Repairing The Ride

[John Randall 0]

OFFICIAL LOG

LT.(j.g.) JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11206.03)

 

John and the others arrived at the Antares spaceport. He was handed

some clothing by "Dr. Jones" and told telepathically that he could not be seen

in a Starfleet uniform where they were going. John nodded, and found a place

inside the spaceport to change. The clothing was little more than loose-fitting

robes, with a turban of sorts, and a scarf to wrap around your neck and/or

face.

 

Randall asked if he would be able to take along any instruments to aid

him, and was told his tricorder and communicator was all he could take. The

young lieutenant clipped both pieces of hardware to his belt, and pulled his

robes down over them. He came back out into the lobby, where he was

greeted with nods of approval by everyone. Baldwin strolled over to him, and

said, "Take great care, Lieutenant. This is a very delicate mission; you will be

more throughly briefed by 'Dr. Jones.' I expect nothing but your best, Mr. Randall.

Don't let me down." John stared back at the admiral, and said, "Aye, sir; I will

endeavor not to."

 

Baldwin clapped him on the shoulder, then turned and made his way to the

other end of the spaceport. John turned to the Argonian known as "Dr. Jones."

"Are we ready, sir?" he asked.

 

We are ready, Lieutenant Randall. My ship is this way. Come.

 

John nodded and followed the Argonian to a side door of the spaceport.

When they walked through, the young lieutenant's eyes went wide as he stared at

a ship that was half the size of a Constitution-class starship. It was painted black,

and in white paint near the bow, the name Starholme almost jumped out at you.

Randall thought the sleek, slender twin nacelles at the rear of the craft meant it

would be capable of some pretty impressive speeds. "Dr. Jones" stopped a few

feet away from the craft, and turned to look at him.

 

Do you like my craft, Lieutenant?

 

John nodded slowly, his eyes still travelling over the hull of the ship. "This

is very impressive, Doctor," he said. "Is she capable of high warp speeds?"

 

At one time, lieutenant, the ship could attain a maximum speed of warp 6.

But lately, I've had trouble achieving and keeping a speed of warp 4.

 

"If you wouldn't mind, sir, I could take a look at your engines," offered Randall.

 

I was hoping you would make just such an offer, John. Please feel free.

 

The young lieutenant nodded and smiled. "So how do we get aboard, Doctor?"

The Argonian beckoned him over, and clipped a sort of bracelet around his right wrist.

Embedded in the center of the bracelet was a ruby-colored stone.

 

When you are ready to transport, John, tap the stone three times, then push the

small lever at the side of the setting. You must be within 50 yards of the hull to achieve

a successful transport.

 

Randall checked out the setting that encased the stone, and, at the left side of the

setting, was a very small appendage sticking out. He then looked up, and nodded at the

Argonian. "I'm ready," he said.

 

Good. See you inside. When you materialize, the engine room will be to your right;

the bridge will be to your left. You may go either way.

 

And with that, the being tapped his stone, pushed his lever, and was simply gone.

John watched, and shook his head. Those guys have transporting down to a science,

he thought. Then, he tapped his stone, pushed his lever, and was gone as if he had

never been there.

 

The Starfleet lieutenant materialized inside a room; an opening was right in front

of him. Remembering the 'doctor's' instructions, John exited the room, and turned

right. He walked along a small corridor until he came to another opening. This one led

to a good-sized room; he stepped in, and looked around. There was a panel attached to

the wall on his right, and, in the center of the room, was the warp core. It was similar

to the warp core on Challenger, but it wasn't as tall. The inside of the core was purple-

shaded; whereas on Challenger it was blue. John walked around toward the rear of the

warp core, and came upon two clear barrel-shaped containers. The purplish stuff was

in them as well, but Randall also noticed that it wasn't as solid-looking as it had appeared

in the core itself. This could be his problem here, thought the young engineer. It looks

as though it isn't mixing like it's supposed to.

 

Suddenly he heard the voice inside his head.

 

Are you in the engine room, lieutenant? Please use your communicator.

 

John took out his communicator, flipped it open, and said, "I am, Doctor. I am

currently observing your mixer chambers, as I would call them on my ship. This may

be where you are having problems, sir."

 

I see. Do you think you could do anything to help?

 

"I am looking for the control panel for these chambers; oh, here it is. Let me get

acquainted with the language here a little, sir, then I will be able to answer your question."

 

Go to the main panel that you saw when you first walked in, lieutenant. Push the

green button. Underneath that button is a nine button keypad. Cue in this sequence:

top left, center, bottom middle, right center, bottom left. The symbols you see will change

to Federation Standard. That should help you.

