Warm and Dry

[Sorehl 0]

A joint log with Ensign Ramson...

 

As usual, the air in Captain Sorehl’s office was warm and dry. Ensign Kallah Ramson stood in front of his desk, PADD in hand. To her right, Commander John Blair sat in one of the overstuffed couches lining the edge of the room, his feet up on the table. The Vulcan captain was multi-tasking between a series of PADDs and his desktop display.

 

Blair folded his arms. “Don’t be too impressed,” the executive officer said, addressing Kallah. “He’s just showing off his juggling skills. He was playing 4-D Bejeweled before you chimed in.”

 

Sorehl gave the human a skeptical glance as Kallah failed to suppress an upturned corner of her mouth. Looking pleased with himself, Blair scooped up a handful of cashews and leaned back further into the couch.

 

The Vulcan turned his attention back to Kallah. “You may submit your report, Ensign."

 

“Yes, sir,” she replied, her expression back to neutral. “All fighter squads are operational, manned, and on a six-shift alert rotation. The craft are spending two shifts in orbital standby, two shifts on system patrols, one shift on deep patrol, and one shift in maintenance.” She went on. “While this puts the fighters in service for 20 hours at a time, we’re exchanging pilots regularly. This is keeping fatigue down and limiting disruptions to the existing schedules of those we've drafted into service."

 

Sorehl was looking aside at the duty roster. “Very good,” he acknowledged. “What is the progress on stealth updates to the fighter craft?”

 

Kallah pulled up her own PADD. “As you know, Commander Xavier’s original design called for a multi-phasic stealth emitter on the dorsal and ventral surfaces. Since we’re using a Lancelot-class, the warp pod makes that impossible. We’re considering mounting the emitters port and starboard on the existing hardpoints. Xavier is generally.... displeased with the number of compromises to his original designs, but I sense nothing beyond the normal human need to vent some frustration." She paused briefly, letting the captain respond.

 

Sorehl nodded. He himself had mandated some of the more radical changes. As a Vulcan, he had been relentlessly dispassionate in ordering compromises that could be merged with the existing spaceframe. Their timeline did not offer the luxury of pandering to an emotional sense of design ownership. Crispin was more than professional enough to see the need. “Go on,” he prompted. Using a stylus, he appeared to be manipulating a resource schedule.

 

“We do have one operational problem,” Kallah reported. “The stealth material dampens the subspace antenna – long-range communication is basically inoperable.” She tilted her head. “My attempts to modify the existing array have either failed or render the fighter visible in simulations. If we can’t find a way around it, we’ll have to trade visibility or risk hoping it survives to bring back its data.”

 

“It could also prevent receiving any change in orders,” Sorehl surmised, looking up. “Mr. Blair, you’ve had some experience with covert communication…”

 

Blair paused in mid-crunch, still enjoying the table snack. “Ummm, yeah,” he mumbled, taking a swallow. The captain didn’t usually talk so openly about his work on subspace surveillance. “You could use resonance on the navigational deflector,” he offered aloud, “but that’s not omni-directional – you’d have to point where you wanted to transmit.” He took his feet down from the table. “We’ve had some luck in the past with tunneling soliton bursts into subspace, but there’s a trade in transmission speed.”

 

“See to it, John,” Sorehl ordered. “I want best options forwarded to Mr. Xavier in the next six hours.”

 

“You know," Blair noted. "I’m supposed to be coordinating the IDF interconnect test with the Enforcer.”

 

“Delay it, with my apologies to Commander Tremaine,” Sorehl nodded. “This takes priority over our plans for Camelot.” He looked back to the Minarian. “Anything father?”

 

"Yes, sir,” she answered, “there's the matter of range." She thumbed her PADD, transferring a star chart onto the wall display at left. The image showed the relative positions of the Avalon system and the wormhole entrance, nearly 120 light years apart. Both command officers turned their attention there. “We could make modifications so the fighter could go and return on its own, but with interaction of the stealth composites, loss of these two hardpoints, and added mass of the sensor payload, the return range would be limited to this point." A circular marker blinked on the board. "Even less if we have to engage in evasive maneuvers. We could consider letting it transverse the wormhole…”

 

“We’re not ready for that yet,” Sorehl interrupted. “I’m recommending the fighter be deployed by Excalibur enroute to Idran. The fighter’s multimode sustainer can coast into position using a hand-off field from the starship.”

 

Blair considered briefly. “You’re going to try wrapping a subspace extrusion around a moving craft? That’s tricky envelope work.”

 

Sorehl took a breath. “Photon torpedoes depend on the same effect.”

 

“Right,” the human agreed vigorously, “but they get launched through a static aperture designed to…”

 

“The Sovereign-class was built to accommodate ordinance up to the size of tri-cobalt devices,” the captain noted.

 

Blair leaned forward. “Wait a second, you’re not seriously suggesting…” he trailed off, then exploded out of his seat. “Are you out of your Vulcan mind? Who’d be crazy enough to let themselves get shot out a torpedo launcher?”

 

“I would,” Kallah spoke up.

 

Sorehl looked back at the ensign. “Which was going to be my suggestion to Captain Corizon. We are unlikely to find a more skilled pilot for this endeavor.”

 

Blair raised his hands in mock surrender. “It’s not my decision.” He leaned in toward the desk. “But I think you enjoy coming up with this stuff just to see me freak out – 'move the station', 'dig a hole in the planet’s crust', 'launch a ensign like a torpedo'…” He nodded to Kallah as he headed for the door. “Good luck.”

 

Sorehl watched his exec go, then turned his attention back to the young ensign. “I did not mean to put you ‘on the spot.’ In fact, Corizon has not yet approved the assignment.”

 

“Thank you, sir,” Kallah answered. “It may be a conceit, but I assumed it was a possibility. I’m ready to go.”

 

“Very good,” Sorehl approved. “Dismissed.”

 

Kallah turned to go. “Actually, there is something else. If your duties permit, would you be willing to join Jeralla and I at my quarters… for dinner?”

 

For a moment, Sorehl looked faintly uncomfortable, glancing to one side of his desk. Maybe it was against protocol to have one’s commanding officer over for a meal, she wondered. Maybe she was assuming too much of his friendship with her parents carried over to her. Maybe her intentions were too bold. But if she didn’t take care of it before the mission…

 

“Of course,” he replied evenly. He returned to the nearest PADD. “I’m due to brief Admiral Day in a moment, but I shall contact you about the arrangements.”

 

Kallah nodded pleasantly, if somewhat nervously, then turned and left the office.

Edited July 22, 2006 by Sorehl