A Common Engineer Complaint

Posted on Sun Sep 27th, 2020 @ 7:37pm by Ensign Duncan McManus & Ensign Elegy Nascimento

Mission: Mission 3 - 100
Timeline: Day 54, Month 2, Year 0 13:00
2029 words - 4.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Duncan was sure today was going to be the day they were going to get the regenerator working for the Vrav and get the sodding thing off of the ship and the beings of their case. It had to be the day, He was feeling lucky. One protein resequencer was working so they could now have things other the algae to eat and the algae could now to be used to create things it was acquired for now.

“I am feeling lucky sir,” Duncan announced as he wandered into the Fabrication Shop and stopped dead as he found one of the scientists he did not know well and the Chief Engineer talking. “Apologizes. I will come back in a bit. Sorry Sir” The Ensign muttered turning on his heels to leave and come back.

Said unfamiliar Science Officer perked his left cochlear implant in Duncan's direction as soon as he heard the engineer's interjection. He scratched this beard on the right side. Although he had been mid-sentence, Elegy Nascimento let his mouth hang open, and he swung his head in Duncan's direction. "Why be sorry?" Elegy asked in reply. There was something jovial about his tone, and encouraging too, trying to reel Duncan back in. "We could all use a bit of luck," Elegy said; "Couldn't we?"

"That would be an understatement," Chris shrugged as he went back to fiddling with the console before him. He frowned for a moment before popping his lips a couple times before turning back and looked at the scanner in his hand to see why it wasn't loading. He closed it and reopened it before plugging it back into the console once again. "Finally, the new scans should be uploaded into the computer momentarily. That will give us an idea of what we are dealing with now."

Looking over at the two, the engineer cocked his head slightly as he tried to figure out what was going on that he hadn't really focused on with the new arrival. "Duncan, where you going,?"

His first name getting used always threw Duncan and he was sure that was why the new Chief Engineer used it more often than not. "I was just thinking that you would prefer the privacy to continue your conversation, Sir." The Ensign spluttered through. No one looked mad or upset, they looked mostly amused.

Elegy shrugged his left shoulder at what Duncan said. Suppressing a smirk at the engineer, Elegy proposed, "I think we're all here to see what new capabilities we can squeeze out of our protein resequencer. That's hardly the time for privacy. In my book, I'd say the more eyes-on we have, the better." To prevent Duncan from trying to run away for a third time, Elegy outstretched a hand, proffering it to Duncan for a handshake. "I'm Elegy, from the science night-shift."

"Well, these eyes are pretty young compared to my fellow engineer so I am sure I will be of us." The man said without a glance at his now senior officer. The man would get his revenge another time he was sure of it. "Duncan but you knew that. I also go by Mcmanus and Ensign sometimes as well." The Boomer said taking the offered hand shaking it as would be the only polite thing to do. There was no backing out now that had happened.

Nodding once, Elegy replied, "Oh, we've met before?" --Smiling shyly, Elegy shrugged helplessly-- "People don't always remember me..." Elegy glanced over at the computer display to see if the scans had appeared, and then he remembered again what Duncan had said about feeling lucky. "Is luck truly on our side today?" Elegy asked them both. "...Might be nice for a change."

"Or better yet..." Harper spoke up as he had already returned his focus on the console before him and tapped a couple more buttons before hearing the system start to hum, slowly but as stable as they had hoped for this whole time. "... We could always make our own luck. So far, the capacitors are holding and the program isn't showing any errors in the request so far. But I am concerned that we launched Atlantis without the proper amount of memory core for these things. Still don't know why they think we can compress the data for these things to run off of and expect them to decompress each and every time like they do in dry dock. They know better, yet they rushed this, expecting us to deal with the faulty system."

Softly patting the back of a PADD against his palm, Elegy piped in with, "That's why my Vulcan colleagues and I have been designing a simpler re-sequencing pattern for the algae, Lieutenant. We've testing it against simulations to guesstimate a sweet spot for aglae that our equipment can easily produce, while still proving fully nutritious for the Vrav." --Version 6.0 of the Vrav algae resequencer pattern was on the display of the PADD in Elegy's grip-- "At this point we're... 79% sure this algae won't kill them from anaphylaxis."

Being lucky would be nice, he felt he had left all his luck back home in the seconds before they had been transported across the universe. It would have been easier just to know how it had happened over than some type of wormhole. "79% is better than nothing right?" Duncan asked good-naturedly before he sat at the table and just looked at the resequencer. "A common Engineer complaint." He added as if just remembering Harper's words as an after thought.

"Never heard a vulcan using such scientific terms like Guesstimate," Harper smirked as he watched the read out running the start of the coding scan. Once it completed, it requested further commands. "I think we got it. But this is only one. But we may need to break one down to use for spare parts. We are getting low on spare parts."

