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Post by Cmdr. Tucker on Dec 22, 2008 17:23:33 GMT -5
"I don't believe this. That's the third conduit that's blown this week."
Commander Charles Tucker III, more commonly known as Trip, dashed his hand against a nearby panel, after checking that in doing so he wouldn't hit any buttons and cause an accidental power overload or some other such calamity. He was sitting on the floor in a nook of engineering, hyper spanner in one hand and datapad in the other, head twisted awkwardly to get a full view of the faulty conduit. With a sigh of frustration, he handed both tools to an assistant engineer and got to his feet, groaning as he stretched cramped muscles.
“Well, I dunno what to say,” he admitted, bending down to replace the cover panel over the conduit. “It’s all fixed now, but I can’t guarantee how long the darn thing will stay that way.” Straightening, he cocked his head in question at the other engineer. “Y’sure that diagnostic you ran the other day didn’t show anything?”
The other shook his head. “No, sir. Everything was normal.”
Trip shrugged, taking back the datapad and frowning at the readings. “Well, I’ll run a few more scans. And if that doesn’t do anything, we’ll just have to purge the antimatter flow. Maybe a contaminant got in there somehow.”
Muttering to himself, Trip walked over to a nearby console and started up yet another scan. Tossing the datapad back to the assistant, he instructed, “Let me know when that scan’s finished. And keep an eye on the warp reactor - we don’t want any accidental get-togethers with the matter and antimatter. If anything comes up, just drop me a message on the intercom.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rubbing his aching neck, Trip headed off to the mess hall. He’d caught a rumor that pecan pie was on the menu, and that thought brightened his outlook considerably as he stepped out smartly, vaguely running through the names of old Earth cinema features in his mind; he’d need to choose one for tonight’s movie night.
Ten or so minutes later, he was leaning back in his chair in the mess hall, picking vaguely at the remains of his pie. Only moments earlier, an engineer had come up to deliver the results of the last three scans, and Trip was becoming seriously annoyed. Nothing, nothing, had come up as abnormal, and one of the things that really peeved him was a darned piece of engineering that was getting the better of his efforts with no results on his end. He let out an exasperated sigh, letting the datapad slide from his fingers onto the table, and scraped up the last bits of pie.
(Ok, obviously I couldn't think of what Trip should be doing, so I just expanded my sample post a li'l bit. Anyone can come in now!)
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Post by Cpn. Reed on Dec 31, 2008 12:49:47 GMT -5
The console was oddly warm, Malcolm thought. He mentally brought up the shift assignments, remembering that this station had been unnassigned for the past few days- on maintenance. He recalled asking the head engineer something about it, but that was just about all. He didn't like to exchange too many words back and forth with Commander Tucker, but unluckily it often came about, as a result of their similar rankings and responsibilities.
On the console, one of the three silver-coloured masses huddled in a small corner of engineering next to a Jefferries tube, Reed was looking at the intra-ship comm logs for the past day. It was a habitual check for him, but it never turned up much. That left him with a bit of resentment- with all he was doing, at least something could...
There! The Lieutenant's hand snapped down to pause the readout as an odd entry came past. It was missing both tags relating to location sent, and data recieved. It had come to a station on one of the lower, backup command decks, near the armoury. Reed committed the information to memory, and closed out the comm logs, and pivoted on his heel to exit engineering for his next duties.
Though he had woken up for a shift on the bridge not fifteen minutes ago, the actual duty shift wasn't to start for approximately one hour. But that was perfectly acceptable...a dark look briefly passed over Reed's face as he consodered a dispatch he had recieved from certain parties he knew of back on Earth, not long ago. He had plenty with which to occupy his time.
---
Precisely forty-five minutes later, Malcolm Reed arrived in the mess hall, giving a curt nod to the cook as he saw the other. He took a small cup of what appeared to be some sort of tea, and after a moment's tense thought he consented to seat himself across the table from Commander Tucker, not meeting the higher-ranked officer's gaze.
"Good day, sir." Malcolm said, no hint of any underlying fire or sarcasm in his voice. He took a quick taste of his tea, then waited, counting mentally as was another of his habits, to be sure it would settle. And that was a nice way of putting it.
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Post by Cmdr. Tucker on Jan 2, 2009 9:33:01 GMT -5
Glancing up, Trip welcomed a distraction from the agonized mulling over of his problem, which came in the form of Enterprise's tactical officer. The engineer directed a small glare at the datapad on the table, forewarning it that he had not yet finished interrogating that object's readings, and casually shoved it aside along with his now bare plate.
“Mornin', Malcolm,” Trip greeted the lieutenant, flashing a friendly smile that did not quite hide his own aggravation. Leaning forward, he planted both elbows easily on the table top, chin resting in his hands. “Is that lunch, or just an appetizer?” he asked, eyeing the other’s lone beverage, and then grinned. “The pie’s awful good, y’know.”
