Warp Core Test

Posted on Saturday September 28th, 2019 @ 6:55am by Lieutenant J'Loni Mo'Bri Daughter House L'Keth & Captain Franklin Johnson

1,709 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Departure and Trial Run
Location: USS Poseidon; Main Engineering, Deck 4
Timeline: Pre-Poseidon Launch; Pre-Departure; Post-Officer's Meeting

Commander Franklin Johnson stood with Starbase 99's Chief Engineer on the dock, the two men exchanging a bit of pleasantries as they waited for the Chief Engineer of the Poseidon to arrive. She wasn't late by any means, they were simply a tad early, and things were progressing at a nominal rate. Standing by a console near the warp core, it was clear that the recent updates hadn't done away with the horizontal plasma conduits that traversed this deck to both nacelles. There was only so much overhaul that could be done to an older ship, after all, before a completely new one would need to be built. Crew bustled by, an occasional hello from the two senior officers, then back to conversing as they waited.

J'Loni had just stepped off the lift and saw the captain with the base engineer. J'Loni was known throughout Starfleet Engineering as the one Chief that not only hated starbase engineers but also did not trust them and with good reason, but that was for another time to explain why and what happened. Walking over, "Captain, and I presume you are the Starbase Chief Engineer?", she implied.

Chief Engineer William Anderson nodded in response. He was the fill in engineer this time around, the stations standard engineer had to take leave. A tall man, his toned physique complimented his stature. He admired J'Loni briefly, before comprehending the brief cold shoulder.

"That I am, Lieutenant Commander William Anderson," he formally greeted, extending a hand.

The Commander, for his part, nodded to his Chief Engineer, watching the proceeding greeting.

Taking the extended hand and shook it, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lt. J'Loni Mo'Bri Chief Engineer of the Poseidon. You are the engineer who.....you are part of the base engineers that upgraded her warp core and are now here for the power up and test?", she inquired. For the sake of the Captain and giving the Commander the respect, she held her tongue and comments to herself.

"Aye I am," William replied. He ended the shake respectfully, nodding to them both as he moved away from the two. "If you'll excuse me, I need to check on some systems first."

"Of course," replied Franklin. He blinked, looking at J'Loni as he leaned in. "You really don't like him, do you?"

Swearing in Klingon softly, "P'tagh!", she said before replying to the captain. "No I don't as a matter of fact and still don't trust them. Ask me some time why over a drink and I will tell you. He better not mess with my engines....", J'Loni said looking at his departing ass."No....I don't like him at all!"

Slightly taken aback by the display of anger, Franklin hid it behind a stoic impression of amusement. He nodded briefly, "I'll take you up on that drink sometime, then," he said, then added as he lowered his voice, "but I need you to cooperate so we can get clearance. I don't mean don't speak up if he messes up, just don't kill him....please?"

Shaking her head slightly, "Captain, I will watch my temper and my tongue, not for my sake but for yours and the sake of my lady Poseidon. I give you my word as a Klingon Warrior of the House L'Keth , we will get that clearance!", J'Loni said.

Satisfied, he responded with a simple, "Very good", before turning and gesturing to the way the stations Chief Engineer went. By this point Williams had begun using a console station in Engineering to perform some diagnostics, looking up as the two would approach.

"I think we're close to ready to test the core," Williams said with a smirk. "Not to worry, Lieutenant, I'll make sure your ship is not harmed. If you'll come to this console and check my procedures, and with your permission, we can begin?"

"Agreed Cmdr. Williams", J'Loni said as she walked over to the console where he stood. Looking over the diagnostics that were run, they appeared to be correct. "Yes that looks good. Please continue Commander", she said watching him work from the console. Apparently he knew what he was doing as the readouts came back positive.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," he said. Williams returned to his console, then initiated the test program as he watched the warp core.

Franklin turned also. The warp core of the Poseidon had been updated, but that didn't mean that the horizontal plasma conduits that spanned the original sections of Deck 4 had been replaced. On the contrary, due to its construction and compact size, the Miranda couldn't support a true vertical warp core. While it may have been possible in the extreme sense, the entire ship would have needed to be reconstructed and therefore Williams and his staff had opted originally to simply update the existing core. This test would prove if their method of properly jurry-rigging the Poseidon had paid off.

