A Quantum Lesson

Posted on Sat Sep 11th, 2021 @ 11:21am by Lieutenant Azur Vaer & Lieutenant Daisuke Hafan, 3rd Tribe of Bon-Hwa

Mission: Episode 05: "Deep Water"
Location: Main Bridge, USS Vesta
Timeline: Day 3 at 0928

ON: [[Main Bridge, USS Vesta, Mission Day 03, 0928 hours]]

One of the things that Vaer liked most about standing watch (especially during overnight shifts) was how often it gave him the opportunity to mentor and guide up-and-coming personnel. Things were often quieter, as most of the crew was either on recreation time or protected sleep, and the mood was more relaxed. So long as they kept everything running smoothly, it was as good a time as any to help folks practice their skills.

So, when Captain Drell approached him about taking over the morning watch (temporarily), Vaer had not hesitated to accept. However, he quickly discovered why some folks were not keen to volunteer for these shifts. Standing watch while docked brought with it a whole new set of responsibilities that could easily become overwhelming if one wasn't careful. There were messages to keep track of and re-route to their proper destination, logistics to coordinate, and transfers to confirm. And all of this was being done with a slimmer team than usual.

As the middle-mark of the shift passed, Vaer found himself standing near the flight ops station, watching as one of the younger flight officers ran through a drill. "Mind your phase corrections," he said, noticing a spike in the readouts. The ensign's hands moved across the surface of the helm, but they were not fast enough, and the screen turned an angry red - CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. Vaer heard the younger officer swear under his breath.

"Tell me what happened."

"The phase variance got too far out of alignment, sir," the ensign said, "The system could no longer maintain itself and the slipstream collapsed." Before Vaer could say anything in response, the ensign continued, "But it shouldn't have happened. I did everything by the book and there was no indication any of the systems were malfunctioning..."

Vaer held up a hand to stop them. "Remember," he told them, "this technology is still relatively new. It's been tested and used multiple times in the field, yes, but there's a lot we don't know about it or what effects other environmental factors might have. Run the simulation again. But this time, instead of trying to keep the slipstream going, I want you to see if you can find a way to bring the ship safely back into normal space."

"Aye, sir..."

Stepping slowly through the door to the bridge, Hafan's steps were seemingly measured, if he even noticed. He listened to the conversation, ears twitching to the surrounding area. He stopped at his station, gazing through the limited scrolling information. His station rarely active while at dock, it allowed him to focus his attention in other parts of his job. He stepped further, closer, to the flight control station, intrigued by the conversation between officers.

Vaer noticed the Dromedar’s approach out of the corner of his eye. He waited a moment until he saw the ensign resetting the simulation, then turned to face his colleague. “Just running a few simulations,” he said, motioning toward the helm, “Something I can help you with?”

Hafan nodded slowly, contemplating. "I appreciate the generosity of the offer, however I am not in need of help." After he got to what he assumed was conversational distance he sat down. "If it is not intrusive, what simulations are you running?"

“Emergency preparedness drills,” the Trill replied, “We’ve used the slipstream before, of course, and never really had a problem. But the captain wants to make sure we’re ready, just in case we do end up running into trouble.”

"Wise indeed to plan out contingency plans," Hafan responded, "A caravan into unknown areas is always exciting yet troubling." An ear flickered. "If I may watch?"

“Sure,” Vaer said.

The Trill carefully reached around the young officer to tap out a few keystrokes on one corner of the helm. This caused a series of overlays to appear on the large window that made up the length of the forward bulkhead. Each relayed live data from the drill including speed, systems’ status, and flight conditions.

Hafan took two steps backward and sat down, giving himself an excellent view of the main screen as well as the Flight Ops station. “What is good for one to know is good for all to know,” He said as he got himself settled. “You never know when someone may need to take over for another. I know so little of this slipstream device”

It did not surprise Vaer to hear Hafan was unfamiliar with the technology. Even though the Dromedar was a member of the Vesta's senior staff (and had been for some time), Vaer understood there was still a notable difference between knowing about the technology and actually knowing how it functioned. Not only was quantum slipstream still considered highly sensitive, something Starfleet didn't really want getting out too widely, it was also incredibly complex. In fact, part of the reason they were doing drills was to help new flight personnel familiarize themselves with its operation.

"Well...what would you like to know?"

Hafan tilted his head, a question he had too many answers for. Where to start? “A fascinating question,” He responded, “For I would like to know everything, to be competent in its operation, however that is just not feasible right now.” He straightened his head out as he finished another train of thought. “Well, how does the system effect the ship tactically? What overlap do we have?”

"Most of the interactions between the ship's systems and the slipstream drive are handled by the computer," Vaer said, keeping one eye on the simulation, "The benefit, of course, is rapid travel from point A to point B. As you know, however, we are at a bit of a disadvantage in that we have no way of seeing what's in normal space until we disengage the drive and drop to impulse again."

“Fast, but blind,” Hafan responded slowly, savoring the thought process of the situation. “Not necessarily an ideal situation for my station. Starfleet’s speed has always been fascinatingly impressive to me. Almost,” He paused, searching for the right word, “scary.” He finished, though by tone of voice you could tell it wasn’t the right one. “How does the computer avoid obstacles?”

"Ahh...now that's a good question," Vaer said. He reached around again and entered another series of keystrokes, doing his best not to interrupt the flight officer. This caused the overlays on the forward window to shift as another visual appeared highlighting certain key areas of the ship. "As you can see, there are a number of components involved," the Trill continued, "chief among these is the chroniton integrator, which allows us to take sensor readings several seconds into the future while the drive is engaged. With it, we can monitor the phase variance and then make adjustments as needed to maintain the corridor integrity."

Hafan carefully contemplated the entire verbal description as his eyes watched the screen. “So,” He started, earmarking the auditory space as if he raised his hand as he compiled his thoughts, “The Flight Officer is almost as much as passenger on the ride as the rest of us?”

"You would think so, wouldn't you," the Trill said, laughing a little, "but it turns out they still manage to find ways of making us work for it."

Hafan nodded slightly, his mind still wrapping around the whole idea. “I appreciate the time you’ve given me, I wish to not burden you anymore. If you don’t mind I will continue to watch for a moment.”

---

OFF

Lieutenant Daisuke Hafan
Chief Tactical Officer
USS Vesta (NX-94200)

Lieutenant Azur Vaer
Deputy Chief Flight Operations Officer
USS Vesta (NX-94200)

Unnamed Flight Operations Officer
USS Vesta (NX-94200)