Federation starship in deep space.

Lieutenant Bowman looked up from the holodisplay floating above the central engineering console, face serious without being overly stern. He was the single stone in the sea of moving bodies, an anchor point around which all activity churned. He directed, approved, and suggested from his singular point in the bedlam, focused on maintaining order and solving problems as they sprang up. As the list of required modifications dwindled, a knot of tension built between his shoulder blades. A bit of a pessimist, the engineer never liked flawless change—something, somewhere, inevitably went wrong and needed correcting. And yet, nothing had. By the time the last team reported their work completed, he was practically vibrating with resigned anxiety.

“Sir?” Bowman turned to spy a concerned Ensign Weir looking up at him, PaDD suspended in offering between them. “Is something the matter, Lieutenant?”

The engineer shook his head, took the PaDD. “Report, Ensign.”

“Yes, sir. All systems have been configured to the specifications Lieutenant Woods ordered for the static warp field. Gamma Team had to reroute auxilliary power through the secondary EPS manifolds to compensate for the variant resonant flux, but everything is operating within Starfleet tolerances.” Weir paused for a moment, seemed to shift his gaze elsewhere. Bowman waited patiently for the young man to organize his thoughts. Caelian was a brilliant engineer but sometimes that took him far away from the present task. “If it’s all right, sir, I’d like to run a few simulations while the diagnostic team is finishing up. Shouldn’t take more than, oh, fifteen minutes or so.”

Looking over the ensign’s recommendations and reports, Bowman nodded. “Very well, Mister Weir. I am all for being thorough, though I see nothing wrong with the work. Report back when you’ve completed your simulations.”

“Aye, sir.”

While he wrestled with the twisting sensation in the pit of his stomach, Bowman set about organizing the untold half of system modifications: clean-up and inventory. Again it all had to go through him, and again he performed to his utmost best. As each team submitted their parts inventories, his smile slipped into a concerned frown. Both the modifications and the malfunctions had put a major strain on the Viking’s supplies. He made a mental note to talk to the captain about stopping by a starbase after their mission was complete. If nothing else, the crew deserved a bit of a break after all the hard work they’d been putting in—himself included.

Some time later, a chirp brought his attention to the workstation. It was a message from the captain to the senior staff. A little bit above his paygrade, as the saying went, but still Bowman found himself curious as to its contents. Stronger than his vexation over Murphy’s Law and all that it entailed was his yearning to pick apart the alien ship piece by piece and learn all he could from it. Scans and simulations could only whet his explorer’s appetite so much; there was nothing more satisfying than actually working with the unknown, even if it seemed outdated or obsolete.

=^=“Ensign Weir to Lieutenant Bowman.”=^=

“This is Bowman, go ahead.” He braced himself. “How did the simulations go?”

=^=“Fine, sir. Structural integrity and system loads all check out.=^= Did the young man have to sound so damned happy about it? =^=“We’re ready to go.”=^=

“Understood. Bowman out.” After taking a slow breath to steady himself, he pressed the comm button on the panel to sound a chime throughout the ship. “Attention, all decks! This is Lieutenant Bowman in Engineering. Please stand by while we initiate a static warp field. As disorientation is common during field attenuation, more-sensitive species are advised to brace. The process should take no more than thirty seconds; crewman who experience prolonged symptoms are advised to report to the nearest medical team. Field will engage in ten seconds. Bowman, out.”

An audible hum built all around them as the warp core brightened and coruscated with actinic light. The computer calmly counted down, and all crewmen stood stock still at their various stations while they waited for it to reach zero. There was a singular snap of light as the core reached threshold and the static field swept outward. There was the barest of ripples in the air and a trace of prismatic hue to the edges of his vision. The pressure around him seemed to increase, and a wave of vertigo washed over him; it was gone before he could squeeze his eyes against the roiling, leaving him gasping and grateful. Still, he held his place and counted the thundering of his heart in his ears—twenty-eight… twenty-nine… thirty.

The sensation died away so surely as to have never been, and Lieutenant Bowman breathed a sigh of relief. After ensuring no one in Engineering required medical attention, he pressed the call button once more. “Engineering to the Bridge. Static warp field has been established and is holding.”
—Jas—