Posted by Lieutenant Sural (Chief Engineer) in Main sim-Shuttlebay-Cropdusting Olympic style

Posted by Captain Shirazi Thorne (Captain) in Main sim-Shuttlebay-Cropdusting Olympic style

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Beid practically ran into the shuttle bay and found Sural making final preparations. “I am going to accompany the shuttles on their flight. I can assist in disbursement concentrations and efficacy analysis. Are you going to be there to handle any delivery issues?” he asked, hoping the Engineer would be there as well.
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: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Beid, CSO
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: : : : : : : : : : : : : : Sural looked at the third shuttle. They were finishing up but not quite done. That left two which were complete and ready. “Flight checks are complete. We did them as part of the systems test on the emissions. There isn’t much room on the runabouts with the tanks. In short, Lt, we are ready to fly at a moment’s notice.”
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: : : : : : : : : : : : : : He gestured to one of the two ready shuttles. “Is this going to be a single pass or will we be required to make multiple attempts. One of the engineers came up with the idea of utilizing the replicator on board to be able to continually keep filled the tanks with your formulation. We will not need to return to fill up.”
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: : : : : : : : : : : : : : Sural, CE
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: : : : : : : : : : : : : When loaded the shuttles were capable of clearing a swath with a single pass. The dispersion of the chemical only needed to be done by shuttle to keep it from spreading too widely.
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: : : : : : : : : : : : : OOC: Feel free to launch.
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: : : : : : : : : : : : : The shuttle doors opened invitingly even with the slight shimmer that was the force-field holding in the atmosphere.
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: : : : : : : : : : : : : GM
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: : : : : : : : : : : : Sural took the pilots seat and nodded to the ensign who was one of the installers.
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: : : : : : : : : : : : =^= Bridge, this is Sural. Runabouts one and two are launching to initiate .. dusting. =^=
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: : : : : : : : : : : : With that he attended the controls and brought the vessel out of the bay and into space. Taking a moment to check the guidance controls and the programmed destination he awaited the second shuttle before turning the bow toward the planet and their destination.
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: : : : : : : : : : : The shuttles arced into space without an issue. It took only a moment for the craft to orient itself to the planet and accept it’s course guidance.
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: : : : : : : : : : : : =^= Shuttle one to Shuttle two. Initiate parallel formation on atmospheric entry. Follow the command of Lt Beid for the time to initiate the spray. Mr Beid .. you have command. =^= Sural was an able pilot, thought for situations like this. Most of his exposure and shuttle hours were to do with test driving the vehicles after repairs or in transport missions. For that he should be quite capable.
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: : : : : : : : : : : : Sural, CE
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: : : : : : : : : : : The shuttles knifed from the Olympic and into the atmosphere. Not really designed for ‘in air’ missions there was a little buffeting from the crosswinds made worse by the several tons of chemicals and its dispensing equipment inside the ship and under it’s belly. The two shuttles only took a few minutes before they were lined up in perfect position to start the ‘chemical’ run. They could go at virtually any speed as the shuttles had enough power and maneuverability to hover or even reverse course.
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: : : : : : : : : : : GM
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: : : : : : : : : : Beid sat in the co-pilots chair and nodded to the pilot. He began programming in a course for the two shuttles to spray, with an overlap of 20 meters between the two, accounting for prevailing winds and dispersal ratios. He sent the flight pattern to Sural in the other shuttle and began a countdown. “Commence spray on my mark.” he said as the ships began their approach. “In 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Mark.” and he activate the sprayers. As the compund began to rain down, he began scanning the area to gather as much data as he could.
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: : : : : : : : : : Beid, CSO
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: : : : : : : : : It was difficult to tell at first what effect the spray was having as the beetles weren’t moving about with a great deal of purpose since there was no clear signs of food. However after a time the insects seemed to lose focus and meandered in a less direct fashion… it wasn’t quite like circles, but it was more like a drunk that was going somewhere and you could tell where but it wasn’t as fast or as straight as it should be.
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: : : : : : : : : GM
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: : : : : : : : Sural undertook the course requests and timing with admirable stoicism. He realized that his choice perhaps in vehicle could have been better, though for volume and ability this runabout did at first appear the most logical choice. He focused on stabilizing the craft while moving on the course of the shuttle that Beid was in. Fortunately the AI in the flight program evened things out while he worked to minimize the wobble. When he heard lt Beid’s countdown he had that broadcast through to the back where a waiting ensign was controlling the dispersion. He could see on the display when it began, which was just after the other shuttle. The margin was acceptable.
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: : : : : : : : He too monitored the creatures. It was amazing how so many could be in the same area and find sufficient sustenance to survive. They were not small beetles where a very limited resource would enable it to survive. =^= Sural to Olympic. We are noting the spray having some effect. The beetles appear to be disoriented. They are retaining their previous ‘course’, however they appear dazed. =^=
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: : : : : : : : Sural, CE
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: : : : : : : Beid replied =/- Not exactly the effect we were looking for, but it will serve our purposes. I’m decreasing the dilution by ten percent. That should make the compound more potent, and the ‘daze’ should become more prominent and longer lasting. Sending dispersal pattern for next pass now. This should cover the remainder of the unexposed insects and give the previous group a new dose. =/\=
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: : : : : : : Beid, CSO
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: : : : : : After the second wave the insects stalled in motion. Now they weren’t really moving anywhere. It was as if they were so dazed they couldn’t move.
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: : : : : : GM
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: : : : : =/\= Beid to Olympic. Commence rescue operations in the area immediately. Insects are immobile for the time being. We will continue application every ten minutes. Recommend transporting during the break in spraying. =/\=
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: : : : : Beid, CSO
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: : : : =^= I will keep formation with you, Lt =^= Sural replied. =^= Does the dose have a length of effectiveness or is this what you would call a scientific guess? =^= He had seen the computer automatically decrease the dilution to make the brew more potent. On the upside he was finding that his flying was improving and that he was getting the ‘knack’ back. Of course as a Vulcan he would not use the word ‘knack’ but that muscle and mental matter were subconsciously returning to him to bring back his flying skills to where they were at his peak. Peak may be an enthusiastic consideration; Sural estimated that he was at 84.6% of his past peak when he flew more regularly.
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: : : : Sural, CE and budding crop duster
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: : : =^= Experimentation is the path to knowledge, Chief. But we would anticipate this particular path to be approximately thirty minutes to an hour. Margin of error to be 8% one way or the other. =^= came the voice of the Chief Scientist.
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: : : Beid, CSO and aspiring Orkin employee
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: : Sural’s brow rose at that ‘information’. =^= Are you certain that you are not in part Vulcan, Lt? =^= he inquired. His ‘margin’ of error was, in actual fact generous in his percentage. A true Vulcan would have had that down to a decimal point. His father had told him that this kind of exactness was more a matter of racial pride than out of necessity. Still, the more exact a number could be computed the better he himself ‘felt’. If ‘feel’ could be a proper verbage.
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: : He altered his course just a bit to match Beid’s craft. =^= And knowledge is but one step on the path to wisdom =^= He too could wax philosophical.
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: Sural could not see it, but a smile crossed Beid’s face as he worked the controls on the pest-control compound. =^= Perhaps. Or maybe you have some Trill in you. We are all born of star-stuff, after all. And we can debate the ‘wisdom’ of introducing an alien chemical compound into a new ecological system after we have retrieved the settlers from the further ravages of the local insect populace.=^=
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: Beid, CSO
=^=Attention shuttle craft… we are in distress… there are over 4,000 of us alive in the mountain range to your north.... can you please respond.=^=
GM

