Toughening the Skin

Posted on Mon Dec 6th, 2010 @ 6:50am by Vice Admiral Iluvar & Lieutenant Commander Joseph Thompson

Mission: Episode 1.4 - "Confusion in the Cluster"
Location: Corridor - Deck 6, USS Pandora
Timeline: Mission Day 01, 0920 hours

ON: [[Corridor - Deck 6, USS Pandora, Mission Day 01, 0920 hours]]

As he was heading back to his office, Joe caught sight of the interim Chief Engineer just ahead of him. Jogging a bit to catch up, he called out, "Lieutenant, a moment."

Jake (PNPC) paused at the sound of someone calling him by rank. He turned to see the ship's Chief Security/Tactical Officer coming up alongside him. Though he hadn't had much of a chance to get to know the commander, he did recognize him from a few of their staff briefings. "Can I help you, sir," he asked.

"Lt. Commander Thompson," Joe said, holding out a hand. "You can call me Joe, though. What do you say we get started on some of those tactical system upgrades?"

"I was actually going to ask you about that," Jake replied as he started down the corridor again, keeping step with the man next to him, "Technically, they wouldn't be upgrades...just temporary modifications. I've been giving it some thought and I think that we can definitely use some of the data from the captain's previous mission to the Black Cluster. Did you have anything specific in mind as far as modifications go?"

"Well, as I see it we have two main items we can focus on," Joe said. "Without counting the shields, our only defenses are the Ablative Hull Armor and the Structural Integrity Field. The problem is that we have so many layers and types of shielding, the loss of them greatly affects our defense. However, I think we can turn that problem into a benefit - that's also a ton of energy that won't be used and that can be used elsewhere."

Jake nodded slowly. He could see where the commander was going with this line of thought, but he could also tell that it was going to take quite a bit of work on his part to effect some of the changes necessary to adapt in this situation. For one thing, the Structural Integrity Field wasn't usually considered to be a defensive tactical system. "Not all of it can just be reallocated, but I'm sure we'll find a use for a good majority of it somewhere," he said aloud as they rounded a bend in the corridor, "As for the Ablative Armor, there's really only so much we can do to bolster that."

Inwardly, Jake winced a little at that last statement. The commander was surely familiar with the operation of a starship's defensive systems. While that may not have translated into a thorough comprehension of the engineering principles behind the system, it did make Jake feel a little awkward telling a superior how things were supposed to run. Wasn't that what he had been trying to get away from?

"Understandable," Joe agreed. "We already knew we couldn't do a whole lot of modifications. But did you have any other ideas about things we could try?"

"I've been thinking about it," Jake said, "but I'm afraid there isn't much more we can do. We'll be able to handle most natural phenomena without too much trouble, unless there's something really out of the ordinary. Without the shields though, there is relatively little to protect us against any sort of attack."

"In that case, we'd better hope we don't get attacked," Joe said. "But I still like being prepared. So, how should we go about making these modifications? I'd like to get started as soon as possible."

Jake couldn't tell if the commander was joking about hoping they weren't attacked or if he was being serious. Still, he couldn't argue the importance of being prepared. "We'd probably have the best chance of coordinating the modifications from main engineering," Jake replied. Being in main engineering would give him access to all of the ship's systems as well as the ability to coordinate his engineering teams. "We could get started right away," he continued. Judging by what he'd just heard in the briefing, Jake had a pretty good feeling that this had been moved to the top of his to-do list.

"Sounds good to me," Joe said. "Lead the way."

OFF

A JP by:

Lieutenant Commander Joseph Thompson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Pandora

and

Lieutenant Jake Warrington (PNPC)
Interim Chief Engineer
USS Pandora
Played by: Capt Iluvar