Status Update

Posted on Thu Feb 23rd, 2012 @ 1:14am by Captain Benjamin Byrne & Lieutenant Commander Aeitos th'Ralik [PNPC] & Lieutenant JG Elizabeth Jones & Lieutenant JG Michael Watters & Lieutenant Lonnoc Keldan [NPC]

Mission: Deep Space 19
Location: Deep Space 19 - Station Ops
Timeline: MD18 0900hrs

As Benjamin walked in to the Station Operations Centre, a cup of steaming hot Raktajino in his hand - it was the only thing that they had thus far reliably been able to get the station's approximation of a replicator to make with any accuracy - he noted how different the room looked to the place he had come in to see just over two weeks ago. The Ops Centre now was filled with the sound of chirping consoles - of both Federation and the station's alien design - and lit not just from above, but from all around; some of the gratings in the centre of the room seemed to have lighting underneath, filtering through the grates, whilst the consoles themselves also gave off a significant amount of light.

The room was also bare of any dust or dirt now; it has been almost polished to a sheen in an attempt to get it working as a functional command centre, and even if the mixture of Starfleet and alien consoles looks a little odd, the task they had set out to do, in this room at least, was complete.

For the most part.


The captain had requested that his senior officers convene here for a staff meeting, with the progress on the station as the topic of conversation. So far he knew that they had managed to get the ops centre functional, as well as the environmental systems and habitation levels, but knew that he didn't have all of the details. With Starfleet's first real batch of new personnel and supplies still two weeks away at high warp, he wanted to know where they were at.

The translation program was not anywhere close to being complete, it was working but way too slowly and it was very frustrating to Liz Jones. It was if the computer core of the station was trying to be difficult with them. Along with engineering the operations department had been putting a lot of effort into getting the stations operations centre up to starfleet code.

Although happy that the systems were at least talking to each other Liz couldn't help but feel as though she was walking over someones grave. These feelings did not last long but she was in the middle of one as she worked on the interface for the long range sensors. Shivering quickly she looked around trying to determine if any others saw her psychical reaction to her empathic powers As officers started to gather around the situation table Jones moved down to join them "Good morning everyone" she said with a forced cheery tone, taking her place among them.

Michael was one of the last to join the group of assembled officers gathering within the station's main operations center, having just completed yet another visual inspection tour in anticipation of this very meeting. He could only hope they would have the opportunity to address a few of his concerns sooner rather than later.

As he joined his officers on the slightly lower level from the surrounding consoles - though still higher than the recessed pit where most of the engineering/operations systems were located - the captain smiled and nodded at each of them. "Good morning," he said cheerfully to them all. Tonight had been his first uninterrupted night of sleep since moving himself into the station's habitation levels. He had insisted that his wife and son stay aboard the Endeavour - which was docked at the only airlock that the engineers had managed to refit with the tools they had on hand around the docking ring - but he himself had felt that he needed to be an example to his crew. Last night had been the first that he'd been able to sleep without thinking about the absence of the warm body next to him.

"So, how are we going so far, Mister Andorzai?" the captain asked, casually beginning the meeting.

"Surprisingly well, given the lack of translatable consoles, Captain." Andorzai reported. "We should have Main Operations up and running within the next couple of hours with almost complete restoration of power to that compartment within the next twelve. The Cargo and Docking teams report that they will be looking to start pressurisation tests within the next week with a view to having them fully operational within the next fortnight."

The captain nodded. "Good, that means we'll be able to put to use some more of the empty compartments." With only portions of the station fully powered and habitable, they had been moving in in stages it had seemed, with many crewmen still hopping back and forth between the station and the Endeavour to get their bunk time. The turbolifts on the station still weren't working, but the crewmen had all discovered that the station was catacombed with access tubes with runged ladders, specifically designed to manually climb between the decks; the ascent and descent between the command level and the connections to the docking ring were made bearable by the fact that the accessways existed within a null gravity zone on the station; the gravitic generators were specifically installed around them to create a zero-gravity environment only within those conduits; all one had to do was climb in and push off in the direction they wished to go.

"How about the rest of you?" he asked, passing his gaze over to each of the officers gathered around the central table. "How have each of your projects over here been progressing?"

