Design Changes
Posted on 18 Aug 2023 @ 9:30pm by Commander Calliope Zahn & Command Master Chief Tāne HaiRoa
Edited on on 06 Feb 2024 @ 10:11pm
Mission:
M4 - Falling Out
Timeline: M4 D1, afternoon, immediately following "Reconnecting"
1338 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure
Leading the way in HaiRoa introduced the team who were clustered around the robot. What had been an inoperative pile of grubby brown soot covered junk was now a brutally dangerous looking combat machine. Painted in a medium gray color, crossed with a series of geometric lines in lighter and darker grays in a disruptive camouflage pattern. On the right chest in small red letters, was Proud Mary
“Commander Zahn, may I present Lieutenant Rebecca Sopwith, our chief robotics engineer and team leader” HaiRoa started the introductions.
The trio stopped work and came over. “Ensign Kelta Vax” he indicated the Trill “Mechanical Engineering. And Petty Officer Ian O’Halloran, who like all good eNCeeOhs, does most of the work around here, when he’s not putting out fires.
Calliope shook hands all around, coming to Sopwith last.
“Good afternoon Commander,” Sopwith offered a hand, then noticed it was grease smeared and wiped it off on her lab coat, before holding it out again. “We kept all your parts safe.” She pointed over her shoulder, there was a neat stack of parts bins and containers against the wall of the lab.
Calliope paused, head tilted. She had thought all her evidence would have been lost. But with the parts she had extracted remaining as she left them, there was still the possibility of tracking down the people who had appropriated the bot and been party to the attack on the station.
“Thank you. Very much. I’ll be back to pick those up later today.”
“You need anything else?” Sopwith offered “We rewrote pretty much all of the Cardassian code, but we kept a copy of the original.”
“Yes, I’ll need that. And any of your early scans or schematics before you made your engineering changes on the chassis. Whatever you have.”
“We have that.” Vax puled a PaDD from his pocket. “You're wondering who converted it? It was some kind of mining machine originally we think, but it’s at least forty years old, if not older.”
“We did some background” Sopwith added. “The Cardassian company who built it originally stopped production during the Dominion War, they changed over to war-work and went out of business after the war when Cardassia went into decline.”
Calliope frowned. On the one hand that left few current traces. On the other. It meant a limited number of sales and the possibility of triangulating the resale if there had been a lot sold off. “Thanks. I’ll run through this.” She said, tapping the back of the padd.
The investigations she had been making had been pushed so far on the back burner of her mind that they’d gotten cold. She’d have to spend some time refamiliarizing herself with her own material. At least someone had been holding it for her.
It had been two weeks since she’d last looked at the robot, she thought to herself, staring at it. But it was a completely different animal now than when she had left it. Right down to a new paint job.
“Would you like to see what she can do, Commander?” O’Halloran offered.
“I was promised a show.”
Sopwith gave a smile, reached into her pocket and produced another PaDD, tapping in a couple of commands the robot came active. There was an audible hum that resonated through the air. The line of three sensors on the robot’s head glowed blue. With a whine of hydraulics and servo motors gears, the robot stood up. It straightened up, knees locking thighs extending, thorax and chest lifted, the shoulders flexed, elbows and arms swung outward, and the head lifted, turning to left and right. As it rose to its full ceiling-scarping three meters tall.
The two arms begun a series of movements. The right side, big grasping appendage, opened and closed, the long grasping fingers and knuckles worked one by one, then together. The hand simulating opening and grasping an object, then rotating left and right. Once the hand was tested, the entire arm moved, swinging forward and back, stretching out to the side, then upwards over head and down by the robot’s feet, before returning to its position at the robot’s side.
Simultaneously the left arm moved, three, two-meter-long talons, tipped duralloy points. They swung open, independently, then together. The talons closed, then came to a point, moving forwards and back in a stabbing motion.
It walked forwards and back three paces, the big slab-feet clanking on the deck, then it crouched, taking a fighting stance and growled!
A throaty bass rumble amplified, with a healthy dose of statically rasp, that made your hair stand up and could be felt through the floor.
Calliope visually braced, her teeth gritted. “Did you teach it a haka?” She shouted to HaiRoa.
“Not yet but now I’m going to! He grinned back, pleased to see her demeanor had lifted from earlier.
As they were finishing up HaiRoa approached Sopwith and mentioned the Korin delegates. “What’s the chance we could provide them with some kind of mobility options, that doesn't involve hobbling around on flippers, convert a couple anti-grave sleds maybe?”
Sopwith looked to O’Halloran “Chief?”
“That’s possible. What size are these amphibians Commander?” He asked Zahn, holding his hands up head-high and body-wide “Like us? Would they fit on a regular sled?”
“Taller than the average humans by a couple of feet. They have spines on their backs, so an open top would be best. Wide, webbed limbs. They can stand on the back flippers like feet, but it’s not comfortable for them. They seem to prefer lying on their stomachs when they’re out of the water. Chairs seem uncomfortable to them.”
“Could they use a control PaDD if we rigged one up, would they need big buttons or anything?”
“Their hands are four fingered, two and two opposing fingers on each, in case you can design their own driving controls or grips for the sled.”
“They need like a tank or water spray, anything like that?” O’Halloran asked.
“They’re wearing aquatic face masks when they’re outside of their own habitat.” Calliope explained. “I’d worry that a tank would just make them feel like they’re in a fishbowl, looking out. But a salt water mist might help them be more comfortable.”
O’Halloran listened, noting the details. “So if we use a regular sled, provide a platform for them to lay on, maybe five feet or so high, when it’s hovering, so they are at normal sort of vision level to interact with others. A simple touch pad, start, stop, raise, lower, left, right, forward and back, set it to a walking pace speed. “
“Then under the platform we would have room for a water tank and a misting spray,” Vax added.
“You need two right?” Sopwith confirmed.
“Yes, but maybe they could also be linked to form a double one when they prefer? If that doesn’t complicate the design.” Calliope imagined it would only involve a latching system and a control switch.
“Yeah we can have them dock together, side-by-side.” Vax nodded. “Make one so it can control both.”
“Give us four hours, we’ll have what you need,” Sopwith said confidently. “We can curve the platform sides up too, so they don’t roll off.”
“Let me know when they’re ready.” Calliope had it in mind to postpone the next leg of the tour until the sleds were ready, imagining Uanika and T’orpeo would enjoy exploring the promenade more without the pain of awkwardly walking across it.
“Will do Commander.” Sopwith nodded. O’Halloran and Vax were already headed over to the workstation and bringing up a design program to start designing components for the industrial replicator to produce. “I’ll requisition a couple of sleds.”
HaiRoa nodded. “Thank you Lieutenant, knew we could count on you and the team.”
