Just What We Need

Posted on Fri Jan 17th, 2025 @ 5:54pm by Lieutenant Kiran Arai

1,241 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Project EDEN
Location: Main Engineering
Timeline: July 26, 2401

In main engineering, the jolt had thrown a few engineers to the deck plates, and more than a few consoles sparked. Making his way to his feet Kiran felt the top of his forehead, it was slightly damp, but not bleeding too heavily. "Everyone still with me?" He could sense the anxiety in the room, but a sense of calm flowed over the team as he spoke to the team. "Let's see what the damage is."

He walked over to the Master Systems Display table which some of the engineers around the room had already started to head towards, as reports started filtering in through the ship to the console. The ship had been knocked out of warp, and there were power failures all over the ship. Sensors were still collating information, so he wasn't completely sure what had happened.

He tapped a button on the display. "Arai to bridge, we've been knocked out of warp, we're not sure why, but we've got power failures all over the ship. Reports are still coming in, and we've got damage control teams starting to..." He turned to the sound of the explosions as some relays exploded, likely from an overload with the power issues. "Is everyone ok?" he called out to no one in particular. A chorus of 'yes, sir' followed.

He turned his attention back to the console, and the steady stream of reports. "We've just had some plasma relays blow, no casualties so far. We've got damage control teams being dispatched across the ship." Kiran was trying to stay as calm as he could, while also tapping the console and routing the teams across the ship.

The Captain's voice responded. "Lieutenant, we have no power up here. No gauges, nothing."

"And no EDEN, I knew I should have fought back against having the system remain offline until we got there." The next voice he recognised as the mission advisor, Commander Mariwat.

Another voice, the Chief Security and Tactical officer, spoke next. "Would having EDEN online really have stopped... whatever that was... from happening?"

"I don't think so Commander. We might have hit an ion storm or a plasma clo..." He stopped and looked at the types of damage reports that were still incoming. "I think it was an ion storm, Captain. It explains the issues with power. The ionised particles of the storm would explain why we've got power in some systems, not others. It also explains why we've had some plasma relays blow in engineering, and other areas of the ship." It would also explain why we got knocked out of warp so suddenly.

"An ion storm?" The Captain replied. "If there's no power, there's no sensors, which will make it hard to determine where we are in the storm. Let's get these conference room doors open so we can see outside."

She made a good point, Kiran thought to himself. He was tapping furiously on the console, assigning the damage control teams to the growing list of damage and faults being added to the system logs. "Aye, Captain. Teams have been dispatched to restore power to the primary systems, I don't have a time frame, they're moving as fast as they can though."

Another voice, sounded like Commander Tusalo "Captain. An ion storm doesn't make sense, the ship didn't detect any kind of storm before we were pulled from warp. We might miss a low level one but to pull us out of warp, and cause damage like that, we're looking at at least a force - eight storm. No way our sensors would have missed that."

"I didn't say it was, Commander. I said I think it is. We're still blind without sensors, I'm just trying to put the dots together based on what little information is filtering through the systems." He replied, while still assigning the teams.

He heard some movement in the background of the bridge, and then the Captain spoke once more. "If it looks like a storm and smells like a storm."

Another voice joined the open comm link. "Yes, and this is exactly one of the use cases EDEN was designed for. It's a shame that she's offline."

"Speculation about that won't help us now, though."

Kiran sensed something strange, a new wave of anxiety just rolled over him. It wasn't anyone in engineering, it would have been a much stronger feeling. "I'm going to assign one of the damage control teams to the primary sensor pallets. If there was nothing on our sensors, there's clearly something at fault with them. They wouldn't miss a storm that is big enough to rip us out of warp."

"Yes, it's a strange thing indeed. Still, systems won't perform as they should for as long as we're trapped in this ion storm. And, Captain, I can't help but suggest that we should prioritize bringing EDEN online. We should know how she would be effected in moments like this." Replied Commander Mariwat.

Again, Kiran felt a strange wave of emotion as Commander Mariwat spoke.

The captain was next to speak once more. "I hate to say it, but Commander Mariwat's right. We should bring EDEN online." Kiran mentally made a note to start monitoring all vital systems, which, given the state of the ship, was already a mess. The Captain was still talking, but Kiran focused on some of the other reports that were coming in. "...Commander MacArthur, get to Engineering and work with Lieutenant Arai on repairs" was the next part he focused on, as the Captain was issuing orders to the bridge officers.

Once the orders were given out, Kiran replied, "Aye, Captain. I'll see what I can do to tidy the place up before Commander MacArther arrives. Engineering out," before closing the channel with a touch of the console.

His focus now fully on the console, and assigning of the teams to repair the main systems. He moved a few more teams onto the grid in front of him, prioritising the major systems that were offline. He looked over to the officers working around. "Gillespie, Lucas, go to deck five, section seven. I'm reading fluctuations in the relays that keep sickbay isolated. Last thing we need right now is sickbay to go dark." The officers nodded in unison, grabbed some tool kits from one of the storage panels, and left main engineering. "Ed, how are we looking on deck 24 life support?"

"Adams and T'Vrass are working on it. They're having issues with the environmental controls. Half the deck is stuck on on minus temperatures, after one of the power relays blew and damaged one of the temperature regulators. Not the only area to report issues with those systems either."

"Just what we need. Power fluctuations, and minus temperatures. Ed, take Lambert and double check the environmental systems on this deck, the bridge, and other decks with vital systems. Lets see if we can fix any issues before them become problems." Kiran replied.

"Aye, I'll keep you updated, Lieutenant." He said, with a smile as he left the area.

Kiran tapped his comm badge, "Arai to Gillespie, check the environmental systems once you're done with your checks on the relays. We've had some issues in other parts of the ship with them. Keep me updated." They confirmed their order and the channel was closed.

 

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