Repair Update

Posted on 03 Jun 2015 @ 9:12am by Commander C. Kos & Commodore Harvey Geisler

1,821 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Repairs
Location: Deck 6 - Primary Computer Control

"We've finished our inspection Commander," one of the junior engineers reported.

"And?" Mac pushed.

"Uh," the young Human man stuttered, "everything checks out sir. There isn't any physical damage to the computer core."

Finally, some good news, Mac thought. The Black Hawk's crew had been working on repairing the ship after reclaiming the Akira-class cruiser from the Syndicate. "Thanks Ensign. Take Crewman Wilson and see if you two can save any of the back-up modules. I don't want to have to purge the whole system if I can avoid it."

The Ensign nodded before turning and leaving the control room. Mac turned her attention back to the issue of repairing, or rebuilding, the primary computer operating system code. She hadn't ever done a job this big, but she knew her way around a Starfleet computer. The majority of her first couple of years out of the Academy had seen her serving as a diagnostic engineer, which meant spending a lot of time with the computer. Later, as an Operations Officer on the USS Edison, she had also spent a lot of time working with the ship's computer.

Thus far, she and her team of computer specialists had been able to patch together enough code to get some of the smaller systems back online. The biggest hurdle at this point was getting the main OS back to 100%. She wasn't sure that they had enough manpower and skill to do the job themselves, but she was determined to get as much rebuilt as possible.

Her tricorder beeped. Looking at is, she saw that the the ship's computer had finished downloading the barebones OS she had created by copying the OS from one of the runabouts, the Mississippi. Though this wouldn't resolve the issue, it would provide a basic framework to build upon. It would also, hopefully, help them overcome some of the glitches inherent in doing a full rebuild without the benefit of a starbase's facilities.

The console in front of her chirped into activity. She let her fingers dance across the interface as she worked to tie the newly copied OS skeleton to the various systems that they had already gotten back to some semblance of operational. She had to write some code here and there in order to make the whole thing some together.

PADD in hand, Harvey entered Primary Computer Control. Thankfully, the room was abuzz with activity, though he greatly wished the circumstances for that activity were different. He had no idea how long this process would take, but the longer the computer was down, the longer the ship would remain defenseless. Spotting his first officer hunched over one of the consoles, Harvey crossed the busy room and slipped to the other side of her station. "How're we looking, Commander?" he asked. He'd thought about addressing her by "Mac," but knowing how little she'd used the name in public, settling for rank maintained a professional atmosphere.

Mac realized just how focused she was on her work when she heard Harvey's voice. She spun her chair around to face him. "I didn't hear you come in Captain." She couldn't help but smile at seeing him. Unfortunately, the smile disappeared when she started to answer his inquiry. "We've got most of the minor systems working, albeit not at 100%. Most are being routed through the computer core of either the Mississippi or the Tigris. Tactical and propulsion systems are operational, but we con't control them currently since the computer OS is... well... basically non-existent. I'm actually working on trying to get a make-shift OS going. Should have minimal functionality of most systems, through our core, in about a day. Environmental and defensive systems are at the top of the list. I'm hoping to have those to about seventy-five percent in about 48 hours. Faster if I can go without sleep for that long."

"I'd prefer you didn't," Harvey honestly replied. If any of his command staff sacrificed their own sleep, this ship would be more insecure than it had been during the boarding raids. "What functions do we have? Comms? Transporters? Replicators?" Smiling, he added, "Waste reclamation?"

Kos sighed. She tapped at the console she was seated at. A diagram of the Black Hawk appeared on the display, after a noticeable delay. "The amount of data we're pushing through to the runabouts is slowing down processing time. We had to write some code to get the ship's transceiver to communicate with the runabouts. These systems," she explained, motioning towards the diagram, "are operational at some capacity."

"We've got basic life support, enough to keep us alive at least. Waste reclamation is online. We prioritized that so we had raw material to replicate any parts we might need for physical repairs. Replication of other goods and items is currently prohibited." She looked over her shoulder at Geisler. "I hope you like emergency rations."

"It's been a while since I tried that TexMex blend," Harvey commented. He'd had it once during the war, and he remembered the taste was far from pleasant. Hopefully someone had tweaked it. "How about comms?" he asked, setting his confiscated walkie on the console. There certainly weren't enough to go around.

