Mandelbrot ...

[T'aral 0]

T'Aral sat at the communications console, monitoring signals while Shan maintained a vigil at the control center. All was quiet over channels, which meant that Ashton hadn't been detected. This was all to the good, as T'Aral did not have standing orders regarding what to do if she and her team were apprehended. She was considering the matter in depth when a sound from Shan caught her attention.

 

"Is there a problem, Lieutenant?"

 

Shan sighed heavily. "I don't suppose I could convince you to call me 'Shan'?"

 

T'Aral raised an eyebrow while considering the request. "To do so would seem to be rather ... familiar. Would you be satisfied if I called you Mister Shalin?"

 

Shan chuckled. "As a matter of fact, I would. To answer your question; I've been getting fluctuations from the dilithium chambers lately. It's been stable during flight, but when we stop the output gets unsteady. I don't get it."

 

"As the crystals appear stable in flight, have you considered keeping the engines on standby?"

 

Shan nodded. "The catch is that staying powered up makes it look like we're about to bust outta here. Sure ... that's what we want to be able to do, but we don't want anyone else figuring it out."

 

T'Aral stepped over and examined the readings. "The crystals are de-energizing. If this continues, they will begin to decrystalize. When we are landed, route a low-level energy flow into the chamber from the ship's batteries; recharge the battery cells when the drive is active."

 

Shan shrugged and routed as requested. "Hey ... they stabilized - you're pretty brilliant!"

T'Aral shook her head. “Like humans, Vulcans are exposed to a variety of subjects before settling on a profession. We also take interest in topics which do not expressly fit with our vocation. I have an elementary knowledge of starship mechanics.”

 

Shan brightened. “Hey – that’s great! You can help me keep this tub running. This console is great, but we really do need an extra set of eyes in the engineering center.”

 

T’Aral frowned slightly. “Mister Shalin, I said I have an elementary knowledge of starship mechanics. My familiarity is hardly sufficient to provide capable assistance in the operation and maintenance of this vessel.”

 

“Come on, Doc – please?” Shan opened his eyes wide, tipping his head slightly. “I really need the help!”

 

T’Aral remained unmoved. “I am a doctor – not an engineer.”

 

“Catch!” He threw over the tricorder with Commander Chilton’s notes. “Now you’re an engineer!”

 

T’Aral took the tricorder over to the communications station without comment. Plugging it in and activating three screens, she began to review the material. It was quite informative and written on a practical level. While the manual would not give T’Aral an engineer’s understanding of the ship’s systems, it would give her the practical knowledge needed to assist Lieutenant Shalin in operating the vessel. Looking over for a moment, she took in the sight of the young Lieutenant surrounded by screens and controls. A Vulcan could no doubt take in all the data needed to be effective, but Shan needed a far more developed attention span as well as the ability to divide his focus. Vulcans were one of the few races capable of multi-tasking so diversely.

 

A sudden burst over the com channels indicated that Ashton was on her way back. “Energize the engines, Mister Shalin. We can expect to depart soon.” With that she closed out the tricorder files.

 

“Drive systems charging … thrusters online … impulse on standby … we’ll have warp by the time we clear the atmosphere.” Shan looked over to T’Aral with a hopeful expression. “So … are you with me?”

 

T’Aral sighed slightly at his emotionalism. “I will aid you to the best of my ability.”

 

Shan grinned as he turned back to his console, just in time to hear Cale’s voice barking over the com. “Deathwish! Close the ramp and let’s get going!”

 

While one hand signaled the hatch to close the other fired the thrusters for a straight Z-Positive maneuver. Calling up the yoke, Shan set the drive to quarter-power for atmospheric exit while pulling back with a slight twist to arc the Vulture away evasively. Opening the com, he put a general call out through the ship. “Vulture is free and flying!”

 

Meanwhile T’Aral exited the bridge, stepping back to the engineering center. She began to monitor power levels while calling up instructions from the tricorder regarding impulse drive variations and the various causes for warp drive failure. An actual crisis was no time to be familiarizing herself with the manual’s material.