Alik and Shur, the day after
When Alik calls almost 24 hours after the incident, Shur has much more information to offer. Alik's heart sinks when he hears the spacer ship that went down was the ECS Kingfisher. The Kingfisher was crewed by an extended family from earth that Alik's family had partnered with on hauls in the past. They had a son near Alik's age who had shared Alik's desire to leave the family business and join Starfleet.
This revelation opens a new floodgate of questions from Alik that Shur simply doesn't have the answers to. There are only two other organizations that may offer more information, if Alik wishes to pursue the matter:
1) the medical corps, specifically the officer or officers who handle coroner duties on base, and
2) Starbase security, who may or may not be conducting an investigation
Jacob and Shur, the day before
Jacob finally gets around to the purpose of his visit. Shur could try to make a call to expedite a technician's visit, he is also aware of the most common complaints that come in about the company's machinery and could possibly troubleshoot the problem himself. It all depends on what he is willing to do for someone he just met.
Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career
-
Orvost
- Level 9
- Posts: 798
- Location: Chicago
- User Class: Inquisitor
-
Shurijo
- Admin
- Posts: 13979
- Title: Scourge of the Jedi
-
- User Class: Sith Lord
Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career
Responding to Jacob's request, "I'll see what I can do. I can't guarantee anything because I don't have any contacts or rank to pull. Give me the identification information for the earth mover." Once he receives the machinery's information, he attempts to check to see if an existing work order has been submitted and, if not, Shur fills out and submits the work order. He takes particular interest in seeing if the machine was part of his family's business or not.
-
ManWithDoor
- Moderator
- Posts: 9307
- Location: California, USA
- Title: Imperial Psyker
- User Class: Imperial Psyker
Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career
Seeing the name 'ECS Kingfisher' feels like a punch in the gut. For spacers such as him, partnering on hauls can make quick friendships as you're all stuck together for weeks or months on end. Alik managed to get out of the life and join Starfleet, but plenty of others with big dreams don't have that kind of luck.
When he has time he calls on Cadet Campeador to find out if an investigation is taking place, and what might be known at this time.
When he has time he calls on Cadet Campeador to find out if an investigation is taking place, and what might be known at this time.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
-
Orvost
- Level 9
- Posts: 798
- Location: Chicago
- User Class: Inquisitor
Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career
Shur
When Jacob gives Shur the make and model number of the troubled machine, Shur immediately knows the nature of the problem, if not the specifics. That particular model is a multipurpose, multi-environment vehicle for any atmospheric or gravitational condition. Operating from one extreme, through idyllic and to the other extreme. It contains redundant systems that are active or inert based on the conditions it is operating under. It is far more machine, and far more complex, than the needs of a science team on an engineered M-class planet. It must have been an unscrupulous sales rep who up-sold to earn a higher commission or some other manifestation of Starfleet bureaucratic inefficiency that brought that piece of equipment here. Usually an earth-mover like that would have a dedicated maintenance staff. It is a miracle that, in the weeks or months that the science team has been working here, this is the first time a problem has manifest.
Shur knows the people and departments to contact to bypass the company's normal costumer service maze. He can probably shave a few days off from the company's response time. But he'll have to talk to Deloris, the dispatcher who runs the company's commercial sub-space communications and who will want to hear all about Mister Ijocado Junior's Starfeet adventures.
Alik
Cadet Campeador is relieved to hear from Alik. He lets him know that everyone was worried when Alik didn't come home the night before, and doubly worried when he still wasn't there the next morning. Campeador also asks if Alik got his message about Jacob. It's kind of important. There is a potentially time-sensitive urgency about it.
As for the Kingfisher: There is no ongoing investigation. The official report was the investigative conclusion. There was no weapons fire witnessed or detected. If the Kingfisher were carrying explosives, it would have been caught on a routine sensor sweep. Therefore, the only thing aboard ship that could have generated the explosive power that brought down the ship was a warp core breach or malfunction.
As a side note: When the dilithium chamber replaced the Zepram Cochrane warp system a few decades ago, Starfleet's decommissioned Cochrane era engines found their way into private enterprises like the Kingfisher. An improperly maintained Cochrane warp engine could easily have caused the warp core breach or malfunction that lead to the explosion.
As far as Starfleet is concerned the matter is closed, unless or until there is a challenge to the official report over some insurance or liability issue.
It somehow doesn't sit well with Alik that the Kingfisher's engine is assumed to have been poorly maintained. That assumption flies in the face of everything Alik knows about the family that crewed it. Nevertheless, it is hard to argue with the outcome; well maintained ships don't just suddenly explode.
