Up to Spec Part I: The Montreal
Posted on Mon Jul 6th, 2015 @ 7:28am by Commander Jordan Gunning & Lieutenant Commander Le Austin
Edited on on Sun Jul 12th, 2015 @ 3:35pm
Mission:
The Wainwright's Cadets
Location: USS Montreal - Main Engineering
Timeline: Before 'The Wainwright's Cadets'
Austin sat perched on a scaffolding around the warp core, tinkering with a power relay. His crew on the Montreal had pretty well stopped asking what he was doing since he came back from the Starbase. All but one new ensign fresh out of academy, "No, Ensign Todd, 98.6% efficiency isn't good enough. Not when we can get it running at 99 or higher," Austin was explaining - again - "I kept SB332," He turned around from his work to look significantly at his ensign below, "A starbase running at 99.9% efficiency most of the time."
"But 98% is the operational standard from Starfleet," the Ensign argued.
"Standard doesn't mean that's where we're shooting for. Always shoot for better than standard, Todd. Keep everything running is only half of our job. Keeping it running well... that's the other half!" Austin said, turning back to work.
"Austin!" The voice of the Officer in Command, Jordan Gunning, came ringing through main engineering. "How are you getting on with my ship?"
Austin swung down from the scaffolding with a surprising amount of dexterity, and landed in front of the warp core, giving the CO and sharp salute as he did, "Doing good, sir. We've got the M/AR reaction efficiency up to 98.7%, and we're working on getting it higher still. This ship will purr for you," He said with a proud smile.
Gunning was suddenly floored by the idea of the Montreal as a giant cat. He still wasn't getting enough sleep. "Good. And cut the salute- not really my style."
Austin visibly slumped, a relieved look on his face, "Oh thank the Prophets. It's not my style either, but it's not always easy to know when your CO isn't going to take to it well," He said, laughing as he stood up straight again. "I'm still working with the CEO on the station on cleanup procedures... it'll probably take us another standard year to patch that hole," He said, shaking his head. "Needed to get a break from the impossible to come and work on something I can actually actively get fixed." He explained.
"A standard year, eh?" Gunning had come to see the hole in the side of Starbase 332 as part of the architecture. In a way it was the last tangible relic of his brother. "You'll get there eventually. How go the upgrades to the Montreal?"
"Those are going great," Austin replied. "We're... I'd say.... 80% done with them? The last twenty should go pretty quick too, just small stuff, buff and polish. These guys really have been busting their rumps for me. It's great," He said with a smile, walking over to the pool table to show the CO what was what. "As you can see, with the upgrades in place, most of our systems are running at a much higher efficiency and capacity. Once we get done fine tuning the new bits of hardware and firmware upgrades, it's going to be like a brand new ship," He said, pointing out particularly satisfying readings on the consoles.
"That's ideal. With the kind of missions we've been running her on, she's going to need that bit extra capacity." Gunning noted the extra capacity in the engines with a smile. "It doesn't help that Starfleet's pulling most of its frontier vessels back in toward the core."
Austin laughed, "Doesn't matter much, sir. They'll have us." He said with a proud smile.
"That's one way of looking at it, Lieutenant." Gunning's private worries about Starfleet's lack of interest in their region had been bubbling up for a while, but he still wasn't comfortable enough to take his concerns any higher. "All we can do is be at our full readiness."
"We will be," Austin replied. "Readier than ready, if that's a thing."
"I'm sure it will be with you." Gunning smiled before remembering most of the reason he had come down here. "I've been meaning to ask. Are the modifications to the Wainwright's sensors and interior complete?"
Commander Jordan Gunning
Officer In Command, USS Montreal
Lieutenant Le Austin
Chief Engineer
USS Montreal
