From: Shawn _ (alamo_nate_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Jul 09 2007 - 13:21:09 PDT
-Fixing The Filter-
(cont’d from “Discussions”)
LOCATION: GATEWAY Station, Flight Deck
SCENE: Fighter Hangar
STARDATE: 2.70709.1320
“Yeah… here’s the problem right here,” Crichton said. He was standing beneath an Aurora-class fighter, raised on a maintenance lift. An access-panel on the belly of the fighter hung open, and Crichton held a tricorder in his hand, scanning its contents.
Lt. Nick Cannon stood a few feet away, leaning casually against a control console, watching the young ensign work. When Crichton mentioned that he’d found the problem, Cannon stepped forward and squatted so that he could see inside the panel.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Well, the filter for an Aurora-class fighter is designed for low-to-zero atmosphere environments,” Crichton said, closing the tricorder and pointing at the filter so Cannon could see what he was talking about. “Its scrubbers aren’t designed for atmosphere-rich environments like ANDARA, so after prolonged exposure, they start to overload.”
“Which is why engine output is higher than it should be,” Cannon frowned.
“Right,” Crichton nodded. “Stay out too long, it could be bad.”
“Bad like how?”
“Well, your engine could overload and go critical,” Crichton said, ticking off the possibilities on his fingers. “You could blow out one of the power-stabilizers, or the filter could short out and fill the cockpit with toxic vapors. Best case scenario, you just have a complete system failure and everything automatically shuts down.”
“Not something I’d want while in ANDARA’s gravity,” Cannon sighed. “Figures. Can you fix it?”
“I don’t know,” Crichton said. “Any other time, I’d recommend requisitioning a new set of properly calibrated filters from Starfleet command, but that’s obviously not an option anymore. And the xenon makes modifying the filters especially tricky… but let me see what I can come up with. Hand me that hypospanner, will you?”
Cannon grabbed the tool, flipping it in his hand so that Crichton could take it by the handle, and crouched beside the young ensign again to get a better look at what he was doing. Cannon had some experience with repairing Aurora-class fighters, but he couldn’t tell what Crichton was doing.
“So, I hear you’re new to the station,” Cannon said, making small talk to pass the time while Crichton worked.
“Uh-huh,” Crichton nodded, not taking his eyes off the work. “Arrived a few days ago, the day the wormhole closed.”
“Nice timing.”
“Yeah,” Crichton chuckled. “First assignment right out of the Academy, too.”
“Well, some people have all the luck,” Cannon smiled. “How are you settling in?”
“Just got assigned quarters this morning,” Crichton said. “Haven’t had a whole lot of free time yet… but that’s probably for the best, right now. Keep my mind on work, that sort of thing.”
“Yeah.” Cannon sighed. “Think it will ever open again, the wormhole?”
“I don’t know,” Crichton said. “I don’t know much about it, and even less about those aliens, those ‘Forecasters’ or whatever they are.”
“Prophets,” Cannon said.
“Yeah. Point is, we have no idea why they shut the damn thing in the first place,” Crichton said, finishing what he was doing in the access panel and closing it. He got out from beneath the fighter, Cannon stepping aside to let him by, and opened a panel on the side of the craft to continue working. “I doubt they closed up shop for a few days for a nice beach vacation.”
“No,” Cannon laughed. “Probably not.”
Crichton continued to work in silence for a few moments, Cannon watching what he was doing and only understanding some of it.
“You heard about ANDARA?” Cannon asked, looking for something else to talk about to fill the silence.
“Heard there was an assassination,” Crichton shrugged.
“An assassination *attempt*, actually,” Cannon said. “New Prime Minister. Somebody must have voted for the other guy.”
“Jeez,” Crichton whistled. “What ever happened to demanding a recount?”
“Welcome to life aboard GATEWAY station, kid,” Cannon said, patting Crichton on the shoulder. “Never a dull moment. That’s why these damn filters are a problem- the Andarans want us patrolling their atmosphere, keeping any ships from getting in or out.”
“For how long?” Crichton asked.
“Dunno’,” Cannon shrugged. “Until somebody flushes out the assassin, I guess. Shouldn’t take the away team too long to figure it out, though. Those farmers aren’t very complicated.”
“All done,” Crichton said, stepping back and closing the panel.
“The filter will work now?” Cannon asked.
“Well, I’m not going to offer my money-back guarantee,” Crichton said, “..but the filter *should* handle the Andaran atmosphere a little better now. But keep an eye on the engine output, just in case. This isn’t a permanent solution, and over time, the filters *are* going to burn out. Someone’s going to have to build an entirely new filter from scratch to eliminate the problem.”
“Great,” Cannon sighed. “I was worried things were getting too easy around here.”
“The good news is that the modification I just did is relatively easy,” Crichton said. “I’ll talk with Lt. Salor, get a team sent up here to start on the rest of the fighters. They should be fine for the duration of the investigation.”
“Thanks,” Cannon said. “I’ll look you up if it gives me any more problems.”
“We aim to please,” Crichton said, bowing a little. “Just make sure you put in a good word for me at the next senior staff meeting.”
“Can do,” Cannon said.
--------------------------------
SCENE: Crichton’s Quarters
TIME INDEX: A few hours later
Crichton stepped into his still uncomfortably-bare quarters and flopped down on one of the couches. The room had all the standard furniture pieces of standard ensign-level quarters, but Crichton didn’t have a whole lot of use for most of it. His quarters back on GOLDEN TOUCH had been pretty small, and most of it had been taken up by a large workbench where Crichton did a lot of his work.
Crichton looked around, thinking that a few changes were definitely needed. The first thing he would need, he decided, was a workbench. He’d see about getting one moved in tomorrow.
Crichton thought about going out to see the Promenade, but he was worn out from a hard day. Lt. Salor had not been merciful with his assignments, and Crichton had worked his team very hard to get everything done. Crichton had also spent a few hours overseeing the modifications to the Aurora fighters, continue to work for several hours after his shift had ended.
He didn’t know much about the situation on ANDARA, and in truth he was too tired to care. He suddenly felt very homesick, wishing he could call the GOLDEN TOUCH and speak with his mother, his brother… and even his father. But that was impossible, and Crichton didn’t like to dwell on things he couldn’t change.
Instead, he decided he’d focus on something he could.
“Computer, bring up a schematic for a Mark VII atmo-rich filter for an Aurora class fighter,” he said. “And fix me some coffee, too.”
NRPG: So Crichton’s quarters don’t look like the description in the ship’s books quite yet, but it’ll get there.
So, the Dominion is making a play for control of the Andaran government? Does the GATEWAY have the resources to stand up to the dominant power in the Gamma Quadrant?
Steve: Hope I played Nick okay, let me know.
Shawn
a.k.a.
Jacob Crichton, Ensign
Assistant Chief of Engineering
GATEWAY Station, GS-2
“Shop smart. Shop S-Mart. YOU GOT THAT?!” – Army of Darkness
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