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Post by Cpn. Reed on Jan 2, 2009 18:35:12 GMT -5
Malcolm tilted his head in a brief but calculated nod, swallowing another sip of his tea as he did so. "Commander." he said crisply, in a way that seemed to discourage further idle conversation. "I'll let you have your...pie, thank you."
There was an awkward pause, and Malcolm's cup made a soft noise against the table as he again placed it down, shifting in his chair- though he still sat relatively straight, as was his nature.
The lesser-ranked man leaned forward, eyebrows arcing slightly as his eyes fixed on the datapad the Commander posessed. "What is it you're working on, sir, may I ask?" It was hard to tell if he merely feigned interest, or if it was genuine. Leaning back again, he glanced at the chrono displaying on the datapad, checking how much time he had left before his bridge shift began.
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Post by Cmdr. Tucker on Jan 2, 2009 19:07:45 GMT -5
Shrugging, Trip also nodded and offered the datapad for Malcolm's inspection, giving it a frown of disgust as he passed it over.
"Ahhh, the plasma conduits are givin' me grief. Exploding every other day an' they won't tell me what they're being so fussy about." He ran a hand through his hair distractedly. "I've run so many scans I've almost memorized the readings, and I still don't have any answers. Maybe you'll come across somethin' I missed." Sighing, the engineer added, "Wouldn't be surprised, considering how sick I am of lookin' at the darned things."
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Post by Cpn. Reed on Jan 2, 2009 21:24:30 GMT -5
Malcolm let out a little noise that sounded like a 'tch'. "Sir.." he said, taking the datapad. He glanced at it for a moment, feeling a cold shiver run down his spine as hely saw an error that was, to the security officer, obvious. No engineer was likely to see it for what it was, though. He let it pass, clamping his eyes shut as though he feared a headache to come. Maybe this time, there had been something in the tea. Reed was mildly annoyed, he usually had more control than this.
"I'm no engineer, Commander." He quickly pushed the datapad back to Tucker, almost as if it has suddenly burned him. "You could ask Subcommander T'pol, perhaps?" he had taken a last glance at the chrono, and stood, not finishing off his tea. He left the cup. "But I have a shift to get to." He flashed a small smile, his customary smirk, and turned to go, walking out of the mess hall, but quicker than usual.
---
At the bridge, Malcolm relieved the on-duty officer at his customary station, though there was still one minute left of the preceding shift. He glanced over, seeing the previously-mentioned Subcommander sitting at the con as highest-ranking officer on the bridge, just as primly as usual. He offered no greeting, though he knew that they had both acknowledged each other's presence- she in her silent Vulcan manner, he with his silent, military and proper, thoughts.
The rest of the bridge was quiet beyond the hum of the engines, and the soft electronic noises offered by the consoles and readouts thereof. Malcolm glanced across it, just in case. The viewscreen showed stars, as plainly as it always did, and they stretched off in to the far distance, into one's imagination. The bridge itself was set in tones of blue, especially at this time of 'day'.
There were only a few others on the bridge, aside from Reed and T'pol. Those were about to be finished their work, and looked tired. Not a good state to be found in, if an alert were to go off, Malcolm thought critically. In his Armoury, things as well as officers were kept in much better condition.
((Ooh dear, that certainly turned out longer than I had been trying for. *winces* Don't be scared off, anybody!))
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Mae
Staff Officer
I don't want you to die. It's not necessary.
Posts: 20
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Post by Mae on Jan 5, 2009 7:06:18 GMT -5
Subcommander T'Pol seemed to be doing very little, even just watching the stars fly by in the viewport. To most people, the uneventful bridge shift might seem tedious, boring in the extreme with very little happening in the way of action. T'Pol's gaze, though, was constantly moving, surveying the nearest console readings, checking on the other officers, and generally keeping things well under control.
She glanced only briefly in Malcolm's direction as he quietly entered the bridge and sent the on-duty officer off-duty. As usual, the Vulcan acknowledged him with the tiniest of nods before turning back to the console, her eyes skimming rapidly over the latest readings, which should have all signalled the equivalent of "status -- normal."
They didn't.
Knowing she need not double-check that she had read the systems correctly, T'Pol quickly stood up, though not rapidly enough to alarm the rest of the bridge crew present. Though a Vulcan, she was experienced enough with human nature by now to realize that a show of sudden concern over the readings would provoke not only questions, but also emotional complications on the part of the others on duty. Her features cool and expressionless as always, the subcommander rounded another one of the consoles and deftly entered a few commands to bring up additional menus.
