" Was That The Sound Of Something Breaking Or Just My Nerves Finally Snapping? "
(Previous Post: " Dogfight ")
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Stardate: 60298.1548
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 24, Main Deflector Control Room
The Chief Engineering Officer had left the Deflector Control room in quite a huff, mumbling something under his breath as to the fact that his time would have been better served working on making sure that this sorry excuse of a ship did not shatter into a million pieces as it should. The Shillian scientist had quickly figured that she had not been meant to overhear what had been said and immediately convinced herself that she had been better to go about her work as if she had not heard what the engineer had said.
So many things needed to be done to insure that this would work as it had been meant to, but the head of the science department of the USS ANUBIS had been unable to perform any of them because of the timeframe she was now faced with. Now only had they ignored some of the more basic safety precautions, but now the Shillian woman would have to infuse the main deflector with enough energy to power a small shuttle without having run any computer simulations as to the possible negative effects that this could have on the Main Deflector, the power grid or any of the other systems that were linked in one way or another to this overly modified device. Even if the power grid held and the Deflector Dish did not burn out, as the Chief Engineer had reassured to many times, there had been no research done on the impact of the hypersonic beam on the ablative armour that stood between the ship and the planet.
While working on the final calibration of the deflector dish, the Shillian scientist had tried to run various possible scenarios in her head, using what little data and information had been available to her at the time. Without knowing the precise composition of the ablative armour the Chief Science Officer could only guess as to what kind of effect a sustained hypersonic beam passing *through* it would have on the integrity of the structure. The utilization of high frequency sound waves to shatter objects had not been something new, the process having been used in many applications which included mining and precision medical procedures. The problem was that in all of the examples the Shillian could think of, the final results remained the same: whatever had been targeted by these inaudible sound waves had been reduced to dust, either by design or mistake.
With the help of David, the Shillian woman had found a frequency that had been theorised to pass through the ablative amour without any problems although this had not been tested in any way due to the lack of time. The Chief Engineer had nonchalantly said that they would be able to monitor the effects of the resonance against the armour and effect any required modifications as they would be needed while at the same time insuring that the power grid did not overload, the Deflector Dish received just enough power to sustain the hyper sonic beam while not causing it to burn out of shatter like a crystal. The task had sounded daunting enough before but now that the Chief Science Officer was looking at performing all of this and more on her own, the Shillian woman had been on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
=/\= Bridge to Deflector Control Room, =/\= the calm and steady voice of the Commanding Officer echoed through the small room which had only a single occupant in it, reminding the scientist of the pressures and demands that she was under while at the same time reminding the Shillian that she had not been alone despite the way she felt at the moment. =/\= The ANUBIS is in position, how are you coming along with the sonic pulse? =/\=
"Actually," the Chief Science Officer said, replying to the question without really thinking about what she was saying, "we will be creating a sustain hypersonic beam, not a sonic pulse, the main difference between the two being that the latter would be within our auditory range while the first will be well beyond the perception of most races, at least that is the idea. I mean since there was no time to test the frequency itself there might be some sonic resonance created by the interaction of the beam with the ablative amour that we had not anticipated, and that could create an audible effect that could be carried throughout the ANUBIS via the conduits and primary support frames. If we are lucky that will not happen, but on the other hand we might experience something ranging from a slightly annoying humming sound to a deafening sonic vibration that could in theory cause severe physiological reactions such as causing unconsciousness or the destruction of more sensitive ear drums such as those owned by Vulcans and Anticans."
=/\= I can name something else that is annoying, =/\= the Chief of Security was heard saying, but the Shillian had been so preoccupied by all that she had to do that she had failed to realise that the comment had been meant to describe her endless and aimless ramblings.
=/\= Yes or no. Are we ready to use the deflector? =/\= The Captain asked, not wanting to go through another lengthy explanation that had not answered anything such as the first.
The Chief Science officer looked down at all of the open panels and readouts that were in front of her and calculated how much time she would need to perform the most basic of verifications on all of the systems as well as running at least one computer simulation on the entire process to see if it would at least have the chance of succeeding. When the estimate of the required time reached in excess of an hour, the Shillian woman came to understand that as much as she might have wanted to do all that she had thought of there would simply be no time for them. "Captain, we are as ready as we will ever be," the scientist relunctantly said as she braced herself for what could easily prove to be the most demanding few seconds of her life.
The main control panel lit up, and was almost immediately followed by a gentle humming sound that indicated without a doubt that the process had begun. Within the span of a single second the scientist had been faced with making various modifications to the frequency, amplitude and power requirements of the Main Deflector in order to insure that it would not self destruct or cause a cascading failure in the electronic systems of the ANUBIS. The seconds passed, each one with a new set of corrections, modifications and adjustments until finally the voice of the Chief of Operations was heard saying something that the Shillian woman had actually feared she would never hear. =/\= Picking up a massive avalanche descending over the entire region. Looks like it worked. =/\=
As soon as the hyper sonic beam was discontinued the Shillian scientist allowed herself to fall backwards against the nearby wall, letting out a sigh of relief that she had been certain had been heard by the senior officers on the bridge.
=/\= Well done Maya, =/\= Captain Simmons said over the communications channel, sounding exceptionally pleased. =/\= Sensors have picked up an elliptical disturbance that could only have been made by some sort of an invisible energy field. We now know exactly where that cloak ship is. Looks like you had been right all along, not that anyone up here doubted you, now get back up here we might need your expertise to see if we can beam the second assault team directly into the cloaked area and add to the element of surprise. =/\=
Quickly returning to her feet, the Chief Science Officer acknowledged the order she had received with an oddly short reply, "on my way." It was only as she walked out the door that the Shillian woman realised something odd about the way she had been feeling. Instead of being ecstatic about the accomplishment that she had just done, the scientist felt concern, not for the ship but for a single member of the crew: Second Lieutenant Pravat. The strangest part of this was that Maya could not understand why she had suddenly felt like this.
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Jessica Solarik { maya_992003@yahoo.com }
Lieutenant Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
