And Here Is A Part

Posted on Wed Dec 27th, 2017 @ 12:10pm by Lieutenant Renee Salchin & Warrant Officer Koh Otassu

Mission: https://wellington.pegasusfleet.site/index.php/sim/missions/id/4

Renee grinned as she carried a smaller box back into the fighter bay and towards the Blink ship. She'd sent the message to Ensign Koh to meet her there and she wondered if she would arrive first. Ginning this thing up had been easier than she'd imagined, but it was how to get the damned thing to interface within the ship that was the trick. Yes, she could have the interface on the STARSHIP side of things, but then what if Koh needed to go to another ship? Then he'd need it there and if it were separate from the Blink ship, he might forget it back on the Wellington! So end result, an interface into the energy filter that would mate with both Dalacari AND Federation power systems in an aerodynamic and sexy look.

Koh would be there just a little after she arrived. Oddest thing, the hallways of this craft were in no way laid out in a manner that the pilot found 'intuitive'. "Sorry if I kept you waiting." he called out, seeing her by his craft, "Do you know how many lefts there are on this ship?" he tossed the question to her as he closed the distance, "Did you know, the Dalacari have a carpet that changes color when a certain electrical impulse is run through it? Ask the station where to go, and then follow the line." he mentioned with a chuckle.

"So summoned, thus I arrive." he said, with a small amount of ceremony behind the phrase. "How can I help?"

Renee's smile was huge as she held the box in hoth hands, it was on the medium size with a bow on top, "I have a present for you!" She bubbled, "But no, it isn't an easy way around the ship, but that is a good idea, ya know.."

He accepted the box with a quizzical look, "And here I didn't get you anything." he commented, looking at the box. "Pretty bow, though." The Ts'usugi gave a glance around, as though he were to be beset upon by some form of hidden party goers. No matter what corner of the cosmos you were from, it seemed, there was the idea of the surprise party.

Once he was certain that he was safe from some guerrilla celebration, he turned his attention back to the box. "I suppose I should open this now then." he said with a smirk, as he unwrapped the gift. Civilized beings, yes, but tearing apart the paper was part of the fun!

Renee grinned as he tore the paper and opened it. Inside, perfectly matching the onternal sheen of his engine, was a sleek curved piece that would look as if it belonged to the engine rather than as an adjunct to it, "It will actually replace the Dalacari part and has that filter installed in the very design of this, with mating features for both Dalacari and Federation charging point and can be modified to accept other sources in an emergency, the activation panel is right there."She piinted at one of the barely visible seams on the piece.

The rabbit looked the piece over once or twice, then looked at the fighter, then back to the piece, then back to the fighter. "Oh wow, this... this is really a work of art." he looked it over again, "An internal piece too, won't throw off the silouette. Plus it's light. Well relatively light, which means the I.N. won't yell too loud at me next time I fire up the craft. I'll just have to remember to make the update as a permanent one." he paused, and then chuckled.

"The I.N. is the Inertial Nullifier. It's a component of the engine. It monitors the mass and weight of the craft almost in real time so that when the Blink Drive is activated, it knows how much mass it needs to deal with to counteract and then invalidate inertial reaction. I'd say 'It's the thing that keeps me from hitting my cockpit screen at point eight seven light', but I don't think I lost you there at all." he chuckled. "This is excellent, thank you."

That hot Renee's mind whirring. He'd said Nullifier rather than compensator, which meant it took the inertia away instead of countering it. Oh yes, she was going to have to go over the specs and this fighter in minute details, it would be fun! "No poblem..." She said quietly, then looked at him with curious eyes, "It's the point that it isn't a compensator as to why the shipnwouldn't be capable of going inti warp, outside the engines of course, right? And I see there's not enough volume to add one in somewhere, either..."

"Blink craft don't have Dark drives because they're too big." he mentioned it, like it was obvious. "The drives, I mean. Dark Reactors are big. Commercial craft are pretty much relegated to just Blink tech and if they need to go someplace far away, then they meet up with a Dark Ship and dock. Dark ships have compensators for inertia, let's them maneuver and not sheer themselves in half but any craft with a Blink drive *also* has a nullifier. They kinda go hand in hand."

"See, that's kinda why the fighters didn't get Dark drives. Too small, and there wasn't a pressing need. If a fighter needs to go someplace that far, they just meet up with their carrier group. Though, if one gets left behind, we've got protocols for that." he said, a grim edge to his voice. "Now, before you ask, I'm not allowed to discuss the topic of Dark Drives beyond the fact that they exist, and they're what propel Ts'usugi craft faster than light." he started, staving off any questions. "Home likes to keep things quiet, keep folks guessing. I know, it's borderline unfair. Just a fact at the moment."

