Meeting the Boss

Posted on 23 Oct 2014 @ 5:10pm by Lieutenant JG Kalos Jang Ph.D. & Commander Norvi Stace
Edited on on 25 Oct 2014 @ 12:21am

1,625 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo: Deck 4 - CSO's Office
Timeline: MD 08: 1100 Hours

ON:

Still toting his PADD full of research ideas, half-formed work that he'd done both on Starfleet Academy and on his way out here from Earth, Kal found his way to the office of Lieutenant Norvi Stace. Deck 4 was where a lot of the science labs were, and he managed to catch a glimpse here or there. The facilities looked nice, not as robust as the labs back at Starfleet Academy, but that was just fine. He could change the world from the frontier. In fact, he'd prefer it.

Kal stopped outside of Stace's office door and crunched down the candy he was eating before he hit the door chime. He'd been chewing gum when he met his first CO back on Starfleet Academy and she never let him live it down. He hoped he'd make a better first impression this time. He checked his fly before the door opened, just to be sure.

Stace had already installed herself onto Starbase 84 and was relieved to return back to the ship to tidy up a few things before heading back again. The unfamiliar faces about the ship from the starbase's crew was a welcome sight. Coming up behind him, Stace stopped short of startling the lieutenant. She coughed quietly and stepped aside, her biosignature allowing the doors to her office to open automatically. "I don't think we've met," the Trill stated, holding out her hand to him as she passed him over the threshold and into her office. "Lieutenant Norvi Stace, Chief Science Officer."

Kal spun and tried not to look too surprised at the arrival of his senior officer. Realizing he'd been standing at the door like a dope, he shook his head and tried a smile that didn't look sheepish. "Lieutenant JG Kalos Jang," he said, following Norvi into her office. "I'm your new nanoengineer."

"Well come on in," she said, a little bit more jovially and loudly than she'd anticipated. "I thought that you might have been part of the resupply crew. However, my home is your home!" She rounded her desk, placing her hand down on its smooth surface to pivot on, and then stood up before him, getting a good look. "Can I offer you a drink, Lieutenant? Please, take a seat."

The enthusiasm took him by surprise, but he sat down all the same. Maybe she was just an enthusiastic type of person. "Thanks, I'll take a hot chocolate." As he settled in and she worked the replicator, he looked around the office, trying to get a feel for his new boss. It was a nice enough space, and he wondered if that would carry over to the rest of the department. "I've never served on a ship before," he admitted. "I'm looking forward to seeing what the lab facilities are like here."

"It's not all that different," Stace comforted genuinely. "I mean, sure. You can't just up and leave and walk around space when you feel like it, and the faces become a lot more familiar a lot faster, but the mechanics are still the same: People, personalities, ideas and structure. I just think that flying among the stars adds a little more exciting to the daily grind." She now smiled widely at him. "I'm sure that you;ll get used to way we do things around here. But..." she added, a twinkle now in her eye, "our laboratory facilities are next to none. Still top of the line and we're about to install a prototype deflector."

"I'll take top of the line any day," he said. He was glad to hear it. Kal put the PADD containing his research ideas on her desk. "Back at the Academy, I was under pretty strict mandates for my work. But I haven't let my imagination go to waste. In my spare time, I've been working up a few different applications for my work. I think I can work on and field test any of these, during my time on the Galileo, provided a certain degree of autonomy. Of course, I understand you might have priorities during missions and all that, but I wanted to get these out there."

"Naturally," Stace began with, a smile now washing across her features, "we all have responsibilities to do with general ship duties and the mission in hand. But we are a science vessel. And any time you have spare, you are more than welcome to divulge in your own projects. You have your commission to thank for that. Lieutenant Pendleton is Chief Research Officer on board so anything that you need, you can go through him."

Stace interlaced her fingers on the desk in front of her and leant a little forward. It had been a while since we had met new crew; ones that she was unsure of and unfamiliar with. But his spark of enthusiasm comforted her. "What projects are you working on, Lieutenant?"

Kal smiled, pleased to be asked. "Well, I've been thinking about that. I've broken them down a bit. I have ideas with military applications, medical, operational and engineering. The one that I think I can make progress on and get to fabrication the fastest is this one." Kal pressed a few buttons on his PADD and slid it back across to Stace. "Now, I've had this idea in my head for a long time. Our uniforms offer little basic protection up front. Don't get me wrong, basic black will never go out of style, but we can do more."

Pressing a button to show some initial designs, he said, "I'm looking into developing a system of nanomachines that can be incorporated into our uniforms. One layer would be a thin mesh with slight energy and kinetic absorbing capabilities. That's basic armor tech; we use a bulkier, sturdier version for combat troops as it is, and we've been developing a more flexible variation for a long time. This would be thinner, more comfortable, less robust, but still allow us more protection than we have now. Then that mesh would be sprayed down with nanomachines, small little buggers that can form a layer over the armor mesh. I think I can create a machine that can absorb certain levels of weaponized energy. If somebody's trying to disintegrate you, they probably still will, but you could theoretically function after being hit with a stun shot, turn a low-level killing shot into a stun, and so on. It's not perfect, but it'll provide away teams who encounter surprise resistance a better chance at survival. With a few more tweaks, maybe I could even incorporate health monitoring systems. Keep track of vital signs and update the information to medical and science tricorders. That way, if somebody gets hurt and can't call for help, we could have a means of getting to them quickly, although that technology will need medical involved. That's to start." He took a drink of hot chocolate, which was lukewarm after his long speech, but still good.

Stace picked up the PaDD and cast her professional eye over it. In theory, this was actually a sound and applicable theory. As her previous captain would state, 'this had legs to it'. And it did make her wonder how Starfleet had neglected this technology since its invention and the return of the lost ship of the Delta Quadrant harbouring their Borg acquisition. In the previous ten years its development had forged forth. "We do work in hazardous environments, both on and off ship so an additional layer of protection seems apt. Submit it to Mr. Pendleton for his thoughts but I'm impressed."

"Thanks, Lieutenant," Kal said, taking the PADD back from Stace. "I can get started ASAP. I understand we're on shore leave, but to be honest I've been stuck on Earth the last few years. I'd rather stay onboard and start digging into my work."

Stace quickly and silently powered up her console to her left and then haphazardly typed in a few commands. "I've just cleared your security transfer and you are now authorised to use the labs on board. With the on-going resupply and refit, I'll contact you when you'll need to vacate them to allow the starbase and engineers do their work."

"I'll get started right away, then," Kal said. He set his now-empty cup down, having difficulty containing himself. It didn't occur to him that technically he should wait until he was dismissed. "If everything goes well, I hope I can fabricate a prototype on the armor within the next six months. Oh, one thing. Do I share the lab with a partner or am I clear on my own? I listen to a lot of music when I work."

"We're a science vessel, Mr. Jang. We're not short on lab space." The glint in her eye and a jovial raise of her brow indicated her jest. "Depending on what project you're working on, you'll be assigned a space. Sometimes you'll have to share and sometimes not. But during your research allocation, you can find a space somewhere and settle down. You can also request certain labs for certain projects. There won't be a problem, I'm sure."

She looked over to him and was caught in the gravity of his enthusiasm. It was refreshing, she thought, to have such keen, young blood in the department again.

"If there's nothing else, Lieutenant, then you're dismissed."

Kal opened his mouth for a second in surprise, then nodded. "Right, yes. Thank you." He was out the door right away, PADD in hand, looking to get everything else taken care of so he could start as soon as possible.

OFF:

Lieutenant Norvi Stace
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Kalos Jang
Nanoengineer
USS Galileo

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