Magnetic Plasma Attraction
Posted on Fri Jan 10th, 2025 @ 11:14am by Lieutenant Kolok & Ensign Millicent Ambrose
Edited on on Wed Jan 15th, 2025 @ 11:16pm
1,768 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Episode 16 - Silent Cries
Location: Deck 6 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD002 2100 hrs
It was in the mind of Millie to have a look at the Operations level. Connor had told her about having to work there due to a punishment, she thought hadn't gone to have a look for herself. Millie didn't have the confidence to do so, plus she had gotten caught up in making repairs on the ship. Now though she felt more confident in exploring the area on Deck Six. The mysterious operations.
The door swished open quietly, and Millie stepped inside, taking a glance at what she could see.
Kolok heard the exterior doors open from this office. He had a habit of making sure that the door to his office was always open. It was a remnant of his time on the Iowa, where the Captain had an "open door policy." Kolok thought it was a fine idea. He waited to hear someone and when he didn't he got up and walked to the door. He saw the young woman, dressed in the mustard color of ops and engineering, wearing an Ensign's rank.
"Can I help you, Ensign?" Kolok said in his low, rumbling voice.
Millie's first impression of the Chief of Ops was his broad chest then tilting her head back she saw his face. He was rather tall, "Uh, I-I've not come to operations before and decided to venture into this area. I am Ensign Millie Ambrose. What is your name, sir?" her eyes big and round. She hadn't had too much contact with the Klingon race, she found them interesting though.
Kolok smiled. "I am Lieutenant Kolok. I am the new Chief Operations Officer on the Pioneer. I just transferred in from the USS Iowa. And what is your position on the ship, Ensign Ambrose?" Kolok thought the Ensign looked a little surprised to see him.
"I am in engineering, Sir. I've been on the Pioneer for about..." Millie paused as she calculated in her mind, "just over a month so I'm relatively new myself. And I hadn't had the chance to explore the ship much. I figured that since we're here at Empok Nor, I'd take a look around."
"A fellow newcomer then," Kolok said. "Are you fresh from the academy then or is this your second posting?" His eyes flicked to the large display he'd set up immediately upon taking up his duties. He had them set to show the different sections of the ship, their power draw, and computer usage. He also had programmed a series of escalating alerts.
"Second posting, however, this is my first posting on a ship." Miliie's eyes were drawn to what Kolok had set up. "I like that display you have set up." She couldn't help herself from looking at it. "Have you had any chance at having shore leave? Or did you get right to work?" checking out the readings that were displayed.
"I do not take shore leave, generally. Unless the Captain orders me to. Yes, that display is something I have developed over time. I find it is most efficient to have it prominently displayed. Problems can be detected earlier. Like this one," he said and moved to the display. He pointed out a rapidly fluctuating power surge near main engineering. "This is a concern. Are you familiar with these jeffries tubes here and here?" He asked, tapping on the screen.
"Yes, i am." Millie frowned. "That needs to be taken care of. I and several others have been working on repairing the damage that had taken place in the Nebula we had been inside. Earlier I had been working on the EPS on Deck Five." Millie looked up at Kolok.
Kolok nodded. He turned and picked up his satchel from behind the Ops duty desk and slung it over his chest. He'd long ago learned that having the right tools on him was the key to success as an Ops officer.
"Come with me, Ensign Ambrose," Kolok said and strode out of the office.
[Deck 6, Jeffries Tube Y-76]
Kolok's massive form was a tight fit in the passageway but he ignored the discomfort. He'd let Ensign Ambrose lead because she was more familiar with the network.
"Are we getting close to the damaged area?" Kolok asked as he squeezed by an EPS conduit.
Millie felt a sense of urgency in getting to where the problem was. It was on her deck that Elen had asked her to check on the anomalies that seemed to happen. This though was on Deck Six below her deck. They were nearing the area below where she had that fight with the hatchway."It's right ahead," Millie answered as they neared the area.
They turned a final corner and both officers stopped. Ahead the tunnel widened enough that two people could have stood shoulder to shoulder, or more likely, back to back as they worked. On both sides was a normal-looking EPS conduit and routing outflow exchanger. Each of the units was about the size of a large cargo container but attached to the wall.
