The situation in engineering -- SD 50608.16

[LoAmi 0]

Executive Summary:

A critical nozzle in the warp core matter-antimatter reactor assembly is broken, and can't be fixed without parts we don't have.

The materials we need to make the parts are not readily available.

Temporary substitute parts can be made from a different material that might be found on the type of planet nearby.

We have no warp power, so we can't go there.

The captain's yacht is a long-range heavy-carrying and landing capable craft that is working.

An engineering AT will be sent to the planet to recover either kemocyte or polysiloxite, the two possible minerals that can get us out of this mess.

 

=== Log begins here ===

 

Captain Dacotah and Cmdr. Lo'Ami entered engineering from the turbolift. The room, like the rest of the ship, was lit by emergency power only. Engineers ran frantically trying to restore as much main power as they could.

 

Captain Dacotah went over to the pool table and sipped her chai tea latte, waiting for her crack engineering team to give her some answers.

 

Lt. Fitzgerald Brighton was working hard trying to get the answers as to why the engines failed for the return trip.

 

The cover was off the injection chamber and Lt. Cmdr. Trichon Light had his head inside, trying to find out what was going on. From inside, he said, "Fitz hand me my spanner"

 

Cmdr. Lo'Ami moved towards the injection chamber. Captain Dacotah followed Lo'Ami, looking mildly perplexed at the pieces of the injection chamber lying scattered on the floor. Trichon didn't even look out of the chamber, and continued asking "Fitz where's that spanner?" Fitz used his telekinetic ability to Move the spanner to Trichon.

 

Lo'Ami didn't want to disturb the hard-working engineers, but also didn't wanting to keep the captain waiting.

Lo'Ami interrupted, first turning to Fitz, then to Trichon "Lt, ... Cmdr."

Trichon grabbed the spanner and pulled his head out as he heard himself being called. "Now what... Oh commander sorry about that." Fitz looked up and acknowledged with "Yeah?"

 

Lo'Ami asked: "What happened back there? Everything was going well at warp 9.999, then we just suddenly dropped out of warp with a computer warning about the matter-antimatter intermix!?"

 

Fitz responded: "We are looking into it now, sir."

 

Just then, Trichon held out a peice that he had removed from the chamber: "Well look no further gentlemen... Heres the culprit..."

 

Lo'Ami STSF looked at it closely, trying to recognize the charred piece of equipment, while

Captain Dacotah leaned over Lo'Ami's shoulder to see what Light had removed.

 

Fitz looked up to Trichon: "What you got, sir?"

 

Trichon turned over to the command staff, and explained: "This, my friends, is something that I have never see break."

 

Fitz lowered his head, interjecting "we never went this fast before either."

 

Finally, Captain Dacotah asked the question on everyone's minds: "What is ... er, was it?"

 

Trichon responded: "This is the animatter injection nozzle. And as you can tell, it's fried."

 

Lo'Ami inspected the damage: "It looks like it's been hit by the antimatter stream," paused, then added, "which means magnetic containment must have failed too."

 

Trichon concurred: "I havent dug that deep in there yet but best guess is that it did."

 

Fitz looked over to his diagnostic console to confirm: "Thats the reading I got, sir"

 

The XO looked over to the captain: "We're lucky the computer dropped us out of warp. If it hadn't shut down the engines, we could have had an uncontrolled matter-antimatter reaction in the core."

The CO wasn't seeing the silver lining. She frowned, and said "Yea. Lucky."

The XO added: "Being stopped dead in space is still better than being microscopic space dust."

 

Fitz turned to Lo'Ami and interrupted: "Sorry, sir, the results of a level 4 digonostics just came in."

 

Lo'Ami asked: "What do they say?" having a feeling it wasn't good.

 

Trichon ordered: "Come on Fitz, lets here the news."

 

Fitz gave the results: "Well, mainly, that the maginetic containment failed and sent massive amounts of anti-matter to the injection module."

 

Trichon groaned: "Thus frying our nozzle."

 

Fitz Looked back to Trichon: "Yes, sir"

 

Trichon continued, directing towards the captain: "In laymans terms, were in trouble."

 

Lo'Ami wondered: "How did the magnetic containment fail?"

 

Fitz answered: "Probably an outcome of the first sabotaged test."

 

LoAmi completed his sentence "... and the second test just threw it out completely?"

 

"Yes, sir", he responded, "the rupture must have occured just as we lost power and stopped here and the restart blew it out."

 

Captain Dacotah asked "And we can't fix it?"

 

Fitz compounded the bad news, turning to the captain and Trichon: "Sir, I don't think we even carry that as an extra part either do we?"

 

Trichon turned to Fitz to answer his own question: "Fitz, I need you to check our platnium and carbonitrium supplies."

 

Fitz checked the inventory. "Sir, we've got platinum. but we have no carbonitrium"

 

Trichon sighed when he heard Fitz's report: "No, captain. We don't have the materials."

 

Captain Dacotah asked: "So, what are we able to do?"

