Fuel Issues

Posted on Fri Mar 5th, 2021 @ 8:26am by Captain Bethsabée Leroux

Mission: Mission 4 - Eden
902 words - 1.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Beth looked at the PADD and then back at the Chief Engineer. She had been wondering what the meeting request had been about for days and now she was disappointed in herself that she had not come quicker. They stood on the second story platform looking down at the engines as they whirled and moved, blocking out the conversation between the two senior officers. “So, what this is telling me we have 20 days of fuel?” She wondered off the man sadly. It really gave them so few options again, she had thought they were passed running out of options like this.

"Just that," the engineer explained as he shrugged simply. He had just ran the calculations three times before even taking a chance of bringing this information to her. It wasn't as though he liked the idea of this information but it was better then being dead in the water. "Sorry, boss lady, but would you rather me lie about it and say that we are doing swell and we can go to warp 5.2 without even hesitating? Heck, I'm surprised the ship can still reach warp 3 with all the hall damage we have sustained so far. Luckily we have some pretty skilled welders on our hands."

Beth frowned at the jovial manner and that he informed her of the fuel issues. He was never going to be the model Starfleet officer but neither was she which she appreciated right now and then. She scrubbed at her face before she looked at the pad again. It was like one issue after another to her and she just didn’t know what else they could take.

“I guess we do have some skilled welders on our hands but how is that going to help our fuel issue?” She asked him hoping her question was levelled as he would expect.

"Well..." he paused as he thought it through a bit before speaking out loud. "... because, on average, when we get to cruising speeds, we see about the same fuel usage used at lower speeds vs higher speeds. Now if we go to 4.5 and higher, we will see that fuel levels burnt slightly higher than those speeds between 1.5 to 4. That make sense?"

"I still don't understand but I do understand we need fuel." Beth did not have a technical mind at all, why she dealt with people instead of ships. "So what are our options?" Beth wondered looking down at the almost familiar machinery now. She had no idea really how it all worked but she could enjoy the look, sound and the fact it moved them closer and closer home by the moment.

"Well, it isn't as though we have a way to make dilithum crystals out of thin air. The secondary generators are just that, secondary. They were never designed for more then emergency power till we got the primary power supply back online, ie, the warp core, which is more then just our engine that allows us to go faster then light travel, its the only thing that can put out so much power to allow us to protect ourselves, feed ourselves, and keep us from freezing," be blabbered a bit before he noticed what he was doing. "Ehh... I guess that isn't answering the question at hand. See, and don't take this the wrong way, boss, but when I recommend searching for dillithum mines, or other types of power sources at the beginning, this was my concern. We could mine it, won't be perfect but if you find some, we could do that. If we found some kind of ally out here to trade with, that would work. If we had a stinking set of red glass slippers to take us back to Kansas, I'd really recommend that. But for now, honestly we need to boost our sensors as far as possible to scan and to call for help."

Beth frowned and put her hand against the railing as she tried to take in this new news. It was expecting she had been doing calculations and looking at calendars when things were meant to happen if they were back in known space. “It did not really answer.” She agreed with a nod. “I know you did but food and water was the bigger concern.” She could already feel the guilt over not listening to him until now seeping into her pores.

"Not arguing with you, boss lady. I get it, but I am just informing you like you told me to. Plus I don't like the idea of freezing in the middle of space with no way of reaching... Well anything," Chris shrugged as he looked her over. "Sorry, I know you are burnt out."

“Me? No, I am fine.” The Captain assured quickly before he got more into the notion. Yes, Beth was beyond burnt out but no one else needed to know that other than her and personal log. She felt like the Atlantis some days running on the last bit of fuel and heading towards fumes. It was a sorry state to be in but she had no choice but to just keep going, just keep taking one step forward and pulling everyone else with her. “So science scanning and a hail Mary it is then.” She surmised what the current plan was with a shake of her head. What would Leah think of what they had become?

TRUNCATE