Drae Shelton

Not good. “Personal Log, Stardate 51403.17, Drae Montgomery Shelton, Assistant Engineer, recording from main engineering on the USS Manticore, orbiting Titan, Sol System. “I’ve been sitting here thinking, which would usually be fine except... not this time. If I could just stick to thinking about the engines, the core, the M/AM feed… hell, even a faulty ODN line, it wouldn’t be so bad. Those things I can fix. But this? “The Admiral’s gone, and I don’t mean just gone, he’s disappeared… vanished… poof… no communicator, no transponder… that kind of gone. He took his yacht to visit his home world, Titan. We found the yacht empty, cloaked, and in Titan orbit, with transporter coordinates to a storage shed on the surface. Why a storage shed? Doesn’t make sense. None at all. We did a full sweep of the Pegasus and didn’t come up with anything, so now we’re looking for him with no leads except that shed. There’s an away team on the ground and we’re all hoping they find something to go on besides an empty shed. “Oh, and did I mention the storms on Earth? Heavy snow in ‘Frisco, torrential rains and flooding in the Sahara, drought in the jungles of New Guinea, and sunbathing at the poles? Rumor has it that the place in Tierra del Fuego was found completely empty - no crew, no monitors, no equipment, nothing that even hints at them being there. But it’s a rumor so I guess… hell, I hope it’s not true. Still, with all the weirdness I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. “Then there’s a kind of freaky weirdness that’s come over the crew. But I guess that shouldn’t be a surprise considering the missions we’ve been on. When we got to Earth we thought there’d be a break, but there really wasn’t so it’s gotten worse. The freaky weirdness I mean. I heard one person talking about the admiral’s disappearance like it was an Arthur Conan Doyle story. Then the chief… he’s smelling coffee when there’s none around? Dunno, maybe he just wanted some and his nose was playing tricks? All I can say is that it’s a good thing we have a new counselor aboard. She’s sure got her work cut out for her.”

“"Deliver de letter, de sooner de better.” T’Prise & Drae “Admiral, we are estimating 10 minutes to complete the programming and a method of transmitting them,” the chief medical officer announced over the comm, looking around at the team gathered in sickbay. She turned to Drae. “You need to find a safe way to introduce these into their swarm, without them thinking its an attack, as if they were already there.” Wait... what? “I need to find a safe way to introduce these?” No response. She’d already moved on. A delivery system. She wants a delivery system. One that will deliver our modified nanites into a swarm of nomming zombie nanites. And she wants it in ten minutes? “There was discussion on the bridge to use a torp,” she continued, “but they cannot think that it's an attack” “Yeah, I get that, Doc. But....” Adrenaline flow, his mouth hung open, mind spinning. The nanites’ basic programming wasn’t basic anymore. It’d been modified. By us... or Daventry... or Kumquat... or all three. We tried to destroy it with a torpedo so now it’s saying, “Torpedo bad. Torpedo threat. Kill. Eat. Nom_nom_nom....” “These nanites appear to be fixated on consuming fuel. They do not appear to be easily diverted, or open to suggestion,” the science officer stated quietly, in a flat emotionless tone. Drae’s attention jerked to T’Prise and flashbacks of a pamphlet that circulated through the Academy and almost cost him his career. (Yeah, most Vulcans don’t have a sense of humor.) “Surviving Dr. Sivuk’s Trans-warp Theory” brought to you by DMShelton Productions™ 1. Grab enough engineering stuff to make you look really impressive. Extra credit for anything Vulcan. 2. Walk straight and tall, eyes confident. (Practice in the lift.) 3. Jerk your tunic down now and then. (Practice in the lift. Don’t drop your stuff.) 4. Look like you know exactly what you're doing. Extra credit for “The Sivuk Look.” 5. Enter the room at precisely 0859.00. 6. Modify your blank stare to look like Vulcan concentration. 7. Do a lot of sage nodding but don’t fall asleep. (Practice in the lift.) 8. Say “interesting” and “fascinating” every so often (at least twice per hour, especially during a pause). 9. Make casual eye-contact with someone who actually knows what’s going on - or can fake it better than you can. 10. Single out and listen to one person who has it all together. Follow that lead. Today that lead just happened to be the Vulcan science officer, T’Prise. Talk about irony. Drae’s adrenaline spiked, pumping like electro-plasma through a warp core. “TPrise, did they have any magnetic attributes, something that would let us release these gently and have them be naturally attracted to become part of the swarm when it passes by?” the doctor broke in. “Not as far as we have observed.” “The nanites we have here do not need to be convinced of anything, they will just accept our programming. The concern will be making sure they get accepted into the swarm as part of their own,” the chief medical officer continued. “It is quite illogical to assume that the nanites will accept foreign programming. We should therefore make a simple suggestion, instead of a complex set of instructions.” “Uh... how about, ‘Follow me?’” Heads turned to Drae. There was an awkward silence. The Vulcan nodded to acknowledge the engineer. “Such a suggestion may work, however, it does not differ greatly from the Manticore leading them in the direction we wish them to move.” He blew out a breath. “Which brings us back to the delivery system. What would they follow? What do most things follow? I mean, like, basic things, like... animals and kids.” She pondered for a moment before responding. “They appear to be following the Manticore, perhaps they would follow a shuttle?” “Yeah, maybe. But it’s a heck of a lot like a starship and it’s probably a good idea to stay away from that kind of design just so they don’t get the idea that anything that looks like a starship, flies like a starship, and sounds like a starship is prime rib. I was thinking really basic.” He leaned forward to stare at the conference table a moment. “We want basic commands, simple things. They’re following Manticore for food. What else supplies food? Ah...” a hand-wave got his brain working, “...fruit trees, honey bees, hot dog stands, pizza parlors…” Yeah, he forgot to eat lunch. T'Prise leveled Drae with a steely loom. “The nebulae, as we have been leading them towards it in the first place.” He stopped short. “Okay,” said Drae, straightening up. “the... nebu-lae... is the food source, but how are we going to get them there? What’s going to make them pay attention....” He stopped again, cogs turned. “Oh. Yeah. We’re leading. They’re following. They’re behind us!” His eyes sparkled as a broad, playful grin lit his face. “Exhaust manifold! You ever heard of a backfire?” “I believe that is when a vehicle with a propulsion system emits some kind of waste product," she responded promptly. “Yeah. When incomplete combustion causes fuel to back up in the exhaust. And when you downshift too fast the backup causes a huge explosion, like a Jake brake. Talk about a wakeup call. “My uncle had this old car back on earth. Awesome 1970s Dodge Charger R/T, four twenty-six eight-cylinder Hemi with a compression ratio of 10.25 to one. It ran 425 horses at 5000 rips and 480 FP at 4000 rips, zero to sixty in 5.5 and a quarter-mile in 13.9 at 105 miles per.” He became more animated, ignoring the stares. “We’d take it into town and right about the middle of town square we’d make it backfire... ka-boom... rattle the floorboards for a mile just to hassle the rich kids, then haul ass back to the ranch. ‘Course Uncle Bud got all bent out of shape so we lost privileges for a month, but it was a hell of a ride.” Another long pause. He shrugged. “Your anecdote is colorful...however, I question its appropriateness in this situation. Time is of the essence and we ought not to be discussing the hoodlum antics of your past. Are you proposing that we use the Manticore’s propulsion system as your delivery method?” Pausing to think for a moment. “This suggestion has merit. We could release the nanites into the swarm with a simple set of instructions that they have located a food source.” Drae gave a snort, the grin still pretty broad. “Yeah, through the ship’s exhaust manifold It’d be pretty much like an up yours!” The look returned. "As I stated before, we have no the time for juvenile trespasses. Please create a detailed plan for a release mechanism, while I program the nanites.” The science officer being tapping on a console, dismissing the engineer.