What gave them both pause though, was the fact that an uncontrolled plasma leak was flowing between the two sides, something that should never happen. The passageway was awash in the light show caused by the turbulent flow of plasma.
"This is not ideal," Kolok said. He tapped his combadge. "This is Lieutenant Kolok to the bridge. Enact an emergency force field on my position, extending four meters in all directions. Lock down deck six."
"Understood Lieutenant," came the response.
Kolok looked at the Ensign. "We need to tame this beast before the plasma flow increases. Once it reaches the Maximiliam Flow Limit, we will be unable to contain it."
Milie's eyes went wide, this was more trouble than what she had dealt with on Deck Five. "Okay need magnetic fields to help corral this beast. And...let's begin."
Kolok reached into his satchel and pulled out two curved pieces of metal. "These are Hysen-Burke magnets. They are made for just this kind of situation. We need to place them on either side of this crossover. We have to get them aligned perfectly or else the plasma flow won't move how we need it to. Understand?" He asked and held out one half.
"I understand." Millie accepted the other half and moved to where she was in position. It was going to require precise movement and her mind became into focus as she awaited Kolok's signal. "Ready, Lieutenant," she announced.
Kolok moved to the opposite side. The heat from the arcing plasma cast a wave of heat over his face and he had to force himself not to flinch. He moved as close as he dared and then inched the curved metal towards the arc.
"Adjust yourself fifteen degrees and rotate your part 20 degrees," he yelled. Although the plasma itself was usually silent, the interaction with the atmosphere gave it a crackling sound effect.
Millie did as she was directed, she kept a peripheral view of Kolok, as she moved her magnet into place rotating it to 20 degrees. She caught the scent of some hair that was burnt, a stray piece that had gotten loose from her French braid. it would grow back. "Adjusting" she called back.
Kolok waited until the Ensign's piece was aligned before taking the next step. "Ok! I'm going to power the device on. There will be a negative plasma flux that will feel like someone is pushing you away. Stand strong! It should last about five seconds," Kolok yelled.
He waited for her to nod and then depressed the activation button on his half of the circle. A purple light radiated from it and a similarly colored beam shot out of it, crossed the passageway and connected to the other half. Kolok immediately felt a heavy pressure trying to drive him away. He gritted his teeth and dug in his feet. The purple radiance, mixed with the yellow-white glow of the plasma and cast an ominous hue on the jeffries tube.
Millie was grateful for the warning from Kolok and braced herself, it was something she hadn't experienced before except for a testing run in a holodeck long ago. That though didn't compare to the real thing. Five seconds, that was all that it would take was what Kolok said. Millie got to three seconds feeling her boots start to slip, the pressure was like being caught by raging waters. "Oh no- you don't!" she growled out, putting her back into it, only two more seconds! She could feel her arms and legs start to quiver with the effort. Just hold on!
Kolok felt the sweat pouring off of his face, dripping down onto his also-soaked uniform. He could see Ensign Ambrose leaning into the force of the repelling field.
And then it was all gone. There was a soft whooshing sound as the device came fully online, sealing the plasma leak at its source. Kolik disconnected his side and walked over to the Ensign.
"You did very well, Ensign," he said in his low rumbling voice. "I am impressed."
Millie almost fell to the floor when the raging pressure had stopped suddenly. She grasped the wall to steady herself, not wanting to fall. Her hair was plastered against her scalp, and Milie felt like she had been dunked in water. Millie gave a tired smile, "Thank you, Lieutenant." With a shaky hand, she removed the magnet from where it was placed, almost dropping it in the process handing it back to Kolok.
Kolok nodded. "Klingons believe that there is nothing better than a good battle. I agree. The difference is that I understand there are different kinds of battles. You and I battled this," he said, gesturing to the EPS conduits. "And we were victorious! Now we must drink." And with that, Kolok stomped off down the passage, slinging his satchel over his shoulder.
This intrigued Millie and she liked the perspective that the Klingon Lieutenant had when it came to battles. "Aye sir! The sweet taste of victory!" her voice filled with glee, quickly following after Kolok. He was right this was a battle, to keep the ship alive and Millie felt happy it was accomplished. Who knows she will get to know more about the Klingon culture from Lieutenant Kolok.
A Joint Post By
Ensign Millicent Ambrose
Engineering Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Kolok
Chief Operations Officer, USS Pioneer
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