Michael glanced around the circle before speaking up. "My teams have been working on trying to find a way into the station's internal security grid," he explained, "but while we have been able to confirm the grid is receiving power, I'm afraid we haven't been able to actually access any of the associated systems. We're still relying on our temporary equipment brought over from the ship to protect more critical areas which means I'm having to devote more man-hours to maintain and supplement that equipment."

"Have you had any luck accessing any of the station's tactical or defence systems?" the captain asked, fully aware that until they at least could access the station's shield grid, they were relying on the thick and durable hull to protect them.

"I'm afraid not," Michael said, slowly shaking his head, "our attempts to access the station's tactical systems seems to be running into the same problems as the internal security grid."

Byrne nodded. "Well, at least it saves us from setting off too many of the anti-intruder security measures," he grinned. There had been a couple of incidents since they had arrived here of technicians getting sealed in to rooms when they tried to access specific systems within, and the Starfleet crew had to physically cut through the door's mechanisms to get them out. Benjamin had the feeling that the station might be capable of many more inconveniences if they didn't re-program its computer to recognise them as friendlies.

Waiting for her fellow officer to finish Liz spoke up "We have stabilized the stations short range sensor grid and have updated the system to include all starfleet IFF signatures and friendly. The universal translator interface circuit has been installed into the stations computer and it is slowly learning the language of the station. Best estimates show that by the end of the week 70% of the stations language should be translated once that is the case the module can be easily ported to the rest of the star fleet equipment."

"Much of the station's physical components are actually in very good condition," the chief engineer said, after having remained quiet for much of the meeting. "Even the power conduits only show the kind of decay one would expect of a material that hasn't been replaced in centuries. Honestly, I'd like to rip out the whole EPS grid, or whatever the aliens who build this place called it, and replace it with fresh equipment. But in the mean time, it shouldn't give us any trouble as we're bringing new systems online."

"There is just one problem, though," the Andorian continued, looking across to Lieutenant Keldan as he did so. "The station's transporter equivalent?" he shook his head. "I'm not sure what to make of it. It operates on almost a completely different principle to most transporters I've seen, so I recommend that unless absolutely necessary, we restrict ourselves to using the Endeavour's transporters for the time being."

"What is it about the transporters that is causing the concern?" Byrne asked, frowning in thought. This time it was Keldan who answered.

"It's to do with the way the transporter breaks down and transmits the object or person that is the most significant difference," the science officer said, beginning to talk with his hands as well as his mouth. "Whilst Starfleet transporters tend to work in a very specified pattern; usually top-to-bottom or left-to-right, in a concentrated wave - recording then breaking down the molecular structure of an individual before transporting it - the transporters we've found here seem to be more... primal. Not that they're less advanced," he quickly interjected. "Not by a long shot. But the object almost seems to collapse in on themselves rather than be dismantled, and we haven't been able to discover how exactly the object is actually transmitted between one location and the next."

The Captain nodded, accepting the explanation and the workaround and pleased with the progress so far. His hand absent-mindedly reached up as he listened to touch the edges of the new combadge that was attached to his jacket. It was a new design to replace the old that Starfleet had just issued to the crew of the station; a hollow Starfleet delta backed by two stylised trapezoids, Byrne had caught himself absently fiddling with it ever since it had been first placed on his uniform numerous times.

Forcing himself to remove his hand from the device, he addressed his staff as the continuation of the briefing. "Keep up the good work, all of you. Starfleet has scheduled the next arrival of personnel and materiel for just over two weeks from today, so I want those cargo bays and docking ports operational by then. Keep up on your projects, and make sure to pass your status reports through Commander Andorzai and Yeoman Blaise." The captain nodded in the direction of the commander as he spoke his name, bringing a conclusion to the meeting. "Dismissed."

-----------------
Captain Benjamin J. Byrne
Commanding Officer

Commander Jaeih Andorzai
First Officer

Lt. Commander Aeitos th'Ralik
Chief Engineer
[PNPC] - Krace

Lieutenant Lennoc Keldan
Chief Science Officer
[PNPC] - Krace

Lieutenant JG Michael Watters
Chief of Security

Lieutenant JG Elizabeth Jones
Chief Operations officer
Deep Space 19