T + 3:00 and counting. Drae kicked back from his screen and folded his arms across his chest in disgust. What had happened to Jaenke had gotten him so worked up he had to settle down before actually sending his report. Think through things. Make sure what he wrote was accurate. Make sure nothing else factored into the discharge that sent Jaenke to sick bay other than LtCdr Supergeek messing with the console and not listening to a word one. Taking a deep breath, Drae began to read: _________ To: Lt Cdr Vilanne Chalice, Chief Medical Officer, USS Manticore C: Captain Sovak, Executive Officer, USS Manticore From: Ensign D.M. Shelton, Engineer, USS Manticore RE: Engineering Accident Involving Ltjg E. Jaenke, Engineer, USS Manticore On Stardate 51307.01 at 2217, Ltjg Jaenke and Ens Shelton were in main engineering attempting to access data markers from the computer cores taken from the Kumquat and the Daventry per the orders of Admiral Atragon. Present also was Chief Science Officer LtCdr M.C. Escher. Ltjg Jaenke was the Officer in Charge. At 2232, on the orders of OIC Jaenke, Ens Shelton initiated a power up of the designated core. As per SOP, Ens Shelton reset his station and began a slow power buildup as specified. When a power buildup is initiated, SOP is to increase voltage while keeping the amperage low for the protection of all personnel involved. Following SOP Ens Shelton closely monitored all aspects of the power-up procedure. At 2235, while Ltjg Jaenke and Ens Shelton collaborated on the parameters of the procedure, LtCdr Escher bypassed protocol and, without consulting OIC Jaenke, LtCdr Escher attempted to access the core via a nearby console. This increased the amperage exponentially and the direct current power source built up a discharge. The discharge produced jumped from the power source to Ltjg Jaenke. It knocked him from his chair, into the air, and across the room. At that point emergency switches engaged and shut down the power. Ens Shelton immediately called for medical assistance. According to engineering records, at the time of the discharge, power was approaching 50 volts, which should have produced a negligible effect. It is the professional opinion of Ens Shelton that LtCdr Escher’s manipulations produced an amperage buildup exceeding the safety limitations required during a routine power up. Ens Shelton also noted that his shout to stop was ignored by LtCdr Escher. LtCdr Escher continued to work at the console and remarked, “That shouldn’t have happened; let me know if he’s okay,” then continued on as if nothing had happened. At 2240, Ens Shelton called for emergency medical assistance. At 2247 medical assistance arrived and Ltjg Jaenke was remanded to their care. Signed, Ensign Drae Montgomery Shelton, Engineer, USS Manticore __________ “It’s a game-changer for sure,” said Groginsky, who, along with a few other engineers, had been reading over Drae’s shoulder. “Yeah. Career ender, too.” Marty rounded the chair to face him and leaned up against the console frame. “So... what you waiting for? You going to send it?” “Maybe. Maybe not,” Drae countered, still staring at the screen. “Huh?” “Doc said I have to send it within five minutes, Gro, but....” “What do you mean, but? Anything in there not happen?” Marty pressed, pushing off from the counter to tap Drae’s screen, “anything not true?” “It’s true. All right there...” Drae waved a hand at the console he used to review the video footage, “...but the guy’s Chief Science Officer, a LtCdr, and, like I said, it’s a career-ender.” “Hey! Drae! Look at me, man.” Drae finally pulled his stare away from the screen. “You want that guy to come in here and do something like that again? Bypass protocol? Ignore what’s happening around him? Ignore the officer in charge? Maybe get someone killed next time?” By then they’d drawn a big crowd. Drae didn't answer. “Drae,” Marty continued, his face flushed, “you angry about this or not?” “Damn right I am, Gro!” Marty’s remark drew him out of his chair. “Hell, Erich’s up there in sick bay, no idea what his condition is....” “Then send the damn thing!” At exactly T + 4:59, Ensign Shelton’s report appeared at the main console in sick bay.

