We really need a refit
Posted on Tue Nov 17, 2020 @ 5:16pm by Lieutenant Roden Serav & Captain Maritza Soran & Lieutenant Kivan Ta'Gas
1,505 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: Main Engineering, Deck 1153
Timeline: MD01 1500
Tags: Battle, OPS, Engineering, refit
[ON]
Captain Soran needed the break away from Chairman Rell, before she caused an international incident by punching the man. Which is why she went down to Engineering rather than have Serav come to her. She wasn't going to OPS, it wasn't far enough away, so she called Lieutenant Kivan to meet her there and headed down.
"Afternoon Mr Serav," She greeted the chief engineer. "Do you have a minute? Mr. Kivan will be joining us shortly."
"Of course, Captain," Roden replied, eyebrows raised in mild surprise. "What brings you down into the belly of the beast?" The engineer handed a PADD off to a passing crewman and stood at attention.
She waved a hand at him to sit down and she dropped into the nearest chair. "I've had a reminder from Starfleet Command I need to talk to you and Mr Kivan about.
Lieutenant Kivan Ta'Gas made his way through the corridor into the larger opening of Main Engineering. He saw the Captain and the Chief Engineer in the middle of a discussion just as he entered.
"Ma'am, Chief" He said, acknowledging everyone present.
"Thank you for coming so promptly, I won't keep you long I hope. I've been reminded that DS5 is due for its first refit shortly. And between parasitic silicon, multiple bombings and having to dodge a planet last year, we are starting to look a little shabby. We need to submit a survey so they can send us out materials and extra hands. Now you've had a bit of time to look around Mr Serav, I'm pretty sure you've got a shopping list of things that need to be addressed." She glanced at the newly promoted Chief of Ops. "And I'm completely sure you do."
"Absolutely, Captain," Serav responded, immediately bringing up some schematics on the main console. "Commander Ryan was kind enough to request some temporary assignments for this very purpose when I first joined. We've been able to draw up a list of major and minor refits to draw us in line with Starfleet regulations for a star base of this size.
"Most difficult will be a refit of the fusion reactors to match modern containment standards. This will have to be staged carefully to avoid issues with power distribution across the station, particularly if we need to respond to an emergency during this time. Once this is done we should be able to get greater efficiency from the reactors, and fit some attenuation upgrades on our main phaser banks.
"We're also looking at a significant structural enhancement project, with the new nano-swarm polymer application technique." Serav patted the bulkhead next to him. "She's a tough cookie, but she's been through a lot. We can apply layers of material to problem areas and add strength without a significant increase in mass, and no further strain on the gravitation coils."
"Nano-swarm polymer?" There was a term she hadn't heard before.
"It's a new technique, essentially using a swarm of nano-scale machines to find and fill weakened or fractured structures. They align themselves automatically then secrete a bonding agent that reacts with the material they're made out of to form a strong and flexible polymer."
Maritza nodded. That would be useful. After the station moved during the Emergence, metal fatigue had become a serious concern.
Lieutenant Kivan pursed his lips and furrowed his brow as he listened to the two speak. He had been working on the console before him pulling up the files that detailed the current state of the station's structure as recent as the past 90 days. He looked back and forth between the Captain and the over arching bulkheads leading to the core. "Ma'am, we needed a refit five years ago when that Romulan fleet attacked the station." Lt. Kivan said, referencing the attack led by The Rhianndhaell, Vrelnec, and Ayhle. Although the station survived, it took a significant effort in additional to the support of the USS Freedom.
"Then there was the Guardian Platform incident. . ." He said shaking his head. "The Guardian Platforms were somebody's pet project, but they were not workable. . . at least not with this station." Lt. Kivan said as he brought up a display on the wall panel.
"The Guardian system was supposed to be Starfleet's response to the Cardassian orbital platforms that were used during the Dominion War." The Chief OPS Officer said. "The Engineering crew at the time attempted to make it work on Deep Space Five by installing on-board reactors, Federation-spec weaponry and newer communications technology ito circumvent electronic countermeasures." Lt. Kivan said.
"The test of hte platform resulted in the death of 340 civilians in addition to the former Marine Commander destroying a secondary computer core just to shut down the platforms." Lt. Kivan said wearily. "It took years for Starfleet to send us the material we needed to even begin replacing the entire sub-structure." He said.
"We haven't had to utilize full power on the station for years so that's how we've been able to get away with operating the reactor cores at only 87% efficiency." Lt. Kivan said, switching the display. "It would be easy if we could just take the entire station offline and just throw every Engineer and Specialist at repairs and diagnostic for the next 6 weeks." He said wistfully. "But we still have vessels docking and seeking repairs and other functions, so we're trying to make repairs while keeping the systems hot." he said.
"It's a burdensome juggling act." Lt. Kivan said.
"Going offline isn't going to happen. We can't just rehome a hundred thousand people." Martiza tapped her chin. "Doing it in sections may be possible though."
"We may be able to mitigate some of the shipyard requests," Roden interjected. "I'm happy to jump into a work pod and do wildcat repairs in a loose orbit out of dock. We've got some juniors that need to certify for deep space repairs anyway, and at least it removes some power drain. Will still be a lot of juggling, as you said." He nodded towards Lieutenant Kivan to emphasize the point.
Lt. Kivan thought carefully on the idea of doing the refit in sections. "It would probably be best for us to start on the exterior of the station first and then slowly work our way to the inside." He suggested. "We'd have to take the Point Defense Batteries offline if we're going to have our crew members working out there. Otherwise, we'd run the risk of another Guardian Platform incident taking place where the system mistakes our own people for enemies." He added.
"I'll update the station's Friend or Foe system to recognize that the large amount of work pods are non-hostiles and should not be detected." He said, trying to think of what automated system could cause a problem. The Friend or Foe identification system had not been updated in months due to the decrease in ship traffic with the station. It would not be too disruptive just to keep using the same authentication codes.
Soran looked at them both, pleased they were already making plans. "I'll have a yeoman forward the survey details, and you can fill it in for the engineering corp. And don't be frugal. As you said," She nodded at her chief of operations. "this place has taken a beating in recent years, above and beyond its due. she needs some love. I'll back you up if they query it."
"Understood ma'am." Lt. Kivan said as he turned to the Chief Engineer. "So how many of those WorkPods are you going to be deploying?" He asked.
Roden closed his eyes and scratched his eyebrow, running the numbers in his head. "Realistically we're going to be held back by staffing levels, we've got a hundred and eighty-eight pods. If we assign forty to this job we'll have enough to rotate them in and out of service with the shifts. I'll make sure their transponders are broadcasting loud and clear."
Lt. Kivan nodded as he ran the calculations into the system. "We'll have to take the Point Defense systems offline while your people are out there." He said. "I'll need to reach out to the new CAG to see how many fighters can be deployed for outer station perimeter since we're going to be offline for nearly 6 weeks." He added.
A passing crewman cleared his throat and saluted. "Excuse my interruption sir, we've got a major issue on deck 213." Serav shot an apologetic look at the other two officers and turned to the crewman. "The engineering labs? I'll be on my way shortly." He stood up and turned to his colleagues. "My apologies. I'll start work as soon as I've investigated this." He saluted and nodded at both in turn. "Captain. Lieutenant."
Lt. Kivan nodded as the Engineer left. "I'll be on my way too, lots of cats to herd as Humans would say." He said as he left.
[OFF]
A post by:
Captain Maritza Soran
Station Commander
DS5
&
Lieutenant
Kivan Ta'Gas
Chief of Operations
DS5
&
Lt. Roden Serav
Chief Engineer
DS5
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