"Internal communications is being facilitated by the Tigris. In order to do that, we also had to tie internal sensors so she could location everyone. It was too resource intensive for her to be using her own sensors, so we gave her access to the BH's. It's not ideal, but it works. For now."

"If we need to transport anyone," she continued, moving on to the next system, "we're good. Because transporters have their own processor, and a redundant backup, they escaped the clutches of out saboteur." Mac bristled thinking about Emily Carter. "When I saw that the transporters were operational, I somehow resisted the urge to scatter her molecules into space."

"I suppose we're just lucky that the Sydnicate didn't take her with them." Harvey frowned, knowing what they'd planned behind her back down in Engineering.

Mac clicked her tongue, which she did when she was frustrated. "This whole process has been a pain. I hope you don't expect me to question Miss Carter."

"Leave that to me," he replied. "I know half the crew would like to get their hands on her, especially Dicon. She knows far more than she has let on."

Mac shook her head. "I know this sounds atypical for me, but I would happily play 'bad cop' if you need a hand. I can't guarantee that I wouldn't send the....Miss Carter to Sickbay in the process though."

Harvey waved the statement away. He handed the PADD over to Kos. "You might not be ready for this," he said, "but I happen to have sensor data from before Emily got her hands on the computer. Might help you get that software rewritten and reconfigured rather quickly."

Mac took the PADD from Harvey. Scrolling through the data on the handheld device, she quickly forgot about her anger at Carter. "Where did you get this?"

"Believe it or not," Harvey answered, "It came from Lieutenant Sherman via Miss Carter just before all hell broke... loose..." Harvey's voice trailed off, realizing he just hinted at everything he meant to stay away from.

Mac bristled again at the mention of Carter's name. She shook it off and looked back up at Harvey. "It'll take me a little time to work through this. But, based on a quick perusal, this should help move things along."

"How much help are we talking?" he asked.

She looked at Geisler, slightly annoyed. "Not sure yet. I need a little time to work through the data. Give me an hour and I'll give you an update."

"I don't plan to stay here forever, if that's what you mean." Harvey sighed. "We still have a mission to accomplish. This... incident... was a setback." One hell of a setback...

"Well, right now, my mission is to get us back up and running. Do you have any idea what Dicon is up to? I was hoping he'd be able to spare some more time for this. They physical damage to the ship was minimal, so I'm not sure what's keeping him so busy."

"He's tracking down an anomaly," Harvey replied. "Seems like the Syndicate left behind a present or two." Besides, there had been enough damage in one day.

"I don't think I want to know," Mac said in full honesty. She was so worn down from the issues with the computer that the idea of another issue was just more than she was willing to handle.

"I'll leave you to it then," he said, taking a step back from the console. As a researcher, Harvey valued his own alone time with doing his work. He was about to leave when he remembered the other reason why he came down in the first place.

"I'm sure you'll see it on the PADD when you get there, but we received a few communiques from Starfleet Command before the Syndicate fried our power grid. One of them was orders concerning you."

"Oh?" she said, her interest thoroughly peaked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Harvey confessed. With neither a replicator nor a nearby quartermaster, he had to rely on his own resourcefulness. Reaching up to his collar, he pulled off one of his four pips. "Congratulations, Commander. Welcome to your official career in the red uniform." With that he handed over the pip.

Mac looked at the pip in Harvey's out stretched hand. "What?" She couldn't believe what this meant. She scrolled through the data on the PADD until she found the orders from Starfleet Command.

"Harvey," she said, ignoring that there were other members of the crew nearby. "This seems really quick. I just made Lieutenant Commander eighteen months ago."

"What can I say?" Harvey asked, stepping away and heading for the door. They'd promoted him from Commander to Captain after a few short months. "Starfleet must see something in you that you don't. Keep me posted, Mac." With a nod, he disappeared out the door.

It took several seconds for her to register that Harvey had left. She was still staring at the pip Geisler had handed her. Me, she thought, a Commander... "Isn't that the damnedest thing?" she muttered, quiet enough to go unnoticed by the others in the room.

"Sir, can you take at look at this for me?"

Mackenzie was pulled into cognition by Ensign Baylor. The young man was a recent Academy graduate now assigned to the Beta watch in the secondary computer control room. Mac had tasked him with getting the main sensors' controls operational again. "Let me take a look," she responded, closing her hand into a fist around the pip.

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