Before the coding scan had completed, Elegy too watched the scrolling numbers on the display. In moments, the colour drained from his face. Without taking his gaze away from the screen, Elegy dryly remarked, "Please don't tell Sovar I referred to his eminently logical calculations as a guesstimate, Lieutenant. ...He'll make me alphabetize the soil samples." Elegy shook off the shudder that ran down his spine.

Elegy felt a different variety of shiver down his spine at Harper's observations about Atlantis' dwindling spare parts, after the coding scan had completed. "We're certainly farther out than any other United Earth vessel, but even a light year would feel impossible without warp drive," Elegy supposed out loud. Although he'd served Starfleet for a fair few years, Elegy had only served in interstellar space for less than two years. Looking to Duncan and Harper expectantly, Elegy asked, "What do civilian vessels do when they're out of parts?"

Duncan made a mental note to accidentally use guesstimate as a word every time he saw Sovar from now on just to see the Vulcan twitch. "Scavenge hunt," Duncan said with a shrug. His father had been a brilliant engineer keeping things running a lot longer than they should have been. "And find new and innovative ways to fix things."

"Civilian vessels have to be creative with their bypassing skills and try to repair broken or burnt parts. Wear and tear are the name of the game, but that doesn't mean that they are out for the count," Harper explained as he typed in a couple lines of coding, before returning back to the primary operating system for the resequencers.

Using his PADD, Elegy activated a neighbouring display screen and populated it with some of his department's own calculations regarding the computing, energy and time requirements that would be needed to synthesize the Vrav algae. "Considering how much capacity we need to feed our crew," Elegy asked, waggling a finger at both readouts, "H
ow much extra capacity might we even have to resequence raw matter into algae for the Vrav?"

"Why not just give them the resequencer?" Duncan said with a shrug. "They are going to need more than what we create." It seemed a logical approach to him. They could give the thing to the Vrav and let them go on their mary way and allow the ship to go on its route home.

"That isn't my call. We are here to fix things and offer up what know in order to press on with things from here," Harper explained as he activated the device. The sound of humming engaged and a spark flew from the rear of the resequencer, causing them all to flinch real quick before they all stood in awe and marvel as the final product was now before them. "TADA!"

Duncan frowned but shrugged. He was right, it was not there call but it was a good call. It would be the only way to keep the food going for the Vrav. "This is the one from the barracks," Duncan said with a bit of excitement that they could get that one back into place.

Although Elegy's eyes remained on the glowing interface screen on the protein resequencer, his thoughts were stuck in a loop on the question posed by Duncan: why can't they give Ud Clan one of the ship's protein resequencers? "The technology is still only one side of the equation for the Vrav," Elegy said. "We still have such limited raw protein stock. If we gave up enough protein to feed the Vrav, we wouldn't have any protein to feed the MACOs..."

"Yes, and we need to take care of our meat eaters first, otherwise they may go crazy and kill us all," the chief smirked as he typed a couple more commands into the console before grinning at the edge of his own lip. He knew all to well that the MACOs were tactically advanced and skilled individuals, but it never hurt to pick on them from time to time. It eased the stresses of the issues that they found themselves now on the Atlantis. The idea of being so far from allies, and Earth was taking its toll on all of them and only time would tell if they would be able to handle the stresses. "Alright. You two want to try this thing out? Doesn't hurt to test it all out."

“Just a thought they would be able to create what they needed eventually like we are going to have too. I think I saw somewhere calculations on how long it would take the algae planet to recover.” Duncan shrugged it away. It was just a thought and it would easily allow them to be self-sufficient eventually and recover what was lost. “I am game to test.” He was able to stomach most things without being sick.

Nodding at Duncan, Elegy supposed aloud, "If it works, maybe we can give it to Ud Clan the next time they attack or board the ship. Just beam it right onto their bridge with the alcove already filled with algae." Narrowing his eyes on the protein resequencer, Elegy added, "Although I could murder a bacon sandwich right about now."

"Mmmm with brown sauce." Duncan could almost taste the sandwich himself and quickly shook his head. "We need to get this thing works as I want the bacon. All this talk of bacon is making me hungry for the real thing." He muttered swallowing deeply as his mouth almost drooled.

"Well, so far. The power is running well. SO test it out. I need to read the data output while its processing the request. If all goes well, I say we sign this one off and get it down to the ground pounders," Chris stated as he moved around the device.

Not needing to be asked thrice, Elegy stepped up to the food slot and he began to type his order into the control panel. Raising an index finger, he was about to hit the activate button when he hesitated. He took a breath. Looking back over his shoulder at Duncan, Elegy narrowed his eyes, and he ominously asked, "Crust... or no crust?"