Posted by: Texashawk
« on: March 24, 2011, 01:22:30 AM »10.9.2016
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY VESSEL TSS BOHR, BOHR CLASS
NEAR TITAN ORBIT, SATURN
Captain Lawrie was in a foul mood, sitting at her station chair on the bridge, staring at the equator of Titan through the reinforced bridge viewplane. If it wasn't one thing with this damned ship, it was another. Her engineering section was being worked to the point of exhaustion, and more than once the Chief had mentioned, subvocally, how interesting it would be for the Chief Terran Science Officer Phegley to stick his nose inside this so-called 'beautiful' nuclear stardrive. Then, the Chief had chuckled grimly, at least they'd have a night light when they lost all their power.
Personally, Lawrie wouldn't trade the damned thing for two stray cats. At least the cats only ran on milk and fish. These damn engines...
'SYSTEM ALERT' popped up in red and black, like an irritating frenemy that wouldn't go away, on the captain's systems display, or sysplay as the Navvies had taken to calling them. With an audible swear that bounced around the small bridge area, causing her helm officer to glance back with concern, she read the depressing text:
TEMPERATURE IN FUSION CHAMBER EXCEEDS SAFE LIMITS
RUNAWAY REACTION POTENTIAL: 18.2%
DAMPENING PROTOCOLS AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATED
SYSLOG INDICATES RUNAWAY REACTION POTENTIAL HAS REMAINED ABOVE 5.0% SINCE SHIPDATE 8.11.16.
DO YOU WISH TO SHUT DOWN PRIMARY FUSION REACTOR FOR EVALUATION?
As if I could, she thought dryly. Or perhaps we'll just get out and push. And fusion was supposed to be the safe type of engine! Ha. She sighed, and typed 'N' for the third time in two weeks.
"Everything OK, Cap'n?" the young helm officer asked, brow furrowed.
Perhaps another captain would have felt guilty about endangering their crew with a potentially catastrophically faulty system. But the way Lawrie saw it, them's the risks, that gets the glory.
"Yup, Wiggins. Just a observation in the engine. Little out of balance again. But Chief Maxwell's got it under control."
The helm officer did not look reassured. Lawrie was certain that rumors were flying around the ship's ninety-one crew like wildfire. That was OK. Rumors could not be proved, or acted upon without difficulty. But morale was another matter. Which is why it was critical that only the most senior of the need-to-know staff on the Chief's team understood the potential danger. The last thing she needed, hundreds of millions of miles from home, was a mutiny.
Maybe there was a God after all, even out in the blackness of space. And if there was, Lawrie was certain she was chuckling.
10.11.2016
Science Officer Tark Williams was excited. Finally, some readings to analyze!! The geological sensors were slow, but Williams was confident that they, at least, were tuned properly. Like many, he had heard rumors about the faulty furnace at the back of the ship.
He leaned over the sensor sysplay and took in the readings.
PRELIMINARY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SOUNDINGS/BODY TITAN REGION SATURN
FINDINGS FOR ALPHA SAMPLING......
BATCH 001
....DOWNLOADING
ALPHA SAMPLING COMPLETE
MATERIAL FILTER: DURANIUM
EXTRAPOLATED READINGS FOR ALPHA SAMPLING INDICATE POTENTIAL DEPOSITS FOR THIS MATERIAL:
MIN:567940 MT
MAX:1129492 MT
RELATIVE ACCESSIBILITY: 0.8
DEVIATION RANGE: 0.7-1.12
MATERIAL FILTER: CORBOMITE
EXTRAPOLATED READINGS FOR ALPHA SAMPLING INDICATE POTENTIAL DEPOSITS FOR THIS MATERIAL:
MIN:2788388 MT
MAX:4188282 MT
RELATIVE ACCESSIBILITY: 0.1
DEVIATION RANGE: 0.8-1.22
There was more, but Williams took in none of it. He jabbed at the ship intercom panel.
"Captain.... CAPTAIN!... I need you on the bridge now!"
The sleepy, dusky voice of Captain Lawrie snarled over the intercom, "What's happening? Are we under attack?"