As they watched, lights pulsed from the Warp Core down the horizontal conduits, going out of sight down the lines to the T-split and ending in the nacelles on either side of the ship. This process continued as the Matter/AntiMatter reaction intensified and sped up, producing power that was sent throughout the ship as a series of deep pulses that seemed to reviberate the deck. This was, in effect, the true heartbeat of the ship.

"Matter/antimatter reaction starting, warp core now powering up from minimal state, reaction at 14% and climbing," stated William as he observed his display.

Watching the console carefully, J'Loni held her breath. Two seconds later the console went red! "Fek'Lar! Damn it! SHUT IT DOWN!" she bellowed. " I knew it, damn it I knew it! Can't upgrade the core system without upgrading the power converters and magnetic constrictors. They have to be upgraded together or it won't handle the amount of of increased raw plasma. In addition to that there is a variance in the matter/antimatter ratio of 000.6 which will blow us to hell. What in the name of Kahless didn't get understood when I sent my objections to the station engineer?", J'Loni said shaking her head.

As Franklin watched with a bit of trepidation, Lt. Commander Anderson did as he was told. He slammed both palms on his display as he recognized and admitted that a mistake had been made somewhere, his face red as he glared at the display. Clenching both sides of it, he sighed, nodding to himself.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," he managed, his anger more directed at himself. "I could of got us all killed and I would have never known it. Alright, this is your ballgame. What do we do?"

"First, swap out the old power relays with the upgraded ones to handle the increased flow. Second the warp core magnetic constrictors must be replaced with the correct ones for the upgraded warp core components. You can't put old with new in any way shape or form. Lastly, the variance has to be corrected and if I am right, it will balance itself out when the corrections ate made", she stated. "I would assume it should take one hour to correct being we are still docked", she added.

Lieutenant Commander Williams glanced at Commander Franklin, who simply nodded in the background. With a nod himself, both to the Commander and J'Loni, Williams gave a sigh.

"Alright, we'll get on it. Maybe you should help us this time," Williams offered.

"I wouldn't have it any other way Cmdr. Williams", J'Loni said nodding. Tapping her combadge, " Mo'Bri to engineering, alpha shift get in here ASAP we got work to be done", she hollered.

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[after the fix]

Double checking the diagnostics of the systems affected, J'Loni was content this time. Turning to Cmdr. Williams, " Shall we try this again Commander?", she asked.

William Anderson nodded, "That we shall." He took a deep breath in, then started the sequence again. The Warp Engines sprang to life, the bluish hum synchronizing with the matter/antimatter reaction as it cascaded through the warp conduits.

Watching the manifold readouts, plasma relay readings and the inter mix ratio, everything was proceeding as it should. The warp core was at 45% quickly and rising and the core temperature was holding steady as the core moved steadily ahead in percentage points. Watching the pulsing blue of the core, J'Loni smiled, "Cmdr. Anderson, she is at 85% and still climbing. Looks like we did it", she said as she held out her hand to him.

Seeing the extended hand, it appeared that a whole weight seemed to lift from William. He shook J'Loni's hand, graciously, smiling as he turned to watch the readouts following the shake. He gave a sigh of relief.

"Yep, I think we did," he confirmed. "Looking like we're reaching beyond 105% now. Those relays were old, I tell you that. No wonder the power wasn't flowing properly through the conduits."

"Yes we did it and the sooner we caught it the better. Now we can finish up and get ready to leave and start our first mission finally", K'Larn stated.

"That we can," Williams said. He took a few more minutes observing, then turned to the Commander who had been standing by patiently, watching.

"Commander Johnson, I certify your ship passing grade," William said smiling. "I believe your Chief Engineer can take it from here. You're clear to leave space dock whenever you like."

He took a moment to smile at J'Loni and Franklin, "Commander, Lieutenant, you'll both have my final report my this evening. Good day."

With that, the Lieutenant Commander left and departed. Commander Johnson looked to his Chief Engineer, partially showing amusement.

"That went well, eh?"

"Well Captain, except for almost blowing up the ship, yes it did", J'Loni said chuckling.

Franklin seemed to chuckle along as well, smiling to his Chief Engineer. "I've got a few things to take care of, congratulations on a job well done Lieutenant. I'll keep you appraised for when we're about to head out. In the meantime? Do what you do best."

The Commander nodded towards his Chief Engineer, a warm smile as he walked out. He seemed genuinely satisfied with everything. Perhaps even more impressed with his Chief Engineer than he had been before.

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