 

Fitz looked to Dac, explaining: "Well, sir, it can be fixed but it will take time and materials we don't have at the pressent moment."

 

Trichon added:

 

Lo'Ami attempted to offer a solution to the engineers. "Potentially, you can replicate the new injector nozzle, if you can get the fusion reactor back online, and use the stored platinum, but if memory serves carbonitrium is too high-energy to replicate."

 

Trichon responded: "You would be correct, Commander. Even if we were at full power, I dont think we could replicate enough carbonitrium. The injection nozzles are designed not to fail. This is the first time I've ever seen it fail."

 

Fitz looked to Trichon: "Sir I never seen one fail myself not even in the test I ran on the holodecks."

 

Lo'Ami offered some historical insight: "It may be the first time one of them has failed in a century, since carbonitrium was used"

 

Captain Dacotah sighed and looked at the men surrounding her: "What propulsion *do* we have?"

 

Trichon looked over to Dac and helpfully responded: "Honestly, captain, we would move faster if we got out and pushed..."

 

Captain Dacotah pursed her lips: "Options?"

 

Fitz tried to bring in some good news. He tapped on a console: "I may be able to get some power online by using the backup batteries, but propulsion is out of the question right now"

 

Lo'Ami wasn't being so upbeat: "That might bring up impulse power and the thrusters temporarily. But, if we're going to get anywhere, we will need a new injector nozzle assembly."

 

Trichon offered an option: "First option. We have science scan the planetary body and hope for the raw materials we need."

 

Fitz looked to Trichon: "Then we can beam down and collect it or shuttle down."

 

LoAmi added: "Carbonitrium is extremely rare and unlikely to be found." Meanwhile, he thought back to years of outdated engineering experience. "However, before carbonitrium was discovered, the containment system was lined with polysiloxite."

 

Trichon nodded "Which is more common," but cautioned, "not as durable though."

 

Lo'Ami continued the train of thought: "... and, if it can't be found, it can be synthesized with kemocyte and tricitanium"

 

Fitz warned: "We need this to be as durable as can be if we are going to attempt high warp again, sirs"

 

Captain Dacotah brought up the gravity of their situation: "Forget high warp, right now we need to survive."

 

Trichon started to follow Lo'Ami's train of thought: "And those two elements are even more common. I see where you're going, commander."

 

Lo'Ami thought a moment, then said: "We should have a supply of tricitanium in the cargo bays. I don't think we have kemocyte, but we might be able to find it on a borderline class L-class M world. The planet Lt. Marx detected probably has the right kind of inhospitable and otherwise unremarkable atmosphere to form kemocyte"

 

Trichon nodded that he understood: "And then we can synthesize our polysiloxite. I could make a new nozzle, then that will hold up to at least warp 6..."

 

And Captain Dacotah added: "Which is good enough to get us to world that does have the materials we need," then asked: "How soon to complete the repair?"

 

Trichon answered: "Once I have the materials I need. No more than a few hours."

And Fitz tapped his console and reported: "Repairs should be done in around four hours, sir."

 

Lo'Ami brought up the wrinkle in the plan to obtain raw materials: "But, now, we're even farther away from the planet than we were before the test."

 

Trichon agreed: "We are too far out for a small shuttle crew, Commander."

 

Lo'Ami asked the Captain: "Captain, is the yacht still functional?"

 

She replied: "Yes, we sustained no damage passing through the distortion."

 

He mentioned: "It's capable of warp speed, landing, and carrying a good deal of weight. We could take an engineering team over to the planet and mine any materials we find."

 

Trichon nodded: "Leave some men here to work on bringing back up the fusion reactors and take some to the planet. Its the best chance we've got."

 

Fitz tapped on a console and used his telekinetic ability on another and the dim lights brightened somewhat. He already began working on restoring power. He looked to Trichon: "Sir, I've got power to some systems and life support."

 

Trichon nodded back to Fitz: "Good job, Lt."

 

Fitz smiled, but kept on working while listening to the others. He worked on three consoles simultaneously to try to bring up fusion reactors. Unmanned consoles beeped the computer's responses as Fitz tapped in the commands mentally.

 

Captain Dacotah took charge of the situation: "So, until futher notice, I'll have OPS take us down to emergency systems only."

 

Trichon nodded: "We'll need to move fast and assemble an away team, captain."

 

Lo'Ami turned to Trichon, then to Dac: "Agreed."

 

Fitz looked up and reported some good news: "Sir, fusion reactors should be up and running in about ten minutes."

 

Lo'Ami tempered it: "At least Arcadia's crew won't be dying, but, until we get those injectors back, we're as good as stuck here forever."

 

Fitz responded: "Aye, sir."

 

The captain gave her orders: "All right people, you have work to do. I want the yacht prepped and ready to go within an hour. We don't have forever."

 

Trichon responded: "Aye, captain."

 

Captain Dacotah then looked towards Lo'Ami: "We have a meeting with Lt. Marx in Security."