Renee smiled, "It's like that I know of some things that I can't share with you or the other Ts'usugi or Dalacari. If you ever DO get to spill the beans on a Dark drive, you'll let me know firat?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

His entire expression darkened, and he leaned in with a glare in his eyes that just turned his entire silhouette sinister. There was no gleam in those eyes. No reflection. Nothing but deep, ancient pits...

"Who told you there were beans involved?"

And then he just smiled and chuckled, breaking the tension. "Apologies. If it's up to me where and when, I'll make certain you're there."

The eyes had originally seemed to promise her doom at her wheedling, then went away. "Thanks." She squeaked, then got herself under control, "And of course, if there is anything I can help with..."

He blinked, and took a half-step back, "Oh, ummm, I didn't really mean to startle you. I apologize." he started, and then turned to look at his fighter. "I have a feeling that you're going to be pretty much my go-to for this trip. I mean, haven't really had a chance to talk to any other engineers, and you didn't run off screaming 'talk to so-and-so, they're the expert' so... I think we're in this together." he chuckled. "Good to know she's in good hands."

"When it comes to new and exciting technology, I'm the closest thing to an expert on board there is." She grinned widely, "So I'm not going to go pointing at someone else, unless it's you." Her eyes glittered, "And I love new stuff, especially new technology. Pretty good at it myself."

"Well then lucky me for bumping into you when I was sent to Engineering and Primary Reactor. Oh wait, Federation only use one. Sorry, I'm so used to serving with Dalacari. They actually have a dual reactor design. Of course, they're Dalacari, so they have two of everything." he chuckled. "My grandfather always used to be cautious around them, used to tell us that Dalacari have two of everything, including agendas. Though our alliance with them was a lot younger during his youth and service. So it made sense for him to be a little more cautious." he shook his head, "Amazing how all it takes to change our views is time."

"Sorry, got a bit philosophical there. Personally I'm curious about your designs. How do you fit a Dark drive into a ship so small?" he motioned to one of the Federation fighters, "Then I remember you don't use Dark drives, you figured it out another way." he chuckled again. "Crafty."

"Yeah..." Her eyes glazed over, then she shook her head hard, "Sorry, daydreaming about something. But I can answer a lot of the questions you might have, but the REAL design pros that I know are back in the Sol system, but I do dabble a bit in it here and there. I'm more of a general troubleshooter for problems that we have on test-projects and general engineering and theory crafting. But do you have any questions I could answer now?"

He thought for a moment, "You know, I don't really know. I mean, there's tons of questions I *should* be asking probably, but I'm not quite sure HOW to go about asking, or even if I'm allowed to. I don't want to come across as stern with the whole 'asking you questions but not answering any' impasse that usually happens. So I guess for now I think we're good at least on the questions front. If something pops up I'll ask you, and if it's a question you can answer, then we'll go from there."

"Though, what I *AM* allowed to answer, are any questions about the Blink Fighter.... and maybe some about home. But more likely, the fighter." he gave a smirk.

Then the smirk died, "I actually have one question. It's about the Federation, and it might not be something you can answer. When you join the Federation, do they make you... give up stuff? Like, about your history, your society? Cause I noticed there's a lot of races that are different looking, but all a part of the same Federation. Do they make you give up traditions? Holidays? Observances? Cause they really can't just openly observe so many, can they?"

"Of course we can!" Renee bubbled, "That's one thing about the Federation we have a lot of everything and everyone has something. I personally don't really have any holidays that I'm really inclined to celebrate, but I know someone who is a strict Roman Catholic and he takes several a year, attends mass every Sunday and no one has a problem with it at any time. Another is a Buddhist, a Zorastrian, even a Wiccan on Titan base. We're just a hodge-podge and everyone is welcome." She smiled, "So nope, no giving up the anything."

This seemed to lighten his spirits, "That's good to know. One of the things that concerns the higher stations most with the prospect of an alliance is the prospect of having to abandon what we are and what we came from. It worries them that the Federation would offer them safety and resources, but in exchange make demands like abolishing the empire, or denouncing our faith."

"It's a relief that that's not the case."

"There's a lot to learn about the Federation, then." Renee nodded, "But unfortunately, I need to get back to engineering, or else they'll think I decided to take a siesta and got nothing done." She chuckled, "But I am certain I'll hunt you down again once I have a chance to look over those specs and have nore questions!"

"We've been keeping tabs on you from the moment your Voyager craft came on our sensor nets. We kept our distance, and tried to keep the heavier and less friendly politics off her back." he mentioned. "As for hunting me down, I'm the only son of Ts'usu on this craft. Shouldn't be too hard to find me." he chuckled.

"And it's easy to tell you apart from the daughter of Ts'usu, too!" Renee laughed as well, "Ciao!"

===============

Ens. Koh "Ghost" Otassu
Fighter Pilot
USS Wellington

Lieutenant "Ooo, Shiny" Salchin
R&D Engineer
USS Wellington