Engineering tour Part One

Posted on Wednesday May 4th, 2022 @ 2:26am by Lieutenant Commander T'Pri & Lieutenant Miles O'Connell

1,467 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: S1-A1-Ep. 2: Our Foremost Virtues
Location: Engineering
Timeline: 239503.05

Intelligence log Stardate 239503.05. I have been promoted to 4th officer aboard the Poseidon. I have been familiarizing myself with the command protocols of such an assignment. I have started Starfleets EOAL course by correspondence. my initial score for phase one was flawless. I have taken it upon myself to visit various parts of the ship that I am unfamiliar with to round out my knowledge and experience. I have asked Lt O'Connell to give me a tour of engineering. I wish to honor Captain Franklin and Commander Kana for putting their trust in me. A new crop of students should arrive soon for the spring session. At that point, the Poseidon will get underway again. Doing what we do the best training the next generation of Starfleet officers. LCdr T'Pri reporting.


T'Pri had just been promoted to 4th officer. so she went down to engineering to familiarize herself with parts of the ship she didn't know very well. One such place was engineering. She understood the basics and the principles involved. but She wanted to meet the people as well. The Vulcan officer strode into engineering confidently. She spotted a technician monitoring a display panel.

"Excuse me, Crewman, where can I find Lieutenant O'Connell," T'Pri asked.

He turned and looked at T'Pri.

"He is right back there on the other side of the dilithium chamber commander. He said pointing in the direction she should go.

"Thank you," T'Pri said making her way over to the inner core.

"Ah Lieutenant O'Connell, I was hoping you would have a chance to show me around and talk," T'Pri said.

O'Connell was not expecting anyone so he was a little on the grimy side with smudges on his face and arms. He had gotten hot so, he took his jacket off and rolled up his shirt sleeves, and also got some grime on his shirt.

"Hello, ma'am. I will be with you in just a second." O'Connell replied. "I have to finish filing the piston grease chamber for the core ejection system or it would not be able to process the command if needed. Okay, that does it." O'Connell then came out of the access hatch and saw T'Pri before him. "Commander, I am sorry for my appearance. What can I do for you?"

T'Pri put her hands behind her back clasping them together.

"I have been promoted to 4th Officer of the Poseidon and it occurred to me to tour areas of the ship that I am relatively unfamiliar with. I was hoping you could give me a tour and a rundown of the engineering section, if it is within the parameters of your duties", T'Pri asked pleasantly for a Vulcan.

"Commander, I would be honored to escort you on tour of the belly of the beast," O'Connell stated as he loved to try to add humor when talking to all and had forgotten that T'Pri was a Vulcan. "Sorry for the reference to the ship as a beast, I realized it was not logical for me to use that humor with a commander."

You're Human are you not? I recognize that you were using humor to make me feel welcome. and try to put me at ease... I appreciate the effort. Most kind, T'Pri said stoically.

Tell me, Mr. O'Connell, how many students per tour do we have manning engineering"? T'Pri asked.

"Commander, I believe we have six on board now, but not exactly sure," O'Connell replied. "Is there an issue with students being here?"

"Do you train them or just supervise them?" T'Pri asked curiously.

"You know ma'am, I never really thought about them as students." O'Connell replied. "I do supervise them in my role as assistance chief of engineering but I work along side them most of the time and if they have questions or seem to be needing guidance, I do answer their questions and instruct on proper practices for getting the job done."

"What do you think are the most common things you instruct them to do and a day to day operations of engineering," T'Pri asked.

"Well Ma'am, the day to day operations are relatively repetitive and standard. Maintaining the optimal operating conditions and keeping the standards that Starfleet has set in addition to the standards that Commander Sharpe has set in place which are even more strict to the newbies." O'Connell replied. "The common instructions for the students or cadets would be helping them with knowing how to make adjustments in the measurements for the anti-matter pods to keep them in check with the adjustments that occur as we cruise through the universe and other minor issues that arise in the daily actions of an engineer. There are many learning moments in engineering from the perspective of a cadet or student. I myself do learn a thing or two every day not just from engineering but also from my interactions with the rest of the crew. Did you have a specific point at which to start your tour?"

T'Pri looked around.

"How about the warp core, I understand that by today's standards the warp core could be considered a museum piece. I'm curious how you and your staff brought it into the 24th century and how it is maintained." T'Pri asked.

"Interesting concept, ma'am." Miles replied. "The uses of warp has been around for a couple centuries and is not going away. Without warp propulsion we would not be capable of exploring the cosmos that we now do. While I do understand that in 2370 the Hekarans had some scientists that found warp engines cause damage to the fabric of spacetime, this has now been refined and streamlined to allow safer travel without the damage. I know also that slipstream technology can also achieve the same effect but it is still not a sound means of travel. I am that by the standards of past warp drive unites, today's warp drives are much safer and generally easier to maintain, thus allowing for the continued use of the technology and keeping it out of the museum a this time." Mile added as he always gets a little nervous when talking with Vulcans in general.

"I understand that the nacelles have been upgraded to keep up with environmental standards to protect subspaces. Tell me how fast can we get from two points Lieutenant? and what is the fastest speed you have taken the Poseidon to"? T'Pri asked curiously.

"The fastest we have traveled between two points of significant distance was twelve minutes at warp 9.89." O'Connell replied. "I believe that trip was from Omnicron Iotia XII to a Xindii settlement near Deep Space 9 and we had to be there without hesitation. I also know we have done warp 9,9 a few times for emergencies."

"Most impressive, so they merely look like 23rd-century engines, they are really uprated then. Did you supervise the refit of the warp nacelles?" T'Pri Inquired.

"Well, you are correct to a degree, Commander." O'Connell replied. "The design of the engines is rather unchanged but they are refit to keep up with the technology as it is updated. The refining of the warp systems is always in progress but the upgrades merely fine tune the existing science merely by improving the abilities of the device. I was not involved in the last refit of this ship's warp nacelles but I did my thesis at the academy on the theoretical standings of how warp drive has changed the concept of interstellar travel."

"That sounds interesting I would like to read it sometime. How do you think this ship would stand up to say a Cardassian warship?" T'Pri asked.

"I would appreciate your view of my thesis. I will request a copy be sent to you." O'Connell replied. "I would say we are good to go against a Cardassian warship as we are more updated then they have in their current fleet. The Cardassians have not fared well since their Dominion alliance and the thus their ships are in service beyond their life-cycles."

"Do you really think that this ship could face off to say a Galor-class warship? I know the Cardassian space fleet has suffered in recent years and their economy is not geared toward the extreme military budget of the past. It could be possible. What's next Lieutenant? May I suggest we go to lunch?" T'Pri asked.

"Yes Ma'am, I do feel that this ship could stand its own against a Galor-class Cardassian Warship." O'Connell replied. "I would enjoy a bite to eat, but after that maybe you would like to see the starboard nacelle and review the improvements that have come with time."

"I would appreciate that very much, Lieutenant". T'Pri replied,


[End] Part one
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Lieutenant Commander T'Pri
Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Poseidon

&

Lieutenant J.G. Miles O'Connell
Deputy Chief Engineer, USS Poseidon

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