Morning Maintenance

Posted on Fri May 5th, 2023 @ 1:05am by Lieutenant Bolin Ziraf

1,648 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Relaunch
Location: Various Locations - USS New Hampshire-B
Timeline: 0905 hours - March 15, 2398

ON:


The main engineering section of the USS New Hampshire was a hub of activity. The hum of the engines seemed to audibly channel energy throughout the ship. The sound of the humming warp core echoed throughout the metal corridors. Lieutenant Bolin stepped inside, doors hissing open with a hydraulic whine.

He saw several engineers working on different tasks, including the maintenance of the EPS conduits and the replacement of damaged relays. Bolin could smell the plasma and sense the electrical charge in the air. He made his way to the central console, where several engineers were stationed. In his hand was a basic toolkit.

"Good morning, Lieutenant," one of the engineers said as he approached. "What can we do for you?"

"I need to assign three officers to work on some specific engineering tasks," Bolin replied. "First, I need someone to do a diagnostic check on the warp coils. Secondly, I need someone to inspect the impulse engines. Finally, I need someone to repair the environmental control systems on Deck 8."

The engineers looked at each other and then nodded in agreement. "I'll take the diagnostic check," an Andorian ensign said. Ensign Rur th’Chaalvar was known for his frosty personality. He was a hard worker but expressed himself rather coolly towards others. Some wondered if it was disdain. Those who knew him understood that it was just his personality.

"I'll do the impulse engines," chimed in a young Bajoran called Ensign Obak Julthro. He was rather quiet, normally keeping to himself. He likely wanted a chance to escape the crowds within Main Engineering surrounding the warp core.

Crewman Margie Haverbrooke spoke up finally, "I'll handle the environmental systems on Deck 8, sir." She wore her platinum blonde hair up in a short ponytail. Crewman Haverbrook was hoping to make a name for herself. She was a damage control specialist who always wanted to learn new things. She normally seemed rather chipper compared to some of her counterparts.

"Excellent," Bolin said, nodding his approval. "I'll check in with you two later”, he said to the ensigns. “As for you Crewman Haverbrooke, I believe I’ll tag along. These systems can get complicated.”

“Aye sir”, she replied as the group split and she paired off with Lieutenant Ziraf.

Lieutenant Bolin Ziraf is a tall, muscular Bolian with bright turquoise eyes and a chisled jawline. He strode confidently through the corridors of the USS New Hampshire-B, long arms swinging by his sides. He wore his uniform with pride, gold shoulders denoting his role as an Engineer. Walking alongside him was Crewman Margie Haverbrooke, seeming as chipper as ever. Her blonde ponytail swayed with the bounce in her step.

As they made their way through the ship, they passed by a diverse array of crew members. A wide range of the Federation’s races were represented, from Orion to Tellurite. Humans seemingly of every size, shape and color filled the tightly packed corridors. Some walked quickly, no doubt on their way to important duties. Others seemed more relaxed, chatting with their friends and colleagues.

As Bolin entered the turbolift, an Operations Ensign recognized him. The young ensign began briefing Bolin on the latest status of the ship's power grid and the potential upgrade.

"The power grid on deck 12 has been experiencing fluctuations for the past few days. We've managed to stabilize it for now, but we're concerned that it might happen again," the ensign reported.

Bolin listened intently to the ensign's report and nodded in understanding. "I see. Have you considered upgrading the relays? It could improve the grid's stability," he suggested.

The ensign's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "That's a great idea, sir. I'll have my team start looking into it right away," he replied.

Bolin’s eye contact switched between Margie and the ensign. “I wouldn’t be surprised if those power fluctuations didn’t partially short out the environmental controls.”

“What exactly is the problem with them sir?” Crewman Haverbrooke asked the question while looking up to the Bolian. She was about 5’5 while, Lt. Ziraf was 6’0.

“The humidity levels are varying across the ship. It’s not bad when its low, but some places feel way more humid than need be.”

“Humidity is the worst”, she replied. The Ops ensign chuckled. “Ugh!” She was prone to sweating easily and hoped she could try keeping this fact from leaking out due to some faulty controls.

As the turbolift doors opened, Bolin and Margie stepped out and made their way towards the environmental controls on deck 8. The path was busy with aliens and crew members going about their business. Bolin nodded politely at those who recognized him, exchanging greetings with some and simply acknowledging others with a nod.