Something was quite definitely out of place within one of the systems. T'Pol turned her head slightly as she straightened, her eyes moving to Malcolm. "Lieutenant Reed," she called him over quietly.
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Post by Cpn. Reed on Jan 6, 2009 19:50:18 GMT -5
The Lieutenant tensed, his back snapping straight to regard T'pol. He stood and took the few steps necessary to cross to her station. His thoughts were already working in the background, dismissing subjects she was not likely to be bringing up, and refreshing himself on those that she was. "Subcommander?" he asked, lilt of his voice expressing his slight reservations about her calling, even at the low volume he kept his voice.
No one on the bridge had seemed to notice T'pol's speech, perhaps they were too engrossed in their tasks, or guessed from her tone and words that it was nothing they should be aware of. In any case, Reed was glad for it.
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Mae
Staff Officer
I don't want you to die. It's not necessary.
Posts: 20
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Post by Mae on Jan 7, 2009 15:31:05 GMT -5
T'Pol kept her tone soft as she explained. "Did you notice any discrepancies in these logs and readings earlier?" She indicated the console menu with one forefinger and pointed to the specific statistics that were, to say the least, faintly odd.
"It appears that some of these logs have been tampered with in some way. Information has been overwritten." The Subcommander watched Lieutenant Reed expressionlessly, as she did with everything. A quick glance at the rest of the bridge crew assured her that they were not overly interested in the low-volume conversation. "Unfortunately, the culprit appears to have been quite skilled; I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to trace the alterations to their source."
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Post by Cpn. Reed on Jan 7, 2009 19:01:34 GMT -5
Reed was apparently concerned, and he leaned in slightly to look at the menus the Subcommander had pulled up. "I- I hadn't noticed, actually." He seemed slightly lost, as he continued. "How did you find this? I should have seen it..." Malcolm trailed off, fighting the urge to profusely apologize, a habit that Captain Archer had been steadfastly trying to break him of.
After a last look at the console, Reed was back over at his station, and pulling up the same logs himself. He sighed. This might take a little while to fully deal with and get past, especially with T'pol trying to get to the bottom of it. In the background, he ran his routine processes, but kept looking at the logs, seeing where the supposed 'intruder' had gone wrong.
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Post by Cmdr. Tucker on Jan 25, 2009 17:02:03 GMT -5
Having been left to his own thoughts by Malcolm's departure, Trip allowed himself ten minutes of simply sitting and mulling over whatever happened to flit through his admittedly drained mind, before the simple urge to do something, anything,, took over. An engineer just couldn't sit idly by and allow a challenging difficulty get the better of him - it verged on the immoral for a person of Trip's mindset.
Stretching, he rose, disposed of his plate, passing by the tempting offer of a second helping on the pie, and strode over to the intercom. He had decided to take the tactical officer's advice and consult Subcommander T'Pol, though he didn't know if Malcolm's suggestion had actually been in earnest.
"Tucker to T'Pol."
(I dunno if he should "call" T'Pol or the bridge in general, so I just went with T'Pol.)
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Mae
Staff Officer
I don't want you to die. It's not necessary.
Posts: 20
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Post by Mae on Jan 27, 2009 18:21:55 GMT -5
Looking away from Reed, T'Pol pressed a switch on the console. "Go ahead, Commander."
While waiting for a reply, the Vulcan glanced once again back at Malcolm, and then at the strange readings. The Lieutenant was correct -- he should have detected the alterations earlier. It was curious that he had not.
(Haha. Very short post. There's not much I can do, really. And a reminder that we are still waiting for the Captain!)
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Post by Cmdr. Tucker on Jan 27, 2009 20:47:59 GMT -5
"Did you or anyone on the bridge come across some abnormal readings? I'm askin' because this faulty conduit problem has me flummoxed. I thought maybe someone else had picked up something that my scans haven't shown."
Trip fell silent, waiting for the Vulcan's response. He could feel himself on edge, his mind tight and concentrated, his body tense as he shifted his weight back and forth with what he could only call anxious concern. He knew no one engineer could keep on top of every system on the ship, but still, anything that went wrong, no matter how minor an issue, he subconsciously perceived as a personal affront, as if Enterprise was daring to suggest machine could win out over man.
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Mae
Staff Officer
I don't want you to die. It's not necessary.
Posts: 20
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Post by Mae on Jan 27, 2009 21:35:22 GMT -5
T'Pol's eyes were skimming the readings as she replied. "Yes. I noticed the abnormalities only a few minutes ago when they appeared on recent scans." She paused for a moment, checking one of the entries. "I asked Lieutenant Reed, but he has also been unable to find an explanation. All we know is that it appears that someone had tampered with these logs. Data has been overwritten."
