Security Action Plan - Part Four
Posted on 10 Sep 2022 @ 1:44pm by Chief Deputy Marshal: Ridge Steiner - FMS & Lieutenant Commander Lance Quinn (*)
Edited on on 11 Oct 2022 @ 2:42pm
Mission:
M3 - Into the Deep
Location: USS Pathfinder
Timeline: MD 05. 19.20hrs
1493 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure
His final stop of the evening was Engineering. He entered the Main Engineering and a technician gave him directions to an internal control office. He made his way back there, there was a window from the room out on to the engineering space. A tall, thin, bearded Human male was in there, who matched the description he'd been given of Lieutenant Commander Lance Quinn, the missions Engineering and Technology Advisor, he was some kind of ship design expert and was here to evaluate the enemy's technology. Steiner had reasoned he would be the best equipped to help with producing a rail-gun.
He was also apparently the spouse of Calliope Zahn. The studious technician and the bubbly Orion, that's an interesting couple he mused to himself as he hit the chime.
There was no answer, so he tried it again. He glanced around, a passing Engineer saw him waiting and said "The Commander's in there, he gets a bit distracted sometimes, just keep trying"
For quite some time, Lance paid no attention to the chime. In his estimation, people often paged others out of sheer laziness before they'd gone to the effort of thinking through the matter themselves and it was as likely as not that whomever was standing around on the other side of the door had some pedantic question to which they would soon realize with a few moments reflection were hardly worth bothering him for.
But when the chime rang a second time, Lance spoke from the back of his throat. "Enter if you must." He didn't turn around to greet the intruder, still fixed on his figures.
"Good evening, Commander" He introduced himself, "Ridge Steiner, new Security... er.. Chief, I guess is the term."
"You 'guess?'" Lance intoned, still not turning to face this Ridge Steiner. If Steiner himself didn't know if he was the Security Chief, how should he be obliged to recognize him as such? There was some word about a change in the staff, but Lance had relegated such staffing matters to the large category he deemed "not-his-problem" assuming it would be properly clarified in the next staff meeting.
"Well yeah, I'm on secondment from the Marshal's Service, so I'm new to some of this stuff" Steiner tried with a grin but the Engineer remained focused away from him. He kept his cool and tried a more direct approach
"So, I'm looking for help with some plans to try and deal with any intruders, should we get boarded by the Pyrryx," he began "Do you have some time?"
"I suppose. It's not as if I'm concerned with anything truly *vital*" Lance turned around now, eyes dubious slits and his arms coming to rest crossed over his chest, as if to demand the would-be-security-chief should come to his point.
"Well that's good, thanks for finding me some time." Steiner smiled, not rising to the bait. He outlined some of the ideas they were working on.
"We're going to be reinforcing the access routes to vital areas of the ship, Engineering and Life support obviously come under those. We're looking at partially blockading the corridor outside, to restrict access, give us a chance to slow them down and concentrate fire on a smaller front. We've got plans for that already, but I'm open to any suggestions you have for hardening other areas?"
"I have already made my reccomendations for doubling the power to section force fields and for additional blast doors to be installed on secondary ingresses to the ships Engineering crew. Have you any other proposals?"
"Well, that's great," Steiner nodded thinking to himself Thanks for the heads up on that, not "Any chance you recommended some be fitted around the Bridge too?"
Lance waved, looking bored. He would hardly afford more protection for his workplace than his wife's. "I have already ordered it. What is it *you* are doing to improve the defense of the ship?"
"Look, there's not many in the Security department, this being a science ship, so we probably can't spare personnel to be on guard in here, but I can supply your people with weapons, if you can let me have numbers?"
"Ten in Engineering. Eleven, myself included," Lance said in clipped fashion. He saw little point himself in being armed when he was far more apt with the use of technology than weapons. Yet, he knew there were personnel in this department with more rounded training whom could make reasonable use of a phaser, even if they were subpar as engineers. That was the trouble with Starfleet. Often the organization encouraged Engineers to be defense trained, splitting their time and energies and wasting their potential, and yet many security grunts might barely able to order lunch from a replicator and no one was going around insisting they understand things of consequence concerning the technology their lives depended on daily...
"Ok I'll get eleven weapons and spare batteries dropped off" Steiner nodded. "In the mean time, could you look over these?"
Ridge handed over the PaDD with the electro-magnetic rail-gun designs.
"What's this?" Lance asked, lookng down his nose suspiciously, not reaching to accept it without explanation.
"We're working on several different concepts in the event our weapons aren't enough to get through the Pyrryx armor."
Lance took it from him. "In the event our weapons aren't enough?" He rolled his eyes. "Commander Zahn was supposed to have given Security the armor sample. We *know* our weapons are insufficient..."
"That's great too, but until you and all the other really smart people around here give me something that is sufficient, then the rest of us are trying to do the best we can..."
It had been a long day and Steiner was starting to lose patience with this guy. Gifted Engineer was one thing, being a jerk along with it was another.
"So do me a favor huh, take a look." He stared at the PaDD waiting for Quinn to open it.
"Let us see what you have." As if mollifying a child, Lance switched on the padd and began skimming. After a moment his face quirked. "Are you serious man? This... is medieval!"
"Yes, it is" Steiner nodded "We're calling it a Bodkin. Apparently, there is an industrial and technical replicator on board, any chance you and Science could build us a portable version of one of those?
Something that could propel a foot-long chromium hardened tungsten tipped rock-spike" he held his hands up "About inch and half diameter, weighs about eight pounds."
Lance dropped the specs on the workspace and leaned on the counter-edge with his fists. He was intrigued at the strange solution, but also critical. He spoke slowly at first.
"There is a chance this might be a significant stopping force against the Pyrryx." He admitted, his eyes fixed on the outline for a EM coil charging rifle cannon. "We *could* build it, of course. But you forget one important factor. Seeing as you're a Marshal, I will illuminate you. You're operating in *space*. Recall there is only a hull between yourself and the vast vacuum. Ballistic weapons are specifically graded within certain ratings aboard a space-faring vessel and this *clearly* would be outside of safety parameters. Should your bodkin miss your Pyrryxian mark and instead penetrate exterior hull, you may find breathing challenging. Or, as another option, should it strike one of the many conduits running through the bulkheads, you may find yourself torched to death by plasma."
"Tell you what," Steiner replied, leaning forward and matching Quinn's stance with his fists on the bench. "I'll get right on to the health and safety risk assessment, but in the meantime it would really help if you could work on making it accurate. Then me and the other rough kids from the back of the class will try not to slam one into anything delicate. Alright?"
"I don't prefer potentially taking ourselves out from within by mistake. I still feel the margin of error is too wide," Lance said, leveling his eyes with Steiner's. "However, in a boarding scenario, the potential benefit would seem to be the least worst option. So. Until another avenue presents itself, I shall task this to my assistant to begin production and testing. You may return tomorrow evening to evaluate the prototype."
"Right, because I doubt the Pyrryx are going to be at all worried about shooting holes in things" Steiner nodded, staring right back at Quinn. "And twenty four hours sounds good, thank you."
"Well then. If there's no other requests. I do have other matters to attend." Lance set the padd to one side and resumed his formulations at the terminal.
"Thank you Commander" Steiner left the man working, although he noticed he had already been discarded and made his way out.
He grined to himself as he walked back to the turbolift. Engineering genius... about as lovable as a grumpy Tellerite.