The Daventry Connection Huh? Who, me? What the.... Nothing like being the new guy on the block. Er... ship. One minute he’s minding his own business in engineering and the next minute he’s.... Olie shimoley.... … swimming through a sea of dead bodies in a just-as-dead space station? Did I sign up for this? A few minutes ago he was sitting in engineering, absorbed in the readouts that were coming from Daventry when Jaenke called, “Your turn!” Huh? What...? ...and in less than a minute he was in his least favorite place (a dead space station), wearing his least favorite work clothes (EVA suit), navigating his least favorite debris: _dead_ bodies. Live bodies, maybe. Dead bodies, no way. Now, even though EVA suits were Drae’s least favorite thing, when it came to a choice between smelling dead bodies and being protected by an EVA suit, the EVA suit won, hands down. Then there was that little matter about lack of oxygen, life support, and everything else on Daventry, but that seemed secondary to the smell of dead bodies. He magnetized his boots to get a grip on the situation, then went to scratch his head, but the suit got in the way, which lead to an itchy nose, which meant he couldn’t scratch it, which led to that time on Spector when he had that fly inside his suit that drove him crazy for hours, which led him to his days in R&D, which led him to.... “Hey! Engineer!” someone shouted into the comms, “check out the consoles, see if anything works in here.” “Uh... yeah. I’m on it.” Headscratch. Not gonna happen. Gotta lose that habit. The consoles in the C&C were pretty limited in scope, so he didn’t expect much. What he got was absolutely nothing. “Uh.. sir?” he called to the commander he hadn’t met yet, “We really don’t have anything here.” “Nothing?” “Right. Nothing. Got no power, which explains the lack of gravity and lighting,” he said, then muttered under his breath, “and the floating bodies.” Then louder, “There’s no memory storage, and my equipment’s registering no radiation,” he turned toward the commander, gesturing with his tricorder as he spoke, “which means, of course, we have no atmo so it’s good we have the EVA suits because if we didn’t we’d be joining those corps....” He stopped mid-sentence at the aggravated look. “Right. Bottom line, there’s nothing here. But the corpses of course. And the station. And whatever else is.... here. But... not working.”

Starfleet Personnel File Shelton, Drae Montgomery Name: Shelton, Drae (Dray) Montgomery Grade: Ensign (0-1) Species: human DOB: March 7, 2339 POB: USS Exeter (Constitution Class) Parents: David Montgomery Shelton June Drae Ellis Height: 6’ 1” Weight: 170 lb Eyes: blue Hair: light brown Distinguishing Marks: none Shelton graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2363 with an advanced degree in aerospace engineering that focused on starship design. He finished in the top 5% of his class, but he'll be the first to say he doesn't know how he got there. During his advanced studies, Starfleet R&D tapped him for a position. He worked there until he was assigned to Starfleet’s new Akira class warship, USS Spector, still under construction. Shelton served three years on Spector, tweaking its systems while it was in dry dock and during its first tour of duty. In 2368 he was transferred to USS Manticore, his present posting.