Finally, they arrived at the environmental control room. Bolin quickly assessed the situation and delegated tasks to Margie and another engineer who happened to be on site. "Margie, you handle the cooling system while I work on the air filters. And Tom.. Recalibrate the ventilation system for me, please? Thanks.”

Lt. Ziraf opened a large panel, revealing the isolinear chips inside. The chips are transparent, with hues of green, yellow, and blue. Bolin examined them carefully, rearranging their order to optimize performance. He stepped back and nodded to Crewman Haverbrooke, who took his toolkit. She began taking readings with a tricorder. “Oh yeah, that’s wonky”, she said as she read the readings.

After a few moments, Margie removed a laser micrometer from the toolkit and began making fine adjustments to one of the chips. She then scanned it with her tricorder, checking the readings and making a few more adjustments. Bolin watched her work, his eyes following her precise movements.
As Margie finished her work, Bolin nodded in approval. "Good job, Crewman," he said, his voice gruff but pleased. "Let's run a diagnostic and make sure everything's functioning as it should be."

Margie nodded and began running the diagnostic, as Bolin stepped back to observe. After a few moments, the results come back positive. Bolin nodded again, satisfied. "Alright, let's move on to the next panel," he said.

Margie followed him as they made their way through the control room.

“The fans are not firing in sequence”, Ensign Tom deVaughn told the others from the other side of the room. “Looks like a sluggish power flow.”

“We’ve been having fluctuations in the EPS grid”, Bolin informed him. “These are relatively minor issues, but I want to get this all sorted while we have time.”

“I’d bet other systems are having minor issues too”, Ensign deVaughn replied.

Bolin and Margie moved on to the next panel, where they saw transparent red isolinear chips mixed in with the other colors. Bolin opened the panel and they noticed that three of the chips were malfunctioning. Their lights were not flashing in sequence, appearing to be turned off.

Margie took out the laser micrometer from Bolin's toolkit and began working on the chips. She applied the tool’s beam to each one, making fine adjustments and scanning each one with her tricorder. Bolin pointed at spots on each chip as she worked, making sure she targeted the proper interface nodes on each chip correctly.

Once the newly refurbished chips were in place, Bolin closed the panel and checked the readings. Everything looked good. He gave Margie a nod of approval and they moved on to the next section of the environmental controls. Despite the urgency of their task, Bolin couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at a job well done.

Bolin and Margie worked together to reboot the environmental control system. They followed a series of steps that involved rerouting power, recalibrating sensors, and running a full diagnostic of the ship's environmental systems. After several minutes of work, the system finally came back online. They saw a new readout on the control panel.

The readout showed that the humidity problem had been resolved on all decks except for the holodecks. Bolin and Margie exchanged a look and then set off to investigate the problem. As they made their way to the holodecks, they passed a few curious crewmembers who asked about their progress. “The humidity issues have caused my breathing tube to work overtime”, a Benzite joked when told about the progress.

Bolin reassured him that they were making headway and should have the problem solved soon.
When they arrived at the holodeck, they ran a new diagnostic and discovered that the problem was with the atmospheric controls in the holodeck emitters. They had fallen out of sync with the main system because of the fluctuations.

Margie quickly got to work, using her tricorder and laser micrometer to identify the faulty components. Bolin assisted by helping to remove and replace the damaged parts. It appeared that the power fluctuations on deck 12 had indeed shorted out components here. The break in the EPS grid connected to the environmental controls threw the entire system off kilter. Parts of the system overcompensated for the lack of flow to the holodecks, causing increased output in some places and a massive reduction in others.

After several more minutes of work, the team finally managed to fix the problem. Bolin and Margie exchanged a smile of satisfaction as they finished the last of the repairs. They ran one more diagnostic and confirmed that the environmental systems throughout the ship were now functioning properly.

“We make a good team, crewman”, the Bolian told the grinning lady.

“Anytime sir. It was great working with you.” She secretly thought that Bolin was a humorous name for a Bolian, but would never admit it in front of him.

“Keep this up and you’ll make Petty Officer in no time”, he replied with a curt nod.

“Aye aye”, she said with a giggle. The pair made their way back to Main Engineering.

Lieutenant Bolin Ziraf
Chief Engineering Officer
USS New Hampshire-B

 

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