Getting Permission

Posted on Sun Nov 27th, 2011 @ 3:46pm by Captain Liarra Von & Captain Alexander Gunning

Mission: The Pak'Leth Problem
Location: Starbase 332 - Commander's Office

[ON]

The station was spacious. Almost too spacious, at least in Valerie's opinion. Granted, the interior of her baby was designed like a luxury liner compared to similar ships her size. After all, the Vesta was state-of-the-art in almost every way. Still, this station seemed to have so much wasted space. As a starship engineer, she learned that space was often a premium. Equipment had to take up a little space as possible to give more space for the crew. Starbase 332 on the other hand didn't need to save space. It was just built to be bigger. This meant that the corridors were huge, the quarters were huge, even main operations was large enough to park a runabout in. It would have made for an interesting work environment, but her mind was really on more important things; the test that will make or break her career. Strangely, Commodore Quinn next to her didn't seem to be that worried. Then again, she'd be on the station. She had enough problems to worry about, such as convincing the station commander that this test won't be dangerous. Frankly, Valerie thought her job was going to be easier.

The Rear Admiral sat in quiet contemplation, a cup of tea stoically cooling beside him. There was no question of him touching it again, but there it remained. Staunch, unflinching in its goal of losing its temperature.

Gunning's comm chirped. "Von to Admiral Gunning. I have Commodore Quinn and Commander Palmer her to see you," the voice of his second officer reported.

"Send them on in, Liarra." Gunning replied with the overly informal tone of a man just snapped from his thought process by a loud chirrup.

Quinn led the way into the station commander's office through the large sliding doors. "Admiral Gunning, I presume. I'm Commodore Quinn from Research and Development. This is Commander Palmer."

Valerie extends her hand to the Admiral. "It is a pleasure to meet you sir."

Gunning nodded to the woman as he took her outstretched hand. "It's all mine, Commander. I hear you're about to put Galactic South on the map."

"That's the plan, at least," the Commander replied.

Quinn nodded. "Test flights on the testbed systems have been successful, but that was on a small scale. The Vesta is the first fully functional starship to be slipstream ready. You should be proud, Admiral, that your backyard was selected for this test flight."

The Admiral looked across the desk at the two women. While it was a bonus to have the Vesta carrying out her first flight at the Starbase, he felt that it was no reflection on the station itself, it was more an issue of practicality. He nodded.

"It's going to put the entire region on the map, that's for sure."

"The test plan is pretty simple, Admiral," the Commodore continued. "The Vesta will disembark from the station and head out to about 20 lightyears into open space. We'll begin the slipstream test flight from there. The flight plan should take us due galactic south to test stability. We'll do some course correction while in the slipstream from there to test the ability to maneuver, and finally fly around in circles for an engine stress test. These are pretty standard procedures. The only thing not standard is the type of drive system."

Gunning nodded, "I assume you have some idea of your chances of success?"

Quinn nodded in response. "Well, nothing is certain when it comes to engineering, Admiral. We've run countless simulations based on the testbed results, but the most reliable percentage we can give is 85%, accounting for standard error."

"That's fairly good. If I remember the initial slipstream tests, they were running at a little less than 40% for much of it. It's to be commended." The Admiral said, taking a note of the information he'd just been given. It didn't hurt to know as much as possible about the ships that were passing through.

"I won't lie, there were some near misses on the testbed ships. I think we've worked most of the bugs out of the system though. We have a very talented engineering staff on board, including her captain," Quinn replied, gesturing to the blonde woman to her right.

Valerie wasn't entirely comfortable during this meeting. She kept fidgeting in her seat. While she did work closely with Quinn during the development of the Vesta, that was before she had been promoted. Valerie never really liked meeting with the brass.

"You all right, Commander?" Gunning asked, noticing the woman's discomfort, "Not getting cold feet I hope."

Palmer sat up a little straighter in her seat, surprised at the sudden question her way. "Not at all, sir. It's just that I'm far more comfortable in an engine room than I am meeting with the Admiralty." She paused a moment, not really sure if she should have said what she just said. "I'm just a little anxious to get underway," she added, hoping that she didn't just insult Admiral Gunning with her comment.

"Well, with that in mind, I won't keep you from your preparations. I imagine you have a lot to accomplish." Gunning said, offering his hand towards the door. "Good luck out there, Commander."

"Thank you, sir," Palmer replied as she rose from her seat. "I'll take all the luck we can get." With a nod, she took moved to the door, leaving Quinn and Gunning to complete the rest of their business. She still had a lot of work to do, but she couldn't have been any more excited.

[OFF]

----------------------------
Admiral Alex Gunning
Commanding Officer
Starbase 332

Commodore Emily Quinn (played by Cmd. Von)
Director of Research and Development
Eleventh Fleet

Commander Valerie Palmer (played by Cmd. Von)
Commanding Officer
USS Vesta