/\ Jefferies Tube Alpha 5 /\ "Allright John, attach the flow distributor here" Duncan pointed at the sparking end of one of the shining blue conduits. "on my mark, while I place the other one here." The Engineers, long used to work together, synchronized their movements down to a nanosecond and relayed the plasma flow to the adjacent conduit. "I tell you one thing, D" John started while he started apply the regulator to the now darkened conduit. "This is madness. I mean, why is this happening. Granted, she's an elder lady, and has seen her stuff, but we've always kept her clean. She's not taking her new make up well." "I hear ya" replied Duncan and decontaminated the areas that Duncan had treated already. "I don't get it either. I've seen the specs and they shouldn't be causing all these problems." he started to dismantle the damaged conduit. "Get me that piece over there" /\ CEO Office /\ "Computer, start report" Sean said tired, while leaning back and putting the feet up on his desk. "Stardate 240507.02 Chief Engineer Lieutenant Sean McTaggerts log." he paused and took a sip of his coffee. "Since the full deployment of the new system we've experienced so far 54 minor malfunctions on different areas of the ship. Most of these malfunctions are related to the power distribution system. Five tests have been run so far on the new shielding, and, while we have no measurable difference in the influence of chronal particles, I have to admit we haven't run into any temporal anomalies yet. Which means, that the fire baptism will take place in the March itself, probably under the ugliest of conditions. Each test has thrown up a random number of EPS overloads, as well as a decalibration of different set of sensors. Luckily, all of the crew is cooperating a 110% and every problem is reported and dealt with swiftly." Sean looked towards the pulsating warp core, momentarily lost in thoughts. After a while, he continued speaking. "The engineering crew is working at top efficiency, but we are loosing people constantly. There are too many accidents happening on the ship, for no foreseeable reason, which puzzles me to be honest. I have no clue of what's going on. The simulations have shown potential problems, but, thanks to the inventive of Rodgers and the experience of Quayle, we've managed to prevent most of them, or so I thought. Wereas we've taken precautions to filter all possible EPS overloads on the main systems with triple redundant conduits, the most affected parts now seem to be secondary and tertiary systems. Some areas have difficult access, which caused a good part of the accidents. LtCmdr. Summers has exact numbers, but on a rough estimation, I can say that we are almost down to a third of the active roster." Sean stood up and got himself another cup of coffee. He hadn't been able to sleep for the last three days and he was starting to notice it. He decided to get some stimulants, it was not feasable to get rest at this moment. /\ Jefferies Tube Alpha 5 /\ "Hey D" John sealed the unions between the old conduit and the replaced part. "I've arranged a meeting with the ladds later for a game or two, I told 'em you're in." he looked over to Duncan. Duncan nodded. "No problem, mate, I'm in" he confirmed and scanned the conduit. "But I tell you right away, I'm not bringing the drinks, it's Greers turn" John laughed and stepped back. "Ok, this looks good. Finish the scan and we'll reroute the power and take a break, deal?" Duncan nodded again. /\ CEO Office /\ Sean sat down again, feeling the energy streaming through his body. The stimulants worked fast, he had to grant that. "Computer, resume log" he said out loud. "In regards to the rest of the ship, we are in good shape. Tactical systems, weapons, normal shields, sensors, aside from the misalignments, are working good, we have, in regular circumstances an efficiency rate of 93%. If we can manage to control the EPS overloads, the Chimera should keep her hull together as usual. I have to point out the good work of the engineers, I have several names to recommend to the General, based on the performance during these difficult last weeks. On another issue, we've been getting some help from the Science department, which has been a positive experience for both the science and the engineering department. Many of us know to the detail the whereabouts of the different sensor systems, but it is interesting to get some insight on what they are used for aside from tactical purposes. My kudos to Lt(JG). Oriana and her crew." Sean paused again and shuffled the PADDs in front of him. /\ Jefferies Tube Alpha 5 /\ "Ok, careful now" Duncan slowly manipulated the Flow Distributor, allowing the Energy to flow back through its regular channel. John did the same on his end, and the dark conduit started to lit in blue as the plasma made its way through the system. "Careful" repeated Duncan, routing more and more plasma through. "Everything looks clean and clear here" said John, checking the fluctuations on his tricorder. Duncan slowly retrieved the Distributor and stepped back. "Readings?" he asked, his eyes still fixed on the conduit. "Fluctuation increasing to 50%. Radiation nil, Frequency within range." John read out loud. "Opening the EPS tap" Duncan informed, while typing on the wall mounted console. "Fluctuation 78%... 83%... 