Alik also learns that the coroner has no plans to retrieve any human remains from the planet-side debris field. The area is remote and will serve well as a final resting place, at least until that area of the planet is developed a few decades from now. (There is a certain blasé attitude about earthly remains for those who chart their destinies among the stars).
When Alik finishes with his calls, it will be time to go to work again.
When Jacob gives Shur the make and model number of the troubled machine, Shur immediately knows the nature of the problem, if not the specifics. That particular model is a multipurpose, multi-environment vehicle for any atmospheric or gravitational condition. Operating from one extreme, through idyllic and to the other extreme. It contains redundant systems that are active or inert based on the conditions it is operating under. It is far more machine, and far more complex, than the needs of a science team on an engineered M-class planet. It must have been an unscrupulous sales rep who up-sold to earn a higher commission or some other manifestation of Starfleet bureaucratic inefficiency that brought that piece of equipment here. Usually an earth-mover like that would have a dedicated maintenance staff. It is a miracle that, in the weeks or months that the science team has been working here, this is the first time a problem has manifest.
Shur knows the people and departments to contact to bypass the company's normal costumer service maze. He can probably shave a few days off from the company's response time. But he'll have to talk to Deloris, the dispatcher who runs the company's commercial sub-space communications and who will want to hear all about Mister Ijocado Junior's Starfeet adventures.
Alik
Cadet Campeador is relieved to hear from Alik. He lets him know that everyone was worried when Alik didn't come home the night before, and doubly worried when he still wasn't there the next morning. Campeador also asks if Alik got his message about Jacob. It's kind of important. There is a potentially time-sensitive urgency about it.
As for the Kingfisher: There is no ongoing investigation. The official report was the investigative conclusion. There was no weapons fire witnessed or detected. If the Kingfisher were carrying explosives, it would have been caught on a routine sensor sweep. Therefore, the only thing aboard ship that could have generated the explosive power that brought down the ship was a warp core breach or malfunction.
As a side note: When the dilithium chamber replaced the Zepram Cochrane warp system a few decades ago, Starfleet's decommissioned Cochrane era engines found their way into private enterprises like the Kingfisher. An improperly maintained Cochrane warp engine could easily have caused the warp core breach or malfunction that lead to the explosion.
As far as Starfleet is concerned the matter is closed, unless or until there is a challenge to the official report over some insurance or liability issue.
It somehow doesn't sit well with Alik that the Kingfisher's engine is assumed to have been poorly maintained. That assumption flies in the face of everything Alik knows about the family that crewed it. Nevertheless, it is hard to argue with the outcome; well maintained ships don't just suddenly explode.
Alik also learns that the coroner has no plans to retrieve any human remains from the planet-side debris field. The area is remote and will serve well as a final resting place, at least until that area of the planet is developed a few decades from now. (There is a certain blasé attitude about earthly remains for those who chart their destinies among the stars).
When Alik finishes with his calls, it will be time to go to work again.
-
Shurijo
- Admin
- Posts: 13979
- Title: Scourge of the Jedi
-
- User Class: Sith Lord
Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career
Shur replies to Jacob informing him that he's familiar with the machine and he'll see what he can do to expediate the repair order. After his shift or when time presents itself, Shur heads down to dispatch to speak with Deloris in hopes of speeding up the repair order. When he arrives, he shares a few stories with Deloris about his time spent at the academy, but he doesn't speak of things that might be found embarrassing or upsetting to himself or his fellow cadets.
-
ManWithDoor
- Moderator
- Posts: 9307
- Location: California, USA
- Title: Imperial Psyker
- User Class: Imperial Psyker
Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career
Alik reassures Campeador that he passed along the message to Jacob, which is everything he was asked to do. He thanks the security officer for the information, and has to go to his work shift exhausted and worried. The family about the Kingfisher are effectively certainly dead, and he isn't exactly in a position to order an investigation - either into the debris in space or to search through anything that crashed into the planet. He feels rather helpless and defeated as he heads to the spacedock to start the next round of repairs.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
-
Orvost
- Level 9
- Posts: 798
- Location: Chicago
- User Class: Inquisitor
Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career
Shur
Making a subspace call is akin to making a long distance phone call back in the 1950’s. It is prohibitively expensive for everyone but governments and large companies. Lucky for Shur, his family’s company maintains a commercial subspace communication account that allows it to service all but the most remote corners of Federation space. When Shur places his call he knows Doloris, the dispatcher for Ijocado Innovative Industries, is going to pick up and accept the charges.
Doloris squeals in delight to hear from Shur. She tells him how proud everyone is that he graduated from the Academy and wants to hear all about what he is doing with himself. Shur sensibly keeps things short to minimize the price of the call and schedules a service technician visit in seven days for Jacob and the Science team.