Her next decision was made quickly, and, of course, logically. "I am going to inform Captain Archer. Is there anything else I should tell him regarding the engineering troubles?"
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Post by Cmdr. Tucker on Jan 28, 2009 13:32:45 GMT -5
Trip shrugged, despite the fact that T'Pol would not see this action. "Status hasn't changed, but tell the cap'n I'll let him know if I get any further." He frowned. "I still don't see the connection between overwritten data entries and this thing with the conduits - doesn't seem like one should directly affect the other, unless it was details about the conduits that were overwritten. If you come across any sort of explanation, I'll be happy to listen."
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Mae
Staff Officer
I don't want you to die. It's not necessary.
Posts: 20
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Post by Mae on Jan 28, 2009 19:45:03 GMT -5
"I'm sure the Captain will inform you if any progress has been made." T'Pol waited for a bare second, and then added coolly, "T'Pol out."
Turning away from the console, the Vulcan nodded at Lieutenant Reed as she passed him on the way to talk with Archer. "I'm going to speak with the Captain. Let me know if there are any changes in our status." She directed a curt nod in his direction.
After handing the bridge over to Malcolm, T'Pol strode over to the another side of the area, stopping at the door to Archer's ready room. She raised one long finger and pressed the switch on the left-hand side of the entrance to let the captain know that someone wished to speak with him.
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Christine
Advertising Team
Someone's had WAY too much fun with Photoshop.
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Post by Christine on Jan 28, 2009 20:01:59 GMT -5
Captain Jonathan Archer knew something fishy had been going down lately.
As he was tapping through a few programs, double-checking various things on the computer database, something had seemed a little... off. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but he had a gut feeling something wasn't quite right.
Just this morning, he had been paging through a few recent logs and scans. Some of them, he knew, seemed to be in one way or another altered. He'd been working with this crew for quite a long while by now, and found it hard to believe that someone on board would overwrite information. The captain narrowed his eyes at the screen, making a mental note to ask T'Pol if she'd noticed anything unusual lately...
A small beeping noise took him out of his thoughts, and Archer closed down the window on the computer. Now who could that be? he thought, standing to face the door. "Enter," he stated simply.
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Mae
Staff Officer
I don't want you to die. It's not necessary.
Posts: 20
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Post by Mae on Jan 30, 2009 17:30:32 GMT -5
Upon hearing Archer's permission, T'Pol casually pressed the nearby button, and the door slipd open with a light hiss. She walked in slowly, her form straight, almost rigid, and her hands clasped behind her as they usually were when she was making a report. She directed a brief nod at the captain before speaking.
"Sensors have been picking up some unusal readings within the ship, Captain," the sub-commander stated with her usual crisp, cool tone. "The latest scans show that there are discrepancies in some of the logs, and it appears that someone within Enterprise has altered the data somewhat. Other, previous information has been overwritten." T'Pol's expression changed the tiniest bit, so slight that it was barely noticeable. "So far I have not been able to identify the source of the changes or what data has been altered."
With the conclusion of the report, the Vulcan centered her gaze on Archer and waited for a reply. She noted that he was looking tired and rather agitated.
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Christine
Advertising Team
Someone's had WAY too much fun with Photoshop.
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Post by Christine on Jan 30, 2009 23:38:23 GMT -5
He tilted his head ever-so-slightly as the Vulcan first officer entered in, as cool and regal as ever. However, Jonathan knew it had to be of some significance that she had walked all the way down here instead of just calling him down to the bridge… That certainly would have been more efficient, at least in most cases.
He listened carefully as T’Pol reported on some of the very same things he’d just been looking into himself. This was clearly something that was affecting the entire ship, and not just some computer malfunction that just happened in this room. Then again, I should’ve suspected that she’d be the first one to spot anything unusual… he thought.
Pausing to make sure she’d finished speaking, Archer replied, “That’s interesting. I noticed some things… a little out-of-place as well as I was reviewing some logs and programs.” He gave a small gesture to the computer he’d just been seated at. Inclining his head a bit, he added, “…Who else is aware of these… alterations? There's a small possibility there could be a connection the issues with the conduits Trip says he's been having lately."
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Mae
Staff Officer
I don't want you to die. It's not necessary.
Posts: 20
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Post by Mae on Feb 2, 2009 18:49:49 GMT -5
"Commander Tucker sought to bring the matter to my attention only a few minutes ago," T'Pol replied, looking at him politely, "but I had already noticed the discrepancies." She shifted position ever so slightly before continuing, "I did ask Lieutenant Reed about the issue, but he doesn't seem to have any ideas about what's causing it."
Still standing to attention, the Vulcan directed a rather inquiring look at her captain. If even he had no idea what, or who, was creating the abnormalities within the system, as well as the tactical officer and chief engineer, something was seriously wrong.
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