90%... 98%... 99.7%... a clean 100%" replied John with a grin. "We're all set he..." a louf explosion shook the narrow shaft, as the adjacent tap dissappeared in a blue vapour cloud. "JOHN!!" shouted Duncan, as he watched in slow motion his mate's body slam against the opposite wall, his arm covered in a blue haze. "SHIT" Duncan tapped wildly on the console, cancelling the EPS out. "Computer, decontaminate area, Sickbay, MAN DOWN, GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE ASAP" he shouted, all in one go. The air cleaned up immediately, the blue pulsating light of the EPS conduits died away, leaving the engineers in a dimmed light. /\ CEO Office /\ "... We have backchecked the replicator systems in Sickbay on request of LtCmdr. Summers. There was nothing wrong with it, but she wanted to make sure of it, considering the necessity of having the place in top conditions. I can understand her concern, but, as I told her, there's nothing to worry about with that, my men have it under control. I don't expect that kind of incident to happen again." Sean continued his report. Suddenly, a hectic movement drew his attention to Main Engineering. Several officers where rerouting power from subsection Alpha 5 to adjacent areas. Sean stood up and stepped out of his office. "Report, Ensign" he said to the nearest officer. "Sir" replied the Ensign nervously. "We have another EPS overload. It's Wilkins, Sir. He's been yelling through the comm asking for Sickbay." Sean swore and neared the main console. The engineers had reacted fast and cleared the area. "McTaggert to Wilkins, report" /\ Jefferies Tube Alpha 5 /\ Duncan was dragging Johns motionless body out of the Jefferies Tube, trying to keep his burnt up arm as stable as possible. "Hang in there, John, help's coming" he muttered desperate between his teeth. "McTaggert to Wilkins, report" he heard the CEOs voice through the comm. "Sir, man down, I need a hand here, quick" he replied. Suddenly, he felt several strong hands lifting the body. "Transport directly to Sickbay, LtCmdr. Summers, we have an emergency here" he heard a voice behind him. He saw John dissappear in blue sparkles and fell down to the floor. "How do you feel, Specialist?" he heard the same voice, as he saw a scanner being waved in front of him. "He's been contaminated, he will need treatment." the voice seemed to speak to someone else. Duncan tried to look up, but suddenly, he felt very tired. "I'm ok" he muttered. "Take care of John..." "Transport him, too, we will run him through the filters to eliminate part of the radiation" he heard the voice, which seemed to go grow fainter by the second. /\ Main Engineering /\ "Carter, Lu, Axa, make sure the area is clean. Keep power rerouted till we've assessed the damage, be careful and report immediately if there's any problem." Sean barked and turned back to his office. "Computer, continue" he continued in the same tone. "To close the report" he started furious. "You might be sitting in your office on the bridge, General, taking CRAP from those bastards at Bragg, but you DON'T SEEM TO REALIZE THAT IT'S YOUR CREW THAT IS PAYING THE PRICE." Sean took breath. "These men expect ME to take care of THEM, and THEY ARE MY REPONSIBILITY. AND I WILL TELL YOU, SIR, THIS IS NOT TOLERABLE. I'VE GOT ANOTHER MAN DOWN AND I DEMAND THIS MISSION TO BE DELAYED AND THE SYSTEMS TO BE TAKEN OUT OF MY SHIP." he ended up yelling. "COMPUTER, SEND THAT DAMN REPORT" he added and raced out of the office. "Carter, hold on. I'm coming with you" he said and raced behind the three men, grabbing a toolkit on the go. /\ Main Engineering, five hours later /\ Sean fell on his seat and took another stimulant. "This is madness" he muttered to himself. They had spent the last hours running from place to place, dealing with similar issues all over the ship, and he needed a break. "Sir" he heard a nervous voice from the door. "I think you should see this." Sean looked up and sighed. "What is it now, ensign" he said with resignation, ready to make his way to the next accident site. "No Sir" came a nervous response. "This is different, you really should see this." The ensign turned around and stepped back to the main console. Sean followed him and stared at the main ship display. He frowned and brought up different views, tapping on the console. "We've noticed this during the last ten minutes, but we wanted to make sure" said the Ensign, standing next to him and watching the screen. Sean frowned even more and brought up more data. "All green?" he finally asked preplexed. "Yes, Sir. Shields, Navigational Systems, Weapons, Deflector, everything. Working and rated at... 100% efficiency. I've never seen this, Sir" reported the Ensign. Sean was genuinly concerned now. "Have you checked every system?" he asked "Yes, Sir" replied the Ensign. "Run a priority level diagnosis on the whole ship. We have to make sure. I'll take responsibility of it. Give me a second." he tapped on the badge. "McTaggert to General Keylor. We have a situation here you need to see. We need to drop out of Warp." he closed the comm and turned back to the console. "Let's check everything again, this can't be right." he muttered and started to tap on the console. ------------------------------------------------------------- Lt. Sean McTaggert DCEO (NPC) USS Chimera