Two days later, while Shur is traveling back to his quarters from a shift on the orbital station, the Orion trader Bhartuum corners him and pitches a transaction:
Bhartuum will buy a less expensive (but more suitable for the task) earth moving machine from Shur and his family’s company (How did Bart find out about Shur’s family?). The new vehicle could arrive as soon as two days (3 days earlier than the technician visit). Bhartuum will trade the new vehicle, plus a cash payment to Lieutenant Commander Carter of the science team in exchange for the broken vehicle.
“Your company makes a sale, you get a commission, the science team gets a vehicle that works, and my clients get the old machine. Everyone wins! Please don’t think less of Commander Carter; it isn’t as if he is going to keep the money for himself. His survey is behind schedule and over budget. He will use the money to defray his spiraling costs.”
Alik
Alik keeps running into disinterest and inaction wherever he looks into the fate of the Kingfisher. Frustrated, he sets the matter aside and goes to work. Alik’s entire work crew is suffering from sleep deprivation, especially Alik and Poljos. Thanks to Aliks incredible endurance, he is able to cope with the situation better than the rest of his team and does his best to mitigate the consequences of their short tempers and zombie minds.
The respect Alik earned with his work crew the first day due to his intellect is increased the second day thanks to his fortitude. However, some of the respect Alik earned is lost when he brings Cadet Weathers onto the team a few days later. As the senior officer and nominal leader of the work crew, it is Alik’s prerogative to accept Weather’s reassignment, but his crew members see her inclusion as an impediment to their efficiency for the sake of Alik’s selfish romantic pursuits. To her credit, Weathers neither confirms nor denies the nature of her relationship with Alik, but she is coy in a way that leads others to assume what they want to. Of course, in the eyes of some, Alik having a hot girlfriend way out of his league is worth more respect than what he loses for dragging her into his professional life. Poljos, however, is profoundly unimpressed.
Jacob
Jacob leaves Shur’s office with the assurance that he’ll put a call in. True to his word, Shur forwards a message to Jacob with the date and time for a technician visit from the vehicle manufacturer. Jacob returns to the supply cave at midnight, puts on a reflec jacket, picks up a hand laser, and stands guard for the evening. Luckily, the night passes uneventfully.
Jacob eventually gets in touch with Cadet Campeador and schedules a time to meet with him at the computer lab. When they meet, Campeador explains the situation while he punches up information at a terminal:
This information is still under a low-level security clearance. While Campeador thinks this is an oversight, he would appreciate it if Jacob handles this information with some discretion.
Satisfied that Jacob had read the report, Campeador speaks up:
“They’re stringing you out. Leading you along. I don’t know why they haven’t reassigned you because, I can assure you, they know the situation and there is no reason why they should keep telling you the ship is delayed. If I were you I would force their hand and ask for a reassignment due to the tardiness of your assigned vessel. Though you and I both know the real reason the Gulliver hasn’t made it to port.”
Making a subspace call is akin to making a long distance phone call back in the 1950’s. It is prohibitively expensive for everyone but governments and large companies. Lucky for Shur, his family’s company maintains a commercial subspace communication account that allows it to service all but the most remote corners of Federation space. When Shur places his call he knows Doloris, the dispatcher for Ijocado Innovative Industries, is going to pick up and accept the charges.
Doloris squeals in delight to hear from Shur. She tells him how proud everyone is that he graduated from the Academy and wants to hear all about what he is doing with himself. Shur sensibly keeps things short to minimize the price of the call and schedules a service technician visit in seven days for Jacob and the Science team.
Two days later, while Shur is traveling back to his quarters from a shift on the orbital station, the Orion trader Bhartuum corners him and pitches a transaction:
Bhartuum will buy a less expensive (but more suitable for the task) earth moving machine from Shur and his family’s company (How did Bart find out about Shur’s family?). The new vehicle could arrive as soon as two days (3 days earlier than the technician visit). Bhartuum will trade the new vehicle, plus a cash payment to Lieutenant Commander Carter of the science team in exchange for the broken vehicle.
“Your company makes a sale, you get a commission, the science team gets a vehicle that works, and my clients get the old machine. Everyone wins! Please don’t think less of Commander Carter; it isn’t as if he is going to keep the money for himself. His survey is behind schedule and over budget. He will use the money to defray his spiraling costs.”
Alik
Alik keeps running into disinterest and inaction wherever he looks into the fate of the Kingfisher. Frustrated, he sets the matter aside and goes to work. Alik’s entire work crew is suffering from sleep deprivation, especially Alik and Poljos. Thanks to Aliks incredible endurance, he is able to cope with the situation better than the rest of his team and does his best to mitigate the consequences of their short tempers and zombie minds.