=^= Affirmative =^= Sural said immediately. =^= Scanning your position. We will be there at once. =^=

=^= Lt Beid, there are survivors to the North of us. Recommend we break off our spraying here and continue this in this other area. I’m sending you the scan of their location. =^=

He peered at the sensors to see what was there and what ‘opposition’ aka critters, that there might be there for them to attend to. He sent the scan results real time to Lt Beid’s shuttle.

At the same time he contacted the Olympic. =^= Sural to Olympic. We have a transmission from settlers in the mountain range to the North of us. We are adjusting course to assist. They are in distress and say there are approximately 4,000 of them. =^=

Sural, CE

=/\= Acknowledged. Let’s get there and assess. We will devise a spray pattern once we see what we are dealing with. Recommend transporting evacuees directly to the cargo bay and having security move them immediately out of the way. =/\=

Beid, CSO

OOC: I responded on the bridge. I thought Sural was with Oberon? Am I confused? I’m going by memory and THAT is always iffy!!!

D…

OOC: Err .. he’s on the shuttles cropdusting. Basically interacting with Beid in this.
IC:

=^= Affirmative Captain. The beetles have responded well to the mixture. We are going to apply the same at this mountain location. We will send you better beam up coordinates when we have arrived on location. ETA is 4 point 43 minutes. =^=
- Sural, CE

((OOC … not sure where my group went… since we are congregating here, posting here.... Meli))

Pretha had made short work of the cave survivors. They were safely aboard the Olympic. As they were beamed to the mountain location, their weapons were firing almost as immediately as they could be drawn. Several bugs had been destroyed already and the perimeter was holding. Pretha patted the shoulder of the man beside where she had beamed in, making sure he was set as she turned to head for the gathering in the middle of the village. Tapping her badge, she commed the bridge. =^=Captain, Oberon here.... we are at the location. Bugs being kept at bay but that spray in abundance would be a huge advantage right now,=^= her half laugh added to the end of the comment.

As she took a head count, she heard of the approach of the shuttle and smiled. “Between beaming and shuttles we will have you folks out of here in short work. Is everyone here and accounted for? And does anyone need immediate medical attention?” She glanced about hoping a ‘leader’ of sorts would step up. She could corral them if she had to, but them having a recognized leader would immensely speed things along. In a brief flash, she wondered if D’Vash was all right. With so much going on she wasn’t sure if he had volunteered to come down to help with what had turned into a much greater evacuation than they had first anticipated. Just as quickly as she thought about him, she drove him from her mind. It wasn’t like her to be distracted. And she wouldn’t allow it to happen now. “Who’s in charge?” She piped up and got back to work.

Lt JG Pretha Oberon
Security Chief