"No... Trust me. You gotta see this... I think we just freakin' saved Earth."
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY VESSEL TSS BOHR, BOHR CLASS
NEAR TITAN ORBIT, SATURN
Captain Lawrie was in a foul mood, sitting at her station chair on the bridge, staring at the equator of Titan through the reinforced bridge viewplane. If it wasn't one thing with this damned ship, it was another. Her engineering section was being worked to the point of exhaustion, and more than once the Chief had mentioned, subvocally, how interesting it would be for the Chief Terran Science Officer Phegley to stick his nose inside this so-called 'beautiful' nuclear stardrive. Then, the Chief had chuckled grimly, at least they'd have a night light when they lost all their power.
Personally, Lawrie wouldn't trade the damned thing for two stray cats. At least the cats only ran on milk and fish. These damn engines...
'SYSTEM ALERT' popped up in red and black, like an irritating frenemy that wouldn't go away, on the captain's systems display, or sysplay as the Navvies had taken to calling them. With an audible swear that bounced around the small bridge area, causing her helm officer to glance back with concern, she read the depressing text:
TEMPERATURE IN FUSION CHAMBER EXCEEDS SAFE LIMITS
RUNAWAY REACTION POTENTIAL: 18.2%
DAMPENING PROTOCOLS AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATED
SYSLOG INDICATES RUNAWAY REACTION POTENTIAL HAS REMAINED ABOVE 5.0% SINCE SHIPDATE 8.11.16.
DO YOU WISH TO SHUT DOWN PRIMARY FUSION REACTOR FOR EVALUATION?
As if I could, she thought dryly. Or perhaps we'll just get out and push. And fusion was supposed to be the safe type of engine! Ha. She sighed, and typed 'N' for the third time in two weeks.
"Everything OK, Cap'n?" the young helm officer asked, brow furrowed.
Perhaps another captain would have felt guilty about endangering their crew with a potentially catastrophically faulty system. But the way Lawrie saw it, them's the risks, that gets the glory.
"Yup, Wiggins. Just a observation in the engine. Little out of balance again. But Chief Maxwell's got it under control."
The helm officer did not look reassured. Lawrie was certain that rumors were flying around the ship's ninety-one crew like wildfire. That was OK. Rumors could not be proved, or acted upon without difficulty. But morale was another matter. Which is why it was critical that only the most senior of the need-to-know staff on the Chief's team understood the potential danger. The last thing she needed, hundreds of millions of miles from home, was a mutiny.
Maybe there was a God after all, even out in the blackness of space. And if there was, Lawrie was certain she was chuckling.
10.11.2016
Science Officer Tark Williams was excited. Finally, some readings to analyze!! The geological sensors were slow, but Williams was confident that they, at least, were tuned properly. Like many, he had heard rumors about the faulty furnace at the back of the ship.
He leaned over the sensor sysplay and took in the readings.
PRELIMINARY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SOUNDINGS/BODY TITAN REGION SATURN
FINDINGS FOR ALPHA SAMPLING......
BATCH 001
....DOWNLOADING
ALPHA SAMPLING COMPLETE
MATERIAL FILTER: DURANIUM
EXTRAPOLATED READINGS FOR ALPHA SAMPLING INDICATE POTENTIAL DEPOSITS FOR THIS MATERIAL:
MIN:567940 MT
MAX:1129492 MT
RELATIVE ACCESSIBILITY: 0.8
DEVIATION RANGE: 0.7-1.12
MATERIAL FILTER: CORBOMITE
EXTRAPOLATED READINGS FOR ALPHA SAMPLING INDICATE POTENTIAL DEPOSITS FOR THIS MATERIAL:
MIN:2788388 MT
MAX:4188282 MT
RELATIVE ACCESSIBILITY: 0.1
DEVIATION RANGE: 0.8-1.22
There was more, but Williams took in none of it. He jabbed at the ship intercom panel.
"Captain.... CAPTAIN!... I need you on the bridge now!"
The sleepy, dusky voice of Captain Lawrie snarled over the intercom, "What's happening? Are we under attack?"
"No... Trust me. You gotta see this... I think we just freakin' saved Earth."