 

"I dare say it would, Doctor," said John dryly, and an amused train of thought came

from the Argonian. "I will check in in a moment. Randall out." He walked back to the panel

that he had first seen, and followed the Argonian's instructions. The symbols changed to

Federation Standard, and John then walked back to the panel he had seen where the

chambers were located. After studying them briefly, he flipped open his communicator.

 

"Okay, Doctor, from what I can tell, your ratio of matter to antimatter is off a bit. Also,

there appears to be a small leak in one of your pipes that leads from the chamber to the

core. It's housed in the bottom of the chamber, which is why I'm still alive and able to

talk to you right now," reported Randall.

 

Yes, that would cause a problem, lieutenant. Beside the panel next to the chamber

is a small closet. Tap on the wall next to the panel twice, and a door will open. In that closet

is a radiation suit. Don't worry, it adjusts automatically to a person's physique. In that

closet also, you will find the tools necessary for your task or tasks. I will not start the

engine until you say it is all right for me to. Take your time, lieutenant; I wish you

success.

 

"Thank you, Doctor, I will be as swift as I can," said John. "Randall out." He turned

and walked to the panel. He tapped on the wall twice, and a door swung open. He looked

inside, selected some tools, then put on the radiation suit, which immediately conformed

to his body. Boy, I could get used to a suit like this, he thought. He walked over to the

chamber housing the damaged pipe, and took off the section of the cover. Immediately,

an alarm sounded, and John felt a couple of pretty solid-sounding thumps. That will be

this ship's version of bulkheads dropping into place to protect what crew would be on

here, he thought. He then took out his tricorder, knelt down, and scanned the inside.

 

After a few moments, he located the exact location of the damaged assembly. He

took an image with the tricorder, then looked for the matching tool. He saw he would

have to lay full-length on the floor to get to the damaged part, so he got into position,

and began to work. It took a few minutes to loosen the pipe and drag it out. He examined

the pipe, and there was a long crack down the side of the pipe. John nodded in

satisfaction, and got up on his knees. He located the spare piping he had brought with him,

and used a phaser he had found in the closet which had been modified to resemble a

cutting torch.

 

He burnt off a section that would match what he needed, and lay back down to

install it. He used the phaser again to seal the ends, and got back up on his knees. He

used his tricorder again, and saw that the flow through the piping was nominal now. He

re-covered the section of the base of the chamber, and walked over to the panel. He

inputted some numbers, and the panel showed the flow was much improved. He ordered

the ship's computer to stand down from the automatic yellow alert; the computer requested

he show his authority to do so. John rattled off his Starfleet ID code and his serial number.

The computer, after a second or two, affirmed him as a Starfleet engineer, and the clear

bulkheads went back up, and the lighting returned to normal.

 

John then entered a ratio for the matter/antimatter conversion chambers. The

computer would not accept it, saying it was too high. Randall thought a moment, then

entered a different ratio. The computer accepted the new ratio, and John ordered the

computer to run a simulation using the new ratio. After a few seconds, the computer

announced that, with the new ratio, the ship's engine would perform at a 96.1%

efficency rating. Pleased, John ordered the computer to make the ratio permanent.

The computer acquiesed, and Randall flipped open his communicator.

 

"Doctor, please start the engine. You should see, and probably feel, a difference."

Immediately a pulsing roar began, and the liquid inside the chambers began to turn a

deep purplish color. John walked around to the core side, and noticed the color was

darker as well. The ship then gave a barely imperceptible lurch, and Randall knew they

had left the spacedock. He flipped his communicator open again. "How's she doing,

Doctor?" he asked.

 

A noted improvement, lieutenant. You have done a marvelous job. Thank you.

If you will go to the main panel, as I call it, push the orange-looking button at the top

left corner. We will then have visual status.

 

John walked over to the panel, and pushed the indicated button. The screen in

the center of the panel lit up, and the lieutenant saw the black-robed figure of the

Argonian.

 

Hello, lieutenant. If you would not mind, I would like you to stay where you are

for a bit, and keep an eye on everything. I will contact you when I am ready for you to

come to the bridge.

 

John nodded. "Very well, Doctor, I will see you later then. Randall out." He turned,

and went back over to stand in front of the core. He was secretly very pleased with

himself. That couldn't have turned out better if I had wanted it to, he thought. He walked

back over to the wall, and sat down with his knees pulled up to his chest, watching the

pulsating core as the ship hurtled through space to its destination.

 

 

END LOG

 

TO BE CONTINUED