The respect Alik earned with his work crew the first day due to his intellect is increased the second day thanks to his fortitude. However, some of the respect Alik earned is lost when he brings Cadet Weathers onto the team a few days later. As the senior officer and nominal leader of the work crew, it is Alik’s prerogative to accept Weather’s reassignment, but his crew members see her inclusion as an impediment to their efficiency for the sake of Alik’s selfish romantic pursuits. To her credit, Weathers neither confirms nor denies the nature of her relationship with Alik, but she is coy in a way that leads others to assume what they want to. Of course, in the eyes of some, Alik having a hot girlfriend way out of his league is worth more respect than what he loses for dragging her into his professional life. Poljos, however, is profoundly unimpressed.
Jacob
Jacob leaves Shur’s office with the assurance that he’ll put a call in. True to his word, Shur forwards a message to Jacob with the date and time for a technician visit from the vehicle manufacturer. Jacob returns to the supply cave at midnight, puts on a reflec jacket, picks up a hand laser, and stands guard for the evening. Luckily, the night passes uneventfully.
Jacob eventually gets in touch with Cadet Campeador and schedules a time to meet with him at the computer lab. When they meet, Campeador explains the situation while he punches up information at a terminal:
This information is still under a low-level security clearance. While Campeador thinks this is an oversight, he would appreciate it if Jacob handles this information with some discretion.
“They’re stringing you out. Leading you along. I don’t know why they haven’t reassigned you because, I can assure you, they know the situation and there is no reason why they should keep telling you the ship is delayed. If I were you I would force their hand and ask for a reassignment due to the tardiness of your assigned vessel. Though you and I both know the real reason the Gulliver hasn’t made it to port.”
-
Shurijo
- Admin
- Posts: 13979
- Title: Scourge of the Jedi
-
- User Class: Sith Lord
Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career
Shur listens to Bhartuum's deal, but declines to accept right away. "I'll need to talk with Lieutenant Commander Carter. That's not the normal way Starfleet does business." Then, when time and work permits, the cadet calls Lt Cmdr Carter and explains Bart's deal. He's unsure if Carter will accept the deal and if so, he removes himself and asks him to work directory with Bhartuum. Otherwise, if Carter rejects the deal, Shur provides Carter with an update on the technicians estimated arrival.
-
Bohemond
- Level 12
- Posts: 1383
- User Class: Scout
Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career
Jacob feels the hair on the back of his neck rise as he reviews the report. Thoughts start to enter his mind as the realization of the situation hits him. Is the Federation going to war? Is the Gulliver's fate being kept under wraps to avoid a war? I could've been on that ship. He nods in agreement to Campeador, speaking only to tell the security officer that he owes him one. DeVries eventually pulls himself together and resolves to put in the request for a transfer. As much as he enjoys his current assignment, he feels that the Federation may need all the manpower it can get for whatever is about to unfold.
-
ManWithDoor
- Moderator
- Posts: 9307
- Location: California, USA
- Title: Imperial Psyker
- User Class: Imperial Psyker
Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career
Alik is slowly recovering from the ridiculous overtime, but given the lack of downtime to truly rest it is rough going.
The presence of Cadet Weathers is an added hassle. He truly does feel she was put in a shitty situation by being sent to her previous assignment for having a pretty face, rather than actually using her Academy training towards a valuable end. But she doesn't have the engineering expertise to be particularly useful in his department either. Again, not her fault as she trained for a different career path, but that means he has even more to carry on his shoulders.
Since Weathers decided to play it coy about whether or not they are in a relationship, he decides to go along with it as well. She's had a hard enough time lately, better to give her some freedom to choose how to handle this new scenario. He tries to assign her tasks needing lesser technical know-how. She was specializing in Helm operations, which includes no small amount of necessary knowledge in sensor readings and navigation. As the engineering team installs the new arrays, she could focus on effectively being a quality tester. Making sure on the user interface side that everything is working as it should.
The presence of Cadet Weathers is an added hassle. He truly does feel she was put in a shitty situation by being sent to her previous assignment for having a pretty face, rather than actually using her Academy training towards a valuable end. But she doesn't have the engineering expertise to be particularly useful in his department either. Again, not her fault as she trained for a different career path, but that means he has even more to carry on his shoulders.
Since Weathers decided to play it coy about whether or not they are in a relationship, he decides to go along with it as well. She's had a hard enough time lately, better to give her some freedom to choose how to handle this new scenario. He tries to assign her tasks needing lesser technical know-how. She was specializing in Helm operations, which includes no small amount of necessary knowledge in sensor readings and navigation. As the engineering team installs the new arrays, she could focus on effectively being a quality tester. Making sure on the user interface side that everything is working as it should.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."